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 "cd" ...
-
'Perversion files' show locals helped cover up
On June 14, 2012, following a civil trial, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that decades of the Boy Scouts’ confidential files would be made public. They would first need to allow the Scouts and plaintiffs’ attorneys time to redact the files of sensitive information. Given a months-long head start, editor Terry Petty and reporter Nigel Duara began the process of negotiating the unredacted files from a longtime source. The negotiations took two months and required the guarantee of an embargo. In August, they received a CD with 20,000 pages of perversion files. Duara and Petty combed through the files, looking for patterns. The Scouts’ concealment of the abuse has been reported before, beginning with an exhaustive series in the early 1990s from the Washington Times. But the AP team found something else: Locals helped. County attorneys, newspaper editors, mayors and police officers were all detailed in the files helping keep the Scouts’ name out of charging documents and off the front page. Indeed, a local county attorney proudly reported to Scouts leaders that he quashed an investigation in which a man confessed to sexually abusing two brothers “to protect the name of Scouting.”
Tags: Boy scouts; abuse; record
-
"Welfare Waste"
Welfare funds can be, and often are, misused. A review of "two million state welfare transactions" by the KSTP-TV team reveals that EBT cards were used more than 100 times in liquor stores during the course of one month. They also found the money was spent on things like lottery tickets and tattoos, and the practice is entirely legal.
Tags: FOI; Department of Human Services; EBT; Minnesota; Virgin Islands; Data Practices Act
-
Food Safety
Recently the food industry has been searching for cheaper ingredients, but this increases the risk to consumers' safety. In this series, they look at foods from peanuts to hamburgers. Furthermore, the federal agencies who examine the food industry have flaws, which weaken their attempts to improve food safety.
Tags: Food; Food industry; Safety; Food safety; Risk; Consumers; Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Inspectors; ConAgra Foods; E. coli
-
A World of Hurt
The New York State workers compensation system was criticized, but seldom examined. This series exposes the costs of the system failing it most basic mission: “to resolve jobsite injuries without further damaging workers or hurting their employers.” Often workers had to wait a number of months to have their cases heard, hearings were short, workers were fired after being injured and claimant lawyers often didn’t think of the long-term results.
Tags: Workers; Workers compensation; Costs; Jobs; Jobsite injuries; Damage; Hurt; Injured workers; Bosses; Legal; Medical treatment; Replacement wages; Wages; Compensation system
-
Biggest Nonprofit Fraud of our Time
Sandy Frost uncovers a network of prostitution, human trafficking and child sex tourism in the secret Masonic subgroup, the Royal Order of Jesters (ROJ). Frost found that Jester groups paid for prostitution rooms and the society was linked to Richard Schair, a former fishing tour operator who brought North American into the Amazon for sex with minor, Indigenous girls.
Tags: Richard Schair; Royal Order of Jesters; Jesters; Mason; Sandy Frost; prostitution; child abuse; human trafficking; sex;
-
How the VA Abandons Our Vets
Sgt. Juan Jimenez was struck by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, and in need of immediate care, he sought disability benefits from the VA. He then learned of a bizarre regulation: before he could receive benefits he would have to prove his wounds came from war.
Tags: veteran suicide; Veterans for Common Sense; Veterans Affairs; Purple Heart; armed forces;
-
Guilty Until Proven Innocent
"A new Florida law allows people who are innocent of crimes to receive $50,000 for each year they wrongfully spent in prison."
Tags: conviction; James Joseph Richardson; court ruling; Arcadia; case; overturn;
-
Who's Watching Your Kids
Several lifeguards hired by the City of Memphis to work its pools were convicted criminals. The city hadn't conducted pre-employment background checks on "temporary employees" prior to 2007.
Tags: criminal past; felony; firearm; endangerment; job application; swimming pool; recreation;
-
Military Gangs
This story reveals the growing problem of military gangs in the U.S. Armed Forces. It focuses on a soldier who died after being beaten to death by fellow gang members in Germany.
Tags: Gangster Disciples; Marine Corps; Criminal Investigative Unit;
-
Lost Ambulances
"Many people think GPS will lead people in the right direction, including 911 operators. One operator made a critical mistake not taking down directions and assuming the county's 911 mapping system would lead the ambulance in the right direction. What she didn't know is more than 40 RV and trailer parks did not show up in that mapping system."
Tags: Lee County EMS; response time; maps; EMT;