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Ticker: Mega Millions  jackpot climbs to $1.55B; Global food prices rise after Russia ends grain deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

Another Mega Millions drawing has passed by without a jackpot winner.The numbers drawn Friday night were: 11, 30, 45, 52, 56 and the gold ball 20.Because no one matched all six numbers and won the estimated $1.35 billion jackpot, the top prize increased to an estimated $1.55 billion for the next drawing Tuesday night.There have now been 31 straight drawings without a jackpot winner. The last time someone won the Mega Millions jackpot was April 18.The $1.55 billion prize would be for a sole winner who chooses the annuity option with payment stretched over 30 years. Most winners opt for a lump-sum payment, which would be an estimated $757.2 million on Tuesday.A big slice of those winnings would go toward federal taxes, while many states also tax lottery payouts, including Massachusetts.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.Gl...

Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko hospitalized a week into prison hunger strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on a hunger strike in prison to protest criminal charges against him, was hospitalized Sunday, his party said.Sonko was imprisoned last week in advance of criminal proceedings against him on charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other charges.The reason for his hospitalization at the Main Hospital in downtown Dakar was not immediately clear. “Prior to his imprisonment, he was in good health and had no known illnesses,” said the statement from Sonko’s now-dissolved Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party.Sonko announced July 30 on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would start his hunger strike. The announcement came a day before a judge in the capital of Dakar ordered his imprisonment. The latest charges against Sonko came weeks after a judge convicted him in a separate case of corrupting youth and sentenced him to two years in prison, which ign...

Russia unleashes missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, retaliating for an attack on a tanker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a missile and drone barrage Sunday across parts of Ukraine that killed six people, Kyiv officials said, as Moscow followed through on its promise to retaliate for an attack on a Russian tanker.Separately, Moscow’s second-largest airport briefly suspended flights early Sunday following a foiled drone attack near the Russian capital.Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 70 drones and missiles from aircraft over the Caspian Sea, including Iranian-made, Shahed-136/131 strike UAVs. Three waves of missiles hit the Starokostiantyniv area, damaging several buildings and igniting a fire at a warehouse, said Serhiy Tyurin, deputy head of Ukraine’s Khmelnytsky region military administration. The strike may have been intended for the city’s airfield, officials said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facilities of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor Sich in the Zaporizhzhia region had also come under attack.The Russian barrage followed a Ukra...

Festival Eritrea going ahead at Toronto hotel after city revokes park permit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

A cultural festival that was marred by violence on Saturday is still scheduled to go ahead this evening at a downtown Toronto hotel. A poster for Festival Eritrea advertises events in Earlscourt Park on all three days of the August long weekend including Sunday night at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel on Queen Street West starting at 7 p.m.A Change.org petition started on July 30 calls on the hotel to cancel the event, claiming the festival is sponsored by the Eritrean regime.“Unlike community-based cultural festivals, this event is an extension of internationally orchestrated state-sponsored fundraising scheme devised to circumvent Canadian and U.S. sanctions,” reads the petition, which has been signed by more than 1,700 people as of Sunday afternoon. “These events are directed and organized by diplomatic missions of the state of Eritrea using local shadowy organizations.”CityNews reached out to the hotel, who say the event is scheduled to go ahead as plan...

Girl, 8, fatally shot in head in Portage Park, offender in custody

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

CHICAGO -- An eight-year-old girl is dead after she was shot in the head by a known offender in Portage Park Saturday night. According to police, a known individual approached a group from across the street near the 3500 block of North Long Avenue around 9:40 p.m. and shot the girl in the head.She was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition where she was then pronounced dead. 2 injured after being electrocuted on CTA tracks in Oak Park on their way to Lollapalooza Another man on the scene got into physical altercation with the offender and tried to disarm him. During the struggle, the offender was shot in the face and transported to the hospital in critical condition. The offender has been placed into custody and charges are pending. A weapon was recovered on the scene and police are investigating.

