Powerball Fever Sweeps the Nation, Fuels Jackpot

The allure of the record $500 million Powerball jackpot has led to long lines across the nation at local mini-marts and gas stations, with Americans hoping their champagne and caviar dreams become a reality when the numbers are drawn tonight.

The jackpot was boosted Tuesday from $425 million to the now historic $500 million sum, which is expected to get sweeter as millions of Americans rush to the store for their last chance to purchase a ticket and become a multi-millionaire overnight.

Powerball officials tell ABC News they expect to sell more than 105,000 tickets every minute before the drawing. When the dust settles, more than 189 million tickets would have been sold for the half a billion-dollar jackpot. That's more than double the number sold for Saturday's $325 jackpot that nobody won.

ABC News was allowed access to the Powerball studios in Tallahassee, Fla., where the 11 p.m. ET drawing will take place. The closely guarded machines and balls are locked in a vault before the numbers are drawn and only a select few are allowed inside the room during the actual broadcast.

Anyone who enters or leaves the vault is documented and workers who handle the lottery balls wear gloves, worried that human touch might change what numbers are randomly drawn.

Cameras are located in every nook and cranny of the Powerball studio, spying on workers as they ready the machines for the big moment. Lottery officials in several states will be watching those feeds in real time to monitor the proceedings.

Not everyone has Powerball fever in the country as tickets for tonight's jackpot are not offered in eight states. But that has not stopped many Californians and Nevadans who have flocked to Arizona to get in on the action.

Lotto Fever: Going After $500M Powerball Jackpot Watch Video

Powerball Drawing No Winner; Jackpot Grows to $425 Million Watch Video

"I'd say the line has to be like three, three and a half hours," one person told ABC News while waiting online to purchase tickets Tuesday.

Still, the long lines have not deterred those who hope to dramatically change their lifestyle and make their wildest dreams become a reality.

"I'm going to the Bahamas and enjoying myself on an island," said one Powerball hopeful.

Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, said the chance of getting a winner tonight is approaching 60 percent.

"We call it the redneck retirement fund cause sooner or later, somebody is going to," said one man.

There has been no Powerball winner since Oct. 6 – that's 16 consecutive drawings without a winner. It's the second-highest jackpot in US lottery history, behind only the $656 million Mega Millions prize in March.

Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011, according to the Associated Press.

Lottery officials put the odds of winning Wednesday's Powerball pot at one in 175 million. With so many people plaything this time around, some are worried it may hurt their odds.

"Your odds of being a winner are still the same. With so many people playing, it does mean are more likely to split the jackpot if you want," said Scott Norris, math professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Everyone who lines up with cash in their hand and dreams in their head seems to have a strategy in picking the winning combination of numbers. Or, do you simply let the computer pick for you?

"It doesn't matter. Your odds of winning are actually the same no matter who picks it," said Norris.
Norris says the only real advantage that can help someone is buying more tickets.

"Your odds increase directly proportional to the number of tickets you buy. So if you buy 100, your odds are 1 in 7 million, but still astronomically small," he said.

With odds so small in a game where just about anyone who plays is a loser, there is some hope for those living in Illinois and New Jersey. Both states have sold three winning tickets for jackpots worth at least $300 million.

A single winner choosing the lump sum cash option would take home more than $327 million before taxes.

ABC News' Steve Osunsami and Ryan Owens contributed to this report.

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North Korea: What a terrible state to get into

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Japanese firm develops health monitor for dogs

TOKYO: Worried the family dog is too chubby?

Japanese information technology giant Fujitsu says it may have the solution with a new health management service that lets owners keep a close eye on their pet's exercise regimen through a pedometer attached to its collar.

The "Wandant" counts how many steps the pooch took during its latest outing, with the data then available online for pet owners' perusal, Fujitsu says.

"Wan" is Japanese for "woof", while "dant" comes from the word "pendant".

The device also measures the dog's temperature, while owners can use an online diary to track how much their dog is eating, its weight and "stool conditions".

