DJ N.I.N.O. At Planet Hollywood’s Heart Bar Q&A with Seven Magazine

In 1991, U.S. Marine Gastinel White was a budding DJ who purchased his first turntables overseas. Today, DJ N.I.N.O. brings both ear and eye candy to Planet Hollywood’s Heart Bar. But more than just music, N.I.N.O. serves up his beats with a side of video, mixed live and broadcast throughout the casino Wednesday through Sunday night on more than 100 video screens—plus one jumbo screen.

You moved to Vegas because you believed it to be the DJ Capital of the World. What have you found since then?

I told myself, I’ll give myself three to five years to be a major part of the Strip, and I was three days shy of going on five years before they put my face on [Planet Hollywood’s] jumbo screen. That was the most amazing moment to me this [past] year.

Your unique performance entails you doing double-duty as disc jockey and video jockey. And not just for Heart Bar but for the entire casino. Was it hard to get up and running on such a large scale?

It was very expensive to do, but I just stayed with it. I used to talk to my friends about it and they said no, it would never be big. I took it to other casinos, and they thought people would just stand around and watch.

But Planet Hollywood believed in your vision.

Yes, and I’m loving [Planet Hollywood]. My formula was to match my video sets with my audio. I was just DJing audio to the party, and I just made my video the same way so they will dance. So I kind of broke that barrier down, and now look at it. No other casino is doing it.

You play videos that date back to when MTV actually played music videos. What’s the inspiration?

I loved the idea of video because I do my video like a concert. Most of those old-school videos, you won’t ever see those videos again, so I can actually put it on the screen, and it’s like you’re actually there, like a concert. That’s why we’re so successful with it. I treat it like that, like it’s a concert.

What artists and videos get the crowd really hyped up?

I’ve noticed the Rolling Stones, Def Leppard videos [do]—a lot of the rock stuff. Michael Jackson is probably the biggest. I have a little tribute I do for his sets. They enjoy that set more than anything

What has been the most memorable event you’ve played?

It would have to be Demi Moore’s daughter’s [Rumer] 21st birthday here, two years ago. That was in a suite, a celebrity suite party. Bruce Willis was there. That night they didn’t want to hear any Vegas music, all they wanted to hear was Motown. I was like, “Oh! Ok, cool—easy!”

And just out of curiosity, what does N.I.N.O. stand for?

“Never Imitate No Other.” Three friends in the Marine Corps gave me the name N.I.N.O., and I took it. It works because I’m different, I don’t want to be like another DJ, or like anyone else.

Seven Magazine Las Vegas

UNDERGROUND JUKEBOX: Slum Village - "Faster" feat. Colin Munroe & Actin' Normal

R.I.P. 

Baatin

Charge Without Wires – Energizer Enters the Market

As part of the Wireless Power Consortium, Energizer has developed a new inductive, two position wireless charger which enables users to charger their phones on the pad with no wires.

The device is compatible with the iPhone 3G, 3GSs and 4, by slipping the phone into a sleeve, which can than act a protective case, and the Blackberry through the use of a battery pack. For all other phones, there is a universal adapter which can adhere to any model and be connected through a micro USB. TechNewsDaily

Will Ferrell Signs On For Four Episodes Of 'The Office'

Many fans of "The Office" have likely been lamenting the upcoming exit of star Steve Carell since it was announced last summer. Unfortunately, with just a few months left in the funnyman's tenure, that end is very near. However given the popularity of both Carell and the show, it was likely that NBC wouldn't let him depart without a big send-off. 

On Wednesday (January 26), it was revealed that Carell's exit from "The Office" will indeed be big. According to , Carell's pal and "Anchorman" co-star Will Ferrell has signed on to appear in a four-episode arc of the comedy series. 

Ferrell will reportedly play a branch manager who visits the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch from the home office and is "just as inappropriate as Steve Carell's Michael Scott character." NBC has not yet announced when those episodes will air, but Ferrell is said to be committed to appear in one episode after Carell's finale.

Nicki Minaj Says Appearing On 'Saturday Night Live' Is 'Monumental'

Fresh off the debut of her "Moment 4 Life" video, Nicki Minaj is gearing up for another rather momentous event: her appearance as this weekend's musical guest on "Saturday Night Live."

