Aug 20, 2018

Michigan official faces manslaughter charges linked to Flint water crisis

Nick Lyon, director of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Judge David Goggins has ordered Michigan’s health director, Nick Lyon, to stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges for deaths linked to the Flint water crisis, reports The Detroit News.

The backdrop: The anticipated ruling on Monday comes after Goggins reportedly delayed the decision for more than three weeks. Lyon is facing two counts of manslaughter charges and one count of misconduct in office connected to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak, which reportedly sickened 79 people and killed 12. If convicted, Lyon could face up to 30 years in prison, and another five years on the misconduct charge, per The Detroit News.

Go deeper

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 deeper39 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.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

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 2 hours ago - Health