Social Issues

Explainer: Can officers stop drivers for air fresheners in Minnesota?
Minnesota is one of a number of states with laws that prohibit drivers from hanging objects from their rearview mirrors on the grounds that the items could obstruct their view. The laws have led to vehement complaints from civil rights advocates who say police can use them as a pretext for stopping Black motorists to investigate them for more serious crimes.
Republicans and Democrats largely oppose transgender sports legislation, poll shows
Members of the two parties are split on how transgender students should participate in sports, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. But opposition to legislating the issue is roughly uniform.
Officer in Wright's killing: From veteran who trained colleagues to defendant
The white police officer who fatally shot a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb has gone from being a veteran staffer who trained less experienced colleagues and led the department's union, to a criminal defendant held up by community activists as a symbol of police aggression toward Black people.
Daunte Wright, slain by police, known as jokester, doting dad
Daunte Wright loved making people laugh and, after becoming a father in his teens, relished the role of doting young dad, according to his family and friends. He also had talked to a mentor about being careful if he was pulled over by police, given the long history of Black men shot by police during traffic stops.
'I'm scared because of that booming': A preschooler and her family watch protests, police in Brooklyn Center
On the day Daunte Wright was killed by a Brooklyn Center police officer, Tenean Manier says she and her two little kids didn’t sleep most of the night. The space near her apartment building quickly filled with protesters, then police officers and flash-bangs. She says it felt like her neighborhood had suddenly become a war zone. 
Chauvin trial: No testimony from ex-officer; closing arguments begin Monday
Both the state and the defense rested their cases on Thursday, the latter without testimony from Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
Wright family questions lack of murder charges; officer makes 1st court appearance
The family of Daunte Wright and their attorneys said Thursday they welcomed the criminal charge against the former police officer who fired the shot that killed him Sunday, but questioned why she wasn’t charged with murder.