NPR News

Update at 5 p.m. ET:

Reuters reports that Apple has posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings of $43.6 billion, "reflecting strong sales of the iPad and iPhone." Wall Street had forecast revenue of $42.3 billion, the wire service says.

We pick up our original post here:

Investors are waiting, many not so eagerly, for a look at how Apple for the second quarter.

Bolstered by a recent study that found doctors performing hysterectomies performed using a pricey robot didn't produce better results for patients than ordinary — and cheaper — procedures, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently threw down a latex gauntlet against the use of robots.

While sales of existing homes dipped in March because of a tighter inventory, sales of newly built homes rose 1.5 percent from February and were up a whopping 18.5 percent from March 2012, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development say.

The Boston Marathon bombings "riveted most Americans" and seemed to "confirm the public's long-held belief that occasional terrorist acts are to be expected," the Pew Research Center says.

In a report released Tuesday morning, it adds that:

Update at 4:20 p.m. ET:

The BBC reports that one of the two suspects, Chiheb Esseghaier, told the court that the case against him was "made based on acts and words which are only appearances."

He declined representation. Raed Jaser made no statement in court. Neither suspect entered a plea on Tuesday.

According to the BBC:

(Most recent update: 8:39 p.m. ET.)

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

It was just a whimsical idea back in the '70s. David Chan and his co-workers decided to try every Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. Now, the 64-year-old Los Angeles attorney has visited more than 6,000 Chinese eateries around the world. The L.A. Times says he once hit 300 restaurants in a single year. You'll find Chan using a fork. He's not a chopsticks guy.

He often gives advice to restaurant critics. Chan says he's always just been a collector - stamps, records - now dumplings.

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

Last week, the New York Post ran a front page photo of two teenage runners under the headline "Bag Men," implying that they had something to do with the Boston Marathon backpack bombs.

It turns out those kids had nothing to do with the attacks. But they came to the public's attention after their images were scooped up and pored over by hundreds of online amateur sleuths.