amplifed by updates and tweets; it’s the first cicada emergence since Facebook and Twitter became popular. Expect lots of pictures of an insect even bug lovers say is ugly. Expect tweets from restaurant patios. And expect YouTube videos of bugs making tons of noise. “I think it is . . . important to let people know that they don’t bite or sting,” said Todd Michael Day, a Culpeper County resident. “And that they will invariably fly into a car window at some point. They are big, and they are ugly, but wrecking your car because one just landed on the dashboard is a bad idea.” Such birds as gulls and starlings will flock around the swarm, gulping as many cicadas as they can. “It creates a monstrous pulse of energy into the ecosystem they emerge from,” said Sam Droege, a scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. “Predators can eat their fill, and there are still unbelievable numbers of cicadas that escape to mate, lay eggs and die,” Droege said. “Just the dead, rotting bodies alone have a large nutrient impact on the forests and streams in an area.” Females place eggs on thin tree limbs, and six to eight weeks later, nymphs hatch and pour to the ground. They burrow their way to tree and plant roots, where they suck their juice. There are few happy endings. The cicada nymph mortality rate is about 98 percent, according to “The Ecology, Behavior and Evolution of Periodical Cicadas,” written in 1995 by biologist Kathy S. Williams and ecologist Chris Simon. Given that millions emerge in a cycle and females lay multiple eggs, many nymphs survive. The older they get, the deeper they dig. At 17, some start bumping into each other underground. When the ground warms, they climb, encased in a shell, which they ditch after emerging with wings. It is mathematically possible for two broods to emerge in the same year but only once every 221 years, Williams and Simon wrote. Broods V and XXII emerged in 1897, a feat that won’t happen again until 2118. Cicadas might be harmless, said Henriksen, of the pest-control association, but wherever they show up, they will fray people’s nerves. “You remember the pervasiveness, the skins . . . left behind,” she said. “They’re crunchy. They land on you. People who are fearful of bugs, it will be uncomfortable for them.”


Army recruiter who killed student, self had wed a former recruit last year

recruited her. Denise Coates, a friend of Adam Arndt, said that the marriage seemed to be going well but that “the one challenge was distance.” The couple alternated weekend visits to Maryland and North Carolina. His previous marriage had ended badly, but he seemed happy about his new life, Coates said. A decorated soldier from Manitowoc, Wis., who won the Army Commendation Medal three times, Adam Arndt began working as an Army recruiter in January 2011 after returning from posts in South Korea, Germany, Turkey and Fort Benning, Ga., according to Army spokeswoman Kathleen Welker. In addition to his recruiting work, Arndt also led a mentoring program at Poolesville High School, said Dana Tofig, a spokesman for Montgomery County schools. Arndt had also worked previously as a “future soldier leader” — a mentor for new recruits headed to basic training. Michelle had been an enthusiastic future soldier, said Brian Lepley, a spokesman for the Army Recruiting Command. Arndt would have interacted with her at training sessions, he said. Rockville High School’s principal, Debra Munk, said she did not know how Miller and Arndt first met or whether Arndt had an official role as a recruiter at the school. Tofig, the schools spokesman, said that “recruiters generally will set up a table during lunch period or at some other time. They may not wander the halls unaccompanied.” Federal law mandates that schools give military recruiters the same access to students that colleges and universities receive, Tofig said. Parents and students who knew of Arndt through his recruiting work said his relationships with some students, including text messages and notes through Facebook, made them uncomfortable. Army recruiters are prohibited from socializing with recruits before they enter basic training, said Lepley, the Army recruiting spokesman. Recruiters cannot be alone with recruits, are forbidden to make personal phone calls or send text messages to them, and may use Facebook only for official purposes, he said. The Army has yet to decide whether the case will prompt an evaluation of recruiting practices.“The only thing the Army can do at this point, because there is an investigation, is express that the battalion is deeply saddened by the loss of Staff Sgt. Adam Arndt and Michelle Miller,” said Army spokesman Mark Rickert, speaking Tuesday outside the Gaithersburg recruiting center, where young men and women were walking in for an afternoon session. Lynh Bui and Dan Morse contributed


National Zoo says paternity analysis will be necessary if panda cub is born

Just so there is no confusion, it should be noted that if Washington’s female giant panda becomes pregnant, it is not clear who the father will be. The National Zoo says that the answer will require scientific analysis. That is because Mei Xiang underwent two procedures March 30 involving semen from two pandas. Semen used in the morning came from the zoo’s male panda, Tian Tian. But a second procedure was carried out that evening. It involved semen from both Tian Tian and a second giant panda, named Gao Gao. Gao Gao has sired five cubs born at the San Diego Zoo, the National Zoo said. “The zoo will run a paternity analysis if a cub is born,” it said in a statement last week.


Master gardeners growing their fan base in Montgomery County, Md.

In a world of unidentifiable weeds, failing tomato plants and ineradicable bugs, gardeners in Montgomery County have a dedicated ally. The Montgomery County Master Gardeners are standing by with a network of plant clinics and a telephone hotline to field questions and give advice on gardening problems. Sue Kuklewicz coordinates the clinics around the county and also volunteers. She joined the Master Gardeners group after retiring from her job as a teacher. In this role, she still gets to teach and learn. “People are always coming in with things we’ve never seen before, and we have to do some research,” she said. “It’s like a puzzle.” The Montgomery County Master Gardeners field questions from all types of gardeners, from experienced growers to those planting their first garden. Usually, Kuklewicz said, people want help curing sick plants or determining whether a particular sprout in the garden is a weed or something they planted and forgot about. Whatever the question, she and the other volunteers are on hand to help plan a garden in a small box, recommend deer-resistant plants (daffodils are usually the best bet) or identify bugs. The group works toward “anything we can do to facilitate a better understanding of growing plants and how to treat the environment in a friendly way so we can all have a livable community,” Kuklewicz said. Some of the plant clinics are open year-round, while others close for the winter, when traffic slows somewhat and questions are limited mostly to houseplants. In the spring, interest picks up again, and more clinics open. Last weekend, Kuklewicz helped open a new plant clinic site in Burtonsville that attracted 35 clients in three hours. Linda Waters, an administrative assistant in the University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said she heard about the master gardeners program from a friend after being laid off from her job at a newspaper. To join the program, she took a rigorous class that meets three days a week for about six weeks. She has been volunteering for about 13 years. Before the master gardeners program started, the University of Maryland Extension office in Derwood had employees who fielded gardening questions from the public. “We had agents here who helped the public with their concerns . . . about their plants and bugs and all those kinds of problems,” Waters said. “They were getting so many phone calls that


The economic reasons to eradicate polio

Regarding the April 4 editorial “The last mile”: Polio’s global eradication should be put on an urgent track for two sensible economic reasons. First, the savings from success will dwarf any costs we must pay now. According to a 1997 Government Accountability Office report, the global eradication of smallpox had saved more than $17 billion in U.S. health-care expenditures up to then; today continued savings would be more than $30 billion. The final stage of smallpox eradication had difficulties as well. Second, polio was originally targeted for eradication in 1990 for the year 2000. Then 2003. Then 2010. We’re close, but further delay could be catastrophic if the virus significantly mutates. As long as a single polio virus remains in the human population, it has the capacity to mutate into a new strain, rendering our current vaccine and vaccination efforts useless. A new global campaign would need to be launched and a far more expensive domestic vaccination campaign funded. We can pay a little more now or pay a great deal more in economic and human costs later. It is hard to conceive of a greater case for government action, public education and, where necessary, the use of force. Chuck Woolery, Rockville The writer was issues director of the Global Health Council from 1995 to 1997.


Going Out Guide for the District of Columbia, April 11-17

Hugh Masakela performs Friday at Lisner Auditorium. (Elijah Star) THU 11 Cherry Blossom Food Tour DC Metro Food Tours leads this three-hour tour that combines history with stops at restaurants for specially created dishes and drinks inspired by the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Thursday-Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern Market Metro Station, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-683-8847. www.dcmetrofoodtours.com. $49. Capitals Nationals “Monty Python’s Spamalot” Pirates of Whydah “Meaning Making: Fragmented Imaginary of Twelve Cantabrian Artists” FRI 12 David and Ginger Hildebrand Hugh Masekela Francophonie Cultural Festival JFK “Out of Southeast Asia: Art That Sustains” SAT 13 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade Japanese Street Festival D.C. United The New Orleans Bingo! Show Mission South SUN 14 Cabaret Latino! MON 15 Chris Dave and the Drumhedz TUE 16 Presidents of the United States of America The Seattle alt-rockers perform the self-titled album that made them stars in the ’90s with the hit “Lump.” With Eternal Summers and You Scream I Scream. 7 p.m. 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 202-265-0930. www.930.com. $25. WED 17 Fonseca — Compiled by Carrie Donovan from staff reports


