Scott

Now it's at a $ 1 Billion: All your pressing Mega Millions questions, answered The Mega Millions lottery is a draw for many who want just that — a chance at winning millions of dollars — but especially when the jackpot balloons to astronomical amounts. As the amount grows, so does the hype, with many rushing to local convenience stores to join in on the gamble. But if you've never played Mega Millions or even another lottery game, you might not know where to start — or if you even want to play. Here are some things you might want to know before you decide. The next drawing is Friday at 11 p.m. ET, and folks, this is one of the big ones. The Mega Millions jackpot is at $1.025 billion. It's the third largest jackpot in Mega Millions history and only the third time for the jackpot to be above $1 billion. https://www.npr.org/2022/07/27/1113907119/mega-millions-lotto-1-billion

Washington (CNN) After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held by Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to people briefed on the matter. These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden's support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades. "We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians," a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/griner-whelan-biden-offer-viktor-bout-exchange-russia-arms-dealer/index.html

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Having fallen afoul of a stalker long ago, I can attest that it can be quite unsettling. Years ago, during the big flood that had large swaths of BKK and much of Thailand under water, there were a lot of inquiries about what roads were open or passable. I lived on a main road heading out to some of the factories. It was flooded but since it was an important road, there were a lot of inquiries about how far you could get and ways around it. In the process, I was starting to identify where I lived. I realized this and decided to answer as if I were on the other side of the road. This turned out to fortuitous because I received a very nasty, threatening DM from someone. He said he knew who I was and where I lived. After a short back-and-forth, I said go ahead and come by. Had he followed the directions, he would have ended up at the house of a rather high ranking military officer (which was guarded). The point is, it is best to be cautious on social media. There are lot of unstable people and most are probably just keyboard warriors but one never knows for sure. For people who might be facing a troubling personal problem, I suspect it could be quite unsettling.

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Russia says it will quit the International Space Station after 2024 CNN)Russia says it is planning to pull out of the International Space Station and end its decades-long partnership with NASA at the orbiting outpost, according to the newly appointed head of Russia's space agency. Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov told Russian President Vladimir Putin that "the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made." "You know that we are working within the framework of international cooperation at the International Space Station. Undoubtedly, we will fulfil all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made," Borisov told Putin in the Kremlin-issued readout. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/world/russia-quit-iss-scn/index.html

And that tax bill would be $117,086,000 or 24% in Federal Taxes. After that there are state taxes.

Mega Millions jackpot hits $830M. Here’s how much taxes you’d pay. The Mega Millions $830 million jackpot for Tuesday's big lottery drawing is massive, but so is the potential tax bill if someone hits all the winning numbers. So how much money could a Mega Millions ticket that overcomes the long odds actually take home? Nearly all lottery winners over the years have opted for the cash option and receive the money in one lump sum rather than the annuity, which is always the advertised jackpot. https://www.nj.com/lottery/2022/07/mega-millions-jackpot-hits-830m-heres-how-much-taxes-youd-pay.html

Sandy Hook defamation jury told of Alex Jones’s ‘massive campaign of lies’ Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones repeatedly “lied and attacked the parents of murdered children” when he told his Infowars audience that the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was a hoax, an attorney for one of the victim’s parents told a Texas jury on Tuesday at the outset of a trial to determine how much Jones must pay for defaming them. Jones created a “massive campaign of lies” and recruited “wild extremists from the fringes of the internet … who were as cruel as Mr Jones wanted them to be” to the families of the 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed in the 2012 attack on the school in Newtown, Connecticut, attorney Mark Bankston said during his opening statement as Jones looked on and occasionally shook his head. Jones tapped into the explosive popularity of Sandy Hook conspiracy stories that became an “obsession” for the website, even years after the shooting, said Bankston, who played video clips of Jones claiming on his program that the shooting was a hoax and “the whole thing was completely fake”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/26/alex-jones-defamation-trial-sandy-hook-shooting

Alps' Glaciers Vanishing At Record Rate Following Early Summer Heatwaves Most of the world's mountain glaciers - remnants of the last ice age - are retreating due to climate change Switzerland: From the way 45-year-old Swiss glaciologist Andreas Linsbauer bounds over icy crevasses, you would never guess he was carrying 10 kg of steel equipment needed to chart the decline of Switzerland's glaciers. Normally, he heads down this path on the massive Morteratsch Glacier in late September, the end of the summer melt season in the Alps. But exceptionally high ice loss this year has brought him to this 15-square-kilometer (5.8-square-mile) amphitheatre of ice two months early for emergency maintenance work The measuring poles he uses to track changes in the depth of the pack are at risk of dislodging entirely as the ice melts away and he needs to drill new holes. https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/exclusive-glaciers-vanishing-at-record-rate-in-alps-following-heatwaves-3193946

Thousands of US cattle buried, dumped at Kansas landfill CHICAGO – After a June heatwave killed thousands of cows, top US cattle feeding companies sent 1,000-pound carcasses to a Kansas landfill, where they were flattened by loader machines and mixed with trash, according to documents obtained by Reuters. According to a feeding company, other cattle were buried in unlined graves. Neither is a common method of body disposal. However, due to the unusual heat and humidity, so many cows died that facilities that normally convert carcasses into pet food and fertiliser products were overwhelmed, prompting the state government and cattle feeders to take emergency measures. https://www.bolnews.com/world/2022/07/thousands-of-us-cattle-buried-dumped-at-kansas-landfill/ http://www.journalismpakistan.com/news/pemra-receives-complaint-against-bol-news.jpg

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Woman shot by police after firing handgun inside Dallas Love Field Airport A 37-year-old woman was shot by police after allegedly firing a handgun inside Dallas Love Field Airport Monday morning, police said. The shooting took place near a ticket counter and the woman was apparently aiming her gun at the ceiling when she fired, authorities said. Police said the woman, identified as Portia Odufuwa, was dropped off at the airport, changed her clothes inside a bathroom and then opened fire around 11 a.m. https://abcnews.go.com/US/active-shooter-reported-dallas-love-field-airport/story?id=87009563

Outside of Texas, which at one time an independent country after it won independence from Mexico, I don't think any other state has ever really considered it. I don't think the idea of leaving the Union is really much a part of the American psyche.

