A good time to say that when I worked at ProPublica, we did not have a fair & transparent disciplinary system. I know because I got a negative performance review NOT written by my supervisor. The person who wrote it then avoided talking to me for months, isolating me w/ no real options. Bad stuff!

“We're fighting for fair pay because people deserve to be able to afford to stay in the jobs that they love. We're fighting for protections around AI because this work is done by humans. We love this place. We believe in this work, and we are not backing down.” — Katie Campbell, video journalist

🚨 ON STRIKE 🚨 Unionized staff at ProPublica @propublicaguild.org walked off the job today. Stand with workers: DO NOT cross the picket line. That means no visiting ProPublica's website, social media or engaging with its content today.

Ten years ago today, we lost one of the best to ever do it. Jim Ridley was my boss, my editor, my mentor and my buddy. Here's a collection of some of his greatest hits. Maybe consider reading a bit of that if you find time today. Or better yet, perform a random act of kindness for someone.

I take no pleasure in saying that I and my @propublicaguild.org colleagues are on strike. It shouldn't have come to this and i can only hope that seeing the overwhelming majority of staff walk out today opens management's eyes and convinces them we're serious about our demands.

We’re on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today. Tell ProPublica’s management you won’t cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...

1/ Today, we overwhelmingly voted to authorize a STRIKE as we fight for a fair contract with @propublica.org.

NEW: Under Trump, mental health care for vets is getting squeezed VA is bleeding shrinks & *not replacing them* One told me she's so overloaded her sessions can be *16 mins* She's had to online sessions w/ 35 vets How is that therapeutic? It's not, she said www.propublica.org/article/vete...

This is how Trump's short-staffing of VA mental health is hurting *vets*: -They keep losing therapists -Their calls for therapy get ignored -Their therapy is cut in half www.propublica.org/article/vete... By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @tophersanders.bsky.social @joelanderson.bsky.social and me

An extraordinary new series by @gingerthompson.bsky.social w/ Doris Burke: Sick in a Hospital Town Read part one: The Business of Care As Phoebe Memorial Grew, the Health of Albany, Georgia, Declined

📽️ WATCH: Our reporting has shown that recent policy changes at the VA are having an impact on working conditions and on patient care, but we need your help to understand the full picture. If you recently left the VA, here’s how you can reach us: https://propub.li/4oz9bWL

@seattletimes-rss.bsky.social Found this in a secondhand bookstore in Mexico City. Extremely belated congratulations on some very fine work.

Citizens, crying kids, pregnant women, people who aren't the target...it doesn't seem to matter who's inside the car when immigration officers want to make an arrest. They smash the window anyway @mckenziefunk.com & I tracked these arrests all over the U.S. projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-sm...

Trump admin says everything is hunky-dory at the VA. But we found that the number of doctors at VA has dropped each month since Trump took office. Nurses are way down too We got the records. www.propublica.org/article/vete... by @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social and me.

NEW: Doctors and Nurses Reject VA Jobs Under Trump, by @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

Update

ProPublica obtained records showing how a DOGE software engineer with no health care or government experience created an AI model to identify contracts to kill at the VA. @bxroberts.org‬ takes us through what we learned when we asked experts to review the model’s underlying instructions and code ⤵️

That ProPublica story leading to some real impact in Congress. Another great one by @vernalcoleman.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/doge...

NEW: Following a ProPublica investigation into how DOGE had developed an error-prone AI tool to determine which VA contracts should be killed, a trio of lawmakers said the Trump administration continues to “stonewall” their requests for details. By @bxroberts.org & @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

“I think that mistakes were made,” said Sahil Lavingia, who worked at DOGE for nearly two months, about the AI tool he developed. “I’m sure mistakes were made. Mistakes are always made.” By @bxroberts.org and @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

THREAD: An ex-DOGE engineer with no government or medical experience used AI to identify which Veterans Affairs contracts to kill, labeling them as “MUNCHABLE.” @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social and I got the code. Here’s what it tells us 1/

Many of the federal workers being forced out by Trump are Black women who spent decades building a career of government service, only to see those careers shattered in a sudden purge. By @davidmcswane.bsky.social

And because @bxroberts.org knows his way around an LLM, he talked to experts and the person who wrote the prompts (!) and broke down all of the issues piece-by-piece with @vernalcoleman.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/insi...

