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Friday night’s Mega Millions jackpot will be $1.35 billion

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

Associated PressOfficials increased the size of Friday night’s Mega Million jackpot to an estimated $1.35 billion, making it tied for the fourth-largest lottery prize in U.S history.There have been 30 straight drawings since the last time someone won the game’s jackpot on April 18. The prize has steadily grown to tie with a Mega Millions jackpot won in January.The jackpot is so hard to win because of the 1-in-302.6 million odds of matching the numbers on five white balls and a separate mega ball. The odds are better to win smaller prizes, which start at $2.The $1.35 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid over 30 years through an annuity. Those who opt for a lump sum payout would get an estimated $659.5 million.A big slice of those winnings would go toward federal taxes, and many states also tax lottery payouts.Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Man who tried to enter Jewish school with a gun fired twice at a construction worker, police say

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who tried to enter a Jewish school with a gun fired shots at a construction worker there and later pointed his weapon at police before an officer wounded him on a residential street, authorities said Friday.Joel Bowman, 33, went to Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South school in Memphis on Monday and tried to get inside, but he was denied entry, police said on the day of the shooting. Class was not in session, but there were limited staff and construction workers there at the time.In an affidavit made public Friday, police said Bowman — who had attended the school — walked around its exterior and fired two shots at a construction worker, who was not hit. Bowman then fired two more shots outside the school before driving away in a pickup truck, police said. Officers tracked down Bowman a short drive from the school. He exited his truck with a gun in his right hand and pointed the weapon at an officer, who shot him, police said. B...

3 people killed in Slovenia by torrential storms and flash floods

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Torrential rains and heavy floods ravaged Slovenia on Friday, killing at least three people, cutting off roads and bridges and surging into buildings. Slovenia’s prime minister described the devastation as “catastrophic.”The Slovenian environmental agency raised the weather alert to the highest level after a month’s amount of rain fell within 24 hours in the northern, northwestern and central parts of the small European country.As rain continued to fall Friday, authorities warned of more floods in other areas because of swiftly swelling rivers. “We can already say that this a record flood,” Prime Minister Robert Golob said at a news conference after cutting short his vacation because of the floods. Golob said the floods could be the biggest since Slovenia became independent in 1991.“The scale is catastrophic. We are asking for all the help we can get,” he said. “I am calling on everyone to stay at home unless it’s absolutely necessa...

Bears great Steve McMichael, who has ALS, in intensive care with sepsis and pneumonia

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Steve McMichael, a star defensive tackle on the Chicago Bears’ famed 1985 Super Bowl championship team who has ALS, was in intensive care because of sepsis and pneumonia, his wife said Friday.Misty McMichael wrote in an Instagram post that her husband was hospitalized on Thursday night.McMichael spent 13 of his 15 seasons with the Bears and was an All-Pro in 1985 and 1987. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to Richard Dent on the Bears’ all-time sacks list with 92 1/2. His final season was with Green Bay in 1994.McMichael is one of 12 players whose final appearance was no later than 1998 in the mix to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year. That list will be whittled down to as many as three by the selection committee, and the finalists will be part of the 2024 class if they are supported by at least 80% of voters next January.Whether he was terrorizing opponents or discussing the Bears on sports talk radio, t...

Joe Biden’s ‘Buy America’ policy on infrastructure projects leads to factory jobs in Wisconsin

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts by the Biden administration have been helping create new factory jobs as part of a push to bring high-speed internet to the whole country — jobs that coincidentally help to back up President Joe Biden’s messaging for the 2024 elections.Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Thursday that up to 200 new manufacturing jobs would be coming to the swing state of Wisconsin. The workers at the Sanmina factory in Kenosha County are to make parts for Nokia that help to connect customers to broadband internet. Nokia’s choice to move production to the U.S. came after an extended engagement with the Commerce Department over how to deliver on the “Buy America” rules in the government’s $42.5 billion investment to provide universal internet services.“Whereas in the past, many of those jobs would have been created overseas, President Biden and I required that the materials and products used in these projects, from steel to electronics to f...

