January 2021 Archive
ProPublica’s Top 25 Stories of 2020
Our list of the year’s most-read stories contains deeply unsettling investigations from a deeply unsettling year.
Before Mob Stormed the Capitol, Days of Security Planning Involved Cabinet Officials and President Trump
A Pentagon memo offers one version of events — six days of preparation for a rally that quickly spiraled out of control.
Members of Several Well-Known Hate Groups Identified at Capitol Riot
A ProPublica-FRONTLINE review of the insurrection found several noted hardcore nativists and white nationalists who also participated in the 2017 white power rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“This Political Climate Got My Brother Killed”: Officer Brian Sicknick Died Defending the Capitol. His Family Waits for Answers.
Brian David Sicknick, 42, died of injuries sustained while trying to protect the Capitol. Family members say they don’t want his death politicized. But they do want to understand what happened.
CDC Shut Down a Lab Involved in Making Faulty Coronavirus Tests
A CDC lab involved in making faulty coronavirus tests sent to state and local officials early in the pandemic was closed down hours after an October investigation by ProPublica exposed key mistakes the CDC made in manufacturing those tests.
A Lender Sued Thousands of Lower-Income Latinos During the Pandemic. Now It Wants to Be a National Bank.
Oportun, which lends in only a dozen states, applied for a bank charter late last year. Consumer and Latino civil rights groups are pushing back, citing the findings of a joint investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
The Nursing Home Didn’t Send Her to the Hospital, and She Died
Palestine Howze didn’t have COVID-19, but a law enacted to protect health providers during the pandemic could derail her family’s wrongful death suit.
Domestic Terrorism: A More Urgent Threat, but Weaker Laws
Authorities dissuaded some extremists from traveling to Washington, and shared intelligence with Capitol Police, but could not stop the mob that stormed the Capitol, a senior FBI official says.
Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.
Insurrectionists made no effort to hide their intentions, but law enforcement protecting Congress was caught flat-footed.
Lavish Bonus? Luxury Trip? Health Benefits Brokers Will Have to Disclose What They Receive From the Insurance Industry
Employers trust brokers to guide them to the best value, but conflicts of interest abound. Tucked into the coronavirus relief bill, a new federal requirement will mandate more transparency.
Magistrate Judges Took Bribes, Stole Money and Mishandled Cases. South Carolina Officials Now Want Reform.
South Carolina lawmakers are eyeing reforms to strengthen oversight of magistrate judges after ProPublica and The Post and Courier found some had been appointed and reappointed despite ethical and professional lapses.
“Nobody” Hurt, “Just a Perp,” Say Officers After NYPD Shot and Killed Man in His Own Home
The comments were captured in body-worn camera footage the NYPD recently disclosed, 20 months after Kawaski Trawick was shot in his apartment while holding a bread knife.