"The data are presented graphically on a custom website that makes trends in the dog's activities easy to understand at a glance," according to the firm.

"This helps owners get a stronger sense of their dog's health, while enabling communication with the dog."

- AFP/il

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Apple's new iMac to arrive November 30

The latest version of Apple's
iMac goes on sale November 30.

Apple said this morning that the 21.5-inch iMac will be available at that time through the Apple Online Store, Apple's retail stores and some Apple resellers. The 27-inch iMac, meanwhile, will be available for order through the Apple Online Store and will begin shipping in December.

The 2012 edition of the iMac comes with 8GB of memory, a 1-terabyte hard drive, a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidia GeForce graphics processors, and the new Fusion Drive.

The 21.5-inch model starts at $1,299 and the 27-inch model starts at $1,799.

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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

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  High Horse

  Photograph by Greg Parker, Your Shot
  

  The Horsehead Nebula rears its pretty head in a November 17 photograph submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot photo community.

  Taken from the New Forest Observatory in the United Kingdom, the image shows how the nebula's horse head is part of a larger cloud of dust. Situated about 1,500 light-years away, the Horsehead Nebula is visible only because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against another, brighter nebula, according to NASA.

  (See "'Soccer Ball' Nebula Discovered by Amateur Astronomer.")

  Published November 26, 2012

  
  











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  Green Lit

  Photograph by Jeremy La Zelle, My Shot
  

  Green curtains of aurora stretch over the sky in the Alaska Arctic in a picture submitted to National Geographic's My Shot on November 17.

  "The constantly changing kaleidoscope of colors are reminiscent of a fireworks display—but without sound," photographer Jeremy La Zelle wrote with his submission.

  "All we hear is the quiet peaceful sounds of a freezing Alaska night."

  (See "Aurora Pictures: Best Fall Photos of Northern Lights.")

  Published November 26, 2012

  
  











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  Martian Vista

  Image courtesy Caltech/NASA
  

  NASA's Curiosity rover snapped this picture after moving 83 feet (25 meters) eastward on November 18—the 102nd Martian day, or sol, of its mission to study whether life once existed on Mars.

  The view shows Yellowknife Bay, part of the Glenelg area of the Gale Crater, which is located near the base of a three-mile-high (five-kilometer-high) mountain rich with layered sediment deposits laid down over hundreds of millions of years.

  (Read more about the Gale Crater.)

  Published November 26, 2012

  
  











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  Gilded Mountains

  Image courtesy ESA

  The sands of the Sahara appear like golden brush strokes around the Tibesti Mountains in a March 2012 satellite image recently released by the European Space Agency.

  Located in Chad and Libya, the mountains' highest peak is Emi Koussi-pictured above as a circular structure in the lower-right portion of the dark area.

  Lava flows can be seen extending from the westernmost volcano, Toussidé.

  (See volcano pictures.)

  Published November 26, 2012

  
  











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  Photograph by Quang Nguyen Luong and F. Motte, Herschel SPIRE/ESA

  Published November 26, 2012

  
  

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Violating Norquist's No-Tax Pledge Could Hurt GOP

The most talked about name in the opening weeks of the fiscal cliff negotiations isn't Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It's Grover Norquist.

Norquist is not a publicly elected official or even a government appointee. The 56-year-old conservative leader is the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform and promoter of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge -- better known as the Norquist Pledge.

Americans for Tax Reform opposes tax increases, and the Norquist Pledge calls on members of Congress to do just that. Taken at face value, this pledge poses a big roadblock to any compromise with Democrats in the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations, even though several prominent Republican leaders have recently signaled an openness to put everything on the table in negotiations, which would seem to violate the pledge.

If the goal at the end of these negotiations is compromise, could there be political risk in Republicans' violating a pledge formulated by a person most Americans have probably never heard of? Actually, yes.

Violating the pledge all but ensures a primary challenge in two years from the Republican right.

"A defection on taxes almost guarantees it -- the End, " said ABC political director Amy Walter.

