Black Friday

A very sad day here in New York as a mass shooting has just taken place at an elementary school in a Connecticut town about an hour outside the city.  While I've been spending the bulk of my time these days thinking about the mental well-being of schoolchildren in Tanzania, I've not given much thought to the physical well-being of our kids here in the States.  They need our support and protection too, particularly in a day and age when terrible harm can befall them suddenly, without reason, and at the hands of others.  Just so sad and so senseless.  So, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, stop for a second and give a kid a hug.  They are our precious future!!

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From ABC News.com:

More than two dozen people, mostly elementary schoolchildren, were shot and killed at a Newtown, Connecticut 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 of 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 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 Bob 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.

Today's shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades from kindergarten through fourth grade.