Biden Hints at Executive Order on Gun Control

Vice President Biden, meeting today with outside groups on gun safety, told reporters he has already started putting together a list of recommendations that he plans to issue next Tuesday.

Biden meets with representatives of the NRA and other supporters of gun rights on the second day of this week's meetings on gun violence.

But he told reporters Thursday, during meeting a with sportsmen, women and wildlife groups, that he would deliver the list of recommendations to the president on Jan. 15, and that an improved system for background checks has emerged as a a priority for the stakeholders he's met so far.

Biden told a group of sportsmen and wildlife interest groups that he has "never quite heard so much talk about high-capacity magazines" as he has since last month's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Biden met with gun-violence victims' groups and proponents of gun control on Wednesday. Thursday was his opportunity to get a different side of the story. Biden meets with the National Rifle Association and Attorney General Eric Holder meets with representatives from Wal-Mart, one of the largest sellers of firearms in the country.

Spokesmen for the NRA and Wal-Mart confirmed representatives from their organizations would be included in the meetings Thursday. The NRA said it would be represented by James J. Baker, its top lobbyist. Advocates for sportsmen, women's groups, wildlife groups and gun owners were also invited. The vice president is slated to meet with members of the entertainment industry in the evening.

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In December, the NRA called for armed officers to be placed in every school after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Wal-Mart initially turned down an invitation to participate in the talks but reversed its decision after it "underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person," a spokesman said.

"We take this issue very seriously and are committed staying engaged in this discussion as the administration and Congress work toward a consensus on the right path forward," David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications for Wal-Mart, said.

The latest meetings come one day after Biden held a first round of talks this week with gun safety advocacy groups and victims of gun violence. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, the vice president expressed the administration's commitment to develop effective gun policy by considering all ideas. He suggested the administration would be ready to take executive action on the issue, which would not require votes from Congress.

"We're here today to deal with a problem that requires our immediate action, urgent action. And the president and I are determined to take action," Biden told reporters before a meeting in his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. "I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion [that] unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing."

"There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet, but we're compiling it all with the help the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members, as well as legislative action, we believe, is required," Biden said.

Colin Goddard, a survivor of the shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007, participated in the meeting at the White House Wednesday and said the talks gave the groups "encouragement from the highest office in the country."

"I was really encouraged by seeing how focused and determined the administration is in seeing comprehensive changes to the gun violence in America," Goddard, who is now the assistant director for federal legislation at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told ABC News. "It was really great to see even the Vice President of the United States of America supporting us. He wants to see this done to the end and bringing us all to the table to share our personal stories, share our ideas about what our proposals could be."

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String of bombings kill 101, injure 200 in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two cities in Pakistan on Thursday, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in the city of Quetta.

Two coordinated explosions killed at least 69 people and injured more than 100 in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, on Thursday evening, said Deputy Inspector of Police Hamid Shakil.

The first of two coordinated attacks in Quetta on Thursday evening's attack, in a snooker hall, appeared to be a suicide bombing, local residents said. About ten minutes later, a car bomb went off, they said. Five policemen and a cameraman were among the dead from that blast.

The attack happened in a predominately Shia neighborhood and banned sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility. The extremist Sunni group targets Shias, who make up about 20 percent of Pakistani's population.

Earlier in the day, a blast in Quetta's market killed 11 people and injured more than 40, mostly vegetable sellers and secondhand clothes dealers, police officer Zubair Mehmood said. A child was also killed.

The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for that blast. The group is one of several fighting for independence for Balochistan, an arid, impoverished region with substantial gas, copper and gold reserves, which constitutes just under half of Pakistan's territory and is home to about 8 million of the country's population of 180 million.

Sectarian attacks are also on the rise, and militant groups frequently bomb or shoot Shia passengers on buses travelling to neighboring Iran.

In another incident Thursday, 21 were killed and more than 60 injured in a bombing when people gathered to hear a religious leader speak in Mingora, the largest city in the northwestern province of Swat, police and officials at the Saidu Sharif hospital said.

"The death toll may rise as some of the injured are in critical condition and we are receiving more and more injured people," said Dr. Niaz Mohammad.

Police initially said the Swat blast was caused by a gas cylinder but later police chief Akhtar Hayat said it was a bomb.

It has been more than two years since a militant attack has claimed that many lives in Swat.

The mountainous region, formerly a tourist destination, has been administered by the Pakistani army since their 2009 offensive drove out Taliban militants who had taken control.

