Bhutto Laid To Rest: Thousands of mourners wept and beat their heads in grief as the body of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's slain former prime minister, was carried out of her ancestral home on her funeral procession on Friday.
Bhutto, who had hoped to regain power in a January election, was assassinated on Thursday at a campaign rally, plunging the nuclear-armed country into one of the worst crises in its 60-year history.
Reuters News has more.
IRS Says Some Refunds Will Be Delayed: More than 3 million people will have to wait until February to get their tax refunds because of Congress' late fix to the alternative minimum tax. Congress put a one-year freeze on growth of the alternative minimum tax last week, shielding many middle- and upper-middle income taxpayers from first exposure to the tax. But Congress' late action means the Internal Revenue Service won't be able to start processing five AMT-related forms until February, delaying potential refunds for those people until that month.
Between 3 million and 4 million people filed in January for their 2006 taxes using those forms, with many expecting a refund, the IRS said. The average refund was $2,324, the agency said.
Commissioner Linda Stiff said, "We regret the inconvenience the delay will mean for million of early tax filers, especially those expecting a refund," acting IRS.
More from the New York Times
Taxes: Use The Last Days Of '07 To Affect '08: Tax time is here again. Get out your calculators, organize your receipts and take note... Here are some tax tips to help you minimize the pain. But the question is... "Is there anything new this year that could trip up taxpayers?
1. Yes, the elephant in the room this year for taxpayers is the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax — or AMT. The AMT was created in 1969 as a way to prevent the wealthiest individuals from making tax deductions greater than their income tax bill. The problem is, Congress did not adjust the tax for inflation, so every year, more and more people are being hit with the AMT — not just the wealthiest taxpayers. Congress hasn't yet fixed this... So your refunds may get delayed.
2. In light of this possibility, is there anything people can do to speed up the process? Don't Get in a hurry, be accurate. Of all years, this should be the year of accuracy. I always like to tell people to think of Dec. 31 as if it were April 15. Now is the time to gather all your receipts and documents that are necessary to file on time. You can avoid some of the most common snafus — such as a missing Social Security number or signature — by simply taking your time and being thorough.
There are more tips at ABC News
What's Playing at the Movies this weekend?:
1. Atonement - RATED R
2. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - RATED R
3. National Treasure: Book of Secrets - RATED PG
4. The Great Debaters - RATED PG-13
Still at the movies:
1. Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG)
2. Bee Movie (PG)
3. Enchanted (PG)
4. I Am Legend (PG-13)
Plugged In
TRENDS & BUSINESS:
Home prices have dropped 6% nationally from a year ago (Atlanta's prices fell 0.7%)...
The Census Bureau says the fastest-growing states in the nation are in the Rocky Mountain region and the Southeast...
Woman Gets Surprise Wedding For Christmas: Some people get surprise birthday parties. Ilda Ruth Southey gets surprise weddings. Twice in her life Southey was surprised with a wedding ceremony on Christmas Eve, both times to Francis Southey.
Her then future husband planned their original wedding for Christmas Eve 1942 while he was stationed in Sherman, Texas, awaiting orders to ship off to Europe during World War II. "I didn't know I was getting married, I just went to spend Christmas with his family and I got down there, he had the wedding all arranged," said Ruth Southey, 85, who lives at the Waterford Senior Living facility.
On Monday, staff at the senior facility arranged the same surprise for their 65th anniversary. The couple renewed their vows in front of three generations of teary-eyed family and friends.
More at CBS.
CRASH TEST TUMMIES: Ford is developing a high-tech insert for crash test dummies that is similar in size and shape to the abdomen of a 6-year-old child. The idea is to improve crash testing so it can come up with a better system of vehicle restraints for kids. The silicone prototype features sensors that measure the severity of injuries sustained by the dummies during crash tests.
FACING REALITY: A new University of Michigan survey says many American parents are in outright denial when they look at their pudgy kids. The study found about 43% of parents with clinically obese kids ages 6-11 said their children were "about the right weight." But parents with older obese kids seemed to be more aware of the problem.
Senators Want 'In God We Trust' On $1 Coins: Presidential one dollar coins are the only U.S. coins currently being issued by the United States Mint that have the inscription "In God We Trust" along the edge, but public pressure soon may send the motto back to the front or back of the coins.
Legislation introduced by Sens. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan., and Robert Byrd, D.-W.Va., that would return "In God We Trust" to a more visible location is awaiting President Bush's signature. The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 was meant to honor the nation's presidents by issuing $1 circulating coins featuring their images in the order that they served. The first four honoring Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison were issued this year.
The coins feature what the mint calls edge-incused inscriptions -- used in other countries -- of the year of minting or issuance, "E Pluribus Unum," "In God We Trust" and the mint mark.
For complete details go here.
TECH TIDBITS: Future iPhones and iPods will sport new features designed to prevent hearing loss. They will automatically calculate how long you've been listening and at what volume before gradually reducing the sound level.
WILL'S WORDS: The Jewish Defense League is calling for theaters to pull Will Smith's I Am Legend after comments he made to a Scottish newspaper. Smith was quoted as saying, "Hitler didn't wake up going, "let me do the most evil thing I can do today." Smith added that Hitler was trying to do what he though was good, though his mind used a "twisted, backward logic."
ONE NATION, UNDER GOD: About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. More specifically, 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon."
Coming in at 11% were those who claimed no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer. Sixty years ago, 69% claimed to be Protestant and 22% as Roman Catholic, or about 91% Christian.
LOL: Paul Brant considers himself a penny pincher, but his savings in quarters and dollar coins really paid off. The 70-year-old Arizona man used more than $25,000 in change to help buy a new Dodge Ram half-ton pickup truck - 13 years after buying another truck with spare change.
Brant said he was raised to be thrifty. His father always paid in cash and saved up loose change to take vacations. Brant has been storing his change for years, and estimated he had about $26,000 in coins for the truck purchase.
FYI: Brant stored his change in coffee cans, water jugs and piggy banks over the years, and was escorted by sheriff's deputies as he brought the rolled coins to the dealership.
Phone: What’s the most amount of money (change) that you have ever saved?
PASS IT ON: One woman's kindness to a fellow Starbucks patron resulted in more than a thousand others spreading the holiday-season generosity this week in Washington State.
A regular patron at the chain had paid for the person in line behind her a few times before but this last week her good deed set off a chain of 1,013 customers paying for the next person's drink. Many patrons tacked on an extra $10 or $20, which Starbucks donated to charity.
**What was wrong with customer number 1,014?
Phone: Have you ever blessed a stranger in this way?
JUST JUMP IN THE SHOWER: If you don’t have time to take your suit to the cleaners, just turn on the shower and wash it at home! Washable suits are already available, but Japanese clothing company Konaka says its "Shower Clean" line of business suits, which can be washed in a warm shower and require no ironing, is one-of-a-kind.
Konaka says the suits - made of a lightweight fabric easy to clean - will be available in February. To clean them, they say you just reverse the jacket and pants, put them on clothes hangers and douse with warm water for a few minutes to clean the inside. Repeat the process to clean the outside and drip-dry.
FYI: The suits, available for both men and women, will be priced between $260 and $492, according to the company, which has some 320 stores nationwide.
IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION:
Q: In the movie “The Christmas Story”, Ralphie mentions he wants a “Red Ryder BB Gun” how many times throughout the course of the film?
A: 28 times. That’s an average of once every 3 minutes and 20 seconds of the movie.
For Family Friendly Movie Reviews go here.
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