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DNA exonerations highlight flaws in eyewitness identifications
The Dallas Morning News spent months looking at Dallas County’s 19 DNA exonerations as well as current felony cases in an investigation that highlights flaws in the witness identification process. Despite known problems with eyewitness testimony, police and prosecutors still rely upon it to secure convictions. “The fallibility of eyewitness testimony revealed by DNA exonerations…
Read MoreObama campaign slow to return money to fictitious donors
Michael Luo and Griff Palmer of The New York Times report that nearly 3,000 donations to Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama’s campaign have been in the name of fake donors. While some of the campaign contributions had been refunded, Times analysis found about $40,000 in questionable donations had not. Mr. Obama has raised approximately $450…
Read MoreAir bag fraud can lead to serious injuries, death
Liane Hansen and Jenni Bergal of NPR caution used car buyers to check their cars for signs of air bag fraud. In their investigation, they found that some car dealers and body shops either removed air bags from cars or did not replace deployed air bags. Air bag compartments were often stuffed with items such…
Read MoreThe Favor Factory 2008
An investigation by The Seattle Times shows that Congressional earmarks remain a problem despite efforts in ethics reform. A Times analysis of the 2008 defense bill found $3.5 in hidden earmarks, and used this to point out flaws in efforts to curb these favors. Members of the House violated laws mandating disclosure of earmarks 110…
Read MoreChicago Housing Authority falling behind goals
Jason Grotto, Laurie Cohen and Sara Olkon of the Chicago Tribune found that the Chicago Housing Authority, despite vows to reform its failing policies, has spent hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars on “housing complexes that preserve the very policies the plan was meant to reverse.” With crime and pollution on the rise, many…
Read MoreWater agency failed to disclose uranium contamination
Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register reports that the nation’s largest water district has known for eight years about uranium contamination at the site of a proposed groundwater storage project, but failed to disclosed this information to key officials or the public. “The top official at the water district says the contamination is isolated…
Read MoreMcCormick grant will expand Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshops
A $100,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation will allow us to continue and expand our Ethnic Media Watchdog program. The funding will support a series of regional workshops that will bring low-cost, high-quality training on local, regional and national topics to journalists working in small- to medium-sized ethnic media organizations in areas throughout the U.S.…
Read MoreSix states under fire for blocking voters
Ian Urbina of The New York Times reports that elections officials removed or blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters from voter registration rolls in at least six swing states and that elections workers misused Social Security databases. The actions, revealed in a Times review of state and Social Security records, appear to violate federal…
Read MoreNORAD relocation could compromise security
A report by Michael de Yoanna and Bill Gertz of The Washington Times reveals that the relocation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from Cheyenne Mountain to office space at nearby Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. could undermine national security. “According to military and defense sources familiar with the missions…
Read MoreConvicted criminals allowed to renew California nursing licenses
ProPublica’s Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, in conjunction with The Los Angeles Times, have found over 115 cases in which the state of California did not seek to restrict or revoke nursing licenses until the nurses had three or more convictions. Twenty-four of the nurses had five convictions, and crimes ranged from Medicare fraud and…
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