Investigations Read the latest from NPR's investigative team. If you have solid tips or documents on stories we should probe, please send them to us.
Investigations
VA halts foreclosures for thousands of veterans about to needlessly lose their homes
Logo for SecureDrop and NPR. NPR hide caption
Rice's whales are one of the most recently discovered whale species in the world — and already one of the most endangered. But protections for the Gulf of Mexico species have been repeatedly delayed. KL Murphy for NPR hide caption
Only 51 of these U.S. whales remain. Little has been done to prevent their extinction
The federal prison complex in Thomson, Ill. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption
New accounts of abuse at federal prison prompt renewed calls for investigation
Army veteran Raymond Queen stands with his wife Rebecca Queen outside their home in Bartlesville, Okla. Michael Noble Jr. for NPR hide caption
Army veteran Ray Queen stands with his wife, Rebecca Queen, outside their home in Bartlesville, Okla. An NPR investigation has found that thousands of U.S. military service members and veterans, including the Queen family, are at risk of losing their homes through no fault of their own. Michael Noble Jr. for NPR hide caption
The Aurora ICE Processing Center in Colorado currently holds more than 600 immigrant detainees on behalf of the federal government. The facility is operated by GEO Group, a for-profit government contractor. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
ICE releases investigation into immigrant's death after months of 'inexcusable' delay
A photo of Jeffrey Ramirez is seen at his parents' home in Vista, California. He was diagnosed with cancer while in prison and died at age 41. Ariana Drehsler for NPR hide caption
Justin Kasieta, who is 22 now, was just 13 when his father died and he was thrust into a role looking after his four younger siblings. In college, he interned in the state legislature and the U.S. Congress. Benjamin Levitt hide caption
These kids used to get the bill for their own foster care. Now that's changing
Horseshoe crabs are bled alive at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014. Ariane Müller hide caption
Vaccines are still tested with horseshoe crab blood. The industry is finally changing
Immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) use the phones at a detention center in California in 2019. Secret government reports obtained by NPR described "negligent," "barbaric" and "filthy" conditions in ICE detention. Chris Carlson/AP hide caption
Retired coal miner John Robinson, who suffers from black lung disease, displays his mining helmet at his home in Coeburn, Va., in 2019. Dylan Lovan/AP hide caption
A car plastered in stickers reading "Trump Won" drives through Coos Bay, Ore. Wesley Lapointe for NPR hide caption
For election workers, Trump's lies have meant threats, harassment and a poisoned dog
Horseshoe crabs are bled at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014. Ariane Müller hide caption
Coastal biomedical labs are bleeding more horseshoe crabs with little accountability
Cleta Mitchell speaks at a conference in Camp Hill, Pa., on April 1, 2022. The influential conservative attorney helped former President Donald Trump as he sought to overturn the 2020 election. She's now working to dismantle ERIC. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
The far right's growing influence and 4 other takeaways from NPR's ERIC investigation
The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, has for years operated as a bipartisan success story in election administration. But since early 2022, the far right has targeted ERIC, fracturing a partnership that had 32 member states at its height. Eight states where Republicans oversee voting have so far pulled out. Glenn Harvey for NPR hide caption
A photo album of Shihab — during his time as an interpreter working with American military personnel during the Iraq War — rests on a small table alongside cups of tea. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
A former Virginia Department of Corrections employee donated hundreds of execution documents, including these photographs, to the Library of Virginia more than a decade ago. NPR is now exclusively publishing a selection of the documents. Library of Virginia, Chiara Eisner and Monika Evstatieva/NPR hide caption
Virginia hid execution files from the public. Here's what they don't want you to see
Delores Lowery was diagnosed with diabetes in 2016. Her home in Marlboro County, S.C., is at the heart of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the Diabetes Belt. Nick McMillan/NPR hide caption
Many people living in the 'Diabetes Belt' are plagued with medical debt
For some with disabilities, the pandemic raised fears that they couldn't get medical care they need. Now, groups are saying California's assisted suicide law also devalues their lives, and they have filed a lawsuit. Fanatic Studio / Gary Waters via Getty Images hide caption
Disability groups claim California's assisted suicide law discriminates against them
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Chris Covington (left) and Carlos Gomez Perez recover from shrapnel and bullet wounds on April 27, 2004, after Iraqi insurgents attacked near Fallujah, Iraq. Just two weeks earlier, Covington and Gomez Perez helped evacuate wounded Marines and soldiers after a deadly explosion rocked a schoolhouse in Fallujah. Scott Peterson/Getty Images hide caption
Former Solicitor General Ted Olson (second from left) sits with Bush administration lawyers during the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on Guantánamo detainees on July 11, 2006, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Onetime supporter of Guantánamo's military court now says it was 'doomed'
A selection of the 1000 people who have been charged for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Getty Images and Department of Justice hide caption
1,000 people have been charged for the Capitol riot. Here's where their cases stand
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Peter Antonacci to lead a new elections fraud office in July 2022, just a few months before Antonacci died inside the Capitol building. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images hide caption