Happy Friday, muggles. Are you registered to vote? If not, you’ll want to get on that. Some companies are taking the extra step to get the vote out, including Old Navy. The company is planning on paying its 50,000 U.S. employees to work at the polls on Election Day. We took our own informal poll and voted on these stories for you today.

Migrant children kept in hotels during the pandemic

Thu Sep 3

Immigrant and civil rights activists say the U.S. government has been using the pandemic as an excuse to skirt the law: Specifically, there are reports that hundreds of children have been held in hotels. 

Immigration advocates are saying that children…

• Are being held at “black sites”
• Have no access to the outside world
• Have no access to the immigration system
• Are being expelled without ever getting a chance to speak with a lawyer or a judge

And court documents show that…

• More than 570 unaccompanied minors and more than 80 children have been detained in hotels since March
• More than 25 hotels in Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana are being used to detain immigrant children 

There are some lawsuits involving these practices, so Immigration and Customs Enforcement hasn’t said much, but in court it's argued that it was for the safety of the children.

SOURCES: CNN, NPR, The New York Times

Small victory for Afghan mothers and women’s rights

Wed Sep 2

Historically, official documents in Afghanistan (such as birth certificates) have only included father’s names, but a campaign called #WhereIsMyName has finally changed that. The Afghan government will now include mothers’ names, a symbolic win for women’s rights in Afghanistan as the government negotiates with the Taliban. 

Some quick context on that...

In the 1990s, the Taliban took over the government and stripped women of their basic rights to things such as education and employment. 

Since the Taliban lost power two decades ago, women’s roles have slowly been expanding. Now, girls attend school and women hold important jobs. Despite this progression, misogyny still has deep roots in the society and culture in Afghanistan — women's names often aren’t even included on their own wedding invitations or even graves.

SOURCES: The New York Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera

China announces global data security initiative

Mon Sep 7

In response to the U.S., China says it wants to set global standards on data security.

What has the U.S. been doing?

• Trying to persuade other countries to block their networks from Chinese technology
• Launching the Clean Network program to safeguard assets and information from intrusions, such as the Chinese government
• Forcing the sale of TikTok

What did China say?

That other countries were “bullying” them and “hunting” their companies. China's Global Initiative on Data Security calls for tech firms to prevent “backdoors” on products, and to respect the sovereignty and jurisdiction of other countries. 

SOURCES: The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, TechCrunch, U.S. Dept. of State