more from newtown straight ahead. first, though, john has a look at the other stories making news today. >> good morning, soledad. >>> all but three states in the grip of the flu epidemic. the cdc says the only states spared are california, hawaii, and mississippi. in new york, getting a flu shot is becoming tougher and tougher. there's been a run of the vaccine at some pharmacies and urgent care centers since governor cuomo declared a public health emergency. i'm joined by cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen. we hear the word epidemic. what does it mean? >> it's a big scary word. basically, when the centers for disease control takes a look at the number of people sick and dying from the flu, it's reached a certain level. it's an epidemic pretty much every year. every year we reach epidemic levels. the word itself doesn't mean much. what people really ought to be thinking about is how to keep from getting sick. get a flu shot, wash your hands, stay home from work or school if you're sick. >> since we're t

united in grief, united in hope, united in newtown. 27 wooden angels in newtown, one for each victim of the massacre. but one month later, that display and most of the other memorials have been taken down. gifts sent from all over the world now preserved in a warehouse to become part of a future permanent memorial. visible reminders of the tragedy mostly gone. the community, however, is still struggling. just today, dozens of family members gathered to announce a mission to promote a national dialogue on gun violence, mental health and school safety. for many of the families involved it's one way to honor the loved ones they lost. >> it is a sad honor to be here today. it has been a month since i lost my son, dylan, and 25 other families lost their loved ones. at times it feels like only yesterday, and other times it feels as if many years have passed. i still find myself reaching for dylan's hand to walk across the parking lot or expecting him to crawl into bed beside me for early morning cuddles before school. it is hard to believe he is gone. >> it is steel hard, the crime scene r

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>> yes. >> lives in newtown? >> she lives in newtown. >> she runs this committee, this is the committee who really decides who gets to be on the board. they pretend to have elections, but this committee is rigged. >> and she ran the nominating committee in 2012. there is a new committee in effect now. but the way the elections work, it is sort of like a communist politburo, nobody knows who is on there. >> you just finding out who is on there is difficult. >> absolutely, and supporters of the nra, but some claim it is a sham election. they hand-pick the candidates for the nra elections that get on the ballot. and 29 out of 31 candidates on the ballot are in fact picked by the nominating committee. every year, one or two get on by a petition of 250 members or more. the result is, the election is a done deal before the ballots go out. and pro-nra bloggers entered a complaint, that i don't know if i will fill it out, it is a waste of time, there is no discussion or debate in the process. it is simply about rubber st

we do in congress today to help the healing of newtown? >> thank you. >> thank you, my condolences. also to the representatives from the virginia shooting. my sincere condolences. we live in a culture of violence. the question is, how do we change from a culture of violence into a culture of education and a culture of peacefulness? it takes money. we here in congress have that ability. preventing mass shootings by way of banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, certainly something we should do. we need to get at the issue of violence that affects us with respect to handguns used primarily in inner-city areas to kill people. i am not advocating for a ban on handguns. do not get me wrong. i will say we need to address the issue of violence in our culture. i would like to know what kinds of resources are available to help students and help people in the community, adults, who have an emotional or mental disorders and whether or not we need to put more resources into that area. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. thank you for be

what they saw in newtown, connecticut. he talked about standing in the building opposite side appearance as they brought the children out of the school and parents would rush to grab the babies and hug them. at the end of the day they were 20 parents standing alone. that is what it took. the question is what we do about it? what can we do about it? we can only do as much as the american people help us do. we need to have their support. science cannot win this issue. we have to speak out. in the month after newtown, connecticut 126 innocent lives were lost, the semi automatic weapons and a person who never should have owned it. we had over 26 people killed on the streets of the city of chicago, victims of gun violence and the tragedy continues to repeat itself. i met with the police chief and talked about this and he brought with him a piece of evidence like you will see here. the night before it had been used in the streets of chicago. thank goodness a jam after one round and nobody was hurt or killed. but that is what thi

the president is looking to for more gun control in the wake of newtown. do you see any sign and you heard the conversation today, of a new willingness on congress to pass this kind of legislation? >> not much. they might -- i will assume they will consider various measures but ultimately the measures are not going to do much about unfortunately the mass kicks we had. the president didn't campaign on gun control. second term presidents do well when they try to implement what they told the voters they would focus on. he was going to focus on the economy. he didn't talk about gun control when controlled congress in 2009 and 2010 they didn't reinstate the assault ban. >> chris: but we did have newtown. >> we did have newtown but one incident does not tell you what policy should be and in any case as everyone pointed out a million times the particular things proposed would have is nothing to do with newtown. hot a single proposal on their menu that would have stopped mr. lanza from buying the guns and having the guns apparently. there would have been a registr

