Should you use your child to get credit?

update, Harney points out. “One major competitor to FICO, VantageScore Solutions, offers a model that claims to score more than 30 million consumers who are ‘unscoreable,’ or invisible to older FICO models, because these people have only minimal data on file at the credit bureaus. VantageScore says that if added to Fannie’s and Freddie’s menus, its model could ‘expand mortgage lending to Hispanics and African Americans to purchase homes by 16 percent.’” So what’s standing in the way of the move to a more modern version of FICO? You know it is about the money. Companies would have to abandon the old scoring model to purchase an upgraded version. Isn’t it always the consumer who pays when government or business won’t do the right thing? If you want change let Congress hear your voice. Read this: Bipartisan Senate bill would require Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to use alternative credit scores Dow 22,000 milestone isn’t so great for bargain shoppers The Dow Jones industrial average passed the 22,000 mark for the first time last week. And it was big news. What’s behind the Dow’s stunning rise to 22,000 For a fun and financially geeky look at the Dow numbers you have to read Allan Sloan’s column from last week: The Dow is back at it. Let’s have some fun with numbers. I wondered what readers thought of the Dow 22,000 benchmark. So I asked: Do you think the stock market is too hot? Are you concerned about a crash? Nearly half of America doesn’t benefit from Dow 22,000 Adam Watson of Hyattsville, Md., “I’m very concerned about the stock market, particularly for my aging parents, one of whom is in cognitive decline and may need long-term care at some point,” wrote Tracy from Washington, D.C. “They just pulled some money out and put it in a three-year CD with a 1.9 percent interest rate. Not sure where else to put it.” How Inflation Eats Away at Your Retirement Thomas J. Druitt of Paducah, Ky., “The Dow hitting 22,000 is pretty meaningless unless you own the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow,” wrote Clyde Kluge, Oklahoma City, Okla. “I have not looked at the performance of the 30 individual stocks over the last six months but what I have been reading is the current run-up in the Dow has been driven by 2 stocks: Boeing and Apple. Am I worried? Not really.


The Energy 202: Trump's lack of nuclear knowledge is what's really scary

for Eastern coal," Dan Molinski reports in The Wall Street Jounral. Does it have a chance? ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE A solar panel array can be seen atop the Aurora Apartments in East Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by Logan Cyrus for The Washington Post) -- Solar eclipse gives natural gas a day in the sun: More than 9,000 megawatts of solar power may shut down as the eclipse casts a shadow on a 70-mile wide path from Oregon to South Carolina, Bloomberg has reported. States will have to tap into gas generators and other sources to help keep the power on. Bloomberg writes: During the upcoming Aug. 21 eclipse, operators of giant solar fields from California to the Carolinas will cede market share to fast-start natural gas generators as well as hydroelectric plants and other sources to fill the gaps as the sky darkens. The celestial event, the first total solar eclipse visible in the lower 48 states since 1979, will provide owners of gas turbines a chance to shine even as the fossil-fuel is expected to be displaced over time by solar and wind energy. -- Targeting renewables: Target has agreed to buy 100 megawatts of wind energy from a wind project in Kansas, which will be used to offset energy use at 150 area stores, Bloomberg reports. It’s the big-box store’s second wind deal, according to the report. The first was made in Texas to help power 60 stores in the state. Construction on the latest deal will happen next year. THERMOMETER Canadian coast guard icebreaker Amundsen breaks through ice to the west of Cornwallis Island in the Canadian Arctic. (Photo by Alice Li/The Washington Post) -- On a mission in the Arctic: In the second installation in the series, The Post’s Chris Mooney writes about two travelers who arrived from Greenland to get an early chance to sail their boat through the waters of the Northwest Passage. The couple is staying in a small hotel in an Inuit community on Cornwallis Island until more ice clears. “In the meantime, they were making friends in Resolute, an Inuit community of about 200 that is the second-most northern town in Canada. It serves as a gateway to points even deeper in the Arctic, such as the North Pole,” Mooney writes. See here for more from Mooney’s latest report from Resolute, Nunavut and accompanying photographs from our colleague Alice Li. And if you


‘Begin panicking’: Sheriff jokes that solar eclipse is ‘the end of life on this planet as we know it’

Road. This may impact after school traffic. Please plan accordingly.” “Per Oconee County Parks and Recreation Department, pets are not allowed in Oconee Veterans Park for the fireworks.” But the sheriff has also taken to Facebook to “cancel” Valentine’s Day, and to troll drivers in the area: 7 crashes. 7 car crashes in an hour or so. Don't worry about it too much. If you apply yourselves and really try I am sure you can beat that number this afternoon. Posted by Oconee County Georgia Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 “Only wimps and sissies slow down just because there is standing water in the road and it is raining so hard you can’t see out the windshield,” he wrote June 29. “The real road warrior keeps their foot on the gas and tucks in nice and close on the car in front of them. On behalf of all of us in law enforcement thank you for keeping your speed up on wet roads. We love working crashes in the rain.” He has also explained to potential job applicants that the department has a “simple rule: if you are full of drama and can’t follow directions during the applicant process, we will take that as a sign that you don’t need to be here.” “I like to use the page for my little missives,” Berry told The Post. “I appreciate sarcasm as a form of communication, so I try to incorporate sarcasm at appropriate times.” His deadpan solar eclipse post has gone viral. Berry said in an interview that he stocked up ahead of the eclipse, buying “a lifetime supply of sardines and potted meat” to avoid being stuck with cereal. “Have you ever had a RaisinO? I mean, have you ever seen that sad cereal? Man, I’m telling you — in our grocery store here, it’s about seven years old. Nobody has bought a bag of RaisinOs — nobody’s going to eat CheeriBran or RaisinOs.” He said he has also ordered special sunglasses from NASA to watch the eclipse. (Google Trends) A partial lunar eclipse was visible across sections of Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia as the Earth passed between the moon and the sun. Read more: Don’t be blindsided during the eclipse The path of the solar eclipse is already altering real-world behavior Facts about our sun and moon that you’re embarrassed to admit you don’t know


Millennial pink took over your Instagram feed. Now it’s coming for your food.

Everything is pink. Everything. Maybe you’ll start your day with a pink smoothie bowl, full of chia seeds and raspberries and other pink fruits. On your way to work, you’ll pick up a Starbucks pink drink — a “crisp, Strawberry Acai Refreshers Beverage, with … accents of passion fruit” and an Instagram cult following. For lunch? A bowl of pink beet hummus, maybe garnished with some suddenly everywhere watermelon radish, the perfect shade of fuchsia. Wash it down with a blush-colored can of La Croix. Dessert? An array of pink macarons. For happy hour, the choices are abundant: pink cans of rosé, pink gin, pink tequila, bottles of wine with names like Summer Water and Pretty Young Thing, or frozen rosé (frosé). If you live in New York, you can eat pink spaghetti at Pietro Nolita, a restaurant with pink walls, bathrooms, chairs and napkins that say “Pink as F—.” And at the end of the day, if all this pink food is inspiring a sudden queasiness, you can wash it all down with pink Pepto-Bismol. Food is fashion, and fashion is food, and that’s why pink food became gradually, then suddenly, a thing. First, Pantone named Rose Quartz — a muted, dusty pink with the slightest hint of orange — one of its 2016 colors of the year, when it had already been popping up in clothing and accessories. It was more sophisticated than Barbie pink, more cynical than magenta. Brands like Thinx, an underwear company, and Acne jeans used the color in their marketing. The color took on a new name, thanks to the demographic that was most attracted to it: millennial pink. It expanded to include a wider range of shades, from a classic, warmer pink to peachy-beige to salmon. Pink already had a toehold in the food world well before the Pantone announcement. Girly brands like Sprinkles Cupcakes, which used the color for its cupcake ATMs, and Sofia petite canned wines have long known its appeal. But one of the real drivers of the trend was the transformation of rosé from a slightly tacky punchline wine to a mark of affordable sophistication, a “lifestyle bevvie” and an expression of female sisterhood. #roséallday! The color pairs particularly well with tiny cans — giving us about a dozen nearly identical choices, from Underwood, Lila Rosé and Trader Joe’s Simpler Wines. The fact that there is a brand of


11 things to do in the D.C. area the weekend of Aug. 11-13

Taste rare and one-time-only beers this weekend at 3 Stars Brewing's Urban Farmhouse Tap Room. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) Friday, Aug. 11 Otakon at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center Summer Soiree at the Ritz-Carlton '90s Night at Nationals Park SoulBounce anniversary at Smith Public Trust Saturday, Aug. 12 Fifth anniversary at 3 Stars Brewing: Run for Cover at the Black Cat Alexandria Sidewalk Sale Supa Dupa Fly at Tropicalia Sunday, Aug. 13 Rum This Block at the Liz Lot The Roots at MGM National Harbor: DC Jazz Jam Eighth Anniversary Celebration at the Brixton: — Fritz Hahn and Adele Chapin Read more: D.C. bars are hosting a month-long tiki treasure hunt 10 summer date ideas that go beyond the typical outdoor movie or concert The best true dive bars in the D.C. area


