James Holmes Told to 'Rot in Hell' By Victim's Dad

The father of a young woman allegedly slain by James Holmes in the Aurora movie theater massacre yelled "Rot in hell, Holmes" during a court hearing today.

The outburst by Steve Hernandez prompted judge William Sylvester to have an off-the-record conference with prosecutors and defense attorneys. Sylvester then reconvened court to address the issue while armed court deputies watched over Hernandez at the front of the gallery.

Hernandez's daughter, Rebecca Wingo, was one of Holmes' 12 murder victims when he opened fire in the crowded movie theater July 20 during the midnight showing of "Dark Knight Rises." Wingo, 32, was the mother of two young girls.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss," Sylvester told Hernandez. "I can only begin to imagine the emotions that this is raising."

He then lectured Hernandez about the decorum order in place to prevent outbursts in the courtroom.

"I meant no disrespect," Hernandez apologized, promising there would be no further trouble and he was let go.

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The judge decided on Thursday night that there is enough evidence against Holmes to proceed to trial and scheduled Holmes' arraignment for March 12. Holmes will enter a plea at the arraignment.

In an order posted late Thursday, the judge wrote that "the People have carried their burden of proof and have established that there is probable cause to believe that Defendant committed the crimes charged."

The ruling came after a three-day preliminary hearing this week that revealed new details about how Holmes allegedly planned and carried out the movie theater shooting, including how investigators say he amassed an arsenal of guns and ammunition, how he booby-trapped his apartment to explode, and his bizarre behavior after his arrest.

Holmes is charged with 166 counts, including murder, attempted murder and other charges. His shooting rampage left 12 people dead and 58 wounded by gunfire. An additional 12 people suffered non-gunshot injuries.

Sylvester also ordered that Holmes be held without bail.

Holmes' attorneys have said in court that the former University of Colorado neuroscience student is mentally ill. The district attorney overseeing the case has not yet announced whether Holmes, now 25, can face the death penalty.

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Worst storms in decade bring Mideast to near standstill

BEIRUT: The worst storms in a decade left swathes of Israel and Jordan under a blanket of snow and parts of Lebanon blacked out on Thursday, bringing misery to a region accustomed to temperate climates.

Freezing temperatures and floods since Sunday have claimed at least 11 lives across the region and exacerbated the plight of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees huddled in tented camps in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

The United Nations issued an urgent appeal for funds to help refugees in the northern Jordanian camp of Zaatari, which was almost entirely flooded on Wednesday, with residents battling mud and sub-zero temperatures.

"The next 72 hours will be a critical test of our ability to meet the basic needs of children and their families at Zaatari," UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Jordan representative, Dominique Hyde said in a statement on Thursday.

The education ministry in war-hit Syria announced mid-term exams postponed until further notice as snow blanketed Damascus.

Students in other countries also got a break as authorities ordered schools and universities closed in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel and some towns in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In Jordan, a blizzard brought the country to a near halt. King Abdullah II ordered the army to help clear roads across the usually parched nation and help those stranded by the snow. Thursday was also declared a holiday.

The storm triggered power blackouts in several countries including Lebanon, where electricity has been rationed since the 1975-1990 civil war. Several areas were plunged into darkness, leaving those who rely on electricity to heat their homes shivering.

"Our boiler works with electricity, so of course we have no hot water," said Elsa, a Beirut housewife.

Officials and residents blamed the outage on the storm and an open-ended strike by employees of the state-run Electricite du Liban power company over salaries and pension issues.

Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil told AFP: "There is a storm, and there is a problem in the grid. The electricity workers are on strike, and they're not letting anyone fix the problem."

A Beirut international airport weather expert said the storm was the worst ever to hit Lebanon, while other met officials in the region said it was the worst in 10 years.

Media reports said the cold weather originated in Russia, with one daily dubbing the storm "Olga," and authorities urged citizens to remain indoors.

In Jerusalem, at least 10 centimetres of snow blanketed the Holy City by dawn, turning the pine-covered hills into what looked like an Alpine ski resort picture postcard.

In the West Bank town of Ramallah, young and old alike rushed outside to make snowmen and engage in snowball fights.

