'Good Evidence' on Massacre Motive

Police indicated today they have "some very good evidence" about the motive behind Adam Lanza's massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and said that the sole person to survive being shot by Lanza will be "instrumental" in the probe.

Authorities also finished the grim task of identifying all of Lanza's 27 victims, which included 20 children. Families, who already feared the worst, were informed that their loved ones were dead early today.

All of the bodies have now been removed from the school and medical examiners are expected to provide a full list of victims later today.

With the tally of Lanza's carnage complete, authorities and the grieving people of Newtown, Conn., are left to wonder why he turned the elementary school in this quaint New England town into a slaughter house.

CLICK HERE for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school.

Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Newtown Teacher Kept 1st Graders Calm During Massacre Watch Video

Newtown School Shooting: What to Tell Your Kids Watch Video

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance, who had compared the investigation to "peeling back the layers of an onion," said the investigation "did produce some very good evidence" about motive, but he would not go into further detail.

He indicated the evidence came from the shooting scene at the school as well as at the home where Lanza's mother, Nancy, was slain.

Also key will be the lone person shot by Lanza who wasn't killed. The female teacher has not been publicly identified.

"She is doing fine," Vance said at a news conference today. "She has been treated and she'll be instrumental in this investigation."

Evidence also emerged today that Lanza's rampage began in the office of school principal Dawn Hochsprung while the school intercom was on. It's not clear whether it was turned on to alert the school or whether it was on for morning announcements, but the principal's screams and the cries of children heard throughout the school gave teachers time to take precautions to protect their children.

Hochsprung was among those killed in the Friday morning killing spree.

READ: Connecticut Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview Lanza's relatives, ABC News has learned.

According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi-automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi-automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

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Today on New Scientist: 14 December 2012

Global cuteness increased by discovery of new loris

Three new species of Bornean slow loris have been discovered, quadrupling the world's cuteness index

Time-travelling 3D tour shows birth of Eiffel Tower

Watch an ultra-realistic 3D reconstruction that lets you experience Paris through the ages

Warning, speedsters: you can't fool quantum radar

A technique borrowed from quantum cryptography could make it impossible to spoof military and police radar systems

Leaked IPCC report reaffirms dangerous climate change

Despite claims to the contrary, a leaked draft of next year's IPCC report on climate does not let us off the hook by blaming warming on the sun

Satellite upgrade should let planes slash emissions

Air traffic controllers will know exactly where planes are and could direct them to fly closer together along the best flight paths

Looks like we've got allergies all wrong

From pollen to peanuts, we humans are an allergic lot. So could it be that allergies serve an evolutionary purpose, ask Noah Palm and Ruslan Medzhitov

Mysterious star deaths are really mergers in disguise

A star that appeared to explode this year might actually have merged with another massive star - shedding light on the chemical make-up of the universe

Feedback: Healthscare insurance

The palaeontological love of poo, healthscare insurance, a fat-free cream conundrum, and more

AI designer learns to build games from scratch

An artificially intelligent video game designer, Angelina, has built a new festive game by adopting bits of existing games and tweaking its own early attempts

The end of race history? Not yet

Two books illuminate how ideas of a post-racial world conflict with ongoing use of race in science, says Osagie K. Obasogie

Touchpad steering wheel keeps eyes on the road

A head-up screen and a touchpad allow drivers to flick controls without having to look down at the dashboard or satnav

Permian mass extinction triggered by humble microbe

Was it a volcano? Was it a meterorite? No, a humble microbe wiped out 90 per cent of Earth's species 251 million years ago

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Clashes in Egypt on eve of divisive referendum

CAIRO: Stone-throwing clashes broke out Friday in the Egyptian city of Alexandria between Islamists and opposition protesters, on the eve of a highly charged referendum on a new constitution, witnesses and state media said.

Fifteen people were wounded, according to medics, and several cars set on fire in the violence in the Mediterranean city, Egypt's second largest.

State television showed at least one protester brandishing a sword.

Riot police quickly moved to separate the protesters, who clashed after a cleric urged worshippers to vote yes for the constitution.

Tensions are high over the staggered referendum, which is being held on this and the following Saturday, after weeks of protests and violence between rival camps in Cairo that killed eight people and injured hundreds last week.

Further rallies by both sides were taking place in Cairo on Friday.

A pro-constitution rally by the Muslim Brotherhood backing Islamist President Mohamed Morsi gathered more than 2,000 people, and separately, hundreds of Morsi's opponents demonstrated outside his palace.

The protests were modest in size compared with mass rallies in recent weeks by the opposition that forced Morsi to give up sweeping powers, and huge protests by Islamists to show that the president had supporters.

