What the U.S. doesn’t like about Japan’s post offices

office to sell their products alongside policies issued by Japan Post Insurance. For example, American Family Life Assurance Co. now sells cancer insurance in some Japanese post offices. That firm, more commonly known as Aflac, is huge in Japan. Aflac derives no less than 74 percent of its global revenue from Japanese customers -- $16.6 billion in 2014 -- and insures no less than one in four Japanese households, according to the company. (Cancer insurance policies are the firm's mainstay there. Cancer is feared and stigmatized in Japanese culture, and many people there want to insure themselves against the disease, as Matt Phillips explains in an essay at Quartz. Aflac did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.) The move comes as Japan's post office is being privatized, including the insurance company, the bank and the mail service itself. In an initial public offering on Wednesday, investors purchased about 11 percent of the post office's equity, bidding shares 26 percent above the offered price. Japan's parliament voted to sell the post office in 2005, when Obama was still a senator and years before negotiations began on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The publication of the text of the agreement and the initial public offering were coincidental. Still, both suggest that Japanese policymakers believe the post office should be subject to market forces. "When you create anti-competitive distortions in markets through the special treatment of government-owned insurers, it not only hurts private insurers, it also hurts the consumers and the policyholders," Simchak said. Mehrsa Baradaran, a legal scholar at the University of Georgia who has long advocated for postal banking in the United States, said the reforms in the Trans-Pacific Partnership seemed reasonable. Post offices can and should compete on equal terms with the private sector when they offer financial services, she argued, saying that the public sector can offer insurance more cheaply and efficiently. "With insurance and with banking, it's about trust and size," she said. "That's why the post has an advantage, because it reaches a lot more people, and because there's an inherent trust in the post." Private alternatives to postal insurance are often "more expensive for the consumer, and possibly not as good of a product," she added. "You don't underprice insurance by being the disrupter who offers it cheap and fast." If private insurers disagree, at least they'll have the opportunity to prove themselves in Japan.


Was Argentina’s election stolen? Here’s how you can tell.

a similar approach to flag potential irregularities in the turnout rates in Ukraine in 2004. Perhaps the most popular electoral forensics test focuses on the digits in the vote counts and assesses how they should look in the absence of manipulation. For instance, if a candidate received 1,745 votes in a polling station, Bernd Beber and Alexandra Scacco propose focusing on the last digit — which is the “5” in this vote count — and its frequency for the same candidate’s vote counts in all polling stations. When numbers are generated at random or without any deliberate manipulation, the chance of the last digit to be any numeral between 0 and 9 is 10 percent. Therefore, if in our hypothetical example the vote counts ending in 5 appear more often than expected, there would be reasons to question the integrity of the results. Electoral forensics has its critics. Election forensics, however, are not free from criticism. Scholars have pointed out the necessity of reviewing the assumptions of the analysis. Addressing these concerns, Jacob Montgomery, Santiago Olivella, Joshua D. Potter and Brian F. Crisp propose a novel approach. Using what they call “informed forensics,” they combine statistic indicators, like the distribution of vote counts’ last digit, with data specific to the place where the election is held, such as ethnic fractionalization or the percent of citizens living in urban areas. The simultaneous use of forensics tests and context provides more insight when assessing an election’s integrity. Argentina has been a trial site for catching electoral fraud So what about Argentina? The country’s elections have given political scientists many ideas about understanding and measuring electoral irregularities. For instance, we examine the integrity of elections in the province of Buenos Aires in the 1930s by simulating two sets of simulated elections that resemble previous elections in Buenos Aires without allegations of fraud. Then, we manipulate one dataset based on historical accounts of electoral manipulation during that period — for example, the inflation of vote returns for the incumbent and the subtraction of votes for the challenger. Finally, we compare the vote returns from four elections in Buenos Aires during that decade and assess the integrity of each. More recently, Michael Alvarez, Ines Levin, Julia Pomares and Marcelo Leiras have studied the implementation of electronic voting in the province of Salta to explore how this technology has changed the perceptions of electoral integrity among


The only major fast food company that refuses to fix how it gets its food

toward better animal welfare rights as a corporate social responsibility, which has very much been pushed by consumers," said Darren Tristano, who is the executive vice president of a restaurant market research firm called Technomic. "The issue is that the supply chain hasn't been able to keep up." The clearest example of this problem surfaced last year, when Chipotle realized that a major supplier wasn't meeting its animal welfare standards. The company stopped serving pork at hundreds of restaurants around the country, while it worked to replace the lost supply. It took half a year, a foreign company, and two of Chipotle's most disappointing quarters on record. Farms that raise pigs outside of gestation crates simply don't represent a large enough portion of the pork industry. The same difficulties are dictating the terms of recent commitments to use only cage-free eggs. Starbucks and Panera are giving themselves five years to make good on their promise. McDonald's, which is the single largest buyer of eggs in the United States, is giving itself 10. But Yum! Brands' likely has profit reasons, too, especially at a chain like Taco Bell. More humane farming practices are less efficient, and, therefore, more costly. At chains like Chipotle and Panera, which have built their reputation by charging a little more for something customers feel good about buying, this is less of a problem—they can pass some of it on to consumers. The same goes for places like McDonald's, which have already begun their climb upscale. But at Taco Bell, where cheap food is still the overwhelming sales pitch, every penny matters. "Taco Bell is at such a low price point, even for fast food, that their value proposition makes it really hard to switch to any sourcing that will affect price," said Tristano. This is especially true for their breakfast menu, which was first introduced last year. The strategy has centered around novelty—there was a waffle taco, then a biscuit taco—and convenience: All of their offerings are easily eaten on the go, many with only a single hand. But its appeal is also predicated on price. Switching to cage-free eggs could compromise that, and with it, the chain's chance of elbowing out some room in the fast food breakfast space. The simplest explanation, however, is that Taco Bell hasn't followed the industry because it doesn't have to. Its customers are young, like those of its competitors,


U.S. wants spectrum for 5G; lethal cyber weapons in the works; pro-Palestine hackers claim to dox military

A drone is seen next to a television antenna above the family home of slain U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff in Pinecrest, Florida September 2, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity GETTING MORE SPECTRUM: LICENSE TO KILL: HERE COMES THE DOX:


No radio signals from that ‘alien megastructure’ yet — but scientists are listening

the passing of a planet that orbits the star, the light dips irregularly. [Stephen Hawking announces $100 million hunt for alien life] Some of the scientists working on the available data posited that this could maybe possibly sort of be an indication of an alien civilization. But even the scientists who presented this idea were really skeptical of it. Aliens should always be your last guess, because, well, aliens. The idea here is that the irregular dimming of the star's light might be due to some kind of massive, alien-made structure -- like the Dyson Sphere once dreamed up by physicist Freeman Dyson, which would theoretically surround a distant star to collect energy from it. While a lot of the "alien megastructure" buzz was pure hype [Why NASA’s top scientist is sure that we’ll find signs of alien life in the next decade] Luckily, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) institute is a thing that exists. And they have big, powerful radio telescopes. They turned the Allen Telescope Array -- a set of 42 antennas located near San Francisco -- towards KIC 8462852, informally known as Tabby's Star. They looked out for narrow-band radio waves, the likes of which might be sent as a hailing signal, as well as for the kind of broad-band signals that might be created inadvertently by spaceships and the like. So far, we've got nothing. But it's not like scientists are surprised. “The history of astronomy tells us that every time we thought we had found a phenomenon due to the activities of extraterrestrials, we were wrong,” SETI astronomer Seth Shostak said in a statement. “But although it’s quite likely that this star’s strange behavior is due to nature, not aliens, it’s only prudent to check such things out.” The SETI astronomers will keep listening to the mysterious star. But now that aliens seem (even more) unlikely, we're left with the big and beautiful question of what exactly makes Tabby's Star behave so strangely. Read More: No, we haven’t discovered alien megastructures around a distant star Why NASA’s top scientist is sure that we’ll find signs of alien life in the next decade More evidence that Jupiter kicked ancient planets out of the solar system The ‘alien’ found in a Russian nuclear power plant is not an alien, guys After 24 years, this man came to a really sad conclusion about the Loch Ness monster


3 Stars brewery now has its own ‘urban farmhouse’

really happy about. "In the summer, it's like 110 degrees in here, and in the winter, you freeze," he says. The tasting room, which was being finished Thursday night, has walls and (soon) doors separating it from the rest of the brewery. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) An extra benefit of the tasting room is that the brewery now has a space to host special events. Ever since 3 Stars announced plans for Urban Farmhouse, "I've been getting calls from event planners and wedding planners," Coleman says. The first wedding takes place Friday, Nov. 13, and they're already talking about holiday parties. The opening of the tasting room caps a busy year for 3 Stars, which has included the release of the brewery's first canned beers and the creation of the Funkerdome, a facility within the brewery for the creation and aging of sour beers. A giant wooden tank called a foeder arrived from Tuscany, and it sits next to dozens of 3 Stars beers aging in cider, bourbon, gin and apple brandy barrels. The brewery has even more in the pipeline: Saturday, Nov. 14, is #Crafts4Kidz, a fundraiser for Children's National Hospital with bands, beers, cocktails and works by local artists. (Tickets are $20 and on sale now.) The annual Artists and Artisans holiday market returns in December, showcasing the wares of local crafters and producers for anyone needing to pick up a last-minute gift or just wanting to hang out at the brewery, listen to DJs and drink a beer. Finally, Coleman says they're about to reopen membership in the Illuminati. It's the best kind of secret society: Members pay $100 and receive five limited-edition beers throughout the year. In 2015, they've included Madness Old Ale aged in Green Hat Ginavit barrels, and a saison aged for a year in chardonnay barrels. With the growing Funkerdome, Coleman says, "I think they'll see some sour beers" in Illuminati releases in 2016. The exact date for sign-ups hasn't been finalized, but Coleman expects the limited number of slots to sell out quickly. When all that's out of the way, 3 Stars will turn to renovations of its on-site homebrew supply store. But first, these guys deserve a beer. 3 Stars Brewing Company, 6400 Chillum Pl. NW. www.3starsbrewing.com. The beer menu for opening night will also include a new release called Starsky and Dutch. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post)


The new ‘magical thinking’ about high-tech in schools — and why it’s a problem

to flipped classrooms, the mania for computers in schools has corralled both public and private funding as the high-tech solution to students becoming equipped with 21st century skills. To be clear, I do not refer to those tens of thousands of teachers and principals who, with care and thoughtfulness, have slowly integrated their devices and software into lessons to teach content, skills, and creativity. They keep their heads down and often escape the mania I refer to above. So is there anything intrinsically wrong with pushing coding and computer science in U.S. schools? After all, both are being sold to school boards and parents as ways of teaching logic, thinking skills, as well as preparation for future jobs. So on the surface, nothing appears to be unseemly. Underneath the surface, however, are two matters that often go unnoted by advocates of coding and computer science. First, the original trio of goals for computers entering schools and classrooms since the early 1980s consisted of improving academic achievement of students, altering the traditional patterns of teaching and learning, and preparing the next generation for the labor market. Nowadays, few champions of computers in schools even mention academic achievement or talk of “transforming” teaching and learning through laptops and tablets. But the vocational goal does remain in the current joy for teaching children and youth to write code and create algorithms. Second is the historic pattern of focusing on public schools as a national problem to be solved (think segregated schools, national defense, drug and alcohol addictions as problems that schools could “solve”) and seeking another “technical” solution to its ills. In this instance, injecting coding and computer science, online instruction into K-16 schooling. Such a technocratic strategy aims to alter traditional curriculum and lessons for one over-riding purpose to get ready for an ever-changing, fast-moving job market and economy. So here again within a few years, “magical thinking” about the power of technical products to tie schools to the economy via coding and computer science has arisen even in the face of the dramatic shift in goals for these high-tech products over the past three decades and the failure of MOOCs to gain traction in higher education since 2012. The feel-good attitude of World Series and World Cup fans who wear jerseys and hats believing that to do so will help their teams win is alive and well in the high-tech community.


Clinton joins Democratic rivals in backing change to marijuana classification

among DEA regulated substances at all. In response to Clinton's announcement, Sanders said that her position does not go far enough. Clinton's "approach ignored the major issue," Sanders said. "Secretary Clinton would classify marijuana in the same category as cocaine and continue to make marijuana a federally regulated substance." “If we are serious about criminal justice reform and preventing many thousands of lives from being impacted because of criminal convictions for marijuana possession, we must remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and allow states the right to go forward, if they choose, to legalize marijuana without federal legal impediments,” he aded. [Sanders proposes nixing marijuana from federal list of dangerous drugs] According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, schedule 1 drugs are "defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule 1 drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence." Clinton has repeatedly said that she believes states are the "laboratories of democracy" on the marijuana issue and that she would like to see more research into the health effects of medical marijuana. "I want to see how it works before we do a national plan for the federal government," Clinton said. Specifically, on Saturday, she said that more information is needed to determine safe dosages, the efficacy of certain varieties of the drug, and potential complications with other drugs. [Clinton refrains from attacks while bearing the brunt of her opponents’] Before her announcement, Clinton's critics noted that the DEA's classification of marijuana as a schedule 1 drug makes it more difficult for research to be approved. Clinton will also lift restrictions on obtaining marijuana for medical studies, by allowing researchers to obtain the drug through licensed suppliers in states where medical marijuana is legal. Other marijuana advocates say moving the drug to schedule 2 is not enough. Marijuana users and businesses would still risk federal penalties for using and selling the drug. "The rescheduling of marijuana is a step in the right direction, but only going down to Schedule II is mostly a symbolic move," said Tom Angell, chairman of the pro-marijuana group Marijuana Majority. "It may make research slightly easier, but on its own wouldn't do anything to protect seriously ill people who are using marijuana in accordance with state laws from being harassed by the DEA." "Only changing the


Reading the comments: Robot intelligence

A boy looks at the InMoov robot as part of the Maker Faire Rome exhibition at La Sapienza University in central Rome. (ANDREAS SOLARO/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) Each week, In Theory takes on a big idea in the news and explores it from a range of perspectives. Last week focused on robot intelligence. Over the past few days, we’ve welcomed our coming robot overlords. Ari Schulman In response to This self congratulatory pat on the back to the human race should be taken with a grain of salt. The advances in AI are proceeding exponentially, not under the command of a single benevolent guide, but in the hands of independent researchers working on small pieces around the globe; often sharing their most advanced research with each other. There are serious humans developing algorithms that will guide the robots ability to develop their own ‘thinking’ software. The constraint of hardware upon software is slowly being breached as true quantum computing becomes closer to reality. The massive potential of quantum computing will outpace the inefficient cell structure of the human brain. But, to me, the real issue is what level of brain activity do we ‘hunter gatherers’ use in our daily lives? What level of thinking forms our opinions? And to what extent are those opinions affected by others… both human and machine? Our so called independent thoughts are very much dependent upon external forces…we just don’t want to admit it. […] The Dept. of Defense has instituted, since 2012, a policy to guide the use of robotic battle against human targets. The policy defines the circumstances under which weapons can be targeted and fired without any human approval….justified usage being defined by the quality of algorithms used by the robots. After four Terminator sequels, the machines are still in control at the end although humans have won a few battles along the way. Enjoy the ride. Commenter The AI work I did in graduate school twenty-five years ago is stone age by comparison to today’s systems. That said, I agree with the author’s premise that we won’t see it achieve human parity in my lifetime. But we should worry a lot about how many human jobs it will replace soon. These aren’t just menial work but white collar and some professional. You don’t have to be a complete human to completely replace one in some jobs. But replying to “Killer


Five reasons to be concerned about Washington’s economy

researchers because those jobs produce goods and services marketable to emerging markets around the world. On this point Washington is ahead of Boston and Austin, and nearly on par with San Francisco. The problem is that despite leaders in the District and nearly every local county promoting their neighborhoods as tech hubs — with affiliated incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces — the region barely grew jobs (0.4 percent) in advanced industries between 2008 and 2014. Brookings researchers suggest a greater focus on computer system design, engineering, data processing and research and development. 3. Too much still relies on the federal government. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) and other local leaders have talked repeatedly about the need to pivot away from reliance on the federal government in order to build a more sustainable economy but by last year the region’s advanced industries were almost exactly as reliant on federal dollars as they were in 2010. For companies in these fields, write the Brookings researchers, “their considerable dependence on federal revenue poses risks in an era of increasingly constrained federal spending.” 4. Washington should be doing more business abroad. The Washington region exported $26.7 billion in goods and services abroad in 2014, among the best in the country. But that made up only 6.1 percent of its GDP, less than Baltimore and barely more than Sacramento. With three airports, a bevy of colleges and universities, plus natural foreign connections through international organizations (State department, World Bank, IMF) and embassies, there is room for improvement. 5. Washington is slow to commercialize technology. Only two regions in America — New York and Boston — rank ahead of Washington when it comes to employment in scientific research and development. About 46,000 people here are in those fields. According to Brookings, however, “that research prowess may not be translating into valuable technological innovation.” For every 1,000 employees in these fields, Washington produces only 1.2 tech patents, a key indicator for small business growth. “Some of this underperformance surely owes to the nature of research conducted in the region, such as the large presence of social science researchers whose work would not likely be the subject of a patent, and organizations developing sensitive technology that for national security reasons cannot be patented,” Brookings wrote. “Nonetheless, it raises legitimate concerns regarding the region’s ability to innovate in technologies with global commercial value.” Follow Jonathan O’Connell on Twitter: @oconnellpostbiz


‘Othering’ and the Middle East: A primer

President Obama talks with 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed at the White House. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) According to many, the Western world is pitted against a dangerous and radical Islam, one characterized by events of terrorism: the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the public slayings of Americans like James Foley by the Islamic State. The characterization is so broadly applied that even a 14-year-old Muslim youth in the United States could be easily suspected of bringing a homemade bomb to a public school. These fears are the latest manifestations of long-held tropes that characterize our understanding of the Middle East — that it is a mysterious place and potential threat to Western democracies. Many academics in the social sciences see in this view a contemporary instance of “othering,” the process in which any group of people — such as a race or religious group — is characterized as outside of the mainstream. The result is systemic prejudice: The group is judged and treated unfairly based on negative stereotypes. Ahmed Mohamed’s story became the latest moment in a contentious discussion about racism and the “othering” of Islam. The viral movement to support the teen — with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed — highlighted the growing frustration with stereotypes connected to Muslims. The term “Othering” has spread in usage, and today is often used in the context of other social justice movements. But the concept has a long history, especially in terms of our understanding of non-Western cultures. For decades, academics have studied how Americans see the Middle East, a research area in large part originating from Edward Said’s 1978 book, “Orientalism.” Said, a Palestinian American academic and comparative literature professor at Columbia University, characterized the West’s dominant cultural understanding of the East — especially the Islamic world — as a patronizing one, in which people from “the Orient” were portrayed as less civilized than Europeans. He argued that this was evident in the scholarly work of early European writers, who presented false and stereotyped representations of the people of Asia, North Africa and the Middle East as exotic, irrational and essentially childlike “others” — a different people in need of better government. Said’s theories have provided grounds to criticize the portrayal of the Middle East in art and the media. They have also become fundamental to the discipline of post-colonialism, offering an explanation of the rise of imperialism. The concept has