 

MTV Shows

 

And though it's most definitely happening, Nicki still can't believe it. And she won't, not until she's seen evidence to the contrary. This could prove problematic since, y'know, the show is live and all. "Being a part of 'Saturday Night Live' feels absolutely incredible. I still don't even believe it's true, I'm not even going to believe it's really happening until — well, I'm going to DVR it, because I can't watch it, because I'll be on it," she told MTV News, laughing. "But until I see it back on DVR, I'm not even going to believe I was really on the show. This is epic, this is monumental, this is historic stuff." 

For a girl who grew up in New York (just like this weekend's host, newly-minted Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg), performing on "SNL" — a show that's nearly as iconic as the city itself — is a dream come true for Minaj. Mtv.news

Buzz Heavy! Reflection Eternal feat. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Just Begun

Talib Kweli, Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def

Reflection Eternal feat. Jay Electronica, J. Cole & Mos Def - Just Begun

MADNESS PREMIERE: Wiz Khalifa (Feat. Too Short) - On My Level

MADNESS PREMIERE: Nicki Minaj (Feat. Drake) - Moment 4 Life

Nicki Minaj - New Music - More Music Videos

Sony announces 'Next Generation Portable' handheld

Sony's NGP

Sony confirmed months of speculation by officially unveiling their next handheld video game system at a press event in Tokyo on Thursday. Codenamed "NGP" for Next Generation Portable, the system packs a load of impressive technology, including two analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED touchscreen (for reference, an iPhone's screen is 3.5 inches), a second touch pad on the back of the device, and a new flash-card media format. The NGP will also feature 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, front and rear cameras, an electronic compass, and six-axis motion-sensing capability.

While Sony failed to announce a PSP-capable phone (as many had expected), the company did find time to unveil the Playstation Suite, a cross-platform service that will make Playstation games available on Android phones and tablets. Yahoo

NBC Universal now NBCUniversal under Comcast

This image provided by NBCUniversal shows the new company logo. NBC Universal is now NBCUniversal _ without the space.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- NBC Universal is now NBCUniversal -- without the space, the peacock or the globe silhouette.

That was part of the message delivered to the company's 25,000 employees at a town hall gathering on Thursday that featured top executives from prospective new owner Comcast Corp.

The bird will remain part of the brand of NBC, the broadcaster, while the spinning globe will still be part of the graphic for Universal, the movie studio and theme park operator. And officially, the company's name is still NBC Universal. But the space-less corporate logo is meant to represent the unity of its two main divisions as it is set to be taken over by cable operator Comcast in a deal that is to close on Friday.


The deal values NBC Universal at around $30 billion, while Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV company, has a market value around $65 billion.

Americans Will Be Microchipped by 2017?

Mark of the beast? VeriChip show in the picture

VeriChip is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved human-implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchip. It is marketed by VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, and it received United States FDA approval in 2004. About twice the length of a dime, the device is typically implanted between the shoulder and elbow area of an individual’s right arm.Once scanned at the proper frequency, the VeriChip responds with a unique 16 digit number which could be then linked with information about the user held on a database for identity verification, medical records access and other uses. The insertion procedure is performed under local anesthetic in a physician's office. As an implanted device used for identification by a third party, it has generated controversy and debate. Destron Fearing, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, initially developed the technology for the VeriChip

Privacy advocates have protested the VeriChip, warning of potential abuse and claiming that use by governments could lead to an increased loss of civil liberties and would lend itself too easily to abuse. One special case of this abuse would be in the microchip's secondary function as a tracking device. There is also the possibility that the chip's information will be available to those other than governments, such as private business, thus giving employers highly personal information about employees.



Some religious activists, including Mark Dice, the author of a book titled "The Resistance Manifesto", make a link between the VeriChip and the Biblical Mark of the Beast. Gary Wohlscheid, president of These Last Days Ministries, has argued that "Out of all the technologies with potential to be the mark of the beast, the VeriChip has got the best possibility right now". Katherine Albrecht of CASPIAN and author of "The Spychips Threat: Why Christians Should Resist RFID and Electronic Surveillance" notes that "There are many ways in which current versions of RFID devices like the VeriChip implant do not match the description of the mark of the beast in Revelation." Learn more about your government power your mind. MadOne

Mars Hides More Water Than Thought, Study Suggests

A photo of Mars from NASA's Viking spacecraft, which launched in 1975.
The Viking Project/NASA

The poles of Mars might not be the only place where water ice might be hidden on the Red Planet — now scientists suggest it could also lurk at the equator in craters. This ice could impact future exploration of Mars, and perhaps even serve as a source of life-sustaining water for any human missions there. Past research had suggested that water could once be found at the Martian equator. Now, however, the Red Planet's climate is thought to be too harsh, generally, for water to exist — the air on Mars is so thin that any ice on or near the surface of the relatively warm equator would quickly vaporize. 

However, scientists have unearthed evidence that ice could be found right below the surface much closer to the equator than expected. Radar scans of equatorial hills on Mars also suggest those might harbor as much water as a polar ice cap, although researchers could not rule out the possibility their findings might reflect fluffy, dusty or loosely packed material that holds only a small amount of ice. 


Furthermore, "equatorial sites are attractive destinations for future exploration due to increased insolation — more direct sunlight — and warmer temperatures," Shean said. "These conditions are desirable for solar-powered rovers, but they are also important considerations for future human exploration, which will require accessible water as a life-sustaining resource." Space.com

Jay-Z Announces New Film Partnership With Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment

Jay-Z and Will Smith previously teamed to produced the hit Broadway musical Fela! They also own a portion of makeup company Carols Daughter.

The pair are hoping Broadway will pay off again with the remake of "Annie," which originally ran as a Broadway play starting in 1977 until 1983. The following year, it was turned into a hit movie with the same name.

The remake of "Annie" is being developed by Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures, with Jay-Z and Will Smith acting as producers.

"The Overbrook Entertainment family and I have a unified vision," Jay-Z said in a statement today. "We've already produced a Tony Award winning play and we're developing a true superstar in Willow. This venture into film development and production is a perfect next step with teams that are accomplished, creative, and innovative.”

According to James Lassiter, co-founder of Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith and company are very excited to continue their partnership with Jay-Z. “We are excited to partner together to develop and produce a wide variety of films with our longtime friend Jay-Z, with whom we share a common global vision, both commercially and philosophically, and look forward to collaborating once again with the incredibly talented executives at Sony,” added Lassiter.

Nas Owes IRS $6 Million In Taxes

Nas owes $6 million in property taxes to the IRS, a new report has revealed.

The rapper owns a property in Eagles Landing, GA, which has racked up the huge financial burden says the Detroit News.

The rapper recently had child and spousal support to ex-wife Kelis cut to $25,000 from $51,000.

Nas has had previous issues with the IRS and has had a number of liens filed.

Nas recently announced a new tour with Distant Relatives collaborator Damian Marley, that will see the pair  travel to 11 countries. MadOne

will.I.am named Director of Creative Innovation At Intel

Black Eyed Peas frontman will.I.am has landed a high profile job as the Director of Creative Innovation for the world's largest manufacturer of computer chips. The announcement was made today (January 25th) at the the Anaheim Convention Center during a sales and marketing conference.

According to will.I.am, "every beat" he makes is created using Intel's technology, so the jump to the Director of Creative Innovation is not a far stretch for the award winning producer/rapper.

"Nearly everything I do involves processors and computers, and when I see an Intel chip I think of all the creative minds involved that help to amplify my own creativity," will.i.am said in a statement. "Teaming up with the scientists, researchers and computer programmers at Intel to collaborate and co-develop new ways to communicate, create, inform and entertain is going to be amazing."

While more details about his job duties have not been revealed, the 35-year-old producer is expected to help the company innovate new products and reinvent itself for a younger demographic.

“It's imperative that Intel and our innovations are kept in front of the global youth culture that embraces new devices and new forms of communication and entertainment,” added Deborah Conrad, head of marketing for Intel. Will.I.am has signed a two-year employment agreement with Intel. MadOne

Coming Soon to Theaters : Scream 4

Afrika Bambaataa Says 'Luciferian Conspiracy' Exists Within Hip-Hop

(AllHipHop News) Afrika Bambaataa, one of Hip-Hop's founding fathers, believes that the genre of Hip-Hop music has been hijacked by a Luciferian conspiracy to poison the minds of its listeners.

Afrika Bambaataa stated his opinion on the state of Hip-Hop music during a recent interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, which will undoubtedly fuel conspiracy theorists' recent claims that Hip-Hop is filled with Satanic imagery and devil worshippers. "Hip-hop has been hijacked by a Luciferian conspiracy," Afrika Bambaataa told the Chicago Sun-Times. "People have used hip-hop in a lot of ways that cause a lot of mind problems. Jay Z's video On to the Next One is a very dark visual outing with alot of q's towards the mason's, Illuminati, satan. Look for youself..  




The raging debate over Satanic images in Hip-Hop album covers and videos spilled over into the pop mainstream in November, when rapper MC Hammer responded to Jay-Z, who name checked Hammer on the track "Better Run Run." The case can be made for Kanye West to. He has also been accused of being a member of The Illuminati and worshipping the devil, shortly after the premiere of his short-film, Runaway.  The cover art for his lastest album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is nothing short of strange. 

"I've got question about "the illuminati" ... what is it exactly ??? ... and why do people think pop stars have a membership???!!! LOL," Kanye tweeted in October of 2010. "Is illuminati and devil worshipping like the same thing ... do they have a social network that celebs can sign up for?"


Jay-Z has repeatedly denied claims he worshipped the devil, after fans raised eyebrows at a line on his hit single "Empire State of Mind" featuring Alicia Keys. "I believe in God, I believe in one God,” Jay-Z told Hot 97's Angie Martinez of his religious beliefs in January of 2010. “I don't believe in religion. I think that separates people." The real question should have been which god is it that he believes in. Food for thought. MadOne

Drake To Return To Acting

(AllHipHop News) Drake will make a return to acting, according to reports.

The popular rapper is set to star in a new movie called “Arbitrage,” which will put him next to Hollywood staples like Al Pacino and Susan Sarandon.

Drake honed his acting chops on the teen hit show “'Degrassi: The Next Generation,” but “Arbitrage” will be meatier content. The flick is an independent financial thriller where Al Pacino plays a hedge fund magnate under investigation. The movie will start shooting in the spring for a release date in 2012.

On the Hip-Hop front, Drake is recording his second album, titled Take Care.

At press time, Drake has not commented on his involvement in the film, but is listed on IMDB.com, a movie industry authority.

Kanye West Announces New Album In Summer 2011

(AllHipHop News) Kanye West has proclaimed that he will be releasing a new album in the summer of 2011.

The rapper made the declaration on Twitter saying, “WATCH THE THRONE COMING IN 2 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!! MY NEW ALBUM COMING THIS SUMMER. ALL THE LIGHTS VIDEO IN 1 WEEK!!!!!!” "All The Lights" is a single from West's highly touted album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The rapper didn’t indicate when during the summer the untitled opus would be released nor did he state if or when a finished video for “Monster” would emerge. An incomplete version of “Monster” hit the internet a few week ago, which lead many thing believe a polished version would come.

He concluded and all-caps rant affirming, “THIS IS HIGH END RAP MUSIC.”

No representative for Def Jam/Roc-A-Fella has confirmed this new album at press time.

U.S. government launches pharmaceutical division

The U.S. government has decided to enter the pharmaceutical business. Apparently, the drug companies aren’t coming out with new “breakthrough” drugs quickly enough, and now the U.S. government plans to spend taxpayer dollars conducting research on drugs which will be turned over to Big Pharma. Those drug companies, in turn, will sell them for a profit. It’s yet another clear case where the government is taking over the health care (sick care) industry and funneling profits into the hands of pharmaceutical corporations.

This is all happening because drug companies say they’re scaling back their research funding to find new drugs. This terrifies the U.S. government, apparently, which doesn’t recognize that scaling back drug company R&D is actually a good thing for America given how much economic damage and personal health damage is caused each year by Big Pharma’s dangerous drugs. So instead of letting the failing pharmaceutical market contract on its own, Big Government wants to artificially prop it up with taxpayer dollars in much the same way that the feds bailed out Wall Street’s rich banksters with trillions of dollars over the last two years.

The new government drug research center will operate under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and be called the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, says he hopes Congress will increase funding of the center to at least $1 billion annually.

Lil Wayne: The Return Of Nino Brown (Mixtape Commercial / Free Download Link)

Coming Soon to Theaters : INSIDIOUS

BOX OFFICE REPORT Jan 21 - 23 Weekend

The rom-com starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher premiered in 1^st place by taking down a solid $20.3 million in estimated receipts after its first three days, just $2 million above the action antics of Seth Rogen and Jay Chou. Definitely a great debut for director Ivan Reitman and Paramount here, with the budget for the buddy comedy set at just $25 million. 

Rank	Movie	Weekend	Theaters	Average	Total	Budget
1	No Strings Attached	$20.3 mil	3,018	$6,726	$20.3 mil	$25
2	The Green Hornet	$18.1 mil	3,584	$5,050	$63.4 mil	$120
3	The Dilemma	$9.7 mil	2,943	$3,305	$33.3 mil	$70
4	The King’s Speech	$9.1 mil	1,680	$5,455	$58.6 mil	$15
5	True Grit	$8.0 mil	3,464	$2,309	$138.6 mil	$38
6	Black Swan	$6.2 mil	2,407	$2,576	$83.5 mil	$13
7	The Fighter	$4.5 mil	2,275	$1,985	$73.0 mil	$25
8	Little Fockers	$4.3 mil	2,979	$1,475	$141.1 mil	$100
9	Yogi Bear	$4.0 mil	2,510	$1,618	$88.8 mil	$80
10	Tron Legacy	$3.7 mil	2,018	$1,837	$163.2 mil	$170

 

Nations and Companies Vie in New Moon Race

This illustration shows a lush green land on the moon inside a crater covered by a dome to protect and feed lunar astronauts while siphoning elements from the moon's regolith.

Humans may not revisit the moon again until possibly 2020 at the earliest, but plenty of countries and private companies have targeted Earth's rocky satellite as a prime destination for robotic explorers. The last century's moon race between the United States and Russia has since given way to a new onslaught of unmanned lunar missions launched by Europe, Japan, China, India and the United States, which have helped uncover lunar water resources. Private entrepreneurs are also racing to land a homemade robot on the moon and win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize, which will reward the first private team to launch and land a spacecraft on the moon.

Meanwhile, China has pushed forward with a three-phase lunar exploration program involving probes and a lander. Its human spaceflight program has so far focused on launching to Earth orbit and preparing to build a Chinese space station starting this year. The country's second moon probe, Chang'e-2, entered lunar orbit at the beginning of this month after a five-day trip from Earth. Part of Chang'e-2's mission involves scouting possible landing sites for the Chang'e-3 spacecraft, which is scheduled for a lunar landing in 2013. Plenty of other countries seem eager to join in the lunar rush, even if China looks set to take a strong lead. India has begun drawing up plans for its own second lunar probe launch in 2013, after the success of its Chandrayaan 1 probe, which helped confirm the presence of water on the moon.  

Japan has targeted a research robot for the moon with a landing date around 2015. And a private Japanese consortium hopes to send along some company in the form of a two-legged humanoid robot designed to walk on the moon, even if it faces funding and engineering challenges.

Private Sector Wants Mining Bases On the Moon

The Shackleton Energy Co. wants to mine the moon's water ice and turn it into rocket fuel. Shackleton Energy Co. (SEC), which was formed in 2007, would sell the propellant from fueling stations in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Because spaceships burn so much fuel just lifting off from Earth, letting them top up in orbit could spur a huge wave of travel and discovery in space, according to SEC founder Bill Stone. And it makes sense to supply the filling stations from the moon, since it's about 15 times cheaper to launch something to LEO from there than from Earth, Stone added.

  "In our view, the moon is a stepping stone," Stone told SPACE.com. "What we extract from there will enable the exploration of the inner solar system."

SEC's mining bases would likely be at one or both lunar poles, in craters whose frigid depths have trapped lots of water over the past several billion years. Craters like Cabeus, perhaps, where water ice makes up 5.6 percent of the lunar dirt by weight. Six to eight people might oversee the mining operations in any one location, according to Stone. Initially, these crews might have to stay for a year, but future base dwellers would likely sign on for six-month stints. These crews would live in inflatable habitat modules. Human-tended robots would perform most of the mining, transportation and processing of water ice into fuel. The processing step would take place up in LEO, where huge shipments of water would be converted to rocket propellant, Stone said. 




SEC has received lots of interest from investors and is making steady progress, according to Stone. The company intends to send robotic scouting missions to both poles within four years, Stone added, with sales of propellant in LEO following shortly thereafter. "By the end of the decade, there's a high likelihood we'll be up and running," Tietz told SPACE.com. SEC may not be the only private enterprise operating on the moon in 10 years or so. Bigelow Aerospace is considering setting up lunar bases, too. Bigelow designs and builds inflatable space habitats, and SEC may well get its modules from Bigelow, Stone said. Bigelow has already deployed two prototype inflatable modules in space, and last year the company signed deals with six clients interested in using the structures. Space.com

Back to the Moon: How New Lunar Bases Will Work

Space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow (left) discusses layout plans of the company's lunar base with Eric Haakonstad, one of the Bigelow Aerospace lead engineers.
Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow Aerospace factory here, the full-size space station mockups sitting on the warehouse floor look somewhat like puffy white watermelons. The interiors offer a hint of what spacious living in space might look like. 
 
“Every astronaut we have come in here just says, ‘Wow,’ ” said Robert T. Bigelow, the company founder. “They can’t believe the size of this thing.”

Four years from now, the company plans for real modules to be launched and assembled into the solar system’s first private space station. Paying customers — primarily nations that do not have the money or expertise to build a space program from scratch — would arrive a year later. In 2016, a second, larger station would follow. The two Bigelow stations would then be home to 36 people at a time — six times as many as currently live on the International Space Station.

It's been nearly 40 years since people last set foot on the moon, but momentum is building for a return to Earth's nearest neighbor — and for the establishment of a permanent manned presence on lunar soil.

The moon harbors large amounts of water ice, along with lots of other potentially useful compounds. These resources could theoretically support manned lunar bases, which could serve as staging grounds for further exploration of the solar system, and as proving grounds for outposts on Mars. Space.com

What's New on the 2010 Form 1040

Due Date is April 18

No More Phase-Outs for Itemized Deductions and Exemptions

For years, high-income folks have seen their write-offs for the most popular itemized deduction items (including mortgage interest, state and local income and property taxes, and charitable donations) reduced by a nasty phase-out rule. Another nasty phase-out rule reduced or eliminated personal and dependent exemption deductions. Thankfully, both phase-outs were completely repealed for 2010 as part of the Bush-era tax cuts. So you can write off the full amount of your itemized deductions and exemptions on your 2010 Form 1040 without any worries and without having to fill out phase-out worksheets to penalize yourself. More good news: the recent tax cut extension legislation repealed the phase-outs for 2011 and 2012 as well.

Liberalized Adoption Credit

For 2010, the maximum adoption credit was increased to $13,170 (up from $12,150 in 2009). In addition, the credit was made 100% refundable for the 2010 tax year (previously, it was nonrefundable). That means you'll receive a check for any leftover adoption credit after your federal income tax bill has been reduced to zero. To claim the credit, fill out Form 8839 (Qualified Adoption Expenses), and enter the credit on line 71 of Form 1040.

One-Time Break for Self-Employed Individuals

Self-employed folks can generally deduct their health insurance premiums on page 1 of Form 1040 (use line 29 for 2010). The deduction reduces their federal income tax bills, which is nice. However, the self-employed have never been allowed to deduct those premiums when calculating their self-employment tax bills on Schedule SE. Good news: for 2010 only, you can deduct health insurance premiums on line 3 of Schedule SE. So those premiums will reduce both your income tax bill and your SE tax bill. Unfortunately, this break will not be available for 2011 and beyond unless Congress extends it.

Homebuyer Credit Repayment Rules Kick In

As I explained in an earlier column, you may have to repay part or all of the credit claimed for a 2008 or 2009 home purchase with your 2010 Form 1040. In most cases, however, only those who purchased homes in 2008 will be affected. They will generally have to repay 1/15 of the credit with the 2010 Form 1040. If this rule impacts you, fill out Form 5405 (First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit), and enter the repayment amount as an addition to your tax bill on line 59 of Form 1040.

Real Estate Tax Deduction for Non-Itemizers is Gone

For 2008 and 2009, unmarried individuals who did not itemize could write off up to $500 of state and local real property taxes by claiming an increased standard deduction. Married joint-filing couples could write off up to $1,000. This add-on standard deduction deal for real estate taxes expired at the end of 2009, and it was not reinstated for 2010.

Deductions for Sales Taxes on New Vehicle Purchases Are Gone

The 2009 Stimulus Act created a temporary write-off for non-itemizers who paid state and local sales taxes on new vehicles purchased between 2/17/09 and 12/31/09. The write-off came in the form of an additional standard deduction allowance. Similarly, itemizers were allowed to claim an extra itemized deduction for such taxes. Both breaks lapsed at the end of 2009, and they were not reinstated for 2010.

Break for Unemployment Benefits Is Gone

In 2009, the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits was federal-income-tax-free. This break was not continued for 2010. Therefore, 100% of 2010 unemployment benefits generally must be reported as income on Form 1040 (use line 19).

Your Tax Preparer Might E-File Your Return This Time

Over the last few years, Congress has made tax-law changes that place increasing pressure on professional return preparers to electronically file more and more returns. As a result, your preparer might be forced to e-file your 2010 Form 1040 even if your returns for earlier years have always been done on paper. Get used to it. SmartMoney