Sep 20, 2018

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls Puerto Rico a "colony" of the U.S.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Photo: Mario Tama via Getty Images

New York House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez today called Puerto Rico — a territory that lacks statehood and thus the ability to vote — a "colony" of the United States, claiming that Americans must recognize that the island deserves "real self-determination" in order to fix the root causes of Hurricane Maria's devastation.

Between the lines: President Trump has repeatedly praised the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Maria, despite the disaster resulting in close to 3,000 deaths — a figure that Trump disputes. Today, on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria's landfall in Puerto Rico, the White House released a statement calling the response a "historic recovery effort" that has helped Puerto Rico make "significant progress" rebuilding the island after the storm.

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Fauci: Data is “really quite evident” against hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus

Anthony Fauci told CNN Wednesday that the scientific data "is really quite evident now about the lack of efficacy" of hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment.

Driving the news: The comments came in response to news that France on Wednesday banned the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus, after a large retrospective study in The Lancet found an increased risk of heart problems and death among coronavirus patients who took the anti-malarial drug.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow2 mins ago - Health

Trump has turned Big Tech's speech rules into a political football

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

Twitter made headlines Tuesday after labeling two election-related tweets from President Trump as potentially misleading — the company’s first action against the president’s tweets, which often test its policies on misinformation and abuse.

The big picture: Twitter's unprecedented move, which swiftly drew Trump's fury, was just one of four controversies over the last 24 hours involving tech platforms grappling with free speech issues. And all of them, Axios' Sara Fischer and I report, reflect what a partisan issue the policing of social media content has become.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow24 mins ago - Technology

Inside the changing millennial home

Reproduced from Pew Research Center; Chart: Axios Visuals

As the first millennials approach 40, the way the generation has defined home continues a decades-long transformation of the stereotypical American family, according to a new analysis by Pew Research Center.

The big picture: For the largest living generation, trends that began with Generation X and Baby Boomers have become the new norm — including living with parents deep into adulthood, sharing homes with partners without marriage, single-parenting and delayed childbirth.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow27 mins ago - Economy & Business