"It's all about the GOP base," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Most of the Republican House members and a large number of the party's senators are very safe in a general election. No Democrat can beat them. The only place they can lose is in the low-turnout party primary, which is usually dominated by strong conservatives for whom the word 'tax' is almost an obscenity."

Tax Pledge Mutiny as Fiscal Cliff Approaches Watch Video

Political Gamble: Some Republicans Willing to Raise Taxes Watch Video

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Dick Durbin on 'This Week' Watch Video

It's these voters who make up the GOP base who will likely be the most involved in primary contests -- on the ground, in fundraising and, of course, at the voting booths.

"These activist voters listen to Norquist and his organization, and they have the money to get the message out to voters in TV ads and mailings," Sabato said. "A Republican member tagged with supported tax increases is awarded the political kiss of death."

Two prominent GOP senators up for re-election in deep-red states in 2014 have already expressed a willingness to buck the Norquist Pledge: Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

"I agree with Grover -- we shouldn't raise rates -- but I think Grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt," Graham said on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

"I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge," Chambliss said in an interview with WMAZ-TV in Macon, Ga. "If we do it his way, then we'll continue in debt, and I just have a disagreement with him about that."

Sabato said that these two candidates couldn't help but be worried about potential backlashes stemming from what they'd said about the no-tax pledge.

"The GOP primary electorate is very conservative in the South, so I would think Saxby Chambliss and Lindsey Graham would have to be somewhat concerned, even though they both start out as clear favorites," Sabato said.

Whether a primary challenger can mount a strong enough campaign to take down these high-ranking senators raises a different question. The success of senior GOP senators such at Orrin Hatch of Utah in fending off intra-party primary challenges likely gives a boost of confidence to Graham and Chambliss, along with others, as they head into the final month of negotiations.

However, the primary losses of longtime incumbent senators such as Bob Bennett of Utah in 2010 and Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012 will likely stay somewhere in the minds of these Republican incumbents, complicating the negotiations and raising the political stakes both now and further down the road in 2014.

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A gorilla in the midst – of emotional rebirth?

Rowan Hooper, news editor

(Image: Anup Shah)

In the Central African Republic, a female western lowland gorilla runs through a cloud of butterflies. She capers, if a gorilla can be said to caper. The other gorillas in her group carry on feeding, ignoring her.

It is in stark contrast to the week before: the capering gorilla, named Malui, had given birth to a stillborn fetus. It would have been Malui's fourth offspring, and Makumba, the silverback's, thirteenth. "Malui tried to revive the baby and even tried to get it to suckle," says wildlife photographer Anup Shah, who was watching the animals at the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve. What happened next was unusual. Malui's daughter, Mosoko, started grooming her. "Since grooming is rare, it probably signifies something profound," says Shah. "Was the daughter telling her mother that she understood her grief?"

It's not easy to interpret human behaviour in such circumstances, let alone that of other animals. But behaviours associated with grief in humans have been seen in animals such as dolphins and, indeed, gorillas. Malui carried the stillborn baby on her back, finally abandoning the body some 30 hours after giving birth.

The next week, Shah shot the butterfly picture. "Malui was thoroughly enjoying herself," he says - and she seemed to have put the loss of the baby behind her. "I did not see any other instances of deep emotions in these gorillas," says Shah. "My theory is that gorillas reserve deep emotions for extreme situations."

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Speculation rife of year-end general election in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Speculation in rife in Malaysia that a general election could still be held before the end of the year.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said he is confident that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition would recapture its two-thirds majority in parliament if the ballot is held now.

As Malaysia's largest political party UMNO gets ready to hold its annual congress on Wednesday, rumours are rampant that parliament may be dissolved immediately after the general assembly, paving the way for a year-end general election.

Speculation was fuelled by a comment made by Prime Minister Najib Razak that the year-end monsoon weather and flash floods were not major problems.

When asked, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad did not give much away.

"Do you think it's timely? Anytime is a good time," he said.

