Theresa May’s Brexit speech may break the Northern Ireland peace process

in Northern Ireland To understand what is going on, it’s first necessary to understand the role that the European Union played in the Irish peace process. The shared E.U. “customs union” and a “single market” avoided the need for border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This not only made it possible for the two economies to become highly integrated. It also had symbolic importance, in allowing people and goods to move back and forth between the two jurisdictions, without any necessary implication that Northern Ireland would become politically united with the Republic. Britain’s decision to leave the European Union has politicized border controls, raising the question of how to reconcile the fact that the Republic of Ireland is still in the European Union, and operates under E.U. customs and market rules, and Northern Ireland soon will not. Unionists — who want to stay part of Britain — do not want any arrangement in which Northern Ireland would have separate rules from Britain. They fear that this might lead Northern Ireland to drift politically closer to the Republic. Republicans and nationalists — and the government of the Republic of Ireland — do not want any arrangement in which Northern Ireland would have a “hard border” with the Republic. The problem is that it is difficult to avoid a hard border, without some kind of special rules and status for Northern Ireland. This is why the Northern Ireland border question was supposed to be settled before Brexit negotiations proper began. It turned out to be impossible to reach a deal on what to do with Northern Ireland’s status, but E.U. negotiators and the Republic of Ireland accepted a compromise under which Britain agreed on a “backstop” arrangement. The European Union and Ireland interpreted this deal as saying that if no better mutually acceptable arrangement could be found, Northern Ireland would stay in the European Union’s Single Market and Customs Union, allowing the real negotiations to begin. Britain is backpedaling on the backstop Britain always wanted to interpret the backstop commitment more flexibly than the European Union. It tried to persuade the European Union to accept a deal under which Britain would stay inside E.U. customs and market arrangements for some period while it sorted out its own long-term status, but would not be bound by the broader commitments of E.U. membership. The European Union made it clear that


Putin appears to be targeting U.S. officials who worked on Russia sanctions

act has brought sanctions against many officials who are part of Putin’s clique, and the Russian government stopped U.S. adoptions of Russian children after it was signed into law. “Mr. Putin has a fixation on the Magnitsky Act,” said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), the act’s lead author. “It clearly is something he’s very much annoyed about. That shows it’s working. The fact he wants to interview Americans is outrageous.” For years, the Russian government has criticized and harassed Bill Browder, a wealthy U.S.-born financier who lives overseas. In 2009, his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died in a Russian prison after alleging a massive fraud involving senior Russian officials. Browder made it his life’s work to lobby Congress for the sanctions act named after the lawyer. The Russian government has branded Browder a criminal and repeatedly placed his name on an Interpol wanted list, putting countries on notice to arrest him when he passes their border control. McFaul and others on the list have raised concerns that Russia will report their names to Interpol, as well. “I’m not concerned about traveling to Western-allied countries, but I am concerned about getting snagged on a Russian notice or warrant in a Central Asian country, parts of the Caucasus or Turkey,” said one person on the list, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak about the issue publicly. But they remain defiant. “I am very proud to have played a supporting role with Bill Browder in advocating for the Magnitsky legislation — and would do it again, particularly given the appalling human rights situation in Putin’s Russia,” said David J. Kramer, who as president of Freedom House advocated for the law’s passage. A former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Kramer is among the Americans the Russians want to question. Speaking over Skype to the Atlantic Council, Browder said he was “aghast” by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s remark that the president was considering the Russian request. “Most of the people on the list of Americans are people . . . trying to protect the United States against Russian malfeasance,” he said, adding, “effectively Trump is considering handing them over to an enemy state.” The Russians also want to question Jonathan M. Winer, a former adviser to secretary of state John F. Kerry who was active in developing the Magnitsky


Ethiopian-Eritrean peace must be allowed to blossom

Ethiopians, at home and abroad, will agree that the change taking place in our homeland is nothing short of miraculous [“Flights between Ethiopia and Eritrea resume after 20 years,” World Digest, July 19]. The magnitude, substance and swiftness of the change are stunning. Instead of tension and misery, we are witnessing extraordinary enthusiasm and unity in a country that was on the brink of collapse less than four months ago. Ethiopia is in a euphoric state. Ethiopians and Eritreans, including their leaders, are savoring this moment of revival and rekindled love. It is a honeymoon that I wish to last forever. The political change in Ethiopia is happening under the same notoriously repressive regime. It is a perplexing situation that has left many in disbelief. The reformers within the ruling party, it appears, may have succeeded in staging a takeover set to dismantle the authoritarian government. They have created a movement that has gained the overwhelming support of Ethiopians everywhere. The new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, is leading the movement capably . His conciliatory, forward-looking and charismatic leadership has brought him popularity and followership that no other political figure in Ethiopia has enjoyed since Emperor Haile Selassie. For more than 40 years, the people of Ethiopia have suffered under brutal dictatorships. It is time to end the suffering. The great awakening that Ethiopia is enjoying is at its early stage and must be protected and empowered. It needs the full support of everyone who wishes to see a peaceful, united, democratic and prosperous Ethiopia. Tewodros Abebe


Local Digest: D.C. man found fatally shot in Anacostia area

THE DISTRICT Man found fatally shot in Anacostia area A District man was found fatally shot in the Anacostia area Saturday morning, and police on Sunday were asking the public for help finding the man’s car. The victim was identified as Michael Miller, 37, of Southeast Washington. He was discovered lying in an alley in the 1600 block of Minnesota Avenue SE about 9:15 a.m. Police are looking for Miller’s dark gray 2007 Lexus IS 250, a four-door sedan with the D.C. license plate FN 2337. Anyone with information about the car or Miller’s death is asked to call D.C. police at 202-727-9099, or text the department’s tip line by sending a message to 50411. — Tom Jackman Arrest made in homicide near pool Bernard McKinney, a 17-year-old District resident, has been arrested and charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the June 11 slaying of a Northern Virginia man whose family said he was installing a security system at a pool in Northeast Washington. Daymond Chicas, 24, of Manassas, was shot in the 300 block of 50th Street near Kelly Miller Pool. His family told Fox 5 News he was a contractor installing a surveillance system, and that children ran off with his cellphone. Chicas chased them, and was shot as he returned to the pool, his family said. — Tom Jackman Stabbing victim in Southeast is identified Police are searching for the killer of a District woman who was found stabbed to death inside a residence in Southeast Washington Thursday afternoon. Lusharone Nicholson, 44, of Southeast, was identified as the victim by D.C. police. The department said she was found about 1:19 p.m. in a residence in the 1500 block of 19th Street. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call D.C. police at 202-727-9099, or text the department’s tip line by sending a message to 50411. — Tom Jackman MARYLAND Germantown sinkhole disrupts traffic A large sinkhole opened up on a Montgomery County thoroughfare this weekend, fire officials said Sunday, causing traffic disruptions. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue said in a tweet that authorities had stopped traffic in both directions of Father Hurley Boulevard between Middlebrook Road and Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown. County officials advised drivers to find alternative routes and expect slowdowns. — Faiz Siddiqui


Woman found stabbed to death in Anacostia residence

A District woman was found stabbed to death inside a residence in Southeast Washington Thursday afternoon, and police were searching for her killer Sunday. Lusharone Nicholson, 44, of Southeast, was identified as the victim by D.C. Metropolitan Police. They said she was found about 1:19 p.m. in a residence in the 1500 block of 19th Street, in the Anacostia area, with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead there. Police said they had no suspects in custody, and no motive was disclosed. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call D.C. police at 202-727-9099, or text the department’s tip line by sending a message to 50411. A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. tom.jackman@washpost.com


Lincoln P. Brower, scientist and protector of the monarch butterfly, dies at 86

counts, the population has fallen by as much as 90 percent since the 1980s. Dr. Brower joined efforts by environmental groups to have the monarch recognized as a “threatened” species. “Why should we care?” Dr. Brower told The Washington Post in 2005. “For the same reasons we should care about the Mona Lisa or the beauty of Mozart’s music.” Lincoln Pierson Brower was born Sept. 10, 1931, in Madison, N.J. His parents had a nursery and rose-growing business. He was 5 when he took notice of an American copper butterfly landing on a clover bloom. “I just stared at that tiny butterfly, and it was so beautiful to me,” he told NPR. “And that was the beginning.” He graduated from Princeton University in 1952 and then received a doctorate in zoology from Yale University in 1957. Some of his early scientific papers were written with his first wife, the former Jane Van Zandt. That marriage ended in divorce, as did a second, to Christine Moffitt. Survivors include his wife of 27 years, Linda S. Fink, a professor of ecology at Sweet Briar College and a frequent scientific collaborator; two children from his first marriage, Andrew Brower of Christiana, Tenn., and Tamsin Barrett of Salem, N.H.; a brother; and two grandchildren. Dr. Brower edited two books and was the author or co-author of more than 200 scientific studies. In 2016, he received the E.O. Wilson Award for his work to preserve the monarch from the Center for Biological Diversity. He also received an award from the Mexican government. In 1998, Dr. Brower recalled his first visit to the monarchs’ wintering place in the mountains of Michoacán, Mexico. “All of a sudden the color of the trees changed,” he told the Tribune. “I didn’t realize what I was looking at. It was like a wall, turning from green to gray. It was monarch wings, folded as they roosted — the underside of their wings are grayish. “So, here was this wall of butterflies, and I just couldn’t believe it. For the first time in my life, I saw millions of monarch butterflies right in front of me. They were covering the trees, they were all over the boughs. They were on the trunks. They were on the limbs. They were on the bushes. They were everywhere. It is one of the most marvelous sights you can behold in the biological world.” matt.schudel@washpost.com


