Miss Sabrina and Mr Smoky have such healthy fur | Life Part Two

A post from the cats Sabrina and Smoky

For quite a few months Fay and Bob have been giving each of us a little bit of fish oil on our nightly treat.?? Smoky is especially excited about the results so he gets to tell his story first.

Mr Smoky says ?My fur has never been very nice.?? I shed a lot and my grey fur was dull, not shiny and worst of all I had lots of dander.?? Fay and Bob brush me and tried treatments to make it better but I don?t like being brushed very much and only sit still for a short time.?? Now after getting my fish oil for months my fur is nice and shiny and I have almost no dander any more.? I look so handsome.?

Miss Sabrina says ?I have always had really pretty fur.? My short black coat is shiny and smooth and I don?t shed much.?? Now my fur is not quite as shiny but is it every fluffy and soft.? We aren?t quite sure if it is the fish oil or my summer fur coat or both but I sure like it when Fay pets me and tells me how soft I am.?

Fish oil also has many other benefits for dogs and cats, just like it does for humans.?? Here is some information from http://www.judyshealthcafe.com/fishoil.htm.?? Fay gets our fish oil from the Vet.? She pokes a hole in each capsule and squeezes it on our treat.?? She sure would like to find it as drops, it would be so much easier.

Fish Oil Can Help Keep Your Dogs And Cats Healthy

Fish oil has shown positive benefits in helping dogs and cats with disease. Omega 3 fatty acids are among the most commonly used nutritional supplements used in treating pets. Fish oil helps keep your dogs and cats healthy! Veterinarians first used omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil to treat canine and feline allergies but now recommend it for a wide variety of conditions ranging from kidney disease to arthritis and high cholesterol. Adding fish oil to your pet?s food provides anti-inflammatory effects, can help relieve itching and scratching and allergy related skin conditions.

In research studies, fish oil has shown positive benefits in helping pets with disease. Fatty acids are among the most commonly used nutritional supplements used in treating dogs and cats. Fortunately,they have been used successfully long enough that most conventional veterinarians include their usage in the treatment of at least some diseases. Though some pet diets may include Omega-3 fatty acids, virtually none include satisfactory amounts of the most important Omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Many pet foods contain primarily Omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils resulting in a highly unbalanced ratio of Omega-6s to Omega-3s. Research has shown that a ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 of 5:1 to 10:1 is optimal for dogs and cats and therefore supplementing with a high quality Omega-3 fish oil supports pet health.

Omega 3 oils support heart, vision and joint health, provide important nutrients for proper immune function, and nourish the skin and coat. First suggested for use in treating allergies in pets, they are now advocated in cases of kidney disease, elevated cholesterol, and arthritis as well. Veterinarians are discovering that fatty acids can be valuable for a variety of conditions. Fish oil supplementation may be helpful for pets with inflammatory diseases including allergies, arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease, and cancers. Pets with any type of inflammatory disease may benefit from fish oil supplementation. In general, more severe disease requires doses higher than those commonly recommended.

Fish oil is very effective in some pets with allergies and skin disease. It is easy to administer (via gel caps or liquid) and can reduce the amount of corticosteroid or antihistamine needed to control itching. Most pets take either form well. For pets that are difficult to ?pill,? the liquid form is quite popular. Owners of dogs and cats 20 pounds and under find the liquid form more cost effective than the large bottle of fatty acid capsules that we prescribe. The response is variable in other diseases (such as kidney disease) but fish oil appears effective in research studies. In pets with some types of cancer, fish oil has slowed down the growth and spread of the cancer. While more studies are needed on other types of cancer, the general recommendation is to add fish oil to the diets of all pets with cancer.

As with other supplements, the use of fatty acids often allows doctors to lower the dosages of drugs such as corticosteroids or antihistamines. Choosing a high quality Omega-3 fish oil supplement with exceptional purity and freshness, as well as, high levels of Omega-3s is key to supporting pet health.

Now it?s time to give our pets the benefits of the tremendous healing properties of fish oil.

