Wendi C. Thomas

FACT FOCUS: Democrats did not shut down the government to give health care to 'illegal immigrants' This is false. Democrats say they are pushing for the inclusion of key health care provisions in the next congressional spending package.

FACT FOCUS: Democrats did not shut down the government to give health care to illegal immigrants.

So sorry for your loss.

Do you work at the Office of Management and Budget? Do you know someone who does? Are you a current or former federal worker with information that you can share about Russell Vought?

If the answer to any of these is "yes," please contact @andykroll.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/tips/

Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s push for Elon Musk’s xAI data center Photo illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica. Source images: Andrea Morales/MLK50, screenshot by MLK50, U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley via

mlk50.com/2025/08/22/x...

In the face of intense public opposition, the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has gone to unusual lengths to promote Musk’s facility: sending out a mailer, for the first time in recent memory, that includes misleading facts.

My latest on @mlk50.com and @propublica.org Local Reporting Network.

Including Memphis.

Imagine learning more about nonprofit journalism world and editing pieces that world reads and Mississippians need while training with the brilliant @ashtonpittman.bsky.social and other @mississippifreepress.org editors in a wonderful newsroom. This is a dream job for right candidate. Pass it on.

Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing ProPublica found that Congress was underfunding tribal colleges by a quarter-billion dollars per year. Rather than fixing the problem, proposed federal funding cuts unveiled this week would devastate ...

NEW: A nearly 90% funding cut proposed by the Trump administration would likely shut down and devastate the 37 tribal colleges and universities created to serve the students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.

By @mattkrupnick.bsky.social

Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to i...

Such fantastic impact!! Illinois Bans Police From Ticketing, Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School @jodiscohen.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

Under his eye.

Columbia Will Pay Survivors of Abusive Doctor $750 Million After ProPublica Revealed University’s Failures The sweeping deal means the Ivy League school’s settlements will total more than $1 billion for over 1,000 claims of sexual abuse by former patients of OB-GYN Robert Hadden, who worked at the universi...

NEW: Columbia University has agreed to a $750M settlement with nearly 600 patients of Robert Hadden, a former doctor who sexually abused them while working at the school.

A 2023 ProPublica investigation revealed how the school shielded the OB-GYN for decades.

This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. The Flex Loan, a type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial, has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. Tennessee lawmakers declined to rein in the lending…

NEW: A Tennessee lender told legislators its new product, the Flex Loan, would help residents.

In the 10 years since getting approval for it, the company has sued over 110,000 borrowers.

With @tennesseelookout.com

F.B.I. Arrests Wisconsin Judge, Patel Says Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested on suspicion that she “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from” an immigrant being pursued by the authorities, the F.B.I. director said.

This seems like a huge deal. F.B.I. Director Kash Patel said on Friday that agents had arrested a county judge in Milwaukee on charges of obstructing immigration enforcement.

Trump’s War on Measurement Means Losing Data on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change and More By slashing teams that gather critical data, the administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose con...

DON’T LOOK AWAY! The Trump administration is catapulting us into a data black hole and the consequences could be massive. Halting data collection on drug use, maternal mortality, climate change, more, by @alecmac.bsky.social

“Slow Pay, Low Pay or No Pay” Blue Cross authorized mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay the full doctors’ bills. A jury called it fraud and awarded the practice $421 million.

Blue Cross denied payments for thousands of procedures involved in breast reconstruction. But it approved special deals for treatment for executives’ wives. 😳 @tchristianmiller.bsky.social

Committed to Justice. Rooted in Truth. Nobody does journalism like us. Support MLK50 with a $15 donation today. mlk50.co/3FrRsNG

Wendi C. Thomas Joins ProPublica as a Distinguished Fellow—And That’s Huge for Memphis A Journalism Powerhouse Returns Memphis’ own Wendi C. Thomas is back in the national spotlight, and this time, she’s rejoining ProPublica’s Distinguished Fellows program. The founder of MLK50: Justice...

This was a nice surprise. Thanks, Choose 901! choose901.com/wendi-c-thom...

Alex, you’re too kind.

Thanks, Dick.

a little girl in a suit and tie is crying and holding her fist in the air . ALT: a little girl in a suit and tie is crying and holding her fist in the air .

Live look

I’ve been sitting on this good news for a minute. Anyone who knows me knows how badly I’ve wanted to return to reporting and to get to do it with these folks? DREAM. 👏🏽 COME. 👏🏽TRUE. 👏🏽

Some Americans Have Already Been Caught in Trump’s Immigration Dragnet. More Will Be. Federal immigration authorities have a history of wrongfully detaining U.S. citizens. Advocates warn that the Trump administration’s immigration policies mean that more citizens will get caught up in ...

NEW: Some U.S. Citizens Have Already Been Caught in Trump’s Immigration Dragnet. More Will Be. @nicolefoy.bsky.social

If you appreciate an independent press, pay attention.

1) A couple weeks ago I got a tip: NIH had pulled down a mural of Dr Fauci, this person had heard.

I was able to find NIH sources who confirmed, yes, *something* had been removed from a wall.

But they couldn’t quite agree on what was hanging there before — a masked Fauci? — or when it came down.

Yesterday, I published an investigation into a secretive & abusive NYPD unit led by Mayor Eric Adams’ buddies.

Adams has embraced the unit, the Community Response Team, even after NYPD officials raised red flags.

This is what that has wrought.

**All caught on video we obtained.**

THREAD.

Strategically parked around the corner …

Elon Musk and the Right Are Recasting Reporting as ‘Doxxing’ Right-wing influencers are criticizing journalists who have published public information about government employees.

How Elon Musk and the Right Are Trying to Recast Reporting as ‘Doxxing’

Elon Musk’s Team Decimates Education Department Arm That Tracks National School Performance The Trump administration canceled $900 million in contracts overseen by the Institute of Education Sciences, which partners with scientists and education companies to compile and make public data abou...

Yesterday, the Trump administration canceled $900 million in contracts overseen by the Institute of Education Sciences, which partners with scientists and education companies to compile and make public data about schools each year. @jodiscohen.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

The Courts Blocked Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze. Agencies Are Withholding Money Anyway. Agencies continue to suspend funding, despite multiple court orders blocking the federal freeze. Experts say the Trump administration’s actions set the stage for challenges to Congress’ authority — an...

Agencies continue to suspend funding, despite multiple court orders blocking the federal freeze. Experts say the Trump administration’s actions set the stage for challenges to Congress’ authority — and the limits of the presidency.

Unquestionably, major policy changes, edicts and directives handed down by the new Trump administration will upend lives. But I've also been struck by the widespread efforts to erase/whitewash history. Stick with me for a pretty shocking series of events from just the past few weeks.