New photos show smiling Giffords

They are the first photographs of Giffords' face since she was shot in the head in January and show how far she's come since then.

Karamargin said Giffords' verbal skills, physical strength and cognitive abilities are improving all the time.

But he cautioned the congresswoman still has many challenges ahead. He characterized her recovery as a "marathon," not a sprint.

"People shouldn't get the wrong impression," he said. "The congresswoman suffered a severe injury to one of the most sensitive areas to the human body. Her road to recovery is going to be a long one."

Giffords is expected to leave TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital and begin outpatient therapy in Texas by the end of the month, Karamargin said.

Prior to Sunday, Giffords' office had released a photo of just her hand, holding her husband's hand.

The photographer responsible for the new pictures said they were taken at the hospital.

"It was very inspiring to see how much she had recovered in 4 1/2 months," photographer P.K. Weis of SouthwestPhotoBank.com said in a statement. "I was excited to see her and to see her smile. She was glad to see me, was in a good mood, smiling and laughing and seemed to enjoy the experience. I certainly did, too."

Weis, who's known the congresswoman for more than a decade, said "her staff asked me to do it because she wanted someone who was not a stranger -- someone she would be comfortable around."

The Facebook post Sunday quickly filled with dozens of comments and "likes."

"She looks remarkably good!" said Facebook poster Jeffery Haas.

"You are so special," another fan, John Evanchik, wrote. "And you have so much courage and fortitude that I am so proud to say that you are a real role model for so many people who, in their circumstance, they probably give up, but not you, Congresswoman. Yes, God has blessed you."

Six people were killed and 13 others, including Giffords, were wounded when a gunman opened fire in front of a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8.

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is charged in the mass shooting. A federal judge ruled last month that he is not competent to stand trial, based on the results of court-ordered medical evaluations of Loughner.

Loughner to face further evaluation

The U.S. attorney general will take custody of Loughner for a period not to exceed four months, during which he will be taken to a hospital for further evaluation to determine if he will become competent to stand trial. Prosecutors said Loughner could be readied for competency through proper medication, and this practice has proved successful in other cases.

CNN's Lisa Sylvester contributed to this report.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~3/sdiRE4OmXRM/index.html

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Texas' Perry assails Obama on abortion at LA stop (The Arizona Republic)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has been mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate, is accusing the Obama administration of transforming abortion into a U.S. export and breaking faith with the nation's founding principles by supporting taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell research.... Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/100625640?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Arne Duncan's 'Plan B' May Leave 'No Child' Behind

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is signaling that he's prepared to give public schools relief from federal mandates under No Child Left Behind if Congress does not pass the law's long-awaited overhaul and re-authorization this year.

"This is absolutely plan B," Duncan told reporters during an embargoed conference call on Friday. "The prospect of doing nothing is what I'm fighting against."

That relief could take the form of granting waivers on test scoring to flexibility on how schools spend federal dollars. "We can't afford to do nothing," he said.

Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the mandate, signed into law in 2002 with bi-partisan support, is dated and flawed. One of the major complaints is that some schools have been labeled failures despite making improvements.

Duncan said he's encouraged by talks with lawmakers in recent weeks that indicate the law may see revisions this year, but he says he wants a backup plan in case that doesn't happen.

The re-authorization of the law is already four years overdue, and the Obama administration has called for the overhaul to conclude by this fall. Lawmakers are indicating this will not be possible, and some are not happy about Duncan's plan.

"It seems premature at this point to take steps outside the legislative process that would address NCLB's problems in a temporary and piecemeal way,' says Senate Education Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/12/137135625/arne-duncans-plan-b-may-leave-no-child-behind?ft=1&f=1003

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In Memory Of MaSisulu, The Rock Of South Africa

When Albertina Sisulu and a few other women organized a protest in 1956 of the passbooks that were the bedrock of South Africa's apartheid laws, they chanted, "When you tamper with women, you strike a rock." And MaSisulu, as she came to be known, became the rock on which a new nation is rising.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/11/137122905/in-memory-of-masisulu-the-rock-of-south-africa?ft=1&f=1004

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