April 2020 Archive
Pharmacy Workers Are Coming Down With COVID-19. But They Can’t Afford to Stop Working.
As prescriptions surge, Walgreens and CVS employees say they need more protective gear, cleaning supplies and sick pay. “Someone will come into work sick and there’s nothing anyone can do about it,” a pharmacist says.
We Still Don’t Know How Many People Are in the Hospital With COVID-19
Many states report coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations differently, and the federal government is way behind on data tracking. Without consistent information, the U.S. won’t be able to properly respond as new coronavirus hot spots emerge.
Inside the Union Where Coronavirus Put 98% of Members Out of Work
Unite Here was a rare union success story. But then the coronavirus decimated the restaurant, food service and hotel industries, where most of its 307,000 members work. “We’re fighting for our survival,” its president told ProPublica.
A Company Promised Cheap Ventilators to the Government, Never Delivered and Is Now Charging Quadruple the Price for New Ones
Royal Philips N.V. agreed in September to sell 10,000 ventilators to the U.S. for $3,280 each. It did not deliver. But the Dutch company just announced a new deal with the government. This time, it’s charging roughly $15,000 each.
Democratic Senators Demand Answers on Trump’s Secretive Border Expulsions
After ProPublica’s report, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee ask the Department of Homeland Security to explain why it thinks emergency powers granted to the CDC allow it to bypass existing asylum laws.
Yes, Trump Hotels Do Appear to Qualify for Coronavirus Bailout Benefits.
President Donald Trump’s hotels in D.C., New York and Chicago all seem to qualify for benefits from the coronavirus bailout. So does his winery lodge in Virginia.
A School on Navajo Nation Stayed Open. Then People Started Showing Symptoms.
The federal government has released little information about the spread of coronavirus in Navajo schools. Now, some students and school staff are sick with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
What ProPublica Is Doing About Diversity in 2020
Here is our annual report on the breakdown of our staff and how we’re working to create a more diverse news organization and inclusive journalism community.
How the Coronavirus Bailout Repeats 2008’s Mistakes: Huge Corporate Payoffs With Little Accountability
As the government rushes to aid the economy, how that’s done, who benefits and who is left behind matter. So far, the signs are ominous.
A Nurse Bought Protective Supplies for Her Colleagues Using GoFundMe. The Hospital Suspended Her.
She raised more than $12,000 to buy and distribute protective gear for her colleagues, who say they felt inadequately protected against COVID-19. How a confrontation in one of the nation’s Coronavirus hotspots illustrates a troubling national trend.
Senate Intel Chair Sold Dutch Fertilizer Stock in 2018, Right Before a Collapse
The newly identified trades come as Sen. Richard Burr is under federal investigation for selling stocks ahead of the coronavirus stock market crash.
The Hate Store: Amazon’s Self-Publishing Arm Is a Haven for White Supremacists
The company gives extremists and neo-Nazis banned from other platforms unprecedented access to a mainstream audience — and even promotes their books.
Lawmakers Vow to Push for a Statewide Ban on Face-Down Restraint of Children in Illinois Schools, Despite Reversal
After a group of schools pressured the Illinois State Board of Education to reverse its ban on a dangerous form of physical restraint of students, lawmakers say they’ll seek to permanently ban the practice.
ER Staffing Company Reverses Benefits Cuts for Doctors and Nurses Fighting Coronavirus
Alteon Health rolled back cuts to vacation and retirement benefits for emergency room doctors and medical professionals after ProPublica’s reporting. Hours are still being reshuffled as non-coronavirus patients avoid the ER.
How New York City’s Emergency Ventilator Stockpile Ended Up on the Auction Block
A 2006 pandemic plan warned that New York City could be short as many as 9,500 ventilators. But the city only acquired a few hundred, which were ultimately scrapped because it couldn’t afford to maintain them.
Cancer Surgeries and Organ Transplants Are Being Put Off for Coronavirus. Can They Wait?
In a given month, more than a million people have some kind of surgery. The elective procedures being postponed because of coronavirus aren’t all optional. Cancer patients and organ recipients are being forced to wait.
Illinois Quietly Reversed Its Ban on a Dangerous Physical Restraint for Students
After a ProPublica Illinois and Chicago Tribune investigation sparked a statewide ban on some forms of seclusion and restraint of students, a small group of schools lobbied against the measure. And it worked.
Who Has Emergency Authority Over Elections? Nobody’s Quite Sure.
The tug of war over whether and how to hold Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary exposes a national problem: State and local officials with the most experience running elections lack the power to revamp or postpone voting during a crisis.
“Dead on Arrival”: A N.Y. Fire Chief’s COVID Journal
As New York firefighters respond to coronavirus emergency calls, an FDNY battalion chief and 9/11 survivor confronts the city’s latest mass tragedy.
