Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen says all along the marathon route yesterday, the overwhelming feeling was a welcome sense of normalcy. Cullen says it was fitting that Meb Keflezighia, a refugee from Eritrea, won the race. Cullen says unlike the brothers accused of bombing last year’s marathon, Keflezighia embraced the opportunities offered by America.

If you’ve ever used the Vine app, you’ve probably heard of Logan Paul. The Cleveland Plain Dealer says Paul has more than 3.8 million followers on Vine. The Ohio State University freshman has managed to use his knack for making entertaining six second videos to earn money, working on videos for Pepsi, HBO, Virgin Mobile and Ritz. Now he’s considering making entertainment into a career. VIDEO

We’ve heard that as we get older we get wiser. But do we get nicer too? Researchers call it the maturity principle. As we age, we tend to report more positive traits like conscientiousness and agreeableness and fewer negative traits like neuroticism and extroversion. Experts say changing your personality is difficult but not impossible. It requires constant attention, similar to the effort needed to lose weight.

The Chicago Tribune details a new study on the effectiveness of a new permanent birth control method for women marketed under the brand name Essure. Researchers say that nearly 10% of women who undergo the sterilization procedure could still become pregnant. That’s nearly four times the risk of pregnancy that comes after the more traditional method of a laparoscopic tubal ligation.

Olympian “Bladerunner” Oscar Pistorius took acting lessons before taking the stand in his murder trial, according to a new report. The New York Post says South African Sunday Times columnist Jani Allan wrote on her blog that a reliable source informed her about the acting lessons. Allan said Pistorius represents everything the West loathes about white South Africans living extravagant lives.

A 16-year-old boy somehow survived a flight from San Jose, California to Maui stowed in the wheel well of a jet despite frigid temperatures at 38,000 feet and a lack of oxygen. Officials say the boy was unconscious for most of the flight. The boy was released to child protective services and not charged with any crime.

The Wall Street Journal says more and more mutual funds are getting into the venture capital game, taking chances on Silicon Valley startups traditionally deemed too risky for mutual funds. These risks could pay off big for investors if the companies go public or get sold. But mutual funds typically shy away from such risky propositions, aiming for steady, if not spectacular gains.

New York Times columnist Nick Bilton says it’s easy to rack up thousands of new followers on Twitter and Facebook. For $5, he was able to gain 4000 Twitter and 4000 Facebook followers. Retweets, likes, shares and comments are all for sale. Bilton says these fake followers can help celebrities and politicians appear more popular than they are, swaying public opinion and even legislative agendas.

Asking someone to the prom is getting complicated. The Courier-Journal says elaborate “promposals” are being acted out in schools across America. One student worked with a teacher to create a fake pop quiz that included a question asking his best friend to the prom. One high school junior says promposals have become popular because, “no matter how far she is out of the guy’s league, there’s almost a definite ‘yes’ as long as the promposal is fantastic and unique.”

The Boston Globe says emotions are running high in the city ahead of today’s marathon. The mood seems upbeat, with many speaking of unfinished business and the desire for a return to normalcy. The paper says it was fitting that the Marathon comes the day after Easter which for many symbolizes resilience.

As he tours colleges with his daughter, writer Marek Fuchs says he’s come to realize that all college tours are boring and essentially the same. He writes a guest column in the Wall Street Journal with suggestions on how to improve college tours. For one, he says, don’t let parents and kids take the same tour. Use random kids from campus to lead the tours, instead of highly-trained guides. And let the tours see the campus at night, where much of the excitement takes place.

Have you ever wondered how Major League Baseball comes up with its schedule? 30 teams, 162 games, travel, special requests. In a way it’s mind-boggling. The Baltimore Sun says a team of Johns Hopkins researchers has come up with a program that uses thousands of lines of code to produce a nearly perfect schedule. Now they’re hoping to sell it some of the minor leagues - where schedules are often still done in pencil.

Scientists say they’ve discovered the first Earth-sized planet that orbits in a habitable zone where liquid water could exist. The Los Angeles Times says the discovery of Kepler-186f is beign called the “tip of the iceberg.” The thinking is, if such planets turn out to be common among the distant stars now being explored, there should be many of them closer to Earth.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton has announced that she and husband Marc Mezvinsky are expecting their first child. The Washington Post says the 34-year-old made the surprise announcement at an event on New York’s Lower East Side. As her mother looked on, Chelsea said she hoped she would be as good a mom as her mom has been.

The New York Times says evidence is mounting that human error contributed to the massive loss of life in the South Korean ferry disaster. The ship’s captain was among the first to flee, and passengers weren’t told to evacuate for more than an hour after the ship began taking on water. Only a couple of the 44 lifeboats were deployed. 271 people remain missing as of Friday.

