Investigations

Letitia James, New York's attorney general, pauses while speaking during a news conference on Aug. 6, 2020, where she announced a civil action seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association.

New York Attorney General Moves To Dissolve The NRA After Fraud Investigation

4:06pm August 06, 2020

by Tim Mak

New York's attorney general announced civil action to dissolve the National Rifle Association after an investigation found millions of dollars in alleged fraud by CEO Wayne LaPierre and others.

Stimulus checks are prepared on May 8, 2008, in Philadelphia. In 2020, stimulus checks again went to many Americans, this time during the pandemic's economic fallout. Some of that money went to thousands of foreign workers not eligible to receive the fund

Foreign Workers Living Overseas Mistakenly Received $1,200 U.S. Stimulus Checks

8:08am August 05, 2020

by Sacha Pfeiffer

Thousands of foreign workers who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas received $1,200 pandemic stimulus checks in error, and many of them are spending the money in their home countries.

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Melissa Hickson says no one asked her husband, Michael, shown here with stepdaughter Mia, if he wanted to keep getting treatment. "He would say: 'I want to live. I love my family and my children ... that's the reason for the three years I have fought to s

One Man's COVID-19 Death Raises The Worst Fears Of Many People With Disabilities

7:41pm July 31, 2020

by Joseph Shapiro

The hospital said it made a humane decision to end treatment. Michael Hickson's widow says doctors ended his care because they underestimated the life of a man with significant disabilities.

An NPR investigation has identified unusual decisions around the process that lead to a Pittsburgh company winning a contract to gather COVID-19 data instead of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Irregularities in COVID Reporting Contract Award Process Raises New Questions

8:11pm July 29, 2020

The administration awarded a contract for a COVID-19 database to TeleTracking Technologies using a process reserved for innovative research. Its CEO had links to the New York real estate world.

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Amazon has called safety a "top priority" for the company. But NPR has found more than 100 dietary supplements sold on Amazon that appear to be illegally marketed as antiviral treatments.

Health & Safety

On Amazon, Dubious 'Antiviral' Supplements Proliferate Amid Pandemic

4:58pm July 27, 2020

by Tom Dreisbach

Federal law generally prohibits dietary supplements from claiming to treat specific diseases or viruses. Yet NPR found more than 100 products sold on Amazon that make unsubstantiated antiviral claims.

This photo, reviewed by the U.S. military and made during an escorted visit, shows the original military courtroom at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on April 9, 2014.

9/11 Trial Faces Another Delay: New Guantánamo Lawyer Wants 30 Months to Prepare

2:41pm July 24, 2020

by Sacha Pfeiffer

A new Guantánamo defense lawyer says he needs 30 months to prepare for the 9/11 trial, meaning it's unlikely to begin before next year's 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

An evacuee lies on a cot at an evacuation shelter for people with disabilities in Stuart, Fla., in preparation for Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 1, 2019. Now, with the pandemic raging, officials across the South are trying to adjust their evacuation and shelt

Disaster Relief For The Elderly And Disabled Is Already Hard. Now Add A Pandemic

6:46pm July 22, 2020

by Joseph Shapiro

Natural disasters are already deadly for the elderly and people with disabilities. During the pandemic, advocates say disaster preparation has fallen short in meeting the needs of the most at risk.

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Crime scene tape surrounds the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas on Monday in North Brunswick, N.J. A gunman posing as a delivery person shot and killed Salas' 20-year-old son and wounded her husband Sunday evening before fleeing, according to off

National

Fatal N.J. Shooting By 'Anti-Feminist' Raises Questions About Protection Of Judges

5:45pm July 22, 2020

by Brian Mann

Attacks such as the one that left Judge Esther Salas' son dead are rare, but a report shows "threats and inappropriate comments" against federal court workers increased fourfold since 2015.

In August 2017, the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston was over capacity after floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city. This hurricane season, congregate shelters — from school gyms to vast convention centers — risk becoming inf

U.S. Disaster Response Scrambles To Protect People From Both Hurricanes And COVID-19

4:07pm July 22, 2020

by Abby Wendle

Hotel rooms would be "ideal" for housing an overflow of evacuees from shelters practicing social distancing, but few towns have them lined up in the southeast, where coronavirus infections are raging.

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Government Watchdog Says Aid For Migrants Misspent By Border Agency

8:30pm July 15, 2020

by David Welna

Some of the $112 million Congress approved last year for humanitarian assistance for migrants was spent instead on dirt bikes and dog food.