The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
Extra Extra
Nashville court clerk keeps questionable work schedule
In part one of this series of stories by WSMV-TV, reporter Jeremy Finley and the Channel 4 I-Team found that one of the highest paid elected officials in Nashville, Tenn., only works about half of the week and uses a county car to run personal errands. The team’s hidden camera caught David Torrence, the Davidson…
Read MoreLion meat, found in some US butcher shops, is unregulated. Are you eating illegally?
After PRI’s Ike Sriskandarajah found lion meat on the shelf at his neighborhood butcher and followed the trail to a dark corner of the exotic meat trade. Follow his investigation from his local butcher shop, to the harsh realities of “exotic mean with transcripts and the use of Document Cloud. Find out how “no federal…
Read MoreKids held in detention centers receive heavy doses of antipsychotic drugs
A Palm Beach Post investigation finds that kids who have been placed in state juvenile facilities have been receiving heavy doses of antipsychotic drugs, which are meant to have a tranquilizing effect on the brain. The pills were passed out to children in the facilities “for reasons that never were approved by federal regulators.” The…
Read MoreElizabeth school board uses teachers as fundraising base
This four-month investigation by The Star-Ledger reveals questionable practices by the Elizabeth Board of Education. The Elizabeth school district is the largest in New Jersey, and seen as one of the “top” districts to some. Reporter Ted Sherman found that members of the school board often contacted teachers soliciting donations and various other types of…
Read MoreDoctors in juvenile jails linked to drug company’s wallet.
“A Palm Beach Post investigation found that Florida is doling out heavy doses of antipsychotic drugs to kids locked up in state juvenile jails. The drugs, which can cause suicidal thoughts and other dangerous side effects, are being prescribed by contracted doctors who, in some cases, have taken tens of thousands of dollars in speaker…
Read MoreDeveloper rarely backs up grandiose financial promises
An investigation by FLORIDA TODAY reporters Mackenzie Ryan and Michelle Spitzer takes a look at Tom Garo, a developer who frequently pledges high dollar donations to various organizations but who rarely follows through on his promises. Recently, Garo publicly promised more than $3 million would be given to Brevard public schools. However, school officials have…
Read MoreBurmese refugees placed in squalid living conditions
In this report, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reveals that Burmese refugees who have fled their home to avoid persecution, have found themselves placed in terrible living conditions. The Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan placed the refugees in “cockroach-infested Milwaukee apartments.” Most of the rooms did not have fire or carbon monoxide detectors…
Read MoreUniversity of Wisconsin closely tied to prescription painkiller market.
After a large wave of deaths in 2006 due to overdosing on prescription pain medicine, the CDC authored a critical study linking deaths from those drugs to an increase of up to 500% in the number of prescriptions written. In that same medical journal, two researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and…
Read MoreSheriff’s office in one AZ county ignore children’s plea for help.
Christina Boomer and Mark LaMet at KNXV-TV in Phoenix discovered more than 400 sex crimes cases, many involving young children, were ignored by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives never interviewed victims, witnesses or potential suspects, despite having solid leads in most cases. In the City of El Mirage, AZ, 43 of 51 sex crimes…
Read MoreMinnesota law against bullying one of weakest in the nation
A six-month investigation by Minnesota Public Radio reveals that bullying occurs on a regular basis throughout the Minnesota school district. The state law against bullying is “the shortest in the nation,” and fails to identify anti-bullying policies or punishments for violation. MPR reporter Tom Weber found “virtually no tracking” of bullying episodes, which makes it…
Read More