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>>> Coming up next on "Arizona
Horizon," big news today on the
big ***.
We'll talk about it in our
monthly visit with renowned
physicist Lawrence Krauss.
>>> And the tax filing deadline
is fast approaching.
We'll find out what's new on
state and federal forms.
>>> Those stories next, on
"Arizona Horizon."
>> "Arizona Horizon" is made
possible by contributions from
the friends of eight.
Members of your Arizona PBS
station.
Thank you.
>>> Good evening, and welcome to
"Arizona Horizon."
I'm Ted Simons.
>>> Independents are now the
biggest block of voters in
Arizona.
Registration figures released
today show that independents
outnumber Republicans by just
over 4,000 voters, and democrats
by more than 173,000.
Political scientists point out
that the increasing numbers
don't necessarily equate to an
increase in power, since only
about 10% of independents
participate in Arizona's open
primary elections.
>>>
>>> World famous physicist
Lawrence Krauss stops by the
"Arizona Horizon" set every
month for an update on the
lightest science news.
Tonight, big news on what may
have happened immediately after
the big ***.
Here now to explain is Lawrence
Krauss.
You know, sometimes I can be
accused of being a little
hyperbolic, big news, this is
huge news.
>> You can't be too hyperbolic
about this.
This could be one of the
greatest scientific discoveries
ever.
And now I was thinking, you're
going to talk about taxes later,
nothing is certain but death and
taxes.
Now it looks like even more than
ever the big *** was certain.
>> We're talking about
gravitational waves, we're
talking about primordial
gravitation --
What are we talking about?
>> What we're --
What was just announced today at
a news conference, a press
conference and also a conference
for scientists was a discovery
of a signal from the big ***.
A new window back to the
beginning of time.
And we'll have time to work
through this.
What the signal was were these
things called gravitational
waves.
These waves we have ever reason
to believe for reasons we'll go
into, they were generated when
the universe was less an
millionth of a trillionth of a
trillionth of a second old.
And it will allow us not just to
directly observe almost the
beginning of the universe,
turning medium physics into
physics, but explore the
properties of the physical
universe on energy scales that
are 10,000 billion times bigger
than the scale --
So it's an unbelievably massive
result.
It makes our understanding of
the universe empirical back to a
time that's orders and orders of
magnitude before we were earlier
able to see.
If we look out, we've talked
about this before, when we look
out at the universe with light,
we can only see as far as the
light can come from.
I can't see past the walls of
this studio.
In the early universe, the
universe was hot and opaque, and
light couldn't get through the
plasma particles.
When the universe was about
300,000 years old, matter became
neutral and the universe became
transparent.
So when we look out, we can see
that surface if you wish, where
the universe first became
transparent.
Radiation coming at from us all
directions from that surface,
which was originally 3,000
degrees, but it's cooled now to
three degrees.
So up to this point when we want
to look back directly at the big
***, the farthest we can see
was back to a time 300,000 years
after the big ***.
But gravity waves, and we'll
talk about them, are so weakly
interacting, gravity waves can
make it all the wack back --
Way back to us.
So we'll get an image of the
universe when it was a millionth
of a trillionth of a trillionth
of a second old.
>> You're talking about echos I
guess of the big ***.
So how do we know that these
gravitational waves existed or
started at that time period?
>> One of the reasons is the
strength of gravitational waves
depends upon the energy.
I'm creating gravitational waves
waves right now.
Einstein said something
remarkable.
Just like when I shake an
electron back and forth I create
electromagnetic waves which
allow the signals to be
broadcast so viewers can watch
them.
Whenever you move a mass up and
down, you create literally
ripples in space and time.
Gravitational waves, which are
ripples in space when a
gravitational wave comes through
this room, it changes the
distance across the room by a
very small amount, and in fact
it compresses and stretches us
in one direction or another.
But they're so weak, we can't
detect them.
We've built them here on earth,
the biggest ones are the LYGO
detector, there's one in
Washington stays and one in
Louisiana.
