"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."

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."

"South Carolina’s House speaker is affiliated with a political action committee that has doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and private contracts to sitting state lawmakers."

"According to publicly filed data analyzed by The Post and Courier, the Speaker's PAC has channeled about a half-million dollars in the last four years to the S.C. House Republican Caucus, to the state Republican Party and to more than 130 mostly incumbent Republican candidates for legislative office."

Duff Wilson and Janet Roberts, for Reuters, report on "how food and beverage companies have dominated policymaking in Washington by doubling their lobbying expenditures during the past three years and defeating government proposals aimed at changing the nation’s diet."

Reuters Investigates TV also produced a video about "how the food industry fought back when the White House sought healthier school lunches and Congress directed federal agencies to set nutrition standards."

This month, members of the General Assembly are gathering in Richmond, while "legislators are buzzing about the exclusion of four major Republican candidates from the presidential preference ballot in Virginia on Super Tuesday."

"Missing in that conversation is any discussion of a loophole that gives political parties power to say whether or not candidates have met the letter of the law. Unlike independent candidates, who are required to have their ballot petitions certified by a local registrar, Republican and Democratic chairmen across Virginia are given unlimited discretion and no oversight."

"Atlanta's Fox 5 I-team has learned that a government watchdog group is also worried about the perception of cronyism with the city's massive food and beverage contracts at the airport.

The director of Common Cause says part of the problem is campaign contributions to Mayor Kasim Reed from companies trying to win lucrative airport contracts.

FOX 5 counted up more than $80,000 contributed to Reed from nearly three dozen airport concession companies. However, the mayor did return some of the money."

NJ Governor Chris Christie hired Louis C. Goetting in 2010 as a budget guru to help trim the cost of government.  But Goetting resembles a problem, not a solution, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of his employment history.

Despite the fact that Goetting was hired to help with the budget, he has raked in "$1.1 million from two severance payouts and an early retirement deal.  In addition, Goetting collects $219,000 a year from the state – a $130,000 salary plus $89,000 in pension payments."

"Teachers have long been seen as a "voting block" that will turn out on election day. A WINK news investigation challenges that assumption. It also uncovers a problem education advocates say they've battled for a long time: overall, it is hard to get teachers to turn out to vote."

With help from NICAR, data research found that teachers living in Lee County, Florida didn't turn out as expected for the Lee County Supervisor of Election.