RECENT ARTICLES
Their Family Bought Land One Generation After Slavery. The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It.
In the Spring of 2011, the brothers Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels were the talk of Carteret County, on the central coast of North Carolina. Some people said that the brothers were righteous; others thought that they had lost their minds. That March, Melvin and Licurtis stood in court and refused to leave the land that they had lived on all their lives, a portion of which had, without their knowledge or consent, been sold to developers years before. The brothers were among dozens of Reels family members who considered the land theirs, but Melvin and Licurtis had a particular stake in it....…In the Spring of 2011, the brothers Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels were the talk of Carteret County, on the central coast of North Carolina. Some people said that the brothers were righteous; others thought that they had lost their minds. That March, Melvin and Licurtis stood in court and refused to leave the land that they had lived on all their lives, a portion of which had, without their knowledge or consent, been sold to developers years before. The brothers were among dozens of Reels family members who considered the land theirs, but Melvin and Licurtis had a particular stake in it....WW…
The Extraordinary Danger of Being Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas
Tiffany Revilla holds her newborn daughter, Cheyenne, as her fiance, David, cares for their 1-year-old, Adillie, in Fort Worth, Texas. Because of insurance-related delays, Revilla didn’t begin prenatal care until more than halfway through her most recent pregnancy.ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story was co-published with Vox and the Texas Tribune.Rosa Diaz was no stranger to hunger and stress and a throbbing pain in the gut that was usually nothing serious — gastritis, she had been told, or lactose...…Tiffany Revilla holds her newborn daughter, Cheyenne, as her fiance, David, cares for their 1-year-old, Adillie, in Fort Worth, Texas. Because of insurance-related delays, Revilla didn’t begin prenatal care until more than halfway through her most recent pregnancy.ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story was co-published with Vox and the Texas Tribune.Rosa Diaz was no stranger to hunger and stress and a throbbing pain in the gut that was usually nothing serious — gastritis, she had been told, or lactose...WW…
Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story was co-reported with the German public broadcaster .Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise.The records cover more than 5 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world. In some cases, a snoop could use free software programs — or just a typical web browser — to view the images and private...…ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This story was co-reported with the German public broadcaster .Medical images and health data belonging to millions of Americans, including X-rays, MRIs and CT scans, are sitting unprotected on the internet and available to anyone with basic computer expertise.The records cover more than 5 million patients in the U.S. and millions more around the world. In some cases, a snoop could use free software programs — or just a typical web browser — to view the images and private...WW…
Immigrant Youth Shelters: “If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine”
Trump’s Immigration Policy at the BorderJust five days after he reached the United States, the 15-year-old Honduran boy awoke in his Tucson, Arizona, immigrant shelter one morning in 2015 to find a youth care worker in his room, tickling his chest and stomach.When he asked the man, who was 46, what he was doing, the man left. But he returned two more times, rubbing the teen’s penis through his clothing and then trying to reach under his boxers. “I know what you want, I can give you anything you need,” said the worker, who was later convicted of molestation.In 2017, a 17-year-old from...…Trump’s Immigration Policy at the BorderJust five days after he reached the United States, the 15-year-old Honduran boy awoke in his Tucson, Arizona, immigrant shelter one morning in 2015 to find a youth care worker in his room, tickling his chest and stomach.When he asked the man, who was 46, what he was doing, the man left. But he returned two more times, rubbing the teen’s penis through his clothing and then trying to reach under his boxers. “I know what you want, I can give you anything you need,” said the worker, who was later convicted of molestation.In 2017, a 17-year-old from...WW…
The Nonprofit Hospital That Makes Millions, Owns a Collection Agency and Relentlessly Sues the Poor
Inside Memphis’ Debt MachineProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article was produced in partnership with MLK50, which is a member of the .MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In July 2007, Carrie Barrett went to the emergency room at Methodist University Hospital, complaining of shortness of breath and tightness in her chest. Her leg was swollen, she’d later recall, and her toes were turning black.Given her family history, high blood pressure and newly diagnosed congestive heart failure, doctors performed a heart...…Inside Memphis’ Debt MachineProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article was produced in partnership with MLK50, which is a member of the .MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In July 2007, Carrie Barrett went to the emergency room at Methodist University Hospital, complaining of shortness of breath and tightness in her chest. Her leg was swollen, she’d later recall, and her toes were turning black.Given her family history, high blood pressure and newly diagnosed congestive heart failure, doctors performed a heart...WW…
New Documents Raise Ethical and Billing Concerns About the NRA’s Outside Counsel
