Independent inquiry faults State Department in Benghazi attack

In the aftermath of Friday's Newtown school shooting, we've heard tales mostly horrifying and occasionally heroic, from surviving witnesses and mourning citizens alike, but this one lies somewhere in between, all the more unshakeable. One six-year-old Sandy Hook student played dead in her first-grade classroom, her family pastor said late Sunday, with the kind of quick thinking that ended up saving her life but now leaves her with the unshakeable memories of watching all her classmates being shot and killed. ...

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Squash: Nicol David in quest for 7th world title

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Nicol David has discovered that greater self-knowledge is helping her deal with the pressures as she tries to extend her all-time record of world titles to seven.

The already legendary Malaysian has made a flying start to her campaign here, but has had to take profound and very personal measures to help endure the stresses which only increase with time.

David carries the relentlessly heavy burden of flag-bearer for an emerging nation, is subjected to constant media demands and appearance requests, and now, in her 30th year, finds herself expected to fend off a growing bevy of younger rivals.

Hence the role of Frank Cabooter, a sports psychologist who works at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in burn-out and depression, has increased in importance for David.

"In the last two to three years he has given me a lot of insight into who I am and how I can look at understanding myself better - not just on a squash basis, but on a personal note," she confides.

"It means you have to admit to things you may not have seen or known. But at the same time if you can improve yourself if you can adjust. It's so fascinating (learning about) our mind and how it works.

"We go into what works for me, what goes through my mind, and how I manage it," adds David, who here has been feeding off the vibes of the music, the warm climate, and the friendly seaside atmosphere.

So far, she has dealt impressively with Omneya Abdel Kawy, the 2010 World Open finalist from Egypt, and Annie Au, the world number nine from Hong Kong, both in straight games and in about half an hour each.

But after more than six years unbroken as world number one, David knows her strengths and weaknesses are evolving. "As time goes on we all change, as we get older," she says.

"I'm trying to use that to my advantage. There are a lot of things to learn from. And a lot of things to understand about myself as a squash player and my own growth.

"All this changed me and kept me in tune (with my feelings)."

David has occasionally revealed signs of human frailty, but when it has happened she has tried to learn why it emerged, and worked to develop her capacity to deal with it.

A notable example was when she lost her British Open title three years ago with a hesitant quarter-final defeat to Ireland's Madeline Perry.

That is why another quarter-final match with Perry here Wednesday may offer an insight into the champion's mental growth and personal development.

David had a rest day on Tuesday in which to prepare. But her focus is unlikely to be on the quality of her opponent's skills, but the entwining of her own tactical concerns with her state of mind.

"It's always a good match with Madeline, but I know how important it is to focus more on my game and what I have to do," the record-breaking champion said. "I have to bring my game up - and make sure I bring it with me to the court."

- AFP/al

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Funds crunch hits war on malaria

NEW DELHI: The amount of funds available for malaria prevention and control globally is less than half what is needed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said in a report. While it is estimated that $5.1 billion is needed every year between 2011 and 2020 to achieve universal access to malaria interventions, only $2.3 billion was available in 2011. The WHO has blamed this on a slowing down in the efforts to reverse the epidemic.

This was stated in the World Malaria Report released on Monday, which summarised information from 104 malaria-endemic countries, including India. International funding for malaria control has been steadily rising, going up from less than $100 million in 2000 to $1.71 billion in 2010. National government funding for malaria programmes has also been increasing in recent years, touching an estimated $625 million in 2011. Yet the funds are far from adequate as malaria hits the poorest countries with higher proportions of their population living in poverty (less than $1.25 per person per day) have higher mortality rates from malaria.

Projections of both domestic and international resources available between 2013 and 2015 indicate that total funding for malaria control will remain at less than US$ 2.7 billion, substantially below the amount required.

The African continent accounts for the highest incidence of malaria with 219 million cases and 90% of all malarial deaths in the world. In the Southeast Asia region, India has the highest incidence of malaria (24 million cases) followed by Indonesia and Myanmar. According to the latest WHO estimates, worldwide there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 and an estimated 660,000 deaths.

Together, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria are estimated to account for over 40% of all malaria deaths globally. Similarly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Nigeria account for 40% of malaria cases.

