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.

How The World Bank Broke Its Promise To Protect The Poor (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists / Huffington Post)

“The World Bank often neglects to properly review projects ahead of time to make sure communities are protected, and frequently has no idea what happens to people after they are removed. In many cases, it has continued to do business with governments that have abused their citizens, sending a signal that borrowers have little to fear if they violate the bank’s rules.”

The True Cost of Gun Violence in America (Mother Jones)

“Direct costs account for $8.6 billion—including long-term prison costs for people who commit assault and homicide using guns, which at $5.2 billion a year is the largest direct expense. … Indirect costs amount to at least $221 billion, about $169 billion of which comes from what researchers consider to be the impact on victims’ quality of life,” according to an analysis by Mother Jones and public health researcher Ted Miller of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

Video Chats Are Replacing In-Person Jail Visits, While One Tech Company Profits (International Business Times)

“Securus now obligates many of these correctional facilities to eliminate in-person visits completely, in favor of their video systems. In other words, even if a family member or friend shows up to the jail to visit an inmate in person, they’d be forced to talk to the inmate through a Securus-branded video tablet. … One may wonder why a jail’s administration would agree to this. The answer, in a nutshell, is money.”

Reports to Feds on deadly bacteria outbreaks arrived late (USA TODAY)

“The reporting problems highlight an Achilles’ heel in the FDA’s oversight of medical devices: the responsibility for identifying potential safety problems falls primarily on manufacturers themselves. And if a flaw in a medical implant, a surgical instrument or some other device goes unreported, the product can remain in use for months or years, raising profound public health risks.”

Why nobody knows what’s really going into your food (Center for Public Integrity)

“[Companies have] taken advantage of a loophole in a decades-old law that allows them to deem an additive to be ‘generally recognized as safe’ — or GRAS — without the [FDA]’s blessing, or even its knowledge. The loophole is so big that companies can market additives … that the FDA has found to pose dangers.”

When pets are killed over unpaid fines (CNN Money)

“When owners of seized or lost dogs can’t afford to get their pets back, they relinquish their rights to the animal, which can result in a pet being euthanized…Outraged pet owners and animal rights attorneys say these harsh tactics are all about generating money and unfairly impact low-income Americans.”

#MuckReads Local:Clark County’s private guardians may protect — or just steal and abuse (The Las Vegas Review Journal)

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Contributors

  • Terry Parris Jr.

    Terry was ProPublica’s deputy editor, engagement. Prior to joining ProPublica, he led digital production and engagement at WDET 101.9 FM, NPR’s affiliate in Detroit.

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  • Annie Z. Yu

    <p>Annie was an audience engagement fellow at ProPublica.</p>

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