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Suspected Texas serial killer confesses nearly 40 years later
In 1978, Edward Harold Bell shot and killed a man in front of the victim’s mother. He was subsequently sent to prison for murder. However, it wasn’t the first time he had killed, he claims. Bell, now in his 70′s, has confessed to the string of murders that occurred in the Houston area from 1971…
Read MorePublic safety at risk in Champaign County, IL.
In most towns across Illinois and the U.S., the Public Health Department publicizes any health code violation so that consumers can be aware of the risk they are taking by eating at a restaurant. However, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department chooses not to share the roughly 1,300 inspections done in a year. Many in the…
Read MoreStimulus money for Florida school districts misused
President Obama’s 2009 economic stimulus package granted “millions of federal dollars” to public school districts in Florida. As part of the President’s vision “to accelerate improvement in schools,” the money was meant to provide a means to improve low performing schools and prevent teacher layoffs. However, this investigation by Mc Nelly Torres of the Florida Center for…
Read MoreEl Dorado sheriff buys helicopter; officials worry about costs to taxpayers
The El Dorado County sheriff John D’Agostini surprised county administrators when a helicopter appeared as a new tool for the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department. KCRA3 reporter Dave Manoucheri reveals that D’Agostini failed to alert county officials that a chopper was in the works, which raises risk management and liability concerns. Although the sheriff says…
Read MoreElectrolux plan holds “hidden concessions” for Memphis taxpayers
When appliance giant Electrolux annouced plans to build a factory in Memphis, Tenn., it seemed like a great economic boost for the region. However, a closer investigation by reporters Daniel Connolly and Amos Maki of The Commercial Appeal reveals that the plan may cost taxpayers a lot more than it appears. “Government officials approved a massive package…
Read MoreHispanics now make up over half of federal prison population
Despite the President’s promise to reform U.S. immigration policy, Hispanics now make up over half of all federal prison population. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission “Hispanics comprised 50.3 percent of all people sentenced in that time period, blacks 19.7 percent and whites 26.4 percent. In comparison, last year Hispanics made up just 16 percent…
Read MoreFBI to agents: “Mainstream” Muslims are “terrorists in waiting”
Spencer Ackerman, of WIRED.com Danger Room, has acquired dozens of FBI training materials on counter terrorism and Islam. The training material argues that it does not matter whether or not American Muslims are law abiding citizens, “the Islamic “insurgency” is all-encompassing and insidious. In addition to outright combat, its “techniques” include “immigration” and “law suits.” So…
Read MoreHigh lead levels pour from Chicago faucets; raise concern of testing methods
Exposure to lead – even a little – in tap water can cause serious health problems in both children and adults. In this report by Ellen Gabler of the Chicago Tribune, she reveals that a recent federal testing of Chicago’s tap water showed that “nearly 45 percent” of homes “had lead levels spike when more water samples…
Read MoreCollege athletics: losing site of the game?
At a time when most college sports corruption cases are about athletes, Taylor Branch reveals that the big money is being harvested by the universities. “In 2010, despite the faltering economy, a single college athletic league, the football-crazed Southeastern Conference (SEC), became the first to crack the billion-dollar barrier in athletic receipts. The Big Ten pursued…
Read MoreFood anti-terror plan costing billions, but is it working?
After the attacks on September 11, 2001 President George Bush told the nation that he would make certain that the food we eat would be safe from chemical terrorist threats from the ‘farm to the fork’. However, with no single agency in charge of policing our farms, factories, warehouses, or grocery stores, this multi-headed bureaucracy…
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