'Law & Order' taping episode based on Giffords shooting

The January 8 shooting of 19 people in Tucson, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is the basis for an upcoming episode of the NBC crime drama "Law & Order: LA," Entertainment Weekly reported Monday.

The television program began taping Monday, the magazine reported.

Giffords, along with 18 others, was shot at a meet-and-greet with constituents at a Northwest Side grocery story. Six were killed in the shooting at the "Congress On Your Corner" event.

The "Law & Order" series have never been shy about taking inspiration from front-page crimes. The shows brand their plots as "ripped from the headlines," but a spokesperson for the program emphasized that the show is fiction, EW reported.

The "L&O" episode will focus on the shooting of a female state senator, EW reported.

"Law & Order: LA" airs Wednesday evenings on NBC. It stars Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Terrence Howard, Alfred Molina, Megan Boone and Regina Hall.

Representatives of the show's production company did not immediately respond to inquiries about when the episode will air.

Giffords still in rehab after shooting

Giffords is still recovering from a gunshot to the brain suffered in what authorities charge was an assassination attempt.

Her doctors confirmed Monday morning that she is "medically able" to travel to watch her husband blast off in the space shuttle this week.

"Attending the launch is an opportune time for her to continue her therapy progression," said Dr. Gerard Francisco of TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston.

Giffords' husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, will command the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavour, which is scheduled to launch Friday.

Giffords' office has been planning for her to attend the launch, her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin, said three weeks ago.

The Endeavour launch was delayed from April 19 because Russia plans to send an unmanned cargo rocket to the International Space Station on April 27. NASA did not want the shuttle docked at the space station when the other ship arrived.

Giffords, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, attended Kelly’s most recent launch when he commanded the space shuttle Discovery in 2008.

Kelly's upcoming mission is scheduled to be the last flight for Endeavour and the next-to-last space shuttle flight before the fleet is retired later this year. Shuttle Atlantis will blast off on the final shuttle mission in July.

Giffords has not been seen in public since the Jan. 8 shooting.

She was moved to a Houston rehab facility two weeks after being wounded. Doctors have said her recovery is "remarkable."

Giffords is "doing remarkably well" as she recovers from a gunshot wound to the head, her husband said at a NASA press conference last month.

"She's improving every day," Kelly said. "She's starting to walk, talk more, more every day."

"She's starting to process some of the tragedy, that we all went through in January—she's going through that as we speak," he said.

"Despite that, she remains in a very good mood."

"As one of NASA's biggest supporters in Congress, she was really looking forward to having the opportunity to be (at the launch)," Kelly said.

"She wants to attend. She's been looking forward to this for a long time," he said.

Accused faces 49 federal charges

In March, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, was charged with 49 federal counts in the attack. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf by the court.

Fourteen of the charges Loughner faces could result in the death penalty, if the prosecution seeks it. No decision of whether to ask for capital punishment has been made, authorities have said.

Loughner was moved last month from the Tucson prison where he has been held to a federal facility in Springfield, Mo., where he is to undergo a compentency examination.

Loughner will likely face local charges in the shooting incident, authorities have said.