But the Taliban retain the ability to attack in Swat and shot schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousufzai in Mingora last October.

A Taliban spokesman said they were not responsible for Thursday's bombing.

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Pakistan; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jason Webb)

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Worst storms in decade bring Mideast to near standstill

BEIRUT: The worst storms in a decade left swathes of Israel and Jordan under a blanket of snow and parts of Lebanon blacked out on Thursday, bringing misery to a region accustomed to temperate climates.

Freezing temperatures and floods since Sunday have claimed at least 11 lives across the region and exacerbated the plight of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees huddled in tented camps in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

The United Nations issued an urgent appeal for funds to help refugees in the northern Jordanian camp of Zaatari, which was almost entirely flooded on Wednesday, with residents battling mud and sub-zero temperatures.

"The next 72 hours will be a critical test of our ability to meet the basic needs of children and their families at Zaatari," UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Jordan representative, Dominique Hyde said in a statement on Thursday.

The education ministry in war-hit Syria announced mid-term exams postponed until further notice as snow blanketed Damascus.

Students in other countries also got a break as authorities ordered schools and universities closed in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel and some towns in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In Jordan, a blizzard brought the country to a near halt. King Abdullah II ordered the army to help clear roads across the usually parched nation and help those stranded by the snow. Thursday was also declared a holiday.

The storm triggered power blackouts in several countries including Lebanon, where electricity has been rationed since the 1975-1990 civil war. Several areas were plunged into darkness, leaving those who rely on electricity to heat their homes shivering.

"Our boiler works with electricity, so of course we have no hot water," said Elsa, a Beirut housewife.

Officials and residents blamed the outage on the storm and an open-ended strike by employees of the state-run Electricite du Liban power company over salaries and pension issues.

Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil told AFP: "There is a storm, and there is a problem in the grid. The electricity workers are on strike, and they're not letting anyone fix the problem."

A Beirut international airport weather expert said the storm was the worst ever to hit Lebanon, while other met officials in the region said it was the worst in 10 years.

Media reports said the cold weather originated in Russia, with one daily dubbing the storm "Olga," and authorities urged citizens to remain indoors.

In Jerusalem, at least 10 centimetres of snow blanketed the Holy City by dawn, turning the pine-covered hills into what looked like an Alpine ski resort picture postcard.

In the West Bank town of Ramallah, young and old alike rushed outside to make snowmen and engage in snowball fights.

But at least 11 people have reportedly died in the region because of the weather.

Among them were a man who froze to death after he fell asleep drunk in his car in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and a baby swept away in a flash flood in the centre of the country.

In the Palestinian territories, officials reported five fatalities since Tuesday, including a West Bank woman who died from a fire she started in her home to keep warm.

The storm also crippled many businesses, took a heavy toll on regional economies and, in Israel, put on hold campaigning for the January 22 general election.

The Manufacturers Association of Israel said the storm looked set to cost industry at least 300 million shekels (US$80 million) in damage, most of it from flooding.

Three days of driving rain and strong winds that struck normally warm Egypt paralysed activity, including in most ports, with the commercial harbour in Alexandria on the Mediterranean sea worst affected, officials said.

Snowfall in the normally arid Sinai Peninsula was blamed for an accident in which four French tourists were slightly injured.

Snow even capped the northwestern Tabuk region of the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where roads leading to Mount Alluz were packed with motorists excited at the sight of rare snow.

- AFP/jc

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Soft headphones meant for sleeping go wireless

The wireless version is expected to look similar to the current corded headset (pictured).

(Credit:
Reuben Lee/CNET Asia)

LAS VEGAS--As their name suggests, SleepPhones (tagline: "pajamas for your ears") are designed for those who want to lie down while listening to music with a pair of headphones. Traditional headphones or earphones tend to get in the way or feel uncomfortable, especially when you rest on your side.

The current version of the SleepPhones, released in 2007, is essentially a pair of earphones hidden within a soft fleece headband. Most people will probably wear it like a hairband, though I can see the product being used as an eye mask for sleeping on a plane. Over the years, the material and speakers have been improved, but the cord remains. This limitation somehow doesn't give as much freedom in terms of head movement, and you have to keep the player close by.

Come April, however, the company will release a wireless Bluetooth version of the SleepPhones. It will retail at $79.95 (the cord version goes for $39.95). Its battery life is expected to range from 5 to 7 hours and the headset will automatically go into sleep mode once the music stops playing.