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-orthodox Salafist groups backing the draft charter have been campaigning for days for Egypt's 51 million voters to approve it.

A senior Islamist official involved in drafting the charter, Amr Darrag, branded opposition attacks against the document an "unjust campaign to paint a lying picture of the constitution."

Egypt's mainly secular opposition has criticised the draft charter as divisive and a possible attempt by Islamists to introduce sharia-style law.

"We are confident that the Egyptian people will topple the Muslim Brotherhood's constitution," Amr Hamzawy, a leader of the opposition National Salvation Front, told a news conference.

"The National Salvation Front calls on people to flood into polling stations to say no" to the draft charter, another Front leader, Hamadeen Sabahi, said.

The Front was holding last-ditch rallies on Friday against the new constitution. It has said it could yet call a boycott if its "deep concern" over the referendum's fairness turns out to be founded.

The opposition took out half-page advertisements in major independent dailies describing the charter as "a constitution that divides Egypt."

The opposition -- which initially wanted the referendum postponed -- only started urging a "no" vote on Thursday.

"It's you who will pay the price if you vote 'yes.' 'No' to the constitution," said an online campaign advertisement by the opposition April 6 youth movement.

Morsi has ordered Egypt's military to help police maintain security until the results of the referendum are known. A total of 130,000 police and 120,000 soldiers will be deployed, interior ministry and military officials told AFP.

Polling in the referendum was staggered over a week because of a shortage of judges willing to provide the statutory supervision for the vote.

Voting will begin on Saturday in Cairo and Alexandria and in eight other provinces. The other half of the country will vote on December 22.

International watchdogs, including the UN human rights chief, and the United States and the European Union, have expressed reservations about the draft because of loopholes that could be used to weaken human rights, the rights of women, and the independence of judges.

Analysts said the proven ability of the Muslim Brotherhood to muster voters was likely -- but not certain -- to ensure that the draft constitution is passed.

If it is adopted, "it will exacerbate political tension and result in more acrimony," Hani Sabra, an Egypt specialist for the Eurasia Group, said in an evaluation note.

"The Brotherhood and Morsi believe that if the constitution is adopted, it represents a mandate to pursue their policies. However, majority support does not translate into the bureaucracy falling in line. It will also not silence the opposition."

Polls open at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT).

-AFP/ac

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Latest Steve Jobs action figure remarkably detailed

Legend Toys' Steve Jobs figure kicks back with an iPad. The Japanese caption says "Apple is always in my heart."

(Credit:
Legend Toys)

You know the holidays are getting close when Steve Jobs action figures start to appear.

We've seen a few toy tributes to Jobs from Chinese companies. There was a kerfuffle in January of this year when Hong Kong toymaker In Icons bowed to pressure from Jobs' family and Apple and withdrew a 12-inch doll from the market.

That hasn't stopped a Japanese startup from trying to cash in on Jobs' popularity. Tokyo-based Legend Toys is releasing its own strikingly detailed 12-inch figure of Jobs. It was sculpted by Takao Kato, whose work includes 1:16 scale and 1:4 scale figures for the otaku market.

Renowned for their obsession with realism and detail, Japanese toymakers have turned out mountains of figurines ranging from sci-fi robots like Gundam to doe-eyed buxom manga babes.

Legend Toys' Jobs figure comes with a leather sofa, glasses, three pairs of hands, and a small apple to pose with. It's a markedly older, more wrinkled Jobs than the one released by In Icons.

Legend, however, is not concerned about possible pressure from Apple, which would likely try to stop sales by threatening legal action.

"We have heard that Apple tried to stop several companies from selling Steve Jobs figures," says the firm's Yuichi Kimura. "We do not have any permission from anyone and we don't think it is necessary to obtain permission from anyone.

"Just like millions of people around the world, I was moved by Jobs' passion and his creativity. He said that he loved to do the things he could do the best. So do I, and the best thing I can do is make a lifelike figure to remember him and I also wanted to share my passion with all his fans like he did with those i-products. This is my pure and simple intention."

The 1:6-scale Steve Mini starts shipping at the end of this month, for $199.99 to North America, and slightly less in Japan.

Check out more pics in the gallery above, including the insanely detailed Jobs jeans and sneakers. Would you buy one for your action figure collection?

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Pictures: Unspoiled Rivers

Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic

A bushman paddles a canoe along the Okavango River, southern Africa's fourth longest waterway. The Okavango starts in Angola and 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) later drains into Botswana's Moremi Wildlife Reserve, where it creates an unusual landlocked, delta-like oasis in the Kalahari Desert.

This oasis, protected by the reserve, is a near-pristine maze of papyrus reeds, channels, and islands that serve as a watering hole for a host of species, including zebras, wildebeests, lions, cheetahs, cranes, and wild dogs.

