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 "cargo" ...
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Terror on the Tracks
"Terror on the Tracks" exposes major gaps in freight rail security. We spent months criss-crossing the state gathering undercover video of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway trains carrying hazardous cargo. We found locomotives idling, unlocked, unmanned, unguarded - with the key, called a reverser, inside. The reverser makes the train move forward or backward on the track. The presence of the reverser would allow any intruder with basic knowledge to steal the train - potentially making them easy targets for terrorists. Our sources - current engineers and conductors working for BNSF with everything to lose by talking to us - say the trains are much more vulnerable than the company or the government is willing to admit. During our investigation we discovered trains had been stolen before - mostly by joy riders - all across the country.
Tags: freight rail security; terrorists; hazardous; cargo; engineers; conductors
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Brian Ross Investigates: The Printer Bomb Plot
Exclusive reports reveal key details in the plot to send packages containing explosive devices to the US. ABC's stories include the first identification of the suspect and the first photo of the suspected package.
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Air Cargo Security
Though it has been five years since air safety went through a reform in the wake of 9/11, the screening process of cargo loaded onto airplanes is lax, keeping passengers in danger. Screening of passengers has improved, but the cargo has been a safety afterthought. They rely on a "known" or "trusted" shipper program, which means you must "be a known shipper to send cargo on a passenger plane." This leads to security lapses as reported by CBS News.
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Inside Two Agencies: How Security and Policy Problems Undermine the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Speed has become more important that security in two organizations that should be emphasizing security. The Star-Ledger investigates the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and finds that airport screeners are not as efficient as they should be. In addition, the series discusses the difficulty of securing cargo both at the port and on passenger jetliners.
Tags: Transportation Security Administration; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; cargo; security; port security; airport security; airline security
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Deadly Express
In a 9-month investigation, The Miami Herald uncovered inaccuracies in the government's reporting of the frequency of fatal cargo plane crashes. Through the analysis of extensive government documents dating back to 2000, the reporters found that 69 planes have crashed claiming the lives of 85 people, thus "making air cargo the nation's deadliest form of commercial aviation." Despite this fact, pleas to apply more stringent safety regulations on cargo flights have been ignored. Worse yet, when these lax safety standards result in fatal crashes, the pilots are often saddled with the blame.
Tags: aviation; cargo planes; FAA; regulations; plane crash; CAR
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Targeting Terror
The reporters investigated Chicago's vulnerability to a terrorist attack, particularly Chicago O'Hare International Airport, finding the over-all effort to protect the citizens of this city was sloppy.
Tags: terrorism; attacks; Chicago O'Hare International Airport; airport security; air cargo; public safety; FOIA
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Toxic Cargo; Crowded Inland Rails at Risk for Dangerous Chemical Spills
The investigation showed that Inland Southern California faces increasing risk of toxic spills from freight trains carrying chlorine, anhydrous ammonia and other deadly chemicals. The authors found a public unaware of the risk, local authorities unprepared and an industry with a questionable safety record.
Tags: chemical transportation; chemical spills; rail transportation; California; freight trains; public safety; FOIA
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Ports in the Storm
The author audited the South Carolina State Ports Authority. He found that the agency, "...condemned land from private citizens, violated the state Freedom of Information Act, had questionable connections to private businesses associated with the state operation and perks like $7,600 golf club memberships paid from the state rolls."
Tags: FOIA; watchdog; fraud; government waste; corruption; state and local government; port; shipping; cargo; containers; privatization; transportation; intermodal
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Project security: Danger in the air
This WISH investigation reveals the threat presented by unscreened cargo aboard passenger planes, three years after Congress passed a law requiring the screening of such cargo. The report noted that none of the Transportation Security Administration's $85 million air cargo security budget is being used to screen cargo on passenger planes and that the government puts commerce ahead of safety. The TV station mailed its own bomb-related package across the nation to prove the security threat.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; TSA; Transportation Security Administration; air cargo; airline safety; known shipper program; Department of Homeland Security
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Craft had history of problems
This same-day story notes the record of equipment defects for a DC-9 cargo plane that crashed during takeoff. A review of 32 FAA Service Difficulty Reports on the plane filed by its operator noted landing gear malfunctions, cracks and corrosion in the plane structure, and loose, cracked, stripped or frozen parts in the landing gear door, cabin and cargo doors.
Tags: airplanes; Federal Aviation Authority; FAA; Service Difficulty Reports; airports