nurses and doctors who worked wonders to heal those who have been hurt. we are grateful to them. [ cheers and applause ] these men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. they remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. heroism is here in the hearts of so many of our fellow

citizens. all around us just waiting to be summoned. as it was on saturday morning. their actions, their self- lessness poses a challenge to each of us. it raises the question of what beyond prayers and expressions of concern is required of us going forward. how can we honor the fallen? how can we be true to their memory? you see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations, to try to impose some order on

the chaos. and make sense out of that which seems senseless. already we have seen a national conversation commence not only about the motivations behind these killings but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the ad quasisy -- be the ad squat and what might be done to prevent tragedies in the future is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government. but at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame

at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do. it is important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals not in a way that wounds. [ cheers and applause ] >> scripture tells us that there is evil in the world and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. in the words of joe, when i looked for light, then came

darkness. bad things happen. and we have to guard against simple explanations in the aftermath. the truth is none of us know exactly what triggered this this vicious attack. nobody knows what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind. yes, we have to examine all the facts behind this tragedy. we cannot and will not be pass passive in the face of violence. we should be able to lessen the prospects of such violence in the future. >> [ cheers cheers and applause >> but what we cannot do is use

this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other. [ cheers and applause >> that we cannot do. [ cheers and applause ] >> that we cannot do. as we discuss these issues, let's each of us do so with a good dose of humility. rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame. let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations. to listen to each other more

carefully. to sharpen our instincts for empathy. and remind ourselves of all of the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together. [ cheers and applause >> after all, that's what most of us do when we lose somebody in our family. especially if the loss is unexpected. we are shaken out of our routines. we are forced to look inwards. we reflect on the past that we spend enough time with and aging parent we wonder, did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us? did we tell a spouse just how

desperately we love them? not just once in a while but every single day. so some loss causees us to look backwards but it also forces us to look forward. to reflect on the present and the future. on the manner in which we live our lives. and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. [ cheers and applause ] >> we may ask ourselves if we have shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children

or our community. whether our priorities are in order. we recognize our own mortality and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth what matters is not wealth or status or power or fame but rather how well we have loved. [ cheers and applause ] . >> and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. >> and that process of making sure of that.

for those who were harmed, those who were killed, they are part of our family. an american family. 300 million strong. [ cheers and applause ] . >> we may not have known them personally but surely we see ourselves in them. and george and dot and darwin and mavi, we since the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. phyllis, she is our mom or our grandma. gabe our brother. or son. [ cheers and applause

>> and in the judge we recognize not only a man who apprised his family and in doing his job well but also a man who embody america's laws. in gabby we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious but always necessary and never ending process to form a more perfect union. [ cheers and applause ] >> and in christina we see all

of our children. so curious, trusting, energetic, so full of magic, so deserving of our love, and so deserving of our good example. if this tragedy prompts reflection and debate as it should, let's make sure it is worthy of those we have lost. [ cheers and applause ] .. >> let's make sure it is not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness in the next new cycle. the loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better, to be

better in our private lives, to be better friends, neighbors, coworkers and parents and if as has been discussed in recent days their death helps usher in more civility in our public discourse let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civilility caused this tragedy, it did not but only because a more civil an honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud. [ cheers and applause ]

[ cheers and applause ] >> we should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public certify vant public service who gabby that we can question each other's ideas without questioning one's love of country and our task working to the is to constandpointly widen the circle -- constantly wideen it for the future generations. they believe and i believe that

we can be better. those who died here, those who saved lives here, they help me believe. we may not be able to stop all evil in the world. but i know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us. [ cheers and applause >> and i believe that for all our imperfections we are full of goodness and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. [ cheers and applause ] >> that's what i believe. in part because that's what a child like christi taylor green believed. [ cheers and applause

>> imagine, for a moment here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy, just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship. just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. she had been elected to her student council. she saw public service as something exciting. and hopeful. she was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. she saw all this through the eyes of a child. undimmed by cn cynsism that we

adults often just take for granted. i want to live up to her expectations. i want our democracy to be as good as christina imagined it. i want america to be as good as she imagined it. all of us we should do everything we can do to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations. [ cheers and applause ] ..

as has already been mentioned, christina was given to us on september 11, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called faces of hope. on either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child's life. i hope you help those in need read one. i hope you know all the words to the national anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. [ cheers and applause

