Ebola Prompts Ugandans to Stop Kissing

The president of Uganda is calling on people in the East African country to avoid physical contact, including handshaking and kissing, to prevent the spread of the deadly and highly contagious Ebola virus that is believed to have killed 14 people in the last few weeks.

The disease has no known cure or vaccine and some strains can kill up to 90 percent of victims within days. Ugandans are so fearful of the disease that residents in Kibaale province where the outbreak was reported said that people immediately fled the hospital after hearing patients with Ebola were there.

In a nationally televised speech today, President Yoweri Museveni said health officials are working to contain the disease to the rural district where the outbreak was confirmed Saturday, but at least one of the suspected victims was taken to a hospital in the capital city of Kampala.  Now, nearly two dozen medical workers at Mulago Hospital are being held in isolation.

'We have asked people in the whole country to be careful and aware of those who present with symptoms.  We have informed health facilities of the right way to respond,' said Dr. Anthony Mbonye at Uganda's Ministry of Health.

Mbonye said no other patients at Mulago Hospital in Kampala are at risk, and he is optimistic the outbreak in the Kibaale district 125 miles west of the capital city can be contained soon.

'I have hope because since Friday we have not had any new suspected cases of Ebola,' he said.

However, another health official from the affected district told the Associated Press up to six more patients suspected to have Ebola have been admitted to a hospital there and said people in other villages are reporting possible Ebola infections.

Mbonye said people are frightened because many illnesses that are common in the region, such as malaria, have the same symptoms as Ebola.  He said health officials have to balance the need to inform the public while not wanting to cause unnecessary panic. In Kibaale, schools are closed and social gatherings have been cancelled.

Experts from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are in Uganda to advise health officials responding to the outbreak.

People infected with Ebola usually have flu-like symptoms at first.  They can then begin bleeding internally and externally as their vital organs shut down.

Ebola was named for the river near where it was first reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976.  Scientists believe an Ebola outbreak usually begins when a human contracts the disease from an infected animal.

The CDC operates a laboratory in Uganda where a team of scientists is studying Ebola and other deadly viruses in Africa.  In the past couple of years, U.S. defense officials expressed concern that terrorists could try to use Ebola as a biological weapon.  The threat posed by Ebola and other little understood viral diseases has been dramatized by best-selling books such as 'The Hot Point' and Hollywood movies like 'Outbreak' and 'Contagion.'

This is the third outbreak of Ebola in Uganda since 2000 when 224 people were killed.  At least 42 people were killed in another outbreak in 2007, and there was a single confirmed case in 2011.

 

Facebook Post Gets Brothers New Trial

Two Detroit brothers, convicted of murder 25 years ago, have now been granted a new trial, but a judge declined today to release them from prison.

In 1987, Robert Karey, an elderly marijuana dealer, was murdered at the back door of his Detroit home. Two brothers, Raymond and Thomas Highers, both now 46, were convicted of the killing in a three-week trial the following year.

But last Thursday, Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon threw out the convictions and ordered a new trial after a 2009 Facebook post prompted new witnesses to come forward. Two of those witnesses said they saw Karey being shot by two black men at the back door of his house. The Highers brothers are white.

At a hearing today packed with friends and relatives, Talon was expected to release the brothers on bond as they await their new trial.

But he delayed a ruling on their release for two weeks while he seeks a recommendation from pretrial services based on their behavior while in prison. Meanwhile, prosecutors are appealing his decision to overturn the original conviction.

"It's been terrible, absolutely horrible," Scott Highers, Raymond and Thomas's little brother told ABC's Detroit affiliate WXYZ. "We've lost both of our parents. They're deceased. Growing up without your older brothers -- you know, I'm the baby, they're someone to look up to -- I never had the chance to do that."

During their 25 years in prison, the Highers brothers committed several offenses, including drug possession and starting fights.

The key witness in their 1987 trial was Thomas Culberson, a security guard who went to Karey's home to buy marijuana on the night of the murder. Culberson said he saw two white men fleeing the scene in a car, and later identified Raymond Highers as the driver and Thomas Highers as a passenger.

After a former Detroit resident, Kevin Zieleniewski, came across a Facebook post by Mary Evans about the men's life sentences in 2009, he reconnected with a former law school friend, John Hielscher, who told him decades ago that he had been at Karey's that night, and that Karey had been killed by black men, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Hielscher agreed to testify at an evidentiary hearing in March along with his friend James Gianunzio, who was also at Karey's when the shooting happened.

Hielscher and Gianunzio testified that they were at Karey's back door when they saw armed black men approach them and heard a gunshot before they fled, according to the Free Press.

Their testimony raised doubts over whether the Highers brothers were the white men Culberson saw fleeing.

On Thursday, Assistant Prosecutor Ana Quiroz argued in court that there was a conspiracy to free the Highers brothers, and that the new witnesses were not credible, according to the Free Press. Prosecutors argued in the original trial that the Highers brothers, who had bought marijuana from Karey before his murder, killed him in a dispute over money.

Judge Talon set a new hearing date of Aug. 13, when he said he would issue his decision on the brothers' release, WXYZ reported.

Cheney's Heart Was 'At an End'

With a new heart, Dick Cheney is back.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Cheney reflects on the 'miracle' that a heart transplant promises to give him years of added life. And Cheney shows he is as confrontational as ever, taking on President Obama ' and even Sarah Palin.

Cheney, 71, details how far back he has come. He remembers waking from weeks of heavy sedation after having a pump installed in his heart in 2010, a grueling operation that left him seeing his own mortality in the mirror.

'Two years ago this time I was on a respirator, heavily sedated. Just had a pump' installed on my heart because my heart had gotten so weak after six heart attacks and 30-some years of heart disease that it was, you know, it was at the end,' he said.

'I lost 40 pounds. I was heavily sedated in the intensive care unit for weeks afterwards. I had pneumonia while I was in recovering from the surgery. And by the time I came out from under I looked in a mirror and what I saw was my dad shortly before he died. He was in his 80s,' Cheney said.

That is why Cheney, in his first interview since his heart transplant four months ago, calls his recovery 'nothing short of a miracle.'

'I haven't felt this good in years,' he said.

He doesn't know who gave him his new heart because protocol is to maintain anonymity, but the former vice president said there is a program that allows an intermediary to reach out to the donor family to see if they want contact with the recipient.

'At some point I would be, you know, certainly amenable to contact with the family. But we have not at this point exchanged any information,' Cheney said.

If contact was made, Cheney said he would 'express my gratitude for what's a magnificent gift. I can't think of a more magnificent gift than to be given additional years of life.'

Healthy again, Cheney has resumed his love of fishing and his frank evaluations of politicians, including himself.

Cheney left office as one of the most unpopular vice presidents in the country's history, but the man known for his defiance of public opinion is vintage Cheney.

'I'm very comfortable with what I did, and why I did it, and how I did it,' he said.

When asked if he had any regrets, Cheney replied, 'Not really.'

'You can't be judged, and shouldn't judge, people in those senior levels by the polls,' he told ABC News.

He does not spare his fellow Republicans, calling Sen. John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his vice president running mate a 'mistake.'

Cheney said Palin had been governor of Alaska for two years at the time and 'did not pass the test' of being ready to be president.

He also wryly described how the list of vice presidential candidates is used by officials up for reelection.

'I had a couple of calls from politicians who'd say, 'You know, it'd really help me in my race back home, Dick, if I was on the list.' Done. You're on the list,' said Cheney. 'Then somebody could go leak the fact that they were on the list.'

Cheney helped vet candidates for Gerald Ford in 1976 and George W. Bush in 2006 that ultimately settled on Cheney.

'But that was the big list. It was easy to get on the big list. The tough part is the small list, the one that's really under active consideration,' he said.

Cheney's harshest criticism, however, was for President Obama.

'I obviously am not a big fan of President Obama. I think he's been one of our weakest presidents. I just fundamentally disagree with him philosophically. I'd be hard put to find any Democratic president that I've disagreed with more,' he said.

