Social Issues

Central Americans flood north through Mexico to US
While the number of Mexicans heading to the U.S. has dropped, a surge of Central American migrants is making the 1,000-mile northbound journey this year, fueled in large part by the rising violence brought by the spread of Mexican drug cartels.
Single mothers have an especially hard time getting out of poverty. Households headed by single mothers are four times as likely to be poor as are families headed by married couples. Still, many of these women are trying to get ahead.
USDA mortgage program puts rural home buying within reach for some
A growing number of would-be home buyers in rural communities are turning to federally backed mortgage products administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The low-interest loans are making home ownership possible for people who never imagined they could afford to buy.
International adoptions down in Minn. amid tight regulations
Minnesota is the top state for international adoptions per capita, but tighter regulations have caused those numbers to decline. What are the options for American families looking to adopt internationally?
The Week in Commentary
A summary of the past week's commentaries and some of the comments they generated.
What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?
More than 10 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, the Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass delivered an Independence Day speech that remains famous to this day.
The Week in Commentary
A summary of the past week's commentaries and some of the comments they provoked.