Syrian hackers claim responsibility for hacking Twitter, New York Times Web site

The New York Times and Twitter on Tuesday became the latest American media organizations to succumb to hacking attacks, in another series of disruptions apparently caused by the shadowy group known as the Syrian Electronic Army. The SEA, which is aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, asserted responsibility for disrupting access to the sites starting in the late afternoon and continuing into Wednesday. But neither the Times nor Twitter cited a specific source. Little is known about the members of the SEA, but the group appears to be based in Syria, a country split by civil war and facing the threat of a military strike by the United States and its allies over the Assad government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. The hacking group has been responsible for earlier digital attacks on Britain’s Guardian newspaper, the Associated Press and The Washington Post. It was behind an incident that briefly redirected some readers to the group’s Web site when they were attempting to reach some articles on The Post’s Web site. Some readers could not access the New York Times site; others were redirected to a Web page featuring what appeared to be the SEA’s logo. Twitter remained functional for many users, too, although the company said in a statement that some of its domain codes were “modified” and that “viewing of images and photos was sporadically impacted” over about a 90-minute period. It made no mention of the cause of the problem. It also said no user information was affected. But at one point, the SEA claimed it had taken over Twitter’s domain, or Web address, which would enable it to shift traffic headed to the site to its own servers. The outage at the Times was its second in two weeks. The newspaper said the first one, on Aug. 14, was due to an internal problem. This time, spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said the cause was a “malicious external attack,” but she didn’t identify the source. Sophos security researcher Chester Wisniewski confirmed that the name servers listed on a directory entry are controlled by SyrianElectronicArmy.com. August has been a particularly bad month for prominent outages. Several news Web sites, including The Post, were affected by a breach at the third-party content provider Outbrain, which redirected some visitors to sites promoting the Syrian Electronic Army. Google and Amazon were hit with technical problems that took down their Web sites. An Amazon


UW scientists claim interface is first to directly transmit signals between human brains

Scientists at the University of Washington claim that they have transmitted a second impulse over the Internet from one researcher to another, allowing one to remotely stimulate the other’s hand simply by thinking. The university’s announcement Monday described a pilot study in which Rajesh Rao imagined moving his finger, sending an electrical signal across campus to his colleague Andrea Stocco, whose own finger moved in response. According to the university, the two men, both wearing caps fitted with electrodes, used the system to collaborate to play a simple video game. Rao watched a screen that showed a cannon and a target. Stocco, in another building, had his hand on a keyboard that controlled the cannon. The results of the experiment have not yet been published in a journal, but they would be the latest in a series of advances in brain-interface technology: In February, for instance, scientists led by Duke University Medical Center’s Miguel Nicolelis used electronic sensors to capture the thoughts of a rat in a lab in Brazil and sent via Internet to the brain of a rat in the United States. The second rat received the thoughts of the first, mimicking its behavior. And electrical activity in the brain of a monkey at Duke, in North Carolina, was recently sent via the Internet, controlling a robot arm in Japan. Other researchers suggested the field has progressed to the point where Rao and Stocco’s work is not very impressive. Duke’s Narcolelis told USA TODAY that a real accomplishment would be an interface that allows impulses to be communicated in two directions: “What they did is kind of like using a phone signal to trigger a magnetic jolt to the brain. . . It’s not a true brain-to-brain interface where you would have communication of signals between people. This is one-way,” Nicolelis says. “So, I would say it is a little early to declare victory on creating a true human brain interface.” For video of the experiment, see the univeristy’s announcement here. _ See Tuesday’s news in photos from around the world in the gallery below. Brazil’s Waura Indians, U.N. inspectors in Syria, Las Vegas flooding, Japanese rocket failure and more.


Victims identified in fatal eight-vehicle crash in Anne Arundel County

A Virginia man and his teenage son remain in critical condition Wednesday morning following an eight-vehicle crash that killed three people in Anne Arundel County, authorities said. The victims who died in the crash have been identified as the man’s daughter, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s daughter. Michael Thomas Cullen II, 37, of Warsaw, Va., and his 15-year-old son suffered potentially life-threatening injuries in Tuesday’s crash, which happened around 4:55 p.m. in the Millersville/Gambrills area of the county, police said. Seven passenger vehicles and one commercial vehicle, a flat-bed delivery truck, were involved in a chain reaction of collisions on southbound Route 3 near the Route 32 overpass, beginning when the delivery truck rear-ended Cullen’s car. Cullen’s girlfriend, 37-year-old Bethany Dawn Dempsey, was killed in the crash. Also killed were Cullen’s 7-year-old daughter Abigail Randi Cullen and Dempsey’s 14-year-old daughter Lauren White. Cullen and his son are listed in critical but stable condition at a local shock trauma center. Four people in the other involved vehicles were treated for minor injuries, authorities said. The driver of the truck, identified as 36-year-old Jason Nathaniel Pagaypya of Waldorf, Md., was not injured in the crash, police said. According to authorities, drugs and alcohol do not appear to have been factors in the crash, and Pagaypya was driving near the posted speed limit of 50 mph. Investigators said the cause of the crash was likely driver error; it appears that Pagaypya did not slow down as traffic approached a signal. No charges have been filed, but police said investigators are consulting with the State Attorney’s Office and that the investigation is ongoing.


Prince George’s County Animal Watch

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY These were among cases received recently by the Prince George’s County Animal Management Division. Call 301-780-7200 for directions to the county animal shelter, hours of operation and adoption and licensing procedures. The department Web site is www.princegeorgespets4us.com. Growling dog at door: West Highland terrier loose: A visit from raccoons: Injured cocker spaniel: Stray dog inside car: — Compiled by Jillian S. Jarrett


‘Black budget’ summary details U.S. spy network’s successes, failures and objectives

U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government’s top-secret budget. The $52.6 billion “black budget” for fiscal 2013, obtained by The Washington Post from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses the money or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress. The 178-page budget summary for the National Intelligence Program details the successes, failures and objectives of the 16 spy agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, which has 107,035 employees. The summary describes cutting-edge technologies, agent recruiting and ongoing operations. The Post is withholding some information after consultation with U.S. officials who expressed concerns about the risk to intelligence sources and methods. Sensitive details are so pervasive in the documents that The Post is publishing only summary tables and charts online. “The United States has made a considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber-warfare,” Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. wrote in response to inquiries from The Post. Inside the secret 'black budget' View select pages from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's top-secret 2013 budget with key sections annotated by The Washington Post. “Our budgets are classified as they could provide insight for foreign intelligence services to discern our top national priorities, capabilities and sources and methods that allow us to obtain information to counter threats,” he said. Among the notable revelations in the budget summary: ●Spending by the CIA has surged past that of every other spy agency, with $14.7 billion in requested funding for 2013. The figure vastly exceeds outside estimates and is nearly 50 percent above that of the National Security Agency, which conducts eavesdropping operations and has long been considered the behemoth of the community. ●The CIA and the NSA have begun aggressive new efforts to hack into foreign computer networks to steal information or sabotage enemy systems, embracing what


Obama administration will not block state marijuana laws if distribution is regulated

memo represents a “big change of direction for the federal government” but one that was overdue. “Marijuana exists in this strange place where a number of states permit it but the federal government prohibits it. For a long time, it’s been pretty untenable,” Kamin said. “For the first time . . . they’re saying that if you can do a good job with it, we will not come in with the hammer of federal enforcement.” But he said questions remain. The guidance steers clear of whether major banks — which have been wary of giving credit to marijuana-related businesses — can now do so without fear of legal consequences. Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, it also means individuals still risk losing their jobs, apartments, even custody of children if they are found using a drug that is legal on the state level. Perhaps most significant, Kamin noted, Thursday’s action represents the views of one administration — and the next one might see things differently. “This could be wiped out with a stroke of a pen,” he said. Not everyone saw Thursday's action as a positive step. “We can look forward to more drugged driving accidents, more school drop-outs, and poorer health outcomes as a new Big Marijuana industry targeting kids and minorities emerges to fuel the flames," Patrick Kennedy, co-founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), said in a statement. The group opposes marijuana legalization. The Obama administration has long wrestled with how to respond to state laws permitting marijuana use for one reason or another. In 2009, then-Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden wrote a memo to U.S. attorneys saying that prosecution of significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana, remained a top priority. But he also said that the prosecution of individuals using the drug for medicinal purposes in compliance with state law “is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources.” In 2011, Cole reiterated Ogden’s stance on medical marijuana but cited the increase in large-scale commercial marijuana operations “for purported medical purposes.” In December, Obama told Barbara Walters of ABC News that recreational marijuana use in states that have legalized the drug was not a major concern. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” he said. Thursday’s memo, while significant, makes clear that the federal government reserves the right to revisit its position in the future. Sari Horwitz contributed to this report.


Panda cub tries to stand on its own, under mom’s close watch

Mei Xiang gently places her cub on the floor of her den. The panda cub has a round belly, which indicates that it is nursing well. At just six days old, the National Zoo’s new panda cub isn’t quite ready to stand on its own away from mom. According to zoo officials, the cub’s mother, giant panda Mei Xiang, tried putting her baby down at 3:37 a.m. on Thursday morning. For about 30 seconds, the small cub -– palm-sized at 4.8 ounces when it was examined over the weekend –- rocked back and forth on four tiny paws squawking loudly until Mei Xiang picked it up again. “It’s a completely normal behavior for her to set her cub down and take a few steps away,” Jen Zoon, a National Zoo spokesperson, said of the panda mom. “She’s basically seeing how it does when she’s not touching it or holding it,” said. As the cub grows, Zoon said, it will stand on its own for longer and longer periods before it squawks again for Mei Xiang to pick it up. For now, Mei Xiang spends almost all her time cradling her infant close, Zoon said, and she wakes up about every 30 minutes to nurse the baby. In video footage of the cub’s brief moments trying to stand on its own, zookeepers noted the baby’s rounded belly, a sign that it is nursing well. Mei Xiang has delivered two surviving cubs since 2005, Tai Shan in July 2005 and Bao Bao in August 2013. She gave birth to a stillborn cub about 26 hours after Bao Bao. In Septempter 2012, she gave birth to a cub with liver abnormalities that died days later. Zoon said that Mei Xiang was offered food but refused, which is normal for a panda that has recently given birth. She drank 56 ounces of diluted apple juice on Thursday. Mei Xiang started eating again two weeks after the birth of her son Tai Shan in 2005. The newest cub’s gender has not be determined yet. The Zoo operates a round-the-clock panda cam for spectators to watch Mei Xiang, and now her newborn, any time.