The world report claims that 50 countries are on track to reduce their malaria case incidence rates by 75%, in line with World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria targets for 2015. However, these 50 countries account for just 3% (7 million) of the total estimated malaria cases. Moreover, malaria surveillance systems detect only around 10% of the estimated global number of cases, with case detection being lowest in the countries with the highest burden of malaria. In the African and Western Pacific Regions, the main constraint is the small proportion of patients attending public facilities who receive a diagnostic test for malaria.

In the Southeast Asia Region, the most important issue is the high proportion of patients who seek treatment in the private sector, as is happening in India where the private sector is not part of the health reporting system. With such constraints, most of the WHO figures are based on estimates and modelling.

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Experts: Kids are resilient in coping with trauma

WASHINGTON (AP) — They might not want to talk about the gunshots or the screams. But their toys might start getting into imaginary shootouts.

Last week's school shooting in Connecticut raises the question: What will be the psychological fallout for the children who survived?

For people of any age, regaining a sense of security after surviving violence can take a long time. They're at risk for lingering anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder.

But after the grief and fear fades, psychiatrists say most of Newtown's young survivors probably will cope without long-term emotional problems.

"Kids do tend to be highly resilient," said Dr. Matthew Biel, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

And one way that younger children try to make sense of trauma is through play. Youngsters may pull out action figures or stuffed animals and re-enact what they witnessed, perhaps multiple times.

"That's the way they gain mastery over a situation that's overwhelming," Biel explained, saying it becomes a concern only if the child is clearly distressed while playing.

Nor is it unusual for children to chase each other playing cops-and-robbers, but now parents might see some also pretending they're dead, added Dr. Melissa Brymer of the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.

Among the challenges will be spotting which children are struggling enough that they may need professional help.

Newtown's tragedy is particularly heart-wrenching because of what such young children grappled with — like the six first-graders who apparently had to run past their teacher's body to escape to safety.

There's little scientific research specifically on PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, in children exposed to a burst of violence, and even less to tell if a younger child will have a harder time healing than an older one.

Overall, scientists say studies of natural disasters and wars suggest most children eventually recover from traumatic experiences while a smaller proportion develop long-term disorders such as PTSD. Brymer says in her studies of school shootings, that fraction can range from 10 percent to a quarter of survivors, depending on what they actually experienced. A broader 2007 study found 13 percent of U.S. children exposed to different types of trauma reported some symptoms of PTSD, although less than 1 percent had enough for an official diagnosis.

Violence isn't all that rare in childhood. In many parts of the world — and in inner-city neighborhoods in the U.S., too — children witness it repeatedly. They don't become inured to it, Biel said, and more exposure means a greater chance of lasting psychological harm.

In Newtown, most at risk for longer-term problems are those who saw someone killed, said Dr. Carol North of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who has researched survivors of mass shootings.

Friday's shootings were mostly in two classrooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School, which has about 450 students through fourth-grade.

But those who weren't as close to the danger may be at extra risk, too, if this wasn't their first trauma or they already had problems such as anxiety disorders that increase their vulnerability, she said.

Right after a traumatic event, it's normal to have nightmares or trouble sleeping, to stick close to loved ones, and to be nervous or moody, Biel said.

To help, parents will have to follow their child's lead. Grilling a child about a traumatic experience isn't good, he stressed. Some children will ask a lot of questions, seeking reassurance, he said. Others will be quiet, thinking about the experience and maybe drawing or writing about it, or acting it out at playtime. Younger children may regress, becoming clingy or having tantrums.

Before second grade, their brains also are at a developmental stage some refer to as magical thinking, when it's difficult to distinguish reality and fantasy. Parents may have to help them understand that a friend who died isn't in pain or lonely but also isn't coming back, Brymer said.

When problem behaviors or signs of distress continue for several weeks, Brymer says it's time for an evaluation by a counselor or pediatrician.

Besides a supportive family, what helps? North advises getting children back into routines, together with their friends, and easing them back into a school setting. Studies of survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks found "the power of the support of the people who went through it with you is huge," she said.

