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☆ You Finished I.V.F. and Want to Donate Embryos. Is There a Tax Benefit?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But a few unusual ones linger for people all over who want to explore every option. What does the law say about what you can and can’t do with your embryos? And if you donate them — say, to a university for research — can you take a tax deduction? It is not clear how many human embryos sit in storage across the United States, but plenty of people who put them there worry about losing control over them. Selling embryos seems outlandish, though it may not violate federal law.

Persons: Tara Siegel Bernard, I, — Organizations: Alabama, Transplant Locations: United States, Alabama

☆ Some Colleges Will Soon Charge $100,000 a Year. How Did This Happen?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was only a matter of time before a college would have the nerve to quote its cost of attendance at nearly $100,000 a year. One letter to a newly admitted Vanderbilt University engineering student showed an all-in price — room, board, personal expenses, a high-octane laptop — of $98,426. Only a tiny fraction of college-going students will pay anything close to this anytime soon, and about 35 percent of Vanderbilt students — those who get neither need-based nor merit aid — pay the full list price. But a few dozen other colleges and universities that reject the vast majority of applicants will probably arrive at this threshold within a few years. Their willingness to cross it raises two questions for anyone shopping for college: How did this happen, and can it possibly be worth it?

Persons: — Organizations: Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Locations: Los Angeles, London, Nashville

☆ Robinhood’s Credit Card Offers 3% Cash Back. Can It Last?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Here’s the first thing to know about the new Robinhood credit card that promises 3 percent cash back on all purchases, without limits: Yesterday, when I asked Vlad Tenev, the company’s chief executive, to guarantee that it would stay at that level for 18 months, he would not. Cash-back offers from big card issuers like Citibank generally top out at about 2 percent, and it’s hard to make money even at that level. The Robinhood Gold Card is the company’s first credit card with its own branding. So what does it think it knows that nobody else does, and what exactly does it hope to accomplish? There are several ways to make money with credit cards.

Persons: Vlad Tenev, Charles Schwab Organizations: Citibank

☆ The State Had at Least $52,000 of Her Money. Why Couldn’t She Get It Back?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early in 2022, Sarah F. Cox got wind that someone named Connie was looking for her. The stranger wanted to reunite Ms. Cox with some lost money under her name that the State of New York was holding. But months later, Ms. Cox called Connie back when she was visiting the United States while moving from China to Singapore, where she lives now. It turned out that Connie was a kind of bounty hunter, helping people and businesses navigate states’ unclaimed property databases. Ms. Cox decided to find the information on her own, and sure enough, the online unclaimed property database that New York maintains had her name.

Persons: Sarah F, Cox, Connie, Ms Locations: New York, United States, China, Singapore, York

☆ A Finance Reporter Who Invests in Readers’ Well-Being
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Sarah Bahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. When Ron Lieber arrived at The Wall Street Journal’s office in 2002 for a job interview, a couple of editors immediately sized him up. “They said, ‘We know what your beat is: beating the system,’” said Mr. Lieber, who had last worked as a senior writer for Fast Company covering management, design and careers. “And now you’re going to come here and do that for us.”After cofounding the Personal Journal section of The Wall Street Journal and writing a separate money management column, he was hired by The New York Times in 2008 to take over Your Money, a personal finance column. Sixteen years later, he has gained a reputation for offering readers advice — often tinged with his own experience — on headache-inducing issues, like how to navigate the maze of paying for college or prepare for life after a layoff.

Persons: Ron Lieber, “, ‘, ’ ”, Lieber, ” Organizations: Fast Company, Street, The New York Times

☆ The I.R.S.’s Taxpayer Experience Officer Says Open Your Mail Already
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Everyone else, the agency insists, is going to benefit from the $80 billion that the agency won via the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in 2022. appointed Ken Corbin as its first chief taxpayer experience officer. I went to the agency’s headquarters in Washington to find out, which was an experience unto itself. Once properly badged — with the words “Escort Only” in the largest font — I had an hour with Mr. Corbin. What follows is a condensed version, edited for clarity, of our conversation — and his advice for taxpayers like you and me.

Persons: Ken Corbin, Corbin Organizations: Internal Revenue Locations: Washington

☆ The Costs for I.V.F. Patients After Alabama’s Ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ron Lieber | Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the wake of the decision, doctors and patients have worried that they could be vulnerable to prosecution in any number of medical scenarios that were once routine. Some Alabama facilities have halted or restricted treatment, and patients elsewhere worry that similar rulings or laws may soon come to their states. And because so many people pay so much for health care, the fallout from the Alabama case raises big financial questions, too. What would it cost to move embryos to a state less likely to issue a similar ruling? Cryoport Systems, IVF Cryo and ReproTech are three shipping companies that specialize in transporting embryos, though there are others.

