Charles Ornstein
@charlesornstein.bsky.social
Managing editor/local at ProPublica, past prez of AHCJ, Detroit Lions fan. Email: charles.ornstein@propublica.org. Posts are my own.
NEW: Lead Contamination Is Still a Problem in Omaha. Why Is the City Cleaning Up Some Yards and Not Others? @chrisbowling.bsky.social @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
Lead Contamination Is Still a Problem in Omaha. Why Is the City Cleaning Up Some Yards and Not Others?
After our tests showed many yards still contain toxic lead after remediation, the city’s response to residents has been inconsistent. Some received additional testing and cleanup, while others were de...
propublica.org
NEW: James Talarico Accused Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud. His Own Voter Registration Is Raising Questions. By @kaylaguo.bsky.social @zachdespart.bsky.social w/ @texastribune.org
James Talarico Accused Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud. His Own Voter Registration Is Raising Questions.
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s review of the Democratic Senate candidate’s residency records found that he may have voted in up to five elections using an address where he no longer lived.
propublica.org
Congrats @dougbockclark.bsky.social!
Doug Bock Clark@dougbockclark.bsky.social · 16h agoI'm honored that my stories for @propublica.org on the erosion of democracy in North Carolina have won the top overall writing award from the 2026 Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Awards. They were praised as "hard-hitting journalism that holds truth to power."
The EPA spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social and @propublica.org show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead.
The EPA Heralds Its Omaha Cleanup as a Success. But We Found Many Yards Still Have Toxic Levels of Lead.
The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show th...
propublica.org
NEW: Greg Abbott Blasted Corpus Christi for Its Water Crisis. A River Authority He Has Power Over Is Falling Apart. by partner by Rachel Denny Clow, KRIS 6 News w/ @texastribune.org
Greg Abbott Blasted Corpus Christi for Its Water Crisis. A River Authority He Has Power Over Is Falling Apart.
The Nueces River Authority is working on a project that could expand the Corpus Christi region’s water supply. But the Texas governor has done little to address the agency’s financial problems, despit...
propublica.org
@flatwaterfreep.bsky.social and @propublica.org independently tested hundreds of homes in eastern Omaha, Nebraska, and found toxic levels of lead in soil throughout — including in yards that the EPA remediated years ago. Here’s how we did it.
The EPA Doesn’t Typically Retest Homes in the Country’s Largest Residential Lead Superfund Site. So We Did.
The Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica independently tested hundreds of homes in eastern Omaha, Nebraska, and found toxic levels of lead in soil throughout — including in yards that the EPA remediate...
propublica.org
Major new investigation with @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social. Please read it: The EPA Heralds Its Omaha Superfund Cleanup as a Success. But We Found Many Yards Still Have Toxic Levels of Lead.
The EPA Heralds Its Omaha Cleanup as a Success. But We Found Many Yards Still Have Toxic Levels of Lead.
The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show th...
propublica.org
Phenomenal news! 🎉🎉🎉 ProPublica Hires Four Reporters to Expand Washington and National Security Coverage
ProPublica Hires Four Reporters to Expand Washington and National Security Coverage
propublica.org
Great @nicoleeinbinder.bsky.social scoop here that raises all kinds of questions www.businessinsider.com/flock-camera...
Flock misread license plates in 71% of the alerts it sent to police in one California town
Flock sent 1,427 alerts to Roseville police over two years, flagging cars as stolen or used in a felony. In 71% of them, Flock read the plates wrong.
businessinsider.com
FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount, by @coreygjohnson.bsky.social
FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts From Paramount
Citing a ProPublica report on Paramount providing luxury Kennedy Center gala tickets to FCC officials, the complaints note that commissioners accepted the gifts while the FCC was reviewing or about to...
propublica.org
NEW: Solar Developer Cancels Washington State Project on Sacred Indigenous Land @highcountrynews.org
Solar Developer Cancels Washington State Project on Sacred Indigenous Land
The company, Avangrid, pulled its long-standing and controversial project following years of delays, as well as tribal objections spurred in part by High Country News and ProPublica reporting.
propublica.org
Check out this @brookings.edu updated interactive tool that tracks state safety net programs from 2001 to 2024, showing how policy changes have shaped benefits across states and over time.
