the nominees are congresswoman gabby giffords. seven months after the shooting she was voting on the house floor. and newt gingrich, he was wandering around on book tours and boorges he's got a shot at winning it all. and the broncos' hero tim tebow, who wasn't expected to be big in the pros but led his team to at least four come-from-behind wins. and whitey bulger, america's most wanted for 16 years when the f.b.i. nabbed him this year the rick? motley crew there. >> i'm going to give it to gabby giffords. we have an email q and a session with her in the issue. amazing story. >> that is a great story and we're also safe with tebow. but i want to put in a word for matt operater -- prater, please. >> serious broncos fan. >> 18 seconds to go and he kicks a field goal to create the tie-breaker, then kicks the winning field goal. come on, prater. chris: i do like the kickers, little skinny guys who can play in the pros. >> i'm doubling down on gaby. -- gabby. how do you not? it was -- it was a moment that actually brought the two part

she may not call herself a hero, but gabby giffords we can all agree is that. an assassin and going about her daily life as a public servant and now a symbol of hope around the world. for gabby giffords the morning began as a official meet and greet, but then it turned to horror. there were gunshots that left six dead including a 9-year-old. giffords was in critical condition and at the time there were conflicting reports as to whether she was alive or dead. she was rushed to the hospital and surgeons operated for hours to save her life. her recovery is nothing short of remarkable and four months after that tragic day, giffords was flown to florida to watch the space shuttle "endeavour" which was commanded by her husband mark kelly, and then in an unexpected and emotional return to washington, giffords returned to the house floor to vote on the debt ceiling, and there she was when everybody was taken aback. her condition continues to improve. she is someone that we are all goi going to be watching. we want to go back now no the day in january when giffords was

our nominees are congresswoman gabby giffords.t seven months after that assassination attempt, there she was voting on the congressional floor. not nearly as notable as newt gingrich, talking about comebacks. he was wandering around on book tours and, boom, he has a shot at winning it all now. there's the denver broncos hero tim tebow, who wasn't expected to be big in the pros but led his team from four straight come-from-behind wins this season. our last comeback kid is a very reluctant one, i must say, who they bulger, america's most wanted 16 years when the f.b.i. nabbed him this year. momly crew there. a motley crew there. >> i will give it to gabby giffords. we have a q & a interview with her as person of the year which she did herself, amazing story, ennobling story, not as funny as the other stuff. but wonderful. >> it is a great story. we're also safe with tebow. but i want to put in a ward for matt prater, please. he's the guy -- >> serious broncos' fan. >> 18 seconds to go and kicks a 59-yard field goal to create the tie

she may not call herself a hero, but gabby giffords we can all agree is that. by an assassin and going about her daily life as a public servant and now a symbol of hope around the world. giffords, the morning began as a official meet and greet, but then it turned to horror. there were gunshots that left six dead, including a 9-year-old. giffords was in critical condition and at the time, there were conflicting reports as to whether she was alive or dead. she was rushed to the hospital and surgeons operated for hours to save her life. her recovery was nothing short of remarkable. and four months after that tragic day, giffords was flown to florida to watch the launch of the space shuttle "endeavour" which was commanded by her husband mark kelly, and then in an unexpected and emotional return to washington, giffords returned to the house floor to vote on the debt ceiling, and there she was when everybody was taken aback. her condition continues to improve. she is someone we are all going to be watching. we want to go back now to that day in january when giffords

but then covering gabby giffords we learned no two injuries -- >> if you look at gabby giffords as sorte best scenario where it was a clear trajectory bryan's is a different case where it will be much longer. half-priced beer, lax security, a thug culture. the reality is whether bryan wants to be sort of the new face of this, we have to be serious about this. major league baseball does not require keeping up with tabs about isolated incidents. so the numbers are really quite squishy. but i've heard this word "epidemic" a lot. time to get serious about the violence in the stands. >> the sports writer who says he gets angry when he hears it's just dodgers stadium. >> it's not a family looking for vengeance. this is a family that wants to tell this story and set things right. >> thanks, doc. look forward to your next story. thanks for visiting us. >>> our next guest -- and when you put it this way, it could only be one guy, comic genius, fixture on twitter, and a bango hero. >>> and it wouldn't be the holidays without the famous rink out here at rockefeller center fp. now in it's 70th year

they used the technique on congresswoman gabby giffords shot this year.some techniques, you can do at home. music therapy is a way of helping pargets with parkinsons -- helping patients with parkinsons. >> i never used to be able to pick up a fork and go to town and feed myself. i've work sod hard to feed myself, i can do it now days. >> they used it to help children with disabilities and neurologic muse wick therapy there is and helping patient with parkinsons. >>> fewer teens are sexting. researchers say 1% of kids between the ages of 10- 17 shards images of themselves -- shared images of themselves with others. a many as one in five, 20% took part in sexting. the study estimates 4000 teen sexting cases were reported to police between the years of 2008-2009. >>> some children live with autism had a chance to visit santa for the first time ever. kids diagnosed have a challenge taking part in traditions that most of us will take for granted including sitting on santa's lap in a busy mall, right here in minnesota. >> you have you have things to look forwar

