Outlook grim for middle-income workers, report says

solving and technological savvy, while making many categories of employment less lucrative. They also blame an increasingly global labor market for putting American workers in competition with workers who are paid less in developing nations. But the report argues that a large part of the problem resides closer to home: A minimum wage that has not kept pace with inflation, a persistently slack labor market that has undermined worker leverage and the continued demise of unions. Between 1983 and 2011, the percentage of workers in unions has declined from 20.1 percent to 11.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Institute economists also point to waves of deregulation that have allowed the financial services industry, where top executives often are rewarded with lavish compensation packages, to become a larger slice of the overall economy. “These are the predictable consequences of policy decisions made over the years,” said Heidi Shierholz, one of the institute economists who contributed to the report. The growing wage inequality has been accompanied by widening wealth disparity. The report says that Americans in the bottom 60 percent of wealth holders saw their net worth decline between 1983 and 2010, while 75 percent of the wealth increases went to the richest 5 percent. Amid all of that, the report said that many Americans appear unprepared to meet their growing responsibility for planning and funding their retirements by managing 401(k)s and other assets. In 2010, less than half of all households owned stock, and less than one-third of households owned more than $10,000 in stocks, including those held in retirement plans. The median black and Hispanic households owned no stocks, the report said. Josh Bivens, an institute economist who also contributed to the report, said that the most feasible plan now is to protect programs such as Social Security and Medicare that are pillars of economic security for Americans. He said reversing the trends pushing against middle-income workers would require policy options that most Republicans view as undesirable and many Democrats see as unattainable. The options include a financial stimulus to stoke job creation, more restrictive trade deals, policy to make it easier to organize labor unions, a higher minimum wage and more aggressive Federal Reserve policy aimed at pushing down interest rates and lowering unemployment. “There are no silver bullets, just silver buckshot,” Bivens said, adding: “The politics are such that it is not going to happen.”


Ethiopians gather beneath Washington Monument to celebrate their new year

And his campaign even put in Happy New Year — ‘Melkam Enkutatash’ in Amharic,” Demelash cheers. “We knew Obama sent a similar message to the Persians in Virginia during their New Year! We deserve that recognition, too.” Demelash has his laptop open, and he’s fielding cellphone calls from Ethiopian American DJ Mamush about the event’s playlist and sound system. “It’s like an obsession, a calling,” Demelash smiles, adding that he’s so dedicated to making the Ethiopian New Year an American holiday that he handed Oprah Winfrey a flier about the holiday when she was walking out of Howard University in 2007 after getting an honorary degree. “Even my father thinks I work too much on it.” A few hitches, but a good turnout During the New Year, Ethiopians around the world attend prayer services, visit with family, exchange gifts and host colorful processions. Village children go door-to-door handing out fresh flowers to neighbors. But at the foot of the Monument on Sunday, Ethiopian Americans gathered with their children, who played soccer, ran on the nation’s lawn and danced to music by traditional Ethiopian performers. Many American parents who adopted from Ethiopia brought their children for a dose of their home country’s culture. Because this is America, there was lots of stuff for sale. Because this is Washington, there were voter-registration booths and a campaign station run by African Americans for Obama.  And because launching a new holiday can be a tricky business, there were a few hitches. Saturday’s rainstorm delayed the setup, a triathlon blocked traffic for several hours and a health inspector from the National Park Service turned away some of the food — meats and Ethiopian stews — because it didn’t meet Park Service requirements. Using a special thermometer, he found that the food was just a few degrees too hot. Caterer Askale Shiferaw, who had been cooking for two days, burst into tears. But in the end, she was allowed to bring in two trays of lentils and greens that were the right temperature. “It’s all part of hosting an event this size at the Washington Monument. But it’s worth it. We want to be a part of American culture,” said Mackie Paulos, 35, wearing an “I love injera” T-shirt. She came from Ethiopia in 1995 and lives in Falls Church. “The Ethiopian New Year is a great holiday. It can work. It has to work.”


Ireland to need more European aid

Ireland may need a further round of European help to keep its financial bailout program on track as it faces fallout from the region’s deepening recession, the International Monetary Fund reported Monday. The euro zone’s slowdown prompted the IMF to cut its forecast for growth in Ireland, which is the only bailed-out country to see its economy start expanding again. The other two, Greece and Portugal, have continued to slide. The IMF said European countries should step forward with more help for Ireland. In particular, the agency said, a regional bailout fund should be used to help defray Ireland’s cost of rescuing its banks, estimated at about $70 billion. That would follow a precedent recently set with emergency help for Spanish banks. At a European summit in June, officials agreed that money from the new bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, could be plowed directly into troubled banks. Without that provision, the Spanish government would have been forced to borrow money and, in turn, lend it to the country’s ailing banks, adding to Spain’s spiraling debt load. As with Spain, Ireland’s financial troubles were closely linked to problems in its banking system. European officials agreed in June to study whether Ireland’s “well-performing adjustment program” also should be given the benefit of direct European support for its financial system. “Similar cases will be treated equally,” European leaders said in a statement. The IMF said European leaders needed to move on that commitment. The fund forecast, for example, that an injection of about $30 billion in European cash into Ireland’s banks would allow the country to cut its government debts by an amount equal to about 15 percent of its annual economic output. That could mean the difference between a debt burden that gradually declines or one that becomes unsustainable. “Material investments in Irish banks . . . could transform the public debt outlook . . . and cement a needed win for Europe,” the IMF wrote in its latest review of the Irish economy. Craig Beaumont, the IMF mission chief to Ireland, said international markets expect the extra aid to come through. That helped Ireland in a successful bond sale in July, the first such foray by a bailed-out country back into international bond markets. If there is trouble delivering that help for the banks, “there is some room for markets to be disappointed” and throw off Ireland’s ability to finance


Absence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping fuels speculation about transition

with Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt sparked a fresh round of speculation, with possible explanations for Xi’s absence ranging from more serious health concerns to possible instability and intrigue at the very top of the Communist Party hierarchy. The Chinese government continued Tuesday to duck questions about Xi’s whereabouts. “I have no information on that to provide to you,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei when asked about Xi’s health at a regular press briefing in the afternoon. When asked whether Xi was even still alive, Lei replied tersely, “I hope you will raise serious questions.” When other reporters tried pressing him on Xi again, Lei shut them down. “I have already answered the question for your colleagues,” he said. “Next question.” China’s Communists are due to meet later this year to name a new president — widely expected to be Xi — and new members of the now nine-member Politburo Standing Committee that effectively runs the country. But remarkably, as of now, no date has been announced for the conclave. That has added to the sense that the behind-the-scenes jockeying remains intense and that not all is settled among the leadership’s competing factions and personalities as they dole out the top positions. At the very least, Xi’s disappearance from public view and the unofficial, conflicting accounts of his absence starkly illustrate the challenge facing China’s Communist rulers as they try to stage-manage an anachronistically closed and secretive transition process for the first time in the age of microblogging and social media. Chinese leaders remain opaque and largely loathe even rudimentary forms of transparency — particularly when it comes to their health. But in the absence of real information, the microblogs have swiftly stepped into the void. “You see the tension, with elite politics not changing as fast as society is changing,” said Cheng Li, an expert on China’s leadership with the Brookings Institution in Washington. Now, he said, “there’s a lack of transparency, so we end up with all these” rumors. The most oft-repeated speculation, which first surfaced on overseas media sites, was that the portly Xi threw out his back, either while swimming, playing soccer or, according to one version, playing golf. A more serious version of that rumor is that the vice president had a mild heart attack. Meanwhile, a Chinese-language Web site that often reports on the inner workings of the leadership — and has produced some


Mitt Romney talks about Afghanistan, Sept. 11 attacks at Reno event

RENO, Nev. — Romney, in a 19-minute speech to the National Guard Association conference, paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as to those who responded to what he called “evil and cowardly and heinous attacks.” Although he made no mention of President Obama and drew only subtle contrasts with the president’s foreign policy, the Republican nominee delivered a muscular address calling for an “American century” marked by clear resolve and enhanced U.S. military might. Romney made no new policy pronouncements; he set a goal for the Afghanistan war, as he has before, of completing a successful transition to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014, but did not expound on the decade-long war. Instead, Romney told personal stories of his encounters with troops and Guardsmen, both during a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq, as governor of Massachusetts and on the campaign trail running for president. “It has been my privilege to meet with troops and veterans from just about every state,” Romney said. “They come from our farms, our great cities, our small towns and quiet neighborhoods. Many have known violence so that their neighbors could know peace. They have done more than protect America; their courage and service defines America.” These are the kinds of recollections Romney left out of his acceptance speech Aug. 30 at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where he became the first Republican in generations not to mention war in accepting his party’s nomination. “It reveals a severe lack of understanding about the job as president, doesn’t reflect well on what kind of leadership he would bring and, frankly, it’s just unbecoming of someone who wants to become commander in chief,” Wesley Clark, the former NATO supreme allied commander, told reporters Monday on a conference call organized by the Obama campaign. With Democrats trying to gain an advantage over Romney on military and national security issues, Romney hoped his speech Tuesday would help reset that debate and establish him — and the Republican Party — as tough on matters of war. Romney said he would help steer a century that began with terror, war and economic calamity onto the path of freedom, peace and prosperity. “America must lead the free world, and the free world must lead the entire world,” Romney said. “In our dealings with other nations, we must demonstrate


