After 45 drawings with no jackpot winner, the Powerball jackpot has climbed to $1.6 billion ahead of Monday night’s drawing at 10:59 p.m. ET.

The jackpot ranks as the fourth largest in Powerball history and the fifth largest among U.S. lottery jackpots, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the lottery.

To win the jackpot, a ticketholder must match all six numbers on their ticket. The winner would then choose between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.6 billion or a lump-sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. The annuity option includes one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5% each year.

Both options are before taxes. Winnings are subject to an automatic 24% federal withholding, but winners can expect to be in the top 37% marginal tax bracket when they file their 2025 return.

State taxes can reduce winnings even further. Eight states — California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — do not tax lottery winnings at all, while most others levy state taxes of roughly 4% to 6%.

Below is a state-by-state breakdown of how much winners could take home under both payout options, listed alphabetically by each state and district, per usamega.com.

• Lump sum: $444,899,480
• Annuity: $969,289,380

• Lump sum: $434,605,280
• Annuity: $946,889,400

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $430,928,780
• Annuity: $938,889,390

• Lump sum: $411,884,510
• Annuity: $897,449,400

• Lump sum: $414,752,180
• Annuity: $903,689,400

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $425,119,910
• Annuity: $926,249,400

• Lump sum: $421,406,645
• Annuity: $918,169,380

• Lump sum: $426,884,630
• Annuity: $930,089,400

• Lump sum: $441,222,980
• Annuity: $961,289,400

• Lump sum: $435,340,580
• Annuity: $948,489,390

• Lump sum: $421,369,880
• Annuity: $918,089,400

• Lump sum: $433,869,980
• Annuity: $945,289,380

• Lump sum: $441,222,980
• Annuity: $961,289,400

• Lump sum: $410,708,030
• Annuity: $894,889,380

• Lump sum: $393,428,480 
• Annuity: $857,289,390

• Lump sum: $397,104,980
• Annuity: $865,289,400

• Lump sum: $432,031,730
• Annuity: $941,289,390

• Lump sum: $390,854,930
• Annuity: $851,689,380

• Lump sum: $430,928,780
• Annuity: $938,889,390

• Lump sum: $428,722,880
• Annuity: $934,089,390 

• Lump sum: $419,899,280 
• Annuity: $914,889,390

• Lump sum: $425,046,380
• Annuity: $926,089,380

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $384,237,230
• Annuity: $837,289,380

• Lump sum: $419,899,280
• Annuity: $914,889,390

• Lump sum: $383,134,280
• Annuity: $834,889,380

• Lump sum: $432,031,730
• Annuity: $941,289,390

• Lump sum: $441,958,280
• Annuity: $962,889,390

• Lump sum: $440,303,855
• Annuity: $959,289,390

• Lump sum: $428,355,230
• Annuity: $933,289,380

• Lump sum: $390,487,280
• Annuity: $850,889,400

• Lump sum: $440,708,270
• Annuity: $960,169,380

• Lump sum: $419,237,510 
• Annuity: $913,449,390

• Lump sum: $417,693,380
• Annuity: $910,089,390

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $398,943,230
• Annuity: $869,289,390

• Lump sum: $421,002,230
• Annuity: $917,289,390

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

• Lump sum: $384,237,230
• Annuity: $837,289,380

• Lump sum: $427,840,520
• Annuity: $932,169,390

• Lump sum: $407,031,530
• Annuity: $886,889,400

• Lump sum: $463,281,980
• Annuity: $1,009,289,400

Want to give your kids the ultimate advantage? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, How to Raise Financially Smart Kids. Learn how to build healthy financial habits today to set your children up for greater success in the future.

Every parent hopes that their child will still come to them years from now to spend time together, share their victories and setbacks, and seek guidance.

As a conscious parenting researcher, I’ve studied more than 200 kids, and I’m a mother myself. This kind of lifelong closeness is built early on in the small, everyday moments that teach a child whether it’s safe to be fully themselves around their parents.

Here are the practices parents should start early on if they want a relationship that lasts well into adolescence and adulthood.

Children rise to the expectations we set for them. When kids are micromanaged or constantly overcorrected, they can slowly become more resentful or secretive.

Offer trust early and often. Try saying: “I trust you. If anything feels tough, you can come to me.” This trust becomes the foundation they rely on later, when life gets more complicated.

If you want your child to come to you as a teen, they need to learn early that their inner world is safe with you.

When you shut down crying, fear or frustration, your kids may just stop bringing them to you. Validation can sound like: “Everything you feel is allowed here.” Emotional safety now leads to emotional openness later.