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article is published in partnership with and . Get the best of The New Yorker, in your inbox. .In 2018, accountants for the National Rifle Association began cataloging for its board of directors questionable financial arrangements that had led to millions of dollars in payments to a group of top executives and consultants. The NRA was experiencing cash flow problems, and the accountants were trying to address what they believed to be serious financial mismanagement.For...…ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.This article is published in partnership with and . Get the best of The New Yorker, in your inbox. .In 2018, accountants for the National Rifle Association began cataloging for its board of directors questionable financial arrangements that had led to millions of dollars in payments to a group of top executives and consultants. The NRA was experiencing cash flow problems, and the accountants were trying to address what they believed to be serious financial mismanagement.For...WW…
Here’s How TurboTax Just Tricked You Into Paying to File Your Taxes
How the Tax Prep Industry Makes You PayProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that reports on abuses of power. to receive our best stories as soon as they’re published.Did you know that if you make less than $66,000 a year, you can prepare and ?No? That’s no accident. Companies that make tax preparation software, like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, would rather you didn’t know.Intuit and other tax software companies have to make sure that the IRS doesn’t offer its own tax preparation and filing service. In exchange, the companies have entered into an agreement with the IRS to offer a to most...…How the Tax Prep Industry Makes You PayProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that reports on abuses of power. to receive our best stories as soon as they’re published.Did you know that if you make less than $66,000 a year, you can prepare and ?No? That’s no accident. Companies that make tax preparation software, like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, would rather you didn’t know.Intuit and other tax software companies have to make sure that the IRS doesn’t offer its own tax preparation and filing service. In exchange, the companies have entered into an agreement with the IRS to offer a to most...WW…
A Border Patrol Agent Reveals What It’s Really Like to Guard Migrant Children
Trump’s Immigration Policy at the BorderProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.The Border Patrol agent, a veteran with 13 years on the job, had been assigned to the agency’s detention center in McAllen, Texas, for close to a month when the team of court-appointed lawyers and doctors showed up one day at the end of June.Taking in the squalor, the stench of unwashed bodies, and the poor health and vacant eyes of the hundreds of children held there, the group members appeared stunned.Then, their outrage rolled...…Trump’s Immigration Policy at the BorderProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.The Border Patrol agent, a veteran with 13 years on the job, had been assigned to the agency’s detention center in McAllen, Texas, for close to a month when the team of court-appointed lawyers and doctors showed up one day at the end of June.Taking in the squalor, the stench of unwashed bodies, and the poor health and vacant eyes of the hundreds of children held there, the group members appeared stunned.Then, their outrage rolled...WW…
Women Who Worked with Billionaire Philanthropist Michael Steinhardt Say He Asked for Sex
This story was co-published with The New York Times.ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.Sheila Katz was a young executive at Hillel International, the Jewish college outreach organization, when she was sent to visit the philanthropist Michael H. Steinhardt, a New York billionaire. He had once been a major donor, and her goal was to persuade him to increase his support. But in their first encounter, he asked her repeatedly if she wanted to have sex with him, she said.Deborah Mohile Goldberg worked...…This story was co-published with The New York Times.ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York. to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.Sheila Katz was a young executive at Hillel International, the Jewish college outreach organization, when she was sent to visit the philanthropist Michael H. Steinhardt, a New York billionaire. He had once been a major donor, and her goal was to persuade him to increase his support. But in their first encounter, he asked her repeatedly if she wanted to have sex with him, she said.Deborah Mohile Goldberg worked...WW…
Parents Gave Up Custody of Their Children to Help Them Get Financial Aid. Now, Some Are Abandoning That Idea.
Giving Up Guardianship to Get AidProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Amid state and federal scrutiny as well as a public backlash, more than a half-dozen suburban Chicago families who had recently gone to court to give up guardianship of their college-bound teens to qualify for financial aid they wouldn’t otherwise receive are now quietly letting their cases lapse.Though some families remain unapologetic about their use of a practice that had gone largely unnoticed until three weeks ago, they say the real...…Giving Up Guardianship to Get AidProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive as soon as they’re published.Amid state and federal scrutiny as well as a public backlash, more than a half-dozen suburban Chicago families who had recently gone to court to give up guardianship of their college-bound teens to qualify for financial aid they wouldn’t otherwise receive are now quietly letting their cases lapse.Though some families remain unapologetic about their use of a practice that had gone largely unnoticed until three weeks ago, they say the real...WW…