Schools try new strategies to battle college drinking

drink start to drink more, and students who never drank are likely to start. The drinking rates of those people in college are much higher than those not enrolled. Gibralter’s wife is an alcohol educator, and he has been closely involved with national initiatives, including one recently launched by Dartmouth College that treats college drinking as a public health epidemic. Gibralter has made reducing high-risk drinking a priority at Frostburg. He’s confident the university is making strides, as the percentage of students who binge-drink fell from 54 percent in 2006 to 41 percent last year. With that comes academic achievements: a slowly increasing retention rate, incoming students with higher academic credentials and fewer discipline problems. Frostburg has worked to create an environment where there are many more things to do than drink. The business school now offers a full slate of Friday classes to discourage Thursday-night drinking. And the university often hosts alcohol-free dance parties that attract hundreds. The university gave money to the local police force for an extra officer to patrol student neighborhoods on popular party nights. Once a month, Frostburg officials meet with police and representatives from bars and liquor stores. The school will pay for employee training and have students design the bars’ menus in exchange for closely following the law, limiting drink specials and promoting healthy drinking habits. All incoming students are required to pass an online class that teaches that most college students don’t drink like characters in the movies. Officials urge parents to talk with their children about drinking before move-in day. That education continues into the fall and is often led by students. Student leaders, including those of fraternities and sororities, are required to receive the same training bartenders receive so they can spot problems at parties. Frostburg maintains zero tolerance for underage drinking. A first offense results in more alcohol education and a letter to parents, which school officials say has lessened the number of further, more serious offenses. During orientation, dean of students Jesse M. Ketterman Jr. sternly warned: “We deal with behavior on and off campus. It doesn’t matter if you do it on campus or off; we will find out about it.” But, sure enough, during every orientation, at least a few incoming freshmen ask older students to buy them beer or recommend parties. “The people who ask about alcohol at [orientation] aren’t going to be here in


Women are the maestros of D.C.’s classical music world

Shaw was only 30, didn’t even consider herself a composer, and is part of a group of young New York-based musicians with a particular smart indie vibe. It took me two days to register that the fact she is a woman was significant — given that only four of the previous music Pulitzers have gone to women. Female leadership in administrative positions is less of an issue. The Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra — three of the leading orchestras in the country — are all run by women. Carnegie Hall was long run by Judith Arron; the Chicago Lyric Opera looks back warmly at the tenure of Ardis Krainik. “Early in my career all of the leaders of major orchestras were men,” said the NSO’s Shapiro, 58. “It was a different culture and ethos. Deborah Borda broke through that first, at least for my generation of mentors.” At this point, however, she feels that women reaching senior management in any field is no longer much of a story. But you could argue that the more prominent the exception, the more it proves the rule. The majority of orchestras and music institutions are still run by men. Alsop’s accession to the Baltimore post did not clear the way for a new spate of music directorships for women, though one can name a few (such as the Estonian conductor Anu Tali, who has just taken over the Sarasota Orchestra). It’s notable that there aren’t more discussions about the issue, and that women themselves seem reluctant to bring it up (“Successful women in particular,” Borda said, “have trouble dealing with it”). It’s also notable that, when women do talk about it, many of them invoke traditional ideas about the differences between female and male leadership — “a sense of collaboration is often missing with male leaders,” Farr said — and the perennial issue of balancing work and personal life. Does it really, still, all come down to who’s taking care of the children? And if so, will social media, which encourage more openness about personal affairs, ultimately help women in the workplace? “Maybe that lack of privacy has seeded a comfortable environment for what people really have to do,” Bilfield said. “It makes you a more interesting person to acknowledge that these other parts of you exist.” In more concrete terms, having women in leadership positions also


Experiment lets man use his mind to control another person’s movements

he played a simple video game with only his mind. Each time he was supposed to hit a button to shoot a cannon at a target, a pirate ship, he imagined moving his right hand, although he was careful not to actually move it. His colleague, cognitive neuroscientist Andrea Stocco, sat in a lab a quarter-mile away, with a powerful magnetic coil against his head in the area of the left motor cortex, which controls motions in his right hand. Rao’s brain signals were transmitted over the Internet to a computer that prompted the magnetic coil to stimulate Stocco’s brain, causing him to move his finger. By the final session of the experiment, Rao successfully hit all the targets with each attempt. The researchers now “want to see if we can extract and deliver more complex forms of information from one brain to another,” Rao said. “Ideally, we can have a two-way form of communication instead of the one-way flow we have now, for more of a conversation between brains.” They plan to conduct the experiment with more subjects to confirm the result and submit their findings to a scientific publication for review. In the meantime, Rao said they wanted their research, which the University of Washington announced Tuesday, to raise questions about the implications of such technology. “One can imagine a future where information can be conveyed from one brain to another nonverbally,” Rao said. “We’ve all had a mathematics teacher who was bad at conveying ideas but good at solving problems — maybe in the future that kind of knowledge can be delivered directly instead of verbally. What does that mean for humanity? What kind of ethical and moral issues does that raise? We want to bring those issues up to the public before the technology runs too far ahead.” Nicolelis said he and his team are linking monkey brains together “to see if they can collaborate, using the interface to exchange information, working together to solve a common task. We did that with rats, and now we want to take it to the next step. We want to study this in animals first before taking the leap to humans.” “We’re very interested in seeing if networks of brains can solve problems a conventional computer cannot [and] lead to emergent properties we can’t even predict now,” Nicolelis added. Choi is a freelance science writer based in New York.


Trinidad neighborhood in Northeast becomes a magnet for young professionals

From left: Donnell Ford, 6, Dontre Hancock, 9, and Romel Kelley, 11, race each other on the turf field in front of Wheatley Recreation Center in the Trinidad neighborhood of Washington, D.C. (Maddie Meyer/The Washington Post) Hands full with leashes, Thalia Wiggins herded a few local dogs past rowhouses and crape myrtles in Northeast Washington’s Trinidad community one drizzly summer morning. The 30-year-old professional dog walker exchanged hellos with many neighbors headed to work. A lifelong resident, Wiggins says she’s seeing Trinidad slowly transform from a troubled area into a magnet for transient young professionals looking to settle down. While that is likely to mean more business for her dog-walking company, Wiggins has a greater hope: that the changes will erase the stain of Trinidad’s violent past. “It’s still up and coming but still in transition,” said Wiggins, a former Advisory Neighborhood Commission representative. Montello Avenue, where Wiggins walked the dogs, once was considered one of the more dicey places in the District. In 2008, a string of slayings in the area led police to block off streets with military-style checkpoints for a time. (Gene Thorp/The Washington Post) Since then, the D.C. government, ANCs, the Trinidad Neighborhood Association and local churches have taken steps to revive the community with vibrant murals, a new dog park, a recreation center and increased security. “I really wanted to own something, and it seemed inevitable to me that Trinidad would take off,” said Holly Malone, an administrative assistant at a private-equity firm who bought a rowhouse last year. Progress against crime: The Washington Machine Brick Co. purchased the 65 clay-rich acres on July 18, 1888, for $38,888 to use the soil to make bricks. The company sold land for housing. That’s when the original rowhouses sprang up, according to Cultural Tourism DC. After the brick company shut down, the American Baseball League built a ballpark on its site from 1901 to 1902. The rioting that followed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968 spawned decades of decline. Crime picked up in the 1980s with a crack cocaine epidemic. But in recent years, the area has turned a corner. Residents have created an online mailing list to keep one another updated, and Trinidad Neighborhood Association meetings often discuss crime prevention. Crime has declined since the 2008 incidents, according to D.C. police records. But during the past 12 months, 21 assaults, 15 robberies and


FULL TRANSCRIPT: Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks on Syria on Aug. 30

and methods, some of what we know will only be released to members of Congress, the representatives of the American people. That means that some things we do know, we can't talk about publicly. U.S. assessment on alleged Syrian chemical-weapon attack Official U.S. government report on the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government against rebels on Aug. 21. So what do we really know that we can talk about? Well, we know that the Assad regime has the largest chemical weapons programs in the entire Middle East. We know that the regime has used those weapons multiple times this year, and has used them on a smaller scale but still it has used them against its own people, including not very far from where last Wednesday’s attack happened. The possibility of a military strike by the United States and its allies against the Assad regime triggers demonstrations. We know that the regime was specifically determined to rid the Damascus suburbs of the opposition, and it was frustrated that it hadn’t succeeded in doing so. We know that for three days before the attack, the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons personnel were on the ground in the area, making preparations. And we know that the Syrian regime elements were told to prepare for the attack by putting on gas masks and taking precautions associated with chemical weapons. We know that these were specific instructions. We know where the rockets were launched from, and at what time. We know where they landed, and when. We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas and went only to opposition-controlled or contested neighborhoods. And we know, as does the world, that just 90 minutes later all hell broke loose in the social media. With our own eyes we have seen the thousands of reports from 11 separate sites in the Damascus suburbs. All of them show and report victims with breathing difficulties, people twitching with spasms, coughing, rapid heartbeats, foaming at the mouth, unconsciousness, and death. And we know it was ordinary Syrian citizens who reported all of these horrors. And just as important, we know what the doctors and the nurses who treated them didn’t report -- not a scratch, not a shrapnel wound, not a cut, not a gunshot sound. We saw rows of dead lined up in burial shrouds, the white linen unstained by a single drop of blood. Instead


