A morning roundup of the day’s news.
Mayors on health care: As the drama of repealing Obamacare plays out in Congress, the majority of U.S. mayors polled by Politico say they prefer a solution that’s not even on the table: a single-payer system. The mayors pointed to Medicaid cuts as among their chief healthcare concerns, particularly in the potential to worsen the opioid crisis:
Generally, the mayors surveyed were not placated by the Senate GOP’s attempt to compensate for Medicaid cuts by sending $45 billion to states especially plagued by the opioid epidemic. In fact, two-thirds of mayors also said the most helpful thing to tackle to opioid crisis would be more funding for treatment programs not less. A dozen mayors want more regulations to prevent over-prescription by doctors.
Weathering London's storm: In the midst of London’s most vulnerable era in recent history—grappling with Brexit, terror attacks, the Grenfell Tower disaster, and a contentious national election—Mayor Sadiq Khan remains the most popular politician in the U.K. In its latest issue, The New Yorker profiles Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, as he leads a city that is increasingly at odds with the rest of its country.
Buses vs. rider-sharing: Bus ridership is on the decline in Philadelphia, where a comprehensive review finds Uber and Lyft poaching customers as the city prepares for a two-year overhaul of its system. (Philadelphia Inquirer, Next City)
Sanctuary crime check: PolitiFact pokes holes in Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s recent claim that sanctuary cities see more violent crime, with researchers saying Sessions misinterpreted their findings.
Most segregated cities: A new ranking puts Detroit on the top of the list of America’s most segregated cities, followed by Chicago, Jackson, and Memphis. The 24/7 Wall Street report calculated the percentage of metropolitan-area black residents who live in predominantly black census tracts.
- See also: Slate examines the reality of “micro-segregation” in neighborhoods known as integrated, like the D.C. suburb of Mount Rainier, Maryland.
These old streets:
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