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 "gear" ...
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Wired for Repression
Bloomberg's series "Wired for Repression" revealed the extent to which Western companies have sold surveillance systems to authoritarian countries, including Iran, Syria, Bahrain and Tunisia, which have used them to track, imprison, torture and kill. The newest newest artillery for reprssive regimes, the gear allows authorities to intercept their citizens' e-mails and text messages, monitor Internet activity and locate political targets through cell phone technology.
Tags: torture; surveillance; imprisonment; censorship
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Inland Tsunami
The story investigates the man-made causes of the deadly flash flooding that killed 24 people in the Australian mountain-top city of Toowoomba.
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The Deadly Dust
Fox Five found that in the 1990s the National Institutes of Health was not having employees wear the required safety gear, exposing them to asbestos. Using a hidden camera, they were able to confirm that even now employees were still being exposed.
Tags: asbestos; health; safety; National Institutes of Health; NIH; federal employees; OSHA; hidden camera; inspections; regulations
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Whistle Blower Outs NSA Spy Room
In San Francisco, a "secret Internet switching room packed with surveillance gear and wired to AT&T's backbone network" was interconnected to other major Internet providers. The documents detailing this setup had been sealed due to a class-action lawsuit against AT&T, in which a civil liberties group "charged that the company had helped the government eavesdrop on Americans' domestic and international Internet traffic without a warrant."
Tags: Internet; national security; government eavesdropping; Web surveillance; AT&T; NSA
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Craft had history of problems
This same-day story notes the record of equipment defects for a DC-9 cargo plane that crashed during takeoff. A review of 32 FAA Service Difficulty Reports on the plane filed by its operator noted landing gear malfunctions, cracks and corrosion in the plane structure, and loose, cracked, stripped or frozen parts in the landing gear door, cabin and cargo doors.
Tags: airplanes; Federal Aviation Authority; FAA; Service Difficulty Reports; airports
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A Child Removed
In this extensive three-day series, Jeff Lehr of the Joplin Globe examined the Missouri Division of Family Services, and found a system riddled with problems -- from mothers fighting to get their children back after baseless accusations to children being removed from their parents only to be placed in dangerous and abusive foster care where they were injured or killed. The Globe found that Jasper County had one of the highest rates of removal of children from their homes by the state than any other county in Missouri, while at the same time it was more difficult for parents to reunite with their children. Innocent parents caught in the gears of DFS could spend years trying to clear their names and regain custody of their children. The series takes a hard look at DFS, the courts, and those who are supposedly responsible for removing children from the home. Statistics and tables, as well as the personal stories of people affected, potential reforms to Missouri's laws, and the problem of a "revolving door" of underpaid, under-trained social workers are discussed in detail.
Tags: DFS; division of family services; family court; children; foster care; social work; social workers; death; parents; law
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Bay to Baghdad
Looking for an Iraq-related story and using the Department of Defense's procurement database, San Francisco Chronicle business reporters found "more than 900 local companies selling gear and services to the military--everything from ice cream and underwear to chemical-weapons detectors. It totaled more than $4 billion in 2002."
Tags: Department of Defense; Iraq; defense-related firms; defense contractors; defense contracts; Lockheed Martin; Iraq; U.S. Military
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Auto motives
Indianapolis Monthly investigates a flawed auto-mall scheme, which lured some 60 prominent investors, and then went bankrupt. The story exposes the questionable business practices of the person behind the scheme - Jimmy O'Neal, former Hamilton County newspaper publisher and former friend of the golf great Arnold Palmer. "Without Arnold Palmer's friendship, O'Neal might never have gotten his auto-mall scheme out of first gear," the magazine reports. A major finding is that the O'Neils have taken cash out of the auto-mall corporation, and have been spending investors' funds on luxury vacations and parties for several years.
Tags: FBI; litigation; courts; sports; fraud; swindling; Arnold Palmer Automotive Group; accountancy
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Beyond Shelter
Governing reports on Broward County's efforts to combat its homeless problem. The homeless were living in a tent city across the street from Fort Lauderdale City Hall. Now they're living in "Homeless Assistance Centers," which offer job and life skills instead of just a place to stay for the night. Though the program is geared towards long-term solutions, critics say that certain kinds of homeless people -- the disabled, the mentally ill -- are not able to live with the restrictions of the centers.
Tags: homelessness; homeless shelters; tent cities; Housing and Urban Development
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Under 12/Under Arrest
"Grade school felons sound like anomalies or misprints. They are neither," reports the St. Petersburg Times. The story reveals that "elementary school kids who once got a stern lecture from a cop or a store clerk now are regularly arrested on felony charges" and "saddled with permanent criminal records." The investigation cites data that "more than 4,500 kids 11 and under were charged with crimes in Florida during the fiscal year that ended in June," 2000. It also reveals statistics showing "that disproportionately large number of African-Americans come in contact with the juvenile justice system." The reporter points to examples of children hurting their teachers or raping their classmates, but finds at the same time that "overall the system is not geared to handle very young kids." A major question risen by the investigation is whether Florida needs to adopt a law that prevents very young children from being formally charged and tried.
Tags: children; law enforcement; arson; crime; felony; petty larceny; courts; police; mental health; minorities; arrests; schools; teachers; parents; Pinellas; Hillsborough