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Big-ticket dreams spurred by $1B Powerball jackpot, but expert warns: Take it slow

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — With the Powerball jackpot topping $1 billion for this week’s drawing, millions of people across the country will be lining up at convenience stores, grocery and gas station counters hoping to hit it big.HOW DOES THIS LATEST POWERBALL JACKPOT STACK UP?The new jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing would be the seventh highest in U.S. history and the third largest for Powerball. If a sole player picks all five numbers plus the Powerball number drawn, they have the option of taking the $1 billion prize in yearly increments paid out over 29 years or a $516.8 million one-time lump sum before taxes. The last time someone won the Powerball jackpot was April 19 for a top prize of nearly $253 million. Since then, no one has won the grand prize in the past 38 drawings. The jackpot will keep growing until someone wins.WHAT CAN YOU BUY WITH $1 BILLION?Pretty much anything you want. A billion dollars could buy you around 200 Bugatti Mistral Roadsters, dozens of eight-seater pr...

Pearson airport says 10,000 new hires, better technology have improved service

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

Toronto’s Pearson International Airport says a staffing boost has significantly improved service, and issues that sparked chaos at Canada’s largest airport last summer have been addressed.The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) says the 10,000 new employees hired since last summer have helped increase baggage system reliability, cut wait times at security and customs checkpoints, and decreased holds on board aircraft — all by more than 90 per cent since last year.GTAA president Deborah Flint says, “new investments we made in staffing” have elevated Pearson’s performance.“The tangible improvements in Toronto Pearson’s performance go beyond mere recovery but lead us toward a future airport with more choices and excellent customer experiences, Flint said.“Day in and day out, employees across the ecosystem show Toronto Pearson’s unwavering commitment to delivering a seamless and enjoyable air travel experience.”The ...

Fargo police officer’s funeral scheduled; 2 other officers remain hospitalized after shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

Funeral services have been scheduled for the Fargo, North Dakota, police officer killed in a shooting that also left two other officers injured.The funeral service for Jake Wallin, 23, is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Pequot Lakes High School in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, according to an obituary. A private service will follow graveside at a cemetery in Nisswa, Minnesota.Fargo police say Mohamad Barakat, a 37-year-old Fargo resident, fatally shot Wallin while police and firefighters were responding to a traffic accident Friday on a busy street in south Fargo. Barakat also is accused of shooting and injuring officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes before officer Zach Robinson shot and killed Barakat, according to police. A 25-year-old Fargo woman also was shot, but authorities have not said who shot her.Wallin served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021. He and Hawes were sworn in less than three months ago, and we...

Illinois is first state to eliminate cash bail, a penalty affecting low-income communities most

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois became the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail as a condition of pretrial release from jail on Tuesday when the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionally of the law abolishing it. The 5-2 ruling overturns a Kankakee County judge’s opinion in December that the law violated the constitution’s provision that “all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties.” Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, writing for the majority, decreed that the law honors the constitution’s balance between the rights of victims and defendants. Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a penalty on poverty, suggesting that the wealthy can pay their way out of jail to await trial while those in economic distress — particularly people of color — have to sit it out behind bars. A pandemic-era increase in crime spurred debates on bail reforms. While other states and municipalities have enacted changes to cash bail, notably New Jers...

Louisiana youths held at adult prison’s old death row suffer heat, isolation, advocates say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Juveniles held in a former death row building at a Louisiana prison for adults are suffering through dangerous heat and psychologically damaging isolation in their cells with little or no mental health care, inadequate schooling and foul water, advocates say in a federal court filing asking a judge to order that the youths be moved.The document, filed in Baton Rouge and dated Monday, says state officials have broken promises to provide constitutionally acceptable facilities for young people housed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola — a remote prison farm with a notorious history of violence. With a spring target date for moving the youths to other facilities having passed, advocates for the juveniles are asking for an order ending the housing of juveniles at the Angola facility. The state Office of Juvenile Justice did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and other inmate advocates accompanied the ...

