California Isn’t Enforcing Its Strongest-in-the-Nation Oil Well Cleanup Law on Its Largest Oil Company
State regulators could have asked oil companies California Resources Corp. and Aera Energy for an estimated $2.4 billion to guarantee wells are plugged but decided they didn’t have the authority to do so.
People Are Still Being Swallowed by Storm Drains. One U.S. Agency Is Pushing for Safety Measures.
A new federal rule requires that local officials in flood-prone areas consider safety features for drain openings. In 2021, ProPublica reported that uncovered storm drains were responsible for at least three dozen deaths over six years.
The Biden Administration Says Its Trade Policy Puts People Over Corporations. Documents on Baby Formula Show Otherwise.
U.S. officials have challenged baby formula regulations in more than half a dozen countries, sometimes after manufacturers complained. Critics say the efforts are undermining public health.
Maryland Is on Track to Process a Nearly 50-Year-Old Backlog of Rape Kits
A new law extends the state’s sexual assault evidence protections to cover DNA samples. But getting justice in hundreds of cold cases will require more than just testing, survivors say.
Inside the Tax Records of the .001%
A massive trove of tax information obtained by ProPublica, covering thousands of America’s wealthiest individuals, reveals what’s inside the billionaires’ bag of tricks for minimizing their personal tax bills — sometimes to nothing.
Featured Reporting
IRS Audit of Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million
The tax agency concluded in its long-running investigation that Trump effectively claimed the same massive write-off twice on his failed Chicago tower.
Narcotraficantes mexicanos dijeron que apoyaron la primera campaña del ahora presidente de México. Agentes estadounidenses ya habían dejado de investigar.
Documentos y entrevistas revelan que narcotraficantes mexicanos extraditados a EEUU siguieron informando que dinero de la droga fue enviado a la campaña de 2006 del Presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador, pero no se investigaron esas acusaciones.
La historia oculta de la arriesgada investigación estadounidense de las acusaciones de que narcotraficantes financiaron una campaña del presidente mexicano López Obrador
Documentos obtenidos por ProPublica muestran como la DEA se arriesgó a crear un furor político al investigar la campaña de López Obrador. Antes de ser clausurada, la investigación del 2010 no encontró pruebas de que él estuviera involucrado en las donaciones del cártel.
Drug Traffickers Said They Backed an Early Campaign of Mexico’s President. But U.S. Agents Were Done Investigating.
Documents and interviews show that Mexican traffickers extradited to the U.S. continued to tell of drug money sent to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2006 campaign, but those allegations were not pursued.
Inside the Risky U.S. Probe of Allegations That Drug Mafias Financed a Campaign of Mexico’s President López Obrador
Documents obtained by ProPublica show how the DEA risked a political furor to try to penetrate López Obrador’s campaign. The 2010 probe found no proof of his involvement in cartel donations before it was shut down.
Jiaai Zeng Died Weeks After Starting Work at an Oklahoma Marijuana Farm. His Family Wants Answers.
Thousands of Chinese immigrant laborers suffer abuse and exploitation in a U.S. marijuana underworld dominated by Chinese mafias. A human rights advocate says: “They have not escaped the darkness of China.”
Trump Media Made a Deal That Could Secure a Major Financial Windfall for the GOP Candidate
The company behind Trump’s Truth Social platform has the option to sell up to $2.5 billion worth of shares, easing the way for the former president to convert his paper stake into something more tangible.
In Private Speech, J.D. Vance Said the “Devil Is Real” and Praised Alex Jones as a Truth-Teller
Vance gave the speech to the secretive Teneo Network. The GOP vice presidential nominee has been a member of the Leonard Leo-backed group, which seeks to cultivate conservative influence in business and culture.
School Vouchers Were Supposed to Save Taxpayer Money. Instead They Blew a Massive Hole in Arizona’s Budget.
Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects.
Even When Big Cases Intersect With Their Families’ Interests, Many Judges Choose Not to Recuse
Ambiguous — and unenforced — recusal standards mean few checks and balances for top judges when cases involve their family members.
In New York, Wage Theft Violators Get Millions in Government Contracts
ProPublica and Documented identified 25 employers that, despite histories of wage theft, have received contracts worth more than a collective $500 million from city and state agencies since 2018.
Local Reporting Network
Inside Ziklag, the Secret Organization of Wealthy Christians Trying to Sway the Election and Change the Country
The little-known charity is backed by famous conservative donors, including the families behind Hobby Lobby and Uline. It’s spending millions to make a big political push for this election — but it may be violating the law.
Two Reporters Covering Education in the Midwest Followed the Money … to a School in New York
Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen are based in Chicago and cover the Midwest. But when they looked into where vulnerable Illinois students wound up, they found themselves at an unregulated, for-profit school in New York.
Nike Pledged to Shrink Its Carbon Footprint. It Just Slashed the Staff Charged With Making That Happen.
Since December, Nike has lost about 30% of employees who worked primarily on sustainability initiatives, due to layoffs, voluntary departures or transfers to other duties. Already, the company was missing its targets for reducing emissions.
He Was Convicted of Killing His Baby. The DA’s Office Says He’s Innocent, but That Might Not Be Enough.
When new scientific evidence casts doubt on convictions, the justice system has no easy path to freedom — even when it’s the prosecutors doing the asking.
Follow ProPublica
Keep Them Honest Support journalism that speaks truth to power.
Donate Now
Awards
ProPublica has been a recipient of the Pulitzer Prizes for public service, explanatory reporting, national reporting, investigative reporting and feature writing. See the full list of our awards.
Complaints & Corrections
To contact us with concerns and corrections, email us. All emails may be published unless you tell us otherwise. Read our corrections.
