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Joel Jacobs

@joeljacobs.bsky.social
4.2K followers 125 following 14 posts

Data reporter @propublica.org. Former software engineer. .

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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
“That is a serious, serious gap in safety.” A School Bus Killed a 5-Year-Old. The Crash Is Among Dozens Missing From the Bus Company’s Federal Safety Record. By @wmariano.bsky.social @joeljacobs.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social w/ @wbur.org
propublica.org
A School Bus Killed a 5-Year-Old. The Crash Is Among Dozens Missing From the Bus Company’s Federal Safety Record.
A national system tracks serious bus crashes so regulators can keep roads safe. But the process fails to identify most of a major company’s fatal collisions, WBUR and ProPublica found.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica @propublica.org · 04/05/2026
NEW: Elizabeth Warren and other U.S. senators sent letters grilling the nation’s major credit bureaus after a ProPublica investigation revealed two of the companies were fixing fewer consumers’ credit reports under the Trump administration.
propublica.org
Lawmakers Demand Answers About Growing Number of Unfixed Mistakes on Credit Reports
Four senators wrote letters to Experian and TransUnion, requesting information on the companies’ dispute handling processes after ProPublica revealed they have been dismissing more consumer complaints...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
Our unit members are ON STRIKE and not participating in this event. DON’T CROSS THE PICKET LINE!
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I hate that contract negotiations are not going better, but this is where we are. Today my colleagues and I @propublica.org are walking out. We need management to come to the table with more serious contract proposals that address our real concerns about discipline, job protections and fair wages.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
Our members are on the picket line today demanding a fair contract now! We want a fair disciplinary process, layoff protections & guardrails on artificial intelligence. Support us by donating to our strike fund: www.gofundme.com/f/support-pr...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
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...
We're on strike! Don't visit propublica.org on April 8
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
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...
propublica.org
Veterans Who Depend on Mental Health Care Keep Losing Their Therapists Under Trump
Hundreds of mental health professionals have left the Department of Veterans Affairs since President Donald Trump took office, leaving staff “at a breaking point” and some veterans waiting as long as ...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica @propublica.org · 10/03/2026
NEW: TransUnion and Experian, two of the three major credit bureaus, have started dismissing a larger share of consumer complaints without help since the Trump administration began dismantling the CFPB.
propublica.org
Credit Bureaus Are Leaving More Mistakes on Frustrated Consumers’ Reports Under Trump’s CFPB
TransUnion and Experian, two of the three major credit bureaus, have started dismissing a larger share of consumer complaints without help since the Trump administration began dismantling the CFPB.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 15/09/2025
We can’t produce fearless investigative journalism without job security and a fair contract. After almost two years of bargaining, we need your help. Show your support for @propublica.org workers by adding your name to our petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
actionnetwork.org
Fair Contract Now for ProPublica Guild
We, the workers of ProPublica, provide our readers with deeply researched, unbiased news that holds power to account. This work is more important now than ever, but our staff can’t properly contribute...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 12/08/2025
We’re holding a lunch-out today to demand that @propublica management agree to a fair discipline and performance evaluation system. Just today, a member of our Bargaining Committee and Unit Council was fired as a result of ProPublica's flawed system.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Molly Redden @mtredden.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Do you have information about Big Law spurning clients who might incur Trump's anger? Get in touch: molly.redden@propublica.org or on Signal at mollyredden.14
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Joel Jacobs @joeljacobs.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
NEW from me: The CFPB's consumer complaint system is more popular than ever, fielding over 2.7M complaints last year. But Republican lawmakers still voted to slash the CFPB's budget, even after referring thousands of their own constituents' issues to the agency. www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...
propublica.org
These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency.
Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, lo...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/08/2025
NEW: Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, loans and other products to the agency. By @joeljacobs.bsky.social
propublica.org
These GOP Lawmakers Referred Constituents to the CFPB for Help. Then They Voted to Gut the Agency.
Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards,…
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
NEW: A 700% APR Lending Business Tied to Dr. Phil’s Son Is Dividing an Alaska Tribe @kylehopkinsak.bsky.social @megomatz.bsky.social @joeljacobs.bsky.social w/ @adn.com
propublica.org
A 700% APR Lending Business Tied to Dr. Phil’s Son Is Dividing an Alaska Tribe
Tribal lender Minto Money has boosted the economy of its Alaska town. But some tribal members are appalled by the millions it’s made off desperate borrowers — much of which, lawsuits allege, has gone ...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/05/2025
1/ 🚨 Yesterday, @propublica.org management confirmed that it will again deny steward representation at disciplinary meetings. Our full statement 👇
Thursday, May 8, 2025
ProPublica management continues to deny steward representation
Yesterday morning, ProPublica management confirmed that it will deny steward representation to at least two more bargaining unit members it plans to discipline next week through the issuance of Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). 
This is part of a larger pattern: management has denied steward representation in every meeting where members were placed on PIPs. The plans are the first step in a disciplinary process that often leads to termination.
We have raised this issue repeatedly.
Last Thursday, more than 70% of our unit sent an open letter to ProPublica leadership, urging them to stop resisting core union protections including steward access, just cause and accountability in the disciplinary process.
This week, managers informed two employees that they would be placed on PIPs in meetings next week. Shortly afterward, ProPublica’s general counsel told Guild leadership that stewards will not be allowed in those meetings.
ProPublica’s disciplinary process remains opaque, inconsistently applied and shielded from scrutiny. Blocking stewards from these meetings is out of step with our industry and the principles of fairness and accountability the newsroom claims to uphold.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Trump says he loves vets. He's promised to "put veterans first." He's also planning to cut the agency that cares for more than nine million of them. If you're a vet who gets care at VA -- or you work there -- *we want to hear from you.* www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...
propublica.org
Have You Been Affected by Changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs? Tell Us About It.
Have you experienced setbacks in your care or benefits amid the changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs? ProPublica wants to hear from you.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
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...
propublica.org
Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Cuts Jeopardize Veterans’ Care, Including To “Life-Saving Cancer Trials”
Despite a congressional mandate to expand care for veterans, internal Veterans Affairs messages obtained by ProPublica paint a stark portrait of how chaotic cost cutting has already imperiled tests of...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica @propublica.org · 11/03/2025
NEW: The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged. “The consequences will be dire, wide-reaching and deadly,” an advocate for Black veterans said. By @vernalcoleman.bsky.social
propub.li
The Office That Investigates Disparities in Veterans’ Care Is Being “Liquidated”
The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged. “The consequences will be dire, wide-reaching...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Lisa Song @lisalsong.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
“We are really trying very, very hard ... to move our world forward" through "foundational, sometimes groundbreaking research, and then you get flagged and blacklisted because there is a word like ‘female’ in your project.” My latest, w/the brilliant Agnel Philip www.propublica.org/article/ted-...
propublica.org
A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”
The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude meth...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Alejandro Alvarez @aletakesphotos.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Strategically parked around the corner …
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Megan O'Matz @megomatz.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Take a listen to my colleague @joeljacobs.bsky.social talk about our @ProPublica tribal lending series on Oregon public radio www.ijpr.org/economy-and-...
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Joel Jacobs @joeljacobs.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
NEW from me and @megomatz.bsky.social‬ — tribal lenders offering 600%+ APR loans online argue that sovereign immunity allows them to skirt state lending laws, but we found they backed away from six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect consumers: www.propublica.org/article/stat...
propublica.org
Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them.
Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect c...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Megan O'Matz @megomatz.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Federal authorities haven’t shown much interest lately in addressing payday-like lenders tied to Native American tribes, which offer quick cash online at astronomical interest rates. But we found that some states have effectively shut down such lending. www.propublica.org/article/stat...
propublica.org
Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them.
Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect c...
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
ProPublica @propublica.org · 15/01/2025
NEW: Federal authorities have struggled to regulate tribal lending operations that offer short-term loans at crushing interest rates. But six states have shown that tribal immunity doesn’t prevent state officials from acting to protect consumers. By @joeljacobs.bsky.social & @megomatz.bsky.social
propub.li
Tribal Lenders Say They Can Charge Over 600% Interest. These States Stopped Them.
Online lenders tied to Native American tribes argue that they aren’t subject to state lending laws, but they backed away from operating in six states where attorneys have acted forcefully to protect…
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files. It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.
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Reposted by Joel Jacobs
Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · 27/12/2024
For the past year, @propublica.org has been reporting on the toll when a city "sweeps" an encampment. We handed out cards so folks could write in their own words what it meant to have their belongings trashed. We're publishing dozens of those stories here: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
projects.propublica.org
“I Have Lost Everything”: The Toll of Cities’ Homeless Sweeps
Cities often take belongings — including important documents and irreplaceable mementos — when they conduct sweeps of homeless encampments. ProPublica gave notecards to people across the country so th...
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Joel Jacobs @joeljacobs.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
ICYMI: Last week @megomatz.bsky.social and I reported on how the tribal lending industry has survived and thrived offering exorbitant online loans to millions of borrowers — with APRs that can exceed 600%. www.propublica.org/article/trib... We’ve been investigating this opaque industry for months:🧵
propublica.org
The Tribal Lending Industry Offers Quick Cash Online at Outrageous Interest Rates. Here’s How It’s Survived.
Despite lawsuits, prosecutions and federal crackdown attempts, the tribal lending industry has adapted for over a decade, providing exorbitant loans to millions of financially vulnerable consumers.
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