// a href = ./ //

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he believes the Boston Marathon bombing suspects had some training in carrying out their attack.

Rep. Michael McCaul is citing the type of device used in the attack — shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs — and the weapons' sophistication as signs of training.

Homemade bombs built from pressure cookers have been a frequent weapon of militants in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen once published an online manual on how to make one.

McCaul also tells "Fox News Sunday" that he thinks the suspects' mother played "a very strong role" in her sons' radicalization process and that if she were to return to the United States from Russia, she'd be held for questioning.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Intelligence Committee chairman says Syria's suspected use of chemical weapons against its own people is troubling but adds that he is also worried about those weapons falling into the wrong hands after President Bashar Assad is driven from power.

Republican Rep. Mike Rogers on Sunday said the United States needs to worry about the region's stability and U.S. credibility. He says other countries such as North Korea and Iran are watching how the United States responds to intelligence suggesting Syria probably has used sarin gas.

Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois says the United States needs to be careful, because it previously pushed war with Iraq based on faulty intelligence suggesting that nation had weapons of mass destruction.

Both spoke on ABC's "This Week."

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators are considering a measure to impose tough attendance requirements for students receiving state-sponsored scholarships.

Sponsoring Republican Sen. David Pearce, of Warrensburg, says the bill is designed to help students finish their degrees on time. It would require them to take a defined number of credit hours per semester to remain eligible for aid.

The Bright Flight, Access Missouri and the A+ Schools Program would be affected.

The measure has already won first-round approval and is expected to be sent to the House this week.