Guardians place slugging 1B Josh Naylor on 10-day injured list with oblique strain

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, leaving Cleveland without one of its top power hitters for the time being.Naylor sat out the team’s past two games in Houston with the injury, which had been bothering him for longer.The Guardians, who enter the weekend 2 1/2 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central, made the move with Naylor — retroactive to Tuesday — on Friday before opening a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox.Naylor has been Cleveland’s most productive middle-of-the-lineup hitter. He’s batting .306 with 15 homers and a team-high 79 RBIs.Earlier this week, the Guardians traded slugger Josh Bell to Miami.The Guardians also placed infielder Tyler Freeman on the injured list with a strained right shoulder.Needing some immediate help, Cleveland acquired outfielder Kole Calhoun in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash and recalled infielder José Tena...

Pope presides over solemn Way of the Cross prayer as Portugal government weighs in on LGBTQ+ protest

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis led an estimated 800,000 people in a meditation on the scourges of violence, poverty and intolerance Friday at World Youth Day, as the Portuguese government weighed in on an incident of intolerance directed at LGBTQ+ pilgrims attending the big Catholic youth festival. Lisbon’s central Eduardo VII park was packed for Francis’ evening Way of the Cross prayer, one of the most solemn events in the days-long gathering. St. John Paul II launched these festivals of faith in the 1980s to try to inspire the next generation of Catholics, and young people from around the world have flocked to Lisbon in droves for Francis’ first edition since the coronavirus pandemic.Francis had to quiet them down as the crowd erupted in the traditional World Youth Day chant of “This is the youth of the pope,” when he arrived on stage at sunset. He seemed to want to get right down to the seriousness of the dramatic re-creation of Christ’s crucifixion,...

Chiefs hardly helping running backs wanting big deals with their budget backfield finds

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have been doing no favors to the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, the Giants’ Saquon Barkley, the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and every other running back that wants to get paid handsomely for what they do.The Chiefs have proven they can win with bargain finds in the backfield.Take last season, when the Chiefs won a seventh consecutive AFC West title and defeated the Eagles to win their second Super Bowl title in four years. Their leading rusher was seventh-round draft pick Isiah Pacheco in the first year of his paltry rookie contract, the top backup was journeyman Jerick McKinnon making pennies on the dollar, and nobody else behind them was making much money, either.Yet the Chiefs were the runaway leaders in total offense, and not just because Patrick Mahomes was flinging the ball all over the field on his way to an MVP season. The Chiefs also were perfectly middle-of-the-road when it came to rushing offense.“I think it’s cyclic...

This year's first human death from West Nile virus confirmed in Weld County

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A man has died from West Nile virus in Weld County, marking the first human death of the mosquito-borne disease this year in Colorado.The man was 53 years old, and the virus caused a neuroinvasive disease that killed him, according to the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment. How pets, livestock are affected by West Nile virus Eric Aakko, the county health department spokesperson, told FOX31 that "they did seek medical care but they still ended up passing, unfortunately."Weld County said they are investigating eight separate cases of West Nile virus, all of which are in residents representing a wide geographical area — they are not all near each other.Aakko said health officials are anticipating an increased number of cases in humans this year as the number of mosquitoes testing positive for the virus is high compared to previous years."With so many cases of West Nile virus appearing in the culex mosquito, we're not surprised, and that's why we ...

Attended a Colorado school since 2004? Your data may be compromised

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:51:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A ransomware attack may have compromised the personal data of a range of Colorado students — from high schoolers to adult learners — and the breach affects some who attended school as far back as 2004.Teachers may also have been impacted, according to the Colorado Department of Education, which announced the extent of the breach on Friday. Police investigating ‘incarceration room’ at Denver middle school "Over the past few weeks, the investigation has revealed that some of the impacted records include names and social security numbers or student identification numbers, as well as other education records," the department said in a release.The attacker accessed the department's systems from June 11-19 and copied data, according to the release. While the investigation is ongoing, these groups may have been affected:Attended a public institution of higher education in Colorado between 2007-2020Attended a Colorado public high school between 2004-2020 Individua...