Nicole Einbinder
@nicoleeinbinder.bsky.social
Investigations @ Business Insider neinbinder@insider.com. Send tips on Signal from a non-work device: neinbinder.70
My latest for @businessinsider.com: In one California town, Flock misread license plates in 71% of the alerts it sent to police. 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
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
I'm honored to say I'll be a @bagehots.bsky.social fellow at Columbia University starting in August!
Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism@bagehots.bsky.social · 3mo agoWe’re excited to announce the 2026-27 Knight-Bagehot fellows. Congratulations to these outstanding business journalists @aishagani.bsky.social @nicoleeinbinder.bsky.social @radioanis.bsky.social @skyoutbriout.bsky.social Full list and bios at journalism.columbia.edu/news/knight-...
California education officials have released an audit into a local school district and its ties to a private boarding school in China, finding “sufficient evidence” of “fraud, misappropriation of funds, or other illegal fiscal practices.” www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
Audit slams California school officials' ties to Chinese boarding school
The Val Verde school district issued diplomas to students at the Pegasus boarding school in China.
politico.com
New: CA officials have released a blistering audit in response to a 2021 @businessinsider.com investigation into a school district and its ties to a private school in China, finding evidence of fraud, misappropriated funds, or other illegal fiscal practices: www.businessinsider.com/audit-val-ve...
California schools gave diplomas to kids in China. A probe sparked by Business Insider slams the arrangement.
A US public school district bestowed its diplomas on private school students 6,000 miles away in Qingdao, China.
businessinsider.com
New: we've found a dozen instances in which misreads by Flock's license plate cameras, or lack of verification by officers, resulted in people who hadn't committed crimes being stopped at gunpoint, sent to jail, or mauled by a police dog, among other outcomes. www.businessinsider.com/flock-safety...
AI cameras are everywhere — and people are paying the price for their mistakes
Flock Safety's license plate readers are used by police in thousands of communities. When the cameras make mistakes, the consequences can be severe.
businessinsider.com
Scoop for @businessinsider.com: Sam Altman's eye-scanning startup Tools for Humanity is bleeding high-level employees, including two C-suite executives and several senior staff who have departed in recent months.
businessinsider.com
NEW: Sam Altman's iris-scanning startup has raised hundreds of millions of dollars on a futuristic premise: proving someone is human in the age of AI. Its goals are ambitious — a billion users across the world. So far, it's less than 2% of the way there. www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-o...
Sam Altman's eye-scanning Orb startup wants to hit a billion users. It's less than 2% of the way there.
Sam Altman's startup, Tools for Humanity, wants its Orb to scan a billion irises to create a "World ID." Regulators worldwide are sounding the alarm.
businessinsider.com
Great story, showing yet again that many of the stars of the "news" business are, in fact, bullshitters. www.businessinsider.com/daniella-pie...
A founder said her $200 million newsletter empire had over a million subscribers. Her own records tell a different story.
Daniella Pierson is a darling of the business press and made Forbes 30 Under 30. But do her company's subscription numbers add up?
businessinsider.com
NEW with @dakincampbell.bsky.social: we’ve learned that NBCUniversal, CNBC, Comcast, and Marcus Lemonis — celebrity host of CNBC’s “The Profit” — settled with 40 small businesses that appeared on the show for $11 million, over harm they say they endured. www.businessinsider.com/the-profit-m...
CNBC's 'The Profit' ended with legal acrimony and an $11 million payout. Its host is now back on TV.
CNBC's "The Profit" resulted in a sprawling mess of lawsuits, arbitrations, and confidential settlements. Its host is back on the air with "The Fixer."
businessinsider.com
AWARD ENTRIES OPEN UNTIL 7/31 Visit our website for details + interviews with past winners including: 🥇Margie Mason @robinmcdowell.bsky.social @apnews.com 🥈@nicoleeinbinder.bsky.social @dakincampbell.bsky.social @businessinsider.com 🥉Sharon Lerner @propublica.org businessjournalism.org/awards/
The Supreme Court last week expanded prisoners' access to jury trials, for cases related to the Prison Litigation Reform Act under the Seventh Amendment. Re-upping the story from @hannahbeckler.bsky.social and I about the stakes of the case: www.businessinsider.com/supreme-cour...
Few prisoners claiming abuses have access to a jury trial. The Supreme Court could soon change that.
A Clinton-era law, the PLRA, stymied prisoner lawsuits claiming serious harm. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over whether certain prisoners deserve jury trials.
businessinsider.com
I'm honored to be named a a Livingston finalist with @hannahbeckler.bsky.social for our series exposing how the Eighth Amendment has been gutted for this nation's prisoners. These were tough stories to report, and I'm grateful to be recognized alongside such a stellar group of journalists.
