The Nation in Brief

Scott Lowell, of Grosse Pointe Park, throws colored-necklaces to revelers down below during the Marche du Nain Rouge, in Detroit, on Sunday. The Nain Rouge is a legendary hobgoblin creature whose appearance is believed to bring misfortune to Detroit.
Scott Lowell, of Grosse Pointe Park, throws colored-necklaces to revelers down below during the Marche du Nain Rouge, in Detroit, on Sunday. The Nain Rouge is a legendary hobgoblin creature whose appearance is believed to bring misfortune to Detroit.

Powerball jackpot 4th-largest at $750M

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Lottery officials say the Powerball jackpot has ballooned to $750 million after no ticket matched all six numbers in the most recent drawing.

The numbers drawn Saturday night are 24, 25, 52, 60 and 66, with a Powerball of 5.

The next drawing for what would be the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. history is Wednesday. The odds of winning are roughly 1 in 292.2 million.

No one has won the Powerball jackpot since the day after Christmas. Twenty-four drawings since then have failed to produce a winner.

The buyers of three tickets shared the country's largest jackpot. It was a nearly $1.59 billion Powerball prize drawn on Jan. 13, 2016. A South Carolina purchaser won a $1.54 billion Mega Millions jackpot. That was the nation's second-largest lottery prize ever.

Study: Chance of heart attack lessens

Although heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, chances of dying of a heart attack are now at a "historic low" of 12 percent. That's down by more than a third since 1995, according to a new Yale study that analyzed two decades of data on about 4.4 million Medicare patients hospitalized with heart attacks, including deaths within 30 days of heart attacks.

The study also reports that "an increasingly smaller number of people" are having heart attacks -- hospitalizations for a heart attack have declined by 38 percent since the mid-1990s. Hospital readmissions and repeat heart attacks also are occurring less often, the study researchers found.

They attribute the declines in part to improved speed of care for heart attack victims, which means getting blocked arteries open much faster. They also note that increased emphasis on lifestyle changes -- such as healthier eating to lower cholesterol and more exercise to control blood pressure -- may have played a role in the improved statistics.

A heart attack (medically termed a myocardial infarction) occurs when blood flow to the heart becomes blocked, leaving the heart without needed oxygen. This often is caused by a buildup of plaque (cholesterol, fat and other substances) on the inner walls of arteries that lead to the heart.

California's I-5 reopens after fiery crash

LOS ANGELES -- All southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Gorman, Calif., were reopened Saturday night after a fiery multivehicle crash forced the closure of the roads for about four hours, clogging weekend traffic for miles, authorities said.

The freeway was reopened shortly before 7 p.m., according to the California Department of Transportation.

Several people were injured in the pileup that occurred about 3 p.m. about 2 miles south of Gorman School Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. About 30 vehicles were involved.

Some pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed two vehicles on fire and at least a dozen cars severely damaged. Several ambulances and firetrucks were dispatched to the scene.

More than two dozen people suffered injuries, according to the Fire Department. About a dozen people were transported to local hospitals, one in critical condition. One child was taken by helicopter to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

All southbound lanes of the freeway were shut down while injured people were cared for and the wreckage was cleared, officials said. Emergency personnel from neighboring Kern and Ventura counties were also on the scene.

EPA hits Missouri's toxic-waste plan

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Federal regulators says Missouri's plan to oversee the disposal of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants fails to adequately protect human health and the environment.

St. Louis Public Radio reported that the Environmental Protection Agency said in a letter to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that several provisions in Missouri's plan are weaker than the 2015 federal coal ash rule.

Some provisions allow the Department of Natural Resources to waive requirements for utility companies to clean up groundwater contamination or monitor groundwater for toxic chemicals if they can show that it doesn't affect drinking-water supplies or harm the environment.

Contamination has been detected near many coal ash ponds and landfills in Missouri.

Department of Natural Resources officials declined comment on the letter from the EPA.

Andy Knott of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign was critical of the department.

"I think that this is astonishing and that it's just further evidence that the DNR cares more about the demands of the coal utilities than the needs of Missourians for clean water," Knott said at a public hearing hosted Thursday by the DNR in Jefferson City.

Utility representatives say Missouri's proposed rule is just as protective of human health and the environment as the federal rule. Trey Davis, president of the Missouri Energy Development Association, said Congress didn't require state rules to be identical to federal rules.

-- COMPILED BY DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

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AP/The Coloradoan/TIMOTHY HURST

A man untangles the power line pole that was cut in half when a small single-engine plane crashed into it near the driveway of a dairy farm Saturday, in Fort Collins, Colo. Authorities say the three people aboard were taken to a hospital but were not suffering from life-threatening injuries.

A Section on 03/25/2019

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