The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Serial killer series prompts police to re-open investigations
Police in Ohio and Indiana have launched new murder investigations after a Scripps Howard News Service investigation revealed dozens of clusters of unsolved killings of women nationwide that are likely the work of serial killers. Also, authorities in Nevada acknowledge they are hunting a serial killer, although the public has not been told that the unsolved murders of up to seven women…
Read MoreCombat-related injuries compound stuggles of soldiers returning from war
A report for CNN by Alex Quade explores the struggles of veterans suffering with combat-related health issues as they try to reintegrate into civilian life following service in Iraq and Afghanistan. “War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury and their families say military commanders, policy-makers, health care providers, and communities need…
Read MoreFelons, including sex offenders, ran camp for homeless kids
A Palm Beach Post investigation showed that Palm Beach County government officials paid a convicted child molester, thieves, drug dealers and other people with criminal records nearly half a million dollars to run subsidized summer camps for homeless and foster children during the past three years. The story also called attention to a loophole in Florida law…
Read MoreRove-backed races were winners in midterm elections
Jonathan D. Salant and Traci McMillan of Bloomberg News, using a database built for the 2010 elections, found that U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other Republican-leaning outside groups spent millions of dollars on House and Senate races and had a winning record in the 2010 midterm elections.
Read MoreProgram introduced to better track crime on indian reservations
An investigation by of The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah) found that inconsistently reported crime data has meant criminal activity on the country’s American Indian reservations is not well understood. Due to inconsistencies in the reporting of this data, some tribes have missed the chance for federal money for resource intended to help…
Read MoreGreat risks accompany dialysis treatment in U.S.
A ProPublica investigation into the state of dialysis care in the United States found “patients commonly receive treatment in settings that are unsanitary and prone to perilous lapses in care. Regulators have few tools and little will to enforce quality standards. Industry consolidation has left patients with fewer choices of provider. The government has withheld…
Read MorePattern suggests misuse of sick time
“A Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) analysis of city payroll records obtained through the state Right to Know Law found that 46 percent of the total sick days taken by firefighters through mid-October have been combined with holidays, personal days or vacation days for extended time away from work.” Such a pattern suggests possible misuse of…
Read MoreGovernment wields influence over GM’s IPO
Clare Baldwin, Soyoung Kim and Kevin Krolicki, of Reuters, report that “a review of key events leading up to GM’s IPO and interviews with people involved inside and outside the company show that the U.S. government has been running key aspects of the landmark stock deal and exerting tight oversight on management decisions seen as…
Read MoreDespite raids, illegal massage parlors remain in operation
Yang Wang, of the Houston Chronicle, found a number of massage parlors remain open despite repeated police raids for vice crime and licensing violations. In Houston, “292 establishments have been cited by police for compliance violations, including operating without a state license, hiring unlicensed workers, operating during prohibited hours or engaging in vice crimes.” Vice…
Read MoreCrime deemed “stupid,” criminals remained free
John Diedrich and Ryan H of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that a pair of criminals who robbed a 17-year-old at gunpoint avoided incarceration because “neither the judge nor the prosecutor appears to have considered the crime or their past records to be serious, according to transcripts of the sentencing. Rather than a brazen holdup…
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