We’re back and we’re reading – everything from “CBS News” to “Fox News.” We’re trying to help you keep up with the rapid pace of politics and everyday news. Today, we’ve got Sri Lanka Easter bombings, a second deadly earthquake in the Philippines, and a Texas couple sentenced to prison after forcing a girl to work for them.
Sri Lanka death toll rises after Easter attacks
Sri Lanka held its first mass funeral amid a day of mourning for the victims of Sunday’s bomb attacks.
The death toll from the attacks on churches and hotels has risen to 321 with about 500 wounded, police said.
A state of emergency is in effect to prevent further attacks, according to BBC News.
The country’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said the government believed there “may be links” to the Islamic State group.
Police have detained 40 suspects in connection with the attack.
Earthquake hits Philippines second day in a row
A powerful earthquake hit the central Philippines Tuesday, one day after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the country’s north and killed 11 people.
According to CBS News, the U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of Tuesday’s quake at 6.4, while the local seismology agency said it was a 6.5.
Rescuers worked overnight to recover bodies in the rubble of a supermarket that crashed down in Monday’s quake, which damaged other buildings and an airport in the northern Philippines.
The bodies of four victims were pulled from Chuzon Supermarket and three other villagers died due to collapsed house walls, said Mayor Condralito dela Cruz of Porac town in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
More than 400 aftershocks have been recorded, mostly unfelt.
Reuters reporters lose final appeal in Myanmar
Myanmar’s Supreme Court rejected the final appeal of two Reuters journalists and upheld seven-year prison sentences for their reporting on the military’s brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims on Tuesday.
The court did not given a reason for the decision. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are being held in a prison in Yangon, were not present for the ruling, but their wives were.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in December 2017 and sentenced last September after being accused of illegally possessing official documents, according to FOX News.
They denied the allegation and contended they were framed by the police.
Their appeal in January to a lower court was rejected on the ground that the lawyers for Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, failed to submit enough evidence to prove they were innocent.
Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer for the two, had said the latest appeal argued that lower court rulings involved errors in judicial procedure.
Texas couple sentenced after forcing girl to work in their home for 16 years
A West African girl was abused and neglected by a Texas couple for 16 years, according to CNN.
The girl was responsible for caring for the couple’s children, cooking, cleaning, and mowing the lawn.
Mohamed Toure, 58, and Denise Cros-Toure, 58, were convicted in January of forced labor, conspiracy to harbor an alien, and alien harboring.
They both are citizens of Guinea, where the young girl was taken from, and lawful permanent residents of the United States, but may lose their U.S. immigration status and be deported to Guinea, the Justice Department said.
The couple has now been sentenced to seven years each in prison and nearly $300,000 in restitution.
Trump to make first state visit to UK in June
President Donald Trump will make his first state visit to the United Kingdom in June, more than two years after an invitation was first extended, according to sources at the Buckingham Palace.
It will be the president’s second meeting with the queen after first meeting the British monarch last summer, where they sat for a private tea at Windsor Castle, according to CNN.
While in the UK, Trump will also hold a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May, as well as a private audience with the Queen.
Other details of the trip will be announced later.
US expands probe into air bag failures to 12.3M vehicles
U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths.
Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Fiat Chrysler are included in the probe, according to The Associated Press.
Investigators will evaluate how susceptible the air bag control units are to electrical signals as well as other factors that could stop air bags from inflating.