White House report on Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons

and the epidemiological pattern of events – characterized by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers – were consistent with mass exposure to a nerve agent. We also received reports from international and Syrian medical personnel on the ground. We have identified one hundred videos attributed to the attack, many of which show large numbers of bodies exhibiting physical signs consistent with, but not unique to, nerve agent exposure. The reported symptoms of victims included unconsciousness, foaming from the nose and mouth, constricted pupils, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing. Several of the videos show what appear to be numerous fatalities with no visible injuries, which is consistent with death from chemical weapons, and inconsistent with death from small-arms, high-explosive munitions or blister agents. At least 12 locations are portrayed in the publicly available videos, and a sampling of those videos confirmed that some were shot at the general times and locations described in the footage. We assess the Syrian opposition does not have the capability to fabricate all of the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other information associated with this chemical attack. We have a body of information, including past Syrian practice, that leads us to conclude that regime officials were witting of and directed the attack on August 21. We intercepted communications involving a senior official intimately familiar with the offensive who confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime on August 21 and was concerned with the U.N. inspectors obtaining evidence. On the afternoon of August 21, we have intelligence that Syrian chemical weapons personnel were directed to cease operations. At the same time, the regime intensified the artillery barrage targeting many of the neighborhoods where chemical attacks occurred. In the 24 hour period after the attack, we detected indications of artillery and rocket fire at a rate approximately four times higher than the ten preceding days. We continued to see indications of sustained shelling in the neighborhoods up until the morning of August 26. To conclude, there is a substantial body of information that implicates the Syrian government’s responsibility in the chemical weapons attack that took place on August 21.As indicated, there is additional intelligence that remains classified because of sources and methods concerns that is being provided to Congress and international partners.


NPR’s Ari Shapiro gets his groove on with Pink Martini

Ari Shapiro with Storm Large. (Courtesy of Ari Shapiro) At this year’s Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Gala, the headliner will be Pink Martini, a self-proclaimed “little orchestra” from Portland, Ore., that’s been together for nearly two decades. Pink Martini has about a dozen musicians in its regular roster and plenty of recurring guest stars, including NPR White House correspondent Ari Shapiro (soon to be London correspondent, but more on that later), who will be joining the group at the BSO shindig to sing “But Now I’m Back.” Nifty, right? Moonlighting as a musician. It’s all very Hannah Montana. Shapiro, 34, started at NPR in 2001, and he spent most of 2012 on the campaign trail covering then-presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. He can be heard on three Pink Martini albums — “Splendor in the Grass,” “Joy to the World” and “Get Happy,” which is due out at the end of September — singing in five languages (showoff). He took a break from listening to President Obama to talk about his musical past, the karaoke skills of his NPR co-workers, and why he’d rather hit the road with the band than jet-set in the presidential motorcade. Starting at the beginning: Were you always into music — one of those kids who sang along with the radio all the time? I was a theater kid. I did choirs and musical theater. I took singing lessons and things like that. Singer Storm Large with Ari Shapiro during a Pink Martini's performance at the Kennedy Center. (Scott Suchman/NSO) Were you in an a cappella group in college? [Shapiro majored in English at Yale]. I was! Did it have a ridiculous name? You’re really digging here. It was called Mixed Company. Is it cool now to say you were in a group like that? It feels like a cappella is having a moment, what with “Pitch Perfect” and all. It’s not like saying you played varsity football. So you weren’t a big fan of the movie? Maybe my expectations were set a little too high. Rebel Wilson, I love her. Everyone needs a little more Rebel Wilson in their lives. How did you get connected with Pink Martini? It all started at a barbecue at my house. When Pink Martini was in town to perform at Wolf Trap about four years ago, this other band from Portland, Oregon, Blind Pilot, was in town. And I’m from Portland


Dana Milbank: What Arlington could tell Obama before a Syria attack

A But before he sends Americans into another war, I suggest one more activity: Return to Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery. This is where those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan lie. These fallen warriors, buried alongside those who served in earlier conflicts, have filled 25 rows since they first arrived in early 2002. Obama, admirably, stopped at Section 60 on Memorial Day this year after visiting the Tomb of the Unknowns. I visited later in the day, as I had many times before. There is no better way for those in the capital to picture the consequences of our wars. I went back to Section 60 this week and saw that a couple of rows — about 50 graves — had been added since Obama’s Memorial Day visit. Happily, few of the dead were killed in combat, a sign of the fading conflicts. Sadly, not a single burial service of an active-duty warrior has been open to the media since Memorial Day. This is because either all the families declined to have the heroism of their kin noted publicly or (my suspicion) cemetery officials are discouraging the families from admitting reporters. That’s what the Bush administration did as part of an effort to sanitize the Iraq war. A collection of cartoons from around the country. In Section 60, I surveyed the temporary grave markers and the fresh stones that have appeared since about the time the president visited. Here are a few of the heroes he would encounter now: Twenty-six-year-old Corey Edwin Garver died June 23 in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, on the Pakistan border. The Maine native, an Army infantry sergeant, was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED). Warrant Officer Sean W. Mullen, a 39-year-old Army special-forces soldier, was killed by an IED in an insurgent attack June 2 in Helmand province, Afghanistan. His posthumous Bronze Star was his third. His death notice says he liked reading, hunting, collecting antique guns, renovating old Jeeps and, with his wife, rescuing stray dogs. James Groves III Another headstone to rise since Obama’s visit is that of Staff Sgt. Eric D. Christian. The 39-year-old from Warwick, N.Y., and a fellow Marine were killed by one of the Afghan National Army soldiers they were training. There are fresh stones, too, for the Army sergeant who died in Bagram in June in a noncombat incident, the ordnance disposal technician who survived a horrific


Bruce C. Murray, NASA space scientist, dies at 81

mice” missions, by comparison, were less dramatic. But Dr. Murray’s bright-hued hopes for space exploration were thwarted by continued budgetary battles with Congress and changing priorities. The space shuttle program claimed a higher profile at NASA, as public support for the unmanned exploration of outer space began to wane. In the early 1980s, the funding emphasis at the space laboratory began to shift from pure science to something that began to resemble an adjunct of military preparedness. Dr. Murray said he was not necessarily opposed to the change — “Quite the opposite; I was the architect of the shift,” he said in 1982 — but he noted that other scientists were not as comfortable working on programs with military applications. “A number of people came to JPL over the years specifically because they did not want to work on defense projects,” Dr. Murray said. “There is a small number of people, especially young people, who feel that defense work is immoral.” A look at those who died last year. When Dr. Murray resigned from the JPL in 1982, he was replaced by Lew Allen Jr., a retired Air Force general who had been the director of the National Security Agency. Bruce Churchill Murray was born Nov. 30, 1931, in New York and graduated from high school in Santa Monica, Calif. He received three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a PhD in geology in 1955. He was a petroleum geologist in Louisiana before serving as a scientist with the Air Force in the late 1950s. In 1979, when he was still at the JPL, Dr. Murray and renowned scientist Carl Sagan founded the Planetary Society, which seeks to raise awareness of space science. Dr. Murray was president of the organization for five years after Sagan’s death in 1996. Dr. Murray was the author of several books, including “Journey Into Space: The First Thirty Years of Space Exploration” (1989). He received an exceptional scientific achievement medal from NASA in 1971 and a distinguished public service medal in 1974. An asteroid is named in his honor. After leaving the JPL, he returned to Caltech, where he taught until 2002. He also worked on joint U.S. space ventures with the Soviet Union, Japan and China. His marriage to Joan O’Brien ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 41 years, the former Suzanne Moss; three children from his first marriage; two


U.S. spy agencies mounted 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011, documents show

That was Snowden’s job as a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor, and it required him to learn the NSA’s best hacking techniques. According to one key document, the ROC teams give Cyber Command “specific target related technical and operational material (identification/recognition), tools and techniques that allow the employment of U.S. national and tactical specific computer network attack mechanisms.” The intelligence community’s cybermissions include defense of military and other classified computer networks against foreign attack, a task that absorbs roughly one-third of a total cyber operations budget of $1.02 billion in fiscal 2013, according to the Cryptologic Program budget. The ROC’s breaking-and-entering mission, supported by the GENIE infrastructure, spends nearly twice as much: $651.7 million. Most GENIE operations aim for “exploitation” of foreign systems, a term defined in the intelligence budget summary as “surreptitious virtual or physical access to create and sustain a presence inside targeted systems or facilities.” The document adds: “System logs and processes are modified to cloak the intrusion, facilitate future access, and accomplish other operational goals.” The NSA designs most of its own implants, but it devoted $25.1 million this year to “additional covert purchases of software vulnerabilities” from private malware vendors, a growing gray-market industry based largely in Europe. ‘Most challenging targets’ The budget documents cast U.S. attacks as integral to cyberdefense — describing them in some cases as “active defense.” “If you’re neutralizing someone’s nuclear command and control, that’s a huge attack,” said one former defense official. The greater the physical effect, officials said, the less likely it is that an intrusion can remain hidden. “The United States is moving toward the use of tools short of traditional weapons that are unattributable — that cannot be easily tied to the attacker — to convince an adversary to change their behavior at a strategic level,” said another former senior U.S. official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations. China and Russia are regarded as the most formidable cyberthreats, and it is not always easy to tell who works for whom. China’s offensive operations are centered in the Technical Reconnaissance Bureau of the People’s Liberation Army, but U.S. intelligence has come to believe that those state-employed hackers by day return to work at night for personal profit, stealing valuable U.S. defense industry secrets and selling them. Iran is a distant third in capability but is thought to be more strongly motivated to retaliate


