The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Blog
An investigation by The (Toronto) Star explores the state of crime and punishment in Canada. A new law increasing mandatory minimum sentencing was passed even though Canada’s crime rate has dropped over 25 percent in the last 15 years. The series looks at the monetary and social costs of the a tougher approach to crime,…
Read MoreAdam Bell of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer analyzed several years of records from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to detail how five years after Pillowtek, a major textile company, abruptly closed — leaving 7,650 people out of work — the bills for lawyers and other professionals handling the case have topped $33 million, and continue to…
Read MoreAn eight-month investigation by Miami Herald reporters Jack Dolan, Matt Haggman and Rob Barry found the Florida agency in charge of regulating mortgage professionals broke down at every level, allowing thousands of people with criminal records to get licenses — many who went on to steal millions from borrowers and banks. The newspaper also found…
Read MoreThe current credit crisis and rising fuel costs mean an increase in business for repo men according to a report by Jaweed Kaleem in The Miami Herald. For National Liquidators, a boat repossessor and auctioneer, “business has tripled in the last 18 months as higher maintenance fees, fuel and docking costs — as well as…
Read MoreThe recalibration of airbags in some 2005 Chrysler minivans meant to prevent potentially dangerous late deployments may be responsible for some fatalities when airbags fail to deploy, reports Mike Casey of The Kansas City Star. The family of the late Brooke Katz is suing the automaker because the airbag in her 2005 Dodge Caravan failed…
Read MoreDespite being under a court order for 15 years to improve how it collects and processes blood, the American Red Cross remains plagued by problems, reports Stephanie Strom of The New York Times. “The problems, described in more than a dozen publicly available F.D.A. reports — some of which cite hundreds of lapses — include…
Read MoreDespite Washington state forestry rules that allow the Department of Natural Resources to restrict logging in problem areas, an investigation by The Seattle Times revealed that Weyerhaeuser, a logging company, operated without oversight and clear-cut large areas on unstable slopes. Landslides last December in Washington’s Chehalis River basin, where Weyerhaeuser was operating, left nearly 3,000…
Read MoreA voiceofsandiego.org review of tax records for Southeastern Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), the city of San Diego’s redevelopment department, uncovered over $250,000 in secret bonuses the agency’s two top executives had paid themselves since 2003. The bonuses had been paid without approval of the agency’s board of directors or the city council. As a result,…
Read MoreAn examination of records from Oklahoma’s Medical Examiner’s Office and Health Department by the Tulsa World showed that over 500 people have been murdered in Tulsa over the past 10 years. The stories looks at the impact of the homicides on victims’ families, and maps hot spots in the city where deaths have been concentrated.…
Read MoreA report by Dan Golden, of Condé Nast Portfolio, investigates the breadth of the Countrywide V.I.P.-loan scandal. Angelo Mozilo, C.E.O. of Countrywide, extended favors well beyond members of Congress. Among those granted favors were “former Countrywide director Henry Cisneros, who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration; former White House…
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