Ron Barber can remember the small details of the Tucson rampage: The gunman, the crackle of gunfire, lying on the ground, wounded, and the weight of a body on him. A week and a half later, Barber found out that it was his good friend John Roll. Then he learned the federal judge may have helped save his life.

There are no words to describe how my world was shattered on Saturday morning, Jan. 8, 2011. Not only did I lose John Roll, my husband and best friend of more than 40 years, but our three sons lost a wonderful father and our grandchildren their beloved papa. But something else happened that day and in the days that have followed.

Officials at University Medical Center in Tucson say the congresswoman is expected to leave shortly after 9 a.m. local time and travel by ambulance to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for a medical flight to Texas. A group of motorcycle riders from a Veterans of Foreign Wars post will escort the ambulance. Once in Houston, she will be taken by helicopter to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital. Traveling with Giffords will be her husband, Mark Kelly; her mother, Gloria Giffords; trauma surgeon Dr. Peter Rhee and an intensive care unit nurse.

Superseding indictments could come as early as 60 days in the murders of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords' aide Gabe Zimmerman. Sources indicated that the indictments would be done piecemeal in order to meet constitutional requirements. The federal criminal code allows penalties of up to life in prison for an attempted assassination of a member of Congress. When federal murder charges follow, prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

John Roll was called a fair federal judge and a loving family man at his funeral. Now, some are also calling him a hero. Surveillance footage of the Jan. 8 shooting rampage in Tucson showed that he used his body as a shield to cover an injured man. Roll then took a bullet to the back, and lost his life in the process.

Giffords' family hopes to move the Arizona congresswoman on Friday to TIRR Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston, where her husband lives and works as an astronaut. The exact day of the move will depend on her health. "I am extremely hopeful at the signs of recovery that my wife has made since the shooting," Mark Kelly said in a statement released by Giffords' congressional office. The staff at University Medical Center in Tucson "has stabilized her to the point of being ready to move to the rehabilitation phase."

Dr. Rhee would not confirm that Giffords will leave for TIRR Memorial Hermann Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston on Friday, but he says the transition from UMC to the next hospital will be seamless. TIRR is one of the top-rated rehabilitation hospitals in the country, and has been recognized for this for the past 21 years, according to U.S. News and World Report. The hospital was chosen for its rehabilitation program and its relative proximity to Tucson, Giffords' husband Mark Kelly says.

The shooting in Tucson brought new attention to the national gun control debate after authorities said the rampage was carried out by a man who couldn't get into the military because of his drug use and had repeated run-ins with police at his community college because of his bizarre mental behavior. Jared Loughner bought the 9 mm handgun legally at a Tucson gun store, and was also carrying extended magazines that hold 30 rounds of ammunition. Arizona Republicans remain adamant that the shooting will not dissuade them from pushing their pro-gun agenda. They want new laws allowing college and university faculty members to be able to carry concealed weapons on campus, an issue that gained attention after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech University. Only Utah has a law allowing concealed weapons on college campuses while 24 states have bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"I'd probably see them. You know, I don't think it's their fault. It's not the parents fault. You know, I'd like to think I'm a person that's, you know, somewhat forgiving. And, I mean, they've got to be hurting in this situation as much as much as anybody."

Below is a promotional clip for the interview.

WATCH:

Many of you have asked how you can help and how you can honor the memory of those who were wounded or lost their lives. What united the victims of the tragedy on Saturday was service – they volunteered in church or at soup kitchens, worked in government, and tended to their communities. On behalf of Gabby and our family, I ask that you consider honoring their commitment to service by dedicating a few hours on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, this Monday, January 17th, to volunteer in your community.

Federal officials said San Diego would get the case in part because it's one of the closest judicial districts to Arizona. A San Diego-based federal judge, Larry A. Burns, was appointed last week to hear the case because Arizona judges recused themselves. Judy Clarke, Loughner's attorney, is also based there.

“I know someday she’ll get to tell you how she felt about Gabe herself,” Mr. Kelly said. His wife loved Mr. Zimmerman “like a younger brother,” he said, and was inspired by “his idealism, his strength and his warmth.”

Three patients from the tragic shooting a week ago remain at UMC. Two are listed in good condition and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been upgraded to serious condition from critical because she is no longer on a ventilator. The Congresswoman continues to do well. She is breathing on her own. Yesterday’s procedures were successful and uneventful.

He wandered through the dark streets of his hometown, meandering from one store to another on a furious all-night excursion as he prepared what authorities say were the final steps in taking revenge on a world from which he'd become progressively alienated. Jared Loughner checked into a down-and-out motel. He picked up photos showing him holding a Glock 19 while wearing only a bright red G-string. He bought ammunition on one of three trips to two different Walmarts. He called a high-school pot-smoking buddy, ran away from his father into a cactus-dotted desert and updated his MySpace profile to say, "Goodbye friends."

The colonel who wrestled the gunman to ground, the petite woman who knocked away his ammunition, the heroic intern who staunched the Congresswoman's bleeding – all joined Amanpour in Tucson. Other Members of Congress came to the town hall as well: Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., along with former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe. All the victims of the tragedy were invited and a thoughtful, forthright and stirring conversation ensued. Anna Ballis, who was at the Safeway one week ago, talked to Amanpour about the moment of the shooting. She had intended to go the grocery store, but never made it inside. She remembered seeing Christina-Taylor Green, moments before the nine-year-old girl was killed. "I do remember looking over and seeing Christina, and she was quite excited about meeting the congresswoman, jumping up and down. And, unfortunately, she never made it," Ballis said, choking back tears.

It was the first time most of them had been together since Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in a Safeway parking lot, killing 6, and wounding or injuring 14 others -- a rampage that happened one week earlier almost to the hour. On the platform with Amanpour were Col. Bill Badger, who helped tackle gunman Jared Lee Loughner; Daniel Hernandez, who ran to help wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords while most people were ducking for cover, Patricia Maisch, who grabbed a magazine away from Loughner; Bill Hileman, whose wife, Susan, is still recovering from gunshot wounds. On the front row was Kenneth Dorushka, who was shot shielding his wife from Loughner's gunfire; and J. Eric Fuller, who was shot in the knee.

Trent Humphries says there is another innocent victim left by Jared Lee Loughner's killing of six people and wounding of 14 others in his assassination attempt against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It is his Tea Party movement and, more particularly, his family. The killings, he says, are evolving into a conspiracy to destroy his organisation and silence criticism of the government.

"A lot have taken as gospel that the sheriff says that this was caused by talk radio, by Tea Party extremists, that that must be the case. I think it's done a lot of damage. It's given people the idea that somebody like my wife and I caused this murder. There's no evidence. And there's no evidence Sarah Palin caused this murder," Humphries said. "The Democrats are using this opportunity to bludgeon their opponents. People don't want to hear that it was just some stupid, evil act that had no bearing in rationality. They want it to make sense."

University of Arizona junior Kiely Katz opened her plaid Burberry shoulder bag, took out a wallet shaped like a Japanese animated cat and plunked down her credit card for a $549 Glock 31 semiautomatic handgun. "I've been wanting one for a while; I've been shooting since I was little," Katz, 21, told Steve Zacher of Glockmeister, a gun dealership in Mesa, Ariz. The company's slogan - Got Glock? (the question mark replaced by a gun barrel) - was written on the display case near "Team Glock" baseball caps. Katz was among the thousands of patrons who streamed into the Pima County Fairgrounds, a 10-mile drive southeast of Tucson.

Veteran paramedic Tony Compagno stepped off Engine 30 and into hell: Panicked people rushed his crew, trying to pull them toward the injured, while three men desperately gave chest compressions to a 9-year-old girl. Others cried out "Giffords! Giffords!" and pointed to a woman lying unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head. Several other bodies were already covered with sheets. Compagno and other paramedics on the first three engine trucks to respond to the mass shooting at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Jan. 8 meet-and-greet event recounted Saturday the scene that unfolded a week earlier as they rushed to count and triage the victims.

Fuller told 12 News that he was there "to forgive them and possibly their son," but the couple wasn't home. The younger Loughner remains in jail and has been denied bail.

The first few workers entered the store before it opened at 7 a.m. Some paused to lean against the metal barricades in front of the impromptu memorial — flowers, candles, ribbons and Giffords campaign signs — and lay carnations on the cement where they had seen bloody bodies. They planned to return to observe a moment of silence to mark the moment the shooting began, at 10:10 a.m.

Deputies immediately escorted Fuller from the room. Pima County Sheriff's spokesman Jason Ogan said later Saturday that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct. Among the dignitaries at the town hall taping were Mayor Bob Walkup, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva and former Congressman Jim Kolbe.

"I told him, 'You need to be respectful. You need to calm down,'" Tranter said. "He said, 'What'd you do, vote for this guy?'" As police officers approached to escort Fuller outside, he turned and shouted at the audience: "You whores!" The rest of the taping continued without incident and wrapped up about five minutes later.

J. Eric Fuller described the shootings as "a bad crime drama." Fuller said on CBS's "The Early Show" that he felt the bullet that hit his knee but didn't know he had also been struck in the back. He said he didn't know how to react and felt the victims "were in for more." Fuller said he is lucky and feels fine physically, but is outraged that Giffords was attacked. According to the Arizona Daily Star, Fuller, a naval air veteran, drove himself to Northwest Hospital after being shot. He was later taken to University Medical Center where he was released two days later.

The Pima County Sheriff's Office said it arrested Eric Fuller, 63, who was wounded in the knee a week ago in the shooting rampage that killed six and wounded 13. He was being held Saturday for alleged threats of intimidation and disorderly conduct and will undergo a mental-health evaluation. [...] Toward the end of the taping, Amanpour brought up the issues of gun safety and mental health. As one member of the audience stood up and expressed his support for gun ownership, Fuller, seated near the front in an area reserved for victims and special guests, appeared increasingly frustrated and agitated. Fuller then swiveled in his chair, raised his camera and took a photo of the pro-gun speaker, muttering, "You're dead," according to Joel Tranter, who was sitting behind him.

Giffords had an operation Saturday to replace the breathing tube with a tracheotomy tube in her windpipe. That allows her to breathe better and frees her from the ventilator. Though Giffords had been breathing on her own since she was shot in the head Jan. 8, doctors had left the breathing tube in as a precaution. A feeding tube was also put in to provide nutrition. Those procedures are not out of the ordinary for brain-injured patients. Giffords' doctors have said they should be able to evaluate her ability to speak once the breathing tube is out. Giffords, who was wounded in last weekend's attack that killed six people, remains in critical condition at University Medical Center. "Her recovery continues as planned," the hospital said in a statement.

As a sophomore at Kent State, [Randy] Gardner had joined a group of students protesting the Vietnam War, when members of the Ohio National Guard suddenly opened fire. He sprinted toward a field and "hit the ground" to avoid the bullets. Later, he discovered four of his classmates were killed, including a girl from his English class. A week after the shooting, Gardner is recovering at home. He tugs at his cotton pants, revealing a soft cast reaching almost to his knee. Doctors told him a bullet had traveled through his right foot, amazingly avoiding any bones.

Breathing heavily and laughing softly as he walked up a dark set of stairs, Loughner said: "I lost my freedom of speech to that guy and ... this is what happens. And I'm in a terrible place. This is the school that I go to. This is my genocide school, where I'm going to be homeless because of this school. I haven't forgot the teacher that gave me the B for freedom of speech." Near the end of the video, while walking through a courtyard, he said, "All the teachers that you have are being paid illegally and have illegal authority over the Constitution of the United States under the 1st Amendment. This is genocide in America. Thank you. This is Jared from Pima College."

Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman from Rhode Island, said the shooting in Tucson, Ariz. has pushed the threat level to members of Congress to an "all-time high" and members are in fear about running for office. "It steals from democracy," he said, "when you have my colleagues decide not to run for re-election because they're worried about their personal safety. "This is a major issue because it's got nothing to do just with the personal tragedy of Gabby, but the tragedy to our democracy when people are fearful of the political process."

Roll's funeral Friday came amid tight security, as police officers and SWAT team members patrolled the neighborhood around St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church. About a dozen coach buses brought judges who knew Roll over the years. The speakers focused less on Judge Roll and more on John Roll, tender and at times goofy, and largely hidden from those he served. "It made it very personal," said Carol Bahill, 61, whose husband knew Roll from his undergraduate and law school days at the University of Arizona. "You do feel like you knew something about him personally." The news media were barred from the event at the request of Roll's family and for security reasons. The Associated Press interviewed mourners, such as Bahill, as they left the service and got an account of the funeral.

Loughner was up all night before gunning down 19 people -- six fatally -- outside an Arizona supermarket, taking several trips to the supermarket's shopping plaza in between checking in at an area hotel and visiting two Walmarts to buy ammunition, according to a timeline released Friday by the Pima County Sheriff's Office. Loughner, 22, got a room at a nearby Motel 6, but did not spend much time there late the night of January 7 and early January 8, the Sheriff's Office timeline indicates. At 11:35 p.m., he dropped off a roll of 35 mm film at a Walgreens next door to the Safeway supermarket where the shooting occurred. After buying something about an hour later at a nearby Circle K convenience store and checking into the Motel 6 one mile to the west on Ina Road, he returned at 2:19 a.m. to pick up the photos and make other purchases. Fifteen minutes later, he stopped at a Chevron gas station where, according to a source with direct knowledge, he bought a doughnut, a soft drink and several energy bars. Surveillance video captured Loughner making the purchases, and he also used the pay phone at the store, according to the source. Then, at 4:12 a.m., Loughner posted a photo of the Walgreens on his MySpace page, with the caption "Goodbye friends."

He sat next to President Barack Obama in the nationally televised event. People are lining up to shake his hand, seeking an autograph or photograph. A mariachi band recognized him and rushed over with a spontaneous serenade. Intern Daniel Hernandez's brave and clear-headed actions in helping save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head last Saturday made him an unlikely hero. His appearance Wednesday at the Tucson memorial service for the shooting victims – he spoke humbly about his role and was embraced by the president – has moved his new-found celebrity into the stratosphere. His poise and unscripted remarks in front of the president, other political dignitaries, victims' families and others in the 13,000-plus crowd in a basketball arena have left people amazed – and heartened – that it was coming from a 20-year-old University of Arizona student.

The Most Rev. Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson told the crowd that Christina-Taylor's organs were donated. And a friend helping the Green family said they received a call yesterday from the organ donation network, telling them that Christina-Taylor's donation had already saved the life of a child on the East Coast. The little girl loved ballet, gymnastics and baseball, the only girl on her team. Christina-Taylor was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and liked to think of herself as something good that came into the world that awful day.

Below is a selection of translated comments from Netease, video site Youku, and Sina Weibo, Sina.com’s microblogging service: This is part of American Democracy. -Youku user “Ontario Rabbit” I’m living in Tucson, and have heard Giffords speak before. In order to save money and be closer to voters, she always travels with relatively light security (remember: it’s legal to have guns in the US), and common people can stand as close as 5 meters to her. She often gives speeches in front of supermarkets or on college campuses. Imagine if it were a high ranking Chinese official: First, no one would be allowed to have a gun; second, speeches are only given meeting halls, never at supermarkets; and last but not least, if an official were to show up in public the whole street would be cleared and blocked in advance! If it was a provincial level official, then the whole area for at least 1 kilometer will be cordoned off! - a Netease user in the U.S. We have no guns, but we have shootings -Sina Weibo user Lirzheng2456 This is the result of American-style human rights. So is the economic crisis. The U.S. is the biggest threat to the world. Everything would much easier without the U.S. Things in China would be easier to handle, and there would be peace in the world. -A Netease user in Guangdong Province

Her husband, Mark Kelly, told Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, that his wife is aware to some degree of what is going on around her. It was Kelly's first interview since the tragedy. Asked if she knew that President Barack Obama had visited her hospital room, Kelly said yes. "I think she did know ... though, I think she was trying to figure out what he was doing there."

President Obama gave a terrific speech Wednesday night. He movingly mourned and honored the victims of Saturday's senseless atrocity outside Tucson, comforted and inspired the country, and encouraged those of us who have the privilege of serving America. He encouraged every American who participates in our political debates - whether we are on the left or right or in the media - to aspire to a more generous appreciation of one another and a more modest one of ourselves. The president appropriately disputed the injurious suggestion that some participants in our political debates were responsible for a depraved man's inhumanity. He asked us all to conduct ourselves in those debates in a manner that would not disillusion an innocent child's hopeful patriotism. I agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments. We should respect the sincerity of the convictions that enliven our debates but also the mutual purpose that we and all preceding generations of Americans serve: a better country; stronger, more prosperous and just than the one we inherited.

But one public figure has been uncharacteristically silent about one of the worst episodes of violence ever to befall his home state. Sen. John McCain (R) was on a congressional trip to Latin America at the time of the shooting and did not return to Arizona until Wednesday. He has granted no interviews and has not spoken about what happened in Tucson. McCain's spokeswoman, Brooke Buchanan, who traveled to Latin America with McCain, said the senator has been focused intensely on the shootings since Saturday, talking to and meeting with victims, their families, doctors, nurses and the first responders who showed up on the scene. She said McCain, who declined to be interviewed, plans to speak up about the Tucson shootings and about the state of political discourse in the country. But now, she said, is not the moment for such rhetoric. "This is a time for grieving," Buchanan said. "Senator McCain obviously is a leader and a statesman and will be joining this conversation very soon."

On January 8, 2011, 63-year-old native Chicagoan James F. Palka’s timing saved his life. It also allowed him to document the tragic aftermath of an attempt on the life of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a crowd of her supporters. Palka arrived late to the “Congress on your Corner” event and by the time he did, his choices were not about shutter speed settings, frames per second rates or tripod selection.

