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NJ school officials cheating the students
“An Asbury Park Press investigation has exposed how Lakewood, New Jersey school officials slashed the high school’s graduation rate to win a $6 million federal grant, lied to parents of special education students to save money, spend millions of dollars busing school children to religious and otherwise private schools, and showed how a lawyer made…
Read MoreAnalyzing Governor Walker’s calendars
In a three-part series for the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Kate Golden and Amy Karon used the state’s open records law to receive Gov. Scott Walker’s official calendars. “To analyze how Walker has used his time as the state’s chief executive, WCIJ reporters created a database of the more than 4,400 entries in Walker’s…
Read MoreFlame retardants and the big business behind them
A Chicago Tribune investigation has found that the flame retardants that are packed into couches, chairs and many other products are not working as promised. Furthermore, two powerful industries–Big Tobacco and chemical manufacturers have waged a deceptive campaign that led to the proliferation of these chemicals. Sam Roe, Patricia Callahan and Michael Hawthorne utilized DocumentCloud…
Read MoreThousands of crumbling Florida homes owned by the biggest banks
“Thousands of vacant homes across South Florida have deteriorated into eyesores that violate local health and safety laws, depress property values and spread blight. The owners of these homes: some of the world’s biggest banks.” “In an extensive investigation of foreclosed homes plaguing neighborhoods, the Sun Sentinel found more than 10,300 property code violations lodged…
Read MoreFormer UTSW Medical Center president used taxpayer money on lavish lifestyle
“Reese Dunklin and Sue Goetinck Ambrose of The Dallas Morning News document how former UT Southwestern Medical Center president Kern Wildenthal used public money to build wine cellars, pay for his opera interests and travel to paradises around the world.” “The investigation details a collapse in controls over taxpayer dollars and triggered a University of Texas system…
Read MoreWhite House sought healthier school lunches, food industry fought back
Duff Wilson and Janet Roberts, for Reuters, report on “how food and beverage companies have dominated policymaking in Washington by doubling their lobbying expenditures during the past three years and defeating government proposals aimed at changing the nation’s diet.” Reuters Investigates TV also produced a video about “how the food industry fought back when the…
Read MoreJustice Department fails to inform convicted defendants of flawed forensics
“An investigation by The Washington Post has found that Justice Department officials have known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to the convictions of potentially innocent people, but prosecutors failed to notify defendants or their attorneys even in many cases they knew were troubled.”
Read MoreAmazon’s role in Seattle charities
The Seattle Times takes a look, in a four-part series, at how Amazon.com, “one of the Internet’s most-recognized name brands” compares to other big companies in the Seattle area when it comes to local charitable givings. “Last year, amid a troubled economy, United Way of King County said it received record donations from some of…
Read MoreSchool test scores raise questions across the nation
“Suspicious test scores in roughly 200 school districts resemble those that entangled Atlanta in the biggest cheating scandal in American history, an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows.” To learn how the reporters gathered information click here. “The newspaper analyzed test results for 69,000 public schools and found high concentrations of suspect math or reading…
Read MoreJustice program fails to commit nation’s most dangerous sex offenders
Six years ago, the federal government set out to indefinitely detain some of the nation’s most dangerous sex offenders, keeping them locked up even after their prison sentences had ended. But despite years of effort, the government has so far won court approval for detaining just 15 men. Far more often, men the U.S.Justice Department…
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