N Korea holds mass rally, vows more rocket launches

SEOUL: Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans held a mass rally on Friday to celebrate the nuclear-armed state's rocket launch, as its youthful leader vowed new launches.

Days before his first anniversary in charge of the isolated country, Kim Jong-Un upheld North Korea's "unshakable stand" that the rocket programme will continue despite UN condemnation and calls for new sanctions.

The huge rally in Pyongyang, shown on state television, came two days after the launch of the three-stage rocket and just ahead of the anniversary on Monday of his father Kim Jong-Il's death.

The huge crowd standing in organised ranks in Kim Il-Sung Square -- named after Kim Jong-Un's grandfather -- cheered as top officials hailed the success of the launch and praised the "bravery and wisdom" of the dynasty's scion.

Refuelling its criticism of Wednesday's launch, the US State Department said Kim had the chance as new leader "to take his country back into the 21st century" but instead was making the "wrong choices".

Unbowed, Kim stressed the need "to launch satellites in the future... to develop the country's science, technology and economy", according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It gave new details of the launch of the rocket to propel a satellite into space, which the United States, China and others on the UN Security Council said violated a ban on long-range ballistic missile tests by North Korea.

Kim had issued the final written order for the launch on Wednesday morning and "keenly observed" the whole process, KCNA said.

By placing a satellite in orbit, North Korea "showed at home and abroad the unshakable stand... to exercise the country's legitimate right to use space for peaceful purposes", Kim said according to the agency.

The UN Security Council held emergency talks on Wednesday after the North, already under international sanctions for nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, ignored pleas from friends and foes and went ahead with the launch.

The council warned of possible measures over what the United States called a "highly provocative" act as countries including South Korea and Japan pressed for stronger sanctions against Pyongyang.

China -- North Korea's leading patron -- backed the UN statement but its foreign ministry also pushed back against the pressure for stronger action, arguing that any response by the international community should be "prudent".

Analysts say the symbolism of the launch was a prime motivating factor for North Korea as Kim, who is not yet 30, shores up his leadership credentials.

"The launch means the fulfilment of Kim Jong-Il's last wish," said Yoo Ho-Yeol, a political science professor at Korea University in Seoul.

"As such, it helps cement Jong-Un's grip on power and strengthens his authority over the North's military elites, securing their loyalty and a sense of solidarity under his leadership," Yoo said.

The rocket launch has been seen as a timely boost for Kim, laying to rest the humiliation of a much-hyped but failed launch of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket in April, when the carrier exploded shortly after take-off.

Outrage over the recent launch was mixed with concern that North Korea may follow past practice in following up a missile or rocket launch with a nuclear test.

The North's first nuclear test in 2006 came three months after it tested a long-range missile. On that occasion, Pyongyang announced the test six days before it exploded the device.

The second test, in May 2009, came a month after a rocket launch that North Korea claimed had put a satellite in space.

- AFP/xq

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Susan RIce: My withdrawal better for the country

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Rice "would have been very honored to serve in that job," she says in interview


• Susan Rice withdraws from consideration as secretary of state


• Nomination would be "be lengthy, disruptive, and costly," she says in letter to president


• Republican critics "respect" Rice's decision, vow to continue Benghazi inquiry

(CNN) -- Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who drew heavy criticism from Republicans over her statements after the September attacks on a U.S. diplomatic mission, withdrew her name from consideration for secretary of state on Thursday.

In a letter to President Barack Obama, she said "the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly -- to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities. That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country."

Obama acknowledged her letter in a statement that described her as "an extraordinarily capable, patriotic, and passionate public servant." He will meet with Rice Friday at the White House, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Read Rice's letter to the President

She was thought to be a frontrunner for the post, which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would vacate as soon as a successor is confirmed.

But Rice drew criticism for her description of the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. On several television programs several days after the attack, she described a protest of an anti-Islam video outside the mission buildings.

She said her comments were based on declassified talking points, and sources within the intelligence community said the talking points were not modified by any other body, such as the White House.

