Archive
The BP Oil Spill Saga: Where Things Stand Now
More than eight months after the start of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, we assess where things stand now with accountability and look back at how the disaster has changed the Gulf and shifted the nation’s regulatory regime.
Where Things Stand: Gulf Oil Spill Claims
One of the central pieces of BP's program to make amends after the Gulf oil spill disaster was a claims system to compensate individuals and businesses that lost money. Although nearly $3 billion has been paid out, there have been chronic delays that have caused frustration and serious economic hardship to claimants.
Led by California, Inspection Backlogs Weaken Dialysis Oversight
An investigation by ProPublica found that some states are failing to meet inspection targets for the nation’s more than 5,000 dialysis clinics. Patient advocates say the backlog increases risks for patients in a system that has one of the industrialized world’s highest mortality rates.
The Year in Wall Street Investigations
This past year prosecutors, regulators, Congress and journalists have spent the year uncovering the financial shenanigans that brought the market to its knees. It's been marked by a few blockbuster settlements and more revealing investigations as well as by some noticeable inaction in the reckoning.
Where Things Stand: Foreclosure Paperwork Scandal
In a scandal that's ballooned in scope since the initial discovery of robo-signers, we review the status of investigations into foreclosure fraud, how courts are handling the mess and what solutions are on the horizon.
Jurors in Glover Trial Tell of Decision to Convict Three New Orleans Cops
Two weeks after they handed down the first convictions in a Hurricane Katrina-era police misconduct trial, four jurors tell of their deliberations and doubts.
Dialysis Data, Once Confidential, Shines Light on Clinic Disparities
ProPublica obtained data about the performance of more than 5,000 U.S. dialysis clinics. ProPublica’s Dialysis Facility Tracker allows patients to compare clinics on such measures as patient survival, infection control, hospitalization rates and transplant rates.
Pentagon Told Congress It's Studying Brain-Damage Therapy
The Pentagon told Congress last month that it was studying the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation therapy for brain-injured soldiers, the same treatment the Pentagon's health plan refuses to cover.
The 'Subsidy': How a Handful of Merrill Lynch Bankers Helped Blow Up Their Own Firm
The builders of mortgage securities at industry giant Merrill Lynch couldn’t find buyers for their wares. So they paid another group at Merrill to take billions of dollars of the unwanted assets.
Sen. Grassley Demands Information on Dialysis Clinic Conditions
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter Tuesday to Dr. Donald Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, expressing concern about clinic conditions and oversight described in a report published by ProPublica and the Atlantic Monthly in November.
Dollars for Docs Payments Approach $300 Million
ProPublica has added another $13 million in payments to our Dollars for Docs database of drug-company spending on doctors and other health professionals. That brings the total to nearly $295 million.
White House Drafts Executive Order for Indefinite Detention
The Obama Administration has drafted an executive order that calls for regular reviews of the cases against Guantanamo prisoners. It calls for release of prisoners from countries like Yemen should security conditions improve.
Residents Divided About PA's Agreement With Gas Drilling Company Over Water Contamination
Residents of Dimock, Pa., are surprised -- and in some cases upset -- by a settlement that state environmental regulators reached last week with Cabot Oil & Gas, which the Department of Environmental Protection says contaminated local water from its gas drilling operations.
States Scramble to Repay Feds for Unemployment Insurance Loans—Plus Interest
Starting in 2011, states that have borrowed from the federal government to pay out unemployment benefits may find themselves deeper in debt when the feds begin collecting interest.
For Brain-Injured Soldiers, Top Quality Care From a Philanthropist, not the Pentagon
At Project Share, started by philanthropist Bernie Marcus, brain-injured troops get cognitive therapy rehabilitation to relearn basic tasks of life -- care the Pentagon's Tricare health plan won't pay for.
States Sue Bank of America: Bank Employees Dish, and Other Highlights
On Friday, Arizona and Nevada both filed suit against Bank of America, saying it deceived homeowners trying to avoid foreclosures.
How Our FOIA Request Was Blocked, and Why We're Still Pursuing It
A FOIA request for documents on a Tricare-commissioned study that concluded cognitive rehabilitation therapy was not effective was met with contradictory denials and explanations from Tricare and the company that did the study.
Pentagon Health Plan Won't Cover Brain-Damage Therapy for Troops
The Pentagon’s health care program run by Tricare denies coverage of cognitive rehabilitation to troops with traumatic brain injuries, claiming the treatment does not meet their standards, despite medical groups’ consensus that it improves the quality of life and despite criticism of the study Tricare did to justify its position.
Drug Companies Retain Tight Control of Physicians’ Presentations
Drug companies keep strict control of materials doctors use in paid presentations about pharmaceuticals. The companies say this ensures that speakers comply with U.S. FDA regulations.
