Accused in Elkhart

Why Are Cops Around the World Using This Outlandish Mind-Reading Tool?

The creator of Scientific Content Analysis, or SCAN, says the tool can identify deception. Law enforcement has used his method for decades, even though there’s no reliable science behind it.

by Ken Armstrong, ProPublica, and Christian Sheckler, South Bend Tribune

Dollars for Profs

We Asked Public Universities for Their Professors’ Conflicts of Interest — and Got the Runaround

We assembled the first state-by-state database of professors’ outside income and employment. But it’s far from complete.

by Annie Waldman and David Armstrong

Carlos’ Family Objects to Publication of Video Detailing His Death

In response, ProPublica apologized to the family for the pain caused by the release of the video. ProPublica also said the video, which shows the Border Patrol’s treatment of the boy, is essential for the public to understand the government’s actions.

by ProPublica

Chemical Companies Are Building Their Plants Overseas and Shipping Them Back In. They Still Get State Tax Breaks.

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.

by Sara Sneath, The Times-Picayune and The Advocate

House Chairman Says Trump Administration Misled Congress on Boy’s Death in Custody

“This is inexcusable.” The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee responds to ProPublica’s report on the death of a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant in Border Patrol custody.

by Robert Moore

Federally Funded Health Researchers Disclose at Least $188 Million in Conflicts of Interest. Can You Trust Their Findings?

A National Institutes of Health database, which we’re making public for the first time, shows that researchers have reported more than 8,000 “significant” financial conflicts, potentially influencing their work.

by David Armstrong and Annie Waldman

Medical Professors are Supposed to Share Their Outside Income With the University of California. But Many Don’t.

A comparison of University of California filings with federal data shows that moonlighting professors are shortchanging taxpayers.

by Annie Waldman

Dollars for Profs: Search Conflicts of Interest

For the first time ever, you can see conflict of interest and financial disclosure records for employees of universities across the country.

by Sisi Wei, Annie Waldman and David Armstrong

Help Us Report On Conflicts of Interest at Universities

We have collected more than 37,000 financial disclosures for professors and staff at about 20 public universities and researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Now, we need your help.

by Annie Waldman and David Armstrong

The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas

Over three years, nearly 400 pregnant or new mothers died in Texas. Its system for helping the uninsured thwarts women at every turn, frustrates doctors and midwives, and incentivizes substandard care.

by Nina Martin, ProPublica, and Julia Belluz, Vox

Recreational Marijuana Becomes Legal in Illinois on Jan. 1. Here’s How Communities Across the State Are Dealing With the New Law.

After some confusion, Chicago officials said residents who smoke marijuana in their backyard or on their balcony will not be arrested or ticketed.

by Logan Jaffe

Inside the Cell Where a Sick 16-Year-Old Boy Died in Border Patrol Care

Video obtained by ProPublica shows the Border Patrol held a sick teen in a concrete cell without proper medical attention and did not discover his body until his cellmate alerted guards.

by Robert Moore and Susan Schmidt, special to ProPublica, and Maryam Jameel, ProPublica

These Cops are Supposed to Protect Rural Villages. They’re in the Suburbs Instead.

Many remote Alaska Native villages have no law enforcement at all. But state troopers can be found in wealthier, and mainly non-Native, suburbs, where growing communities have resisted paying for their own police department.

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News

This Judge Is Married to the Sheriff. Ethics Complaints Have Piled Up.

Magistrate Angel Underwood was suspended after conflicts involving her husband, the sheriff. But she wasn’t required to disclose that before her reappointment this year. She’s still on the bench, and complaints say her conflicts have continued.

by Joseph Cranney, The Post and Courier

Illinois Will Allow Prone, Supine Restraints on Children While Schools Learn to Phase Them Out

The changes to a ban on restraints came after some schools said they could no longer serve children.

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen and Lakeidra Chavis, ProPublica Illinois

He’s a Liar, a Con Artist and a Snitch. His Testimony Could Soon Send a Man to His Death.

Paul Skalnik has a decadeslong criminal record and may be one of the most prolific jailhouse informants in U.S. history. The state of Florida is planning to execute a man based largely on his word.

by Pamela Colloff

30 Years of Jailhouse Snitch Scandals

More than 140 people have been exonerated in murder cases involving jailhouse informant testimony since the U.S. Supreme Court signed off on its constitutionality in 1966. Yet informant testimony is still allowed nationwide, and the limited reforms that exist have yet to prove effective.

by Katie Zavadski and Moiz Syed

How McKinsey Helped the Trump Administration Detain and Deport Immigrants

Newly uncovered documents show the consulting giant helped ICE find “detention savings opportunities” — including some that the agency’s staff viewed as too harsh on immigrants.

by Ian MacDougall

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