Republicans seized the state Supreme Court after changing how judges are elected. The political implications — and ramifications for everyday life — are huge. This story also appeared in USA TODAY NEW BERN, N.C. — As the daylight faded on April 12, 2018, a Craven County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a white pickup. Heather French […]
Posted inHigh Courts, High Stakes
State high courts get limited attention. Here’s how to change that.
State supreme courts have the final word on interpreting state constitutions. Their decisions have massive implications for abortion access, taxes, LGBTQ+ rights, labor, policing and other issues that affect people’s lives. So why do these courts fly under the radar? That’s partly by design. Justices rarely seek public attention, preferring to let their opinions do […]
Posted inHigh Courts, High Stakes
How Republicans flipped America’s state supreme courts
This story also appeared in USA TODAY In 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution included a right to abortion, finding that “nothing could be more fundamental to the notion of liberty.” Just four years later, the court reversed itself. Iowa’s constitution does not, the justices decided, guarantee a right to abortion […]
Posted inWatchdog newsletter
Memoir: The ER reveals “unvarnished truth” of broken system
Dr. Thomas Fisher’s memoir, “The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER,” offers a firsthand critique of the country’s unequal healthcare system. The Chicago South Side native has been an emergency room doctor at the University of Chicago Medical Center for two decades. Thomas’ vivid account of the early days of […]
Posted inCriminalizing kids
Fighting back against racial bias in school policing
Two U.S. agencies are urging school districts “to confront the issue of race discrimination in student discipline,” releasing a report highlighting federal investigations that found evidence of bias in school policing over the past decade. “Discrimination in student discipline forecloses opportunities for students, pushing them out of the classroom and diverting them from a path […]
Posted inAccountability
One simple solution to tackle the gender pay gap
Millions of job seekers may soon have access to closely guarded information about pay. Six states recently approved wage transparency laws that require most employers to include pay ranges in job ads. Colorado debuted the policy in 2021 as a strategy to help shrink the persistent gender wage gap. California and Washington enacted similar laws […]
Posted inLive Events
What is home? Public Integrity event will feature disabled storytellers
This event is called “What is Home?” It will take place on July 26 at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The event will have: Amy Silverman will lead the event. Amy wrote a story for the Center for Public Integrity last year. The story was about how hard it was to find safe homes for people […]
Posted inDemocracy
A Gen Z voting activist discusses the ‘war on youth’
Santiago Mayer moved to Southern California from Mexico City in 2017, around the time President Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban” was sparking nationwide protests. “I kept wanting to talk about it with people in my classes and with my friends,” Mayer said recently. “And I realized that many people either didn’t know what was happening, or […]
Posted inInequality
Abortion care has become a patchwork of state laws that deepen inequalities
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling struck down the constitutional right to abortion, society has been seeing the results of a post-Roe world. While there is no law in the U.S. that regulates what a man can do with his body, the reproductive health of women is now more […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
‘American Whitelash’: Lowery examines how white grievance drives violence
The election of America’s first Black president was expected to begin a post-racial period where communities would work together to address systemic racism and ensure that racial prejudice became a social problem of the past. But that never happened. Barack Obama’s election became a trigger for white grievance and violence over Black progress. In his […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Public Integrity’s ‘The Heist’ wins Excellence in Financial Journalism award
The Center for Public Integrity has won the 2023 Excellence in Financial Journalism Award for best audio reporting for Season 2 of its podcast, “The Heist.” “The Wealth Vortex,” produced in partnership with Transmitter Media, follows Iowa entrepreneur ReShonda Young as she tries to start a Black-owned bank to help address the racial wealth gap […]
Posted inInequality
Why the way we measure poverty matters
The ability of millions of Americans to make ends meet hinges on how we measure poverty. But the “how” may shift after a national panel recommended changes to one of the Census Bureau’s poverty measures. Designing a fair and accurate measure is no simple matter. It’s also surprisingly political because it drives public policy and […]
Posted inLive Events
What is home? Public Integrity will host event featuring disabled storytellers
Join the Center for Public Integrity, USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism and State of Mind, a partnership between Slate and Arizona State University, on July 26 at 7 p.m. Eastern for a unique storytelling event and panel. The discussion will be lead by Amy Silverman, whose award-winning reporting for the Center for Public Integrity […]
Posted inEnvironment
Planning for environmental justice for all
This story was published as a partnership between the Center for Public Integrity and Fresnoland When Arlin Benavides Jr. set out to hear residents’ environmental concerns in one of the most marginalized parts of a region facing water scarcity, groundwater contamination, extreme heat and other woes, he wasn’t sure if people would open their doors, […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Data journalism pioneers join IRE’s Ring of Honor
The impact of two data journalism pioneers, including a former Center for Public Integrity data editor, will be honored at the Investigative Reporters & Editors annual conference in Orlando June 24. The late David Donald and Tom Torok will be inducted into IRE’s Ring of Honor, “celebrating members who have made a significant contribution to […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Dateline Awards honor Public Integrity stories on homelessness, disabilities
Investigations by the Center for Public Integrity into student homelessness and community-based care of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were recognized with 2023 Dateline Awards by the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Wednesday. With “Institution of One,” which was named best online non-breaking news story, reporter Amy Silverman painted a […]
Posted inImmigration
How outdated visa policies drive illegal immigration
Luis Alfredo Galindo, a music professor and mariachi from Bogota, Colombia, began looking for ways to immigrate legally to the U.S. in 2019 and find a safe place for his wife and two kids away from the violence of his home country. He talked to attorneys and scoured the internet, but he couldn’t find any […]
Posted inInequality
‘Young people are being harmed’: the effect of anti-trans legislation
So far this year, legislators in nearly every state have introduced over 550 anti-transgender bills — more than in the past eight years combined.
