Kirsten Berg
@kirstenberg.bsky.social
Research Reporter at @ProPublica.org
Pinned
Kirsten Berg
@kirstenberg.bsky.social
· Jan 23
What ProPublica’s Reporters Will Be Covering During Donald Trump’s Second Presidency — and How to Contact Them
From Trump’s relationships with billionaires to immigration, here are some of the issues and topics our reporters will be keeping an eye on as his second presidency begins.
www.propublica.org
Do you work for the fed government and want to offer a tip or guidance on what is changing at your agency? This is how you can to contact @ProPublica.org reporters securely:
www.propublica.org/article/seco...
www.propublica.org/article/seco...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Look at the lengths that my incredible @propublica.org colleagues @annamaria.bsky.social and Brett Murphy went to in order to report this story.
Please take a moment to read what they found about the effect of USAID cuts on the world's most vulnerable people: www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Please take a moment to read what they found about the effect of USAID cuts on the world's most vulnerable people: www.propublica.org/article/usai...
December 15, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Look at the lengths that my incredible @propublica.org colleagues @annamaria.bsky.social and Brett Murphy went to in order to report this story.
Please take a moment to read what they found about the effect of USAID cuts on the world's most vulnerable people: www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Please take a moment to read what they found about the effect of USAID cuts on the world's most vulnerable people: www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
December 16, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
1/ After two years of bargaining, @propublica.org management has resisted our proposals to bring transparency and accountability to our disciplinary process.
You can support our union by sharing this post and signing our petition for a fair contract! actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
You can support our union by sharing this post and signing our petition for a fair contract! actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
December 15, 2025 at 6:18 PM
1/ After two years of bargaining, @propublica.org management has resisted our proposals to bring transparency and accountability to our disciplinary process.
You can support our union by sharing this post and signing our petition for a fair contract! actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
You can support our union by sharing this post and signing our petition for a fair contract! actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: For more than a century, a smelter spewed lead dust over Omaha.
For decades, the government cleaned it up.
But a shift in guidance from the Trump administration may stop thousands more from potential cleanup, exposing families to the harmful metal.
With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
For decades, the government cleaned it up.
But a shift in guidance from the Trump administration may stop thousands more from potential cleanup, exposing families to the harmful metal.
With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
The EPA Was Considering a Massive Lead Cleanup in Omaha. Then Trump Shifted Guidance.
The Trump administration says it will speed cleanups, but residents of the largest residential lead Superfund site worry fewer properties will be remediated.
www.propublica.org
December 11, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: For more than a century, a smelter spewed lead dust over Omaha.
For decades, the government cleaned it up.
But a shift in guidance from the Trump administration may stop thousands more from potential cleanup, exposing families to the harmful metal.
With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
For decades, the government cleaned it up.
But a shift in guidance from the Trump administration may stop thousands more from potential cleanup, exposing families to the harmful metal.
With @flatwaterfreep.bsky.social
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
A special new position at @propublica.org: Come be my partner in editing our crowdsourcing and engagement reporting team! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...
Deputy Editor, Engagement
New York City, United States; Remote, United States
job-boards.greenhouse.io
December 10, 2025 at 9:44 PM
A special new position at @propublica.org: Come be my partner in editing our crowdsourcing and engagement reporting team! job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Millions of Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years. For those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills and they will face higher deductibles and premiums.
Obamacare Users Will Be Asked to Pay More for Plans That Cover Less
People who have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will face higher deductibles and higher premiums.
nyti.ms
December 8, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Millions of Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years. For those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills and they will face higher deductibles and premiums.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: Last year we found the acceptable level of exposure to formaldehyde set by the EPA left people at risk for cancer.
Now the Trump administration has roughly doubled it
www.propublica.org/article/epa-...
Now the Trump administration has roughly doubled it
www.propublica.org/article/epa-...
Under Former Chemical Industry Insiders, Trump EPA Nearly Doubles Amount of Formaldehyde Considered Safe to Inhale
Chemical industry lobbyists have long pushed the government to adopt a less stringent approach to gauging the cancer risk from chemicals, one that would help ease regulations on companies that make or...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM
NEW: Last year we found the acceptable level of exposure to formaldehyde set by the EPA left people at risk for cancer.
Now the Trump administration has roughly doubled it
www.propublica.org/article/epa-...
Now the Trump administration has roughly doubled it
www.propublica.org/article/epa-...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Extraordinary reporting from @gingerthompson.bsky.social and Doris Burke for @propublica.org , along with a tremendous team of videographers, photographers, audio, and editors. Such an important story, we needed an entire team to tell it. projects.propublica.org/albany-georg...
Sick in a Hospital Town: As Phoebe Memorial Grew, the Health of Albany, Georgia, Declined
The five-part series, “Sick in a Hospital Town,” pursues one question: Why are people in Albany so sick when its most powerful institution is a hospital?
projects.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Extraordinary reporting from @gingerthompson.bsky.social and Doris Burke for @propublica.org , along with a tremendous team of videographers, photographers, audio, and editors. Such an important story, we needed an entire team to tell it. projects.propublica.org/albany-georg...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW:
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing ...
www.propublica.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
NEW:
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
w/ @robert-faturechi.bsky.social @amierjeski.bsky.social
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: More than 80% of the immigrants arrested in D.C. during Trump’s federal law enforcement surge this year had no criminal convictions or charges, new data shows, even though that crackdown was portrayed as targeting violent crime.
w/ Emmanuel Martinez
wapo.st/4iC8oCR
w/ Emmanuel Martinez
wapo.st/4iC8oCR
Most immigrants arrested in Trump’s D.C. crackdown had no criminal records
A Post analysis of federal data shows that the arrests of immigrants with no prior criminal record shot up sixfold during the Trump administration’s crackdown.
wapo.st
December 4, 2025 at 12:55 PM
NEW: More than 80% of the immigrants arrested in D.C. during Trump’s federal law enforcement surge this year had no criminal convictions or charges, new data shows, even though that crackdown was portrayed as targeting violent crime.
w/ Emmanuel Martinez
wapo.st/4iC8oCR
w/ Emmanuel Martinez
wapo.st/4iC8oCR
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
the @washingtonpost.com reports that 80% of aliens arrested in DC crackdown had no criminal record--932 individuals. (DHS spox Tricia McLaughlin routinely asserts that 70% of those arrested have US criminal records.)
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
December 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM
the @washingtonpost.com reports that 80% of aliens arrested in DC crackdown had no criminal record--932 individuals. (DHS spox Tricia McLaughlin routinely asserts that 70% of those arrested have US criminal records.)
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
It's simple — @propublica.org workers should not be replaced by artificial intelligence. Our contract proposal specifically says that generative artificial intelligence ("GAI") should not be used to replace employees. Management struck out this entire section in their response to our proposal.
December 3, 2025 at 9:46 PM
It's simple — @propublica.org workers should not be replaced by artificial intelligence. Our contract proposal specifically says that generative artificial intelligence ("GAI") should not be used to replace employees. Management struck out this entire section in their response to our proposal.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: A proposed regulation would have denied disability benefits to at least 830,000 older blue-collar workers.
But after reporting from ProPublica and others, the Trump administration has killed the plan.
But after reporting from ProPublica and others, the Trump administration has killed the plan.
How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers
After meeting with advocates, the Trump administration confirmed it has scrapped a controversial regulation that would have cut disability benefits for older workers.
www.propublica.org
November 20, 2025 at 8:21 PM
NEW: A proposed regulation would have denied disability benefits to at least 830,000 older blue-collar workers.
But after reporting from ProPublica and others, the Trump administration has killed the plan.
But after reporting from ProPublica and others, the Trump administration has killed the plan.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: The Trump administration’s slickly produced videos of an immigration raid at a Chicago apartment building in September showed federal agents rappelling from a helicopter and banging down doors.
These are the stories of the people who were inside.
These are the stories of the people who were inside.
What the Trump Administration’s Videos From a Chicago Immigration Raid Don’t Show
Detained and deported Venezuelans tell their stories of what happened when immigration agents raided their apartment building.
www.propublica.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
NEW: The Trump administration’s slickly produced videos of an immigration raid at a Chicago apartment building in September showed federal agents rappelling from a helicopter and banging down doors.
These are the stories of the people who were inside.
These are the stories of the people who were inside.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. The USDA didn’t test the theory after a disastrous Midwestern outbreak.
Here’s how we did.
By @natlash.bsky.social
Here’s how we did.
By @natlash.bsky.social
How ProPublica Investigated a Bird Flu Outbreak in America’s Heartland
Early this year, bird flu ripped through 80 farms in Ohio and Indiana. Using genetic markers, wind simulations, satellite imagery, property records and more, we found that the virus could’ve been airb...
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM
NEW: Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. The USDA didn’t test the theory after a disastrous Midwestern outbreak.
Here’s how we did.
By @natlash.bsky.social
Here’s how we did.
By @natlash.bsky.social
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Tracking the spread of bird flu using genetic markers, satellite imagery, property records, and more reminds me of John Snow’s Cholera investigation/map. Howe’s Hens is the modern day Broad Street Pump. Amazing work from @natlash.bsky.social & @chrisalcantara.com. www.propublica.org/article/meth...
November 18, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Tracking the spread of bird flu using genetic markers, satellite imagery, property records, and more reminds me of John Snow’s Cholera investigation/map. Howe’s Hens is the modern day Broad Street Pump. Amazing work from @natlash.bsky.social & @chrisalcantara.com. www.propublica.org/article/meth...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Check out our story here, which was a big collaborative effort from @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, & me. Data & research from Nick McMillan, @kirstenberg.bsky.social, & Gabriel Sandoval
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
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 2:41 PM
Check out our story here, which was a big collaborative effort from @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @jodiscohen.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, & me. Data & research from Nick McMillan, @kirstenberg.bsky.social, & Gabriel Sandoval
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
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...
