NPR News Investigations

Last year, the ACLU of Colorado discovered nearly 800 cases where people had gone to jail in Colorado Springs, Colo., when they couldn't pay their tickets for minor violations. Pictured above is Alamo Square Park, site of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Mus

National

Colorado Springs Will Stop Jailing People Too Poor To Pay Court Fines

11:45am May 05, 2016

by Joseph Shapiro

The Colorado city and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado have announced a settlement that will end the practice. The city will even give payouts to people who were wrongly sent to jail.

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Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, pictured in 2015, says,

National

Labor Secretary Calls Workers' Comp Opt-Out Plans A 'Pathway To Poverty'

3:13pm March 25, 2016

by Howard Berkes

The U.S. Department of Labor has begun investigating whether alternative plans to state workers' comp benefits are unfair to injured workers and violate federal law.

One of the last family photos of Bernard Simmons is shown by his sister, Debra Simmons, in her home in Chicago.

National

Doubling Up Prisoners In 'Solitary' Creates Deadly Consequences

11:36am March 24, 2016

Imagine living in a cell smaller than a parking space or a king-size mattress. Now add a roommate. The result for some inmates forced to live together in solitary can be murder.

Bob Ebeling, now 89, at his home in Brigham City, Utah.

National

Your Letters Helped Challenger Shuttle Engineer Shed 30 Years Of Guilt

6:57pm February 25, 2016

by Howard Berkes

After NPR reported Bob Ebeling's story on the anniversary of the Challenger explosion, hundreds of people responded. Ebeling, now 89, says those letters "helped bring my worrisome mind to ease."

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Larry Morrison, who returned home with post-traumatic stress disorder after four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being kicked out of the Army for misconduct, leaving him without military benefits.

National

Senators Want Moratorium On Dismissing Soldiers During Investigation

7:26pm February 01, 2016

The Army continues to kick out combat soldiers with mental health problems for misconduct, even as it investigates the practice.

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After 21 years as a building engineer for Macy's department stores, Kevin Schiller was left unable to work as the result of a 2010 workplace accident.

Federal Workplace Law Fails To Protect Employees Left Out Of Workers' Comp

3:27pm January 21, 2016

by Howard Berkes

Companies that opt out of state workers' comp laws say the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will ensure that injured workers get justice. An NPR investigation found that may not be true.

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Evans Army Community Hospital, which stands on the Fort Carson military base, is a central part of the base's behavioral health system.

National

Army Says It Will Review Cases Of Dismissed Soldiers With Mental Health Problems

1:50pm December 04, 2015

by Daniel Zwerdling

The Army says it will conduct a "thorough, multidisciplinary review" to determine whether thousands of combat soldiers with those issues or TBIs have been unfairly kicked out of the Army.

Lawmakers Call For Army To Investigate Misconduct Discharges Of Service Members

8:35am November 05, 2015

by Alicia Cypress

Citing reports by NPR and Colorado Public Radio, 12 senators want the Army to investigate the discharges of tens of thousands of troops with mental health disorders.

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As part of NPR's reporting on mustard gas experiments during World War II, we've put together a searchable database with more than 3,900 test subjects who had "full body exposure" to the gas.

National

Families React To NPR's Reporting Of Secret Mustard Gas Testing

7:46am November 03, 2015

by Caitlin Dickerson

The World War II military experiments exposed more than 60,000 American troops. But because the testing was classified, many family members of veterans never learned the details of what happened.

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National

Thousands Of Soldiers With Mental Health Disorders Kicked Out for 'Misconduct'

7:17pm October 28, 2015

An investigation by NPR and Colorado Public News reveals soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan with mental health disorders are being dismissed without treatment or health care benefits.