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 "derailment" ...
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"Derailed - A Star Tribune Speical Report"
The Star Tribune and ProPublica revealed that the nation's "second-largest railroad company," Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), has gone to great lengths to cover up its legal mishaps and wrongdoings. In addition to losing evidence, the company and its lawyers worked to gain "unfair advantage "over opponents in "more than 20 court cases."
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Class of 2011
An examination on Chicago's Marshall High, a school with a history of troubles, found that the school threatened to derail the success of the Chicago Public Schools' $80 million project to overhaul failing schools.
Tags: absentee; school registration; teaching; education; elementary; secondary education;
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Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives
Author Edwin Black discusses the world's use of oil, asserting that it is corporate greed that has kept oil a prominent part of society. He examines the history of the dependence going back 100 years, "expos(ing) a century of lies about internal combustion that arose from a millennium of monopolistic conduct in energy."
Tags: Oil; corporations; energy; monopolies; environmental concerns; politics; energy lobby
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"Under the Radar" and "Stormy Weather"
These stories revealed crucial information undermining the U.S. Air Force's controversial plan to lease 100 air refueling tankers from Boeing-a deal, which, if completed, would have cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars more than if traditional purchasing were used. "Under the Radar" deals with documents showing how Boeing pushed a plane that even some military officials doubted was right for the job. It also revealed how the Air Force relied on Boeing to shape the basic performance requirements for the tanker and let the company devise the financial structure of the costly, unusual lease agreement. "Stormy Weather" discloses a perverse effect of the derailing of the lease proposal.
Tags: U.S. Air Force; air refueling tankers; Boeing; taxpayers; Air Force officials; Congress; White House; Pentagon; White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card; endorsement; tanker planes; Lockheed C-5 transport; Lockheed C-17 transport; Continental Airlines; lobbying campaign; European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.; Senate Commerce Committee; EADS; Congressional Budget Office; Defense Department; Air Force Air Mobility Command; Fleet Viability Board; General Accounting Office
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Cook County Jail Beatings, Sheriff's Campaign Contributions
"On a winter night in 1999, an elite squad of guards at the Cook County Jail in Chicago invaded a cellblock and, for hours, terrorized hundreds of inmates. With the unit's commander standing atop a table and barking orders, guards forced inmates to strip and proceeded to beat them. Later, the guards falsified records to cover up the assault and for years succeeded in derailing internal investigations into inmate complaints. The cover-up lasted for four years until Chicago Tribune staff reporters Steve Mills and Maurice Possley received a tip about the mass beating." The resulting story blew the lid off the beating scandal, and led to a number of public officials running for cover. Sheriff Michael Sheahan had come to his job promising solutions to the overcrowded jail and to end policies of brutality. Wondering why the Sheriff had allowed such a mass beating to take place and be covered up, the Tribune took a closer look at his campaign contributions -- and discovered the story went a lot deeper than they realized.
Tags: prison; beating; cover-up; cover up; inmates; terrorize; correctional; facility; guard; blood; officer; sheriff; campaign; politics; money; contributions; contributor; campaign finance
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Inside Yahoo!
BusinessWeek looks at Yahoo! and reports "the untold story of how arrogance, infighting, and management missteps derailed one of the hottest companies on the Web."
Tags: Yahoo; computer companies; Internet; Terry Semel; business
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CSX Investigation
WESH-TV looked into the Amtrak Autotrain derailment, which occurred last April in Central Florida and killed four people and injured hundreds of passengers. Crash investigators believe the cause of the accident was a buckle in the tracks and the WESH-TV investigation "uncovered the tracks had problems before the crash that could cause them to buckle." It was also discovered that "CSX, which owns and maintains the tracks, had problems with its track in other states as well. One of the leading railroad engineering experts in the country also told us the tracks safety standards are inadequate and lead to derailments such as this one."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; railroads; CSX; trains; train tracks; safety; transportation; track safety; Amtrak; derailment; train accidents; train derailment; railroad engineering; train crash; Central Florida; Florida
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Derailed Lives
"A train derailment and fatal chemical spill on Jan. 18, 2002, in Minot, N.D., exposed the vulnerability of our nation's transportation of common but hazardous agricultural chemical," the Forum reports. The story depict the disaster -- known as the largest spill of anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer -- in the world but also investigates its causes. The main findings are that pre-1989 railroad tanker cars are susceptible to puncturing in accidents in cold weather; tracks often contain a number of defects; and rescue workers and hospitals are ill-prepared for disasters.
Tags: emergencies; hazmat; hazardous materials; lung injuries; death; acid burns; railroad transportation; safety; Canadian Pacific Railway
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An Oklahoma Mystery
Crogan documents Middle Eastern and Filipino connections to the Oklahoma City bombing that the FBI ignored. He argues that the 9/11 attacks and the Oklahoma bombings are connected and the FBI "derailed" a complete investigation into both attacks.
Tags: terrorism; 9/11; Oklahoma City bombing; Middle East; FBI; CIA
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How to avoid being railroaded
Governing magazine looks at the effects that railroads and train traffic increases have on a community. It highlights how communities like Cleveland, Reno, Witchita and Rochester, MN have dealt with the impact.
Tags: railroads; trains; transportation; train traffic; commercial rail transportation; derailment; traffic impact; Surface Transportation Board; STB