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Daisy Coleman, new to town and a cheerleader, was 14. Matthew Barnett, a 17-year-old football player and the grandson of a longtime politician, was 17. The evidence pointed overwhelmingly toward rape, the Kansas City Star reports. There was even a video. Yet, two months later, the Nodaway County prosecutor dropped the felony cases against the youths,…
Read MoreU.S. President Barack Obama came into office pledging open government, but he has fallen short of his promise, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists story. Journalists and transparency advocates say the White House curbs routine disclosure of information and deploys its own media to evade scrutiny by the press. Aggressive prosecution of leakers of…
Read MorePrivate Christian schools are exploiting local laws to raise money while expelling kids for the crime of being not straight, Rolling Stone reports.
Read MoreAsthma — the most common chronic disease that affects Americans of all ages, about 40 million people — can usually be well controlled with drugs, if one can afford them, the New York Times reports. But being able to afford prescription medications in the United States often requires top-notch insurance or plenty of disposable income,…
Read MoreThe Committee to Protect Journalists released a report today titled The Obama Administration and the Press, stating that “electronic surveillance programs deter government sources from speaking to journalists.” President Barack Obama pledged open government as he entered office, but his administration has fallen far short of those promises, according to CPJ. Since 2009, six government…
Read MoreFor journalists reporting on violent or traumatic events, the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma is accepting applications for its Ochberg Fellowship through Friday, Oct. 11. Fellows will visit Columbia University for a week of training with a panel of mental health experts and journalists who have covered traumatic events. A full list of the…
Read MoreRachel Dissell and Leila Atassi wanted an answer to a seemingly simple question: how many untested rape kits did the Cleveland Police Department have in storage? The answer: “We don’t know.” The reporters’ question prompted Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in 2011 to ask all Ohio law enforcement agencies to send their rape kits to…
Read MoreDespite being banned in countries such as Afghanistan, China, Colombia, Germany, Ireland and the Philippines, the potentially explosive fertilizer ammonium nitrate can be purchased pure and by the ton in the United States, according to the Dallas Morning News. An investigation by the newspaper found that “for more than a decade, U.S. efforts to tighten controls over…
Read MoreJournalists have been searching for alternative resources after the government shutdown caused many online databases to go down and government offices to close as employees went on furlough. For more information about how the shutdown is affecting news coverage, see the stories below. For information on closed FOIA offices:Both the Reporters Committee for Freedom of…
Read More“The stand by conservatives that led to the current crisis was the outgrowth of a long-running effort, waged by a galaxy of well-funded groups, to undo President Obama’s health care law,” the New York Times reports. Shortly after President Obama started his second term, a loose-knit coalition of conservative activists led by former Attorney General…
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