The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
Eric Longabardi of ERSNews.com reports on exclusive photos from the battle at an-Nasiriyah in Iraq. Additional photographs used in the Pentagon’s investigation were obtained by ERSNews.com through a FOIA request. The battle, in which 18 Marines were killed, is the largest single loss of American troops since the beginning of the war in Iraq. While…
Read MoreIn March of 2007, J. Andrew Curliss of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., reported on the failings of the North Carolina Commission on State Property. The commission was created to sell off surplus land owned by the government in an effort to generate quick revenue. But in the three years since its inception,…
Read MoreGilbert M. Gaul and Sarah Cohen of The Washington Post report that a majority of money from the USDA’s Rural Development program is ending up in urban areas. “More than three times as much money went to metropolitan areas with populations of 50,000 or more ($30.3 billion) as to poor or shrinking rural counties ($8.6…
Read MoreMark Schreiner of the Star-News in Wilmington, N.C., analyzed disclosure reports and found that state Rep. Thomas Wright failed to account for over $119,000 in campaign contributions since 1992. “Election officials said an unintentional omission would not draw a penalty if corrected, but there is the possibility of criminal charges if contributions were not disclosed…
Read MoreESPN.com investigative sports reporter Mike Fish reports on Greg Anderson, the personal trainer whose testimony prosecutors believe could put Barry Bonds behind bars and, in turn, derail his record home run chase. Federal prosecutors “convinced U.S. District Judge William Alsup that Anderson’s cooperation is pivotal to their ability to indict [Barry Bonds]. Because Anderson isn’t…
Read MoreFollowing a six-month investigation, Alan Maimon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports on the “conflict system” in Clark County, Nev., in which private attorneys are assigned to poor defendants whom the public defender’s office cannot represent due to conflicts of interest. An examination of every case the 30 contract defenders took to felony court in…
Read MoreDigging through audits from more than 300 charter schools in Florida, Orlando Sentinel reporters Vicki McClure and Mary Shanklin showed the intertwined business dealings that allow school operators to make money on their publicly funded charters by leasing them buildings, loaning them money at interest rates as high as 21 percent and hiring relatives to…
Read MoreThe Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, N.Y., presents stories from a two-month investigation into toxic vapor releases related to toxins improperly disposed of near Victor, N.Y., more than 17 years ago.”State officials, drawing upon numerous visits and hundreds of water samples over the last 15 years, have mapped the damage: a mile-long plume of contaminated…
Read MoreNancy Badertscher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the conviction of Lynn Turner. Turner, already serving a life term for the murder of Randy Thompson, was given a 2nd conviction for the murder of her late husband, Glenn Turner. “Turner and Thompson initially were thought to have died of heart problems. But several months after…
Read MoreSarah Okeson of Florida Today investigated Brevard County drivers involved in fatal accidents, specifically looking at drivers charged with DUI manslaughter or vehicular homicide between 2000 and 2006. She found that more than a third of them didn’t have a valid license to be on the road at the time of the wreck, had a…
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