What to Know About the Powerball Jackpot In Arkansas Worth $1.8 Billion

Christmas came early for someone who purchased a Powerball ticket at a gas station outside Little Rock, Ark., and it’s worth $1.8 billion. The lone winner matched all five winning numbers and the Powerball to capture the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, ending the game's 3-month stretch without a top prize winner. The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, a suburb northeast of Little Rock. Because the gas station is located near a major interstate, it’s possible the lottery winner was from out of town. In Arkansas, lottery winners have 180 days to claim their prize. Under Arkansas law, lottery winners of prizes more than $500,000 can request that their identity remain confidential for up to three years, after which the information can be made public. However, if the winner is an elected official or a close relative, those records remain confidential for only six months. Lottery proceeds are subject to state income tax in Arkansas, where the top rate is 3.9%. If the winner selects the lump sum cash payment option of $834.9 million, they would owe the state of Arkansas more than $32 million. With Powerball’s odds of winning a mere 1 in 292 million, whoever won is one lucky person.

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The Excruciating New Procedure Women Are Enduring For a Tiny Waist

Stevi Allen was unhappy with her body after giving birth to her son in 2019. She wanted her curves back, but that look would come at a cost — both financially and physically. Six fractured ribs and $38,000 later, the 38-year-old achieved the hourglass figure she so desired. The procedure is called “rib remodeling.” The controversial surgery sounds like something conceived in Frankenstein’s lab: three ribs on each side of the thoracic cage are partially fractured and forced to heal under the pressure of a corset. Recovering patients’ waists are cinched so tightly that they look astonishingly cartoon-like. After going under the knife, Allen estimates that her waist shrank 2-4 inches. As for the pain, she described it as “the absolute worst pain of my life.” What she wasn’t prepared for was just how painful rib remodeling would be, leaving her unable to do simple things like pick up her young son or go to work as a cosmetic tattoo artist. It took eight months for the pain to finally subside. Would she do it over again if she had the chance? While the results were great, her answer was no.

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A Child Is Born: Italians Celebrate Village’s First Baby In 30 Years

In Pagliara dei Marsi, an ancient rural village on the slopes of Mount Girifalco in Italy’s Abruzzo region, cats vastly outnumber people. Now there’s one more person on the human side. The first child born in the tiny village in the last 30 years brings the population to roughly 20. The christening of Lara Bussi at the church opposite her home was attended by the entire community — including the cats — and she is now the main tourist attraction. Lara’s arrival is a symbol of hope, but also a sobering reminder of Italy’s worsening demographic crisis. In 2024, births in the country reached a historic low of 369,944, continuing a 16-year negative trend. Reasons for the decline include job insecurity, the rise in male infertility, and an increasing number of people simply choosing not to have children. Cinzia and Paolo Bussi benefited from a €1,000 ($1,178) “baby bonus” after Lara’s birth — a one-time payment for each child born or adopted since January 2025 as part of the government’s pledge to tackle the dwindling population. The couple also receives a €370 ($436) monthly child benefit payment. The novelty of having a baby in the village has made Lara the main tourist attraction, at least for now. “People who didn’t even know Pagliara dei Marsi existed have come, only because they had heard about Lara,” said Cinzia. “At just nine months old, she’s famous.”

 

Paolo (56) and Lara

Cinzia (42) and Lara

 

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The Least Competent Criminal

Police in New Castle, Delaware, were called to an apartment complex where 21-year-old Kayonne Baxter reported that his Hyundai Sonata had been towed and he wanted to retrieve the items left inside. It turns out that Baxter left out one important detail: He had stolen the car the day before, when the owner left it to warm up, unattended and with the keys in the ignition. After a little checking, police took Baxter into custody and charged him with one county of felony theft of a motor vehicle. He was arraigned and released, pending an upcoming court hearing. Meanwhile, the stolen Hyundai Sonata was later recovered from a nearby towing company, with Baxter’s personal belongings inside the vehicle.

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