Letters cost you $42 million
At a cost of nearly $42 million, the IRS wants you to know: Your check is almost in the mail. The IRS is spending the money on letters to alert taxpayers to expect rebate checks as part of the economic stimulus plan. The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, an IRS spokesman confirmed.
Student killed with handgun
The student body president at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill was killed by a shot from a handgun to her right temple, according to a police report released Friday. Authorities also said that 22-year-old Eve Marie Carson’s keys and wallet have not been found. Police don’t have any suspects in her death and still believe it was a random act of violence. Her body was found lying in a street before dawn Wednesday, shot several times.
Bottled water out for Brits
The British government says it will be drinking water from the tap starting this summer. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government will phase out bottled water in all of its departments. Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell says the switch is one step in a bigger program to make all government departments greener and more sustainable. Three departments already have been serving tap water at meetings.
O.J.’s robbery trial delayed
A judge in Las Vegas agreed to delay O.J. Simpson’s (right) trial on armed robbery and kidnapping charges until September, defense lawyers said Friday. District Court Judge Jackie Glass agreed during a pre-hearing meeting to give them more time to prepare for trial. But the judge refused to throw out kidnapping and robbery charges against Simpson and co-defendants Charles Ehrlich and Clarence “C.J.” Stewart.
AND FINALLY
Dash for cash — in heels
Like a herd of antelope, jockeying and shoving for position, 150 young women raced down Amsterdam’s most-famed fashion street in stiletto heels Thursday, racing for a $15,000 prize. The race on the P.C. Hooft street called the “Stiletto Run” is only three years old but has quickly grown in popularity and spawned imitation races in Germany, Sweden, Poland and Russia. The race’s motto is “Shopping is a Sport” and friendly competition is encouraged — though not always observed.