A guide to watching the solar eclipse in the Washington area

The moon passes in front of the sun during the height of a partial solar eclipse in Vacaville, Calif., in 2014. (Joel Rosenbaum/AP) The Aug. 21 solar eclipse is coming, everyone in the Lower 48 will be able to see it, and the hype is building. But how awesome your viewing experience is will depend on whether you are treated to a total solar eclipse or a partial solar eclipse. In the Washington area, we will see a partial solar eclipse and, at peak, a light shadow of the moon will cover 81 percent of the sun. What this means is that our experience will be partly awesome. It will be cool and worth checking out, but not a mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime kind of moment. For the totally awesome, unforgettable experience, you must travel to the path of totality, a narrow stripe running from Oregon to South Carolina. And it’s going to cost you. (Denise Lu/The Washington Post) Assuming you haven’t already booked your travel into the path of totality, don’t want to spend the money or simply don’t want to deal with hordes of people converging there, here’s a short set of questions and answers to guide you through what you’ll be able to see in Washington: When does the eclipse in Washington begin, peak and end? On Aug. 21, a light shadow of the moon will start to cover the sun just after 1:17 p.m. and will peak just after 2:42 p.m. at 81 percent coverage. Then, the amount of sun covered will start to diminish and, just after 4:01 p.m., it will be over. Virginia visualization Visualization of the Aug. 21 partial solar eclipse in Virginia (Larry Koehn/ShadowandSubstance.com) Maryland visualization Visualization of the Aug. 21 partial solar eclipse in Maryland (Larry Koehn/ShadowandSubstance.com) Will it turn dark in the Washington area? “If you are really paying attention, it will be a bit darker, but not much more than a cloud passing over the sun,” says NASA scientist Michael Kirk. The massive difference between areas witnessing a partial and total solar eclipse is that the shadow passing over partial eclipse areas, known as the penumbra, is much lighter. Over the path of totality, a much darker shadow passes over, known as the umbra, and it turns almost as dark as night. Will the temperature change? You may notice a slight drop in temperature as the eclipse approaches its peak. How


No-knock raids like the one against Paul Manafort are more common than you think

technically wrong, but they give the impression that all federal warrants for no-knock raids are carefully scrutinized and waged against only people for whom there is a significant amount of incriminating evidence. For most such warrants, that just isn’t true. Move from the FBI to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the problem only grows. From the mid-1990s through about 2010, the DEA conducted hundreds of full-on SWAT raids of medical marijuana clinics in states that have legalized the drug for medicinal purposes. These businesses were technically breaking federal law. But they weren’t heavily armed drug dealers. They were businesses licensed by the states in which they were operating. Through the 2000s, the DEA also sent SWAT teams to raid the offices of doctors whom drug cops suspected of over-prescribing opioid painkillers. Whatever you make of the current opioid crisis, these weren’t well-armed kingpins. They were doctors operating in the open. But the more typical targets of a no-knock DEA raid aren’t doctors, medical marijuana clinics or kingpins. They’re people accused of low-level drug crimes. The evidence can be flimsy, or indiscriminate. The DEA will sometimes join state and local police to conduct multiple, even dozens of raids in a single city or neighborhood. Those raids might produce enough illicit drugs, cash or guns to make them seem worthwhile, but the sheer size of the operations can rope in innocent people, too. In one such case we covered here at The Watch, an elderly Detroit woman and her daughter were raided and roughed up by masked DEA agents during a massive sweep of the city’s Eight Mile neighborhood. The women never got their day in court because the DEA never revealed the identities of the masked agents. A quick list of other incidents that come to mind: - DEA agents shot a New Hampshire woman through the arm as she was picking up her infant grandchild during a botched raid looking for diverted oxycodone. They had the wrong residence. - In 2011, DEA and San Francisco police raided a UC-Hastings law professor under the mistaken belief that he was growing marijuana. - In 2013, DEA agents and local officials raided an Illinois woman’s home based on evidence that she had shopped at a hydroponic store and that a substance in her trash came up positive for marijuana on a drug field test. Regular readers will know that such tests have notoriously


Arizona school voucher expansion put on hold as opponents challenge new law

street addresses they used in their registration. Spencer said he didn’t know how many signatures might be affected. In response, [SOS spokeswoman] Dawn Penich-Thacker accused ESA supporters of trying to stifle democracy. “Instead of listening to their constituents, they are plotting ways to squash us,” she said. “Let me be clear: Every lawsuit to throw out a voter signature is an attempt to silence us. Every challenge to a retiree who spent this summer getting signatures is an affront to our democracy in Arizona. Every trick they pull out of their deep pockets is putting their political ambitions ahead of the future of Arizona.” Challenging a voucher program expansion in Arizona is not an insignificant accomplishment, given that Arizona is in the forefront of the school choice movement. It is ranked No. 1 on a report card of states recently issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful group of conservative lawmakers and lobbyists. Arizona actually had low scores on the National Assessment of Educational Program and a low high school graduation rate, but all that really mattered in the rating was school choice programs, and in that regard Arizona is an ALEC winner. Republican lawmakers in Arizona have been supporters of vouchers and other forms of school choice for years, with the initial program beginning in 2011 by offering publicly funded “scholarships” to students with disabilities to attend private and religious schools. It was then expanded to include students from low-income families. The latest expansion, which Ducey signed this past April, allows all students in the state to apply for the program but will limit the number that can be eligible, with no more than approximately 30,000 being allowed by 2022. The program doesn’t do exactly what it says it does, the Republic found in an investigation: A Republic analysis found Democrats and moderate Republicans in the state have opposed voucher expansion, saying that supporters are trying to privatize public education and that children in traditional public school systems wind up getting hurt. DeVos, a billionaire, has for decades promoted the spread of vouchers, calling traditional public education “a dead end” and supporting efforts in states around the country to expand them as well as charter schools and programs similar to vouchers that use public money for private schooling. Over 111,000 Arizona voters signed Save Our Schools petitions to repeal the ESA expansion bill SB1431! Great job… https://t.co/CuiHsM3bHv


The most promising menus of Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week

Arroz This is Arroz’s inaugural Restaurant Week, and the newbie from Mike Isabella is offering special brunch, lunch and dinner menus. There’s quite a lot of overlap among them, so take advantage of the brunch option, which costs $13 less than dinner and offers many of the same dishes (with the exception of a dessert course), including a tempting Moroccan shakshuka with merguez sausage, charred corn, potato and leek stew. 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. 202-869-3300. Daikaya's Restaurant Week menu includes items that aren't on the regular menu. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Daikaya Izakaya Of all the Restaurant Week menus, you’re likely to leave the most sated from Daikaya’s. The upstairs izakaya is offering a six-course dinner that includes items you won’t normally find on the menu, such as cauliflower karaage and ham and cheese onigiri. Diners choose one dish from each category: little bites (skip the delicious-but-measly fried garlic, which normally only costs $4, and opt for the more hefty Filipino poutine), greens, fish and meat, their lauded skewers, rice and dessert. We’re full just looking at the menu. 705 Sixth St. NW. 202-589-1600. The Riggsby Boston-based, James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schlow has built a wide D.C. restaurant empire, which includes Alta Strada (Italian) and Tico (inventive Mexican). All of his spots are offering dinner deals, but we’ve got our eye on the Riggsby’s dinner. The first and second courses present diners with five options, including chorizo arancini, grilled salmon and a boneless Duroc pork chop. Don’t miss the amazing crème brûlée for dessert. Fiola Mare on the Georgetown waterfront is known for it's high prices. Not so during Restaurant Week. (Scott Suchman for The Washington Post) Fiola Mare Chef Fabio Trabocchi is known for his rich Italian food — and even richer menu prices. This pearl of a seafood restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront is participating in lunch and brunch, though it’s the exact same menu and price. We’re happy to cough up a Jackson and some change for Trabocchi’s ricotta cavatelli and tiramisu. 3050 K St. NW, suite 101. 202-628-0065. Maketto, the H Street restaurant-meets-boutique, has a savory-only menu for Restaurant Week. (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post) Maketto For those who think dessert is overrated, the Cambodian-meets-Taiwanese restaurant Maketto has put together a three-course dinner menu for $35 that’s strictly savory. Start with the braised pork steamed bao, continue with the Cambodian pork


Zipping through the heavens, the Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend

NASA’s Danielle Moser composed this image of about 120 Perseid meteors taken by the Marshall Space Flight Center’s All Sky Fireball Network station at Huntsville, Ala., on Aug. 13, 2015. Whetting your appetite for cosmic backyard adventure, the Perseid meteors will peak this weekend, but to see them successfully, two ingredients are required: cloudless heavens and patience. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a cloud cover forecast.) For the 2017 edition of the annual Perseid shower, those shooting stars compete with a bright, waning gibbous moon. The official peak is predicted for Saturday in mid-afternoon Eastern, according to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Saturday night — closest to this peak — presents the best opportunity for viewing. Still, consider first checking out the heavens Friday evening, to see whether you can spot any Perseids before the fat moon rises. In Washington, the 84 percent-illuminated moon rises Friday night at 10:32 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. On Saturday evening, when the shower peaks and the chances of spying Perseids are maximized, the moon rises at 11:06 p.m. ScienceCasts: August 2017: A Big Month for Astronomy Patience, clear skies and a refreshing summer beverage will serve you well. Turn off your porch lights, get away from streetlights and find your dark, happy space. Pull up a lawn chair, let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 20 minutes to a half-hour outside, and look up. For the peak, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada predicts about 90 meteors an hour, but don’t give yourself false hope. You may find ample meteors before moonrise, but perhaps a handful after the moon’s brightness washes away all but the brilliant ones. The Perseid meteors are the most consistent and productive of the annual meteor displays, said astronomer Geoff Chester of the Naval Observatory, who explained they are usually fast and bright. In his The Sky This Week, he said where the meteors appear to emanate — in the constellation Perseus — which rises in the eastern sky late in the evening. Under bright moon conditions, Chester suggests looking for meteors in the early morning hours when the constellation will be high in the northeast. Happy trails! We see meteors because of dirty snowballs called comets. For the Perseids, thank Comet Swift-Tuttle — periodic comet 109P, discovered during the Civil War. As the comet swings by our planetary neighborhood,


