BALDWIN: And now some of the hottest stories in a flash, "Rapid Fire." Roll it. Did you forget about the, oh, you know, $648 million jackpot already? Apparently, so did the winner. That is why it took him so long to come forward after the drawing back on December 17th. The northern California man just totally forgot that he bought a ticket and then he remembered that he visited a store in San Jose last month. He was one of two winners. If he chooses the cash option he will take home more than $170 million. The California lottery says he told his boss something along the lines of, and I'm quoting, "I'm really sorry. I hit the jackpot, I don't think I'm going to come in today, tomorrow or ever." Inviting homeless men to his birthday meal, embracing a severely disfigured man and now even more proof that the "People's Pope," Pope Francis, is bringing good vibes to the Catholic Church. Business to the Vatican roughly tripled last year, 6.6 million people attended events led by the pope since his election in March. Your local car dealer has been doing a lot more wheeling and dealing lately, automakers posting their strongest sales in six years, which was before the recession. Last year car companies in the U.S. sold more than 15 million vehicles. What could be worse? Listen to this. According to a report in "The Washington Blade," Clay Aiken is considering a run for Congress. The "American Idol" runner-up, who is a Democrat, is apparently making calls to gauge interest in North Carolina's second district. That is it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You can always check out our interviews. Go to the Brooke Blog, CNN.com/Brooke. Let's send things to Washington to Jake Tapper. "THE LEAD" starts right now.
California Man Claims Mega Millions; Pope Francis Draws Vatican Visitors; Automakers Post Strongest Sales in Six Year