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National // Facebook Practices Scrutinized

Facebook announced last week that the personal data of up to 87 million of its users may have been compromised and given to a political consulting firm called Cambridge Analytica, according to The New York Times. In addition, The Atlantic reported that “most” Facebook users have likely had their public profile information harvested by third parties.

In the wake of this news, Facebook has been the subject of public ire. Recent privacy concerns follow on the heels of other issues: last year Facebook admitted that its platform was used improperly “by Russians to buy political ads, advertisers to discriminate by race and age, hate groups to spread vile epithets, and hucksters to promote fake news on its platform,” according to The Atlantic.

a photo of the authorProfile scraping was enabled by a design vulnerability which Facebook said until last week allowed third parties to submit “phone numbers or email addresses they already have” using the site’s search and account recovery function. While these searches were rate-limited, Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said that “malicious actors…cycled through hundreds of thousands of IP addresses and did a relatively small number of queries for each one.”

Cambridge Analytica obtained data from Facebook users through a different method, The New York Times reported.  The data firm contracted a researcher to create a personality quiz, and when some 270,000 users took the quiz, their personal data as well as data from all their Facebook friends was collected and stored. Facebook later stopped quizzes and apps from gathering data from users’ friends without their knowledge or consent.

The data involved in the Cambridge Analytica scandal was used to target political ads, according to The New York Times. The firm has connections to President Trump’s 2016 digital campaign: Cambridge Analytica is primarily owned by Robert Mercer, a right-wing donor who supported the Trump campaign. Facebook’s problems, however, began even before reports of voter profiling by Cambridge Analytica. Law enforcement and congressional committees are conducting ongoing investigations into Facebook’s role in swaying the opinions of American voters. According to The New York Times, Russian actors bought and targeted divisive political ads on Facebook. Zuckerberg initially dismissed this idea as “crazy,” but Facebook now acknowledges that its platform was misused to target voters based on their personal information.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said of the Cambridge Analytica incident, “We really believed in social experiences. We really believed in protecting privacy. But we were way too idealistic. We did not think enough about the abuse cases.” Before coming to Facebook, Sandberg worked as a VP of Google. In an article for The Atlantic, Michael Jones explained the differences between the policies of Google and Facebook. He wrote that Google pays attention to what users search for in order to customize ads, but emphasized that “the user’s behavior and interest is held in secret by Google and the advertiser never has a hint of it.”

In contrast, Jones said, Facebook has created a place where they can “record what you tell your kids and spouse and friends, and use that to understand you and by extension, something about your friends.” Then, in an arrangement that has made the company wealthy, Facebook “sells access to this description to advertisers.” Jones noted that Facebook’s interactions with advertising companies is analogous to the system used by credit scoring companies because “their customers also get the report on the specific user rather than an anonymous introduction to certain users.” Unlike credit scoring companies, print ads, and television ads, however, online ads are very loosely regulated.

Recent discussion has focused on how to protect online privacy in the future. Some have suggested imposing fines for data breaches: Daniel J. Weitzner, a former White House deputy chief technology officer, says that technology should be policed by “something similar to the Department of Justice’s environmental-crimes unit,” which has levied hundreds of millions of dollars in fines.

Stricter policing of online political advertising is also in the works. Facebook recently backed proposed legislation that would require social media sites to verify the identities of people who buy ads related to political campaigns and divisive issues. However, Ann Ravel, a former commissioner at the Federal Election Commission, said that more could be done. She suggested that the FEC’s definition of political ads is too narrow, since it is limited to ads that mention a federal candidate and appear within 60 days prior to a general election or 30 days prior to a primary. This definition, Ravel said, will fail to arrest new forms of election interference, such as ads placed months before an election.

Many hope that further steps will be taken to hold Facebook accountable for activity that occurs on its platform. In the meantime, check your privacy settings and hope for the best.

 

Sarah is a senior double majoring in English and Biology.

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National News

National // Jill Stein Files For Election Recount

Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party’s failed bid for the White House, has filed for a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. According to the Associated Press (AP), Stein raised $7 million toward the effort, twice what she garnered for her campaign.

The AP reported that Stein alleged possible tampering with electronic voting machines in the three states. This claim which was backed by J Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan, according to BBC.