China’s push to export traditional medicine may doom the magical pangolin

Pangolins are also served at the dinner table, despite a ban on pangolin meat in China imposed during the 2002-2004 SARS epidemic amid fears that exotic meats could spread disease. In late 2016, all eight species of pangolin were listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making all international trade in them illegal. But that does not obligate China or Vietnam to curb domestic trade — except to the extent that such trade now relies mostly on sources abroad. Customs officials make regular seizures at China’s ports, but the very size of those captures makes depressing reading: In the southern city of Shenzhen, 13 tons of scales were seized in November alone, representing tens of thousands of slaughtered pangolins. Nocturnal and solitary, the pangolin has an effective defense against most predators — even lions can’t work out what to do when the animal rolls up into an armored ball. Its English name comes from the Malay word “pengguling,” which means rolling ball; its Chinese name, chuanshanjia, refers to its supposed ability to “bore through mountains,” a reference to the powerful claws that dig into anthills and termite mounds before that sticky tongue gets to work. Pangolin mothers carry their young on their backs for the first three months and curl up around the babies if attacked until the young ones’ scales are sufficiently hard. But the sensitive pangolin adapts poorly to captivity, almost always dying in a few months or years because of stress, disease or digestive problems without reproducing. Secretive pangolin “farms” in China are basically fronts for trafficking operations, experts say. Conservation groups are trying to reduce demand by educating people about the dangers facing the pangolin and better ways to treat human disease than by consuming animal keratin. The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, a nonprofit group, has publicly exposed people selling or consuming pangolin meat, including a Chinese businessman who boasted online of enjoying “pangolin blood fried rice” on a trip to Vietnam. After a backlash on social media, he was sacked. WildAid, whose use of Chinese celebrities to curb demand for ivory and shark fin soup has achieved considerable success, is trying the same approach for pangolins, enlisting the actors Jackie Chan and Angelababy in China and former Miss Universe Pham Huong in Vietnam to front publicity campaigns. It is also trying to persuade traditional-medicine practitioners


3 ways to create a honeybee haven at home

useful to bees than the goldenrod, and many compact varieties have been bred to bring a garden quality to the plants. Asters Calico aster is tall, too, but with the tiniest daisies on arching stems. The species is called Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, but look for a couple of garden varieties, Lady in Black and Coombe Fishacre. Tender and half-hardy salvias bloom from June to October and attract all kinds of pollinators. Every garden should have the Mexican bush sage, which doesn’t hit its stride until late September. Water It may be surprising to know that honeybees need to drink. Beekeepers pay careful attention to sources of water, in part to direct bees away from properties where neighbors don’t want them. Providing a reliable source of water for bees will help them, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind. Position a water source in a way that avoids conflicts between people and the bees’ flight path; a favored watering hole may attract many bees. Once you provide water, maintain the supply. Change the water regularly to keep it fresh and to avoid problems with mosquitoes. Bees are not good swimmers and will drown in water that’s too deep. A shallow-sided birdbath will work. If you have a pond, lily pads or some other surface vegetation will provide a perfect landing spot. Pesticides The greatest assistance you can give to bees is to avoid using pesticides. Pyrethroids, commonly used against insect pests, including mosquitoes, are highly toxic to bees as well as aquatic life. Neonicotinoids, or neonics, are a class of systemic pesticides that are also toxic to bees, killing them outright or affecting their ability to function. (In April, the European Union banned the outdoor use of three neonics.) Some nursery-grown plants are treated with neonics, even at the seed stage, to ward off sucking insects such as aphids. But the toxins remain and are taken up by the flowers. You can protect bees by buying plants from retailers that have pledged to sell neonic-free plants. The last thing you can do is for yourself. Set aside a few minutes in the garden this summer and fall to watch a honeybee at work. If you are still and quiet, the bee will ignore you. The sound and the movement of the bee are free theater. Like any great performance, we are enriched by it. adrian.higgins@washpost.com @adrian_higgins on Twitter


‘Everything was perfect and then this happened’: Ryan Lochte’s blunder results in suspension

Swimmer Ryan Lochte has been suspended 14 months by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for receiving an intravenous infusion, a method that breaks anti-doping rules and one which he himself revealed on social media. The 12-time Olympic medalist, according to the agency, was not using a banned substance, but rules stipulate that athletes cannot receive an IV unless it is related to hospitalization or an exemption has been granted. The violation was revealed by Lochte himself on social media when he posted a photo of himself getting the IV on May 24. The suspension comes just two days before the national championships in which he was entered in four events. “It’s devastating to my family about this because I definitely made myself a better person after Rio, and I was back in training,” Lochte, who was banned for 10 months for a false claim about a gas-station robbery during the 2016 Games, said in a news conference Monday in Fort Lauderdale (via NBC). “I was feeling good. I was swimming fast. My son being born. Everything was happening. Everything was perfect, and then this happened. And it’s devastating. “As soon as you get to a certain point or level, in any kind of sport career, you’re always going to have an eye on you. I think I’ve learned it the hard way. Definitely. Especially since Rio. And now this.” Lochte took a B vitamin complex he said was available anywhere. “It’s a hard sanction because I didn’t take anything illegal, but a rule is a rule,” he said. “I wasn’t too clear on the rules, but now I am. And I know there’s other athletes that don’t know this rule. I want to help them and make sure that other athletes don’t make the same mistake I did.” Lochte said he still intends to continue training to win in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but he plans to change his social media habits. “I’m just going to post on my son and my wife, leave everything else out,” he said. “Once you put anything on social media, it’s out there for the world.” The suspension is the second for Lochte since the 2016 Rio Olympics and is retroactive to May 24, the date he received the prohibited intravenous infusion. His first suspension stemmed from his false claim that he and three U.S. swimmers were robbed at gunpoint during the Games, an embarrassing


70 cats and a rabbit rescued in ‘animal welfare’ case in Maryland

Seventy cats — and one rabbit — are under the care of animal services after being taken from a townhouse in North Potomac, Md., officials said. Officers were called July 14 to investigate an “animal welfare complaint” at a home in the 12000 block of Sweetbough Court, according to officials in Montgomery County. They found 53 cats and a rabbit. Later, another 17 cats were removed. The animals are being cared for at a local animal services and adoption center in Derwood, Md., officials said. The Montgomery County Police Animal Services Division is investigating. dana.hedgpeth@washpost.com


The Health 202: HHS Secretary Alex Azar stars in liberal group’s attack ads on migrant crisis

location and spread through the entire food chain,” he told Lindsey. Marler also acknowledged the string of food-born outbreaks and said it can be “likely a combination of better detection and an increase in cases themselves,” Lindsey writes. — The FDA on Friday approved the drug ivosidenib, the first in a new series of treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, Stat’s Kate Sheridan and Boston Globe’s Jonathan Saltzman report. Agios Pharmaceuticals developed the once-daily pill that could replace chemotherapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Doctors in the United States can begin prescribing the drug today. “About 700 to 1,100 people in the U.S. would be eligible for the drug under the label, approved for patients whose tumors have a mutation in a gene called IDH1,” Kate and Jonathan report. The potential serious side effects associated with the drug include irregular heart rhythm, fatigue, joint pain and fever. Kate and Jonathan report 20 percent of people who took the drug in a clinical trial also developed a condition known as differentiation syndrome, which causes organs to swell. All of the people who developed the condition, which can be treated with steroids, survived. — A law in Indiana that Vice President Pence signed as governor could end up being the case that lets a new Supreme Court including Trump nominee Brett Kavanaugh overhaul abortion rights, Politico’s Jennifer Haberkorn reports. “The Indiana law — which prohibited abortion because of the gender, race or disability of the fetus, such as Down syndrome — was blocked by lower courts and is one of three significant anti-abortion state statutes that are sitting one level below the Supreme Court,” Jennifer writes. “If Indiana appeals this fall, and the justices accept the case, it could be the opening for a broader ruling on Roe v. Wade that could redefine abortion rights nationwide.” Such a circumstance would cement Pence’s antiabortion legacy. — A new Morning Consult poll found more than half of adults in the United States believe states should be the ones to regulate marijuana, compared with 26 percent who say it’s the federal government’s responsibility. “Majorities of nearly every subgroup polled favored state control except for African-Americans, although they were more likely to support local control (45 percent) over federal control (29 percent),” Morning Consult’s Joanna Piacenza reports. And more Americans support decriminalizing pot, the survey found. — More than 100 alumni from Ohio State University have


