The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Barack Obama" ...
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Untangling FOIA: a Test of Obama's Transparency Pledge
Bloomberg News filed Freedom of Information Act requests with 57 federal agencies in June to test President Barack Obama's 2009 promise that his administration would be the most transparent in U.S. history. The series revealed how few departments complied with the law by disclosing the travel costs of top officials in a timely manner. Overall, only eight agencies met the 20-working-day deadline. After six months, nine of 15 cabinet offices and about a third of the agencies overall still had yet to release the documents.
Tags: Freedom of Information Act; FOIA; federal agencies; Obama
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Inside Pfizer's Palace Coup
The inside story of the abrupt downfall of the leader of one of the world's largest and most important companies. Named CEO of Pfizer at the age of 51, this man was a brilliant litigator who harbored ambitions to join Barack Obama's cabinet or launch his own political career. Instead, he found himself out a job, the target of a sophisticated palace coup. He departed with a $25 million severance package, even as the company's stock declined 36% under his watch.
Tags: Obama; Pfizer; CEO; Barack Obama
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Shell Games Series
As he sought out the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama called for greater corporate transparency around the world. His criticism focused on the forgiving laws of locales outside U.S. borders- from Switzerland to the Cayman Islands. In a multi-part series called "Shell Games", Reuters revealed equally egregious practices on America'a own shores, where business incorporation laws in some states are more lax than those of Somalia.
Tags: Barack Obama; U.S. Border; Somalia; Transparency; borders
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Overseas Donors
The Associated Press investigated whether any donors to presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain with foreign addresses were illegal foreign donors; whether the two campaigns were guarding against illegal foreign money by asking overseas donors for copies of their current U.S. passports as the Federal Election Commission instructs; and to what extent the two campaigns were failing to disclose basic information about donors such as their employers and occupations. The AP reviewed hundreds of thousands of donations from around the globe and found evidence that both campaigns took money first and asked questions later. The reporters found a smattering of illegal foreign donations to Obama as well as missing details in federal paperwork the law requires from Obama and McCain. During interviews with 123 donors in 11 countries, The AP found that Obama accepted illegal contributions from at least three foreigners. In one case, a Canadian noted with is donation that he was not an American; the Obama campaign accepted his money anyway, and the Canadian's note about his foreign citizenship actually appeared in Obama's campaign finance report. A donor in Australia admitted to the AP that he entered a phony passport number when making an Internet contribution to Obama. Just five donors, three for Obama and two for McCain, told the AP that the campaigns asked to see copies of their current U.S. passports.
Tags: Barack Obama; John McCain; campaign finance; illegal donations; foreign donations; campaign regulation; 2008 presidential election
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Nope
The article examined president-elect Barack Obama's nomination of Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano, to head the Department of Homeland Security. The New Times investigation found Governor Napolitano lacked the administrative skills necessary to run a troubled cabinet post like Homeland Security. The article also examines her lack of initiative and leadership during the polygamy scandal which began in Arizona and continues to unfold in Texas (at time of submission, 1/2009.)
Tags: Janet Napolitano; Arizona; Department of Homeland Security; Immigration; Polygamy; Obama cabinet
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Politifact.com
Politifact is a fact-checking website that focuses on the statements of the 2008 Presidential candidates, and rates the truth of each fact stated by the candidates. Statements are rated via the "Truth-O-Meter," a scale that used terms such as Pants on Fire, or Mostly True to verify what is being said. The St. Petersburg Times analyzes in further detail the truth of said facts that Politifact rates.
Tags: Lie detector; Mitt Romney; Hillary Clinton; 2008 Presidential Race; Rudy Giuliani; Barack Obama; Mike Huckabee
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Barack Obama's Family Tree
Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's heritage has played a key part in his public persona. In his own memoir, "Dreams From My Father," Obama touches on his family history but Sun-Times reporter Scott Fornek went into deeper detail than any other published documentation about the candidate. Without aid from Obama or his staff, Fornek uncovered past dealings that had never been brought to the public's attention.
Tags: President; black; family tree; relative;
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The Watchdogs
The Chicago Sun-Times runs a weekly investigative column dubbed "The Watchdogs," a chance for smaller investigative pieces to be published. 2007's entries include stories out of Chicago City Hall and the suburbs; county and state government; and the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama.
Tags: stories; documents; watchdogs; column; watchdog reporting
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Mental Anguish and the Military
Army studies show that 20-25 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq show symptoms of serious mental health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Government officials say that the military has programs to treat these soldiers, but National Public Radio's investigation at Colorado Springs' Fort Carson found that "these programs are not working." Soldiers who are desperate and suicidal even have trouble getting the necessary help. Furthermore, "evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army." In the wake of the report, three senators - Barbara Boxer, Christopher Bond and Barack Obama - wrote a letter to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs seeking clarification of the reports.
Tags: Post-traumatic stress disorder; Iraq War; Fort carson; Department of Veterans' Affairs
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Get the Lead Out
In March of 2006, 4-year-old Jarnell Brown died after swallowing an item of lead jewelry made for children. Two years after its initial investigations into the dangers of lead in children's jewelry, the WMAR-TV team mobilized once again, its new reports on the harmful effects of lead poisoning in young children compelled both the city and federal governments to take action. In the wake of these investigations, Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are planning to introduce legislation to ban lead in children's products.
Tags: Lead; lead poisoning; children; jewelry; harnful