State Safety Net Interactive | Brookings
Brookings researchers have updated the State Safety Net Interactive for Summer 2026, adding new programs, family types, and data since the Spring 2024 version.
brookings.edu
When you ask states to reduce payment errors—but only count overpayments and underpayments as errors—guess what happens? States reject applicants they're unsure about because wrongful denials don't count against them. https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/how-snaps-new-rules-make-eligible
WOW. How Trump and his “princess of darkness” are persuading corporate America to donate hundreds of millions to fund his projects. via @wsj.com
Exclusive | ‘The Boss Wants This Money’: Inside Trump’s Unprecedented Fundraising Operation
Meredith O’Rourke, nicknamed ‘princess of darkness,’ carries out the president’s desire to wring hundreds of millions from companies for his projects.
wsj.com
NEW: A last-ditch legislative attempt to help California school districts keep problematic teachers out of the classroom has collapsed following opposition from unions and the state teacher licensing agency. @kqednews.kqed.org
For the Second Time, Lawmakers Failed to Fix California’s Warning System for Teacher Misconduct
California is set to launch a database for school support staff, such as bus drivers and janitors, with substantiated claims of egregious misconduct. Setting up a similar system for public school teac...
propublica.org
Trump’s Canada Tariffs Decimate Border Crossings, Business in Upper Michigan, by @annaleighclark.bsky.social
As Trump’s Tariff War With Canada Drags On, This Border Community Suffers Without a Voice
Under an intensifying trade war, parts of northern Michigan are feeling the financial pain. But with a president intent on conflict and a congressman silent on the issue, these Michiganders see no sig...
propublica.org
New Mexico is awash in oil and gas money. The question for the state now: What to do with it?
New Mexico Is Divided Over What to Do With $75 Billion in Oil Cash
The second-largest oil-producing state is also one of the poorest. How can it make its new wealth count?
wsj.com
In 2020 as Kentucky faced a spike of deadly overdoses, @govandybeshear.bsky.social set out to help more people access drug treatment by loosening Medicaid spending controls. But as the costs piled up, so did the warnings that the system was being abused. @kentucky.com
Andy Beshear Set Out to Make Drug Treatment Widely Available in Kentucky. Fraud and Abuse Followed.
In 2020 as Kentucky faced a spike of deadly overdoses, Gov. Andy Beshear set out to help more people access drug treatment by loosening Medicaid spending controls. But as the costs piled up, so did th...
propublica.org
NEW: Kentucky @govandybeshear.bsky.social Set Out to Make Drug Treatment Widely Available in His State. Fraud and Abuse Followed. by @aacquisto.bsky.social @taylorsixhl.bsky.social @kentucky.com
Andy Beshear Set Out to Make Drug Treatment Widely Available in Kentucky. Fraud and Abuse Followed.
In 2020 as Kentucky faced a spike of deadly overdoses, Gov. Andy Beshear set out to help more people access drug treatment by loosening Medicaid spending controls. But as the costs piled up, so did th...
propublica.org
NEW: Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove School Bus Safety Data Is Accurate, by @tophersanders.bsky.social @wmariano.bsky.social w/ @wbur.org
Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove School Bus Safety Data Is Accurate
The request from two Democratic lawmakers comes after WBUR and ProPublica found that the federal safety record was missing dozens of fatal crashes involving one of the nation’s largest public transit ...
propublica.org
NEW: Anthropic’s New AI Model Can Identify More Software Bugs Than Ever. Microsoft Is Struggling to Fix Them Fast Enough. by @reneedudley.bsky.social w/ Doris Burke
Anthropic’s New AI Model Can Identify More Software Bugs Than Ever. Microsoft Is Struggling to Fix Them Fast Enough.
