bill: we are live from new town connecticut again today. we're waiting an update from the police on the investigation into the tragic mass shooting. the massacre in this small town. as the community grieves the deaths of youngest and most innocent. first of 27 funerals. 6-year-old noah posner and 6-year-old jack pinto. to be laid to rest 1:00 eastern time. it will be aifficult day.

i'm bill hemmer live in this special edition of "america's newsroom.". martha: good morning bill in connecticut. i'm martha maccallum in the new york studio. we watched last night an emotional memorial service. hundreds of people packed into the auditorium at newtown high school. president obama meeting first and separately with the families of those who were lost. it must have have been a very difficult meeting for all involved in that room last night. we saw representatives from ail faiths, many faiths taking the stage with a message of hope and reance. >> i know that newtown will prevail it is a defining moment for our town but it will not define us. >> i assure you at beginning of winter i see the beginning of a snowfall. i will think of those 27

souls lost just a few days ago. each time the day gets a little longer i will think and dream of the lives that might have been and the lives that were so full of grace. bill: president obama then took the stage +++zq%

>> allison. god has called them all home. for those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on. make our country worthy of their memory. bill: we get to the gruesome details that occurred on this site. right around this time on friday morning. rick leventhal my colleague with me this morning. rick, the mother nancy was shot four times in the head and found in her own home still wearing her pajamas and that's where we believe investigators will pick up today. what is the focus now as we

start this day, rick? >> reporter: bill, the primary focus for investigators is determining what might have propelled this troubled 20-year-old to shoot his own mother and gun down 26 other innocents. we have learned, through family and friends that adam lanza had a form of autism known as asperger's. that he was troubled. that he spent most of his time/8w inside the family home and that friday morning he woke up, went to his mother's bedroom and shot herself times in the head before taking four of her weapons, taking her car, and driving to nearby sandy hook elementary school where he gunned down six adults and 20 children, all aged 6 and 7. investigators are pouring over a smashed computer found in the family home. also going through phone and credit card records, looking for any and all types of clues that might lead to some answers here. there may not be any as you know, bill. we have heard that the mother, took her son

shooting. that's where he learned how to shoot apparently, the weapons that her mother legally owned. but beyond that investigators have a lot of questions still to answer. bill: it is extraordinary to think amount of devastation caused in 10 minutes or less according to police. we've been hearing from police that this could have been even worse than we know it today. how is that possible, rick? >> reporter: well, he was carrying a very powerful bush master.223. it is an ar-15 military assault weapon. it is the most power gull gun in america and carries 30 round clips. went through several of those. had several more clips unused a couple with of handguns and unspent bullets as police were closing in. here is what we heard from lieutenant paul vance yesterday. >> the weapon utilized most of the time in this horrific

crime was identified as bushmaster. ar-15 assault type weapon. it had high capacity magazines. in addition to that the subject had in his possession a glock 10 millimeter, a sigg sauer 9mm, all weapons had multiple magazines and additional ammunition. >> reporter: police told us when they were closing in, when they arrived at the school and were closing in on adam lanza, that is when he used one of the handguns to put a bullet in his own head, bill. bill: there were hundreds of rounds of ammunition found inside the school that were left, either on his person or in that classroom that went unused. now, police have been very cautious on these press conferences. a lot of information frankly went out on friday and saturday that has not proven to be true and a lot of that information was pulled back. i thought the information they gave out last night was precious and few. when it came to facts.

do we believe through the, i guess you there the benefit of time that we could learn more from this briefing today or can we answer that, rick? >> absolutely. in any of these kind of investigations they try to keep many of the facts to themselves as they process it. it slowly is released. on friday there was a lot of confusion even among investigators, including some federal sources i was speaking with exactly how these events played out. what we do know now this young man woke up, killed his mother, went to the school and executed everyone else before killing himself. the investigators may release more information what they found in the family home, what they found in these computer records, whether this young man may have left behind some sort of manifesto or made any threats online before carrying out this attack we'll hopefully find out in the next hour or so, bill. bill: i think you would agree with me, paul vance has been an outstanding law enforcement officer and advocate for the people here

in connecticut since this ordeal began. we will see him momentarily. >> reporter: one other +++)9n

bill: wom next to him. in the same condition. they would get up and leave another group would come in. and have the exact same reaction. that gives you a small, idea

martha: in the town this morning. and the president, much the united states, we watched him last night. he vowed to take action as well. he pointed out that as president he has been down this road too many times. he has grieved with families of four different mass

shootings in this country. more must be done to protect our children. >> can we honestly say we're doing enough to keep our children. all of them, safe from harm? we're all together there letting them know that they're loved and teaching them to love in return? can we say that we're truly children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in=3 happiness and with purpose? i've been reflecting on this the last few days and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. we're not doing enough. and we will have to change.

can we do, what will we do as a nation? martha: connecticut senator joe lieberman is call for national commission on violence to take on this issue and get our arms around it in a nonpolitical way is what so many people are calling for. he joins us later this hour. we will speak with him. we've got much more ahead this morning and we are following some other stories that are happening out +++;÷& [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