. >> i'll go domestic and say the shooting of gabby giffords brought into focus the anger in america, the randomness and the inspirational comeback. so i think that that's very memorable. chris: it's a great human story. >> revolution. mubarak, solid man in the middle east out and set loose. chris: still going on, isn't it? >> none of us have mentioned the killing of osama bin laden, which was my number two. chris: thanks to a great roundtable and great memories. thanks to all my guests. i'm back right now for my book tour for jack kennedy elusive hero, which took me around the country. it was great to see many of you out there. this monday i'll be in new york at the 92nd street y. it's a gift of courage that's perfect for the holiday season. that's the show. thanks for watching. see you back here next week for our annua

congresswoman gabby giffords one of the victims. the answer stream media views this as a tragedy to blame the right which ended up wrong. from shakeups to meltdowns, some big media stories from 2011 all next on news watch. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! nner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a mace, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the nture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitaloneom. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet? >> many tragedies were covered by the media this year. a 9.0 in japan followed by a devastating tsunami. the death toll just under 16,000 in addition to the loss of life and tsunami caused three reactors to nearly melt down and a nuclear power facility. in may, ef 5 multiple tornado, in joplin, missouri. and the imams absolutely heart breaking and 160 people lost their lives. in july. a 32

and representative gabby giffords who survived a gunshot wound to the head.up of these people made the list to be time magazine's person of the year. time's final pick, the professor. so, go figure. what, what's your reaction, jud judy? >> it's an appropriate choice. when i think of the events and the arab spring meant to the middle east and to american policy in the middle east and what it's going to mean and i see the way we've all changed for our conversation because of the 99% and the occupy wall street people. i think it was appropriate and it was also a little, you know, out of the usual suspects. >> and i guess my question is, is it right to lump the occupy wall street folks in with the people who are leading those protests in the middle east? >> i think that's a good point. i think that the conflation between the people who overturn dictators in the middle east and a bunch of, well, you know, fill in the blank, and-- >> fill in the blank, jim? >> and i declare, you decide. (laughter) >> i think it's shows the media put so many chips on the protests an

the horrible, tragic shooting of gabby giffords, the congresswoman from tucson, arizona, and presidentbama spoke in january at a memorial service about discourse, about politics, about the prospect of working together. and this is what he said. >> we should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants, like john roll and gabby giffords who knew first and foremost that we are all americans and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern. so that we bequeath the american dream to future generations. >> and yet our politics throughout the year were so broken, marc morial, and as we look ahead now, one of the things to watch in 2012, the most bitterly divided issue for this administration, health care. the president prevailed, he got health care reform but in the middle of this election year, after all that acrimony, the supreme court is going to weigh in on his signature piece of legislation. >> they're going to be a big player this y

then gabby giffords. her courage is just amazing. >> mark: congressman ryan is taken the situation seriously. i get the feeling that some basic name recognition. >> i think so. for me when i first saw the obama numbers, 17%, it tells me a hot of people are out there smoking or some things. but what got me what folks aren't talking about, number 32%. 32% said nobody made their most admired list. so president obama got beat by nobody. >> my two, tim tebow and on the female side, paula dean. that woman can do stuff with butter that is something else. [ laughter ] >> it's funny a little bit. >> i don't know if we had to stick to political figures but tebow is ultra guy. the interest he has stirred from all across america is remarkable. how he is not on had list. >> mark: donald trump and pope benedict. any women should be on? >> i really can't think of anyway off the top of my head. >> why not paula dean. she is terrific. she gives people turkeys for thanksgiving and has all the recipes with butter. [ laughte

and fear which has taken many different forms this year from the hate and fear surrounding the gabby giffords shooting to the hate and fear most motivating islamophobia aggression hearings on capitol hill to the hate and fear that drove our ongoing wars in the middle east hate and fear is sadly very much with us today in america and that man who was executed back in july had a message we all needed to hear that and frankly still need to hear today and movie before. last night a man in texas was executed his name was mark strawman and he was given a lethal injection by the state of texas because he let himself get consumed with eight ten days after nine eleven straw men went on a shooting spree hell bent on killing as many muslims as he could on three separate nights he walked into dallas gas stations with a shotgun opening fire killing two muslim men and shooting another man in the face the third victim. boyan just barely survived the shooting boyan will be partially blind for the rest of his life because of his injuries he wasn't interested in i for an eye justice why because his muslim reli