And it's amazing what they can
do, but they still haven't seen
gravitational waves.
There are detectors that have
two tunnels, each two miles
across, and when a gravitational
waves comes by, it may change
the length of one tunnel a
little bit compared to the
other.
And they've designed things so
you can measure the change in a
two-mile-long tunnel to an
accuracy of better than the size
of a proton.
A single proton.
It's unbelievable.
But they still haven't seen
gravitational waves because even
if you *** knew tran stars far
away, the signal is so small.
In order to create a signal that
is big enough to see, you need
incredible amounts of energy.
And that energy if you wish,
only existed in the very early
universe when the universe was
so hot, and the temperature was
so high, that violent things
could happen.
>> Basically, because another
question for me would be, OK,
you see gravitational waves, you
found these things, whoop-de-do.
How come it's not a couple plan
else colliding one billion years
or 500,000 --
How do you know this --
>> first of all, we know because
we'll talk about how it was
discovered in a bit, because it
distorts the background
radiation, it basically had to
have been around before there
were stars and planets because
the mike wave background was
created well before stars,
planets or galaxies existed.
So it has to be PRiMORDiAL.
It's distorted the light coming
to us from that background
surface.
Also the scale of it, the size
of these --
The distortions are immense.
So big, the wavelength of these
things exceeds the size of --
It's almost the size of the
visible universe.
And so there's no way that
colliding black holes, or you or
I run nothing each other fast
can create waves like that.
No only --
Not only will the intensity be
smaller but the sides will be
smaller.
Everything about these smacks of
the early universe.
But more interestingly perhaps,
our best picture of the early
universe, inflation, which says
that at very early times the
universe expanded very rapidly
due to an energy stored in empty
space, if you wish, and that
energy decayed and produced all
the galaxy and stars we now see.
Something from nothing, which as
you know is something I like to
talk about.
That --
What is equally remarkable, we
can make a prediction, that
theory explains the nature of
the cause in mike wave
background, everything we see
about the universe.
But we really needed a signal of
that theory, inflation, and many
people, including myself, have
predicted years and years ago
that if inflation happened at a
high enough scale, the
gravitational wave back wound
intense enough would it affect
the image seen from the mike
wave background.
I don't think any of us thought
it would be that strong.
What's amazing is the signal
that's been seen is so strong,
that it suggests this inflation
happened at a scale called the
grand unification scale, which
is a scale we would have
guessed.
When we look at the forces of
nature, we have hypothesized
that they come together, they
all come together to form a
single force at a scale that's
16 orders of magnitude smaller
than the size after proton.
If they do, it will produce a
signal they have seen.
>> What are we looking at here?
>> A bunch of lines.
>> It looks like a game.
>> It looks like a game.
What we're seeing is when the
mike wave --
When the gravitational waves
come through the microwave
background, they'll alternately
compress space in one direction
and stress it in another.
That will cause the radiation to
be more intense in one direction
than another.
We call that polarization.
And a gravitational wave that
comes through the mike wave
background will produce a
particular pinwheel type pattern
of polarization changes just
like you see here.
Nothing else we know of will
produce that pattern.
What you're looking at in a
sense is the direct image of
gravitational waves stretching
space in one direction, and
compressing them in another.
If this is confirmed, this will
be the first direct detection of
gravitational waves which are
predinged by Einstein, well,
Einstein's theory developed in
1916.
>> Real quickly, have these
waves always been there and
we're just finding them?
Are they going to be there again
tomorrow?
>> They've been --
They were road in the early
universe, they are permeating
the universe today just like the
microwave background is, and
they'll continue to exist,
they'll get weaker as the
universe expands, but they have
been --
Because of the only things that
can permeate that plasma,
they're the only things that
really could give us a direct
signal.
In fact it's like having a new
light.
We can't see what is normal,
it's like having x-rays but it's
better, because they allow us to
go through all of that dense
stuff between us and the big
***, and see right back to the
beginning.
