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Is this tax trap waiting for you? By William Neikirk Tribune senior correspondent Sun Aug 21, 9:40 AM ET The AMT is coming after you. Congress passed the AMT, or alternative minimum tax, in 1969 to crack down on 155 super-rich people who had escaped paying taxes. But in the next few years, it will ensnare millions in the middle class and perhaps roil the nation's politics. This year nearly 4 million taxpayers are being hit by the AMT, but that number will soar to 20.5 million taxpayers next year and 51.3 million, or 45 percent of all taxpayers, by...

Scientists are taking a new look at an old and controversial idea: that ancient Polynesians sailed to Southern California a millennium before Christopher Columbus landed on the East Coast. Key new evidence comes from two directions. The first involves revised carbon-dating of an ancient ceremonial headdress used by Southern California's Chumash Indians. The second involves research by two California scientists who suggest that a Chumash word for "sewn-plank canoe" is derived from a Polynesian word for the wood used to construct the same boat.

Koreans protest possible job cuts at U.S. bases By T.D. Flack and Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes Pacific edition, Saturday, May 14, 2005 T.D. Flack / S&S South Koreans riot police watch South Koreans who work on U.S. military bases in the Seoul area stage a protest Thursday near Yongsan Garrison. Seth Robson / S&S South Korean base workers protest near Uijongbu train station on Thursday. T.D. Flack / S&S South Koreans who work on U.S. military bases gather near Yongsan Garrison to protest U.S. Forces Korea's announcement that it might cut up to 1,000 jobs. T.D. Flack / S&S...

<p>WASHINGTON — Just a few weeks into the new congressional session, many are beginning to wonder aloud: "What's up with Barbara Boxer?"</p> <p>The first week of the session, the California Democrat led the Senate challenge over certifying the Ohio presidential vote, citing irregularities.</p>

Warm Weather Causing Allergies Provided by: The Associated Press Last Modified: 1/6/2005 4:52:05 PM ATLANTA (AP) -- The recent unusual warm spell in the South has brought people out in shorts and tee-shirts in January. It’s also brought about another warm-weather phenomenon -— allergies. Atlanta doctors and pharmacists are reporting an upsurge in sniffles, sneezes and coughs. This year, they’re from allergies, not winter colds. Pharmacists have been faced with restocking shelves with allergy medicines such as Claritin. Even herbal remedies have been hot sellers off the shelves. Doctor Keith Phillips, of Emory University, says it’s mold — not pollen...

Will 2005 be better than 2004? Yes No About The Same

BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S. forces on Thursday said they believe they have found the main Fallujah headquarters of the terrorist group headed by Al Qaeda-linked Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.Meanwhile, a group attacked U.S. Marines and Iraqi government forces from a house inside the terror hotbed city on Thursday, killing one Marine and one Iraqi soldier, a U.S. military official said. One Marine and one Iraqi soldier also were wounded.U.S. and Iraqi forces also arrested 104 suspected guerrillas in an insurgent neighborhood in central Baghdad, including nine who are believed to have fled Fallujah, Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Khadim said. Most were...

Post-McGreevey power struggle roils Dems Sunday, August 15, 2004 Friday the 13th of August 2004, New Jersey woke up as the first state in the history of the United States to be led by an openly gay governor. It will be weeks before the aftershocks subside from Gov. James E. McGreevey's admission that he is a "gay American" who had committed adultery with a man he hired for a $110,000-a-year state job. The assumption then was McGreevey would resign on Nov. 15, with state Senate President Richard Codey, D-West Orange, serving as acting governor until January 2006. Two days later,...

In the July 19 issue of "Newsweek" Michael Isikoff writes: "American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call 'alarming' intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack."(1) That report was surprising enough that even Senator John Kerry interrupted his foolishness on the campaign trail to go get himself updated with a national security briefing he hadn't taken time for in previous weeks. As Isikoff reported: "The prospect that Al Qaeda might seek to disrupt the...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that prospects for reaching an agreement on providing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants are gloomy. "It could take longer than anyone expected," he said in an interview in his Capitol office. "It could also, you know, be impossible. We don't know, but we move forward in a positive way, in an optimistic way." That was one of the revelations coming from a rare set of interviews the governor gave to newspaper reporters Tuesday. He said the interviews with individual reporters or small groups of them throughout the afternoon were an effort to improve...

SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hinted that raising taxes may be unavoidable, acknowledging he is under extreme pressure to increase the state's revenue to offset a $14 billion budget shortfall. Schwarzenegger, who has opposed new taxes, said on Tuesday it would be "wishful thinking" to assume the state would not increase taxes. "I'm going through wishful thinking that I'll never have to go there," Schwarzenegger said. "Because I just don't like it. I try to work around and find ways so we don't have to do that. So that's the stage I'm in right now." He said increasing taxes...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani troops believe they have surrounded al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri in an operation near the Afghan border, three senior Pakistani officials said Thursday. The officials told The Associated Press that intelligence indicated the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy, has been cornered in an operation. One intelligence official said captured fighters said al-Zawahri had been wounded. The operation began Tuesday in South Waziristan with hundreds of troops and paramilitary rangers, who fired artillery and used helicopter gunships to attack dug-in al-Qaida fighters. Dozens of fighters were killed and 18 were captured, the intelligence official said.

Childhood Spanking and Alcohol Abuse Study Says It's Linked, But Some Question Validity A Canadian study has shown a correlation between childhood spanking and later drug and alcohol abuse, but the validity of the findings are being questioned in some quarters. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that children who are spanked are twice as likely to develop alcohol and drug abuse problems and engage in anti-social behavior when they grow up. More from your Guide below Advertisement They also have a higher rate of anxiety disorders, the study said. Dr. Harriet MacMillan, lead author...

After the Sunday disaster on Meet the Press, it's fair to ask: Does Mr. Bush still have the confidence in himself to continue as president? If I were sitting beside Mr. Bush in the Oval Office, this is what he'd hear: Mr. President, your performance on Meet the Press on Sunday was simply awful. You conceded that the intelligence justifying the Iraq campaign was wrong. You lacked confidence in answering Tim Russert's questions. You were tentative, you gulped, looked away, like someone who doesn't want to answer. Saying that Saddam was "capable" of developing weapons doesn't explain why it...

Hi everyone. I'm thinking about taking a breather from Free Republic for a little while. Not long, I'm sure. But, I just don't want it to interfere with my job, and I already had that happen once. I'm reading and posting much too much. I think a short sabbatical should help me break this bad habit.See you all soon .... NOT DURING WORK HOURS!

CAIRO, Egypt - In peacetime, Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s whereabouts are top secret. In war, with the U.S. military after his head, it's even harder to keep track of him. The Iraqi president — or possibly a double — has been seen on state-owned television giving speeches, chairing meetings of top lieutenants and on one occasion greeting well-wishers on a Baghdad street. But according to the few sources in a position to know, he's likely spending most of his time underground. Since the outset of the war, when cruise missiles hit a compound in Baghdad where Saddam was...

A computer worm attack that shut down bank ATM terminals and disrupted Internet servers throughout the world may have been part of an al Qaeda terrorist threat to test the vulnerability of computer systems that serve U.S. financial interests, computer security experts say."Like the 9-11 attacks, the 'Slammer' worm was aimed at the heart of the U.S. financial community," says Leo Roth, a computer security analyst who advises the federal government. "For at least part of the weekend, a number of U.S. financial institutions were virtually shut down."Those affected include the giant Bank of America, whose nationwide ATM network went...

Consumer group slams Ben & Jerry's labels By Leslie Wright Free Press Staff Writer Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., the ice cream company known for promoting environmental and social causes, has come under fire for misleading labeling. The Center for Science in the Public Interest claims that Ben & Jerry's uses the words "All Natural" when artificial ingredients are in the company's ice cream and frozen yogurt. Ben & Jerry's issued a statement Wednesday saying that there is no federal definition of "natural" but that the company did not wish to "split hairs" and would explore the nonprofit's concerns. The...