The Daily Rundown — The Latest News Affecting Women & Girls in Our Region

In today’s rundown: A one-day, no-cost medical clinic for D.C. residents.  |  A breakthrough vaginal gel could help decrease a woman’s risk of becoming infected with HIV.  |  The Senate will take another go at extended unemployment benefits.  |  A look at the rising number of girls in the juvenile justice system.

— A one-day free medical clinic will open up in D.C. next month for Washingtonians who can’t afford the health care they need.  The no-cost clinic will be open on August 4th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.  Click here for more details.

— A vaginal gel can significantly cut a woman’s risk of becoming infected with the AIDS virus, according to research that will be presented today at the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna.  The gel, which was tested in South Africa, contains the antiretroviral drug tenofovir.  In the study, it reduced the risk of HIV infection by 39 percent in a group of women who used it for three-quarters of their sexual encounters.  According to The Washington Post, women who used it more consistently experienced 54 percent fewer infections.

— Senate Democrats are taking another shot today at a bill that would extend the deadline to file for unemployment benefits through the end of November.  Senate Republicans have blocked a vote several times over budget deficit concerns.  Click here for more.

— About.com’s Women Issues blog takes a look at “a vulnerable population” — girls who are in the juvenile justice system.  With an increasing number of girls entering the juvenile justice system, the blog explores what they’re being arrested for and why incarceration may not be the most effective way to help them.

Photo credit: CogDogBlog via Creative Commons