We know intuitively that our pets enrich our lives, so it is not surprising that a growing number of scientific studies are demonstrating the positive effects that animals can have on human health and development. Here is just a partial list of the health benefits of pet ownership, as reported by the Delta Society, a non-profit foundation that promotes research on the bond between humans and their animals:

• Pet owners have lower blood pressure. (Friedmann, 1983, Anderson 1992)
• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than non-owners. (Anderson, 1992)
• Pet owners have better psychological well-being. (Serpel, 1990)
• Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less than those who do not. In a study of 100 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners had 21 percent fewer physician contacts than
  non-dog owners. (Siegel, 1990)
• Contact with pets develops nurturing behavior in children who may grow to be more nurturing
  adults. (Melson, 1990)
• Having a pet may decrease heart attack mortality by 3%. This translates into 30,000 lives saved annually in the U.S. alone. (Friedman, 1980)
• Children?s cognitive development can be enhanced by owning a pet. (Poresky, 1988)
• Children owning pets are more involved in activities such as sports, hobbies, clubs or chores.
  (Melson, 1990)
• Children exposed to pets during the first year of life have a lower frequency of allergic rhintis and asthma. (Hesselmar, 1999)
• Autistic children with pets are more highly socialized and are less self-absorbed. (Redefer, 1989)

Given the strong emotional bonds between humans and animals, it is not surprising that many of us will do almost anything to secure the health and well-being of our pets. According to estimates from the most recent National Pet Owners? Survey, Americans in 2005 will spend $17 billion on veterinary care and medicine, and those costs are rising sharply.

It is an accepted medical fact that the same treatments are often found to be equally effective in both humans and animals. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration reports that, since the passage of the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1994 (AMDUCA), it has been legal for veterinarians to treat pets with human drugs that have not been approved for animals. Fish oil, of course, is not a drug. Adding it to your pet?s food may very well be one of the best things you can do to help your animal companion to fight infections and to defend against debilitating chronic ailments.?With fish oil, you will also know that the benefits you see are real.

How Quickly Will My Pet Benefit From Omega 3 Supplements?

While the pet begins benefiting quickly, you may not notice a difference for 3-4 months. The pet?s body will change from the inside out?first the individual cells, then tissues, then organs. Gradually you?ll notice the coat and skin become more radiant. When you see this, you?ll know the internal organs, including the kidneys, liver, heart, and brain, are also experiencing more radiant health.

Because fats are an expensive component of pet foods, many commercial foods do not contain high levels, especially of the Omega 3 fatty acids. Most pets benefit from fatty acid supplements.

We have no one but ourselves to blame for the toxic contaminants found in fish oil. These toxins include mercury (from the burning of coal), PCBs (used in electrical insulation), and dioxins (the active ingredient in defoliants used in the Vietnam War). Although production of PCBs and dioxins has long been banned, they rarely break down and thus accumulate in the marine food chain that ends with fish. These toxins are known carcinogens and neurotoxins. In fact, the levels in the Eskimo population, who consume large amounts of fatty fish rich in EPA and EPA, are well above the safety standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), and recent studies indicate that they are approaching the upper limits of safety in the Japanese population.

Here lies the dilemma - how to remove these toxins to obtain all the tremendous health benefits of EPA and DHA. The solution was the development of a new manufacturing process for producing ultra refined EPA/DHA concentrates.

If you or someone you know is using a fish oil that is not tested by an independent laboratory for concentration, purity and stability, it?s buyer beware. Ask the manufacturer of that fish oil what it is trying to hide. It?s one thing to print pharmaceutical-grade on a label, it?s quite another to actually make a truly ?pharmaceutical grade ultra refined? fish oil.

