10 things you need to know today: April 28, 2015

1. Maryland governor declares state of emergency after riots erupt in Baltimore

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declared a state of emergency and sent the National Guard to Baltimore on Monday to quell rioting that broke out after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died last week after suffering a spinal cord injury in police custody. Fifteen police officers were injured, six seriously, as city police were overwhelmed by rioters hurling rocks and bottles. One officer said a looted mall looked "like a war zone."

The New York Times

2. Loretta Lynch sworn in as attorney general

Loretta Lynch was sworn in as U.S. attorney general on Monday, replacing Eric Holder after a long-delayed confirmation vote. Lynch is the 83rd person to serve in the post, and the first African-American woman. Lynch said her confirmation showed that "we can do anything." She pledged fairness, saying, "We can restore trust and faith both in our laws and in those of us who enforce them." Vice President Joe Biden swore in Lynch, whom President Obama nominated in November, saying it was "about time" she got the chance to get to work.

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The Washington Post

3. Nepal earthquake toll rises past 4,400

The death toll from Saturday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Nepal rose above 4,400 on Monday. A United Nations spokesman said more than 1.4 million survivors were in need of food and other assistance. Foreign aid has begun arriving, but locals, still rattled by frequent aftershocks, expressed frustration over the speed of the response by their government. The director of neighboring India's National Disaster Response Force said rescuing survivors and recovering the bodies of the dead could take weeks.

CNN Fox News

4. Apple beats expectations on surging iPhone sales

Tech giant Apple on Monday reported $58 billion in revenue and a $13.6 billion profit for the second quarter of the year, easily beating Wall Street's projections. The staggering three-month profit was a 33 percent increase from the same quarter one year ago, when Apple netted $10.2 billion. Surging iPhone sales contributed to much of the growth. Apple sold 61.2 million smartphones for the quarter, far more than the 43.7 million iPhones it sold during the same period last year.

The New York Times Re/Code

5. Tsarnaev lawyers ask jurors to spare him the death penalty

Defense lawyers on Monday urged jurors to spare convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the death penalty, saying he was led into the terrorist plot by his late older brother, Tamerlan. The defense team painted the older Tsarnaev brother as the mastermind behind the deadly 2013 attack. Defense attorney David I. Bruck showed the jury of a photo of a Colorado super-max prison where Tsarnaev might wind up serving a life sentence. "He goes there and he's forgotten... no martyrdom," Bruck said.

Los Angeles Times

6. Colorado movie-theater massacre trial opens

Colorado's cinema massacre trial began on Monday, with prosecutors saying suspect James Holmes' life was falling apart and he "tried to murder a theater full of people to make himself feel better." Public defender Daniel King conceded that Holmes barged into a midnight showing of the The Dark Knight Rises and opened fire, killing 12 people and wounding 70, but said he had no control over his actions because he was suffering from schizophrenia.

Reuters

7. South Korean court increases ferry captain's sentence to life in prison

A South Korean appeals court sentenced the captain of the capsized ferry Sewol to life in prison on Tuesday, increasing his sentence from 36 years after convicting him of "murder through willful negligence." The ship tipped over a year ago, killing 300 people, most of them high school students. An inquiry found that the vessel was carrying twice the legal limit of cargo. A lower court in November had convicted the captain, Lee June-seok, of negligence and abandoning passengers, but acquitted him on murder charges.

The Guardian The New York Times

8. Teacher tackles student who allegedly fired shots at Washington school

A teacher at a Washington state high school tackled a student who fired a shot into the gym floor and another into the cafeteria ceiling on Monday. The 16-year-old suspect, a student at North Thurston High School, reportedly was armed with a revolver. Police said the teacher, Brady Olson, was "heroic," but Olson said he just instinctively ran to the sound of the gunshot. "I reacted in a way that any other teacher would react," he said.

NBC News

9. Families of Bali Nine say final farewells as executions loom

Relatives said their final goodbyes on Tuesday to nine heroin smugglers scheduled to be executed in Indonesia at midnight. Jakarta rejected last-ditch calls for clemency for the so-called Bali Nine, eight foreigners and an Indonesian man. The alleged ringleaders — Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan — are from Australia, and supporters in that country held vigils in several cities. Sukumaran's sister, Brintha Sukumaran, begged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to call off the executions. "Please don't take my brother from me," she said.

Reuters The Sydney Morning Herald

10. Award-winning actress Jayne Meadows dies at 95

Emmy-nominated actress Jayne Meadows died Sunday of natural causes in California. She was 95. Meadows often teamed up with her husband, the late TV host Steve Allen. She also performed on Broadway and in movies, and was a regular panelist on I've Got a Secret. She also won the Susan B. Anthony Award for her one-woman show, Powerful Women in History. She also was the sister of the late Audrey Meadows, who starred as Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners.

The Associated Press