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Investigations Read the latest from NPR's investigative team. If you have solid tips or documents on stories we should probe, please send them to us.

Investigations

Monday

National Security

Bomb Plot Suspect Tied To Alleged U.K. Terrorists

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, accused in the attempted Christmas Day airliner attack, had contacts with at least two suspected terrorists while a student in London, investigators tell NPR. Intelligence officials have linked him to a suspect in a 2006 plot against airliners and to a man implicated in a plan to behead a Muslim soldier.

Bomb Plot Suspect Tied To Alleged U.K. Terrorists

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Friday

Behind The Bail Bond System

Bondsman Lobby Targets Pretrial Release Programs

The pretrial release program in Broward County, Fla., was working, but commissioners voted to gut the program nonetheless. Industry experts say powerful bail lobbying groups have begun using Broward as a road map of how to squash similar programs elsewhere.

Bondsman Lobby Targets Pretrial Release Programs

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Behind The Bail Bond System

Inmates Who Can't Make Bail Face Stark Options

Shadu Green was like hundreds of thousands of inmates nationwide who can't afford bail or a bondsman's fee. So Green, who insists he is not guilty of a series of misdemeanors after getting pulled over for speeding, had to decide whether to fight his case from jail or plead guilty and get out faster. Studies show that internal debate usually works in prosecutors' favor.

Inmates Who Can't Make Bail Face Stark Options

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Thursday

Behind The Bail Bond System

Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

Two-thirds of the inmates in U.S. jails are petty, nonviolent offenders who are there for only one reason: They can't afford their bail. Sometimes, it's as little as $50. Some will wait behind bars for as long as a year before their cases make it to court. And it will cost taxpayers $9 billion this year to house them.

Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

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Tuesday

The Shootings At Fort Hood

Mix-Up Denied Officials Info About Fort Hood Suspect

Accused gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan sent 18 e-mails to a radical imam in Yemen before the attacks, but law enforcement officials in Washington who were looking into his behavior saw only two of them. Confusion between two FBI field offices kept law enforcement officials from reviewing all pertinent information about Hasan, investigators tell NPR.

Hear Dina Temple-Rastin's Report On 'Morning Edition'

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Wednesday

The Shootings At Fort Hood

Did A File Error Stall FBI Inquiry Into Hasan?

NPR has reconstructed what officials did or didn't do over the past year with regard to Maj. Nidal Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood shooter. Sources say it's likely that the FBI, which looked into Hasan last winter, may have missed clues about his character because it got information from the wrong Army file.

Did A File Error Stall FBI Inquiry Into Hasan?

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Wednesday

Hasan's Supervisor Warned Army In 2007

An undated handout photo of Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this month. U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/Getty Images hide caption

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U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/Getty Images

The Shootings At Fort Hood

Hasan's Supervisor Warned Army In 2007

In a letter obtained by NPR, Nidal Hasan's top supervisor at Walter Reed outlined "serious concerns" about Hasan's "pattern of poor judgment" and "lack of professionalism." The memo says he proselytized to patients, mistreated a homicidal patient and hardly did any work.

Hasan's Supervisor Warned Army In 2007

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Wednesday

Tuesday

Bucking Trend, Airline Keeps Repairs In-House

Aviation maintenance technicians Gina Teague (left) and Prasad Itty (right) work on the interior of an MD-80 jet at American Airlines' Tulsa overhaul base. Courtesy of Mike McNally/American Airlines - Tulsa hide caption

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Courtesy of Mike McNally/American Airlines - Tulsa

Flight Mechanics: The Business of Airline Repairs

Bucking Trend, Airline Keeps Repairs In-House

As many major U.S. airlines shift their repair and maintenance work to outside firms, American Airlines is taking a different approach. The airline has its own crew of 6,000 mechanics based in Tulsa, Okla., who service its fleet and even contract for outside business.

Bucking Trend, Airline Keeps Repairs In-House

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Flight Mechanics: The Business of Airline Repairs

Crossed Wires: Flaws In Airline Repairs Abroad

Mechanics have made some mistakes fixing US Airways planes at an FAA-approved facility in El Salvador. Industry executives and the FAA say the maintenance work is just as safe as any work done in the U.S. But airlines and the FAA don't make maintenance problems public.

Crossed Wires: Flaws In Airline Repairs Abroad

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Monday

To Cut Costs, Airlines Send Repairs Abroad

US Airways planes prepare to taxi for takeoff at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix in 2007. US Airways is one of many airlines that have farmed out some maintenance to repair shops in developing countries. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption

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Ross D. Franklin/AP

Flight Mechanics: The Business of Airline Repairs

To Cut Costs, Airlines Send Repairs Abroad

Recent malfunctions affecting US Airways planes raise questions about a controversial and growing practice at most U.S. airlines: The industry is sending almost 1 out of every 5 planes needing overhaul or repair to developing countries, from Central America to Asia.

To Cut Costs, Airlines Send Repairs Abroad

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Sunday

Thursday

Wednesday

Law

Why Did Key Angola Witness Go To The 'Dog Pen'?

Two Louisiana inmates were charged with murder based primarily on the testimony of a single witness. Now questions are being raised about whether the inmate received favors from the prison in the form of cigarettes and choice housing.

Why Did Key Angola Witness Go To The 'Dog Pen'?

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Tuesday

Law

Favors, Inconsistencies Taint Angola Murder Case

Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox spent 36 years in solitary confinement in a Louisiana prison for the murder of a corrections officer. Decades later, questions are surfacing about how the wife of the lead investigator ended up as the forewoman on the jury and why the key witness was promised a pardon.

Favors, Inconsistencies Taint Angola Murder Case

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