all thaths happened in the past two days is enough to make you shake your head and stare at the television and wonder what happened to this world. we want to end this hour with the reminder that there are good people and positive acts of kindness that are happening everywhere. remember this, last month the new york city police officer offered a homeless man a pair of boots on a cold night. or a tennessee boy who helped his brother complete in a triathlon and who could forget this libyan child who doesn't believe in hate holding a sign apologizing for the embassy attack in benghazi. so much to be thankful for even in this very difficult time. we continue our coverage of the connecticut elementary school shooting right now. good morning, everyone.

i'm john berman. we're in newtown, connecticut, this morning. >> i'm kate bolduan. you're watching our continuing coverage. it feels like we've been here a long time just trying to figure out what's going on with the story. president obama will be coming here later today and meet with some of the victims' families and we're told he will speak at a vigil being held tonight. meanwhile, the community is grieving. we saw more vigils here last night really moving vigils. 20 children and 6 adults died in friday's shooting inside sandy hook elementary. we should begin hearing the first funeral plans for some of the victims very soon. we also want to pass this along. the united way has set up a sandy hook school fund. donations, as you can see right there on your screen, donations sent to the newtown savings bank 39 main street right here in newtown, connecticut.

this fund will be used to help pay for the funerals of the victims, john. police say they have found important evidence during their searches at the school and at the shooter's home. we also know now more about the actual shooting and what weapons were used in it. cnn national correspondent susan candiotti joins me now and, susan, what are we learning this morning? >> hi, john. well, we know one thing and that is that federal agents and other investigators who will be back out pounding out the streets today, chasing down leads, information they have that the suspected shooter in this case may have visited gun stores or gun ranges in the days before the attack. however, so far our sources tell us that those tips have not panned out. we also know that three additional guns have been found, according to our sources, at the home that the shooter shared with his mother. we're standing down the street from that house right now. we are told that one of those

three weapons, which are all described to me as older model rifles, at least one of them have been traced to the mother. they're still conducting additional traces. and we also know about those three guns that were found at the crime scene. two handguns and a long gun, known as a bushmaster, that's a semiautomatic rifle. and we also know that investigators know he used one of those guns. identified which one he used to kill himself, but they're not revealing which one that is. the long gun is the one the medical examiner said was used to kill several victims with multiple gunshots. >> all the wounds that i know of at this point were caused by the long weapon. >> the rifle was the primary weapon? >> yes. i believe everybody was hit more than once. everybody's death was caused by, everyone that we have completed

so far was caused by gunshot wounds. and, obviously, the manner of death on all these cases has been classified as homicide. >> certainly from that description, it's hard to understand, john. i'm sure you'd agree what that scene must have been like and why was each victim shot multiple times. perhaps we'll get some answers one day. >> i simply cannot imagine that scene. investigators, obviously, following so many leads now. they were talking to adam lanza's father and also his brother, i was in hoboken, new jersey, friday night because police had taken in his brother, ryan lanza, for questioning. that was a curious thing as it was happening. what are we hearing at this point from them? do we know? >> the older brother has not issued a statement on his own as of yet. we know he was questioned, as you said. this is what we know, according

to our sources. that he told investigators that his younger brother had autism. that's all we know. but certainly, that's not an explanation. no one is saying that it is or even providing any kind of a motive or connection to what happened here. of course, authorities are looking at everything as they look at profiles. but we also, as you indicated, have heard now, we got a statement last night from the suspect's father and he issued this statement which reads in part, "our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. we are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. we, too, are asking why." those answers seem to be, john, in short supply. >> all right, susan candiotti, thank you so much, covering this investigation right from the very beginning. thank you, susan. as we continue our special coverage here in newtown, connecticut, again, we want to welcome our viewers here in the

united states and our international viewers, as well, who are just joining us right now. newtown is mourning. there is no question about that. the entire nation is reeling from what is happening here. people gathering in vigils and services to find some sort of comfort and pay tribute to those who lost their lives all too soon. we'll bring you some of those images and show you the names and ages of the 20 children and 6 adults who died at sandy hook elementary school. ♪ >> just a tragic, tragic situation for the teachers, the principals and those angels.

