Rob Davis
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robwdavis.bsky.social
Rob Davis
@robwdavis.bsky.social
Northwest reporter, ProPublica.
Reposted by Rob Davis
As the Trump administration gutted USAID this year, officials, including Marco Rubio, said over and over that lifesaving operations would continue around the world and that nobody had died because of the cuts.
December 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: For more than a century, a smelter spewed lead dust over Omaha.

For decades, the government cleaned it up.

But a shift in guidance from the Trump administration may stop thousands more from potential cleanup, exposing families to the harmful metal.

With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
The EPA Was Considering a Massive Lead Cleanup in Omaha. Then Trump Shifted Guidance.
The Trump administration says it will speed cleanups, but residents of the largest residential lead Superfund site worry fewer properties will be remediated.
www.propublica.org
December 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: Last year we found the acceptable level of exposure to formaldehyde set by the EPA left people at risk for cancer.

Now the Trump administration has roughly doubled it

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...
Under Former Chemical Industry Insiders, Trump EPA Nearly Doubles Amount of Formaldehyde Considered Safe to Inhale
Chemical industry lobbyists have long pushed the government to adopt a less stringent approach to gauging the cancer risk from chemicals, one that would help ease regulations on companies that make or...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Rob Davis
"Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter after being asked whether his Florida mortgages were similar to those of others he had accused of fraud." 👀

www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
Trump sent the National Guard to fight what he called "violent radical left terrorism" in Portland.

At the same time, he's been withholding millions to prepare for what emergency managers say are actual terror threats.

Trump's FEMA says its spending became "a slush fund for woke projects."
Oregon Struggles to Land Federal Counterterrorism Money as Trump Orders Troops to Stop “Terrorists” Hindering ICE
A quiet battle has played out in court over money that “sanctuary” states say is needed to fight true extremist threats from both ends of the political spectrum.
www.propublica.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Trump sent the National Guard to fight what he called "violent radical left terrorism" in Portland.

At the same time, he's been withholding millions to prepare for what emergency managers say are actual terror threats.

Trump's FEMA says its spending became "a slush fund for woke projects."
Oregon Struggles to Land Federal Counterterrorism Money as Trump Orders Troops to Stop “Terrorists” Hindering ICE
A quiet battle has played out in court over money that “sanctuary” states say is needed to fight true extremist threats from both ends of the political spectrum.
www.propublica.org
December 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"They’re using a clearly vulnerable, clearly sympathetic population in a way that sends a powerful message to literally every other population ... that no one is safe.” www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Thanks, @oregonian.com, for front-paging our story about Fox News' misleading coverage of Portland before Trump ordered in the National Guard.

www.propublica.org/article/port...
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Grateful to @oregonian.com and @oregoncapitalchronicle.com for sharing our story about Fox News' misleading coverage of Portland before Trump ordered the National Guard.

ICYMI: www.propublica.org/article/port...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 17, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
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...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.

We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.

www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media.

The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence was misleading.
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
Our review of 700+ videos of the Portland protests shows a wide gap between the reality on the ground and the characterizations by Trump, Fox News and DHS, which said its office in the city was under “coordinated assault by violent groups.”

By @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
www.propublica.org
November 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM
And that's a permanent injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Immergut preventing the National Guard from being deployed in Portland. The judge says the president exceeded his authority.

The opinion:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
#146 in State of Oregon v. Trump (D. Or., 3:25-cv-01756) – CourtListener.com
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: For the reasons provided, this Court GRANTS declaratory relief and permanent injunctive relief, as stated herein, and in the accompanying Judgment. See attache...
storage.courtlistener.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: We reviewed 700+ videos, hours of footage from ICE protesters and counterprotesters in Portland.

In 2 months before Trump said he was sending the National Guard, federal officers fire on, grab, pepper-spray or tear gas people 20 times -- without charging anyone. "Gratuitous," one expert said.
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
www.propublica.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: Billions of pounds of food are imported to the U.S. each year.

The FDA inspects foreign producers to ensure what we're eating is safe from pathogens and dangerous manufacturing practices.

But now, after Trump's drastic staff cuts, these inspections have plummeted to a historic low.
🧵/
Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts
The dramatic shift in oversight comes at a time when the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food, which accounts for the vast majority of the nation’s seafood and more than half its fresh fru...
www.propublica.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
📽️ WATCH: We reviewed 700+ videos, hours of footage from ICE protesters and counterprotesters in Portland.

Trump justified the deployment of National Guard troops by calling the city "War ravaged," with an ICE office under siege. That's not what we found.

🔗 Full story: https://propub.li/43fRCmF
November 6, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Rob Davis
President Trump claimed the National Guard was needed in "war-ravaged" Portland. But a @propublica.org review of protests in the months leading up to his claims -- including more than 700 (!!) videos -- show a different reality.

via @robwdavis.bsky.social and Steve Suo
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
www.propublica.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
NEW: We reviewed 700+ videos, hours of footage from ICE protesters and counterprotesters in Portland.

In 2 months before Trump said he was sending the National Guard, federal officers fire on, grab, pepper-spray or tear gas people 20 times -- without charging anyone. "Gratuitous," one expert said.
What Really Happened in Portland Before Trump Deployed the National Guard
In the two months before Trump’s decision, criminal charges were announced against only three people. On nights when physical conflict did erupt, it often came from police firing on, shoving, pepper-s...
www.propublica.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
Like ghosts, we’re all about transparency. 👻

Got a tip for us? Contact our team safely on Signal at 917-512-0201.

**We always show our work. Use our stencils to make your own pumpkin: propub.li/43AXneD
October 27, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.

I did it because the government isn’t.

This is what I found.
October 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
The Trump administration isn't tracking how many American citizens have been detained by immigration agents.

So ProPublica did. @nicolefoy.bsky.social documented citizens being dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot.

A must-read.

www.propublica.org/article/immi...
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Rob Davis
NEW: After paying for hotel rooms to shelter homeless people, Seattle deliberately left them vacant.

By the end of 2024, taxpayers were spending $4,200 a month per empty room at a time when thousands of residents were without a roof over their heads.
Seattle Spent Millions on Hotel Rooms to Shelter Unhoused People. Then It Stopped Filling Them.
Early last year, the city signed a $2.7 million lease extension to continue using a hotel’s rooms as shelter space. Yet despite committing to pay the rent, the city stopped sending people there.
www.propublica.org
October 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM