Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Taxpayers in 24 states will be able to file their returns directly with the IRS in 2025

 Here's some good news that may save you money during tax season!  Thanks to the Biden Administration, taxpayers in 24 states will be able to file their 2025 tax returns directly with the IRS  at NO Cost.  Today's blog explains which states are participating and provides a link to the program on-line. 

 Taxpayers in 24 states will be able to file their returns directly with the IRS in 2025

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is expanding its program that allows people to file their taxes directly with the agency for free.

The federal tax collector’s Direct File program, which allows taxpayers to calculate and submit their returns to the government directly without using commercial tax preparation software, will be open to more than 30 million people in 24 states in the 2025 filing season.

The program was rolled out as a pilot during the 2024 tax season in 12 states.

Now IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel says the program will be permanent and the IRS will expand eligibility opportunities for taxpayers.

“We’re announcing significant expansions of Direct File that will make the service available to millions more taxpayers in 2025,” Werfel said on a call Thursday with reporters. He said it is possible that additional states could still choose to join the program in 2025.

The pilot program in 2024 allowed people in certain states with very simple W-2s to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS. Those using the program claimed more than $90 million in refunds, the IRS said.

It was originally available to certain taxpayers in California, New York, Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming and Massachusetts.

States to be added in 2025 include: Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In addition, new eligibility standards will allow participation by taxpayers with 1099 income and credits including the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, and the deduction for Health Savings Accounts, among others.

“Other countries have been providing their citizens with the ability to do this type of thing for years,” Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on the call with reporters. Several nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including Germany and Japan, have similar systems with prepopulated tax forms.

The direct file idea is not viewed favorably by the commercial tax prep software firms that have made billions of dollars from charging people to use their software.

Additionally, an IRS inspector general report released this week notes that the IRS has not maintained sufficient safeguards over data protection related to the IRS Free File Alliance. The alliance is a longstanding agreement between the IRS and some commercial tax preparation companies to provide free tax prep services to low and middle-income taxpayers.

The Free File Alliance is separate from the Direct File program.

The IRS was tasked with looking into how to create a “direct file” system as part of the money it received from the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It gave the IRS nine months and $15 million to report on how such a program would work.

Here's the LINK: https://www.irs.gov/filing/irs-direct-file

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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

It's Election Day 2024- Tyler's Message

 Happy Tyler Tuesday! Tyler has a message for humans today since it's election day: "Vote to remove stubborn orange stains!" Tyler is wiser than 40% of Americans!




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Alarming Findings: Antarctic ‘greening’ at dramatic rate

Any educated person knows that the Earth is warming faster than it normally would because of the excessive amount of pollutants we are putting into the atmosphere. We've seen powerful hurricanes this year, like the Category 5 Hurricane Milton, and Cat 4 Helene. Scientists have observed very warm sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. We've seen plants that only grew in the U.S. South thriving in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. Now, using satellite data, scientists have seen a warming and "greening" in the Antarctic! If you thought it was all covered with ice and snow, think again. That's the story of today's blog.

 (Photo: A moss-covered slope, with the sea and ice chunks visible in the background Green Island. Credit Matt Amesbury)

Antarctic ‘greening’ at dramatic rate 

Vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades, new research shows.

The Antarctic Peninsula, like many polar regions, is warming faster than the global average, with extreme heat events in Antarctica becoming more common.

The new study – by the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire, and the British Antarctic Survey – used satellite data to assess how much the Antarctic Peninsula has been “greening” in response to climate change.

It found that the area of vegetation cover across the Peninsula increased from less than one square kilometre in 1986 to almost 12 square kilometres by 2021.

Published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the study also found this greening trend accelerated by over 30% in recent years (2016-2021) relative to the full study period (1986-2021) – expanding by over 400,000 square metres per year in this period.

In a previous study, which examined core samples taken from moss-dominated ecosystems on the Antarctic Peninsula, the team found evidence that rates of plant growth had increased dramatically in recent decades.

This new study uses satellite imagery to confirm that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating.

“The plants we find on the Antarctic Peninsula – mostly mosses – grow in perhaps the harshest conditions on Earth,” said Dr Thomas Roland, from the University of Exeter.

“The landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life.

“But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated ‘wilderness’ is being affected by anthropogenic climate change.”


(Photo: Norsel Point. Credit Dan Charman)

Dr Olly Bartlett, from the University of Hertfordshire, added: “As these ecosystems become more established – and the climate continues to warm – it’s likely that the extent of greening will increase.

“Soil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation – potentially paving the way for other plants to grow.

“This raises the risk of non-native and invasive species arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.”

