http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/newshour/topic/social_issues/The latest news, analysis and reporting about Social Issues from the Online NewsHour and its Web site, the feed is updated periodically with interviews, background reports and updates to put the news in a larger context.en-usTue, 10 Nov 2009 20:51:16Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:51:16Copyright ©2009 MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.144144http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/newshour/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/rss/promo_rss.jpghttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec09/forthood2_11-10.htmlTue, 10 Nov 2009 18:13:00 ESTGwen Ifill speaks with two reporters about the ongoing investigation into last week's attack at Fort Hood, including new revelations that the alleged shooter had ties to a radical cleric in Yemen known for his anti-American teachings.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/law/july-dec09/scotus_11-09.htmlMon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 ESTThe Supreme Court heard arguments Monday about whether giving juveniles life sentences with no chance of parole for non-homicide crimes qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/july-dec09/freelance_11-06.htmlFri, 06 Nov 2009 18:20:00 ESTAs part of his Making Sen$e series on the financial crisis, Paul Solman looks at how freelancers are faring in the declining job market.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/europe/slideshow_camp/index.htmlFri, 06 Nov 2009 18:15:00 ESTSachsenhausen Memorial, located about an hour's drive north of Berlin, holds the remnants of Germany's first large concentration camp. Sascha Klepzig, a German student, takes groups through the tree-lined site.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/law/july-dec09/mainesamesex_11-04.htmlWed, 04 Nov 2009 16:01:00 ESTVoters in Maine on Tuesday dealt another defeat to gay-rights advocates after voting to repeal a new state law allowing same-sex marriage.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec09/healthcare_10-29.htmlThu, 29 Oct 2009 18:20:00 ESTHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an $894 billion health care reform bill Thursday that would expand insurance coverage to as many as 36 million people. In a nod to moderates, the plan includes a public option in which rates are negotiated with doctors and hospitals. Betty Ann Bowser reports.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/business/july-dec09/gdprebound_10-29.htmlThu, 29 Oct 2009 09:51:00 ESTThe U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5 percent annual pace from July to September, according to Commerce Department figures released Thursday, in a signal that the worst recession since the 1930s may be easing.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec09/othernews_10-28.htmlWed, 28 Oct 2009 18:15:00 ESTIn other news, President Obama signed an expansion of the federal hate crimes law, and new home sales fell unexpectedly by 3.6 percent in September.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/social_issues/july-dec09/drugwar_10-28.htmlWed, 28 Oct 2009 14:20:00 ESTThe U.S. dealt a "significant blow" to one of Mexico's most infamous drug cartels last week after a 19-state drug raid resulted in 300 arrests and millions of dollars in confiscated money. This comes on the heels of new drug policy talks. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec09/hatecrime_10-28.htmlWed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 ESTIn the first expansion of a federal hate crimes law since 1968, President Barack Obama signed a bill Wednesday that extends hate crime protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec09/extremism_10-23.htmlFri, 23 Oct 2009 18:20:00 ESTA heated debate over political extremism in the United Kingdom came to a head this week when the leader of the British National Party appeared on a BBC show.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/hivvaccine_10-20.htmlTue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:00 ESTPARIS | The complete results of the first vaccine trial to ever show some protection against HIV were released Tuesday, and researchers sought to refute criticism that the study's results could be weaker than indicated.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/health/healthreform/childrens_slideshow/Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 ESTJim Shmerling, CEO of Children's Hospital in Denver, Colo., gives his take on health care reform and the importance of providing health care for children.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/calculator_10-19.htmlMon, 19 Oct 2009 09:00:00 ESTAs Congress works to consolidate pieces of legislation that could overhaul the U.S. health care system, the issue of how Americans would afford mandated health insurance is a focus of the debate.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec09/carson_10-16.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2009 18:48:00 ESTTom Bearden reports on how soldiers at Fort Carson in Colorado are coping with rising casualties from among their ranks, first from the Iraq war and now from Afghanistan.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/reformsteps_10-13.htmlTue, 13 Oct 2009 12:59:00 ESTThe Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday became the last of five congressional panels to act on a health reform bill, passing its legislation in a 14-9 vote that saw Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe breaking from Republicans -- at least for the moment.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/july-dec09/gayrights_10-12.htmlMon, 12 Oct 2009 18:38:00 ESTTens of thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington this past weekend demanding an end to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Could a reversal be next? Kwame Holman reports. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/mandates_10-12.htmlMon, 12 Oct 2009 18:17:00 ESTThe Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve its health reform bill Tuesday, but the legislation may include an amendment that weakens penalties designed to support an individual mandate requiring most Americans to carry insurance.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/politics/july-dec09/gay-marriage_10-12.htmlMon, 12 Oct 2009 14:14:00 ESTAmericans broadly support giving gay and lesbian couples the same rights as people in heterosexual marriages, but using the term "marriage" still draws opposition, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey on same-sex marriage.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/asia/july-dec09/china_10-12.htmlMon, 12 Oct 2009 14:09:00 ESTA Chinese court sentenced six Uighur men to death and a seventh to life in prison on Monday for murder and other violent crimes committed this summer during ethnic rioting in Xinjiang, China's western region.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/reformwrap_10-09.htmlFri, 09 Oct 2009 17:58:00 ESTA key component of President Obama's health reform overhaul faces a vote next week in the Senate Finance Committee after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office gave it an upbeat assessment.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec09/firstlady_10-08.htmlThu, 08 Oct 2009 18:55:00 ESTJeffrey Brown examines first lady Michelle Obama's ancestral path as the descendant of a slave. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec09/other_10-08.htmlThu, 08 Oct 2009 18:14:00 ESTIn other news, the House voted to include homosexuals in federal hate crime laws, and first-time claims for unemployment fell more than expected last week. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec09/health_10-08.htmlThu, 08 Oct 2009 18:03:00 ESTThe Senate Finance Committee will vote next week on revamping the nation's health care system. Kwame Holman reports.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/health/july-dec09/reformvotenear_10-08.htmlThu, 08 Oct 2009 14:44:00 ESTThe Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on a sweeping revamp of the U.S. health care system as the debate over President Barack Obama's top domestic policy enters a new stage.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec09/keller_10-07.htmlWed, 07 Oct 2009 18:50:00 ESTA bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled to Congress Wednesday. Kwame Holman reports. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/blog/2009/09/post.htmlTue, 29 Sep 2009 17:27:15 ESTA multimedia exhibition from Norwegian photographer Jonas Bendiksen on display at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., documents the experiences of families living in unplanned, off-the-grid slums in Nairobi, Mumbai, Caracas and Jakarta.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/july-dec09/clintonglobal_09-25.htmlFri, 25 Sep 2009 18:42:00 ESTAmid the G-20 and U.N. summits, former President Bill Clinton's foundation brought together big names from both the private and public sectors to tackle major issues.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec09/indiaagricult_09-18.htmlFri, 18 Sep 2009 18:23:00 ESTFred De Sam Lazaro reports from India about new questions about the environmental impact of the nation's first major initiative to grow more food to meet the needs of a booming population.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/july-dec09/uninsured_09-17.htmlThu, 17 Sep 2009 18:20:00 ESTPresident Obama took his health reform call to young people Thursday with a speech at the University of Maryland. Kwame Holman reports on the challenges faced by the more than 10 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 26 without health insurance. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec09/rage_09-16.htmlWed, 16 Sep 2009 18:20:00 ESTThe question of race has simmered on the back burner of the national debate over President Obama's policy agenda. Gwen Ifill talks to columnists and academics about the role of race in the current political climate.