Editor's note: Every week The Week's editors survey product reviews and articles in websites, newspapers, and magazines, to find cool and useful new items we think you'll like. We're now making it easier to purchase these selections through affiliate partnerships with certain retailers. The Week may get a share of the revenue from these purchases.
TurboTax typically isn't the cheapest tax-filing software available, but it "asks all the right questions" and provides "the easiest and most painless way to file your taxes online," said Kevin Purdy at The Wirecutter. The $55 price quoted here is for 1040 filers; for certain users, it's free. Get it at TurboTax.
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2. Swingline Style + Super Cross-Cut Shredder ($64)
"If ever a document shredder could be called stylish," said Tony Hoffman at PC Mag, this Swingline is it. Though a bit noisy, it's inexpensive, "wicked fast," and holds more paper than its compact dimensions suggest. Buy it at Amazon.
3. LAMPAT Dimmable LED Desk Lamp ($32)
When you're perusing documents for hours, "a good desk lamp will make the job much easier on your eyes," said The Street. This one has four lighting modes, five levels of brightness, and an arm that can be set at any angle. Buy it at Amazon.
4. Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Portable Scanner ($249)
No other portable scanner matches the combination of speed, accuracy, and portability offered by this Fujitsu, said Amadou Diallo at The Wirecutter. When you're digitizing receipts and other documents, its user-friendly software will spare you many panicked hunts for the owner's manual. Buy it at Amazon.
5. Lorell File Cabinet ($68)
This simple two-drawer file cabinet topped 29 other choices in a recent test. Though it was among the least expensive, "it had the smoothest drawers and stood sturdily even when fully loaded," said Nick Guy at The Sweethome. Buy it at Amazon.
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Political cartoons for January 25Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a hot economy, A.I. wisdom, and more
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Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
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The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year
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Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
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Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
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How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
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Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
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Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
