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Iowa state senator’s National Guard service not the only reason she missed votes
United States Senate candidate and state senator Joni Ernst has cited her National Guard duty to rebuff criticism for missing more than half of the votes in the Iowa Senate this year. In a WHO-TV interview posted on April 7, the Red Oak Republican acknowledged that National Guard service wasn’t the only reason she’s missed…
Read MoreIRE members recognized in 2014 Pulitzer Prizes
Several members of Investigative Reporters and Editors were among journalists recognized in the 2014 Pulitzer Prizes on Monday. The Washington Post and The Guardian US won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for their work exposing secret surveillance by the National Security Agency. Several IRE members contributed to the reporting. Chris Hamby of The Center…
Read MoreMECA ticket perk has a bonus: free use of private suite
MECA board members used more than 270 free tickets to concerts and sporting events over the past 15 months, sometimes taking four or more guests to the organization’s private suite. Officials with the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority say the access is crucial for board members, who need to know the ins and outs of…
Read MoreInmate suicides bring attention to South Carolina’s treatment of mentally ill prisoners
A class-action lawsuit could soon change the way an estimated 3,500 inmates with severe mental illnesses are treated in South Carolina’s prison system. The case exposed numerous stories of mentally ill inmates being gassed, locked in solitary confinement for years at a time, denied effective treatment and caged naked, alone and cold in makeshift crisis…
Read MoreSan Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge rusting in vital areas
Some of the most vulnerable and integral cable sections and rods on the new $6.5 billion Bay Bridge are rusting. A Sacramento Bee investigation found corroded cable strands and anchor rods inside supposedly sealed chambers that protect attachments for the main suspension span cable to the bridge deck girders. Experts said if corrosion worsens, it…
Read MoreDetained immigrant teen assaulted by registered sex offender in Sherburne County jail
An 18-year-old high school student being held for federal immigration authorities in the Sherburne County jail was repeatedly sexually assaulted last month by his cellmate, a registered sex offender serving time in the jail as a “boarder” from the Minnesota Department of Corrections. The assault, detailed in a criminal complaint, occurred at the state’s largest…
Read MoreCalifornia’s $840-million medical prison beset by waste and mismanagement
California’s $840-million medical prison — the largest in the nation — was built to provide care to more than 1,800 inmates. When fully operational, it was supposed to help the state’s prison system emerge from a decade of federal oversight brought on by the persistent neglect and poor medical treatment of inmates. But since opening…
Read MoreSan Diego Opera officials sought government grants amid financial troubles
San Diego Opera officials seeking millions in government grants painted a picture of financial health over the past few years — a time during which financial troubles were well known inside the organization. In a 2012 application to the city of San Diego the opera noted — as it did in each year the company…
Read MoreColorado foster children regularly prescribed psychotropic drugs
About 4,300 of Colorado’s 16,800 foster children — more than a quarter — were prescribed psychotropics in 2012, according to a University of Colorado analysis released to The Denver Post under open-records laws. Among teens in foster care, 37 percent were prescribed psychotropic drugs.
Read MoreOverdose deaths increase with sales of painkillers
Several hundred Iowans have died in recent years from overdoses involving prescription painkillers. The U.S. has seen a surge of such deaths in the past decade as sales of prescription painkillers have exploded. The issue of painkiller abuse has come into sharp focus in Iowa recently with the filing of criminal charges against several medical…
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