Delivering locally sourced ingredients for efficient cooking

Scratch DC works with distributors to provide customers with locally-sourced ingredients, already chopped, measured and marinated. (bigstock) At first glance, Ryan Hansan’s Washington-based food business might seem like any other take-out restaurant where customers look up the day’s menu, order the food and expect a meal to be delivered to their home shortly thereafter. But there’s one major difference — Scratch DC, Hansan’s weeks-old entrepreneurial venture, only delivers bundles of raw ingredients. It’s up to the customer to cook the meal, based on a recipe included in the bundle. Scratch DC encourages even the most disastrous chefs to embrace home cooking by doing all the leg-work — looking up recipes, buying locally sourced fresh vegetables and meats, measuring and chopping the ingredients and marinating them according to the recipe. All that’s required from the customer is cooking time — usually 20 to 30 minutes — and ovens or stoves, pots or pans and utensils. “Our market is anyone from the experienced cook who doesn’t want to go out, to the boyfriend, right out of college, trying to impress his girlfriend on a night in,” Hansan said. Scratch DC features seemingly elaborate recipes like “Herbed Pork Medallions and a Creamy Tomato Parmesan Orzo” (for $26) or “Baked Fried Chicken with Scratch Mac’n Cheese and Broccoli” (for $22), but includes detailed step-by-step instructions for preparation — and each bundle serves two people. Hansan posts one dish a day on Scratch DC’s site from Monday through Thursday, and customers can only receive the ingredients on the day of that particular recipe. Every morning, Hansan and his prep cook (his only employee), chop, marinate, measure and bundle the ingredients for that day’s recipe. Hansan makes sure to include a hand-written thank you note in each bundle, and then personally delivers them between 3 and 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, to residences in most of Northwest and Capitol Hill. Hansan recalls his undergraduate years at American University, during which, like many college students, he only cooked occasionally. His fridge was only regularly stocked with “beer and a half-eaten jar of pasta sauce,” he said. If he ate out on a given night, he’d spend too much money — but if he decided to cook a special meal, he’d often have to buy more ingredients than he could use at once and the rest would go to waste. “There was a lot of wasted food and


Where is China’s Xi Jinping?

have raised questions about whether the carefully orchestrated transition is off-track. Mr. Xi canceled meetings with four foreign leaders in a week, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Danish prime minister, with no explanation. Maybe Mr. Xi merely strained his back, as one rumor has it, or had a mild heart attack, as another contends. The fact that China’s citizens and the world were left to wonder is yet more evidence that the country’s creaky Stalinist political system is entirely unprepared to meet the challenges it faces — from a slowing economy to a booming social Internet. Neither Mr. Xi, expected to replace Hu Jintao, nor Li Keqiang, who is to step in for Wen Jiabao as prime minister, would likely stand up well to uncensored scrutiny. According to reporting by Bloomberg News, Mr. Xi’s extended family has amassed stakes in companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars as well as seven properties in Hong Kong valued at $55 million. Mr. Li, according to a report in the Financial Times, has had an administrative career “short on achievements and long on disastrous events,” including the coverup of an AIDS epidemic caused by infected blood. All the same, Beijing’s policy of trying to keep secret even the most basic information about Communist Party leaders, a practice pioneered a century ago in the Soviet Union, is unsustainable. More than 300 million Chinese now have social media accounts, and an army of government censors is unable to stem rumors about Mr. Xi’s disappearance or complaints about the lack of official information. In the vacuum, sensational stories are circulating, including a claim that Mr. Xi was targeted in a car crash by an associate of recently deposed Politburo member Bo Xilai. Assuming that Mr. Xi returns and takes office as planned, the pressure he faces for transparency and accountability will only grow. China appears headed for a significant economic slowdown, which means more dissatisfied citizens and less tolerance for governmental incompetence and corruption. If they are wise, Mr. Xi and Mr. Li will open the political system rather than allowing it to crumble around them. A good first step would be to tell the truth about their own activities. Read more from Opinions The Post’s View: In China, a trial of leadership Jackson Diehl: Anxiety in China about the road ahead Fareed Zakaria: China’s economic crisis David Ignatius: China’s wobbly transition


Britain looks to China to fuel nuclear renaissance

Heysham Nuclear Power Station in Heysham, United Kingdom. Chinese state power corporations are backing leading consortiums vying to roll out new British nuclear plants. (Christopher Furlong/GETTY IMAGES) LONDON — Chinese state corporations are backing consortiums that are vying to build nuclear plants here in a deal that pits the security interests of Washington’s closest ally against the commercial considerations of a country desperately seeking to modernize its aging energy grid. The possible entry of China as Britain’s nuclear benefactor is being seen here and across the region as a test case not only for the viability of nuclear energy in a post-Fukushima world, but also for how far fiscally strapped European governments will go in their quest for cash. The bid marks the largest and most controversial of China’s recent investments in Britain — which range from the revered Savile Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes to a stake in the Thames Water utility company — and would add to a string of Western world investments by Beijing that also includes the pending takeover of Nexen, a Canadian oil firm with operations in the Gulf of Mexico. To the dismay of critics who fear the implications of Chinese influence over the energy sector — and particularly over nuclear power generation — the British government has generally blessed the notion of China’s involvement. As one Energy Department official here put it, London is sending a signal to Beijing that Britain “is open for business.” “Problem is, I don’t see anyone else but the Chinese rushing to invest in this area right now,” said Nick Butler, a former energy sector adviser at No. 10 Downing St. and a critic of the deal. “They are the only ones with the money. If you know of anyone else, please send them to the government.” A protester holds a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament banner near No. 10 Downing Street in London on March 20, 2011. Britain, a country with dwindling North Sea gas reserves, remains one of the few major Western nations still eyeing a massive rollout of new nuclear plants. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) The pending deal underscores how differently the United States and Europe view China. European countries do not entirely share the U.S. perception of Beijing as a strategic competitor but instead increasingly see a financial patron, with Chinese investments in a key port in troubled Greece and a power company in hard-hit


Speed cameras yield $19.2M in Baltimore; windfall concerns critics

city's 83 speed cameras, which issue $40 citations, are an important tool in making the city safer. "We must act aggressively to reduce Baltimore's pedestrian injury and fatality rate — the highest in Maryland," spokeswoman Adrienne Barnes said. She said revenues are high because there are still a lot of people going more than 12 miles per hour above the posted speed limit on city streets, the threshold for the cameras to trigger a ticket. "Speeding in school zones remains a huge problem," Barnes said. She said the city has made especially good use of its eight portable cameras, which it moves from neighborhood to neighborhood to catch unsuspecting motorists. Barnes said the extra money will fund "traffic calming projects" in neighborhoods and improvements to intersections and sidewalks. She said city officials believe speed camera revenue will decline over time as drivers adjust their behavior. In fact, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's budget for this year includes just $11.4 million in revenue from the cameras. During the City's Council's review of the plan, projections for speed camera revenue were a matter of heated debate. Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young proposed an alternative spending plan that assumed $3.5 million more in funding from the cameras than the mayor's did. Young touted his plan as a way to keep recreation centers and fire companies from closing. Rawlings-Blake, at the time, criticized Young's proposal as irresponsible. She said Montgomery County's experience with speed cameras shows that drivers stop speeding near cameras and that revenue therefore declines. In a June letter to the council, Rawlings-Blake warned that "painful midyear budget cuts" could be necessary if Young's plan were approved and the increased speed camera revenue didn't come through. "I can say that I was right," Young said Tuesday, arguing that if the city had used better projections, it could have kept several recreation centers and fire companies open. "For the last couple of years, they've underestimated the speed camera revenue. This is an exercise in futility we go through every year," Young said. "I don't look for vindication. I want to keep rec centers open and fire companies open. That's all I'm interested in." Maryland law requires that speed camera revenue be used for public safety purposes, for which Young believes fire companies qualify. But funding for recreation centers, schools and other programs could have been provided during the regular budget process, said Councilman Stokes.


D.C. news in brief

space, high ceilings and a plinth for sculptural installation. The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities will curate a rotation of exhibits with opportunities for artists and organizations to submit proposals. For more information, go to dcarts.dc.gov. H Street historic trailto be unveiled Saturday Cultural Tourism DC, a nonprofit group that promotes awareness of District history, will unveil “Hub, Home, Heart: Greater H Street NE Heritage Trail” at noon Saturday. The ceremony will take place at the H Street Festival on a stage at H and 14th streets NE. The trail includes Union Station; Swampoodle, whose residents helped build the Capitol and the White House; portions of the route that British forces marched on during the War of 1812; and the Washington Coliseum, the site of the Beatles’ first U.S. concert. For information, go to www.culturaltourismdc.org. Contest for anniversary of emancipation The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the D.C. Lottery and Charitable Games Control Board are having a poster design competition to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The deadline is Sept. 21. The poster will include an original poem by D.C.’s poet laureate, Dolores Kendrick, and historical content. The poster will be displayed in D.C. public schools, D.C. public libraries and city government agencies. The contest is open to professional artists ages 18 and older in the Washington area. The finalist will receive $3,000 and retain ownership and copyright. For more information, call 202-724-5613, e-mail keona.pearson@dc.gov or go to dcarts.dc.gov. Public meeting about Winkle Doodle bridge The D.C. Department of Transportation is having a public meeting on the Winkle Doodle Branch Bridge Planning Study and the Southern Avenue corridor (South Capitol Street SE to 23rd Street SE) from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Sept. 20 at United Medical Center, 1310 Southern Ave. SE. The bridge covers the Winkle Doodle channel and spans between Southeast Washington and Prince George’s County. The transportation department is considering pedestrian safety, lighting and visibility, aesthetics, and environmental improvements for the bridge and corridor. For information, call 202-563-5033 or e-mail malia@thecsmi.com. D.C. Circulator forum scheduled for Tuesday The D.C. Department of Transportation is having its semi-annual D.C. Circulator public forum from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Columbus Club in Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Route performance, enhancements and plans will be discussed. For information, go to www.ddot.dc.gov. Comments can be e-mailed to brooke.fossey@dc.gov. — Terence McArdle


