Social Issues

Judge keeps North Dakota abortion ban from taking effect
A North Dakota judge says he'll keep the state’s ban on abortion from taking effect because there's a "substantial probability” that a constitutional challenge to the law will succeed in court. Judge Bruce Romanick’s Monday ruling means abortion is still legal in North Dakota.
Sviggum steps down as U regents vice chair after questioning Morris campus diversity
University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum had defended and later apologized for his comments suggesting diversity might be creating a marketing problem for the Morris campus. He said Tuesday he’ll finish his term as regent, but will no longer serve as the board’s vice chair.
A century after a Black church burned, a call to acknowledge history
More than 100 years ago, arsonists set fire to Brown's Chapel AME Church in Hastings. On Sunday, members of the community —  including a descendant of the congregation — came out to First Presbyterian Church in Hastings to remember the historic church and acknowledge the legacy of racism that stoked the fire which burned the building. 
The U.S. set a new record for apprehensions at the southern border
Migrants apprehensions at the southern border this past year jumped by 37 percent compared to the year ago. A growing number of border-crossers are from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.