The GPR Digest- October 14, 2024
Hurricane Milton, Haitian deportations, TikTok, Google, and more!
GEORGIA
Federal judge rejects extended voter registration deadline
This Thursday, October 10, District Judge Eleanor Ross rejected arguments that the state should extend voter registration to October 14. As the previous deadline was last Monday, October 7, the extension would give extra time to communities damaged by Hurricane Helene. The hurricane caused widespread power and internet outages, preventing online registration, and closed many in-person registration centers.
However, according to Ross, the three groups suing in favor of the extension— the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and the New Georgia Project— could not sufficiently prove that the hurricane deprived people of registration opportunities. Although an extension took place in South Carolina, both Georgia and Florida have thus had their extension cases denied.
NATIONAL
Hurricane Milton strikes Florida; Georgia receives evacuees
Last week, Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida. At peak intensity, it became a Category 5 hurricane, but it fell to Category 3 as it turned northeast before officially dissipating on October 12.
Even so, the hurricane’s effects were devastating to Floridan communities. At least 17 have been reported dead from the hurricane or from the deadly tornadoes it spawned, and over 3 million individuals lost power. Fortunately, at least 340 people have been rescued from various state rescue efforts, and many were saved by evacuating the scene. Officials in Florida note that for Georgia, this was one of the largest mass evacuations since 2017. Many Florida evacuees faced hours of endless traffic and, as rest stops filled up, moved further inland to Georgia and other states.
Ethel Kennedy dies at age 96
On Thursday, October 10, Ethel Kennedy died from complications after a stroke. Kennedy’s parents were killed in a 1955 plane crash and both her brother-in-law (John F. Kennedy) and husband (Robert F. Kennedy) were killed at the hands of assassins. Ethel’s sons Michael and David, as well as her granddaughter Saoirse, all died at a young age.
Despite the adversity, Ethel dedicated her life to human rights by advocating for gun control. She also founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Ethel with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.
Harris campaign flies ads over NFL games in key swing states
The Democrats used skytyping planes, with messages ranging from “Vote Kamala” to “Sack Trump’s Project 2025! Vote Kamala!”, to sway male voters in battleground states at four NFL games on Sunday, October 13. The matchups included the Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals in Wisconsin, the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers in Nevada, the Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons in North Carolina, and the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns in Pennsylvania. They account for 6 of the 7 presidential battlegrounds.
Gender has become a major rift in the 2024 election, and this campaign focuses on winning swing states and attracting more male voters. Polling shows that men are more likely to vote Trump and that women are more likely to vote Harris, but campaigning at NFL games could tip the scales.
INTERNATIONAL
Dominican Republic starts mass deportations of Haitians
On Tuesday, October 8, the Dominican Republic released a statement announcing the deportation and repatriation of nearly 11,000 Haitians in the past week. These deportations fulfill a previous pledge towards weekly deportations, citing an excess of immigrants fleeing gang violence and poverty in Haiti.
Activists say the deportations put the lives of thousands at risk, violating human rights. Meanwhile, Haiti’s crisis is disproportionately affecting the Dominican Republic, with some believing migrants are overwhelming schools, clinics, and hospitals in the country.
Marburg disease “under control” in Rwanda
According to Rwandan health officials, an outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg fever, declared September 27, is under control. The statement came after the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its travel advisory, requiring screening for those traveling to the country. The Rwandan health officials note such screenings and other related travel bans are unnecessary, with Jean Kaseya of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that the risk is “almost zero”.
As of September, Rwanda reported 13 deaths and 12 recoveries from the virus, while the total number of confirmed cases stands at 58. The virus has a fatality rate of 88. It has no authorized vaccine or treatment. However, Rwanda received 700 doses of a trial vaccine from the Sabin Vaccine Institute last week, pointing towards a quicker resolution of the crisis.
CULTURE
TikTok sued over teen mental health concerns
This Tuesday, October 8, a bipartisan group of 14 attorneys filed a lawsuit against TikTok. The attorneys are from 13 states in the US and allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children, intentionally misleading the public about the safety of using the app.
The group stated: “TikTok knows that compulsive use of and other harmful effects of its platform are wreaking havoc on the mental health of millions of American children and teenagers…despite such documented knowledge, TikTok continually misrepresents its platform as safe and appropriate”. They seek financial penalties and child restrictions.
TikTok has responded, calling the lawsuit disappointing and misleading: "We're proud of and remain deeply committed to the work we've done to protect teens, and we will continue to update and improve our product.” Nonetheless, this is not the first and only case of a lawsuit against the company.
U.S Department of Justice considers breaking up Google in antitrust case
After Google’s popular search software was declared an illegal monopoly, the possibility of breaking up the company arose as one of many possible solutions. The controversy stems from court papers filed late Tuesday, October 8, which revealed key issues: the Google AI algorithm is mining data from other websites to deliver search results, and Google is paying companies billions of dollars to remain the default search engine for product users.
Google’s monopoly has long flushed out smaller companies and inhibited their ability to compete for users. The Justice Department plans to investigate over the coming weeks and propose a more detailed plan within the next month. The Department of Justice also projects to make a decision by August 2025.
Meanwhile, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs claims that the U.S. Department of Justice is already beginning to breach the specific legal issues of the case within their propositions, signaling a warning for government overreach and its unintended consequences.
Contributors: Sophia Nguyen, Marin Arvin, Jacob Weiszer, Addison Denney