She further explained her decision to withdraw and defended herself Thursday in a piece for the Washington Post, writing: "I have never sought in any way, shape or form to mislead the American people. ... Even before I was nominated for any new position, a steady drip of manufactured charges painted a wholly false picture of me."

Obama had defended her, describing the criticism from several key Republicans as "outrageous." "If Senator (John) McCain and Senator (Lindsey) Graham and others want to go after someone, they should go after me," Obama said at a White House news conference in late November. "When they go after the U.N. ambassador, apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me."

She visited Capitol Hill in an attempt to answer what the legislators called "unanswered questions," but her visit there appeared to backfire. Senators who sat in on the meetings said her appearances raised more questions than they answered.

5 questions on Susan Rice

Her closed-door meetings "really hurt her," one knowledgeable Democratic source said. "She probably underestimated the club."

The longer Rice went un-nominated, the source said, the worse her prospects appeared. It was "better to get out now" so that Obama could begin announcing a national security slate as early as next week.

In a statement, Clinton called Rice "an indispensable partner over the past four years."

"From the National Security Council to the State Department to the United Nations, Susan has worked tirelessly to advance our nation's interests and values. I am confident that she will continue to represent the United States with strength and skill," Clinton said.

After Rice's Thursday announcement, Graham said in a statement: "I respect Ambassador Rice's decision. President Obama has many talented people to choose from to serve as our next secretary of state."

Rice's decision to not seek the post now leaves Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, as the presumed frontrunner for the spot. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other high-ranking officials are also expected to depart soon.

Kerry praised Rice as "an extraordinarily capable and dedicated public servant" in a statement after her announcement.

"I've known and worked closely with Susan Rice not just at the U.N., but in my own campaign for president. I've defended her publicly and wouldn't hesitate to do so again because I know her character and I know her commitment," he wrote. "We should all be grateful that she will continue to serve and contribute at the highest level. As someone who has weathered my share of political attacks and understands on a personal level just how difficult politics can be, I've felt for her throughout these last difficult weeks, but I also know that she will continue to serve with great passion and distinction."

Kerry's road to the State Department, should he be nominated, would appear to be smoother than Rice's. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said after Rice's announcement that Kerry would be a "popular choice with the Senate."

Another Senate Republican, Rob Portman of Ohio, named Kerry as one of Obama's "better choices" for the spot, according to The New York Times.

But despite his lauded role assisting Obama in preparing for the presidential debates this fall, Kerry is understood to be less of an Obama confidante than Rice.

Kerry is a decorated veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam before his career as a lawyer and then in the U.S. Senate. His assignments there include the chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Should Kerry step down before his term ends in 2014, Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, would appoint a temporary replacement to hold the seat until a special election could be held. The special election race would likely include Sen. Scott Brown, who won in a special election three years ago but lost his bid for a full term, as well as Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, who is seriously considering a bid should Kerry's seat open, a Democratic source said.

On Thursday, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire said she had "respect" for Rice's decision, "however, my concerns regarding the terrorist attack in Benghazi go beyond any one individual. I remain deeply troubled by the continued lack of information from the White House and the State Department. With four of our public servants murdered, it is critical that we get to the bottom of what happened."

Ayotte told CNN after the late November meeting with Rice, Graham, and McCain, "Certainly she misled the American public."

Former CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned last month after admitting to an extramarital affair, returned to Capitol Hill to testify on the attacks, and Clinton is scheduled to testify next week.

Sen. Susan Collins, the moderate Republican from Maine, said through a spokesman that the Senate Homeland Security Committee, where she serves as ranking member, would continue its investigation into the Benghazi attack. She had raised her own questions about Rice's potential nomination after a private meeting with the ambassador.

The Thursday decision was Rice's own; she was not asked to step aside in the consideration process, a former administration official who had knowledge of her decision said.

"She has got a lot of honor, a lot of dignity, a lot of patriotism. This was a completely manufactured distraction, and she was determined to put her country first," the former official said. "No nominee for secretary of state has been subjected to such a sustained campaign of politicization and slander. And it is really troubling."

Madeleine Albright, who was the first woman to serve as secretary of state and has known Rice for decades, said Rice is "brilliant" and described her withdrawal from consideration as "sad."

