As Tucson and the nation mourn Saturday's massacre — allegedly at the hands of 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner — we're learning more about the former Pima Community College student whose bizarre behavior ultimately led to his suspension.

Tonight, Lawrence will be joined by a classmate who describes the Jared Loughner he knew, or at least tried to know. Were there any warning signs of the carnage that would follow? You can read about Loughner's first court appearance here.

First there was Susan Boyle and her unsuspecting pipes, and now there's Ted Williams and his pitch-perfect announcer voice. Three days ago the 53-year-old Ohio man was panhandling on the side of a Columbus highway, and now he is fielding job offers from The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kraft Foods after a Columbus-Dispatch photographer released a video of Williams on YouTube.

In a must-see segment on this morning's "Today Show," Williams told Matt and Meredith that he thanks God for this second chance and is taking his new-found fame "one step at time." Check out the video below and tune into The Last Word tonight at 10pET to hear from Ted himself!

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With this frenzied month in Washington winding down (the repeal of D.A.D.T., extension of the Bush tax cuts, and passage of the 9/11 health bill among the month's headlines), it's easy to forget how many other big stories dominated the year... from heartache in Haiti to a miracle in Chile.

The Associated Press has assembled its annual list of the Top 10 News Stories. The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico comes in at number one, followed by the epic battle over health care reform and the midterms which President Obama notably called a "shellacking." You can see the whole list here. Are there any stories you think should have made the list? Let us know.

Jon Stewart's show pressing Republican Senators to pass the 9/11 first responders health care bill (which has, in fact, now passed the Senate) has been grabbing a lot of headlines this week. Lawrence will be taking up that subject on tonight's edition of The Last Word.

But there's a smaller headline related to all of this out there, today. A pear tree that was heavily damaged during the attacks has been nursed back to health, and yesterday it was replanted at the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan. At the event New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the tree represents the resilience of New York City and the nation.

The tree was planted some time during the 1970s. In October of 2001 it was found in the rubble -- its trunk was blackened, its branches reduced to charred stumps, and its roots snapped. At the time, it stood about eight feet tall. Now, more than nine years later and back where it belongs... the tree has grown and now stands 30 feet tall.