Mariam Elba

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Mariam Elba is a research reporter supporting ProPublica’s local newsroom initiatives.

Elba was previously an associate research editor at the Intercept, where she managed the fact-checking desk and supervised freelancers, regularly vetting reporting and sourcing for sensitive articles and conducting background research in collaboration with newsroom teams. Elba started as a fact-checker for the Intercept and First Look Media’s visual journalism unit, Field of Vision, where she worked closely with writers, editors and filmmakers to ensure that stories were framed accurately and fairly.

Before joining the Intercept, Elba was an editorial intern at the Nation, where she received her fact-checking training. She is an adjunct professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, where she teaches a course in advanced news research methods.

The CDC Hasn’t Asked States to Track Deaths Linked to Abortion Bans

The Biden administration hasn’t delivered on its goals of measuring the public health impact of abortion bans. Experts say it’s a missed opportunity to study how the laws may lead to deaths and long-term injuries.

Report: Hospitals Rarely Advise Doctors on How to Treat Patients Under Abortion Bans

Doctors described hospital lawyers who “refused to meet” with them for months, were hard to reach during “life or death” situations and offered little help beyond “regurgitating” the law, according to a Senate Finance Committee report.

Are Abortion Bans Across America Causing Deaths? The States That Passed Them Are Doing Little to Find Out.

The same political leaders who enacted abortion bans oversee the state committees that review maternal deaths. These committees haven’t tracked the laws’ impacts, and most haven’t finished examining cases from the year the bans went into effect.

A Coast Guard Commander Miscarried. She Nearly Died After Being Denied Care.

U.S. service members have long faced strict limits on abortions, even when used to resolve miscarriages. Under federal law, the military will only pay for abortions in cases of rape, incest or to save the mother’s life.

A Third Woman Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban. Doctors Are Avoiding D&Cs and Reaching for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments.

Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi’s case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.

El jefe de policía y el inmigrante

Antes de que Springfield, Ohio, se convirtiera en un punto central en el debate sobre la inmigración, Trump instrumentalizó la solicitud de recursos de un jefe de policía para asegurar que Whitewater sufría una “invasión”. La verdad es más compleja.

Denver Rallied Behind Arriving Immigrants. Now Its Homeless Population Feels Shortchanged.

When Mike Johnston became the mayor of Denver, he was determined to do right by the migrants arriving in his city. But it wasn’t long before he felt the full weight of that commitment.

Una mujer de Texas murió después de que el hospital dijera que sería un “delito” intervenir en su aborto espontáneo

Josseli Barnica es una de por lo menos dos mujeres de Texas que murieron después de que los médicos demoraran la atención de emergencia. Le contó a su esposo que el equipo de médicos le dijo que no podía actuar hasta que se detuviera el latido fetal.

A Pregnant Teenager Died After Trying to Get Care in Three Visits to Texas Emergency Rooms

It took three ER visits and 20 hours before a hospital admitted Nevaeh Crain, 18, as her condition worsened. Doctors insisted on two ultrasounds to confirm “fetal demise.” She’s one of at least two Texas women who died under the state’s abortion ban.

Exploiting Meta’s Weaknesses, Deceptive Political Ads Thrived on Facebook and Instagram in Run-Up to Election

Despite Meta's stated commitment to crack down on harmful content, it failed to catch tens of thousands of ads that used false claims and deepfakes of political figures to collect users’ sensitive personal data or bait them into monthly charges.

A Woman Died After Being Told It Would Be a “Crime” to Intervene in Her Miscarriage at a Texas Hospital

Josseli Barnica is one of at least two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed emergency care. She’d told her husband that the medical team said it couldn’t act until the fetal heartbeat stopped.

Un inmigrante murió construyendo un barco para el gobierno de EE. UU. Su familia no recibió nada.

Elmer De León fue uno de muchos inmigrantes contratados por astilleros estadounidenses para cubrir la urgente necesidad de mano de obra calificada. Estos trabajadores hacen las mismas tareas y corren los mismos riesgos que sus contrapartes estadounidenses, pero no cuentan con apoyo cuando las cosas salen mal.

What Happened in Whitewater

How immigration is affecting one small Wisconsin city.

Trump Says He’ll Move Thousands of Federal Workers Out of Washington. Here’s What Happened the First Time He Tried.

The Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters moved from the capital to Colorado in 2020, causing an exodus of leadership. If elected, Trump plans to use the same tactic across more of the federal government.

An Immigrant Died Building a Ship for the U.S. Government. His Family Got Nothing.

Elmer Pérez was one of many immigrants hired by U.S. shipbuilders to fill the urgent need for skilled labor. These workers do the same jobs and take the same risks as their American counterparts, but are left on their own when things go wrong.

Election Skeptics Are Running Some County Election Boards in Georgia. A New Rule Could Allow Them to Exclude Decisive Votes.

An examination of a new election rule in Georgia suggests that local officials in just a handful of rural counties could exclude enough votes to affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential race.

Inside the State Department’s Weapons Pipeline to Israel

Leaked cables and emails show how the agency’s top officers dismissed internal evidence of Israelis misusing American-made bombs and worked around the clock to rush more out while the Gaza death toll mounted.

A Law Was Meant to Target Teen Violence. Instead, 17-Year-Olds Are Being Charged as Adults for Lesser Offenses.

Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Lawmakers lowered the age from 18 to curb teen violence, but nearly 70% of the 17-year-olds arrested in the state’s three largest parishes aren’t accused of violent crimes.

Georgia Judge Lifts Six-Week Abortion Ban After Deaths of Two Women Who Couldn’t Access Care

Abortion clinics rushed to provide care after a judge rejected the state’s ban, an order that could soon be paused by a higher court. It’s only the latest development since ProPublica reported the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.

Desperate Times Led Wisconsin Tribe to High-Interest Lending, Dubious Partnerships and Legal Jeopardy

Facing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put its reputation at risk and drew costly lawsuits.

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