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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Five years of stereo imaging for NASA's TWINS

June 24, 2013 ? Surrounding Earth is a dynamic region called the magnetosphere. The region is governed by magnetic and electric forces, incoming energy and material from the sun, and a vast zoo of waves and processes unlike what is normally experienced in Earth-bound physics. Nestled inside this constantly changing magnetic bubble lies a donut of charged particles generally aligned with Earth's equator. Known as the ring current, its waxing and waning is a crucial part of the space weather surrounding our planet, able to induce magnetic fluctuations on the ground as well as to transmit disruptive surface charges onto spacecraft.

On June 15, 2008, a new set of instruments began stereoscopic imaging of this mysterious region. Called Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers or TWINS, these satellites orbit in widely separated planes to provide the first and only stereo view of the ring current. TWINS maps the energetic neutral atoms that shoot away from the ring current when created by ion collisions.

In five years of operation, the TWINS maps have provided three-dimensional images and global characterization of this region. The observatories track how the magnetosphere responds to space weather storms, characterize global information such as temperature and shape of various structures within the magnetosphere, and improve models of the magnetosphere that can be used to simulate a vast array of events.

"With two satellites, with two sets of simultaneous images we can see things that are entirely new," said Mei-Ching Fok, the project scientist for TWINS at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is the first ever stereoscopic energetic neutral atom mission, and it's changed the way we understand the ring current."

Each spacecraft is in a highly elliptical orbit called a Molniya orbit, during which the spacecraft spend most of their time around 20,000 miles above Earth, where they get a great view of the magnetosphere. Initially launched for a two-year mission, TWINS was formally extended in 2010 for three more years, with another multi-year extension pending. Over that time, TWINS has worked hand in hand with other NASA missions that provide information about Earth's magnetosphere.

"We've done some fantastic new research in the last five years," said David McComas, the principal investigator for TWINS at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "As a mission of opportunity, it is a very inexpensive mission and it continues to return incredible science."

TWINS science is based on two instruments that can track neutral atoms. The first is a neutral atom imager that records the atoms that naturally stream away when a neutral atom collides with an ion. This allows the instrument to map the original ions from far away -- as if it could see atoms the way we see light -- instead of only collecting data from the areas of space it passes through.

"Over the course of the last 20 years a completely new technique evolved so we can observe charged particles, such as those in the ring current, remotely," said McComas. "The charged particles sometimes collide with a slow-moving neutral particle, in this case from a population of neutrals from Earth's highly extended atmosphere, the geocorona."

When this happens, an electron hops from the slow neutral atom to the fast ion, so now the former becomes charged, and the latter neutral. That new neutral speeds off in a straight direction, unfazed by the magnetic field lines around Earth that guide and control the motion of charged particles. TWINS collects such fast neutral particles and from that data scientists can work backward to map out the location and movement of the original ions.

The other instrument on TWINS is a Lyman alpha detector, which can measure the density of hydrogen from afar, and in this case observes the hydrogen cloud around Earth, the geocorona.

Most importantly, these instruments exist on both of the TWINS spacecraft. Much of the successful research in the last five years relies on the ability to watch these neutrals from two viewpoints, allowing scientists to analyze not only speed and number of particles, but also to determine the angles at which the particles left their original collisions. The stereo vision contributed to the detailed perspectives on how the magnetosphere reacts to space weather storms: both those due to the impact of a coronal mass ejection that traveled from the sun toward Earth and due to an incoming twist in the solar wind known as a co-rotating interaction region. TWINS has also revealed that the pitch angle at which the ions travel around Earth is different on each side of the planet. Such information helps scientists determine whether the ions are more likely to escape from the ring current out into space or to ultimately funnel down toward Earth.

"TWINS is a stereo mission, providing the first observations of the neutral atoms from two vantage points, but two spacecraft give us another advantage," said Natalia Buzulukova, a magnetospheric scientist at Goddard who works with TWINS data. "Two spacecraft provide continuous coverage of the ring current, as one set of instruments always has a view."

