nbc bay area steve handelsman has the latest for us this evening from washington, d.c. steve? >> reporter: raj, thank you, this move to try to shield guam comes as north korea has renewed the threat to attack the u.s. trying to figure out what is going on with this young, erratic north korean leader, kim jong-un, the officials in washington are looking into it. bayers went up at the kaesong industrial area, more than 100 factories couldn't operate. the latest move by north korea look s drastic, because it hurt north koreans who work here. 50,000, cheap labor for south korean companies, one of the few ways the north and south cooperate. >> this is a symbol that kept people talking and moving. >> reporter: now that is snapped by kim jong-un, a new line crossed by north korea's erratic leader, who vowed yesterday to reopen a nuclear weapons reactor, and vowed yesterday to attack u.s. cities. the pentagon confirms a system is being sent to the u.s. base on guam, to intercept any north korean missiles. secretary of defense chuck hagel's assessment today. >> a real and clear danger,

nbc's steve handelsman is live in washington, d.c. with the latest. steve. >> reporter: hi, janelle. thanks. president obama brought these families here on air force one. they're ordinary americans, but they now have a lot of political influence on capitol hill because the nation feels their agony. as the gun control showdown approached in the senate, the family members of eight new town victims led by neal heslin with the green ribbon came to capitol hill to lobby lawmakers. at a hearing in february, heslin testified about jesse, his first grade son shot at sandy hook. >> jesse was brutally murdered 20 minutes after i dropped him off. >> reporter: the grieving father says today in a new ad that jesse deserves gun control. >> 14 gop senators threaten to filibuster to block a vote on gun control. even though a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines was stripped from the bill, the newtown visitors are outraged and so are their senators. >> it is insulting to the families of sandy hook, connecticut, to not even get a vote on the fl

nbc bay area's steve handelsman joins us from washington. steve, she was a special leader and a political soul mate of sorts of ronald reagan. >> absolutely. no question, good evening. to many women, to many men in the nation's capital, maggie thatch water is a role model. to most conservatives, she was a hero. british prime minister margaret thatcher was such a force. she influenced american history. as an inspiration to ronald reagan, then his partner against the soviet union. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> reporter: ronnie and margaret were political soul mates, said nancy reagan in a statement today, committed to freedom and resolve to end communism. reviving capitalism and freedom was a reagan similar thatcher mission. she battled british unions when strikes paralyzed the uk. >> what we've got is an attempt to substitute the law of the mob for the rule of law. >> reporter: when reagan came to power in 1981, he broke the u.s. air traffic controllers union when they struck. russians called thatcher the iron lady and the nickname

steve handelsman has reaction from the white house, and adam tuss on the police presence here in washington, we begin with shomari. >> reporter: good evening, as you walk down the street you see the uniformed officers walking around, looking for anything suspicious. let me move out of the way. we are approximately 75 yards from the finish line near where the two explosions went off. and many people have sad looks on their faces and started a makeshift memorial to honor the victims nearby. a memorial with flowers, flags, paying tribute to the more than 170 people hurt. three who died after the explosions. right now, security is heightened. the police and atf and fbi investigate. this group wears white suits so they don't contaminate more than the ten blocks of crime scene. the perimeter is blocked down, roads closed, authorities look for anything suspicious. >> it is certainly something i have not seen before. it is scary, but it is also a comfort level at the same time. >> a little more relieving, knowing that everybody is out here helping. >> reporter: law enforcement officials tell nbc ne

steve handelsman has the latest from washington for us. >> reporter: thanks.scrambling is right and that's good news when you think about it. this is a war of words that could turn into a real war, but u.s. officials here in washington, john kerry in korea, are going out of their way today to emphasize that if it does come to war, it probably will not start with the mushroom clouds of nuclear detonations. as secretary of state kerry came to south korea, the north koreans reportedly put more missiles into launch position. as many as five now said to be ready. the big question was if the musadan missiles have atopic warheads. kerry indicated probably not. >> they have conducted a nuclear test, so there's some kind of device. but that is very different from miniaturization and delivery. >> reporter: on capitol hill yesterday, a lawmaker the cited a secret report that u.s. intelligence was moderately confident north korean leader kim jong-un does have a nuke small enough to put on a missile. the white house today called that assessment preliminary. >> i want to be

from the capital, i'm steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. >> we'll be watching that closely as well, thank you, steve. >>> today we learned more about the makeup of the bombs used in the attacks in botch. they're called pressurer cooker bombs. explosive material that's packed inside a pressure cooker and then set off. inside the bombs were nails, bb bullets, ball bearings and shards of metal that were spewed into the crowds when they exploded. this type of bomb is seen in afghanistan, india and pakistan. an al qaeda magazine recently published instructions on how to make one. investigators say the bombs were hidden in black duffel bags. >>> in the wake of the bombings in boston, the police department says it is taking the precautionary measures. they are increasing security at san jose sharks games this week. a canine unit will do a bomb sweep of the arena prior to all games. officers at the san jose airport have been placed on high alert and provide uniformed presence. >>> our coverage of the terror in boston continues throughout this newscast and online at nbcbayarea.com. it is upd

from washington, i'm steve handelsman, nbc bay area news. >>> a hotly anticipated new book by formerecretary of state hillary clinton could shed new light on the hunt for osama bin laden. her memoir is said to focus heavily on the killing of osama bin laden, the overthrowing of the moammar gadhafi regime in libya and the arab spring. word is spreading that she is considering running for president in 2016. >>> connecticut's governor signed into law sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity magazines. he was joined at the signing ceremony by parents of children killed in last year's massacre at sandy hook elementary school. the parents say they hope newtown, connecticut, will be remembered not for those killings but the transformation that's came from that gd extra. this gives connecticut some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. it is the third state that toughens gun laws since the school shooting following new york and colorado. >>> california lawmakers give the initial okay for a bill that would require panic alarms in schools across the state. and the federal gove