The 1978 Washington Bullets championship trophy — and the man who looked over it

Bowie families, Leonsis, through a spokesman, issued a statement that acknowledged the errors in his anecdote. “The Bullets’ 1978 championship trophy wasn’t off-site when Monumental Sports & Entertainment purchased the team,” Leonsis’s statement said. “Rather, it was in a Verizon Center closet in a location that had limited access. Previously the trophy had been on display, but we initially had a difficult time locating it. Once we found it, we had it repaired and spruced up at Tiffany & Co. and placed it in a new display case on the arena’s main concourse. “A championship is incredibly difficult to achieve, and we want to celebrate and respect our history. The organization was honored and grateful that the ’78 team, Mrs. Pollin and her sons were able to participate in last weekend’s 35th anniversary celebration. It was a great event for the players, our organization and the fans.” On Friday, the day the original story ran in the newspaper, Irene Pollin called Leonsis to dispute his account of events, and the two “cleared the air,” she said. On Leonsis’s personal blog that day, he posted an entry, titled “Homage to the Pollin Family,” that praised the Pollins for their stewardship of the franchise and of Verizon Center. In the spring and summer of 2010, just as Leonsis was taking over the Wizards and Verizon Center, work was being done on building a new, larger display case for the trophy. During that time, the trophy was kept, wrapped in protective material, in a room that was part of the Pollin Properties office suite on the arena’s third floor, according to Matt Williams, who served as a spokesman for the Wizards organization from 1988 to 2010. “To the best of my memory, [the new display case] was ready to go just about the time Ted finished the purchase,” Williams said. “Those offices for Pollin Properties were probably the safest place in the building, because keys were limited.” According to Mike Bowie, the room also held the trophy during the period from roughly 1997 to 2001, after the Capitals (purchased by Leonsis in 1999) and Wizards (as the Bullets were renamed in 1995) moved from Capital Centre to Verizon Center, but before the original display case had been built. In 2001, Mike Bowie, who began working under his father in 1997 and eventually worked his way up to vice president, oversaw construction of a


The VA is failing veterans

Duncan Hunter represents California’s 50th District in the U.S. House. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Marine Corps. Pete Hegseth is chief executive of Concerned Veterans for America and served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army. When President George W. Bush accepted Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation as defense secretary in November 2006, it was interpreted as an admission that the war in Iraq needed new direction. Widespread dissatisfaction with the war’s progress, reflected in that year’s midterm elections, demanded fresh leadership at the Pentagon. Two years later, after a surge of troops and a new strategy, the war looked much different. Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs is in an analogous quagmire as it struggles to provide benefits quickly to veterans of all generations. From whistleblowers to unfavorable watchdog reports to wasted money, evidence of VA dysfunction is staggering. We have been strong supporters of the department’s efforts to improve operations, but the time for good intentions is over. Veterans are not getting the service they deserve. During confirmation hearings on his nomination to lead the VA, Gen. Eric Shinseki pledged to streamline the claims process and bring the department into the digital age — laudable goals. But the VA is projected soon to hit a grim landmark of 1 million unprocessed benefits claims, with roughly 600,000 of those more than 125 days old. By the secretary’s own admission, this failure is not for a lack of resources. While other federal departments’ budgets have been cut, Congress has provided the VA with $25 billion in additional funding since 2009 and exempted it from sequestration-related cuts. Clearly, throwing money at the problem hasn’t worked. In the past four years, the VA has spent more than $500 million to migrate its claims process online, but an estimated 97 percent of veterans claims are still filed on paper. Worse, despite a costly attempt to streamline data systems, Defense Department databases still do not communicate with VA systems. The VA also refuses to admit the severity of its problems. It claims that the average time for processing benefits applications is 273 days, more than nine months. But a recent report from the Center for Investigative Reporting, drawing on internal VA documents, found that this severely understates reality. The center found that the VA’s ability to provide service to veterans has “virtually collapsed” since 2009 and that wait times are, on average, closer


Banks barreling into the prepaid debit card market

Retail manager Michael Garcia uses his Green-Dot VISA card as his only debit card for use in online transactions. (Damian Dovarganes/AP) Four years after the financial crisis, more than a dozen of the country’s largest banks have jumped into the once-niche market of prepaid debit cards, courting the millions of Americans on the margins of the banking system. The banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and PNC Bank, are tapping into the pools of consumers who either don’t qualify for a traditional banking account or can’t afford one. They are cheaper to serve and offer a simple way to recoup the billions the industry has lost to tighter financial regulations. These efforts offer potential legitimacy to an industry that has existed in the shadows for decades with less government oversight and a reputation for high fees. Some regulators see the market shift as an opportunity to address the growing population of people who have no access to the banking system. But the industry’s explosive growth, and large banks’ push into the market, has left some consumer advocates worried that low-income consumers will be trapped outside the banking system without the protections inherit in traditional checking and savings accounts. The industry needs more oversight to ensure that players in the market aren’t simply profiting from low-income consumers by charging exorbitant fees, advocates say. “Electronic cards are a good way to get people into the banking system, if they are low cost and operate similar to other accounts banks offer,” said Mark Pearce, director of the division of consumer protection at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. “Historically, prepaid cards haven’t measured up to that standard, but it has been an evolving marketplace.” Mercator, a consulting firm, predicts that Americans will put $202 billion on reloadable cards this year — a giant leap from $28.6 billion in 2009. Demand soared as nearly 1 million households exited the banking system between 2009 and 2011, bringing the number of “unbanked” households to 17 million. Almost 18 percent of those households used prepaid cards in 2011, compared with just over 12 percent two years earlier, according to the FDIC. Most prepaid cardholders earn less than $30,000 a year and are under 35, according to Aite Group, a financial services consulting firm. They are able to add money to the cards, typically electronically, and use them as debit or credit cards. Until recently, banks discounted the industry’s


Bird flu gives Chinese business a cold

HONG KONG — Taobao Marketplace, the e-commerce platform of the Alibaba Internet group, confirmed that as of Wednesday it had banned online trading of live poultry in the Shanghai region. The Four Seasons was among several upmarket Shanghai hotels to take chicken off the menu. Some international schools in the city have removed eggs and poultry from their cafeterias and started doing temperature checks on people entering their campuses. And KFC, one of China’s most successful foreign restaurant chains, has seen a fall in sales. The outbreak of a new form of bird flu — H7N9 — has seen 33 people fall ill, including the nine who have died, according to the government. Aware of public anger over the secrecy that surrounded the handling of the SARS epidemic a decade ago, the authorities have this time been more forthcoming with information. They have taken well-publicized countermeasures, notably in closing poultry markets in Shanghai this month. But Chinese citizens have still questioned on the Internet whether they are getting the full story about the virus. The World Health Organization has said that there is, as of yet, no evidence that the virus is being passed from one human to another. The reported cases have been confined to eastern China and concentrated in Shanghai, the country’s financial capital. Taobao said that, for now, poultry products sold online in places outside Shanghai were not affected by its ban. But the company said that if it received any new directives from the government they would be implemented, including suspending poultry sales in other areas. The poultry is sold by farms, mainly to individual buyers. Producers claim the birds are live at the point of order; they are then slaughtered and shipped in vacuum-sealed packaging. One farmer in rural Zhejiang province, near Shanghai, said his sales had fallen from 100 birds a month before the outbreak to “almost zero now.” Yum Brands, which owns KFC, said in a statement Wednesday, “Within the past week, publicity associated with avian flu in China has had a significant, negative impact on KFC sales.” KFC had already been struggling after a media storm over antibiotics found in its chicken. In March, before reports of H7N9 emerged, KFC’s monthly same-store sales were down 16 percent from the previous year, according to Yum. Some Chinese companies are starting to cancel business trips or ban meetings. Online retailer JD.com sent a letter


Women challenge Orthodox practice at Israel’s Western Wall

Israel. Responding to protests from Jews abroad and growing media coverage of the controversy, Netanyahu asked Natan Sharansky, chairman of the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, to come up with a plan for worship at the Western Wall that would accommodate the non-Orthodox branches of Judaism that are dominant overseas. The move signaled an increasing awareness in the Israeli government that the confrontations over ritual at the Western Wall are driving a wedge between Israel and Jewish communities abroad. This week, Sharansky briefed American Jewish religious leaders on a proposal that would provide for an area of non-Orthodox worship at an extension of the Western Wall south of the main prayer plaza; men and women could pray together there, and women could lead services. The area is part of an archaeological park already used on a limited basis for non-Orthodox rituals, and it would be expanded, renovated with a platform on the same level as the rest of the Western Wall plaza, and made accessible at all hours, just like the current prayer area. The new arrangement would allow equal access to both the traditional and non-Orthodox prayer sections. The ambitious plan, which has yet to be presented for government approval, would signal a new level of official acknowledgment of non-Orthodox forms of worship at the most sacred place where Jews can pray. But it faces obstacles, including possible objections from Israeli antiquities officials and from Muslim religious authorities who run the adjacent al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and who consider the Western Wall to be part of that complex. In a letter to Jewish Agency leaders, Sharansky, a former cabinet minister and Soviet dissident, wrote that “we have an historic opportunity to make the Wall a symbol of Jewish unity and diversity instead of a place of contention and strife.” The Western Wall rabbi, Shmuel Rabinowitz, who has called Women of the Wall members provocateurs, declared that he would not oppose Sharansky’s plan. “In the name of unity and the desire to leave the Wall outside any debate and dispute, I will not oppose the proposal,” Rabinowitz said in a statement, noting that the proposed new prayer area “is not part of the Western Wall synagogue.” Rabbi Gilad Kariv, director of the Reform movement in Israel, said Women of the Wall had succeeded in making religious pluralism at the shrine a major issue of Jewish concern.