When asked if he thought Obama was 'worse than Jimmy Carter,' Cheney replied, 'Yes.'

Cheney gave Obama credited for killing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but added that 'a lot of that intelligence that laid the groundwork for what ultimately led to the capture of Bin Laden [was] as a result of programs we had in place in the Bush administration.'

He was sharply critical, however, of Obama's plans to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

'We should not be running for the exits. We should not be turning our backs on our friends in that part of the world,' he said.

Syrian Regime Claims Gains in Aleppo

The U.N. said 200,000 Syrians have fled the embattled city of Aleppo since intense clashes between regime forces and rebels began 10 days ago.

The government forces turned mortars, tank and helicopter gunships against rebel positions Monday, pressing ahead with a counter-offensive to wrest back control of neighborhoods taken by rebels in Syria's largest city and commercial hub.

"I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo," Valerie Amos, the top U.N. official for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement late Sunday. "Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas," she added. "They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water."

Amos said U.N. agencies and the Syrian Red Crescent are working together on supplying those affected by the fighting all over the country with blankets and humanitarian supplies, but many remain out of their reach because of the combat.

"It is not known how many people remain trapped in places where fighting continues today," she warned. Aleppo is Syria's largest city and commercial hub with about 3 million inhabitants.

Fleeing residents have described to The Associated Press incessant shelling, shortages of food and gasoline and soaring black market prices for everyday staples. They scurry through streets against a backdrop of gunfire and climbed onto any form of transportation available to escape, including trucks, cars and even heavily laden motorcycles.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late Sunday that the use of heavy weapons, particularly helicopters, is just another nail in President Bashar Assad's coffin. He spoke during a stopover in Tunisia as he kicked off a Mideast tour expected to focus heavily on the unfolding crisis in Syria.

Syrian state media reported late Sunday that the army had "purged" Aleppo's southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted "great losses" upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

Activists, however, disputed these claims and just described another day of fierce shelling of certain areas, backed up by the occasional foray on the ground.

"They have tanks in nearby Hamdaniya and there is fighting, and there have been random bombardments of Salaheddine," said Mohammed Saeed, who is based in the embattled city.

While giving no indication that the Obama administration is contemplating military intervention, Panetta said it is increasingly clear that the Syrian crisis is deepening and that Assad is hastening his own demise.

"If they continue this kind of tragic attack on their own people, ... I think it ultimately will be a nail in Assad's coffin," Panetta told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "His regime is coming to an end."

The Syrian regime has been plagued by a string of defections, including three high-ranking diplomats and several military commanders. On Monday, a Turkish official said a Syrian brigadier general who was deputy chief of police in the Latakia region had defected.

James Holmes in Court to Hear Charges

Accused mass murderer James Holmes will face a judge later this morning to hear the charges against him in the massacre at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater.

Holmes is expected to face 12 counts of murder in the first degree and potentially hundreds of other counts including attempted murder and assault.

Holmes, 24, is accused of going on a shooting spree in the theater during a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" on July 20. Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded in the worst mass shooting in modern US history.

"There's probably charges that can be brought [on behalf] of anybody who was present. The state will need to decide how they approach all of those charges," said former public defender David Kaplan, former head of the Colorado public defender's office.

This will be the second time Holmes has appeared in court. His first appearance in court on July 23 raised questions among some observers about his mental competency. The suspected shooter appeared dazed with his head drooping at times.

The judge will also hear arguments today about a package Holmes mailed to his psychiatrist at the University of Colorado, Lynne Fenton. Holmes' attorneys filed a motion Friday demanding that the court "immediately produce all discovery pertaining to the seizure of the package."

Holmes' attorneys claim that seizing the package was a breach of confidentiality and they accuse the government of leaking the existence of the package to the media.

"The government's disclosure of this confidential and privileged information has placed Mr. Holmes' constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial by an impartial jury in serious jeopardy," his attorneys wrote.

Holmes' attorneys say the package is confidential communication between patient and doctor.

Fenton never received the package, but legal experts say that if Holmes ever made specific threats in their meetings, Fenton had an obligation to report them.

"It's called duty to warn or duty to protect," threat assessment psychologist Marisa Randazzo said.

When investigators first found the package on July 23 in the mailroom at the University of Colorado, where Holmes recently dropped out as a neuroscience student, they were so concerned that it -- like Holmes' apartment -- would be rigged with explosives, they sent in a robot to handle it.

Investigators are analyzing a notebook believed to be written by Holmes that could be a roadmap to a massacre.

Inside the notebook they reportedly found plans for a massacre, including drawings of a stick-figure gunman mowing down his victims.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney's office, representing the state, filed an objection to the motion and asked that it be denied. The DA said that the motion by Holmes's attorneys was "based on certain factual assumptions that are not established by evidence and that the People believe are of dubious validity, if not outright incorrect."

New Search in 1989 Mass. Cold Case

Cadaver dogs and searchers are combing an area of a Massachusetts state park today in hopes of solving the 1989 cold case disappearance of a local teenager.

Melanie Melanson was 14 years old when she went a party in the woods on the Woburn-Stoneham town line in Massachusetts. She entered the woods with friends and was never seen again.

Her body was never found and no one has ever been arrested in her case, even though authorities have said they believe she is dead.

"She was left in the woods by most of the partygoers with two to three individuals, one or all of them had something to do with this," private investigator Michael Garrigan told ABCNews.com. "We just want to figure out what happened. We've heard a lot of stories over the years, a lot of reasons why and possibilities, but until we find her, we won't have the truth."

A recent credible anonymous tip gave the investigation new hope.

Garrigan said that when he receives a tip, he tries to validate it in some other manner before putting a lot of hope or resources into it.

While Garrigan did not want to disclose the specifics of the most recent tip, he said the tipster told him "we should take a look at the woods."

"In this case, we were able to confirm it in a couple different avenues so that made it necessary to do a search and see if there was anything there," Garrigan said.

Eleven teams with cadaver dogs will be using a systematic grid search to comb a section of the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Mass. The woods used to be connected to the Woburn woods where Melanson was last seen.

"There was a way to get there relatively easy, and this was also the stomping ground for the people we believe were involved in [Melanson's disappearance]," Garrigan said.

Melanson's aunt, Karen Montgomery, 56, told ABCNews.com the family believes Melanie's body might have been moved from one set of woods to the other. She is "very hopeful" that there will be a breakthrough in the case soon.

"It's like a 23-year funeral. On holidays and her birthday, there's times you wish she was here and it's hard," Montgomery said. "It's tough enough when you lose a parent when they're older, and that's the circle of life, but not a 15-year-old girl."

Melanson disappeared on Oct. 27, 1989, and her 15th birthday would have been that Nov. 1.

"She had no reason to run away or go anywhere," Montgomery said. "She was looking forward to her birthday and getting her braces off. Her father was going to buy her leather boots."

Melanson's grandparents and parents have died, but her aunts and uncles have kept up the search.

"We owe it to her parents and grandparents and owe it to Melanie not to give up and to keep looking ... until we can hopefully find her and give her a respectful burial and a place where we can put flowers on her grave," she said. "That's all we want. That's what everybody deserves."

Garrigan has been working for Melanson's family since 1991 and refuses to stop searching for her until he has found her.

"I have four children and if this was a daughter of mine, child of mine, I couldn't stop," he said. "And [even though] the child isn't mine, I have the same philosophy. No child should disappear at age 14 and 23 years later have no information about where she went. It's just wrong, and no family should go through that."

The Truth About Eggs And Diet

Eggs are quite possibly the world's perfect protein source. The six grams of protein in each egg has the highest biological value -- a measure of how well it supports your body's protein needs -- of any food, including beef. The yolks contain vitamin B12, deficiencies of which can cause attention, mood, and thinking problems.

