World Nation Briefs May 19, 2013
Numbers drawn for largest Powerball jackpot
DES MOINES, Iowa - Lottery officials announced winning numbers in a near-historic Powerball jackpot.
The numbers drawn Saturday are: 22, 10, 13, 14, 52 and a Powerball of 11.
Officials estimate the jackpot at $590.5 million. Results were not available a press time.
With four of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, someone is almost sure to win the game's highest jackpot. The problem, of course, is those same odds just about guarantee the lucky person won't be you.
The chances of winning the prize remain astronomically low: 1 in 175.2 million. That's how many different ways you can combine the numbers when you play.
But since about 80 percent of the possible combinations have been purchased, lottery officials say it's likely the winning ticket could be selected.
Obama agenda withstanding IRS focus
WASHINGTON - Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office.
"Absolutely not," Steven Miller, the recently resigned acting head of the Internal Revenue Service, responded Friday when asked if he had any contact with the White House about targeting conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special treatment.
"The president's re-election campaign?" persisted Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.
"No," said Miller.
The hearing took place at the end of a week in which Republicans repeatedly assailed Obama and were attacked by Democrats in turn - yet sweeping immigration legislation advanced methodically toward bipartisan approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The measure "has strong support of its own in the Senate," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the panel.
Up to 60 injured when car drives into parade
DAMASCUS, Va. - About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town.
Washington County director of emergency management Pokey Harris said no fatalities had been reported.
The injuries ranged from critical to superficial, he said. Three of the victims were flown by helicopters to regional hospitals. Another 12 to 15 were taken by ambulance. The rest were treated at the scene.
The status of the driver wasn't released. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man.
Authorities are still investigating, but Harris said they believe the man might have suffered a medical emergency before the accident.
Officials survey damage from train collision
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries.
Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor.
"The damage is absolutely staggering," said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, describing the shattered interior of cars and tons of metal tossed around. "I feel that we are fortunate that even more injuries were not the result of this very tragic and unfortunate accident."
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy echoed that, saying it was "frankly amazing" people weren't killed on scene.
Both said new Metro-North Railroad cars built with higher standards may have saved lives.
IRS targeted tea party but ignored other groups
WASHINGTON - There's an irony in the Internal Revenue Service's crackdown on conservative groups.
The nation's tax agency has admitted to inappropriately scrutinizing smaller tea party organizations that applied for tax-exempt status, and senior Treasury Department officials were notified in the midst of the 2012 presidential election season that an internal investigation was underway. But the IRS largely maintained a hands-off policy with the much larger, big-budget organizations on the left and right that were most influential in the elections and are organized under a section of the tax code that allows them to hide their donors.
"The IRS goes AWOL when wealthy and powerful forces want to break the law in order to hide their wrongful efforts and secret political influence," said Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat who is among a small Senate group pushing campaign finance reform measures that would force these big outside groups to disclose their donors.
- The Associated Press