(NEW YORK) — Tax filing season kicked off on Monday as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service began accepting completed tax forms.
Americans can file anytime before April 15. The IRS said earlier this month that it expects more than 140 million individual tax returns to be filed by that deadline.
Refunds are typically sent within 21 days, the agency says. For paper returns, the IRS says turnaround time can last more than four weeks.
The IRS is expanding a system that allows taxpayers to file directly with the agency, bypassing intermediary firms that often charge fees.
The initiative, Direct File, will be made available to taxpayers in 25 states, more than doubling from 12 states last year, the IRS said.
States newly offering Direct File include Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
For the first time, the Direct File program will feature a “data-import tool” that allows tax filers to automatically enter information available in their IRS account, the agency said. Direct File works on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers, the IRS said.
Up to one in three Americans waits until the last minute to file their taxes, according to a 2021 survey by IPX 1031. That amounts to tens of millions of people.
Taxpayers can typically file an extension that lasts six months, meaning those who obtain an extension will be allowed to submit their tax forms without penalty until Oct. 15.
If a filer forgoes an extension and files late, the person risks additional fees for the tardy submission. The penalty amounts to 5% of the taxes owed for each month that the filing is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
Under such circumstances, the IRS mails a letter or notice alerting the filer of a late fee.
(LOS ANGELES) — Even with flames still burning in parts of Los Angeles County, total insured losses from the wildfires this month are already estimated at more than $30 billion, according to Goldman Sachs.
The massive amount of damage dwarfs the previous record of $12 billion in insured losses caused by Northern California’s Camp Fire in 2018.
With over 15,000 structures already destroyed in the Palisades, Eaton and spate of smaller fires, according to state officials, some public insurance claim adjusters are warning that it may take years for claims to be resolved, and in some instances, homeowners may not have the coverage they thought they had.
A recent study from the University of Colorado Boulder of a 2021 wildfire in the state found that three-quarters of those who lost their homes were not fully covered for total losses.
As thousands of homeowners in Southern California file insurance claims to start the recovery process, they are meeting the one person who will determine how much the insurance company should pay for their loss — the insurance adjuster.
Each claimant is assigned an adjuster by the insurance company. It is the adjuster’s job to assess the damage, and in the case of the LA wildfires, prioritize the destroyed and severely damaged homes over those with minor damage.
California law requires that insurers immediately pay policyholders one-third of the estimated value of their belongings and a minimum of four months’ rent in the event they are completely displaced.
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently issued a one-year moratorium preventing insurance companies from canceling or issuing nonrenewals for homeowners in the neighborhoods or adjoining ZIP codes affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.
After the adjuster assesses the damage, they will determine how much the insurance company pays out for the claim.
Those who file may be given a settlement offer on the spot, but Amy Bach, executive director of the non-profit consumer advocacy group United Policyholders, tells ABC News that homeowners should resist the temptation to sign on the dotted line right away.
She recommends asking insurers for a copy of the policy and studying it for details about what level of coverage can apply.
“Give your insurance company a chance to do the right thing, but don’t be a pushover,” Bach said. “Understand reality — your insurer is a for-profit business, and you need to be pro-active to recover what you’re owed in full. Get informed on your rights and your insurer’s obligations and be politely assertive.”
Experts say if an insurer tells a homeowner that something is not covered, they should get a second opinion, including getting independent valuations of the replacement cost of the home and possessions.
“Chances are the insurer’s adjuster will use a software program to calculate what they owe you,” Bach said. “Computers don’t repair and rebuild homes — contractors and subcontractors do. So, it’s what they will charge that matters.”
If the homeowner disagrees with the insurance company’s assessment, they can appeal the decision and hire a public adjuster for a fee, according to Bach.
The public adjuster’s second opinion may help when negotiating with the insurance company, Bach added.
Public adjusters can be found through the California Department of Insurance website, and if homeowners are not being treated fairly — they can file a complaint for free with the same department.
Bach suggests keeping detailed notes of all conversations with the insurance company and adjuster including the dates and times of speaking, the names of those representatives, and a summary of what was said.
She also recommends sending a follow-up email after every conversation to document the progress.
Even if affected homeowners are insured, experts also recommend applying for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(WEST PALM BEACH, FL) — A Florida man was arrested for allegedly making online threats to President Donald Trump, according to police.
