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The Sun has unleashed its most powerful eruption of 2013 so far. The solar flare - a sudden release of radiation - peaked at 1705 BST on Monday, and was associated with a huge eruption of matter. When these eruptions reach Earth, they can interfere with electronic systems in satellites and those on the ground. Nasa said this solar explosion - known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) - was not directed at Earth, but it could pass several US spacecraft. The event on Monday was classified as an "X-class" flare - the most intense type - with a designation...

An 18-year-old Aurora man was arrested Friday night before he tried making his way to Syria to join a ‘jihadist militant’ group, federal authorities said. Abdella Ahmad Tounisi was taken into custody without incident late Friday at O’Hare Airport by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force as he attempted to board a flight destined for Istanbul, Turkey, according to the FBI’s Chicago office. Tounisi, a U.S. citizen, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel G. Martin Saturday for allegedly attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He appeared on Saturday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tounisi,...

Pennsylvanians have a good chance of seeing the northern lights this evening, AccuWeather says, thanks to a solar flare Thursday. Best time for viewing will be around 8 p.m. Saturday, give or take seven hours. Viewing conditions will be best in the mid-Atlantic, specifically for parts of Pennsylvania and the Delmarva, says Accuweather.

I know I’m not the only one who remembers how, almost exactly 6 years ago at Virginia Tech, mass-murderer Seung-Hui Cho chained and padlocked the doors to an academic building shut. That was so that he could effectively trap his numerous (32 killed and 23 wounded) , defenseless victims inside – except for the handful who managed to breach and exit second story windows, suffering injuries from falling to the ground – and to keep the responding police outside for long, crucial minutes while he conducted his murderous rampage. Cho knew he’d face no armed opponent once he had his...

In a revelation that may have Colorado voters rethinking their state’s push on gun control, court documents revealed that the mass shooting in Aurora that killed 12 and injured 70 more could have been prevented by law enforcement. The psychiatrist for suspect, James Holmes, had warned campus police that Holmes was dangerous and homicidal a month before the shooting took place. Lynne Fenton even told the police that Holmes had begun to stalk and threaten her, and yet no action was apparently taken:

<p>The man who shot up an Aurora, Colo., movie theater during a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” last summer has reportedly converted to Islam and prays up to five times a day.</p> <p>A prison source say the beard James Holmes sported in court last months represents his new-found faith. The source said Mr. Holmes has turned Muslim as a way of justifying his horrific crimes on July 20 which left 12 people dead and 58 people wounded, the Daily Mail reports.</p>

James Holmes, the gunman who massacred 12 people and left 58 others wounded in Aurora, Colorado last July 20, has decided he is now a Muslim so he can justify his barbarous assault. One prison source said, “He has brainwashed himself into believing he was on his own personal jihad and that his victims were infidels.” Holmes now prays five times a day, eats a strictly Muslim diet and has grown a thick beard. He also takes hours every day to study the Koran. Apparently some Muslim inmates have taken umbrage at Holmes’ conversion.

Explanation: Some auroras can only be seen with a camera. They are called subvisual and are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. In the above image, the green aurora were easily visible to the eye, but the red aurora only became apparent after a 20-second camera exposure. The reason is that the human eye only accumulates light for a fraction of a second at a time, while a camera shutter can be left open much longer. When photographing an already picturesque scene near Anchorage, Alaska, USA, last autumn, a camera caught both the visual green and subvisual...

Ginny Burdick, a Democratic state senator from Oregon, called for gun registration while laughing about a shooting victim and insulting gun owners as "Rambos" in a video posted to YouTube on Sunday, Twitchy reported. "There’s a real Rambo complex going on here," she said. "You know my favorite one was the guy who after Aurora [Theater massacre] brought his gun to the same theater so he could get the attacker again and he shot himself in the butt," she added, laughing. "And that's a much more likely scenario instead of heading off an intruder." Ironically, the video starts with Burdick...

