At least thirty-one people were killed this weekend in shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. These push the number of mass shootings in America this year over the 250 mark.

President Trump addressed the nation Monday morning and denounced hate. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” he said. Trump’s proposals to fix the problem focused mostly on Republican-favored solutions like a focus on mental illness and violent video games — rather than background checks or gun control measures proposed by Democrats.

MPR News host Kerri Miller listened to the President’s speech live and then reacted with two experts about the path forward.

Guests:

Paul Barrett is the deputy director of NYU's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights and the author of "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun."

Jaclyn Schildkraut is an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York.

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The second night of Democratic presidential debates started with a detail-driven discussion about health care. Discussions on “Medicare for All” highlighted the key differences between progressives and moderate candidates.

Night 1 Sanders, Warren clash with moderates over 'Medicare for All'

Night 2 Protests on immigration, policing disrupt second night of Democratic debate

After hearing 20 presidential hopefuls make their case, what do we know about each of their policy positions? Did any of the candidates have major boosts or losses during this process?

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, joined MPR News host Kerri Miller for analysis of the second round of debates.

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President Trump won 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016, a bloc that propelled him to the White House. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was widely criticized for its listless appeal to religious voters.

The Democrats are taking a different stance this election cycle. Last month, the Democratic National Committee hired an outreach director, and many of the candidates — such as Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker — are talking about how their Christian faith motivates their political positions. But will it be enough?

After the second round of Democratic debates wrapped up, Kerri spoke with two experts who study the intersection of religion and politics in America. It’s the next installment of our Women of Faith series.

Guests:

Amy Sullivan is a national reporter who covers religion and politics for various publications and cohost of the Impolite Company podcast.

Diana Butler Bass is an author, speaker and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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The second debate among Democratic would-be nominees opened with a meaty discussion of Medicare for all. Voters learned something about how these plans might work — and why some candidates wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.

Howard University political scientist Michael Fauntroy helped us break down what happened on the Democratic debate stage in Detroit.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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Randy Ribay’s latest novel is different from many other young adult books on the shelves.

“Patron Saints of Nothing” deals with death, violence, drugs and the complicated geopolitics of an American teenager whose extended family lives in the Philippines.

Ribay, who is also a high school English teacher, doesn’t shy away from tough topics.

Wednesday on MPR News he joined host Kerri Miller to talk about the importance of crafting nuanced stories for young readers.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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The world's oceans are heating up. According to a study published in January in the journal "Science,” 2018 was the hottest year ever for our oceans, and the rate of that heat increase is faster than previously thought. That could be because the world's oceans absorb up to 90 percent of the warming caused by carbon emissions.

That's a huge problem for sea life. But it's also a problem for those of us who live on land — because the oceans buffer us from the full effects of climate change.

MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist and CEO of Ocean Collectiv, a group looking to find solutions for coastal communities that are the most vulnerable to climate change.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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During his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, former special counsel Robert Mueller said Russia is laying the groundwork to interfere in the 2020 elections “even as we sit here.”

But election security bills face an uphill battle in Congress. Several times last week, GOP senators blocked bills aimed to strengthen election security, insisting that Congress has already responded to the threat.

How vulnerable are we to foreign countries meddling in our elections? Did we learn anything from 2016? And what’s at stake if outside interference continues? Two security experts joined MPR News’ Chris Farrell to talk about how to protect the infrastructure of American democracy.

The global economy is slowing down. In countries like Germany, Australia and China, supply-chain costs are rising, leading to a steady decline in spending worldwide.

Much of this is believed to be in response to President Trump’s higher tariffs against global trade partners in Asia, Europe and North America.

The Trump administration contends, however, that the global economic slowdown has no correlation with the trade war.

MPR News’ Chris Farrell spoke with Diane Swonk, chief economist and managing director at Grant Thornton, about the slowing global economy and the risks of global recession.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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The specter of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is stoking fears in immigrant communities in Minnesota and across the country.

ICE — a 20,000-person federal agency so sprawling it has its own airline — is tasked with policing immigration laws in the United States’ interior. Border Patrol covers lands within 100 miles from international borders.

President Trump has pushed ICE to arrest thousands of migrant families in recent raids, making people without documents fearful of agents targeting them in raids. Some people have even gone into hiding.

Minnesota has both Border Patrol and ICE agents, including an ICE field office in St. Paul. The agency was formed in 2003 when post-9/11 politics placed a stricter emphasis on national security, said longtime immigration reporter Debbie Sontag.

However, Trump wasn’t the first president to preside over sweeping ICE arrests, Sontag told MPR News. The Obama administration did “its fair share” of arrests and deportations, too, she said.

ICE broke a car window to arrest an undocumented immigrant Then they did it again

Earlier Immigration roundup that targeted 2,100 nets 35 arrests

In Obama’s last few years in office, Sontag said, “the focus was on immigrants with serious criminal records. Those with seriously bad immigration histories — that is, they’ve been picked up and deported multiple, multiple times.”

But Trump’s frequent anti-immigrant rhetoric and national immigration roundups, the most recent of which failed, are a shift from past policy.

“After Trump took office, ICE was emboldened and empowered,” Sontag said. “Everybody was suddenly fair game.”

Below is a guide on legal rights when dealing with ICE representatives and experts’ advice for how to handle situations. Information from the American Civil Liberties Union and American Immigration Lawyers Association. The ACLU and AILA links have more information, as well as ...

Whether it's hiking, climbing or a road tripping to a national park, being outdoors can be a lot of fun. For communities of color, historical trauma, and a lack of resources and access make it a challenge.

When the National Park Service (NPS) celebrated its 100 years of service in 2017, new data revealed that 78 percent of the park’s visitors were white, 7 percent were African-Americans -- far below their national population -- with Latinos, Native Americans and other nonwhite visitors notably invisible in the great outdoors.

NPS has acknowledged the need to make park spaces more accessible to communities of color; groups such as Outdoor Afro, Latino Outdoors and other community-based organizations have been established across the country to increase diversity in outdoor spaces. But access problems still exist.

MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with Verna Volker, Angelou Ezeilo and Caitlin Murray about diversifying the outdoors and encouraging communities of color to travel.

Guests:

Verna Volker is the founder of Native Women Running and a member of Native Women’s Wilderness

Angelou Ezeilo is the CEO & founder of the Greening Youth Foundation and author of Engage, Connect, Protect: Empowering Diverse Youth as Environmental Leaders

Caitlin Murray is the founder of Purposeful Nomad

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