that's all i can think about are those angels. ♪ >> i mean, when things happen to your children and to other people's children. i can't look at my children's faces now without seeing the faces of every one of their schoolmates. ♪

♪ ♪

>> so unbelievably sad. those images so, so unbelievably powerful. for more information on how you can help those affected by this shooting, you can go to cnn.com/impact. the holidays are here and we're here with cyreeta talking about the walmart low price guarantee. that's your receipt from another store? it is! let's put it to the test. alright! that's walmart's everyday low price. get out! ok, but i'm taking these! ready? yes. there you have it! that much? that's the walmart low price guarantee. see for yourself. bring in your last receipt and see how much you can save. be ready. with the season's tastiest brands. like nestle toll house morsels. bake the very best this season. walmart has everything you need to be ready for holiday hosting. with our low price guarantee backed by ad match.

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i'm victor blackwell at cnn world headquarters in atlanta. here are some of the things happening this morning that we're following. just 16 days before the u.s. could hit the fiscal cliff, now, in washington, there could be a deal. at least they're close to a deal, possibly. a source close to the talks tells cnn that house speaker john boehner is willing to hike taxes on the wealthiest americans. that's something the president says must be included in any plan, but speaker boehner previously called tax increases on top earners a nonstarter. his office says there is no deal. president obama seems set to

nominate john kerry as his next secretary of state. united nations ambassador susan rice was the expexed choice, but you remember she pulled her name out of the running because of the controversy over her comments in the wake of the benghazi attacks. the formal announcement could come this week. outgoing secretary of state, hillary clinton, is resting at home after suffering a concussion. she has been battling a stomach virus and fainted. her office said it's not severe, but clinton will be forced to skip her appearance in front of the house foreign relations committee this week. she was expected to testify on thursday about the attack in benghazi, libya, on september 11th. no child should ever have to go through what the children at sandy hook elementary school went through. and now the children who survived that must get through the days ahead with what they've endur endured. a lot of us are having difficult conversations with our children,

with our framilies and we're having conflicted feelings. i want to bring in eric fisher to talk about this. we talked during the break and we talked a lot about how to speak to the kids. but before we go to kids, a lot of adults who are having a really difficult time coming to terms with this internally. i told you, i was out shopping for my goddaughter yesterday who is 7 and almost started tearing up in the tarth store. is it okay to show that emotion to children? >> almost a vicarious grief that we see the grieving other people are going through and with kids so many of us fear losing them that when we see other people grieving it brings out our own fears and we go through that grieving process without necessarily having to. it is perfectly okay to show emotion. it's okay to let your kids see some tears and say i really feel sad about some things that

happened around us. >> so, reject that feeling to be stoic and be the strong, stable one. >> exactly. to me, it takes more emotion to show the sadness and things than it does to put a brave face on. i know we want to be strong for our kids, but sometimes being strong for our kids is being real and honest and letting them know, you know, sometimes i don't always have to be in charge of my feelings and you don't either. manage them, talk about them because when they build up, then you can have a delayed grieving process that could come up in other situations. >> let's go to newtown. there is a couple we spoke with their two children survived the shooting. we want it listen to what they said and we'll talk about it on the other side. >> we had to put the sign out in the front today asking people not to ring the doorbell because he still hasn't internalized the fact that this gunman, this bad guy is gone. and he wants to know if there are more bad guys in the world and i don't know how to answer that question.

so, when someone rings the doorbell, he thinks it's him coming back, coming for him. and, so, he, you know, he -- so, i think our biggest concern now is making sure that we handle his sensitive nature properly and carefully. >> he wants to know if there are more bad guys in the world and if this specific bad guy is coming back for him. how do they answer it? >> you let them know as parents it's our job and place to protect you. in the school it's their job to protect you. we can't make promises to kids that nothing will happen. because a promise couldn't always be kept. we have to let them know in life events may happen, however, it's how we move through them and as a family, we love and support you, we take care of you, we're here to make sure you get the help and support that you need

and, you know, he has a whole process to move through, as well as a grieving process. also survivor's guilt process that he may go through as well as the fear that someone may come out of no where and cause harm. this will be a long process for him to work through. >> one of the common questions parents will have to answer, will this happen at my school? is this going to happen where i play? what do you tell them? because you can't promise. >> right. >> what do you say? >> you let them know that, again, these are the things that are in place to help keep you safe. you have a plan. set up a plan of where do i go if this happens. who do i call if something happens? the more that there's preparations and the more people have a plan the less fear is likely to step in. kids are going to be in that place, if they know about this event. my daughter has no idea what is going on, we kept the tvs off around her purposely. making sure she knows where to go if something happens or who to call is important.