the Civil War. As the comet swings by our planetary neighborhood, the sun heats it up and the comet leaves a dusty trail, composed of pebble-sized specks. On its annual trip around the sun, Earth smacks into these dirty leftover trails. In turn, the flecks strike our atmosphere and burn up — giving us a gorgeous view of fiery bits streaking across our heavens: shooting stars! Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered concurrently by astronomer Horace P. Tuttle on July 19, 1862, at Cambridge, Mass., and Lewis Swift on July 16, 1862, at Marathon, N.Y. — just north of Binghamton. Incidentally, during the Civil War, Tuttle joined the Union Army and later became an astronomer at the Naval Observatory. Tuttle died in 1923 and is buried in an unmarked grave at Oakwood Cemetery in Falls Church, very close to Seven Corners, according to astronomer Richard Schmidt of the Naval Observatory. The Perseids meteors last from now until about Aug. 26, when the numbers will be greatly diminished, according to the International Meteor Organization. Stare up and be counted: If you want to submit your meteor count, you can join the International Meteor Organization. The group welcomes students and citizen-observers. Register here as a paid member or as a free user to submit your falling star counts. In case of clouds or rain for the peak night, Slooh.com will present the Perseids live on the Web on Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Join former sports broadcaster Gerry Monteux and astronomers Paul Cox and Bob Berman for this heavenly tour of racing stars. Cloud outlook Saturday evening National The nation’s best viewing, where skies are most likely to be clear, focuses in the Southwest, the northern Ohio Valley and interior Northeast, and parts of the northern Rockies (east of Idaho). European model cloud cover forecast for 11 p.m. eastern Saturday night. (StormVistaWxModels.com) Clouds will tend to be most prevalent in the Southeast United States and eastern New England, where viewing prospects are poor. Washington, D.C., area Scattered thunderstorms are possible in the D.C. area into Saturday evening, but there’s a good chance they diminish and at least partial clearing begins after sunset. Between about 9 and 11 p.m. may offer a reasonable window for viewing, but check forecast updates Saturday. Friday night viewing is a no-go, because of clouds and rain. Capital Weather Gang chief meteorologist Jason Samenow prepared the cloud cover forecast.


How a few young leaders are shaking up foreign policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, center, at an April 19, 2017, meeting with U.S. officials in Riyadh. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool via AFP/Getty Images) Why did Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates begin the boycott of Qatar that has roiled regional politics for the past two months? Many recent studies of Middle East foreign policy subscribe to the idea that such decisions can best be explained by the preservation of regime security. However, recent events show how this decision-making may be more specifically about succession security. Regional foreign policy is not just about preserving the survival of a particular monarchical regime but ensuring the leadership of a particular set of individuals within the ruling family. A shake-up in the Saudi line of succession Succession security has recently come to the fore because of the rapid ascent of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The normally glacial and opaque process of Saudi leadership changes was disrupted when the 81-year-old King Salman bin Abdul Aziz took over after the death of his brother King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in 2015. Since then, King Salman has upended his brother’s plans for succession by removing both his 71-year-old younger brother, Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, and the son of Salman’s older brother, 57-year-old Mohammed bin Nayef, from the line of succession. In the process, King Salman’s 31-year-old son rose from obscurity to defense minister and now to crown prince. Recent reports that his predecessor, Mohammed bin Nayef, was removed from his position as crown prince through house arrest and a forced abdication expose the tension underlying the transition. Since King Salman’s health is questionable at best, it may not be long until his son takes his place. The crown prince is seen as the architect of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen’s civil war. Saudi Arabia’s embargo of Qatar also appears to be an initiative of his. These foreign policies, accompanied by the grand economic plans in Saudi Vision 2030, aim to shake up Saudi policies and forefront the crown prince’s agenda. A dynamic crown prince in the Emirates The Qatar embargo is also strongly supported by the United Arab Emirates. While the 68-year-old UAE president and emir of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, nominally rules the federation, he has ceded most of the activities of leadership to his 56-year-old brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. The crown prince has pushed much of


9 new restaurants to try around Washington

Spinach ends with anchovy and romesco at Mola. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) As summer continues to sizzle in Washington, the dining scene feels as hot as ever. Here are nine new restaurants to check out, vetted by Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema. Mola The owners of Nido are doing the same thing for Spanish food in Mount Pleasant as they did for Mediterranean fare in Woodridge. In other words, expect satisfying plates — fried goat cheese, paella, pureed chickpeas with lamb — in a stylish, small space. 3155 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Escargot spread with bread “soldiers” at Flamant. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) Flamant Frederik De Pue's bungalow-style restaurant in West Annapolis is home to three dining areas, each with their own charms. “To pass on a snack is to miss some of De Pue’s wit,” Sietsema writes. Go for the spread of escargots or blue crab pastry cigars. In warmer weather, try the cooling, grass-green gazpacho, made with spinach and cream, served with tender mussels and a curry “crumble.” 17 Annapolis St., Annapolis. Grilled octopus at Hummingbird. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) Hummingbird Restaurant Eve owners Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong fill the light-filled dining room in the Hotel Indigo with many a crowd pleaser: The standouts include crab cakes with just enough mayonnaise, bread crumbs and Dijon mustard to keep them together; whole grilled red snapper served with four sauces; and a roast chicken brined in orange and star anise, served with double-fried french fries. 220 S. Union St., Alexandria. Flaxseed gives the pizza dough a crisp edge at True Food Kitchen. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) True Food Kitchen The Bethesda outpost of the Arizona-based company is a block long and averages 800 people on a weekday. Go for dumplings stuffed with pureed edamame or a pizza with a crust made crispy (and healthier) from nutty flaxseed. 7100 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Bethesda. Bluefin tuna tartare at Nasime. (Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post) Nasime You'll have to be persistent to get a seat at this slim Japanese spot in Alexandria. But you'll be rewarded by a bargain $48 tasting menu with such gems as “Tokyo-style tuna tartare,” dashi with soft-shell crab and udon noodles, and ice cream with coconut jelly and red beans. 1209 King St., Alexandria. Uni carbonara at the Salt Line. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post) The


As ‘Greek’ yogurt keeps proliferating, Greece is getting protective

term ‘Greek yoghurt’ for products produced outside Greece would deceive consumers and would create unfair competition in the E.U. market,” one E.U. official noted to Euractiv. But those rules won’t apply in the United States, where makers are free to label their yogurt as Greek (and where the distance from Greece makes consumer confusion less likely). There are dozens of “Greek” yogurts in grocery stores, from popular brands like Chobani, Yoplait, Dannon and Fage (a Greek company). Greek yogurt became a huge hit in the United States 10 years ago, when consumers gravitated toward it for its protein, probiotics and “good” fat. Its rise to prominence in American grocery stores was meteoric: Chobani saw its sales go from just over $3 million to more than $1.1 billion in its first five years. The brand overtook Yoplait, which is owned by General Mills, last year to become the country’s biggest yogurt brand. The yogurt category is worth $84 billion globally. But the U.S. market for yogurt has been waning recently. General Mills reported a 20 percent drop in yogurt sales in March. Millennials are gravitating toward convenience yogurt drinks, rather than spoonable yogurt, according to consumer research firm Mintel. And Greek yogurt is being challenged by other, more exotic yogurts: Haven’t you heard that Icelandic yogurt (fun fact: technically, it’s cheese!) is the hot new thing? No, actually, we’re all about French yogurt now. What is French yogurt? It’s a yogurt that comes in a cute glass pot, with a cute brand name — “Oui” — made by Yoplait. According to the Associated Press, “The company says there is no official definition for French yogurt,” though one thing that distinguishes Oui is that it is cultured in its own glass pot rather than in large batches. The story is enough to hook yogurt-weary consumers. Because that’s the key to winning the yogurt wars, as Charles Duhigg wrote in the New York Times: Yoplait “has finally figured out how to look beyond the data and embrace the narrative. Yoplait may have figured out how to fake authenticity as craftily as everyone else.” And that narrative is why it’s important to Greece that everyone knows: Greek yogurt is made in Greece. More from Food: Millennial pink took over your Instagram feed. Now it’s coming for your food. The Mediterranean diet works — but not if you’re poor, a study finds R.I.P., Coke Zero:


Total solar eclipse weather forecast as of Aug. 11

into focus. So we still must paint the cloudiness outlook with a very broad strokes. Continue to take it with a grain of salt and we would not recommend altering plans based on it. Forecast notes as of Aug. 11: Forecast confidence: Low - The possibility of an approaching cold front raises the risk of clouds for Washington and Oregon. Smoke in Pacific Northwest could be less extensive as the front could push smoke north into Canada - Possible storm system in center of country poses greatest risk for extensive cloud cover. - Midday to afternoon storm chances exist in many areas in the South and Southeast but, for most, would still allow breaks in the cloud cover. - The Northern Rockies still appear to be best bet for clear viewing, but nothing is yet locked in. Our next forecast will be issued Aug. 14, one week before the eclipse. Average weather conditions for Aug. 21 The timing of the eclipse is ideal, at least for the West. It begins just after 10 a.m. local time on the West Coast, which is usually enough time to burn off the fog that often occurs there. The intermountain areas sometimes see thunderstorms bubble up in the afternoons during this time of year. These are associated with the Southwest monsoon, a period of increased thunderstorms and rain during the late summer and early fall. But the eclipse passes through this region around noon, before most of the storms develop, so the storm risk should be low there. Link: Clouds often pop up along the rest of the path throughout the day simply because of warmth and moisture. Those two things combined lead to rising air, which creates clouds. So the cloud risk gets greater the farther east you go. On top of that, South Carolina will see totality the latest in the day — after 2:30 p.m. NASA created the map below which shows how, on average, the best chance of clear skies on Aug. 21 focuses in western areas and the chance of cloud cover increases as you head east. (NASA) Additional cloud cover resources: - National Weather Service eclipse forecast page - NOAA GOES-16 satellite images - Historical cloud cover information from NOAA Jason Samenow contributed to this post. Capital Weather Gang's Angela Fritz breaks down what will happen when a total solar eclipse crosses the U.S. on Aug. 21.