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former fbi investigator and senior vice president of the control risk security consulting. interest michael stone is professor of psychiatry at columbia university. both of you, gentlemen,

thank you for your time here. these are difficult questions, dr. to try to figure out what i can tell you after talking with people. he woos the standout who was socially incapable of relating to other people. when he would walk down the sidewalk he would stop and stare at other people and stair and stare and until people left and went away from them. why he acted that way was not well-known. and i think the question, doctor, is, where's the trigger point to take an individual who was vulnerable and went own friday morning. >> read something about the situation between him and his mother. every day we learning is a little bit knew. he was perhaps to go to

college. at same time, 20 years old and wanted to feel that he could do without her and not being a sissy or, peculiar person, that needed mother-to-be with him or nearby, all the time, so i think there is something in that chem chris that made him, really blow and get unhinged and move into a state of rage. i mean, the one thing that stands out about mass murderer they are always fueled by white hot rage. it is different from serial killers, cool, plodding, stalking, driven by lust. mass murderers are different. so something touched off the rage and i think it had to do with something odd in the relationship between the mother and him particularly as he is is, she is trying

to find places around the country he could go to different college. bill: yeah. bill, i want you to add to that, but i want you to consider this as well. the people who i talk to in sandy hook, say this mother tried to do everything humanly possible she could to help her own son. and this was a lifelong struggle for her. i think there were good days and frankly there were bad days. friday was an absolute awful day. how do you answer that question? >> well, bill, you know, you can only to a small degree try to understand what may have been happening in that home and, with him and his condition and how his mother was trying to work with him. we're hearing now she took him for outto the range to use, use a weapon, you know. but one. other things she was doing to help him along?

she was dedicating her life to him. however i think one of the important things that is coming out of all this, bill, this is number on different levels. discussion about mental health. it is discussion about issues in our society. it's the discussion around school safety and security. none of them stand alone. it becomes intermingle and could joined process. so to think any one of them by themselves would have taken care of this, i think would be naive. bill: bill, thank you. doctor, thanks so you as well. we're awaiting on the news conference. lieutenant paul vans from the connecticut state police department. we'll do briefing. he handled them beginning friday afternoon. this is source of great information for us as to the investigation. and as to the wife. gentlemen, thanks to both of you. i can tell now motive announced yet. no word on that. no word on diaries or computer information will

certainly if found and discovered, when deciphered will be critical component to the investigation. we're waiting that here in new town. go back to new york and more with martha. martha: it is monday morning and the wheels of normalcy are trying to start to turn again in way they can. we are observing moments silence and schoolchildren are gathering to remember those lost over the weekend on friday. let's go to the new york stock exchange where they are, in a moment of silence right now. as they remember those lost just a couple of weeks before christmas. we'll be right back. [moment of silence]

martha: this morning as these families begin to deal with the unthinkable, some are remembering mayor precious loved ones like emilie parker. her father was the first one to speak out. he recalled the last moment he saw his little girl. >> she told me good morning and asked how i was doing and i said i was doing well. she said she loved me and i gave her a kiss and i was out the door. my daughter emilie would be one of the first ones standing and

giving her love and support to all those victims because that's the time of person she is. martha: he remembers her as a bright young girl who loved to draw. and she was teaching her sisters how to read. the nfl paid tribute to the shooting victims. the new england patriots ... >> join in a moment of silent reflect as we light a flare for each of the victims. martha: 26 white flares were sent into the sky. also the new york giant paid their respect as well. victor cruise recalled one of the victim's families after

recalling that they were huge fans. he wrote jack pinto on one glove and on one of his cleats he would jack pinto my hero. his funeral is one of the two today. they are one of the fir of the funerals that will take up a large part of the course of this week. he says he was humbled to know that jack would be buried wearing his cruise jersey. bill: martha, we just saw lieutenant van leave the firehouse behind me. the firehouse to my right -- this is the area that's 100 yards down the road from the school. this you will recall is the place where so many students were told to run out of the

building, go through the parking lot and meet up with the firehouse. many of the families came here at 10:00 in the morning friday morning to find their young children. 20 parents went home without a child that day. the firehouse is where a lot of police have been working out of. the state police, too. there are 26 triple trees that have been set up. this is another makeshift memorial that late last night in the rain and cold in sandy hook, con. they allowed people to come up this road about a half mile from the center of the village and place the wreaths and the balloons and decorate the christmas trees. they are so poignant. when you saw the ornaments on the trees and the mementos people have brought and they have left.

it really tugs at you. it's a reminder of a loss how people peel an intimate connect to the lives of the young, ages 6 and 7. we'll share a bit more that in town with you. we are awaiting this news conference. when it begins we'll hear from paul vance and we'll hear what he has to say. they have been very careful about the information they give out from the very beginning. martha: obviously motive is one of the things people are trying too what their heads around. we are hearing more with adam lanza. his parents divorced. his family moved to in the *. h -- moved tonewtown.

from what we know about him. social interacross was difficult for this boy. he was known in high school to carry around a black briefcase instead of a backpack and he never wanted to let that briefcase go. we know that he was also had looked at engineering schools with his mother. that raises questions about how he felt about that transition. whether he was open to that transition in his life. these are the things people are poring over as they try to figure out the why, which is the huge question here. we'll see what we learn from this news conference as it gets underway in a couple minutes. bill: we are just getting word of this and we are working through it. we are not quite sure what's happening. the schools in this area are

closed. but the town of ridgefield about 30 minutes away which is west of here a couple miles. apparently the schools are under lockdown because of a suspicious person at the nearby train station. we don't know if this will amount to anything, it may be a sense of paranoia. but this goes along with what we were told last night at the catholic church inch town. they had 800 people gather fear memorial service. there was a threat that came out and the pastor came out and had to have everybody move out of the church. there was a strong warning that went out from the police. if you are making anonymous threats online through social media you will be prosecuted and held accountable. expect to hear something similar from the lieutenant here in a matter of moment. >> good morning.

