The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Military Children" ...
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Military Children Left Behind: Decrepit Schools, Broken Promises
Over the course of six months, the Center for Public Integrity's iWatchNews examined the conditions of base schools attended by the sons and daughters of military personnel, and how those conditions might affect students whose parents are often deployed. Among their key findings were that tens of thousands of children attend schools on military installations that are falling apart from age and neglect and fail to meet the Defense Department standards.
Tags: base schools; military; defense department
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Medicating the Military
The stories looked at the nature and scope of the use of prescription drugs in the military community, with a focus on psychiatric medications and painkillers. The reporting found that use of psychiatric medications has risen dramatically in the past several years and some doctors suggest it may be a factor in the military's suicide epidemic of recent years. Reporters found that many psychiatric drugs - including powerful anti-convulsants and anti-psychotic medications - were being used "off label", or in ways not formally approved by the FDA. Reporters found that many troops were taking up to 10 medications at a time in so-called drug cocktails that experts say are untested and unproven in these combinations. Reporters also found that deaths caused by accidental drug overdoses had tripled during the past several years and that the Army's specialty care units were quietly conducting internal investigations and making significant changes to hospital protocols to reduce risk of accidental deaths. Finally, they found that psychiatric drug usage was also up significantly among military children.
Tags: Military; Army; Veteran; Health; Wellness; Medicine; Drugs; Pain killers; Psychiatric Medication; Mental Health; Suicide; Depression; Military Children; Hospital; Prescription
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Agent Orange: A Lethal Legacy
This investigation reveals the high costs and consequences of herbicides, such as Agent Orange, used by the US military during the Vietnam War. Not only are the veterans suffering from the consequences of herbicides, but also the children of these veterans. These children suffer from multiple cancers, birth defects, and other conditions. The conditions have increased the financial compensation for the US veterans and their families. Furthermore, the US government has neglected to discover the impact of these herbicides on health and environmental conditions.
Tags: US military; Vietnam War; US government; government; health; birth defects; defoliants; financial compensation; disability; veterans; families; US Department of Veterans Affairs
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"Peace at What Price?"
ABC news documented the extent of abuse U.N. peacekeepers have been inflicting on women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although reports of child pornography, rape and paedophile rings have been rampant, U.N. officials have refused to allow either military or civilian employees to be tried, and even have refused to cooperate with further investigation of its personnel.
Tags: United Nations; sexual abuse; investigation; African peacekeepers
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Children of War: Fighting, Dying, Surviving
Millions of Children around the globe are fighting, dying, and surviving war. The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that in the past 20 years, children younger than 16 have fought in at least 16 wars in 25 countries.
Tags: military; conflict; radio; broadcast; tape; CD; transcipt included
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Memories of a Massacre
60 Minutes II told the story of a secret military operation in Thanh Phong led by former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey. Kerrey, who originally went public with the story in the New York Times magazine, said he and his men accidentally massacred women and children in this Vietnamese hamlet after they were fired upon. Subsequent interviews by 60 Minutes II reveal that "the killings may not have been accidental and may in fact have been the result of a planned an deliberate operation... Eyewitnesses said there was no Viet Cong fire."
Tags: Bob Kerrey; Vietnam; civilian casualties; military
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Ritalin prescribed unevenly in U.S.
The Plain-Dealer compiled 1996 Census projections and data from the Drug Enforcement Administration showing the break down of Ritalin sold in grams in the nation's 3,141 counties. The results show that the use of and prescribing of Ritalin varies from state to state but also by region. The analysis found high Ritalin use in the Northeast and upper Midwest, and even disparities in use within Ohio. In Summit County, 3.6 percent are prescribed the drug, while in neighboring Holmes County only 0.37 are prescribed Ritalin, the lowest rate in Ohio. Attitudes and theories on Ritalin use vary with some believing children in cold, isolated areas might be more prone to use the drug, some think military families are more inclined to use it, others believe children and families with attention disorders "migrate" to resort areas where the drug is more readily available.