As Trump’s latest lies implode, one party tries to smuggle out the truth

are not abusing their awesome powers, but also to inform the public when our intel agencies are acting lawfully and legitimately, to bolster public confidence in them when they are being undermined for nefarious purposes. That’s what Trump is doing now. (His latest tweets absurdly seized on the new documents to bolster his “hoax” narrative.) And Nunes is helping him by completely corrupting his oversight mission to that end — with the full acquiescence of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Meanwhile, Democrats are the ones informing Americans about what’s really happening here. Many journalists have pointed out that the new documents reveal that Trump and Nunes have been deceiving the public. But the other side of this coin is that generally speaking Democrats have been trying to counter those efforts by informing the public with real, solid information in good faith wherever possible. The conventions of neutral reporting and analysis of course allow scrutiny of one side’s political misbehavior, but also tend to discourage journalists from forthrightly saying so when the other side is doing the right thing and acting legitimately in the public interest. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening here, and we all need to be as clear in saying so as Savage has been today. * TRUMP IS ‘LASHING OUT’ AT IRAN — AND EVERYONE ELSE: Indeed. You can smell the fear in Trump’s lies. * GOP SENATOR: FBI DIDN’T SPY ON TRUMP CAMP: As Trump continues to portray himself as the real victim of Russian sabotage, let’s not forget that he encouraged it and cited its fruits of on the campaign trail. * GOP CANDIDATES’ RESPONSE TO TRUMP IS SILENCE: Of course, that Republican “silence” sends the message that Republicans will not act as a check on him, which gives Democrats an opening to say they will. * TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WILL HURT GOP IN MIDTERMS: Trump’s trade war is a bad issue even in the industrial Midwest, i.e., Trump Country? We keep hearing that large silent majorities are rooting for Trumpism to succeed. * DEMS COULD WIN MANY GOVERNORSHIPS: Republicans will remain in control of many state legislatures, but in many states, governors can veto district lines, giving them some influence over maps. That will prove important. * ADMINISTRATION KEEPS DOWNPLAYING RUSSIA THREAT: How can the Trump administration be fully prepared for the next round of Russian sabotage if its senior officials refuse to accurately


A giant panda birthday party at the National Zoo: Mei Xiang enjoys apple-juice cake

The National Zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang, turned 20 over the weekend. To celebrate, the giant panda enjoyed a cake of diluted apple juice with “leaf-eater biscuits, apples, pears, carrots, sweet potato sugar cane and honey.” (Yum.) Mei Xiang’s name means “beautiful fragrance.” Earlier this month, zoo officials announced that she is not pregnant. At one point they thought she was, but pandas can have what’s known as false pregnancies. It’s the second year in a row that she’s had a false pregnancy. At 20, she’s nearing the end of her reproductive life cycle, zoo officials have said in the past, but there’s a chance she still could get pregnant. She is the mother of three surviving cubs, Tai Shan and Bao Bao — both of whom now live in China, and Bei Bei, who will leave the zoo and move to China by the time he turns 4. He will be 3 years old in August.


Has the U.S. reached a ‘tipping point’ in marijuana legalization?

and opioid addiction. This type of coverage serves to lift the stigma on marijuana use by presenting conditions and patients that are more relatable and sympathetic than treatment for other conditions, or than recreational use. One of us, Lee Hannah, recently conducted a content analysis of news articles about medical marijuana stories by The Washington Post from 1995 (a year prior to California adopting the first program) to 2017 to determine whether this narrative shift was being seen in news coverage. Hannah searched the newspaper archives and counted how many articles about medical marijuana were paired with specific medical conditions. In the period from 1995 to 1999, The Washington Post ran 56 articles about medical marijuana that associated it with cancer, 73 articles that mentioned HIV/AIDS and only 7 articles associating medical marijuana with opioid addiction, epilepsy or PTSD. That relative emphasis has flipped in the last five years. The Post continued to make the connection to cancer, in 71 articles, but only 31 articles included HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, The Post ran 195 articles that connected medical cannabis to opioid addiction (71), epilepsy (83) or PTSD (41). The results were similar when analyzing coverage in the New York Times. Some observers argue that evidence so far suggests other policy approaches are more successful than medical marijuana in treating opioid addiction. But if interest groups can successfully persuade citizens that medical cannabis could help diminish the opioid crisis, conservative voters and state legislatures may be persuaded to make it available. This association is not lost on lawmakers either. When former Republican Speaker of the House John A. Boehner announced his joining the board of Acreage Holdings, a cannabis corporation, he said “I’m convinced de-scheduling [removing the federal prohibition] the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans, and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities.” Note the emphasis on veterans and opioids. What to expect Whether Oklahoma’s new law is indeed a tipping point, changing public opinion and industry pressures seem to be pushing the federal government and the remaining states to make marijuana available for medical use — and probably, from there, recreational use as well. Daniel J. Mallinson (@djmallinson) is an assistant professor of public policy and administration at Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Public Affairs. A. Lee Hannah (@LeeHannahWSU) is an assistant professor of political science in Wright State University’s School of Public and International Affairs.


After making his owner rich, this border collie gets to live in a $500,000 pet mansion in Beijing

the German market research firm Euromonitor. Theories abound as to why affluent Chinese seem so devoted to their pets; poorer folks in urban centers tend to be priced out, because licensing dogs can cost hundreds of dollars. But analysts tie some of the fervor to the country’s rigid “one-child” policy, in effect from 1979 until early 2016. Marriage rates and birthrates have fallen in recent years as a generation without siblings, saddled with extra family pressure to shine, has pursued more education and often refused to settle down, said Cheng Li, a China scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “They have a sense of independence,” Li said, “but they still want a companion.” Zhou, an only child himself, used to feel lonely. Four years ago, the lanky Beijing native was unemployed and living downtown with his grandmother. He had dropped out of school at 15 and spent most of his time playing video games at Internet cafes. He feared he would drift that way forever, staring at screens, then hitting the pillow. Log on. Sleep. Repeat. Then, one day, a friend urged him to check out some puppies for sale. What happened next Zhou described as magical. He locked eyes with a black-and-white bundle of fluff. The puppy’s tail wagged with a joy Zhou yearned to feel. “It was love at first sight,” he recalled. He named the puppy Sylar after a character in one of his favorite American television shows, “Heroes.” Hollywood’s Sylar was a watch repairer who “desired to be special instead of ‘ordinary,’ ” as one fan site puts it, so he learned to kill superheroes and steal their abilities. Zhou imagined that the canine version would use his powers for good. He watched YouTube videos of dog trainers in the United States, studying their techniques late into the nights. He taught Sylar to high-five, play dead, walk like a human and leap on tables. One command sent the dog between Zhou’s legs, a paw on each foot, so they could stroll together. Zhou used his phone to shoot footage of Sylar’s tricks, set to Lady Gaga songs, and posted it to Meipai, a Chinese video site. Somehow, people found the clips. One share spawned 10 more, which multiplied to 1,000, which swelled into millions of views. Sylar soon had nearly 800,000 followers on social media. Fans across China wrote to him, drew pictures of him


Putin takes a swipe at U.S.-funded news organizations

the Democratic National Committee with American officials who openly supported human rights legislation under which some of the thugs around Mr. Putin have been sanctioned. A backlash in Washington, including a 98-to-0 vote by the Senate, forced the White House to back away from allowing Russia to persecute those State Department officials, congressional aides and a former ambassador to Russia. But other U.S. institutions under similar pressure from Moscow could use more support. Prominent among them are Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America and affiliated broadcast organizations whose journalists are being threatened for providing Russians with uncensored news. Since late last year, the Putin regime has required these U.S.-funded media outlets to register as “foreign agents” under a hastily passed law that has been applied only to American organizations. The Russians claimed they were reciprocating for the Justice Department’s requirement that the U.S. branch of RT, the Kremlin’s propaganda arm, register under a law governing foreign government lobbyists. This month, as the Helsinki summit approached, authorities stepped up the pressure. As a judge fined RFE/RL for supposedly failing to comply with the law, the Russian parliament prepared new legislation that would require individual journalists to register as foreign agents — an onerous and menacing new requirement. It could force RFE/RL and VOA journalists, many of whom are Russian citizens, to file reports and undergo audits while slapping the label “foreign agent” on everything they produce. RT contributors in the United States face no such strictures. But the more important point is that RFE/RL and VOA are no more comparable to RT than Russian military hackers are to former ambassador Michael McFaul. RT is a pure propagator of Kremlin-designed fake news; it is an integral part of the Putin regime’s effort to undermine democracy in the United States and in other Western countries. The U.S. broadcasters, which have been insulated from direct political control by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, are headed by distinguished journalists and have a long record of producing fair and independent journalism. By forcing RT to register, the Justice Department may have provided the Putin regime with an excuse to target the U.S. broadcasters. But that doesn’t mean the State Department or Congress should accept that they are equivalent or tolerate the persecution. If the Kremlin does not back off, sanctions on Russians who seek to poison U.S. democracy with lies would be the right response.


We’ll never agree about D.C.’s best bars, but we ranked them anyway

No one is ever going to agree on what makes the “best” bar: Is it a sumptuous cocktail den with creative drinks, a rough-and-tumble dive with cheap whiskey, something in between, or somewhere else entirely? Thankfully, the breadth of bars in Washington means there’s always something different around the corner. These are the bars that have impressed me most over the past year: 10. 9. The cocktails on the colorful chalkboards at this narrow second-floor H Street bar might be classics, originals or borrowed from friends of the skilled bartenders, whose résumés include roles at Barmini and the Columbia Room. If crowds make the bar uncomfortable, head out to the hidden back patio. 8. 7. All Souls (725 T St. NW. 202-733-5929. allsoulsbar.com). Tired of $14 drinks? Just steps away from the U Street and Seventh Street corridors, former Jaleo employees David Batista and Joanna Brady run a cozy one-room neighborhood spot where almost all of the simple yet impeccably made cocktails cost $9. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 2 Birds 1 Stone (1800 14th St. NW. No phone. 2birds1stonedc.com). The hand-drawn menus at this subterranean watering hole change every week, so the gin gimlet made with key, Persian and makrut limes that you enjoyed on one visit might be replaced by a Pimm’s cup variation combining lemon-grass-infused Pimm’s and a house-made ginger ale. 1. Columbia Room (124 Blagden Alley NW. 202-316-9396. columbiaroomdc.com). Though it’s best known for its prix-fixe three- or five-course cocktail tasting menus, the Columbia Room has much more to offer to those without reservations: the city’s most elegant cocktails in the lounge-like Spirits Library, and fresh seasonal drinks out on the upstairs patio, known as the Punch Garden.


