Gay marriage ruling boosts benefits, but confusion expected

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage in states where it is legal will open up new benefits to thousands of gay couples, but confusion may reign in states that do not allow gay marriage.

At issue in the case were the estate taxes a New York lesbian widow owed upon her wife Thea Spyer's death in 2009. Because they were gay, surviving spouse Edith Windsor missed out on a lucrative tax break - the exemption from the federal estate tax on wealth passed from one spouse to another.

It was denied because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

Wednesday's ruling clears the way for Windsor to claim a $363,000 tax refund, plus interest, and for gay couples possibly to enjoy more than 1,100 federal benefits, rights and burdens linked to marriage status.

Details must be worked out by regulators, including the timing for benefits to kick in, and how couples fare in the 37 states that do not allow gay marriage. Before Wednesday's ruling, 12 of the 50 U.S. states permitted gay marriage. California would be the 13th.

Traditionally, marital tax status has been based on where the couple currently resides, but that is not always the case.

"We don't have any idea of what the rights are of someone who gets married in New York and lives in Florida," said Todd Solomon, a benefits attorney at McDermott Will & Emery.

An estimated 114,000 same-sex couples are legally married in the United States and as many as one-third of them live in states that do not recognize marriage, according to the Williams Institute, an arm of the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.

"That will be a topic the Obama administration will have to consider," said Gary Gates, a demographer with the institute.

Hailing the decision, President Barack Obama directed Attorney General Eric Holder to review all federal laws to carry it out. The tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service may be the agency watched most closely, lawyers said.

Lack of clarity over individual and estate taxation - and also taxation of health and pension benefits - will need to be addressed, said Brian Moulton, an attorney with the Human Rights Campaign gay rights group.

"We certainly think the IRS in particular is an agency where people will be looking for guidance," Moulton said.

Among other taxes and benefits at issue:

* INCOME TAXES - Because of the ruling, married gay couples will likely be able to file their income tax returns jointly in states that allow gay marriage. Like heterosexual couples, gay taxpayers filing as married couples may face higher taxes as their collective income crosses into a higher tax bracket sooner than if they were filing separately, the so-called marriage penalty.

* HEALTH INSURANCE - Because of the decision, same-sex married gay couples may now be free of federal taxes they pay on healthcare benefits received through a spouse's employer. Unmarried domestic partners now owe an extra $1,000 annually in taxes on these benefits, according to the Williams Institute.

* SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS - Same-sex married couples may be able to claim survivor Social Security benefits previously denied. But Social Security recipients might face steeper taxes on benefits because they will hit the level where the benefits begin to be taxed sooner for married couples.

(Editing by Howard Goller and Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-marriage-ruling-boosts-benefits-confusion-expected-212403600.html

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Ask Engadget: best starter camera for an 11 year old?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Diego, who wants to give his son the gateway drug into photography. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I'm an amateur photographer, and my 10-year-old son has started to show an interest in what I do on weekends. I've shown him a thing or two on my DSLR and he wants to learn the basics, but I'd prefer it if he didn't do it on my $1,500 rig. His birthday's coming up, and I'd like to get him something that he can use for himself, that lets him customize ISO, white balance, aperture etc. Naturally, I was thinking of just a regular compact camera, but if you can suggest something else that won't break the bank, I'll gladly listen. Thanks!"

So, we turned this question over to one of our photo experts, who suggested that really, if you've got the budget for it, you might as well pick up a very old, very cheap DSLR. For instance, you can pick up an old Canon Rebel XT for around $200, and while it won't be shiny and new, will let them play with features and settings beyond the average compact camera. But what do we know, eh? This is the part of the weekend where we poll our community for their sage wisdom, so have at it, chums.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/22/ae-starter-camera/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Ecuador, Where Edward Snowden Seeks Asylum, Is No Utopia For Journalists

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is bound for the sunnier skies of Ecuador, on this whirlwind tour of countries semi-hostile to the United States. While Ecuador has been a safe haven for world-class leakers in the past, including Wikileaks editor Julian Assange, the country is no utopia for journalists.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/E5XRUpt8ip4/

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Police again search home of Patriots' Hernandez

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) ? State police officers and dogs searched the home of New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez again Saturday as they continue to investigate the killing of a semi-pro football player whose body was found about a mile away.