The White House refuted any possibility of tampering with the election results. A senior official in the Obama administration stated to Politico, We stand behind our election results, which accurately reflect the will of the American people.” The Clinton campaign also acknowledged a lack of evidence to support Stein’s allegations. Marc Elias, general counsel of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, said he found no  “actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology,” Politico reported. Nonetheless, observers from the Clinton campaign will be present at recounts in Michigan, according to BBC.

President-elect Donald Trump  countered the recount filings with allegations of his own via Twitter. “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions who voted illegally,” he tweeted on Monday. Also on Monday, Trump clarified in another tweet that he was referring to “serious voter fraud” in Virginia, California, and New Hampshire. NBC News reported that no evidence has been found to support Trump’s claim.

California Secretary of State, Alex Padilla, responded with a tweet of his own, saying, “It appears that Mr. Trump is troubled by the fact that a growing majority of Americans did not vote for him. His unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in California and elsewhere are absurd. His reckless tweets are inappropriate and unbecoming of a President-elect,” NBC News reported. Clinton won the popular vote by about 2 million votes, according to NBC News.

Also on Monday, Stein filed a suit against the Wisconsin Elections Committee. The Committee refused to require each county to conduct a recount; if Stein’s loses her suit, she will have to petition each of Wisconsin’s 80+ counties to recount votes.

A Pennsylvania recount will require Stein to provide evidence of probable vote manipulation, which the Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes says there is “absolutely no evidence” of, according to the Philadelphia Media Network.

The AP reported that while it is highly unlikely a recount will change the election outcome, the drive for funds will continue to push Stein onto the national stage. After the recount matter is settled, any leftover funds will be funneled into the Green Party for “election integrity efforts and to promote voting system reform,” Stein said. Stein also wrote on her website, “These recounts are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the US election system is.”

Trump denounced the recount efforts as a “scam,” and accused the Green Party of attempting to “fill up their coffers,” according to BBC. BBC also reported that Trump accused Clinton of reneging on her concession to Trump late on November 8.

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National News

National // Donald Trump Wins Presidency

In spite of poll predictions, Donald J. Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States, a shock most jarringly felt by the Hillary Clinton campaign, who at times led by double digit polls during the campaign season, according to CNN.

wikipedia.org
wikipedia.org

States like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina, states that had been expected to fall decisively blue, fell in Trump’s favor, carrying him fairly easily to the necessary 270 votes in the Electoral College, the New York Times reported. Protesters gathered in response to Trump’s election, with crowds in Los Angeles stretching for several miles according to CNN. Sanders backed the protests in an interview with USA Today, and stated, “We have a First Amendment. People are angry. People are upset. And they want to express their point of view that they are very frightened, in very, very strong disagreement with Mr. Trump, who has made bigotry the cornerstone of his campaign.”

Trump managed to tap into the heart of the white, working class,  a demographic that proved substantial enough to secure him the presidency. Hillary Clinton, however, struggled to recapture levels of voter turnout that President Obama relied so heavily upon in the two previous elections, according to NPR.  Perhaps most surprising of all, was the amount of minority support the Republican candidate was able to secure. PBS reported that after weighted consideration of building “The Wall,” after the soundbites denouncing illegal immigrants as “criminals and rapists,” Trump still managed to secure 29% of the Hispanic Vote. In 2012, Mitt Romney mustered 27%, by comparison, according to PBS.

The results of this election could be a definitive end to the influence of the Clintons in left-wing politics according to the Wall Street Journal, with the general public deciding twice that they do not want Hillary Clinton as Commander-in-Chief, having also lost the democratic nomination to Barack Obama in 2008. Her struggles to build trust with Americans, dismayed by her use of a private email server during her tenure as the Secretary of State and acceptance of six and seven figure paychecks for corporate speaking engagements failed to galvanize independent voters to her cause, the Wall Street Journal stated.

An America that just eight years ago had pioneered the arrival of its first African-American President fell just short of rallying to elect its first female to the office, instead electing a man whose derogatory remarks toward women have been widely recorded and scrutinized. Many felt that such talk would disqualify a presidential candidate from taking office.

Healthcare, immigration, abortion, the economy, ISIS, relations with America’s allies and economic partners were only some of the most pressing matters for voters, according to Politico. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump said he was reconsidering his stance on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act after his meeting with President Obama. Trump’s stance on immigration has continued to develop as well. He told CBS on “60 Minutes” he plans to deport or incarcerate up to 3 million undocumented immigrants. He also said his promised wall may include “some fencing.” “For certain areas I would [build fencing], but certain areas, a wall is more appropriate,” he said. “I’m very good at this, it’s called construction.”

