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Briefing on Congresswoman Giffords' Condition; Tucson Victim Family Members Speak Out; Stranded Truck Drivers Start to Move in Atlanta; Hot Off The Political Ticker; The Help Desk; Trending Online

Aired January 11, 2011 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We're just about to approach the top of the hour. Let's check on the big stories happening now.

Doctors in Tucson about to update us on the condition of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. We also expected -- we also expect to hear from relatives of some of the other victims of Saturday's shooting.

This man's stepdaughter is scheduled to speak. Dorwin Stoddard was killed Saturday, shielding his wife from gunfire.

The parents of accused gunman Jared Loughner are said to be devastated. Authorities released a picture of Loughner with a shaved head and a bizarre smile after his court appearance yesterday. A neighbor tells our affiliate KGUN, Loughner's father plans to make a statement later, but right now the parents are distraught.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's in bed, and she just broke down, just a nervous wreck. And he's in their crying in this Loughner home. They're not going to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They're not going to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys can stay here until Hades freezes over, he ain't not going to come out.

He did tell me to tell you guys that when he gets to where he can -- right now he can't talk, guys. He can't get out three words without crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The news conference has started in Tucson at the hospital there. Let's go there live now.

DR. PETER RHEE, CHIEF OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, TUCSON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: I'd like to again take the opportunity to thank the citizens of Tucson and everybody else in the country and the world who's been sending us their thoughts and their cares. It's very much appreciated.

I just don't want to get too long into this, but I do have to put out a little word for the people in hospital, all the -- everybody in the entire hospital from every aspect of the health care system is doing a great job. And I just couldn't be proud of a more -- group of unified people.

We're going to do a couple of things. I'm going to update you on the patients that we have in the hospital. Dr. Lemole will update you on one of the patients. And I'm going to introduce two additional physicians who's going to make a little statement here at this time period.

First of all, we are currently at six patients still remaining in the hospital, one in critical condition, three in serious condition, and two in fair condition. One of the patients is undergoing surgery right now. The other one has already had their surgery today.

Additional surgeries are planned for the rest of the week. But everything is currently going well with all of those patients, and they're progressing as expected. And so far, no issues or problems at this time period.

I know that you're here, you want a good update on the one patient that remains in critical condition in the ICU, and that's the congresswoman. And with that, I'll introduce again Dr. Lemole.

DR. MICHAEL LEMOLE, CHIEF OF NEUROSURGERY, TUCSON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: So I'm going to update you on Congresswoman Giffords' status.

I'm happy to say that she's holding her own. Her status is the same as it was yesterday. She's still following those simple commands.

We've been able to back off on some of that sedation. And, in fact, she's able to generate her own breaths. She's breathing on her own. In fact, the only reason we keep that breathing tube in is to protect her airway so that she doesn't have complications like pneumonia.

Now, at this point I'd like to take you through, if I could -- I would like to -- the step-by-step process that I did when we first talked about her operation and her immediate preoperative care. But unfortunately, I can't, because this is the phase of the care where it's so much up to her, and this is where we constantly say it's week to week, month to month.

And I know everyone wants to hear new results every day, but as long as we don't backslide, and as long as she holds her own, that's good. That keeps us hopeful.

But we have to play this really according to her timeline, not ours. And we have to avoid the frustration that so often her family will feel, we the doctors will feel, and of course all of you will feel.

She's going to take her recovery at her own pace. And I'm very encouraged by the fact she's done so well. This kind of injury, I think we've said it a couple times, a penetrating injury through the skull, really the survival, let alone recovery, is abysmal. She has no right to look this good, and she does. We're hopeful. But I do want to underscore the seriousness of this injury and the fact that we all have to be extremely patient.

RHEE: As you know, the congresswoman's husband is an active-duty Navy personnel who's an astronaut. And the resources of the entire military has been made available to us.

So, earlier on in this time process, what we did do, or what I did, was I took advantage of that scenario and situation, and I asked two people to come here and give me a little consultation and advice as to what we could do in addition to what we were doing. These are world-famous people.

First is Dr. James Ecklund, retired colonel, United States Army. He has served with distinguished honor during the war in Iraq especially, and probably the most experienced with penetrating trauma in the United States. And currently, he's chief of surgery over at -- in -- over Fairfax.

