Woman hopes to live dream of being homeowner after winning $1M on lottery scratch-off

The winning player, who has requested to remain anonymous, said her husband actually picked up the winning ticket as a gift for her. (Illinois Lottery)

Chicago

A lucky lottery player says they were shocked to discover their $25 scratch-off ticket turned into a $1 million.

According to the Illinois Lottery, a winning player, who has requested to remain anonymous, was given the winning ticket as a gift to her by her husband.

“My husband was on his way home from work and he knows I like crosswords and puzzles in general, so he bought me a $25 Diamond Crossword scratch-off lottery ticket,” the winner shared.

And that ticket ended up returning the $1 million scratch-off prize.

Lottery officials said the woman’s husband purchased the winning ticket at the Monee Tobacco store just outside of Chicago.

“The only people we’ve told so far are our kids,” the winner said. “Each of us had the same shocked reaction and didn’t believe we’d really won a million dollars.”

The lucky winner says they already know what they are going to do with the winnings.

“I’ve always dreamed of buying a house. It would be fabulous to finally say ‘We own this home.’ After taking care of a few other necessary purchases, choosing the perfect house for our family will be the top priority,” she said.

The Monee Tobacco store will also receive a selling bonus of $10,000.

Lottery officials said so far this year players have won more than $1 billion in prizes from Instant Ticket games.

‘One-of-a-kind’: Safari park welcomes rare baby albino alligator

Wild Florida, a wildlife and safari park, announced the hatching of a rare albino alligator. (Wild Florida)

Kenansville, Fla.

A wildlife and safari park in Florida announced the hatching of a rare albino alligator.

Representatives with Wild Florida said their Croc Squad team kept the albino eggs in an incubator and a climate-controlled room under careful watch.

“With the hard work and dedication of our Croc Squad, we worked together to produce one perfect healthy albino alligator hatchling this season,” Andrew Ayala on the Croc Squad said.

According to the animal team, it’s almost impossible to have albino gators reach maturity in the wild and they are dedicated to providing the best environment possible for the animal to thrive.

The albino gator hatchling is expected to make its debut at Wild Florida’s Gator Park after a month of maturity.

For now, guests can see the parents, Snowflake and Blizzard, in their exhibit or the Albino Gator encounter.

“We are most proud of the parents who continue to beat the odds and be a one-of-a-kind experience for guests,” Ayala said.

According to Wild Florida, it is proud to be the only attraction in the world with a successful albino alligator breeding program.

Skydiving instructor dies after hitting dust devil during jump with student, family says

Devrey LaRiccia Chase, 28, died in a skydiving accident in California after encountering a dust devil. (GoFundMe)

A skydiving instructor in California has reportedly died after a tandem skydiving accident.

According to multiple reports, Devrey LaRiccia Chase, 28, was on a routine jump with a student last Friday when they ran into a pair of dust devils after deploying their parachute.

“She missed the first one, and when she maneuvered around it, she hit the second one,” her husband, Freddy Chase, told KTLA. “She was about 25 to 30 feet in the air … it sent her canopy in a downward spiral.”

Devrey LaRiccia Chase and her student were left with no time to react and ended up slamming into the ground.

Both were rushed to an area hospital. The student reportedly suffered serious injuries while the 28-year-old instructor died.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the tragic passing of our beloved daughter and sister, Devrey LaRiccia,” family members shared through a GoFundMe.

Freddy Chase, also an experienced skydiver, told KTLA that his wife was passionate about skydiving and helped him film videos of his jumps for social media.

Devrey LaRiccia Chase’s family said she moved to California a few years ago and they are now raising money to bring her body back home to Maine.

Babies R Us is reopening in these 200 Kohl’s locations

FILE — Kohl’s is getting ready to welcome Babies R Us at 200 stores that will open later this year. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Kohl’s is opening Babies R Us shops in its existing stores.

The retailer said it plans to open 200 mini-shops nationwide in the fall.

Babies R Us closed its brick-and-mortar locations in 2018 after Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy.

The new shops are expected to carry a variety of baby merchandise including furniture, accessories, strollers, baby gear and more.

Kohl’s will continue to sell baby clothing and said its Babies R Us mini-shops will not take away from its current offerings but create a comprehensive baby shopping experience.

Babies R Us products will also be available online.

The new Babies R Us locations can be found here.

Simone Biles earns her 7th gold medal by winning women’s vault final at Paris Olympics

Simone Biles, of the United States, is congratulated during the women's artistic gymnastics individual vault finals at the 2024 Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Paris

Simone Biles earned her 10th career Olympic medal on Saturday by taking the women’s vault final for a second time.

Biles has already become the most decorated American gymnast in the history of the Olympics.

She added her seventh gold medal thanks to her performance in the vault final and boosted her medal count at major international competitions to 40, the most by any gymnast.

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade pushed Biles in Saturday’s final but it wasn’t enough.

Andrade ended up taking silver in the competition and American gymnast Jade Carey earned bronze.

Biles, along with her teammates, also took home the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team final earlier in the week.