Winners lay claim to record Texas jackpot

Winners lay claimto record Texas jackpot
AUSTIN, Texas -- A police officer and his wife, a customer service representative, have claimed a $85 million Lotto Texas jackpot -- the state's largest.
Robert and Beverly Chody, both 30, received their winnings -- $51.2 million -- on Thursday. The couple chose the cash-option payment, so they got the smaller amount in a lump sum.
They said they may travel to Hawaii, but otherwise hadn't planned how to spend the winnings.
"This is a lot of money and we are going to take our time with it," Robert Chody said Friday.
Beverly Chody said she was unsure if she would continue to work as a customer service representative at AT & amp;T Wireless. Robert Chody said he plans to continue working as a patrol officer for the Austin police department, "but that is something we need to discuss."
The largest previous jackpot was $77 million, shared by five ticket holders in 1994.
FDA gives approvalto new glaucoma drugs
WASHINGTON -- Glaucoma sufferers are about to get two new medicines to help fend off blindness -- including one that seems to work particularly well for black patients, who are at special risk.
Both Travatan and Lumigan work by draining fluid buildup that is the hallmark of glaucoma. The Food and Drug Administration approved them Friday, saying both work equally well and thus offer an alternative to standard therapies.
But Travatan comes with an added marketing boost: A study found it worked best in black glaucoma sufferers, making it the first treatment allowed to target a group especially hard-hit by that disease.
Glaucoma is the nation's second-leading cause of blindness, afflicting some 3 million Americans and blinding about 80,000 of them a year. Black Americans are four times more likely than whites to suffer glaucoma; it typically strikes them at younger ages; and they go blind faster.
Fiery defense
LOS ANGELES -- Magician and drunken-driving defendant Randall Richman swears he wasn't drinking firewater. But he did eat fire.
Richman says he had just taught a fire-eating class in Hollywood when he was pulled over by police in 1999 for driving without his headlights on and going 55 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Police said he was not carrying a license, his eyes were bloodshot, he could not stand and there was "an odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage." A breath test measured his blood alcohol at twice the legal limit.
But the 32-year-old magician will argue at his April 12 trial that it wasn't liquor that was detected; it was three types of lighter fluid.
The defense has worked before. In 1991, a San Francisco jury acquitted professional fire-eater Ted Maschal on similar charges.
Sailboat sinks off Haiti;at least 15 people dead
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A sailboat carrying Dominicans attempting to reach Puerto Rico sank off Haiti, killing at least 15 people and leaving dozens missing, authorities said Friday.
The boat went down early Thursday after striking a coral reef off the southern end of Ile-a-Vache, a small island about 90 miles southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince, said Dr. Witner Pierre, a regional health ministry official.
He said there were 60 Dominicans aboard, apparently hoping to enter Puerto Rico illegally.
Three Dominicans survived by swimming to shore, Pierre said. Two were in good condition but the third was severely dehydrated.
Fifteen bodies were recovered after they washed ashore, but the remaining 42 aboard were missing, Pierre said.
Children take spotlightin rallies against Israel
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- In a rally by Islamic militants, fourth-graders acted out a suicide bombing Friday as adults threatened Israel with new attacks. In a West Bank march, boys waving assault rifles rode on their fathers' shoulders.
In another "Day of Rage" against Israel, Palestinian children took center stage, prompting warnings by psychologists about lasting damage, but no public outcry.
The role of Palestinian children in six months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting has been hotly debated. Israel says Palestinians send children to the front lines of protest to win the world's sympathy. The Palestinians say Israeli troops have used excessive force against demonstrators, regardless of their age.
Of 352 Palestinians killed since late September, 66 were under age 18; 57 Israeli Jews and 19 others have also died in the fighting. Of the more than 10,000 Palestinians injured, nearly 2,000 were minors.