It was really nice of Christian Lopez to give Derek Jeter back the homerun ball that happened to be his 3,000th hit, but apparently no good deed goes unpunished. The New york Times has reported that the 23-year-old could face a monumental tax bill as the result of the rewards the Yankees offered him for returning the ball. The AP originally reported that Lopez received season tickets, front row seats to last sunday’s game, and other goods in return for the ball. The New York Daily News also reported that he received a ball hand-signed by Derek Jeter. As it turns out, all of these things are taxable, unless they are considered a gift. From Fox Sports: When valuing all of the goods, Lopez – who told the Times that he owes more than $100,000 in student loans – could be in line for a heavy bill from the IRS. The Times cited Steven Bandini, a tax partner at the accounting firm Zapken & Loeb, who said that a modest valuation of $50,000 for all of the items would likely mean a roughly $14,000 tax liability. Whether or not Lopez’s seemingly miraculous nab (according to the Daily News the swarm of fans who went after the ball was immense) ends up costing him remains to be seen, but if it does, he’s willing to pay. “Worse comes to worse, I’ll have to pay the taxes,” he told the Daily News. “I’m not going to return the seats. I have a lot of family and friends who will help me out if need be. if(typeof AOLVP_cfg===’undefined’)AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:’AOLVP_1045634922001′,’codever’:0.1, ‘autoload’:true, ‘autoplay’:false, ‘playerid’:’61371448001′, ‘videoid’:’1045634922001′, ‘width’:575, ‘height’:323, ‘stillurl’:’http://pdl.stream.aol.com/pdlext/aol/brightcove/ap/5184737001/5184737001_1045604594001_0709dv-jeter-hit-400×300.jpg?pubId=5184737001′, ‘playertype’:’inline’,’videotitle’:’Derek Jeter Homers for 3,000th Hit’,’videodesc’:’undefined’,’videolink’:’http://www.bloomberg.com/’});
Continue reading …LUCKNOW, India — Officials say the death toll from a train derailment in northern India has risen to 60 as more bodies are being pulled out of the mangled coaches. The senior army official in charge of rescue operations at the accident site says volunteers and soldiers have pulled out 60 bodies from 12 coaches of the Kalka Mail, which went off the tracks Sunday afternoon. Col. Amarjit Dhillon told the Associated Press on Monday that many more bodies were trapped under the twisted coaches and soldiers were using gas cutters to slice through the metal. Rescue workers working through the night rescued many of the more than 100 injured in the accident near the town of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh state. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. FATEHPUR, India (AP) – Rescuers searched for survivors in the wreckage of a packed express train that derailed in northern India on Sunday afternoon, killing at least 31 people, while officials said a second train derailment hundreds of miles (kilometers) to the northeast appeared to have been caused by a remote-controlled bomb. Rescuers were working to reach the second derailment, which occurred late Sunday night in a rural area of Assam state, injuring at least 100. The two railway incidents did not appear to be related. In the first crash, the Kalka Mail train was on its way to Kalka, in the foothills of the Himalayas, from Howrah, a station near Kolkata in eastern India, when 12 coaches and the engine jumped the tracks at Malwan station, near the town of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh state, senior railway official A.K. Jain said. The cause of the derailment was not immediately clear but it appeared that the driver applied the emergency brakes, Jain said. At least 31 people were killed and rescue workers pulled at least 100 injured passengers out of the wreckage, said Brij Lal, a state police official. Hours later, the second train derailed in the northeastern state of Assam, injuring at least 100 people, said S.K. Roy, a local magistrate. Local police suspect that a remote control-triggered bomb caused four coaches of the Gauhati-Puri Express to be thrown off the tracks in the town of Rangiya, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of the state’s capital, Gauhati, Roy said. S. Hajong, a local railways spokesman, said two of the four coaches plunged into a pond and casualties are feared. Roy did not blame any rebel group and no one has taken responsibility for the attack so far. More than 30 groups in northeastern India have been fighting for decades for independence or wide autonomy in the region, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) east of New Delhi. It was the third train accident in India in the last four days. A train hit a bus at an unmanned railway crossing last Thursday, killing 35 people. In Fatehpur, the accident site was a pile of twisted metal. At least one coach flew above the roof of another ahead of it and was dangling precariously, television footage showed. Another coach was thrown away from the rest of the train. The toll was likely to rise as rescuers made their way through the coaches and used gas cutters to cut through the mangled metal, Lal said. Rescue efforts continued late into the night. “We’re trying to cut into the coaches and rescue those still trapped inside,” Lal said. A senior railway official, H.C. Joshi, told CNN-IBN news channel that rescuers were struggling to free at least five people pinned under the wreckage of one of the worst-damaged coaches. Medical personnel rushed to the area, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state. Army helicopters were ferrying the most seriously injured victims to hospitals and 30 army engineers had joined the rescue efforts, Lal said. TV stations showed local residents helping injured passengers away from the train, several in makeshift stretchers, and breaking the windows of coaches to help those trapped inside. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed “deep sorrow and shock” at the loss of lives. The Railways Ministry announced compensation of 500,000 rupees ($11,000) for the families of those killed in the accident. The number of passengers on board the Kalka Mail – named for its past use in the postal service – was not known. Express trains normally carry about 1,000 people and travel at speeds of 60-80 miles (100-130 kilometers) per hour. India’s railroad network is one of the largest in the world and carries about 14 million passengers a day. Accidents are common, with most blamed on poor maintenance and human error. ___ Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow contributed to this story.
Continue reading …Emerson Spartz from Harry Potter mega fansite Mugglenet joins the Real Time Conversation on the What’s Trending live show to discuss whether the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ means the end of Harry Potter mania and the extent of the Potter legacy online. (July 12, 2011)
Continue reading …Alert to subscribers: Netflix is making big changes to its pricing structure. The movie rental company is separating its DVD subscriptions from its streaming-content plans. Subscribers will have a few options, the company’s blog notes: They can pay $7.99 a month for one DVD at a time, with no…
Continue reading …The What’s Trending #Influencer this week is Emmy winner Lisa Kudrow. The former “Friends” star had us laughing with her online show “Web Therapy.” Now the online cult hit will be converted for the TV medium and debut on Showtime on July 19. Kudrow talks about the difference between web and television audiences and whether TV is the end goal for all online shows. (July 12, 2011)
Continue reading …In an interview with CBS Tuesday, President Barack Obama seemed to back off his unequivocal assurances that the debt ceiling would be raised, thus avoiding a first-ever default. (July 12)
Continue reading …As the internet has overtaken newspapers as an information source, convincing readers to shell out the dough for online news has proven an uphill battle . Now two papers are trying a new approach: entice customers with discounted Android tablets and pre-loaded content apps. The Philadelphia Media Network, which owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News , is planning a pilot program for mid-August which will offer around 2,000 tablets; if successful, it could expand to more readers. The combined price of hardware and a one- to two-year daily subscription should be about half of retail. So far we have few details on what you’ll get for your money, but expect a WiFi tablet from a major manufacturer, with 3G and/or 4G possible in the future. If you’re from the city of brotherly love and want more details on this early-stage plan, see the video after the break. Continue reading Philly papers to offer subscribers discounted Android tablets that make terrible birdcage lining (video) Philly papers to offer subscribers discounted Android tablets that make terrible birdcage lining (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 00:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …When most people get dumped, they burn pictures, delete phone contacts, self-medicate with junk food … but when Cheryl Gray got dumped by her Facebook lover, she sued him for all the money she’d spent on their relationship and then some, the Seattle Times reports. After meeting Wylie Iwan through…
Continue reading …Dirtyy Kitty Black Ops No Scope & Quick Scope Montage Sit!.. Good Boy! Definiti And Beyond Trailer TeamObama says: Remarks by the President in Presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry http://1.usa.gov/qlfjGd
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