Business Correspondent Jennifer Westhoven

It didn’t take long for the criminals to try and use the latest headlines to rip you off.

Don't end up here due to some online scam.

I got this email yesterday, from scammers posing as the IRS, offering to “help” me get my stimulus money. Surprisingly, thousands of people are still falling for these phonies.

Can you spot the red flags?

From: Internal Revenue Service [taxrefund@irs.gov]
Subject: Submit your economic stimulus payment online form

To submit your Stimulus Payment form, please download the document attached to your email.

See how they even tried to mimic the IRS' website? But the IRS will *never* contact you via email about something official. So right off the bat, you know this is fake.

I never opened the "form" – That would be like asking a vampire to come on in! But it’s easy to imagine what they would ask you for – your social security number, maybe your bank router number. They say they want to send you money - more like steal your money.

See that word "download." That’s like a stranger saying, "C'mere kiddie, step into my car." Run! The download could have a virus or malware or who knows what.

If you want to turn the tables on these guys and get the IRS on their tail, forward these emails to the *real* IRS – phishing@irs.gov.

And finally – anytime a "bank" sends you an email saying they want to get you money quickly and easily - start sniffing. Odds are, there’s a stink somewhere in the room.

Business Correspondent Jennifer Westhoven

Got a great idea and want to blog about it? Maybe you could become the next blogging millionaire.

Because most blogs are private, it’s very difficult to know how much they’re worth… but a reporter at the blog “24/7 Wall Street” did some digging, and you may be surprised at how much some of these sites are worth!

Check out the top ten most valuable blogs:

1. Gawker Properties (owns Gawker, Defamer and Jezebel) - $170 million.
2. Huffington Post - $90 million.
3. The Drudge Report - $48 million.
4. Perez Hilton - $32 million.
5. Sugar, Inc. - $27 million.
6. TechCrunch - $25 million.
7. MacRumors - $21 million.
8. SeekingAlpha - $11 million.
9. GigaOm - $9.5 million.
10. Politico - $8.7 million.

To check out the rest of the list, click here.

Writer Keith and Sports Anchor Rafer Weigel

With 200 reporters flanking Alex Rodriguez on Tuesday afternoon at his press conference, there was one question that needed to be asked:

"Mr. Rodriguez? What do you take us for?"

Alex Rodriguez, seen here in 2001.

A-Rod–in a moment of unintended irony–said he was there to "take his medicine" by calling a press conference since his admission of taking a banned substance. His hope was by doing this he could put it behind him. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect – he left us with more questions than answers.

A-Rod did admit that he and his cousin (who was never identified) injected each other with something called "Boli" or Primobolan, which he claims he bought over-the-counter from the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez called it "amateur hour" claiming the two didn't really know what they were doing or what it was supposed to do.

His reasoning for doing it? He was "young and stupid." Rodriguez pretty much stuck to that script using that excuse five times in his presser when asked repeatedly, "Why did you do it".

"I was young and stupid." He said this despite the fact that he was 18 when he came into the league and 25 when he allegedly starting taking the performance enhancers.

A-Rod also went on about not going to college as if that had something to do with it as well. He also talked about bench pressing 300 pounds in high school to get a letterman jacket. The point: I've always been strong.

He also mentioned that he felt pressure in Texas after signing his then record $252 million contract. If he felt pressure then, how is he not feeling pressure now after signing a bigger contract in the media capital of the world? There is no bigger amount of pressure than playing for George Steinbrenner. That's when he stopped?

At first it was jarring to see such a mega star twist in the wind like that. Big star athletes are not used to that. In fact, most superstars are used to getting what they want and doing what they want without repercussions. A-Rod's admission and media mea culpa was a first to witness.

But after letting it sink in, you realized, A-Rod didn't really answer a lot of the questions posed to him. When asked if it was cheating, he said, "that's not for me to determine."

When asked about his numbers being stricken? Same response.

Did you do it to gain an advantage?

"I was young and stupid."

A fastball down the middle and he swung and missed.

Even Yankee GM Brian Cashman seconded that emotion saying "the one thing he could have said, I guess, is that he did this to make himself better on the baseball field. Maybe everybody just assumes that, but I don't think that Alex is very good at communicating to be honest. This is not something he's good at."

Ya think?

Perhaps watching A-Rod's fall from grace will have a positive effect on other kids and athletes and keep them from ever doing something like this as well.

For A-Rod, he just wants to get back to playing baseball. But this could still have a big effect on the Yankees season.

The media is not done with this story. If more and more comes out and his story breaks down, will the players who stood behind him at his presser, still back him up? According to Joe Torre's book, they didn't care for him before this story broke. Why are we to believe that what Rodriguez said yesterday was the whole truth? He gave a lot of double speak when answering tough questions.

