Surveillance technology not necessary to conduct successful contact tracing

While most discussions have focused on countries’ use of surveillance technology, contact tracing is actually a fairly manual process. After interviewing contact tracing experts and taking an online course, ProPublica health reporter Caroline Chen presents her takeaways. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

With regular employees out sick, CVS and Walgreens rely on traveling workers to fill in at short notice. But when these floaters show up at a store, they often aren’t told if anyone there has tested positive. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Big Empty: How Corporate Headquarters Have Abandoned America’s Suburbs

As companies increasingly relocate to urban centers, sprawling, once-trendy corporate campuses like Sears’ and Kmart’s have been left crumbling in the suburbs. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Near Bankruptcy, Sears Claimed Fast-Food Workers and Baristas to Keep Tax Breaks

Politicians who helped draft Sears’ tax deals said they were designed to retain thousands of corporate jobs. Contractors, landscapers and temporary employees who worked in Sears’ buildings were never meant to help the company qualify for tax breaks. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

California’s governor and San Francisco’s mayor worked together to act early in confronting the COVID threat. For Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, it was a different story, and 27,000 New Yorkers have died so far. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

California’s governor and San Francisco’s mayor worked together to act early in confronting the COVID threat. For Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, it was a different story, and 27,000 New Yorkers have died so far. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Sears’ Headquarters Was Supposed to Turn Suburb into Boomtown. It Never Happened

To lure Sears into a Chicago suburb, officials crafted the largest tax break package ever awarded to a company in Illinois. It resulted in revenue shortfalls, disappearing jobs and unexpected tax burdens, a Daily Herald and ProPublica review showed. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Whistleblower: Wall Street Has Engaged in Widespread Tampering of Mortgage Funds

Securities that contain loans for properties like hotels and office buildings have inflated profits, the whistleblower claims. As the pandemic hammers the economy, that could increase the chances of another mortgage collapse. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Chemical Companies Are Building Plants Overseas and Shipping Them Back in (2019)

Louisiana attracts chemical companies with one of the country’s most generous tax exemptions. The idea is to bring jobs to the state. Instead, construction often happens offsite, and automation has cut down on the jobs that remain. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Struggling Rust Belt City Pinned Its Revival on a Self-Chilling Beverage Can

Welcome to Youngstown, Ohio, home of Chill-Can, the self-chilling beverage container you’ve probably never heard of. Officials have gambled millions of dollars and demolished a neighborhood for the product. Not one job has been created yet. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Bailout Is Working – For the Rich

The economy is in free fall but Wall Street is thriving, and stocks of big private equity firms are soaring dramatically higher. That tells you who investors think is the real beneficiary of the federal government’s massive rescue efforts. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Questions I Asked About the Viral “Plandemic” Video

ProPublica health care reporter Marshall Allen describes the questions he asks to assess coronavirus misinformation, starting with a viral video that claims the coronavirus is part of a “hidden agenda.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

On the Same Day Sen. Richard Burr Dumped Stock, So Did His...

The brother-in-law, a Trump appointee, sold between $97,000 and $280,000 worth of stock. Burr is under federal investigation over whether he traded on non-public information gathered through his work in the Senate. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

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@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Group Significantly Miscalculated Data in a Report on Mail-In Voting

President Trump touted a new report on voter fraud, but ProPublica found a critical error with the data. Even with the correction, experts say the report is misleading. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

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@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Conservative Legal Group Significantly Miscalculated Data in a...

President Trump touted a new report on voter fraud, but ProPublica found a critical error with the data. Even with the correction, experts say the report is misleading. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Health insurers to investors: We’re good. Health insurers to lawmakers: Help

Cigna executives told analysts the pandemic wouldn’t hurt its business, while the health insurance lobby asked Congress for aid. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Sen. Is Not Just a Friend to the Health Care Industry. He’s Also a Stockholder

The Republican of North Carolina, who is under investigation for his stock trading, regularly flips health care stocks even as he pushes for legislation to help the industry. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

An Algorithm Drives Suppliers to Favor Amazon over Other Retailers

At a time when much of the retail sector is collapsing, Amazon is strengthening its competitive position in ways that could outlast the pandemic — and raise antitrust concerns. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Millions of People Face Stimulus Check Delays for Being Poor

The IRS has had trouble getting money to people quickly because millions of Americans pay for their tax preparation through a baroque system of middlemen. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Medical staffing companies cut doctors’ pay while spending millions on ads

While cutting benefits for emergency room doctors and other medical workers, TeamHealth and Envision have spent millions on ads meant to pressure politicians working on legislation to cap out-of-network costs for Americans. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

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@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Staffing Companies Owned by Investors Cut Doctor Pay and Now Want Bailout Money

Companies that employ emergency room medical personnel, many owned by private equity firms, say they are reeling from vanishing demand for non-coronavirus care. But critics worry that bailout money would be a windfall for rich investors. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Inside the Union Where Coronavirus Put 98% of Members Out of Work

Unite Here was a rare union success story. But then the coronavirus decimated the restaurant, food service and hotel industries, where most of its 307,000 members work. “We’re fighting for our survival,” its president told ProPublica. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Company Promised Cheap Ventilators, Never Delivered, Now Charging Quadruple

Royal Philips N.V. agreed in September to sell 10,000 ventilators to the U.S. for $3,280 each. It did not deliver. But the Dutch company just announced a new deal with the government. This time, it’s charging roughly $15,000 each. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Nurse Suspended for Buying Protective Supplies for Colleagues via GoFundMe

