on our broadcast tonight, the tragedy in tucson. the funeral today for a 9-year-old girl. and a first person account from congresswoman giffords' bedside about what it was like the moment she opened her eyes for the first time. the investigation. graphic new evidence of the suspect's strange and troubled past, and the discovery tonight of a suspicious black bag. out of nowhere, another devastating natural disaster, and the worst may be yet to come. and a candid conversation with young people across america about what they've seen happen in arizona. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. this was another sad day for tucson, arizona. tonight, we're just now seeing the first images from inside the hospital where last night president obama and the first lady went from room to room, comforting victims and families. and there was great sadness today at the funeral of the 9-year-old girl killed while waiting to meet her congresswoman. not far away, congresswoman gabby giffords, shot in the head by that gunman on saturday morning, continues to defy medical expectations, and we've learned even more about her condition today. first, however, the first of several wrenchingly sad goodbyes in that city. lee cowan is live in north tucson outside the church where today's service was held. lee, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it goes without saying that in situations like this, sometimes words just fail. christina tay already green was, as the president pointed out,

uncommon in so many ways. really the symbol of everything that is good. while today was a chance for the community to say their goodbyes, it was also a chance to celebrate what she gave in her short nine years, and what she continues to give. they lined the streets for christina taylor green's final trip. that ended under a patch work flag that survived 9/11, her birthday. today, it was used to bid her farewell. the small signs of her custom made casket, blessed by the monks who donated it, said it all. >> she began her life with a tragedy on 9/11, and her life was ended with a tragedy here in arizona. but it was nine good years in the middle. >> reporter: a gentle spirit by every account, christina had been adopted by a nation and a president who, last night, grieved as a father, too. >> in christina, we see all of our children.

so curious, so trusting, so energetic, so full of magic, so deserving of our love. and so deserving of our good example. >> reporter: a growing memorial outside her school encapsulates everything she was. an artist. an a-student. a dancer. the only girl on her little league baseball team, just elected to her student council. who never saw her 9/11 birthday as a grim day, but as she told her mom, as a day to make a change. >> that there would be an end to terrorism, there would be an end to war, hatred, disrespect, that somehow everybody would come together, like they did. >> reporter: which is why that flag is so fitting. the caretakers say it doesn't represent 9/11, but the day after, just the way christina imagined. what happened inside the church

was rightfully private, except what her parents wanted the world to know. >> she would want to say to us today, enjoy life. live it to the full. don't squander it. make the best of it. ♪ >> reporter: and back at that safeway, where christina spent her last saturday on earth, thoughts turned not to what was lost, but what she has yet to give. >> she knows that her parents are sad, but she's watching over them right now and telling them it's okay. >> reporter: brian, it should be pointed out that congresswoman giffords' husband has only left her side at the hospital twice. once last night to attend that memorial with the president and then again to attend christina's funeral, the first of six that will be taking place here over the next couple of days. >> as we said, another tough day in tucson. lee cowan covering for us

tonight, thanks. and about congresswoman gabby giffords' condition, we got that first end case that she was improving last night when the president revealed she had opened her eyes for the first time. nbc's kristen welker joins us now from university medical center with more on what we've learned since then. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian. doctors say the congresswoman is moving her arms and legs. they say she's even close to sitting upright in a chair. but they also caution she has a long recovery process ahead. >> this is a major milestone for her, and we're hoping that she crosses through many more. >> reporter: even doctors are marveling at congresswoman gabrielle giffords' progress. dr. michael lemole was in her hospital room along with her husband and congressional colleagues when giffords opened her eyes for the very first time. >> i think it was a combination perhaps of the unexpected but familiar that really prompted her to open her eyes and look around. >> reporter: dr. lemole says he was encouraged by the fact that she seems to be tracking

movements with her eyes. >> so think about it. when you first wake up in the morning, you're all blurry eyed and your eyes aren't focusing. then the eyes come together and start to focus. we're just starting to see those signs. >> reporter: giffords has also moved both arms and both legs. she seems to be communicating with her hands. staffers tell nbc news, at one point she started playing with her husband's wedding ring. now physical therapy has begun. >> her legs are off the side of the bed and we start exercising her muscles, getting balance, getting stimulus to the brain. >> reporter: but there are still concerns. doctors are watching out for pneumonia or blood clots. >> the breathing tube is the next major milestone at this point, as well. we may or may not take the breathing tube out in the next several days. >> reporter: still, they say just five days after being shot in the head, the congresswoman couldn't be doing any better. >> miracles happen every day. in medicine, we like to very much attribute them to either what we do or others do around us. but a lot of medicine is outside

of our control and we're wise to acknowledge miracles. >> reporter: the congresswoman remains in critical condition here. there are still four other victims here from saturday's shooting. they are all in fair condition. brian? >> kristen welker in tucson for us tonight. kristen, thanks. when congresswoman gabby giffords first hoped her eyes, it wasn't while president obama was in the room, he had just left. it was while new york democratic senator kirsten gillibrand was in her room, along with a few others. senator gillibrand and congresswoman giffords started out in congress together and have remained friends. the two couples recently went out for a pizza dinner and i asked the senator to describe that moment in the tucson hospital room last night when her friend opened her eyes for the first time since the shooting. >> we went in and we were so happy to see her, and we just told her that we were so proud of her because she was inspiring

