Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Tax Day:

Your taxes are due today, postmarked by midnight tonight.
   And if you can't file today, you can file an extension (form 4868) which gets you until Oct 15 to file (though you'll still have to pay any taxes owed, and what you don't pay, you'll have to pay interest on). Hint: if you owe, pay, even if you delay filing. You can even get an installment payment plan from the IRS online. (Maiman)

Did you say national debt? It's at $12 trillion now. We owe $12 trillion on our notes (many of them held by China) and we're doing a lousy job paying it off: all of the money we earn in the first third of the year goes toward paying off the interest on our national debt.

Some Tax Day Trivia:

   --Of the roughly 133 million individual tax returns being filed this year, only about half were filed before April 1st; the rest of us got busy after that. And some 35 million returns get done on the weekend before deadline, so you weren't alone this past weekend.
   --Common mistakes: not signing the return (that's the biggest), bad math (that's the second biggest), forgetting to include a check (if you owe money), and including enough postage. Last thing you want is to get your forms back with insufficient postage, and then get penalized for filing late.
   --If you owe, don't make your check out to the initials "IRS." That's because if the check falls into the wrong hands, they can change the "IRS" to "MRS" followed by someone's name. Instead you should write out the entire three words "Internal Revenue Service." Or blood-sucking weasels.
   --Don't have the money to pay what you owe? You can propose an installment plan by attaching Form 9465 to your return. The IRS will answer within 30 days. They'll also charge you 13% interest on past-due balances.

On, off and way-off Broadway:

TREY PARKER and MATT STONE, they guys who gave you "South Park," are now working on a new musical called "The Book of Mormon" which is destined for Broadway in March of next year.
   The NY Times reports the pair have gotten together with one of the guys who co-created "Avenue Q" to work up the show about two young, Mormon missionaries which will also parody the story of JOSEPH SMITH, who founded Mormonism in the 19th century.
   No casting for the show yet.

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Big numbers for the second-half debut of "Glee," with 13.7 million viewers to get second place for the night behind "American Idol," which took first with 20 million. Third place went to the "Dancing With the Stars" results show, with 13.4 million.

Grace notes:

MADONNA's teenage daughter may be attending the "Fame" high school in New York City. The Daily News says LOURDES LEON has been accepted to LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan, which was the basis for the film and TV series, "Fame." Lourdes was reportedly given a private audition and will likely start classes in the fall as a freshman. (Marino)

Fast Food:

The grocery aisles are about to get a little healthier as another food giant is cutting sodium levels in packaged foods. General Mills is joining Kraft, Sara Lee, ConAgra and Unilever in cutting its use of salt across the board.
   According to an official press release, the company will phase in a 20-percent reduction by 2015. General Mills claims it has been trimming salt since 2005, working quietly to cut levels without compromising taste. Proof of those efforts? Salt in Chex Snack Mix has been cut by one-third. Cheerios has lost 16-percent of its salt.
   General Mills says in addition to cutting sodium, it has also been revamping nutritional quality by removing fat and sugar, and adding vitamins, whole grains and fiber. (Page)