>> i hope you jump in rain puddles. if there are rain puddles in heaven christina is jumping in them today. [ cheers and applause >> and here on this earth, here on this earth we place our hands over our hearts and we commit ourselves as americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle happy spirit. may god bless and keep those we have lost restful and in eternal peace. may he love and watch over the survivors. and may he bless the united states of america. [ cheers and applause >> president obama talking for about 35 minutes there at the

memorial honoring the first responders and the victims and he asked people to talk to each other in a way that heals not a way that wounds. complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is ktvu channel 2news at 6:00 p.m. looking live here at a crowd gathered outside the plaza in oakland. young democrats holding a candle light vigil. it is a show of support for congresswoman giffords and victims in the shooting in tucson. >> good evening. >> you just saw the vigil in oakland but in arizona tonight a much larger crowd has gathered for that memorial service to remember the victims of the tucson shooting rampage. a live picture now from that service which is still underway at the university of arizona's university. a large crowd of 14,000 people have gathered there and president obama just finished

speaking to the audience. he called for unity and tried to lift the spirit of the nation. the show of support has reached here to the bay area. the tragedy is being marked tonight in oakland with a vigil. we have more on the story from oakland. >> reporter: well, the vigil here at oakland city hall just concluded and people are starting to disperse. there were i would say more than 100 people here to remember the events of tucson. now, this event was put on by the east bay young democrats. they say that this vigil was completely nonpartisan. but elsewhere there have been accusations of partisanship that have flown after the tucson tragedy. >> reporter: the message of the vigil was clear, a call to end political violence, all violence. oakland council member rebecca caplin was participant. >> certainly we pray for the congresswoman to have a full and speedy recovery and our hearts go out to all those that lost their lives in this

horrific act of violence and it is important we show our unity here we don't believe in that kind of violence. >> reporter: this event to keep congresswoman giffords in their prayers comes as others are claiming people are playing politics in tucson by blaming political speech which brought this resort from sarah palin retort from sar pam. >> they should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to insight the violence. >> reporter: organizers say one message from the vigil is that all sides must come together after this tragedy. >> i think everybody feels the same way. wise people on both sides of the aisle feel the same way. that this is not the time for

separation. >> reporter: again, the vigil here has concluded at oakland city hall. there were a number of speeches. we will bring you some of the sights and sounds of this vigil at 10:00 p.m. tonight. in oakland, ktvu channel 2news. there are positive signs tonight in the recovery of the congresswoman. doctors in tucson say giffords is less sedated and more responsive. her recovery is going as anticipated and tonight the president said that she opened her eyes for the first time today. her long-term outlook though remains unclear because it is expected she will suffer some type of permanent brain damage. of the six shooting victims in the hospital from saturday's shooting giffords is the only one now who is still in critical condition. for the latest information in the tucson shootings you can also go to our website ktvu.com and click on the national tab. a man wrongfully convicted for a 1989 double murder in san francisco walked out of the

prison late this afternoon a free man. we captured his first moments of freedom on camera. [ cheers and applause state prison officials issued a discharge order to release the man at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. he was convicted of a double murder in the city's bay view district. the conviction was based on the testimony of a police informant. last month a judge said the now dead informant lied on the stand. prosecutors then said they would not seek to retry him. some call it a perk and many lawmakers who benefit from it refuse to act claiming it would cost too much to change. ktvu consumer editor is live now in san leandro. tom. >> reporter: if you run this light here in san leandro and and many others the cameras

will make sure you pay a $351 penalty but more than 1 million california public employees have a loophole. the cars are photographed and they collect. same with road and bridge toll avoiders. more than 1 million public employees from legislators to social workers to museum guards have had an amazing loophole. many public employees and their families using a law originally designed to protect judges and cops' home addresses have been able to skip paying automatic tolls and if you can believe it red light camera violations because their license numbers are blocked from enforce agencies. >> we are unable to know where they live so we can not contact them. >> reporter: very few employees hide behind the loop home but

they rack up violations. >> we don't want to spend up $50 to get $5 and often that's what you have to do. >> people are using it to get out of -- to get raises, revenues for the local and government then i think maybe you should reevaluate that. >> i think it is unfair. i think that it should be changed. i don't think that there should be any exemptions for anyone. you break the law, you pay the price. >> i don't think that's fair. i think the rules should apply to everyone. california is broke and i think everyone should pay their fair share here. >> reporter: l.a.'s five-year- old red light camera program has lost at least $7 million in fines on 56,000 uncollectible tickets, some of which, not all, fall under this loophole. reporting live from san leandro an. . facing charges tonight in the case of a musician shot one year ago tonight on a bay area freeway. 24-year-old duey tucker was shot and killed while driving

his car near hercules. four santa rosa men were arraigned this afternoon on charges including murder. the highway patrol held a press conference that just wrapped up a few minutes ago to explain what happened. >> reporter: the victim dewy tucker was not the intended target. this is truly an horrific and tragic case of mistaken identity. >> authorities say the four men intended to kill a member of a rival gang. we will explain how a recent seemingly unrelated crime may have helped crack the case on bay area news at 7:00 p.m. on tv 36. we are going to change geeshes now and talk about the weather. we actually got to see some sunshine today. for a look at what is heading our way tomorrow let's check in with our chief meteorologist bill martin. >> more clouds out there, julie and looking for rain to start your morning commute with a few showers. five-day forecast now. we can see what we are talking about. showers lingering throughout the day. morning commute could be wet in the north bay. afternoon commute probably will be damp in the rest of the bay

area. friday, saturday, sunday looking okay. so definitely a change in the weather pattern. >> bill, thanks very much. and that is our report for now. have a good evening. >> good night. captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com

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