Aug 30, 2018

Judge denies Alex Jones' motion to dismiss defamation lawsuit

The Alex Jones facebook page. Photo: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him filed by parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim was denied in a ruling by a Texas judge on Thursday, reports the New York Times.

Why it matters: Jones will now have to go to trial and defend himself in court. For years, the conspiracy theorist has spread false rumors that the Sandy Hook shooting was a staged government event part of an effort to abolish the second amendment, and that the shooting's victims were crisis actors.

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Orion Rummler

House passes bill to make lynching a federal hate crime

Photo: Aaron P. Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images

The House voted 410-4 on Wednesday to pass legislation to designate lynching as a federal hate crime.

Why it matters: Congress has tried and failed for over 100 years to pass measures to make lynching a federal crime.

Go deeper47 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Kim Hart

This year's census may be the toughest count yet

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Community leaders are concerned that historically hard-to-count residents will be even harder to count in this year's census, thanks to technological hurdles and increased distrust in government.

Why it matters: The census — which will count more than 330 million people this year — determines how $1.5 trillion in federal funding gets allocated across state and local governments. Inaccurate counts mean that communities don't get their fair share of those dollars.

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Axios

Live updates: Coronavirus spreads to Latin America

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

Brazil confirmed the first novel coronavirus case in Latin America Wednesday — a 61-year-old that tested positive after returning from a visit to northern Italy, the epicenter of Europe's outbreak.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 81,000 others. By Wednesday morning, South Korea had the most cases outside China, with 1,261 infections. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, where 374 cases have been confirmed.

Go deeperUpdated 3 hours ago - Health