Backlog of income tax returns is growing, delaying refunds to millions
CBSN
The IRS is falling behind in processing millions of income tax returns, potentially delaying refunds for many Americans.
According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent arm of the IRS focused on tax filers' rights, the agency is holding almost 31 million returns for manual processing just ahead of the May 17 tax-filing deadline. That backlog has grown by 2 million returns since mid-April, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins told CBS MoneyWatch. "I was hoping it would go down, but I'm not that optimistic," she said of the logjam. "Taxpayers will continue to experience unusually long delays. I don't think anyone wants to hear that, but that is the case."Two climbers were waiting to be rescued near the peak of Denali, a colossal mountain that towers over miles of vast tundra in southern Alaska, officials said Wednesday. Originally part of a three-person team that became stranded near the top of the mountain, the climbers put out a distress call more than 30 hours earlier suggesting they were hypothermic and unable to descend on their own, according to the National Park Service.
There's no making up for what Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus lost on the day she finished .07 seconds behind a Russian opponent who, everyone later learned, was doping. What the American 400-meter hurdles champion will finally receive is a great day under the Eiffel Tower where she'll be presented with the gold medal she was denied 12 years ago at the London Olympics.