Shannon Depararro Atkins, 46, was taken into custody on Friday following a traffic stop near his home in West Palm Beach, a short distance from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Atkins had allegedly posted “violent rhetoric” about Trump on his Facebook account, West Palm Beach Police Department Chief Tony Araujo said during a press conference on Saturday.
At least one of the posts, which Araujo showed reporters, consisted of a meme relating to the assassination attempt on Trump in July 2024.
Police said Atkins admitted to writing the posts but said he had just been “joking.”
“Folks, this is not a joke. Nothing of that sort is a joke,” Araujo said.
Police said they became aware of the posts after another man, from Okeechobee, Florida, sent in a tip to the FBI.
Atkins was taken into custody without incident Friday night. He was found with cocaine on him, according to police.
It was not immediately clear if Atkins has retained an attorney. ABC News has reached out to him for comment.
Araujo said the U.S. Secret Service was notified of the arrest and is looking into it to determine if federal charges should be filed.
“In today’s climate, you really can’t say things like this,” Araujo said. “We have incident after incident, example after example, of when these threats become real, and we take these very seriously.”
(LOS ANGELES) — Rain was falling across Southern California on Sunday, bringing some relief to thousands of firefighters battling multiple major blazes for nearly a month in the Los Angeles area, but also prompting new threats of floods and mudslides across burn-scarred lands.
A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service is to go into effect at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday for fire-ravaged areas of Los Angeles County, which has been ground zero for the historic firestorms that have leveled thousands of homes and killed at least 28 people since first igniting on Jan. 7.
The flood watch will remain in effect until Monday afternoon in burn-scarred areas left by the Eaton, Palisades, Franklin, Bridge and Hughes fires.
The rain is forecast to be widespread but is expected to be light enough to avoid major flooding. But if a downpour spends enough time over one of the recent burn scars, a debris flow could become an issue.
Rain totals from the storm will mostly range from a half-inch to an inch, allowing for a decent soaking for the first time in months.
Since June 1, Los Angeles has only picked up 0.03 inches of rainfall, which has allowed an extreme drought to develop across the area for the first time in two years.
In addition to rain, higher elevations of Southern California, including the San Gabriel Mountains straddling northern Los Angeles and western San Bernardino counties, are expecting snow, with areas above 4,000 feet getting up to 14 inches of powder.
The rain and snow forecast comes as firefighters continued to battle five active fires on Sunday from Ventura County north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border south of San Diego.
The Palisades Fire, which ignited on Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palisades, was 84% contained as of Sunday after burning more than 23,000 acres, destroying nearly 7,000 structures and killing 11 people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The Eaton Fire, which also broke out on Jan. 7 in Pasadena and Altadena, was 95% contained on Sunday after burning more than 14,000 acres, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 17 people.
Other fires still active on Sunday, according to Cal Fire, include the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, about 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, which was 90% contained after starting on Wednesday and burning more than 10,000 acres of brush land; the Border 2 Fire that broke out Thursday near the San Diego-Mexico border and is 10% contained after burning more than 6,600 acres of wilderness land; and the Laguna Fire, which also started Thursday in Camarillo in Ventura County, which was 98% contained on Sunday after charring 83 acres and prompting a brief evacuation of the California State University Channel Islands.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has announced that it is rescinding all past guidance issued against the removal of books and will no longer employ a coordinator to investigate instances of unlawful book removals.
The department also announced that it has dismissed 11 book ban complaints and six pending complaints. According to the DOE, the complaints alleged that the removal of these books “created a hostile environment for students.”
The nation has seen a wave of attempts to ban or remove books from library and classroom shelves in recent years, with the vast majority of complaints targeting books that are written by or about people of color and the LGBTQ community, according to free speech organizations that track book banning efforts.
PEN America, a free expression advocacy group, has tracked nearly 16,000 book ban attempts in public schools nationwide since 2021. In 2023 alone, the American Library Association (ALA) documented 4,240 different book titles and argued that book banning efforts are a form of censorship.
The ALA’s data found that pressure groups and individuals behind the book-banning efforts targeted multiple titles, “often dozens or hundreds at a time.” Allegations of “obscene,” “divisive,” or “inappropriate” content have largely been used to challenge books that touch on the LGBTQ+ community, sex education, race and politics, the ALA said.
The Trump administration’s Department of Education states that the books were targeted because school districts and parents “have established commonsense processes by which to evaluate and remove age-inappropriate materials.”
The statement continued, “Because this is a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, OCR has no role in these matters.”
“The department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement on the move. “The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities. Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility.”