For those concerned about maintaining the SleepPhones, the speakers and battery can be removed from the fleece headband, which is washable.

The speakers and battery of the Bluetooth version, without the headband.

(Credit:
Reuben Lee/CNET Asia)

(Source: Crave Asia)

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Holmes posed playfully with gun before shootings

CENTENNIAL, Colo. The hearing to determine whether the suspected gunman in last year's Colorado theater shooting ended Wednesday with one last detail from police: James Holmes used a cell phone to take self-portraits the night of the attack, sticking out his tongue, smiling and posing with a Glock pistol

The defense decided not to call witnesses to talk about Holmes' mental health. They are expected to present an insanity defense.

23 Photos

The Aurora shooting victims

Police also showed the court photos of the theater they say Holmes took a month before the attack, which left 12 dead and at least 58 injured in one of the country's worst mass shootings.

The judge said he will rule by Friday on whether Holmes should stand trial. If the judge decides he should be tried, Holmes could enter a plea that day. Cases rarely advance to this stage without a judge agreeing to set a trial.

Prosecutors this week have argued that Holmes acted with deliberation and extreme indifference.

Defense attorneys decided not call any witnesses, saying the rules of the hearing severely limited what evidence they could present. They had been granted permission to call two people to talk about Holmes' mental state.

16 Photos

The Colorado massacre suspect

His lawyers have previously stated that Holmes, 25, is mentally ill. Defense lawyer Tamara Brady pointedly asked a federal agent in court Tuesday whether any Colorado law prevented "a severely mentally ill person" from buying the 6,295 rounds of ammunition, body armor and handcuffs that Holmes purchased online.

The hearing was dominated by prosecutors' details of Holmes' preparations. Police and authorities said he spent months amassing tear gas grenades, two Glock handguns, a shotgun and an AR-15 rifle, along with the 6,295 rounds of ammunition, targets, body armor and chemicals. He also purchased chemicals including improvised napalm, as well as thermite, a substance which burns so hot that water can't extinguish the blaze.

Holmes' purchases were for two planned attacks, prosecutors said - the theater shooting and his apartment, which would have blown up if anyone had entered. The traps weren't triggered.

Holmes, clad from head to toe in body armor, was found standing by his car outside the theater. He told investigators that the apartment was an effort to pull police away from the theater. He didn't expect to see officers so quickly.

Police said he volunteered information about the apartment traps. Authorities went to the apartment and carefully dismantled them.

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Aurora 911 calls played at Holmes hearing

On Tuesday, police played a 911 call from a teenage cousin of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest person killed. A dispatcher tried to talk her through CPR but she sounded panicked and said she couldn't hear.

"My two cousins, they are sitting on the floor," 13-year-old Kaylan told the dispatcher, according to CBS correspondent Barry Petersen. "One of them is not breathing."

If Holmes is found sane, goes to trial and is convicted, his attorneys can try to avoid a possible death penalty by arguing he is mentally ill. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they will seek the death penalty.

If he's found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would likely be sent to the state mental hospital, not prison. Such a defendant is deemed not guilty because he didn't know right from wrong and is therefore "absolved" of the crime, said former Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey.

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Holmes Took Disturbing Photos Before Massacre

Hours before James Holmes allegedly carried out a massacre at a Colorado movie theater he took a series of menacing self-portraits with his dyed orange hair curling out of from under a black skull cap and his eyes covered with black contacts.

A prosecutor told the court after the photographs were shown that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart."

Those haunting photographs, found on his iPhone, were shown in court today on the last day of a preliminary testimony that will lead to a decision on whether the case will go to trial. The hearing concluded without Holmes' defense calling any witnesses.

The judge's decision on whether the case will proceed to trial is expected on Friday.

Holmes, 25, is accused of opening fire on a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colo., on July 20, 2012, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others during a showing of "Dark Knight Rises."

The photos presented in court showed Holmes mugging for his iPhone camera just hours before the shooting.

Click here for full coverage of the Aurora movie theater shooting.

Half-a-dozen photos showed Holmes with his clownish red-orange hair curled out from underneath a black skull cap. He wore black contact lenses in some of the pictures.

In one particularly disturbing image, he was making a scowling face with his tongue out. He was whistling in another photo. Holmes is smiling in his black contacts and flaming hair in yet another with the muzzle of one of his Glock pistols in the forefront.