These are Yelp's 15 favorite mom and pop restaurants in the U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Want to support local businesses across the U.S.? It's not always easy to find mom and pop-type restaurants in an online search — and it's not easy to figure out which ones are any good. Recently, Entrepreneur and Yelp partnered to find the top 15 mom and pop restaurants in the U.S. from among hundreds.To formulate the list, Yelp ranked independently owned and operated businesses with no more than 4 locations based on volume and ratings of reviews. Businesses needed to be marked as "open" on Yelp as of May 15 and have a passing health score as of that same date, Yelp explains. Taylor Swift SoFi ticket prices are dropping Topping the list is ITs Izakaya, a Japanese tapas restaurant located in Las Vegas. Among the restaurant's most popular dishes are its takoyaki and yellowtail carpaccio. Here's all 15 of Yelp's top Mom and Pop Restaurants:RankNameLocation1.ITs IzakayaLas Vegas2.Thanh Tinh ChaySan Diego3.Pla-Tu Sushi Thai TapasMiami4.Nahm Thai & Burmese CuisineBoise,...

A megahost might run your Airbnb: Why it matters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Airbnb has changed a lot since its humble couch-surfing beginnings in 2007. What started as a way for homeowners to earn extra income by renting out their spare bedrooms has become a multibillion-dollar, industry-disrupting giant.The majority of travelers now rent entire residences rather than stay with hosts. Nights booked at private rooms made up only 16% of U.S. short-term rental bookings in May 2023, an all-time low, according to a report from AirDNA, a short-term rental analytics company.And many of the hosts renting their homes are not mom-and-pop homeowners trying to earn extra income. They’re large management companies with multiple properties in their portfolios, some with dozens or even hundreds.More than 30% of active listings in the U.S. are managed by hosts with 21 or more properties, according to data provided by AirDNA. That’s more than the 26% of listings managed by single-property hosts.In other words, almost three in four Airbnb listings are now mana...

Here's what the Farmers' Alamac has predicted for the next Texas winter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

TYLER, Texas (KETK) - As summer continues, some people are wondering when things will finally cool down.The Farmers' Almanac has been publishing their forecasts for over 200 years using their secret formula and this week they have predicted that "the brrr is back" for the 2023-2024 winter.In their extended winter forecast, it is predicted that Texas will see an unseasonably cold, stormy winter for this year.Last winter, the Farmers' Almanac predicted a chilly winter with normal precipitation for the area, and, according to the Texas Department of Emergency Management, a cold air mass shifted over Texas on Dec. 22 causing temperatures to plummet statewide."Much of Texas endured temperatures below freezing - in some cases well below freezing - for dozens of hours," the department said in their overview of the 2022 Texas winter. "Most Texans faced frigid conditions through at least the morning of Dec. 25, with morning lows around freezing on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27."In their predictions fo...

'It's a game-changer': Wounded veteran celebrates new airplane bathroom accessibility rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Advocates are celebrating a new rule from the Department of Transportation that will make airplane bathrooms more accessible. However, they're hesitant, because travelers won't see these changes immediately.As a wounded veteran who uses a wheelchair, Charles Brown knows that for those with disabilities, flying often means going without access to a bathroom."It's demeaning, it's degrading. You have to dehydrate yourself so you don't have to urinate," Brown said.Brown used to be the president of Paralyzed Veterans of America. He and the group have spent years advocating for accessibility on airplanes.Now that's happening. Under the new DOT rule, starting in three years, new planes will be required to have accessibility features like bathroom grab bars and call buttons. In 2033, new planes must expand their bathrooms."It's a game-changer. It allows more people with disabilities to fly," Brown said.Transportation Secretary Buttigieg says this is an important chang...

Fringe review: ‘Big Dad Energy’ draws the laughs — and maybe a tear — for a childless comic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:38 GMT

Worth consideringStand-up comedian Jamie Campbell offers a heady, heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking meditation on fatherhood, even though he himself isn’t a father. Married at 40, Campbell — like a lot of late-in-life spouses across modern America — grapples with the strong likelihood that he will never raise a mini-me, which could be the end of the line for his lineage. His sensitive, self-deprecating comedy routine draws heavily from his childhood in the ‘80s and ‘90s, but some younger audience members on Saturday seemed to share his mojo, which occasionally visits edgier topics like sex and drugs without getting mired there. The self-described house husband, who tours nationally, was once named “Best Stand-Up Comedian” by The Chicago Reader and wrote and performed the album “Tell Me You’re Proud of Me,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Amazon comedy charts.Presented by Jamie Campbell Creative at the Rarig Center Xperimental stag...