The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Accidents, lax oversight call pipeline safety into question
A two-part series by the Detroit Free Press found that “despite hundreds of oil and natural-gas pipeline accidents in the last decade, there are no federal regulations governing how far major pipelines should be from homes, or schools or businesses.” An interactive graphic show where oil and gas pipelines run through the state of…
Read MoreBreakdown: Traveling dangerously in America series
A 23-story package investigates the state of travel in America uncovering a breakdown of safety systems across the board. Safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board are taking over 5 years to implement leaving people vulnerable from air to rail, road to sea. This investigative package was conducted by journalism students from 11 universities…
Read MoreJustice influenced by prosecutors’ conduct
USA Today’s Brad Heath and Kevin McCoy documented 201 criminal cases across the nation in which federal judges found that prosecutors broke laws and ethics rules. “They caught some prosecutors hiding evidence, found others lying to judges and juries, and said others had broken plea bargains.” The abuses resulted in both the wrongful incarceration of…
Read MoreContractor deaths outnumber military ones in Iraq, Afghanistan
A report by T. Christian Miller of ProPublica reveals that, for the first time, “more private contractors than soldiers were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Between January and June 2010, 250 contractors died. During that same period, Pentagon records show 235 soldiers died.
Read MoreNonprofit covered nearly $1.9 million in personal expenses
A review of federal tax records by Christopher Baxter of The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) found that now-former leaders of a nationally prominent nonprofit with close and growing ties to Easton, Pa. improperly used nearly $1.9 million from the group’s tax-free coffers for personal expenses between 2003 and 2008. The Nurture Nature Foundation, headquartered in…
Read MoreSpecial treatment ran deep for OneUnited
A report by R. Jeffrey Smith of The Washington Post reveals that OneUnited Bank “received special treatment that went beyond what the Treasury Department or the bank and its political supporters have previously disclosed.” Despite multiple internal warnings, Congress and regulators “broke with customary practices” to award the bank federal bailout funds. The story includes…
Read MoreLoophole allows attorneys to exploit Illinois residents facing foreclosure
A loophole in state and federal laws has made it easy for some attorneys to take advantage of Illinois residents struggling to keep their homes, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. In 2006, Illinois and other states passed legislation that banned charging upfront fees for loan modifications. But the law doesn’t apply to…
Read MoreBreaks by judge, police kept gang leader on the street
A violent Milwaukee youth who was a leader in a notorious street gang got breaks from the juvenile court system that kept him on the street were he committed new crimes, an investigation by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich revealed. The newspaper reported in July that miscommunication between federal and state authorities later resulted in…
Read MoreDeaths in adult homes went unreported
Michael J. Berens, of The Seattle Times, uncovered hundreds of deaths inside state-licensed adult family homes indicating neglect or abuse, but the deaths were not reported to the state or investigated. Adult homes areless-regulated, less-expensive elder care options found in dozens of states. The Times reported that deaths indicating neglect occur at strikingly higher rates…
Read MoreHistoric Hawaiian homes get big tax breaks
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Rob Perez found that owners of million-dollar historic homes on Oahu were getting major property-tax breaks without meeting a key requirement of the exemption program — that the homes be visible from public streets. He also found that the city did not verify the owners’ required statements that the pre-exemption level of…
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