stray far from his mind — or the changing climate that the government says exacerbates them. He can make people care. “Public health threat” just doesn’t grab attention like “endangered beer.” *** Hughes lived in four states growing up. He found home in water. Every Fourth of July, his family, no matter how far they’d scattered, met at his grandparents’ Ohio farm. He couldn’t wait to leap off the single dock into their pond. Doggy-paddle through the cool, clear water. Swaying plants. Flitting minnows. His paradise. Years later, as a graduate student at Ohio University, Hughes’s environmental-science coursework led him down a stream in the state’s southeastern woods, testing PH levels where no fish swam. Sulfur bit his nose. The culprit: Acidic drainage from a former coal mine. It was the first time he stood angry near water. Goose Island Fulton Street brews about 60,000 barrels of mostly Belgian styles and barrel-aged beers.<br />Ian Hughes manages Goose Island Brewery, a business that is dependent on 56,000 gallons of water from Lake Michigan each day to make its craft brews. (Carlos Javier Ortiz for The Washington Post) “I saw that a stream had turned orange — traffic cone, electric orange,” he said. “There was no wildlife, no people, no anything. The complete opposite of what water should be.” He returned home and grabbed a beer. At 22, he started brewing his own. (One concoction, named after the appearance of shriveled hops: Goose Poop IPA.) When friends came over to snag a free bottle, Hughes noticed something strange: They let him complain. “Beer is a powerful tool,” he said. “You sit a beer in front of someone? They listen to you. About anything. It’s like magic.” That’s when Hughes discovered his superpower. After graduation, he worked at a water resource-consulting firm in Cleveland for three years before transferring to Chicago. He volunteered evenings at a brewery, cleaning tanks and chopping ginger for Christmas ales. He wanted to combine his passions. Eventually, the Goose Island brewmaster offered him a job as an environmental safety manager, at a slight pay cut. Hughes immediately accepted. Free beer and less stress felt like a raise. Last year, an environmentalist friend asked him: Can you turn a keg into a soapbox? “Water isn’t sexy,” she said, “but beer is.” “Hell, yes,” he responded. “You’re melting my mind.” Now Hughes lectures about the importance of clean water at


Men are worse drivers, reading causes more crashes than eating, and 6 other facts about D.C. accidents

while rear-enders were often more severe. Thirty-eight percent resulted in injuries. Even worse were head-on collisions — in almost half of 463 occurrences in 2012, someone got hurt. In three, someone died. Running off the road was the other type of vehicular accident most likely to cause injuries (87 times) and fatalities (three people, in two crashes) out of 197 instances. The most fatal were crashes involving pedestrians. In the large subset of crashes examined in this table, cars hit people 805 times, causing injuries to 650 victims. Six people died. Graphic by DDOT 5. The numbers are in: Men are worse drivers than women. This goes way beyond refusing to stop for directions. Men were the drivers in about 65 percent of all crashes in the study. There’s no way to tell, for the sake of comparison, exactly how many men and women are on the roads in Washington. Drivers licensed in the District, Maryland and Virginia, as well other states, all use D.C. roadways. In the country as a whole, though, men and women hold driver’s licenses in roughly equal numbers, according to federal data. Graphic by DDOT Men were also responsible for far more alcohol- and drug-related crashes (263 men, 84 women in 2012) and speed-related collisions (386 men, 117 women). 6. Crashes involving walkers and bikers are on the rise. The number of crashes involving pedestrians went up during each year of the study, from 777 in 2010 to 919 in 2012. Graphic by DDOT Bicycle crashes rose too. While the pedestrian crashes were split almost equally by gender and were distributed across the city, bicyclists involved in accidents were disproportionately male — roughly 77 percent, a figure that was consistent across all three years of the study. And of the 642 crashes involving bikes in 2012, only one happened east of the Anacostia. Graphic by DDOT 7. Most crashes happen through no fault of the driver. But distractions are a big problem — and not just cell phones. More than half the accidents in the study involved no road violations. Graphic by DDOT Driver inattention was the single most common contributing factor in all three years of the study. Cellphones, not surprisingly, were the most frequently identified distraction. Even using a hands-free mode wasn’t enough to forestall crashes. About one 1 in every 5 collisions linked to cellphones was caused by hands-free cellphone use. Interacting


