RealClearInvestigations Articles

In 1996, a task force of independent healthcare experts recommended that doctors stop giving urine tests to people who did not show symptoms of a urinary tract infection. The test has “no benefit,” since even a positive result for elevated bacteria levels does not mean the patient is unhealthy, research shows. The recommendation, like many others, was essentially ignored. Today the government spends about $1 billion annually for almost 15% of seniors on Medicare to get the test. There are several dozen and possibly hundreds of such “low-value care” treatments...

The Department of Commerce’s National Technical Information Service charged taxpayers and other federal agencies $50 million in 2013 for electronic copies of government-funded research and reports.There is another well-known service that provides electronic copies of research: Google. Almost 75% of the reports taxpayers spent money on were already available for free on public search engines.That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer...

Oklahoma’s largest school district allegedly paid $2.6 million to a company owned by one of its executives — for architectural work that was never performed, according to a state audit released on Aug. 18.Key facts: Chris Hudgins, executive director of bond & energy management at Tulsa Public Schools, directly oversaw the district’s construction projects. He allegedly awarded contracts to the construction firm Allied Engineering Group at inflated costs, the audit found.Allied then hired M&G Consulting Services — a company Hudgins has owned since 1999 — to...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development spent $460 billion funding its 18 largest affordable housing and homelessness programs over a decade, but a new Open the Books review found the spending didn’t help reduce housing prices. Key facts: For each of the 50 states, Open the Books measured the “affordability gap” — how much the price of an average home grew compared to how much income grew. Idaho had the worst gap. Income grew 68% from 2015 to 2024, but the price of a house grew 151%. Florida, Nevada and Tennessee also had some of the worst gaps. Those are all...

Elon Musk may consider hydrogen “mind-bogglingly stupid” as a power source for cars, but the derision of the world’s most successful electric vehicle manufacturer has not stopped Washington from nursing dreams that hydrogen might become a big part of an envisioned clean new energy future.  That dream came into focus three years ago at a time when the “climate crisis” dominated Washington’s thinking. Praising the role hydrogen could play in a brave new energy world that was “sustainable and equitable,” the United States had a plan and the...

Federal money meant to help Ohio manufacturers was spent on ghostwritten articles, golf outings, poker chips, T-shirts and a celebrity who was paid almost $16,000 to attend a virtual event without speaking. The Department of Commerce inspector general questioned $20.9 million in spending, according to an August audit. The program has received almost $52 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the Commerce Department, since 2016. Key facts: The federal money came from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program meant to help manufacturers create jobs and...

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the WeekAugust 23 to August 29   RCI Podcasts & Videos On this week’s RCI Podcast, Zane & Varney speak with Atlantic writer Tyler Austin Harper about his widely discussed, gracefully written articles – including a piece addressing Jason Arday's suicide – reporting how identity politics is undermining academic freedom.   Featured Investigation: American Medinas: Turning US Cities Into ‘Beachheads’ for Islam Paul Sperry reports for RealClearInvestigations that Muslim-Americans have won political control of several...

In the last 11 years, the University of Connecticut Health Center has spent more than $690,000 on payments to employees for unused paid time off that either went against state policy or were explicitly not allowed under collective bargaining agreements. The issue has been flagged in six separate state audits, most recently in a July 2026 report. Key facts: UConn Health employees earn compensatory time when they are required to work longer hours or on a state holiday, among other reasons. The compensatory hours can be used as paid time off at a later date. State policy dictates,...

Prostitution is not a legitimate business under most U.S. laws — except the federal tax code. The Internal Revenue Service allows legalized brothels in Nevada to qualify for the same standard deductions as any other small business. The brothels frequently write off business expenses such as testing for sexually-transmitted diseases, the “salaries and wages of prostitutes,” and even breast implants, according to the Congressional Research Service. The deductions caused the federal government to miss out on $17.5 million of revenue in 2013, or $25 million in today’s...

An independent audit of the Memphis, Tennessee school district uncovered $54.2 million in spending that showed evidence of potential fraud, and issued an astonishing 133 recommendations for the district to improve its fiscal responsibility. Key facts: A $48.4 million contract with the custodial company ServiceMaster Clean accounted for most of the potential fraud. According to the audit, a school board committee recommended in 2022 that the Memphis-Shelby County Schools hire four different custodial companies to service its 160 schools. Then-Chief of Business Operations Genard Phillips...

