ProPublica Wants Pitches for State Government Investigations. Apply for a Spot in Our Local Reporting Network. - ProPublica

ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network produces impactful accountability stories that wouldn’t be done otherwise. Now, we’re looking for seven partners to work with in 2020. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks

Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why? The attacks are good for business. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

California and EPA Poised to Expand Pollution of Aquifers (2016)

A little-known program under federal environment law is being used to permit oil and gas companies to inject waste into the state’s aquifers, even as the thirst for groundwater grows. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks

Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why? The attacks are good for business. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

In Men, It’s Parkinson’s. In Women, It’s Hysteria

Neurologist Laura Boylan suffered from tremors and loss of balance that she attributed to a cyst in her brain. Why didn’t her doctors believe her? | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

How Amazon and Silicon Valley Seduced the Pentagon

Tech moguls like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt have gotten unprecedented access to the Pentagon. And one whistleblower who raised flags has paid the price. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Off the Radar: Private Planes Hidden from Public View – ProPublica

ProPublica has obtained a list of private planes whose flights are blocked from public tracking sites, and among them are the planes of politicians, business executives, colleges, churches and even news organizations. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

ProPublica's guide to collaborative data journalism

We’ve learned a lot about how to make large-scale collaborations around datasets work, and today we’re giving away all of our secrets. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Rising Profits, Rising Injuries: The Safety Crisis at Georgia-Pacific

Five years ago, the paper and pulp company realized it needed to tackle a soaring injury rate. It did it the Koch way — and things have only gotten worse. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Iran Has Hundreds of Naval Mines. U.S. Navy Minesweepers Find Old Dishwashers

As tensions heat up in the Persian Gulf, the Navy’s minesweeping fleet may once again be called into action, but its sailors say the ships are too old and broken to do the job. “We are essentially the ships that the Navy forgot.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Parents Give Up Custody of Their Kids to Get Need-Based College Financial Aid

First, parents turn over guardianship of their teenagers to a friend or relative. Then the student declares financial independence to qualify for tuition aid and scholarships. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Trump Adviser Tom Barrack Pushed for Saudi Nuclear Deal - and Planned to Profit From It - ProPublica

Documents released by a congressional committee reveal Barrack’s plan to team up with Arab princes to buy a U.S. nuclear company. Federal prosecutors are investigating foreign influence. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Beleaguered Tenants of 'Kushnerville' - ProPublica

Tenants in more than a dozen Baltimore-area rental complexes complain about a property owner who they say leaves their homes in disrepair, humiliates late-paying renters and often sues them when they try to move out. Few of them know that their landlord is the president’s son-in- … | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

How Fundraisers Convinced Conservatives to Donate $10 Million - Then Kept Almost All of It. - ProPublica

Beginning in 2012, operatives used a federal PAC to target small-dollar donors, claiming they’d use the money to oppose Barack Obama. But that’s not what happened. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

University of Mississippi Students Face Possible Civil Rights Investigation After Posing With Guns in Front of Emmett Till Memorial - ProPublica

Three students were suspended from their fraternity house, Kappa Alpha, after we shared an Instagram photo one of the men posted that was taken in front of a sign commemorating the murder of the 14-year-old black youth in 1955. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Health Insurers Make It Easy for Scammers to Steal Millions. Who Pays? You

Health insurers are regarded as fierce defenders of health care dollars. But the case of David Williams shows one reason America’s health care costs continue to rise. The personal trainer spent years posing as a doctor and billing the nation’s top insurers, making off with millio … | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Village Where Every Cop Has Been Convicted of Domestic Violence

Dozens of convicted criminals have been hired as cops in Alaska communities. Often, they are the only applicants. In Stebbins, every cop has a criminal record, including the chief. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Village Where Every Cop Has Been Convicted of Domestic Violence - ProPublica

Dozens of convicted criminals have been hired as cops in Alaska communities. Often, they are the only applicants. In Stebbins, every cop has a criminal record, including the chief. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A border patrol agents reveals what it's like to guard migrant children

With the agency under fire for holding children in deplorable conditions and over racist and misogynistic Facebook posts, one agent speaks about what it’s like to do his job. “Somewhere down the line people just accepted what’s going on as normal.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

TurboTax profited by charging the disabled, the unemployed and students

The move by TurboTax maker Intuit to charge more lower-income customers has helped boost revenue. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Going Quiet: More States Are Hiding 911 Recordings

Troy Phillips has tried everything to piece together his brother’s final moments and figure out if he received CPR. Rhode Island’s secretive 911 laws have gotten in the way. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

ProPublica Is Expanding Its Local Reporting Network to Youngstown, Ohio - ProPublica

Youngstown is losing its only daily newspaper, but there’s no shortage of investigative stories worthy of coverage. ProPublica will fund one investigative reporter at an Ohio news organization for a year. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Digital Jail: How Electronic Monitoring Drives Defendants into Debt

Ankle bracelets are promoted as a humane alternative to jail. But private companies charge defendants hundreds of dollars a month to wear the surveillance devices. If people can’t pay, they may end up behind bars. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Sheriff Lost Reelection. Then the Spending Spree Began

