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Tobacco companies fighting anti-smoking laws with trade agreements, legal challenges
Fair Warning reports that as governments around the world adopt stringent rules to fight the public health burdens of smoking, tobacco companies are fighting back, trumping those laws by invoking long-standing trade agreements. Anti-smoking advocates told Fair Warning those efforts, and the cost and liability governments face in fighting them, will intimidate “all but the…
Read MoreBan on uranium mining may be lifted in Virginia
The Alexandria Gazette Packet reports that “in the last year, Chatham-based Virginia Uranium, Inc., has contributed $147,000 to sponsor research favorable to overturning a ban on uranium mining and invested more than $52,000 in campaign contributions across the commonwealth.” “The company has hired 19 lobbyists from five firms in an effort to persuade legislators that…
Read MoreColorado police departments failing to test rape kits
“A six-month investigation by KMGH-Denver found police departments across Colorado were failing to test hundreds of rape kits, critical evidence taken from a victim’s body after a sexual assault.” “While most departments said kits are rarely tested when the victim knows the suspect, one police department said these rape kits were prohibited from being tested…
Read MoreBehind the Story: Investigating lost war records
In 2011, reporter Peter Sleeth was working on a historical account of a battle he had witnessed during his time as an embedded reporter in Iraq. His work on the piece stalled while researching Sgt. Jacob Butler, a soldier who had died in battle at As Samawah, Iraq in 2003. No one in the Army…
Read MoreThe shadowy side of offshore industry
“A worldwide investigation aimed at stripping away the anonymity that binds together one of the most shadowy aspects of Britain’s financial industry.” “In a unique collaboration, the Guardian and BBC Panorama have sifted through many gigabytes of data, obtained by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, to find information that helped identify more than…
Read MoreReview of FBI forensics does not extend to federally trained state, local examiners
The Washington Post reports that thousands of criminal cases at the state and local level may have relied on exaggerated testimony or false forensic evidence to convict defendants of murder, rape and other felonies, according to former FBI agents.
Read MoreOutrageous cost estimates for open records requests
This past week, journalists on the NICAR Listserv began discussing the most outrageous price quotes they’d received for open records requests. Canadian journalist David Weisz started the thread as research for a presentation he was giving to the Information Resource Management Association of Canada on the state of data journalism. “Having filed ATI requests myself and hearing the horror…
Read MoreFederal judge’s financial conflict of interest went unnoticed for years
“A federal judge has issued three key rulings over a four-year period that favored companies in which he owned stock, a California Watch analysis has found.” “Measures are in place to prevent judges from violating federal conflict-of-interest laws. But Judge Manuel Real, a 46-year veteran of the bench appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, appears…
Read More2012 IRE Awards now open for submissions
ENTER YOUR BEST INVESTIGATIVE WORK INTO THE 2012 IRE AWARDS, NOW ONLINE. It’s that time of year again – time to consider entering your best work into the IRE Awards. Among the most prestigious in journalism, the IRE Awards recognize outstanding investigative reporting across all media. Eligible entries must have been published or aired between…
Read MoreCalifornia National Guard Culture Questioned
“A joint-investigation by NBC Bay Area and KNBC-TV in Los Angeles has uncovered a disturbing hidden culture in the California National Guard where some guard members say sexual assault and racism at times go unchecked, and where retaliation is a frequent method of discipline.”
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