ProPublica Archives

Social Justice

A Stillborn Child, a Charge of Murder, and the Disputed Case Law on ‘Fetal Harm’

Rennie Gibbs, a 16-year-old in Mississippi when she gave birth to a stillborn child, is facing life in prison for taking cocaine during her pregnancy. Hers is among a burgeoning number of cases in which women are prosecuted for allegedly endangering their unborn children.

Nina Martin

News in Brief

Who Controls the Koch Brothers’ Shady Political Network?

Obscure limited liability companies have ultimate say over the Koch network’s non-profits, which spend hundreds of millions of dollars to advance conservative causes.

Kim Barker & Theodoric Meyer

News in Brief

4 Ways to Really Fix the Pentagon’s Effort to ID 83,000 Missing Service Members

Changes must go beyond bureaucracy to update the scientific approach and embrace outside help.

Megan McCloskey

Economics

Permanently Temporary: The Truth About Temp Work in America

Today’s blue-collar temp laborers face abuses similar to those of migrant farmworkers depicted in the iconic 1960 CBS documentary Harvest of Shame.

Michael Grabell

News in Brief

From Gay Marriage to Birth Control, the Fight Over Religious Exemptions Is Heating Up

Nina Martin talks with a leading expert on the historic tension between civil rights and religious freedom.

Nina Martin

News in Brief

How You Can Help Find Someone Missing in Action

John Eakin shares what he learned about tracking down the remains of his cousin who died in a World War II POW camp.

Megan McCloskey

Social Justice

Medicare’s Drug Program Needs Stronger Protections Against Fraud

A new report finds that more than half of insurance companies in Medicare’s drug program haven’t reported fraud cases to the government. The findings echo an earlier investigation that found fraud flourishing in the program.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Our Patient-Harm Problem: One Third in Nursing Facilities Harmed by Treatment

A study by Medicare’s inspector general of skilled nursing facilities says nearly 22,000 patients were injured and more than 1,500 died in a single month—a higher rate of medical errors than hospitals.

Marshall Allen