Tracy Jan

Meet Minnesota Bathrobe Lady Sam Stroozas of MPR News | Minnesota Public Radio Earlier this week, an unexpected and fast-moving incident unfolded in St. Paul, Minnesota involving both federal and local law enforcement. As crowds gathered and questions mounted, one of our MPR New...

hello minnesota and beyond! thank you for your kind messages. it is very weird to be the news when you cover the news. i love this beautiful state and journalism, and i am hopeful for better days. but we will be forever changed bc of the last two months.

Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why. State regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water. But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to fin...

The family’s water was undrinkable: It corroded taps. It withered plants. Their ice maker expelled clumps of salt.

Why?

For 2 yrs, Oklahoma oil regulators delayed basic tests that could help them find out.

Read @nickbowlin.bsky.social latest for @propublica.org + @readfrontier.bsky.social!

You need to read this heartbreaking @propublica.org account from inside Dilley Detention Center, where hundreds of children are being held.

Opinion | A Lament for the Washington Post The most powerful capital in the world has no major fully functioning newspaper. That’s a huge absence.

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” Jefferson wrote.

A Lament for the Washington Post, by Peggy Noonan

Saluting Marty, a WaPo legend who walked through the newsroom every day before the pandemic greeting everyone by name. By the time he got to me, in the far reaches of the financial section, it would be close to 6 pm and I’d know it was about time to leave to pick up my son from daycare.

You Can’t Kill Swagger My old corner of The Washington Post raised some of the best journalists in the business.

Fuck yeah, @sallyjenx.bsky.social !!!
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

“At the heart of the institution is something that no one can ever own: the Wilbonian core trained into all of us, an impulse to run to the riverbank that these bumbling strangers who have hobbled the publication will never grasp.”

Such secrecy, in our view, deprives the public of the most fundamental tool for accountability.

The policy of shielding officers’ identities, particularly after a public shooting, is a stark departure from standard law enforcement protocols, according to lawmakers, state attorneys general and former federal officials.

The Department of Justice said it is investigating the incident, but the names of the two agents have been withheld from Congress and from state and local law enforcement.

@propublica.org EDITORS NOTE on why we’re publishing the agents’ names:

We believe there are few investigations that deserve more sunlight and public scrutiny than this one, in which two masked agents fired 10 shots at Pretti as he lay on the ground after being pepper-sprayed.

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

SCOOP by @davidmcswane.bsky.social:

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

For Some Americans, the End of Obamacare Subsidies Means Falling Off a Financial Cliff

For Some Americans, the End of Obamacare Subsidies Means Falling Off a Financial Cliff

What We Saw in Minneapolis Our visual journalists documented the days surrounding Alex Pretti’s killing in Minneapolis.

MUST READ this powerful, intimate dispatch from Minneapolis by @propublica.org visual journalists @peterdicampo.bsky.social (who lives there) & @cengizyar.com

This is America.

1--Louisiana’s parole board freed 185 prisoners during Gov. Jeff Landry’s tenure, down from 858 in the two years before he took office, according to an analysis by @veritenews.org and @propublica.org . THREAD

New Bills Seek to Rein In Oil Companies’ Pollution of Oklahoma Groundwater The legislation comes after The Frontier and ProPublica found over 150 incidents where oilfield wastewater had gushed from the earth, releasing toxic chemicals — including some that cause cancer — nea...

IMPACT by @nickbowlin.bsky.social: An OK lawmaker files legislation to curb industrial pollution after @readfrontier.bsky.social + @propublica.org found over 150 incidents where oilfield wastewater has gushed from the earth, releasing toxic chemicals near homes & into drinking water sources

An Unconstitutional “Jim Crow Jury” Sent Him to Prison for Life. A New Law Aims to Keep Him There. Five years ago, the Supreme Court decided that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. But for this Louisiana prisoner — and hundreds of others — “tough on crime” state leaders have ensured t...