First woman in Navy SEAL training pipeline drops out

was in is open to Naval Academy midshipmen and Navy ROTC cadets before their senior year. According to the Associated Press, the three-week program in Coronado, Calif., tests physical and psychological strength, water competency and leadership skills. Sailors must complete it to be selected to take part in SEAL basic training. That basic training, which lasts six months is so arduous that 75 percent of candidates drop out by the end of the first month. The successes and failures of women in the military’s most taxing units is part of a steady march toward integration of the country’s armed services. The efforts followed demands for equal treatment after thousands of American servicewomen served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including many killed or wounded in service, according to the Associated Press. In 2013, then-Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said he was rescinding a long-standing ban on women serving in ground combat units, and told commanders to investigate how to fully integrate the armed forces. But even then about 10 percent of military jobs remained closed to women. That changed in 2015 when Ash Carter, once Panetta’s deputy at Defense, directed the military branches to open all military jobs to women who qualify, including access to the most elite units, The Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe reported. The move has, at times, divided military leaders, Lamothe wrote: Carter’s move has proven controversial with critics who question whether full gender integration could weaken the military or cause unnecessary distractions. But proponents, including Carter, have said that if women can meet all requirements for a job, they should be allowed to do so and could in fact boost combat effectiveness. Further stoking the debate, in September 2015, a Marine Corps study designed to compare how men and women do in combat found that female service members were injured twice as often as their male counterparts, fired their infantry weapons with less accuracy and were not as good at removing wounded troops from the battlefield. But according to a Washington Post article by Ernesto Londoño, advocates and experts “believe lifting the ban will go a long way toward changing the culture of a male-dominated institution in which women have long complained about discrimination and a high incidence of sexual assault.” Navy SEAL trainees carry inflatable boats at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado, Calif. in 2009. (Denis Poroy/AP) According to the Associated Press, another


PM Update: Storms to exit D.C. region by 11 p.m. or so, sunny skies for Sunday

**Severe thunderstorm watch for southern and southeastern areas until 11 p.m.** 9:15 p.m. update: The storms that came through earlier were quite intense, producing torrential rain that caused flash flooding in parts of downtown Washington with poor drainage (see photos at the bottom of this post) and pockets of damaging winds inside the Beltway. Map shows areas where trees came down (tree icon) and flash flooding (water icon) was reported. (IEMbot) This is our latest update for the evening. Read below for the forecast for the rest of tonight and Sunday. For night sky watchers, with clearing skies, you might be able to catch a Perseid meteor shower – so be sure to make a wish! Forecast through tomorrow: A strong cold front will swing through the region tonight, spawning thunderstorms out ahead of the boundary. The best environment for severe weather lies north of the Mason Dixon line, but that certainly doesn’t exclude our area from the chance at some strong storms as we are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 tonight. Through Tonight: View the current weather at The Washington Post. A lone paddler on the Potomac River as clouds block the sunlight July 31 in the District. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Tomorrow (Sunday): See Ian Livingston’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Invest 99 is back: Invest #99L looking a bit better on satellite today; this storm will likely be our 7th named tropical cyclone of th… https://t.co/h8grdFebtH Want our 5 a.m. forecast delivered to your email inbox? Subscribe here. Expired storm updates: 8:52 p.m. update: Flooding is about about 3.5 feet deep in the team walk out tunnel at #RFK stadium #dcu #DCvRSL https://t.co/ae3lNp7aN8 8:48 p.m. update: These storms still have to yet to enter Va.’s Stafford County and Southern Maryland, but are headed in that direction. They probably will weaken some more as they push farther southeast. 8:32 p.m. update: Vehicles in high water 600 blk. R.I.,Ave NE. Water rescue assignment on scene. https://t.co/EekbYmcbgz Our weather station on the roof of the Washington Post (1301 K St. NW) picked up 0.78 inches of rain in just ten minutes, and one inch from the storm overall. That is some torrential rain. 8:20 p.m. update: Meanwhile, the worst of the storms have exited the


Want to keep the deer out of your garden? Here’s what works.

deer learned to eat around the sprinklers. He now uses a noise-making device called the Yard Sentinel with good success. An owl decoy watches over the garden to scare away the deer. Decoys and scarecrows have mixed reviews to keep deer away, mostly because deer learn quickly what is a threat and what isn’t. (John Craig) - One of my more creative friends built a scaredeer — a scary version of a scarecrow with a real deer skull. She said it didn’t work, however. Scarecrows rarely work for deer. - My CWG editor, Angela Fritz, said her dad uses a solution of egg, water and cayenne pepper that he sprays on his rose buds. The spicy solution protects his roses. - A friend from high school strings up ribbons, pinwheels and colorful, reflective devices around his garden. It has worked so far this summer to scare away deer. - A neighbor told me she allows bow hunting in her backyard to deter deer. But the hunting season and the growing season don’t align so deer return in the summer to eat her flowers. - The owner of the basset hound mentioned earlier in this article said he never has problems with deer. Walter guards his yard. I need a basset hound for my yard. - My neighbor who put up an eight-foot fence around her yard still has deer dining on her landscaping. The deer found a passage under the fence using a deep ravine. - Lastly, one friend told me to plant deer-resistant flowers and just forget about deer repellent altogether. Unfortunately, I like hostas, and so do deer. Deer do not like garlic! Many of the commercial deer repellents contain garlic and some of the home recipes for deer repellent also contain garlic. Garlic powder mixed with eggs and water can be put into a spray bottle and applied to plants. (Kevin Ambrose) So what works best to deter deer? - A well-constructed fence or cage around the garden can be made 100 percent deer-proof. Fences top the list. - Outdoor dogs, such as Walter the basset hound mentioned above, are extremely effective keeping deer out of the yard but they may have a bad day, need a trip to the vet, or need to travel to win another hunting citation ribbon. They’re not 100 percent effective, but close. - Repellent sprays and granules, scent stations, sprinklers, and


Incoming! A charged-up photo sequence from Saturday’s severe thunderstorm in Washington.

was hidden by heavy rain. But after checking my two cameras, I was pleased that I captured a few good lightning flashes. Also, the clouds associated with the storm were very interesting. I photographed Saturday’s storm with a Sony a99II and a Sony a7rII. Both are 42-megapixel cameras, which allow me to shoot a wide view of the storm and crop in, if necessary. That worked well for the lead photo in this post, which was cropped significantly, but I was also able to capture a wide view of the big cloud-to-ground lightning strike, which also appears in this post. As some of our readers know, I try to get one good D.C. lightning photo each year for my weather calendar. If I enter mid-August without a lightning photo, I start to get worried. Saturday’s storm has at least given me a lightning shot for the 2018 calendar. I now have a month or two to try to get a better photo, if possible, but the pressure is off. My lightning requirement has been fulfilled for 2017. 8:09 p,m.: The Washington Monument is concealed by heavy rain at the height of the storm. Note that the cloud deck is very low. (Kevin Ambrose) In this post, I have provided a photo sequence of Saturday’s storm with time stamps in the photo captions. You’ll see in the photo captions that the storm arrived at 7:50 p.m. and was gone by 8:30. That’s a fast mover! Sometimes, summer thunderstorms will stall or redevelop over the same areas and storm for hours. Last July, I was pinned down inside the Lincoln Memorial by thunderstorms for over two hours. Let us know what you observed with the thunderstorms Saturday. 8:12 p.m.: A Segway tour is not deterred by the storm. The group pauses for a view by the Reflecting Pool as a single bolt of lightning strikes in the background. (Kevin Ambrose) 8:19 p.m.: The rain subsides as lightning strikes behind the Washington Monument. (Kevin Ambrose) 8:24 p.m.: The storm departs to the south and east after producing brief but torrential rain in the city. (Kevin Ambrose) 8:30 p.m.: The storm is over and has moved to the south and east. Distant lightning flashes illuminate the low clouds moving overhead. (Kevin Ambrose) Three lightning exposures from Saturday’s storm are stacked into a single frame to give an artistic view of the storm. (Kevin Ambrose)


Here’s what will happen to the weather during the total solar eclipse

Capital Weather Gang's Angela Fritz breaks down what will happen when a total solar eclipse crosses the U.S. on Aug. 21. As skywatchers nationwide unwrap their eclipse glasses Aug. 21 and photographers polish their lenses, weather forecasters will be gearing up for a curveball many have never faced before: the shadow. With a miniature nightfall slated within an hour of lunchtime along the path of the solar eclipse next Monday, the looming darkness beneath the moon will interrupt the steady stream of solar radiation ordinarily delivered to Earth. The result? Temperatures will fall and fall fast. What makes the mercury plummet with such speed during the onset of a total eclipse is just how localized the shadow is, and how quickly it’s moving. After all, imagine someone whipping a blanket across the sky at over 2,400 miles per hour! During ordinary nightfall in the summertime, any given location may transition through an hour or two of twilight en route to darkness. In the case of an eclipse, however, the difference is literally night and day — jumping between the two in under 90 seconds! This is how the total solar #Eclipse2017 will affect incoming solar radiation on August 21st, 2017. https://t.co/p9MqGqmWGC The common consensus across the meteorological community is that those fully immersed within the umbra — the darkest part of the moon’s shadow — will experience a temperature drop of about 10 degrees, maybe more. Along the periphery of the shadow, and in the regions treated only to a partial eclipse, this will likely be on the order of just three to five degrees. Even though incoming sunlight will return in full force after the eclipse, most places will fall short of reaching their average daily high temperatures before sunset, thanks to valuable time lost in the darkness. “We have certainly been thinking about this,” said Dan Satterfield, chief meteorologist at WBOC, the CBS television affiliate in Salisbury, Md. “Since the eclipse will happen near the time of our max heating, it looks like we’ll need to lower our temperature forecasts somewhat.” Satterfield expects that this could be “at least several degrees, and maybe more.” Mid-afternoon is, on average, our peak time to soak up the sun, but the normal rise in temperature will be interrupted. “Temperatures will certainly stop climbing in the afternoon, and I suspect they’ll drop a few degrees as we approach maximum eclipse,” Satterfield said.


Will marijuana make federalism go up in smoke?

