Axios Homepage

Hong Kong police arrested four leaders of a group that organizes the Asian financial hub's annual Tiananmen Square massacre vigil on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The arrest of barrister Chow Hang Tung and other activists from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China marks the latest setback for the city's pro-democracy movement — who've been accused of colluding with foreign powers in violation of the repressive national security law.

At least one person has died after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck near the Mexican resort city of Acapulco late Tuesday — causing buildings to shake over 230 miles away Mexico City.

What's happening: Power outages were reported in several states and parts of Mexico city following the 12-miles-deep quake, which hit some 2.5 miles from Los Órganos de San Agustín and eight miles from Acapulco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

About 50 Detroit health care workers have filed a lawsuit against a hospital system, claiming its upcoming COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates the Fourteenth Amendment's protection of "personal autonomy and bodily integrity."

Why it matters: This is the second major legal test concerning vaccine mandates in the health care sector, after an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming a Texas hospital's policy requiring all staff be vaccinated against the virus was unlawful.

The GOP's House campaign arm is shuffling its winter fundraising schedule, putting Donald Trump in front of its top financial backers for its annual dinner.

Driving the news: The National Republican Congressional Committee told donors on Tuesday afternoon that "circumstances beyond our control" forced the cancellation of its major December retreat in New York City, according to an email obtained by Axios.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) has privately warned the White House and congressional leaders that he has specific policy concerns with President Biden's $3.5 trillion social spending dream — and he'll support as little as $1 trillion of it — Axios' Hans Nichols scoops.

• At most, he's open to supporting $1.5 trillion, sources familiar with the discussions say.

Why it matters: In a 50-50 Senate, that could mean the ceiling for Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda — and that many progressive priorities, from universal preschool to free community college, are in danger of dying this Congress.

Civil rights groups filed a slew of lawsuits in Texas Tuesday, kicking off what is expected to be an extensive legal battle mere hours after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed controversial voting restrictions into law.

Why it matters: Critics have denounced the new law as a dangerous voter suppression bill that will disproportionately impact communities of color. The bill drove Texas House Democrats to flee the state in protest, but after enough returned to resume quorum, the legislation went to Abbott's desk.

One of the world's biggest apparel companies said a board member, Veronica Wu, stepped down on Tuesday, days after emails obtained by Axios showed Wu dismissed racism in America and said Black Lives Matter activists were the "true racists."

What they're saying: VF Corp. — which owns iconic brands like The North Face, Timberland and Supreme — said Wu's decision to resign "was not the result of any disagreement with VF on any matter relating to VF’s operations, policies or practices."

The head of Georgia-based game development studio Tripwire Interactive parted ways with the company Monday, two days after tweeting his support for Texas’ new abortion ban.

Why it matters: Tripwire CEO John Gibson's support of a law critics are calling "draconian" and dangerous sparked instant outrage.

New York City's chief medical examiner has identified two more 9/11 victims, just days before the country prepares to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks.

Why it matters: 40% of those who died in New York, or 1,106 victims, remain unidentified, per NBC New York. Identifications are still being made thanks to advances in DNA testing.

Mexico's supreme court on Tuesday declared that it is unconstitutional to penalize abortion, with magistrates voting unanimously to decriminalize the procedure in the country.

Why it matters: Mexico — now the fifth Latin American country to decriminalize abortion — is now the most populous country in the region to allow the practice, the Washington Post reports. The country has the world's second-largest Catholic population, after Brazil.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a sweeping voting bill on Tuesday, making it the latest state to approve stricter voting laws in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: The law rolls back early voting and adds new ID requirements, which critics say disproportionally impact voters of color.

California voters' growing opposition to recalling Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is driven heavily by Latinos, according to new polling in the closing days of the election.

The big picture: A Public Policy Institute of California poll released last week found 66% of likely Latino voters saying they won't support the recall and just 27% saying they would — a shift from previous polls that suggested a tight race.

The Taliban announced the first members of a caretaker Afghan government on Tuesday, naming Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund as acting prime minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as acting deputy prime minister.

Why it matters: Many have been waiting to learn the makeup and policies of the new Islamist government before deciding whether to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.

Seizing upon a flaw in software from SolarWinds, Russian hackers spent months leisurely probing the computer systems of dozens of businesses and government agencies. By contrast, when the intrusion was detected, tech companies and government agencies had to scramble to close the hole, assess damage and try to learn techniques to block future attacks.