* Lloyd Gray, a Black prisoner serving a life sentence despite being convicted by an unconstitutional “Jim Crow” jury in which the only two Black jurors determined he was not guilty

www.propublica.org/article/loui...

An Algorithm Deemed This Nearly Blind 70-Year-Old Prisoner a “Moderate Risk.” Now He’s No Longer Eligible for Parole. A Louisiana law cedes much of the power of the parole board to an algorithm that bars thousands of prisoners from a shot at early release. Civil rights attorneys say it could disproportionately harm B...

* Calvin Alexander, a nearly blind, wheelchair-bound 70-year-old who was denied parole because of a risk score system based almost entirely on the crimes he committed rather than his efforts at rehabilitation

www.propublica.org/article/tige...

He Was Convicted Based on Allegedly Fabricated Bite Mark Analysis. Louisiana Wants to Execute Him Anyway. Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.

Don't miss other essential reading by @richardawebster.bsky.social for @propublica.org + @veritenews.org on how Landry's criminal justice policies have affected:

* Death row inmate Jimmie Duncan, whose conviction was based on discredited bite mark analysis

www.propublica.org/article/loui...

Louisiana Paroles Its Lowest Number of Prisoners in 20 Years Under Gov. Jeff Landry The state parole board freed 185 prisoners during Landry’s tenure, compared with 858 in the two years before he took office. Hundreds who would have been released under previous governors remain incar...

@richardawebster.bsky.social's latest on the impact of Landry's "tough on crime" policies: Parole in Louisiana has dropped to its lowest number in 20 yrs.

Hundreds who would have been paroled under previous administrations now remain in state prisons with little chance of earning early release.

As we decide which high school to send our son to, I’m tired of hearing about career preparation and even college prep. I want schools to teach students to think critically about what they see, hear & read, to develop their identities and to CHALLENGE AUTHORITY. Not to create more worker drones.

Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis

A third agent unholsters a weapon. Both agents appear to fire additional shots into Mr. Pretti as he lies motionless.

In total, at least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.

Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis

As the gun emerges from the melee, another agent aims his own firearm at Mr. Pretti’s back and appears to fire one shot at close range. He then appears to continue firing at Mr. Pretti, who collapses.

Dry January may have to be aborted this weekend. 😑

3,000+ local newspapers have closed in 20 years.

Fewer watchdogs = less accountability. Tracy Jan explores the rise of news deserts and why local reporting is crucial for democracy.

Read here: https://bit.ly/4aWMZSS
#LocalNews #JournalismMatters

Such an honor to be back at @umwallacehouse.bsky.social speaking to this year’s Knight Wallace Class, a decade after my own memorable year in Ann Arbor.

Application deadline for next year’s class close Feb 1:
wallacehouse.umich.edu/knight-walla...

To all mid-career journalists, DO IT!

Jan. 16, 2025: A SpaceX Starship rocket explodes over the Caribbean.

Suddenly, dozens of planes in the area must scramble to get out of a newly designated FAA "debris zone."

Their passengers are now unwitting participants in a test run gone wrong. (THREAD)

Come work with me! And one of the best teams in investigative journalism!

Local Reporting Network Fellow Remote, United States

New year! New opportunities for local newsrooms to collaborate with @propublica.org!

Applications are open for 15 yearlong Local Reporting Network partnerships for 2026.

We will review project proposals on a ROLLING basis, with Feb 5 as the 1st deadline.

job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

Map of warehouses

ICE wants to hold 80,000 people in warehouses.

ICE's acting director in April: "We need to get better at treating this like a business ... Like Prime, but with human beings."

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... @douglasmac.bsky.social

Deported and Imprisoned Archives A case-by-case investigation that examines the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” and “terrorists” and that shows what they suffered during months in one of t...

Here’s the full “Deported & Imprisoned” series, an investigation examining the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” & “terrorists” and revealing what they suffered in one of the most notorious maximum-security prisons.

www.propublica.org/series/depor...