NEW: The EPA hasn’t reevaluated its cleanup guidelines for homes in a residential Superfund site in Omaha, Nebraska, in 17 years, despite research showing that even small amounts of lead can cause IQ loss in children and heart attacks in adults.
https://www.propublica.org/article/lead-remediation-epa-standards-omaha-nebraska?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #EPA #Environment #Government #Omaha #Children #Health #Family
At ProPublica, we file a lot of public records requests.
But since the start of the second Trump administration, writes news apps developer Al Shaw, getting public records has become a “Kafkaesque” process of bounced emails and broken portals.
https://www.propublica.org/article/foia-requests-responses?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Accountability #Journalism #Media #Records #Data #Government #Trump
NEW: General Dynamics opened a Texas factory to churn out artillery shells for Ukraine, but the machines kept breaking.
Robot arms smashed into things. Hunks of metal crashed to the floor. There was even a real-life dumpster fire.
https://www.propublica.org/article/general-dynamics-artillery-factory-failed?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Defense #Military #Ukraine #Government #Technology #Tech
NEW: A Puerto Rico Government Agency Exposed 1 Million Social Security Numbers
A cybersecurity loophole in an official government mapping service left private data easily accessible, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo and ProPublica learned.
https://www.propublica.org/article/puerto-rico-crim-data-breach?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #PuertoRico #Government #Cybersecurity #Data #Privacy #SocialSecurity #Tech #Technology
The federal government is charging a skyrocketing number of migrants with trespassing in military zones.
But the boundaries can be hard to pinpoint — even for investigative reporters.
https://www.propublica.org/article/military-zones-border-migrants-charges?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Immigration #Military #Defense #Border #Law #Government #Journalism
Remember the cyberattacks on the U.S. government in the early 2020s? The Biden admin asked tech companies to help and got some “free” upgrades.
The Trump admin is doing similarly with AI. But our reporting shows there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
https://www.propublica.org/article/federal-government-ai-cautionary-tales?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Cybersecurity #Government #Trump #Microsoft #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech #Technology
Aaron Szabo, the Trump EPA official leading an effort to loosen rules on methane pollution, was an unnamed author of key oil industry arguments against those same rules just four years ago when he was an oil and gas lobbyist, metadata shows.
#News #EPA #Environment #Oil #Gas #Energy #Government #Methane
NEW: Two government watchdog groups have demanded an investigation into whether FCC officials violated ethics requirements by accepting luxury gala tickets from Paramount as it sought federal approval for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fcc-paramount-gifts-brendan-carr-ethics-complaint-warner-bros-merger?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FCC #Government #Ethics #USPolitics #Paramount #CBS #Entertainment #Business
NEW: Trump’s DOJ Plans to Settle Predatory Lending Case Without Compensating Victims
The Biden administration sued a Texas land developer accused of duping tens of thousands of Hispanic residents.
Trump’s DOJ is now offering an unprecedented settlement that experts say could target the very people who were harmed by the developer.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-colony-ridge-texas-settlement-victims
NEW: For-Profit Hospital Chain Never Put Aside Money for Malpractice Insurance to Compensate Injured Patients
Eager to save money, Prospect Medical promised to “self-insure” malpractice claims brought against its doctors and hospitals. The chain’s bankruptcy now threatens to leave hundreds of patients whose claims are pending with no recourse.
#news #health #healthcare #hospitals #doctors #insurance #government #business
NEW: A Judge Worried a Proposed Settlement Doesn’t Do Enough to Help Victims. The DOJ Is Still Moving Forward.
The proposed $68 million settlement involves a Texas land developer that the DOJ had previously accused of preying on Hispanic residents.
It includes no money for victims but more than $20 million for police and immigration enforcement.
https://www.propublica.org/article/colony-ridge-settlement-court-hearing-doj
Take that, you "Bridge to nowhere". 🌉 🛣️
https://us.cnn.com/2026/04/11/europe/hungary-election-orban-corruption-roundabout-intl
#publicWorks #waste #government #Hungary #roundabout #California #bridge
The $1 Trillion Black Box
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The U.S. military budget is vast and opaque. Projects touted as engineering marvels end up facing years of delays and ballooning costs. ProPublica has launched a series to report on the Pentagon’s spending.
https://www.propublica.org/article/military-defense-spending-budget-series?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Military #Defense #Pentagon #Army #Navy #Government #USPolitics
NEW: Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections
When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held.