>> It's like a curtain between
us and the big ***.
>> Exactly.
And these things get right
through the curtain.
That's why I've been so excited
in studying these things for
much of my career.
>> So how do you prove this?
>> Well, it's a good question.
First of all, the --
You could rule out all other
signals, anything else that
could produce that kind of
signal.
Also inflation makes various
predictions that says the
gravitational waves will have a
certain strength, they'll have a
certain intensity for different
wavelengths which we can try
and measure, and you'll also
compare their intensity with
different wavelengths with the
other lumps we see in the
microwave background.
These are all tests we can do of
the fundamental idea.
And basically, ultimately we
also, very importantly, we have
to confirm with this, this is a
single observation.
Since it could be the most
important observation made about
the universe in our lifetime, if
not in the last century, we
extra --
Extraordinary claims require
extra evidence.
A single claim should never be
trusted.
But the good news is, there are
dozens of experiments including
the plank satellite up there
which are poised --
You see, it's hard to
identifying something --
Find something if you don't know
what you're looking for.
This happened in 1992, everyone
was looking for them but within
months of the time the satellite
discovered them, everyone else
was able to confirm it, because
once you know what you're
looking for it's easier to find.
So there's dozens of experiments
in the south pole, in space,
that are prime to be able to
test this.
So we'll know soon if it's true.
>> These were found by a
telescope at the south pole?
>> The south pole is the best
place to go next to space,
because it's very, very dry, and
very, very cold.
And it's a really good place to
look for mike waives because
you're looking for a background
that while --
A background of radiation that's
only three degrees above
absolute zero.
You want to shield out any noise
from the earth and the heat from
the earth, but also water and
things in the atmosphere absorb
these mike waves, so the south
pole is the best place to go.
That is unless you're someU.N.
who has to do it because you
have to spend the winter in the
south pole.
One of the people on the
experiment is a former student
of mine who had to winter over
in the south pole and that's a
difficult thing to do.
>> Not a lot of laughs --
>> yeah.
>> Is this like the holy grail
of --
Is this a Nobel prize winner, is
this big, big --
>> this is the holy grail.
The one remaining thing, the
smoking gun that would tell us
if this idea of inflation was
right, was gravitational waves.
I've been arguing that for
almost 30 years.
And so lots of people were
looking for it and lots of --
And that's what's surprising.
At least one, the plank
satellite reported an upper
limit.
And the upper limit is below the
level that these people are
seeing.
So that's why we have to make
certain, well, there are reasons
to believe you can make both
those results concordant, but
it's cause for hesitation at
least, because these are not --
These are about as big as they
possibly could have been and not
been seen up to now.
And that's amazing.
But they've done a very careful
job, because they're not
dummies.
They've been analyzing this for
three years because they knew
the whole world to be watching.
This is not only a Nobel prize,
but this is a game-changer
because it means for those
people who like to say, oh, I
don't believe in the big ***,
no one was around, how do you
know it was there, this is
someone calling to us from the
big ***.
Not someone, but something
calling to us.
This is seeing the big ***.
Just like seeing the sun.
And there's no --
Once we measure it, there's no
denying it, and those people who
don't believe it can stick their
heads in the sand more, but it's
way too late.
>> How do we know that these --
Why weren't they --
14 billion years to get here,
shouldn't there have been a bump
into something here and there?
>> They're so weakly
interacting, they basically pass
through everything without
changing.
Gravity is the weakest force in
nature.
Gravity is incredibly weak.
We don't think of that, we've
talked about it, we don't think
about it because we feel when we
try to jump, but that's because
the whole earth is interacting.
Gravity is 40 orders of
magnitude weaker than --
To the waves pass, they're the
best messengers from the early
universe and the beginning of
time, now we have a window in
principle, the first window to
directly probe that era.
>> Textbooks will be rewritten
because of this?
>> Absolutely.
Absolutely.
It doesn't change the idea of
the big ***, but it makes it
empirical.
It turns speculation into hard
science.
