David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images(PALO ALTO, Calif.) -- 19-year-old Indian immigrant Diwank Singh Tomer has an impressive resume. The accomplished hacker and startup founder who initially enrolled in college in India quickly decided he would learn more by moving here and immersing himself in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial scene.

And one of the world's most famous entrepreneurs agrees with him.

For the third year running, Peter Thiel, Facebook's first investor and the co-founder and former CEO of PayPal, is giving about 20 teenagers $100,000 each to drop out of college and launch a business.

The German immigrant's Thiel Foundation mentors the young entrepreneurs during the two-year fellowship as they pursue new advances in everything from robotics to fashion. But there's a catch. The recipients cannot be enrolled in school or employed during that time without special approval from the foundation. The idea is for fellows to immerse themselves entirely in the world of innovation.

There are some skeptics who point out that not every one of Thiel's fellows succeed. Some fail miserably. But the beauty of the tech world and those who reside in it is the ability to iterate quickly. Failure and the determination to try again is a huge part of that.

And besides, Thiel would argue that many of his fellows do succeed in spectacular fashion.

In the past two years, the fellows have launched more than 30 companies and raised more than $34 million in outside funding. The new crop of fellows was selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants from nearly 50 nations.

"When we created the fellowship more than two years ago, our intention was to help a small number of creative people learn and accomplish more than they might have otherwise," Thiel said in a statement. "To their great credit, they have exceeded our expectations, and inspired people of all ages by reminding them that qualities like intellectual curiosity, grit, and determination are more important than a degree in determining success in life."

The idea that a college education is highly overvalued sounds controversial. Everyone from the Obama administration to high school counselors seem to push students toward a university degree. And study after study shows that college graduates make more money and advance further than people who don't attend college.

But it's not necessarily for everyone, the Thiel Foundation argues, particularly with many students racking up student debt to pursue degrees that may never be worth the expense.

Thiel Foundation Vice President of Grants Mike Gibson said he can see technical certificates that confirm someone knows how to code, for example, being valuable. But this idea that a college degree makes someone qualified or that someone cannot be qualified without one, is bogus.

Tomer agrees.

He had been at college in India for less than a month when he decided "he had nothing to lose" by dropping out. He'd already launched a startup to help people learn to code, and the computer science major knew he could continue to teach himself how to code.

So, he bought a ticket to San Francisco, hopped on a plane and only called home to tell his parents he'd left for the United States when he landed.

"To drop out in India means failure," he said. But failure doesn't scare Tomer. In fact, he thinks it's an important part of the growing process.

The key to learning, he said, is to ask lots of questions, something he doesn't think traditional schools promote.

"Schools force you to appear smart," he said. "It's bad to ask questions."

People learn best, he said, when they have access to mentors and the ability to learn in a way that suits them. The Thiel Foundation is big on mentors - each fellow meets with them throughout the two-year fellowship.

In Tomer's case, that approach has produced something interesting. The biking enthusiast is using his foundation funding to launch a new interactive learning environment based on his earlier coding venture.

He wants to launch a site that will allow people to learn about different topics - he's focused on coding and applied sciences - at their own pace with the help of his program. He's developed an algorithm that will respond to the user's actions. If someone wants to learn about a small area of coding and then do a deep dive into it before moving on, the program will prod the user in that direction by taking cues from the ways they interact with the site. If someone wants to get a breadth of knowledge before focusing on depth - Tomer's preferred style - that's fine too.

He thinks he'll need to hire a couple of engineers and a designer, but says his ability to code means he's capable of remaining at the helm.

Although he's only been in the Bay Area about eight months, Tomer plans to stay for good. He lives in a "hacker house" in Palo Alto with a bunch of other like-minded young people looking to strike entrepreneurial gold.

Tomer wouldn't say so himself - but he's an example of what a young entrepreneur with perseverance and a high tolerance for failure can accomplish by taking an unconventional path. The worst thing that can happen is that he has to go home and back to college. With that knowledge, Tomer said, coming to the hotbed of innovation was worth every bit of risk.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The estimated jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing has swelled to a record $600 million for the popular lottery game, but one official estimated Friday that if it goes unclaimed the prize would zoom to nearly $1 billion.

The biggest lottery jackpot ever was $656 million for the Mega Millions drawing on March 30, 2012. The previous record for a Powerball jackpot was $587.5 million on Nov. 28, 2012.

The jackpot soared to $600 million after no one won Wednesday's drawing. That would translate into a lump sum payment of $376.9 milliion.

The pot is expected to keep growing Friday night and Saturday as the bonanza attracts even more people to take a chance. Tickets for Saturday's drawing can be purchased until 9 p.m. ET Saturday.

If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball on Saturday, the jackpot will continue to grow. Kelly Cripe, media director for the Texas Lottery, which is one of the states in the Powerball lottery, said the next drawing would be May 22 and estimated the pot would be at least an astonishing $925 million. The frenzy of such a massive jackpot would likely push it even higher.

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Carolyn Hapeman, spokeswoman for the New York lottery said as of mid-day on Friday, the Empire State was selling over 600,000 tickets an hour.

Part of the boost in ticket sales is the addition of California in April to the list of states that participate in the Powerball game. The lottery game is now played in 43 states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Now you have another 11 million people with the addition of California. You've got all these players, maybe some for the first time because of the extreme nature of the jackpot, the largest ever for this particular game," Hapeman said.

This current jackpot began rolling on April 3 with a mere $40 million jackpot, but has grown as no winner has emerged in several drawings.

Hapeman also attributes the growing popularity of the game to its makeover last year in celebration of its 20th anniversary. That's when the jackpot increased to $40 million from $20 million and the second prize, which requires just five matching numbers, jumped to $1 million from $250,000.

The odds of winning the grand prize are one in 175,223,510, according to the Powerball website. The odds of winning the second prize are one in 5,153,632.65.

With the "brisk sales," Hapeman encouraged New Yorkers not to wait until the last minute if they choose to participate.

For the $578.5 million jackpot last November, lines formed around the block in New York City.

"Don't be one of those last people. Or if there's an office pool, don't be the guy that doesn't get in," she said.

Because Hapeman works for the state lottery, she isn't eligible to participate.

"I want to, but I can't," she said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(AUSTIN, Texas) -- A  Texas startup has developed a “smart rifle”that barely needs to be aimed.

The maker of the gun, being shipped to stores this week, brags that “even a novice shooter can become an elite long-range marksman in minutes.”

The company, TrackingPoint, has said its “world’s first” long range Precision Guided Firearms (PGF) integrate precision hardware, digital optics, and tracking technology to deliver an unmatched shooting experience. The line of rifles starts at about $22,500, and each comes packaged with an iPad mini including the interactive TrackingPoint mobile app.

“We’re taking centuries old tech, firearms and ammunition, and introducing 21st century technology to it,” TrackingPoint CEO Jason Schauble told ABC News.

The PGF line of rifles come equipped with what the company is calling the XactSystem, which uses a network tracking scope with digital display interface, laser tagging to “paint” a moving target, and a guided trigger that only lets the shooter fire when there is a high percentage shot.

The weapon is being introduced at a time when the debate over gun control has raised tempers on both sides of the argument.

Schauble said safety is paramount, just like with any other gun or rifle.  “It is a firearm. It is controlled by federal law,” he said.

He said a password can be set on the gun’s scope software. This doesn’t render the rifle useless, but it does lock any unauthorized users out of the precision technology.

Elliot Fineman, chief executive officer of National Gun Victims Action Council, said the “smart gun” is a “mixed proposition.”

“I’m very much in favor of the password protection, but [if the user opts not to utilize password protection] this product gives shooters a better accuracy than, on average, most cops,” Fineman said. He said the target accuracy of most police is three out of 10.

“To think that private citizens that are not trained could shoot better than 3 out of 10, it’s scary,” Fineman said.

David Chipman, a spokesman for Mayors Against Illegal Guns which lobbies for an expansion of background checks for people buying guns, said the PGF “is not your grandfather’s hunting rifle used for sport and recreation this is a weapon designed to kill with precision.”

