Only four percent of Americans say that gun violence or gun issues constitute the most important problem facing the country today, based on our April 4-7 monthly update of the "most important problem" measure. This puts guns in the same four percent category as immigration issues, education, and the situation with North Korea.

This also puts guns -- on this measure -- well below a number of other economic and governmental issues (we'll have a full discussion of these results on Monday at gallup.com).

Trend wise, the mention of gun issues is about where it has been since December, when it jumped to four percent from virtually no mentions in November. This increase was, no doubt, a direct result of the impact of the Newtown, Conn. elementary school shootings. The mention of guns as the most important problem has stayed at about this level since December -- at four percent in January, six percent in February, and four percent in March and April. more >>

Warning: A graphic wartime picture is included in this post.

Though law enforcement officials have yet to find the culprit or culprits responsible for Monday's Boston Marathon bombing it was quickly certified a "terrorist attack." Whether the work of Al Qaeda, Hamas, the Red Brigade or some white power group no one knows. What we do know is that three were killed and scores injured.

Overreaction was swift and certain. On Twitter NY Times columnist Nick Kristof both overstepped good decorum and stepped back within moments. I was called out by Daily Beast and Newsweek columnist Alex Klein. more >>

With no official motive or suspects identified in Monday's double bombing of the Boston Marathon to report, some journalists have resorted to speculating on the motive behind the blast that crippled the annual event on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, authorities were pleading with the public for help in identifying the perpetrators.

"No piece of information or detail is too small," the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division told CNN while asking for information including images from cell phone videos or other media that might provide leads. more >>

President Barack Obama, several church leaders and humanitarian organizations such as The Salvation Army and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have pledged their support for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings which rocked that city on Monday.

In a press briefing shortly after the bombings, President Obama said: "I've directed the full resources of the federal government to help state and local authorities protect our people, increase security around the United States as necessary, and investigate what happened."

While noting that the White House still did not have all the answers on why the bombings occurred, he asked the nation to say a prayer for Boston and said victims of the bombings will get all the support they needed. more >>

Two large explosions ravaged the grounds of the Boston Marathon yesterday, leaving 3 people dead and over 170 injured in the city.

Angelica Vasquez, a 22-year-old political science student at Boston College and Sudbury, Mass. resident attended the marathon and witnessed the horror of the bombings firsthand. Vasquez and her boyfriend Vlad Yashaev, 25, sat right across the street from the explosion in the VIP section at the finish line.

"We got to our bleacher seats and we stood in the middle section and all of a sudden we heard a huge bang that felt like an impact or slight jerk. Everyone was confused," Vasquez told The Christian Post, describing the attack when it first hit. more >>

Republicans have been so busy attacking each other lately that little attention is being paid to the antics of the left. The far left activists, including the Occupy movement and Anonymous, have been quite busy.

The Occupiers are helping fast food workers strike for higher wages and a union. Their targets include Wendy's and Burger King in New York City. If they really wanted to help those workers, they would encourage them to attend college and find higher paying jobs. The founder of the Occupy movement, Adbusters, is organizing Occupiers to protest Goldman Sachs banks around the world. They would be better off targeting the politicians who created the arbitrary laws that banks must operate inside of; running one bank out of business won't change the status quo.

Anonymous, the shadowy, unorganized group of hackers and anarchists has been threatening vigilante justice in sexual assault cases. One of the main problems with this tactic was seen in the case of Amanda Todd. The teenager committed suicide after relentless cyber bullying. Anonymous outed Kody Maxson as her attacker. It was reported later that he was the wrong man. By then he had received over 50 death threats. This month, Anonymous is demanding that police reopen a closed investigation into four young men who allegedly raped 17-year old Rehtaeh Parsons and bullied her for two years. She committed suicide in early April. Anonymous threatened to release the minors' names if the case wasn't reopened, and coincidentally the police have now reopened the case. Parsons' mother is concerned and says her daughter would not have wanted more harm to come to anyone. more >>