Photos: 2012 top news stories from near and far
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Credit: The Associated Press
MASS SHOOTINGS
Armed with a high-powered rifle, 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and shot dead 20 children — all ages 6 and 7 — and six staff members in the second-worst school massacre in U.S. history. Sadly, it was only one of several mass shootings, including the killing of 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. After the Newtown tragedy, President Barack Obama and many others, including some staunch gun-rights supporters, said it was time to find ways to rein in gun violence.
NEWTOWN, CT - DECEMBER 17: A woman comforts a boy as mourners depart Honan Funeral Home after the funeral for six-year-old Jack Pinto on December 17, 2012 in Newtown Connecticut. Pinto was one of the 20 students killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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