The IRE office will be closed from December 25th to January 5th.
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Fired Honolulu cop’s file illustrates lack of public insight into misconduct
It took the Honolulu-based Civil Beat almost one year and $935 to get access to files on three discharged police officers. The records, which were heavily redacted, provide new insight into the case of an officer accused of raping a woman on the hood of his patrol car. The officer’s case “illustrates how difficult it…
Read MoreLax prison policies questioned after Pa. guard’s killing
Attorneys for an inmate accused of murdering a federal correctional officer cited a Citizens’ Voice investigation into the case as they laid the groundwork Wednesday to spare him from the death penalty. For a December story the paper obtained closely guarded prison documents that showed a stark shift in the way the inmate Jessie Con-ui was disciplined. Treatement ranged from…
Read MoreSouth Carolina among worst in nation on newborn tests
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, South Carolina “ranks among the worst in the nation as to how quickly hospitals send babies’ blood samples to state labs for testing of rare but deadly genetic disorders.” “Federally backed guidelines recommend blood samples take no more than three days to arrive at labs for testing, as children…
Read MoreWisconsin freeing more sex offenders from mental lockup
“Wisconsin officials have nearly quadrupled the number of offenders released from state custody after they were committed as sexually violent persons,” the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism reports. “The risks to residents are reasonable, officials say, because the state’s treatment programs are working and new data suggest these offenders are less likely to reoffend than previously…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Secret settlements, data breaches and university lobbyists
Mizzou did not pursue alleged assault | ESPNThe University of Missouri did not investigate or tell law enforcement officials about an alleged rape, possibly by one or more members of its football team, despite administrators finding out about the alleged 2010 incident more than a year ago, an “Outside the Lines” investigation has found. The…
Read MoreInside New York City’s Water Tanks, Layers of Neglect
With their quaint barrel-like contours and weathered cedar-plank sides, rooftop water towers are a constant on the New York City skyline. And though they may look like relics of a past age, millions of residents get their drinking water from the tanks every day. But inside these rustic-looking vessels, there are often thick layers of…
Read MoreUnraveling the San Diego campaign finance scandal
“News broke in San Diego last week about a mysterious foreign national bent on influencing San Diego politics by illegally funneling money to political campaigns through a retired San Diego police detective and a undisclosed “straw donor.” Now, the politicians on the receiving end of the tainted funds are scrambling to distance themselves from the…
Read MoreDEP never saw Freedom’s pollution control plans
“West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection officials never reviewed two key pollution-prevention plans for the Freedom Industries tank farm before the Jan. 9 chemical leak that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 residents, according to interviews and documents obtained under the state’s public-records law,” The Charleston Gazette reports. Read the full story here.
Read MoreTimes-Union Investigation: Juvenile Justice?
“The 4th Judicial Circuit, which consists of Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, dramatically leads the state in the number of juveniles incarcerated through a method called direct commitment,” The Florida Times-Union reports. “That’s usually a plea deal reached between a juvenile’s lawyer and the prosecutor. When juveniles agree to plea deals, they are often incarcerated…
Read MoreData breaches affect hundreds-of-millions of people
Most people and companies use anti-virus software, but it only guards against threats it recognizes, and the bad guys are constantly tweaking their weapons to circumvent such protections. Adding as little as a few lines of code will evade most anti-virus programs.
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