Because the spacecraft orbits are not in sync they provide stereoscopic imaging for a few hours each day, but there is always at least one spacecraft keeping tabs on how events are unfolding. Prior to TWINS, a spacecraft might see a tantalizing process taking place in the ring current for only a short while before its orbit took it out of view. The event might well have finished before the spacecraft came back around for its second look.

Such continuity has proved useful to determine what governs whether particles in the ring current will precipitate downward toward Earth as well as to provide a global temperature map of the magnetic tail trailing behind Earth, the magnetotail. Such a map had only ever previously been inferred from models and statistical analysis, never from a comprehensive data set of what was actually observed.

The Lyman-alpha instrument has been used in two ways. For one thing, it quantifies the geocorona in order to better understand how it affects the collisions in the ring current. It also has taught us more about the geocorona itself. Previously, researchers believed it to be a fairly simple sphere around Earth. The two TWINS instruments have shown how asymmetric it is, changing with the solar cycle, seasons, and even the hours of the day.

A final important feature of this fire hose of TWINS data is how much it helps improve computer simulations of the ring current and the rest of the magnetosphere. With accurate computer models, scientists can better predict how the magnetosphere will react to any given space weather event.

"We get two really unique things with two spacecraft: stereo imaging and continuous coverage. Together the observations we get are fantastic," said McComas. "It's an incredibly powerful combination of tools."

TWINS is an Explorer Mission of Opportunity. Southwest Research Institute leads TWINS with teams of national and international partners. Goddard manages the Explorers Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

For more information about TWINS science and mission, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/missions/twins/

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Xky6buFd45M/130624141606.htm

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Pelosi's defense of NSA surveillance draws boos (The Arizona Republic)

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Lebanon clashes rage near mosque; 16 soldiers dead

Lebanese army soldiers stand while black smoke rises from a burning house that was attacked during clashes that erupted between followers of a radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen in Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 24, 2013. Lebanon's military forces battling followers of a hard-line Sunni Muslim cleric closed in Monday on the mosque where they are taking cover in the southern coastal city, the national news agency said. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

An injured Lebanese army solder walks in Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 24, 2013. Lebanon's military forces battling followers of a hard-line Sunni Muslim cleric closed in Monday on the mosque where they are taking cover in the southern coastal city, the national news agency said. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A convoy of Lebanese army vehicles move toward the site of clashes between followers of a radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen in Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 24, 2013. Lebanon's military forces battling followers of a hard-line Sunni Muslim cleric closed in Monday on the mosque where they are taking cover in the southern coastal city, the national news agency said. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese Army soldiers monitor during clashes that erupted between followers of a radical Sunni cleric Sheik Ahmad al-Assir and Shiite gunmen in Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, June 24, 2013. Lebanon's military forces battling followers of a hard-line Sunni Muslim cleric closed in Monday on the mosque where they are taking cover in the southern coastal city, the national news agency said. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Lebanese troops battled heavily armed followers of a hard-line Sunni cleric holed up in a mosque complex in a southern port city on Monday, the second day of fighting that has left at least 16 soldiers dead, the military said.

The clashes in Sidon, Lebanon's third-largest city, are the latest bout of violence in Lebanon linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria.

They are the bloodiest yet involving the army and are seen as a test for the state in containing extremist armed groups that have taken up the cause of the warring sides in Syria. The civil war next door has been bleeding into Lebanon, following similar sectarian lines of Sunni and Shiite camps.

The fierce fight that the followers of Sheik Ahmad al-Assir were putting up showed how aggressive Sunni extremists have grown in Lebanon, building on anger not only at Syria's regime but also its Shiite allies in Lebanon, Hezbollah. The two days of fighting have transformed Sidon, which had been largely spared the violence plaguing border areas near Syria, into a combat zone.

The 45-year-old, bespectacled and long-bearded al-Assir is a virulent critic of Hezbollah. He has been agitating for months, demanding Hezbollah disarm and accusing the army of inaction in the face of the group's growing involvement in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad.

The maverick cleric was little known until few years ago and his growing following was a symptom of the deep frustration among Sunnis who resent the Hezbollah-led Shiite ascendancy to power in Lebanon. Hezbollah and its allies dominate Lebanon's government.

The clashes in predominantly Sunni Sidon, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Beirut, left 50 wounded on Monday, the National News Agency said. At least two military officers were among those killed. Hospital officials said at least three of al-Assir's supporters died in the fighting.

Machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenade explosions caused panic among residents, who also reported power and water outages.

The city streets appeared largely deserted Monday. Local media reported many residents were asking for evacuation from the heavily populated neighborhood around the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque where al-Assir preaches, and where the fighting has been concentrated.

The military in a statement said the gunmen were using the religious compound to fire on its troops and had taken civilians as shields. The clashes erupted Sunday in the predominantly Sunni city after troops arrested an al-Assir follower. The army says supporters of the cleric opened fire without provocation on an army checkpoint.

The local municipality said that the city is "a war zone," appealing for a cease-fire to evacuate the civilians and wounded in the area.

Many people living on upper floors moved downstairs for cover or fled to safer areas. Some were seen carrying children as they fled. Others remained locked in their homes or shops, fearing getting caught in the crossfire. Gray smoke billowed over parts of the city.

The military appealed to the gunmen to hand themselves in, vowing it will "continue to uproot the strife and will not stop its operations until security is totally restored."

Hezbollah appeared to be staying largely out of the ongoing clashes, though a few of its supporters in the city were briefly drawn into the fight Sunday, firing on al-Assir's supporters. At least one was killed, according to his relatives in the city who spoke anonymously out of concerns for their security.

Last week, al-Assir supporters fought with pro-Hezbollah gunmen, leaving two killed.

Hezbollah issued a statement condemning "the crimes committed by al-Assir and his gang" and declared its solidarity with the military institution, calling on all Lebanese to rally around the national army.

Early Monday, al-Assir on his Twitter account appealed to his supporters in other parts of Lebanon to rise to his help, threatening to widen the scale of clashes.

The tweets did not give a clear statement on how the battle began. It came after a series of incidents pitting the cleric's followers against other groups in the town, including Hezbollah supporters and the army.

The cleric is believed to have hundreds of armed supporters in Sidon involved in the fighting. Dozens of al-Assir's gunmen also partially shut down the main highway linking south Lebanon with Beirut. On Monday, they opened fire in other parts of the city, with local media reporting gunshots in the city's market.

Fighting also broke out in parts of Ein el-Hilweh, a teeming Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, where al-Assir has supporters. Islamist factions inside the camp lobbed mortars at military checkpoints around the camp.

Tension also spread to the north in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. Masked gunmen roamed the city center, firing in the air and forcing shops and businesses to shut down in solidarity with al-Assir. Dozens of gunmen also set fire to tires, blocking roads. The city's main streets were emptying out. There was no unusual military or security deployment.

Sectarian clashes in Lebanon tied to the Syrian conflict have intensified in recent weeks, especially after Hezbollah sent fighters to support Assad's forces. Most of the rebels fighting to topple Assad are from Syria's Sunni majority, while the President Bashar Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Walid al-Moallem, Syria's foreign minister, blamed the violence in Lebanon on the international decision to arm rebels, saying that it will only serve to prolong the fighting in Syria and will impact neighboring Lebanon.

"What is going in Sidon is very dangerous, very dangerous," he told reporters in Damascus. "We warned since the start that the impact of what happens in Syria on neighboring countries will be grave."

In Syria, activists reported fighting Monday between Syrian troops and rebels in the northern province of Aleppo as well as districts on the edge of the Syrian capital and its suburbs.

Clashes in Lebanon have also mostly pitted Sunni against Shiite. The most frequent outbreaks have involved rival neighborhoods in the northern port city of Tripoli, close to the Syrian border.

President Michel Suleiman called for an emergency security meeting later Monday.

