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Why are lottery jackpots so much bigger these days?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

Every few months, another national lottery jackpot approaches record (or near-record) territory. A single ticket sold in Florida won Tuesday's $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which was the third-largest in U.S. history.Both nationwide games, Powerball and Mega Millions, have seen their jackpots land in the Top 10 list five times in the past two years. Billion-dollar payouts used to be extremely rare. Not anymore.So what has changed? In 2015, Powerball increased the number of white balls from 59 to 69 and shrunk the number of red balls from 35 to 26. This improved your odds of winning something, but lowered your odds of winning the jackpot from 1-in-175-million to 1-in-292-million, according to NerdWallet.In 2017, Mega Millions raised its ticket price from $1 to $2 which naturally increased the jackpots. It also added ten numbers to the Mega Ball (now numbered 1-25) while subtracting just five white balls (now numbered 1-70) which, much like Powerball, increased your odds of win...

Strawberry Fuzz Documents Dirty Side of LA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

Strawberry Fuzz Documents Dirty Side of LA: L.A. indie punks Strawberry Fuzz surprise-released a new album, Strongs Dr., back in January of this year. The album is, they say, “a continuation of their previous releases’ documentation of the dirty underside of L.A. life, exhibiting a strong, infectious breed of fuzzy Cali surf-punk with an unapologetic bite.” The Mainliners and Frankie + the Studs also perform on this awesome Echoplex bill.As vocalist Colby Rodgers wrote about their new release, “The album is a blend of all the people I grew up with in LA. Stoners, pill heads, downers, uppers, straight kids — it’s pretty much all in there. We named the album Strongs Dr. after the street our buddy Chris lives on in Venice. We spent a lot of long nights at his place during the making of the album. He also co-wrote and sings on the last voice memo recorded track with me. Shoutout Chris and the entire westside crew.”Drummer Andy Warren continues, “Some of the best ...

Alfredo Gonzalez-Gutierrez Arrested, 1 Injured after DUI Collision on Fifth Street [Santa Rosa, CA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

DUI Driver Arrested after Two-Vehicle Crash near Wilson StreetSANTA ROSA, CA (August 9, 2023) – Early Sunday morning,  Alfredo Gonzalez-Gutierrez was arrested, and another sustained injuries in a DUI collision on Fifth Street.The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m., near Wilson Street on July 30th.According to the California Highway Patrol, they were driving down Railroad Street, just south of Third Street, when they were signaled down by a driver who had recently been in an accident.The driver suffered serious injuries and the other car escaped the location.First responders arrived at the site of the crash shortly after. They rushed the injured individual to a nearby hospital for treatment of significant injuries.Afterward, police arrested Alfredo Gonzalez-Gutierrez and charged him with felony DUI resulting in injuries to another person.Moreover, both directions of the roadway were temporarily shut down to allow for cleanup and preliminary duties but have since been reopened.T...

Han Cho Killed in Motorcycle Crash on Euclid Street [Anaheim, CA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

Off-Duty Garden Grove Police Officer Dead after Traffic Collision near Glenoaks AvenueANAHEIM, CA (August 9, 2023) – Monday afternoon, a motorcycle-auto collision on Euclid Street claimed the life of Han Cho.The crash happened shortly after 3:00 p.m. at the intersection of Euclid Street and Glenoaks Avenue.According to the Anaheim Police Department, the off-duty officer was on his way home when the collision with another vehicle occurred. However, the circumstances that led up to the crash remain under investigation.Responding emergency personnel transported the officer to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. Meanwhile, the other driver was rushed to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.Unfortunately, Han Cho, a 28-year veteran of the Garden Grove Police Department, succumbed to his injuries shortly after. Alcohol is not suspected to be a factor in the crash.The relatives of Officer Cho started a GoFundMe page to help the family with medical and funeral expenses. T...

Charles Piezzi Arrested after DUI Crash on Lakeville Highway [Petaluma, CA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

Five-Vehicle Collision near South McDowell Boulevard Left Woman, Child InjuredPETALUMA, CA (August 9, 2023) – Sunday evening, police arrested Charles Piezzi following a DUI injury collision on Lakeville Highway.Authorities responded to reports of a hit-and-run around 5:50 p.m. at Lakeville Highway at South McDowell Boulevard.According to the police, an SUV rear-ended another vehicle, causing a chain-reaction collision with four other cars. Responding emergency personnel transported a woman to Petaluma Valley Hospital for unspecified injuries. In addition, paramedics treated a 12-year-old child at the scene for minor injuries.After the crash, the SUV driver went over a curb and stopped at a nearby parking lot. 58-year-old Charles Piezzi of Petaluma then fled into a nearby neighborhood and into the backyard of a home at 1500 Rio Nido Way.Apparently, Piezzi disregarded the officers’ commands to surrender and broke into a residence in the area before getting detained by the police...

