Tell me more about "Qualified first-time homebuyer distributions up to $10,000"

Tell me more about “Qualified first-time homebuyer distributions up to $10,000”.

Can a buyer, as a first-time home buyer, make a withdrawal (take a disbursement) from his traditional IRA without tax penalty in order to purchase (help with the down payment) on a new home?

Define what a “qualified first-time homebuyer” is:
I assume that this is when the buyer has not owned a home in the last three years prior to closing on a new home purchase.