Headlines of Lebanon's newspapers were all dominated by the violence in Sidon, with many seeing it as a test for the state to impose order. "An attempt to assassinate Sidon and the military," read the headline of the daily al-Safir. "Al-Assir crosses the red line," read another headline in al-Jomhouria daily. A third headline in al-Nahar read: "Yesterday war in Sidon. Today, decisiveness or settlement?"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-06-24-Lebanon/id-3da9bc419bdc4599878c89a75d1cb639

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Egypt army says may act, urges political truce

By Shaimaa Fayed and Alastair Macdonald

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army issued a sharp warning to rival political factions on Sunday that it may step in to impose order, as clashes ahead of major opposition rallies next weekend saw at least two men shot dead.

The statement by the head of the armed forces was a dramatic reminder of the independent power of the military in Egypt, a year after the generals handed authority to a civilian president - Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist who won the country's first free elections following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

In a move aimed at both sides in Egypt's polarized politics, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is also defense minister, stressed that the army was acting to protect the "will of the people" and urged politicians to forge a new national consensus.

A military source said fighting and aggressive rhetoric and damage to property in recent days had prompted the intervention.

Sisi met Mursi for what an army spokesman described as a "routine" consultation on Sunday.

Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood turned their organizational strength into political power but have struggled to manage an economy in crisis or build a broad base of support that is accepted by liberal and other non-Islamist groups.

That polarization has driven a campaign to hold massive opposition demonstrations next Sunday, June 30, calling for Mursi to resign. In turn, his Islamist supporters have taken to the streets in shows of strength, calling the opposition bad losers determined to overturn the results of the elections.

General Sisi, who was promoted into his present post by Mursi last year, said: "There is a state of division in society and the continuation of it is a danger to the Egyptian state and there must be consensus among all.

"The will of the Egyptian nation is what governs us and we protect it with honor, and we are completely responsible for protecting it," said Sisi.

"We cannot permit a violation of the will of the people."

While Islamists point to the legitimacy of their electoral power, opponents accuse the Brotherhood of betraying the Arab Spring revolution by seeking to entrench its power.

OUT OF CONTROL

Sisi said the armed forces would not stand by while Egypt descended into conflict and urged politicians to use the week remaining before June 30 to narrow their differences.

"Those who think that we are divorced from the dangers that threaten the Egyptian state are wrong," he said. "We will not remain silent as the country slips into a struggle that is hard to control."

Gamal Soltan, a political analyst, said the army may have been moved to act by aggressive statements from Mursi supporters at a major rally on Friday: "This is ... the strongest and the most explicit statement coming from a military official ... This is explicitly saying ... the armed forces will intervene.

"By making this statement, he is stepping closer to the centre stage of politics."

A spokesman for the opposition National Salvation Front, Khaled Dawoud, said: "These are very reasonable statements, and what is expected from Egypt's army.

"We are facing direct threats from supporters of President Mursi to spill blood if we exercise ... our democratic right to demand peacefully early presidential elections."

A spokesman for the Brotherhood's political party said it was studying the statement before making public comment.

Army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali told Reuters: "This was a supportive message that the army is sending to its people after the army noticed that worries about violence and internal conflict had spread among the people recently.

"The army, which belongs to the people, cannot stand by if such fears are realized, so the statement was meant to set out the army position, which is rooted in its national role - it cannot ignore anything that might threaten national security."

CLASHES, DEATHS

Two men, both Islamists, died as a result of clashes.

One was shot dead in overnight in the industrial city of Mahalla, north of Cairo, security sources said. A second man, died of gunshot wounds sustained in clashes at Fayoum south of the capital some days before.

The Muslim Brotherhood described both dead men as "martyrs".

Highlighting mutual mistrust as Egypt struggles to establish democratic institutions after its 2011 revolution, the Brotherhood also denounced as a "political trial" a court judgment on Sunday that called for an investigation of its role in a mass jail-break during the uprising against Hosni Mubarak.