what we would like to do i provide some details, some updates. i would like to open up, the lieutenant is going to open up with a message from the superintendent of schools. >> the healing is still going on. schools are working closely with all the faculty, students and parent to try to be respectful and try to resume what normalcy we can after a tragedy such as this. all the faculty is meeting today at the newtown high school to plan further on how to atrets needs of the student and faculty involved in this horrendous

tragedy. there will be no school today. the plan is to try to resume normalcy for school classes tomorrow except for those members at the sandy hook school. they will be excused until further notice. they are developing plans how to best handle that as we speak. >> we are continuing the line of communication with the troopers and officers assigned to the families as we begin the services. additional troopers have been assigned to work each one of the funeral services with local officers and other police partners. we are asking the media again at the family's request to respect their privacy as they go through this extremely difficult time. as i stated, major crime detectives have been working 24 hours a day since the tragedy

occurred and will continue to do so indefinitely as they continue to answer questions surrounding this tragedy and how and why it occurred. there are many, many witnesses that need to be interviewed. we'll not stop until we interviewed every last one of them. we are holding both crime scenes, the school and the secondary crime scene indefinitely. we seized it under search warrants and we'll hold those locations until we completed our work. so not to read anything into that. it's common practice to hold onto the crime scene long it's needed for investigation purposes. we have begun analyzing the evidence. the weaponry. every single facet of the

weapons will be analyzed. every single round of ammunition will be looked at for physical evidence. i alluded to the volume of round that were seized and recovered. each singular round will be examined. it gives you an idea of the painstaking length of that process. we'll analyze every single piece. i cannot detail any evidence or what that evidence is for purpose consumption. i want to restate again and thank you for helping us in this, but any threats, any information intended to misleed investigators in this case will be completely and thoroughly investigated and prosecuted if anyone attempts to threaten or misleed this investigation.

-- mislead this investigation. state police decks have been assigned to investigate those. the crisis teams are still in place. i what to give you that phone number again. there are many people in town and this phone line is open to anyone who needs to discuss anything or needs support from professionals. they are staffing this line from the hospital. 203-2o 70-4283. -- 270-4283. there are certain areas we cannot go down at this point in time. questiothe local police departms

handling that situation. there is a roofort suspicious person who may be armed. we are not sure what the situation is. we sent appropriate personnel to assist but richfield is handling that situation. there are no updays. the schools are safe with the ridgefield police department. they are handling that. >> you mention you are interviewing witnesses, that includes children. >> i don't want to get into details. it's a tender issue. any interview with children will be done with parent and professionals and parents as

appropriate. the investigators will determine how, when, where and why. we'll handle that he can real liddell cattily when the type arises. >> did any medical or mental health professionals come forward to say if they are treating adam lanza? >> we would encourage anyone with information to come forward who could assist us in this investigation. when i talked about the weaponry involved, the same thing hold true with the suspect. we'll go back to the date of birth and continue on through. we'll and every single question determining any medical condition or any issue they may have been involved in. i'm not at liberty to discuss content or any information so far uncovered. but suffice it to say, we'll cover every single facet. >> there are reports there were

concerns will adam lanza -- >> there was no previous contact or concerns prior to this tragic event. >> is there more detail how he got in the school and what he did won inside. >> i can't do that. it's too difficult to discuss. i can tell you as i have been telling you, the suspect forced his way into the school before and as he began to take human life therein, i simply don't want to and it's not appropriate for to us go any further with that. >> [inaudible] more information -- firearm. >> the question is are we checking. yes, were check can the weaponry. atf and other state agencies are

search every record, searching everything we possibly can uncover. if anybody had contact with the suspect in any location we want to talk to them if we haven't reached them yet. >> has progress been made trying to get information from the computers. our computer crimes unit work as part of the forensic laboratory are working nonstop examining any information that was seized. all the electronic evidence will be analyzed and we'll dissect it. >> did adam destroy evidence at his home? >> i can't discuss the evidence. >> is there a second survivor? >> there are two adult that were injured in the school that suffered gunshot wounds and are

recovering. i don't have any information about what he was carrying on his person. >> there is no information on how he got his brother's i.d.? >> is there a surveillance system inside that school? >> i don't have that information. >> [inaudible] >> that will and town decision with town leaders. again we are possessing that school. we are holding that school as a crime scene and i can't tell what you that means. i don't know how long that will be. i'm suspecting months. at that time it's up to the town officials to determine what many appropriate with that facility. >> can you talk about how the two survivors are helping? >> we provided the survivors

with the same con diet as we rided all the victims in this case. law enforcement escort, if you will. our investigators will speak with them when it's medically appropriate and certainly they will said a great deal of light on the facts and circumstance of this tragic investigation we are undertaking. bill: we are told to respect the privacy of the families there. something we'll well respect here in sandy hook. what i eerie about this time on the clock. it's 9:42 shais a.m. it was 72 hours at this moment down this street where the massacre took place. there is more news now. for that back to martha in new york. martha: we want to get this information to you. breaking news in the political

world as was much anticipated. representative tim scott will replace the outgoing senator jim demint to lead the heritage foundation. he will move on to do that. representative particular scott has been chosen by governor nikki haley to take his place. he will become a senator. bill: in the aftermath of what happened here in newtown. calls for a federal commission on violence. there are so many areas of focus here. senator joe lieberman is leading that charge. he's my guest as we all try and make sense of this. but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help

