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Regulation

The Efforts to Keep Industry in Check

ProPublica’s Coverage of the Election Issues That Matter to Voters

ProPublica avoids horse race coverage of the election, instead deeply exploring issues that voters care about, like immigration, abortion, health care, the economy, extremism and education.

by ProPublica,

Trump Says He’ll Move Thousands of Federal Workers Out of Washington. Here’s What Happened the First Time He Tried.

The Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters moved from the capital to Colorado in 2020, causing an exodus of leadership. If elected, Trump plans to use the same tactic across more of the federal government.

by Mark Olalde,

Selling a Mirage

The Plastics Industry’s Wish List for a Second Trump Administration

Critics call it the plastics industry’s Project 2025. Tucked into a federal recycling bill is a litany of regulatory rollbacks and other industry-friendly provisions that federal agencies under Donald Trump could adopt without congressional approval.

by Lisa Song,

Executives From a Bank Charged With “Predatory Lending” Moved to a New Lender. Regulators Did Little to Stop Them.

A dozen states that pursued Santander Consumer USA for its high-interest loans have failed to address scores of complaints alleging nearly identical behavior at Exeter Finance. The same team of executives ran both companies, ProPublica has learned.

by Byard Duncan and Ryan Gabrielson,

Featured Reporters

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Portrait of Lexi Churchill Lexi Churchill
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Impact of Our Reporting
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“The Unbefriended”

Judge Orders Guardianship Firm to Return Thousands It Took From an Elderly Woman for Services It Never Provided

New York Guardianship Services had billed Judith Zbiegniewicz $450 a month for court-ordered care, but a judge found the company provided “minimal services, if any” for years, including at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

by Jake Pearson,

Rent Barons

DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm

The lawsuit, which comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation into the Texas company, accuses RealPage of taking part in an illegal price-fixing scheme to reduce competition among landlords to boost prices — and profits.

by Heather Vogell,

Minnesota AG Sues Contract-for-Deed Seller Who Allegedly Targeted Muslim Community

The complaint, which alleges violations of lending law and religious discrimination, follows a ProPublica and Sahan Journal investigation.

by Jessica Lussenhop,

Series

Series: No Pressure: The Warning Signs of the Jackson Water Crisis

Series: Unplugged: Will Taxpayers Foot the Oil Industry’s Cleanup Bill?

Series: The Inside Edge: How the Rich and Well-Connected Exploit Investment Advantages

Series: America’s Dangerous Trucks: Inside the Battle to Prevent Deadly Crashes

Series: Train Country: Investigating Railroad Safety in America

Series: Homeowner Hell: Investigating Colorado’s Unregulated Homeowners Associations

Series: Toxic Burden: How American Chemical Regulations Failed the Public

Series: Unchecked: America’s Broken Food Safety System

Series: Polluter’s Paradise: Environmental Impact in Louisiana

Series: The Bad Bet: How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost

Series: Trashed: Inside New York’s Deadly Private Garbage Industry

Series: Louisiana’s Ethical Swamp: Lawmakers’ Conflicts of Interest

Series: HUD’s House of Cards: Public Housing Failures

Series: The Tax Divide: Inequities and Errors Riddle Cook County’s Property Tax Assessments

Series: Fed Tapes: The Secret Recordings of Carmen Segarra

Series: Freddie Mac: Playing the Mortgage Market

Series: Nuclear Safety: After Fukushima

Series: The Trade: Hold Companies, Executives and Government Officials Accountable

424 stories published since 2009

EPA Scientists Said They Were Pressured to Downplay Harms From Chemicals. A Watchdog Found They Were Retaliated Against.

by Sharon Lerner,

Judge Orders Guardianship Firm to Return Thousands It Took From an Elderly Woman for Services It Never Provided

by Jake Pearson,

How LA’s Illegal Short-Term Rentals Hide in Plain Sight on Booking Sites

by Robin Urevich, Capital & Main,

DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm

by Heather Vogell,

Facing a National Shortage of Baby Formula, Trade Officials Opposed a Plan to Boost Imports

by Heather Vogell,

Decrepit Pipes Put Jackson, Mississippi, on the Edge of Catastrophe. State Regulators Didn’t Act.

by Nick Judin, Mississippi Free Press,

A Wisconsin Tribe Built a Lending Empire Charging 600% Annual Rates to Borrowers

by Megan O’Matz and Joel Jacobs,

“Now Is the Time to Take Action”: Carbon Monoxide Poisonings After Hurricane Beryl Are the Highest Since Texas Winter Storm

by Lexi Churchill,

In Los Angeles, Your Chic Vacation Rental May Be a Rent-Controlled Apartment

by Robin Urevich, Capital & Main, and Haru Coryne, ProPublica,

Federal Law Thwarted Chicago’s Attempt to Sue Gun-Makers. But Now It Has a New Strategy.

by Vernal Coleman,

The Nation’s First Law Protecting Against Gift Card Draining Has Passed. Will It Work?

by Craig Silverman,

The Biden Administration Says Its Trade Policy Puts People Over Corporations. Documents on Baby Formula Show Otherwise.

