If your spouse dies before April 1 of the year after he or she turned 70 1/2 (which is when minimum withdrawals must begin) or at any earlier time, you generally have three options to choose from for handling the account. I’ll explain them, starting with the one that’s best …

If you owned shares of an international fund last year, don’t let Uncle Sam take a nickel more than necessary. Part of being a smart mutual-fund investor is making sure you walk away with as much profit in your pocket as possible. This means avoiding load funds (usually, anyway) and …

Is there an optimal time to sell fund shares based on the ex-dividend date? QUESTION: I’m selling some mutual fund shares. Is there an optimal time of the year to sell based on the ex-dividend date? What’s a good strategy for liquidating my holdings? ANSWER: A timely question. For those …

Remember back when you were young and poor and nothing made you madder than tales of rich people who paid nothing in income taxes? Well, you weren’t alone, and that anger led to the creation of something called the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to keep the rich from …

TROY, N.Y. – The lab rat of the future may have no whiskers and no tail — and might not even be a rat at all. With a European ban looming on animal testing for cosmetics, companies are giving a hard look at high-tech alternatives like the small, rectangular glass …

This is a rush transcript from “Hannity & Colmes,” January 28, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Welcome to this special edition of HANNITY & COLMES, we have live reaction to the president’s State of the Union Address, tonight, …

On Sunday, millions of Americans will be plopped in front of big-screen TVs watching the Super Bowl — and, yes — stuffing their faces with chips, dip and anything else they can get their hands on. So, this brings up the question: Is double dipping really that bad? A new …

ROME – The Italian government’s plan to resolve Naples’ garbage crisis may clear trash temporarily, but mafia control of waste disposal and politicians’ inability to guarantee safe dumps means the problem will return, a noted expert on organized crime said Wednesday. In the latest crisis, collectors stopped picking up garbage …

– Dr. Phil McGraw may be under investigation by the California Board of Psychology for his conduct in the Britney Spears drama if a complaint reportedly filed against the TV shrink and currently floating around the Internet is legit. The complaint, reportedly lodged by a psychologist with the California Board …

SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp. launched its WorldWide Telescope late Monday, bringing the free Web-based program for zooming around the universe to a broad audience. WorldWide Telescope, developed by Microsoft’s research arm, knits together images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and …