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Failure to treat Arizona inmate might have led to death
The contract company hired to provide medical care to Arizona prisoners failed to treat an inmate and that may have led to his death, according to a report from KPNX-(NBC) Phoenix. The medical provider was already under fire and this is the latest example of a systemic problem in Arizona prisons. The investigation led to…
Read MoreGlass companies pushing unnecessary windshield replacements
10 News (WTSP), Tampa Bay’s CBS affiliate, exposes cracks in Florida’s zero-deductable windshield-replacement law. While the law is designed to help consumers, 10 News shows the lack of policing over fraud has lead to a proliferation of glass companies pushing unnecessary replacements. The effect has been rising rates for all policyholders, and now, state legislators are…
Read MoreTroubling questions loom over new FDA-approved drug for women
In June, the new FDA-approved drug Osphena will hit the shelves. Supposedly the newest answer for painful sex, it will be targeted by the drug maker Shionogi, Inc, the more than 64 million US women who have hit menopause. But Newsweek reports that numerous troubling questions loom over Osphena: is this a real disorder affecting…
Read MoreQuestionable investigations, little oversight in state hospital deaths
A Statesman analysis of deaths at state mental health hospitals reveals the deaths are rarely investigated outside the hospital, doctors are regularly cleared of improper care and deaths in state prisons get more scrutiny than those in state hospitals. Read the full investigation here.
Read MoreBattle Lines: Gangs of Toledo
“Police track known gang members in an electronic database and, although police won’t make public exact numbers, Lt. Ed Bombrys, who oversees the gang unit, said there are an estimated 2,000 gang members in Toledo. There are, he said, anywhere from 25 to 40 ‘big, major gangs.’ In 2012, gang-related homicides were down from 2011, said…
Read MoreFeds spend at least $890,000 on fees for empty accounts
“It is one of the oddest spending habits in Washington: This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for bank accounts that are empty. At last count, Uncle Sam has 13,712 such accounts with a balance of zero. They are supposed to be closed. But nobody has done the paperwork yet. So even…
Read MoreDisabled students face dangerous discipline in Minnesota
“It happens thousands of times a year in Minnesota’s classrooms: Disabled students get punished for disruptive outbursts with severe forms of discipline — from forceful physical restraint to extended solitary confinement — that are either banned or more restricted in other states. State reports examined by the Star Tribune show that such discipline occurred nearly 22,000…
Read MoreAs Firearm Ownership Rises, Florida Gun Murders Increasing
“Murders by firearms have increased dramatically in the state since 2000, when there were 499 gun murders, according to data from Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Gun murders have since climbed 38 percent — with 691 murders committed with guns in 2011,” according to an investigation by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
Read MoreBooming Sales of Novelty Helmets Boost Toll of Motorcycle Deaths
“Even as more than 800,000 novelty helmets are sold in the U.S. every year, and as motorcycle crash deaths mount, federal regulators have never acted with urgency to crack down on the popular but flawed headgear. Proposals to limit sales of the novelty helmets have been delayed over and over again,” according to Fair Warning’s…
Read MoreMany DAs, judges, lawmakers stay in office after DWIs
“An American-Statesman analysis shows that, unlike Cole, other district attorneys, as well as judges and elected officials, have chosen to remain in office after their DWIs. In some cases, they have tried to separate their professional work from their personal mistakes. When Tarrant County state District Judge Elizabeth Berry was arrested for drinking and driving…
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