Annie Waldman
banner
anniewaldman.bsky.social
Annie Waldman
@anniewaldman.bsky.social
Covering health care @ProPublica. Signal: 347-549-0332. Email: [email protected]. (Also #COYS)
ICE has sent more immigrant kids into the federal shelter system this year than in the previous 4 years combined.

Under Trump, the average stay in custody is ~6 months, up from a month under Biden.

Eye-opening story from @micarosenberg.bsky.social, @marioarizabaez.bsky.social + ProPublica team:
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 6:44 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
Major measles outbreaks have repeatedly cropped up in the Southwest this year. Yet at IHS hospitals in the region, agency officials deemed “measles” and “immunizations” a "medium risk" in internal agency emails.

Staffers, including doctors, now need to get approval to use them in public messaging
NEW: Officials at the Indian Health Service have deemed terms like “immunizations” and “vaccines” risky “buzzwords” that require approval to be used in social media posts, pamphlets and presentations for patients.
The Indian Health Service Is Flagging Vaccine-Related Speech. Doctors Say They’re Being Censored.
Officials have deemed terms like “immunizations” and “vaccines” risky “buzzwords” that require approval to be used in social media posts, pamphlets and presentations.
www.propublica.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
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...
Young 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...
www.propublica.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
NEW:

In 2024, Tierra Walker was sick and getting sicker. She was also pregnant.

She knew abortion was illegal in Texas, but thought there was an exception for women like her, whose health was at risk. Doctors told her there was no emergency.

Then she died.

www.propublica.org/article/texa...
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 11:08 AM
After a bird flu outbreak tore through Midwestern barns, killing millions of chickens and spiking egg prices, the federal government didn’t investigate if the virus was airborne.

So ProPublica did.

Absolutely terrifying reporting from @natlash.bsky.social:

www.propublica.org/article/bird...
What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic
Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed. Vacci...
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
I should add that we're still very much reporting on what's happening with civil rights in schools: www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...
November 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.

By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Thank you, Darryl!!
November 17, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
In 48 other states, new moms have access to Medicaid for up to one year after they give birth. Not in Wisconsin.

There, the limit remains two months. And it’s only because of one man: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. / My latest story for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/wisc...
He Vowed to “Protect the Unborn.” Now He’s Blocking a Bill to Expand Medicaid for Wisconsin’s New Moms.
Splitting with anti-abortion members of his own party, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has refused to join 48 other states in ensuring that vulnerable women have access to potentially lifesaving ...
www.propublica.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.

It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Annie Waldman
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 Annie Waldman
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 Annie Waldman
JOB ALERT! We are hiring a business editor.

You have an unerring instinct for the jugular of the wealthy & powerful? Build a team with me and we’ll get after it!

job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

You can email me or on Signal at 718-496-5233
Senior Editor, Business
New York City, United States
job-boards.greenhouse.io
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
And kudos to my co-reporter @bxroberts.org who is masterful at understanding the complexity of federal data sets! 📊
November 6, 2025 at 1:43 PM
We are still reporting and need your help.

Do you know anything about how the current administration is approaching food safety? We want to talk to:

*Current/former federal workers (from FDA, USDA and CDC)
*Food safety experts
*Industry professionals

Find me on Signal (347-549-0332) or email me 📩
November 6, 2025 at 1:42 PM
But current and former FDA employees, as well as food safety experts said, these cuts and actions are undermining public health.

"It's only a matter of time before people die," said one expert.
November 6, 2025 at 1:41 PM
HHS, FDA and the White House refused to respond to any of ProPublica’s questions about the decrease in foreign food inspections or other recent actions.

"Responding to ProPublica is not considered a mission-critical activity," said HHS press secretary, citing the government shutdown.
November 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Then the administration quietly scaled back the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, also known as FoodNet, shrinking its surveillance to just two pathogens: Salmonella and a common type of E. coli.

The program was previously responsible for monitoring eight foodborne illnesses.
The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses
As of July 1, a critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The next month, a quality control program that ensured consistency and accuracy across its 170 pathogen and contaminant labs was suspended as a result of staffing cuts.

www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The gutting of the workforce coincides with other actions the administration has taken that are poking holes in the nation's food safety net.

In March, the FDA announced it was delaying compliance with a rule to speed up the identification and removal of harmful products in the food system:
Constituent Update
The FDA is announcing its intention to extend the compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule by 30 months.
www.fda.gov
November 6, 2025 at 1:37 PM
These support staff cuts have incapacitated foreign inspections, as new burdens have shifted to investigators, current and former FDA staffers said.

As morale has collapsed across the FDA, many senior investigative officials with decades of experience also chose to resign or retire.
November 6, 2025 at 1:36 PM
About two dozen current and former FDA officials blamed the pullback on deep staffing cuts under the Trump administration.

Inspections declined early on, after 65% of the staff in divisions responsible for coordinating travel and budgets were fired or left.

projects.propublica.org/federal-heal...
Gutted: How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies
More than 20,500 workers have left or been pushed out of federal health agencies, a ProPublica analysis found. Staffers say the cuts will leave their agencies less equipped to conduct studies, perform...
projects.propublica.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
And in recent years, FDA investigators have uncovered numerous safety violations at foreign food facilities:
*Crawling insects.
*Pipes dripping into water tanks.
*Workers hauling dough in soiled buckets.
*Cracked conveyor belts.
*Fake testing data purporting to show food products were pathogen free.
November 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Why does this matter?

*Nearly all seafood, ~60% of fresh fruit and ~40% of veggies are imported.

*Research shows imported food has been increasingly linked to outbreaks.

*Foodborne illnesses (i.e.🦠 listeria, e. coli, salmonella🦠) can cause severe illness and death.

www.fda.gov/food/consume...
What You Need to Know about Foodborne Illnesses
A table of foodborne disease-causing organisms and common illness names with the associated signs and symptoms.
www.fda.gov
November 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
We crunched the federal data and found the US is on track to have the *fewest inspections since 2011* (excluding pandemic years).

In recent years, the FDA has typically been able to conduct ~110 foreign food inspections each month, but in March, the number of inspections dropped almost in half.
November 6, 2025 at 1:31 PM