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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made some long-awaited permanent changes to the tax code. It also introduced short-term tax breaks that come with strict limits and phaseouts, and many of them are only available through 2028 or 2029. Here are four ways to get the most out of the OBBBA’s temporary provisions as you file your 2025 taxes and plan ahead. Don’t dismiss itemizing your deductions The OBBBA temporarily boosts the state and local tax deduction cap, or SALT, from $10,000 to $40,000 (for married couples filing jointly and single filers). This higher cap applies from 2025 through 2029.Run the numbers: For 2025, the standard deduction is $31,500 for married couples and $15,750 for singles. If your total itemized deductions including mortgage interest, charitable giving, and state and local taxes (up to the new $40,000 cap) add up to more than your standard deduction, you should itemize.Watch your income: The new $40,000 SALT cap isn’t for everyone. It begins to phase out if your modified adjusted gross income is over $500,000 (for all filers). If your MAGI reaches $600,000, your SALT deduction reverts to the original $10,000 limit. Maximize the new targeted deductionsif you qualify The OBBBA introduced several temporary above-the-line deductions (available whether you itemize or not) to help middle-income workers. But they have very strict income and benefit limits.The qualified overtime pay deduction: Capped at $25,000 for married couples filing jointly and $12,500 for singles. Only the extra “half-time” portion of your time-and-a-half pay qualifies for the deduction. For a married couple, this benefit begins to disappear if your MAGI hits $300,000 and is entirely gone once your MAGI reaches $550,000.The qualified tips income deduction: Allows you to write off qualified tip income up to $25,000 per tax return, whether you file as married or single. The deduction is only available for tips that are formally reported on a Form W-2 or Form 1099. It phases out sharply for higher earners, starting at a MAGI of $300,000 for married couples and $150,000 for singles, and is fully eliminated at $550,000 and $400,000, respectively.The auto loan interest deduction: This temporary deduction allows you to write off up to $10,000 of interest paid on a loan for a new, personal-use vehicle with final assembly in the US. (Leases are excluded.) It starts to phase out at $200,000 for married couples and $100,000 for singles and is completely gone by $250,000 and $150,000. Seniors, time your 2026 Roth conversions carefully If you are 65 or older, the OBBBA offers a new, temporary deduction for seniors of up to $12,000 for married couples ($6,000 per eligible spouse) and $6,000 for single filers. This is a welcome tax break, but it’s fragile.Beware the MAGI trap: This deduction begins to disappear for married couples with a MAGI over $150,000 and for singles over $75,000.Model Roth conversions for 2026: If you are a senior who is close to the $150,000 MAGI limit, a Roth conversion done in 2026 could push your income over the threshold, causing you to lose this entire $12,000 deduction. Work with your adviser to model any planned 2026 conversions. Optimize income to qualify for the best breaks Many of the OBBBA’s most valuable temporary provisions are income-sensitive, particularly those new targeted deductions and the elevated SALT cap. Keep these rules in mind for 2025 filing and 2026 tax planning.For your 2025 return: You can still influence your 2025 MAGI by: Making 2025 HSA contributions (before the April 2026 tax deadline). Making 2025 deductible IRA contributions, if you’re eligible. Plan for 2026 income: If your 2026 income is likely to approach any phaseout thresholds (such as the $300,000 limit for tips/overtime or the $500,000 limit for the elevated SALT cap), consider strategies that help keep it within the qualifying range. Postponing the sale of highly appreciated stock to avoid realizing large capital gains in 2026. Delaying the exercise of nonqualified stock options if doing so would push you over a phaseout threshold. Maximizing 401(k) and health savings account contributions to reduce your 2026 MAGI. Holding off on large Roth conversions if they would increase your income above key limits. Don’t let the technical limitations and phaseouts catch you by surprise. With a little smart planning, you can lock in significant tax savings. This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.Sheryl Rowling, CPA, is an editorial director, financial adviser for Morningstar.Related Links How to Name a Charity as Your IRA Beneficiaryhttps://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/how-name-charity-your-ira-beneficiary 6 Steps to Claiming Your Baby’s Free $1,000 From Uncle Samhttps://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/6-steps-claiming-your-babys-free-1000-uncle-sam 8 Tips to Stop Worrying About Running Out of Money in Retirementhttps://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/8-tips-stop-worrying-about-running-out-money-retirement Sheryl Rowling of Morningstar
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Leica is perhaps the most storied brand in photography. A portmanteau formed from the name of founder Ernst Leitz and the word camera, the first Leica popularized 35 milimeter photography, while the legendary M system standardized the modern rangefinder in 1954 and has a hallowed reputation to this day. Leicas stewardship of its brand, however, has not always quite lived up to its history. The company historically outsourced most of its point-and-shoot camera design to Panasonic, slapping its iconic red dot on existing compacts and charging an unwarranted markup. Early smartphone collaborations with Huawei and Sharp were similarly surface-level. But for the past few years, a partnership with Xiaomi has quietly been producing what I would say are the best phone cameras in the world. And for the Chinese smartphone makers latest flagship device, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, Leicas branding and influence takes greater prominence than ever. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Multicore\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It\u0027s written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/\u0022\u003Emulticore.blog\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454027,"imageMobileId":91454030,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} [Photo: Xiaomi] Two Models Available in China now, the 17 Ultra is sold in two variants; theres the regular model, and another version called the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica. Ive been using the latter model, though the camera hardware is nearly identical across the two. This is a sleekly designed phone, and its the first to carry the Leica red dot. When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 in 2010, which is still for my money the best-looking iPhone ever, he said its closest kin is like a beautiful old Leica camera. Well, the 17 Ultra really is like a Leica cameraand not just because it also looks like an iPhone 4, right down to the circular volume buttons. The camera hardware is more capable and impressive than on any phone sold in the United States. The main sensor is a 1-inch type, the same used in enthusiast compact cameras like the Canon G7 X or Sonys RX100 series. The telephoto camera, meanwhile, has a 200-megapixel 1/1.4-inch sensorhuge for a telephotoand a lens that actually physically zooms. You get 3.2 times magnification at the wide end and it goes as far as 4.3 times before digital zoom kicks in, amounting to a 75 millimeter to 100 millimeter-equivalent focal length. That might not sound like a huge zoom range, and in practice it isnt. But with a sensor this size, results remain extremely sharp by making use of a 2 times crop. That means that you can still get high-resolution images at optical zoom quality all the way through the range between 150 millimeters and 200 millimeters. The Leica model of the 17 Ultra has a control ring around the sizable circular camera module, which can be customized to adjust various functions. Ive set mine to swap between preset focal lengths before reaching the physical zoom range, making it easy to make sure Im always getting the best optical quality. Theres satisfying haptic feedback as you turn the ring, lending the phone a more tactile, camera-like feel. I do wish the 17 Ultra had a physical shutter button. Xiaomi sells more substantial photography kit cases that add extra grip and battery to the phone, but no ones quite gotten the built-in camera button design right yet and this would have been the perfect phone to do it on. [Photo: Xiaomi] The Software But hardware aside, the real reason behind the success of the Xiaomi and Leica collaboration has been the software. The two companies work together on the image processing pipeline, and the results are beautiful, subtle colors that make for images that just dont look like they came from a phone. There are two default settings, Leica Vivid and Leica Authentic; I prefer the latter, which gives a vignetted, desaturated, and contrasty look that is not unlike the way I prefer to edit photos taken with dedicated cameras. And the Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica takes this to the next level with a mode called Leica Essential, giving you more options inspired by two classic cameras. These arent like built-in filters, as they totally overhaul the phones image processing pipelines. The M9 setting emulates the CCD sensor of Leicas first full-frame digital rangefinder with always-on warm white balance, while the monochrome M3 setting is named after the first 35 millimeter M-mount camera and delivers gorgeously deep, fine-grained photos reminiscent of Leicas own Monopan 50 film. These Leica Essential modes arent what youd want to use for casual snapshots or pictures of documents, but they put you in a different mindset as a photographer. In the same way that I choose a dedicated camera to take out for the day and work within its limitations until I get home, theres something fun and freeing about committing to a virtual M9 or M3 and seeing how it performs. The reslts are often stunning. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra by Leica is the most advanced phone camera anywhere in the world on conventional metrics. But its more than thatits also by far the most enjoyable to actually shoot. By getting away from the sterility of excessively flattened and over sharpened iPhone or Pixel photos, Xiaomi and Leica have delivered a phone that really does feel like an actual camera. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Multicore\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It\u0027s written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/\u0022\u003Emulticore.blog\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454027,"imageMobileId":91454030,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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A Massachusetts-based seafood importer and distributor has recalled salmon that was sold across multiple states due to concerns that the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly bacteria. The company, Slade Gorton & Co., says the recall affects one lot of Wellsley Farms Farm-Raised Atlantic Salmon. The two-pound packages of frozen salmon were sold at BJs Wholesale Club across seven states. A recall notice was published Thursday, February 12, by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To date, no illnesses have been reported. Heres what you need to know. What product is included in the recall? The recall applies to one lot of two-pound packages of Wellsley Farms Farm-Raised Atlantic Salmon. The salmon was sold at BJs Wholesale Club locations in seven states between January 31, 2026, and February 7, 2026. The impacted bags of the frozen salmon were sold in the freezer section at BJs Wholesale Club locations in these states: Delaware Maryland New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Virginia Recalled product packaging details Each two-pound bag of recalled Wellsley Farms Farm-Raised Atlantic Salmon features the Wellsley Farms logo and the text “Farm-Raised Atlantic Salmon” on the front. The UPC code 888670025963 and lot number 3896 are listed on the back of the recalled product packaging, below the cooking instructions and nutrition facts panel. Recall is due to a risk of Listeria contamination Slade Gorton & Co. announced the recall on February 11 after a sample collected and randomly tested by the FDA tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The FDA recall notice mentions that the seafood distributor is investigating the contamination and taking steps to prevent it from happening again. Dont consume the recalled product BJs Wholesale Club is notifying members who have purchased the affected product. If you purchased the recalled product, dont consume it. Customers can call 1-888-628-0730 for details on how to get a full refund and what to do with the remaining product. What is Listeria, and who is most at risk of Listeria infection? Listeria is a disease-causing bacteria that can be spread through food. Listeria infection is caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy people rarely become very ill from Listeria infection. But the disease can turn deadly for some. Those more at risk of Listeria infection include pregnant women, people older than 65, and people with weakened immune systems. Mild symptoms of Listeria infection include: Fever Muscle aches Nasuea Vomiting Direeah More severe symptoms of Listeria infection include: Headache Stiff neck Confusion Loss of balance Convulsions If you think you have developed symptoms of Listeria infection, contact a healthcare professional.
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