He warned the U.S. its loan forgiveness program was broken. They ignored him.

The U.S. had promised to help student borrowers who worked in public service. This former official saw signs that the promise would be unfulfilled

Anya Semenoff/Denver Post via Getty Images For veterinarians, the emotional weight of tough cases and choices is crushing Most of the 800 veterinarians surveyed feel ethical qualms when pet owners ask them to euthanize animals who could be treated, or when owners ask to keep pets alive who will suffer needlessly. The study's senior author sees a connection between the findings and daunting statistics about veterinarians' suicide rates. Bill Healy for SJNN Across the country, women in prison are disciplined at higher rates than men for smaller infractions of prison rules NPR and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University collected data from women's and men's prisons and found that women who are incarcerated often are disciplined two to three times more often, and sometimes more, than men. And while the infractions may seem minor, punishment can have significant consequences. There is a growing movement, called gender-responsive corrections, to reconsider the way women are treated in prison. It's built on the idea that prison rules created to control men — particularly violent ones — often don't work well for women, who often come to prison with very different histories. Cameron Pollack/NPR He is the Cassandra of the student loan industry  Seth Frotman, formerly the top student loan watchdog at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saw the havoc that was coming for borrowers and tried to get the government to fulfill its promise under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The pitch was that student borrowers who worked for 10 years in public service and made 120 monthly payments would have the outstanding debt forgiven. Recent data proved that Frotman was right to be concerned. Only 1 percent of applications for loan forgiveness are approved. NPR readers told us stories of their struggles with the program, including issues with the loan servicers. "I have no idea how I am supposed to give my kids a future," Erik Carlton of Tennessee wrote in an email. "Because I can't save for theirs. I can barely pay for their present." Greg Dixon/NPR A school in Raqqa, Syria, helps children traumatized by the war. But U.S. funding will run out in four months The facility, along with 10 others like it, is designed to ease the kids back into something resembling a normal life. Some of the students are missing limbs. A number of orphans attend the school. With President Trump cutting aid a few months back, a State Department official says money from the U.S. government will dry up at the end of January. But whatever the fate of these schools, there are signs of hope. Tsering Bista Redefining the Great American Road Trip and confronting her childhood shame of her heritage Photographer Tsering Bista's itinerary from New Jersey to California included stops at places that "were reminders of America's existing injustices everywhere," snapping self-portraits of herself wearing a bakhu, a traditional dress of Nepal's Mustangi people.  "Looking back at it now, it's almost funny to think about how much insecurity I had projected onto this article of clothing," she writes. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002