1. MORE THAN 200 KILLED IN EASTER SUNDAY BOMBINGS IN SRI LANKA: At least 290 people were killed in a series of suicide bombings in Sri Lanka on Sunday. Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the terrorist attacks, which occurred at churches during Easer Sunday service and luxury hotels. CNN: “Authorities were facing accusations that they had failed to act on a warning received ten days before the atrocity that an Islamist group was preparing an attack. There were fears of more devices: A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman. Most of the dead and injured were Sri Lankan. Of the foreign nationals who died, five were British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality; as well as three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens, and one Portuguese national. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in an effort to gain maximum global attention. No group has claimed responsibility, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the ‘terrorist incident’ was carried out by followers of ‘religious extremism.’”
2. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER WILL EXPAND TO 30 TEAMS: Major League Soccer will expand to 30 teams, with teams 28 and 29 needing a $200 million expansion fee, commissioner Don Garber announced last Thursday following a board of governors meeting. St. Louis and Sacramento are making formal bids to be teams 28 and 29. ESPN: “M.L.S. currently has 24 teams and has already confirmed expansion teams in Austin, Miami, and Nashville to join the league in the coming years. Garber said the ownership groups from both cities will make formal presentations to the league's expansion committee in the coming weeks. Part of the process will involve getting to know the respective ownership groups, both of which have investors who are relatively new to the process. Garber hopes a final decision on both cities would be made before the All-Star Game in Orlando in late July.”
3. SEE INSIDE KANYE WEST’S EASTER EVENT AT COACHELLA: Controversial rapper Kanye West brought his Sunday Service event to Coachella on Easter, which featured a large group of dancers and singers performing spiritual songs, the debut of a new song, and expensive festival merch. Variety: “To reach the site, Coachella attendees walked some distance from the festival’s parking section to a cordoned-off area of the campground. A full band—complete with harp—was set up on the plateaued top of a circular mound covered with freshly laid sod. A waist-high fence surrounded the hill, which had a sort of V.I.P. area extending up another grassy hill behind the stage. … The service opened with a slightly eerie organ prelude, as West and the dozens-strong choir, clad in purple-beige robes, made their way toward the hill. Gradually they arrayed in a circle around it while more robe-clad singers and dancers arrayed atop the hill behind the stage. After around 15 minutes of prelude, percussion kicked in and the band began playing jazz-fusion-flavored music reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s and Roy Ayers’ early ‘70s albums.”
