The Boston Globe is reporting this morning that law enforcement officials have clear images from video of suspects at each of the bombing sites, and they plan to release them to the public today. Both suspects are reportedly carrying black bags -- that match the scraps found in the bomb site -- and police need the public's help to identify them. In a separate Globe report, authorities are said to be "very close" in their pursuit of the bomber, which may help explain some of the conflicting stories reported by media outlets Wednesday.
President Obama and the first lady travel to Boston today for an interfaith prayer service starting at 11 am. msnbc will carry that service live. Former governor Mitt Romney will also attend.
The president reacted forcefully and passionately to the Senate's failure yesterday to advance gun safety measures, including a bipartisan compromise that would have expanded background checks -- something that roughly 9 in 10 Americans support. The president called the vote shameful and accused the gun lobby of willfully lying to defeat gun safety. Politico's calling it President Obama's "biggest loss". Gabrielle Giffords writes an Op-Ed in today's New York Times about the gun lobby's iron-clad grip on the Senate. And a New York Times news analysis says that gun safety measures had no real chance of passing, despite pleas from the family members of the Newtown victims.
National Republicans say they won't help Mark Sanford's bid to win that special election for a Congressional seat in South Carolina. And what's worse, Sanford must appear in court two days after the election to answer charges of trespassing at his wife's house. These are potentially fatal blows for Sanford's political comeback.
Finally, we're watching this huge explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas, which killed as many as 15 people and injured more than 160 others. Police say there's no evidence of criminal activity, but they're not ruling it out.