More Impact
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Regulators Overhaul Inspections of Hospice Providers
A report last year from ProPublica and The New Yorker revealed a $22 billion hospice industry rife with fraud and exploitation. CMS announced reforms that go into effect immediately.
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Senators Demand Answers About “Alarming” Reports of Excessive and Risky Artery Procedures on Veterans
Hours after ProPublica and The Wichita Eagle published allegations of kickbacks for the “egregious” use of medical devices at a veterans hospital, Kansas’ Republican senators have questions for the VA secretary.
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Louisiana to Drop Lawsuits Against Katrina Survivors Over Recovery Grants
Louisiana sued thousands of homeowners for not following the rules in how they spent recovery grants. After a joint news investigation, the governor announced Thursday that the state won’t try to collect the money.
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How the Wealthy Save Billions in Taxes by Skirting a Century-Old Law
Congress outlawed tax deductions on “wash sales” in 1921, but Goldman Sachs and others have helped billionaires like Steve Ballmer see huge tax savings by selling stocks for a loss and then replacing them with nearly identical investments.
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Hoping to Prevent Repeat of Botched Response to Uvalde, Lawmaker Calls for Improved Training for Police, EMTs
The proposed legislation comes after an investigation by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and The Washington Post revealed that communication lapses among medical crews further delayed treatment for victims at Robb Elementary.
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Federal Agency Rejects Developer’s Report That Massive Grain Elevator Won’t Harm Black Heritage Sites
For the second time, the Army Corps of Engineers has reprimanded a Louisiana developer for its failure to offer an adequate assessment of the impact that its $400 million project would have on neighboring Black communities and historic sites.
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Lawmakers Pledge to Fight for Comprehensive Action on Stillbirths
A ProPublica investigation found the U.S. lagging other developed nations in reducing the number of stillbirths. Lawmakers say increased funding will be key to any improvement.
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New Pentagon Rules Keep Many Military Court Records Secret
Despite a 2016 law requiring transparency, the Defense Department is limiting public access to court records in the military justice system. A recent ProPublica lawsuit appears to have spurred the new Pentagon guidance.
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Judge Orders Washington State Private Special Education School to Turn Over Records
A recent Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation of the Northwest School of Innovative Learning found complaints of abuse and minimal instruction. The school argued it wasn’t subject to public records laws. A King County judge disagrees.
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Jordan, Latvia and Israel Shake Up Diplomatic Corps After “Shadow Diplomats” Investigation
After receiving questions from journalists, governments announced the termination and reviews of honorary consuls tied to controversies or accused of wrongdoing.
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Washington State Launches Investigation of Private Special Education Schools
The inquiry and a sweeping reform bill follow a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation that found allegations of abuse, overuse of isolation rooms and pressure to skimp on staffing and resources at the Northwest School of Innovative Learning.
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Pressure Mounts for Hospice Reform
As part of a growing national dialogue around hospice abuse, trade groups and government watchdog agencies are pushing regulators to make changes.
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Watchdog Seeks Harsher Penalties in Wake of Abuse at Illinois Mental Health Center
The official cited investigations into a center for people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities, where workers lied or conspired to thwart patient abuse inquiries.
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Maryland AG Seeks to Preserve Massive Set of Sexual Assault Evidence
Samples saved by a Baltimore doctor have been used to solve more than 80 cold cases, but evidence from 1,800 cases remains untested. The state's new attorney general and some lawmakers are acting to protect this evidence trove from destruction.
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These Documents Reveal Abuses and Breakdowns in Rogue System of Global Diplomacy
Nine documents show how journalists built the first comprehensive account of wrongdoing by volunteer diplomats known as honorary consuls.
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Arizona’s Governor-Elect Chooses Critic of Racial Disparities in Child Welfare to Lead CPS Agency
Matthew Stewart will become the first Black leader of the Department of Child Safety, which ProPublica and NBC News found had investigated the families of 1 in 3 Black children in metro Phoenix during a recent five-year period.
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Porn, Piracy, Fraud: What Lurks Inside Google’s Black Box Ad Empire
Google’s ad business hides nearly all publishers it works with and where billions of ad dollars flow. We uncovered a network containing manga piracy, porn, fraud and disinformation.
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A Texas Superintendent Ordered School Librarians to Remove LGBTQ Books. Now the Federal Government Is Investigating.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened what appears to be the first-of-its-kind investigation into the Granbury Independent School District after it banned school library books dealing with sexuality and gender.
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Congress and Industry Leaders Call for Crackdown on Hospice Fraud
Following a ProPublica-New Yorker investigation into the hospice industry, members of the Comprehensive Care Caucus and national trade groups are demanding reform.
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Congress Passes Bill to Rein in Conflicts of Interest for Consultants Such as McKinsey
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the legislation, whose Senate sponsors cited ProPublica’s reporting on McKinsey’s conflicts in working for both the FDA and opioid makers like Purdue Pharma.


