http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Extra! Extra! is your guide to the latest investigative work. Send comments and suggestions to extraextra@ire.org. en-us support@ire.org 2008-05-20T15:52:20-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cameron McWhirter and Megan Clarke report that former Congressman Bob Barr's political action committee has raised $4.3 million since 2003 to promote conservative candidates and causes, primarily at the national level. But the PAC gave only $125,200... 2253@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Campaign Finance 2008-05-20T15:52:20-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html Ken Dilanian, of USA TODAY, reports members of the Congressional campaign committees are selling access to this summer's political conventions in return for campaign contributions. This exploits a loophole in the ethics law meant to reduce special interests' influence on... 2237@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Campaign Finance 2008-05-01T11:27:33-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html Clark Kauffman of The Des Moines Register explores the influence that the Iowa hospital industry exerts over state regulators and lawmakers. In Iowa today, a state license to run a hospital costs $10, just as it did in 1947. That's... 2222@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-04-15T11:15:24-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html California's state office supply contract was meant to benefit the small businesses while saving the state money, but an investigation by Kimberly Kindy of The San Jose Mercury News shows that the contract actually lined the pockets the big box... 2217@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-04-08T14:49:35-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_12.html The Des Moines Register reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has refused to publicly release its full list of the nation's worst-performing nursing homes, has shared that same information with lobbyists for the nursing home industry.... 2150@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Politics 2007-12-07T10:11:25-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_11.html A Newsday investigation delves into the long history between former New York City Mayor and current GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, and New York State democratic senator Chuck Schumer. The connections, which benefited both men politically, span everything from Giuliani's... 2131@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Politics 2007-11-26T14:32:22-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_11.html In an ongoing investigation, Jeff Pillets of The Record in Bergen County, N.J., uncovered how a taxpayer-supported plan to reclaim the North Jersey Meadowlands instead reopened the infamous garbage dumps to millions of cubic yards of contaminated waste. A review... 2108@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Environment 2007-11-13T09:39:24-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_10.html The Seattle Times kicked off an occasional series on Congressional earmarks, the companies that benefit and the political fundraising connected to the pork projects. David Heath and Hal Bernton report that, after months of collecting and checking data from press... 2096@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ CAR 2007-10-30T10:43:43-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_10.html The Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins surveys the widespread influence of "bundling," collecting individual donations and rolling them together into high-dollar, high-impact political fundraising. Although the term gained notoriety after the arrest of Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, bundling is a... 2087@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ 2007-10-19T16:40:22-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_08.html Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields of the Los Angeles Times report that Norman Hsu, a fugitive for over a decade, has been hiding in plain sight as a prominent Democratic fundraiser. Fifteen years ago, Hsu pleaded no contest to charges... 2032@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Campaign Finance 2007-08-31T10:32:15-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_07.html Paul Pringle of the Los Angeles Time reports that much of Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger's travel is billed to "an obscure nonprofit group that can qualify its secret donors for full tax deductions." Not only do watchdogs claim these write-offs are... 1974@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2007-07-05T11:11:42-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_05.html The Center for Public Integrity has published "one of the most comprehensive resources on U.S. military aid and assistance in the post-9/11 era. 'Collateral Damage' couples the reporting of 10 of the world's leading investigative journalists on four continents with... 1941@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Military 2007-05-30T09:19:24-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_04.html Greg Gordon of McClatchy's Washington, D.C., bureau, reports that the Bush administration tried to curb voter turnout in critical battleground states over the last six years, based on information from written documents and former department lawyers. As Democratic groups amped... 1910@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Politics 2007-04-26T15:12:49-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_04.html Mark Flatten of the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix completed a series on Jim Rhodes who has become in the most influential developer in Arizona's East Valley. In December of 2006, he purchased over 1,000 acres of state trust land.... 1902@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Real Estate 2007-04-20T10:36:33-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2007_04.html John Froonjian of The Press in Atlantic City, N.J., dug into insurance contracts in the Pleasantville school district to uncover a web of insider deals and millions wasted in a struggling district that gets two-thirds of its funding from the... 1901@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Education 2007-04-18T15:55:54-06:00