Rep. Tim Scott has been chosen to fill South Carolina's empty Senate seat. He will be the only black senator.

A pastor who provided grief counseling to the mother of a Sandy Hook victim revealed yesterday how the woman's six-year-old daughter managed to survive the massacre that claimed the lives of her entire first grade class.

The White House didn't release any photos of President Obama meeting last night with some families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Shooting — but the families themselves did, and they're heartbreaking. On the left, the President with members of the family of Emilie Parker, who was six; on the right, Obama with the granddaughter of Sandy Hook principal (and hero) Dawn Hochsprung.

Active duty U.S. Marine Corps captain Matthew Phelps made history over the weekend by proposing to his partner Ben Schock inside the White House.

In the immediate aftermath of a horrific tragedy, it is inevitable that some number of politicians will expose themselves as fools. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting is no exception. Here, we nominate Oregon State Rep. Dennis Richardson as a strong candidate for "Most Inappropriate Reaction."

After prominent Westboro Baptist Church member/professional troll/mother of illegitimate son Shirley Phelps-Roper announced her group's intention to picket Sandy Hook Elementary School "to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment," the wrath came quickly.

In the wake of Friday's shooting, the NRA deactivated its Facebook page, which was awash in criticism. That's integrity.

Wall Street Journal social media director Liz Heron notes that the life cycle of viral content is composed of two phases: "Uncritical mass sharing" followed by "semi-informed backlash."

Sunday evening, President Obama delivered an emotional speech at an interfaith vigil in Newtown, Connecticut for the 27 victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. The speech paid tribute to the victims, their families and the first responders, and addressed the need for change, although Obama stopped short of mentioning actual policy. He ended the speech by reciting the names of the young victims, at which point there were audible sobs from the audience.

President Obama will speak at a memorial vigil in Newtown, Conn., shortly. The speech will be streamed here.

Impossible as it might seem in the aftermath of Friday's horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, the tragedy could've been worse. According to new reports, shooter Adam Lanza didn't shoot himself until after first responders arrived on the scene. Police found "hundreds of rounds" of ammo on Lanza's body, enough to have inflicted even more damage.

Bloomberg had a few things to say about gun violence on Meet the Press today:

The Financial Times reported this week that the world's richest artist is ending his partnership with one of the world's richest galleries. As with all Rich People Scandals, it's got everything your heart could desire: mass butterfly graves, lawsuits from British celebrities and Floridian nonagenarian, and snide NYT profiles about Hirst's diminishing value. Here's a look at the "divorce that has rocked the art world" by the numbers.

Robbie Parker, the father of one of Sandy Hook Elementary's young victims, gave a heartbreaking speech to the media Saturday evening after officials released the names and ages of those killed in the shooting. The speech is devastating. Fighting back tears, Parker described his six-year-old daughter Emilie's life, saying she was brave and loved to try new things (except for new food), and said the "world was a better place because she was in it." He added that Emilie was "an exceptional artist and she always carried around her markers and pencils so she never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for someone." He told reporters that, if she'd survived, Emilie would've wanted to help the families of victims.

It is around this time of year that Victoria's Secret reveals its Christmas commercial, and while it cannot compare to the campy glory of other, vaguely incestuous holiday ads, it still merits careful analysis.

Worshippers at a church near Sandy Hook Elementary were forced to evacuate after police received a fake bomb threat.

On Friday morning, while the horror at at Sandy Hook elementary was unfolding, Von I. Meyer, a 60-year-old man in Cedar Lake, Indiana, was arrested after he threatened to set his wife on fire and enter a nearby elementary school to "kill as many people as he could." After searching Meyer's home, police found 47 weapons and a stockpile of ammunition worth over $100,000.

The Times has sent critic Dwight Garner on a literary tour of New York in order to answer novelist Gary Shteyngart's immortal question, Can New Yorkers still throw a good party with only a bottle of shampoo? The answer appears to be "maybe," if you are in Brooklyn and allowed to smoke and are also in a coffee shop.

According to ABC News, President Obama has decided to nominate Massachusetts Senator John Kerry for secretary of state. Kerry's presumed nomination follows last week's news that UN Ambassador Susan Rice had withdrawn her name from consideration for the position. Rice had faced high profile attacks from various Republicans, including John McCain, who said Rice was "not very bright."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein will introduce a bill that would limit the sale of assault rifles. She expects Obama's support.