<p>THE widow of a victim of the US theatre massacre is suing a psychiatrist for neglect, for failing to have the alleged shooter arrested despite him having "fantasised about killing a lot of people."</p> <p>The lawsuit, also citing the University of Colorado, alleges that Dr Lynne Fenton advised campus police about her concern regarding James Holmes, after he told her about the fantasy in June last year.</p>

MARIETTA — An incoming lawmaker who has introduced several bills calling for loosening of concealed weapons laws in Georgia was told Saturday that his proposed legislation doesn’t go far enough. Carrying a .45-caliber pistol on his side, Guy Bennett said his 22-year-old son was in the Aurora, Colo., movie theater where a gunman opened fire during a July 20 showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. Bennett’s son’s girlfriend was among those hit in the mass shooting, but survived. Bennett, speaking to a panel discussion of eight current, outgoing and future Republican state representatives...

A gunman killed three people before police shot him dead Saturday in a shooting at a house in the Colorado town of Aurora, the same town that played host to a massacre at a cinema last year, police said. NBC television's local affiliate KUSA cited police as saying that one survivor escaped from the house, where an "armed and dangerous" man had earlier barricaded himself inside with hostages, AFP reported. "The barricade situation is resolved. The suspect is dead. There were also three other victims found dead inside," the Aurora Police Department announced on its official Twitter account. Aurora made...

As many as 40 officers, including SWAT teams and hostage negotiators, were on scene at the home in Aurora, Colorado, on Saturday, January 5. An “armed and dangerous” man was holed up inside a suburban Denver home early Saturday, possibly with as many as three hostages, police said.

School Safety: Critics of the National Rifle Association's call for armed security guards at our schools respond that one famous school did have a sheriff's deputy on scene. But without him, the toll would have been much worse. After remaining silent on the mass shooting at Sandy Hook, the NRA's Wayne LaPierre held a press conference Friday to condemn another tragedy in a gun-free zone and to advocate the placement of armed security guards at our schools as is done at airports, banks and other public venues. "It's now time for us to assume responsibility for our schools," he said....

Why did James Holmes pick the Cinemark's Century 16 Theatre in Aurora, Colorado, to commit mass murder on July 20, 2012? You might think that he chose the closest theater to his apartment. Or, that he chose the one with the largest audience. Yet, neither explanation is right. Instead the Cinemark theater seems to have been chosen because it was the only one that banned guns. Out of all the movie theaters showing the new Batman movie that night, it was the one theater within convenient driving distance where guns were banned.In Colorado, individuals with permits are allowed to carry...

I am a teacher, and I am armed. I hold a concealed carry permit, and I train to effectively and efficiently use a weapon in a crisis situation. I study when deadly force is necessary and evaluate when I would choose to draw my weapon. If I am forced to draw my weapon, I will use it. From the time I make the decision to draw, I have already committed to using deadly force. If the situation warrants it, I can draw, unsafe and accurately fire two rounds in under 3.5 seconds. Arm me. I have participated in the emergency...

James Holmes -- the shooter in the Aurora movie theater massacre -- was hospitalized after several "half-hearted" suicide attempts ... this according to law enforcement. According to cops, Holmes ran headfirst into a jail cell wall on Tuesday ... and while he sustained injuries ... they were not life-threatening. Holmes also reportedly stood on the bed in his cell and fell backwards ... in an apparent attempt to crack his skull open. He failed. Holmes -- who killed 12 people and injured 58 more during his July 20 shooting rampage -- has since been released from the hospital.

Explanation: Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. Colorful aurorae erupted unexpectedly earlier this month, with green aurora appearing near the horizon and brilliant bands of red aurora blooming high overhead. A bright Moon lit the foreground of this picturesque scene, while familiar stars could be seen far in the distance. With planning, the careful astrophotographer shot this image mosaic in the field of White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western USA. Sure enough, just after midnight, White Dome erupted -- spraying a stream of water and vapor many meters into the air. Geyser water is heated to...

Explanation: North America at night is easy to recognize in this view of our fair planet from orbit, acquired by the Suomi-NPP satellite on October 8. The spectacular waves of visible light emission rolling above the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario in the upper half of the frame are the Aurora Borealis or northern lights. Encircling the poles and extending to lower latitudes, impressive aurorae seen during the past few days are due to strong geomagnetic storms. The storms were triggered by a solar coronal mass ejection on October 4/5, impacting Earth's magnetosphere some three days later. The curtains...

