been deaths and injuries in this community that are affecting these families, it s awful. my staff is experiencing this up close with the loss of gabe and the injuries of pam and ron and i can t say enough about how difficult this has been for us. and you know the outpouring of support from tucson and arizona and all around the country is certainly helping as much as it can in this situation. well, pia, i appreciate you stopping to talk to us. i know it s obviously been a nightmare for you all, so i ll let you go, but i appreciate it and please give our best to the congresswoman s family and all those you talk to on your staff. thank you. i will. thanks, anderson. want to bring you up to date on some of the other stories we re following tonight. a report to the president from the commission on the bp oil spill is warning that another devastating spill could happen unless the government takes drastic steps. the report calls for more research, funding and oversight
good news to tell you about, more encouraging news from doctors today at the university medical center in tucson where the shooting victims are being treated. listen. currently at six patients still remaining in the hospital, one in critical condition, three in serious condition, and two in fair condition. obviously the critically ill patient is congresswoman gabrielle giffords, shot in the head, point blank range. the bullet went through her brain back to front. the fact she is alive is really remarkab remarkable. today new details. she holding her own, status is the same as yesterday. she s still following simple commands. we ve been able to back off some said dags and she s able to generate her own breaths. she s breathing on her own. the only reason we keep that tube in is to protect her airway so she doesn t have complications like pneumonia. we also heard from bill heilman whose wife was shot multiple times. she brought christina green to
hoping to meet with her in the next day or so. thank you. i think this is a testament that these people in the hospital after being shot multiple times are always thinking of others and especially the congresswoman. that concludes this press release at this time. thank you very much for your cooperation. jon: as they have been doing each day since the terrible shootings on saturday, members of the hospital staff at the university medical center in tucson, arizona are updating us on the condition of their patients, including congresswoman gabrielle giffords. we spent more time today hearing from the families of two of her wounded staffers, ron barber and pam simon. as you heard both of them are recuperating, they are sending out their thoughts and prayers to those whose lives were taken
former minnesota governor tim pawlenty says everyone can benefit from taking a step back. he s also the author of a new book courage to stand. good morning to you. good morning. always great to see you in person and we both hail from minnesota so we call this snow storm a dusting, right? that s exactly right. let s talk a little bit about what you re calling civil discourse or calling for a change in that regarding the tucson situation. well, we need to disconnect the two because, as you and many others on this show and we ve all said, this incident has nothing to do with any particular politician, rhetoric, maps, symbols. let s get that clear and let s get that straight. setting that aside, i think we can all benefit from a more thoughtful discourse in the country but we don t want to chill or deter passion or energy. that s what drives grassroots politics. interestingly enough, congresswoman giffords had said just that to a colleague, that she wanted to get back to a ni
shot in the front of the head. but everything they ve seen so far indicates that. but doctors also said during this update that they are optimistic about her condition. i can t tell if she ll be in a vegetative state. i know she s not going to die. chance she will survive? 101. now, part of the reason doctors say that they are so optimistic are the little signs that would be that would be easy for us to do. things like scratching her nose, a thumbs up, she s squeezing her husband s hands. these are very important details that doctors say they re releasing, it shows there s something going on there. that she gets what s going on. she s receiving information and she s able to respond. there are five other people currently here at university medical center and two of them are in fair condition and three of them remain in serious condition. back to you guys. right. alicia acuna live from tucson.