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IRS announces January 27 as the start of the 2025 tax season

(AP) — The IRS on Friday announced Jan. 27 as the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 tax deadline. The announcement comes with agency in the midst of a massive overhaul, attempting to improve its technology and customer service processes with tens of billions of dollars allocated to the agency through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in August 2022. The IRS said it is expanding its program that allows people to file their taxes directly with the agency for free. The federal tax ...

TikTok could be banned this month: Here’s what users can do to prepare

(AP) — TikTok has cemented itself as a quintessential entertainment app, offering everything from funny skits and makeup tutorials to social commentary and news. The platform, though, could vanish from U.S. app stores by Jan. 19 if the Supreme Court does not step in to block a federal law ...

Kohl’s to close 27 stores by April as struggling department stores works to improve sales

NEW YORK (AP) — Kohl’s said Friday it was closing 27 underperforming locations in 15 states by April — a fraction of its 1,150 store base — as the struggling department store chain aims to boost profitability and improve sagging sales. The announcement comes as the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based chain has posted 11 consecutive quarters of sales declines. Michaels CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan is set to take over as the chief executive of Kohl’s next week. Buchanan will take over the top job from Tom Kingsbury, who will stay as an adviser to the new CEO and retain ...

Wall Street recoils after good news on the economy raises inflation worries

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell Friday on worries that good news on the job market may be too good and prove to be bad for Wall Street by keeping inflation and interest rates high. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.5% to close its fourth losing week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ...

‘Embracing AI’: Mississippi governor mandates creating policies for using artificial intelligence

(AP) — The Mississippi Department of Internet Technology Services will evaluate how state agencies use or plan to use artificial intelligence and will create policy recommendations for using AI in the public and private sectors under an executive order Gov. Tate Reeves issued on Wednesday. AI policy recommendations must be fair, innovative, secure, safe, transparent, accountable, accessible, valid, reliable and provide privacy, Executive Order 1584 says. “AI isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” Reeves said in a statement on Wednesday. “There are a lot of benefits and risks ...