The move from the DOE follows the lead of state-led and local-led efforts to expand book restrictions of certain topics in schools, some of which have been legally challenged by residents.
“We will continue to raise awareness and resistance to ongoing book bans in defense of students’ freedom to read,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read effort, in a statement. “All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools.”
Female giant panda Qing Bao eats bamboo in her enclosure at the National Zoo on January 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao made their long-awaited public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., ahead of Lunar New Year next week.
Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3, are emerging from quarantine and are featured in the newly relaunched giant panda cam, which consists of 40 cameras that will be operated live between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
The superstar pandas traveled from China and arrived in the U.S. on Oct. 15, 2024. National Zoo members had the opportunity to see the pandas in a special preview held between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, a period that gave the giant pandas time to acclimate to their new home.
“Bao Li and Qing Bao have already won the hearts of our staff and volunteers, and we are excited to welcome panda fans back to the Zoo — the only place in the nation where you can see giant pandas for free — and celebrate the newest chapter of our giant panda breeding and conservation program,” Brandie Smith, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Zoo, said in a news release.
“They’re very active and they’re just a lot of fun and obviously super cute,” zookeeper Mariel Lally told ABC News previously about the two pandas.
The National Zoo will host a series of public events and programs celebrating the giant pandas between Jan. 25 and Feb. 9, including a Lunar New Year event. Some Washington, D.C., hotels are even offering panda-themed packages with amenities such as stuffed toy pandas, roundtrip transportation to the zoo and panda-themed beverages.
Panda enthusiasts can see the giant pandas for free at the National Zoo, the only zoo in the U.S. where visitors can see the animals free of charge.
(CONVENTRY, Vt.) — An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a traffic stop in Vermont, according to the FBI, as bizarre details of the suspects’ movements beforehand have been revealed in the arrest affidavit.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, was arrested on Friday and charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer, according to a statement from the FBI.
The affidavit unsealed by investigators reveals some new details about the movements of the two individuals who were involved in the fatal shooting of Border Patrol agent David Maland.
Since Jan. 14, investigators had been conducting “periodic surveillance” on Youngblut and Felix Baukholt, a German national who was killed during the shooting, after they were reported as suspicious by someone who was staying at the same hotel as the pair, according to court records.
“An employee of a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont contacted law enforcement after a male and a female had checked into the hotel to report concerns about them, including that they appeared to be dressed in all-black tactical style clothing with protective equipment, with the woman, later identified as Youngblut, carrying an apparent firearm in an exposed-carry holster,” according to charges unsealed in Vermont federal court on Friday.
Agents from the Vermont State Police and Homeland Security Investigations attempted to approach the pair for a voluntary interview, but they rebuffed law enforcement, “claiming that they were in the vicinity to look at purchasing property,” according to the court records.
Five days later, the pair were spotted in downtown Newport, Vermont, in “similar tactical dress” and carrying a handgun, which is permitted in Vermont, the affidavit said.
On Monday, the day of the fatal shooting, the two were being observed by law enforcement in the parking lot of a Walmart nearby, prosecutors said. Investigators observed Baukholt come out of the store with rolls of aluminum foil that he then used to wrap cellphones, they said.
The stop was initiated by Border Patrol agents under the pretext of an immigration violation, according to the court records.
Between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. agents reported gunshots from the scene, according to the affidavit.
Agents described to their supervisor “that both Baukholt and Youngblut possessed firearms and that Youngblut drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol agents without warning when outside the driver’s side of the Prius. Baukholt then attempted to draw a firearm. At least one Border Patrol agent fired at Youngblut and Baukholt with his service weapon,” according to the affidavit.
Upon searching the vehicle, agents found a cache of weapons and tactical gear, as well as the cellphones wrapped in foil.
The agents have not been interviewed according to the complaint, officials said.
“Agent Maland bravely served his country as a member of the U.S. Air Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office in a statement. “He continued that service when he answered the call to protect and serve as a law enforcement officer, making him a shining example of service over self. This arrest proves the FBI, together with our partners, will work diligently to ensure any individual who uses a firearm to assault such a public servant will be brought to justice.”
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Another display of the northern lights could be visible this weekend in several U.S. states following a severe solar storm.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center forecast a planetary K-index — which characterizes the magnitude of geomagnetic storms – of five out of a scale of nine for Friday and Saturday, meaning that auroral activity would likely increase on those nights.
The states with the highest chances of seeing the auroras include Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Montana, according to NOAA.