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Yet another showed him dressed in black tactical gear, posing with an AR-15 rifle.

Victims' families in the courtroom stared straight ahead, showing little emotion while the photos were shown. Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed in the theater, kept an intense stare on the pictures.

Other photos seized from the iPhone show pictures that a detective testified were taken of the interior of the Aurora movie theater in the days leading up to the attack, on June 29, July 5 and July 11.

Before the prosecution called for the photos, public defender Tammy Brady objected. Prosecutor Karen Pearson said that the photos showed deliberation and extreme indifference. Judge William Sylvester overruled the objection and the photos were released.

In Pearson's closing statement, she said there is an abundance of direct evidence that Holmes "wanted to kill call of them. He knew what he was doing."

She said that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart" and that he "went into the theater without knowing or caring who they are." The prosecutor said he "picked the perfect venue for the perfect crime."

Pearson said prosecutors made a decision not to include all of the people who were in theaters eight and nine that night. If they had, they could have had 1,500 counts against Holmes. Instead, they included anyone who had physical injuries, including those with gunshot wounds and those who were hurt running out of the theater. There are 166 counts in all.

The judge has taken the case under advisement and there will be a status hearing or arraignment on Friday when the judge will decide whether the case will proceed to a full trial. Holmes' attorneys have not yet said whether they plan on using a insanity defense, in which case Holmes could possibly be deemed unfit to stand trial. Another possibility is that the hearing could set the stage for a plea deal.

This week's testimony has included emotional testimony from first responders, details about Holmes' elaborately booby trapped apartment, a rundown of his arsenal of legally purchased weapons and descriptions of his bizarre behavior following the shooting.

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U.N. envoy says 40 years of Assad family rule is "too long"

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrians believe 40 years of Assad family rule is too long, the international mediator for Syria said, the closest he has come to calling directly for President Bashar al-Assad to quit.

The remarks by U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi cast doubt on the future of his peace plan, the only major diplomatic initiative to end a war the United Nations says has killed 60,000 people.

He appears to have been pushed to take a firmer stance by a speech Assad delivered on Sunday, which was billed as a new peace proposal but offered no concessions and included a vow never to talk to foes he branded terrorists and Western puppets.

"In Syria, in particular, I think that what people are saying is that a family ruling for 40 years is a little bit too long," Brahimi told Britain's BBC in an interview aired on Wednesday.

"So the change has to be real. It has to be real, and I think that President Assad could take the lead in responding to the aspiration of his people rather than resisting it."

Brahimi's comments were welcomed by the opposition, which has long been angered by the U.N. mediator's refusal to take a firm position on excluding a future role for Assad.

"The statement of Lakhdar Brahimi has been long awaited," the opposition National Coalition's representative to Britain, Walid Saffour, told Reuters.

"He hasn't criticized Bashar al-Assad before, but now after he despaired of Assad after his Sunday speech, he had no other alternative than to say to the world that this rule is a family rule, and more than 40 years is enough."

Assad has ruled since 2000, taking over from his father Hafez, who seized power in a 1970 coup.

Brahimi met Assad in Damascus two weeks ago and has been convening senior U.S. and Russian officials in an effort to narrow differences between the superpowers backing either side in the war. The next round of those talks are due next week.

Brahimi said Assad had told him in December he would launch a new initiative. The veteran Algerian diplomat advised the president that any announcement should go further than previous failed proposals. He was disappointed by Sunday's speech.

MORE SECTARIAN, MORE ONE-SIDED

"I'm afraid what has come out is very much a repeat of previous initiatives that obviously did not work," Brahimi said of Assad's proposals. "It's not really different and perhaps is even more sectarian and more one-sided," he added.

"The time of reforms granted magnanimously from above has passed," Brahimi said. "People want to have a say in how they are governed and they want to take hold of their own future."

Brahimi said there was no military solution to the conflict: "The government will not win. The opposition may win in the long term, but by the time they do, there will be no Syria, so what is the victory in that?"

He said Assad had told him he wanted to run for re-election in 2014. Although Brahimi did not comment directly on whether Assad should be allowed to stand, he said the crisis needed to be resolved by the end of 2013 "or there will be no Syria".

The uprising against Assad is backed mainly by the Sunni Muslim minority, while he is supported mainly by other members of his Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and other religious minorities.

