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UNDATED (AP) — Philanthropist Bill Gates says he wants to end malaria in his lifetime and will raise his donations toward that goal by 30 percent, to more than $200 million per year.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes and is a leading killer of children, especially in Africa.

Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, spoke with The Associated Press ahead of a speech Sunday in New Orleans at a medical meeting on tropical diseases.

They are getting more attention this year because of the Ebola epidemic that has killed about 5,000 people in West Africa. Gates also has committed $50 million to fighting that disease.

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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.
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