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 ... 🧵

Before entering politics, Tim Sheehy ran an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. In the Senate, he has sought to cut regulations and expand the government’s use of private aircraft on wildfires, while still owning stock in the company. @abestreep.bsky.social

A U.S. Senator Pushed to Cut Firefighting Aircraft Inspections the Same Month His Former Company Failed One

Before entering politics, Tim Sheehy ran an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. In the Senate, he has sought to cut regulations and expand the government’s use of private aircraft on wildf...

propublica.org

NEW: Regulators have linked Mark McAfee’s raw dairy farm to more than a dozen recalls and outbreaks that left hundreds of people ill. “I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital,” McAfee said. “But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer.”

He Profits Off Raw Milk That's Making People Sick. The Government Isn't Stopping Him.

With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that's been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

propublica.org

After a decade+ of nonstop pollution offenses, GOP Sen. Jim Justice's coal empire learned earlier this year that it was under federal criminal investigation. But before prosecutors could gather crucial evidence, Todd Blanche's office told them "pencils down."

A billionaire known as “Bitcoin Jesus” was under indictment for massive criminal tax fraud and very likely going to prison. Then, he hired a “Friend of Trump” and the criminal charges disappeared. How did they do it? Avi Asher-Schapiro and I spent months getting the inside story.

In today's Laurels/Darts, I interview Jessica Schulberg, the Huffpost reporter who has extensively covered an unjust Oklahoma death-penalty case. She was at the penitentiary when the the convict was spared -- exactly 2 minutes before he was scheduled to die. www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...

You know one sign of sophisticated intelligence is the ability to integrate new information and not lose your job twice for essentially the same reason

JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor. You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j... You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233

Senior Editor, Business

New York City, United States

job-boards.greenhouse.io

BREAKING: In a 3-2 vote Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole board recommended clemency for Tremane Wood, a man sentenced to death for a killing his brother admitted to committing www.huffpost.com/entry/oklaho...

Tremane Wood, Who Was Never Proven To Have Killed Anyone, Gets Clemency Recommendation

The 3-2 vote was a stunning outcome in a case where the Oklahoma attorney general has personally intervened to try to secure Wood’s execution.

huffpost.com

Jessica Schulberg@jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Tremane Wood is facing execution on November 13. I revisited his case to investigate how a group of judges and prosecutors have secretly coordinated in ways that have undermined Tremane’s final chance to live. www.huffpost.com/entry/oklaho...

Tremane Wood is facing execution on November 13. I revisited his case to investigate how a group of judges and prosecutors have secretly coordinated in ways that have undermined Tremane’s final chance to live. www.huffpost.com/entry/oklaho...

A Red State Is Preparing To Execute A Man Who Was Never Proven To Have Killed Anyone

Next week, Tremane Wood will have the chance to make his case for mercy. Oklahoma's attorney general is fighting to ensure his death.

huffpost.com

Jessica Schulberg@jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 2y ago

In 2001 brothers Jake and Tremane Wood committed a botched robbery that left Ronnie Wipf dead. Jake, who said he killed Ronnie, was sentenced to life. Tremane, who insisted he did not kill anyone, was sentenced to death. www.huffpost.com/entry/death-...

NEW from me: The CFPB's consumer complaint system is more popular than ever, fielding over 2.7M complaints last year. But Republican lawmakers still voted to slash the CFPB's budget, even after referring thousands of their own constituents' issues to the agency. www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...

These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency.

Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, lo...

propublica.org

Do you have information about Big Law spurning clients who might incur Trump's anger? Get in touch: molly.redden@propublica.org or on Signal at mollyredden.14

Molly Redden@mtredden.bsky.social · 12mo ago

New from me: Big Law is fearful of representing anyone Trump sees as his enemies, and it's thwarting challenges to his agenda. “There are cases that aren’t being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they’ve been.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...

New from me: Big Law is fearful of representing anyone Trump sees as his enemies, and it's thwarting challenges to his agenda. “There are cases that aren’t being brought at a time when civil rights abuses are maybe at the highest they’ve been.” www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration

Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and...

propublica.org

NEW— "A lot of children have passed the point of no return...The gut lining has started to auto-digest & will no longer [absorb] water or nutrition. Death is imminent for 1000s" An American doctor who just returned from Gaza on where US-Israeli policy is taking us: www.huffpost.com/entry/gaza-s...

‘Past The Point Of No Return’: Doctor Describes How Starvation In Gaza Is Driving Mass Death

"In August and September, there are probably still going to be ... large numbers of deaths because children have already passed the tipping point," Mark Brauner, who volunteered in Gaza last month, to...

huffpost.com

Tips are *very* welcome. Are you in Big Law or a Trump-aligned firm? Struggling to recruit pro bono partners to sue the administration? Former or current DOJ/OCR? Leonard Leo? Get in my DMs!

Molly Redden@mtredden.bsky.social · last yr.

