Colorado

The Department of Defense announced that one sailor is missing after the Colorado movie theater shooting, and three servicemen are injured. Here's the press release: 

The Department of Defense is deeply saddened by the news of the tragic incident at the Aurora Mall Movie Theater in Aurora, Colo.  Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and the families of those impacted by this event. 

President Obama issued a proclamation directing government flags to be flown at half-staff "honoring the victims of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado.

In brief remarks about the movie theater shooting, President Obama led the audience in prayer and a moment of silence.

"I would like us to pause in a moment of silence for the victims of this terrible tragedy, for the people who knew them and loved them, for those who are still struggling to recover, and for all the victims of less publicized acts of violence that plague our communities every single day. so if everybody can just take a moment," said President Obama, and then solemnly put his down.  

Campaign spokesman Jen Psaki said, on Air Force One, that President Obama's reelection campaign has asked affiliates to pull down negative ads in the wake of the movie theater shooting in Colorado.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters this morning on Air Force One that, in regards to the Colorado movie theater shooting last night, "We do not believe at this point there was an apparent nexis to terrorism."

Campaign spokesman Andrea Saul says, in an email to reporters, "Gov. Romney’s event today will go on as planned, and he will address the tragedy in Colorado." Romney will be speaking at Coastal Forest Products in Bow, New Hampshire. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and loved ones," writes Saul.

President Barack Obama issued the following statement this morning:

Colorado's wildfire has exploded into an "epic firestorm," in the words of Colorado Springs fire chief Richard Brown. Over 30,000 people have evacuated, and already hundreds of homes have been consumed. Ironically, the U.S. Air Force Academy has also been evacuated, at the very time that Colorado desperately needs more Air Force C-130s to fight the massive fire.

A new poll from We Ask America shows Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama in Virginia, a key swing state Obama won in 2008. Of the 1,106 likely voters in Virginia polled, 48 percent support Romney, with just over 43 percent supporting Obama and nearly 9 percent remaining undecided.

PPP reports on its latest Colorado poll: 

Looking at the electoral map this cycle, the focus has mostly been on Ohio, Florida, and Virginia. But what about the Mountain West? The assumption is that Obama has a virtual lock on Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico, but is this valid?

The president is in Boulder, Colorado giving a campaign-style speech at the University of Colorado. Reportedly, on his way to the speech, he decided to stop for a bite at "The Sink ... a divey kind of place that seems more about the beer than the food," according to the the pool report. The report continues: