Giffords shooting suspect due in court; moment of silence set

Arizona gunman in court as Obama leads mourning
The man accused of trying to assassinate a congresswoman in an Arizona Shooting Spree that left six dead appeared in court Monday but said nothing to shed light on his motive. President Barack Obama led the Americans in a somber minute of silence to honor the 20 people gunned down in Tucson -- where he will attend a memorial service on Wednesday, the White House announced. Flags were at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, where hundreds of aides and lawmakers crammed the storied steps of Co...

Arizona gunman in court as Obama leads mourning
The man accused of trying to assassinate a congresswoman in an Arizona Shooting Spree that left six dead appeared in court Monday but said nothing to shed light on his motive. President Barack Obama led the Americans in a somber minute of silence to honor the 20 people gunned down in Tucson -- where he will attend a memorial service on Wednesday, the White House announced. Flags were at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, where hundreds of aides and lawmakers crammed the storied steps of ...

Making Sense Out of the Violence in Tuscon: Reflections From A Migrant
It's not about win or lose Cause we all lose when they feed on the souls of the innocent blood drenched pavement keep on moving though the waters stay raging. Matisyahu - 2009 The reactions I've witnessed to the violence in Tuscon have made me physically sick. Ever since I heard the news on Saturday, I've been glued to twitter, the television, and my computer screen, looking for someone to say something that makes some kind of sense. It seems the only people that have anything worthwhile ...

Poll: Most Feel Rhetoric, Shooting Unrelated
Nearly six in 10 Americans say the country's heated political Rhetoric is not to blame for the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, according to a CBS News poll. In the wake of the shooting, much focus has been put on the harsh tone of politics in Washington and around the country, particularly after a contentious Midterm Election. Rhetoric and imagery from both Republicans and Democrats have included gun-related metaphors, but the major...

Insanity defense harder now than for Hinckley
WASHINGTON—In an earlier time, the deeply troubled past of Jared Loughner might have led his lawyers to mount an insanity defense. But that would be harder now, because Congress raised the bar for that claim after a jury found John Hinckley innocent by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan. And the federal system is not alone in posing high hurdles to insanity defenses. State officials plan to charge Loughner as well, and Arizona law does not allow a verdict of not guilt...

The Note's Must-Reads for Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. Newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com Compiled by ABC News Digital News Associates and Desk Assistants JAYCE HENDERSON, JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ, CLAUDIA MORALES, MOLLY HUNTER and KATY CONRAD Arizona SHOOTING / Gun Control: ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller: “Obama Phones Sheriff Dupnik, Families of the Victims, The Heroes, and Giffor...

Suspect in Arizona shootings appears in court
By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Arizona | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:42pm EST PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A troubled 22-year-old College Dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted Assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head. His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said understood the charges against him that stem from a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday that left s...

Suspect in Arizona shootings appears in court
By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Arizona | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:42pm EST PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A troubled 22-year-old College Dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted Assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head. His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said understood the charges against him that stem from a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday that left s...

Loughner appears in court; Obama plans trip to Arizona on Wednesday
PHOENIX - Jared Lee Loughner, appearing in court for the first time since he allegedly killed six people and wounded 14, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday, calmly answered questions from a judge Monday and heard the charges against him before being led off in custody without bail. This Story Arizona shooting suspect Loughner makes first appearance in Federal Court The faces of Jared Loughner Bullet's path may determine Giffords's injuries A look at t...

Poisonous Politics (Pat Buchanan)
Creators Syndicate – On Feb. 15, 1933, Giuseppe Zangara, delusional and a loner, fired his .32-caliber pistol at FDR in the Bayfront Park area of Miami. Five feet tall, Zangara could not aim over the crowd. So, he stood on a folding chair and was piled on after the first of five shots. He wounded four people, including Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago. In two weeks, Zangara, who pled guilty, had been sentenced to 80 years. When Cermak died on March 6, Zangara was retried for Murder and se...

Shock, anger and finger-pointing in Washington
On opposite sides of the political spectrum, President Barack Obama and new House Speaker John Boehner suddenly face the same challenge: rise above the anger, suspicion and hostility of their liberal and conservative bases to help a rattled nation deal with the deadly outburst of violence in Arizona. But what comes after the easy moment of silence? For now, both men are stepping past the question of what role, if any, the vitriol of the past election campaign played in Saturday’s shooting ...

Arizona shooting suspect could face death penalty
The 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate a US congresswoman and killing six others, appeared in court, his head shaved, a cut on his right temple and in handcuffs. He stared vacantly at a packed courtroom and sat down to listen to whispered instructions from his attorney. Representative Gabrielle Giffords lay about a 100 miles away in an intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot through the head but able to give a thumbs-up sign that doctors found as a reason to hope....

Congressional staffs weigh security concerns after Gabrielle Giffords shooting
On Monday, as they signed condolence and well-wishes books in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building for the Victims of the Arizona shooting rampage, congressional aides reflected on a reality that had so violently shifted. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is battling for her life, and six others are dead - including Giffords's community outreach director, Gabriel Zimmerman. Two more Giffords aides are among the 14 people wounded by a gunman who authorities say appeared to target th...

