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Editorial: IRS wants to branch out, start worrying

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

All the new funding that congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden showered on the IRS has the tax agency thinking big. That should worry taxpayers.The Wall Street Journal reported last week that IRS officials hope to get into the tax preparation business, in direct competition with TurboTax and firms such as H&R Block. The goal is to create a “Direct File” system on the agency’s website that would be free to those who use it.“This is a service that I think the government ought to provide,” Kitty Richards, a progressive tax expert and former Treasury official, told the Journal. “It’s problematic that we instead provide it through these private corporations that prey on people and extract profits from taxpayers that are just fulfilling that civic duty.”Yet most of these private outfits already do simple tax returns for free. It’s also worth noting that the IRS has a dismal record of customer service, particularly when taxpayers attempt to reach the agency by phone. And thos...

More office workers leaving home, returning to their cubicles

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

Employers are turning up the heat on workers who headed home during the pandemic to return to the office.The share of companies that say they are requiring in-office work has more than doubled in the last year, according to a new study by commercial property firm CBRE Group. More than 65% of office-using firms say their employers are back in the building at least some of the time.Even so, more than 50% of companies say they expect their office footprint to get smaller over the next three years. Last week, for example, AT&T CEO John Stankey said in a radio interview that the Dallas-based telecommunications giant is reducing its office footprint and requiring managers to show up in person at least three days a week. It’s consolidating into nine core offices across the U.S., with its corporate headquarters in Dallas and Atlanta as main hubs.“Real estate evolves to accommodate changes in human behavior, and we’re seeing that as the office market adapts to hybrid work,” CBRE’S Manish...

Dear Abby: Daughter gets an eyeful when she visits mom

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

Dear Abby: My mother is 90 and has been a widow for 10 years. When we moved to this city 30 years ago, my parents made friends with a group of people. In this group was a couple nobody in our family liked (Dad especially), but Mom remained friends with them. Abby, the husband is a smarmy narcissist.A couple of weeks ago, I went into my mom’s house (not unannounced) and found my mom in bed with this man. I can’t describe the revulsion I felt. My problem is, I don’t know how complicit my mom is, or whether he has been grooming her over the years and is abusing her. That was my initial thought because he tried it with me many years ago.Mom tried to cover up what was going on (“He was fixing the blinds”), but I can’t unsee what I saw. I don’t know if she lied because she’s complicit or afraid. How do I handle this? I haven’t spoken to Mom since, except to voice my disgust the next day. — Disgusted Daughter in CaliforniaDear Dau...

Turkey’s Erdogan turns away reform-minded challenger to win another term

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned away a challenger who sought to reverse his authoritarian-leaning changes, securing five more years to oversee the country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia that plays a key role in NATO.Erdogan prevailed by winning more than 52% of the vote in Sunday’s presidential runoff, which came two weeks after he fell short of scoring an outright victory in the first round. A majority of Turkish voters in the second round chose him over challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, showing their support for a man who they see as a strong, proven leader.Voters were divided between loyalty to Erdogan, who has ruled for two decades, and hopes for the opposition candidate, who promised to return to democratic norms, adopt more conventional economic policies and improve ties with the West.With his immediate political future secure, Erdogan must now confront skyrocketing inflation that has fueled a cost-of-living crisis and rebuild in th...

Philippines warns of possible flooding, landslides as Typhoon Mawar slowly passes to north

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials began evacuating hundreds of villagers, shut down schools and offices and imposed a no-sail ban Monday as Typhoon Mawar approached the country’s northern provinces.The storm, locally named Betty, was not expected to make landfall in the mountainous region. But forecasters warned that the typhoon would slow down considerably off the northernmost province of Batanes from Tuesday to Wednesday and could cause dangerous tidal surges, flash floods and landslides as it blows past.Typhoon Mawar was moving northwest in the Pacific Ocean about 525 kilometers (326 miles) east of the coastal town of Aparri in Cagayan province with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph) and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph).Mawar tore through Guam last week as the strongest typhoon to hit the U.S. Pacific territory in over two decades, flipping cars, tearing off roofs and knocking down power. It weakened as it blew toward the Philippines.“These typhoons, earthq...

