National

 JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - Lawyers for Drew Peterson have told jurors in Illinois that Peterson is the victim of a media frenzy that began when his fourth wife disappeared, and continued until he was arrested and charged in the death of his third wife.

 

     But prosecutors gave jurors a different account -- of a man who does what he has to, including murder, to keep his ex-wife's hands off his money.

 

     Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in the 2004 death of Kathleen Savio (SAH'-vee-oh). He is suspected but not charged in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

 

     Today's only prosecution witness was a neighbor who discovered Savio's body in a dry bathtub. She testified that Peterson ran up the stairs, took Savio's pulse, and declared somberly, "She is dead."

 

     During opening statements, a prosecutor said Peterson had told Savio weeks before her death that he would kill her, and that she'd never see a divorce settlement or get his $300,000 pension.

 

     But a defense lawyer said repeatedly that there was no evidence that the death was anything but a tragic accident.

 

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate has voted to approve a Democratic bill renewing tax cuts next year for all but the highest-earning Americans.

 

     The partisan 51-48 vote was a victory for Democrats and averted what would have been a campaign-season embarrassment for them and the White House. The bill closely follows the tax-cutting vision of President Barack Obama.

 

     The measure would extend tax cuts in 2013 that otherwise would expire in January. It would deny those reductions to individuals making over $200,000 and couples earning at least $250,000. 

 

     Democrats said omitting the rich from the reductions was an equitable way for the wealthy to contribute to deficit-reduction efforts. Republicans say the higher levies would hurt job creation because many of the wealthy own companies. 

 

     The bill will go nowhere in the GOP-run House. 

 

 

     NASA confirmed her death Monday afternoon. Her office in San Diego said she died of pancreatic cancer.

 

     Ride flew into space on the shuttle Challenger in 1983 when she was 32. 

 

     President Barack Obama is calling her a national hero and a "powerful role model". In a statement, the president says Ride "inspired  generations of young girls to reach for the stars" and "fought tirelessly to help them get there by advocating for a greater focus on science and math" in the nation's schools. 

 

     CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado prosecutor says the suspect in the mass shooting at a midnight Batman film screening could face the death penalty.

 

     Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers said Monday that her office is considering pursuing that punishment against James Holmes. She says a decision will be made in consultation with victims' families. 

 

     Holmes makes his first court appearance Monday. The 24-year-old former graduate student is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder.

 

     Holmes is suspected in a shooting at a theater in a Denver suburb that killed 12 people and injured 58. 

 <VIDEO>     AURORA, Colo. (AP) - A gunman in a gas mask barged into a crowded Denver-area theater during a midnight premiere of the Batman movie on Friday, hurled a gas canister and then opened fire, killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others in one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history. 

 

     When the gas began to spread, some moviegoers thought it was a stunt that was part of the "The Dark Knight Rises," one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer. Then they saw a silhouette of a person in the smoke near the screen, first pointing a gun at the crowd and shooting. 

 

     "There were bullet (casings) just falling on my head. They were burning my forehead," Jennifer Seeger said, adding that the gunman, dressed like a SWAT team member, fired steadily except when he stopped to reload.

 

     "Every few seconds it was just: Boom, boom, boom," she said.  "He would reload and shoot and anyone who would try to leave would just get killed." 

 

     The suspect was taken into custody and identified by federal law enforcement officials as 24-year-old James Holmes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

 

     Authorities did not release a motive. The FBI said there was no indication that the shooting is tied to any terrorist groups. 

 

     Victims are being treated for chemical exposure apparently related to canisters thrown by the gunman. Some of those injured are children, including a 3-month-old infant who was shot.

 

     Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania on ABC's "Good Morning America" said he didn't know yet if all the injuries were gunshot wounds. He said some might have been caused by other things such as shrapnel.

 

     The movie opened across the world Friday, with midnight showings in the U.S. The shooting prompted officials to cancel the Paris premiere, with workers pulling down the red carpet display at a theater on the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue.

 

     President Barack Obama said he was saddened by the "horrific and tragic shooting," pledging that his administration was "committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded."

 

     It was the worst mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at the school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, about 15 miles west of Aurora, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves. 

 

     Friday's attack began shortly after midnight at the multiplex theater at a mall in Aurora, the state's third-largest city. 

 

     The film has several scenes of public mayhem - a hallmark of superhero movies. In one scene, the main villain Bane leads an attack on the stock exchange and, in another, leads a shooting and bombing rampage on a packed football stadium.

 

     It was the final installment of the "Dark Knight" trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale as Batman. The series has a darker tone than previous Batman incarnations. It is the follow-up to "The Dark Knight," which won Heath Ledger a posthumous Oscar for his searing portrayal of The Joker. 

 

     The gunman released a gas that smelled like pepper spray from a green canister with a tag on it, Seeger said. 

 

     "I thought it was showmanship. I didn't think it was real," she said. 

 

     Seeger said she was in the second row, about four feet from the gunman, when he pointed a gun at her face. At first, "I was just a deer in headlights. I didn't know what to do," she said. Then she ducked to the ground as the gunman shot people seated behind her.

 

     She said she began crawling toward an exit when she saw a girl about 14 years old "lying lifeless on the stairs." She saw a man with a bullet wound in his back and tried to check his pulse, but "I had to go. I was going to get shot." 

 

     Then the man began firing, starting with a shot toward the ceiling. 

 

     Witness Shayla Roeder said she saw a young teenage girl on the ground bleeding outside the theater. "She just had this horrible look in her eyes .... We made eye contact and I could tell she was not all right," Roeder said.

 

     Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said. Officers came running in and telling people to leave the theater, Salina Jordan told the Denver Post. She said some police were carrying and dragging bodies.

 

     Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he heard several shots. "Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming," he told the station. Hayden said at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. But then he saw "people hunched over leaving theater."

 

     Officers later found the gunman near a car behind the theater.

 

     "A gas mask, rifle, handgun (and) at least one additional weapon (were) found inside," Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said, adding that there was no evidence of any other attackers. The suspect spoke of "possible explosives in his residence. We are dealing with that potential threat," Oates said.

 

     A large truck lettered "bomb squad" arrived near an Aurora apartment complex where the suspect is believed to have lived, about four miles from the theater. Dozens of police squad cars, vans and other vehicles were already at the scene, along with black-clad officers carrying automatic weapons.

 

     Police evacuated residents of the building. Oates did not say whether any explosives had been found. He said police also checked for explosives in the parking lot and at the Century 16 theater and secured those areas.

 

     At least 24 people were being treated at Denver area hospitals. 

 

     "Warner Bros. and the filmmakers are deeply saddened to learn about this shocking incident. We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims at this tragic time," the studio said. 

 

     The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn't known. Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, a spokeswoman said.

 

 

<VIDEO>     WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal law enforcement officials say the suspect in Friday's deadly shooting in Colorado is James Holmes, a 24-year-old white American.

 

     Officials believe Holmes killed a dozen people when he fired into a crowded movie theater in a Denver suburb. He was wearing a gas mask and set off an unknown gas in the theater.

 

     Holmes is in police custody, and the FBI says there is no indication that incident is tied to any terrorist groups.

 

     The federal law enforcement officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation

 

<VIDEO>      AURORA, Colo. (AP) - A gunman wearing a gas mask set off an unknown gas and fired into a crowded movie theater in suburban Denver theater at a midnight opening of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.

     

 

  WASHINGTON (AP) - A new survey shows most Americans know they have a constitutional right to freedom of speech, and for a clear majority, that does not translate into allowing unlimited spending by corporations or labor unions on political campaigns.

 

     According to a poll from the First Amendment Center, Americans oppose unlimited campaign spending by corporations and unions by a 2-to-1 margin. 

 

     The annual survey on public knowledge and opinions about the First Amendment asked about such campaign spending after the Supreme Court's landmark 2010 ruling in the Citizens United case that removed spending limits for such groups. 

 

     Asked to name the freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment, 65 percent mentioned freedom of speech. Less than half thought of the freedoms of religion, press, right to assemble or the right to petition.

 

 

     Black voter turnout of 64.7 percent was significant in Obama's victory in 2008, and African Americans are considered solidly behind Obama now. But the Urban League says a drop in black turnout to about 60 percent or below could cost him. The league bases its conclusion on all other voting patterns remaining the same. But anything could change, such as a rise in Hispanic turnout, and offset a drop in black voter turnout.

 

     Obama is to speak at the group's New Orleans convention, which begins July 25.

  GLENDALE, Colo. (AP) - Nearly a year after the nation's deadliest foodborne illness outbreak in more than two decades, Colorado cantaloupes are back in supermarkets. 

 

     Farmers near the town of Rocky Ford are going on the offensive to restore the fruit's reputation a year after melons from one of the area's farms caused a nationwide listeria outbreak that killed 30 people. 

 

     Farmers have banded together to trademark Rocky Ford melons and fund a new tracking system to prevent future outbreaks, but they must convince buyers that the melons are safe. 

 

     From new picking and packing techniques to traceable codes allowing shoppers to see where their cantaloupes came from, farmers in the two southern Colorado counties that produce Rocky Ford melons have spent $800,000 on safety upgrades to restore the fruit's reputation.

 

  LOS ANGELES (AP) - A solar storm is racing toward Earth this weekend, but scientists say not to worry.

 

     The blast of charged solar particles was due to arrive Saturday morning and shake Earth's magnetic field. Space weather forecasters say it will be a minor event and they don't expect disruptions to power grids or communications systems.

 

     The storm began Thursday when the sun unleashed a huge flare that sent a stream of particles speeding toward Earth at 3 million mph. 

 

     There's a bright side to stormy space weather:  It tends to create colorful northern lights.  Scientists say shimmering colorful auroras may be visible at the United States-Canada border and northern Europe this weekend.

 

  OYSTER BAY, N.Y. (AP) - A yacht that capsized and sank off New York's Long Island, killing three children, has been lifted from the bottom of the bay and will be brought to shore.

 

     FBI divers on Wednesday raised the 34-foot Kandi Won (KAN'-dee wun) from about 60 feet below the surface of Oyster Bay, off the north shore of Long Island.

 

     They tried to raise the boat Tuesday but ran into difficulty in the murky waters. 

 

     The boat sank July 4 with 27 people on board following a fireworks display. 

 

     Investigators are hoping that getting the yacht back on land will assist their investigation into how it capsized.

 

     Police are trying to determine if the boat was overcrowded. They also hope to learn if the vessel had enough life jackets for every passenger.

 

 <VIDEO>
     WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is struggling.

 

     The Labor Department says the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent.

 

     The economy has added just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That's one-third of 226,000 a month created in the first quarter.  Job creation is also trailing last year's pace through the first six months of 2012. 

 

     A weaker job market has made consumers less confident. They have pulled back on spending, even though gas prices have plunged. 

 

     High unemployment could shift momentum to Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.  An Associated Press-GfK poll released last month found that more than half of those surveyed disapproved of President Barack Obama's handling of the economy. 

 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Two Republican officials say GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee combined raised more than $100 million in June. 

 

     It's a striking number for a presidential challenger, and it doesn't count the tens of millions that GOP outside groups have raised to help Romney defeat President Barack Obama this fall. 

 

     The Republican officials confirmed the figure only on the condition of not being identified because they were not authorized to release it to the media. Politico first reported the figure.

 

     Obama hasn't released what he and the Democratic National Committee raised in June.

 

     In May, Romney and the RNC raised a combined $76.8 million, while Obama and the DNC brought in $60 million.

 

     ---

 

 WASHINGTON (AP) - Six U.S. airmen missing from a combat mission over southern Laos during the Vietnam War will be buried Monday after their remains were located and identified following a 17-year investigation.

 

     The Defense Department said Thursday the six will be buried in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery. 