What happened when Aung San Suu Kyi’s party last won an election in Burma

office worker from Rangoon lamented: "We're just like slaves right now. People just hate this government." In the city of Mandalay, famed for its myriad pagodas, Branigin was briefly detained as he investigated the crackdown on opposition monks. He painted the scene of a pariah state's long isolation: Today this former British colony seems a drab and fearful place, dominated by a junta that appears bent on stamping out even token opposition and whose foreign policy is based essentially on isolationism and xenophobia. In many respects it is a country forgotten by time. Although limited economic reforms have allowed slight modernizations in recent years, buses whose design predates World War II still wheeze down the streets, and weeds and shrubs grow out of crevices in the capital's decaying British colonial buildings. "The winds of change are blowing everywhere but in Burma," a senior Western diplomat told Branigin. "It is absolutely certain that [the junta] will never, ever allow the [NLD] to take over. There will be no free elections anymore in Burma." Of course, a lot has changed since then. Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 2010 and is now once more the country's most visible and well-known politician. In 2012, she was able to travel to Oslo and accept the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to her in absentia in 1991. Foreign investment, particularly from countries such as China and India, has flooded in. The U.S. and other Western governments have cautiously welcomed Burma's steps toward political reform and democracy. Yet, as in the past, there are real concerns. It's unclear to what extent the country's secretive military will accept an NLD victory. Because of her supposed foreign connections, including her children's British nationality, Suu Kyi faces legal barriers to taking power. Questions loom over her role in the aftermath of the elections. From being the standard bearers of dissent and pro-democracy activism, Burma's monks now are more often in the headlines as agents of an ugly, right-wing nationalism that has led to the demonization of minorities, particularly Muslims and the stateless Rohingya people, in the country. Suu Kyi's NLD may not experience the same brutal fate it met a quarter of a century ago, but much, as then, still hangs in the balance. Related on WorldViews Why is there so much Muslim hate in this Buddhist-majority nation? What the plight of Burma's Rohingya people says about Asia


Eating bacon can kill you. Here’s how my kid eats a plant-based diet.

Processed meats like bacon and sausage can cause cancer, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency said. There are alternatives. (EPA/JIM LO SCALZO) What do hot dogs and bacon have in common with cigarettes, arsenic and asbestos? Well, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization they have one main thing in common – they are all carcinogenic and can kill you. No doubt articles worldwide will be popping up in defense of piggy meals and people will protest that the WHO is an alien conspiracy trying to take bacon from the hands of babes. But in reality, the big bacon shakedown may have a greater effect on declining bacon sales than Babe or Wilbur combined. As a mom of course I want my son, Noah, to be healthy. For me this translates into eating healthy food, staying active, getting rest, and lots of cuddles for his emotional well being. Where food is concerned, I am not perfect and we have devoured our share of greasy fries and Double Stuf Oreos. But these are treats reserved for special occasions. Noah and I follow a plant-based diet (no meat, fish, dairy or eggs) even when indulging in guilty pleasures. So needless to say the WHO announcement didn’t throw my world into chaos. It was affirmation for what I have known for years – processed meat is extremely unhealthy. But for many parents this will be a wake up call to dietary changes towards a healthier lifestyle. In which case, here are four things I’ve learned that might help before your next visit to the grocery store. - Don’t panic. There is tofu. The grocery stores are stocked with tasty and healthy meat alternatives. And most are less expensive than meat. When I first became vegetarian at age 7, tofu hot dogs were not an option. I was the odd girl at parties. I brought sandwiches and quietly nibbled in the corner. But those days are over. Now there are many brands to choose from to please even the pickiest of little eaters. Hot dog substitutes are easily found at most mainstream stores and even restaurants. We love Tofurky hot dogs made with organic soy and pea protein, they taste great grilled and I have seen many carnivore kids eating them happily. Yves hot dogs were among the first veggie dogs we tried. Want more selection replacements? Check out these plant-based


Russia’s doping cheated Alysia Montaño out of an Olympic medal — and she knew it all along

Alysia Montano lies on the track as Romania’s Elena Mirela Lavric looks up after their women’s 800-meter semifinal at the London Olympics. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus) Before the women’s 800 meters final at the 2012 London Olympics, Alysia Montaño crafted a plan based upon the bleak reality of her sport. Her coach, she recalls, told her, “You’re going to have a couple girls who aren’t clean in your race.” On track and field’s largest stage, Montaño knew she required a strategy to beat pharmacology as much as athleticism. “My whole race plan was based on doing what I could to get a head start to beat the dopers,” Montaño said Monday in a phone conversation. “That’s how I approached it. It’s so sad my race plan had to be like that. It had to be like, ‘Okay, I’m racing against robots. How can I try to get a leg up on them before they start coming after me?’ ” The World Anti-Doping Agency released a report Monday detailing widespread doping and systemic corruption within Russia’s track and field establishment, including bribery of International Association of Athletics Federation officials. The report recommended five Russian athletes receive lifetime bans from competition. Two of them were Mariya Savinova and Ekaterina Poistogova. Savinova won gold in the women’s 800 meters at London; Poistogova took bronze. Montaño finished fifth, two places off the medal stand. [Top Russian athletes accused of participating in systemic, state-sponsored doping] The WADA report cast a pall over the entire sport. Perhaps no athlete was more directly impacted than Montaño. Remove Savinova and Poistogova, and she is an Olympic medalist. With them in the race, she finished off the podium. “This is a big, big scandal,” Montaño said. “Many people will be affected by it. Specifically, me.” For three years, Montaño carried her fifth-place result with sadness and hurt and pride. Monday morning brought Montaño more pain, but also relief that she no longer needed to withhold her true feelings. She knew for years she should have won an Olympic medal. Now she has proof. Now, at least, she can talk about it. “It’s actually incredibly painful just to think about that moment, those moments lost,” Montaño said. “I can’t get that back. Of course I want what’s mine. At the same time, it’s incredibly saddening.” The report brought Montano a measure of validation, but also a new wave of frustration. She


eats at you. You have all these decisions that you’re okay holding off on, and then you recognize, ‘Okay, my results are not just based off me. It’s off of other people’s actions.’ “It’s so difficult emotionally. You start to become more and more unhappy with recognizing your efforts don’t mean anything in the sport if they’re going to reward cheaters. I’m not willing to put up with that. You’re like, I feel like I can’t show my support if that’s what it comes down to. I feel like I can’t continue to go after something that may never be mine if that’s what’s allowed in the sport. I’m unwilling to bend. I’m unwilling to be untrue to myself.” [Read the full WADA report] Before the London Olympics, Montaño decided that if she medaled, she would put her career on pause and start a family. After she consulted with her husband, they decided her result should have won her a medal, and they had their first child, anyway. In 2014, she famously ran the national outdoor championships while eight months pregnant with her daughter. “Thankfully, I was able to put myself in a mind frame where I was proud of what I did,” Montano said. Rather than beating the Russians, Montaño focused on personal bests and shaving time off her races. She decided she had not gotten into track for the money, and so she would try not to focus on material rewards. Montaño knew, though, that losing medals to the Russians had cost her an undetermined amount of money, more than she wants to think about. “I definitely have tried not to,” Montaño said. “It would have put me in a really, really bad funk.” Montaño figured without the Russians’ cheating, she would have upgraded from bronze to silver at the 2010 world indoor championships and medaled when she did not at the 2011 world championship, the London Games and the 2013 world championships. Counting only bonuses from sponsors and federations, and setting aside the bump in notoriety and deals from winning an Olympic medal, Montaño believes she lost out on more than $500,000. “It’s depressing,” she said. [Olympic runner calls track and field ‘a complete joke’ in report’s wake] Montaño said she is “definitely going to look into” legal action against the IAAF. At this point, she doesn’t even know where to start. She woke up Monday morning


Olympian Nick Willis calls track and field ‘a complete joke’ after Russian doping scandal

A World Anti-Doping Agency commission has recommended the athletics governing body IAAF to suspend Russia from competition. (Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA) Olympic runner Nick Willis is not one to stay silent with his opinions. Upon learning about the World Anti-Doping Agency report released Monday that alleges systemic doping among top Russian athletes, Willis, a New Zealand native who won the silver medal in the 1,500-meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, unleashed a series of tweets in which he called the sport of track and field “a complete joke.” Willis continued: “Russian athletes are not the sole perpetrators. Let’s hope they investigate all the major players non-complicit in doping control” – a tweet that was retweeted by several professional runners, including Molly Huddle, who holds the American record in the 5,000-meters. What a complete joke our sport is. Even if athletes slip up and test positive, they can still pay a bribe to the top and compete It's hard enough for WADA and doping agencies to catch cheats, and even those caught can still get away with it. Makes me sick Spent the final hour of my 18 mile long run boiling up about the doping problem in our sport. I cry for the kids coming through. The original claims were that 1/3 of the medalists in distance events were doping. I would venture to say it's double that Russian athletes are not the sole perpetrators. Let's hope they investigate all the major players non-complicit in doping control IAAF, the future of our sport hinges on your response to this. Let's blow it up, and start again from scratch. Other prominent figures in the sport, like former chief executive of New York Road Runners Mary Wittenberg, have called on International Association of Athletics Federations President Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, to step up and said that the latest controversy provides a “big opportunity/need for leadership.” Big opportunity/need for leadership. "Coe has 48 hours to prove he’s the man to save athletics"https://t.co/0SLyGeumzJ. Steve Magness, a former Nike Oregon Project coach who has made doping allegations against his former employer Alberto Salazar, said that the “IAAF has lost any semblance of trust” and that “athletes must take a stand and be responsible for their sport.” Today's an opportunity to actually make change. I hope that Russia isn't seen as the only problem.Doping and corruption extends far beyond. This is the only way forward.


