Featured Stories

The Government Gave Free PPP Money to Public Companies Despite Warning Them Not to Apply

At least 120 publicly traded companies that received large PPP loans grew their revenues last year and have been allowed to keep the money anyway, according to a ProPublica analysis.

by Lydia DePillis

Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans’ Power Grid. When Ida Hit, Residents Paid the Price.

The company failed to build a stronger system after hurricanes repeatedly pummeled Louisiana. Then Ida knocked out power for more than a week.

by Max Blau and Annie Waldman, ProPublica, and Tegan Wendland, WWNO/NPR; Photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica

Driven Into Debt

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Proposes Further Traffic Ticket Reforms to Help Low-Income Motorists

In 2018, ProPublica reported on how vehicle tickets in Chicago disproportionately harm low-income, Black residents. This latest set of reforms proposes lowering ticket costs and providing debt relief for low-income residents.

by Melissa Sanchez

The Social Machine

Facebook Grew Marketplace to 1 Billion Users. Now Scammers Are Using It to Target People Around the World.

ProPublica identified thousands of Marketplace listings and profiles that broke the company’s rules, revealing how Facebook failed to safeguard users.

by Craig Silverman, A.C. Thompson and Peter Elkind

COVID-19

Featured Reporting on the Crisis

A Boy Went to a COVID-Swamped ER. He Waited for Hours. Then His Appendix Burst.

Non-COVID patients are paying a price as the delta variant and low-vaccination rates overwhelm hospitals across the country. “Wait times can now be measured in days,” said an expert.

by Jenny Deam

A Boy With an Autoimmune Disease Was Ready to Learn in Person. Then His State Banned Mask Mandates.

High-risk students in states and districts that have made masks optional are staying home.

by Annie Waldman and Bianca Fortis

Resources

Coronavirus Contracts: Tracking Federal Purchases to Fight the Pandemic

Tracking PPP Loans: Search Every Company Approved for Federal Loans

What Coronavirus Job Losses Reveal About Racism in America

How to Avoid Being Scammed on Facebook Marketplace

From suspiciously low prices to sellers who demand payment in gift cards, there are multiple warning signs a Marketplace listing might be fraudulent.

by Craig Silverman, Chris Morran and Maya Eliahou

ProPublica Named Finalist for Inaugural Covering Climate Now Journalism Award

by ProPublica

House Bill Would Blow Up the Massive IRAs of the Superwealthy

The proposed reform stems from a ProPublica story that detailed how PayPal founder Peter Thiel had amassed $5 billion, tax-free, in a Roth IRA. If the bill passes, Roth accounts would be capped at $20 million for high-income individuals.

by Justin Elliott, Patricia Callahan and James Bandler

Searching for Solutions to Alaska’s High Rate of Deadly Air Crashes

Our investigation revealed that Alaska has a growing share of the country’s deadly crashes from small commercial flights. Here’s what experts say could be done to improve aviation safety in the state.

by Zoë Sobel, KUCB, and Agnel Philip, ProPublica

Landlords Use Secret Algorithms to Screen Potential Tenants. Find Out What They’ve Said About You.

When you apply for housing, some screening companies plug your personal details into algorithms and rate you as a potential tenant. These scores can have a huge impact on your life when you’re trying to get approved for an apartment.

by Erin Smith

New Report Shows “Deeply Troubling Failures” by Border Patrol in Boy’s Death, Key Congressional Leader Says

The DHS inspector general has confirmed the findings of a ProPublica investigation into the death of a 16-year-old Guatemalan who died in a Border Patrol cell in Texas.

by Robert Moore, El Paso Matters

Para obtener asistencia social, estas madres solteras se ven obligadas a compartir casi todo lo que saben sobre los padres de sus hijos

Las mujeres que solicitan asistencia social tienen que identificar al padre de sus hijos, y cuándo quedaron embarazadas, entre otros detalles personales. El gobierno utiliza esos datos para reclamarle la manutención al padre y se embolsa el dinero.

por Eli Hager, fotografía por Adria Malcolm, en reporte especial para ProPublica

After 33 Years, Parents of Brain-Damaged Kids Get to Express Disgust With Florida Program

Our reporting prompted changes in state law, and on Wednesday, the program’s executive director resigned. Parents had harsh words about the way they and their children have been treated.

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

These Single Moms Are Forced to Choose: Reveal Their Sexual Histories or Forfeit Welfare

Women who apply for welfare often have to identify who fathered their children and when they got pregnant, among other deeply personal details. State governments use that information to pursue child support from the dads — and then pocket the money.

by Eli Hager, photography by Adria Malcolm, special to ProPublica

The Director of Florida’s Program for Brain Damaged Infants Has Resigned

The head of NICA, or the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, resigned following a report from ProPublica and the Miami Herald detailing families’ struggles as they sought — and were often denied — support they’d been promised.

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

Help Us Understand Pacific Northwest Salmon and Treaty Rights

Dozens of people have told us about the decline of wild fish in the Columbia River and the U.S. government’s failure to uphold treaty rights. Now, we’re interested in hearing from you.

by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting

He Beat Her Repeatedly. Family Court Tried to Give Him Joint Custody of Their Children.

Wisconsin is considered a leader in the movement to treat fathers as equal caregivers when parents separate. Shared parenting is usually better for children — but the model fails for many women forced to co-parent with their abusers.

by Megan O’Matz

Reporting on Climate Injustice in One of the Hottest Towns in America

What does climate injustice look like? A town where farmworkers struggle for access to clean drinking water and comfortable places to sleep while their wealthy neighbors water their lawns generously and park in climate-controlled garages.

by Brooke Stephenson

Survivors and Families of Victims of a 1981 El Salvador Massacre See Justice Slip Away Again

The judge investigating the 1981 El Mozote massacre has been fired by El Salvador’s government as the right-wing populist president, Nayib Bukele, consolidates power. For victims, survivors and their families, that means justice could never come.

by Raymond Bonner and Nelson Rauda for ProPublica

Long-Secret FBI Report Reveals New Connections Between 9/11 Hijackers and Saudi Religious Officials in U.S.

“This validates what we have been saying,” says an attorney for families of 9/11 victims who are suing the Saudi government over alleged support of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

by Tim Golden and Sebastian Rotella

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