The New Newsrooms
June 14, 2016
Nonprofit centers for investigative reporting have continued to grow outside of the United States over the past 10 years. The reporters who founded these centers followed the example of their colleagues in the U.S., where this model has thrived for the past two decades.
BankTracker: Analysis
June 9, 2016
The country lost 2,350 banks in the last eight years, but big banks grew bigger and richer, especially those in the top tier. Banks now have more assets, capital, deposits, profits, reserves and fewer losses and troubled assets than they did in 2007. But the Investigative Reporting Workshop's in-depth analysis shows every state was hit hard and lost at least one bank because of the Great Recession, with six states losing more than 100 financial institutions. The impact is still being felt, and some experts remain wary of improving financial data.
The Merger
June 1, 2016
The Pepco-Exelon merger was hotly debated because of concerns over competition, potential rate hikes and questions over commitments to green energy goals from opponents. Advocates for the deal argued Pepco needed a parent company with significant resources to improve the District's aging power grid. Pepco spent large amounts on lobbying and ads in an effort to shape public opinion, outflank opponents and give their shareholders big returns.
Business of Disaster
May 25, 2016
More than three years after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast, thousands of homeowners are still struggling to return home, shortchanged by insurance companies and frustrated by bureaucratic recovery programs. The FRONTLINE-NPR joint investigation into the Sandy recovery reveals an unsustainable disaster response system that's costing taxpayers billions and failing to prepare increasingly vulnerable communities for the storms that lie ahead.
Fatal Force
April 1, 2016
Of the 990 people shot and killed by police last year, the names of officers in 210 of those cases were not released, according to a Washington Post investigation. Experts say there is little consensus among departments on whether officers' names should be made public.
Probable Cause
March 5, 2016
The language of warrants gives police officers broad leeway to search for drugs and guns in areas saturated by them and to seize phones, computers and personal records. But what happens when they search the wrong house? A Washington Post analysis found officers sometimes acted on incorrect or outdated address information, subjecting people to the fright of their lives.
Uneven Justice
Oct. 27, 2015
Society is loath to convict cops who kill, so civil court is often the best place for victims' families to get results. But there, some get millions, and some get nothing.
Living Loud
Oct. 13, 2015
The murder of Farkhunda Malikzada, a religious scholar, in March was another example of how dangerous it is to be an Afghan woman who participates in political and social arenas. But despite the risks, including constant threats and violence, many women are living untraditional lives openly.
Coal Trial
Sept. 30, 2015
The long-awaited prosecution of Massey's former CEO, Don Blankenship, begins Oct. 1 with jury selection. He is charged with conspiracy to violate mine safety standards and mislead government inspectors before the explosion, and with lying to securities regulators about Massey's safety practices and policies after the disaster.
“We’ve never seen anybody charged of any consequence,” said former federal mine safety chief Davitt McAteer, who led an independent investigation of Upper Big Branch mine. “That alone is just a very dramatic shift.”
Lily Pads
Aug. 25, 2015
Even though the U.S. military has fewer bases than it did at the end of the Cold War, it has increasingly inserted itself into new corners of the globe with the help of small, often secretive “lily pad” bases; today, there are bases in around 80 countries and U.S. territories — roughly twice as many as in 1989.