I should start with a few words about Gabrielle Giffords. She is a delight. I don't know her well — I've watched her campaign; we've had several conversations — but her warmth and avidity, her obvious decency, are immediately apparent to all who meet her, or, perhaps I should say now, all but one. She is a human refutation of the sordid stereotypes about politicians. She is neither cynical nor craven; her willingness to talk and think freely made her an instant favorite of mine. So it's distressing, and vaguely obscene, how quickly she almost disappeared in the media lather that was unleashed by her shooting. One of her last public acts was to read the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution aloud. She was, apparently, delighted by that honor. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. But, ironically, it was an argument about the limits and excesses of free speech that preoccupied the cable-news bloviators in the days after she was shot. This was a distressingly convenient argument, allowing the bravos of the right and left to retreat to their respective bunkers and begin firing spitballs.

Mourners at the funeral of Christina-Taylor Green were greeted by more than a thousand sympathizers who lined North Shannon Road for a quarter-mile south of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Many wore white, and many had responded to an Internet call to counter the possible appearance of an out-of-state hate group.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said Thursday he and other aides didn't expect the president's remarks at the school's basketball arena to receive as much rousing applause as it did. Gibbs said the crowd's response, at times cheering and shouting, was understandable. "I think part of the grieving process is celebrating the lives of those that were lost, and celebrating the miracles of those that survived," he said. The university said it did the planning with minimal input from the White House. The school paid for the event, including $60,000 for 20,000 T-shirts bearing the words "Together We Thrive," which were handed out for free. The money will not come student tuition, fees or tax dollars.

TUCSON, Ariz. – As the funeral for the youngest victim of the mass shooting in Arizona was set to begin Thursday, the largest flag recovered from Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center was unfurled and raised, flanked by two fire trucks with ladders extended. Nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green was born on Sept. 11, 2001, and featured in a book called "Faces of Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the day terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people. Christina's funeral is the first for the six victims killed when police said a gunman opened fired on a crowd at an event for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, gravely injuring the congresswoman and wounding 13 others. The third-grader had an interest in politics and had recently been elected to her student council. She was also the only girl on her Little League baseball team.

He was the dad next door. Even as President Obama's job approval numbers sank last year, Americans said they liked him personally, in part because he was so devoted to his family. It was that unassuming role -- father and husband -- which enabled Obama to turn his Tucson speech into a memorable moment of healing and hope. One speech does not a presidency make. The economy and policy arguments are paramount. But the president connected directly to people in a way he has long hoped to do, but not often been able to do as president: as a neighbor and friend.

What is one to make of Sarah Palin's defensive, bitter, self-centered speech in response to the mass killings in Arizona? It may well work, in that dog-whistle way the former Alaska governor has, with some ultra-conservatives. But the speech is one more piece of evidence (as if we needed one) that Palin, even at a time when Americans are crying out for healing and unity, is a strikingly polarizing figure.

WASHINGTON -- White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, briefing reporters for the first time since the Tucson shootings, was noncommittal when asked about the two pieces of gun-control legislation proposed by lawmakers in the wake of the shootings. Instead, he reaffirmed the president's support for the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, and pledged to give any piece of legislation -- whether it be a ban on high-capacity clips, or restrictions on how close a firearm can be carried to a lawmaker -- proper review. "Obviously we are and have been focused on the important healing process. We will have an opportunity to evaluate ideas and proposals that may be brought forth as a result of the circumstances and the facts in this case," Gibbs said. "The president, again, since I have been with him in 2004, supports the assault weapons ban and we continue to do so. And I think we all strive regardless of party to ensure that we are doing everything we can to reduce violence. We will have an opportunity to evaluate some of the other proposals."

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords didn't know she had a stalker, though she knew that she was being threatened after her Tucson congressional office was vandalized in the wake of her vote in favor of health care reform. She didn't know that several people had expressed concern about the mental stability of her constituent Jared Loughner, who had, according to reports, become obsessed with her to the point of writing notes about his plans to hurt her, or worse. While some people were worried about Loughner's interest in guns and his potential to harm others, apparently no one was able to do anything about those concerns other than to have him expelled from his community college. As the story has unfolded about Loughner, it's been hard for me not to think about my own experience being stalked. Not in the same way that Giffords was targeted, but stalked all the same.

Every American has great sympathy for the victims and the families of victims of the tragic events that took place in Tucson this past Saturday. As we grieve, we must not allow these events to further divide our state and our nation. We must reject violence and hostility and bring civility and rationale dialogue into our government and our community life. This is a responsibility of every one of us as individuals. Only we – working together – can restore reason and civility in our public speech and actions. Congresswoman Giffords is a fine example of a public official who brings these efforts and qualities to her meetings and gatherings. May her health be restored and may we all remember the role each of us plays in restoring civil talk to our public expressions. Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.

The lid of the casket was inscribed with her name, date of birth and death, and a cross. The family also will receive five small keepsake crosses hewn from the same wood as the casket, [Trappist Caskets general manager Sam] Mulgrew said.

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That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted. I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.

To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow. There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through. As Scripture tells us: There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders - representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation's capital. Gabby called it "Congress on Your Corner" - just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.

President Obama landed in Tucson on Wednesday afternoon, and immediately headed to the hospital to see Representative Gabrielle Giffords and other people injured in the shooting on Saturday. “The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by stopping first at the hospital where Congresswoman Giffords and others continue to recuperate,” a White House official said.

Searching for the right tone, Obama sought to console the country, not dissect its politics. Obama and his wife, Michelle, headed for a nighttime service in Tucson with a bipartisan delegation aboard Air Force One in a sign of solidarity.

Besides the families of victims from Saturday's mass shooting in Tucson, the parents of suspect Jared Loughner are also getting support – even from strangers. People have been dropping off cards and flowers at the home of Randy and Amy Loughner Wednesday. One of them was nurse Lisa Campbell, who lives about three miles away and doesn't know the couple. She brought by a card and flowers. Campbell said in the card were her name and phone number – in case they wanted someone to talk to. Campbell said she wanted the Loughners to know they had the support of Tucsonians. The Loughners issued a statement Tuesday expressing remorse over the shooting.

Speaker John Boehner will host a cocktail party for the Republican National Committee at the same time that President Barack Obama will be addressing the nation at the memorial service for victims of the Tucson shooting. The Ohio Republican is holding a 7 p.m. cocktail reception Wednesday night for 168 RNC members, who are in the Washington area for an annual meeting. The event is sponsored by Boehner’s political action committee and will take place at Maryland’s National Harbor resort. The RNC party coincides with the 8 p.m. EST memorial ceremony at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where Obama will honor the victims of Saturday’s shooting rampage that left six dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who is in critical condition.

Clarke is particularly skilled at working with unstable clients who, without careful guidance, run a high risk of self-sabotage in what is a life-and-death situation. Those talents were on display when she got Kaczynski to go along with a plea bargain (based on mental defect) that led to life in prison. The defendant's brother, David Kaczynski, now executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, tells TIME, "Judy is not only a brilliant attorney; she is a good human being ... I remember her saying, 'David, you have a very special brother.' She was saying, in one way, 'He's a real pain,' but she also saw deeply into Ted. He is unusual, and she saw that his being different put him in a place where he was quite alone. His specialness and uniqueness enlisted deep compassion in her." David remembers, particularly, how Clarke rested her hand on Ted's shoulder during a court appearance.

Hours before a congressional prayer service for the victims of the shooting rampage, Republican lawmakers made it clear they didn't want to go near the former Alaska governor's inflammatory remarks. "I'm going to let her speak for herself," Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a tea party-backed freshman, told Mother Jones before walking onto the House floor for speeches mourning the Arizona victims. Other House Republicans were also cautious about weighing in. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who's made joint appearances with Palin, said: "I haven't seen the video yet... I gotta watch the video before I comment." Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD), one of the Palin-backed "Mama Grizzlies" during the midterms, had even less to say. When asked whether she any comment or reaction to Palin's use of "blood libel," Noem said, "No, I don't." Pressed further on whether the media attacks on Palin over the Arizona shooting have been out of line, Noem replied, "I don't have a comment for that."

Last May 9, at two in the morning, Jared Lee Loughner typed a question to a group of about 50 online gamers located around the world: "Does anyone have aggression 24/7?" He was back at his keyboard the following night. "If you went to prison right now...What would you be thinking?" he asked.

By May 15, he wrote, he hadn't had a paycheck in six months. A month later, he wrote that he had submitted 65 applications, yet "no interview." The online postings, written using pseudonyms, were shared with the Journal by a person who had access to them. Two fellow gamers who participated in the online forums say the author was the accused gunman, and some of the postings discuss incidents from Mr. Loughner's life that others have corroborated.

His recent online postings are more disturbing. On April 24, he asked: "Would you hit a Handy Cap Child/ Adult?" On May 20 at 12:03 a.m., he remarked: "I bet your hungry....Because i know how to cut a body open and eat you for more then a week. ;-)" The postings exhibit fixations on grammar, the education system, government and currency, which some friends and acquaintances have described separately in the days since the attack. They are peppered with displays of misogyny.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) sees positive signs that the shooting spree in Arizona has eased tensions between the political parties. But she says it's mighty peculiar that some folks get so annoyed at the general suggestion that political rhetoric can beget violence. "It's interesting to me how incredibly defensive that this discussion has become," she said outside of a caucus meeting Wednesday. "Does anybody really want to defend the use of a bullseye, or the image of a member of Congress, shooting at it?" "We can get into examples that have been used on our side, on their side -- if that's what the discussion becomes about then we're just fighting over who's been worse in their use of rhetoric," she added. "Rather, I think we should all resolve to think very carefully about the words that we use." Schakowsky said the vote on health care repeal is likely to happen next week, but she doesn't know whether the GOP will change its name. It's currently called "Repealing the Job Killing Health Care Law Act." "I think we have to have a mature conversation about how we talk and how it might affect the atmosphere and disturbed individuals," Schakowsky said.

Most Americans reject the idea that inflammatory political language by conservatives should be part of the debate about the forces behind the Arizona shooting that left six people dead and a congresswoman in critical condition, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. A 53% majority of those surveyed call that analysis mostly an attempt to use the tragedy to make conservatives look bad. About a third, 35%, say it is a legitimate point about how dangerous language can be. And there is little sense that stricter gun control laws in Arizona might have averted the tragedy. Only one in five say they would have prevented the shooting; 72% say tighter controls wouldn't have prevented it.

It is unfortunate that the tragedy in Tucson continues to stimulate a political blame game. Rather than step back and reflect on the lessons to be learned from this tragedy, both parties have reverted to political partisanship and finger-pointing at a time when the American people are looking for leadership, not more vitriol. In response to this tragedy we need to rise above partisanship, incivility, heated rhetoric, and the business-as-usual approaches that are corroding our political system and tainting the atmosphere in Washington and across the country. It was inappropriate at the outset to blame Sarah Palin and others for causing this tragedy or for being an accessory to murder. Palin has every right to defend herself against these kinds of attacks, and we agree with her that the best tradition in America is one of finding common ground despite our differences. Still, we wish that Palin had not invoked the phrase “blood-libel” in reference to the actions of journalists and pundits in placing blame for the shooting in Tucson on others. While the term “blood-libel” has become part of the English parlance to refer to someone being falsely accused, we wish that Palin had used another phrase, instead of one so fraught with pain in Jewish history.

The investigators believe that Loughner, 22, did not have sufficient income of his own to buy the Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun, the four magazines and the knife he allegedly carried to the event in front of a Tucson supermarket, the sources said. They estimated the cost at close to $1,000. Two of the magazines were extended ones capable of holding up to 33 rounds. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Office investigators are examining the Loughner family's financial records, as well as Jared Loughner's telephone, Internet and e-mail records, as they try to ascertain where the money to buy the weapons came from, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about an ongoing investigation.

A nasty battle between factions of Legislative District 20 Republicans and fears that it could turn violent in the wake of what happened in Tucson on Saturday prompted District Chairman Anthony Miller and several others to resign. Miller, a 43-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident and former campaign worker for U.S. Sen. John McCain, was re-elected to a second one-year term last month. He said constant verbal attacks after that election and Internet blog posts by some local members with Tea Party ties made him worry about his family's safety. ... The first and only African-American to hold the party's precinct chairmanship, Miller said he has been called "McCain's boy," and during the campaign saw a critic form his hand in the shape of a gun and point it at him. "I wasn't going to resign but decided to quit after what happened Saturday," Miller said. "I love the Republican Party but I don't want to take a bullet for anyone."

Shirley Phelps-Roper said radio stations in Phoenix and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, offered to give the Topeka church airtime to discuss its views in exchange for its members not picketing the girl's funeral. Arizona legislators on Tuesday unanimously passed emergency legislation aimed at heading off picketing by the Topeka church, which has gained notoriety for its protests at military funerals to draw attention to its view that the deaths are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. A case involving the church's picketing was heard in October by the U.S. Supreme Court and a decision is expected later this year. Phelps-Roper said she and three other church members would be in Tucson for Friday's funeral of U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, who also was slain on Saturday. She said the Arizona law, which prohibits protests at or near funeral sites, would be of little consequence to herself or other picketers, who planned to be at least 1,000 feet from the church where Roll's funeral will take place. "Until our testimony is complete," she said, "there's not any power -- no law, no human -- in this country that's going to be able to shut us up."

Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican who has been outspoken in remembrance of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the wake of the shooting, said he wishes there was one more gun in Tucson, Ariz., the day of the massacre. "I wish there had been one more gun there that day in the hands of a responsible person, that's all I have to say," Franks said, visibly irritated at a question about increased gun control.

The suspect in a deadly Arizona shooting ran a red light and was stopped by a wildlife officer less than three hours before the attack that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The Arizona Game and Fish Department says an officer stopped Jared Loughner at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The officer took Loughner's driver's license and vehicle registration information. Dispatchers checked the information and found no outstanding warrants on Loughner or his vehicle. He was given a verbal warning and released.

"I get the impression that people are trying to figure out if I would know what is going on inside Jared's head or why he may have chosen to shoot all those people last Saturday," Hawkes wrote. "The truth is, I have had absolutely no contact with Jared in over five years -- I haven't seen, nor spoken to him in that time. Yes, we dated in high school, but it was no different than any other high school boyfriend-girlfriend thing that's ever existed." At the time, she said, Loughner was the kind of person she wanted to date. "He was completely different back then than he is now. He was very sweet, caring, and kind, had no interest in drugs or alcohol, and had a big interest in music. He didn't start acting differently until AFTER we had been broken up. While we were still dating he had never shown any signs that he would become the person he is today," Hawkes wrote. Hawkes said she and Loughner broke up "for typical reasons that you see in high school: nothing out of the ordinary, nothing significant."

WASHINGTON -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's first spoken words on the shootings in Tucson, Ariz. -- a lengthy denunciation of both violence and pundits who are "manufacturing a blood libel" -- was more an effort in media critique than post-tragedy reconciliation. And in the immediate aftermath, the reaction to it was a bit of incredulity, shock or simple confusion. Assistant House Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) became one of the first lawmakers to weigh in Wednesday morning. "You know, Sarah Palin just can't seem to get it, on any front. I think that she's an attractive person, she is articulate," Clyburn said on Bill Press' radio show. "But I think intellectually, she seems not to be able to understand what's going on here."

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Like millions of Americans I learned of the tragic events in Arizona on Saturday, and my heart broke for the innocent victims. No words can fill the hole left by the death of an innocent, but we do mourn for the victims’ families as we express our sympathy. I agree with the sentiments shared yesterday at the beautiful Catholic mass held in honor of the victims. The mass will hopefully help begin a healing process for the families touched by this tragedy and for our country. Our exceptional nation, so vibrant with ideas and the passionate exchange and debate of ideas, is a light to the rest of the world. Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents were exercising their right to exchange ideas that day, to celebrate our Republic’s core values and peacefully assemble to petition our government. It’s inexcusable and incomprehensible why a single evil man took the lives of peaceful citizens that day. There is a bittersweet irony that the strength of the American spirit shines brightest in times of tragedy. We saw that in Arizona. We saw the tenacity of those clinging to life, the compassion of those who kept the victims alive, and the heroism of those who overpowered a deranged gunman.

A spokesman for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is defending the Senator's decision to reference the shootings in Arizona as part of a newsletter and fundraising appeal he sent to constituents on Tuesday. The Vermont Independent took some heat on Tuesday for including his reflections on the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the context of raising money to fight Republicans and other "right-wing reactionaries."

On the day of the shooting, a mumbling Jared Loughner ran into the desert near his home after his father asked him why he was removing a black bag from the trunk of a family car, sheriff's officials said. Loughner resurfaced later Saturday when authorities say he showed up at a grocery store in a taxi and shot 19 people, killing six, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl. Investigators provided the new details to The Associated Press and said they're still searching for the bag. They suspect it could contain clues into Loughner's motives. "The bag is very important to us," said Capt. Chris Nanos, head of the Pima County Sheriff's Department's criminal investigations division. "What was in that bag and is there any relevance?" "What if he wrote a note that says, 'Hey, I'm going to go do these things and I know it's wrong but I'm still going to do them,'" Nanos said. "That'd be a pretty good piece of evidence." Authorities previously said they found handwritten notes in Loughner's safe reading "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords." Nanos and Rick Kastigar, the department's chief of investigations, and told the AP they also found notes with the words "Die, bitch", which they believe referenced Giffords, and "Die, cops." All the writings were either in an envelope or on an actual form letter Giffords' office sent him in 2007 after he attended one of her political events, Nanos said.

A spokesman, Jason Ogan, said the details of the calls were being reviewed by legal counsel and would be released as soon as the review was complete. He said he did not know what the calls were about — they could possibly have been minor, even trivial matters — or whether they involved Jared Loughner or another member of the household.

57% of Americans do not think the harsh political tone of recent campaigns encouraged the shootings of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson, Arizona this past weekend.

But 49% think the level of civility has declined among Americans engaged in political discourse, and 52% think it has declined among members of Congress.

Three in four Americans think violent action against the government is never justified – but they are more divided when asked whether they think this type of violence will ever happen again. 45% expect there will be more violent acts like this; 47% think this was a random act that will not be repeated.

Support for stricter gun control laws has increased some in the wake of this incident. 47% think gun control laws should be made more strict, up from 40% last year. Still, 58% don’t think stricter gun control laws would have prevented the shooting.

