Gas Prices in California Pass $7 Mark...

AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND (CBS) — Catalina Island is known for many things… its picturesque scenery, seafood and hiking, to name a few. But what about high gas prices? For the past two weeks, gas prices on Catalina Island have been an average of $7 a gallon. Stacy Dizon, who works at the Santa Catalina Island Co.-owned gas station on Pebbly Road, tells CBSLA that a gallon of regular unleaded on Saturday is $7.03. Gas Prices On Catalina Island Pass $7 Mark (credit: Ivan Hernandez/Avalon Marine Dock) The gas station is one of two service stations catering to the island and nearby, Avalon. About 1.5 miles away, Ivan Hernandez at the city-owned Avalon Marine Dock says the price of regular unleaded is $6.90 a gallon, down 10 cents from Friday. While some residents may be feeling the pinch, many aren’t complaining. “There’s not a lot to complain about when we’re living on an island,” said Catherine Rogers, a server at Original Jack’s Country Kitchen. CLICK TO READ MORE

Shroud of Turin Was Real?

A hoax or a miracle? The Shroud of Turin has inspired this question for centuries. Now, an art historian says this piece of cloth, said to bear the imprint of the crucified body of Jesus Christ, may be something in between. According to Thomas de Wesselow, formerly of Cambridge University, the controversial shroud is no medieval forgery, as a 1989 attempt at radiocarbon dating suggests. Nor is the strange outline of the body on the fabric a miracle, de Wesselow writes in his new book, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection" (Dutton Adult, 2012). Instead, de Wesselow suggests, the shroud was created by natural chemical processes — and then interpreted by Jesus' followers as a sign of his resurrection. "People in the past did not view images as just the mundane things that we see them as today. They were potentially alive. They were seen as sources of power," de Wesselow told LiveScience. The image of Jesus found on the shroud would have been seen as a "living double," he said. "It seemed like they had a living double after his death and therefore it was seen as Jesus resurrected." CLICK TO READ MORE

It's Government Workers Gone Wild ... On Your Dime

Officials with the federal agency now under congressional investigation over a lavish conference were captured on camera joking about the expense at the summit's "capstone" event in October 2010. One official joked about how much was spent at a party hosted by the agency's commissioner. Another employee, in a mock music video, even sang about how he'd "never be under OIG investigation." OIG stands for Office of Inspector General -- the office that earlier this week released a bombshell report that triggered firings at the agency that held the conference. The report found the Public Buildings Service, part of the General Services Administration, spent more than $820,000 on the meeting near Las Vegas in 2010. CLICK TO READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO

Marines Deployed to Australia ... In Preparation For China?

Last November, President Obama made a visit to Canberra, Australia to discuss an expansion of US troop presence in the region. Obama and Prime Minister Gillard reached an agreement which would allow up to 2,500 Marines to spend six-month stints in the port city of Darwin on Australia's northern coast. Yesterday, the first contingent of 200 Marines arrived in Darwin. Both the US and the Australians have been exceedingly careful to frame this move as an extension of long-standing mutual interests, not a strategic move aimed at confronting anyone in particular. However, various analysts agree that a prime factor in this move is the rise of China's military and their seeming willingness to throw their weight around in the South China Sea: This year, Chinese ships or planes began taking more forceful action. Officials in the Philippines say Chinese forces entered Philippine waters or airspace six times, including once when a Chinese frigate fired in the direction of a Philippine fishing boat. Vietnam has reported that Chinese ships cut the cables of two exploration ships carrying out seismic surveys. In addition to the Marines now being deployed to Darwin, there is also talk of other moves in the region including a possible drone base on islands controlled by Australia CLICK TO READ MORE

Judge Declares Iran 'Legally Responsible' for 9/11

Two days before Christmas 2011, while everyone was lost in the hustle and bustle of the season and making a last dash for gifts, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels declared that Iran was “legally responsible for damages to hundreds of family members of 9/11 victims.” In the historic decision in Havlish, et al. v. bin Laden, et al., Daniels ruled that “Iran and Hezbollah materially and directly supported al Qaeda in the September 11, 2001 attacks.” Yet, here we are, months later, with the Obama administration not only refusing to hold Iran to account for these things but actually playing the devil’s advocate for them by trying to keep nations like Israel from doing what they must do in order to prevent Iran from carrying out a potential nuclear strike. CLICK TO READ MORE

Even Congress Wants To Know What The NSA Is Doing With This $2 Billion Utah Spy Center

Maybe you've heard of it and maybe you haven't, but in Bluffdale, Utah alongside one of the largest polygamist sects in America, the NSA is building a one-million-square-foot data collection center — five times the size of the U.S. capital. Despite immense secrecy, and construction workers with Top Secret clearances, news of the project made it to the pages of Wired last month. Intelligence authority James Bamford wrote that the center is part of President Bush's "total information awareness" program that was killed by Congress in 2003 in response to public outrage over its potential for invading Americans privacy. One senior intelligence official formerly involved with the project told Bamford "this is more than just a data center," that it's a code breaking megalopolis the likes of which the world has never seen. Several years ago the NSA made a major leap in breaking complex encryptions used in everything from "financial information, stock transactions, business deals, foreign military and diplomatic secrets, legal documents, confidential personal communications." The official concluded by saying “Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.” CLICK TO READ MORE

Maryland puts gift card bounty on 'fish from hell'

Wildlife officials in Maryland have put a bounty on the snakehead, the so-called "fish from hell" that can migrate on land and devastates the eco-systems of lakes, ponds and streams. The state will give out $200 gift cards for Bass Pro Shops as well as other prizes for catching and killing the fish, which is native to Africa and Asia but is believed to have made its way to America through Asian seafood merchants. “We do not want snakeheads in our waters," said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Inland Fisheries Director Don Cosden. "This initiative is a way to remind anglers that it is important to catch and remove this invasive species of fish.” CLICK TO READ MORE

Well-preserved strawberry-blond mammoth discovered in Siberia

A juvenile mammoth, nicknamed "Yuka," was found entombed in Siberian ice near the shores of the Arctic Ocean and shows signs of being cut open by ancient people. The remarkably well preserved frozen carcass was discovered in Siberia as part of a BBC/Discovery Channel-funded expedition and is believed to be at least 10,000 years old, if not older. If further study confirms the preliminary findings, it would be the first mammoth carcass revealing signs of human interaction in the region. CLICK TO READ MORE

Politics Federal agency accused of spending $820G on Vegas bash also spent $250G on incentive program

The obscure federal agency that has come under intense scrutiny after a report it spent $820,000 of taxpayer funds on a lavish Las Vegas bash, spent another $250,000 on an employee's incentive program. Fox News has learned a House Transportation subcommittee investigating a Las Vegas junket by the General Services Administration (GSA) will expand its probe into an employee-rewards program known as “Hats Off.” The GSA spent $250,000 on “Hats Off,” a workplace incentive initiative where administration employees could garner “points” for good work around the office. CLICK TO READ MORE

Rocket fired from Egypt hits Israeli city of Eilat

A Grad rocket has landed in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, but has caused no damage or injuries, Israeli security officials said. District police chief Ron Gertner told Israeli radio the rocket had been fired from Egypt's Sinai peninsula. He said it struck a construction site close to a residential area shortly after midnight (21:00 GMT). The blast took place as thousands congregated in the resort town for the Jewish holiday of Passover. Rocket attacks from Egyptian soil are uncommon. Attacks on Eilat and the nearby Jordanian town of Aqaba in 2010 killed one person and injured another four. CLICK TO READ MORE