"I think it is genuinely, genuinely sad because she is one of the smartest people that I know and completely dedicated to serving the United States," Albright told CNN. Rice "put the country and the president ahead of her own ambition. It just shows what a tremendously thoughtful and good and responsible person she is."

In her letter to Obama, Rice wrote "the position of secretary of state should never be politicized."

"As someone who grew up in an era of comparative bipartisanship and as a sitting U.S. national security official who has served in two U.S. administrations, I am saddened that we have reached this point, even before you have decided whom to nominate," she wrote. "We can not afford such an irresponsible distraction from the most pressing issues facing the American people."

Rice served in President Bill Clinton's administration on the National Security Council, eventually leading African affairs for the council and serving as a special assistant to the president.

She was confirmed by the Senate as the top diplomat to the U.N. in January 2009.

If Rice had been nominated, she would have faced criticism from religious leaders about her role in the Clinton administration's handling of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said on CNN that Rice's decision was "probably for the best."

"I think Ambassador Rice was facing an uphill battle in the senate for any confirmation she may have received," he said.

Asked in an interview Thursday on NBC whether she wanted the top diplomatic post, Rice replied that she "would have been very honored to serve in that job."

She added, "But yeah, sure. How can you not want to -- in my field -- serve at the highest possible level?"

CNN's Jessica Yellin, Jim Acosta, Dana Bash, Gloria Borger, Elise Labott, Jamie Crawford, Paul Steinhauser and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report

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Donation-based hospital rescues Afghanistan's wounded

(CBS News) KABUL - In Afghanistan, an American soldier and two Afghans were killed by a car bomb Thursday.

It happened near the U.S. airbase in Kandahar, a few hours after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta left there to meet with Afghan President Karzai.

Taliban attacks have grown more frequent, causing a sharp rise in civilian casualties. There's one place where many of those lives are saved or lost.

The non-profit trauma hospital goes by one name: Emergency. It offers free treatment to the bruised and bloodied victims of this conflict. Every patient who arrives there is a casualty of war.

Dr. Gino Strada

/

CBS News

Dr. Gino Strada is the chain-smoking Italian cardiologist who founded emergency in 1999. He told CBS News that he'll take in patients, regardless of whether they're Taliban or whatever their political affiliations may be.

"Otherwise, you're not a doctor anymore," he said, "then you're a judge."

Visit to military hospital shows extent of Syrian conflict
U.S. serviceman killed in Afghanistan just after Panetta visit
Children give graphic account of Afghan murders

Strada said he's seen a dramatic shift in the types of injuries he treats: Fewer bullet wounds and more from roadside bombs and heavy weapons.

"The weapons which are now used are much more powerful and destructive than those that were available ten or fifteen years ago," Strada said.

This year, the hospital has treated nearly two thousand patients -- an all time high. The vast majority are civilians.

Five-year-old Shayr Mohammed's wrist was fractured and his arm burned when he was hit by shrapnel.

His injuries have healed well. But not all children are so lucky.

Another young boy had picked up what he thought was a toy and it exploded in his pocket. By the time he arrived at Emergency, there was nothing the doctors could do.

"We live in a place where insurgents and police are shooting at each other all the time," his uncle said.

Strada said the fighting is coming closer to the capital and the fighting is becoming more intense.

"This is very worrying because it's very difficult to predict what's going to happen in the near future," he said.

As NATO troops prepare to pull out in 2014, there are fears that the security situation could deteriorate further and that Afghanistan's healthcare system will be overwhelmed.

A patient at the Emergency hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

/

CBS News

The U.S. has spent nearly a billion dollars on health care in Afghanistan the last ten years. But Strada said there is little to show for it.

"What worries me is particularly is corruption in the health sector. When you look at the amount of international aid that has come to Afghanistan for health, you would expect to find fantastic hospitals everywhere. And you don't see one," Strada said.

But there's no shortage of patients, and the war outside Emergency's walls rages on.

Donations to Emergency are accepted at the links below:

www.emergencyusa.org
www.emergency.it/en-index.html

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NASA Debunks Maya Doom, 10 Days Early

Dec 13, 2012 2:57pm

Kukulkan pyramid, Yucatan, Mexico. Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty.

