October 2014 Archive
You Can See a 'Leash on My Neck' and More in MuckReads Weekly
Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/you-can-see-a-leash-on-my-neck-and-more-in-muckreads-weekly#signup">Sign up</a> to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.
Secret Donors Behind Some Super PACs Funneling Millions into Midterms
Super PACs are required to identify their contributors, but some of them are funded entirely or mostly by social welfare nonprofits that don't have to do so. That leaves voters in the dark about where money is really coming from.
Senate Hearing Set on Secret Recordings at N.Y. Fed
A banking subcommittee will explore the case of fired examiner Carmen Segarra and whether the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is too soft on institutions it supervises.
As Vote Nears, North Dakota Amendment Stirs Debate About More Than Abortion
Money and strategists are shaping a nationally watched campaign amid talk of in vitro fertilization and end-of-life care.
Somebody's Already Using Verizon's ID to Track Users
Twitter is using a newly discovered hidden code that the telecom carriers are adding to every page you visit – and it's very hard to opt out.
In Private Papers, A More Candid Tim Geithner Speaks Out
The former Treasury secretary and architect of the Obama administration's financial rescue sounds more like some of his detractors in papers that were never meant to be public.
10 Disturbing Things ProPublica Learned Investigating the Red Cross’ Sandy Relief Efforts
How did so much go so wrong? 10 disturbing findings from ProPublica's investigation.
The Red Cross’ Secret Disaster
After Superstorm Sandy, Americans opened their wallets to the Red Cross. They trusted the charity and believed it was up to the job. They were wrong.
A Kansas Group's Push to Oust Judges Reveals a Gap in Campaign Finance Rules
Judicial retention elections in Kansas have typically been apolitical and uncontested — until Kansans for Justice entered the fray earlier this month. Now state election overseers are grappling with a new kind of dark money.
Judge Doesn’t ‘Think’ Police are Abusing Spy Technology, and More in MuckReads
Some of the best #MuckReads we read this week. Want to receive these by email? <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/why-the-poor-pay-1400-for-old-ipads-and-more-in-muckreads-weekly#signup">Sign up</a> to get this briefing delivered to your inbox every weekend.
Tobacco Settlement Funds Sprinklers, Golf Carts and a Grease Trap
In Niagara County, N.Y., leaders took on 40-year debt to pay for short-term stuff, a case study in the perverse incentives tobacco bonds create.
The Millions New York Counties Coulda Got
In 1999, New York counties had a choice to make. They had just been promised annual payments from tobacco companies as part of a national settlement to reimburse them for smoking-related health care costs. Like winning the lottery, they could either get small payments indefinitely -- or take a lump sum immediately by entering into "securitization" deals. Counties knew that these deals would mean less money in the long run, but bankers said they offered protection in case the payments shrank or went away. Now the cost is clear: millions pledged to investors that counties could have kept for themselves.
How One New York County Fell Into the Tobacco Debt Trap
A refinance of Niagara County’s tobacco bonds was good news — but for investors, not taxpayers.
How We Analyzed New York County Tobacco Bonds
Users can see how interest rates and declining cigarette sales affect the bottom line for counties that borrowed against income from the landmark tobacco settlement.
