Missouri mechanic and his wife named as one of two Powerball winners

DEARBORN, Mo. — A 52-year-old Missouri mechanic and his wife claimed their share Friday of the record $588 million Powerball jackpot.

Lottery officials sent a statement Friday announcing that Mark and Cindy Hill, of Dearborn, held one of two winning tickets for the nation's biggest Powerball jackpot.

The Hills will split the $588 million prize with whoever holds a winning ticket sold at a convenience store in suburban Phoenix. No one has come forward yet with the Arizona ticket, lottery officials said.

The $587.5 million payout, which represents the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, set off a nationwide buying frenzy, with tickets at one point selling at nearly 130,000 per minute. Before Wednesday's winners, the jackpot had rolled over 16 consecutive times without someone hitting the jackpot.

REUTERS

The Trex Mart gas station in Dearborn, Missouri, where one of two winning tickets in a $587.5 million Powerball lottery was sold.

Lottery officials' announcement that the Hills had won only confirmed what many residents in Dearborn, a town of about 500 about 40 miles north of Kansas City, already knew. Lottery officials said Thursday that one winning ticket had been sold at a Trex Mart gas station and convenience store on the edge of town, and Mark Hill's name circulated quickly. While he and his wife did not speak to reporters, friends and relatives identified Mark Hill as the winner.

Myron Anderson, pastor of the Baptist Church in nearby Camden Point, said he heard Thursday that the Hills had won the huge lottery prize. Anderson said he has known Mark Hill since they attended high school together and that the couple have older children and a younger elementary school-age daughter.

"He's a really nice guy, and I know his wife, and they have this nice little adopted daughter that they went out of their way to adopt," Anderson said. Funeral services for Hill's father were at the Baptist church, but the family attends church elsewhere, he said.

"I hope it's good news for them," Anderson said. "I've heard awful horror stories about people who get all that money in their lap and how everybody treats them, and if you don't mind me saying, I mean just the fact that the press is going to be after them."

Kevin Bryan, a lifelong Dearborn resident, said the only other local lottery winner he could remember was a farmer who won about $100,000 in scratch-off game years ago "and bought himself a combine."

The winning ticket sold in Arizona was purchased at a 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills near Phoenix, state lottery officials said.

In a Mega Millions drawing in March, three ticket buyers shared a $656 million jackpot, the largest lottery payout of all time.

Hill and the holder of the Arizona winning ticket have numerous decisions ahead, including how to accept their new wealth. The cash payout from the overall jackpot has been estimated at about $385 million, or about $192.5 million for each ticket. The winners can take their jackpots in lump sums or annual payments.

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California Pizza Kitchen brings prototype to Sawgrass Mills

The restaurant chain that took barbecued chicken pizza mainstream is ready to push the culinary envelope again. How about a pizza topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and applewood smoked bacon or a Korean barbecue pizza with pork loin and spicy kimchee salad?

Innovative menu items are just one piece of what’s unique about California Pizza Kitchen’s new flagship restaurant unveiled Thursday at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise. The first of its kind, the Sawgrass location aims to reinvigorate the brand that started in 1985 in Beverly Hills.

“The whole idea is about taking the best of what put us on the map and making it relevant for 2012 and beyond,” said G.J. Hart, who took over as chief executive officer of the chain just over a year ago. “Over the years the brand morphed from being a leader and it became a follower of food trends. We want to bring back the hip, cool feel.”

The changes are obvious from the moment you walk into the restaurant, which opens to the public Monday. The new look is all about focusing on the chain’s California roots. Very little of the bright yellow and chrome remains. The design is California-casual with earth tones and reclaimed wood everywhere from the walls to the floor and tables. An outdoor terrace with couches and fire pits is designed to encourage lingering. Large windows and glass doors let in lots of natural light and fold open to enjoy the weather.

Pizza is center stage with the kitchen designed so diners can watch the pizza makers at work. At the Sawgrass location — and by mid-2013 at all restaurants — pizzas will once again by hand-tossed. Currently the chain uses a pizza press to make the dough more uniform.

The new focus is on upping the culinary quotient across the board with dishes like a roasted beets and whipped goat cheese salad, plus a sweet pea carbonara featuring pea-filled pasta purses tossed with Italian pancetta and a Romano cream sauce. These are some of the unique items only on the Sawgrass menu, which also features a specialty menu of hand-crafted cocktails.

Chain-wide the company has actually slimmed the menu from more than 100 items to 74 in order to improve execution. But there are also more healthy choices like quinoa and arugula salad or a fire-roasted chile relleno stuffed with chicken, cheese, mushrooms, spinach and eggplant that dishes up at only 380 calories.

