President Donald Trump had a rare opportunity to fix the clemency system. Instead, experts said, he has exploited it. “If you’re just an average citizen, you can’t even get in the line,” one lawyer said.

JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor. You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j... You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233

NEW: 2020 footage said to be in 2025. A neighbor who keeps reappearing in the same clip, said to be on different days & months. A broadcast from elsewhere suggested as Portland. How Fox News misled its viewership -- which may have included the president. www.propublica.org/article/port...

Interestingly, as President Donald Trump uses his clemency power to benefit allies, donors and culture-war figures, few of his pardons have gone to people who meet the Justice Department’s criteria and properly petitioned the Office of the Pardon Attorney. @jeremykohler.bsky.social

Must read: “Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops, by @robwdavis.bsky.social

NEW: How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and Supporters, by @jeremykohler.bsky.social

The Political Left Is Dialing Up Scrutiny of Data Centers

It’s Getting Harder to Figure Out Whether You Live in a Flood Zone or Not @wsj.com

Citing a new state law, Attorney General Ken Paxton told four cities to cancel planned tax hikes. But La Marque leaders say their tax increase is critical to keeping the city afloat financially.

Probation officers pause in-person visits and home searches for offenders facing an arrest warrant. That reduced supervision can last for months — in one case it was over a year. Six mothers died during this gap, WPLN and ProPublica found. www.propublica.org/article/tenn...

Roughly 1 in 4 domestic violence homicide victims in Tennessee’s five biggest cities were allegedly shot by someone who was legally barred from having a gun. @paigepfleger.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social

NEW: Tennessee has one of the highest rates of gun-related homicide. A blind spot in the state's probation department appears at a time when experts say offenders are a danger to domestic violence victims, @wpln.bsky.social and @propublica.org found.

Shocking story. How a Gap in Tennessee’s Probation System Leaves Domestic Violence Victims in Danger, by @paigepfleger.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social

Worth watching: The number of debt collection cases in Alaska state courts is soaring, following national trends

Justice Department struggles as thousands exit — and few are replaced

The FDA is reversing a 2003 decision that put a stringent warning on hormone therapy products for menopausal women, saying that the treatments offer heart, brain, and bone health benefits. www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...

When 1,000 of RFK Jr.'s supporters gathered in Austin for a celebratory conference to chart the future of their movement, they embraced a term — “anti-vax” — some once regarded as a slur.

A Fort Worth church’s candidate training program is the “next stage” of a religion-driven political movement, which has more latitude now that the IRS has allowed religious leaders to endorse candidates from the pulpit, an expert said. w/ @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org

NEW: “No Separation Between Church and State”: Inside a Texas Church’s Training Academy for Christians Running for Office, with @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org

Most of Trump’s deportation campaign is inaccessible because after arrests are made, it is moving quickly, far from public view. For every person arrested whose name and story we’ve learned, there are thousands we haven’t heard about @caitlindickerson.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Wowser. BBC Director General Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness have resigned following criticism that a documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by President Donald Trump.

NEW: Alaska’s Public Schools Serve as Emergency Shelters. Those Buildings Are Also in Crisis. @emilyschwing.bsky.social

Watch how government propaganda techniques portray Chicago as a city at war with the feds

The U.S. is on track to have the fewest foreign food inspections since 2011, except during the Covid pandemic. 65% of the staff in the FDA divisions responsible for coordinating travel and budgets left or were fired in the name of government efficiency. www.propublica.org/article/fore...

1/ The Trump admin has targeted the president's perceived enemies with allegations of mortgage fraud. Letitia James. Adam Schiff. Lisa Cook But recently one Texas Republican tapped the tactic to allege a statewide official here may also be guilty: Ken Paxton. www.kut.org/crime-justic... #txlege

ICYMI: What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard

IMPACT: Trump’s VA Made It Harder for Male Veterans to Get Treatment for Breast Cancer. Lawmakers Want to Fix That. @ericumansky.bsky.social

NEW: American inspections of foreign food facilities have plummeted to historic lows this year, a ProPublica data analysis shows. About two dozen current and former FDA officials blamed the drop on staffing cuts under Trump. @anniewaldman.bsky.social @bxroberts.org

WATCH: While federal judges decide whether Portland protesters’ behavior constitutes a rebellion, ProPublica set out to examine the degree to which they were inciting unrest and the role that federal officers played.

President Trump and his administration say National Guard troops are needed in “War ravaged” Portland to protect a local ICE office that he described as being under siege. Our review found no evidence of what could be termed a coordinated assault.

The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startups and crypto companies. ⁦

What Happened When Small-Town America Became Data Center, U.S.A. 33 counties that account for 72% of U.S. data-center capacity

A New York School Finds a Way Around AI. To prevent students from cheating, it requires them to handwrite essays.

Two policing experts who reviewed videos of Portland protests for ProPublica said federal officers at times used force inappropriately, echoing a Portland police official who testified in court that federal officers were instigating the chaos.

NEW: Tech Billionaire Marc Andreessen Bet Big on Trump. It’s Paying Off for Silicon Valley.

Important NEW story: What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard, by @robwdavis.bsky.social and @stevesuo.bsky.social

Younger Americans are feeling the pinch. Chipotle’s Big Bet on Younger Consumers Is Unraveling

The anger is real. Surging Power Costs Are Putting the Squeeze on Customers, by @jaredmitovich.bsky.social

Join nonprofit newsrooms The Frontier and ProPublica to discuss how oil and gas extraction is contaminating Oklahoma’s groundwater. The event is free - sign up at the link below.

The biggest choice on today's ballots in PA is whether to retain 3 Democratic supreme court justices. The push to remake the court has been driven by billionaire Jeff Yass. In 2022, @propublica.org detailed how Yass had avoided paying $1B in taxes and funneled that money to right-wing causes:

NOAA cancels funding for data collection crucial to tsunami warning systems

ProPublica is hiring a reporter to join our amazing investigative unit with The Texas Tribune. APPLY HERE ➡️ propub.li/4qvyjzw

Bad news for billionaires. Great news for the rest of is. @jeisinger.bsky.social is going to be envisioning and executing far more journalism. Including into the super-sized businesses that have wormed their way into our lives. www.propublica.org/atpropublica...

This is wild. Appeals Court Upholds Shaken Baby Conviction Despite Medical Examiner Recanting Testimony, by @pamelacolloff.bsky.social

Some BIG ProPublica news!! @jeisinger.bsky.social has been promoted to assistant managing editor. AND he will build and oversee a new team devoted to business investigations. 🎉🎉

Last year, the DOJ criticized Memphis police for using minor infractions as a pretext to search people for serious crimes. Under Trump’s crackdown, it’s happening again. @wendicthomas.bsky.social @katieburgess.bsky.social @mlk50.com

NEW: “I Don’t Feel Safe.” Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force, by @wendicthomas.bsky.social @katieburgess.bsky.social w/ @mlk50.com

We Spent the Night Shift With the Repo Man, Who Is Busier Than Ever, by @scottmcalvert.bsky.social

In Medicare, Less Is Now More for Big Insurers, by @davidwainer.bsky.social

Private equity destroys 200-year-old book distribution company that libraries around the country rely on and now libraries are having trouble getting new books: www.404media.co/libraries-sc...