Peter Elkind

The recently signed $1.7 trillion spending bill could accomplish what six years of IRS audits and DOJ prosecutions could not: shutting down “syndicated conservation easements” that exploit a charitable tax break meant to preserve open land.

The agency is mandated to safeguard the environment from damage caused by communication infrastructure. But when companies want to add new cell phone towers, build on protected land or launch satellites, the agency typically does little or nothing.

Chinese crime rings already dominate the illegal marijuana trade in the U.S. and launder cocaine and heroin profits. Now a federal task force is investigating their role in a burgeoning form of gift card fraud.

Lincare, the nation’s largest distributor of home oxygen equipment, has repeatedly violated Medicare rules and probation agreements, victimizing ailing patients and costing taxpayers huge sums. The federal government has done little to stop it.

Amid reports of thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths, Lincare was supposed to supply the most ailing patients with new CPAP machines, but instead diverted the devices to new customers who would deliver greater profits for the company.

Some patients who have suffered at the hands of Lincare and Philips Respironics have joined forces with these corporations to lobby for an end to Medicare’s competitive bidding process for oxygen and to make liquid oxygen available.

Frank Schuler was a leading promoter of a tax deduction derided as a scam by prosecutors, senators and the IRS. Now he’s a senior adviser to the General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s property.

When an at-risk sleep apnea patient needed his breathing machine replaced, Lincare, a $2.4 billion behemoth with a decadeslong history of regulatory and legal problems, acted slowly. The result was disastrous.

Donald Trump has long railed against everything from low-flow showerheads to LED lightbulbs. After failed attempts to undo appliance regulations in his first term, he may have found a new end-run to achieve his goal — but for now confusion reigns.

The Energy Information Administration has long provided reliable data on everything from oil and gas to alternative energy. Now one of its signature reports has been slashed and a second one canceled entirely amid sweeping job reductions and turmoil.