EPA’s Scott Pruitt wants to set up opposing teams to debate climate change science

not being heard have ample opportunity to express their ideas through journal submissions and at scientific meetings. “This just feels to me a like another way to skirt the tried and true scientific process that has worked for years in our field and many others,” he said. Pruitt’s call for a review of key climate-change science findings, after pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, is, in some ways, reminiscent of the actions of President George W. Bush 16 years prior. After pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, in March 2001, the Bush White House also sought a review of climate-change science — although the science was more uncertain then than it is now. In May of that year, it asked the National Academy of Sciences for “assistance in identifying the areas in the science of climate change where there are the greatest certainties and uncertainties.” In response, the National Academies — a body set up to provide objective scientific advice — published the 2001 expert assessment “Climate Change: An Analysis of Some Key Questions.” That report, prepared by a diverse group of climate scientists, concluded that the planet was warming, humans were likely contributing and that warming posed risks. Here are two key excerpts from that report: Greenhouse gases are accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise. Temperatures are, in fact, rising. The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes is also a reflection of natural variability. Human-induced warming and associated sea level rises are expected to continue through the 21st century. . . . Global warming could well have serious adverse societal and ecological impacts by the end of this century, especially if globally-averaged temperature increases approach the upper end of the IPCC projections. Since 2001, the planet has experienced its three warmest years on record, and multiple subsequent reports from the National Academies, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.S. government have found that the case for human-induced climate change has only grown stronger. Related links Extreme warmth has dominated U.S. weather records since 2010. This is climate change. Meteorologists slam Trump decision to withdraw from Paris climate agreement EPA website removes climate science site from public view after two decades


Could the Persian Gulf rift mean the beginning of the end of Al Jazeera?

An employee walks past the Al Jazeera logo in Doha, Qatar. (Kamran Jebreili/AP) Al Jazeera, the Pan-Arabic television network that gained a sudden worldwide audience in 2010 during the emergence of Arab Spring, is now threatened with extinction, many Middle East analysts fear. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were joined by Egypt and other neighboring states in breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar, which founded and funds the network. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said they would cut air, sea and land links with Qatar. Nearly immediately, Al Jazeera took a hit. Saudi Arabia closed the network’s bureau in Riyadh and took away its operating license, accusing it of promoting terrorist groups in Yemen and sparking divisions in Saudi Arabia. Jordanian officials later followed suit, announcing the closure of the Al Jazeera bureau in Amman and the withdrawal of its operating license in Jordan, a country that receives financial support from Saudi Arabia. Now, Al Jazeera is being targeted in other parts of the region. This week, activists in Israel stormed Al Jazeera’s bureau in East Jerusalem, demanding its closure, according to the nongovernmental organization Reporters Without Borders, which specializes in defending press freedom. The Arabic-language channel, which also has an English language version, has been controversial since it was founded more than two decades ago by the Qatari royal family, which invested millions of dollars in the venture while asserting its journalistic independence. Indeed, Qatar is perhaps the only country that is less famous than the television network it funds, Tal Samuel-Azran, head of the international communication program at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, told The Post. But some Americans have accused it of being a mouthpiece for terrorist organizations because of what they considered slanted coverage of the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. and its broadcasts in the aftermath of those attacks of numerous statements by Osama bin Laden. The George W. Bush administration lambasted Al Jazeera for promoting anti-U. S. propaganda. But for all the criticism, Middle East experts, including many in the West, considered Al Jazeera a breakthrough for the Arab world. It transcended any one country and provided a platform for free dialogue and political dissent. During the Arab Spring, viewers around the world lauded Al Jazeera’s constant, on-the-ground coverage of the 2011 protests in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. Still, Al Jazeera — and the global


Trump’s budget eliminates program that detects infrastructure-crippling solar storms

A solar flare. (NASA) Every so often, an explosion of radiation, solar wind, magnetic field and energy erupts from the surface of the sun. Occasionally, it is pointed right at our planet — invisible to the naked eye but posing a significant threat to our electronic infrastructure. Officials take steps to mitigate the damage and impact, and you rarely hear about it. Most of these events are manageable with little inconvenience to our everyday lives. But, in fact, geomagnetic storms post the greatest threat to the electric power grid. Apocalyptic scenarios of weeks — even months — with no electricity have motivated lawmakers to plan protections from such a crippling blow. In his 2018 budget request, President Trump proposed a cut that would eliminate the program that detects these storms. The program’s data is used in alerts that protect the power grid, our satellites and other electronic infrastructure, and it costs $1.9 million a year to run, or 0.000045 percent of the U.S. federal budget in 2017. Geomagnetic storms — disturbances to the normal state of Earth’s magnetic field — result from energized solar wind. The solar wind is always blowing, but sometimes it’s particularly — windy. The largest storms usually are sparked by “solar wind gusts” called coronal mass ejections. The geomagnetic field fluctuates wildly during a storm, like the wind during a hurricane, and that creates electrical currents here on Earth. They can be intense and damaging to transformers in the power grid. The idea that the storms could cause long power outages and damage to our infrastructure is not speculative. And, given past events, it doesn’t take much to see how an event like this can cause international chaos. In March 1989, a severe geomagnetic storm tripped the circuit breakers on Quebec’s power grid. The power went out for nine hours across the entire province, affecting its millions of residents. Meanwhile, the aurora borealis could be seen as far south as Texas and Florida and — being 1989 — people worried that nuclear war had begun. In Russia, radio broadcasts from Europe were disrupted, leaving residents to believe the Soviets had intentionally blocked them. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Geomagnetism Program, which Trump proposes to cut, is a central player in the effort to deal with this threat. The group not only operates the magnetometers that measure the changes in the magnetic field but also leads the efforts


مصر الآن في شدة مؤلمة، إلا إني أرغب في العودة

المرشح الرئاسي السابق و المحامي الحقوقي خالد علي يظهر هنا خارجا من قسم شرطة في القاهرة يوم 24 مايو بعد أن أطلق سراحه بكفالة. احتجز علي لأربع و عشرين ساعة لكونه مشتبها فيه بالعمل السياسي غير القانوني، على حد قول مسؤول قضائي (محمد الراعي، ِAgence France-Presse/Getty Images) نانسي عقيل هي المديرة التنفيذية لمعهد التحرير لسياسات الشرق الأوسط. @nancygeoTwitter اليوم تحل الذكرى السنوية لنهار حكمت علي فيه محكمة مصرية بخمس سنوات في الحبس. “جريمتي” كانت عملي في منظمة دولية تدعم حقوق الإنسان و الديمقراطية. مرت اليوم خمس سنوات منذ أن حزمت حقيبة سفر صغيرة و تركت بلدي معتقدة أنني سأعود بعد بضعة أسابيع. خمس سنوات—تقريبا هي كامل مدة الحكم الصادر في حقي—مرت منذ أن اخترت منفاي في الولايات المتحدة، حيث سعيت أن أكمل عملي في الدفاع عن الديمقراطية و حقوق الإنسان. ليس باستطاعتي العودة إلى وطن أتوق إليه—على الرغم من أن مصر لم تعد ذات المكان الذي تركته. اليوم، و تحت الحكم القاسي للرئيس عبد الفتاح السيسي، يواجه مواطنوها مستويات غير مسبوقة من القمع و التدهور الاقتصادي. كم تمنيت أن أكتب هذه الكلمات لإحياء ذكرى بعيدة، إلا أن تلك الأيام ما زالت حاضرة و لم تصير ذكرى مطلقا. بينما حالفني الحظ أن لا أمضي السنوات الخمس الماضية في زنزانة سجن، يجب علي أن أقبل حياة المنفى، و هي معاناة في حد ذاتها. فقد تركت خلفي عائلتي و عالمي بأكمله عندما جئت لواشنطن. ماتت أمي الصيف الماضي بعد أن أصيبت بجلطة بعد رحيلي بوقت قصير، و لم أتمكن من رؤيتها أو حتى حضور جنازتها لوداع أخير. أعيش أيامي بعيدا عن بنتي و ابني التوأم البالغ من العمر سبع سنوات، و يفوتني أن أشاهدهما يكبران كل يوم، لكن أن عزائي الوحيد أنهما في بيتهما. إلا أن حتى المنفى لم يعد الملجأ الآمن للمعارضة، فالسلطات المصرية تستمر في تهديدنا و ترهيبنا نحن و عوائلنا. فقضيتي، و التي حكم فيها على 42 ناشطا آخرا، أعيد فتحها العام الماضي، موجهة تهديدها هذه المرة لمدافعين كبار عن حقوق الإنسان و مجموعات لم تستفد من ذات الانتباه الدولي الذي حظينا به فيما مضى. كنت أحضر الشهر الماضي ورشة عن حقوق الإنسان في روما عندما كشفت رجلا يلتقط صورا لي أمام فندقي و هو متخفٍ، و عندما واجهته، دفعني الرجل و هرب. و بعدها بساعات، نشرت وسائل إعلام ذات صلة بالدولة المصرية مقالات مصحوبة بصور صورا لآخرين شاركوا في نفس الورشة، و زعمت أننا كنا نتآمر ضد مصر في اجتماع سري. استدعي خالد علي، و هو مرشح رئاسي سابق كان مشاركا في الورشة، إلى التحقيق القضائي و هو لا


A 4-year-old dies days after going swimming. Was ‘dry drowning’ to blame?

