Archive - Illinois
T. Christian Miller Interview: The People Behind the Numbers
ProPublica's T. Christian Miller talks about the two parts of his award-winning report "Disposable Army." First came a two-year quest for federal data on civilian war contractors. Then came a search for the faces behind the statistics.
Buffett, a Longtime Derivatives Critic, Lobbies for an Exemption
In 2003, Warren Buffett called derivatives "financial weapons of mass destruction." But as Congress considers financial reform, he is now trying to have his company's derivatives portfolio grandfathered in.
New York Puts Brakes on Drilling in NYC Watershed, Clears Way for Upstate Wells by Next Spring
State environmental officials said their controversial environmental review of natural gas drilling in New York's Marcellus Shale would not apply to drilling inside New York City's 1,900-square-mile watershed, effectively banning hydrofracturing operations there.
Is the SEC Porn Story a New Problem, or Political Ploy?
Reports that SEC employees viewed porn at work, while the economy was collapsing, aren't new, but the "new" reports seem curiously timed to efforts to criticize SEC oversight.
Colleague Says Anthrax Numbers Add Up to Unsolved Case
A colleague says Bruce Ivins, whom the FBI named as the person who mailed anthrax-laden letters in 2001, could not have grown enough spores for the attacks, calling that feat "impossible."
Ex-Regulator Says Lincoln's Derivatives Bill Not Perfect, but Is 'Superior' to Others
A former commodities regulator says a bill now moving through the Senate to limit some derivative products isn't perfect, but would allow regulators to stop selling products that were little more than financial gambling, and would require others to be traded on a more transparent exchange.
Interviews With ProPublica Reporters
Here's where ProPublica reporters are appearing in the coming days.
Schwarzenegger Loses Bid to Fix Oversight of Health Care Professionals
A bill to alert California regulators to dangerous or incompetent health care workers died in a legislative committee .The measure would have standardized the disciplinary process for the state’s 1 million licensed health care professionals, including dentists, psychologists, chiropractors and others monitored by more than a dozen boards.
ProPublica Wins National Magazine Award
Sheri Fink's Katrina article "The Deadly Choices at Memorial" won the National Magazine Award for Reporting. It was the latest prize the article, published with the New York Times Magazine, has garnered.
ProPublica Wins Overseas Press Club Award
ProPublica's T. Christian Miller along with Doug Smith of The Los Angeles Times and freelance journalist Pratap Chatterjee received the Overseas Press Club's Online Journalism Award for "best web coverage of international affairs" for their Disposable Army series.
The Homeowners Whose Loss Was Paulson's $1 Billion in Gain
The Wall Street Journal found the borrowers whose home mortgages were the underlying collateral in Goldman Sachs' Abacus deal, the CDO that is now the subject of the SEC's civil-fraud charges against Goldman.
Governments Increasingly Ask Google for User Data in Criminal Matters
Google has disclosed statistics on government requests for data and for content removal. Next to Brazil, the United States put in the most requests for user data in criminal matters -- 3,580 in the last half of 2009.
Merrill Lynch Did a Deal ‘Precisely’ Like Goldman's, Suit Asserts
Merrill Lynch and the Dutch bank Rabobank, which has sued Merrill over a failed CDO deal, have been sending dueling letters to a judge about whether Merrill's actions were similar to the ones that led to fraud charges against Goldman Sachs.
As Gitmo Detainees’ Legal Victories Mount, Obama Administration Resists Orders to Release
The government is failing in many cases to prove that the men it has imprisoned at Guantanamo belong there. But in spite of court findings that the prisoners are being held unlawfully, the administration insists it is not obligated to free them.
SEC Rebuked for Regulatory Failure With Lehman Brothers
The examiner who studied the Lehman collapse tells a congressional panel that regulators failed to protect investors. The examiner, Anton Valukas, says the SEC was clueless about Lehman's use of the accounting manipulations known as Repo 105.
Louisiana Well Blowout Forces Hundreds From Homes
Trouble at a natural gas well contaminates an aquifer near Shreveport, and nearby residents are evacuated after the drilling company says it can't contain well pressure underground. It's unclear what contaminants are involved.