the gun used in newtown, connecticut is the kind that would be banned. he wants a limit on ammunition that could have reduced the number killed in aurora, colorado. >> if you want to buy a gun, you should at least have to show you are not a felon or somebody legally prohibited from buying one. >> reporter: it would tighten background checks, which could have helped prevent guns from getting into the hands of the columbine shooters. the president proposed clearing the way for schools who want armed guards to get them. but while he called for a study of violent video games, he made no mention of television or motion pictures. republicans responded negatively, including florida senator marco rubio, who issued a statement that said, in part, president obama is again using his power by imposing his policies via executive fiat. mr. obama pleaded with americans to confront congress directly. >> ask them what's more important. doing whatever it takes to get a "a" grade from the gun lobby or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for fir

in the wake of the newtown school shootings washington is getting ready for a battle over how to prevent more acts of mass violence. joining me are two people at the center of what is likely to be one of the first big political issues this year, larry pratt, executive director for gun owners of america and neera tanden, president of the center for american progress. welcome to fox news sunday. >> thanks. >> thank you. >> chris: vice president joe biden is expected to present his plan to prevent more massacres on tuchlzesday. but i want to put up remarkable numbers them. nra contributed $20 million to federal campaigns last year. $20 million and gun control groups gave $4,000. and, 50% of the members of the new congress, more than half have an a-rating from the nra. given all of that, how do you and other groups that feel as you do, hope to take on the gun lobby in practical terms? how do you match their money and clout on capitol hill. >> look, the nra spent a lot of money on the elections last cycle and didn't have a lot to show for it, especially if you look at the senate and a lot of

for me, though, over the past year it wasn't just newtown, though newtown was really the final straw for me, the tragedy of that day, it was also the fact that a realization as a parent that it's not safe now to send our children to schools or to send them to malls or even movie theaters or religious services. that what once was the exception is now becoming the rule. we can expect these type of mass shootings as a part of american life and i personally believe it's a combination of many things frfrplt violent american culture to mental health issues to gun issues. i think that's one of three issues. ideologues on both sides will disagree with -- take exception to one or two of those problems, but for me that is not about symbolism anymore, it's about saving children's lives and if it's true that dick cheney and george w. bush believe in the 1% solution if there was a 1% chance that we could stop another 9/11 they would do what it took to take rid of that 1% chance. the i think if that was our approach after 9/11 it should be our approach in protecting our children at schools and sho

although newtown and tucson are terrible tragedies, the deaths in newtown should not be used to put forward every gun control major that's been floating around for years because the problem is greater than just guns alone. i think the chairman's speech indicates that as well. any serious discussion of the causes of gun violence must include a complex reexamination of mental health as it relates to mass shootings, society as a whole has changed as well. and that statement is made, it's difficult for -- i think you see a lot of civility in american society has grown considerably in the last couple of decades. you see it here -- in the congress as well when we are partisan and don't treat each other with respect we ought to. there are too many video games that celebrate the mass killing of innocent people and games that attempt at at self-regulation finds their way into the hands of children. one video game released november of 2009, which is sold over 22 million copies in the u.s. and u.k., was for foreign distribution because the opening level depicted shooting innocent civilians in an airpo

weapons and high capacity magazines i just think the american people were ready for this and newtown was the catalyst but it's not like we're building from newtown from nothing you know i think there's a pent up demand saying we've got to do something i was optimistic that we could get legislation through this year i think newtown was just the sort of sad cotto of the sad exclamation point on a bloody year that i think has to lead to action will soon go away from the president i mean you know who knows if the president is really ready to embrace gun control legislation during his second term had newtown not happened you know that's a big i mean we were at the white i was at the white house in the first four years the administration i was there twice last week and they're serious about this they're working hard on this they're talking to all the experts they're trying to come up with a plan that works and you can see with joe biden the vice president going to richmond earlier in the week this is serious this is not a p.r. stunt for them they're investing their all in this is really go

up since newtown. does that tell you that investors at least think there's not going to be amainingful decrease in the value of gun manufacturers and in the sale of guns in america? >> well, i think what has happened is since the newtown shooting, gun sales have absolutely exploded. in the month of december, background checks with the federal government were up 58% indicating that there were very, very strong year-over-year sales in firearms. right now if you walk into most retails of firearms, the shelves are almost empty for both guns and ammunition. so that's part of the reason, you know, these firearm stocks are probably going to see record sales in earnings over the next few quarters as a result of that. >> this week a group of activists delivered 300,000 signatures to the walmart near newtown, connecticut, demanding that that retailer stop selling these modern sporting rifles. listen. >> we don't feel in a store where it's a family-friendly store, where you're buying a stroller and three aisles a