We’ll never know if they were wrong.

NASA has quietly published a web video explaining why the world did not come to an end “yesterday,” Dec. 21, 2012.

The date of its release, December 11, was no mistake, even if doomsayers would likely call it one last act of earthly hubris. NASA uploaded the four-minute “ScienceCasts” explainer, titled “Why the World Didn’t End Yesterday,” in an effort to answer hundreds of calls and emails they receive daily. It also has a dedicated website that’s received at least 4.6 million visitors — people asking if the Maya prophecy is coming true and what they should do about it.

“If there was anything out there, like a planet headed for Earth, said NASA Astrobiologist David Morrison, it would already be one of the brightest objects in the sky,” the narrator explains in a cheerfully pedantic voice. “Everybody on Earth could see it. You don’t need to ask the government, just go out and look. It’s not there.”

(Note: Still not convinced? Consider this: Even if the Maya, a declining Mesoamerican civilization wiped almost entirely off the map by 17^th century Spanish conquistadors, are to be trusted with this kind of high-stakes stuff, scientists agree that reports concerning their prediction of our collective demise have been greatly exaggerated, if not fabricated. Anthropologists say the Mayan calendar was cyclical, and frequently restarted without ending.)

As for rumors about solar flares and reports the sun is reaching the “max of its 11-year solar cycle,” well, that’s all true. But NASA calls is it the “wimpiest cycle” of the past 50 years.

Anyway, “the sun has been flaring for billions of years and it has never, once, destroyed the world.”

Dwayne Brown, a senior public affair officer at NASA, said the space agency felt a sense of duty as the date neared. People have been calling in to headquarters “who want to do harm to their families” in an effort to protect them from the unknown horrors expected to arrive with the Maya apocalypse, he said.

“As the attention on the issue is growing,” the video’s producer and director Michael Brody said, “we didn’t want the rumors growing…. The idea is to take a straight, stoic, standard [scientific] look… and give it a hook.”

“You’re the smart guys, you know what’s up in space,” Brown said, his way of distilling public sentiment toward NASA.  “Well, we do!”

READ: Apocalypse Believers Flocking Here: Why?

And what they know is quite simple. The world might end on a Friday, but it won’t be tomorrow or the one after. Most scientists agree we have about five billion years of battery life, in the form of the sun, to go before the time comes to get nervous.

Brown’s best advice: “Let’s take it day-by-day.”

SHOWS: World News

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UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls.

Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which introduced a "de-penalisation" strategy in 2000. Citizens caught in possession avoid criminal records but must attend drug advice sessions. Last month, the US states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalise the recreational use of cannabis.

The UK report calls for the effects of these legal moves to be monitored. "Drugs policy ought to be evidence-based as much as possible," it concludes. "We recommend that the government fund a detailed research project to monitor the effects of each legalisation system."

The report notes that 21 countries have now introduced some form of decriminalisation. But the government's response has been lukewarm. "I don't support decriminalisation," said Cameron. "We have a policy which actually is working in Britain. Drugs use is coming down."

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All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

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Asian markets mostly up after Fed move

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets mostly rose Thursday as the US Federal Reserve announced fresh monetary easing and said it would not lift interest rates until unemployment was under control.

However, the gains were capped after the central bank's chief Ben Bernanke said the looming fiscal cliff of huge tax hikes and deep spending cuts was already hitting the economy.

The yen continued its slide ahead of the weekend's general election in Japan that is expected to see a victory for the opposition, whose leader has vowed to press for more aggressive measures to kickstart growth.

Tokyo climbed 1.15 per cent, lifted by the weakening yen, Hong Kong gained 0.22 per cent, Sydney added 0.10 per cent and Seoul was 0.60 per cent higher, but Shanghai lost 0.36 per cent.

After a two-day meeting the policy committee of the US central bank said it would replace its "Operation Twist" bond swapping programme with $45 billion a month in straight bond buys, on an open-ended basis.

That comes on top of the $40 billion a month purchasing announced in September.