But at least 11 people have reportedly died in the region because of the weather.

Among them were a man who froze to death after he fell asleep drunk in his car in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley and a baby swept away in a flash flood in the centre of the country.

In the Palestinian territories, officials reported five fatalities since Tuesday, including a West Bank woman who died from a fire she started in her home to keep warm.

The storm also crippled many businesses, took a heavy toll on regional economies and, in Israel, put on hold campaigning for the January 22 general election.

The Manufacturers Association of Israel said the storm looked set to cost industry at least 300 million shekels (US$80 million) in damage, most of it from flooding.

Three days of driving rain and strong winds that struck normally warm Egypt paralysed activity, including in most ports, with the commercial harbour in Alexandria on the Mediterranean sea worst affected, officials said.

Snowfall in the normally arid Sinai Peninsula was blamed for an accident in which four French tourists were slightly injured.

Snow even capped the northwestern Tabuk region of the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where roads leading to Mount Alluz were packed with motorists excited at the sight of rare snow.

- AFP/jc

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Bennett: Obama, wake up to spending

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• William Bennett: National debt doesn't look like a priority for President Obama


• Bennett: Obama more concerned with his legacy rather than our economic well-being


• He asks why the president is so unwilling to cut the size and scope of government


• Bennett: GOP should make it clear that it will fulfill our debt obligations in a responsible way

Editor's note: William J. Bennett, a CNN contributor, is the author of "The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood." He was U.S. secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H.W. Bush.

(CNN) -- Second terms, untainted by re-election posturing, often reveal a president's true governing philosophy. In the case of President Obama, two recent revelations have confirmed all we may need to know about his agenda for the next four years.

On December 30, the president sat down for an interview with David Gregory on "Meet the Press." Gregory asked the president, "So what is your single priority of the second term? What is the equivalent to health care?"

President Obama replied, "Well, there are a couple of things that we need to get done. I've said that fixing our broken immigration system is a top priority. I will introduce legislation in the first year to get that done." He went on to say, "The second thing that we've got to do is to stabilize the economy and make sure it's growing."

William Bennett

During his first term in office, coming off "the worst recession since the Great Depression," to use the president's own words, it appeared to many that he prioritized Obamacare over the economy. Now it appears that the economy, and all that goes along with it, like the ever-growing national debt, will again play second fiddle, this time to immigration reform.

If priorities are any reflection of politics, it appears the president is more concerned with what he regards as historic, landmark legislation to build his legacy, rather than the economic well-being of the nation. If that seems like a harsh assessment, consider that just this week we learned from Stephen Moore's interview of House Speaker John Boehner in the Wall Street Journal that the president told Boehner during the fiscal cliff negotiations, "We don't have a spending problem."

If $16 trillion of national debt and the huge deficits each year aren't spending problems, then what is? The United States most certainly has a spending problem. For the president to insist otherwise is dumbfounding but at the same time entirely consistent with his policies.

He called for the Simpson-Bowles Commission on deficit reduction, but ignored their recommendations. He campaigned ad nauseam about the need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction, but the latest fiscal cliff deal is almost entirely tax hikes and even includes more stimulus spending. The only spending cuts he agreed to, the sequestration cuts, he had announced during one of the presidential debates "will not happen."

There seems to be a near invincible unwillingness by this president and his advisors to cut the size and scope of government. How then do conservatives negotiate the coming debt ceiling extension, especially when they control neither the White House nor the Senate?

There is no easy answer, but perhaps they should begin by explaining to the American people "the politics of reality," as William Buckley aptly defined conservatism.

The recent elections seem to indicate that a majority of the American people want lower taxes for themselves but approve of the president's increased spending programs. In the end, they cannot have both. A vibrant and prosperous private sector cannot coexist with a one-size-fits-all caretaker state. One relies on low taxes and limited government interference, the other on high taxes and government redistribution of resources.

So Americans must choose between the two and conservatives must make that choice clear: higher taxes, higher spending and more government services, or opportunity and upward mobility with lower taxes and less government interference.