doctors think he was a victim of “dry drowning,” in which a person is killed by liquid trapped in the respiratory system after he or she has left the water. Doctors found fluid in Frankie's lungs and around his heart, according to KTRK. His parents told Texas media outlets that they were sharing their son's tragic story to prevent other such deaths. The family did not respond to messages from The Washington Post seeking comment. It's a rare affliction that can strike hours or even days after a child has left the water, doctors say. Everyday, 10 people die from unintentional drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, two are 14 or younger. Drowning is the second-leading cause of “injury death” among children ages 1 to 14. The agency does not collect statistics on “dry drowning.” Doctors have shied away from the terms “dry drowning” and “secondary drowning,” preferring to specify the circumstances of someone's death to improve resuscitation treatments. In 2002, the World Congress on Drowning produced a comprehensive definition of drowning and rejected terms such as “wet drowning” and “secondary drowning.” But the terms are still used as an imprecise shorthand to describe atypical drownings. In dry drowning, a person's larynx closes in an attempt to stop water from seeping into the respiratory system, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But air can't get through, either, depriving the body of oxygen. In secondary drowning, water is trapped in the respiratory system. It causes the lungs to spasm, making it difficult for a person to catch a breath. The lungs can also get irritated and fill with fluid. Olympic gold medalist Tom Dolan shares rules to ensure children stay safe while in the water. But Michael McHugh, the acting chair of the pediatric critical care unit at the Cleveland Clinic, stressed that doctors have tried to avoid catchall phrases such as “dry drowning” so they can improve treatments for specific circumstances. A patient's treatment “depends on where in this whole process a rescue may have occurred and an intervention may have taken place,” McHugh told The Washington Post. He said it was premature to say that Frankie's death was the result of an atypical drowning, noting that symptoms of hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, usually manifest rapidly. “If a child or adult had been under long enough and had been starved of oxygen long


President Trump’s misleading claims about new mines and ‘clean coal’

Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, which is supported by liberal philanthropies. All carbon emissions, including emissions from metallurgical coal, contribute to climate change. But the Paris agreement focuses on thermal coal, because electricity production can be changed without affecting economic growth. Therefore, it’s a more feasible area for change than trying to find any substitutes for using coal to make steel. The White House did not respond to our request for comment. The rebound in metallurgical coal demand doesn’t signal a long-term coal renaissance, analysts say. For one thing, the long-term projection of metallurgical coal exports by the United States through 2050 remains flat. And metallurgical coal production makes up less than 10 percent of U.S. production, according to E&E News. Before the slight uptick in early 2017, U.S. coal jobs and production in 2016 fell to the lowest level in four decades. The demand for electricity-producing coal continues to decline, while natural gas is becoming cheaper and easier to produce, thanks to the fracking boom. In fact, Gary Cohn, chairman of Trump’s National Economic Council, recently acknowledged that “coal doesn’t even make that much sense anymore as a feedstock” due to the rise of natural gas. (For more, read our colleague Steven Mufson’s great article on the industry’s challenges for achieving long-term profitability.) Trump said the Paris agreement “effectively blocks the development of clean coal in America,” but the nonbinding, voluntary agreement allows each country to decide the method and technology it wants to use to curb carbon emissions. “Clean coal” is rhetoric often used to describe carbon capture and storage, a technique to capture carbon emissions from power plants, transport it through pipelines and inject it deep into the ground to make oil wells more productive. Since the United States signed on to the Paris agreement in 2015, this technology has continued to develop in the United States. But it remains expensive and not viable economically without being linked to an enhanced oil recovery project. The first large-scale “clean coal” facility was declared operational in January in Texas. A second coal plant in Mississippi using carbon-capture technology was expected to open the same month, but was delayed and has not yet opened. Meanwhile, Trump’s budget proposal would shrink funding for research on carbon capture and carbon storage technology. The Pinocchio Test Trump’s characterization about new mines and “clean carbon” technology, both in the context of the Paris agreement,


How the Northern Irish Unionists might save Theresa May’s bacon

to abortion services. Their critics say the unionists are supported by paramilitary groups. And they really dislike Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The Tories say May has struck a deal — what they are calling “an understanding” — with the Democratic Unionist Party. A DUP source told the Guardian newspaper, “We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable. For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure there’s a Tory PM.” But this support comes at a price. Northern Ireland as a whole voted strongly in favor of remaining in the European Union in the vote last June, by a majority of 56 percent to 44 percent. Unionist leaders urged their constituents to vote Leave, but the ballots among their own supporters were divided. In the aftermath of the vote to leave the European bloc, DUP politicos have pushed for a kinder, gentler Brexit, and one that takes into account the unique history and geography of Ireland. Remember that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom — along with England, Wales and Scotland — and shares a long porous border with E.U. member Ireland to the south. That border was a kind of no man’s land, populated by British soldiers, gunmen and smugglers during the decades of battles against the Irish Republican Army. As The Washington Post reported last year, more than 180 formal roads cross that border — many more if you count tractor trails and foot paths. Most of the time, a traveler barely sees a sign noting the change in countries. This will now become Europe’s back door to Britain and vice versa. It was only 15 years ago that the last bomb exploded in the long conflict between British security forces and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups and the Irish Republican Army. More than 3,500 people were killed during the Troubles, half of them civilians. Nobody wants to see its return, but there are fears on both sides that Brexit could awake old demons — and usher in a “hard border,” with customs checkpoints and immigration controls. Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, has warned both against a hard border and a hard Brexit. In the party’s 2017 election manifesto, a top promise was: “Work to get the best Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.” It appears they are now in a good position to push for that.


These are the 50 best places in the world to eat your vegetables

regular and unleaded. Chefs will do their regular menu, which is spurred by their interests and creativity, and there’s the unleaded, which is vegetarian, or vegan,” said Greg Drescher, vice president of industry leadership and strategic initiatives at The Culinary Institute of America. “What we wanted to do is show the many ways that you can be plant-forward.” A delicate vegetarian dish at Manresa, one of the restaurants recognized on the CIA/EAT list. (Eric Wolfinger) And that doesn’t necessarily mean vegetarian. Many of the chefs on the list serve meat at their restaurants, but they received the distinction because they highlight vegetables in new and creative ways. Dan Barber, the chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, has garnered attention for his work with food waste and agriculture, and Alex Atala, chef of São Paulo’s D.O.M., was recognized for shining the spotlight on indigenous Brazilian ingredients. Still other restaurants were recognized for highly specific contributions to vegetable cooking — such as the father-son chef duo Michel & Sébastien Bras, of Le Suquet in Laguiolle, France. Michel Bras’ famed vegetable dish, the Gargouillou de jeunes legumes. (Courtesy of Palis-Trébosc). “Michel Bras’ Gargouillou de jeunes legumes, a celebration of seasonal produce that evokes a walk through nature, remains to this day, nearly forty years after its invention, one of the most well-known vegetable dishes ever created; it has inspired two generations of chefs — and countless imitations,” a write-up of the list explained. The list also gives vegetarians, who may feel less enthused about the meat-heavy options on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, a bucket list to check off. Typically, restaurant rankings might have “a great deal of focus on dazzling technique, but behind that was a big focus on animal proteins paired with luxury ingredients,” said Drescher. “Now, to see so many of the world’s chefs embrace seasonal high-flavored vegetables and other plant-sourced ingredients is really a significant development.” The United States dominates the list with 16 chefs, from Vedge’s Richard Landau and Kate Jacoby to Dirt Candy’s Amanda Cohen. But it’s also noteworthy for its geographic diversity, honoring restaurants in cities and countries that are overlooked by World’s 50 Best, or aren’t in one of Michelin’s geographic regions. For example: Midunu in Accra, Ghana, was lauded for its contemporary take on African culinary heritage with native ingredients; Baekyangsa Temple in Bukha-myeon, Korea, is a vegan restaurant with a Buddhist


House passes sweeping legislation to roll back banking rules

to animate supporters still angry that Wall Street banks have not paid a larger price for the financial crisis. They noted that banks reported record profits last year, despite tough Dodd-Frank Act rules, and Wall Street bonuses rose for the first time in three years. Many have expressed particular concern over a provision that would curtail the powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and reduce its independence by having its director report to the president. The House’s move is part of a broader GOP agenda — such as the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — to reduce the size and influence of the federal government on everyday life. Today → The House votes on a jobs bill for Main Street. The #CHOICEact will help #smallbiz and repeal thousands of… https://t.co/wjjIBzH2Mz Dodd-Frank was adopted in the wake of a financial crisis that left the global economy teetering. It took more than a year to pass Congress, mostly without Republican support. The law required financial institutions to carry larger financial cushions and submit to regular “stress” tests to assess their stability, and it set out rules for their liquidation should they fail. Republicans have argued the rules went too far and have strangled economic growth, hampering small community banks in particular from making loans while allowing big banks to get bigger. “They promised us it would lift the economy . . . but instead we are still stymied in the weakest, slowest recovery in the postwar era,” said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who introduced the bill. “Have you tried to get a mortgage recently? They are hard to come by and cost hundreds of dollars more to close.” The newly approved legislation would attempt to ease the burden on the country’s nearly 6,000 banks by offering them a choice: If they want to avoid many of the regulatory barriers imposed during the Obama administration, they would have to significantly increase their emergency financial surpluses. That way, if they run into financial trouble, the banks would be more likely to survive without taxpayers’ help, supporters of the bill say. The Financial Services Roundtable, an industry lobbying group, cheered the bill’s passage, saying it would “modernize the financial regulatory system to advance the goal of boosting the economy without sacrificing important consumer and taxpayer protections.” For many of the country’s largest banks,


