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In South Carolina, Bank Of America Takes A Piece Of State Income Tax Returns

2012-02-28T14:29:43Z

This year South Carolina income tax refunds will arrive on prepaid debit cards unless taxpayers specifically opt for a check or direct deposit.

The change could potentially save South Carolina as much as $1 million in printing and mailing costs this year, state projections indicate. And for the nearly 200,000 South Carolina households that do not have bank accounts, a prepaid debit card offers an end run around check-cashing fees and protects against the risk of holding so much cash.

But the biggest winner could be Bank of America, which will issue the prepaid cards and stands to collect an untold amount in fees from card users and merchants who own the stores where the cards may be used. The arrangement allows the Charlotte, N.C. bank to charge some card users fees as high as $10 per transaction. And unlike ordinary debit cards linked to a bank account, there are no caps on the fees banks can charge merchants when customers use prepaid debit cards.

What's In Your Fruit Chew Snacks?

2012-02-28T14:27:26Z

Fruit chews have long become a staple snack in many family homes. They're quick, easy and tout appetizing healthy qualities -- making them incredibly appealing to busy parents (coming in handy for children and adults alike). Most of these fruity chews are low in calories and fat free, some of them even containing your daily need of a handful of vitamins in just one little pouch. They're even made with real fruit juice and fruit purees. With all these factors in mind, one begins to wonder who needs to eat plain fruit anymore?

While fruit snacks are definitely low on the list of the worst offenders of processed foods, they're still, well, a processed food. So that means, for one, they're built to last for a long period of time on the grocery shelves, and two, they've been engineered to smell, look and taste appetizing.

Let's take a look at what exactly is in these snacks, in addition to the fruit juices and purees. An average fruit chew snack ingredient list will look something like this: Corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, juice from concentrate, fruit purees, citric acid, lactic acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium citrate, gelatin, coconut oil, carnauba wax, red 40, yellow 5 and blue 1.

Girls' 'My Ma' (VIDEO)

2012-02-28T14:24:07Z

Rock group Girls released a video for "My Ma" off their most recent album Father, Son, Holy Ghost exclusively on Team Coco yesterday. The lo-fi, lovely drone of their music is the perfect backdrop to the stripped down video.

"My Ma" plays more short documentary on "the-day-in-the-life-of" a middle-aged woman than an actual music video. The video features a woman peering through scrapbooks of what looks like her previous acting career.

Images of a silver screen worthy woman in plays like "A Streetcar Named Desire" are starkly contrasted with the seemingly subpar life of suburbia and solitude. It is a memoir; a testament to the actress she used to be.

William Levy: Who Is The 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 14 Heartthrob?

2012-02-28T14:23:14Z

You might not know William Levy right now, but after the March 19 premiere of "Dancing With the Stars," the telenovela heartthrob will be a household name.

Known in the US for his appearance in Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Into You" music video, Levy got his start modeling before taking to reality shows. Born William Levy Gutiérrez, the 31-year-old model and actor has appeared in Telemundo's reality shows "Isla de la Tentación" and "Protagonistas de Novela 2."

Following those shows, Levy went on to appear in variety of Spanish-language soaps including "Pasión," "Sortilegio" and most recently, "Triunfo del amor."

Arizona Primary 2012 & Michigan Primary 2012: Live Updates

2012-02-28T14:23:00Z

The Arizona primary will take place on Tuesday and 29 delegates are up for grabs.

Mitt Romney is favored in the Grand Canyon State contest. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) endorsed the former Massachusetts governor in the race for the Republican presidential nomination over the weekend.

The Michigan primary will also take place on Tuesday. Rick Santorum is hoping to score an upset win in the state where Romney was born.

Pakistan Gunmen Shoot Dead 16 Shiites On Bus

2012-02-28T14:21:27Z

MANSEHRA, Pakistan — Gunmen wearing military uniforms stopped a convoy of buses in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, ordered selected passengers to get off and then killed 16 of them in a grisly sectarian attack, police and a lawmaker said.

The victims were Shiite Muslims, a minority in Pakistan that is frequently targeted by extremists from the majority Sunni community, said lawmaker Abdul Sattar. The gunmen spared several dozen other people in the four-bus convoy. A spokesman for a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, a Sunni militant group, claimed responsibility for the killings.

Pakistan Gunmen Shoot Dead 16 Shiites On Bus

2012-02-28T14:21:27Z

Michigan Primary 2012 & Arizona Primary 2012: Live Updates

2012-02-28T14:19:00Z

Mitt Romney is hoping to triumph in the Michigan primary on Tuesday, while Rick Santorum aims to score an upset win over the former Massachusetts governor on his home turf.

HuffPost's Jon Ward reports on the delegate situation in the Wolverine State, where Romney was born:

In Michigan, 28 of 30 delegates will be awarded by congressional district. Candidates will earn two delegates for every congressional district in which they win the most votes. There are 14 districts, and the remaining two delegates will be awarded based on who wins the most votes statewide.

NYPD Officer Thomas Richards Saved By Ammo Belt In LES Shootout (PHOTOS)

2012-02-28T14:12:38Z

LOWER EAST SIDE -- A cop owes his life to an ammo magazine on his belt that deflected a bullet fired at him in a shootout on the Lower East Side early Monday, police said.

Police Officer Thomas Richards and his partner, Thomas Dunne, were shot at as they approached suspect Luis Martinez, 25, in front of a closed drug store at 47 Columbia Street about 1:45 a.m., according to an NYPD account of the shooting.

"I heard about 12 at once, then it stopped," said Wilfredo Alvero, 84, of the gunfire. "And then I heard four more. It sounded like an automatic shotgun."

Romain Brunot, Moet-Hennessy Manager, Caught Stealing $119,000 Of Booze

2012-02-28T14:11:06Z

Romain Brunot, a brand manager at Moet-Hennessy in the UK, was sentenced to 15 months in prison this week for gradually stealing approximately £75,000 (or about $119,000) of booze from his employer, the Independent reports.

Brunot's loot came in the form of 400 bottles of Krug and 400 bottles of Belvedere, top-shelf champagne and vodka respectively. He slowly siphoned the bottles, a few at a time, off shipments of samples to restaurants and liquor stores, and stored them in a makeshift wine cellar in East London.

Brunot's downfall was hubris. His employers noticed his thieving ways only when he set up a fake wine store in the US, through which he ordered a large quantity of Krug and diverted it to his private cellar.

Rick Santorum Plan To Gut Obama Regulations Faces Giant Hurdles

2012-02-28T14:10:59Z

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON--Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum's vow to reverse all regulations enacted under President Barack Obama that impose an economic burden of over $100 million would gut Obama's major initiatives on healthcare, environmental, energy and financial reform.

'Touch,' 'Bones' Move ON Fox 2012 Schedule

2012-02-28T14:10:49Z

Fox is moving around its schedule in preparation for the series finale of "House."

"Touch," Kiefer Sutherland's return to series TV, will officially premiere on Thurs., March 22 at 9 p.m. EST following the "American Idol" results show. A rerun of the preview that aired earlier in 2012 will air Thurs., March 15 at 9 p.m. EST. "Heroes" creator Tim Kring is behind the drama about a single father and his mute son who can predict the future through numbers."The Finder" will air its spring finale on Thurs., March 8 at 9 p.m. EST with new episodes returning to the schedule at a later date.

"Bones" moves to Mondays at 8 p.m. EST starting Mon., April 2. The spring premiere of the hit procedural sees a very pregnant Brennan and Booth not seeing eye-to-eye regarding plans for the upcoming birth of their daughter. "Alcatraz" will end its first season on Mon., March 26 at 8 p.m. EST.

International Peace Corps Week: Add Your Photos! SLIDESHOW)

2012-02-28T14:09:09Z

When John. F. Kennedy stood on the stairs of the University of Michigan at 2:00 am on Oct. 14, 1960, a grand idea was articulated -- one of service, international relationships, travel, and peace.

"How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world?...I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past."

More than 50 years later, the Peace Corps is much more than an idea. The volunteer service has sent more than 200,000 people to 139 different countries, with work ranging from education and HIV/AIDS research, to technology and environmental preservation.

Bill O'Reilly On Angelina Jolie At The Oscars: She Is Looking 'Emaciated' (VIDEO)

2012-02-28T14:07:49Z

Bill O'Reilly had a somewhat different reaction to Angelina Jolie's appearance at Sunday's Oscar ceremony than the rest of the planet.

Whereas most people focused on The Leg Heard 'Round The World (if you don't know what we're talking about, just look here), O'Reilly said on his Monday show that he was worried about the superstar's weight.

Newt Gingrich Says Rick Santorum Is Wrong About JFK Speech

2012-02-28T14:06:41Z

WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich disagrees with Rick Santorum's harsh criticism of the famous speech on religion that John F. Kennedy delivered as he campaigned to become the nation's first Roman Catholic president.

Gingrich and Santorum, each a Catholic seeking the GOP nomination, view Kennedy's words differently. Santorum says he felt sick after reading Kennedy's 1960 speech and believes it advocated absolute separation of church and state.