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Megan O'Matz

@megomatz.bsky.social

Wisconsin reporter, ProPublica.

233 Posts7282 Follower293 Folgt
Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 6h ago

Florida Republicans passed a 2024 enabling the demolition of historic Art Deco structures on Miami Beach, including now the Savoy Hotel. Residents are upset but the city has no say. The law's author was chosen to be the GOP candidate for Lt. Gov. www.sun-sentinel.com/2026/09/27/h...

Historic Miami Beach hotel faces demolition — and the city can’t stop it

The Savoy Hotel on Miami Beach is set for potential demolition to make way for a condo building, and while residents are up in arms about the plan, the city says it can’t do anything to stop it.

sun-sentinel.com

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 4d ago

Debt collection. Credit reporting. Payday loans. Consumer complaints to a federal database used to help reveal issues and bring accountability. Then the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stopped publishing the narratives. / by @joeljacobs.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...

The Federal Agency That’s Supposed to Protect Consumers Just Made Another Business-Friendly Move

Debt collection. Credit reporting. Payday loans. Consumer complaints to a federal database used to help reveal issues and bring accountability. Then the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stopped pu...

propublica.org

Jesse Eisinger@jeisinger.bsky.social · 6d ago

And don’t sleep on the part where we bust Cleta Mitchell (yes, that one) for helping to hatch a campaign finance cover-up:

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Jesse Eisinger@jeisinger.bsky.social · 6d ago

NEW: In ‘24, the FBI sought to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump eviscerated the FBI & DOJ public corruption teams. ProPublica unearthed the investigation and you can read it 👇 www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 6d ago

A donor, an ex-defense contractor, told FBI agents his company won millions in federal contracts by bankrolling campaigns of powerful politicians, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine / by @propublica.org / www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way

After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · last wk.

A report shows which Florida insurers claimed losses as affiliates made billions. The state Senate demanded the Orlando Sentinel & Sun Sentinel destroy the report, released in response to a public records request, or face legal action. / By @skylerswisher.bsky.social @davidfleshler.bsky.social

How Florida fights to hide insurers’ finances

A secret report shows which Florida insurers claimed losses as affiliates made billions. The state Senate demanded the Orlando Sentinel and Sun Sentinel destroy the report or face legal action.

sun-sentinel.com

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2w ago

Rep. Robert Garcia said the revelations that Umar Kremlev had bankrolled Trump Jr.’s wedding raise “serious national security and public corruption concerns” and requested the president’s son provide financial and other records about the arrangement. www.propublica.org/article/dona...

Top Oversight Dem Opens Investigation of Donald Trump Jr.’s Russian Oligarch-Funded Wedding

Rep. Robert Garcia said the revelations that Umar Kremlev had bankrolled the wedding raise “serious national security and public corruption concerns” and requested the president’s son provide financia...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2w ago

“Kremlev’s previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr. represents an extraordinary development: a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting the president’s son and gaining intimate access to the Trump family. “ / www.propublica.org/article/dona...

Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch

The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2w ago

“Our kids can’t go to a private school,” said a West Virginia advocate who has a daughter with Down syndrome. “I called every private school from Huntington to Charleston because that’s as far as we could drive her and work. But no one would accept her." / Help us report: www.propublica.org/tips/

Vouchers Promise Students With Disabilities a Path to Private School. Parents Say That’s Not the Reality.

To give voucher programs a toehold in state legislatures, politicians touted how students with disabilities would gain access to private education. But those students’ families often have the hardest ...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2w ago

Private schools that take public voucher money often reject children with disabilities — the very kids who were used to help sell early voucher programs to lawmakers and the public — for having needs that are too costly, complex or disruptive. / Reporting by @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social

Vouchers Promise Students With Disabilities a Path to Private School. Parents Say That’s Not the Reality.

To give voucher programs a toehold in state legislatures, politicians touted how students with disabilities would gain access to private education. But those students’ families often have the hardest ...

propublica.org

Eric Umansky@ericumansky.bsky.social · 3w ago

An OB-GYN sued (often low-income, uninsured) patients for owing as little as $114. He charged them 18% interest. And oh, he had many of them *arrested* if they didn't follow through. That OB-GYN? Republican Senator Roger Marshall www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/u... Insane story by Sarah Kliff

Roger Marshall Sued 700 Patients for Debts; 81 Were Arrested. Now He’s a Senator.

Patients sued by Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas were routinely charged 18 percent interest, The Times found. Some had bank accounts garnished.

nytimes.com

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 3w ago

The Alpha School is a fast-growing chain of AI-driven private schools that claim academics take up only two hours of the day. It’s been rejected in places as a charter school but approved for tax funded voucher-style programs. @propublica.org

Several States Rejected This Private School Chain as a Charter. Now It’s Eligible for Texas’ Taxpayer-Funded Vouchers.

