October 26, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
Cybersecurity CEO Indicted for Allegedly Scamming Millions From Ransomware Victims

Cybersecurity CEO Indicted for Allegedly Scamming Millions From Ransomware Victims A federal grand jury indicted Zohar Pinhasi last month for allegedly defrauding clients of his ransomware data recovery business, MonsterCloud. Jeffery Salter, special to ProPublica A Florida man who was the subject of a 2019 investigation by ProPublica was indicted last month on federal charges that he defrauded clients of his ransomware data recovery firm.

October 25, 2026 at 12:00 AM EDT
A Texas Cop Signed on to Help ICE Deport His Neighbors. It Tore the Town Apart.

A Texas Cop Signed on to Help ICE Deport His Neighbors. It Tore the Town Apart. Jaron Alexander, of Ingram, Texas, is one of more than 29,000 local law enforcement officers on the front lines of the Trump administration's deportation campaign. The new patrol officer parked his black Dodge Charger outside a house off Main Street and approached on foot. A Mexican ballad was playing. Someone had called in a noise complaint, claiming it sounded as if people were fighting.

October 23, 2026 at 1:45 PM EDT
After Millions in Stolen SNAP Benefits, Trump Administration Moves to Fight Theft

After Millions in Stolen SNAP Benefits, Trump Administration Moves to Fight Theft Debit and credit cards have long used microchips, which protect against skimming. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is mandating that all 50 states adopt the technology to prevent SNAP benefit theft. Ramon Dompor The Trump administration this week announced an overhaul of the nation's food stamp payment system, aimed at modernizing benefit cards to protect families from electronic theft. The move comes a week after ProPublica published an investigation showing how $470 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits were stolen from recipients last year alone, in large part because these cards are technologically outdated.

October 23, 2026 at 12:00 PM EDT
Ken Paxton Says He's Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster's Company.

Ken Paxton Says He's Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster's Company. Photo illustration by Emily Scherer for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Source images: The Texas Tribune, documents obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and YouTube. Four years after North Texas home builder Scott Sherman completed a federal prison sentence for mortgage fraud, his new construction materials business received a $600,000 cash infusion.

October 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, but Officials Won't Act.

Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, but Officials Won't Act. A rescued mink from a Utah fur farm Julie Leopo for ProPublica The strain of bird flu that's ripped through American barns for the last four years has killed two people who caught it from sick animals. But as far as anyone can tell, humans can't spread it. The virus has remained a true "bird" flu, tailored to attach to avian cells, not invade human throats and noses, where coughing and sneezing reliably spew droplets.

October 22, 2026 at 8:00 AM EDT
Nuclear Weapons Waste Made Workers Sick. Despite a Law Meant to Help, the DOE Keeps Fighting Their Claims.

Nuclear Weapons Waste Made Workers Sick. Despite a Law Meant to Help, the DOE Keeps Fighting Their Claims. Lonnie Rouse was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that medical experts attributed to exposure to chemicals during his work cleaning up the Hanford nuclear site in Washington. Margaret Albaugh for ProPublica Lonnie Rouse shuffled into a wood-paneled conference room at the Washington state Capitol in March 2018. It had been nearly a decade since medical experts diagnosed him with a neurological disease they attributed to his exposure to chemicals at work. In the time since, he had acquired a stutter, begun limping and lost several teeth biting into a banana.

October 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT
Ballot Rejections Soared in Rural Counties After USPS Reduced Mail Service

Ballot Rejections Soared in Rural Counties After USPS Reduced Mail Service Jacque Laird, elections administrator for Adams County, Washington, prepares ballot envelopes for delivery to voters at a third-party processing center that sorts mail, Direct Mail Enterprises, in Spokane. Adams County was one of the eastern Washington counties that saw a spike in the number of mailed ballots being rejected for arriving too late after U.S. Postal Service changes. Rajah Bose for ProPublica In early August, election workers north of Spokane, Washington, went across the street to the post office to check for late mail-in ballots. It was three days after the primary and they were expecting no more than a few dozen.

October 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
Sexual Assaults on Campus No Longer Scrutinized as Closely Under Trump's Education Department

Sexual Assaults on Campus No Longer Scrutinized as Closely Under Trump's Education Department Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica The civil rights arm of the U.S. Department of Education has dramatically scaled back investigations involving schools and colleges since the second Trump administration began, even as complaints continue to pour in, a ProPublica analysis of newly obtained records found. The analysis shows how severely the department's Office for Civil Rights has retracted from its mission, launching an average of about 100 new investigations a month -- 1,839 total from Inauguration Day in 2025 through July 2026. The OCR launched an average of 310 new investigations each month in 2024 during the Biden administration, according to data previously obtained by ProPublica.

October 21, 2026 at 11:35 AM EDT
Colorado Marijuana Regulators Failed to Protect Consumers From Potential Contamination, Audit Finds

Colorado Marijuana Regulators Failed to Protect Consumers From Potential Contamination, Audit Finds Cannabis samples in the process of testing at Kaycha Labs in Denver Stephen Swofford/The Denver Gazette The agency charged with regulating Colorado's first-in-the-nation legal recreational marijuana market potentially put consumers at risk of using contaminated products, a new state audit found. The report pointed to inconsistent oversight by the Marijuana Enforcement Division and loose state rules around testing marijuana products or contaminants. As a result, it found, nearly 75% of marijuana processed for eventual sale from 2023 through 2025 evaded testing for pesticides.

October 21, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT
"The River Can't Be Trusted"

"The River Can't Be Trusted" Reese Drive, crossing the Rio Ruidoso in New Mexico, lies near where the body of a child, Sebastian Trotter, was found. He and his sister, Charlotte, were swept away by a July 2025 flood. Peak tourist season had arrived in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and Mayor Lynn Crawford was campaigning to convince the public that the village was safe. A Republican with white hair and a Texas drawl, Crawford said he was frustrated with residents who were sharing warnings of flooding on social media. "They spout stuff off," he said in a radio address on June 30, 2025. "And I don't know why they're so afraid. I do not understand it."

October 21, 2026 at 5:55 AM EDT
Town Leaders Said They Were Prepared for Floods. First Responders Disagree.

Town Leaders Said They Were Prepared for Floods. First Responders Disagree. A Ruidoso Fire Department station less than a half mile from the Riverview RV Park. The fire chief had for weeks declined requests from off-duty swiftwater technicians who wanted to be stationed in flood-prone areas, including one close to the RV park, before the waters hit. The man was nearly to his waist in a flooded river and couldn't get out. A firefighter and a police officer didn't have enough rope or manpower to lift him onto the temporary flood barrier that separated them from the debris-strewn water. The man, Jere Stark, had just been carried a quarter mile by a torrential flood and was covered in mud and extremely cold.

October 20, 2026 at 9:53 PM EDT
The Secret Terms of Trump's Venezuelan Oil Deal

The Secret Terms of Trump's Venezuelan Oil Deal Alejandro Betancourt, a 46-year-old Venezuelan energy baron, is the key figure in a historic oil deal with the Trump administration. Venezuelan opposition leaders and U.S. congressional Democrats have criticized the agreement because Betancourt has been the target of investigations of alleged corruption. Antonio Heredia/El Mundo In late August, President Donald Trump announced what he called the "biggest oil deal in world history." Since then, the full text of the accord -- which grants the U.S. sweeping access to Venezuela's oil reserves -- has been one of the most sought-after secrets in Washington, D.C.