D.C. area forecast: Light showers linger throughout today; fine weather salutes Veterans tomorrow

Two hour radar loop of rain and storm movement through the area. Refresh page to update. TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 5/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL Heavier rains are likely to be off to our east today but light showers hang with us much of the day. Veterans Day is a Yankee Doodle dandy with a breeze that keeps the flags aflutter but temps are warm enough to keep it pleasant. Light showers on Thursday are much quicker to get out of our hair. The only drenching this weekend is from the sunshine. The trade off is cooler temps, but perfectly fall-like. Today (Tuesday): Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Veterans Day (Wednesday): Tomorrow night: A fall day in Rock Creek Park. (Ellen O. via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Clouds obscure predawn viewing of Venus on Thursday and light showers are soon to follow. They should hold off until after rush and depart before the evening one; at least that is my game plan! Highs are likely to be held down by the showers with upper 50s to lower 60s unless the showers depart by noon (in that event mid-60s are the payoff). Skies again clear quickly in the evening allow another night of Taurid meteor viewing. Lows are only in the 40s but gusty winds make it feel colder. Confidence: Medium Friday The weekend keeps the sunshine coming but with a chill as highs hang in the low 50s Saturday and mid-50s on Sunday. Confidence: Medium-High


Multi-million-dollar house in Georgetown snapped up in less than two days

(Photo by Sean Shanahan) The Georgetown home of lawyer Michael Nussbaum sold in less than two days. The Italianate style home of lawyer Michael Nussbaum in the Georgetown neighborhood of Northwest Washington sold in less than two days. The house at 3029 Q St. NW was listed privately for $4.4 million. The buyer’s name and sales price were not disclosed. Maxwell Rabin and Jonathan Taylor of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty represented the seller, Nussbaum’s widow, Gloria Weissberg. Eileen McGrath of Washington Fine Properties represented the buyer. [Michael Nussbaum, First Amendment lawyer who defended writers, dies at 76] Nussbaum, who died in 2011, represented bold face names – Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ralph Nader and Seymour Hersh – and high-profile corporations – Lloyd’s of London and Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals – during his four-decade career. The home is part of historic Cooke’s Row. The house is part of historic Cooke’s Row, four double houses designed by Morris Starkweather and built in 1868 for Henry Cooke and his 12 children. Before President Grant appointed him the first territorial governor of the District, Cooke served as president of the Georgetown Street Railway Company and president of First National Bank of Washington. Nussbaum and Weissberg purchased the 6,700-square-foot home in 1994 and extensively renovated it. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom house has 12-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and five fireplaces. A sunroom with three walls of glass overlooks a private garden and large patio. A detached garage fits one car. (Photo by Sean Shanahan) A sunroom with three walls of glass overlooks a private garden and large patio.


The Daily 202: David Vitter is in trouble

Carson at the last debate (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images) –Ben Carson remains the most popular candidate among Republicans, despite persistent questions about his statements, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll reveals this morning. House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions is among those endorsing Jeb Bush today. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) — Jeb Bush rolling out a list of more than 100 Texas endorsements: — Coincidentally, Donald Trump announced last night that Katrina Pierson, who unsuccessfully challenged Sessions in a GOP primary last year, will be his new national spokeswoman. GET SMART FAST: - The NSA’s bulk collection of phone records was halted three weeks before it was set to expire after a federal district court judge ruled that it is most likely unconstitutional. (Spencer S. Hsu) - The University of Missouri’s president resigned and the school’s chancellor will step down at the end of the year in response to allegations that administrators failed to address issues of racism on campus. The football team’s threat to boycott the rest of its season forced the move. (Susan Svrluga) - The U.S. high school dropout rate has fallen from 1 million students in 2008 to about 750,000 in 2012. (Emma Brown) - Chipotle will reopen dozens of locations in the Pacific Northwest after no E.coli bacteria was found in any of the Mexican restaurants thought to be the source of the outbreak that made 40 people ill. (Oregonian) - University of Virginia’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity filed a $25 million lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine over its discredited and retracted story about a gang rape at its house. (T. Rees Shapiro) - Russian athletes allegedly used a government-sponsored doping program to improve their results in competition. Some of the country’s performances in the 2012 London Olympics are being called into question. (Dave Sheinin and Will Hobson) - Two American government contractors were among five killed by a Jordanian police officer who opened fire at a U.S.-backed training center in Amman. (Taylor Luck and William Booth) - A 12-member team of House Democrats, after a 10-month review of potential reforms to help revitalize their caucus, decided not to recommend term limits for committee chairs or other changes to the seniority system, largely because such moves would take power away from the Congressional Black Caucus. (Paul Kane) - The Supreme Court ruled that a Texas police officer cannot be held liable for fatally shooting a fleeing


Glen’s Garden Market to open second location in Shaw

Mere weeks after Glen's Garden Market debuted in 2013, Danielle Vogel's idealism ran headlong into her daily reality: Shoppers demanded OJ, and they didn't care how far the orange juice traveled before finding its way into the environmentally friendly Dupont grocery store dedicated to the products of the Chesapeake watershed. Glen's owner Danielle Vogel hopes to expand her specialty-foods market into a five-store chain. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) Vogel's survival instincts kicked in, and she immediately adapted Glen's merchandise to appeal to customer demand. Changes didn't just occur on the shelves, either. Vogel and her in-house chefs tinkered with the prepared foods. They added more salads. They re-engineered the sandwiches to counter complaints that they were mostly bread. Since Glen's opened, Vogel figures she has quintupled the inventory. None of this came about by accident. [Glen's Garden Market: Your "local" grocery store in Dupont.] "I spent 80 hours a week in the [store], bagging groceries and having conversations," said Vogel, former environmental counsel for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, while sitting on the patio of her Dupont store. "And every time, somebody came and said, 'Oh, I love this, but could you bring in this flavor?', the answer was always yes," Vogel continued. "Then we'd take their cell phone number, and I'd follow up with them in person and say, 'We got the lemon flavor of this Pequea Valley yogurt that you love.' And then that person is here, loyal, forever more." What Vogel has ultimately created is something different than she what originally intended: A neighborhood grocery store that's not so ideologically inflexible, but one still devoted to local products. Glen's Garden Market has become a launching pad for dozens of area entrepreneurs, the kind toiling in kitchen incubators, whose products have found a home in Vogel's store, which can serve as a stepping stone for wider distribution. The Shaw location of Glen's will be about a third smaller than the original. (Tim Carman/The Washington Post) The revamped Glen's works so well now that Vogel is about to launch a second. Glen's Garden Market will open on Saturday, Dec. 5, in the Shay, a mixed-used development in Shaw. Though about a third smaller than the 5,000-square-foot Dupont store, the latest Glen's will feature the same mix of prepared foods, specialty merchandise and local beer and wine. There are a couple of caveats, though: The second iteration will not serve pizza


With its newest — and most expensive — store, Capital Teas hints at what’s to come

Peter and Manelle Martino founded Capital Teas in 200 7. Last month, they opened their 15th location, a 1,000-square-foot store at Westfield Annapolis. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) Two weeks before his newest store was set to open, Peter Martino walked in and decided it was all wrong. The first thing that caught his eye was a sink jutting out from a back wall. An industrial ice machine was a close second. That wasn’t going to work. “I said, I’m not going to walk into the store and look at kitchen equipment,” said Peter, who founded Capital Teas with his wife in 2007. “It had to be moved.” That meant bringing in a jackhammer to demolish the floor, rewiring the store’s electricity and rerouting its plumbing lines. It ended up delaying construction of the store, a 1,000-square-foot outpost at Westfield Annapolis, by four weeks. “When we first started talking about this store, I said to the architects, ‘There is no budget. I want the best design we can get,'” Peter said. “I meant that.” By the time the store opened Oct. 28, it had cost an estimated $400,000 to build. The facade alone — a 16-foot tall, hand-carved rendering of the Maryland statehouse — came out to $100,000. But, Peter says, it was worth it. The store, sandwiched between Macy’s and Dairy Queen, is the face of the company’s 15th location and provides a hint of the rapid expansion to come. Capital Teas is set to double in the next year. The Martinos, who founded the company in 2007, have more than a dozen new stores in the works. Annual revenue, on track to total $5 million in 2015, is projected to exceed $10 million in 2016 as the company expands along the East Coast. Increasingly, Annapolis-based Capital Teas is also looking beyond loose leaf tea and accessories to rack up sales. In July, armed with $5 million in private equity funding, the Martinos opened a spice shop called Sugar Daddy Spicy Mama in downtown Annapolis. In coming weeks, they plan to introduce fermented sweet tea known as kombucha in at least one of their stores, as well as a line of tea-infused cosmetic products. “Our motto is to try a lot of things and keep what works,” said Peter, 52. “The important thing is to evolve.” *** Eight years ago, the Peter and his wife, Manelle, signed the lease on