Sheriff Blake Turman says that after he beat then-Sheriff Dennis Meeks at the polls, he found that thousands of dollars worth of military equipment was missing and public funds were wasted. Meeks’ response: “He’s full of shit.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Low-Wage Workers Are Being Sued for Unpaid Medical Bills by a Nonprofit Christian Hospital That Employs Them - ProPublica

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has sued many of its own employees over unpaid medical bills and garnishes their wages; its health care plan prevents them from going to competitors with better financial assistance. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Nonprofit Hospital that makes millions, owns collection agency and sues poor

Nonprofit hospitals pay virtually no local, state or federal income tax. In return, they provide community benefits, including charity care to low-income patients. In Memphis, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has brought 8,300 lawsuits for unpaid medical bills in just five years. … | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Sting Catches Another Ransomware Firm–Red Mosquito–Negotiating with “Hackers”

We recently wrote about two U.S. firms that promised high-tech ransomware solutions but instead paid the cyber-attacker. A U.K. company appears to do the same. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A GIS alignment error delivered a lucrative tax break to a billionaire

Opportunity zones are meant to spur new investment in poor areas. But Under Armour’s Kevin Plank is getting a tax break for investments that are not new and not in a poor tract. And Plank’s area was picked over neighborhoods that are actually poor. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

More Fraud and Mismanagement over New Jersey Tax Incentives Surface

A hospital connected to New Jersey political boss George E. Norcross III lied to win state tax breaks, a new special task force report says. The report details several other new pieces of evidence of Norcross’ influence over the tax incentive program. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Teach for America Evolved into an Arm of the Charter School Movement

Documents obtained by ProPublica show that the Walton foundation, a staunch supporter of school choice and Teach for America’s largest private funder, was paying $4,000 for every teacher placed in a traditional public school — and $6,000 for every one placed in a charter school. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Wasted Funds How Sheriffs Undermined Their Successors After Losing Reelection

Alabama sheriffs who lost reelection in 2018 personally pocketed funds and deleted public records, an investigation by AL.com and ProPublica found. Holes were drilled through government-issued smartphones and leftover rice was poured down the drain, among other things. It’s a lon … | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

I’m a Journalist. Apparently, I’m Also One of America’s “Top Doctors.”

Companies cash in by calling physicians “Super Doctor,” “Best Doctor” or “Top Doctor” and then selling them opportunities to boast about the honor. Experts call the accolades a “scam.” Giving me one highlights the absurdity. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Hadley Wickham: “Your Default Position Should Be Skepticism”

The chief scientist at RStudio and developer of open source tools for data scientists on bribes, bears and where your next story is hiding. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

You Can Now Search the Full Text of 3M Nonprofit Tax Records for Free

Search the full text of nearly 3 million nonprofit IRS filings, including investments and grants given to other nonprofits. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Congress Scraps Provision to Restrict IRS from Competing with TurboTax

The change comes after ProPublica highlighted the deceptive marketing practices of Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and other major tax prep companies. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

New: You Can Now Search the Full Text of 3 Million Nonprofit Tax Records for Free - ProPublica

Search the full text of nearly 3 million nonprofit IRS filings, including investments and grants given to other nonprofits. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Separated by Design How Some of America’s Richest Towns Fight Affordable Housing

In southwest Connecticut, the gap between rich and poor is wider than anywhere else in the country. Invisible walls created by local zoning boards and the state government block affordable housing and, by extension, the people who need it. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

TurboTax Uses a “Military Discount” to Trick Troops into Paying to File Taxes

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, created and promoted a “military discount” that charges service members who are eligible to file for free. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

You May Not Even Have to Click on a Website Contract to Be Bound by Its Terms

A private and influential legal group you’ve never heard of is about to vote on what critics call a fundamental rollback of consumer rights. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Country That Exiled McKinsey

A dubious project raises serious questions about the world’s most prestigious consulting firm and its work for corruption-plagued regimes. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Upton: A Web Scraping Framework

Today we’re releasing a new open source project, which will make web scraping easier by providing reusable components. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Kentucky’s $1.5B Information Highway to Nowhere

Gov. Matt Bevin has offered no solution to the boondoggle he inherited, a plan to bring high-speed internet to Kentucky’s remote corners. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Listen to TurboTax Lie to Get Out of Refunding Overcharged Customers

TurboTax successfully lobbied to keep the IRS from offering free tax prep. Now it’s pretending the government already does it. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Listen to TurboTax Lie to Get Out of Refunding Overcharged Customers - ProPublica

TurboTax successfully lobbied to keep the IRS from offering free tax prep. Now it’s pretending the government already does it. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Birth-Tissue Profiteers

How well-meaning donations end up fueling an unproven, virtually unregulated $2 billion stem cell industry. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

TurboTax and H&R Block Saw Free Tax Filing as a Threat - and Gutted It - ProPublica

An internal document and current and former company employees show the companies steered customers away from the government-sponsored free option and made them pay. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

TurboTax and H&R Block Saw Free Tax Filing as a Threat – and Gutted It

An internal document and current and former company employees show the companies steered customers away from the government-sponsored free option and made them pay. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Saudi Fugitives Flee – U.S. Officials Look the Other Way

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies have known for years that Saudi diplomats were helping Saudi fugitives. But Washington avoided even raising the problem out of concern that it might hurt Saudi cooperation in the fight against terrorism. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago