Quick Picks: Blackwater Shots and Workers’ Comp

by Alexandra Andrews
ProPublica, April 2, 2009, 10:11 a.m.

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In 2005, four Blackwater guards in Iraq fired more than 70 shots at a car without justification, according to State Department investigators, and left the driver in unknown condition, reports USA Today. But in what the paper calls “another example of lax State Department oversight,” documents show that the top security official at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq refused to punish them because he didn’t want morale among contractors to suffer.

Also, in the New York Times’ latest installment in a series on workers’ compensation in New York, workers complain that “companies are going to extraordinary lengths to cut back on claims: contesting injuries, checking on workers at home, even firing those who file for benefits.” But employers say the compensation system is “riddled with fraudulent claims.”

Check out more of our roundup of the best investigative stories around the Web. Was there a story we missed? Please keep sending us your picks or include them in the comments section below.