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IRS steps toward a new free-file tax return system have both supporters and critics mobilizing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An IRS plan to test drive a new electronic free-file tax return system next year has got supporters and critics of the idea mobilizing to sway the public and Congress over whether the government should set up a permanent program to help people file their taxes without needing to pay somebody else to figure out what they owe. On one side, civil society groups this week launched a coalition to promote the move toward a government-run free-file program. On the other, tax preparation firms like Intuit — the parent company of TurboTax — and H&R Block have been pouring millions into trying to stop the idea cold. The advocacy groups are exponentially out-monied. An April AP analysis found that overall, Intuit, H&R Block, and other private companies and advocacy groups for large tax preparation businesses, as well as proponents in favor of electronic free file, have reported spending $39.3 million since 2006 to lobby on “free-file” and other matters. Federal law do...

Alex Kirilloff salts away Twins’ 6-3 victory over Mariners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

SEATTLE — Alex Kirilloff started Wednesday’s game against the Mariners hotter than any Twins player but rookie Edouard Julien, who has been, frankly, off the charts.Kirilloff was hitting .373 with a 1.019 OPS in 15 games before he stepped into the box at T-Mobile Field on Tuesday and struck out in his first three at-bats. But the Twins first baseman got more than three at-bats.With Michael A. Taylor on first and right-hander Devin Sweet on the mound for Seattle in the ninth inning, Kirilloff sent a 2-1 pitch into the left-field stands for a two-run home run to pad a 4-3 lead and send the Twins to a 6-3 victory in front of 25,825.The Twins improved to 5-1 on this road trip and increased their lead over second-place Cleveland in the American League Central to 2½ games.Julien was 1 for 1 with two walks and a solo home run and is now hitting .533 in 12 games this month. Max Kepler also homered as the Twins gave starter Kenta Maeda a 3-0 after five innings.Max Kepler went 2 for 4 and bro...

Jackpot! Winning $1 billion Powerball ticket sold in downtown Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

Check your tickets! One lucky Southern Californian is the state’s newest billionaire after a winning ticket was drawn for Wednesday night's Powerball lottery.The winning ticket matching all six numbers was sold at the Las Palmitas Mini Market located at 1205 Wall Street in downtown L.A. near the Skid Row neighborhood.The lucky winner is confirmed to be the sole ticket holder across the U.S. to match all numbers for the jackpot, according to Powerball.The winning numbers drawn on Wednesday, July 19 were: 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24, and red Powerball 24. The Power Play multiplier was 2X.The jackpot winner is joined by seven other lucky Californians who matched five out of six numbers.Those players, who hit five numbers without the Powerball, will go home $448,750 richer, according to officials.All winning California tickets were sold in these locations — La Puente, Los Angeles, Northridge, Hayward, South Lake Tahoe, Santa Clara, and San Francisco.Wednesday’s billion-dollar drawing is the t...

SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from California base

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California on Wednesday night.The rocket successfully lifted off from the base at 9:09 p.m. PDT and is carrying a group of Starlink satellites into orbit.The launch was visible to onlookers hundreds of miles away.Wednesday's launch was the rocket's second attempt after Tuesday night's mission was aborted five seconds before a scheduled lift-off time of 10:25 p.m.According to the company, 15 satellites were carried to low-Earth orbit during Wednesday night’s mission.Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite network designed to bring low-cost internet service to rural/remote communities.After previous successful launches, Starlink now boasts over 4,200 functional satellites orbiting the Earth, according to CNET. The launches are part of the company’s goal to build a giant constellation of broadband satellites across the globe.Following stage separation after liftoff, the Falcon’s reusable booster is scheduled to l...

Burglar caught on camera inside L.A. home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

Surveillance cameras captured a burglar inside of a West Adams home that was tented and being fumigated for termites on Monday.  Homeowner Robert Dionne told KTLA that when the break in happened, he and his wife, along with their two young children, were staying at a hotel in Marina Del Rey while the house was being treated for termites.  According to Dionne, the fumigation company was scheduled to remove the tent at 7:30 a.m. the morning of the burglary and that the thief was in the family’s home just hours before, from 3:30 a.m. to about 4:40 a.m.  Exterior surveillance footage shows a man with a backpack on set down a bike outside the tented home and move out of frame. Inside the home, cameras captured the thief, wearing a red bandana as a face mask as he walked into the darkened dining room of the family’s home and set a small black bag on the table. He then moves back to the other side of the table and turns the lights on.  With the lights on, video shows the bur...

