breaking news continues this midday as we learn more about the masked gunman who killed twelve people at the opening of the new batman movie. 38 people were injured including a 3 month old baby and three service members. good afternoon. i am steve sanders. and i'm dina bair. we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. wgn's nancy loo joins us live from the newsroom with the latest on our top story: the theater was packed with moviegoers of all ages, including babies, when the gunman opened fire after getting into the complex through an exit door.

police took 24 year-old james holmes into custody soon after the midnight massacre but the motive is still not known. holmes was a graduate student at the university of colorado but reportedly dropped out last month. the new batman movie was well underway at the century 16 complex in the denver suburb of aurora when the deadly chaos broke out towards the front of theater 8. cell phone video captured some of the frantic moments after the massacre. witnesses say the gunman was wearing a gas mask and detonated two canisters of some type of gas before opening fire on the unsuspecting audience. police say holmes was armed with a rifle and pistol when they

arrested him without incident behind the theater. his apparent vehicle was searched. holmes told police that he had explosives at this apartment near the theater so the fbi joined police in searching the complex. and now there's word from the aurora police chief that the suspect's apartment may be booby trapped. the area has been evacuated. back at the theater, people are still trying to piece together what happened. because the shooting happened during an action scene many thought it was part of the movie or a special feature. >>i saw smoke ... i thought this was unrated shouldn't be happening i can't agree if we had to stop but i thought it was a joke and then i heard the gunshots ... >>i saw flashes of light followed by loud noises i thought someone was playing around with firecrackers ... i felt the peppery feeling in my throat and i heard the gunfire and all types of stuff >> law enforcement officials believe the gunman acted alone at the theater, adding that holmes does not appear to have links to any known terrorist groups. while the identities of the 12 killed have not been released,

one known victim is jessica redfield, an aspiring sports reporter who was working as an intern at a local station in colorado. she had survived another mass shooting at a mall in toronto last month. she did not survive last night. the family of james holmes have issued a statement stating their hearts go out to all of the victims families. they requested privacy and said they were still trying to process what's happened. they vowed to cooperate fully with police in colorado and in san diego where they live. president obama says he and first lady michelle are heartbroken over the news of the shooting rampage. at a campaign stop in fort meyers, florida this morning ... the president dropped his stump speech and spoke only about the shooting. he called for a moment of

silence and said it should be a day of prayer and reflection for the victims. >>my daughters go to the movies ... what if they went to the movies is so many of their friends and our children do every day michele and i are fortunate to have a our girls to hug tonight but for those parents who won't be so lucky we must erace them and let them know that we will be there for them as a nation ... security experts in the chicago area are telling people to take precautions when they attend events at the headers randi belisomo has more on this ... >>if it could happen anywhere at

anytime is the take away message security officials say that there are measures that citizens and venues can take to make such an attack less likely this morning we spoke with the executive director of the cook county department of homeland security and emergency management might master's tells us that the shooters carry out multiple victim attacks and they are drawn to a large venues such systems must be in place to thwart these and not give them a chance to screen with pre operational activities to carry out their plans ... you must have on-site security guards building construction needs special attention and security cameras are important ... bill line should moviegoers be allowed to go out into theaters with customs extra precautions and

security must be taken and training is a priority: >>we're living in a time and age where there are people that wish to do harm to innocent individuals. we should not live our lives in fear, but we should be mindful ... >>it happens in schools and all over i am hoping that the gun control laws here in chicago can keep us protected >>it's just the kind of thing that is happening more and more in our society and it's terrible every time it happens i don't know what the solution is >>homeland security officials say that no one should ever feel embarrassed to report any suspicious activity many plants have been thwarted because conscientious citizens report

suspect activity to authorities we are expecting a news conference any minute now live from the authorities in our or colorado where this happened we will bring you the news conference live we invite you to stay with wgn's tv midday news for any breaking information and let the overnight shooting rampage in aurora the water in south suburbban sauk village is safe to drink afterall. residents and business owners got the surprising news last night at a village meeting. they had been told not to drink tap water because it was tainted with high levels of cancer- causing vinyl chloride. but at the meeting, the village board read a letter from the illinois e.p.a. saying the water is safe. some residents booed the findings and said they're not convinced. the village still needs to take weekly water samples and provide bottled water to residents and businesses who request it.