The Energy 202: What the Dodd-Frank rollback could mean for energy companies

anticipated hearing on Capitol Hill this morning..." DECONSTRUCTION SITES This January 19, 2012 image provided by NASA shows an M3.2 solar flare captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). (HO/AFP/Getty Images) -- Digging deep into President Trump's budget, Joe Kunches for The Post found that the White House proposed to eliminate a program that detects solar storms. These storms can send toward Earth a rush of radiation that, if powerful enough, could cripple the electric grid. Kunches explains: Geomagnetic storms — disturbances to the normal state of Earth’s magnetic field — result from energized solar wind. The solar wind is always blowing, but sometimes it’s particularly — windy. The largest storms usually are sparked by “solar wind gusts” called coronal mass ejections. The geomagnetic field fluctuates wildly during a storm, like the wind during a hurricane, and that creates electrical currents here on Earth. They can be intense and damaging to transformers in the power grid. It costs only $1.9 million per year to run. The proposal is head-scratching given the interest the Trump administration has paid toward grid security generally and toward these very radiation threats, called electromagnetic pulses, specifically -- whether they come from the sun or from a hostile foreign power like North Korea via a nuclear bomb. -- Zinke says the Interior Department will continue climate research Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told lawmakers Thursday that his agency is doing research on climate change, but it will be focused in one division of the sprawling department instead of four or five. Last month, the Interior Department asked USGS to edit out a line -- “Global climate change drives sea-level rise, increasing the frequency of coastal flooding" -- from a news release on a sea-level-rise study. -- The U.S. solar industry is doing just fine under Trump -- for now. The reasons? State level incentives to add renewables to the grid have helped. Plus many solar installations at the beginning of this year were set into motion before Election Day, when the prospect of a Trump presidency seemed unlikely to many. LOCAL ENVIRONS Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, second from left, talks during the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council meeting. (Josh Hicks/TWP) AK AK CA MD WA DAYBOOK President Trump listens to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt speak after announcing the United States will withdraw from the Paris accord. ( AFP PHOTO / Brendan SmialowskiBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) Coming Up


Remember that terrifying robot cheetah? It’s getting a new owner.

Cheetah Robot runs 28.3 mph; a bit faster than Usain Bolt A massive Japanese conglomerate is scooping up Boston Dynamics, the robotics firm behind many of the videos you may have seen online of amazing yet somewhat creepy automatons. On Friday, SoftBank said it had struck a deal to acquire Boston Dynamics from Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which had bought the robotics company in 2013 but decided last year to put it up for sale. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots,” SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son said in a statement. “I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics.” Boston Dynamics is widely known for developing robots with potential military applications. The robots are built to withstand substantial abuse. Videos on the company’s YouTube channel show its four-legged contraptions recovering after being shoved and kicked, while its bipedal robots have been hit with hockey sticks. Atlas The Next Generation Robot - harassed with hockey stick! When Alphabet signaled that it was looking to shed the company last year, reports suggested that one major factor was the high cost of developing the robots, along with a hazy path to market. Since Google reorganized as Alphabet in 2015, the company has ramped up its focus on financial sustainability — particularly among its other bets, which include Google Fiber, X and Nest. It appears that SoftBank may be more willing to accept Boston Dynamics’ leisurely R&D timeline. And it makes some sense culturally, too: As its population ages, Japan has turned increasingly to robots to make up for workers who are leaving the labor pool. More than 26 percent of Japan’s population is over the age of 60, according to the World Bank. As a result, Japan has invested heavily in robots for elderly care, hospitality and other applications, leading to a boom in the technology. In 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe predicted that Japan’s robot market will be worth $21 billion by 2020. Alphabet didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the sale.


A tiny party of hardliners holds the balance of power in Britain. Here’s what you need to know

linked both to the British economy and to that of the Republic of Ireland, which will remain a European Union member. Therefore, economic relationships would become far more complex if there were a “hard border” set between Northern Ireland and the Republic. This situation could also have implications for the peace deal in the North, which was facilitated by the fact that both the United Kingdom and Ireland are member nations of the EU. The DUP is pulled in both directions on the EU – in practice it wants a ‘soft Brexit,’ which would involve an amicable deal between the EU and UK on issues such as customs, but in principle it has been quite hostile to the EU as a political entity. The practical reason it wants the UK to make a deal on Brexit is because it wants to undercut Sinn Fein and Northern republicans. Sinn Fein wants a border deal where Northern Ireland would have special status, with unique arrangements for the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This would lessen the impact of Brexit and possibly dissociate Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, pushing a little further towards an eventual united Republic of Ireland. For Sinn Fein, the best outcome is one that clearly separates Northern Ireland from the UK, providing a wedge that can be used to separate Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and push it towards the Republic. The DUP, in contrast, has demanded that there be no special status for Northern Ireland as part of its deal. It wants the border question to be resolved, both because of the economic interests of DUP voters who would be hurt by a closed border, and because questions over the border can be exploited by Sinn Fein. This means that it wants Brexit to involve a deal on customs and immigration that would not have a special carveout for Northern Ireland, but instead involve a blanket arrangement for all of the United Kingdom. However, if the DUP’s head says that a soft Brexit deal is a good idea, its heart is anti-EU. The DUP’s leader, Ian Paisley believed that the EU was (as described in a paper on his website) a secret Catholic plot to dominate Europe. During the Brexit campaign, the DUP received a somewhat mysterious large donation, which it used to fund a newspaper supplement in the mainland UK arguing


The best beer festivals and parties to quench your thirst in June

Atomic Smash, the official beer of D.C.'s AwesomeCon, makes its official debut at City Tap House on June 16. Costumes are encouraged. (Courtesy of Manor Hill Brewing) The first days of June were consumed by the annual Savor festival and the tap takeovers and events surrounding it. While many bars and breweries are slowing down the pace for a few weeks, there are still noteworthy festivals and celebrations this month. June 10: Brewfest on the Farm at Milkhouse Brewery Eighteen breweries from across Maryland are bringing their beers to Milkhouse's scenic Mount Airy farm for a day of sampling. Some, like Manor Hill, Mad Science and Waredaca, are fellow farm breweries; others, such as Flying Dog, Black Flag and Evolution, just make good beer. Three bands perform bluegrass and Americana music all day, and food will be available. Noon to 6 p.m. $28.50 in advance, $30 at the gate. Week of June 12: The Black Squirrel opens in Dunn Loring Adams Morgan's largest craft beer bar is expanding to Virginia, opening its first offshoot next to the Dunn Loring Metro Station. Expect more than two dozen draft lines, many from the Old Dominion, and a wine list packed with Virginia natives. Check the bar's Facebook and Twitter pages for more information about exact dates and opening events. June 15: History and Hops with Mike Van Hall The man in charge of hosting duties at the Heurich House's monthly History and Hops tasting is Mike Van Hall, the artist who has designed cans for Stillwater and Aslin, released some provocative beer stickers and created a whole line of stylish hop-centric posters for the Committee on Opprobriations. An exhibit of Van Hall's original art is going on display on the Heurich House's lower level, and he's bringing a trio of beers from Aslin, which hardly ever leave the Herndon brewery for D.C. Admission includes all drinks and snacks. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. $30. June 16: The debut of AwesomeCon's official beer at City Tap House From the Nationals to the Craft Brewers Conference, everyone has an official beer these days, and you can add AwesomeCon to the list. Ellicott City's Manor Hill Brewing was tapped with drawing up a new ale for the annual gathering of fans of comics, sci-fi and cosplay, and came back with Atomic Smash, a farmhouse ale flavored with pink guava fruit. Even cooler: The label features an


IOC approves women’s 1,500-meter swimming, 3-on-3 basketball for 2020 Tokyo Games

The International Olympic Committee will add 3-on-3 basketball and mixed swimming relays, among other events, to the program for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (Shizuo Kambayashi, File/AP) The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board announced on Friday it will add new events to the swimming program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, including U.S. star Katie Ledecky’s specialty, the 1,500 meters. Ledecky, the Bethesda native who won four gold and a silver at the 2016 Games in Rio, has held the world record in the 1,500 for three years. A men’s 800 and a 4×100 mixed medley relay — another possible event for Ledecky — was also added. Track cycling is adding men’s and women’s madison races and track and field will add a 4×400 mixed relay. Also Friday, the IOC Executive Board agreed to award both the 2024 and 2028 Olympics this year, an unusual move that reflects the fact that only two cities were bidding for 2024: Paris and Los Angeles. Paris is likely to be the host for 2024 but a final decision has not been made. The new events approved Friday include 3-on-3 basketball and BMX freestyle cycling, added as part of the committee’s overarching effort to appeal to a younger, more urban audience. The committee had decided last August to include sports climbing, skateboarding, surfing, baseball, softball and karate. “We want to take sport to the youth,” International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said in a statement. “With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them. Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfills all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games.” The new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes, and further the IOC’s goal to establish gender balance in both athletes and events. The IOC expects women to account for 48.8 percent of the athletes. “I am delighted that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will be more youthful, more urban and will include more women,” Bach added. Overall, the Games will see a net increase of 15 gold medals — possibly made out of recycled cellphones — for a 321-event program. The new additions do


More people are voluntarily seeking help for marijuana addiction

Marijuana. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) As marijuana has been increasingly liberalized and decriminalized, fewer people are finding themselves in court-mandated programs for marijuana addiction treatment. This is not particularly surprising: With fewer people landing in court for using marijuana, it follows that fewer would be sentenced to treatment for it. But while mandatory treatment is falling, evidence suggests that the number of people voluntarily seeking treatment is rising. Source: The blue part of each bar in the chart is drawn from annual surveys assessing court-referred marijuana patients in public sector addiction-treatment programs, which have dropped 40 percent since 2011. The orange part of each bar captures data from an annual national population survey that asks marijuana-using individuals about treatment they have received in the past year. It covers a much broader range of settings than the survey of substance-use treatment programs, including help-seeking with physicians, psychologists, school nurses, urgent care clinic staff and self-help groups. Most marijuana-treatment-seeking in these settings is voluntary, and court-mandated public sector addiction treatment has been excluded from the data reflected in the orange part of the bars. The overall number of people receiving marijuana-addiction treatment is fairly stable. This suggests that the decline in court-mandated treatment is being compensated for by an increase in voluntary treatment seeking. The rise in voluntary admissions will likely surprise people who think marijuana is harmless and that, therefore, no one would seek treatment for it without legal pressure. But marijuana-addiction treatment will probably be more rather than less widely sought as legalization spreads, for two reasons. First, although marijuana has a benign reputation, about 9 percent of users report becoming addicted to it. Because marijuana consumption is soaring, that 9 percent is becoming a larger absolute number of people, some of whom will seek treatment not because the legal system makes them but because they are genuinely experiencing problems with the drug. Second, The Netherlands has long made marijuana legally available in licensed cafes with no legal pressure to seek treatment. Yet the Dutch have the highest rate of seeking marijuana treatment in Europe. The U.S. could very easily end up with a Dutch future: little legal pressure on marijuana users to seek treatment, but substantial desire among them to do so voluntarily.


