American Civil Liberties Union

The BRCA (breast cancer) genes have been at the forefront of a lot of conversations these days. All men and women have the BRCA genes, but some of us have hereditary mutations along these genes that have been linked to breast and ovarian cancer. In the Family, a documentary film that premiered on PBS last night, explores the intensely personal question of what to do when you find out that you have a BRCA mutation that drastically elevates your risk for developing cancer. Christina Applegate — who bravely came forward last month about her own breast cancer diagnosis, testing positive for a BRCA1 mutation, and her decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy — talked with Oprah on Tuesday about these very issues and the overwhelming expense of genetic testing and MRIs. USA Today reported last week that demand for BRCA testing has doubled since 2005 and that more and more parents are having their kids tested, against the advice of clinicians. And Stand Up to Cancer, which launched in early September, has made its mission to bring together a team of cancer researchers who will share new discoveries about genes linked to all forms of cancer and collaborate on finding new methods of prevention and treatment.

Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office released a human rights report (PDF) documenting the abuse and exploitation of domestic workers by foreign diplomats in the U.S. As described by Kirk Semple on the New York Times blog, this is a widespread but largely hidden problem that is greatly exacerbated by the shield of diplomatic immunity and the government’s refusal to hold diplomats responsible even in the most egregious cases.

Entrance to "Freedom Dorm" at Brownwood State School

It could not be more ironic that one of the buildings that contains the holding cells of the Brownwood State School – a high-security youth prison in central Texas — is called “Freedom Dorm.” Approximately 150 girls are currently incarcerated at Brownwood; nationwide, more than 14,000 girls are in prison on any given night. When you think of “juvenile detention centers” you might imagine something like a boarding school, but in fact, many facilities look much like adult prisons.