a nation by her strength, by her courage, by her fight. and we started talking about all the things we plan to do when she got better. you know, gabby, you have to get better. we have to have another double date, we're going to take you out for pizza. so we were trying to tell her how we wanted her to know we were with her every step of the way. that's when she began to really respond. i was holding her hand and she was moving her arm and leg, and you just see she was really becoming alive and she started to try to open her eyes and you could see her eyes just, you know, slowly coming open and her husband then couldn't believe it. we didn't know she had never been able to open her eyes for a length of time. he said gabby, gabby, open your eyes and he's urging her on. you could just see the will going from him to her that you can do this. and then she is struggling, struggling and she opens her eyes. then he's just, almost beyond himself because he's so excited. he said, can you see me, if you can see me, you know, give me a thumbs up. we're watching her and saying gabby, you can do it.

everyone who loves her is around this hospital bed, her mother, father, doctor, her husband, her friends, all these people are there to say, gabby, we're with you, and she doesn't just put a thumbs up, she raises her entire arm. so the biggest thumbs up she could have given. the doctors couldn't believe what they were seeing. they were saying this is unbelievable progress to see this. and we just were streaming tears. we were so excited and so happy and couldn't believe that she was trying to hard to communicate with us. just the strength and the courage she was showing at that moment was truly the most inspiring moment i had ever witnessed. >> have you any doubt you'll see her on the hill? >> no doubt. no doubt. the funny thing was, her husband, just a couple nights before i called him to check in to see how he was doing. he says, you know, these doctors don't know gabby. she'll be up and walking within two weeks. >> senator gillibrand of new york, a long-time friend of gabby giffords.

among several lawmakers in the hospital room last night for that happy event, congresswoman giffords' husband, mark kelly, an active duty navy captain and nasa astronaut, is supposed to command an upcoming mission of the space shuttle scheduled to launch on april 19th. today, nasa named a backup commander, astronaut rick sterko who will train with the crew and be ready in case captain kelly isn't able to rejoin the mission. his brother is on the space station right now. there is new information tonight about the alleged shooter, jared loughner. from the community college he attended where some of the people he encountered came away believing he was seriously unstable and where he was finally asked to leave. our own mike taibbi joins us from that safeway in tucson, the scene of the shooting on saturday. mike, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. how are you? first, a new development in the case. police here in tucson say a man walking his dog this morning

found a black bag containing 9 millimeter ammunition, believed to be the same bag that randy loughner described his son carrying the morning of the shootings. in the meantime, officials at pima community college spoke exclusively with nbc news about their former student. from pima community college, more than 50 pages of records covering four major incidents in the past year involving jared loughner, including seven separate contacts with campus police. the incidents include complaints by classmates about how creepy loughner was, saying things like why don't we just strap bombs to babies? and fears that confrontations initiated by loughner might become physical. no surprise to classmate alex catonious. >> i was scared myself. i mean, he just had this aura that was creepy and unpredictable. >> reporter: school records show loughner was warned several times about his disruptive behavior. teachers, classmates and police noticed his confused look and bizarre talk. some thought he was on drugs.

early last september, campus police said there might be a mental health concern. then came a youtube posting that started, this is jared from pima college, my genocide school where i'm going homeless because of this school. and i haven't forgotten the teacher who give me a "b." that triggered a police visit to the loughner home and immediate suspension. >> and at that meeting, both the mother and father were present. what they understood and didn't understand, you know, i really can't answer. >> reporter: the campus police chief stella bay says without a specific threat aimed at anyone by loughner, the college did what it was allowed to do. >> absolutely. we followed all of our processes and policies, absolutely. >> reporter: also today, the cleanup at the crime scene has been completed. businesses reopened, and at least some sense of normalcy here has returned. there have also been some visitors to the loughner home who have tried unsuccessfully to talk to the suspect's parents. a couple of clergymen and even eric fuller, one of the shooting

victims. >> i thould i would come over here and try to forgive them. i know that sounds crazy. >> reporter: loughner's aunt, mary mitchell, thinks that the accused parents also deserve forgiveness or at least compassion. she said they have to live with this the rest of their lives. brian? >> mike taibbi part of our team in tucson tonight. mike, thanks for that. when our broadcast tonights here in just a moment, a natural disaster that's left chaos in its wake, floods and mudslides and a rising death toll. later, listening to young people who have been deeply affected by what they've seen, the events in tucson, arizona. when it comes to investing, no one person has all the answers. so td ameritrade doesn't give me just one person. questions about retirement? i talk to their retirement account specialists. bonds? grab the phone. fixed-income specialist. td ameritrade knows investors sometimes need real, live help. not just one broker... a whole team there to help...

