NPR News Investigations

A composite image shows part of the NPR/Center for Responsive Politics reporting team's whiteboard at NPR headquarters that was used to map out how Wellspring connects to other social welfare groups. (Click the enlarge button to see a full-size image.)

Secret Persuasion: How Big Campaign Donors Stay Anonymous

4:48pm November 07, 2013

Tax-exempt social welfare groups have become the vehicle of choice for big political contributions. NPR, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics, traces the money moving through a Washington, D.C., group, and the law that makes this activity possible.

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The Au Sable River in Michigan is a popular place for fly fishermen and the heart of a debate unexpectedly influenced by largely invisible social welfare organizations.

From Social Welfare Groups, A River Of Political Influence

11:38am November 07, 2013

The reversal of a conservation law court decision to protect Michigan's Au Sable River is an unintended outcome from large donations by anonymous funders funneled through tax-exempt organizations. Known as 501(c)(4)s, these groups are becoming a vehicle of choice for big donors to hide large political donations.

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Private attorneys are easily getting access to defendants' emails and texts. All it takes is a subpoena, which any attorney can do.

Your Digital Trail: Data Fuels Political And Legal Agendas

11:38am October 04, 2013

by Daniel Zwerdling

Former Nixon administration attorney John Dean and a North Carolina divorce lawyer warn that if you think you have nothing to hide, think again.

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The Bill of Rights as seen at The National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Your Digital Trail: Does The Fourth Amendment Protect Us?

7:56pm October 02, 2013

by Daniel Zwerdling

Could government agents really get access to all your private data in less than a minute? Experts say no but warn we are moving in that direction.

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Private companies are collecting your personal data.

Your Digital Trail: Private Company Access

3:21pm October 02, 2013

by Daniel Zwerdling

Data we voluntarily provide online — such as on dating websites — may not stay with that site. While not always obvious, websites commonly allow other companies to track user behavior.

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Who's peering through your digital data?

Your Digital Trail, And How It Can Be Used Against You

4:43pm October 01, 2013

NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting are documenting just how vivid the typical person's digital picture has become — and how easy it can be for others to see it.

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An evening view of the Exxon Mobil oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Baton Rouge, La.

Baton Rouge's Corroded, Overpolluting Neighbor: Exxon Mobil

9:50am June 21, 2013

The Standard Heights neighborhood sits next to the nation's second-largest gasoline refinery. Recently, residents learned a new truth about the plumes of exhaust they see every day: Exxon Mobil's aging refinery and petrochemical facilities — like many others — are pumping out far more pollution than the law allows.

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Jasper Burchfield was a 36-year-old part-time constable when he shot and killed Queen in 1965.

National

Justice In The Segregated South: A New Look At An Old Killing

6:41am May 04, 2013

by Joseph Shapiro

A white off-duty constable shot and killed a paraplegic black man in Fayette, Miss., in 1965. Despite new witnesses who have memories of what happened that day, there's still not enough evidence to say whether Jasper Burchfield's claim of self-defense is true.

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Dave Newcomb of the Illinois Fire Service Institute demonstrates the use of a grain rescue tube during an agricultural safety conference in Iowa in November.

National

Fines Slashed In Grain Bin Entrapment Deaths

5:58pm March 27, 2013

The persistence of grain bin entrapments and a horrific 2010 incident expose weaknesses in worker safety laws and enforcement. An NPR and Center for Public Integrity analysis has found that among 179 deaths since 1984, fines were reduced 60 percent of the time.

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National

Law Targets Sexual Violence On College Campuses

11:30am March 15, 2013

by Joseph Shapiro

When President Obama signs an updated version of the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday afternoon, the law will include new requirements for how colleges and universities handle allegations of sexual assault.

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