Then Dr. Geoff Ling, Colonel Ling, he's active duty as well. Without a doubt, the most prominent and well-known neurointensivist in the military, and also in the country at this time period.

Both are professors at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, which is the military medical school.

Dr. Ling -- or Colonel Ling, I'm sorry -- was on his way to Afghanistan when he got that mission aborted and was able to come here and give us an in-depth view and did a consultation on the congresswoman. They've looked at all the information that's available to us, and they're going to make a quick and brief comment, and we will not be doing questions and answers with them, but they have a prepared statement and will make a comment or two.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's been our privilege to consult on Congresswoman Giffords' case at the request of her physicians. Everything we've seen reflects the highest quality of care.

Dr. Rhee's team's aggressive resuscitation and Dr. Lemole's team's decisive surgical intervention saved her life. Her ICU care is equally outstanding, providing the optimum environment for brain healing.

We've also been inspired by the immense strength of her husband, Mark, and her staff. We join the rest of America's hopes and prayers for Congresswoman Giffords and her family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to take a moment to reiterate a very important point that Dr. Lemole was trying to share with you, and that is that this is indeed a very serious injury. Make no mistake, she was shot. The bullet did enter her skull.

The bullet did traverse through her brain, and then exited out the back, leaving behind some fragments and some bone. So she is critically ill.

The good news is that she is in fact thriving under the very good, excellent care that's happening here at the University of Arizona. However, it is going to be a process now where her recovery is in fact very much dictated upon her own recovery.

And that's going to be a process that's going to take some time. It's certainly going to be day by day. But I believe with all the support that she's been getting here at the hospital from a medical and nursing standpoint, as well as all the support she's getting from the community here at large, both here in Tucson and in Arizona, and the United States, we are all very, very hopeful. But again, I want to reiterate, she is in fact very critically ill from a very serious injury.

RHEE: Thank you.

Trauma, unfortunately, is a devastating problem, health care issue we have in this country. It's the number one cause of years of life lost. It outdoes cancer, and it does anything else that you can think of because it affects the young as well as the old.

And there are many people that are injured in this unfortunate circumstance. People are injured every single day. However, I know that we have one particular person that we're always very interested in. However, there are many sides to this story, and there are human beings involved in this from every aspect.

So, with that, we have several additional people that we're going to make available to the staff here. Angela Robinson and Penny Wilson, who are daughters of Ms. Stoddard, who was discharged yesterday, and also Bill Hileman, her husband is currently undergoing surgery now, and if you'd like to talk to them, they'll be available here.

And I'm going to coordinate that with Katy Riley (ph) here, our PAO officer.

Thank you.

So we'll go ahead and excuse the physicians out of here, but we'll go ahead and start with Mrs. Stoddard's family.

If you'd like to come up.

What we can do, ma'am, is you can start off with a statement if you'd like, or we can go into some questions and answers.

ANGELA ROBINSON, DAUGHTER: I'd like to start off with a statement.

RHEE: Yes, please.

ROBINSON: Thank you for being here.

We've been rather hesitant to discuss this. I think my first statement -- our first statement as a family, we speak for Dorwan's daughters, four sons, as well as our sisters. There are four of us.

And I think our first statement would be we'd like to compliment the hero that lie in our father, and we are just blessed that he's walking with the lord now, but what a way to go, as a hero. He lived that kind of a life.

And I also think at this time we would love to say that it just brings the hero out in all of us at times of tragedy. Differences don't matter in families, whether you're divorced, single, in between.

As a school counselor, I know that families have to come together no matter what, and this is the time that we all just join hands for the good of all and find the hero in every single one of us. We've seen each person's positive qualities rise to the top as we've all been able to endure this and make the next arrangements, and go step by step with what happens next with dad.

PENNY WILSON, DAUGHTER: And we just are very appreciative to everyone who stepped forward during the tragedy, and as it went forward. There are so many people to thank.

There were people on the scene that sat with our parents, prayed with them, held them, helped them, as well as everyone else. There are volunteers that are organized, as well as unorganized volunteers that stepped in just immediately.

The hospital staff, the FBI, everyone has been extremely helpful. And we appreciate that.

Our mother is doing quite well, actually. She has a lot of strength and --

ROBINSON: Courage.

WILSON: -- courage, and she will go forward. She has a long road ahead of her, but her condition is good, I think. She's resting.

And we just appreciate everyone.

