why police evacuated them for more than six hours today. this is fox5 news 6. local. las vegas in just two hours -- you could win a billion and a half dollars. the largest ever powerball drawing is sending thousands of people out of the valley to arizona and california. i'm christine maddela. i'm elizabeth watts .. in for john huck. while the chances of any of us winning are tiny .. it hasn't stopped people from dreaming. we have team coverage from both arizona and california.. and that's where we begin .. with fox five's ophelia young - live at the lotto store in primm. powerball players are not messing around here - got tickets early so they won't miss the 7 o clock deadline and lines are now only long. further down the 15 - there were no lines at all. but the last few days have been the best business days in years- like in

"nat train" nipton california - town of about 30 people - 10 minutes off the 15. "we like to say were conveniently located in the middle of nowhere." on an average day - the nipton trading post gets about 40 customers - over the last week - "it's been pretty crazy with the lottery but we love the lottery." they've had thousands in line - up to a four hour wait at times. the frenzy has been so big - "it doesn't say billions - it says millions so i guess we cant really change it." the quaint little store cant keep up. "i think were going to have to get a new sign!" it's the most business nipton has seen since the lotto store in primm opened. before then-- in the early 90's the nipton trading post says they were the largest retailer of lottery tickets in california. "nat" since then they've

regular lotto players in southern nevada - who drive right past primm another 20 minutes. today "nat of cash register." new players are finding them on the map. "we stopped by primm and the line was serious long and we thought about it and we took the extra 20 minutes came here to nipton in and out of there in 10 minutes winning tickets." "when i saw the disaster i looked up on my google on the phone and then discovered this place." other businesses in nipton also cashing in. "we've actually had some people come and stay in hotels so they can be first in line in the morning - which is actually pretty smart." lottery stores make a 6 percent commission on all ticket sales and a million dollar bonus for a ticket that wins the jackpot. but to the nipton trading post - this record jackpot has given them something else bigger than that. "i think it reputs us on the map so i think peopel will be reintroduced." roxanne says she wants to retire - so wouldnt that one million dollar bonus be nice.

this morning in primm .. just as the sun was rising .. dozens of people were lined up braving the cold.. waiting to buy tickets.. and daniel salazar - the district sales manager for california lottery was on hand .. ready to warm them up and wake them up! "...we're going to have a winner here

he went along the line getting people excited .. and handed out free hats, shirts .. even tickets! of course .. powerball sales are also going well over in arizona.. that's where fox 5's miguel martinez-valle is tonight at the last stop.. and miguel ... how long is the line tonight? closed captioning

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so come tonight .. and you're not a powerball winner.. you can still use your tickets. the creative marketers at the plaza in downtown las vegas are offering you up to 25-dollars in free play for your losing tickets! so if you spent 10 dollars on losing tickets - they will give you 10 dollars in free play if you exchange your tickets. moments ago the public utilities commission of nevada unanimously voted to deny a motion to delay net metering changes that have solar customers upset. fox5s abby theodros joins us live with how people are handling today's outcome. earlier today there was a sea of people w signs just like this one. vocalizing how damaging the new net metering changes are to the solar industry.

restructuring would cut the rate nv energy pays solar customers for generating excess power. since that unanimous decision from the commission muliple solar companies have respomded w mass layoffs - some even stopping service in nevada all together. solar industry employees say the decision also hurts the economy. larry cohen, branch manager for sunrun in las vegas: now for sure there will be loss of economic revenue for each municipality because just one company alone has put in millions of dollars and my other competitors im sure have matched the same amount of money larry cohen said he just laid off dozens of people and sunrun will stop iperations in the state march 6z. by contrast the commissioner presiding over the case says solar companies should be concerned with other forces

business including stable retail electric rates and historically low natural gas prices. a couple of groups opposed to the restructuring filed a petition to reconsider the changes all together. the commission has 40 days to grant or deny it. tasc tells me they'll take it to court. it turns out a metro police officer accused of choking his girlfriend was arrested in 2011 for a separate, but similar that's according to an arrest burt. department since 2005 but in 2011, an incident with similar circumstances led to his arrest. in this latest incident, his girlfriend of five months told police he wouldn't let her leave their home when their argument turned physical... and said he covered her nose and mouth with his hand. burt told police there was no physical violence, but afterward suggested they quote "just throw the hooks on and take me to jail."

