Midday Roundup: Did bombing suspect's wife know about attack?

Waiting game. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old suspect accused of helping his brother plant bombs that killed three and wounded 176 at last Monday’s Boston Marathon, remains hospitalized in serious condition. A law enforcement official said yesterday that Tsarnaev had a gunshot wound to his neck but would not say whether it was self-inflicted. Tsarnaev exchanged gunfire with police shortly before he was captured. During a 15-hour manhunt that shut down the entire city of Boston, Tsarnaev appears to have been holed up in a boat stored in a backyard in Watertown, Mass. While they wait for Tsarnaev to be able to answer questions, the FBI wants to question his brother Tamerlan’s wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev. According to her lawyer, she was living with her husband at the time of the bombing but had no idea what he and his brother were up to. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died during a firefight with police early Friday morning.

Wet weekend. The Mississippi River neared its crest today, as flooding in the region swamped towns in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. This year’s spring flood forced evacuations, closed bridges, inundated houses, and left as many as five dead so far. But forecasters fear the flooding could get worse as more rain and snow are forecast throughout the region in the next few days. The governors of Missouri and Illinois declared states of emergency after flood gauges recorded some of the highest water levels in almost 60 years.

Lighting up. The New York City Council will consider increasing the age for purchasing cigarettes, an attempt to keep young people from developing a lifelong habit. The proposal, announced today, would raise the purchase age from 18, the federally set minimum, to 21. A similar statewide attempt in Texas recently failed, although some American cities have raised the age. But New York would be the biggest city to adopt the stricter limit. Officials say 80 percent of the city’s smokers started before they were 21. An estimated 20,000 of the city’s public high-school students smoke.

Not just a game. The latest YouTube craze is sending teens to the hospital. Thousands of videos posted on the site show teens taking the “Cinnamon Challenge,” a dare to swallow a spoonful of the ground spice in 60 seconds, without water. Pediatricians say the prank is far from harmless: It can cause choking, breathing problems, and collapsed lungs. A study published today says 30 teens needed medical attention last year after taking the challenge. The number of poison control center calls about the spice jumped from 51 in 2011 to 222 last year.