>> Provided it can be proven.
>> provided it can be tested.
And confirmed.
And that's the thing.
And what we try to do is
continually prove falsified data
too see if it's wrong.
We look for every possible
reason it could be wrong and
believe me, scientists are going
to do that.
The competitors of the
experiments will do that.
They had this result three years
ago, they've been working on it
for three years, to try and make
sure they didn't make a mistake.
>> I'm really glad we had you on
the day that this thing broke.
>> The timing couldn't have been
better.
It's a memorable day in the
history of science.
>> All right.
Great to have you here.
>>> Get the inside scoop on
what's happening at Arizona PBS.
Become an eight insider.
You'll receive weekly updates on
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today.
>>> April 15th is approaching,
which means it's time to fumble
around with receipts and W-2s
and other tools of the tax
season.
Here to give us the latest on
tax filing is Bill Brunson, a
local spokesman for the IRS and
Anthony Forschino of the Arizona
department of revenue.
Good to have you both here.
Thank you so much for joining
us.
>> Ted, thanks for having us
back.
>> What is new this year?
>> Lots of things.
First, let's kind of set up a
line or a barrier or a line in
the sand.
70% much all Arizonans make
around $58,000 a year.
So what we're going to talk
about next are upper earning
income individuals.
So if your income is $125,000 or
more at married filing
separately, 250,000 married
filing jointly or 200,000 for
other filing statuses such as
head of household, you may be
subject to an additional
Medicare tax of 9%, a net
investment income tax of 3.8%, a
new tax bracket of 39.6% that
these upper earning individuals
could be subject to.
If you have a personal exemption
you're claiming that's worth
$3900 for personal exemption,
that amount could be partially
if not completely phased out for
these upper earning income
individuals.
Or if you itemize, a good
portion of your itemizations
could be not allowed because of
this higher earning income.
So those are some of the changes
that affect 30% or so of
Arizonans who are going to file.
Medical and dental expenses, if
you itemize, the old threshold
was 7.1st of your adjusted
gross income.
Once you competed that there
would be a tax benefit for
medical costs.
Now it's at 10% for individuals
who are under 65.
If you're 65 or older, it's
still at 7.5% of your adjusted
gross income for this year and
the next two years.
So there's a change there.
Same-sex couples.
If you are legally married, you
must file a married filing joint
or married filing separate
return for 2013.
The IRS has a lot of social
media going on, we tweet, we
have Facebook, we have developed
a lot of YouTubes over 100, one
of them deals specifically with
same-sex married couples, and it
talks about other factors that
would be of benefit to them.
So I would advise anybody that
falls in that category to see
that YouTube video and perhaps
there's a benefit there I'm not
speaking about.
>> All right, let's get to state
taxes.
What's different, what's
changed?
>> One of the things speaking of
what bill talked about with
same-sex marriages, for Arizona
purposes, we don't --
Arizona doesn't recognize it.
So for this purpose, we have
created a schedule called
schedule S, in which the --
Each of the individuals as part
of the taking your adjusted
gross income, they have to
determine which part belongs to
them individually, and then file
single returns.
>> OK.
Part --
This conformity bill that comes
up every year, basically says
you conform to the feds in
certain ways?
>> Yes.
What happens is because our
return starts with the adjusted
gross income from the federal
return, anything that has been
changed by the federal
government for the year has to
be conformed to otherwise we
have to change the starting
point of the Arizona return.
>> And one of the things they
did, they passed a law in which
there was payments that came
for airline people back in 2011
through '07 and they were able
to amend all the returns.
We did not conform to that.
You get a one-time credit for
that amount.
>> What happened to the use tax?
Is that still around?
>> It still exists.
It started back in 1930
whatever, we still have the use
tax.
The only difference is it's no
longer on the tax return like it
was that one year.
>> Like it was before that one
year.
>> Correct.
Before that one year.
It still exists and you still
have to pay it, and send it in.
>> It's still hide income plain
sight.
>> Exactly.
