Archive
Legislator Pushes for Law Requiring Illinois Hospitals to Report All Assaults to Police
In response to a ProPublica investigation, Illinois State Sen. Julie Morrison said she will propose a law mandating that hospitals notify police about suspected patient-on-patient sexual assaults.
Storm Drains Keep Swallowing People During Floods
An alarming number of people (especially children) have drowned after disappearing into storm drains during floods. The deadly problem should be easy for federal, state and local government agencies to fix, but tragedy strikes again and again.
A Massive Oil Spill Helped One Billionaire Avoid Paying Income Tax for 14 Years
Phyllis Taylor’s company is responsible for the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history. That’s been a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico — but a tax bonanza for Taylor.
When You’re a Billionaire, Your Hobbies Can Slash Your Tax Bill
Thoroughbred horses, auto racing, massive ranches, luxury hotels. The hobbies and side businesses of the ultrawealthy create huge write-offs that can let them get away with paying little or no income tax for as much as a decade at a time.
China Unleashed Its Propaganda Machine on Peng Shuai’s #MeToo Accusation. Her Story Still Got Out.
Chinese propaganda officials have tried to shape the global discussion of the tennis player Peng Shuai’s accusations and disappearance, but their top-down strategy has largely stumbled.
A Multimillion-Dollar Settlement for a Young Woman Once Lost in the Shadow Foster System
Days after ProPublica featured Molly Cordell in a story about how a North Carolina county illegally tore her from her family and made her homeless, she got a $4 million settlement.
These Real Estate and Oil Tycoons Avoided Paying Taxes for Years
Donald Trump and other ultrarich Americans have earned billions, but they’ve also managed to repeatedly avoid paying any federal income tax by claiming huge losses on their businesses.
COVID-19 Hit This County Hard. A Weakened Health Department Still Can’t Get People Vaccinated.
Clayton County has the highest percentage of Black residents in Georgia and the lowest vaccination rate in the metro Atlanta area. Amid widespread community mistrust, a strained health department struggles to figure out what to do next.
Head of New Mexico Child Support Agency Asks State to Stop Intercepting Payments to Poor Families
Following a ProPublica investigation, the New Mexico Child Support Enforcement Division is calling on the state Legislature to stop funding the agency with millions in child support confiscated from single mothers who previously received welfare.
Utah Makes Welfare So Hard to Get, Some Feel They Must Join the LDS Church to Get Aid
Utah’s safety net for the poor is so intertwined with the LDS Church that individual bishops often decide who receives assistance. Some deny help unless a person goes to services or gets baptized.
“They Took Us Away From Each Other”: Lost Inside America’s Shadow Foster System
Across the country, unregulated “shadow” foster care is severing parents from children — who often wind up abandoned by the system that’s supposed to protect them.
Even on U.S. Campuses, China Cracks Down on Students Who Speak Out
Students and scholars from China who criticize the regime in Beijing can face quick retaliation from fellow students and Chinese officials who harass their families back home. U.S. universities rarely intervene.
How Steve Bannon Has Exploited Google Ads to Monetize Extremism
Google kicked Bannon off YouTube because of his violent rhetoric but still sent ad dollars to his website that promotes misinformation about the election and the pandemic.
They Knew Industrial Pollution Was Ruining the Neighborhood’s Air. If Only Regulators Had Listened.
Raw throats, burning eyes, strong acid smells. Air monitoring that showed chemicals linked to leukemia. Barbara Weckesser and her neighbors told regulators that air pollution was making them sick. The law let them ignore her.
The EPA Administrator Visited Cancer-Causing Air Pollution Hot Spots Highlighted by ProPublica and Promised Reforms
ProPublica found more than 1,000 toxic air hot spots across the country, and determined Black residents were disproportionately at risk. Environmental experts called the EPA’s response to our investigation historic and a “radical change in tone.”
Protect Yourself From Salmonella Over the Holidays
Because talking politics with your family is the only thing that should ruin your festivities.
Judge Says NYPD Illegally Withheld Footage in Police Shootings
A New York state judge said the NYPD was operating in “bad faith” when it denied requests to release body-worn camera footage from the killing of Kawaski Trawick.
A Patient in a Psychiatric Ward Was Seen on Video Possibly Being Sexually Assaulted. No One Reported It.
Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago kept quiet about a possible sexual assault of one patient by another in its psychiatric unit. Only after ProPublica asked questions did Illinois’ public health officials alert law enforcement.