like newtown, that make the headlines. and in many of those cases measures like universal background checks will prevent quite a number of those shootings. host: robert, parkersburg, west virginia. independent line. good morning. caller: yeah. i just want to say a couple things there. number one, i am a gun owner. very responsible with the guns that i do have. and i do have an a.r. and i use it for hunting purposes. not just planking. and -- host: very quickly, what would you hunt with an a.r.? caller: i've got an ar-10 which is a 308 caliber and i do hunt dear with it. host: when you say an ar-10, how large are the magazines that you use? caller: i've got a 20-round clip with mine but it wouldn't bother me to back it back to a 10-round clip. they're trying to take that weapon from me. host: and are you opposed to that? caller: i don't agree with taking the a.r. i don't think that's going to cure your problem. with this. the mass shootings. the other thing i wanted to touch on was, as far as the number of deaths from gun v

in newtown, connecticut. it should be gaveling in shortly. democratic leader nancy pelosi will lead. you'll also hear from congresswoman rosa delauro of connecticut who is one of the co-chairs of the steering and policy committee. you're watching live coverage here on c-span. also, following the meeting here of the policy committee, we're going to show you president obama's comments from earlier today and his proposals on gun violence that he announced at the white house. there's leader pelosi about to get under way here on c-span. >> on the screen, michael nutter, mayor of philipp delve yarks and one of several folks who will testify this afternoon before the democratic is steering and policy committee about gun violence. also you'll hear from the superintendent of schools in newtown, connecticut. president obama releasing his proposals on gun violence earlier this afternoon. we'll show that to you after this meeting of democrats and you can also see the president's announcement on our website at c-span.org.

how do you honor the newtown victims? >> sandy hook elementary has been cleaned of the carnage, but memories live on. the movie theater in aurora reopened on friday. the owner invited the -- watch a film in the very theater where their loved ones dies. many were deeply offended. >> as a family member of somebody who has been butchered in that theater, it has been extremely insensitive and the other family members feel exactly the same way. >> newtown is more complicated. some suggest the school should be torn down or made into a memorial or even kept open as a way to help everyone move on. >> my best memories were at sandy hook school and i think that children in the future deserve to experience the same beautiful memories that i did. and if we were to knock the school down, we would be preventing future children from experiencing those statement memories. >> maybe it's not about teddy bears or letters of condolence or college scholarship funds, but maybe develop something more lasting. those close to the sandy hook trage

would any of these have prevented the newtown shooting? the answer is emphatically and imperiously not at all. he used a military-style ar-15 rifle that he stole from his mother. under maryland proposal we would have his mother's fingerprints on file, and she and everyone else would still be dead. under new york's la the outcome likely would have been the same, fired 150 rounds during his massacre, rapidly changing clips, sometimes firing only half of the magazine's rounds. connecticut already has an assault weapon ban. the type of gun used was not covered. we have to ask ourselves to light of these politicians, intent on stepping our second amendment rights just simply go all like? is president always likes to, well, do redistribution, talk about fairness. why leave it the first amendment? what to put this in some context, if i may. there were 12,000 to what 12,664 murders in 2011. half of those murders, 49%, 49 percent were handguns. the focus, as you have noted, is on assault weapons, rifles. now, that gets kind of peculiar. rifles, all

you represented newtown as newtown's congressman. now as senator you represent the entire state of connecticut as their senator. connecticut is a small state, but it is a diverse state. it is both diverse in terms of urban and rural areas. it's diverse in terms of its population. and in terms of its political views. how do you talk to your constituents who feel very strongly about gun rights and very wary about gun control, that this isn't going to be something that's going to hurt their freedoms, it's going to help them and help their fellow citizens? >> listen, every decision you that make on legislation is a balancing act. and on this one the test is pretty clear. do you want to pass a law that's going to keep more 6 and 7-year-old kids alive in the future, or do you want to add some convenience to gun owners who want to reload a little bit less frequently or want to pretend that they're soldiers by owning military-style assault weapons? when you pose that question to people in connecticut and frankly across this country as you've