Rare asteroid duo dances in the stars

Finding a life partner, someone to spend your days with while you circle the sun, is hard. Now scientists have discovered a rare perfect match: Asteroid 2017 YE5, originally thought to be solo, is actually a double asteroid. Two asteroids, each approximately 800 meters (almost half a mile) in diameter, are orbiting each other about once a day, as they orbit the sun together. Scientists do not know how long the two have been together. “An asteroid that has as a companion, another chunk that’s just as big. Two of equal size. Those we don’t have very many of,” said Anne Virkki, the group lead for the Planetary Radar Research Group at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The asteroid, originally discovered by the MOSS observatory in Morocco in December 2017, was thought to be a single asteroid. Last month, Virkki and her team, working parallel with a team at NASA's Goldstone Observatory in California, independently confirmed that it was a matched set. There are only four known double asteroids of equal size, according to Lindley Johnson, NASA’s planetary defense officer. Far more common than 2017 YE5 are double asteroids that consist of one large “primary” asteroid and one smaller asteroid that orbits the larger one. Double asteroids, or binary asteroids, usually form after an impact breaks off a small piece of one asteroid. This piece then gives the primary, original asteroid a “moonlet,” according to Marina Brozović, a radar scientist at Jet Propulsion Labs in California. The radar observations for 2017 YE5 were scheduled during Brozović's shift. “It’s wonderful because you know with that first track you’re looking into the unknown, and it’s always an opportunity for discovery. As the radar images are coming down live, you are seeing it for the first time,” Brozović said. “When we look at this object, it’s so interesting to us, it kind of generates more questions than answers.” One leading theory about this rare double rock is that it started out as conjoined twins. Large asteroids can be more like cemented rubble piles than solid rock. Brozović said that a spinning object like this can become elongated, like a peanut. It can then spin rapidly enough to separate, forming two roughly equal asteroids. Alternatively, though less likely, the asteroids could have started out as two separate asteroids with similar orbits and locations, slowly getting closer and closer until they joined orbits. Starting


Survivors of Silver Spring gas explosion call on county for more help

Flower Branch but charging a higher monthly rent. “We still suffer mentally,” he said. “Every day, we cannot sleep because of the trauma we have. She cannot go to sleep. It’s hard to get sleep. Sometimes she wakes up crying. She’s the one suffering more than me.” Zuniga and other former Flower Branch tenants are working with the nonprofit Action in Montgomery (AIM), which is calling on the county to provide more services and assistance to survivors of the explosion. “So far, we haven’t been able to get a good response from the county,” said Holly Foley, AIM coordinator for Silver Spring’s St. Camillus Church. “Everything is going on at a glacial, bureaucratic, slow rate.” Foley said the families are seeking individual counseling with therapists who are experts in trauma, as well as collective therapy, and rent stabilization for tenants. They also are asking for the county to redo an audit it conducted in 2016 of its response to the disaster, because that probe did not include input from survivors of the explosion. Council members said they have been meeting with AIM to address the group’s concerns. Kay Apartment Communities, which manages Flower Branch, did not respond to a request for comment Monday. The office of County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) did not provide information about the county’s response, and the county’s Department of Health and Human Services did not return a call for comment. In an April letter addressed to Leventhal’s office and to AIM lead organizer Cynthia Marshall, the department said it still offers counseling for survivors at its clinic in Wheaton and suggested the county could find ways to provide bus tokens or Metro fare to the site. The department also said it was considering a study to assess the need for therapy among survivors and said it would help connect tenants with the management company “to request considerations and accommodations.” But the letter said the department did not think another audit was necessary. After the explosion, the county worked with a number of nonprofits to provide shelter, food and other assistance to the victims — a response that officials called“unprecedented.” Marshall said that the county has “stepped up” by providing additional mental health services but that in some cases, “families who were seeking therapy were being asked to pay.” The county also has not done enough to help survivors facing rent increases, she said, and the


Thousands of scientists object to Trump’s border wall

on the report and an ecology professor in Mexico City, changing ecological landscapes can affect the quantity and quality of available water. “When you lose them [animals and plants], you’re losing the capabilities of the environment to provide the conditions we need to have a good life,” he said. The border wall would be a “massive blow” to the ecosystem and “truly affect the human communities,” Ceballos said. American bison, a wildlife icon, now has populations at the border. Krista Schlyer, a photographer and filmmaker working on a documentary about border wildlife, remembered the moment she realized the importance of the border lands habitat. She watched a small group of bison hop over a broken-down barbed-wire fence. Interviews with ranchers on both sides of the border revealed that the bison were using the American side for feeding on a kind of nutritious grass and the Mexican side for drinking from a pond, one of the only water sources. “One of the big misconceptions is that people sort of think of it as a desert. Which it is, it’s a desert, but it’s an extremely biodiverse desert ecosystem,” said Schlyer on a phone call from Mission, Tex., at the border. The landscape is dotted with hunched mesquite trees. Butterflies of “every color” float by on the hot breeze, she said. The House Appropriations Committee is discussing a homeland-security spending bill that allocates a suggested $5 billion for the border wall and associated security. “What I’m hoping is that our national leaders and administration and congressional leaders will notice our report and listen to the concerns we have,” said Ripple. Historically, border walls are known to be bad for wildlife. However, this report also details the negative impacts it could have on scientists and international collaboration. In Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, “a rookie Border Patrol employee held us at gunpoint on our stomachs for one and a half hours, threatening to shoot us if we moved,” said Gary Nabhan, an ecologist, in an interview with Peters recorded in an earlier report. “He was unaware that there is significant research being conducted at this National Park site along the border.” Read more: Trump’s border wall would slice through wildlife refuges and cut off U.S. territory in Texas Endangered animals are already cut off by a border wall. Trump wants it to be much bigger. Border walls are bad for wildlife


Fannie Mae CEO will step down at end of the year

Fannie Mae announced that chief executive Timothy Mayopoulos is stepping down at the end of the year, setting up the firm for new leadership at a time when the Trump administration could introduce sweeping change for the mortgage firm. Mayopoulos, who led the mortgage financing firm to financial stability after the housing crash, ran the company for six years. Fannie Mae said its board of directors is searching for a new leader. The company did not say what Mayopoulos will do next. Mayopoulos joined Fannie as general counsel in 2009, when it was still reeling from the losses it faced during the Great Recession. He oversaw the company as the housing market recovered and Fannie Mae paid back the billions of dollars that it received in bailouts from the federal government. “During Tim’s tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae has been profitable on an annual basis, paid the Treasury approximately $167 billion in dividends and reduced risk to taxpayers," Egbert L.J. Perry, the chairman of Fannie Mae’s board of directors, said in a statement. Fannie Mae’s next leader will need to run the company at a time when lawmakers, industry groups and the federal government are proposing ways to restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-backed entities that insure U.S. mortgages and have been under government conservatorship since the downturn. The guarantee that Fannie and Freddie provide on mortgages has helped to boost liquidity in the housing market and improved consumer access to 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, said David Stevens, chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Fannie and Freddie buy mortgages from banks and other lenders, then package them to sell to investors as bonds. The companies insure the bonds to protect investors from facing losses if borrowers default. This helps to ensure that lenders can sell their loans, freeing them up to issue more mortgages. The loans insured by Fannie Mae are considered safer today than the loans that were common before the financial crisis, Stevens said. Still, the company is likely to face change as the Trump administration and regulators push for ways to change Fannie and Freddie to reduce government ownership. “These companies fell into conservatorship because they collapsed under the weight of the recession,” Stevens said. “They need to be reformed such that they don’t cost taxpayers a second time.” Fannie Mae veteran David Benson will become president, giving him control over the day-to-day business operations.


Over four days, false claims dominated Trump’s Twitter feed

its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Trump Jr. responded, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.” Goldstone set up a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. On June 9, 2016, the meeting at Trump Tower with Veselnitskaya included Trump Jr., Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump’s then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, among others. A memo she reportedly brought to the Trump Tower meeting was a close match with a document Russian prosecutors had written two months earlier and shared with a U.S. congressman. This raises the possibility that Veselnitskaya was acting as an agent of the Russian government at the Trump Tower encounter. We previously drew up a list of all known contacts between Russians and Trump campaign advisers. Several Trump advisers met with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, during the campaign, including Michael Flynn, who later resigned as Trump’s national security adviser for failing to fully disclose those contacts to Vice President Pence and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty on Oct. 5, 2017, to lying to federal agents about his contacts with people with connections to the Russian government during the campaign. The Washington Post reported that Manafort during the campaign “offered to provide briefings on the race to a Russian billionaire closely aligned with the Kremlin,” Oleg Deripaska. The House Intelligence Committee’s Republican majority released a report that found “no evidence” of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. But the report said investigations “by other committees, the special counsel, the media, or interest groups will continue and may find facts that were not readily accessible to the Committee or outside the scope of our investigation.” Democrats on the panel strongly disagreed with the majority report’s conclusions, noting that there were many documented contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian individuals during the campaign. Officials have given conflicting accounts regarding Trump and Putin’s one-on-one meeting in Helsinki and whether any deals were reached. Russian officials have claimed the two presidents reached “important verbal agreements” at their July 16 summit. A spokesman for Trump’s National Security Council told The Post, “There were no commitments to undertake any concrete action, beyond agreement that both sides should continue discussions.” Trump said after the summit that he was considering turning over U.S. officials to Russia for questioning. The group being sought by Putin included former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul. Putin proposed


