U.S. Botches 2012 Visa Lottery

OOPS!

Updated Apr. 24, 2017 3:42PM EDT / Published May 13, 2011 1:06PM EDT

There’s no golden ticket after all: The Obama administration announced on Friday that this year's U.S. visa winners in the annual State Department lottery would not actually be receiving their visas thanks to a computer glitch. Nearly 15 million people from around the world entered the lottery this year in hopes of winning one of 50,000 U.S. immigrant visas, a sort of wild-card deal for those who might otherwise have difficulty obtaining visas. The software glitch produced results that "were not valid because they did not represent a fair, random selection of entrants as required by U.S. law," said the deputy assistant secretary of State who oversees the lottery. The programming error is being fixed and a new lottery will be held from the original pool of entries. Winners will be announced in July.

Read it at Associated Press

R.F.K. Jr.’s Old Environmental Pals Tell Him to Get Lost

“His actions are a betrayal to our environment,” the candidate’s former mentor said of him.

Iconic Hotel From ‘The Shining’ Goes Up in Flames

Crews responded late Thursday night to an attic fire at the famous Oregon lodge.

John Cleese Cancels His Own Cancel Culture Show

The “Monty Python” star has stalled the show for three years.

Susan Sarandon Joins Protesters at Columbia University

“Especially in a place of education, and supposedly higher thought, to be attacked with racism and intolerance is not acceptable,” the actress said.

New Deets Surface on Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer’s Beef

Despite the two being bitter rivals, Sawyer also conceded, “We spent a lot of time laughing and forging a real friendship.”

Stock Slips After Netflix Stops Sharing Subscriber Numbers

Despite a strong first quarter, investors were seemingly rattled by the company’s decision to stop reporting their favorite metric.

A D.C. ‘Skinny’ Home Is Listed for $600K—It’s 6 Feet Wide

A change in zoning laws forced the owners to put their building plans on a serious diet.

Ethics Panel Wants to Know if Gaetz Got High at Parties: ABC

The House committee has reportedly obtained a woman’s statement claiming the Republican attended an event where drugs were present.

U.S. Botches 2012 Visa Lottery