Thank you.

RHEE: I'd like to introduce Bill Hileman. And he's going to make a few comments as well.

BILL HILEMAN, HUSBAND OF SHOOTING VICTIM: Good morning.

My wife Suzie was the parent that took Christina Green to this event. We've been here since 2006. My wife and I were fortunate to be able to take two years and look all over the country to pick a community that we wanted to be part of, and Tucson is the one that we selected, feeling that it was one of the most natural melting pots of America that we could ever find.

It's been a very, very decent community to us. So this event I think is extra shocking because of that. I have to say my personal experience from initially getting the call on Saturday from an anonymous woman on the scene who let me know that Suzie and Christina had been in an accident, and I'm down in the emergency room here, and one of the first people I met was a minister who had heard the news and walked in off the street, not part of the staff, but was there comforting people. That's my Tucson.

I was later -- not being a particularly religious guy, my hand was held by a woman who said a prayer that since has made me feel was particularly influential in giving my wife some good luck that first day. She was operated on Saturday by the trauma surgeons. She had been hit three times by bullets.

Thankfully, spine and organs were all intact. And her biggest issue on an ongoing basis is a fractured hip, which is being addressed today as we sit here.

There's been heroes involved in this from my perspective from day one, including those good people in the emergency room who dealt with this incredible chaos, but looked to the feelings of all of us who were so unknowing and so scared as to what were going on.

To every nurse, every orderly, every doctor that we've met so far, I'm so impressed with the quality of care we're getting from this institution, and the quality of people, and how they operate and the care they take for the feelings and sensitivities for those of us that are going through this.

Suzie's going to be fine long term. I'm not sure she's going to be quite as active with all of her physical activities for a while. She'll be in a walker for at least three months and serious physical rehab after that. But she's a tough, strong woman and a survivor.

The Greens very much remain in our prayers every minute. They are dear, sweet friends of ours who have been from the get-go trying their best to take care of Suzie despite the loss that they personally suffered.

The graciousness that that couple has shown given the tragedy that they've experienced is unlike anything I've ever experienced. And beyond the safety of my wife and those of the other victims, I most pray for John and Roxanna Green.

RHEE: Thank you.

This is a difficult moment for these family members, but we'll open this up for a brief period of questions and answers.

QUESTION: Doctor, can I just ask you, it sounds like after further analysis by the military, Doctor, you're now convinced that the bullet wound of Gabbie Giffords went through the front of her head and out the back, not the other way around?

RHEE: If it's a trajectory, it went through -- there's an entry and an exit. Which one is which we can't say for sure. And we always want to be a little nebulous about that. But we do think from the expertise that they're giving to us, it probably went in from the front and came out the back.

QUESTION: Can I ask Ms. Stoddard a question, please?

We were speaking with Mike Nowak (ph), who is your mom's pastor, yesterday.

WILSON: Yes.

QUESTION: And he said he'd spoken with your mom and said that Mavy felt that Dorwin had really saved her life.

WILSON: Absolutely. She did feel that way. He heard the shots and covered my mom with his own body, and protected her and saved her, yes. Mom definitely felt that way.

ROBINSON: I think further of that is because as dad lay dying, mom didn't know she'd been hurt. She thought that she was holding him, and her leg started hurting, and it wasn't until they got to the hospital that she even realized she'd been shot.

QUESTION: It sounds like a couple that really came together in a very, very --

ROBINSON: It was a beautiful way to say good-bye and go home.

QUESTION: Can you tell us more about where your wife was when this happened and her experience that she related to you? And also how she's doing mentally, having been the one, as you said, to bring little Christina to the event.

HILEMAN: Suzie and Christina were holding hands in line waiting to shake Gabbie's hand. They were there because my wife is very active in any community that she lives in.

And she had become -- when the Greens moved to town about a year after we did, Roxanna reached out to the community for help with babysitters and yard workers and other such things. And Suzie was the one that answered the e-mail, and they've linked up and become quite good friends. And in that process, the Green children have been at our house, and we're aspiring grandparents with kids that aren't married yet, so we tend to enjoy little kids when we get a chance.

And Suzie and Christina are generationally apart, but very much birds of a feather. When Christina was elected to her student council and started to express interest in government and the notion of helping people, my wife had been a social worker in New York and Chicago and is, again, of that ilk. And Suzie started looking for an event that she could share, as they have done in any number of other things. And Gabbie's event made all kinds of sense, both from my wife's personal political preferences, as well as the fact it was a magnificent chance to provide a positive public female role model for little Christina.

