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Police in Aurora, Colorado, say they've responded to an early Friday shooting at an Aurora movie theater. A hospital says it's received 20 patients relating to the shooting. Jacque Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the University of Colorado Hospital, said all the patients are suffering from gunshot wounds. Injuries range from minor to critical. KUSA: Shooting at Aurora movie theater CNN affiliates in the area report that multiple people have been shot.

Iran's navy chief warned Wednesday that his country can easily close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the passageway through which a sixth of the world's oil flows. It was the second such warning in two days. On Tuesday, Vice President Mohamed Reza Rahimi threatened to close the strait, cutting off oil exports, if the West imposes sanctions on Iran's oil shipments. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/28/iran-warns-closing-strategic-hormuz-oil-route/#ixzz1huJzqZxx

MOSCOW — A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts returning from the International Space Station touched down safely in the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning. NASA astronaut Michael Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa of Japan’s JAXA space agency landed at the break of dawn some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the town of Arkalyk at 8:26 a.m. (0226 GMT) after spending 165 days in space. The landing at steppe was close to its target point. NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said in the NASA television broadcast that the recovery operation was swift despite the freezing...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The six space station astronauts took shelter in lifeboats Tuesday when a piece of orbiting junk came dangerously close. The unidentified object came within 1,100 feet of the space station — closer than any piece of space junk ever, said NASA's space operations chief, Bill Gerstenmaier. Mission Control ordered the astronauts into the two Russian Soyuz capsules parked at the space station Tuesday morning. NASA got just 14 hours' notice of the close approach, not nearly enough time to move the space station out of harm's way. The call to seek shelter came around 7:30 a.m....

A 1963 Volkswagen Microbus. $198,000. here are always plenty of surprises at a Barrett-Jackson auction, and when you team one up with the vagaries of Southern California, you have a volatile mix of possible weirdness. Case in point: the highest-selling vehicle so far at the Orange County auction, and possibly the entire three-day event, is none other than a Volkswagen microbus. Oh, it’s a plenty-nice microbus, a highly coveted 23-window Samba with full-length sunroof restored to much-better-then-new condition. And microbus prices have been strong as of late. The custom 2011 Mustang GT500 built by West Coast Customs especially for the...

LONDON (AP) -- He could have stayed in teaching. That's what his parents wanted: it was the safe, secure route for a young man with working-class roots and a face few would describe as handsome.Postlethwaite had little going for him when he started in an industry where good looks - think Robert Redford or George Clooney - are valued. He had few connections, a name that was hard to pronounce, and could distinguish himself only by his talent.

Game 1: Tonight in San Francisco 6:30 p.m. (Texas time) on FOXSee the full schedule at MLB.com

From the opening verses of Mosaic, it's clear that Ricky Skaggs is fine-tuning his music, shifting his sound slightly. Skaggs is singing about his Christian faith in strong yet delicate tones. But the tunes aren't the rigorous bluegrass ones we've come to expect. Instead, he's trying out variations on pop melodies, and he frequently sets his mandolin aside so that his plaintive declarations can be heard with greater starkness. In "My Cup Runneth Over," for example, it's Peter Frampton who provides the guitar hook.

The "static kill" procedure to permanently plug the runaway oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico achieved the "desired outcome," BP said Wednesday. "The well pressure is now being controlled by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the desired outcome of the static kill procedure," the company said in a statement. The British oil giant described the news as a "significant milestone."

When his cardiologist warned him it would be tough to make the trip back to England to unveil a monument at the site of the Staplehurst Advanced Landing Ground commemorating the American and Canadian pilots who flew P-51 Mustangs from the base in World War II, Lt. Col. Bill Bullard, 90, told him one thing. “Well, not as tough as the first time I tried it,” he said. Bullard, along with his wife Birdie and daughter Linda, flew to England on June 3 to join local residents in Kent County, about an hour southeast of London, for the ceremony. “When...

