University of Wisconsin closely tied to prescription painkiller market.

After a large wave of deaths in 2006 due to overdosing on prescription pain medicine, the CDC authored a critical study linking deaths from those drugs to an increase of up to 500% in the number of prescriptions written. In that same medical journal, two researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health took exception with those conclusions and warned against increasing regulation of the drugs.

Yang Wang  reports on the disturbing low-income housing neighborhood conditions in Houston, TX that led to a teens death. Just weeks before 19-year-old Jamesha Floyd was pulled from her burning home, her aunt and uncle complained to their landlord about faulty electrical wiring in the four-room house they shared with Floyd on Sayers Street. And even though many of the exploitative property owners have been "issued correction orders" many problems go unattended, such as, "roofs or walls not waterproofed; improperly attached building parts that might fall; holes, cracks, breaks on floors, walls or ceilings; rubbish, tires and other unsanitary items covering the yards and other conditions that violate construction or fire codes."

Last November, four people were killed in an FIT plane crash. An investigation by Florida Today reporters Mackenzie Ryan and Michelle Spitzer revealed that there is no federal regulation in place to restrict passengers on training flights. Although data shows that passengers on these flights is rare, friends and family of those killed call for stricter policy changes.

An investigation by Ellen Gabler of the Chicago Tribune has prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to review the safety of crib bumpers, which are popular baby products sold in stores throughout the country. The Tribune found that while the safety commission acknowledged it has gotten more than two dozen reports of infant deaths associated with bumper pads in the past two decades, there could be more deaths that the agency dismissed or did not fully investigate. In response to inquiries from the Tribune, the agency said it would reopen files on babies' deaths, evaluate the safety of bumper pads on store shelves and rethink how investigators examine deaths where bumper pads are present. The products, which wrap around the inside of a crib and tie to crib slats, are a staple in many babies’ nurseries.

A Chicago Tribune investigation uncovered a pattern of harmful care at Alden Village North, a Chicago home for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Thirteen times in the last decade, residents have died under circumstances that led to state citations for neglect or failure to investigate. Instead of cracking down, regulators have allowed the problems to worsen. Two days after the second day of the series was published Gov. Pat Quinn ordered a health monitor be placed at the troubled Chicago facility and instructed his staff to draft legislation to address the problems.

Michael J. Berens, of The Seattle Times, uncovered hundreds of deaths inside state-licensed adult family homes indicating neglect or abuse, but the deaths were not reported to the state or investigated. Adult homes areless-regulated, less-expensive elder care options found in dozens of states. The Times reported that deaths indicating neglect occur at strikingly higher rates than in nursing homes. These stories are part of an on-going series, Seniors for Sale, that previously found some adult homes marketed the frail and vulnerable as commodities.

Alison Young of USA Today reports that food safety watchdogs are critical of the U.S Department of Agriculture staff on site at the two Iowa egg processors linked to the recent egg recall. They "question whether USDA egg graders should have noticed the vermin problems cited by the FDA, potentially preventing the recall of a half billion eggs and an outbreak that is linked to about 1,500 reported illnesses." While the Food and Drug Administration "significant objectionable conditions" in laying houses, the USDA claims their egg graders only observe conditions in the processing buildings.

Tim Darragh of The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) reports that Ford Windstars from 1999-2003 are under investigation due to rear axles breaking while the car is being driven at high speeds – but no recall has been ordered. Hundreds of drivers have already complained to the federal government, but recalls on older vehicles are hard to obtain.

A story by Paula Lavigne, of ESPN, reveals some unappetizing realities about food service at the 107 stadiums used by the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL across the country.  Through a review of inspection records from local health departments, Lavigne revealed that at "30 of the venues (28 percent), more than half of the concession stands or restaurants had been cited for at least one "critical" or "major" health violation. Such violations pose a risk for foodborne illnesses that can make someone sick, or, in extreme cases, become fatal."

In Florida, convicted scammers and thieves are among workers selling unproven fixes and dubious diagnoses in the completely unregulated Chinese drywall "remediation" and inspection industry, a Palm Beach Post investigation found. A lack of state oversight makes dealing in drywall remedies a free-for-all for even the least qualified entrepreneurs, who are capitalizing on homeowner's fears that bad drywall is sickening families and ruining investments. These workers offer solutions, and can charge tens of thousands of dollars of more for fixes, even though state and federal researchers have yet to determine what causes the drywall to corrode pipes and eat through wiring. The stories also highlight a self-proclaimed drywall expert who holds no contractors license but runs an educational institute out of a Gainesville post office box. He offers to certify workers (while the state does not) and charges about $1,000 a piece to teach people his drywall remediation techniques.