Here are this week's must-read stories from #MuckReads, ProPublica's running list of the best investigative or accountability journalism. Anyone can contribute by tweeting links to stories and using the hashtag #muckreads or by sending an email to [email protected]. The best submissions are selected by ProPublica's editors and reporters and then highlighted on our site and on Twitter.
State Outsourced Allocation of Federal Disaster Recovery Funds to Firm With Ties to Perry, Austin American-Statesman
After Congress appropriated billions in federal disaster recovery funds to help Texans recover from Hurricanes Dolly and Ike, Texas quietly outsourced the management of more than $1 billion of those funds to an outside contractor with close ties to the administration of Gov. Rick Perry.
Contributed by @rachaelgleason
Secret Panel Can Put Americans on 'Kill List', Reuters
A panel of national security officials within the Obama administration is in charge of placing militants on a kill/capture list for approval by the president. Details about the panel are scarce, as there are no laws establishing it, no rules on how it should operate, and no public record of its operations. Current and former officials told Reuters that Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was recently killed in a U.S. drone attack, was one of the militants on the list.
Contributed by @BostonReview
Koch Subsidiary Told Regulators It Has ‘Direct and Substantial Interest’ in Keystone XL, InsideClimate News
Energy conglomerate Koch Industries has repeatedly told lawmakers that it has no financial interest in the Keystone XL pipeline project—controversial for its path through the middle of the country and the heavy type of oil it will carry—but a Koch Industries subsidiary is saying otherwise. The Koch subsidiary filed a document with Canadian energy regulators saying it had a “direct and substantial interest” in the pipeline.
Contributed via email by David Sassoon
Fannie Mae Sticking With Fired Florida Law Firm, Palm Beach Post
Though federal mortgage backer Freddie Mac saw fit to fire a foreclosure law firm for its shoddy foreclosure practices, Freddie’s much larger sister company, Fannie Mae, has continued to use the same firm, citing the cost of transferring files to new attorneys. The Florida firm settled with the state attorney general’s office over flawed foreclosure practices earlier this year.
Contributed by @paulkiel
Tale of Two Loan Programs, Wall Street Journal
More than 100 of the banks that received federal funds intended for small-business loans ended up using some or even all of it to repay their bailout debts, which carry higher interest rates. This swapping of one kind of debt for another is “a bit of a shell game,” as one bank official acknowledged, but it’s technically allowed, even though doing so diverts loans from the small businesses they were intended for.
Contributed by @paulkiel
Forty percent of Medicare Spending on Common Cancer Screenings Unnecessary, Probe Suggests, iWatch News
Between 2003 and 2008, Medicare spent about $1.9 billion on medically unnecessary cancer screenings. Of all the cancer screenings paid by Medicare during that time period, 40 percent ignored the guidelines of a government advisory panel.
Contributed by @emmanator
L.A. County Jail Guards Aid Drug Trading, Sources Say, Los Angeles Times
Corrupt guards at the Los Angeles County jail, the country’s largest jail system, helped smuggle in drugs for inmates, fueling a drug trade behind bars. The FBI is already conducting a probe of the jail system over allegations of smuggling and abuse by sheriff’s deputies.
Contributed by @shelbygrad
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