"Such despicable acts of emotional terrorism will not be tolerated in the State of Arizona," Brewer said in a statement announcing she had signed the bill. "This legislation will assure that the victims of Saturday's tragic shooting in Tucson will be laid to rest in peace with the full dignity and respect that they deserve." The legislation makes protesting too near a funeral a misdemeanor in the state. It went into effect immediately upon Brewer's signing it. The action is in direct response to the Westboro Baptist Church's announcement that it will picket the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old who was among six people killed during Saturday's attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona.

"She has a 101 percent chance of surviving," said Dr. Peter Rhee, trauma chief at the University of Arizona Medical Center and a former combat surgeon who worked in Iraq and Afghanistan. "She will not die." Rhee and other doctors now think it's likely she was shot through the front of her head and that the bullet exited the rear, meaning the last thing she saw Saturday may have been accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner taking aim with his 9mm Glock pistol. Giffords remains in critical condition, but Rhee said Tuesday she's able to breathe on her own, although they've left a tube in place to reduce the risk of pneumonia developing.

“He started to get really paranoid, and said he did not want to see us anymore and did not trust us,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “He thought we were plotting to kill him or steal his car or something,” Mr. Gutierrez added. “It got worse over time.” Mr. Gutierrez said one of their favorite activities was to shoot cans in the desert. “He was a damn great shot,” he said, adding: “If he had a gun pointed at me, there is nothing I could do because he would make it count. He was quick with a gun.”

The Arizona legislature is expected to pass legislation Tuesday targeting a Kansas church whose members have announced they plan to picket the funerals of the victims of Saturday's shootings in Tucson. The proposed legislation would make it a misdemeanor to protest within 300 feet of a funeral from one hour before until one hour after a funeral, a spokesman for the state House said. The action, according to House spokesman Daniel Scarpinato, is in direct response to the Westboro Baptist Church's announcement that it will picket the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old who was among six people killed during Saturday's attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona. The controversial church, based in Topeka, has made its name by staging protests at funerals of people who died of AIDS, gay people, soldiers and even Coretta Scott King.

"Well, first of all, she's an immensely impressive woman, and I am thrilled that she has survived this long and I hope that she will make a complete recovery. On the 15th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City incident, in April, I wrote an essay in which I said I could see this level of anger rising as it did once before when I was elected, and that no one intends to do anything that encourages this sort of behaviour - and I think it's wrong for anyone to suggest it. But we cannot be unaware of the fact that, particularly with the Internet, there's this huge echo-chamber out there, and anything any of us says falls on the unhinged and the hinged alike, and we just have to be sensitive to it. I think this is an occasion for us to reaffirm that our political differences shouldn’t degenerate into demonization of the sense that, you know, if you don’t agree with me you’re not a good American. I think that that's what I'd like to see, I'd like to see the House of Representatives lead the way."

"The 22-year-old suspect in the shooting tried to buy ammunition at a Walmart store and was turned down because of his behavior, according to a law enforcement source in Arizona. That same source said the suspect then successfully bought ammunition at another Walmart."

"Loughner tried that morning to buy bullets at a Wal-Mart store but was turned away, and then purchased some at another Wal-Mart, say people familiar with the matter, who relayed the preliminary findings of law enforcement officials. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Loughner wasn't turned away from the first store but left before completing his purchase. "We stand ready to provide any information or video surveillance footage we may have to investigators," the company said in a statement."

He added that credible threats against members of Congress are “relatively rare, given the thousands of interactions that members have with their constituents,” and said Capitol law enforcement authorities “can handle the threat problem.” “Last year we only had 49 [reported threats against senators]; the year before we had 29. I do think there was an up-tick in the beginning of 2010 when there was a debate about healthcare and immigration and, frankly, the war. … I don't think they’re showstoppers. By and large we can handle the threat problem.”

Burton has introduced similar legislation in the past. It reads in part, "The Architect of the Capitol shall enclose the visitors' galleries of the House of Representatives with a transparent and substantial material, and shall install equipment so that the proceedings on the floor of the House of Representatives will be clearly audible in the galleries." A past version of the legislation, which will be reintroduced in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, references past attacks on Congress. Among them are a 1915 bombing by a man protesting U.S. involvement in World War 1, the shooting of five members of Congress by Puerto Rican nationalists during a House vote in 1954, and a the placing of a bomb by the Weather Underground in a Senate bathroom in 1971. (The bomb went off early and no one was hurt.)

A national debate over weaknesses in state and federal gun laws stirred by the shooting has stoked fears among gun buyers that stiffer restrictions may be coming from Congress, gun dealers say. The result is that a deadly demonstration of the weapon’s effectiveness has also fired up sales of handguns in Arizona and other states, according to federal law enforcement data. “When something like this happens people get worried that the government is going to ban stuff,” Wolff said. Arizona gun dealers say that among the biggest sellers over the past two days is the Glock 19 made by privately held Glock GmbH, based in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, the model used in the shooting.

But before we embrace Zamudio's brave intervention as proof of the value of being armed, let's hear the whole story. "I came out of that store, I clicked the safety off, and I was ready," he explained on Fox and Friends. "I had my hand on my gun. I had it in my jacket pocket here. And I came around the corner like this." Zamudio demonstrated how his shooting hand was wrapped around the weapon, poised to draw and fire. As he rounded the corner, he saw a man holding a gun. "And that's who I at first thought was the shooter," Zamudio recalled. "I told him to 'Drop it, drop it!' " But the man with the gun wasn't the shooter. He had wrested the gun away from the shooter. "Had you shot that guy, it would have been a big, fat mess," the interviewer pointed out. Zamudio agreed:

I was very lucky. Honestly, it was a matter of seconds. Two, maybe three seconds between when I came through the doorway and when I was laying on top of [the real shooter], holding him down. So, I mean, in that short amount of time I made a lot of really big decisions really fast. … I was really lucky.

Mental health experts say that, unlike many other states - where little can be done to force an unstable person into treatment until he or she becomes violent and poses a danger to themself or others - Arizona is different. Any person in Arizona can petition the court for a psychiatric evaluation solely because a person appears to be mentally ill and doesn't know it. "When people appear mentally ill or show some instability, how do you get them to [mental health] resources if the system doesn't know those people are out there?" Cash said. "Our crisis line is manned 24/7. Anyone concerned about his behavior could have called at any time." Cash added that he had no information on whether Loughner sought out private treatment covered by private insurance. "If he was interfacing with other mental health officials, I don't know about that," Cash said.

The statistics are bleak: Ninety percent of gunshot wounds to the head result in death -- two-thirds of the time before the victim ever reaches a hospital. So how did Rep. Gabrielle Giffords survive? A big part of the reason is where the bullet entered the head. The bullet entered from the back-left portion of the brain and exited through the front-left portion, missing many of the brain's critical structures as well as some major blood vessels. "These critical structures were miraculously spared," said Jennifer Ashton M.D., medical correspondent for CBS News. Had the bullet crossed from the left to the right side of the brain, the outcome likely would have been very different.

Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, is planning to introduce legislation that would make it illegal to bring a gun within 1,000 feet of a government official, according to a person familiar with the congressman's intentions. King is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the nation's most outspoken gun-control advocates, is backing King's measure and will put the weight of his pro-gun-control organization behind it. He was scheduled to speak to the press Tuesday morning on the proposed law, which is being introduced in response to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and a federal judge, among many others on Saturday. A spokesman for King wasn't immediately available for comment.

"Well, I would say -- you know, as a physician I am going to get in a lot of trouble for this -- but her prognosis for survival is 100 percent, as far as it being short term. I mean, hopefully she'll live to be 95 years old. Longer -- what her recovery is going to do, I really don't know. I am very optimistic, however, that she's not going to be in a vegetative type of state. I think she's going to make a fair amount of recovery. And what kind of deficits that she'll have in the future, I really can't say at this point, but I am still very optimistic."

The parents of Jared Lee Loughner, accused of shooting Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other people, were huddled in seclusion in their Tucson home Monday night, his father crying and his mother so shaken she could not get out of bed, a neighbor told The Times. As the sun was beginning to set Monday, Randy Loughner called his neighbor, retired gasoline truck driver Wayne Smith, 70, to ask him to get their mail. Smith, who is not particularly close to the Loughners, grabbed the mail and was invited inside. "They're in there now," Smith said in a subsequent interview with The Times. "They're both in there crying. He's crying and hanging on to me and she's not even out of bed."

McGahee said "at least half a dozen" students came to him to express concern over Loughner, including multiple students that said they feared for their safety.

“This guy wasn’t a missed case,” Randy Borum, an expert on threat assessment at the University of South Florida, said about Jared L. Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout who is accused of trying to assassinate Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona on Saturday. “It wasn’t a case of ‘Gee, no one saw this coming,’ ” Dr. Borum said. “People saw it. But the question then was what do you do about it? Who do you call? The whole thing speaks to the need for some coordinated way to detect such threats.”

Todd Jaeger, Tucson schools associate superintendent, said eight counselors were on hand, meeting first with staff to help them "triage the kids" and "keep things as normal as possible today." Crisis teams will be in the school for "many days ... as long as we need to be here. If they need help, the kids will be taken privately to rooms to receive help," he said.

“It is in the economic interest of cable news and talk radio to outrage their audience, to turn their segments into car wrecks that we can’t take our eyes away from,” Martin Kaplan, director of the Norman Lear Center and professor at the USC Annenberg School, told TheWrap. He added: “The economics favor the extreme point of view and the paranoid claims. You get better numbers and you can control the expense side by reducing a reporting staff.”

Randy and Amy Loughner disappeared from view shortly after the shootings, and a statement would be the family's first public comments since the attack. Even in normal times, many on his block describe the elder Mr. Loughner as a reclusive man who had little time for neighborhood niceties.

His demeanor was so unremarkable that the driver thought nothing of walking into the store with Mr. Loughner to get change, and did not know that a shooting rampage occurred at the scene until many hours later. “No red flags went up,” said Joe Acosta, the general manager of the taxi company, AAA Full Transportation. “The customer got his change, our driver got his fare and left, and that’s it.”

Doctors treating U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Monday the congresswoman was responding to verbal commands by raising two fingers of her left hand and even managed to give a thumbs-up. Giffords, 40, is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of Tucson's University Medical Center after she was shot through the head Saturday during a meet-and-greet with voters outside a supermarket. Two patients were discharged Sunday night. Eight others, including Giffords, remained hospitalized. Recent CAT scans showed no further swelling in the brain, but doctors were guarded.

Mary Rose Wilcox, friend of #Giffords, was shot by a gunman in 1997

Two years before the Tucson massacre, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a report that right wing extremism was on the rise and could prompt "lone wolves" to launch attacks. But the agency backed away from the report amid intense criticism from Republicans, including future House Speaker John Boehner. The report, which warned that the crippled economy and the election of the first black president were “unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment,” described the rise of “lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology [as] the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States.”

As this weekend's tragic events intersect direly with last autumn's Rally To Restore Sanity, I'm sure that many of you are as interested as I am as to how Jon Stewart and the writers of "The Daily Show" might address this matter. As we know from the show's post-9/11 broadcast, Stewart and company have previously grappled with tragedy in a sincere and moving way. But tonight will be an interesting moment, in terms of how firmly Stewart reclaims the mantle of "sanity" and pushes the momentum of his rally.

Is there a good reason to have 33 bullets loaded in a handgun? This is the question being asked in the wake of the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz. over the weekend. The suspect, Jared Loughner, allegedly used a high-capacity 33-round magazine clip in his Glock-19 pistol. Without the need to reload as quickly, the shooter was able to effectively hold bystanders at bay, keeping them from intervening until 20 people had already been shot. Now, with six dead and more than a dozen injured over the weekend, the few vocal gun-control advocates left in Congress are turning the political spotlight on those high-capacity clips. In the House, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), whose husband and son were killed by a gunman in 1993, said she plans to introduce legislation that would limit their availability.

Suspected Tucson gunman Jared Lee Loughner registered as an independent voter in Arizona in the fall of 2006, according to the Pima County Registrar of Voters. Loughner registered to vote on Sept. 29, 2006, identifying himself as an independent. Records show he voted in the 2006 and 2008 elections but is current listed as "inactive" on the state's voter roles -- meaning that he did not vote in November. The political affiliations of Loughner, who is being charged by state and federal authorities with the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) as well as 19 other victims outside a Tucson grocery store on Saturday, have become the subject of a white-hot partisan debate in recent days. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, liberals sought to paint Loughner as an anti-government, tea party conservative. Conservatives retorted that Loughner lacked anything close to a coherent political philosophy -- a case strengthened by subsequent glimpses into his personal life that suggests someone struggling with mental illness.

FBI agents working on the Gabrielle Giffords shooting encountered trouble gaining entry to the suspect's family home Monday morning. Family members of Jared Loughner apparently had put on 4-by-4 double-thick plywood that blocked access to the front porch of their north Tucson home. At about 12:25 p.m., agents began banging on the blockade, yelling, "This is the FBI. Let us in." Some agents were sent behind the house, and they were able to get inside after talking to family members. It's not immediately clear why the Loughner family had put up the blockade, but there were reports of at least one media representative who had gotten to the yard of the family home earlier in the day. Loughner remains in custody and has an appearance in federal court later Monday.

“I’m feeling bad for Sarah Palin because I don’t think that’s what she should have said, and certainly crosshairs are very scary,” Walters said. “This is a deranged young man. This is a Timothy McVeigh. Whether this happened because there is violence – too much commentary, too much violence as you say we’ve talked about. Sometimes we do it here we get so angry.” Walters added she hoped this might offer time for introspection in terms of political rhetoric, but told viewers that this wasn’t the time to place blame. “Whether that speared him on or whether he is just a very sick person, we don’t know,” she continued. “We don’t know what his motives are and we can hope that all the vitriol calms down. But to blame Sarah Palin as some are doing I think is very unfair to her. She issued a statement offering her condolences and hasn’t said more. But I don’t think this is the time now to start finding – you should excuse me – other targets to blame.”

Jared Loughner entered the courtroom in Phoenix handcuffed and wearing an inmate uniform. His head was shaved and he had a cut on his right temple. As he walked in, he looked straight at the crowd. His lawyer whispered to him. Loughner has remained silent about a possible motive, according to sheriff's officials.

Don and JoAnn Newland met their neighbors George and Dorothy Morris when the couple moved to their Oro Valley, Ariz. retirement community in the late 1990s. "They were our neighbors," JoAnn Newland told HuffPost on Monday. "We would see them at the mailbox and we would talk." Dorothy Morris, 76, was one of six people killed Saturday by a crazed gunman at a "Congress on the Corner" event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). George Morris is still in the hospital after reportedly suffering gunshots to the chest and leg. The Newlands said that one of the Morrises' daughters stopped by to pick up a key to their house after the shooting. At the hospital, Don Newland said, George Morris, a former Marine, was well enough to talk about what happened with his daughter.

Cat scans show no increase in swelling, also a positive sign because swelling can destroy critical brain tissues. "Every day that goes by and we don't see an increase we're slightly more optimistic," says Lemole, noting that swelling typically peaks on the third day after brain surgery. If the swelling stays in check through Tuesday, he says, "[we] can breathe a collective sigh of relief." Lemole says the approach he used to save Giffords' life was developed by surgeons treating massive brain injuries suffered by troops fighting in such distant places as Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. "The key is making a wide opening in the skull so that the brain can relax into it. Decompression has allowed us to save soldiers with horrible blast injuries," said Lemole, who removed a wedge from the left side of Giffords' skull, above the area pierced by a bullet. After the swelling subsides, he said, the bone will be put back into place, closing the gap in her skull.

“There isn't anything in Arizona that's uniquely different,” said Kolbe, R-Ariz. “We have been the epicenter of the illegal immigration, and the frustration of people about that has been tremendous. There's no question about that. And I agree with the sheriff when he said that our political discourse needs to be cooled down, we need to lower the tone.” “But I think it's a tremendous mistake to link that to this particular incident, which seems to be an incident caused by or undertaken by a seriously deranged young man and doesn't seem to have any kind of connection to a specific political issue.”

LOUGHNER IS A LONE NUT. Even "the Obama government" -- the FBI -- calls Loughner a "deranged, insular irrational kid" who acted alone, Limbaugh said. "The kid was evil. He was into the occult. He had an altar with a skull in his yard. Was God in his life? He was stalking the congresswoman." HEAVY METAL. "The guy listened to heavy metal, and some of that anarchist stuff. We're dealing with an insane individual." DIDN'T WATCH FOX. "There is no evidence that he listened to talk radio. There is no evidence he listened to Fox News. There is no evidence that he saw Sarah Palin's Facebook page. No evidence he saw her lame website with the crosshairs." BLAME THE PARENTS. "Where are the parents? Are they derelicts? He was so devoted to marijuana he wanted to make it the new U.S. currency. Did anyone try to institutionalize him?"

"Tomorrow they were going to vote to repeal this health care bill -- and it's not going to go anywhere in the Senate -- it's one of the reasons that this guy was angry and pretty obvious that he is, at least from me, where I sit that he's mentally ill and deeply troubled," Former Senator Bob Kerrey (D) told Imus.

"Obviously, all of us are still grieving," he said of the Tucson shooting, which he spoke about for about three minutes. Obama called the shooting a "heinous crime," but said "it's important" to focus on "the extraordinary courage that was shown in the course of these events, a 20-year-old college student who ran into the line of fire to rescue his boss," he said in listing several other examples of courageous acts on Saturday ... Obama was asked after Sarkozy spoke if he would go to Arizona soon. He said, "we are in close consultations with families who have suffered these losses, as well as Governor Brewer and the congressional leadership. There is no doubt that we will establish some mechanism for memorial during the course of the next several days, and when we have it we will announce it."

Federal Public Defender Jon Sands said in a filing Monday that Clarke and another outside attorney, Mark Fleming, should be appointed because Loughner's lawyers must be qualified in death penalty cases. He has called on San Diego attorney Judy Clarke, a former federal public defender who served on high profile cases, including Timothy McVeigh, a coconspirator in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing. Prosecutors have not said if they'll seek the death penalty.

