EXCLUSIVE: Massacre suspect James Holmes' gun-range application drew red flag  —  BYERS, COLO. - Less than a month before carrying out the midnight movie massacre that left 12 dead, suspected shooter James Holmes applied for membership at a private gun range, unnerving the club's owner whose calls …

The Hill Poll: Majority of voters blame president for bad economy  —  Two-thirds of likely voters say the weak economy is Washington's fault, and more blame President Obama than anybody else, according to a new poll for The Hill.  —  It found that 66 percent believe paltry job growth …

Weiner wife under guard  —  Police and federal officials have placed security around ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, after a New Jersey man threatened her, law-enforcement sources said.  —  An individual, described as a Muslim man, made the unspecified threat after Rep. Michele Bachmann …

Penn State sanctions: $60M, bowl ban  —  The NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, the organization said Monday morning.  —  The career record of former head football coach Joe Paterno will reflect …

Democrats shun Pelosi's plea for cash  —  One by one, the pictures of House members adorning the lobby of Democratic Party headquarters have come down, turning neat rows of framed photos into a disjointed mess — “splattered,” as one aide described it.  —  The half-dozen or so lawmakers whose mugs …

SATURDAY'S SHOOTING  —  Anaheim's police chief confirmed Sunday the shooting victim on Anna Drive was unarmed.  There were no weapons recovered at the scene that could have belonged to him, Welter said.  —  Welter said he could not immediately confirm how many shots were fired or precisely …

Loading the Climate Dice  —  A couple of weeks ago the Northeast was in the grip of a severe heat wave.  As I write this, however, it's a fairly cool day in New Jersey, considering that it's late July.  Weather is like that; it fluctuates.  —  And this banal observation may be what dooms us to climate catastrophe, in two ways.

Romney says Obama visit to Colorado was the ‘right thing’ to do  —  Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney praised President Obama's decision to visit Aurora, Colorado and meet with victims of a mass shooting as “the right thing” to do.  —  Romney, who returned to the campaign trail …

Obama Tells Tall Tales About The Bush Years  —  A key attack line in President Obama's campaign stump speech these days is to claim that the country has tried Mitt Romney's economic policies already, and they were a dismal failure.  —  Romney, he says, wants to do two things …

California Republicans Seek a Turnaround  —  LOS ANGELES — This would seem a moment of great opportunity for California Republicans.  The state has become a national symbol of fiscal turmoil and dysfunction, the Legislature is nearly as unpopular as Congress and Democrats control every branch of government.

Political party  —  Harvey Weinstein and Anna Wintour are teaming again to throw a fund-raiser for President Obama.  The shindig will take place Aug. 6, in Greenwich, Conn., we hear.  The movie mogul and the Vogue editor will co-host, sources said, while other co-chairs remain to be announced.

Iraq Insurgents Kill Nearly 100 After Declaring New Offensive  —  BAGHDAD — In a coordinated display intended to show they remain a viable force, Iraqi insurgents launched at least 37 separate attacks on Monday morning, setting off car bombs, storming a military base and ambushing checkpoints, Iraqi authorities said.

Mitt Romney Olympic Archive Still Off-Limits  —  More than a decade has passed since Mitt Romney presided over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but the archival records from those games that were donated to the University of Utah to provide an unprecedented level of transparency …