On July 23, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-452b, the first potentially Earth-like planet within the "habitable zone" of a star like our Sun. Kepler-452b is 1,400 light-years away, meaning the New Horizons space probe that just passed Pluto should get there in...
Back in 2010, British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and spilled millions of barrels of oil off the Louisiana coast. Countless small business owners, including fishermen, hotel operators, restaurants, rental companies, and seafood processors,...
Nina Olson is the most important person you've never heard of at the IRS. She's the "National Taxpayer Advocate," and she heads up an organization created to cut through the red tape when the Service can't get the job done itself. If you're stuck between cogs in the...
We tend to think of the Internal Revenue Service mainly as Uncle Sam's "collections department." But it's also a true law enforcement agency. Special agents from the Criminal Investigations unit take on obvious crimes like tax evasion and tax preparer fraud. They also...
You know what's even worse than paying tax on money you make? Try taking a loss on money you lose. Make $100, pay a 40% tax, and you've still got $60 left. But lose $100, take a tax loss, and you're still out your $100. Yeah, you can deduct it against future income....
Ask anyone what makes them happy. (Go ahead, see who's around and ask them.) We're pretty sure they didn't say "paying taxes." Most of us just grumble and pay up. But millions of citizens from all walks of life express their unhappiness by choosing not to pay. The IRS...
Us Weekly is one of those glossy tabloid magazines you see in the checkout line at your local supermarket. Every week, they run a photo feature called "Stars: They're Just Like Us," with revealing, slice-of-life gems such as a Bachelorette throwing a ball to her dog...
June is Graduation Season, and odds are good that you've spent some time seated on a cheap folding chair or arena bleacher watching someone proceed down an aisle in an expensive cap and gown. Commencement speakers will thank the faculty, staff, and parents who made it...
For two weeks every spring, the tennis world focuses its attention on Roland Garros, the Parisian center that hosts the French Open. This year, fans yawned as the dominant Serena Williams cruised to her 20th career major title in the 2015 French Open, defeating the...
Memorial Day came early this year, and that means we get more time with our summer whites! (Of course, summer doesn't "officially" start until June 21, but who's counting?) For millions of Americans, cooling off at the movies with a bucket of popcorn and gallon of...