Food for thought

was not local enough, that it’s more of a luxury market. I can see their point, but I’m just happy to have a market.” She said that even in Denmark, the cutting-edge ideals of the new Nordic cooking are only slowly taking root among average consumers. “It takes some time to actually learn these things. It’s a whole new way of thinking. The normal consumer is trying to figure out if this is a trend or if it’s here to stay.” Inside the CPH Good Food office, we looked at pamphlets her firm has published: simple recipes for apple and onion breads, cauliflower dishes, soups with spelt and pumpkin. The recipes use the same sorts of ingredients as they do at Noma, but more accessible. “You can make new Nordic into a lifestyle,” Kristensen said. “You can take your family out to pick mushrooms and berries. I know it’s a small fantasy, but in Denmark, it’s an option.” In fact, this quaint-but-cutting-edge Denmark has always existed as a fantasy to a certain type of American like me — a place where people ride bicycles instead of cars; a place where tolerant people coexist with a commune run by weirdos and hash dealers in the middle of their clean, beautiful capital city; a place where citizens can decide, without a lot of fuss or loud, angry rhetoric, to ban unhealthful things such as junk food. I found it inspiring that Copenhagen, which a decade ago was a culinary backwater, could transform itself into one of the most important food cities in the world. And I was inspired by the enthusiasm and idealism and — I’ll say it — the faith that a young person such as Kristensen has in changing the way her country eats, cooks and thinks about food. That faith became transcendent. About a month after I returned home, I was attacked by a mysterious virus, which covered the inside of my mouth with painful sores. It hurt so much that I couldn’t work. Eating caused so much pain that I traded solid food for a liquid diet for almost two weeks and lost more than 15 pounds. As I lay in bed watching “Storage Wars,” waiting for the oxycodone to take effect and wincing down lukewarm broth or a smoothie through a straw, I was seized by the fear that I might never eat real food again. Strangely


Fighting the Asian tiger mosquito

of your eyes and don’t put in on the hands of young children, who tend to stick their fingers in their mouths. If you don’t want DEET, the EPA says other repellent compounds are also safe and effective when used properly: namely Picaridin, a synthetic version of pepper plant compounds; lemon eucalyptus oil, and a compound named IR3535. “The best repellent is the one you’ll use religiously,” said Jorge Arias, a supervisory entomologist at the Fairfax County Health Department. In my little veggie garden, I have used a repellent with 98 percent DEET (this was before I read the CDC advice) and it seems to work for several hours, though it leaves you feeling like an oiled salmon. I have asked visitors to try lemon eucalyptus oil, and that also seems to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I also purchased a citronella oil candle in a tin, but the wick got damp and I couldn’t get it to light again. In addition, I bought a pack of five mosquito sticks, each about a foot high and impregnated with a repellent. Once I got them lighted and smoking, which took several attempts, they did seem to keep the area free of the mosquito, but they were done after three hours. At $4.50 a box, they might be affordable for the occasional barbecue, but not an afternoon’s gardening. Homeowners can also buy sprays that kill adult mosquitoes — or, increasingly, hire pest control applicators to do it for them. The pesticides consist of compounds called pyrethroids, which are considered of low toxicity when used correctly, though in the wrong hands they can kill fish, bees and other beneficial insects. The problem, apart from the cost if you contract with a company — typically $400 to $700 for regular sprays between late April and late September — is that spraying the adults alone isn’t going to keep the mosquitoes away: New ones keep hatching. Damien Sanchez, owner of the Mosquito Squad of Greater D.C., said the regular sprays reduce adult numbers by 80 to 90 percent. His workers use backpack sprayers to treat more than 1,000 area homes weekly. The secret to managing this pest is for everyone to engage in a concerted effort to deny the overwintering eggs a chance to develop in the spring when rains fill every potential container, said Dina Fonseca, an associate professor at the Rutgers Center for


More Americans opting out of banking system

rent-to-own services, the FDIC said. This underbanked population has grown from 18.2 percent to 20.1 percent of households nationwide. The study also found that one in four households, or 28.3 percent, either had one or no bank account. A third of these households said they do not have enough money to open and fund an account. Minorities, the unemployed, young people and lower-income households are least likely to have accounts. Stubbornly high unemployment and underemployment have placed millions of Americans in precarious financial positions, leaving them unable to absorb overdraft charges or minimum-balance fees. In the past year alone, Wells Fargo, Capital One and SunTrust have alerted customers to pending fee hikes on checking accounts or have raised overdraft charges. Banks say service charges are needed to offset the loss of revenue from a cap on debit-card transaction fees imposed by the government. “Banks need to have pricing and practices that consumers can trust and allow them to build wealth and have economic mobility,” said Deborah Goldstein, chief operating officer at the Center for Responsible Lending. “If the account fees will leave them worse off, then its going to be a challenge for people to use banking services.” Banks say it is difficult to make money serving lower-income communities because the cost of managing their accounts outweighs the return. “There has to be a recognition that there are costs to providing accounts and those costs have to be covered,” said Nessa Feddis, vice president and general counsel at the American Bankers Association. She estimated that it costs banks up to $300 a year to maintain a checking account because of expenses such as processing transactions. National Community Reinvestment Coalition Feddis disagreed. “You can’t take a losing account and make it up in bulk,” she said. “You’re not going to spend money to lose money.” Without access to traditional banks, Taylor said, Americans are susceptible to abusive practices at non-bank institutions and are likely to remain trapped in a vicious cycle of financial strain. “A part of changing the condition of unbanked people is keeping them away from predatory lenders who keep them mired in debt,” he said. “One of the reasons you had all of these mortgage companies preying on low-income communities is because there were no options.” A report from SNL Financial in April showed that banks have closed dozens of branches in neighborhoods with a median household income


Does the West Nile outbreak signal an epidemic of viral epidemics? Yes and no.

We are swimming in a sea of viruses. A hundred times smaller than bacteria, these tiny things are little more than stripped-down packets of genetic material with some protein padding. By strict definition, they aren’t even alive. But viruses are robust and promiscuous in their ability to invade organisms and hijack cellular machinery in order to replicate. The latest virus to seize the country’s attention — and create a run on bug spray — is the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, which usually has little effect on its human hosts but can sometimes be a killer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday that this year’s West Nile epidemic is on track to be the deadliest since the disease first showed up in New York City in 1999, perhaps inside a stowaway mosquito on a transatlantic jetliner. There have been 2,636 officially reported cases nationally and 118 deaths, including two in Maryland and one each in Virginia and the District. People get the virus from mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds. Most people don’t become sick, but some have a mild fever. One out of 150 develops serious symptoms, such as brain inflammation or polio-like paralysis of the arms or legs. A small number die. The outbreaks of so many viruses in recent weeks, years and decades — including hantavirus, swine flu, bird flu, SARS, ebola and the great global scourge of HIV — raise an obvious question: Are we seeing an epidemic of viral epidemics? The experts give a complicated, nuanced answer: yes and no. The bottom line is that virologists are hardly in a panic. “I think it would be over-exaggeration to think that there are millions of viruses ready to jump on us and bring us back to the 14th century,” says Anthony Fauci, director of the infectious-disease center at the National Institutes of Health. “That would be looking over a ledge that isn’t there.” But Fauci is hardly sanguine — and he’s the first to say you should use insect repellent before gardening in a mosquito-infested yard. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s division of vector-borne diseases, said this year’s West Nile season is on pace for a record number of severe infections, such as brain inflammation. These infections are considered the best indicator of the epidemic’s scope because they are most consistently reported to health authorities. Most people who are bitten by infected mosquitoes


in 1796) and campaigns against other scourges (such as polio, measles, mumps and hepatitis B) all had viruses as their targets. There are clinical trials underway for a West Nile vaccine, though it remains to be seen whether companies will find it profitable to develop a vaccine for a disease that is relatively rare and usually benign. Once you get West Nile, you have immunity for life. ‘Slips through the cracks’ West Nile is not a global health problem like malaria, HIV and schistosomiasis, so big donors aren’t likely to give lots of money for developing and testing a vaccine. And it’s not a “biodefense threat” like smallpox and anthrax, so the federal government isn’t willing to underwrite a long and expensive vaccine program. “A disease like that just sort of slips through the cracks,” said Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute. So for now, “put on mosquito repellent” is about all that public health officials can offer as a West Nile preventive. Still, in the past, if you came down with a fever or a mysterious cough and visited a doctor, “the physician would say to you, ‘It’s probably a virus,’ ” said W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection & Immunity at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Now, virologists have tools to identify viruses down to the genetic level. Viruses are more likely to have a name. The new Heartland virus was found when researchers were looking for the organism that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is transmitted by ticks. It hasn’t been proved yet that this new virus is tick-borne, but from a public health point of view, the message is the same: Wear long-sleeved clothing when you go outside. The hantavirus associated with the Yosemite outbreak is the same virus first identified in 1993 in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. Scientists believe that earlier outbreak was triggered by heavy spring rains that led to a bumper crop of pinion nuts, which allowed deer mice, which carry the virus, to proliferate. “In the evolution of the world there has always been emerging and reemerging infectious diseases,” Fauci says. “Some are threats, some are curiosities, but viruses are continuing to emerge. And that’s going to be that way essentially forever.” Katherine Spindler,


Reports: Japan plans for nuclear phaseout by 2030s

TOKYO — The nuclear phaseout, reported by both the Kyodo News agency and broadcaster NHK based on a draft of the policy, comes amid fierce political debate about this country’s 50 operable reactors, which are both prone to disaster and vital to the economy. The gradual turn away from nuclear power over the next two decades represents a major concession from Japan’s traditionally pro-nuclear leaders to a largely anti-nuclear public, whose fears were stoked by the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But it also prompts new worries about how Japan will make up for a gaping energy deficit, and whether it can eventually grow renewable energy into a cheap alternative. In the short term, Japan will have to rely on increased imports of fossil fuels, raising the nation’s energy prices as well as its greenhouse-gas emissions. An official announcement about the phaseout could come by the end of the week, Japanese media said. “We will devote all policy resources to achieving zero nuclear power generation in the 2030s,” Kyodo News said, quoting a draft of the policy. The new policy still faces some major obstacles and could be revised if Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda loses his job, as expected, sometime in the coming months. Political analysts here predict that Noda’s ruling Democratic Party of Japan will be handed a landslide defeat in an upcoming parliamentary election, opening the door for the Liberal Democratic Party to return to power. Until 2009, the LDP ruled almost uninterrupted for half a century, engineering Japan’s rise into one of the world’s most nuclear-dependent nations. Japan’s government, under Noda, had been considering three potential long-term energy policies, along with the nuclear phaseout. Other options called for Japan to depend on nuclear power for either 15 percent or 20 to 25 percent of its energy by 2030. Noda himself hinted at the new strategy Wednesday during a debate with other candidates for the party leadership. Noda acknowledged that most Japanese want a non-nuclear country, and he mentioned that his own party favored the phaseout by 2030. “There could be different views about how we can achieve that goal, and by factoring those into consideration our party last week proposed we should aim for a nuclear-free society. I must take this seriously,” Noda said, according to the Associated Press. The government’s previous energy strategy, mapped out in 2010, called on Japan to boost


Absent Chinese leader gets brief mention in state-run media

Chinese micro-bloggers and overseas websites have come up with all kinds of creative speculation as to why President-in-waiting Xi has gone unseen for more than a week. (Li Tao/AP) BEIJING — China’s president-in-waiting has yet to resurface after cancelling appointments with foreign leaders and disappearing from public view. But late this week he wasmentioned in state-run media, which said he gave his condolences to the family of a long-time Communist Party official who died last week. The reference to Xi — the first since Sept. 5 — appeared online in the state-run China News wire service on Wednesday, and it was repeated in several additional state-run outlets Thursday morning. Reuters on Friday reported that Xi was recovering from a bad back and cited three sources “close to the Chinese leadership” who said he could make a public appearance as early as Saturday. The state media reports on Thursday listed Xi as one of several top leaders, including current President Hu Jintao, who passed along condolences after the death of a retired Guangxi region official named Huang Rong. Huang died Sept. 6, one day after Xi’s first cancelled meeting, with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Xi hasn’t been seen in public since Sept. 1, and his disappearance has spawned endless speculation, just weeks before a sensitive once-in-a-decade leadership transition where he is supposed to take over the country’s reins. Rumors The heart attack theory is favored by some experts because it’s severe enough to prevent Xi from doing a photo-op or public appearance but not so serious that it would put his ascension to China’s top post in question. “It seems the most likely to me because the activity level of China’s other leaders seems to be quite normal the past few days. They’re all making their appearances, giving their speeches,” said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I don’t know if they’d be doing that if something life-threatening had happened and they were facing a question of succession.” One man — who, like Xi, is part of the group of children of revolutionary leaders, commonly called China’s “princelings” — said Xi’s mother told a concerned visiting princeling that her son was not feeling well but had not suffered anything serious. The man spoke on condition of anonymity because of the party’s current crackdown on discussion of Xi. Search terms such


The government’s airplane crash detective

Drug Enforcement Administration analyze GPS data from a vehicle in which agents had been killed in Mexico, and often supplies the FBI and other law enforcement agencies with important information from seized electronic devices. One of the major accident investigations for Cash involved the case of the 1996 TWA Boeing 747 that exploded over the water 12 minutes after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport. During a four year investigation, NTSB bought a Boeing 747 that was going to be demolished and blew it up to try to simulate the event and discover the cause. The investigation included tests with small explosives and recording how sound behaves in the fuselage of the plane. Cash worked with a quarter of a second of noise at the very end of the cockpit voice recording from the original flight and compared that with the sounds from the explosion of the test plane. His analysis helped provide direction to investigators, who later concluded the accident was due to a maintenance error that allowed high-voltage electricity into the fuel tank that sits below the floor in the fuselage. A convergence of the right temperature, pressure and other conditions caused the explosion. James Ritter, deputy director for research and engineering at NTSB, said Cash’s knowledge of the technology allows him to continually find ways to recover and improve the quality of data retrieved from different types of recorders and incidents. “He works on handheld GPS, cell phones, iPads—anything that records data and sound,” Ritter said. “He is now advocating for cockpit video recording devices. There are more and more video recorders in transportation vehicles.” Frank Doran, a consultant to L-3 Communications, a firm that manufactures crash protected recording devices, said Cash is widely recognized worldwide as an expert in aviation accident investigations. “The extent to which we take for granted aviation safety is due to Jim and his colleagues at NTSB,” said Doran. Cash said the ultimate goal of his work is to contribute important information that will save lives and prevent future accidents. “You’ve got to figure out what happened this time before you have any chance of preventing it from happening again,” he said. This article was jointly prepared by the Partnership for Public Service, a group seeking to enhance the performance of the federal government, and washingtonpost.com. Go to http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/fedpage/players/ to read about other federal workers who are making a difference.


West Nile epidemic on track to be deadliest ever: CDC

Mosquitos are sorted at the Dallas County mosquito lab in Dallas. U.S. health officials say there's been an alarming increase in the number of West Nile cases. So far there have been more than 1,100 cases reported through the middle of August. That's three times as many as usually seen at this point in the year. (LM Otero/AP) The West Nile virus epidemic in the United States this year is on track to be the deadliest ever since the mosquito-borne disease was first detected here 13 years ago, federal officials said Wednesday. The number of severe infections, such as brain inflammation, is the highest year-to-date since 1999, when the virus was detected in New York City, according to figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Severe infections are considered the best indicator of the epidemic’s scope because those cases are most consistently reported to health authorities. Most people who get bitten by infected mosquitoes don’t develop symptoms, and their cases don’t get reported. “This is the largest outbreak to date and certainly the most serious,” said Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. The Mid-Atlantic region has not been among the hardest hit. Maryland reported its second death Wednesday, bringing the region’s total to four fatalities. Virginia and the District have each reported one death. Texas, particularly the Dallas area, has been the most heavily affected region in the country. Officials said they believe the worst of the outbreak is over. But case numbers will rise through October because of the time lag between the onset of symptoms, doctor visit and reporting to authorities. People who were infected two to three weeks ago are just getting their cases reported now. As of Tuesday, a total of 2,636 cases nationwide, including 118 deaths, had been reported to the CDC, about a 35 percent increase over the numbers reported the previous week. Of the total cases, 1,405, or more than half, were the most severe type of infection, classified as neuroinvasive, which can include brain inflammation or polio-like paralysis of the arms or legs. About 8 to 10 percent of those people eventually die. “If this year turns out to have the most neuroinvasive cases of any year, which is what we’re on track for, we expect this year to have the largest number of deaths of any year,” Petersen said. The record number


Frank McDonald, astrophysicist whose work helped scientists explore space, dies

effort was James A. Van Allen, a University of Iowa physicist who became a leader in space research and for whom the radiation belts encircling the Earth were later named. With the help of the Navy, he and Van Allen concocted “rockoons” — small rockets lifted to 70,000 feet by balloons that would then thrust up to 350,000 feet. The rockoons carried primitive equipment intended to learn more about cosmic rays, the high-energy particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. “The rockoon program was great fun,” Dr. McDonald said in a 2008 lecture, “but it had its moments that established that we really were not rocket scientists.” One rocket exploded aboard a military ship, severely injuring a Navy officer. “We got him to shore, he made a complete recovery, but I had to come down to Washington and face the Navy,” Dr. McDonald said. “I must say, in all of my years, I have never been dressed down quite as strongly as they did.” In 1959, Dr. McDonald became one of the earliest scientists to join the new Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, and he continued cosmic ray research as head of the energetic particles branch for the next 11 years. During that time, Dr. McDonald provided the conceptual framework on a series of small spacecraft known as the international monitoring platforms, or IMP. Built at Goddard, the IMPs sent scientific instruments to explore the region of space above Earth’s atmosphere, above and beyond the Van Allen radiation belts. Among the scientific data collected by the IMPs was how auroral lights in Earth’s polar regions are affected by solar activity. From 1970 to 1982, Dr. McDonald was chief of Goddard’s lab of high energy astrophysics and helped design a satellite program with instruments that could study X-rays, gamma rays and cosmic rays — emissions from distant galaxies that showed “the most violent aspects of the universe,” said Joseph K. Alexander, a radio astronomer who became Dr. McDonald’s deputy as NASA’s chief scientist in the 1980s. “The laboratory enabled the initial steps of a new field looking into how the cosmos behaves.” Also in the 1970s, Dr. McDonald was a leader on experiments flown on space probes that have gone to the remotest corners of the solar system. For the Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2 crafts, he helped design, build and use instruments to measure cosmic rays.


