From NPR News in Washington, I am Korva Coleman.

 

　　Thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington D.C. today for a march on gun control. NPR’s Allison Keyes tells us residents of Newtown, Connecticut were there, too.

 

　　This march was organized in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary where 20 children and six teachers were killed. Joe Huskers has four kids who graduated from that school, and took a bus here to support her neighbors.

 

　　“I am here to share my strength with those who couldn’t make it here today.”

 

　　Many marchers carried signs with the names of victims of gun violence. But Pat Potter of Virginia carried a sign reading “Born to teach, not to shoot.” She is horrified at those who want to see teachers armed.

 

　　“The last thing we need is more guns in school. I think our job is that teachers and parents, and the societies to protect children and keep them safe.”

 

　　The marchers want a ban on military-style assault rifles and universal criminal and mental health background checks on would-be gun buyers. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　The hacker group Anonymous says it is taking down the website of the US Sentencing Commission. The hackers say the attack on the federal website is in retaliation for the suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz. Swartz’s family in France blamed his death on federal prosecutors. They say the government was over-zealous in prosecuting Swartz for allegedly downloading millions of academic articles with the intention of distributing them for free.

 

　　Senator Tom Harkin has announced he will not seek a sixth term in 2014. NPR’s Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports the Iowa Democrat has been an influential liberal voice on Capitol Hill for going on 40 years.

 

　　Five terms in the United States House of Representatives followed by five terms in the Senate, yet 73-year-old Tom Harkin is still the junior Senator from Iowa. As chairman of the Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Hawking supported the health care overhaul in 2010, and he was an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities. Harkin’s decision to retire from the Senate at the end of his term could be an opening for Republicans in 2014. Iowa is a potential swing state. That seat will be a coveted opportunity for the GOP to narrow the Democrats’ majority in the Senate. Elizabeth Wynne Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　At least 30 people are dead in rioting in Egypt following news that 21 soccer fans will receive the death penalty. The fans were convicted in court for their part in a deadly soccer riot nearly a year ago. It left 74 people dead. There were additional violent protests in Egypt that had nothing to do with the soccer verdict. This is the second anniversary of the start of the Egyptian protests that ultimately toppled Egyptian President Mubarak. Today protesters say they are opposed to President Mohamed Morsi and his party, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. They want Morsi to change the newly ratified constitution.

 

　　You are listening to NPR News from Washington.

 

　　The first of six Patriot anti-missile batteries sent to Turkey is now operational. Turkey says it was put into place under Turkish command. The battery is intended to protect Turkish cities from missiles that could come over the border from Syria. The Syrian civil war is pushed very close to Syria’s borders. NATO says the Patriot batteries are now only for Turkish defense purposes, they are not supposed to be used for any offensive purposes against Syria.

 

　　The Taliban have claimed responsibility for two deadly bombings in Afghanistan today. NPR’s Sharon Carberry reports one of the blasts killed ten Afghan police officers in northern Afghanistan.

 

　　Afghan officials in northern Kunduz province say the attacker waited until dusk, then there’s a group of police officers gathered at a checkpoint, he approached them on a motorcycle loaded with explosives. The blast killed the heads of counter-terrorism in the Traffic Department for the province. The bombing took place in the center of Kunduz city and wounded more than a dozen other policemen and civilians. Earlier in the day, a remote-controlled explosive placed in a bicycle killed two people in the eastern Ghazni province. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that bombing, saying they were targeting Polish troops on a foot patrol. Sharon Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.

 

　　Searchers in Antarctica have found wreckage of a small plane that crashed into a mountainside. It’s believed to hold the remains of three Canadians. Searchers have been looking for them for the past three days. Two helicopters participated in the effort today, but they could not land at the wreckage site, saying it was too dangerous. The rescuers say that no one could have survived the plane crash.

 

　　I am Korva Coleman, NPR News.