Children as young as first-graders can benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, Georgetown's Biel said. They can calm themselves with breathing techniques. They also can learn to identify and label their feelings — anger, frustration, worry — and how to balance, say, a worried thought with a brave one.

Finally, avoid watching TV coverage of the shooting, as children may think it's happening all over again, Biel added. He found that children who watched the 9/11 clips of planes hitting the World Trade Center thought they were seeing dozens of separate attacks.

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EDITOR'S NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

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Newtown Shooting: Bushmaster Under Fire

When the private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management announced Tuesday it would unload its interest in Bushmaster – the company that built the weapon used in last week's mass murder of 20 Connecticut first graders -- it marked the beginning of what experts say is likely to be a challenging period for the North Carolina-based weapons manufacturer.

"They are looking at a taint on their brand and looking at a marketplace that could change dramatically with respect to their weapon," said Chris Lehane, a crisis public relations expert who worked in the Clinton White House. "To me the fact that Cerberus is pulling out is a pretty significant defining moment."

For years, Bushmaster has been marketing itself to testosterone-fueled male customers, issuing "man cards" to customers who want to be "card carrying men." Now, Lehane and others said the company is facing the prospect of being branded the weapon of choice for mass killers. The Newtown, Connecticut shooting marked the fourth time a Bushmaster has been implicated in a mass shooting since 1999, including the Beltway sniper case that left 10 dead and three more wounded.

Cerberus announced Tuesday it wanted distance from Bushmaster, calling the murder of 20 first grade children at Sandy Hook Elementary School a "watershed event." The investment firm, which is chaired by former Vice President Dan Quayle, noted in its statement that Bushmaster may not be an investment consistent with the interests of its clients. Its investors include the pension plans of firemen, teachers, and policemen.

Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

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Lehane said the announcement could signal a shift in the way investors view companies that make military style weapons for a civilian market.

"It reminds me of the time when tobacco began to be associated with a negative light, or the divestiture movement surrounding companies in South Africa," he said. "Where financial markets believe they are going to pay a price."

In addition, a spokesman for Cerberus Group confirmed that the father of Stephen Feinberg, the founder of Cerberus Group, lives in Newtown.

Gun control groups have also lined up to criticize the weapons manufacturer, arguing that the company was selling civilian customers a weapon clearly designed for war.

"This thing is just a killing machine," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "[I]t's a weapon that can easily shoot hundreds of … In fact it's very similar to the weapon that James Holmes used to shoot up the movie theater in Aurora."

The company has not responded to phone calls seeking comment, but gun enthusiasts say the weapon's menacing appearance can appeal to civilians looking for a means to secure their homes, and its ease of use can appeal to those looking for a weapon for target shooting.

"The [assault rifle] platform is the most popular in the country," said Frank Cornwall, a firearms instructor in Connecticut. "Civilians have always bought similar type arms to the military. And this is a very versatile platform. Quite a popular hunting and target shooting gun."

Phillip Stutts, a crisis management consultant who worked for President George W. Bush, said he has been surprised by the silence of the gun manufacturer.

"Bushmaster doesn't have to take responsibility for this tragedy, but they have a responsibility to respond to this tragedy," he said. "And they haven't. They have to get out in front of this. It needs to be corrected ASAP."

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Syrian rebels take control of Damascus Palestinian camp

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels took full control of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on Monday after fighting raged for days in the district on the southern edge of President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus powerbase, rebel and Palestinian sources said.

The battle had pitted rebels, backed by some Palestinians, against Palestinian fighters of the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Many PFLP-GC fighters defected to the rebel side and their leader Ahmed Jibril left the camp two days ago, rebel sources said.

"All of the camp is under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army," said a Palestinian activist in Yarmouk. He said clashes had stopped and the remaining PFLP fighters retreated to join Assad's forces massed on the northern edge of the camp.

The battle in Yarmouk is one of a series of conflicts on the southern fringes of Assad's capital, as rebels try to choke the power of the 47-year-old leader after a 21-month-old uprising in which 40,000 people have been killed.

Government forces have used jets and artillery to try to dislodge the fighters but the violence has crept into the heart of the city and activists say rebels overran three army stations in a new offensive in the central province of Hama on Monday.

On the border with Lebanon, hundreds of Palestinian families fled across the frontier following the weekend violence in Yarmouk, a Reuters witness said.

Syria hosts half a million Palestinian refugees, most living in Yarmouk, descendants of those admitted after the creation of Israel in 1948, and has always cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian struggle, sponsoring several guerrilla factions.

Both Assad's government and the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have enlisted and armed divided Palestinian factions as the uprising has developed into a civil war.

"NEITHER SIDE CAN WIN"

Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said in a newspaper interview published on Monday that neither Assad's forces nor rebels seeking to overthrow him can win the war.

Sharaa, a Sunni Muslim in a power structure dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, has rarely been seen since the revolt erupted in March 2011 and is not part of the president's inner circle directing the fight against Sunni rebels. But he is the most prominent figure to say in public that Assad will not win.

Sharaa said the situation in Syria was deteriorating and a "historic settlement" was needed to end the conflict, involving regional powers and the U.N. Security Council and the formation of a national unity government "with broad powers".

"With every passing day the political and military solutions are becoming more distant. We should be in a position defending the existence of Syria. We are not in a battle for an individual or a regime," Sharaa was quoted as telling Al-Akhbar newspaper.

"The opposition cannot decisively settle the battle and what the security forces and army units are doing will not achieve a decisive settlement," he said, adding that insurgents fighting to topple Syria's leadership could plunge it into "anarchy and an unending spiral of violence".

Sources close to the Syrian government say Sharaa had pushed for dialogue with the opposition and objected to the military response to an uprising that began peacefully.

In a veiled criticism of the crackdown, he said there was a difference between the state's duty to provide security to its citizens, and "pursuing a security solution to the crisis".

He said even Assad could not be certain where events in Syria were leading, but that anyone who met him would hear that "this is a long struggle...and he does not hide his desire to settle matters militarily to reach a final solution."

In Hama province, rebels and the army clashed in a new campaign launched on Sunday by rebels to block off the country's north, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked violence monitor, said fighting raged through the provincial towns of Karnaz, Kafar Weeta, Halfayeh and Mahardeh.

It said there were no clashes reported in Hama city, which lies on the main north-south highway connecting the capital with Aleppo, Syria's second city.

Qassem Saadeddine, a member of the newly established rebel military command, said on Sunday fighters had been ordered to surround and attack army positions across the province. He said Assad's forces were given 48 hours to surrender or be killed.

In 1982 Hafez al-Assad, father of the current ruler, crushed an uprising in Hama city, killing up to 30,000 civilians.

Qatiba al-Naasan, a rebel from Hama, said the offensive would bring retaliatory air strikes from the government but that the situation is "already getting miserable".

(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes, Erika Solomon and Dominic Evans in Beirut, Afif Diab at Masnaa, Lebanon; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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US schools yearn for security 'bubble' after shooting

WASHINGTON: Except in tragedy-hit Newtown, pupils returned to class around the United States on Monday, three days after an elementary school shooting massacre that triggered debate over school security.

Parents and teachers alike are intent now more than ever on making sure the "protective bubble" at schools is impenetrable to outside threats.

At Kensington Parkwood Elementary School just outside Washington, visitors must show credentials to enter the institution.

Just like any school day of the year, each student, each parent and each teacher -- even the principal -- must go through the main entrance's secured doors and check in with staff.

Unlike other institutions in the United States, where police and extra security guards have been deployed following the shooting that left 20 young children and six adults dead, the Kensington school is seeking a sense of normalcy.

"Today is a usual day," stressed school principal Barbara Liess. "Routine is one thing that's important for kids. That's how you build trust, that's how you build a sense of comfort."

Many parents have opted not to discuss the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, whose child victims saw their innocent lives cut short at just six or seven years old.

"My six-year-old understands that things happen in life; people come, people go, things live, things die, people live, people die, but it's just something I don't think they need to be exposed to," said Kensington parent Dori Matalia.

The school will follow guidance from education officials in Maryland's Montgomery County to avoid addressing the subject in class, unless individual students want to discuss the matter with a psychologist made available to them.

As with their peers across the nation, Kensington Parkwood students started the school day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance -- an expression of loyalty to the nation -- with their right hands on their hearts, then heard the principal on closed circuit television.