Depending on the strength of the coronal mass ejection, states like South Dakota, Wisconsin and Maine could witness the northern lights as well — although the likelihood is lower.
The sun’s magnetic field is currently in its solar maximum, meaning an uptick in northern lights activity is expected over the next several months, as more sunspots with the intense magnetic activity are predicted to occur.
These sunspots can produce solar flares and coronal mass ejections that manifest in a dazzling light show when they reach Earth. Auroras occur when a blast of solar material and strong magnetic fields from the sun interact with the atoms and molecules in Earth’s outer atmosphere, according to NOAA. The interaction causes the atoms in Earth’s atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky.
It is difficult to predict the exact timing and location of northern lights viewing because of the distance of the sun — about 93 million miles away from Earth, according to NASA.
A citizen science platform called Aurorasaurus allows people to sign up for alerts that an aurora may be visible in their area. Users are also able to report back to the website about whether they saw an aurora, which helps the platform send alerts that the northern lights are being seen in real time.
The best times to view the northern lights are between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, according to NOAA. Ensuring a dark setting is the best way to see the aurora. Getting away from light pollution, and even the bright light of a full moon, will also enhance the viewing experience.
Smartphone cameras are more sensitive to the array of colors presented by the auroras and can capture the northern lights while on night mode, even if they are not visible to the naked eye, according to NASA.
(LOS ANGELES) — President Donald Trump will tour damage caused by wildfires in Los Angeles on Friday as he continues to feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom over his handling of the disaster and federal aid.
Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview that aired Wednesday that he was going to Los Angeles after stopping in North Carolina, hit by Hurricane Helene in September.
“I’m stopping in North Carolina, first up, because those people were treated very badly by Democrats and I’m stopping there,” Trump told Hannity. “We’re going to get that thing straightened out because they’re still suffering from a hurricane from months ago. And then, I’m going to then — I’m going to go to California.”
Newsom told reporters on Thursday that he would be at the airport to welcome the president.
Trump and Republican congressional leaders have said they would attach conditions to federal disaster aid mandating changes in California’s water policies and forest management.
“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” the president told Hannity, claiming water from northern California needed to be redirected south.
Then on Friday, he added a second — political — condition.
“I want to see two things in Los Angeles, voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and the state. Those are the two things,” Trump said.
Newsom’s office decried Trump’s conditions in a post on X Friday afternoon.
“Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong,” it said in the post. “FACT: Under current CA law you must be a CA resident and US citizen (and attest to being one under penalty of perjury) AND provide a form of ID such as driver’s license or passport that has been approved by the Secretary of State in order to register to vote.”
California officials have repeatedly pushed back on Trump’s assertions about water policy as well.
Trump’s claims that measures to protect the delta smelt, an endangered fish, upstate affected L.A.’s water supply are false, according to Ashley Overhouse, a California water policy adviser for the nonprofit conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife.
Overhouse told ABC News that even the most protective regulations for delta smelt, during former President Barack Obama’s administration, accounted for only about 1.2% of additional outflow.
On Thursday, the House passed the Fix Our Forests Act, a bipartisan measure that’s intended to help prevent catastrophic wildfires and provide proper forest management as California continues.
The bill provides fire departments information about how much and when they will get reimbursed for wildfire costs, supports post-fire recovery activities, assesses and helps better predict fires in high-risk areas and states through data, expedites environmental reviews to reduce planning times and costs for critical forest management and establishes an interagency center to help state and local governments.
(BELLVILLE, Texas) — Police are searching for a prisoner who escaped custody while undergoing testing at a hospital in Bellville, Texas, on Thursday.
The inmate, Salvador Saucedo, has red hair and tattoos and isn’t handcuffed. He was wearing an orange shirt and blue pants when he escaped, according to the Bellville Police Department.
He is missing his front teeth and has face tattoos, according to the Austin County Sheriff’s Office.
Saucedo was in custody on charges of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.
Saucedo escaped from custody at Bellville Hospital shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday, police said.
He has not been seen since, according to law enforcement.
Authorities from the Bellville Police Department, Austin County Sheriff’s Office and Waller County Sheriff’s Office have multiple units searching for him, including K-9s, drones and a helicopter.
It is unknown if Saucedo is still in the Bellville area or not. Bellville is about an hour west of Houston.
Anyone who sees the suspect is being asked to call 911 or call the Waller County Sheriff’s Office at 979-826-8282 or the Austin County Sheriff’s Office at 979-865-3111.
