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Ticker: IRS to launch free file pilot by invitation; Retail sales rise in September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

The IRS plans to invite select taxpayers across 13 states, Massachusetts among them, to try out the agency’s pilot electronic free file tax return system beginning in January.The agency estimates that hundreds of thousands of taxpayers will participate in the limited rollout of the program for the 2024 filing season.The IRS faces intense blowback from private tax preparation companies that have made billions by charging people to use their software. The introduction of a government-run option could upend the industry and fundamentally change the way taxpayers interact with IRS.Related ArticlesBusiness | Ticker: Gas prices drop in Bay State; CCC names acting executive director Business | Ticker: Wall Street struggles as war worries collide with hope for stronger profits Business | Ticker: Biden awards $7 billion for clean hydrogen hubs; Wall Street struggles as war worries collide with hope for stronger profits Business | ...

Jurors in New Mexico deliver split verdicts in kidnapping and terrorism case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jurors on Tuesday delivered split verdicts in a case that stemmed from the search for a 3-year-old boy who went missing from Georgia and was found dead hundreds of miles away at a squalid compound in northern New Mexico.Four members of the family were on trial. Three were found guilty on federal kidnapping charges. Two were convicted on related terrorism charges. The boy’s father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, was one of the two people found guilty of terrorism-related charges.His brother-in-law, Lucas Morton, was found guilty of the same charges, as well as conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death and kidnapping resulting in death. Jurors reached their decision Tuesday after deliberating for two-and-a-half days. They heard weeks of testimony from children who had lived with their parents at the compound, other family members, firearms experts, doctors and forensic technicians. The defendants, who are Muslim, argued that federal authorities targeted them becau...

‘Causalities everywhere’: Canadian in Gaza describes chaos, hopes for evacuation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

Mahmoud Nasser said he could feel the ground shake as he watched two missiles land in the distance in Gaza, where essential supplies are running short and living conditions are becoming more desperate as he and other Canadians hope for an opportunity to evacuate. The 30-year-old is sheltering at a relative’s house at the southern end of the Palestinian territory and said homes in the area are “wall-to-wall” with people who have fled northern Gaza ever since Israel ordered a mass evacuation of about half of the enclave’s population ahead of an expected ground invasion.“There’s casualties everywhere and everyone is so accustomed to death,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday from the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.“Every day that passes, we just hope that we’re not another statistic. There’s nothing we can do. It’s a very strange feeling.”Some people have been venturing outdoors, even as Israel’s retaliat...

B.C. premier says spat over Surrey police force ‘no longer up for discussion’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says a court challenge by the City of Surrey over being forced to continue the transition to a municipal police service “will not be successful.”Eby said Tuesday that Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke “fought a good fight” in attempting to move the RCMP back to its police force of jurisdiction, but the decision to move ahead with a municipal force has been made by his government and is no longer up for discussion.Surrey filed a petition to the court this month, asking for a judicial review of the government’s directive earlier this year to continue its transition to a local police force, claiming the province doesn’t have the authority to force the change without enough funding to support it.Solicitor General Mike Farnworth introduced changes to the Police Act on Monday that he said would provide “finality” for the residents of Surrey on the future of police services in the city. The legislation, i...

Former Brooklyn resident sentenced to life in prison for aiding Islamic State group as sniper

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

New York (AP) — A former New York stock broker who fled his job and family to fight alongside Islamic State militants in Syria, then maintained his allegiance to the extremist group throughout his trial, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, who served as a sniper and instructor for the Islamic militant group at the height of its power, sat grinning in the Brooklyn courtroom, flashing a thumbs-up and stroking his bushy beard as a judge read out the sentencing. His own court-appointed attorney, Susan Kellman, declined to ask for a lighter sentence, noting her client was not interested in distancing himself from the Islamic State fighters in exchange for leniency. “It’s rare that I start my remarks at sentencing by saying I agree with the government,” Kellman said. “This is who he is. This is what he believes, fervently.”Asainov, a 47-year-old U.S. citizen originally born in Kazakhstan, was living in Brooklyn in late 2013 when he abandoned his young da...

