Rep. Camp: Possible crimes by IRS official
WASHINGTON – The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says investigators have uncovered evidence that a former Internal Revenue Service official may have committed crimes as part of the agency’s tea party controversy.
Rep. Dave Camp set a committee vote for Wednesday on whether to refer Lois Lerner, who used to head the agency’s tax-exempt division, to the Justice Department “for possible criminal prosecution.”
Camp, R-Mich., did not specify which laws Lerner may have broken.
The IRS’ inspector general said in a report last year tax-exempt applications from tea party and other conservative groups were set aside for special scrutiny simply because they included words such as “tea party” and “patriots.” Several hundred applications, mainly from conservative groups, languished for years without a ruling by the IRS, the report said.
Lerner’s lawyer, William W. Taylor III, has said she broke no laws. On Monday, Taylor emailed this response to Camp’s announcement: “One word: Ridiculous.”
Bomb kills 15 people in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A roadside bomb killed at least 15 people traveling in vehicles that had been diverted from a main road Monday after an earlier attack in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
The blast came after a relatively calm weekend in which no major attacks were reported as Afghans voted for a new president and provincial councils.
The Taliban had threatened violence to disrupt Saturday’s vote and staged a series of high-profile assaults in the preceding weeks. But security forces tightened their grip and only sporadic attacks took place.
The two SUVs carrying the civilians hit the hidden explosives on a side road that was being used because authorities blocked the main road following a suicide bombing targeting a NATO convoy in Kandahar province, the local government spokesman said.
Those killed included a woman, and four other people were severely wounded and in critical condition, according to Dawkhan Menapal, spokesman for the provincial governor. All the passengers were from Uruzgan province to the north of Kandahar and were apparently traveling home when the blast occurred in the Maywand district.
Pro-Russians call east Ukraine independent
DONETSK, Ukraine – Pro-Moscow activists barricaded inside government buildings in eastern Ukraine proclaimed their regions independent Monday and called for a referendum on seceding from Ukraine – an ominous echo of the events leading to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The Ukrainian government accused Russia of stirring up unrest and tried to flush the assailants from some of the seized buildings, setting off fiery clashes in one city. Russia, which has tens of thousands of troops massed along the border, sternly warned Ukraine against using force.
In Washington, the Obama administration said any move by Russia into eastern Ukraine would be a “very serious escalation” that could bring further sanctions. White House spokesman Jay Carney said there was strong evidence that some of the pro-Russian protesters were hired and were not local residents.
Birth control for deer off to a slow start
HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Heavy snow and red tape resulted in a disappointingly slow start for a pioneering program in a New York suburb to use birth control as a no-kill way to thin the numbers of deer.
Hastings-on-Hudson Mayor Peter Swiderski said out of 120 deer, only eight doe were tranquilized, tagged and injected with birth control over the monthlong program in March, seven in the final week alone.
That was far short of the goal of injecting 40 to 50 does in the first two years.
“It was certainly a humbling experience,” the mayor said, adding that officials were committed to the program and trying again next year.
Deer have overrun this 2-square mile village of 7,900 people about 16 miles north of Manhattan, scouring foliage in the park, munching gardens and causing more than a dozen car crashes a year.
Residents have resisted lethal methods of culling the herd.
Associated Press
