Fifteen witnesses in a trial that led to the conviction of five people in the deaths of six Kansas City firefighters told The Kansas City Star that a federal investigator in the firefighters’ explosion case had pressured them to lie. Star projects reporter Mike McGraw conducted hundreds of interviews and reviewed 30,000 pages of court and investigative files and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act to assemble the third in a series of reports on the 20-year-old firefighter’s case.
Archive for June, 2008
Posted in 
Drug war on moms
June 30th, 2008 
Beth Troy Anderson of the Los Angeles Daily News investigates widespread problems in California’s system of testing pregnant women for drug use. The drug screenings used in California’s hospitals are likely to return false positives. The poor implementation of the testing, originally designed to help crack babies and drug-dependent mothers, has resulted in families being torn apart when hospital workers call DCFS because of false positives.
Supreme Court struck down portion of campaign finance law
June 27th, 2008 Beth Adam Liptak of The New York Times reports that the “millionaire’s amendment” was struck down by the Supreme Court in a 5-to-4 decision on Thursday. “The law at issue in Thursday’s decision imposed special rules in races with candidates who finance their own campaigns. Those candidates are required to disclose more information, and their opponents are allowed to raise more money.“
Nonprofits work to wield influence on 2008 elections
June 26th, 2008 Beth In a joint effort by NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting, Peter Overby and Will Evans report on the efforts of nonprofits to influence the 2008 elections. “One network of liberal activist groups, Progress Now and its eight affiliates, is trying to shape the debate with a streamlined operation of small staff, low budgets and the Internet.“
Data reveals issues at daycares, other care facilities
June 25th, 2008 Beth Through Freedom of Information legislation, The Vancouver Sun obtained inspection data for more than 3,000 daycares, long-term care facilities and group homes for the disabled.
Al-Queda’s propaganda campaign flourishes online
June 24th, 2008 Beth Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post continues his coverage of the propaganda campaigns at the heart of the war on terrorism. Al-Queda has turned to the internet to spread their message.
Circumstances of trooper’s death kept secret
June 24th, 2008 Beth John O’Brien of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) investigated a fatal friendly fire shooting by state police. For more than a year, top officials kept a lid on details about the killing of Trooper David Brinkerhoff.
Online courses inflate faculty pay
June 24th, 2008 Beth Mackenzie Ryan, of the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times, recently looked into state salary earnings and found a state university contract incentive that pays professors for teaching online classes.
Mapping shows lottery winnings not evenly distributed
June 23rd, 2008 Beth Patrick Lakamp and Susan Schulman of The Buffalo News mapped lottery sales and total winnings for more than 1,500 lottery retailers in Western New York. The data showed that $60 was paid out for every $100 wagered in the lottery, but the distribution of these winnings was not equitable.
U.S.-funded network struggles in Middle East
June 23rd, 2008 Beth “Propaganda has become a primary front in the war against terrorism, with the United States and al-Qaeda each investing heavily to win over hearts and minds.” reports Chris Whitlock of The Washington Post.