Flooded annually by seasonal rains, the swampy Okavango Delta can expand to a size of 6,500 square miles (16,800 square kilometers)—an area larger than the state of Connecticut.

The river itself winds through dense forest, dry savanna, and dunes as it makes its way south. While it provides much-needed water to an arid landscape, the river remains mostly untouched by large boats, and its banks remain mostly unsettled. (Watch National Geographic video about Africa's Okavango River Delta.)

But that doesn't mean it is safe. Some argue that the water that sustains the river's vast wetland would be put to better use by local agricultural operations, diamond mines, or in major cities, such as Pretoria in South Africa.

—Tasha Eichenseher

Published November 30, 2012

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At Least 27, Mostly Kids, Killed at Grade School

More than two dozen people, mostly elementary school children, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school this morning, federal and state sources tell ABC News.

The massacre involved two gunmen and prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.

One shooter is dead and a manhunt is on for a second gunman. Police are searching cars. One shooter was described as a 24-year-old armed man with four weapons and wearing a bullet-proof vest, sources told ABC News.

It's unclear how many people have been shot, but 25 people, mostly children, are dead, multiple federal and state sources tell ABC News. That number could rise, officials said.

President Obama was briefed on the shooting by FBI Director Robert Mueller.

It is the worst shooting in a U.S. elementary school in recent memory and exceeds the carnage at the 1999 Columbine High School
shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.

The Newtown shooting comes three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.

Today's shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles east of Danbury.

Shannon Hicks/The Newtown Bee

Connecticut School Shooting: 3 Victims Hospitalized Watch Video

Connecticut School Shooting: 1 Gunman Confirmed Dead Watch Video

Watch Upcoming State Police News Conference Live at ABCNews.com

State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41 a.m. and immediately began sending emergency units from the western part of the state. Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State Police source.

A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.

LIVE UPDATES: Newtown, Conn., School Shooting

Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page.

"Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat Danbury Hospital is under lockdown," the statement said. "This allows us simply to focus on the important work at hand."

CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.

Newtown Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June said in a statement that the district's schools were locked down because of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff," she said.

State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown.

All public and private schools in the town are on lockdown.

"We have increased our police presence at all Danbury Public Schools due to the events in Newtown. Pray for the victims," Newtown Mayor Boughton tweeted.

State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school.

A message on the school district website says that all afternoon kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no midday bus runs.

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Today on New Scientist: 13 December 2012

Violent beauty at the end of an Alaskan glacier

You can almost hear the crash of ice on water in this stunning image of an ice sheet calving off the Chenega glacier in Alaska

Overeating now bigger global problem than lack of food

The most comprehensive disease report ever produced confirms that, for the first time, there is a larger health problem from people eating too much than too little

In search of the world's oldest cave etching

Strange markings on the walls of a cave in Australia's vast Nullarbor Plain could have been a tactile code for ancient Aboriginal flint miners

Higgs boson having an identity crisis

Six months on from its announcement, the mass and decay rates of the particle thought to be the Higgs boson are proving hard to pin down

Go forth and print: 3D objects you can print yourself

We pick our favourite objects to 3D-print, including a mathematical cookie cutter, a wormhole and a New Scientist holiday tree ornament inspired by fractals

Laser drills could relight geothermal energy dreams

High-powered lasers that can drill through igneous rocks may make reaching oil and geothermal sources much easier

Robots should be cleaning your home

Tech investor Dmitri Grishin explains why the time is right for sleek, versatile robots that will be our everyday helpers rather than factory equipment

Welcome to the personal drone revolution

Sophisticated, affordable drones could soon be so commonplace that they will become our personal servants, says Michael Brooks

Finding dangerous asteroids, before they find us

Near-Earth Objects: Finding them before they find us by Donald Yeomans is a fascinating tour guide of the asteroids we should worry about

World's loneliest bug turns up in Death Valley

A microbe that survives deep below Earth's surface without the sun's energy has reappeared, in California

Search for aliens poses game theory dilemma

The complex question of whether to risk contact with ET may be navigable with a new spin on the "prisoner's dilemma"

'Robot ecosystem' in sight as apps get a cash boost

The first company dedicated to investing in consumer robotics stakes $250,000 on robot apps

First results from James Cameron's trip to the abyss

It's not Pandora, but the Mariana trench holds life just as strange as that in James Cameron's film Avatar

UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

A parliamentary report calls for a fresh programme of research to monitor the effects of European drug legalisation

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Football: Serbia fined 80,000 euros for England violence

LAUSANNE: Serbia were fined 80,000 euros on Thursday and ordered to play their next Under-21 international behind closed doors as UEFA handed out a range of sanctions following October's violent European qualifier against England.

