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Opinion: It should’t take an advanced degree to do your taxes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

Editor’s note: This story is part of the annual Mosaic Journalism Workshop for Bay Area high school students, a two-week intensive course in journalism. Students in the program report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.I am 17 years old. I have a job and the good fortune this year to have earned enough to have to report my income to the government. Unfortunately, as I am a contractor, and not an employee, my tax situation was slightly more complicated than your average teenager working at the mall. And I struggled.I think I’m reasonably intelligent. English is my first language, and I can read well. I am going to be a senior in high school this fall and have almost completed the education expected of all American youth. I should be able to comprehend tax forms.I needed to fill out a W-9 form. It asked what I was. Sole proprietor or a single-member LLC? I have never heard these words in this order. I had to Google it and discovered I was a sole prop...

Atherton police warn public of scams targeting the elderly

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- The Atherton Police Department is warning the public of scams targeted towards the elderly community after three residents recently fell victim to financial scams.One elderly resident was contacted by a scammer, who posed as a police officer, and was told that his bank accounts were compromised, police said. The elderly man sent a $70,000 cashier's check to the unknown scammer after being told it would fix the problem. Woman injured after strong-armed robbery in Piedmont Two residents were contacted by scammers in-person at their home and was told their grandson had been in a serious car accident. They gave the scammers $10,000 after being told their grandson needed it, police said. KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }In both ...

Republican senator should drop his ‘irresponsible’ protest and OK military nominees, Biden says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said it is “irresponsible” of a Republican senator from Alabama to block confirmation of military officers in protest of a Defense Department policy that pays for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or reproductive care. “He’s jeopardizing U.S. security by what he’s doing,” Biden said of Sen. Tommy Tuberville. “It’s just totally irresponsible in my view.” More than 260 nominations are stalled by Tuberville, including Biden’s pick for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, America’s top military officer. The U.S. Marine Corps is currently without a confirmed leader for the first time in a century because of the block. It also affects scores of one-, two- and three-star officers who are assigned to new base commands.“I’d be willing to talk to him if I thought there was any possibility of changing his ridiculous position,” Biden said during a press conference with the pr...

March Madness expansion discussed by NCAA committee but no deal imminent

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee discussed possible expansion of March Madness at its meetings this week but said no moves were imminent to increase the field beyond the current 68 teams. “Whether the tournament expands or not remains to be seen,” sad Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball. Earlier this year, the NCAA Division I board of directors approved recommendations by the DI transformation committee that included allowing one quarter of teams in bigger sports to compete in championship events. That could mean expanding the fields in both men’s and women’s basketball up to 90 teams. There are many in the sport who believe the 68-team fields and three weekends of play are ideal. In 2016, the NCAA signed an eight-year extension of its TV deal for $8.8 billion that now runs through 2032.Gavitt said the men’s basketball committee is “studying options and gathering feedback from various consti...

Iranian president welcomed in Zimbabwe with anti-West songs on the last stop on his Africa trip

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was welcomed in Zimbabwe on Thursday by people singing songs criticizing the West as he made his last stop on a three-nation Africa trip aimed at finding new trade alliances to soften the impact of U.S. sanctions on his nation.Raisi was greeted at Harare’s international airport by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and dozens of supporters waving Zimbabwe and Iran flags and holding placards with Raisi’s image.Both countries are under U.S. sanctions and Raisi’s trip to Africa, which has already included stops in Kenya and Uganda, highlights Iran’s efforts to counter those heavy economic punishments.Iran and Zimbabwe already have a joint permanent commission on political and trade relations and officials on Thursday signed 12 new memorandums of understanding, including agreements on agriculture, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, gas, energy and education.Iran also signed agreements with Kenya and ...