These photos show what the Soviet Union thought the future would look like

of the USSR. On display were diverse examples of American technology, from graphic arts to agriculture, outdoor recreation to medicine.” Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, center left, talks with U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon during their famous “Kitchen Debate” at the United States exhibit at Moscow’s Sokolniki Park, July 24, 1959. Standing to the right is Khrushchev’s deputy, Leonid Brezhnev. (AP) But in an effort to also educate Soviets about the innovation occurring at home, the USSR opened its own expo next to the American exhibition in Moscow’s Sokolniki park in 1959. As documented by photographer Thomas O’Halloran, the exhibit features an array of items that offer a glimpse into the soviet zeitgeist. From chocolate to Sputnik, O’Halloran’s photos show us not only what the USSR was, but what it hoped to be. The two exhibitions received a nearly 3 million visitors in 1959. While they were dramatically different, their juxtaposition also underscored the commonalities in the two countries. As Khrushchev told Nixon: “The Americans have created their own image of the Soviet man. But he is not as you think. You think the Russian people will be dumbfounded to see these things, but the fact is that newly built Russian houses have all this equipment.” Even after Nixon showed him a dishwasher, Khrushchev responded, “We have such things.” Here are some of those things: Shoes. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) Television sets and radios. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) Sewing machines. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) A dollhouse. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) Dolls. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) Chocolate and food. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) Sculpture. (Source: Arianne Kouri, 2013) Sputnik III . (Source: Arianne Kouri, 2013) Canned food. (Source: Arianne Kouri, 2013) A man walking toward the USSR Exhibition in Sokolniki Park, Moscow, next to the American National Exhibition on Aug. 5, 1959. (Thomas O’Halloran/Library of Congress) More on In Sight: These photos from the 1800s first proved that galloping horses levitate ‘I buried my negatives in the ground in order that there should be some record of our tragedy.’ The photographs of Henryk Ross These photos show what the U.S.-Mexican border looked like about 80 years ago ‘Everybody was a dandy then.’ These portraits of celebrities in 1920s Paris launched Berenice Abbott’s career. Looking back at American dog shows in the early 1900s ‘Where you go to fill up your tank and shut off your brain’: America as seen at the Pump


Dear Science: Is the eclipse moving backward?

the moon is circling from east to west around our planet. The Hinode spacecraft captured this image of the January 6, 2011 solar eclipse. (NASA) In reality, the moon appears to rise in the east because that's the way the Earth is spinning. If you looked down on Earth from above the North Pole, our planet would be rotating counterclockwise — or spinning toward the east. That's why you catch sight of the moon first peeping above the eastern horizon, and your last view of it is as it sets in the west. Meanwhile, the moon is actually revolving in the same direction that Earth spins — and twice as fast. The moon is traveling eastward in its orbit at about 2,100 miles per hour, while the Earth spins at a sluggish 1,040 mph (at the equator). So the path of the moon's shadow will track eastward across the Earth's surface at a speed of about 2,100 minus 1,040 mph — roughly 1,060 mph. Head still spinning? That's understandable — this issue is easier to understand if you can visualize it. Take a look at this video of the moon taken by a camera aboard NASA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite last year. NASA released images July 11 of the moon crossing the face of the Earth for the second time this year. The images were captured by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite between July 4-5 See how the moon travels quickly from west to east across the globe? The moon doesn't do anything differently during the eclipse. Instead, the eclipse is exposing us to a reality that exists every day of the year. For many of us, for the first time in our lives, the eclipse will let us witness the movement of the moon in its own orbit, and not as a result of the Earth's rotation. That's part of what makes astronomical events like this so cool: they are a reminder of our place in the universe. Have a question for Dear Science? Ask it here. More eclipse coverage: The first solar eclipse to cross America in 99 years is coming. To some, it's an act of God. Don't let clouds ruin your solar eclipse — here's where it's most likely to be clear Scientists are gearing up to take the longest-ever video of a solar eclipse


The Daily 202: 40 questions for Jeff Sessions

of August, as GE faces pressure from investors to improve profits. (Wall Street Journal) - A woman granted clemency by former President Obama will return to federal prison. Carol Denise Richardson is accused of theft and violating the terms of her supervised release. (Amy B. Wang) - The U.S. military carried out a drone strike against the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabab in Somalia. The attack comes two-and-a-half months after the president relaxed military restrictions in the country. (The New York Times) - U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters captured a northwestern neighborhood in Raqqa this weekend. (AP) - An Afghan soldier opened fire on U.S. troops Saturday, killing three and leaving another injured. The shooting occurred in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangahar province, where both ISIS and Taliban insurgents are contesting territory. (Annie Gowen and Thomas Gibbons-Neff) - Puerto Rico voted in favor of U.S. statehood, but the possibility is highly unlikely to come to fruition. The Republican Congress would never be in favor of making the Democratic-leaning Puerto Rico a state. There was also a record-low turnout. (AP) - Delta Airlines pulled its funding of the New York Public Theater due to mounting criticism over a Shakespeare in the Park production of “Julius Caesar,” starring a Trump look-alike as Caesar. The company said the interpretation “does not reflect (our) values” and “crossed the line on the standards of good taste.” (Travis M. Andrews) - An Israeli journalist will pay Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, $28,300 after losing a defamation lawsuit. The journalist published a Facebook post claiming that the prime minister had been kicked out a car by his wife following a heated dispute. (Ruth Eglash) - As society becomes more reliant on technology, youths may not be the only ones who need to limit “screen time." A new study of more than 150 families found that children whose parents spend time on mobile devices are more prone to develop behavioral issues. Researchers found that even low and “seemingly normative” amounts of teleconference work were linked to deviant behavior. (Linda Searing) - A federal judge in Florida ruled that a 21-year-old neo-Nazi who was found with explosives, white supremacist propaganda, and even a framed photo of Timothy McVeigh is “not a threat,” declining to keep him behind bars as he awaits trial for federal charges. (Kristine Phillips) - A New York Police Department officer contracted Legionnaires' disease, a potentially


Pentagon identifies three soldiers killed in apparent insider attack in eastern Afghanistan

Sgt. Eric Houck, 25; Sgt. William Bays, 29; and Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, 22, all belonged to the 101st Airborne Division and were killed in Nangahar Province, according to the statement. Another soldier was wounded in the attack, and the gunman was killed. Houck was from Baltimore; Bays was from Barstow, Calif.; and Baldridge was from Youngsville, N.C. Their deaths bring the total number of U.S. troops killed by hostile fire in Afghanistan in 2017 to six. Baldridge’s last public post on Facebook was on May 5, talking about how the end of his deployment was approaching. His friend, Bill Walsh, who served with him, described Baldridge in a short text exchange, as “the best of all of us.” “If there was ever somebody who had to go, he would volunteer,” he added. Since the war began in 2001, 1,879 U.S. service members have died from enemy fire, according to the website iCasualties.org. The three were slain Saturday on a firebase in the Pekka Valley near Nangahar’s Achin district where U.S. forces have been battling Islamic State militants for months. The Taliban, however, took credit for the attack. In a statement to journalists, a spokesman from the militant group called the gunman an “infiltrator.” “There was a joint operation, there were some advisers also present when the attacker opened fire on them,” Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said. “We are unable at this stage to say if the soldier was a commando or an infiltrator.” Saturday’s attack marks the second insider attack in Afghanistan in 2017. In March, three soldiers were wounded when an Afghan soldier opened fire within the confines of a U.S. Special Operations base in Helmand Province. At their height in 2012, insider attacks accounted for 15 percent of the U.S.-led coalition’s deaths in Afghanistan, according to data compiled by the Long War Journal. The rash of deaths prompted U.S. forces to incorporate new measures, including sending armed personnel to monitor any event where U.S. and Afghan troops worked together while on base. Since then and as U.S. troops have steadily pulled out of the country, insider attacks have rapidly declined. In the past, the Taliban claimed responsibility for nearly every death caused by so-called friendly Afghan troops, though at the time U.S. and NATO officials said only a quarter of the deaths were orchestrated by the militant group. Sayed Salahuddin contributed to this report from Kabul.