the horrible, tragic shooting of gabby giffords, the congresswoman from tucson, arizona, and president obama spoke in january at a memorial service about discourse, about politics, about the prospect of working together. and this is what he said. >> we should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants, like john roll and gab go giffords who knew first and foremost that we are all americans and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern. so that we bequeath the american dream to future generations. >> and yet our politics throughout the year were so broken, marc morial, and as we look ahead now, one of the things to watch in 2012, the most bitterly divided issue for this administration, health care. the president prevailed, he got health care reform but in the middle of this election year, after all that acrimony, the supreme court is going to weigh in on his signature piece of legislation. >> they're going to be a big player thi

maybe beneath the idea if you call it this is like when you had having merivale and blame for gabby giffords shooting it is that absurd this man this woman was mentally ill we were in all of her bad situation in this country would have a very very bad situation in this country where. where literally hundreds hundreds of thousands of people are desperate for where to feed their children and it's important that we focus on it is a new story that's not using the politically deadly that's that's putting it in for discussion only when people are struggling rational reasonable people are struggling that is that's a good way it's a good way to use that as a hook when members of the idea of people can't get help when they can't get mental it's one until illness it is known from it's being framed through a lens i mean mental help mental help is one thing but being from the lines of oh she didn't get food stamps therefore she killed herself i'm saying that was that was the trigger that provoked her mental illness which was untreated somebody said they didn't want to live in germany or some. i don't li

and representative gabby giffords who survived a gunshot wound to the head. of these people made the list to be time magazine's person of the year. time's final pick, the professor. so, go figure. what, what's your reaction, jud judy? >> it's an appropriate choice. when i think of the events and the arab spring meant to the middle east and to american policy in the middle east and what it's going to mean and i see the way we've all changed for our conversation because of the 99% and the occupy wall street people. i think it was appropriate and it was also a little, you know, out of the usual suspects. >> and i guess my question is, is it right to lump the occupy wall street folks in with the people who are leading those protests in the middle east? >> i think that's a good point. i think that the conflation between the people who overturn dictators in the middle east and a bunch of, well, you know, fill in the blank, and-- >> fill in the blank, jim? >> and i declare, you decide. (laughter) >> i think it's shows the media put so many chips on the protests and

. >> 20 11 was tragic with the shooting of gabby giffords and unfolding of the arab spring and takingn of osama bin laden. what will happen in 2012? we'll tackle the year ahead, steve. >> you will replay them. and what happen in 2012. and they are good at making mistakes politically. i think it is more awn than not the white house will win the senate. despite good democratic recruits and keep the house of representative. and we'll go in with an all republican. >> who will be the republican president? >> probably mitt romney. >> liz. i am going to disagree. in a yearr of volatility we'll have status quo . i think obama will get reelect republicans will keep the house and democrats will narrowly keep the senate. they will pick up a seat in massachusetts and somewhere else like nevada. >> that's interesting. i think the conventional wisdom because the democrats are defenged. -- defending. >> i think they will lose 3. but i think they will retain control. >> i agree. but they will not retain control. i think republicans will be running the senate. however, i think obama will stay in the w

it happened early in the year right after gabby giffords was shot.t was -- that she does not belong on the national stage. >> apart from me in a tuxedo, i think it's going -- can you get two revvies in the inaugural year? herman cain will never be the nominee, will never be president, and honestly he'll never be secretary of defense, even if he wants it. >> but he can sing. >> he can sing. >> michael? >> donald trump. i guess one can only hope. his 15 minutes have been going for 40 years. i think it's interesting that donald started out right up there, and then it dissipated, came back and now gone again. >> it follows the ratings. >> maria? >> my vote is sarah palin, once again she realized her star is fading fast. perhaps she's going to go ahead and run for president. i think it's a little too late for her. >> i would agree with sarah palin. i think trump definitely made a splash, but i don't think he's going anywhere. i think sarah palin, it's almost bye-bye. >> pull wait for that broken -- jest, my friend. be careful. >> be careful obi-wan. >>> h