A partial lunar eclipse set to occur early Saturday should look particularly stunning to observers in parts of North America thanks to an optical illusion that will make the moon look bigger than normal. The moon will pass through part of Earth's shadow, temporarily becoming dark, starting at 6:17 a.m. EDT (1017 GMT) Saturday morning. That cosmic line-up coincides with the full moon of June and a so-called "moon illusion" that, weather permitting, should offer quite a show, according to a NASA announcement. For observers in the central and western United States, the lunar eclipse will occur while the moon...

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died at his presidential villa following a long illness. The government announced seven days of national mourning and said the president would be buried on Thursday. Under the constitution, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, in charge since February, is to be sworn in as leader. Mr Yar'Adua, 58, came to power in 2007 promising many reforms. Analysts say he made the most progress in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

At least 25 people are reported to have been killed in an explosion on the Metro system in central Moscow, with a second blast coming shortly afterwards. The first blast happened at the city's central Lubyanka station, reports quoting security sources said. A second explosion happened at the Park Kultury station, Russian news agency Tass reported. Ten people were injured in the first blast, Tass said, quoting the emergencies ministry. The number of casualties at the second blast is not yet clear.

LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) – Former longtime East Texas congressman Charlie Wilson has died. Staff at Lufkin Memorial Hospital confirmed the report. He was 76. According to a Memorial Hospital press release, Wilson died after suffering from cardio pulmonary arrest. He was pronounced dead at 12:16 p.m. in the hospital’s emergency room. Wilson served in the 2nd U.S. Congressional District from 1972-1996 and was known as the “Liberal from Lufkin.” A book about his efforts in the U.S.’s covert war against Russia in Afghanistan was chronicled in the book, “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which was later made into a movie.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A young American aid worker - trapped for about 10 hours under the rubble of her mission house that was destroyed in Haiti's earthquake - has been rescued by her husband. Frank Thorp told CBS's "The Early Show" by phone from Haiti on Wednesday that he drove 100 miles to Port-au-Prince once he learned of the quake, and dug for over an hour to free his wife, Jillian, and her co-worker Charles Dietsch. The two were trapped under about a foot of concrete, he said.

Charles Krauthammer’s joining the ranks of Daily Times columnists pleased readers on the right who like his generally — though not invariably — conservative views. Those on the left are less than thrilled. I have my own reason for welcoming the doctor (he practiced and taught psychiatry before switching to speechwriting and then to commentary): He’s one of the endangered species called wordsmiths. Like master artisans working precious metals, wordsmiths shape and polish lumps of words until they gleam. Krauthammer on America’s limited activity in space: “We’ve done it with the most beautiful, intricate, complicated — and ultimately hopelessly impractical...

On Saturday, visitors to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg were treated to a re-enactment of some of the weapons, tactics and strategies used to win War World II. “Give me an army of West Point graduates and I'll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I'll win the war.” General George S. Patton quotes (American General in World War I and II, 1885-1945)

Muriel Martin spent four years helping train fighter pilots as a Women's Airforce Service Pilot, or WASP, during WWII.Muriel Martin struggles these days to remember the years she spent as a World War II U.S. Army Air Force pilot. The dates have run together in her mind and the details of her training and experience long ago faded into the background of a life filled with child rearing and community service. But some days, the memories push through and she finds herself back in her 20s and in the cockpit again. “I was flying to Dallas earlier this year and...

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- It's not green cheese, but it might as well be. The Dutch national museum said Thursday that one of its prized possessions, a rock supposedly brought back from the moon by U.S. astronauts, is just a piece of petrified wood. Rijksmuseum spokeswoman Xandra van Gelder, who oversaw the investigation that proved the piece was a fake, said the museum will keep it anyway as a curiosity. "It's a good story, with some questions that are still unanswered," she said. "We can laugh about it." The museum acquired the rock after the death of former Prime Minister Willem...

For the third time in three years, the state minimum wage will increase today to keep with a staggered, federally-mandated pay increase schedule. All employees currently earning the minimum $6.55 an hour will see their earnings increase by 70 cents to $7.25 an hour starting today. The mandatory pay increase is the third and final step in a graduated minimum wage hike approved by the federal government several years ago. For employees like George Sprouse of Kerrville, who works one full-time minimum wage job and another part-time, the pay increase will be beneficial. “Seventy cents an hour makes a big...