The researchers emphasise the urgent need for further research to establish the specific climate and environmental mechanisms that are driving the “greening” trend.

“The sensitivity of the Antarctic Peninsula’s vegetation to climate change is now clear and, under future anthropogenic warming, we could see fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region,” said Dr Roland.

He added: “Our findings raise serious concerns about the environmental future of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the continent as a whole. In order to protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and identify precisely what is causing them.”

The researchers are now investigating how recently deglaciated (ice-free) landscapes are colonised by plants, and how the process might proceed into the future.

The paper is entitled: “Satellites evidence sustained greening of the Antarctic Peninsula.”

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Monday, November 4, 2024

My Package Mailing Debacle - Package Up and Down the East Coast 3 Times

I think the U.S. Post Office does an amazing job, but sometimes there are exceptions. I write and mail a lot of cards and postcards and mail a lot of books and packages. On occasion, there's been a delay in delivery, but the latest delay is for the books.  On October 9th, I sold 1 comic book from my collection to a buyer in Georgia and mailed it with an Ebay generated label (which has the address and a bar code). By October 29th, it hadn't arrived, and after checking the USPS tracking number on-line, I found it had been up and down the U.S. East coast 3 times. Today's blog shows you that scanning process based on package tracking on the USPS website and explains what the USPS clerk told me at the facility where it traveled 4 times!! 


(Photo: What a comic book mailer looks like- It's about 12" by 8" and 1" high: Credit: Etsy)

MY CALL TO USPS -  I called the USPS in Nashville, where it's now been 4 times!!!  A Nashville postal worker said "Apparently, the bar code is an issue, and instead of postal workers looking at the actual address, they scan it and toss it in an "outgoing bin that sends it back to the origin point, instead of directing it forward." Even the actual post office in the delivery destination apparently made the same error, and instead of delivering it in their town, they put in the "outgoing bin" sending it back to TN, CT, MA and NH, causing the NH post office to send it back south, over and over and over. 

THE ROUTING MADNESS FROM THE USPS TRACKING PAGE:

Oct 30- Finally Delivered 


Moving Through Network

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

CHATTANOOGA TN DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

October 29, 2024, 8:07 am

In Transit to Next Facility

October 29, 2024, 5:53 am

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Sunday, November 3, 2024

Idiot of the Week: Michigan man charged with assaulting postal carrier over Harris flyer

This week's idiot assaulted a postal worker for delivering a flyer for Kamala Harris in his mailbox. I get stupid Trump stuff, but I throw it out. This guy is an example of the kinds of people who follow Trump- deplorable and willing to assault innocent people. I hope they go away after the election. Here's the story from CBS News.

 

Michigan man charged with assaulting postal carrier over Kamala Harris flyer 

CBS News September 28, 2024

(CBS DETROIT) — A 61-year-old Farmington Hills man faces multiple criminal charges after he allegedly assaulted a female postal carrier Thursday evening upon receiving a flyer in the mail featuring Vice President Kamala Harris.

Investigators say Russell Frank Valleau was allegedly upset about receiving the particular piece of mail and told the postal carrier that he did not want that "Black b****" in his mailbox. He's accused of yelling derogatory, racist and sexual remarks about Harris and the carrier, calling the postal carrier a "Black b****" and lunging at her with a knife.

The postal carrier used pepper spray on Valleau to stop the attack. Farmington Hills police later arrested him in a neighbor's yard.

"In this highly charged political moment, everyone has a right to their political opinion and vote. Whatever our political beliefs, no one should be assaulted or threatened because of their race, or for doing their job. Hate crimes impact all of us, and we will vigorously pursue all such cases," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said.

(Photo:   Russell Frank Valleau Farmington Hills Police Department)

Valleau was arraigned Friday on one felony count of ethnic intimidation and one misdemeanor count of assault and battery. He pleaded not guilty and was issued a $25,000 bond.

"The Farmington Hills Police Department is dedicated to preventing attacks based on race, gender or political affiliation," said Farmington Hills Police Chief Jeff King. "Such conduct is not tolerated in this great community and the Farmington Hills Police Department will use every resource to bring offenders to justice, ensuring the community remains a safe and welcoming place for all people."

Valleau is due back in court for a preliminary examination on Oct. 27.

If convicted of ethnic intimidation, Valleau faces up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000.



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Saturday, November 2, 2024

Heroes of the Week: Two fishing buddies rescue man from hull of capsized boat off Nantucket

This week's heroes are Nicholas Whitbeck and Joe Tormay, both of Nantucket, Mass, were fishing for striped bass Saturday, Oct. 19, when they found the older man floating on his capsized vessel. They rescued the man from the hull of his capsized boat off the coast of Nantucket   Here's the story from the Associated Press. 

