“You are not entitled to a response from us, or anyone, ever,” an Education Department spokesperson wrote to me after I repeatedly tried to get comment. In this column, my @propublica.org editor describes the pushback to our efforts to ensure fairness. www.propublica.org/article/prop...

STUNNING: Nearly a year since President Donald Trump took office, his education department’s Office for Civil Rights has not entered into a single new resolution agreement involving racial harassment of students, we found.  @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social

So much to process in this story. Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump @jsmithrichards.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @jodiscohen.bsky.social

Trump’s Education Department is ignoring discrimination against Black students. The department’s civil rights office has not entered into a single new agreement requiring schools to address racial harassment of students, my colleagues & I @propublica.org found. / News Tips: ProPublica.org/tips

Trump’s DOJ has offered states a ‘confidential’ deal to wipe voters flagged by feds as ineligible. Eleven states have shown a willingness to do so. Colorado & Wisconsin, however, rejected the memorandum of understanding and released copies of the proposal. stateline.org/2025/12/18/t...

Texas is using driver's licenses to compile a list of transgender people. It's unclear what the list will be used for. www.kut.org/politics/202...

“It is all lunacy. Absolutely, it’s 100% nonsense,” said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society about the claims made in Kory's book that chlorine dioxide is a miracle treatment for a wide range of ailments. By @megomatz.bsky.social

Wisconsin's Sen. Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant and deodorizer. “It is all lunacy," one expert said. www.propublica.org/article/ron-... @megomatz.bsky.social

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has a history of spreading vaccine misinformation. Now he's giving credence to assertions about the therapeutic powers of chlorine dioxide, a disinfectant & deodorizer. “It is all lunacy," one expert said. / My latest for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/ron-...

ICE arrested a man in Manitowoc seeking asylum from Nicaragua before his Nov. 4 hearing before an immigration court judge. Now he may be deported to a third country: Honduras. A system where rule of law is replaced by "crazy arbitrariness" @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...

Wisconsin Judge Brad Schimel, a Trump loyalist, lost his 2025 race for the state Supreme Court, even though Elon Musk poured over $20 million into his campaign. Now, the Trump administration appointed Schimel as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

In 48 other states, new moms have access to Medicaid for up to one year after they give birth. Not in Wisconsin. There, the limit remains two months. And it’s only because of one man: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. / My latest story for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/wisc...

“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet." Read the definitive story of the US military-like raid on a Chicago apartment building & the false claims that led to extraordinary force. / by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social + www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Trump had a rare opportunity to fix the clemency system. Instead, experts said, he has exploited it. “If you’re a donor or political supporter, you move to the front of the line.” /by @jeremykohler.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Trump pardons Wisconsin fake electors & two legal architects of the effort to overturn the 2020 election: Carol Brunner, Mary Buestrin, Darryl Carlson, Andrew Hitt, Kelly Ruh, Bob Spindell, Pam Travis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jim Troupis. / by @mollybeck.bsky.social www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...

Families of the missing in Syria were looking in the wrong place. Using drone footage, journalist @mcneill.bsky.social & @reuters.com team proved the Assad government ordered bodies trucked from a known mass grave & dumped in new secret trenches. A ghastly story: www.reuters.com/investigates...

Wisconsin's governor today signed a bipartisan bill banning cellphone use in classes by July 2026. "It’s really tough to be a kid these days & we know that cellphones can be a major distraction from learning, a source of bullying & a barrier to our kids’ important work of just being a kid," he said.

Can Americans save a Phoenix mail room that provides a small but valuable service: helping unhoused people obtain their mail? The US Post Office cut its contribution - only $24,000 a year, as @nicolesantacruz.bsky.social discovered. www.propublica.org/article/phoe...

Conservative education activists such as Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice have access to the top levers of the government. “If America’s public schools cease to exist tomorrow, America would be a better place,” Justice told ProPublica. @megomatz.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

Education Secretary Linda McMahon has tapped Meg Kilgannon, who advocates for more Christian leadership in school districts, as a top adviser. Kilgannon has decried the removal of spirituality as a topic from classrooms. By @megomatz.bsky.social and @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

Wisconsin's food stamp program (called FoodShare) will run out of funding in a matter of days due to the federal government shutdown, the governor said, affecting nearly 700,000 residents. "Benefits may not be available in November," the state website says. content.govdelivery.com/attachments/...

Oklahoma has spent years reshaping public schools to integrate lessons about Jesus & foster patriotic pride in US history. By the time the 2nd Trump admin began espousing its “America First” agenda, OK had been there, done that. / by @jsmithrichards.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

NEW: Vought is the architect of President Trump’s broader plan to fire civil servants, freeze government programs and dismantle entire agencies. Here are some key things to know about the D.C. insider who wants to take a hatchet to the federal government.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh ruled that ICE could consider race in LA raids & that citizens shouldn’t be concerned about being swept up. He was wrong. Reporter @nicolefoy.bsky.social found more than 170 citizens have been detained, sometimes for days, without charges or with flimsy premises.

Among the Education Department’s new appointees is Lindsey Burke, the lead author of Project 2025’s education section. She envisions dramatic enrollment declines for public schools: “We’re going to have a lot of empty school buildings.” By @megomatz.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

When ICE stormed through Santa Ana, CA, panicked calls flooded into the city’s emergency response system. Recordings obtained by @propublica.org captured the terror residents felt as they watched masked men ambush people and force them into unmarked cars. / Story by @davidmcswane.bsky.social

Current and former Department of Education employees: We want to hear from you. Use Signal to contact our reporters @jsmithrichards.bsky.social at jsmithrichards.93, @jodiscohen.bsky.social at jodireporter.88 or @megomatz.bsky.social at 414-207-6225.

How Trump's research cuts affect a 4-year-old in heart failure www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

Five Ways Trump’s Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools, by @megomatz.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

To understand the Trump administration’s vision for American education, @megomatz.bsky.social and I studied dozens of hours of political appointees’ speeches and podcasts and essays. What emerged is a desire to dismantle the nation’s system of public schools.

The Trump administration is working to dramatically expand school choice, moving kids to a range of private & religious schools or homeschooling. Ultimately, what percentage of children would remain in public schools? A Moms for Liberty co-founder told me: “I hope zero. I hope to get to zero.”

A policy expert described Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s push in favor of private schools as a “great American heist,” funneling money from public schools: “It’s a strategic theft of the future of our country, our kids and our democracy. @propublica.org

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...

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)

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...

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.

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...

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

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...

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…..

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 👇👇

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...

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 Pushing Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally @lisalsong.bsky.social

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 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/

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...

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.