Panda-cam addicts can’t stop watching Mei Xiang care for her newborn cub

Mei Xiang has delivered two surviving cubs since 2005, Tai Shan in July 2005 and Bao Bao in August 2013. She gave birth to a stillborn cub about 26 hours after Bao Bao. In Septempter 2012, she gave birth to a cub with liver abnormalities that died days later. Correction: The addicts are seemingly everywhere. They sneak peeks in the mornings before work. They watch at the office, keeping the live footage open on their computer screens all day. They linger long enough that they get kicked off for reaching the 15-minute time limit, only to hit the refresh button and start all over again. The object of their obsession: the Smithsonian National Zoo’s panda cams, which offer mesmerizing glimpses of the zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang, nursing and nuzzling her squealing newborn cub. “I am on the panda cam right now. I look at it between appointments. I watch it at night. I watch it when I get up in the morning. I watch it when I go to bed. I am completely entranced,” said Marjorie Swett, 62, a Bethesda psychotherapist, who, if she wanted, could do a side gig as a panda-cam color commentator. “Right now, she’s sleeping and cuddling. . . . Now she’s rolling over. She just went from an upright position and went gracefully on the ground, still folding the baby into herself . . . and her legs are up the wall. She looks totally comfortable.” Since Mei Xiang gave birth on Aug. 23, legions of panda lovers have bombarded the zoo’s Web site, clicking on one of two available panda cams to spy on the mother and cub as they bond inside what the animals believe is their private den. From late July (when new high-definition cameras were installed) to Friday, the zoo has recorded more than 847,000 clicks on its panda-cam Web page, with about 529,000 of those coming since the day of the cub’s birth, according to Mike Thorpe, the zoo’s Web specialist. More than 52,000 hours of panda-cam viewing have occurred since July — and more than 30,000 since the cub’s birth. (That doesn’t even include the number of times people have clicked “play” on the panda cam on the zoo’s mobile app, data that weren’t available Friday.) Mei Xiang gently places her cub on the floor of her den. The panda cub has a round belly, which indicates


NASA’s LADEE rocket mission to launch Friday from Va.’s Eastern Shore

This LADEE is a champ: See NASA’s latest rocket mission soar into space from the greater Washington metropolitan area Friday night at 11:27 p.m. The flight will be launched — relatively close by — from Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. If skies are clear, the launch window will be 11:27 p.m. to 11:31 p.m., NASA says. For Washington area residents, look to the south-southeast by that time, since rockets move at blistering speeds. NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment – or LADEE – is a robotic mission that will orbit Earth for three weeks. It then speeds off to the moon for a 100-day trip to measure lunar dust and the moon’s atmosphere. It will be launched aboard a five-stage Minotaur V rocket. The NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island is south of Salisbury, Md., and west of the southern part of Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Residents of other eastern cities — such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York — should be able to spot the rocket just after launch. Road trip! For those who want a closer look, NASA, local officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have established prime viewing areas in Chincoteague at Robert Reed Park on Main Street or on Beach Road. There, large televisions will show the launch, and NASA officials will be on hand to answer questions. Information on Chincoteague viewing areas can be found at www.tiny.cc/jmtm2w. As weather can affect launch schedules, consult the LADEE Web site for updates: www.nasa.gov/ladee. At sunset, find Venus and Saturn hanging out in the west-southwestern sky. Of the two, Venus is the sharp, bright dot at negative fourth magnitude and is easy to spot in clear, dark skies. Over the next three weeks, see Saturn (0 magnitude) appear to get closer, low above the western horizon. Saturn and Venus dance a minuet Sept. 20, when they’re four degrees apart. The young, crescent moon snuggles with Venus on Sept. 8 and moves on to nuzzle Saturn the next night. The jovial and jolly Jupiter rises in the east about 2 a.m. now, and then at 12:30 a.m. late in September. At negative second magnitude (bright), this large, gaseous planet makes a nice viewing target, because it’s high in the eastern sky before dawn. Our reddish neighbor, Mars, ascends in the east at about 3:30 a.m. This first-magnitude planet serves as a guidepost for Comet Ison


Capital Buzz: D.C. chef gets in on the noodle craze

A soba noodle salad from Newton’s Noodles, which is opening this month in Dupont Circle. (Len DePas/Len DePas) What is it about Washington that has people going noodle-crazy? Chipotle’s noodle-centric ShopHouse is expanding to the West Coast after a two-year trial in the District’s Dupont Circle. Toki Underground Now Washington entrepreneur chef Dennis Friedman — who owns the upscale Newton’s Table in Bethesda — is getting in on the act. He is opening Newton’s Noodles this month in Dupont. “Noodles are comforting, noodles are familiar and the [profit] margins are the best,” said Friedman, who comes from a family of D.C. entrepreneurs. From a food perspective, “noodles can be a blank canvas for whatever you want,” Friedman said. Newton’s Noodles will open in the next two weeks at 1120 20th NW, between L and M streets. Friedman, who visited many noodle restaurants as part of his research, said he plans to replicate Newton’s Noodles if the first one takes off. He said the investment in the first store is less than $500,000. First and foremost, he said, the food must taste good and be affordable. “You can come in and walk away with noodles for $8,” said the Potomac native. “The signature dish is $9, but you can build your own noodle dish. We know people love beef wonton, tuna bites, ahi tuna bites and ka pow chicken. We also will have spring rolls.” Friedman, who worked with celebrity chefs such as Daniel Boulud and Michel Richard, is premiering a new utensil — the chorck — which is half fork and half chopsticks, to help noodlers move the slippery devils from plate to mouth. Factoid of the Week $200,000 That is what Carlyle Group is paying former secretary of state Hillary Clinton to speak at its annual investor conference in Washington next week. (Politico reported the engagement earlier.) Private equity has been very, very kind to the Clintons. Last year, Carlyle paid a similar amount to Hilary’s husband, former president Bill Clinton. On your mark, get set ... Last November, months before the rest of the city caught wind that the nonprofit group DC 2024 was exploring efforts to have Washington host the 2024 Olympics, Akin Gump attorney Tony Pierce got an e-mail from Bob Sweeney, president of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance, who is leading the charge for the Olympics bid. “He reached out to me to see if


D.C. turns to night life to attract new visitors

Patrons hang out by the bar The Hamilton at 14th and F Streets NW. (Tracy A. Woodward) Is Washington cool? A $3 million marketing campaign by Destination D.C. hopes to convince international travelers that it is. Among other efforts to overcome the city’s wonky reputation, the campaign includes a 100-second black-and-white commercial that rattles off hip D.C. staples: Half-smokes at Ben’s Chili Bowl, beer at Churchkey and boozy milkshakes at the Satellite Room. The ultimate goal, officials say, is to woo luxury travelers and international partygoers to Washington at a time when government budget cuts have reduced the number of conferences and meetings in the area. “Night life will be a huge key in changing [the existing perception of Washington],” said Elliott Ferguson, chief executive and president of Destination D.C., the marketing arm of the District. Ferguson added that he also hopes to lure some of New York City’s 52 million annual visitors to Washingon, which had 18.9 million travelers last year. “We know the European community traditionally will travel to New York City to spend a weekend going out to clubs,” he said at Destination D.C.’s annual marketing outlook meeting last week. “We want more of that in Washington.” Nearly 19 million people visited the District last year, bringing in a total of $6.2 billion in revenue for the city. That amounted to $674 million in local taxes and helped support more than 75,000 jobs, the group said. “The key for us is the international market,” Ferguson said. “As much as we love visitors coming to this city, the bottom line is, how much are they spending? How long are they staying? And how many jobs are they creating?” The average Chinese visitor to Washington, for example, spends $7,000, while travelers from the United Arab Emirates typically shell out between $19,000 and $22,000 per person, Ferguson said. To attract more high-end dollars, the association is also ramping up its focus on luxury travel and international conventions. “One of the things we’ve been hearing, especially internationally, is ‘What about the VIP experience?’” Ferguson said. “There’s a real appetite globally for that.” To that end, the association is putting together high-end packages that include stays at five-star hotels and personalized experiences, such as behind-the-scenes tours of museums. “Our goal is [to let] people know what there is to see and do off of the Mall,” Ferguson said. City executives say they


Labor Day parade and Fashion Night Out

Museum to check out the Washington Architectural Foundation’s Canstruction 2013 competition, in which local architecture and construction teams build structures out of canned goods. The theme for this year’s competition is the National Mall. Cast your vote for your fave and donate canned goods to the Capital Area Food Bank. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448. go.nbm.org. thursday Make your own comic Watch Rafer Roberts work on the spring 2014 edition of “Magic Bullet,” a local, semi-annual comics newspaper presented by DC Conspiracy, a collaborative group of local comic writers, editors, artists, fans and creators. Guests can also make their own comic and leave it to be displayed at the gallery. 6:30 p.m. Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 703-875-1100. www.artisphere.com. friday Petworth’s Fashion Night Out Willow Fashion and Fia’s Fabulous Finds host a Fashion Night Out, with a fashion show and preview of fall fashions from local boutiques. After the show, there will be a “swag bag” giveaway at Fia’s and a 10-percent-off sale at Fia’s Fabulous Finds and Willow Fashion. There will also be an on-site, professional stylist to help guests rework their wardrobes for fall. 7 p.m. Fia’s Fabulous Finds, 806 Upshur St. NW. 202-492-8278. www.fiasfabulousfinds.com. Registration required. saturday 5th annual Green Living Expo DC A day of events geared toward helping you go green. Learn how to get the most out of your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes in the “5 a Day CSA” cooking class. Sit in on panel discussions on energy efficiency, renewable energy, recycling, gardening and water. There also will be vendors selling food and green products, as well as face painting courtesy of the Wilson High School Art Club. D.C. locals who register in advance can enter to win a year’s supply of free Honest Tea. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. University of the District of Columbia, Dennard Plaza, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW (entrance on Van Ness Street NW). 202-274-5000. www.udc.edu. Registration required. sunday Freecycle Fete Score some free stuff at DC Home Buzz’s Freecycle Fete, “a garage sale where everything is free.” Part the annual Adams Morgan Day, Freecycle Fest gives neighbors an opportunity to get rid of the junk that’s been clogging up their closets, and bargain seekers get a chance to find treasure in their neighbors’ trash. 3 p.m. 18th Street NW, between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road. www.dchomebuzz.com. — Lauren McEwen


