Tracy Jan

Tracy Jan

@tracyjan.bsky.social

Senior editor @propublica.org. Former Washington Post deputy health & science editor and race & economy reporter. Former Boston Globe national political reporter. https://www.propublica.org/people/tracy-jan

8.8K followers2.5K following594 posts

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Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Some happy news! After 8 years at @washingtonpost.com as a reporter and editor, I am excited to join @propublica.org as a senior editor collaborating with local news outlets on investigative projects. Basically, my dream job. I will miss my Post peeps deeply. www.propublica.org/atpropublica...

propublica.orgProPublica Hires Tina Griego and Tracy Jan as Senior Editors for Its Local Reporting NetworkProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Backed by a GOP supermajority, TN state senator Brent Taylor pushed through half a dozen laws that superseded the priorities & power of local politicians & voters. Now, after gerrymandering split Memphis' Black vote, he's running to represent many of them in Congress. By @wendicthomas.bsky.social

propublica.orgIn a Newly Drawn District, Black Voters May Get a Representative Who Spent Years Undermining Their InterestsBrent Taylor is the front-runner for one of Memphis’ U.S. congressional districts, recently redrawn from majority Black to majority white. As state senator, he repeatedly used his power to supersede l...

Tracy Jan reposted

William Turton
@williamturton.bsky.social

In 2024 the former CEO of a defense contractor made a stunning confession to two FBI agents. He alleged that was the ringleader of a massive pay-to-play operation, bribing senators with campaign contributions in exchange for govt contracts. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...

propublica.orgThe FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the WayAfter the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...

Tracy Jan reposted

ProPublica
@propublica.org

Sept. 21, 2020: Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz is involved in a car crash in the Dominican Republic that kills three people. This is how Cruz avoided prosecution — with the help of a local fixer who would go on to become a Red Sox legend’s business partner. THREAD:

Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

IMPACT by @kqednews.kqed.org's Holly McDede: California lawmakers unanimously passed legislation to ensure that school administrators are informed about past accusations of misconduct against teachers as part of their hiring process. Next up: Awaiting signature of @governor.ca.gov

propublica.orgCalifornia Lawmakers Pass Bill to Punish Administrators Who Fail to Vet Teachers for MisconductThe legislation resulted from a KQED-ProPublica investigation that found at least 14 educators were hired by new schools after their former employers determined they had sexually harassed students or ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Rich’s interview with former death row inmate Jimmie Duncan has been a year and a half in the making. And what a read this is.

richardawebster.bsky.social@richardawebster.bsky.social

1–After 27 years on death row, Jimmie Duncan’s murder conviction was overturned in June by the Louisiana Supreme Court. But while Duncan is grateful to no longer be confined to the tiny cell at Angola prison, I learned that he is still not truly free. THREAD:

Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

@gporteous.bsky.social: "The reporters in our newsroom shouldn’t have to fear that writing a story will result in their deportation. Today’s victory means they won’t have to. The Court’s decision will enable our reporters to focus on what they do best: asking tough questions & reporting the truth."

stanforddaily.comStanford Daily wins free speech lawsuit against Trump adminA federal judge found that the government’s actions against noncitizens violated the First Amendment and created a chilling effect in student newsrooms.
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

U.S. District Court Judge Noël Wise wrote that the freedom to criticize our government & leaders is evidence of our democracy's strength. "That strength is diminished when members of our society — citizens & noncitizens alike — must self-censor & ‘behave’ or suffer the government’s retaliation.”

storage.courtlistener.comMemorandum & Opinion – #108 in Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation v. Rubio (N.D. Cal., 5:25-cv-06618) – CourtListener.comMEMORANDUM OF DECISION PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 52(A)(1) signed by Judge Noël Wise on 8/28/2026. (akw, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/28/2026) (Entered: 08/28/2026)
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

This phenomenal @propublica.org investigation by Molly Hensley-Clancy will make your HEAD EXPLODE. And want to punch someone in the face. www.propublica.org/article/aau-...

propublica.orgThis National Youth Sports Organization Is Failing to Protect Kids From Sexual AbuseMore than a decade after the Amateur Athletic Union promised to implement “historic child protection measures,” it still hasn’t done so, leaving hundreds of thousands of kids at risk. Some AAU athlete...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

His conviction was thrown out after a prosecutor admitted he had failed to turn over key fingerprint evidence. Eligible for up to $480K in state compensation, he hasn't received a cent. The Louisiana attorney general has opposed 22 of 23 compensation claims by wrongfully convicted people.

propublica.orgHe’s Eligible for Up to $480,000 After Being Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years. The State Says No.Elvis Brooks’ case was an egregious example of a wrongful conviction, civil rights attorneys said. But Louisiana’s attorney general maintains that Brooks and other exonerees are guilty — and therefore...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Read @richardawebster.bsky.social's latest investigation for @veritenews.org + @propublica.org's Local Reporting Network. LA's opposition to compensation claims include cases in which men were exonerated through DNA or blood evidence & others in which police are accused of fabricating evidence.

propublica.orgHe’s Eligible for Up to $480,000 After Being Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years. The State Says No.Elvis Brooks’ case was an egregious example of a wrongful conviction, civil rights attorneys said. But Louisiana’s attorney general maintains that Brooks and other exonerees are guilty — and therefore...

Tracy Jan reposted

Eric Umansky
@ericumansky.bsky.social

The ACLU has just detailed hundreds of cases of misconduct by immig agents: -kneeling on necks 52x -Agents choking people 10x -smashing car windows 47x -ramming cars 14x -Hit people w/ car 6x Report repeatedly cites ProPublica's reporting B/c transparency takes a village--when the govt blocks it

Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

State legislatures are setting aside more public money for private school vouchers, without meaningful oversight. Arkansas is so hands-off that it only requires private schools conduct fire drills, keep immunization records & have an American flag & a flagpole. Anyone is free to open a school.

propublica.orgThis Private School Had Students Scrub Floors and Attack a Fellow Classmate. The State Still Funds It.One of the few requirements for Arkansas private schools is that they have an American flag and a flagpole. But millions in state funds go to the largely unmonitored schools while complaints about saf...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Good for editors to dive back into deadline reporting! Don't miss @propublica.org + @kqednews.kqed.org's investigation cited by the Trump administration as it launches a national crackdown on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers. www.propublica.org/article/cali...

propublica.orgHe Was Fired for Sexually Harassing Students. California Allowed Him to Keep Teaching Anyway.Math teacher Jason Agan was deemed “unfit to teach.” But the finding was never made public. This is how the state allowed him — and dozens of other educators found to have committed sexual harassment ...
Charles Ornstein@charlesornstein.bsky.social

NEW: Trump Administration Launches Crackdown on Teacher Sexual Misconduct Following KQED-ProPublica Investigation, by @tracyjan.bsky.social and Holly McDede w/ @kqednews.kqed.org

propublica.orgTrump Administration Launches Crackdown on Teacher Sexual Misconduct Following KQED-ProPublica InvestigationThe U.S. education secretary cited our finding that California has not revoked the credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed othe...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

MUST READ @richardawebster.bsky.social’s incredible coverage about Jimmie Duncan’s case for @propublica.org + @veritenews.org The former death row prisoner was recently freed by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

richardawebster.bsky.social@richardawebster.bsky.social

1–In January 2025, I first started to report on Jimmie “Chris” Duncan. His story was shocking on its face: In 1998 he was sentenced to death for killing Haley Oliveaux, his former girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter. But there was more to the story … 🧵 @propublica.org @veritenews.org

Tracy Jan reposted

Al Shaw
@shaw.al

Even though injection wells are banned within a half-mile of public water wells in Oklahoma, we found 114 of them across the state, within public water districts more than 300k people rely on.

