January 1, SRI LANKA: JIHADIST GROUP BEHIND BLASTS THAT KILLED 290, INCLUDING 4 AMERICANS

(Bloomberg) – Sri Lanka’s government has blamed local jihadist group National Thowheed Jamath for one of Asia’s deadliest terrorist attacks in years, and said other nations had shared intelligence ahead of the blasts.

The death toll rose to 290 in the coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday at churches and luxury hotels, which the government said had been carried out by seven suicide bombers. The Easter Sunday assaults targeted foreign tourists and Christians, marking a shift from the violence that fueled a three-decade civil war on the Indian Ocean island.

Bernie: Even Marathon Bomber Deserves Right to Vote

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Monday he thinks everyone should have the right to vote — even the Boston Marathon bomber.

At a CNN Town Hall, Sanders argued democracy demands that right for every American.

“This is a democracy and we have got to expand that democracy, and I believe every single person does have the right to vote,” he said.

Video Released of Suspect in 2017 Killings of Indiana Girls

(AP) – Authorities on Monday released video of a man suspected of killing two Indiana teenagers two years ago and urged the public to scrutinize the footage, which shows him walking on an abandoned railroad bridge the girls visited while out hiking the day they were slain.

The Indiana State Police also released a new sketch of the suspect, which State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said was produced thanks to “new information and intelligence” collected during the investigation into the February 2017 killings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams.

Memoir Prince Was Writing Before Death to Be Released in October

(Reuters) – An unfinished memoir that Prince was writing before his 2016 death will be released in October, with previously unseen photos and other material rounding out the book, the publisher Penguin Random House said on Monday.

The Grammy Award-winning artist, known for his androgynous style and sexually-charged songs, announced in March 2016 at a New York City club that he was working on a memoir.

CA GAS PRICES AT HIGHEST POINT IN 5 YEARS

(KTLA) – California’s gas prices continued to climb Wednesday, hitting the highest levels in almost five years.

Motorists throughout the Golden State are paying an average of $4.01 for a gallon of regular gasoline, by far the highest in the country and well above the national average of $2.83, according to a news release from AAA.

California hasn’t seen gas prices this high since July 2014, the release stated.The spike is blamed on the switchover from winter blend gasoline to the traditionally more expensive summer blend, as well as ongoing refinery issues.