Archive
When Fracking Companies Own the Gas Beneath Your Land
Natural gas companies have cut down forests and paved over farms on West Virginia private lands, calling it “reasonably necessary” to access subsurface gas they own the rights to. A new ProPublica documentary chronicles the legal battles.
A Resolution Condemning Pipeline Challengers Passed Easily. A Pipeline Lobbyist Wrote It.
A Dominion Energy lobbyist drafted the resolution and bought meals for its supporters in West Virginia’s legislature. He says there’s nothing unusual about it. The public wasn’t told.
Immigrant Children Sent to Chicago Shelters Are Traumatized and Sick, in Some Instances With Chicken Pox or Tuberculosis
Hundreds of children are being detained in shelters run by Heartland Human Care Services, which says it has made changes since allegations that children were neglected and mistreated.
Border Patrol Condemns Secret Facebook Group, but Reveals Few Specifics
The agency won’t say how many employees have been disciplined or warned in the ongoing scandal over offensive social media posts.
Help Us Investigate: Ask a Member of Congress About Hate Crimes
We’re asking newsrooms to help us survey federal legislators to find out what they think should be done about the increase in hate crimes and white supremacist violence.
Immigration Officials Use Secretive Gang Databases to Deny Migrant Asylum Claims
The information in the databases comes from foreign police and militaries, and it is being used to detain migrants and separate them from their children. Legal experts and human rights advocates say they were not told about the databases and question their reliability.
ProPublica Is Expanding Its Local Reporting Network to Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is losing its only daily newspaper, but there’s no shortage of investigative stories worthy of coverage. ProPublica will fund one investigative reporter at an Ohio news organization for a year.
New York Is Investigating Whether Facebook Lets Advertisers Discriminate
The state’s Department of Financial Services will look into allegations, first exposed by ProPublica, that advertisers can exclude users by race, gender, age and other characteristics that are protected under federal law.
How Chicago, a Hospital and Private Companies Make Money Off the Poor
Three stories about debt, bankruptcy and the institutions that perpetuate them.
Nonprofit Christian Hospital Suspends Debt Collection Lawsuits Amid Furor Over Suing Its Own Employees
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is reevaluating its policy after an MLK50-ProPublica investigation found that it had filed 8,300 lawsuits in the past five years, including against many of its own employees.
Meet the Data Institute Class of 2019
We’re thrilled to announce the 12 outstanding journalists who will be joining us for the Data Institute this year.
Digital Jail: How Electronic Monitoring Drives Defendants Into Debt
Ankle bracelets are promoted as a humane alternative to jail. But private companies charge defendants hundreds of dollars a month to wear the surveillance devices. If people can’t pay, they may end up behind bars.
Chicago Can’t Hold Impounded Vehicles After Drivers File for Bankruptcy, Court Says
A federal appeals court said the city’s aggressive legal strategy, aimed at discouraging motorists with unpaid ticket debt from filing under Chapter 13, violated the basic protections of bankruptcy, and the city was doing so mostly to generate revenue.
Civil Rights Groups Have Been Warning Facebook About Hate Speech In Secret Groups For Years
Facebook says its rules prohibit hate in secret groups, but it won’t discuss how it moderated the offensive Border Patrol posts — if it did anything at all.
En un grupo secreto en Facebook, agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza se burlan de inmigrantes muertos y publican memes sexistas
En este grupo creado hace tres años y con aproximadamente 9,500 miembros, se compartieron comentarios despectivos sobre las legisladores latinas que planearon visitar un polémico centro de detención en Texas, llamándolas “escorias” y “putas”.
Meet the Congressman Defending Questionable Tax Breaks for a Company Connected to His Rich Brother
After multiple issues have surfaced with Holtec International’s New Jersey tax break application, Rep. Donald Norcross, its biggest congressional supporter (and the brother of a Holtec board member) is playing defense.
