Friday, December 28, 2012

Michelle Obama's best fashion moments of 2012
By Rina Raphael, TODAY

From bright pink suits to elegant one-shoulder gowns, Michelle Obama's wardrobe dazzled us in 2012. Many have applauded Michelle for her dedication to wearing up-and-coming designers — like Wes Gordon or Jason Wu, once known only within high-end fashion circles — as well as a cardigan or skirt from affordable retailers like H&M every now and then. Take a look back at TODAY Style's favorite first lady fashion moments of the year, including great outfits from Tracy Reese, J.Crew and a lot of Michael Kors:

Brendan Hoffman / Pool / EPA
Michelle Obama glows in a gold Michael Kors gown at the Kennedy Center Honors Reception at the White House in Washington, DC, on Dec. 2.

Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images
The first lady, wearing a pink Michael Kors dress suit, attends the second 2012 presidential debate, in Hempstead, N.Y., on Oct. 16. Ann Romney, wife of GOP candidate Mitt Romney, also wore pink to the event.

Michelle Obama, wearing a chic white pantsuit, laughs during a taping of The Steve Harvey Show on Oct 2.

Cliff Owen / AP
Michelle Obama wore a one-shoulder gown by Michael Kors for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 42nd annual Phoenix Awards dinner in Washington on Sept. 22.

Charles Dharapak / AP
Wearing Tracy Reese, Michelle Obama waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 4.

Pool / Reuters
Summer white: The first lady wore J. Mendel for a pre-Olympics reception at Buckingham Palace on July 27.

Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
Color-coordinated: On June 5, Michelle Obama wore a colorful print dress for a press conference at the Newseum on Washington, D.C., to announce changes to Disney's nutrition guideline policy.

Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images
Michelle Obama wore a strapless paisley organza gown by designer Naeem Khan at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington on April 28.

Charley Gallay/kca2012 / Getty Images for KCA
Singer Taylor Swift joins Michelle Obama, wearing a jacket by up-and-coming designer Wes Gordon, at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards on March 31.

Joshua Roberts / Reuters
In an elegant red gown by J. Mendel, the first lady stands by author Maya Angelou at the BET Honors in Washington on Jan. 14.

Hillary Clinton: My hair is 'one of the great fascinations of our time'

Slideshow: Michelle Obama's effortless style

Emmanuel Dunand / AFP / Getty Images
Slideshow; The first lady looks as sophisticated in designer dresses as she does in outfits from J. Crew.

After Newtown, some parents impose (toy) gun control

Lisa Flam TODAY

Dec. 27, 2012 at 7:20 AM ET

As the nation debates gun policy following the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., some parents are imposing a different kind of gun control in their own homes: They are taking away their children’s toy guns.

One Chicago mother, Anupy Singla, had been wrestling for months with whether to keep the Nerf revolver-style blasters that her daughters, ages 7 and 10, enjoyed playing with, several times tossing them into the trash and then retrieving them.

Her indecision ended abruptly on Dec. 14, as she watched the coverage of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza killed 26 people and himself after fatally shooting his mother at home.

“It was just something that inside me really snapped,” said Singla, 44, a cookbook author and food writer, and she threw the playthings away.

“It’s me making a decision that this is not something that’s right in our house,” she said. “We don’t believe in playing with something that represents something that could be potentially so dangerous.”

Though experts say that simply playing with a toy gun doesn’t mean a child will become violent, other families, too, were moved by tragedy to weed out their toy chests.

After the shootings, Eileen Zyko Wolter collected about a dozen toy guns that belong to her sons, ages 4 and 7, and stored them on a high closet shelf.

“I felt like they needed to understand that play guns could lead to real-life consequences,” said Wolter, 41, of Summit, N.J., a blogger. “If you’re aiming a play gun and shooting it, you’re practicing shooting at people.”

And in Decatur, Ga., Shun Melson, a wardrobe stylist, told her 7-year-old son about the killings when he got home that Friday, and posted a photo of his reaction to Twitter. “He said he was very sad and said he never wanted to see another gun and he threw it in the trash,” Melson, 38, said of his toy gun.

Shun Melson's son threw his toy gun in the trash after hearing about the Newtown school shooting.

For children, whose lives are largely governed by parents and teachers, toy guns are a symbol of power and control they may play with to express their desires, said Constance Katz, co-founder of the child and adolescent psychotherapy training program at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology in New York. Toy guns are generally favored by boys, and wanting to play with one doesn’t mean a child is or will be violent, she said.

“Playing with a toy gun is not necessarily a worrisome sign,” Katz said. “The focus should not be on playing with guns, it should be on the total emotional life of the child.”

Katz said she would be concerned if a child plays with a toy gun to the exclusion of all other toys or becomes obsessed with gun play, or if the child shows signs of alienation, withdrawal, depression or a loss of control over aggression, adding: “Those are the real risk factors.”

While throwing out toy guns may make anxious parents feel better, Katz said it’s an ineffective, overly simplistic response.

“It’s not the issue,” she said. “The issue really is the big picture of the child’s adjustment to other people and the world.”

Despite calls on Twitter for parents to eschew toy guns as holiday gifts this year, Chris Byrne, content director for Time to Play, an independent online toy review site, said he hasn’t seen a broad backlash against play guns, and does not think the shootings will hurt sales.

“For once, I don’t see people looking to blame the toy industry,” he said. “I see people putting the focus on where it should be, which is access to real firearms.”

Play guns, mass produced at least since the end of World War II, reflect the culture, Byrne said: “It’s a play pattern that’s just not going to go away.”

The Connecticut shootings didn’t change many parents’ attitudes toward toy shooters. Shelley Dreizen, a former first grade teacher from Fairfield, Conn., is among parents who were - and still are - OK with them.

A mom of 6- and 2-year-old daughters and a 4-year-old son, Dreizen believes that depriving kids will just make them want to play with toy guns more, perhaps behind their parents' backs.

“I’d rather not make it taboo and forbidden but let him play with certain rules,” Dreizen said of her son, the only one of her kids who's really interested in toy weapons.

She teaches him to be a good guy who leads people to safety, not a killer, so he’s not getting the message that using a gun is the only to way to get what he wants.

“You don’t let them pretend to shoot everyone in the room because heroes don’t do that,” Dreizen said. “Heroes protect. That’s what I’m teaching my son.”

Poll: Has the Newtown shooting changed your feelings about letting kids play with toy guns?

FINISHED THE QUIZ?

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS HERE!

Question 1: B, “Gangnam Style” star Psy in a December apology for a 2004 song that called for killing Americans.

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International rap sensation Psy took to the stage to perform for the president at a charity concert despite online videos showing some anti-U.S. performances he did less than a decade ago. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

Question 2: C, Francesco Schettino, captain of the sunken Costa Concordia, explaining in court why he didn’t go down with his ship in January.

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The shifting ship is creating dangerous problems for the searchers who need to blast holes in the hull. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

Question 3: A, David Petraeus in a statement announcing his resignation as CIA director in November.

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The respected West Point graduate led combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before retiring from the military and leading the CIA. On Friday, he made the startling admission that he had engaged in an extramarital affair, and announced he was resigning from his post. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

Question 4: A, Cyclist Lance Armstrong, announcing in August that he was ending his fight against doping allegations.

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Top Talkers: Richard Haas joins a Morning Joe panel to discuss Lance Armstrong's refusal to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his 2000 Olympic Games bronze medal and was banned from the sport.

Question 5: B, Apple CEO Tim Cook, talking about the iPhone 5's glitchy maps application on “Rock Center” in December.

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Steve Jobs' hand-picked successor, current Apple CEO Tim Cook, talks to Rock Center Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams about Apple's battle with Samsung, glitches with its maps app, the prospect of Apple TV and the challenge of keeping Apple cutting edge.

Question 6: A, Former Sen. John Edwards after learning he would not be convicted of corruption charges in May.

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The jury delivered a unanimous verdict on one of the six felony counts and found him not guilty of receiving illegal campaign contributions from heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The judge declared a mistrial on the five other counts. Edwards later told reporters that he knew he had not done anything illegal but that he was accountable for his behavior. NBC's Lisa Myers reports.