another man at a gun show accidentally shot himself or that since the newtown massacre thirteen hundred of our fellow citizens have been killed by guns here in america sorry wayne la pierre and the national review god is not involved in gun ownership in america this is a uniquely human problem and in particular a uniquely american problem and in the coming months we'll see what exactly our lawmakers can do about it the energy and hope for reform that came rushing out of newtown will soon crash up against the legislative realities in a well funded opposition from the gun industry and when that happens what can we truly expect in the way of gun reform well josh horwitz joins me now he's the executive director of the coalition to stop gun violence josh will come back to the show thanks for coming thanks for having me it's always a pleasure so we i mentioned in the set up there that dianne feinstein claims that she's been promised that she's going to get an up or down vote on this amendment that she has the support she mentioned a conference of mayors two that are all lining up behind this

and now we have newtown and aurora and the list goes on. which is why i asked that original question. you have scalia saying that. the president crying in front of the country after what happened in newtown. then you have this rapid response -- this was expected in a couple of weeks. here we are in almost a week. >> i mean, i think it goes to show that the president in his second term is really willing to lead on these issues. it's less -- in a way less relevant to him whether a particular legislation will pass in congress. we know this republican congress, it will be very difficult for him to pass any legislation on gun control. but he wants to be in front of the american people. he wants his best people on it saying can we be reasonable about guns? can we, as you said, can we preserve this right but also use commonsense to regulate it so that we're not looking at that multiple newtowns? >> reasonable. that's one of my favorite words in the law. reasonable because everyone has a different interpretation. radika jones, thank you for your ti

. >>> 47 days after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, the in newtown, connecticut, the senate judiciary committee held a rare, full committee hearing televised hearing on gun and ammunition control. how rare is that? it was their first gun control hearing of the 21th century. >> americans are looking to us for solutions and for action. >> battle over gun control moves to capitol hill. >> the first hearing since the newtown massacre. >> speaking is difficult. but i need to say something important. >> gabrielle giffords, at the senate judiciary hearing. >> giffords made a plea for action. >> the bold, the courageous americans are counting on you. >> behind every victim lays a matrix of failure. >> mark kelly, husband of gabrielle giffords. >> rights demand responsibility. first, fix gun background checks. >> it is not a serious solution for reducing crime. >> the nra is clearly, dramatically out of step. >> lapierre dismissed background checks. >> background checks will never be universal. >> you will never get criminals to go through universal backgroun

i want to see newtown come out as a place of change. >> reporter: for many in newtown the movement for change is just beginning. >>> turning now to politics, where a prominent republican is offering tough words to his own party. former secretary of state colin powell was on "meet the press" over the weekend citing recent attacks on the president, he told david gregory that the gop is suffering from an identity crisis. >> there is also a dark -- dark vain of intolerance in some parts of the party. what do i mean by that? what i mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities. how can i evidence that? when i see a former governor say that the president is shucking and jiving. that's a racial era slave term. when i see another former governor after the president's first debate where he didn't do very well, says the president was lazy. he didn't say he was slow. he was tired. he didn't do well. he said he was lazy. it may not mean anything to most americans, but to those of us who are african-americans, the second word is shiffless. and the birther movement. what do leaders tole

to start somewhere. >> emotions for newtown residents. >> i can't say much for. >> still wrong. >> we have to start somewhere. >> katie says these children have not died in vain, but they must act. >> we have to do something. we have to write our congressman. we have to do something. >> people need to stand up for what they believe. also, i just had a baby, he is two months old and it kills me that i brought him into a world that is so violent. >> their stepbrother was shot in his car on capitol hill. and died christmas eve. >> it's just a horrible thing that happened, didn't need to happen. senseless acts of violence happen every day. >> a passionate speech by delegate, eleanor holmes norton. >> we are all comfortable if we do nothing now. >> education secretary, arnie duncan says, it's not about taking away rights. >> it's about fewer dead americans, fewer dead children, fewer children living in fear. >> newtown feels this is the tipping point and that we can really effect change. >> newtown, connecticut, is known for the awful tragedy that happened there, but residents also feel th

live from newtown, connecticut. it marks one month since that tragic shooting happened at sandy hook elementary school. you'll remember the lives of 20 first graders and six staffers that saw tragedy that day. it sparked the debate about gun control. this morning we'll be talking to several survivors of similar mass shootings, as well as john huntsman, joe manchen, connie mack will be our guest. we're talking about the flu this morning and vaccine shortages at many pharmacies. we're talking about the latest numbers. who is affected? where? what it all means for you. then a big night for hollywood. we'll take a look at the most memorable highlights of the golden globes, including the most talked about moment of the night, which was jody foster's speech. what exactly was she saying? it's all ahead on "starting point." >> thank you, soledad. >>> 43 minutes past the hour. a 43-year-old woman was trapped in an avalanche and not breathing, but authorities say the two went into the back country prepared. her male companion

