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Samsung News is a new medium to discover news on Galaxy devices. It is yet another attempt from the company to take on Google Discover on the home screen of its devices.

In an announcement blog post (opens in new tab), the company stated that Samsung News, which is launching in beta in the U.S., will present consumers with news from trusted news sources involving major outlets like Bloomberg Media, CNN, and Fox News, among others. The rollout is for select Galaxy phones for a start, and while the company did not state which devices will receive it first, we can expect the Galaxy S23 series to be among them.

We created Samsung News to deliver breaking and premium news to Galaxy users in an easy to access format. Our goal is to support users by letting them curate their ideal news experience, said Avner Ronen, VP of Product Development at Samsung Electronics.

The added feature redesigns the Samsung Free app, which is accessible from the home screen. Technically speaking, this is a second redesign because it was previously Bixby Home and Samsung Daily.

For those unaware, Samsung Free debuted with One UI 3, based on Android 11. It allowed users to watch Live TV, and free channels, listen to podcasts from top publishers, check on the news through video and text, and play instant games. The latest revamp, however, makes it more convenient by segregating them into fewer sections and primarily focusing on the news segment.

Samsung News will offer consumers the following three easy ways to find news within the app:

As mentioned, Samsung News is launching the beta, replacing the current Samsung Free application from the Galaxy Store. And, for those who have the Samsung Free (opens in new tab) preinstalled on their Galaxy phones, the new Samsung News icon will replace the current one starting April 18.

Many Galaxy device holders are deeply invested in Googles Discover from the start, which is also a default news aggregator in many Android phones. Samsung Free is also an easily accessible option for many. However, those that don't have Samsung Free on their devices will be able to head to the Galaxy Store to download the Samsung News app and make it their default news aggregator.

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Samsung News is the new Google Discover alternative for Galaxy ... - Android Central

All short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated parts of Hamilton County must now receive annual inspections to obtain a certificate to operate.

After enacting a six-month pause on new permits as they refined their guidelines, county commissioners officially approved an update to Hamilton County's short-term vacation rental rules in a 8-3 vote Wednesday.

Commissioners Steve Highlander, R-Ooltewah, and Ken Smith, R-Hixson, voted against the measure. Commissioner Warren Mackey, D-Lake Vista, opted to pass, meaning his vote will count as a no.

Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, who worked alongside Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy-Daisy, to craft the new guidelines, said rentals in Hamilton County have been largely unregulated up to now and were not previously receiving inspections as part of the approval process.

"We're hoping to put enough rules and regulations in place that it addresses, hopefully, all of the neighbors' concerns parking, dogs, loud music, fireworks, all those different things," Graham said during the meeting Wednesday.

Commissioners also denied an amendment suggested by Highlander that would have created a process for neighbors to object to short-term vacation rentals cropping up in their community.

"Homes are the largest investment that most people ever make in their lives," Highlander told his colleagues. "I think they should have some say-so."

Under Highlander's proposal, property owners seeking a certificate from Hamilton County would have been required to place a sign outside their yard for 30 days notifying neighbors of their intent to turn the residence into a vacation rental.

The amendment failed in a 7-4 vote with commissioners Highlander, Shipley, Smith and Chairman Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, voting in favor of it.

(READ MORE: Property owners form group to oppose Chattanooga's proposed vacation rental rules)

"I will always support more transparency to my constituents in knowing what's going on around in their neighborhood, especially on issues that are very concerning to many that I have received phone calls from," Smith told his colleagues, explaining his support for the amendment.

New zoning rules the commission approved Wednesday will allow vacation rentals in all zones except manufacturing districts. Under prior guidelines, the county banned rentals in its low-density residential district. Smith, who voted against the update, said he opposes allowing vacation rentals in the low-density zones, which he said has been consistently shared by his constituents.

"I've not had a single constituent in my district calling me asking me to please allow short-term vacation rentals in their neighborhood," he said, "but I have had countless contacting me asking me not to allow them."

Under the new rules, Hamilton County will require property owners in unincorporated areas to pay an annual fee of $750 to receive a certificate for a short-term vacation rental, which includes $250 for an inspection.