“This technology potentially enables any two bit criminal to operate with the skills of a highly trained sniper,” Chipman said.

Josh Horwitz, executive director of  the Education Fund to Stop Gun Violence,  dismissed the significance of locking the software.

“This is an industry hell bent on making weapons more lethal and taking no measures to extend safety,” Horwitz said.  “If this type of technology is transferred into semi automatic and automatic weapons, it would make it even more lethal.”

The way the gun operates sounds like a video game. The visual scope on the PGF connects via WiFi the iOS app on an iPhone or iPad by way of ShotView. The feature shows a live video of the digital Heads Up Display (HUD) and video can also be recorded and shared online. Schauble said an Android app is on the way.

TrackingPoint is in the process of developing a dedicated, online community for TrackingPoint users to share videos and information with each other.

“There’s a young, digital generation that will want to hunt and shoot, so we’re not only developing a product for people that shoot today, but also the new digital generation,” said Schauble.

He said the live streaming ShotView feature can be used to help instruct new shooters on the fly or to capture an impressive shooting range or hunting shot to show to others later.

“We’ve been surprised at how many older shooters and hunters embrace the product, too. This kind of tech helps them to still hunt for years or even take shots that may not be possible with traditional hardware,” he said.

The PGF rifles, TrackingPoint’s first product line, was introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in January, but this week the company began fulfilling preorder requests with the first units shipping.

With this first run of PGF rifles, the CEO said TrackingPoint is selling directly to customers.

Schauble said his company has signed a contract to provide technology to some less expensive, short range Remington firearms, and those products will be distributed through vendors, but the distribution of other runs of TrackingPoint product will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

But with TrackingPoint’s Precision Guided Firearms, Schauble said the main objectives are “trying to make existing, long-range shooters more capable.”

“Right now, we’re the most advanced tech company in outdoor shooting sports.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Forty states showed a drop in unemployment in April.

Louisiana, Tennessee and North Dakota showed an increase in the unemployment rate, while rates were unchanged in seven states, according to the Labor department.

The country’s unemployment rate is 7.5 percent, the lowest since December 2008.

Although companies are adding jobs, part of the reason for the decline in unemployment is because people have stopped looking for work.  They are either discouraged by their prospects of getting a job or they are joining the swelling ranks of retiring baby boomers.

Texas, New York and Florida saw the most jobs added, while Wisconsin and Minnesota saw the biggest drop in unemployment.

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, though this is down significantly from a high of 14 percent in October 2010.

North Dakota, meanwhile, had the lowest jobless rate at 3.3 percent.  The state’s unemployment rate has been persistently low because of the oil and gas boom facilitated by hydraulic fracturing.

The housing recovery is playing its part in the job market, as many of the job added in Texas and Florida for instance were in construction.

Here’s the rundown of state rates:

Alabama — 6.9%
Alaska — 6.0%
Arizona — 7.9%
Arkansas — 7.1%
California — 9.0%
Colorado — 6.9%
Connecticut — 8.0%
Delaware — 7.2%
D.C. — 8.5%
Florida — 7.2%
Georgia — 8.2%
Hawaii — 4.9%
Idaho — 6.1%
Illinois — 9.3%
Indiana — 8.5%
Iowa — 4.7%
Kansas — 5.5%
Kentucky — 7.9%
Louisiana — 6.5%
Maine — 6.9%
Maryland — 6.5%
Massachusetts — 6.4%
Michigan — 8.4%
Minnesota — 5.3%
Mississippi — 9.1%
Missouri — 6.6%
Montana — 5.5%
Nebraska — 3.7%
Nevada — 9.6%
New Hampshire — 5.5%
New Jersey — 8.7%
New Mexico — 6.7%
New York — 7.8%
North Carolina — 8.9%
North Dakota — 3.3%
Ohio — 7.0%
Oklahoma — 4.9%
Oregon — 8.0%
Pennsylvania — 7.6%
Puerto Rico — 13.7%
Rhode Island — 8.8%
South Carolina — 8.0%
South Dakota — 4.1%
Tennessee — 8.0%
Texas — 6.4%
Utah — 4.7%
Vermont — 4.0%
Virginia — 5.2%
Washington — 7.0%
West Virginia — 6.6%
Wisconsin — 7.1%
Wyoming — 4.8%

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Where do wildly popular fast food ideas come from? According to Gary Cole: Prison.