Many factors can turn a house into an unhealthy place to live

Erma Taylor with her 3-year-old great grandson Juel Taylor Russ at their Falls Church home. Mold an mildew in since-replaced carpeting contributed to Juel’s asthma attacks. (Astrid Riecken/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) It was a chronic thing: Almost every time Erma Taylor’s great-grandson caught a cold, he also ended up having a severe asthma attack. Taylor, a retired nurse, spent many hours at a hospital, helping to hold the toddler for tests and breathing treatments, and wondering what was causing the attacks. The one thing Taylor never suspected was that something inside the Falls Church Cape Cod that she shares with her granddaughter and great-grandson was a source of the 3-year-old’s medical problems. It turned out that mold and mildew from years of shampooing the decades-old carpet were aggravating the little boy’s respiratory system. The carpeting was replaced with wood flooring through a nonprofit group called Rebuilding Together, and Taylor says she has seen marked improvement. “We haven’t been back to the hospital since then,” Taylor says. Many homeowners may be unsuspecting victims of medical problems, from asthma attacks to lung cancer, caused by components and conditions in their houses, according to a new federal report. More than 30 million homes have significant health issues, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than 20 million housing units have a lead-based paint hazard. And more than 6.8 million homes have radon exposures above the level at which remedial action should be taken, as determined by the EPA. The trouble is that many homeowners and renters aren’t aware of the link between their housing and their health. Radon exposure, for example, has no immediate symptoms. Carbon monoxide poisoning can initially resemble the flu. And exposure to some toxins may be confused with seasonal allergies. “In our cars, we have oil and check engine lights,” says Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, based in Columbia. “There’s no such light for a house.” A federal interagency body called the Healthy Homes Work Group released a report, “Advancing Healthy Housing: A Strategy for Action,” in February, with the goal of reducing the number of homes with health and safety hazards over the next five years. But, federal officials and experts say, a reduction in illness and accidents depends heavily on consumers being vigilant about the dangers in their homes. “People spend more time


Today’s renewable-energy technologies work

Michael Stepp’s April 5 op-ed, “Recognize the limits of renewables,” correctly asserted we need more energy innovation and research-and-development funding to make deep reductions in the amount of U.S. carbon emissions. But he greatly underestimated the role that renewable energy could play in achieving those cuts. Renewable energy is growing rapidly and is already providing a significant source of electricity in many states and countries. Wind and solar power increased nearly fourfold in the United States from 2007 to 2012 and now provides more than 10 percent of the electricity generated in nine states. Wind and solar also provide 30 percent of Denmark’s electricity and 21 percent of Germany’s. We have the tools to accommodate much more wind and solar power on the U.S. electricity system right now. Mr. Stepp unfairly criticized a 2012 National Renewable Energy Laboratory study showing that renewable energy could generate 80 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050. This groundbreaking, peer-reviewed study analyzed more than two dozen scenarios considering a wide range of assumptions to show that multiple technology pathways are available to achieve these levels. We don’t need to wait for new energy innovations when renewable-energy technologies are ready today to make significant cuts in carbon emissions. Steve Clemmer, Yarmouth, Maine The writer is director of energy research and analysis for the Union of Concerned Scientists.


Report: Teachers in 18 D.C. classrooms cheated on 2012 tests

Teachers in 18 District classrooms cheated on high-stakes standardized tests last year, according to a report released Friday by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The findings come one day after journalist John Merrow published a 2009 document that raised questions about whether the District adequately investigated past cheating allegations. School officials maintain that no widespread cheating has occurred, pointing to multiple investigations over the past two years that found only isolated violations. They said Friday’s report is more proof that there is no systematic problem in the District. “The majority of the schools are playing by the rules,” said Jose Alvarez, chief of staff for the state superintendent of education. But D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) — who has criticized previous investigations — said the violations might be a sign of a wider problem. He urged the District to consider whether one of its signature reforms — tying teacher evaluations to test scores — might be motivating adults to cheat. Beneath the back-and-forth is a debate about whether standardized tests, increasingly used to judge teachers and schools, are a reliable indicator of student progress. D.C. test scores have come under increasing scrutiny since revelations that more than 100 schools had unusually high numbers of erasures of wrong to right answers from 2008 to 2010. Such erasures are an indication that cheating may have occurred, but they are not proof. The District’s annual standardized test, known as the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System, was given to students in 2,688 classrooms last spring. The OSSE flagged 41 classrooms in 25 schools for extra scrutiny based on odd patterns, such as wrong-to-right erasure marks, unusually big gains or drops in students’ scores, and unusual score patterns. Then a management consulting firm, Alvarez and Marsal, visited schools and interviewed students, teachers and administrators. (Jose Alvarez is not connected with the consulting firm.) The 18 classrooms found to have critical violations were in 11 schools: seven traditional schools and four charter schools. The test-tampering included providing students with answers, reading test questions aloud and encouraging students to reread specific questions. Scores on the 2012 tests at those schools will be invalidated. For six of those schools, that will trigger additional oversight of academic programs and interventions for struggling students. The seven traditional D.C. public schools at which cheating was detected are two preschool-eighth grade campuses — Brightwood and Winston —


In Mexico, an upsurge of vigilantism

been a center of marijuana and heroin production. More recently, the region has seen mass kidnappings, murders and even beheadings as rival drug gangs fight for control of lucrative international smuggling routes. But the appearance of the groups is a reminder that for all the investors’ euphoria surrounding the new administration of President Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexico’s drug war — and the violence it spawns — is still very much alive. According to Reforma, Mexico’s leading daily newspaper, there were 2,351 murders related to organized crime during the first 100 days of Peña Nieto’s administration — 13 more than during the last 100 days of the previous administration. This week, the government published figures showing a 17 percent drop over the four months since the beginning of December compared with the previous four months. Even so, officials were quick to dampen expectations. “It’s too early to assume triumphant attitudes,” said Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, the interior minister. Whatever the true number, nobody disputes that violent incidents occur daily. This month, a man carrying an AK-47 assault rifle opened fire in a bar in the northern city of Chihuahua, killing seven people. A U.S. citizen was among four killed last week in attacks, one involving a grenade, targeting bars in the central city of Guadalajara. Horror spread through Mexico state, which surrounds the capital, when the bodies of two men were found hanging from a bridge recently. The new government, which took office Dec. 1, is still putting in place its security policy. One aspect involves creating a “gendarmerie,” with initial personnel of 10,000 but set to grow in the coming months, to police the country’s most violent municipalities. Another move has been to dissolve the Public Security Ministry, placing the federal police, one of more than 2,000 separate police forces operating in Mexico’s sometimes chaotic federal system, under the command of the Interior Ministry. The idea is to improve coordination at the government level. But it is clear that Peña Nieto is not expecting results anytime soon. In comments last month, the 46-year-old member of the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) appeared to play down expectations, saying that it would be reasonable to assess the security situation only in 12 months’ time. Meanwhile, and in an acknowledgment of the growing vigilante movement, Roberto Campa, a high-ranking official at the Interior Ministry, said recently: “We understand that there are some regions


‘Time and Navigation’ at Air and Space Museum

Lockheed Vega 5C Winnie Mae on view at National Air and Space Museum's Time and Navigation exhibit. Wiley Post’s Winnie Mae circled the globe two times, shattering previous records. (Dane A. Penland/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION) A deep understanding of the new exhibit “Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting From Here to There,” begins with a basic premise: If you want to know where you are, then you need to know what time it is. What follows includes breakdowns of longitude and latitude, vibrations of the cesium atom, and Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Luckily, you don’t need a deep understanding of science to appreciate the ambitious, long-term exhibit, a collaboration between the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History, which opened Friday. Just like you don’t need to know how a smartphone works in order to call your mom, or to use the GPS. But it does help. At the exhibition entrance, there’s a large wall clock featuring an airplane, a satellite and and a submarine that rise and whirr every 15 minutes. That simple premise behind “Time and Navigation” is always clear — in the Middle Ages, Western Europeans understood that it took 24 hours for the Earth to rotate 360 degrees of longitude, making an accurate clock essential to accurate navigation. A few feet inside, the clocks get a lot more complicated. Ramsden Sextant by Jesse Ramsden on view at the National Air and Space Museum. This was one of the navigation tools invented in the 18th century by British mathematical instrument makers, and it allowed mariners to find their position using the angle of the celestial bodies above the horizon. (Jaclyn Nash/Smithsonian Institution) The 150-artifact exhibition is organized into five sections and covers 300 years of earth and space exploration. It moves chronologically, beginning with marine navigation, then air, then space, then satellite, then modern navigational tools in everyday use. Open-sea exploration is thousands of years old, and as practiced by the Vikings and Polynesians, for example, was based on constant headings according to stars and winds and the number of days it took to move between earthly bodies. It made for navigation that was subjective and imprecise. ,The Italian astronomer Galileo knew that every hour of the day was equal to 15 degrees of longitude — and in the early 1600s he worked on a clock that could go to sea.


Md. lawmakers still barking over dog bite bill

The debate everyone was talking about on the last day of Maryland’s legislative session — over a bill to establish stricter standards for liability for dog bites — has continued in the days since the Maryland General Assembly emptied out. Lawmakers have expressed a strong desire to amend a court decision creating strict standards of liability for pit bull owners and the landlords of pit bull owners. Early on Monday, the House and Senate released a compromise bill, which would create strict liability for injuries caused by dogs of all breeds to persons under the age of 13. It failed late Monday night in the House of Delegates. After a debate on the bill between two Montgomery county lawmakers turned into a shouting match, a vote on the bill was delayed, and it never happened before the midnight adjournment. Instead, Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) ran out the clock, allowing the House to spend the last half hour of session thanking their staff and issuing happy birthdays to their colleagues. Now, one of the bill’s most vocal opponents, Del. Benjamin F. Kramer (D-Montgomery) has asked Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) to call a special session in order for the legislature to amend the court’s decision. In a letter to the governor sent Thursday, Kramer asks O’Malley “to demonstrate your proven leadership and, in the immediate future, call the Maryland General Assembly into a one-day special session.” “The state legislature has made a sincere effort to correct (the court decision),” Kramer said. “Unfortunately, legitimate differences of opinion, as to the appropriate standard for civil liability for dog OWNERS, whose dog inflicts a bite injury on another person, has kept a legislative resolution to this issue from achieving passage.” In the one-day special session, Kramer said, lawmakers could swiftly agree to a bill that “simply restores the common law standard.” “Governor O’Malley, I implore you to stop the carnage,” Kramer said. Del. Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery), who was responsible for ushering the Senate compromise through the House, said she was surprised that Kramer wanted to return to work on a bill. “Chutzpah,” she said. “After he spent so much time trying to kill the conference report, I’m surprised he wants us all to come back now that it’s all over.” “It’s awful that we didn’t get it done. It’s keeping me up at night, but I don’t know if bringing us all


Teachers in 18 D.C. classrooms cheated on tests last year, probe finds

(bigstock) Teachers in 18 D.C. classrooms cheated last year on high-stakes standardized tests, according to the results of an investigation released Friday by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The findings come one day after journalist John Merrow published a 2009 memo that raised questions about whether D.C. officials have adequately investigated past cheating allegations. The 18 classrooms found to have “critical” violations of test security were spread across 11 schools, including seven traditional and four charter schools. Critical violations include test-tampering such as providing students with answers or using prohibited electronic devices. Teachers in four other classrooms were found to have committed “moderate” infractions, such as refusal to sign a non-disclosure form. “DCPS received final information about the OSSE’s test integrity investigation this morning,” said D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson in a statement. “At this point, we are not able to make any comment about the specifics of their findings as we have not had a chance to fully review the results of their investigation. But where cheating is confirmed, we will swiftly take the appropriate disciplinary actions. “We are pleased that this is yet another investigation that confirms that there is no widespread cheating at DCPS,” Henderson added. The audit was conducted by Alvarez and Marsal, the same firm that last year found cheating by three teachers on the 2011 tests, known as the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System. The DC-CAS was administered to students in 2,688 classrooms, according to OSSE. The agency flagged a total of 41 classrooms in 25 schools for extra scrutiny based on odd patterns such as suspicious wrong-to-right erasure marks, unusually big gains or drops in students’ scores or unusual score patterns in a classroom. Alvarez and Marsal then visited schools and interviewed students, teachers and administrators. The seven DCPS schools where scores will be invalidated are: Beers Elementary, Brightwood Education Campus, Hendley Elementary, Kenilworth Elementary, Langdon Elementary, Miner Elementary and Winston Education Campus. The four charters are Arts and Technology Academy, Community Academy-Amos I, Hope Community-Lamond, and Meridian. D.C. test scores have come under increasing scrutiny since USA Today published a March 2011 investigation showing an unusually high number of erasures from wrong to right answers in more than 100 D.C. public schools from 2008 to 2010


U.S. names Russians to sanctions list for human rights abuses

The Obama administration on Friday named 18 Russians to a U.S. sanctions list for alleged human rights abuses, setting up a likely feud with Moscow over what Russian officials have decried as interference with the country’s internal affairs. The 18 names were the first to be promulgated under the so-called Magnitsky Act, which Congress passed last year to punish Russian officials linked to suspected violations of human rights. All but two of those on the list have been connected by U.S. officials to the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison after blowing the whistle on a massive tax-fraud scheme. Sixteen of those on the list are current or former officials involved in Magnitsky case, including judges and police and revenue officers. The two others are Chechens suspected of crimes. One of them, Kazbek Dukuzov, has been accused of murdering American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow in 2004. The administration faced a congressionally mandated deadline of Saturday for identifying Russians for the list, which bans travel to the United States and freezes U.S.-based financial holdings. Administration officials said they supported calling attention to human rights violations, despite threats of retaliation by Russia. “We have our differences with Russia,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “Human rights is an issue that we have disagreements with them on at times, and you know, we are very frank and candid about that.” Russian officials had warned In fact, the initial response from Moscow was relatively muted, as some officials expressed relief that the list was relatively short and did not name senior officials close to President Vladimir Putin. Some congressional backers of the Magnitsky measure had predicted the list would include hundreds of names. “The U.S. president’s administration has taken a minimal route, and this means it decided not to risk an exacerbation of the political crisis with Moscow,” Alexei Pushkov, head of the international affairs committee for Russia’s lower house of parliament, told Russia’s Interfax news agency. He said the White House was showing a “more reasonable attitude” to prevent a further souring of relations with Moscow. The publication of the list comes just two days ahead of a visit to Moscow by Thomas E. Donilon, the White House national security adviser. The administration, after famously declaring a “reset” of relations with Russia four years ago, has locked horns with Putin over a host of issues since,


United States and Japan move forward on trade talks

to restart growth, and Japan recently announced a major push by its central bank as part of that. The yen has dropped sharply against the dollar since Abe’s election — making exported Japanese autos cheaper. The U.S. Treasury, in a periodic report on world currencies, said Friday that it would “continue to press” Japan to ensure its central bank actions are geared toward domestic economic conditions and are not an effort at “competitive devaluation” to boost exports. For Obama, Japan’s participation elevates a central part of what has become an ambitious trade agenda and increases the likelihood that any resulting agreement may have what U.S. officials hope will be a deep impact on world trade and investment patterns. With Japan on board, the pact would cover some 40 percent of global economic activity. It would also mark a step forward in the Obama administration’s effort to deepen the U.S. presence in a region dominated by the rise of China. Froman said the breakthrough with Japan was important not just for trade but “for overall U.S. strategic priorities.” There are many skeptics — of TPP in general and of Japan’s involvement specifically. The aim is to complete the trade negotiations this year — an aggressive timetable for a pact that, if it lives up to its billing, would go far beyond traditional trade issues to cover such matters as limits on state-owned companies and rules governing technology and science-based industries. The involvement of Japan, while a geopolitical plus for Obama, has raised a red flag for U.S. auto-state politicians and others who have been disappointed by prior negotiations with the Japanese. Critics argue that the Japanese auto industry is effectively insulated by such a thicket of protections — from the value of the yen to nationalistic consumer preferences — that the talks are bound to disappoint. While the auto industry has undergone massive globalization — from General Motors’ investments in China to the Japanese and German companies that build many cars in the United States — no foreign firms have set up shop in Japan. Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan, an auto-state Democrat and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, called the concessions offered by Japan “a meaningless gesture.” Levin said the idea of Japan joining the TPP would come under close scrutiny during a 90-day congressional review period. As part of the talks, the United States agreed


Russia retaliates against U.S., bans American officials

MOSCOW — The United States imposed visa and banking sanctions Friday against Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses, primarily in connection with the case of the late Sergei Magnitsky. Russia responded by naming a dozen-and-a-half Americans it accuses of human rights violations at the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or of having had a role in the detention of Russian citizens in third countries. That second category primarily concerns convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and then turned over to U.S. authorities. The Russian government aimed its list at a much higher level than the American Magnitsky list, which includes midlevel tax, police, jail and court officials. On the Russian list are David Addington, who was Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff; John Yoo, assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Justice Department from 2001 to 2003 and the author of memos backing torture of suspects; Jed Rakoff, U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York; and Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, as well as lower officials and two former Guantanamo commanders. “We should note particularly that, unlike the American list compiled arbitrarily, our list features primarily those who took part in legalizing torture and the indefinite detention of prisoners in the Guantanamo special prison camp, and those involved in the abduction and removal to other countries of Russian citizens and in threats to their lives and health,” Alexander Lukashevich, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement on the ministry’s Web site. “This war of lists was not our decision, but we do not have the right to ignore such open blackmail,” he said. “It is time for the politicians in Washington to finally realize that it is fruitless to base a relationship with a country such as Russia in the spirit of mentorship and overt dictation.” The Magnitsky list was compiled by the Obama administration in compliance with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, signed by Obama in December. Sixteen of the former officials on it have been implicated in a $230 million tax fraud that Magnitsky uncovered, in his subsequent arrest or in his death in pretrial detention in 2009. Two others on the list are Chechens suspected of murder. The Russian government has been vehement in its denunciations of the U.S.


Pain and pain management in NFL spawn a culture of prescription drug use and abuse

take one NSAID and one acetaminophen, whatever they said.” When former Redskin Mark Schlereth, a veteran of 12 seasons and 29 surgeries, underwent a kidney-stone operation on a Sunday night and suited up for a game less than 24 hours later, he drew the strength to do so from a needle and pill bottle. “I would strap a dog turd to it if I thought that would make me feel better,” he said. “Bottom line is, I’d do whatever I have to do. Have I had Toradol shots? Yes. Have I abused anti-inflammatories? Yes. Have I used painkillers? Yes. Have I got shot up with painkillers and Xylocaine and different things to numb areas so I can play? Yes. I’ve done it all.” Jarring hits and injuries are an inherent part of the National Football League, and so too is the game’s complex — and potentially dangerous — system of managing pain. It’s an issue the league has grappled with for many years: a culture of prescription drug use and misuse that stretches from the locker room into retirement, and even on to coaching staffs, with uneven oversight and a lack of uniform guidelines. Numerous studies suggest the drugs that help many athletes take the field each Sunday can carry dangerous side effects, lead to lifelong addictions, expose them to further injury and compromise a delicate system that’s ripe for abuse. Court records and interviews reveal that until recently some NFL teams either flouted or were ignorant of Drug Enforcement Agency laws governing the dispensing of painkillers. Moreover, The Washington Post surveyed more than 500 former players about their experiences with drugs in the NFL. One in four said he felt pressure from team doctors to take medication he was uncomfortable with. The NFL’s most recently reported rate of opioid use — 7 percent — was three times higher than that of the general population, but the league’s defenders say that the NFL’s problem with prescription abuse is hardly unique. According to federal statistics, more than 2 million Americans are addicted to painkillers. Deaths caused by the overdose of prescription drugs exceeded motor vehicle deaths in 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are responsible for more deaths than illegal street drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and amphetamines. “The whole issue of pain meds is a big, important issue in our society well outside the NFL,”


MyEyeDr. to add new locations, expand throughout East Coast

Flush with millions of dollars in new private equity funding, MyEyeDr., the Vienna-based chain of optometry practices and retail shops, is looking to expand. The company, which has 47 locations in the Washington area, says it will have 60 by the end of the year. Beginning in 2014, it plans to add locations throughout the East Coast, with a goal of 200 stores. “In the past 10 years, there’s been a lot more consolidation in our industry,” said Robert Samit, a licensed optometrist who founded the company in 2001. “If you’re an individual optometrist, you’re going the way of the local pharmacy, which has been acquired by CVS and Walgreens. It’s happening in all aspects of the medical field.” MyEyeDr. is hoping to capitalize on that trend. In December, the company partnered with Monitor Clipper Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, to finance its expansion. Since then, the company has acquired two practices in the Baltimore area. “What we like to do, and what we prefer to do, is to acquire existing practices,” said Timothy Gorin, vice president of business development. “It builds an instant business for us.” Even so, Gorin said there are up-and-coming areas, such as the Mosaic development in Fairfax County and King’s Crossing in Alexandria, where it has made sense for MyEyeDr. to build new stores from the ground up. “It’s a three-pronged approach,” he said. “It’s brand new locations, taking over and rebranding existing locations, and also doing acquisitions where we literally merge [doctors] into an existing practice.” It’s a model that Samit, 57, knows well. In 1984, as one-hour labs for eyeglasses were becoming popular, the Bethesda resident founded Hour Eyes, a chain that he sold in 1997. After that, he founded Millennium Laser Eye Centers, now a part of TLC Lasik Centers. Samit founded MyEyeDr. to meet rising demand for vision practices that accepted insurance plans. “We realized that the optometry world was morphing from a retail business into a managed-care system,” he said. “I said, ‘You know what? Let’s welcome all insurance plans.’” Today, MyEyeDr. accepts vision plans from all insurance carriers. Because the company is optometrist owned and operated, it has access to certain plans that retailers such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision do not. To keep track of thousands of patients with hundreds of vision plans, the company developed a proprietary software system to track appointments, medical histories and payments.


Hilary Koprowski, virologist who developed a polio vaccine, dies at 96

Hilary Koprowski, a pioneering virologist who was credited with developing the first successful oral vaccination for polio, died April 11 at his home in Wynnewood, Pa. He was 96. His son Christopher Koprowski confirmed the death. The cause was not reported. Although not as well-known as researchers Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, Dr. Koprowski in 1950 became the first to show it was possible to vaccinate against polio, the crippling and sometimes fatal disease that has all but been eradicated. Dr. Koprowski self-administered the live-virus oral vaccine he developed before the 1950 clinical trial — about two years before Salk’s injectable version using a dead form of the virus began testing with the backing of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now the March of Dimes. Sabin — who sometimes collaborated with Dr. Koprowski, according to his son — was the first to get the more effective oral version, which didn’t require boosters, licensed for use in the United States. This February 1961 photo shows Dr. Hilary Koprowski, a pioneering virologist who developed the first successful oral vaccination for polio. He died April 11 at his suburban Philadelphia home. He was 96. (AP) Dr. Koprowski went on to be the director of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia from 1957 to 1991. Under his leadership, the independent research institution developed a rubella vaccine that helped eradicate the disease in much of the world, Wistar officials said. During that time, the institute also developed a more effective rabies vaccine. A look at those who died last year. Dr. Koprowski was born in Poland. A talented musician, he was a penniless immigrant in Rio de Janeiro making money teaching piano before joining a lab there and eventually moving to the United States, his son said.


Report: Compounding pharmacies go untracked

doctors’ offices rely on a wide array of medications made by compounding pharmacies, including antibiotics, painkillers, and labor and delivery drugs, as well as medication for pets. Sometimes compounders start with raw materials. Sometimes they repackage finished drugs into different forms and concentrations. But unlike drugs made by pharmaceutical companies, compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. Compounders do not have to meet the same standards as drug companies, even though some have grown so large that they resemble manufacturing-style operations, producing tens of thousands of doses and shipping them across state lines, often without individual prescriptions. The FDA rarely inspects the facilities, unless the agency is responding to a complaint or a request from state authorities. State pharmacy boards are the primary regulators, but their oversight and expertise is uneven. About a dozen states The Markey report is based on information collected from states last month. Among the other findings: ●The majority of states allow any pharmacy to compound without a specific compounding license or permit. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia were unable to provide an exact number of pharmacies that are authorized to compound. Only Missouri and Mississippi require a license for basic drug compounding. Three states — Arkansas, Maine and Oregon — ask that pharmacies indicate on their initial license application whether they plan to engage in compounding activities. ●None of the states said they track the volume of medications made by compounders or whether pharmacies sell compounded drugs across state lines. ●Thirty-seven state boards of pharmacy do not systematically track which pharmacies make sterile products. Among the 13 states that do are California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. ●When issues arise with pharmacies in other states, state boards do not consistently inform each other or the FDA. As a result, a state may discover a serious problem with the drugs produced by a pharmacy in another state, take action to stop that pharmacy from shipping drugs into its state, but never notify the home state or any other state about the safety problem. To address this lack of information, the Iowa pharmacy board is inspecting more than 600 out-of-state pharmacies that ship medications into Iowa, including compounders. The inspections have led to charges against five compounding pharmacies. The board is accusing the companies of failing to comply with regulations that require compounders to have prescriptions for specific patients, among other violations. Carmen Catizone, executive director of the


Grizzly bears may have diet lessons that can be helpful for humans

that one easy way to limit access to abundance — and, by extension, the tendency to overeat or eat too often — is to empty food caches at work, in the glove compartment and in the purse, and to shop for at most a few days’ worth of meals instead of stockpiling. In choosing foods, she said, she focused less on certified organic foods and more on selecting ones that were seasonal, locally grown and less processed. Research suggests that fruit and vegetables typically found in supermarkets are bred for shelf life and their ability to withstand transport but are often less nutritious and more caloric than traditional heirloom varieties. The Biochemical Institute at the University of Texas at Austin tracked the nutrient content of 43 of the most frequently cultivated varieties of produce from 1950 to 1999 and found a substantial reduction in protein content, B vitamin, fiber and antioxidants over that period. Similarly, traditional whole grains such as quinoa, faro and barley are more filling and offer up fewer calories and more nutrition per mouthful than refined wheat and white rice. In general, these traditional foods also encourage the digestive system to work hard for each calorie. Better gut bacteria In addition to having lower sugar, more fiber and more nutrients, these heirloom and traditional foods tend to nurture a healthier assortment of intestinal bacteria, says Stanford School of Medicine microbiologist Justin Sonnenburg. “Basically, even though most of us are eating in a modern way, our genome is optimized to work with the microbiota [intestinal bacteria] that are promoted by traditional foods.” Meanwhile, bonier cuts of meat can flavor a stew of lower-calorie legumes, vegetables and grains while making us, like those grizzlies, forage a bit more for the meat itself. Buying heirloom and traditional foods usually means shopping at farmers markets, smaller groceries or food co-ops, which has the effect of altering the food environment in much the same way as the Brookside zookeepers did for the grizzlies. Instead of slowly guiding a cart through a supermarket, you fill bags that you must carry, or you push a basket-hauling bike. (It is also likely that you’ll avoid being tempted by racks full of low-nutrient, high-calorie snacks that beckon in a supermarket.) None of this sounds that major, but as the zookeepers found out, many small changes in environment had a big impact. Cooking from scratch isn’t quite


Obama letter to Putin sends ‘positive signals,’ Russian official says

human rights violators. They are also subject to financial sanctions. The White House opposed the Magnitsky measure, but it was passed overwhelmingly by Congress. The Russian list, released a day later, names officials associated with the Guantanamo prison camp and “enhanced interrogation,” as well as prosecutors and judges who have dealt with criminal cases involving several Russians. Since taking the office in 2000, Vladimir Putin expanded the powers of Russia's presidency. Publicly naming people who are barred from entering a country is highly unusual; the Russians have called it provocative. The release of the lists follows a year of unraveling relations between the two countries, which began as Putin reassumed the presidency last spring. Russia has resisted the United States position on Syria, criticized American support for advocacy groups here, expelled USAID and accused Washington of trying to foment rebellion in the streets. Passage of the Magnitsky law in December led to a Russian ban on American adoptions of Russian children. Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said Donilon went to Moscow to discuss a “full range” of issues, including Syria, trade and nuclear non-proliferation. Russia has already been notably critical of North Korean threats against South Korea and the United States. “We understand we have differences, and we are very clear and transparent and candid about those differences and we engage with Russian officials on those differences,” Carney said. “But we also have areas where we can cooperate in ways that are useful and in the interest of both Russia and the United States.” “As for us, we shall follow these positive signals,” Ushakov said. Monday’s talks included, besides Putin, Ushakov and Donilon: U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul; Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for arms control; James Miller, under secretary of defense for policy; Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council; Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov; Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov; and officials from the Russian Federal Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service. Earlier Monday, Donilon met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov afterward told the Itar-Tass news agency that Donilon had reiterated comments made last week by Secretary of State John F. Kerry when he met with him, acknowledging that there were “irritants” in relations between the two countries and pledging to try to ameliorate them. “Let’s see,” Lavrov said. “We’ll judge by deeds and not by words.” Scott Wilson in Washington contributed to this story.