Anthropic’s Mythos has flagged bugs faster than Microsoft can fix them. Documents reviewed by ProPublica reveal the tech giant's “mad dash” behind the scenes to patch holes before hackers can find and...
propublica.org
When the AHRQ cancellations started, no one was giving the public a clear picture of what was being lost. My team built one. This is research that makes care safer and more affordable. Americans deserve to know what's happening to it. Researchinterrupted.academyhealth.org
Research Interrupted: Canceled AHRQ Grants | AcademyHealth
When health care research stops, the answers stop with it. Explore AcademyHealth's interactive tracker on canceled AHRQ research grants and lost funding.
researchinterrupted.academyhealth.org
Nick Adams’ Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness has brought in millions in donations and helped him land a State Department appointment, but records show there is almost no indication FLAG was spending that money on its stated mission. @kalibomeli.bsky.social
This MAGA Influencer Runs a Charity to Teach Kids Civics. Much of the Money Goes to Him Instead.
Nick Adams’ Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness has brought in millions in donations and helped him land a State Department appointment, but records show there is almost no indication FLAG w...
propublica.org
1/ This is Nick Adams. He’s a big deal in MAGA world. He’s got 638K followers on X and 2.1M on Facebook. President Trump even appointed him to a role at the State Dept. But when I started digging into Adams' nonprofit for "civics" education, something didn't look right ... 🧵
The Trump admin is in court *today* defending its new rule requiring Medicaid patients with cancer and other chronic illnesses to prove they're too sick to work to maintain their insurance. 25 states and DC are asking a judge to block the rule. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
Trump and Democratic states clash in court over who’s too sick to work
Medicaid eligibility will soon hinge on how the government defines “medical frailty.”
politico.com
This MAGA Influencer Runs a Charity to Teach Kids Civics. Much of the Money Goes to Him Instead.
This MAGA Influencer Runs a Charity to Teach Kids Civics. Much of the Money Goes to Him Instead.
Nick Adams’ Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness has brought in millions in donations and helped him land a State Department appointment, but records show there is almost no indication FLAG w...
propublica.org
NEW: Federal Judges Chastise Trump’s Justice Department for “Unlawful,” “Unethical” and “Unseemly” Conduct, by @davidmcswane.bsky.social @pratheekrebala.bsky.social @carla-astudi.bsky.social
Federal Judges Chastise Trump’s Justice Department for “Unlawful,” “Unethical” and “Unseemly” Conduct
ProPublica reviewed hundreds of cases in which judges criticized the actions of federal prosecutors. In many, judges expressed frustration that they can no longer take the government at its word.
propublica.org
NEW: How Trump’s “America First” Administration Could Shut U.S. Scientists Out of the Next Nobel-Worthy Discovery @lisalsong.bsky.social
How Trump’s “America First” Administration Could Shut U.S. Scientists Out of the Next Nobel-Worthy Discovery
A proposed White House rule would give political appointees unprecedented control over scientific funding. One physicist, who helped discover the Higgs boson, explains how the rule would’ve stifled th...
propublica.org
A 2-Year-Old’s Drowning and a Fight Over the Line Between Life and Death
A 2-Year-Old’s Drowning and a Fight Over the Line Between Life and Death
A Texas family sued to stop a hospital from testing whether their child was brain-dead. Opposition to the test has been gaining support from anti-abortion activists.
nytimes.com
NEW: Ken Paxton Touts His Efforts to Fight Voter Fraud. His Senate Opponent Is Now Accusing Him of Committing It. @zachdespart.bsky.social w/ @texastribune.org
Ken Paxton Touts His Efforts to Fight Voter Fraud. His Senate Opponent Is Now Accusing Him of Committing It.
James Talarico’s comments come after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found that the Texas attorney general may have broken state law by voting using an address where he no longer appears to live.
propublica.org