Patients who wanted a fake COVID-19 vaccine card were told to bring an orange to the surgeon’s office and use 🍊on Venmo.<a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>

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The Big Story
December 17, 2025 · View in browser <[link removed]>

In today’s newsletter: A Utah surgeon’s victory in a vaccine fraud case <[link removed]> emboldens others with similar cases; immigrants in Alabama can receive harsher sentences than citizens <[link removed]>; and why few farms participate in the Fair Food Program <[link removed]>.

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Pam Bondi Dismissed Charges Against a Surgeon Who Falsified Vaccine Cards. It Emboldened Others With Similar Cases. <[link removed]>

A Utah surgeon’s victory in a vaccine fraud case has encouraged other “medical freedom” advocates to consider seeking leniency for similar charges. “This undermines every layer of the system that protects us from infectious disease,” an expert said.

Read story <[link removed]>

 
Alabama

 
Immigrants in Alabama Can Face Harsher Sentences Than Citizens for the Same Crimes <[link removed]>

In October, ProPublica South reporter Amy Yurkanin <[link removed]> told the story of Jorge Ruiz <[link removed]>, a Mexican immigrant who was charged with murder after a fatal car crash when he was 19. Ruiz received a sentence almost four times longer than anyone else involved in fatal crashes in that Alabama circuit court over the past two decades.

This incident, Yurkanin’s recent reporting shows <[link removed]>, is only one among more than 100 court cases ProPublica reviewed that show immigrants in Alabama can face harsher punishments for the same crimes as citizens. In another incident, Yurkanin found an immigrant detainee who set fire to his mattress inside a jail cell received a sentence twice as long as a citizen who committed the same offense in the same facility three months later. Here’s what else you need to know:

Disparate Punishment: ProPublica’s review of Alabama incarceration data showed that some immigrants received unusually long sentences, even when they had fewer prior offenses than citizens.

Constitutional Protection: The Supreme Court has ruled that noncitizens accused of crimes are entitled to the same rights as citizens. That extends to equal rights in sentencing.

National Efforts: State and federal lawmakers have pushed for laws that would give undocumented immigrants longer sentences for crimes, raising constitutional concerns.

Read story <[link removed]>

 
Labor

 
A man wearing a green neck gaiter and hat holds a large bucket of green tomatoes on his right shoulder in front of tall tomato plants. Behind him, another worker tosses a bucket up to a person standing in a truck bed. <[link removed]>
Farmworkers Are Frequently Exploited. But Few Farms Participate in a Program That Experts Say Could Prevent Abuse. <[link removed]>

For months, ProPublica reporter Max Blau <[link removed]> has been investigating the H-2A visa program, which allows U.S. agricultural employers to bring in temporary workers from other countries. He detailed the case of Sofi <[link removed]>, a 24-year-old mother from Mexico, who ended up a victim after being sold the promises of an H-2A visa. He also talked to experts, lawyers and advocates about how to make the program safer <[link removed]>. <[link removed]>

Blau’s recent story focuses on the Fair Food Program, which experts say could prevent abuse but remains underutilized. Here’s what you need to know:

Ending Exploitation: Experts say that the Fair Food Program has improved conditions for farmworkers — and, if widely adopted, could prevent exploitation and abuse in the fields.

Win-Win: Pacific Tomato Growers, the first farm to join the program 15 years ago, has seen long-term benefits both for its workers and its bottom line.

Ongoing Opposition: Despite the program’s proven potential, most farmers have resisted joining. Until more grocery and fast food chains sign on as buyers, experts say it could stay that way.

Read story <[link removed]>

 
More from the newsroom

 

After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death <[link removed]>

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The Summer of Starvation: Amid Trump’s Foreign Aid Cuts, a Mother Struggles to Keep Her Sons Alive <[link removed]>

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Under Trump, More Than 1,000 Nonprofits Strip DEI Language From Tax Forms <[link removed]>

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Farmworkers Are Frequently Exploited. But Few Farms Participate in a Program That Experts Say Could Prevent Abuse. <[link removed]>

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Amid Trump’s Proposed Pipeline Safety Rollbacks, Senator Questions Regulators’ Industry Ties <[link removed]>

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