Top News Stories –
Winning tickets in the nearly $1.6-billion Powerball lottery were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee, officials said on Thursday, leaving at least three people to split the record-setting jackpot. California Lottery officials confirmed that the winning six numbers had been purchased at a convenience store outside Los Angeles, as well as at locations in Florida and Tennessee. The identity of the winners was not yet known. Lottery officials said it could be several hours before it is known whether there are other winners in the 44 states, Washington, D.C. and two U.S. territories where Powerball is played. In Chino Hills, a suburb east of Los Angeles, crowds descended on a 7-Eleven store where the winning ticket had been bought, snapping pictures and congratulating staff. The store will receive a $1-million bonus for selling the ticket. The odds of picking a winning combination were 1 in 292 million. [Daily Mail]
Video of the Day –
Prison Da Vinci No. 1 Painting With Skittles from TCOLondon on Vimeo.
List of the Day –
The final 100 Sexiest Women List from FHM Magazine (closing after 30 years)
100. Danielle Sharp
99. Jessie J
98. Emma Rigby
97. Gal Gadot
96. Lea Michele
95. Jennifer Lopez
94. Hannah Davis
93. Bryana Holly
92. Georgia May Foote
91. Kat Dennings
90. Emily Blunt
89. Daisy Lowe
88. Val Keil
87. Melanie Iglesias
86. Gemma Merna
85. Georgia Salpa
84. Demi Lovato
83. Jourdan Dunn
82. Christina Hendricks
81. Cara Delevingne
80. Kate Abdo
79. Robyn Lawley
78. Nicki Minaj
77. Ashley Roberts
76. Charlotte McKinney
75. Nathalie Emmanuel
74. Emma Stone
73. Mary Berry
72. Angelina Jolie
71. Kerry Washington
70. Daisy Pettinger
69. Rose Byrne
68. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini
67. Anna Kendrick
66. Gisele Bundchen
65. Chloe Goodman
64. Selena Gomez
63. Gemma Arterton
62. Kourtney Kardashian
61. Laura Haddock
60. Melissa Rauch
59. Emma Watson
58. Felicity Jones
57. Iggy Azalea
56. Naya Rivera
55. Olivia Wilde
54. Charlotte Crosby
53. Rachel Stevens
52. Sam Faiers
51. Kaley Cuoco
50. Khloe Kardashian
49. Foxes
48. Jacqueline Jossa
47. Ashley Benson
46. Rita Ora
45. Demi Rose Mawby
44. Mila Kunis
43. Olympia Valance
42. Ellie Goulding
41. Louise Thompson
40. Jorgie Porter
39. Rachel Riley
38. Stephanie Pratt
37. Laura Whitmore
36. Candice Swanepoel
35. Holly Willoughby
34. Zoella
33. Pixie Lott
32. Miley Cyrus
31. Lucy Watson
30. Nadia Forde
29. Arianny Celeste
28. Jenna Marbles
27. Jen Selter
26. Rosie Jones
25. Katy Perry
24. Nicole Scherzinger
23. Rihanna
22. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
21. Susanna Reid
20. Meg Turney
19. Beyonce
18. Emily Ratajkowski
17. Sofia Vergara
16. Natalie Dormer
15. Taylor Swift
14. Amy Willerton
13. Kim Kardashian
12. Britney Spears
11. Keeley Hazell
10. Kelly Brook
9. Emilia Clarke
8. Lucy Mecklenburgh
7. Margot Robbie
6. Ariana Grande
5. Caroline Flack
4. Kate Upton
3. Jennifer Lawrence
2. Kendall Jenner
1. Michelle Keegan
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Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Terrorism in Pakistan
- Korean border incidents
- South Korean soldiers fire warning shots at a suspected North Korean drone near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The “unidentified flying object” was spotted around 29 miles north of Seoul, near South Korea’s Dora Observation Post. (Sky News)
- War in Afghanistan
- Islamic State militants attack Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, killing 9 people and injuring 12 more. (NDTV)
- Syrian Civil War
- Following the death of its leader, Zahran Alloush, Jaysh al-Islam names Essam al-Buwaydhani as its new leader. (The News Hub)
- 2016 Istanbul bombing
- Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala says yesterday’s ISIS suicide bomber had registered with Turkish immigration authorities but was not on any known militant suspects list. (Reuters)
- Turkish police arrest three people with Russian citizenship in the southern province of Adana on suspicion of belonging to ISIS. (ABC News) (Leader Call)
- Arts and culture
- Three winning Powerball lottery tickets are sold in the U.S. states of California, Florida, and Tennessee. Each will share the estimated jackpot of US $1.6 billion dollars, the largest lottery jackpot in world history. (ABC News)
- Business and economy
- Al Jazeera America announces that it will close in April due to poor ratings. (The New York Times)
- Disasters and accidents
- 2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Subtropical Storm Alex is located 785 miles (1,260 km) south-southwest of the Azores. Alex is one of just four tropical or subtropical storms to occur in January since 1851, the first year records were kept. The hurricane season begins on June 1 of each year. Alex is expected to hit the Azores on Friday with average rain accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. (The Washington Post) (NHC)
- An avalanche kills three and injures one at the Les Deux Alpes ski resort in Isère département of the French Alps. Officials are searching for other possible victims. (CNN)
- International relations
- Iran–United States relations
- Iran claims that it has interrogated ten United States Navy personnel that it captured allegedly in its territorial waters. (Sky News Australia)
- All 10 U.S. sailors are freed by Iran and are in U.S. custody. The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command says, “There are no indications that the sailors were harmed during their brief detention.” (The Washington Post)
- Israel–Sweden relations
- Israel says Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström is no longer welcome in the country after she called for investigations into “suspected extrajudicial executions” of Palestinians by the Israeli army. Sweden has for many years financed NGOs such as B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence operating in Israel. (Breaking Israel News)
- Cuba–United States relations
- A major indication that relations between Cuba and the U.S. are increasingly normalized will be the island nation’s participation later this month at an annual Caribbean security conference in Jamaica, according to the outgoing head of the United States Southern Command, General John F. Kelly. (Military Times)
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