The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Blog
Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post continues his coverage of the propaganda campaigns at the heart of the war on terrorism. Al-Queda has turned to the internet to spread its message. “Taking advantage of new technology and mistakes by its adversaries, al-Qaeda’s core leadership has built an increasingly prolific propaganda operation, enabling it to communicate…
Read MoreAfter more than four stellar years as our training director, David Donald is leaving IRE to oversee database operations for the Center for Public Integrity in Washington D.C. It’s impossible to overstate what David has brought to our organization, and to the industry. David is a tremendous teacher who has spread the gospel of computer-assisted…
Read MoreA four-part series by NPR’s John Burnett explored the impact of drug asset seizures on law enforcement culture in the U.S. “While drug-related asset forfeitures have expanded police budgets, critics say the flow of money distorts law enforcement — that some cops have become more interested in seizing money than drugs, more interested in working…
Read MoreFollowing a failure in the ventilation system at the Centers for Disease Control facility, the door of a high-containment lab was sealed with duct tape, according to a report by Alison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The air-flow failure lead to the potential exposure of nine CDC employees to Q fever, a potential bioterrorism agent.…
Read MorePatrick Lakamp and Susan Schulman of The Buffalo News mapped lottery sales and total winnings for more than 1,500 lottery retailers in western New York. The data showed that $60 was paid out for every $100 wagered in the lottery, but the distribution of these winnings was not equitable. “Poorer neighborhoods tend to be popular…
Read MoreWith the sad news about flooding in the Midwestern United States this week, the Database Library received more than a few requests for the National Inventory of Dams. Not only does this dataset list the name and location of all federally-inspected dams in the United States, it has information useful for journalists, including when, exactly…
Read More“John McCain, who wrote the law banning corporate donations to the political parties, and Barack Obama, who refuses lobbyist money, will be nominated for president at conventions largely funded by industries whose Washington clout they’ve railed against on the campaign trail.” reports Bloomberg‘s Jonathan D. Salant. The corporate donations undermine both candidate’s interest in curbing…
Read MoreA secret police video obtained by The Chauncey Bailey Project raises questions about the involvement of Yusuf Bey IV in the murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey. In the video, Bey IV “describes Bailey’s shooting in detail…then, laughing, he denies he was there, and boasts that his friendship with the case’s lead detective protected him from…
Read MoreA Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found that distressed soldiers returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are being targeted by the government for drug testing. The drugs being tested include some with severe side-effects such as psychosis and suicidal behavior. In the case of one study, it took the Veterans Administration over three months…
Read MoreThe Columbus Dispatch, in its ongoing coverage of inmate DNA testing, reported that half of the 30 cases highlighted by the newspaper in January as prime candidates for testing have been approved, and evidence is headed to the lab. These fifteen tests are more than have been done in the entire 5-year history of Ohio’s…
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