The year 2010 is about money and power. In the Rio Grande Valley, local officials are focusing their efforts on ensuring tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants are included in the count. The census seeks to count not just citizens but residents. With big money and political clout both depending on those numbers, governments are hoping that not a single person falls through the cracks. For local governments, the stakes are high. Census data are used to help make decisions about how the federal government distributes $300 billion to state and local governments for schools, senior programs, libraries, infrastructure and...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Racing against the clock, NASA began fueling shuttle Endeavour for a Wednesday launch to the international space station after thunderstorms caused a three-hour delay. The fueling finally got under way late Tuesday, just when it should have been ending. NASA acknowledged it would be tight to meet the 5:40 a.m. liftoff time. But launch controllers spent the long weather delay figuring out ways to save time during the remainder of the countdown, and mission managers felt they had a good shot at getting Endeavour flying. "We're not going to shortcut anything," said Mike Leinbach, assistant...

When Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement earlier this year, Federal Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor quickly became the frontrunner for the post. She possessed all the qualities necessary to make her a prime choice for President Obama. She’s Hispanic, a woman and, judging from the limited amount of her work on the federal bench, fairly liberal. With a large Democratic majority in the Senate and with most Republicans leery of aggressively contesting her nomination for political reasons, it appears Sotomayor could breeze though Senate hearings on the way to a speedy confirmation. Senate Democrats soon may hold a...

A new book claims the Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco, may have had more in common with Adolf Hitler than previously known - having one testicle.

Famed Irish wit Oscar Wilde wrote, “I can resist everything except temptation” and legendary sexpot Mae West purred, “I generally avoid temptation — unless I can’t resist it.” Humor aside, the way in which Obama and his successors, Democrat or Republican, confront one extraordinarily dangerous temptation may determine the economic and political fate of this nation. That threat is wild inflation, and it doesn’t take a Nobel Prize or degree in economics to see it. It happens when a regime runs up ruinous debt and yields to pressures to pay it off with money that goes from cheap to virtually...

U.S. Census activities have begun nationwide, with workers updating address lists and maps. The information will be used to distribute census forms, according to the United States Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration’s regional census center in Dallas. Officials are asking the public’s cooperation in allowing Census Bureau employees access into buildings and communities to perform their official duties. Because the 2010 Census is a complex operation that involves several phases, more than one census worker may request access during the next several months. The workers have identification badges that should be displayed while they are on duty. Also,...

An attempt by Fender to trademark the body shapes of its Stratocaster, Telecaster and Precision models has been rejected. As reported by MusicRadar.com, in denying Fender's application, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office wrote: "The applicant has not established acquired distinctiveness such that these two-dimensional outlines of guitar bodies, standing alone, serve to indicate source. The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that these configurations are so common in the industry that they cannot identify source." In a 75-page document, the Appeal Board went on to say "it does not appear that … third parties...

U.S. Senate at deadlock over earmarks for Weslaco agricultural center, others No one knows yet what causes the bees to disappear. One day the beehive is humming along; the next day the bees are just gone. Pesticides, bee diet and environmental stresses are factors believed to contribute to what's known as "colony collapse disorder," said Sandy Miller Hays, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief research agency. Bees are used to pollinate much of the nation's crops, she said, and yet questions persist about the phenomenon. Scientists are investigating bee disappearance and related topics at Weslaco's Kika de...

"Sarkozy is right to be afraid of us," says Marine, a 22-year-old student and member of the League of Communist Revolutionaries in Toulouse. "We are the ones who are going to break the rules and the control of the old system. We are the new alternative". Across Europe, victims of the economic slump who are losing their jobs in their tens of thousands are furious that public money is being doled out to the banks. In some countries, they are more willing to vent their anger. As huge crowds took to the streets across France this week, in a national...

