ProPublica Investigations

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Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled

The National Guard soldiers in desert camo piled out of unmarked vans in East Los Angeles last June, cordoning off East Sixth Street, a residential street lined with single family houses, and blocking a nearby road leading to an elementary school.

https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-ice-cbp-doj-trump-arrests-convictions?

A Judge Worried a Proposed Settlement Doesn’t Do Enough to Help Victims. The DOJ Is Still Moving Forward.

The Justice Department said Friday that it would move forward on a proposed $68 million settlement with a Texas land developer it had accused of preying on Hispanic residents, despite a judge’s concerns that the agreement did not do enough to help victims.

https://www.propublica.org/article/colony-ridge-settlement-court-hearing-doj?

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3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI: What Really Happened in This Small Town?

Outside a repair shop in rural southeastern Illinois, the parts of a massive 3D construction printer sat disassembled on a flatbed trailer, weeds climbing the wheels.

https://www.propublica.org/article/3d-printed-affordable-housing-cairo-illinois-prestige?

What You Should Know About Lead Contamination in Omaha, Nebraska

For more than a century, a lead smelter and other factories in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, spewed toxic dust across the city, contaminating the soil and causing lead poisoning. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Omaha have spent decades trying to clean it up.

https://www.propublica.org/article/lead-contamination-omaha-nebraska-faq?

Trump’s Memphis Crime Task Force Arrested Over 800 Immigrants, Records Show. Only 2% of the Arrests Were for Violent Crimes.

On an overcast Saturday in February, a street vendor named Elmer lined up dozens of pairs of worn but carefully cleaned tennis shoes on tables next to a convenience store. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/memphis-safe-task-force-immigration-arrests-crime-data?

Omaha Is Home to a Massive Superfund Site. Most Kids Living There Aren’t Tested for Lead.

Belinda Daniels panicked in 2018 when the pediatrician said her 1-year-old son, Jovanni, had lead in his body. The toxic metal could stunt his brain, the doctor told her, but catching it early meant she could prevent more damage.

https://www.propublica.org/article/omaha-nebraska-lead-kids-blood-tests?

Colorado Marijuana Regulators Pledge Crackdown on Intoxicating Hemp

Colorado regulators announced on Monday that they plan to crack down on companies that illegally sell cheaper and potentially hazardous hemp products as marijuana.

https://www.propublica.org/article/colorado-marijuana-regulators-crackdown-intoxicating-hemp?

Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled

The National Guard soldiers in desert camo piled out of unmarked vans in East Los Angeles last June, cordoning off East Sixth Street, a residential street lined with single family houses, and blocking a nearby road leading to an elementary school.

https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-ice-cbp-doj-trump-arrests-convictions?

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Texas Medical Board Sanctions Three Doctors for Delayed Care That Led to the Deaths of Two Pregnant Women

The Texas Medical Board has disciplined three doctors ProPublica previously investigated whose patients died after receiving delayed or inappropriate pregnancy care under the state’s strict abortion ban.

https://www.propublica.org/article/tmb-disciplines-doctors-ngumezi-crain-cases?

They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth.

On the afternoon of Sept. 9, 2024, Cherise Doyley was in her 12th hour of contractions at University of Florida Health in downtown Jacksonville when a nurse came in with a bedsheet and told her to cover up. A supervisor brought a tablet to Doyley’s bedside. Gathered on the screen were a judge in a black robe and several lawyers, doctors and hospital staff.

https://www.propublica.org/article/florida-court-ordered-c-sections?

A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls.

Five days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot activist Renee Good, tensions were running high in the Minneapolis neighborhood where she was killed. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-trump-immigration-ice-cbp-excessive-force?

3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI: What Really Happened in This Small Town?

Outside a repair shop in rural southeastern Illinois, the parts of a massive 3D construction printer sat disassembled on a flatbed trailer, weeds climbing the wheels.

https://www.propublica.org/article/3d-printed-affordable-housing-cairo-illinois-prestige?

