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Tip leads to police corruption probe
Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis wrote a four-part narrative investigation, “The Informant,” to chronicle a public corruption probe of Minneapolis police. Federal agents and the Minneapolis Police Department launched the investigation in late 2006 after an informant’s tip alleging that police officers were providing gang leaders with confidential police…
Read MoreTracking pharmaceuticals in waterways inadequate
Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard of The Associated Press report that, “U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water — contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked.” The scant tracking by the federal government of pharmaceuticals released into waterways…
Read MoreFDA wants states to monitor their own inspectors
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants states to assess their own inspection programs, even after Georgia’s failed to prevent a salmonella outbreak traced to a Blakely peanut plant, exposing broad gaps in the nation’s food safety system,” according to an article by Alan Judd of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Food safety experts question the efficacy…
Read MoreJunk-mail contests exploit consumers
Abigail Goldman of the Las Vegas Sun explored the prevalence of direct-mail contests and sweepstakes that make big claims but use small type to disclose the odds of winning. According to the article, “These halfhearted disclosures make the contests perfectly legal and perfectly manipulative, at least according to consumer advocates, who argue that the schemes…
Read MoreInvestigation questions police killing
The Washington Post‘s Cheryl Thompson investigated one of the most controversial police shootings Washington, D.C., has had in decades. A chain of police missteps and oversights invite questions about the killing of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings. Thompson ultimately found a more ambiguous picture than the police, who cleared the two off-duty officers of any wrongdoing.
Read MoreLenders push for inflated appraisals
A Center for Public Integrity investigation found that for years lenders have pressured appraisers to inflate home values to obtain higher mortgages. The article by Joe Eaton states, “In addition, the Center has obtained copies of lenders’ ‘blacklists’ containing the names of thousands of appraisers; some appraisers say lenders used those lists to exclude those…
Read MoreCivilian contractors must fight for care from insurers
“Civilian workers who suffered devastating injuries while supporting the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home to a grinding battle for basic medical care, artificial limbs, psychological counseling and other services,” according to a joint investigation by ABC News, the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica. The report says serious claims are routinely…
Read MoreStreetlight outages plague Detroit
The Detroit Free Press looked into the on-going problem of streetlight outages in the city. “The Free Press spent three nights in March driving more than 200 miles of city streets examining the state of some of Detroit’s 88,000 lights, at least 9,000 of which are out.” Response to reports of outages are met with…
Read MoreAdditional arrests pending in Bailey murder
Additional arrests are pending in the murder of Chauncey Bailey according to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and The Chauncey Bailey Project. As part of a plea agreement, Devaughndre Broussard is expected to testify before a grand jury next week that he was ordered to kill Bailey by former Your Black Muslim Bakery leader…
Read MorePaper questions state’s charter school reporting methods
The Michigan Department of Education’s annual report shows charter schools perform better than other districts, but the department might be changing the method it uses to gauge charter school performance. An article written by Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki and Kristi Tanner states, “… a Free Press analysis shows that almost three out of five charter schools score…
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