BBC news with Nick Kelly

The American gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, has called for armed guards in every school in its first response to the mass shooting in Connecticut, in which 26 children and adults were killed. From Washington, Mark Mardell.

Those who expected an offer of compromise were disappointed. Instead, their leader, Wayne La Pierre, mounted impassioned attack on what he said was the media's hatred of his organization and what he called the filthy pornography of violent video games. He was interrupted twice by protesters. "NRA, stop killing our children!" But at the heart of his argument, a fierce defense of guns themselves is the only real answer and a plan for armed police and volunteers in every school. After the press conference, the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, accused the NRA of a shameful evasion of the crisis facing the United States. Earlier, people across the United States observed a period of silence to mark one week since the shootings at Sandy Hook.

President Obama has nominated Senator John Kerry as his next secretary of state to replace Hillary Clinton. Senator Kerry became an almost certain nominee after his rival for the job, the ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, withdrew from consideration last week. Ben Wright has more.

It's a job John Kerry has craved since losing his bid to be president eight years ago. The role should be a comfortable fit for the obeying Massachusetts Senator. A decorated Vietnam veteran, Kerry late became an outspoken critic of the war, as he was about America's invasion of Iraq during the 2004 presidential election. But it wasn't enough to beat George Bush. John Kerry is currently chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his decades of experience scrutinizing and shaping U.S. policy overseas.