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.
Every election cycle, there seems to be a stolen valor plot line. @nlanard.bsky.social on the one this time: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
David Flippo blamed staff for exaggerating his military record. His own hat tells a different story.
The Nevada Republican sported V-shaped emblems that signify a valor award next to a Bronze Star. Flippo never received a Bronze Star for valor.
motherjones.com
Experience running a school wasn’t needed. No one from any of the states asked us about our backgrounds or qualifications. No one questioned what we plan to teach or how we would measure whether students are learning.
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
propublica.org
Just posted this video with receipts from our investigation: We uncovered bribery allegations against Susan Collins. WATCH:
We Uncovered Bribery Allegations Against Susan Collins
YouTube video by ProPublica
youtu.be
“Why did it take a reporter asking you about it to have you file your reports?” “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need ProPublica for this kind of thing.” But here we are. By @robwdavis.bsky.social
Oregon Housing Director Failed to Report Husband’s Related Business Interests
Andrea Bell, executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, filed amended state ethics paperwork after ProPublica asked about her husband’s work at a firm that’s consulted on projects re...
propublica.org
Happy day!! 🎉🎉 ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network Names Three New Partners for Its 50 State Initiative
ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network Names Three New Partners for Its 50 State Initiative
propublica.org
This week, the Trump admin and Alaska officials announced a ~$50 billion investment by the South Korean government into an Alaska liquefied-natural-gas pipeline. The rub: South Koreans didn’t agree to a specific dollar figure—or even to invest at all. 👀
South Korea Contests U.S. Claims of New $50 Billion Alaska Investment
The Trump administration asserted this week that South Korea will fund an LNG pipeline, but Seoul is disputing the status of negotiations.
wsj.com
Important story. Google Pushed AI Into Schools—and Even Students Say It’s Gone Too Far
Google Pushed AI Into Schools—and Even Students Say It’s Gone Too Far
The risks of cognitive and emotional dependence, along with falling test scores, are fueling a backlash.
wsj.com
Important caveats: Being sure of the clinical utility of the test is important because screening healthy people carries risks. A false positive can send someone into scans and biopsies they never needed. A false negative can create false reassurance.
A Cancer Test Has Investors Betting Big. But Will Insurers Pay?
An FDA panel backed Grail’s Galleri test. But the Medicare money the business depends on is far from guaranteed.
wsj.com
I've been a reporter for a long time and this might be the strangest thing I've ever done. We've been reporting on privatization of schools this year and found that just about anyone can open a private school in most states. So we asked, Could reporters do it?
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
propublica.org
Is this the future of education in America? This quiz is eye opening! Look at my answers and where they wouldn’t matter. Take Our Quiz to Find Out Where You Can Open Your Private School projects.propublica.org/private-scho....
Faith-based voucher schools can reject students with disabilities in Florida| Column
Faith-based voucher schools can reject students with disabilities in Florida| Column
ProPublica recently published an exposé on the rejection students with disabilities face from publicly funded voucher schools.
tampabay.com
It started with a question: If it was so easy to start a private school in some states — and even access public money — could we as @propublica reporters do it? Find out what @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social, @jsmithrichards.bsky.social and I learned: www.propublica.org/article/prop...
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
propublica.org
Just three months after the Texas State Board of Education raised concerns about Alpha School’s AI learning platform, Education Commissioner Mike Morath was in talks about using the tool in public schools. Great public records reporting by Lexi Churchill!
Texas’ Education Board Raised Questions About an AI Learning Tool. The State Then Helped Pilot It in Public Schools.
Just three months after the Texas State Board of Education raised concerns about Alpha School’s AI learning platform, Education Commissioner Mike Morath was in talks about using the tool in public sch...
propublica.org
SCOOP: Her Agency Distributes Billions for Housing Projects. Her Husband’s Company Helped Develop Some of Them. By @robwdavis.bsky.social w/ @opb.org @oregonian.com
Oregon Housing Director Failed to Report Husband’s Related Business Interests
Andrea Bell, executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, filed amended state ethics paperwork after ProPublica asked about her husband’s work at a firm that’s consulted on projects re...
propublica.org
You can’t open a school without merch, so we created ProPublica Academy pencils. They’re the best. Buy a set today and read the story too!
*PRE-SALE* ProPublica Academy Pencils - Ships Late-October
*PRE-SALE* - shipping will begin in late-OctoberThis year, a team of ProPublica reporters has been documenting how the American education landscape is shifting dramatically as states use public money ...
rayguncustom.com
Such a fun quiz. It’s Easy to Start a Private School. Take Our Quiz to Find Out Where You Can Open Yours. @zisiga.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social
It’s Easy to Start a Private School. Take Our Quiz to Find Out Where You Can Open Yours. — ProPublica
Private school requirements vary wildly across states. Take our quiz to find out just how easy starting one can be.
projects.propublica.org
Big sigh. Cornell edited its faq after the NYT story about the CUPD omitting details from the victim statement: “Any mention of sharing “all investigatory information” with the district attorney had been removed from the page.” www.wskg.org/regional-new...
