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Democracy

The Right to Read

Examining the Toll of America’s Literacy Crisis

One in five American adults struggles to read at a basic level. ProPublica examines the causes and consequences of America’s literacy crisis to illuminate a path forward.

17 stories published since 2022

ProPublica Project Receives Emmy Nomination

America’s Adult Education System Is Broken. Here’s How Experts Say We Can Fix It.

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?

How to Help People Vote in the 2022 Midterm Elections

For Helping Voters Who Can’t Read, She’s Been Criminally Charged — Twice. That Hasn’t Stopped Her.

New Voting Restrictions Could Make It Harder for 1 in 5 Americans to Vote

Meet the Woman Fighting for the Rights of Voters Who Can’t Read

ووٹ ڈالنے کا طریقہ: ایک فوری اور آسان رہنمائی

كيفية التصويت: دليل سريع وبسيط

如何投票?請收好這份指南

如何投票?请收好这份指南

কীভাবে ভোট দিতে হয়: একটি দ্রুত এবং সহজ গাইড

वोट देने के बारे में जानकारी: संक्षिप्त और आसान गाइड

투표 방법: 간단하고 쉬운 안내서

Paano Bumoto: Isang Mabilis at Madaling Gabay

Cómo votar: una guía rápida y sencilla

Cách bỏ phiếu: Bản hướng dẫn nhanh chóng và dễ dàng

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.

Photo of Andy Kroll
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.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
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

    Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs

    A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

    Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

    In a ruling issued Monday, the judge called the government’s directives “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered funding for some of the NIH grants, including many profiled by ProPublica in recent months, to be restored.

    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.

    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.

    Local Reporting Network

    We Spent a Year Investigating How the FDA Let Risky Drugs Into the U.S. Market

    Our investigation exposed a little-known practice inside the FDA that allowed more than 150 drugs or their ingredients into the U.S. over the past dozen years even though they were made at factories banned from shipping their products here.