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National News

National // Standing Rock Protests Escalate

Protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota have shown signs of escalation. The New York Times reported that police forces attempted to move protesters out of an area in which they set up camp, and were warded off for several hours by a line of burning wood and vehicles. The New York Times also reported that a woman allegedly fired two rounds of a handgun at the authorities, though no one was hit.

The protesters were gathered on a section of land owned by Energy Transfer Partners, the private company responsible for the pipeline construction. Morton County Sheriff, Kyle Kirchmeier,  said protesters “forced our hand,” referring to his officers’ use of beanbag bullets, tear gas, and military vehicles against protesters.

Photo courtesy of Fibonacci Blue via Flikr
Photo courtesy of Fibonacci Blue via Flikr

Amnesty International sent individuals to observe police actions, according to the New York Times. Protesters see the pipeline as a significant cultural and environmental threat, the New York Times also reported. TIME stated that even a small oil leakage, if it were to occur near the Missouri River, could be detrimental for anyone living along the waterway, even as far south as the Gulf of Mexico.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe is suing the Army Corps of Engineers, on the grounds that the agency allegedly violated the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NHPA requires Corps to consider the cultural significance of federally-permitted sites and NEPA requires it to take the preservation of waterways into account, according to TIME. Aside from the environmental concerns, tribal leaders also say that sacred lands, including burial grounds, would be desecrated by the pipeline’s construction, the New York Times reported.

“We have repeatedly seen a disproportionate response from law enforcement to water protectors’ nonviolent exercise of their constitutional rights,” Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe told the New York Times. “We need our state and federal governments to bring justice and peace to our lands, not the force of armored vehicles,” he said.

A WhiteHouse.gov petition calling on President Obama to halt construction reached 312,476 signatures on September 14. Obama ordered construction to temporarily cease, but a federal court overturned this order. Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has not taken a firm stance on the matter, though TIME reported she urged both Energy Transfer Partners and the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to “find a path forward that serves the broadest public interest.” Republican candidate, Donald Trump, reportedly owns stock in Energy Transfer Partners, and while he has said the oil and gas industry should not be regulated, he has not commented specifically on the pipeline protests.

On social media, celebrities such as Mark Ruffalo and Al Gore have expressed their support for protesters at Standing Rock. Over 100,000 people used the Facebook “Check-In” feature to locate themselves at Standing Rock, according to TIME. This mass “Check-In” followed a rumor that local police forces were using the feature to track protesters on the ground, and individuals not at Standing Rock were encouraged to check in to the protest sight to overwhelm the police. However, the Morton County Police Department stated on Twitter that this rumor was false, and the department does not follow Facebook check-ins at the protest sight nor any other locations.

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National News

Time Warner to Merge With AT&T

Last week, popular cell phone chain,  AT&T, announced its intention to buy Time Warner cable company for around $84.5 billion, pending government approval. The merger, if it takes place, will bring together mobile platforms and content in the largest media deal of the year.

nationalnewsBoth companies have the potential to gain from the merger. AT&T, which provides internet, wireless, and telecommunication services to customers, has seen losses in both their cellular and video sectors according to the Wall Street Journal. Time Warner, which controls big name networks such as CNN, TNT, HBO and Warner Bros. film and TV studio, is set to be paid $107.50 for each share of stock, according to the CEO of AT&T Randall Stephenson. “It’s a great fit and it creates immediate and long term value for our shareholders ”he said.

The merger might also benefit the average American.” Forbes speculates the merger will improve AT&T offerings and may allow customers to purchase their TV and cellular services jointly in a single package. Subscribers might even be able to watch Time Warner videos without the data counting towards their limits. AT&T, which also owns DirecTV, currently does not count DirecTV app usage.

Yet critics raise concerns. “You have a big distributor owing some of the largest networks” commented Eric Handler, a media analyst. “Is everyone going to have equal access to these networks?” The Washington Post noted with content control, AT&T could be in a position to incentivize customers towards select shows. They could also make it difficult for non AT&T users to get access, resulting in fewer choices for the public.

AT&T is not the only company interested in acquiring content companies. As put by CNN, “It is clear that the future [of media] centers around mobile viewing of TV, movies and other forms of video.”