Loughner Appears in Court; Giffords Gives 'Thumbs Up'
A court room sketch from Loughner's appearance. Photo: BILL ROBLES/AFP/Getty Images Suspected gunman Jared Loughner appeared in court for the first time on Monday. He'll be represented by public defender Judy Clarke. Meanwhile, congresswoman Giffords gave doctors a "thumbs up." Her brother-in-law, Scott Kelly, mourned from Outer Space. And President Obama is heading to Tucson. The latest on the Arizona shooting case, below: • Jared Lee Loughner appeared before a Federal Judge for the fir...

Horrific event
The terrible, senseless tragedy that occurred Saturday morning outside a Tucson, Ariz., Supermarket has sparked a debate about the tone of political Rhetoric in America. The attempted Assassination of a member of Congress, Rep. Gabrielle D. Giffords, who remains in critical condition with a head wound, may have been motivated on some level by the shooter's political views. But ultimately the attack, which killed a Federal Judge and five other people, and wounded 13, stems more from the men...

Americans observe moment of silence for Arizona victims
From the White House to Outer Space to the City Coffee Shop in Camden, Americans paid homage to the Victims of last weekend's shootings in Tucson, Ariz., by halting the buzz and motion of their day for a moment of silence at 11 a.m. Monday. On the White House South Lawn, President Obama and his wife, Michelle, presided over a national moment to pray and reflect on the event. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.) was wounded and six people were killed Saturday, including a Federal Judge and 9-year-...

John Boehner's 9/11 Moment
This surely is not how Republican John Boehner expected to launch his new speakership, or open the new 112th Congress. He planned to follow the pomp of the first week with a big, partisan vote Wednesday to Repeal last year's landmark Healthcare Reform law. But then Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was gunned down on Saturday in a Parking Lot in her Tucson, Arizona, district, and everything changed. That Repeal vote was put on hold, as was the rest of the legislative business planned this week in the Ho...

Nihilism or Sarah Palin: What motivated Arizona shooting suspect? (The Christian Science Monitor)
Atlanta – Initial reports about Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old College Dropout charged with killing six and gravely wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., Saturday, so far present a picture of a person inspired by a tangled and in some ways nonsensical web of philosophies more than any one person, political movement, or line of thought. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik suggested Saturday that the shootings might have been influenced by "vitriolic Rhetoric" in t...

Alaska lowers flags in honor of Tucson shooting victims
Flags will be lowered to half-staff beginning Monday until sunset Friday in honor of the Victims of the Arizona shootings. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other people were shot Saturday morning by a gunman who opened fire at a town hall gathering she was hosting at a Safeway in northwest Tucson. Six people died and Giffords was critically injured. President Barack Obama ordered flags to be lowered and the Governor's office says the state is doing the same. "I urge all Alaskans to pause toda...

Doctor: Gabrielle Giffords 'holding her own' after shooting
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's doctor said the congresswoman was "holding her own" at a Hospital in Tucson early Monday morning, with CT scans showing that the swelling in her brain is not getting any worse. This Story Christina-Taylor Green, 9-year-old killed in Tucson, remembered, mourned Obama calls for national moment of silence for Tucson Victims Doctor: Gabrielle Giffords 'holding her own' after shooting Giffords able to communicate, respond Gabrielle Giffords, congresswoman from A...

Arizona tragedy casts pall over stunned nation
The nation’s capital lumbered to work in a pall Monday, somber from the Congress to the White House, as official Washington absorbed an Assassination attempt against one of its own. Giving voice to the grief, President Barack Obama conceded that everyone was still in shock. By the end of the long day, Obama had secured plans to travel on Wednesday to Tucson, Ariz., to speak at a memorial service for the Victims of the deadly attack. White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said First Lady Michel...

Poll: Despite Left's Lust to Pin Blame on Right, Only 32% Believe AZ Shootings Were Politically Motivated
After a 48-hour orgy of venom and hatred directed at the right in the wake of the massacre in Arizona Saturday, a CBS poll reveals only 32% of Americans actually believe the ludicrous accusations. This suggests a couple of possibilities: Either the next poll will show 100 of Americans accept the truth or the media and kook left will double down with the wild conjecture. Sadly, I think it's too late for these people to regain any credibility, so I learn toward the latter.Nearly six in 10 American...

Loughner Could Receive Death Penalty
MSNBC reports: PHOENIX, Ariz. — Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut on his right temple and his hands cuffed, stared vacantly at a packed courtroom Monday and sat down. His attorney, who defended “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him. It was the nation’s first look at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The three-term Democrat lay about a 100 miles away in a Tucson intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot throug...

The Lefts Script of Hate
“Just the facts, ma’am,” Dragnet’s Joe Friday famously informed witnesses he interviewed. Oft-interviewed Pima County Sherriff Clarence Dupnik might adopt the catchphrase: “Save the facts, ma’am. Just the narrative.” The narrative of right-wing Rhetoric fueling accused mass-murderer Jared Lee Loughner proved so seductive to partisans that they didn’t wait for the compilation of facts, or burial of the dead, to advance their politically opportunisti...

Hill aide: 'It could have been any of us'
Capitol Hill returned to work Monday with a sense of grief and vulnerability, as thousands of Staffers — those who truly make things run in Congress — tried to cope with the idea that their own people have become targets. Instead of charging into another week of partisan Rhetoric, they bundled up and gathered on the cold marble steps of the Capitol for a moment of silence. They listened to a prayer of hope from ordained minister and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). They signed a book...