The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Data reveals issues at daycares, other care facilities
Through Freedom of Information legislation, The Vancouver Sun obtained inspection data for more than 3,000 daycares, long-term care facilities and group homes for the disabled. They made the data — which had never been public before — available on the web through a series of searchable online databases. Analysis of the data revealed almost one…
Read MoreAl-Queda’s propaganda campaign flourishes online
Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post continues his coverage of the propaganda campaigns at the heart of the war on terrorism. Al-Queda has turned to the internet to spread its message. “Taking advantage of new technology and mistakes by its adversaries, al-Qaeda’s core leadership has built an increasingly prolific propaganda operation, enabling it to communicate…
Read MoreCircumstances of trooper’s death kept secret
John O’Brien of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) investigated a fatal friendly fire shooting by state police. For more than a year, top officials kept a lid on details about the killing of Trooper David Brinkerhoff. They avoided a grand jury and kept the trooper’s widow in the dark. The story reveals for the first time…
Read MoreOnline courses inflate faculty pay
Mackenzie Ryan, of the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times, recently looked into state salary earnings and found a state university contract incentive that pays professors for teaching online classes. Pay for these courses, taught in addition to their normal work load, is based on a on a per-student, per-credit bases which pushes some professors to earn…
Read MoreMapping shows lottery winnings not evenly distributed
Patrick Lakamp and Susan Schulman of The Buffalo News mapped lottery sales and total winnings for more than 1,500 lottery retailers in western New York. The data showed that $60 was paid out for every $100 wagered in the lottery, but the distribution of these winnings was not equitable. “Poorer neighborhoods tend to be popular…
Read MoreIncident at CDC lab shines light on safety concerns
Following a failure in the ventilation system at the Centers for Disease Control facility, the door of a high-containment lab was sealed with duct tape, according to a report by Alison Young of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The air-flow failure lead to the potential exposure of nine CDC employees to Q fever, a potential bioterrorism agent.…
Read MoreDrug money seizures influence law enforcement
A four-part series by NPR’s John Burnett explored the impact of drug asset seizures on law enforcement culture in the U.S. “While drug-related asset forfeitures have expanded police budgets, critics say the flow of money distorts law enforcement — that some cops have become more interested in seizing money than drugs, more interested in working…
Read MoreConventions accept millions in corporate donations
“John McCain, who wrote the law banning corporate donations to the political parties, and Barack Obama, who refuses lobbyist money, will be nominated for president at conventions largely funded by industries whose Washington clout they’ve railed against on the campaign trail.” reports Bloomberg‘s Jonathan D. Salant. The corporate donations undermine both candidate’s interest in curbing…
Read MorePolice video leads to questions in investigation of journalist’s murder
A secret police video obtained by The Chauncey Bailey Project raises questions about the involvement of Yusuf Bey IV in the murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey. In the video, Bey IV “describes Bailey’s shooting in detail…then, laughing, he denies he was there, and boasts that his friendship with the case’s lead detective protected him from…
Read MoreWar veterans used in controversial drug testing
A Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found that distressed soldiers returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are being targeted by the government for drug testing. The drugs being tested include some with severe side-effects such as psychosis and suicidal behavior. In the case of one study, it took the Veterans Administration over three months…
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