A Complicated Case

factors are also believed to play a role. Because the symptoms of Sjogren’s mimic other diseases, including MS, delayed diagnosis is common; the foundation reports that the average delay between the onset of symptoms and accurate diagnosis is more than 41 / 2 years. There is no cure for the disorder, which is treated with various drugs to combat dryness and other symptoms. Patients must closely monitor the health of their eyes and mouth to prevent damage from the disease, which can also affect the liver, kidneys and lungs. Among Sjogren’s patients, the rate of lymphoma is higher than among the general population. Johnson is not sure what prompted her to order the Sjogren’s tests. “I was really thinking more of RA, given her family history,” she said. “And in her case, nearly every symptom could be attributed to something else.” To complicate matters, some of Kennedy’s medical problems, including seizures and hypertension, were unrelated to Sjogren’s. Johnson referred Kennedy to a rheumatologist, whom she sees regularly. He prescribed Plaquenil, an antimalarial drug that is also often used to treat Sjogren’s, which helps modulate an overactive immune system. “She’s doing much, much better,” Johnson said. Kennedy, now 54, retired early from her federal job. Although her health has improved, the past year has been marked by “good days and bad days.” She is chair of her neighborhood community association, and volunteers at a horse farm and for the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, helping shepherd other patients through the throes of diagnosis and treatment. On good days, she enjoys riding her John Deere tractor around her 14-acre spread, hauling logs and sometimes chopping wood. On bad days, she stays home and rests. Kennedy said she is relieved to have a diagnosis and is especially grateful to Johnson, whom she says “worked diligently on my behalf. . . . I hear many stories of patients whose doctors have given up on them.” Living with a chronic condition has required certain adjustments. “I have to think through things I never thought I’d be having to think through,” she said, such as whether she feels well enough to travel to see her family in Virginia. “But I realized, ‘Okay, this is only going to get fixed so much.’ It’s important to be grateful for what you have and to make the most of the good moments.” Have a medical mystery that’s been solved? E-mail medicalmysteries@


Astronomer asks kids about the stars

Maya Barlev visits the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in the mountains of Chile. (From Maya Barlev) Maya Barlev doesn’t remember when she decided to study the universe, but she said the idea crept up on her when she was a student at Stonegate Elementary in Silver Spring. “I liked the stars and moon, and I liked math,” Barlev said. “I liked the way you could figure math things out with just a pencil and paper.” Barlev went on to study astrophysics, the study of space, in college. This month — Global Astronomy Month — the 22-year-old is far from home talking to future astronomers. She’s traveling around the world asking kids ages 6 to 16 what the universe means to them and what they want to know about astronomy, the science of studying the heavens. “No matter where I’ve been all over the world, there are kids interested in going to the moon and outer space,” she said in a telephone interview from Cape Town, South Africa. “Even if they’re not learning about astronomy in school, kids are fascinated by the universe.” Barlev’s astronomy project partly was inspired by two experiences she had in school. In high school, she became active in the Universe Awareness Project (www.unawe.org), an international program that helps kids as young as 4 understand the night sky. And while attending Haverford College, Barlev organized star-watching parties for families at the school’s two big telescopes. Maya Barlev, who travels the world talking about astronomy, presents a telescope to a school in Nepal. (From Maya Barlev) After she graduated, Barlev won a Watson Fellowship, an award that provides money for her to travel around the world, including stops in Africa, Chile, Nepal, New Zealand and Indonesia. Barlev visits classrooms, community centers and big telescopes. She says she has fun with the kids — doing face-painting, art projects, working up science puzzle games for older students and showing kids as young as kindergartners how small telescopes work. “Sometimes I introduce myself as an astronomer, and they’ll say, like, ‘Oh, an astronaut?’ or, ‘I’m a Leo,’ thinking I am an astrologer,” she said. (Astrologers aim to predict the future based on movements of the stars.) But Barlev says that as soon as the kids understand what astronomy is, they light up “because it’s an inspiring science that kids and adults can engage with . . . something kids anywhere in


Blast scars ‘sacred day’ for local Boston Marathon runners

Twin blasts injured dozens and scattered crowds near the finish line of the renowned race. An 8-year-old was among the dead. About 30 strong, members of the Montgomery County Road Runners who had qualified for the 117th Boston Marathon gathered near the start line in Hopkinton, Mass., for a group photo Monday, all smiles and nervous anticipation of the task that lay ahead. Within hours, one of the highlights of their year had turned to chaos when two bombs went off near the finish line of perhaps the most prestigious footrace held in the United States each year, killing three and injuring more than 100. “These are happy events,” said Dan DiFonzo, a member of the club who was running in his ninth straight Boston Marathon. “These are events we train for our whole lives. To have something like this happen on the Super Bowl of marathoning, it’s sickening. It just makes you sick to your stomach.” Added 50-year-old Barry Hauptman of Bethesda, who had planned to celebrate his birthday as well as a fine performance in the race Monday night: “I ran the marathon, I had a great time, I loved everything, and within an hour everything was turned upside down. It’s my favorite day and to have something like this happen on the most sacred day [of the running calendar] is nothing short of flabbergasting.” DiFonzo and others said all club members appeared to be safe. With phone service overwhelmed, runners were checking in via text message and the club’s Facebook page, telling family, friends and each other they had survived the unthinkable. For DiFonzo, Hauptman and many others, hard training and natural speed meant more than just a fast time Monday. The bomb went off shortly before the 4:10 mark of the race; having completed the course in just over three hours, they were safely out of harm’s way. Others faced a closer call. Giovanna Tosato, another club member from Bethesda, said she was 50 to 100 yards beyond the finish line, receiving her finisher’s medal, when the first explosion boomed out. “It’s good that I ran a good race today, that the weather was nice,” the 64-year-old said of her 3:57 finish. “You never know with the marathon. A minute. Two minutes.” Sarah Johnson, 42, of Bethesda, said she was on the 23rd floor of the Marriott hotel in Copley Square, about a block from the


Boston Marathon: Tragedy strikes a sport’s crown jewel

the pain of not finishing what you started, coming so close to your goal and failing. If you told me there would be bloodied limbs and panicked screams on the same street in almost the exact same area, I wouldn’t have believed you — even in this post-9/11 world. But there are many others within the running industry who worried a day like Monday could happen. A longtime race official I know who has worked five world-class marathons (Boston, New York, London, Berlin and Chicago), told me this had been many organizers’ fear for years. “The one opening in the security planning for everybody were the fans; there is no way to screen your fans,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “You can screen your runners, volunteers, media and race officials — you can make them all produce proof that they are who they say they are — but if the arena of competition is a city’s streets, how do you possibly screen every person walking up to the race? You have to buy a ticket to get to the finish line area at many big races, but unfortunately anyone with money could procure one.” Marathoners always talk about “managing your pain,” about their innate ability to endure physical suffering more than so many other people they know. It’s their rationale for so much torn cartilage and sore IT bands and plantar fasciitis and stress fractures. From personal experience, having run four marathons, I know there are things worked out in your head on a run that cannot be worked out in a therapist’s office or a friend’s living room, a clarity only a physical journey can bestow. Putting in the miles, getting to a place of almost serenity and purpose in your running, can take you away from whatever was gnawing at you before you made the decision to put on your shoes and walk out the door. There is also something about defiance in finishing, like the members of the New Orleans track club, who wanted to withdraw from New York in 2005 after Katrina ruined their city and lives. But stronger than the water was their will to be visible demonstrations of fighting back, the way so many others ran for someone they lost after 9/11. For so many who ran, Boston on Monday afternoon was less about a race and more about a


Colin Davis, celebrated British conductor, dies at 85

Colin Davis, the British conductor who guided some of the world’s leading orchestras in often-revelatory performances of Mozart, Berlioz, Sibelius, Britten and Tippett, died April 14 in London. He was 85. The London Symphony Orchestra, where he was principal conductor for 11 years before stepping down in 2006, announced the death but did not disclose the cause. For the last seven years, he was LSO president — a title previously held by only four other conductors, including Leonard Bernstein. His career included stints as head of the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Sadler’s Wells opera in London. But he retained a particular link with the LSO, which during his association — his principal conductor tenure was preceded by 20 years as principal guest conductor — rose to become the marquee orchestra in London. The association remained vivid in the minds of Americans who saw him lead the orchestra in annual appearances in New York, and sometimes other cities (they came to Washington in 2001) as well. As a conductor, he did particularly memorable work as a Mozartean, even though he had no use for period instruments and the so-called historically informed performance movement. He was able, the pianist Mitsuko Uchida once told the London Guardian, “to unlock the pure joy that is contained within the music.” The President of the London Symphony Orchestra Sir Colin Davis, performing here in 1965, has died at the age of 85. (Erich Auerbach/Getty Images) Perhaps it was no accident that he had a special knack for Berlioz the maverick. In his later life, he projected the image of a serene and intellectual elder statesman, what with his knitting, pipe-smoking and voracious reading habit. But he was considerably more volatile, and more of an outsider, in his youth. Passionate and mercurial, he alienated some musicians and failed to establish the kinds of working relationships he wanted with his own country’s leading institutions. He had what he described as a crisis in the mid-1960s that led not only to a career implosion, but also to the destruction of his first marriage, to the soprano April Cantelo, when he fell in love with their two children’s Iranian au pair, Ashraf Naini, known as Shamsi. They were married in 1965 and had five children before her death in 2010. Still, that marriage did


