Here's a look at some notable birthdays being celebrated today:
Sir Anthony Hopkins
Age: 75
Occupation: Actor
Known For: His status as one of the world's greatest living actors, roles in dozens of films including his Oscar-winning portrayal of cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in 'The Silence of the Lambs,' and being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993
UPDATE 4:07 p.m. EST: Authorities have identified the gunman as William Spengler, an ex-convict who spent 17 years in prison for murdering his 92-year-old grandmother in 1980.
Spengler was paroled for the crime in 1998.
Police also have not located Spengler's 67-year-old sister, who lived in the house with Spengler.
Authorities also report that a total of seven houses were destroyed in the blaze.
UPDATE 12:40 p.m. EST: Police chief Gerald Pickering says that the gunman, who was killed at the scene, either by police or from a self-inflicted wound, may have set a trap for first responders.
UPDATE 12:15 p.m. EST: The Associated Press is reporting that the gunman who killed the two firefighters is also dead. His body was found at the scene. The names of the two deceased firefighters, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, are Mike Chiapperini, 43, a volunteer firefighter and the Webster Police Department’s public information officer, and Tomasz Kaczowka. The names of the wounded firefighters are Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino.
Early Monday morning two firefighters were shot and killed when responding to a call in Webster, New York, just outside Rochester. After the firefighters arrived at 191 Lake Road, an unknown shooter fired at them as they left their truck, killing two of them and wounding two others. The wounded men are at a nearby hospital; one is in stable condition, the other is in guarded condition.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, known for protesting the funerals of U.S. armed servicemen and women, announced that they plan to picket the upcoming funerals of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. This did not go over well on the Internet.
During a Sunday news conference, police said the gunman in Friday's school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. possessed much more ammunition in addition to the rounds he used to kill 20 children, seven adults and himself. Authorities also responded to a phoned-in threat at a church near the scene of the tragedy which has left the small New England town shaken and in a state of solemn mourning.
NOTE: This post will be continually updated as new information comes in. Video and photos are below. All times Eastern.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: Originally it was thought that Adam Lanza, the gunman, shot his mother at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, where she was a teacher's aide. ABC has learned that, in fact, Nancy Lanza was killed at her home (by her son) prior to the massacre. He then drove to the school, where he killed 20 children and six adults, before killing himself.
We are inching closer to the shopping extravaganza known as Black Friday, the day on which stores around the nation offer door-busting prices so low that otherwise-rational consumers take temporary leave of their senses, shake off their tryptophan haze and rush to the nearest mall at ungodly hours of the night. Or maybe not.
Good Housekeeping won't reveal their Best Toys of 2012 list until the December issue hits newsstands on November 20, but we have a sneak peek of the list, which, interestingly enough, was compiled using some of the best toy testers in the world: kids.
UPDATE 11:20: The networks have announced that Barack Obama will be reelected to a second term, after wrapping up the state of Ohio.
The 2012 presidential election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will finally conclude tonight, as voters head to their local polls to choose who gets to sleep in the White House on January 20, 2013. We'll be following all the results very closely, adding the latest news as states close their polls and announce their winners.
Watch this post for updated information—election results, Senate races, ballot measures, battleground-state news—throughout the night:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and while millions of women across the country will be getting screenings and consulting with their doctors about this very private issue, there are some who have gone through the detection-treatment-recovery sequence publicly. The last celebrity on our list may surprise you ...
Most of us, at one time or another, have struggled with trying to get a good night’s sleep. You can count sheep or try breathing exercises, but by morning the only thing you've achieved is a better familiarity with the ceiling-tile layout.
The first debate of the 2012 presidential election campaign between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney got started a little after 9 p.m. ET from the University of Denver’s Magness Arena. Jim Lehrer, host of ‘Newshour’ on PBS, moderated the event, which covered domestic policy.
According to a new survey from the dating site Seeking Arrangement, the nature of the love letter has radically changed over the last decade. Instead of putting pen to paper, amorous messages now usually come in the form emails or text messages.
But the question remains: Do you keep such notes after a relationship has ended and you've moved on?