Organizations: Alabama Supreme Locations: Alabama

☆ He Rescued 1.5 Million Yiddish Books. Now He Will Have Time to Read Some.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Joseph Berger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Aaron Lansky was a young graduate student in Montreal in the late 1970s when he had an epiphany that changed the course of his life. He had been taking courses in Yiddish literature at McGill University, but was finding it hard to find the books he needed. At times, he relied on older neighbors in Montreal’s vibrant Jewish community who would welcome the opportunity to chat with a young visitor over a cup of tea or a plate of noodle kugel before surrendering their books. As a result, whole libraries filled with works of writers like Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz and Sholem Asch — as well as science and history texts, translations of classics like Shakespeare and Guy de Maupassant, even cookbooks and sex manuals — were being consigned to dumpsters, attics and cellars.

Persons: Aaron Lansky, Sholem, I.L, Peretz, Sholem Asch, Shakespeare, Guy de Maupassant Organizations: McGill University Locations: Montreal, United States, Canada

☆ Nearly 30,000 objects are hurtling through near-Earth orbit. That’s not just a problem for space
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Bill Weir | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Then there is the space junk — nearly 30,000 objects bigger than a softball hurtling a few hundred miles above Earth, ten times faster than a bullet. Other analysts recently estimated the number likely to make it to orbit is closer to 20,000. “Ten years ago, people thought that our founder was crazy for even talking about space debris,” Ron Lopez told CNN while strolling past the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. The satellite, named “On Closer Inspection,” will observe the motions of a rocket stage that was left in low-Earth orbit in 2009. Astroscale’s mission will use cameras and sensors to study the rocket debris and figure out how to get it out of orbit.

Persons: ”, Troy Thornberry, “, ” Thornberry, Neil Armstrong’s, Donald Kessler, “ Kessler, Ron Lopez, ” Lopez, Lopez, Astroscale Organizations: CNN, Sputnik, NOAA, NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory, US, Surveillance, NASA, SpaceX, Space, Smithsonian Air, Space Museum, Rocket, Rocket Lab Locations: Washington ,, Astroscale, New Zealand, Japan

☆ Some Good FAFSA News: There’s a Loophole for Grandparents
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is a miserable year to be applying for financial aid. Millions of families probably won’t get a final price tag for college until at least April, because of a series of Education Department delays in rolling out the new FAFSA financial aid form. But if you’re applying for aid and have grandparents who want to help, you may be in luck. But now, thanks to a 2020 law that went into effect this year, those questions about money and income are gone. That means that at most schools, help from a grandparent will no longer count against you.

Persons: Pell Grant Organizations: Education Department, Federal Student Aid

☆ AOC's questions years ago helped spark the investigation into Trump's business. Now, he's been ordered to pay $355 million.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As part of Friday's fraud trial verdict, Donald Trump has been ordered to pay $355 million to the state of New York. This saga started in 2019 when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grilled Trump attorney Michael Cohen. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. And the case may have never happened if, years ago, a newly-elected member of Congress from Trump's home state hadn't grilled Michael Cohen on Trump's finances. Representatives for Ocasio-Cortez, Trump, and James did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: Donald Trump, Letitia James, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Trump, Michael Cohen, —, Arthur Engoron, ” Trump, Cortez —, William Lacy Clay, James, Cohen, Allen Weisselberg, Ron Lieberman, Matthew Calamari, Weisselberg, Engoron, Robert's Organizations: Service, New, Rep, Trump, Trump Org, Trump Organization, Ocasio, Business Locations: New York, Alexandria, Cortez

☆ What Amazon, the F.T.C. and C.I.A. Won’t Say When You’ve Been Scammed
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When New York magazine’s finance advice columnist dropped an article that went viral on Thursday about falling victim to a $50,000 scam, my heart skipped a beat. My own financial planner had gone to jail years ago, which I’d chronicled in a few columns. What would I have done if someone called and insisted that my children, in particular, were in grave danger? But what would any of those entities do if they thought that any one of us was actually a victim of some kind of identity fraud? What would they say, request and tell us to do?

Persons: I’d, Charlotte Cowles, ” Organizations: New York Times, Federal Trade Commission, Central Intelligence Agency Locations: York

☆ Some Colleges Are Pivoting as FAFSA Delays Drag On
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At least 25 schools will no longer require commitments by May 1, since they may not be able to send admitted students financial aid offers until April. A few schools have created new aid forms or processes on the fly to award their own grants and scholarships. In 2020, Congress passed a law that required enormous changes to the processes used to award federal aid. The first was to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, form to make it easier to complete. Another was to the formula that doles out federal aid, which was made in part to offer more help to lower-income students.

Organizations: University of California, California State University, Federal Student Aid

☆ Will Families Pay Less With Two Students in College? Now, It Depends.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But on Jan. 1, a new federal law went into effect, and the formula changed. A million families with, say, two or more siblings in college simultaneously could pay thousands of dollars more per year as a result. Now, colleges face a choice: Make up any shortfall with their own money, or cross their fingers and hope that families will borrow more or find some other way to pay. In recent weeks, I examined 20 college and university websites, large and small, public and private, big endowments and not-so-big. Only six were clear on how things would change (or not) for families with multiple members in college.

Biden's support among Black voters has waned considerably since he assembled his winning coalition four years ago. Lackluster turnout among Black voters in South Carolina’s primary could signal a broader dip in enthusiasm. Biden will need to energize Black voters in the key swing states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. South Carolina school districts reported over 1,600 teacher vacancies at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, a 9% increase from the year before, according to a report from the South Carolina Education Association. Joshua Singleton, a 19-year-old sophomore at South Carolina State, shared the sentiment: “We should have, you know, younger presidents to represent us."

Persons: Democrats ’, Joe Biden, What’s, Biden, That’s, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Moore, “, Olivia Ratliff, ”, Ratliff, Kailyn Wrighten, Wrighten, —, we’ve, Sheridan Johnson, Johnson, Laverne Brown, there’s, — Biden, Charles Trower, Joshua Singleton, Seth Whipper, ” Biden, Harris, Tony Thomas, Saundra, Austin Nichols, ” Nichols, ” LaJoia Broughton, Broughton, don’t, Dr, Byron L, Benton, Joseph Biden, Emily Swanson, Jonathan Logan Organizations: —, Democrats, Democratic, Black, AP, Associated Press, NORC, for Public Affairs Research, Republican, South Carolina State University, Supreme, South Carolina Education Association, Biden, South Carolina State, Trump, America, Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, Mother Emanuel AME Church, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Locations: CHARLESTON, S.C, South Carolina, South, Georgia , Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Orangeburg, Charleston, Carolina, American, U.S, Blythewood , South Carolina, “, Blythewood, North Charleston

☆ How Some Families Are Breaking the Rules to Apply for Financial Aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Here’s the good news: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, website is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week after a yearslong effort to simplify the process of seeking financial assistance. This month, I watched two high school seniors and their college counselor start the forms from scratch and submit them in just over an hour. But in doing so, the teenagers made a false statement that broke the law. In this case, safeguards are necessary to protect private financial information. But any new login requirements might also trigger an impulse for many families with complicated lives to bypass them.

Persons: ’ Organizations: Federal Student Aid

☆ Diversifiers really don't give you a focus protection, says Universa's Ron Lagnado
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDiversifiers really don't give you a focus protection, says Universa's Ron LagnadoRon Lagnado, Universa Investments director of research, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the latest market trends, how investors can best position their portfolios, and more.

Persons: Ron Lagnado Ron Lagnado Organizations: Universa

☆ Why Is Paying for College So Complicated?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Saving and paying for college is an endurance test, a forced march on an often 50-year parade, where strange numerical codes and senseless jumbles of letters mark a route that Waze can’t map. Begin at age zero or earlier with a 529 college savings plan for your child, born or not yet so. Then, fill out the FAFSA, which stands for “Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” and determine your student aid index (S.A.I.). or other data or the figures that another form, the CSS Profile, belches out is probably not enough to make college affordable. So you could apply for a federal PLUS loan for parents, which might take you 25 years to repay.

Organizations: Federal Student Aid, CSS

☆ Binance mega-fine fits go-big-or-go-home vibe
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cryptocurrency is a precocious industry, in its lows as well as its highs. So it makes sense that Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine for anti-money laundering, effortlessly surpassing penalties paid by miscreant financial firms that have been around for more than a century longer. Binance boss Changpeng Zhao, a kingpin of crypto and the man who precipitated the downfall of bankrupt rival FTX, pleaded personally guilty on Tuesday to criminal violations. HSBC (HSBA.L), (0005.HK) in 2012 agreed to pay $1.9 billion for its role in facilitating drug cartels’ money laundering. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, FTX, Zhao, Binance, Al Qaeda, It’s, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, David Solomon, Sam Bankman, John Foley, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, HSBC, HK, Malaysian, U.S . Treasury Department, Thomson Locations: Iran, North Korea, U.S

Investment apps have made it too easy to check your investments, financial advisors say. Find a Qualified Financial Advisor Looking for the right advisor for you? Datalign Advisory makes finding a financial advisor specific to your needs easier than ever. "If you've done your homework or worked with someone to create a good long term investment plan, trust that it's going to work." Focus on what you can controlFinally, financial advisor Russ Ford of Wayfinder Financial says most people have limited time and mental energy to spend thinking about money.

