A nine-month investigation by Phil Williams of NewsChannel 5 (Nashville, Tenn.) shows that the wiring used on many planes “should not be used for airborne application.” Both Kapton and PVC/Nylon wiring have been proven highly flammable, yet both are currently found on airliners. Test videos revealing issues with these types of wire came from the [...]
Archive for April, 2008
“Business of the Bomb: The Modern Nuclear Marketplace”
April 29th, 2008 
rescntr Michael Montgomery, of American RadioWorks, and Mark Schapiro, of the Center for Investigative Reporting, teamed up to explore the growing nuclear black market which is making it difficult to contain the proliferation of atomic weapons throughout the world. “Experts cite two ominous trends: an increase in the number of nations seeking to enrich uranium, and [...]
Revisiting Willow Island
April 28th, 2008 rescntr The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette published a two-day package marking the 30th anniversary of the Willow Island Disaster, the largest construction accident in U.S. history. Fifty-one construction workers died on April 27, 1978, when a scaffold collapsed during construction of a coal-fired power plant along the Ohio River. The Gazette examines the disaster’s causes, interviews survivors [...]
The global food crisis
April 28th, 2008 rescntr A series by The Washington Post explores the causes and implications of the current global food crisis, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1970s. “A complex combination of poor harvests, competition with biofuels, higher energy prices, surging demand in China and India, and a blockage in global trade is driving food [...]
Posted in Disasters, Government (federal/state/local), Health, International, Social issues 
Comments OffContaminated drinking water found in some LA public schools
April 28th, 2008 rescntr A three-month investigation by Joel Grover of KNBC-Los Angeles found lead levels in drinking water that exceeded EPA safety limits at several area public schools. Contaminated fountains were found at nine of the 30 schools tested. An internal report obtained by the network showed that the district had known about the problem for 18 years. [...]
Exploits of rural prostitution ring exposed
April 24th, 2008 rescntr A two-week series by The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, explores a human trafficking and prostitution ring that flourished in the small towns of eastern Iowa. “By poring over hundreds of court records and reports, and through more than two dozen interviews, The Gazette has pieced together over the last year and a half the [...]
High price of diplomacy with China
April 24th, 2008 rescntr The first of two investigative reports from the Center for Investigative Reporting’s James Sandler examines the Bush administration’s efforts to squelch legal proceedings against two high ranking Chinese officials accused of torturing members of religious groups, including Fulan Gong. The two accused officials are former trade minister Bo Xilai and Beijing
Pentagon emerges as puppeteer of favorable wartime coverage
April 21st, 2008 rescntr A report by David Barstow of The New York Times reveals how the Pentagon has used a cadre of retired military officers to “generate favorable news coverage of the [Bush] administration
Posted in First Amendment & FOIA, Government (federal/state/local), Homeland Security, Military, Terrorism Comments OffSuicides in D.C. jail point to problems within Department of Corrections
April 21st, 2008 rescntr Brendan Smith of the Washington City Paper reports on two suicides in the Washington D.C. jail that revealed widespread misconduct and inadequate mental-health monitoring by corrections personnel. For ten months, the Director of the Department of Corrections fought a FOIA request for the reports from the internal-affairs investigations into the suicides. The reports showed that [...]
Safety issues ignored despite marked increase in nail gun injuries
April 16th, 2008 rescntr A Sacramento Bee investigation into the dangers associated with nail guns reveals a dramatic increase in injuries over the last decade. Andrew McIntosh reports that despite an increase in injuries — some resulting in death — the Consumer Product Safety Commission has done little to address safety issues. While many accidents go unreported, an April [...]
