A Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of more than 38,000 contributions to California Assembly Democrats in the 2011-12 campaign shows a link between donations to Speaker John A. Pérez's targeted races and a lawmaker’s prospects for important legislative assignments.
Among CIR's findings is that mega-donors to Pérez’s targets – three lawmakers who gave more than $250,000 – obtained positions of power.
The Center for Public Integrity reports that "Rep. Mel Watt, the North Carolina Democrat whom President Barack Obama has appointed to oversee mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has received more campaign money from financial interests than any other industry or special interest."
"As gun control debates raged in Congress early this year, the National Rifle Association increased its federal government lobbying expenditures to record levels, new filings with the U.S. Senate indicate," according to an investigation by The Center for Public Integrity.
Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze | ICIJ
“A cache of 2.5 million files has cracked open the secrets of more than 120,000 offshore companies and trusts, exposing hidden dealings of politicians, con men and the mega-rich the world over. The secret records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists lay bare the names behind covert companies and private trusts in the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and other offshore hideaways.”
A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood | The New York Times
"The C.I.A.’s covert drone war in Pakistan began ...
"Lobbyists and corporations that employ them can't give gifts to lawmakers—unless they funnel the money through a nonprofit," according to an investigation by Mother Jones.
"inewsource and KPBS audited ads in the U-T every day between Labor Day and Election Day 2012 and compared the list with campaign finance records. The results show varied payments for ads, indicating the U-T may have offered bargains to the anti-Filner campaign and to other candidates and issues the newspaper endorsed," according to the investigation.
"Amita Sharma and Ryann Growchowski, with inewsource and KPBS, audited ads in the San Diego Union-Tribune every day between Labor Day and Election Day 2012 and compared the list with campaign finance records. The results show varied payments for ads, indicating the U-T may have offered bargains to the anti-Filner campaign and to other candidates and issues the newspaper endorsed."
Update: California's Fair Political ...
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Time
Bitter Pill: Why medical bills are killing us
“Breaking these trillions down into real bills going to real patients cuts through the ideological debate over health care policy. By dissecting the bills that people like Sean Recchi face, we can see exactly how and why we are overspending, where the money is going and how to get it back. We just have to follow the money.”
New York Times Magazine
The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
“Inside the hyperengineered, savagely marketed, addiction-creating battle for American ‘stomach share.’”
Columbia Journalism Review
Immigration reform and private prison cash
“Key lawmakers ...
“Key lawmakers in the immigration debate are among the top recipients of campaign contributions from the prison industry”
The Voice of San Diego and NBC 7 San Diego report that in 13 of 17 local school districts that have issued bonds since 2006, there is a significant correlation between the district's major donors and the companies that won work. More than 70 percent of companies that donated more than $5,000 to bond campaigns also won bond-funded contracts, according to the report. In collaboration, the reporters "looked at every school bond campaign in San Diego County since 2006, and focused on companies that donated more than $5,000 to campaigns. Then we approached each district to see ...
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