Mega Millions ticket in Mich. wins $1.05 billion More heads roll at U.S.-funded international broadcasters. Bomb explodes at church known for anti-LGBTQ views. Arizona GOP censures party leaders.
DETROIT» Someone in Michigan bought the winning ticket for the $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which is the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
The winning numbers for Friday night’s drawing were 4, 26, 42, 50 and 60, with a Mega Ball of 24. The winning ticket was purchased at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi, the Michigan Lottery said.
“Someone in Michigan woke up to life-changing news this morning, and Kroger Michigan congratulates the newest Michigan multimillionaire,” said Rachel Hurst, a regional spokeswoman for the grocery chain.
The Mega Millions top prize had been growing since Sept. 15, when a winning ticket was sold in Wisconsin.
The lottery’s next estimated jackpot is $20 million.
Friday night’s drawing came just two days after a ticket sold in Maryland matched all six numbers drawn and won a
$731.1 million Powerball jackpot.
The jackpot figures refer to amounts if a winner opts for an annuity, paid in 30 annual installments. Most winners choose a cash prize, which for the Mega Millions game would be $776.6 million before taxes and $557 million after taxes, Michigan Lottery spokesman Jake Harris said.
WASHINGTON» The leaders of three federally funded international broadcasters were fired abruptly late Friday as the Biden administration completed a house-cleaning of Donald
Trump appointees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Two officials familiar with the changes said the acting chief of the USAGM summarily dismissed the directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle
East Broadcasting Networks just a month after they had been named to the posts.
The changes came a day after the director of the Voice of America and his deputy were removed and the chief of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting stepped down. The firings follow the forced resignation of former President Donald Trump’s handpicked choice to lead USAGM only two hours after Joe Biden took office on Wednesday.
The FBI and local authorities are investigating a bomb attack Saturday morning at a church in Los Angeles County that recently had been the target of protests for its anti-LGBTQ views.
Police responded to reports of an explosion at the church, First Works Baptist Church, in El Monte, Calif., just after 1 a.m. Saturday. An “improvised explosive device” was found to be the source of the attack, said Chief David Reynoso of the Police Department in El Monte, which is about 13 miles west of Los Angeles. Officials did not elaborate on what they found.
No one was in the church at the time, and no injuries were reported. Authorities found obscenities and the words “get out” spray-painted on the front of the church, Reynoso said.
Arizona Republicans issued rebukes to three of the party’s most prominent figures Saturday, approving resolutions to censure Gov. Doug Ducey, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain, the widow of former Sen. John McCain.
Although largely symbolic, the political scolding during a meeting of the state GOP underscored a widening rift in Arizona between party officials who have made clear that their loyalty lies with former President Donald Trump and those in the party who refused to support him or his effort to overturn the election results in Arizona, which President Joe Biden won.
Flake and Cindy McCain endorsed Biden leading up to the November election. Although Ducey continually made it clear that he backed Trump, he drew ire from some Republicans by defending the state’s election process.