“As we grew, we didn’t keep up with the creativity on the menu and we tried to be all things to all people,” said Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation, who has been with the company for 24 years. “We’re always going to be pizza-centric. But we’ll continue to push the envelope with these specialty items that resonate with who we are. We don’t want items that you are going to see in other restaurants.”

The chain chose Sawgrass to unveil its new flagship location because of a combination of the area’s diverse demographic base and the influx of international visitors. South Florida has already been a strong market for the brand, which has seven locations in the tri-county area stretching from Coral Gables to Palm Beach Gardens.

The opening is the culmination of a new vision that began to take shape when Golden Gate Capital purchased California Pizza Kitchen in July 2011 for $470 million, taking the company private and bringing in Hart as the new chief executive.

“They saw a brand that was undervalued,” said Hart, who has an ownership stake in the chain. “This is an iconic brand with so much brand equity. If we can bring the excitement and enthusiasm back we’re only going to see it go up.”

Industry experts say the changes make sense because the brand still has a loyal following, although it has not kept pace with the competition.

“It’s a good time for them to go back to what were the fundamental things that made the brand so intriguing,” said Dennis Lombardi of WD Partners, a restaurant industry consultant. “The difficulty is going to be getting the word out to consumers that this is different. The devil is always in the details in these kind of evolutions.”

Based on consumer reaction, the plan is to take pieces of the Sunrise concept and introduce it into the chain’s other 268 existing restaurants. Some restaurants could be completely remodeled, but most will only get elements of the new prototype, which cost $2 million in Sunrise, Hart said. The company’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations could be strong candidates for remodeling next year or early 2014, he said.

Community and business leaders, who got a first look at the restaurant on Thursday, were impressed.

“This is phenomenal,” said Luanne Lenberg, general manager of Sawgrass Mills. “We’re so excited to have this caliber of restaurant and to be their test for the rest of the world.”

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Opera’s Second Act

Laura Horton’s grandmother always dreamed of becoming an opera singer.

Today, Horton’s 10-year-old daughter, McCall, is living her great-grandmother’s deferred dream.

“My grandmother was a professional singer and she wanted to be in the opera,” said Laura Horton, an attorney who lives with her family in Coral Gables. “Though she passed away this year, when I hear the opera, I feel like I hear my grandmother’s voice. It’s very meaningful to me that my daughter is taking over her footsteps.”

McCall is one of 20 choristers ages 8 to 12 who are performing with the Florida Grand Opera in its production of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Adrienne Arsht Center and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The children are members of the Miami Children’s Chorus (MCC), based in Coral Gables and conducted by music director Timothy Sharp.

The chorus and opera have had a partnership for nearly 30 years, said Alejandra Serna, a spokesperson for the opera.

“Rehearsals with the children's chorus has been excellent and I have been very impressed with them,’’ said Ramon Tebar, conductor for La Bohème and music director of FGO.

The children are featured during Act II, which features lovers Mimì and Rodolfo and their friends at a Parisian café, amid street vendors, street urchins and crowds.

“Act II of La Bohème is always difficult,” Tebar said. “The music is very fast and they have to move and run on stage during the whole act while singing. It can prove difficult for the adult choristers, but for the children it's as easy as eating ice cream. It's a joy making music with them.’’

The children have become captivated by the art form.

“Whenever I talk about the opera at school no one really knows about it,” said Zelda Rosenberg, 9, a fourth grader at David Fairchild Elementary in Coral Gables. “Whenever I talk about it they really don’t take interest in it. They’re more into rock bands and sports.”

The children also are exposed to foreign languages. La Bohème is performed in Italian; subtitles are shown in English and Spanish.

“I get to sing in Italian, and that’s not something you get to do every day,” said Alejandra Vivanco, 11, who had one line to sing in the production.

“I’m excited and nervous, but mostly excited,” said Alejandra, a student at Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School, immediately before the Nov. 17th opening night performance at the Arsht.

Though she only had one line to sing, she practiced and practiced to perfect her part.

“At first I was not doing it so well, so I had to keep working until I got it right,” she said. “But, now I am confident about myself and I’ve been told that I’m doing it better.”

She has been a member of the Miami Children’s Chorus for three years; this is her first opera.

McCall, a fourth grader at Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, joined the Chorus in August and has fallen in love with the opera.

“I like the way the adults and the kids combine the singing,” she said. “Also, I like being on stage.”

For MCC business manager Viviana Liviero, the experience with FGO has been just as memorable. Though Liviero is now employed with MCC, she remembers when she would watch her own daughter perform at the opera.