At Boston Marathon, witnesses describe scene of fear, confusion and bloodshed

away from the windows, then rushed downstairs to a scene of carnage. “People were on the ground lying down. Some people were walking wounded,” he said. “It was like a scene from Tel Aviv or Baghdad or Pakistan.” Giovanna Tosato, 64, of Bethesda, had just had the marathon medal placed around her neck when she heard the first blast, then the second. Chaos ensued as volunteers tried to hurry exhausted runners out of the area, she said. “All the volunteers are pushing the runners to run, and the runners couldn’t run — they had just finished the marathon,” she said. “Some were cramping.” Seven stories above the confusion, Charlotte Holler, 24, was at work in the nearby Prudential Tower when she felt the explosions rock the floor under her feet. She said she initially feared that something was collapsing. Holler and her colleagues ran to the windows to see smoke-filled streets and scores of marathoners turning away from the finish line, sometimes hurtling over barricades to get away. The event at the finish quickly reverberated back through the line of runners. Amanda Burgess, 35, of Nashua, N.H., was short of the finish line. When she heard that there had been bombs, she said, “I had a panic attack. My kids were at the finish line, waiting for me.” It took her 30 minutes to get through the jammed cellphone network to determine that her 7- and 9-year-olds were safe. Michael Johnstone, 57, a runner from Newton, Mass., was nearly two miles from completing the race when he noticed people in police uniforms and emergency gear going the other way. “I thought it was a breakdown in security, but then we were stopped,” he said. Many runners who retreated from the course later came back to try to find their bags of clothes, which were located at buses near the finish line. Police shooed them away as fears of additional bombs prompted authorities to rope off an ever-expanding security zone. As the afternoon shadows grew, runners stood shivering in their shorts in Boston’s historic Public Garden. The adjoining Boston Common was taken over by rows of police and National Guardsmen. George Stavros, 49, a psychology professor at Boston University, had tried to complete the 26.2-mile course. A short distance before the finish line, word of the bombings began to spread among runners, but he kept going. “Once we got past [mile]


In Boston attack, a reminder of the difficulty in foiling terrorist plots

to have the signature of a coordinated al-Qaeda bombing, in which a sophisticated explosive device packed with shrapnel is detonated in an enclosed space to maximize casualties. The evidence could point to a domestic group, but White House officials and investigators cautioned that it was too soon to link the attack to any particular kind of perpetrator. “At this stage, it’s perplexing,” said the former official, who would discuss an ongoing investigation only on the condition of anonymity. “It’s not a military or particularly iconic target like Times Square or the New York subway. This could be someone with limited or no foreign connections.” From the FBI to local police departments, law enforcement agencies have dramatically shifted their emphasis to counterterrorism over the past decade, gathering intelligence on both domestic and foreign extremist groups. The George W. Bush and Obama administrations have created an enormous global apparatus designed to track and target terrorists. But officials have always warned that the United States cannot prevent every attempted strike on U.S. soil. In some recent plots, authorities have benefited as much from luck as investigative skill. The last mass terrorist killing on U.S. soil was carried out by Maj. Nidal M. Hassan, an Army psychiatrist, who fatally shot 13 people and wounded 30 more at Fort Hood, Tex., in November 2009. Hassan had connections to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the American-born Islamic cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was later killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen. But there has been a series of failed or foiled bomb plots since the Sept. 11 attacks. Less than three months after airliners crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Richard Reid tried to detonate a shoe filled with explosives on a flight from Miami to Paris. Eight years later, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to set off explosives in his underwear on a commercial flight near Detroit. The bombs failed to detonate correctly in both cases. In two other incidents, authorities were able to prevent bombings. A September 2009 attempt to set off bombs in the New York City subway system by an al-Qaeda associate was thwarted. And in May of the following year, Times Square in New York was evacuated after the discovery of a car bomb left by Faisal Shahzad, a dual citizen of Pakistan and the United States. Since Obama’s election, there has also been huge growth in the


Instead of an ebullient post-race party scene, Boston’s Back Bay a crime scene

Twin blasts injured dozens and scattered crowds near the finish line of the renowned race. An 8-year-old was among the dead. The street sweepers couldn’t get past the police tape. So when night fell on the streets around the Boston Marathon’s finish line, the messy aftermath of a big race was still sitting where runners had left it. Piles of discarded silvery “space blankets.” Sneaker-smashed banana peels. And, at one marathon information booth, a sheet full of unanswered questions. The sheet was marked “Runner/Family relations triage.” On it, some marathon staffer had taken down information from family members, who were looking for runners they couldn’t find. “Runner disposition?” the sheet asked. The sheet didn’t have answers. Instead, the booth was abandoned, and the sheet had been left on top of a nearby garbage can, incomplete. Monday night should have been packed in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, as exhilirated runners celebrated in the area’s upscale bars and restaurants. Instead, it was a crime scene, barricaded off, and left as it was. There was a policewoman with an assault rifle in front of the Taj Hotel, and a group of National Guardsmen manning a checkpoint in front of Restoration Hardware. “We thought it was the bleachers that had collapsed,” when the blasts reverberated through the neighborhood, said Tina Tran, 30, a transplant from Fairfax, Va., who lived a block from one of the blasts. She had gone downstairs to find a stranger in the building’s lobby, who was bleeding but wasn’t sure where it was coming from. “She didn’t even know where the cuts were, herself,” said Long Cao, 35, Tran’s companion. They had left her and evacuated. At nightfall, they were still out, sitting on a sidewalk looking at the news crews broadcasting from the edge of the closed-off neighborhood. “We probably need to look for a hotel,” Tran told him. She had only taken her phone with her, nothing else. “Anderson Cooper’s here,” Cao said. “Wow!” Back Bay runs roughly five blocks north to south, and nine blocks east to west. But it contains some of Boston’s most sought-after residential blocks, as well as busy commercial blocks. It is no accident that the finish line is in Back Bay. The one-way marathon course is drawn up a like an arrow into the heart of the city, starting in the outer outer suburb of Hopkinton. And ending right here, in front


Martin Richard, 8, loved playing with siblings, friends

The text messages, too horrible to believe, came as Christina and James Keefe sat with their grown sons at a restaurant in Dorchester. The young men had just run in the Boston Marathon, and were shaken but relieved to have escaped a horrific double-bombing. Sneaking glances under the table, James Keefe read the desperate, curt missives from friends and neighbors: Eight-year-old Martin Richard, son of their neighbors and friends, Bill and Denise Richard, had been killed by the bomb that detonated near the marathon’s finish line. His mother and his younger sister, Jane, were also seriously hurt. Local news reports said Denise underwent emergency surgery, and Jane — who friends said is 6 or 7 years old — suffered a grievous injury to her leg. In a statement Tuesday, Bill Richard said: “My dear son Martin has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston. My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries. We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin. We also ask for your patience and for privacy as we work to simultaneously grieve and recover.” Christina Keefe described her family as friendly with the Richard family, who live near them in the Ashmont section of Dorchester. “He was so polite, composed, older than his years really,” Christina Keefe said of Martin on Tuesday morning. “I can see him now, holding his mom’s arm as she took them on their walks around the neighborhood.” Martin and Jane Richard both attended the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, where their mother served as the school librarian. Martin “was a bright, energetic young boy who had big dreams and high hopes for his future,” school headmaster Kevin Andrews said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this loss.” He said the school is bringing in counselors to help students, staff and families cope with the tragedy. The Dorchester Reporter, a community paper, said Martin’s parents “are known and respected as civic leaders. . . . The family is deeply involved in all facets of life in Dorchester, from little league baseball and soccer to their church, St. Ann’s parish in Neponset.” Bill Richard is vice president of an environmental testing company called EST Associates. He also volunteered extensively in the St.


Boston Marathon bystander Carlos Arredondo says he acted instinctively

downstairs and helped at least four people: A woman with a mangled calf. A mother with shrapnel wounds who was looking for her son. A man and a woman, both badly injured, holding each other in shock. After 12 minutes or so, it was all over. There was nobody left to help. “I got back to my office,” Mendelsohn said. “I threw up.” Nearby, Chris Rupe — a general surgeon from Salina, Kan. — had finished the marathon 30 seconds before the blast. He ran away for a while, to be sure there would be no more explosions. Then he came back, talking his way past police. “I told them I was a doctor and I’d like to help.” He helped triage the wounded in a medical tent, still wearing his running gear. Farther away, a few blocks from the finish line, Kurt Mias and his girlfriend, Jessica Newman, came out of a coffee shop and saw people fleeing toward them. One woman approached, crying, with her lower legs covered in dime-size shrapnel wounds. “What the [expletive] is happening? Who the hell did this?” Mias, 28, remembered her saying, over and over. Newman, 32, ran into a nearby coffee shop and shoved someone away from the napkin dispenser. They needed a towel, but these would have to do. They pressed the brown napkins against one of the stranger’s legs. When the woman seemed to be in good hands, they left — passing other wounded people being attended to on the street. An elderly man lying prone. A teenage boy, with a chunk of something embedded in his leg. Before they left, they helped marathon volunteers disassemble a huge area where water and Gatorade had been set up for the finishers. They needed to clear the road so ambulances could pass. “Pretty soon, there were almost too many people” trying to help, Newman said. They were hurling whole cases of water bottles out of the way, but there were so many bystanders trying to help that there was no space free to throw them. “You didn’t want to throw it on someone.” Finally, they left. On Tuesday, retelling the story in a word-jumbled rush, Newman recalled that just an hour before the blasts, she had told Mias, “This is the perfect day.” “I’m never saying that again,” she said. Julie Tate and Alice R. Crites in Washington contributed to this report.


Bombs at Boston Marathon show not every attack will be prevented

the explosions. Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said Monday night that there were no suspects, but that the police were talking to some people who may have relevant information. (Read the rest of the article here.) Witnesses described what they saw: “It looked as though a building near the finish line had blown up,” said [Kara Zech] Thelen, who stared as a wall of fire, glass and debris erupted from a storefront a few dozen yards away. She saw a huge cloud of smoke, oddly greenish-brown, billowing from the shattered building and then: nothing. “It was pure silence,” she said. A second later, the posh downtown square was transformed into a scene like something from central Baghdad, with panicked runners and onlookers fleeing amid screams from scores of wounded, past blood-splattered sidewalks strewn with body parts. Even in the confusion, many grasped instinctively what had happened. (Read more from the scene here.) All of the members of the Montgomery County Road Runners, a local running group participating in the marathon, were reported safe. Meanwhile, police agencies in the Washington region put additional security measures in place as a precaution. The attack is the first major bombing in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, although law enforcement has disrupted many similar plots in the 12 years since then: From the FBI to local police departments, law enforcement agencies have dramatically shifted their emphasis to counterterrorism over the past decade, gathering intelligence on both domestic and foreign extremist groups. The George W. Bush and Obama administrations have created an enormous global apparatus designed to track and target terrorists. But officials have always warned that the United States cannot prevent every attempted strike on U.S. soil. In some recent plots, authorities have benefited as much from luck as investigative skill. (Read the full analysis here.) An experienced race official told Mike Wise, sports columnist for the Post, that securing a marathon is always difficult: “The one opening in the security planning for everybody were the fans; there is no way to screen your fans,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “You can screen your runners, volunteers, media and race officials — you can make them all produce proof that they are who they say they are — but if the arena of competition is a city’s streets, how do you possibly screen every person walking up to the race?”


Heavy documentation of Boston Marathon is an asset to investigation

of the most photographed areas in the country yesterday,” Davis told reporters. Investigators said they had already received a huge volume of tips, but appealed to the public to share any amateur photos or videos they might provide clues. Officials have said they do not have any suspects. “There have to be hundreds if not thousands of photographs or videos or observations that were made down at that finish line yesterday,” said Col. Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police. Twin blasts injured dozens and scattered crowds near the finish line of the renowned race. An 8-year-old was among the dead. “I would encourage you to bring forward anything,” he said. “You might not think it’s significant, but it might have some value to this investigation.” A federal law enforcement official said the FBI is also checking cellphone activity on towers near the scene of the blasts. Experts say that data could be particularly useful if the explosives were detonated by phone, especially since they know the exact time the blast occurred. “Get a dump for the closest tower and look for all calls or texts terminating at the bomb site from 2:49 to 2:50 p.m.,” said Michael Sussmann, a former federal prosecutor who now represents wireless providers as a partner at Perkins Coie law firm in Washington. “If there are many, it will be a one to five second call, so look for short calls. Then correlate with the other blast site and see if the incoming number at the time of the second blast matches.” If the tower data yield suspect numbers, investigators can obtain from the phone company subscriber information giving name, address and billing information. If the phone was a disposable model, it’s possible to learn where the phone was purchased. Surveillance cameras near the point of sale could provide further clues, some former federal prosecutors said. If the bomber used two different cell phones, then that makes tracking them back more difficult. In general, cell tower data will be more useful once investigators have a lead on a suspect. But collecting that data now makes sense to have it on hand to sift through later, officials said. Each clue is a piece to a jigsaw puzzle, and the tower records may have that piece that later helps the picture become clear. Vernon Loeb in Boston and Sari Horwitz in Washington contributed to this report.


Beer Madness: Round 4, down to David and Goliath

The Washington Post’s annual Beer Madness focused on selections from local craft breweries in the annual tournament pitting 32 beers against each other in a bracket-style tournament. When the dust cleared and the fallen were dragged from the field of battle, two beers remained. Interestingly, one of them represented the Crisp category. Crisp beers by definition are well balanced, moderate in alcohol and formulated to refresh rather than bowl you over. These beers are great by the pint or pitcher, a welcome addition to picnics and touch football games. But serious beer tastings, the kind that involve three-ounce sampler glasses and a lot of swishing and swirling, tend to favor the bigger and bolder brews. Nevertheless, Legend Pilsner edged out the intensely herbaceous Stillwater Cellar Door, 5-4. Pilseners tend to be simple, straightforward beers. But our panelists found an unusual amount of complexity in Legend’s version. “Honeyed, spices, orange blossom, rich flavor, caramel,” commented Carolyn Stromberg, even though she gave the nod to the “super bubbly and effervescent” Cellar Door. Range chef de cuisine Matt Hill picked up a waft of “banana” and “well-balanced fruit” in the Pilsener, while Scott Schenkelberg claimed to detect a “Belgian yeast smell” in the nose. “I’d drink this any day!” enthused Jeanne Segal about the sage-scented Cellar Door. Yet she opted for Legend Pilsner, which she pronounced “more versatile for pairing with food.” In a face-off involving the alpha and omega of beers, the piquant, amber Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale decisively bested the ebony-hued, roasty Dominion Oak Barrel Stout, 7-2. Stromberg noted “candied grapefruit zest” in Double Dog, while Hill detected “pears, white pepper.” Joe Wallace compared this double IPA to HopSlam from Bell’s Brewery in Galesburg, Mich. — high praise indeed, as HopSlam, a cult favorite, sells out every spring even at prices reaching $25 per six-pack. Gina Chersevani and Doris Dixon (“always go with the malt roast!”) cast the votes for the Oak Barrel Stout. This match-up created cognitive dissonance among the hop heads. Schenkelberg pronounced Oak Barrel a “great dessert beer,” underscoring “great.” Segal went with Double Dog (of course, she is the daughter of a hop farmer), but termed her vote the “Sophie’s choice” of decisions. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) wrote, “If I could, I would send 3 and 4 [the Double Dog and the Oak Barrel] to the playoff.” With Delaware’s last entry eliminated, it


Smithsonian, National Archives adjusting summer hours because of budget cuts

The Smithsonian will begin closing certain galleries on a rolling basis come May 1 because of across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration. The National Archives, which held extended summer hours in the past, will maintain its regular schedule of 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The leaders of the Smithsonian, the National Park Service and the National Archives and Records Administration testified before Congress on Tuesday about the effects of the budget cuts. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform questioned the directors about how their agencies are handling the approximately 5 percent reduction and how it might affect the public. Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough told Congress that the Smithsonian prepared for $42 million in cuts last year by restricting travel and training, instituting a hiring freeze and curbing the maintenance of collections. “The goal is to keep our museums open,” Clough emphasized, while noting that the reductions will “force hard decisions in 2014” if they remain permanent. The Smithsonian does not plan to close museums but will close galleries or exhibitions on various days. In written testimony, an instance of a closure was described thus: “Visitors may find a sign saying that the 3rd floor galleries are closed to the public that day.” Smithsonian museums are open every day of the year except Dec. 25. People wait in line to get a rare glimpse of the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives on its 150th anniversary. (Katherine Frey/THE WASHINGTON POST) Clough noted that the cuts could have long-term effects on preservation and planned maintenance projects at the National Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo. He also indicated that a multimillion-dollar decrease in funding to the National Museum of African American History and Culture could delay its scheduled opening in 2015 and affect staff hiring. David Ferriero, archivist of the United States, indicated that the National Archives began preparing for $19.7 million in budget cuts in 2011 with an agency-wide hiring freeze and a 41 percent reduction in travel budgets. Because of reductions, the National Archives locations in the District and in College Park will not have extended summer hours. In past years, the archives had extended public hours from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a week until Labor Day. The building will close at 5:30 p.m., while the public research rooms at both facilities will operate 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.


Trying to cope after the Boston Marathon bombing

Prince William Forest Park, where columnist John Kelly "went this morning to get away from humans" in Manassas, Va., on Tuesday. (John Kelly/THE WASHINGTON POST) I was sick of people. I was sick of their bombs. I was sick of their television, the way they ceaselessly showed the same images over and over again: the falling old man, the blood-slicked pavement. I was sick of the way people said “We mustn’t speculate” and then speculated. I was sick of their tweets: #sad, as if an emotion wasn’t real unless we tagged it; #prayforboston, as if a prayer could put a child’s legs back on. I was sick of people, and I wanted to get away from them. I didn’t want to see them. I didn’t want to see traces of them. I didn’t want to hear them. So first thing Tuesday morning, I got in my car and drove to the biggest, closest swath of green that I could find on my map, Prince William Forest Park. “I want to go somewhere where I won’t see anyone,” I told the park ranger at the visitors center. “And where I won’t hear I-95.” She pulled out a map, unfolded it and ran a finger along a road that was marked by a red line. “Scenic Drive to Parking Lot H,” she said. “Then the High Meadows Trail. It should be empty on a Tuesday. You might hear some gunfire.” I blanched. “It’s the Marines at Quantico.” Parking Lot H was empty when I got there and started my hike. I could hear the occasional vehicle on the road, but after just a few hundred yards, the trail curved left and dipped downhill and the sounds of the forest took over. A tall, branchless pine, uprooted by a storm, leaned against its neighbor, embracing it 100 feet up like a drunk friend. As the wind blew, the two creaked together, groaning like a sailing ship. Higher in the canopy there was the susurration of new spring foliage rustling in the breeze. I followed the trail’s orange blazes, listening as unseen creatures skittered through the leaves at my feet. I walked through mountain laurel and creeping cyprus and past long-dead trees that lay on their sides, their barkless branches arrayed liked bleached bones. I heard flowing water but didn’t see it, then caught the sharp tang of an unseen skunk. Occasionally, there was