I’ve seen so many kids pull away from their parents because they feel suffocated by expectations.

Give them space to be curious, loud and weird. Kids stay more connected to the people who allow them to be who they are as they grow older.

Acceptance isn’t the same as agreement. It’s the message: “Who you are is loved and welcome here.”

Children stay close to adults who make room for their whole identity, not just the parts that are easy to parent. When they feel accepted now, they’re less likely to hide themselves later.

The strongest parent-child relationships are built on repair. Replace “I’m sorry you feel that way” with: “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. I’m going to do better.”

When parents take responsibility, they teach children that mistakes don’t break the relationship.

Kids are more likely to shut down when they don’t feel heard. So when they share fears or frustrations, they’re usually asking for connection.

Instead of immediately trying to offer a solution, try saying: “Tell me more about that.” Listening builds the bridge they’ll keep crossing as the stakes get higher.

If a child learns early that disagreement leads to conflict, punishment, or withdrawal of your love, they’ll stop being honest later.

Healthy closeness requires emotional freedom, so when your child disagrees with you, respond with curiosity instead of control. Teach them that honesty is safe and that it will never threaten your bond.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of the BOUND and FOUNDATIONS journals, now offered together as her Holiday Emotional Safety Bundle. She is widely recognized for her expertise in children’s emotional well-being and for redefining what it means to raise emotionally healthy kids. Connect with her on Instagram.

Want to give your kids the ultimate advantage? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, How to Raise Financially Smart Kids. Learn how to build healthy financial habits today to set your children up for greater success in the future. Use coupon code EARLYBIRD for 30% off. Offer valid from Dec. 8 to Dec. 22, 2025. Terms apply.

Workers who moved out of London for remote work are under pressure to come back to the office in the city, and some are choosing to stay in Japanese-inspired sleeping pods for just £30 ($40).

I travelled to Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London to spend a night in a newly opened capsule hotel, after two of my colleagues who live outside the city recommended staying there.

Zedwell Capsule Hotel, a brand owned by Criterion Capital, opened in September and offers nearly 1,000 capsules measuring 1 meter long, 1 meter wide, and 2 meters in depth — likely the smallest hotel rooms in London.

It has a rather unassuming exterior despite being located inside the historic London Pavilion building — originally built as a music hall in 1885. The entrance is around the corner of the busy station, through some black doors.

The cost of staying in a hotel in Central London is staggering, sitting at an average of £265 per night in the third quarter of 2025, according to real estate firm Knight Frank. In comparison, the average daily rate of hotels across Europe was 125 euros in the summer, according to an analysis of over 600,000 reservations from 2,000 independent hotels by RoomRaccoon.

Criterion’s Head of Hotels Halima Aziz told me that the capsule hotel addresses a gap in the market between budget hostels and affordable accommodation.

“We’ve formed this sweet spot between the two. We’re not a budget hostel. We’re not coming in at a £15 rate, giving you a bunk bed in a steel room,” she said.

“When we decided to get into capsules, we really took inspiration from Asia, and the capsule concept was really born out of Japan as a response to very similar pressures we’re facing in London.”

In Japan, the first capsule hotel was built in the city of Osaka in 1979, primarily to serve as an inexpensive overnight option for salarymen who worked late and preferred to stay out drinking and socializing rather than spending more money commuting home.

It’s given rise to some capsule-style hotels in New York, from sleeping pods by Kama Central Park, to Nap York, a sleeping station with private pods for short naps or overnight stays.

Now that the concept has come to London, I was keen to see for myself what the British version has to offer.

It’s a Monday evening, and instead of my usual work-from-home routine, which involves preparing to go into the office the next day, I’m crawling into a brightly lit sleeping pod.

I roll down the garage-like shutters and lock it from the inside as I prepare to sleep. My head is just inches beneath the ceiling of my pod, which has a light dimmer, two clothing hooks, an air purifier, a wide mirror stretching along the head of the capsule, and charger sockets.

Although I can feel my luggage — a backpack and tote bag — at the end of my bed, and the bottom of my coat hung on the hooks, I’m surprised by how comfortable and cozy the bedding is.

I switch off the lights and noisy air purifier and find myself enveloped by pitch black and silence. It feels eerie, but with nothing to distract me, I fall asleep quickly.

Earlier in the day, I checked myself into the hotel using one of four kiosks, and as I roamed around the hotel, I noticed that the walls were painted black to match the exterior — and there isn’t a single window in sight.

I rode up to the first floor and used a key card to access my female-only dormitory. My capsule was one of seven stacked side by side or on top of each other, and some were only accessible via steps.