Depending on where you're getting your eggs, though, you could be getting a lot more of stuff you don't want. First you'll get some arsenic, added to feed to promote growth in hens but linked to various forms of cancer in people, and an extra dose of antibiotics, also used to promote growth but linked to antibiotic resistance and even obesity in people. Then add a heaping helping of salmonella. A 2010 study published in the journal Veterinary Record found that the eggs from hens confined to cages, as they often are in factory farms, had 7.77-times greater odds of harboring salmonella bacteria than eggs from non-caged hens.

You wouldn't know that based on what's starting to appear on egg cartons. Labels like "natural" and "cage-free" make eggs seem like they came from down on the farm, from chickens living happy lives and eating bugs. But that's not always the case. If all you want is healthy protein, it's time to start scrutinizing egg cartons. Following are nine of the most common egg-carton claims and what they mean for your health.

Read more: The 7 Best Eggs You're Not Eating

"Cage-Free"

What it means: "Cage-free is certainly not like Old McDonald's farm," explains Paul Shapiro, spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States. Generally, it means that animals are not kept in the tiny battery cages used in most egg operations. It doesn't mean the animals live outside or that they eat a diet free of arsenic and antibiotics. It is true that cage-free operations are slightly healthier for you. Cages generate more fecal dust, are associated with more disease-carrying rodents and insects, involve many cages that are difficult to disinfect, and lead to low natural immunity in stressed-out hens.

Can you trust it? No. There's no independent third party that certifies egg producers as cage-free, so you really have to take producers at their word.

"Free-Range" or "Free-Roaming"

What it means: Usually these types of operations allow chickens outside of cages in barns or warehouses, but they aren't required to provide the animals any specific amount of time outside'or even exposure to sunlight indoors. Chickens can still be debeaked or forced into molting, a practice used to keep hens laying eggs for a longer period of time, usually accomplished by starving the chickens, according to the Humane Society.

Can you trust it? No. Like "cage-free," there's no independent body that certifies hens as receiving adequate access to the outdoors, and the USDA has set no standards for using the claim on egg cartons.

Read more: 10 Food Label Lies

"Organic"

What it means: A USDA-certified organic label means the eggs came from hens that were not enclosed in battery cages, and that must be offered access to the outdoors. But the amount and duration of outdoor access isn't well defined. Organic eggs come from hens that were fed certified-organic feed, free of things like arsenic and antibiotics, pesticides, animal byproducts, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Forced molting and debeaking are permitted in certified-organic production.

Can you trust it? Yes. Egg producers are subject to annual audits of their operations and must pay a fee to be certified.

***

More from Rodale.com:

The 20 Best Organic Foods

The Positive Side of Fast Food

10 Healthiest Food Pairings

The 15 Grossest Things You're Eating

Mitt Romney Heads to Israel

From the Olympics to the Middle East, Mitt Romney is hoping to hit the reset button on a foreign trip that was supposed to show off his credentials as a statesman.

He may have his work cut out for him. Romney will be going from the U.K., the closest ally of the U.S., to the Middle East. It's one of the most sensitive diplomatic arenas on earth, and he'll be meeting with Israeli leaders at one of the most sensitive times of the year in the Jewish calendar.

The GOP presidential candidate's mid-campaign foreign trip got off to a bad start when the British press turned on him in London after he said some of the country's Olympic preparations were "disconcerting." That led to several other minor gaffes as well as a rebuke from London's mayor and the British prime minister. Romney tried to clarify his comments Friday, but the damage had been done as he faced a blizzard of unfriendly British headlines.

Who's He Meeting?

Both the Israeli press and American reporters will be closely watching when he touches down in Israel.

On Saturday, Romney will meet with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian National Authority. Sunday in Jerusalem, Romney meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres (mentioned frequently and fondly in Romney's 2008 campaign stumps), and members of the Israeli opposition. He also meets with defense minister and former prime minister Ehud Barak and Israel's ambassador to the United States, as well as other officials. He will also deliver a major foreign policy address. He's notably not meeting with Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. His advisers say he's meeting with Fayyad because they believe Fayyad is "committed to institution building, civil society institution building in Palestinian territories" as well as "security cooperation between the Israelis and Palestinians."

In the Shadow of the President

The 36-hour trip, his fourth to the country, is now on the heels of President Obama's announcement that he is releasing an additional $70 million in military aid for Israel to help the country boost production of a short-range rocket defense system, known as Iron Dome. The White House says the timing is merely a coincidence and not meant to upstage their opponent.

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

The presumptive GOP nominee has famously said he would "do the opposite" the president has done with regard to Israel and has continuously painted the Obama administration as anti-Israel. But he's promised to abide by the "water's edge" rule and not criticize the president while out of the country.

Sandusky Shower Victim Comes Forward

The man who was seen being sexually assaulted in the Penn State showers by Jerry Sandusky in 2001 has come forward and identified himself to attorneys, who say that he plans to sue the university.

A man claiming to be Victim 2, whom assistant coach Mike McQueary saw being molested in the shower by Sandusky, is being represented by four attorneys, including Joel Feller and Matt Casey of Philadelphia and Justine Andronici and Andrew Shubin of State College, according to a statement released by the attorneys today.

The man's name is not being released to the public, but his attorneys have posted on their website two voicemails that Sandusky allegedly left the man on his cell phone in 2011.

Listen to Jerry Sandusky's Phone Calls

The attorneys confirm that the man is the same victim who McQueary saw one night in the Penn State locker room showers with Sandusky. McQueary, then a graduate assistant on the Penn State football coaching staff, said he walked into the locker rooms around 9 p.m. one Friday night to put sneakers in his locker and saw Sandusky in a very sexual position with the boy.

McQueary said he believed he had witnessed Sandusky raping the boy, and slammed his locker door loudly before leaving the locker room. He then went home and told his father what he saw, and the next day reported the incident to head coach Joe Paterno.

The incident became a linchpin for the case against Sandusky, as McQueary was the only eyewitness to an alleged assault who was called to testify at Sandusky's trial. Prosecutors had not been able to identify Victim 2 or interview him for the trial.

Sandusky was convicted of sexually assaulting the boy, despite the inability of police to identify the victim.

According to the statement by the attorneys, the man approached them and confirmed that he had been abused for "many years both before and after the 2001 incident."

The attorneys said they will be filling a civil suit on the man's behalf against Penn State University "and others."

The voicemails released by the attorneys include a man's voice that they claim is Sandusky's, calling Victim 2 just weeks ahead of his arrest.

"I would be very firm and express my feelings, uh, upfront. Um. But you know, there is nothing really to hide so, if you want, give me a call. You can call me on my other cell phone or on this one, either one so. All right, take care. Love you. Uh. Hope you get this message. Thanks," the man said in one message, dated Sept. 12, 2011.

"Just calling to see you know whether you had any interest in going to the Penn State game this Saturday," the voice said in another message dated Sept. 14, 2011. "If you could get back to me and let me know, I would appreciate it and when you get this message, uh, give me a call and I hope to talk to you later. Thanks. I love you."

The lawyers said in their statement that they had collected overwhelming evidence that Sandusky molested the boy for many years and that he is, in fact, Victim 2.

"As these messages indicate, Sandusky was attempting to exert control over our client even as his arrest for child sexual abuse became imminent," the statement read.

Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse in June and is awaiting sentencing in a Pennsylvania jail.

The handling of McQueary's report to Paterno about the shower incident resulted in the dismissal of Paterno, university president Graham Spanier and two other college executives for not reporting it to police.

Earlier this month, an internal investigation of the sex scandal, led by former FBI chief Louis Freeh, found that Paterno and the other top executives intentionally concealed Sandusky's abuse in order to avoid damaging Penn State football's reputation.

Based on the results of the investigation, the NCAA vacated all of Paterno's wins for the years 1998 through 2011, banned the team from bowl games, and fined the university $60 million.

Paterno, who died in January, said before his death that he wished he had done more with the information McQueary gave him.

Ford Recalls Nearly 500K Escape SUVs

The Ford Motor Company is recalling nearly half a million Escape model compact SUVs amid concerns over a potentially deadly problem with sticking accelerator pedals.

The new recall, which affects 2001 to 2004 models that have 3-liter, V-6 engines with cruise control or approximately 484,600 vehicles, was ordered after safety inspectors discovered the accelerator's speed control cables could become stuck on an engine cover when the pedal is almost fully depressed, according to a recall notice by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

The recall comes after ABC News' Phoenix affiliate, KNXV, launched an investigation into a Ford Escape crash that claimed the life of 17-year-old Saige Bloom. The Arizona teen lost control of her vehicle and crashed on a local road in January.

Moments before that crash, Bloom's mother, who was driving in another car behind her daughter, made frantic calls to 911 saying, "She cannot stop. We're coming to a red light and I don't know what to do for her," KNXV reported.

The younger Bloom plowed into another car and rolled three times. She later died of her injuries.

According to KNXV, an inspector hired by the Bloom family later discovered the vehicle's speed control cable had broken and become lodged under the engine cover, meaning the throttle was stuck at near full speed.

FULL COVERAGE at KNXV: ABC15 Ford Investigation

Ford spokesperson Marcey Zwiebel told ABC News that the issue does not spontaneously cause the vehicle to accelerate, but the accelerator can only get stuck after the driver has pressed the pedal all the way, or most of the way down.

Zwiebel also said that the company has only recently been able to investigate the vehicle involved in Bloom's death, but said Ford's internal investigation was not solely based on that single incident.

"We had a volume of data to review and analyze in order to ensure our investigation was thoroughly and properly implemented," Zweibel said.

In a customer information sheet, Ford said that most dealerships will not have the parts to permanently fix the problem just yet but said customers should go to their local dealership for an "interim repair, which will disable the speed control system on your vehicle to eliminate the possibility of a stuck throttle'"

"This temporary repair will allow you to continue driving your vehicle until parts for the permanent repair are available," the information sheet says.

ABC News' KNXV contributed to this report.

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Facebook Results In Line, But Shares Fall

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB), after its disastrous initial share offer in May, issued its first earnings report as a public company today, barely topping analyst expectations for sales at $1.184 billion and meeting profit estimates. But the share sell-off continued as investors worried about slowing growth.

"Our goal is to help every person stay connected and every product they use be a great social experience," Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, said in a statement. "That's why we're so focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends."

The company's shares closed Thursday at $26.84, down 8.5 percent and some 26 percent below its offer price back in May. They briefly surged today in aftermarket trading to more than $29 then dropped again, to an all-time low of $25.50.

Facebook said profit was 12 cents a share after certain costs including a large payout to insiders from its IPO.

Arvind Bhatia, Sterne Agee's managing director of equity research, said Facebook's earnings were as expected.

"Second quarter results were in line and we are encouraged by the strength in advertising," Bhatia said.

Bhatia expected Zynga's "disappointing trends," as revealed through the social gaming's earnings on Thursday, to have a short-term negative impact on Facebook.

During Facebook's earnings conference call, which will include comments from Zuckerberg, investors will focus on how much the social network made in advertising revenue and whether users are sticking despite cutthroat competition from sites like Twitter and Pinterest.

After Facebook went public and shares of the company slid, Zuckerberg's net worth sunk about $5 billion from a peak of about $19 billion.

The company reported 955 million monthly active users as of June 30, an increase of 29 percent, year-over-year.

At the end of March 2012, there were 901 million monthly active Facebook users with 526 million daily active users on average.

Before the highly publicized and blundered IPO on May 18, Facebook revealed it made $1.058 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2012, up from $731 billion last year. Its net income had dropped to $205 million from $233 million last year.

Aaron Kessler, an analyst with investment firm Raymond James, estimates second-quarter revenue of $1.11 billion, slightly below consensus of $1.16 billion. Kessler estimates about 561 million daily active users in the second quarter, which would indicate growth of 35 percent year-over-year.

Overall, analysts expect revenue to expand 9 percent to $1.15 billion and earnings per share to be 12 cents.

Kessler will be most interested in hearing what Facebook has to say about its advertising and mobile monetization strategy, a previous soft spot when the company announced its plans to go public, and engagement metrics.

ComScore traffic data indicates a slowdown in the quarter. Second-quarter unique visitors from the U.S. increased only 1 percent year over year, as opposed to 5 percent year over year in the first quarter. Average daily visitors to Facebook declined 2 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous year.

Obama Urges 'Common Sense' to Reduce Gun Violence

NEW ORLEANS ' In his most extensive remarks on gun control since the tragedy in Tucson, President Obama tonight renewed his push to reduce gun violence, saying 'AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals.'

Citing the massacre in Colorado and the 'less publicized acts of violence' that plague the nation's cities, the president told the National Urban League that steps to reduce gun violence 'should not be controversial, they should be common sense.'

Following an 'extraordinary heartbreaking tragedy' like the deadly shooting in Aurora, Colo., Obama said there is 'always an outcry immediately after for action,' but that 'too often those efforts are defeated by politics and by lobbying and eventually by the pull of our collective attention elsewhere.'

'Steps to reduce violence have been met with opposition in Congress. This has been true for some time, particularly when it touches on the issue of guns,' he said.

The president made clear his support for Second Amendment rights, saying 'hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage.'

'I also believe a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals. That they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities,' he said.

While the president did not call for any new policy, he did underscore the need for enhanced background checks and restrictions to keep mentally unbalanced individuals from acquiring guns.

Going forward, Obama vowed to work with members of both parties to 'arrive at a consensus around violence reduction, not just of gun violence, but violence at every level.'

Video of Missing Iowa Girls Discovered

Authorities in Iowa investigating the disappearance of 8-year-old Elizabeth Collins and her 10-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook, have obtained new video of the missing girls from the day they vanished 12 days ago.

Although the girls only look like a blur as they cross the frame on their bicycles in the video, and the footage of the two girls lasts only seconds, investigators say they now are analyzing it for any clues that could lead to information about the girls whose bicycles were later recovered on a trail by nearby Meyers Lake in Evansdale, Iowa.

"It looked kind of grainy, I mean just zoom they were by the thing and so it's very hard to really make much out of the thing," Black Hawk County Chief Deputy Rick Abben said. "The girls were less than a block from the house when this camera captured them riding by, important to note they were riding away from Meyers Lake."

The video also matches the police timeline. Investigators say the girls left the home to ride their bikes shortly after noon July 13. The camera's clock shows it was 12:11 p.m. when they rode by.

Both of their bicycles were recovered on a trial near the lake about four hours after they were reported missing, after they left for a neighborhood bike ride and haven't been seen since.

The surveillance camera belongs to a local auction house. With few clues in the investigation, the house's manager. Joe Pahl. thought to look for the video and turned it over to the FBI.

"Anything we can do to help," Pahl said. "We want to see the girls come back safe and alive."

Authorities reclassified the case as an abduction Friday. FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said Monday that investigators believe the two girls are alive, although she would not offer any details to explain their confidence. The optimism in this small northeast Iowa town, she noted, was inspiring.

"If hope alone can bring them home, they'll come home," Breault said.

Misty Morrissey and husband Dan, the separated parents of Lyric, had stopped answering investigators' questions on the advice of their attorney late last week, although Misty submitted to a second polygraph test Tuesday.

The move came as the pair bristled under intense scrutiny because of their criminal histories. Both of them have been convicted of felony drug charges and served time behind bars.

A $50,000 reward is now being offered for information that would lead to their being found.

Holmes Bought Rifle After Failing College Exam

Accused movie theater gunman James Holmes purchased a high-powered rifle hours after failing a key oral exam at the University of Colorado, ABC News has learned.

Holmes added the weapon to his already growing arsenal June 7, hours after he took a key oral exam at the college. ABC News station KMGH-TV in Denver reported that he failed the exam. Three days later, he dropped out of the neurosciences program with no explanation.

Holmes, 24, is being held without bond in connection with the shooting, which left 12 people dead and 58 injured July 20 during a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Experts say it's possible Holmes had an underlying mental illness that was triggered by the stress of failure.