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
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...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Two @cnsmd.bsky.social student reporters were ousted from an immigration court in Hyattsville, MD, on Oct. 28 and told not to return without proper authorization.
A week later, they came back with a letter from the DOJ saying they didn’t need permission to observe.
A week later, they came back with a letter from the DOJ saying they didn’t need permission to observe.
Student journalists ousted from immigration court in Maryland
Student journalists Lillian Glaros and Ruby Siefken were ordered out of an immigration court in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Oct. 28, …
pressfreedomtracker.us
November 7, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Two @cnsmd.bsky.social student reporters were ousted from an immigration court in Hyattsville, MD, on Oct. 28 and told not to return without proper authorization.
A week later, they came back with a letter from the DOJ saying they didn’t need permission to observe.
A week later, they came back with a letter from the DOJ saying they didn’t need permission to observe.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
🚨BREAKING: STRIKERS WIN!
The order affirms what we’ve said all along: The PG’s lawless union-busting cannot stand. We made sure it didn’t. We’re taking back what they stole from us. We won this strike.
The order affirms what we’ve said all along: The PG’s lawless union-busting cannot stand. We made sure it didn’t. We’re taking back what they stole from us. We won this strike.
November 10, 2025 at 5:53 PM
🚨BREAKING: STRIKERS WIN!
The order affirms what we’ve said all along: The PG’s lawless union-busting cannot stand. We made sure it didn’t. We’re taking back what they stole from us. We won this strike.
The order affirms what we’ve said all along: The PG’s lawless union-busting cannot stand. We made sure it didn’t. We’re taking back what they stole from us. We won this strike.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
NEW: Trump’s DHS appointees have:
• Dismantled civil rights guardrails,
• Protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks,
• Threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challenges to their arrests & tactics.
By @davidmcswane.bsky.social @hannahallam.bsky.social
• Dismantled civil rights guardrails,
• Protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks,
• Threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challenges to their arrests & tactics.
By @davidmcswane.bsky.social @hannahallam.bsky.social
How Trump is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force
Trump’s DHS appointees have dismantled civil rights guardrails, protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks, threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challeng...
www.propublica.org
October 18, 2025 at 11:00 AM
NEW: Trump’s DHS appointees have:
• Dismantled civil rights guardrails,
• Protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks,
• Threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challenges to their arrests & tactics.
By @davidmcswane.bsky.social @hannahallam.bsky.social
• Dismantled civil rights guardrails,
• Protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks,
• Threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challenges to their arrests & tactics.
By @davidmcswane.bsky.social @hannahallam.bsky.social
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
An unelected life-long bureaucrat attempts to wipe out the federal government and policies that he personally disagrees with. Great reporting by @andykroll.bsky.social with research by @kirstenberg.bsky.social for @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/russ...
www.propublica.org/article/russ...
Russell Vought, Trump’s Shadow President
From the wholesale gutting of federal agencies to the ongoing government shutdown, Russell Vought has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that inside...
www.propublica.org
October 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
An unelected life-long bureaucrat attempts to wipe out the federal government and policies that he personally disagrees with. Great reporting by @andykroll.bsky.social with research by @kirstenberg.bsky.social for @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/russ...
www.propublica.org/article/russ...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
🚨NEW: After we revealed Russ Vought's "put them in trauma" video, I spent the next year reporting on him, his influence, and his vision for America.
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Donald Trump’s Deep-State Wrecking Ball
Russell Vought is using the White House budget office to lay waste to the federal bureaucracy—firing workers, decimating agencies, and testing the rule of law.
www.newyorker.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
🚨NEW: After we revealed Russ Vought's "put them in trauma" video, I spent the next year reporting on him, his influence, and his vision for America.
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
"Critically, there is no way to know the complete scope of these stops since the government itself does not track them."
An astonishing amount of work that went into shining a light on the details in this remarkable void.
An astonishing amount of work that went into shining a light on the details in this remarkable void.
October 16, 2025 at 6:59 PM
"Critically, there is no way to know the complete scope of these stops since the government itself does not track them."
An astonishing amount of work that went into shining a light on the details in this remarkable void.
An astonishing amount of work that went into shining a light on the details in this remarkable void.
Reposted by Kirsten Berg
Many of the signers also eloquently shared why they support our union and our calls for the contract rights we deserve, including Just Cause job security, steward representation throughout the disciplinary process and guardrails around artificial intelligence implementation.
October 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Many of the signers also eloquently shared why they support our union and our calls for the contract rights we deserve, including Just Cause job security, steward representation throughout the disciplinary process and guardrails around artificial intelligence implementation.