Two of Serbia's coaching staff and four players were handed suspensions while two England players were also banned.

In chaotic scenes at the October 21 game in Krusevac, England defender Danny Rose was sent off for kicking the ball away in response to what he said was monkey chanting and physical provocation.

Scuffles also broke out between players, coaches and supporters at the end of the match.

"The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has ordered the Serbian Under-21 national team to play their next UEFA competition home match behind closed doors, following a number of incidents that occurred during and after the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off second-leg match against England at the Mladost Stadium in Krusevac on 16 October," said a UEFA statement.

"The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) has also been fined 80,000 euros."

Serbia fitness coach Andreja Milunovic and assistant coach Predrag Katic were both banned from all football-related activities for two years.

Players Goran Causic (banned for four matches), Ognjen Mudrinski (three matches), Filip Malbasic (three matches) and Nikola Ninkovic (two matches) were also punished.

Disciplinary proceedings against Aleksandar Pantic were dismissed.

England's Steven Caulker (two matches) and Thomas Ince (one match) were also suspended.

-AFP/ac

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Low Latency No. 47: Thinking outside the box

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Thursday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.

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Maya Calendars Actually Predict That Life Goes On

This December, not everyone is concerned with making plans for the New Year—especially not the people who think doomsday will get here first. Instead of planning parties, they're stockpiling food, refining escape routes, and honing survival skills ahead of the alleged date on which the Maya calendar "ends"—December 21, 2012.

So should we all be preparing for imminent apocalypse? According to the scholars, no.

The ancient Maya are usually cited as the predictors of the world coming to an end this month: One of their "great cycles" supposedly ends now. But the Maya were brilliant mathematicians and fantastic record keepers. They didn't have just one calendar. They developed many different kinds, including a cyclical solar calendar and a sacred almanac. They also measured time with something known as the Long Count, which were great cycles of 5,000 years.

Somewhere along the way a rumor spread about the current great cycle, indicating it ends on December 21, 2012. This sparked the belief among some that the last of our days are upon us.

Rebirth

It's not the first time that the possibility of apocalypse has sparked the human imagination. Doomsday prophecies have a rich history, and believers tend to overlook the scientific evidence that disproves them. In this case, the doomsdayers fail to take into account the intricacies of Maya timekeeping.

"There's only one [Maya] monument that even has the 2012 date on it," says Maya scholar Ricardo Agurcia, adding that apocalypse anticipators are ignoring that according to the Maya, when one great cycle ends, another begins. "It's about rebirth, not death." (Read about the rise and fall of the Maya in National Geographic magazine.)

Indeed, the Maya predicted the world would most certainly not end in 2012. Earlier this year, archaeologist and National Geographic Grantee William Saturno discovered a series of numbers painted on the walls at a Maya complex in Guatemala. The calculations included dates that go far into the future. "The ancient Maya predicted the world would continue, that 7,000 years from now, things would be exactly like this," he said in a press release. (See ultra-high-resolution, zoomable pictures from inside a newfound Maya chamber.)

"We keep looking for endings. The Maya were looking for a guarantee that nothing would change. It's an entirely different mindset." (Watch: Mysterious Maya Calendar and Mural Uncovered.)

It Came From Outer Space?

That should be enough to soothe Maya-inspired worries about doomsday scenarios. But what about other potential agents of catastrophe—coronal mass ejections, a "killer planet," polar shifts?

On these possibilities, NASA can shed some light. On his blog Ask an Astrobiologist, NASA space scientist David Morrison has fielded some 5,000 questions about doomsday 2012. People want to know about the existence of Nibiru, or Planet X, and whether it's coming to destroy Earth or not. Others inquire about alignment of the heavenly bodies, shifting of the magnetic poles, and bursting of solar flares. In a YouTube video, Morrison said, "There is no threat to Earth in 2012. Nibiru does not exist. There are no special forces when planets align. Don't worry about 2012, and enjoy 2013 when it comes."

Despite this emphatic professional pushback, anxiety over our impending demise persists. According to an article in the New York Times, a number of Russians have fallen under the apocalypse spell, snatching up essentials as December 21st approaches. The story also cites apprehension in southern France, where certain camps believe Bugarach mountain has the power to protect in a doomsday scenario.

In the United States, doomsday preparers have help from people like Larry Hall, who is building underground luxury "survival condos" in Kansas missile silos leftover from the Cold War era. Careful not to judge anyone's reason for worry, he said, "I'm not saying you're right or you're wrong. I'm just trying to have a one-size-fits-all solution to whatever your threats may be."

Catherine Zuckerman knows her apocalypses. She is author of National Geographic's e-book "Doomsday 2012," which examines the enduring fascination with doomsday predictions.

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