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The Counterterrorism Czar Without a Counterterrorism Plan

March unfolded like a stress test for U.S. counterterrorism authorities.

https://www.propublica.org/article/sebastian-gorka-trump-counterterrorism-czar-iran-terrorism?

The Horrors That Could Lie Ahead if Vaccines Vanish

Before vaccines, death and disability stalked children. But if immunization rates drop, diseases from the past could come roaring back. 

 

Now, health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an antivaccination group, is considering changes that could prompt drug companies to stop supplying lifesaving shots in the U.S., making it harder for children to get them.

 

Researchers at Stanford University modeled how many people could die or be disabled in 25 years if vaccines for polio, measles, rubella or diphtheria were no longer available. The results demonstrate in stark terms how vital shots are and what’s at stake if policy changes interfere with Americans’ ability to vaccinate their kids.

 

ProPublica shared key findings of the modeling with the Department of Health and Human Services. An agency spokesperson didn’t address the modeling but said “HHS has not limited access or insurance coverage to any FDA-approved vaccines” and that it continues to routinely recommend the shots for children.

https://projects.propublica.org/childhood-vaccines-deaths-modeling/

Trump’s Memphis Crime Task Force Arrested Over 800 Immigrants, Records Show. Only 2% of the Arrests Were for Violent Crimes.

On an overcast Saturday in February, a street vendor named Elmer lined up dozens of pairs of worn but carefully cleaned tennis shoes on tables next to a convenience store. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/memphis-safe-task-force-immigration-arrests-crime-data?

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“A Punch in the Gut”: After Years of Waiting, Many Opioid Victims Will Be Shut Out of Purdue Settlement

Mary Jannotta sliced meat and cheese behind deli counters at Acme and Pathmark supermarkets in the Philadelphia suburbs for decades, developing aches that came with working on her feet. A botched back surgery in 2008 made the pain worse. Her doctor repeatedly prescribed OxyContin, Purdue Pharma’s marquee painkiller — the high-dose opioid the company later admitted it criminally marketed and distributed.   

https://www.propublica.org/article/purdue-settlement-leaves-opioid-victims-behind?

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Inmates Have Died in the Care of Armor Health Companies. Jails Keep Contracting With Them Anyway.

For 30 minutes, Brian Tracey lay naked and unable to breathe on the floor of the medical ward at the St. Johns County Detention Center, a low-roofed building south of Jacksonville, Florida. It was Dec. 15, 2023, the day Tracey was supposed to be released from jail. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/armor-health-florida-jail-deaths?

Meet the Mayor of a Tiny Texas Town Who Wants to Limit How Cities Can Govern

In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit accusing Dallas officials of failing to adequately fund the city’s police department and violating a voter-approved measure requiring it to hire up to 900 new officers.

https://www.propublica.org/article/art-martinez-de-vara-dallas-hero-lawsuit?

Some Connecticut Towing Companies Are Ignoring New Law Aimed at Helping Low-Income Residents

Connecticut legislators overhauled the state’s towing law last year to make it more fair for low-income residents who couldn’t afford the fees to get their cars back. Those residents sometimes saw their cars sold after being towed for breaking one of their landlord’s parking rules.

https://www.propublica.org/article/connecticut-towing-companies-ignore-new-law?

Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash

Kevin Heath had hoped there would be solar panels by now on his family farm in southeastern Michigan, roughly 50 miles outside Detroit.

https://www.propublica.org/article/michigan-solar-farms-health-concerns-st-clair-county?

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Fear and Opportunity: Immigration Scams Surged as Trump’s Sweeps Lured Desperate People to Eager Defrauders

As an asylum-seeker living in the U.S., Jasmir Urbina worried as she watched violence break out amid the military-style immigration sweeps across the country. Then she read about legal residents being arrested at immigration court and wondered when federal agents would set their sights on her city.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-immigration-scams-complaints-doubled-ice?

FIFA Could Make Billions From the World Cup. Host Cities Will Get Little in Return.

