ProPublica

08/30/2026

Are you considering sending your child to a private school? ProPublica spent months investigating hundreds of private schools using data, public records, court cases and countless interviews. We uncovered some serious issues. Before you enroll, here are some tips for researching a private school.

If you find something interesting in your research, or if you have another story about searching for schools, we're still reporting. You can get in touch by heading to the link in our bio, emailing us at [email protected] or sending “schools” on WhatsApp to 917-207-6447. We take your privacy seriously and will contact you if we wish to publish any part of your story.

Read our guide, “How to Research Private Schools Like an Investigative Reporter,” for more information: https://propub.li/46tJ2l9

Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica. Source images: Paul Sableman via Flickr.
Illustration by Millie von Platen for ProPublica.

08/30/2026

For decades, Idaho law has allowed parents who belong to the faith-healing sect Followers of Christ to pray rather than seek medical care as their children die.

Lawmakers in Oregon, where similar religious groups exist, removed the state’s faith-healing exception to child abuse laws nearly 30 years ago. More parents chose to allow their children to be seen by medical professionals after the change, Oregon authorities said.

But Idaho lawmakers have chosen a different path. They have repeatedly rejected efforts to dial back Idaho’s exemption, instead codifying “parental rights” legislation to further limit the role of anyone but a parent when it comes to children’s health and safety.

ProPublica gathered death records in five Idaho counties and shared them with more than a dozen pediatricians and birthing specialists. At least 15 babies and children from this faith-healing sect died from 2015 through 2025 from illnesses that doctors could have successfully treated, the experts concluded. That estimate is almost certainly an undercount.

The records also show at least five sets of parents have lost multiple children, a phenomenon that has not been previously reported.

None of the parents responded to letters or text messages from ProPublica, and one declined to comment during a phone call.

Asked why God would not want children to live full and healthy lives, one patriarch explained that the Followers believe that life on Earth is “a preparing ground” and said the Book of James tells people to “be afflicted and mourn and weep.”

“It isn’t necessarily that we’re supposed to have a joyous life here,” he said.

Read the full story at the link in the comments below. 👇

08/29/2026

DHS repeatedly said that an aggressive Chicago apartment raid was prompted by intel on a Venezuelan gang takeover. Records reveal the real story behind the raid: targeting alleged squatters with the landlord’s blessing.

👂 Listen to the full episode: https://propub.li/4xzcB0U

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08/29/2026

When Pete Hegseth polled top commanders about cutting a program designed to protect civilians during military operations, he had bet they’d back his view that the program was “woke” and out of step with “maximum lethality,” officials told ProPublica.

Instead, every commander rebuffed the idea. Several senior officers directly involved in combat operations appealed to Hegseth to keep the program.

Hegseth gutted the effort anyway, stripping it of almost all of its funding.

But now, after U.S. missile strikes have killed hundreds of civilians in Iran and Yemen, drawing global criticism and questions from Congress, the program could soon be partially revived — an about-face that would mark a rare reversal for the department.

Here’s the full story: https://propub.li/4xlu6S2

The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment about the poll or the program’s revival.

08/28/2026

The morning that Cmdr. Elizabeth Nakagawa was scheduled to have a D&C to remove fetal tissue after losing a very wanted pregnancy, she learned the surgery had been canceled because the military’s health insurance plan refused to pay for it.

Read more (published Dec. 2024): https://propub.li/4zJa19Y

08/28/2026

Many Pentagon projects face delays, budget increases and performance issues. The causes of these problems are often opaque to the taxpayers who foot the bill. Help point us to the most important stories: https://propub.li/4cgaC92

08/28/2026

Was Omaha's lead cleanup successful? ProPublica and the Flatwater Free Press dug up actual dirt to find out.

Hundreds of soil tests later, the newsrooms discovered that contamination remains in the area, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent to clean it up.

Watch reporter Chris Bowling break down the investigation, and read the full “Buried Truth” series here: https://propub.li/45UVLNH

Images: Getty, the Omaha World-Herald, Rebecca S. Gratz for ProPublica. Videos: Naomi Delkamiller, Evie Storjohann. 🎥 by Naomi Delkamiller.

08/28/2026

New: In response to ProPublica’s investigation of a 1980s r**e crisis at Syracuse University, the school said it supports victims “every step of the way.” Now, it’s blocking a student’s request for many police records surrounding another 1980s assault. https://propub.li/3UEukFl

The university, whose 1980s r**e crisis figured prominently in a ProPublica article, committed to support survivors at “every step of the process.” Now it's in court to stop police from sharing many records with a student who was assaulted in 1987.

08/28/2026

New: Reporters don’t have access to Camp East Montana, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country. Emergency calls from the Texas facility offer a glimpse of unfolding crises faced by those locked inside, with few ways to get help. https://propub.li/4zJVn2c

Reporters don't have access to Camp East Montana, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country. Emergency calls from the Texas facility offer a glimpse of unfolding crises faced by those locked inside, with few ways to get help.

08/27/2026

Citing reporting by ProPublica, eight Democratic U.S. senators have criticized the Trump administration’s demands to access the health data of millions of people as a condition of giving lifesaving aid to other countries: https://propub.li/4cg1Ho5