"A seven-month San Antonio Express-News investigation into the pervasive and long-standing problem of sex assaults in the military shows victims who report the incidents often are retaliated against and discharged on false claims that they have mental disorders. Offenders, meanwhile, are rarely punished, and most are allowed to stay in the armed forces."
"KCRA obtained video of hundreds, possibly thousands of mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs and PCB containing ballasts stored outside, in the open air behind a Sacramento contractor’s facility. State law explicitly states that all these materials must be in a container to prevent leakage and breakage, yet a former employee says the company ran out of space and told employees to put them outside. Just days after KCRA’s calls the county and state opened investigations and the company cleaned up the materials. Yet concern still exists that with all the sales of energy efficient equipment and materials more and more ...
Read more ...Medicare Drug Program Fails to Monitor Prescribers, Putting Seniors and Disabled at Risk | ProPublica and The Washington Post
"Prescription data obtained by ProPublica shows widespread use of antipsychotics, narcotics and other drugs dangerous for older adults, but Medicare officials say it's not their job to look for unsafe prescribing or weed out doctors with troubled backgrounds." Also published this weekend is a database of Medicare's prescription drug program.
Beyond Payday Loans | Marketplace and ProPublica
"A near billion dollar company, World Finance is the largest of an often-overlooked breed of high-cost lender: installment lenders. Ranging from a few hundred ...
"The government is bypassing judicial hearings in an attempt to swiftly deport thousands of immigrants each year," according to an investigation by the Chicago Reporter.
In an undercover investigation Fox 5 Atlanta found that many used car dealerships in the Atlanta area were breaking the law by charging extra fees when closing a sale. State law prohibits car dealerships in Georgia from charging more than the advertised price, aside from taxes, tag and title, yet some used car dealerships around the city were caught charging close to $600 more.
"An American-Statesman analysis shows that, unlike Cole, other district attorneys, as well as judges and elected officials, have chosen to remain in office after their DWIs. In some cases, they have tried to separate their professional work from their personal mistakes. When Tarrant County state District Judge Elizabeth Berry was arrested for drinking and driving in 2008, other judges handled her DWI cases until charges against her were dropped, recalled Warren St. John, then president of the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association." Read the American-Statesman's full investigation here.
How the gun lobby has already blocked Boston’s bombing investigators | MSNBC
“One avenue of investigation is already closed off to forensic officials working the Boston Marathon bombing case due to efforts dating back decades by the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers.”
What BP Doesn’t Want You to Know About the 2010 Gulf Spill | Newsweek
“What has not been revealed until now is how BP hid that massive amount of oil from TV cameras and the price that this “disappearing act” imposed on cleanup workers, coastal residents, and the ecosystem of the gulf. That story can now be ...
Faltering Courts, Mired in Delays | The New York Times
“The Bronx courts are failing. With criminal cases languishing for years, a plague of delays in the Bronx criminal courts is undermining one of the central ideals of the justice system, the promise of a speedy trial.”
The Curse of Fertilizer | National Geographic Magazine
"Runaway nitrogen is suffocating wildlife in lakes and estuaries, contaminating groundwater, and even warming the globe’s climate. As a hungry world looks ahead to billions more mouths needing nitrogen-rich protein, how much clean water and air will survive our demand for fertile fields?"
"In many instances, the decision is in direct contradiction to the recommendations of court workers who assess the defendant’s risk of fleeing or harming the public, an American-Statesman review has found." Read the American-Statesman's full investigation here.
As OSHA Emphasizes Safety, Long-Term Health Risks Fester | The New York Times
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency that many Americans love to hate and industry calls overzealous, has largely ignored the slow, silent killers that claim the most lives.
Corporations, pro-business nonprofits foot bill for judicial seminars | Center for Public Integrity
Conservative foundations, multinational oil companies and a prescription drug maker were the most frequent sponsors of more than 100 expense-paid educational seminars attended by federal judges over a 4 1/2-year period, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation.
Back-door school handouts | Chicago Tribune
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