Zelenskyy Calls for Bolstering Ukraine’s Air Defenses After Kharkiv Attack
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The United States is in dire need of construction workers, a builders’ industry group says. Nonprofits argue that the newly arrived migrants that have overwhelmed some U.S. cities in recent months could help. But not everyone agrees. Joti Rekhi reports from New York City. …
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washington — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that Chinese subsidies for clean energy industries create unfair competition that “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.” Yellen said that during a visit she has scheduled to China, she intends to warn China its national underwriting for energy and other companies is creating oversupply and market distortion, among other problems. “I intend to talk to the Chinese when I visit about overcapacity in some of these industries, and make sure that they understand the undesirable impact that this is having — flooding the market with cheap goods — on the United States, but also in many of our closest allies,” Yellen said in a speech in Norcross, Georgia. Yellen said she believes those subsidies will enable China to flood the markets for solar panels, electric vehicle parts and lithium-ion batteries, thus distorting production in other economies and global prices. “I will convey my belief that excess capacity poses risks not only to American workers and firms and to the global economy, but also productivity and growth in the Chinese economy, as China itself acknowledged in its National People’s Congress this month,” Yellen said. “And I will press my Chinese counterparts to take necessary steps to address this issue.” Yellen is set for meetings in China in April, according to Politico. The Treasury has not yet confirmed her itinerary. The secretary visited Georgia to see a newly reopened solar cell manufacturing plant, which according to the Treasury closed in 2017 because of competition from factories in China. It is reopening now, though, after tax credits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act fueled increased anticipated demand for solar panels. On Tuesday, China filed a complaint against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization, arguing the U.S.’s requirements for electric vehicle subsidies are discriminatory. Chinese officials did not comment on what prompted the decision. Yellen said she hopes to have a “constructive” dialogue with Chinese officials about subsidies and oversupply issues. She said outreach to businesspeople and governments around the world had prompted her to issue this warning. “These are concerns that I increasingly hear from government counterparts in industrialized countries and emerging markets, as well as from the business community globally,” Yellen said. Some information for this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press. …
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moscow — The death toll from last week’s Moscow concert hall attack rose to 143, Russian authorities said Wednesday. About 80 other people wounded in the siege by gunmen remain hospitalized. The Friday night massacre in Crocus City Hall, a sprawling shopping and entertainment venue on the northwestern outskirts of Moscow, was the deadliest extremist attack on Russian soil in nearly two decades. At least four gunmen toting automatic rifles shot at thousands of concertgoers and set the venue on fire. An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the violence, while U.S. intelligence said it had information confirming the group was responsible. French President Emmanuel Macron said France also has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack. The updated fatalities from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry didn’t state the number of wounded, but Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said earlier Wednesday that 80 people were in hospitals and another 205 had sought medical treatment from the attack. Russia’s Federal Security Service, or the FSB, said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen. The four men, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing. Russian officials, however, have insisted that Ukraine and the West had a role, which Kyiv vehemently denies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of trying to drum up fervor as his forces fight in Ukraine. FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov also has alleged, without providing evidence, that Western spy agencies could have been involved. He repeated Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were trying to escape to Ukraine when they were arrested, casting it as proof of Kyiv’s alleged involvement. But that assertion was undercut by Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who said Tuesday that the suspects were headed for Ukraine because they feared tight controls on the Belarus border. The Islamic State group, which lost much of its territory following Russia’s military action in Syria after 2015, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian jetliner over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 people aboard, most of them Russian vacationers returning from Egypt. The group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, also has claimed several attacks in Russia’s … “Death Toll in Moscow Concert Hall Attack Rises to 143; 80 Others Still Hospitalized “ →
Muslims, Jews and Christians gathered for a dinner marking the end of the daily fast for Muslims during Ramadan; the Fast of Esther for Jews; and the New Year (Nowruz), for those who celebrate it. VOA’s Nilofar Mughal reports from Potomac, Md. Narration: Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Nilofar Mughal. …
