Marathon Bombing: Investigators say the Boston bombs were made of pressure cookers filled with explosives, ball bearings and nails, then placed in black duffle bags. Using a pressure cooker is a known technique for improvised bomb making around the world. …

Deadline: Today is tax day. Returns must be postmarked by midnight. National: The Supreme Court this morning chose not to hear a case about whether there is a Constitutional right to carry a handgun. The case stems from a New …

 World: North Korea closed South Korean access to a joint industrial zone, further ratcheting tensions between the two countries and the US. The park just North of the demilitarized zone employs 50,000 North Koreans and hundreds of South Korean business …

National: President Obama arrived in Israel today on his first official visit to the Jewish state. He will meet with both the Israeli prime minister, and the Palestinian president, trying to get them back to talking peace. While discussing what …

National: South Dakota became the first state to enact a law to allow public school teachers and school employees to carry guns to work. The National Rifle Association lobbied in favor of the bill. The law leaves it up to …

Pistorius: Amputee track star Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail, which is somewhat unusual for a man accused of premeditated murder in South Africa. The magistrate cited several errors and blunders in the prosecution case and said Pistorius was not …

National: The political poison pill known as the “Sequester” that forces  $1.2 trillion in automatic federal budget cuts is just nine days away with the White House and Congressional Republicans making no apparent progress in reaching a budget and deficit …

National: Fugitive former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner is believed to have died in a mountain cabin that later burned to the ground. A body has been found. One sheriff’s deputy was killed as police got into a wild …

World: An indoor pyrotechnic display ran out of control, setting off a fire in a Brazilian nightclub that has killed at least 245 people, many of them university students. A similar fire in Rhode Island in 2003 killed 100. As …

Guns: Sen. Diane Feinstein of California says that today she will introduce a bill to ban 157 types of semi-automatic weapons and bullet magazines that hold more than ten rounds. Existing weapons would be grandfathered, although they would have to …