"All of those things could actually make dormant schizophrenia come out, and come out relatively quickly," said Marisa Randazzo, a psychologist who studies targeted violence.

Using the kinds of guns Holmes allegedly fired requires training and practice, and law enforcement officials are now trying to figure out where and with whom.

For now, Holmes is being held in the Arapahoe County Jail. Holmes' odd behavior was first seen by the public when he appeared in court Monday looking dazed, alternately bug-eyed and nodding with his eyes closing.

But ABC News has learned that his loopy court appearance was just one of several bizarre behaviors.

In the hours after his arrest Friday for the massacre at the Aurora, Colo., movie theater, Holmes stared at the wall in the Arapahoe Police Headquarters with his eyebrows twitching.

Holmes told police he was the fictitious Batman villain, the Joker, and when cops put evidence bags over his hands to preserve traces of gunpowder residue, he pretended the bags were puppets, law enforcement sources told KMGH-TV.

While Holmes sits in jail, Christian Bale, who plays the hero, Batman, in "The Dark Knight Rises," and his wife made a surprise visit to Aurora, Colo., Tuesday, laying flowers at the makeshift memorial outside the theater. Bale then spent two and a half hours at Medical Center of Aurora meeting seven of the wounded, doctors and first responders.

"It was very, very emotional for them to see him in person, and they all very much enjoyed his visit," said Bill Voloch, the interim president of the facility. "He was amazing. He was kind. He was a true gentleman."

Bale specifically asked the hospital not to alert the media, but it leaked pretty quickly on Twitter when patients started posting pictures online.

Bale released a statement this weekend, saying, "Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them."

Ex-Aide Charged in Hacking Scandal

British authorities on Tuesday charged an ex-aide to the British prime minister, a former protege of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and six others in the ever-widening phone hacking scandal, accusing them of key roles in a lengthy campaign of illegal espionage that victimized hundreds of people including top celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

The announcement was a major development in a saga that has shaken Britain's establishment and shows little sign of winding down. A senior police official said earlier this week that her force was investigating two new newspaper groups as well as more than 100 claims of computer hacking, improper access to medical records and other illegal behavior stemming from the scandal.

The Crown Prosecution Service's Alison Levitt made the announcement in a televised statement, saying that Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, both former editors of Murdoch's now-shuttered News of the World tabloid, were among those being charged with conspiring to intercept the communications of more than 600 people between Oct. 3, 2000, and Aug. 9, 2006.

Others being charged include senior tabloid journalists Stuart Kuttner, Greg Miskiw, Neville Thurlbeck, James Weatherup and Ian Edmondson. Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, whose extensive notes have been at the center of the scandal, is also being prosecuted.

Levitt said that, with reference to the suspects, "there is sufficient evidence for there to be a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to one or more offenses." The penalty for "unlawful interception of communications" is up to two years in prison and a fine.

The charges are another potential embarrassment for Prime Minister David Cameron, who had hired Coulson as his chief communications adviser and once counted Brooks and her race horse riding husband Charlie in his circle of friends. The prime minister's judgment has come under scrutiny as the scandal has spread ' as have his and other politicians' links to News Corp., Murdoch's formidable media empire.

Phone hacking first came to public attention in 2006, when police arrested Mulcaire and the News of the World's then-royal editor Clive Goodman on suspicion of hacking into the voicemail messages belonging to members of Britain's royal household. Coulson resigned from his post as editor after the pair was convicted the following year, but always insisted he was kept in the dark about their wrongdoing.

For the next five years, News Corp. subsidiary News International would insist that the illegal activity was an aberration ' the work of single rogue reporter. But a growing stream of lawsuits ' and enterprising reporting by the Guardian and The New York Times ' eventually put the lie to the cover-up. Under pressure, police reopened their phone hacking investigation and revisited Mulcaire's voluminous notes.

News International began to change its tune. Stony denials turned into apologies sweetened with big settlements. And detectives swooped in on Thurlbeck and Edmonson, the paper's chief reporter and its news editor respectively.

Britain Deploys 1,200 More Troops

Britain's government opted Tuesday to deploy 1,200 more troops to protect Olympic venues ' a move that reflects a lack of confidence that private security contractor G4S can deliver all it promised for the games.

The fresh troops come only three days before Friday's opening ceremony and mean that some 18,200 U.K. military personnel are now involved in some capacity in securing the London games ' dwarfing the 9,500 British troops now in Afghanistan. The decision followed a Cabinet meeting on venue security.

"On the eve of the largest peacetime event ever staged in this country, ministers are clear that we should leave nothing to chance," Olympics Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement. " The Government continues to have every confidence that we will deliver a safe and secure Games."

The government put the troops on standby a few days ago, but suggested that was merely a prudent contingency measure that was unlikely to be used. Tuesday's announcement is yet another embarrassment for security provider G4S, which has consistently failed to deliver on its Olympic contract.

Thousands of British soldiers have been sent in on short notice to fill the gap in guards. Some of the servicemen have seen their leaves cancelled while others have only recently returned from tours in Afghanistan.

The chief executive of G4S, Nick Buckles, has acknowledged that his company's failure to hire enough Olympic security guards had embarrassed the nation. He made a groveling apology last week when he was questioned by angry British lawmakers at Parliament, who have suggested that "sorry" wasn't enough.

"It was a big disappointment," said Paul Deighton, the chief executive officer of the London organizing committee. "We signed a contract with the biggest security company in the world, whose biggest customer is the U.K. government. They continually assured us that they had both the capability to deliver."

Some lawmakers want G4S, one of the world's largest security providers, to not only pay for all additional costs incurred by the government for bringing in the extra troops but also to face financial penalties for the failing to deliver..

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to "go after" G4S if they don't fulfill their contract to make sure the company helps pay for the cost of the additional military personnel. The firm expects to lose between 35 million and 50 million pounds ($54 million-$78 million) on its Olympic contract, equal to about 12 percent of its annual profit.

Labour lawmaker Margaret Hodge, the chair of the influential Public Accounts Committee and a longtime critic of the G4S contract, says that everything must be done to ensure a safe games but once the Olympics are over, a post mortem is in order.

"They've all got egg on their face," she told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The security contractor said in a statement it "made very good progress in the last few days" on its commitment to the London organizing committee.

"Significant numbers of candidates are now reaching the final stages of the (security) training and accreditation process each day and we are working hard to ensure that we deliver on the commitments we made," the firm said.

Olympic soccer matches start Wednesday and the games themselves end Aug. 12.

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Associated Press Writer Gerald Imray contributed to this story.

Danica Kirka can be reached at http://twitter.com/DanicaKirka

Alleged Colorado Shooter Dazed in Court

James Holmes, the man accused of opening fire at a Colorado movie theater, appeared dazed in court today, the first time he has been seen in public since he allegedly killed 12 people and wounded another 58 during a showing of the new Batman movie.

Holmes, 24, appeared in court unshaven with a shock of dyed reddish-orange hair, and a prison jumpsuit that appeared to conceal a bulletproof vest.

He said nothing in the courtroom and spent much of the hearing looking down, his head drooping at times. He demeanor ranged from a glassy bug-eyed stare to appearing to be nodding off.

Holmes' appearance raised questions among some observers about his mental competency.

"He's not in this courtroom mentally," former FBI profiler Brad Garrett, an ABC News analyst, told "World News." "He's elsewhere. He's in some alternative reality that he's created. I also think that there's a combination of the reality of what has happened to him has set in, as to what it's done to himself as well as to the victims."

ABC News legal analyst Dan Abrams told "World News" the scene also might set the stage for an insanity defense.

"This is likely how he was arrested, what he looked like at the time," Abrams said. "This is somebody who was arrested at the scene, dressed up like the killer with the weapon, so you start to think his most likely defense is some mental defect defense. So why would you suddenly want to make him seem more sane? But with that said, I think his lawyers are probably just getting to know him now and there was just no reason to make any change."

