Local & State Dispatches

By Kemberley Washington, CPA, Bankrate.com (TNS) As the end of the year approaches, now’s the time to start preparing for filing your 2024 tax return in 2025. When it comes to tax strategies, generally Dec. 31 is the deadline to make changes that might lower your tax bill. One major exception is the deadline for contributing to a Roth or traditional IRA: You have until April 15, 2025, to make a contribution to a Roth or traditional IRA for tax year 2024.

By Isabel Contreras, NerdWallet The past couple of years have been tough on consumers’ wallets. Inflation has affected groceries, gas and lots of other everyday expenses — and auto insurance is no exception. Prices for most goods and services have started to stabilize: Year-over-year inflation stood at 2.7% in November, a dramatic difference from the peak of more than 9% during the summer of 2022.

Authorities in Guatemala raided the compound of Lev Tahor, an extremist Jewish sect, and removed 160 children and teenagers after allegations of abuse and human trafficking. The law enforcement raid is the latest legal action against the group, which is often described as a cult. In 2022, two leaders of the sect were given 12 years in prison on charges of kidnapping children and exploiting them for sexual purposes.

As of mid-December, FEMA shelled out $1.1 billion for Floridians who were victims of hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, according to an agency spokesperson. It’s about the same amount the agency dispersed across Florida after Ian in 2022, which was the costliest hurricane in state history. Unlike two years ago, however, much of the damage this time was clustered in Tampa Bay, which bore the brunt of the three storms.  Combined, homeowners and renters in Hillsborough and Pinellas received $670 million from FEMA this year. And yet, how federal officials have distributed the record amount of aid varied, leaving those hit the hardest with vastly different perceptions of FEMA. For the full story, please visit miamiherald.com

MIAMI GARDENS — Zach Sieler is my choice for Dolphins MVP this season. There’s no reason to get creative about saying that. So I’ll just say that Sieler, the seventh-year defensive lineman, the gritty, self-made, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps guy who lived in an RV (recreational vehicle) early in his career, is my clear choice for Dolphins MVP. Sieler, a Michigan native and dedicated outdoorsman, leads the team in sacks with 8.5. No one makes big plays in big games more frequently than Sieler, who leads the league’s No.

The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U. S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing.