Elon Musk Hired a Dozen Texas Lobbyists This Year. State Law Keeps the Extent of Their Influence Under Wraps.
Musk, the billionaire businessman behind Tesla and SpaceX, influenced several new Texas laws this year. How his lobbyists came about these wins, however, is more of a mystery.
Inside Elon Musk’s Stellar Year at the Texas Capitol
While Elon Musk took Washington, D.C., by storm, his company representatives and lobbyists were also notching up big political wins in the heart of his vast business empire: Texas.
Trump’s First EPA Promised to Crack Down on Forever Chemicals. His Second EPA Is Pulling Back.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claims to prioritize combatting long-lasting chemicals called PFAS. Despite this, the agency has delayed enforcement of standards and terminated over $15 million in funding for “forever chemicals” research.
A “Striking” Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage
A new ProPublica data analysis adds to the mounting evidence that abortion bans have made the common experience of first-trimester miscarriage far more dangerous.
This Doctor Specializes in Diagnosing Child Abuse. Some of Her Conclusions Have Been Called Into Question.
Dr. Nancy Harper is a leading child abuse pediatrician who testifies in trials across the Midwest. She’s claimed to have never incorrectly diagnosed a shaken baby syndrome case, but some judges and juries seem to disagree.
These 5 Charts Show How Hotels Became New York’s Response to Homelessness
Social services agencies across the state now place nearly half of all individuals and families seeking shelter in hotels, leaving people without resources like food and help finding housing.
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What We’re Watching
During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.
Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.
Sharon Lerner
I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
Andy Kroll
I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.
Melissa Sanchez
I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.
Jesse Coburn
I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.
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Miscarriage Is Increasingly Dangerous for Women in Texas, Our Analysis Shows. Here’s How We Did It.
Using seven years of hospital discharge data, we found that the number of blood transfusions during emergency room visits for first-trimester miscarriage shot up by 54% since Texas banned abortion.
Connecticut’s New Towing Law Will Help Some, but Not All, Drivers. Here’s What They Told Us.
The Connecticut governor signed a sweeping towing reform law that makes it harder to tow vehicles from private property and easier for drivers to retrieve their cars. But some issues weren’t addressed, drivers say.
Local Reporting Network
A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job.
A Minneapolis pediatrician said he felt pressured to “fall in line” with child abuse specialist Dr. Nancy Harper and her team. Then he was given a choice: resign or be fired.
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirements, experts say.
States Fear Critical Funding From FEMA May Be Drying Up
Many states rely on the federal government for the vast majority of their emergency management funding. Now, local leaders are looking for clues about the money — and the future of FEMA itself.
Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”
The senators are calling for a federal watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of VA contracts. Among their concerns: ProPublica revealed DOGE used artificial intelligence to mark contracts as “munchable.”
Congress Is Pushing for a Medicaid Work Requirement. Here’s What Happened When Georgia Tried It.
GOP lawmakers want to nationalize Medicaid work requirements to offset Trump’s proposed tax cuts. Yet Georgia’s example shows that this could threaten health care for nearly 16 million Americans and cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Local Reporting Network
“You’re Already Approved”: How One Tennessee Company Sets a Debt Trap
Borrowers say the lending company Advance Financial encouraged them to borrow back the value of almost all of the payments they made, tearing a hole in the safety net the law tried to create.
Local Reporting Network
A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime
Internal documents and interviews show that an overhaul led by Stephen Miller would scale back prosecutors’ control over investigations.
How Foreign Scammers Use U.S. Banks to Fleece Americans
Asian crime syndicates’ online scams have reached industrial proportions, cheating victims around the world out of more than $44 billion a year. U.S. banks have been unable to stop them.
Her Family Needed Housing. They Spent Months in New York Hotels, Left to Fend for Themselves.
Statewide spending on hotels has more than tripled in recent years. The shift away from shelters has prevented families from accessing services like child care and help finding housing.
Local Reporting Network
Seven Things to Know About ProPublica’s Investigation of the FDA’s Secret Gamble on Generic Drugs
ProPublica spent 14 months investigating the FDA’s oversight of foreign drugmakers that send medications to the U.S. These are the key takeaways.
His Kidney Failed. He’ll Never Know if a Transplant Drug From a Banned Factory Was to Blame.
When Joe DeMayo’s donated kidney started to fail earlier than expected, he didn’t know that the drug he was taking could’ve left him vulnerable — and that one of the most formidable drug regulators in the world may have failed to protect him.
New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports
New legislation will require callers to the state child abuse hotline to identify themselves. ProPublica’s reporting in 2023 found that many anonymous callers made false allegations that led to intrusive investigations of families’ lives.
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