In fact, Holmes' behavior apparently was similarly detached at the police station before his court appearance. He stared at walls with his eyebrows twitching and used evidence bags placed over his hands to preserve possible gunshot residue as hand puppets, sources told ABC News affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver.

Even so, Holmes likely will be found competent to stand trial, Abrams said, because such a determination requires "a very low standard."

"The only question is: Can you really talk to your lawyers? Do you understand what's going on?" Abrams added.

PHOTOS: Colorado 'Dark Knight Rises' Theater Shooting

Holmes was not arraigned today, but was held without bond on a probable cause order for first degree murder. He is expected to return to court next week, to be formally charged and enter a plea.

Holmes is being held in solitary confinement and was brought to the courtroom via an underground tunnel.

Five family members, on behalf of three victims, were in the courtroom today. Each was assigned a victim-advocate, armed with a box of tissues.

Before the hearing started, a female relative of a victim stood up and approached a male relative of another victim -- presumably a total stranger -- and introduced herself. The two then engaged in a long hug.

When Holmes entered the room, they all stared at him intently, some of them craning their necks to do so.

Asked whether Holmes was on medication or drugs at the time of today's hearing, Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers told reporters, "We would have no information about that."

Arapahoe County Undersheriff Dave Walcher would not comment on whether Holmes was on drugs, saying, "I can absolutely not comment on any inmate or any other medical conditions or medication an inmate might be on."

Joe Paterno Statue Removed at Penn State

Credit: John Beale/AP Photo

Penn State University's statue of legendary football coach Joe Paterno was removed from campus Sunday morning in the wake of an investigation that harshly criticized Paterno for failing to take action in the sex abuse case of his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State president Rodney Erickson issued a statement shortly before the statue was removed that said, 'Coach Paterno's statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond. For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location.'

The bronze statue, an image of Paterno running out of the locker room with his players in tow, was toppled onto its side and is being carried out by a forklift.

In response to the statue's removal, Paterno's family issued this statement: 'Tearing down the statue of Joe Paterno does not serve the victims of Jerry Sandusky's horrible crimes or help heal the Penn State Community. We believe the only way to help the victims is to uncover the full truth.'

The statement goes on to say that Paterno never had a hearing, and only selective evidence has been made public. The Freeh report, Paterno's family says, is not the equivalent of a fair trial, although it has been accepted by the media as the definitive conclusion on the Sandusky scandal.

'It is not the University's responsibility to defend or protect Joe Paterno. But they at least should have acknowledged that important legal cases are still pending and that the record on Joe Paterno, the Board and other key players is far from complete,' the statement reads.

Several fans of the late coach showed up with their rally cry, chanting, 'We are Penn State.'

ABC News Radio contributed to this report. 

Gun Range Owner Turned Away Colorado Shooting Suspect

James Holmes, the man who allegedly killed 12 people and wounded 58 at a packed screening of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," applied to join a Colorado gun range last month, but was rejected by the owner, who found him "creepy."

Glenn Rotkovich, who owns the Lead Valley Range in Byers, Colo., told ABC News that Holmes applied for membership about a month ago via email, but when Rotkovich called him to follow up, he said he got a "bizarre," Batman-inspired voicemail message.

He told his staff not to allow Holmes into the club if he showed up for an orientation.

The gun range owner's reaction adds to a growing portrait of the 24-year-old accused of carrying out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, and who police say rigged his apartment with dozens of explosive devices set to go off when the door was opened.

The search of Holmes' apartment yielded a computer and a variety of Batman paraphernalia, including a poster and a mask, more evidence of his apparent obsession with the comic book hero.

Investigators also found 10 gallons of gasoline, which were removed from the apartment and detonated at a remote site. Images of the ensuing large fireball were captured by a media helicopter hovering above.

Exclusive Video of Holmes at 18

Overnight, ABC News obtained exclusive video and photos of Holmes. The video, which was recorded six years ago when Holmes was 18, gives some insight into his life.

In the video, he is standing among his peers at a science camp held at Miramar College in San Diego talking about "temporal illusions."

"Over the course of the summer I've been working with a temporal illusion. It's an illusion that allows you to change the past," Holmes said in the video.

He appears slightly nervous speaking to the group but also extremely intelligent.

This is how he was explaining his mentor's shared interest in fantasy versus reality in the video: "He also studies subjective experience, which is what takes places inside the mind as opposed to the external world. I've carried on his work in dealing with subjective experience."

By most accounts, Holmes lived the life of a normal teen -- with a particular interest in science.

The video shows him being introduced at the seminar as someone whose "goals are to become a researcher and to make scientific discoveries. In personal life, he enjoys playing soccer and strategy games and his dream is to own a slurpee machine."

Though Holmes was apparently a gifted scientist who had received a federal grant to work on his Ph.D. at one of the most competitive neuroscience programs in the country, he was a loner who -- oddly for a young student -- seemed to have no Internet presence.

Holmes Began Amassing Weapons Two Months Ago

On Saturday, officials said they have "evidence of calculation and deliberation" in the way Holmes allegedly planned and prepared for the shooting, beginning to buy weapons and ammunition two months ago.

Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates announced Friday that Holmes had purchased four guns at local shops and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet in the past 60 days.

Holmes received deliveries to the school and his home over that period, police said.

Holmes was enrolled in a neuroscience graduate program at the University of Colorado. On Sunday, officials at the school's Anschutz Medical Campus said they are looking into whether Holmes had items delivered to the school.

Evidence of 'Calculation and Deliberation' in Colo. Shooting

Investigators have learned that James Holmes, the man accused of perpetrating the largest massacre in American history, had received a significant number of commercial deliveries to his home and office, as they try to build a picture of the alleged shooter and the events leading up to the largest mass shooting in American history.

"What we're seeing here is some evidence of calculation and deliberation," said Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates.

Bomb techinicians spent much of the morning making Holmes' Aurora, Colo., apartment safe to enter, and investigators then worked into the evening collecting evidence and securing the scene, said Jim Yacone of the FBI.

After 7 p.m. local time, residents in neighboring buildings were allowed back into their homes for the first time since early Friday morning, though tenants in Holmes' building will have to wait until Sunday.

"An extensive amount of evidence" is being collected and will be sent to the FBI's crime lab in Quantico, Va., Yacone said.

Authorities conducted a controlled detonation today as they slowly entered the booby-trapped apartment, which authorities said was "set up to kill."

"It was an extremely dangerous environment. If [someone] had walked in that door, they would have sustained significant injuries or lost their life," Yacone said.

A robot driven by a bomb technician and dynamic destruction tools were used to slowly and methodically disable explosive devices while also preserving evidence, Yacone said.

A loud pop was heard, but there was no visible smoke or fire at the scene. The street outside the apartment was shut down and residents were notified of the explosion by a reverse 911 call.

Police said Friday that a large number of explosive devices and trip wires were found at Holmes' apartment in an "elaborate" set-up.

One official told ABC News there were wires everywhere and described Holmes as a like a mad scientist.

Some devices appeared to be strapped to boxes of bullets and what looked like mortar rounds, police said.

The "flammable and explosive" materials could have blown up Holmes' apartment building and the ones near it, police said.

After a thorough search of Holmes' apartment, police moved into the investigation phase, hoping Holmes' computer -- if he has one -- and any writings could provide a gateway to understanding his motive.

A former doctoral student, Holmes is suspected of killing 12 people at the screening of the latest Batman movie in Aurora early Friday morning. Fifty-eight people were wounded.

Authorities have finished sweeping the Century 16 theater and plan to turn it over to Holmes' defense on Tuesday and back to theater owners on Wednesday, Oates said.

Personal belongings that were left behind amid the chaos and carnage were recovered by Aurora police, who plan to work with victims advocates to help reuunite people who were in the theater that night with their belongings, providing there is no forensic link, Oates said.

Among the dead include Micayla Medek, 23; Alex Sullivan, 27, who was attending the movie for his birthday; Ohio native Matt McQuinn; and Alex Teves, 24.

