Sandy Aid: Millions for Space Center, Forests

A man walks past destroyed homes on the Rockaway Peninsula in the Queens borough of New York, Nov. 27, 2012. A proposal in Congress would provide $60 billion in relief. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

The Obama administration’s $60-billion emergency aid package for victims of superstorm Sandy is now caught in the crossfire over the “fiscal cliff,” with some critics questioning why millions of dollars are directed to areas far from the epicenter of the storm.

The request, which still needs the approval of Congress, includes billions in urgently needed aide. But it also features some surprising items:  $23 million for tree plantings to “help reduce flood effects, protect water sources, decrease soil erosion and improve wildlife habitat” in forested areas touched by Sandy; $2 million to repair roof damage at Smithsonian buildings in Washington that pre-dates the storm; $4 million to repair sand berms and dunes at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida; and $41 million for clean-up and repairs at eight military bases along the storm’s path, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The FBI is seeking $4 million to replace “vehicles, laboratory and office equipment and furniture,” while Customs and Border Protection wants $2.4 million to replace “destroyed or damaged vehicles, including mobile X-Ray machines.”

Related: Get the Latest on the “Fiscal Cliff”

The Small Business Administration is seeking a $50 million slice of the pie for its post-storm response efforts, including “Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Development Centers.”

The relief package also includes a whopping $13 billion request for “mitigation projects” to prepare for future storms.

But New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said these mitigation efforts are an essential part of the rebuilding effort.

“Look, it doesn’t make sense to pay to fix subway stations, rebuild a dune or repair a home if we don’t protect it from the next storm,” said Schumer.

These line items, and dozens more like them, have some Republicans balking at the size of the relief request and calling for more time to review the deal. The $60 billion price tag, they say, represents nearly the entire amount of additional revenue the government would collect next year by raising rates on the top 2 percent of taxpayers, as Democrats desire.

They also point out that FEMA still has $5 billion in its Disaster Relief Fund — enough to last until March.  Therefore, they see no reason to rush through a bill so large with no hearings or negotiations on the size of the bill or how to pay for it.

A White House official dismissed criticism of the size of the overall request and the specific amounts sought by federal agencies. The vast majority of the money would go to the affected region.

“The aid to federal agencies is a very small percentage of the entire package,” the official told ABC News. “On the federal items, we know what the damage is because we are the federal government. The storm damage has to be paid for at some point.”

“On other things — larger state-level infrastructure items, like hospitals — in many cases it still hasn’t been determined whether it’s cheaper to repair them or replace them,” the official said, noting that the less-specific “pots” of funds for states were intended to provide greater flexibility during allocation.

Governors of the states that bore the brunt of Sandy’s impact – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy – had pressed the White House for an $80 billion package. But the administration decided a smaller amount was appropriate in light of deficit concerns.

“Private insurers must fulfill their commitment to the region; public assistance must be targeted for public benefit; resources must be directed to those in greatest need; and impacted States and localities must contribute, as appropriate, to the costs of rebuilding,” OMB director Jeff Zients wrote to Congress as part of the request.

In a joint op-ed in the Washington Post today, the governors pressed lawmakers “not to leave Washington” until they provide Sandy aid to the northeast.

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.

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SHINee conclude their final concert of 2012 in S'pore, release new Jap single

SINGAPORE: Korean boy band SHINee have released a new Japanese single "1000 Years, Always by Your Side" on Wednesday, despite just concluding their final concert of the year last weekend in Singapore.

While Singapore fans were not lucky enough to be able to hear their new single live at the SHINee World II concert at the Indoor Stadium, they did, however, got to see the quintet perform "Always Love", a track from their Japanese album "The First", and another 28 tracks in the three-hour show.

As the lights in the stadium dimmed, unveiling a sea of opalescent aqua green light sticks, SHINee members Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Taemin and Minho slowly made their way on stage through a gigantic space shuttle-like model - as though they had descended on another world.

The first track "Lucifer" came on and fans were immediately brought into SHINee's world.

Wasting no time, the boy band performed another three fan-favourites -- "Amigo", "Juliette" and "The SHINee World" -- before greeting the 7,500-strong crowd, who sang and cheered in unison with the group.