“I was in the other side and then in the office,” Liviero said. “She was lucky to be chosen twice. This is just a phenomenal opportunity for the children.”

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Dina Lohan Comment on Lindsay Lohan Arrest

Michael Lohan made his feelings known about Lindsay Lohan's late-night arrest, exclusively telling ET that he knew an incident like this was in the cards once she rebuffed his attempted intervention in October.

RELATED - Michael Knew Lindsay Would Get Arrested Again

Now, Dina Lohan is exclusively talking to ET -- and while she cannot comment on Lindsay's latest legal entanglement, she has a few choice words for her ex.

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Dina tells ET, "Instead of rushing to a camera or a microphone, wouldn't my ex's alleged parental concerns to protect our daughter be better served by handling her challenges privately. Why would Lindsay trust a parent who tapes and sells her private recordings, a father who shows up by himself with a television crew to force his entry into her home for an 'intervention' -- an 'intervention' I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT."

VIDEO - Dina Opens Up About Lindsay's Lying

She adds, "Before you go to the press a minute after our daughter's headlines hits the airwaves, take a pause Michael, stop injecting yourself into every story, as this once again proves to your daughter, your sole desperate agenda is in keeping yourself relevant."

VIDEO - Michael Lohan on His Failed Intervention

Lohan was arrested around 4 a.m. on November 29 after allegedly punching a woman at the Chelsea nightclub Avenue. Lohan was released from jail this morning with a desk appearance ticket for third-degree assault charges.

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NJ allows menorahs in prisons for Hanukkah

TRENTON — Jewish inmates in New Jersey state prisons will be allowed to use menorahs for Hanukkah this year.

The state Corrections Department unveiled a Hanukkah policy this week. Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman says this is the first time there's a uniform policy.

Previously, most prisons were uncomfortable with allowing real candles. Now, authorized volunteer religious leaders or prison staff will light candles with inmates present.

Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum of the Rabbinical College of America-Lubavitch is praising the new policy, saying it shows the Corrections Department is sensitive to inmates' religious needs.

Hanukkah begins Dec. 8 this year.

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City National Bank of Florida and its Spanish parent have four years to evaluate the Miami bank’s future ownership

City National Bank of Florida, the Miami bank purchased by Bankia (formerly Caja Madrid) of Spain in November 2008, said Wednesday that its parent has a “four-year window to evaluate alternatives” for the bank’s future ownership and will work closely with management in Miami during the process.

The Spanish government has reached and agreement with the European Union related to Spain’s financial system problems, which will result in a recapitalization of Bankia and other institutions, the bank said. The agreement calls for Bankia to sell non-core assets and its holdings outside of Spain so that Bankia will emerge with a solid capital position and be more focused on its core domestic business.

“Because City National Bank is so well capitalized, profitable and well positioned in the marketplace, we are going to take our time to fully evaluate all of our strategic alternatives,” City National Bank President and CEO Jorge Gonzalez said in a statement. “This does not impact our ongoing strategy of profitable growth and diversification or our commitment to the markets we serve. Our focus continues to be taking excellent care of our clients and employees. ”

City National, founded 65 years ago, has $4.32 billion in assets and 26 branches from Miami-Dade County to the greater Orlando area.

INA PAIVA CORDLE

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Sentencing postponed in hit-and-run that killed cyclist on Rickenbacker Causeway

The sentencing for the man who pleaded guilty to hitting two cyclists on the Rickenbacker Causeway and leaving the scene has been rescheduled for Jan. 16. The later date was chosen to accommodate the defendant, the family of the victim and Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge William Thomas.

Judge Thomas was out earlier this month for a family emergency. He has also been nominated to become a federal judge in South Florida and is awaiting his Senate hearing.

In February, Michele Traverso, 26, was traveling north on the William Powell Bridge in his Honda when he hit Aaron Cohen and cycling partner Enda Walsh. Traverso left the scene.

Both cyclists were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Cohen died hours later.

Surveillance video and bar receipts show Traverso, who was on probation for cocaine charges, buying alcohol in Coconut Gove before driving home. He turned himself in to Miami Dade police the following day, but it was too late for a blood test to determine if he’d been drinking.

He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, leaving the scene of an accident with great bodily harm and driving with a suspended license. He faces a minimum 22.8 months, maximum 35 years in prison.

Cohen’s wife Patty, who was in court on Wednesday, said her husband was “a positive, loving person,” especially with their two young children. She said the family is leaving the sentencing decision up to the state prosecutor, but hopes that it will be severe enough to “send a message as a deterrent for similar crimes.”

