The Center for Public Integrity

President Obama's alternative energy darlilng, Solyndra, goes bankrupt. Taxpayers could get stuck with a bill for $535 million in loan guarantees. See the segment below on Good Morning America.

The Center for Public Integrity has been nominated for two 2011 Online Journalism Awards:

-The Truth Left Behind: Inside the Kidnapping and Murder of Daniel Pearl: Pearl Project, sponsored by Georgetown University and the Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

-Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America – News 21 and The Center for Public Integrity

Launched in 2000, the OJAs are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism. The prize is sponsored by the Online News Association, the University of Miami School of Communication, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Gannett Foundation.

Host Guy Rathbon interviews Hudson on the FBI's annual mortgage fraud report that fails to mention big banks."There is still a lot culpability in large national institutions in committing fraud, condoning fraud and allowing fraud to happen," said Hudson.

They also discuss the concept that "too big to fail" has become "too big to jail" when it comes to large banks and their roll in mortgage deception.

Hudson is the author of The Monster: How a gang of predatory lenders and Walls Street bankers fleeced America -- and spawned a global crisis.

Read the ongoing iWatch News series on debt deception here.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has added 15 new reporters to its roster of more than 100 journalists in 50 countries. ICIJ is the international arm of the Center for Public Integrity, one of the country’s oldest and largest investigative news organizations.

The new members are based in 13 countries across three continents and represent decades of diverse journalism experience — from data specialists to freelancers and investigative editors. Recent projects by these new members include an extensive examination of the lack of treatment for U.S. soldiers injured in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, international bribery cases, and reports on corruption, organized crime and human rights abuses.  

“I am extremely pleased to announce the addition of these 15 new reporters to ICIJ,” said Center for Public Integrity Executive Director William E. Buzenberg. “They represent some of the most accomplished and dedicated investigative journalists in the world, and they bring new energy and ideas to our global cross-border investigations which often have major impact worldwide.”

The new ICIJ members are:

Center Executive Director Bill Buzenberg opines on The Guardian's website about the special interests bankrolling the new 12-member Super Congress. With so much money jockeying for position, it's doubtful the public interest will be well served.

"The legalised system of quasi-bribery known as the American campaign finance system allows millions of dollars to flow from individuals and corporations to support federal candidates. Not a single member of Congress attains a coveted seat without the monetary support of key special interests. Those favours must be repaid – either in helpful legislation, or protection from taxation and other federal interference."

An iWatch News story by Peter H. Stone about Mitt Romney's appearance at a fundraiser held by Restore Our Future was cited in a Washington Post editorial today.

The PAC later accepted a controversial $1 million donation from a company called W. Spann LLC that promptly went out of business after making the contribution. It is widely believed the move was an effort to circument federal rules on identifying campaign contributors. Edward Conard, a former partner of Romney's at Bain Capital, stepped forward this week to say he had made the donation.

iWatch News Reporter Kristen Lombardi discusses our recent investigation which found 75 percent of K-12 school buildings on U.S. military bases are substandard. Listen to the interview here. American RadioWorks is produced by American Public Media.

Workers at plants billed as the nation’s safest are dying in preventable accidents: explosions, chemical releases, crane accidents and machinery-related crushing and asphyxiation, a new investigation by iWatch News finds.

There are 2,400 work sites across the country dubbed “model workplaces” by the federal government for their commitment to safety. But since 2000, at least 80 workers have died at these locales and investigators found serious safety violations in at least 47 cases, iWatch News discloses in the first in a series of reports on “Model Workplaces, Imperiled Workers.”

All of the workplaces are part of the Voluntary Protection Programs run by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The program was started during the Ronald Reagan administration on the theory that partnering with industry could improve workplace safety. Membership benefits include an exemption from the agency’s regular inspections. Participating sites range from chemical plants and refineries to shipyards and sawmills.

Supporters say VPP is a more effective way of getting companies to improve safety than traditional enforcement methods. Critics and former OSHA officials contend even one death at a “model” facility, coupled with safety violations, suggests a failure to meet the program’s goals.

Read the full story here.

A version of the story will appear on PBS Need to Know July 8. A second installment that focuses on some of the nation’s more dangerous industries will appear at www.iwatchnews.org on July 11.

Iwatch News contributor Rick Schmitt discusses his recent investigation on flaws in the nation's background-check system for gun purchasers. Millions of law enforcement and mental health records aren't included in the checks, leading to catastrophes like those in Tucson and Virginia Tech.