Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? Sign up to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.
Terror in Little Saigon (ProPublica/Frontline)
ICYMI: It involves an anti-Communist death squad operating on US soil killing journalists. Really. https://t.co/OCumZi1uAj#muckreads
— Rachael Bale (@Rachael_Bale) November 5, 2015"All together, five Vietnamese-American journalists were killed between 1981 and 1990. All worked for small publications serving the refugee population that sought shelter in the U.S. after the fall of Saigon in 1975. ... FBI agents came to believe that the journalists' killings, along with an array of fire-bombings and beatings, were terrorist acts ordered by an organization called the National United Front for the Liberation of Vietnam, a prominent group led by former military commanders from South Vietnam."
Help ProPublica and Frontline investigate these murders.
Beijing's covert radio network airs China-friendly news across Washington, and the world (Reuters)
Great piece on Beijing's covert international radio network, has already sparked inquiries from FCC & Justice Dept https://t.co/41rwA9WqyI
— Megha Rajagopalan (@meghara) November 3, 2015"Last year, as thousands of protesters demanding free elections paralyzed Hong Kong for weeks, the news on CRI-backed stations in the United States presented China's point of view. A report the day after the protests ended did not explain why residents were on the streets and carried no comments from protest leaders. The demonstrations, a report said, had 'failed without the support of the people in Hong Kong.'"
Bolts from the blue: inside the phenomenon of US police, Tasers and sudden death (The Guardian)
New @thecounted investigation looks at how police use Tasers & the 47 people who died in 2015 after being shocked: https://t.co/PArxVY7zJk
— Ciara McCarthy (@mccarthy_ciara) November 5, 2015"Reid's case is, in many ways, tragically typical of the other deaths following the use of a Taser by police in 2015: he was unarmed, as in all but three cases. Like nearly 40% of the victims, he was black. And as in at least 53% of such cases, the suspect was displaying signs of intoxication before his or her death. As with many of these incidents, Reid died following shocks administered seemingly in violation of national guidelines, by officers belonging to a police department with lax rules on how these less-lethal weapons should be used."
Hundreds of officers lose licenses over sex misconduct (AP)
"Like, what am I going to do? Call the cops? He was a cop." https://t.co/NlnbWF4YBh#muckreads@AP
— Danielle Ivory (@danielle_ivory) November 2, 2015"'It's happening probably in every law enforcement agency across the country,' said Chief Bernadette DiPino of the Sarasota Police Department in Florida, who helped study the problem for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 'It's so underreported and people are scared that if they call and complain about a police officer, they think every other police officer is going to be then out to get them.'"
Common medical tests escape scrutiny but often fall short (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Everyday medical tests escape scrutiny, often fall short https://t.co/kPBnCfu0bP@js_watchdog@egabler#muckreads
— John Diedrich (@john_diedrich) November 1, 2015"The rapid rise in waived testing means decisions about your health care are increasingly based on tests that are rarely scrutinized, easy to fumble, and sometimes simply inaccurate, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation has found. The percentage of labs dedicated to waived tests is dramatically increasing — from 20% in 1992 to more than 70% of the country's 250,000 labs today. Regulators say they don't have the authority or resources to do more than urge labs to better train employees."
MuckReads Local: N.Y.C. landlords flout rent limits — but still rake in lucrative tax breaks (ProPublica)
"There is little doubt that The Rabsky Group broke the law." ProPublica on NYC's insanely complicated rent rules https://t.co/545VIyExmJ
— Ben Steverman (@BSteverman) November 5, 2015In "return for following [New York City] rent limits, developers get a share of $1 billion in property tax breaks handed out by the city. But while developers bank the tax savings, an examination by ProPublica found that some renters are getting overcharged as government officials fail to enforce rent limits and tenants fail to grasp whether they apply to newer apartments."
Help ProPublica and WNYC investigate New York City rents.
Editor's note: The headline on this story was updated Nov. 9 to reflect the fact that one person was arrested in connection with one of the Little Saigon killings, but no one was convicted.
