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Two things keep the IRS out of most people's hair: the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime exclusion. Nerdy takeaways: * A gift tax is a tax owed on the transfer of money or property to another person while receiving nothing or less than full value in return. * The gift giver is the one who generally pays the tax, not the receiver. * If you give more than the annual gift tax limit, you may have to file a gift tax return, but this does not necessarily mean that you'll owe taxes on the gift. * The 2024...

What About Me is the fifth album by American psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Released in December 1970/ The words to What about me? They fit US now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4RBB07S5Jo

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to roll out a free way to file federal taxes, much to the chagrin of tax preparation firm TurboTax. The IRS is launching a pilot plan, known as Direct File, that will offer a free way to submit taxes for U.S. workers. In December, the agency published its plans for an in-house filing system that taxpayers can use to submit their federal tax returns at no cost. Residents of 12 states that meet certain income criteria will be able to try the new service. To qualify, filers need to opt for the standard deduction...

The holiday season came and went, and it appears the U.S. Postal Service did a good job. Yes, there were some reports of letter carriers getting swamped with packages here and there. And, yes, there were citizen complaints about delivery delays and mail theft. But on the whole, the USPS delivered in late 2023. There was no systemic crack-up as there was in December of 2020, when bad weather, sick mail workers and other factors slowed holiday cards and gifts for days and even weeks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for twice as many Forest Service personnel to be deployed to Canada on Thursday to help fight the hundreds of wildfires fueling a smoky haze over the eastern U.S. “These unprecedented wildfires are a crisis for both Canada and the United States, so both nations must respond speedily and forcefully to contain the blazes,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “The best way to ensure the U.S. does not suffer another wave of wildfire air pollution is to contain these fires up in Canada as soon as possible.”

As we reach the middle of the 21st century, half the population of the world will lose their job to a machine. The latest comes from Moshe Vardi, professor at Rice University , Houston, who delivered a talk to the American Association for the Advancement of Science , exploring the question: "If machines are capable of doing almost any work humans can do, what will humans do?" Vardi reckons that half of workers across the globe will be replaced by machines within the next 30 years, wiping out middle-class jobs and "exacerbating inequality". He noted that robots would take over...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lauded the “service, commitment, and sacrifice” of LGBTQ+ troops and personnel in a statement released Thursday to make the beginning of Pride Month. “This Pride Month, we honor the service, commitment, and sacrifice of the LGBTQ+ Service members and personnel who volunteer to defend our country. Their proud service adds to America’s strength,” he said.

The City of San Francisco is attempting to blame the National Weather Service (NWS) for the poor local response to last week’s rains, which saw “sewer geysers” in some neighborhoods, and extensive flooding. The San Francisco Chronicle reported: City officials squarely blamed a lack of preparation on incorrect weather forecasts from the National Weather Service — but the agency disputes that and has communications with the city to back it up. … Officials said that San Francisco was not prepared for the New Year’s Eve downpour because the National Weather Service indicated only half an inch to three quarters of...

The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol is expected to interview former Secret Service agent Tony Ornato on Tuesday. Lawmakers on the panel sought Ornato’s testimony to corroborate information about former President Trump’s actions on Jan. 6. When he meets with the committee Tuesday, Ornato, who was Trump’s deputy chief of staff on Jan. 6, will be speaking with the House panel for the third time. Ornato was at the center of explosive testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified during the House committee’s series of public hearings on Jan....

A former member of the far-right Oath Keepers organization testified on Thursday that the founder of the group was in contact with the Trump administration’s Secret Service in the months leading up to the November 2020 presidential election. John Zimmerman, who appeared before a jury at the seditious conspiracy trial of five members of the Oath Keepers, including the organization’s founder, Stewart Rhodes, said he witnessed a phone call between the group’s leader and someone he thought belonged to the Secret Service in September 2020. Zimmerman also said that Rhodes told him he had been in contact with the agency.

Senior leaders at the Secret Service reportedly confiscated the cellphones of 24 agents who were involved with the Jan. 6, 2021, response and delivered the phones to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) inspector general. A source familiar confirmed to The Hill that the phones were handed to Inspector General Joseph Cuffari’s office after a July 19 letter was sent to the agency from DHS investigators indicating he had begun a criminal probe. NBC News first reported the development.

Space is limited in Westminster Abbey where Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will be held on Monday. The funeral is expected to be the biggest world event since the funeral of Winston Churchill. Invitations are not easy to come by. Joe and Jill Biden have been invited but none of the former U.S. presidents have been invited, nor should they expect to be. There is only room for the current leaders of countries. So, a memorial service will be held for the Queen at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. next Wednesday. All former presidents are on the invitation list. So,...

‘They just ghosted her and she didn’t know what to do’: Subway worker, other customers pretend ‘Karen’ customer isn’t there after she’s rude

If you have worked in public service (federal, state, local, tribal government or a non-profit organization) for 10 years or more (even if not consecutively), you may be eligible to have all your student debt canceled. Now, for a limited time, it is easier than ever to receive that forgiveness, or get credit toward forgiveness, if you have not yet served 10 years. But you must apply before October 31, 2022.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top congressional Democrats are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general hand over information on deleted Secret Service text messages related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, accusing him of using delay tactics to stonewall their investigation. In a letter released Tuesday, the leaders of the House Oversight and Homeland Security committees signaled they are willing to subpoena Inspector General Joseph Cuffari if he does not comply with their requests. The lawmakers are pressing for Cuffari to provide records and testimony about alleged efforts to cover up the erasure of Secret Service...

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service has no new text messages related to the Jan. 6 attack to hand over to the special House committee investigating the Capitol riot, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Tuesday. The news comes in the wake of an inspector general informing the committee that the Secret Service had deleted text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021. The committee issued a subpoena for those records last week. The Secret Service plans to do a “forensic examination” of agents’ phones identified in the inspector general’s report, the source said, but added that...

With temperatures in parts of the UK expected to hit 33C this week, the last thing any drivers are thinking about is heated seats.But a fierce debate has been sparked online, following the news that BMW is offering a subscription service to turn on heated seats in its cars. The service will see drivers charged £15/month to turn on heated front seats, and an additional £10/month to switch on the heated steering wheel. BMW hopes the service will be helpful for owners who change their minds after purchase. However, skeptics have called BMW 'greedy', and claim that if the technology...

The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced Wednesday that it aims to raise postage prices by July 10 and has filed a notice of the desired changes with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The Forever stamp will move from 58 cents to 60 cents, marking what would be its second price hike in a year, CBS noted. In August, it moved from 55 cents to 58 cents. Between August of last year and this upcoming July, the stamp’s cost would have gone up nine percent, or five cents, should the prices take effect. But the Forever stamp is not the...

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged two men they say were posing as federal agents, giving free apartments and other gifts to U.S. Secret Service agents, including one who worked on the first lady’s security detail. The two men – Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 36 – were taken into custody as more than a dozen FBI agents charged into a luxury apartment building in Southeast Washington on Wednesday evening.

Ohio State lost a legend this week. Charles "Chuck" Csuri – a Buckeye football great, a World War II veteran and a pioneer in the field of computer art – died at the age of 99 on Sunday, Ohio State announced. Csuri was a three-year letterman for the Buckeye football team, playing for head coach Paul Brown from 1941-1943. Dubbed by Brown “the perfect tackle,” Csuri led Ohio State to its first national in 1942 and was named All-American and the team’s Most Valuable Player. He was the last living member of Ohio State's 1942 national championship team. After serving...