March 2013 Archive

Course Load: The Growing Burden of College Fees

Students and parents are learning their college fates this week and then having to address whether schools are actually affordable. They have their work cut out for them as college fees, often well-disguised, continue to explode.

More Than a Matter of Opinion: Ed Rendell’s Plea for Fracking Fails to Disclose Industry Ties

Rendell, who supported fracking when he was governor of Pennsylvania, urged Andrew Cuomo of New York to get behind the industry in a strongly worded newspaper piece. He left a few details out.

Westchester County Could Lose Millions for Fair Housing Failures

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has given Westchester County one more month to comply with requirements of a fair housing settlement or risk losing $7.4 million in grants.

ProPublica and Partners Win Peabody Award

Friend of the Court: How Anthony Lewis Influenced the Justices He Covered

Lewis, the legendary New York Times journalist, did more than report on the Supreme Court. His advocacy set the stage for the Warren Court’s arguably most important decisions.

Criminal Injustice: The Best Reporting on Wrongful Convictions (#MuckReads)

We've rounded up the best MuckReads on faulty criminal trials: from prosecutors suppressing evidence, to the convicted's continued struggle after exoneration.

Another Race Case for a Hostile Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, poised to rule on a major affirmative action case, accepts another one. What this might say about dismantling race-conscious programs.

Ixnay on ‘Say on Pay’

The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law gave shareholders a vote on executive pay. It turns out that they usually approve compensation packages by margins Fidel Castro would have envied.

How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

Intuit, producer of the top-selling tax software, has opposed letting the government do your taxes for free – even though it could save time and headaches for millions of filers.

Heart of Nerd Darkness: Why Updating Dollars for Docs Was So Difficult

We updated Dollars for Docs last week. Why is updating it so difficult?

GE Failed to Adequately Warn about Dangers of its MRI Dye, Jury Finds

A jury awarded $5 million to a patient and his wife after it found GE Healthcare didn’t adequately warn patients and doctors about the risk of its imaging dye, Omniscan. It was the first case involving the dye to go to trial.

A Public Indictment Could Shed Light on CIA’s Secret Program

Human rights researchers years ago identified a man who may have been held secretly by the CIA, and whose whereabouts were unknown. It appears than man is now in custody in New York.

When Harm in the Hospital Follows You Home

It's estimated that more than a million people per year suffer infections, medical mistakes and other harm in the hospital. But even if patients are lucky enough to physically recover, their lives may never be the same.

Cash, Cars and Contracts: IBM, HP and Oracle in the Crosshairs of Overseas Corruption Investigation

The three American companies are cooperating with a Polish investigation into how the companies won lucrative contracts to upgrade Poland’s technology.

Drilling Deeper: The Wealth of Business Connections for Obama’s Energy Pick

MIT physicist Ernest Moniz is an academic who has also served on boards or advisory councils of large energy companies, including BP

No Windows. One Exit. Free Drinks: Casino-Driven Design for Crowdsourcing

Casino-Driven Design, a technique we developed for Free the Files, cuts away all distraction and drives the user's attention toward staying focused on a single task.

Follow ProPublica

Latest Stories from ProPublica