Adam Lanza's remains were claimed by his father, Peter Lanza. A family spokesman says a private service was held over the weekend. There are no details as to where the remains were placed.

On December 20, 2012, Nancy Lanza's family in New Hampshire held a small service for her at her brother's home in Kingston, N.H. Kingston Police Chief Donald Briggs said she was cremated and would be buried at a later date.

Her obituary appeared in the Eagle Tribune and Union Leader on December 23. The family intends a public memorial for her next year. [More...]

Sending get well wishes to Hillary Clinton, who was admitted to the hospital today with a blood clot.

The night before New Year's Eve: What do you think the biggest changes will be in 2013? What are you hoping for?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Deal or no deal? It's hard to tell.

Looks like no vote tonight, but they are hoping for one tomorrow.

What I'm reading on guns today:

• Gun sales spike after Newtown, other mass slayings
• Denver gun show draws huge crowd despite long background-check times (Same in Ohio, Wisconsin, NJ, RI,NC, Nevada, Iowa, Idaho, and many other states, with most citing fears of new gun laws.)
• California gun sales jump; gun injuries, deaths fall
• Colorado gun-control advocates and foes mobilize for new legislation

Like everyone else, I have pondering what may have precipitated Adam Lanza's killing spree in Newtown. While most people assume he had a mental illness, we don't know that he did. (Asperger's is not a mental illness but a neurological disorder that is not associated with violent acts.) If he had a mental disorder, what might it have been? And which mental disorders, if any, are associated with higher risk of violence?

I haven't come to any conclusions, but after reading dozens or more articles in medical, psychiatric, and psychological journals, here are a few that at least increased my understanding of the topic and dispelled some myths: [More...]

5 bowl games today, my picks:

Rice +2 over Air Force, Syracuse +4 over West Virginia (4 units), Navy +14 over Arizona State, Oregon State -3½ over Texas, TCU -2 over Mich State.

Open Thread.

A couple of college football picks - Texas Tech (-13) over Minnesota (6 units) and Virginia Tech (pick) over Rutgers.

More tomorrow and the rest of the bowl season.

Open Thread.

A judge in Connecticut today extended the time period 5 search warrants executed on the Lanza's home and cars will remain sealed. There were three search warrants for the house and two for cars.

[One was] for the 2010 Honda Civic Adam Lanza drove to the school and [the other was] for Nancy Lanza's 2009 silver BMW, which was parked in the garage attached to the home.

Why keep the search warrants sealed if no one is under criminal investigation? [More...]

No deal in sight for the Fiscal Cliff, says the AP.

Busy day, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Journal News, a Westchester County, NY paper, has stirred a lot of outrage over its publication this week of a map with the names and home addresses of those with permits for handguns. The story's headline was "Where are the Guns in Your Neighborhood?" Here is the interactive map.

Since that's where I grew up, I went right to my old neighborhood and clicked on all the dots. While it brought a sense of nostalgia, it also felt like a complete privacy intrusion.

Are gun owners now going to be stigmatized like sex offenders?

The Journal News defends its publication decision here. [More...]

Is anyone watching CBS and the Kennedy Center Honors? Really great tribute to David Letterman. The event took place December 3. Also honored: Dustin Hoffman. And Led Zeppelin. Here's a recap.

The top news story of the day seems to be that DC police are investigating NBC's David Gregory for a show and tell of a high capacity ammunition clip magazine on Meet the Press. Apparently, NBC asked for permission to show the magazine and was denied. Under DC law, such magazines are illegal to possess.

On a related topic, this November, 2012 Congressional Research Service Report explains our current federal gun laws and recent legislative efforts to change them.

USA Today has released the results of a new poll conducted with Gallup on Americans' views on gun control.