Michael Grabell

Judge Orders NYPD To Release Records On X-ray Vans

The NYPD has a secretive program that uses unmarked vans with X-ray machines designed to detect bombs. ProPublica tried to find out more about it, but the NYPD refused to answer for three years.

Michael Grabell
By Michael Grabell
Democrats are calling for the NYPD to destroy its files it acquired from spying in Muslim neighborhoods. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

A state judge has ordered the New York City Police Department to release records on a secretive program that uses unmarked vans equipped with X-ray machines to detect bombs. The ruling follows a nearly three-year legal battle by ProPublica, which had requested police reports, training materials, contracts and any health and safety tests on the

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Walmart Accepted Clothing From Banned Bangladesh Factories

Walmart had released a list of factories it said it had barred from producing its merchandise because of safety problems or labor violations.

Michael Grabell
By Michael Grabell

Since the Rana Plaza building collapse killed more than 1,100 people in April, retailers have faced mounting pressure to improve safety at Bangladesh garment factories and to sever ties with manufacturers that don't measure up. The world's largest retailer, Walmart, last month released a list of more than 200 factories it said it had barred from

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TSA X-Ray Body Scanners Sit Idle In Warehouse

Last month, the Transportation Security Administration said it was moving nearly half its X-ray body scanners from some of the nation’s biggest airports to smaller ones. But it turns out that more than 90 of the controversial machines will sit in a Texas warehouse indefinitely, agency officials said Thursday. The agency says it hopes to someday […]

Michael Grabell
By Michael Grabell
A Transportation Security Administration officer views a full-body scan during a demonstration of passenger screening technology at the TSA Systems Integration Facility in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Last month, the Transportation Security Administration said it was moving nearly half its X-ray body scanners from some of the nation's biggest airports to smaller ones. But it turns out that more than 90 of the controversial machines will sit in a Texas warehouse indefinitely, agency officials said Thursday. The agency says it hopes to someday

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TSA Removes X-Ray Body Scanners From Major Airports

The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly removing its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer. The TSA says it made the decision not because of safety concerns but to speed up checkpoints at busier airports. It means, though, that far […]

Michael Grabell
By Michael Grabell
A sign next to a body scanner describes what TSA officers see on their computer screens, asvolunteers go through the first full body scanner installed at O'Hare International Airport , Monday, March 15, 2010, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

The Transportation Security Administration has been quietly removing its X-ray body scanners from major airports over the last few weeks and replacing them with machines that radiation experts believe are safer. The TSA says it made the decision not because of safety concerns but to speed up checkpoints at busier airports. It means, though, that

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