Main Street Morning: San Diego’s SeaWorld to scale back its killer whale show

for craft breweries. Technology - Investment in customer relationship management systems hits a record high. - New iPads will be available on November 11th. Online - Google seeks to influence artificial intelligence research by giving software away. - Thirty tips for buying and selling clothes on eBay like a champion. - A tech writer gives reasons why you should hire a hacker to enhance your cybersecurity. Social Media - Ad-blockers are a growing concern for Facebook. - A former law-firm marketer hits a World Series home run on Twitter. - President Obama starts his own personal Facebook page. Entrepreneurs - How this student entrepreneur started four businesses and partnered with the FIFA World Cup. - Hedy Lamarr is an actress by day and tech inventor by night. - Why there are fewer veteran-owned small businesses today. Ideas - This workstation is definitely not your normal computer desk. - This floating contraption could scoop out absurd amounts of ocean plastic. Around the Country - A Colorado marijuana dispensary is opening what is thought to be the world’s first combination pot dispensary and gas station. - San Diego’s Sea World ends its killer whale show but activists still aren’t satisfied. - A bikeway in St. Paul, Minnesota raises concerns for business owners. - A website is now offering Lawrence, Kansas homeowners a way to make a bit of money during big game weekends while bringing out-of-towners into the community. - A Wisconsin law firm will host interactive monthly meetings that allow small business owners with five to 50 employees to discuss ideas, learn about various business topics and share best practices. - How a whole host of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania businesses grew out of farming. - Unusually warm November temperatures have been a welcome help to downtown Burlington, New Hampshire businesses. - A pizza rat terrorizes New York. - D.C-area home sales were strong in September. - The problem with real estate magnate Ted Lerner’s lifetime achievement award. Around the World - Fifty-seven percent of the UK’s independent small businesses are family-run. - What you can expect from Alibaba’s Singles Day this week. - A U.K. grocery store hires someone to untangle Christmas lights for customers. Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd PA consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter. News we should know about? Email us here.


In the D.C. luxury housing market, $2 million is the new $1 million

Courtesy of District, Measured If you thought a home selling for more than $1 million in the Brookland neighborhood once seemed implausible, that’s nothing these days in D.C. [Another D.C. neighborhood now has $1 million homes.] Eighteen percent of all single-family homes sold so far this year have had prices exceeding $1 million, according to data from District, Measured, a blog from the city’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer. In 2001, only 3 percent of homes sold in the District went for more than $1 million. In 2006, sales of $1 million homes broke the 10-percent threshold. Given that a $1 million home is now rather commonplace in the District, Steven Giachetti, of the CFO’s office, suggests raising the bar of what constitutes as luxury real estate in the city. “This redefinition would also better align the DC market with other expensive housing markets in the nation where $1 million no longer carries the same cachet and exclusivity that it did ten years ago,” Giachetti wrote. According to District, Measured, sales of homes valued at more than $2 million currently account for 4 percent of all sales. If you’re in the market for a $2 million home, where should you look? The usual suspects, according to District, Measured, which collected its data from the D.C. Recorder of Deeds and the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. Georgetown had the highest number of $2 million homes, with more than 30 sold so far this year. Georgetown accounted for nearly one-third of the city’s $2 million sales this year. Just this month, a home in the 30th block of Q Street NW listed for $4.4 million sold in less than two days. Kalorama, Cleveland Park, Kent, Berkley and Spring Valley — all affluent communities in Northwest — also have some of the city’s most expensive real estate. These neighborhoods accounted for almost 75 percent of all sales with values exceeding $2 million.


Bill Nye wants us to invent our way out of climate change

I like to say, the Earth is going to be here no matter what we do. We want to save the Earth for us.” Nye has actually been engaged with the subject of climate change for decades. A 1993 kids book that he wrote, Bill Nye the Science Guy’s Big Blast of Science, included what he terms a climate change ‘demonstration’ — Bill Nye the Science Guy the TV show also featured several. Nye also took an astronomy class from Carl Sagan at Cornell University — a man whom, he says, would have been a leading climate advocate were he still around today. “He was talking about it in the 1980s,” says Nye. (St. Martin’s Press) In the new book, Nye extensively describes the science of climate change and how it relates to our electricity system — “The battle to make a better world is a battle against thermodynamics,” he writes — and then surveys all the cool ideas out there for fixing things. That ranges from geoengineering schemes that would use gigantic volumes of micro-bubbles to change the reflectivity of bodies of water and so bounce more sunlight back to space, to using battery powered electric cars as not just transportation devices, but as variable grid power sources that can be switched on when they’re parked at home. To be sure, Nye agrees that the biggest growth will be in solar and wind technologies — in particular, he thinks offshore wind off the U.S. east coast is a fundamental asset that we’re not exploiting yet. “There’s enormous wind resources right off shore if we all decide we’re going to go get them,” he says. And he also supports putting a price on carbon, which would even the playing field for new technologies. One key question, though, is whether the ongoing change in how we get electricity will proceed fast enough to fight climate change. Wind and solar are currently booming, but at the same time, and despite rapid growth rates at present, they still provide less than 10 percent of overall U.S. electricity. But Nye insists that change can come very, very fast, and the rate of change that we enable is really in part a policy decision. “My grandfather went into World War I on a horse,” says Nye. “He was on a horse, for crying out loud. But 20 years later, when people went to extend that


The DEA chief called medical marijuana ‘a joke.’ Now patients are calling for his resignation.

effective as a medicine" has been contradicted by numerous studies. A meta-analysis of 79 medical marijuana studies involving 6,462 patients, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year, found "moderate-quality evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity." There was low-quality evidence suggesting marijuana had therapeutic applications for other conditions as well. The finding that marijuana is effective at treating chronic pain is a big deal. High-caliber prescription painkillers are highly addictive and potentially deadly when misused -- they killed over 16,000 people via overdose in 2013, according to the CDC. Numerous studies have found that at the state level, the availability of medical marijuana is associated with a significant reduction of painkiller abuse rates and overdose deaths -- presumably, as patients opt to treat their pain with marijuana rather than painkillers. Rosenberg's statements about medical marijuana aren't surprising when you consider that they comport with the official position of the DEA. The Administration considers marijuana a "Schedule 1" controlled substance, which among other things means it has "no currently accepted medical use." Most researchers reject this claim, however, with organizations including Brookings Institution, the American Medical Association, and the ACLU arguing that the current designation is inappropriate. Given all this, marijuana advocates are furious at what they see as the DEA's dismissal of the science behind medical pot. "My mom is a legal patient in Rhode Island, and she uses medical marijuana to deal with the severe pain she experiences from multiple sclerosis," said Tom Angell, chairman of the group Marijuana Majority, which started the petition. "Medical cannabis is no joke to my family or the millions of other American families who have seen its real benefits." In an e-mailed statement, a DEA spokesperson sought to clarify Rosenberg's remarks. "To clarify, Acting Administrator Rosenberg indicated that marijuana should be subject to the same levels of approval and scrutiny as any other substance intended for use as a medicine. DEA supports efforts to research potential medical uses of marijuana. To this end, DEA has never denied a registration request from anyone conducting marijuana research using FDA approved protocols." The spokesman added, "acting Administrator Rosenberg was also clear to point out there are a number of marijuana components and/or extracts which appear to show promise as medicines, but have not yet been approved as safe and effective. His comments reflected


Transcript: Fox Business undercard GOP debate

they haven't addressed the number one issue that's hurting Americans and that's the fact that wages for the bottom 90 percent of the economy have been stagnant for 40 years. In the 25 years after World War II, up to 1971, wages grew by 85 percent in this country. People were -- were moving up in the middle class. There was a middle class. That's not happening any more, and in large measure, the Fed has manipulated the dollar so it doesn't have a standard. Tie the dollar to something fixed and if it's not going to be gold, make it the commodity basket. But here's what we've got to do. We absolutely have to get it where the people who go out there and work get something in return. And if the dollar keeps fluctuating, and this is as crazy as -- as is the price of bread, well, the fact is, people can't get ahead then. SMITH: So would you change leadership at the Fed? HUCKABEE: Absolutely. Absolutely, because what we need to is to make sure that they tie the monetary standard to something that makes sense, rather than to their own whims, because who's getting gut punched? It ain't the people in Wall Street, it's the folks on Main Street. They're the ones who's wages have been stagnant for 40 years. And the average American today has a total savings of 1,000 bucks. One root canal and they're in trouble. And if their car breaks down the same week... (BUZZER NOISE) HUCKABEE: -- they're out of business. REGAN: All right, Governor Huckabee, thank you. (APPLAUSE) REGAN: All right, Senator Santorum, by the way, today is the 240th... SANTORUM: Happy Birthday. REGAN: -- of the United States... SANTORUM: -- States Marine Corps. REGAN: -- Marine Corps. (APPLAUSE) REGAN: Tomorrow is Veterans Day. We honor and recognize all those who have fought for, and served this great nation, Senator. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, meanwhile, which provides patient care, and federal benefits to those veterans, as well as their families, is beset by scandal. What new ideas do you have to fix the broken V.A. healthcare system? SANTORUM: That's very personal to me. I grew up on a V.A. grounds. I lived in apartments on V.A. grounds my entire childhood. Both my Mom and Dad, after World War II, marry -- met at a V.A., married, and


Who said what and what it meant: The 4th GOP debate, annotated

that. But I can say, if you created higher capital requirements, that's the solution to this, not having concentration of assets. The bigger banks now have more and more control over -- over the financial assets of this country. And that is the wrong approach to take. BAKER: Dr. Carson, if I may, just on that point, despite measures taken, as the governor says, since the crisis to make the financial system safer, the major banks in the U.S., many of them are actually bigger than ever. Asset held by JPMorgan Chase, for example, the very largest bank, have increased by nearly 40 percent to over $2.6 trillion. Do you think JPMorgan and the other big banks should be broken up? CARSON: Well, I think we should have policies that don't allow them to just enlarge themselves at the expense of smaller entities. And certainly some of the policies, some of the monetary and Fed policies that we're using makes it very easy for them, makes it very easy for the big corporations, quite frankly, at these very low interest rates to buy back their stock and to drive the price of that up artificially. Those are the kinds of things that led to the problem in the first place. And I think this all really gets back to this whole regulation issue which is creating a very abnormal situation. This country was -- declared its independence in 1776. In less than 100 years, it was the number-one economic power in the world. And the reason was because we had an atmosphere that encouraged entrepreneurial risk- taking and capital investment. Those are the fuels that drive it. And what we've done now is let the creep of regulation turn into a stampede of regulations, which is involved in every aspect of our lives. If we can get that out, it makes a big difference. And even for the average person, every single regulation costs money. And it's shifted to the individual. So -- and it hurts the poor and the middle class much more than it does the rich. They go into the store and they buy a bar of soap, it costs 10 cents more, they notice it. And the middle class, when they come to the cash register, have a whole cart full of things that cost 5, 10 or 15 cents more, they notice it. It is


White House urges Congress to protect U.S. troops from aggressive for-profit colleges

15 percent of their revenue from non-federal sources would be “huge,” said Phil Carter, who oversees veterans issues at the Center for a New American Security, a foreign policy think tank. “It will do a lot to reduce the financial incentives for for-profit schools to target veterans,” Carter said. Supporters of for-profit colleges argue that lowering the funding threshold is a punitive move that could ultimately limit higher education options for veterans. “We should not be punishing veterans for attending a school that serves a larger number of low-income students depending upon financial aid for college,” said Steve Gunderson, president of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, an industry group. “Federal student aid is designed to allow students who do not have the means to pay for postsecondary education have access to its benefits. Institutions that serve lower income students are more likely to have more students borrowing.” In the past five years, about 40 percent of G.I. Bill tuition benefits have gone to for-profit schools. Corinthian Colleges, the for-profit giant that filed for bankruptcy in May amid allegations of predatory lending and lying to the government about its programs, received $186 million in military tuition funding. The collapse of Corinthian has led the White House to back legislation reinstating G.I. Bill benefits for students who use the money to attend schools that close midterm, like Corinthian did. The administration also is supporting a bill that would prevent military education funds from being used at unaccredited schools. Obama’s legislative wish list arrives a month after the Defense Department suspended tuition payments to the University of Phoenix, a for-profit chain. The Pentagon took action amid allegations that the university sponsored recruiting events in violation of an executive order preventing for-profit colleges from gaining preferential access to the military, charges the school denies. [Why the Defense Department is kicking the University of Phoenix off military bases] Getting Republicans on board with tougher for-profit college regulation will be difficult. GOP lawmakers and some Democrats have long supported the industry’s efforts to sidestep stringent rules, including one that limits how much debt students can amass in career-training programs. Still, the White House is taking some actions that do not require congressional approval, including redesigning the G.I. Bill Comparison Tool, which for the first time will provide graduation and retention rates. The administration also has struck an agreement between Veterans Affairs and the


A serious rant about education jargon and how it hurts efforts to improve schools

that accompany them, like PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium). Then there’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), which becomes “STEAM” when you add some art classes to the mix. We can’t talk about lagging U.S. student performance without tripping over TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). The legions of organizations that advocate for education are complicit here as well. Just try to decipher this recent press release about a new study proving “rubric-based assessment can be taken to scale and can produce valid findings with credible and actionable information about student learning that can be used to improve curricular and assignment designs and to increase effectiveness of programs and classes in advancing the most important learning outcomes of college.” While I’m at it, just how many different types of learning can there possibly be? Various groups are championing learning that is blended, personalized, universally designed, student-centered, deeper, individualized, competency-based and data-driven. At the Hechinger Report, we write about many of these, but we try hard to explain what they actually are and how they might change education. And we are always skeptical when anyone claims they can close the achievement gap, another overused phrase, along with the newly created “excellence gap.” I spent several days at a conference recently with a group of fascinating educators, advocates and policy-makers, all deeply knowledgeable and committed to improving education. In one-on-one chats over a beer or breakfast, they spoke clearly about problems and solutions. And they kept the tone entirely conversational when discussing our children’s classrooms and college choices. But everything fell apart the minute we broke up into “enabling environments” to revise “cluster logic models” and “establish comprehensive assessment systems.” I decided to speak my mind. “Please,’’ I implored, to blank stares: “Do we have to use those words?” There was polite laughter, but soon we were right back to “leveraging human capital” and “inseparable imperatives.” More than ever, the public needs easily comprehensible information about what is going on in schools, what is working and what is not. So what’s an education journalist to do? Insist that educators define the terms they are throwing out. Ask them for clear explanations. And don’t fall back on acronyms when real words will tell a truer story.


The Daily 202: Carson unscathed, Bush stops bleeding, Kasich bombs and seven other takeaways from the Republican debate

say the biggest reason for the current bumper crop is that the FARC, along with other armed groups, has encouraged farmers to plant more coca in anticipation of the peace deal and the new government aid.”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Center for American Progress in Washington yesterday. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst) — “Netanyahu starts to smooth things over with Democrats but tensions remain,” by Karoun Demirjian: “Netanyahu met with a bipartisan group of senators Tuesday afternoon to discuss steps forward following a particularly acrimonious period in normally strong U.S.-Israeli relations. The visit, leading Democrats said, was an important and ‘positive’ step toward smoothing things over. But, they added, more needs to be done … one powerful Democrat –New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, the likely next Senate Democratic leader — was concerned enough about the state of relations between the Israeli premier and Democrats that he requested a special, one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu to stress there was healing work that needed to be done.” SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ Curated by Elise Viebeck ( — ZIGNAL VISUAL: Here’s how the share of voice broke down by percentage: The debate lacked a singular rhetorical highlight, but Rubio got laughs when arguing in favor of vocational training: “We need more welders and less philosophers.” Here’s a look at the word cloud of all mentions of Rubio for the night: Here’s the debate as seen through the most popular emojis used in online discussions about the three most-mentioned candidates: The most popular debate-related Tweets came from Bernie Sanders, who was live-tweeting the event, and the Daily Show: –Pictures of the day: President Obama will appear on the cover of Out magazine, which declared him Ally of the Year: (@outmagazine) Who says Bush isn’t high-energy? “New pre-debate ritual: Bocce ball,” he tweeted: (@JebBush) Carson started the evening by trolling the media in response to stories about his background: (realbencarson) –Tweets of the day: Tweets from “The Daily Show” got heavy play during the debate: (@TheDailyShow) Elizabeth Warren noticed the American Action Network’s commercial attacking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She turned a quick fundraising e-mail off of it and tweeted about the attack: (@elizabethforma) Finally, over in Iowa, the Clinton campaign celebrated the opening of a new office: (@danbrampresents) –Instagrams of the day: NRSC Chairman Roger Wicker (Miss.) thanked Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) for his “happy socks”: (<a


Panda cub at the National Zoo takes his first steps

Mei Xiang watched as her cub, Bei Bei, took his first wobbly steps on Monday, Nov. 9. Bei Bei, the panda cub at the National Zoo, took his first steps this week. It was a big deal, the zoo noted, calling it “one small step for panda,” in a Facebook message. Bei Bei, the National Zoo’s panda cup, took his first steps. “One adorably wobbly moment for all of us,” the post added. The milestone event of taking the first step was done under the watchful eye of his mother, Mei Xiang. The panda cub took his first steps around 4:50 p.m. Monday. Right after Bei Bei took the first step, his mother scooped him into her arms — almost as if to congratulate and kiss him. Mei Xiang, the mother panda, hugs her little one after he takes first steps. Bei Bei was born in August. He had a twin that died when it was four days old after it had trouble breathing. [Panda cub dies at National Zoo after frantic six-hour effort to save its life] Zoo officials said the cub will likely start wandering about, leaving the den on his own to explore his indoor area. He already has teeth coming in and weighs nearly 10 pounds.