But SHINee, who had performed just two weeks ago at SM Town Live at The Float @ Marina Bay, did not just mesmerize the crowd with their synchronised dance moves and group performances -- the five members also took turns to charm their fans with their solo acts.

Minho and Taemin showed off their rocker vibes with "Turn Up The Music" and "Get Up" respectively, while Onew made fans swoon at his feet with his sweet and sincere performance of "I Won't Give Up" and "Passionate Goodbye".

It was Jonghyun and Taemin's performance of "Internet War", however, that received electrifying screams from the mostly-female crowd.

Appearing sans shirt, a bronzed and toned Jonghyun engaged in an intense 'war' with the youngest member of the band –- teasing and belting it out on stage -- throwing the crowd into fits of frenzy.

The band's high-energy performance was carried out all through the evening, with surprises for fans scattered throughout, such as the autographed coloured balls and 'SHINee currency' that the members threw at the crowd towards end of the concert.

Ending the concert on a high note, the crew surprised the December babies, Onew and Minho, with birthday cakes and a cake-smashing party that got the members, faces all smeared with cream.

Instead of fussing over their face and hair, the five members just went around the extended stage, bowing and thanking all their fans.

-CNA/lp

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Singer Jenni Rivera's remains identified

By CNN Staff

updated 2:35 PM EST, Thu December 13, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: There may be two memorial events, one in Mexico and one in Los Angeles


• NEW: Her remains will be cremated, funeral home employees say


• The remains of Rivera's publicist and the plane's co-pilot also have been identified

(CNN) -- Music star Jenni Rivera's remains have been identified and turned over to her family, a government spokesman in Mexico said Thursday.

Rivera was killed Sunday when the plane she was aboard plummeted from 28,000 feet, Mexico's transportation secretary said. The plane crashed in a mountainous area 9,000 feet above sea level.

The remains of Rivera's publicist and the plane's co-pilot have also been identified, said Jorge Domene, a spokesman for Mexico's Nuevo Leon state.

The medical examiner's office in Monterrey compared DNA samples from the remains with a swab taken from the singer's brother, Lupillo.

Singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

HIDE CAPTION

The confirmation of her death closed the door on a sliver of hope that Rivera's family held on to until the very end. The family refused to say that Rivera was dead, even after officials said that no one survived the crash.

Now that there is no doubt, the family is planning her funeral.

Employees at a funeral home in Monterrey say they will receive the singer's remains, which will be cremated and placed in an ornate red urn.

Family friends said funeral plans weren't set, but there will probably be a memorial in Mexico before the ashes are taken to a final resting place in Los Angeles.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Two lawsuits against the company that owns the private jet accuse the firm of lying about its links to a businessman convicted of falsifying maintenance records.

Rivera, who was 43, is mourned by millions of fans.

Rivera and six others were thought to be aboard the plane, which lost contact with air traffic controllers soon after takeoff.

Known to fans as "La Diva de la Banda" or The Diva of Banda Music, Rivera was well-established as a musical powerhouse with her Spanish-language performances of regional Mexican corridos, or ballads. For fans, the nickname captured her powerful voice and the personal strength many admired.

In recent years, she had been working to crack the English-language U.S. market and was reportedly on the verge of a crossover with a sitcom inspired by the success of "I Love Jenni," a Spanish-language reality TV show on Telemundo's mun2 network.

Rivera sold 15 million records, according to Billboard, and recently won two Billboard Music Awards, including favorite Mexican music female artist.

In October, People en Español added her to its list of the 25 most powerful women.

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Rice withdraws from Secretary of State consideration

U.N. ambassador Susan Rice is officially withdrawing her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, CBS News has learned.

Rice, who was considered a top contender for the position, has been embroiled recently in ongoing controversy surrounding her account of the September 11 Libya attacks, which she discussed in a series of talk show appearances on September 16.

In a statement, President Obama acknowledged that he had "accepted" Rice's decision to remove her name from consideration, and expressed "every confidence" in her ability to "serve our country now and in the years to come."

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Robot apps get a cash boost

APPS aren't just for your smartphone. The one-year-old Robot-App Store got a cash boost this week in the form of $250,000 from the first company dedicated to investing in consumer robotics.

Dmitry Grishin, founder of Grishin Robotics, already spent $250,000 on a telepresent robotics company called Double Robotics in September, and plans to invest a total of $25 million in the field.

