Our
Investigations

Lives in the Balance

“Lives in the Balance: Immigration in a Divided America” brought together nearly 100 journalists from six universities to document the reach of the U.S. immigration system from inside the nation’s 60+ immigration courts.

Exposed

Despite decades of research documenting elevated cancer risks for flight crews and other health effects, the FAA does not require radiation monitoring, annual exposure limits, route adjustments or warning to aircrew and travelers.

Off the Rails

Railroad bridge safety in the U.S. is hamstrung by minimal government oversight and limited transparency. This leaves rail companies largely in control of inspecting and maintaining their own bridges – and allows them to keep most details and problems secret.

Lithium Liabilities

Federal officials are investing billions of dollars to increase domestic mining for lithium, the critical mineral used to power electric vehicles, computers and even military technology. The goal is to decrease reliance on foreign countries.

The new push for American lithium is working, but at the risk of another critical natural resource: water.

In the Sheriff We Trust

The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, which teaches that elected sheriffs must “protect their citizens from the overreach of an out-of-control federal government” by refusing to enforce any law they deem unconstitutional or unjust, has been expanding across the U.S.

Gaslit

U.S. oil and gas companies have burned off at least 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over much of the last decade, while unknown amounts of the methane-rich gas have flowed directly into the atmosphere.

little victims everywhere

The federal government is responsible for investigating and prosecuting child sexual abuse in Indian Country. But not until the last decade has it been required to publicly disclose what happens to those cases — disclosures that suggest many are falling through the cracks.

Caring for COVID’s Invisible Victims

The CARES Act included $4 billion to protect homeless people during the COVID-19 pandemic and a chance to reimagine how America cares for its most vulnerable.

COVID’s Invisible Victims

Homeless people are one of the most vulnerable populations in the coronavirus pandemic, yet they’re largely invisible victims of the crisis. Very little is known about how they’re faring, in part because the Department of Housing and Urban Development …

Operation Agent Touch

Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, describes human trafficking as a “top investigative priority.” But its handling of recent sex-trafficking investigations in Arizona and beyond has raised questions about the agency’s undercover techniques.

Homeland Secrets

Federal law enforcement shootings have escaped the kind of scrutiny that gave rise to the local policing reforms of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Experts say that’s no accident: Federal agencies are not transparent, making public oversight difficult.

Sep 29, 2025

‘It all happened so quickly’: How one man adjusts to new life after surviving a police shooting

L. M. Boyd and Alessandra De Zubeldia

Cronkite News

Sep 29, 2025

Residents in one of Phoenix’s most heavily policed precincts distrust, fear police in their immigrant community

Alessandra De Zubeldia, L. M. Boyd, Owen Alfonso and Moses Havyarimana

Cronkite News

Sep 29, 2025

Gaps in data expose shortcomings in Phoenix Police Department’s pledge for transparency in shootings

Ana Burk, Lillian Boyd, Sona Gevorgyan, Tufan Neupane and Tori Smith

Cronkite News

Sep 29, 2025

Phoenix police show violent encounters between officers and civilians in edited videos of bodycam footage. Critical details are often left out.

Madeline Nguyen, Emma Croteau and Naomi Jordan

Cronkite News

Aug 04, 2025

Death of man after rooftop showdown raises questions about the less-lethal weapons Phoenix police used to subdue him

Emily Holshouser, Isabelle Marceles and Jamie Montoya

Cronkite News

Apr 22, 2025

Alaska's Vanishing Native Villages

Patty Talahongva, Lauren Mucciolo, Belén Tavares

PBS Frontline

Jan 28, 2025

‘Take repatriation seriously’: Hobbs pledges $7M to speed state museum’s work to return ancestors, artifacts to Arizona tribes

Mackenzie Miller, Matthew Bird and Justin Patton

Cronkite News

Aug 29, 2024

New battlefield of online sexual exploitation: Gaming platforms popular with children

Gianna Montiel

Cronkite News

Jun 14, 2024

How San Antonio Police lost a bullet tied to the shooting death of a baby

Xavier Brathwaite

Texas Observer, Cronkite News

Jun 10, 2024

Low staffing, space crunch hobble state museum’s Native American repatriation work at UArizona

Reagan Priest and Christopher Lomahquahu

Cronkite News, ICT News

Jun 10, 2024

Misplaced artifacts, inaccurate inventories and 2% of Native American remains returned to tribes: Inside ASU’s repatriation record

Sam Ellefson and Aspen Ford

Cronkite News, ICT News

May 16, 2024

Theme parks, private planes and Paris: The leadership PAC loophole

Lillie Boudreaux and Mason Ald

Cronkite News, Scripps News

Jul 06, 2023

Arizona dental board fails to protect public, hold dentists accountable

Albert Serna Jr., Caitlin Thompson and Morgan Casey

Cronkite News

Jun 28, 2023

Mixed record for Phoenix police’s 12 community boards meant to build trust with marginalized groups

Adrienne Washington and Shelby Rae Wills

Cronkite News

Jun 21, 2023

Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 curfews saddled hundreds with citations, netted no money for police, news investigation finds

Noel Lyn Smith

Cronkite News

Jun 19, 2023

Arizona’s defunct border wall leaves trail of runaway costs, error-filled invoices and questions about state’s oversight

Alex Appel, Joshua Shimkus and Francesca D’Annunzio

Cronkite News

Jun 15, 2023

Phoenix’s neighborhood planning boards lean on members with ties to real estate industry

