National: Seven US Marines were killed and seven injured last night in an explosion during a training exercise in the Nevada desert. A mortar round went off in its tube.

➢The Republican Party issued a report calling for change in its manners and message. “Public perception of the Party is at record lows. Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the Party represents,” the report says. The report suggests a change on immigration reform, but nothing about guns, gay marriage and health care.

➢Presidential possibility and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed gay marriage. She said, “Gay rights are human rights,” in a video released on the Internet. Last week Bill Clinton called for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, which he signed. It defines marriage under federal law as only between a man and a woman.

➢Fresh off his defeat in the Battle of the Big Gulp, NY mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing that stores should keep cigarettes and tobacco products out of sight. The health-driven mayor successfully banned trans-fats used in cooking and smoking in most public places. A court overturned his ban on large sugary drinks. Now Bloomberg wants to put the cigarettes where the condoms used to be, making it difficult to smoke after sex.

News News: Journalism is shrinking in America while the power of politicians, governments and companies to take their message straight to the public is growing, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. Newspapers have cut back 30% of reporting staff since 2000. On local television weather and traffic dominate about 40% of airtime.

The Deep: The Mariana Trench, which lies seven miles deep in the Pacific Ocean and was once thought to be a dead zone, is teeming with microbial life, according to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Single cell microbes feed on dead plant and sea life raining down on them.

Foreplay: Golfer Tiger Woods and Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn made it official on Facebook. They’re dating.

Lockup for Lilo: Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in locked rehab after pleading no contest to reckless driving and lying to the cops after a car accident. She was taken away wearing a white outfit with sheer shoulders and cleavage, a crucifix, and government bracelets.

Could it Be?: … Satan? Television viewers have noticed that the hooded Satan in the History Channel series “The Bible” looks an awful lot like President Barack Obama. Guaranteed … there are people in America who believe it actually is Obama, and he is Satan.

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