It?s very difficult to remove the toxins out in fish oil. That?s why most fish oils sold in health-food stores and supermarkets should be considered the ?sewer of the sea.?? Since the contaminants in fish are oil-soluble, all the toxic contaminants are concentrated in the crude fish oil. Not a very appealing thought if you are taking fish oil for its ?health? benefits. Obviously, all crude fish oil is highly contaminated. If you do some minimal processing, you can get rid of the mercury, but not the PCBs and dioxins. This minimally processed product is what you get when you purchase inexpensive brands of fish oil. In other words, you will also be ingesting a good dose of PCBs and dioxins. Slightly more expensive fish oils are given a ?touch-up? via crude distillation to remove some of the cholesterol and slight amounts of the remaining toxins, but the EPA and DHA concentration is low. Therefore, to get an adequate dose of these critical long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, you have to consume large amounts of fish oil and, thus, large amounts of toxic contaminants. If you break apart the fatty acids to make ethyl esters, then it is possible to concentrate the oils to higher levels, but the PCBs and dioxins still remain.

Source: http://lifeparttwo.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/miss-sabrina-and-mr-smoky-have-such-healthy-fur/

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Syrian forces fight rebels in Damascus, residents flee

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by helicopters and tanks have struck back in Damascus against rebel fighters emboldened by a bomb attack against President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle.

Assad's forces, who also pushed into a rebel-held district in the northerly commercial hub of Aleppo on Saturday, targeted pockets of lightly armed rebels, who moved about the streets on foot and attacked security installations and roadblocks.

Residents said the sound of shelling in the capital was so intense at dusk that they were unable to distinguish it from the traditional cannon blast marking the end of the daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Opposition activists said helicopters fired rockets into a neighborhood near the southerly Sayida Zeinab district, causing dozens of casualties. They did not have any other details.

"In Damascus, people continue to search desperately for safety," the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement in Geneva.

"Humanitarian needs are growing as the situation in the city worsens and as large numbers of people flee their neighborhoods in search of safe haven. The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have intensified their response to the situation."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that monitors the violence, said 140 people, including 43 troops, had been killed across Syria on Saturday. Most of them died in the province of Homs, epicenter of the uprising.

One Western diplomat who declined to be named said Assad was moving troops to protect his capital and compared him to a doctor "abandoning the patient's limbs to save the organs".

Most shops were closed and there was only light traffic - although more than in the past few days. Some police checkpoints, abandoned earlier in the week, were manned again.

Many petrol stations were closed, having run out of fuel, and those that were open had huge lines of cars waiting to fill up. Residents reported long queues at bakeries.

The army's push in the capital occurred after rebels assassinated four of Assad's top security officials last week as part of a six-day attack in the capital that they dubbed "Damascus Volcano".

Rebels also captured three border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, and on Saturday an Iraqi security source said gunmen appeared to be taking over a fourth at Yarubiya in Syria's Kurdish northeast.

NO COMMENT FROM ASSAD

Assad, battling a 16-month-old uprising against his family's four decades of autocratic rule, has not spoken in public since the assassinations, and failed to attend funeral ceremonies for his brother-in-law and two other slain officials on Friday.

A bloody crackdown on what began as a peaceful revolt has increasingly become an armed conflict between an establishment dominated by Assad's Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and rebels drawn largely from the Sunni majority.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was sending his peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous and top military adviser General Babacar Gaye to Syria to assess the situation.

Opposition activists in Aleppo, Syria's biggest city, said hundreds of families were fleeing residential areas on Saturday after the military swept into the Saladin district, which had been in rebel hands for two days.

Fighting was also reported in the densely-populated, poor neighborhood of al-Sakhour.

"The sound of bombardment has been non-stop since last night. For the first time we feel Aleppo has turned into a battle zone," a housewife, who declined to be named, said by phone from the city.

REBEL BORDER CROSSING RAID

On the Iraqi-Syrian border, a security source and a separate witness said they saw gunmen in a civilian car enter the Yarubiya crossing point on the Syrian side of the frontier.

"When we contacted the Syrians there, they told us the Syrian security elements are gradually withdrawing from the place," said the security source, who works for the Iraqi customs department.

It was not immediately possible to verify the reports on the border post, but Syrian opposition activists said several towns in Syria's Kurdish northeast had passed - without a fight - into local hands in recent days as central authority eroded.

