IRS Employees Knew About Controversy
Former IRS head, Douglas Shulman admitted on Tuesday that he did partially know about the IRS targeting of conservative groups and that he followed the right course of action to end it. He emphasized that he didn’t know the full extent of the problem because no employees brought the full story to his attention. Shulman was one of the three witnesses who appeared under oath at the Senate Finance Committee at the second congressional hearing about the controversy.
Other information revealed [...]
San Francisco Bay Area Holding 50th Super Bowl
The NFL’s 50th Super Bowl will be held in the Santa Clara. After beating out Miami for the opportunity, it was announced that the Northern California city will be accommodating the first Super Bowl in their area since 1985. 49ers CEO Jed York remarked, “We are so excited to be able to be able to put on the ‘Golden Super Bowl’ in the Golden State.”
The Super Bowl will be held in the 49ers’ new stadium, which is scheduled to open [...]
More Missiles Fired From North Korea
More missiles were fired into the ocean by North Korea on Monday. The country had previously launched four other missiles over the weekend. South Korean military officials are still trying to figure out precisely the kinds of missiles that the North has been launching.
North Korea’s state-run Central News Agency labeled the launches as drills. While it remains unclear just what kind of missiles are being used, there is the chance that they could be short-range missiles or large-caliber rockets. [...]
Vatican Releases Findings From Watchdog Agency
The Vatican is continuing its mission to be more translucent in their financial workings by releasing the findings of their new business regulator agency on Wednesday. The report showed that there had been six reports of questionable financial activity. Two of these reports were sent on to Vatican prosecutors to examine further.
While listing these actions, the report doesn’t discuss any administrative activities that will be done throughout 2012. The agency was created by the Vatican to help repair their reputation [...]
Oklahoma City Area Deals With Tornado Tragedy
24 people were pronounced dead after the area outside Oklahoma City was hit by a huge tornado on Monday afternoon. Seven of these victims were children, killed when the tornado struck Plaza Towers Elementary School, leaving it a pile of rubble. The National Weather Service has designated the tornado as an EF5, putting it in the same league as some of the most dangerous and damaging tornados in United States history.
Today, emergency workers are continuing to go through the [...]
Aretha Franklin postpones shows
Aretha Franklin will be taking some time off for the month of June. Her spokesperson says the 71-year-old soul singer will resume her tour and performances in July.
Franklin announced earlier this month that she would be canceling scheduled performances in Chicago and Connecticut this week to undergo medical treatment. No details were provided as to what kind of treatment she is receiving.
Franklin appeared on the season finale of “American Idol” last week via satellite. She sang a [...]
Harry Potter book with author’s notes sold for $228k
A first edition copy of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” that contains author J.K. Rowling’s notes and original illustrations sold for $228,000 at a London auction on Tuesday.
The novel was offered as a part of a charity book sale, which was organized along with the English PEN Writers’ Association. The book was sold to an anonymous bidder over the phone. Rowling’s annotations included editorial decisions, comments on her writing process, and notes on how she created the game of [...]
Striking workers shut down food businesses
Striking workers have shut down some fast food businesses at a federal office building in Washington. The strikes have also shut down food places at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum as well as four businesses in the food court of the Ronald Reagan Building.
These one-day strikes are a part of a series of strikes by fast food workers around the country who say they can no longer make a living on a less than $10 per hour [...]
Memorial Day affected by sequestration
AAA Mid-Atlantic expects Memorial Day travel to drop significantly due to sequestration. The number of Washington travelers will fall by 2 percent compared to last year. Regional airports are expecting a 10 percent decline in air travel.
Spokesperson John Townsend says people are beginning to take shorter trips, because as budgets are being cut, holiday vacationing becomes discretionary.
Fire breaks out in Home Depot store
Firefighters extinguished a fire inside of a Home Depot store in Capital Heights on Tuesday. A Prince George County fire department spokesperson says fire fighters arrived at the store around 3:30 p.m. to smoke coming out of the building.
The fire involved patio furniture and other outdoor products that were on shelves inside of the store. The building’s sprinkler system was activated, but fire fighters had the fire extinguished in less than 10 minutes.
Damages to the building have reached up [...]
IRS faces first lawsuit
The first lawsuit has been filed against the US government in response to the IRS scandal by a Northern California tea party group. NorCal Tea Party Partriots allege that their rights under the Privacy Act as well as their constitutional rights for free expression and equal protection were violated. The lawsuit is asking for unspecified damages.
NorCal Tea Party Patriots applied for tax-exempt status in March of 2010, not receiving it until two years later. According to group officials, the IRS [...]
Nationals Lose Reliever to Broken Hand
The Nationals reliever Ryan Mattheus has been sidelined after breaking his pitching hand while punching a locker in frustration on Sunday. Davey Johnson, manager of the Nationals, made the announcement after the team lost their game against the San Francisco Giants on Monday.
Mattheus allegedly did not mention his injury to the team until Monday night, right before the game started. It is unknown how long he will be sidelined.