President George W. Bush meets with former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009 in the Oval Office of the White House. White House photo by Eric Draper. PRESIDENT BUSH: I want to thank the President-elect for joining the ex-Presidents for lunch. And one message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed. Whether we're Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country. And to the extent we can, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. All of...

WOODBURN, Ore. (AP) - A bomb exploded inside a bank here late Friday afternoon after explosives experts arrived to check on a suspicious object and authorities said at least one person was killed by the blast. Oregon State Police said the explosion at the West Coast Bank caused "serious injuries" and that police officers were in the area when the device detonated. They did not say how many police officers were injured. A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told The Oregonian at least one bomb technician had been injured. Marion County deputy medical examiner Rodge...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk fell harmlessly into the South Pacific Sunday night, according to NASA. The junk was a tank full of ammonia coolant on the international space station that was no longer needed. Astronaut Clayton Anderson threw it overboard during a spacewalk in July 2007.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama holds a 4-point lead over Republican John McCain, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Saturday. Obama leads McCain by 48 to 44 percent among likely voters in the four-day tracking poll, which has a margin of error of 2.9 points.

At the end of a ceremony that mixed personal remembrance of Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. and allusions to the difficulties of constructing the building named in his honor, family members and dignitaries cut the ribbon at Cape Girardeau's new federal courthouse. The building is a fitting tribute to Limbaugh, said his son, retired U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr. His expressed hope is that his father's devotion to the law will inspire the attorneys who practice there. "He lived it, he breathed it," Limbaugh Sr. said. "He loved it and it was his virtual life." As he spoke of...

John McCain not only stole, but ran a play from Barack Obama’s playbook Friday. One of the cornerstones of Obama’s campaign has been change; but his selection on Senator Joe Biden, D-Del., a Washington insider certainly did not mirror that philosophy. McCain on the other hand, surprised just about everyone when he tapped Sarah Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska to be his running mate. Bypassing Republican stalwarts including Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge, McCain’s pick was definitely a change from a party that is often portrayed as an elite good ol’ boys club. Palin was elected governor in 2006....

AUSTIN -- Faculty members at the University of Texas are objecting to plans to create an endowed chair in Pakistan studies in honor of former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, the colorful Democrat who was portrayed in last year's movie ``Charlie Wilson's War.''

A Kerrville pilot walked away unscathed after an emergency landing Tuesday morning at the Louis Schreiner Field. According to Texas Department of Public Safety reports, David Wampler made the landing after the front landing gear of his Cessna 177 Cardinal RG did not deploy. He landed on runway 30 and slid about 600 feet before coming to a stop. “The pilot did a textbook job of an emergency gear-up landing,” said interim airport manager Bruce McKenzie. “He remained very cool during the whole ordeal. He has been trained well.” According to DPS, Wampler took off from the Gillespie County Airport...

McALLEN - Barack Obama's statements that he would consider renegotiating the decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement are drawing criticism from Rio Grande Valley business leaders. The treaty, which removed most trade and investment barriers among the United States, Mexico and Canada, has quickly turned into a point of contention between Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his Republican counterpart, John McCain, whose pro-free trade stance calls for even more NAFTA-like trade blocs - specifically with Colombia and South Korea. Obama has routinely denounced the treaty as a deal that "put special interests over workers' interests," as he said...

Kerrville Texas - A bitter divorce trial slated to begin in a Kerr County courtroom in late August between Joseph and Kimberly Burkett already is making national headlines. Public interest in the case grew when CBS’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, Lara Logan, announced she was pregnant. The father, she claims, is Joseph Burkett of Kerrville. Their relationship began while Logan was on assignment in Iraq, where Burkett was stationed as a federal contractor, according to news reports. The relationship reportedly began shortly after Logan broke off another relationship with a fellow journalist last November. Burkett and Logan apparently met years...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- You can call Neil Young the new spiderman. A biologist has named a newly discovered trapdoor spider after rock star Neil Young: Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. The musician is "worthy of that honor" because he's been an activist for social and political issues, said East Carolina University biologist Jason Bond. Bond, 40, examined the spider in a collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York where it was identified as a new species that's indigenous to Alabama. He sent students there to collect more specimens. It's not the first time Bond has bestowed a beloved name...