The surge in violence has trapped millions of Syrians, turned sections of Damascus into ghost areas, and sent tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring Lebanon.

The U.N. Security Council has approved a 30-day extension for a ceasefire observer mission, but Ban has recommended changing its focus to pursuing prospects for a political solution - effectively accepting there is no truce to monitor.

Diplomats said only half of the 300 unarmed observers would be needed for Ban's suggested plan, and several monitors were seen departing from Damascus on Saturday.

Speaking two days after Russia and China vetoed a resolution to impose U.N. sanctions on Assad's government, Ban called on the Security Council to "redouble efforts to forge a united way forward and exercise its collective responsibility".

"The Syrian government has manifestly failed to protect civilians and the international community has collective responsibility to live up to the U.N. Charter and act on its principles," he said.

Regional and Western powers have voiced concern the conflict might become a full-blown sectarian war that could spill across borders. But Assad's opponents remain outgunned and divided.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speaking after contacts with the head of the Arab League and Qatar's prime minister, said all three agreed that it was time for Syria's fractured opposition to prepare to take charge of the country.

"We would like to see the rapid formation of a provisional government representing the diversity of Syrian society," said Fabius. Syria's main political opposition group, the Syrian National Council, operating in exile, has so far failed to unite Assad's disparate foes on a united political platform.

(Additional reporting by Igor Ilic in Brijuni, Croatia; Suleiman al-Khalidi in Hacipasa, Turkey; Leigh Thomas in Paris; Jamal al-Badrani in Mosul, Ira; and Jonathan Burch in Cilvegozu, Turkey; Editing by Ralph Gowling and Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-forces-attempt-fight-back-rebel-surge-031040814.html

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Colorado shooting: A day of prayerful memorials and a presidential visit

In the Colorado shooting, more information emerged Sunday about the attack and alleged shooter James Holmes. But mainly it was a day for remembering those who died early Friday during a theater's premier showing of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' the latest in the Batman series.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / July 22, 2012

Tamara Meza and her son Isaac place flowers in front of a memorial Sunday for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and wounding 58.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Enlarge

As more news emerged about Friday night's mass shooting in a Colorado theater showing the latest Batman movie, Sunday became a day of remembering the victims in prayerful memorials, a visit by President Obama to thank first responders and the families of those lost and wounded, and a continuing discussion of gun violence in America.

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Aurora, Colo., police report that all of the hazardous material in alleged shooter James Holmes? booby-trapped apartment had been removed and transported to a disposal site. Meanwhile, a FBI Evidence Response Team (ERT) remains on scene processing the apartment for evidence.

Mr. Holmes is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning. He is reported to be in solitary confinement for his own protection from other inmates who threatened his life upon hearing that his alleged victims included young children.

Comfort in response to the shootings in Colorado

Officials report that Holmes was able to buy two handguns, a shotgun, an assault rifle, and about 6,000 rounds of ammunition in recent months ? all of it legally.

While President Obama and Republican presidential candidate (and most elected officials, for that matter) have largely stayed clear of the politically-toxic subject of gun control, that is not true of all officials.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D) of New York, is calling for a ban on large-capacity ammunition magazines used on the kind of assault rifle that was part of James Holmes? deadly arsenal.

?As things stand right now, there is absolutely nothing to stop another madman ? or even someone on the terror watch list ? from walking into a gun store and buying?all the large-capacity bullet magazines he could carry,? she said Saturday. Cosponsoring the legislation is Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, also a New York Democrat, whose husband was killed and son severely wounded by a man who randomly shot 25 passengers on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train in 1993.

?As he has in the past, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke out Sunday on CBS?s ?Face the Nation.?

?It?s up to these two presidential candidates,? Mr. Bloomberg said, referring to Obama and Romney. ?They want to lead this country, and they?ve said things before that they?re in favor of banning things like assault weapons. Where are they now, and why don?t they stand up? And if they want our votes, they better.?

Because it happened not far away in Colorado, the moments of terrifying shooting in Aurora brought to mind the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School.

