Jackpot-winning family 'stunned'
DEARBORN, Mo., Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A family from Dearborn, Mo., who won half of a $587.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot said Friday they're "still stunned by what's happened."
Mark and Cindy Hill appeared at a press conference Friday with their three adult sons and adopted daughter Jaiden, 6, where they were presented with a check for more than $293 million, NBC News reported.
"We're still stunned by what's happened. It's surreal and people keep asking us, 'What are you going to buy with it?' I just want to go home and be back to normal," said Cindy Hill, 51.
Cindy Hill said that when she learned she may have won the jackpot Thursday, she called her husband.
"I called my husband and told him, 'I think I am having a heart attack,'" Hill said. "I think we just won the lottery!"
The other winning ticket was sold at the Four Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills, just outside of Phoenix, Ariz.
State lottery spokeswoman Karen Bach said the winner hasn't come forward there, CNN reported.
"Unbelievable," said Four Sons manager Bob Chebat. "Everyone comes in here buying tickets, joking they'll take care of you if they win. But chances are so slim that it becomes standard that no one does win. I just don't know what to say. I'm shocked. I hope I was the guy who sold the winning ticket."
Meanwhile, the California Lottery Commission unanimously voted Thursday to bring Powerball to the state, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Tickets, which cost $2 each, will go on sale at licensed lottery merchants in April.
Three dead in Casper, Wyo., campus attack
CASPER, Wyo., Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Police said a man used an edged weapon to kill one person in Casper, Wyo., Friday before killing a faculty member and taking his own life at Casper College.
Police Chief Chris Walsh told reporters the motive for the attacks was not clear but it appeared all three of the dead shared some sort of relationship, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. Walsh did not identify any of the dead, pending notification of their families, and declined to describe the weapon, other than to say it was an "edged weapon."
Walsh said the suspect was not a student at the college. He said no firearms were involved and no suspects were at large.
Police cordoned off a street in a part of Casper where there were reports of a body on the street, the newspaper said. One neighbor said the body was clothed in pajamas.
Police found the suspect and the other victim in a third-floor classroom at the school's physical sciences building.
Delina Barbosa, a student at the college, told the Star-Tribune she was in class at about 9:10 a.m. MST when a college employee told students they needed to evacuate immediately.
The campus was locked down for a time. The lockdown was lifted but students were advised to restrict their on-campus movements, the report said.
Natrona County School District officials put schools on lockdown as well, and the Wyoming Medical Center was on lockdown for about 30 minutes, the newspaper said.
Casper College said counselors would be available and employees not involved in the school's response to the attack were free to go home for the day.
Troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Although an exact figure hasn't been decided, the number of U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after the 2014 pullout will be substantial, officials said.
Speaking Thursday at a news conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said a number of U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan after the pullout to participate in training of Afghan forces as well as counter-terrorism efforts.
"The fundamental mission in Afghanistan is to establish an Afghanistan that can secure and govern itself and ensure that al-Qaida never again finds a safe haven within Afghanistan from which to conduct attacks on the United States or any other country," Panetta said.
"The goal here is an enduring presence, therefore, that will direct itself towards, you know, three important missions. One is obviously CT, counter-terrorism, to ensure that we continue to go after whatever al-Qaida targets remain in Afghanistan. And although, you know, we clearly have had an impact on their presence in Afghanistan, the fact is that they continue to show up and intelligence continues to indicate that, you know, they are looking for some kind of capability to be able to go into Afghanistan, as well."
The exact number of troops to stay in Afghanistan is yet to be determined.
The U.S. Senate voted 62-33 Thursday for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan. Although the bipartisan vote in favor of a faster pullout is non-binding, it will likely affect talks between President Barack Obama and the military on the withdrawal of the 66,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Khaama Press said.
NYPD officer gives homeless man shoes
NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A New York City police officer became famous when he was spotted by a tourist giving a homeless man a pair of shoes, but he says he was just doing his job.
A photo of NYPD officer Larry DePrimo, 25, giving a barefoot homeless man a pair of boots was posted Tuesday on the NYPD's Facebook page and has since been shared more than 133,000 times and "Liked" by more than 409,000 people, New York Daily News reported.
"When you're a police officer, you're just out there to help people," DePrimo said. "And in situations like this, you just do what you have to do."
The picture was taken in Times Square Nov. 14.
On that night, DePrimo said he was manning a post at West 44th Street and Broadway.
"I looked over and someone was laughing at this elderly gentleman who had no socks [and] no shoes," he said. "You could see the blisters from a distance."
DePrimo said he asked the man what size shoe he wore, then went into a nearby Sketchers store and purchased a $100 pair of all-weather boots.
"It was really inspiring to see someone take 5 minutes out of their work day to do something small that can become something big," store manager Jose Cano, 28, said.
DePrimo carried the boots and a pair of thermal socks to the man, who was standing outside.
Jennifer Foster, who was visiting from Florence, Ariz., with her husband, captured the moment with a cellphone camera.
"The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching," Foster wrote with her Facebook post.
DePrimo's gesture left John Harry, who is homeless, in awe.
"That's mighty nice of that cop," Harry, 65, said. "Last time someone gave me new shoes, I think I was 10 years old."
DePrimo, who was given a set of NYPD commissioner cuff links for his kind deed, described the experience as "humbling."
"I think it's an important reminder," he said. "You see something like this and you remember that people have it worse."
