SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- As the U.S. economy teeters on the precipice of the fiscal cliff, two lottery ticket holders -- one in Arizona and one in Missouri -- successfully matched all six numbers to win the largest Powerball jackpot in history. On Wednesday, the prize was estimated at $550 million, after the multi-state contest failed to produce a winner since October. A day later, when the drawing was held, last minute surges in ticket purchases inflated the jackpot to a record $587.5 million. The unprecedented stakes enticed many people who rarely play the lottery to buy into a chance at the second-largest payout in U.S. history, behind the Mega Millions in March 2012 -- among them, a coalition of House Republicans who had worked on a secretive financial rescue deal called "Project Magic Beans."

OSHKOSH, Wis. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Short on delegates, popular appeal and funds, embattled White House hopeful Newt Gingrich made a brief and desperate appearance in Wisconsin Friday. Economically, Gingrich has been sustained by his half million dollar revolving credit account at Tiffany's -- where he eats his only meal of the day, breakfast -- and the generous financial backing of Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas benefactor who dumped more than $16 million into a Super PAC to support the campaign. However, Adelson is now sending signals that Gingrich's race is run and that he will start supporting Romney. The former Speaker of the House came to the state with the intent of addressing students at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Instead, Gingrich mysteriously changed the venue to a nearby Piggly Wiggly, where he gave an incomplete and emotionally awkward speech before asking someone to show him how the "damned Mega Millions lottery machine" worked.