The estate of Henrietta Lacks announced a lawsuit against biotech company Thermo Fisher Scientific on Monday, alleging it exploits and profits off of stolen cellular tissue.
Why it matters: In the 1950s, Lacks was seeking treatment for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital when white doctors harvestedher tissue in a procedure that rendered her infertile. Doctors later used the tissue to successfully clone human cells for the first time, enabling innovations in modern medicine that now include gene mapping and COVID vaccines. That progress was marred by the revelation years later that the doctors had removed Lacks' tissue without her knowledge or consent.
A senior State Department adviser transitioning to a new role condemned the Biden administration's use of a Trump-era policy to rapidly expel migrants at the southern border in an internal memo, Politico first reported and Axios confirmed.
State of play: In the memo dated Oct. 2, Harold Koh calls expulsions under Title 42, a public health order that was implemented as a COVID-19 containment measure, "illegal" and "inhumane," adding that the policy is "not worthy of this administration."
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort to give Washington, D.C., residents a voting member in Congress, the Washington Post reports.
The big picture: The court issued its decision without a hearing, citing a similar case from 2000 that concluded that D.C. is not constitutionally entitled to voting representation because it is not a state.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has declined to grant clemency to a death row inmate set to face execution on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Pope Francis had joined lawmakers and activists in calling on the Republican governor to reject the death penalty for Ernest Johnson, who is convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery at a convenience store. His lawyer argues that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bans executions of intellectually disabled people, per AP.
The Biden administration on Monday revoked a Trump-era rule that bars clinics that receive federal family planning funding from referring patients for abortions.
Why it matters: The new rule, which will go into effect on Nov. 8, comes as the fight for abortion access ramps up in states and nationally.
Hollywood production workers voted to authorize a nationwide strike in a bid for better working conditions and pay, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) announced Monday.
Why it matters: The vote comes after union talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) arrived at a standstill, with the IATSE rejecting the initial offer.
Facebook asked a federal court Monday to dismiss the latest antitrust complaint against it from the Federal Trade Commission, arguing FTC chair Lina Khan shouldn't have been able to cast the deciding vote to bring the case.
The big picture: A previous version of this suit was thrown out by a federal judge in June, and the FTC returned with a revised version in August that Facebook is now responding to.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) in a statement Monday called the actions of activists who confronted her at Arizona State University this weekend, including while she used the restroom "wholly inappropriate."
Driving the news: Activists from Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) confronted Sinema on Sunday outside a classroom at ASU, urging her to pass President Biden's soft infrastructure reconciliation bill, the Washington Post reported.
The top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee's agriculture panel raised money for a legal defense fund with claims he’s facing federal prosecution that a spokesperson later disavowed.
Driving the news: On a fundraising page for a new legal expense fund — which was later taken off-line — Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) wrote: "[President] Biden’s FBI is using its unlimited power to prosecute me on a bogus charge."
New York City's vaccine mandate for school staff members went into effect on Monday, covering nearly 148,000 employees, AP reports.
Why it matters: The vaccine mandate makes New York City — the nation's largest school system — one of the first school districts in the country to require staffers to receive the COVID-19 shot, per AP.
Democrats and advocates pushing for big climate investments in reconciliation legislation will likely need to scale down their ambitions even as they emphasize the global stakes of the fluid Capitol Hill talks.
The big picture: Democrats and the White House face the tricky task of crafting a social spending and clean energy plan that will be significantly smaller than progressives have envisioned.
The Williamson County district attorney has taken over an inquiry into whether Nashville school board member John Little lives in the district he was elected to represent.
Why it matters: Little purchased a house outside his eastern Davidson County district earlier this year, leading to criticism from some constituents and political opponents that he should be removed from office.
As e-bikes explode in popularity nationwide, Nashville is struggling with how to regulate them and whether to allow them on the city's beloved greenway system.
Why it matters: The issue has created a low-key bureaucratic battle, roping in influential advocacy groups Walk Bike Nashville and Greenways for Nashville.
Making his third bid for statewide office, Mike Collier tells Axios he's running for lieutenant governor, jumping into the Democratic primary for a seat that's been held by Republicans for more than two decades.
State of play: It comes as no shock that Collier's throwing his hat in the ring. In 2018, the Houston-area accountant lost by fewer than 5 percentage points to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is now seeking his third term. Since then, he's been a vocal critic of Patrick and launched an exploratory committee in April that he called more of a “confirmatory" committee.
Muralist Kah Yangni and residents of Morris Home —the only residential recovery program in the country specifically catering to transgender communities — created the city's first mural showcasing trans and gender-nonconforming people.
"I think people ignore trans people a lot, and we're shoved to the side," Yangni tells Axios. "I hope when the rest of my community sees this, they feel important, seen and welcome."
Japan's Parliament elected Fumio Kishida as the country's new prime minister on Monday.
Why it matters: The former foreign minister faces immediate challenges, including reviving the world's third-largest economy and working with the U.S. and other key allies to address security threats, per the Wall Street Journal.
The Rev. William Barber, of the Poor People's Campaign, is traveling to the Vatican to address anti-poverty advocates from around the world about the struggles of low-income people in the U.S.
Driving the news: Barber, a leading figure on the Christian left in the U.S., told Axios that political leaders continue to brush off incoming inequality despite the systemic disparities COVID-19 exposed.
Over a dozen U.S. states have become "leaders" in "peddling financial secrecy," according to a global investigation of leaked documents, known as the "Pandora Papers," published this weekend.
Why it matters: "South Dakota, Nevada and other states have adopted financial secrecy laws that rival those of offshore jurisdictions," per the papers, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, D.C., and shared with major news outlets.
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates will lead an investigation into "allegations of abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women's professional soccer," effective "immediately," the sport's U.S. governing body announced Sunday.
Of note: The National Women’s Soccer League said Sunday it hired an outside law firm to investigate the widespread reports of NWSL players being subjected to harassment and abuse, often by male coaches.
Former President Trump said he'd "beat" Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a Republican presidential primary in 2024 were he to enter the race, per an interview with Yahoo Business, published Sunday.
Why it matters: Both Trump and DeSantis have been floated as likely 2024 contenders.
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