Boeing faces a significant setback with the spacecraft it is designing to fly NASA astronauts

The spacecraft Boeing plans to use to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station suffered a significant setback when, during a test of its emergency abort system in June, officials discovered a propellant leak, the company confirmed. In a statement to The Washington Post, Boeing said it has “been conducting a thorough investigation with assistance from our NASA and industry partners. We are confident we found the cause and are moving forward with corrective action.” The leak is likely to delay its launch schedule and is another setback for a program that has faced a number of problems. The trouble also comes as Vice President Pence is expected to announce the crews for the first missions during a ceremony in early August at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Along with SpaceX, Boeing is under contract from NASA to fly astronauts to the space station. The “Commercial Program” would restore NASA’s ability to fly humans from the United States — a capability that was lost when the space shuttle was retired in 2011. Since then, the space agency has had to rely on Russia to fly its astronauts to space, at a cost of more than $80 million per seat. Under the program, Boeing’s contract was worth as much as $4.2 billion; SpaceX’s was $2.6 billion for the same number of flights. The program’s first test launches with crews on board were supposed to occur this year. But a recent report from the Government Accountability Office said that the company’s schedules “are aggressive” and that Boeing “set ambitious—rather than realistic—dates, only to frequently delay them.” SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, also has faced challenges and is working to show NASA that it has corrected a problem that caused one of its uncrewed Falcon 9 rockets to explode during fueling in 2016. In its report, the GAO said further delays in the program could “disrupt access to” the space station—which would be an enormous embarrassment for NASA. The space agency has been counting on Boeing and SpaceX to fly astronauts there. But the GAO said the delays could mean the companies’ spacecraft are not certified before the last flights NASA has secured for its astronauts on Russian rockets, which would keep an American presence on the station through early 2020. In other words: Should delays persist, NASA could find itself with no way to get to the


The EU’s $5B Google fine escalates an undeclared trade war with Silicon Valley

three specific practices regarding Google’s freely-licensed Android operating system, which, the commission said, “all had the aim of cementing Google’s dominant position in general internet search.” These include bundling Google search and browser apps with the Google Play app store and prohibiting Android licensees from supporting uncertified versions of the operating system. A third practice, which involved Google paying device makers to make Google their only preinstalled search app, was discontinued at least four years ago. In addition to the fine, the commission is demanding that Google discontinue the practices within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to five percent of its daily revenue for each day the company fails to comply. Google is appealing the decision. This is the E.U.’s second attack against Google’s free software model in as many years. The commission fined the company $2.8 billion in 2017 for search practices that regulators said favored Google shopping applications over those of third parties. (Google is appealing that fine, as well.) Neither claim stands up to the most basic understanding of how the smartphone market or Internet search has ever worked. The charge on the shopping app, for example, made no mention of the fact that despite Google’s alleged prioritization of shopping search results, it is Amazon and not Google that dominates Internet-based retail. Last week’s judgment likewise ignores the fact that Android, especially in the United States, competes fiercely with Apple and its iOS operating system, which is far more tightly controlled by Apple than Google controls Android. In fact, complying with the E.U. demands may require Google to charge for software as Apple does, making Android devices more expensive -- hardly a benefit to E.U. users. But protecting E.U. residents has never been the commission’s goal. Its latest moves point instead to a dangerous escalation in efforts to build trade barriers around Europe’s native tech industry. Unfortunately, the E.U.’s real problem isn’t Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. It is, rather, the region’s stubborn determination in pursuing a failed industrial policy. While U.S. entrepreneurs operate almost exclusively with private funding, the E.U. has long been directly involved in the development of technology products and services. Beginning as early as the 1980s and the ESPRIT program, European governments have made repeated efforts to will a regulated tech industry into existence from the top down. The efforts have all gone nowhere The E.U.’s most recent initiative was 2015’s much-hyped


Local Digest: Man slain in the Shaw area of D.C.

THE DISTRICT Man slain in Shaw; no motive reported A 46-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday night in the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police. The victim was identified as Paul Williams Jr. of Southeast. Police said the shooting occurred about 8:16 p.m. in the 800 block of R Street NW, near Rhode Island Avenue. Officers responding to the sound of gunshots found the victim suffering from multiple wounds, police said. Williams was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. Authorities did not comment on a possible motive. — Peter Hermann Suspect tries to escape by jumping on tracks A man suspected in a shooting Tuesday night near D.C. police headquarters was arrested Wednesday at the Gallery Place Metro station after authorities said he jumped onto tracks to try to elude officers. The arrest about 8 a.m. forced Metro officials to cut power and delay trains along the Yellow and Green Lines, causing delays during the morning commute. Mamadou Seck, 29, of no fixed address, was charged with assault with intent to kill and possession of a handgun without a license. Authorities said he suffered a leg injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The shooting occurred about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of D Street NW, about three blocks east of D.C. police headquarters. The victim was reported conscious when he was taken to a hospital. Police said he was found lying in the roadway near an entrance to the Third Street Tunnel. A police report says he was shot in the abdomen. Metro Transit Police spotted a man fitting the suspect’s description in the Gallery Place station Wednesday morning. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND Two men arrested in fatal shooting Two Maryland men have been arrested in connection with a shooting that left one man dead in Oxon Hill. Kyree Demarco Williams, 21, of Oxon Hill, and Marcus Heckstall, 22, of District Heights, have been charged with murder in the death of Rodney Snowden, 28, according to Prince George’s County police. Snowden was shot shortly before 7:30 p.m. on May 20 in the 5600 block of St. Barnabas Road during a dispute with Williams, police said. Snowden died at a hospital. Williams and Snowden were acquaintances, police said. Williams and Heckstall are jailed without bond. — Lynh Bui


Transcript: Securing Tomorrow with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson

as I mentioned, the Chinese demonstrated the ability to launch a rocket, so they have a—launch a telephone pole and hit an object in low-Earth orbit and destroy it. That was a pretty significant demonstration. And so there are other things that we believe they’re developing the ability to do. For example, publicly reported, TASS, the Russian news agency last summer, said that the Russians were launching the ability to repair their satellites on orbit. Well, if they can repair their own, they could also interfere— Ignatius: They could repair ours. Wilson: Yeah. So I think that’s probably what’s publicly discussed, where I’d feel comfortable going, David, but we believe that they are developing those capabilities and that we need to be prepared to defend ourselves. Ignatius: Is it possible that there are already weapons up there in space that are not on the ground trying to get ready to shoot something down, but up there in space already that could pose a threat? Wilson: I believe that’s possible. Ignatius: So that’s an important baseline for us to think about, that it’s already possible that our near-peer adversaries have these weapons in space. This is a situation where we’re trying to now respond to that. So let me ask you to talk a little bit more about your thoughts about how best to respond. The satellites that we put up—because we didn’t think about this as a warfighting domain are soft. What about just hardening satellites, so they would be better able to resist the detonation of weapons, nuclear or otherwise, in space? Wilson: Just think about the problem. First of all, you need to understand the threat. What are the capabilities they’re developing? And for example, it’s different on our different satellites systems. So I mentioned GPS. GPS is actually a really weak radio signal. From four different satellites at the same time, it does a heck of a lot of math and tells you how far you are from each of those satellites by the timing signal coming off those satellites. We use the timing signal, by the way, also for the ATM machine so you can’t take money out of two ATM machines at exactly the same time, so you don’t get double the credit from your bank. We do that from GPS. So the biggest risk to GPS is jamming because it’s a really weak signal


to test. Ignatius: 2020, you could test a prototype? Wilson: Weapon, yeah. Ignatius: That is fast and I must say, the idea of the Army, Navy, and Air Force working collaboratively on any new weapon system, that would be— Wilson: Except for football. We don’t—we have a big rivalry there. Ignatius: We’re not expecting a joint Army-Navy-Air Force team anytime soon. Another area of technology, which is one that the United States has possessed—I want to say unique advantages and that’s been crucial for the Air Force is stealth technology that allows our planes, drones, et cetera, to pass pretty much unobserved by radar waves. And reading—I have a particular interest in quantum technology because I recently wrote a novel about the Chinese efforts to beat us at the race to develop quantum computers. I noted recently that the Chinese say they’re working on “quantum radars,” which would have, if they could be made to work, enormous advantages because they would, in effect, split photons and see with light what you couldn’t see with radar waves. So it’s potentially a very significant breakthrough that could render a lot of our stealth technology vulnerable. And I want to ask you, is this—a lot of the stuff that comes out of China, I think is kind of overhyped. It’s not as far along as the reports imply. What’s your sense about this development? Wilson: I think the Chinese particularly are seeking to deny us advantages where they see we do have advantages and one of them clearly is in low-observable technology. We’re really good at it. We never take it for granted and we are always looking at how do we improve our low-observable technology, what new capabilities might be out there that could reduce the advantage of it or make it more vulnerable and to try to stay ahead of that. One of the things that the chief of staff talks about, you can see a low-observable plane, even with radar you can, but obviously, with the naked eye, you can. But no country can put a block of wood around their country and kind of set it on the map and make it impenetrable. At best, it’s Swiss cheese and it’s really more like fondue because the bubbles move [LAUGHTER]. Our job is to find the bubbles and exploit them when we need to. And we don’t need to all