The Fed also provided a surprise by saying it would not lift rates as long as the inflation outlook was below 2.5 per cent and the jobless rate, now at 7.7 per cent, stays above 6.5 per cent.

"The Fed's decisions did not really surprise anyone, although its comments about expecting rates to remain very low as long as unemployment remains above 6.5 per cent were somewhat novel," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager of equities at SMBC Nikko Securities.

"The bottom line is that it will continue its aggressive steps to foster economic growth," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

However, the Fed's announcement was followed by a warning by Bernanke that Washington needed to come to an agreement in their talks on avoiding the fiscal cliff, adding that the lack of action was already causing problems.

"Even though we have not even reached the point of the fiscal cliff potentially kicking in, it's already affecting business investment and hiring decisions by creating uncertainty or creating pessimism," he said at a news conference.

On Wall Street the Dow and S&P 500 ended flat, while the Nasdaq fell 0.28 per cent, with earlier gains from the Fed announcement cut back by Bernanke's comments.

On currency markets the yen remained under pressure as Sunday's poll approaches, with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan likely to lose to the Liberal Democratic Party, which is headed by Shinzo Abe.

Abe, a former prime minister, has promised to push a more aggressive monetary easing policy to jumpstart the economy.

The dollar was changing hands at 83.42 yen in early Asian trade, from 83.24 yen in New York late Wednesday, while the euro was at 108.95 yen from 108.85 yen. That compares with 82.67 yen and 107.48 yen earlier on Wednesday in Asia.

The euro bought $1.3063 against $1.3075.

Oil was lower in Asia Thursday, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, falling 19 cents to $86.58 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for January delivery shedding 15 cents to $109.35.

Gold was at $1,699.60 at 0230 GMT compared with $1,713.22 late Wednesday.

- AFP/ck

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Mall gunman: 'I have lived one crazy life so far'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Gunman's mother died at childbirth; he never met father, friend says


• NEW: He was an 'outgoing' skateboarder in high school, another friend says


• NEW: He told a friend he left aunt's home at age 14 and raised himself


• Jacob 'Jake' Roberts uses edgy, dark humor on his Facebook page

(CNN) -- Intended or not, the central image on the Facebook page of Jacob "Jake" Roberts, the Oregon shopping mall gunman, is haunting.

A "Follow Your Dreams" slogan painted on a wall is stamped "Cancelled" in red.

He makes an attempt at humor.

"Hey what's up guys my names Jake and I'm an alcoholic... Lol just kidding," Roberts wrote in the first line of his introduction, which included grammatical errors. "If you were to ask someone that knows me they would probably say that I am a pretty funny person that takes sarcasm to the max.

Read more: Oregon mall shooting victims remembered

"I'm the conductor of my choo choo train," he continued. "I may be young but I have lived one crazy life so far."

Authorities have released a photograph of Roberts, 22, who wore a hockey-like face mask and opened fire on holiday shoppers Tuesday at the Clackamas Town Center in Happy Valley, Oregon, near Portland. He killed two people and then himself.

The photograph of Jacob Tyler Roberts depicts a thin chin beard and gauge earrings embedded in both lobes. Black, wavy hair frames a half-smile.

Gunman opens fire in Oregon mall

HIDE CAPTION

One of his Facebook friends, Brittany Curry, 21, told CNN she dated Roberts for five months last year. They met through mutual friends in the Portland area, she said.

"I am in shock. I don't know what to feel," Curry said in a telephone interview. "He was really a good guy. He was really happy. He put everybody before himself."

Roberts owned one gun, Curry said, but she didn't want to elaborate.

His Facebook page lists "shooting" as one of his 10 interests, along with camping, sleeping, rafting, BMX, sushi and spending money.

Read more: Details, but no answers, in Oregon mall shooting

Roberts told Curry that his mother died at childbirth and he never met his father, she said. He left his maternal aunt's home at age 14, Curry said.

"He raised himself," Curry said. "He was doing it all on his own."

A friend from high school, Jordan Salazar, said she understood that Roberts' parents were not present in his life. He was a skateboarder back then, she said.

"In high school Jake was a nice guy, outgoing," Salazar told CNN.