Wallace House Center for Journalists@umwallacehouse.bsky.social · last yr.🌟 The 2025 Livingston Award Finalists for National Reporting! These exceptional journalists under 35 are telling stories that challenge assumptions and deepen our understanding of the nation. Read their work here: loom.ly/LAVASEQ #JournalismExcellence
"I don't know if I'd trust getting on a plane." We spoke to over a dozen current and former employees at @noaa.gov. They expressed concern over less accurate forecasts and aviation issues, among other things, amid steep cuts. www.businessinsider.com/doge-noaa-cu...
DOGE cuts have arrived at a federal weather agency. Air travel forecasts and hurricane alerts are at risk.
As hurricane and tornado seasons ramp up, DOGE cuts have reached the federal agency that tracks extreme weather.
businessinsider.com
I wrote about little DOGEs everywhere — from the GOAT committee in Wisconsin, to FLOGE in Florida. www.businessinsider.com/state-doge-i...
'Thirsty for Elon': Local politicians across America are copying the DOGE playbook
Officials in at least 18 states, including Florida and North Carolina, want their own mini DOGEs. The age of GOAT, FLOGE, and BullDOGEr is upon us.
businessinsider.com
I'm thrilled to see that our reporting on "The Gutting of the Eighth Amendment" is a finalist for @americanbar.org's Silver Gavel Award. This kind of reporting is difficult, and it means a lot to see the work recognized — especially among such impressive company. www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...
ABA names 2025 finalists for Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts
CHICAGO, March 12, 2025 — The American Bar Association today announced the 24 finalists for the 2025 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts, which recognize outstanding work that fosters the Ameri...
americanbar.org
The Supreme Court is set to hear a case tomorrow, related to the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act, that could expand prisoners' access to jury trials. @hannahbeckler.bsky.social and I wrote about the case here: www.businessinsider.com/supreme-cour...
Few prisoners claiming abuses have access to a jury trial. The Supreme Court could soon change that.
A Clinton-era law, the PLRA, stymied prisoner lawsuits claiming serious harm. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over whether certain prisoners deserve jury trials.
businessinsider.com
We got a list of workers at the White House’s DOGE office, including some new names previously unreported. Among them, a McKinsey alum and a lawyer who clerked for Clarence Thomas www.businessinsider.com/doge-staff-l...
We got a DOGE staff list. From a McKinsey alum to a former Clarence Thomas clerk, here are the workers powering Elon Musk's cost-cutting squad.
A list showing White House DOGE staffers reveals around 30 young tech, finance and legal professionals remaking federal government.
businessinsider.com
Federal workers: is there something happening internally at your agency that you feel the press hasn't covered, or that needs more scrutiny and attention? I'd love to chat with you. You can reach me on the encrypted messaging app Signal at neinbinder.70. Happy to talk off the record at this time.
The gutting of the Eighth Amendment When less than 1% of cases prevail, does a prisoner's right to be free of 'cruel and unusual punishments' still exist? Lipman grantee Nicole Einbinder's latest on the erosion of Eighth Amendment rights. www.businessinsider.com/eighth-amend...
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect against prisoner abuse. Less than 1% of cases succeed.
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect prisoners against abuse. BI has found that Supreme Court decisions and federal laws have obliterated it.
businessinsider.com
Finally created a Bluesky account, and my first post is about our @businessinsider.com project over two years in the making exposing how the Eighth Amendment has been essentially gutted for this nation's 1.2 million prisoners. www.businessinsider.com/eighth-amend...
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect against prisoner abuse. Less than 1% of cases succeed.
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect prisoners against abuse. BI has found that Supreme Court decisions and federal laws have obliterated it.
businessinsider.com
This week at @businessinsider.com we launched a deep dive into the 8th Amendment, our nation's foundational protection against "cruel and unusual punishments." In analyzing nearly 1,500 cases, we found prisoners win less than 1% of the time. www.businessinsider.com/eighth-amend...
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect against prisoner abuse. Less than 1% of cases succeed.
The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect prisoners against abuse. BI has found that Supreme Court decisions and federal laws have obliterated it.
businessinsider.com
A true honor, and a fun event
The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism at ASU@businessjournalism.org · 2y agoCongratulations again to the winners of the 2024 Barlett & Steele Awards! 🎉 On November 20, many of the winners joined Jim Steele in a conversation on "How they did it." Check out Alessandra De Zubeldia's recap of the insights shared at businessjournalism.org/2024/12/recap/