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You can claim a $4,050 dependent tax exemption for each qualifying child under federal tax law. Married couples filing jointly generally claim their children on their return, which is easy enough to manage between them. But when parents file separately, which often happens in the case of divorce or separation, the familiar tug-of-war over the kid(s) can extend to tax returns. So what happens if someone else claims your child as a dependent?...

Investigators are still searching for clues about why and where a 5-year-old North Carolina girl was killed. The body of Shaniya Davis was found on Monday on a rural road about in Lee County, about 30 miles northwest of Fayetteville. Authorities need to determine where the killing occurred to in order to add new charges in the slain girl’s case, CNN reports. These charges won’t be added until the question of jurisdiction is answered....

Allentown, PA was rocked by an explosion on Wednesday night, destroying eight houses and killing at least one. The fire department has reported that several other homes are damaged, and that they have still yet to locate two residents, according to the New York Times. The area has been blocked off from traffic, with all residents being evacuated. The explosion appears to have been caused by a natural gas leak. Earlier in the week, Allentown, PA’s gas company had done a routine safety check on the 12-inch low pressure main involved, according to Reuters....

Small business owners know a few things about their employees. And it seems as the economy continues to falter, many business owners also know this one thing: employees aren’t ready to retire. It doesn’t help that retirement plans are expensive for small business owners. Around 75% of small business owners feel that America is hitting a retirement crisis because so many people are simply unprepared, according to Nationwide Financials. At the same time, only 20% of business owners say they provide 401(k) or other self-funded retirement plans for their workers....

Justifiable Homicides and the Law Abdulhakim Muhammad, the suspect in the Arkansas shooting at a military recruiting center, says he’s no murderer because his now-admitted actions had a “justified reason” (the AP story has more background). Muhammad (born Carlos Bledsoe) told the AP in a phone call from jail, “I do feel I’m not guilty … I don’t think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason....

In the recent wave of legislation passing through California’s capital, one more to add to the books has to do with gender equality and California health insurance laws. Effective January 1st 2010, state health insurance companies and HMO’s will not be able to charge men and women different rates for the same type of insurance policy. Currently, California women pay anywhere from 5% to 40% more than male counterparts for equivalent insurance, even on policies without maternity coverage....

In a recent story out of Arizona, health care insurer Humana has decided to internalize a policy of smoker discrimination, announcing that it will screen new employees for nicotine, and no longer hire those that test positive. Humana is not the first company to refuse to hire smokers. With businesses trying to cut insurance costs by cutting back on employees who raise health concerns, smokers have come under fire in recent years....

Food trucks may be the new trend, but they’re not exactly trendy amongst local officials. Cities across the country are citing food trucks for maintenance issues, improper permitting and public disruption. Local restaurants are also complaining, arguing that food trucks “steal” their business. But like those restaurants, food trucks are businesses that contribute to the local economy. Arguably, cities need to find a way to accommodate the trucks while addressing the community’s concerns....

Four year old Emily Ruiz is a United States citizen, though her parents, who reside in New York, are not. The little girl took a trip to Guatemala with her documented grandfather earlier this month, reports The New York Times. But, upon return to the U.S., she was sent back. What is a sad and traumatic experience for Emily Ruiz is now fodder for the U.S. “anchor baby” debate. Due to a diverted plane, Emily and her grandfather were made to go through customs and immigration at Dulles International Airport....

As you read this post, there is a small business in its final stages of closing shop. And there’s an entrepreneurial-hopeful ready to take the plunge. The legal and financial models of small enterprise in America make small businesses more fluid and adaptable than their large-scale counterparts. In that vein, we revisit some basic topics in small biz that can be useful to entrepreneurs, in whichever stage of the small business life cycle they find themselves in....

Facebook is being sued for allegedly scanning users’ private messages to provide data to marketers – without user consent. The social media giant allegedly scanned plaintiffs’ private messages that contained URLs in order to identify the website associated with the URL. This information was then sold to third parties, like advertisers and marketing companies, reports PCWorld. The plaintiffs are now suing Facebook under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act for intentionally intercepting their private messages....

We generally think of the progress of women in the workplace as being on an upward trajectory. There are laws against gender and pregnancy discrimination in employment, and companies are under pressure to deal with their sexual harassment problems, especially in light of the current #MeToo movement. Resignations and New Hires Last year saw the highest percentage of female Fortune 500 CEOs in the list’s history. That year, 32 of the 500 companies were led by women....

After the Senate passed a major financial reform bill, some small businesses are concerned that the new oversight will hurt business and create unnecessary red tape. The uncertainty has many small businesses speculating whether they will get caught up in new financial regulation. For now, the speculation is just that, as the bill will face changes in the House of Representatives. The biggest loser in this round appears to be car dealers, who despite a campaign on Capitol Hill, are subject to new regulation in the Senate bill....

Massachusetts finally opened the first two recreational marijuana stores on the East Coast, two years after voters monumentally approved the sale of recreational marijuana. Though the state meticulously studied all the other states that have gone before it in this industry, they wanted to make sure they did it right, learning best practices and setbacks, and allowed themselves a long runway. And here they go! Cultivate Holdings, in Leicester, and New England Treatment Access (NETA) in Northampton, historically opened for business at 8 a....

A Florida radio personality, Shannon Burke, reportedly got really fed up with a pet dog last night … and ended up shooting his wife. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Burke told police he became angry with his wife’s pet dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. That was when he apparently began “waving a firearm that he thought was not loaded”. Another local news report indicated, however, that “[a]ccording to Burke, he was angry and got into an argument with his wife, Catherine, and at one point grabbed her dog, and used his ....

You found the perfect home. You negotiated a good price. You signed all the paperwork. All that’s left is to wire the closing costs and you’ll be good to move in. But you might want to be careful about that last part – a new scam has hackers intercepting closing costs and ruining new homeowners’ dreams. Fortunately, these scams can be avoided, if you’re careful. Beware the Bogus Email The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning about the scam this month, and described it like this:...

Coffee and donuts are somewhat common workplace perks. But for small business owners, those simple daily indulgences can also add up to a significant tax deduction. American workers spend on average about $1,000 a year on coffee, a new survey finds, according to Reuters. But if you’re picking up the tab to keep your workers content, your coffee costs could be much higher. This may just be the caffeine talking, but three overarching questions come to mind when considering small business tax deductions for coffee and donuts:...

Almost all businesses rely on a laptop, iPad, or other computer in some way or other. It’s useful for storing customer data, office productivity, store inventory, you name it. The reason to have your own office computer is simple: it provides an added level of security. Most businesses have information on customers and employees that they need to keep private. They also want to protect themselves from malicious software and viruses...

A California Little Leaguer is being sued by his coach for allegedly striking and tearing the coach’s Achilles tendon as the teen ran toward home plate. Coach Alan Beck claims the 14-year-old player “carelessly” threw off his helmet, hitting the coach’s leg and injuring him. He’s suing the boy for $500,000 for pain and suffering, along with another $100,000 for lost wages and medical bills, according to UPI. In a lawsuit against a child, can the Little Leaguer be held liable for his coach’s injuries?...

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley is living up to his promises to target clinics selling pot for profit. According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles has aggressively begun action to shut down what Cooley claims are illegal marijuana dispensaries. The city is suing three collectives and is looking to evict more than 18 others from their stores, saying they have violated state laws. The lawsuits allege the outlets have repeatedly violated state laws and seek injunctions for them to stop selling marijuana....