Marijuana plants grow at LifeLine Labs in Cottage Grove, Minn., in 2015. (Jim Mone/Associated Press) During the campaign, Donald Trump endorsed medical marijuana and said pot legalization “should be a state issue, state-by-state.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, on the other hand, is a fierce opponent of marijuana and has opposed measures that would limit the federal government’s ability to interfere with state decriminalization efforts. Last month, Sessions reiterated the federal government’s authority to enforce federal drug laws “regardless of state law,” and some fear he will resist congressional efforts to protect medical marijuana from federal drug laws. Yet Sessions is not the greatest threat to continuing state-level marijuana reform efforts. Lawmakers and citizen initiatives have successfully reformed marijuana laws in a majority of states. Twenty-nine states allow for the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight have legalized marijuana possession and use altogether, allowing for recreational use. At least a dozen more states have effectively decriminalized possession of marijuana in small amounts. Yet marijuana use and possession remains illegal under federal law, even in small amounts or for medical purposes. As a practical matter, the federal government has neither the interest in policing nor the ability to police low-level infractions of federal drug laws. Limits on federal law enforcement resources mean that the Drug Enforcement Administration focuses its efforts on larger dealing and trafficking operations. This policy approach was formalized during the Obama administration in the Cole Memorandum, which clarified that the Justice Department has little interest in going after marijuana possession or sale that is compliant with state law and is not linked to interstate trafficking or sales to minors. Nonetheless, the federal prohibition casts a shadow over marijuana-related businesses and activities that have been legalized under state law. To protect state-level reforms, Congress has enacted appropriations riders that bar the DEA from spending funds to “interfere” with state laws authorizing the cultivation, use, possession or distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. Despite Sessions’s opposition, such a rider was included in the most recent spending bill that provides funding through Sept. 30. The Appropriations Rider sends an important signal that Congress wants to allow states to allow medical marijuana, but it only goes so far. While the rider limits what the DEA can do, and was successfully invoked as a defense against prosecution in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for


Tiger Woods reportedly had THC, four other drugs in system at time of arrest

Tiger Woods has not competed in a golf tournament since February. (Kamran Jebreili/Associated Press) Tiger Woods had five drugs in his system when he was arrested in May on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a report Monday. At the time, Woods told authorities that he was taking Vicodin and Xanax, but per ESPN, a toxicology report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office indicated the additional presences of Ambien, Dilaudid and THC, the chemical responsible for marijuana’s psychoactive effects. As noted by ESPN, medical marijuana is legal in Florida, where Woods was arrested near his home, but it is unclear whether he has a prescription for it. Shortly after his arrest, he said in a statement, “What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.” Woods was taken into custody after falling asleep at the wheel of his 2015 Mercedes and veering partly off a road, and officers noted in their report that he was “extremely slow to answer questions, had slurred and mumbled speech, and was slow to provide” documents such as his license and registration. The 14-time major winner appeared unsteady and disoriented in dash-cam footage released by authorities. Wood’s mug shot, as provided but the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (via AP) According to the report obtained by ESPN, the substances found in Wood’s system following his May arrest were: hydrocodone, the generic form of a painkiller known as Vicodin; hydromorphone, a painkiller known as Dilaudid; alprazolam, a mood and sleep drug known as Xanax; zolpidem, a sleep drug known as Ambien; and delta-9 carboxy THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Last week, Woods entered a DUI diversion program as part of a plea agreement resulting from his arrest. According to prosecutors, the superstar golfer will be placed under 12 months’ probation, during which he cannot drink alcohol or take drugs, and he will be required to plead guilty to reckless driving and complete DUI education. “As I previously said, I received professional help to manage my medications,” Woods said Monday in a statement. “Recently, I had been trying on my own to treat my back pain and a sleep disorder, including insomnia, but I realize now it was a mistake to do this without medical assistance. “I am continuing to work with my doctors, and they feel I’ve made significant progress.


Trump administration goes after China over intellectual property, advanced technology

action inflicts damages on the bilateral trading relationships." China has long required U.S. firms in many industries to form joint ventures with Chinese partners and manufacture some goods inside the country. Although the system forces U.S. companies to transfer some of their valuable know-how to Chinese partners that could become competitors in the future, U.S. companies including Microsoft and General Motors have made such deals to gain access to China’s valuable market of nearly 1.4 billion people and a booming middle class. Under a new Chinese cybersecurity law, technology firms including Amazon.com and Apple are required to store users’ data within Chinese borders and turn over source code and encryption software to the government, potentially giving the Chinese government a back door into private data and proprietary technologies. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) U.S. companies also complain that China’s enforcement of intellectual property violations remains lax and that theft of trade secrets through malware, phishing and cybermercenaries is rampant. Roughly 70 percent of software in use in China is pirated, though this figure is down from recent years, according to the Software Alliance, a trade group. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have been pouring billions of dollars of investments into cutting-edge defense and technology firms around the world, including in Silicon Valley. The country has launched an initiative, called “Made in China 2025,” which seeks to propel its companies to dominate high-tech industries including robotics, aerospace equipment, new energy vehicles and biopharmaceuticals in the next eight years. While U.S. industry remains the most technologically advanced in the world, China is rapidly catching up. Some, such as Randolph Kahn, a consultant and adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law, say this could be detrimental for the U.S. economy. A 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that intellectual property accounted for nearly 40 percent of the U.S. economy in 2014. “To the extent that we’re not able to protect that, you’re sacrificing millions or tens of millions of U.S. jobs, and U.S. companies should care a great deal about that,” Kahn said. In an emailed response early Sunday morning, the Chinese government denied the allegations and implied it might challenge a U.S. action in the World Trade Organization. “We want to emphasize that the Chinese government has always set great store by [intellectual property] protection and made achievements that are for all to see. Any


President Trump’s claim that foreigners are responsible for ‘the vast majority’ of terrorism convictions since 9/11

White House, Trump’s claim is not supported by facts. What other DOJ data could possibly exist that support Trump’s claim? Was the DOJ consulted before the White House wrote that speech? That’s what the lawsuit filed by Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare Blog and senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, aims to find out. (The blog also has a weekly podcast, Lawfare Podcast.) In April 2017, Wittes filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out whether DOJ data exist that support Trump’s claim, and what, if any, communications took place between DOJ officials and the White House before Trump’s speech to Congress. “I believe the president was lying not merely about the underlying facts but also about his own Justice Department,” Wittes wrote in April. “Or, in the alternative, I believe it’s possible that the Office of the Attorney General may have supported the White House’s claim. But I think it extraordinarily unlikely that the folks at NSD [National Security Division] actually provided data in support of this presidential statement.” There was no response within the statutory deadline, prompting Wittes to file an Aug. 11, 2017, lawsuit against the DOJ and the Office of Management and Budget. What do we know about the foreigners’ terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland? The answer: Not what the president claimed. New America found “Far from being foreign infiltrators, the large majority of Islamist militant terrorists in the United States have been American citizens or legal residents,” according to the New America report on Islamist militant activity since 9/11. (New America) The Pinocchio Test Despite repeated fact checks of Trump’s use of Department of Justice data, it made its way into his maiden speech to Congress in February — and now, into a FOIA lawsuit against his DOJ. Unless the Department of Justice, led by Sessions, provided some other data to the White House, Trump’s claim is not supported by the June 2016 analysis by Sessions’s former Senate office. The information in that analysis came from the DOJ’s National Security Division, but Trump twisted the data to make an unsupported claim. Sessions has been attorney general for six months. He has had ample opportunity to release official findings to either correct the record, or back up the president’s claim. Sessions and the administration must set the record straight for the public, and he has a duty to


The space quiz: Test your knowledge about the eclipse, our solar system and beyond

billion years, something is predicted to happen to the Milky Way galaxy. What is it? a) It will come apart as the universe continues to expand. b) It will collide/merge with the Andromeda galaxy. c) The black hole in the center will absorb all of its matter. d) Nothing, actually. ANSWERS: 1) The correct answer is B. The first conversation that took place was just after at least one of the probes hanging from three of the footpads on the Eagle lunar module ad made contact with the moon’s surface. The discussion was procedural. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin said, “contact light.” Neil Armstrong then said “shutdown.” Some time later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon and his first words, upon setting foot, were “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” 2) The correct answer is C. According to the International Astronomical Union, a light-year is 9,460,730,472,580.8 km, which is close to 5.9 trillion miles. 3) It would seem to make sense for the closest planet to the sun to be the hottest in our solar system, but it’s not true. Venus, the second planet closest to the sun is hotter than Mercury. Mercury has no atmosphere, which can hold and trap heat. Venus has a very thick atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide, which traps the heat so that, according to NASA, the temperature on the surface is around 872 degrees Fahrenheit, or 467 degrees Celsius. 4) The correct answer is C. From NASA: “During the 5,000-year period from -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE), Earth will experience 11,898 eclipses of the Sun. The statistical distribution of eclipse types for this interval is as follows: 4,200 partial eclipses, 3,956 annular eclipses, 3,173 total eclipses and 569 hybrid eclipses. That means that, every 1,000 years you have 840 partial eclipses, 791 annular eclipses, 635 total eclipses and 114 hybrid eclipses. That works out to 2-3 eclipses of all kinds each year, and about 2 total solar eclipses every 3 years.” You can see data on 5,000 years of solar eclipses, here, from NASA. 5) That’s false. According to The Washington Post: “Earth won’t experience eclipses forever. The moon is drifting away from our planet at a rate of about an inch and a half per year. In approximately 650 million years, the moon will be so distant that it can no


the strange stuff. 8) The correct answer is C. According to NASA: One of the most fundamental questions in astronomy is that of just how many galaxies the universe contains. The landmark Hubble Deep Field, taken in the mid-1990s, gave the first real insight into the universe’s galaxy population. Subsequent sensitive observations such as Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field revealed a myriad of faint galaxies. This led to an estimate that the observable universe contained about 200 billion galaxies. The new research shows that this estimate is at least 10 times too low. This handout illustration courtesy of NASA shows the Cassini spacecraft diving through the plume of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in 2015. (AFP/Getty Images) 9) The correct answer is A. Not even light can escape a black hole. From NASA: Black holes do not wander around the universe, randomly swallowing worlds. They follow the laws of gravity just like other objects in space. The orbit of a black hole would have to be very close to the solar system to affect Earth, which is not likely. If a black hole with the same mass as the sun were to replace the sun, Earth would not fall in. The black hole with the same mass as the sun would keep the same gravity as the sun. The planets would still orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now. The sun does not have enough mass to collapse into a black hole. In billions of years, when the sun is at the end of its life, it will become a red giant star. Then, when it has used the last of its fuel, it will throw off its outer layers and turn into a glowing ring of gas called a planetary nebula. Finally, all that will be left of the sun is a cooling white dwarf star. 10) The correct answer is B. From NASA: NASA astronomers … can now predict with certainty the next major cosmic event to affect our galaxy, sun, and solar system: the titanic collision of our Milky Way galaxy with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. The Milky Way is destined to get a major makeover during the encounter, which is predicted to happen four billion years from now. It is likely the sun will be flung into a new region of our galaxy, but our Earth and solar system are in no danger of being destroyed.


