Who is eligible?

More than 130 million taxpayers will receive a rebate. To qualify, you must have at least $3,000 in income to receive the minimum rebate of $300 for an individual or $600 for a couple filing jointly.

Income for this purpose includes wages, railroad retirement benefits and certain disability and survivor benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also includes Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits but not Supplemental Security Income or investment income.

The maximum rebate is $600 for an individual and $1,200 for a married couple filing jointly.

Parents eligible for a rebate will receive $300 for each qualifying child. The child must be under age 17 as of the end of last year and live with you for more than half the year.

Rebates begin to be reduced once adjusted gross income tops $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a couple. Your rebate is reduced by 5 cents for every $1 you make over those thresholds.

Tax return

You must file a 2007 tax return. The IRS will use this to determine eligibility and calculate the size of the rebate.

If you have filed your return, don't worry. You don't have to file again to get the rebate, as some fear, Stiff said.

About 20 million people aren't required to file a return because they earn too little. They still must file to obtain the rebate.

The IRS is encouraging veterans and Social Security beneficiaries who usually don't file returns to file a 1040A form and write on the top "Stimulus Payment."

If you need help filing a return, the IRS, AARP and community groups will be offering free assistance.

Low- to moderate-income households can receive free help at one of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs. To find the nearest location to you, call 800-906-9887. To find an AARP Tax-Aide site, call 888-227-7669.

Despite the outreach, many people might never learn about the rebate and not file a return, said William Massey, a senior tax analyst with Thomson Tax & Accounting.

Massey says he has called his aunts—ages 78 and 93—to let them know that he will prepare returns for them.

If you do discover too late that you should have filed a 2007 return to obtain the rebate, you can always do so next year and receive the money, Stiff said.

When does the money arrive?

A rebate won't be lumped together with your regular tax refund. You'll receive a separate payment.

Rebates likely will be disbursed based upon Social Security numbers or geographic area, Stiff said.

The earliest rebates will be received in the first week of May by those who used direct deposit when filing their 2007 returns. Even if you're not due a refund for 2007, you can make sure the rebate is directly deposited into your account by filling out the bank routing information on your return.

Those who don't use direct deposit will start receiving paper checks the second week of May.

The IRS plans to set up a system where you can check online to find out when you'll receive your rebate, similar to how you can now track your refund online.

If you moved since filing your 2007 tax return, make sure you send the IRS a change-of-address form so you receive your rebate, Massey said.

Who won't get a rebate?

You won't receive money if you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.

Cheney departs Sunday for a trip to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Turkey. Oil is also on his agenda, as the White House — coping with high energy prices that have socked American consumers — continues to push for greater oil production in the Mideast.

The White House announced the trip Monday. "This is the president continuing to show the commitment that he has to the region," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

The vice president's visit comes on the heels of a brief troubleshooting mission to the Mideast by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She was able to pressure the moderate Palestinian leadership to resume peace talks with Israel, which broke off after a deadly Israeli military incursion into Gaza.

Euless officials say the sacrifices would violate ordinances against animal cruelty, keeping livestock and disposal of animal waste.

The background

In May 2006, Merced and 10 other church members were at his house a day before a planned ceremony when a Euless police officer and an animal control officer knocked on his door.

A resident had tipped off police that Merced, president of Templo Yoruba Omo Orisha Texas, and his group would sacrifice goats, according to police reports and court documents.

The officer did not see any goats, and Merced said he would not sacrifice any animals.

A month later, Merced and a priest from Puerto Rico met with Euless officials, who told him that the city would not issue a permit for their ceremonies. Merced sued in December 2006.

In 2007, the city offered Merced a compromise to help settle the lawsuit -- he could kill chickens, which city law allows, but not goats. The city would still enforce its animal cruelty ordinance and its ban against killing livestock. Merced declined.

Christy Toler of Jeff Davis County was struck by a car March 7, 2005, and sought treatment at the Brown Arrowhead Chiropractic Clinic in Brunswick.

Before she arrived at the clinic, she was met by a paralegal for attorney John E. King and signed a contract for representation.

Those were the basic elements included in a 2006 suit filed by Toler and three Savannahians against Arrowhead Clinic, King and several others.

Now Chatham County State Court Judge Hermann Coolidge has certified the case as a class action.

That means attorneys for Toler and the others named in the original suit can pursue a class of others who fit similar experiences.

The class, which will include plaintiffs statewide, could number as many as 3,500 individuals, said Stanley Karsman, one of several defense lawyers in the case.

That would include anyone in similar circumstances to Toler between Jan. 1, 2004, and Monday, the date of the order.

Coolidge directed the parties in the case to confer and submit a proposed notice to class members within 30 days.

Class certifications in Georgia may be appealed directly to the state Court of Appeals, said attorney Patrick O'Connor, one of several defense lawyers in the case.

O'Connor said he will appeal Coolidge's ruling, an action that could take "from a few months to as much as a year" for the appeals court to rule.

The original suit, filed by Karsman and attorneys Brent Savage and Steven Scheer, contended the defendants used their chiropractic centers to encourage incoming accident victims to use King to handle legal aspects of their accident claims.

They made no disclosure of any relationship between the defendants, the suit alleged.

The suit did not specify a damage sum.

The typical arrangement was for the patient, King and the clinic to each receive one-third of any money recovered from insurance companies, the suit contended.

In addition to Arrowhead clinics in Savannah and Brunswick and King and/or John E. King and Associates, defendants include Arrowhead Management Inc.; H. Brown Management Co.; Harry W. Brown, a chiropractor and sole owner of Arrowhead Management Inc.; and Harry W. Brown Jr.

It alleged professional negligence, fraud, negligence and breach of trust duties to the plaintiffs.

According to the suit, the defendants placed a profit motive "over and above the interest of the patient."

They also are accused of engaging in "unauthorized disclosure of private information and ... the over-utilization of chiropractic services."

For the second straight month, nervous employers got rid of jobs nationwide. In February, they sliced payrolls by 63,000, even deeper than the 22,000 cut in January, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The grim snapshot of the country's employment climate underscored the heavy toll the housing and credit debacles are taking on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.

"It sounds like the recession bell is ringing for the U.S. economy, although it is still faint," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to halt sales of the only "morning-after" contraceptive pill available in the United States without a prescription.

The suit was filed against U.S. health regulators over their decision to allow non-prescription sales of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc's Plan B pill.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Barr were sued by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and other groups seeking to overturn the FDA decision.

The pill can reduce the risk of pregnancy when taken within three days of intercourse.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FDA's and Barr's motion to dismiss the suit, saying the plaintiffs had failed "to identify a single individual who has been harmed by Plan B's OTC (over-the-counter) availability," according to the ruling.

Backers of reproductive rights applauded the decision.

"They still don't have any evidence in terms of why they think it is harmful," said Janet Crepps, deputy director for domestic programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights. "This is the right decision for women."

Plan B was approved in 1999. The FDA broadened the approval in 2006 to allow sale to adults without a prescription.

The pills must be kept behind pharmacy counters and can be sold to girls under the age of 18 years only with a doctor's order.