authorities found lilyanna bateman dead yesterday in her home in the 6600 block of juneway terrace. her parents said they woke up to find her unresponsive. she was pronounced dead an hour later. an autopsy performed yesterday showed no signs of violence or trauma but police say they have not ruled out suffocation as the cause of death. no one is in custody. according to police in the round lake ... drew peterson's lawyers have put out the witness list for his upcoming murder trial... including the name of his missing fourth wife. stacy peterson vanished in 2007. drew is the only suspect in her disappearance, but hasn't been charged. the sun-times says... his attorneys listed stacy as a potential witness, as a way of saying they believe she simply ran away, and is still alive. drew goes on trial on monday for allegedly killing his third wife, kathleen savio. lawyers for former governor george ryan will be in federal court this afternoon to argue that ryan should get out of prison. he's been there since 2007 ... for steering state contracts to his friends ... and accepting cash and free vacations in return. the supreme court later ruled that a so-called "denial of honest services" law didn't apply to ryan's case.

so his attorneys are appealing the remainder of his six-year prison sentence. republican illinois congressman joe walsh is skipping the republican national convention. walsh says the convention is just an excuse to mingle with insiders and spend time with the elite. he says his district does not want another insider. he says his constituents want someone who's independent and will fight for real solutions. walsh is facing a tough re- election against democrat tammy duckworth... in the newly drawn democratic-leaning 8th congressional district. former chicago quarterback jim mcmahon says that he's not concerned ... about the government investigation into his role as a board member of the failed broadway bank the

sun-times reports that he didn't do anything wrong during his three-year tenure on the board of directors jim mcmahon was one of several board members named in a lawsuit brought by the federal deposit insurance corporation which wants to recover more than $100 million loss from bad loans made by the broadway bank ...

updating you on our top story. a suspect is in custody in the deadly shooting spree at a movie theater near denver. 24 year-old james holmes of aurora, colorado is suspected of killing 12 people and wounding 38 others ... at a theater where people were watching a midnight showing of the new batman movie. witnesses say a man dressed in black and wearing a gas mask set off tear gas in the theater then randomly started shooting people. one of the injured was just three months old. holmes was arrested outside the theater with weapons on him. amc, which owns the theater have released this statement... " for the safety and security of our guests and associates, we are actively working with local law enforcement in communities throughout the nation... and under the circumstances we are reaching out to all of our theatres to review our safety and security procedures." -amc entertainment, inc

travelers headed to london for the upcoming olympics should allow for plenty of cushion time at the airport. rookie employees hired to assist during the increased travel period lack confidence and speed processing incoming passengers. the uk border patrol expects more than one hundred thousand passengers each day during the peak period of the olympics. the wait at immigration has already reached 56 minutes... despite a 45 minute target. pentagon officials will start monitoring media outlets to prevent leaks of classified information. defense secretary leon panetta made the order after a meeting with the house armed services committee yesterday. recent disclosures included reports about cyber warfare against iran, and missions to target militants with drones. committee chairman, buck mckeon, said he does not believe the pentagon was behind the leaks.. but says the leaks have the potential for causing serious harm.

the fate of the joe paterno statue at penn state has been decided... the university will take it down this weekend. there has been a public outcry to remove the statue... after a report released earlier this month said paterno allegedly knew about jerry sandusky's sexual abuse of boys. "nike" changed the name of its childcare center the day the freeh report was released. university removed his name from an annual award given to a top freshman athlete.

a new study says private financial companies that made risky loans have caused student at to skyrocket over the past decade lending shot up from $5 billion in 2001 to win 20 billion in 2008 it shows that they offer the money to students without considering if they would get paid back and sold the loans to investors to avoid losing money on defaults americans still more than $150 billion in private student loan debt the education secretary believes the government should make sure federal loans the searing heat and drought across country are expected to cause gasoline prices to rise and iowa state university economics professor says that ethinyl [ woman ] my washer had

a foul odor that made the whole room stink.[ woman ] myan #2 ] even my laundry started to get a funny smell. [ female announcer ] just three uses of tide washing machine cleaner will help remove odor-causing residues and leave your high-efficiency washer clean and fresh. clean laundry starts with a clean washer.