But this morning is not exactly like all the others. Liess chose to remind students that "doors need to keep closed all the time... need to stay locked" and that "nobody can enter the building without going through the office."

Like Liess, other school administrators sent notices over the weekend to assure parents they were "committed" to the safety of students and their families.

St. Peter School in Washington said it had "carefully thought-out safety policies and procedures" in place to respond to emergencies, designed to respond to a variety of emergencies.

"Though I pray we never have to use it for such a situation, our Code Red is a lock-down response intended to prepare the community for a crisis much like the one that occurred (Friday) in Connecticut," St. Peter officials wrote to parents.

Kensington Parkwood plans to go through a security drill toward the end of the week when the school will be in lockdown. The drills usually take place four times per year, along with others to protect against hurricane threats.

Children are told to hide in cubbies or under their desks, and to keep quiet to make the building seem empty.

"Of course, this is an example of how horrific things can happen. But in general, school is the safest place for kids to be," said Liess.

"It would be great if every kid would be surrounded by a protective bubble and nothing could ever happen to them, but it's not reality. But as much as possible, that's what we create here."

Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, wondered how far a society like that in the United States, which cherishes its freedoms, could go.

"The school was doing everything right, the school was actually locked down," he said. "Even so, it's not enough to deter an individual that intends to break in the school while shooting... unless you turn schools into prisons with metal detectors.'

Domenech said the many shooting tragedies that have scarred the nation boil down to a "societal issue" about gun control and awareness of mental illness and potential violence.

- AFP/ck

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Court rap secures sanction to prosecute tainted employees in Himachal Pradesh

SHIMLA: In response to court directions issued on December 6, the state government on Monday informed Himachal Pradesh high court that all cases awaiting prosecution sanction, barring four of them, had been cleared.

Principal secretary (home and vigilance) under oath submitted before the court that for the remaining four cases also the process would be completed within 15 days. The next review meeting is also to be held within two weeks, the official let the court know.

Issuing stern directions, Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Rajiv Sharma cautioned that should the duty holders not complete the process regarding the request for sanction for prosecution within three months, they would be held liable and answerable to the charge of abiding delay in prosecution. In that event, needless to say that the officers would be personally responsible for all the consequences, apart from contempt proceedings, the judges said.

In the last hearing, the judges had directed the chief secretary to file a report whether there was any case pending before the government that was awaiting prosecution sanction for more than three months. Last week, a court had decreed stopping the salary of principal secretary, health, for contempt of court for not implementing an order that had been passed by the high court last year.

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

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AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

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Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

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Newtown Boy Remembered as 'Old Soul'

Dec 17, 2012 6:02pm

Family of Daniel Barden, who died in the Connecticut school shootings. From left, his brother James, 12, and his parents, Mark and Jackie. (Image Credit: ABC)

Though he was only in first grade, Daniel Barden was very much an “old soul,” his family said today.  He was one of the 20 children who died Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

At the age of 4, he displayed an empathy for others remarkable for a child so young.  It didn’t go unnoticed — teachers chose Daniel to be paired with a special education student at his school.

PHOTOS: Connecticut Shooting Victims

His mother, Jackie Barden, said she was always struck by “how unusual he was.”

“Our neighbors always said, ‘He’s like an old soul,’” Barden said during an interview on “Katie.”

He carried that kindness with him as he got older.

“He would hold doors open for adults all the time,” said his father, Mark Barden.

He laughed, remembering the times he’d be “halfway” across a parking lot and see his son still holding a door for strangers.

“Our son had so much love to give to this world,” Barden said. “He was supposed to have a whole lifetime of bringing that light to the world.”

Complete Coverage: Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Daniel had two older siblings, James, age 12, and Natalie, age 10, who doted on their little brother.

“He was just so sweet and kind and thoughtful,” James said.

On Friday, 7-year-old Daniel, who was one of the 20 young victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School, woke up early.  He played foosball with his mother.

As usual, Daniel won, she said. The score was 10 to 8.

His father also taught him how to play “Jingle Bells” on the piano that morning.

“We did a lot in that half hour,” he said.

A celebration of Daniel’s life will be held Tuesday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.

SHOWS: Good Morning America

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