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we mentioned news of an unfolding and devastating natural disaster, another one this time deadly floods and mudslides in brazil near rio and the pictures from the scene are at times difficult to watch. at least 400 people have died, and dozens more are missing. tonight, our report from nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: floods and torrential rains in the mountains north of rio left many traps, including this woman and her dog. from a next door building, rescuers threw a lifeline. holding her pet, the woman jumped into the waters, but was overpowered by the current. by clinging to the rope, she survived but the dog was swept away. another small town, residents ran into the streets, fearing building collapses. and in this neighborhood, a father is pulled from the rubble. then a cheer breaks out as his

6-month-old baby is also found, alive. as the death toll climbed into the hundreds, even rescuers were lost. in this town, three firemen searching for victims were buried by mud, as even more heavy rain is predicted. mark potter, nbc news, miami. in brisbane, australia, about 35,000 homes have now been affected by the flooding, sweeping through the queensland area. at least 20 people are dead there, dozens missing, and officials are describing a rebuilding effort of "postwar proportions." back in this country, cities up and down the east coast are getting back to normal. some more quickly than others after this week's snowstorm. in the boston area, a state of emergency was lifted by lunchtime today. major highways are clear, although many smaller roads are still slick with black ice and snow. more than two feet fell in some parts of massachusetts. atlanta, meantime, still struggling. schools are still closed, major roads still icy. folks are using whatever they

can find, including we saw today golf clubs to break up the ice. when we come back, some breathtaking images of a volcano roaring back to life. also, jfk making new history tonight on demand. tonight on demand. just joined? new year's resolution! we want a healthier lifestyle... so we can have more energy to do more stuff. healthy lifestyle? well, you should also start enjoying activia or activia light. activia, for us? sure, it's for people who want to feel good inside. when you feel good, you're more likely to get out there and enjoy life! mmm! mmm! i like this resolution. mm-hmm! here is the activia promise-- love how you feel or your money back! ♪ activia

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there's word tonight that a modern day fixture in the u.s. senate, kay bailey hutchinson of the great state of texas, will not run again in 2012. show occupies the seat once held by lloyd benson. she challenged rick perry in the 2010 republican primary for governor but lost. when her current term is up, she will have served 19 years in the u.s. senate. january 20th will mark the 50th anniversary of john f. kennedy's inauguration. to commemorate the event, the kennedy library has passed on a gift for history buffs, the entire kennedy presidential archive is being digitized. it's now accessible to all on the internet. 1,200 recordings, hundreds of photos, hours of film, all searchable at your own desk. the web address, jfklibrary.org.

italy's mt. etna came to life overnight. molten lava spewing into the night sky for about two hours, flowing down the eastern slope of the mountain like a glowing river. no one was injured, but two nearby airports were briefly shut down. it was always the worst pickup line on the planet. now answering it may require some research. because of news on the web that the zodiac signs may have shifted, thanks to comments made by a minnesota atronner in who was simply explaining an old science called precision, the gradual change in the earth's alignment over thousands of years. it's big news in the world of astrology, because apparently the 12 horoscope signs have changed because the earth's position in relation to the sun has changed, and they've added an unpronounceable 13th sign. this is going to change all those magazine columns and this would mean a big change for yours truly from taurus to aries. and who's prepared for that, really?

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finally tonight, they watched during 9/11 oklahoma city, they were certainly watching during columbine, and they're watching now. all of our kids are seeing something about this tragedy in tucson. tonight, first lady michelle obama, the mother of two daughters, has written a letter to american parents that talks about the lessons of tucson. we just received the text. we'll put it on our website tonight. some young folks talked to us today about processing what has happened there. our report tonight from nbc's kate snow. >> reporter: in tucson, you can hear it. their anguish. their fear. >> i just feel like i want to cry, but i really don't feel like crying because i was crying too much over at my mommy's house. >> reporter: today, we met michaela and her sister. they were outside the safeway grocery store where this all began. >> i was kind of really sad, because i heard about the 9-year-old girl, and my sister is 8.

so i was like whoa, that could have been her, and she's like that age. so i was a little bit scared. >> reporter: but beyond the sadness, this is a teachable moment. >> you have to become an active participant. >> reporter: a u.s. history class in new york debating gun control. >> how come it's harder to get a gun in new york and easier to get a gun in arizona? >> reporter: they know exactly what happened clear across the country. >> six people killed, a 9-year-old killed. >> i'm aware of that. >> here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy. i want to live up to her expectations. i want our democracy to be as good as christina imagined it. >> i feel that the way we treat each other -- actually, if we spoke to each other, there wouldn't be any problems. >> all of us, we should do everything we can do to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.

>> reporter: and what are those expectations? >> we should look at some of the long-term solutions to our problems instead of the short-term ones. >> seeing this just makes us want to strive harder. it makes us want to change. it makes us want to do stuff to help our community. >> as we move on from this tragedy, we must think about the things we can do instead of the things we can't do. >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news, new york. >> with our thanks and condolences to the people of tucson, arizona. that's our broadcast for this thursday night. thank you for being here with us. we wanted to let you know, tomorrow night we'll air a special "making a difference" report from tucson about some of the good to come from this tragedy. i'm brian williams back home tonight here in new york. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com c.com

. good evening. >> some very dangerous candy confusion in san francisco where some middle school students accidentally found it inside their classroom. what was it doing there and what does it say about the school? we're live in san francisco