So the two of them were together holding hands. And most of what Suzie has shared with me about the specifics are on the edges of a morphine-induced haze. So there hasn't yet been a clear, precise discussion.

From time to time in moments of discomfort things come out. She's recalling and remembering and having flashbacks of uncomfortable moments.

I don't feel prepared today to put together a cogent timeline of exactly what occurred. I hear her in her semiconscious ramblings screaming out, "Christina! Christina! Let's get out of here! Let's get out of here!" And she keeps talking about the holding of hands and then the realization that she's on the ground and the bleeding was profuse.

Her memory seems to end there.

QUESTION: Does she know what has happened to Christina?

HILEMAN: One of the first good impressions I got from this institution was when I was pulled aside by a social worker who rightfully identified that the toughest issue that was likely to be faced by Suzie was dealing with what happened to Christina. And again, my wife has worked in and with families that have dealt with terrible tragedies in her prior social working career, and in her clearest-headed state she is quite understanding that this was the act of a madman and that blame does no good for anybody.

Unfortunately, we're all human and we have dark moments where it's -- the inevitable occurs. And we're going to have that as an ongoing issue to deal with.

What I wanted to make sure everyone knows is that to the extent that mindset sets in, it's not being induced by anyone at all who's been involved. And certainly not by the Greens' parents, who the morning after the incident, Roxanna sent us a lengthy e-mail. And John and I had been playing telephone tag until yesterday, but we got together and we cried for about 10 minutes.

QUESTION: Do you know of if your wife knows --

HILEMAN: Oh, I'm sorry. Yes.

Suzie had her breathing tube removed late Saturday evening. The very first thing she asked -- she grabbed my hand, she looked me in the eyes, and said, "What about Christina?"

We were advised that the exact right thing to do, which happens to coincide with 40 years of knowing her and knowing there's no other right way to deal with her, was to tell her the exact truth, which we've done. I was initially very happy she was full of morphine. I think it may have helped just soften the burden somewhat.

She's only kind of coming out of all this very slowly. And I don't know for sure all of what has truly been absorbed at this point.

QUESTION: But in all likelihood, she and Christina were holding hands when they were shot?

HILEMAN: Yes.

QUESTION: I also have a question for the ladies.

Obviously, this has been a very, very difficult time for you, and your focus must necessarily be on your family. But what, if any, thoughts do you have for the man accused of doing this?

ROBINSON: We're not going to answer that at this time. God takes care of that.

QUESTION: Could you tell us about your parents' life together before this?

WILSON: Well, they married 15 years ago. They were sixth-grade girlfriend and boyfriend, and they had a wonderful, loving life together.

It was quite a blessing for them as well as the extended family. They were very happy.

QUESTION: I'm sorry. Did you say -- how many years ago did you say?

WILSON: Fifteen years ago.

QUESTION: Fifteen. But they were high school --

WILSON: They were sixth-grade girlfriend and boyfriend.

ROBINSON: And then both of them lost their spouses. Both of them had been married 40 years to wonderful other mates.

And when their mates died within a year apart, my mom moved -- our mom moved back to Tucson, and Dory (ph) moved back to Tucson. They were -- one was in Washington, one was in Oregon. They re-met and married shortly thereafter. And it's been a blessing for all of us.

QUESTION: Where did they re-meet?

WILSON: In Tucson.

QUESTION: I mean, was there an event that they went to or --

ROBINSON: Their cousins -- they were both very good friends with each other's -- with Dory's (ph) cousins, Caroline (ph) and Jack. And Caroline (ph) and Jack reintroduced them, and they decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend again.

WILSON: For the rest of their lives.

QUESTION: So, just so we know, perhaps you'd introduce yourselves and tell us your relationship.

WILSON: We're sisters.

Penny Wilson. P-E-N-N-Y.

ROBINSON: And I'm Angela Robinson.

QUESTION: Are you both of Tucson?

ROBINSON: Yes.

QUESTION: And you're both Dorwan's daughters or --

ROBINSON: We're Mavy's daughters, but I'm claiming him as my daddy. I had a dad. He was my daddy.

QUESTION: Has your mom been conscious enough at all to know yet?

