It's been a year since the tragic Tucson shooting which left six people dead and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords fighting for her life.

Her struggle to recover from the gunshot wound to her head has been a source of inspiration, and Sunday she and the local community are coming together to pay tribute to those who were injured or lost their lives 12 months ago.

On January 8, 2011 college dropout Jared L. Loughner fired 31 rounds at innocent citizens who had gathered for a congressional outreach event outside a supermarket.

PHOTOS: First Pictures Of Gabby Giffords Since Shooting

More than 30 memorial events are scheduled across the Tucson area, including a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona. Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, are attending several.

Loughner was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial and is currently consigned to treatment at a US federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri.

PHOTOS: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords With Her Family

The courts and his defense team are still fighting over whether he can be forced to take anti-psychotic drugs, and if he'll stand trial if eventually deemed mentally competent.

Giffords has spent the last year learning how to walk and talk again and is currently deciding whether she will seek re-election.

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Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords took a day off from her rehabilitation therapy to help serve Thanksgiving dinner to service members and retirees at a base in her hometown of Tucson.

Giffords and her former astronaut husband Mark Kelly dished out hundreds of meals at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Thursday.

She wore a baseball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front.

Giffords used only her left hand as she served. Her right side is still impaired because of the brain injury she suffered when she was shot in the head  in January.  But nothing could get in the way of her enthusiasm for the event, and she never stopped smiling.

"She's such an inspiration and her story is so inspirational, it really made me proud, Airman 1st Class Millie Gray told AP. "I felt very proud and very humble."

For the first time since she was shot in the head last January, we’re hearing the voice of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Giffords, 41, talks about her long, and difficult road to recovery.

"It's difficult,"  Giffords tells Sawyer in an interview for a special edition of ABC's 20/20, scheduled to air Monday, November 14. (ABC previewed the story on Friday’s Good Morning America.)

In the special, Sawyer also talks with Giffords' husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, and reveals he shot hours of home video footage following her slow and painful recovery.

As part of Gabrielle Giffords' therapy for the severe brain injury she suffered when she was shot, the Congresswoman was shown photographs of famous people and asked their names and what she knew about them.

Her response when shown a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger was a doozy!

"Messin' around.  Babies!" she said with amazing accuracy.

The story comes from the new book, 'Gabby,' by Giffords' astronaut husband Mark Kelly, with the final chapter by Gabby herself.

Giffords was shot in January and Schwarzenegger went public in May about having fathered a love child by his family's housekeeper.

By the time of the photo therapy session, Giffords' rehab had already included watching some newscasts so she had become aware of Arnold's scandal.

The book also reveals that Giffords and Kelly were trying for a baby when she was shot, and her response when asked if she knew what had happened to her was "Shot. Shocked. Scary."

The book ends with a vow from the courageous Giffords.  "I will get stronger.  I will return."

Sounds like a line from the Terminator himself!

Almost seven months after being shot in the head Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords returned to the House of Representatives to vote on the debt ceiling bill and RadarOnline.com has video of her triumphant return.

Monday evening Giffords was given a standing ovation and a huge showing of support by her colleagues on the House floor.  Wearing glasses and with very short dark hair the Democrat voted in support of the debt deal.  She was smiling as she was greeted warmly by her fellow representatives, returning to work for the first time since she was shot.

Giffords was critically wounded in a horrifying rampage on January 8 when Jared Lee Loughner allegedly opened fire on an event she was hosting in a Tucson grocery store parking lot.  Fourteen people were wounded in the shooting spree and six people died, including a nine-year-old girl, a federal judge and one of Giffords' staffers.

Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords has made her very first public appearance since being shot in a Tucson grocery store parking lot last January.

Giffords appeared in front of a crowd of hundreds at a NASA awards ceremony in Houston Monday night.

Giffords, 41, entered the auditorium at Space Center Houston while being pushed in a wheelchair. ABC News reports that she smiled and waved at the crowd and received a rousing standing ovation.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and her husband, Mark Kelly have decided to publish a memoir about their careers and the horrific shooting incident that left Giffords fighting for her life, RadarOnline.com has confirmed.

Kelly has also announced that he has decided to retire so that he can be with his wife full time.

PHOTOS: First Pictures Of Gabby Giffords Since Shooting

"Since Jan. 8, it's been really touching to us to see how much support there is for Gabby and her recovery, and how much interest there is in how she's doing and her story," Kelly, a Navy captain, told The Associated Press during a recent interview from Texas.

"After thinking about it, and talking about it, we decided it was the right thing to do to put our words and our voices on paper and tell our story from our point of view."

U2 never disappoints and Friday night in Anaheim was no different.

The Irish band rocked out to a crowd of nearly 50,000 fans and among them was Maria Shriver, who got a special shout out from Bono himself.

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"For Maria Shriver who's here tonight!" Bono screamed as he dedicated Pride (In The Name of Love) to the former First Lady of California.

Also on Bono's dedication list was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who's husband, Mark Kelly opened up U2's Beautiful Day with a heartfelt video message for his wife.

PHOTOS: First Pictures Of Gabby Giffords Since Shooting

"I look forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much. She knows," Kelly said, as the crowd roared with cheers.

Giffords returned home earlier this week to continue healing from a horrific head wound caused by a crazed gunman five months ago.

PHOTOS: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords With Her Family

The 41-year-old Congresswoman will return to the hospital each day for speech, music, physical and occupational therapy with the same team that has treated her since she arrived in Houston in late January.

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Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords has reached another milestone in her remarkable recovery --  she’s returned home to continue healing from a horrific head wound caused by a crazed gunman five months ago.

Although Giffords was discharged Wednesday, she will make daily trips to TIRR Memorial Hermann, the Houston hospital that has cared for since she was injured.

PHOTOS: First Pictures Of Gabby Giffords Since Shooting

The first pics of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords since her shooting five months ago have been released. They were posted early Sunday on her Facebook page.

PHOTOS: First Pictures Of Gabby Giffords Since Shooting

The first thing you notice?  Her smile is still there.

Wearing a pixie haircut and glasses, the Congresswoman is seen alone in one of the images, and with an unidentified older woman in the other, Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range on January 8.  Six people were killed and 13 injured in the rampage at an Arizona shopping center.

PHOTOS: Jared Lee Loughner Is The Suspected Shooter

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, was arrested at the scene and charged with the crimes. He has pleaded not guilty and has been ruled not competent to stand trial.

A judge last month ordered him into a mental health facility for four months of treatment.  There will then be another competency hearing to determine if he can ever stand trial.

PHOTOS: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords With Her Family

At the same time, Giffords' rehabilitation continues at a slow place. Her Chief of Staff Pia Carusone said last week that her speaking ability is still limited, and if her recovery were to stop here, "it would not be nearly the quality of life she had before."

The hope is that she will continue to improve for many months to come.

PHOTOS: Gabrielle Giffords With Her Husband & Friends

The Congresswoman and her astronaut husband Mark Kelly have been a study in bravery and class throughout their ordeal.

Her D.C.l colleague Anthony Weiner could take a page from their book.

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