President Barack Obama says Rep. Gabrielle Giffords opened her eyes for the first time moments after he and the first lady visited with her at University Medical Center today.
The news made the more than 14,000 people at a tribute tonight at McKale Center cheer.
He said Giffords, who is fighting for her life at the hospital, knows that Americans love her and are rooting for her recovery.
The president spoke at a memorial service after he and first lady Michelle Obama spent time with Giffords and other victims of Saturday's shooting rampage.
Calling Giffords by her nickname, "Gabby," the president said: "She knows we love her."
Giffords' husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, watched from the front row Wednesday evening at the service at the University of Arizona.
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Giffords was shot through the head as she conducted a constituent event outside a Tucson supermarket. Obama said that by gathering with her constituents she was carrying out a central tenet of democracy.
