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given the evidence that has emerged so far, some legal experts said.
• Prosecutors laid out a case that Holmes methodically planned the shooting for months, amassing an arsenal and elaborately booby-trapping his apartment to kill anyone who tried to enter. On the night of the attack, they say, he donned a police-style helmet, gas mask and body armor, tossed a gas canister into the seats and then opened fire.
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Senate panel ready to OK Dems' bill on gun background checks, fate in full Senate less sure
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats are ready to muscle expanded background checks and other gun curbs through a Senate committee, giving President Barack Obama an initial if temporary victory on one of his top priorities.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee was to debate a bill Tuesday that would broaden the requirement for federal background checks to nearly all firearms purchasers. It was also considering a ban on assault weapons and an increase in federal aid for school security, though senators may not consider the assault weapons measure until later in the week.
• Requiring background checks for private gun transactions between individuals -- they're currently mandatory only for sales by licensed dealers -- is a centerpiece of Obama's proposal to reduce firearms violence. The system is designed to prevent criminals, people with severe mental problems and others from getting guns.
• Tuesday's meeting comes five days after the panel approved Congress' first gun control measure since December's carnage at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school that left 26 students and educators dead. That bill, by the Judiciary Committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and others, establishes long prison terms for illegal gun traffickers and straw purchasers, people who buy a firearm for criminals or others forbidden to buy one.
• The Judiciary Committee is expected to approve all three bills it is debating this week, with full Senate consideration next month.
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When the only life a dog knows is taken away, even if it's cruel, fear can ravage the animal
• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- People want their dog to be a friend, not afraid.
• But sometimes, fear grips dogs so tightly they shake, cower, bite, growl or pee. It (Continued on page 22)
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