I learned that despite the low initial cost, there was a series of additional amenities guests can pay for, from an extra £10 to be in a female-only dormitory, to £8 for a padlock, and £15 to store luggage securely.

The hotel had an unfinished feel. The entrance was covered in scaffolding and the faint sound of drilling could be heard from inside the building.

That’s because it is “still under construction,” Zedwell’s General Manager Greg Walsh told me. The drilling sounds were coming from underground where a larger reception was being built, with direct links to Piccadilly Circus Station.

CEO Aziz confirmed that the building is not complete, adding that the additional cost for the female dorms was largely due to upgraded amenities, including a towel inside the pod and a female-only beauty room complete with hairdryers — although this is still under construction and not currently accessible.

“Ultimately, if you’re not just targeting the traditional hostel market, and you want to widen access, you need to respond to people’s needs, and people have needs for laundry, for beauty, that wouldn’t typically be considered,” she added.

While exploring the building, I found shared toilets and showers with classical music playing inside, as well as vending machines in the reception with snacks, drinks, slippers and eye masks amongst other items.

I wandered out for dinner and with Oxford Circus, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden within walking distance, it wasn’t hard to entertain myself.

During my time in the hotel, I discovered I was one of many working professionals in the building. I spotted several guests arriving in suits and ties and carrying briefcases. One chef from Newcastle even told me he paid a total of £284 to stay in the hotel for a fortnight to work in London.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many office workers in London moved out of the city, where it was cheaper to rent or own a home, due to remote and flexible working options becoming a normality.

A 2021 report from City Hall said it was likely that London’s population fell during the pandemic. The number of payrolled London employees dropped sharply by about 210,000 by November 2020, with the report citing that flexible work arrangements made it easier to move out of the city.

The trend persisted, and by 2022, 43% of commuters lived over 30 minutes away from their workplace in the U.K., reflecting higher property prices in central areas, according to a report by commercial real estate firm CBRE which surveyed over 20,000 people globally.  

Additionally, CBRE found that 41% of people worldwide were planning to move to more remote locations in the next two years either in the same city or to a different city.

However, in 2025, there’s been a sharp recall in remote work offerings with major companies enforcing return to office mandates in London from HSBC to JPMorgan, Amazon, Salesforce and John Lewis.

Zedwell’s Aziz said one of the hotel’s core demographics is young professionals and hybrid workers who are using Zedwell as a “base in the city” due to their flexible working patterns which require them to be in the office for a few days a week. Roughly 20% of the hotel’s customers are corporate workers, Aziz said.

“The cost of commuting from Oxford, Cambridge, city centers that aren’t accessible via the London Underground system, is quite high,” she said. “Our product is often cheaper than their commute or late-night travel home.”

The return-to-office mandate has left workers who don’t live in cities scrambling to find inexpensive ways of staying in the city, without having to resort to unattractive options like hostels.

“Where they wouldn’t traditionally consider a hostel product, we identified that they would indeed consider a capsule hotel, because it gave that privacy,” Aziz added.

As a Londoner, my usual commute to the office lasts just over 30 minutes, so the hotel doesn’t offer much in terms of convenience for me, but I can see the appeal for those living further away from the city.

When I awoke in the morning, I almost forgot that I wasn’t in my bed at home. After a quick shower, I got ready inside my capsule before heading out and joining the throng of commuters in central London.

It’s the season of giving, the time of year when do-gooders get generous and tax pros occasionally get creative. That’s because donations to charities and other types of nonprofit organizations are tax-deductible.

Historically, though, most taxpayers don’t receive a tax break for their charitable giving. Other than for a brief period under Covid-19 relief legislation, taxpayers have generally had to itemize to take advantage of the deduction, but about 9 in 10 people take the standard deduction instead, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

But the rules around charitable deductions are changing. A provision in President Donald Trump’s so-called “big beautiful” bill, which passed in July, allows taxpayers who don’t itemize to deduct up to $1,000 for single filers and up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly for tax year 2026.

So, for people thinking about writing a check to their favorite charity, it may make more sense, tax-wise, to wait until January to send it in, says Miklos Ringbauer, a certified public accountant and founder of accounting firm MiklosCPA.

“First and foremost, if they love to give, please give,” he says. “But if they are making a strategic move, and they’re not going to itemize for sure for 2026 tax year purposes, doing the charitable donation in 2026 does give them a benefit.”

To be clear, if you plan to give to your favorite charity this holiday season, no one is telling you not to do it. Indeed, many tax pros would advise against upending your financial plans in the name of optimizing your tax return.

