While White House Emphasizes Easing Student Debt Burden, Fed Contractors Play Hardball

March 29, 12:24 p.m.

President Obama has touted efforts to ease the burdens of student borrowers with federal loans, but some federally contracted collection agencies neglect to lay out borrowers’ best options.

School of Hard Knocks: Fed Education Data Shows Racial Disparities, Unequal Opportunity

March 6, 2:25 p.m.

Department of Education releases wide range of data on schools. ProPublica will clean, cross-check, and incorporate into our interactive schools app.

The Recess Appointment(s) Obama Hasn’t Made

Jan. 6, 3:35 p.m.

Still Waiting for Cleanup in Foreclosure Mess

Dec. 27, 2011, 11:56 a.m.

If last year was the year in which faulty foreclosures and bank errors became a full-blown scandal, this has been the year of waiting for something to be done about it.

Fight Over Obama’s Recess Appointments Puts Stranglehold on Key FinReg, Labor Nominees

Dec. 20, 2011, 3:39 p.m.

As winter recess approaches, Senate Republicans have been holding up certain uncontroversial appointments as a bargaining chip to prevent President Obama from other appointments in recess.

Decoding the Payroll-Tax Cut: How Well Does It Work?

Dec. 19, 2011, 2:17 p.m.

Extending the payroll-tax cut is the latest fight in Washington. But how much would it help the economy?

NY’s Tax Overhaul, Said to Raise Taxes on the Rich, Actually Doesn’t

Dec. 8, 2011, 4:26 p.m.

We take a closer look at the tax overhaul passed today and fact-check the claim that it raises taxes on the rich while cutting them for the middle class.

Why No Financial Crisis Prosecutions? Ex-Justice Official Says It’s Just too Hard

Dec. 6, 2011, 4:08 p.m.

FEC Deadlocks (Again) on Guidance for Big-Money Super PACs

Dec. 2, 2011, 1:21 p.m.

Can an ad that’s “fully coordinated” with a candidate count as uncoordinated spending by a supposedly independent group? The FEC commissioners bickered but couldn’t collectively decide.

Why a Federal Judge Trashed the SEC’s Settlement With Citigroup

Nov. 28, 2011, 5:48 p.m.

A federal judge ruled that the SEC’s proposed $285 million deal with Citigroup for allegedly misleading investors was “neither fair, nor reasonable, nor adequate, nor in the public interest.”

Uncoordinated Coordination: Six Reasons Limits on Super PACs Are Barely Limits at All

Nov. 21, 2011, 1 p.m.

The Supreme Court made it legal for corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on elections so long as they don’t ‘coordinate’ with candidates. So why does everyone seem to be coordinating?

Pfizer’s Latest Twist on ‘Pay for Delay’

Nov. 14, 2011, 3:41 p.m.

Pfizer is adding yet another twist to its efforts to delay generic competitors. As The New York Times reports, the company seems to have struck a deal with certain pharmacy benefit managers — the middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry — to block generic versions of Lipitor.

How Complaints From a Single Doctor Caused the Gov’t to Take Down a Public Database

Nov. 10, 2011, 1:20 p.m.

Documents give a behind-the-scenes look at why a government agency restricted public access to a medical-malpractice database.

FEC Data Show Big Jump in Spending by Super PACs and Outside Groups

Nov. 9, 2011, 3:26 p.m.

More money is coming into U.S. politics, and much of it is flowing in through new and barely regulated groups. 

As Political Groups Push Envelope, FEC Gridlock Gives ‘De Facto Green Light’

Nov. 7, 2011, 1:16 p.m.

In a new age of more dollars and less disclosure, the FEC’s ongoing stalemate over key areas of campaign finance gives more aggressive political players a chance to push the limits.

MF Global Ad: ‘We Have Convictions’

Nov. 4, 2011, 2:19 p.m.

A recent ad for MF Global, published Saturday, reads a little differently now.

This Week’s Top MuckReads: Cops Committing Crimes and A Shady Marketing Scheme

Oct. 28, 2011, 12:10 p.m.

Our rundown of this week’s best investigative or accountability journalism.

As Qaddafi Is Buried, a Look Back at the Complexities and Contradictions of the Libya Mission

Oct. 25, 2011, 1:28 p.m.

The military goal wasn’t regime change, but the political goal was. Airstrikes and drones caused bloodshed, but the U.S. said it wasn’t engaging in “hostilities.” We review the last eight months in Libya.

Email Warned That Bank Up For Bailout Was ‘Disastrous’

Oct. 20, 2011, 11:51 a.m.

Anonymous tip warned Treasury that United Commercial Bank was troubled, but the bank still got almost $300 million. Now the bank has failed and two executives are facing criminal charges.