How Many of Your State’s Lawmakers Are Women? If You Live in the Southeast, It Could Be Just 1 in 5.
A record number of women were elected to statehouses last year. But in the Southeast, where some legislatures are more than 80% male, representation is lagging as lawmakers pass bills that most impact women, like near-total abortion bans.
Secret Recording Shows NRA Treasurer Plotting to Conceal Extravagant Expenses Involving Wayne LaPierre
Audio obtained by The Trace and ProPublica reveals, in real time, the gun lobbying group enacting a plan that would conceal payments for fancy hotels, limousines and other luxury expenses connected to its longtime CEO for a decade.
As the U.S. Struggles With a Stillbirth Crisis, Australia Offers a Model for How to Do Better
Australia has emerged as a global leader in the effort to lower the number of babies that die before taking their first breaths. It’s an approach that could benefit America, which lags behind other wealthy nations in reducing stillbirths.
How the VA Fails Veterans on Mental Health
A ProPublica analysis of 313 studies conducted by the agency’s inspector general in recent years shows repeated failures in behavioral care. The breakdowns have had fatal consequences.
Investigating Railroad Safety in America
As powerful railroad companies race to maximize profits through efficiency, safety is left behind.
Featured Reporting
The True Dangers of Long Trains
Trains are getting longer. Railroads are getting richer. But these “monster trains” are jumping off of tracks across America and regulators are doing little to curb the risk.
When Railroad Workers Get Hurt on the Job, Some Supervisors Go to Extremes to Keep It Quiet
Railroad officials have lied, spied and bribed to keep workers’ injuries off the books. “Don’t put your job on the line for another employee.”
“It Looks Like the Railroad Is Asking for You to Say Thank You”
After brakeman Chris Cole lost both his legs on the job, railroad officials removed evidence before state regulators could see it, omitted key facts in reports and suspended him from a job he could never return to.
Idaho Governor Proposes $2 Billion in Funding for School Buildings Over Next 10 Years
Gov. Brad Little cited reporting by the Idaho Statesman and ProPublica as he laid out his plan for a massive infrastructure investment in the state’s public schools during Monday’s State of the State address.
Local Reporting Network
Health Plans Can’t Dodge Paying for Expensive New Cancer Treatments, Says Michigan’s Top Insurance Regulator
After ProPublica reported on a health insurer that refused to cover the only medicine that could save a cancer patient’s life, Michigan insurance regulators clarified that, by law, many plans must pay for any clinically proven treatments.
Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis
Absenteeism has nearly doubled since the pandemic. With state and federal governments largely abdicating any role in getting kids back into classrooms, some schools have turned to private companies for a reimagined version of the truant officer.
Staff Warned About the Lack of Psychiatric Care at a VA Clinic. They Couldn't Prevent Tragedy.
Two veterans sought psychiatric care at a VA clinic in Chico, California. They were bounced between virtual providers and struggled to get support in the threadbare system. A staffer worried, “We are going to kill someone.” Then tragedy struck.
Utah Bills Itself as “Family-Friendly” Even as Lawmakers Have Long Neglected Child Care
Federal relief had improved access to child care. But when funding expired, the state rejected proposals to replace it. Some advocates say the historical influence of the LDS church has added to the resistance.
Illinois Judge Closes Juvenile Detention Center After “Facility in Crisis” Fails to Meet New State Standards
The Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center abruptly closed on Dec. 31. The judge who ordered the closure said staffing shortages made it difficult to meet state standards for caring for youth in custody.
Local Reporting Network
In the Scar of New Mexico’s Largest Wildfire, a Legal Battle Is Brewing: What Is Victims’ Suffering Worth?
A wildfire accidentally started by the federal government drove them from their homes and destroyed the things they loved most about their land. The government will pay them only for things with a price tag.
Local Reporting Network
Pleasantville, N.Y., Struggles to Handle an Influx of Kids in Crisis
A bucolic town is seeing a showdown between leaders of a century-old children’s residence unequipped to treat acute mental health challenges and locals tired of troubled young people disturbing the peace.
Local Reporting Network
Why is Michigan Failing to Compensate the Wrongly Convicted?
The state can provide $50,000 for each year of incarceration, but the law’s narrow criteria and confusion over eligibility leave former prisoners facing another system that seems stacked against them.
Our Year in Visual Journalism
See the photography, illustration, graphics and filmmaking that brought ProPublica’s journalism to life and helped hold power to account in 2023.
The Most-Read ProPublica Stories of 2023
Our national, regional and Local Reporting Network teams’ coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, sexual assault, house flippers and the health insurance system were among the stories that ProPublica readers spent the most time with in 2023.
Philips Recalled Breathing Machines in 2021. Chemicals of “Concern” Found in Replacement Machines Raised New Alarm.
Amid a massive recall in 2021, the medical device maker Philips raced to overcome troubling questions about its replacement machines as customers waited for help.
When Alabama Police Kill, Surviving Family Can Fight Years to See Bodycam Footage. There’s No Guarantee They Will.
Alabama is among the most restrictive states for disclosing body-camera footage when police kill loved ones. Surviving family members often must go to court to get access to the video, and even if successful, they usually can’t share it publicly.
Reports Analyzing the Police Response to a Mass Shooting Can Leave Unanswered Questions — if They’re Released at All
Even if an after-action investigation is released, a lack of national standards leads to wide variability in the detail of information in reports, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE found.
DTE Energy Facing Oversight of “Hardship-Inducing” Debt Collection Practices
The large utility must turn over details of its sales of customer debt, which previously were kept in the dark, but has fought off a ban on the practice.
Local Reporting Network
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