Local digest

THE REGION THE DISTRICT Shooting leaves one dead, one wounded A 23-year-old man was shot to death Saturday night and a juvenile male shot and wounded in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, D.C. police said Sunday. The slain man was identified Sunday afternoon as Antonio Jerome Williams of Northwest Washington. The wounded youth, whose name and age were not released, was said to be in stable condition at a hospital. Officer Paul Metcalf said the shootings occurred about midnight in the 1300 block of Columbia Road NW. — Nick Anderson Police identify man who was fatally shot D.C. police identified a man slain early Saturday in Congress Heights as Jason Alexander Murphy. Murphy, 30, of New Carrollton was shot about 2:30 a.m. in the 1300 block of Savannah Street SE. — Peter Hermann Police boat strikes docked vessels A D.C. police boat struck at least two vessels on the Potomac River near Georgetown, causing one smaller boat to partially sink. Witnesses say a harbor patrol boat was making a U-turn Saturday about 7 p.m. when it struck at least two boats docked at the Georgetown waterfront. No one was hurt in the crash. One boat was flipped on its side and was left partially underwater along the waterfront overnight. The U.S. Coast Guard and D.C. police responded to the scene and have launched an investigation to determine what caused the crash. — Associated Press MARYLAND Man killed in crash near reservoir An Upper Marlboro man was killed early Sunday in a single-vehicle crash on New Hampshire Avenue near the Triadelphia Reservoir in northeastern Montgomery County, police said. George Anthony Veney, 54, was driving south in a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer when the car veered into the northbound lane near Greenbridge Road, struck a tree and flipped, police said. Officers responded to the scene at 1:48 a.m. Veney was alone in the vehicle. The crash remains under investigation. — Nick Anderson Man found dead on road is identified A man who apparently was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in Clinton early Saturday has been identified as Eric Derron Bridgett, 27, according to Prince George’s County police. Police said they found the man about 2:30 a.m. at Kirby Road and Marwood Drive, near the Joint Base Andrews military facility. They said a preliminary investigation indicated that he was trying to cross Kirby when he was hit. — Peter Hermann VIRGINIA


From jasmine to rotting flesh, flowers emit fragrance to attract pollinators

animals share our aroma preferences. Beetles and flies can act as pollinators, too, and they simply adore the smell of rot and excrement. To each his own. A second use for floral scents is the opposite: repellence. Not all creatures are pollinators. Some bees punch holes in the backs of flowers, and swarms of ants can easily destroy a plant. Some flowers use offensive odors to keep those dangerous creatures away. A flower’s scent also acts as a training mechanism, a variation on the attraction theme: Attraction means that the pollinator likes the smell. With the training theory, the pollinator may not have strong feelings about the smell itself, but it learns to link it to nectar. The wait is over: The large, stinky flower that smells like rotting flesh is in bloom at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington. “Think of scents as olfactory billboards that teach pollinators to associate a certain smell with a good meal,” says Raguso. Aroma also acts in concert with color to train pollinators. Insects, birds and other pollinators have memories, but they can only hold only so many recollections of individual colors and scents in their minds. Using the two in combination (red plus a honey smell, for example) is a better billboard, more likely to be remembered. A flower’s smell can also act as a navigational tool. Humans, with only one nose, are pretty bad at this. But bees, for instance, are different. Like many other pollinators, they have several olfactory organs, some on the ends of their antennae. Bees use the slightly different olfactory signals from their two antennae to find their way around. A flower’s scent can direct a pollinator to its exact location. There’s one more theory to explain the role of floral scents. Charles Darwin, the father of natural selection, pointed out that some pollinators flit between flowers of different species, increasing the chances that a flower’s reproductive products will go to an unrelated species, producing a hybrid offspring. Hybridization in the plant kingdom has some benefits, such as creating new species, but many hybridized plants are sterile and mark the end of a genetic line. Scents help prevent this from happening. If a flower can differentiate itself from other species, it is more likely to attract specialized pollinators and maximize contact with others of the same species. If you really like one brand of beer and it


BugaBees app teaches children about food allergies

TECHNOLOGY Helping kids handle food allergies “The BugaBees: Friends with Food Allergies,” for iOS and Android Being the only kid in class with an allergy can feel incredibly lonely. A smartphone and tablet app offers help by introducing such kids to virtual friends who can relate. “Food allergies are never fun, but best friends always are!” exclaims the BugaBees app ($4.99, iOS and Android), based on the popular children’s book series by Amy Recob. If those best friends happen to have allergies too, even better. The app features such characters as Beetle, Cricket and Butterfly, who “always have fun and . . . never feel blue, unless they eat foods they’re allergic to,” the app says. Each character has an allergy to one of the eight most common allergenic foods — peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, soy, eggs or wheat. According to the app’s creators, these foods account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions in the United States. Children can use the interactive story to learn how to recognize symptoms of an allergic reaction and how to manage their allergies. They can also help the BugaBees make safe, healthy food choices. For example, they can help Beetle, who is allergic to milk, choose among carrots, cow’s milk, pizza, strawberries and dairy yogurt. (Hint: Carrots and strawberries are safe for Beetle.) The BugaBees app features Beetle, Cricket and Butterfly, who have food allergies. Children can help the characters choose safe, healthy food options. (Courtesy of The BugaBees)


Lawyer leads charge against sexual assault in military

are off’’ in response to terrorism that got to her, she recalls, and she became so concerned about the possibility of government-sanctioned torture that she became a lead attorney representing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. She won settlements from Blackwater — now Academi — for 68 Iraqi civilians, and became the lead attorney representing soldiers suing Halliburton and KBR for disposing toxic waste in open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Along the way, some of her fellow partners at Montgomery McCracken Walker and Rhoads in Philadelphia became uncomfortable with what they viewed as her work on behalf of terrorists, she says, and in 2005 she started her own firm. And it is that crusading background that landed Burke in the witness chair last week. Attorneys for the three defendants openly blamed her for their clients’ troubles and questioned her on the stand about her “manipulations.” Isn’t it true, one of them asked her, that “you’ve got a plan, whether this case goes to a court-martial or not?” “A plan?’’ she repeated. Sure, said Ronald “Chip” Herrington, representing Eric Graham, 21, of Eight Mile, Ala. “As part of her crusade,’’ he told the presiding officer at what the military calls an Article 32 hearing, Burke is “trying to push the complaining witness through this process,’’ and is, he said, using the young woman to further her own agenda. If the case is thrown out, Herrington said later in an interview, that would be an even better outcome for Burke, because it would make the military look unresponsive. “She wins either way,’’ he said. Graham and the two other defendants, Tra’ves Bush, 22, of Johnston, S.C., and Joshua Tate, 21, of Nashville, have denied any wrongdoing and said that anything that happened that night was consensual. Unlike her client — who has occasionally broken down on the stand, and while testifying holds on tight to the mala meditation beads that her sexual assault counselor gave her — Burke was frowning but matter of fact as she was accused by defense counsel of slandering the innocent, exaggerating the problem and being in this for the publicity. She agrees that she wants attention and justice for the 26,000 service members who the Pentagon estimates were sexually assaulted last year. Of those, 3,374 troops filed complaints. Burke does have an agenda, of course, and has argued at every opportunity that Congress


U.S. gays face challenges serving abroad

Austin Watkins, left, is a civilian defense worker deployed in Japan. His husband, Joseph Marcey, right, lives in Washington because a “status of forces agreement,” signed 53 years ago by the United States and Japan, does not recognize same-sex marriage. That prevents the couple from living together in Okinawa. (Courtesy of Austin Watkins ) Correction: Austin Watkins had reason to celebrate when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act, marking a breakthrough in gay rights and making his husband eligible for federal benefits everywhere in the United States. But as a civilian defense worker deployed in Japan, Watkins faces a unique barrier. It turns out that a “status of forces agreement,” signed 53 years ago by the United States and Japan, does not recognize same-sex marriage. That prevents him from living with his spouse in Okinawa. For now, Joseph Marcey resides thousands of miles away in Washington. He would have to apply for a tourist visa every 90 days to live in Okinawa, and he wouldn’t be able to receive medical care at military clinics, shop at a commissary or obtain a dependent ID card from the Defense Department. “The workarounds for our situation are too cumbersome to be worthwhile,” Watkins said. While much attention has gone to federal workers who have recently gained the government’s recognition of their same-sex marriages, employees such as Watson have fallen into an unanticipated category in which diplomatic issues have seemingly trumped federal policy. The challenge has arisen in countries where same-sex marriage is not accepted. As a result, U.S. employees and volunteers with agencies such as the State Department, the Peace Corps and the Defense Department must wrestle with how to do their jobs while honoring who they are and their host country’s values. The lives of same-sex couples serving abroad often revert to a less-tolerant past — a time before the DOMA ruling, the State Department’s new policy of treating all visa applicants equally, or the agency’s 2009 decision to extend legally permissible benefits to the domestic partners of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) diplomats. A spokesman for the Pentagon said the agency is looking into how it should deal with Watkins’s case and others like it. “DOD is planning a careful review of command sponsorship for overseas tours, as well as all applicable status of forces agreements,” Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said. “The


