on the broadcast tonight -- tragedy in tucson. the next big step for congresswoman giffords. also, news about the suspect, including some bizarre photos and a web message he left for friends. revolution in the streets of a region that's key to u.s. security. family questions. did ronald reagan have early stage alzheimer's in the white house? me surprising revelations from his son, ron jr. fast track to sainthood? news about pope john paul ii and the controversies that still surround him. and "making a difference" from tucson. a simple act of kindness after the tragedy. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian williams. it's hard to believe it's been almost a week since the massacre outside a tucson supermarket. and for her doctors, even harder to believe that wounded congresswoman gabby giffords has come as far as she has. today, her husband astronaut mark kelly tweeted "thanks for all the messages of support. i have some great followers. g.g., he wrote, has been improving each day. that encouraging message came on another bittersweet day in tucson as another victim was laid to rest and some of the wounded survivors began new chapters in their forever alted lives. nbc's kristen welker joins us from tucson now with the latest. kristen? >> reporter: lester, these have been long and difficult days for tucson residents but now the weekend begins with much-needed good news.

doctors at university medical center treating gabrielle giffords say with each passing day there is progress. >> we couldn't have hoped for any better improvement than we're seeing now. >> reporter: giffords' district director, ron barber, wounded saturday, was released today. he posed for a picture with anna ballis, who applied pressure to his wounds after the shooting. barber also visited the memorial outside the hospital. >> he insisted that we take him out there. he wanted to see the entire thing. >> reporter: giffords' aide, pam simon, returned to work today at the congresswoman's district office. >> i celebrate every morning that i'm still here. >> reporter: she says her physical wounds are still healing, but the pain of losing six people, including fellow staffer gabe zimmerman, will last a lifetime. >> i think there are almost no words when you have that kind of loss of life, especially when they are people that did nothing more than do what good citizens do.

>> reporter: randy gardner is also a survivor. in a chilling coincidence, he was a student at kent state in 1970 when the ohio national guard opened fire on students protesting the war in vietnam. >> in some ways it seems like we have just as much anger today as we had then. >> reporter: today, pima county sheriff's department released emergency dispatch calls deploying deputies. >> we have a caller who believes that gabrielle giffords was shot. that's multiple victims. >> reporter: and reports from the first to reach the scene. >> we have at least seven, eight, maybe ten gunshot victims here. we're going to need pd here, as well. >> reporter: tucson continues to say goodbye. mourners came to pay their respects as 63-year-old federal judge john roll was laid to rest. dark days for a community shrouded in grief. and this community still has to bury four more victims. the congresswoman remains in critical condition here at the

hospital. three others are in good condition, expected to be released soon. lester? >> kristen welker tonight, thank you. each day of this tragedy seems to bring new bizarre details about the accused killer, jared loughner. the latest, the discovery of disturbing photos loughner dropped off at a local film developer the day before the attack. let's go to nbc's mike taibbi working that part of the story for us tonight. mike? >> reporter: good evening, lester. yes, bizarre is the right word. a nearly naked loughner is posing himself in these shots, in one case with a gun down by his crotch, another down by his buttocks. the film dropped off at processing one week ago at 11:35 at a nearby walgreen's. an hour later he checks into a motel 6, but apparently not to sleep. he's busy, up all night. at 4:12 in the morning, he posts a goodbye, friends message on his myspace page. then at 7:04, he's on the move. he goes to a walmart, attempts to buy ammunition, does not

succeed. at 7:27, goes to a second walmart, gets his ammo, buys a back bag. then at 7:30, that infamous traffic stop. between then and 9:41, he goes home, has a confrontation with his father. by 9:54, a cab arrives at the safeway. he's photographed going inside to get change for a $20 to pay the cabby. and at 10:10, the shooting starts. lester? >> mike taibbi, thank you. we'll have more from tucson a bit later in the broadcast. one woman's act of extraordinary kindness that's making a difference. we'll tell you more about that. we want to turn overseas to a striking development in the north african nation of tunisia, a close ally of the u.s. in the fight against global terror. tonight, after violent protests that have lasted for weeks, the tunisian government has fallen. the president has fled. some are calling this the first wikileaks revolution. nbc's michelle kaczynski is monitoring the developments for us from our london bureau. michelle?

