combined briefs

WASHINGTON, D.C.

IRS head to fight bonuses

The Internal Revenue Service is canceling this year’s employee bonuses for managers and is working to cancel bonuses for union workers, the agency announced Tuesday. Acting IRS head Danny Werfel told workers in an email that he is canceling the bonuses because of automatic spending cuts enacted this year. Also Tuesday, the GOP-controlled House unveiled slashing cuts to the IRS budget, punishing the agency after it targeted tea party groups and other nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status. The agency’s 2014 budget would be cut by $3 billion, or 24 percent below levels approved in March.

TEXAS

Fort Hood jury selection begins

Six Army officers have been dismissed as potential jurors on the first day of jury selection in the murder trial of the Fort Hood shooting suspect. The first group of 20 potential jurors in Maj. Nidal Hasan’s court-martial arrived Tuesday afternoon from Army posts nationwide. Prosecutors said six in the group should be dismissed based on their answers in questionnaires and other reasons. One officer knew one of the 13 victims. The judge granted the request. Individual questioning is to start today.

PENNSYLVANIA

Abortion doctor admits to drug sales

A Philadelphia doctor serving life in prison for killing newborns at his abortion clinic admitted Tuesday that he also sold painkiller prescriptions, sometimes writing dozens of prescriptions in different names to a single patient. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, pleaded guilty to federal drug charges after twice walking away from scheduled plea hearings. Prosecutors say he flooded city streets with OxyContin, codeine-laced cough syrup and the antidepressant Xanax, after selling prescriptions for $10 or $20 to people who lined up at his office.

FLORIDA

Astronauts tackle chores on spacewalk

Two spacewalking astronauts tackled a backlog of outdoor work at the International Space Station on Tuesday. It was the first spacewalk for Italy — a major contributor to the orbiting lab — as Luca Parmitano handled a variety of maintenance chores. He was accompanied by American Christopher Cassidy, a veteran spacewalker. Before ending their six-hour excursion, the astronauts got a jump on work intended for a second spacewalk next Tuesday. “A really great day,” Mission Control at Cape Canaveral radioed up.

INDIANA

Film shows FDR in wheelchair

An Indiana college professor has found rare film footage showing President Franklin Delano Roosevelt being pushed in a wheelchair, depicting a secret not revealed to the public until after his death. Franklin College professor Ray Begovich said Tuesday he found the eight-second clip while doing research in the National Archives in College Park, Md. The FDR Presidential Museum and Library and the National Archives both say such footage is rare.

MARYLAND

Witness: No harm from Gitmo leaks

Secret threat assessments of Guantanamo Bay detainees that Pfc. Bradley Manning gave to WikiLeaks did not harm national security, a former chief prosecutor at the U.S. detention facility in Cuba testified Tuesday in Manning’s court-martial at Fort Meade. Retired Air Force Col. Morris Davis described the briefs as summaries of investigative and intelligence reports meant to be seen by senior military and executive branch officials. They included information about the detainees’ known or suspected terrorist ties but the briefs were often inaccurate, he said.

CANADA

Criminal probe in train derailment

Canadian authorities said Tuesday they have opened a criminal investigation into the fiery wreck of a runaway oil train in Lac-Megantic as the death toll climbed to 15, with dozens more bodies feared buried in the burned-out ruins. Quebec police Inspector Michel Forget said investigators have “discovered elements” that have led to a criminal probe. He gave no details but ruled out terrorism. The death toll rose with the discovery of two more bodies Tuesday. About three dozen more people were missing. The bodies that have been recovered were burned so badly they have yet to be identified.

CHINA