Michael Grabell
Michael Grabell is a senior editor with ProPublica. Grabell has previously written about economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
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Michael Grabell is a senior editor with ProPublica. Grabell has previously written about economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. He has reported on the ground from more than 35 states, as well as some of the remotest villages in Alaska and Guatemala. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times and on Vice and NPR.
Grabell has won two George Polk awards and has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize — in 2021, as part of a team covering COVID-19, and in 2019, with Ginger Thompson and Topher Sanders, for stories that helped expose the impact of family separation at the border and abuse in immigrant children’s shelters. The latter work also won a Peabody award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.
He previously won the Gerald Loeb Award for business journalism for his investigation into the dismantling of workers’ compensation and an ASNE award for reporting on diversity for his series on the growth of temp work in the economy.
What Kind of Body Scanner Does Your Airport Have?
Nearly 100 backscatter scanners were removed from major airports recently to speed up lines. See if they're still in use at your airport.
TSA to Commission Independent Study of X-Ray Body Scanners
The Transportation Security Administration will have the National Academy of Sciences study the health effects of X-ray body scanners used in airports. But how much will the study reveal?
Iraq Blocks Syria's Request to Fetch Combat Helicopters from Russia
Mystery solved. Syria had requested to ferry attack helicopters from Russia over Iraq, but the flights hadn't happened. Now, the Iraqis say they denied permission.
To Retrieve Attack Helicopters from Russia, Syria Asks Iraq for Help, Documents Show
Documents show that Syria asked Iraqiauthorities to grant air access to fly in refurbished attack helicopters fromRussia, putting a spotlight on Iraq’s role in the nearly two-year conflict.
Flight Records Say Russia Sent Syria Tons of Cash
The records of overflight requests show more than 200 tons of "bank notes" from Moscow to Damascus.
TSA X-Ray Body Scanners Sit Idle in Warehouse
The Transportation Security Administration removed X-ray body scanners from major airports, planning to shift them to smaller airports. But many of the backscatters sit in a warehouse as the agency looks into whether the manufacturer, Rapiscan Systems, falsified software tests.
TSA Removes X-Ray Body Scanners From Major Airports
The Transportation Security Administration has been removing its X-ray body scanners from LAX, O'Hare and JFK, and putting them in less-busy airports. The X-ray machines have faced criticism over radiation and privacy.
TSA Reveals Passenger Complaints … Four Years Later
It took the Transportation Security Administration nearly four years to respond to our public records request for passenger complaints against the agency.
New Report Likely to Fuel Debate Over TSA Scanners
A new report from the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security is likely to fan rather than extinguish the debate over the safety of X-ray body scanners, known as backscatters, deployed at airports across the country.
How (and How Not) to Jumpstart an Economy
The author of a new book about the stimulus, <em>Money Well Spent?</em>, draws lessons for what the government can do now to create jobs.