Arizona, Tucson Shooting | featured news

A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to killing six people and wounding 13 others, including then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, in an Arizona shooting rampage last year and will be spared the death penalty in exchange.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona 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.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is now aware of who was killed during the January shooting rampage in Tucson that left her seriously wounded, her spokesman said. C.J. Karamargin confirmed Friday that the Democratic politician was told in late July the names of the dead, including her aide Gabe Zimmerman; U.S. District Judge John Roll, a close friend; and 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, the Arizona Republic reported.

The first photos of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords since she was shot in January were released on Sunday on her Facebook page. The photos of the Arizona Democrat were taken by a professional photographer the day before her cranioplasty surgery in May.

Gabrielle Giffords is nowhere close to returning to Congress. And there remains real doubt whether she ever will. That appears to be the bottom line of an article Thursday in the Arizona Republic that provides the most complete assessment yet of the wounded congresswoman’s current condition. Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman in Tucson in January. Now, six months later, she still struggles mightily to communicate, although her staff believes her comprehension skills are strong. And it remains unclear just how much damage her brain has suffered.

Doctors treating Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords have scheduled a Friday morning news conference to provide an update on her progress.

Arizona has become a national leader in the gun rights movement in recent years as the state enacted law after law to protect the people's right to bear arms nearly anywhere, at anytime.

Two federal judicial sources say they expect any trial of accused Tucson shooter Jared Lee Loughner to be moved out of Arizona, possibly to San Diego, California.

As the funeral of another victim of last week’s shooting rampage was held here, Representative Gabrielle Giffords continued Friday to make significant medical progress, her doctors said.

President Barack Obama will eulogize the victims of the Arizona shooting rampage and celebrate those who helped stem the damage as he travels to Tucson today to take up the role as mourner-in-chief.