The search of Hernandez's sprawling home and vehicle in North Attleboro began in the afternoon and lasted for more than three hours. Locksmiths and several officers were involved, including one with a crowbar.

Detectives and uniformed officers who searched the home, its backyard and playhouse did not comment to reporters on what they were looking for or what caused them to return to the house located not far from where the Patriots practice and about a mile from where a jogger found the body of Odin Lloyd on Monday.

Lloyd family members said Friday that he had been dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee for about two years. They said the two men were friends who were together the night Lloyd died.

Authorities have ruled Lloyd's death a homicide.

A spokeswoman for the Bristol District Attorney's office declined to comment on the investigation Saturday. A state police spokesman referred questions to the district attorney's office.

An attorney for Hernandez has said he would not comment on the searches.

Three search warrants were issued in the investigation earlier last week but have not been returned, meaning they're not public. No arrest warrants were filed in state courts by the time court closed Friday, Attleboro District Court clerk magistrate Mark E. Sturdy said. Courts were closed Saturday.

Police previously searched in and around the home as they try to figure out who killed Lloyd.

Police in nearby Providence, R.I., said they had assisted Massachusetts state police and North Attleborough police with activity related to the Hernandez investigation at a strip club named Club Desire. It was unclear if they believed Lloyd and Hernandez might have been at the club in the days before Lloyd died.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James has said the team does not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was waiting for the legal process to take its course.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in 2010. Since then, he has combined with Rob Gronkowski to form one of the top tight end duos in the NFL. He missed 10 games last season with an ankle injury and had shoulder surgery in April but is expected to be ready for training camp. Last summer, the Patriots gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-again-search-home-patriots-hernandez-205013835.html

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Cruz gets big hit again, Rangers beat Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? After rookie Martin Perez silenced the St. Louis Cardinals, his manager was non-stop with praise.

"I've always seen the stuff, but tonight was the first time I think he showed he's a big-league pitcher," Ron Washington said after the Texas Rangers' 4-2 victory Saturday night. "It can be a huge step, he just beat a pretty good team.

"He should be proud. I know we are."

Nelson Cruz got the decisive hit for the second straight game with a two-run homer in the third inning for the Rangers, who have won four of five after losing six in a row.

Fellow rookie Shelby Miller (8-5) allowed two homers for the second time in three starts and didn't make it out of the sixth against the team the Cardinals beat in the 2011 World Series, Texas was making its first regular-season visit to Busch Stadium.

"I'm not saying that if I make a better pitch I get them out, but both pitches were right down the middle, perfect pitches to hit," Miller said. "The first one was supposed to be in and the other one was supposed to be away, and both kind of ended up right down the middle of the plate."

A.J. Pierzynski also hit a two-run homer for Texas, which goes for a three-game sweep on Sunday night with Nick Tepesch (3-6, 4.84) facing Adam Wainwright (10-4, 2.37). The first two games have been sellouts and the finale was supposed to be a matchup of aces, but the Rangers are saving Yu Darvish for the Yankees Tuesday in New York.

They didn't want Perez to come up in New York, either.

Perez (1-1) was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock where he was 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA. The lefty allowed a run in each of the first two innings but gave up just two hits the next five innings and retired the last 10.

Though perhaps the Rangers' top prospect, Perez entered 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA with seven starts.

"I just had to do the same job I'm doing at Triple-A," Perez said. "The first two innings I missed a couple pitches but after that I just said 'OK, this is my game.'"

Joe Nathan wrapped up a game that had all of the scoring in the first three innings with a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances. The start of the game was delayed by rain 66 minutes. It was the second such delay this week.

