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Gabrielle Giffords Breathing on Her Own; Loughner G-String Photos Handed Over to Police

It’s been a week since a gunman opened fire on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others, killing six. Today, we have more information on the gunman, and good news regarding Giffords’s health:

• Gabrielle Giffords is off the ventilator and breathing on her own through a tracheotomy tube. She remains in critical condition and her recovery “continues as planned.” The tube protects Giffords’s airway and allows her to breathe independently for the first time since her first surgery after the shooting. [CNN]

• A law-enforcement source said Saturday that Loughner had photographed himself posing with a 9-mm handgun while wearing a red G-string. It is the same model of weapon as the one the police say Loughner used last Saturday to kill six people. It’s not clear when the photo was taken, but it was among those on a roll of 35-mm film that Loughner dropped off at a Walgreen’s store in the hours before the shooting. The photos were turned over to the police. [CNN, NYT]

• Another person wounded in the incident, 58-year-old James Tucker, was released from the hospital today. Two other victims are in good condition at the hospital, while others wounded had been treated and released earlier this week. [CNN]

• The Safeway where the shooting occurred reopened this morning for the first time since the incident. Store officials made a public address, inviting those who were in the store to step outside for the observation shortly after 10 a.m. [CNN, NYT]

• A gun show at the county fairgrounds in Tucson went forward as planned today. “I decided I needed to come here again to start to reclaim normalcy,” said Nancy Ostromencki, 56, a piano teacher whose daily routine includes buying a Frappuccino and treats for her dog, Bailey, at the supermarket north of downtown. “I can’t let that worm have more control than he’s already had.” [NYT]

• More details from the day of Loughner’s arrest: “At a Pima County Sheriff’s Department substation, Deputy Audetat guided Mr. Loughner to a tiny interview room with a two-way mirror, directed him to a plastic blue chair and offered him a glass of water. The deputy detected no remorse; nothing. Now to another building for the mug shot. Look into the camera, the suspect was told. He smiled.” [NYT]

Gabrielle Giffords Breathing on Her Own; Loughner G-String Photos Handed Over to Police