. >> reporter: the miraculous return of gabby giffords. she shocked the nation with a surprise visit to the house floor. months later, she and her husband talked about their ordeal with diane sawyer. >> is there a word for mark? >> brave. >> that's what i think of when i think of you, too. >> reporter: number two, jobs. or lack thereof. that could be the determining factor if obama keeps his job. job fairs around the country are inundated. in los angeles, 11,000 showed up for a single job fair. >> you got child, kids. you got bills. >> reporter: the year started out with an unemployment rate of 9.4%. it improved ever ever so slightly. by year's end, it was still too high. number one the boom and bust republican primary. in august, michele bachmann looked like a front-runner. >> thank you, everyone! we did this together. >> reporter: she won the iowa straw poll and then promptly flamed out. next up, rick perry shot to the top but not for long. >> the -- commerce, and let's see -- i can't. oops. >> reporter: herman cain had his turn, he, too

a gunman shot congresswoman gabby giffords in the head. he wounded 18 others, six of them killed. apeas will go i, giffords survived the assassination attempt and made a triumphant return to washington a few months later. a wave of unrest across the middle east in northern africa. citizens toppled long-time lead are in tunisia and egypt but it was the dangerous dictator of libya who put up the biggest fight. his 40-year reign of terror came to a gruesome end when fighters killed him in his hometown in october. the arab spring, as it became known, stretched into summer and fall with deadly protests persisting persisting in syria and yemen. >>> a devastating tsunami and earthquake in japan. a stormy spring in the u.s. meteorologists said there were more than 750 tornadoes in april alone. hundreds of people were killed. but the hardest hit city was joplin, missouri. a powerful ef-5 tornado left 157 people dead making the joplin twister the deadliest in decades. a new era of british royalty began when prince william and his blushing bride, kate, swapped vows. may 1st, a dramatic late

. >>> gabby giffords' future. what her husband is saying about her potential run for re- election. >>> and numbers are lower, but that may not necessarily be good news about the job market. eyewitness news at 4:00 continues with vic right after this. ,, sbcr! [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement. it's an amazing holiday deal. but don't wait. it's only available for a limited time. so go to verizon.com/superoffer to sign up. act now and we'll add a special bonus -- $300 back. fios delivers the best picture quality, plus america's fastest, most consistent most reliable internet. spend the holidays saving money. switch to fios and get our best price online -- just $79.99 a month for two years with a 2 year agreement when you order online. save $840 in your first two years. and don't forget your spe

in arizona, jared lee loughner gunned down congresswoman gabbie giffords in a parking lot.t in the head, but managed to survive. loughner was declared incompetent to stand trial in 2011, but may face the death penalty in the future. troy davis lost his fight on death row though he maintained his innocence until the end. >> this night, a state of georgia legally lynched a good, brave and innocent man. >> davis was put to death for the 1989 murder of an off duty savannah police officer. even world figures like pope benedict and president jimmy carter had urged the execution be halted. also staring down death row, joshua cokomisarjevsky was con t convicted of a tef murder of jennifer hawk pe-petit and her o daughters. she was strangled by komisarjevsky and his accompl e accomplice. michaela was sexually molested, then left to die in a fire with her sister set by the man. jay see dugard was able to escape her captors. she gave birth to two children during her 18 years in captivity. the father of those children, one of her abductors, phillip garrido. phillip and his wife, nancy,

. >> some people might wonder, not in your top five, steve jobs, gabby giffords. >> gabby giffords isthe magazine. we did an e-mail interview. steve jobs is at the beginning of our farewell section where we say goodbye to people who left us during the course of the year. you know, a lot of discussion about steve jobs. it's not -- it's not a lifetime achievement award, and steve, you know, is someone i venuer ate, but it wasn't a year where he transformed anything. >> when it came down to the final voting, rick, was it a unanimous choice? was there a lot of disagreement? did you have to step in and make the final decision? how did it go? >> you know, there was a lot of consensus among our people, among our correspondents and editors. people felt that this was the best choice, the most serious choice. and so it actually felt right and good. >> all right. so i'm assuming that you are ready. you have a magazine in your lap. >> i do. >> and the criteria is someone who has influenced the past year, also may influence the year ahead? >> right. i like to choose somebody who actually does infl

number four, congresswoman gabby giffords is shot in the head at a public event and survives.n january, accused gunman jared lee loughner goes on a shooting rampage in tucson, killing six, wounding 13, including the congresswoman, gabby giffords. she survived and is making strides in her recovery. number three, the arab spring spreads from tunisia, regimes fall in egypt and libya. around the globe, it's been a year of protests, of people power, of revolution. and the arab spring started with the single salesman in tunisia who lit himself on fire in protests when officials prevented him from selling his goods on the streets. his desperate act set off a call for freedom that echoed across the region. the protests brought the downfall of tunisia's leader and doomed the long-standing regime in egypt. it helped spark a war in libya. dictator moammar gadhafi flees and is later killed. number two, japan suffers a major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. >> oh, my god. that is the biggest earthquake to date. it is still going. oh, my god, the building is going to fall. >> on marc

a gunman shot congresswoman gabby giffords in the head, wounded 18 here's, 6 of them killed. amazingly giffords survived the assassination attempt and made a triumphant return to washington a few months later. a wave of unrest in africa, citizens toppled the leadership in egypt, but moammar gadhafi put up the biggest fight. his 40 year reign of terror finally ended when fighters killed him in his hometown in october. the arab spring as it became known stretched into summer and fall with deadly protests persisting in syria and yemen. march 11th a massive earthquake shook japan. the magnitude 8.9 quake unleashed a devastating tsunami trig iring a meltdown at this power -- triggering a meltdown at this power plant. a stormy spring in the u.s. there were more than 7050 tornadoes in april alone meter -- 750 tornadoes in april alone, hundreds of people killed, but hardest hit was joplin, missouri. a powerful ef5 tornado left 157 people dead making it the deadliest twister in decades. a new era of british royalty began when prince william and his blushing bride kate swapped vows. ma

gun fire interrupted a political event near tucson, a gunman shot congresswoman gabby giffords in theunded 18 others, six of them killed. amazingly, giffords surprised the assassination attempt and made a triumph fant return to washington a few months later. a wave ofup rest across the middest east in north africa, citizens toppled longtime leaders in tunisia and egypt but the dangerous dictator of libya who put up the biggest fight. his 40-year rein of terror game to a gruesome end when fighters killed him in his hometown in october. the arab spring stretchd into summer and fall with deadly protests persisting in syria and a 8.9 quake unleashed a devastating tsunami and triggered a meltdown at this power plant. a stormy spring in the u.s. meteorologists said there were more than 750 tornados in april alone and hundreds of people were killed. the hardest-hit city was joplin missouri a powerful ef- 5 tornado left 155 people dead, making the john lip twister the deadliest in decades -- joplin twister the deadliest in decades. >>> a new era of royalty began when prince william and kate w

this is [ non-english language ] she is on the list including congressman gabby giffords and pop singerell. the decision drew a lot of complaints of sexism on twitter. the person is on loan bear is on loan to the zoo where they hope to produce cubs. >>> what do you see coming on new year's eve? >> we'll try to keep it dry but we have a chance of showers. it doesn't look like a big weathermaker but probably the best we have seen in some time. this cold front sliding into the state right now. a lot of clouds moving into our skies. we have seen fog and drizzle at the coast probably going to see a little more overnight but the main brunt of the system still headed to the north. it looks like as we go through the nighttime hours more clouds on the way. mostly cloudy skies, fog and drizzle at the coastline. cloudy friday and there's a chance we could see a few light showers. doesn't look big but looks like a dry start to the new year. may be getting some rain toward next week. 57 concord, 54 san francisco and san jose. around the state rainfall to the north as we'll see showers continuing the

. >> will gabby giffords run for re-election? what her husb,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> it is 5:30. 54 degrees and clear out there tonight. good evening. and thank you for staying with wjz eyewitness news. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. al qaeda is now claiming responsibility for the capture of a 70 yearly maryland man in pakistan. jessica kartalija reports, the terrorist group has set specific set of demands they say must be met before they release him. >> reporter: the abduction of warren weinstein was violent in his home in lahor, pakistan. now, al qaeda leader ayman al- zawahri said weinstein would be freed if the u.s. stops air strikes in afghanistan and pakistan. in august, armed men pretending to offer his guards food stormed the gate with ak-47s. they tied and gagged and tortured those gards -- guards and gained access to weinstein in his apartment. now, a 30-minute video, depands he stops-- demands he stops trikes on yemen -- strikes on yemen. winesteen, who was 70, works for a company in virginia

subway hero, or daniel hernandez, congressional intern who helped save the live of congresswoman gabby giffords. the speech writers come up with a way to fit the personal story of the hero into the speech. the person gets recognition at the big speech event. it's a way we model he e row roism for the whole country. i do not resent this at all. i think it's cool. when presidents speak to military audiences, there's a variation on this, where they highlight the story of a service member who has a connection to that specific military audience. president obama speaking today at ft. bragg on the occasion of the ending of the iraq war. president obama did one of those tried and trued include a personal story thing. in the middle of his speech today about the war ending. the president told a service member's individual story. but this time there was a surprise. it had a very unexpected ending, this story. i did not see this coming. i don't think the audience saw this coming. not from the way they reacted. this is not how i thought this story would end. >> as americans, we have a responsibility to lear