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the school will be a crime scene until further notice. everything has been blocked off and for good reason. a community and frankly the country numb with grief as we remember the victims of one of the worst mass murders in history. my next guest knows the state very well. amid the sorrow he's calling for a national commission on violence to prevent this from happening again. joe lieberman, independent senator, good morning to you. whether it's violent movies, video games, mental health, the relationship of a paint and a child and a child with a parent, you were talking this weekend about a way to get at this. how do you do that? >> as president obama said last

night in a moving and eloquent and important speech here in connecticut. this is complicated. by the fact that it's complicated doesn't mean we can turn away from it or let it get stopped in legislative gridlock because these tragedies continue to occur. they mean as a society we are failing to protect ourselves. in the newtown case failing to do the most elemental responsibility of a civil society and that is protect our children. i'm talking about a national commission on mass violence. i don't want us to leave the heartache and anger that we feel at what happened in newtown here. i want to engender -- i think the president does too, a national conversation in which we ask ourselves how can we as best pass possible stop this

from happening. there is a pattern here. most of these horrific acts of mass violence are committed by young men who in hind side everybody says were -- hindsight they were troubled. they have been involved with violent entertainment culture, then they get guns. we have to bring everybody to the table including the gun rights and the entertainment industry. this our national problem and we have the ability to at least make sure that fewer children, hopefully never again children like this will be killed in one of these events. bill: it's difficult here and fully respecting your response. from the outside looking in. people wonder what can be done.

where can a covering like that lead? i don't know if there is a clear answer for that right now. >> i thought what the president said louisiana night the fact that it's complicated doesn't mean when can't do anything about it. if we can save the life of one child in the country then it's worth it. but part of this about stabbing a commission is to make sure that all the he moags we feel now don't just go away over a period of week or months. but there are thing we can do. there are thing we can say to people, parent, friend, teachers. when you see a child, a young man particularly showing signs of being in trouble, let's find out how to make sure it get the best mental health. the entertainment culture, i

think they have got to accept some responsibility. obviously not every child or young man who plays a violent video game is going to become a shooter. but there are people out there in my opinion made more violent by these games. >> >> . ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

martha: we'll be continuing to go back to newtown throughout the morning. but we want to bring you a bit of news in the headlines. egypt possibly on the brink of a new round of violence after islamist leaders claim they have a majority of the votes in the first round of this every even dumb on this highly controversial draft of the constitution that would give the

leader many powers many believe he should not have. what has been the reaction to the first result? >> evenings are high after the first round of voting on the draft constitution here in cairo and elsewhere. the result were closer than expected. the turnout lower than usual according to opposition figures. the vote was marred by irregularities. the opposition leaders are calling for more protests at the presidential palace, tahrir square and the street leading up to the u.s. embassy. martha: how do they see this playing out? >> this is the first round of voting. the second round is saturday.

critics say it's islamists. the defenders say it's critical. these result should further extend the divide near this country. keep alive the violence and the challenge of recovery. martha: thank you very much, gregg palkot. bill around one other thing we learned today is there are many witnesses still to be questioned. many of them may include small young children. but it will be done in the fullest amount of respect with people on hand to help police do that. the crime scene could be sealed for months. this elementary school 100 yard down the road may never open again. president obama trying to heal the nation. and a poignant salute to the

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martha: a somber reminder of friday's tragedy in newtown, connecticut. the parent of two young children prepare to lay them to rest today. it's a crime that police are still trying to piece together more than 72 hour after the first shot was fired. >> state police major crime detectives have been working 24 hours a day season this tragedy occurred and will continue to do so indefinitely as they continue to answer questions surrounding this tragedy and how and why it

occurred. they are continuing to interview witnessed. there are many, many witnesses that need to be interviewed. we'll not stop until we interviewed every last one of them. we have gun procession and analyzing the evidence. as i stated yesterday. the weaponry. every single facet of the weapon will be analyzed. every single round of ammunition will be looked at and examined for physical evidence. martha: so much work to be done such hard work lies ahead of them. the witnesses, so many of them are young children. welcome back to a brand-new hour of this special edition. i'm martha maccallum. bill: noaa pozner and jack

pinto, they will be laid to rest today. martha: peter, what's the latest? >> reporter: the latest is police are saying local authorities had no contact with adam lanza before friday. the local authorities don't have anything on record of that. they did say there are two adult witnesses recovering from gunshot wounds. their testimony is going to be helpful in figure out what happened inside the school. you heard the police say they have major crime detectives working 24-hour shift. they are going to trace the guns that were used and they will look at every piece of ammunition that was used. hundreds of round from multiple

magazines. >> every single facet of the weapons will be analyzed. every round of ammunition will be looked at for physical evidence. i alluded to the volume of round that were seized and recovered. each singular round will be examined. >> reporter: you heard there are many, many witnesses. we are told when they are interviewed their parent will be present and those interviews will be done as delicately as possible, martha. martha: it will be very difficult. we just saw some video from last night. the president in what has become one of the most difficult duties of the presidency had to meet with grieving parent of small children in this situation. how was his speech and his time in newtown received by the people there? >> reporter: it was received really well. i watched the entire interfaith

service at a local restaurant with 30 people from the area. they sat in complete siren for the hour and a half. they were emotional but they seemed hopeful based on the pledge the president made. >> here at newtown i come to offer the prayers and lover of a nation. i am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of sorrow. nor can they heal your wounded hearts. >> reporter: the focus here in newtown is on all the first grader and educators who lost their lives so early. their stories, the more they learn are heartbreaking. but they are important to tell. you have got 6-year-old charlotte bacon who died wearing a ping dress and boots her mom wanted to keep set aside until the holidays.