Assad's speech on Sunday was firmly rejected by Western countries and the opposition, which described it as an attempt to cling to power and thwart mediation efforts.

After three days of silence following the speech, Moscow finally offered its support on Wednesday. Assad's proposals "affirmed the readiness for the launch of an inter-Syrian dialogue and for reforming the country on the basis of Syrian sovereignty," the Russian foreign ministry said.

Western countries have been searching for signs of Moscow curbing its support for Assad, hoping that this could finally lever him from power just as Russian withdrawal of backing for Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic heralded his downfall in 2000.

Syria's state news agency, SANA, said Assad's new peace plan had been sent to the United Nations and was in line with Brahimi's peace plan.

Damascus did not immediately comment on Brahimi's remarks. But in social media, where in the past it was the opposition that usually expressed hostility to Brahimi, anger could now be heard from Assad's supporters.

"Brahimi is finished in Syria, he may as well resign," said a pro-Assad twitter user calling himself SyrianCommando.

CHANGE OF TONE

Some opposition supporters were wary of Brahimi's apparent late change of tone. Col. Abdeljabbar Oqeidi, a rebel leader in northern Syria, said he had not heard Brahimi's full remarks but it sounded as if his words were positive.

"Any initiative that doesn't require the entire regime to go and be put on trial will not be enough. We won't negotiate with that criminal or his gangs," he said by telephone.

Rebel fighter Abu Faisal, reached on Skype with the sound of exploding rockets in the background, laughed and said of Brahimi's conclusion that Syrians had enough of the ruling family: "This is a new discovery after two years? Maybe we should worship him now."

On the ground in Syria there was no let-up in fighting, despite four straight days of relentless rain, wind, hail and snowfall that weather officials in neighboring Lebanon and Israel have called the worst winter storm for 20 years.

Rebels made a new push to seize a government air base in Taftanaz in the north of the country, which they failed to take in a three-day offensive last week.

After six months of advances, the rebels now control swathes of the north and east of the country, as well as a crescent of suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus. The government still has firm control of most of the densely populated southwest near the capital, the main north-south highway, the Mediterranean coast and military bases scattered around the country from which its planes and helicopters can attack with impunity.

The extreme weather has raised concern for the 600,000 refugees who have fled to neighboring countries, displaced people within Syria and civilians, especially in rebel-held areas where fuel and food are growing scarce.

Opposition activists say dozens of people have died because of the storm in Syria. The weather claimed at least 17 lives in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Civilians were sheltering in caves from the rain, and using plastic tarps to make homes among abandoned Byzantine ruins known as the Dead Cities, said Fadi Yasin, an activist in northwest Idlib province.

Residents in mainly rebel-held Aleppo were burning furniture and doors to stay warm, said Michal Przedalicki, an aid worker from Czech charity People in Need working in northern Syria.

"Unfortunately, I think it is quite likely that people will die from the severe weather conditions. Already people have not been eating enough for several months, and that exposes their bodies to more disease and infection."

In Damascus, rebels freed 48 Iranian captives they had been holding since August in return for the government releasing more than 2,000 prisoners. The Iranians arrived at a hotel in central Damascus.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes and Alexander Dziadosz in Beirut and Mohammed Abbas in London; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Football: Winning start for LionsXII

SINGAPORE: The LionsXII have got their 2013 Malaysian Super League (MSL) campaign off to a winning start with victory over Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) FA on Wednesday.

A solitary strike from captain Shahril Ishak in the 66th minute was enough to give the Singaporean side a 1-0 win at the Paroi Stadium in Seremban.

ATM FA missed a golden opportunity when Marlon James miscued three yards from goal, while defender Irwan Shah looped his shot wide late on with just ATM goalkeeper Farizal Harun to beat.

The LionsXII next face Selangor this Saturday at the Jalan Besar Stadium in their first home fixture of the season.

- TODAY/jc

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Supercharge Windows 8 Wi-Fi with Amped Wireless adapter

The TAN1 high-power Wi-Fi adapter for Windows 8 at CES 2013.

(Credit:
Dong Ngo/CNET)

LAS VEGAS--If you need to add more Wi-Fi range to your Windows 8 computer, especially a tablet or an ultrabook, consider the TAN1 adapter from Amped Wireless.

The networking vendor showed off this device at
CES 2013, calling it "the first high-power Wi-Fi adapter designed specifically for use with
Windows 8."

