Brad Birkenfeld could have stayed quiet. As a top private banker in Switzerland, he handled accounts for some of America’s wealthiest people—many of whom kept money hidden offshore to dodge taxes. Instead, he walked into a U. S. government office in 2007 and handed over details of 19, 000 secret acc
The once-popular Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center has shut its doors for good, its owners blaming city officials for deliberately sabotaging their efforts. In a Facebook post, the group called "the HMAC Family" called the closure permanent and claimed city leaders constructed a trap to force them out.
A big change this year is the new IRS form 1099-DA. For the first time, brokers have to tell both you and the government how much you earned from crypto trades. It's like what happens with stocks, but with a big difference: they don't have to tell the IRS what you paid for your crypto. That means yo
A Maryland attorney has been found guilty of a wide range of fraud that could land him in prison for almost four decades. The federal jury in Greenbelt rejected his claims and said he hid millions of dollars earned from poker, failed to pay taxes for several years, and lied to mortgage lenders ab
Iran has started taking cryptocurrency for its weapons sales. This is part of their plan to avoid international sanctions. The country's defense export center, Mindex, now says it accepts crypto payments. They sell all sorts of military gear, from rockets to communication tools. Iran has been selli
The world is facing a new challenge: a secret fleet of ships, often old and poorly maintained, is being used to move oil and other goods while avoiding sanctions. This fleet, known as the "shadow fleet, " is growing rapidly, especially after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It now includes arou
Ukraine has been making daring strikes on Russia's oil tankers. They've used drones to hit four ships in just a few weeks. These attacks show Ukraine is getting more confident and willing to take big risks. Two of these attacks happened far from Ukraine, in the Mediterranean Sea. The other two were
Jamaica is still recovering from the powerful Hurricane Melissa, which hit the island last month. The storm caused a lot of damage, leaving many people without homes, power, or clean water. Celebrities like Busta Rhymes, Tyrese Gibson, and Mona Scott-Young saw the need and decided to help. These st
Iran is in a tough spot. It's not doing anything groundbreaking, but it's managing to stay afloat. How? By using three main strategies: sneaky money moves, secret oil deals, and backing groups in other countries. China and Russia are big players in Iran's survival game. China buys Iran's oil, even
Ukraine is taking the fight to Russia's secret oil fleet, striking ships in foreign waters. This is a big deal because Russia has been using these ships to dodge international sanctions and keep selling oil, which funds its war in Ukraine. Ukraine has been hitting these ships since President Zelens