Liberals and secular activists in the "Tamarud - Rebel!" campaign, accuse Islamists of intimidation. They say they have gathered 15 million signatures on a petition calling for Mursi to resign - more than the 13 million votes that elected him.

The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies staged a massive rally in support of Mursi in Cairo on Friday, at which some speakers warned of a violent response to efforts to remove him.

The Muslim Brotherhood said on Facebook on Sunday that Karim Abdel Ghani, a member of the Islamist Nour party, was shot dead in Mahalla by the "Tamarud militia". Nour said its office in Mahalla was also attacked.

The Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said it planned a funeral on Sunday for Mohamed Shalaqany, who it said was shot some days before by Tamarud "thugs" in Fayoum, a rural Islamist bastion south of Cairo.

"Their name is Tamarud but they are actually remnants of the old regime," Murad Ali, a senior FJP official, told Reuters.

Egyptian media gave extensive coverage on Sunday to a ruling by a judge in Ismailia who, in acquitting a man accused of fleeing a local jail during the 2011 uprising, asked the public prosecutor to investigate what he described as a "conspiracy" by the Brotherhood and foreign Islamists to open up the prison.

Among those freed was Mursi himself, who had been among hundreds of Brotherhood leaders rounded up as a precaution by Mubarak's security forces when the revolution began.

The freeing of Palestinian militants from Hamas and Lebanese members of the Shi'ite Hezbollah militia, among others, has prompted accusations from the Brotherhood's opponents that it connived with enemies of Egypt during the incident.

After the judgment, opponents of Mursi gathered outside the court, calling for his resignation.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh and Maggie Fick in Cairo; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Tom Perry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-dead-egyptians-clash-ahead-rallies-142036312.html

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Jim Carrey Speaks Out Against His Film ?Kick-Ass 2??But Didn?t Mind Taking The Cash!

Jim Carrey Speaks Out Against His Film “Kick-Ass 2″…But Didn’t Mind Taking The Cash!

Jim Carrey not promoting latest film Jim Carrey appears to be losing his damn mind. The comedic actor, who starred in the film “Kick-Ass 2″ that will hit theaters this summer, now says he won’t be promoting the movie. The actor decided not to support the film, explaining he won’t support the violence following the Sandy Hook tragedy. Jim Carrey tweeted, ...

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Documents show IRS also screened liberal groups

FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, acting IRS commissioner Danny Werfel testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Werfel unveils his plan to fix an agency besieged by scandal. President Barack Obama ordered Werfel to conduct a 30-day review of the IRS when he appointed him last month. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service's screening of groups seeking tax-exempt status was broader and lasted longer than has been previously disclosed, the new head of the agency acknowledged Monday. Terms including "Israel," ''Progressive" and "Occupy" were used by agency workers to help pick groups for closer examination, according to an internal IRS document obtained by The Associated Press.

The IRS has been under fire since last month after admitting it targeted tea party and other conservative groups that wanted the tax-exempt designation for tough examinations. While investigators have said that agency screening for those groups had stopped in May 2012, Monday's revelations made it clear that screening for other kinds of organizations continued until earlier this month, when the agency's new chief, Danny Werfel, says he discovered it and ordered it halted.

The IRS document said an investigation into why specific terms were included was still underway. It blamed the continued use of inappropriate criteria by screeners on "a lapse in judgment" by the agency's former top officials. The document did not name the officials, but many top leaders have been replaced.

Neither the IRS document obtained by the AP or a separate IRS list of terms that workers searched for, released by House Democrats, addressed how many progressive groups received close scrutiny or how the agency treated their requests. Dozens of conservative groups saw their applications experience lengthy delays, and they received unusually intrusive questions about their donors and other details that agency officials have conceded were inappropriate.

In a conference call with reporters, Werfel said that after becoming acting IRS chief last month, he discovered varied and improper terms on the lists and said screeners were still using them. He did not specify what terms were on the lists, but said he suspended the use of all such lists immediately.

"There was a wide-ranging set of categories and cases that spanned a broad spectrum" on the lists, Werfel said. He added that his aides found those lists contained "inappropriate criteria that was in use."

