NEW YORK (AP) — The horrific massacre of 26 children and staff at a Connecticut elementary school, along with other mass shootings, was the top news story of 2012, narrowly edging out the U.S. election, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.Superstorm Sandy was third, far ahead of the next group of stories.The U.S.-focused slant of the top stories this year contrasted with last year’s voting, when the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan was No. 1, followed by Japan’s earthquake/ tsunami disaster, and the Arab Spring uprisings that rocked North Africa and the Middle East.Here are 2012’s top 10 stories, in order:1. MASS SHOOTINGS: Armed with a high-powered rifle, 20-year-old Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and shot dead 20 children — all ages 6 and 7 — and six staff members in the second-worst school massacre in U.S. history.