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December 2021

New Documents Prove Tennessee County Disproportionately Jails Black Children, and It’s Getting Worse

by Meribah Knight, Nashville Public Radio, and Ken Armstrong and Hannah Fresques, ProPublica,

The Cruel Failure of Welfare Reform in the Southwest

by Eli Hager,

After Years of Complaints, Florida Improves Pollution Monitoring Near Burning Sugar Cane Fields

by Bianca Fortis,

Burning Sugar Cane Pollutes Communities of Color in Florida. Brazil Shows There’s Another Way.

by Nadia Sussman,

When Dangerous Strains of Salmonella Hit, the Turkey Industry Responded Forcefully. The Chicken Industry? Not So Much.

by Michael Grabell and Bernice Yeung,

Accused of Refusing Aid to Disabled Kids, a State Agency Responded — by Hiring a PR Firm

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald,

States Are Hoarding $5.2 Billion in Welfare Funds Even as the Need for Aid Grows

by Hannah Dreyfus,

El monóxido de carbono que producen los generadores envenena a miles de personas al año. Estados Unidos ha fallado en exigir cambios de seguridad.

por Perla Trevizo, Lexi Churchill y Ren Larson, ProPublica y The Texas Tribune; Mike Hixenbaugh y Suzy Khimm, NBC News,

Your Free-Range Organic Chicken May Have Been Processed at a Large Industrial Poultry Plant

by Andrea Suozzo, Maryam Jameel, Michael Grabell and Bernice Yeung,

They Were the Pandemic’s Perfect Victims

by Duaa Eldeib,

A Plant That Sterilizes Medical Equipment Spews Cancer-Causing Pollution on Tens of Thousands of Schoolchildren

by Kiah Collier, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Maya Miller, ProPublica, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, graphics by Al Shaw and Lucas Waldron,

The Low-and-Slow Approach to Food Safety Reform Keeps Going Up in Smoke

by Bernice Yeung, Michael Grabell and Mollie Simon,

A Mother Needed Welfare. Instead, the State Used Welfare Funds to Take Her Son.

by Eli Hager, photography by Caitlin O'Hara for ProPublica,

He Was Filming on His Phone. Then a Deputy Attacked Him and Charged Him With Resisting Arrest.

by Richard A. Webster, WRKF and WWNO, with data analysis by Greg Morton, ProPublica,

Chicago’s Last Black-Owned Bank Got Millions in Government Deposits — Then Had to Give Them Back

by Mick Dumke and Haru Coryne,

This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic. Here’s Why You Still Can’t Get It.

by Lydia DePillis,

What’s Gone Wrong at Chicago’s Last Black-Owned Bank?

by Mick Dumke, Haru Coryne and Mariam Elba,

How Black Communities Become “Sacrifice Zones” for Industrial Air Pollution

by Ken Ward Jr., Mountain State Spotlight,

Boston City Councilors Seek Review of Surveillance Tech Purchase by Police

by Shannon Dooling,

The Dirty Secret of America’s Clean Dishes

by Max Blau and Lylla Younes, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica,

Purdue President Condemns Tactics Used to Censor Chinese Students on U.S. Campuses

by Sebastian Rotella,

The Extortion Economy Podcast: Exploring the Secret World of Ransomware

by ProPublica,

“Get This Thing Out of My Chest”

by Neil Bedi and Maryam Jameel,

Carbon Monoxide From Generators Poisons Thousands of People a Year. The U.S. Has Failed to Force Safety Changes.

by Perla Trevizo, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Mike Hixenbaugh and Suzy Khimm, NBC News,

Boston Police Bought Spy Tech With a Pot of Money Hidden From the Public

by Shannon Dooling and Christine Willmsen, WBUR,

ProPublica Files Motion to Unseal Search Warrant Affidavits in Child Porn Probe of South Dakota Billionaire

by ProPublica,

ProPublica Hires Steve Myers as an Editor, Selects Five Newsroom Partners for Local Reporting Network

by ProPublica,

Testing Rape Kits Can Deliver Exonerations, Closure and Cost Savings. Why Does It Still Take So Long to Do?

by Catherine Rentz,

Why the Second-Driest State Rejects Water Conservation

by Mark Olalde,

What’s Polluting the Air? Not Even the EPA Can Say.

