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BySeanCarlinand Maryclaire Dale The Associated Press PENNSBURG, PA. A man killed six people as he weaved across the Philadel- phia suburbs in a predawn rampage Monday and then holed up in a house, author- ities said. Bradley William Stone, 35, started at his ex-wife's Harleysville apartment, breaking in through a glass door around 4 a.m., firing multiple rounds and fleeing with their two chil- dren, the woman's neigh- bors said. He then went to two nearby communities, where he killed five other people and severely wounded an- other person before holing up in a Pennsburg home, authorities said. "She would tell anybody who would listen that he was going to kill her, and that she was really afraid for her life," said Evan Weron, a neighbor of Stone's ex-wife, Nicole Stone. Stone had a "familial re- lationship" to all the vic- tims, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. The two chil- dren Stone took from his ex- wife's house were safe, Fer- man said. Stone, about 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, was likely wear- ing military fatigues and was known to use a cane or walker, Ferman said. The shootings occurred before dawn at homes in Harleysville, Lansdale and Souderton, which are within a few miles of each other. Police with armored ve- hicles and rifles flocked to Pennsburg after spending several hours at the home in Souderton where sev- eral victims were found. In Pennsburg, police tried to compel his surrender with a bullhorn and loud explo- sions. "Bradley, this is the po- lice department!" offi- cers yelled throughout the standoff. "Come to the front door with your hands up. You're under arrest." In March 2009, Stone and his then-wife, Nicole, filed for divorce. They recently sparred over custody of their two children, with Stone filing an emergency petition Dec. 5 and Nicole responding with a counterclaim Dec. 9, according to court records. The outcome of their dis- pute was not clear. Nicole Stone's neighbors say they were awoken by the sounds of breaking glass and gunshots. Weron described Brad Stone as a former member of the military. He said Ni- cole Stone would talk fre- quently about the custody dispute. "(Nicole) came into the house a few times, a few separate occasions, crying about how it was very up- setting to her," Weron said. Several school districts ordered students and teach- ers to shelter in place. The Souderton Area School Dis- trict lifted the order after about two hours but said of- ficials were monitoring the situation. CRIME 6 dead, suspect on loose in suburban Philadelphia By Ricardo Alonso- Zaldivar The Associated Press WASHINGTON Sign-up sea- son for President Barack Obama's health care law is off to a stronger start this year, even as Americans remain skeptical that the government's newest so- cial program is right for the country. As one major enrollment deadline was passing Mon- day, other second-year mile- stones quickly approached. The administration seems well on the way to its goal of 9.1 million customers en- rolled for private coverage through government-spon- sored online markets. But it's not there yet. Public attitudes toward Obama's signature law are only slightly less chilly than before the congressional midterm elections that saw Republicans, still clamor- ing for its repeal, win both chambers of Congress. An Associated Press- GfK poll earlier this month found an uptick for the Af- fordable Care Act, with 29 percent saying they support it, compared with 25 per- cent in October. Opposition to "Obamacare" was stable at 41 percent, while the rest were on the fence. In nearly every state, Monday was the deadline for new customers to pick a health plan to take effect Jan. 1, and for current en- rollees to make changes that could reduce premium increases before the new year. Open enrollment sea- son doesn't end until Feb. 15, for coverage that takes effect March 1. Current cus- tomers can still make plan changes through that date. Based on early numbers from the administration, it's looking like the majority of the 6.7 million current cus- tomers have opted to stay in their current plans and be automatically renewed on Jan. 1. Making sure that happens as smoothly as it's been advertised is the ad- ministration's next major challenge. As Monday's deadline for Jan. 1 coverage approached, HealthCare.gov and state health insurance websites saw a jump in traffic. Wait times at the federal call center stretched to 20 min- utes and longer. The federal government is running the insurance markets in 37 states. Also known as ex- changes, the markets offer subsidized private plans to people who don't have cov- erage on the job. Consumers have differ- ent motivations for sign- ing up. Enrollment coun- selors say they are start- ing to see more people worried about incurring fines for remaining unin- sured. The fines are going up substantially in 2015, to a minimum of $325, from $95 this year. HEALTH CARE Stronger start this year for ACA enrollments By Kristen Gelineau The Associated Press SYDNEY The deadly siege began in the most incon- gruous of ways, on a sunny Monday morning inside a cheerful cafe in the heart of Australia's largest city. An Iranian-born gunman burst in, took 17 people hos- tage, and forced some to hold a flag with an Islamic declaration of faith above the shop window's fes- tive inscription of "Merry Christmas." It ended after midnight with a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the gunman dead, four oth- ers wounded, and a nation that has long prided itself on its peace rocked to its core. After waiting 16 hours, police stormed the Lindt Chocolat Cafe early Tues- day when they heard gun- fire inside, said New South Wales state police Commis- sioner Andrew Scipione. A loud bang rang out, several hostages ran from the building and police swooped in amid heavy gunfire, shouts and flashes. A police bomb disposal ro- bot also was sent into the building, but no explosives were found. "They made the call be- cause they believed that at that time, if they didn't en- ter, there would have been many more lives lost," Scip- ione said. The gunman was identi- fied as 50-year-old Man Ha- ron Monis, who once was prosecuted for sending of- fensive letters to families of Australian troops killed in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Tony Ab- bott said Monis had "a long history of violent crime, in- fatuation with extremism and mental instability." Scipione wouldn't say whether the two hos- tages who were killed — a 34-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman — were caught in crossfire, or shot by their captor. Among the four wounded was a police officer shot in the face. One of the victims was Sydney lawyer and mother- of-three Katrina Dawson. "Katrina was one of our best and brightest barris- ters who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends" Jane Need- ham, president of the New South Wales Bar Associa- tion, said in a statement. Officials rolled one gur- ney out of the cafe carrying what appeared to be a man draped in a blood-soaked sheet with a bloody hand- print in the center. Para- medics also carried away a woman with blood-cov- ered feet. "I can only imagine the terror that they've been through," Scipione said. "They are very brave peo- ple who in many cases were just buying a cup of coffee and they got caught up in this dreadful affair. We should reflect on their courage." The prime minister also reflected on how an ordi- nary day turned terrifying. "There is nothing more Australian than dropping in at the local cafe for a morn- ing coffee, and it's tragic be- yond words that people go- ing about their everyday business should have been caught up in such a horrific incident," Abbott said. While Monis' motivation for the attack was still un- clear, Abbott confirmed he was "well-known" to state and federal authorities. Last year, he was con- victed and sentenced to 300 hours of commu- nity service for using the postal service to send what a judge called "grossly of- fensive" letters to fami- lies of soldiers killed in Af- ghanistan between 2007 and 2009. At the time, Monis said his letters were "flowers of advice," adding: "Always, I stand behind my beliefs." Monis later was charged with being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. Earlier this year, he was charged with the sexual as- sault of a woman in 2002. He has been out on bail on the charges. "He had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and men- tal instability," Abbott said. "As the siege unfolded yes- terday, he sought to cloak his actions with the sym- bolism of the ISIL death cult. Tragically, there are people in our community ready to engage in politi- cally motivated violence." "This is a one-off ran- dom individual. It's not a concerted terrorism event or act. It's a damaged- goods individual who's done something outra- geous," his former lawyer, Manny Conditsis, told Aus- tralian Broadcasting Corp. "His ideology is just so strong and so powerful that it clouds his vision for common sense and objec- tiveness," Conditsis said. AUSTRALIA Ca fe s ie ge e nd s; 3 d ea d, including the gunman ROBGRIFFITH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A stretcher is wheeled to an ambulance a er shots were fired during a cafe siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. 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