Attack of the Chicago climate change maggots

data and the changing weather patterns, but don’t think it suggests any particular cause. They don’t blame a man-made Apocalypse. “Climate change is a political term,” said David St. Pierre, head of Chicago’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.“But you can’t ignore that our weather has changed drastically in the past five years.” The city’s underground storm and wastewater storage can now hold about 2.7 billion gallons of overflow. By 2015, storage should total 7.5 billion gallons, St. Pierre said. By 2029, 17.5 billion gallons. “I don’t see any overflows happening when that’s done,” he said. “We’re getting this under control, maybe more than any other city in the U.S.” Over the next five years, Chicago will spend $50 million on flood prevention, putting green touches on capital infrastructure projects. One example: Workers will add French drains to a highway while repaving it, said Karen Hobbs, an environmental policy analyst who helped author Chicago’s Climate Action Plan. More rain barrels, permeable alleys and trees will sprout around the city. The goal, Hobbs said: Find natural ways to reduce storm runoff by 250 million gallons. *** A week after the April flood, Burns pulled up to her house. She had been staying at her grandparents’ house two miles down the street with only her spring clothes, toiletries and her mother’s favorite quilt. She didn’t want to get comfortable. There was too much to do. She applied for a $15,000 loan from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one intended for small businesses, to fix the old house. She would replace the appliances and plant a water-absorbent garden in the backyard with rain barrels and a winding gravel path. Burns bought her family’s Calumet Heights bungalow in 2007 after her mother, Dorothy, died of breast cancer. She wanted to keep it in the family, away from absentee landlords who might rent it cheap to gang bangers.“Nothing gets done,” she tells neighbors, “if all the responsible homeowners get up and leave.” In an old office cabinet, she unearthed a rainbow watercolor from her fifth grade art class. It would look nice on the basement wall — a symbol bridging old and new. Burns stepped inside. The rotten egg smell was gone, thanks to the bleach. She and her brother had scrubbed the floor with four whole containers. She noticed horse flies, though. Fat, sluggish horse flies. She wondered why they flew so slowly, in big loops.


We are Israeli reservists. We refuse to serve.

neighbors. This is not exclusively the fault of soldiers who operate in these territories. Those troops are, therefore, not the only ones obligated to refuse. Many of us served in logistical and bureaucratic support roles; there, we found that the entire military helps implement the oppression of the Palestinians. Many soldiers who serve in non-combat roles decline to resist because they believe their actions, often routine and banal, are remote from the violent results elsewhere. And actions that aren’t banal — for example, decisions about the life or death of Palestinians made in offices many kilometers away from the West Bank — are classified, and so it’s difficult to have a public debate about them. Unfortunately, we did not always refuse to perform the tasks we were charged with, and in that way we, too, contributed to the violent actions of the military. During our time in the army, we witnessed (or participated in) the military’s discriminatory behavior: the structural discrimination against women, which begins with the initial screening and assignment of roles; the sexual harassment that was a daily reality for some of us; the immigration absorption centers that depend on uniformed military assistance. Some of us also saw firsthand how the bureaucracy deliberately funnels technical students into technical positions, without giving them the opportunity to serve in other roles. We were placed into training courses among people who looked and sounded like us, rather than the mixing and socializing that the army claims to do. The military tries to present itself as an institution that enables social mobility — a stepping-stone into Israeli society. In reality, it perpetuates segregation. We believe it is not accidental that those who come from middle- and high- income families land in elite intelligence units, and from there often go to work for high-paying technology companies. We think it is not accidental that when soldiers from a firearm maintenance or quartermaster unit desert or leave the military, often driven by the need to financially support their families, they are called “draft-dodgers.” The military enshrines an image of the “good Israeli,” who in reality derives his power by subjugating others. The central place of the military in Israeli society, and this ideal image it creates, work together to erase the cultures and struggles of the Mizrachi, Ethiopians, Palestinians, Russians, Druze, the Ultra-Orthodox, Bedouins, and women. We all participated, on one level or another, in


