Jan 17, 2019

Thousands more migrant children may be separated than previously known

A Central American child is on the Mexican side while his parents hold on to the US side. Photo: Cristopher Rogel Blanquet/Getty Images

Thousands of migrant children may have been separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border before the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy was officially announced, according to a new report released Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general.

Why it matters: A court order last year forced HHS to reunite the thousands of children in their custody that were determined to have been separated from their parents under "zero-tolerance." However, the children identified in this new report would have been separated much earlier — and not identified under that court order — meaning that the total number of children still separated essentially remains unknown.

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Kim Hart

Public transit's death spiral

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Public transit systems across the country are experiencing a painful trifecta: Ridership has collapsed, funding streams are squeezed, and mass transit won't bounce back from the pandemic nearly as fast as other modes of transportation.

Why it matters: Transit agencies could see an annual shortfall of as much as $38 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to TransitCenter. At the same time, they're more important than ever, with more than 36% of essential workers relying on public transportation to get to work.

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Axios

World coronavirus updates: London mayor says U.K. nowhere near lockdown lifting

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offered hope in the fight against the novel coronavirus, saying she believes New Zealand has "turned a corner" after two weeks of strict lockdown measures. But London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said the U.K. is "nowhere near" lifting restrictions.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed over 82,000 people and infected 1.4 million others globally as of early Wednesday, per Johns Hopkins data. Global recoveries have surpassed 301,000. Spain has reported the most cases outside the U.S. (more than 141,000) and Italy the most deaths (over 17,000). Half the planet's population is on lockdown.

Go deeperUpdated 37 mins ago - Health

Stef W. Kight

Wisconsin may be the start of the 2020 election wars

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Wisconsin voters braving lines in face masks — after a last-minute Supreme Court ruling against extending the absentee deadline — could foreshadow a nationwide legal struggle over how to conduct elections during the coronavirus outbreak, election experts say.

Why it matters: "It's a harbinger of what's to come in the next skirmishes in the voting wars" from now through November, Richard Hasen, a professor and national election law expert at the University of California, Irvine, told Axios.

Go deeper42 mins ago - Politics & Policy