Explanation: What's happening behind that mountain? A convergence of variable sky spectacles. One night in mid-September near Tromsø, Norway, high red aurora could be seen shimmering through lower green aurora in a way that created a striking and somewhat unusual violet glow. Suddenly, though, the sky flashed with the brightest fireball the astrophotographer had ever seen, as a small pebble from outer space violently crashed into the Earth's atmosphere. The glow illuminated the distant mountain peak known as Otertinden of the Lyngen Alps. The bright meteor, which coincidently disappeared behind the same mountain, was also reflected in the foreground Signalelva...

Explanation: Sometimes it's hard to believe what you see in the sky. During the Shelios Expedition to Greenland in late August, even veteran sky enthusiasts saw auroras so colorful, so fast changing, and so unusual in form that they could remember nothing like it. As the ever changing auroras evolved, huge shapes spread across the sky morphed from one familiar form into another, including what looked to be the head of a goat (shown above), the head of an elephant, a strange green-tailed comet, and fingers on a celestial hand. Even without the aurora, the sky would be notable for...

Space Weather Message Code: ALTK06 Serial Number: 294 Issue Time: 2012 Oct 01 0443 UTC ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6 Threshold Reached: 2012 Oct 01 0439 UTC Synoptic Period: 0300-0600 UTC Active Warning: Yes NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms. Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible. Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes. Aurora - Aurora may be seen as...

Explanation: September's equinox arrives tomorrow as the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south. The event marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere and autumn in the north. And though the connection is still puzzling, the equinox seasons bring an increase in geomagnetic storms. So as northern nights grow longer, the equinox also heralds the arrival of a good season for aurora hunters. Recorded on September 20, these colorful northern lights were captured with camera and wide-angle lens near the Norwegian Sea coast outside Tromsø in Northern Norway. Shining at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, the...

With 12 dead and 58 wounded, the July 20th shooting at the Cinemark Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado was sure to result in a lawsuit. On Friday, the first suit was announced, claiming Cinemark has “primary responsibility.” The theater did have responsibility for the attack, but not for the reasons that the lawyers bringing the case think. The lawyer bringing the suit, Attorney Marc Bern, with the New York city law firm of Napoli, Bern, Ripka and Scholonik, suggested the theater should have had security guards the night of the attack. Yet, checking bags or metal detectors at the...

Shortly following the Aurora tragedy, a non-gun-owner friend of mine, obviously upset, began to question me about why I supported ownership of ‘deadly assault weapons.’ Even as he continued his extended, impassioned diatribe, I could tell that he was yet another victim of the media’s ‘assault weapon’ disinformation campaign. --IMAGE HERE-- When he paused, I asked him what he thought an ‘assault weapon’ actually was. Looking at me as if I were mentally challenged, he said that everyone knows “assault weapons are military-style, fully-automatic guns capable of emptying a 100 round magazine in 3 seconds.” When I told him that...

Will it ever stop? Not at the rate we’re going. Will it stop with absolutist arguments from either side on the gun debate? Not with the ‘You’ll-only-pry-this-weapon-out-of-my-cold-dead-hands’ mentality nor with the ‘Make-all-guns-illegal' argument either. Why? Why does Aurora happen? What does it say about us as a culture, that this kind of thing happens here? That it happens here more than it happens any other place in the world? We’re not at war at home. We’re not in a place where suicide bombings happen, and we’re not currently engaged in a religious or territorial war within our own borders. Why...

Following the Aurora shooting, the subject of gun control has returned to our national dialogue. Earlier this week, I wrote about my plan for firearms safety. The article itself was quite popular in terms of readership, but not so much when it came to reader commentary. What I proposed was quite simple; that a thirty day waiting period for firearm sales be mandated by the government. During this time, law enforcement officials would conduct a series of comprehensive background checks on all purchasers. If nothing negative were to turn up, then an individual could retrieve his or her gun after...

HUDSON — Gun sales in Colorado skyrocketed immediately after the shooting deaths of 12 people at a movie theater early Friday, July 20. Background checks for firearm buyers in Colorado were reportedly 25 percent higher than the average Friday-to-Sunday period in 2012 and 43 percent higher than they were during the week before the shooting. In New Hampshire, an increase in gun sales was also seen, but it was mostly along the southern tier of the state. Mike Goyette, owner of Pete's Guns and Tackle in Hudson, said gun sales were up 30 percent in the wake of the massacre....