"Our model legislation is called the Giffords-Zimmerman Act," said Heller. (Giffords staffer Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, was killed on Saturday.) "It would require the Arizona Department of Public Safety to provide firearms training, using firearms confiscated by the state, to members of Congress and people who work for them. Facilities would be made available to them in a way that wouldn't interfere with the training of police and other safety employees." Heller speculated that a response like this could prevent future attacks on members of Congress. "I don't think having a firearm on her would do Congresswoman Giffords any good," said Heller. "However, if it was known that members of her staff were well armed, that very well could have dissuaded [the shooter]."

"Look, I think it's amazing that people who cannot bring themselves to connect any kind of radical Islamist ideology to the 126 people who've been indicted in the United States plotting terrorism, people who would immediately scream about ethnic profiling, people who on the left have every possible incentive to never allow any one to draw conclusions, suddenly say things that are just factually untrue. There's no evidence that I know of, that this person was anything except nuts."

President Barack Obama said the nation is still shocked and grieving after Saturday's deadly shooting rampage in Arizona that killed six people and left a congresswoman in critical condition after being shot point-blank in the head. Speaking in the Oval Office Monday, Obama said Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is "still fighting". In total, 19 people were shot in the attack; among the six people killed were Arizona's chief federal judge, a 9-year-old girl interested in government, and one of Giffords' aides. Obama said the courage of those who responded to the shooting showed "the best of America." As both a president and a father, Obama said he has been spending much of his time reflecting on the weekend's events and reaching out to family members of those affected.

Clyburn said he thinks vitriol in public discourse led to a 22-year-old suspect opening fire Saturday at an event Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords held for her constituents in Tucson ... Clyburn used as an example a comment made by Sharron Angle, an unsuccessful U.S. senatorial candidate in Nevada, who said the frustrated public may consider turning to 'Second Amendment remedies' for political disputes unless Congress changed course. Clyburn said the man accused of shooting Giffords did just that. 'He saw a Second Amendment remedy and that's what occurred here and there is no way not to make that connection,' Clyburn said.

“I know our people and there’s nobody that would fit the profile that would do something like this, especially since we knew right away that many people had been shot,” Trent Humphries, co-founder of the Tucson Tea Party and a frequent critic of Giffords, told POLITICO. “This was obviously somebody who was crazy. To shoot someone anyway is crazy, but to do it indiscriminately like that, you knew that there was something else attached to this.”

The longtime pastor of 76-year-old Dorwan Stoddard, one of the six victims of Saturday's Arizona shooting, says he had a conversation with Stoddard's wife in the hospital that leads him to believe Stoddard died trying to protect her from the spraying bullets. "According to Mavy when I talked to her in the hospital, when the gunshots went off Dorwan pulled her down and ended up on top of her," Michael Nowak, pastor of the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ in Tucson, Ariz., told HuffPost. "She was shot in the legs, and he was shot in the head. She believes in her heart that he protected her from damage." Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard were not particularly involved in politics, Nowak said, but they stopped by Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' meet-and-greet to offer her some encouragement. "Mavy said she just wanted to go down to meet Giffords and tell her what a good job she was doing," Nowak said.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who was shot in the 1978 attack that killed Rep. Leo Ryan (D-Calif.), said Saturday’s attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) brings back “horrific memories” of the assassination of her former boss. Speier was an aide to Ryan when they took part in a fact-finding trip to Guyana to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the Rev. Jim Jones and his followers, most of whom were American citizens. Ryan was among five people killed as their delegation boarded a plane to leave; Speier was shot five times and waited 22 hours before help arrived ... “The Congressman was shot 45 times. I was shot five times. He’s the only Congressman in the history of this country that’s been assassinated in the line of duty. I hope that we never have another one,” she said ... Speier also had advice for those wounded during the Giffords attack on how to recover mentally. “It is important to early on decide to become a survivor and not a victim because you will be tormented otherwise,” she said.

Fox News's report yesterday initially claimed that a DHS memo had outlined the possible connection, and defined American Renaissance as a "pro-white racist organization" that Jared Loughner "mentioned in some of his internet postings." Fox later walked back the report a bit, sourcing the claim to "a law enforcement memo based on information provided by DHS" ... But DHS has not officially provided any such information to any law enforcement officials, the DHS official says. "We have not established any such possible link," the official says. The official cautions it's conceivable that a law enforcement official got unofficial info from a DHS official somewhere along the lines of what Fox reported. But he emphasizes that DHS has not even concluded in any official way that even the possibility of such ties exists. The official adds that it wouldn't be DHS's place to reach any such conclusion in the first place, since the FBI is leading the investigation.

“Sarah, as you know, peace is always the answer. I know you are felling the same heat, if not much more on this,” Beck wrote. Beck expressed concern about Palin’s safety, and urged her to hire the same Los Angeles-based security firm that he uses. The rhetoric of both Beck and Palin has been cited by both liberals and some of the mainstream media as examples of the kind of overheated political discourse that, if not directly connected to the Tucson shooting, has created an environment in which a similar thing might happen again. “I hate violence,” Palin wrote back. “I hate war. Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize on this.”

Look, we have extremists in my country. A wonderful, incredibly brave young woman Congress member, Congresswoman Giffords was just shot in our country. We have the same kinds of problems. So rather than standing off from each other, we should work to try to prevent the extremists anywhere from being able to commit violence. ... The extremists and their voices, the crazy voices that sometimes get on the TV, that's not who we are, that's not who you are, and what we have to do is get through that and make it clear that that doesn't represent either American or Arab ideas or opinions.

"Yeah, that's him," says Kent Slinker, when I read him some of Loughner's syllogisms over the phone. "That kind of nonsensical, disconnected thinking." Slinker, an adjunct philosophy professor at Pima Community College, taught Loughner in Introduction to Logic during the spring semester of 2010. Slinker's impression of Loughner was that of "someone whose brains were scrambled."

Giffords' doctor on @dailyrundown says she's probably ready to be taken off breathing tube now, they are just being extra cautious. Dr. Rhee had a VERY optimistic prognosis. She is NOT in even a medicated coma, just heavily sedated

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It is hard to remember how I felt at that very moment when my life changed in an instant. Although I had covered wars for years as a journalist I never really thought about death, let alone traumatic brain injuries. I didn't know Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords but my assumption is she never imagined that a gunshot would put her where she is either. But there is hope.

On behalf of Gabby and our entire family, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the people of Arizona and this great nation for their unbelievable outpouring of support. Gabby was doing what she loved most — hearing from her constituents — when this tragedy occurred. Serving Southern Arizonans is her passion, and nothing makes her more proud than representing them in Congress. Like all Americans, we mourn the loss of Judge John M. Roll, Christina Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard and Gabe Zimmerman, a fine man and beloved member of Gabby's team. We must never forget them, and our prayers are with their families. Our hearts go out to everyone injured yesterday; we hope and pray for their quick recovery. We also extend our thanks and appreciation to all of the first responders, medical personnel, law enforcement, and Arizona citizens who acted swiftly on Saturday and continue to assist our community through this tragedy. Many stories of heroism are emerging, and they are a source of strength for us during this difficult time. We are forever grateful. Many of you have offered help. There is little that we can do but pray for those who are struggling. If you are inspired to make a positive gesture, consider two organizations that Gabby has long valued and supported: Tucson's Community Food Bank and the American Red Cross. Community Food Bank 3003 S Country Club Rd # 221 Tucson, AZ 85713-4084 (520) 622-0525 American Red Cross, Southern Arizona Chapter 2916 East Broadway Boulevard Tucson, AZ 85716 (520) 318-6740

That interest might have triggered Mr. Loughner's first meeting with Ms. Giffords in 2007. Mr. Loughner said he asked the lawmaker, "How do you know words mean anything?" recalled Mr. Montanaro. He said Mr. Loughner was "aggravated" when Ms. Giffords, after pausing for a couple of seconds, "responded to him in Spanish and moved on with the meeting." Mr. Montanaro recalled his friend developed "a hate for government and just how everything was systematic...He thought government controlled people too much."

A federal public defender known for handling high-profile cases, Judy Clarke, has been appointed to represent him, a federal judicial source told CNN. Clarke previously defended the "Unabomber," Ted Kaczynski, and assisted in the case of confessed al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui.

The video shows federal judge John Roll chatting with an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D. Ariz.) moments before the violence erupts, according to officials. Judge Roll was killed in the attack, along with five others.