Little-known details emerge about Ryan Pitts Medal of Honor case

President Obama awarded Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts with the Medal of Honor at the White House on Monday. Pitts held off an ambush on his platoon's post during one of the bloodiest battles of the Afghanistan war despite his own injuries. He is the 16th service member to receive the award for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. When the history books are written, the Battle of Wanat will undoubtedly go down as one of the most controversial of the Afghanistan war. Nine U.S. soldiers died in the battle and 27 others were wounded. Subsequent investigations into how it could have happened laid blame at least in part on senior commanders for sending the troops to set up a new outpost in the closing days of a long deployment. The unit did not have enough construction materials or water, investigators found, despite numerous reports that enemy fighters in the region were preparing for a massive attack. That is not the focus of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Pitts, who received the Medal of Honor this week for his actions in the battle. In numerous public appearances, the soldier, who left active duty in 2009, has focused on the sacrifice of his fellow service members, the Gold Star families who lost soldiers in the July 13, 2008, battle, and the brotherhood he shared with the the other men of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. “I think about it every day,” Pitts said of what happened. “I think about the guys, more often. Most of the time, I just think about what we did together, and I’m always awestruck. And I use that a lot, but it is awe-inspiring. I mean, I was there and I saw what some of these guys did, and it’s still unbelievable to me.” Pitts spoke during a gathering with a handful of reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday after being inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. The event was carefully planned and managed by Army officials, but a few little-known details did emerge. After recieving the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Ryan Pitts was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. He spoke about the heroism of the fallen soldiers in his unit. For one, Pitts was initially recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest honor for combat valor. That’s an interesting twist,


Is there a role for NATO in Ukraine?

response capacity. Other international organizations remain politically blocked. Russia retains veto power at the United Nations and OSCE and is also responsible for a significant supply of natural gas to European Union member states. NATO has new options given the urgency surrounding the Malaysian Airlines tragedy and states’ shared commitment to regional security (Article 4). The following sections review the costs and benefits of different possibilities. Direct negotiations with Russia The least costly but least effective route would be for NATO to reopen formal communications with Russia. As of May 1, NATO officially suspended all cooperation with Russia, including cooperation on terrorism, proliferation and other areas related to peace and security. As James Goldgeier writes, Russian President Vladimir Putin ultimately ‘wants instability, not stability, in Ukraine,’ suggesting that pressure for a negotiated solution may have some value. Putin, however, has shown resilience to both diplomacy and targeted sanctions in past crises, such as the 2008 Georgia conflict. This suggests that a return to dialogue or even offering Russia the benefit of reengaging in civilian cooperation would have limited value for convincing the government to stop arming and supporting the separatists. Even if Russia were to completely disavow itself of the separatists, there would be no guarantee that they would secure the corridor for the MH17 investigation. Coordinated sanctions against Russia Over the past few days, many U.S. policymakers have called for stronger sanctions against Russia. As sanctions have become more popular in the post-Cold War period, scholars have shown that multilateral sanctions have been, on average, more effective than unilateral sanctions. In theory, NATO member states could coordinate and escalate sanctions in order to affect Russian corporations and assets more broadly than the individuals currently under sanctions. Because sanctions also hurt the businesses of the sanctioning countries, however, joint EU action could backfire by hindering Europe’s economic recovery. In addition, Putin’s past defiance of U.S. and EU sanctions and Russian public support suggest such efforts would have little effect on Russia’s support of the separatists. Sanctions are also a medium to long-term solution that could not address the immediate crisis at hand of establishing an investigation in the midst of shootings, shelling and other violence. Coordination with Russia to secure a humanitarian corridor Alternatively, NATO could recommend that Russia take responsibility for securing the territory for an investigation. Although official NATO-Russian cooperation concluded in May, the NATO-Russia Council still permits


