In a YouTube video posted this afternoon, Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona announced that she will be stepping down from Congress later this week, just over a year after being shot by Jared Lee Loughner in Tucson.

"I don't remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice," Giffords said. "I will return, and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."