ROBINSON: Oh, yes. Mom's OK. Yes, mom's good.

RHEE: They'll be available for further detailed questionings if you wanted to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think this is one opportunity. So maybe one or two more questions.

RHEE: OK.

QUESTION: Has your mom been conscious enough to kind of know what's going on outside the hospital here? Has she been in any condition to (OFF-MIKE).

WILSON: Mom's been very aware of what's gone on from the very beginning, I think.

QUESTION: Is she aware of the show of support that's being played out here at the hospital?

WILSON: Yes.

QUESTION: Her reaction?

WILSON: She is very grateful. She's very aware of what is going on and the kindness, and just the huge outpouring of support for everyone.

QUESTION: We heard that Dory (ph) was a volunteer at the church here, and he just fell off a ladder or something like that. I mean, what kind of guy was he?

WILSON: Dory (ph) was a busy little guy. He took care of anything that was broken, was going to break. He was always thinking about how to fix and repair and help anyone and everyone that he could. He was always available for that.

RHEE: I'm getting the signal. So we're going to probably wrap this up.

Again, I appreciate everybody's cooperation. You guys have been fantastic. Obviously, it took a lot of courage from the family members to do this.

So thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Just gripping stories from Tucson this afternoon.

An update for you, in case you're just joining us, about Congresswoman Giffords' condition. Doctors say they've cut back on the number of sedatives and she's still doing pretty well, she's hanging in there. She's still in critical condition.

As I've said, they've cut back on the number of sedatives they've giving her. They say they've done really all they can do. It's up to Gabbie Giffords now. It's up to her strength of will to get better.

We'll go back to Tucson if there are any more updates. And we'll actually pull some of the comments from just the gripping stories from family members who still have loved ones in the hospitals who were wounded in that awful attack.

Talk a little bit about the weather right now. We were telling you about those semis, those trucks and cars stuck on I-285 through Atlanta for about four or five hours. Well, they're moving again.

We're going to talk more about the weather, the situation on the highways, and Chad will tell us when it's all going to end.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As you know, we've been suffering here in Atlanta and many places in the South, not just Georgia. But I'll talk particularly about Atlanta, because we've been telling you about these semis that were stuck on I-285.

It's the perimeter around the city, or the beltway, if you will. Those trucks are now moving. I know it doesn't look like it, but, really, they are.

Some of those semis have been stuck on that road since 10:30 last night. And it's not like the drivers could jump out and go anywhere. They just had to sit in those trucks.

There is an inch of ice on the highway. Nobody could go anywhere because the semis were jackknifing all over the place.

And Chad, you well know --

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

COSTELLO: -- not enough salt, not enough trucks. Atlanta just is freaked out over this and just isn't equipped to deal with it.

MYERS: Four million people around the city, something like that. Fifty trucks to plow this stuff out of the way.

So hundreds of thousands of miles divided by 50 trucks, and it's going to take, like, there and a half years to get all of this out of the way. The good news is summer happens before that.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: And we might have a bit of sunshine later this afternoon, and when we see it we'll all cheer.

MYERS: The sunshine will warm things up a little bit.

Yesterday, we did get the slush to come back in. But as soon as the sun set last night, it froze back up.

There's a jackknifed truck right there from Georgia DOT. If you want to know about DOT traffic, you can call 511. It might be a long wait, but you will get to find out what's open and what's not. There are quite a few things that are not open right now, including most of the atrium down here at CNN.

COSTELLO: Nothing's open. Nothing, still, for two days.

MYERS: I almost walked into the Starbucks and started making my own coffee.

COSTELLO: Oh, please do that.

MYERS: But I realized I don't know what I was doing, and I'm not a barista.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Taking a look at our top stories. Ten people are dead, 78 missing in Australia after a flash flood swept through a town west of Brisbane. The Brisbane River broke its bank, and a wall of water came without warning, overturning cars and swamping homes. Three-quarters of the Australian state Queensland has been declared a disaster zone.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton made a surprise visit to Yemen today as part of her Persian Gulf trip. Yemen is considered a key al Qaeda battleground and planning center. She promised the impoverished nation the United States will offer military assistance and civilian help.

And a Los Angeles detective says Dr. Conrad Murray told them Michael Jackson begged for the surgical anesthetic Propofol the day he died. Jackson allegedly said he feared his concerts would be cancelled if he couldn't sleep. The detective testified yesterday at the preliminary hearing for Dr. Murray's involuntary manslaughter case.