>> there's one thing, i know we're running low on time, but there was one time when adam lanza was as innocent as the children he killed. the children will want to know, why did he do this? there may not be enough time that we get the answers from the investigation, what do you tell your children now about why he would do this? >> that sometimes we don't always know why they do the things they do, however, if we can pull together as the community and make sure kids aren't left behind and make sure kids with needs or with family struggles or things have the connections they need in their community to make sure they have support systems and they know how to communicate and that they have people who are helping them to make through even what seems like a simple problem, that may be more difficult inside and that's what we see in these situations. kids store things inside that build up to these issues. >> licensed psychologist eric fisher, thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles

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♪ mother and child holy infant ♪ >> this was from "saturday night live" last night. one of the truly most poignant tributes i've ever seen. nothing but kids singing "silent night." no comedy monologue open. it was this in tribute to the victims of the horrible shooting in newtown, connecticut. bravo, "saturday night live." >> it was very moving to see.

still moving to see it again this morning. should tell you president obama, he plans to travel to connecticut today. he will meet with some of the families and, as well as, he will meet with some of the families and attend a vigil here in newtown and also to be thanking first responders here in newtown. he'll be speaking at that vigil. and, obviously, something that i think many of the victims and the families and many of the people grieving here are looking, are looking for at this moment. >> the deadly shooting that shattered this quiet new england town is also reignited ongoing debate about the gun laws in america. everyone is just talking about that right now. our white house correspondent briana kee brianna keilar has more. >> reporter: a promise from president obama to tackle gun violence. >> we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.

>> reporter: what exactly does he mean by meaningful action? critics of the president's record on the issue are pressing for specific proposals. new york mayor michael bloomberg said calling for meaningful action is not enough. we need immediate act action. we heard all the rhetoric before. what we have not seen is leadership. not from the white house and not from congress. gun violence has not been a priority for the obama administration. as he ran for president in 2008, he supported running a ban on assault weapons. >> keeping ak 47s out of the hands of criminals. >> reporter: once selected, he did not make good on his campaign pledge. the brady campaign to prevent gun violence gave the president across the board fs on its report card. >> the senate will come to order. >> reporter: a major obstacle for the president, congress, where even in the democratic controlled senate, little appetite to touch the controversial issue. multiple gun control bills have

been introduced, not a single one has made it to the floor for a vote. those involved in the debate over guns say the president has number of options, reinstating some form of the assault weapons ban that expired in 1994, banning high-count magazines or improving the reporting of people with mental health issues to make sure they are disqualified from purchasing firearms. polls show americans have become accustomed to daily reports of gun deaths. friday morning, a shooter killed a memphis police officer who was a mother of four. friday night, a man shot and killed a woman working at a las vegas hotel before killing himself. early saturday morning in birmingham, alabama, police killed a gunman inside a hospital where three people were hurt. but new york congresswoman carolyn mccarthy whose husband died and son was injured when a shooter opened fire on a long island train in 1993 said the connecticut shooting may be what forces president obama and congress to finally address the problem. >> let's face it, we need to

have the president as the bully pulpit on trying to get something done. this time what i saw was different that politicians that usually don't talk about it were talking about it. so, there is a difference this time around. there is a difference maybe the pendulum is turning and the country is ready to get serious about this issue. >> jay carney said friday it is the time to express sympathy for victims' families, not the time to engage in a policy debate. but i spoke with congresswoman mccarthy and she said she called up the white house and said, what are you talking about? this is something we should have been discussing for years. brianna keilar, cnn, the white house.

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