Two other people died at the hospital, including 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi. Police said 30 people remained hospitalized with 11 of them in critical condition. Bullets from the shooting spree tore through the theater and into adjoining theaters, where at least one other person was struck and injured.

Video of Colo. Shooting Suspect Emerges

Federal authorities and local police today are scouring James Holmes' apartment for evidence as a newly released video gives some insight into the man who allegedly killed 12 people and injured 58 people at a packed screening of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

Overnight, ABC News obtained exclusive video and photos of Holmes. The video was recorded six years ago when Holmes was 18.

In the video, he is standing among his peers at a science camp at Miramar College in San Diego talking about "temporal illusions."

"Over the course of the summer I've been working with a temporal illusion. It's an illusion that allows you to change the past," Holmes said in the video.

He appears slightly nervous speaking to the group but also extremely intelligent.

This is how he was explaining his mentor's shared interest in fantasy versus reality in the video:

"He also studies subjective experience which is what takes places inside the mind as opposed to the external world. I've carried on his work in dealing with subjective experience."

By most accounts, Holmes lived the life of a normal teen ' with a particular interest in science.

This was how he was introduced at the seminar: "His goals are to become a researcher and to make scientific discoveries. In personal life, he enjoys playing soccer and strategy games and his dream is to own a slurpee machine."

Though Holmes was apparently a gifted scientist who had received a federal grant to work on his Ph.D. at one of the most competitive neuroscience programs in the country, he was a loner who -- oddly for a young scientist -- seemed to have no Internet presence.

Officials Saturday said they now have "evidence of calculation and deliberation," in the way he allegedly planned and prepared for the shooting, beginning to buy weapons and ammunition two months ago.

Holmes is originally from San Diego, where he once reportedly worked as a camp counselor for underprivileged children. He was an honors student at Westview High School, but did not walk in his graduation ceremony.

Holmes, 24, is currently in custody for Friday's massacre in Aurora, Colo.

Dressed in full riot gear, Holmes allegedly entered from an emergency exit in the front right corner of the theater before releasing something that witnesses identify as tear gas or a smoke bomb. From there, he allegedly sprayed the sold-out theater with a storm of bullets, injuring and killing both adults and children.

Among the dead include: Micayla Medek, 23; Alex Sullivan, 27, who was attending the movie for his birthday; Ohio native Matt McQuinn; Alex Teves, 24; Alexander J. Boik, 18; Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32; and Gordon W. Cowden, 51.

Two other people died at the hospital, including 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi. Police said 30 people remained hospitalized with 11 of them in critical condition. Bullets from the shooting spree tore through the theater and into adjoining theaters, where at least one other person was struck and injured.

John Larimer, a member of the Navy, was also confirmed by his family to be among the dead. The family said they were notified at their Illinois home around midnight today by a Navy notification team that Larimer was dead.

Staff Sgt. Jesse Childress was an Air Force reservist assigned to units at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado was killed in the shooting. He was 29. Air Force Lt. Col. Pat Walsh said that Childress was respected in the 310th Force Support Squadron.

Military veteran Jonathan T. Blunk of Aurora, Colo., was killed as he threw himself over a friend to keep her from getting shot. The 26-year-old worked at a hardware store.

Murdoch Resigns From UK Papers Boards

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has resigned as a director of a number of News Corp. boards overseeing his Britain newspapers, a spokeswoman confirmed Saturday. He also quit from some of the media company's subsidiary boards in the United States.

Murdoch stepped down this past week as a director of NI Group, Times Newspaper Holdings and News Corp. Investments in the U.K., said Daisy Dunlop, spokeswoman for News Corp.'s British arm, News International. The companies oversee The Sun, The Times, and The Sunday Times.

It was not immediately clear which of News Corp.'s U.S. boards Murdoch had left. Britain's Telegraph newspaper, which first reported the news late Saturday, said those details had not yet been disclosed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

News International sought to play down the significance of the resignations, saying in a statement that "this is nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise prior to the company split."

That was a reference to News Corp.'s announcement June 28 that it would separate its publishing business, which includes The Wall Street Journal, from its much more profitable media and entertainment business ' forming two distinct, publicly traded companies. Under those proposed changes, Murdoch, 81, will chair both of the companies, although he would continue as chief executive of the media and entertainment company only.

Saturday's announcement suggests that Murdoch may be distancing himself from his British newspaper interests, which have been shaken to the core by a widespread phone hacking scandal.

The scandal erupted anew last year when it emerged that Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid had systematically hacked voicemails of politicians and celebrities. The revelations have rocked Britain's establishment and triggered three parallel police investigations that have resulted in more than 40 arrests. Illegal eavesdropping allegations at the News of the World led to the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, then-CEO of News International, who has been accused of perverting justice in the scandal.

Murdoch and his son, James, both had to testify in front of a parliamentary committee probing the allegations. The committee declared the elder Murdoch unfit to run an international business.

James Murdoch had already resigned as chairman of News International.

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Sylvia Hui can be reached at http://twitter.com/sylviahui

Colo. Suspect Said He 'Was the Joker,' Cops Say

The man in custody for allegedly killing 12 people at the screening of the latest Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado told authorities after the shooting that he "was The Joker," NYPD police commissioner Ray Kelly said today.

Kelly told reporters the suspect, identified by federal officials as 24-year-old James Holmes, had dyed his hair like The Joker. The Joker is a well-known villain in the fictional Batman universe. The attack took place at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," the final movie in a Batman trilogy, following "The Dark Knight" in which The Joker was the principal villain.

Two federal law enforcement officials confirmed the details of The Joker reference to ABC News. Aurora police chief Dan Oates declined to comment on Kelly's remarks but said he had spoken with the NYPD, where he had previously served.

Police said the weapons used in the massacre include a military-style AR-15 assault rifle with a high-capacity drum-style clip, a shotgun and two handguns. The guns were purchased legally over the last several months, according to law enforcement officials.

READ: Colorado Batman Movie Shooting Suspect Was PhD Student

Holmes does not have a criminal record except for a traffic violation, which would allow him to pass any background check for weapons, law enforcement sources said. A local pawn shop owner said that Holmes never bought any firearms there but believed he had been in the shop before talking about guns.

"Since I do see a lot of people in and out of my shop, I don't remember all conversations that I have with everybody," Hillcrest Pawnbrokers owner David Casper told ABC News. "But when they started mentioning the firearms that he had, it sounded very much like the firearms I recommend to my customers... I immediately put that connection together."

Police also said they believe Holmes' apartment, just five miles from the theater, is rigged with explosive booby-traps and are cautiously exploring the residence with remote-controlled cameras. Authorities told ABC News the place appeared to wired to explode if police had raced through the doors -- a plan to add even more to the night's body count.

"It's another tragic event from an obviously deranged individual," Aurora City Councilman Bob LeGare told ABC News. "I don't know what more can be said."

Witnesses Describe Deadly Rampage

Witnesses to the shooting said that a man appeared at the front of the theater about 20 minutes into the movie with a rifle, handgun and gas mask. He then threw a canister that released some kind of gas, after which a hissing sound ensued, and he then opened fire on the crowd packed into the early-morning screening of the film. Wintesses said that during the shooting the man appeared to be dressed in all black and police later said he was wearing several pieces bullet-proof armor and a gas mask.

"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."

Colo. Suspect Bought 4 Guns, 6,000 Rounds of Ammunition in Past 60 Days

Suspected Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes purchased four guns at local shops and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the Internet in the past 60 days, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told a news conference this evening.

"All the ammunition he possessed, he possessed legally, all the weapons he possessed, he possessed legally, all the clips he possessed, he possessed legally," an emotional Oates said.

The chief declined to say whether the weapons were automatic or semi-automatic, but "he could have gotten off 50 to 60 rounds, even if it was semi-automatic, within one minute," Oates said.

Authorities have yet to identify the 10 victims who died at the theater. Two other people died at the hospital, including 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi, for a total of 12 dead. Thirty people remained hospitalized, 11 of them in critical condition, Oates said.

