Mastodawn

Justin Elliott Jun 21, 2023

Our latest story on the Supreme Court:

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.

ProPublica

Justin Elliott Apr 13, 2023

Our latest investigation on Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow, just out:

Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus

Harlan Crow Bought Property from Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.

The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.

ProPublica

Justin Elliott Apr 6, 2023

Our new investigation:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From Major GOP Donor For Decades

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.

ProPublica

Justin Elliott Feb 9, 2023

Incredible story of how Goldman Sachs (et al) help billionaires slash their taxes through stock trading games https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-files-taxes-wash-sales-goldman-sachs

How the Wealthy Save Billions in Taxes by Skirting a Century-Old Law

Congress outlawed tax deductions on “wash sales” in 1921, but Goldman Sachs and others have helped billionaires like Steve Ballmer see huge tax savings by selling stocks for a loss and then replacing them with nearly identical investments.

ProPublica

Justin Elliott Dec 22, 2022

David Dayen Dec 21, 2022

Have I got a treat for you.
@[email protected] and @[email protected] have written the definitive, 40-year history of Ticketmaster's rise to power, including the last time a band (Pearl Jam) tried to challenge them.
It's unbelievable, but all true.
https://prospect.org/power/ticketmasters-dark-history/

Ticketmaster’s Dark History

A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam

The American Prospect

Justin Elliott Dec 16, 2022

ProPublica Dec 15, 2022

It’s no secret that workers at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant in Niagara Falls are being exposed to #poison — ortho-toluidine, used to make tires pliable. A major expose even revealed, almost a decade ago, that dozens of workers had developed bladder #cancer since 1974.

What is perhaps most stunning about the trail of sick Goodyear workers is that they have been exposed to levels of the #chemical that the US #government says are perfectly safe.

#safety #health #osha

https://www.propublica.org/article/goodyear-niagara-rubber-plant-ortho-toluidine?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

As Workers Battle Cancer, The Government Admits Its Limit for a Deadly Chemical Is Too High

The U.S. agency that is supposed to safeguard worker health has all but given up on setting limits to protect them from dangerous chemicals. Meanwhile, workers are dying.

ProPublica