Social Issues

Franklin, the first black character in 'Peanuts,' turns 50
Fifty years ago, Charlie Brown lost his beach ball. It was found and returned to him by a boy named Franklin. The simple encounter of two boys on a beach was how cartoonist Charles Schulz introduced the first black character in his widely read comic strip, "Peanuts."
Judge: Opioid distribution data not for public consumption
Cleveland-based Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing more than 800 of the lawsuits in federal court, ruled Thursday that the data cannot be made public, saying that doing so would reveal trade secrets and "eviscerate" the terms under which the information was shared.
Now hiring: A company offers drug treatment and a job to addicted applicants
Like many employers, Belden couldn't find enough workers for its Indiana factory. So it started a first-of-its-kind program which pays for drug treatment to job applicants failing drug tests.
In planning for its future, Minneapolis tries not to repeat the past
The discussion around Minneapolis' comprehensive plan proposal has been especially heated, as the city tries to accommodate a growing population while confronting a zoning code that's historically hurt racial minorities.
Roseanne Barr says racist tweet was a big misunderstanding
During her hourlong interview on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel show Thursday, repeated her assertion that she did not know Valerie Jarrett was black when she likened Jarrett to a cross between the Muslim Brotherhood and a "Planet of the Apes" actor.