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Uprising’s guest expert Robert Jensen, is sitting in for Rose Aguilar. Jensen, who is an author and Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, analyzes today’s news headlines:

A half a dozen people were killed over the weekend by a series of deadly tornadoes that hit the Midwestern US. Al Jazeera is reporting that “80 tornado reports were received during Sunday and Monday, along with 358 reports of damaging winds and 40 reports of large hail.” While Illinois was the hardest hit, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana also faced some storm damage. The US storms come on the heels of a devastating typhoon in the Philippines and a little covered cyclone in Somalia which killed 300 people, destroyed whole villages, and was considered one of the deadliest storms in Somali history. Click here for an Al Jazeera article about the story. Click here for a Think Progress article about the Somalia Cyclone.

The NSA’s vast spying program, which has been the topic of the biggest domestic story of the year, may face multiple challenges in court this week from both ends of the political spectrum. While the Supreme Court this morning refused to consider reviewing the decisions of the secret FISA courts, a Federal district court judge today will consider a request for injunctions against two major aspects of the spying program: how the government collects people’s telephone data, and how it works with wireless and internet companies to gather private computer and internet data. Today’s request comes from a lawyer who worked with the Reagan administration, while later in the week, the ACLU will request a similar legal injunction based on constitutional violations and targeting the USA PATRIOT act. Click here for a USA Today article about the story.

While many LGBT communities in the US are now enjoying the right to marry, one state is denying that same right to undocumented immigrants. Alabama, which has in recent years passed harsh anti-immigrant laws, apparently has some counties which, for years, have been requiring legal proof of residency from undocumented immigrants who wish to marry. The finding comes as a new report shows that the Obama administration has this year stepped up its prosecution of immigrants for coming to the US without documents even though border crossings have sunk to an all-time low. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have had the largest number of criminal immigration prosecutions which are a much harsher alternative to simply deporting people. Click here for an Al Jazeera article about the Alabama story. Click here for a Think Progress article about the Obama administration’s prosecutions.