i love gabby giffords.i was honored when she first ran for office before she was elected to go to her district, as i have done for so many others in this country, to stand by her side, to walk down the streets of her community with her, to see in her the beauty not only of person. many of us see the outward advicea a visage of us all, about you gabby's beauty is in the heart, in the soul, in the spirit. the house of representatives of america has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of this house who served so well during her tenure here, who felt so deeply about her constituents, and cared so much for her country. gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> i missed you. [ applause ] >> mr. speaker, i don't know whether you were able to hear that response. as gabby looked with that extraordinary smile, the twinkle in her eyes as she said to me and to all of us, "and i miss you." do any of us doubt that that is the case? pia, we are blessed in this house to be served by extraordinary people, of whi

i love gabby giffords.as honored when she first ran for office before she was ele elected, to go to her district, as i have done for so many others in this country, to stand by her side, to walk down the streets of her community with her, to see and hear the beauty not only of person, many of us see the outward visage of us all. but gabby's beauty is in the heart, in the soul, in the spirit. the house of representatives of america has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of this house, who served so well during her tenure here, who felt so deeply about her constituents and cared so much for her country. gabby, we love you. we have missed you. mr. speaker, i don't know whether you were able to hear that response. as gabby looked with that extraordinary smile, the twinkle in her eyes, as she said to me and to all of us, "and i miss you." do any of us doubt that that is the case? pia, we are blessed in this house to be served by extraordinary people, of which you are a perfect example. of people who

i love gabby giffords. i was honored when she first ran for office before she was elected to go to her district as i have done for so many others in this country, to stand by her side, to walk down the streets of her community with her, to see in her the beauty not only of person, many of us see the outward vissage of us all, but gabby's beauty is in the heart. in the soul, in the spirit. the representatives of america has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of this house who served so well during her tenure here, who felt so deeply about her constituents and cared so much for her country. gabby, we love you. we have missed you. mr. speaker, i don't know whether you were able to hear that response as gabby looked with that extraordinary smile, the twinkle in her eyes as she said to me and to all of you, and i miss you. do any of us doubt that that is the case? pia, we are blessed in this house to be served by extraordinary people of which you are a perfect example, a people who love us but love t

gabby giffords has always been that woman.s compassionate, tenacious and relentless in her love for our country. her desire to serve the people of arizona has never waivered and she will carry that same feisty spirit with her indefinitely. after she bass attacked and faced with what seemed to be ensurmountable odds, gabby fought each day to get better. her recovery has been a miracle and she will only get stronger. gabby is the spirit of bipartisanship that we should all learn from and i enjoyed working with her on border security issues. she makes decisions based on what she seems to be right for her people. although she will not be in congress for the time being, the people of arizona has not lost an advocate. gabby is fiercely dedicated to making her community and our country a better place because she is a woman that has made up her mind. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous

we started last year in january with despair and anguish that possibly gabby giffords could be killedt of bloomed into this feeling of hope that's radiated throughout the capital amongst her colleagues. no one will say anything bad about gabrielle giffords. they sort of look to her story for incompetent spir ration that they can come together and it challenged them very much at the beginning of the year. this was three or four days in speaker boehner's speakership that this all did happen. mark kelly was critical of speaker boehner for not visiting her, but then he has good relationships and has tried to bring this forward today, and eric cantor went out of his way to make sure this bill was on the floor today so that would be her last moment here in congress. so overall bipartisan, everybody is a big fan of gabby giffords today. >> we will continue coverage and chris jansing will take it live when we see the congresswoman come in. luke russert, thanks very much. let's finish up with our panel. john harwood, jeanne cummings, and fred yang. all right. we saw the president, john harwood

and it is also an emotional day for congresswoman gabby giffords, she becauwas shot in head and has beenncredible road to recovery. giffords and her husband astronaut mark kelly will attend a vigil this evening at the university of arizona. earlier today, our thelma gutierrez spoke with giffords' chief of staff, pia carasone. >> how is she doing right now? >> good. i saw her yesterday. we had -- she wanted to stop by the safe-way. she hadn't been yet. so i was with her for that experience and, you know, it is a very intense feeling to stand in the space where, you know, six people lost their lives and 12 others were injured and -- >> and her life changed. >> and her life changed, exactly. and so memories started to come back actually yesterday while being there, this which was interesting for her. and from there we went to the icu where, you know, she doesn't really have any memory of being there. but for her family, it was an intense environment, that icu. she was there to thank the doctors and nurses which was very special. >> so much of her time is now spent in houston where she's und