Cutting Rampage Killers Short: What would Patton Do? The short answer? George would have killed the pansy bastard and spat on the corpse. The Long Answer? George would have employed the same tactics he learned in Mexico and the trenches of WWI as a young officer. George would have coolly applied as an individual the same solution to the problem of a vicious surprise attack on a soft target as he did with his armies in WWII France. The Prepared: Foremost, George would be mentally and logistically prepared. He wouldn’t expect to be attacked in that theater, but he would...

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy five years ago, the University of Colorado and other schools across the U.S. created "threat assessment teams" to identify and take action against students who might turn violent. Now, in the aftermath of the movie theater rampage in Aurora, some are wondering whether the system broke down.

The university psychiatrist who was examining accused movie theater shooter James Holmes found his behavior so erratic that she brought it to the attention of a group that measures the possibility of violent campus threats.

James Holmes came to the attention of the threat assessment committee at the University of Colorado but no further action was taken because he left the school more than a month before the attack that killed 12 and injured 58, sources told ABC News. ABC News has learned that Dr. Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist who was treating Holmes, 24, at the school, was also a key member of the university's threat assessment team. The group of experts were responsible for protecting the school from potentially violent students. KMGH-TV, ABC News' affiliate in Denver, reported exclusively that, according to sources, by...

A screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Cookeville., Tenn., was halted on Thursday after a theater worker reported seeing a moviegoer with a gun. According to the Cookeville Herald-Citizen, a police officer who arrived at the auditorium discovered three men with handguns. The men didn't think they had done anything wrong: Each was one of the state's 344,000 handgun carry permit holders. They were told to put their guns in their vehicles, in accordance with theater policy, and then the movie resumed. The story didn't make national headlines, unlike the July 20 "movie massacre" in Aurora, Col., that left...

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) -- A family member says the woman who lost her 6-year-old daughter in the Aurora theater shooting and suffered a miscarriage is expected to be paralyzed as a result of her injuries. MaryEllen Hansen says doctors still hope her niece, Ashley Moser, will have use of her arms.

By Mr. Curmudgeon: The Windy City has always felt a little like a second-class citizen when compared to the Big Apple. That's why Chicago's other nickname is the Second City. But the greatest force in the universe - stupidity - is helping to level the playing field.After the Aurora, Colorado, shooting, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on CNN to speak with host Piers Morgan."I don't understand why the police officers across this country don't stand up collectively and say, 'We're going to go on strike. We're not going to protect you unless you, the public, through your legislature, do...

............On Monday, the judge issued a gag order barring the defense team, the prosecution team and law-enforcement agencies involved in the case from speaking to the media. On Wednesday, the judge reaffirmed his original order after several media outlets, lead by Fox News.com and the Denver Post, reported that Holmes had sent a notebook to a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz campus. The notebook reportedly contained details of the planning for the shooting rampage, according to unnamed law enforcement sources quoted by the media. That could be important for the prosecution in showing that the suspect acted...

It was just last week when White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stood in front of America and said President Obama would only work to curtail violent crime with "existing" gun laws. This was a response to reporters asking whether the President would pursue new gun control measures after a mad man killed 12 and wounded 58 people sitting unarmed in a gun-free zone theater. The shooting has thrust the issue of gun control into the national spotlight with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling on both presidential candidates to better enforce gun laws on the books and Sen....

In the wake of the horrific movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, last Friday that resulted in the deaths of twelve people, there have been renewed calls for increased gun control in the United States. One such call came from the Baltimore Sun . . . Consider this passage from said editorial: What we do know more concretely about the incident, however, raises serious questions about whether Colorado or the rest of the country has done enough to prevent such tragedies from taking place. Surely, it is time to have a public conversation about whether the U.S. ought to adopt...

