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As investigators dig deeper into Friday's mass shootings at a movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora, residents also are trying to piece together what happened and what it means for their city.

Aurora is Colorado's third-largest city, but it's probably not one many people had heard of before now.

Sitting in a cafe, life-long resident Joseph Nguyen says it's unfair his city will now be associated with the tragic attack that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.

Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks with NPR's Carrie Kahn about the latest on the investigation into the shooting in Aurora, Colo., which occurred early Friday morning during a midnight screening of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Weekends on All Things Considered continues its "Why Music Matters" series with Aria Saadi, an actor and musician originally from Iran. Saadi now lives and works in Vancouver, Canada, where he escaped after running afoul of the Iranian government.

Saadi says he remembers well one of his first encounters with Iranian authorities. A self-taught keyboard player, he was performing at what most Americans would call a normal party.

While the shooting rampage in Aurora, Colo., is dominating the news today, there are other headlines:

-- "146 Presumed Dead In Tanzania Ferry Accident." (The Associated Press)

-- "Syrian Forces Battle Rebels In Aleppo." (Reuters)

When tragedies happen, comparisons are always made to past events. It's become part of the news coverage of the Aurora, Colo., theater rampage to refer to it as "one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history," as The Associated Press says.

The wire service has a list — "Some of the world's worst mass shootings" — that includes many that happened in the U.S.:

The Denver Post continues to dig into the life of James Eagan Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the shooting rampage Friday in Aurora, Colo., that left at least 12 people dead and about 58 wounded.

Friday, as Eyder wrote, an image emerged of Holmes as something of a recluse.

Opposition activists in Syria report that there's been another day of heavy shelling in a number of cities, as rebel fighters continue their guerrilla war to topple President Bashar Assad. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon in Beirut, which has seen a huge increase in refugees in recent days.

The battle for Syria appears to have reached a decisive stage. Tanks are on the streets of Damascus as civilians flee the city, and rebels have seized outposts on the borders with Turkey and Iraq.

The opposition has shown a surprising military capability over the past few days. As fighting intensifies in the Syrian capital, there's an urgent push under way to organize the rebel force.

Host Scott Simon talks with 72-year-old Irv Gordon. His 1966 Volvo P1800S needs about 30,000 more miles to reach the 3 million-mile mark. His license plate reads, "MILNMILER."

The phrase "theater number 9" may soon be one of those added to our collective memory. That is where the shootings in Aurora, Colo., took place. It has some movie goers wondering about their safety in cities across the country.