The cemetery’s disappearance cleared the way for the expansion of a Microsoft data center.

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The Big Story
Fri. Dec 16, 2022

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Developers Found Graves in the Virginia Woods. Authorities Then Helped Erase the Historic Black Cemetery. <[link removed]> The cemetery’s disappearance cleared the way for the expansion of a Microsoft data center, despite layers of federal and state regulations nominally intended to protect culturally significant sites. by Seth Freed Wessler

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She Warned the Grain Elevator Would Disrupt Sacred Black History. They Deleted Her Findings. <[link removed]> A whistleblower says a plan to build a grain elevator on an old plantation would disrupt important historic sites, including possibly unmarked graves of enslaved people, and that her cultural resource management firm tried to bury her findings. by Seth Freed Wessler <[link removed]>

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The Night Raids <[link removed]> CIA-backed operations killed countless Afghan civilians, and the U.S. hasn't been held accountable. A reporter returns to investigate her past and unravel the legacy of the secretive Zero Units. by Lynzy Billing, video by Mauricio Rodríguez Pons <[link removed]>

Why Congress Can’t Stop the CIA From Working With Forces That Commit Abuses <[link removed]> The Leahy Law prohibits the U.S. military from providing training and equipment to foreign security forces that commit human rights abuses, but it does not apply to U.S. intelligence agencies. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy said it should. by Lynzy Billing <[link removed]>

Chicago Claims Its 22-Year “Transformation” Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn't Add Up. <[link removed]> Despite the padded figures it gave to federal regulators, the Chicago Housing Authority is not finished fulfilling its obligations to build homes and redevelop communities where its high-rises once stood. by Mick Dumke <[link removed]>

As Workers Battle Cancer, The Government Admits Its Limit for a Deadly Chemical Is Too High <[link removed]> The U.S. agency that is supposed to safeguard worker health has all but given up on setting limits to protect them from dangerous chemicals. Meanwhile, workers are dying. by Sharon Lerner <[link removed]>

Toxic Salmon Reporting “Deeply Troubling,” Lawmaker Says, Demanding Changes to Protect Pacific Northwest Tribal Health <[link removed]> Citing a ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting investigation into toxic contamination in salmon, state and federal lawmakers across the Pacific Northwest are calling for policy changes and more funding but are lacking details on next steps. by Maya Miller, ProPublica, and Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting <[link removed]>

Conservative Activist Poured Millions Into Groups Seeking to Influence Supreme Court on Elections and Discrimination <[link removed]> Newly obtained records show how Leonard Leo, an architect of the right-wing takeover of the courts, has been funding groups pushing to change elections and anti-discrimination laws. by Andy Kroll, ProPublica, and Andrew Perez and Aditi Ramaswami, The Lever <[link removed]>

A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them? <[link removed]> The nation’s approach to adult education has so far neglected to connect the millions of people struggling to read with the programs set up to help them. by Annie Waldman, Aliyya Swaby and Anna Clark, with additional reporting by Nicole Santa Cruz, photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica <[link removed]>

Hedge Fund Manager Ken Griffin Sues IRS Over “Unlawful Disclosure” of His Tax Information to ProPublica <[link removed]> The Citadel founder was among dozens of ultrawealthy Americans spotlighted in our Secret IRS Files series, which used a trove of agency data to reveal how billionaires avoid paying taxes and use their money to influence tax policy. by Jesse Eisinger and Paul Kiel <[link removed]>

Federal Judge Strikes Down Part of Montana’s Far-Reaching Anti-Vax Law <[link removed]> ProPublica recently explored how Republicans in Montana passed the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law and a hospital soon became overtaken by COVID. Now a judge has ruled the law went too far. by Marilyn W. Thompson <[link removed]>

Inside Google’s Quest to Digitize Troops’ Tissue Samples <[link removed]> The tech giant has long sought access to a priceless trove of veterans’ skin samples, tumor biopsies and slices of organs. DOD staffers have pushed back, raising ethical and legal concerns, but Google might win anyway. by James Bandler <[link removed]>

For Black Families in Phoenix, Child Welfare Investigations Are a Constant Threat <[link removed]> One in three Black children in Maricopa County, Arizona, faced a child welfare investigation over a five-year period, leaving many families in a state of dread. Some parents are pushing back. by Eli Hager and Agnel Philip, ProPublica, and Hannah Rappleye, NBC News, photography by Stephanie Mei-Ling, special to ProPublica and NBC News <[link removed]>

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