The debt ceiling is just the first of many opportunities to bring this choice to the public. Republicans should make it clear that they will fulfill our debt obligations in a responsible manner, but they will only give the president short-term debt ceiling extensions until we get this problem under control. If Obama doesn't want to cut spending in a meaningful way he's going to have to explain that to the American people every couple of months for the next four years.

The purpose isn't to thrash the president and his party or be ideological shock troops, as Ronald Reagan once warned against, but to hold a national education seminar on fiscal responsibility. Republicans have not won the argument, and will not win it, when these fiscal deals are made behind closed doors before the strike of midnight.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant and so too in politics. Republicans can win the argument by making a clear and cogent public articulation of the president's spending problem and how the American people, especially the lower and middle classes, will be the ones to suffer as a result.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of William J. Bennett.

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High school shooting wounds 2 in Calif.

Updated at 2:31 p.m. ET

TAFT, Calif. A student was shot and wounded at a rural San Joaquin Valley high school Thursday and another student was taken into custody, officials said.

The shooting occurred about 9 a.m. at Taft Union High School, a community of fewer than 10,000 people amid oil and natural gas production fields about 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The student who was shot was flown to a hospital in Bakersfield, said Ray Pruitt, spokesman for the Kern County Sheriff's Department. There was no immediate word on the victim's condition.

Pruitt said the suspect is a student, and a shotgun was used in the attack.

Kern County Fire Department Eric Coughran told CBS Bakersfield affiliate KBAK-TV that another person suffered some type of injuries in the incident but refused medical attention.

It was not immediately clear how many students are enrolled at the high school, which teaches 9th through 12th grades.

The shooting happened on the second floor of the school's science building, KBAK-TV reports.

The Taft shooting came less than a month after a gunman shot his mother to death at home before carrying out a massacre on 20 children and six women at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and then killing himself.

That shooting prompted President Obama to promise new efforts to curb gun violence. Vice President Joe Biden, who was placed in charge of the initiative, said Tuesday in Washington, D.C., that he would deliver new policy proposals to the president by next week.

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Biden Hints at Executive Order on Gun Control

Vice President Biden, meeting today with outside groups on gun safety, told reporters he has already started putting together a list of recommendations that he plans to issue next Tuesday.

Biden meets with representatives of the NRA and other supporters of gun rights on the second day of this week's meetings on gun violence.

But he told reporters Thursday, during meeting a with sportsmen, women and wildlife groups, that he would deliver the list of recommendations to the president on Jan. 15, and that an improved system for background checks has emerged as a a priority for the stakeholders he's met so far.

Biden told a group of sportsmen and wildlife interest groups that he has "never quite heard so much talk about high-capacity magazines" as he has since last month's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Biden met with gun-violence victims' groups and proponents of gun control on Wednesday. Thursday was his opportunity to get a different side of the story. Biden meets with the National Rifle Association and Attorney General Eric Holder meets with representatives from Wal-Mart, one of the largest sellers of firearms in the country.

Spokesmen for the NRA and Wal-Mart confirmed representatives from their organizations would be included in the meetings Thursday. The NRA said it would be represented by James J. Baker, its top lobbyist. Advocates for sportsmen, women's groups, wildlife groups and gun owners were also invited. The vice president is slated to meet with members of the entertainment industry in the evening.

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In December, the NRA called for armed officers to be placed in every school after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Wal-Mart initially turned down an invitation to participate in the talks but reversed its decision after it "underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person," a spokesman said.

"We take this issue very seriously and are committed staying engaged in this discussion as the administration and Congress work toward a consensus on the right path forward," David Tovar, vice president of corporate communications for Wal-Mart, said.

The latest meetings come one day after Biden held a first round of talks this week with gun safety advocacy groups and victims of gun violence. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, the vice president expressed the administration's commitment to develop effective gun policy by considering all ideas. He suggested the administration would be ready to take executive action on the issue, which would not require votes from Congress.

"We're here today to deal with a problem that requires our immediate action, urgent action. And the president and I are determined to take action," Biden told reporters before a meeting in his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. "I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion [that] unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing."

"There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet, but we're compiling it all with the help the attorney general and all the rest of the cabinet members, as well as legislative action, we believe, is required," Biden said.

