Megan O'Matz

Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...

The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noem’s big donors make the ask. www.propublica.org/article/kris...

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 to outsider Jay McGraw, son of Dr. Phil.

Two lawsuits allege that Jay McGraw, son of Dr. Phil, is the “principal beneficiary” of tribal lender Minto Money.

CreditServe, a company that McGraw plays a key role in, controls the operation while “the Tribe is merely a front,” the suits said.

(Published May w/ @adn.com)

A Florida Home Insurer Was Allowed to Bypass the Courts During Claim Disputes. It Won More Than 90% of the Time. State legislators and executives at Citizens Property Insurance touted mandatory arbitration as advantageous for both consumers and insurers. In practice, homeowners were left with few avenues for rec...

Are you a Floridian with Citizens Insurance? Know if you have a dispute with them and go to arbitration, as required, you most likely will lose. Reporter @marioarizabaez.bsky.social explains... www.propublica.org/article/citi...

Amid Rise of RFK Jr., Officials Waver on Drinking Water Fluoridation — Even in the State Where It Started As federal agencies review their guidance on fluoridation and the nation’s top health official calls fluoride “industrial waste,” state and local governments are pulling back on the practice, upending...

State & local officials are pulling back on fluoridation in MI, FL & elsewhere, even though it is the most cost effective method to prevent tooth decay, especially for vast numbers of people in the US without insurance or access to a dentist. / by @annaleighclark.bsky.social

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announces she will not run for reelection next year blaming "bitter partisanship, personal attacks & political gamesmanship." Will work to "rebuild the conservative movement," rather than continue to serve in the minority on the court, led by liberals.

Evers says 'Big Beautiful Bill' will raise costs for state taxpayers by $284M, force over 270K off health insurance MADISON, Wis. -- New analysis from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows changes made under President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" will cost state taxpayers over $284 million in

Wisconsin state Health officials determine that the "Big Beautiful Bill" will cost state taxpayers over $284 million in the next 2 years. Also over 270,000 Wisconsinites will lose health insurance, and thousands will lose food assistance. www.channel3000.com/news/evers-s...

DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family. Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U...

He wanted the same thing as the Trump administration, which was for a peaceful end to the Afghan war. Instead ⁦‪Elon Musk’s‬⁩ and DODGE’s carelessness left his life in tatters and put his family in grave danger. / @propublica.org

In March, the Trump administration announced a massive purge of workers at the nation's health agencies. We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left, and the admin refused to give us numbers. So we conducted our own analysis, a thread...

NEW: In March, the Trump administration announced a massive purge of workers at the nation's health agencies.

We asked them how many workers were laid off, pushed out or left.

They refused to give us numbers.

So we conducted our own analysis... 🧵

projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...

What I Witnessed as I Photographed the Disappearances and the Homecomings of My Countrymen Over the past four months, a photojournalist documented the lives of five families whose sons had been imprisoned in El Salvador, including their long-awaited reunions. CECOT left a mark on the men, t...

The men deported to El Salvador? They had mothers who, in their waiting, suffered terribly until the tearful reunions. What does love look like? It looks like this…..

James A. Lovell Jr., Commander of Apollo 13, Is Dead at 97

Wisconsin hero, Apollo 13 astronaut James Lovell, dies at age 97. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/s...

Are you a current or former federal worker with information that you can share about Project 2025 architect Russell Vought?

Reach out to @andykroll.bsky.social on Signal at (202) 215-6203.

Thread 👇👇

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...

Rep. Darrell Issa of Calif. & Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia voted to reduce the CFPB’s budget.
Yet each has referred more than 100 constituents to the consumer agency for help, among the most of any House members. / by ⁦‪@joeljacobs.bsky.com
www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...

A Maine Woman Paid Her Back Rent. Her Record Still Says She Was Evicted. Repayment plans are supposed to help public housing tenants avoid eviction. In Maine, these deals have put evictions on their permanent records, even if they’ve fulfilled all the terms and were never ...

NEW: Jasmin Belanger believed the deal was simple: pay off what she owed, and her landlord would let her keep her housing.

It wasn’t until months later that she learned it had left her with a permanent record of an eviction — despite there never being one.

With @bangordailynews.bsky.social

The Trump Administration Is Promoting Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally at the United Nations U.S. delegates have objected to use of the word “gender” in U.N. documents during forums on topics as varied as women’s rights, science and technology, global health, toxic pollution and chemical wast...

The Trump Administration Is Pushing Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally @lisalsong.bsky.social

“You Feel Like You’re Being Cheated”: Oil Companies Unfairly Take Millions, North Dakota Mineral Owners Say Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation. But the industry has an outsize influence in the state,...

Oil Companies Withhold Millions in Royalties From #NorthDakota Land Owners. Most State Lawmakers Won’t Help their Constituents and Side with the Industry. / by @propublica www.propublica.org/article/nort...

Trump order pushes forcible hospitalization of homeless people Trump executive order would increase hospitalization of homeless individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. The order said shifting homeless people into long-term institutional settin...

Trump signs an order to move homeless / mentally ill people into institutions. Critics immediately warned such a policy threatens returning the nation to a dark era when people were unjustly locked away. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/07/24/trump-homeless-forced-hospitalization-executive-order/

The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison On March 15, President Donald Trump’s administration sent more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Last week, the men were released as suddenly as they’d been t...

This is who Trump shipped to a Salvadoran dungeon:

An event planner
A coal miner
An Uber driver
Tortilla maker
Barber
DoorDashers
Soccer coaches
Furniture-maker
Car washers
Taxi drivers
HVAC techs
Auto parts worker
Tire plant worker

and 240 more...

projects.propublica.org/venezuelan-i...

Mexican tourist, brother held in Alligator Alcatraz after Orlando arrest, father says Mexico’s president demanded that the siblings be returned to Mexico immediately, and the Mexican consul in Orlando warned Mexican citizens not to visit Florida.

Two brothers, including a Mexican citizen vacationing in Orlando, are being detained in Alligator Alcatraz after a traffic stop, their father said Wednesday. The brothers’ detention has become an international incident, with the Mexican Consulate warning its citizens about visiting Orlando.

The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison On March 15, President Donald Trump’s administration sent more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Last week, the men were released as suddenly as they’d been t...

President Trump called the 230 Venezuelan migrants sent to an El Salvador prison “some of the most violent savages" on Earth. That was not true. Most had not been convicted of crimes in the U.S. The truth of all of their stories — one by one — is here in this database compiled by @propublica.org

U.S. Department of Justice seeks Wisconsin voter registration data and information on fraud Federal officials are seeking Wisconsin voter registration data as part of a broader effort to gather information about elections in states.

The U.S. Department of Justice seeks Wisconsin voter registration data as part of an effort to carry out a new executive order from President Trump aimed at overhauling elections.

www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...

New Marquette Law School Poll finds approval of Trump almost unchanged at 45%, support among GOP & his base remains strong. Seen negatively: “One Big Beautiful Bill," tariffs, inflation. Positively: strikes on Iran. www.marquette.edu/news-center/...

The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

NEW: The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE

ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

This is just … no words.

Brightline death toll surpasses 180, but safeguards are still lacking Brightline trains have killed 182 people, significantly more than publicly known, an investigation by the Miami Herald and WLRN has found.

Florida’s deadly Brightline train has blamed victims & asked the public to pay for safety upgrades. Horns were silenced in parts. And life-saving measures, such as fencing, haven’t been installed due to long delays in the release of federal funds. / by @brittanywallman.bsky.social @miamiherald.com

Texas Overhauls Anti-Abortion Program That Spent Tens of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars With Little Oversight After a ProPublica and CBS News investigation revealed that Texas’ funding pipeline for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers is riddled with waste, nonprofits in the program must now provide a detai...

A ProPublica & CBS News investigation revealed that Texas’ funding for anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers was riddled with waste. Now nonprofits must provide a detailed accounting of their expenses. / News tip? Contact: @jeremykohler.bsky.social or @cassandrajaramillo.bsky.social

Years ago, GOP leaders gave a Wisconsin legislative committee veto power over executive branch rulemaking. Today Wisconsin's liberal-leaning Supreme Court said that's unconstitutional. In a dissent, one conservative justice cites lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's album, Darkness on the Edge of Town.

Foreign visitors will be charged more than U.S. citizens to visit Everglades National Park A presidential executive order will increase entry fees for national parks, including Everglades National Park, but only for visitors who are not U.S. citizens. President Donald Trump said "national p...

Foreign visitors will be charged more than U.S. citizens to visit Everglades National Park www.wlrn.org/business/202...

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court this morning upheld abortion rights in the state, saying an 1849 ban in was, in effect, long repealed by subsequent legal restrictions state lawmakers imposed. And so abortions up to 20 weeks remain legal. The justices split, 4-3.

Trump’s First EPA Promised to Crack Down on Forever Chemicals. His Second EPA Is Pulling Back. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin claims to prioritize combatting long-lasting chemicals called PFAS. Despite this, the agency has delayed enforcement of standards and terminated over $15 million in fundin...

As the Trump administration seeks severe reductions in the EPA’s budget, the agency has terminated grants for PFAS studies and paralyzed its scientists with spending restrictions. / by @annaleighclark.bsky.social

On Alligator Alcatraz tents, located on tribal lands: "When hurricanes bear down on these flimsy structures at a sacred, environmentally sensitive location, it will either produce costly evacuation boondoggles or grisly mass casualties," Dem. Rep.
@wassermanschultz.house.gov warns in a statement.