The Civil War was, in part, fought over the right of states to secede from the Union. The states that wanted to secede lost. So, no they cannot secede from the Union.

Did I miss something? Lindsey Graham isn't married.

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Eruption of Japan's Sakurajima volcano prompts evacuation orders for nearby residents Volcano Sakurajima stands in Japan's southern prefecture of Kagoshima, March 8, 2022. An eruption of the Sakurajima volcano in Japan has raised emergency alerts of their highest levels and prompted evacuations for residents nearby. The volcano, located in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on the western island of Kyushu, erupted at 8:05 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to Japan's Meteorological Agency. The emergency alert in the region has been raised to level 5, the highest, and evacuations were ordered for residents living within a 2-mile range of the crater, including parts of Arimura-cho, Furusato-cho and Kagoshima City, where about 600,000 people live. https://abcnews.go.com/International/eruption-japans-sakurajima-volcano-prompts-evacuation-orders-nearby/story?id=87328030

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Exclusive: Hyundai subsidiary has used child labor at Alabama factory LUVERNE, Alabama, July 22 (Reuters) - A subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co has used child labor at a plant that supplies parts for the Korean carmaker's assembly line in nearby Montgomery, Alabama, according to area police, the family of three underage workers, and eight former and current employees of the factory. Underage workers, in some cases as young as 12, have recently worked at a metal stamping plant operated by SMART Alabama LLC, these people said. SMART, listed by Hyundai in corporate filings as a majority-owned unit, supplies parts for some of the most popular cars and SUVs built by the automaker in Montgomery, its flagship U.S. assembly plant. In a statement sent after Reuters first published its findings on Friday, Hyundai (005380.KS) said it "does not tolerate illegal employment practices at any Hyundai entity. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-hyundai-subsidiary-has-used-child-labor-alabama-factory-2022-07-22/

I have, in the past, worked with refugee processing both for the UN and for programs with the Department of State. I am less knowledgeable about deportation but I do know in the US it gets a little complicated because of human factors. Many of the people who are in the US illegally, arrived legally. They then overstayed. In some cases for a very long time and in a few cases, unknowingly. One example was an now elderly Canadian who arrived in the US as a very small child with his family. His parents and siblings became US Citizens and somewhere along the line he thought he became a citizen. He did not. He lived his entire life in the US but was up for deportation when 70 years later it was determined he was here illegally. A little late in the game to deport someone who now has only links to family in the US and none in Canada. Many of the illegals get married, have children and establish themselves here. Deporting them often means leaving children without a parent and in many cases that is a single parent. Even if it isn't it may deprive the family of the primary breadwinner. For those that think they can deport the entire family, that is not always the case. Not all countries grant citizenship to someone born on foreign soil, at least not without some lengthy processes. It is also illegal to actually deport a citizen. There are multiple variations on the human situation. Sometimes it is an illegal who is the sole and primary caretaker for a related US citizen. It also needs to be noted that deportations occur with the permission of the receiving country. If they do not want the person back or dispute the citizenship, they can't be returned. With some countries the US does not have relationships and deportation isn't an option. It's relatively easy to deport, single, unattached illegals with no ties to the US, but it needs to be done quickly before they are well established.

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Pope Francis visiting Canada to apologize for Indigenous abuse in Catholic residential schools By Rob Picheta, Livia Borghese and Cecilia Armstrong, CNN Pope Francis will meet with Indigenous leaders during the trip. (CNN)Pope Francis departed Rome on Sunday for a week-long trip to Edmonton, Canada, where he's set to apologize for the Catholic Church's role in the abuse of Canadian Indigenous children in residential schools. The Vatican has called the trip a "penitential pilgrimage," and the Pope will be welcomed in Edmonton on Sunday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mary Simon, the Governor General of Canada. While in the country he will meet with Indigenous groups and address the scandal of abuse and erasure of indigenous culture in the country's residential schools. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/24/americas/pope-francis-canada-visit-intl/index.html

More than 90 million in the US will endure alarmingly high temperatures Sunday as heat wave persists from mid-South to Northeast (CNN)The deadly heat wave scorching much of the US will continue Sunday, when the Northeast and mid-South regions are likely to be suffocated by temperatures feeling as hot as 105 degrees. More than 90 million people across the country are under various heat alerts for dangerously high temperatures. Sunday is expected to bring the hottest temperatures to the Northeast. "From the southern Plains into the East, it will feel extremely oppressive, especially in the major metro areas of Washington D.C. to New York City and Boston," the National Weather Service warned. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/24/weather/us-extreme-heat-sunday/index.html

Wildfire near Yosemite National Park explodes in size, forces thousands of evacuations A fast-moving brush fire near Yosemite National Park has exploded in size into one of California's largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people and shutting off power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses. The Oak Fire started Friday afternoon southwest of the park near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County, and by Sunday morning had grown to 14,281 acres with no containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It erupted as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite park. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oak-fire-yosemite-national-park-california-evacuation-orders/