racial disparity may be evident in the mortgage industry black and latino homeowners purchasing homes in non-white communities received twice as many government backed loans than the white homeowners in 2010 that's according to a report by a community development advocacy group they found this to be the case in many major cities including chicago ... the drought has produced the worst united states growing conditions and more than a quarter century ... corn is used as animal feed and is in a number of foods and sweeteners we could see higher prices at the grocery store and at the

gasoline pump ... after attending a blackout directv and viacom have struck a deal ... it would involve $600 million a year for the channels in question it was the latest dispute between content and pay tv providers as rising programming costs drive up bills for consumers ... marisa tomei aron you yahoo chief executive will be getting a base salary of a million dollars but the stock options and bonuses could bring the salary way up ... ... this to make up for which you would receive had she stayed at google european finance ministers have

approved the bill bolstering the spanish banking's industry a suspect is being questioned in connection to the hit and run death of a county corrections officer and also had we have a new report about a whopping cough outbreak and it could be the country's worst in half a century later this midday we have live music from scott lucas and the married men they released their second full- length album last month it's called " blood half moon "

charges could be filed today against the man suspected in a hit and run crash that killed a chicago correctional officer judy wang has been following the story and has this report ... this morning friends and family and co-workers gathered for a vigil a show of support for the jones family >>she would be dancing she would be happy i know she's looking

down this is overwhelming i like this and i'm very touched ... >>as they bid farewell they leaned on each other and shared personal stories like the time sheet learned that a colleague was struggling to make ends meet >>she came and said she has something for me ... she said " here it's not very much but it might get you a couple of big macs for a week " >>people who knew her say that she was a bubbly person a straight shooter who loved her job and her family she was on rework wednesday night when she was crossing california at 29th street when a minivan have her and not turn to the path of a sheriff's police car she was pinned underneath and died at the hospital ... police found the van they believe hit the

correctional officer ... colleagues will display the correctional flag during her funeral >>it's a tough thing but we're gonna get through this ... >>anytime you go through a difficult situation and makes you bond even if you don't know this person when you lose a member of your extended family you come together >>the jones family says that being a police officer was a dream for her ... she leaves behind a husband and a 6 year- old daughter still to come this midday we're all waiting eight press conference from police officials and our rural colorado where they will provide an update with the details on the overnight shooting rampage at

we have cooled off today tom skilling ... >>that's right and many people asked that with that downpour have we made any dent in the drought conditions? >>only slightly >>it is very dry we need about six or seven storms like that scattered over consecutive days to bring this to end and the heat and humidity are also returning are one to share some photographs with you ... these are from a viewer who was out at wrigley field the other night

and this beautiful shot is of lightning looking at oak street beach in downtown chicago during a recent storm ... and this is a photograph of a range chaffed ..in shaft... we began cloudy today it looked ominous ... but we have a dry and lovely canadian high air pressure system we are one degrees cooler than we were yesterday thanks to that it is cooler downstate but don't expect this to last. the jet stream has turned northwest in time the heat will be building up again we remain on the southern flank of this jet stream we could reach 100 degrees by monday and well into

the '90s over the weekend. we may get some respectable rain totals next week because of all of this heat ... we offered compare this heat wave back to the one in 1998 88 ... this year we are running at 32 consecutive days of 90 degree weather the heat is canceling out the fact that we have more rain this year that we did in 1988 ... and there are more states in the united states and the lower 48 under drought conditions than ever

... currently where it's 79 degrees 77 degrees in green bay wisconsin many locations are still in triple digits right now we are experiencing natures air-conditioning. that's holding down the heat index making it comfortable out there ... the humidity is only 50% ... moderate mold spores and the grass and the wheat pollen is low today ... and we have

moderate sunburn conditions here are some of your local area temperatures ... we began with overcast skies but now we are seeing the sun breaks through ... we have some respectable rain numbers predicted for the coming week ... we have a fighting chance with the heat resurging over the next seven days the hot air dome

expands eastward but we will get some thunderstorms developing with an active corridor developing throughout our region the hottest. some will see these big thunderstorm clusters spread out over a day or so ... tomorrow we will reach the '90s we will be back into the 90s during the day sunday in will be cooler at the lakeshore the northeast wind is coming and riding on the dry air ... we

expect a couple of thunderstorms coming up saturday or sunday afternoon or evening ... expect clusters of thunder next week but with many dry intervals in between it will be a hot one sunny skies today with a high temperature of 84 degrees ... the low temperature 69 degrees the wind is variable tomorrow potter 92 degrees these at the beaches lots of sunshine but expect some afternoon thunderstorms it will reach 95 degrees on sunday with 100 degrees expected for monday

80 percent of the country is under drought conditions ... and we have had 30 to 90 degree-days thus far this year amazing statistics thank you tom skilling. stay with us we will be right back ♪ ♪ ♪ pop goes the world ♪ ♪ it goes something like this ♪ [ female announcer ] pop in a whole new kind of clean with new tide pods... just one removes more stains than the 6 next leading pacs combined. pop in. stand out.

the number of whooping cough cases in the united states has risen to a level that could make the most severe outbreak in more than half a century 18,000 new cases have been reported in nine people have died if the cdc says that wisconsin and washington state have been particularly hard hit for whooping cough causes severe almost uncontrollable coughing and is especially dangerous for babies' health officials believe a spike in whooping cough among 10 to 14 year-old children could be due to the vaccine wearing off earlier than expected ... for certain jobs held by men in the months before they conceive a child may increase the risk of birth defects researchers looked at more than 1400 fathers whose jobs fit into at least one of 63 different categories those categories were determined based on their second exposure to

chemicals or other potential hazards the study found certain jobs were linked when an increased risk of multiple types of birth defects were found in children is a list of these jobs can be found in the study published in the journal of occupational and environmental medicine children who are allergic to eggs could actually benefit from eating them a new study found that children with egg allergies to aid small amounts of powdered a quite safe daily for 22 months became desensitized and experienced little or no allergic reactions 28 percent of those who continued the treatment for two years were able to beat egg product with no problem the study published in the new england journal of medicine is the most extensive look at immunotherapy but experts say that the study is considered experimental and warn parents not to try this at home your live illinois lottery drawing is next ...

here are the winning pick three numbers: 3 1 6 the mega-millions jackpot is now $37 million here are the winning pick four numbers: 7 1 2 6 have a wonderful weekend

you know what i love about this country? trick question. i love everything about this country! including prilosec otc. you know one pill each morning treats your frequent heartburn so you can enjoy all this great land of ours has to offer like demolition derbies. and drive thru weddings. so if you're one of those people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place. [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

time for sports: rookie pitcher jose quintana was impressive once again for the white sox. he's the first pitcher since 1900 to throw eight shutout innings, three times... and get a no-decision each time. sox finishing up a 4 game set in boston. they're up 1-0 in the seventh... the red sox load the bases with one out, but quintana gets out of the jam with a double play. robin ventura had matt thornton start the ninth, but he put two

men on... and then the closer, addison reed gives up the walk- off, 3-run home run to cody ross. sox lose 3-1 and drop three of four in boston. their lead is down to one-and-a half games, and they visit the 2nd place tigers tonight. mark buehrle starting in chicago for the first time since leaving. cubs and marlins scoreless in the 5th, when alfonso soriano hits a solo home run into the left field basket... his 18th of the year. the cubs lead 4-1 in the eighth... jose reyes lines one to right, but reed johnson makes the diving catch... he also went two- for- four with two rbis. cubs win 4-2, and finish the home-stand 5 and 1. they visit the cardinals tonight, right here on wgn. in just two days, cubs legend ron santo will be enshrined in the baseball hall of fame. be sure to check out our special on wgn sunday night at 9:30, but here's your first look inside at the santo exhibit, celebrating his life and career. members of the santo family started arriving in cooperstown yesterday, and will get a tour of the hall this afternoon. hall of famers we spoke to say the hall is like a family, and ronnie belongs with them.

>>i feel just like it's your brother going into the hall of fame we spent some much time together through aa and aaa ball and now cooperstown the family of ron santo and the millions of fans saw him play the game of baseball and listen to him on the radio this is a great day we are awaiting a news conference by police in our work colorado with and mass shooting took place in the movie theater we hope to have an update we hope to bring it to you live as soon as that not once in my life did i ever think i would have heart disease. she just didn't fit the profile of a heart event victim. she's healthy, she

eats properly. i was pushing my two kids in a stroller when i had my heart event. i've been on a bayer aspirin regimen ever since. lslkpwgn

midday news