pending the results of the internal investigation. a 38-year old woman is dead after police say she lost control of her car. it happened just after 12-30 this morning on rampart and summerlin parkway. nhp says stacey palmer was driving east .. lost control .. drove over the center median and flipped over in the westbound lanes. palmer was thrown from the car. officers say she was not wearing a seatbelt. they say speed may have been a factor in the crash. no other vehicles were involved. for more than six hours north las vegas police tried to talk an armed man out of a home. this happened on st. george street.. near civic center and las vegas boulevard. tonight , police have a man in custody. friends say he's ricardo cesar martinez.. on his facebok page today he was posting disturbing pictures and videos during the standoff. police say the information they man was inside his home with a gun .. and was suicidal. all neighbors in the nearby vicinity were evacuated or told to stay in their homes.

stand off was resolved peacefully.. and the neighborhood has been reopened. coming up .. laptops for local students. a new partnership could make it happen. and .. nascar returns to the valley.. nascar engine sound it's test day at the track.. what they're testing that could help a local racer win another championship. balloons and confetti falling and why this pep rally at unlv has everything to do with this year's presidential election. your fox5 weather 24/7 forecast is

do you think when you are president you'll be paid as much

this is one of the jobs where they have to pay you the same. but there are so many examples where that doesn't happen. i'm going to do everything i can to make sure every woman in every job gets paid the same... ...as the men who are doing that job. i'm hillary clinton

we are just over 10 months away from a very big day here in the valley.. october 19th .. the final presidential debate will take place at unlv. and today - the university and the lvcva kicked off an effort to get the community excited and involved.. band playing the unlv marching band was just one of the guests at the rally.. which included the governor .. the university president ..

leaders ... and even a political balloon drop! they unveiled a logo for the debate ... a new website .. and a slogan, "let freedom ring." "it makes me proud. what an opportunity for all of us to have the eyes of the world on nevada on las vegas. they estimate maybe an audience of a hundred and fifty million people we will have the final presidential debate, i mean what more could you ask for? it's an opportunity for all of us and i'm sure nevada will embrace it." we asked the governor if he has a favorite candidate and is declaring his support for anyone yet.. he said he's still talking to some of them and not willing to say who he's backing at this time. nevada's hammered out a contract with an oregon computer manufacturer to get laptops in the hands of thousands of middle schoolers. the state announced a deal this week with "c- t-l" to help implement the new "nevada ready 21" program authorized by the legislature. schools can apply for competitive grants that will be awarded in march. teachers and principals will get training this spring on how to

as teaching tools, and students will receive a chromebook with a google operating system next school year. people in parts of wisconsin may have felt what's known as a "frost quake" last night. twitter was abuzz with people o thought they may have felt one. and the national weather service says they got several reports of "frost quakes." turns out this is a real thing... and happens when water in the soil expands as it freezes -- which can cause a large boom and the ground can shake. the conditions have to be precise for them to happen and a the weather conditions were right. (( weather )) now fox5 weather 24/7 with chief meteorologist ted pretty we have a series of disturbances moving off of the pacific through the southern nevada area. most of these just throw us some clouds, but now models are picking up on a very slight

for saturday and sunday, then again with a separate system on tuesday. we'll stay around 60 degrees for highs through the 7-day forecast after thursday where we expect 55. overnight lows get above the 40 degree mark into the weekend and beyond. we will see another round of freezing lows into thursday with a start at 34. we have a series of disturbances moving off of the pacific through the southern nevada

just throw us some clouds, but now models are picking up on a very slight chance of showers for saturday and sunday, then again with a separate system on tuesday. we'll stay around 60 degrees for highs through the 7-day forecast after thursday where we expect 55. overnight lows get above the 40 degree mark into the weekend and beyond. we will see another round of freezing lows into

closed captioning will resume shortly it was just the way they like it... a loud day around the las vegas motor speedway.. nascar engine sound today, four nascar drivers were on hand to help test new goodyear tires for the upcoming season. jimmie johnson, brad keselowski, matt kenseth and kurt busch were behind the wheel today.

