This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them.
The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending business, even as other states did.
What is the Local Reporting Network?
Since its founding in 2018, the Local Reporting Network has grown into one of ProPublica’s marquee undertakings, bringing together local talented journalists and all the resources our newsroom has to offer. The journalism we create has changed laws, held bad actors to account and helped communities. It has strengthened the craft of local investigative journalism and created a network in dialogue with us and with one another.
In 2024, we launched the 50 State Initiative, a commitment to support yearlong projects in every state by 2029. We have also launched our Sustainability Desk, which allows us to work with former partners on shorter-term investigations. Are you a local journalist interested in collaborating? Please read more about all the ways to collaborate with us.
Utah Farmers Signed Up for Federally Funded Therapy. Then the Money Stopped.
Farmers are dying by suicide at the third-highest rate by vocation in Utah. But after a federal program offering mental health support ran out of money, the state did not continue it.
Louisiana Judge Nullifies Death Row Inmate’s Murder Conviction That Was Based on Junk Science
Following a Verite News and ProPublica investigation, a district judge vacated the death sentence of Jimmie Duncan, whose 1998 murder conviction was based on allegedly fabricated bite mark analysis. It remains unclear if Duncan will walk free.
Wisconsin’s Name-Change Law Raises Safety Risks for Transgender People
A 167-year-old statute requires trans people to publish their old and new names in a newspaper. Families and advocates worry the requirement now poses a risk as President Donald Trump has attacked transgender rights.
Partner Newsrooms
These newsrooms and reporters are working with ProPublica on an accountability journalism project.
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Anchorage Daily News
Reporter: Kyle Hopkins
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Arizona Luminaria
Reporter: Rafael Carranza
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Bangor Daily News
Reporter: Sawyer Loftus
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Capitol News Illinois
Reporter: Molly Parker
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The Connecticut Mirror
Reporter: Dave Altimari
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The Current
Reporter: Margaret Coker
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Honolulu Civil Beat
Reporter: Nick Grube
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Idaho Statesman
Reporter: Becca Savransky
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Invisible Institute
Reporter: María Inés Zamudio
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KYUK
Reporter: Emily Schwing
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Michigan Public
Reporter: Beenish Ahmed
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The New York Amsterdam News
Reporter: Ashad Hajela
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New York Focus
Reporter: Spencer Norris
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North Dakota Monitor
Reporter: Jacob Orledge
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Oregon Public Broadcasting
Reporter: Tony Schick
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The Salt Lake Tribune
Reporter: Jessica Schreifels
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The Seattle Times
Reporter: Lulu Ramadan
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Street Roots
Reporter: K. Rambo
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Tennessee Lookout
Reporter: Adam Friedman
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Verite News
Reporter: Richard A. Webster
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Wisconsin Watch
Reporter: Phoebe Petrovic
Featured Series
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Lawless
Sexual Violence in Alaska -
State of Disrepair
Inside Idaho’s Crumbling Schools -
Checked Out
LA’s Lost Residential Hotels
Other Series
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On the Hook
Investigating Towing Practices in Connecticut -
Faith in Power
The Christian Right’s Attempt to Influence Elections -
Guns in Dangerous Hands
How Tennessee’s Justice System Allows Domestic Abusers to Keep Their Firearms -
Power Grab
How Green Energy Hurts Washington’s Tribes -
No Pressure
The Warning Signs of the Jackson Water Crisis -
Power Hungry
Data Centers vs. Green Energy in Washington -
Division of Families
Georgia’s Housing Policies Separate Parents From Children -
Waiting on Paychecks
New York’s Rampant Wage Theft Goes Unpunished -
Mayor, Judge and Jury
Louisiana’s Mayor’s Courts -
Committed to Jail
How Mississippi Jails People for Mental Illness -
No Defense
How Mississippi Fails Poor Defendants -
The Title Pawn Trap
High-Interest Title Lending in Georgia -
The Long Burn
The Slow Recovery From New Mexico’s Largest Wildfire -
Homeowner Hell
Investigating Colorado’s Unregulated Homeowners Associations -
Unequal Discipline
Native Students Face Harsh Discipline in New Mexico -
Nowhere to Go
New Mexico’s Troubled Foster Care System -
Culture of Cruelty
Inside Illinois’ Mental Health System -
Disaster After Disaster
Growing Storms, Faltering Aid -
Broken Promises
Salmon Disappear From the Pacific Northwest -
Unguarded
Investigating Risks to the Incarcerated of Illinois -
Crisis Point
How New York Wrecked Mental Health Care for Kids -
The Price Kids Pay
How Schools and Police Work Together to Punish Students -
Flight Risk
Commercial Aviation Safety in Alaska -
Asset Mismanagement
How the Police Take Money and Keep It -
Juvenile Injustice, Tennessee
Where Kids Meet the Rule of Law -
Schoolyard Sheriffs
Policing Kids in Antelope Valley Schools -
Unwatched
A Louisiana Law Department That Polices Itself -
Black Snow
Big Sugar’s Burning Problem -
Gilded Badges
How New Jersey Cops Profit From Police Unions and Avoid Accountability -
Birth Rights
Investigating Florida’s NICA Program -
Sunken Costs
Coal Ash in Georgia -
State of Denial
Inside Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities -
Promised Land
A Failed Housing Pledge to Native Hawaiians -
Power Play
The Influence of Virginia’s Biggest Utility -
Defenseless
Investigating the Only State Without Public Defenders -
Coming to Collect
Investigating Public Housing in Annapolis -
Paradise Lost
Hawaii’s Disappearing Beaches -
Lessons Lost
How Federal Schools Are Failing Native American Students -
Pollution Profiteers
Inside California’s Toxic Hauling Industry -
The Cutting
Investigating Industrial Logging in Oregon -
Critical Condition
Investigating the Business of Oklahoma’s Rural Hospitals -
At a Great Price
The True Cost of the Sears Headquarters Deal -
Desperation Town
How Youngstown Gave Itself Away for the Promise of Jobs -
Polluter’s Paradise
Environmental Impact in Louisiana -
Campus Complicity
Faculty Sexual Misconduct in Illinois -
The Untouchables
Investigating South Carolina’s Judges -
Miswired
How Kentucky Missed the Tech Revolution -
A 911 Emergency
Rhode Island’s Deadly 911 Flaws -
Invisible Walls
Connecticut’s Separate and Unequal Housing -
The Real Bosses of New Jersey
How Unelected Officials Run Your Government -
Locked Down
An Investigation of Mississippi’s Prisons -
Overcorrection
Crisis in California Jails -
Accused in Elkhart
Justice in an Indiana County -
Louisiana’s Ethical Swamp
Lawmakers’ Conflicts of Interest -
A Sick System
Repeat Attacks After Pleading Insanity -
The New Power Brokers
West Virginia’s Natural Gas Industry -
Half-life
Nuke Lab Workers Getting Sick -
HUD’s House of Cards
Public Housing Failures -
Trauma After Tragedy
PTSD in First Responders