The units will require signoff from the county's building inspection department, the fire marshal, and if the residence has a septic system, the groundwater department.

There will also be a limit on the number of people allowed to stay at the property, which will be calculated based on the number of bedrooms, and there must be enough spaces at the residence to ensure visitors won't take up on-street parking in the surrounding neighborhood.

In order to crack down on unpermitted units, the county plans to hire a company called Granicus that will scour the internet to find vacation rentals operating illegally. Those services will cost about $8,000 to $9,000 a year. The city of Chattanooga is already using the same software to identify unpermitted rentals.

Hamilton County has approximately 30 permitted short-term vacation rentals operating in unincorporated areas, but officials estimate there are at least another 75 operating illegally.

(READ MORE: New vacation rental rules in the works after failure at Chattanooga City Council)

County resident Colleen Kirk stood up during public comment Wednesday to raise several issues with the new regulations and the process by which they were approved, saying she would rather see vacation rentals restricted from operating in certain residential zones.

"The new rules remove any ability ... for the community and neighborhood to have a say of what's coming into their neighborhood," Kirk said in an interview, adding that she has safety concerns about the properties.

The rules approved Wednesday resulted from a months-long planning process that incorporated feedback from multiple residents and owners, Graham has said, adding that they set a foundation for the county going forward and can be adjusted as needed.

"The main goal that we tried to do here is get something started and get something started that hopefully we can build upon," he said during the meeting. "Did we hit it exactly right straight out of the gate? I doubt it, but we tried. We tried really hard."

Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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Hamilton County bolsters regulations for short-term vacation rentals ... - Chattanooga Times Free Press

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, Secretary Galvez, it's great to see you again so soon after my trip to Manila in February and it is a pleasure to host you at the Pentagon. So thanks for taking the time to meet again after a very productive Two Plus Two ministerial dialogue yesterday.

And as I've said yesterday, this is an historic moment for our lives. As we take critical steps together to deepen our ties and strengthen peace and stability in the region. We share a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. One grounded in transparency, freedom of navigation, the rule of law, respect for sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Now those principles have faced growing challenges lately. We've seen a troubling increase in coercion and dangerous operational behavior, including in the South China Sea. And we remain deeply committed to our alliance obligations.

And as we've made abundantly clear, the mutual defense treaty applies to armed attacks on either of our armed forces, our public vessels or aircraft anywhere in the South China Sea.

Now I'm proud of the rapid strides that we've made to modernize our alliance, Mr. Secretary. We've made important progress to bolstering the capabilities and capacities of our armed forces to resist coercion and gray zone aggression.

And we're close to finalizing a security sector assistance roadmap that charts a path forward to strengthen deterrence and align our defense investments with the evolving security environment.

And as we discuss yesterday, we're also expanding our cooperation under the enhance defense cooperation agreement, which will make our armed forces more flexible and more resilient. And support our ability to train and operate together.

And we're very pleased to have announced the locations of these four new sites recently. And finally, I want to affirm our commitment to strengthening interoperability across all domains, including space and cyberspace.

So Mr. Secretary, thanks again for being here. And I look forward to a great discussion. Over to you, sir.

CARLITO GALVEZ: Thank you, Secretary. My (inaudible) and also our ambassador (inaudible).

Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for your warm welcome and also for the honors that you have given to me. And thank you for this opportunity of meeting you again this -- in Pentagon.

I've been here in 2006 and I never dreamt that I'll be here besides you, and I feel -- I belong in this family.

Todays meeting is a good opportunity to build on our discussions during your visit in the Philippines last -- (inaudible) and reaffirm our commitment to the Philippines-U.S. mutual defense treaty.

In addition to the most productive Two-Plus-Two, is the consultations that we had. The conduct of the Exercise Balikatan, the most, I believe -- the biggest among the 38, of this month are among some of the (inaudible) that our alliance is in hyperdrive.

Our regular exchange and close coordination demonstrate the extent of our defense relationship. And I have mentioned on several occasions that the importance of our Philippine - U.S. defense cooperation in the region, especially at this time when significant challenges are becoming increasing complex and evolving.