before arizona congresswoman gabby giffords leaves office, she's determined to finish what she started. later today, giffords will complete the meet and greet that turned deadly a little more than a year ago. some of the injured, as well as some of the heroes will be on hand, but this time, the office says, the gathering is private. >> arizona is my home, always will be. thank you for giving me the time to recover. >> reporter: the congresswoman announce herd resignation in his heartfelt online video. >> i have more work to do on my recovery. so i do what is best for arizona. i will step down this week. >> reporter: one year ago this month, giffords was shot in the head outside a tucson supermarket. 12 others were wounded. six killed. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day. >> reporter: as giffords fights to regain her speech, her constituents are disappointed she's stepping down. >> her dedication to her constituents i think was exemplary and probably unmatched oftentimes. >> i hope maybe she can come back. >> i will return, and we will work together. for arizona. and this gr

i love gabby giffords. i was honored when she first ran for office before she was elected to go to her district as i have done for so many others in this country, to stand by her side, to walk down the streets of her community with her, to see in her the beauty not only of person, many of us see the outward vissage of us all, but gabby's beauty is in the heart. in the sl, in the spirit. the h representatives of america has been made proud by this extraordinary daughter of this house who served so well during her tenure here who felt so deeply about her constituents and cared so much for her couny. gabby, we love you. we have missed you. mr. speaker, i don't know whether you were able to hear that response as gabby looked with that extraordinary smile, the twinkle in her eyes as she said to me and to all of you, and i miss you. do any of us doubt that that is the case? pia, we are blessed in this house to be served by extraordinary people of which you are a perfect example, a pele who love us but love their

first, senator, the moment gabby giffords entered the chamber, you were in the room.that like? >> it was really touching. for her to be there with jeff flake and the tears. obviously, our hearts and prayers continue to go out to her. it was one of those wonderful moments there on the house floor. >> in terms of what the president had to say, was there anything there that you really agreed with? is there any room you see for compromise, for getting things done this year? >> anderson, he said a lot of wonderful things. it would be wonderful if it was true. sew there were things there that i certainly agreed with, but when he talked about us being more energy secure one week from killing the keystone pipeline, talking about building manufacturing jobs in our country when i talked to manufacturers, and they say that obama care, dodd-frank, all the regulations are killing manufacturing jobs. so americans have to ask themselves, are they better off now than they were $4 trillion ago? this sounded like his first speech to the nation. he's trying to run from a record of broke

that had to do with gabby gifford. she was sitting next to a republican congressman from her home state of arizona. every time she wanted to get up to demonstrate applause or to stand up with her fellow democrats, he helped her up, so many, many times he was probably the only republican standing in the room because he was helping his fellow democrat stand up. ironically, if she had not been shot, he might have been running for senate against jeff blake. that was a moment to watch over and over again. >> very emotional moment for all of us watching. david gergen, you served for four presidents, what would you give the president for the sdraesz? >> it was a politically shrewd speech. it will mobilize democrats, win over some independents, he refrained the conversation. after the republican debates, he had a different take, a different agenda. far more government intervention to solve problems. far more spending. he moved away from talking about deficits that occupied our time so much. republicans are going to have, as jo

for more than a year gabby giffords has inspired us all with our courage and determination and this evening it's on display again. today in a moving video she broke the news to her constituents she will be stepping down from congress to focus on her recovery and so we begin tonight here with gabrielle giffords in her own words, that halting message we saw today. >> arizona is my home. always will be. a lot has happened over the past year. we cannot change that, but i know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. we can do so much more by working together. i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me, to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. i have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. >> gabrielle giffords' decision to resign comes after an extraordinary journey back. six were killed. there was the national vigil held outside the tucson hospital and from inside, that first image, giffords' hand held by her husband, mark

this decision of gabby's is really quint essential gabby giffords. bby knew that once she had decided that she wasn't going to run for reelection and she needed to really focus on her recovery she needed to step aside for herself so her constituents could get full time representation. she cares about them so much. that was her number one priority. >> it is not just about her. the people's business needs to be taken care of. >> she loves public service. i know she is coming back. she wants to come back to public service. gabby giffords doesn't do anything half way. she gives everything 150%. if she wanted to come back in 2012 -- if she had done that she would have been dividing her time between focussing on recovery and doing her job. she would have had to do both half way. she realized her recovery is going to stretch into years rather than months. it is better to focus on coming 100% back and return to public service later on. >> thank you so much for talking about her. she is not being selfish about it. she needs to focus on the recovery. >>> i have