How were the warning signs missed? It's a question that comes up after every mass shooting. CNN's special investigations unit looks into Jared Loughner's behavior.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A bit of developing news to report to you right now. A U.S. federal court has ordered all federal judges in Arizona to recuse themselves from the Loughner case. Loughner, as you well know, is the suspect in that terrible shooting in Tucson. And as you well know, killed in that attack was a federal judge, John Roll. He was shot in the back, and he died at the scene.

What this means is they'll have to find a judge from outside the state of Arizona to hear Jared Loughner's case. Of course, we'll keep you posted when they name that judge, the judge who will eventually hear the case against Jared Loughner.

Experts say Loughner's odd behavior clearly suggests mental illness. So, how were so many warning signals missed? CNN's Drew Griffin investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN MCGAHEE, MATH INSTRUCTOR, PIMA COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE: This will be starting my fourth year.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): On the very first day of class, math teacher Ben McGahee knew there was something wrong with the student in classroom 209. A student named Jared Loughner, who would first become a disturbance. Sudden outbursts, challenging his teaching. Then going silent and ignoring everyone while listening to his iPod. The behavior the professor thought was threatening.

MCGAHEE: I still felt uncomfortable as well as the other students.

GRIFFIN (off camera): Even after he was --

MCGAHEE: Even after he was gone. Because you never know these guys, they could come back and try to, you know, cause harm.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): McGahee teaches elementary algebra at Pima County Community College. Jared Loughner, one of his students.

MCGAHEE: School officials, teachers on all levels need to take this more seriously as far as security goes.

GRIFFIN: School officials suspended Loughner in late September after five different incidents involving campus police. Campus police visited him and his parents. But school officials say they couldn't do anything more. Hamstrung, they say, by personal privacy rights.

"Keeping Them Honest," we asked the vice president of student development, Dr. Lorraine Morales, if they did enough.

GRIFFIN (on camera): The school felt it had done what it need to do to protect the other students on campus? DR. LORRAINE MORALES, VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT, PIMA CO. COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Yes. And that was our primary concern.

GRIFFIN: This is where he went to high school, Mountain View High School. His friends say he was talented, played saxophone in the high school band. But in junior year, something happened. His friends say he began to use drugs, and he never returned for his senior year.

(voice-over): Friends say loughner became obsessed with the nuance of language and with U.S. currency. In this text-only posting on YouTube just before Christmas he said the majority of the residents of his congressional district were "illiterate." He added, "Nearly all of the people who don't know this accurate information of a new currency aren't aware of a mind control and brainwash methods."

Here at the Tucson store where Loughner bought the Glock semi- automatic pistol back in November, he didn't fit any of the, quote, "prohibited possesser categories" that would have prevented the purchase. He passed an instant federal background check and was on his way. He first tried to buy ammunition at this Wal-Mart store, abruptly left, and made the purchase somewhere else.

As the memorial candles still burn outside the hospital where Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is being treated, questions persist about how and whether Jared Loughner might have been stopped before the mayhem.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And members of the community will gather tonight in Tucson for a memorial mass for the shooting victims. Six people were killed, including 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green. The mass will take place at the church where she had her first communion one year ago. The bishop said it's important for the community to pull together and to reach out to everyone affected by the tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Actor Michael Douglas says he may have beaten throat cancer. He spoke for the first time about his recovery on the "Today Show." "Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson joins me now from Hollywood with more on this story. This is such good news, Brooke.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CO-HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": It's great news, Carol. And yes, Michael Douglas is saying he has likely beat the cancer, that the tumor is gone, eradicated. So, fingers crossed that Michael and his doctors are able to remain optimistic. Michael was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer last summer, and now he told Matt Lauer that he thinks he's out of the woods. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DOUGLAS, ACTOR: I feel good, relieved. The tumor is gone. But you know, I have to check out on a monthly basis now to maintain. I guess -- there's not a total euphoria. I'll probably take a couple of months of getting checked out to feel, but it's been a wild -- a wild six-month ride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Michael revealed that he wasn't just fighting cancer, he was also battling the paparazzi. He told Lauer that he resented the paparazzi, particularly how they would include his two young children when they shot pictures of him.

