From shy teen to sadistic shooter: “Batman” killer had epic decline
From shy teen to sadistic shooter: “Batman” killer had epic decline
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — James Holmes was growing volatile well before he put on a gas mask and body armor, strapped on a rifle, shotgun, pistol and ammunition, and slipped into a midnight premiere of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises.”
He was a sought-after neuroscientist-in-training, but he was falling apart. He told a classmate he wanted to kill people, prosecutors say. He fell out of favor with his professors, who suggested he find a new career. He stopped seeing his psychiatrist, then sent her text messages so threatening she alerted University of Colorado campus police.
Months before Holmes opened fire on the audience on July 20, 2012, killing 12 and injuring 70 more in one of America’s deadliest mass shootings, the 24-year-old doctoral student was preparing for violence.
Many observers hope Holmes’ death penalty trial beginning Monday will finally show what twisted a seemingly dedicated scholar into a sadistic killer. Prosecutors have suggested he was angry over his academic decline. But anyone looking for a trigger or tipping point with mass killers is usually disappointed, said J. Reid Meloy, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of California, San Diego.
Acting CEO acknowledges missteps in donor disclosure
WASHINGTON — The acting chief executive of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the global philanthropy made mistakes in how it disclosed its donors amid growing scrutiny as Hillary Rodham Clinton opens her presidential campaign.
In a blog posting Sunday, Maura Pally defended the foundation’s work and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, describing its policies on donor disclosure and contributions from foreign governments as “stronger than ever.”
Still, Pally said the foundation expected to refile some of its tax forms, following a voluntary external review, because it had “mistakenly combined” government grants and donations. She said the foundation would “remedy” any errors but stressed the total revenue was reported accurately and that grants were properly broken out on audited statements on its website.
Backers of Senate bill to give Congress a say on Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON — Senate proponents of a bill empowering Congress to review and potentially reject any Iran nuclear deal must first win a battle with some colleagues determined to change the legislation in ways that could sink it.
“Anybody who monkeys with this bill is going to run into a buzz saw,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned ahead of this week’s debate.
Also trying to discourage any changes, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey urged senators to stick with the plan as it emerged from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The high-profile debate comes as negotiators from the U.S. and five other nations are rushing to finalize, by the end of June, an agreement requiring Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions choking its economy. The parties will meet again this week on the sidelines of a U.N. conference in New York.
The bill was approved, 19-0, by the Senate committee has 62 co-sponsors from both parties.
By wire sources