Jordan Gerard, TJ L’Heureux, Emma Peterson and Anisa Shabir

Cronkite News

Jun 15, 2023

With no ethics board, Phoenix residents who file complaints face obstacles, silence and secrecy

TJ L’Heureux, Jordan Gerard, Emma Peterson and Anisa Shabir

Cronkite News

Oct 31, 2022

States struggle with pushback after wave of policing reforms

Denise Lavoie, Tatyana Monnay and Juliette Rihl

The Associated Press

May 24, 2022

Despite state law, marijuana still banned in subsidized housing in Arizona

Juliette Rihl, Arlyssa Becenti, Jonmaesha Beltran and Katie Donnelly

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

May 23, 2022

New Arizona law on sealing criminal records may help some renters, but there are limitations

By Tyler Dedrick, Rachel Konieczny, Brooke Alexandra Manning and Elena Santa Cruz

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

May 20, 2022

Public housing has been privatized in some Arizona cities

Mikey Galo, Isza Amponin Zerrudo, Shahid Meighan and Taylor Bayly

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

May 19, 2022

Private landlords have become the key to subsidized housing

By Reagan Creamer, Tirzah Christopher, James Doyle Brown, Jr. and Caralin Nunes

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

May 18, 2022

Arizona housing authorities' strict criminal background checks often bar people who need a second chance

By Taylor Stevens, Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Lisa Patel, Nathan Collins and Juliette Rihl

Publisher: Cronkite News

May 13, 2021

Phoenix police keep tabs on social media, but who keeps tabs on cops?

By Nicole Sadek, Laura Kraegel, Jimmy Cloutier, and Michael McDaniel

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

May 11, 2021

Arizona law enforcement struggle to halt deadly street racing

By Zoha Tunio, Aydalí Campa, Sarah Suwalsky, and Kenneth Quayle

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

Apr 28, 2021

Travel nurses, staffing industry pushed to the limits by COVID

By Mollie Jamison, Rylee Kirk, Izzy Koyama, Maya Leachman and Isaac Stone Simonelli

Cronkite News; AZ PBS

Jan 26, 2021

‘This is the way we have always done it’: Phoenix Scottish Rite audit leads to 18-month police investigation

By Andy Blye, Molly Bohannon, and Natalie Walters

Arizona Republic

Oct 15, 2020

Nationwide Insurance bought one of the state’s most valuable parcels of land in Scottsdale

By Katie Surma, Anne Mickey, and Jamie Fields

Arizona Republic

Sep 16, 2019

Pedestrians die every 90 minutes in the U.S., and low-income areas are hurt most

By Arren Kimbel-Sannit, Derek Hall, Lindsay Walker, and Kailey Broussard

PBS Newshour; LA Times

Our Investigations

Lives in the Balance

Exposed

Off the Rails

Lithium Liabilities

In the Sheriff We Trust

Gaslit

little victims everywhere

Caring for COVID’s Invisible Victims

COVID’s Invisible Victims

Operation Agent Touch

Homeland Secrets

Other Howard Center Stories

‘It all happened so quickly’: How one man adjusts to new life after surviving a police shooting

Residents in one of Phoenix’s most heavily policed precincts distrust, fear police in their immigrant community

Gaps in data expose shortcomings in Phoenix Police Department’s pledge for transparency in shootings

Phoenix police show violent encounters between officers and civilians in edited videos of bodycam footage. Critical details are often left out.

Death of man after rooftop showdown raises questions about the less-lethal weapons Phoenix police used to subdue him

Alaska's Vanishing Native Villages

‘Take repatriation seriously’: Hobbs pledges $7M to speed state museum’s work to return ancestors, artifacts to Arizona tribes

New battlefield of online sexual exploitation: Gaming platforms popular with children

How San Antonio Police lost a bullet tied to the shooting death of a baby

Low staffing, space crunch hobble state museum’s Native American repatriation work at UArizona

Misplaced artifacts, inaccurate inventories and 2% of Native American remains returned to tribes: Inside ASU’s repatriation record

Theme parks, private planes and Paris: The leadership PAC loophole

Arizona dental board fails to protect public, hold dentists accountable

Mixed record for Phoenix police’s 12 community boards meant to build trust with marginalized groups

Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 curfews saddled hundreds with citations, netted no money for police, news investigation finds

Arizona’s defunct border wall leaves trail of runaway costs, error-filled invoices and questions about state’s oversight

Phoenix’s neighborhood planning boards lean on members with ties to real estate industry

With no ethics board, Phoenix residents who file complaints face obstacles, silence and secrecy

States struggle with pushback after wave of policing reforms

Despite state law, marijuana still banned in subsidized housing in Arizona

New Arizona law on sealing criminal records may help some renters, but there are limitations

Public housing has been privatized in some Arizona cities

Private landlords have become the key to subsidized housing

Arizona housing authorities' strict criminal background checks often bar people who need a second chance

Phoenix police keep tabs on social media, but who keeps tabs on cops?

Arizona law enforcement struggle to halt deadly street racing

Travel nurses, staffing industry pushed to the limits by COVID

‘This is the way we have always done it’: Phoenix Scottish Rite audit leads to 18-month police investigation

Nationwide Insurance bought one of the state’s most valuable parcels of land in Scottsdale

Pedestrians die every 90 minutes in the U.S., and low-income areas are hurt most

Our
Investigations