When Texas dedicated $22 million to host the 2017 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, state officials expected a return on their investment.

https://www.propublica.org/article/world-cup-2026-host-cities-revenue-houston?

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Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth

They entered the world the way babies should, with piercing cries announcing their arrival. They passed their newborn screening tests. Some made it to their 2-week wellness visits without concern.

https://www.propublica.org/article/more-parents-decline-vitamin-k-shot-newborns?

Texas Lawmakers Repeatedly Failed to Pass Legislation That Could Have Protected Residents From Deadly Floods

The sound of construction machinery filled the air as Kylie Nidever walked past properties ravaged months earlier by floodwaters.

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-lawmakers-flooding-protections?

Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.” Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges.

To the narcotics agents investigating drug smuggling in Puerto Rico prisons, it seemed at first like a typical scheme: associates of an inmate gang sneaking drugs into the prison, gang members distributing them inside and bank records showing the money flowing.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-puerto-rico-election-fraud-prison-drugs-votes?

Lawmakers Demand Answers About Growing Number of Unfixed Mistakes on Credit Reports

Four U.S. senators sent letters grilling the nation’s major credit bureaus on Thursday after a ProPublica investigation showed two of the bureaus were fixing fewer consumers’ credit reports.

https://www.propublica.org/article/credit-report-mistakes-lawmakers-letter?

I Reached Out to the White House Counterterrorism Czar for Comment. He Lashed Out on X.

Counterterrorism czar Sebastian Gorka is one of the most controversial figures in the Trump administration, a gate crasher in the buttoned-up world of national security. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/sebastian-gorka-counterterrorism-reporting?

Event With Links to Oil Industry Teaches Judges “Healthy Skepticism” of Climate Science

For many months, conservative lawmakers and political operatives have been targeting the scientists and lawyers behind the Climate Judiciary Project, a program meant to educate the courts about climate science, alleging that their effort constitutes a conspiracy to influence federal judges and persuade them to rule against the oil industry.

https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-science-oil-gas-fossil-fuel-judges-jim-jordan?

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Kids Are Being Harmed by Tear Gas, Pepper Spray Under Trump. There Could Be Long-Term Consequences.

The children were walking to school in Broadview, Illinois, or leaving a shopping center in Columbus, Ohio. They were at home in Minneapolis, or sitting in a stroller in Chicago, or at an afternoon protest in Portland, Oregon, alongside dogs on leashes and older people pushing walkers.

https://www.propublica.org/article/kids-tear-gas-trump-immigration-crackdown?

Trump Exempted Some of the Nation’s Biggest Polluters From Air Quality Rules. All It Took Was an Email.

In March 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration made a tantalizing offer to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturing facilities and other factories: Their operations could be exempted from key provisions under the Clean Air Act, the bedrock environmental law estimated to have prevented thousands of premature deaths. All they had to do was ask.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clean-air-act-exemptions-trump-emails?

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He Was Fired for Sexually Harassing Students. California Allowed Him to Keep Teaching Anyway.

Jason Agan was impossible to miss at Angelo Rodriguez High School. The San Francisco Bay Area teacher was loud and gregarious, a fixture on campus since the Fairfield school opened in 2001. He ran the student government and called himself the man behind the curtain, organizing pep rallies and prom. He taught AP calculus, so advanced math students ended up in his classroom, jostling for his approval and letters of recommendation. Some considered him a mentor who inspired a love of math — and even a second father.

https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment?

A U.S. Senate Candidate Says Foreign Truckers Are Making America’s Roads Unsafe. His Own Truckers Have Caused Harm.

A Georgia congressman running for one of the country’s most competitive U.S. Senate seats has vowed in social media posts and interviews to make America’s roads safer — by taking commercial driver’s licenses away from noncitizens.

https://www.propublica.org/article/mike-collins-georgia-senate-truck-crashes?

