Resource Center

Stories

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 "The Hill" ...

  • Scapegoat: The Chino Hills Murders and the Framing of Kevin Cooper

    Scapegoat is the true story of the horrific Chino Hills murders -- the highest profile crime in San Bernardino County history. It shows how law enforcement ignored eyewitness information implicating three white men as the perpetrators in order to pin the crime on Kevin Cooper, a recently escaped black prisoner from the nearby prison in Chino, California. It shows how his public defender lost the case before the trial even began and how the justice system has failed Cooper at almost every turn. It also shows the heroic work of an international law firm headquartered in San Francisco that adopted Cooper's case pro bono just three months before his scheduled execution in 2004 and won him a stay and how lawyers from this firm continue to appeal his wrongful conviction.

    Tags: Murders; crime; law enforcement; police; prison; justice system; wrongful conviction

    By Patrick O'Connor

    Crime Magazine

    2012

  • ABC News Brian Ross Investigates: Money Trail 2012

    While most of the political press followed the usual rapid spin cycle of the 2012 presidential campaigns, Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative team instead focused on the corrupting influence of the unprecedented flood of big money on politics, exposing details of Romney’s hidden wealth, ferreting out the identities of secret big money donors and exposing political pay-offs to Obama’s top donors in a series of original investigative reports on ABC World News, Nightline and a year’s worth – more than two dozen front page print stories on ABCNews.com.

    Tags: politics; political press; presidential campaign; Obama; Romney; wealth

    By Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross; Washington Investigative Producer: Matthew Mosk; Investigative Producers: Megan Chuchmach; Cindy Galli; Angela Hill; Chief Investigative Producer: Rhonda Schwartz

    ABC News

    2012

  • Research in Jeopardy

    Unbeknowst to many, Princeton University scientists receive a vast majority of their funding from the federal government. This report focuses on how Princeton and other universities fought back against the stall in government funding, using lobbying disclosure reports to show a growing influence of Princeton's voice on the Hill and in Washington.

    Tags: Government Funding; Princeton University; Washington; The Hill

    By Henry Rome, Rachel Jackson, Anastasya Lloyd-Damnjanovic

    The Daily Princetonian

    2011

  • National Security and Terrorism Beat

    The Brian Ross Investigative Unit looked at various national security issues including the Seattle Bomb Plot, the killing of Osama bin Laden, the war in Libya, the killing of Anwar al Awlaki and the killing of a Saudi ambassador to the U.S. that was thought to have been sought by the Iranian government.

    Tags: broadcast; terrorism; Seattle Bomb Plot; Osama bin Laden; Libya; Anwar al Awlaki; national security

    By Brian Ross; Avni Patel; Matthew Cole; Angela Hill; Randy Kreider; Rhonda Schwartz; Mark Schone; Lee Ferran; James Goldston; Michael Corn

    ABC News

    2011

  • 20/20 Peace Corps: A Trust Betrayed

    An ABC News 10-month investigation into the murder of a young Peace Corps volunteer that led to the discovery of severe flaws in the way abuse is reported within the Peace Corps. ABC's report led to President Obama signing a law that is aimed at protecting the volunteers better.

    Tags: Peace Corps; murder; abuse; broadcast

    By Brian Ross; Anna Schecter; Angela M. Hill; Rhonda Schwartz; Mark Schone

    ABC News 20/20

    2011

  • Inside and Out

    Three years after Illinois broke off its youth prisons from the adult system, WBEZ set off to see what changed and found very little. Libraries without proper books, a locked computer lab, abysmal vocational education, and increasing suicide attempts characterized the youth prisons.

    Tags: youth prison; juvenile; prison; jail; treatment

    By Robert Wildeboer; Gabriel Spitzer; Adriene Hill; Sam Hudzik; Linda Paul; Carlos Javier Ortiz; Bill Healy; Cate Cahan

    WBEZ Radio (Chicago)

    2010

  • "Capitol Gains"

    In this series of stories, Wall Street Journal reporters analyzed "more than 6,000 financial-disclosure" documents to show how "lawmakers and congressional aides" were able to find and use loopholes "in ethics rules to profit from trading the stocks of companies and industries that they oversee on Capitol Hill."

    Tags: Capitol Hill; lawmakers; Congress; congressional; financial crisis; stock market

    By Brody Mullins; Tom McGinty; Jason Zweig

    Wall Street Journal (New York)

    2010

  • Could Sandy Hill Have Been Saved?

    This series looked at why fire-and-rescue workers were unable to save a woman trapped inside her home even though she was on the phone with a dispatcher giving directions to her upstairs bedroom. The reporting found that volunteers who responded that night did not use thermal imaging equipment that could have helped them find the victim, Sandy Hill; that they did not place a ladder at either of the windows in her bedroom; that they were slow to ventilate the house and remove the smoke that killed her; and that they did not question people who had escaped the house about her location. Additional reporting exposed systemic weaknesses in Spotsylvania's fire-and-rescue services, which rely on self-governing volunteer departments and a smaller number of career personnel hired and directed by the county. These weaknesses include a poorly structured chain of command, lack of communication, insufficient training for man volunteers, and a failure to enforce existing regulations due in large part to friction between the career and volunteer units.

    Tags: Firefighters; Fire Department; asphyxiation; volunteer; equipment; protocol; Spotsylvania; fire-and-rescue; training; regulation

    By Don Telvock; Amy Flowers Umble

    Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)

    2010

  • The Texas

    Mentally disabled residents of a school in Texas were forced to be a part of a “fight club” run at night. The brutality of this was highly disturbing and it terrified these residents. Many of them tried to leave, but the staff members continuously forced them back and continued the abuse. Since all this information was revealed, these former staff members have been found guilty of felony charges of injury to the mentally ill and face time in prison.

    Tags: mental health care; system; Texas State School; Corpus Christi; brawl; battle; struggle; state government; state facilities; civil rights

    By Brian Ross; Joseph Rhee; Angela Hill; Vic Walter; Rhonda Schwartz; Jim Murphy; Jon Banner; James Goldston

    ABC News

    2009

  • Runaway Toyotas

    Toyota has recently been in the news following “hundreds of owners having their vehicles suddenly accelerating out of control”. The investigation revealed “over two thousand cases of runaway Toyotas and Lexus cars, including reports of 200 accidents and 16 deaths”. Toyota blamed many of these accidents on the floor mat becoming stuck under the gas pedal and this was the cause of the acceleration.

    Tags: automobiles; electronic computer system; safety; highway; drivers; manufacturers; transportation

    By Brian Ross; Joseph Rhee; Angela M. Hill; Asa Eslocker; Karen Brenner; Roy Garlisi; Megan Chuchmach; Rhonda Schwartz

    ABC News

    2009