Across the board, whether you're a fan of A-Rod's or not, the whole thing is a sad story. Many thought before this that A-Rod would be the guy to break Barry Bonds’ record for home runs and do it cleanly. Now, no one knows. See, baseball is a game of stats and nostalgia. Baseball fans compare players based on numbers. But given Rodriguez vagueness in recent interviews, the numbers to this story still don't add up.

Wait and see.

Let us know what you think; share your comments below.

Business Correspondent Jennifer Westhoven

So many of you have big questions about the massive $790 billion dollar stimulus package; we’re going to be working through some of the them throughout the week.

Will you get a piece of the pie?

Today we’re going to focus on the TAX BREAKS: Money that’s coming straight to you, or tax breaks you can take advantage of.

(I know you guys have a lot more questions, we’ll try and get to them in the coming days!)

Q: Will we get stimulus checks like we did last year through the IRS?
A: No. The most immediate way you’ll see the money is the President’s “Making Work Pay” plan. He promised in the campaign to give $500 to every working American. Congress cut that to $400. There are 2 ways to get the money, as money back in your paycheck, or as money back in next year’s taxes.

Most people will likely get it in their paycheck, to get the money faster. It amounts to roughly $15 a paycheck if you’re paid every two weeks. You’ll see the small raise for a year, roughly from early July this year to early July next year, 2010.

Q: Why didn’t they just give out a check?
A: Behavioral economists say that in studies, people are more likely to spend money (and therefore stimulate the economy) if the extra money is part of their “normal” pay. When people get a lump-sum check, they tend to save it or use the money to pay off debt. Those are worthy goals, but they don’t stimulate the economy. Some experts say that’s why lawmakers preferred this structure.

Other ways you will see tax breaks and tax credits from the stimulus plan:

- A patch on the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax). That could save tens of thousands of families from a 2,000-tax-punch.
- Expanded tax credits for children, and for going to college
- Tax credits for buying a house or a car

We’ve had lots of questions about the $8,000 tax credit for buying a home.

Q: Does the credit only cover first-time home buyers or can anyone take it if they buy a home?
A: It’s only for first-time homebuyers. You must hold onto the home for 3 years.

Good luck making the most of it!

By Writer Keith

Hey guys … I hate to break it to you, but Valentine’s Day is tomorrow.

Many of you have probably already made plans to celebrate the patron saint of Hallmark, but if you haven’t by now you may be SOL (suddenly out of luck). But for those of you who realized that Valentine’s fell on the 14th this year, have fun. Fine dining, champagne, chocolate. My lady gets to supersize when I yell the order into the clown’s mouth. Extra fries and soda for my woman … that’s how I roll.

Hey buddy…it’s Friday. That letter isn’t getting there in time.

Speaking of my wife, she has been hard at work at her accounting firm during tax season, taking college courses online, and putting up with my day-to-day nonsense. She’s a pregnant triple threat.

Consider me not-on-board for the latest “stab my childhood in the heart” remake of “Friday the 13th.” If it’s a remake, how is Jason with the hockey mask in it? He didn’t show up slashing people with the mask until the third movie after he thankfully killed Shelly (the most annoying character in horror film history). As Crazy Ralph would say about this movie: “Doomed…You’re all dooooooomed!” I miss the days from college when me and my buddy O’B would stay up until 3 am drinking beer and watching old horror flicks making the same bad jokes. Someone gets stabbed… “hey you think he got the point?”

I am terrible with money. I’ve already spent the extra 13 bucks a week I am getting in my paycheck soon.

We’ve seen tons and tons of commercials beating it into men’s dumb heads that Valentine’s Day was coming up. Pajamas, flowers, teddy bears. But seriously, has any woman ever fallen head over heels with getting flannel pj’s for a gift. And what kind of guy wears a white undershirt to work and has a heart tattoo on his arm that says “love”?

OK, so A-Rod is now A-Roid. I actually interviewed him during one of the years he was allegedly taking the performance enhancing drugs. Nice guy, canned answers. Though he did sign the cast of one of the kids watching me talk with him.

Here’s the thing. When you are an elite athlete you know every single thing that goes into your body. I am also not buying that a senior writer from Sports Illustrated broke into his house. It’s Sports Illustrated not TMZ. Plus, no police report? Please remember that we here at the Morning Express are not “loosey goosey” when it comes to our show. The only performance enhancing drugs we take are Diet Coke and bagels.

I thought I saw the Dali Lama at the grocery store the other day. Turns out it was just a bald guy wearing a maroon Snuggie.