"I saw him a few times in the last year. He seemed normal" and a "good guy," she added.

Roberts valued his friends, Curry said.

Roberts wrote on his Facebook page: "My friends are my family and I don't think that will ever change. I have done a lot for myself in the past year some good and some bad but I still press on.

"I like hanging out with my friends and having a good time maybe get a little drunk every now and then. I like to think of myself as a bit of an adrenaline junkie... Yup that's right I'm a junkie lol. But I'm just looking to meet new people and see the world," Roberts typed.

When they were dating, Roberts was living in an apartment across from the Clackamas Town Center mall, Curry said.

Roberts wanted to be a firefighter and was taking classes at Clackamas Community College, Curry said.

"It was always his dream," Curry said.

In the meantime, he had been working as a cook at Big Bertha's gyro eatery in Portland for more than two years, Curry said.

About that job, Roberts commented on Facebook: "Right now I work at the most badass gyro shop in town. I am one of the few people that can say I love my job and actually mean it."

Read more: Inside Clackamas Town Center Mall

CNN's Paul Vercammen contributed to this report from Portland, Oregon.

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Bruce Springsteen kicks off Sandy benefit

Updated: 8:25 p.m. ET

Music filled New York's Madison Square Garden Wednesday night for the "12-12-12" gig all in the name of helping superstorm Sandy victims.

Bruce Springsteen kicked off the star-studded concert, a fitting start for the benefit, which will aid hard-hit storm areas such as the rocker's native New Jersey. The Boss launched into "Land of Hope and Dreams" as audience members rose to their feet, before singing "Wrecking Ball," a song he wrote about Jersey and Giants Stadium at The Meadowlands. He changed a lyric to "My home is on the Jersey shore."

And it's no surprise Springsteen performed "My City of Ruins," a song that has taken on various meanings through the years, especially having debuted around the 9/11 attacks. But Wednesday night, it meant something different to many people watching.

"This was a song I wrote for my adopted hometown -- Asbury Park, which was struggling through hard times," he said, later adding, "Tonight this is a prayer for all of our struggling people in New York and New Jersey."

After slipping in a few lines of "Jersey Girl," Springsteen brought out his friend Jon Bon Jovi for a New Jersey-rocker musical mash-up of "Born to Run."

"The size of the destruction was shocking," said Springsteen in a taped interview with concert organizers prior to the show. "It took days and days to even understand the level of destruction that occurred along the Jersey shore."

After they left the stage, Billy Crystal took the reins, injecting some humor into the night mixed with touching remarks about the devastation that Sandy brought along with it.

"You can feel the electricity in the building, which means that Long Island power isn't involved," said Crystal, a Long Beach, Long Island native, before rattling off a series of other jokes that included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Chris Christie.

Roger Waters took the stage next, playing Pink Floyd classics, including "Us and Them," "Another Brick in the Wall" and "Money."

The musical lineup also includes Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, The Rolling Stones, Eddie Vedder, Kanye West, The Who and Paul McCartney.

Producer John Sykes said the fundraiser features "the greatest lineup of legends ever assembled on a stage."

"There have been hurricanes, there have been storms," said Bon Jovi. "But I've never seen anything remotely close to what Hurricane Sandy was."

"When I heard there was going to be a concert, I wanted to be there and I wanted to try to do my bit," said McCartney who has an office in Manhattan and spends time with his wife, Nancy Shevell, in Long Island. "Hopefully try to make a bit of difference and give back."

Also in attendance? Steve Buscemi, Martha Stewart, Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, James Gandolfini, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremey Piven, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Chastain, Chelsea Clinton, Jimmy Fallon, Adam Sandler, Sean Combs, Billy Crystal, Leo DiCaprio, Jimmy Fallon, Katie Holmes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Karlie Kloss, Seth Meyers, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Susan Sarandon, Jon Stewart, Kristen Stewart and Quentin Tarantino, among others.

The sold-out "12-12-12" concert is being aired on 37 TV stations in the United States and more than 200 others worldwide. Thirty websites, including YouTube, is streaming the show live. All together -- more than two billion people around the world have access to the show, which benefits the Robin Hood Foundation.