Grishin says software like the apps on offer at the Robot-App Store is the key to creating a vibrant market in household robots. "Once you find a cool app, it will help to sell robots." He compares robots to computers. "A good application, like a spreadsheet, helped to sell PCs and to grow the PC market."

One app from the Robot-App Store makes the NAO robot (pictured) whistle and say "Hello, gorgeous" whenever it detects a face. Another allows you to steer the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner using your keyboard.

No killer app yet perhaps, but Grishin says that will come with the establishment of a "robot ecosystem", in which more developers create apps for a growing pool of consumers, who are in turn encouraged by the number of apps to choose from.

The world of robot software is certainly maturing. The open source Robot Operating System celebrated its fifth birthday in November.

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Mall Gunman Identified as Jacob Tyler Roberts

The masked gunman who killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., was identified today as Jacob Tyler Roberts.

Roberts, 22, was armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, Sheriff Craig Roberts told a news conference today. He was not wearing a bullet-proof vest as previously reported.

Earlier today the sheriff told "Good Morning America" the gunman was intent on killing "as many people as possible."

"At this time we do not understand the motive of this attack except to say no apparent relationship between suspect and victims," the sheriff said at the news conference.

The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask and black clothing, tore through the mall just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's store and heading to the food court and public areas spraying bullets, according to witness reports.

"We have been able to identify the shooter over this last night," Roberts said. "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."

Police said today that Roberts had stolen the gun from someone he knew, and was equipped with a load bearing vest and "several" fully loaded magazines. Police are still trying to determine how many shots were fired.

Roberts, who attended Clackamas Community college, said on his Facebook page that he worked in a gyro shop in downtown Portland and posted a picture of himself 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."

School officials at Milwaukie High School, where Roberts attended from 2004 to 2007, describe him as an "average student with average grades." He had no disciplinary record at the school, but transferred his senior year to Oregon City High School, according to Joe Krumm, an administrator at the North Clackamas School District. Krumm did not know why he transferred, and said that in all, Roberts did not stand out in memory for anything in particular.

His shooting victims were identified as Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45.

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

Yuille's family released a statement today calling Yuille a "wonderful person."

"Cindy was everybody's friend, she was a wonderful person, she was very caring and put others first," the family said, noting that they needed time to grieve their loss.

Forsyth, who owned a business at the mall, was described as a married father of two.

"Steve was one of most passionate people, with an entrepenurial spirit that led him to start his business," the family said in a statement. They said he had a "zest for life, a vision and belief in others that brought great joy.."

A third shooting victim, Kristina Shevchenko, 15, was taken to a hospital and has undergone an initial surgery, according to a Facebook page set up by her family members. Family members said she was hit in the back, and a bullet bruised her lung but avoided piercing any major organs.

PHOTOS: Oregon Mall Shooting

Police said today that Roberts parked his car outside of the Macy's department store, entered the mall on the second floor, and then "moved quickly" toward the food court, firing shots. Yuille and Forsyth were hit by bullets near the food court, police said. Other shoppers provided medical aid to the victims.

Roberts' gun jammed briefly while shooting at the food court, but he was quickly able to resume shooting, police said.

Roberts then ran down a hallway and a flight of stairs to the first floor of the mall, near an REI store, where he apparently shot himself, police said.

Shevchenko was hit on the second floor but made it outside to the first floor, where she met police and was taken to the hospital, police said.

Investigators searched Roberts' home and car in the wake of the shooting, but did not disclose what they found. They confirmed that his fingerprints matched prints in a law enforcement database, though they did not find any crimes he was convicted of.

Sheriff Craig Roberts said that he believed that the gun jamming, in addition to the quick response of mall employees to enact lockdown procedures, prevented more individuals from being shot and killed during the spree.

The sheriff said that the first calls of gunshots came in at 3:29 p.m. and the first police officers to respond arrived a minute later at 3:30 p.m.

"Officers initiated an active shooter protocol, a technique we train with, and equipped each of our officers to move to immediately engage the threat wherever it might be. We were well prepared for this incident. We had practiced active shooter techniques at Clackamas Town Center earlier this year. We had practiced for just this type of situation," the sheriff said.

