Maggie BenZvi is a contributing editor for Coffee or Die. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago, a master’s degree in human rights from Columbia University, and has worked for the ACLU as well as the International Rescue Commitee. She has also completed a summer journalism program at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In addition to her work at Coffee or Die, she’s a stay at home mom and contributor to the UNspoiled network of podcasts. Notably, she doesn’t drink coffee.
Afghan evacuees living on US military bases are accused in three separate assaults against children and women, including a group that is said to have assaulted a female US service member in Texas. The incidents have raised issues about security ...
A Swedish researcher released an unusually clear video on his Twitter account Monday, Sept. 27, that uses digital video tricks to tease out terrifying details in a 5-year-old video of a suicide truck bomber — or SVBIED — attacking a Kurdish Peshmerga ...
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Pentagon to begin preparing for an overhaul of how the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault, along with other major crimes like murder and kidnapping. Austin’s order, issued Wednesday, ...
Last week, former President Donald Trump led calls that Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should face a charge of "treason" based on explosive allegations of backroom maneuverings in a new book by two veteran journalists. But ...
When people hear the words “Space Force,” they usually think of America’s newest military branch or the Steve Carell TV show. But there’s another Space Force out there: three veterans with a presence on social media and streaming services that has ...
Explosive but anecdotal claims about Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in a new book by two Washington journalists have prompted calls from Republican lawmakers for his resignation, court-martial, and even being charged with ...
Benjamin Hutchins was working at his family’s sawmill in Vander, North Carolina, last month when he saw smoke billowing out of his house. A former volunteer firefighter, Hutchins called 911 and then barreled into the building to rescue his dog, ...
Melissa Hemphill took the pregnancy test that changed her life in a Walmart bathroom. She was a junior at the US Air Force Academy, a potential Olympian pole vaulter, and the oldest of eight kids in a large Catholic family; a child ...
When she was a teenager in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Johanny Rosario Pichardo volunteered at a meal center run by St. Patrick Parish. Whether she was volunteering or drilling as a JROTC cadet at Lawrence High School, those who knew Rosario say they ...
Military prosecutors at Fort Sill concluded Thursday, Aug. 19, that they could not substantiate any of the explosive allegations of sexual assault made against instructors at the Army training base. When The Intercept originally reported on the ...
Without fanfare, a convoy of buses rolled through the gate at Fort Lee, Virginia, early Friday, marking the end of a long journey for the 221 passengers. The buses carried Operation Allies Refuge's first wave of Afghan refugees, mostly interpreters ...
Unlike women in nearly every other position in the US military, if a cadet at a service academy such as the US Military Academy at West Point or the Air Force Academy gets pregnant, she faces a stark choice: Get an abortion, sever your parental ...
While members of a mob shocked him repeatedly with a taser on Jan. 6, DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone suffered a mild heart attack. But he knew that he couldn’t go for his gun because “that, in their minds, would provide their ...
After years of debate, the rule making the United States’ military draft male-only may soon change, adding women to the pool of possible inductees should the draft ever be reinstated. The Senate Armed Services Committee passed a draft of the ...
A former captain in Vanessa Guillén's battalion at Fort Hood published a video statement in which he slammed Fort Hood’s on-post security and said that the investigation into her death was deeply misguided. In a nearly hourlong video posted to ...
In a rare honor, two soldiers who fought to the death alongside Special Forces teammates in an infamous October 2017 ambush in Niger were symbolically presented with Green Berets on Tuesday. Sgt. La David Johnson and Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah ...
A rampage shooter in Tucson, Arizona, shot at least five people Sunday afternoon, including three first responders — two EMTs and a firefighter — and left police frantically searching for three missing children. Monday, police announced the ...
On Tuesday, a grand jury charged Cecily Aguilar, the alleged accomplice in the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, with an 11-count criminal indictment. Aguilar faces charges that include being an accessory after the fact, destroying records in a ...
Following the release of an independent review commission report on military sexual assault, both Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden have announced their support for a change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which would ...
When Chrystal Stuckey got a terrible headache on Christmas Day in 2015, she went to the doctor. A master sergeant in the 96th Force Support Squadron, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, she took her health very seriously for the sake of her ...
When the pipes burst at Courtney Hamilton’s neighbor’s house after the deep freeze in Texas this February, she headed over with her phone camera, filming. Four days after the water began running in the house at Fort Hood, it still sprayed from the ...
Naval Academy 2021 class president Cameron Kinley has been denied his request to delay his military service for a chance to play in the National Football League. Kinley, who was the captain of the Navy football team and had already attended the ...
There’s a new sport coming to the 2024 Olympics, and Brianna Pritchard is working hard to make it to Paris for the first Olympic break dancing — or just breaking — competition. But all that hard work currently takes place at the al-Asad Air Base in ...
In his first days as secretary of defense, Lloyd J. Austin III ordered a military “stand-down” to address political extremism within the ranks. As the months go by, it's becoming clear that the stand-down was only the beginning, and the government’s ...
In another first for women in the military, Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp will become the first female senior enlisted adviser for a US Army division on Thursday. Knapp, who is the command sergeant major for the 16th Military Police Brigade at ...
The Department of Defense released its annual report on sexual assault in the military on Thursday. The number of cases reported to the department by service members increased slightly, while the overall number of reported cases dropped due to a ...
After her brutal murder last year, Spc. Vanessa Guillén’s name became synonymous with both the plague of military sexual harassment and institutional dysfunction at Fort Hood. Now, an internal Army investigation has concluded that Guillén was indeed ...
On Monday, the administrative team of the Drinkin’ Bros Facebook group received an unpleasant surprise — the group, with a membership of more than 110,000 people, including many service members, veterans, and first responders, had been removed in its ...
Multiple members of the training cadre at Fort Sill, Oklahoma’s Fires Center of Excellence have been implicated in the sexual assault of a female trainee. According to reporting by The Intercept, up to 22 Fort Sill service members were accused of ...
Three years ago, Black Rifle Coffee Company CEO Evan Hafer made a pledge to hire 10,000 veterans in the following six years. While there is still quite a ways to go, Hafer is pressing forward with a new hiring initiative, looking for highly motivated ...
