NATION & WORLD BRIEFS
Mega Millions jackpot rises to $977M after no winner Tuesday
The Mega Millions jackpot has reached $977 million for Friday night’s drawing after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn Tuesday night.
The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday were 24, 46, 49, 62 and 66, and the gold Mega Ball was 7. The estimated jackpot was $893 million with a cash prize of $421.4 million. The cash prize for Friday’s drawing is $461 million.
Four people won $1 million each in California, Texas, Virginia and Florida.
United Steelworkers endorse Biden, who opposes US Steel sale
Less than a week after President Joe Biden came out in opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Japanesebased Nippon Steel Corp., the company’s union has endorsed his 2024 reelection bid.
“With his track record of supporting working people, we’re eager for his administration’s continued progress on our core issues,” the union announced Wednesday in a post on X.
The United Steelworkers, which also backed Biden in 2020, represents 850,000 workers in steel mills, manufacturing plants, mines, rubber plants and railyards as well as nursing homes, legal clinics, social agencies, call centers and credit unions, among other sectors.
United Steelworkers has been a vocal opponent of the deal. The union filed a grievance against the steelmaker in January alleging the sale violated terms of its union contract.
The $14.9 billion sale, which would end U.S. ownership of the nation’s second-largest steelmaker, was announced in December and is under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
FBI returns looted Japanese art found in Massachusetts attic
Family members sorting through their late father’s Massachusetts attic last year were surprised to find a trove of Japanese cultural relics.
Checking the FBI’s National Stolen Art File, the family learned the pieces had been looted, the agency said in a news release.
Among the 22 artifacts the FBI returned to Japan last week were painted scrolls from the 18th and 19th centuries, a 19th-century hand-drawn map of Okinawa and various pieces of ceramics.
Irish PM says he’s quitting for personal, political reasons
LONDON – Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who made history as his country’s first gay and first biracial leader, announced Wednesday that he will step down within weeks once a successor is chosen
Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government. He’ll be replaced as prime minister in April after a party leadership contest.
He said his reasons were “both personal and political” and he had no firm future plans.