Today in History: May 20, Lincoln signs Homestead Act
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which was intended to encourage settlements west of the Mississippi River by making federal land available for private ownership and farming. About 10 percent of the land area of the United States (270 million acres, or 1.1 million square km) would be privatized by 1934.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y., aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.
In 1932, Amelia Earhart departed from Newfoundland in an attempt to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Because of weather and equipment problems, Earhart landed the following day in Northern Ireland instead of her intended destination, France.)
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In 1948, Chiang Kai-shek was elected as the first president of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
In 1956, the United States exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
In 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in US marshals to restore order.
In 1969, US and South Vietnamese forces captured Ap Bia Mountain, referred to as 'Hamburger Hill' by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
In 1985, Radio Marti, operated by the US government, began broadcasting. Cuba responded by attempting to jam its signal.
In 1993, 'Cheers' aired its 275th and final episode. To celebrate one of the most popular shows in television history, the cast came to Boston.
In 2015, four of the world's biggest banks — JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup's banking unit Citicorp, Barclays, and the Royal Bank of Scotland — agreed to pay more than $5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to rigging the currency markets.
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NBC News
12 minutes ago
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These are smart moves for required withdrawals in retirement when you don't need the money
As year-end approaches, some older Americans must soon take required withdrawals from retirement accounts — and there are several options if you don't need the money, experts say. Most retirees must take required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from pretax retirement accounts starting at age 73 or face an IRS penalty. The first deadline is April 1 of the year after turning 73, and Dec. 31 is the due date for future years. But some retirees have 'a lot of guaranteed income' before RMDs, or spend less than they have coming in, according to Judy Brown, a certified financial planner who works at C&H Group in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area. In 2024, Social Security was the most common source of retirement income. But 81% of retirees had one or more types of private income, such as pensions, investments, rental income or employment, according to a Federal Reserve report published in May. When retirees have more than they need, there could be decisions about how to spend or reinvest their RMDs, experts say. 'It can definitely impact a lot of people,' and the right choice depends on your financial needs and goals, said Brown, who is also a certified public accountant. Here are some options to consider. Reinvest with exchange-traded funds If you still want long-term growth, you can reinvest RMD proceeds into a brokerage account. But you need to choose assets carefully because the account incurs yearly taxes, experts say. Typically, experts suggest exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, over mutual funds in a brokerage account because the assets are less likely to distribute capital gains or dividends throughout the year. 'It's also easier for tax-loss harvesting,' which involves selling a losing brokerage account asset to offset other portfolio gains, Brown said. Since ETFs trade throughout the day like a stock, you have more control when selling specific assets, she said. 'Skip the tax bill' with a transfer to charity For charitable investors, you could also consider a so-called qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, experts say. Open to retirees age 70½ or older, QCDs are a direct transfer from an individual retirement account to an eligible non-profit organization. For 2025, the limit is $108,000 per investor. Once you're 73 or older, you can use QCDs to satisfy yearly RMDs and the transfer won't increase your adjusted gross income. 'It's the IRS' best-kept secret for retirees,' said CFP Ashton Lawrence at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina. 'Skip the tax bill and help a cause you believe in.' Legacy planning with a 529 contribution If legacy planning is important, you can also consider using RMDs to contribute to a 529 college savings plan for your family, experts say. As of May 2025, more than 30 states offer a state tax credit or deduction for 529 contributions, according to education website Saving for College. In most cases, this requires a deposit to your state's plan. There is not currently a federal income tax break for contributions.'It's not going to be enough to offset all of their state [income] taxes,' said Brown. But you can 'get a benefit going for the grandchildren' while securing a state tax break for yourself, she said.
Axios
41 minutes ago
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"Utterly unqualified": Trump BLS pick gets panned by economists left and right
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2 hours ago
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People Are Upset AriZona Iced Teas May Increase Prices
I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but... it's happening: companies have continued dealing with the consequences of President Trump's tariff war, and they're finally beginning to pass tariffs on to consumers as a result. And as a regular consumer of Arnold Palmers, I'm even sorrier to tell you that one of the victims of these tariffs could potentially be the one and only 99-cent AriZona canned iced teas. The New York Times reported this week that Don Vultaggio, the CEO of AriZona, has spent weeks contemplating something he thought "he would never do: raise the 99-cent price of its canned iced teas," which has stayed the same since 1997. They noted that "About 80 percent of the aluminum AriZona uses to make its tallboys comes from recycled material produced in the United States. The rest is imported from Canada, and subject to a 50 percent import duty."The prices haven't officially been raised just yet, and Vultaggio is supposedly "clinging to cautious optimism." On X (formerly Twitter), people were absolutely devastated by the possible price increase. "my faith in society is gone. even the arizona iced tea couldn't escape the tariffs." "YOU'VE TAKEN THE ONE GOOD THING IN MY LIFE" "if Arizona tea has to increase their can prices, its a sign we should just go extinct as a species." "this literally the only thing left that stayed true to their code." "True sign of a recession." "this is an apocalypse indicator, end times are nigh." And finally, this person had a liiiiiiiittle history lesson for us all: "You know what happened last time Americans were mad about tariffs raising the price of tea?" At least we'll still have the $1.50 Costco hot dogs. Right? Right?
