December 2023 Archive

A “Delicate Matter”: Clarence Thomas’ Private Complaints About Money Sparked Fears He Would Resign

Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.

Body Cameras Were Sold as a Tool of Police Reform. Ten Years Later, Most of the Footage Is Kept From Public View.

There were 101 people killed at the hands of police in June 2022. More than a year later, police had released body-camera footage of only 33 of those killings, ProPublica has found.

¿Preocupada por su visita al ginecobstetra? Una guía sobre lo que debería suceder —y lo que no debería suceder.

Luego de informar sobre la conducta sexual inapropiada por parte de ginecobstetras, muchas mujeres nos dijeron que no sabían lo que era normal. Con la ayuda de proveedores, pacientes y expertos, creamos esta guía.

Mujeres de Utah intentaron denunciar agresiones sexuales a la policía. Dicen que enfrentaron retrasos y barreras lingüísticas.

Mujeres, todas inmigrantes mexicanas, acudieron a la policía de Provo para denunciar al ginecobstetra David Broadbent por agresión sexual. Experimentaron demoras, confusión y negaciones en sus informes debido a la falta de servicios en español.

Utah Women Tried to Report Sexual Assaults to Police. They Say They Faced Delays and Language Barriers.

Several women, all Mexican immigrants, went to the Provo police to report OB-GYN David Broadbent for sexual assault. They experienced delays, confusion and denials over their reports due to the department’s lack of Spanish-language services.

When Railroad Workers Get Hurt on the Job, Some Supervisors Go to Extremes to Keep It Quiet

Railroad officials have lied, spied and bribed to keep workers’ injuries off the books. “Don’t put your job on the line for another employee.”

Doctors With Histories of Big Malpractice Settlements Work for Insurers, Deciding If They’ll Pay for Care

Doctors working for health insurers can rule on 10,000 or more requests for care a year. At least a dozen were hired by major insurance companies after being disciplined by state medical boards or making multiple or outsized malpractice payments.

Idaho Hasn’t Assessed School Buildings for 30 Years. Students and Educators Helped Us Do It Ourselves.

To understand the problems plaguing underfunded schools in Idaho, we surveyed 115 superintendents, toured 39 buildings and collected accounts from hundreds of students, parents and teachers.

Falling Apart

Students and Educators in Idaho Show Us What It’s Like When a State Fails to Fund School Repairs

Idaho Lawmakers Are Discussing a Proposal That Would Make It Easier to Repair Schools

For decades, Idaho’s high bar for school bonds has led to building conditions that students and teachers say make it difficult to learn. Amending the state constitution would help districts secure funding, but doing so won’t be easy.

Mayors Are Presiding Over Their Town Courts Despite Guidance Saying They Shouldn’t. A Lawmaker Calls for Reform.

We found more than a dozen places in Louisiana where the mayor sat on the bench of a court that pulled in a sizable share of the town’s revenue. The state says this arrangement could be unfair to defendants.

Knoxville’s Juvenile Detention Center Says Hundreds of Seclusions Were “Voluntary.” Some Kids Don’t See It That Way.

Tennessee says the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center is improving when it comes to illegally secluding kids alone in cells. The facility says its lockups comply with the law, but new reporting suggests otherwise.

How Police Have Undermined the Promise of Body Cameras

Hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars have been spent on what was sold as a revolution in transparency and accountability. Instead, police departments routinely refuse to release footage — even when officers kill.

Michigan Enacts Laws to Reform Its Juvenile Justice System

In the aftermath of revelations from ProPublica, a government task force pushed for changes. New laws aim to keep low-level offenses out of court, provide more resources to young offenders and eliminate fines.

Idaho Keeps Some Psychiatric Patients in Prison, Ignoring Decades of Warnings About the Practice

A temporary program for “dangerously mentally ill” patients has continued for five decades, despite calls from critics to provide better care. Soon, Idaho will be the only state still using prisons to house patients who face no criminal charges.

“Unacceptable”: Senators Call on GAO to Probe FDA’s Oversight of Medical Devices, Citing Series on Philips CPAP Recall

Sens. Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter noting how the agency missed opportunities to protect the public from faulty medical devices, citing reporting by ProPublica and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Judiciary Has Policed Itself for Decades. It Doesn’t Work.

The secretive Judicial Conference is tasked with self-governance. The group, led by the Supreme Court’s chief justice, has spent decades preserving perks, defending judges and thwarting outside oversight.

Representatives Propose Ban on Insurers Charging Doctors a Fee to Be Paid Electronically

After a ProPublica investigation examined how giant insurers and their intermediaries are imposing fees on doctors and hospitals for electronic payment, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill to end the practice.

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