WASHINGTON - The United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, Dennis K. Burke, announced today that his office filed a federal complaint against Jared Lee Loughner. The complaint was signed by Magistrate Judge Michelle Burns in Phoenix. Loughner is suspected of shooting U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Chief Judge John Roll, Giffords' staff member Gabriel Zimmerman and approximately 16 others Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. The federal complaint alleges five counts against Loughner: COUNT 1 On or about Jan. 8, 2011, at or near Tucson, in the District of Arizona, the defendant, Jared Lee Loughner, did attempt to kill Gabrielle Giffords, a Member of Congress; in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 351(c). COUNT 2 On or about Jan. 8, 2011, at or near Tucson, in the District of Arizona, the defendant, Jared Lee Loughner, did unlawfully kill Gabriel Zimmerman, an employee of the United States who was engaged in performance of official duties and who was assisting Member of Congress Gabrielle Giffords while she was engaged in performance of official duties; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1111. COUNT 3 On or about Jan. 8, 2011, at or near Tucson, in the District of Arizona, the defendant, Jared Lee Loughner, did unlawfully kill John M. Roll, a U. S. District Court Judge for the District of Arizona, an employee of the United States who was engaged in performance of official duties; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1111. COUNT 4 On or about Jan. 8, 2011, at or near Tucson, in the District of Arizona, the defendant, Jared Lee Loughner, did, with intent to kill, attempt to kill Pamela Simon, an employee of the United States who was engaged in performance of official duties and who was assisting Member of Congress Gabrielle Giffords while she was engaged in performance of official duties; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1113. COUNT 5 On or about Jan. 8, 2011, at or near Tucson, in the District of Arizona, the defendant, Jared Lee Loughner, did, with intent to kill, attempt to kill Ron Barber, an employee of the United States who was engaged in performance of official duties and who was assisting Member of Congress Gabrielle Giffords while she was engaged in performance of official duties; in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1114 and 1113. Loughner will make an initial appearance on the complaint at 2 p.m. Mountain time Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson at the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse in Phoenix in courtroom 302. He is entitled to a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing. The court will set a date for both hearings. Loughner remains in federal custody. The Rules of Criminal Procedure require that a grand jury review the evidence and issue an indictment within 30 days of the defendant's initial appearance. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona is in the process of drafting an indictment against Loughner for presentation to the grand jury.

Invesigators say they seized evidence suggesting Loughner planned ahead. Invesigators said they carried out a search warrant at the suspect's home and seized an envelope from a safe with messages such as "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and the name "Giffords" next to what appears to be the man's signature. The 22-year-old Loughner is accused of killing six people and wounding 14 others wounded, including the Democrat lawmaker.

Both Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) both told POLITICO they will be carrying their guns in their home districts for protection. Both lawmakers hold a conceal and carry permit, but will not carry their weapons in the District of Columbia. Shuler, who received a serious death threat in 2009, says he is planning to carry his weapon more often and boost security at his district events. He’s even encouraging his staffers to get their own conceal to carry permits.

“There is a need for some reflection here - what is too far now?” said the senator. “What was too far when Oklahoma City happened is accepted now. There’s been a desensitizing. These town halls and cable TV and talk radio, everybody’s trying to outdo each other.” The vast majority of tea party activists, this senator said, ought not be impugned. “They’re talking about things most mainstream Americans are talking about, like spending and debt,” the Republican said, before adding that politicians of all stripes need to emphasize in the coming days that “tone matters.”

The President will observe the moment of silence with White House staff on the South Lawn. The moment of silence will be pooled press. Today, the President has signed a proclamation calling for flags to be flown at half-staff. Also, the planned trip by the President to Schenectady, New York, on Tuesday, January 11, to the General Electric energy division is postponed. The trip is expected to be rescheduled.

For some members of the judiciary, the news that Roll was among the six who died during the shooting spree in Tucson was unsettling in ways that went beyond personal grief from those who knew and served with Roll, who had been placed on the bench by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 at the urging of Senator John McCain. Just minutes after learning of the slayings, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman of Chicago told TIME in an email that the news of the murder was "very disturbing... Just when we were beginning to feel more secure." Wrote Gettleman, "As judges I'm confident most all of us would like to feel safe as participants in our communities without believing we need special protection. I hope that's the norm, although recent events may indicate otherwise. We certainly don't want to live our lives like judges in some other countries (like Russia, Kenya) must, under constant guard."

NBC News has learned that Jared Lee Loughner's application for enlistment into Army was rejected after he reportedly failed a drug test

In October 2007, Loughner was cited in Pima County for possession of drug paraphernalia, which was dismissed after he completed a diversion program, according to online records.

On Oct. 7, Pima Community College sent a letter to Loughner's parents stating that if Loughner wished to return to the school, he would have to "obtain a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the College does not present a danger to himself or others," the school said in a statement.

The next time you're tempted to mock members of Congress, you might think about Gabby, who flies back and forth across the country every week, losing sleep, missing her family and wearing herself down — but determined to cast tough votes and fly back home to answer for them. [...] I don't think I violate any confidences to say Gabby has worried that intemperate people -- I'll call them nuts and cranks -- are poisoning politics in the state she loves.

Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others on Saturday, may have ties to anti-Semitic, anti-immigration hate group American Renaissance, according to a leaked memo from the Department of Homeland Security.

Using his hand, Hernandez applied pressure to the entry wound on her forehead. He pulled her into his lap, holding her upright against him so she wouldn't choke on her own blood. Giffords was conscious, but quiet. ... Hernandez used his hand to apply pressure until someone from inside Safeway brought him clean smocks from the meat department. He used them to apply pressure on the entrance wound, unaware there was an exit wound. He never let go of her.

Giffords was conscious and responsive after brain surgery, though former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, a family friend, said she had suffered a "very devastating … very severe" injury.

A neighbor was going to the Giffords event and invited Christina along because she thought she would enjoy it, said her uncle, Greg Segalini. Christina had just been elected to the student council at her school. The event, held outside a Safeway supermarket north of Tucson, was an opportunity for constituents to meet Giffords and talk about any concerns they had related to the federal government.

WASHINGTON — A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the handgun used in a shooting that killed a federal judge and wounded a U.S. congresswoman in Tucson, Ariz., was purchased legally. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head Saturday morning during an event with voters outside a local grocery store. U.S. District Judge John Roll, and at least five others, were killed in the attack. The official, who has been briefed on the investigation, spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the case. Officials have identified the shooter as 22-year-old Jared Loughner of Tucson. He is in custody. The Washington Post reported late Saturday that Loughner purchased the gun Nov. 30 from the Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson.

WASHINGTON -- The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is a watershed event in many ways, some of which we cannot yet know, but one of the clearest and simplest is this: Congress and its members are about to be permanently quarantined, physically isolated, from the people it and they represent. Thirty years ago, there was no such thing as security on Capitol Hill or for members. Members of the public were free to roam the halls, and police presence was practically invisible. There were no barricades around the grounds, and even the leadership rarely had any form of protection. The Hill was the very model of the People's Place -- and in that respect it was an inspirational symbol of our democracy.

Gabrielle Giffords and I served together on the House Committee on Science and Technology. She was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, and I was a member of that subcommittee. Her D.C. office was one floor above mine. I saw Gabby dozens, if not hundreds of times, during our two years together. And nearly every time that I can remember, she was smiling. Gabby is one of the most cheerful, charming and engaging people I have ever known. She's always looking on the bright side. She has something good to say about pretty much everyone. Bad news never lays a glove on her. She loves life, and all the people in it.

“The violence in Arizona today has senselessly taken five lives and inflicted tragic loss on dedicated public servants and their families. We in the judiciary have suffered the terrible loss of one of our own. Chief Judge John Roll was a wise jurist who selflessly served Arizona and the nation with great distinction, as attorney and judge, for more than 35 years. I express my deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his children, as well as the other victims and their families. Chief Judge Roll’s death is a somber reminder of the importance of the rule of law and the sacrifices of those who work to secure it.”

Giffords is known for a cheerful and energetic disposition. "I just read the First Amendment!" she said -- "gleefully," according to The New York Times -- after stepping off the House floor during the first-ever reading of the Constitution on Wednesday. "Reflecting on the Constitution in a bipartisan way is a good way to start the year." Her husband, Cmdr. Mark E. Kelly, 46, is a NASA astronaut. The couple married in 2007 and have two children. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told HuffPost she liked to talk to Kelly about the cosmos. Giffords serves on committees for armed services, foreign affairs, and science and technology. She's the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

The President was notified of this terrible tragedy by John Brennan and Jim Messina a little after 1:20pm Eastern. Beginning at 3pm Eastern, the President made a number of phone calls and was then briefed by FBI Director Mueller, Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Holder, Bill Daley, John Brennan, Jim Messina, Phil Schiliro, Tom Donilon, David Axelrod, Dan Pfeiffer, Alyssa Mastromonaco and a number of other senior white house officials. The President asked Director Mueller to travel to Arizona to personally oversee the coordination of this investigation. The President made calls to Representative Gifford's husband, whom he left a message for, Governor Jan Brewer, Speaker John Boehner, Representative Eric Cantor, Majority Leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader, Representative Steny Hoyer, Democratic Whip, Representative James Clyburn, Assistant Democratic Leader and Representative Ed Pastor to express his deep concern and to update all of them on the latest information.

"Police arrest man near Thornydale and Magee Roads who is suspected of being connected to the shooting of Giffords and others. A third man is being sought."

Her father Spencer Giffords, 75, wept when asked if his 40-year-old daughter had any enemies. "Yeah," he told The Post. "The whole tea party."

My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today's tragic shooting in Arizona. On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.

The man was young, mid-to-late 20s, white clean-shaven with short hair and wearing dark clothing and said nothing during the shooting or while being held down. He didn't look like a businessman, but more of a "fringe character," our source said.

Giffords was talking to a couple when the suspect ran up firing indiscriminately and then ran off, Michaels said. According to other witnesses, he was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody.