Alex Mierjeski
Why Is Texas Still Sending 17-Year-Olds to Adult Prisons?
Reformers argue that treating 17-year-olds differently from younger teens leads to higher sexual abuse and suicide rates, as well as costing the state money.
Texas Private Prison Left 'Uninhabitable' After Immigrant Detainees Riot Over Poor Conditions
The melee is the latest in a string of recent uprisings at lucrative federally contracted private prison facilities used to house undocumented immigrants.
West Coast Ports Reopen, but Crippling Labor Dispute Has Already Cost US Economy Billions
Stalled negotiations between dockworkers and port operators have stretched on for months, jeopardizing American jobs and international reliance on the efficient operation of Pacific terminals.
Meth Addicts Are Rustling Cattle to Fund Their Drug Habits
The rising cost of methamphetamine is motivating drug abusers to turn to an outmoded crime of the American West. Roughly three in four arrests for cattle theft in Oklahoma are linked to meth.
Here's What Happened When Texas Started Locking Up Fewer Juveniles
A decline in the state's youth incarceration led to lower overall juvenile crime rates — findings that could spur Texas lawmakers to further rein in the remnants of a sprawling system.
Is Texas About to Abandon its Juvenile Justice System?
A new study is expected to result in further cutbacks to the state's juvenile detention facilities, and could even spur lawmakers to abandon their reliance on the system entirely.
I Drank Cannabis Coffee with Seattle Baristas
I visited a self-described "lifestyle boutique" in Seattle to sample weed-infused bulletproof coffee, a beverage that baristas assured me would "offset caffeine with just a little bit of THC" to achieve a synergistic effect.
An Alleged Group of Juggalos Is Terrorizing North Portland Businesses
As many as 14 businesses have been targeted with goofy-but-threatening fliers, but Juggalos insist that someone is trying to frame the group.
Why Are Minorities Overrepresented in Private Prisons?
For-profit prisons like healthy inmates, who tend to be young and black or Hispanic.
I Cupped Guy Fieri's Beans
In a quest to learn the true meaning behind 'Flavortown', I gathered a group of professional Oregon coffee cuppers to assess Guy Fieri's new coffee line, Flavortown Roasts, to slurp and sip on the food personality's brews.
Pakistan’s Only Legal Brewery Is Coming to the United States
Pakistan has a 97 percent Muslim majority with a strong religious right that prohibits the consumption of alcohol.
The Fight Over School Lunch Mandates Is Going Nowhere
In Washington D.C., the issue of school lunch programs and the drastic reforms to them have become entrenched in a political quagmire as thick as slop. While fat politicians bicker, kids are left in the middle of the argument. Who wants a Sloppy Joe?