>> reporter: good evening, lester. what we've witnessed tonight is a revolution in north africa. the scenes in the streets of the capital, tunis, have been extraordinarily, openly violent, relentless. police used live bullets on crowds of thousands. according to official reports, two dozen protestors have been killed since demonstrations began last month. but they've also been successful. >> we don't want food. we don't want jobs. we want him out. >> reporter: tonight, the prime minister announced that the president ben ali has relinquished power to him and fled the country. just yesterday, ben ali tried to quell the fury caused by high unemployment and food prices by offering sweeping reforms. but all too late. in this u.s. friendly islamic country, with a long history of combatting terror, supporting education and women's rights, a

stunning downfall. >> extraordinary. absolutely extraordinary to watch. this was an extraordinary moment in middle eastern history. >> reporter: around the same time this started, wikileaks released american diplomatic cables describing this troubled state, highlighting police control and deep corruption. just as in iran, twitter and youtube opened the world's eyes to unrest. the foreign policy blog asks, is this the first wikileaks revolution? probably well overstating it, but here again, freedom of expression found those virtual rivers to flow through. >> there was so much that was coming out of tunisia via twitter. the revolution has been twitterized. >> reporter: all watch now around the globe and tunisia's tense neighbors especially. tonight, president obama condemned the use of force against the protestors and called on tunisia to truly reform human rights and its political process. lester? >> michelle kaczynski in london tonight, thank you.

back in washington, a somber event at the end of this very sad week. presidents clinton and obama were part of a large turnout from around the globe for the memorial service for richard holbrooke, a widely respected, old school career diplomat who left his mark on our world. >> there are few people in any time, but certainly in our time who can say, i stopped a war, i made peace, i saved lives, i helped countries heal. richard holbrooke did these things. >> holbrooke was serving this administration in two hot spots, afghanistan and pakistan, when he died last month. an update now on two flooding emergencies. first, brazil where there are now more than 500 dead and many more missing outside rio de janeiro, and the rescue work is

slow and tedious. again tonight, here's nbc's mark potter. >> reporter: with the death toll rising and hundreds missing, survivors are still reeling from the floods and mudslides that ripped through the mountains near rhee yoe day sha jannero. outside morgues, desperate family members try to identify loved ones. throughout the area, funerals are under way as residents bury the victims, including children. among the reported dead is the brazilian fashion designer, daniela conley, who was with her family at an evening party when a wall of water smashed the home. >> her 2-year-old son, her husband, her mother and father, two or three nephews and the nanny died. >> reporter: now the woman whose dramatic rescue was shown around the world says it was by a miracle of god she survived. but also says the biggest sorrow in her heart is the loss of her dog, whom she tried to help but couldn't save as he was swept from her arms by the flood. mark potter, nbc news, miami.

>> and now to australia, where the people of brisbane are getting their first look of what's left behind after that deluge. nbc's ian williams is there. >> reporter: brisbane's big cleanup has begun as the flood water receded today, so residents returned to the muddied shelves of their home. >> it's obliterated everything in the house. >> reporter: 71-year-old marge nixon had seen it all before, her home swamped in the last big flood 36 years ago. >> this one seems to be more destructive. >> reporter: her family helped clear what was left of her belongings. >> this is what we walked into this morning. >> reporter: the most painful loss for nixon, the toys she had accumulated over the years from children and grandchildren. >> if you don't have a sense of humor, you crack up. >> reporter: just up the road, shane long had only moved into his house last week. >> we put carpets down last thursday and friday. >> reporter: all across the city, residents are returning to scenes like this, and discovering there's very little

they can salvage. some 35,000 homes were affected and 30 of brisbane's suburbs inundated. many areas are still isolated. the waters still too high for residents to return. these men braved the remaining water, having left all their possessions on the second floor of their home, thinking this would be safe. it wasn't. >> looks like a total loss. >> reporter: the local economy has taken a huge hit. farmers returned to fields littered with dead sheep. though these cows got their first good meal in five days. back at marge nixon's house, more volunteers came to lend a hand. here they call it the queensland spirit, and there's been plenty of that today, determined to clean up and rebuild this flood devastated city. ian williams, nbc news, brisbane. when "nightly news" continues in just a moment, startling new disclosures from president reagan's son, ron,

about his dad's alzheimer's disease. later, someone who has been making a difference in tucson for years and how much this community needs her now.

as we approach the 100th anniversary of the birth of

president ronald reagan next month, his son, ron, has written a new book with startling disclosures about when his dad's alzheimer's disease started to reveal itself. here's nbc's john yang. >> so help you god. >> so help me god. >> reporter: ronald reagan was the oldest president ever, 69 when he took office. he was diagnosed with alzheimer's disease five years after leaving the white house. but in a new book son ron reagan writes that as early as thre years into his first term, i was feeling the first shivers of concern that something beyond mellowing was affecting my father. he says he was alarmed by his father's first 1984 campaign debate with democrat walter mondale. >> the system is still where it was with regard to the -- with regard to the progression as i said. >> reporter: my heart sank, as he foundered his way through his responses, fumbling with his notes, uncharacteristically lost

for words. he looked tired and bewildered. at the time, reagan aides said he had been overcoached. his age became an issue until the second debate. >> i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [ laughter ] >> reporter: just when reagan's alzheimer's was evident has been a hot topic of debate since his diagnosis. his personal physician said clear signs didn't show up until 1993. >> to really change our knowledge of ronald reagan, you would have to go back into the presidency and find a case where one of his doctors said, i see signs of alzheimer's that is disturbing. i don't think that evidence exists. >> reporter: the book makes a startling new claim, that when reagan fell off a horse six months after leaving office, doctors found signs of alzhei r alzheimer's. ron reagan says he has no evidence that his father or anyone else was aware of the onset of alzheimer's at the time he was president. he writes if his father had been diagnosed while in office, he

believes he would have stepped down. john yang, nbc news, new york. embattled republican national chairman michael steele finally threw in the towel today, withdrawing from the contest for a new two-year term. he had faced questions about financial and management problems and embarrassing public statements. he'll be replaced by a former supporter, wisconsin republican party chief reince priebus. on wall street today, stocks marched higher, reaching levels not seen in 2 1/2 years. the dow closed up more than 55 points at 11,787. when we come back, pope john paul ii, a step closer to becoming a saint. what happens next?

pope john paul ii died in 2005, and now six years later, he's one step closer to becoming a saint. pope benedict is leading the process, but the beatification of his predecessor is not without controversy. here's nbc's anne thompson. ♪

>> reporter: from the funeral, the cry "sainthood now" is one miracle away from being answered. this may, the church will beatify the man who redefined the papacy in the modern age. working to topple communism. traveling the world, reaching out to other faiths. a media superstar, now on his way to becoming a saint at a record pace. >> he made christianity interesting in a world that thought that christianity was fading to the margins of history. >> reporter: to achieve sainthd, two miracs must be attributed to the person. today, pope benedict xvi decreed the first, the cure of a french nun's parkinson's disease. she says that happened after she prayed to john paul, who also suffered from the ailment. yet during john paul's 27-year

papacy, catholics in the u.s. and europe drifted away in droves. many liberal catholics felt shut out. critics charge he failed to grasp the enormity of the priest sex abuse crisis. >> he was very slow in responding to that, very slow in believing the accusations or understanding how extensive this problem was. but when someone is made a saint, we're not saying all those things were good or done right. >> reporter: that life inspired bob barren to become a preacher of the catholic faith. >> the church really changed under his influence and we became more confident, we became bolder, i think more public. >> reporter: inspiration and devotion that overwhelmed vatican city when john paul died. the pope who created more saints than any other, now on the verge of becoming a saint himself. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. up next here tonight, back to tucson for tonight's "making a difference." about an effort that started well before the tragedy, but

it's very, very much needed right now.

finally tonight, we go back to tucson for tonight's "making a difference" report. the shooting tragedy there has left so many in arizona and the

rest of the nation wondering whether there is anything good, any lesson we can all learn out of so much grief and sadness. so we want to end this week with one woman who has been giving something back to that community for years who this week found her simple cause of spreading kindness more needed than ever. here's nbc's lee cowan. >> reporter: this story starts with the death of another tucson child. a little boy named ben. an illness claimed him back in 2002. and for his mother, there were no headlines or live media coverage. just her quiet, unbearable grief. >> i wanted to die. i wanted to curl up and never get out of bed. >> reporter: but it was in those depths she noticed the smallest acts of kindness mattered the most. maybe it was just someone holding a door or giving her a parking spot or just a smile. so she went to work to pass kindness along. she started making ceramic wind chimes that she would randomly hang around tucson just for

people to find. she called them ben's bells. and they came with a note. "be kind." it was as simple as that. >> we don't have any fanfare. we don't do press releases. we don't do anything. we just go in, hang the bells and we leave. >> reporter: soon, jeanette and her kindness scavenger hunts became a tucson tradition. hundreds of volunteers pitched in every week to help. but then came last saturday. >> there's kind of a vibe people have right now. very, very bewildered, kind of overwhelmed vibe, and just desperate for something -- something to do. >> reporter: never before had ben's bells filled such a need. by week's end, hundreds had lined up in the wee hours of the morning just for the privilege of ringing in a little kindness. >> we ring these bells in honor of the beautiful members of our

community who died this week. >> reporter: more than 1,400 in all were quietly hung all over town. >> just thinking about those people we lost, the families. >> reporter: they hung them in playgrounds and parking lots. yes, even that parking lot. still a crime scene, volunteers weren't allowed in. so the fbi hung the chimes for them. >> look at that. >> reporter: what started out as a memorial for a little boy has become a gift for a community in pain. so if you pass through here in the days and months ahead, keep your heads up and your eyes open. you may just find kindness blowing in the desert wind. lee cowan, nbc news, tucson. and that's our broadcast for this friday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in tonight for brian. i'll see you tomorrow morning on "today" and right back here tomorrow night. good night, everyone. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . .

we're innocent bystanders. >> too much violence and not enough officers to handle it. people in fear in one south bay neighborhood turn to silicon valley for protection. good evening. thank you for joining us. >> a south bay community is telling gang members, not