A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot just before Christmas. The winning numbers were announced on Christmas Eve, and organizers say it is the second-largest pot in U.S. history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025. | Newsweek

In a twist of fate straight out of a hiking-trail surprise, a man from California turned a routine stop for fuel into a life-altering jackpot. Edwin Castro purchased a ticket at a modest gas station in Altadena, just outside Los Angeles — and ended up winning the largest jackpot in U.S. history: a staggering $2.04 billion from Powerball. Castro opted for the lump-sum payout of roughly $997.6 million. After federal taxes, his take-home soared to approximately $628.5 million. Rather than vanish in