those of you that were not in attendance, those of you that had not been on the ground in newtown do not understand the feeling of what happened or how the governor led. there are a lot of people we have to thank, and i know the governor will do that, but i have got to personally thank the governor for taking hold the reins of a very difficult situation and helping with compassion, leadership, and caring, and getting people's lives hopefully back on line again. ladies and gentlemen, i cannot tell you how proud i am to introduce a man who has the compassionate, who understands what vision is, who has no greater love but for the state and for the people in it, our governor, daniel t. malloy. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. we have work to do. thank you. thank you. [applause] thank you. mr. president, mr. speaker, senator mckinney, representative cafero, lt. governor wyman and my fellow state officials, ladies and gentlemen of the general assembly, honored members of the judiciary, members of the clergy, and all the citi

i mean, it is a month after newtown, are minds not going to change? >> you know, there are a couple things that have the potential to make the kind of predictable landscape on this change. gabby giffords is one. just her personal story is one that's very compelling. mayor bloomberg in new york is putting a lot of money and his stature as a very independent voice behind this, and then of course, you have the memories of newtown for all of us. that i think has at least the potential to change what we expect to happen in washington. and you know, ron mentioned the obama campaign organization. that surprised a lot of us, myself included, by the way they will be able to deliver voters to the polls in november with a turnout that we didn't expect among young people and african-americans and others so maybe we'll be surprised. >> susan page, ron fournier, thank you so much. appreciate you coming in. >>> we also have congressman chris van hollen who will be coming up after the break to answer that question, what we expect to happen. we will have that just com

jackie, do you think that newtown really was the tipping point for this nation? that the american people are finally fed up? and do you think that's enough to move congress along? >> i think newtown was the tipping point and i really think that the american people are horrified that -- and just can't stand on the sidelines and say okay, this is going to happen. 2012 was the worst year ever for mass shootings. we had seven mass shootings this year and i think people watched the news. they see what's happening. not again is what everybody's saying. and we should do something about it. so i do think it's important. i think governor cuomo really made an outstanding -- being in the forefront of the country and saying it can be done. the nra spends more money on new york state elections than anywhere else in the country. so this is another resounding defeat for the nra. just like the last round of congressional elections the boogie man of the nra that all of the congress members are responding to is no longer alive and well. >> john: kim tell me a bit about the march o

more newtown fallout next. specifically, how the white house plans to prevent another tragedy or hopes to. we've got breaking news on that. details on what you're going to have to wait to hear tomorrow from president obama to formally announce, the steps he plans to take to try to curb gun violence including one that's going to be a tough sell with a lot of lawmakers. jessica yellin has the inside info, next. >>> we've got breaking news tonight. details of president obama's announcement tomorrow on gun control including one step that gun advocates say is simply a non-starter. chief white house correspondent jessica yellin did a lost digging to get this advanced look. she joins us now. what have you learned, jessica? >> reporter: hey, anderson. tomorrow when the president unveils his proposal you can expect him to press for a ban on all high-capacity magazines with bullets -- or ten bullets or more, a background check for all gun sales. that includes mental health and criminal background checks that would apply

in a statement newtown first selectman pat lodra took aim at fau. shame on you, too, fau, to even have someone like this on your payroll. i can assure you that the events occurred exactly as reported. now we invited professor tracy to come on the program. he's a professor. he talks in front of students. we would think he would be willing to defend his thesis. he declined. john zarrella went looking for him. you went looking for this guy, this professor. again, we'd like to offer people a platform. if they have an argument which is valid, we want them to express it and see if it actually holds up to scrutiny. you caught up with him. what did you learn? >> yeah, anderson, we actually tried again to get him to come on to your program or at the very least to explain his opportunities. professor tracy said he wasn't willing to do it. so we went to his house and he respectfully declined to meet with me or talk with me at all today. he did say during two telephone conversations i had with him today during the first conversation i had with him he said that

he just returned from meeting with survivors and their parents in newtown. the british campaign was the first trip to meet vice president joe biden's task force on guns, and later colin is headed to the white house to attend president of his announcement on gun-control. he is joining us from washington, d.c.. welcome back to "democracy now!" though the announcement has not been made as of this broadcast, president obama says he is calling for a ban on assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines. your response? >> i think that makes sense. i think the president has taken a comprehensive look at gun violence and gun policy in america and realized there are multiple ways to move forward that will make it more difficult for dangerous people to get their hands on increasingly lethal weapons that do damage to american people. we really applaud the leadership from the administration, the comprehensive look they are taking. i think it will go along with to maintaining the public engagement on this issue that will be needed to see these policies become lost in this