charlotte about kept begging her and it ended up being the last thing she wore. there is also rachel divino and her boyfriend was going to propose and christmas eve. beater, thank you very much. peter doocy. the church in newtown will be the host of 10 funerals this week and next week. it reminds me of 9/11 when we saw multiple funerals taking place in local churches in this area. very, very hard for these communities. bill: you can't hit a golf ball or throw a snowball in this town

without hitting a church of some denomination. faith is so important to the people who live in newtown. there is a makeshift memorial. there are many of them set up throughout town. this is the area where they set up 26 christmas trees over the weekend. and nower in allowing people from the community to walk the half mile down this road to place flowers or lay a wreath or hang an ornament. this is the closest you can get to the elementary school. you have to go 100 yard down dickinson lane and peel to the right in the parking lot before the school reveals in front of you. this is how we grieve and this is how so many have come to recognize the lives taken from us. three days agree we have seen some women come down from the town and hug each other as they get close. if you were to go half a mile

down from that christmas tree location you would arrive at the only traffic light in sandy hook, and we were there a short time ago. this is the christmas tree set up in the village of sandy hook. and there are so many poignant ornaments and reminders and artifacts gathered here. this memorial has grown enormously the past few days. you look at some of the christmas bulbs. this one of noah pozner. , a lego stand. this caught my eye. state police of connecticut. wrapped around a teddy bear. the police have been so wonderful and so professional. and i think it's an indication and strong nod to the people of

connecticut, they have a lot to be proud of with this police department. you see the area, it has grown by the day. the balloons and teddy bears and the wreaths and flowers. this christmas tree over here. it has the names -- it's small just like a child at that age. there is chase this is dawn hochstrung. and emilie parker whose father came out saturday night and had such a wonderful tribute to his daughter. this is the center of sandy hook forever to be remembered with prayers and thoughts. for those who have left us. forever.

this is a local newspaper from danbury called "the news times." it has a picture of the president. "teach them well" in quotes. you see the black banner of 27 who left us including the name of nanny lanza, the mother of adam lanza, the killer, age 20. more in a moment. we expect a briefing again shortly. we'll get more information. in the meantime we are going to talk to lieutenant paul vance. my apologies. sorry about that. we'll try and push this story forward. martha: you make such a good point about the troopers there and lieutenant vance has been so remarkable, what real backbone for this town.

it's strange to see that combination where there should be christmas gift to see the juxtaposition of the mourning of the names of the young children, so many of whom were looking forward to christmas with their families. we mourn the loss of those young children and all of the victims and we are remembering some of the heroes who died protecting others. the ornaments even more on those trees. dawn hochsprung was the principal of sandy hook elementary. by all accounts she lunged out into the hallway area and took on the killer to try to stop him and she was one of the initial casualties of this horrific crime. she is credited with alerted classes before she was killed and fellow colleagues who nearly walked into the line of fire. she was able to protect them as

well. colleagues say she treated everybody in that school as family. >> just like her student. she cared for her family. she talked about the family. she was a great mother, stepmother, a wife. her family lived in our town. it's a small community. we would see each other in the grocery store. i continually asked her to come back to our school system but she was happy moving forward with her career. it's a great tragedy. our thoughts and prayers go out to her family. martha: we heard the police update. the shooter's aunt is releasing personal details of the struggles he faced before the vie schedule took place. and the parents of two young victims will be the fir to have

the funerals today in that tragedy. we'll discuss the role of religion in america's healing process this week as we try to find the strength amid faith for such devastating heartbreak. and as the president issues a call for change to come from this national tragedy we'll debate what he thinks needs to be done to make sure that this never happens again. >> i have been reflecting on this. if we are honest with ourselves the answer is no. we are not doing enough. and we'll have to change.

martha: monday morning now. americans are still trying to make sense of the tragedy that unfolded in newtown last week, if such a thing could really ever happen. we're getting a better picture of some of the personal issues that plagued this shooter, adam lanza, from family members who watched his parents struggles with their troubled son. >> i know she had issues with school. she mentioned she wound up homeschooling him. she battled with the school district. in what capacity i'm not 100% certain. if it was behavior or learning disabilities, i don't know. he was very, very bright boy. if she.

they were type of parents when they were married and separate lated if kids had a need this would definitely fill it. martha: boy, so much confusion and just trying to understand how do you get to this point? he was reportedly devastated by his parents divorce back in 2009. his father says, quote, we two are asking why, why. imagine what his family is going through as well because, we've heard that even, from one of the little girl, emily parker's dad said he felt sympathy for the family of the shooter. everybody offering condolence ares to the families of those lost loved ones and insured as well. president obama used his speech at last night's prayer vigil in newtown, connecticut, to comfort a shattered community and grief-stricken nation and to call for change as a result. >> we just can't tolerate this anymore.

these tragedies must end. and to end them we must change. we will be told that the causes of such violence are complex and that is true. no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. but that can't be a an excuse for inaction. martha: so what needs to be done? the president raises an extremely important question here. it is worth talking about and reflecting on this morning. we are glad to do that this morning with kirsten powers, "daily beast" columnist and fox news contributor and tony saying, former press aide to gop vice-presidential nominee and jack kemp and radio news service. good morning to both of you. as we try to shake off so

tom extent and make real assessments about it. you both grew up roughly when i did. we had fire drills once in a while. my children go to school, we talked over the weekend. they said oh, yeah we have three different kinds of drills we do. once a month do rotating drill. one to get as far away from the school as possible. in the other we're supposed to barricade ourselves into a room. they go through the rituals, tony, on a regular basis as kids do across the country. you have schools saying we're bringing in additional security. we didn't grow up like this. what's going on? >> martha, i think we're so united right now over this tragedy which affects anybody. any person with a heart beat in america suffers for the families and lost people and children especially in massacre and i think we should seize this moment to try to work together, we're not going to solve this problem but we could address certain aspects of it. because one mad men or

