WASHINGTON — U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in April, one month after topping the 1 million mark for the first time since 2008. But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month.

And applications for new construction reached a five-year peak, evidence that the housing revival will be sustained.

The Commerce Department said today builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, a 16.5 percent drop from the March pace of 1.02 million. Applications for building permits rose 14.3 percent to a rate of 1.02 million, the most since June 2008.

RICHMOND, Va. — Call Melvyn Wilson the king of the scratch-off ticket.The Virginia man recently won his fourth lottery prize of at least five figures, putting his total scratch-off winnings at more than $2 million.The Virginia Lottery said in a news release that Wilson won $500,000 in November 2004; $25,000 in March 2005; and $1 million in September 2005. Then he retired from his job as a postal worker.Now 72, Wilson hit another $500,000 scratch-off prize on the Millionaire Mania game.The lottery didn't say how many tickets Wilson usually buys or how often.

LOS ANGELES — A police bomb squad detonated 17 homemade explosive devices found in an apartment on Wednesday after officers spotted an explosive liquid in a man's car during a routine traffic stop, authorities said.Robert Wilson, 29, was booked on felony possession of a destructive device, police Sgt. Rudy Lopez said. Authorities said there were no signs he planned to use the devices. They believe he acted alone and had no apparent link to terrorism.Wilson was described as a “hobbyist, lone wolf, tweaker” on probation for a weapons violation, said Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Michael Downing, who heads the department's counter-terrorism and special operations bureau. A small amount of methamphetamine was also found in his apartment.