People treated for possible heat exhaustion, dehydration in Taylor Swift merch line

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — In a little over 24 hours, Taylor Swift will be hitting the stage at Empower Field. But Thursday morning, hundreds of fans have lined up with a different goal in mind – buy merchandise outside the stadium.Swift opened up the line to her merchandise truck to any and all fans at 7 a.m., and hundreds lined the parking lot several hours beforehand. What can you buy for the price of 2 Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets? FOX31's Carly Moore has been at Empower Field all morning. She said four people have had medical treatment and some Denver Health paramedics are on site. Moore said heat, dehydration and altitude sickness are among the possible issues. Pinpoint Weather Metrologist Travis Michels is reminding fans to bring sunscreen and plenty of water because temperatures will be in the 90s on Thursday. There will be lots of sunshine, which will help temperatures hit around 93 degrees.Many fans Moore they showed up Thursday so that they wouldn't have to worry about getting ...

Biden declares victory over Putin as he tries to galvanize allies at home and abroad

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

HELSINKI, Finland — President Joe Biden wrapped up his visit to Europe on Thursday touting the strength of NATO and the alliance’s ability to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. But those diplomatic breakthroughs overseas came with lingering uncertainties about the future of the war.Biden capped off his trip in Helsinki, projecting a dramatically different presence than the last American president to visit the Finnish capital. Five years ago this week Donald Trump sided with Putin over America’s intelligence agencies’ conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. This time, Biden touted the strength of the alliance designed to halt Putin, with NATO only growing in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“Putin’s already lost the war,” Biden declared at a brief trip-ending news conference. “Putin has a real problem — how does he move from here? What does he do? And so, the idea that there’s going to be, what vehicle is used — he could end the war tomorrow. He could just...

India buys French fighter jets, submarines as Modi visits Macron

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

PARIS — The Indian government confirmed on Thursday it will buy 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets and 3 Scorpene military submarines from France’s Dassault and Naval Group as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Paris.The military deal comes as France is intensifying political and commercial ties with India, while bidding to draw the Asian powerhouse away from Russia, which is its top weapons supplier.Modi is in Paris where he met with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. He will have dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday night and will attend the annual parade for France’s Bastille Day on Friday on the Champs Elysées. The two countries are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Indo-French strategic partnership and they are set to present a roadmap for the next 25 years of bilateral cooperation. On Friday, Paris and New Delhi will announce new cooperation and investment projects in the transport, energy and space sectors, according to a French di...

Kevin Spacey fights back tears as he testifies how sex abuse allegations ‘exploded’ his career

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Kevin Spacey fought back tears and dabbed his eyes with a tissue Thursday as he told jurors in a London court how sexual misconduct allegations six years ago had destroyed his career.“My world exploded,” Spacey said at his sexual assault trial. “There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days.”The emotional testimony came toward the end of his nearly three hours in the witness box, in what could be the most consequential speaking part of his life. He denied sexually assaulting three men and chalked up crotch-grabbing allegations by a fourth as having been a “clumsy pass.”The allegations that sent Spacey’s stellar film and stage career into a spiral came in 2017 as the #metoo movement gained momentum in the U.S. and a fellow actor accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior three decades earlier.News of those accusations led others to come forwa...

Patients squeezed in fight over who gets to bill for pricey infusion drugs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:12:00 GMT

Samantha Liss | (TNS) KFF Health NewsHealth insurers and medical providers are battling over who should supply high-cost infusion drugs for patients, with the tussle over profits now spilling into statehouses across the country.The issue is that some insurers are bypassing hospital pharmacies and physician offices and instead sending more complex drugs through third-party pharmacies. Those pharmacies then send the medications directly to the medical provider or facility for outpatient infusing, which is called “white bagging,” or, more rarely, to patients, in what is called “brown bagging.” That shifts who gets to buy and bill for these complex medications, including pricey chemotherapy drugs.Insurers say the policies are needed because hospital markups are too high. But hospitals argue that adding an intermediary results in unnecessary risks and delays, and they say some insurers have their own or affiliated pharmacy companies, creating financial motives for controlling the source ...