"we're here to help goodyear and nascar develop a tire along with developing this car that has less downforce. so a couple changes, nothing too dramatic, but we're trying to find the best combination of speed, handling and making the tire durable but most importantly putting together a good product on track so the cars can race side by side more easily." busch - who is from las vegas - said he hopes these tests will help him and his team consistantly finish higher in races in the upcoming season. this year's nascar weekend at the las vegas motor speedway is march 4th through 6th. next .. the release of american sailors from iran .. not everyone is happy with this situation. and see how the gop presidential candidates are going after each other just a day

on average, it takes three hundred americans working for a solid year,

it's called the wage gap. and the republicans will make it worse by lowering taxes for those at the top and lcorporations write their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise incomes for families, a higher minimum wage, lower taxes for the middle class. she'll get the job done for us. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. ten american sailors are free from iranian custody tonight - but questions still remain about both their capture and their release. the ten american sailors who were detained by the iranian revolutionary guard yesterday were handed over to the american naval fleet this morning. secretary of state john kerry said the sailors were well taken care of... and thanked the iranian authorities for their quick response. but critics are questioning the timing of the incident... occuring just days before a nuclear deal with iran is set to go

momentum is building ahead of tomorrow night's prime time g-o-p presidential debate. fox's joel waldman is in south carolina .. where the debate will take place. a number of gop candidates firing warning shots at competitors as they get ready to square off here in the early voting state of south carolina tomorrow night. new jersey governor chris christie...warning potential voters in new hampshire not to nominate another first term senator like president obama... christie says: "he was us senator, a first term us senator. he had never run anything of consequence in his life." christie aiming directly at senators marco rubio and ted cruz. new polling showing cruz leading in iowa... where the race is extremely tight between cruz and donald trump. while trump continues to float questions about whether cruz, born in canada to an american mother, is even elidgible to be president. cruz is fighting back...in iowa...and also in new hampshire where he lags far behind trump. meantime today trump also taking

governor nikki haley. trump says: "perhaps, if i weren't running, she would be in my office asking me for money." analysts say haley appeared to take a swipe at trump while responding to the president's state of the union speech tuesday night. haley says: there's a tendency to falsely equate noise with results. some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. that is just not true. trump says: "she's weak on illegal immigration. and she certainly has no trouble asking me for campaign contributions" back, in iowa, there is also a fierce battle for third place between marco rubio and ben carson. right now there are only 19 days to go before the iowa caucuses. in north charleston, joel waldman, fox news. ahead .. a story for anyone who likes to stay on top of fashion.. why this store in california is selling out of this colorful 'shorty' shirt. keep watching for an all new more

it's called a rigged economy, and this is how it works. most new wealth flows to the top 1%. it's a system held in place by corrupt politics where wall street banks and billionaires buy elections. my campaign is powered by over a million small contributions, people like you who want to fight back. the truth is you can't change a corrupt system by taking its money. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message.

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here's a look at some of the 'all new' stories we are working for fox5 news at ten. a several hour standoff ends in north las vegas... how social media played a role in today's events... and how it may have saved his life. time is running out.... and more than a billion dollars is at stake... will their be a winner tonight for the record breaking powerball jackpot? we hear from those who waited in line for hours for a shot at the fortune. earlier this week .. mexican authorities captured drug cartel boss joaquin "el chapo" guzman .. at the same time video and pictures came out of him with sean penn. but now .. it's what's in those picture that's creating good business for a store owner in california. we're talking about the shirts he's seen wearing. managers at "barabas" in los

chapo" was wearing two of their shirts! the store's owner says he has no idea how "el chapo" got a hold of them. in case you're wondering .. the shirts cost 128- dollars each. thanks for joining us.. access" -- why is mark ruffalo in vegas talking about the sun? "avengers" actor tonight. then -- less than a week until jennifer lopez opens her residency on the strip. we reveal how you can meet the star without spending a penny!

"hell's kitchen"