The graying of the green: America’s vets grow fewer and older

During Tuesday night's Republican undercard debate, debate moderator Sandra Smith asked the four candidates a pointed question about military service. "Americans' connection to the military has been increasingly fading," Smith said. "As a society, how do we restore that sense of duty, that sense of pride, that was the hallmark of the greatest generation?" The "greatest generation," of course, refers to those who were of the age to serve in World War II, an era in which a large percentage of Americans enlisted or were drafted in order to combat German and Japanese forces. Since then, the percentage of Americans who are veterans has declined -- and the Department of Veterans Affairs anticipates that the percentage will continue to drop over the next few decades. The graph above is misleading, in a sense, as it only starts at 8 percent. Relative to the full population, the percentage of veterans would look more like this. One reason for that decline is that the density of the veteran population is much higher in older age brackets. Even now, our veterans tend to be disproportionately older, veterans of conflicts between World War II and Vietnam -- until the end of the draft in 1973. As the decades progress, the veteran population will remain older even as it grows smaller. This is a projection, of course, so it could change. A significant change would probably require a reinstatement of the draft; the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq didn't dramatically increase the military population in the way that World War II or Vietnam did. America's population on the whole is getting grayer, as we've noted before. In some ways, our veteran population is at the forefront of that wave. Instead of the Baby Boom which is prompting America's increasing older population, call it the Bullet Boom: A big surge in military service has come and gone. In response to Smith's question, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal suggested that we take better advantage of the veterans that are still with us. "[W]e've had Vietnam war veterans with tears in their eyes saying nobody has ever thanked them before," Jindal said. "We've had World War II veterans, children, who said they never heard the stories of their parents heroic sacrifice." A good idea on Veterans Day -- and any other.


The problems veterans face in the professional workplace

An employee from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority explains forms for veteran Jesus Medina (L) at the annual "Hire a Hero - Hire a Vet" job resource fair in Van Nuys, Calif., in this Oct. 24, 2013 photo. (AFP Photo/Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images) Corporate America loves hiring veterans. Part good strategy (think valuable technical and leadership skills), part good finance (think tax incentives) and part good P.R. (no explanation needed), companies have increasingly been promoting their pledges to bring thousands of employees with military experience onboard. Some companies or employer coalitions like Starbucks, Walmart and the newly renamed Veteran Jobs Mission are reaching or blowing past milestones toward the goals they've set. But what happens once those sought after workers are in the door? That track record, particularly among veterans in professional careers, is not very well understood, says Julia Taylor Kennedy, a senior fellow at the research think tank Center for Talent Innovation. So Kennedy and her team set out to survey 1,022 veterans working in full-time, white-collar professions as well as to conduct in-depth interviews with some 40 more. "Companies are investing enormous resources into recruiting veterans," said Kennedy, a co-author of the report, released Tuesday, which cites data that veteran hiring efforts can consume as much as 20 or 30 percent of recruiting budgets at some large corporations. "But companies are failing to make good on that investment. What we find is veterans get in the doors of corporations and they're either not looking to rise—what we call 'tuned out'—or another big portion is 'stalled out,' "— that is, they're eager to advance but have trouble getting promoted. The study, which was co-authored by Michael Abrams, who founded the veteran support organization Four Block, found that many veterans feel under-utilized, alienated and uninspired in corporate workplaces. Fully two-thirds of the respondents said they weren't using three or more of the skills they have that could be applicable to their employers. Meanwhile, only 2 percent said they have an executive who really champions and advocates on their behalf. That compares with 19 percent of men and 13 percent of women in CTI's surveys of the general professional population, Kennedy said. "That was really stunning for us, because we feel sponsorships are the real key to getting up the corporate ladder," she said, noting the gap may be due to the more hierarchical leadership style many military veterans


The management challenges still ahead for the Department of Veterans Affairs

leadership and innovation at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Q. How has your family’s history of military service and your own personal experience shaped your work at the VA? A. The other experience that shaped what I do is my years at the USO, where I visited hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan and medical facilities in Germany and here in the U.S., meeting with wounded, ill and injured troops. I’ve stood on the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base as part of the official party showing our respects to the remains of servicemen and women coming home. All of this is a very strong and powerful experience that has shaped my views toward what we do at the VA. Q. How are you approaching the task of improving the VA’s performance? A. There also are programmatic issues and solutions that have to be implemented so we can create the conditions for success. This may be delivering needed IT solutions, building an integrated supply chain or streamlining human-resources processes so that we have the staff that we need, where we need it and when we need it. Q. I imagine you face morale issues given all the scrutiny the department has received. What are you doing to improve employee job satisfaction? A. I also spend a significant amount of time talking about all the great things they do. The folks really appreciate the positive feedback. But a lot of the negative stuff makes it harder for us to do our job, and makes it harder for us to attract and retain the people we need to care for veterans. Q. What is one of your biggest management challenges? A I was at the health eligibility center in Atlanta and a dozen groups reported what they had done to improve their work processes. When you empower people to take ownership, you listen to what they have to say and you implement the things that they have proposed, it’s a game changer. Q. What is the biggest mistake you ever made as a manager that taught you an important lesson? A. Q A. Q. What A. Read also: Starbucks will extend tuition benefit to a veteran employee’s family member Talking leadership with Social Security’s Carolyn Colvin Like On Leadership? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.


Should soldiers’ votes get counted? That’s not as easy as you’d think.

especially enlisted personnel. Before 2006, only officers had been studied for their political behavior. While research had confirmed that the officer corps was strongly Republican and conservative, no such work had been done with enlisted personnel. Since the demographics of enlisted personnel are markedly different from that of most officers, it was a mistake to assume that they would have the same party preferences or political ideology. To examine whether differences between officers and enlisted personnel’s political attitudes exist, I surveyed more than 2,000 active duty and veteran military personnel. My findings show that enlisted personnel are neither overwhelmingly Republican nor conservative. Specifically, I found that the proportion of military personnel who identify as Republican matches that of the American population, but soldiers are significantly less strongly partisan and conservative. Nevertheless, the number of military personnel who identify as Democrats is significantly less than the general population. The military vote is still hard to count Getting the vote to deployed military personnel is difficult. Federal legislation has slowly pushed states to ensure that ballots are made available well before elections and that blank ballots can be sent electronically. However, getting a marked ballot back to the right precinct in time to be counted remains difficult. It takes time to get a ballot to and from someone in a combat zone or on a ship at sea. States are making it easier to register to vote and to obtain a ballot, but problems remain. For example, soldiers from Iowa are essentially unable to participate in their state parties’ processes of selecting presidential candidates through caucuses, which by their nature require the physical presence of participants. States are working on solutions. Marked ballots can be returned by fax in most states, but 19 still require the ballot to be returned by mail. Some states are experimenting with e-mailed votes, but security issues with Internet voting remain a serious problem. In the 2012 presidential election, some 250,000 overseas and military voters who apparently wanted to vote were unable to navigate the system. While overall the military population will vote at a higher rate than the general population, those stationed overseas vote at a significantly lower rate. The voting rate among overseas military personnel for that election was probably less than 20 percent, a sure sign that there’s more work needed to ensure the full enfranchisement of Americans serving their country abroad. Don Inbody


Main Street Morning: St. Louis start-up uses magnets to clear blood clots

EPA/FABRICE COFFRINI Welcome to Main Street Morning, The Washington Post’s daily collection of news affecting entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses with a special focus on policy and government. Here’s what’s affecting my small business, my clients and other entrepreneurs today. Washington - These 10 members of Congress missed hundreds of House votes. - The Senate is taking more than five months off in 2016. - After losing to an appeal, President Obama will ask the Supreme Court to rule on his immigration plan – this is why Obama’s defeat on immigration matters for millions of people. - U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg talks about the changing economy and education at a small business round table. - Senate Republicans are taking another crack at repealing Obamacare. The Economy - Same store sales slowdown hints at a soft fourth quarter. - America’s largest homebuilder just had its best sales quarter since 2007. - MMA fighter Ronda Rousey endorses Bernie Sanders for president. - There may be good news coming for tax extenders that are important for small businesses. - Consumer credit has surged as cash-strapped Americans are using credit cards more. - An economist is concerned that wholesale inventories have never been higher relative to sales. - These are 10 charts that show the U.S. economy is still underestimated. - Main Street job growth is stagnant and small business optimism remains unchanged, according to a report from the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The Elections - Donald Trump’s SNL hosting gig has forced NBC to offer equal airtime to all 2016 candidates. - Bob Dole joins the Bush campaign. - Hillary Clinton is making gender a focus of her presidential bid. Management - Valeant’s CEO pledges to heed critics after a “painful” experience. - A potential $9 billion tax bill threatens Dell’s buyout of storage maker EMC. - T-Mobile says its push for business customers is working. - The National Federation of Independent Businesses elects a new leader. Entrepreneurs - A divorced entrepreneur says life can get bigger and better after divorce – and she’s made a business out of helping people do just that. - Asheville is named the number one city for veteran entrepreneurs by the United Services Automobile Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program. - How young entrepreneurs are building businesses by solving their grandparents’ problems. - A pharmacist hopes to open a craft


cocktail lounge. Retail - H&M joins the move to close on Thanksgiving. - Kroger engineers an $800 million deal to purchase a debt-riddled Milwaukee-based supermarket operator. Restaurants - Shake Shack will raise prices again as wages go up. - Joe’s Crab Shack tests no tipping at 18 restaurants. - Starbucks says they’ll offer all veteran employees free college for their spouse or child. Travel - A survey says that seat kickers are the most annoying of all the annoying airline passengers. Start-ups - A start-up flies a jet pack around the Statue of Liberty. - A mysterious electric car start-up may build a $1 billion plant in Georgia. - How one start-up is cracking the screen time problem for kids. - This start-up uses magnets to clear blood clots. Technology - Scientists say they have built technology that can “hear” tumors growing. - Apple’s Tim Cook wonders why anyone would buy a PC anymore and says that businesses should do more to help solve social problems. - The Onion: Housing prices soar as a tech employee strolls through a neighborhood. - There’s big business in data destruction. Online - Google Maps now offers step-by-step directions even when users are offline. - Alibaba sold over $1 billion of merchandise in 8 minutes in China’s largest online shopping day. - The biggest-ever U.S. data breach hits 100 million people with bank accounts. - Research firm Gartner says that 21 billion IoT devices will invade by 2020. - U.S. announces criminal charges in massive JP Morgan hack from 2014. Around the Country - An 800-pound alligator is found wandering around a Houston-area shopping center. - Google aims to put San Antonio small businesses on the map. - Business owners in Mission, Texas are concerned about light poles. - The founder of a New Hampshire water park chains himself to a slide to save his business. - Miami’s business courts are taking on a few complex corporate conflicts. - Pittsburgh raises its minimum wage to $15 for city workers and New York State will create a $15 minimum wage for its workers. - Here’s why law firms are facing cuts from their biggest corporate clients. - Shale drilling company Magnum Hunter might be on the way to bankruptcy. - Eleven indictments charge widespread fraud in New York City’s heating oil industry. Around the World - Business leaders in the U.K. have called on Prime