He also wasn't happy with the tabloid photos of him when he was really gaunt, suggesting the photos could have been touched up. Michael said that those pictures concerned his father, Kirk Douglas, so much that Kirk, who is 94 years old, came to New York to see him.

And listen to this. The Douglases just told "People" magazine that the family went out to dinner a few nights ago after getting the clean bill of health and that Michael even had a glass of wine with dinner. He said it was his first since his diagnosis back in August.

Carol, he certainly had reason to celebrate. And of course we continue to wish Michael the very best in his recovery.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's terrific, Brooke. Something not so earth shattering, perhaps -- but I know it's important to you. I know you're a big Britney spears fan. And she's going to be --

ANDERSON: Britney Spears, isn't all things Britney Spears earth shattering? I'm kidding!

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: There's going to be a new album, though. Woo hoo!

ANDERSON: Counting down the days, Carol. Yes. Britney is back with a brand-new song. So, the question is, is it any good? Judge for yourself. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

(BRITNEY SPEARS SINGING)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ANDERSON: All right.

COSTELLO: Wow.

ANDERSON: The song is called "Hold It Against Me." It's already shot to number 1 on iTunes. It was released early after being leaked. But even so, it looks like Britney Spears has another hit on her hands, which Carol, is pretty remarkable considering everything she's been through with her personal life and with her career.

COSTELLO: That's right. She certainly seems more sane now, and we're happy for that. And happy for her. But I must say that song sounds like every other Britney Spears song ever written and performed. But that's just me!

Thank you, Brooke, we appreciate it. On "Showbiz Tonight" at 5:00 and 11:00 Eastern, Michael's miracle. Brand-new emotional revelations from the actor about his battle with throat cancer. Brooke has the inspiring story of how he beat the odds. That's tonight at 5:00 and 11:00 Eastern on Headline News, HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A community rocked by the mass killing in Tucson will get personal support from President Obama. Wolf Blitzer, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the political desk in Washington.

Hey, Wolf, what's crossing right now?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": One thing that we're looking towards, Carol, right now, tomorrow night the president of the United States and the first lady, they'll be in Tucson at this memorial service. The president will be speaking. He wants to be there. And I'm sure a lot of folks in Tucson and in Arizona want him to be there as well.

And some are already making the comparison, making the point that, for the president, at a difficult time like this of healing for the nation, this might be an opportunity for him to do what President Clinton did back in 1995 when he went to Oklahoma City and attended that memorial service out there. I remember covering President Clinton at that time and when he spoke at the memorial service, it was an uplifting, very powerful speech, and a lot of observers think it helped turn his presidency around during that first term. Remember, after that Oklahoma City speech, when he was widely praised for saying all the right things, he did turn things around and got himself re- elected the following year in 1996.

And I know that White House officials, right now, are looking at what President Clinton did then, what President Reagan did at some critical moments during his presidency to see -- to get some ideas on how President Obama should deal with this tomorrow night once he speaks in Tucson.

COSTELLO: And also President -- and also President Bush --

WOLF: That will be significant.

COSTELLO: And also President Bush, after 9/11, made some comments that brought the nation together.

WOLF: Right.

COSTELLO: I can't imagine what the president -- President Obama is going through choosing exactly the right words, because this is a time when the nation wants to be united. They want a message of hope and unity and, you know, he's got to choose exactly the right words. WOLF: And that's -- and that's what President Reagan did at some moments. That's what President Clinton did. And, you're right, that's what President Bush did after 9/11. And I'm sure that the speech writers of the White House, and I'm sure the president himself and his closest advisers, they're looking for some way -- they're looking for some way to do exactly that tomorrow night. A lot of people will be watching. We'll have coverage here on CNN, of course, as well. So it will be significant.

I just want to point out another story that's moving. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, she's in Yemen right now. An unannounced visit, obviously. It's a dangerous stop, so they don't announce it in advance. But al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula, which is based in Yemen, has become a major, major problem. The American- born cleric, Anwar al Awlaki, we assume is somewhere in Yemen right now. And the U.S. is trying to strengthen security cooperation with the Yemeni government.

So this is an important visit by the secretary of state. And we're watching that. Jill Doherty, by the way, our State Department correspondent, is traveling with the secretary of state. She'll be joining us from Yemen in "The Situation Room" later. We'll have complete details.

COSTELLO: We'll be there, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Thanks, Wolf.