The deal, if successful, is not expected to take effect until after 2017. The time frame is needed, not only to close the deal, but also to gain approval from government regulators in the justice department. Members of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust have promised to attentively consider the matter. “An acquisition of Time Warner and AT&T would potentially raise significant antitrust issues, which the subcommittee would carefully examine,” stated Senators, Mike Lee and Amy Klobuchar.

Despite the Senate’s assurances, anti-trust experts agree the federal government will most likely approve the merger. Reuters stated the approved transaction between Comcast and NBC Universal in 2011 set a precedent that is hard to ignore. The proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner is a similar, smaller version of that deal.

Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has vowed his administration will stop the merger should he be elected. “It’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few,” he said during a speech on October 22. According to CNN, Trump sees the deal as part of an unjust media system which he said has been biased against his campaign.

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Campus National News

FAFSA Changes Now In Effect

Recent changes to the Free Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) system have made the application available since October 1, 2016, instead of on the traditional January 1 release date.

Photo by: Nate Moore
Photo by: Nate Moore

Because the FAFSA is available earlier, students and parents will complete it using tax information from two years ago. This means that this year, students and parents will fill out the FAFSA using their 2015 tax information, according to Financial Aid employee, Susanna Roorbach. The Federal Student Aid website said the new system offers several benefits. One of the benefits will be that the FAFSA will not involve as much estimation of finances since the taxes from two years prior will already be completed. Additionally, it will enable students to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically import tax information to the FAFSA. According to a tutorial on the Federal Student Aid website, this tool makes the process of transferring tax information to the FAFSA faster and more accurate.

Some of the greatest benefits are for incoming first year students, Roorbach said. Before, prospective students had a narrow window between receiving their financial aid package from a school and the school’s deadline to enroll. The new system takes the pressure off for new students exploring their options. “It will allow students to have their financial aid award letters sooner and give them more time to make a decision,” said Roorbach.

For returning students, Roorbach said, “When we award financial aid at Houghton, we give students the best package we can up front and we typically don’t change that, but this could really affect federal and state aid.” Using tax information from two years prior means that it takes longer for a change in finances to affect a student’s federal and state aid. Roorbach said if a student has a circumstance where their income dropped significantly or they recently had high medical expenses, they can fill out a Special Circumstance form along with their FAFSA which will allow their aid to reflect these changes. On the other hand, if a student’s income rises significantly, this change will not catch up to their aid as quickly as in previous years, Roorbach said.

The Financial Aid Office is changing their calendar to accommodate these new deadlines, Roorbach said. She explained the new system will mean sending out financial aid packages from October until August. “It’s something we thought would be helpful for a while,” she said. “Now that it’s here it could be a little challenging to implement, but I think things will run a lot smoother once we have a year of using this system under our belts.”

These changes will likely be helpful to Houghton students across the board. According to the Houghton College website, students receive roughly $13 million in aid, grants, and scholarships.. Roorbach said returning students generally shouldn’t worry about completing the FAFSA until after Thanksgiving.

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National News

National // Bomb Blast in Manhattan

On Saturday September 17 at approximately 8:30 p.m., a blast caused panic in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. The explosion, caused by an improvised bomb, injured 29 people in its vicinity, mainly through shrapnel. The New York Times reported by Sunday morning 26 of those individuals were released after being treated in area hospitals. Aside from injuries, multiple news sources reported blown out windows and widespread street closures as a result of the detonation.

luchtfoto_van_lower_manhattanCity and state officials remained on high alert after confirming the existence of a second “pressure cooker” bomb in the same district, according to CNN. The New York Times reported the device was transported to the New York Police Department (NYPD) firing range at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx, where it was deactivated.  This particular kind of explosive has not garnered national attention since the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings, which killed eight people and injured dozens.

A photo of the device surfaces on social media websites late Saturday evening. The photo, which was confirmed by police to be authentic, pictured a cookware item attached to wires, christmas lights, and a cell phone.

New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio, called the act “intentional,” yet as of Sunday evening there was no known motive for the violent act. State and city authorities found no evidence of an international terrorist connection, though the New York Times quoted New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, as having stated , “A bomb exploding in New York is obviously an act of terrorism.”

BBC, as well as CNN, have acknowledged the existence of a “person of interest,” a man who was spotted at both bomb locations, however, at this time the man’s identity  is unknown. Reports of the accident claimed surveillance footage showed a man walking with a wheeled duffel near the explosion of the bomb, and then later show what appears to be the same man with the same bag in the location where the second, un-detonated bomb was found.

