Social Issues

The chairmen of House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on Sunday decried long waits and backlogs at the nations VA hospitals but stopped short of calling for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
Measures aimed at keeping people out of jail punish the poor
Electronic monitoring devices provide an alternative to sending someone to jail. For a defendant, an ankle bracelet means returning to family and work. For corrections officials, it saves money by reducing overcrowded jails and prisons. But those devices are expensive.
After months of homelessness, a teen leaves the woods behind
Rural areas of the country often lack the shelters and services like affordable housing and public transportation you find in cities. Instead, people pack into substandard houses, live in cars, double up with other families or bounce around from place to place. Or they live in camps outdoors, like Desiree did.
Widow's death won't slow Crazy Horse memorial
The death of Crazy Horse Memorial leader Ruth Ziolkowski triggers a succession plan that transfers leadership to three people focused on advancing three main components: the monumental mountain carving, an American Indian museum and an Indian university.
House passes restrictions on NSA's collection of phone records
The House passed a measure to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records, approving a scaled-back version of legislation that was prompted by leaks from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
North Dakota, South Dakota only states without same-sex marriage challenges
Montana on Wednesday joined 28 other states with legal battles over gay marriage, while same-sex couples in Pennsylvania spent their first full day applying for marriage licenses knowing the governor wouldn't stand in their way.
TRBQ The Really Big Questions: What is a Good Death?
The Really Big Questions series asks "What is a Good Death?" It's an in-depth look at how death defines life. Is accepting mortality a way of dying, or a way of living? And what do our death rituals tell us about our culture?