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Iowa state senator’s National Guard service not the only reason she missed votes

By Alena Rehberger | April 15, 2014

United States Senate candidate and state senator Joni Ernst has cited her National Guard duty to rebuff criticism for missing more than half of the votes in the Iowa Senate this year. In a WHO-TV interview posted on April 7, the Red Oak Republican acknowledged that National Guard service wasn’t the only reason she’s missed…

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TurboTax Maker Linked to Campaign Against Free Tax Filing

By Alena Rehberger | April 15, 2014

ProPublica recently reported that lobbyists for Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, reached out to community leaders and officials persuading them that pre-filled tax returns would essentially hurt low-income Americans.  What community leaders and officials failed to realize was that the pre-filled tax returns, already endorsed by President Obama and President Reagan, would use information that…

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Investigating the mental health system? We’ve got tips from a pro.

By Alena Rehberger | April 15, 2014

Tasked with reporting on mental health? Take a few minutes to listen to tips from Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Kissinger attended a recent Watchdog Workshop to talk about her series of award-winning stories investigating caregivers. “We found people living in squalor,” Kissinger said. “It really upset people.” So how did she find…

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A weekend of Watchdog Workshops

By Alena Rehberger | April 15, 2014

IRE traveled to Los Angeles, Tucson and Laramie last weekend for a trio of Watchdog Workshops. Attendees shared their tips and ideas on Twitter. Our Los Angeles workshop at USC featured IRE trainer Jaimi Dowdell, independent journalist Ronald Campbell, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter/assistant editor Ellen Gabler, NBC Bay Area reporter Jenna Susko, and Los Angeles Times legal counsel Jeff Glasser. —…

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Loving county tickets and criminal cases changed to lesser charges in turn for bigger fines

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

A CBS 7 investigation into how speeding tickets for CDL drivers are handled in Loving County has uncovered even bigger problems. CBS 7 was first to report Thursday that the county judge and county legal advisor have been writing off speeding tickets as parking violations. However, we found more than just speeding tickets are being…

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Memphis Police Department inconsistent with rape kit testing

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

Newly released Memphis police records show detectives secured DNA testing within weeks of the 2003 home-invasion rape of a girl, then 12, now suing the city over its massive backlog of untested rape kits. In a story last month exploring early missed opportunities to stop serial rapist Anthony Alliano, The Commercial Appeal reported 12-year-old Madison…

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FBI still investigating Jimmy Haslam, Pilot Flying J

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

A year after the raids, the investigation at Pilot Flying J is far from over, as federal authorities continue to examine the company in the methodical, painstaking approach that is typical of how the U.S. Justice Department handles complex, white-collar crime cases.

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Broome County employees told campaign support for County Executive Debbie Preston was mandatory

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

When Broome County Executive Debbie Preston ran for re-election in 2012, about a dozen of her appointed county employees got a mandatory email assignment. Employees were told in the note from Deputy Broome County Executive Bijoy Datta that they were required to participate in political activities to help get Preston elected, according to email messages…

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Utah Transit Authority doubled managers’ bonuses while seeking tax increase

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

The Utah Transit Authority doubled spending on controversial bonuses for managers last year, while it sought a sales-tax hike it says is needed to restore bus service cut during the recession. The agency spent $1.74 million on such bonuses last year, twice the $870,368 doled out in 2012, according to UTA salary data analyzed by…

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Victims, injuries from West Fertilizer Company explosion overlooked

By Alena Rehberger | April 14, 2014

One year later, the number of people hurt by the West explosion remains a mystery because a government survey of the injured has failed to account for scores of casualties. Government health officials were initially slow to study the extent of the West injuries. When they did, they limited their survey to those treated at…

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