The reason of the targeted location is also a mystery. A police officer told the New York Times, “”We don’t understand the target or the significance of [the detonated device]. It’s by a pile of dumpsters on a random sidewalk.” At this point, it is thought to be because of the dense population of the district, with its crowded bars, restaurants, and shops.

Both the Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates responded to the bombing,BBC stated. Republican candidate, Donald Trump, tweeted condolences to those affected. Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, advised Americans to avoid premature conclusions about the nature of the bombing.

Saturday’s violence preceded the Tuesday meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, which U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders were expected to attend. De Blasio promised a “bigger than ever” police presence in the city, according to the BBC.

Cuomo backed up this promise, deploying 1,000 additional New York State Troopers to patrol the city’s subway tunnels, busses, and sidewalks in the coming days and weeks. “Whoever placed these bombs – we will find them and they will be brought to justice,” Cuomo said.

 

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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National News

Louisiana Begins Rebuilding

In August, parts of Louisiana were hit with heavy rain that caused severe flooding, the death of thirteen people, and millions of dollars in damage. The storm brought more than two and a half feet of rain to part of the Livingston Parish, and left members of the Coast Guard and the National Guard to help more than 20,000 residents and 1,000 pets to safety.

img_3297In a New York Times article, John Nielsen-Gammon, the state climatologist in Texas, attributed the large amount of rain to climate change. “There’s definitely an increase in heavy rainfall due to climate change. The actual increase from place to place is going to be variable because of the randomness of the weather. Some places will see a dramatic change,” he said.

According to CNN, the storm caused at least $8.7 million in damages, leaving 134,000 homes registering for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, FEMA has reported so far, only 115,000 homes have had inspections completed.

Despite efforts to set up temporary shelters and mobile homes, a CNN article reported as many as 2,600 citizens are still living in homes that have not been treated for mold and are still unfit to live in. FEMA committed $300 million for emergency home repair and rental housing and assigned 400 volunteers, but has been slow with assistance.

With the lack of immediate federal response, citizens and nonprofit organizations have attempted to step in and aid in the clean up. Broderick Bagert, lead organizer of Together Baton Rouge, a community group, built an online intake system and database for the homeowner’s requests for assistance in gutting homes. The group also had volunteers knock on doors of homes that didn’t appear to have been gutted already. Lastly, after the volunteers then sent out additional volunteers to gut homes themselves, taking out muddy and moldy floors and walls.

As more homes are inspected and gutted, the cost of cleanup soars. The Guardian reported the cost of cleanup could potentially reach $15 billion by the end of the project. With only 20% of homes affected having held flood insurance Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, requested a $2 billion bailout package on Friday, September 9, in addition to the money the government has already pledged. Edwards, who requested the money while on a trip to Washington, stressed Louisiana would not be able to move forward without the cash. “Simply put, we cannot recover without it,” he said.

While no decision on the bailout has been made, President Obama, in a letter to Edwards, wrote due to the expensive nature of the flood that the government would cover 90% of the costs, leaving the state to only pay back 10% of the funds. This is atypical, as states typically pay back 20% of costs.

 

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National News

Immigration Policy Debate Continues

As tensions rose in Washington over President Obama’s liberal immigration policies, hundreds of protesters surrounded the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to show their support for progressive action. The president’s plan is to protect over four million undocumented immigrants from threat of deportation, as well as granting them rights to work legally and have access to programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

IMG_9674The Supreme Court remained highly divided on the issue as questions regarding presidential power and immigration policy have both dominated this year’s election. The question is whether or not Obama has the authority to defer deportations of millions of people without congressional approval. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr, the top appellate lawyer defended the President’s authority to take such action, but was soon challenged by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Twenty-six states have challenged the action on the basis of executive overreach. Justice Anthony Kennedy was quoted as saying “It’s as if the president is setting the policy and the congress is executing it… That’s just upside down.”

Other more liberal justices stepped in to defend the policy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued that since there are 11.3 million undocumented aliens in the country and Congress has provided funds for removing only about 4 million, certain priorities must be set. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed noting the lack of resources that would be essential if the US were to deport every undocumented alien. “They are here whether we want them or not,” she said.

Texas has been leading the charge of twenty-six states challenging the White House, and questioning executive power. Back in February of 2015 the case was backed by a federal judge, and the policies were blocked from taking effect. Many Republican governors and attorney generals believe the unilateral actions were unconstitutional and violated a federal law that sets parameters for how agencies can establish regulations. Scott A. Keller, Texas’ solicitor general and the lead lawyer on the case, said Mr. Obama’s plan was unprecedented and unlawful.