The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg will celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony for its new, 40,000-square-foot expansion at 11 a.m. Friday. Gov. Rick Perry will be on hand as the keynote speaker, and master of ceremonies will be retired Gen. Michael Hagee. John Nau, chairman of the Texas Historical Commission; State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran; and John Kerr, president of the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, also will speak. The groundbreaking will be followed by a celebratory Texas barbecue at noon. “The new expansion will be added directly to the back of the George H.W. Bush Gallery,” said director of marketing...

A Kerrville women who’s the owner of a 200-year-old book with ties to the Founding Fathers could net thousands of dollars from its sale this summer. “The Federalist,” conceived in 1787 by the likes of James Madison and others, is a powerhouse of a historical document, according to Heritage Auction Gallaries of Dallas, which plans to unveil the book June 3-4. Its estimated value is $150,000 to $200,000. James Gannon, director of rare books for Heritage Auction Galleries, said 50 or so first editions of the papers exist, “but not all complete.” He said Halsey Bascom’s two volumes are in...

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - This one is for history. No longer can the New England Patriots ignore it. Beat the New York Giants on Sunday and it means more than winning a fourth Super Bowl in seven years. More than reaffirming their dynasty in a sport designed to even the playing field. It means staking an undeniable claim to that most elusive of titles: greatest ever. "I think it's the biggest game of all of our lives—my life, the entire team, our coaches," said Tom Brady, the NFL's Most Valuable Player and the Patriots' poster boy for perfection. "We're going...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Chief Justice John Roberts urged Congress to raise the pay of federal judges in a year-end report that emphasized improving communications with Capitol Hill and the White House. "The separate branches may not always agree," the chief justice wrote, adding that each should strive "to know and appreciate where the others stand." Roberts' report on the federal judiciary comes at a critical time, with important cases on the court's docket likely to affect the 2008 election and the Bush administration's tactics in the war on terror. Roberts struck a conciliatory tone with Congress, where legislation to raise...

A day after a taped message, purported to be from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, chided insurgents in Iraq for their failure to unite, American troops struck another blow against terrorist in that country. That strike was based on information provided by Iraqis. U.S. and Iraqi forces also were clearing the way in the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi to protect a celebration to commemorate Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the founder of the first anti-al-Qaida group of Sunni tribal leaders who was assassinated by a bomb Sept. 13. Abdul-Sattar's brother, who has taken over the movement, said it was important...

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Fred Thompson returned to his hometown Saturday for his first Tennessee event since officially announcing his presidential candidacy earlier this month. Thompson reminisced about growing up "in a little town, where I knew if I got in trouble, they'd know about it at home before I ever got home." Thompson greeted friends and family—including his former in-laws from the marriage to his high school sweetheart that ended in 1985. He remarked that he had "cousins everywhere" among the crowd of several thousand that packed into the town square to hear his 25-minute speech. The former Tennessee...

The Rove nemesis slams the exiting Bush aide as a fear-mongering manipulator.

There’s a common thread in recalling those greatly loved or respected, or both: “If only...” If only I had visited, called or written more, to say “I love you,” You’ve meant so much,” or simply, “Thank you.” Parents; my favorite aunt, uncle and cousin; teachers, mentors, pastors, friends ... even persons whole I barely knew or know only through their writings, speeches, recordings and performances spark “If only” musings. I met Harry Truman just once, but the more I learn of the feisty Missourian, the more I wish that I really had known him. Somewhere, he chuckles as he rises...

BRATENAHL, Ohio (AP) -- As the nation pauses on Memorial Day to honor its war dead, one woman is working to keep alive the memory of her son, who was killed in Iraq while serving as a civilian contractor. Donna Zovko wants Americans to remember her son Jerko "Jerry" Zovko and other contractors along with the fallen members of the nation's military. "How will Americans treat or remember my son as a contractor that was killed?" she asked. "It's their choice, but he was there to protect our freedom and to help the Iraqis. He was not there for the...