US Dreams Of World Record $1.5bn Lotto Jackpot

Legions of players have been undeterred by one-in-292m odds of scooping Wednesday night's Powerball draw.

The winner can choose to be paid the full jackpot in annual instalments for 29 years or take $930m as a one-off payment, before taxes.

Lottery officials say people have been flocking over the border from Mexico and Canada to buy tickets, as players do not have to be US citizens.

Hundreds queue for Powerball tickets in San Bernardino, California

Hundreds of people have been queuing at some outlets for a chance to play the game. 

The Multi-State Lottery Association says if there are no winners, the jackpot will roll over to $2bn on Saturday with a lump sum payout of $1.24bn.

Some 85.8% of possible number combinations have been picked for Wednesday evening's draw, lottery officials say.

The jackpot for the twice-weekly game has soared from $40m on 4 November.

A ticket holder must match all numbers on six balls - five white ones from a drum containing 69 balls, and a red one pulled from a drum with 26 - to hit the jackpot.

"Sales are doing exponentially more than we've ever done before," Gary Grief, chair of the Powerball game group, told AFP on Tuesday.

Workers at a restaurant in New Jersey last week celebrated winning the Powerball lottery without realising they had matched numbers for the wrong day.

The previous US jackpot record of $656m, on March 30, 2012, was scooped up by three winners from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas.

The world's richest lottery is Spain's annual Christmas El Gordo, which in 2015 handed out 2.2bn euros ($2.4bn), but capped individual wins at 400,000 euros.

How to Erase Everything You’ve Said to Google

Google is an indispensable tool for getting information. That means we’ve all asked it the occasional embarrassing question. If you’re curious about what you’ve told Google recently — or you want to delete a search that you’d rather not recall — there’s a simple way to do it.

When you perform a voice search on an Android smartphone by saying a trigger phrase like “OK Google” or tapping the microphone icon, Google sometimes saves a recording of your query. While that might sound off-putting, you’ve probably benefitted from Google doing so. Saving these questions enables the service to make smarter and more relevant suggestions as you search.

Google only stores these recordings if you’re signed into your Google account and have the Voice & Audio Activity setting turned on. It can only store recordings of searches performed on Android devices, but support for other platforms like iOS is coming soon.

Here’s how to see and manage your list of Google voice searches:

1. Navigate to Google’s Voice & Audio Activity page.
2. Log in to your Google account if you haven’t done so already.
3. Once you’re logged in, you should see a list of voice actions you’ve performed and the date they were recorded. To delete an item, check the box next to the search you’d like to erase.
4. Then press or click the the Delete button at the top of the page.

You can also delete items in bulk or from a specific date:

1. Start by pressing the menu button that looks like three dots stacked on top of one another in the upper righthand corner of the screen.
2. Select “Delete options” from the drop down menu.
3. Choose if you’d like to delete all searches from today or yesterday by clicking or tapping the appropriate bubble. If you want to erase previous searches, you can select the “Advanced” bubble to get rid of searches from the past four weeks, or your complete search history

Google Maps’ New Hidden Feature Could Be Very Useful

The navigation app is getting a new feature that can suggest a user’s destination before it’s been entered, allowing drivers to see traffic updates, estimated arrival times, and detours right away.

Technology blog Android Policefirst spotted the feature, called Driving Mode, which looks at users’ location history and previous Web searches to guess where that person may be headed next. Google later confirmed to TIME that Driving Mode is launching on Android this week.

Driving Mode will take into account factors such as the time of day, current location, and day of the week to make smart predictions about where a user might be going, as long as location history is enabled. If a home and work location are set in Google Maps, Driving Mode will pull up directions to those places at times when it makes sense.

For instance, if it’s 6 p.m. on a Monday, Driving Mode may pull up directions to home. Launching Driving Mode at that same time on a Saturday might yield different results.

Driving Mode also looks at recent searches in Google Maps and Google Searches to make these suggestions, as long as the user is logged in to his or her Google account. The purpose is to make it easier to learn about traffic conditions before even getting in the car, since Google says drivers can access that information with a single tap.

There are two ways to access Driving Mode: by pressing and holding down on the Android home screen and adding the Driving Mode shortcut icon, or through the sidebar within the Google Maps app.

Man Shouted 'Let Go' Before Custody Death

Thomas Orchard stopped breathing after being restrained for more than 20 minutes by officers following his arrest on suspicion of a public order offence in Exeter in 2012.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court was shown CCTV of the moment a large webbing restraint belt was placed across his face at Exeter's main police station, which officers claim was to stop him from biting.

The prosecution argues the belt covered both the 32-year-old's nose and mouth and was left in place for more than five minutes, and for much of this time he was also being held face down.

Mark Heywood QC said that Mr Orchard appeared to shout "let go" at one point and could also be seen struggling against the restraint.

He asked jurors to consider if he was a man "beginning already to suffer from lack of oxygen and is starting to struggle against it, or if it's simply capricious behaviour on his part?"

The church caretaker appeared to make little or no movement when the restraints were removed and he was left lying face down on a mattress.

Bristol Crown Court heard officers looked in on Mr Orchard several times before entering his cell after 12 minutes and discovering he was not breathing. He was taken to hospital where he died seven days later.

Custody Sergeant Jan Kingshott, 44, and civilian detention officers Simon Tansley, 38, and Michael Marsden, 55, are accused of the manslaughter of Mr Orchard.

