From Hella Winston for The Jewish Week, the Brooklyn DA’s office says it needs more time to prepare its prosecution of an Orthodox Jewish whistleblower who reported sexual abuse. An excerpt: “With the Brooklyn district attorney’s case against chasidic sex abuse whistleblower Sam Kellner seemingly falling apart amid mounting evidence that Kellner’s main accuser may have been manipulated and paid to lodge ...
From Alexandra Robbins for Washingtonian Magazine, the story of a critical shortage of nutrients needed to keep children born prematurely alive. An excerpt from the article: “Doctors and pharmacists say that because of nationwide shortages caused by a combination of factors – manufacturing problems, a market with few incentives for companies to produce low-profit drugs, and the government’s delayed and inadequate ...
From the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, an investigation by Kate Golden of chemicals used on Wisconsin farms and feed lots that run off and pollute natural bodies of water. An excerpt: “Despite growing evidence of risks, state and federal governments have issued little guidance on how much of these suspected endocrine disruptors in our lakes, streams and groundwater constitute danger ...
From Emma Jacobs of WHYY – Philadelphia, the story of traffic checkpoints used to catch undocumented immigrants. An excerpt: “Thomas Decker, the head of ICE’s regional enforcement and removal operations, said that during operations such as those in Norristown, immigration officials exercise independent judgment in each case. ‘Once we determine alienage, then is it somebody that falls into a priority. ...
From City Limits, a report on New York campaign consultants who help elect, then lobby their candidates. An excerpt: “The firms that both consult and lobby turn the typical pay-to-play concerns of government watchdogs on their head. The issue here is not who’s giving money to a campaign, but who’s receiving candidates’ money—in exchange for valuable help. Consultants are, according to ...
From D.B. Grady and Marc Ambinder, an investigation into secrecy and leaks, based on thousands of recently declassified documents and interviews with more than one hundred officials. From the book jacket: “Real secrets can’t be kept, trivial ones are held forever, and sensitive ones are far too susceptible to political manipulation.” An excerpt from Chapter One: “With so many secret keepers, ...
From Shawn Musgrave for the Boston Globe, concerns about the privacy of law abiding motorists whose whereabouts are tracked by the expanding reach of law enforcement technology. An excerpt from the article: “… high-tech license readers, now mounted on 87 police cruisers statewide, scan literally millions of license plates in Massachusetts each year, not only checking the car and owner’s legal ...
From Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer, the story of an aggressive federal immigration policy that fills the cells of privately run prisons. An excerpt from Wilder’s report: “Instead of simply detaining undocumented immigrants who have done nothing more than cross the border and sending them out of the country or releasing them, the U.S. government would now file criminal charges and ...
Journalist and author Brad Tyer moved to Montana for the picture-postcard scenery, looking for pristine waters where he could set down a canoe. What he found was entirely different. From the book: “I gradually began to gather that the Clark Fork [River] wasn’t quite what I thought it was. The river I had shadowed on my drive in had long ...
From VTDigger in Vermont, the story of a project that would lure foreign investors with the prospect of US residency – on hold after running into trouble with Vermont authorities. An excerpt from the article by Nat Rudarakanchana and Anne Galloway: “Last spring, state officials became aware that a key participant in the project recently stepped down from a leadership role in ...