VIDEO: How much should you know about genetic testing?
NECIR's investigation into the industry of personalized psychiatric medicine prompted an important conversation about the benefits and limits of genetic testing. How much do these tests really tell us?...
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Mass. public may be unaware of striped bass contaminants
27-inch striped bass from Sengekontaket Pond on Martha's Vineyard. (Photo: Nils Rinaldi via Flickr.) Anglers are perched on Massachusetts’ shores long into the cold weather, fishing for fare that...
View ArticleFive Vietnamese-American journalists murdered from 1981-1990, no consequences...
New evidence indicates that the U.S. government was aware of the hand a Vietnamese military group had in the killings of five Vietnamese-American journalists from 1981 to 1990 but failed to act,...
View ArticleNo U.S. state graded higher than a C on integrity report card
Eleven states flunked a test measuring state integrity nationwide, according to a “deeply troubling” report from the Center for Public Integrity. Alaska scored the highest, earning a C on CPI’s State...
View ArticleJuveniles that commit sex crimes on Fort Hood military base seldom prosecuted
Sex crimes committed by juveniles on military sites, namely Fort Hood, often go unpunished, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Between 2006 and 2012, 39 sexual assaults committed by juveniles on...
View ArticleFederal initiative to enable immigrants to file forms online still flounders...
The federal government has spent more than $1 billion on an initiative to “digitize immigration forms” over the past ten years, but so far only one document can be filled out online, The Washington...
View ArticleTaser use at U.S. police departments poorly regulated—and sometimes deadly
Many police departments in the U.S. fail to regulate the way officers can use Tasers, The Guardian reports. The Guardian obtained medical records for 19 of the “47 officer-involved deaths that have...
View ArticleGov. Baker eliminates controversial DCF two-tier system for at-risk children
The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families is eliminating a controversial two-track system that determines how safe abused and neglected children are with caretakers after the deaths of 10...
View ArticleNECIR wins $35,000 grant for watchdog reporting on genetic industry
The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) will expand the depth and breadth of its reporting on genetics with the help of a $35,000 grant from the National Institute for Health Care...
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FDA releases report on problematic lab tests; pledges regulation
A recent FDA study questioned the accuracy of numerous laboratory tests, including some manufactured by the above companies. Laboratory tests have incorrectly diagnosed a variety of medical...
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Boston police confirm deployment of cell phone trackers
Former BPD Commissioner Edward Davis, at a hearing before the House of Representatives, Homeland Security Committee in June 2014. (Source: C-SPAN) Boston police have confirmed that they deploy...
View ArticleMass. RMV assures driving schools road test concerns will be heard; no such...
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is giving driving schools — but not the public — special access to senior staff to discuss growing concerns over how road tests are scheduled. The RMV wrote...
View ArticleIn NYC, restaurants listed on websites GrubHub and Seamless may not be what...
Some restaurants listed on online food ordering sites GrubHub and Seamless under New York City addresses don’t actually exist, according to an investigation by NBC 4 New York’s I-Team. The I-Team...
View ArticlePolice department reforms: Do they work?
Police department reforms mandated by the U.S. Justice Department are costly for taxpayers and sometimes ineffective, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and Frontline. The...
View ArticleLow-income, minority, and rural residents affected disproportionately by...
Members of “poor, minority and rural” populations are killed by cancer more often than other Americans because of limited access to screening and treatment options, USA Today reports. USA Today’s...
View ArticlePublic colleges and universities spend billions on athletics, students foot...
Public universities have spent “more than $10.3 billion in mandatory student fees and other subsidies” on their sports teams in the past five years, according to an analysis by The Chronicle of Higher...
View ArticleIn Riverside County, narcotics trafficking is on the rise—and so is wiretapping
Over the past three years, authorities in Riverside County, California, have seen a significant spike in drug trafficking in what is known as the “single largest drug trafficking distribution center in...
View ArticleJustice delayed in life and in death: Many allegations of child abuse leading...
Dozens of cases of children who died of abuse and neglect in Massachusetts over the last six years remain unresolved. Investigations into their death are often hampered by delays in obtaining death...
View ArticleTesting labs agree to pay $8.5 million to settle U.S. false billing claims
Two Wisconsin labs offering scientifically questionable tests agreed last week to pay $8.5 million to the federal government to settle allegations that they falsely billed Medicare. Pharmasan Labs Inc....
View ArticleReasonable doubts
This investigation is a collaboration with WBUR. More than 300 exonerations based on DNA evidence have shown how often the U.S. justice system sends innocent people to jail. They have also inspired a...
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