by Heather Vogell,

In a Push for Green Energy, One Federal Agency Made Tribes an Offer They Had to Refuse

by B. “Toastie” Oaster, High Country News,

How America’s “Most Powerful Lobby” Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup in State After State

by Mark Olalde,

A Bottled Water Company in Michigan Is Still Extracting Millions of Gallons of Water for Free

by Anna Clark, photography by Sarahbeth Maney,

Minnesota AG Sues Contract-for-Deed Seller Who Allegedly Targeted Muslim Community

by Jessica Lussenhop,

IRS Audit of Trump Could Cost Former President More Than $100 Million

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica, and Russ Buettner, The New York Times,

Oil Companies Contaminated a Family Farm. The Courts and Regulators Let the Drillers Walk Away.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

Sports Team Owners Face New Scrutiny From IRS Over Tax Avoidance

by Robert Faturechi, Ellis Simani and Justin Elliott,

EPA Proposes Ban on Pesticide Widely Used on Fruits and Vegetables

by Sharon Lerner,

FDA Moves to Scrutinize Specialized Health Screenings

by Anna Clark,

10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal

by Sharon Lerner,

Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough.

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

I Got Mailers Promoting Toddler Milk for My Children. I Went on to Investigate International Formula Marketing.

by Heather Vogell,

After CPAP Recall, Philips Must Institute New Safeguards in Agreement With U.S. Justice Department

by Michael Korsh and Evan Robinson-Johnson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

What You Should Know About “Toddler Milk” and How It’s Marketed to Parents

by Heather Vogell,

Chevron Will Pay Record Fines for Oil Spills in California

by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun,

Documents Show Internal Clash Before U.S. Officials Pushed to Weaken Toddler Formula Rules

by Lucas Waldron and Heather Vogell,

What’s Missing From Railroad Safety Data? Dead Workers and Severed Limbs.

by Topher Sanders, Dan Schwartz, Danelle Morton and Gabriel Sandoval,

The Rising Cost of the Oil Industry’s Slow Death

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main,

After Seeing Controversial Contract-for-Deed Home Sales Affect Constituents, Minnesota Lawmakers Propose Reforms

by Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, and Joey Peters, Sahan Journal,

FDA Repeatedly Rejected Safety Claims Made by Philips After the CPAP Recall but Waited to Alert the Public, Emails Show

by Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica, and Michael D. Sallah and Michael Korsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

The Oregon Timber Industry Won Huge Tax Cuts in the 1990s. Now It May Get Another Break Thanks to a Top Lawmaker.

by Rob Davis,

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Reform Controversial Contract-for-Deed Home Sales

by Jessica Lussenhop,

Indiana Lawmakers Trying to Kill Historic Suit Seeking Gun Industry Accountability

by Tony Cook, IndyStar, and Vernal Coleman, ProPublica,

Amid Recall Crisis, Philips Agrees to Stop Selling Sleep Apnea Machines in the United States

by Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica, and Michael D. Sallah, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

How Georgia’s Small Power Companies Endanger Their Most Vulnerable Customers

by Max Blau and Aliyya Swaby,

“We Buy Ugly Houses” Company Overhauls Policies in the Wake of ProPublica Investigation

by Anjeanette Damon and Byard Duncan,

FTC Orders Maker of TurboTax to Cease “Deceptive” Advertising

by Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel,

FEMA Leader Overseeing $4 Billion Fund to Pay Victims of New Mexico Wildfire Steps Down

by Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico,

Philips Recalled Breathing Machines in 2021. Chemicals of “Concern” Found in Replacement Machines Raised New Alarm.

by Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica; Michael D. Sallah and Evan Robinson-Johnson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; and Margaret Fleming, Medill Investigative Lab,

DTE Energy Facing Oversight of “Hardship-Inducing” Debt Collection Practices

by Sarah Alvarez, Outlier Media,

Los Angeles Orders More Residential Hotels to Stop Renting to Tourists

by Robin Urevich, Capital & Main,

“Unacceptable”: Senators Call on GAO to Probe FDA’s Oversight of Medical Devices, Citing Series on Philips CPAP Recall

by Jonathan D. Salant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica; and Michael D. Sallah, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Inside the Notorious Gun Shop Linked to Hundreds of Chicago Guns

by Vernal Coleman,

Millions of People Used Tainted Breathing Machines. The FDA Failed to Use Its Power to Protect Them.

by Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica, and Michael D. Sallah and Michael Korsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Senators Question KPMG Role in Microsoft Profit-Shifting Scheme

by Paul Kiel,

A Top Mutual Fund Executive Made Millions for Himself Trading the Same Stocks His Giant Fund Was Trading

by Robert Faturechi and Ellis Simani with Mariam Elba, graphics by Lucas Waldron,

ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer Gets Email Alerts and Other Major Improvements

by Ken Schwencke,

Union Pacific Fired Him Rather Than Heed His Warnings of Dangerous Rail Conditions

by Danelle Morton and Topher Sanders, with additional reporting by Jessica Lussenhop,