Going Out Guide

The Rockville band O.A.R. plays live at Pittsburgh's Stage AE in 2011. (Travis Neely) Every Tuesday, the Going Out Gurus highlight the week’s best DJs, bands, dance nights and parties. Find a longer list of events at www.goingoutguide.com . Atlas Brew Works Premiere Week It’s hard to believe that Washington had no breweries in March 2011. Just 21 / 2 years later, DC Brau, Chocolate City and 3 Stars have become fixtures at bars around town, and even more breweries are in the pipeline. Atlas Brew Works, based in a warehouse in Ivy City, officially becomes the city’s fourth production brewery this week. Rather than host one massive launch party, Atlas is introducing its three beers — the hoppy Rowdy rye ale, District Common and the mysterious NSFW — at a series of events spread across the District. Pick a bar that’s close to you, or pick one you’ve never visited. Tuesday at Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M St. NW. Wednesday at the Big Hunt, 1345 Connecticut Ave. NW. Thursday at Iron Horse Tap Room, 507 Seventh St. NW. Friday at ChurchKey, 1337 14th St. NW. Saturday at Smith Commons, 1245 H St. NE. Sunday at the Black Squirrel, 2427 18th St. NW, and Libertine, 2435 18th St. NW. Jewish New Year What are you doing to celebrate the new year? We’re not planning ahead for December — we’re talking about Wednesday. To welcome year 5774 of the Hebrew calendar, the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue is throwing a special New Year’s Eve party at the Carnegie Library after its Rosh Hashanah service. Expect all the comforts of the usual New Year’s Eve celebration, including a countdown to the new year, live music, hors d’oeuvres and an open bar, with some twists, such as a station for writing your resolutions for the coming year. Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Carnegie Library, 801 K St. NW. 202-408-3100. www.sixthandi.org. $36. PLOY PLOY has a tasty synth-pop formula that’s a bit of British dance duo Disclosure, with a nod to the Cure and a passing synchronicity with the direction the Foreign Exchange has been going. The sound is sweet and danceable without the dreaded guilty pleasure stamp. Even better, PLOY is local, repping for Prince George’s County. (Hyattsville Arts District, holla!) Catch PLOY anchoring a night at DC9 that also features Leverage Models and Pleasure Curses. Thursday at 8 p.m. DC9, 1940 Ninth St. NW.


Japan paying millions to freeze soil, find other ways to stop leaks at Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan’s nuclear watchdog said the leak at the tsunami-crippled power plant could be the start of a new problem: Contaminated water might start seeping from storage tanks one after another. “That’s what we fear the most,” Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said. SEOUL — Concerns about fast-accumulating contaminated water at the plant, nearly 21 / 2 years after an earthquake triggered a major nuclear accident, have pushed the government to invent on-the-fly solutions. For example, part of the money announced Tuesday will go toward pumping coolant through underground pipes around critical buildings, officials said, freezing soil and creating a “seal” almost a mile long. The announcement suggests mounting problems at Fukushima, where hundreds of tons of irradiated water flow daily into the sea. It also marks the government’s most direct attempt yet to take charge of a site operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), which has been criticized by regulators for lax oversight. The 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima involved three reactor meltdowns and a massive release of radiation that forced the evacuation of 160,000 residents. The government has since declared the plant to be in a state of “cold shutdown,” meaning its reactor cores are stable. But analysts say that term belies the complex and environmentally damaging problems Japan could face during decades of cleanup. The greatest challenge, for now, is the water. When a nuclear plant is operating as designed, irradiated water is contained. But the Fukushima plant — battered by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the enormous tsunami that followed, and now relying on makeshift equipment — has become a soggy mess. Every day, roughly 400 tons of groundwater flows from surrounding mountains and seeps into reactor buildings, Tepco says. There, it mixes with highly toxic water used to douse and cool the crippled reactor cores. Some of the water leaks into the sea, Tepco says, although the exact path — whether through cracks in buildings, or through pipes or trenches — remains unclear. Workers, speaking occasionally to the media, say they are in a perpetual fight to drain toxic water from areas where it should not be and store it in containers. So far, the company has pumped the water into nearly 1,000 gray drums, each the size of a small house. But those drums were hastily constructed, regulators say, using some parts that were bolted, not welded, together. Last month, Tepco admitted that


Washington Post food calendar

SEPT. 5 BEER DINNER: PAELLA CLASS AND DINNER: SEPT. 6 CHARITY IN CHOCOLATE: DC BEER FESTIVAL: SEPT. 7 COOKING CLASS: WINERY TOUR: SEPT. 8 BOUNTY OF THE BAY PARTY: WINE DINNER: WINE DINNER: SEPT. 10 BEER DINNER: Four-course, German-inspired meal paired with beers for Oktoberfest. 6:30 p.m. $50, not including tax and gratuity. Wildfire, Tysons Galleria, Third Floor, 1714 International Dr., McLean. 703-442-9110. www.wildfirerestaurant.com/mclean. SEPT. 12 COOKING DEMONSTRATION: Gardening specialist Adrienne Cook and nutritionist Danielle Cook Navidi share ideas on cooking with eggplant. Noon and 12:45 p.m. Free. U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. www.usbg.gov. WINE CLASS: WINE DINNER: SEPT. 14 COOKING CLASS: SCOTCH AND OYSTER TASTING: VIRGINIA WINE FESTIVAL: — Becky Krystal SEND NOTICES to: To Do, Food, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, or e-mail food@washpost.com, 14 days in advance. To find more calendar items, go to www.washingtonpost. com/gog/dc-events.html and click on "Food Events."


Spike Gjerde and his Woodberry Kitchen team taking canning to new heights

Chef-owner Spike Gjerde salts a batch of Padron peppers at Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore. He is expanding his food-preservation program as he opens more restaurants. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) Chef Spike Gjerde stands in a dusty construction zone but is seeing something entirely different. Spreading his arms wide, he says, “Over here, we’ll have counter service. You know, like an old-fashioned diner.” Gjerde, chef-owner of Baltimore’s Woodberry Kitchen, is describing his newest venture, Shoofly, a “farmhouse diner” scheduled to open this month in the Belvedere Square neighborhood. Any new restaurant from Gjerde, 50, is enough to make the Mid-Atlantic food community take notice, but it is the kitchen space, larger than needed for a 75-seat diner, that might be the most newsworthy. Woodberry’s preserving and canning operations, the keystone of the locally focused menus, will be moving here, along with the five-person canning team. It’s the next logical step as the chef plans to ramp up production and extend the Woodberry imprimatur to retail sales. For Gjerde, this is not about creating an empire. It’s a continuation of his passionate engagement with the agricultural economy of the Chesapeake region. He remains committed to linking local farmers to the food on his guests’ plates. Like Alice Waters, who 40 years ago championed the organic food movement, Gjerde is leading the way on local sourcing year-round, not just when it is convenient. “More than anything, we want to spread the gospel, we want to show that local sourcing can be a way to eat. I think it still feels like window dressing to a lot of people.” There were two goals converging when the Shoofly space became available. First, the Woodberry team was worried about tomato season. They hope to process 60,000 pounds of tomatoes before the end of October and need a kitchen. While the space at Woodberry is vast compared to many city restaurants, the growing preserving program was edging out the line cooks. The more strategic reason for a preserving kitchen is inherent in Gjerde’s long-term goals: Tie together local agriculture and scaled-up production to offer commodity items (ketchup, mustard, jams, jellies and pickles) to Baltimore-area institutions. And if possible, do so via traditional food service distribution channels. “Some chefs get a product they like, they work on the recipe, and then turn to someone else to co-pack,” or actually produce it, he says. “Eventually, something is lost.”


Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman is expanding the company in pursuit of healthier foods

when Coca-Cola recently campaigned against a measure in California to force companies to label genetically modified ingredients. Honest Tea favors transparency in labeling. Goldman says that “after internal discussions,” Coca-Cola will not be directly lobbying against a similar effort in the state of Washington, although it is a funder of trade associations arguing against the labeling. Goldman, the son of Marshall Goldman, a scholar who specialized in the Soviet Union, says the world seemed more black and white when he was growing up during the Cold War era. “Today it’s a lot more complicated,” he says. For example, his company is committed to sustainability but also produces hundreds of millions of individual packages that are usually not recycled. Still, when Honest Tea started a drive to get kids to recycle their drink pouches and raised money for charity while doing it, other big companies joined in. He says the commercial success of Honest Tea and Honest Kids fruit-drink pouches has helped to create a ripple effect in the market that nudged other beverage makers such as Capri Sun to lower the amount of sugar in their drinks. “He sees part of his role on the planet to effect positive change,” says Shazi Visram,the founder and chief executive of Happy Family, a fast-growing company that makes organic baby food and other products. She called Goldman a role model. Ethan Brown Politics by other means Hirshberg, the Stonyfield Farms chairman who is a leading advocate for the labeling of genetically modified ingredients and who has been mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire, says he — like Goldman — “would both tell you we are in politics.” “Traditional elected office is one way to go,” Hirshberg says. “This is another way. Citizens vote every time they shop.” What’s next? Goldman says he has thought about politics. He majored in government at college and has worked on campaigns. He says that if someone told him 20 years ago that today he would be supporting fair-labor practices and “eliminating billions of calories from the American diet,” he says he would have figured it would be from a perch in government. He stands in his kitchen, sipping a bottle of his lemon-basil tea. “Politics,” he says, “isn’t the only way” to be a “change agent.” Seth Goldman Words to live by Where he met his spouse Preferred mode of transportation Favorite home feature


