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Illustration by Joel Kimmel for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Reference image: ZUMA Press Wire/Reuters Connect. In the summer of 2023, after he was impeached on charges of abusing his office for personal gain, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was suspended and barred from conducting any official business for more than three months while awaiting trial in the state Senate. So, he traveled. Paxton, a Republican who is now running for U.S. Senate, took at least 17 trips over three months, including to resort destinations Park City, Utah, and Vail, Colorado. He visited the Oklahoma town where he owns a vacation lodge and a Utah community with a golf resort, where he later bought four condominiums. State police joined him each time, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for trips unrelated to his job as attorney general. The Texas Senate ultimately acquitted him on the impeachment charges. But Paxton’s use of the taxpayer-funded detail did not begin or...

Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica Last year, many of America’s largest health insurers vowed to reduce their use of prior authorization — the extra layer of approval insurers require before covering a medical expense. The industry’s pledge came after massive backlash to the process from patients, providers and politicians. ProPublica’s reporting has found it can delay or outright deny patients’ critical medical care . Data as of last year shows the industry is still relying heavily on the approval process. Now, ProPublica is looking into the ways that insurers’ continued use of prior authorization is impacting patients. We need your help to figure out if prior authorization is still leading to delayed or missed treatments, tests, medical equipment or medication. If you are covered by a plan through Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program, or the Affordable Care Act marketplace — and have had a prior authorization request delayed or denied — w...

Left image: A scene from an Amateur Athletic Union-affiliated volleyball game in 2026. Right image: Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., left, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. Collage by ProPublica. Photos by Sarah Blesener for ProPublica and Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images. What Happened: Bipartisan leaders from the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee launched an inquiry on Wednesday into the Amateur Athletic Union, criticizing the sprawling youth sports organization for its handling of child sexual abuse allegations and demanding answers, citing reporting by ProPublica and The Washington Post . What They Said: “It is unacceptable that AAU is failing to implement standard reforms to protect child athletes, and is misleading the public, parents, and athletes about preventative measures in place within AAU sports,” the letter reads . The committee chair, Kentucky Republican Brett Guthrie,...

Illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica. Source images: FAA report obtained by ProPublica, Eric Gay/AP. When SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket exploded over the Caribbean last year, the internet lit up with videos from airline passengers, island tourists and locals showing flaming debris shooting across the sky. Even some airline pilots recorded the fiery aftermath as planes scrambled to move out of its path . Some of those videos of Starship’s seventh test flight — including ones taken from Disney and Royal Caribbean cruise ships and a Club Med resort — went on to play a role in the company’s efforts to count and track pieces of debris after the explosion, a report obtained by ProPublica says. The report — obtained by ProPublica from the Federal Aviation Administration through a freedom of information request — shows video captured a fireball, then a shower of sparkling debris in the sky moments after the explosion. It includes maps pinpointing where the images we...

Bottles of raw milk for sale Sarahbeth Maney for ProPublica The nation’s largest professional group of pediatricians has renewed its call for a nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk and other raw dairy products, according to a policy statement it published earlier this week.  The revised guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics warns of the serious health risks from consuming raw dairy products, particularly for children, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised people. “More and more people are discussing this as a potentially healthful thing to do, when in fact it’s a highly risky thing to do,” said the academy’s president, Dr. Andrew Racine. “So our responsibility, as the leading voice of pediatric healthcare in the United States that’s dedicated to the health and well-being of children, is to make sure that the accurate, evidence-based information is out there.” The revised statement follows ProPublica reporting that dive...

Austin Davis, center, a 26-year-old poet and advocate for homeless people, has become a point of last resort for families who are experiencing homelessness in the Phoenix area. For about a year, Austin Davis’ phone has been flooded with hundreds of pleas for help from across the Phoenix metropolitan area. A school employee wanted to help a homeless family but couldn’t find space at a shelter. Could Davis pay for a hotel room? A mother of five living in a storage unit contacted a homeless services organization for help. They told her to call Davis. A mother panhandling with her six children said passersby gave her Davis’ phone number, telling her he might be able to provide shelter. “I feel like the worst mother in the world,” she texted him. Nearly every person who’s reached out to Davis, a 26-year-old poet and advocate for homeless people, says they’d first called 211, seeking help through the official channel, only to learn it could be months before they’d get ...