Colin Goddard, a survivor of the shooting at Virginia Tech University in 2007, participated in the meeting at the White House Wednesday and said the talks gave the groups "encouragement from the highest office in the country."

"I was really encouraged by seeing how focused and determined the administration is in seeing comprehensive changes to the gun violence in America," Goddard, who is now the assistant director for federal legislation at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told ABC News. "It was really great to see even the Vice President of the United States of America supporting us. He wants to see this done to the end and bringing us all to the table to share our personal stories, share our ideas about what our proposals could be."

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Karzai's U.S. visit a time for tough talk

The last time Presidents Obama and Karzai met was in May in Kabul, when they signed a pact regarding U.S. troop withdrawal.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Afghan President Karzai meeting with President Obama in Washington this week


• Felbab-Brown: Afghan politics are corrupt; army not ready for 2014 troop pullout


• She says Taliban, insurgents, splintered army, corrupt officials are all jockeying for power


• U.S. needs to commit to helping Afghan security, she says, and insist corruption be wiped out

Editor's note: Vanda Felbab-Brown is a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. Her latest book is "Aspiration and Ambivalence: Strategies and Realities of Counterinsurgency and State-Building in Afghanistan."

(CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is meeting this week with President Obama in Washington amid increasing ambivalence in the United States about what to do about the war in Afghanistan.

Americans are tired of the war. Too much blood and treasure has been spent. The White House is grappling with troop numbers for 2013 and with the nature and scope of any U.S. mission after 2014. With the persisting corruption and poor governance of the Afghan government and Karzai's fear that the United States is preparing to abandon him, the relationship between Kabul and Washington has steadily deteriorated.

As the United States radically reduces its mission in Afghanistan, it will leave behind a stalled and perilous security situation and a likely severe economic downturn. Many Afghans expect a collapse into civil war, and few see their political system as legitimate.

Karzai and Obama face thorny issues such as the stalled negotiations with the Taliban. Recently, Kabul has persuaded Pakistan to release some Taliban prisoners to jump-start the negotiations, relegating the United States to the back seat. Much to the displeasure of the International Security Assistance Force, the Afghan government also plans to release several hundred Taliban-linked prisoners, although any real momentum in the negotiations is yet to take place.

U.S. may remove all triips from Afghanistan after 2014

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Washington needs to be careful that negotiations are structured in a way that enhances Afghanistan's stability and is not merely a fig leaf for U.S. and NATO troop departure. Countering terrorism will be an important U.S. interest after 2014. The Taliban may have soured on al Qaeda, but fully breaking with the terror group is not in the Taliban's best interest. If negotiations give the insurgents de facto control of parts of the country, the Taliban will at best play it both ways: with the jihadists and with the United States.

Negotiations of a status-of-forces agreement after 2014 will also be on the table between Karzai and Obama. Immunity of U.S. soldiers from Afghan prosecution and control over detainees previously have been major sticking points, and any Afghan release of Taliban-linked prisoners will complicate that discussion.

Karzai has seemed determined to secure commitments from Washington to deliver military enablers until Afghan support forces have built up. The Afghan National Security Forces have improved but cannot function without international enablers -- in areas such as air support, medevac, intelligence and logistical assets and maintenance -- for several years to come. But Washington has signaled that it is contemplating very small troop levels after 2014, as low as 3,000. CNN reports that withdrawing all troops might even be considered.

Everyone is hedging their bets in light of the transition uncertainties and the real possibility of a major security meltdown after 2014. Afghan army commanders are leaking intelligence and weapons to insurgents; Afghan families are sending one son to join the army, one to the Taliban and one to the local warlord's militia.

With Afghan president's visit, nations' post-2014 future takes shape

Patronage networks pervade the Afghan forces, and a crucial question is whether they can avoid splintering along ethnic and patronage lines after 2014. If security forces do fall apart, the chances of Taliban control of large portions of the country and a civil war are much greater. Obama can use the summit to announce concrete measures -- such as providing enablers -- to demonstrate U.S. commitment to heading off a security meltdown. The United States and international security forces also need to strongly focus on countering the rifts within the Afghan army.

Assisting the Afghan army after 2014 is important. But even with better security, it is doubtful that Afghanistan can be stable without improvements in its government.

Afghanistan's political system is preoccupied with the 2014 elections. Corruption, serious crime, land theft and other usurpation of resources, nepotism, a lack of rule of law and exclusionary patronage networks afflict governance. Afghans crave accountability and justice and resent the current mafia-like rule. Whether the 2014 elections will usher in better leaders or trigger violent conflict is another huge question mark.

Emphasizing good governance, not sacrificing it to short-term military expediencies by embracing thuggish government officials, is as important as leaving Afghanistan in a measured and unrushed way -- one that doesn't jeopardize the fledgling institutional and security capacity that the country has managed to build up.

U.S. likely to keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan after NATO forces leave

Karzai has been deaf and blind to the reality that reducing corruption, improving governance and allowing for a more pluralistic political system are essential for Afghanistan's stability. His visit provides an opportunity to deliver the message again -- and strongly.

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The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Vanda Felbab-Brown.

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Football: Winning start for LionsXII

SINGAPORE: The LionsXII have got their 2013 Malaysian Super League (MSL) campaign off to a winning start with victory over Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) FA on Wednesday.

A solitary strike from captain Shahril Ishak in the 66th minute was enough to give the Singaporean side a 1-0 win at the Paroi Stadium in Seremban.

ATM FA missed a golden opportunity when Marlon James miscued three yards from goal, while defender Irwan Shah looped his shot wide late on with just ATM goalkeeper Farizal Harun to beat.

The LionsXII next face Selangor this Saturday at the Jalan Besar Stadium in their first home fixture of the season.

- TODAY/jc

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Biden: Obama may act alone to combat gun violence

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Obama is exploring executive orders, Biden announces


• Wal-Mart reversed a decision, saying it now will attend a Thursday meeting


• Burlington, Vermont, passed a resolution that could lead to an assault weapons ban


• A Marine supporting an assault weapons ban pushes back against another Marine

On Wednesday night, Piers Morgan goes one-on-one with firearms lobbyist Larry Pratt over guns in America. "Piers Morgan Tonight" airs nightly at 9 ET.

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama is exploring executive orders to help stop mass shootings in America, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

"The president is going to act. Executive orders, executive action, can be taken," Biden told reporters before meetings with groups representing survivors of mass shootings. "We haven't decided what this is yet, but we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and all the rest of the Cabinet members."

Legislative action also is needed, Biden said.

"I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans, and take thousands of people out of harm's way, if we act responsibly," he said.

President Obama vowed last month that a new task force overseen by Biden will provide "concrete proposals" by the end of January to reduce gun violence. The group, which includes an array of Cabinet members and government officials, was established in the wake of the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut that left 27 people dead -- 20 of them elementary school children.

In addition to gun laws, the group is looking at mental health care and what the president has described as a culture that often "glorifies guns and violence."

CNN iReport: The gun control debate

Biden's brief remarks Wednesday came before what will likely be some of the most emotional testimony before the task force.

We can... take thousands of people out of harm's way, if we act responsibly.
Vice President Joe Biden

Among those addressing the group to push for tougher gun laws is Colin Goddard of the Brady Campaign. He was shot four times in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, in which a gunman killed 32 people and himself.

"My job is to represent the voice of the overwhelming majority of Americans ... that want some comprehensive, common sense changes to our gun policy," he told CNN Wednesday. "There are common ground solutions that respect the Second Amendment."

Many gun sales take place without background checks, and "that's bad policy," he argues. Conducting such checks "doesn't stop a law-abiding citizen from getting a gun. But somebody with a history of illness, felony record, they need to get checked."

The campaign's phones have been "ringing off the hook" since the Newtown massacre, he said.

Reaction to Newtown school killings

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The task force will also hear from gun safety organizations Wednesday.

Where do you stand? Weigh in on Twitter

Gun lobby faces challenge

On Thursday, Biden's group will hear from the other side: gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association.

The NRA has argued that it is committed to keeping people protected, but that a focus on stricter gun control is misguided.

NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre has called for all U.S. schools to have armed guards

NRA President David Keene later told CNN the group supports schools choosing whether they want armed guards.