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own exotic animal, the Wall Street Journal explains some of the legal hoops you might need to jump through to do so. Most exotic animals fall under the scope of U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations. But state and local laws apply as well. That means if you have a few Llamas or a pet cheetah, you’ll be limited in where you can live if you should ever want to move.

In an era when we can have thousands of songs in the palm of our hand, vinyl records are making a comeback. The San Jose Mercury News says sales of vinyl records jumped 32% in the U.S. last year. New record stores are opening and more artists are making their songs available on vinyl. Experts say the upsurge is due to both hipster newcomers and nostalgic old-timers.

The San Francisco Chronicle profiles a group of enthusiasts who seek out misspelled street names stamped into concrete sidewalks in San Francisco. One man who hunts for them says finding one is like finding an Easter egg. But not everyone finds charm in the misspellings. One local resident was shocked to see “BRODWAY” and “BROADWEY” stamped on different corners of the same intersection.

The New York Post says students trapped on the sinking Korean ferry sent text messages to parents saying their final goodbyes. Nearly 300 people are feared dead. The students were on an overnight trip to a tourist island when the massive ferry apparently hit something and capsized.

DNA testing has come to the greenhouse. The Washington Post says more and more plant breeders are using DNA tests to screen plants for desirable genetic traits, instead of the traditional way of selecting seedlings by judging how they look and perform. The Post says marker-assisted breeding doesn’t draw controversy because the plant’s genetic boundaries are not crossed.

It doesn’t make sense. You do most of your shopping online these days, yet your mailbox is stuffed with more catalogs than ever. The Wall Street Journal explains that retailers are using catalogs as bait - the store window that comes to you - to entice you to go to their website or visit their store and shop.

Liking General Mills on Facebook, downloading a coupon or apparently even just buying a box of Cheerios might cost you the legal right to sue General Mills. The New York Times says the food company has added language to its website telling customers they can’t take legal action against the company if they download coupons or connect through social media. Instead, customers must submit to binding arbitration if any disputes arise.

If coloring Easter eggs has put you in the mood for some scrambled eggs, you might want to take the advice of food author Michael Ruhlman. He whipped up some perfect scrambled eggs for the Seattle Times. He says most home cooks let their eggs cook way too long. His were on the burner for less than a minute. VIDEO

The Richmond Times-Dispatch profiles 15-year-old Michelle Marquez, a remarkable young woman who has discovered the mathematical structure of sound that triggers emotions. She began working on this concept as a 12-year-old after seeing the movie, “Inception.” Her research into how sounds affect our emotions could have applications for attention disorder and PTSD treatment.

Cornealious “Mike” Anderson was sentenced to 13 years in prison for armed robbery in 2000. But when no one ordered him to jail, he went on with his life, getting married, having four children, filing taxes and starting a construction business. Last year, around the time when he would’ve been due for release, corrections officials noticed a clerical error and he was finally sent to prison. Now his attorney is fighting for his release.

In what’s becoming a semi-annual tradition, window washers at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago donned superhero costumes yesterday. The Chicago Tribune says Batman, Captain America and Spider-Man descended from the roof, stopping to interact with the young patients. They posed for photos and fist bumps, hoping to lift the spirits of those undergoing treatment for cancer or other serious disorders. VIDEO

Google has unveiled plans for a modular smartphone that users could customize with different hardware options. Owners would purchase different modules, like a better camera or a heart rate monitor, which would then be installed into the phone’s frame. Google would design the skeleton for the phone, while developers would come up with the designs for the different modules.

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is spending $50 million to form a grass roots organization aimed at curbing gun violence. The New York Times says Bloomberg hopes the organization will one day be able to outmuscle the National Rifle Association. Bloomberg says gun control advocates need to use the N.R.A.‘s tactic of punishing lawmakers who don’t support their agenda.

A female protester was arrested for throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton during an appearance at a metal recycling conference in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says Clinton, after realizing someone had thrown a shoe, made several quips. “Is that part of Cirque du Soleil?” Clinton asked. She followed up by saying, “thank goodness she didn’t play softball like I did.” The audience gave Clinton a standing ovation. VIDEO

CBS has made it official - naming Stephen Colbert as David Letterman’s successor. New York Times media writer Bill Carter says Colbert was an immediate front-runner who had made it clear over the past couple of years that he wanted this opportunity. Carter says Colbert has never really played himself on TV. We all know him as the right-wing blowhard who he says he’ll leave behind.