Social Issues

Advocates: $35M a good first step in closing Minnesota race gap
Supporters say the cash approved by the Legislature will fund programs to help people of color but they caution it will take much more to close Minnesota's racial disparities.
Peg O'Connor, professor at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, talks about her new book "Life on the Rocks."
UMD prof's novel lays bare America's solutions to 'Indian problem'
Linda LeGarde Grover's debut novel, "The Road Back to Sweetgrass" follows the lives of three Ojibwe women from Minnesota as they contend with federal policies that do more harm than good. She'll read from it Thursday night in Minneapolis.
My 'Oriental' father: On the words we use to describe ourselves
President Obama recently signed a bill striking the term "Oriental" from federal law. It was a reminder for NPR's Kat Chow of the fact that her father still uses the word -- to describe himself.
Wisconsin, other states sue over Obama's school transgender directive
The challenge, which asks a judge to declare the directive unlawful, follows a federal directive to U.S. schools this month to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
After about a dozen protesters got on stage and snatched a microphone away from Hodges, University of Minnesota police escorted them out.
How the wrong verb meant the Texas GOP called most Texans gay
In the 2016 party platform approved last week, the Texas Republican Party used one verb that changed the meaning of a whole sentence.
New report says Pentagon not doing enough for sexual assault victims
The Pentagon admits a major concern over reprisals against troops who report sexual assault. A Human Rights Watch report says the Pentagon isn't doing enough to repair harm done by this retaliation.
Autism can be an asset in the workplace, employers and workers find
Roughly 40 percent of young adults with autism spectrum disorder aren't finding jobs. But some employers are now recruiting adults on the spectrum as an untapped talent pool of focused workers.