A 17-year-old male in Michigan is said to be the first person in the United States to receive a bilateral lung transplant for vaping-related injuries.

The boy's severe injuries included extreme lung inflammation, scarring and dead tissue, which alarmed medical professionals — especially given the patient's age.

"What I saw in his lungs is nothing that I've ever seen before, and I've been doing lung transplants for 20 years," said Hassan Nemeh, M.D., surgical director of the Thoracic Organ Transplant System at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

First admitted to Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit in September, the then-16-year-old showed symptoms consistent with pneumonia. As his condition deteriorated rapidly, however, he was transferred to Children's Hospital of Michigan after less than a week and placed on life support.

Doctors said they took dramatic measures to save the teen's life.

"At one point, we just looked at each other and said, 'Let's just go in your car,'" said Nicholas Yeldo, M.D., of Henry Ford Hospital, describing how the doctors transported a portable ECMO machine in the trunk of Nemeh's SUV. ECMO is a life support system that stands for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

After more than a month on life support, the patient received a successful double lung transplant Oct. 15. Doctors described the teen Tuesday as talking, eating and able to walk on his own.

The patient and his family have remained anonymous, but they provided a statement for the press conference.

"Within a very short period of time, our lives have been forever changed. From the typical life of a perfectly healthy 16-year-old athlete — attending high school, hanging out with friends, sailing and playing video games — to waking up intubated and with two new lungs," stated the family.

The family urged people to stop vaping.

"If this press announcement saves just one person, prevents others from vaping or inspires someone addicted to seek help to quit, it is surely a step in the right direction," said the patient's family.

Drawing in young adults

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2,000 people in the U.S. have suffered lung injuries related to vaping, and at least 39 people have died.

Health officials have pointed to vitamin E acetate, an additive found in vaping products, as a likely culprit. Previously, the CDC linked vaping products containing THC with the mysterious injuries.

Young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are more than twice as likely to vape than their older counterparts, according to a Gallup poll. Conversely, they are less likely than 30- to 64-year-olds to smoke tobacco cigarettes, signifying a major break from the smoking trends of previous generations.

According to the CDC, however, rates of tobacco use are rising among America's youth. Last year, 4.9 million middle- and high school students used tobacco, an increase from 3.6 million in 2017.

"This increase — driven by a surge in e-cigarette use — erased past progress in reducing youth tobacco product use," stated a CDC Vital Signs report.

On Monday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he will meet with representatives of the vaping industry, saying, "Children's health & safety, together with jobs, will be a focus!" Trump has made similar comments in the past, most notably when he proposed a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, which tend to attract younger people.

Recently, the president's language on vaping has expanded to include jobs in the vaping industry that might be lost to regulation.

Support for vaping

While many medical professionals lauded efforts to curb vaping in the U.S., opposition from the vaping industry, pro-vaping advocates and politicians have challenged these efforts.

The Washington Post reported that Trump's campaign manager advised him to back off of the issue amid concerns it may hurt his chances for reelection.

Pro-vaping advocates held protests, arguing that vaping has helped them stop smoking cigarettes, and they consider vaping to be a better alternative.

The long-term effects of vaping remain unknown.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)