For the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com, if you can't possibly wait till 5:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Ryan Mack, he's the president of Optimum Capital Management, and Gary Schatsky's here, he's the president of objectiveadvice.com.

All right, guys, thanks for being here with us. Got some good questions today.

The first one coming from Kimberly in Michigan who writes, "my nephew is currently enrolled in college. His parents are going through severe financial difficulties and there is a great possibility that he won't be able to return because of their unfortunate strain. What can he do at this point?"

Ryan.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, right now we have to start doing all we can do to make sure he can stay in school. That's the number one thing, stay in school.

ELAM: Yes.

MARK: If he has to go part-time or maybe take less hours and get a part-time job, do that. My father was a (INAUDIBLE) in five years at Central State University. He was homeless, but he still managed to go to school because it was that important to him. Maybe get a work study job or an internship program. I actually worked at a meal job at a sorority house to make sure that I could eat and get paid a little small stipend weekly and still have my meals provided for when I went to the University of Michigan. So these are the type of things they have to start doing aggressively. But dropping out is not an option. Make sure you can start earning that income to stay in school.

ELAM: Yes. And also there may be programs at the school to help you find work there too.

MACK: Exactly.

ELAM: All right, let's go on to our next question from Claire in Nevada who says, "I will be inheriting about $300,000. Some people have recommended that I buy a couple of houses and rent them out for the monthly income. Others have told me to put the money in the stock market."

Clearly they need some help here, Gary. What should Claire do?

GARY SCHATSKY, PRESIDENT, OBJECTIVEADVICE.COM: Well, you know, you've got to really take an inventory of what your financial situation is. Just because you inherited money doesn't mean you run out and throw it in any one place. Take a look. Do you have any debt that's out there? Are you contributing to your 401(k)s or your IRAs? Really get your whole financial house in order.

Before you get into buying houses for renting, there's all kinds of other issues. Do you want to manage the properties? Are you handy? And so what I think you need to do is put together a diverse portfolio after you take care of everything by retirement planning, eliminating debt, and then move from there.

ELAM: Yes. So take a look at the picture a little bit more before you go throwing $300,000 out the window.

SCHATSKY: Absolutely.

ELAM: All right, Gary and Ryan, thanks so much for being here.

Of course, if you have a question you want to get answered, we're happy to help you out. Send us an e-mail anytime to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some new information coming in to us to share with you. The Arizona state legislature expected to pass legislation that will bar protesters at funerals from getting within 300 feet of services. That is a direct response to a controversial church's announcement that it will picket the funeral of Christina Green. Christina is the nine-year-old who was one of the six people killed Saturday during the attempted assassination of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Those plans, you know, to protest at the funeral by the folks at the Westboro Baptist Church, and they are a big topic online. Sandra Endo is tracking what's trending. It's just unbelievable.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Carol. There's so much trending today. A big movement on Facebook for people to support little nine-year-old Christina Green at funeral -- her funeral Thursday. And as you mentioned, members of the Westboro Baptist Church are planning to protest there just because the girl and her family are Catholic. And supporters are planning to wear 8 by 10-foot angel wings to block the protesters' signs.

And here's what some people are saying on Facebook, just to tell you a few of them. Debbie Christensen writes, "I was raised in Tucson, and it saddens me so much that such a horrible thing happened in the town I love so much. I wish I could be there to show my support. Please know I am there in spirit."

And Fred Gofford (ph) writes, "here in South Carolina I will be praying for your success of your efforts to protect the mourners from this vicious hate group."

Organizers supporting this, Carol, are calling this movement "angel action." And, of course, it's gotten a lot of traction on Facebook. A lot of people supporting it, even if they can't be there in person on Thursday.

COSTELLO: Sandra, I think we should make a vow never to mention Westboro Baptist Church on the air ever again because that's not worth talking about, is it?

There's another hot story, though, that is trending right now about Internet use.

ENDO: Yes. There is a tie in the tech world. I had no idea. It's according to "The New York Times," writing this article, that Americans are spending as much time online as they do watching TV. Now, this is a study by Forrester Research which shows that Internet use has skyrocketed 122 percent in the last five years. This is the first time, though, that older people are logging on in droves as well. So pretty interesting stuff.

COSTELLO: Times are a-changing.

ENDO: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Sandra Endo.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Martin Savidge.