by Ava Kofman,

Reno May Use Federal Funds to Address Housing Crisis

by Anjeanette Damon,

The Great Inheritors: How Three Families Shielded Their Fortunes From Taxes for Generations

by Patricia Callahan, James Bandler, Justin Elliott, Doris Burke and Jeff Ernsthausen,

When Home Is a Toxic Hot Spot

by Maya Miller, Alyssa Johnson, Lisa Song and Max Blau, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica,

Years Before a Police Union Leader Was Raided by the FBI, Local Investigators Didn’t Pursue Allegations Against Him

by Jake Pearson,

Veneno en el aire

por Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Al Shaw y Lisa Song, con reporteo adicional por Maya Miller, fotografía por Kathleen Flynn para ProPublica,

Citizens Hide From Active Shooters as Alaska Is Slow to Deliver on 2019 Promise of Village Troopers

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,

At Last, Florida Families Hit Hard by Their Children’s Birth Injuries Are Promised More Help

by Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald,

Legislator Pushes for Law Requiring Illinois Hospitals to Report All Assaults to Police

by Tony Briscoe and Duaa Eldeib,

Storm Drains Keep Swallowing People During Floods

by Topher Sanders,

A Massive Oil Spill Helped One Billionaire Avoid Paying Income Tax for 14 Years

by Jesse Eisinger, Paul Kiel and Jeff Ernsthausen,

ProPublica Wins Two National Press Club Awards

by ProPublica,

When You’re a Billionaire, Your Hobbies Can Slash Your Tax Bill

by Paul Kiel, Jesse Eisinger and Jeff Ernsthausen,

China Unleashed Its Propaganda Machine on Peng Shuai’s #MeToo Accusation. Her Story Still Got Out.

by Paul Mozur, Muyi Xiao and Gray Beltran, The New York Times, and Jeff Kao, ProPublica,

A Multimillion-Dollar Settlement for a Young Woman Once Lost in the Shadow Foster System

by Lizzie Presser,

These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years

by Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul Kiel and Jesse Eisinger,

ProPublica Hires Sarah Matthews as Deputy General Counsel

by ProPublica,

COVID-19 Hit This County Hard. A Weakened Health Department Still Can’t Get People Vaccinated.

by Aliyya Swaby,

Head of New Mexico Child Support Agency Asks State to Stop Intercepting Payments to Poor Families

by Eli Hager,

Utah Makes Welfare So Hard to Get, Some Feel They Must Join the LDS Church to Get Aid

by Eli Hager, photography by Kim Raff for ProPublica,

“They Took Us Away From Each Other”: Lost Inside America’s Shadow Foster System

by Lizzie Presser, photography by Elinor Carucci for The New York Times,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

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Most Read
    Uncovered

    “Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay”

    Blue Cross authorized mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay the full doctors’ bills. A jury called it fraud and awarded the practice $421 million.

    by T. Christian Miller,

    Congress Has Demanded Answers to ICE Detaining Americans. The Administration Has Responded With Silence.

    Amid increasing reports that U.S. citizens have been caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration dragnet, a dozen members of Congress have written to the government with pointed questions. None has received a reply.

    by Nicole Foy,

    From Lollapalooza to Detention Camps: Meet the Tent Company Making a Fortune Off Trump’s Deportation Plans

    The privately held company Deployed Resources has made billions running tent detention facilities to hold immigrants entering the U.S. at the border. Now it is cashing in again on Trump’s plan to hold immigrants before deportation.

    by Jeff Ernsthausen, Mica Rosenberg and Avi Asher-Schapiro,

    American Rendition: Rümeysa Öztürk’s Journey From Ph.D. Scholar to Trump Target Languishing in Louisiana Cell

    “So horrifying and so heartbreaking”: Öztürk’s close friend provides an intimate look into one of the hundreds of foreign students who have had their visas revoked — and in dozens of instances have been detained without criminal charges.

    by Hannah Allam,

    Two Months After Trump’s Funding Cuts, a Nonprofit Struggles to Support Refugees and Itself

    After the Trump administration cut its funding, a Nashville nonprofit is fighting to provide refugees with the support it promised, despite contending with depleted resources, layoffs and disillusionment.

    by Amy Yurkanin,