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Why Are Millions Paying Online Tax Preparation Fees When They Don't Need To?

Tik Root

June 18, 2018 |

ProPublica |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Thanks to an agreement between the U.S. government and a consortium of companies including Intuit and H&R Block, 70 percent of taxpayers are supposed to have access to free online tax preparation services. But Free File is confusing and poorly publicized. Only about 3 percent of eligible tax returns over the last 16 years used the system.

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Poachers become protectors: How tigers bounced back in an Indian park

Felix Franz

June 18, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Kumily, Kerala

With poaching on the rise in the South Indian Periyar Tiger Reserve, officials turned to the poachers themselves to see if they could turn their problem into a solution. In lieu of facing charges, the poachers became the protectors and the reserve saw a reduction in poaching all while offering an alternate form of income for the former full-time poachers.

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Shots Not Fired: A new Oregon law takes guns from people who may do harm

Gordon Friedman

June 17, 2018 |

Oregon Live |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Four months after a law in Oregon took effect that allows removal of guns from people who could present a danger to themselves or others, residents used the law to seek the temporary removal of guns from about 30 people and judges granted 24 of those petitions. The strategy appears to be a promising way to stop would-be shooters. Such laws have proven effective in other states in stopping suicides and in Oregon at least four people who had their guns taken had threatened public shootings.

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Cities are getting more crowded: better design could stop violence

Edward Siddons

June 15, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Researchers found that more greenery in urban spaces reduces crime and this idea of combatting crime with good design is part of a discipline called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED. It spread around the world, but there also downsides. A new generation of CPTED advocates are expanding the field to consider social factors underlying crime and engage with local communities when designing projects because just discouraging crime is not enough to make spaces inviting.

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Prevention Strategies By And For Local Communities

Megan Kamerick

June 15, 2018 |

KUNM |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The University of New Mexico’s Prevention Research Center is a leading example of community engagement. The Center has undertaken a variety of health-focused initiatives, each with a common core: prioritizing community-centered knowledged and solutions. Their programming is based on years of dissemination and implementation research – figuring out how to take research into communities and prioritizing evaluation.

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A Brazilian unimpressed by 'ecological toilets' invents an alternative to flushing

Gabriel Alves

June 14, 2018 |

Haaretz |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Brazil

Flushing a toilet is not only wasteful in terms of water usage, but it is also costly. "Few people know how many liters of water are used, or how much they pay for each liter of water used at home," explains Ezequiel Vedana, the inventor of Piipee - a devise that eliminates the need to flush altogether and has been called a global climate innovation. In fact, when one business tested this devise that emits a deodorizing and decolorizing solution, they saw their water bill cut in half within four months.

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A Worldwide Teaching Program to Stop Rape

Tina Rosenberg

June 12, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

A program that trains girls and young women how to defend themselves against rape has proven highly effective in Kenya and is spreading to other countries, including Canada and the U.S. No Means No Worldwide trains girls how to identify risk and escape, and also to stand up for themselves verbally and physically, countering the socialization they get to be accommodating and nice. It also trains boys to respect girls and to intervene when girls or women are in danger and participants were able to stop assaults most of the time.

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Giving Food Waste to the Hungry

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

June 11, 2018 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: France, Paris

Paris has become a leader in reducing food waste by passing legislation that requires large grocery stores to donate leftover food or compost it. Since 2016, this measure has saved over 10 million meals a year. In Philadelphia, where 326,000 people experience hunger and 300,000 pounds of food is thrown away monthly, the city is looking to France as an example for what it hopes to accomplish.

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Australia's visas for seasonal workers: aid or exploitation?

Fergus Peace

June 11, 2018 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Australia

The Seasonal Workers Program in Australia was implemented when there was a need to be met for more farming laborers. Although not without issue, the program is drawing many Pacific Islanders as a means for them to boost their incomes, while Australia ensures the labor they need to thrive.

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A Single Drone Helped Mexican Police Drop Crime 10 Percent

Jack Stewart

June 11, 2018 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Ensenada

Unmanned drones are increasingly providing valuable services in non-military situations such as rescue operations. In one city in Mexico, just one drone prompted 500 arrests and a drop in the crime rate of 10 percent, with a 30 percent drop in home burglaries. But drones also remain very controversial because of their start as weapons of war and unease over their surveillance capabilities, making careful regulations for their use essential.

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