Awaiting President Obama in Arizona; Federal Judge Larry Burns Named to Oversee Federal Trial of Tucson Gunman; From War Zone to Tucson Massacre; Links Drawn Between James Brady and Gabrielle Giffords' Wounds
BLITZER: This just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM, the Ninth Circuit Court of the United States has just designated Federal Judge Larry Burns of Southern California to preside over the federal trial of the accused Tucson gunman, Jared Lee Loughner. We're standing by also right now for the president's arrival in Arizona. We expect Air Force One to touchdown any moment now. The president will be meeting with families of the victims in Saturday's massacre and will then address the nation at a memorial service. When he lands, we'll bring you the arrival live here. Meanwhile, a touching and very personal first glimpse inside Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' hospital room. Her husband, an astronaut and Navy captain, Mark Kelly, at her bedside holding her hand just one day after she was shot. The Congresswoman's doctors say she's in critical condition and able to breathe on her own. Two other shooting victims are in serious condition, three more are listed as fair. Family members of some of those hospitalized spoke about their recoveries at a news conference today.</s>JENNY DOUGLAS, DAUGHTER OF SHOOTING VICTIM: My dad, Ron Barber, is doing well after his second surgery yesterday morning. He has been very alert since coming out of his six-hour surgery on Saturday. He was able to see his four grandchildren on Monday, which gave him great pleasure. We expect him to be released from the ICU on Thursday.</s>BLITZER: Congresswoman Giffords' husband and medical team are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding the best people to consult on her care. In this case, that means getting some help from doctors who have worked on the frontlines of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is joining us now with more on this part of the story -- Barbara.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, think about it, these days who knows more about these terrible types of head wounds than military trauma docs who have served on the frontline for years?</s>STARR (voice-over): When Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, she was rushed to a civilian hospital, but it was experience brought from the war zone to the operating room that may have helped her the most.</s>DR. PETER RHEE, CHIEF OF TRAUMA, UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: The resources of the entire military has been made available to us.</s>STARR: Working on Giffords, Dr. Peter Rhee chief of trauma at University Medical Center. A Navy doctor for more than 20 years, he treated the wounded in Fallujah, Iraq. At the behest of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the military flew in two of its best, schooled from years in the war zone on ways to deal with brain injuries and gunshot wounds, including retired Army neurosurgeon Dr. James Ecklund, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. (on camera): Because you have now treated so many cases of either blast injury or penetrating gunshot wounds in the war zone, what has the neurosurgery field learned from 10 years of war?</s>DR. JAMES ECKLUND, ARMY NEUROSURGEON: I think one of the major lessons we've learned in this conflict is that with blast injury, there is often a higher incidence of early cerebral edema, very -- you know, a lot of swelling of the brain that occurs early on. As a result, early on in this conflict we saw a larger volume or need for a procedure called decompressive craniectomy, which is when an operation is done, instead of taking the bone flap on and putting it back on, you take the bone flap off to do what you need to do and leave it off because of swelling.</s>STARR (voice-over): Ecklund made clear with wounds to the brain, it's almost impossible to predict right away what will happen. He recalled for us a young soldier who was brought in.</s>ECKLUND: I immediately put a tube in to a ventricle which is the fluid sack of the brain, to release some pressure.</s>STARR: Almost given up for dead, but the docs kept working on him and he began to come back.</s>ECKLUND: I received a Christmas card from him a year and a half later.</s>STARR: Now, Admiral Mullen got involved after talking to Captain Mark Kelly, Navy captain --- of course, the congresswoman's husband. But, you know, these military doctors all really know each other from this time in the war zone. A third doctor has gotten involved, Colonel Geoffrey Ling. He's still on active duty, but right now he is researching some of the most advanced rehabilitation techniques to help the critically wounded, wounded from the war zone, and wounded here at home like the congresswoman -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Barbara Starr, for that. We think Air Force One has now landed outside of Tucson at a U.S. Air Force base. We've got some pictures. Unfortunately, we don't see Air Force One right now. We saw Air Force -- we think it was Air Force One. Usually there are two planes that come in that travel with the president. One of them has just landed. We see some people there awaiting the arrival of the president. I think that's Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, out there with some U.S. military personnel. Once we see Air Force One, we'll go back there and see the president walk down those stairs. We think it was Air Force One. I just want to be precise before we do report that he's formally landed in Arizona. It was supposed to land around this time, so it probably was, but we'll just be cautious. There are certainly few people who could likely relate more to what Congresswoman Giffords and her husband are going through right now than James and Sarah Brady. James Brady was shot in the head during John Hinckley's assassination attempt on former president Ronald Reagan. That was back in 1981. He was then the White House press secretary. CNN's Jim Acosta had a chance to sit down with the Bradys earlier today. He's joining us now. Jim, tell us how that went.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was remarkable. As you said, it's been almost 30 years since Jim Brady was shot in the head in the assassination attempt on President Reagan. And since then, he and his wife Sarah have been tireless advocates for the issue of gun control, something that hasn't been too easy lately up on Capitol Hill. But we sat down to talk to them about the tragedy that is unfolding in Tucson, and they've watched it all with great interest, because as Jim Brady says, he's been there, done that.</s>SARAH BRADY, JAMES BRADY'S WIFE: Both shot by deranged young men, both head injuries, severe brain injuries.</s>ACOSTA: And Jim was pronounced dead at one point.</s>BRADY: Yes. They read his obituary on the news, and then he made a miraculous recovery.</s>ACOSTA: Much in the way that Gabrielle Giffords has made this unbelievable recovery.