The Dominican Baseball Factory
Teams make handshake deals with players as young as 11 while moneylenders prey on their families. The industry is corrupt, but Major League Baseball and the players union have done little about it.
Help Us Report: Got a Connection to Dominican Baseball? Text Us on WhatsApp.
The Rising Baseball Star, a Fatal Car Crash and the Fixer
When an accident involving top prospect Oneil Cruz left three dead on a darkened road in the Dominican Republic, secret payoffs helped rescue his career and launched a shadowy business empire.
The Predatory Industry Behind MLB’s Dominican Superstar Pipeline
Major League Baseball built a pipeline in the Dominican Republic to scout superstars like David “Big Papi” Ortiz. But there’s an open secret: It enables an industry that financially exploits scores of kids and their families each year.
25 Years After 9/11, Questions About the FBI’s Pursuit of Saudi Suspects in the Case Have Only Grown
FBI agents quickly identified a Saudi suspect who helped two of the 9/11 hijackers. But families of the victims are demanding to know what happened in the bureau’s investigation of Omar al-Bayoumi.
Empty Seat: U.S. Absent as Western Powers Meet on Wartime Protections for Civilians
A multinational group meets this week at NATO headquarters in Belgium to discuss protections for civilians during combat. Even though the U.S. co-founded this effort, no American delegation will be in the room.
U.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit Finds
An inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterms.
ProPublica is a nonprofit, investigative newsroom that exposes corruption. We report in all 50 states and partner with local newsrooms. Our work spurs real-world impact and has received numerous awards, including nine Pulitzer Prizes. Read more
Our Biggest Stories
For over 18 years, we have remained committed to taking on investigations that otherwise wouldn’t get done, that demand change, and that shine a light on subjects that get little attention elsewhere.
Browse Topics
Skip topics listBuried Truth
Digging Into Omaha’s Lead Contamination
Omaha and the Environmental Protection Agency spent decades cleaning up dust from a lead smelter that poisoned residents. But the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica found that contamination remains.
The EPA Spent Millions Cleaning Up a Massive Superfund Site. Our Tests Found Toxic Levels of Lead in Many Yards.
The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead.
More Than Half the Homes in East Omaha Have Unsafe Lead Levels. That Doesn’t Mean the EPA Will Clean Them Up.
The EPA hasn’t reevaluated its cleanup guidelines for homes in a residential Superfund site in Omaha, Nebraska, in 17 years, despite research showing that even small amounts of lead can cause IQ loss in children and heart attacks in adults.
Lead Contamination Is Still a Problem in Omaha. Why Is the City Cleaning Up Some Yards and Not Others?
The EPA Doesn’t Typically Retest Homes in the Country’s Largest Residential Lead Superfund Site. So We Did.
The EPA Spent Millions Cleaning Up a Massive Superfund Site. Our Tests Found Toxic Levels of Lead in Many Yards.
Private Schools, Public Money
Inside America’s Unregulated Private School Boom
As private schools fueled by taxpayer-funded vouchers proliferate, the impacts are far reaching. States have little interest in monitoring them, and some parents are finding they won’t serve children with intensive needs.
This Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It.
One of the few requirements for Arkansas private schools is that they have an American flag and a flagpole. But millions in state funds go to the largely unmonitored schools while complaints about safety and fraud have gone unanswered, parents say.
At “Quasi-Public” Private Schools, 100% of Students Get Tuition Vouchers. There’s Almost No Accountability.
Private schools — even those that are heavily dependent on taxpayer funding — often operate without the scrutiny public schools are subject to. Following the money at one Milwaukee private school reveals an opaque world with little oversight.
Explore Our Data
Maps, Visualizations, and Databases
-
Nonprofit Explorer: Research Tax-Exempt Organizations
Search the full text of 18 million tax filing documents going back as far as 2001.
-
Looking at Nursing Homes? See Which Ones Have Been Cited for Deficiencies
-
Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,600 of His Appointees
-
Look Up Where Your Generic Prescription Drugs Were Made
-
Tracking Habeas Cases
Real World Impact
We dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust — and we stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account.