Witnesses from the shooting rampage said that the gunman ran through the upper level of Macy's to the mall food court, firing multiple shots, one right after the other.

By 4:40 p.m., police reported finding a group of people hiding in a storeroom. In a surreal moment, even the mall Santa was seen running for his life.

"I didn't know where the gunman was, so I decided to kind of eased my way out," said the mall Santa, who the AP identified as 68-year-old Brance Wilson.

Cell phone video shot at the scene shows the chaos soon after the shooting. When police arrived they were met head on by terrified shoppers, children and employees streaming out. Customers, even a little girl, were being lead out with their hands up.

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Berlusconi sows confusion with support for Monti as PM

ROME: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi sowed confusion Wednesday saying he could abandon his re-election bid if Prime Minister Mario Monti decided to run as leader of a centre-right coalition, a stunning twist to his two-decade political career.

"If Monti runs for leader, I would take a step back," Berlusconi said, a day after he criticised his successor for failing to revive the Italian economy and said he was "too German-centric".

"I think it would be a great benefit for the country if professor Monti becomes the next prime minister as leader of a moderate movement," he said.

Berlusconi said he could also be a coordinator of a broad centre-right coalition without being its candidate or choose to go for some "well-deserved rest".

There is growing speculation in Italian media that Monti, a former high-flying European commissioner, could run in the elections, but the 69-year-old economist has so far declined to comment.

To the general confusion of journalists at the book presentation where he was speaking, billionaire Berlusconi added: "At the moment I am a candidate for Palazzo Chigi" -- the prime minister's residence.

The three-time prime minister then said the current secretary of his People of Freedom (PDL) party, Angelino Alfano, could be a possible candidate instead.

"I was pushed by my supporters to be the candidate, I did not put myself forward," Berlusconi said.

"I do not at all exclude" Alfano's candidacy, the 76-year-old said, adding: "It is absolutely possible that he will be the prime minister."

Berlusconi's comments surprised political observers, since he and Monti have been clashing at a distance this week with barbed references to each other's government records.

Riccardo Barenghi, a columnist for La Stampa daily, dismissed Berlusconi's offer as "a joke".

"It's clear that the candidate from the centre-right is still Silvio Berlusconi. He's back in full form," Barenghi said.

Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Monti's unelected, technocratic government in parliament last week, prompting the prime minister to announce that he will resign as soon as next year's budget is approved in the coming days.

Berlusconi officially launched his campaign for a new term as premier on Saturday, saying "I am running to win."

Monti replaced Berlusconi in November 2011 after the tycoon was forced out by a parliamentary revolt, a wave of panic on the financial markets and a series of damaging sex scandals.

Monti is widely credited with dragging Italy back from the brink of bankruptcy by keeping a lid on public finances, launching long-delayed economic reforms and restoring Italy's credibility abroad.

Unemployment has risen to record highs and austerity has hit the middle class hard, however, and the economy has remained mired in recession with a slight recovery only expected in the second half of 2013.

Monti said on Wednesday that Berlusconi had resigned "leaving a lot left to be done", adding: "That is why whoever wins the elections will have to try and continue reforms."

Reacting to criticism of his candidacy from European leaders, Berlusconi on Wednesday said: "I think there have been misunderstandings and a lot of malice from these people.

"I am against a European Union with hegemonic countries that do not show solidarity," he added.

He said that a "hegemonic Germany" gave the European Central Bank only the power to fight inflation when the single currency was formed.

"That's why the euro is not a real currency," he said.

Germany reacted to earlier criticism from Berlusconi on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle saying it was unacceptable for Germany to be used as a target in a "populist election campaign".

"Neither Germany nor Europe is to blame for the difficulties in Italy. On the contrary, Germany has always been a great help in overcoming the problems," Westerwelle said.

The German minister also warned that if Italy's new government goes back on Monti's reforms "it would be a dangerous development for Europe."

Berlusconi on Wednesday also criticised European Council President Herman Van Rompuy saying "he was not a part of the history of the European Union."

A convicted tax fraudster who is on trial for abuse of power and having sex with an underage prostitute, Berlusconi is running for election for the sixth time since 1994, when he started out with a party called Forza Italia (Go Italy).

The current favourite to win in the elections expected in February is Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the centre-left Democratic Party.

Bersani has promised to follow Monti's agenda in terms of "discipline and austerity" but adding more "jobs and equity".

-AFP/ac

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Police: Shooter acted alone in 'heinous, horrible' crime

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: The gunman initially tried to flee after opening fire, sheriff's investigators say


• NEW: Officials identify the shooter and his victims


• NEW: The gunman was 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts


• A mall employee heard the suspect announce he was the gunman

Follow continuing local coverage on CNN affiliates KPTV, KATU, KGW and KOIN. See photos from the scene

(CNN) -- The gunman, having shot three people at an Oregon mall, initially tried to flee.

Fearful shoppers hid in stores and behind racks as the man ran down a corridor and to a back hallway that led downstairs.

By then, he likely heard the sirens as dozens of police officers converged on the Clackamas Town Center in Happy Valley.

The gunman, dressed in a load-bearing vest and a mask, then decided to take his own life.

Details of Tuesday's deadly mall shooting began to emerge, but the biggest question -- Why? -- remained unanswered.

Gunman opens fire in Oregon mall

HIDE CAPTION

At a news conference on Wednesday, investigators identified a 22-year-old man as the lone suspect responsible for shooting three people -- two of them fatally -- at the mall in suburban Portland.

Sheriff's investigators said they believe Jacob Tyler Roberts acted alone in what they described as a "heinous, horrible, tragic crime."

But for those looking for a motive, all investigators shared for now was that there was no apparent connection between the shooter and his victims.

The man and woman who were fatally shot were Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45.

The gunman hastily moved through the Macy's at the mall and toward the food court, located on the second floor, where he opened fire, the sheriff's office said.

Police arrived within one minute of the first calls of a shooting, a speedy response that may have influenced the gunman's course of action, Sheriff Craig Roberts said.

The gunman was wearing a load-bearing vest -- a military-style vest that makes it easier to carry heavy equipment, which many witnesses confused with a bulletproof vest -- and was armed with a semi-automatic rifle.

The rifle jammed at one point, but started working again, the sheriff said.

The injured woman was identified as Kristina Shevchenko by officials at the Oregon Health and Science University Hospital. She remains in serious condition, the hospital said.

The families of the other victims, Yuille and Forsyth, provided brief comments through authorities, but asked for privacy as they mourn their loved ones.

Yuille was remembered as "everybody's friend" who put others first.

Forsyth was the father of two children with a great sense of humor and a zest for life, his family said.

Mall patrons were paralyzed during the shooting, as shoppers had no clue where the gunman would fire next.

Entire swaths of Clackamas Town Center turned silent. The only sounds were the blasts from the man's rifle and the ensuing screams. Even the mall's Santa dropped to the ground.

"I thought I was going to die," mall employee David Moran said. "The gunshots were so loud, it was very scary. ... Kids were crying. Parents were crying, too."

Kira Rowland was holding her 6-month-old baby in Macy's when the shots rang out.

"I threw my baby into the stroller and just started running, because everybody was screaming and everybody just started to run," she said.

Inside Clackamas Town Center

The gunman wore a hockey mask and jogged through Macy's wielding a rifle, a woman told CNN affiliate KOIN.

As some panicked customers bolted for the exits, others ducked under store counters or hid behind racks of clothing.

The suspect announced aloud that "I am the shooter" as he ran through Macy's, said witness and store employee Austin Patty.

The shooter carried a rifle "like you would see in a video game."

As the shooting started, Patty ran out of the store, warning everyone in his path that there was a shooter on the loose and ordering them out of the store.

The sheriff's office confirmed that a rifle and a mask were recovered from the scene.

Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage to get a better picture of what happened.

Erin Quackenbush-Baker was in a vulnerable position -- in the middle of the mall at a kiosk with her grandmother and three young children.

"My 5-year-old was covering her ears and crying. I was frantic to find a place to run, and I looked back (at) my son in my stroller and glass is falling over us," she said. "The shots were getting closer, and it sounded like he was getting closer."

"I felt like sitting ducks, where we were."

Timeline: Worst mass shootings in U.S.

During a brief halt in the gunfire, a man helped rush the family into a nearby Sephora store. That's where Quackenbush-Baker and her children hid for an hour, "waiting to see if we were going to be shot or not."

