Archive
Nearing Bankruptcy, Sears Claimed Fast-Food Workers and Baristas as Employees to Keep Tax Breaks
Politicians who helped draft Sears’ tax deals said they were designed to retain thousands of corporate jobs. Contractors, landscapers and temporary employees who worked in Sears’ buildings were never meant to help the company qualify for tax breaks.
“Immune to Evidence”: How Dangerous Coronavirus Conspiracies Spread
Conspiratorial videos and websites about COVID-19 are going viral. Here’s how one of the authors of “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook” says you can fight back. One big takeaway: Focus your efforts on people who can hear evidence and think rationally.
The Sears Headquarters Deal Cost Taxpayers $500 Million. 30 Years Later, There’s Little to Show for It.
Was the multimillion dollar deal to keep Sears in Illinois worth it? An economic study commissioned by ProPublica and the Daily Herald suggests it wasn’t. Here’s why.
Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.
California’s governor and San Francisco’s mayor worked together to act early in confronting the COVID threat. For Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, it was a different story, and 27,000 New Yorkers have died so far.
Another Private Jet Company Owned by a Trump Donor Got a Bailout — This One for $20 Million
The two private jet companies are among the first 96 airline companies disclosed as recipients of taxpayer funds under the CARES Act.
Whistleblower: Wall Street Has Engaged in Widespread Manipulation of Mortgage Funds
Securities that contain loans for properties like hotels and office buildings have inflated profits, the whistleblower claims. As the pandemic hammers the economy, that could increase the chances of another mortgage collapse.
How We Reported on the $500 Million Sears Deal
To investigate the Sears deal, ProPublica and the Daily Herald reviewed thousands of pages of records, court filings and internal Sears documents. We also commissioned an economic study to examine the long-term effect of the tax deals.
Sears’ Headquarters Was Supposed to Turn a Sleepy Suburb Into a Boomtown. It Never Happened.
To lure Sears into a Chicago suburb, officials crafted the largest tax break package ever awarded to a company in Illinois. It resulted in revenue shortfalls, disappearing jobs and unexpected tax burdens, a Daily Herald and ProPublica review showed.
Families Were Grieving and Planning Funerals. They Still Wanted to Share Their Stories.
We spoke with families and friends of 22 victims of Chicago’s first 100 recorded deaths from COVID-19. Here’s how we kept reporting, and what those families want you to know.
She Fought to Keep COVID-19 Out of Her Nursing Home. Then, She Got Sick.
At Rhode Island nursing homes, experts say a lack of available testing overshadowed the efforts of staff in preventing the virus’ spread. Lakesha Lopez took every precaution but still ended up in the hospital, one floor below the center’s receptionist.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Is Cracking Down on Cities’ Enforcement of COVID-19 Orders, but Many Already Took a Lax Approach
Texas cities and counties have dramatically different interpretations of the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Complaint data from a dozen cities shows disparate approaches to enforcement, particularly among businesses, have been incredibly common.
Richard Burr Steps Down From Chairmanship of Senate Intelligence Committee
Burr’s resignation comes after the FBI seized his cellphone Wednesday. The Republican from North Carolina is being investigated for selling stock ahead of the market crash due to coronavirus fears.
The Trump Administration Says a New Bailout Program Will Help 35 Million Americans. It Probably Won’t.
Experts from across the political spectrum fear that the Federal Reserve’s new Main Street Lending program won’t reach enough businesses or save enough jobs.
A Trump Official Tried to Fast-Track Funding for His Friend’s Unproven COVID-19 “Treatment,” Whistleblower Says
Whistleblowing virologist Rick Bright says that his Trump-appointed boss tried to fast-track funding for a friend’s coronavirus treatment, and that he was reassigned for insisting that funding be reserved for “safe and scientifically vetted solutions.”
A Quarter of the Residents at This Nursing Home Died From COVID-19. Families Want Answers.
Within three weeks, the Bria of Geneva nursing home went from one case of COVID-19 to two dozen residents dead and at least 75 infected. Delayed testing and gaps in nursing home data obscures the true toll of the crisis.
The Justice Department Accidentally Released the Name of Saudi Official Suspected of Helping the 9/11 Hijackers
William Barr’s DOJ inadvertently named Saudi official Musaed al-Jarrah in a court filing after trying for two years to conceal his identity.
Trump’s Lawyers Argue for “Temporary Presidential Immunity”
Andrea Bernstein of “Trump, Inc.” and NYU law professor Melissa Murray listened to the historic Supreme Court arguments about Trump’s tax returns and chatted with co-host Ilya Marritz about what struck them. Here are their takeaways.
Pence’s “Special Envoy” in Foreign Aid Office Sparked an Ethics Complaint Just Weeks After He Started His Job
Weeks before joining the administration, Max Primorac, a USAID appointee and adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, pushed the business interests of a client to an organization funded by USAID.
