Archive
At Washington State Special Education Schools, Years of Abuse Complaints and Lack of Academics
Northwest SOIL promised to help students with serious disabilities. But when school districts urged action, the state let the private school stay open and receive millions in tax dollars.
The Military Pledged to Remove Unexploded Bombs From This Island. Native Hawaiians Are Still Waiting.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the remediation effort, has been plagued by shoddy work and multiple regulatory disputes, according to an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica.
“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going to Go”: HUD Displaces Even More Residents in This Small City
HUD already closed four public housing complexes in the Cairo, Ill., area. Now the federal agency is set to demolish a high-rise, gutting the city of some of its last affordable housing.
Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into Real Estate Tech Company Accused of Collusion with Landlords
The DOJ will examine whether RealPage helped landlords coordinate rent increases. Questions also swirl around a 2017 merger deal with its largest competitor.
The U.S. Promised Tribes They Would Always Have Fish, but the Fish They Have Pose Toxic Risks
For decades, the U.S. government has failed to test for chemicals and metals in fish. So, we did. What we found was alarming for tribes.
Real Estate Investors Sold Somali Families on a Fast Track to Homeownership in Minnesota. The Buyers Risk Losing Everything.
For Somali Muslim families in Minnesota, a contract for deed seems like an easier path to homeownership. But predatory practices and poor regulation can make it a financial trap rather than a good deal.
How Jessica Logan’s Call for Help Became Evidence Against Her
After her baby died in the night, a young mother called 911. Police thought they could read her mind just by listening. Now she’s haunted by the words she chose.
What the Disability Community Told Us About Sheltered Workshops
Reporter Madison Hopkins tells us how she learned the context behind what she was hearing from Missouri’s disabled workers and their families.
What Happened to Rezwan
When Kabul fell, Biden promised to rescue Afghan allies. For 14-year-old Rezwan Kohistani and his family, that meant being sent to a remote Missouri town where no other Afghans lived. “We’d been left alone,” said Rezwan’s father.
Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk
The judge has signed a number of no-knock search warrants that have been challenged in court, but they weren’t on file at the clerk’s office.
Michigan’s Largest Utility Wants a Rate Hike as It Disconnects a High Number of Customers for Nonpayment
DTE Energy has cut off power to customers more times in 2022 than in any nine-month period since the state began tracking shut-offs.
More Senate Democrats Seek Investigation of Tech Firm Accused of Colluding With Landlords to Hike Apartment Rents
Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other leading Democrats have asked the Department of Justice to examine Texas-based RealPage, which sells software to help landlords set apartment rental prices across the country.
Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.
Most kids labeled as having an “emotional disability” and shunted into public special education schools are Black or Latino, and low income — while wealthier families more often access a taxpayer-funded free private education.
In Missouri’s Sheltered Workshops, Disabled Workers Make Low Wages For Years
Sheltered workshops in Missouri pay disabled workers very low wages. They rarely help workers move on to higher-paying jobs.
What Will UnitedHealth’s New Trove of Claims Data Mean for Consumers?
A federal judge allowed the company to acquire a clearinghouse of health insurance claims. UnitedHealth says it won’t use the data to give itself an edge, even as some company documents suggest otherwise.
The Landlord & the Tenant
A young mother rents a house near Milwaukee. The previous tenant tells her, “Baby, they shouldn’t have let you move in.”
A Florida Fund for Injured Kids Raided Medicaid. Now It’s Repaying $51 Million.
“The Medicaid program provides a safety net for our most vulnerable populations that do not have access to traditional healthcare coverage,” U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez said. “The misuse of Medicaid funds will not be tolerated.”
“We Need to Defend This Law”: Inside an Anti-Abortion Meeting With Tennessee’s GOP Lawmakers
Anti-abortion groups helped write and pass laws that kicked in to ban abortion when Roe v. Wade was overturned. The groups see Tennessee’s ban as the country’s strongest — and they want to keep it that way, according to audio reviewed by ProPublica.
Missouri Allows Some Disabled Workers to Earn Less Than $1 an Hour. The State Says It’s Fine If That Never Changes.
Sheltered workshops are meant to employ disabled adults as they prepare to enter the regular workforce. In Missouri, these workers rarely graduate to higher-paying jobs.