>> Folks still filing online a
lot?
Are you seeing more of that?
>> We're seeing a slight
increase, and we're seeing a
slight increase of people filing
using their home computers.
So that's at about a 15% more
this year than it was last year.
Approximately 88% of all
Americans will electronically
file their tax return.
So slightly less figure here
about 85% Arizonans will choose
to electronically file.
And there's a lot of benefits
not only for you the taxpayer
choosing to electronically file,
but it saves the federal
government which in turn saves
yours and my tax dollars.
>> As far as if you want to have
someone else do your taxes, you
look for a tax preparer, pros
and cons of going that direction
and what do you look for to find
a good one?
>> And what do you watch out for
to no not get a bad one.
The bottom line, taxpayer is
signing the return so they're
legally responsible for all that
information.
So if you choose to go to a paid
preparer, and about 65% of all
Arizonans will, choose one that
has a prepared tax
identification number.
They would have already gotten
that from the internal revenue
service.
A good preparer is going to
willingly sign that tax return
as a paid preparer.
A good preparer will have gone
back to the schoolhouse,
continual professional education
and learned all the new tax law,
to explain that to you and how
it's a benefit to you.
Your bad tax preparer is going
to say, charge a service --
Excuse me.
For the percent of refund they
can get back for you, they're
going to charge a certain
percentage of that.
And that's not a good thing to
get into, because it lends
itself to unethical behavior and
people padding expenses.
So if somebody says I only want
a small percentage of what I can
get back, that's not a good
sign.
Or they say up front, you're
going to get a large refund, I
can feel it, I know it, and they
haven't worked any of the
numbers.
So that's another no-no.
So something along those lines
occur, consider going on down
the road.
Check with the better business
bureau to see who has had bad
marks against them as a bad
preparer, but for the most part,
Ted, preparers are trying to do
a good job because that's the
way they make their living, and
they're out there doing the best
they can.
But there are a few that are a
bad apple.
So beware of those that you just
don't have a good feeling for
it.
>> And tax preparers on a state
level, they're seeing these
school tax --
School tuition --
We talk about it so much on this
program, it seems they're
changing all the time.
Clean election assist changing
all the time.
>> The clean elections you had
that $5 deduction on your tax
return, and you can get a credit
for --
That was completely removed last
year.
Now I know there's a bill going
through that could bring it back
again.
But it's been removed from the
tax return.
One of the big things talking
about preparers, we have --
We're doing a lot on catching
fraudulent refunds.
Last year we caught $31 million
worth of fraudulent refunds and
this year so far tax season
we've been catching about two to
2.5 million a week.
>> Is that an increase, are you
seeing more of this stuff?
>> We see it a lot.
They're out there just trying to
hit it.
It's filing for dead people,
filing with social security
numbers, the people are out of
state and they try to hit it and
we're putting it through
criteria.
>> And the STOs, school
tuition organization, changes
there?
>> Pretty much the same, there's
two different pieces, and you
can still give until April
15th and get the credit.
>> All right.
You got about 30 seconds.
What if I need an extension?
>> Go to IRS.GOV, click on the
free file icon and
electronically select --
You can select that particular
item, your extension to file at
no charge, and summit it
electronically.
Your extension is for the
paperwork, not for paying the
tax.
They give you an additional six
months to summit the information
up through October 15th.
You need to do it before
midnight Tuesday April 15th,
to get your extension for six
months through October 15th.
>> Great information.
Good to have you both here.
>> Thanks for having us.
>>> Tomorrow on "Arizona
Horizon," flare minority
leadership at the legislature
about the latest state capitol
news and find out about a local
program that looks to get more
under privileged girls into stem
careers.
That's Tuesday on "Arizona
Horizon."
>>> That is it for now.
I'm Ted Simons.
Thank you so much for joining
us.
You have a great evening.
>>> "Arizona Horizon" is made
possible by contributions from
the friends of eight.
Members of your Arizona PBS
station.
Thank you.
>>> When you want to be more
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