Earlier this evening, President Barack Obama addressed the nation about the deadly bombing of the Boston Marathon. And, while extending his condolences, the president urged the American public to avoid jumping to conclusions—terrorism, unmentioned by Mr. Obama, seemingly being the most obvious—as the devastation is investigated.

“We still do not know who did this or why and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before we have all of the facts,” Mr. Obama explained. “But, make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals—any responsible groups—will feel the full weight of justice.” Read More

Earlier today, multiple bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least two and injuring dozens more.

New York City has already stepped up its own security efforts in case there is a plot to attack additional cities, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced.

“[T]he NYPD has stepped up security at strategic locations and critical infrastructure, including our subways,” the mayor said in a statement.

“Some of the security steps we are taking may be noticeable, including deployment of Critical Response Vehicles and additional police personnel, and others will not be. We have 1,000 members of the NYPD assigned to counter-terrorism duties, and they – along with the entire NYPD and the investments we have made in counter-terrorism infrastructure – are being fully mobilized to protect our city.” Read More

This morning, The New York Post gave the news that Anthony Weiner is contemplating a political comeback a pun-filled cover treatment.

Meanwhile, the Daily News devoted their front page to their ongoing coverage (some may call advocacy) of the gun control debate.

On a day when every tabloids’ favorite congressman is back in the spotlight, the Daily News‘s front page seems an odd choice. In a two-tabloid town, how, we wondered, has this impacted sales of the News?

In a highly unscientific survey, we canvassed 15 newsstands in the vicinity of our midtown office. Of the vendors we talked to, eight said that The Post outsells the News, two said that News sells better and the remaining five said that they were neck-and-neck. Read More

New York City mayoral front-runner and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn unveiled her mass transit agenda this morning. While she emphasized increased control for the city’s next mayor, Ms. Quinn had no new ideas.

Her headline proposal is to take control of the MTA back from the state. But taking over the MTA is a tall order, and to do it, she’ll need to prove that she has better ideas about how to run it than the state.

So does she? Read More

Today, in dispatches from the Facebook Mafia: Chris Hughes’ hubs Sean Eldridge is the subject of a front-page story in the Poughkeepsie Journal. The focus is his work with Hudson Valley Ventures, the investment firm focused on the region where the pair own a home (their third) and Mr. Eldridge reportedly plans to run for Congress in 2014.

Since the firm was founded in 2011, the Journal reports, Mr. Eldridge has doled out money to five local businesses, most of them foodie projects like Poughkeepsie’s Hudson Chocolates and Ulster County’s Bread Alone. (“I love food,” Mr. Eldridge confessed to the Journal.) Read More

Who said there are no second acts in American life?

Following the arrest this morning of State Senator Malcolm Smith on federal bribery charges, the politician’s former career as a real estate developer, which ended in bankruptcy, has come under the spotlight.

“Everything I did in business wasn’t successful,” Mr. Smith told The New York Times in 2008. “But you learn from things when you go through your challenges. You don’t learn from doing everything right.” Read More

We had almost forgotten it was April Fools’ Day, a.k.a. the worst day in the world to be a reporter. Or best. It really depends which of the two reporter categories you happen to be: The kind that hates spending all day trying to figure out if Kim Kardashian is really guest-editing Vogue, or the kind who loves making up stories about Allison Williams releasing an album composed entirely of Kanye West covers.

Well, no matter if you love a good goof or think goofs are lame and would like to see the world goof-free, we can all agree that the White House’s “Very Special Message” today was perfect. Kid president! Fart noises! Internet memes! Read More

The Satmar Hasidim of South Williamsburg have their own schools, their own ambulance service, their own courts—even their own secret police. And soon, they may have their own armory.

Rumors have been swirling within the community that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, represented informally by Orthodox businessman Abraham Eisner, is on the verge of concluding a deal between the warring Satmar factions—led by the late Grand Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum’s two sons, Aaron and Zalman—over disputed property.

The two factions, according to the rumors, would jointly purchase the 165,166-square foot, 3.2-acre Marcy Armory from the state, which has been trying to offload the property. The armory would be physically divided between the two camps, though the Zalmanites would pay more than the Aaronites. In exchange, the Aaronites would renounce their claims—claims unlikely to be backed by secular courts—on summer camps in Ulster County and a matzoh bakery on Broadway in Williamsburg. Read More

Alexandra Pelosi’s new documentary, Fall to Grace, which airs tonight on HBO, offers a moving and sympathetic portrait of Jim McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey, almost 10 years after his humiliating resignation from public office.

Mr. McGreevey, 55, stepped down as governor after revealing that he had been involved in a gay affair Read More

As a page one New York Times story about Christine Quinn‘s short temper made the rounds yesterday, a recording of the mayoral candidate’s feisty voice mails from 2002 were uploaded to YouTube.

Ms. Quinn left the messages for a Hell’s Kitchen resident who opposed area developments including Hudson Yards (now under construction) and the West Side Stadium (long since jettisoned). The recipient spread his criticism to Ms. Quinn, who as district three representative did not personally attend a December 17, 2002 press conference condemning the projects. Read More