Social Issues

The Hennepin County Attorney's office says county child protection investigators are looking into the matter, and the attorney's office has filed a petition to start juvenile court proceedings.
New Vikings stadium may give leverage to opponents of  'Redskins' name and logo
Native American groups and supporters say the construction of a new Minnesota Vikings stadium offers a chance to put new pressure on the NFL to rethink the Washington Redskins name and logo. Opponents, however, aren't appealing directly to the NFL, the Vikings or the Redskins.
Food stamps -- actually the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- go to 47 million Americans a month, almost half of them children and teenagers.
Almost 1 in 10 high school and college-aged people have forced someone into sexual activity against his or her will, a study finds. The majority of those who have done it think that the victim is at least partly to blame.
Roy Choi's Kogi BBQ truck was an almost instant hit, and since launching, his business has grown all kinds of directions. In a recent talk, Choi challenged the chefs in the audience to reach out to the people who can't afford their food.
Church whistleblower pressed superiors to take action on problem priests
In the past two weeks an MPR News investigation has reported extensively on the handling of clergy sex abuse by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. A key source in those stories is a former high ranking church official who says she pushed for the church to change its ways and then resigned when it didn't. Jennifer Haselberger has now become a central figure in this unfolding story.
The court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Philip Morris USA Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Liggett Group LLC. They wanted the court to consider overturning a $2.5 million Tampa jury verdict in the death of smoker Charlotte Douglas.
Light rail planners, neighbors to meet as confusion continues
Southwest light rail planners will meet with residents of the Kenwood neighborhood in Minneapolis Thursday to go over a contentious plan for the metro transit project.
David Brooks on character, virtue and success
David Brooks speaks at the Aspen Ideas Festival about "The Inverse Logic of Life." Brooks says the key to actual happiness and a life that matters is to balance the material life and the spiritual life. To have a rich inner life, humility is a central virtue.
Police to review priest's hard drive for pornography
Joe Ternus of Hugo says he reached out to St. Paul police today to tell them that he made a copy of a large part of the Rev. Jonathan Shelley's computer hard drive before he turned over the laptop to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Ternus said he had forgotten he had made a copy of Shelley's hard drive until MPR News contacted him earlier this week.