She raised more than $12,000 to buy and distribute protective gear for her colleagues, who say they felt inadequately protected against COVID-19. How a confrontation in one of the nation’s Coronavirus hotspots illustrates a troubling national trend. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

The Hate Store: Amazon’s Self-Publishing Arm Is a Haven for White Supremacists

The company gives extremists and neo-Nazis banned from other platforms unprecedented access to a mainstream audience — and even promotes their books. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

No, the coronavirus is not an “equalizer.” Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates. Here’s what Milwaukee is doing about it — and why governments need to start releasing data on the race of COVID-19 patients. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Overwhelmed Hospitals Face Staffing Firms Are Cutting Doctors’ Hours and Pay

Multiple private-equity-backed staffing companies have cut hours for thousands of emergency room doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. That means there are fewer medical workers at a time in hospitals and they are receiving less pay. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

ProPublica’s health reporter Caroline Chen explains what the conversation around asymptomatic coronavirus carriers is missing, and what we need to understand if we’re going to beat this nefarious virus together. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

No, the coronavirus is not an “equalizer.” Black people are being infected and dying at higher rates. Here’s what Milwaukee is doing about it — and why governments need to start releasing data on the race of COVID-19 patients. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

New York State Pays Up to 15 Times the Normal Prices for Medical Equipment

State data shows that New York is paying enormous markups for vital supplies, including almost $250,000 for an X-ray machine. Laws against price gouging usually don’t apply. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Medical Staffing Company Slashed Benefits for Doctors, Nurses Fighting Virus

Alteon Health, a staffing company backed by private-equity firm Frazier Healthcare Partners, will cut salaries, time off and retirement benefits for providers, citing lost revenue. Several hospital operators announced similar cuts. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Taxpayers Paid Millions to Design a Low-Cost Ventilator for a Pandemic

As coronavirus sweeps the globe, there is not a single Trilogy Evo Universal ventilator — developed with government funds — in the U.S. stockpile. Meanwhile, Royal Philips N.V. has sold higher-priced versions to clients around the world. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Taxpayers Paid Millions to Design a Low-Cost Ventilator for a Pandemic. Instead, the Company Is Selling Versions of It Overseas. - ProPublica

As coronavirus sweeps the globe, there is not a single Trilogy Evo Universal ventilator — developed with government funds — in the U.S. stockpile. Meanwhile, Royal Philips N.V. has sold higher-priced versions to clients around the world. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

As meatpackers rush to meet demand, their employees are starting to get COVID-19. But some workers say they’re going to work ill because they don’t have paid sick days and can be penalized for staying home. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

When the State Shifted to E-Learning, a Rural School Shifted to the Copy Machine

With schools closed because of coronavirus, students are expected to learn remotely. But what happens when your school district doesn’t have the internet access to keep you in school? Here’s one district’s paper trail. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

China Built a Twitter Propaganda Machine Then Let It Loose on Coronavirus

ProPublica analyzed thousands of fake and hijacked Twitter accounts to understand how covert Chinese propaganda spreads around the globe. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Internal Emails Show Chaos at the CDC Slowed the Early Response to Coronavirus

The CDC fumbled its communication with public health officials and underestimated the threat of the coronavirus even as it gained a foothold in the United States, according to hundreds of pages of documents ProPublica obtained. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Walmart Was Almost Charged Criminally Over Opioids. Trump Appointees Killed the Indictment. - ProPublica

Even as company pharmacists protested, Walmart kept filling suspicious prescriptions, stoking the country’s opioid epidemic. A Republican U.S. Attorney in Texas thought the evidence was damning. Trump’s political appointees? Not so much. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Doctors hoard Covid-19 meds by writing prescriptions for selves, families

Pharmacists told ProPublica that they are seeing unusual and fraudulent prescribing activity as doctors stockpile unproven coronavirus drugs endorsed by President Donald Trump. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

ICE Detainees Are Going on a Hunger Strike for Soap

In audio obtained by ProPublica, an ICE detainee described harrowing conditions as fears over coronavirus spread. The ICE detention center in New Jersey gives detainees one bar of soap per week. If they want more, they have to buy it. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Medical Worker Describes Terrifying Lung Failure from Covid-19

“It first struck me how different it was when I saw my first coronavirus patient go bad. I was like, Holy shit, this is not the flu. Watching this relatively young guy, gasping for air, pink frothy secretions coming out of his tube.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Lupus Patients Can't Get Crucial Medication After President Trump Pushes Unproven Coronavirus Treatment - ProPublica

Trump’s unproven claim that hydroxychloroquine could be used to treat COVID-19 has led to hoarding, putting Lupus patients and others at even greater risk. As of Saturday afternoon, Anna Valdez had 27 pills left. That number is now down to 25. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

A Medical Worker Describes Terrifying Lung Failure From COVID-19 - Even in His Young Patients - ProPublica

“It first struck me how different it was when I saw my first coronavirus patient go bad. I was like, Holy shit, this is not the flu. Watching this relatively young guy, gasping for air, pink frothy secretions coming out of his tube.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

“It first struck me how different it was when I saw my first coronavirus patient go bad. I was like, Holy shit, this is not the flu. Watching this relatively young guy, gasping for air, pink frothy secretions coming out of his tube.” | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago

Senator Dumped $1.7M of Stock After Reassuring Public About Coronavirus

Intelligence Chair Richard Burr’s selloff came around the time he was receiving daily briefings on the health threat. | Continue reading


@propublica.org | 5 years ago