Trump is robbing America of what makes it great

rants have now gotten dangerously out-of-hand, causing Trump and know-nothings in the Republican Party to denounce science itself. They attack government scientists who present findings that deviate from Republican lobbies (such as the coal, oil and gas industry). They undermine public support for government investments in research and development. All of this now gravely threatens the U.S. innovation system itself. In the meantime, American technology successes have been noted by other governments. Silicon Valley became the place to emulate, and there are now many science-and-technology zones in university towns across Europe and Asia churning out breakthroughs. The U.S. no longer stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. Global growth is now spurred by three major poles of “endogenous” (tech-led) growth: the United States, the European Union and Northeast Asia (China, Japan and South Korea), plus various smaller dynamic locations including Singapore, Israel and others. We should expect still others to join in global innovation. There is no American monopoly on brainpower, excellent training and cutting-edge scientific know-how. China’s rapid technological advance has stunned U.S. policymakers, especially in the national security apparatus. The “Made in China 2025” program is a brash, confident and yet utterly realistic statement of China’s intention to develop the key technologies of the 21st century in advanced computation, robotics, renewable energy, precision medicine, agriculture and low-carbon transport. One of the most significant is China’s ambitious plan to pioneer a worldwide renewable electricity grid — the first of its kind and scale. Trump’s trade war aims to scuttle China’s impertinence. Yet Trump’s approach is profoundly misguided. There are three truths about China’s technological vision. First, China is filled with brilliant young people who are equipped with excellent universities, ample government funding and private-market outlets for their energies. China’s technological verve will not be stopped by Trump. Second, China’s advances will benefit, not harm, the world, including the United States, by bringing forward new and highly beneficial technologies like zero-carbon energy, smart vehicles and more powerful computers. Third, and most importantly, China’s inevitable advances will in no way prevent the United States from making similar progress, but only if Trump and the Republicans drop their anti-science stance, support the American system of government-business-academic innovation and direct efforts toward the true needs of the 21st century, notably zero-carbon energy and non-polluting industries. There is no future in trade wars, hot war or the polluting industries of the past. This was produced by


The evidence doesn’t prove collusion. But it sure suggests it.

9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower between the Trump campaign high command and Kremlin emissaries promising dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of the Kremlin’s “support for Mr. Trump.” “If it’s what you say, I love it,” Donald Trump Jr. gushed. When this was revealed last summer, President Trump personally orchestrated an attempted coverup by claiming the meeting was about adoptions. This was shortly after Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey to stop the investigation of “this Russia thing,” as he put it in an interview with “NBC Nightly News” — showing just how much he fears this inquiry. Trump has good cause to be afraid. On March 28, Mueller revealed in a court filing that Trump’s deputy campaign manager, Rick Gates, was in touch in 2016 with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate with “ties to Russian intelligence.” Campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has a long history of representing Russian interests and was running the campaign for no pay, also reportedly met with Kilimnik in 2016. Manafort was also in contact with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska (whom he owed at least $10 million) , offering him “private briefings” that would no doubt have been instantly conveyed to Putin. Mueller’s recent indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers who ransacked Democratic Party servers notes that the Russians first tried to hack into Clinton’s email on July 27, 2016, hours after Trump asked them to do just that (“Russia, if you’re listening”). The indictment also notes that a “person who was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign” — widely identified as Trump confidant Roger J. Stone Jr. — was in communication with the Russian military hackers who used the online pseudonym Guccifer 2.0. (Stone denies any knowledge that Guccifer 2.0 was a front for Russian intelligence.) Both Stone and Donald Trump Jr. were also in contact with WikiLeaks, the Russians’ conduit for releasing stolen emails. Surely it is no mere coincidence that Stone predicted on Aug. 21, 2016 — nearly seven weeks before Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s stolen emails were released — that “it will soon [be] Podesta’s time in the barrel.” Finally, as Anne Applebaum noted , the indictment also reveals that the Russians stole not just emails but also the data analytics Democrats used to run their campaign. This happened in September 2016. A few weeks later, the Trump campaign shifted its “datadriven”


The Health 202: ACA’s medical device tax once again on the chopping block

right, not a privilege for those who can afford it,” she says in the video. “When I'm governor we'll pass the New York Health Act and create a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system that covers every New Yorker.” Nixon said when she was 13, her mother found a lump in her breast, but was unemployed and uninsured and had to find a job that offered health coverage. “And then she waited a month because she was afraid if she got it checked out right away, the health insurance company would say it was a preexisting condition and refuse to pay for her treatment,” Nixon explains. “We shouldn’t have to depend on our employers for health insurance and we certainly shouldn’t have to lie to our doctors to get the treatment we need.” — As part of ongoing efforts to legalize marijuana, New Jersey’s top lawyer issued a statewide order to delay marijuana-related prosecutions for a month while the state comes up with guidelines to downgrade or dismiss some of the current offenses, Bloomberg News’s Elise Young reports. “Starting today, New Jersey courts must suspend all marijuana prosecutions while [Attorney General Gurbir Grewal], prosecutors and other law-enforcement officials develop guidelines on how they should be handled,” Elise writes. “Pending cases will be postponed until after Sept. 4, and Grewal expects to issue a long-term policy directive by the end of August.” Elise notes that N.J. lawmakers have not yet passed a legalization bill, an effort that Gov. Phil Murphy (D) campaigned on, pushing to join the handful of states that have legalized pot for recreational use. Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney told reporters he is planning to send such a bill to the governor’s desk by September, Elise reports. — The FDA yesterday approved a new drug to treat pain related to endometriosis, a common condition that involves abnormal uterine tissue and can cause severe pain and infertility. Drug manufacturer AbbVie has developed what it says is the first new drug in a decade to treat endometriosis, the Associated Press’s Linda A. Johnson reports, a condition that affects about one in 10 women of reproductive age. The pill will cost $845 every four weeks without insurance, Linda reports. — Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks denounced the Trump administration’s proposal to find ways to import prescription drugs into the United States, saying it was “the wrong road to go down,” the Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel


Gerry Shih joins The Washington Post as China correspondent

Announcement from Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl and Deputy Foreign Editor Mary Beth Sheridan: We’re very happy to announce that Gerry Shih of the Associated Press will join The Post as a China correspondent, based in Beijing. Gerry is a fluent Mandarin speaker who has reported from Beijing for the last four years, first for Reuters and then for the AP. He has distinguished himself as one of the most gifted and perceptive young reporters in China today, particularly in his reporting about China’s Muslim minority Uighur community. His run of impressive scoops has included revelations documenting the impact of China’s ethnic policies and the significant involvement of Uighur militants in the war in Syria. Gerry began his career at the New York Times, where he was a James Reston reporting fellow in New York. He covered politics and government for the Bay Citizen in San Francisco when that organization was producing a Bay Area section for The Times. He joined Reuters to cover Silicon Valley, then moved to China as technology correspondent, covering cybersecurity and the impact of China’s policies on companies like Apple, IBM and Huawei. He has worked for the AP since 2015, traveling extensively in China and beyond and covering domestic politics, society, law and human rights. Gerry was born in the Bay Area and is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied economics and Japanese. He also speaks conversational Spanish. In moving to The Post, Gerry will join bureau chief Anna Fifield in our two-correspondent operation in Beijing. He will succeed Emily Rauhala, who is moving to Washington this fall as part of a Foreign desk initiative. Gerry will start work in the newsroom on Sept. 4; he’ll return to Beijing after training, orientation and the requisite visa approval by the Chinese authorities.


Discharging immigrant soldiers is the American way. That’s the problem.

as military assets to being viewed as an immigration problem and national security threat. Instead of being granted asylum, many of them were subjected to deportation. The pattern of welcoming foreign nationals into the military and then discharging or criminalizing them has continued to the present. In 2009, the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest, or MAVNI, program was established to enlist non-U.S. citizens through the promise of expedited citizenship. The MAVNI program prioritized enlistees with “critical skills” such as “physicians, nurses, and certain experts in language with associated cultural background.” It was part of the revival of counterinsurgency championed by senior military officials in the War on Terror. Despite its promised military benefits, the specter of “foreigners within” plagued the program almost from its start. In 2009, MAVNI was suspended temporarily after the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., by U.S.-born Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. The program was reinstated in 2012 after the implementation of tighter screening procedures. With the recent wave of discharges of MAVNI recruits, however, we are seeing echoes of the past. Some of the recruits have been discharged because of their “foreign ties” of their relatives living abroad. There has been a persistent contradiction between the imperatives of fighting U.S. wars abroad — in which immigrants and those perceived to be foreign because of their race are valued for their skills and symbolic value — and the ongoing war at home against immigrants and racial minorities who are deemed a threat to America’s imagined homogenous culture. Discharging “bad” immigrants from the military has been a way of resolving this contradiction. It preserves the military’s image as an inclusive and diverse institution and reinforces the false idea that there are “deserving” immigrants. At the same time, however, it nurtures suspicions about racial minorities, immigrants and foreigners. As this history reveals, the struggle for justice on behalf of those who have been discharged from the military must be waged as part of the struggle against this administration’s anti-immigrant policies, and that struggle must be a part of the broader fight to end America’s permanent war at home and abroad. So long as the United States remains engaged in almost perpetual war, there will be a need for nonwhite soldiers with cultural and symbolic value and simultaneously intense suspicion of them. Xenophobia and militarism have always fueled one another, and ending one requires ending the other.