The worst things that could go wrong during the total solar eclipse — and how to be prepared

Capital Weather Gang’s Angela Fritz explains what could happen to your eyes if you were to watch the Aug. 21 eclipse without special sunglasses and how to spot the ones that work. The Great American Eclipse is nigh! Millions are expected to pack the so-called path of totality, or the swath of the United States that will be able to experience the complete solar eclipse. But, as with any major event, some things might not go according to plan. We’ve compiled a list of what could go wrong, from safety hazards to acts of nature. Plan accordingly. You could seriously damage your eyes Looking directly at the sun during the eclipse without proper eyewear would harm your eyes “like a magnifying glass on a leaf,” as one optometrist put it to The Washington Post’s Angela Fritz. Fritz reports: We are going to keep saying this, and saying this, and saying this: If you plan on viewing the eclipse, you will need to wear protective glasses. Regular sunglasses won’t do. Looking at the eclipse through your camera won’t necessarily protect your eyes, either. You will need a solar filter if you plan on photographing the eclipse to protect yourself — and the camera. You can learn more about them here. Speaking of which . . . You could damage your camera Just like our eyes, cameras are sensitive to the sun’s powerful rays and could be damaged if you don’t use the proper filters and equipment. The types of gear you’ll need to use varies depending on the type of camera you’ll use to shoot the main event. Nikon has a good guide to photographing eclipses, and YouTube has numerous tutorials to offer. It might be cloudy Clear skies are required to view this celestial event, the first total eclipse to pass solely across the United States in the history of the United States. But, of course, it could all be ruined if Mother Nature declines to play along. With the path of totality spanning from sea to shining sea, there is a chance that some locations will experience adverse weather conditions. The Washington Post has calculated which locations are likely to have the best weather for viewing. If you still haven’t made travel plans for the eclipse, we recommend you give it a read before you choose your destination. There might be fires The eclipse will first make landfall in


5 happy hours where you can still find $1 beers

PBR Tallboys start at $1 on Friday nights at Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club. The price increases every hour. (Photo courtesy of Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club) The most common complaint about Washington’s restaurant scene is the rising price of food and drink. Seven-dollar local craft beers and $12 cocktails have become the norm at some bars, which is why it can feel great to go out for happy hour and pay for your beers with change you found in the bottom of your purse or pocket. Here are five happy hours where you can still get a beer for just $1, but remember: You still need to tip your bartender. The Bottom Line Hamilton's Jimmy Valentine's Lonely Hearts Club The Madhatter The Red Derby: Read more: The best true dive bars in the D.C. area Yes, you can actually find good cocktails in D.C. for less than $10 These patios offer cold happy hour drinks without the crowds


There’s plague in Arizona. Authorities warn of fleas that can infect people and pets.

Plague is treatable with antibiotics if detected early, but the symptoms can be deadly if untreated. Public health officials in two Arizona counties are warning residents about the discovery of plague bacteria, an endemic concern among those who live in the American Southwest but unsettling, nonetheless, given the disease's devastating impact on human history. Navajo and Coconino counties are adjacent to one another, and in each community the findings are identical: Fleas carrying Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, were discovered this month and pose a potentially grave threat to people and their pets, especially cats. Here, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrates how the plague is transmitted from fleas to pets and people: People and pets bitten by fleas from dead animals are at risk for contracting plague, health officials say. Cats can become very ill and directly infect humans by coughing infectious droplets into the air. Dogs are less likely to get sick, but they can carry fleas into the home. (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Fleas can bite rabbits, prairie dogs and other rodents — and anything that may eat them — and transfer the disease to pets, who in turn can infect humans. Cats who get plague transmit it through their cough. Dogs typically carry the fleas on their fur. Health officials cautioned county residents and visitors to keep their pets leashed and to avoid touching dead animals. Evidence of a large die-off could indicate plague is present, they say. Scientists have been testing a plague vaccine for prairie dogs, enticing them to eat it by baiting them with peanut-butter-flavored treats. The approach has proved effective at lowering death rates and reducing outbreaks in animal colonies, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study published in June. In humans, plague is treatable with antibiotics if detected early, but the symptoms can grow deadly serious very quickly. Whereas bubonic plague is perhaps the best known form, septicemic plague and pneumonic plague are equally serious. The former can cause an infected person's skin and limbs to turn black and die. The latter afflicts the lungs and can lead to respiratory failure. Today, fatal human cases are rare, averaging just seven a year in the United States dating to the mid-1920s, when the disease swept through Los Angeles, the last significant outbreak in a major U.S. city. Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico experience


Test alert

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This morbid microbe’s infection strategy is gross but genius

for a mate.” Knaden and his colleagues showed that flies infected with the bacteria churned out 20 to 30 times more pheromones than healthy flies, with the peak in hormone output occurring shortly before death. Healthy flies were more likely to visit feces from infected flies, and male flies preferentially tried to mate with infected females. The researchers engineered the bacteria to produce fluorescent proteins, so they could track their infection throughout the fly life cycle. Live, glowing bacteria were present in the droppings of infected flies. The researchers suggest that the bacteria cause the flies to produce more pheromones to attract other flies, which are easily infected when they go sniffing around the sick fly’s feces. How the bacteria accomplish this feat is still a mystery; that’s the question the team hopes to tackle next, Hansson said. This is not the first example of a pathogen or parasite manipulating its host. There is a fungus that infects ant brains and directs the insects to die in a place suitable for fungal growth, a parasite that makes rats attracted to cats, and bacteria that cause plants to release compounds that lure insects. “We might have similar things going on in humans,” said Hansson. For example, there is evidence that mosquitoes prefer to feed on people infected with malaria. There may be some chemical signal the malaria parasite causes people to emit that draws mosquitoes, which then spread the disease. Despite the many examples, the mechanisms by which pathogens control their hosts are poorly understood in most cases. “This is the first time a pathogen has been clearly shown to have such a strong effect on pheromone production,” Hansson said. Insect pheromones are an active area of research in part because they can be used as a specific, nontoxic form of pest control. Once the pheromone of an insect pest is identified, scientists can work to synthesize the compound and use it in traps that will specifically attract problem bugs while not harming beneficial insects such as bees or lady beetles. Anyone who has had a kitchen infested with fruit flies might be on the bacteria’s side in this battle. “There’s a pretty big market for traps in supermarkets,” Hansson said. Read More: Scientists create the first mutant ants 10 myths about farming to consider on your next trip to the grocery store Nutrition science isn't broken, it's just wicked hard


Canned wine is cheap and convenient. Here’s where to drink it around Washington.

Red Derby serves all of its beer in cans, and now a few wines, as well. (Jason Crafton) Cans: They’re not just for beer anymore. An increasing number of wineries have seen great potential in packaging their wine in aluminum cans, and consumers are drinking it up. Last year Because of its portable nature, canned vino is ideal for those wishing to have a drink on-the-go, while camping or picnicking, without having to worry about broken glass or remembering a bottle opener. I There’s no shortage of places to try wine in a can throughout D.C., including at these restaurants and bars. Burger Tap and Shake Drinking a glass of wine with your pinkie up doesn’t feel appropriate when you're pairing it with a fat, juicy burger. Enter Underwood’s pinot gris and pinot noir ($14). The pinot gris is bright with notes of peach, grapefruit and pear, while the pinot noir tastes of cherries and chocolate. At the Tenleytown location of Burger Tap and Shake, you can also try Sofia Sparkling Blanc de Blanc ($9), a mini can of effervescent champagne from Francis Ford Coppola Winery, which even comes with its own straw. 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-587-6258; 4445 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-524-8868. Red Derby This Columbia Heights dive bar is known for its laid-back vibe and can-only beer list. It’s fitting, then, that its wines are also served the same way. Choose from four options: the rosé and pinot noir varieties from Underwood, a chardonnay from House Wine and a champagne from Francis Ford Coppola Winery. 3718 14th St. NW, 202-291-5000. BKK Cookshop Spicy noodles and soups pair well with Underwood’s cooling pinot gris ($13). The casual Thai food shop also serves Underwood’s rosé variety ($13), which is particularly sweet with notes of strawberry and melon. The popular rosé tends to sell out, so if you see it on the menu, order it before it’s gone. 1700 New Jersey Ave. NW, 202-791-0592. On Rye Perhaps our favorite packaging of the bunch, Ramona is the most summery of the canned wines we’ve tried. The canned sparkling wine, flavored with natural grapefruit, was developed by a former sommelier at Eleven Madison Park, the three-Michelin star restaurant in New York City. Use it to wash down a steaming pastrami sandwich at this Jewish deli in Chinatown. 740 Sixth St. NW, 202-794-8400. Kingfisher Last summer, Kingfisher opened with an all-can drink list —


