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 "holdings" ...
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Trail of the Gun
After a wave of gun violence in Seattle, KING 5 examined some of the most basic techniques that police use to solve gun crimes. By analyzing documents received through public records requests the television station learned that most large police departments in Washington state are not conducting routine ballistics tests on the so-called “crime guns” they seize from suspects and crime scenes. This means that guns, that could hold clues to unsolved crimes, are sitting right under investigators’ noses in their own evidence rooms. The investigative series "Trail of the Gun" also unearthed the results of federal firearms “traces”, which police use to determine how a gun ended up in the hands of a criminal. These trace results revealed that a large number of Seattle’s crime guns came from an unexpected place. After the stories aired, several large police departments pledged to begin ballistics testing programs for their crime guns. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms offered to assist local police agencies to test every gun in their evidence rooms. And, the feds unveiled a warrant targeting one of the gun dealers identified in the series.
Tags: Guns; gun crimes; police
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World’s Untold Stories: Secrets of the Belfast Project
Forty years ago, during the height of Northern Ireland’s sectarian violence known as "The Troubles," a widowed mother with 10 children disappeared. Today, the answers to what happened could be found in audio recordings locked away in a U.S. college archive. But some don’t want the truth to come out. The audio recordings were collected for the Boston College Oral History Archives, from members of groups on both sides of the fighting. But this history project may contain evidence, that could threaten a delicate peace agreement – and the man credited with helping bring that peace to Northern Ireland, Gerry Adams. Adams, a prominent Irish politician and alleged former head of the Irish Republican Army, has vigorously denied the allegations. But many think the tapes could hold the key to solving the widowed mother’s murder – and more. In this episode of CNN’s documentary series “World’s Untold Stories”, Nic Robertson examines the risks and the benefits of exposing what truths may be on the tapes – and explains the ongoing battle between families, politicians, the courts, and academia, who are either seeking the truth, or seeking to protect it.
Tags: Northern Ireland; Boston College; Gerry Adams; politicians; courts; academia
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Spa shooter sidestepped police
Following a mass shooting inside a suburban Milwaukee spa, reporters John Diedrich and Gina Barton dug into the history of shooter Radcliffe Haughton with police in his community of Brown Deer. They uncovered a series of failures by police that left a dangerous man on the street, emboldening him to become more violent. Let down by police, Zina Haughton sought protection with a restraining order. She was dead days after it was issued. Diedrich and Barton found Brown Deer did not follow the state’s mandatory arrest law in such cases and failed to uphold its most basic duty: protecting the public. The most remarkable finding was that Brown Deer police actually retreated from a standoff with Haughton even though officers had saw him point what appeared to be a rifle at his wife. The police chief was defiant. Elected officials in Brown Deer deferred to the chief, who operates with little oversight in the village, the reporters found. The case revealed a loophole in state’s domestic violence laws: No one could hold local police accountable for failing to follow the law as designed by legislators. Data reporter Ben Poston joined the effort to examine how many domestic violence cases referred to prosecutors result in charges, thus holding other parts of the criminal justice system accountable.
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Campus Security
ChicagoTalks reporters found only a handful of the 63 colleges and universities in Cook County are following an Illinois law -- the Campus Security Enhancement Act of 2008 (SB 2691) -- aimed to make campuses safe. Under the law, colleges and universities are required to create all-hazard emergency and violence prevention plans, along with threat assessment teams and violence prevention committees. The schools are also required to hold annual security trainings. ChicagoTalks reporters contacted, often repeatedly, every public and private, two and four-year college and university in Cook County, and determined that 11 schools appear to be violating the law, while 45 schools provided conflicting or incomplete information -- or no information at all. Reporters found just seven schools in compliance.
Tags: campus security; Cook County; violence prevention; colleges; universities
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The Blow the Whistle Project
A U.S. senator killed a crucial piece of legislation by using a maneuver known as a "secret hold." This tactic allows lawmakers to act anonymously and evade accountability.
Tags: secret hold; Congress; whistleblower
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Holding Officials Accountable for their Accounting
The stories focus on the reluctance of officials to share information with the public in New Orleans.
Tags: New Orleans; public officials
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Photocopiers Hidden Danger
Many Americans are unaware that digital office copiers have hard drives in them. CBS News proves how easy it is to read the hard drives using software downloaded from the internet. Security experts say that criminal groups and foreign intelligence services are buying the machines for the documents they may hold.
Tags: technology; hard drive; copy; machine; foreign intelligence; domestic
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Age of Treason
Sharrock "presents an extensively reported portrait of the Oath Keepers, a self-styled patriot group that has established itself as a hub in the sprawling anti-Obama movement...the group recruits soldiers and law enforcement officers, asking them to reaffirm their oath to hold up the Constitution, but with a twist: they also vow to disobey any "illegal" or "unconstitutional" orders. While the Oath Keepers' official message is nonviolent, Sharrock uncovers how the group attracts conspiracy-minded members who are stockpiling weapons and advocating armed resistance against a government crackdown that they fear is imminent."
Tags: treason; anti-government conspiracy; gun laws; right to bear arms; martial law; Obama; Oath Keepers
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"Properties Disappear From Namvar Holdings List"
Reporter Daniel Miller finds evidence that suggests Ezri Namvar, now a bankrupt businessman accused of conducting a Ponzi scheme, may have been passing off some of his properties to his creditors. Miller investigates what this means for Namvar and for his creditors, and also shares some of their thoughts on Namvar's actions.
Tags: Ezri Namvar; Ponzi scheme; Namco Capital Group Inc.; Cal Neva Resort; Frank Sinatra
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War of Values
The piece uncovers the mystery of the Lembi family and their expansion into the San Francisco real estate market. During a time period, they bought almost every apartment available on the market and tripled their real estate holdings by overbidding on properties. “The family’s expansion drove up rents citywide, chased out thousands of tenants and changed the face of San Francisco by driving out thousands of citizens.”
Tags: San Francisco; Real Estate; Wall Street; Lembi; Renting; Financial Crisis; Landlords