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Dear John, Happy Juneteenth! Our staff will be at the Investigative Reporters and Editors annual conferences this week, so if you see them in the halls or exhibition area, stop and say hello! Now, on to the news! | |
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Here’s the Latest From CMD | |
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Now Under Trump’s Rule, Kennedy Center Taps Renowned GOP Budget Slasher At the center of President Donald Trump’s partisan takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a woman named Donna Arduin, its new chief financial officer. Read the full story here. | |
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Wisconsin Doctor Makes Wild Measles Claims Following the first death, Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the anti-vax organization Robert F. Kennedy Jr. led until recently, pushed its own narrative claiming that the 6-year-old Mennonite girl did not actually die from the measles. In this effort, CHD has relied heavily on Pierre Kory, a Wisconsin doctor who has both amplified that assertion and claimed that the measles virus has been weaponized by unknown conspirators. Read the full story here. | |
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Major New Koch Investment Hit With Class Action Lawsuits Last August, an investment arm of Koch, Inc. bought shares reflecting 16.1% of the value of the retail shopping app Ibotta, Inc., becoming the company’s largest public shareholder. Read the full story here. | |
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Colorado Governor’s Veto of Pro-Labor Bill Sets the Stage for More Labor Fights on the Ballot in 2026 Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis vetoed a bill on May 16 that would have removed a major impediment to union organizing and representation in the state. Read the full story here. | |
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Koch Fleet of Organizations Invests More Than Ever in Expanding Its Influence Charles Koch’s fleet of organizations spent a combined net total of $833 million in 2023 to influence public policy, elections, and certain charitable causes — marking its highest spending total to date. Read the full story here. | |
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Record $100M Spent on Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Raises Concerns Over Judicial Independence The more than $100 million spent on this spring’s Supreme Court election in Wisconsin set a new national record for spending on a state judicial race. The figure almost doubles the previous record of $51 million, which donors poured into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race in 2023. Read the full story here. | |
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Heritage Uses Backdoor Access to Secretary of State to Shape Wyoming’s Laws Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation — the right-wing think tank behind Project 2025 — provided Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray with model legislation, detailed feedback, and line-by-line edits for a bill that limits foreign spending on campaigns for state ballot measures. Read the full story here. | |
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“Abolitionists” Push Legislation to Criminalize All Abortions as Homicide Since 2017, state lawmakers have considered abortion abolition bills in at least 21 states. Often called “prenatal equal protection” acts, most were introduced after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door to this type of legislation, which had previously run counter to SCOTUS precedent on abortion. Read the full story here. | |
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Our research has recently been cited by or featured in the following publications: - Correctiv: “Angst vorm Klima: Finanzfirmen machen grüne Rolle rückwärts”
- Capital and Main: “Grace Under Fire: Transgender Student Athlete AB Hernandez’s Winning Weekend”
- Wyoming Public Radio: "An interest group sent ‘line by line’ edits to Secretary Gray on an election bill"
- Southern Poverty Law Center: “State treasurers join Christian supremacist effort targeting public investments”
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Thank you for following our investigations and for your continued support! Team CMD | |
