Obama: Giffords opened eyes for 1st time

[January 13, 2011]  TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- President Barack Obama says that congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has opened her eyes for the first time since being shot through the head on Saturday.

The president says it happened a few minutes after he left her hospital room Wednesday evening. The president, speaking at a prayer service in Tucson for shooting victims, says that Giffords' husband allowed him to share the news with the crowd. That brought people to their feet amid cheering.

The president says that after he left Giffords' hospital room at Tucson's University Medical Center, some of her colleagues in Congress remained. They were there when the critically wounded congresswoman opened her eyes for the first time.

[Associated Press]

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