As word spread that the shooter was moving from store to store, customers at Sears burst into tears, Christina Fisher told KOIN.

"We were told to stand in a group by the top of the escalators and stay away from the windows out of the aisle. ... We stood there for probably a good 20 minutes," she said. "All of the sudden, somebody came through with a radio, yelling, 'Get down!' "

As the melee unfolded, some customers watched television news reports about the shooting from inside the Sears entertainment center, Tylor Pedersen told affiliate KGW.

Antonio Charro spotted a wounded woman near a cell phone store and tried to help, but to no avail.

"She had apparently been shot in the chest, and I couldn't get her turned over to help her," said Charro, who had been shopping at the mall with his daughters. "There was no one around. She wasn't breathing."

Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said about 10,000 people were in the mall at the time.

No law enforcement officers fired any shots when they arrived, sheriff's Sgt. Adam Phillips said.

The 1.4 million-square-foot mall will remain closed Wednesday as investigators look for clues about the attack.

Rowland said she's grateful she got distracted while shopping and didn't venture farther into the mall.

"I think if I hadn't stopped to smell that perfume, that maybe me and my baby wouldn't be here today."

CNN's Holly Yan, Catherine E. Shoichet, Cristy Lenz, Chandler Friedman, Michael Martinez, Tom Watkins and AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.

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Suspect in Oregon mall shooting ID'd

Updated 1:40 PM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. The gunman who killed two people and himself in a shooting rampage at an Oregon mall was 22 years old and used a stolen rifle from someone he knew, authorities said Wednesday.

Jacob Tyler Roberts had armed himself with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had several fully loaded magazines when he arrived at a Portland mall on Tuesday, said Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts.

The sheriff said the rifle jammed during the 22-year-old's attack, but he managed to get it working again. He later shot himself. The sheriff said authorities don't yet have a motive.

Play Video

Cell phone video: Ore. mall evacuated after shooting

A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press the shooter did not have a criminal record. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Two people — a 54-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man — were killed, and another, Kristina Shevchenko, whose age could not be confirmed, was wounded and in serious condition on Wednesday.

The shooter, who wore a mask, fired randomly, investigators said. People at the mall were heroic in helping get shoppers out of the building, including off-duty emergency room nurses who rendered aid, Roberts said.

CBS News senior correspondent John Miller, a former deputy director of the FBI, said it was "pretty miraculous" that more people were not shot during the incident.

"He fired 'countless rounds' ... he reloaded," Miller said, before adding, "Given the amount of rounds he fired, he hit a fairly small number of people, so this could have been much worse."

In response to previous mass shootings elsewhere, the first arriving officers were trained to form teams and go inside instead of waiting for SWAT. Employees at the mall also received training to handle such a situation.

"This could have been much, much worse," Roberts said.

The first 911 call came at 3:29 p.m. Tuesday. The first officers arrived a minute later. By 3:51 p.m., all the victims and the gunman and rifle had been found. Four SWAT teams spent hours clearing the 1.4 million square-foot mall, leaving shoppers and workers to hide in fear.

The mall Santa, Brance Wilson, was waiting for the next child's Christmas wish when shots rang out, causing the mall to erupt into chaos.

About to invite a child to hop onto his lap, Wilson instead dove for the floor and kept his head down as he heard shots being fired upstairs in the mall.

"I heard two shots and got out of the chair. I thought a red suit was a pretty good target," said Wilson, 68. Families waiting for Santa scattered. More shots followed, and Wilson crept away for better cover.

Witnesses said the gunman fired several times near the mall food court until the rifle jammed and he dropped a magazine onto the floor, then ran into the Macy's store.

Witnesses heard the gunman saying, "I am the shooter," as he fired rounds from a semi-automatic rifle inside the Clackamas Town Center, a popular suburban mall several miles from downtown Portland.

Some were close enough to the shooter to feel the percussion of his gun.

Photos of shooting victims, Cindy Yuille, left, and Steven Forsyth, center, are posted on a police mall diagram along with a photo of gunman Jacob Taylor Roberts, at a press conference Wednesday Dec. 12, 2012 about the multiple shooting on Tuesday at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Clackamas, Ore.

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AP Photo/Greg Wahl-Stephens

Police rapid-response teams came into the mall with guns drawn, telling everyone to leave. Shoppers and mall employees who were hiding stayed in touch with loved ones with cellphones and texting.