players and people involved in the jerry sandusky sex abuse investigation. >>> we begin with the gabby giffords announcement. giffords released a video statement online just hours ago saying she has to focus on her recovery. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. i have more work to do on my recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. i'm getting better. >> let's bring in athena jones in washington. so, athena, what kind of reaction is pouring in? >> well, we're getting a lot of reaction there was a lot of love and support shown to congresswoman giffords after the shooting last year. you remember in august when she returned to the house chamber to vote on the debt ceiling bill, she got a standing ovation from her colleagues. so today we have seen reactions from both sides of the oil. democratic leader nancy pelosi released a statement saying in part, i join all my colleagues in congress in thanking gabby for the honor of callin

this decision is quint essential gabby giffords. most people's perception of politicians is it's all about them. gabby knew once she had decided that she wasn't going to run for reelection and needed to focus on her recovery, she needed to step aside for herself so that her constituents can get full time representing a. she cares so much. >> it's not just about her, but the people's business needs to be taken care of as well. >> that's what it's all about for her. she loves tucson and loves southern arizona and loves public service. i know she is coming back and wants to come back to public service, but she doesn't do anything halfway. she gives everything 150%. she wanted to come back in 2012, but if she had done that, she would have been dividing her time between focusing on her recovery and doing her job and had to do both things halfway. she realized her recovery is more likely for years rather than months and better to focus on coming 100% back and return to public service later on. >> thank you so much for talking about her and

tonight, gabby giffords says she's stepping down. in a powerful and touching message to her constituents today, the congresswoman who made that remarkable journey back says she will resign from congress. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day, but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. >> the powerful message and the promise for the future. >>> remembering joe paterno. an outpouring of emotion as the penn state icon passes away. his legacy and the scandal that tarnished it. >>> brand-new race. the south carolina surprise. newt gingrich pulling off a stunning victory. tonight the numbers. just who voted for him? women, evangelical voters. has this changed the race? >>> safe at home, we're with the brave 9-year-old girl who outwitted her kidnapper. what she says her father taught her that helped her escape. >>> and silence is golden for the oscar nominations coming this week. the silent movie making so much noise, and we go back to that moment in film history, that studio that might have started it al

coming up in 30 minutes, gabby giffords chief of staff, she will tell us what giffords' recovery has been like during the past year as she marks the first anniversary of the shooting. stay right here. "the next list" with sanjay gupta is next. >>> hello and welcome to "the next list." happy new year. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. recently we began this experiment of meeting and profiling what we've been referring to as agents of change. they're innovators who see opportunities where others do not. often facing resistance in the process. and while they had that in common, they come from very different fields. how different? take a look. ♪ >> my name is marco tempest, i'm a cyber illusionist. i combine magic and science to create illusions. >> it's deception, it's science, technology, gadgets, calling myself a magician evokes a certain image. like if we hear magician we immediately know what that is. it's like a guy that does a magic trick. a cyber illusionist requires an explab plan nags. it's a conversation starter. that's what my work is all about. ♪ >> my name is heather knight and i am a

wounded when a gunman tried to assassinate congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> i do believe gabby giffords was hit. >> reporter: shot in the head, giffords' recovery has been remarkable, but also slow. >> she's still the woman i married. her personality is the same. >> reporter: the victims caught in the hail of gunfire in this parking lot last january 8th were both young and old. christina taylor green was just 9 years old. >> i miss christina terribly. >> reporter: susie heilman took christina to meet giffords and was shot three times and watched christina die. >> i remember lying there holding christina's hand and we were just eyes locked on each other. >> reporter: tucson's tragedy unfolded as a nation grieved. hundreds lined the streets as giffords headed to houston for rehab. after months of progress, the congresswoman went back to washington. this weekend giffords returned home to tucson, one year later, back at the hospital to thank her doctors. at the safeway to see a new memorial and with husband mark kelly at a trail named after her aide gabe zimmerman. daniel hernandez was the