Retrain your thumb: The iPhone ‘end call’ button is moving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

Apple is making a small change to the iPhone’s software that will likely mess with your muscle memory: The big red “end call” button is moving.The end-call icon, currently all by itself at the bottom of the screen, will slide to the right, and the other icons will move down. The iPhone’s phone app will get a series of updates coming to iOS 17, including a revised design that repositions the hang-up button.The icon – a big red dot with an image of a phone handset – currently sits by itself at the bottom of the screen, separated from two rows of other call-function buttons. With the change, it will be at the bottom right of the screen, clumped with five other buttons: mute, keypad, speaker, add call,  FaceTime.The new call screen, which is already available for download in a beta version for developers, sparked some strong reactions among iOS users on social media: “iOS 17 has the FaceTime button where the end call button used to be,” tweeted one user. “Muscle memory be damned.”A...

Preseason all-Bay Area News Group high school football 2023: Wide receivers/tight ends

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

PRESEASON ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUPWIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDSWide receiversDaven Amos, Clayton Valley, 6-3, 190, seniorA three-star prospect, per 247Sports. Had a big junior season, catching 86 passes for 1,164 yards and 12 TDs.Brooks Davis, Heritage, 6-0, 170, seniorThree-star rating with multiple offers. Will have a much larger role for the Brentwood school this season after catching five TD passes as a junior.Kai Hamilton, Valley Christian, 6-2, 178, seniorThree-star prospect has an offer from Washington State. Caught 20 passes as a junior last season, three of them for touchdowns.Tyrone Jackson, Riordan, 6-3, 180, seniorTransferred to Riordan from Oakland Tech. Rated a three-star by 247Sports and Rivals. Has offers from five Power 5 schools, including four in the Pac-12. Should team up nicely with Riordan’s collection of talent.Paul Kuhner, Acalanes, 6-0, 175, seniorAlong with Trevor Rogers, he’ll provide sprinter speed that should make things difficult for defensive backs. Three-s...

Man who died on trail had been on a trip to scatter father’s ashes in Sierra Nevada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

A man whose body was found in Utah’s Arches National Park had been on a trip to spread his father’s ashes in the Sierra Nevada near Reno, family members said Tuesday.James “Jimmy” Bernard Hendricks on March 2022, in Austin, Texas. (Ruth Hendricks Brough via AP) James Bernard “Jimmy” Hendricks, 66, of Austin, Texas, had been hiking in the park and likely became disoriented from a combination of heat, dehydration and high altitude, sisters Ila Hendricks and Ruth Hendricks Brough said.After he was reported overdue from a hike on Aug. 1, rangers at Arches found his vehicle at a trailhead parking lot. The same day, his body was found near the Sand Dune Arch Trail about 2½ miles from the trailhead.His sisters believe he went on a long hike on the morning of July 29 — the last day he was seen alive — then died during a second hike that day. Temperatures in the area topped 100 degrees on July 29.Brough said Hendricks was an experienced hiker, but his water bottle was empty....

Man fatally shot in Oakland; third homicide in seven-hour span

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

OAKLAND — A 40-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday night in the Koreatown Northgate district, authorities said.His name was not immediately released.The shooting happened about 9:07 p.m. Tuesday outside in the 500 block of 24th Street near Telegraph Avenue. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died about a half-hour later.A motive for the killing is under investigation.No arrests were announced.The killing is the 66th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year and was the third within city limits in seven hours Tuesday. East Bay Regional Park District police investigated a fatal shooting of a man about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline boat launch and 10 minutes later BART police investigated a fatal shooting of a man at a street level entrance to the Lake Merritt Station. An arrest was made in that killing.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Investigation underway into East Bay freeway shooting Crime and Pub...

‘It’s apocalyptic’: People jump into the ocean to flee Maui wildfires as patients overwhelm hospitals and 911 gets cut off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:18 GMT

By Holly Yan, Amanda Jackson, Jamiel Lynch and Chris Boyette | CNNThe wildfires raging out of control in Maui are so catastrophic, some residents are hurling themselves into the ocean to escape the flames.Even emergency crews might not be able to help as the infernos – fueled in part by Hurricane Dora churning some 800 miles away – have cut off 911 services and communications in Maui.“911 is down. Cell service is down. Phone service is down” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told CNN on Wednesday morning.“Our hospital system on Maui, they are overburdened with burn patients, people suffering from inhalation,” she said. “The reality is that we need to fly people out of Maui to give them burn support because Maui hospital cannot do extensive burn treatment.”The disaster also has wiped out power to about 14,000 homes and businesses in Maui, according to PowerOutage.us.Clint Hansen took drone video Tuesday night that showed wildfires spreading just north of Kihei.“Lahaina has been devastated,...