No Mega Millions winner Tuesday, next jackpot now $1.35 billion

 Mega Millions players will have another shot at winning one of the largest prizes in the game's history after no winner was announced Tuesday night. The winning numbers in Tuesday's drawing were 7, 13, 14, 15 and 18, and the gold Mega Ball number was 9.

The jackpot for Friday night has now climbed to an estimated $1.35 billion, with no winner since Oct. 14. The cash option would be $707.9 million.

While Tuesday's jackpot was the third-largest prize in Mega Millions history, it was the fifth-largest in U.S. lottery history. The largest prize in lottery history came in November 2022, when a single Powerball winner took home $2.04 billion.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.

The lucky winner can opt for either an annuity or the cash option.

The Mega Millions annuity is paid out as one immediate payment, followed by 29 yearly payments with each payment growing by 5%.

"This helps protect winners' lifestyle and purchasing power in periods of inflation," according to the Mega Millions website.

Or, the winner can opt for the cash option: a one-time, lump-sum payment of the cash in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.

House Oversight Committee investigating classified documents found at Biden's office

 Court records show that the government engaged in a lengthy dispute with Trump in order to retrieve the classified and sensitive records he took with him, with FBI agents ultimately searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in August. He denies wrongdoing.

Comer told CNN in November that it "will not be a priority" for the Oversight Committee to look at Trump's handling of documents in that case.

Court records show that the government engaged in a lengthy dispute with Trump in order to retrieve the classified and sensitive records he took with him, with FBI agents ultimately searching Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in August. He denies wrongdoing.

Comer told CNN in November that it "will not be a priority" for the Oversight Committee to look at Trump's handling of documents in that case.

Writing to Wall at NARA on Tuesday, Comer took issue with the delay in learning about the documents found at Biden's office, suggesting it "raises questions about political bias at the agency."

ABC News and other outlets reported on Monday that the DOJ has launched a preliminary review of the matter -- some two months after Biden's attorneys say they first discovered the records at his personal office and notified NARA.

Comer requested that his committee staff be able to interview the NARA general counsel, Gary Stern, and its director of congressional affairs, John Hamilton, by Jan. 17.

"The White House is cooperating with the National Archives and the Department of Justice regarding the discovery of what appear to be Obama-Biden Administration records, including a small number of documents with classified markings," Richard Sauber, a special counsel to Biden, said in a statement on Monday.

Sauber said the documents were found on Nov. 2 and NARA was notified by the White House on the same day, then took possession of them on Nov. 3.

Sauber said the documents were found by Biden's personal attorneys while they were "packing files housed in a locked closet to prepare to vacate office space" at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Biden Center in Washington. "The documents were not the subject of any previous request or inquiry by the Archives," Sauber said.

Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer speaks to reporters on his way to a closed-door GOP caucus meeting at the Capitol, Jan. 10, 2023.

Controversial Catholic cleric Pell dies aged 81

 Cardinal George Pell, whose conviction on child abuse charges shocked the Catholic Church before being quashed, has died at 81.

Cardinal George Pell was Australia's highest ranking Catholic cleric

Cardinal Pell, who always maintained his innocence, spent 13 months in prison before the High Court of Australia quashed the verdict in 2020.

The former Vatican treasurer is Australia's highest ranking Catholic cleric, and the most senior Church figure ever jailed for such offences.

He died of heart complications after hip surgery, Church officials say.

Cardinal Pell served as Archbishop of both Melbourne and Sydney before becoming one of the Pope's top aides.

He was summoned to Rome in 2014 to clean up the Vatican's finances, and was often described as the Church's third-ranked official.

But the cleric left his post in 2017, returning to Australia to face trial on child sex abuse charges.

A jury in 2018 found he had abused two boys while Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s.

However a civil lawsuit - launched by the father of a choirboy that prosecutors alleged Cardinal Pell abused - is still under way.

Meanwhile a landmark inquiry found that he knew of child sexual abuse by priests in Australia as early as the 1970s but failed to take action.

The Child Abuse Royal Commission ran for several years, interviewing thousands of people, and its findings were released in 2020. Cardinal Pell denied the allegation, insisting it was "not supported by evidence".

Cardinal George Pell sued by father of choirboy

Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli paid tribute to Cardinal Pell as "a very significant and influential Church leader" while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his death would be a "shock to many".

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott - a Catholic - praised the cleric as a "saint for our times" and "an inspiration for the ages", saying the charges he'd faced were "a modern form of crucifixion".

He rose to prominence in the Church as a strong supporter of traditional Catholic values, often taking conservative views and advocating for priestly celibacy.

Speaking to the BBC in 2020, Cardinal Pell said there was "no doubt" that his "direct" style and traditional approach to issues such as abortion had driven parts of the public against him.

But Steve Dimopoulos - a government minister in Cardinal Pell's home state of Victoria - was among those who voiced mixed feelings.

"Today would be a very difficult day for the cardinal's family and loved ones, but also very difficult for survivors and victims of child sexual abuse and their families and my thoughts are with them," he said.

The cardinal was a polarising figure, both in Australia and abroad, something he himself conceded.

"The fact that I defend Christian teachings is irritating to a lot of people," he told BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme.

UNHCR welcomes Indonesia's ‘act of humanity’ in rescuing refugees adrift at sea

 

UNHCR issued a statement explaining that two groups of survivors had been brought to shore off the coast of north-west Indonesia. 

Believed to have been at sea for more than a month, the UN agency expressed relief that they are now safe in Indonesia. 

After highlighting their plight, Ann Maymann, UNHCR Representative in Indonesia said, “we welcome this act of humanity by local communities and authorities in Indonesia”.  Source

UN rights chief on Myanmar refugees

 UN rights chief on Myanmar refugees and a future of ‘kindness, empathy and unity.

Children’s eyes must also be opened to the mistakes of the past, so they can “write a story of hope and unity” to create a better world in which “we celebrate diversity, convinced that we are stronger together than we are apart”, added the UN right chief.

Story of hope and unity

Mr. Türk reminded recalled that if human rights are not protected “in the little places”, they lack meaning anywhere.

He argued for the protection of women’s rights at home and in public, saying that women and girls must have “full equality and freedom from discrimination”.

Expressing deep concern that more than 200 Rohingya – who fled military persecution in Myanmar in 2017 – have died trying to cross the Andaman Sea from Bangladesh this year, Mr. Türk said that the boats used to make the crossings are not only “overcrowded and unsafe” but also “left to drift for days on end without any help”. And with no sign in sight of the crisis ending, the UN rights chief urged more countries to assist in their safekeeping.

Specifically, Mr. Türk urged States to coordinate proactive search and rescue operations, disembark Rohingya refugees on their territories, and ensure their protection.

He also called on regional and countries globally to help Bangladesh support the over one million Rohingya refugees who have sought protection there since 2017.

“An urgent solution must be found to enable the voluntary return of all Rohingya, with full respect of their dignity and human rights as full and equal citizens of Myanmar”, underscored the High Commissioner.

Turning the page to a new year.

At the close of 2022, the senior UN official reflected on “the story we'd like to write for our future”.

“My hope for next year is that we lead our lives, individually and collectively, with kindness, empathy, and unity. In how we relate to each other. In our homes, neighbor hoods, schools, workplaces, [and] online”, he said in his look ahead message for 2023.