For decades, the wells around Boardman, Oregon supplied farm families and workers with clear, cold water. Today, test results tell a different story — rising nitrate levels linked to industrial wastewater and fertilizer runoff. Despite million-dollar fines and public assurances, state data and a new federal lawsuit suggest a deeper crisis: groundwater that may no longer be safe to drink. Residents, regulators, and industry leaders are locked in a battle over who is responsible, and how soon clean water can be restored.

Over two dozen bodies have been pulled from Houston’s bayous since early 2024. Official reports show no confirmed serial connection, yet the clustering of deaths across Brays, Buffalo, and White Oak Bayous has unsettled residents and prompted renewed attention to how the city investigates waterway recoveries.

When 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia went missing in early October, Houston police eventually located him — but a series of identity checks, agency handoffs and conflicting public statements left his mother in the dark while the teen was placed under federal care. This investigation reconciles timelines and statements from HPD, ICE/ORR, advocates and the hospital, documents how Emmanuel came to need an emergency appendectomy while in custody, and highlights the reporting errors and unanswered questions city officials must address.