Total solar eclipse weather forecast as of Aug. 16

We are publishing regular cloud forecast updates leading up to the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. Confidence is still fairly low but will get higher and our predictions more specific in the days leading up to the big event. Capital Weather Gang's Angela Fritz breaks down what will happen when a total solar eclipse crosses the U.S. on Aug. 21. The eclipse is less than a week away, and we are at the point where forecast models are predicting the general weather pattern for the day. Regional details are starting to come into focus. Continue to take it with a grain of salt. Forecast notes Forecast confidence: Low to medium - The cloudiest conditions continue to be in the Midwest - Low cloud issues and fog along the West Coast will most likely burn off in time for the eclipse, except for maybe the northern Washington coast - Afternoon thunderstorms in the Southeast will be an issue, but there’s no way to know exactly where those will pop up - Some parts of the West near wildfires will be prone to haze Local forecasts Confidence: Medium Corvallis, Ore.: Morning fog likely to burn off in time for good view Madras, Ore.: Mostly clear but light smoke haze possible Rexburg, Idaho: Mostly clear — just few clouds possible Casper, Wyo.: Partly cloudy, breaks possible Confidence: Low Grand Island, Neb.: Greatest risk area for mostly cloudy conditions St. Joseph, Mo.: Partly cloudy, occasional interference a concern St. Louis: Partly cloudy, some slight interference possible Carbondale, Ill.: Scattered clouds, limited interference Hopkinsville, Ky.: Scattered clouds, limited interference Nashville: Scattered clouds, limited interference Confidence: Very low Greenville, S.C.: Partly cloudy, occasional interference possible Columbia, S.C.: Partly cloudy, occasional interference a notable concern Charleston: Partly cloudy, occasional interference possible Average weather conditions for Aug. 21 The timing of the eclipse is ideal, at least for the West. It begins just after 10 a.m. local time on the West Coast, which is usually enough time to burn off the fog that often occurs there. The intermountain areas sometimes see thunderstorms bubble up in the afternoons during this time of year. These are associated with the Southwest monsoon, a period of increased thunderstorms and rain during the late summer and early fall. But the eclipse passes through this region around noon, before most of the storms develop, so the storm risk should be low there. Clouds


Trump’s generals condemn Charlottesville racism — while trying not to offend the president

From left, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein appeared on Capitol Hill in September to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Scott M. Ash/U.S. Air Force) One by one, the U.S. military’s most senior leaders have publicly — and bluntly — repudiated the racist violence that plunged Charlottesville into chaos Saturday, declaring the nation’s armed forces as being unequivocally against hatred. By midmorning Wednesday, the military’s four service chiefs had issued firm, forceful statements that stand apart from remarks made by President Trump, who faces deepening criticism for his repeated attempts to evenly distribute blame for clashes between white nationalists and the anti-fascist protesters who showed up to oppose them. One woman died and 19 were injured when a car, which police said was driven by 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio, slammed into people demonstrating along a crowded, narrow street near the University of Virginia. The military’s first reaction came from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, who on Saturday night issued a news release calling the bloodshed in Charlottesville “shameful.” The Navy, he added, must be “the safest possible place — a team as strong and tough as we can be, saving violence only for our enemies.” Events in Charlottesville unacceptable & musnt be tolerated @USNavy forever stands against intolerance & hatred...https://t.co/tg0cETibaq Top officers from the Army and the Marines have made similarly sharp statements. Both services face scrutiny after it was discovered that two men with military ties were connected to the mayhem that engulfed Charlottesville. Fields, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was recruited by the Army and sent to basic training in August 2015. He was dumped from the service after four months for failing to meet the service’s standards, Army officials say. It was later revealed that a Marine Corps veteran, Dillon Ulysses Hopper, is the leader of Vanguard America, an organization of self-proclaimed fascists, whose members were present at Charlottesville. There was some question as to whether Fields belonged to Vanguard America, as he was seen in photographs from the rally standing among its members and wearing similar clothing. The group has denied that he is a member. In a tweet posted early Wednesday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark


The Michelin Guide introduces a new designation – but it’s no big prize

The first Michelin Red Guide for Washington is seen at the residence of the French ambassador during its launch in Washington, DC, on October 13, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images The vaunted Michelin Guide is all about stars: Get three of them, the guide’s top rating, and your career as a chef is set for life. Reservations at your restaurant will be impossible to get, and people will be willing to pay even more for your (probably expensive) tasting menu. In 1955, the guide introduced a second designation. Bib Gourmand restaurants — indicated in the book with an icon of “Bibendum,” the character also known as the Michelin Man — have been deemed a good value by Michelin inspectors. They are restaurants where you can get two courses and a glass of wine or a dessert for $40 or less, excluding tax and tip. And for the upcoming 2018 guides, Michelin will unveil a new designation worldwide: L’Assiette Michelin, or the Michelin Plate. It’s a symbol that will indicate “restaurants where the inspectors have discovered quality food.” And from now on, you’ll see it next to any restaurant in the guide that isn’t a Bib Gourmand or a starred restaurant. The L’Assiette Michelin, or Michelin Plate, will appear in the guide next to restaurants that did not receive stars or a Bib Gourmand. (Courtesy of Michelin) It’s an attempt to clear up a bit of consumer confusion about the guide. Michelin is famously secretive about its process, which involves dispensing anonymous inspectors to cities around the world to gauge the quality of food and service at restaurants in 28 countries. Not every restaurant in a city makes it into the book, and just being listed is an honor in and of itself. But that’s not always how it comes across to readers: Restaurants that don’t have any designations seem as though they are merely included, but not recommended. Inspectors “want to highlight the restaurants that they review and find noteworthy food at, but haven’t earned that star or that Bib Gourmand yet,” said Lauren Davis, a publicist for Michelin North America. So it’s actually just a change in formatting — not a new award. The Michelin Plate icon will appear next to restaurants that didn’t qualify for a Bib Gourmand or for stars, which are the real prize. Michelin acknowledged the awkward disparity in its news


The unlikely reason Americans are shopping at Target again

Target, which had historically shunned deep discounts and promotions, was forced to mark down prices following its 2013 credit card breach. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Shoppers are heading back to Target. In addition to large-scale investments in technology — and a 32 percent increase in online sales — the big-box retailer said it’s also seeing more customers shopping the old-fashioned way. As a result, second-quarter sales grew 1.6 percent, marking the first increase in more than a year. “Second-quarter traffic was much stronger than our expectations, and the strength was broad-based — across the country, across categories and across channels,” said Brian Cornell, Target’s chief executive, in a Wednesday call with analysts. “The positive response from our guests shows we’re making progress.” Analysts attributed that growth to Target’s success with private-label brands such as the children’s line Cat & Jack, which Cornell said has racked up $2 billion in sales in one year, and a partnership with Victoria Beckham. Target is taking note: The company is introducing 12 more brands in the next 18 months, and recently announced a partnership with mattress start-up Casper. “Exclusive new brands like Cat & Jack in kids clothing, Pillowfort in homewares, and Cloud Island in baby have all performed well,” Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said in a note to investors. “Not only are these brands credible and compelling, but they are also helping to differentiate Target from rivals.” This week, the Minneapolis-based big-box retailer announced it was buying same-day delivery company Grand Junction as part of its efforts to take on Amazon.com and Walmart. Target is testing same-day delivery services in New York and has begun looking into curbside fulfillment options near its headquarters. “Grand Junction’s technology and algorithms will help Target deliver to guests faster and more efficiently,” Arthur Valdez, chief supply chain and logistics officer for Target, said in a statement on Monday. “This acquisition is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Target’s supply chain to provide greater speed, reliability and convenience for guests.” Target is also opening 30 new small-format stores this year, with a focus on dense urban areas and locations near college campuses. In addition, the company is taking steps to fix its lagging grocery store business and says it saw bumps in sales of alcoholic beverages and produce. “We continue to focus on our long-term strategy,” Cornell said, adding that the company hopes to “transform every part of


have all performed well,” Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said in a note to investors. “Not only are these brands credible and compelling, but they are also helping to differentiate Target from rivals.” This week, the Minneapolis-based big-box retailer announced it was buying same-day delivery company Grand Junction as part of its efforts to take on Amazon.com and Walmart. Target is testing same-day delivery services in New York and has begun looking into curbside fulfillment options near its headquarters. “Grand Junction’s technology and algorithms will help Target deliver to guests faster and more efficiently,” Arthur Valdez, chief supply chain and logistics officer for Target, said in a statement on Monday. “This acquisition is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Target’s supply chain to provide greater speed, reliability and convenience for guests.” Target is also opening 30 new small-format stores this year, with a focus on dense urban areas and locations near college campuses. In addition, the company is taking steps to fix its lagging grocery store business and says it saw bumps in sales of alcoholic beverages and produce. “We continue to focus on our long-term strategy,” Cornell said, adding that the company hopes to “transform every part of our business and build an even better Target that will thrive in this new era in retail.” But although investors were pleased by Target’s improvements — shares of the company’s stock rose more than 4 percent Wednesday — analysts said they were more interested in long-term growth. “It’s still early days,” said Charlie O’Shea, a retail analyst for Moody’s. “This transformation isn’t going to happen overnight. The online business continues to grow but it’s still very small.” Target’s website, which has annual sales of about $2.5 billion, trails much smaller retailers, including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Best Buy and Staples, in online sales. (Walmart, by comparison, has annual online sales of about $13.5 billion, while Amazon has about $79.3 billion, according to market research firm eMarketer. Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Target, which had historically shunned deep discounts and promotions, was forced to mark down prices following its 2013 credit card breach, O’Shea said. Now the company is looking to reverse course, but has warned investors that quarterly profits may take a temporary hit as it tries to wean customers off promotions. During the second quarter, profit fell 1.2 percent to $672 million from $680 million a year