Antioch police Chief Steven Ford to step down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

ANTIOCH – After less than a year on the job, Antioch police Chief Steven Ford says he is retiring from the scandal-plagued department.Ford announced in a written statement Wednesday night that his last day on the job will be Aug. 11.“I am proud of what we have accomplished and firmly believe the groundwork has been laid for organizational success,” said Ford, who was named permanent chief last November following a seven-month stint as interim chief.“I know our work to align us with the [tenets] of procedural justice and constitutional policing will keep this department headed in the right direction,” he continued. “I sincerely hope our engagement with the community will continue and flourish.”Ford’s decision to retire comes amid an FBI investigation into wrongdoing by more than a dozen current and former Antioch and Pittsburg officers. The alleged crimes range from possible violent civil right violations and assaults to fraudulent schemes to acquire pay bumps, to drug trafficking, o...

$1 billion Powerball ticket sold in California, 3 tickets worth $448K sold in Bay Area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

(KRON) -- With a billion-dollar jackpot on the line for Wednesday's drawing, a winning Powerball ticket was sold in California. A ticket sold in Los Angeles matched all five winning numbers with the Powerball number. That ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market, located at 1205 Wall Street in L.A. Powerball: Here are the winning numbers for the $1 billion jackpot In addition, seven players won $448,750 by nailing five of the winning numbers, but not the Powerball number. Three of those tickets were sold in the Bay Area. 7-Eleven (1590 Franklin St. in Santa Clara)Safeway (4950 Mission St. in San Francisco)Steve's Liquors (583 West Tennyson Road in Hayward)The other four of these tickets were sold in La Puente, South Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles and Northridge. The winning numbers for Wednesday's drawing were 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24, and red Powerball 24. Wednesday's winner will claim the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever, and the sixth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. If you ...

Lanes on I-80 shut down due to crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

(KRON) -- Police activity has shut down lanes on I-80 westbound near Berkeley, California Highway Patrol confirmed. A Sig Alert was issued Wednesday night around 8:15 p.m. for the closure of all I-80 westbound lanes near Ashby Avenue. Officers make discovery in trunk of suspect vehicle after car chase on Pleasanton freeway As of 9:25 p.m., the right and center westbound lanes have reopened, and the two left lanes remained blocked. The left lanes on I-80 eastbound were also blocked, but they have since reopened.CHP said the closures happened after a vehicle struck a pedestrian on I-80 at about 7:50 p.m. The incident began as a chase involving the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office. A red SUV and a gray SUV were involved in the crash. CHP said a person stepped out of the red car and was struck by the gray car. That person was hospitalized with major injuries. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

NYPD to Pay Largest Protester Settlement Ever For Abuses During George Floyd Uprising

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

New York City reached a historic settlement this week on behalf of more than 1,300 people who were attacked by police while protesting the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.The plaintiffs claimed that the New York Police Department violated protesters’ civil and constitutional rights by making mass arrests, using excessive force, using pepper spray improperly, and using a tactic called kettling to trap and arrest protesters ahead of an imposed curfew. Join Our Newsletter Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you. I'm in The proposed settlement will pay out $13 million to 1,380 protesters — about $10,000 per person — the largest total payout to protesters in a class action suit in the United States, according to the plaintiffs. The settlement did not impose any reforms on the NYPD.What the suit means for policing will depend on how New Yorkers and...

Kepler scores the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the Twins’ 6-3 win over the Mariners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:53:12 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Max Kepler scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the eighth inning and Minnesota pitchers struck out 14 in the Twins’ 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Kepler scored from third when a pitch from reliever Andrés Muñoz (2-3) got past catcher Tom Murphy, breaking a 3-3 tie. Kepler also hit a solo homer in the fifth inning off Luis Castillo. Ryan Jeffers put the Twins ahead with a first-inning single, and rookie Edouard Julien and Kepler made it 3-0 with home runs in the fifth. The Mariners tied it with a pair of homers of their own. Tom Murphy connected off Twins starter Kenta Maeda in the sixth inning, and Eugenio Suárez tied it with a two-run shot in the seventh off Griffin Jax. Alex Kirillof hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Devin Sweet in the pitcher’s major league debut.Emilio Pagan (4-1) was the winner. Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 16th save. Maeda had nine strikeouts for Minnesota. Castillo h...