After court ruling, Alabama GOP criticized for rejecting 2nd majority-Black congressional district

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Republicans on Tuesday advanced proposals to boost the number of Black voters in one of the state’s seven congressional districts, but critics said the plans flout a court order to create a second majority-Black district or something close to it.Lawmakers must adopt new maps by Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld a finding that the current state map — with one majority-Black district in a state that is 27% Black — likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act.Republican-controlled legislative committees on Tuesday voted down proposals to create a second majority-Black district and advanced separate GOP plans that would increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd Congressional district from about 30% to either 38% or 42% That is short of the 50% sought by plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case.Republicans said their plan complies with the court’s directive to draw a district where Black voters are present in enough number...

‘His life was cut way too short’: Canadian soldier killed in Quebec gondola crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

MONTREAL — The Ontario man who died in Sunday’s gondola crash at the Mont-Tremblant resort was a selfless military member who was devoted to his family, his brother said Tuesday.Sgt. Sheldon Johnson, 50, of Kingston, Ont., was a member of the 5th Canadian Division with 20 years of service, the military confirmed in a statement offering condolences to Johnson’s colleagues, family and friends.Shawn Johnson wrote in a statement on behalf of the grieving family that his brother’s life was cut too short. He described his brother as “a loving father to three beautiful children — two surviving who are missing him terribly, and one angel in heaven he is now cuddling.”He remembered Sheldon Johnson as “devoted to his family, a caring wonderful brother, a friend,” and someone “always thinking about others before himself.”“His life was cut way too short, he had so much more love to give,” the brother wrote. “He will be trul...

Filmmaker James Cameron calls Titan submersible implosion ‘extreme outlier’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

Canadian filmmaker and deepsea explorer James Cameron said Tuesday that the implosion of the Titan submersible that killed five people last month was an extreme outlier in decades of safe exploration.The “Titanic” director told reporters in Ottawa that faulty engineering was to blame for the incident, which happened as the submersible was on its way to visit the site of the ship’s wreckage in the Atlantic Ocean. “The ocean can be a very unforgiving environment,” said Cameron.The Titan’s owner, OceanGate, has now ceased commercial and exploration operations. Remotely operated vehicles have retrieved parts of the Titan from the ocean floor, as well as what are believed to be human remains.The submersible broke apart as it neared the Titanic wreckage on June 18, killing all five people aboard, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. Also killed in the implosion were two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawoo...

Where have the most Powerball, Mega Millions jackpot tickets been sold?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - A pair of record-setting lottery prizes are growing, one Powerball and the other Mega Millions. While your odds of winning either are slim (1 in 24.87 and 1 in 24, respectively), it seems where you live could have an impact on your luck. Since both lottery draw games began in the 1990s, jackpots have been hit hundreds of times — sometimes more than a dozen times in certain states. All but five states participate in Powerball and Mega Millions. Of those participating states, three have never sold a jackpot-winning ticket for either game: Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Maine was also on that list until January of this year when a $1.348 billion Mega Millions jackpot was hit. It currently stands as the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot in history, and the fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. Maine is the only other state that hasn’t sold a winning Powerball ticket. There are also four states that have only had one Powerball jackpot...

Carnival ride dangers: What to look for, who to call

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:58:01 GMT

In the wake of the accident in Antioch that's left a 10-year-old in the hospital, many families are wondering what can they look our for when taking kids to a carnival.Huntley Daniels was flung from the Moby Dick ride on Sunday at the taste of Antioch. He suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures and has significant leg injuries.The Department of Labor regulates rides the Moby Dick.Jason Keller is the assistant director with the Illinois Department of Labor.When something goes wrong, Keller says an initial inspection is then carried out with pictures and video, before a physical one gets underway. Family speaks out after 10-year-old boy flung from Antioch carnival ride Keller adds all such amusement rides are inspected and permitted annually in Illinois.He said there is a visual indicator on rides that carnival-goers, riders and parents should look for.“When you're getting on a ride there should be a State of Illinois sticker,” he said. “I believe it says the ‘Department of Labor...