Posted inImmigration
As migrant busing continues, advocates push for long-term solutions
Maryuri embarked on her three-month journey from Venezuela to the U.S. in July 2022, crossing nine borders on crutches with a broken foot. She traveled with her son, now 9 years old. Their path included traversing the often deadly Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama. She fled an economic crisis that left her unable to […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Public Integrity’s collaborative investigation model featured at conference
The Center for Public Integrity’s model for working with local newsrooms on investigative reporting projects will be featured at the national Collaborative Journalism Summit June 6-7 in Washington, D.C. Public Integrity Director of Audience Lisa Yanick Litwiller and Audience Engagement Editor Ashley Clarke will give a keynote address on how the organization has improved the […]
Posted inUnequal Burden
Grocery taxes face the chopping block in South Dakota
High food prices and the end of extra food-stamp allotments mean hard choices around the country for lower-income people: “You’re having to make the decision between ‘am I paying my mortgage, or my medical bills or my medication or buying food?’” said Stacey Andernacht with hunger relief organization Feeding South Dakota. But in her state, […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Public Integrity staff share insights on investigating inequality
Journalists from the Center for Public Integrity will offer advice and training on investigative reporting and data journalism that confronts inequality at the annual Investigative Reporters & Editors conference June 22-25 in Orlando. In addition to its own national investigations, one of the organization’s priorities is to build investigative reporting capacity and expertise at local […]
Posted inHealth
GAO report: nursing homes staffing is a priority to curb COVID spread
Three years ago as the pandemic began to spread, U.S. nursing homes were among the prime targets of COVID-19, which infected over a million residents. About 166,000 of those residents died as a result. The coronavirus also killed nearly 3,100 nursing home workers, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Even today, […]
Posted inUnequal Risk
Three families vowed to stop a killer chemical. Here’s how they did it.
A bathtub. A floor. A bike. The items Kevin Hartley, Drew Wynne and Joshua Atkins had been working on at the time of their deaths less than 10 months apart varied, but what cut their lives short was the same: a chemical in paint strippers and other products sold in stores nationwide. This story also […]
Posted inCriminalizing kids
Disentangling the debate over school police
DeMarcus Jenkins has seen the presence of law enforcement in schools from different angles — as a student, high school teacher and education researcher. As districts around the country reexamine their relationships with school police, Jenkins is studying how cutting ties with law enforcement can lead to more equitable approaches to ensure students are safe […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Public Integrity voting inequity investigation wins National Headliner Award
Public Integrity’s investigation into inequality in access to voting and political representation ahead of the 2022 elections has won a National Headliner Award. “Who Counts?” won first place for best beat coverage in the annual awards program, sponsored by the Press Club of Atlantic City. Judges called the project “a detailed report on voting issues, […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Public Integrity report wins award for mental health coverage
The Center for Public Integrity was recognized Tuesday with a Mental Health America 2023 media award for Christine Herman’s reporting about the challenges families face accessing mental health care. The story was published in partnership with Side Effects Public Media as part of the national Mental Health Parity Collaborative led by the Carter Center’s Rosalynn […]
Posted inLabor
Forcing more people to work for food stamps is harmful
The GOP-controlled House is refusing to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to a long list of controversial policies. They want President Joe Biden to cancel his student loan forgiveness plan, for example, and repeal extra funding for IRS audits. One item in the House bill that Republicans passed last week stands out not […]
Posted inInequality
Pondering state reparations for tribes, a council documents history of harms
It started with a formal apology. “California Native American peoples suffered violence, discrimination and exploitation sanctioned by state government throughout its history,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a 2019 statement. “We can never undo the wrongs inflicted on the peoples who have lived on this land that we now call California since time immemorial, […]
Posted inUnequal Risk
The EPA wants to broaden a ban on a deadly chemical on store shelves
Many toxic substances harm people slowly, causing serious illnesses years after repeated exposure. But methylene chloride’s fumes are so dangerous, the chemical can kill you in a matter of minutes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned consumer sales of paint strippers with this ingredient in 2019 after an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity […]