Authorities Stood By As Mayhem Mounted in Virginia ProPublica An angry mob of white supremacists formed a battle line across from a group of counter-protesters who had gathered near a church parking lot. On command from their leader, the young men charged and pummeled their ideological foes with abandon. An assortment of Virginia State Police troopers and Charlottesville police wearing protective gear watched silently from behind an array of metal barricades — and did nothing. Nearly 20 Percent of Hospice Patients Discharged Alive NPR Government reports reveal a growing trend among hospice facilities: they sometimes discharge patients before they die. The rates of discharge vary from place to place, but some centers dismiss more than 80 percent of patients before death. Some blame the profit motive while others claim that estimating the time of death is just a complicated business. Failed Corporate Aid Costing Taxpayers Billions Syracuse Post-Standard A New York State program aimed at luring news businesses into depressed areas may have given billions of dollars in tax breaks to long established companies that often did not provide much by way of new jobs or investment. In one instance, a power corporation received money for hydroelectric plants built between 60 and 100 years ago. Undocumented Worker Hides in Plain Sight Reveal Manuel Estrada is an undocumented farm worker in Wisconsin. He and his American wife have also become public figures to combat the nation's immigration policies - speaking at rallies and telling their stories to national publications. Their story also helps illustrate issues such as sanctuary cities and the way immigration laws affect farming. Russia's High Tech Tool Box To Subvert Democracy Wired The technology may be new, but the playbook for Russia's use of violence and disinformation against their adversaries is an old one - stretching back to a fabricated anti-Semitic pamphlet first circulated in 1903 that described a Jewish plot for world domination. Putin's Russia draws on a long tradition that sees surrounding world as a hostile place that is focused on undermining Mother Russia. Investigative Classics: Frank Serpico Exposes Corruption in NYPD in 1970 New York Times By 1970, Patrolman Frank Serpico and Det. David Durk were beyond frustrated. They had shared their evidence about police corruption with officials at the highest levels of the NYPD and Mayor John Lindsay's office. They heard voices of concern, promises of investigation but saw almost no action. Like a scene out the movies - which it would soon become - Serpico and Durk went to the New York Times. |