ProPublica@propublica.org

NEW: Oil companies are blasting millions of gallons of toxic waste underground each year — less than a half-mile from Enid, Oklahoma’s water wells. But to protect their city, officials must appeal to the state agency that created the problem. With @readfrontier.bsky.social

propublica.orgTo Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at RiskOklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Oklahomans: Does YOUR water supply draw from a well located near an oil field wastewater injection operation? You can find out using our look up map. Just plug in your address, zip code or water system in the @propublica.org tool in this link: www.propublica.org/article/enid...

Tracy Jan@tracyjan.bsky.social

Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells to protect against pollution. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. @propublica.org + @readfrontier.bsky.social identified at least 114 injection wells in OK located that close to a public water well.

propublica.orgTo Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at RiskOklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Oklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells to protect against pollution. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. @propublica.org + @readfrontier.bsky.social identified at least 114 injection wells in OK located that close to a public water well.

propublica.orgTo Protect Its Drinking Water, This City Has to Appeal to the Oil Regulators That Put It at RiskOklahoma restricts oil field wastewater injection within a half-mile of public water wells. Regulators have let companies do it anyway. But in the city of Enid, officials are pushing back against one ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

In overturning Duncan's death row conviction, the chief justice of LA's Supreme Court compared the bite mark evidence used to prosecute him to “trial by water” tests used by witch-hunters in the 17th c. If they floated, they were considered witches. Those who “passed” by sinking often drowned.

propublica.orgLouisiana Supreme Court Frees Death Row Prisoner, Calling Evidence Against Him “Scientifically Indefensible”The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling nullifying Jimmie “Chris” Duncan’s 1998 first-degree murder conviction. Duncan was convicted based in part on forensic evidence that is now widely regarded ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

“We now look back at those practices as asinine & absurd, since those who fell victim to those practices often did not survive, regardless of whether they were found guilty or innocent. The bite mark evidence . . . used in the trial against the accused has proven to be similarly specious.”

propublica.orgLouisiana Supreme Court Frees Death Row Prisoner, Calling Evidence Against Him “Scientifically Indefensible”The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling nullifying Jimmie “Chris” Duncan’s 1998 first-degree murder conviction. Duncan was convicted based in part on forensic evidence that is now widely regarded ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Duncan’s prosecution “demonstrates we cannot be too careful in determining whether the death penalty should be implemented in cases such as this case because of the finality of the sentence and the impossibility of rectification,” Chief Justice John Weimer wrote in his opinion.

propublica.orgLouisiana Supreme Court Frees Death Row Prisoner, Calling Evidence Against Him “Scientifically Indefensible”The decision affirms a lower court’s ruling nullifying Jimmie “Chris” Duncan’s 1998 first-degree murder conviction. Duncan was convicted based in part on forensic evidence that is now widely regarded ...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

@kqednews.kqed.org reporter Holly McDede has been investigating teacher misconduct in California as a @propublica.org Local Reporting Network fellow. This is how she was able to obtain hundreds of misconduct complaints for insight into a teacher disciplinary system that's shrouded in secrecy.

propublica.orgI Got Access to Hundreds of Teacher Misconduct Complaints in California — and You Can TooIn her five years of investigating teacher misconduct in California schools, reporter Holly McDede learned an important lesson: What seems to be secret isn't always so — sometimes you just need to kno...

Tracy Jan reposted

Jessica Lussenhop
@jlussenhop.bsky.social

When my co-reporter Andy Mannix and I investigated a tip last year about child sexual abuse in an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community in Minnesota, we had to ask — was this just an isolated incident? Today, Andy and @jeremykohler.bsky.social have some answers: www.propublica.org/article/old-...

propublica.orgIn This Church, Child Sexual Abuse Has Gone Unchecked for So Long That It Spans GenerationsThe church's culture of forgiving and forgetting sins has absolved abusers and silenced victims across the country.
Jessica Lussenhop@jlussenhop.bsky.social

