Basement

NEWTOWN, Conn. - As the nation paused to mark a week since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, new details emerged about the gunman, Adam Lanza, who acquaintances said was able to take apart and reassemble a computer in a matter of minutes but rarely spoke to anyone. In high school, Lanza used to slither through the hallways, awkwardly pressing himself against the wall while wearing the same green shirt and khaki pants every day. He hardly ever talked to classmates and once gave a presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a single word.

STEVE OLESZEK eyed the steady stream of water pooling in front of his Southwest Center City rowhouse July 22 and tried to think positive thoughts. "Well, it stopped at the curb at first," he said, "so I naively thought, 'I'll be fine.' " But then the sidewalk started to buckle, and his basement began to fill with water. What Oleszek, 60, didn't know at that moment was that a 48-inch water main had cracked open at 21st and Bainbridge streets, a block south of his home on Kater Street.

Zombies are not frightening. Too messy, lumbering, careless, and undiscriminating. They're the toddlers of the underworld. Vampires never did it for me. Pale, haughty aesthetes, and, even with all that neck-nuzzling, savagely undernourished. Know what's really scary? Trees. Really, really scary. Basements, too. Even without Sandy, our basement is a little workshop of horrors. Also, the presidential polls. Craving insomnia? I suggest you consult any political website, like Realclearpolitics.com, conveying what a cloudy mess this election may turn out to be. That knowledge will keep you up, storm or no storm, for nights on end. In a rare mash-up of wretched weather and an exhausting, infuriating, mind-bogglingly endless political campaign, this Halloween is hands down the most anxiety-producing one on record.

Family and friends Sunday morning bid a tearful farewell to baby Saanvi Venna, the King of Prussia infant abducted and killed last week during a double homicide, expressing gratitude for her time on Earth and prayers that her soul would soon rejoin them. At a viewing in East Norriton, mourners stood before the altar, their shoes removed out of respect for the sanctity of their surroundings. They clasped their hands and placed pink and red rose petals atop the tiny, closed white casket.

Chillin' Wit' is a regular feature of the Daily News spotlighting a name in the news away from the job. CITY Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. invites Chillin' Wit' for an exclusive visit to his Wynnefield basement Man Cave on one condition: No politics. Just Eagles. "He's not a councilman here," Jones says, nodding at Bill Green. "And I'm not a councilman, just a person. We can scratch and burp down here. I can be a caveman. " Fellow cavemen also include son Curtis Jones III, brother Keith Jones, chief of staff Al Spivey, Democratic ward leader Lou Agre, and friends Brahin Behlin and Scott Bass.

A 70-year-old man died in a blaze Monday morning in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia. His identity was not released, but the man reportedly was living in the basement of a house on the 300 block of Buxmont Street. The fire started around 8 and was under control by 8:27, Fire Department officials said. No smoke alarms were present in the house, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. Neighbor Gail Comas said the elderly couple living in the house had recently taken in the husband's brother, who lived downstairs.

A 70-year-old man died in a blaze this morning in the Somerton in Far Northeast Philadelphia, according to the city Fire Marshal's Office. Details were scarce. But the man was reportedly living in the basement of a red brick, single family house on the 300 block of Buxmont Street. The fire broke out around 8 a.m. Firefighters found smoke coming from the basement of the two-story house. The fire was placed under control at 8:27 a.m. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office.

The case against Linda Weston, who was charged last year with imprisoning four mentally disabled adults in a squalid North Philadelphia basement in a plot to steal their government benefits, has from the beginning contained accusations of unimaginable cruelty. But authorities say the Weston story also represents a potential test case for a new federal hate-crime statute that allows for prosecution of those who victimize the disabled. It would be the first such prosecution since the law was passed in 2009.

All right, gardeners and marble experts. Here's a reader in need of advice (I'd try but I haven't gotten many tomatoes this year and my sills are wood). Question: I have a tomato garden. I put the tomatoes on my marble windowsills in my kitchen. I went away for a few days and forgot about the tomatoes. When I returned, the tomatoes were overripe and mushy. The acid from them etched marks in the marble. I have tried different things, but nothing is working. I stopped in a tile store and they told me I would have to get someone out who restores marble.

The body of a man who had been fatally shot was found Friday morning in a basement in East Germantown, police said. The man, described as being between 40 and 50 years old, had been shot twice in the back, police said. His body was found in the basement of a home on the 800 block of East Price Street, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:18 a.m. - Inquirer staff