The feds are blocking a product aimed at keeping drugs out of kids’ hands

The GoStash bag, manufactured by Boulder, Colorado-based Stashlogix. (Courtesy of Stashlogix) U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized a Colorado company's shipments of a product intended to keep marijuana out of the hands of children. On April 28 of this year, CBP took a shipment of 1,000 storage cases en route to Stashlogix of Boulder, Colo. Stashlogix designed the boxes and was importing them to sell to marijuana, tobacco and pharmaceutical consumers stateside. The product was being sold to people who had children and wanted to keep drugs safely locked up and out of reach. Marijuana is legal for recreational use in eight states plus the District, and medical use is authorized in 21 additional states. But it remains illegal for all purposes under federal law. In the view of CBP, Stashlogix's containers are “drug paraphernalia,” even though everyone involved acknowledges the product is aimed at preventing drug use by children. The case highlights the ever-growing disconnect between permissive state laws and restrictive federal policies on marijuana use. And it underscores how the strict application of decades-old federal drug rules can, at times, increase the risks of marijuana use in places where it's already legal. Back in 2014, the burgeoning legal marijuana industry had a problem. The nation's first recreational pot shops opened in Colorado that year, selling not just the plant itself but all manner of sweet and savory snacks infused with it. That brought a raft of news reports about the dangers of children accidentally ingesting marijuana products. The actual risk to kids was generally overstated. But it was nevertheless true that new marijuana products were flooding the market. Consumers didn't have much experience with them. And many of them were in the form of sweet edible products, palatable to children, dogs, grandparents and anybody else who might happen to be walking by. Surveys indicate “People didn't have ways to safely store these items out of reach of kids, other than up on shelves or in sock drawers,” Skip Stone, a former civil engineer in Boulder, said in an interview. So in 2014, he and a partner launched a company called Stashlogix, creating cases and containers “for the storage and transport of medicine, tobacco & other stuff.” The company's most popular product: Small, lockable cases complete with tiny jars and odor-neutralizing inserts. “People love the product,” Stone said. “They use it for all sorts of things, but cannabis


Jupiter is oldest planet in solar system, ancient meteorites show

analogy the planets are the chopped limbs and the meteorites the bloody spray.) But, as with hunting for murder clues, he added, “there's always room for doubt with these types of problems.” It might be that the structure of the early disk kept the meteorite groups isolated, said Kevin Walsh, an astronomer at Southwest Research Institute in Colorado who was not involved with this work. “The key point the authors make is that Jupiter must form to keep these asteroid reservoirs separate while they form,” he said in an email. “It is possible that we have a naive understanding of the way asteroid building blocks could move in an early Solar System, and that a Jupiter mass planet isn't necessary.” But such an early Jupiter jibes with other ideas about the early solar system. One concept, called the grand tack hypothesis, casts Jupiter as a wanderer. In the grand tack hypothesis, first proposed by Walsh and other scientists in 2011, Jupiter began to barrel toward the center of the solar system. That was, until Saturn formed, pulling Jupiter backward. (This pendulous wrecking-ball motion could be responsible for, among other things, the mixing of the meteorite groups into one belt.) And it's likely that this young and massive Jupiter is responsible for a small Earth with a thin atmosphere. “We occupy a somewhat strange world, galactically speaking,” Batygin said. Earth, which formed about 100 million years after the solar nebula, lacked the gravity for a thick “nasty hydrogen helium atmosphere” found on other worlds. Thank Jupiter for sucking up most of that material. Exoplanet hunters looking at other star systems have found several super-Earths, planets larger than Earth but smaller than gas giants like Neptune. Few exoplanets are as small as two Earths and exist in the habitable zone of their star. Kruijer speculated that the young Jupiter is the reason our solar system does not have any super-Earths close to our star. In this light Jupiter is a pillar of the solar system. “Even in its infancy, Jupiter really controlled the dynamics and evolution of the solar system,” Johnson said. “It's the biggest thing there is. Even at a million years it's changing the way that our solar system looked.” Read more: Behold, the Hubble Telescope’s latest close-up photo of Jupiter Jupiter’s Great Red Spot might be making the planet red hot Juno probe captures incredible glowing lights on Jupiter


The nation’s biggest banks have a common gripe: They have too much money.

capital standards are higher than before the last crisis, they are not nearly high enough," Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said in response to Dimon's shareholder letter. "Unfortunately, regulators have taken it easy on the large banks, which today have only about half of the equity they need." But that could change under President Trump. The White House has said regulators went too far in regulating the banking industry, making it too hard to get a loan. At the center of the debate is one of the chief causes of the financial crisis: Banks had too much debt and not enough capital to absorb growing losses and had to be bailed out by taxpayers. The industry has significantly increased its financial cushion since them. The common equity capital ratio -- which compares an institution's core equity to the relative risk of its various assets---is one measure of an institution's ability to absorb losses. The ratio for the country's largest banks has more than doubled from 5.5 percent in early 2009 to 12.2 percent by 2016, according to the Federal Reserve. That amounted to an increase of more than $700 billion to $1.2 trillion in such capital. But just how much banks should hold and what forms it should take remains a contentious issue. "Too little capital is bad for a company, too much capital is also bad," said Ed Mills, a policy analyst at investment bank FBR Capital Markets. After Trump's election, "what investors got excited is that we may be seeing the high watermark" in the amount capital banks are required to hold. One approach championed by some Republicans is to give banks regulatory relief if they hold onto more capital. In legislation passed last week by the House, banks that raised more capital would be eligible for an "off-ramp" and would not face the same level of regulatory scrutiny. But critics say the requirement included in the legislation is still too low. The bill is likely to meet stiff resistance in the Senate, but even if it did pass, many of the biggest banks are not likely to choose the off-ramp, industry analysts say. JPMorgan Chase would need to set aside an additional $107 billion to take advantage of that option, according to research by Nomura, a global investment bank. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America would need to set aside an


Astronomers just achieved something Einstein said was impossible

knowing that people would one day build a telescope so powerful it can see galaxies in the making 10 billion light-years away, or that we would launch this instrument into space. With the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers had a hope of proving Einstein right about light bending but wrong about our inability to see it. The stars finally aligned in March 2014, when Stein 2051B, a white dwarf about 18 light-years from Earth, passed in front of a more distant background star. White dwarfs are the cooling remnants of dead stars — extremely dense spheres of matter that form when a star has run out of fuel for nuclear fusion and collapses. As predicted by Einstein's theory, the gravity of a massive object like Stein 2051B makes the star act like a lens, bending the light that passes by it. This effect, called gravitational lensing, is minuscule. Stein 2051B appears 400 times as bright as the background star (which is 5,000 light-years from Earth), so measuring the deflected light is as difficult as detecting a firefly hovering near a lightbulb from 1,500 miles away. This illustration reveals how the gravity of a white dwarf star warps space and bends the light of a distant star behind it. (NASA, ESA, and A. Feild at STScI) But Hubble was up to the challenge. When Stein 2051B eclipsed the background star, gravitational lensing made the background star appear to move by milliarcseconds (the unit used to measure distance in space). The researchers used this tiny deflection to calculate that the mass of Stein 2051B is about 68 percent the mass of our sun — or 1.4 octillion tons (that's 14 followed by 26 zeros). Their results were published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, (81 years after Einstein wrote in the same journal that such a feat was impossible) and presented at an American Astronomical Society meeting last week. Poetically, it was this same phenomenon — gravitational lensing — that first demonstrated the validity of general relativity almost 100 years ago. In 1919, just two years after Einstein published his theory, astronomers used the apparent movement of stars around the sun during a total solar eclipse to determine that massive bodies like the sun do warp space-time, causing light to bend. A century later, even the most outlandish-seeming aspects of Einstein's theory are still being proved right: the expansion of the universe


Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical-marijuana providers

citing of a "historic drug epidemic" to justify a crackdown on medical marijuana is at odds with what researchers know about current drug use and abuse in the United States. The epidemic Sessions refers to involves deadly opiate drugs, not marijuana. A growing body of research (acknowledged by the National Institute on Drug Abuse) has shown that opiate deaths and overdoses actually decrease in states with medical marijuana laws on the books. That research strongly suggests that cracking down on medical-marijuana laws, as Sessions requested, could perversely make the opiates epidemic even worse. In a Senate drug hearing in April 2016, Sessions said that 'we need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not to be minimized, that it’s in fact a very real danger.' In an email, John Hudak of the Brookings Institution characterized the letter's arguments as a "scare tactic" that "could appeal to rank-and-file members or to committee chairs in Congress in ways that could threaten the future of this Amendment." Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department also sought to undermine the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment. It circulated misleading talking points among Congress to influence debate over the measure, and it attempted to enforce the amendment in a way that "defies language and logic," "tortures the plain meaning of the statute" and is "at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law," in the ruling of a federal judge. The Rohrabacher-Farr amendment has significant bipartisan support in Congress. Medical marijuana is incredibly popular with voters overall. A Quinnipiac poll conducted in April found it was supported by 94 percent of the public. Nearly three-quarters of voters said they disapprove of the government enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized it either medically or recreationally. Through a spokesman, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said that "Mr. Sessions stands athwart an overwhelming majority of Americans and even, sadly, against veterans and other suffering Americans who we now know conclusively are helped dramatically by medical marijuana." Advocates have been closely watching the Trump administration for any sign of how it might tackle the politically complex issue of marijuana legalization. As a presidential candidate, Trump had offered support of state-level medical marijuana regulations, including the notion that states should be free to do what they want on the policy. But Sessions's letter, with its explicit appeal


This is how the U.K. election may destabilize Northern Ireland

that of the majority in Northern Ireland. The party opposes gay rights, abortion rights and Irish language rights, none of which are properly protected under Northern Ireland’s current legal regime. Many members of the Conservative Party have voiced sharp concerns about the DUP’s proposed social policies. If the DUP drives the British government agenda, in the absence of a functional Assembly in Northern Ireland to present and organize other perspectives, it will disempower the majority of Northern Irish citizens who would prefer laws more like those of the rest of Britain and the Republic of Ireland (which has marriage equality and Irish language protection, and is contemplating a referendum to loosen constitutional restrictions on abortion). DUP support will have consequences for Brexit The Conservative government’s reliance on the DUP will also have consequences for Brexit. Northern Ireland is the only part of Britain to share a land border with a European Union state, and Northern Ireland also voted to remain in the E.U. by 56 to 44 percent. The DUP was the only party in Northern Ireland to campaign for Brexit, and it seemed for a time that the unpopularity and economic threat of Brexit might cause the majority in Northern Ireland to reexamine attitudes toward remaining part of Britain. In particular, nationalists hoped they could persuade Unionists to support a united Ireland, if that allowed them to join the E.U. This would thereby trigger a border poll and allow the redrawing of constitutional boundaries. However, the DUP, with its minority position on Brexit, will now shape the British negotiations: Whereas the nationalists were hoping for some kind of special status for Northern Ireland in the E.U., the DUP will seek an affirmation of the union and a soft border, complicating Prime Minister Theresa May’s preference for a hard border. None of these considerations seem to be foremost in the minds of Conservatives, who, like other British politicians, tend to treat Northern Ireland as an anomalous region that they only pay attention to when they have to. However, basing a government on DUP support, and providing concessions to the DUP, may have far broader and more lasting consequences than Conservative leaders are reckoning on. Kimberly Cowell-Meyers is an assistant professor in the Department of Government at American University. Yvonne Galligan is a professor and former acting head of the school of history, anthropology, philosophy and politics at Queen’s University Belfast.


Do opioid drug-abuse deterrents actually work? FDA wants to know.

Oxycodone, a medication that is prescribed for pain. (John Moore/Getty Images) The Food and Drug Administration is ramping up scrutiny of anti-abuse features on opioid painkillers to try to determine if they actually do what they're intended to do. On Tuesday, the agency announced a two-day public meeting that will focus on whether the agency has “the right information to determine whether these products are having their intended impact on limiting abuse and helping to curb the epidemic,” according to an accompanying statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. The meetings, detailed in a Federal Register notice, are scheduled for July 10-11. Gottlieb called abuse-deterrent formulations — protections such as special coatings or additives to blunt a drug's euphoric effects when the medication is manipulated — an important focus for the agency. But he said there is a gap in understanding whether “these products result in a real-world, meaningful decrease in the frequency and patterns of opioid misuse and abuse.” The FDA requires companies selling abuse-deterrent medications to conduct post-approval studies assessing their impact, but such studies are challenging, he added. The move is the latest indication of the agency's intensified focus on the opioid epidemic, which Gottlieb promised to make his top priority during his Senate confirmation hearing in April. Last week, the FDA asked Endo Pharmaceuticals to withdraw its Opana ER from the market because of signs that abusers were injecting the painkiller. It was the first time the agency had made such a request based on concerns about the public health consequences of abuse. In an issue paper released Tuesday, the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said that determining the impact of abuse-deterrent formulations is difficult because many of the drugs are being taken illicitly, so comprehensive and reliable data can be hard to come by. The FDA previously has cautioned that “abuse-deterrent” doesn't mean “abuse-proof.” It cannot prevent someone who is prescribed a medication from taking extra pills to get high, for example. And because the agency's goal is to ensure that opioids are available to relieve pain for patients who need them, the FDA acknowledges that it might be impossible to stop all abuse. Respondents who took part in The Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey on long-term, opioid painkiller use share their experiences of living with pain. The agency has done considerable work on abuse-deterrence issues. In 2015, it issued a guidance to industry


The Energy 202: Paris climate accord divides industrial trade group

used in air conditioners and other industrial products and also drive climate change. Nor did it endorse efforts by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to cut emissions from the global aircraft fleet. The EPA did not comment on Pruitt's decision regarding this other language. While it may not be the beginning of any new U.S. policy regarding the Montreal Protocol, it is at very least a continuation of a starkly different tone from the Trump administration on international agreements. Here is a must-read from The Post's Ellen Nakashima on the threat hackers allied with the Russian government pose to the U.S. electric grid: The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system — in Ukraine in December. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev A teen Inupiat Eskimo goes ice-hopping in N.W. Alaska. (Getty) -- The Trump administration cannot squash the kids-vs.-Trump climate trial. -- A new New York Times interactive asks the question: "How Much Do You Know About Solving Global Warming?" DECONSTRUCTION SITES Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke enjoys a horseback ride in the Bears Ears National Monument in May 2017. (Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP) Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has made his recommendation on the Bears Ears National Monument. The verdict: President Trump should “revise the existing boundaries” of the area his predecessor designated with protective status under the 1906 Antiquities Act. But that decision isn't final. I recommend the monument, especially the areas of significant cultural interest, be comanaged by the Tribal nations. https://t.co/OdIKxG7ZWQ Utah's congressional delegation supported the move: "When I hear of a national monument, I think of a statue, not millions of acres of land."-- @JennaLeeUSA #BearsEars… https://t.co/mqwbVcvKWf The tens of thousands of archaeological sites in Bears Ears, which catalog the history of indigenous people in the area but recently have been subject to vandalism, attracted the attention of the Obama administration. The Post's Darryl Fears and Juliet Eilperin offer a window into the fraught politics of public land disputes: During the afternoon news conference, Zinke said he and a deputy assistant spoke with Native leaders, a majority of whom support the Bears Ears designation and fought the monument’s review at every step. “Overall, in talking to tribal leadership… they’re pretty happy and willing to work with us,” he said. The senior culture writer for


Cloudy skies again scuttle Wallops Island rocket launch

(NASA) Update: For the second consecutive night, cloudy weather forced NASA to cancel the scheduled launch of Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket. Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday night, a rocket will launch from Wallops Island that will create colorful clouds. Depending on the conditions, it might even look like an artificial aurora, and if you’re anywhere from New York to North Carolina, you have a shot at seeing the science in action. There are 10 canisters of chemicals on board this rocket, which will begin to deploy about four minutes after launch. The chemicals will mix with the atmosphere to create artificially colored clouds so scientists can study the way air moves at very high altitudes. Cameras are set up at Wallops and in Duck, N.C., to track the color tracers through the air. Three chemicals will interact to form the color tracers — barium, strontium and cupric-oxide. None of these chemicals will be a hazard to anyone on the coast. The launch window for the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket is between 9:04 p.m. and 9:19 p.m. It’s the sixth attempt NASA has made to launch this particular mission. Previous launches were scrapped because of weather, and Sunday night’s attempt was called off because of boats in the “no-boating” zone. NASA also attempted to launch this rocket on Monday night, but clouds would have prevented scientists from performing their study. Hopefully the skies will be more clear on Tuesday night, though scattered clouds are likely. Scroll below the graphic to read how to see it. This map shows when you can expect to see the launch. For everyone outside the immediate launch area, it will take about 220 seconds to appear. (NASA) Launch window: What you could see: How to see it: Approximately four minutes after the rocket launches, the canisters will be deployed. At this point, you should see colorful clouds or even an aurora-like glow. We’ve never seen something like this ourselves, so we don’t know exactly what to expect! If you get photos of the event, send them to us on Twitter or Facebook, or via email! Watch it on Facebook Live: NASA launch could create artificial aurora UPDATE: NASA has scrubbed Tuesday's launch because of cloudy skies.——-If you're on the East Coast, watch the sky around 9:00 tonight: NASA plans to launch a rocket that could create an artificial aurora. wapo.st/brightsky Posted by Capital Weather Gang on


Forget GMOs. The next big battle is over genetically ‘edited’ foods

later. In the United States, consumer skepticism of genetically modified crops has forced biotech companies into long, costly battles over issues such as whether these foods should be labeled; elsewhere in the world, the public outcry has prevented seeds from winning government approval. “It’s more about social science than science,” said Neal Gutterson, the vice president of research and development at DuPont Pioneer. “[It’s] ultimately about getting social license for this technology.” Odes to plant technology are ubiquitous in DuPont Pioneer’s Iowa offices, where even the conference space boasts glossy, museum-like exhibits devoted to genetically modified foods. Plus-sized photos show farmers standing idly in golden corn fields, and mystery hands reaching into overflowing bowls. But the problem for DuPont Pioneer, and agribusiness generally, is that large swaths of the public do not share this sunny vision of biotech. Since the late '90s, when Monsanto botched the introduction of genetically modified crops in Europe, consumers have treated the term “GMO” as if it were a dirty word. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 40 percent of Americans believe GMOs are bad for their health. This assertion is not supported by science, which has concluded that the genetically modified crops on the market are safe for consumption. But science has made little headway in a fierce debate that has often focused on the perceived values of the companies developing these products. Each year, activists in hundreds of cities worldwide march against Monsanto — and millions of consumers buy "Non-GMO Project Verified" products. The biotech industry has taken strides to clean up its image in recent years: In 2013, Monsanto shook up its public-relations team, and the industry has banded behind a consumer education effort called GMO Answers. But with CRISPR — a breakthrough gene-editing tool — the field gets a chance at its first real do-over. Unlike conventional genetic modification, CRISPR works directly on the DNA of the plant or animal being bred. While GMOs, as we have traditionally known them, involve inserting target DNA from a different species, CRISPR can directly “edit” an organism’s DNA for a result that falls within the genetic diversity of that animal or plant. The technique was discovered almost simultaneously at several research universities and has since been licensed out to a number of both noncommercial researchers and private companies. Outside of agriculture, CRISPR has diverse applications in medicine, where it's currently being used to


Trump wants to dismantle this energy innovation program. Scientists just found that it works