Takeaways on debt ceiling: McCarthy’s balancing act, Biden’s choice and the challenges ahead

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a deal no one in Washington claims to really like. But after weeks of negotiations, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have struck an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avert a potentially devastating government default.The stakes are high for both men — and now each will have to persuade lawmakers in their parties to vote for it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week that the United States could run out of cash to pay the bills and default on its obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.The ultimate agreement, hammered out by Biden, McCarthy and a small group of their deputies, is a two-year budget deal that would essentially hold spending flat for 2024, while boosting it for defense and veterans, and capping increases at 1% for 2025. It would suspend the debt limit until January 2025, after the next presidential election. Republicans had insisted on reducing spending and had passed their own bill with much large...

Trump’s welcome of Scott into 2024 race shows his calculus: The more GOP rivals, the better for him

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina launched his campaign for the White House last week, the notoriously prickly former President Donald Trump welcomed his new competitor with open arms.There were no accusations of disloyalty or nasty nicknames from the GOP front-runner like the barrage he unleashed when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered his leading rival, joined the race two days later with a bungled Twitter announcement. “Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump said. “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big step up from Ron DeSanctimonious, who is totally unelectable.”The contrast underscores not only the fact that Trump sees DeSantis as his most formidable rival, but also basic math: He and his team have long believed the more candidates who enter the Republican primary contest, the better for Trump. They are operating under the assumption that no other candidate will...

China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, another step in what looks like a new space race

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, which would be another advance in what’s increasingly seen as a new space race. The U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency Lin Xiqiang confirmed China’s goal at a news conference Monday but gave no specific date. Lin also said China plans to expand its orbiting crewed space station with an additional module. A new three-person crew is scheduled to head to the Tiangong station on Tuesday aboard the Shenzhou 16 craft and will overlap briefly with the three astronauts already aboard. The fresh crew includes a civilian for the first time. All previous crew members have been in the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the country’s ruling Communist Party. Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing’s top aerospace research institute, will join mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft engineer Zhu Y...

No deal on top property tax relief priority as session enters final day

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas House adjourned just before 11 p.m. Sunday night without passing a compromise bill to lower property taxes, leaving a highly-anticipated deal to avoid a special session on the table.Texas lawmakers worked into the final hours of the legislative session to bring a deal that would lower property taxes and bridge intractable odds between top Republican leaders in the House and Senate.The House Speaker's Office confirmed just before 10 p.m. that House negotiators signed off on a deal. Lawmakers waited in a holding pattern for multiple hours as they waited for Senate negotiators to agree to the deal.Around 10:40 p.m., a Senate messenger announced the legislation with which the upper chamber had concurred. It did not include the conference committee report for the property tax legislation.It is not yet clear what a deal would bring. If lawmakers attempt a last-second deal on Monday, it would require suspending the rules around session deadlines and a notable a...

Texas A&M ends run through SEC tournament with 10-4 loss to Vanderbilt

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:42:26 GMT

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Pinch-hitter Calvin Hewett's three-run double capped a five-run eighth inning and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt defeated 10th-seeded Texas A&M 10-4 on Sunday in the championship game of the SEC Tournament on Sunday.Enrique Bradfield Jr. opened the eighth with a double and reached third on a ground out before scoring on a wild pitch. Parker Noland then singled in Davis Diaz who walked after Bradfield's double. A single by Chris Maldonado and a walk to RJ Austin loaded the bases for Hewett, who ripped a double down the left-field line on a 3-2 pitch.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersTroy LaNeve went 2 for 4 with a three-run home run in the second for the Commodores (41-18) before being replaced by Hewett. Noland and Maldonado both had three hits.Patrick Reilly (5-3), the second of five pitchers, got the win, allowing three runs and five hits in four...