Portside

The headlines regarding the "border crisis" caused by the thousands of unaccompanied Central American children crossing the U.S. border have faded, but not so the problems that forced them to embark upon their dangerous journeys. U.S. government officials are adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" approach to a problem that has deep roots, including the destabilizing role of successive U.S. administrations in Central America.

According to a report by the Restaurant Opportunity Center United (ROC), workers who like female restaurant workers rely on tips to make a living experience twice as much sexual harassment as those earning minimum wage. The report, "The Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry," asserts laws that allow employers to pay "tipped" workers below the minimum wage place female restaurant workers in a "uniquely vulnerable position."

A new book, "Collective Bargaining and the Battle of Ohio: The Defeat of Senate Bill 5 and the Struggle to Defend the Middle Class," by John McNay, draws lessons from the battle in Ohio that defeated a Republican anti-union bill by public referendum.

Last week Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier died, signaling the passing of the last Duvalier to rule Haiti. But corruption in Haiti is still rampant, and the U.S.-backed regime of President Michel Martelly uses the political toolbox developed by the Duvaliers to control the country. "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier are dead; but Duvalierism lives on.

A ProPublica analysis of killings by police shows outsize risk for young black males.

When President Obama took office, there were five million Americans at home all day who are now, sadly, not at home

In this view, hand stencils and animal paintings in Europe and Asia, separated by some 13,000 kilometers, have a common, far deeper origin in Africa.

The prescription, he argues in "Being Mortal," is to rethink our priorities for the dying—and give 'em something to live for.

The point isn’t whether Obama is or isn’t a radical. It’s that we ourselves need to be.

Whether the split between labor and the Democratic Party in Ohio is temporary or permanent, the ongoing peace talks between the Democrats and labor leaders haven’t quelled labor’s urge to become the dominant political force in the county. Activists are aware that labor support for an independent mayoral candidate in 2015 could burn another bridge back to the Democratic Party.