The Wall Street Journal revealed trouble at a laboratory startup that promised a revolutionary blood testing technique. The investigation exposed problems in the technology that jeopardized the health of patients. As a result, Theranos was sanctioned by federal health regulators, Walgreens terminated a contract with the company and numerous lawsuits have been filed.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed that trial judges throughout Florida treated black and white defendants differently, sentencing blacks to more time behind bars and giving them fewer second chances. Florida lawmakers have called for more oversight, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee suggested a mandatory annual review of sentencing patterns.
After the Los Angeles Times revealed that the California National Guard was using tax liens, wage garnishments and other penalties to recover tens of millions of dollars in enlistment bonuses from about 9,700 soldiers and veterans, the Secretary of Defense suspended the repayment program and Congress passed a law that will waive most of the debts.
Chicago Tribune’s two-year investigation into prescription drug interactions sparked widespread reforms at the nation’s pharmacies, led to the creation of a scientific method for discovering fatal drug combinations, and prompted state and federal authorities to call for policy and legislative action.
This Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed a culture of secrecy and deference that protected doctors who sexually violated vulnerable patients. In light of the findings, the Georgia medical board is re-examining its handling of sexual misconduct, and lawmakers in several states are considering strengthening patient protections.
Mother Jones reporter Shane Bauer spent four months working as a guard to get a deep look inside the secretive world of private prisons, exposing mismanagement. Within a few weeks, the Department of Justice announced it would end its use of private prisons and the Department of Homeland Security said it would consider doing the same.
The Washington Post launched an effort to tally every fatal shooting in the U.S. by an on-duty police officer in 2015. Their database chronicled shootings in real time, using news reports and other public sources – compiling a record more extensive than that of the FBI, which spurred the agency to take action to enact better federal recordkeeping. The FBI’s new approach will reflect that of the Post’s, capturing shootings and other violent incidents in real time and logging many of the same details. The Post‘s coverage also was cited by two senators when they introduced legislation in June to force states to report officer-involved shootings to the FBI.
The Tampa Bay Times exposed how the Pinellas County School Board abandoned integration, then deprived black schools in poor neighborhoods of resources until they were awash in violence and academic failure, making Pinellas County the most concentrated site of academic failure in the state of Florida. As a result of the series, officials enacted reforms including increased funding, improved teacher training, and the converting of three of the affected schools into magnets. The Florida Department of Education opened an investigation into the district’s use of federal Title I dollars to ensure that money is spent properly.
The New York Times investigated clauses in numerous consumer and employee contracts and reported that they deprive Americans of their ability to sue, insulating companies whose business practices are deceitful or illegal. The Times revealed how a coalition of credit card companies and retailers enshrined class-action bans in contracts. They also reported that some companies require disputes be settled according to biblical principles or by company-related arbitrators. Bills have since been introduced in Congress to exempt secular disputes from religious arbitration; to prevent nursing homes from requiring arbitration in residents’ contracts; and to bar for-profit schools from using arbitration clauses in enrollment agreements.
InsideClimate News reported that Exxon conducted cutting-edge climate research decades ago, and then, without revealing to shareholders and the broader public what it knew about the effects of climate change, worked to manufacture doubt about the scientific consensus that its own research had confirmed. As a result of the reporting, New York’s attorney general has launched a probe of Exxon. Other lawmakers around the country and environmental leaders have also urged the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct investigations of Exxon.