One man started a 'predatory' lending operation. The other was a retired hedge fund legend. A private credit fund had what both were looking for. bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via Businessweek

NEW from Brett Murphy:

A special State Dept panel sought in Dec to BAN Israeli military & police units from receiving US military aid.

The units are alleged to have committed gross human rights violations.

Killings. Rapes.

Blinken sat on it.

propublica.org/article/israel…

New: The Biden Diplomat Who Never Cut Ties With the Defense Industry

Biden Presidential Envoy Joseph Yun negotiated big agreements with Pacific Island nations—all while holding a job at The Asia Group, a powerful defense consulting firm whose clients may benefit from the deals.

Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin has issued a subpoena to conservative activist Leonard Leo as part of the panel's Supreme Court ethics inquiry. Leo's lawyer says he will not comply. ⁦Reuters⁩ reuters.com/world/us/us-se…

NEW: Trump’s lawyers told the court that no one would give him a bond.

Then he got a lifeline from a billionaire. But his lawyers didn't tell the judges.

That may be an ethics violation.

Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott & Alex Mierjeski:

propublica.org/article/trump-…

Take a look at this heated editing fight in document Heather Vogell obtained. It’s between US Trade officials and US health officials over regulations on the marketing of formula globally. Guess who won? Really worth looking at the whole thing projects.propublica.org/toddler-formul…

The US has been working on behalf of the baby formula industry to quash regulation around the globe — even for questionable products like “toddler milk,” which critics call unhealthy and doctors say is unnecessary. My story: propublica.org/article/how-am…

I wrote about Direct File—a new site that is the government's answer to TurboTax. It's way better than you might think. theatlantic.com/technology/arc…

Fascinating draft article by tax professor Omri Marian arguing that some of the gifts we reported to Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito were taxable income, and that if they did not pay taxes on them, they should be audited.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…

New: Customer Service Company That Worked With Disney, Comcast Will Pay $2M to Workers to Settle Lawsuit Over Pay Practices propublica.org/article/arise-…

4 years ago, we investigated Arise Virtual Solutions, which companies like Disney & Comcast outsourced customer service to.

Sparked by our story, the DC AG's office sued Arise—and now, they've settled: for $3 million, with $2 million going to workers.
1/
propublica.org/article/arise-…

Our profile a few years ago of Jeff Yass, who not only owns a stake in TikTok, but has managed to pay a lower tax rate than his most prominent Wall Street peers--and many ordinary Americans--even as his income grew to billions *per year*

propublica.org/article/jeff-y…

During my Public Rights Project fellowship, I read a moving article by Justin Elliott Ken Armstrong & Ariana Tobin about workers at Arise, a company that recruits independent contractor 'agents' who provide customer support for sub minimum wages

Unchanged diapers. Fees collected for care never given. New York Guardianship Services is often tasked with caring for the 'unbefriended,' but records show more than a dozen cases where it failed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. propublica.org/article/new-yo…

About one in five Americans have a mental illness, and yet, for many, accessing care can be extremely difficult.

ProPublica needs your help. We're investigating mental health care access and we want to hear from providers, insurance insiders + patients: propublica.org/getinvolved/te…

FTC takes action against tax prep company H&R Block for wiping consumers’ data, deceptively marketing ‘free’ online filing. Complaint outlines unfair deletion of tax data when consumers attempt to downgrade to more affordable products: bit.ly/49MxOrw /1

Bit of a Supreme Court mystery: Justice Thomas appears to have abruptly stopped using the US Marshals for security while traveling around 2017 -- according to Fix the Court docs and correspondence fixthecourt.com/2024/02/dozens…

Why Haven’t Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo Been Subpoenaed? propublica.org/article/why-ha… by Andy Kroll

After we found migrant children working dangerous jobs in their US supply chains, companies including McDonald's, Costco, Tyson and Ford are changing how they check factories for child labor. nytimes.com/2024/02/07/us/…

Exclusive: Before retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis became defense secretary, the U.S. allowed him to advise UAE’s ruler on the war in Yemen — then fought to conceal it.

The Washington Post sued for the documents and won. Here's what we discovered. wapo.st/3Sm6Hg4