At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night, according to the Mega Millions website. The California Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at (Sunshine Food and Gas) on Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, about 150 miles north of Sacramento. The winning ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. The identity of the winner or winners was not immediately known. Ishar Gill, a son of the store owner, said the winning ticket was “a blessing” for the small rural town of about 6,000 people. “We don't have the slightest clue of who may have won it or who may have sold it,” Gill told The Associated Press. “But congratulations to the winner.” The total amount of the Mega Millions jackpot would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing is an estimated $549.7 million. Dennis Murphy shows off his lottery tickets he just bought Friday at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, Calif. In 2022, the location sold a $2.04 billion Powerball ticket. Despite the game’s long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continued to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grew. Until Friday, the last time a Mega Millions player hit the top prize was Sept. 10. The Mega Millions jackpot ticket worth $1.6 billion was in Florida in August 2023. Two prizes for its compatriot Powerball lottery have been larger. Mega Millions and Powerball are , as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is sold in Puerto Rico. Mega Millions ticket prices . The increase will be one of many changes that officials say will result in , more frequent giant prizes and even larger payouts. The Mega Millions jackpot hit $1.1 billion in March 2024, becoming the fifth-largest jackpot ever. The last two billion-dollar jackpots were in 2023; there was one each in 2022, 2021, and 2018. More frequent billion-dollar winnings raise the question: Which payout option is better? Cash or annuity? Mark Cuban, self-made billionaire and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," rather than a lump sum. Before discussing his reasoning, let's examine the payout options for a $1.1 billion jackpot winner. If someone matches six numbers on their ticket, they'll choose between receiving a lump sum of approximately $525.8 million or the $1.1 billion paid out as an over 30 years. With the annuity payments, the winner would see roughly $23 million annually after deducting federal taxes. Depending on their state laws, they would still have to pay state taxes. Typically, most winners choose the lump sum and can, in theory, start growing and investing that right away. However, Cuban has historically advised winners to take the annuity. "Don't take the lump sum," he says. "You don't want to blow it all in one spot." Taking the will likely increase your net income, even after all the tax obligations. Plus, if you take the lump sum with the idea of investing, you'd need to make up nearly half a billion dollars through investments to equal the earnings from the annuity, which isn't guaranteed. In fact, Cuban tells winners not to make investments. "You don't become a smart investor when you win the lottery," he says. Don't make investments. You can put it in the bank and live comfortably — forever." One billion dollars, or even a few hundred million dollars, is more than most Americans hope to achieve with their . If you win mass amounts like that in the lotto, is there a need to turn around and invest it? Cuban seems to think it's wiser not to take risks. He says, "You will sleep a lot better knowing you won't ." But Cuban doesn't just advise taking the annuity and warn against investing. He offers a few other tidbits of wisdom for mass lottery winners. First and foremost, he says to hire a tax attorney. Tax laws are already convoluted enough, but adding large sums of money, particularly from , just muddles the equation further. And you don't need the IRS breathing down your neck. Your winnings should help alleviate stress, not add to it. So, hiring a tax attorney can help you navigate local and federal laws around your tax obligations for lottery winnings. Cuban also says, "Tell all your friends and relatives no. They will ask. Tell them no." Everyone seems to come out of the woodwork when they hear about someone they know winning the jackpot. In this same vein, Cuban says, "If you are close to them, you already know who needs help and what they need. Feel free to help some, but talk to your accountant before you do anything, and remember this: no one needs one million dollars for anything. No one needs 100k for anything. Anyone who asks is not your friend." There you have it. Mark Cuban's advice on winning the lottery. While most of us can only dream about it happening, winning the lottery isn't the only way to gain wealth. Whether you are one of the lucky few who has won big or want to grow your wealth through more traditional means, everyone can benefit from a to assess their portfolio and guide them on their journey to a successful financial future. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed to deforestation, with authorities suspecting some fires were set to more easily clear land to run cattle. The Amazon is twice the size of India and sprawls across eight countries and one territory, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide that would otherwise warm the planet. It has about 20% of the world’s fresh water and astounding biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species. But governments have historically viewed it as an area to be exploited, with little regard for sustainability or the rights of its Indigenous peoples, and experts say exploitation by individuals and organized crime is rising at alarming rates. “The fires and drought experienced in 2024 across the Amazon rainforest could be ominous indicators that we are reaching the long-feared ecological tipping point,” said Andrew Miller, advocacy director at Amazon Watch, an organization that works to protect the rainforest. “Humanity’s window of opportunity to reverse this trend is shrinking, but still open.” There were some bright spots. The level of Amazonian forest loss fell in both Brazil and Colombia. And nations gathered for the annual United Nations conference on biodiversity agreed to give Indigenous peoples more say in nature conservation decisions. “If the Amazon rainforest is to avoid the tipping point, Indigenous people will have been a determinant factor," Miller said. Wildfires and extreme drought Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon — home to the largest swath of this rainforest — dropped 30.6% compared to the previous year, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. The improvement under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva contrasted with deforestation that hit a 15-year high under Lula's predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. In July, Colombia reported historic lows in deforestation in 2023, driven by a drop in environmental destruction. The country's environment minister Susana Muhamad warned that 2024's figures may not be as promising as a significant rise in deforestation had already been recorded by July due to dry weather caused by El Nino, a weather phenomenon that warms the central Pacific. Illegal economies continue to drive deforestation in the Andean nation. “It’s impossible to overlook the threat posed by organized crime and the economies they control to Amazon conservation,” said Bram Ebus, a consultant for Crisis Group in Latin America. “Illegal gold mining is expanding rapidly, driven by soaring global prices, and the revenues of illicit economies often surpass state budgets allocated to combat them.” In Brazil, large swaths of the rainforest were draped in smoke in August from fires raging across the Amazon, Cerrado savannah, Pantanal wetland and the state of Sao Paulo. Fires are traditionally used for deforestation and for managing pastures, and those man-made blazes were largely responsible for igniting the wildfires. For a second year, the Amazon River fell to desperate lows , leading some countries to declare a state of emergency and distribute food and water to struggling residents. The situation was most critical in Brazil, where one of the Amazon River's main tributaries dropped to its lowest level ever recorded. Cesar Ipenza, an environmental lawyer who lives in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, said he believes people are becoming increasingly aware of the Amazon's fundamental role “for the survival of society as a whole." But, like Miller, he worries about a “point of no return of Amazon destruction.” It was the worst year for Amazon fires since 2005, according to nonprofit Rainforest Foundation US. Between January and October, an area larger than the state of Iowa — 37.42 million acres, or about 15.1 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazon — burned. Bolivia had a record number of fires in the first ten months of the year. “Forest fires have become a constant, especially in the summer months and require particular attention from the authorities who don't how to deal with or respond to them,” Ipenza said. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Guyana also saw a surge in fires this year. Indigenous voices and rights made headway in 2024 The United Nations conference on biodiversity — this year known as COP16 — was hosted by Colombia. The meetings put the Amazon in the spotlight and a historic agreement was made to give Indigenous groups more of a voice on nature conservation decisions , a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize Indigenous people's role in protecting land and combating climate change. Both Ebus and Miller saw promise in the appointment of Martin von Hildebrand as the new secretary general for the Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization, announced during COP16. “As an expert on Amazon communities, he will need to align governments for joint conservation efforts. If the political will is there, international backers will step forward to finance new strategies to protect the world’s largest tropical rainforest,” Ebus said. Ebus said Amazon countries need to cooperate more, whether in law enforcement, deploying joint emergency teams to combat forest fires, or providing health care in remote Amazon borderlands. But they need help from the wider world, he said. “The well-being of the Amazon is a shared global responsibility, as consumer demand worldwide fuels the trade in commodities that finance violence and environmental destruction,” he said. Next year marks a critical moment for the Amazon, as Belém do Pará in northern Brazil hosts the first United Nations COP in the region that will focus on climate. “Leaders from Amazon countries have a chance to showcase strategies and demand tangible support," Ebus said. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org . Steven Grattan, The Associated PressFormer US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100
Daily Post Nigeria NPFL: Heartland target win against Kwara United in Ilorin Home News Politics Metro Entertainment Sport Sport NPFL: Heartland target win against Kwara United in Ilorin Published on November 26, 2024 By Taiwo Adesanya Heartland are desperate to preserve their unbeaten run when they take on Kwara United in a matchday 14 fixture on Wednesday. The Naze Millionaires are on a five-game unbeaten run in the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL. Heartland expressed confidence in their ability to pick up maximum points from the game. “We are in Ilorin to harvest the three points. May God grant our hearts desires,” Heartland wrote on X. Heartland occupy 11th position on the NPFL log with 17 points. The encounter will start at 4 pm. Related Topics: heartland ilorin kwara united NPFL Don't Miss NNL: Ogun Government keen to select best players for Gateway United You may like NPFL: Katsina United coach Sadauki targets win against Abia Warriors NPFL: It’s time for Abia Warriors to end barren streak – Njoku NPFL: Amapakabo questions officiating in Abia Warriors loss to Rivers United NPFL: Idahosa gifts Bendel Insurance N1.5m for win over Kwara United NPFL: Abdallah reacts to Kano Pillars’ draw against Lobi Stars NPFL: Plateau United coach targets win against Akwa United Advertise About Us Contact Us Privacy-Policy Terms Copyright © Daily Post Media Ltd
