A Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, won a $1.817 billion jackpot just before Christmas. | AP

A pall is hanging over the holiday season in Lexington, Nebraska, where the Tyson beef plant, by far the largest employer in this small town, is set to lay off 3,200 people when the company closes its facility on Jan. 20 after three decades of operation. Tyson says it’s closing the plant to “right-size” its beef business after a historically low cattle herd in the U.S. and the company’s expected loss of $600 million on beef production next fiscal year. | AP