The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Problems persist at Arlington National Cemetery
Mark Benjamin of Salon.com reports on problems plaguing Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery’s deputy superintendent, Thurman Higginbotham, has been at the center of an Army investigation involving an illegal wiretap. The grounds of the cemetery have suffered under his direction as well. “One of Higginbotham’s failures, say employees, has been his inability to rectify disturbing…
Read MoreCanal safety issues were raised prior to fatal mudslide
An investigation by Matthew D. LaPlante and Nate Carlisle of The Salt Lake Tribune found that “Logan City received repeated warnings that a privately owned canal that runs along the base of a steep bluff posed a danger to those living below, but the city failed to act on that safety issue, or even to…
Read MoreRace gap widens in rejections for mortgage loans
An analysis of the latest national mortgage data by The Charlotte Observer found that “as the credit spigot dried up in 2008, blacks and Hispanics were more likely to be denied mortgage loans than whites.” The analysis found that nearly one out of two African Americans applicants were denied loans for the purchase or refinance…
Read MoreProblem nurses, lax oversight leave patients at risk
In a continuing investigation into failed oversight of California’s health professionals, ProPublica and The Los Angeles Times found the California Board of Registered Nursing, responsible for the oversight of 350,000 nurses, “often takes years to act on complaints of egregious misconduct, leaving nurses accused of wrongdoing free to practice without restrictions.” An analysis of the…
Read MoreNon-motorized boat accidents often fatal
An analysis of Wisconsin boating accident data by Jacob Kushner and Kryssy Pease of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism found that accidents in non-motorized boats are often fatal. “Eight of the 20 people who died last year were in non-motorized boats, most of which capsized…Over the past 10 years, 193 people died in 1,311 boating…
Read MoreTugboat apprentice pilots, accidents rise
The Associated Press reviewed Coast Guard records and discovered more and more tugboat captains in the United States have less than one year of piloting experience. According to the article by Cain Burdeau, “A federal program to recruit more tugboat pilots may have backfired by allowing thousands of novice captains to take the helm and…
Read MoreSeries explores decline of investigative reporting in America
Laura Frank, reporting for Exposé, explores the state of investigative reporting in a series entitled “The Withering Watchdog.” In an era of shrinking newsrooms, “investigative reporting is often the first target. Investigative journalism takes more time and more experienced journalists to produce, and it often involves legal battles. It’s generally the most expensive work the…
Read MoreTobacco and terrorism
In its latest series of articles, The Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists looks at illegal cigarette trade in China, Paraguay and Ukraine. The articles show how China has emerged as the epicenter for the global cigarette counterfeiting business, while Paraguay and Ukraine have fostered billion-dollar black markets. The series also looks…
Read MoreGeorgia ill-prepared for public health emergencies
A recent evaluation found the state of Georgia is poorly prepared to face public health emergencies. “Federal agencies, nonprofit groups and the state’s own documents depict a public health system that lacks sufficient money and, at times, basic competencies, an examination by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found.”
Read MoreHealth care czar profited from companies under investigation
Nancy Ann DeParle, who heads the White House Office on Health Reform, made more than $6.6 million since 2001 serving as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop. The story by IRE award winner Fred Schulte…
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