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 "political flights" ...
-
Frequent flier: Gov. Rounds' use of state planes
Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota uses government airplanes for both political and personal reasons. He coordinates his official business with the sport schedules of his kids as well as taking non-state employees on flights. These flights were reimbursed from a cash pool called the Governor's Fund. South Dakota, reporters discovered, was one of seven states that allow the governor to use a plane for both political and personal flights.
Tags: airplanes; personal flights; governor; political flights; cash pool
-
Missile Defense: America's Costly Gamble
Supporters of the Pentagon's planned missile defense system say that eventually it will be able to stop almost any type of missile, in any stage of flight. Cabbage's investigation found that those claims are still a long way from being realized. While some of the basic technology has been developed, the system still needs extensive testing and a lot of refinement. The military's current tests are not challenging enough; they're really just used to make it seem as if the technology is progressing. Partisan politics also have a part in the slow development of the technology and the lack of appropriate testing.
Tags: missile; NASA; U.S. Strategic Command; defense; defense spending
-
Guard Approves Donor Democrats for Flights in F-16
"The commander of the Indiana National Guard, Maj. Gen. George A. Buskirk, approved flights on an F-15 fighter jet for mostly major Democrat contributors and party activists." Previous commanders did not grant so many special flights; the increase seems even more shady once one realizes that Buskirk himself is a large contributor to Indiana Democrats. He justified many of the flights by saying that the person had some something good for either Indiana or the National Guard, but his excuses didn't hold up to scrutiny.
Tags: campaign donations; bribes; political favors; partisan politics; national guard; army; planes; campaign contributions
-
Columbia's Last Flight
The Atlantic Monthly tells the inside story of the Columbia space shuttle disaster and the investigation that followed it. With access to key figures and evidence at NASA and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, the story provides an insight from different perspectives: the personal, the institutional, the concrete, the abstract, the emotional and the political. Finally, the report reveals deep flaws in NASA's oversight of Columbia's last flight.
Tags: Hal Gehman; Kennedy Space Center; Rick Husband; Fred Gregory
-
Feed 5: Best of Show and Tell
1) Jennifer Kraus (WTVF-Nashville) This story exposes problems at the Nashville office of international charity "Feed the Children." In a four-month investigation, WTVF-TV's undercover cameras caught the charity's staff loading up their personal cars with donated items and taking the items home. 2) Deborah Sherman (WFXT - Boston) Costa Rican trips for child sex. Actually spoke with girls who used to get paid by American tourists for sex. Focuses on one area man charged with this crime. 3) Anna Werner, David Raziq (KHOU-Houston) KHOU-TV reports that "You're in physical pain. You need help. So you go to your doctor expecting needed relief and comfort. But what if in the process of treating you, you realize this healer's touch has become 'sexual?' That's what dozens of Houston women claimed happened to them when they were referred to a local health professional, a professional they claimed used their trust to molest and even rape them. His name is Shin Higashiura and he claimed to be a Master of Shiatsu, also known as acupressure, a Japanese massage therapy that promises health benefits...." 4) Jilda Unruh (WCCO-Minneapolis) An investigation reveals that automatic door sensors can't detect certain colors. The doors often close on elderly people, causing them harm. 5) Tom Merriman/Jeff Harris (WEWS-Cleveland) The story investigates how state-trained lifeguards perform on state beaches as compared to privately trained lifeguards on private beaches. Follows both teams though a simulation. The state team fails horribly and never recovers the dummy planted for them to rescue. 6) Jim Schaefer; Shellee Smith (WXYZ-Detroit) WXYZ-TV discovered that the leaders of Highland Park, a poor city surrounded by Detroit, had virtually ignored a major problem in the 911 emergency response system while continuing to enjoy the relatively expensive perks of their jobs. While claiming there was no money in the budget to fix the problem, the mayor leased a brand-new Lincoln with city cash. Undercover video found citizens at risk, fire fighters in danger and no one helping. 7) Drew Griffin (KCBS-Los Angeles) "The Real ConAir" Investigation reveals department of corrections transporting convicts on commercial flights. Passengers are not told who's sitting beside them. Planes are forced to land because of disturbances during the flight. A girl is sexually assaulted by one of these convicts. 8) Robb Leer; Maria Tomasch (KSTP-Minneapolis) Inmates can change their names on the taxpayer's dime. 9) Jeremy Rogalski; Bill Dutton; Gerry Lanosga; Kathleen Johnston (WTHR-Indianapolis) WTHR-TV reports that "a source mentioned to us that numerous DUI cases were being dismissed because police witnesses fail to appear in court... After we crunched a slice of our county's criminal justice data ... We found thousands of DUI cases - nearly one in ten - thrown out because cops didn't show..." 10) Wes Williams; C.J. Ward (KPNX-Phoenix) Security guards with criminal records have a "License to Steal." 11) Tony Kovaleski; Matt Goldberg (KPRC-Houston) Ninety-eight guns were discovered in schools in 10 of Houston's largest school districts -- that works out to 5,864 students per gun. 12) Phil Williams; Chris Clark (WTVF-Nashville) WTVF-TV's investigation into the backgrounds of school teachers found more than three dozen convicted felons working in Metro Nashville-Davidson County schools. 13) Chris Halsne; Kim Albro; Dave Weed (KWTV-Oklahoma City) Voters handed Oklahoma City Schools a 93 million dollar bond in 1993 to improve schools. The money is now gone, but many projects remain unfinished. KWTV-TV's investigation found millions of dollars in waste, fraud and mismanagement. 14) Laure Quinlivan; Jeff Keene; Ken Fulk; Mark Shafer; Scott Diener; Stuart Zanger (WCPO-Cincinnati) WCPO-TV's investigation "... to monitor County officials as they began spending nearly a billion dollars of taxpayer money... earmarked to build two, new sports stadiums for our city's professional sports teams, the Bengals and Red. As (the) investigation enters its third year, work on the first stadium is two-thirds complete and ground will soon break on the second. Already, our investigation has revealed broken promises, manipulation of numbers in official reports, political cronyism in contract awards, creation of 'pass-through' companies and other questionable and possibly illegal activities...." 15) Jim Barry; John Campbell; Sam Zeff; Jennifer Snell; Denise Haley; Brad Naw (WTXF-Philadelphia) After transit union strike crippled Philadelphia's bus and subway service for forty days, WTXF-TV investigated the region's transportation agency - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. SEPTA is one of the largest and most expensive transit systems in the county. This investigation exposed a widespread culture of laziness and dishonest work habits that was allowing hundreds of buses with potentially dangerous problems out onto the street each day. 16)Darcy Spears; Kim Kruger (KVBC-Las Vegas) "Taken for a Ride". Taxi drivers getting kickbacks for taking clients to certain bars/stripclubs.
Tags: TAPE; Investigative reporting; computer-assisted reporting; IRE; FOI; CAR; no transcripts
-
Sectional Politics
National Journal investigates the impact of domestic migration on American politics. The story reveals that Americans are choosing places that appeal to their cultural preferences, according to census data. Migrants are forming distinctive political entities, especially in the fast growing parts of the country like the Deep South, Rocky Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, the Journal reports. Surveys have shown that natives often denigrate migrants, but in fact newcomers' values are close to those of long-time residents. The article sheds light on the so-called "white flight," a trend that describes the inclination of many whites to leave high-immigration metropolises in search of white suburbia.
Tags: Forsyth County; Republicans; conservative; minorities; immigration; job seekers; blacks; urban development; growth; community; race; ethnicity
-
Gateway to Gridlock
In a four-part series, "The Tribune set out on a journey to find out why air travel has gotten so bad, dispatching reporters to seven airports and five air traffic control towers across the country on September 11, 2000, a day chosen by the airlines and federal aviation officials. The dramatic events of that storm-tossed Monday show how quickly a fragile system can be brought to its knees" in part one. "Parts two through four examine how bad planning and petty politics have allowed U.S. air travel to choke on its own growth."
Tags: airplanes; consumers; pilots; flight attendants; airlines; air traffic; O'Hare International Airport; American Airlines; United Airlines
-
Likud's Tangled Charity Web; Centrist Party to Use Charity for Campaign; 'Left-Wing' Election Flights May Be Illegal
"This collection of stories documented how Israeli political parties have raised millions of dollars through tax-exempt, tax-deductible U.S. charities for their political campaigns in violation of both U.S. and Israeli law."
-
No title (id: 12899)
WOOD-TV finds that politicans and civilians fly free around the world under a National Guard public relations program. Federal taxpayers are paying millions of dollars a year in flight time. No federal agency has ever audited the program, though other like military trips have recently been found to have waste and abuse. WOOD-TV found that these trips often benefit certain politicans, who are powerful enough to play a role in the National Guards future budget. (Nov. 24, 1995)
Tags: Halsne Flying for free Contest entry Politics 7 pgs. TAPE
-
No title (id: 575)
Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press does special supplement on Haitian refugees on the west coast of Florida; the report documents political and economic repression in Haiti that causes the flight of natives to the United States and the unwelcome reception they receive upon arrival here, which often includes jail and deportation, December 1979.
Tags: None