An investigation by the St. Petersburg Times links Polk County sheriff, Sgt. Scott Larson, to a 2002 car accident that killed the car’s 16-year-old passenger, Miles White.

“Despite enforcement efforts, human traffickers and prostitution operators have constructed resilient and lucrative networks of organized crime that have a franchise-like ability to persist and prosper,” reports Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle.

Former public safety commissioner, Walter Monegan, shared emails with The Washington Post that reveal that Gov. Sarah Palin “harshly criticized Alaska state troopers for failing to fire her former brother-in-law and ridiculed an internal affairs investigation into his conduct.”

A report by Erin Emery and David Olinger of The Denver Post shows that soldiers are being sent back to Afghanistan and Iraq despite the fact that they are battling both physical and mental ailments.

A New York Times report shows that the financial crisis in the United States is having an impact on schools and students across the nation.

Keegan Kyle, Grant Smith and Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzed more than 11,000 pothole fixes in the city of Milwaukee and found that the city repaired potholes at a slower rate in minority neighborhoods in the first half of the year.

Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential nominee, “has been deeply involved in alerting state officials to her family’s personal turmoil” according to interviews and documents reviewed by James V. Grimaldi and Kimberly Kindy of The Washington Post.

According to federal documents, “This year, spending on contractors, who protect diplomats, civilian facilities and supply convoys, is projected to exceed $1.2 billion,” reports Peter Eisler of USA TODAY.

A five-part series by The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) explores how the probation and parole system in South Carolina — and many other states — is broken.

Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz and Avni Patel of ABCNews.com report that lobbyist money is flowing freely at the Democratic National Convention despite Barack Obama’s position to ban lobbyist and special interest contributions to his campaign.