Here's your daily round-up of five stories we're following:

1. Home opener: The Phillies have their home opener against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon. The gates open at 1:35 p.m. for the 4:05 p.m. game. The home opener comes a day after the Phils beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-0, for their first win of the season. Can the team's Citizens Bank Park sellout streak continue?

2. Hero hasn't been paid: Nelson Mandela Myers, the man who found an abducted 5-year-old girl in an Upper Darby park in January, stiill hasn't been paid the $10,000 reward.

Here's your daily round-up of five stories we're following today:

1. Mike Rice fallout at Rutgers: Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired after a video that showed him shoving and throwing balls at players, and using anti-gay slurs, surfaced. Now, some faculty members are calling for a wider investigation and demanding that university President Robert Barchi resign. Meanwhile, the search for a new coach is under way. Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley, a former assistant at Rutgers, is an early favorite.

2. North Korea and nukes: North Korea is warning that its military has been cleared to attack the United States using "smaller, lighter and diversified" nuclear weapons. But despite the threat, analysts say they don't expect an attack, which could trigger a destructive war.

Some cities provide better college experiences than others.

For the high school seniors who will be selecting their colleges over the next few weeks, a university’s location can be a key factor. The American Institute for Economic Research has compiled an index of the best college cities and towns, based on factors that include the cost of living, cultural venues, entrepreneurial activity, research capacity, student diversity and unemployment rates.

Here are the lists of top 10 college destinations among major metro areas (which includes Philly) and college towns (which includes State College). Check out the institute’s website for the full lists, plus rankings of mid-size and small metro areas.

Here's your daily round-up of five stories you should be following:

1. Replacing Schwartz: U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz is widely expected to run for governor of Pennsylvania next year. She hasn't officially announced, but a flood of Democrats are already showing interest in her congressional seat representing parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County. Potential challengers for the seat include former City Controll Jonathan Saidel, state Sen. Daylin Leach, state Rep. Brendan Boyle and Montco Commission Chairman Josh Shapiro.

2. Cold-case confession: A 1990 murder in Atlantic County was solved when a Ventnor man turned himself in for the crime. Steven L. Goff surendered this week, admitting that he killed 15-year-old Frederick Hart, who disappeared in May 1990 and whose body was found in a wooded area in Galloway Township in December 1991.

The dire warnings about the federal spending cuts known as the sequester may have been over-hyped.

But that doesn't mean local government agencies haven't seen cuts since the sequester went into effect last month. The Huffington Post compiled a list of 100 effects of sequestration around the country. Here, we break out the six Pennsylvania and New Jersey items from HuffPo's list, plus a few more effects that list didn't mention.

1. In the Lehigh Valley, Community Services for Children is warning that 100 children could lose their place in the Head Start program. 

Here's your round-up of five stories to follow today:

1. Casey backs gay marriage: Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey has become the latest Democrat to shift his views on same-sex marriage. "If two people of the same sex fell in love and want to marry, why would our government stand in their way," Casey said in a statement. Casey is largely moderate on social issues and is a pro-life Catholic. The reverse in his position on gay marriage comes after the U.S. Supreme Court heard two gay-marriage cases last week and other high-profile Democrats have announced that they have changed their views on the issue.

2. Phillies opening debrief: The Atlanta Braves beat the Phillies, 7-5, on opening day. The Phils play the Braves again on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. In a bright spot, Chase Utley scored his 200th homer. More coverage: Inquirer recap, Daily News recap, video, Phil Sheridan: Preseason pitching problems persist in opener, Bob Brookover: Utlley makes opening-night statement, DN Phillies notebook, More positives than negatives in loss

Heads up: The deadline to file your taxes is April 15 -- that’s two weeks from today. Some estimates say as many as 20 to 25 percent of Americans wait until the last two weeks to file. If that’s you, we have some resources to help you make sure you pay Uncle Sam (or get your refund) on time:

1. Stop procrastinating: You have to do your taxes eventually. Find a buddy or promise yourself a reward to make the task easier. More tips, via Savvy Sugar.  

2. Document checklist: You’ll need to round up last year’s return, W-2 forms, mortgage interest statements, investment documents and other forms. A complete checklist, via WiseBread. 

Many are the ways these days to follow Phillies games in progress. Now's a good time to review, with tonight's season opener scheduled for 7:10 p.m. in Atlanta. The fullest (and most obvious) experiences are listed first.

1. Go to a game. Home or away, a good place to start is the Phillies schedule. Click the T for tickets for a given date. Works for road games, too. Click on the asterisk for information about giveaways and other promotions.

2. Watch on your TV. This week alone the Phillies will be on PHL17, ESPN2, The Comcast Network (TCN), Comcast SportsNet (CSN), and the MLB Network. ESPN and Fox also get into the act this month. To figure out where to watch, see the Phillies broadcast schedule.

We hope you have some good April Fools' Day jokes planned for your family and co-workers today, or at least don't get fooled too badly yourself. For inspiration, here are some of our favorite Philly pranks from years past:

1. 1915: "Do not kick"
A prankster put a brick inside a hat on Girard Avenue, with a warning note: "Do not kick. Brick inside." But Penn student Raymond Perrott was too clever for his own good. According to the Trenton Evening Times, Perrott told a friend, "that's a joke within a joke; watch me wallop that hat," and gave the cap a hard kick. But the joke was on him -- there really was a brick inside. Perrott broke a toe.

2. 1940: Franklin Institute declares end of world
The Franklin Institute wanted to promote its new planetarium show on cosmic apocalypses. So on March 31, 1940, spokesman William Castellini gave this announcement to KYW: "Your worst fears that the world will end are confirmed by astronomers of Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. Scientists predict that the world will end at 3 P.M. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. This is no April Fool joke. Confirmation can be obtained from Wagner Schlesinger, director of the Fels Planetarium of this city." Unsurprisingly, the city's emergency lines were swamped with calls from concerned Philadelphians after the radio broadcast. Castellini said he thought KYW was in on the stunt, but he was still fired.