The case, United States v. Texas, No. 15-674, was heard by an eight-person court making a 4-4 deadlock a real possibility. The evenly split court could mean the programs remain blocked, in that case the issue would be sent back to the district court in Texas.

The other side believes liberal action must be taken to ensure the safety of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. Verrilli is quoted as saying that “deferred action itself reflects nothing more than a judgment that the aliens’ ongoing presence will be tolerated for a period of time, based on enforcement priorities and humanitarian concerns, and work authorization enables them to support themselves while they remain.”

Solicitor General Verrilli also argued on behalf of the Obama administration that the “Constitution reserves exclusive authority to the National Government to make and enforce immigration policy.” He says that if the states are allowed to bring the challenge it would “upend the constitutional design.” Furthermore, Verrilli says that the states don’t have the legal right to be in court because they can’t show the concrete injury that would give them standing.

Immigration is currently one of the biggest cases this term, however, other issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and health care have also been dominating the

platform With the death of Justice Scalia, the Court has had to look at cases heading towards a 5-4 split to see if there is a way to avoid deadlock. A decision in this case will most likely be one of the last rulings of the term, although if the justices are evenly divided we could hear much sooner.

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National News

National // First U.S. Uterus Transplant Successful

On Friday February 26, the Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio performed the first uterus transplant in the United States. According to National Public Radio (NPR), the procedure took nine hours, and the 26 year old patient was reported to be in stable condition. The organ, like many other organs used in transplants, came from a deceased donor.

The woman was one of ten selected for the clinical trial of the operation. All ten women selected were either born with a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (a condition in which one is born with an underdeveloped or absent uterus), had to have their uterus removed, or lack a functioning uterus. Uterine factor infertility (UFI), however, while similar is also different. UFI is the inability to carry a pregnancy due to a lack of uterus, whether one was born without one, theirs doesn’t function properly, or they’ve had their uterus removed. According to CNN the condition is irreversible and affects 3-5% of women in the world. According to the New York times, there are thought to be 50,000 women in the United States alone that would qualify as candidates for a transplant because of UFI. However, the ethics panel at the Cleveland hospital gave permission for the clinic to perform the procedure only ten times, as an experiment.

DaniWhile the options of using a surrogate or adoption have also been available  for these women, Dr. Andreas G. Tzakis, the leader of the surgery team that conducted the transplant said, “for reasons that are personal, cultural, or religions” women may choose not to go through with these options. An unnamed woman being screened as a candidate for the transplant, however, was quoted in a New York Times article as having a different reason for wanting to pursue the operation rather than hiring a surrogate or adopting. “I crave that experience,” she said. “I want the morning sickness, the backaches, the feet swelling. I want to feel the baby move. That is something I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember.”

Before the clinic’s success the only other country that had successfully performed a uterus transplant was Sweden. So far, doctors at the University of Gothenburg have performed nine successful transplants. CNN reported that of the nine women to get transplants, five women have gotten pregnant resulting in four live births. However, all the women in Sweden received transplants from live donors. According to the New York Times Tzakis, who has performed 4,000-5,000 organ transplants, traveled to the University of Gothenburg to work with doctors who have been successful with their transplants.

While the transplant is a significant part of the process to an alternative route to pregnancy, it is only a small part of the process these women will go through before giving birth. The process  begins before the transplant when the patient’s eggs are harvested and frozen. After a year post-transplant, allowing for healing and the adjustment of anti-rejection medication, the patient’s eggs will be artificially inseminated and implanted until the patient becomes pregnant. After heavy observation and one or two babies are delivered through cesarean section, the uterus will be removed to avoid prolonged exposure to medication.
While the temporary transplant is an impressive advancement in the medical field, some feel as though it is not as necessary as others may think. Dr. Michael Green of Massachusetts General Hospital views uterine transplants as a quality-of-life issue and has been quoted as stating, “Nobody needs a uterus to live, OK?” A NPR article also reports Green as wondering “whether health care dollars should be spent on uterine transplants when a woman who lacks a uterus can turn to a surrogate mother to provide her with a child — if she can afford it, that is.” The Cleveland clinic, however, argued that surrogacy isn’t always an option, “In the U.S., the surrogacy process can be legally complicated. In many other countries, surrogacy is highly restricted or even banned.”