More than 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are once again facing shortages of medical resources needed to care for sick patients — leaving some to enter crisis mode or consider rationing vital resources, such as intensive care unit beds. In Idaho a shortage of ICU beds is postponing non-emergency surgeries, while hospitals contend […]
Posted inWatchdog newsletter
Proposed iPhone protections could put LGBTQ youth at risk
Virtual communities have long provided a space for LGBTQ youth to explore their identities, allowing queer children to safely come out of the closet without fear of abuse from unsupportive parents. But as technology companies ratchet up surveillance in the name of content moderation, the digital privacy of LGBTQ youth and other vulnerable people may […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Join us: Live discussion on economic development and race in Kansas City
The Center for Public Integrity in partnership with The Kansas City Call is hosting a conversation on economic growth and opportunity in the majority-Black East Side of Kansas City, Missouri, which has been rocked by the pandemic and has faced years of racist economic disinvestment. In April, a Public Integrity investigation revealed that the Paycheck Protection […]
Posted inWatchdog newsletter
Asian American students face threat of harassment, attacks
President Joe Biden is pushing to reopen the majority of the nation’s elementary and middle schools for full-time in-person learning by early May, but some families aren’t comfortable sending their children back — and not only because of COVID-19. The rise in anti-Asian bullying, harassment and violence, including the March mass shootings in the Atlanta […]
Posted inUS Polling Places
In Nebraska, voting by mail could be even more accessible, advocates say
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Nebraska sent mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters for the general election. The move followed a similar effort during the state’s record-smashing primary, when more than 75% of votes were cast by mail. Mailing applications worked well in the primary, said Danielle Conrad, executive director of the ACLU […]
Posted inUS Polling Places
Early voter-registration deadline can trip up New Yorkers, but voting gets easier
Only 57% of eligible New York voters cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election, 41st for voter turnout in the nation. Participation will likely improve this fall since the state has added early voting and made it easier to get an absentee ballot this year. But until New York drops onerous voter registration deadlines and removes […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
From the ’60s to 2020, still fighting to protect the right to vote
There’s a through line between Black people’s historic fight for the right to vote and what’s happening in 2020, with polling-place closures, lawsuits against voting by mail and other voter-suppression tactics, three experts on voting rights said Wednesday in an online forum organized by the Center for Public Integrity and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee […]
Posted inNational Security
Center for Public Integrity challenges Trump administration on Ukraine document redactions
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust. Sign up to receive our stories. The Center for Public Integrity on Friday asked a federal judge to order the Trump administration to divulge information it is concealing about military aid to Ukraine. The action came hours after the House Judiciary […]
Posted inInside Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity makes two key hires
The Center for Public Integrity is pleased to welcome a veteran reporter and seasoned fundraiser to its nonprofit, investigative newsroom. Alexia Fernández Campbell has joined Public Integrity’s inequality, poverty and opportunity team as senior reporter. Previously, Fernández Campbell reported on labor issues at Vox, where her work included obtaining government documents that showed how the […]
Posted inDemocracy
Cambridge Analytica parent hired by State Department to target terrorist propaganda
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust. Sign up to receive our stories. Newly unearthed documents describing the relationship between SCL Group, parent company of embattled data firm Cambridge Analytica, and the State Department provide a rare glimpse into the nation’s effort to counter terrorist propaganda. The $500,000, […]
Posted inState Politics
What the new sports betting decision means for states and sports leagues
It’s game on for the race to cash in on sports betting. The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with New Jersey in its six-year quest to allow legalized sports betting, breaking up Nevada’s near-monopoly in the market and paving the way for other states to break into the billion-dollar business. In the lead-up to Monday’s […]
Posted inDemocracy
House Ethics Committee scolds, doesn’t punish Roger Williams
The House Ethics Committee has decided not to reprimand Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, in regard to questions raised over whether his automobile dealership would benefit financially from an amendment he introduced in 2015. The committee’s leaders said in a report issued Tuesday, however, that Williams should have consulted with the panel first to avoid the […]
Posted inDemocracy
Surprise! No. 1 super PAC backs Democrats
If Democrats lose control of the U.S. Senate, it won’t be because they didn’t fully unleash the powers available to them in a post-Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission era of politicking. Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC dedicated to holding the Senate, has blasted out about 45,000 Senate-focused television ads this election cycle […]
Posted inEnvironment
Five-state study finds high levels of airborne chemicals near oil and gas sites
Dirk DeTurck had a years-old rash that wouldn’t go away, his wife’s hair came out in chunks and any time they lingered outside their house for more than an hour, splitting headaches set in. They were certain the cause was simply breathing the air in Greenbrier, Arkansas, the rural community to which they’d retired a […]
Posted inEducation
Study finds stunning rates of discipline among Texas students
Nearly 60 percent of all Texas public school students were suspended or expelled at least once between their 7th and 12th grade years, according to a landmark study released Tuesday by the Council of State Governments. The analysis, which tracked all Texas students entering 7th grade between 2000 and 2002, also found that only 3 […]