Reporter Andy Mannix from the @startribune.com and I have been speaking to women all over the country about allegations of child sexual abuse in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. This is the story of how one perpetrator in Minnesota escaped consequences for years: www.propublica.org/article/sexu...

propublica.orgYoung Girls Were Sexually Abused by a Church Member. They Were Told to Forgive and Forget.In Minnesota, leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community enabled a child abuser by telling his victims that once the sins were “washed away in the blood of reconciliation,” they could never...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

About half of all Oklahomans live within a mile of an oil and gas site. A new documentary from @readfrontier.bsky.social + @propublica.org exposes the failure of state regulators to protect residents from a massive underground pollution crisis. Based on reporting by @nickbowlin.bsky.social

propublica.orgToxic Ground: Inside Oklahoma’s Massive Oil Field Wastewater CrisisWatch how a legacy of oil drilling and regulatory failure destroyed one Oklahoma family’s dream home and contaminated another family’s drinking water.
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Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

When the Boarmans’ water turned toxic, state oil regulators delayed key tests that could find a source of contamination. The OCC didn’t tell the couple for over a month that tests showed their drinking water was contaminated with high levels of barium. www.propublica.org/article/okla...

propublica.orgSalty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why.State regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water. But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to fin...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

@propublica.org journalism is a public service. We don’t have an owner or a corporate parent. We don’t rely on any gov't $. We are 100% independent. Our reporters chase down evidence of wrongdoing & expose what’s happening behind the scenes so that the facts can lead to real change. Support us!

give.propublica.orgDonate to ProPublicaDonate today to support ProPublica's singular mission: to produce deep-dive, well-researched, nonpartisan journalism that spurs real-world change.
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

“Pro life.” Except when it comes to the life of the mother. MUST READ this @propublica.org dive into how Arkansas’ abortion ban — not best practices or medical training — guided these doctors’ choices.

ProPublica@propublica.org

1/ At 17 weeks pregnant, Emily Waldorf was suddenly faced with a life-threatening situation: Her baby’s foot was dipping out of her cervix. Doctors told her the longer her cervix stayed open, the higher her risk of infection. They knew how to treat her. There was one issue … 🧵

Tracy Jan reposted

ProPublica
@propublica.org

NEW: Three U.S. senators have called for an overhaul of federal agents’ use of tear gas and pepper spray, citing a ProPublica investigation that found at least 79 children were hurt by these chemicals during Trump’s immigration crackdown.

propublica.orgU.S. Lawmakers Demand Reforms to Immigration Officers’ Use of Tear Gas and Pepper SprayA ProPublica investigation found that scores of children were hurt by these chemicals during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Lawmakers say the findings show more restrictions are neede...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

IMPACT: Within days of @propublica.org + @kqednews.kqed.org's investigation on how a California teacher fired for sexual harassment & deemed "unfit to teach" was allowed to keep teaching at 2 more schools, Redwood City has replaced Jason Agan & launched a 3rd party review of its hiring practices.

propublica.orgCalifornia Teacher Previously Fired for Sexual Harassment Is No Longer in the Classroom After New ComplaintsA KQED-ProPublica report revealed how Redwood City teacher Jason Agan was allowed to keep his credentials despite being deemed “unfit to teach.” Now he’s been replaced by a substitute for the remainde...
Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

As Louisiana lawmakers weigh spending more on prisons & less on education, @propublica.org + @veritenews.org show how Gov. Landry's tough-on-crime policies have changed the prison population & budget since he took office 2 yrs ago By @richardawebster.bsky.social + @charles-maldonado.bsky.social

propublica.orgLouisiana’s Tough-on-Crime Policies Stand to Cost Taxpayers Millions More for Years to ComeThe governor’s office has dismissed experts’ concerns that his criminal justice rollbacks could swell the prison population and plunge the state into financial disaster. We analyzed how his policies h...
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Tracy Jan
@tracyjan.bsky.social

Mitch & Kara Meredith and Chris & Tammy Boarman are demanding accountability from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulators, after oilfield pollution destroyed their home and contaminated their drinking water.