As I have said yesterday, is that our alliance is for peace. Our defense alliance is critical in assuring the safety and security of our citizens, and we continue to work together to enhance our capabilities to meet the current and future security challenges, including disasters.

To modernize our alliance we need to focus on separate areas. Number one is that we need a common understanding of our policies and priorities. That's why we will be having our defense guidelines. And upgrade our equipment to sustain our militaries capability to respond to threats.

Second, we must enhance our cyber defenses to protect our critical infrastructures and sensitive information.

Number three is we need to increase intelligence sharing and cooperation together against (inaudible) and respond to the challenges. And we want to thank you for giving us always the highest (inaudible). That really helps a lot.

Fourth, we must improve interoperability between our forces to better coordinate and conduct joint activities.

May I also reiterate our, also to express our appreciation for the U.S. government's support to the Philippines government's management of the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary, with the phone call that we had it was materialized immediately, and we really thank you because it really helped us to manage the oil spill that we had.

I believe the -- where we -- went there, in Mindoro, together with the Coast Guard, they're very happy when the -- our army was able to patch up all the 23 leaks that we have identified with the ship.

We appreciate the unwavering support of the U.S. Navy through the deployment of remotely operated vehicle of the (inaudible), as well as the technical support provided by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in order to -- for us to help contain, and scientifically respond with the crisis.

I am looking forward to another fruitful discussions to strengthen our alliance and work together towards the more peaceful and secure future.

I would like also to inform your noble secretary that we have good responses with our former generals and also our colleagues, with the fruitful outcome of our 2 Plus 2, and they are very grateful for the important achievements -- the achievements that we have together as allies. Thank you.

SEC. AUSTIN: Mr. Secretary, again, thanks for being here. And we're delighted to have you back in the Pentagon. We look forward to working with you to strengthen our relationship. So thanks everybody.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Welcomes Carlito Galvez Jr ... - Department of Defense

To decide which providers made the cut for this guide, we assessed the available free payroll software to determine which would best meet freelancer, startup and small business needs. This assessment was based on the softwares free plan features and functionality, free plan limitations, add-ons and extra fees (if any), upgrade options and customer reviews. Below is a deeper look at our assessment process.

Pricing 20%

In putting together this guide, we aimed to include software with feature sets that went beyond the expected. Such added features included HR functions and capabilities, reporting, employee portals, multiple payment format optionscheck and direct depositdeduction management and unexpected security features, such as biometric face recognition.

Additionally, as we assessed the free plans features and functionality, we paid close attention to the limitations the free plans imposed on small businesses. The limitations assessed included the number of employees the software would allow businesses to pay or even maximum and minimum amounts businesses could pay each employee to qualify for free software usage. We weighted pricing at 20% of our total score.

Features 30%

We worked to uncover plans that were truly free without extra fees for essential features. We also looked for plans with nice-to-have add-ons that users could take advantage of as their budgets permit. The essential general features we looked for included having a self-service employee portal and offering contractor payments. Other good-to-have features included new hire onboarding. third-party integrations, ledger reports and other reporting and analytics offerings.

In ranking the top free payroll software, we prioritized the providers that offered paid, more full-featured plans so freelancers, startups and small businesses can start with the free plan, then advance to plans that fit their needs as they grow. Features accounted for 30% of our final score.

Third-Party Reviews 15%

As we chose providers for this guide, we listened attentively to what customers who have and are using the software had to say about it. Namely, we looked at what software features, capabilities or services met their needsor, better yet, delighted themand which inherent bottlenecks kept customers from meeting business goals. These accounted for 15% of the total score.

Expert Analysis 35%

Using our market research and close scrutiny of the categories listed above, we also ranked additional criteria from customer reviews, such as any detailed or stand-out features, popularity, ease of use and value for the money. Altogether, these criteria made up 35% of the total score.

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Best Free Payroll Software In India 2023 Forbes Advisor INDIA - Forbes

Happy federal income tax filing day. To celebrate, lets raise our voices to say why free tax-filing software provided by the federal government should be available to anyone who wants it.

First, Ill review why we dont have that, according to investigations by others in recent years. The vast majority of people who prepare their own taxes pay private companies for the use of software to do so.

ALSO READ: Heres what to know for the 2023 tax filing season, from deadlines to late refunds

Then, Ill tell you why I dont do my own taxes and why people with any financial complexity in their lives should pay a professional to do theirs.

In 2022, 95 percent of all individual tax filings were done electronically, a process called eFile. About 150 million tax returns wereeFiled last year.

Of those, 44 percent of eFiled taxes were self-prepared, while 56 percent were prepared by tax professionals.

The annoying part of having to pay to file federal tax returns is that for a majority of people, the IRS already tracks their income with a W2.

For people with a single source of wage income, filing should be done the way it is in other countries, where the government sends a form to each such taxpayer with all the information it knows filled in. The government essentially asks: Is this right? Anything to add?

If the information on the form is correct, the taxpayer affirms it for free and in minutes and their tax filing is done.

It stands to reason that, since the dawn of the internet, we should be able to do this for free. What a sane world that would be.

ALSO READ: Six Texans, two from San Antonio, indicted in $111 million IRS tax fraud scheme

In the U.S., free filing is technically available, but its hard to do and rarely done.

Technically, if you earn less than $73,000 in adjusted gross income per year, you may use the IRS free online filing system, known as Free File. About 70 percent of taxpayers are eligible. Traditionally, however,only about 4 percent of tax filers or fewer use Free File, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Also, before you can use the Free File program, you start on the IRS website, from which you are redirected to use a private tax preparation companys software.

The IRS agreed in 2002 not to build free software that would compete with private, do-it-yourself tax software providers, as long as the industry participated in and offered a Free File option. TheIRS didnt pay the private providers, who were willing to offer Free File to prevent the IRS from creating a competing product. But at the same time, they are happy not to promote a service that they dont get paid for. In fact, they historically have made it very difficult to find Free File using a search engine.

When the IRS moved to negotiate for a different and presumably better taxpayer experience, the two largest private software companies opted out of the Free File program: H&R Block in 2020 and Intuit the maker of TurboTax software in 2021.

Before that, these companies in particular seemed to be conspiring to keep consumers from using the Free File program.

According to a ProPublica investigation and a lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general, Intuit purposefully hid the Free File function from search engines and tricked taxpayers into paying for TurboTax when they could have used the free option. ProPublica, an independent and nonprofit investigative journalism organization, worked on its story for years, explaining why households choose to pay for something that can be done for free.

H&R Block, another maker of tax preparation software, has also been accused of employing such strategies.

In May 2022, Intuit paid $141 million to settle the New York attorney generals lawsuit.

In 2019, Congress nearly passed a law forbidding the IRS from offering free online tax filing, something the tax software industry seems to want. Fortunately, that was blocked.

The Free File agreement between the IRS and the remaining private companies remains in place until October 2023, but the IRS now has the right to build and offer its own software for Free File. Hopefully, after October 2023, the IRS will create a free and simple way for the majority of filers to do their taxes. The IRS has reportedly allocated $15 million toward developing this program.

In a just world, the federal government would provide simple filers with a free and easy online eFile method that they can do in minutes, which would put companies like Intuit and H&R Block out of a big part of the do-it-yourself tax filing software market.

For people with multiple sources of income and business ownership, it makes sense to pay someone else to help navigate their tax complexity. If you own a business, you already cant use the existing Free File system. And you really shouldnt use a do-it-yourself system.

I am not a fan of do-it-yourself filing for my financial life, which is a bit complex. I have paid a tax preparer to do my household taxes since at least 1996, when I got my first real job.

MORE SMART MONEY: Taylor: Like a zombie, Texas corporate welfare threatens to rise from its grave and plague taxpayers

The most important reason to pay someone else is that few of us know enough about the intricacies of the federal income tax code to be sure we are taking every advantage we can, while still remaining safely on the side of legality and not running afoul of the IRS.

But for those in the simplest category of wage earners with few investment assets, it makes sense as a matter of principle that the federal government shouldprovide free do-it-yourself software.

Michael Taylor is author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates and host of the podcast No Hill for a Climber.

michael@michaelthesmartmoney.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor

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Taylor: Why the IRS doesn't offer its own free online tax software - San Antonio Express-News