The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Red Cross blood collection services riddled with problems
Despite being under a court order for 15 years to improve how it collects and processes blood, the American Red Cross remains plagued by problems, reports Stephanie Strom of The New York Times. “The problems, described in more than a dozen publicly available F.D.A. reports — some of which cite hundreds of lapses — include…
Read MorePrescription narcotic abuse rampant in Nevada
Marshall Allen and Alex Richards of the Las Vegas Sun investigated the prevalence of use and abuse of prescription narcotics in Nevada. The Sun’s analysis showed that “Nevadans consume about twice the national average of several prescription painkillers,” including hydrocodone, methadone and oxycodone. Data from the Clark County coroner’s office shows that deaths from prescription…
Read MoreCharities lose funds to for-profit fundraisers
Los Angeles Times reporters Charles Piller and Doug Smith found that for-profit fundraisers in California are collecting significant amounts, while the nonprofits they claim to support see little of the money. “In more than 5,800 campaigns on behalf of charities that were registered with the state attorney general from 1997 to 2006, the fundraisers reported…
Read MoreCountrywide V.I.P. deals exposed
A report by Dan Golden, of Condé Nast Portfolio, investigates the breadth of the Countrywide V.I.P.-loan scandal. Angelo Mozilo, C.E.O. of Countrywide, extended favors well beyond members of Congress. Among those granted favors were “former Countrywide director Henry Cisneros, who served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration; former White House…
Read MoreA decade of homicide in Tulsa
An examination of records from Oklahoma’s Medical Examiner’s Office and Health Department by the Tulsa World showed that over 500 people have been murdered in Tulsa over the past 10 years. The stories looks at the impact of the homicides on victims’ families, and maps hot spots in the city where deaths have been concentrated.…
Read MoreRedevelopment agency’s executives pocket secret bonuses
A voiceofsandiego.org review of tax records for Southeastern Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), the city of San Diego’s redevelopment department, uncovered over $250,000 in secret bonuses the agency’s two top executives had paid themselves since 2003. The bonuses had been paid without approval of the agency’s board of directors or the city council. As a result,…
Read MoreLack of logging oversight leads to landslides
Despite Washington state forestry rules that allow the Department of Natural Resources to restrict logging in problem areas, an investigation by The Seattle Times revealed that Weyerhaeuser, a logging company, operated without oversight and clear-cut large areas on unstable slopes. Landslides last December in Washington’s Chehalis River basin, where Weyerhaeuser was operating, left nearly 3,000…
Read MoreWho killed Chandra Levy?
A year-long investigative project by The Washington Post explores the murder investigation of Chandra Levy. The in-depth investigation shows critical leads were ignored in the investigation into her disappearance and murder. Seven years later, the murder remains unsolved.
Read More$3.4 million in overtime paid out to little-known police unit
“A little-known police force that patrols state institutions and accompanies child welfare workers to potentially dangerous homes piled up $3.4 million in overtime last year, boosting the payroll 34 percent,” reported Lawrence Ragonese and Susan K. Livio of The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.). The review of state payroll records showed one employee averaged 45 hours of…
Read MoreSuspect Soldiers series
“A yearlong examination by The Sacramento Bee of more than 250 applicants for military service found that the Army, Navy and Marines accepted ex-felons, people with serious drug and alcohol or mental health problems and dozens of others with significant criminal backgrounds or otherwise troubling histories.” In the series, Russ Carollo reports on how trouble…
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