Afternoon News Briefs - Mega Millions' soars to half billion

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The Mega Millions’ jackpot grew by another $24 million dollars today due to strong ticket sales and it’s now at an even half billion dollars for the next drawing on Friday night. The top prize was at $476 million overnight, after it was nobody had won the jackpot last night when it was $363 million. The current pot of $500 million is the largest lottery prize in US history and it shatters the previous record of $390 million in a Mega Millions’ drawing in 2007. Wisconsin players have not won a Mega Millions’ jackpot since the game started being played in the Badger State in February of 2010. The biggest Wisconsin prize has been one million dollars and it’s been claimed five times. Friday night’s cash option is just over $359 million for a single winner who wants the whole prize now instead of in annual installments. Mega Millions is played in 41 other states besides Wisconsin, plus Washington DC.

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Seven of Wisconsin’s 12 metro areas added jobs last month. That’s what state officials said today, when they announced local unemployment rates for February. The Milwaukee area gained an estimated 3,000 jobs during the month. Madison added around 1300, and Eau Claire 800. Green Bay created 500 more jobs last month, and La Crosse, Racine, and Appleton added 500 jobs or less. Janesville, Wausau, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan lost an estimated 100 to 200 jobs each. The Oshkosh Neenah region was unchanged. Jobless rates were higher than a month ago in all 12 metros. Janesville had the highest unadjusted rate at 9.7 percent. Madison was the lowest at 5.6. All but six counties saw their unadjusted rates go up from January. Door County was the highest at 13.8 percent. Dane County, which includes Madison, was the lowest at 5.2.

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Several dozen union protestors showed up at a campaign fundraiser in Milwaukee today for Mayor Tom Barrett. He brought in Chicago Mayor and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel to headline a fundraiser in which supporters paid up to $2500 dollars for a table. It’s a sign that Barrett is gearing up to run as a Democrat in the expected recall election against Governor Scott Walker. He’s expected to announce his intentions between Friday and next Tuesday. The state’s largest public employee unions have endorsed Kathleen Falk as the Democratic challenger to Walker. Falk has promised to veto the entire state budget next year if lawmakers do not restore collective bargaining for most public unions. Barrett has not said he would go that far and he has clashed with unions during his years as Milwaukee’s mayor. A new Marquette Law School poll shows Barrett ahead of Falk in a possible Democratic primary

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