A rising chorus of voices is standing up against the NRA and the gun lobby's sway over U.S. politics.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head in a mass shooting two years ago, and her husband Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain and astronaut, launched a new political action committee Tuesday to end what they called lawmakers' "fear" of the gun lobby.

CNN's Piers Morgan has also garnered attention for speaking out against the influence of the gun lobby.

Wal-Mart changes tune, will attend White House meeting

After initially saying it would not attend a meeting with the White House on Thursday, Wal-Mart , the nation's largest retailer, said Wednesday it now will.

The company has had "ongoing conversations with the administration, Congress, (New York) Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg's office, sportsmen groups, suppliers and others to listen and share our thoughts and experiences," company spokesman David Tovar said in a statement to CNN.

"Knowing our senior leaders could not be in Washington this week, we spoke in advance with the vice president's office to share our perspective," he said. "We underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person, so we are sending an appropriate representative to participate."

Wal-Mart sells guns and ammunition.

Previously, the company had insisted that its "experts" on gun control needed to be in Bentonville, Arkansas, where the company is headquartered, for important meetings, and insisted the move should not be interpreted as a "slight" or "diss" to the White House.

The future of gun laws: Weigh in on Facebook

States, cities make their own moves

Across the country, people are sharing their views on what Washington should decide. Among them are Californians who have packed into town hall meetings.

Some have spoken out in support of renewing a ban on assault weapons -- high-capacity weapons that have been used in numerous mass shootings. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, is pushing to reinstate a ban that expired in 2004.

But others at the town halls argue that banning those guns isn't the answer, and could even be a slippery slope toward banning all guns.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, plans to push for major new gun laws Wednesday, including one of the country's most restrictive bans on assault weapons, the New York Times reported.

Bloomberg, a longtime advocate of stricter gun control, is pushing for tough steps nationwide.

Burlington, Vermont, a city of less than 43,000 people, has already made a move of its own: passing a resolution that could lead to a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.

The city council voted 10-3 in favor of the resolution, which will now be presented in public hearings and voted on by the public before going to the state legislature.

Amid the cacophony of voices battling over the issue, two young former Marines have found themselves in a spotlight online, representing very different views.

First, Joshua Boston posted on CNN iReport an open letter to Feinstein explaining why he would not abide by an assault weapons ban. "I do not believe it is the government's right to know what I own," he wrote in the post, which went viral. "Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime."

On Tuesday, Nick DiOrio responded with his own iReport. Marines don't believe in following the law "only when it suits us," DiOrio wrote, calling Boston's letter "embarrassing because he makes Marines seem insensitive and uncaring." DiOrio said he supports an assault weapons ban.

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Holmes posed playfully with gun before shootings

CENTENNIAL, Colo. The hearing to determine whether the suspected gunman in last year's Colorado theater shooting ended Wednesday with one last detail from police: James Holmes used a cell phone to take self-portraits the night of the attack, sticking out his tongue, smiling and posing with a Glock pistol

The defense decided not to call witnesses to talk about Holmes' mental health. They are expected to present an insanity defense.

23 Photos

The Aurora shooting victims

Police also showed the court photos of the theater they say Holmes took a month before the attack, which left 12 dead and at least 58 injured in one of the country's worst mass shootings.

The judge said he will rule by Friday on whether Holmes should stand trial. If the judge decides he should be tried, Holmes could enter a plea that day. Cases rarely advance to this stage without a judge agreeing to set a trial.

Prosecutors this week have argued that Holmes acted with deliberation and extreme indifference.

Defense attorneys decided not call any witnesses, saying the rules of the hearing severely limited what evidence they could present. They had been granted permission to call two people to talk about Holmes' mental state.

16 Photos

The Colorado massacre suspect

His lawyers have previously stated that Holmes, 25, is mentally ill. Defense lawyer Tamara Brady pointedly asked a federal agent in court Tuesday whether any Colorado law prevented "a severely mentally ill person" from buying the 6,295 rounds of ammunition, body armor and handcuffs that Holmes purchased online.

The hearing was dominated by prosecutors' details of Holmes' preparations. Police and authorities said he spent months amassing tear gas grenades, two Glock handguns, a shotgun and an AR-15 rifle, along with the 6,295 rounds of ammunition, targets, body armor and chemicals. He also purchased chemicals including improvised napalm, as well as thermite, a substance which burns so hot that water can't extinguish the blaze.