</s>BRADY: Yes. She, too -- there were reports, I believe, that she had not made it.</s>ACOSTA: Right.</s>BRADY: And my heart just sank and I thought, oh, no. But they were -- luckily, they were incorrect. You remember the other day when we heard that.</s>JAMES BRADY, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Said, "Been there."</s>S. BRADY: Yes, been there, done that.</s>ACOSTA: Been there, done that.</s>J. BRADY: Been there and know that.</s>S. BRADY: And wish you hadn't. And we know for her it's going to be a long haul, but I know she's a fighter and she's going to do great.</s>ACOSTA: Why does this keep happening? Why in this country? Why is it that every so often, a deranged person is able to go out, get firearms, and cause mass carnage like this? Why does it keep happening in this country do you think?</s>S. BRADY: Well, I ask myself that, too. We're always going to have deranged human beings. I mean, there's just nothing we can do about something who has a mental illness. But we haven't taken the steps that we should take. We still should make it almost impossible for people with problems, or felons or fugitives, ,to be able to get a hold of weapons, and especially large-style magazines like this. We just haven't had and we've got to have the political courage to step up and take that step.</s>ACOSTA: The National Rifle Association is very powerful up on Capitol Hill.</s>S. BRADY: Extremely.</s>ACOSTA: Democrats won't cross them now.</s>S. BRADY: I know, but there are going to be some brave souls, I think, that are going to speak up. And I think we ought to honor them, and to say we want more courageous leaders. I'm a little sick of wimps up there.</s>ACOSTA: You think there are wimps up there?</s>S. BRADY: I think they're a bunch of wimps. One thing I want to say, one of the big things that helps is the support of the community and the people around the country. That meant so much to me, and then to Jim when he heard about it. You know, it's like having a little cheerleader at your side.</s>ACOSTA: And it means a lot?</s>S. BRADY: It means the world.</s>ACOSTA: What's your message after Tucson?</s>B. BRADY: Well, it sounds to me like she's got a great support group that's right there with her, and that means a lot.</s>ACOSTA: And as we wrapped up that interview, Jim Brady was off to another round of physical therapy near the couple's home in Delaware. It's another example of, Wolf, how the recovery process for gunshot wound victims can take a lifetime -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It certainly is. And all of us who covered that remember it well. We wish the Bradys only the best, of course. Thanks very much, Jim Acosta. Air Force One is now on the ground. You can see behind me, that's the Boeing 747. It has just touched down. The door is now open. We expect the president of the United States and the first lady to be walking down those stairs momentarily. He's come out to Arizona to participate in the memorial service tonight. That's supposed to begin at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, about two hours and 20 minutes or so from now. The president will be participating in that memorial service, together with the governor of Arizona. Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary, a former governor of Arizona, traveled with the president out to Tucson for this memorial service. You see the delegation coming up to the stairs over there, including the governor, Jan Brewer, of Arizona, to receive the president and the first lady. They'll be meeting briefly at this Air Force base outside of Tucson, and then they will drive towards we believe -- we're not exactly sure where, but I assume the president will be going to meet with some of the families of the victims to comfort them, together with the first lady, before they head over to the university for tonight's memorial service. This has been a difficult experience for everyone, including the president of the United States. He has carefully crafted remarks, a speech that he will deliver at the memorial service tonight, probably lasting about 15 or 20 minutes during this one-hour scheduled memorial service. Others will be speaking as well. So the president -- momentarily, we expect him to be walking down those stairs and meeting with the delegation, then heading over to meet privately with some of the victims' families. It will be a rather emotional moment. The president and the first lady hoping that they will have a chance to comfort them during these very, very difficult times. This is something that all presidents, unfortunately, need to do from time to time, become mourner in chief, comforter in chief. We saw Bill Clinton do it after the Oklahoma City bombing, we saw certainly saw President George W. Bush do it after 9/11. We saw Ronald Reagan do it when he was president. This is part of being president of the United States. And we know from White House officials that the president personally has worked very, very carefully on his remarks to make sure that he strikes the right tone. We're going to have extensive coverage here on CNN during the 8:00 p.m. hour on what the president and others will be saying, what he should say, what he shouldn't say. We'll certainly have extensive coverage here in THE SITUATION ROOM and on "JOHN KING USA." There's the president and the first lady. They're going to walk down these stairs and be received by the delegation led by the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer. Interestingly, the president brought with him on Air Force One some members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, including a freshman Republican congressman from Arizona, Ben Quayle, the son of the former vice president, Dan Quayle. And if you remember, there was a campaign commercial that Ben Quayle made during this most recent campaign saying that President Obama is the worst president ever. So it could have been a little awkward, but the president wanted to invite the Arizona delegation to come with him and to forget about that, at least on this day, during these difficult, difficult times, to make sure that they strike the right balance. Forget about politics for now. It was one example of why I think the president will not talk at all about any political aspects of what may or may not have happened in leading to the shooting Saturday morning. I think he will stick with the proper tone of paying tribute to the victims, paying tribute to their families, to the acts of heroism that certainly were displayed during Saturday morning. So we'll see the president. He's going to be going over and meeting privately behind closed doors with some of the family members. We'll watch that, we'll bring you the news, of course, as we get it. And stay with CNN, of course, for complete coverage of tonight's memorial service. Our coverage, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right after "</s>JOHN KING USA" -- 8: 00 p.m. Eastern. Coming up, the CNN interview with the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.