Author: Reporter

Tax Plan: IRS moves forward with pilot program for a free e-filing system in 2024

Most taxpayers are interested in filing their taxes directly to the IRS for free, a new report said, and that option will be tested next year. The IRS has spent the past nine months studying whether U.S. taxpayers want to see a free, e-filing system run by the government, and is now preparing to launch a pilot program. The prospect of a free, government-run, online tax filing system has been debated for a long time. Supporters argue that the option would make tax return services more equitable and accessible for taxpayers nationwide. But there is also been pushback from...

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Financial watchdog warns of vulnerability to money stored in Venmo and other mobile payment apps

Customers of Venmo, PayPal, and CashApp should not store their money for the long term with these apps because their funds might not be safe during a crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned on June 1. The alert comes several weeks after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, which all experienced bank runs after fearful customers with uninsured deposits pulled their money en masse. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures bank accounts up to $250,000. But money stored in Venmo or CashApp or Apple Cash is not being held in a traditional...

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Health officials say Mpox is in decline but the risk remains for summertime outbreaks

The mpox health emergency has ended, but U.S. health officials are aiming to prevent a repeat of last year’s outbreaks. Mpox infections exploded early in the summer of 2022 in the wake of Pride gatherings. More than 30,000 U.S. cases were reported last year, most of them spread during sexual contact between gay and bisexual men. About 40 people died. With Pride events planned across the country in the coming weeks, health officials and event organizers say they are optimistic that this year infections will be fewer and less severe. A bigger supply of vaccine, more people with immunity...

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A National Reckoning: The story behind how Juneteenth finally became a federal holiday

Across America, Juneteenth Day is celebrated to mark the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances, or cookouts. The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday. And just as many people learn what Juneteenth is all...

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Surgeon General issues warning over profound risk of harm to children from exposure to social media

The U.S. surgeon general is calling for tech companies and lawmakers to take “immediate action” to protect kids’ and adolescents’ mental health from a profound risk of harm by social media platforms. But after years of insufficient action by both social media platforms and policymakers, parents and young people still bear most of the burden in navigating the fast-changing, often harmful world of secretive algorithms, addictive apps and extreme and inappropriate content found on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. So what can parents and young people do now? Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has some tips. “Our children...

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Still grieving: Twitter faces backlash after purging inactive accounts of people who have died

Emily Reed lost her younger sister Jessica more than 10 years ago. For much of the last decade, she has visited Jessica’s Twitter page to help “keep her memory alive.” Twitter became one of the places where Emily processed her grief and reconnected with a sister she describes as almost like a twin. But Jessica’s account is now gone. Last week, owner Elon Musk announced Twitter would be purging accounts that have had no activity for several years. That decision has been met by an outcry from those who have lost, or who fear losing the thoughts and words...

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