Kayla Sprint, 18, was interviewing for a job at a clothing store when she heard shots.

"We heard people running back here screaming, yelling `911,"' she told The Associated Press.

Sprint barricaded herself in the store's back room until the coast was clear.

Jason DeCosta, a manager of a window-tinting company that has a display on the mall's ground floor, said when he arrived to relieve his co-worker, he heard shots ring out upstairs.

DeCosta ran up an escalator, past people who had dropped for cover and glass littering the floor.

"I figure if he's shooting a gun, he's gonna run out of bullets," DeCosta said, "and I'm gonna take him."

DeCosta said when he got to the food court, "I saw a gentleman face down, obviously shot in the head."

"A lot of blood," DeCosta said. "You could tell there was nothing you could do for him."

He said he also saw a woman on the floor who had been shot in the chest.

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Egypt army calls for talks as rival protests throng Cairo

CAIRO: Egypt's powerful army called for President Mohamed Morsi and the secular opposition to meet to resolve a deepening crisis over a constitutional referendum that sparked rival mass protests on Tuesday.

General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the country's armed forces chief and defence minister, made the appeal "for the sake of Egypt" for all political groups and movements to meet on Wednesday at a Cairo military sports complex, according to a statement posted on the military's official Facebook page.

It came as tens of thousands of protesters filled Cairo streets to demonstrate for and against the referendum called for Saturday on a draft constitution backed by Morsi and his Islamist allies.

There were fears the rival rallies could mix, sparking clashes like those seen outside the presidential palace last week, when seven people were killed and hundreds injured in a melee between mobs wielding metal bars, petrol bombs and handguns.

Troops have orders from the president to use police powers to protect "vital state institutions".

Outside the palace, thousands of opposition protesters tore down a metal and concrete barricade to denounce the Saturday referendum, forcing hundreds of soldiers back but without violence.

"We are here to say: 'Down with the illegitimate constitution'... If the referendum happens we will have to vote. But hopefully it won't," said one protester, Ahmed Badawy, 29.

At a much bigger Islamist counter-demonstration a few kilometres (miles) away gathering tens of thousands of referendum supporters, determination was equally evident.

"It's the last battle for Islam against the secularists who want to ruin Egypt," said Ahmed Alaa, who was bussed in from the north of the country.

Around him the crowd held up banners saying "Yes to the constitution," and waved Saudi and black Islamist flags as well as the Egyptian one.

The military, which has vowed to maintain stability while trying to remain neutral, has been caught in the middle of the dispute.

The main opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front, has so far ignored a previous call the army made at the weekend to start dialogue, saying talks are not possible unless the referendum is called off.

A key group of judges said on Tuesday that they would refuse to oversee the plebiscite. It was not known whether other judges would follow their lead.

Political analyst Emad Gad said that if no solution was found, there was a chance the crisis might prompt the army to step in and maybe even seize back the political control they gave up on Morsi's June election.

"In the event there are violent clashes or especially if blood is spilt in the street, the army will certainly intervene," he said.

The opposition, made up of secular, leftwing and liberal groups, sees the draft constitution rushed through by an Islamist-dominated panel last month as weakening human rights, the rights of women and religious minorities.

The UN human rights chief and international watchdogs have criticised the draft and the way it was drawn up.

Morsi's supporters, however, argue that it is up to Egypt's voters to decide in the referendum.

Michael Wahid Hanna, a political analyst at US think-tank The Century Foundation told AFP that, as things stood, there was a good chance of the referendum passing.

If that happened, Hanna warned, "I fear they are going to have an institutionalised crisis" that would polarise Egypt in the long-term, raising "the spectre of violence".

The prolonged crisis, the worst since a popular uprising overthrew autocratic president Hosni Mubarak early last year, is intensifying uncertainty over Egypt's economy.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday put a proposed $4.8 billion loan on hold.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said: "We have officially requested the delay of a month in the negotiations with the IMF because of the political situation in the country."

The IMF's executive board had been expected this month to review a provisional agreement on the loan, which is needed to bridge financing shortfalls through fiscal 2013-2014 as the country rebuilds its battered post-revolution economy.

-AFP/ac

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