The agency was intended as a different sort of beast in the Energy Department, separate and apart, more corporate in its hiring, hopefully more creative and more willing to take risks. The agency describes what it does as the hunt for “white space”: areas in energy technology research that neither federal programs, nor industrial investments, are addressing. The program had only been in full operation for six years at the time of the study. That’s not nearly long enough, the committee finds, for it to have completed all of its objectives. But the program still produced concrete results: 581 scientific journal studies based on ARPA-E funded research, 74 patents, 45 projects that had gone on to receive $1.25 billion in additional funding, and perhaps most notably, 36 new companies based on ARPA-E funded projects. Additional research has shown meanwhile that “ARPA-E projects were more likely to publish and to do so with high frequency relative to other [Energy Department] offices,” and in more influential journals, the NAS notes. The same was true for the production of patents. The report singles out several particular successful technologies supported by ARPA-E. One prime example were devices, made by Smart Wires, that help manage the flow of electricity across the grid by clamping on to individual power lines and modulating the flow of power, helping grid operators to shunt electrons to where they’re needed and away from where they aren’t. That makes it possible to use the aging infrastructure of the grid to make it smarter and more responsive to demand on hot days or other moments of high use, explained Louis Schick, the chief technology officer of NewWorld Capital Group and another of the report’s authors. “If you can actively redirect how the power flows through the system, you can get more capacity out of it,” said Schick. “Everybody knows this. The idea that you could actively control that on the existing, often derided, ancient grid technology was considered difficult, impossible, not practical.” But after receiving close to $ 4 million in ARPA-E funding in 2011, Smart Wires has taken off, and received over $ 50 million in additional funding. ARPA-E’s SWITCHES program “If I could make gallium nitride work, I could make power electronics an order of magnitude smaller, significantly more efficient,” said Schick. The full transformation hasn’t happened yet, but he said the results “really have changed people’s understanding of the


Trump’s FDA just took another swipe at Michelle Obama’s food legacy

A requirement for Nutrition Fact labels on packaged foods and other products has been indefinitely delayed, although some companies have already rolled the labels out. Here, customers shop Monday at an Aldi grocery store in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) After sustained lobbying from the packaged food and beverage industry, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday an indefinite delay in the launch of Nutrition Fact labels that were intended to help Americans eat more healthfully. The labels, championed by former first lady Michelle Obama, were supposed to add a special line for “added sugars” and emphasize calorie content in large, bold text. They had been scheduled for rollout in July 2018, with a one-year extension for smaller manufacturers. The delay is the latest reversal of the Obama administration’s nutrition reforms under Trump. On April 27, the FDA also delayed rules that would have required calorie counts on restaurant menus. A week later, the Department of Agriculture loosened the minimum requirements for the amount of whole grain in school lunches and delayed future sodium reductions. Consumer groups are already slamming the Nutrition Facts delay as an attack on public health. The largest groups in the food industry, meanwhile, is celebrating what it calls a win for “common-sense” regulation. The new Nutrition Facts label was slated to roll out in July 2018. (Food and Drug Administration) But there may be another wrinkle here: As in the case of the menu-labeling delay, some companies have already adapted to the new rules — and they may be hurt if their competitors get more time to make the change. “The ability of the Trump administration to repeat its mistakes is breathtaking,” said Jim O’Hara, the director of health promotion policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Just like with the menu-labeling delay, this administration is denying consumers critical information they need to make decisions, and it’s throwing the food industry into disarray.” The debate over the Nutrition Facts deadline has exposed some interesting schisms in industry. While a number of large trade groups asked the FDA to delay implementation by three years — citing concerns about the cost of the labels, the lack of coordination between new label rules at FDA and USDA, and a lack of clarity around some requirements — others embraced the new panels, even printing them before they were required. Among the early adopters are Nabisco/Mondelez, which has


Mattis: ‘We are not winning in Afghanistan,’ new strategy is weeks away

The United States is not winning in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress on June 13, saying he was crafting a new strategy which he will brief to lawmakers by mid-July. A new strategy for Afghanistan is weeks way, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday in a statement that frustrated some lawmakers awaiting a way forward in the United States’ longest war. “We are not winning in Afghanistan,” he said during an appearance at Capitol Hill to discuss the Pentagon’s budget. “We will correct that.” Mattis, who testified alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph F. Dunford Jr., added that he expects to brief lawmakers about the new strategy in mid-July. Mattis’s remarks come months after the Trump administration pledged a new direction in the war-stricken country and weeks since reports of a new U.S. troop surge there began circulating in Washington. Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and Gen. Joseph Votel, his direct superior at U.S. Central Command, have endorsed a deployment of a “few thousand” more troops to Afghanistan in an effort to break what Pentagon officials call a “stalemate” there. Lawmakers, including the chairman of the committee, Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said the Pentagon’s budget requests cannot be fulfilled without a strategy, both in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. “We can’t keep going like this,” McCain said. “You can’t expect a stable budget if you don’t give us a strategy.” He added that if the Pentagon doesn’t come up with a strategy for Afghanistan soon, “you’re going to get a strategy from us.” “Congress owes the American people a strategy,” McCain added. When asked about the state of the war in Afghanistan, Dunford said, “I don’t assess we’re in better shape than we were last year.” The new strategy in Afghanistan would include a regional approach, Mattis said, including more contributions from NATO allies. Currently, about 5,000 NATO troops are in Afghanistan, and some countries in the 28-nation alliance have pledged to add more in recent months. Additionally, Mattis and Dunford said one of their priorities in Afghanistan is to reduce Afghan casualties by increasing U.S. fire and air support for the fledgling Afghan ground forces. In the first eight months of 2016, Afghan forces suffered 15,000 casualties including more than 5,000 killed. Civilian deaths are also at record highs, according to the U.N. Assistance


Congress can agree on Iran and Russia sanctions, at least

written statement touting the deal the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), observed that the bill contains “a mandated congressional review if sanctions are relaxed, suspended or terminated.” Codifying in law existing sanctions imposed by executive order is another way of depriving Trump of discretion. New sanctions, Cardin explained, would affect “corrupt Russian actors; those seeking to evade sanctions; those involved in serious human rights abuses; those supplying weapons to the [Bashar al-]Assad regime; those conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government; those involved in corrupt privatization of state-owned assets; and those doing business with the Russian intelligence and defense sectors.” It would affect “key sectors of Russia’s economy, including mining, metals, shipping and railways.” Despite Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s aversion to democracy promotion, the bill includes “robust assistance to strengthen democratic institutions and counter disinformation across Central and Eastern European countries that are vulnerable to Russian aggression and interference.” And finally it sets up a study to assess Russian corruption and economic crimes. Sanctions guru Mark Dubowitz was pleased, touting the “targeted financial strike by a united Congress against two of the most malign powers threatening the international order.” He noted that the Iran portion of the bill “targets the regime’s Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) praetorians through powerful sanctions aimed at terror networks, the missile supply chain and domestic repression.” On the Russian side, Dubowitz cites the bill’s focus on “funding sources and networks that underwrite a Russian military, cyber & political warfare campaign to break down free societies.” Oddly, we really do not know what the White House thinks of all this. (“When asked whether the White House was on board with the measure, Corker hesitated, noting: ‘I have to believe that the administration has to at least strongly consider supporting this.'”) Because the potential exists for a veto-proof majority, however, it may not matter what the White House thinks. A veto override would complete the portrait of an administration in decline, hapless and out of step with its own party leaders in Congress. One cannot escape the irony that the single most important legislation from this Congress is on an issue that Trump has shown no interest in and has intervened in not at all. In any event, Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) took to the floor to praise the deal. “By codifying existing


This magical bottle might make ‘sell by’ dates obsolete

as important gatekeepers. Walmart, for instance, drove adoption of RFID tags for tracking goods, and Amazon has been pushing for better packaging. “If this company really wanted to succeed, they would need to partner with not only a food manufacturer, but a retailer,” Koelsch Sand said. Meghan Stasz, senior director, sustainability at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said a key challenge is likely to be cost. “Even if you are looking at a penny additional for your packaging, when you multiply that over a million pieces of packaging, it gets cost prohibitive pretty quickly,” Stasz said. Braskem executives say that costs should come down as the technology gains wide acceptance. “There are plenty of opportunities when scaling up this technology to reduce the cost. We believe that we could provide to the market a very cost-competitive solution, especially when comparing to the benefits that it will bring to the consumers,” Teyssonneyre said. Still, the value must be evident, experts say. “If it’s just one of those situations where the technology is no better than what the consumer already has, which is their own nose and their own sight, then [companies] are going to be reluctant to add cost to the system,” said Bob Whitaker, chief science and technology officer for the Produce Marketing Association. One way to get retailers on board would be to convince them of the benefits not only of more transparency around food expiration but also the way the technology could help catch food fraud, such as added filler ingredients in pet food, and increase food safety. “If we can get a retailer to see it from a more holistic point of view, as opposed to just this is an added cost to my packaging, we might be getting somewhere,” said Manly, from the intelligent packaging industry. The Brazil-based company began developing the technology in 2013, creating a prototype in 2015. The company still needs to do extensive testing to ensure its technology accurately detects spoilage and does not produce false positives. It would also need to figure out which indicators beyond pH changes will matter to producers and retailers and ensure consumers understand the limits of the technology’s assurances. “That’s a huge risk, to say something is okay, and then it won’t be,” Koelsch Sand said. Still, Braskem hopes it can find a partner and begin delivering the containers to store shelves in two to three years.


