Blizzard Warning in Boston; Tucson Briefing
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the top of the hour now. Let's check the big stories for this Wednesday, January 12th. A briefing is set to begin any minute now updating the condition of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and five other victims of the mass shootings in Tucson. Giffords remains in critical condition, but doctors say she is breathing on her own. According to the most recent information, a second person is also in critical condition right now. One is in serious condition. And three others are listed as fair. President Obama will offer words of comfort to the victims and families in Tucson, and to the rest of the country. The president is scheduled to leave for Arizona within the hour. He'll speak at a memorial service tonight and meet with family members. On Capitol Hill, Democrats and Republicans honored Representative Giffords on the House floor to day. Speaker John Boehner talked about the shooting that injured Giffords and 13 others.</s>REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. This is a time for the House to lock arms in prayer for the fallen and the wounded and resolve to carry on a dialogue of democracy. We may not yet have all the final answers, but we already have the answer that matters most, that we're Americans and we'll make it through this difficult period. We will have the last word.</s>COSTELLO: And Congressman Giffords' office releasing these pictures of her husband, Mark Kelly. As you can see, he's at her bedside and he's holding her hand. That just breaks your heart. It makes me want to call my husband right now. Bracing for a blizzard in the Northeast. Two powerful storms have collided, creating some what call a weather bomb. The system has already dumped heavy snow on major cities of the region,, including up to a foot of snow in parts of New York. Check out these live pictures. These pictures are out of Lowell, Massachusetts. Well, it's not a live picture. It's on tape though. Is this from Lowell? We don't have those live pictures from Lowell, Massachusetts, but CNN photojournalist Bob Crowley -- these are the pictures you're seeing. He was in the thick of it there, and he joins us by phone from Boston. Hey, there.</s>BOB CROWLEY, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: Hey, Carol. How are you doing?</s>COSTELLO: I'm good. It looks terrible there.</s>CROWLEY: Well, you know, it's not as bad right now as it was earlier this morning. I would say the visibility at one point when I drove from near the Rhode Island border up close to Boston, it was down to 100 feet, maybe even less. Mass State Police said that it was like that for a lot parts of the state. But I've seen times when it lightens up, and it definitely seems to be -- the roads seem to be clearer the more you get towards the city. And as a matter of fact, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, they told me that --</s>COSTELLO: Bob, I'm going to have to interrupt you. I apologize. I'm going to have to interrupt you, because the update on the patients' condition in Tucson has started. Let's go there now.</s>DR. PETER RHEE, CHIEF OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, TUCSON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Two are serious and three are in fair condition. One of the patients got upgraded to serious for a little while because they were on a ventilator, a breathing machine, right after we were doing surgery, which is very customary and normal. So that's the reason why. The update on the congresswoman at this time period is that it's going as anticipated. Again, at this time period, things can go very slowly and the progress can occur very rapidly at some particular time, and actually can go in a negative fashion and a downward way as well. And I'm happy to state that none of the downward events have occurred at this time, which is exactly what we kind of wanted to happen at this point. And we have really decreased the amount of sedation that we're giving her, and as a result of that, she's becoming more and more spontaneous all the time. And other than that, there will be no other additional information that I'm going to be giving about the congresswoman at this time. And I will not be taking questions regarding her status, either. At this time period, what I would also like to do is I'd like to introduce two family members who are going to make a brief statement. After the brief statement, we'll open it up for a very short period of questions and answers, and then we'll conclude at that time period. We have the family members of Ronald Barber and Nancy Barber here. Jenny Douglas is going to talk. But we also have Nancy Barber, Chrissy Blake (ph), Jason Blake, and Duane Douglas (ph). I got that right? If you don't mind, I'm going to repeat the names again. If you could just signify who is who. Nancy Barber, Chrissy Blake (ph), Jason Blake, and Duane Douglas (ph). And that will help the press quite a bit. OK. With that, Jenny --</s>JENNY DOUGLAS, DAUGHTER OF RON BARBER: Good morning. My name is Jenny Douglas (ph). I'm Ron Barber's daughter. Behind me are my mom, Nancy Barber; my sister, Chrissy Blake (ph); my husband, Duane Douglas (ph); and my brother-in-law, Jason Blake. I have a statement I would like to read on behalf of my family. And we will take a few questions after that. "We would like to let you all know that 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." "On behalf of my dad and the rest of our family, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our extended family, friends, and the community as a whole for the overwhelming support we have received. Specifically, we would like to thank all of the UMC staff, doctors, nurses, and patient care technicians who have been lovingly caring for our dad and our family these past days. The level of care, compassion and professionalism is truly exceptional." "We would also like to thank the Tucson Police Department, sheriff's department, and FBI." "We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones on Saturday. Dad is so deeply saddened by the loss of his friend and fellow staff member, Gabe Zimmerman, and long- time friend, Chief Judge John Roll. Our thoughts and prayers are with the other victims and their families during their recovery." "We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Daniel Hernandez, whose clear