Despite Court Order, NYPD Failed to Properly Monitor Stop-and-Frisks by Aggressive Unit

More than a decade ago, a federal court found that the New York City Police Department had been unconstitutionally stopping and frisking Black and Hispanic residents. The ruling laid out required fixes, including something quite basic: The NYPD would review officers’ stops to make sure they were legal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/nypd-community-response-team-stop-frisk-reviews?

Puerto Rico Lawmakers Call for Investigation Into Alleged Drugs-for-Votes Scheme After ProPublica Report

Federal and local lawmakers in Puerto Rico, as well as civil rights and advocacy organizations, have called for investigations after ProPublica reported how a federal probe into a drugs-for-votes scheme in Puerto Rico prisons got quashed after the 2024 elections.  

https://www.propublica.org/article/puerto-rico-trump-drugs-votes-prisons-elections-jenniffer-gonzalez-colon?

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Why Have Immigration Agents Detained This American Citizen Three Times?

When immigration agents pulled U.S. citizen Leonardo Garcia Venegas from his car this month and shackled him, he wasn’t surprised. He wasn’t scared.

https://www.propublica.org/article/immigration-leo-garcia-venegas-arrests-detentions-citizens-ice-dhs?

Immigrants Detained in Chicago Military-Style Raid Seek Millions in Damages

On the night of the military-style raid at a Chicago apartment complex, a loud boom woke the Nigerian man who lived in Unit 215. Tolulope Akinsulie stood up from his bed and saw heavily armed federal agents rushing into his apartment. He then felt the jaws of a large dog biting into his right ankle, knocking him to the floor. Akinsulie screamed as the dog tore the flesh from his ankle, thighs, hip and wrist. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-immigration-raid-ice-dhs-fbi-federal-tort-claims?

A Noncitizen Says She Was Told She Could Vote. Then Customs Detained Her at the Airport and Threatened to Deport Her.

Estelle, who’s long held permanent resident status in the U.S., is a veteran at navigating the reentry process when she returns from visiting relatives in her native France.

https://www.propublica.org/article/noncitizen-voter-detained-airport-customs?

In a Private Meeting, Colorado Marijuana Regulators Acknowledge the Extent of Illegal Hemp Sales

A top regulator for Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division acknowledged in a private meeting with industry representatives that the amount of chemically converted hemp being illegally sold as marijuana is far greater than the agency has publicly disclosed.

https://www.propublica.org/article/colorado-marijuana-regulators-meeting-illegal-hemp?

At 17, He Was Tear-Gassed at Selma. At 78, He’s Watching Kids Tear-Gassed During Trump’s Deportation Campaign.

Charles Mauldin remembers that his lungs felt like they were imploding when he breathed in tear gas more than 60 years ago. It was Sunday, March 7, 1965, when Mauldin, who was 17, joined hundreds of other demonstrators in a march from Selma, Alabama, to the state Capitol in Montgomery to demand voting rights for Black Americans.

https://www.propublica.org/article/charles-mauldin-selma-tear-gas?

ps:And here we are once again, doing the same thing to more minorities!! Tell me we're making America great again!!!!!

Counterterrorism Czar’s Blueprint Targets Leftists, Ignores Far-Right Violence and Heaps Praise on Trump

For a year, White House counterterrorism czar Sebastian Gorka promoted the national strategy he was drafting, saying he was pouring his “life’s work” into a “massive” blueprint that would overhaul the U.S. approach to combating terrorist threats.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-counterterrorism-plan-ignores-far-rights-gorka?

A Unique Oregon Law Allows It to Block Healthcare Deals. In Five Years, the State Hasn’t Done So Once.

Dana Gibbon was 18 weeks pregnant with her first baby when her OB-GYN told her at an appointment that she wouldn’t be her doctor anymore.

https://www.propublica.org/article/oregon-healthcare-mergers-oversight-law?

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This Convicted Felon Gets $1 Million a Year to Sell Obsolete Internet Service. You Pay for It.