The October storm left millions of people in several states without power or heat. It's to blame for at least 125 deaths and damaged 305,000 homes in New York.

Watch live online here.

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Mall Shooter Quit Job, Was Going to Hawaii

In the days before he stole a semiautomatic weapon and stormed into an Oregon shopping mall, killing two people in a shooting spree, Jacob Roberts quit his job, sold his belongings and began to seem "numb" to those closest to him.

Roberts' ex-girlfriend, Hannah Patricia Sansburn, 20, told ABC News today that the man who donned a hockey mask and opened fire on Christmas shoppers was typically happy and liked to joke around, but abruptly changed in the week before the shooting.

Roberts unleashed a murderous volley of gunfire on the second floor of the Clackamas Town Center on Tuesday while wearing the mask and black clothing, and carrying an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon and "several" magazines full of ammunition. He ended his barrage by walking down to the first floor of the mall and committing suicide.

READ: Why Mass Shooters Wear Masks

"I don't understand," Sansburn said. "I was just with him. I just talked to him. I didn't believe it was him at all. Not one part of me believed it."

She said that in recent weeks, Roberts quit his job at a gyro shop in downtown Portland and sold all of his belongings, telling her that he was moving to Hawaii. He had even purchased a ticket.

She now wonders if he was really planning to move.

Oregon Mall Shooting: 2 Dead in Clackamas Town Center Watch Video

Oregon Mall Shooting: 'Killing of Total Strangers' Watch Video

Oregon Mall Shooting: Woman on Macy's Employee's Heroism Watch Video

"He was supposed to catch a flight Saturday and I texted him, and asked how his flight went, and he told me, 'oh, I got drunk and didn't make the flight,'" she said. "And then this happens... It makes me think, was he even planning on going to Hawaii? He quit his job, sold all of his things."

Roberts described himself on his Facebook page as an "adrenaline junkie," and said he is the kind of person who thinks, "I'm going to do what I want."

Roberts, who attended Clackamas Community college, posted a picture of himself on his Facebook page firing a gun at a target. His Facebook photo showed graffiti in which the words "Follow Your Dreams" were painted over with the word "Cancelled."

Sansburn said the pair had dated for nearly a year but had broke up over the summer. Throughout their relationship, she had never seen him act violently or get angry.

"Jake was never the violent type. He didn't go out of his way to try to hurt people or upset people. His main goal was to make you laugh, smile, make you feel comfortable. I never would have guessed him to do anything like this ever," she said.

"You can't reconcile the differences. I hate him for what he did, but I can't hate the person I knew because it was nothing like the person who would go into a mall and go on a rampage. I would never associate the two at all."

The last time she saw him, which was last week, he "seemed numb," and she didn't understand why, she said.

"I just talked to him, stayed the night with him, and he just seemed numb if anything. He's usually very bubbly and happy, and I asked him why, what had changed, and said 'nothing.' He just had so much he had to do before he went to Hawaii that he was trying to distance himself from Portland," Sansburn said.

Sansburn said the last message she sent Roberts was a text, asking him to stay, and saying she didn't want him to leave. He replied "I'm sorry," with a sad face emoticon.

Police are still seeking information about what Roberts was doing in the days leading up to the shooting. They said today they believe Roberts stole the gun he used in the rampage from someone he knew. They have searched his home and his car for other clues into his motive.

Read ABC News' full coverage of the Oregon Mall Shooting

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said earlier today on "Good Morning America" that he believes Roberts went into the mall with the goal of killing as many people as he could.

"I believe, at least from the information that's been provided to me at this point in time, it really was a killing of total strangers. To my knowledge at this point in time he was really trying, I think, to kill as many people as possible."

Sansburn said she has not talked to police.

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Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

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War of words: The language paradox explained

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AC/DC's Highway to Hell sent via a drone's laser beam

A dose of rock music proves that a drone's reconnaisance data can be sent via reflected laser beam instead of radio

'Biology is a manufacturing capability'

Soon we'll be able to engineer living things with mechanical precision, says Tom Knight, father of synthetic biology

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