Dr Mahathir was speaking to the media after delivering his keynote address at the Third World Conference on Riba/Usury on Monday.

He said Malaysia would no longer be independent if foreigners were allowed to interfere in deciding who should govern the country.

Dr Mahathir said the opposition's intention of inviting foreign observers to monitor the upcoming 13th general election was to accuse the government of cheating in the elections.

"There's only one aim. If they lose, they will hold street demonstrations, accusing the government of rigging the elections. They will say the government has cheated, so the ruling party wins. That's all.

"(They) want to resort to rioting like what happened in some of the Arab countries, to topple the duly elected government," he said.

Commenting on the last general election, Dr Mahathir said: "There is no country where the ruling party could lose five states and one federal territory if it had cheated in the general election. I think the opposition would have not have won these if the ruling government had cheated."

Other party seniors voiced preference for a later date, as the second round of government handouts for lower income households will only be given out in January.

Many also believe that the window for an early election this year had closed.

Syed Hamid Albar, Supreme council member of UMNO and former home minister, said: "The most important thing is he has already assessed fully, he has gone around the country many times. So, that is why he says that he thinks anytime... this year also can, but that is more a diversion. I think it will be held next year."

Separately, Mr Najib urged Malaysians not to gamble away their future, by handing over the country to parties which could not deliver.

He outlined reasons why the ruling Barisan Nasional must be given a big mandate in the upcoming general election.

Top of the list is the clarity of the vision and direction of the BN government in developing the nation.

Mr Najib made the comments in a special interview with Malaysian media, ahead of the UMNO General Assembly.

He said as an experienced party, UMNO has always spurred numerous ideas to transform the nation towards a bright future.

He said the opposition was still unclear on the matter.

UMNO forms the backbone of the ruling coalition.

Mr Najib also said UMNO and the BN have no conflict whether in terms of policy or ideology.

He said this was not the case for the opposition parties, which often issued opinions which were at odds, even on basic and fundamental matters.

Mr Najib, who is the BN chairman and UMNO president, said the coalition has a proven track record of their achievements in managing the nation.

"We have recorded all these achievements which people say run contrary to the world economic trend. As such, we are able to ensure the capability of the government remains at a high level, with a high level of confidence," he said.

Regardless of whether elections will be held this year or next, the ruling BN coalition's tenure expires on April 28, 2013 and the prime minister must call for the general election by the middle of next year.

The UMNO general assembly will be his final platform to fire up the spirits of the party and unite UMNO delegates to face the toughest general election in history.

- CNA/de

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Cyber Monday: Dells's deals on good TVs

You won't have any trouble finding rock-bottom prices on no-name TVs from sketchy online vendors this Cyber Monday, but if buying a good television from a trustworthy retailer is your priority, Dell's site has a couple of very good prices on bigscreen TVs I can actually recommend.

Samsung 51-inch plasma, $578 with free shipping. Judging from their published specifications, PN51E530 has the same picture quality as the PN51E550 we really liked. Yeah it's missing Smart TV and 3D, but you could always just add a $40 Roku if you want streaming apps.

Samsung 60-inch plasma, $848 with free shipping. If you like what you just read about the 51-inch version, this 60-incher promises more of the same, just a whole lot bigger.

Sharp 60-inch LED, $999 with free shipping. The LC-60LE600U is basically the same as the LC-LE640U we reviewed earlier this year and called one of the best bargains around. It still is, especially since it has better picture quality than the 60-inch Vizio. Yes, the Vizio has the Smart TV that the Sharp 600U lacks, but see above re: Roku.

All three of these deals are available now, but as usual supplies are limited so they could sell out anytime. If you see any other tempting Cyber Monday deals on good TVs, leave a comment.

Bonus Tip: Deal to Avoid If you're tempted by Amazon's deal for 60% off select Panasonic LEDs, you might want to know that every Panasonic LED TV we've reviewed this year has shown inferior, and sometimes downright bad, picture quality.

Via Dealnews

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.

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