DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $510 million, making it one of the largest in U.S. history.

No one matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, so the national lottery game will continue to grow ahead of the next drawing Saturday night. At $510 million, the drawing would be the eighth largest lottery jackpot.

The prize figure refers to the annuity option, in which winnings would be paid out over 29 years. A winner who took the cash option would snag $324.2 million, though that would be subject to state and federal taxes.

Powerball is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state agency is warning the public about a woman who reportedly posed as a child protective services employee to try to gain access to homes.

The Department of Health and Human Services says it has received three such reports from Omaha and one from Holdrege in the last two weeks.

The department says in a news release that the woman wasn’t allowed into the homes because she couldn’t provide identification.

Department CEO Courtney Phillips says all of the agency’s employees carry state-issued identification badges and can provide a name and number to call to verify their employment.

The department says anyone unsure about the identity of a person who claims to be an employee should report their concern to the Adult and Child Abuse Neglect Hotline at 1-800-652-1999.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows drought conditions continue to burden the rural economy in parts of 10 Plains and Western states.

The overall Rural Mainstreet Index for the region rose slightly in August to 42.2 from July’s abysmally low 40.7. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with any number under 50 indicating a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says nearly 58 percent of bankers reported in August’s survey that drought conditions were having a negative effect on agriculture products in their area.

Also, bankers expect farmland prices to decline by another 3.5 percent on average over the next year.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska law enforcement agencies are planning to increase their enforcement of drunken driving laws over the next few weeks.

The Nebraska State Patrol says it will hold sobriety checkpoints and increase the number of troopers along with 43 local sheriff’s offices and police departments. The campaign begins Friday and runs through Sept. 3. It’s part of a nationwide effort to keep the roads safe.

The agencies have received $235,000 in federal grant funding through the Nebraska Department of Transportation. The grant money will allow agencies to pay for a collective 6,000 hours in overtime costs.

The patrol says 81 people died last year and 1,208 were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Nebraska

WASHINGTON (AP) — For most people, a total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event. For some eclipse chasers, it’s a way of life.

These veteran eclipse chasers spend lots of money and craft intricate plans all to experience another mid-day darkening of the sky. Many work in science and related fields and they’ll travel around the world, even to Antarctica, to see one more.

For Monday’s full eclipse in the U.S., many of the big eclipse chasers will be in Oregon or Wyoming because there’s a better chance of clear weather there. But they’ll be ready to drive hundreds of miles to find good weather if necessary.

One couple won’t be going far this time. They’re only going as far as their driveway.

This eclipse is coming directly to them in South Carolina.

MCCOOK, Neb. (AP) — A Colorado man who took a plea deal in a counterfeit credit card scheme has been sentenced to jail in Nebraska.

Court records say 40-year-old Michael Anderson, of Loveland, Colorado, was given 360 days during a hearing last month in Red Willow County District Court. He also was ordered to pay nearly $7,000 in restitution to several retailers.

He’d pleaded no contest to unauthorized use of a financial transaction device. Prosecutors lowered the charge in exchange for his plea. Prosecutors say he and a companion had used a counterfeit credit card to make several purchases in McCook.

Companion, Christina Judge, who had been living in Greeley, Colorado, has pleaded not guilty to a similar charge.

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Some animals wearing global positioning equipment for existing research may help the University of Nebraska in Kearney shine a light on the effects of a solar eclipse.

Researchers Dustin Ranglack and Nate Bickford are collecting information about six red-tail hawks wearing GPS devices for a long-term university research project.

The data is being collected this week ahead of Monday’s eclipse and during the week after the eclipse.

One question researchers hope to answer is whether some animals can sense the approaching alignment of the Earth, moon and sun hours before the eclipse is visible.

Bickford says the project will provide more information about eclipses for the next generation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is following through with its promise to sue the state prisons system because it hasn’t taken significant steps to remedy what the group calls inhumane conditions.

The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit early Wednesday on behalf of 11 prisoners. It names the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, its director and various prison system officials.

The lawsuit blames prisoner overcrowding and dangerous understaffing for the deadly riots, staff assaults and escapes of recent years. The lawsuit takes the system to task for what it says is excessive use of solitary confinement and gross negligence of inmates’ medical and mental health issues.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, asks for a court order to require state officials to fix those problems.

DETROIT (AP) — Mazda is recalling nearly 80,000 cars and SUVs, some for a second time, to replace dangerous Takata air bag inflators.

The recall covers front passenger inflators on certain 2007 through 2009 and 2012 CX-7, CX-9 and Mazda 6 vehicles. The recalls vary by state and age of the vehicles.

Takata inflators can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. As many as 19 people have been killed and more than 180 hurt due to the problem.

The recall supersedes one issued in January that temporarily replaced older Takata inflators with the same parts. Ammonium nitrate used in the inflators can deteriorate over time. The company says newer inflators are safer. In the latest recall, dealers will install permanent replacement inflators that don’t use ammonium nitrate.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison officials say an inmate died after collapsing while playing basketball.

A news release from the Nebraska Correctional Services Department said Tuesday that 35-year-old Lucius Turner died around 4 p.m. Monday at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. The department says staff members performed CPR after Turner collapsed, and 911 was called.

The department says Turner was serving a sentence of 40-55 years for robberies in Gage and Lancaster counties.

An autopsy has been ordered.