Between the lines: Fresh details on how Microsoft, SolarWinds, GoDaddy and various government agencies managed the response to last winter's massive security failure are included in an update to a book co-authored by Microsoft president and longtime top lawyer Brad Smith.

José Díaz-Balart, one of the few Latino anchors on U.S. television, is returning to MSNBC later this month to host a new show, the network announced Tuesday.

The big picture: The "Noticias Telemundo" anchor will take over daily the 10am ET hour on MSNBC for a show called "José Díaz-Balart Reports," beginning Sept. 27, as the network seeks to add more diverse voices.

Up to 47 million acres of Amazonian rainforest have been damaged in fires since 2001, per a Nature study out last week, but the company Amazon and the Nature Conservancy hope a new initiative may help alleviate the situation.

Why it matters: The rainforest absorbs vast quantities of carbon dioxide and contains about 10% of all known species. But, since blazes are intentionally set to clear land for farming or livestock, some hope providing those farmers compensation may preserve the Amazon.

Axios' "How it Happened: The Next Astronauts" podcast follows the first all-civilian space crew as they prepare for their historic mission. 

The all-civilian Inspiration4 crew's training program to prepare them for their trip to orbit is a reality check on the space industry's goal to send many more ordinary people to space.

Why it matters: One day SpaceX, which is operating the upcoming mission, hopes to help establish a settlement on Mars and other companies like Blue Origin are working to build futures where millions of people live and work in space. In order to do that, more people need to fly to space — with far less preparation and more ease.

Facebook says it's finally ready to launch its most ambitious new product in years: a digital wallet called Novi. But the man leading the charge says Washington could stand in its way.

Why it matters: Facebook needs to convince regulators skeptical of its power that it's a good idea. "If there's one thing we need, it's the benefit of the doubt," Facebook's David Marcus said in an interview with Axios. "[W]e're starting with a trust deficit that we need to compensate."

More than 100 companies are expected to go public on U.S. stock exchanges by year-end, capping off what's already been the busiest year for IPOs since 2000.

By the numbers: 279 companies already completed U.S. IPOs in 2021, topping last year's 218.

President Biden is struggling with a Gordian knot on immigration that there's little he can do to untangle: The nation's broken system is making it harder than it should be to manage the Afghan refugee crisis — and the Afghan refugee crisis is making it harder to fix the system.

By the numbers: If the military’s task of adding 50,000 spots to bases by mid-September to temporarily house Afghan refugees sounds like a lot, consider that there have been more than 1.2 million undocumented border crossings since last October.

Most parents back mask mandates, but the states where GOP parents are most opposed aren't the ones we always hear about, according to a new Axios/Momentive poll.

Why it matters: While plenty of attention has centered around debates around the public health measures in schools in states like Texas and Florida, the poll offers a glimpse at how much more widespread opposition is across the country.

The goal of the COVID-19 vaccines was always to reduce death and severe illness. Even with the Delta variant, the vaccines are still doing that. But that message is getting lost, infectious disease and vaccine experts tell Axios.

The big picture: Two-thirds of the world isn't fully vaccinated. To return to some semblance of "normal," health authorities need to emphasize how the vaccines aren't failing and drastically increase global vaccine production.

The Human Rights Campaign announced late Monday that Alphonso David was being replaced as president following an investigation into his work in helping former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) respond to sexual harassment allegations.

Why it matters: The HRC is the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S. and David was its first Black president. The HRC said its boards voted to remove him from the role "effective immediately, for violations of his contract with the Human Rights Campaign," the New York Times first reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday it's investigating almost 350 reports of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico it has received since the deadly Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana.

Of note: The Coast Guard is establishing a pollution response team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following the reports, per NOLA.com.

New Orleans officials are investigating what Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Monday called "unacceptable" conditions in several senior apartments, after five people were found dead in the complexes in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Driving the news: New Orleans Health Department teams discovered the bodies during wellness checks at senior apartment complexes, which found eight facilities unfit for occupancy, per a City of New Orleans statement Sunday.

El Salvador bought its first 400 bitcoins on Monday, and President Nayib Bukele pledged to buy "a lot more" ahead of adopting the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Why it matters: El Salvador will become on Tuesday the first country to formally adopt bitcoin — marking the "biggest test" the digital currency has faced in its 12-year history, per Bloomberg.

Richmond's Robert E. Lee statue will come down on Wednesday, days after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the state could remove the 60-foot-tall monument.

Why it matters: The 130-year-old statue is "Virginia's largest monument to the Confederate insurrection," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement Monday. "This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a Commonwealth."

Go deeper: Floyd's death set historic pace for Confederate removals