Question 7: B, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., in an August interview on his opposition to abortion in rape cases.

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In a statement and a tweet, conservative U.S. Rep. Todd Akin says he "misspoke" during a local TV interview in which he made comments about "legitimate rape" and abortion. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

Question 8: C, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announcing their divorce agreement in July.

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The Hollywood couple, whose five-year marriage was the subject of much speculation, issued a joint statement saying they were moving forward with daughter Suri's best interests in mind. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren reports.

Question 9: A, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas after her win in the individual all-around in August.

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Fresh from her historic gold medal win in the gymnastics individual all-around, Gabby Douglas said "it's so meaningful" to be the first African-American woman to win the title and shares details of her phone call with President Obama.

Question 10: C, Marissa Mayer, revealing her pregnancy soon after being named Yahoo CEO in July.

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The former Google executive was named CEO of Yahoo on Monday and made headlines for the fact that she is also pregnant, turning her into a test case of whether women can really have it all. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports, and Ivanka Trump and Rachel Campos-Duffy, author and wife of a congressman, discuss the motherhood balancing act.

Question 11: B, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper in a coming-out email, in July.

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In an email published by the Daily Beast website, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper ends years of speculation about his sexuality, acknowledging that he is "gay" and "proud." NBC's Mara Schiavocampo reports.

Question 12: B, Daredevil Felix Baumgartner after his 24-mile fall to earth in October.

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Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner makes a record-breaking jump from 24 miles above Earth, leaping from the edge of space to the New Mexico desert at speeds up to 833.9 mph. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

Question 13: A, Mitt Romney at an August rally in Michigan.

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Msnbc's Mark Halperin talks about GOP candidate Mitt Romney's apparent ad-lib reference to President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Question 14: C, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a September conference, discussing his company’s May IPO.

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, "The performance of the stock is obviously disappointing," during a "fireside chat" at the San Francisco Disrupt conference organized by technology blog TechCrunch. Watch the entire interview.

Question 15: C, Ben Bernanke at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in February.

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Top Talkers: A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, two former senators -- Bob Graham of Florida and Bob Kerrey of Nebraska -- say they believe the Saudi government may have played a role in the attacks. The Morning Joe panel – including financier Steven Rattner and Donny Deutsch – discusses. The panel also discusses Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning about the economy.

2012 quotes quiz: Test your knowledge of the year's news events!

Clockwise from top left: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during presidential debate; Felix Baumgartner; Lance Armstrong; Seal and Heidi Klum; Gen. David Petraeus; Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Test your memory of some of the year's most prominent newsmakers by matching each quote below with the person who said it.

How well do you think you'll do? Scroll down when you're ready to see the correct answers!

1. “While I'm grateful for the freedom to express one's self, I've learned there are limits to what language is appropriate, and I'm deeply sorry for how these lyrics could be interpreted.”
a) Lady Gaga
b) Psy
c) Chris Brown

2. "I tripped and found myself inside the lifeboat with a number of passengers."
a) Silvio Berlusconi
b) Antonin Scalia
c) Francesco Schettino

3. "After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."
a) David Petraeus
b) Arnold Schwarzenegger
c) Rupert Sanders

4. "There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now."
a) Lance Armstrong
b) Paul Ryan
c) Tiger Woods

5. “We screwed up, and we are putting the weight of the company behind correcting it.”
a) Rupert Murdoch
b) Tim Cook
c) Donald Trump

6. “While I do not believe I did anything illegal or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins.”
a) John Edwards
b) Peter Madoff
c) Roger Clemens

7. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
a) Richard Mourdock
b) Todd Akin
c) Michelle Bachmann

8. “We want to keep matters affecting our family private and express our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other’s roles as parents.”
a) Katy Perry and Russell Brand
b) Heidi Klum and Seal
c) Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

9. “Gold medals are made out of your sweat, blood and tears, and effort in the gym every day, and sacrificing a lot that you have to do.”
a) Gabby Douglas
b) Ryan Lochte
c) Sanya Richards-Ross

10. "My maternity leave will be a few weeks long, and I'll work throughout it."
a) Reese Witherspoon
b) Kate Middleton
c) Marissa Mayer

11. “The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself and proud.”
a) Ellen DeGeneres
b) Anderson Cooper
c) Chely Wright

12. “Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are.”
a) Sir Richard Branson
b) Felix Baumgartner
c) Bill Maher

13. “I was born in Harper Hospital. No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate.”
a) Mitt Romney
b) Vice President Joe Biden
c) Paul Ryan

14. “The performance of the stock has obviously been disappointing.”
a) Tim Cook
b) Brian Dunn
c) Mark Zuckerberg

15. “Under current law, on January 1, 2013, there's going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases.”
a) Barack Obama
b) John Boehner
c) Ben Bernanke

Arizona sheriff orders armed 'posse' to patrol schools

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A controversial plan from Arizona's Sheriff Arpaio will send armed members of his volunteer posse to some Phoenix schools to provide security. Oralia Ortega, of KPNX, reports.

By Miranda Leitsinger, NBC News

Arizona sheriffs and the state’s attorney general are pushing controversial programs to allow school officials and volunteers to carry guns in the wake of the shootings at a Connecticut school that left 20 children dead.

The latest proposal comes from Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-described toughest sheriff in America, who wants to station his “posse” of volunteers outside of about 50 schools in Maricopa County within a week, according to KPNX, a local NBC station.

“Everybody else is talking about what their ideas are. They want new laws. This is immediate. I don't need a new law to send out my posse,” he told NBC affiliate, KPNX, on Thursday. “I feel like we should do whatever we can outside of the schools.”

Arpaio’s volunteers number about 3,000, with 300 to 400 carrying weapons. They log about 100 hours of training and undergo background checks, just like deputies, according to KPNX.

He first sent out his posse in 1993 to guard malls over the holiday season because of violence at those venues in the past. He believed that program worked, saying there have been zero violent re-occurrences, azfamily.com reported.

Arpaio’s plan follows similar ones released earlier this week: Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has proposed arming willing principals, according to ABC15.com, while Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said he wanted to arm a designated employee in every school, KPNX reported.

“Why not use these people we trust if they are willing to protect themselves and our children?” Babeu said.

Horne said a few counties have indicated they’d like to sign up for his program, though state law currently prohibits having firearms on public school campuses. Horne said he already has a sponsor for the necessary state legislation to implement his plan.

Anti-gun advocates and former educators denounced the idea of arming school staffers. Geraldine Hills, of Arizonans for Gun Safety, called it “outrageous.”

“Cops aren’t teachers, teachers aren’t cops,” she told KPNX. “It’s a very nice what-if scenario, this fantasy of the armed civilian hero. It doesn’t play out in real life.”

“I don’t feel that I would want to be in a position of being responsible for either a concealed weapon or securing a weapon on campus,” Gregg Baumgarten, a former principle outside of Phoenix, told the station. “I just think it’s a recipe for disaster.”

The Arizona officials’ stance echoed that of the National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre, who said he supported putting armed guards and police in schools in response to the Newtown shootings in which the gunman, Adam Lanza, also shot six administrators dead. Police say Lanza shot his mother to death earlier at their home.

“If it’s crazy to call for putting police in and securing our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy,” LaPierre told NBC’s David Gregory. “I think the American people think it’s crazy not to do it. It’s the one thing that would keep people safe and the NRA is going try to do that.”

Some districts said they were preparing to take LaPierre’s recommended action, while other educators cautioned that doing so would send the wrong message about education.

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After a controversial press conference last week, NRA head Wayne LaPierre made an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" saying the American people would be "crazy" to not put armed guards in schools. Meanwhile, Newtown, Conn., continues coping with the death of 26 people during the tragic shooting. NBC's Ron Mott report.

These are a portion of the responses given by the White House to Petitions by the American People.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

3 Cops Shot: Gunman Dead in NJ Police Station Shooting

Sources say the gunman worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

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