Werfel ordered a halt in the use of spreadsheets listing the terms ? called BOLO lists for "be on the lookout for? on June 12 and formalized their suspension with a June 20 written order, according to the IRS document the AP obtained. Investigators have previously said that the lists evolved over time as screeners found new names and phrases to help them identify groups to examine.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released one of the lists, dated November 2010, that the IRS has provided to congressional investigators. That 16-page document, with many parts blacked out, shows that the terms "Progressive" and "Tea Party" were both on that list, as well as "Medical Marijuana," ''occupied territory advocacy" and "Healthcare legislation."

Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, said he was writing a letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose audit in May detailed IRS targeting of conservatives, asking why his report did not mention other groups that were targeted.

"The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way," Levin said.

Republicans said there was a distinction. A statement by the GOP staff of House Ways and Means said, "It is one thing to flag a group, it is quite another to repeatedly target and abuse conservative groups."

George's report criticized the IRS for using "inappropriate criteria" to identify tea party and other conservative groups. It did not mention more liberal organizations, but in response to questions from lawmakers at congressional hearings, George said he had recently found other lists that raised concerns about other "political factors" he did not specify.

Democratic staff on Ways and Means said in a press release that they had verified that of the 298 groups seeking tax-exempt status that George's audit had examined, some were liberal organizations ? something George's report did not mention.

Many organizations seeking tax-exempt designation were applying for so-called 501(c)(4) status, named for its section of the federal revenue code. IRS regulations allow that status for groups mostly involved in "social welfare" and that don't engage in election campaigns for or against candidates as their "primary" activity, and it is up to the IRS to judge whether applicants meet those vaguely defined requirements.

Werfel's remarks came as he released an 83-page examination he has conducted of his embattled agency. The conclusions, which Werfel cautioned are preliminary, have so far found there was "insufficient action" by IRS managers to prevent and disclose the problem involving the screening of certain groups, but no specific clues of misconduct.

"We have not found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the IRS or involvement in these matters by anyone outside the IRS," he told reporters.

The report found no indication so far of improper screening beyond the IRS offices, mostly in Cincinnati, that examine groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Werfel's report describes several new procedures the agency is installing to prevent unfair treatment of taxpayers in the future. They include a fast-track process for groups seeking tax-exempt status that have yet to get a response from the IRS within 120 days of applying. He is also creating an Accountability Review Board, which within 60 days is supposed to recommend any additional personnel moves "to hold accountable those responsible" for the targeting of conservative groups, Werfel's report said.

The top five people in the agency responsible for the tax-exempt status of organizations have already been removed, including the former acting commissioner, Steven Miller, whom President Barack Obama replaced with Werfel.

"The IRS is committed to correcting its mistakes, holding individuals accountable as appropriate" and establishing new controls to reduce potential future problems, Werfel told reporters.

IRS screening of conservative groups had sparked investigations by three congressional committees, the Justice Department and a Treasury Department inspector general.

Werfel's comments and report drew negative reviews from one of the IRS's chief critics in Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Issa said the review "fails to meaningfully answer the largest outstanding questions about inappropriate inquiries and indefensible delays. As investigations by Congress and the Justice Department are still ongoing, Mr. Werfel's assertion that he has found no evidence that anyone at IRS intentionally did anything wrong can only be called premature."

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., whose panel is also investigating the agency, said the IRS "still needs to provide clear answers to the most significant questions ? who started this practice, why was it allowed to continue for so long, and how widespread was it? This culture of political discrimination and intimidation goes far beyond basic management failure and personnel changes alone won't fix a broken IRS."

Werfel had promised to produce a report within a month of taking over the agency.

Werfel said he briefed Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on the report earlier Monday.

Werfel, initially named the IRS's acting commissioner, is now the agency's deputy principal commissioner because federal law limits the time an agency can be led by an acting official.

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-24-IRS-Political%20Groups/id-929bc76e707f4722b2956b6e3af3b6fe

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