Tom Mauser, whose 16-year-old son?Daniel?was?killed that day, has become a strong gun control advocate.

"We?ve seen mass shootings in just about any place you can imagine: movie theaters, bars,?nursing homes, schools," he told the Huffington Post, noting that more people die in gun violence every day than the death toll in Aurora.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/MUcT7iTPwDk/Colorado-shooting-A-day-of-prayerful-memorials-and-a-presidential-visit

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WOW! Women On Writing Blog: Friday Speak Out!: Learning a ...

by Anna Martinez

I cannot remember a time when I did not have a pencil and paper in my hand. It seems writing has always been a part of my daily life. And when I was not writing about something, I was reading. Writing and reading have always been a priority in my life. Reading takes me into different places, some near and some far. As I read I become acquainted with characters whom I may never meet in real life, but I have met them through novels and short stories. Some characters I read about remind me of myself or other people I know.

When I was a little girl I remember telling my mother I wanted to learn how to read and write in Spanish. Every day a neighborhood boy would come to our house and sell my mother a Spanish newspaper for five cents. I would sit next to my mother and watch her read.
?
One day we went to the grocery store to buy groceries. At that time groceries were bagged in brown paper bags. My mother cut out a piece of the brown paper bag after we put all of our groceries away. Next, she drew lines on it with a ruler. Then, she took out an old Spanish newspaper she had already read. She cut out an article with the scissors. Finally, she told me to sit at the kitchen table and write the article at least two times. She kept this up until I learned how to read and write in Spanish.

Several years passed and I soon became a Mother. My mother would babysit my daughter. My daughter told me her grandmother was teaching her how to speak Spanish. I told her that was good. I went on to tell her how her grandmother had taught me also when I was a little girl too.

After a while I began to wonder how my mother was teaching my daughter the Spanish language since we didn?t get any more brown paper bags at the grocery store. Nowadays our groceries were bagged in plastic or recyclable bags.

I got the answer one day. I went to my mother?s house to pick up my daughter. My mother had been babysitting for me. As I walked into my mother?s house I walked in as they were both watching television. The channel was set to a Spanish soap opera. I stood there for a few minutes watching. My daughter turned to look at me and said, ?I?m glad you?re here Mom. You?re just in time for my Spanish lesson.?

My mother was teaching Spanish to my daughter via a form of technology ? the good old television. I was happy to see this. Needless to say, my daughter learned Spanish.

The saying that our mothers are our first teachers is true for me!

* * *

My name is Anna Martinez. I teach reading and writing at an elementary school. I live in South Texas with my miniature poodle, Gandy. I love to read and write in my spare time. To date I have written three children?s books and four romance novels. You may reach me at oceanrubyred@yahoo.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2012/07/friday-speak-out-learning-foreign.html

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Colorado 'Batman' movie shooting suspect was Ph.D. student

Twelve people were killed and 59 were injured in Aurora, Colo., during a sold-out midnight premier of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" when 24-year-old James Holmes unloaded four weapons' full of ammunition into the unsuspecting crowd.

The number of casualties makes the incident the largest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Holmes, a graduate student at a nearby college with a clean arrest record, entered the movie auditorium wearing a ballistics helmet, bullet-proof vest, bullet-proof leggings, gas mask and gloves. He detonated multiple smoke bombs, and then began firing at viewers in the sold-out auditorium, police said today.

Bullets from the spree tore through the theater and into adjoining theaters, where at least one other person was struck and injured. Ten members of "The Dark Knight Rises" audience were killed in theater, while two others died later at area hospitals. Numerous patrons were in critical condition at six local hospitals, the Aurora police said this afternoon.

Holmes was apprehended within minutes of the 12:39 a.m. shooting at his car behind the theater, where police found him in full riot gear and carrying three weapons, including a AR-15 assault rifle, which can hold upwards of 100 rounds, a Remington 12 gauge shot gun, and a .40 Glock handgun. A fourth handgun was found in the vehicle. Agents from the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are tracing the weapons.

