Warship USS Gabrielle Giffords to be commissioned in Texas

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) - The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords will be commissioned this weekend in Texas. Navy officials say ceremonies will be held Saturday in Galveston to commission the ship named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who in 2011 was shot but survived an assassination attempt in Tucson.

The $475 million USS Gabrielle Giffords was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, and arrived in Galveston last weekend.

Giffords in 2015 helped christen the ship. It's the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters.

Giffords' husband is retired astronaut Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain stationed in Galveston County during his NASA service.

Free public tours of the warship are offered each afternoon Tuesday through Friday. San Diego will be the ship's homeport.