Paying to Make It to the Top of the Charts
INVESTIGATIONS
Payola Scandal
Paying to Make It to the Top of the Charts
Many Musicians Not Surprised by Payola Scandal. (ABC News)
Poster Boy for Radio Station Payola
Fired Station Employee Says Pay for Play Just Good Business. (AP)
Abu Ghraib Abuse
Abu Ghraib Leaked Report Reveals Full Extent of Abuse
Full extent of abuse at Iraqi prison becomes known for first time with leaked report from US army's internal investigation. (The Guardian)
U.S.
White House Ordered to Release Spy Papers
In Setback for White House, Judge Orders Release of Info on Warrantless Surveillance Program. (AP)
Guantanamo
U.S. Rejects Guantanamo Report
The White House says the U.N. was taken in by terrorists' claims of torture and abuse. (LA Times)
Africa Drought
In Deep Drought, at 104°, Dozens of Africans Are Dying
Halima Muhammad is living through the worst drought to hit eastern Africa in decades. Yet when a large pool of fresh water appeared before her the other day in the middle of the scorching earth, this thirsty woman with eight thirsty children did something remarkable: She stayed put. (NY Times)
Rwanda
In Rwanda, Suicides Haunt Search for Justice and Closure
Rash of suicides and attempted suicides among genocide suspects hinders country's effort to achieve closure. (Washington Post)
Afghanistan
Wanted: A Few Good Taliban Recruits
Taking a cue from the media-savvy Iraqi insurgency, the Taliban has produced its first fund-raising, recruiting and training VCD shot entirely in Afghanistan. (Newsweek)
World Hunger
'Millions More Starving' By 2015
The world will have 100 million extra hungry people by 2015, scientists say. (BBC)
LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
Jail Term For Head of Spanish 9/11 Cell Cut By 15 Years
Spanish federal prosecutors have recommended that 15 years be knocked off the 27-year sentence the National Court imposed last year on Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, leader of the al-Qaeda cell in Spain. (Expatica)
3 Convicted in Attacks in Spain and Morocco
A Belgian court found three men guilty of belonging to an Islamic group linked to terrorist attacks in Madrid and Casablanca, Morocco, and sentenced them to at least six years in jail. (LA Times)
Diverging Views of Californian at Terror Trial
The government contends that the man went to Pakistan for terrorism training. His lawyer says he went to help his ailing mother. (NY Times)
IRAQ NEWS
Gunmen Kidnap Iraqi Bank Boss, His Son
Gunmen Wearing Iraqi Special Forces Uniforms Kidnap Iraqi Bank Boss and His Son, Kill 5 Guards. (AP)
Iraq Interior Ministry Looks Into Reports of Death Squads
Iraq's Interior Ministry has opened an investigation into claims that its officers are operating death squads that hunt Sunni Arab men, a senior Iraqi official said Thursday. (NY Times)
Company Executive Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Fraud in Iraq
An executive for a company that was hired by Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary, to fly cargo into Iraq for the war effort has pleaded guilty to inflating invoices by $1.14 million to cover fraudulent "war risk surcharges," a federal district court in Illinois announced Thursday. (NY Times)
Iraqis Cull Fowl After Possible New Bird Flu Cases
Health officials cordon off a southern city, ordering chickens killed and vehicles disinfected. (LA Times)
In Iraq, a Subdued Response to New Detainee Abuse Photos
Newly released photos of detainee abuse by American soldiers and intelligence officers at the Abu Ghraib prison sparked condemnation by U.S. and Iraqi officials Thursday, but little of the populist outrage and street violence that followed release of the first such images nearly two years ago. (LA Times)
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Iraq's Sectarian Fire
Scattered attacks on Shiites by Sunni groups last week ought to illuminate for U.S. policy makers the momentous changes they have wrought there, and throughout the Mideast. (The Boston Globe)
A Permanent Basis for Staying In Iraq
With hospitals, swimming pools, cinemas, burger and pizza joints, airstrips and bus routes, the four giant US bases in Iraq can hold up to 20,000 personnel each. Nobody in the Bush administration wants to talk about them, but as long as the facilities are made more enduring (which they are), there will be no genuine withdrawal from Iraq. (Asia Times)
Bioterrorism, Hyped
The United States has spent at least $33 billion since 2002 to combat the threat of biological terrorism. The trouble is, the risk that terrorists will use biological agents is being systematically and deliberately exaggerated. And the U.S. government has been using most of its money to prepare for the wrong contingency. (LA Times)
In the Mideast, the Third Way Is a Myth
The notion, popular in Washington over the past few years, that American programs and efforts can help build a third alternative to both governments and Islamists is simply a delusion. (Washington Post)
Is the Syrian Regime Finally Changing Its Ways?
It is impossible to ever really know with certainty what is going on in the corridors of power in Damascus. (The Daily Star)
The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Ellen Gustafson of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.