Lenience in juvenile court system may have cost one woman's life.

John Diedrich of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports on the disturbing facts of how some very violent juveniles slip through the cracks of our court system. One, Markus Evans, first encounter with the courts was when he was 7 years old, after stabbing his kindergarten teacher with a pencil. 10 years later, he is in court yet another time for allegedly murdering a 17-year-old woman.

"When you look at this case, it just says there ought to be a hell of a lot of more communication with those who interact with those kids - schools, cops, probation, prosecutors - everyone," said retired Judge Michael Malmstadt, who served 13 years in children's court but did not handle any of Evans' cases . "Looking back at it, this kid raised an awful lot of warning signs."

Washington state is now the largest government in the country to ban the cancer-causing industrial waste. The asphalt sealant is used on surfaces such as driveways, parking lots, and even playgrounds. One US Representative is seeking a nationwide ban.   "The Washington state legislation and Doggett’s drive for a nationwide ban flowed from studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, which showed that components of the toxic sealants are increasing in many waterways, while levels of most pollutants are declining."

Using Arizona's Open Records Law, Dave Biscobing of KNXV-TV in Phoenix recently uncovered discrepancies in kidnapping statistics used by the Phoenix Police Department to obtain more than $2 million in federal grant money. City leaders and Arizona Senator John McCain repeatedly cited the statistics, calling Phoenix the "Kidnapping Capital of the US." However, Biscobing's research found more than 100 of the 358 cases cited by Phoenix Police in 2008 were not kidnappings. The Phoenix Police Department cited vehicle impounds, assaults, and crimes that did not even happen in Phoenix as legitimate kidnappings. The morning after his initial report, the police department, mayor and city manager acknowledged the statistics were wrong and the police department's reporting system was flawed. Police Chief Jack Harris was reassigned and the city announced an outside audit. The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General is also conducting an audit of the kidnapping statistics.

"A six-month examination of more than 150,000 reports filed by pilots and others in the aviation industry over the past 20 years reveals surprising and sometimes shocking safety breaches and close calls at local, regional and major airports throughout the country."  The investigation was a collaboration between members of the Investigative News Network and National Public Radio.  The NPR report can be heard here.  Data for this project was provided by the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR).

Long-time IRE member Dunstan "Dusty" McNichol died unexpectedly Tuesday. He was 54.

McNichol, who contributed to the IRE Journal and spoke at IRE Conferences, was an active member of IRE since 1998. McNichol  covered the New Jersey Statehouse for 10 years for the Star-Ledger "and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for the newspaper’s coverage of (then-New Jersey Gov. Jim) McGreevey’s resignation. In 2009, Mr. McNichol joined Bloomberg News and its Trenton-based State Government and Local Finance Team."

From almost the time it opened, a Wisconsin gun store has been in trouble with federal authorities. After repeated warnings about problems, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revoked the store’s license in 2007. But as Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich reported, three years later the case is tied up in federal court and the store continues to sell thousands of guns a year – with the ATF's blessing. The case shows how laws enacted by Congress hobble the agency charged with policing gun stores and protect dealers who repeatedly break the law.

A Chicago Tribune investigation discovered high levels of mercury in skin lightening creams sold throughout Chicago. The newspaper sent 50 skin-lightening creams to a certified lab for testing, most of them bought in Chicago stores and a few ordered online. Six were found to contain amounts of mercury banned by federal law. Of those, five had more than 6,000 parts per million — enough to potentially cause kidney damage over time, according to a medical expert.

A report by Joshua Kors in The Nation explores the Army's fraudulent use of personality disorder diagnoses to discharge soldiers, thus stripping them of their disability benefits and long term medical care. The article details the case of Chuck Luther who suffered a concussion during a mortar attack in May 2007. After reporting his symptoms, his doctor claimed he was fabricating symptoms to avoid reconnaissance duty and eventually diagnosed him with personality disorder. In the past three years, at least two dozen other have been similarly discharged and denied benefits. "According to figures from the Pentagon and a Harvard University study, the military is saving billions by discharging soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan with personality disorder."

In a four-part series, Rob Perez of the Honolulu Advertiser found Hawaii's long-term-care system for the elderly is fraught with problems, including a placement system tainted by kickbacks and fraud. He also found that Hawaii nursing homes are the least sanctioned in the country, that reforms at the state Legislature are consistently blocked by care-home lobbyists and that a blacklist for certified nurse aides deemed unfit to work in the industry is full of holes.

Keeping Secrets, a three-part series by The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)  for Sunshine Week, found North Carolina's 35-year-old personnel law is among the most secretive in the nation, barring access to disciplinary actions, hiring decisions and employment histories. The series had plenty of examples showing how this secrecy is preventing the public from learning about all kinds of governmental abuses — predatory teachers and cops, patronage hires and payroll padding. It also included an electronic survey of state lawmakers on the issue, maps that showed how North Carolina compared to other states, and an internal investigation into patronage at one state agency. As part of Sunshine Week, the News & Observer made the series available to all news outlets in North Carolina, and several ran it. By week's end, one lawmaker said he will draft a bill to open up personnel information, while others said the law needs to be revisited.