NEW YORK (AP) — No ex-president had a more prolific and diverse publishing career than Jimmy Carter . His more than two dozen books included nonfiction, poetry, fiction, religious meditations and a children’s story. His memoir “An Hour Before Daylight” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2002, while his 2006 best-seller “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” stirred a fierce debate by likening Israel’s policies in the West Bank to the brutal South African system of racial segregation. And just before his 100th birthday, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation honored him with a lifetime achievement award for how he wielded “the power of the written word to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding.” In one recent work, “A Full Life,” Carter observed that he “enjoyed writing” and that his books “provided a much-needed source of income.” But some projects were easier than others. “Everything to Gain,” a 1987 collaboration with his wife, Rosalynn, turned into the “worst threat we ever experienced in our marriage,” an intractable standoff for the facilitator of the Camp David accords and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to Carter, Rosalynn was a meticulous author who considered “the resulting sentences as though they have come down from Mount Sinai, carved into stone.” Their memories differed on various events and they fell into “constant arguments.” They were ready to abandon the book and return the advance, until their editor persuaded them to simply divide any disputed passages between them. “In the book, each of these paragraphs is identified by a ‘J’ or an ‘R,’ and our marriage survived,” he wrote. Here is a partial list of books by Carter: “Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President” “The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East” (With Rosalynn Carter) “Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life” “An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections” “Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age” “Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems” (With daughter Amy Carter) “The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer” “Living Faith” “The Virtues of Aging” “An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood” “Christmas in Plains: Memories” “The Hornet’s Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War” “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis” “Faith & Freedom: The Christian Challenge for the World” “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” “A Remarkable Mother” “Beyond the White House” “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work” “White House Diary” “NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter” “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power” “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety”
MONTREAL — A childhood friend of the Quebec man killed in a Florida boat explosion Monday said one of the victim’s sisters was among the other six passengers injured in the blast. Thi Cam Nhung Lê said 41-year-old Sebastien Gauthier was celebrating the holidays with his family when the explosion occurred in Fort Lauderdale. Lê said Gauthier’s older sister was also on the boat when it erupted into flames, and she was taken to a hospital. “It’s unimaginable, incomprehensible,” Lê said Saturday, adding that Gauthier’s family and mutual friends informed her about his death. Lê, 40, said she first met Gauthier in her early adolescence and they grew up together in Quebec City. She remembers him as a globetrotter who always had a smile on his face. “He’s still my best friend. It’s always him I call if I need something, but he’s no longer with us,” she said. The last time the two friends saw each other face-to-face was about two years ago, Lê said, but she last messaged Gauthier on social media in the days before Monday’s explosion. And on Jan. 1, her birthday, she would have expected a call from him, just like every year. “I’m shocked, surprised, and feeling a little bit of regret,” she said. “You regret not having seen him more. I spent yesterday crying. You can’t believe your friend disappears from one day to the next.” Earlier this week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed that Gauthier died of his injuries in Broward County. The FWC said its preliminary investigation in Fort Lauderdale showed a 37-foot vessel exploded after its engines were started, injuring all seven passengers on board. Video posted on social media Monday showed the vessel engulfed in flames, with a thick column of black smoke billowing into the sky. However, Florida authorities have not provided The Canadian Press with more information about the investigation. Searching for an explanation has also left Lê angry. As she mourns the loss of her longtime friend, she said she’s still waiting for answers about what led to his unexpected death. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2024. Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian PressCrude Oil Moves Lower; Dick's Sporting Goods Earnings Top ViewsMONTREAL — are increasingly choosing to stay in Quebec, according to a new report from , but the same isn’t true in the Atlantic region, which continues to lose newcomers to the rest of the country. Out of all the immigrants admitted into Quebec in 2021, almost 94 per cent of them were still in the province one year later — a jump of 8.8 percentage points compared with the 2018 cohort of newcomers. The largest increases of newcomers choosing to stay in Quebec were in the economic category, the StatCan report said. Catherine Xhardez, assistant professor of political science at Universite de Montreal, said the StatCan report is welcome news for Quebec because unlike in the rest of the country, the provincial government controls its economic immigration stream. “It’s also a question of competition. You want the best and brightest to stay because if you invest in them, if you select them, you do not want them to go to Ontario,” said Xhardez, who also directs ERIQA, a research group that studies immigration to Quebec. Decades ago, when the Quebec unemployment rate was much higher than the current 5.7 per cent, immigrants were leaving the province at a much higher rate, Xhardez pointed out, saying job opportunities and social programs are key to keeping newcomers. “It really depends on living conditions and opportunities for migrants. That is the biggest factor for people moving from one province to another province,” she said. With the latest data already a few years old, Xhardez admits that changes in Quebec’s political climate — the government regularly blames immigration for threatening the French language — and the province’s recent decision to freeze several immigration programs may impact future immigration trends. Such actions may have the effect of driving immigrants away, she said, especially considering other provinces also target francophones. Quebec isn’t the only province to have high immigrant retention rates. Ontario leads the country — 94.6 per cent of newcomers admitted to the province in 2021 were still there one year later. In British Columbia it was 91.7 per cent and in Alberta is was 89.5 per cent. However, Atlantic Canada offers a stark contrast. The four provinces recorded decreases in one-year retention rates for immigrants admitted in 2020 compared with 2021. Newfoundland and Labrador recorded a 14.1 percentage point drop, Nova Scotia saw a 11.7 percentage point decrease, the drop in Prince Edward Island was 8.9 percentage points, and in New Brunswick it was 2.2 percentage points. “Immigrants who left their intended Atlantic provinces were increasingly likely to settle in Ontario,” the report said. Meanwhile, the statistics agency also looked at five-year retention rates, analyzing how many immigrants admitted in the country between 2013 to 2017 were still in their intended provinces five years later. “Among immigrants admitted from 2013 to 2017, those who intended to live in Ontario, , Alberta and Quebec were the most likely to reside in the same province five years after their admission,” the report said. Five-year retention rates were highest in Ontario at 93.5 per cent, B.C. at 87.5 per cent, Alberta at 87.3 per cent and Quebec with 79.7 per cent. Once again, the retention rates in were among the lowest in the country. In Nova Scotia, 61.7 per cent of immigrants admitted in 2013 were still in the province five years later, rising to 62.1 per cent for the cohort of newcomers who came in 2017. In New Brunswick, 51.7 per cent of immigrants admitted in 2017 were in the province five years later, a rise of 3.9 percentage points compared with the cohort who came in 2013. For the cohort of immigrants who arrived in 2017, 45.6 per cent of them were still in Newfoundland and Labrador five years later; 25.7 of them were still in Prince Edward Island. Those figures come as no surprise to Tony Fang, economics professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, who said “lack of meaningful employment or perceived lack of it” was primarily to blame. “That’s the number one reason why they don’t stay in the region,” he said in an interview Monday. “The second is family ties .... The third reason is a lack of community support,” he said, explaining that close-knit communities in the region can be difficult for newcomers, making them sometimes feel like outsiders. Newcomers can more easily find their cultural communities and families in big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, Fang said, adding that the region would do well to accept larger numbers of immigrants at once, as did with Ukrainian and Syrian refugees. And while immigration may be outpacing housing and social services in the country, he said the Atlantic region desperately needs newcomers to boost its economic development. “We have the oldest population. We have the most severe labour demographic deficits. We have more severe skilled labour shortages, so immigration certainly has more positive impact for Atlantic Canada,” Fang said.
BOSC stock touches 52-week high at $3.4 amid market optimismFormer US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 1002024 Set the Stage for Clean Energy on Public Lands
Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad
Lampkin, Freeman power Syracuse past Bucknell, 75-63 in final nonconference tune-upRemembering Jimmy Carter: The president who set the standard for national-disaster responseWANG & LEE GROUP, Inc. ( NASDAQ:WLGS – Get Free Report ) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 50,600 shares, a decrease of 37.2% from the November 30th total of 80,600 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 167,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. WANG & LEE GROUP Stock Down 9.3 % WLGS opened at $1.86 on Friday. WANG & LEE GROUP has a 12 month low of $0.44 and a 12 month high of $5.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.74. WANG & LEE GROUP Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for WANG & LEE GROUP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WANG & LEE GROUP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