Based on accounts from Aurora law enforcement, the FBI, the news media, our elected officials and Obama who recently claimed that people just don't build things on their own; can we say that Holmes acted alone? Presumably living on his own for several weeks or a few months with a limited digital footprint and massive amounts of student debt, Holmes cashed in research grant money, unemployment claims, and likely other entitlement program proceeds from various human and/or online resources of local, state and federal agencies to purchase thousands of dollars of weapons, explosives, and tactical equipment, in a period of...

Yes, some of you think this is old. If so, I do not take offense. Perhaps you shouldn't click on the link. HITLER RANTS ABOUT BRIAN ROSS AND ABC

<p>JAMES HOLMES, who opened fire before the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” could not have seen the movie. Like many whose misery is reflected in violence, he may simply have been drawn to a highly publicized event with a big crowd...</p>

University of Colorado Denver confirmed it had received a suspicious package on Monday that it gave to the authorities, but they did not identify the sender. US news outlets reported the suspect, neuroscience drop-out James Holmes, mailed writings that included crude drawings of people being shot

James Holmes, accused of killing a dozen people at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” wants to know how the film ended. “Did you see the movie?” a creepy-sounding Holmes asked a stunned jail worker during a bizarre exchange Tuesday. “How does it end?” Holmes, his eyes glazed and his voice flat, repeated the question when the worker ignored him, according to another jail employee who witnessed the incident in the infirmary. Holmes, a 24-year-old ex-honor student, “was trying to look like he was sincerely curious,” the witness recounted to the Daily News. “Like he had no idea...

MSNBC reports that public records show Holmes lived with two roommates at the apartment, which is reserved for students, faculty and staff from the medical campus.

While discussing gun control on Wednesday's The Daily Rundown on MSNBC, correspondent Mike Viqueira lamented: "...the anti-gun control, pro-gun rights crowd has won the argument at this point....they've succeeded in framing the issue as one of essential American national values." In response, host and chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd ranted: "...nobody has sort of a rational policy debate about it." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump] Todd began the segment by whining over the lack of gun regulation: NBC's Todd Whines Over Lack of 'Rational Policy Debate' About Gun Control I wanted to look...

Irrational Hatred of Freedom Ip568@charter.net July 25, 2012 (inspired by John Cassidy at The New Yorker)Are Liberals Crazy? Ten (or more) why they might be “Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the people’s liberty teeth keystone… the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable… more than 99% of them by their silence indicate that they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference. When firearms go, all goes, we need them every hour.” -- -George Washington, 1st session of Congress That was the first president of the United...

Well here we go again… All those on the Left are chomping at the bit to use this horrific “Batman” mass murder to go after our second amendment Rights. In the lawless reprobate mind it is the “evil” gun that kills people not the psychopaths who use them. The idiotic rational behind the “gun-less” utopian vision is that if we rid the world of all our guns and conservatives who carry guns we will then enter into a world peace and all hold hands as we sing “ I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”. I know this illustration...

Torrence Brown Jr., one of the Aurora movie shooting survivors, is planning on suing the theater, confirmed his family's publicist on Wednesday. "We're going to make sure whoever is accountable is going to take responsibility for this tragedy," Cassandra Williams of Wet PR said. She said that Brown, who was friends with 18-year-old AJ Boik, one of the shooting victims, is handling the criticism his suit has sparked. "We know it goes with the territory, so he's fine," Williams said. She added that Brown, 18, is seeking therapy and is emotionally distraught after the shooting.

It was bad enough that Chris Stupernopolis didn't even challenge Brian over his false accusation that insulted the state of Colorado. While corpses were still laying in the movie theater,Ross had already decided to be the judge/jury and executioner.But Where Was Obama? If Obama had any remorse feelings for the families of the fatalities,he would of gone on television and Denounced Brian Ross and ABC for the accusation. We can only assume that Obama gave Brian a pass and just played along with it. And now the people of Colorado are all buying weapons,that alone should add Colorado in the...

*Corrected from earlier | WRAL, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., recently published a searchable database of concealed carry licensees within the "WRAL viewing area, including Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Nash, Northampton, Person, Sampson, Vance, Warren, Wayne, Wilson and Wake counties." Searches do not turn up names or street numbers, but they do give a number of permits issued to residents on that street. The search form for the database appears within a story filed July 12 (updated July 20 -- the day of the Aurora, Colo., shooting), entitled "Rural areas...