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 "McCain" ...
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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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Haunted By Spirits
The New Times reports on the liquor industry ties behind John McCain's rise to power. McCain's wife, Cindy Hensley McCain, is the daughter of James Henley, bootlegger turned Anheuser-Busch magnate. Though McCain has pushed for campaign finance reform, the beer industry has always been good to him. And it's his wife's fortune that allows him to be in politics at all. Though McCain has recused himself many times on bills dealing directly with alcohol, experts say that the fact that he doesn't address alcohol-related bills that come before his committees may actually benefit the industry.
Tags: John McCain; liquor industry; PAC money
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Losing Signal
"..the advent of the information economy has turned the FCC from a minor D.C. player into one of the government's most powerful agencies. As the de facto czar of the nation's communications infrastructure, the commission now makes daily decisions affecting America's technological destiny-reviewing megamergers like AOL Time Warner union, evaluating the Baby Bells' expansion plans, determining whether cable companies should decide what Web content their Internet customers can view. And no one appreciates the FCC's newfound authority better than the communications industry, whose lobbying expenses now stand at roughly $125 million, more than twice the amount spent by defense firms."
Tags: FCC; lobbying; telecommunications; "Big Media; " broadband; Internet; cable; telephone; radio; broadcast licenses; deregulation; digital transition; telcos; CFIC; Dingell; Tauzin; McCain; Lott; open access; First Amendment; location-based services (LBS); privacy; Digital Democracy; National Association of Broadcasters; NAB; analog spectrum; consolidation; government auction
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Playing With Pain Killers
Newsweek reports on the increased use of painkillers and how many Americans have turned their prescription into an addiction. "In 1999 an estimated 4 million Americans over the age of 12 used prescription pain relievers, sedatives and stimulants for 'nonmedical' reasons in the past month, with almost half saying they'd done so for the first time." Experts and police report the drugs are easy to get and have a wide variety of users. Therefore, making it sometimes difficult to track users down. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies agree that education for prescription pain relievers is crucial to prevent misuse. In addition, Newsweek reports on Hazard, Ky., a small town that has been overtaken with the drug OxyContin and Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain reports on her personal battle with pain pills since 1989,
Tags: prescription pain relievers; Drug Enforcement Administration; painkillers; National Institute on Drug Abuse; doctors; pharmacies
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Probing Campaign 2000
This series of articles examines the records of the principal candidates for president this election year. "The stories included a report on evidence that Vice President Al Gore was less than truthful on several issues, and found evidence that his own aides warned him in 1988 about his inclination to embellish details about his accomplishments. ... Another report disclosed that Sen. McCain, while campaigning against special interests, had recently pressured the FCC on behalf of a major contributor, whose corporate jet he was using for campaign travel."
Tags: campaign; election 2000; Al Gore; John McCain; George W. Bush
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Haunted by Spirits
"The story traces then-presidential contender and Arizona Senator John McCain's ties to the liquor industry, vis a vis his wife, Cindy Hensley McCain and her father, Jim Hensley. The Hensly liquor money funded McCain's first run for Congress in 1982, and continues to fund him, both personally and professionally. The story examines those links, from Cindy's father's history as a bootlegger to John McCain's history as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee - where he's repeatedly turned his back on concerns about the liquor industry."
Tags: John McCain; Cindy McCain; liquor industry; presidential candidate; Congress
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Flying Too High
"1 in 300 small planes are involved in fatal accidents each year." In 1999 there were almost double the number of deaths as there were fatal accidents, meaning that unsafe pilots are putting more than just themselves at risk. Small airline lobbying group Airline Owners and Pilots Association would like to keep out government regulation of this area though. They are also resiting fees for general aviation pilots that are currently subsidized by fees from commercial travelers. The article presents an in-depth discussion of the issue of increasing regulation for general aviation, a group that is largely constituted by the affluent and by business.
Tags: John F. Kennedy; Jr.; general aviation; National Transportation Safety Board; Airline Owners and Pilots Association; National Business Aircraft Association; General Aviation; Manufacturers Association; Phil Boyer; John McCain
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By Their Quirks Ye Shall Know Them
This Time columnist writes about the distinguishing characteristics of Bill Bradley, George W. Bush, John McCain and Al Gore. The author maintains, "Voters have learned the hard way that character matters, that you need to know who someone is much more than you need to know what his tax pla entails."
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Is John McCain a War Hero?
This article examines presidential candidate Senator John McCain's war record and focuses on the time he spent as a prison of war in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. It also investigates "a small but vocal subculture of Americans who claim that McCain is anything but a war hero.... Most of these individuals' claims dissolve under scrutiny, but their anguish over their loved ones' fate is real, and so is the animosity with McCain that exists both ways."
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An Endowed Chair
A Phoenix News Times investigation of US Senator and presidential candidate John McCain's campaign fund raising revealed that he has raised "hard money" from people with business before the three Senate committees he chairs.