(Credit; Kanal13) 

 By The Associated Press and STEVE LeBLANC, Oct. 24, 2024

BOSTON (AP) — The sun was starting to dip low on the horizon off Nantucket island when fishing buddies Nicholas Whitbeck and Joe Tormay spotted what they thought was a dead whale.

Squinting closer, they noticed what appeared to be a man perched on top of the “whale,” waving his hat.

The whale turned out to be a capsized fishing boat that the man — who had lost his cellphone when his boat tipped over — had been using to stay above the water as he tried to attract attention from passing vessels.

If nobody responded, the man faced a long and chilly Saturday night (Oct 19, 2024) on water about 55 degrees F to 58 degrees F (12.8 degrees C to 14.4 degrees C) — cold enough for hypothermia to set in quickly.

Whitbeck said they’d just relocated to an area with fewer fishing vessels when they spotted the object in the distance.

“Joe initially pointed it out, thinking that there was possibly a dead whale on the horizon a couple miles from us or less,” Whitbeck said. “It ended up looking a lot more like a boat that had capsized.”

Then they saw a pair of hands waving and kicked into action. The two stowed away their gear, pushed their boat to full throttle and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We got close to him, spoke to him first, got him a life jacket with a boat hook so that if in the exchange of him getting onto our boat there was a mishap or anything and he was in the water, he had a flotation device with him,” he added.

VIDEO OF ONE OF THE RESCUERS DESCRIBING THE EVENT: https://apnews.com/video/whales-massachusetts-6de944859ef14b70b42becf2b28fe7c9

The man said he’d been sitting on the hull of the capsized boat for about an hour, drifting away from land and other boats. It was about 4 p.m. — and darkness was soon approaching.

“Us arriving at that time really was a right time, right place scenario for that type of rescue,” Whitbeck said.

The man told them that a larger wave had tipped over his boat. He said he’d attempted to flag down three other boats, but no one saw him. Whitbeck said it was just luck that they’d spotted him. They maneuvered their boat into position to get him on board.

He said the man at first was reluctant to talk about his ordeal but was “very, very grateful” when they connected later.

“It could have been an entirely different situation,” Whitbeck said. “Somebody could have come out in the morning and just found a boat capsized. Scary, but what a great ending ultimately.”

Tormay, who had Coast Guard training, said those on the water are quick to help each other out if they find themselves in trouble, especially on the island off Massachusetts.

“Any fisherman would do the same as we did,” he said. “We rely on each other a lot, especially on Nantucket.”

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Friday, November 1, 2024

A Halloween Night Talk on Forbidden Knowledge w/Medium Rob Gutro

 A Halloween Night Talk on Forbidden Knowledge w/Medium Rob Gutro

Recorded earlier on Oct. 31st and NOW available to Watch or Listen to on many different pages. Chris from "Forbidden Knowledge" Talks Stages of Afterlife - Earthbound Spirits & Dark Energy - Poltergeists & Psychic Haunts with Medium Rob Gutro in this HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!
LINKS TO LISTEN OR WATCH on links below



Rumble 

Podcast 

Rokfin(premium ad free)

YouTube 

Forbidden Knowledge Network 
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A Fantastic Re-Read: Murder She Wrote: Trick or Treachery

 If you've followed this blog for a while you know one of my all-time favorite TV shows is Murder She Wrote, starring the late Angela Lansbury as novelist Jessica Fletcher. And one of my all time favorite series of books are those of the same name. Currently, there are over 55 novels in the series. Since it's Halloween time, I re-read one of the older novels called "Trick or Treachery" which is set around Halloween in Cabot Cove, Maine.

I first read this about 10 years ago , so I didn't remember all the characters, plot and the murderer- and it was fantastic all over again!! 5 of 5 stars.

 BTW- the authors of the series have changed as Donald Bain, the original author who penned over 35 of them passed away years ago. Since then, several other writers have penned them. 

ABOUT THE BOOK: Jessica Fletcher gets spooked in this Halloween mystery in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series...


It's late October in Cabot Cove, and as Halloween approaches, something strange is in the air. The arrival of a self-righteous, fire-and-brimstone spiritual medium has some townspeople on the lookout for curses and evil omens; a reclusive, eccentric woman has others whispering that she is a real-life witch; and the upcoming annual Halloween party has Jessica Fletcher frantically searching for the perfect costume.

Then the whole town ends up spooked when the alleged witch ends up dead in the graveyard, and everyone at the party is a suspect. Jess takes it upon herself to stir through a witches' brew of motives—and concocts a scary scheme of her own to make sure a guilty ghoul doesn't get away with murder...
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Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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