Colin Daymude was out of work last year after his business failed and eagerly filed his taxes in mid-January, figuring he'd get his refund sooner. He was wrong. It took the 44-year-old entrepreneur more than six months to get his $1,300 check — money that he needed to pay living expenses while he worked a few side gigs. Tax day — April 15 — has long since come and gone, but sharp budget cuts and ...

There are a few prerequisites for anyone applying to be a Freemason: You must be a man, you can't be a slave, you must have good character and you must have faith in a supreme being. Those broad rules have allowed some of the more progressive chapters in the centuries-old fraternal organization, such as Atlanta's Gate City Lodge No. 2, to fill their ranks with diverse members. The chapter's leaders say that racial ...

Federal and state regulators closed another five banks at the end of last week, raising the number of banks that have failed so far this year to 45. Two of the banks were in California, two in Georgia and one in Minnesota. So far in 2009, nine banks have closed in Georgia while six have failed in California. In California, regulators closed Mirae Bank of Los Angeles and Metro Pacific Bank or Irvine. Wilshire State Bank agreed to purchase Mirae Bank’s assets ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators closed four small banks on Friday -- two in Georgia, one in Minnesota and one in California, bringing the total of U.S. bank failures to 44 this year. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said the closings were: -- Community Bank of West Georgia, a small bank in Villa Rica, Georgia, with assets of $199.4 million and total deposits of $182.5 million, as of May 15. A buyer could not be found, so the FDIC was appointed as receiver and will mail checks to insured ...