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German lawmakers condemn Google campaign against copyright law

BERLIN (Reuters) – Senior German politicians have denounced as propaganda a campaign by Google to mobilize public opinion against proposed legislation to let publishers charge search engines for displaying newspaper articles.

Internet lobbyists say they are worried the German law will set a precedent for other countries such as France and Italy that have shown an interest in having Google pay publishers for the right to show their news snippets in its search results.

Lawmakers in Berlin will debate the bill in the Bundestag (lower house) on Thursday. Google says the law would make it harder for users to retrieve information via the Internet.

Google launched its campaign against the bill on Tuesday with advertisements in German newspapers and a web information site called “Defend your web”.

“Such a law would hit every Internet user in Germany,” Stefan Tweraser, country manager for Google Germany, said in a statement. “An ancillary copyright means less information for consumers and higher costs for companies.”

The campaign has caused outrage among some members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition.

“The campaign initiated by Google is cheap propaganda,” said conservative lawmakers Guenter Krings and Ansgar Heveling.

“Under the guise of a supposed project for the freedom of the Internet, an attempt is being made to coopt its users for its own lobbying,” the two said in a statement.

Supporters of the law argue that newspaper publishers should be able to benefit from advertising revenues earned by search engines using their content.

Under the plans, publishers would get a bigger say over how their articles are used on the Internet and could charge search engines for showing articles or extracts.

German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, a member of the Free Democrats (FDP) who share power in Merkel’s government, said she was astonished that Google was trying to monopolize opinion-making. She is responsible for the law.

“PANIC MONGERING”

Germany’s newspaper industry, suffering from economic slowdown and keen to get its hands on any revenues it can, backs the plans and railed against Google’s campaign.

“The panic mongering from Google has no justification,” Germany’s BDZV newspaper association said in a statement.

“The argument from search engine companies that Internet searching and retrieval will be made more difficult is not serious. Private use, reading, following links and quoting will be possible, just as before.”

Internet lobbyists in Brussels fear the European Commission is sympathetic to publisher demands for a piece of Google’s profits online. Recent statements, they say, are proof.

“Consumers are not the only ones facing difficulties,” Michel Barnier, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said in a speech on November 7. “Think of newspaper publishers who see the content they produce being used by others to attract consumers on the net and generate advertising revenues.”

French newspapers and magazines want Google to pay them for linking to their articles on Google. The French government has named a mediator to negotiate with the press and Google to try to get a deal by the end of the year.

If no deal emerges, President Francois Hollande’s government will ask parliament to draft a law modifying copyright laws to protect the press from appropriation of its content online, according to a letter signed by two ministers on November 28.

(Additional reporting by Harro ten Wolde in Frankfurt, Claire Davenbport in Brussels and Leila Abboud in Paris; Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Gareth Jones and)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Syfy

One word, one syllable, one million uses. Yes, I'm talking about "Frak" -- the expletive du jour for the men and women who populated Syfy's Emmy and Peabody Award winning series, Battlestar Galactica.

The word became so popular it not only appeared in a smattering of other TV shows (30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, Castle) but also entered the vernacular of fans and non-fans alike.

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The importance of "Frak" is a major talking point in the star-studded Syfy 20th Anniversary Special, airing December 10 at 9 p.m, as you can see in ETonline's exclusive clip featuring Jamie Bamber, Katee Sackhoff and Jane Espenson reveling in the iconic term.

PHOTO - In Praise of Fat Lee Adama

"Frak was the best invention, ever," Espenson says in the clip. "The thing I love about it is that you don't have to have fighter pilots going, 'Forget You!' 'Duck You!'" But for Sackhoff, who probably spouted the most "fraks" of all, the word presented a unique problem.

Watch ETonline's exclusive clip from Syfy 20th Anniversary Special above, and tune in on December 10 at 9 p.m. to see the stars of Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Warehouse 13, Ghost Hunters and more look back at Syfy's launch, evolution and cultural impact!

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Sandy caused $37 billion in damage in NJ: Christie

TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Chris Christie says Superstorm Sandy caused $36.8 billion in damage in New Jersey.

Christie is requesting that amount, which is greater than his state's entire budget, from the federal government.

Christie says more than 30,000 homes or businesses were destroyed or sustained substantial damage from last month's storm.

The governor says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed more than $500 million in aid since the storm and 230,000 New Jerseyans have registered for assistance.

The financial tally is higher than neighboring New York's. Earlier this week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Superstorm Sandy ran up a bill of $32 billion in his state.

AP

Chris Christie

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