'Fiscal cliff' road trip: Obama talks Scrooge as GOP stews President Obama’s speech Friday at a toy factory in suburban Philadelphia – an electoral battleground area – had all the hallmarks of a campaign event. An American flag was prominently displayed. About 350 people packed the room,…
WWF ousts Spanish king as honorary president over hunting trip
The wildlife conservation group World Wildlife Fund ousted Spain’s King Juan Carlos as its honorary president after his Botswana hunting trip sparked an outcry for its extravagance during an economic crisis. … Read More
Colo. Shooting Suspect’s Apartment Was ‘Set Up to Kill’
Police: ‘This Is Some Serious Stuff’ The booby-trapped apartment of the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting suspect was “set up to kill,” police said today as they worked gain access to his home. Authorities successfully disarmed the first trip wire and indendiary device in the apartment where shooting suspect James Holmes, 24, lived, and said they are working to secure the entire apartment. “What you need to understand is this trip wire was set up to clearly detonate when someone entered that apartment and it was set up to kill that person. That could have been a police officer executing a search warrant or anything,” Aurora Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Cassidee Carlson said. Carlson said there are other devices inside the residence but declined to go into detail. “This is some serious stuff that our team is dealing with,” she said. “So what the team is dealing with now is they are reassessing the scene now that the first threat is taken care of. This has provided them with a chance to rest and reassess.” Authorities are now moving into stage two of a three-step plan for entering the apartment that may include controlled detonations, which may “cause a lot of boom” and potentially a fire, Carlson said. “If that is to occur, keeping public safety in mind, we will be shutting down Peoria Street behind me and doing a reverse 911 call,” she said. Police said Friday that a large number of explosive devices and trip wires were found at shooting suspect James Holmes’ apartment in an “elaborate” set-up. One official told ABC News there were wires everywhere and described Holmes as a like a mad scientist. Some devices appeared to be strapped to boxes of bullets and what looked like mortar rounds, police said. The “flammable and explosive” materials could have blown up Holmes’ apartment building and the ones near it, police said. Now that the trip wires are disarmed, authorities plan to dispose of the incendiary devices in the apartment, including approximately 30 aerial shells, which will be placed into sand trucks and taken to a disposal site, Carlson said. From that point, police plan to move into the investigation phase, hoping Holmes’ computer and any writings could provide a gateway to understanding his motive. A former doctoral student, Holmes, 24, is suspected of killing 12 people at the screening of the latest Batman movie in Aurora early Friday morning. Fifty-eight people were wounded. According to police sources, Holmes, told the officers arresting him that he was “The Joker,” referring to the villain in the second installment of the Batman movie trilogy, “The Dark Knight.” He also warned police that he had booby-trapped his apartment, leading officers to evacuate the Aurora apartment building. Authorities said there is widespread concern over copy cats and police in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other jurisdictions have stepped up their securities. Two other people died at the hospital, including 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi. Police said thirty people remained hospitalized with 11 of them in critical condition. Bullets from the shooting spree tore through the theater and into adjoining theaters, where at least one other person was struck and injured. … Read More
Police disarm Colorado theatre shooting suspect’s apartment; memorials for 12 dead
AURORA, Colo. – Authorities on Saturday began disarming trip wires and explosive devices “set up to kill” inside the apartment of the suspect in the deadly Colorado movie theatre shooting, hoping to find clues to his motive without destroying key evidence in a blast.Federal authorities detonated one small explosive and disarmed another inside James Holmes’ suburban Denver apartment, but several other explosive devices remained, said Aurora police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson.Makeshift memorials sprang up for the 12 victims, who included a U.S. navy sailor, an aspiring sportscaster, a man celebrating his 27th birthday, and a 6-year-old-girl, after police grimly went door to door with a list of those killed in the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history.Holmes, 24, was arrested early Friday outside the Aurora theatre after witnesses say he unleashed gunfire and gas canisters on a crowd of moviegoers watching the midnight showing of the new Batman film, “The Dark Knight Rises.”On Saturday, law enforcement officials began trying to disarm up to 30 devices in Holmes’ booby-trapped apartment, and set off a small explosion to detonate one device.The devices were “set up to kill that person and that could have been a police officer executing a search warrant,” Carlson said. Police planned an intricate procedure to disarm the possible weapons without destroying evidence that could be in the apartment.”We don’t want to lose evidential value,” Carlson said.Federal officials said in a bulletin obtained by The Associated Press that they still hadn’t determined a motive for the suspect as families grieved and others waited at hospitals, where seven of the wounded remained in critical condition on Saturday with some injuries that could be permanent.In his Saturday radio address, President Barack Obama urged Americans to pray “for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover.”The victims included 23-year-old Micayla Medek, said Anita Busch, the cousin of Medek’s father. The family took the news hard, but knowing her fate after waiting without word brought them some peace, Busch said.”I hope this evil act, that this evil man doesn’t shake people’s faith in God,” she said.Besides Medek, relatives confirmed that Alex Sullivan, who was celebrating his 27th birthday; Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster who survived a recent Toronto mall shooting; U.S. Navy sailor John Larimer, and 6-year-old Veronica Moser, were among those killed.Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said Holmes used a military-style semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a pistol to open fire on the unsuspecting theatre-goers. He had bought the weapons at local gun stores within the last two months. He also recently purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the Internet, the chief said.The suspect’s stellar academic record, apparent shy demeanour and lack of a criminal background made the attack even more difficult to fathom.It also wasn’t known why the suspect chose a movie theatre to stage the assault, or whether he intended some twisted, symbolic link to the film’s violent scenes.The Batman movie, the last in the trilogy starring Christian Bale, opened worldwide Friday with midnight showings in the U.S. The plot has the villain Bane facing Bale’s Caped Crusader with a nuclear weapon that could destroy all of fictional Gotham.The Dark Knight Rises” earned $30.6 million in Friday morning midnight screenings, and, according to industry estimates, roughly $75-$77 million on the day. That put it on track for a weekend total of around $165 million, which would be the second highest opening weekend ever, following “The Avengers.”Warner Bros. has announced it would forgo the usual revenue reports until Monday out of respect for the victims. Sony, Disney, Universal and Lionsgate also said they would delay reporting box office receipts until Monday, a day later than the routine Sunday releases for Hollywood.In New York City, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said: “It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He has his hair painted red. He said he was the Joker, obviously the enemy of Batman.”Oates would not confirm that information, but did say he spoke to Kelly. Asked whether Holmes had makeup to look like the Joker, Oates said: “That to my knowledge is not true.”Near the entrance to the theatre’s parking lot, a makeshift memorial of 12 candles sat in a row alongside piles of flowers. Up the hill from the theatre, about 20 pastors led a vigil for 350 people, some hugging and crying. A sign read, “7/20. Gone Not Forgotten.”An emotional Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said earlier Friday that people would not be defined by the tragedy.”We are clear that we are going to rise back and lift ourselves above this,” he said.A federal law enforcement official said Holmes bought a ticket to the movie, went into the theatre as part of the crowd and propped open an exit door as the movie was playing. The suspect then donned protective ballistic gear and opened fire, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation.Authorities said Holmes shot scores of people, picking off victims who tried to flee. At least one person was struck in an adjacent theatre by gunfire that went through the wall. Adding to the terror and chaos were two gas canisters thrown by the suspect that filled the theatre with smoke.Tanner Coon, a 17-year-old Aurora resident who was watching the film with two friends, said he first thought the gunshots were firecrackers … Read More
New vacation necessity: professional photographer?
With friends and family increasingly scrutinizing vacation photos via Facebook, some travelers are hiring professional photographers to capture lasting memories of their trip. … Read More
4 drown in ‘Blood Grotto’ panic
Four scuba divers drowned after a routine trip to a popular underwater cave system in southern Italy went horribly wrong over the weekend, according to the coast guard. … Read More