Tags: pharmaceuticals; DEA; Ritalin; children; CAR
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Battling for Benefits
"Women have formally served in the United States armed forces for nearly a century, beginning with the creation of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901. But women are only now winning a long battle for veteran's health care services that has at times seemed as formidable as the conflicts they faced in two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf." Due to recent legislation over the last ten years, health care for female veterans has greatly improved. Female veterans now may receive monthly compensation payments for loss of a breast for reasons related to military service and benefits for children born with birth defects. However, "the VA recognizes that more improvements are needed . . . including providing greater privacy in hospital facilities and better inpatient psychiatric care for women." In addition, "veterans groups point to other ways in the VA could more effectively help women: developing better programs for those women veterans who are homeless; paying more attention to the specific health care needs of women; and giving the special women veterans' coordinators more time to do their job." Reporter Karen Lee Scrivo reports more on these issues.
Tags: women; military; Veterans Affairs Department; Center for Women Veterans; Women Veterans Health Programs Act; children; Special Monthly Compensation K Award; health care
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The Dirty War
"60 Minutes investigated one of the dirtiest secrets of the Dirty War, in which at least 500 infants born in the regime's prisons were handed over to childless military couples - in some cases to the very people responsible for the deaths of the mothers."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; wars; Argentina; The Dirty War; kidnapping; children; child abuse; military; ESMA; disappeared
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1998 IRE TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape.
The 1998 TV Award Winners and Finalists Tape is a compilation of 12 investigative stories. 1.) "Tomb of the Unknowns," CBS News. A 13-part series that forced the government to face the truth about how it defaced one of the nation's most sacred shrines and denied a grieving mother the truth about her son. See #15332. 2.) "The Deadly Trade in Fake Medicine," CBS News, 60 Minutes. Substandard medicine marketed by a secret network of manufacturers, peddlers make fortunes and regulators have failed to stop this deadly trade. See #15241. 3.) "Abuse of Power." ABC News 20/20. The U.S. military's power to strike back at personnel who are critical. Whistleblowers who expose misconduct, waste, fraud and abuse are told they are mentally ill. See #15282. 4.) "Shell Game." NBC News Dateline. A hidden camera investigation inside a plant that processes 2 million eggs a day, reveals eggs up to a month old, are mixed in with fresh eggs, rewashed, repacked and sold like new. See #15236. 5.) "Doublecross." ABC Primetime. This investigation reveals how the United States government turned a drug smuggler into a top informant and then allowed him to distribute cocaine into the United States. See #15251. 6.) "Fake Doctors, Real Dangers." CBS-2 News, Los Angeles. This series uncovers fake doctors all over Southern California running illegal clinics. See #15259. 7.) "Impact: Forced Sterilization." WXYZ investigates into the sterilization of thousands of men, women and children by the state government in Michigan. See #15373. 8.) "Oath of Silence." WMAQ. This four-month investigation exposes secret malpractice settlements that are costing taxpayers millions of dollars. See #15373. 9.) "Troubled Transit." WTXF, Philadelphia. This three-month investigation of the Septa Public Transit in Philadelphia reveals some of the transit workers are not doing the jobs the taxpayers are paying them to do. See #15221. 10.) "Olympic Bribery Scandal." KTVX. Salt Lake Olympic Organizers have been spending thousands of dollars to pay the college tuition of international Olympic associate's relatives. See # 15201. 11.) "Stadium Investigation." WCPO, Cincinnati. Hamilton County in Cincinnati have spent more than a billion dollars to build and finance a new stadium, promising more business for minorities and women. A five-month investigation uncovers many broken promises. 12.) "Mismanagement 101." KWTV, Oklahoma City. Millions of dollars in overspending, fraud, waste and allegations of cover-up. Example; 50 construction employees were diverted from air conditioning the elementary school to building an all automatic, high-tech bathroom located just outside the superintendent's office. See # 15303.
Tags: TAPE; Vietnam; Freedom of Information Act; FOI; Computer Assisted Reporting; CAR; IRE; no transcripts.