As the school year begins, some parents have been forced to make hard choices in response to schools’ COVID prevention protocols (or the lack thereof).

Our reporter @NicoleFCarr was one of them.

propublica.org/article/my-kid…
Nicole pulled her children out of their Georgia public school and into a virtual-only charter school when she learned their local school was making masking optional.

It was not an easy decision, but Nicole felt the rule change forced her hand.
Nicole tried to keep an open mind at her kids' school's open house. Then she saw the principal, teachers, and many parents and kids unmasked in the hallways.

"When I walked out, I knew there was nothing that would make me feel safe sending my girls to school on Monday."
@AnnieWaldman & @biancafortis reported on similar situations in other states where children with complex medical issues that prevent them from being vaccinated are dealing with schools where masking isn't mandated.

propublica.org/article/a-boy-…
They share the stories of a 10-year-old boy in Florida with an autoimmune disease and two young girls with asthma in Texas.

“If they could just require masks, then these boys could have a life,” said the Florida student’s grandmother.
Are you a parent, teacher, or student preparing for the 2021 school year? Reporters @NicoleFCarr @AnnieWaldman @biancafortis @amichelej @thebeenster @nicolesantacruz @AliyyaSwaby @CarolineYChen want to hear from you.
Fill out this 5 minute form to help us report on how schools’ COVID policies impact the health and safety of students.
Has there been an outbreak at your school?

Have school officials been unresponsive to CDC guidelines?
propublica.org/getinvolved/ar…
Please share your experience with us as our reporters try to better understand how K-12 schooling is being impacted by the virus.

We report all over the U.S. and we need your help identifying important stories.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with ProPublica

ProPublica Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @propublica

15 Sep
As 12-year-old Seth’s condition worsened, he and his family spent hours in the waiting room, his body quivering from the pain shooting across his lower belly. His mom asked why it was taking so long to be seen.

A nurse rolled her eyes and muttered, “COVID.”
👇
The Florida hospital was so crowded there weren't enough chairs for the family to all sit as they waited.

And waited.
As the delta variant sweeps unvaccinated regions, hospitals are filling up and critically ill non-COVID patients have become collateral damage.

bit.ly/3nAPcuF
Read 12 tweets
22 Aug
First responders arrive within 20 mins of a 911 call, but don’t enter the home.

When another crew finally returns nearly 3 hours later, half the household is dead.

Let’s walk through what happened. (THREAD)

CW: Details of the death of individuals by carbon monoxide poisoning
2/ Michael Negussie calls 911 at 8:48 pm, asking emergency crews to check on his cousins — Shalemu and Etenesh — and their two children in Houston.
3/ It’s mid-February. Texas is in the midst of an unprecedented winter storm.

Temperatures are below freezing.

Millions across the state have lost power.
Read 27 tweets
19 Aug
The Trump tax bill created a loophole for company executives that allows them to net millions by slashing their own salaries.

Here's how.

The latest from the Secret IRS Files 👇🧵

propublica.org/article/how-th…
2/ Under the Trump changes, taxes on profits from certain types of businesses were cut dramatically, while the tax rate on salaries those businesses paid was reduced only slightly.
3/ WAGES are now taxed at a top rate of 37%, plus an additional 3.8% for Medicare.

Meanwhile, PROFITS are taxed at a top rate of 29.6% (with no Medicare tax).
Read 20 tweets
12 Aug
(THREAD)
Right before Congress passed Trump's 2017 tax overhaul, 8 words were added.

Those few words helped the billionaire @Bechtel family deduct hundreds of millions from their taxes.

Here's how, from the Secret IRS Files:

propublica.org/article/secret…
2/ In the section of the bill about pass-through businesses (companies where the profits pass through to the owners as income), Congress inserted the language “applied without regard to the words ‘engineering, architecture.'”
3/ The Trump tax cuts allowed pass-through owners to deduct up to 20% of profits from their income taxes.

This new language was pushed by a lobbyist for the Becthel family’s giant engineering firm.
Read 18 tweets
11 Aug
A pair of billionaire donors to @SenRonJohnson's reelection campaign stand to reap more than $500 million in tax savings thanks to a provision Johnson fought to expand in the Trump 2017 tax cuts.

The latest from the Secret IRS Files (THREAD):

propublica.org/article/secret…
2/ With the deadline looming for Congress to finalize Trump's signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Johnson threatened to vote against the bill.

“If they can pass it without me, let them,” he said.
3/ Johnson's demand? That the bill must increase tax deductions for owners of "pass-through" businesses, i.e., companies where profits pass to the owners as income.
Read 22 tweets
28 Jul
Bots filing bogus unemployment claims in bulk.

Teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims.

Online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft.

Let's take a look inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history (THREAD)
2/ The surge of federal unemployment aid during the pandemic was meant to help out-of-work Americans survive.

But it also attracted countless scammers from around the world looking to make a fortune through fraud.

propublica.org/article/how-un…
3/ All told, state and federal assistance to the jobless during the pandemic could add up to around $1 trillion—and experts fear fraud will eat up HUNDREDS of billions of that.
Read 28 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(