At the beginning of his three-year federal prison sentence for felony tax evasion, Roger Shoffstall lost his telephone privileges when a guard caught him running his small Alaska phone company from behind bars.

https://www.propublica.org/article/alaska-telecom-subsidies-roger-shoffstall?

Tiny Footprints, a Blue Blanket: What I Can’t Forget About the Babies Who Died of Vitamin K Deficiency

I recently wrote about babies dying from a rare but fatal condition called vitamin K deficiency bleeding. To report the story, I analyzed hundreds of rows of data, contacted more than 50 hospitals and birthing centers, and filed nearly 90 public records requests. But autopsy reports — one record of how these babies died — painted the clearest picture of these tragedies.

https://www.propublica.org/article/vitamin-k-baby-autopsy-reports?

With a Chance at Freedom, They Faced an Unexpected Obstacle: Their Own Lawyers

Milique Wagner always insisted that his 2013 murder conviction was built on an informant’s lie. But Wagner said he couldn’t persuade his trial lawyer to investigate that, even after the informant confessed to the murder and testified that Philadelphia police and prosecutors knew the truth.  

https://www.propublica.org/article/conviction-challenges-philadelphia-law?

More Than 100,000 American Kids Have Had a Parent Detained in Immigration Sweeps, Report Estimates

Far more American children have likely been separated from their parents during immigration sweeps than previously understood, according to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Brookings.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-immigration-child-parent-separation-estimates-brookings?

Oily Sludge Is Flooding Their Dream Home. Oklahoma Regulators Say They Can’t Help.

It was their dream home, a newly built, 2,500-square-foot modern farmhouse with a playroom that Mitch and Kara Meredith had saved for 12 years to buy for their growing family. During construction, family members had written their favorite Bible verses on studs throughout the house. For four idyllic years on Darlene Lane, the couple hosted birthday parties for their two young daughters, who became fast friends with the other children in the recently built subdivision in Fort Gibson.

https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-oil-regulators-fort-gibson-meredith-family?

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This Sheriff’s Office Says Racial Profiling Reforms Are Too Costly. Auditors Found It Misused $163 Million.

Since 2013, Maricopa County officials have approved $226 million in sheriff’s office spending related to a settlement aimed at rooting out racial profiling. Auditors found that more than 70% of it was misattributed or misappropriated.

https://www.propublica.org/article/maricopa-county-sheriff-audit?

With a Chance at Freedom, They Faced an Unexpected Obstacle: Their Own Lawyers

Milique Wagner always insisted that his 2013 murder conviction was built on an informant’s lie. But Wagner said he couldn’t persuade his trial lawyer to investigate that, even after the informant confessed to the murder and testified that Philadelphia police and prosecutors knew the truth.  

https://www.propublica.org/article/conviction-challenges-philadelphia-law?

Tell Us About Your Experience With Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care

As reporters at the Lexington Herald-Leader, we first started hearing troubling stories in 2023 from former clients and staff of Addiction Recovery Care, once Kentucky’s largest residential addiction treatment service provider. Over the last three years, we have spoken with dozens of former and current ARC clients and staff. And in April, we teamed up with ProPublica to publish a story detailing how ARC allegedly used staff to falsely bill Kentucky Medicaid for millions, an allegation the company denies.

https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/arc-addiction-treatment-kentucky-callout?

Ken Paxton Wanted to Crack Down on Forum Shopping. Now Lawyers Say He’s Improperly Seeking Out Favorable Courts.

In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued pharmaceutical companies tied to Tylenol in state court, repeating claims made a month earlier by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the pain relief drug was linked to autism and ADHD in children.

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-ken-paxton-forum-shopping?

This Gun Shop Stayed Open Despite Repeated Violations. Then a Cop Was Killed With One of Its Guns.

Launched as a new kind of gun retailer in 2012, the Range USA chain was built to look and feel different from the smaller, unwelcoming shops and gun ranges often associated with the industry.

https://www.propublica.org/article/range-usa-guns-straw-sales-atf?

