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Gabrielle Giffords

Giffords returns to hear State of the Union

Last updated Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 7:54am

WASHINGTON -- A year ago, the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords weighed heavily in the chamber. A seat with her Arizona delegation was left empty during the president's State of the Union address. Lawmakers wore black-and-white ribbons in her honor.

Tuesday night, Giffords returned to the House with a standing ovation more than a minute long amid cheers of "Bravo!" from her colleagues. Then, she received a long, emotional hug from President Barack Obama. Giffords rested her head on his shoulder and for a moment they rocked back and forth -- all at once a welcome home greeting and farewell embrace following her decision to step down from office and focus on her recovery.

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This video image provided by the Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords shows Giffords announcing her plans to resign, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012. Giffords announced Sunday she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds suffered in an assassination attempt a little more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Office of Gabrielle Giffords)

Giffords' decision to resign sets up Ariz. race

Bob Christie The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, January 23, 2012 - 11:19am

PHOENIX -- The race to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords begins in earnest Monday as the Arizona congresswoman's planned resignation sets up a free-for-all in a competitive district.

The three-term Democrat announced Sunday that she intends to resign from Congress this week to concentrate on recovering from a gunshot wound to the head just over a year ago in an assassination attempt that shook the country.

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In this photo provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Giffords, second from left, and fellow shooting survivor Ron Barber unveil a memorial plaque in honor of slain staffer Gabe Zimmerman, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. At left is Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly. (AP Photo/Office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords)

Giffords will soon face decision about future

Contributed The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, January 7, 2012 - 5:40pm

WASHINGTON — The signals are strong. One year after being shot in the head, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is on a mission to return to the job she so clearly loved.

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In this undated photo provided by ABC, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly are interviewed by Diane Sawyer on ABC's 20/20. The show, featuring the first public interview Giffords has given since she was shot in the head in Tucson last winter, will air Monday, Nov. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/ABC, Ida Mae Astute)

Giffords shows great progress, but still struggles

Kevin Freking The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 11:43am

WASHINGTON — Smiling and cheerful, fussing with her interviewer’s hair and nestled in the arms of her husband, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords displayed remarkable progress from the shocking images of her the day after she was shot in the forehead outside a Tucson supermarket.

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(The Associated Press) In this Jan. 8, 2011 photo released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office shows shooting suspect Jared Loughner. A judge in Tucson hears arguments Wednesday Sept. 28, 2011 over whether Jared Lee Loughner should spend eight more months in psychological treatment in a bid to make him competent to stand trial. Loughner has been at a Missouri prison facility since U.S. District Judge Larry Burns found him mentally unfit four months ago.

Judge to mull an extension of Loughner’s treatment

Amanda Lee Myers, Jacques Billeaud The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 8:39am

TUCSON, Ariz. — The man accused of wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in a deadly shooting rampage is scheduled Wednesday to make his first court appearance since an angry outburst got him kicked out of a May competency hearing.

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Tucson shooting spree suspect incompetent for trial

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - 1:54pm

PHOENIX -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the suspect in the Tucson shooting rampage that wounded U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is mentally incompetent to stand trial, putting the criminal case against him on hold indefinitely.

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Rep. Giffords has surgery to repair skull

The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, May 19, 2011 - 7:18am

HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is recuperating from implant surgery on her skull — another milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt — while doctors focus on the upcoming stages of her rehabilitation.

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Giffords watches husband's trip into space

Scott Powers, The Orlando Sentinel

Last updated Monday, May 16, 2011 - 11:09pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Rings, a private note and red tulips connect wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to her husband, Mark Kelly, while he commands the 16-day space mission of shuttle Endeavour.

Giffords, the Arizona Democrat recovering from a gunshot wound to the head she received in a January assassination attempt, watched from the roof of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Control Center with other astronauts’ family members Monday morning as Endeavour blasted toward space.

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Tucson book festival brings city a sense of healing

Los Angeles Times, Sam Quinones

Last updated Monday, March 14, 2011 - 9:04am

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Two months ago, residents of Tucson took to the streets to protest violence, mourn the dead and pray for the recovery of those wounded when a gunman opened fire on a congresswoman meeting with constituents.

On Sunday, people gathered by the thousands in Tucson again. The event was billed as a book festival, but for many it was a celebration of their city and a sign that Tucson was returning to normal.

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David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
Dr. Gerard Francisco (left) listens as Dr. Dong Kim speaks while giving a medical update on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., during a news conference Friday, March 11, 2011, in Houston.

Giffords was told by husband she was shot

Ramit Plushnick-Masti, The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, March 11, 2011 - 12:59pm

HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been told that she was shot. Her ability to walk and talk is improving. And doctors say there’s a good chance she’ll be able to attend her husband’s space shuttle launch next month.

Doctors provided the new details about Giffords’ condition Friday, their first official updates she began intensive rehabilitation in Houston on Jan. 26.

They described several milestones in her recovery. The developments include the removal of her breathing tube last week and her improving ability to walk with assistance and talk in complete sentences such as “I’m tired. I want to go to bed.”

Dr. Imoigele Aisiku, her neurosurgeon, called the breathing tube removal a “fist-pump” moment.

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Tucson suspect charged with murders of judge, aide

The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, March 4, 2011 - 3:22pm

PHOENIX -- The suspect in the Tucson shootings that critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was charged on new counts that include the murders of a federal judge and a congressional aide, according to an indictment released Friday.

A federal grand jury returned the 49-count indictment Thursday, charging Jared Lee Loughner in the deaths stemming from a Jan. 8 shooting at a political event held by Giffords outside a grocery store.

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Univ. of Ariz. starts national civility institute

The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 21, 2011 - 4:38pm

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Two former presidents -- one Republican, the other a Democrat -- will chair a new national institute to promote civility in political discourse in the city where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was severely wounded in a shooting rampage that left six dead, officials announced Monday.

The National Institute for Civil Discourse will be run by the University of Arizona. Former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton will serve as its honorary co-chairmen.

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Giffords can converse, mouth simple songs

The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, February 14, 2011 - 10:00am

PHOENIX -- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords can walk while holding onto a cart, mouth the lyrics to easy songs and have simple conversations, according to family, staff and her doctors.

Mark Kelly said in an interview broadcast Monday on NBC that he can ask his wife questions and she can respond.

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Rep. Giffords speaking 'more and more'

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

PHOENIX -- A spokesman for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords says the congresswoman is speaking "more and more," the first confirmation that she is able to talk a month after being shot in the forehead.

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Wounds remain fresh 1 month after Tucson shooting

The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 11:58am

PHOENIX -- A month after a lone gunman shot U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, the southern Arizona city and those whose lives were changed by what happened outside that Tucson grocery store are still reeling from the shockwaves that the massacre sent throughout the country.

Tuesday marks one month since the tragedy, but the families of the six people killed in the Jan. 8 shooting remained awash in grief and the 13 survivors are struggling with their injuries and the emotional scars left behind.

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