The Texas education board, which typically approves most charter applications it reviews, rejected Alpha School’s request last year. Then Alpha quadrupled its Texas private school campuses, most of wh...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 3w ago

Over 3 terms as attorney general, Ken Paxton has withheld financial information on disclosures that could explain how he became a multimillionaire and had the resources to purchase more than a dozen properties in five states. / @propublica.org

Ken Paxton’s Financial Disclosures Appear to Violate Federal Ethics Law, Experts Say

The Republican U.S. Senate nominee from Texas appears to have omitted rental income and multiple mortgages from his recent financial disclosures, making it difficult for voters to get the full picture...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 3w ago

Georgia has made payments of more than $1.1 million since the COVID-19 pandemic for at least one contractor to work with the Corrections Department on its lethal injection process. During that period, the state carried out just a single execution. / by @maxblau.bsky.social

This State Is Spending More on Lethal Injections. A Law Tries to Keep the Details Secret.

As Georgia plans for its first execution in two years, a trove of records provides us with new information — and raises new questions — about the state’s lethal injection process.

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · last mo.

Since the 1970s, Idaho’s criminal and civil laws have allowed parents who belong to Followers of Christ and the state’s other faith-healing sects to pray rather than seek medical care as their children die. / Reporting by @audreydutton.bsky.social @propublica.org

These Children’s Deaths Were Preventable. Their Parents Prayed Instead of Seeking Medical Care.

For decades, Idaho laws have allowed parents who belong to the Followers of Christ and other faith-healing sects to pray rather than seek medical care. Since 2015, at least 15 children have died of tr...

propublica.org

Eric Umansky@ericumansky.bsky.social · last mo.

Trump has been banishing people to one of the world's worst dictatorships Including: a Phoenix man whose family fled Egypt at 4 yrs old a woman who came to the U.S. at 5 yr old They're now imprisoned, & report being handcuffed and assaulted They've committed no crime tucson.com/news/local/b...

U.S. deportees assaulted, threatened at gunpoint in Equatorial Guinea, three say

Immigrants deported from the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea say they have been threatened at gunpoint and fear for their lives while detained at a former hotel.

tucson.com

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · last mo.

Two years ago voters in Missouri overturned a near-total abortion ban enacted by the GOP-dominated legislature. Now the party is pushing a new ballot initiative to repeal abortion rights, linking it to anti-trans sentiment. / by @jeremykohler.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/miss...

Missouri Republicans Are Trying to Repeal Abortion Rights by Leaning Into Anti-Trans Sentiment

Two years after falsely linking reproductive rights to gender transition care for minors, GOP lawmakers have packaged the two issues into one amendment in an effort to strip away the right to abortion...

propublica.org

ProPublica@propublica.org · last mo.

NEW: At some private schools across the U.S., every student uses taxpayer money to pay toward tuition, thanks to the growth of school voucher programs. But these "quasi-public" schools face almost none of the scrutiny given to public schools.

At “Quasi-Public” Private Schools, 100% of Students Get Tuition Vouchers. There’s Almost No Accountability.

Private schools — even those that are heavily dependent on taxpayer funding — often operate without the scrutiny public schools are subject to. Following the money at one Milwaukee private school reve...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · last mo.

At some private schools across the U.S., 100% of students use taxpayer money to pay toward tuition, thanks to the growth of school voucher programs. But these "quasi-public" schools face almost none of the scrutiny given to public schools. www.propublica.org/article/priv...

At “Quasi-Public” Private Schools, 100% of Students Get Tuition Vouchers. There’s Almost No Accountability.

Private schools — even those that are heavily dependent on taxpayer funding — often operate without the scrutiny public schools are subject to. Following the money at one Milwaukee private school reve...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The AAU, a youth sports organization, had grown “sophisticated” in its attempts to suppress child sex abuse lawsuits, according to one attorney: “It’s not unlike what the Catholic Church has done.” / By @propublica.org

This National Youth Sports Organization Is Failing to Protect Kids From Sexual Abuse

More than a decade after the Amateur Athletic Union promised to implement “historic child protection measures,” it still hasn’t done so, leaving hundreds of thousands of kids at risk. Some AAU athlete...

propublica.org

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Michael Alfonso, son-in-law of DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, wins congressional primary having received large campaign contributions from transportation interests — the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Megan O'Matz@megomatz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Federal government proposes sweeping Head Start changes that could result in larger class sizes and require English-only instruction / Story by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Federal government proposes sweeping Head Start changes that modify standards on class sizes, require English-only instruction

The new proposed standards promise flexibility while projecting roughly 162,000 additional Head Start and Early Head Start slots nationally. Advocates say changes would undermine the quality of curren...

milwaukeenns.org