Horror & Heartache In Arizona
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Carol Costello. Our focus for Monday, January 10: in just a minute, the president will lead the nation in a moment of silence for the 20 people who were shot in Arizona. Doctors in Tucson are getting ready to update us on the condition of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords today as the young man accused of shooting her gets ready for a court appearance. And our other big story for this Monday, a major snow and ice storm paralyzes the South. Millions of people feel the winter sting.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a very pretty weather right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The visibility is bad and the traction is really bad.</s>COSTELLO: Let's head to the South Lawn of the White House for a moment of silence.</s>COSTELLO (on-camera): The man police accused of causing so much tragedy, Jared Loughner, will appear in court later today in Phoenix. Eventually, he'll be represented by a public defender paid for by the government. Live to Tucson, national correspondent, Susan Candiotti. She's been at the University Medical Center for a few days now. Susan, first off, we know Congresswoman Giffords remains in critical condition, but what about the others?</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've all been upgraded their conditions. There are only three others who remain in serious condition and the rest, fair. So, everyone else is doing much, much better each and every day. And as you indicated, Carol, we'll be getting the latest on everyone's condition in just about an hour or so from now. But coming back to the investigation, you know, we're learning that chilling paperwork has found in Jared Loughner's home as well as eyewitness accounts from former classmates and teachers who now say they were scared to death of him are painting a troubling portrait of this young man. And, in fact, all this is happening as a backdrop as federal investigators continue to look into his past.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello? Hello?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, there was a shooting at Safeway.</s>CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The calls to 911 paint a picture of the chaos that unfolded as a crazed gunman opened fire outside the Safeway Grocery Store.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looked like the guy had a semiautomatic pistol, and he went in. He just started firing and then he ran. There was multiple people shot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Oh, my God.</s>CANDIOTTI: The man who allegedly pulled the trigger, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, has so far been charged with just the crimes related to victim who were federal employees, including two counts of murder for killing a federal judge and a congressional aide to attempted murder judges for killing two other aides and the attempted murder of Congresswoman Giffords. Loughner, apparently, isn't talking in custody, and the FBI isn't commenting on his motive.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will say and emphasize there is no information at this time to suggest any specific threat remains.</s>CANDIOTTI: Investigators did reveal what could be a key piece of evidence, discovered in a safe in Loughner's home, a letter from Congresswoman Giffords thanking him for attending a similar neighborhood event back in 2007. Investigators say they also found a separate envelope with what appears to be Loughner's signature and the following words, "I planned ahead. my Assassination. Giffords." Loughner's past also includes a troubled time at Pima Community College where he was first suspended and then quit last October after what the school said were multiple run-ins with campus police.</s>BEN MCGAHEE, JARED LEE LOUGHNER'S INSTRUCTOR: He was physically removed after probably the third or fourth week.</s>CANDIOTTI: To return to campus, Loughner was told he would have to present a doctor's note stating he would not be, quote, "a danger to himself or others."</s>CANDIOTTI (on-camera): Of course, the school never got that note, because as we said, Loughner left the school, dropped out, and now we know, Loughner has become a source of untold misery to so many people -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Susan, do we know what he had against Congresswoman Giffords. I mean, they found this note from her, you know, in his belongings thanking him for coming out to see her. Do we know what exactly he had against her?</s>CANDIOTTI: We don't. And, of course, investigators probably do. We've been asking them for more questions about what contact would have happened between the two of them around that time. But for now, the FBI refuses to disclose whatever evidence they might have of that. You can suspect that they are looking into phone records and any other evidence of any meetings that they might have had with each other. Perhaps, the parents, who we know have been cooperating with the authorities, have been able to provide some information. But, so far, they're not speaking with us publicly, either. You know, today, he makes a brief appearance in court, the suspect in this case. It's really just a matter of shuffling paperwork at this point. Probably, have a lawyer assigned to him. But he has yet to be indicted and certainly more charges are expected. In fact, the FBI director said as much yesterday.</s>COSTELLO: Susan Candiotti reporting live for us from Tucson, Arizona. Thank you, Susan. There is cautious optimism about Congresswoman Giffords' condition. Her doctors have said that all weekend long, and that optimism has also been echoed by her longtime adviser, Mike McNulty. McNulty talked with CNN's Drew Griffin in an exclusive interview after he just returned from visiting Giffords in the hospital.</s>MIKE MCNULTY, GIFFORD'S SIX-TIME CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: She will come through. You know, as the president said, she is tough as</s>DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Are you concerned about reduced capacity for this?</s>MCNULTY: You know, the -- there've been enough people expressing optimism about how well she has done, thus far, that I have pretty high hopes that she is going to return to her old self.</s>COSTELLO: As unthinkable as the story is, heroes are emerging out of the tragedy like Daniel Hernandez. He's 20 years old. He was an intern. He'd been working for Rep. Giffords for less than a week, and he left into action. He actually used his bare hands to stop the blood that was gushing from the congresswoman's head wounds.</s>DANIEL HERNANDEZ, REP. GIFFORDS' INTERN: She had collapsed and on the floor. And she was injured. She had a shot to the head. So, I tried to make sure that I picked her up so that she wasn't in a position where she could asphyxiate in her own blood because of the position that she was originally in, making sure that I was holding her up, sitting in an upright position so that she could breathe more easily.</s>COSTELLO: When the ambulance arrived, Hernandez road with Giffords to the hospital. He stayed with her as long as he could. The congresswoman's husband, Astronaut Mark Kelly, he's supposed to command NASA's final shuttle flight this year. Well, he's come out and he's issued a public statement. We got that today. He says, "Many of you have offered help. There is little that we can do but pray for those who are struggling." He went on to say, if you need to do something tangible, anything, donate to one of the causes his wife has long supported. Tucson's Community Food Bank was one hi suggestions and also the American Red Cross. Of course, the other big story we're following today, a big snowstorm. It is absolutely paralyzing the southeast. Let's take you live to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. We'll get there in just a second, but you can imagine scene there, can't you? There are literally hundreds of people sleeping on the floor, taking naps wherever they can because, guess what, AirTran canceled all of its flights in and out of the airport. We're tracking the storm for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.