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 2008-05-09T09:29:06-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html A Gannett News Service analysis by Larry Wheeler and Grant Smith shows that "America's aging sewer systems continue to dump human waste into rivers and streams, despite years of fines and penalties targeting publicly owned agencies responsible for sewage overflows."... 2241@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ CAR 2008-05-09T09:29:06-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html An investigation into RV safety by Chris Halsne, of KIRO (Seattle, Wash.), found that the government only requires "front-end crash and brake tests for the empty chassis." Data analysis revealed that many fatalities in RV accidents are the result of... 2240@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Transportation 2008-05-06T11:50:04-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html In a fourth installment of The Washington Post's Forced Out series, about abusive landlords who drive tenants from rent-controlled apartments, Debbie Cenziper and Sarah Cohen report that D.C. government has widely misused a multi-million dollar fund to repair buildings when... 2239@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Housing 2008-05-05T15:34:50-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_05.html An investigation by Michael Braga, Aaron Kessler and Charlie Szymanski of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune used social network analysis and hundreds of land and corporation documents to uncover a web of questionable real estate deals involving a Southwest Florida investor and... 2238@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Housing 2008-05-05T09:49:39-06:00 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_05.html An investigative narrative by Justin Fenton of The Baltimore Sun explores the life and crimes of Cindy McKay who "was convicted in April 2008 of secretly stealing thousands of dollars from her boyfriend and stabbing him to death before his... 2236@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Justice (courts/crime/law) 2008-05-01T10:35:01-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2235@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Broadcast 2008-04-29T13:45:25-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2234@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ International 2008-04-29T10:17:27-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2233@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Workplace 2008-04-28T17:24:26-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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,... 2231@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ International 2008-04-28T14:45:11-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2232@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Health 2008-04-28T13:56:43-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2228@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Justice (courts/crime/law) 2008-04-24T11:46:08-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2229@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-04-24T09:47:47-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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’s wartime performance...Records and interviews show how the Bush administration... 2226@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Government (federal/state/local) 2008-04-21T11:53:24-06:00 http://www.ire.org/extraextra/archives/2008_04.html 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... 2227@http://www.ire.org/extraextra/ Justice (courts/crime/law) 2008-04-21T11:02:38-06:00