The conflict of interest and behavior described in this story by @coreygjohnson.bsky.social would have been the scandal of the year a decade or two ago. Now I wonder if it will even be picked up by other news organizations. www.propublica.org/article/fcc-...

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: The EPA spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social and ProPublica show that years later, 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

FCC commissioners are supposed to regulate companies like Paramount—not accept luxury gifts from them while the company seeks FCC approval. We filed ethics complaints urging an investigation and calling for Chairman Carr's recusal from Paramount merger proceedings.

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 no

propublica.org

Columbia hires former 60 Minutes correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley, fired by CBS News after challenging Bari Weiss, to help train the next generation of journalists

Columbia Journalism School Appoints Sharyn Alfonsi and Scott Pelley as Journalists in Residence | Columbia Journalism School

journalism.columbia.edu

🧵Alert: The backstory on this story may interest you. Or it may bore you. Either way, here it goes. I first asked the FCC for Chairman Brendan Carr's 2025 financial report on June 24.

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

My latest story has some intrigue. FCC finally released Chairman Brendan Carr’s financial report for 2025 late Friday. The report states Paramount gave him tickets to the gala worth $12,390. But he and his wife sat in skybox seats that sold for $125,000 a piece. www.propublica.org/article/fcc-...

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

💵 Many of our lowest-paid members will receive an immediate raise, followed by a 4.5% pay increase in 2027. All members are guaranteed a minimum general wage increase each year that averages above 3%. This deal will also help correct regional pay disparities.

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

NPR featured our interview about FCC taking pricey gifts from Paramount in a recent episode of their Planet Money show. The hosts did a great job contextualizing and explaining the issue. Check it out. www.npr.org/2026/07/23/n...

Can Paramount "gift" its way past the FCC? : The Indicator from Planet Money

Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery has a few hurdles ahead of it. One of them is an FCC approval. But a recent investigation shows that Paramount and the FCC have a dubious re...

npr.org

State attorneys general have sued over the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros, which is now temporarily paused. But new reporting from ProPublica found that FCC officials have been accepting gifts from Paramount while making decisions favorable to the corporation. Hello?

"The other commissioner who approved the Paramount merger, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, and his wife sat in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison and other executives from Paramount and CBS. Such seats sold for $125,000 a ticket..." www.propublica.org/article/para...

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals

Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...

propublica.org

NEW: As ProPublica and @startribune.com investigated child sexual abuse in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, reporters found a common theme: children who were victims of sexual misconduct going on to repeat the behavior.

Children in This Church Were Sexually Abused. Then They Began Abusing Other Kids. Some Continued as Adults.

As ProPublica and the Minnesota Star Tribune investigated child sexual abuse in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, reporters found a common theme: children who were victims of sexual misconduct going ...

propublica.org

Good morning friends. If you're free later today, I'll be on NPR's All Things Considered around 5:10 pm EST, talking about FCC officials taking pricey gifts from Paramount. If you hear me stumble and fumble over my words, be gentle. It's just nerves and my good ol' southern twang acting up.

Please see my latest: Brendan Carr and his wife sat in CEO David Ellison's private skybox at the Kennedy Center months after voting for Paramount's merger. Such seats sold for $125,000 a seat. Carr has accepted $63,000 in tickets from CBS or its parent since 2017 www.propublica.org/article/para...

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals

Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...

propublica.org

JUST POSTED: Trump Paid $2 Million by South Korean Company Facing Trade Investigation The payment illustrates the minefield Mr. Trump has created by maintaining personal financial ties with foreign businesses while he is in office. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/u...

Trump Paid $2 Million by South Korean Company Facing Trade Investigation

The payment illustrates the minefield Mr. Trump has created by maintaining personal financial ties with foreign businesses while he is in office.

nytimes.com

FYI, our story today includes this chart. Great deal of work involved in building it. Trump & Lutnick families have financial ties to at least 14 companies/executives pursuing federal financial assistance for mining projects or permits from Trump administration. Seeking $8.9 billion in total. (!)

Since the start of President Trump’s second term, The New York Times has been documenting examples of moves by members of Mr. Trump’s family or the families of top aides to profit off of Trump administration policy actions. Today we take another look.

Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.

nytimes.com

The Trump administration has provided or is considering providing $8.9B+ in funding to 14 firms with ties to the Trump &/or Lutnick families that are actively working with the US government on mining deals, Paul Sonne & @EricLipton.bsky.social report.

Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.

nytimes.com

Here’s a look at Mr. Trump’s construction projects — some completed, some underway and some yet to begin. By Luke Broadwater, Marco Hernandez, Junho Lee and Elena Shao Photographs by Jared Soares www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Funding for Trump’s Construction Spree Is Murky. Here’s What We Found Out. (Gift Article)

The cost of the president’s D.C. renovation projects could surpass $1 billion, with taxpayers and secret donors footing the bill.

nytimes.com

It’s been three years since we formed our union. We still don’t have a contract. Over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing from us — the workers of @propublica.org — on why this contract is so important and the issues about which we care deeply.

Why give a couple cranks so much ink when this is a solid story about how former judges are uniquely qualified to raise the alarm about the gutting of the rule of law, and are increasingly doing so? www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/u...

‘Infuriated’ Former Judges Take on Trump

nytimes.com

CBS doesn’t exist in my household anymore.

George Santos is under investigation for placing bets that he would not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, and then not attending. trib.al/gglKXii Once a fraudster, always a fraudster.

George Santos Under Investigation Again Because He Can’t Resist Fraud

Santos received a presidential pardon for fraud, and then allegedly got right back to it.

trib.al

Super important speech here by NYT Publisher AG Sulzberger. Anyone who cares about the role of journalism in our global society-and democracy in the modern world-should read this/reflect on it. AI giants are in the process of wiping out much of the news industry. www.nytco.com/press/a-i-jo...

If you haven't already, you must read this bombshell from @robert-faturechi.bsky.social

Robert Faturechi@robert-faturechi.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New: A top White House aide intervened to get a $620 million Pentagon loan for a company tied to Donald Trump Jr. “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” said one person involved. www.propublica.org/article/dona...

Why Is There a Voting Rights Act? A Timeline www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/u...

Why Is There a Voting Rights Act? A Timeline

nytimes.com

Lift as you climb 🙏🏾

NYT INVESTIGATION: As the Trump administration & Congress last year moved to repeal sanctions on Syria, the Qatar-based family that most stood to benefit was privately negotiating a real-estate partnership with Jared Kushner and proposing a Trump golf course in Syria www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/u...

Syrian Billionaires Needed a Favor in Washington. They Invoked the Trump Name.

nytimes.com

🚨BREAKING: The California Supreme Court permanently disbarred John Eastman — a key architect in President Donald Trump’s failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election — delivering one of the most consequential professional penalties yet for an election denier. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Key Trump lawyer who tried to overturn 2020 election permanently disbarred

Eastman has remained active in election denial circles, continuing to push conspiracy theories about voting and elections.

democracydocket.com

Late last summer, a small group of political appointees began convening at ⁦‪DHS‬⁩ HQ. The group — which once called itself “Team America” — looked for federal levers it could pull to make Trump’s March executive order about elections a reality. @dougbockclark.bsky.social @jenafifield.bsky.social

Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections

When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would l...

propublica.org