Ray Downs
Violent Land Invasions on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast — 'Just Like the Spaniards'
In the past 10 years, approximately 100 people have been killed during confrontations between locals and settlers, according to a local human rights organization. Over half of the victims were killed in 2015.
How Police Unions Are Using Protests, Boycotts, and Shady Tactics to Fight Reform
As the national debate over law enforcement tactics heats up, cops aren't hesitating to decry what they see as an assault on their rights.
How It Felt to Be Inside the Ferguson Media Circus
As a local reporter in St. Louis during the protests over Michael Brown's death, I watched as the international press parachuted in. I'm glad they came.
This Small Prison in Rural Alabama Is One of the Most Violent Places in America
St. Clair Correctional Facility has seen three fatal stabbings in the past ten months.
Understanding Drake's Meme Appeal
He's the type to flush the toilet after he farts in it, so how is he still so popular?
Does It Matter That the Venezuelan Opposition Is Funded by the US?
Many of the anti-government opposition groups taking to the streets in Venezuela have been backed by the US for years and are supported by wealthy Venezuelans. Is that reason to be concerned?
The Boxer, the Murder, and the Hard Fall from Grace
Evans Quinn was a local legend in rural Bluefields, Nicaragua, an immensely talented heavyweight who fought his way out of poverty. Then he lost some fights, returned home, and got into a feud that turned deadly.
Corporations Are Cashing in on California's Prison Overcrowding Crisis
California is being forced by the courts to move inmates out of its overcrowded prison system, which is just another opportunity for the people who make money from incarceration to cash in.
How Much Will the Defense Industry Make from a Missile Strike Against Syria?
Even as diplomats work on a last-ditch effort to get Syria to hand over its chemical weapons to international authorities, the US gearing up to launch missiles if Obama gives the order. But just how expensive are those missiles?
The Trickle-Down Economics of Nicaragua’s Drug Trade
When the Bluefields and the rest of Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast was a hub for cocaine traffic, violence went up and most of the profits went to unscrupulous kingpins—but the extra money was also a boon to many poor residents.
A Brief History of the United States Snooping on Its Own Citizens
The feds have been tapping into the private lives of Americans without warrants and with the help of communication companies for nearly a century.
A Brief History of the US Government Spying on Its Citizens
The NSA’s surveillance of the internet and the phone records of millions of Americans isn't not the first time US government has taken an Big Brotherly interest in its citizens. The feds have been tapping into the private lives of Americans without...