Persons: —, Thomas Kopelman, Jeff Rose, you've, Rose, Jordan Nietzel, Get, Stephen Carrigg, There's, Gregory J, Cameron L, Richard Cooke, David H, DeWitt, Russ Ford, Ford Organizations: Investment, Service, Dow Jones, Trek Wealth, SEC, Bentron Financial, of Sound Foundation, Advisors, Vincere Wealth Management, DeWitt Capital Management, Wayfinder Locations: Indianapolis, DeWitt

☆ How to Keep Your Bank From Closing All Your Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Ron Lieber | More About Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This has happened several times to Times readers, over 1,000 of whom have submitted their stories. Checks Are a Red FlagFraud involving mail theft and checks has roughly doubled in recent years. If you don’t write checks at all — and destroy or hide any the bank sends you — fraud becomes more unlikely. If you must use checks, don’t mail them. And if you have to mail a check, try taking it directly to a post office.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man accused of intimidating and harassing GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and his family earlier this year was sentenced to probation Friday, according to court records. He was sentenced to nearly three years of probation by an Allen County judge after entering a plea deal, records show. Thompson told police he was intoxicated and disagreed with Banks' political views, according to the report. “Boom, boom you pick”Political Cartoons View All 1256 ImagesThompson also told Banks he hoped the congressman died in a car crash or got "his brains blown out," WPTA reported. He also thanked Allen County prosecutors, Indiana State Police, U.S. Capitol police and the Allen County Sheriff's Department.

Persons: Jim Banks, Aaron L, Thompson, Bart Arnold, Banks, “, ” Thompson, WPTA, Allen, Sen, Mike Braun Organizations: INDIANAPOLIS, GOP U.S . Rep, Associated Press, Congressional, Indiana State Police, U.S, Capitol, Sheriff's Department, Senate Locations: An Indiana, Fort Wayne, Allen County, Allen, U.S

Among the catalysts are Palestinian and Jewish-led groups that have been active for years in opposing Israeli policies toward the Palestinians and who now demand a cease-fire in Gaza. The groups have roots in a movement known as BDS, which calls for the boycott, divestment and sanction of Israel. That campaign generated heated rhetoric long before Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel launched its counteroffensive. Advocates wrote op-eds for campus newspapers with appeals to protect Palestinian human rights, often accusing Israel of colonialism and racism. Protests have led to disruptions on Capitol Hill, at a major train station in Chicago and New York City’s Grand Central Station.

Persons: Brant Rosen, IFNOTNOW IfNotNow, “ Young, ”, IfNotNow, ” Eva Borgwardt, ” IfNotNow, Ron Liebowitz, Brandeis, Ron DeSantis’s, Israel, Tom Horne, Hollingsworth, Crary, Anita Snow Organizations: Israel, New York, Grand, Station, Democratic, Committee, Jewish Voice, Peace, Twitter, Columbia University, Rabbinical, Defamation League, JVP, Zionist, “, Palestinian, JUSTICE, PALESTINE, Justice, Brandeis University, American Jewish, Brandeis, Republican Florida Gov, Virginia Attorney, Brown University, UNICEF, Amnesty International, Local, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: Israel, Gaza, there’s, United States, Chicago, New, Washington, Palestine, U.S, Canada, ”, American, Toledo , Ohio, Virginia, Scottsdale , Arizona, Mission , Kansas, New York, Phoenix

☆ Inside the Desperate Effort to Evacuate Young Cancer Patients From Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Sharon Lafraniere | Erica L. Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They are some of the most vulnerable in Gaza. Over the past 10 days, 21 children with cancer have been evacuated from Gaza to hospitals in Egypt and Jordan, according to doctors involved in the effort. But at least 30 other young cancer patients have not made it out, and aid workers said that in the chaos of war, they can no longer reach some of the families. Even before the hospital closed, critically ill patients were being sent home through violent streets or transferred to Al-Shifa, a nearby hospital that is under siege by Israeli forces. Hamas and hospital officials have denied the allegations.

Persons: ”, Bakr Organizations: Al, Hospital for Children Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Jordan, Al, Israel

☆ Mint, the Budgeting App, Is Going Away. Here Are Some Alternatives.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Ron Lieber | More About Ron Lieber | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The demise of Mint, the beloved budgeting app, has caused its millions of users to consider alternatives. That makes it as good a time as any for everyone to consider a money management tool. According to a recent survey by Javelin Strategy & Research, 41 percent of people don’t use any money management app or website aside from their bank’s. Many budget app users, however, were fervent fans of Mint. Credit Karma is known for its free credit scores and lacks some of the budgeting tools that appealed to Mint users.

Organizations: Mint, Strategy, Research, Intuit

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