Bad Care for Soldiers, Flight School for Terrorists?
I'm finally catching up to a couple of excellent network news investigations. In "A Question of Care: Military Malpractice?" Byron Pitts of CBS News explores accusations that military doctors frequently misdiagnose the illnesses of American troops. Pitts shares the powerful story of Carmelo Rodriguez, a U.S. marine who died of stage 4 melanoma after military doctors told him it was a wart while he served in Iraq. When Rodriguez first enlisted in 1997, a military doctor noted in a report that he had melanoma but never told Rodriguez that he should get treatment. Pitts further explains how a Supreme Court ruling forbids the Rodriguez family and others with grievances over military medical care from suing the government. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/31/eveningnews/main3776580.shtml?source=mostpop_story
In another strong investigative story, Brian Ross' team at ABC News reports that in thousands of cases, foreign students are getting flight lessons without the kind of screening required by Congress. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed laws mandating that foreign students can only attend American flight schools if they have passed background checks and have the right kind of visa. In "9/11 Redux," Ross, Vic Walter and Eric Longabardi quote one former Federal Aviation Administration official who found "8,000 foreign students in the FAA database who got their pilot licenses without ever being approved" by the Transportation Security Administration. A tip of the hat to Investigative Reporters & Editors "Extra! Extra!" for providing this recommendation. www.abcnews.go.com/blotter/story?id=4353991&page=1