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Overdose deaths increase with sales of painkillers
Several hundred Iowans have died in recent years from overdoses involving prescription painkillers. The U.S. has seen a surge of such deaths in the past decade as sales of prescription painkillers have exploded. The issue of painkiller abuse has come into sharp focus in Iowa recently with the filing of criminal charges against several medical…
Read MoreVictims, injuries from West Fertilizer Company explosion overlooked
One year later, the number of people hurt by the West explosion remains a mystery because a government survey of the injured has failed to account for scores of casualties. Government health officials were initially slow to study the extent of the West injuries. When they did, they limited their survey to those treated at…
Read MoreUtah Transit Authority doubled managers’ bonuses while seeking tax increase
The Utah Transit Authority doubled spending on controversial bonuses for managers last year, while it sought a sales-tax hike it says is needed to restore bus service cut during the recession. The agency spent $1.74 million on such bonuses last year, twice the $870,368 doled out in 2012, according to UTA salary data analyzed by…
Read MoreBroome County employees told campaign support for County Executive Debbie Preston was mandatory
When Broome County Executive Debbie Preston ran for re-election in 2012, about a dozen of her appointed county employees got a mandatory email assignment. Employees were told in the note from Deputy Broome County Executive Bijoy Datta that they were required to participate in political activities to help get Preston elected, according to email messages…
Read MoreFBI still investigating Jimmy Haslam, Pilot Flying J
A year after the raids, the investigation at Pilot Flying J is far from over, as federal authorities continue to examine the company in the methodical, painstaking approach that is typical of how the U.S. Justice Department handles complex, white-collar crime cases.
Read MoreMemphis Police Department inconsistent with rape kit testing
Newly released Memphis police records show detectives secured DNA testing within weeks of the 2003 home-invasion rape of a girl, then 12, now suing the city over its massive backlog of untested rape kits. In a story last month exploring early missed opportunities to stop serial rapist Anthony Alliano, The Commercial Appeal reported 12-year-old Madison…
Read MoreLoving county tickets and criminal cases changed to lesser charges in turn for bigger fines
A CBS 7 investigation into how speeding tickets for CDL drivers are handled in Loving County has uncovered even bigger problems. CBS 7 was first to report Thursday that the county judge and county legal advisor have been writing off speeding tickets as parking violations. However, we found more than just speeding tickets are being…
Read MoreAudit shows Miss. rural water association plagued by financial problems
An audit of the North Lee County Water Association in Mississippi turned up widespread financial management problems, including violations of several state and federal laws, the Daily Journal (Tupelo, MS) reports. The audit, which is likely “the most rigorous examination ever” of the nonprofit cooperative’s financial records, comes on the heels of a $1.2 million loan from…
Read MoreFelons, fugitives bought guns amid backlog
More than 300 people banned from owning guns were able to buy them last year because the state police were overwhelmed with background check requests, police said Wednesday. People with histories of mental illness or convictions for violent misdemeanors, felons and fugitives were able to obtain and keep guns for three months or longer before…
Read MoreDocuments show Iowa offered hush money to ex-employee
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services explicitly offered $6,500 to a former state employee last year in exchange for her secrecy, according to documents obtained by the Des Moines Register. The documents include a March 6, 2013, e-mail in which Department of Administrative Services attorney Ryan Lamb writes to an attorney representing former employee Carol…
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