NEW YORK — Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order ahead of his April 15 hush-money criminal trial, suggesting without evidence that the veteran jurist was kowtowing to his daughter’s interests as a Democratic political consultant. The former president objected in particular to what he said was her specious social media photo showing him behind bars. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, posted on social media that the gag order issued Tuesday was “illegal, un-American, unConstitutional.” He said Judge Juan M. Merchan was “wrongfully attempting to deprive me of my First Amendment Right to speak out against the Weaponization of Law Enforcement” by Democratic rivals and urged him to step aside from the case. The gag order, which was requested by the prosecution, bars Trump from either making or directing other people to make public statements on his behalf about jurors and potential witnesses in the hush-money trial, such as his lawyer-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen and porn star Stormy Daniels. It also prohibits any statements meant to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team or their families. It does not bar comments about Merchan or his family, nor does it prohibit criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the elected Democrat whose office is prosecuting Trump. Merchan’s daughter, whose firm has worked on campaigns for President Joe Biden and other Democrats, “makes money by working to ‘Get Trump’” and recently posted a fake photo on social media depicting her “obvious goal” of seeing him behind bars, Trump said. He argued those circumstances make it “completely impossible for me to get a fair trial.” Trump did not link to the purported photo, but an account appearing to belong to Loren Merchan on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed a photo illustration of an imprisoned Trump as its profile picture Wednesday morning. It was later changed. Loren Merchan’s consulting firm had linked to that same account in a previous social media post. “So, let me get this straight,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Judge’s daughter is allowed to post pictures of her ‘dream’ of putting me in jail … but I am not allowed to talk about the attacks against me, and the Lunatics trying to destroy my life and prevent me from winning the 2024 Presidential Election, which I am dominating? “Maybe the Judge is such a hater because his daughter … “Trump Blasts Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order” →
washington — Ukraine was the focus of a high-level delegation from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in Washington this week. In an interview with VOA Georgian Service’s Eka Maghaldadze, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said there should be no Plan B when it comes to Ukraine, because its failure would mean the failure of democracy. The following has been edited for length and clarity. VOA: You visited Washington this week, together with your colleagues from Latvia and Lithuania, to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and the threats for European security with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Why? Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna: Talking about Ukraine is very important. It’s the main topic. … NATO is the only working security guarantee for Ukraine and for the whole region. We discussed how we can move forward with supporting Ukraine, and [how] we can also use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv. Estonia increased our defense spendings up to 3.2% of our GDP. We increased taxes, but the society is supportive, knowing what’s at stake. The war can come to our territories as well. VOA: The U.S. approved $228 million in military and defense aid to the Baltic States. What concerns did you share with Secretary Blinken, and what assurances did you get from the Biden administration? Tsahkna: A big portion of the money from U.S. aid is coming back to U.S. industries and economy, because we buy from the U.S. … Europe is doing its share, increasing defense spending, but we can’t carry alone the burden of European security. U.S. leadership is crucial for us. It’s a matter of image, as well. I really do hope that the aid package for Ukraine will pass in Congress soon. VOA: With U.S. aid on hold and widespread concern among Ukraine’s supporters that the U.S. and the West are not giving Kyiv what it needs to win, what signal does it send to Moscow? Do you think there is a political will and readiness for Ukraine’s victory? Tsahkna: Ukrainians are fighting because this is an existential fight. Because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin doesn’t want to have peace right now. He wants to destroy all the nation as a country. This is something crucial. We must understand that any idea or initiative [for peace talks] without Ukraine will be a trap. Putin needs this kind of initiative just to show that he’s strong and we are weak. This … “Estonian Foreign Minister: ‘If Ukraine Fails, We All Fail’” →
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Protesters in Slovakia formed a human chain around the country’s public television and radio building Wednesday in anger over a takeover plan by the government whose populist, pro-Russia prime minister recently labeled several private media outlets his enemies. The takeover plan was drafted by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, who represents an ultra-nationalist member party of the coalition government and has worked for an internet television outlet known for spreading disinformation. The plan has been condemned by President Zuzana Caputova, opposition parties, local journalists, international media organizations, the European Commission and others who warn that the government would be taking full control of public broadcasting. Slovak journalists have called the plan an attack on all free media. Wednesday’s was the latest protest against the policies of Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his tirades against journalists. His critics worry Slovakia under him will abandon its pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Simkovicova has said taking over public media is needed because she believes the current broadcaster is biased, giving space only to mainstream views and censoring the rest. The broadcaster has denied that. According to her plan, the current public radio and television known as RTVS would be replaced by a new organization. A new seven-member council with members nominated by the government and parliament would select the broadcaster’s director and have the right to fire the director without giving cause. The current broadcaster’s director was elected by parliament, and his term in office will end in 2027. The hundreds of protesters unveiled a banner reading “HANDS OFF RTVS!” and chanted to local journalists, “We’re by your side.” Thousands of people rallied in a similar protest earlier this month. Fico returned to power for the fourth time last year after his leftist party Smer, or Direction, won the parliamentary election on a pro-Russian, anti-American platform. …
