It's been two days since Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and more than a dozen others were shot in Arizona by Jared Lee Loughner. Here's a round-up of some of the news that's come out on the first workday since the incident.

  • Loughner's mugshot has been released. It's more than a little creepy.
  • The federal public defender's office will recommend lawyers Judy Clarke and Mark Fleming to represent Jared Lee Loughner in his criminal trial. Clarke has represented the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski and assisted in the defense of al Qaeda 9/11 plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, while Fleming's cases include the murder trial of Aryan Brotherhood big shot Travis Dally.
  • Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' doctors say there's been no change in her condition since we last heard from them. She can respond to simple commands, but she's "not out of the woods."
  • Giffords had emailed a Republican politician friend the day before the shooting, congratulating him on a new job at Harvard. She added that she hoped they could work together on "[promoting] ways to tone our rhetoric and partisanship down."
  • Brian Tierney, a 22-year-old friend of Jarod Lee Loughner's, tells Mother Jones more about him. Loughner had even texted Tierney hours before the shooting: "Me and you had good times. Peace out. Later."
  • The Daily News has a "chilling" account of the "sinister shrine" found in Jared Lee Loughner's backyard. It's okay, you're allowed to laugh here — at the Daily News. They found a photo of a toy Halloween skull in a plant pot next to some oranges and really play it up. "Experts" weigh in, and so on.
  • Fidel Castro has written a column condemning the attacks and the violent rhetoric of right-wing American politics. This should keep right-wing bloggers busy for a few hours.
  • Loughner's Philosophy professor at Pima Community College talks to Slate. Summary: Loughner was completely disconnected from logic or reality and wasn't good for the class atmosphere, but he did show up on time for every session. Basically, the worst possible scenario.
  • Former Bush speechwriterDavid Frum worries that marijuana — "the pot" in street lingo — made Loughner go nuts and shoot 18 people. Remedy? More drug wars. (The only government regulation or law that should come out of this incident is a permanent ban on punditry. Otherwise, a month-long moratorium following shootings would suffice. We'll survive.)
  • Finally, Rep. Giffords' husband, the astronaut, has released his first statement since the shooting.

[Photo of flowers on the steps of Congress via AP]