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The failure of the FBI and the CIA to keep track of Tamerlan Dsarnaev in the months preceding the Boston Marathon bombing has prompted criticism that U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials ignored important warning signs. The case is reminiscent of criticism leveled at counterterrorism officials after Army Maj. Nidal Hasan's shooting rampage at Fort Hood Texas in November 2009 and after the al-Qaida-directed attempt to blow up a civilian airliner on Christmas Day of that year. In both cases, counterterrorism officials subsequently acknowledged that mistakes had been made. Whether authorities missed important evidence of Dsarnaev's intentions, however, is far less clear. Veteran intelligence officers say resource and legal constraints make it very difficult to follow suspicious individuals closely unless their behavior is genuinely alarming.

The long day in Boston left many residents stuck in their homes watching TV. Some chose to congregate, and NPR's Chris Arnold went to a "lock-down party" Friday night, and spoke to happy residents after the capture of the second suspect.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems determined to become the formidable adversary the NRA has never had. The billionaire mayor is spending from his personal fortune to help defeat lawmakers who voted against gun control proposals last week. His first target: Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas.

The Chapin Sisters were once a trio. When one member left to start a family, the remaining sisters looked to another sibling duo for inspiration.

It appears Congress decided not to leave town while airport delays pile up. The Senate miraculously approved a measure to restore funding for air traffic controllers, and the House followed suit on Friday. Considering this turn of events, could other sequester interventions be in the offing?

Federal agents who are investigating poison-laced letters that were sent to President Obama and others have arrested Everett Dutschke, of Tupelo, Miss. The Daily Journal of Tupelo reports that the arrest occurred around 1 a.m. Saturday.

The 2012 election was the most expensive in history, but there remain some gaping holes in our knowledge about who paid for what. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal to add more transparency in future elections, but it won't happen without a fight.

Throughout the region that was once the Ottoman empire, people make coffee pretty much the same way: using coffee beans ground into a fine powder, then boiled in a little brass pot. But ordering "Turkish" coffee today doesn't go over well in some Balkan or eastern Mediterranean countries that have some lingering anti-Turkish feelings.

While the news out of Syria focused on the use of chemical weapons and what, if anything, the U.S. should do about it, the war in Syria continues daily. Host Jacki Lyden talks with NPR's Kelly McEvers about the latest developments.

Besides disaster assistance, FEMA also oversees the creation of flood maps, which are then used to set building codes and flood insurance rates. Superstorm Sandy struck as FEMA was updating those maps, and now some homeowners looking to rebuild face an expensive choice.