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Charles Rettig. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images The IRS has a massive backlog of tax returns, causing a refund delay for millions of people. It offered no timeframe on how long it will take to sort through 35 million unprocessed returns. The IRS's budget has been depleted in the past decade, leading to backlogs and lower enforcement. See more stories on Insider's business page . The Internal Revenue Service is grappling with a massive backlog of 35 million unprocessed tax returns, according to a new report from a government watchdog. That will cause millions of individual and business taxpayers to wait to receive potentially critical federal refunds. The report from National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, an independent organization within the IRS, released on Wednesday underscores the major challenges facing the cash-strapped agency after playing a major role steering economic relief to individuals and businesses during the pandemic. The current backlog includes ...

Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images The price of US lumber futures has pulled back from May's peak, falling roughly 43% as of mid-June. Experts told Insider that it could go down to $600 in the next six months. Still, the lumber shortage will not be easily remedied, and inflationary pressures remain a concern. Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell . The price of US lumber futures has pulled back since it peaked at $1,700 per thousand board feet in late May, falling roughly 43% as of mid-June. The red-hot commodity has been on a rapid decline the past few days, although prices remain elevated, up by 139% over the last year, making it one of the best-performing commodities in that period. Cash lumber prices are also tumbling. Experts, such as Drew Horter, president and CIO of Tactical Fund Advisors, welcomed the downturn. He said lumber may tumble to $600 per thousand board feet in the next six months. "You can't kee...

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here . Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for June 30, 2021. It’s the last day of the quarter. It’s the last day of the first half of the year. It’s the halfway mark for your New Year’s resolutions. The kickoff of Q3 means that we are heading into yet another earnings season. To close the second quarter, a number of companies went public including Didi and SentinelOne. The TechCrunch take is that we’re seeing some interesting pricing differentials between companies from the United States compared to China. — Alex The TechCrunch Top 3 Robinhood fined ahead of IPO: While we count down to Robinhood’s IPO filing, long expected after a strong first quarter , the company was hit with $70 million in fines and penalties today for what the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) described as “widespread and significant harm suffered by customers.” Venture...

Where Volvo's going, it's all electric. The Swedish car company showed off its electric concept car at a live tech event streamed from Gothenburg, Sweden on Wednesday. The Recharge concept will be the design foundation for future Volvo EVs. Volvo has already pledged to only produce electric vehicles by 2030 . Until then, Volvo has five plug-in hybrid versions and there's already the Volvo XC40 and forthcoming C40 Recharge , which look like electrified versions of Volvo's combustion-engine SUVs. But now electric Volvos will have a completely new look to distinguish them from past traditional gas models. As seen in the concept photos, the new look even has a roofline LiDAR sensor from Luminar for autonomous driving features. The sensor box on the roof emits light rays to measure distance so the car can "see" what's around it, like cars, pedestrians, or cyclists. Glass roof complete with LiDAR. Credit: volvo The main feature of the Recharge concept ...

Memoirs by chefs and food writers focus on how instrumental food can be in our lives. They're full of mouth-watering food descriptions and often include a few recipes. From legendary chefs to culinary superstars, these are the best food-related memoirs. Memoirs may transport readers into the lives of incredible people, but food memoirs take us straight into their kitchens. Chefs and food writers weave their personal stories through memorable meals and sweat-laden shifts to bring readers life lessons and anecdotes that are easy to devour. I chose these recommendations because they highlight a unique aspect of the culinary world - from classic kitchens in France to adrenaline-fueled dinner rushes in New York City - while using mouth-watering descriptions to show how we're all connected through food. You don't have to be a self-proclaimed "foodie" or stellar home cook to love these books; they're perfect for any reader interested in the secrets behind the ...