President Barack Obama has said he doesn't think North Korea can fit a nuclear warhead on a missile, casting strong doubt on an alarming assessment disclosed last week by the Pentagon's intelligence arm.

President Barack Obama has said he doesn't think North Korea can fit a nuclear warhead on a missile, casting strong doubt on an alarming assessment disclosed last week by the Pentagon's intelligence arm.

Following a briefing from FBI Director Mueller, Attorney General Holder, Secretary Napolitano, and homeland security advisor Lisa Monaco, President Obama went to the Brady Press Briefing Room to update Americans on developments in Boston, following two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon. 

"We continue to mobilize and deploy all appropriate law enforcement resources to protect our citizens, and to investigate and to respond to this attack," the President said in a televised address. "Obviously our first thoughts this morning are with the victims, their families, and the city of Boston. We know that two explosions gravely wounded dozens of Americans, and took the lives of others, including a 8-year-old boy.

"This was a heinous and cowardly act. And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.  Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror. What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual."

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:

• Judge William H. Pryor Jr., Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission

Judge William H. Pryor Jr.:  Nominee for Commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission
Judge William H. Pryor Jr. currently serves as a United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, a position he has held since 2004.  During his legal career, he has also taught federal jurisdiction at the University of Alabama School of Law and has served as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Pryor served as the Attorney General of the State of Alabama from 1997 to 2004 and as a Deputy Attorney General from 1995 to 1997.  Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Judge Pryor practiced law in Birmingham, Alabama for seven years at the law firms of Walston, Stabler, Wells, Anderson & Bains and Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal.  From 1987 to 1988, Judge Pryor was a law clerk for the Honorable John Minor Wisdom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  He received his J.D. magna cum laude in 1987 from Tulane University Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tulane Law Review, and his B.A. magna cum laude in 1984 from Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana at Monroe).

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Rachel Elise Barkow – Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission
• Judge Charles R. Breyer – Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

• Thomas Murray – Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

President Obama said, “These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Rachel Elise Barkow, Nominee for Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission
Rachel Elise Barkow is the Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy at the New York University School of Law, where she focuses her teaching and research interests on criminal and administrative law.  She also serves as the Faculty Director of the Center on the Administration of Criminal Law at the law school.  Ms. Barkow has been a member of the faculty at the New York University School of Law since 2002 and was the Beneficial Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School in Fall 2008.  Previously, she worked at the law firm of Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel, PLLC, in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2002.  Ms. Barkow began her legal career by clerking for the Honorable Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States, from 1997 to 1998, and for the Honorable Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, from 1996 to 1997.  She received her J.D. magna cum laude in 1996 from Harvard Law School, where she won the Sears Prize, and her B.A. with distinction in 1993 from Northwestern University.

Judge Charles R. Breyer, Nominee for Commissioner, United States Sentencing Commission
Judge Charles R. Breyer currently serves as a United States District Judge in the Northern District of California, a position he has held since 1998.  Previously, he worked at the law firm now known as Coblenz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP from 1974 to 1997, with a brief stint as Chief Assistant District Attorney for San Francisco in 1979.  From 1973 to 1974, Judge Breyer spent a year working as an Assistant Special Prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force.  He also served as an Assistant District Attorney in San Francisco from 1967 to 1973.  Judge Breyer began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Oliver J. Carter of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.  He received his J.D. in 1966 from the University of California at Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and his B.A. cum laude in 1963 from Harvard College. 

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

Thomas Murray, Appointee for Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
Thomas Murray is an expert in Indonesian sculpture and textiles and the founder of Thomas Murray Asiatica-Ethnographica, a private gallery of tribal, Asian and textile art in Mill Valley, California.  In addition, he is a contributing editor of HALI, a quarterly international art magazine focused on antique carpets and textiles, and serves as their editorial consultant on ethnographic textiles.  Mr. Murray frequently lectures on textiles and has been published extensively on the subject in the United States and abroad.  Works of art from his collection have been placed in more than 30 museums on four continents.  Mr. Murray is past President of the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association.

Monday is tax day, and in case you're wondering where your money went last year, President Barack Obama is eager to let you know. He's giving you a detailed receipt.

The Navy Midshipmen were at the White House today, marking eight visits in ten years that the U.S. Naval Academy's football team has won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy against the other service academies. Last year, Vice President Biden was there to award the Trophy when the Midshipmen triumphed in the 113th annual Army-Navy game to win the title. 

In his remarks, President Obama highlighted the team's excellent record, but he talked more about their ethic of teamwork and discipline and unselfishness, and praised their focus on academics -- the Naval Academy’s graduation rate has been in the top 10 of the NCAA for the eighth straight year. But most of all, the President paid tribute to the work these champions will be doing in the future, on behalf of this country:

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Today, the Senate voted to move a step closer toward considering legislation that will help reduce gun violence. Shortly after the vote, President Obama made a call to family members of the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Press Secretary Jay Carney said in this morning’s press briefing that "the President congratulated the families on this important step forward, noting that the bipartisan progress would not have been possible without their efforts. He reiterated that much work remains, and pledged to continue fighting for the votes they deserve."

The families are currently here in Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to pass common-sense measures to reduce gun violence.

President Obama is calling on all everyone who wants to prevent future tragedies like the one that happened at Sandy Hook to stand up and make their voices heard.

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The leading bipartisan negotiations in the Senate for new gun control legislation would favor expanding background checks but would fall short of the universal approach backed by President Barack Obama and many Democrats, CNN has learned.

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama said that we must invest in the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising and thriving middle class.  He said that every day, we must ask ourselves these three questions:  "How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?"

This morning the President sent Congress his Budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which presents his plan to address each of these questions. He also spoke to the press about his proposal in the Rose Garden, and said that while our economy is poised for progress, we need to get smarter about our priorities as a nation. And that’s what his 2014 Budget represents -- a fiscally-responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth:

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