Joel Jacobs

We’re holding a lunch-out today to demand that @propublica management agree to a fair discipline and performance evaluation system. Just today, a member of our Bargaining Committee and Unit Council was fired as a result of ProPublica's flawed system.

Do you have information about Big Law spurning clients who might incur Trump's anger? Get in touch: molly.redden@propublica.org or on Signal at mollyredden.14

These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency. Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, lo...

NEW from me: The CFPB's consumer complaint system is more popular than ever, fielding over 2.7M complaints last year.

But Republican lawmakers still voted to slash the CFPB's budget, even after referring thousands of their own constituents' issues to the agency.

www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...

These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency. Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards,…

NEW: Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, loans and other products to the agency.

By @joeljacobs.bsky.social

A 700% APR Lending Business Tied to Dr. Phil’s Son Is Dividing an Alaska Tribe Tribal lender Minto Money has boosted the economy of its Alaska town. But some tribal members are appalled by the millions it’s made off desperate borrowers — much of which, lawsuits allege, has gone ...

NEW: A 700% APR Lending Business Tied to Dr. Phil’s Son Is Dividing an Alaska Tribe
@kylehopkinsak.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @joeljacobs.bsky.social w/ @adn.com

Thursday, May 8, 2025 ProPublica management continues to deny steward representation Yesterday morning, ProPublica management confirmed that it will deny steward representation to at least two more bargaining unit members it plans to discipline next week through the issuance of Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). This is part of a larger pattern: management has denied steward representation in every meeting where members were placed on PIPs. The plans are the first step in a disciplinary process that often leads to termination. We have raised this issue repeatedly. Last Thursday, more than 70% of our unit sent an open letter to ProPublica leadership, urging them to stop resisting core union protections including steward access, just cause and accountability in the disciplinary process. This week, managers informed two employees that they would be placed on PIPs in meetings next week. Shortly afterward, ProPublica’s general counsel told Guild leadership that stewards will not be allowed in those meetings. ProPublica’s disciplinary process remains opaque, inconsistently applied and shielded from scrutiny. Blocking stewards from these meetings is out of step with our industry and the principles of fairness and accountability the newsroom claims to uphold.

1/ 🚨 Yesterday, @propublica.org management confirmed that it will again deny steward representation at disciplinary meetings. Our full statement 👇

Have You Been Affected by Changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs? Tell Us About It. Have you experienced setbacks in your care or benefits amid the changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs? ProPublica wants to hear from you.

Trump says he loves vets. He's promised to "put veterans first."

He's also planning to cut the agency that cares for more than nine million of them.

If you're a vet who gets care at VA -- or you work there -- *we want to hear from you.*

www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...

Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Cuts Jeopardize Veterans’ Care, Including To “Life-Saving Cancer Trials” Despite a congressional mandate to expand care for veterans, internal Veterans Affairs messages obtained by ProPublica paint a stark portrait of how chaotic cost cutting has already imperiled tests of...

NEW INVESTIGATION from me and @vernalcoleman.bsky.social:

Internal emails show doctors and others at VA hospitals around the country begging for help as cuts hurt veterans' care, including "live-saving cancer trials."

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

The Office That Investigates Disparities in Veterans’ Care Is Being “Liquidated” The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged. “The consequences will be dire, wide-reaching...

NEW: The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged.

“The consequences will be dire, wide-reaching and deadly,” an advocate for Black veterans said.

By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.” The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude meth...

“We are really trying very, very hard ... to move our world forward" through "foundational, sometimes groundbreaking research, and then you get flagged and blacklisted because there is a word like ‘female’ in your project.”

My latest, w/the brilliant Agnel Philip

www.propublica.org/article/ted-...

Strategically parked around the corner …

Take a listen to my colleague @joeljacobs.bsky.social talk about our @ProPublica tribal lending series on Oregon public radio www.ijpr.org/economy-and-...

For more, see our full tribal lending series here: www.propublica.org/series/despe...

Or check out my thread on our previous reporting 👇

Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them. Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect c...

NEW from me and @megomatz.bsky.social‬ — tribal lenders offering 600%+ APR loans online argue that sovereign immunity allows them to skirt state lending laws, but we found they backed away from six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect consumers:
www.propublica.org/article/stat...

Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them. Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect c...

Federal authorities haven’t shown much interest lately in addressing payday-like lenders tied to Native American tribes, which offer quick cash online at astronomical interest rates. But we found that some states have effectively shut down such lending. www.propublica.org/article/stat...

Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them. Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect…

NEW: Federal authorities have struggled to regulate tribal lending operations that offer short-term loans at crushing interest rates. But six states have shown that tribal immunity doesn’t prevent state officials from acting to protect consumers.

By @joeljacobs.bsky.social & @megomatz.bsky.social

THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files.

It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.

“I Have Lost Everything”: The Toll of Cities’ Homeless Sweeps Cities often take belongings — including important documents and irreplaceable mementos — when they conduct sweeps of homeless encampments. ProPublica gave notecards to people across the country so th...

For the past year, @propublica.org has been reporting on the toll when a city "sweeps" an encampment. We handed out cards so folks could write in their own words what it meant to have their belongings trashed.

We're publishing dozens of those stories here:

projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...

11/ Read more: www.propublica.org/article/trib...

10/ Despite lawsuits, prosecutions and federal crackdown attempts, how has the industry managed to persist? With help from powerful lobbying groups that have spent millions.

“This is a very entrenched industry with a lot of dollars at stake,” said UNM law professor Nathalie Martin.

9/ In a statement to ProPublica last year, John Johnson Sr., LDF’s president, described the tribe’s lending business as “a narrative of empowerment, ethical business practice, and commitment to community enrichment.”

A Tribal Lender Charging 800% APR Has Agreed to Stop Operating in Minnesota The Lac du Flambeau tribe of Wisconsin settled a civil suit filed by Minnesota’s attorney general that alleged its triple-digit interest rates violated state caps. The tribe is under increasing legal ...

8/ The tribe has since faced state legal action – in November, it agreed to stop lending in Minnesota and forgive debt to MN residents as part of an agreement with the state’s AG: www.propublica.org/article/minn...

Line graph with a single line, labeled “Brian Coughlin’s Three-Month Loan Came With a 741% APR.” The x-axis ranges from the 1st payment to the 7th payment; the y-axis ranges from 0 dollars to $2000. Annotations read: “The original loan was for $900” and “At the end of the loan, Coughlin would have paid over $2,200.”

7/ In the Supreme Court case, a borrower with a 741% loan from LDF said that the incessant collection efforts by an LDF business partner — even after he declared bankruptcy — drove him to attempt suicide.

The business partner declined to comment.

Desperate Times Led Wisconsin Tribe to High-Interest Lending, Dubious Partnerships and Legal Jeopardy Facing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put ...

6/ We found that the enterprise helped the Lac du Flambeau tribe avoid financial ruin, but it also led to costly lawsuits — including one that went up to the Supreme Court — and dubious partnerships with outside entities handling much of the daily operations: www.propublica.org/article/wisc...

A Wisconsin Tribe Built a Lending Empire Charging 600% Annual Rates to Borrowers The Lac du Flambeau tribe is at the center of a $1 billion class-action settlement that comes after years of fending off claims of predatory lending practices.

5/ Only a few dozen tribes have entered the lending business, but the operations can become massive. In August, we reported on a WI tribe’s business, which settled a consumer lawsuit for $1.4 BILLION in debt relief and $37.4 million in payments: www.propublica.org/article/wisc...

4/ Industry defenders argue that the operations provide crucial revenue for tribes and valuable credit for borrowers.

But the sky-high interest rates and involvement of nontribal business partners have drawn scrutiny and legal trouble.

3/ The lenders’ websites are owned by Native American tribes, which are entitled to sovereign immunity. As a result, they claim that the businesses are not subject to state laws that cap interest rates.

2/ These short-term lenders have had tremendous reach: Our analysis found nearly 5% of bankruptcy cases nationwide included tribal loan debt, and an average of >1,800 complaints are routed to the FTC annually. But regulator and legislative reform efforts have repeatedly fallen short.

The Tribal Lending Industry Offers Quick Cash Online at Outrageous Interest Rates. Here’s How It’s Survived. Despite lawsuits, prosecutions and federal crackdown attempts, the tribal lending industry has adapted for over a decade, providing exorbitant loans to millions of financially vulnerable consumers.

ICYMI: Last week @megomatz.bsky.social and I reported on how the tribal lending industry has survived and thrived offering exorbitant online loans to millions of borrowers — with APRs that can exceed 600%.
www.propublica.org/article/trib...

We’ve been investigating this opaque industry for months:🧵