The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Gun-rental loophole for felons, others
Felons may be prohibited from buying, owning or carrying guns, but a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation by reporter John Diedrich revealed a loophole in the law allows them to rent guns at gun stores and use them for target practice on indoor ranges. Indeed, gun stores are prohibited from running background checks on those wanting…
Read MoreInvestigation finds mercury in face cream
A Chicago Tribune investigation discovered high levels of mercury in skin lightening creams sold throughout Chicago. The newspaper sent 50 skin-lightening creams to a certified lab for testing, most of them bought in Chicago stores and a few ordered online. Six were found to contain amounts of mercury banned by federal law. Of those, five…
Read MoreMexican government seems to favor Sinaloa cartel
An NPR News investigation has found strong evidence of collusion between elements of the Mexican army and the Sinaloa cartel in the violent border city of Juarez. In an effort to find out whether federal forces are favoring the Sinaloa cartel, NPR analyzed thousands of news releases on the federal attorney general’s website announcing arrests…
Read More“Tax sale” foreclosures a threat to homeowners
A report by the Huffington Post Investigative fund examines “tax sale” foreclosures. Amid the economic downturn, they are happening in Baltimore and other cities, where big banks, brokerage houses, and other investors are gaining the right from governments to collect on paltry debts of citizens. Fees and other costs swell, and homeowners who can’t make…
Read MoreNitrate contamination a problem across California
“The water supply of more than two million Californians has been exposed to harmful levels of nitrates over the past 15 years,” according to a report by California Watch. Nitrates are the most common groundwater contaminant, and are a problem in both rural and city water systems. In 1980, nine wells in California exceeded accepted…
Read MoreWayne County, Mich. evasive with public records
This WXYZ-Detroit report exposed the tactics employed by officials in Wayne County, Michigan’s largest county to avoid releasing public information. The story featured a 20-year Wayne County official whose own requests for routine salary information were stonewalled, as well as unions whose requests were simply ignored, causing them to file suit. Legal fees for these requests are…
Read MoreDrilling in Gulf of Mexico allowed without requisite permits
Ian Urbina, of The New York Times, reports that the “federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the…
Read MoreStimulus jobs in New Jersey fewer than projected
Juliet Fletcher of the Press of Atlantic City (N.J.) reports that the number of reported stimulus-funded jobs have dropped in the state of New Jersey since they have stopped using estimates and are only reporting “jobs based on the actual employee hours paid for with recovery funds during each quarter.“
Read MoreCIA drones target unnamed suspects in Pakistan
According to counter-terrorism officials, the “CIA received secret permission to attack a wider range of targets, including suspected militants whose names are not known, as part of a dramatic expansion of its campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan’s border region,” reports David S. Cloud of the Los Angeles Times. A vast majority of the over…
Read MoreMaricopa County employees shuttled in luxury buses
During the past three years, Maricopa County has paid more than $1.2 million to two private companies that shuttle county employees from parking lots to their office buildings in luxury buses, according to a three-month investigation by KNXV-Phoenix. Four 80-passenger tour buses run their routes every 15 minutes for 8 hours a day. “A review…
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