Holmes' purchases were for two planned attacks, prosecutors said - the theater shooting and his apartment, which would have blown up if anyone had entered. The traps weren't triggered.

Holmes, clad from head to toe in body armor, was found standing by his car outside the theater. He told investigators that the apartment was an effort to pull police away from the theater. He didn't expect to see officers so quickly.

Police said he volunteered information about the apartment traps. Authorities went to the apartment and carefully dismantled them.

Play Video

Aurora 911 calls played at Holmes hearing

On Tuesday, police played a 911 call from a teenage cousin of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest person killed. A dispatcher tried to talk her through CPR but she sounded panicked and said she couldn't hear.

"My two cousins, they are sitting on the floor," 13-year-old Kaylan told the dispatcher, according to CBS correspondent Barry Petersen. "One of them is not breathing."

If Holmes is found sane, goes to trial and is convicted, his attorneys can try to avoid a possible death penalty by arguing he is mentally ill. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they will seek the death penalty.

If he's found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would likely be sent to the state mental hospital, not prison. Such a defendant is deemed not guilty because he didn't know right from wrong and is therefore "absolved" of the crime, said former Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey.

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Holmes Took Disturbing Photos Before Massacre

Hours before James Holmes allegedly carried out a massacre at a Colorado movie theater he took a series of menacing self-portraits with his dyed orange hair curling out of from under a black skull cap and his eyes covered with black contacts.

A prosecutor told the court after the photographs were shown that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart."

Those haunting photographs, found on his iPhone, were shown in court today on the last day of a preliminary testimony that will lead to a decision on whether the case will go to trial. The hearing concluded without Holmes' defense calling any witnesses.

The judge's decision on whether the case will proceed to trial is expected on Friday.

Holmes, 25, is accused of opening fire on a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colo., on July 20, 2012, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others during a showing of "Dark Knight Rises."

The photos presented in court showed Holmes mugging for his iPhone camera just hours before the shooting.

Click here for full coverage of the Aurora movie theater shooting.

Half-a-dozen photos showed Holmes with his clownish red-orange hair curled out from underneath a black skull cap. He wore black contact lenses in some of the pictures.

In one particularly disturbing image, he was making a scowling face with his tongue out. He was whistling in another photo. Holmes is smiling in his black contacts and flaming hair in yet another with the muzzle of one of his Glock pistols in the forefront.

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Yet another showed him dressed in black tactical gear, posing with an AR-15 rifle.

Victims' families in the courtroom stared straight ahead, showing little emotion while the photos were shown. Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed in the theater, kept an intense stare on the pictures.

Other photos seized from the iPhone show pictures that a detective testified were taken of the interior of the Aurora movie theater in the days leading up to the attack, on June 29, July 5 and July 11.

Before the prosecution called for the photos, public defender Tammy Brady objected. Prosecutor Karen Pearson said that the photos showed deliberation and extreme indifference. Judge William Sylvester overruled the objection and the photos were released.

In Pearson's closing statement, she said there is an abundance of direct evidence that Holmes "wanted to kill call of them. He knew what he was doing."

She said that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart" and that he "went into the theater without knowing or caring who they are." The prosecutor said he "picked the perfect venue for the perfect crime."

Pearson said prosecutors made a decision not to include all of the people who were in theaters eight and nine that night. If they had, they could have had 1,500 counts against Holmes. Instead, they included anyone who had physical injuries, including those with gunshot wounds and those who were hurt running out of the theater. There are 166 counts in all.

The judge has taken the case under advisement and there will be a status hearing or arraignment on Friday when the judge will decide whether the case will proceed to a full trial. Holmes' attorneys have not yet said whether they plan on using a insanity defense, in which case Holmes could possibly be deemed unfit to stand trial. Another possibility is that the hearing could set the stage for a plea deal.

This week's testimony has included emotional testimony from first responders, details about Holmes' elaborately booby trapped apartment, a rundown of his arsenal of legally purchased weapons and descriptions of his bizarre behavior following the shooting.

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