Mega Millions jackpot hits $1 billion ahead of Christmas Eve drawing
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(NEW YORK) — The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to an estimated $1 billion ahead of its Christmas Eve drawing.
The estimated jackpot would make it the seventh-largest in the game’s history and its seventh billion-dollar prize.
It would also be the largest ever won in December, if a ticket matches all six numbers drawn.
The cash value of the jackpot is estimated to be $448.8 million.
The last time the jackpot was won was at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10. No one has won the grand prize in the last 29 drawings, as the jackpot has ballooned.
The Mega Millions jackpot has only been won on Christmas Eve once before, according to the game. A $68 million jackpot was won in New York on Dec. 24, 2002, though it was never claimed.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play. Tuesday’s drawing is at 11 p.m. ET.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has announced that it is rescinding all past guidance issued against the removal of books and will no longer employ a coordinator to investigate instances of unlawful book removals.
The department also announced that it has dismissed 11 book ban complaints and six pending complaints. According to the DOE, the complaints alleged that the removal of these books “created a hostile environment for students.”
The nation has seen a wave of attempts to ban or remove books from library and classroom shelves in recent years, with the vast majority of complaints targeting books that are written by or about people of color and the LGBTQ community, according to free speech organizations that track book banning efforts.
PEN America, a free expression advocacy group, has tracked nearly 16,000 book ban attempts in public schools nationwide since 2021. In 2023 alone, the American Library Association (ALA) documented 4,240 different book titles and argued that book banning efforts are a form of censorship.
The ALA’s data found that pressure groups and individuals behind the book-banning efforts targeted multiple titles, “often dozens or hundreds at a time.” Allegations of “obscene,” “divisive,” or “inappropriate” content have largely been used to challenge books that touch on the LGBTQ+ community, sex education, race and politics, the ALA said.
The Trump administration’s Department of Education states that the books were targeted because school districts and parents “have established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.”
The statement continued, “Because this is a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, OCR has no role in these matters.”
“The department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement on the move. “The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility.”
The move from the DOE follows the lead of state-led and local-led efforts to expand book restrictions of certain topics in schools, some of which have been legally challenged by residents.
“We will continue to raise awareness and resistance to ongoing book bans in defense of students’ freedom to read,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read effort, in a statement. “All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools.”
(AQUEBOGUE, N.Y.) — A commercial poultry farm on Long Island, New York, is being forced to kill thousands of ducks after health officials detected cases of bird flu.
The owner of Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue — about 66 miles west of New York City — reportedly first saw signs that his flock was ill last week, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health. Tests confirmed the detection of bird flu on Jan. 17.
The farm, which is the last commercial duck farm on Long Island, was forced to cease operations and begin the process of euthanizing its entire flock of more than 100,000 ducks, according to ABC-owned station WABC. The process will reportedly take a little over a week.
“Unfortunately, when you have a situation like this where you have a flock that’s infected, the remedy is to put the entire flock down,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott told WABC.
As of Friday, no farm workers were reported ill and health officials have begun interviewing potentially exposed workers as well as providing testing and preventive medications to high-risk individuals, according to the release from the health department. Pigott told WABC the medications include Tamiflu and Tamivir.
The health department said it is also providing education to the farm owner on preventative measures such as proper hand hygiene and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment.
“The risk to public health is minimal as the virus at this point is not transmissible among humans,” Pigott said in a statement. “A full investigation is underway because there is some potential for transmission of the H5N1 bird flu from the infected birds to individual farm workers who had high-risk exposures.”
SCDH did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for comment. ABC News left a message requesting comment with Crescent Duck Farm.
Bird flu, or avian influenza, has been causing outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows in the U.S. with recent human cases among poultry and dairy workers.
Human cases have been diagnosed across the country since April 2024, with 67 confirmed in 10 states so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, no human cases have been reported in New York.
Most human cases have been mild with patients fully recovering. So far, just one death has been recorded in Louisiana in a patient over age 65 who had underlying medical conditions.
The CDC and other public health officials say there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission and the risk to the general public is low.
(LOUISIANA) — NFL hopeful Kyren Lacy, one of the top wide receiver prospects in this year’s draft, has been arrested for negligent homicide in connection with a deadly crash in Louisiana last month.
Lacy was booked into the Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex on Sunday evening, authorities said — two days after Louisiana State Police announced they had issued an arrest warrant for the athlete for allegedly leaving the scene of a fatal crash on Dec. 17.
In addition to negligent homicide, he faces felony hit and run and reckless operation of a vehicle charges, police said.
Lacy posted $151,000 bond and was released from jail later Sunday evening, a Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed.
Lacy, who played for Louisiana State University in the fall before declaring for the draft, is alleged to have been behind the wheel of a 2023 Dodge Charger when he “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated No-Passing Zone” on Louisiana Highway 20, state police said in a press release.
The driver of a 2017 Kia Cadenza traveling north swerved to avoid hitting the Dodge, only to cross the centerline and collide head-on with a 2017 Kia Sorento. A passenger in the Kia Sorento, identified by police as 78-year-old Herman Hall of Thibodaux, died from his injuries after being transported to a hospital, authorities said.
Lacy allegedly drove around the crash scene and fled south, “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash,” state police said.
Louisiana State Police said Friday that troopers were in communication with Lacy and his legal representation for the athlete to turn himself in.
Lacy’s agent said the athlete was “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
“We strongly believe that the facts will ultimately demonstrate the truth, but we respect the need for a full and thorough investigation,” the agent, Rocky Arceneaux of Alliance Sports, said in a statement.
Arceneaux added that the case is “being taken very seriously, and we are committed to resolving it responsibly.”
Lacy, 24, of Thibodaux, was a wide receiver for the LSU Tigers. Two days after the crash, on Dec. 19, he announced that he will be declaring for the 2025 NFL draft.
The star prospect had 58 catches for 866 yards and nine touchdowns this season. Lacy had 26 touchdown catches in his five seasons at LSU. He opted out of the Texas Bowl against Baylor to focus on preparation for the draft.
