Doris Burke

Senior Research Reporter

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Doris Burke is senior research reporter. Prior to joining ProPublica in 2019, she was a researcher at the New York Times working on investigative and daily stories. While at Fortune Magazine, she collaborated on award winning financial crime stories. Before moving to journalism, she was research librarian at several investment banks. She has a history degree from St. Bonaventure University and library science degree from Pratt Institute.

Una mujer de Texas murió después de que el hospital dijera que sería un “delito” intervenir en su aborto espontáneo

Josseli Barnica es una de por lo menos dos mujeres de Texas que murieron después de que los médicos demoraran la atención de emergencia. Le contó a su esposo que el equipo de médicos le dijo que no podía actuar hasta que se detuviera el latido fetal.

A Woman Died After Being Told It Would Be a “Crime” to Intervene in Her Miscarriage at a Texas Hospital

Josseli Barnica is one of at least two pregnant Texas women who died after doctors delayed emergency care. She’d told her husband that the medical team said it couldn’t act until the fetal heartbeat stopped.

Election Skeptics Are Running Some County Election Boards in Georgia. A New Rule Could Allow Them to Exclude Decisive Votes.

An examination of a new election rule in Georgia suggests that local officials in just a handful of rural counties could exclude enough votes to affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential race.

A Pair of Billionaire Preachers Built the Most Powerful Political Machine in Texas. That’s Just the Start.

Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks are poised to take their Christian nationalist agenda nationwide.

The Accelerationists’ App: How Telegram Became the “Center of Gravity” for a New Breed of Domestic Terrorists

From attempting to incite racially motivated violence to encouraging attacks on critical infrastructure, the alleged crimes planned and advertised by extremists on Telegram go far beyond the charges facing CEO Pavel Durov.

The Man Behind Project 2025’s Most Radical Plans

As Donald Trump tried to disavow the politically toxic project, its director, Paul Dans, stepped down. But the plans and massive staffing database that he prepared — to replace thousands of members of the “deep state” with MAGA loyalists — remain.

Microsoft Chose Profit Over Security and Left U.S. Government Vulnerable to Russian Hack, Whistleblower Says

Former employee says software giant dismissed his warnings about a critical flaw because it feared losing government business. Russian hackers later used the weakness to breach the National Nuclear Security Administration, among others.

Chinese Organized Crime’s Latest U.S. Target: Gift Cards

Chinese crime rings already dominate the illegal marijuana trade in the U.S. and launder cocaine and heroin profits. Now a federal task force is investigating their role in a burgeoning form of gift card fraud.

Walmart Bought a Finance App and Reduced Fraud Protections. Guess What Happened Next?

The retail giant has long sought to become a financial powerhouse. But after it acquired a neobank called One in 2022, fraud complaints multiplied and customer reviews cratered.

How Walmart’s Financial Services Became a Fraud Magnet

Scammers have duped consumers out of more than $1 billion by exploiting Walmart’s lax security. The company has resisted taking responsibility while breaking promises to regulators and skimping on training.

Doctors With Histories of Big Malpractice Settlements Work for Insurers, Deciding If They’ll Pay for Care

Doctors working for health insurers can rule on 10,000 or more requests for care a year. At least a dozen were hired by major insurance companies after being disciplined by state medical boards or making multiple or outsized malpractice payments.

How a Maine Businessman Made the AR-15 Into America’s Best-Selling Rifle

Neither a gun enthusiast nor a right-wing ideologue, Richard Dyke used political connections and lobster giveaways to build Bushmaster, the company that popularized assault-style rifles.

Health Insurers Have Been Breaking State Laws for Years

States have passed hundreds of laws to protect people from wrongful insurance denials. Yet from emergency services to fertility preservation, insurers still say no.

The Biotech Edge: How Executives and Well-Connected Investors Make Exquisitely Timed Trades in Health Care Stocks

Secret IRS records reveal dozens of highly fortuitous biotech and health care trades. One executive bought shares in a corporate partner just before a sale, and an investor traded options right before a company’s revenues took off, netting millions.

The FCC Is Supposed to Protect the Environment. It Doesn’t.

The agency is mandated to safeguard the environment from damage caused by communication infrastructure. But when companies want to add new cell phone towers, build on protected land or launch satellites, the agency typically does little or nothing.

How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them

Internal documents and former company executives reveal how Cigna doctors reject patients’ claims without opening their files. “We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.

Wealthy Executives Make Millions Trading Competitors’ Stock With Remarkable Timing

Never-before-seen IRS records show that CEOs are sometimes making multimillion-dollar bets on the stocks of direct competitors and partners — and doing so with exquisite timing.

UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings.

After a college student finally found a treatment that worked, the insurance giant decided it wouldn’t pay for the costly drugs. His fight to get coverage exposed the insurer’s hidden procedures for rejecting claims.

U.S. Investigators Uncovered Alleged Corruption by Mexico’s Former Security Minister Years Before He Was Indicted

In what may prove to be one of the more remarkable intelligence failures of the drug war, the U.S. missed warnings that Genaro García Luna, the chief architect of Mexico’s fight against organized crime, could be in league with the criminals.

Inside Google’s Quest to Digitize Troops’ Tissue Samples

The tech giant has long sought access to a priceless trove of veterans’ skin samples, tumor biopsies and slices of organs. DOD staffers have pushed back, raising ethical and legal concerns, but Google might win anyway.

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