mysterious electric car start-up may build a $1 billion plant in Georgia. - How one start-up is cracking the screen time problem for kids. - This start-up uses magnets to clear blood clots. Technology - Scientists say they have built technology that can “hear” tumors growing. - Apple’s Tim Cook wonders why anyone would buy a PC anymore and says that businesses should do more to help solve social problems. - The Onion: Housing prices soar as a tech employee strolls through a neighborhood. - There’s big business in data destruction. Online - Google Maps now offers step-by-step directions even when users are offline. - Alibaba sold over $1 billion of merchandise in 8 minutes in China’s largest online shopping day. - The biggest-ever U.S. data breach hits 100 million people with bank accounts. - Research firm Gartner says that 21 billion IoT devices will invade by 2020. - U.S. announces criminal charges in massive JP Morgan hack from 2014. Around the Country - An 800-pound alligator is found wandering around a Houston-area shopping center. - Google aims to put San Antonio small businesses on the map. - Business owners in Mission, Texas are concerned about light poles. - The founder of a New Hampshire water park chains himself to a slide to save his business. - Miami’s business courts are taking on a few complex corporate conflicts. - Pittsburgh raises its minimum wage to $15 for city workers and New York State will create a $15 minimum wage for its workers. - Here’s why law firms are facing cuts from their biggest corporate clients. - Shale drilling company Magnum Hunter might be on the way to bankruptcy. - Eleven indictments charge widespread fraud in New York City’s heating oil industry. Around the World - Business leaders in the U.K. have called on Prime Minister David Cameron to use Britain’s negotiating power to agree on an attractive new deal on European Union membership in the run-up to the referendum on Europe. - A study from Norway might have discovered a way to help breast cancer patients avoid heart damage. - Small businesses from the U.S. are wooing the big players at a Dubai airshow. Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd PA consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter. News we should know about? Email us here.


There’s a new Earth-size planet in the neighborhood (galactically speaking)

star called GJ 436. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Named GJ 1132b, the planet was discovered with an array of six telescopes on three different mountains in Chile. It’s not habitable. The surface is scorched by the parent star — an old, red dwarf that is about 5 billion years old. The planet, with a diameter approximately 1.2 times that of Earth’s, might have an atmosphere. Astronomers will look closely at the parent star to see how the planet, as it crosses the face of the star as seen from Earth, alters the starlight. Essentially they will be studying the planet’s sunsets. That would tell the astronomers about the atmosphere, if there is one. [Scientists discover 12 new potential Earth-like planets] “It was very hard to find, and just barely at the limit of our detection, but it gives us finally a chance to really study a rocky planet around another star in an unprecedented level of detail,” said MIT astronomer Zachory Berta-Thompson, the lead author of the new paper. There are about 10 times as many red dwarf stars in our galaxy as there are sunlike stars, he said. Whether planets orbiting red dwarfs are congenial to life is a matter of debate. Berta-Thompson said that he hopes further study of this new planet will help resolve whether such planets can hold onto their atmospheres and be potentially habitable. His team wants to look at it with the Hubble Space Telescope, or perhaps in a few years with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which has a 2018 launch date. Meanwhile, in other space news, the larger of Mars’ two moons is on the verge of disintegrating. Phobos has about 30 million years left, judging by the grooves on the surface, according to a NASA news release based on research at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center. [Newly discovered exoplanet looks a lot like Jupiter] Phobos is in a very low orbit, less than 4,000 miles above the surface, and the gravity of Mars will eventually rip it apart. But Phobos needs to keep itself in one piece for a little while: NASA is noodling the idea of a human mission to Mars in a couple of decades that would actually be a mission to Phobos. The MEarth-South telescope array, located on Cerro Tololo in Chile, searches for planets by monitoring the brightness of nearby, small stars. (Jonathan Irwin) It would be relatively easy


Humans have relied on honeybees for nearly 9,000 years — and now they’re mysteriously declining

has largely rallied around efforts to preserve the species, and the White House even released a National Strategy to Preserve the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators earlier this year. Now, learning more about how long and pervasive the history of human reliance on the honeybee has been could provide even greater motivation for people to make sure that relationship continues to last. The paper also provides insight into the honeybee’s historic range, which has been poorly understood until now. “Honeybees have been quite invisible throughout the archaeological record because they’re so tiny and disappear very quickly,” Roffet-Salque said. But the pottery evidence shows clearly where honeybees existed during the Neolithic age — and it also provides some evidence as to where they didn’t. The researchers failed to find any beeswax in areas of Europe above the 57th parallel, which would include Scotland, parts of northern Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Because bee exploitation seemed to exist in other parts of Europe during the same time period, the most logical explanation is that bees simply didn’t occupy these northern areas. These results suggest that the 57th parallel represented “the natural ecological limit for bees at the time,” Roffet-Salque said. Since modern-day honeybees can now be found in areas above that line, this evidence suggests that bees have adjusted their historic range over the last 10,000 years, likely in response to climatic changes. “This information could prove very useful in understanding how climate change will affect populations of honey bees,” said But Winston says these results are not particularly surprising, either. “As climate changes, we should expect organisms like bees to increase in some places and decrease in others,” he said. But being aware of the potential for these climate-related changes is useful, as these shifts can have “major implications in some places for how agriculture is conducted,” he added. At the very least, the paper offers fresh insight into poorly understood aspects of the honeybee’s history and introduces a novel, albeit time-consuming, method of investigating these questions. According to Robinson, it’s “an exciting new European biogeographical narrative for the most beneficial insect on the planet.” Read more in Energy Environment: This could be the biggest sign yet that the battery revolution is here Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, to disclose more climate risks to investors These could be the first U.S. states to tax carbon — and give


Seven beer events and tap takeovers to hit this week

The beers of Berlin, Md.,'s Burley Oak Brewing Co. will be featured at Hank's on the Hill on Friday night. Brewer/owner Bryan Brushmiller may host a meet-and-greet at the Capitol Hill oyster bar. (Photo by Jeffrey MacMillan ) Oktoberfest has ended. Outdoor festivals are done. But there's plenty of good beer to be had this week, with an exceptionally strong list of tastings and tap takeovers. Wednesday, Nov. 11: English Tap Takeover at Pizzeria Paradiso Thursday, Nov. 12: Ballast Point Tap Takeover at Lost and Found Thursday, Nov. 12: 4 Hands Reenters the D.C. Market at ChurchKey Friday, Nov. 13: Silly Willett release at Jack Rose Friday, Nov. 13: Devils Backbone at the Black Squirrel Saturday, Nov. 14: Hellbender Brewing Anniversary Party Saturday, Nov. 14: Burley Oak tap takeover at Hank's on the Hill


Nine confirmed dead in Akron plane crash

This post has been updated. The nine victims of an airplane crash in northeast Ohio on Tuesday included two co-pilots and seven associates of a Florida real estate investment firm, officials confirmed Wednesday. Pebb Enterprises, a private equity real estate investment company based in Boca Raton, Fla., posted a statement on its Web site on Wednesday confirming the deaths. “Our hearts are broken this morning with the news of the tragic accident that took the lives of two principals and five employees of Pebb Enterprises,” the statement said. “We are shocked and deeply saddened for the families, colleagues and friends of those who perished.” The company did not release the names of any of the victims. Authorities said Wednesday that the 10-seat Hawker H25 was on approach to Akron Fulton International Airport when it clipped utility wires and crashed into a four-unit apartment building. The resulting fire destroyed the building, but no one one on the ground was harmed, officials said. In a press briefing near the crash site, the National Safety Transportation Board said the factors that led to the crash are under investigation. “On behalf of the entire NTSB, I’d like to offer our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victims of this tragic accident,” said Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairman of NTSB. A cockpit voice recorder was recovered from the plane and is en route to Washington, D.C., Dinh-Zarr said. The factors investigators will examine include: flight controls, engines, records, weather, air traffic control and operations. But a definitive conclusion on the cause of the crash could take months. Dinh-Zarr declined to speculate on the cause of the crash, saying only that the probable cause would not be determined on the scene. Investigators were expected to search the site for four to five days. At a media briefing Wednesday afternoon, questions centered around if weather conditions factored into the crash. Fog and misty conditions had moved into the area about the time of the crash, reducing visibility at Akron Fulton International Airport to 1.5 miles, according to the National Weather Service. “Weather, in fact, is one of the key areas that we will be looking at very carefully in this accident,” Dinh-Zarr said. She said that the charter jet left Fort Lauderdale at approximately 6:30 a.m. Monday and flew to Minneapolis, with later stops in Moline, Ill., St. Louis, and then Cincinnati. It left Cincinnati