Archive
In Private Papers, A More Candid Tim Geithner Speaks Out
The former Treasury secretary and architect of the Obama administration's financial rescue sounds more like some of his detractors in papers that were never meant to be public.
10 Disturbing Things ProPublica Learned Investigating the Red Cross’ Sandy Relief Efforts
How did so much go so wrong? 10 disturbing findings from ProPublica's investigation.
The Red Cross’ Secret Disaster
After Superstorm Sandy, Americans opened their wallets to the Red Cross. They trusted the charity and believed it was up to the job. They were wrong.
A Kansas Group's Push to Oust Judges Reveals a Gap in Campaign Finance Rules
Judicial retention elections in Kansas have typically been apolitical and uncontested — until Kansans for Justice entered the fray earlier this month. Now state election overseers are grappling with a new kind of dark money.
Judge Doesn’t ‘Think’ Police are Abusing Spy Technology, and More in MuckReads
Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/why-the-poor-pay-1400-for-old-ipads-and-more-in-muckreads-weekly#signup">Sign up</a> to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.
Tobacco Settlement Funds Sprinklers, Golf Carts and a Grease Trap
In Niagara County, N.Y., leaders took on 40-year debt to pay for short-term stuff, a case study in the perverse incentives tobacco bonds create.
The Millions New York Counties Coulda Got
In 1999, New York counties had a choice to make. They had just been promised annual payments from tobacco companies as part of a national settlement to reimburse them for smoking-related health care costs. Like winning the lottery, they could either get small payments indefinitely -- or take a lump sum immediately by entering into "securitization" deals. Counties knew that these deals would mean less money in the long run, but bankers said they offered protection in case the payments shrank or went away. Now the cost is clear: millions pledged to investors that counties could have kept for themselves.
How One New York County Fell Into the Tobacco Debt Trap
A refinance of Niagara County’s tobacco bonds was good news — but for investors, not taxpayers.
How We Analyzed New York County Tobacco Bonds
Users can see how interest rates and declining cigarette sales affect the bottom line for counties that borrowed against income from the landmark tobacco settlement.
The Best Investigative Reporting on Campaign Finance Since 2012
From dark money to a mysterious super PAC donor, here are a few of the best investigations of money in politics since the last elections.
Why The Poor Pay $1,400 for Old iPads and More in MuckReads Weekly
Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/why-the-poor-pay-1400-for-old-ipads-and-more-in-muckreads-weekly#signup">Sign up</a> to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.
For the Next Attorney General, a Modest Suggestion: Fix Presidential Pardons
More than two years ago, a ProPublica series showed that white applicants were far more likely to receive clemency than comparable applicants who were black. Since then, the government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a study, but the pardons system remains unchanged.
NSA Documents Suggest a Close Working Relationship Between NSA, U.S. Companies
Documents describe "contractual relationships" between NSA and U.S. companies, as well as undercover operatives at some U.S. companies.
Charter School Power Broker Turns Public Education Into Private Profits
Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell’s chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.
In Wisconsin, Dark Money Got a Mining Company What It Wanted
An accidentally released court filing reveals how one company secretly gave money to a nonprofit that helped get favorable mining legislation passed.