Trump, take note: Britain’s May seems to have saved her job — for now — by saying ‘I’m sorry’

Conservatives can pass legislation on key issues like the budget. The potential alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is controversial. John Major, a former British prime minister and one of the architects of peace settlement in Northern Ireland, told the BBC he was "concerned" that a deal could undermine the fragile peace process in Northern Ireland. There were some who doubted that May would even last this long. But after meeting with fellow Conservative Party lawmakers on Monday night, she seemed to buy herself time. She apologized to the group, said she was sorry for those who had lost their seats, and promised to work more inclusively. When the meeting concluded, lawmakers banged on the table as a sign of approval. Boris Johnson, Britain’s foreign secretary and bookies’ favorite to succeed May, called her performance “stonking.” Stonking performance by the PM at 1922. One team going forward together for the UK The Conservative lawmaker Grant Shapps said it was “May unscripted.” PM won over MPs tonight by being apologetic, frank & very direct. With new No10 team it's 'May unscripted'. Time to get on w/ govt & Brexit Heidi Allen, another Conservative lawmaker, had initially predicted that May wouldn’t last six months after the bungled election — and even then, she would only last that long because of imminent Brexit negotiations and the need for stability. But after Monday night’s meeting, she said she was struck by May’s humility and leadership. “I saw an incredibly humble woman who knows what she has to do, and that is be who she is and not what this job had turned her into,” she told the Guardian newspaper. “She has lost her armadillo shell and we have got a leader back.” May’s mea culpa also highlights a difference between her and President Trump, whom May has gone out of her way to befriend — within the president’s first week in office, May extended an offer for a state visit to the U.K. Unlike Trump — who has a reputation for not apologizing — May has responded to criticisms of her leadership by eating a slice of humble pie. It’s unclear if May’s overall leadership style will change in the wake of the botched election. Her very first statement after the election was labeled “tone deaf” by fellow Tories after she failed to show contrition. One of the criticisms of May is that


Walmart’s answer to Aldi and Amazon: ‘designer cantaloupe’

Walmart spent two years developing the Sweet Spark cantaloupe, picture on the right. (Courtesy of Walmart) Off-season cantaloupes, Walmart executives say, “taste like a piece of wood.” Which is why the world’s largest retailer recently set out to create a “designer” melon that tastes as sweet and flavorful in winter as it does in summer. The Sweet Spark, as it is called, has been in the works for two years and is up to 40 percent sweeter than the current winter fare sold at Walmart, Bloomberg originally reported this week. “We sell 10 times as many cantaloupes in the summer than during the fall and winter,” said Molly Blakeman, a Walmart spokeswoman. “When we looked closer, it was easy to identify why cantaloupe sales dropped off: They weren’t as good in the wintertime as they were in the summertime. This was our way of fixing that.” The company’s roll-out of its new cantaloupe comes as the company braces for competition from German discount grocers Lidl, which is opening its first U.S. stores on Thursday, and Aldi, which is investing $3.4 billion to open 900 locations by 2022. Both are known for offering sweeping discounts on groceries, which could mean bad news for Walmart, which has long relied on its formidable buying power to offer lower prices than its competitors. Walmart partnered with Bayer AG, the German agriculture giant that is in talks to buy Monsanto, to develop the new cantaloupe seed. The retailer tested 20 types of seeds and spent six months evaluating their fruit before coming up with the winning combination, Blakeman said. Walmart employees rated the fruit on attributes like taste, texture and aroma. (“People who tried it were very fanatical about it,” Blakeman said.) Employees also voted on the fruit’s name, which was whittled down from a list of 150 submissions. Walmart’s approach — to create an entirely new variety of fruit that fits its needs — is increasingly popular in the United States as grocers, faced with increasing competition and ever-growing demand for novelty produce, look for new ways to stand out, said Courtney Weber, a berry breeder and horticulture professor at Cornell University. “The goal is to have something that is special in some way,” Weber said. “From a plant breeder’s standpoint, our goal is to provide improved varieties of fruit — which can mean improving color, flavor, yield or disease resistance.” Japan, where white


strawberries have become the ultimate luxury item, is at the forefront of specialty-bred fruits, Weber said. The practice has also begun to take hold in Europe, , where fruit makers increasingly sell certain varieties only to certain supermarkets. And in the United States, programs like Walmart’s could ultimately help usher in a new wave of improved fruits and vegetables, according to Susan Brown, director of Cornell’s Fruit and Vegetable Genomics Initiative. “Often the problem now is that if we have a new variety of fruit, it’s very hard to convince retailers to try something new,” Brown said. “When a company like Walmart partners with breeders and growers, they know exactly what the market is for the new fruit, which actually helps everybody: Consumers, producers and breeders.” Creating its own breed of cantaloupe — and potentially enlisting a number of growers to produce it — made particular sense for Walmart because of its size, breeders said. The company currently has more than 4,600 stores across the country. (In 2011, cantaloupes contaminated with listeria — some of which were sold at Walmart — killed 33 people. Walmart later reached a settlement with 23 families for an undisclosed amount.) “The problem that Walmart has is volume,” Weber said. “They’re such a big company and they need so much to fill their shelves, that their only real option if they want to have uniformity and to be able to have it everywhere, is to do it this way. It’s unlikely one company could grow enough cantaloupes for Walmart.” Cantaloupes, he added, were likely an obvious starting point because they are relatively resilient and sturdy. A more delicate fruit, like berries, would have required special care and handling, adding to their cost. The thicker skin on cantaloupe means it can be shipped and stored relatively easily, without fear of compromising quality. The Sweet Spark, which is not genetically modified, is grown in Guatemala and Costa Rica. It is currently sold in 200 U.S. stores, with an expansion planned for later this year. The company in recent years has expanded its line-up of organic fruits and vegetables to appeal to health-conscious customers. It has also forged exclusive partnerships to sell products like Oreo O’s cereal and Jelly Donut Oreos, and Blakeman says the company’s next goal is to develop a more flavorful tomato. “If you try to frame what we’re doing, it’s pretty simple: We’re trying


Why the congressional push to sanction Russia worries me

the 2016 election and has not stopped since then. The secretary of state, who has demonstrated less diplomatic competence than Dennis Rodman, opposes this deal. As someone who said last year that Russia was the key to understanding who controlled American foreign policy under Trump, I should feel giddy about all of this. The thing is, I don’t. Look, push comes to shove, I support this move. Tactically, it makes sense for Congress to constrain the president’s hands on this issue. But as a sanctions scholar, I am not sure how I would feel if anyone else was president besides Trump. The problem is not that Congress is unable to impose sanctions. Hell, when it comes to foreign policy, sanctions are the go-to foreign policy move for the House and the Senate. The problem is that while it is easy for the legislative branch to reach bipartisan accord to impose sanctions, it is much more difficult for lawmakers to reach agreement to lift them. As we have seen recently in the cases of both Iran and Cuba, Congress is loath to lift sanctions against enduring rivals. There are enough members of Congress who want to burnish their hawkish credentials such that they will not support any deal cut by the executive branch. To be fair to the hawks, they might not like the specifics of any deal negotiated by the president with an adversary. The cumulative effect, however, is that Congress imposes sanctions but does not lift them. For potential targets, this reduces the incentive to negotiate with the United States for concessions. Why bother with real cooperation if Congress will not lift what it has imposed? I get the need for a more hawkish posture toward Russia. I support it, given Russia’s activities for the past few years. But make no mistake, Russia is a great power that cannot be embargoed into irrelevance. Some flexibility will be required, and this sanctions bill will lessen that flexibility. Trump is such a foreign policy half-wit that he is forcing Congress to take the lead on foreign policy. But the last thing members of the legislative branch want is to take the lead on anything of foreign policy import. Usually, they are really, really bad at it. Over the long run, this will hamper a competent executive branch’s ability to conduct foreign affairs. Yes, in isolation, this response to Russian behavior makes


The Finance 202: Wall Street betting on Treasury not Congress for regulatory rollback

THE TICKER The US Treasury Building (Ken Cedeno/Bloomberg News) If the Trump administration just unshackled Wall Street, the news has yet to make it up to New York. After rallying at the end of last week, bank share prices notched relatively modest gains Tuesday in the wake of the long-awaited Treasury proposal for putting the Trump stamp on financial-industry regulations. That, despite the fact that next to the House GOP package, Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s plan describes a more moderate approach — working within the existing regulatory framework rather than seeking to blow it up. And since Mnuchin’s vision relies on the Trump administration picking up its snails pace toward getting regulators in place and staffing up agencies, it could take a while (read: years) to fulfill. But “a while,” no matter how long, will arrive sooner than “never,” which is the approximate effective date of much of the House GOP’s Financial CHOICE Act. Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips drew the distinction more diplomatically in a note to clients on Tuesday. Changes possible through executive action “appear likely,” he wrote. “We assume that President Trump will nominate individuals to fill key financial regulatory positions who agree with the recommendations laid out in the Treasury’s report. If so, in most cases this should result in eventual implementation of many if not most of the changes that are possible via the rulemaking process.” Legislative changes, Phillips went on, are “less likely.” To that point, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Michael Crapo (R-Idaho), who holds the legislative baton since the House passed CHOICE, acknowledges Republicans face long odds of enshrining in law a wholesale overhaul of financial regulations. “There are a number of what I consider very positive things happening, and many of them are happening at the executive level because Congress has not been able to get legislation on the president’s desk in a number of these areas,” Crapo told a lunchtime crowd Tuesday at a financial-industry conference in Washington. A bill to ease rules on the sector remains a top priority for the Banking chairman. To forge one, he’s trying to find common ground with the top Democrat on his panel, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), so that the package can clear the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. But that dramatically limits the scope of what it can include, especially with regard to relief for big banks. As the size of the regulated institution under