Rep. Jim Jordan has lost the first ballot for speaker. Here’s what’s next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan faced strong opposition to his House speakership bid Tuesday as more than a dozen Republicans voted against him on a first ballot.It’s second time this Congress that the House has faced multiple rounds of voting for speaker, following the protracted struggle in January, when Kevin McCarthy won the gavel on the 15th attempt. Twenty GOP lawmakers voted for a candidate other than Jordan, as many protested the removal of McCarthy as speaker earlier this month and the process that has unfolded to replace him. Conservatives have been mounting an intense pressure campaign to persuade the final holdouts to support Jordan, but some of his opponents appear even more determined to stop him from becoming speaker. Jordan will need to flip at least 16 Republicans to become speaker, as Democrats are certain to continue backing their own nominee, Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Republicans currently control the House 221-212. The House is expected to come...

Republicans reject Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot, signaling more turmoil ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — More turmoil ahead, Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as an unexpectedly numerous 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.Additional voting was expected as the House hit a standstill, stuck while Jordan works to shore up support from Republican colleagues to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job. Reluctant Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency.It’s been two weeks of angry Republican infighting since McCarthy’s sudden removal by hard-liners, who are now within reach of a central seat of U.S. power. The vote for House speaker, once a formality in Congress, has devolved into another bitter showdown for the gavel. Jordan said after the first vote that he was not surprised and expected to do better in the next...

Maren Morris files for divorce from Ryan Hurd, citing music couple’s ‘irreconcilable differences’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Maren Morris has filed for divorce from her husband Ryan Hurd, citing the prominent country music couple’s “irreconcilable differences” after five years of marriage.Morris filed the divorce complaint in Nashville circuit court on Oct. 2, writing that the couple have been separated since that date. They were married in March 2018.Morris and Hurd have one 3-year-old son, Hayes, who has lived with them in Nashville since he was born. According to the filing, Morris and Hurd “are unable to live together successfully as husband and wife and are experiencing irreconcilable differences in their marriage.” Morris also filed proof that she has already completed a parenting seminar generally required in divorce cases.Representatives for Morris and Hurd could not immediately be reached for comment about the divorce filing.The Grammy-award winning Morris, who is from Texas, is best known for platinum country hits like “The Bones,” “My Church” and her 2018 dance hit...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts and yields rise as U.S. shoppers show they’re still spending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted to a mixed finish Tuesday following the latest signal that the U.S. economy remains solid, though perhaps too strong for the Federal Reserve’s liking.The S&P 500 edged down by 0.43, which is well less than 0.1%, to 4,373.20 after flipping between small gains and losses through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13.11 points, or less than 0.1%, to 33,997.65, and the Nasdaq composite fell 34.24, or 0.3%, to 13,533.75.Financial markets have been shaky in recent weeks due to worries about war in the Middle East and its potential impact on oil prices. But those worries have receded a bit to put the focus back on what usually drives the stock market’s long-term movements: where interest rates, the economy and corporate profits are heading.A report on Tuesday showed shoppers spent more at U.S. retailers last month than economists expected. That’s a sign of a healthy economy and likely a result of a still-solid job market, which should he...

TSX composite posts small gain Tuesday, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:38 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in base metals and battery metals stocks helped Canada’s main stock index eke out a small gain Tuesday, while U.S. stock markets were mixed on the heels of a report on retail sales.In Canada, the latest data on inflation showed more of a slowdown than analysts expected as headline inflation dipped to 3.8 per cent in September. Meanwhile in the U.S., fresh retail sales data came in stronger than anticipated.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 72.00 points at 19,692.80.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 13.11 points at 33,997.65. The S&P 500 index was down 0.43 points at 4,373.20,while the Nasdaq composite was down 34.24 points at 13,533.75.Markets on both sides of the border on Tuesday reflected uncertainty about the future when it comes to interest rates, earnings and consumer health, said Adelaide Chiu, portfolio manager, vice-president and head of responsible investing at NEI Investments. While the U.S. banks recently kicked off...