“There’s certainly a tax calculation, but there’s also just the the charitable intent. You potentially need to get money to an organization and you want to do that now,” says Stephen Eckert, practice leader at Plante Moran’s National Tax Office. “That can override some of this, potentially.”

But if a donation in January would do just as much good as one in December, you may be able to have an equal charitable impact while saving a few bucks, he says.

To get the new deduction, you’ll have to make a cash donation to a qualifying charitable organization — donations to political campaigns, crowdfunding efforts, private foundations and donor-advised funds are excluded.

Make sure to get a receipt for your gift; the IRS generally requires written acknowledgement of any donation in excess of $250.

And before making any moves for tax year 2026, you’d be wise to consider whether major life changes on the horizon will drastically change your tax situation, says Ringbauer. The IRS’s rules around charitable giving are different and more complicated for those who itemize deductions.

“That’s where your trusted financial advisor, your accountant, comes in,” Ringbauer says. “Sit down with them before year-end, go through what your scenarios are, and you can come up with a really good solution as to whether [a charitable tax strategy] benefits you or not.”

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We often underestimate how much our morning rituals can set the tone for the rest of the day. When you prioritize activities that spark a natural dopamine release, you aren’t just waking up — you’re essentially giving your brain a head start on feeling motivated and balanced.

“Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, which is a chemical released by brain cells, and it’s mostly involved in motivation, learning and reinforcement,” says Mia Soviero, a neuroscience researcher who conducted research at NYU Langone Health and Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute.

“It isn’t just about feeling good. It’s mostly about learning and motivating you. So, it helps our brain understand what actions are worth repeating and what habits we should have in our lives that we should strengthen,” says Soviero, who also founded the nonprofit Research Girl, Inc to help aspiring science researchers receive more opportunities in their field of interest.

A common misconception is that dopamine levels are always supposed to be boosted, Soviero says: Neurotransmitter levels are meant to fluctuate.

“We don’t want to always have really high dopamine levels, but we do want to have a healthy dopamine system,” she says. “You just want to build these good patterns in dopamine, where dopamine is able to be released the way it’s supposed to.”

Here’s how Soviero structures her mornings to keep her dopamine system healthy, she says.

Step 1: Exposure to sunlight

Soviero’s ideal morning routine for the best mood starts the night before: Getting adequate sleep sets the tone for the next day, she explains.

Then, “I make sure that when I wake up, I get exposure to some light in the morning,” she says. “Opening your curtains in the morning and getting sunlight on your face for a few minutes have actually been scientifically proven to reduce depressive symptoms, especially if you have seasonal depression.”

Sunlight exposure directly affects the area of your brain that controls your body’s internal clock, or your circadian rhythm, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

Not getting enough exposure to sunlight each day “can cause your brain to produce too much of the sleep hormone melatonin and to release less serotonin, the feel-good brain chemical that affects mood. The result of this chemical imbalance? You feel low and lethargic,” the health blog states.

Step 2: Sudoku

Soviero makes time in her mornings to do “small, meaningful activities” like completing a daily Sudoku puzzle.

“It’s a great way to kick off the day with a little dopamine from doing a puzzle. It’s that feel-good chemical from achieving [it],” she says. “Novelty and new things that you aren’t expecting that are good can increase dopamine levels in the brain and contribute to dopamine health. So that’s why puzzles are great.”

Solving crossword puzzles and physical puzzles can have the same effects on your brain, Soviero says: The brain has a reward system that boosts dopamine when “something unexpectedly good happens, and then decreases when something worse than expected happens.”

“This means that evolutionarily, we would strive for goals in the hopes that we’d get this feel good chemical as a reward,” she says. “So when you do something, [like] learning a new skill, and you’re surprisingly good at it, you get this influx of dopamine.”

Step 3: Text a friend

Each morning, Soviero practices a simple and significant form of social connection: texting a friend. “I’ll send a text to my friends [like], ‘Hey, good morning. How are you doing today?’” she says.

“Humans are biologically wired for connections,” Soviero adds. “When you get to make that human connection, it’s scientifically proven to boost your mood because that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Spending too much time without interacting with close loved ones like friends and family can harm your health, she says. Being socially isolated and feeling lonely can increase a person’s risk of developing heart disease, dementia, depression and other chronic conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Connecting with others is “really healthy, not only for your brain but also for your body,” Soviero says.

Want to give your kids the ultimate advantage? Sign up for CNBC’s new online course, How to Raise Financially Smart Kids. Learn how to build healthy financial habits today to set your children up for greater success in the future. Use coupon code EARLYBIRD for 30% off. Offer valid from Dec. 8 to Dec. 22, 2025. Terms apply.