Washington — Russian media and analysts are reporting a spike in hate crimes and violence against migrants from Central Asia following last week’s terror attack on a Moscow concert hall, which has led to the arrests of seven people of Tajik origin. Responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 139 people and injured nearly 200, has been claimed by the Islamic State terror group’s Afghan affiliate, known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, which includes a number of Central Asians in prominent roles. “A market owned by Tajiks in Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, was torched. Unknown persons beat three Tajik migrants in Kaluga,” said Edward Lemon, president of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs in Washington. “Tajiks have reported being evicted without reason. Screenshots have circulated on social media showing taxi riders on apps like Yandex refusing to ride with Tajik drivers. Law enforcement have launched raids across the country to find and detain illegal immigrants,” Lemon added. “Viral videos are circulating on social media calling for Tajiks to be deported, claiming they are all ‘terrorists’ and calling for the death penalty to be reintroduced.” Tajiks are not the only victims of the backlash, according to Russian media reports and activists. In Yekaterinburg, security officials have reportedly threatened to fine businesses that refuse to list any Central Asians working for them. Kyrgyzstan has warned its citizens to avoid travel to Russia, while Uzbekistan’s External Labor Migration Agency issued a travel advisory outlining security precautions. While publicly seeking to lay blame for the attack on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has behind the scenes been in talks with his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, to discuss ways to strengthen counter-terrorism measures. Lemon said that one possible outcome could be the extradition of some Tajik citizens to Russia. “From the Tajik side, my sources say that the government is already hoping to link the attacks to the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan in a bid to crack down on its actual and alleged supporters,” Lemon told VOA. “Rahmon will seek to ensure that we don’t see mass violence against Tajik migrants in Russia or deportations that could destabilize his regime,” he said. “Putin needs to tread a tightrope as the Russian economy needs migrants.” Other analysts see Central Asian migrants, who already face a difficult life in Russia despite the vital role they play in the economy, as convenient targets for the public’s … “Central Asians in Russia Face Backlash After IS-K Terror Attack” →
AZACUALPA, Honduras — The construction workers who went missing in the Baltimore bridge collapse all hailed from Mexico or Central America before they settled in the Maryland area. Police managed to close bridge traffic seconds before a cargo ship slammed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s supports early Tuesday, causing the span to fall into the frigid Patapsco River. There wasn’t time for a maintenance crew filling potholes on the span to get to safety. At least eight people fell into the water and two were rescued. The other six are missing and presumed dead, but the search continued Wednesday. The governments of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras confirmed that their citizens were among the missing. Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 38, was the youngest of eight siblings from Azacualpa, a rural mountainous area in northwestern Honduras along the border with Guatemala. Eighteen years ago, he set out on his own for the United States looking for opportunities. He had worked as an industrial technician in Honduras, repairing equipment in the large assembly plants, but the pay was too low to get ahead, one of his brothers, Martín Suazo Sandoval, said Wednesday while standing in the dirt street in front of the family’s small hotel in Honduras. “He always dreamed of having his own business,” he said. Maynor entered the United States illegally and settled in Maryland. At first, he did any work he could find, including construction and clearing brush. Eventually, he started a package delivery business in the Baltimore-Washington area, his brother said. Other siblings and relatives followed him north. “He was the fundamental pillar, the bastion so that other members of the family could also travel there and later get visas and everything,” Martín Suazo Sandoval said. “He was really the driving force so that most of the family could travel.” Maynor has a wife and two children, ages 17 and 5, his brother said. The pandemic forced Maynor to find other work, and he joined Brawner Builders, the company that was performing maintenance on the bridge when it collapsed. His brother said Maynor never talked about being scared of the work, despite the heights he worked at on the bridges. “He always told us that you had to triple your effort to get ahead,” Martín Suazo Sandoval said. “He said it didn’t matter what time or where the job was, you had to be where … “Central American, Mexican Families Mourn Missing Bridge Workers” →
WASHINGTON — In December 1900, John Wesley Powell received “the most unusual Christmas present of any person in the United States, if not in the world,” reported the Chicago Tribune. The gift for this first director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology was a sealskin sack containing the mummified remains of an Alaska Native. The sender was a government employee hired to hunt Indian “relics,” who said the remains had been difficult to acquire because “to come into the possession of a dead Indian is a great crime among the Indians.” The report concluded that it was the only “Indian relic” of this kind at the Smithsonian and it was “beyond money value.” As it turned out, it was not the museum’s only Alaskan mummy. In 1865, even before the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia, Smithsonian naturalist William H. Dall was hired to accompany an expedition to study the potential for a telegraph route through Siberia to Europe. In his spare time, he looted graves in the Yukon and caves on several Aleutian Islands. After the U.S. sealed the deal with Russia, the San Francisco-based Alaska Commercial Company won exclusive trading rights and established more than 90 trading posts in Alaska to meet the U.S. demand for ivory and furs. It also instructed agents “to collect and preserve objects of interest in ethnology and natural history” and forward them to the Smithsonian. Ernest Henig looted 12 preserved bodies and a skull from a cave in the Aleutians in 1874. He donated two to California’s Academy of Science and sent the remainder to the Smithsonian. More than 30 years after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act meant to return those remains, a ProPublica investigation last year estimated that more than 110,000 Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native ancestors remain in public collections across the U.S. It is not known how many Indigenous remains are closeted in private or overseas collections. “Museums collected massive numbers, perhaps even millions,” said anthropologist John Stephen “Chip” Colwell, who previously served as curator of anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. “Out of the 100 remains we [at the Denver museum] returned, I think only about five or seven individuals were actually even studied.” So, what sparked this 19th-century frenzy for collecting human remains? Reconciling science, religion From the moment they first encountered Indigenous Americans, European thinkers struggled … “Racism, ‘Morbid Curiosity’ Drove US Museums to Collect Indigenous Remains” →
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MADRID — A prosecutor at Spain’s High Court is seeking a prison sentence of 2-1/2 years for former soccer federation chief Luis Rubiales over his unsolicited kiss on player Jenni Hermoso, a court document seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed. Prosecutor Marta Durantez charged Rubiales with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion for his alleged actions in the aftermath of the kiss, offenses carrying jail terms of one year and one-and-a-half years, respectively. Rubiales, 46, unleashed a furor when he grabbed Hermoso and kissed her on the lips on Aug. 20 of last year during the awards ceremony after Spain’s victory in the women’s World Cup in Sydney. Hermoso and her teammates said the kiss was unwanted and demeaning, but Rubiales argued it was consensual and denied any wrongdoing. The prosecutor also accused the former coach of the women’s national team, Jorge Vilda, the team’s current sporting director, Albert Luque, and the federation’s head of marketing, Ruben Rivera, of coercing Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual. All three have denied wrongdoing when they appeared before the court. Durantez seeks to have Rubiales pay $54,080 in damages to Hermoso, and another $54,080 jointly paid by Rubiales, Vilda, Luque and Rivera. If the court were to convict Rubiales and impose the sentencing sought by the prosecutor he would not necessarily have to go to prison. Spain’s criminal code allows judges to “exceptionally” suspend the execution of the sentence if – as in this case – none of the sentences imposed individually exceeds two years. …
When Russia imposed harsh laws on reporters covering its invasion of Ukraine, dozens fled. But physical distance doesn’t always keep exiled journalists safe. Steve Baragona narrates this story by Liam Scott in Berlin. (Camera and Produced by: Jonathan Spier ) …
NEW ORLEANS — A Texas law that allows the state to arrest and deport migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. will remain on hold for now, a federal appeals court ruled. The 2-1 ruling late Tuesday from a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed a March 20 hearing by a three-judge panel of the court. It’s just the latest move in a seesaw legal case over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s strict new immigration law that is not yet ended. The Justice Department has argued that Texas’ law is a clear violation of federal authority and would create chaos at the border. Texas has argued that President Joe Biden’s administration isn’t doing enough to control the border and that the state has a right to take action. Judge Andrew Oldham, an appointee of former President Donald Trump and a former aide to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, dissented with the majority decision. Oldham wrote that the Biden administration faced a high bar to take sovereign power that Texas has to enforce a law its people and leaders want. The judge predicted the same 2-1 split when the merits of the case are considered while the legal challenge plays out. “There is real peril in this approach. In our federal system, the State of Texas is supposed to retain at least some of its sovereignty,” Oldham wrote. “Its people are supposed to be able to use that sovereignty to elect representatives and send them to Austin to debate and enact laws that respond to the exigencies that Texans experience and that Texans want addressed.” The law was in effect for several hours on March 19 after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way. But the high court didn’t rule on the merits of the case. It instead sent the case back to the 5th Circuit, which then suspended enforcement while it considered the latest appeal. The latest ruling keeps the block in place. Spokespersons for Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately return phone calls for comment Wednesday morning. The law signed by Abbott allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally, but that brief window while the law was in effect revealed that many sheriffs were unprepared, unable or uninterested in enforcing SB4 in the first place. Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland of Terrell County, which touches more than … “Texas’ Migrant Arrest Law on Hold for Now Under Latest Court Ruling “ →
