IRS claims it loses emails from 5 more
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service has lost emails from five more employees who are part of congressional probes into the treatment of conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, the tax service disclosed Friday.
The tax agency said in June that it could not locate an untold number of emails to and from Lois Lerner, who headed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. The revelation set off a new round of investigations and congressional hearings.
On Friday, the IRS issued a report to Congress saying the agency also lost emails from five other employees related to the probe, including two agents who worked in a Cincinnati office processing applications for tax-exempt status.
The disclosure came the same day the Senate’s subcommittee on investigations released competing reports on how the IRS handled applications from political groups during the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Lerner, who was placed on leave and has since retired, has emerged as a central figure in congressional investigations. The other five employees appear to be more junior than she.
Family mourns slain journalist
PINECREST, Fla. – Letters slain journalist Steven Sotloff wrote to his family before he was beheaded by Islamic State militants were read at his memorial service Friday, with him telling them to be happy and stay positive and that if they didn’t meet again, he hoped they would in heaven.
“Please know I am OK,” he wrote. “I love you, miss you, pray for you and hope to see you soon.”
In a service punctuated by tears, Sotloff’s parents, sister and friends spoke of his gentle demeanor and unwavering commitment as a journalist toward putting a face on suffering in the Arab world, despite the personal risks.
“I’m so proud of my son for living his dream,” said his mother, Shirley Sotloff.
Several hundred mourners dressed in black gathered for the service at Temple Beth Am in suburban Miami, where Sotloff’s mother teaches and he attended school as a child. There was heavy security, with officers stationed at the front gate and entrance of the building in Pinecrest.
Ukraine cease-fire begins; U.S skeptical
MINSK, Belarus – Ukraine, Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists signed a cease-fire deal Friday after five months of bloodshed, and Europe readied additional sanctions on Moscow.
Gunfire and shelling appeared to fall silent across eastern Ukraine shortly after the appointed hour, to the relief of war-weary residents. But the U.S. voiced skepticism that the rebels and Russia would stop violating Ukrainian sovereignty.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he ordered his forces to halt hostilities at 9 a.m. MDT after the deal was signed in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, by all three sides and a representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Separatist leaders also said they ordered their forces to hold their fire.
Associated Press
