More Impact
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Fintechs Made “Massive Profits” on PPP Loans and Sometimes Engaged in Fraud, House Committee Report Finds
An investigation that began after reporting by ProPublica finds lax anti-fraud standards, executives who cashed in for themselves and contempt for small loan applications that would generate minimal fees. “Delete them,” one executive wrote.
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City Receives Half a Million Dollars for Air Monitoring After Report Reveals Elevated Cancer Risk
After years of resident complaints of toxic fumes and health issues, the EPA has funded Mississippi to conduct air monitoring in Pascagoula. This comes a year after a first-of-its-kind analysis by ProPublica into “sacrifice zones” across the country.
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Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into Real Estate Tech Company Accused of Collusion with Landlords
The DOJ will examine whether RealPage helped landlords coordinate rent increases. Questions also swirl around a 2017 merger deal with its largest competitor.
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Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk
The judge has signed a number of no-knock search warrants that have been challenged in court, but they weren’t on file at the clerk’s office.
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More Senate Democrats Seek Investigation of Tech Firm Accused of Colluding With Landlords to Hike Apartment Rents
Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other leading Democrats have asked the Department of Justice to examine Texas-based RealPage, which sells software to help landlords set apartment rental prices across the country.
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A Florida Fund for Injured Kids Raided Medicaid. Now It’s Repaying $51 Million.
“The Medicaid program provides a safety net for our most vulnerable populations that do not have access to traditional healthcare coverage,” U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez said. “The misuse of Medicaid funds will not be tolerated.”
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Pressure Grows on Real Estate Tech Company Accused of Colluding With Landlords to Jack Up Apartment Rents
RealPage has come under increasing fire from lawmakers and lawyers after ProPublica reported on its software’s potentially anti-competitive effects. Student housing is implicated.
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Ohio Lawmakers Seek Strict Rules for “Clean Energy” Lending
A statewide clean-energy lending program in Ohio stalled last year before making any loans. Lawmakers want to add consumer protections in case the program resurfaces.
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Senator Seeks Antitrust Review of Apartment Price-Setting Software
The chair of a Senate committee wants the Federal Trade Commission to examine software sold by Texas-based RealPage after a ProPublica investigation revealed possible collusion.
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Colorado Suspends One Family Court Custody Expert, Reviews All Custody Evaluators Following ProPublica Investigation
A state-approved list of custody evaluators included some who had been accused of domestic violence and disciplined by the State Board of Psychologist Examiners.
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How Google’s Ad Business Funds Disinformation Around the World
The largest-ever analysis of Google’s ad practices on non-English-language websites reveals how the tech giant makes disinformation profitable.
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Nevada Governor Candidates Are Debating a ProPublica Investigation — but Not Always Accurately
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak is fending off attacks from his Republican rival over his administration’s fast-tracking the license for a COVID-testing company with ties to a political donor.
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Lawmakers and Public Health Advocates Call for Congress to Finally Ban Asbestos
A law blocking the use of asbestos, a potent carcinogen, would be harder to overturn than a similar ban being considered by the EPA, advocates say.
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EPA Calls Out Environmental Racism in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley
In a “remarkable” letter, the EPA accused Louisiana regulators of neglecting Black residents’ concerns about toxic air pollution and urged the state to move kids out of a school where monitors found extreme levels of a cancer-causing chemical.
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USDA Plans Major Reforms to Curb Salmonella in Poultry
An earlier ProPublica investigation showed that weak food safety protections have done little to stop Americans from getting sick from salmonella poisoning.
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Justice Department Digs Into “Competition Concerns” in New England Fishing Industry
Responding to a ProPublica-New Bedford Light investigation, federal attorneys have interviewed fishermen’s groups about the growing power that private equity firms and foreign investors wield over the market.
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Authorities Raid Alleged Cyberscam Compounds in Cambodia
Human traffickers who have forced workers to engage in investment scams that defrauded victims out of millions have been disrupted, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, Apple's app store has removed an app that frequently facilitated the frauds.
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Judge Finds Sailor Not Guilty in Fire That Destroyed $1.2 Billion Navy Ship
Even though a separate Navy review found that 34 people, including five admirals, contributed to or directly led to the loss of the USS Bonhomme Richard, Ryan Mays is the only person to have faced a court-martial.
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New Air Monitors Among Major Impacts of ProPublica Toxic Air Pollution Reporting
The EPA will start monitoring the air in Verona, Missouri, where a manufacturing plant named BCP Ingredients emits ethylene oxide, a potent carcinogen.
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Kushner Company Agrees to Pay at Least $3.25 Million to Settle Claims of Shoddy Apartments and Rent Abuses
A Kushner subsidiary is settling a lawsuit that the state of Maryland filed after ProPublica reported widespread problems in thousands of the company’s Baltimore-area apartments.