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She Faced a Life-Threatening Miscarriage. Under Arkansas’ Abortion Ban, Even Calls to the Governor’s Office Didn’t Help.

On the morning of Sept. 16, 2024, Emily Waldorf’s preschooler found her curled on the bathroom floor. Waldorf had felt a strange pressure during a shower, like a balloon bulging into her vagina, and was now bleeding. “I can be your pillow, mommy,” her daughter said, nuzzling into her neck. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/arkansas-abortion-ban-miscarriage-care?

Lawmakers Ask DOJ Watchdog to Investigate Alleged Drugs-for-Votes Scheme After ProPublica Report

Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress and four other members of the House of Representatives have asked the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General to investigate why a federal probe into a prison drugs-for-votes scheme was abandoned after the 2024 elections. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/puerto-rico-trump-drugs-for-votes-doj-inspector-general-investigation?

Judges, state public defenders and city officials in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are taking steps to curb a cycle of missed court dates and arrest warrants for crimes related to living outside that has led to a county jail population that’s about half homeless.

https://www.propublica.org/article/albuquerque-moves-to-curb-homelessness-citations?

California Teacher Previously Fired for Sexual Harassment Is No Longer in the Classroom After New Complaints

A San Francisco Bay Area school district has replaced a middle school math teacher for the remainder of the academic year following an investigation by KQED and ProPublica that showed he had been accused of inappropriately touching students at two previous jobs.

https://www.propublica.org/article/redwood-city-teacher-sexual-harassment-investigation?

Louisiana’s Tough-on-Crime Policies Stand to Cost Taxpayers Millions More for Years to Come

The day after a shooting last month killed a teenager and injured five people at the Mall of Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry blasted what he referred to as “hug-a-thug” policies — reforms put in place prior to his tenure when the state was trying to shed its reputation as the nation’s incarceration capital. He also demanded harsher penalties for violent minors.

https://www.propublica.org/article/louisiana-jeff-landry-prison-budget-increase?

The Trump Administration Is Facing Scrutiny for How It’s Handing Out Billion-Dollar Border Wall Contracts

When Tommy Fisher set out to build a section of border wall in South Texas during the first Trump administration, the project quickly became ensnared in controversy. Experts raised concerns about shoddy construction and signs of erosion.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-border-wall-contracts-tommy-fisher?

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The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.

When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-jr-vulcan-deal-white-house?

U.S. Lawmakers Demand Reforms to Immigration Officers’ Use of Tear Gas and Pepper Spray

Three U.S. senators have called for an overhaul of federal agents’ use of tear gas and pepper spray, citing a ProPublica investigation that found at least 79 children were left screaming, coughing or hurt by these chemicals during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

https://www.propublica.org/article/lawmakers-demand-reforms-tear-gas-children?

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“No One Is Watching”: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking

Marianna Mitchem grew up in the Denver suburbs, where she played high school soccer. One day in April 1999, her team faced off against a nearby rival, Columbine High. The next day, two teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine, killing more than a dozen people.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-trump-reversed-biden-gun-crackdown-atf?

Alaska’s Deteriorating Schools Could Receive More Than $148 Million for Repairs. It’s a Fraction of What They Need.

Alaska would more than triple the funding it devotes to school construction and maintenance projects next year under a budget approved this month by the state Legislature. The funding, which awaits Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature, follows reporting by KYUK, ProPublica and NPR last year that documented a severe health and safety crisis inside the buildings used daily for public education.

https://www.propublica.org/article/alaska-public-schools-repairs-funding-bill?

More Than $100 Million Was Billed for Medically Questionable Vascular Procedures, Government Watchdog Finds

Dozens of doctors are routinely performing risky vascular procedures in medical offices, generating tens of millions of dollars in Medicare payments for potentially unnecessary procedures, according to a federal report released earlier this month.

https://www.propublica.org/article/vascular-procedures-medicare-inspector-general-report?

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Texas State Takeover of Local School Districts Expands, Raising Concerns

No state has taken over as many local public school districts as Texas. Just since 2020, the Texas Education Agency has installed its own hand-picked leaders in eight districts. Four of those came this spring. At least another 10 are at risk of takeover, including, as of last week, the Austin Independent School District. 

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-school-takeover-mike-miles-morath-beaumont-lake-worth-austin?

A Low-Income Housing Program Is Pouring Billions Into Housing Many People Can’t Afford

On any given night, thousands of people sleep on the streets in Portland, Oregon. They seek shelter in tents, bushes and overpasses in a city that has struggled with one of the worst housing crises in the country.

https://www.propublica.org/article/low-income-housing-tax-credit-portland?

Toxic Ground: How Oil Field Pollution Is Threatening Oklahoma

Kara Meredith can tell you the exact day her life turned upside down: Aug. 23, 2025.

https://www.propublica.org/article/toxic-ground-how-oil-field-pollution-is-threatening-oklahoma?

After the Trump DOJ Halted Police Reform, This City Stepped In. Then Officers Shot and Killed Katelyn Hall.

Last May, as President Donald Trump settled into his second term, the Justice Department walked away from federal efforts to reform troubled police departments across the country.

https://www.propublica.org/article/louisville-trump-doj-police-reform-consent-decrees?

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In This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans Generations

They were pillars of their church, congregants in a little-known denomination that sets itself apart from the world and teaches that even the most unconscionable acts can be wiped away — not just forgiven, but forgotten and never spoken of again.

https://www.propublica.org/article/old-apostolic-lutheran-church-generational-sexual-abuse?

I Got Access to Hundreds of Teacher Misconduct Complaints in California — and You Can Too

I was a new reporter at KQED in 2021 when former elementary teacher Joseph Brian Houg was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for sexually abusing 10 students. He’d taught at the same San Francisco Bay Area school for more than two decades. Were there warning signs?  

https://www.propublica.org/article/california-teacher-misconduct-public-records?

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A School Bus Killed a 5-Year-Old. The Crash Is Among Dozens Missing From the Bus Company’s Federal Safety Record.

On the day 5-year-old Lens Joseph was killed by a Boston Public Schools bus last year, the driver had already struck a postal truck, ignored a stop sign and missed several stops, prosecutors said. When he got to Lens’ house, he dropped him off on the wrong side of the street and then ran over the kindergartner as he crossed in front of the bus.

https://www.propublica.org/article/boston-school-bus-crash-record-lens-joseph-transdev?

What ProPublica Found in the Genetic Code of America’s Measles Outbreaks

American children lined up for the world’s first measles shots in the early 1960s, but it took nearly 40 years of shoring up immunization programs before the infamous contagion had been so thoroughly controlled that a panel of experts declared in 2000 that the United States had eliminated measles within its borders.

https://projects.propublica.org/measles-outbreak-analysis-utah-texas/

Founder of Kentucky Drug Rehab Center Indicted on Fraud and Money Laundering Charges

Timmy G. Robinson Jr., founder and owner of what was once Kentucky’s largest drug addiction treatment company, was criminally indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

https://www.propublica.org/article/tim-robinson-indicted-addiction-recovery-care?

North Carolina Democrats Propose Changes to Block GOP Power Transfers and Secrecy

Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina introduced a trio of constitutional amendments this week aimed at protecting traditional powers of the state’s governor and reforming oversight of its court system.

https://www.propublica.org/article/north-carolina-legislation-governor-power?

These Republican Lawmakers Challenged Abortion Bans. Then They Faced Backlash.

If Eric Murphy loses his primary election on June 9, he believes he already knows one reason why.

https://www.propublica.org/article/republicans-face-backlash-after-challenging-abortion-bans?

In This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans Generations

They were pillars of their church, congregants in a little-known denomination that sets itself apart from the world and teaches that even the most unconscionable acts can be wiped away — not just forgiven, but forgotten and never spoken of again.

https://www.propublica.org/article/old-apostolic-lutheran-church-generational-sexual-abuse?