Mississippi’s capital loses water as a troubled system faces a fresh crisis
More than 150,000 people in Mississippi’s capital were without access to safe drinking water Tuesday, forcing officials to tackle the “massively complicated task” of distributing bottled water. The water system in Jackson has been in crisis for years, hobbled by aging and inadequate infrastructure. But the situation worsened dramatically this week as officials said that the city’s largest water treatment plant was failing, pushed to the brink by torrential rains. “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale,” Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi said Monday.
Biden calls out Republicans in Pennsylvania speech
President Joe Biden gave a forceful defense of the FBI during a speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and called out allies of former President Donald Trump for failing to condemn those who attacked law enforcement during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. “It’s sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI,” Biden said, referring to some congressional Republicans who have called to “defund” or even “destroy” the FBI over its search of Trump’s Florida home on Aug. 8. “I’m opposed to defunding the police,” the president added. “I’m also opposed to defunding the FBI.”
Paxlovid cuts COVID-19 deaths among older people, Israeli study finds
Paxlovid, a COVID-19 treatment made by Pfizer, reduced hospitalizations and deaths in older patients during the omicron surge in Israel earlier this year but made no difference for patients younger than 65 at high risk for severe disease, new research has found. There have been questions about how effective the medication is against the omicron variant, and among patients who are vaccinated or have some immunity from a prior bout of COVID-19. The new study did not address another pressing mystery: how often patients experience “rebound” cases of COVID-19 after taking the drug.
US will set aside monkeypox vaccines in new equity program
The Biden administration announced a new plan Tuesday to send extra doses of monkeypox vaccine to states for use at events or sites that can reach more people of color and others who have lacked access to shots. The program will offer 10,000 vials of vaccine, or as many as 50,000 doses. Officials said the doses were meant for people who might struggle to find appointments or worry about the stigma of attending public vaccination events. To qualify for the extra doses, states will need to have used half of the vaccine supply they have received to date, White House officials said.
Survey finds young people follow news, but without much joy
A survey of people ages 16 to 40 finds that millennials and Generation Z follow the news, but they aren’t that happy with what they’re seeing. The study conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute says 79% of people in that age group follow news daily, contrary to perceptions that many are tuned out. But only 32% say they enjoy following the news, down sharply from 53% in a similar study seven years ago. The study also shows many young people blame news organizations for spreading misinformation, and suggests they have had it with “food-fight journalism” that depicts debates between people with extreme views.
Experts arrive to inspect nuclear plant, but Ukraine warns of pitfalls
As a team of international nuclear experts arrived in Ukraine’s capital Tuesday hoping to ensure the safety of an imperiled nuclear plant, a senior Ukrainian official warned that many challenges remained to the team’s mission, not least finding safe passage to the Russian-occupied facility. Fourteen experts with the International Atomic Energy Agency landed in Ukraine this week, where they are confronted by one of the most complicated missions in the agency’s history. To reach the occupied facility, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the team must negotiate the craters and trenches of the front and enter an area where frequent shelling has raised fears of a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Solomon Islands suspends visits by foreign military ships
The Solomon Islands has suspended visits by U.S. and other foreign military vessels, U.S. officials said Tuesday, raising concerns in Washington that the Pacific nation is turning away from engagement with the United States in favor of working with China. The Solomon Islands gave notice of the decision after a U.S. Coast Guard ship and a British Royal Navy ship failed to get timely approvals last week to make routine stops in a port. The Solomon Islands government formally notified the United States on Monday that it had placed a moratorium on all foreign military ship visits pending a review of protocols and procedures.
Iraqi Shiite factions turn their guns on each other in a deadly new phase
After years of harsh repression under Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s majority Shiites came to power after the 2003 U.S. invasion, and have largely held on to it through sectarian civil war, terrorist uprisings and internal tensions. Now, long-building frictions among some Shiite factions have erupted into deadly fighting on the streets of Baghdad, leaving 24 dead. The turmoil has raised fears that the country is caught in a cycle with no functioning government and no common ground to make one. The violence began on Monday, after cleric Muqtada al-Sadr declared in a tweet that he was quitting Iraqi politics. His followers stormed the Green Zone and were fired on by security forces.
China sets key Communist Party congress for mid-October
A Communist Party congress that is poised to anoint Xi Jinping as China’s top leader for another five years will open in Beijing on Oct. 16, officials announced Tuesday. The starting date of the party’s 20th congress — a pivotal event in China’s political life cycle — was revealed after the Politburo, a council of 25 senior officials, settled on plans for the event. Such congresses are choreographed rituals held every five years, bringing together about 2,300 delegates who rarely dissent. This one will reveal China’s broad policy direction and its next leadership lineup at a time of slowing growth at home and deepening strains abroad, especially with the United States.
Europe plan for floating gas terminals raises climate fears
As winter nears, European nations, desperate to replace the natural gas they once bought from Russia, have embraced a short-term fix: A series of roughly 20 floating terminals that would receive liquefied natural gas from other countries and convert it into heating fuel. Yet the plan, with the first floating terminals set to deliver natural gas by year’s end, has raised alarms among scientists who fear the long-term consequences for the environment. They warn that these terminals would perpetuate Europe’s reliance on natural gas, which releases climate-warming methane and carbon dioxide when it’s produced, transported and burned.