Fifty eight people were injured, most of them by gunfire but a "handful" during the ensuing chaos, Oates said. One person was hit in an adjacent theater.

As for the dead, Oates said he hoped soon to get a "confirmed list of the 10 deceased and we will begin the agonizing process of meeting with those families and confirming what has happened to their loved ones."

Gov. John Hickenlooper opened the news conference this evening, saying, "We are seeing this community rise up and do the things that communities do.

At times lost for words, he repeatedly praised the efforts of the first responders.

The shooting occurred during a sold-out midnight premiere of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises," when Holmes, 24, allegedly 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.

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

Holmes, who is being held in jail and will make his first court appearance Monday, is originally from Riverside, Calif., where he attended the University of California branch, Oates told the news conference this evening. "Neighbors report that he lived alone and kept to himself," Oates added.

Oates also offered a warning about the veracity of online information. "In the era of blogs," he said, "and everything else, we just caution you that everything you read may not be true."

He added that two local high schools will be offering grief counseling Saturday.

Bullets from the shooting 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 the 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.

Authorities began removing the bodies this afternoon, according to ABC News Denver affiliate KMGH-TV. Several people have been reported missing as the coroner identifies the dead.

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 an AR-15 assault rifle, which can hold upwards of 100 rounds, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, 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.

Chief Oates earlier today said that police, bomb squads and the ATF 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.

"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 told ABC News.

Oates this evening said police will allow residents to retrieve personal belongings but leave the booby-trapped apartment alone for now, and inspect them Saturday with the help of federal law enforcement. Residents are staying at a local high school in the meantime. Oates didn't know many people are displaced from the five apartment buildings involved.

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 they 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."

Worker Blamed for Hep C Outbreak

A New Hampshire hospital employee has been indicted for causing a Hepatitis C outbreak that infected 31 patients in the hospital's cardiac catheterization lab.

David Kwiatkowski, 32, was arrested and charged with acquiring a controlled substance by fraud and tampering with a consumer product with "reckless disregard" for the risk of others, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.

"The evidence gathered to date points irrefutably to Kwiatkowski as the source of the Hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital," U.S. attorney John P. Kacavas said in a press release. "With his arrest, we have eliminated the 'serial infector' posed to public and health safety."

The controlled substance was Fentanyl, an anesthetic more powerful than morphine. Kwiatkowski had allegedly been stealing the Fentanyl syringes intended for patients, injecting his own arm and then refilling those empty syringes with another liquid like saline, according to the press release.

Since Kwiatkowski tested positive for Hepatitis C in June 2010, he passed it on to the hospital patients, according to the affidavit.

Exeter Hospital employees discovered the outbreak in May 2012, prompting an investigation that spanned several local, state and federal government agencies, including the FBI, according to court documents obtained by ABCNews.com.

Investigators wrote that they suspect Kwiatkowski grabbed the loaded syringes when he brought lead aprons into the procedure room, into an area he didn't need to be inside at all. They suspect Kwiatkowski then replaced the Fentanyl syringes with saline syringes that were tainted with his strain of Hepatitis C.

Kwiatkowski was known for erratic behavior and suspected of abusing controlled substances, according to the affidavit. Other hospital employees said he would often sweat through his scrubs and made frequent trips to the bathroom.

One employee told investigators she saw "fresh track marks" when she tried to draw his blood. Another told investigators he remembered seeing Kwiatkowski with "a red face, red eyes and white foam around his mouth" during a shift at the lab.

Kwiatkowski also had a tendency to lie, employees told investigators. He told coworkers that he played baseball in college, and that his one-time fiancée died "under tragic circumstances," neither of which were true. He also once excused bloodshot eyes by saying he was crying all night about a dead aunt who never existed.

When his roommate inquired about the needles in his laundry, Kwiatkowski told her he had cancer and was being treated at Portsmouth Regional hospital, according to the affidavit. Investigators found no documentation to prove this.

Kwiatkowski, who does not yet have a lawyer, was arrested this morning in Massachusetts, where he was being treated at a hospital. He faces up to 24 years in prison. Each offense could also result in a $250,000 fine.

Photos: Colorado Theater Shooting at Batman Screening

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Obama Responds to Colo. Shooting, Cancels Second Event

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

President Obama was notified of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, by his National Security Advisor for Homeland Security John Brennan at 5:26 a.m.

The president, on a campaign swing, is overnighting at a hotel outside West Palm Beach, Fla., and the White House offered this written statement a short time later:

'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. As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors, and we must stand together with them in the challenging hours and days to come.'

According to a White House statement, Obama has announced that he will address the shooting during his shortened campaign remarks in Fort Myers, Fla., at 11:20 a.m. EST.  His second campaign event in WInter Park, Fla., will be cancelled 'in light of the tragedy.'

- Jake Tapper

This post has been updated.

Read more about the Aurora shooting here.

 

Aurora 'Dark Knight' Shooting Suspect Identified

The young man who is in custody after allegedly gunning down 12 people in a mass shooting spree overnight in Aurora, Colorado has been identified as local resident James Holmes, according to federal authorities.

Law enforcement officials and witnesses told ABC News Holmes, 24, wore what appeared to be a bullet-proof vest and riot-type mask as he opened fire in a movie theater with three weapons at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." In addition to the 12 deaths, at least 50 people were injured, according to police.

A San Diego woman who identified herself as James Holmes' mother told ABC News she had awoken unaware of the shooting and had not yet been contacted by authorities. She immediately expressed concern that her son may have been involved.

"You have the right person," she said, apparently speaking on gut instinct. "I need to call the police... I need to fly out to Colorado."

Local news reports showed aerial video of police cautiously searching Holmes' apartment, some five miles from the Century Aurora 16 theater, as the suspect reportedly told police he had explosives inside.

Witnesses said that the man appeared at the front of the theater about 20 minutes into the movie with a rifle, handgun and gas mask. He then threw a canister that released some kind of gas, after which a hissing sound ensued, and he then opened fire on the crowd packed into the early-morning screening of the film.

"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."

"The gunshot continued to go on and on and then after we didn't hear anything," the couple told the man. "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."

The FBI said approximately 100 of its agents are on the scene assisting with the ongoing investigation.

ABC News' Clayton Sandell and Kevin Dolack contributed to this report.

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Attempted Abduction of Girl, 10, Caught on Tape

A 10-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother were walking back from buying sweets in South Philadelphia when a man suddenly came from behind and tried to make off with the terrified girl.

He placed his hand over her mouth lifted her from the ground and, as the girl's brother screamed, the man stumbled as he tried to drag the girl towards his car. After struggling for a brief period, the man eventually gave up and fled the scene.

The attempted abduction in South Philadelphia Tuesday was caught on video and now detectives from the Special Victims Unit are using it to hunt down the would be kidnapper.

The Philadelphia Police Department has been a pioneer in the use of YouTube and social media, including Twitter and Facebook, to help solve crimes. Their Facebook page has more hits than any law enforcement page except the FBI page. Since last February they have used the wide distribution of video and social media to catch 87 suspects, including alleged murderers and rapists.

Two unrelated murder cases were solved by surveillance tape from one corner store. In one case, the suspect's own mother turned him in after seeing her son one on tape. In the other, a rape and murder was solved when a neighbor recognized the man who was following the victim.

When Bas Slabbers was attacked on a city bus in late May, no one on the bus would assist him or call 911. After police released video of the attack via social media, however, they got several tips about the identity of the attacker and made an arrest. Witnesses apparently didn't want to risk getting involved while the crime was occurring on the bus, but were willing to identify the attacker electronically.

At a press conference today, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said that alleged crimes, like the one caught on tape Tuesday, are "completely unacceptable."

"Our children must be able to walk around their own neighborhood without lowlifes like this individual coming up and grabbing them, touching them, or doing anything else. It's completely unacceptable, totally outrageous, we need the public's help," Nutter said.

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