Lottery goes online

Lottery goes online

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

With a record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot in play, Illinois picked the right week to become the first state in the nation to sell lottery tickets online. Others are watching closely to see if the new approach pays off and whether the state takes the next big step: launching online poker, blackjack and other casino games.

It took only three minutes for the first online lottery ticket to sell once the system went live at 7 a.m. Sunday. By Thursday evening, more than $425,000 worth of tickets had been sold online, and officials expected sales to increase by the hour as people take their shot at tonight’s record prize.

Canada announces end of the penny

TORONTO

Canada has announced it is scrapping the penny.

The humble 1-cent piece is set to disappear from Canadian pockets, a victim of inflation.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced in the federal budget Thursday that the Royal Canadian Mint will strike the last of the little coins this fall.

The budget says the cost of minting a penny has risen to 1.6 cents or $11 million a year. The budget says some Canadians consider the penny more of a nuisance than a useful coin.

18 die in prison riot

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras

At least 18 people died during an uprising by armed inmates at a Honduran prison Thursday, one of them decapitated and the others killed by a fire started by the rioters, authorities said.

The unrest came six weeks after a fire at another prison in Honduras killed 361 inmates. A fire official said the toll from the latest blaze could rise.

Associated Press