Wilma leaves cruise-goers out at sea
Cruise lines shuffled ship itineraries Tuesday after Hurricane Wilma shut down the industry’s two biggest ports, keeping thousands of passengers at sea for an extra day or two and forcing a similar number to decide whether they wanted to take shortened trips.
The Port of Miami and Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale were assessing damage caused by the storm that blew through Monday. Miami should open again Wednesday, while it was unclear when Port Everglades would take ships again, officials said.
More than a third of people who take cruises in the U.S. board at the two ports, with Miami the largest cruise port in the world. The financial impact on the ports and the cruise lines was unclear Tuesday.
Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest, had about 6,000 passengers who were supposed to return to Miami, Port Everglades and Tampa but were kept on ships for an extra day or two, spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said Tuesday. Tampa closed Monday because of the storm, but wasn’t damaged.
Free IRS software available to more taxpayers
Washington People with an income up to almost $50,000 will get free access to tax return preparation software, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.
That means 70 percent of taxpayers can prepare their taxes for free using software available through the IRS Web site – www.irs.gov. Still, that is fewer taxpayers than last year, when several private companies decided to offer free return preparation to everyone.
Under an agreement that extends a partnership between the IRS and private software companies for four years, taxpayers with an income less than $49,582 can use the service next year. Companies can set qualifications for access, as long as it includes that income cap.
The agreement lets the companies market refund anticipation loans to customers who use free software.
Microsoft entering online book-searching realm
Redmond, Wash. Microsoft Corp. is launching an initiative to let people search books and other published content online, but the company is taking a conservative approach aimed at avoiding the legal tussles facing rival Google Inc.
The Redmond-based software giant said Tuesday that it plans to initially work with an industry organization called the Open Content Alliance to let users search about 150,000 pieces of published material. Microsoft is sidestepping hot-button copyright issues for now by initially focusing mainly on books, academic materials and other publications that are in the public domain.