In a report by the Springfield New-Leader, it has been found that some hospitals in the southwest Missouri region are charging close to 10 times the amount for a state-mandated blood test on infants.

"The state charges $65 for the blood test which includes processing the blood, delivering it to the state lab, receiving the results and billing for the procedure. The state lab fee is set by state regulation, but hospitals can set what fees they decide are warranted to cover the procedure."

The project was conducted in partnership with the nonprofit watchdog group GuideStar. Scripps developed a searchable database allowing readers to search performance of nonprofit groups in their state and county.

"A Journal Sentinel investigation has found that even though the Milwaukee Police Department have been touting a fall in crime for four years, hundreds of beatings, stabbings and child abuse cases were missing from the count."

"More than 500 incidents since 2009 were misreported to the FBI as minor assaults and not included in the city's violent crime rate, the investigation found. That tally is based on a review of cases that resulted in charges - only about one-fifth of all reported crimes."

An Arizona Star investigation has found that "one in three Arizona schools last year had kindergarten classes with vaccination rates so low children were left vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks such as measles, mumps or pertussis."

It was discovered that "the worst offenders, by far, are charter and private schools, some with vaccination rates as low as 50 percent in Pima County and under 30 percent in Maricopa County. Rates need to be 80 percent to 95 percent, depending on the disease, to prevent the spread of infection."

"An investigation by Haiti Grassroots Watch (HGW) in the Upper Turgeau region of Port-au-Prince discovered that about 100 “transitional shelters” ­­– often called “T-Shelters” –were donated to earthquake victims and built in places where, prior to the 2010 catastrophe, there were trees, bushes, or at the very least, no houses."

"Today, thanks to the donations of the 12-by-18 square meter wooden shacks, an illegal slum has grown, and the slopes above Port-au-Prince are even more denuded."

"Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department announced a first-of-its kind investigation into how rape cases are handled by the University of Montana and its campus police, along with the Missoula Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney's Office because of a series of investigations by the Missoulian."

"Since December, the paper has been reporting about UM's handling of alleged rapes involving students - including allegations of gang rapes by members of its football team. The Missoulian and the Wall Street Journal have since filed a joint FOIA request on the topic."

"Washington state has one of the highest death rates from prescription opiates in the country. Overdoses from prescription painkillers now kill more people there than car accidents. And in King County, more people die from prescription painkillers than from methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin combined."

"However, a simple antidote could instantly reverse those overdoses. It's called Narcan, and by law, any citizen in this state can carry it. The problem is that it's hard to get. InvestigateWest in collaboration with KUOW's Carol Smith takes a look at efforts underway to get Narcan to more people."

In a three-part series for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Kate Golden and Amy Karon used the state’s open records law to receive Gov. Scott Walker’s official calendars.

"To analyze how Walker has used his time as the state’s chief executive, WCIJ reporters created a database of the more than 4,400 entries in Walker’s calendars from his first 13 months in office, through Jan. 31, 2012."

"An Asbury Park Press investigation has exposed how Lakewood, New Jersey school officials slashed the high school’s graduation rate to win a $6 million federal grant, lied to parents of special education students to save money, spend millions of dollars busing school children to religious and otherwise private schools, and showed how a lawyer made millions from one of the poorest districts in New Jersey. Federal and state officials are now investigating."