sociopath or deranged person will never conform or submit to rational law. to the president's point, that doesn't mean we don't try to do something. one. ideas come out in the wake of this, you discussed it with senator lieberman, is this commission on violence because violence is such a multidimensional complex issue. it comes parts of the entertainment industry. comes from the breakdown perhaps in people's families. comes from bullying. comes from the lack of faith i think. the advocated in our parts of our society today. and gun control is also a part of that conversation. so i think if we're able to get, maybe a guy like joe lieberman to head up a commission with a real mandate to address ways government can really protect children i think we should perhaps start that conversation. martha: family, violence and guns. those are the three words, kirsten. the breakdown of the family. extreme amount of violence we live with and see in our society. these assault weapons that

are war weapons, that are part of the culture as well, kirsten? >> yeah. i mean people talk a lot about the aspect of the hollywood and videogames. i'm not really sure what the government can do about that. we can look at it and advocate people don't consume this. there is very little we can do to stop people putting it out. the two places where government can do something on mental health issue. providing support to parents. a lot of parents who face what the mother of this shooter, this killer faced which is mentally ill children and there aren't a lot of resources to deal with them. if people want to have someone committed who they think it is dangerous it is very difficult. so those things need to be looked at. gun control needs to be looked at. yes, it's true a crazy person may go out and do something crazy but if they don't have a semiautomatickic it will be a lot harder for them to cause the kind of carnage we saw here. we have to look at that and

look at some kind of limitations we're willing to put on some of our rights. martha: you both make very good points. we have to talk about the issue of institutionalizing and why it is so difficult. are there times when that is appropriate action to take to protect others. quickly, tony. >> sorry. to kirsten's point, there is a bill right now, h.r. 2600, pediatric brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability under 25 in america and leading cause of mental illness and mental health issues in children that end up becoming problematic. has bipartisan support in the house. needs a sponsor in the senate. the president should consider supporting this initiative. martha: very good point. tony, kirsten, thanks so much. >> thank you. bill: martha, we'll speak with lieutenant paul vance who will be my guest in a moment. his investigators are working through a massive crime scene in and around sandy hook elementary school a shattered community coming together to grieve as funerals get underway today.

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bill: two funerals planned for today. both young boys ages 6, to begin about 1:00 this afternoon here in new town, connecticut. we were just talking with police officers who led the investigation here from day one. i want to bring them in right now, lieutenant paul vance from the connecticut police department and lieutenant george sinko from the newtown police department. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. bill: in our line of work we see a let of this. nothing that compares to what happened 100 yards down dickinson lane here.

you jent men have been outstanding since day one. i know how incredibly difficult this must be for both of you. thank you for your time. >> thank you. bill: what information can you provide on threats of various churches colling in. >> as we allude to, under no circumstances anything funny about this. or can be treated funny. threats or statements of harm or anything like that is going to be fully investigated, fully responded to. if any violations of state law have occurred or federal law have occurred they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. bill: how many threats have you seen? >> only seen a couple. bill: online orively? >> telephone threats but, having it reviewed by the u.s. attorney and state's attorney they have indicated there is no room for this. there is no room for anything to mislead investigators, to make statements on the internet or online or social media pages anything along those lines that would cause harm to this investigation, slow it down in any capacity. therefore that statement has

been very firm and very clear. bill: tough question here. how important is it to this investigation to talk to the five, 6, 7-year-old children who came running down this street on friday morning? >> i have to tell you that the state police detectives working with support agencies and newtown police detectives will have a very, very difficult time talking with these people, with the survivors and any and all witnesses. but they're going to do it. they will do it gently, appropriately, with appropriate support and parental involvement. certainly our intent to peel back this onion, answer every single question and paint a very clear picture what happened. bill: to be clear, you can not conclude your investigation without talking to them? >> most probably, most probably they're all going to have to be talked to. bill: it will be tough as you point out. lieutenant, you spent a lot of time with the families. and you've asked us to keep our distance and we hope we

have respected that. we believe we have and will continue to do that. >> thank you. bill: how are they doing? >> unimaginable what they're feeling right now. i don't think they have still hit them completely. it will be a long healing process. bill: you think about the stages, first of shock. and then it's grief. and then comes the anger, are with are they in that series now? >> you know, the certainly the shock and grief is in there. what, we've had to endure here is unimaginable. our hearts go out to these families and right now that's all we're thinking about. bill: i talked to many people in town and they have told me everybody knew adam lanza. he was the awkward guy who always stuck out and no one really had an idea about how to relate to him. were you aware of him? >> i have no direct dealings with him. we really don't have a lot

of reports on him, as far as at the police department. so --. bill: criminal sense he has no record. so that's understandable. >> he is one of those guys that just, kind of flew under the radar a little. bill: really? under the radar? >> tragedy. bill: you're going to brief again this afternoon, i think at 12 noon. you've been very careful about the amount of information you have made public. >> yes, sir. bill: what is the process for you about in trying to keep things accurate? knowing when you consider the first 36 hours there has been a lot of information out there that's been pulled back. >> it is important we are timely and accurate to disseminate information to the public. we want the community, the state and the world to know exactly what is going on but there are also some issues we need to keep the cards

close to our chest as we further the investigation. we don't want any misinformation out there. we don't want any misleading information. we want to be clear, concise, accurate. we want people to know this investigation will take connecticut state police many months to complete. when we complete it we'll have a crystal clear picture what happened here. bill: the killer had a father. still does. he lives in connecticut. what was the relationship? >> i'm not familiar with that unfortunately. i haven't delved into that as far as my part of involvement here. but our investigators will dissect every piece of it. the family makeup. the history. family. relatives, friends, coworkers. students, anybody that the shooter had contact with will be interviewed. will be part of our conclusion and our investigation. bill: to your colleague, lieutenant, do you have anything to add on the relationship of the father and? >> we haven't had any contact with the father. you know, at this time we really have not had a lot of dealings with that family on

