Among the items behind the paywall of this Fix the News:
— Moderna has started its first human trial of an experimental vaccine to protect against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that currently has no approved vaccine, according to Reuters.
— Long-time readers of this blog may recall my posts during a month my daughter and I spent volunteering in a village in northern Tanzania in 2009.
So I’m particularly happy to see this World Bank item, that 11,628 villages in Tanzania recently have gained access to clean water through a bank-financed program.
“For residents like Sauda Nkusa, the impact has been life changing. ‘Before the arrival of these water points, we had to walk over one kilometer to get water from ponds, and sometimes we would fetch water two or three times a day. With such long trips, it was difficult for many women like me to find time for other economic activities, but now, with water within reach, daily life has become easier and more productive. I can spend more time tending to my [tiny] farm to be able to earn a little extra income, which was challenging before,’” the bank says.
— Between 2003 and 2005, Glasgow, Scotland, had the highest murder rate of any city in Europe. The UN declared Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with Scots nearly three times more likely to be assaulted than Americans, says the BBC.
“Scotland had the image in the early 2000s of the hard, drunk man and a particular reputation for gang activity and knife crime that had been there for generations, all the way back to [the] 18th-century,” says Will Linden, deputy director at the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, a police unit set up in 2005 that was extended to a nationwide initiative by the Scottish government the following year.
When the Scottish authorities started looking at violent crime as a public health problem, crime levels plummeted and the country now ranks among the safest in the world, the BBC says.
The SVRU borrowed ideas for tackling violence as a public health issue from the United States. The interventions included peer support groups, educational programs and partnerships with social workers, doctors and teachers.
Note to readers
I wish you relaxing Labor Day weekend. I’ll be back on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Also in the news
Robotaxis are trying their luck on London’s medieval roads
Iran targets Kuwait in retaliation for U.S. bombardments earlier in the week
China presses U.S. for answers after Chinese man dies hours after entering ICE custody
Chevron confirms it will expand its operations in Venezuela
Hegseth extends Middle East deployments into 2027, escalating strain on troops
Bipartisan group of lawmakers asks Army to explain why it told a military unit to stop specializing in drone warfare
Trump imposes tariffs of up to 100 percent on foreign-made drones
Trump administration begins intensive, weeks-long hunt to find non-citizen voter fraud ahead of midterms
Immigrant rights group sues to block use of federal databases it says could purge legal voters
ProPublica: New mail voting rules moved forward despite Postal Service officials’ concerns about mass disenfranchisement
Trump administration threatens to cut off federal agencies’ support for Smithsonian
Trump signs stopgap funding bill into law, avoiding a shutdown until at least Dec. 11
Stopgap spending bill contains provision blocking new rules that would give political appointees full control over science funding
House Democrats block constitutional amendment to permanently cap Supreme Court at 9 justices, on 212-206 vote
Hakeem Jeffries slammed a ‘breach of trust,’ and House Democrats want to know what he’ll do about it
Judge blocks enforcement of Trump executive order on birthright citizenship that’s aimed at ‘birth tourism’
Trump administration relied on flawed logic to justify scrapping vehicle emission rules, economists’ study finds
Trump urges GOP lawmakers facing tough reelection campaigns to run on his record, says he’ll campaign for all of them
U.S. Mint says $1 coin with Trump’s face and gold finish is now on sale
Almost half of states have wait lists for government-funded childcare assistance
Heather Cox Richardson on efforts to rig the November election
Federal judge rules Google must make changes to address its ad tech monopoly but won’t need to break up that business
AP/Frontline investigation: Scams in U.S. are at a record high, and it lags behind some other countries in tackling the problem
Saturday Evening Post to end its print edition after 205 years; new articles and fiction will continue to be printed online
Getting to know your phone’s built-in emergency kit
Top U.S. doctors are offering updated flu and COVID vaccine recommendations, aiming to ease confusion
You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer
Senate Majority Leader John Thune