Cornell quietly edits FAQ page about fraternity sexual assault allegations amid public backlash
On Wednesday, the university removed a sentence stating that campus police “shared all investigatory information with the Tompkins County District Attorney's Office.”
wskg.org
Patient Dies by Suicide After ‘Insurance Issue’ Delayed Medicine for Lung Disease Flare-Ups kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...
Patient Dies by Suicide After ‘Insurance Issue’ Delayed Medicine for Lung Disease Flare-Ups - KFF Health News
Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June. A medication his doctor prescribed days earlier to ease hi...
kffhealthnews.org
If anyone can open a private school, why not us? We started our own private schools. In Arkansas, all it took was $45 and an American flag. Welcome to our Curiosity Academies!
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
propublica.org
NEW: We’re Reporters, Not Teachers. We Were Able to Start Private Schools Anyway. With our pals at @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social @arktimes.bsky.social @theassemblync.bsky.social
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
propublica.org
Just three months after the Texas State Board of Education raised concerns about Alpha School’s AI learning platform, Education Commissioner Mike Morath was in talks about using the tool in public schools. w/ @texastribune.org
Texas’ Education Board Raised Questions About an AI Learning Tool. The State Then Helped Pilot It in Public Schools.
Just three months after the Texas State Board of Education raised concerns about Alpha School’s AI learning platform, Education Commissioner Mike Morath was in talks about using the tool in public sch...
propublica.org
NEW: Texas’ Education Board Raised Questions About an AI Learning Tool. The State Then Helped Pilot It in Public Schools. by Lexi Churchill w/ @texastribune.org
Texas’ Education Board Raised Questions About an AI Learning Tool. The State Then Helped Pilot It in Public Schools.
Just three months after the Texas State Board of Education raised concerns about Alpha School’s AI learning platform, Education Commissioner Mike Morath was in talks about using the tool in public sch...
propublica.org
"The parents told officers that they hadn’t taken the four children who died to the doctor because of their religion, the Followers of Christ, which considers the use of modern medicine a sinful lapse of faith in God."
Four Kids in One Faith-Healing Family Died. Authorities Could Do Nothing.
An exemption in Idaho law shields faith-healing parents from criminal prosecution for conduct that otherwise would be charged as neglect. It also keeps police and social workers from stepping in to pr...
propublica.org
NEW: Emma Joyce died at 3 years old. The next year, her sister Ava Joan died. Then their brother died from the same complication of untreated diabetes that killed Ava Joan. Later, a fourth sibling died. Their parents believed in prayer, not medicine.
Four Kids in One Faith-Healing Family Died. Authorities Could Do Nothing.
An exemption in Idaho law shields faith-healing parents from criminal prosecution for conduct that otherwise would be charged as neglect. It also keeps police and social workers from stepping in to pr...
propublica.org
NEW episode of our Paper Trail podcast just dropped: Who’s the Shadow President?
Who’s the Shadow President?
propublica.org
One of the most wrenching stories I have read: Four Kids in One Faith-Healing Family Died. Authorities Could Do Nothing. @audreydutton.bsky.social
Four Kids in One Faith-Healing Family Died. Authorities Could Do Nothing.
An exemption in Idaho law shields faith-healing parents from criminal prosecution for conduct that otherwise would be charged as neglect. It also keeps police and social workers from stepping in to pr...
propublica.org
BREAKING: The Trump administration is using a grant program from the 1980s to force cities around the US to funnel their ongoing collection of Flock, Axon, and other ALPR data into large federal surveillance centers that fall under the White House’s jurisdiction, 404 Media has learned
How Cities Are Forced to Funnel License Plate Data to a Massive Federal Surveillance Program
How the federal government built a massive database of license plate reader data through an anti-drug trafficking program.
404media.co
To speed up mass deportations, the Trump administration didn't just launch raids—it stripped $200M+ from nonprofit legal aid groups, bringing them to the brink of collapse. Here’s how immigrant legal defense barely survived the campaign to kneecap them:
First Trump came for immigrants. Then he came for their lawyers.
How legal aid groups survived the administration's attacks—barely.
motherjones.com
Wow. Inside Alpha School’s ‘Bootcamp’: Heart Monitors, Unpaid Labor & Many, Many Tweets @the74.bsky.social
Inside Alpha School’s ‘Bootcamp’: Heart Monitors, Unpaid Labor & Many, Many Tweets
Students at the AI-powered private school are chronicling grueling tests of composure, endurance and grit.
the74million.org