 

     Their AC-47D aircraft went down Dec. 24, 1965, after sending a mayday signal.

 

     A U.S.-Lao team located the crash site in 1995, and investigators searched the area four times between 1999 and 2001 but found no human remains. The search resumed in 2010 and 2011, when remains were located. They were identified using dental records and other evidence.

 

     More than 300 American personnel are missing from Laos, where the U.S. bombarded supply lines of communist guerrillas fighting U.S. forces in neighboring Vietnam.

 

 

     WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. service companies, which employ roughly 90 percent of the economy, grew in June at the slowest pace in nearly two and a half years, adding to worries that the economy has weakened. 

 

     The Institute for Supply Management says its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 52.1 last month from a May reading of 53.7. That's the lowest reading since January 2010.

 

     Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. 

     DETROIT (AP) - Chrysler says its U.S. sales rose 20 percent in June on strong demand for the 300 sedan and other vehicles.

 

     Sales of Chrysler's best-seller, the Ram pickup, increased 12 percent as home building perked up. Sales of the Fiat 500 small car more than doubled over last June. 

 

     The automaker's sales increase last month was in line with expectations for overall industry growth of about 20 percent.  A year earlier, sales were weaker because the Japanese earthquake depleted supplies. Other automakers report sales later Tuesday.

 

     The pace of U.S. sales is cooling somewhat from the start of the year. But so far, carmakers aren't panicking.

 

     They say underlying demand remains strong, and new models like the Ford Escape and Dodge Dart will draw out buyers. Chrysler sold 200 Darts last month.

 

     

 

     WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. factories received more orders in May from April after two consecutive months of declines, as businesses demanded more goods that signal investment plans.

 

     The Commerce Department says factory orders increased 0.7 percent in May. 

 

     Core capital goods, such as machinery and computers, rose 2.1 percent. That's better than the 1.6 percent estimated in a preliminary report a week ago and is a good measure of companies' plans to invest.

 

     The increase left orders for durable goods at $469 billion, up 43.5 percent from their recession low reached in March 2009. But orders are down 2.5 percent from their post-recession high hit in December.

 

     Manufacturing has slowed this year, hurt by declining consumer and business confidence and weaker global demand.

 

     Pitt County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Christy Wallace said one person was killed in the county and two in neighboring Beaufort County by the storms on Sunday. 

 

     She said A 77-year-old man was killed in Pitt County when high winds collapsed a barn as he was moving an ATV into it. In the neighboring county, a husband and wife died when a tree fell on their golf cart. 

 

     Pitt County Emergency Management Director Noel Lee said the damage appears to have been mostly from straight-line winds. He wasn't aware of any other serious injuries.

 

     Wallace said she's aware of outages and trees falling into houses. Lee said a damage assessment was under way. 

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Minority leader Nancy Pelosi says House Democrats are happy to debate dismantling Obamacare, but repeal is unrealistic.

 

     In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" slated to air Sunday, Pelosi says Republicans from Mitt Romney to members of Congress are "being the mouthpiece of the health care industry" when they talk about reversing the Affordable Care Act. 

 

     Pelosi says the act puts people "in charge of how they receive coverage and health care."

 

     The Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in a highly anticipated decision issued on Thursday. 

 

     The House is scheduled to vote to overturn the law on July 9. The vote will largely be symbolic since the Democrats control the Senate. But it will put lawmakers on record for the upcoming political campaign. 

 

 Violent storms swept across the eastern U.S., killing at least 10 people and knocking out power to millions of people on a day that temperatures across the region are expected to reach triple-digits.

 

     The Mid-Atlantic region had already been experiencing 100-degree temperatures before Friday evening's violent storms. More than 3 million were left without power - and without air conditioning - as crews work to clear downed tree limbs and restore electricity.

 

     The storms were blamed for the deaths of six people in Virginia; two in New Jersey; one in Ohio; and another in Maryland. In suburban Washington, residents were told to call non-emergency phone numbers or go to fire and police stations if they needed help because even 911 emergency call centers were without electricity.