Solar eclipse play-by-play: Exactly what you’ll see on the big day in the path of totality

edge of the sun. As the moon rapaciously eats away at the solar disk, the bite will grow, taking just over an hour to reach its maximum extent in any given location. One hour before Assuming you’re in the path of totality, you’ll be going all the way. However, even through about 70 or 80 percent, you won’t notice any sharp drop-off in ambient light. In fact, the only real way you’ll notice something is up is to look through a solar filter or eclipse glasses. 30 minutes Shortly thereafter, a gradual decrease in light will occur until totality. As the unhidden portion of the sun shrinks to a fingernail-like crescent, look in the shade of trees, where images of the sun will be projected onto the ground through the tiny slits between leaves. This effect is the same as you would see in a camera obscura. 5 minutes About five minutes before the eclipse, twilight will begin to form over the western horizon, like a curtain of dusk. As it slowly envelops more land, twilight will begin to fall. 30 seconds You’ll be able to see the entire shadow of the moon cast on the atmosphere. That’s when you’ll understand the true difference between a 99 percent eclipse and a total solar eclipse. If you find yourself in a region treated to a mere 99 percent eclipse, you’ll get to see exactly 99 percent of the sun covered. It sounds pretty neat, but it would be like driving 99 percent of the way to your favorite restaurant — sure, you can see it, but you’re not going to experience it. The difference is literally night and day. It will get 10,000 times darker as the moon covers that last 1 percent of the sun. With a total eclipse, you have to go big or go home. Capital Weather Gang's Angela Fritz breaks down what will happen when a total solar eclipse crosses the U.S. on Aug. 21. If you’re shooting for the full splendor of totality, the final 30 seconds before the crucial moment will be filled with several beautiful phases as the last rays of light disappear behind the encroaching moon. During this time, several brief monumental sights can be spotted — but you have to be quick, as they’ll come and go in a flash! 20 seconds First, the oval-shaped shadow will slide eastward, and overspread the


The total solar eclipse is part of a ‘family.’ Here’s what that means.

eclipse on Aug. 21, the previous one in this series was Aug. 11, 1999, where the path of totality curved through northern France, Austria, Iran and India. The 2017 American edition shares those shapely characteristics, as the shadow wends its way from Oregon to South Carolina. When two eclipses are separated by a period of one saros, they share similar geometry, Espenak explained. An animation of all the eclipses in Saros 145. (NASA) For the next eclipse in Saros 145, fast forward to Sept. 2, 2035, when that familiar curve saunters from western China through North Korea, into the Sea of Japan, north of Tokyo and then finally sweeping into the Pacific Ocean. On Sept. 12, 2053, the eclipse centerline slices perfectly through the Straight of Gibraltar, curving along the top contour of Africa, through Egypt and Saudi Arabia into Indonesia. Not all solar eclipses are total. Of the 77 eclipses in this Saros 145 family, only 44 are total, 34 are partial, one is annular (a ring of fire eclipse, June 6, 1891), and one hybrid (June 17, 1909) — which means that in some places, sky gazers saw an annular eclipse while people saw totality in other places. Totality in 1909 lasted 24 seconds. The total solar eclipses of Saros 145. (greatamericaneclipse.com) The first eclipse in this series — a minuscule partial eclipse in 1639 — occurred over the North Pole, barely. In 2017, maximum totality will be 2 minutes, 40 seconds. Earth will have 16 more 18-year cycles before we get to four minutes of totality for this family. We will be long-forgotten when our distant descendants will enjoy over 7 minutes of totality in 2504, 2522 and 2540. (In the year 2486, the eclipse will miss the seven-minute mark by a beat, with 6 minutes and 59 seconds of totality.) For North America, there will be a total solar eclipse going from Mexico through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and western New York on April 8, 2024 — that’s Saros 139. A big fat ribbon of eclipse shadow (Saros 136) — producing over six minutes of totality — will cross from Northern California, Nevada, Oklahoma and through most of Florida on Aug. 12, 2045. Between 2666 and the end year 3009, Saros 145 will be a series of partial eclipses. The last total eclipse for Saros 145 occurs in September 2648 in Antarctica. The penguins will love it.


A U.S. service member is killed, others wounded, fighting ISIS in Afghanistan

A U.S. soldier keeps watch from a tower at Forward Operating Base Connelly in Afghanistan’s Nangahar province on Aug. 15, 2015. (Capt. Jarrod Morris/U.S. Army) An American service member was killed Wednesday and an unspecific number wounded while battling Islamic State loyalists in eastern Afghanistan. Members of the Afghan army also sustained casualties in what the U.S. military characterized as a partnered operation. Officials in Kabul have said little else about the engagement, releasing only a brief statement indicating that the wounded were evacuated for medical treatment, the families of those involved were being notified, and the mission was said to be aimed at “further reducing” the Islamic State’s regional presence. The statement does not specify where the attack occurred, although ISIS militants are known to be active along the Pakistan border in Nangahar and Kunar provinces. Wednesday’s fatality is the 11th suffered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year, surpassing last year’s total of 10. All but one resulted from hostile enemy action, according to Defense Department data. It comes, too, as the United States’ longest war nears the start of its 17th year, and the Trump administration remains without a clear strategy. The ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, a group known as ISIS Khorasan, or ISIS-K, is entrenched along the country’s mountainous border with Pakistan. Backed by U.S. troops and firepower, Afghan commando units have aggressively pursued its fighters for many months and shown some progress in disrupting their activity. American and Afghan troops launched Operation Hamza in early March. The following month, U.S. forces carried out a massive airstrike on an ISIS tunnel complex in Nangarhar’s Achin district, reportedly killing upward of 100 militants. At the time, U.S. officials estimated that between 400 and 700 ISIS-K militants remained in Afghanistan. ISIS-K is an offshoot of the terrorist group’s core network in Iraq and Syria, receiving tactical guidance and financial support from outside Afghanistan but few additional fighters. About 14,000 U.S. and NATO troops remain in Afghanistan. With backing from the Pentagon, the war’s top commander, Army Gen. John Nicholson, wants to expand his force by about 4,000 American troops, with a match from other NATO countries. The White House has not committed to that plan. Some advisers have suggested that contractors could gradually assume the training and advisory mission there, allowing U.S. troops to come home. Read more: In bid to beat back the Taliban, Afghanistan starts expanding


Hunger receded after the recession but not for older Americans, U.S. figures show

Since the recession, many measurements of the U.S. economy improved: The stock market rallied, unemployment fell and the number of Americans worried about getting enough food began to drop. Yet for all that, one important measure has lagged. The proportion of people over 60 deemed to be "facing hunger" - based on their answers to a U.S. Census survey - has been on a steady climb that began in 2001 and has plateaued but not dropped in recent years, according to a report released Wednesday. For another year, "there was no significant decline in seniors 'facing hunger,' said James P. Ziliak, economics professor and director of the Center for Poverty Research at the University of Kentucky, who co-authored the report. "This rate has been stubbornly stuck." It is one of the curiosities of the recession that the recovery has not done more to help people lacking reliable access to food. For the general population, the proportions of people who had trouble finding meals likewise rose during the recession, and began to drop after 2011. But despite the economic recovery, they remain above pre-recession levels, according to the Agriculture Department's most recent annual report on the subject. But it is among Americans older than 60 that the recovery's effects appear to be weakest, according to figures in the report, which was released by Feeding America, a nonprofit group, in partnership with the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger. It was written by Ziliak and Craig Gundersen of the University of Illinois. To determine how many people face troubles finding food, the Census survey asks a battery of 18 questions such as whether respondents had skipped meals or cut the size of portions for lack of money. Respondents who answered six or more of the questions in the affirmative were deemed to be "facing hunger." In 2001, 610,000 people over age 60, or about 1.4 percent, were deemed to be facing hunger. But since then, the rate climbed, jumping with the recession, and then continued to climb until plateauing in recent years. In 2015, the last year in the analysis, 2.1 million people over age 60 were facing hunger, or about 3.1 percent. Over 14 years, in other words, the proportion of older people facing hunger has doubled. It's not clear why. Ziliak speculated that several phenomena could be at work. Maybe it's that older Americans have had a harder time recovering


Father and son first responders die less than a year apart from cancer linked to 9/11 recovery

legacy.” In his final years, while battling cancer, Robert Alexander played an active role in campaigning for the renewal of federal legislation covering medical costs for those sickened by toxins on 9/11. The legislation, known as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, was named for a New York City detective whose death from respiratory issues was found to be connected to the World Trade Center attacks. Doctors have linked nearly 70 kinds of cancer to Ground Zero, according to the World Trade Center Health Program. When the twin towers fell, so did a cloud of potential carcinogens, including asbestos, burning jet fuel and even mercury, experts say. Many survivors of the attacks have suffered from respiratory problems that became known as “the World Trade Center cough.” Robert Alexander took numerous trips to Washington along with a coalition that included comedian Jon Stewart, to lobby Congress to renew benefits. In 2015, Congress extended the legislation for another 75 years. In his public appearances, Robert Alexander would discuss his own illness to highlight the plight of scores of other survivors of the attacks. During a 2015 speech at a fire department gathering, he talked about how he was approaching the one year mark of his cancer diagnosis. “I haven’t had a beer since that day, so that’s probably worse than having cancer itself,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience. “A lot of firemen are suffering, a lot of cops are suffering,” he said, “all the time they’re receiving treatment for one cancer or the other … they’re living all over the country.” Speaking to the New York Daily News around that time, he said, “every day there’s a doctor’s appointment.” “But I’m doing all right with it,” he added. “There are a lot of other guys that are suffering worse than I am.” Despite the suffering the recovery efforts caused him, he said: “I would do it again.” “If you didn’t want to do the job, you wouldn’t become a cop or a firefighter in New York City,” he added. “I’m proud of being a firefighter now more than ever.” More from Morning Mix Journalist mysteriously vanishes after boarding submarine. Sub’s designer is arrested after it sinks. He pushed an elevator’s alarm button but no one came, officials say. Weeks later, his body was found. An elderly couple mysteriously vanished. Eight days later, their children’s worst fears came true.