National Zoo reopens American Trail

When you think of the National Zoo, you might think of exotic animals, ones that come from faraway places. Cheetahs, which usually live in Africa, and pandas, which are from China, are two of the zoo’s most popular attractions. But this month the zoo has put the focus on animals that live closer to home. The American Trail — which was closed for three years — has reopened, and the renovated area might remind you of places you’ve been on vacation. “We like to have people think that they’re on the West Coast,” said Chuck Fillah, who was in charge of planning the $42 million project, which includes a waterfall, a meandering stream, shady paths and a get-your-feet-wet tidal pool. “Our idea is to have people connected to nature.” It’s hard not to feel a part of nature at the sea lion and seal pools. What used to look like oversize backyard swimming pools now look like coves on the Oregon coast. American Trail’s four sea lions and Selkie the gray seal are surrounded by huge rocks. (Actually, they’re pieces of concrete made to look like rocks.) They have a small beach, shady areas and pretend starfish and barnacles on the pools’ walls. Visitors have several spots where they can check out sea lions Summer, Callie, Sidney and pup Sophie. There are two areas to watch them lounging on rocks. A covered area gives a peek from above and below the waterline. And a cave with a huge window is the best place to catch their underwater antics. Last Sunday the crowds oohed and aahed every time one of the playful sea lions shot past the window or popped out from under a pretend log. “I think it’s really cool that you can see them up close,” said Chloe Reeve, 9, of Derwood. The opening of American Trail helped persuade mom Stephanie Reeve to bring the family to the zoo. Brother Dylan, 11, had a suggestion for the zoo staff: “It would be fun if you could swim with [sea lions].” That much interaction between visitors and the animals isn’t likely at the zoo, but Malia Somerville and four other American Trail zookeepers have daily feeding and training sessions that are open to the public. A recent sea lion feeding had Summer and Callie up on the rocks, lifting a flipper, jumping and spinning on cue. “All of our animals


Jaylee Mead dies: NASA astronomer was a cultural benefactor in D.C.

hope was to keep them here,” she said. Other beneficiaries of the Meads’ largess include the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, which offers free daily concerts. The couple also underwrote the Mead Theatre Lab for experimental plays at the Flashpoint cultural center in downtown Washington and the Mead Lobby at Signature Theatre in Arlington County. Over the years, they supported other local organizations, including the Levine School of Music, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Washington Chorus, as well as dozens of individual theatrical productions across the region. In addition, the Mead Family Foundation, founded in 1989, supports education and crisis prevention efforts for youths. According to the foundation, about $1 million is awarded annually. The Meads’ contributions to cultural life in Washington are often compared to those of Arlene and Robert Kogod, whose philanthropy has benefited theaters and museums, and Victoria and Roger Sant, who gave millions of dollars to the Smithsonian Institution, the National Symphony Orchestra and other organizations. Dr. Mead remained a mainstay of local theaters after her husband’s death. The couple had hosted many cast parties at their residence at the Watergate complex, where they moved after retiring from Goddard. In a nod to her previous life as a NASA scientist, the mirrored walls of her bathroom were painted — accurately — to show the planets of the solar system. Barbara Jaylee Montague was born June 14, 1929, near Clayton, N.C., southeast of Raleigh. Encouraged by her parents and teachers to pursue higher education, she received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from what is now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1951 and a master’s degree in education from Stanford University in 1954. In 1959, she was working for the State Department in Washington when she was recruited by NASA. At Georgetown University, where she received a doctorate in astronomy in 1970, she studied with the celebrated astronomer Vera Rubin. She and Gilbert Mead were married in 1968. Dr. Mead worked at Goddard for 33 years as a mathematician and astronomer, retiring in 1992. She was known internationally, said former colleague Milt Halem, for her work on a computerized database of stars and galaxies. It is used by, among others, astronomers seeking to identify new celestial bodies. Dr. Mead credited Goddard’s amateur employee theater group with sparking her interest in the arts. She joined the troupe, and her roles included Nellie Forbush in


India opens door to foreign supermarket chains

bolster investment and business opportunities.She cited a McKinsey report stating that the country will need to invest $143 billion in health care, $392 billion in transportation infrastructure and $1.25 trillion in energy production by 2030 to support its rapidly expanding population. Urging India to continue to advance economic reforms, Powell said that “the business of the U.S. mission in India is business.” Friday’s announcement was not the government’s first attempt at retail reform. Last year, after cautiously allowing foreign investment in retail, the government backed away from its decision, bowing to pressure from not only opposition political parties but also its coalition allies and nationwide protests by small traders. “That decision was never rolled back, was never withdrawn; it was paused,” Sharma said Friday.“In a democracy, governments have to talk to everyone before taking a decision. We have conducted 10 months of intense consultations.” According to Sharma, India is the world’s second-largest producer of fruit and vegetables, but almost 40 percent of the produce is lost in post-harvest management. He said he hoped that foreign investment will boost development of cold chains, packaging, processing and transport infrastructure. The government did set some riders for foreign retail investors. About 30 percent of their material will have to be sourced from small and medium-size domestic manufacturers and producers. Supermarkets can be set up only in cities with a population of more than 1 million. At least half the foreign money poured into retail must be invested in what the government calls “back-end infrastructure” — such as warehousing, packaging and logistics — within three years. Reform called ‘anti-people’ “In spite of all these riders, it is still a sizable market and an attractive proposition for foreign investors,” Gupta said. Allies of Singh’s coalition have accused the government of not consulting them before the announcement. Mukul Roy, a senior leader with the Trinamool Congress party, which is in the national coalition government, said his party strongly opposes the move and will take a “tough stand.” Small traders across India also condemned the plans and said they will protest the decision. “We have seen in America that these big supermarket chains have wiped out the neighborhood stores by their predatory pricing practices,” said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders. “Do we want that in India? What is the logic of this anti-people, suicidal decision?” But India’s big businesses welcomed the


Next up in the Middle East mess? Saudi Arabia’s succession fight.

family would pass it on to its sons and grandsons in perpetuity, precluding other branches from ever ruling again. For nearly 60 years, the crown has passed by family consensus from one brother to the next, occasionally skipping one deemed incapable or unsuitable for leadership, but otherwise following the tradition of seniority. Whoever reigned might favor his sons with particularly plum jobs, but he understood that the crown would go next not to his sons but to his brothers. It is a system unlike that of any other monarchy. But in a kingdom where princes often marry multiple wives and thus produce dozens of progeny each — now adding up to nearly 7,000 princes — it is a system that has largely worked. Given the royal family’s aversion to risk, perpetuation of the status quo — several more aged and infirm brothers ascending to the throne — is the most likely choice of senior Saud royals. But what may seem safe to them is dangerous for the country. Saudi Arabia these days is all too reminiscent of the dying decade of the Soviet Union, during which one decrepit leader succeeded another, from Leonid Brezhnev to Yuri Andropov to Konstantin Chernenko, before a younger and more open-minded Mikhail Gorbachev arrived too late to save a stagnant society and economy. As President Ronald Reagan famously said of those old Soviet leaders, and as the next U.S. president may say of the Saudis, “They keep dying on me.” In Saudi Arabia, there are some potential Gorbachevs — or better — among the grandsons of the founder. Ten of the 13provincial governors are grandsons, all with administrative experience, some with genuine talent and almost all sons of kings. Similarly, there are grandsons holding prominent positions in some key Saudi ministries. A short list of third-generation princes who could be king includes Khalid al-Faisal, governor of Mecca and son of the respected late King Faisal; Muhammad bin Fahd, governor of the oil-producing Eastern Province and son of the late King Fahd; Khalid bin Sultan, deputy minister of defense and son of the late Crown Prince Sultan; and Muhammad bin Nayef, deputy minister of interior for security and son of the late Crown Prince Nayef. How would a new-generation monarch be selected? Recognizing how large and divided the royal family had become, in 2006 King Abdullah established an Allegiance Council comprising each of his remaining brothers


This place could use a Wal-Mart

or six merchants display what have proved to be tasty fruits and vegetables, which are maybe 20 percent more expensive than at the souk but still very reasonable. At several butcher shops across the aisle, sides of lamb and beef hang from hooks; the offerings in the meat cases below look yummy even though it’s not clear they’re refrigerated. A few shops offer bread baked by local women. Another wing of the marché is devoted to dry goods and groceries. The fetching smell of food wafts through the halls and the outdoors, sent by several restaurants that are roasting chickens on rotisseries and grilling kofta, the meatballs from this part of the world. And, of course, there’s also the barber and the cellphone store and lots of other tiny shops. It’s delightful. The problem is, you can’t always get what you want. And even if you try, sometimes you can’t get what you need. Last week, for instance, I went looking for a light bulb for a new lamp — a compact fluorescent bulb of no more than 20 watts. The “hardware store” had one bulb that would work — 15 watts and a little less than $3. But its light is so starkly white that I cannot use it for reading, and I haven’t been able to find a replacement. I need a Wal-Mart, or at least its Moroccan equivalent, Marjane. I’d still shop at the marché for fresh food. I’d still go there for a haircut and to have dinner at one of the restaurants or take home a roast chicken, despite having to spring for a $2 taxi ride back to campus. I’d even patronize the suprettes downtown when I need to pick up something quickly, and I’d go to the souk when I wanted an adventure. But a Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is far from perfect in many respects, and it would be difficult competition for a few of these local merchants. But I want passable towels at a reasonable price. I want grocery staples — milk, cereal, flour, sugar, canned goods — at a chain’s uninflated price. And I want the right light bulb. I bet the folks who live around here, perhaps the less well-off even more so than the wealthy, would want the same thing. The writer, a former senior editor at NPR, is teaching journalism this semester in Morocco. He lives in Northwest Washington.