Congress to ease Russia sanctions amid clamor for tougher measures

moves come on the heels of repeated efforts by Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) to secure a vote in the Senate expressing lawmakers’ conviction that Trump should fully enforce existing sanctions against Russia. In recent days, a wave of Republican and Democratic senators has also signed on to a bill from Sens. Van Hollen and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that would slap new sectoral sanctions on Russia if the director of national intelligence concluded that the Kremlin had tried to interfere in another election, within 10 days of his determination. In addition to bipartisan efforts, individual senators have also written resolutions to push back against Trump’s erratic Russia diplomacy, such as a proposal from Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) opposing any more one-on-one meetings between Trump and Putin without a second U.S. official present. After Russia’s description of “agreements” reached in Helsinki, the administration has been repeatedly pressed to report what happened during Trump’s two-hour-plus meeting alone with Putin. Speaking to reporters Tuesday in California, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised Trump’s summit with Putin and said they had agreed “to put together a business council” to “start track-two processes,” apparently referring to agreements announced by both sides to establish working groups of nongovernmental foreign policy experts. Pompeo is expected to be asked about those agreements and other details of the summit during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday afternoon. But the swirl of initiatives to press the president is unlikely to sway Republican leaders, who have been noncommittal about where sanctions and other measures might find room in a tight congressional calendar — the House leaves for a month-long recess at the end of the week — and are warning against Congress binding itself to anything with the weight of law too hastily. “The Helsinki news conference was a sad day for our country, and everyone knows it,” Corker said Tuesday. But he warned against making policy “with our hair on fire,” adding that “moving a bill three days after a deplorable news conference is not an intelligent thing to do.” Democratic leaders have jeered Republicans for refusing to speed any of the measures, even the nonbinding resolutions, to the floor for the Senate’s consideration. “Against someone like Putin you need tough, strong action,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). “We haven’t seen our Republican colleagues do any of that.” karoun.demirjian@washpost.com


Synthetic marijuana and brighter lights could improve the lives of people with dementia, new research shows

Synthetic marijuana and brighter lights could help improve the lives of people with dementia, according to new research presented Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Chicago. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are best known for causing a breakdown in cognitive abilities. But a host of other symptoms — including agitation, anxiety, depression and insomnia — reduce patients’ quality of life, create more challenges for caregivers, and are the leading causes for placement in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any drug treatments for these symptoms, although some pharmaceuticals, such as antipsychotics, approved for other diseases are prescribed off-label for Alzheimer’s patients. However, they are associated with increased apathy, strokes and deaths. But a synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in marijuana, was found to be safe and effective in treating agitation, lack of appetite and other behavioral symptoms in dementia patients, according to a new study out of the University of Toronto. In the trial, 39 people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s dementia received nabilone, a synthetic form of THC that is easier to regulate and is available in capsule form, for six weeks and a placebo for six weeks. While on nabilone, their agitation levels and neuropsychiatric symptoms were reduced while their appetites improved, as exhibited in clinical tests and caregiver reports. “We’re excited because we think this opens a whole new door for cannabinoids as a group for treating agitation in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Krista Lanctot, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology-toxicology at the University of Toronto. The capsules are approved to treat the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy; this is the first clinical trial in which they were given to Alzheimer’s patients, Lanctot said. Similar to recreational marijuana, the synthetic version reduces pain and anxiety and increases appetite. The “fuzzy brain” associated with recreational use is not a concern with Alzheimer’s patients because they already have memory problems, Lanctot said. And the synthetic form, which is modified to be less potent, can also have effects that prevent neurons from dying, she said. Lanctot said she hopes to get funding for a bigger trial; a 10-person trial of another synthetic cannabinoid is starting in the United States. In the meantime, she cautioned people not to confuse the synthetic drug with the other kind. “We don’t want someone going out and giving Grandma marijuana because they think


Jordan McNair ‘will always be part of what we do,’ DJ Durkin says at Big Ten media days

come the Terrapins’ first day of training camp at the end of next week, then their season opener against Texas at FedEx Field on Sept. 1, then their home opener two weeks later. All of that, like Tuesday, will carry the sadness and unease of McNair’s death. Earlier this month, McNair’s family announced that the 19-year-old lineman’s death was caused by heatstroke. They have also hired the law firm that represented the family of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore man who died in 2015 after being injured while in police custody, and are exploring their legal options. Durkin, who was at the workout with the rest of the Maryland coaching staff, declined to provide further details of that day while Maryland is still participating in an external review. The external review opened in the third week of June and could last 60 more days, according to a timeline provided by a university spokeswoman when it began. The review is being conducted by Walters Inc., an athletic training consulting firm. In addition to looking into McNair’s death, the review is evaluating the football program’s procedures and protocols related to “planning and conducting team conditioning and practice sessions; and for responding to health emergencies during or after those sessions.” Durkin said Tuesday that he and Terrapins coaches and players have not yet been interviewed as part of the review but that Walters Inc. has made a list of people with whom to speak. Durkin did say that Maryland has already made adjustments in response to what led to McNair’s hospitalization May 29. “There’s things that we immediately put into place and looked at,” Durkin said Tuesday. “And then obviously through our external review there will be things long-term-wise that we’ll continue to change and adapt to.” “Just being more cognizant of all the things we are doing with our guys,” he said when asked what specific changes have been made so far. “Being aware of their hydration levels, being aware of communicating out on the field, all those things we’ve looked at and we made adjustments already with that. We’ll continue to make adjustments.” Maryland has offered a loose timeline of the day McNair was hospitalized and said the workout was designed and supervised by the team’s strength and conditioning staff. The university has also noted that athletic trainers were present throughout. The workout began at about 4:15 p.m. with the temperature around


NASA’s next great space telescope is stuck on Earth after screwy errors

as its top priority. The U.S. aerospace industry, which is dealing with a wave of retirements, needs to prove to national leaders that it remains as competent as when it put people on the moon. The same companies that build civilian space telescopes also build spy satellites. Earlier this year, a classified Defense Department satellite code-named Zuma was lost after it failed to separate from a rocket booster. That satellite was built by Northrop Grumman. An independent review board report this summer declared that the Webb is potentially vulnerable to 344 different “single-point-failures” — an extraordinary number for any mission. That means if a single metal strut fails, or a single cable gets snagged, “we have a ten-billion-dollar paperweight sitting out there,” said astrophysicist Grant Tremblay of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, the Webb cannot be repaired in space. It will be placed more than four times farther from Earth than the moon. Many young scientists have been counting on the Webb for research essential to advancing their careers. But they also understand that it has to be done right. “We know once this thing goes into space, we can’t fix it,” said Victoria Scowcroft, an astrophysicist at the University of Bath in Britain. “We would much rather wait for a telescope in space that works than not have one.” NASA is reviewing its science programs, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s top science official, told The Washington Post. “How prevalent are human errors?” Zurbuchen said. “How many more mistakes are there?” NASA officials have increased oversight of Northrop Grumman. About a dozen NASA employees are embedded full-time at the contractor’s Redondo Beach, Calif., facility and more NASA experts rotate through regularly. Thomas Young, a former NASA official who chaired the review board, is adamant that the project should go forward, but with greater care: “There’s got to be an all-out effort to try to find any additional embedded problems.” Northrop Grumman, one of the U.S. government’s largest contractors, has expressed confidence that it can present NASA with an operational telescope. “Mission success is the cornerstone of everything we do. Getting it right is the most important thing,” said Scott Willoughby, program manager for the Webb telescope at Northrop Grumman. “No, we don’t need a culture change. We need people to understand how hard it is. We need people to know that we’re going to get it right.”


7 new restaurants and bars to try now in the D.C. area

June was a good month for fans of raw fish, as Sushi Nakazawa and O-Ku made their D.C. debuts. But fans of beach bars, beer gardens and down-home American food also will find something to satisfy cravings at these new restaurants. America Eats Tavern [Read the full review: America Eats Tavern’s home cooking is back, with barbecue in tow] Coco Beach O-Ku Sushi Pitchers Rustico Ballston Beer Garden: San Lorenzo Sushi Nakazawa [Read the full review: The fishing is prime at Sushi Nakazawa in D.C.]


A preview of José Andrés’ latest concept tops the list of May’s best new restaurants

The new arrivals to Washington's restaurant scene in May were a rich and varied mix: José Andrés previews the tacos-and-tortas concept coming to DC United's Audi Field; a former embassy chef offers Scandinavian treats for breakfast and lunch; a Filipino takeout makes a splash in Rockville; and a Korean food truck turned gas station restaurant finds a permanent home in Takoma Park. Butterfly Tacos and Tortas Kuya Ja's Lechon Belly [First Bite: It’s all too easy to pig out at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly in Rockville] Mikko's Cafe Spice 6 Modern Indian Orchid Opaline [First Bite: At Opaline, a polished setting with very little flavor to savor] Seoul Food Lupo Marino The People's Drug Old House Cosmopolitan Grill Sign of the Whale Five to One Quarter+Glory Rosario R Family Kitchen Read more: The best cheap eats: Virginia suburbs | Maryland suburbs | DC 5 gorgeous bars where the decor is as alluring as the drinks Sit outside with a frozen drink at these 3 great bars


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China used to stay out of other nations’ politics. But not here.

a “permanent” ceasefire and a new government helmed by President Kiir. Whether it will bring real peace is uncertain, but looking back at China’s involvement, it is clear that South Sudan can only serve Beijing as a lesson in foreign policy: If it wants to lead, then only bold steps lead to bold results. So far however, a timid approach has remained Beijing’s foreign policy norm, including with North Korea, where China wields significant influence, and with Myanmar, where China has helped broker talks between the government and rebel groups. In South Sudan, this has caused palpable frustration. When I visited in April, ministries and officials that used to be accessible to journalists declined to comment. The Chinese embassy declined comment over the phone as well. The China National Petroleum Corporation had moved from its previous location, but nobody seemed to know where. We found it behind a thick, three-meter-high wall without any signage. Security guards briefly entertained me, curious about the European speaking some Chinese. If I could go to Sudan, they said, my chances for an interview would be slightly higher — all higher-ranking officials had moved to the Sudanese capital Khartoum. That neither side was willing to talk to journalists “tells you a lot,” an analyst who has spent several years focusing on South Sudan told me. “Before, they were quite eager to communicate, because at least the investments were one positive thing they could talk about. And now, it seems they got nothing good to say about each other anymore.” From China’s point of view, it is still supporting humanitarian affairs in South Sudan — the construction of a new hospital wing, China’s largest contingent of U.N. peacekeeping troops and substantial aid. But that hasn’t alleviated the discernible anger locals feel over China’s failure to fully throw its weight behind peace. One man from Unity state, where China has some of its biggest oil investments, said that he used to drive his white Toyota pickup truck around his cattle farm and every once in a while, see a Chinese worker. “We don’t understand what they are doing, why they still want the oil,” he said. He now lives in a camp for those displaced by the war, surrounded by razor wire, and struggles to feed his three children. “Look around here: The people are dying. How can they care about the oil?” This was produced by


Smithsonian scraps plan for National Zoo parking garage

The Smithsonian Institution has canceled plans for a six-story parking garage at the National Zoo, citing the roughly $70 million cost and plans for ongoing renovations of animal habitats, the zoo said Thursday. The decision was reached Tuesday and made public Thursday on the Federal Business Opportunities website, zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson said. The garage, first proposed a decade ago, would have increased the number of zoo parking spaces to 1,285 from 880. The $25-per-vehicle daily parking fee generates important revenue for the zoo. But many residents of nearby neighborhoods opposed the plan, saying, among other things, that visitors should be discouraged from driving to the zoo. Final plans for the project had yet to be approved by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. Meanwhile, “an expert panel reviewed the [garage project] bids, and the zoo team reviewed the bids,” Baker-Masson said. “And in the context of our existing financial obligations . . . the Smithsonian decided that the . . . project has been canceled.” Baker-Masson said the decision was not a result of the recent public outcry over the zoo’s proposal to upgrade and extend fencing around the complex and reduce the number of pedestrian entrances to three from 13. She said the zoo is revitalizing its bird house, and that it wants to renovate its reptile center and great ape house. “It’s very expensive,” she said. She also said the number of zoo visitors has been lower than expected because of extremely hot weather and numerous rainy days. “When we have lower visitation, we have lower revenue.” As for the zoo’s new fence, the National Capital Planning Commission this month deferred a decision on that project until September. The NCPC staff had recommended that the commission approve the plan, noting that it would enhance security and streamline visitor access and that the three entrances are the main entry points to the zoo. The vote to defer was 8 to 1, with commission member Geoffrey Griffis the holdout. He said he found “rationale and logic” to the zoo’s plan. The zoo had proposed an additional 4,347 feet of fence to close gaps in its perimeter and replace vulnerable fencing with a barrier that could withstand vehicle “ramming” events. Commission urban planner John Gerbich said in a presentation at the meeting that the Smithsonian believes that “open access to the zoo [is] a safety


China’s loss, America’s gain?

Ivanka Trump’s announcement that she is closing down her clothing line was bad news for China [“Ivanka Trump shutters clothing business to focus on work in D.C.,” news, July 25]. Several hundred Chinese factory workers may soon be unemployed. Very bad for the Chinese economy, not so for the U.S. economy. Hopefully, an American company will step in to fill this void. Ronald Carey


World Digest: July 26, 2018

GREECE 'Serious indications' that wildfire was arson Authorities said Thursday that they increasingly suspect that Greece’s deadliest forest fire in decades, which killed at least 82 people, resulted from arson. Public Order Minister Nikos Toskas said satellite image analysis and ground inspections indicated that the fire, which broke out in multiple places within a short time frame Monday, was set deliberately. “We have serious indications and significant findings of criminal activity concerning arson,” Toskas said. “We are troubled by many factors, and there have been physical findings that are the subject of an investigation.” He declined to provide details. Rescue crews and volunteers continued to search for victims. Many of the bodies recovered were burned beyond recognition, making identification difficult. The fire broke out near Rafina, northeast of Athens. Fanned by gale-force winds, it raced through seaside resorts. The large area the flames swept through further complicated the process of identifying victims. Officials said there was no way of knowing how many people were there at the time. By Thursday afternoon, there was still no official figure for the missing. — Associated Press CHINA Man detonates bomb outside U.S. Embassy A 26-year-old man detonated a homemade bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Thursday, injuring only himself, police and witnesses said. The bomb, which officers said resembled a firecracker, exploded in a public area in the embassy’s southeast corner, where people wait in line to apply for U.S. visas. As the crowd scattered, police quickly apprehended the suspect, whom they identified as a man from Inner Mongolia with the last name Jiang. The blast hurt his hand, authorities said. A probe into his motives is underway. Word of the blast spread quickly on social media. Photographs and videos posted online showed smoke near the embassy’s eastern edge, as well as security personnel and police cars gathered near an intersection. But less than an hour later, the scene was largely clear, and the embassy was open for business. — Danielle Paquetteand Emily Rauhala Duterte signs off on deal for Muslim rebel autonomy: Palestinian stabs 3 Israelis: — From news services


Waymo partners with Walmart to shuttle customers in self-driving cars

Alphabet’s Waymo announced Wednesday that it will begin a pilot program with Walmart to shuttle customers to and from stores to pick up their groceries. The new initiative is part of partnerships with companies to offer customers self-driving cars to run errands and shop. Customers in Phoenix who order groceries on Walmart.com will receive savings on their goods, and as their orders are put together at the store, autonomous Waymo vehicles will take customers to and from Walmart. Waymo will also partner with AutoNation, Avis, DDR Corp. and Element Hotel, offering their self-driving cars to customers who do business with those companies. AutoNation will lend customers a Waymo vehicle while their personal cars are serviced, instead of a typical “loaner.” Avis’s two locations in Chandler, Ariz., will offer customers a Waymo when they pick up and return their rental cars. Guests of Element Hotel can use the self-driving cars during their stays. And customers planning a trip to a local DDR shopping center can ride in a Waymo to avoid parking, the company said. Waymo, formerly Google’s self-driving car project, is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. “We’ve tailored our partnerships to meet the top rider needs,” Waymo said in a blog post. “While these are Metro Phoenix-specific partnerships today, these businesses are national and what we learn from these programs will give us a network of partners when we launch in new cities down the road.” The partnership announcements arrive as leading technology companies and automakers, including GM and Tesla, are racing to develop the market for fully autonomous cars. Some of the ambitious, new services automakers hope to launch include car sharing networks and ride-hailing apps powered by autonomous vehicles.


Europe’s addiction to Russian energy is dangerous

countries recognize the danger. Poland has criticized the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and plans to stop importing Russian natural gas by 2022. Ukraine and the Baltic countries have also spoken out against the new pipeline. These countries have vivid memories of what Russian aggression looks like. They see Putin’s energy dominance as a political and economic weapon to be used against them. Last year, Congress gave the president authority to impose sanctions on Russian pipelines. We’ve made clear that we want to roll back Russia’s energy invasion of Europe. Now, Congress should take the next step and mandate sanctions against any person or business assisting Russia with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Companies that are helping to finance the project would have to choose between dropping their support for Russia and facing restrictions such as access to the American financial system. Clearly these kinds of sanctions don’t just affect Russia. They have an impact on other countries as well. This is especially true for Germany, which has strong economic ties to Moscow. U.S. and E.U. sanctions over Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea hit German companies doing business with Russia especially hard. By increasing exports of American natural gas, the United States can help our NATO allies escape Russian strong-arming. America is the world’s leading producer of clean, versatile natural gas. There are two export facilities in the United States. able to ship natural gas overseas — one in Maryland and one in Louisiana. Three more are due to be operational by the end of this year, and at least 20 additional projects are awaiting federal permits. We must speed up these approvals to give our allies alternatives to Russian gas. We have plenty of natural gas to meet Americans’ needs and increase our exports. Independent studies have found that prices will remain low even with significant gas exports. Now we just need to clear away the regulatory hurdles and show our European allies that U.S. natural gas is a wiser option than Russia’s. When Putin looks at natural gas, he thinks of politics, he thinks of money and he thinks of power. It is in America’s national security interests to help our allies reduce their dependence on Russian energy. We need to make clear how important it is for their own security, as well. Our NATO alliance is strong. Ending Europe’s dependence on Russian energy will make it even stronger.


Surely, this speech deserved more coverage

We were disappointed that The Post dedicated less than a small portion of its newspaper on July 18 to former president Barack Obama’s speech in Johannesburg in honor of the late South African civil rights leader Nelson Mandela, a man who dedicated his life to fighting for equality. Obama’s speech was viewed by thousands worldwide. His message highlighted a political system corrupted by dark money that negatively affects citizens’ economic well-being and democracy. In the current climate, Obama’s speech deserved more than 63 words in a caption on a photograph with The World Digest. The Post chose to devote about half a page that day to a World article titled “Kenyans cry out against corruption,” regarding Kenyans’ inability to climb the social ladder because of corruption by Kenya’s elite governmental officials. In light of this article, it would seem relevant and newsworthy to dedicate as much coverage to Obama’s commentary on political corruption, economic equality and protection of democracy. Angel and Angella Braveboy