The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Government (federal/state/local)
Documents detail complaints that FDA managers are too lenient with industry
Internal Food and Drug Administration documents indicate that an FDA official overruled agency scientists and approved the sale of an imaging device for breast cancer after receiving a phone call from a Connecticut congressman. The legislator’s call and its effect on what is supposed to be a science-based approval process is only one of many…
Read MoreInvestigation into problems in county program kept secret
Voice of San Diego reporter Will Carless reports that the county of San Diego has kept secret the results of an investigation into a report of improprieties in a program that provides wheelchairs and other medical services to children with physical disabilities. The investigation lasted more than a year and led to disciplinary action and…
Read MoreOhio children die despite state oversight
An investigation by Randy Ludlow of The Columbus Dispatch uncovered that more than one-third of the Ohio children who died from abuse and neglect from 2002 to 2007 died on the watch of county children services agencies. The story revealed that caseworkers regularly made fatal mistakes by leaving imperiled children in abusive homes. The package…
Read MoreMayors’ requests laden with pork
CNN’s Abbie Boudreau and Scott Zamost found more than $300 million in questionable projects submitted to Congress by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Boudreau and Zamost examined each item in the 800-page report. The proposals included a water park ride in Miami, a plan to help prostitutes in Dayton, Ohio, and a baseball museum in…
Read MoreSmoke and Mirrors: The Subversion of the EPA
A four-part series in The Philadelphia Inquirer looks into the Environmental Protection Agency’s management under the Bush administration. Stephen L. Johnson, Bush’s appointment for EPA Administrator, has been accused by many in the scientific community for valuing the president’s politics over human health and environmental welfare.
Read MoreFed refuses FOIA request for recipients of $2 trillion
Mark Pittman of Bloomberg.com reports that the Federal Reserve has refused their request to “disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.” Bloomberg filed suit against the Federal Reserve System in November for the release of bailout documents.
Read MoreDisability readily approved by Railroad Retirement Board
A investigation by Walt Bogdanich and Nicholas Phillips of The New York Times found that the federal Railroad Retirement Board has not held a formal meeting in over two years. The board oversees the retirement and disability benefits for railroad workers. “Operating out of public view, with little scrutiny from Congress and even from its…
Read MoreNorth Carolina’s probation system riddled with problems
A series in The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the North Carolina probation system. The report reveals that, since 2000, 580 people have killed in North Carolina while under probation officer supervision. Outdated computer systems make it difficult to track new offenses by probationers. Problems, such as growing…
Read MoreBusinesses see benefit of earmarks at troops’ expense
A report by Christine Willmsen and David Heath of The Seattle Times shows that $7.6 million worth of earmarks pushed through by prominent members of Congress — including senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer and Alren Specter — have kept troops equipped with an inferior chemical-warfare protection product. “Clinton, who is poised to become secretary…
Read MoreMillions paid for uncompleted renovation and building projects
The seventh installment of The Washington Post‘s “Forced Out” series explores how a longtime city council member and former U.S. Housing and Urban Development official was paid millions of dollars for a series of housing projects marred by double-billing and dubious deals. In one case, the developer received $25 million from U.S. HUD to help dozens…
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