The investigation is about the use of Tasers by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the national police force with a storied history that does most of the front-line policing in the Western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. In the latest installment, we analyzed the 2008 data that we compiled from information from the force's 2008 Taser-use forms. We determined that there were at least 16 instances (we were being ultra conservative) in which the police used Tasers on someone five times or more, and in most of those instances the person was unarmed.

We found Pennsylvania state employees spent more than $1.3 million on out-of-state travel last year after the governor banned such travel. How did you get started? (tip, editor assignment, etc.) This was simply a case of the reporter doing a public records check to see whether the travel ban was being followed. Based on past stories we've done about state government, I had a hunch we'd find something. What were the key sources? (people, documents, etc.)

At a time when the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing a financial crisis, it purchased a $1.2 million mansion in South Carolina to relocate an employee. The employee, who applied for the new job — a mid-level manager position — qualified for the purchase under the Postal Service's relocation policy. It turns out this was just one of 14 homes costing $1 million or more that the Postal Service has purchased in the last two years. (CNN story)

"Saving Babies: Exposing Sudden Infant Death" was a 14-month project using mortality records maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analysis of 40,000 mysterious infant deaths over a 12-year period disclosed chaotic procedures police and coroners use to investigate unexpected deaths that usually are diagnosed as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The project went further, finding that Child Death Review Boards can have a powerful impact on infant death investigations, dramatically increasing the detection of infant homicides and accidental suffocations.

Dozens of public and private schools opened in recent years in areas where government records show students could be exposed to air tainted by high levels of industrial pollution. While environmental regulations typically require builders to examine the effect that a structure might have on the surrounding ecosystem, in most states, school officials are not required to consider the potential danger to students before they start building.

A private towing company now under federal investigation used a specially created unit of off-duty St. Louis police officers to tow cars during the city's major Mardi Gras festival. Officers repeatedly towed cars parked outside of a towaway zone set up for the festival each of the past two years. The towing company failed to turn over nearly all of the $15,000 owed to taxpayers as required by contracts. After each of two details, the sergeant in charge of the off-duty detail bought a vehicle from the towing company at a price far below wholesale.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires chemical manufacturers to produce any documentation they may come across that indicates their product could cause "substantial risk" to people or the environment. The companies have 30 days to notify the government once they become aware of this kind of information. This information could come in the form of worker data, scientific studies, letters from consumers, etc. The EPA then posts this information so consumers are aware of these risks. We decided to take a look at the program, and see what kind of files had been submitted.

This extraordinary investigation exposes a pattern of cover-up, altered records, and secrecy surrounding a series of deaths inside a state-run mental hospital. KIRO-Seattle's Team 7 Investigators dug into 29 recent cases of suicide or attempted suicide and found mentally ill patients repeatedly had access to the means to kill themselves without proper monitoring by state hospital workers. Who was suppose to be watching young Anthony Gordon when he propped up his bed, tied a sheet to his neck, then killed himself just feet from a nurses station? He was only at the hospital one day.

This story is part of our ongoing coverage of Chicago's massive plan to demolish old public housing projects and replace them with new neighborhoods that were supposed integrate public housing residents with wealthier families.

Curious about all the news stories surrounding safety and security at our airports and prompted by Dave Savini’s terrific investigation into safety issues and the lack of tracking of security badges at Chicago airports, I started asking questions about other facets of the industry. I talked with pilots, air traffic controllers and others about what they perceived as a growing problem of “near misses” among airplanes in our skies. So I set out to find out if their perceptions were correct and could be backed up by data.