May 8, 2018

Ben Carson is being sued over HUD's suspension of fair housing rule

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

Three civil rights groups are suing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson for his agency's suspension of a fair housing rule that required state and local governments to review segregated housing patterns, the Washington Post first reported and Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: In a draft of the document, obtained by Axios, the groups argue that by suspending the federal regulation to “affirmatively further fair housing” in January 2018, HUD is "effectively removing civil rights oversight of as much as $5.5 billion per year until 2024 or later for almost 1,000 jurisdictions."

Background: HUD adopted these federal regulations in 2015, though it technically applied to all of the agency's funding since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968.

The problem, according to the lawsuit: "Under HUD’s pre-2015 process, jurisdictions throughout the country routinely ignored problems of segregation and discrimination while continuing to collect HUD funds."

What they're saying: “It took HUD almost 50 years to create an effective way to ‘affirmatively further’ fair housing — one that would actually eliminate the barriers that keep people of color trapped in segregated, low-opportunity neighborhoods,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, LDF President and Director-Counsel.

Go deeper

Erica Pandey

America's funeral homes buckle under the coronavirus

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Morgues, funeral homes and cemeteries in hot spots across America cannot keep up with the staggering death toll of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: The U.S. has seen more than 10,000 deaths from the virus, and at least tens of thousands more lives are projected to be lost. The numbers are creating unprecedented bottlenecks in the funeral industry — and social distancing is changing the way the families say goodbye to their loved ones.

Go deeper1 hour ago - Health

Jonathan Swan, Margaret Talev

Navarro memos warning of mass coronavirus death circulated in January

Image from a memo to President Trump

In late January, President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues the novel coronavirus could take more than half a million American lives and cost close to $6 trillion, according to memos obtained by Axios.

The state of play: By late February, Navarro was even more alarmed, and he warned his colleagues, in another memo, that up to two million Americans could die of the virus.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health

Margaret Talev

Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: The virus hits home

Data: Ipsos/Axios poll; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The share of Americans who know someone who's tested positive has more than tripled in just a few weeks, to 14%, according to the latest installment of our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

It's still highest in the Northeast, but last week alone it doubled in the South — and it's becoming most pronounced among people who still must leave home to work.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Health