World Digest: Sept. 3, 2013

villages, targeting what the state news agency MENA said were militants’ hideouts. At least eight suspected militants were killed, it said. — Associated Press JAPAN Strong earthquake rocks Tokyo area A strong earthquake shook the Tokyo area and eastern Japan early Wednesday, although no damage or injuries were immediately reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered a magnitude of 6.9 but was centered offshore near Torishima, part of the Izu Islands about 370 miles south of Tokyo. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.5 magnitude and said it was 251 miles deep. Despite the remoteness of the epicenter, tremors were felt from the north of the main island of Honshu to the west. In Tokyo, buildings swayed for several moments. The national broadcaster NHK said some train lines stopped briefly for safety checks as a precaution. No tsunami alert was issued. — Associated Press WIKILEAKS Sweden investigates lost Assange luggage Swedish police opened an investigation Tuesday after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged them to find out what happened to a suitcase he suspects was stolen from him in 2010 by intelligence agents as he traveled from Sweden to Germany. The suitcase contained three laptops that held WikiLeaks materials, including evidence of a “war crime” allegedly committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to an affidavit that Assange’s attorney filed along with a criminal complaint to police at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport. In the affidavit, Assange suggested his bag may have been illegally seized “as part of an intelligence operation with the purpose of gathering information about me.” He offered no proof but said all attempts to locate the bag had failed. The move came a day before President Obama visits Sweden. — Associated Press Pakistani girl shot by Taliban speaks at library opening: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head last year for advocating education for girls, honored her own weapon of choice Tuesday: the book. The 16-year-old, who was hospitalized in Britain after being shot by the Taliban, delivered the opening speech for a new public library in Birmingham, England, that is being touted as the largest in Europe. “Books are the only weapon that can defeat terrorism,” she said in a warmly received address outside the10-story building. Germany seeks charges against alleged Auschwitz guards: Verdict in Indian gang-rape case due next week: Suriname leader dismissiveof jailed son: — From news services


News from around the Washington region

20, and Sequarn Tibbs, 22, were members of a group called “Young Savage” in the 37th Street/37th Place neighborhood. The men went to Clay Terrace to avenge a burglary of Jackson’s home, prosecutors said. When they arrived, Tibbs began shooting at residents. The 15-year-old, Davonta Artis, who was standing outside with his friends, was killed. Tibbs’s brother Daquan Tibbs, 18, also was killed, and three people were seriously injured. Barnes and Jackson were arrested in January 2012 in Charlotte after they were featured on the TV program “America’s Most Wanted.” Sequarn Tibbs was captured in September 2010. In May, all three pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and other charges. Jackson is to be sentenced on Sept. 13 and Tibbs on Nov. 7. — Keith Alexander Possible cause of derailment is found A piece of equipment known as a “dummy truck,” which is used to move Metro rail cars that aren’t working, appears to have failed and possibly caused the derailment of a Red Line train last week. Jim Benton, chairman of the Tri-State Oversight Committee, which helps oversee Metro’s safety, said the dummy truck “for whatever reason could have been the cause of the derailment.” “It is one of the possibilities,” he said. A rail car truck holds the wheels, motors and brakes. A dummy truck has no motor but can be used to move cars. In Friday’s incident, dummy trucks were on two rail cars of the six-car train when it derailed near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro stop. — Dana Hedgpeth Man found killed in Rock Creek Park A man was found stabbed to death Monday evening near a well-traveled road through Rock Creek Park, according to authorities. His name was not released pending notification of relatives. Police said that no motive has been determined and that they have no suspects. A passerby found the body about 7:50 p.m. lying along a creek bed in woods near Beach Dr. and Joyce Rd. in Northwest Washington. The spot is just north of Military Road and about a mile north of a U.S. Park Police station. Police said the victim was not wearing clothing consistent with outdoor activities. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND Woman charged with attacking 8-year-old A 26-year-old woman allegedly tried to bludgeon an 8-year-old boy to death last weekend, according to Prince George’s County police. Early Saturday, a boy with a head wound ran from his home to


More older people find inspiration later in life to start an exercise program

It had been just shy of 50 years since Bernie Stamm, 74, was an active competitive athlete, participating in track and field in his high school years. Three years ago, he decided to get back into the game and return to the world of sports, quickly winning gold medals in Senior Olympic events. (Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post) To 63-year-old Greg Cooke, seeing Diana Nyad become the first person to complete a 110-mile swim without a shark cage from Cuba to Florida on Monday was nothing short of awesome. Nyad is, after all, just a year older than Cooke, and she reminded him of what is possible. “I saw that, and I thought, ‘Man, this is a total inspiration,’” he said. “It made me feel like I need to get up and get out there and do stuff.” Unlike Nyad, Cooke, a government lawyer who lives in Garrett Park, was not much of an athlete for most of his adult life. But when he was 48, he changed his ways. “I had little kids and I was fat,” he said. “I had a 6-year-old, and I didn’t want to be an old slug dad who couldn’t keep up with the kids.” Cooke began running and now completes marathons with finish times in the 31 / 2-hour range. Most people do less physical activity the older they get. Only one in five American adults overall exercises enough, as defined by guidelines established by the federal Department of Health and Human Services — at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, plus muscle-building activity at least twice a week. By their mid-50s, it is about one in six, and only one in seven after age 65, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But while only a small share of people are exercising enough, the percentage of those exercising after 65 has been rising. Swimmer Diana Nyad is just the latest American to make a mark in the second half of life. Here are a few other late bloomers. As recently as 1998, only 6 percent of Americans older than 65 routinely exercised up to federal levels, according to the CDC. Over the next decade, it doubled. In the most recent study, done in 2011, 16 percent got enough exercise. The upswing marks a change in attitude since the middle of the century. In 1954,


Motorist hurt after colliding with deer in Prince George’s

A motorist was seriously injured Tuesday when a deer crashed through his windshield on a road in Prince George’s County, authorities said. The collision occurred about 2 p.m. on Indian Head Highway and Pine Lane, in the Accokeek area of the county, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a spokesman for the county police. The collision exemplified a type of highway incident that has become an increasing concern to drivers in the Washington area and nationwide. According to Copeland’s account, the deer darted in front of the vehicle, shattering the windshield. The driver was taken to a hospital with what were believed to be serious injuries. The deer apparently was killed. Indian Head Highway, or Route 210, is a major thoroughfare in southwestern Prince George’s. At the site of the accident, it is divided by a grass median and bordered on both sides by trees. The presence of deer throughout the metropolitan area has prompted controversy, particularly over efforts to reduce the size of populations in parks. The animals are blamed for damaging plants and young trees. One woman who lives near the site of the collision said deer are common there. “In fact,” she said, “they eat all my flowers.” In recent years, she said, the area has become increasingly developed. But in the past, she added, it “was not unusual to see eight in your yard.” Statistics provided by an insurance company projected that more than 1.1 million collisions in the United States between cars and deer would occur in the year beginning July 1, 2010. The statistics indicated that 34,000 such collisions would occur in Maryland in that period. The number forecast for the District was about 370.


Man found fatally stabbed in Rock Creek Park identified as from Northwest Washington

The man found fatally stabbed on Monday along a stream in Rock Creek Park has been identified as a 49-year-old man from Northwest Washington, according to D.C. police. Police said Matias Molina was found about 7:50 p.m. Monday, lying along a creek bed in a wooded area near Beach Drive and Joyce Road NW. The site is just north of Military Road and about a mile north of a U.S. Park Police station. Beach Drive is clogged with commuters during the week but is closed to traffic and used by bikers and joggers on weekends and holidays. It’s also near a popular picnic area. Police would not comment on a possible motive for the stabbing but said Molina was not wearing clothing consistent with outdoor recreational activities. Acting D.C. police Capt. Robert Alder, commander of the homicide unit, said police have not determined whether Molina was killed in the park or elsewhere. “We consider that area safe,” U.S. Park Police Maj. Keith Horton said. Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the slaying of Molina. Anyone with information is urged to call the department at 202-727-9099 or text the tip line at 50411.


Would Hillary Clinton’s position on U.S. strike against Syria affect 2016 presidential race?

active engagement, at the end of the day, she was persuaded that we had to weigh in more heavily on the side of the opposition.” Her allies see no particular political downside to embracing Obama as he tries to gain support for military action. At the same time, they know she has little choice other than to back the president fully, given her past role in the administration. What isn’t clear is how active or assertive Clinton will be in public as Congress debates whether to give Obama the authority he is requesting. She will have public appearances early next week — one at the White House unrelated to the current debate and a second at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is part of a series of policy speeches she will be giving this fall. The Philadelphia setting could provide a forum for her to address the Syrian issue and the president’s request for congressional support to launch strikes, if she has not done so earlier. John F. Kerry, Clinton’s successor as secretary of state, has been the administration’s leading voice on responding to the alleged chemical weapons attack. White House officials are recruiting former officials from this and past administrations to help make the case for military action and to round up votes on Capitol Hill. Former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta has agreed to call members of Congress, and a Clinton aide suggested that she is prepared to do whatever may be asked of her. One former administration official, who spoke before Clinton’s office issued its statement, recommended that she stay out of the matter, in part because the media will parse and magnify whatever she says. “Giving the president and Congress the room to decide this issue without her suddenly jumping into the middle of it is probably the right course of action,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. “There will be time to say [what she thinks is] the right course. . . . I think it’s better now to leave it to the president and to the Congress.” Clinton allies doubt that her support for targeted military action against Syria will boomerang, as her 2002 vote did. And they don’t see any strong opponent on the party’s left flank who could make the case against her, should things turn sour, as they did in Iraq. “That


UVA student dies after collapsing at D.C. club

D.C. police are investigating the death of a 19-year-old University of Virginia student who died at a hospital after collapsing at a rave club in the Ivy City neighborhood of Northeast Washington, according to authorities. Mary “Shelly” Goldsmith, of Abingdon, Va., was pronounced dead at Providence Hospital at 3 a.m. Sunday, police said. A report says she felt ill about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday in a club called Echo Stage in the 2100 block of Queens Chapel Road NE. A university e-mail sent to students described Goldsmith as a Jefferson Scholar and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. She was in her second year. The cause of her death has been ruled undetermined. No one answered the phone at the club on Tuesday. Many of its events are advertised for teens 18 and over. The school said in its e-mail that Goldsmith had been “visiting he area with U-Va. friends.” Police said she had come on a bus to go to the club. Goldsmith’s father, Robert, told a local Virginia television station that his daughter felt ill while in the club and asked a friend to call an ambulance before she collapsed.