Nothing but the Grammys makes me realize how out of touch I am with today’s music. I kept telling myself “that doesn’t look like Jimmy Page” when I saw Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on stage.

I’ve finally become part of the “Facebook” community. That thing is worse than crack. It does have its benefits though. One of the people my wife grew up with is now the head chef at her favorite restaurant. That’s good eating.

So let me know what’s up with you heading into this weekend. We always love to hear from you.

Sports Anchor Rafer Weigel

Everywhere you look, there’s a baseball player crying and apologizing lately. The only issue is most of them aren’t being that specific about what they’re sorry for. Alex Rodriguez told ESPN’s Peter Gammons in the all-time easiest softball interview ever that he took a banned substance but couldn’t remember what it was.

Crocodile tears?

We’re supposed to believe a professional athlete would just take something not knowing what it was? And while you didn’t remember what it was you knew it was illegal?

Then there was Miguel Tejada crying to reporters that he was sorry for the “situation” after pleading guilty for lying to investigators about a teammate’s use of steroids. He didn’t say exactly what he was sorry for. He admitted to buying HGH to prosecutors but said he “threw it out”. It was another admission by a ball player without really admitting anything specific and leaving us with feeling he wasn’t telling the whole story.

But through all these “Celebrity Rehab”-like confessions, there are two key figures missing in all of this: Commissioner Bud Selig and Union Head Donald Fehr. And ironically, Selig is handing out criticism at a time when he should be stepping up to the plate to say “my bad!”

After the 1994 strike, baseball was in a bad state. Fans were turned off by the player’s cries for more money and the year after attendance and revenue were way down.

Selig needed something to get fans back in the seats. Enter, the homerun … ahem … steroid era.

While football had been both testing and punishing players for steroid use since 1987, Selig had no such policy in place. In 1997, he put out a “memo” just to remind players it was illegal. But put no testing in place.

Then came the homerun derby between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire in 1998. Suddenly baseball had captured the hearts of America again. Soon, more longballs were leaving the yard. Barry Bonds was heating up and attendance in the sport was going up up up.

It was baseball’s deal with the devil.

But clouds of allegations began swirling at the turn of the century. Congress got involved and suddenly Selig was forced to try and put something in place.

That’s when Donald Fehr, the union head, got in his way with the most arrogant defense ever that testing somehow violated the players “civil rights”. I’m sure Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King would have been thrilled knowing their quest for equality was somehow tied to a player’s right to juice.

Selig finally got a policy in place in 2004—17 years after football did after Fehr caved to government and public pressure.

Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Players like Rodriguez and others say they took the stuff because they felt “pressure” to perform. A-Rod cited a “loosy goosy” atmosphere in the clubhouse when he claims he was ingesting from 2001 to 2003.

To be fair, Selig didn’t force anyone to take steroids. That was a decision these players made on their own. But in a world as competitive as Major League Baseball where there are three farm systems filled with guys waiting to take your job and if you knew that others were trying to gain a competitive edge, it’s not hard to understand why some scared players felt compelled to cheat.

Again, it doesn’t excuse it. But Selig and Fehr allowed it to happen.

Right now, Baseball’s situation mirrors the economy from six months ago: things are bad and are falling apart.

But with others like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, 103 other names on the A-Rod list and who knows what other skeletons are hiding—it figures to only get worse.

TV/Web Producer Kate

According to a recent piece in the Los Angeles Times, Nadya Suleman, mother of 14 including recently born octuplets, may be getting considerable help from taxpayers as she raises her huge family.

Nadya Suleman explained herself to NBC's Ann Curry in an interview that generated much scrutiny of the single mother.

The LA Times reports that Suleman has no job and owes $50,000 in student loans. In her interview with NBC, she said that as she finishes up school, she will use available student loan money to raise her kids.

However, Suleman faces massive medical bills and the cost of raising 14 children could quickly eclipse the student loan dollars available to her. Before she gave birth to her octuplets, Suleman was already receiving food stamps. Now, she is eligible for more state money to support three of her children that are disabled.

Suleman has also been receiving disability payments since 2000 for a back injury she received while working at a California State Hospital.

The bulk of the taxpayer-funded assistance going to Suleman, however, will be the aid she would get to pay off the medical bills associated with delivering her octuplets.

Suleman says that she does not intend to raise her children on welfare. She plans to return to school where she is working on getting her masters degree in counseling. After that, she wants to support her children on her own.

What do you think? Did Suleman get herself in too deep, or do you think she can handle raising her 14 children?

Can anyone handle raising 14 kids, much less a single mother? What would it take to raise them well?

Also, what do you think about the doctor who performed the in vitro fertilization on Suleman after she already had 6 children? Join the conversation!

