Obama Decides To Lead National Moment Of Silence This Morning

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 ...

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-...

The people's House could grow more distant
He had never thought twice about going to the Grocery Store, until Sunday. But Rep. Steve Cohen went anyway, padding down the aisles and accepting well wishes from constituents as unnerved as he was by the shooting of his friend Rep. Gabrielle Giffords the day before. A young man approached Cohen, slow seeming, a little out of it, telling the lawmaker that he thought the government was waging war against the people, before moving on. Continue Reading Text Size - + reset Politico 44 One though...

Most from Mass. refuse more security
WASHINGTON — The “Congress on Your Corner’’ meeting for Representative Niki Tsongas and about 40 constituents was just beginning at the Chelmsford Library Saturday when the horrific news came. Her good friend and colleague Gabrielle Giffords had just been shot at an event of the same type in Tucson. “We asked if [an officer] could come and stay with us, because you just don’t know,’’ said Tsongas, who normally doesn’t arrange for police at h...

Gun control, tone of rhetoric take center stage after Arizona shooting
The Tuscon shooting Saturday that left Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded, six dead and 13 others injured, is shaking Washington politically as much as it is emotionally. Health Care is off, for now. A debate about Gun Control may be back on. But the biggest breakdown, it seems, is over conduct rather than content. Several lawmakers (mostly Democrats) are blaming a poisoned political discourse and thinly veiled incitements to violence for having created an environment that...

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...

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...

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...

Boehner Passes First Test as Speaker in Handling of Arizona Tragedy
As news of the horrific shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spread over the weekend, Speaker of the House John Boehner rose to the occasion, seeking to calm nerves and reassure members of Congress and their families. Aside from being the first major test handed to the newly elected speaker, Boehner's handling of the situation may have been especially important considering the target of this Assassination was a Democratic congresswoman. And while past Republican leaders would have surely express...

Loughner's parents 'devastated,' 'hurting'
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The parents of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of six people and attempted Assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, are "devastated" and "hurting real bad," a neighbor told The Wall Street Journal. The paper reported that the neighbor, Wayne Smith, broke the news to Randy and Amy Loughner that their son was a suspect in the shootings Saturday. "She almost passed out right there," Smith told the Journal. "He sat in the road with...

Philadelphia-area congressmen reexamining security measures
Bob Brady remembers the bullet he got in the mail, with his name scribbled on the paper taped around it. Frank LoBiondo keeps two panic buttons in his district office. A man called Joe Sestak's office to say, "Now I'm going to use my Second Amendment right." Of course, the Philadelphia region's current and former members of Congress say, none of that dissuaded them or their staffs from coming to work each day. But threats such as those have become far too common in this age of wild a...

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...

Owens not overly worried about safety
WASHINGTON — Rep. William L. Owens said he is no more concerned for his own safety after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., but he joined those who have called for caution in public discourse. "To be honest, it's not something I give a lot of thought to," Mr. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, said of the risk politicians can face at public appearances. The nature of a lawmaker's job is to do and say things in a public way that tens of thousands of constituents either agree wit...

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 ...

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...

Brady to initiate House bill to protect Congress against threats
The Hill reports that Congressman Robert Brady (D-PA), plans to introduce Legislation prohibiting "language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress." Brady is quoted as telling CNN that "The president is a federal official. You can't do it to him; you should not be able to do it to a congressman, senator or Federal Judge." A quick search of Google News shows that so far reaction from News Media political pundits has ...

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...

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...

In a pall, official Washington a stunned place
(01-10) 19:32 PST WASHINGTON, CA (AP) -- 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 spokesma...

Have gun, Will talk: Arizona Sheriff Clarence Dupnik not speechless over Tucson shootings or much else
For a chief Law Enforcement officer who's supposed to be assembling the complex Criminal Investigations of six sudden homicides against a local 22-year-old suspect, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik sure has found ample time the last couple of days to appear all over national News Media, spouting prickly opinions on pretty much anything asked. The sheriff, who celebrates his 75th birthday today, is understandably defensive. He had no officers at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords ' Saturday ope...

Top lawyer to represent accused Arizona gunman
FILE - In a Dec. 3, 2007 file photo, attorney Judy Clarke leaves the federal building in downtown Boise, Idaho. Public defenders are asking that Clarke, the attorney who defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy Mcveigh and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, defend Jared Loughner. Loughner is charged with one count of attempted Assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the Federal Government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. He is schedu ...

For Giffords, right doctors in right place
Two of the surgeons who were waiting to pick up the pieces from the “mini-mass-casualty” event in Tucson, Ariz., have ties to the Washington area and, some might say, were the right doctors at the right place at the right time to help Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Peter Rhee, head of the trauma department at the University of Arizona Medical Center, said he had all the gear and good people he needed Saturday as Giffords and 10 others were brought to the emergency department. Continue ...

Obama, Boehner face leadership test after shooting (AP)
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 Satur...

Congress Stands in Solidarity for Rep. Giffords
Members of Congress are still in shock over the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., this weekend. For some, the emotions were hard to restrain. "You know, by every indication that -- I'm sorry," said a shaken Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla. "By every indication, the fighter that, that Gabby Giffords is, is showing full strength." Is political vitriol creating an unhealthy environment for the nation's lawmakers? Peter S. Sprigg, a senior fellow for policy studies at the Family R...

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...