Britain's Official Tax Site Falters at Deadline

Plus, Rihanna house hunts, and more

(NEWSER) - The funeral for Jade Goody, the British reality star who died of cervical cancer, will be held April 4, the BBC reports. A funeral procession will go from her house to a nearby church. Elsewhere:

• Rihanna was spotted house-hunting yesterday in the Hollywood Hills, the Sun reports.
• Struggling-for-cash Lindsay Lohan probably ain't too happy that her assistant scuffed up her $115,000 Maserati, according to TMZ.

Mayor's move sparks outrage, applause

(NEWSER) - In a move to make drivers of gas-guzzlers “pay for the environmental damage they cause,” London’s mayor is imposing a CO2 charge: beginning in October, every private vehicle driven in the central city that doesn’t meet tough emissions standards will cost its owners $50 a day, the Los Angeles Times reports. The new charge comes on top of the existing $16 congestion charge. More»

'Yes for Scotland' campaign targets 2014 vote

(NEWSER) - Supporters of Scottish independence are about to officially kick off their campaign to end the country's 305-year-old marriage to England and Wales. The "Yes for Scotland" drive is being spearheaded by Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, whose party won a majority in Scottish elections last years, reports Reuters . His party wants the independence referendum to be held in 2014, on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, in which a small force led by Robert the Bruce defeated a much bigger English force. More»

'Ex-PATRIOT' Act to punish those who try to dodge taxes

(NEWSER) - Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin's decision to renounce his US citizenship—and, conveniently, a lot of the taxes from his expected IPO windfall—has struck a nerve on Capitol Hill. Chuck Schumer and Bob Casey will today announce a new bill called the "Ex-PATRIOT Act" (a typically dopey acronym meaning "Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy"), ABC reports. They said the bill is a direct response to Saverin's "scheme" to "duck up to $67 million in taxes." More»

David Lazarus: It's time to stop the obesity epidemic

(NEWSER) - The obesity news just keeps getting worse, the latest example being the study warning that 4 in 10 American adults could be obese in less than 20 years. "Americans eat too damn much," writes David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times . And though it may be distasteful to get government involved in our dinners, it's become necessary: It's clear that "millions of Americans can't be trusted to look after their own well-being," while everybody else gets stuck with their health bills. More»