But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would largely be missing.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-midterm-elections-takeover
NEW: Colorado Marijuana Regulators Pledge Crackdown on Intoxicating Hemp
Citing potential tax avoidance and “serious risks to public safety,” the Marijuana Enforcement Division warned companies about selling illegal chemically converted hemp as marijuana.
https://www.propublica.org/article/colorado-marijuana-regulators-crackdown-intoxicating-hemp
Do You Administer SNAP or Medicaid Benefits? Help ProPublica Report on America’s Safety Net.
We want to hear from the officials and workers who help people navigate SNAP and Medicaid, because no one knows these programs better.
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/snap-medicaid-share-experience-with-propublica
Have you ever noticed your monthly SNAP benefits are low?
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are the victims of EBT theft. If you think your SNAP benefits may have been stolen, we want to hear your story.
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/ebt-snap-theft-share-with-propublica
NEW: 3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI: What Really Happened in This Small Town?
Two men promised a $1.1 million 3D printer could fix Cairo, Illinois’ housing crisis.
More than a year later, the one duplex it printed still isn’t finished. And the more we asked questions, the weirder things got.
https://www.propublica.org/article/3d-printed-affordable-housing-cairo-illinois-prestige
A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls.
A new investigation from ProPublica and FRONTLINE examines federal agents’ response to protesters and bystanders at the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps.
“We see, just, use of excessive force after use of excess force,” one expert said.
https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-trump-immigration-ice-cbp-excessive-force
NEW: Oregon Leaders Are Trying to Save the Deschutes River. Here’s Why That’s So Hard.
By law, one irrigation district has rights to most of the water from the Deschutes, forcing farmers to fallow their land in times of scarcity. Oregon has pushed three main solutions to deliver water more efficiently and sustainably.
https://www.propublica.org/article/deschutes-river-oregon-solutions?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Oregon #River #Water #Farming #Agriculture #Law #Government
NEW: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled
ProPublica and FRONTLINE found more than 300 protesters and bystanders who were arrested on charges like assaulting an immigration agent or interfering with law enforcement.
Over and over, the accusations fell apart under scrutiny.
https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-ice-cbp-doj-trump-arrests-convictions
#news #trump #ice #cbp #LosAngeles #Minneapolis #doj #government
Switzerland plans a gradual shift from Microsoft products to reduce dependency, citing digital sovereignty and long-term control over public IT systems 🇨🇭
Open-source alternatives are under review amid cost, lock-in, and US Cloud Act data access risks tied to foreign providers 🔍
🔗 https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-authorities-want-to-reduce-dependency-on-microsoft/
#TechNews #Swiss #Switzerland #Microsoft #OpenSource #FOSS #DigitalSovereignty #Sovereignty #Privacy #Cybersecurity #Regulation #Infosec #Tech #Government #IT #Office #LibreOffice #Linux #US
A limited-government advocate in Texas persuaded five small towns to incorporate as “liberty cities,” which feature lean governments, little to no taxation and scant regulation.
At least two of them struggle to provide basic services.
https://www.propublica.org/article/art-martinez-de-vara-dallas-hero-lawsuit?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Vera Rubin Was a Pioneering Female Astronomer. Her Federal Bio Now Doesn’t Mention Efforts to Diversify Science.
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The edits to the webpage offer a glimpse into how far the Trump administration will go in refusing to acknowledge today’s inequalities as it purges federal initiatives promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
"Forty percent of America's corn crop — 36 million acres — goes to producing ethanol, a fuel that barely breaks even on energy and may be worse for the climate than gasoline. Billions in subsidies keep the machine running."
The chart I'm including here is really the take home.
At this time, with current tech, 👉️ #Ethanol from #Corn is NOT economically viable. 👈️
So all that Federal money is just more special interests at the public teat. Just a way to let big businesses in non-oil producing states get in on the #FossilFuel gravy train.
Ethanol from Sugarcane does make sense, which is why most of the flex-fuel innovations are found in Brazil.