) >> reporter: 41-year-old gabby giffords stepped down from congress on her own terms today walking gingerly to the front of the house chamber to personally hand her resignation letter to a clearly moved speaker boehner. her presence prompted wonder at how far she's come, but also sadness about the mobility and speech she's still struggling to regain after that deadly mass shooting in tucson last year. >> i am so proud of my friend, and it will always be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> reporter: "i missed you, too," said giffords who got a farewell embrace from the president last night before his state of the union address. >> whoa, whoa, whoa! if you suspected a company f ou >>> good evening, i'm dana king. >> i'm allen martin. >>> if you suspected a company of ripping you off, would you continue doing business with it? that's what the state is doing. calpers has awarded a multi- million dollar contract to a firm accused of defrauding the giant pension fund. sam

>> i think that america loves gabby giffords. she is the example of facing adversity with courage, with confidence, and with determination. and i think that is what is going to be reflected on the floor tonight as she will be welcomed tonight and then tomorrow, we are going pass a bill that gabby giffords sponsored that deals with illegal drug being imported. >> that will be part of her legacy. >> that will be part of her legacy and people will say what courage it took to resign, nobody was forcing her out. neither republicans or democrats were suggest ing she resign. gabby clearly felt that that in fairness to the people she represented and fairness to the country that she needed to withdraw and have somebody come in who could pick up the mantel and then focus on her rehabilitation. which has been extraordinary to date, i expect it will be extraordinary in the future and we will see a lot of gabby giffords in the future. >> thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> and taxing matter s and the complete coverage of the state o

. >> we salute you, congresswoman gabby giffords. ( applause ) >> reporter: 41-year-old gabby giffords stepped down from congress on her own terms today walking gingerly to the front of the house chamber to personally hand her resignation letter to a clearly moved speaker boehner. her presence prompted wonder at how far she's come, but also sadness about the mobility and speech she's still struggling to regain after that deadly mass shooting in tucson last year. >> i am so proud of my friend, and it will always be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> reporter: "i missed you, too," said giffords who got a farewell embrace from the president last night before his state of the union address. >> whoa, whoa, whoa! >> reporter: there are more hugs today. >> i'm so proud of you. >> reporter: from cloakroom attendants and for longtime staffers. giffords insists she'll return to office some day, a goal that has unanimous support in this chamber. nancy cordes, cbs news, washington.

nancy cordes was there. >> we salute you, congresswoman gabby giffords. [ applause ] >> 41-year-old gabbygiffords steps down from congress on her own terms. walking gingerly to the front of the house chamber to personally hand her resignation letter to a clearly moved speaker boehner. her presence prompted wonder at how far she's come but also sadness about the mobility and speech she's still strugi struggling to regain after that mass shooting in tucson last year. >> i'm so proud of my friend and it will always be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> i missed you too said giffords. [ applause ] >> she got a farewell embrace in the president before his state of the union address. >> whoa, whoa. >> there were more hugs for cloak room attendants and for long time staffers. giffords insists she'll return to office someday. a goal that has unanimous support in this chamber. nancy cordes, cbs news, washington. >>> fitting good bye. still ahead, the weather. the ring is the thing

gabby giffords makes a big decision. first, there is unfinished business. >>> a family in a desperate situation. >>> this is gabby giffords' final week as the congresswoman representing southern arizona. she announced over the weekend she will resign her seat in congress to focus on her recovery. it was just over one year ago a gunman opened fire as giffords met with constituents. today she said good-bye and finished the event interrupted that awful day. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell has our story. >> reporter: a farewell tour in her tucson district today. welcomed by cheers and steadied by supporters who waited so long to see congresswoman gabrielle giffords visit the center named in her honor at a community food bank. >> it's a bittersweet day. >> reporter: today giffords showed her remarkable progress step by step. a determined recovery that she says needs more time and more work. >> i'm getting better. >> reporter: leading to the decision she announced with a video on sunday. >> i will step down th

gabby giffords very well.aking nice progress along the way and that was an uplifting american story when she was there on the house floor and reintroduce had her moment back in washington. but within that story for me. the story of daniel hernandez, a young intern who went to work for gabby giffords just days before . as she lay there bleeding as the story goes. he held her head and comforted her and stopped the blood and tried to maintain order there. he's been a guest in our studio and we met him in washington and he's gone on to great things and this young man is very probably helped to save congresswoman giffords's life. >> i couldn't sleep because i thought about your hand on her head and the warm blood and the strength you had to remain so calm and switch over to the next person. and have you had time to reflect on that and impact you. >> when i have a chance to reflect. i think of how much worse it could have been because of the shooter still had plenty of ammunition but also how many factors could have

as gabby giffords came to say good-bye. from her close ibutes. friend, debbie wasserman >> i am so proud of my friend. it will be one of the great treasures of my life to have bby met gabby giffords and to have se this body. >> house speaker john boehner was also moved to tears. after giffords slowly made her way to the podium and gave him an envelope. inside that,, was her letter of resignation. the speaker an emotional guy. >> for a moment, unity among congress. >> good to see after tuesday night. >>> time for the weather across the nation. stormy across the south. with hail and tornadoes to montgomery. you're going to see rain in d.c., ph bostw york, and boston. an icy mix from pittsburgh to indianapolis. rain from northern california up to seattle. snow in the cascades and rockies. >> 50 in boise. 55 in albuquerque. 63 in sacramento. 44 in omaha. just shy of 60, meanwhile, in dallas. new orleans, 72, miami, 81, 68 in atlanta. 44 here in new york. >>> up next, the surprising announcement from a member of the president's cabinet and how it coul

and in november she sent this message. >> hello, this is gabby giffords. i'm getting stronger, i'm getting better. >> good morning, gabby. >> reporter: giffords still struggles to speak in sentences but she has much less trouble singing. >> well, good morning. >> reporter: so an important part of her therapy now involves singing songs she knew before the shooting. the ability to speak is mainly controlled by two areas in the left side of the brain. but when we sing or listen to music, wide swaths of the both side of the rain become active. doctors have learned putting words to melody stimulates memory and helps a damaged brain recover the ability to process language. >> the idea is that that can be used as an alternative. just take the music away and then you're stringing words together. >> i will speak better. i want to get back to work. >> reporter: giffords defied long odds by surviving her attack, now she's showing what's possible for a wounded mind. ben tracy, tucson. >> this sunday giffords and her husband will attend a candlelight vigil to remember

he's followed gabby giffords story closely. it is amazing how far she's come.till struggles stringing together multiple sentences. is that typical? >> yeah. it's hard to believe it's been just over a year now anderson. what i would say as a starting point, her recovery was pretty atypical, so many people who have gunshot wounds at close range to the head don't survive let alone have any meaningful neurological recovery. in that sense, she was in the top few percent in terms of recovery. you're right on in terms of her speech, you heard that sort of halting speech, at times searching for words. that is pretty typical. take a look at this animation. you alluded to this in your piece here. a gunshot wound to the head like, the left side of the brain. you can see the bullet went in and out. that's important for a couple of reasons. a lot of the energy from the bullet did not release inside her skull but released into air after passing through. that was probably beautiful to -- beneficial to her. part of the reason she's having such difficulty in speech is those spe

giffords. ben tracy, now, on what doctors have learned from her remarkable recovery. >> reporter: is gabby ableutside and you guys walk around? >> she does this walk every day to the mailbox. >> reporter: mark kelly says he fell in love with gabrielle giffords in part because of how much she talked. >> with a name like gabby, of course, you're kind of stuck with that role. >> reporter: was there a moment you thought "she may never talk again"? >> yeah, absolutely. right in the beginning, her trauma surgeon said "who knows how long she'll be in a coma. that could last forever." >> reporter: but less than a month after a bullet tore through the entire left side of her brain, giffords could say simple words like "toast," and in november she sent this audio message to her constituents. >> hello, this is gabby giffords. i'm getting stronger. i'm getting better. >> reporter: giffords still struggles to speak in sentences, but she has much less trouble singing. ♪ well good morning... >> reporter: so an important part of her therapy involves singing songs she knew before the shooting. the ability to sp

. >> ifill: the president greets gabby giffords. a big hug. a big smile. of course her last night as a

emotional story diana alvear to cocf >> reporter: rob and paula, good i'll admit, i cried watching gabby giffordsnd her and it really goes to show that she may be resiggfro congress but sn something so much bigge it was a packed house, one in which congresswoman gabrielle giffords could barely make her way to her seat, stopping again and again for hugs. she was there to resign, but not before a bipartisan salute from her colleagues. >> her strength and her downright fortitude are an inspiration to all of us and all americans. >> gabby, we love you. we have missed you. >> reporter: giffords then made her way to the floor. with her family and husband looking on. her close friend, representative debbie wasserman schultz, spoke on her behalf, at times overcome. >> i am so proud of my friend. and it will also be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her. and the most important thing to remember, that no matter what we argue about here on this floor or in this country, there is nothing more important than family and friendship. >> reporter: wasserman s

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