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.

Police Chief Dan Oates said today that police and bomb squads have found a large number of explosive devices and trip wires at Holmes' apartment and have not yet decided how to proceed without setting off explosions.

Read More: One Victim Had Narrowly Escaped Toronto Shooting

"The pictures we have from inside the apartment are pretty disturbing considering how elaborate the apartment is booby trapped," police said outside of the apartment complex today. The "flammable and explosive" materials could have blown up Holmes' apartment building and the ones near it, police said.

The apartment complex is home exclusively to University of Colorado Medical Center students, patients, and staff members, residents tell ABC News.

Moviegoer Christopher Ramos today recalled the real-life horror of the midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," in Aurora, Colo., as a gunman decked in riot gear set off smoke bombs and opened fire on the unsuspecting audience.

"People were running everywhere, running on top of me, like kicking me, jumping over me. And there were bodies on the ground," Ramos said. "I froze up. I was scared. I honestly thought I was going to die."

"The image in our heads is stuck in there. I still have the ticket right here and honestly, I'm never going to forget this night at all. Because it was the first time I saw something that was real. Like a real-life nightmare that was there, not dreaming of," Ramos told ABC News today.

Witnesses in the movie theater said Holmes saw smoke and heard gunshots that they thought were part of the movie until they saw Holmes standing in front of the screen, after entering from an emergency exit. Holmes methodically stalked the aisles of the theater, shooting people at random, as panicked movie-watchers in the packed auditorium tried to escape, witnesses said.

At one point the shooter exited the theater only to wait outside the doors and pick off patrons as they tried to exit, witness Jennifer Seeger told "Good Afternoon America."

Photos: Shooting "Dark Knight Rises" Screening in Aurora, Colorado

"You just smelled smoke and you just kept hearing it, you just heard bam bam bam, non-stop. The gunman never had to reload. Shots just kept going, kept going, kept going," one witness told ABC News.

"I'm with coworkers and we're on the floor praying to God we don't get shot, and the gunshots continue on and on, and when the sound finally stopped, we started to get up and people were just bleeding," another theatergoer said.

The suspected shooter will face his first court appearance next week, according to district attorney Carol Chambers.

Holmes, originally of San Diego, moved to Aurora to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado medical center, living just blocks from the hospital in an apartment that police say is now laced with explosives and being searched by HazMat teams.

Federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News that Holmes bought a ticket to the movie, slipped out of the theater once it began and propped open the emergency exit before gathering his weapons and gear and coming back into the theater. Once inside, he opened fire.

A San Diego woman identifying herself as James Holmes's mother spoke briefly with ABC News this morning.

She had awoken unaware of the news of the shooting and had not been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.

"You have the right person," she said.

"I need to call the police," she added. "I need to fly out to Colorado."

The woman and her husband later released a statement saying their "hearts go out to those who involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved. We are still trying to process this information and we appreciate that people will respect our privacy."

The highly-anticipated third installment of the Batman trilogy opened to packed auditoriums around the country at midnight showings on Friday morning, and features a villain named Bane who wears a bulletproof vest and gas mask. Trailers for the movie show explosions at public events including a football game. Though many moviegoers dressed in costume to attend the opening night screening, police have made no statements about any connection between the gunman's motives and the movie.

Read More: NRA Deletes Tweet After Shooting

Police in New York have intensified security around showings of the film throughout the five boroughs today, with Police Commissioner Ray Kelley saying that "as a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado, the New York City Police Department is providing coverage at theaters where the 'The Dark Knight Rises' is playing."

The Paris premiere of the movie has been cancelled in the wake of the shootings. "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 movie's producers said in a statement.

Witnesses watching movies in theaters next to the one where the shooting took place said bullets tore through the theater walls and they heard screaming.

Read More: Obama and Romney Respond to Shooting

"The suspect throws tear gas in the air, and as the tear gas appears he started shooting," said Lamar Lane, who was watching the midnight showing of the movie with his brother. "It was very hard to breathe. I told my brother to take cover. It took awhile. I started seeing flashes and screaming, I just saw blood and people yelling and a quick glimpse of the guy who had a gas mask on. I was pushed out. There was chaos, we started running."