And for anyone who wants to dig into just how flawed this AI tool was in concept and execution, @bxroberts.org and @vernalcoleman.bsky.social talked to a bunch of experts to drill down on the code itself:

Latest from me, @bxroberts.org and @ericumansky.bsky.social

Thanks to my old North Carolina colleague @barryyeoman.com for highlighting this great work from @propublica.org and several others.

Reach out anytime.

On Tuesday, @vernalcoleman.bsky.social and I revealed that VA officials across the country have been warning that DOGE and the admin's cuts are hurting veterans' care. Today, a half-dozen Congress members, mostly vets, demanded accountability. www.propublica.org/article/vete...

“There are real-life dangerous impacts for veterans,” said @deluzio.house.gov. NEW: Democratic Lawmakers Blast Trump Administration’s VA Cuts After ProPublica Investigation @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @ericumansky.bsky.social

NEW: The rate of sepsis in Houston surged 63% after Texas banned abortion. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where hospital leaders empowered doctors to intervene before patients’ conditions worsened, it rose just 29%.

NEW: The Great Lakes hold 95% of all the surface freshwater in the United States. Severe cuts have decimated the NOAA Great Lakes lab. Scientists worry they’ve lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people. My story for @propublica.org

NEW: The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people. By @annaleighclark.bsky.social

NEW: After the VA began axing jobs, Secretary Doug Collins said vets would "notice a change for the better.” But internal warnings show the cuts have led to widespread chaos, including the disruption of "life saving cancer trials." w/ @ericumansky.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

NEW: Trump has said he loves veterans & will “take care of them.” His cuts to the VA have led to widespread chaos and some vets have been thrown off cancer trials. @ericumansky.bsky.social & @vernalcoleman.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

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...

JUST IN: ProPublica’s “Life of the Mother” series, which exposes the fatal consequences of abortion bans, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. This is the second consecutive year we’ve been awarded this distinction and our eighth Pulitzer: www.propublica.org/series/life-...

HONORED to receive this recognition with the fabulous @esmyjimenez.bsky.social!!!

ICE officers arrested 54-year-old Julio Noriega and moved him into a van before he could explain himself, he said. He spent several hours in an ICE processing center before officers checked his wallet and realized he is a U.S. citizen. By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

HUD concluded a Texas state agency had steered $1B in disaster funding away from Houston and nearby communities of color after Hurricane Harvey. On Jan. 15, HUD referred the case to the DOJ. On Feb. 13, it rescinded that referral with no explanation. By @jessecoburn.bsky.social @propublica.org

In Chicago alone, immigration rights advocates say ICE has unlawfully picked up at least 22 migrants, creating warrants after some had already been detained. New @vernalcoleman.bsky.social @propublica.org

NEW: Workers from shuttered Veterans Affairs office that worked to rectify issues facing underserved vets sue the Trump administration over mass firings. Full complaint here: www.courtlistener.com/docket/69740...

President Trump is planning to invoke an obscure wartime authority in the coming days to rapidly accelerate the deportation of immigrants from the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. Here's what to know.

Meet our reporters @jodiscohen.bsky.social and @jsmithrichards.bsky.social. They've reported on education for decades — and have been closely tracking President Trump’s changes to the Department of Education. 👉 Our secure tip line on Signal: 917-512-0201.

A very chilling and important @leahlitman.bsky.social explainer on how a sleeper Supreme Court case—you probably haven't heard of it—could open the door to *criminal prosecution* of entities that practice and promote DEIA. slate.com/news-and-pol...

INBOX: Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock on closure of the OEA: "Because this administration sees anything as resembling diversity as a threat, they are gutting an institution that is meant to protect those who put their lives on the line in defense of our freedoms."

We'll be following moves made by the Trump admin. that are affecting current military service members and vets for the foreseeable future. If that's you, or you're an employee at the VA, VBA, VHA or related department please reach out: [email protected] , or on Signal: vcoleman91.99

Thanks to @militarydotcom.bsky.social for picking up the scoop.

SCOOP: Trump Axes VA Office Created to Fix Disparities in Veterans’ Benefits @vernalcoleman.bsky.social

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