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By Taryn Phaneuf | NerdWallet

Both major national lottery jackpots continued their march upward after drawings Monday and Tuesday, with Mega Millions inching tantalizingly close to an estimated $1 billion top prize. Only five previous Mega Millions jackpots have hit that mark.

The Powerball jackpot rolled over again on Monday night and now stands at an estimated $687 million, with its next drawing tonight (Wednesday, March 20).

• Mega Millions: $977 million estimated jackpot, next drawing Friday, March 22.
• Powerball: $687 million estimated jackpot, next drawing Wednesday, March 20.

If either or both continue to elude a winner in upcoming draws, 2024 could see its first billion-dollar-plus jackpot, a mark that has become more common in recent years. Powerball had a $1.765 billion jackpot (won by a single ticket) as recently as October 2023.

Powerball and Mega Millions tickets are sold for $2 apiece in 45 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• To play Mega Millions, pick five numbers between 1 and 70, and a sixth number between 1 and 25. If you don’t want to pick the numbers yourself, you can get a set of numbers generated for you.
• To play Powerball, pick five numbers between 1 and 69 and a Powerball number from 1 to 26 (or have them randomly generated).

How much is the Mega Millions jackpot?

The current jackpot is estimated at $977 million.

Winners can opt to take their winnings in the form of an annuity or as a single lump sum, known as the cash option. The cash option for the current jackpot is estimated at $461 million. read more

By Shannon Bradley | NerdWallet

Car incentives nearly vanished during the past several years, thanks to pandemic-driven supply chain issues for auto manufacturers. As vehicle inventories dwindled and consumer demand outweighed supply, automakers had no reason to offer incentives like rebates or low-rate financing. The good news is that auto incentives, while still below prepandemic levels, are starting to return.

According to Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company, auto incentives — as a percentage of the average new-vehicle price buyers paid — reached 5.9% in February 2024. That’s compared with a general range of 10% to 11% before COVID-19 hit and 2% in fall 2022. In February, auto manufacturers spent an average of $2,808 per vehicle in incentives, up 88% from a year ago.

With inventories returning to normal and some auto manufacturers again sweetening deals to move vehicles, here’s how you can find and possibly save with car incentives.

Tips for saving with auto incentives

Although new car prices have declined since peaking in late 2022, the average price a buyer pays remains around $47,000. Incentives are one way to whittle down that price tag, and certain strategies can help maximize savings. read more

Attorneys for the Walt Disney World governing district taken over last year by Gov. Ron DeSantis don’t want the governor’s appointees answering questions under oath as part of its state lawsuit against Disney.

Lawyers this week filed a motion that would stop the DeSantis-appointed board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District from having to give videotaped depositions to Disney attorneys.
Disney and the DeSantis appointees are fighting in state court over who controls the governing district for Disney World.

District attorneys cite the “apex doctrine,” which generally provides that high-level government officers shouldn’t be subject to depositions unless opposing parties have exhausted all other means of obtaining information. The doctrine is used in just a handful of U.S. states, including Florida.

“Disney cannot demonstrate that the individual board members have unique, personal knowledge that would be relevant to any of the claims, counterclaims or defenses in this action to overcome the apex doctrine,” district attorneys said in their motion. “Disney’s assault-style effort to depose all the board members is simply an improper form of harassment of these high-level government officials.” read more

By BRIAN MELLEY (Associated Press)

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry alleged Thursday that the publisher of The Sun tabloid unlawfully intercepted phone calls of his late mother, Princess Diana, and father, now King Charles III, as he sought to expand his privacy invasion lawsuit against News Group Newspapers.

The Duke of Sussex is seeking permission during a three-day hearing in the High Court to allow the new claims to be added to his ongoing litigation after evidence surfaced largely through materials turned over by NGN, a subsidiary of the media empire built by Rupert Murdoch, his lawyer said.

Attorney David Sherborne said that the eavesdropping on Diana, her then-estranged husband, Charles, Prince of Wales at the time, and his then paramour, Camilla Parker Bowles, who is now Queen Camilla, inevitably revealed private information about Harry as early as age 9.

Diana was suspicious she was being followed and her calls were being listened to, the amended complaint said. Articles in The Sun and now-defunct News of the World referred to conversations Diana had with close confidants and show that journalists and paparazzi had inside knowledge where she was going to be, including her therapy sessions. read more