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 "defense" ...
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Not Enough Money or Time to Defend Detroit's Poor
According to the 6th Amendment everyone is reserved the right to have adequate representation in court. Though, in Detroit, a national public defender crisis has broken out due to overworked and underpaid defenders. This is a problem throughout the national, but has reached crisis levels in Michigan. "More than 90 percent of criminal defenders in Wayne County cannot afford their own lawyers", so to make up for this public defenders are used for representation instead.
Tags: court system; defense system; rights; public defenders; criminal defense; clients; law system
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Weapon of Choice
This series investigates the United States military's use of depleted uranium. The series reveals that some "54,567 soldiers said they had been exposed to depleted uranium sometimes or often". The symptoms of those exposed to this are vomiting, difficulty in breathing, and overall feelings of weakness. Furthermore, it has been known to bind to DNA, which can cause mutations and cell death.
Tags: contamination; battlegrounds; Department of Defense; soldiers; military; FOIA; damages; harm; medical; health
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The Body Shop
Questionable hiring, misidentified bodies, sexual harassment charges and refusal to provide autopsies to defense attorneys are a few of the many problems facing the Adams County Coroner's office. Jim Hibbard, who heads the office, was elected to his position, but had a history of conflict as a former police officer. He appears to have brought that conflict to the coroner's office in the form of sexual harassment, ruined evidence and regulatory violations.
Tags: Coroner; Adams County; autopsy; medical examiner; Jim Hibbard; sexual harassment; identity; defense; police; problems;
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Four Stars for Hire
Retired senior officers are been hired by the US military as senior mentors. These mentors counsel current commanders and run war games. Further, the mentors are being paid at rates much higher than the active-duty officers. Also, they are not just working for the military; many are employed by defense contractors. So these mentors are not only being paid large sums by the US government, they are also receiving income from the defense firms.
Tags: Retired senior officers; Military; Mentors; Commanders; Defense contractors; Financial; Marines; Pentagon; Wages; Generals; Admirals; US government
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The New War
The information age has created new vulnerabilities to US national security. This investigation reveals the holes in the nation’s defense against cyber spies and pushing policymakers to do something about it. Some examples are the “breaching of the US electric grid, an expensive fighter-jet project and the US drones in the war in Iraq.” Further, this investigation also reveals innovative technologies to stop these cyber spies.
Tags: information age; US national security; spies; cyberspies; cyber espionage; technology; cyberspace; US electric grid; Iraq
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How the US Funds the Taliban
This investigation uncovered Taliban insurgents reaping millions of dollars in Department of Defense contracts. "These contracts have become an immense boon for the Taliban, as security firms found that paying off the insurgents was the only way to get supplies through hostile territory to US troops." This has become a large part of the Taliban's income.
Tags: Department of Defense; US military; logistics; Afghanistan; contracts; NCL Holdings; contractor; government; security official
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Crossing the Line
"We're coming after you." That was the Houston Police Chief's message to thieves when he launched the elite, $5 million a year Crime Reduction Unit. The problem? Some of the department's own officers alleged "we're coming after you" meant violating citizens' rights and search and seizure laws to build flimsy cases and rack up arrest numbers that ultimately did little to fight crime. KHOU-TV identified how CRU officers routinely stopped, handcuffed and interrogated citizens for petty infractions such as jaywalking or riding a bicycle without a light. The vast majority of the time these citizens were let go, but if police did make an arrest, it was usually for trace levels of drugs, which often resulted in plea bargain prosecutions for minimal jail sentences. One veteran defense attorney described the CRU as nothing more than "a mill to get convictions."
Tags: Houston; Texas; law enforcement; arrest; Texas Public Information Act; Crime Reduction Unit
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Backyard Bombs
In 1983, two boys were killed in San Diego as a result of old munitions explosion in a nearby canyon. San Diego County has a long military history of training camps and defense sites which have been turned into residential neighborhoods, but traces of that past are still seen today as some explosives were never removed.
Tags: weapons; shell; shell shock; debris; Department of Defense; obstacle course; practice field;
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Adolfo's Story
Adolfo Davis has been in jail since the age of fourteen, sentence to life in prison without parole for murder. In Illinois, it's legal to question a fourteen-year-old without the presence of a defense attorney so long as a youth officer is present, and the child is made aware of his rights.
Tags: accountability; murder; drug territory; parole; probation officer; testimony; sentencing
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Big Gov: Runaway Spending Under Bush
President George W. Bush's spending for defense and homeland security opened up a funding funnel that poured billions into a poorly managed and badly supervised contracting system.
Tags: George Bush; Department of Homeland Security; Department of Defense; federal government; money; contracts; budget; bureaucracy; economy; Pentagon