Natasha Vargas-Cooper
How to Get Deported
America states have waged a war of attrition on immigrants to criminalize their everyday existence and try to force them out of America.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
David Miranda Is Nobody's Errand Boy
When Glenn Greenwald's 28-year-old Brazilian partner was detained in London this summer while transporting documents related to the bombshell Edward Snowden story, many assumed he was unfairly roped into a situation he didn't understand. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
10 Shakespeare Boyfriends, Ranked Best To Worst
To the left, Hamlet. TO. THE. LEFT.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
When Is Prostitution Human Trafficking?
In 2012, Californians voted to impose harsher prison sentences for human traffickers. But one of the first cases tried under the new law highlights the complications behind trying to fix the problem.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
High School Journalists Successfully Test Shield Law In Cyberbullying Suicide Case
The students have beaten back an attempt to get them to reveal documents and confidential sources, in a case that would have had ominous ramifications for high school journalists nationwide if it had gone to trial.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Judge Sentences "Girls Gone Wild" Founder To Eight Months In Jail For Assault And False Imprisonment
A Santa Monica judge said that Joe Francis had an "explosive" temper and needed to spend time "in custody." Charges stem from a 2011 incident where Francis refused to let three women leave his mansion and then grabbed one of those women by her throat and hair while throwing her to the ground.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Why Did This Distinguished University Professor Go On A Three-Week Arson Spree?
In the aftermath of his son's suicide, Rainer Klaus Reinscheid, 49, tried to set a park, a high school, and a vice principal's house on fire. Last week he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his arson attempts. Was he driven by grief or revenge?
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Black Prosecutors Ask: "What Do We Tell Our Sons About Trayvon Martin?"
"The unfortunate reality is that there is a description, there is a profile out there of what a criminal is, and you fit the description," said attorney Jamal Hicks.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Meet The Mexican Mafia Mom Who's Too Dangerous To Release On Bail
Sonia "Shorty" Apodaca, 44, was a "secretary" for the Mexican Mafia, one of the country's most notorious prison gangs. Apodaca appeared in federal court Tuesday to plead for bail — but her request was denied because she knows too much.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
California Can't Decide Where To Send Its Youngest Killer
Six months after Joseph Hall, now 13, was convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting his neo-Nazi father in 2011, the state weighs where he will spend the next decade: in therapy or in one of the country’s most violent prison systems.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Pleads Not Guilty To Rape, Sodomy, And Bribery
Two women claim Jose Rigoberto Sanchez, 28, a deputy in the L.A. Sheriff's Department, pulled them over and demanded sex while on duty. One woman says he got his way in the back of a patrol car.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Did This College Student Really Want To Kill Two Of Her Ex-Boyfriends?
Barbara Wu, 21, is facing trial for soliciting the murder of two exes. Her lawyer claims her murder plots weren't serious threats. The prosecution says she was the next Jodi Arias.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
What Will A Conservatorship Mean For Amanda Bynes?
The troubled actress is on a 14-day psychiatric hold after starting a gasoline fire in a neighbor's driveway. Like Britney Spears' parents in 2008, Bynes' family has filed a motion to take control of their daughter's life.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
10 New Citizens Who Are Psyched To Be Americans
More than 7,000 people became naturalized U.S. citizens during a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. BuzzFeed asked some of them why they're excited about becoming Americans.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Inside The Life And Crimes Of The Real-Life Walter White
What a monthlong wiretap revealed about Stephen Kinzey: professor by day, biker drug dealer by night.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Federal Government Opens Investigation Into USC For Mishandling Of Rape Allegations
Today three young women told their stories of sexual assault on the University of Southern California's campus and how their university failed them.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Highlights From 'Justice For Trayvon' Rallies Held Across The Country
Heeding Rev. Al Sharpton's call for Justice Rallies in 100 cities to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, federal buildings and state houses across the country were marched on by peaceful demonstrators demanding the repeal of Stand Your Ground laws. The sentiment across the state lines were similar, protestors the country over are hoping to turn, as one rally speaker said, this "Travyon Martin moment" into a "movement."
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
An Oral History Of "Intervention"
How a cable show navigated the opposing forces of recovery and good TV. From the mouths of producers, interventionists, directors, and a recovered huffer.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
Highlights From The Trayvon Martin Prayer Vigil In Los Angeles
With insights from a 9-year-old black lady.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
21 Things Atheist Girls Love
See you in hell — OH WAIT.
Natasha Vargas-Cooper
