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Many have criticized the national infrastructure in the United States in the past, arguing that it was vulnerable to cyber attacks. This vulnerability was exposed last week, as the Colonial Pipeline, a massive pipeline that transports millions of gallons of gasoline and other fuel from Houston to New York, shut down over a ransomware attack.

After the January 6th riot, the social media company Facebook made the decision to suspend then-President Donald Trump’s Facebook account until at least January 20 - the end of Trump’s term. The decision, along with Twitter’s decision to permanently ban Trump, has drawn ire and concerns from many. Republican lawmakers have been especially vocal about Trump’s bans from social media. In order to reach a permanent decision on whether or not to keep Trump suspended has been left up to Facebook’s Oversight Board.

On May 6, voters in England, Scotland, and Wales headed to the polls. In England, voters voted for candidates for their respective local councils. In Scotland and Wales, voters voted in their respective regional parliaments.

As the conflict between Israel and Palestine escalates in the Middle East, many across the globe are expressing their support for one side or another. Tensions are building up across Israel and Palestine, in particular across the Gaza Strip, which is occupied by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, where much of the fighting has taken place. In fact, a building containing AP and Al Jazeera offices in Gaza was destroyed by Israeli forces.

At least 42 people have died so far in ongoing protests across Colombia. The protests began on April 28th as demonstrations against a new economic policy proposed by President Iván Duque that was meant to address the country’s pandemic-related economic deficit. However, the proposal to increase taxes on household items like milk, eggs, and utilities, as well putting an income tax on those who earn more than 2.4 million Colombian pesos (about $624) a month, really became proof of the disconnect between government policies and the predicament of the working class in the eyes of the Columbian people. The protests then evolved from there, encompassing the public’s demand for a solution to the scarceness of vaccines in the country, the ever-deepening poverty and inequality, and police violence.

On Wednesday, April 14th, President Biden announced the complete withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. The deadline date marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on various parts of the United States.

The 2020 Election, in terms of electoral votes, was much closer than it looks. Biden won 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, with just 20,000 votes out of 3.2 million cast in Wisconsin, 12,000 votes out of 4.9 million cast in Georgia, and 11,000 votes out of 3.3 million cast in Arizona decisively making Donald Trump a one-term president. It’s no question that these were all close results, and recounting the votes in them only makes sense since the margins of victory were all less than 1%. But these were already done, and the court challenges along with them were made too, so why are recounts still in the headlines?

Intellectual property rights for items like music, television, and movies are generally understood as necessary; these legal stipulations ensure that the original creator of a piece of art is able to profit off said art without copycats stealing their content. However, intellectual property in the medical world is much more complicated.

With a raging virus, a global toilet paper shortage, and an atypical year of masks and hand sanitizer, teenage stress rates have been skyrocketing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. However, even before then, the age group was showing signs of concern: between the years of 2005 and 2017, teens experienced a significant increase in serious psychological distress, major depression, and suicide rates, and, in 2013, it was even reported that they had higher levels of stress than adults.

For the eastern coast of the United States, it’s about time for a bideccadial (is that even a word?) miracle of nature: a cicada brood emerging. Every 13 or 17 years, different regions of cicadas emerge all at once, ranging in the billions of bugs swarming massive regions of the United States. This May, it’s time for Brood X to emerge after 17 years across states from Pennsylvania to Indiana. For most of us at East, this will be the first time in our lives that Brood X has emerged. While it won’t be hitting Buffalo, to your disappointment or excitement, what would one expect to see when a brood emerges?