Bank of America Lied to Homeowners and Rewarded Foreclosures, Former Employees Say | ProPublica
Bank of America employees regularly lied to homeowners seeking loan modifications, denied their applications for made-up reasons, and were rewarded for sending homeowners to foreclosure, according to sworn statements by former bank employees.

ICIJ Releases Offshore Leaks Database Revealing Names Behind Secret Companies, Trusts | ICIJ
Readers can search information about the ownership of more than 100,000 offshore entities in tax havens and discover the networks around them.

County commissioner voted for contracts tied to wife's law firm | The Star Tribune
Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin ...

An Oregon program designed to help those with mental health histories restore gun ownership rights currently operates with a $576,000 budget and has restored those rights to just three people, according to an investigation by The Oregonian. The program comes from federal money -- the result of lobbying efforts by the National Rifle Association -- but funds are expected to dry up and the state legislature has a pending bill that would shift the cost to the state's taxpayers.

Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations | The Guardian
The 29-year-old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in the NSA's history explains his motives, his uncertain future and why he never intended on hiding in the shadows. See more coverage of the NSA surveillance.

High prices are driving more motorists to rent tires | Los Angeles Times
Chains such as Rent-a-Wheel and Rimco are seeing business boom. Many consumers pay double or triple the cost of buying and face aggressive repossession policies.

Star witness in Debra Milke case accused of ongoing misconduct as constable | KPNX Phoenix
Condemned killer ...

Governing reports that the state of New Jersey sharply increased its tax subsidies, with incentives approved the past two years alone exceeding the combined total awarded for all previous years, dating back to 1996. Despite this, the state's economy has struggled to create jobs. An analysis of incentive data and state labor department records also found at least 20 companies that received subsidies have filed layoff notices since 2010.

Terrorism fears have led government to cloak the danger of hazardous chemical plants | The Houston Chronicle
"Around the country, hundreds of buildings like the one in West store some type of ammonium nitrate. They sit in quiet fields and by riverside docks, in business districts and around the corner from schools, hospitals and day care centers. By law, this shouldn’t be a mystery. Yet fears of terrorism have made it harder than ever for homeowners to find out what dangerous chemicals are hidden nearby. Poor communication can also keep rescue workers in the dark about the risks they face ...

"California's enterprise program was established to give tax breaks for companies that set up business or move to one of 40 zones within the state. The program gives companies tax credits of up to $37,440 per person hired in one of the zones, which are intended to create jobs and spark investment in economically distressed areas."

"Yet interviews and public documents reviewed by Frying Pan News reveal that some of these zones are located in relatively well-off areas, including San Francisco’s Financial District and the SoMa neighborhood, which is home to many software and technology firms. In ...

Twice Betrayed | San Antonio Express-News
“A seven-month San Antonio Express-News investigation into the pervasive and long-standing problem of sex assaults in the military shows victims who report the incidents often are retaliated against and discharged on false claims that they have mental disorders. Offenders, meanwhile, are rarely punished, and most are allowed to stay in the armed forces.”

Data breaches persist despite heightened security | Chicago Tribune
“Despite rising awareness of cybersecurity, the number of incidents in which secure information is released into potentially untrustworthy environments remains nearly as high as ever by some measures worldwide and in Illinois.”

Chronic Lyme ...

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 Texas Observer reports that the s tate health department left approximately $2.3 million of its family planning funds unspent while clinics across the state closed because of lack of money. As a result, tens of thousands of women lost access to reproductive care. The unspent funds happened at a time when, according to previous Observer reporting, "146 family-planning clinics lost funds, and more than 60 clinics closed as a result following budget cuts instituted by the Texas Legislature in 2011."

"An East Tennessee grandmother said she tried in vain to get the Department of Children’s Services to intervene when she feared her newborn grandson was living in an unsafe environment. DCS already had opened an investigation in March 2012 after the baby was born with symptoms of drug withdrawal. He also was born prematurely with a severe birth defect: the infant’s intestines were outside his body, but he underwent surgery before going home. By June, he was dead at just 9 weeks old. The grandmother’s call for help is not noted in DCS records," according to an ...