RealClearInvestigations’ seven-part series, Islam’s Rise Across America, reports on the growing power and influence of Muslim-Americans across the country. GOP Battles Sharia: Is Islamic Law a Threat or Dog Whistle? Paul Sperry reports for RealClearInvestigations that congressional Republicans, backed by President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, are advancing legislation to restrict immigration from Muslim-majority nations and curb the spread of Sharia law in America. They warn that growing Muslim immigration is enabling the formation of parallel societies governed by...

  In a series of articles for RealClearInvestigations, Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox report on the  roots of the housing affordability crisis and how Americans are responding to it. Locked Out of the Dream: Regulation Making Homes Unaffordable Around the World) The housing affordability crisis is not just an Americans phenomenon, Joel Kotkin and Wendell Cox report in the first of two articles on the housing for RealClearInvestigations. From San Francisco to Stockholm to Sydney, restrictive land-use policies, rather than population growth or technical limitations, are the primary...

This RCI series reports on how misguided professional incentives have spurred a rise in research fraud and on the scientists pushing reforms to curb it. Fraud Hunters: Sniffing Out Bogus Science (Part I) | RealClearInvestigations Vince Bielski reports for RealClearInvestigations by Vince Bielski on the growing network of scientific fraud hunters who are exposing research misconduct, including at America's most prestigious universities. An estimated 1-2% of all research papers contain fabricated, falsified, or plagiarized evidence, with retractions increasing fivefold in the last decade and...

Founded by Alexander Hamilton as the first industrial city in America, Paterson, N.J.,  is now home to America’s largest Palestinian community and largest proportion of Muslim residents. Today, New Jersey’s third-largest city is effectively run by its 30,000 Muslims, some of whom say they don’t need to learn English because it’s like living “back home” in an Arab city.    Paterson holds an annual Palestinian flag-raising ceremony, during which residents chant, “Free Free Palestine!” And in 2022, it renamed a five-block stretch of Main...

The federal deficit will be $2.1 trillion when fiscal year 2026 ends on Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office projected in its monthly budget review. The deficit — the gap between what the government spends and what it collects from taxes and other revenue — has never surpassed $1.8 trillion, except during the Covid-19 pandemic. Key facts: Federal revenues are up 3% in 2026 compared to last year. Even though corporate income tax revenue has declined, income and payroll tax collections increased.  But federal spending is up 5%, according to the CBO. Interest on the...

As a school consultant, Boston-based Public Consulting Group filed $1.6 billion worth of improper or unsupported Medicaid claims for school-based health services over the past decade, Open the Books found in a new review.  Key facts: The group contracts with state governments to survey school employees and determine how much of their time is spent on health-related services that can be billed to Medicaid, according to federal auditors. The company is paid a fee based on how much Medicaid money flows into the state, arguably giving them a financial incentive to help states collect as much...

 RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the WeekAugust 15 to August 22   RCI Podcasts & Videos On this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with the Substacker who writes under the pseudonym “Yuri Bezmenov” (he tells us why) about his reporting on the network of awards, fellowship, teaching gigs and other lucrative and prestigious incentives that reward people who espouse progressive ideas. On The Miller Report: Real Clear Journalism, Maggie Miller speaks with Ben Weingarten to...

Hana Scott, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s wife, received $51,000 in taxpayer money from a local nonprofit from 2024 to 2025, according to documents obtained by FOX45 News. Key facts: Baltimore’s oft-criticized Children and Youth Fund gave $300,000 to the Bmore Empowered nonprofit in recent years, where Hana Scott worked from 2021 to 2025. Bmore Empowered awarded some of the money to Beadly Speaking, a different nonprofit that hosts jewelry-making classes to teach kids about entrepreneurship. Records show that Beadly Speaking later paid $51,000 to Hana Scott in a 13-month period....

The Department of Agriculture’s Section 502 loan programs help low-income families buy homes with mortgages that don’t require a down payment. But in 2013, an investigation by Reuters found dozens of millionaires took advantage to purchase vacation and rental homes. Though the millionaires later repaid their loans, the program as a whole covered $500 million in losses from defaults in 2013, or $715 million in today’s money. That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a...