The Australian Labor Party has pledged to repair the nation’s veterans’ affairs support program if elected to government on May 21. The announcement came one day before ANZAC Day commemorations (April 25), and stated that under the federal government, the current backlog of unresolved claims for veteran support has blown out to 60,000, something Labor…

WASHINGTON—U.S. single-family homebuilding and permits tumbled in March as soaring mortgage rates increased costs, but residential construction remains underpinned by a severe shortage of houses. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed a record backlog of homes approved for construction, but yet to be started. It followed on the heels of news…

The Port of Los Angeles is watching events closely in China as container ships stack up outside Chinese ports affected by new COVID-19 outbreaks and manufacturing shutdowns. After a year of cargo bottlenecks at the port, Executive Director Gene Seroka laid out his “wait and watch” strategy for what many industry experts say could upend…

WASHINGTON—The IRS said Thursday it plans to hire 10,000 new workers to help reduce a massive backlog that the government says will make this tax season the most challenging in history. The agency released a plan to work down the tens of millions of filings that includes speeding up the traditionally slow hiring process, relying…

Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are seeing fewer cargo ships this week but port officials expect a busier spring and summer. The number of ships headed to Southern California delivering goods to the twin ports was down to 59 on March 4, a big drop from the record 109 in January. The slowdown has…

By Laura Davison From Bloomberg News WASHINGTON—The Internal Revenue Service is under pressure from a large group of lawmakers to stop penalties and pause automated collections from taxpayers whose returns have been caught in a processing backlog. In a letter signed by at least 216 Republicans and Democrats from both the House and Senate, the…

Magistrates in England and Wales will be given more sentencing powers in a bid to tackle the backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with by criminal courts. In the latest effort to reduce the number of outstanding cases and the pressure faced by crown courts during the coronavirus pandemic, magistrates will be able to…

The White House’s response this week to the ongoing supply chain crisis at the ports was “callous,” according to California’s top Republican representative. President Joe Biden’s Port Envoy John D. Porcari, who was assigned to work with the ports, said the crisis was “a good problem.” The busy Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are…

State courts across the country have gradually reopened for in-person proceedings, although many have yet to reach their pre-pandemic operating capacity. State attorneys can barely handle the mounting number of new cases, leaving a trail of extra work every day, all while trying to chip away at the massive backlogs accumulated during months of court…

Cargo ships and crews rushed to unload and move containers Oct. 31 at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in the face of new fines which went into effect Nov. 1. A record number of cargo ships continue to flood the ports as they waited to offload their goods, according to the Marine Exchange…