This is because when connected to a Windows 8 computer, via either standard USB or Micro-USB, the TAN1 works immediately, without any software or driver installation. It's just like you plug a network cable in to a computer's network port. The TAN1 is a wireless adapter and supports 802.11a/b/n wireless standards.

With its high-gain antennas, low-noise amplifiers, and high-power amplifiers, Amped Wireless said, the TAN1 will increase the range up to three times, meaning you can roam around farther from the router or access point.

The TAN1 is designed with an adjustable clip to accommodate all
tablets and cases. It'll be available soon after the show with pricing being announced then.

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FBI: Booby trap at Holmes' Aurora home had napalm

Updated at 2:36 p.m. ET

CENTENNIAL, Colo. An elaborate booby trap system allegedly set up to pull police away from the Colorado theater shooting included improvised napalm and thermite, which burns so hot that water can't put out the blaze.

FBI bomb technician Garrett Gumbinner described the system Tuesday at a hearing in which prosecutors laid out their case against suspected gunman James Holmes.

He said three different ignition systems were found in Holmes' apartment. There was a thermos full of glycerin leaning over a skillet full of another chemical. Flames and sparks are created when they mix, and a trip wire linked the thermos to the door.

Police said Holmes hoped a boom box on a timer would lure someone to the apartment.

23 Photos

The Aurora shooting victims

Play Video

Witnesses testify in Colo. movie theater shooting hearing

Prosecutors are trying to show in what is expected to be a weeklong hearing that the attack that killed 12 and wounded dozens July 20 was a premeditated act and that Holmes should stand trial.

Defense attorneys say he is mentally ill.

Daniel King, one of Holmes' lawyers, on Monday pointedly asked a pathologist who had just detailed each of the fatalities: "You're aware that people can be found not guilty on the grounds of insanity?"

When officers arrived at the theater, they found Holmes standing next to his car. At first, Officer Jason Oviatt said, he thought Holmes was a policeman because of how he was dressed but then realized he was just standing there and not rushing toward the theater.

Oviatt said Holmes seemed "very, very relaxed" and didn't seem to have "normal emotional reactions" to things. "He seemed very detached," he said.

At one point, after arresting Holmes, Grizzle asked him if anyone had been helping him or working with him. "He just looked at me and smiled ... like a smirk," Grizzle recalled.

So far, the hearing has focused on the horror Aurora police officers discovered at the theater. The magnitude of the attack could be heard in the first 911 call to police, played Tuesday in court. It lasted 27 seconds and police say at least 30 shots could be heard.

The call came in 18 minutes into the showing of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Police also played a 911 call from a teenage cousin of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest person killed. A dispatcher tried to talk her through CPR but she sounded panicked and said she couldn't hear.

Play Video

Prosecutors: Holmes threatened university prof.

A bearded and disheveled Holmes stared straight ahead as the calls were played and didn't show any emotion.

Holmes also showed little emotion on Monday as police officers struggled to hold back tears during their testimony, reciting a litany of heartbreak: discovering Moser-Sullivan without a pulse, trying to keep a wounded man from jumping out of a moving police car to go back for his 7-year-old daughter, screaming at a gunshot victim not to die.

"After I saw what I saw in the theater — horrific — I didn't want anyone else to die," Grizzle said.

Holmes watched intently as one detective showed a surveillance video of him calmly entering the theater lobby, holding the door open for a couple behind him, and printing out tickets to the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" that he purchased electronically nearly two weeks earlier. Authorities did not show a video of the attack but say Holmes, wearing body armor, tossed two gas canisters into the packed theater, then opened fire.

Play Video

Psychiatrist who treated Holmes testifies

The hearing will be the best opportunity yet for survivors to find out about Holmes' mental state and the sequence of events that led up to the attack. It comes weeks after a shooting at a Newtown, Conn., school killed 20 children and six adults and increased scrutiny on the combustible mix of firearms and mental illness.

Holmes is charged with more than 160 counts, including murder and attempted murder. The hearing will allow the judge to determine whether the prosecution's case is strong enough to warrant a trial, but it's rare for a judge not to order a trial if a case gets this far.

Legal analysts say that evidence appears to be so strong that Holmes may well accept a plea agreement before trial.

While prosecutors have yet to decide on whether they will seek the death penalty, such a plea could get Holmes a lesser sentence, such as life in prison; help the state avoid a costly trial; and spare survivors and families of those who died from the trauma of going through a lengthy trial.

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