One witness said she saw people dropping to the ground after the gunshots began.

"We were maybe 20 or 30 minutes into the movie and all you hear, first you smell smoke, everybody thought it was fireworks or something like that, and then you just see people dropping and the gunshots are constant," witness Christ Jones told ABC's Denver affiliate KMGH. "I heard at least 20 to 30 rounds within that minute or two."

A man who talked to a couple who was inside the theater told ABC News, "They got up and they started to run through the emergency exit, and that when she turned around, she said all she saw was the guy slowly making his way up the stairs and just firing at people, just picking random people," he said. "The gunshots continued to go on and on and then after we didn't hear anything...we finally got up and there was people bleeding, there was people obviously may have been actually dead or anything, and we just ran up out of there, there was chaos everywhere."

Witnesses and victims were taken to Gateway High School for questioning.

Hundreds of police and FBI agents are involved in the investigation. A senior official who is monitoring the situation in Washington said that early guidance based on the early snapshot of this man's background indicated that this act does not appear to be linked to radical terrorism or anything related to Islamic terrorism.

Dr. Comilla Sasson, at the University of Colorado Hospital where many of the victims were taken, said they are currently operating on nine critical patients and have treated 22 in all. She called the hospital "an absolutely terrifying scene all night."

"The good news is that the 3-month-old has actually been discharged home and is in the care of their parents

In a statement, President Obama said, "Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time. We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded."

For continuing coverage on "Tragedy in Colorado: The Batman Massacre," tune in to "World News," "20/20" and "Nightline."

Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.

For continuing coverage on "Tragedy in Colorado: The Movie Theater Massacre," tune in to "World News," "20/20" and "Nightline."

Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.

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Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/colorado-batman-movie-shooting-suspect-phd-student-085940589--abc-news-topstories.html

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Video: Witness: ?It?s like a horrible memory I can?t forget?

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/48261893/

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Weird night for penalty kicks in MLS

It was a strange night in Major League Soccer from the shot spot ? the 12-yard penalty kick mark, that is.

Each occurrence of PK strangeness, with the pictures to prove it:

In Montreal ?Patrice Bernier stepped up and slotted home. Then he did it again. And then one more time.

As Bernier ran up on his first shot, referee Fotis Bazakos noticed Matt Reis not standing on his line but, oddly, inside the goal. Bazakos blew the whistle about the time Bernier was shooting.

Take Two: Bernier put his PK home ? but Bazakos ruled he had stopped and restarted his run-up, a legal no-no. By now, everyone should be thinking, ?C?mon, guys. It?s a penalty kick. We?ve done this before!?

Take Three: With everything sorted out just so, the Impact midfielder made a good and proper run-up and gave his team a 1-0 lead.

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In Toronto ?Ryan Johnson?s penalty kick eluded Colorado?s Matt Pickens but banged off the goal post. Going into Wednesday?s full schedule of games, MLS men had converted 35 of 43 attempts (81 percent). That was only the third to be missed wide, high or off the post.

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In San Jose ?Chris Wondolowski connected from the 12-yard spot. It would have been his 18^th goal this year as ?Wondo? continues to distance himself from the field in the Golden Boot chase. But Justin Morrow got into the penalty area too early. Way too early. Dallas? Kevin Hartman saved Wondolowski?s ensuing effort. That, by the way, was Hartman?s third save on four penalty kick attempts this year.

Said Wondolowski, who continues to stand on 17 goals: ?I have to make it. It?s a shot from 12 yards out. It doesn?t matter if I have to take the shot five times over, I have to make it each time. It could have killed off the game, but it gave them a little bit of hope. We have to finish them off there.?

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Also in San Jose ?Dallas had an opportunity to equalize with a stoppage time PK. We talked about that one here.

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Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/19/would-be-scorers-in-mls-sing-the-penalty-kick-blues/related/

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