TV/Web Producer Kate

According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, 40% of people have dated a co-worker, and of those relationships, 30% say they went on to marry that person.

Nothing makes the workday fly by like a little bit of romance.

Perhaps, the reason that so many of those inter-office relationships end in a lifelong commitment has something to do with the romance that comes from two people stealing moments together in a place where love isn't generally an objective.

Take a look at some examples of romantic moments office-lovebirds admitted to sharing:

- Had a drink together up on the roof.

- Danced to the elevator music in the hallway.

- Ate a late night picnic with candles after everyone had left.

- After a meeting, picked up my girlfriend in a limo and proposed to her.

- Left each other love post-it notes.

However, CareerBuilder.com also reported that conventional wisdom – that you should steer clear of inter-office dating – reigned true in some cases too. 7% of people who played with co-worker fire said they ended up having to leave a job due to a nasty breakup.

What do you think about inter-office dating? Share your horror stories or tales of romance below!

News Correspondent Richard Lui

It aims to stimulate a recessionary economy. House and Senate versions hover in the 800 billion dollar ranges. The plan’s spending over one or two years would almost equal ten percent of the total national debt built up since the founding of the U.S.

As the effects of the economic downturn spread, President Obama wants to act fast to stop the bleeding, What would you like to see him do?

You may know somebody who lost their job or has had their hours scaled back. Many are living a life of frugality we haven’t seen in recent years. The largest asset most own is their home, but the value has plummeted in the last year. Part of the debate is whether these types of problems will be solved by the stimulus plan now being cobbled together on Capitol Hill.

There’s some good. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said last week the stimulus bill will increase jobs by 1.3 to 3.9 million by the end of 2010, lowering the projected unemployment rate by 2.1 percentage points.

But there’s some bad too. The CBO also warns the stimulus plan would hurt long-term economic growth; reducing it by 0.1 to 0.3 percent by 2019. The concern is that large government spending would reduce availability of money to be invested privately.

There is also concern the bill is packed with pork, special interest earmarks that help one group from a certain congressional district for instance. This is fueling debate over tax cuts versus spending projects.

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, wants a trigger in the bill, one that switches off the spending as soon as the economy recovers. He points to a lack of real bipartisan work in the Senate, and says anybody who says they are working in a bipartisan fashion doesn’t know what the word means.

While Senator Barbara Boxer, D-California, told opponents of the bill to "get over it. Come and talk to us. Come and work with us.”

What do you think of the stimulus plan? How could the money best be spent to create jobs in your community?

We want to know! Weigh in and your comments could be featured on the show.

News Correspondent Richard Lui

There are dinner tables across the United States that have heard the stories of Mom or Dad losing their jobs plus how companies large and small are cutting people that have worked there for years. Bloomberg estimates that more than 530 thousand such stories were told in January alone. These are manufacturing jobs, service jobs, and everything in between.

The government has responded with a stimulus package with a price tag of more than $900 billion dollars to put a jolt into the arm of the economy. One key issue is whether to direct much of the spending from the stimulus plan to U.S. companies, in order to “Buy American” in an effort to re-circulate taxpayer money to help domestic jobs.

The House has already approved a bill that says all infrastructure projects must use U.S. manufactured steel. While the Senate has been debating its version which at one point said all manufactured goods purchased with stimulus plan money must be made in the U.S. The Senate as of this writing has now moved toward the House’s version looking at steel provisions only, with former Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain wanting to eliminate that altogether too. President Obama appears to be weighing all options as a compromise bill makes its way to his desk.

The “Buy American” debate is front and center for so many families - from the manufacturing heartland in the Midwest, to the tech industry in the West, and small businesses that span the East and South. One side of the argument says these are the jobs that could benefit from stimulus money. On the flip side, there is concern trading partners would implement their own “buy domestic” provisions in response, and that would hurt U.S. exports, and lead to more U.S. job losses. MSNBC.com writer Tom Curry talks about one study’s estimates that point to a net potential loss of up to 54,000 jobs because of other countries’ reactions to “Buy American” provisions.

This is a difficult debate, an almost emotional or cultural debate. Many of us remember the lessons of the past, from the 80's when foreign automakers first started to gain traction in U.S. markets. There was both a formal and informal reaction at the time. The government took formal action, while people took on an informal “buy domestic” discussion. Most prominent in some minds was the stigma of driving a foreign car and what that meant about your commitment to the country.

So where are we today? Should we have “Buy American” provisions in the stimulus plan? What are the arguments for putting in language to spend taxpayer money specifically on U.S. products? And what are the arguments for leaving it open to spending on manufactured goods regardless of where they are made? This should be a good discussion. Let us know what you think, and we will be sharing your thoughts on Morning Express with Robin Meade.