CBS News
H&R Block customers experience outages ahead of the Tax Day deadline
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2017/02/02/c3ac1b70-6001-4fc6-833d-7082b6f008bf/thumbnail/1200x630/640e9e63fc3207ea7b07065567f45852/gettyimages-107796055.jpg?v=6450b1292090ace5f47bbb23ced2a4e3)
Waiting until the last day to file their tax returns proved frustrating for some H&R Block customers who experienced tech issues that began Sunday and persisted into most of Monday, hampering their ability to send their 1040s to the IRS before the April 15 deadline.
H&R Block late Monday afternoon told CBS MoneyWatch it had resolved an issue “affecting a small number of our downloadable desktop software users.” Those impacted “can now e-file their return,” the company said.
Those unable to file their returns electronically were earlier in the day advised by H&R Block to “try again later today or print and mail their return if that is more convenient.”
Reports of problems began at about 9 p.m. ET Sunday and continued through Monday before declining at about 4 p.m., according to Downdetector. Thousands of users reported problems with the H&R Block service during that time, the site shows.
The regular deadline for filing returns is 11:59 p.m. on Monday in a filer’s local time zone, although a few states have later deadlines. Taxpayers can also request an extension, which gives them until October 15 to file.
Some H&R Block customers said they received error messages and repeated credit card charges for trying numerous times to file.
“Finally! My return was just transmitted successfully. Now to chase them for my 27 attempts that I was charged $19.95 for,” one person commented on Downdector’s site.
The tax-prep software giant in February said it was appealing a Federal Trade Commission ruling that found H&R Block had allegedly marketed products as free before creating hurdles to push them into unnecessary and pricier services.
CBS News
7/1: CBS Evening News – CBS News
![](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/02/de2e2b54-9ef2-4894-939a-7009195d5b6d/thumbnail/1200x630/a3ee46dad1396c4d9439641053b25aed/0701-en-full-3023831-640x360.jpg?v=57e8061b2038d609da26e467de5ddfb8)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
U.S. agrees to help Panama deport migrants crossing Darién Gap
![](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/02/1daeec6d-5bfe-45ec-a4b6-b2a4b119b023/thumbnail/1200x630/9e2df12340098dcce13ab34571639d9c/gettyimages-2158923543.jpg?v=57e8061b2038d609da26e467de5ddfb8)
The U.S. and Panama signed an agreement on Monday that will allow American officials to help the Panamanian government deport migrants who cross the Darién Gap, a once-impenetrable jungle that has become a popular transit point for those traveling to the U.S. southern border.
Under the joint initiative, U.S. immigration officials will train and provide assistance to Panamanian authorities to help them carry out more deportations of migrants heading north. In recent years, Panama has reported record numbers of crossings along the roadless Darién jungle, including over half a million in 2023 alone.
The Department of Homeland Security will be dispatching officials who have experience screening asylum claims and deporting migrants to Panama so they can assist their Panamanian counterparts on the ground. Using State Department funds, the U.S. will also help Panama build up its deportation infrastructure.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who attended the inauguration of Panama’s President-elect José Raúl Mulino on Monday, said the agreement is part of “a regional response” to migration.
“As the United States continues to secure our borders and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain, we are grateful for our partnership with Panama to manage the historic levels of migration across the Western Hemisphere,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images
Mulino has vowed to take a tough stance against migrant arrivals in Panama, pledging to “close” the Darién Gap and accusing international aid workers of facilitating illegal migration.
The arrangement between the two countries had been months in the making. CBS News first reported on the Biden administration’s plans to send U.S. immigration officials to Panama in November.
The move is the latest action taken by the Biden administration to stem illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border. Last month, following President Biden’s move to partially shut down asylum processing using his executive authority, unlawful border crossings fell to the lowest level recorded during his administration.
The agreement also underscores how much the U.S. — under Democratic and Republican administrations — has come to rely on other countries to reduce migrant crossings along its southern border.
Over the past few months, Mexican officials have conducted an aggressive operation to stop migrants from reaching northern Mexico. Ecuador also recently imposed visa requirements for Chinese migrants, who were using the South American country as a lily pad to get to the U.S. border.
CBS News
Biden blasts Supreme Court ruling on Trump immunity
![](https://assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/07/02/134eeaa6-6402-4c2c-9bbe-f2e63093e504/thumbnail/1200x630/c0f2ba4e3a3283401d76363cc9acacae/cbsn-fusion-biden-no-one-above-law-supreme-court-trump-immunity-ruling-thumbnail.jpg?v=57e8061b2038d609da26e467de5ddfb8)
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.