the police level. bill: he made a statement over the weekend. is there something else planned with him? an interview, a conversation? >> certainly any information that can assist us we're willing to talk to anybody that can help us here. bill: you're saying yes on that? >> we're certainly going to interview all family members, all family members, that can provide any information on the shooter. it is very important to our conclusion. bill: lieutenant paul vance, thank you. lt. george sinco. from the state of connecticut and the town of newtown. we'll see you again in 90 minutes. thank you, gentlemen. let's go back to new york and march with martha there. martha: those two gentlemen have been strong leaders for this community throughout the course of this weekend and we continue to could so. americans struggle to come to terms about this shooting. they turn to religion, faith, some sense of understanding about all of this. they try to find some sort of hope in the middle of all

of this heartbreak. >> they will move on. we will never forget. we will get better

martha: we got the answer to a burning political question this morning, and that was who will be the next senator from south carolina who will take over the spot for jim demint who left to run the heritage foundation. the new senator will be this gentleman, representative tim scott. he was appointed by nikki haley, at her discretion it was her ability to make that decision as senator from south carolina. it looks how that affects the political picture in the senate. that news breaking earlier this morning. all right. let's turn our attention to the on going crisis in syria. new attacks being launched in the town of darah as battles

rage on at a refugee camp in damascus. they say the army cannot defeat the rebels seeking to top the president's regime. where does that leave us? leland vittert joins us live from jerusalem where he is watching the story unfold. how significant is that statement by the vice president? >> reporter: in many ways, martha it is the statement of the obvious. what is so important is who is saying it. this may be the beginning of someone very close to president bashar al-assad looking to negotiate and exit, either for himself or for a larger group of the bashar al-assad regime. it is booking increasingly clear as we are watching the battles get closer and closer to damascus that the rebels are starting at lowe's to gain the upper hand. they are getting weapons from a number of gulf countries, they are becoming better trained and organized. they've had some significant victories here in the past and the government forces continue to fall apart in large part, although the civil war is still raging on, many say neither side

is going to be able to win. the question is has president r-r bashar al-assad or in this matter the vice president begun to look for a way out, with so grand negotiations. that's what the vice president talked about in his interview with a lebanese newspaper there. this continues as the violence is not only going between the rebels and of course the syrian troops but also affecting a number of civilians. some of the video that we have to show you from a palestinian refugee camp where there has been ongoing fighting and a recent attack by government troops is gruesome to say the least. there are a number of shots that we had to edit out because it got so bad there at that scene. the u.n. has stepped in to talk about the amount of civilians who are now in harm's way. it's becoming an increasingly difficult situation to tell who is on which side there inside the syrian civil war. there are a lot of thoughts, martha that even if president bashar al-assad and his regime leave some time soon or in the

coming months that may be the beginning of a new chapter in the civil war rather than some grand peace that would allow these thousands, if not tens of thousands and millions of civilians whose lives are in danger to be back safely at home. martha: we have seen that the change of power can sometimes not go smoothly. thank you very much. let's go to bill in newtown. bill: we are just a few hours away from the first of dozens of funerals to begin here in newtown in sandy hook, connecticut. we know the first responders possibly saved even more lives as hundreds of rounds of ammunition unused were found inside that school. that is next when we continue on the tragedy here at sandy hook in a moment. we're all having such a great year in the gulf, we've dided to

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bill: we know the attack lasted only ten minutes and it was the sirens of the first responders that forced the killer to turn his own guns and own ammunition on himself and take his life. but that was after so many young lives were taken from us. we are at the end of the road across the street from the fire house here where so many dozens and dozens, if not hundreds of young children from kindergarten to age four around this time, three days ago, came here to get away from the carnage they had just left and to meet their mothers and their fathers who came to find them and bring them home. if you go down the road here about a half mile you will find the only traffic light in this tiny, wonderful town. we were there a short time ago. the state troopers that are set up at that intersection prevent a lot of traffic frankly from moving down that road. if you went down the road about

500 yards you would arrive at the sandy hook elementary school. this is such a beautiful village of sandy hook. it's been invaded by, frankly so much media and traffic even at 7:30 in the morning. you can imagine in december with the snowfall how beautiful this village is with a river that cuts right through town, and the signs now that are set up, one after the other, after the other, in particular this one here, rest easy, angels, 12-14 12-14-12. and three days let's on 12-17, two funerals get underway two hours from now. martha, i have learned that one of the first police officers on the scene is about 25 years old, he hasn't spoken publicly yet. he's a u.s. marine, a veteran from the war in afghanistan, and what he saw inside that school far eclipsess anything he came

across in the war on terror overseas in the deserts and mountains of afghanistan. back to you. martha: it's going to be very difficult for those first responders to that scene to ever -- they will never be able to get those images out of their minds and everybody will try to move forward in some way, shape or form, bill. thank you very much. back here in new york we want to turn our attention to this story this morning, secretary of state hillary clinton is said to be at home recovering from a concussion today after a fall that she sustained when she fainted due to a stomach virus. the state department announced all of this over the weekend. we were awaiting the results of an independent review of the terror attack in benghazi. the details of which everybody looks forward to learning, and many had hoped would arrive before the election. now we are learning that mrs. clinton will not testify before the house and senate panels on thursday as was expected about that deadly

september 11th assault, and here on that congressman peter king. >> to really find out what happened ultimately i believe secretary clinton will have to testify. i have a great respect for secretary clinton and no one would know more about this than she would and no one would be in a position really to answer the tough questions more than secretary clinton. once she recovers i think it's important she testify. >> johnny isaacson joins me, a member of the foreign relations committee that would be hearing this testimony. good morning, good to have you with us today. >> tkp morninggood morning, martha. martha martha: we heard last week that she canceled a trip because of a stomach virus. what do you think of the fact that she will not testify and in her place we will hear from officials william burns and thomas neads.

