A Closer Look
Examining the News
America Is About to Lose Its 200,000th Life to Coronavirus. How Many More Have to Die?
As another grim milestone approaches, here are the lessons officials ignored and what the country needs to do to prevent further tragedy.
What Can Mayors Do When the Police Stop Doing Their Jobs?
In cities across the country, leaders face a phenomenon encountered in Baltimore and Chicago: officers slowing their work in the wake of high-profile episodes of police violence. Reporter Alec MacGillis asks: Will the result be different this time?
The CARES Act Sent You a $1,200 Check but Gave Millionaires and Billionaires Far More
The stimulus checks were meant to get average Americans through the lockdown, but those $1,200 payouts were small change compared with the billions in tax breaks the CARES Act handed out to the country’s wealthiest.
The Bailout Is Working — for the Rich
The economy is in free fall but Wall Street is thriving, and stocks of big private equity firms are soaring dramatically higher. That tells you who investors think is the real beneficiary of the federal government’s massive rescue efforts.
I’m an Investigative Journalist. These Are the Questions I Asked About the Viral “Plandemic” Video.
ProPublica health care reporter Marshall Allen describes the questions he asks to assess coronavirus misinformation, starting with a viral video that claims the coronavirus is part of a “hidden agenda.”
Coronavirus Entered My Father’s Nursing Home and Nobody Warned Me. I Did Not Get the Chance to Save Him.
Reporter Jan Ransom’s father was the fourth resident of his nursing home to get COVID-19. Nobody told her about the first, so she couldn’t move him before he got sick. “I think that’s very unfair,” her father told her a week before he died.
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.
The Real Story About Trump’s Latest Attack on the Press
On Wednesday, President Trump filed a libel suit against the New York Times that should be readily dismissed. That hasn’t stopped him from threatening to file more lawsuits soon.
Paratransit Services in New York City Are Severely Limited and Unpredictable. They Still Cost $614 Million a Year.
Access-A-Ride, the MTA’s system for riders with disabilities, sometimes drops people off hours early, and sometimes hours late. Rides have to be booked a full day in advance. It’s absurdly impractical for day-to-day life.
Iowa’s Lesson: Political Parties Are Not as Good as Government Officials at Counting Votes
Most primaries are run by state and local governments. But caucuses are different — and Iowa shows how that can be a problem.
Local Accountability Journalism Still Has a Huge Impact
Between the Local Reporting Network and ProPublica Illinois, our work shows that state leaders across the country are listening and things can change.
We’ve Been Tracking Pharma Payments to Doctors For Nearly A Decade. We Just Made A Big Breakthrough.
For years, we’ve wondered whether a doctor who received a payment linked to a particular drug prescribed more of that drug. With our new analysis, we finally have the answer: yes.
Balancing the Public Interest and a Family’s Grief
ProPublica published a video last week showing the final hours of a 16-year-old migrant who died in Border Patrol custody. The family said they should have been given a chance to see the video before it appeared. They have a point.
University of Illinois Told Our Partners They Must Share Sexual Misconduct Tips With Campus Authorities. Here’s How We’re Protecting Our Sources.
To maintain the privacy of our sources, ProPublica will collect tips coming in about sexual misconduct at the University of Illinois and only share them with our partners at NPR Illinois under certain circumstances.
Trump’s Ukraine Plotting Has Been Happening in Plain Sight. So Why Didn’t We See It?
It’s not just that there’s a lot to pay attention to.
Illinois Is Poised to Become the Gambling Capital of the Midwest
And like the state’s last gambling expansion, in 2009, the massive new bill could bring trouble.
You Can’t Tax the Rich Without the IRS
Until the budget-starved agency is restored, corporations and the wealthy will easily fend off attempts to increase the rates they pay.
How the Rich Really Play, “Who Wants To Be An Ivy Leaguer?”
A ProPublica editor who investigated how the rich buy their children’s way into elite colleges reflects on the latest scandal—and remembers when affluent readers mistook his expose for a “how-to” guide.
What We Learned From the First Year of the Local Reporting Network
Reporters across the country are brimming with ideas for great stories to investigate. All they lack is time and support.
What I Learned Covering HUD: Oversight Failures Are Symptoms of Deeper Dysfunction
My goal this year was to explore HUD’s failure to enforce legal standards for decent, safe, sanitary housing. What started as a simple premise brought to light greater challenges: Years of congressional cuts have left the agency in a state of chaos as communities suffer.
