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BPA leached from microwave-safe products when heated
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger, as part of their ongoing series Chemical Fallout, found that products labeled as “microwave safe” release toxic doses of the chemical bisphenol A when heated. The newspaper had a University of Missouri laboratory test 10 products to see if the chemical bisphenol A leached out of containers when…
Read MoreCost of Army aviation accidents top $16 billion
An analysis of data from the Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center revealed that aviation accidents and incidents have cost the U.S. Army approximately $16.2 billion over the past 12 years, according to Michael Fabey of Aviation Week. The most expensive single-event accident cost the Army about $62.4 million, but the average cost per accident or incident…
Read MoreNatural gas drilling may be harming U.S. drinking water supply
Abrahm Lustgarten of ProPublica reports that natural gas drilling in the United States may be endangering water supplies. A sample of water from a well in Sublette County, Wyo. found benzene — a chemical linked to aplastic anemia and leukemia — at a level 1,500 times higher than what is safe for human consumption. “Sublette…
Read MoreBundlers land top spots in Obama’s transition
“Though they worked behind the scenes in Barack Obama’s campaign for president, bundlers who raised millions of dollars for his White House bid are starting to land significant posts on his transition team,” according to a report by Washington Post reporter Matthew Mosk. While critics claim fundraising skills have trumped qualifications for top advisory positions,…
Read MoreAbuse of power a problem with some air marshals
An investigation by ProPublica has found that over a dozen air marshals have been charged with crimes since 9/11, and hundreds more have been cited for misconduct. The scope of the charges range from drunken driving to participating in a human trafficking ring. “The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover…
Read MoreMurdered: Armando Rodriguez, crime reporter
Today in Ciudad Juarez, Armando Rodriguez, the crime reporter at the Diario de Juarez, was murdered in front of his own home this morning as he got in his car to drive his daughter to school. Rodriguez has covered nearly every murder in the unprecedented wave of violence in Ciudad Juarez — which is right…
Read MoreLobbyists banned from Obama’s transition
While banning lobbyists from a role in the transition, President-Elect Barack Obama is keeping many of his large fundraisers on his advisory board, according to a report by Bloomberg‘s Jonathan Salant. Five of the 12 members of the transition advisory board raised over $50,000 for Obama in his presidential campaign. “Transition co-Chairman John Podesta yesterday…
Read MoreDisabled patient was repeatedly victim of abuse
An investigation by Ruth Teichroeb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer explored the case of a profoundly developmentally disabled woman who was raped and impregnated in her own home. A nursing assistant was charged with rape. The investigation found that it was the second time in two years a male nursing assistant was suspected of sexually assaulting…
Read MoreDumping in Louisiana’s Red River
An environmental investigation by The Times (Shreveport, La.) culled through data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and identified “at least 83 permitted dischargers within Bossier, Bienville, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Webster parishes that put wastewater into Red River or a nearby tributary.” At least…
Read MoreLawyers, doctors profiting from farm subsidies in Oklahoma
An investigation by Gavin Off of the Tulsa World revealed serious issues in the allocation of farm subsidy dollars. By cross-referencing the USDA’s farm subsidy data with the Federal Elections Committee database, Off found “more than 100 lawyers and dozens of doctors, teachers, car salesmen and insurance agents have received U.S. Department of Agriculture farm…
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