— A visit by the Dalai Lama to Washington has "seriously undermined" relations between the US and China, Beijing says. It released a strongly worded statement in response to US President Barack Obama's meeting with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

 — Provides a general overview of the new tax rules which will affect the implications of converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Effective for tax years beginning after 2009, Congress has removed the adjusted gross income-based restrictions on conversions from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. This will allow individuals with balances in a pension plan or an IRA to transfer those amounts to a Roth IRA, notwithstanding the amount of income they earn, thus opening up new estate planning opportunities.

 — BUNNELL, Fla. - A woman was charged with driving under the influence after showing up at the Flagler County jail and demanding a conjugal visit with a specific inmate. The sheriff's office reports that a 45-year-old woman had a visitation appointment but was turned away because she was late. Also, the jail does not allow conjugal visits.

 — One of the most popular strategies for individuals with large estates is the sale of assets to an intentionally defective grantor trust (and "IDGT"). Basically, the taxpayer first creates an irrevocable trust for his or her heirs and structures it to be a grantor trust for income tax purposes (meaning that the taxpayer continues to be treated as the owner of the assets for income tax purposes). The taxpayer then sells assets to the IDGT that are expected to produce a high rate of return (or that are expected to appreciate greatly) in exchange for an installment note paying the lowest rate of interest possible. Any return on the assets sold that exceeds the interest rate paid on the note is a tax-free transfer from the taxpayer to his or her heirs. The concept is actually quite simple - the value transferred from the estate exceeds the value returned to the estate. The benefits are magnified where the assets sold receive a valuation discount. The purpose of this article is to provide a step-by-step guide to implementing the strategy, and to fully describe the benefits to be achieved. Note that this article assumes that a gift and estate tax are in effect.

 — An offshore trust is a trust established under the laws of a country having more favorable asset protection and privacy laws than in the United States. This article provides the steps to be taken in considering whether an offshore trust is right for you.

 — The music video for Team William's "You Look Familiar" has animation with a Fleischer Bros' bounce. Some parts are NSFW.

 — ARLINGTON, Va. — One day after a massive earthquake left behind total carnage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the Pentagon by design was still mostly in “assessment” mode, according to the commanding general of the U.S. military’s disaster response.

 — One of Tiger's many mistresses, Loredana Jolie Ferriolo, is penning a tell-all book about the golf ace and claims that she witnessed him in gay encounters.