Bank of America settles loan discrimination charges

in compensation. “Loan applicants with disabilities should not be subjected to invasive requests for medical information from a doctor when they are applying for credit,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division. Bank of America admitted no wrongdoing, saying it settled the case to avoid costly litigation. Nevertheless, the bank has changed its documentation policies. It also agreed to improve the training of its loan officers and underwriters. Still, the bank seemed indignant about the charges as officials accused the government of being “inconsistent” about whether a doctor’s note should be requested. “HUD determined this policy is in compliance for its loans, yet suggests it somehow violates the Fair Housing Act for non-HUD loans,” the bank said in a statement. “Same statute, same alleged conduct, different result. We’re being accused of wrongdoing by the government for following a policy that the government approved.” Justice Department officials maintain that there is no written guideline or regulation that requires a lender to obtain a letter from a doctor. While this is the department’s first case dealing with Social Security income, it has engaged in a series of mortgage investigations in the aftermath of the housing crisis. The department has launched 1,452 mortgage fraud cases against 2,742 defendants since 2010 and secured 1,550 convictions. “Justice has been much more aggressive since the financial crisis,” said Odette Williamson, an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “There may be more cases forthcoming as the enforcement agencies learn the full scope of the practices in the financial services industry.” This case is the latest in a series of allegations that Bank of America, or its troubled ward, Countrywide Home Loans, mistreated homeowners. In February, Bank of America was one of five banks involved in the Justice Department’s landmark $25 billion settlement over flawed and fraudulent foreclosure practices. The bank also ponied up $335 million in December 2011 to resolve federal claims that Countrywide charged black and Hispanic borrowers higher mortgage fees than white applicants. Buying Countrywide and its troubled loan portfolio in 2008 has been a constant source of grief for Bank of America as it continues to fight legal battles stemming from the company’s unscrupulous practices. Friday’s settlement, which requires court approval, was filed in federal court in Charlotte. News of the settlement had negligible effect on the bank’s shares, which closed up 1.6 percent to $9.55.


NIH superbug claims 7th victim

NIH obtained an experimental antibiotic, but it also failed. “This kid probably got this infection because a patient who was a carrier [of the superbug] was on the same unit,” said Gallin. “There was undoubtedly some intrahospital transmission despite our best efforts.” Swabs picked up the superbug on a railing outside the boy’s room, but Gallin said it’s impossible to know whether the boy or someone else deposited it there. Gallin said that earlier this year, two other patients arrived at the clinical center carrying different strains of potentially deadly drug-resistant Klebsiella. Neither of those strains has spread to other patients, Gallin said. One of those two patients was treated at two hospitals in Maryland before transferring to NIH. Gallin declined to name those hospitals and, citing medical confidentiality, also declined to provide details about the boy, such as his age. The NIH clinical center is a federal facility that is not required to report hospital-borne infections to the state. Nor does it have to report this type of infection to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although Gallin said the CDC has been working closely with NIH to help control the outbreak. Nonetheless, NIH officials informed Maryland health department officials about the Klebsiella case last week, state health department spokeswoman Dori Henry said Friday. Montgomery County health officials were not aware of the death, a county health department spokeswoman said, although Gallin said the NIH had also informed the county of the death. Klebsiella infections are a major problem for severely ill hospitalized people whose immune systems are weakened. Experts, including Gallin, are quick to reassure the public that such hospital-borne infections pose no risk to healthy people outside hospitals. In 2011, about 80 percent of Maryland’s acute-care hospitals had at least one patient with carbapenem-resistant bacterial infection — the larger class of infections to which resistant Klebsiella belongs — Henry said in an e-mail. Nationwide, about 6 percent of hospitals are battling outbreaks of this class of superbugs, according to the CDC, which has stepped up nationwide surveillance. Strains similar to those seen at NIH have spread across the world since first appearing in North Carolina in 2001, Gallin said. Maryland said it is working with hospitals, nursing homes and other organizations to control and prevent infections through good hand hygiene, screening of patients for bacteria, room cleaning, and the judicious use of antibiotics. At Suburban


China’s Xi appears in public after 2-week absence

looked perfectly fit. “He was very talkative and looked very healthy. I think all those rumors about him will be dashed.” The man, a student at the agricultural university, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of angering the government. He said Xi’s visit lasted more than 30 minutes and included stops at booths showing crop and fish farming technology. According to the student, Xi mentioned to onlookers how China’s main concern in the past was to “eat full” but is now to “eat well” and “eat healthy.” At one point, Xi saw a display on techniques to check melamine levels in milk — a source of some of China’s most serious recent food-safety scandals — and he praised the work. The student and other witnesses said security around Xi was relatively loose, and some were able to take snapshots of Xi with their cellphones. In those photos, Xi also seemed to be walking around the science exhibition with ease. Heavy censorship in recent days has squelched much of the online discussion. But Xi’s reappearance led to a small burst of chatter on the Internet, with many circumventing the restrictions by using nicknames such as “crown prince” to refer to Xi. A message early Saturday with news about Xi’s reappearance was forwarded to 5,928 netizens within 50 minutes of being posted. A campus blogger going by the handle DangqiHuichang2011 noted: “The library is closed and students have to stay in the dorm. The school is greeting the prince indeed!” Despite Xi’s reemergence Saturday, the secrecy and feeling of crisis that had built up around him shows the need for greater transparency, many experts said. In other countries, such public disappearances and reappearances would not be the focus of so much attention and rumors, noted Zhang Lifan, a historian who has studied the Communist Party. “It shows the system does need reform.” In terms of internal politics, while Xi’s disappearance may have caused some worries within the party, it may also have helped him in an indirect way, Zhang said. “From the perspective of the political struggles, his disappearance is also a way of showing his importance in China’s political life,” Zhang said. Although designed to end rumors, Saturday’s appearance sparked fresh speculations, as well. Some online users dissected Xi’s appearance, questioning for instance why he wore a jacket, given the day’s warmth and sun. “Others just wore their shirt,


2 more NATO troops killed in insider attack

This image from video AP obtained from the SITE Intel Group on Sept. 15, 2012, purports to show smoke rising over Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan after what the Taliban media unit says is an attack at the base. (Uncredited/AP) KABUL — The casualties in southern Helmand province brought to 47 the number of coalition forces killed by their Afghan partners this year, most of them Americans. The shooting deaths have increasingly sown mistrust and strained the partnership between Afghan and Western forces battling the Taliban insurgency. The province’s deputy police chief, Ismail Hotak, identified the dead troops as British and said four other troops were wounded. The Afghan shooter was killed by another soldier at the scene in the town of Gereshk, Hotak said. Since 2007, when the insider- attack phenomenon began, about 105 international troops have been killed by rogue Afghan security forces. The perpetrator was believed to be a member of the 16,000-member Afghan Local Police, the smallest component of the 352,000-strong Afghan national forces. The police are based in towns and villages and act as a sort of militia, partnered with U.S. Special Forces. The U.S. military recently suspended training of 1,000 new Afghan Local Police recruits and has been revetting the existing ranks. The shooting came on the same day that the Taliban asserted responsibility for an attack Friday night against a British base, Camp Bastion, also in Helmand province, that killed two U.S. Marines and wounded several other troops. The Associated Press reported late Saturday that coalition officials said the attackers at Camp Bastion wore U.S. Army uniforms and destroyed six Harrier fighter jets. They said there were about 15 insurgents, 14 of whom were killed and one captured, AP reported. Camp Bastion is adjacent to Camp Leatherneck, the site of U.S. Marine operations in Helmand. The Taliban issued statements saying the assault was meant to avenge an anti-Muslim video that has sparked days of riots in more than 20 countries. But the militants also said the base attack was aimed at Prince Harry, a helicopter gunner who serves at Camp Bastion. The prince, known as Capt. Harry Wales, was never in danger, the allied coalition said. Last week, the Afghan army said it had arrested or expelled hundreds of its soldiers because of deficient documentation and links to insurgents. Afghan officials said they have undertaken a massive rescreening process to weed infiltrators


The heat is on, but the party continues

When the history of the great 21st-century climate disaster is ultimately written, the story of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging drought-depleted rivers to keep coal barges running to power plants [“Power plants feel the heat,” news story, Sept. 10] will likely be cited as the perfect metaphor for the denial and dysfunction of our time. We behave as if the solution to global warming is to simply turn up the air conditioning. Stephen R. Coffee, Falls Church


Financial crimes against seniors a growing problem

Jacquelyn Atchley isn’t bitter. At least not anymore. But the 73-year-old retired Oklahoman certainly has the right to be angry. She lost $180,000 — all of her retirement savings — in a Ponzi scheme. A fellow Oklahoman, Brian McKye, defrauded 80 investors, many of them elderly, out of about $6 million, said Irving Faught, administrator of the Oklahoma Securities Commission. McKye promised investors they could earn guaranteed returns of 6.5 percent to 20 percent by investing in notes backed by high-interest payday loans. But no such investment notes existed, Faught said. Instead, McKye used the money he took from investors to pay his own personal and business expenses and some limited returns to investors to keep his scheme going. “It’s hard to believe people would do this kind of thing,” said Atchley, who now has to get by with Social Security payments for her and her husband. But even some of that income may be gone soon. Her 75-year-old husband is suffering from lung cancer. “It’s very difficult at times,” she said. “It’s scary to know I’ll be down to just my Social Security if something happens to him. But I have a lot of faith everything will work out.” More than 7 million older Americans — one out of every five citizens over the age of 65 — have been victimized by a financial swindle, the Investor Protection Trust found in a survey it conducted two years ago. Financial exploitation targeting older Americans is a major and growing problem, says Don Blandin, chief executive of IPT, a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. In a recent poll of 756 state securities regulators, financial planners, health-care professionals, social workers, adult protective services, law enforcement officials, elder law attorneys, and academics, IPT found that the top three financial exploitation problems identified by experts were: theft or diversion of funds or property by family members, followed by caregivers, and then financial scams by strangers. “This is really a scary thing and so widespread,” Faught said. “I’ve been shocked by consumer fraud in general, but I’m just very, very shocked by what happens to our seniors.” Despite the increase in financial exploitation of seniors, Blandin said he is encouraged by the collaborative, community-based efforts across the country between regulators, doctors, nurses and law enforcement officials. IPT’s Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program has trained more than 3,000 medical professionals to look


4 U.S. troops killed in southern Afghanistan insider attack

KABUL — The insider attack came on the same day that NATO warplanes killed nine women gathering firewood in the mountains outside their village in an eastern province, according to local officials, adding to long-festering outrage here over civilian casualties. Although the coalition said it regretted any civilian deaths, the incident was likely to further strain relations between Afghans and the international forces. The weekend’s events touched the core of the U.S.-led war’s problems. The escalating insider attacks and continuing civilian casualties both deepen mistrust and alienate NATO forces from the people they are supposed to be protecting, undermining an already fragile partnership. The Americans and their coalition partners are training Afghan forces to take over responsibility for the nation’s security and enable the United States to pull out its combat troops by the end of 2014. The American troops were killed Sunday near a NATO installation in Zabul province, at a checkpoint staffed by both foreign and Afghan forces. (The United States did not immediately release information on which service branch the troops belonged to.) On Saturday, an Afghan gunman thought to belong to the local police killed two British soldiers in southern Helmand province. The weekend killings marked an escalation of insider attacks on international troops here that coincided with Muslim rage worldwide that was sparked by a video that defames the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was unclear, however, whether the shootings were connected to the video, “Innocence of Muslims,” snippets of which can be seen on the Internet. Even so, the inflammatory video and insider killings have had a significant impact on U.S. military and Afghan army operations in some areas during the past three days. Top NATO officers ordered their field commanders to conduct risk assessments and determine whether to postpone or scale back some missions in response to the recent Afghan anger. In Wardak province, a restive area south of Kabul, some commanders appeared to misinterpret the guidance and postponed several major operations for three days. Because Afghan army commanders in Wardak were reluctant to patrol without support from U.S. troops, they also chose to cancel the planned missions. The pause in Wardak had initially been planned to last only two days, but U.S. commanders extended it in the immediate aftermath of a Friday night attack by the Taliban on Camp Bastion — a large British base in Helmand province — so that U.S. troops


Japan’s zero-nuclear dream

IT’S EASY to understand the Japanese dream of a nuclear-free future. During last year’s meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, tens of millions of residents on Japan’s densely populated islands feared emergency evacuation and contamination of scarce land. Yet the government’s new goal to phase out nuclear power over the next few decades would have serious costs, financial and to the climate. Before the accident, Japan derived a third of its electricity from nuclear power. Now, most of the country’s 50 nuclear reactors sit idle. The results have been power shortages and skyrocketing imports of oil and natural gas. Not only have these taken a toll on Japanese business, harmed the nation’s quality of life and turned the country’s trade surplus into a deficit, they portend ominously for Japan’s carbon dioxide emissions. Nuclear power plants produce almost none. Taking up an argument from anti-nuclear activists, the Japanese government claims that it will address these issues by investing heavily in renewable sources of electricity, such as solar, geothermal and wind power. But it admits that it has no details about the feasibility and cost of its goal to triple the amount of electricity the country gets from renewables, nor does it have a plan to limit the impact on emissions of burning lots more fossil fuels as renewables ramp up. Fighting climate change is hard enough without wasting resources, and Japan’s nuclear infrastructure and know-how can be valuable assets in that battle, as long as the country continues to retrofit its safety regime. A government report this year calculated that Japan might still be able to cut its carbon emissions by 25 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 without nuclear — though the government is now committing only to 20 percent. But that same report found that the country could cut those emissions by 33 percent if it got a fifth of its electricity from nuclear, and 39 percent if it derived a third of its load from nuclear. And then there is the importance of ensuring access to reliable, always-on power, of the sort nuclear used to provide the country. The government has built some — though not enough — wiggle room into its zero-nuclear plan. It will restart reactors that its new nuclear watchdog certifies as safe; otherwise, it will seek to shut only those plants that are more than 40 years old. Even then, old reactors could


Resurgent wolves again are fair game

wolves are faring. In the Southwest, the road to recovery was even more daunting. In 1998, federal authorities released 11 Mexican gray wolves into the Arizona wilderness and, 14 years later, there are only 58. Chris Bagnoli, interagency field team leader for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project, ticked off a long list of obstacles to the Mexican wolf’s recovery: ineffective management, illegal wolf kills, effects on livestock and game, the population’s genetic viability and health and human safety. The New Mexico Game and Fish Department, which declined comment, stopped working with federal officials to help the Mexican wolf in June 2011. While Defenders of Wildlife has financed several programs aimed at helping cattle ranchers coexist with wolves — hiring range riders, putting up fences and compensating for lost cattle — many ranchers are losing patience with the reintroduction program. Patrick Bray, executive director of the Arizona Cattle Grower’s Association, said the presence of wolves increases costs even when they don’t kill livestock, by making cattle nervous and forcing ranchers to move their herds frequently. “We’re not going to be comfortable with an expanded range moving forward, with an expanded program, until we figure out how to make the existing program work,” Bray said. By the end of the month, Fish and Wildlife will have to determine if the Mexican gray wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf, rather than a “distinct population segment.” Colorado and Utah are fighting the subspecies designation on the grounds that it could lead to Mexican wolves expanding their range into their states. And wolves that wander out of their established areas — into the Pacific Northwest, for example — are still protected as endangered under federal law. Defenders of Wildlife’s Clark, who helped release wolves raised in captivity into an enclosure in Arizona’s Apache National Forest 14 years ago when she headed the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the thrill she’s felt seeing wolf populations rebound has been tempered by her sorrow as the animals have failed to gain social acceptance. Wolf watching has become a tourist draw in Yellowstone and has spawned many “tchotchkes” in the concession stores, she noted, but beyond the park’s borders there are clear limits on how many wolves will be tolerated. A century ago, Americans fought wolves for dominance of the landscape and “we won.” Now, she added, “We have to find a


Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to meet with Panetta amid health rumors

that threat.” U.S. officials said the second land-based radar in Japan would enhance their ability to detect a North Korean missile launch. The U.S. and Japanese navies operate similar radars from aboard cruisers and destroyers that patrol east Asian waters on a regular basis. “The purpose of this is to enhance our ability to defend Japan,” Panetta added, referring to the land-based radar. “It will also be effective in protecting the U.S. homeland from the North Korean ballistic missile threat.” In addition to detecting ballistic missiles, however, the radars also provide the U.S. military and its allies a highly detailed view of ship traffic in the region. That capability is particularly desired by U.S. allies in the region that are engaged in territorial disputes with China over contested islands and fishing grounds. For instance, officials in the Philippines have asked the Obama administration to consider placing a similar land-based radar on their territory to gather intelligence on maritime traffic in the South China Sea. The Philippines and several other countries in the region have been butting heads with China over control of the mineral-rich seabed and local shipping lanes, which are some of the busiest in the world. In addition to radars, the U.S. military has been expanding its use of surveillance drones in Asia across the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean, relying primarily on unarmed, high-altitude Global Hawk aircraft. Japan has expressed interest in obtaining Global Hawks or other surveillance drones. Morimoto alluded to this in a joint news conference with Panetta in Tokyo, saying the two countries are “deepening cooperation on surveillance and reconnaissance activities.” The agreement to deploy a second land-based radar in Japan was announced hours before Panetta was scheduled to arrive in Beijing. The radar deal also comes amid a worsening dispute between Japan and China over the disputed rights to a collection of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Massive anti-Japanese demonstrations have erupted across China in recent days to protest the Japanese government’s recent decision to purchase the islands from a private Japanese landowner. The islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. The Pentagon has been seeking to improve military relations with the People’s Liberation Army. Beijing, however, has been leery of the overtures, and many PLA commanders have accused Washington of seeking to contain its growing military and economic influence in Asia and the Pacific.


National Zoo welcomes baby panda

birth transforms the zoo’s multimillion-dollar giant panda research project, guarantees that Mei will remain in Washington for several more years and gives scientists an unexpected panda reproduction surprise to ponder. “This is one of the best of things that can happen to Washington right now,” zoo director Dennis Kelly said. The zoo said the panda house has been closed and will probably remain so for several weeks. The cub, which keepers said probably weighs about four ounces and is quite fragile, will not make its debut for several months. Experts said they do not yet know the sex of the cub, and won’t for about a month, when they have a chance to examine it. Kelly said the zoo will abide by the Chinese custom of waiting 100 days before naming the cub. He said that residents of the metro area will have a say in the naming, however. “It’s important for Washington,” Kelly said. Zoo officials, intensely focused on panda reproduction, had been vocal about wanting Mei replaced if she did not have a cub this year. And they were ready to open replacement talks with China, which owns and leases all giant pandas. Malinsky, who was off duty, already had checked Mei on the panda cam a half-dozen times over the weekend. She said she has been working with the giant pandas for about five years. “We knew that if she were to have a cub, we were nearing D-Day,” Malinsky said, even though zoo experts were predicting that those chances were probably less than 10 percent, given the previous failures. On Sunday, “something just said, ‘Let me check on Mei before I go to bed,’ ” she said. When Malinsky realized what she heard, she was “blown away,” she said. “It was like a miracle.” She grabbed her cellphone and began texting co-workers. “If you guys are awake, there are strange noises coming from Mei Xiang’s den,” she said she texted. She then telephoned the zoo’s veteran panda keeper, Laurie Thompson, and said: “You’re not going to believe this. You need to turn on your computer. There’s a cub.” After Thompson concurred, Malinsky said: “Laurie, I’m shaking. Are you? She said, ‘Yes!’ ” As the news spread Monday, zoo officials hugged and high-fived, TV crews gathered at the Smithsonian facility on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington and at least one panda lover wept with joy. “I’ve been


Military still standing after end of don’t ask, don’t tell

without Congress repealing the 1996 law denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages. “We were told that once we won repeal, these types of things would be inevitable . . . but now the defense leadership is dragging its feet,” said Alex Nicholson, who was ousted from the Army under “don’t ask” in 2002 and later founded Servicemembers United, an organization for gay military personnel and veterans that pressed for repeal. The Defense Department says it is studying the possibility of extending marital benefits to same-sex couples but has not announced a time frame. Otherwise, the Pentagon has been emphatic in declaring the repeal a success. The reasons, said Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez, include comprehensive pre-repeal training, vigorous monitoring and enforcement of standards, and service members’ “adherence to core values that include discipline and respect.” Last week, the Palm Center — a research institute at the University of California at Los Angeles — issued what it described as the first academic study of the impact of repeal, which it had supported. Co-authored by professors from the military academies and Marine Corps War College, the study concluded that the repeal had no broad negative impact. “Contrary to expectations, the co-authors found evidence that repeal has improved trust among the troops, and has enabled service members to resolve problems in ways that were not possible while DADT remained law,” the Palm Center said. Anti-gay harassment and discrimination persist, according to the study. It cited an incident in April when a squadron commander told a female officer to stop dancing with her girlfriend at a military ball, swore at the women and called them an “abomination.” But the study noted that harassment and bias had existed before the repeal, and it contended that the problems had not worsened in the past year. Nonetheless, some critics insist that the repeal has been disruptive and argue that the scope of the troubles is hard to gauge because some military personnel fear repercussions if they speak up. One opponent of repeal, Elaine Donnelly of the conservative Center for Military Readiness, said Obama “has recklessly used the armed forces for unprecedented social experimentation.” She welcomed a section of the Republican Party’s new platform pledging to review military personnel policies and correct problems that might be uncovered. — Associated Press “The Marines he works with are completely supportive. He’s able to be honest about me and our lives together.”


Panda cub arrives in wake of big donations to National Zoo

The National Zoo has a new panda cub, an event that, if past is precedent, will create a great deal of buzz for quite some time. The giant panda birth is the second at the National Zoo and comes in the wake of millions of dollars in donations towards researching giant pandas. On Sept. 5, the Ford Foundation announced, a $400,000 donation over the course of two years to study giant panda health and to upgrade the camera system used to monitor the giant pandas at the zoo — a welcome upgrade for not only zoo officials, but for panda enthusiasts in Washington, D.C., and around the world. “The upgrade to our panda cams will make a significant difference for the millions of people that watch and learn about Mei and Tian remotely,” said Smithsonian National Zoological Park Director Dennis Kelly via a news release at the time. Now, that list of panda cam stars includes the yet-to-be-named cub. The system, which is currently analog, is slated to be converted to digital, paving the way for the rest of the zoo’s monitoring cameras to be converted as well. The Ford donation came nine months prior to a much larger, $4.5 million one from Carlyle Group co-founder David M. Rubenstein. The donation was to cover five years of research in the United States and China and giant panda reproduction efforts, The Post’s Michael E. Ruane reported in December. At the time, Rubenstein described the donation as a holiday gift. The gift offered zoo staff an opportunity to turn away from fundraising and toward the reproduction effort. At the time, zoo officials said 2012 would be the last year they would try to achieve a pregnancy after five years of false pregnancies. Rubenstein was named among the 2011 Philanthropy 50 by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, coming in at number 20. The leading beneficiary of his donations are the libraries of his alma mater, Duke University. Other beneficiaries are the White House Historical Association, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Foundation for the National Archives. Read more: National Zoo welcomes baby panda Read more on charitable giving from On Giving.


With new panda cub, Mei Xiang comes to her inept mate’s rescue

— what some women expect to receive in the hospital upon delivery (diamonds preferred, thank you) — from Tiffany this time around. He was this close to a ticket back to the homeland. It’s been pretty obvious to the zoo staff that Pop wasn’t up to the job for a while now. This is the second cub for both and also the second one that is the product of artificial insemination. Tai Shan, a.k.a. Butterstick, was first, in 2005 . The Post’s Michael E. Ruane said it best this year, after interviewing the zoo’s matchmaker, research scientist Jon Ballou, on the panda couple’s dry spell, and 14-year-old Tian Tian’s part in it. “He has proved to be a clueless breeder with flawed technique. Plus, his genes are not that valuable because his father has sired dozens of offspring in the captive population,” Ruane wrote. It sounds like the story of many a fumbling scion, unable to live up to a father’s grand legacy and shriveling in his shadow, dabbling in hobbies such as bamboo and afternoon naps while everyone looks to his beautiful wife with brows raised, question marks in their eyes. It’s a pretty brutal business out there in zoo land, almost as merciless as the English court. “Genetically, it would be best if we got a whole new pair,” Ballou told The Post in April. “If she’s not going to breed, then she’s genetically dead,” he said. Harsh. The truth is, these adorable animals were simply not meant to survive. They are fertile only one or two days a year (what D.C. power couple could manage that narrow a window?) and the males in captivity have shown little interest in mating. Officials at other zoos have admitted using Viagra and “panda porn,” with little success. Last year, the folks at the National Zoo had Tian Tian do a regimen of leg-strengthening exercises, to help his stamina and technique. A personal sex trainer. How sad. If the pandas get lucky and produce a cub, they aren’t home-free. The cubs are so small that it’s about the equivalent of a human giving birth to a tree frog. Who can take care of that? The babies can be crushed or suffocated by their huge moms. Washington’s original pair of pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, produced five cubs during their years at the zoo, but none of their offspring survived beyond a few


zoo land, almost as merciless as the English court. “Genetically, it would be best if we got a whole new pair,” Ballou told The Post in April. “If she’s not going to breed, then she’s genetically dead,” he said. Harsh. The truth is, these adorable animals were simply not meant to survive. They are fertile only one or two days a year (what D.C. power couple could manage that narrow a window?) and the males in captivity have shown little interest in mating. Officials at other zoos have admitted using Viagra and “panda porn,” with little success. Last year, the folks at the National Zoo had Tian Tian do a regimen of leg-strengthening exercises, to help his stamina and technique. A personal sex trainer. How sad. If the pandas get lucky and produce a cub, they aren’t home-free. The cubs are so small that it’s about the equivalent of a human giving birth to a tree frog. Who can take care of that? The babies can be crushed or suffocated by their huge moms. Washington’s original pair of pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, produced five cubs during their years at the zoo, but none of their offspring survived beyond a few days. National Zoo officials inseminated Mei Xiang this year and waited, frustrated by inconclusive ultrasounds. It’s not like she’s uncooperative: Mei Xiang is so used to this obsession of ours that she rolls over whenever she sees the ultrasound and fertility gear, poor thing. And early this month, she began showing signs of nesting. In human Washington, that usually means lots of crazy shipments from Pottery Barn Kids or Great Beginnings. But in her case, it meant shredding bamboo or cradling an apple. As far as we know, Tian Tian did nothing. His “vintage sperm” was taken from the same frozen sample that gave the panda couple a baby in 2005. He didn’t even have to go for the porn. And then, on Sunday, the folks on duty saw Mei Xiang’s quiet little miracle. “She kind of breathes funny and then she jerks her body, and then she stands up and kind of looks at something for just seconds . . . and then picks it up,” marveled Don Moore, associate director for animal-care sciences. Zoo officials have been hearing squeaks and cries ever since, and are watching Mei Xiang cradle that little bit in her big paws. Relax, Daddy-O.


A more virulent version of hand, foot and mouth disease hits kids — and parents

Hand, foot and mouth disease, or HFMD, is a common childhood virus that pediatricians, day-care centers and preschools see throughout summer and early fall. It causes fevers, rashes on hands and feet and blisterlike sores in the mouth, which can make drinking and eating extremely uncomfortable. It usually clears up on its own in about a week. Now, though, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that an unusual version has hit the country, with more severe fevers and rashes, some leading to hospitalization for dehydration and pain. The severe strain was first noticed in Alabama, Connecticut, California and Nevada last winter, which was odd because HFMD typically appears in summer and early fall. Although several pediatricians in the Washington area say they haven’t seen the atypical virus, “it’s pretty much all over the country at this point,” says Steven Oberste, laboratory chief in CDC’s viral disease division. HFMD is usually caused by coxsackievirus A16; the more severe illness is caused by coxsackievirus A6, which has popped up in this country only a few times in the past 40 years, according to the CDC. Both are spread through saliva, mucus, fluid from the blisters and stool. A Thai teacher walks past a poster displayed as part of an anti hand, foot and mouth disease (HMFD) campaign at the Education Ministry in Bangkok on July 20, 2012. A unusual version of the disease is making the rounds this year. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) The CDC has received about 100 to 150 reports of severe cases. “Since there’s no required reporting of hand, foot and mouth disease, it’s difficult to estimate how many cases are out there,” Obereste says. “We have 100 to 150 reports, but clearly it’s a lot more than that.” Melissa Arca, a pediatrician in Sacramento, where the disease seems to have hit hard, says there were times during the summer when she saw three or four children every day with severe HFMD, and she only works half days at her clinic. Researchers don’t know if the A6 wave has peaked with the end of summer, so they’re unsure whether the new school year will cause a spike in cases. Outbreaks of HFMD occur around the globe, but in recent years they have mostly been in Asia, according to the World Health Organization. Daniel Levy, a pediatrician in Owings Mills, Md., says that he has seen a normal