Mr Heywood argued: "The combination of force and physical restraints used on him on the day of his arrest, coupled with a complete failure to inquire and so to realise his true condition and also to observe him closely, led to him being starved of oxygen to the point of cardio-respiratory arrest."

The three defendants have pleaded not guilty to two joint charges of manslaughter.

The first charge alleges that they performed an act or series of acts which unlawfully killed Mr Orchard; the second alleges they unlawfully killed Mr Orchard by gross negligence.

The case is expected to last five weeks.

Friends Cast To Reunite For Comedy Special

Chandler, Rachel, Joey, Monica, Ross and Phoebe are expected to appear for the two-hour special on NBC next month.

The US network announced the news at the Television Critics Association's press tour in Pasadena on Wednesday.

It is hoped all the original cast members - Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow - will take part.

The cast in the show's Central Perk coffee shop in 1999

NBC chief Robert Greenblatt told reporters: "I'm hoping all six will be in same room at same time.

"I'm not sure we can logistically can pull it off." 

There have been several TV mini-reunionswith a few cast members since the hit sitcom ended in 2004 after 10 seasons, but never all six.

The upcoming curtain call will be a tribute to famed comedy director James Burrows, who also produced the likes of Taxi, Frasier and Cheers.

The special will air on Sunday 21 February.

Banker Bonus Clawback Rules To Be Tightened

The measures would toughen policies that have already been brought in following public anger over the financial crisis, which allow for bonuses to be cut, stopped or clawed back.

Regulators say they want to go further and crack down on so-called "rolling bad apples" – bankers who pocket a bonus and then join another lender before any reckless behaviour is uncovered.

Andrew Bailey, deputy governor of the Bank of England and head of the Bank's Prudential Regulation Authority, said: "Individuals should be held accountable for their actions and not be able to actively evade the consequences of their actions.

"Today's proposals seek to ensure that individuals are not rewarded for bad practice or wrongdoing and should help to encourage a culture within firms where reward better reflects the risks being taken."

The proposed new rules target buy-outs – when a bank compensates new employees for unpaid bonuses that were cancelled when they left their old bank.

Regulators say these undermine the ability of the original employer to claw back a bonus which has been paid, or withhold or cut the unpaid portion of a bonus, should misconduct be discovered later.

The new proposals say an employee's new contract would allow for a bonus to be recovered or not paid should the person's former employer determine guilt in misconduct or risk management failings.

But they would also allow the new employer to apply for a waiver if they believe the determination of guilt by the old firm was "manifestly unfair or unreasonable".

Alexandra Beidas, an employment lawyer at Linklaters, said the proposals – which are subject to consultation – would make it impossible for a banker to wipe the slate clean by changing jobs.

But she added: "It remains to be seen if this will be workable in practice as it will involve sharing potentially sensitive information between banks."

Last year, the BoE said it would stop short of actually banning buy-outs for fear this would lead to a competitive disadvantage for British firms given there is no similar rule in other financial centres around the world.

Sainsbury's Could Shut Up To 200 Argos Stores

The plan would see outlets closed and relocated as concessions occupying under-used space within big Sainsbury's supermarkets.

Details of the potential shake-up emerged as Sainsbury's set out its case for a potential £1bn-plus move for Home Retail Group, which also owns DIY chain Homebase.

Sainsbury's said it was still considering its position after it took the market by surprise last week when it revealed it had made an initial offer in November, which was rebuffed. It has until 2 February to renew its approach.

The supermarket set out the rationale for any deal in a 21-page presentation to investors at the same time as it published a Christmas trading update on Wednesday.

This centres on accelerating its growth strategy by getting its hands on Argos's home delivery and digital expertise.

Chief executive Mike Coupe also said that around half of Argos' 734 stores have leases expiring in the next five years and some would close if a deal materialised.

Sky News understands that between 150 and 200 Argos stores could be impacted. 

The UK's second-biggest supermarket said the takeover was a "strategically compelling transaction", which would allow it to take on the might of rivals such as Amazon, with more than 100,000 general merchandise products between Argos and Sainsbury's.

A Sainsbury's and Argos tie-up would oversee a £6bn non-food business putting it in the same league as John Lewis and M&S.

Mr Coupe remained tight-lipped on his plans for Homebase - the business Sainsbury's had owned until 2000 - renewing speculation that it would be spun off should a deal come to fruition. 

Home Retail Group shares were 5% higher on the back of the reiterated interest, and have risen nearly 50% since Sainsbury's first announced its intentions a little over a week ago. 

Alongside the Argos update Sainsbury's issued its Christmas sales figures which showed that like-for-like sales dipped 0.4%, falling short of analysts' expectations for a small rise.

The fall in sales could be attributed to the store's decision to reduce levels of vouchering and promotional activity. It also reduced the number of multi-buys in favour of lower regular prices.

Mr Coupe, said: "We have traded well during the festive period in a highly competitive market."

Sainsbury's 757-strong convenience outlets enjoyed a record sales day on Christmas Eve while online sales grew by nearly 10% over the period. Despite the unseasonably warm weather, clothing sales grew by nearly 6%. 

Britain's big supermarkets have been under pressure from the advance of discounters Aldi and Lidl but some analysts have begun to think their fortunes may be improving. 

Commenting on signs of an upturn, Mr Coupe said that "perhaps the tide has gone out as far as it can go".

Sainsbury's shares were 1% lower .