Earlier Saturday, Washington said he felt good about Cruz's tiebreaking two-run single in the ninth on Friday because the Rangers need wins, and not because Cruz needed redemption. The Rangers were an out away from taking the '11 Series when Cruz misplayed David Freese's game-tying triple in Game 6.

Cruz snapped a 2-2 third-inning tie with a two-run homer, his 19th of the season to the opposite field in right. He also singled and has four hits and five RBIs the first two games of the series.

Miller departed after bouncing a throw to first on a sacrifice bunt by Perez that loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. Fellow rookie Seth Maness got Ian Kinsler on a groundout to end the sixth.

Miller is 3-2 this month, the other loss coming when he gave up two homers and four runs on the road against the Mets. Manager Mike Matheny couldn't find fault with pitches that the right-hander left up.

"He lives there, that's where his success is, so that's one of those two-edged swords," Matheny said. "Most of the guys in the league have a tough time catching up to him. You don't see many guys that see him the first time able to square balls up the first pitch they see on the top of the zone."

The Cardinals have opened the scoring both games and took the lead on Allen Craig's RBI single in the first with Carlos Beltran just beating the relay to the plate from center fielder Leonys Martin.

The Rangers answered when Adrian Beltre doubled to open the second and Pierzynski lined the next pitch into the right field seats for his seventh homer. The Cardinals tied it in the bottom half when Freese tripled off the top of the wall in right-center and scored on Shane Robinson's sacrifice fly.

NOTES: St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead threw the ceremonial first pitch. ... Tepesch is 0-2 with a 9.77 ERA in his last three starts, and Washington said he needs to develop trust in all of his pitches. ... Wainwright has worked at least seven innings six straight starts, going 5-1. ... Cardinals RHP Michael Blazek made his major league debut and struck out two in a perfect ninth. ... Yadier Molina was 0 for 4 to end a seven-game hitting streak, dropping his league-leading average to .366. He batted .423 (11 for 26) during the streak. ... Craig has 21 RBIs this month, his best month ever. ... Cruz has 11 RBIs the last six games with a .400 average (10 for 25).

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cruz-gets-big-hit-again-rangers-beat-cardinals-040419308.html

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Sun emits a solstice CME

Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen C. Fox
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
301-286-6284
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.

Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs.

Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun's activity ramps up every 11 years toward solar maximum currently expected in late 2013 -- large storms occur several times per year.

In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this strength and direction have usually been mild.In addition, the CME may pass by additional spacecraft: Messenger, STEREO B, Spitzer, and their mission operators have been notified. If warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments from the solar material.

###

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (http://swpc.noaa.gov) is the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 21-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen C. Fox
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
301-286-6284
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

On June 20, 2013, at 11:24 p.m., the sun erupted with an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection or CME, a solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.

Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that the CME left the sun at speeds of around 1350 miles per second, which is a fast speed for CMEs.

Earth-directed CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun's activity ramps up every 11 years toward solar maximum currently expected in late 2013 -- large storms occur several times per year.

In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this strength and direction have usually been mild.In addition, the CME may pass by additional spacecraft: Messenger, STEREO B, Spitzer, and their mission operators have been notified. If warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments from the solar material.

###

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (http://swpc.noaa.gov) is the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/nsfc-sea062113.php

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The ?SNAP Challenge:? The claim that food stamp recipients get by on $4.50 a day - The Washington Post

The ?SNAP Challenge:? The claim that food stamp recipients get by on $4.50 a day - The Washington Post

The ?SNAP Challenge? is everywhere. More than two dozen Democrats, organized by Rep. Lee, announced they would take the challenge to highlight what they consider damaging cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the new name for food stamps. Newark mayor and Senate hopeful Cory Booker took a high-profile plunge into the Snap Challenge last year. Former representative Anthony Weiner, running for New York City mayor, is also participating.
During the challenge, lawmakers have been tweeting, under the hashtag #snapchallenge, pictures of the pathetic-looking meals they had assembled from their measly allotment. To wit:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/gXEVI/~3/3o09wsRgrbE/the-snap-challenge-claim-that-food.html

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