I'm launching a new @propublica.org beat! Legal affairs under Trump: his assault on Big Law, his judicial nominees, his defiance of the courts, the politicization of executive branch legal offices, favor-trading for dropped investigations, White House legal strategy—you name it.

I'm launching a new @propublica.org beat! Legal affairs under Trump: his assault on Big Law, his judicial nominees, his defiance of the courts, the politicization of executive branch legal offices, favor-trading for dropped investigations, White House legal strategy—you name it.

“I struggle for adjectives to adequately describe the horror that this administration has visited on the world,” said a former State Dept official about the damage done by Trump and Musk abandoning America's humanitarian aid commitments.

Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile Locations

Exclusive State Department records show: As the Trump administration abandons its humanitarian commitments, diplomats are reporting that the cuts have led to violence and instability while undermining...

propublica.org

Mothers, hide your Overton Windows! A secretive effort is at work to convince courts the US is legally under "invasion." MAGA loyalists have pushed this fringe legal theory for years. Now, it's the linchpin of Trump's mass deportation campaign and his extraordinary threats to suspend habeas corpus.

ProPublica@propublica.org · last yr.

NEW: The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years. By @mtredden.bsky.social

THREAD: Under a new law, thousands of prisoners in Louisiana have been cut off from ever getting a chance at parole. Why? Because an algorithm said so. 1/

An October 2024 story about Russell Vought captured the breadth and ferocity of the coming attack on the federal government. So why didn’t this story drive more of a national conversation when it appeared?

The October Story That Outlined Exactly What the Trump Administration Would Do to the Federal Bureaucracy

Historians have hindsight when they look into the past; journalists have the facts on the ground and context to help them look ahead. That means we can sometimes be surprised by how prescient a story…

propub.li

New and devastating reporting from my colleagues showing just how dangerous it has become to be pregnant and in Texas after the state banned abortion. Please read and share: www.propublica.org/article/texa...

Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.

ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.

propublica.org

“In response, the employees refused their requests and called sheriff's deputies.“

Ben Collins@bencollins.bsky.social · last yr.

So you can just say you work at DOGE and pillage anything from our documents you want. The law truly doesn't exist anymore! Cool!

If a nakedly corrupt and anti-constitutional DoJ won't hold Eric Adams to account, here's who could. How Other Prosecutors Could Pick Up the Case Against Eric Adams www.thecity.nyc/2025/02/15/e...

How Other Prosecutors Could Pick Up the Case Against Eric Adams

Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and NY Attorney General Tish James could pursue charges, and Gov. Hochul could also remove the mayor.

thecity.nyc

I wrote about how the Trump administration's assault on the civil service draws from the same playbook used for decades against public school teachers. A nation that devalues its public servants devalues its future www.vox.com/donald-trump...

Elon Musk is using the anti-teacher playbook against the entire civil workforce

This didn’t start with DOGE.

vox.com

The Trump administration has flown about 100 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. Perla Trevizo and I identified nearly a dozen of them and spoke to relatives of three of them. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

U.S. Claims Immigrants Held at Guantanamo Are “Worst of the Worst.” Their Families Say They’re Being Unfairly Targeted.

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune have identified nearly a dozen immigrants who have been flown to Guantanamo Bay. Government officials have refused to release the names of detainees or provide details...

propublica.org

NEW: Under the Trump administration, the Office for Civil Rights has shifted its focus to removing gender-neutral bathrooms, banning transgender athletes from women’s sports and prioritizing complaints alleging discrimination against white students.

“We’ve Been Essentially Muzzled”: Department of Education Halts Thousands of Civil Rights Investigations Under Trump

Since Inauguration Day, the Office for Civil Rights has only opened about 20 investigations focused on Trump’s priorities, placing more than 10,000 student complaints related to disability access and ...

propub.li

NEW from me: Why has Patrick Soon-Shiong touted RFK Jr repeatedly and run interference for him at his paper, the LA Times? Maybe because his biotech company has 3 applications pending at the FDA, whose parent agency Kennedy is about to be running. prospect.org/power/2025-0...

L.A. Times Owner Has Financial Motivations for Boosting RFK Jr.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong’s biotech firm is preparing three applications needing approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

prospect.org

Buckle up

Molly Redden@mtredden.bsky.social · 2y ago

New from me: As they prepare to cut trillions in government services, Trump + team are planning to test a radical legal theory which claims the president can unilaterally choke off funding from programs he opposes. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Donald Trump has just released a national under 18 trans care ban executive order. I am working through specifically how it tries to do this, and will live tweet here section by section as I read through it. It is not yet on the website, but has been released via press release.

Trump Day One executive order is an illegal deferral under the Impoundment Control Act. It also seems as though Trump is (accidentally? purposefully?) demanding the US break its contracts for funding that has been obligated but not yet outlaid in saying no funds shall be disbursed.