EXCLUSIVE: Movie massacre suspect sent chilling notebook to psychiatrist before attack  —  Three days after he allegedly shot up a Colorado movie theater, killing 12 and injuring scores, suspect James Holmes appeared in court, where he seemed disheveled and disoriented.

Obama has no patience for 'you didn't build that' attacks  —  SEATTLE - President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he's losing his patience over the Republican attacks aimed at his “you didn't build that” comment.  —  “I have to tell you, I generally have patience with what the other side says about me …

Alderman to Chick-fil-A: No deal  —  Moreno tries to block restaurant that opposes gay marriage from opening in his Northwest Side ward … A Chicago alderman wants to kill Chick-fil-A's plans to build a restaurant in his increasingly trendy Northwest Side ward because the fast-food chain's top executive vocally opposes gay marriage.

Mitt hits back on Anglo-Saxon remark  —  Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday called a Mitt Romney adviser's comment that the Republican candidate better understands the UK-USA relationship because of a shared “Anglo-Saxon heritage” — a notion Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul insisted was …

TPMDC  —  Senate Dems Jam House Republicans, Pass Bush Tax-Cut Extension For Middle Class  —  Senate Democrats have accomplished a feat they were unable to muster back in 2009 and 2010, when they had a much larger majority: On Wednesday, they passed a bill to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone's first $250,000 in income.

Romney talks with NBC's Brian Williams in exclusive interview  —  In a wide ranging interview NBC's Brian Williams asked Republican presidential candidate about a number of topics including gun control in the wake of the Aurora shootings.  —  In an exclusive interview with NBC's Brian Williams …

Democratic Voting Enthusiasm Down Sharply From 2004, 2008  —  Republicans more enthusiastic than in 2008  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Democrats are significantly less likely now (39%) than they were in the summers of 2004 and 2008 to say they are “more enthusiastic about voting than usual” in the coming presidential election.

“We Do Absolutely Anything They Ask”: How the NRA's Grading System Keeps Congress on Lockdown  —  Mere hours after we woke up to the horrendous, terrifying news of the Aurora shooting, Mayor Michael Bloomberg took to the airwaves to criticize the candidates for their relative silence on gun policy.

Small Businessmen Push Back Against Obama  —  The Obama campaign is reeling from the fallout over the president's demand that small business people pay higher taxes because they owe their success to the government.  In a few unscripted minutes, Obama, by saying what he really thinks, dealt his own campaign a severe blow.

Tina Brown seeks to calm Newsweek staff  —  Newsweek & Daily Beast editor-in-chief Tina Brown sought to calm her staff today following remarks from majority owner Barry Diller suggesting that the magazine could cease publication of its print edition as early as this year.

Presidential debate formats announced  —  The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced the formats for the 2012 presidential and vice presidential debates, each of which will be 90-minutes long.  Moderators will be selected in August.  —  First presidential debate: October 3 …

Obama leads in Michigan and Pennsylvania  —  PPP's newest Presidential polls in Michigan and Pennsylvania find Barack Obama with healthy leads in both states.  He's up by 14 points, 53-39, in Michigan and by 6 points, 49-43, in Pennsylvania.  We last looked at each of these states in May.

Al Qaeda Insinuating Its Way Into Syria's Conflict  —  CAIRO — It is the sort of image that has become a staple of the Syrian revolution, a video of masked men calling themselves the Free Syrian Army and brandishing AK-47s — with one unsettling difference.

FACT CHECK: Romney-Bain contacts outlasted exit  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he had no active role in Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded, after he exited in February 1999 to take over Salt Lake City's Winter Olympics bid.

Legendary Director Peter Bogdanovich: What If Movies Are Part of the Problem?  —  The director of “Targets” says: “People go to a movie to have a good time, and they get killed. ...  It makes me sick that I made a movie about it.” … People go to a movie to have a good time, and they get killed.

Romney camp asks Va. to probe voter forms  —  The Voter Participation Center, the organization whose mailings are under scrutiny, fired back this afternoon at the Romney campaign.  —  In a letter to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, it charged that what it called attempts …

Kim Jong-un of North Korea Marries  —  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's state-run news media on Wednesday ended weeks of speculation about the identity of the poised young woman seen with the country's young leader, Kim Jong-un, at various recent public events, announcing that she is his wife.