Center for Investigative Reporting
VA’s ability to quickly provide benefits plummets under Obama
“Internal VA documents, obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting and authenticated by the agency, reveal that delays newly returning veterans face before receiving disability compensation and other benefits are far longer than the agency has publicly acknowledged. The documents also offer insight into some of the reasons for those delays.”

The Houston Chronicle
Pasadena Superfund site's owner indicted, missing
“In reality, prosecutors said, he is a polluter responsible for a 17-acre disaster - hundreds of dumpsters and concrete tanks vaporizing hazardous chemicals into the air ...

Center for Investigative Reporting/Esquire
The Shooter
"The man who shot and killed Osama bin Laden sat in a wicker chair in my backyard, wondering how he was going to feed his wife and kids or pay for their medical care."

The Tampa Bay Times
Public schools lose millions to crooks and cheaters
“Axson's case points to a larger problem with mandated tutoring in Florida: The program pays public money to people with criminal records, and to cheaters and profiteers who operate virtually unchecked by state regulators.”
Lobbying preserved millions for Florida tutoring companies
"Every year for nearly a ...

The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Murderous 'monster' acquires an arsenal
A Minnesota man who killed his mother with a firearm in 1995 and was later committed to a state mental hospital was still able to obtain a permit to purchase firearms last May, the Star Tribune’s Paul McEnroe and Glenn Howatt reported.  Dozens of other Minnesotans judged by a court to be mentally ill have also found that designation no barrier to obtaining deadly weapons. A review of state court records found case after case in which individuals deemed mentally ill in judicial proceedings later wound up in possession of ...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ethics and the Legislature: Money, secrets, power rule dome
On the floor and in the committee rooms, you can identify the most powerful lawmakers simply by checking their fundraising and lobbying totals. The cost of access to a legislator rises as he does: being promoted to chair a key committee doubles his campaign contributions and lobbyist gifts.

Slate
How Many People Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown?
"The answer to the simple question in that headline is surprisingly hard to come by. So Slate and the Twitter feed @GunDeaths are collecting data for our crowdsourced interactive ...

“Nearly 7,000 disabled veterans overseen by the Des Moines Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office are waiting an average of 313 days on claims across the state, VA records show. That’s 18 percent longer than a year and a half ago, although records show that since 2000 there are fewer veterans in the state.”

"The VA’s inability to pay benefits to veterans before they die is increasingly common, according to data obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting."

"The data reveals, for the first time, that long wait times are contributing to tens of thousands of veterans being approved for disability benefits and pensions only after it is too late for the money to help them."