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There was a 7 percent surge in housing starts last month, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development report.

As The Associated Press notes, the pace of construction — 1.04 million starts, at an annual rate — is the fastest in nearly five years and is another sign that the housing sector continues to recover from its 2007-08 crash.

Boston hospitals always staff up their emergency rooms on Marathon Day to care for runners with cramps, dehydration and the occasional heart attack.

But Monday, those hospitals suddenly found themselves with more than 100 traumatized patients — many of them with the kinds of injuries seen more often on a battlefield than a marathon.

Like most big-city hospitals these days, Tufts Medical Center runs regular disaster drills, featuring simulated patients smeared with fake blood.

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

There's been a strong earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.8, in southeastern Iran near the border with Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The temblor was centered about 53 miles east southeast of the small city of Khash. According to USGS, it was about 9.4 miles deep.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Witnesses to yesterday's Boston Marathon explosions include David Abel. He's a reporter for the Boston Globe. He was at the finish line yesterday afternoon around 3 o'clock, and Mr. Abel, what did you see and feel?

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep, with congratulations to Bill Iffrig, who ran the Boston Marathon at age 78. He was approaching the finish line when he saw the explosions. Video footage shows him tumbling down. Mr. Iffrig saw scrambled images, smoke in the air, maybe a fragment of what he thought was a bomb, but he stood up and walked the last few feet to the end. He told the Herald of Everett, Washington: When you've run 26 miles, you're not going to stop there.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The day after two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, investigators began to unravel some of the details of what happened, and we began to learn about the lives of the three people who were killed.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers said that they believed the devices used in the attack may have been pressure-cooker bombs stuffed with BBs and nails. Investigators said the bombs may have been left inside nylon bags or backpacks.

Steve Inskeep talks to Juan Zarate, former deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism, about what investigators are looking for the day after the explosions at the Boston Marathon.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

I'm David Greene.

Let's work through what we know about yesterday's explosions at the Boston Marathon.

INSKEEP: Hours of struggle and accomplishment changed in an instant. Mirabelle Garcia had just finished running her ninth Boston Marathon.