Today in accountability news:
- A pharmaceutical company paid private investigators to gather personal information about high-ranking FDA officials, reports Politico. The company, which at the time was trying to gain FDA approval for a drug to treat blood clots, said it wanted to find out if the two FDA officials were "unfairly favoring a competitor in the drug approval process."
- A new survey finds that white homeowners are 50 percent more likely than blacks to receive loan modifications that would help prevent forclosure, according to The Washington Independent.
- Current rules regulating toxins in consumer products are weak and do not require companies to release much safety data, reports The New York Times. Some denture creams, for instance, contain high levels of zinc -- which has been linked to neurological problems -- yet manage to stay on store shelves.
- In 2009, corrections inspectors gave a Florida jail a score of 100 percent, but in the past 15 months two inmates have escaped, one guard went to prison, two guards await trial and 30 jail workers received "the most sweeping employee discipline in the country," reports the Orlando Sentinel.
- A third New Orleans police officer is expected to plead guilty today to helping cover up a police shooting of six civilians after Hurricane Katrina, the Times-Picayune reports.
- As the Obama administration focuses on detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal histories, many legal permanent residents with minor drug offenses find themselves facing deportation as well, according to The New York Times.
These stories are part of our ongoing roundup of investigations from other news outlets. For more, visit our Investigations Elsewherepage.
