nation

Washington, D.C.

GOP senator won’t seek re-election

First-term Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., announced Monday that he will not seek re-election next year, the fifth lawmaker to bow out of a Senate that has become increasingly polarized and dysfunctional. Johanns, a soft-spoken former Nebraska governor and secretary of agriculture in the George W. Bush administration, appeared well positioned to be re-elected and was not on any Democratic target list. But last year, he angrily criticized conservative groups that tried to step in and influence the Senate election in his state. And his efforts as part of the “Gang of Eight” to broker a bipartisan deficit reduction accord proved fruitless.

Colorado

Gun-control measures win House approval

New ammunition limits and universal background checks passed the Colorado House during a second day of emotional debates that has drawn attention from the White House as lawmakers try to address recent mass shootings. The bills were among four the Democratic-controlled House passed amid strong resistance from Republicans, who were joined by a few Democrats to make some of the votes close. The legislation would place a limit of 15 rounds for firearms, and eight for shotguns.

Texas

Russians investigating adoptee’s death

Russian authorities have blamed “inhuman treatment” for the death of a 3-year-old boy adopted by an American family, but Texas officials say they are still investigating claims that the child was abused before his death. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday that it had questions about the death of an adoptee authorities identified as Maxim Kuzmin. The committee is the country’s top investigative agency.

Florida

Coast Guard says fuel leak sparked fire

The engine room blaze that disabled Carnival Cruise Lines’ Triumph for five days in the Gulf of Mexico was sparked because of a leak in a fuel line, according to a U.S. Coast Guard investigator. Lt. Cmdr. Teresa Hatfield, of the agency’s marine casualty investigation team, said that the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board will likely wrap up work on the ship by the end of the week. But the investigation is expected to last about six months. The Miami-based cruise operator has canceled all sailings aboard the ship through mid-April and estimated a financial hit of as much as $80 million.

Pakistan

Shiites demand army protection after bomb

Thousands of Shiite Muslims staged protests across Pakistan demanding that the government and military protect them from Sunni extremists behind a bombing that killed 89 people Saturday in the southwestern city of Quetta. Shiites, a religious minority in Pakistan, pointed to the attack that followed a similar devastating bombing in January as further evidence of Islamabad’s indifference to what many describe as a pogrom against Shiites in Balochistan Province.