>> we hope the secretary recovers soon, concussions can be bad. eventually i think the secretary of state should testify. secretary burns is a very competent individual but this is a tragic loss of a u.s. ambassador, the first loss of an ambassador since 1979, obvious break downs in security. we need to make sure we find out answers to all the questions and make sure we draw the line so it never happens again. martha: the committee will hear we understand from former ambassador thomas pickering and retired admiral mike mullen the former chief of staff. the one link we don't have still is the administration, the white house, in terms of the requests that we know came through from ambassador chris stevens for more security in benghazi. you know, what are the big holes in the story that you believe need to be filled in by somebody who would be privy to all that information? >> well, you just hit the heart of the story and that is why the administration would put susan rice on the point of the spear on the sunday after the attacks

with information that i don't think they believed to be totally krefpblgt and now we know it's not correct at all. that is the most important reason the secretary should testify, and we owe the american people the facts and all the facts. >> we of. martha facts. martha: we all understand an illness and the time to recover for secretary of state hillary clinton. and we hope she does that in a quick way it does seem odd in terms of susan rice that hillary clinton wasn't available that sunday either to come out and speak to everybody at home, and around the country about what happened in benghazi, and now this other delay. she is stepping down in january, now we are hearing that senator kerry is likely to be the next secretary of state. it raises a question whether or not we'll ever know what she knows about this situation. >> i think the administration realizes we'll never have closure on the facts in this case without the secretary's testimony. i've never seen her shy away from a fight or from any

questions, and i'm sure she will when she's recovered. martha: you do expect that you will still hear her testimony in -- have you been given any timeframe as to when that might be? >> i have not. but i can tell you one thing, i've reviewed enough of the tkoupblts the state department has given me, i've seen enough of the security tapes that were filmed the night of the incident. i've seen the history that led up to it. we had a terrible failure of security to protect the u.s. ambassador. we either acted or didn't act on information we had. we need full closure on this. full testimony, we need all the facts on the table and assure our diplomates around the world that never, ever again we will put them in harm's way like this. martha: there are those in your camp that believe that the answers are very important. senator we hope you get them. thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> thank you, martha. bill: jack pinto, noahposner,

two young boys age six. their funerals begin in two hours, and our coverage continues from newtown on yet another day from sandy hook. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do.

when jenna lee and i join you in ten minutes a look inside the investigation as to what happened at sandy hook elementary schoolment what investigators hope to find that will be the key to unlocking the mystery behind the motive. new details on the benghazi attack expected today. what led up to the september 11th ambush on our consulate to left four americans dead. the changing face of the u.s. senate, a major announcement an hour from now on who is to replace senator jim demint and what it means for the future of

the party. it's all coming up "happening now." bill: jon, thank you. the parents of two six-year-old boys get ready for the first funerals in the aftermath of the damage rehear in newtown. while noah posner and jack pinto may be the first laid to rest they will not be the last, ages six both of them. father john nan morris is a fox news contributor. and author spirrow joins us also. you can ask yourself why, you can try and figure out answers, whether it's gun violence, or whether it's video games -rblgs o, movies, mental health, relationship between a parent and child. put all of that aside and look at it in a simpler way, there are two forces in this world. one is good and one is evil. luckily the good usually wins,

but in this case the evil won out. >> i think you're onto something. at the same time we can't say the devil made him do it, right? in walking through this fire out and being with the people in the back here in the makeshift memorial, they are telling me we going to be better, we are going to be better. i think what you said, bill, yes we have forces of evil in our own lives, we have forces of good. it's time to double down on love. it just doesn't take a village it takes everyone in that village. bill: let me get the rabbi in here. once they they get the good is argue with the good and make the good go against the good. how do we go about understanding that in your view. >> when we have these events, what they are really are jolts, national jolts that should catapult us to an understanding of the vulnerability of life but therefore the seriousness in which we have a approach life and the precious necessary of

life. preciousness of life. after these events if we can love more and regard more and understand the appreciate shesness of our family and country there is something evil cannot defeat and that is the wonderful spirit of man to see the good, the precious the sacred. bill: well stated, thank you, rabbi. and thank you, father. i appreciate that. let's go back to new york again. martha: a short time away from the first of dozens of funerals in newtown, connecticut. as a community and the nation we grieve the loss of these children, their teachers, their principals and we have the latest developing details in this investigation. police are expected to hold another briefing about an hour from now. in the meantime we'll be right back. ♪

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martha: lot of thoughts today on how we got here, how this tragedy happened, bill, and talk about assault weapons which will come up, dianne feinstein has introduced a bill that will be out in january. also issues of mental health and institution in a liization and discussions that need to be had. in the end you think about these children and their families and the siblings of these children who are lost, and your heart -- you just want to wrap their arms around them and keep them in your thoughts and prayers today as we all so fervently do. bill: you think about the teachers and everyone else. really this is a day, the investigation is going to go forward. in one hour as you mentioned, martha we'll hear from lieutenant advance ye va nce yet again and see what information they are uncovering. for today the focus needs to