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South Archive

Tennessee’s Law on School Threats Ensnared Students Who Posed No Risks. Two States Passed Similar Laws.

by Aliyya Swaby,

How the Head of an Embattled Tennessee Youth Detention Center Held on to Power for Decades

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio, and Mariam Elba, ProPublica,

The Head of a Tennessee Youth Detention Center Will Step Down After “Loss of Confidence” in His Leadership

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

A Tennessee School Agreed to Pay $100,000 to Family of 11-Year-Old Student Arrested Under School Threats Law

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

A Tennessee School Expelled a 12-Year-Old for a Social Post. Experts Say It Didn’t Properly Assess If He Made a Threat.

by Aliyya Swaby,

Prescient Warnings About Helene Didn’t Reach People in Harm’s Way. Here Are 5 Lessons for the Next Hurricane.

by Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon, with additional reporting by Cassandra Garibay,

Helene’s Unheard Warnings

by Jennifer Berry Hawes, with additional reporting by Cassandra Garibay,

He Became the Face of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement. Now He’s Fed Up With It.

by Margaret Coker, The Current,

The Firm Running Georgia’s Struggling Medicaid Experiment Was Also Paid Millions to Sell It to the Public

by Margaret Coker, The Current,

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them.

by Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout,

Louisiana Judge Nullifies Death Row Inmate’s Murder Conviction That Was Based on Junk Science

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

Two Months After Trump’s Funding Cuts, a Nonprofit Struggles to Support Refugees and Itself

by Amy Yurkanin,

“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay”

by T. Christian Miller,

N.C. Lawmakers Move to Stop Votes From Being Discarded Based on Postelection Rule Changes

by Doug Bock Clark,

An Algorithm Deemed This Nearly Blind 70-Year-Old Prisoner a “Moderate Risk.” Now He’s No Longer Eligible for Parole.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

North Carolina Lawmakers Ask for Investigation Into Funding Disruptions for Sexual Abuse Survivors

by Doug Bock Clark,

Police Across the U.S. Welcomed Cop Show “The First 48.” Then Relationships Soured.

by Jessica Lussenhop,

A Political Power Grab Redirected Funds for North Carolina’s Sexual Abuse Survivors. Women in Crisis Paid the Price.

by Doug Bock Clark,

He Was Convicted Based on Allegedly Fabricated Bite Mark Analysis. Louisiana Wants to Execute Him Anyway.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

Georgia Won’t Say Who’s Now Serving on Its Maternal Mortality Committee After Dismissing All Members Last Year

by Amy Yurkanin,

Georgia Touts Its Medicaid Experiment as a Success. The Numbers Tell a Different Story.

by Margaret Coker, The Current,

Tennessee Lawmakers Push to Change How the State Disarms Dangerous People to Better Protect Domestic Violence Victims

by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

First Came the Warning Signs. Then a Teen Opened Fire on a Nashville School.

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

How Many Students Have Been Expelled Under Tennessee’s School Threats Law? There’s No Clear Answer.

by Aliyya Swaby,

They Followed North Carolina Election Rules When They Cast Their Ballots. Now Their Votes Could Be Tossed Anyway.

by Doug Bock Clark,

Is a New Mississippi Law Decreasing Jailings of People Awaiting Mental Health Treatment? The State Doesn’t Know.

by Gwen Dilworth, Mississippi Today,

Women Made Electoral Gains in Statehouses Across the Country in 2024. The Southeast Is a Different Story.

by Jennifer Berry Hawes,

North Carolina Supreme Court Candidate Wants Military Absentee Votes Tossed. Years Earlier, That’s How He Voted.

by Doug Bock Clark,

How Segregated Are Your Local Private Schools? We Made a Tool to Help You Find Out.

by Jennifer Berry Hawes,

This Storm-Battered Town Voted for Trump. He Has Vowed to Overturn the Law That Could Fix Its Homes.

by Sharon Lerner, photography by Annie Flanagan for ProPublica,

Two Families Sue After 11-Year-Old and 13-Year-Old Students Were Arrested Under Tennessee’s School Threat Law

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

North Carolina Supreme Court Blocked Certification of a Justice’s Win. Activists Fear It’s “Dangerous for Democracy.”

by Doug Bock Clark,

A North Carolina Supreme Court Candidate’s Bid to Overturn His Loss Is Based on Theory Election Deniers Deemed Extreme

by Doug Bock Clark,

The Story of One Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation

by Jennifer Berry Hawes, data analysis by Nat Lash, with additional reporting by Mollie Simon,

UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism

by Annie Waldman,

Segregation Academies in Mississippi Are Benefiting From Public Dollars, as They Did in the 1960s

by Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon,

Georgia Dismissed All Members of Maternal Mortality Committee After ProPublica Obtained Internal Details of Two Deaths

by Amy Yurkanin,

Segregation Academies Across the South Are Getting Millions in Taxpayer Dollars

by Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon,

A 13-Year-Old With Autism Got Arrested After His Backpack Sparked Fear. Only His Stuffed Bunny Was Inside.

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

A Georgia Election Official’s Months-Long Push to Make It Easier to Challenge the 2024 Results

by Doug Bock Clark and Heather Vogell,

An 11-Year-Old Denied Making a Threat and Was Allowed to Return to School. Tennessee Police Arrested Him Anyway.

by Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, and Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio,

Un inmigrante murió construyendo un barco para el gobierno de EE. UU. Su familia no recibió nada.

por Nicole Foy,

When a Florida Farmer-Legislator Turned Against Immigration, the Consequences Were Severe. But Not for Him.

by Seth Freed Wessler, photography by Zaydee Sanchez and Kathleen Flynn, with additional reporting by Zaydee Sanchez,

An Immigrant Died Building a Ship for the U.S. Government. His Family Got Nothing.

by Nicole Foy,

Charleston Unveils Historical Marker at the Site of Firm That Held the Largest Known U.S. Slave Trade

by Jennifer Berry Hawes,

Georgia Judge Rules Election Officials Must Count All Votes and Certify Results

by Doug Bock Clark,

Election Skeptics Are Running Some County Election Boards in Georgia. A New Rule Could Allow Them to Exclude Decisive Votes.

by Doug Bock Clark and Heather Vogell,

A Law Was Meant to Target Teen Violence. Instead, 17-Year-Olds Are Being Charged as Adults for Lesser Offenses.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News,

Did a Georgia Hospital Break Federal Law When It Failed to Save Amber Thurman? A Senate Committee Chair Wants Answers.

by Ziva Branstetter,

Afraid to Seek Care Amid Georgia’s Abortion Ban, She Stayed at Home and Died

by Kavitha Surana,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools

    Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.

    by Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat, and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica,

    Broken Promises

    Trump Administration Abandons Deal With Northwest Tribes to Restore Salmon

    The Trump administration canceled a deal, signed under President Joe Biden, that would have enabled the removal of four hydroelectric dams along the Columbia River that are considered harmful to salmon.

    by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting,

    Local Reporting Network

    “Delay, Interfere, Undermine”

    President Donald Trump has praised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as a crime fighter, but new reporting based on interviews and documents reveals how senior Salvadoran officials have impeded a U.S. investigation of the MS-13 gang.

    by T. Christian Miller and Sebastian Rotella,

    “The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

    One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.

    by Hannah Allam,

    Portland Said It Was Investing in Homeless People’s Safety. Deaths Have Quadrupled.

    The city responded to an increase in homeless deaths by intensifying encampment sweeps and adding emergency shelter at the expense of permanent housing. Experts say this has perpetuated the problem.

    by K. Rambo, Street Roots,

    Local Reporting Network