A Killing at Donkey Creek
Jimmy Smith-Kramer, a former high school basketball star and a member of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, was only 20 years old when James Walker mowed him down with his pickup truck. Was it a hate crime? Investigators aren’t sure.
A Betrayal
Henry, a high school student in Long Island, wanted to get away from MS-13, a Central American gang that trafficked in violence, so he became an informant, helping the police to identify and arrest gang members. Rather than protect Henry, authorities turned him over to ICE — endangering his life by detaining him with MS-13 members who are suspicious that he snitched on them.
Trashed: Inside the Deadly World of Private Garbage Collection
The world of garbage collecting in New York City is split into night and day. By day, the 7,200 workers from the city’s Department of Sanitation collect the trash from residences, following a set number of routes for a set number of hours, “with a median base pay of $69,000 plus health care, a pension, almost four weeks of paid vacation.” By night, the private companies take over to collect the commercial garbage. For these workers the pay is low, the danger is high, and the darkness is neverending.
‘What Are We Going to Do About Tyler?’
A devastating indictment of America’s failure to treat mental illness. ProPublica reporter Sarah Smith tells the story of Tyler Haire, who was sent to jail at age 16 for a violent crime and then spent years locked away while waiting for a psychological evaluation. Tyler struggled since early childhood, but state services are underfunded and only designed to help when a crisis occurs. His family, frustrated and exhausted, was unable to find a way for him to get the help he needed — until it was too late.
Racist, Violent, Unpunished: A White Hate Group’s Campaign of Menace
Described as an alt-right street-fighting club, California’s Rise Above Movement is actually organized crime. Its members train hard with one goal in mind: attacking the enemies of the far-right. They incite violent, they’re recruiting, and even though they document their attacks online, law enforcement aren’t doing enough about it.
Open Burns, Ill Winds
An in-depth report on how munitions plants across America continue to irresponsibly dispose of bomb and bullet waste by “open burning.” The practice, banned 30 years ago, still takes place nearly every day under a permit loophole, putting millions of pounds of toxic chemicals and pollutants into the air, essentially poisoning residents and the environment.
How the U.S. Triggered a Massacre in Mexico
The inside story of a cartel’s deadly assault on a Mexican town near the Texas border — and the U.S. drug operation that sparked it.
Kafka in Vegas
Despite a judge’s proclamation of of convict Fred Steese’s innocence, in light of new evidence and prosecutorial misconduct, the state offered him a bizarre deal called an Alford plea: go free, but remain a convicted felon.
Revenge of the Forgotten Class
MacGillis talks to white workers in the small towns and cities of the Rust Belt, many of whom voted for Democrats in previous elections, but decided to vote for Trump in 2016.
‘White Trash’ — The Original Underclass
The United States’ long, bleak history of poor whites and their troubles can help us understand how we’ve arrived at our current moment of political and social unrest in this country.