That is the contention of Cole, who claims that it was he who invented Taco Bell’s famous Doritos Locos tacos while doing time in maximum security federal prison in Florence, Colo.  He is so adamant about it that on May 15 he filed a federal lawsuit in Dallas alleging that Taco Bell, along with Pepsi, Frito Lay and Taco Bell parent Yum Brands, stole his idea.

Cole has been incarcerated since 1997, when he was given a 25-year sentence  for “delaying interstate commerce, conspiring to do so, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence,” according to court papers. Fellow inmates include alleged September 11 co-planner  Zacarias Moussaoui, shoe bomber Richard Reid and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Cole claims that in 2006 he sent his lawyer a notarized document with a list of nine products he devised, the Dallas Observer reports.

The majority fall under a brand he called “Divas and Ballers,” which include hot sauce, body oil, clothing line, and shoes and accessories. But second on the list was a “Tacos [sic] shells of all flavors (made of Doritos).”

In his 35-page handwritten complaint, Cole -- who is representing himself -- alleges that in 2010 he had sent his original list via certified mail to Janice B. Cole and Keonia K. Cole. That letter, he maintains, was “stolen through the United States Postal Service Brand and Submitted to Frito Lays [sic], Taco Bell, Yum Brands.”

He contacted the FBI, and also sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Taco Bell, asking to be sent documents relating to the invention of Doritos Loco Tacos. Private companies are generally not subject to FOI laws, however.

He also wrote to the IRS, that “a check was made out to a person for a large amount by Taco Bell, Frito Lay, and Pepsi Co. Inc. for an idea or invention that was submitted to them by theft and fraud.”

While Cole did not specify a monetary amount in his civil action, he did ask the court to place “a lean [sic] and moratorium” on “Taco Bell, Frito Lays, Pepsi Co, Yum Brands, et al. for the fraudulent and concealment, theft, lying, and covering up, to violate patent and trademark, invention and United States Constitutional Rights, to steal the taco shells made of Doritos of all flavors.”

In an email statement to ABC News, Taco Bell spokesperson Rob Poetsch said that “Given the unprecedented success of Doritos Locos Tacos, we are not surprised others may seek to claim credit.  The reality is, the suit is completely without merit as our product innovation team continuously develops and tests new menu concepts, and as a policy we do not accept unsolicited ideas, period.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- Looking for work?  Well, just finding out this Microsoft job exists is work.

Microsoft has posted a sort of secret job listing for a Bing software development engineer inside the code of their Bing.com search site, as found by The Register.  The only way to stumble upon the link to the job posting is to visit Bing.com using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with debug mode enabled.

Once the page is loaded, a pop-up will ask, “Do you want to debug this webpage?”

Inspecting the page with the Internet Explorer developer tools console will uncover a message --  "Interested in creating Bing.com experiences?  Apply today." -- and a link to the job listing on the Microsoft careers website.

Be warned: the requirements for the position are more than just employing the skills to find the hidden listing.  Applicants are expected to have at least a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and experience with multithreaded programming in C# and/or C and other web coding languages.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Photodisc/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The Powerball jackpot has swelled to $550 million after no tickets matched all the winning numbers during Wednesday night's drawing.  And the top prize is continuing to grow ahead of the next drawing on Saturday night.

The Mega Millions jackpot, meanwhile, is up to $190 million ahead of its Friday night drawing.

While the chances of scoring either jackpot are 1 in more than 175,000,000, what are your chances of raking in the combined $740 million?

"If you buy one ticket for each game your odds are about 1 in 30 quadrillion," says Jeff Bergen, a math professor at DePaul University.  "That's a one followed by 16 zeros."

And, he notes, that's much better than in March, when your odds of guessing a perfect NCAA basketball tournament bracket were 1 in 9 quintillion.

"That's 300 times harder than winning both of these jackpots at the same time," Bergen says.

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Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio