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Trump’s Inauguration Paid Trump’s Company — With Ivanka in the Middle

As the inaugural committee planned the landmark celebration, internal concerns were raised about whether Trump’s Washington hotel was overcharging for event space. The spending could be a violation of the law.

An Unsigned Letter Alleged Mistakes During Heart Transplants at St. Luke’s. Now a Widow Is Suing.

David Kveton died a week after receiving a new heart at the Houston hospital in 2017, and his story was featured in a ProPublica and Houston Chronicle investigation. A new lawsuit alleges a series of medical errors.

We Want to Hear About Your Experiences With Vehicle Tickets, So We Created a Facebook Group

We’ll share our latest stories there and give you a preview of an upcoming project.

HUD Took Over a Town’s Housing Authority 22 Years Ago. Now the Authority’s Broke and Residents Are Being Pushed Out.

As recently as last year, HUD had told officials in Wellston, Missouri, that they would get their local housing authority back. Then federal officials changed their minds. Wellston will join a growing list of HUD oversight failures, including the Illinois cities of East St. Louis and Cairo.

After Years in Institutions, a Road Home Paved With Hunger, Violence and Death

A housing ruling gave Nestor Bunch independence, with limited support. Was he ready?

Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Will Remain Open for Now

Lawyers for Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital had asked a judge for an order so it wouldn’t immediately lose federal funding and have to close.

Lawsuit Targets Illinois’ Child Welfare Agency Over Children Languishing in Psychiatric Hospitals

The suit against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, filed on behalf of hundreds of children, claims holding them after doctors clear them for release compounds their trauma. “I felt trapped,” one teen said.

Doctors Defending Convicted Child Abuser “Exceed the Limits of Credulity,” Judge Rules

The decision in a closely watched Florida case was a setback for Dr. David Ayoub, following our recent article about his work as an expert witness.

How a Dubious Forensic Science Spread Like a Virus

From his basement in upstate New York, Herbert MacDonell launched modern bloodstain-pattern analysis, persuading judge after judge of its reliability. Then he trained hundreds of others. But what if they’re getting it wrong?

Government Reverses Course, Sending 4-Year-Old Boy Back to His Father

More than 11 weeks after separating a young Salvadoran boy from his father and claiming, without evidence, that his father was a gang member, the Department of Homeland Security returned the boy.

Elkhart’s Acting Police Chief Has Previously Been Demoted, Reprimanded and Suspended

Ed Windbigler was forced out as police chief this week. The interim head, Todd Thayer, was demoted in 2013 for saying an officer who opened fire could now check that off his “bucket list,” according to disciplinary records.

“Landmark” Maternal Health Legislation Clears Major Hurdle

In the wake of the ProPublica and NPR series “Lost Mothers,” the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill to fund state committees to review and investigate deaths of expectant and new mothers.

Illinois Regulators Are Investigating a Psychiatrist Whose Research With Children Was Marred by Misconduct

A former University of Illinois at Chicago researcher is at the center of a state medical licensing and disciplinary board inquiry.

Americans Dodge $660 Billion in Taxes Each Year — And It’s Probably Getting Worse

The IRS is underfunded and understaffed. One result: audits of the wealthy are rapidly declining.

Who’s More Likely to Be Audited: A Person Making $20,000 — or $400,000?

If you claim the earned income tax credit, whose average recipient makes less than $20,000 a year, you’re more likely to face IRS scrutiny than someone making twenty times as much. How a benefit for the working poor was turned against them.

What We Now Know about Manafort, Cohen and “Individual-1” — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra

WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz talked with The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer about what we learned from prosecutors’ recent court filings — and the many things that remain a mystery.

How the IRS Was Gutted

An eight-year campaign to slash the agency’s budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment. The result: billions less to fund the government. That’s good news for corporations and the wealthy.

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