thinking and actions in the midst of chaos undoubtedly helped to save Congresswoman Giffords' life. We would also like to personally thank Anna Balast (ph), who applied pressure to my dad's wounds until the paramedics arrived. We are greatly indebted to her." "My dad has worked in the public sector for this community for almost 40 years. He was with the Division of Developmental Disabilities for 34 years, most of that time as the director for southern Arizona." "He retired in 2006 and began volunteering immediately with Gabby's campaign, where he was the community outreach director. After her successful election, Gabby appointed him as her district director." "We knew he worked tirelessly to give a voice for those who often were not heard in his career with the Division of Development Disabilities. It was hard to imagine that he could actually work even more in his new career with Gabby, but somehow he does." "With such a long career of public service in this community, he has touched many lives, and now we are hearing from many of you who know him well, and some of you who just knew of him. He has friends across the political spectrum and, like his boss, he just wants to do what is best for the people of our community. That is what drew him to Gabby and that is what binds them." "Throughout this ordeal, dad's singular focus has been on the well-being of Gabby, and he asks that we all continue to pray for her recovery and her family."</s>RHEE: This is the son of Pamela Simon, who is a staff member as well.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. I'm going to be reading a brief statement from my mother, Pam Simon. Pam Simon is a community outreach coordinator for Congresswoman Giffords. And this is in her words. "I'm incredibly grateful for the outpouring love and support of my family, friends, co-workers and community. The wounds inflicted are healing, thanks to the amazing care of the doctors and staff here at the University Medical Center. And I would especially like to thank Dr. Fretes (ph)." "The deeper wounds of needless loss of life, severe injury of co- workers and community members, and the sadness over this act of violence will take much longer to heal. I am touched and encouraged by the tremendous caring and coming together of the community, and I believe that in the days and weeks ahead, that we will work together to solve challenges and promote healing." "I ask for your continued prayers for Gabrielle, my congresswoman and my friend, and that she has a full recovery. She is a leader who is truly needed in this nation." "My special thanks to my wonderful husband, Bruce, for his love and support, and for my children, Fritz (ph) and Summer (ph), for being here throughout this time." Thank you.</s>RHEE: OK. We'll open it up for a couple of questions to the Simon family -- I'm sorry, for the Barber family.</s>QUESTION: Can I ask you -- obviously you suffered a tragedy (OFF-MIKE)?</s>DOUGLAS: We are very sad about this tragic event. We are grateful that my dad is alive. We are very sad about the people who lost their loved ones.</s>QUESTION: Can you tell us a little more, please, about your father and what he's been saying about Congresswoman Giffords and her recovery?</s>DOUGLAS: My dad wants to see her. It will help him to see her. I believe they're going to arrange that. He's just asking about her every day.</s>QUESTION:  (OFF-MIKE) NANCY BARBER, RON BARBER'S WIFE: You know, he's doing as well as can be expected. And day by day, he has to heal. And it's going to take a long time to heal. But he really wants to express to the community, this wonderful community of Tucson, his love and his gratitude, because we are a wonderful community and we are a family. And we all join together. And he's very grateful for that.</s>QUESTION: Can you talk a little bit about what he remembers from Saturday? And does he remember what happened?</s>DOUGLAS: He remembers it all very clearly.</s>QUESTION: Has he talked to you?</s>DOUGLAS: Yes.</s>QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) DOUGLAS: We can't share that information. But I can tell you he remembers it very clearly.</s>QUESTION: Could you speak a little bit, please, about his condition, how is he physically?</s>DOUGLAS: My sister is a nurse, so that's more her.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad is healing from his wounds remarkably well, and we really think that that's because we have so much love and prayer coming our way right now. He had surgery yesterday to close some wounds that were created during his original surgery, and he is healing incredibly well. His pain is being managed by his nursing staff. And he's expected to make a full recovery. So we're really happy about that.</s>QUESTION: The person who was putting pressure on his wound, could you talk about that person? You said he remembers everything so clearly, so --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just found out who she was yesterday. And there was an article in today's "Star" about her. A friend at "The Star" helped me identify her, because in the photo in Sunday's paper, there was no identification. I'm sure the photographer couldn't get close enough. And so we were able to find out who she was. And, actually, I spoke with her yesterday. Anna Ballis (ph) is her name. And Ron is very keen to speak with her, as he was with Daniel Hernandez. And he is hoping to meet with her in the next day or so.</s>RHEE: Thank you very much.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.</s>RHEE: Thank you. I think this is a testament, that these people who are in the hospital after being shot multiple times and healing, are always thinking of others, and especially the congresswoman. So that concludes this press release at this time. Thank you very much for your cooperation.</s>COSTELLO: An update on the conditions of patients still in the hospital in Tucson. Congresswoman Giffords, hanging in there. She's doing as well as can be expected, breathing on her own. It's up to her now, as doctors have said before. Also, the condition of Ron Barber. He's recovering as well. We heard from his family members. Sixty-five-years old, a hero -- another hero. So many from that day. He actually put his hand over Congresswoman Giffords' head to stop her from bleeding to death, and he himself winds up in the hospital. And we're glad to hear he is recovering. We'll be back with much more after this.