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — A Nevada judge tentatively set an August 5 trial date for a former Las Vegas-area elected official accused of killing an investigative journalist. But she acknowledged that more time might be needed to finish searching the slain reporter’s computers for possible evidence. Robert Telles, a former Democratic county administrator of estates, has pleaded not guilty to stabbing Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German to death in September 2022. Telles, 47, has remained jailed since his arrest days after German’s body was found. Telles and his lawyer, Robert Draskovich, say he wants his murder trial to start as soon as possible. Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt decided two weeks ago that a March 18 date was unrealistic. She agreed with prosecutors on Tuesday that August might also be too soon, but she said it was important to have a date to work toward. Progress in the case stalled while arguments went to the state Supreme Court about opening German’s cellphone and computers, possibly exposing confidential information that is protected from disclosure under state and federal law. Review-Journal employees are now reviewing those files, and attorneys say it might take months to finish. German, 69, was found stabbed outside his home months after he wrote articles in 2022 that were critical of Telles and his managerial conduct while he was in elected office. …
Berlin — At least five people were killed Wednesday when a bus headed from Berlin to Switzerland came off a highway in eastern Germany and ended up on its side, authorities said. The accident happened on the A9 highway near Leipzig at about 9:45 a.m. and the road was closed in both directions. It wasn’t immediately clear why the bus, which was operated by Flixbus and en route from Berlin to Zurich, came off the road. Rescue helicopters and ambulances were at the scene. Police spokesman Olaf Hoppe told n-tv television that there were “numerous injured and at least five dead.” Flixbus said there were 53 passengers and two drivers on board, German news agency dpa reported. The company said it was working closely with local authorities and rescue services and would do everything to clear up the cause of the accident quickly. The A9 is a major north-south route that links Berlin with Munich. The scene of the accident was just north of a highway interchange at Schkeuditz, next to the Leipzig/Halle airport. …
WROCLAW, Poland — Ukraine’s qualification for the Euro 2024 soccer finals has cheered a country suffering hardship in its conflict with Russia and for a few weeks in June and July the tournament will provide a welcome distraction from the harsh reality of war. The team came from behind to defeat Iceland 2-1 in their playoff final in neutral Poland Tuesday and book a fourth successive appearance in the continental finals. They will be in Group E with Belgium, Slovakia and Romania, who they face in their opening game in Munich on June 17. Russia’s war with Ukraine has now entered a third year and, despite heavy casualties on both sides, it shows no sign of coming to an end following Russia’s invasion of February 2022. “I am very proud to be a Ukrainian, to be of the same blood as those who are now giving their lives for our freedom,” team captain Oleksandr Zinchenko said after Tuesday’s victory. “We need to talk about it, shout about it every day. This is the only way we can win. It was one of our most emotional games. “It is an amazing feeling. I am very happy because it is another dream come true. A big thank you to our fans, they helped us through these difficult times amazingly.” Coach Serhiy Rebrov said in the build-up to the Iceland match that it was hard for his team to concentrate on football. “The missiles are flying every day. Our mission is to show that we’re all alive and fighting against the Russians and that we need Europe’s support,” Rebrov said. He added that his players were “watching the news about the shelling of Odessa and Kyiv (and made) even more angry and eager to show our potential on the football field.” The coach hailed the “character of our players and our nation” to keep going in a qualifying campaign where, as refugees from the war themselves, Ukraine have staged ‘home’ matches spread across Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the team’s resilience in difficult times. “Thank you, team. For the important victory and making it to EURO,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X. “For proving once again, whenever Ukrainians face difficulties they do not give up and continue to fight, Ukrainians certainly win. “In times, when the enemy tries to destroy us, we demonstrate every day that Ukrainians are and will be. Ukraine … “Ukraine Raises Country’s Spirits with Euro 2024 Qualification” →
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could significantly restrict access to the drug mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. Deana Mitchell has our story. …
DES MOINES, Iowa — Someone in New Jersey overcame the odds Tuesday night and won the $1.12 billion Mega Millions jackpot, breaking a winless streak that dated to last December. The numbers drawn were: 7, 11, 22, 29, 38 and 4. The winning ticket was sold in New Jersey, according the the Mega Millions website. Until the latest drawing, no one had matched all six numbers and won the Mega Millions jackpot since Dec. 8. That amounted to 30 straight drawings without a big winner. It’s tough to win the Mega Millions jackpot because the odds are so long, at 1 in 302.6 million. The prize is the eighth largest in U.S. lottery history. The $1.12 billion jackpot is for a winner who is paid through an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments. Most winners choose a cash payout, which would be $537.5 million. The next big U.S. lottery drawing will be Wednesday night for an estimated $865 million Powerball jackpot. No one has won that prize since New Year’s Day, making for 36 drawings without a winner. Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is played in those states as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. …
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