After Snowden revelations, China worries about cyberdefense, hackers

China’s cybersecurity industry vary. One government report estimated a 30 percent growth rate from 2006 to 2010. But what is clear isthat the market has huge space to expand. According to calculations by one market research firm in Beijing, IDC, only 1 percent of total IT spending in China goes toward cybersecurity. In the United States, the ratio is roughly estimated at 11 percent. Chinese spending will probably rise more quickly because of the revelations about U.S. intelligence operations, said Dai Xiangjun, an analyst for CCID, a research firm affiliated with the Chinese government. “The Snowden scandal has caused real panic.” Suspicion rises Snowden’s allegations have raised suspicion of foreign companies to a fever pitch. One state-run magazine ran a cover story on how China allegedly has been “seamlessly penetrated” by eight U.S. companies — Cisco, IBM, Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Apple, Oracle and Microsoft. But the reality, say many industry insiders, is that China’s technology is not close to being able to replace U.S. suppliers. “There’s not one Chinese company within years of reaching what some U.S. tech companies are doing at the highest levels,” said one Chinese expert in the security industry who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his work. Chinese banks, for example, need equipment that is reliable, which often means foreign hardware. Cisco routers still form the backbone of much of China’s telecommunications networks. The Snowden backlash, however, has been worrisome enough to prompt Cisco to declare on its Chinese Web site that it had nothing to do with the U.S. surveillance programs revealed recently. Meanwhile, some of China’s booming cybersecurity firms are trying to export abroad, including to the United States, where they have faced suspicion because of their close ties to the Chinese government. Jeffrey Carr — founder of McLean-based Taia Global, which specializes in thwarting cyber-espionage and theft — recalled his surprise at seeing Chinese vendors this year setting up their booth at a San Francisco convention right up the aisle from Mandiant, a company that has made headlines for its investigations of state-sponsored Chinese hacking. “It was shocking, but also kind of funny to see,” Carr said. He added, however, that he would not write off the companies’ efforts. “There’s quite a bit of money being spent in China right now,” he said. “The growth opportunities there are simply tremendous.” Li Qi contributed to this report.


Zoo to answer giant panda gossip: ‘Who’s the daddy?’

Mei Xiang has delivered two surviving cubs since 2005, Tai Shan in July 2005 and Bao Bao in August 2013. She gave birth to a stillborn cub about 26 hours after Bao Bao. In Septempter 2012, she gave birth to a cub with liver abnormalities that died days later. UPDATE: It’s a girl! Baby panda’s gender, father revealed Is it Gao Gao, the slim San Diego stud with the chunk out of his ear? Or the hefty local boy, Tian Tian, with poor technique and track record? The Smithsonian National Zoo said it will end the Giant Panda gossip Thursday by announcing which black-and-white dude fathered its newborn cub. The zoo will also say which male sired the stillborn twin, and reveal the sex of the surviving cub. Mei Xiang gently places her cub on the floor of her den. The panda cub has a round belly, which indicates that it is nursing well. The 12-day-old cub, born Aug. 23, appears to be thriving and is beginning to develop the classic black-and-white giant panda coloring on its fur. But infant cubs are so small that their sex can’t be determined right away. The cub’s paternity is important because its lineage determines how common its genes are in the giant panda gene pool. Zoo experts did a mouth swab on the cub to extract DNA during its first medical exam last month. In captivity, inbreeding with commonplace genes can pass along genetic mutations that could lead to potential health problems, the zoo has said. So the less common the genes, the better. The zoo’s female giant panda, Mei Xiang, was artificially inseminated in March with sperm from two giant pandas — the National Zoo’s Tian Tian, and the San Diego zoo’s Gao Gao. Gao Gao has proved to be a successful breeder, fathering four cubs in San Diego, including one born last summer. Gao Gao was rescued from the wild in 1992 in China when he was less than a year old. He was sent to the San Diego zoo in 2003. He weighs about 180 pounds, undersized for an adult panda, especially a male, and has an ear that was partly bitten off in the wild, the San Diego zoo said on its Web site. Because he was obtained from the wild, his genes are less common and more valuable, the zoo says. In 2007, the zoo tried using his


Salisbury University student in critical condition; friend and shooter are dead

A Salisbury University student remained in critical condition Wednesday after she was shot near the Eastern Shore campus by her ex-boyfriend, who then fatally wounded her friend and himself, police said. Officers were called Tuesday evening to the student’s home on Onley Road in Salisbury, where they found the shooter, Ryan Justin Shallue, and the two victims, police said. Police said Shallue, 21, was a former boyfriend of Kristen Renee Loetz, 20, the Salisbury student. Both had lived in Stevensville in Queen Anne’s County. Police said Shallue went to Loetz’s home, where they argued, and that Charles Jacob Abbott, 19, of Hebron tried to intervene. Shallue pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and shot Loetz and Abbott before shooting himself. Shallue was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Abbott was taken to a hospital in Salisbury, where he was pronounced dead. Loetz was taken to the same hospital, but then she was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Janet Dudley-Eshbach, president of the university, issued a statement that said the two people who had died in the incident were not students. “Our prayers and condolences go out to the families and friends of those impacted by last evening’s tragic off-campus shooting,” she said in a letter to students Wednesday. “Sadly, relationship violence is a national issue and our campus is not immune to it.” Loetz is an honors nursing major who is active in student life, Dudley-Eshbach said. — Baltimore Sun


Don’t give up on nuclear energy yet

OVER THE past couple of weeks, two of the arguments made against nuclear power by opponents seem to have gotten stronger: that it is too dangerous, and that it is too expensive. Yet it still would be wrong to rule out a near-carbon-free technology that produces a fifth of the country’s electricity. On Tuesday, the Japanese government announced a new plan to deal with the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility. Though the Fukushima meltdowns occurred more than two years ago, the facility’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), is still struggling to contain the damage. The latest problem to attract alarm has been tons of contaminated water. Some 400 tons of groundwater mixes with tainted coolant inside the reactors every day. From there, much of it seeps into the ocean. On top of that, makeshift storage tanks containing radioactive coolant have started to leak. Last month, about 300 tons escaped from one tank. Last weekend, Tepco admitted that it found high radiation levels around another, and contamination readings spiked Tuesday. Japan’s government, finally, has decided to step in more forcefully. Its plan is to continually pump extremely cold liquid deep into the ground, freezing the soil and establishing an “ice wall” past which groundwater couldn’t travel. With luck, that would prevent further interaction between the stricken reactors and underground water flows. The government also wants to improve the equipment Tepco is using to filter the water it is collecting. Even if these measures work, the government will still have to clean up melted nuclear fuel inside the plant, an exceptionally difficult task. Meanwhile, Entergy Corp., a New Orleans-based utility, announced last week that it would shutter the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station next year. Vermont officials had opposed plans to keep the plant open for 20 more years, but the company appeared to be winning that fight. Instead, the company said, the problem is that the plant isn’t economical. Electricity from now-cheap natural gas has been undercutting wholesale electricity prices, making it harder for nuclear facilities to compete. Given these examples, it would be easy to conclude that nuclear is an aging technology that the country should abandon. We aren’t convinced. On safety, Fukushima offers lessons about how not to run a power plant; basic design flaws and subsequent mismanagement were responsible for its problems. Sound regulation can address such issues. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission required precautionary upgrades


Texas, Mississippi National Guards stall processing of benefits for gay spouses

general’s office but did not say whether it was consulting with the Pentagon. The National Guard Bureau, which oversees units throughout the country, said the Mississippi National Guard has cited similar statutory reasons in refusing to assist gay spouses with enrollment for federal benefits. Spokesman Jon Anderson said the agency will “continue to coordinate with the respective states and the Department of Defense regarding a resolution to this important matter.” Tuesday marked the first day that gays in the military could apply for benefits after the Pentagon’s announcement last month, which came in response to a Supreme Court decision that overturned a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act this year. In response, the federal government has said it will provide legally married gay couples with the same federal tax, health, Social Security and other benefits that opposite-sex couples receive. The Texas National Guard said Wednesday that its policy will not prevent same-sex spouses from applying for federal benefits. “It is important to note that this is not a denial of benefits, rather it is a processing issue,” said agency spokeswoman Lt. Col. Joanne MacGregor. Nichols’s memo encourages couples affected by the Texas policy to enroll for benefits at one of the state’s federal installations, such as Fort Hood and Joint Base San Antonio. “Despite the legal conflict, the Texas Military Forces remains committed to ensuring military personnel and their families receive the benefits to which they are entitled,” the agency said in a statement Tuesday. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen said that federal military installations in all states will issue IDs to all those who provide a valid marriage certificate from a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage. Gay-rights advocates have criticized the state policies for requiring married gay couples to navigate complicated workarounds. “Our military families are already dealing with enough problems, and the last thing they need is more discrimination,” said Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association. Christensen declined to comment on whether the Pentagon is reviewing the Texas and Mississippi policies or whether the Defense Department can force the states to process the applications. It is not clear how many couples will be affected by the state policies. “As sexual orientation is a private and personal matter, the Texas Military Forces does not track the number of personnel in same-sex relationships or those of gay/lesbian orientation,” the Texas National Guard said Tuesday.