World News: So you want to join a vaccine trial?

USA TODAY: So you want to join a vaccine trial?

Wednesday, September 2

Jarelle Marshall was the first person at UC Health to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as part of a clinical trial. Here, pharmacist Mary Burns administers the shot.

The quest to find a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Alexei Navalny was poisoned. Carole Baskin's heading to 'Dancing with the Stars.' It's Wednesday's news.

It's proving a challenge to find COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteers. Germany says Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic was poisoned. And Harry and Meghan are going from British royalty to Hollywood royalty.

It's Ashley with the news everyone's talking about.

But first, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Los Angeles: The FBI is investigating a "guy in a jet pack" spotted soaring 3,000 feet above LAX.

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Race to the vaccine

Ordinary people are needed to test a COVID-19 vaccine, but scientists are having a hard time finding enough volunteers. So, asking for a friend, why would one sign up? Seven people told us why they volunteered. The common answer: They just want the pandemic to end. Vaccination is the only way to stop this pandemic, involving a virus that is extremely contagious and infectious before symptoms show up, if they ever do. To meet standards of safety and effectiveness, each potential COVID-19 vaccine has to be tested in thousands of people, most of whom will get two shots. Interested in signing up for a vaccine trial? Here's what you need to know and how to do it.

When are we getting the vaccine, anyway? A COVID-19 vaccine could be available earlier than expected if clinical trials produce exceedingly positive results, says Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease official.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says a coronavirus vaccine could come earlier than expected.

Slight flex: USA TODAY's Susan Page to moderate the VP debate

Ready for some presidential debates? USA TODAY sure is. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Wednesday that our brilliant Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page will moderate the veep face-off between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris on Oct. 7. "The debates are a crucial part of making our democracy work, and I am honored to participate," Page said. All four debates, three presidential and one vice presidential, will be moderated by a single individual. Other moderators include Fox's Chris Wallace, C-SPAN's Steve Scully and NBC's Kristen Welker.

The debates will be a crucial opportunity for candidates to sway voters. How are they doing? A poll released Wednesday found Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in the race for the White House by 50%-43%. The race is getting tighter: Biden was found ahead by 12 percentage points by the same pollster in June.

"I am honored to participate" in the vice presidential debate, says USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page.

USA TODAY

What everyone's talking about

•	"Dancing With the Stars" scored Carole Baskin, Nelly and Chrishell Stause.
•	As terrible as the pandemic has been, this year might even be the best ever for man's best friend. 🐶
•	David Blaine landed a high-flying, live balloon ride above the Arizona desert.
•	Destroyed Kenosha store's owners refused to be part of Trump's "circus."
•	What is Lewy body dementia, the disease Robin Williams' widow called "the terrorist" inside his brain?

Was Putin's fiercest critic poisoned?

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, the German government says. Germany tested the fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and found "unequivocal proof" of the presence of the poison, the same chemical nerve agent used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain. Navalny is in an induced coma at Berlin's Charite hospital after he became ill on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia on Aug. 20. His allies insisted he was deliberately poisoned, probably through his tea, by Russian authorities. The Kremlin rejected the allegations as "empty noise."

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after an illness his supporters suspect was poisoning.

Dmitri Lovetsky, AP

Time to update your LinkedIn, Harry and Meghan

Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry have landed their first post-royal job – and it's Hollywood. The royal couple signed a multiyear Netflix deal to produce films and series that highlight diverse voices in front of and behind the camera. The couple, who relocated to California in March after leaving their senior royal roles in the United Kingdom, announced the move Wednesday. The announcement said there are already several Sussex projects in development, including a nature docu-series and an animated series that celebrates inspiring women.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan left the royal life for a development deal with Netflix.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Real quick

•	The federal debt will grow to approximately the size of the entire economy this year.
•	After surviving Hurricane Laura, four Louisiana family members died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
•	Chiefs' Quarterback Patrick Mahomes got engaged to his girlfriend, Brittany Matthews.
•	Dictionary.com steps up: The site will capitalize "Black" and added 650 words on race, gender and mental health.

Will wolves lose their endangered species status?

Federal wildlife officials aim to remove endangered species protections for gray wolves across the USA this year. An official at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said this week that it wants to return management authority of the wolves to the states. The wolf has "biologically recovered," according to Fish and Wildlife, and its removal from the list would demonstrate the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act. Wildlife protection groups were not pleased with the announcement. "History tells us that under the states' authority to manage wolf populations, wolves die at the hands of trophy hunters," the Wolf Conservation Center said. Shot and trapped to near extinction in the past century, wolves rebounded in recent decades in portions of the West. The total population exceeds 6,000.

The gray wolf has rebounded to a population of more than 6,000.

Associated Press

A break from the news

•	✏️ Back to school: 15 tips to keep you organized all school year long.
•	🎁 Happy birthday, Keanu Reeves! See the star's life in pictures.
•	🏕 Looking for a driving vacation? These remote campgrounds are close to big cities.

This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Sign up for The Short List newsletter here.