Investigations
The Lariam Files
Why didn’t patients know of popular drug’s devastating effects? (Washington Post)
The New E-spionage Threat
Cyber attacks compromise military and corporate secrets
U.S. military and scientific institutions – along with the defense industry that serves them – are being robbed of secret information on rocket engines, satellites, launch systems, and even the Space Shuttle. Many of the digital intrusions, into sensitive networks of multiple agencies and defense contractors, have been traced to China. Officials say it’s espionage on a massive scale. (BusinessWeek)
Toxic Taxes
Obama tax credits are good for preparers — and a likely stimulus for fraud. (BusinessWeek)
The Poverty Business
The drive to extract corporate profits from the poor
Roxanne Tsosie was able to find a job and a car because greater access to credit has put many goods within reach of the working poor. Tsosie hoped it would help her achieve self-sufficiency. But zealous companies have new ways to lure unsophisticated shoppers into a thicket of debt. Furor over mortgages? That was only part of the larger story of the explosion in subprime credit. (BusinessWeek)
The Dubious Promise of Digital Medicine
In a stimulus-fueled frenzy, GE, Google and others are piling into the business. But electronic health records have a checkered history. (BusinessWeek)
Network Security Breaches Plague NASA
Cyberspies, thieves lurk in satellite and shuttle networks
As workers prepared for a Space Shuttle launch in 2005, cyber-burglars slipped into supposedly super-secure digital networks at Kennedy Space Center. Their clandestine gathering of data soon spread to Mission Control in Houston, the Lockheed Corp., and other public and corporate networks. Nobody knew – even though NASA has suffered from such significant intrusions since the 1990s (BusinessWeek)
Killer Trucks – Why the Slaughter Won't Stop
Big rigs aren't required to have the safest brakes available
Trucks equipped with self-adjusting brakes would have fewer accidents, saving hundreds of millions of dollars in medical costs and property damage – and hundreds of lives. Yet the government dawdled in requiring them. (The Plain Dealer)
While Grownups Squabbled, Children Died
Meanwhile, tests to save childrens' lives stalled
Automakers and federal regulators fought for more than a decade over who could create an adult crash test dummy, stalling development of a simulated 6-year-old to test child seats. Commonplace reason behind such delays: Opposition from industry lawyers and expert engineers.
Feds Shrug Off a Life-Saver for Commuter Planes
Safety device will be required...eventually
Again and again, commuter airline flights crashed into the ground for the same reason: Lack of a simple device known as a ground proximity warning system that alerts the pilot when he flies too low. Safety officials repeatedly urged requiring the device, but the FAA declined. Planes kept crashing. (The Plain Dealer)
Cessnas Crash, but Agencies Do Nothing
Part maker's urgent plea fails to move regulators
For three decades, Cessnas choked from a flaw in their carburetors known to the manufacturer, federal aviation officials, and repeatedly highlighted by the National Transportation Safety Board. Yet pilots had never heard of the problem, and the government required no fix. (The Plain Dealer)
« newer articles — more articles »