How to talk about blowing things up in cyberspace, according to the military

(Warner Bros.) Bombs are relatively simple, when you boil everything down. You drop them, and they explode. Offensive cyberweapons are little more complicated. To use them effectively — as in the famous Stuxnet virus that crippled Iran's nuclear centrifuges — takes a lot of knowledge about the target's capabilities and your own. Sometimes, it's not even clear what a cyberweapon is. To avoid confusion, the Pentagon has developed its own glossary of sorts. While terms like "destroy" or "disable" might be commonly understood in a civilian context, the precise demands of military operations require very specific definitions, particularly when it comes to cyberspace. The resulting document — published in 2009 by the U.S. Strategic Command and recently obtained by the research group Public Intelligence — is a fascinating look into the military's ever-evolving cyber doctrine. In some cases, the military borrowed existing ideas from conventional warfare. In others, the authors had to develop entirely new ways to think about problems unique to doing battle covertly over information networks. As an example, it'd be easy to describe all attacks conducted via cyberspace as using a cyberweapon. But that's not the case, according to the document. An officer could be typing in commands to disable an enemy system; that doesn't make him (or his commands) a cyberweapon. "Not all cyber capabilities are weapons or potential weapons," the document reads. Cyberweapons require a weaponization process that builds in a whole set of standardized features like control systems, support personnel, security safeguards and so on. The report's authors go so far as to outline potential kinds of attacks that could be performed in cyberspace, including: Degrade throughput on all channels of a microwave communications tower at specified GPS address by 75% beginning at 0630 for 3 hours. Disrupt Internet service at a named cybercafe from 2130 until 2145 for the next 3 days. Destroy the 80 GB hard drive at IP address 207.10.132.15 tonight after 2300 but before 0430. These examples offer some really interesting insights. Yes, they hint at what the military can possibly do in cyberspace. More importantly, it highlights some of the limitations of existing military terminology. Conventional weapons are typically described by virtue of the damage they cause — how big an explosion (e.g., "bomb yields") or what kind of target they're designed for (e.g., "bunker-busters"). But the report's authors argue that cyberspace should be treated differently, focusing not on


Army officials on ‘pink slip’ controversy: We don’t have a choice

that President Obama was “putting domestic politics ahead of the security of our nation,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R.-Okla.). And those were some of the more civil reactions. Army officials held a briefing with reporters Wednesday to address the complaints, weeks after the issue received widespread attention. The Army’s response, in a nutshell: We don’t like it, but we don’t have a choice. The notices are part of the congressionally mandated steps needed to shrink the active-duty Army from about 570,000 soldiers in 2012 to about 490,000 by the end of 2015, officials said. The service is likely to continue shrinking to between 440,000 and 450,000 by 2019. The captains who got separation notices were selected through an Officer Separation Board that was forced to look a specific groups of soldiers, one Army official said. Those who got “pink slips” in June all came into the Army in 2006. “We have to have a plan that looks over time at how we draw down the officer corps, and we won’t get there with attrition alone,” one official said. “The numbers just don’t support the drawdown ramp that is necessary.” It clearly remains a sensitive subject. The briefing was held on condition that the officials speaking be granted anonymity. When a reporter asked why that was necessary, officials responded simply that it was because it was a background briefing. One official said that the officers who received notices have known for months that they were likely candidates to receive them. Nevertheless, the Army deployed some of the officers, setting the conditions for the outrage to follow. The Army officials acknowledged that it’s unlikely that U.S. commanders overseas are pleased to be dealing with the complications. But they, too, had a heads-up the separation notices were coming, an official said. “They knew this up front,” said the official. “They knew it was going to be a challenge. It’s always going to be a challenge to get the right person to replace that void that you now have in your formation. But we must be resilient, and look to the best way to make sure soldiers are being led by the best leaders we have…. It’s not going to put a smile on a commander’s face, but commanders do the best they can to cover down on what is required.” The Army is expected to send 500 more majors similar notices this month.


Report: Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) plagiarized War College thesis

Updated at 10:04 p.m. Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) plagiarized a substantial portion of his final thesis at the United States Army War College, a news report Wednesday said -- a revelation that threatens to hamstring his underdog campaign for a full term in a key midterm battleground. The news came five and a half months after Walsh was appointed to the Senate and in the midst of a competitive race against Rep. Steve Daines (R), who polls show is leading. It marked the latest instance of Walsh's military background coming under scrutiny, turning what he hoped to use as selling point in the campaign into a potentially serious vulnerability. "Now we have two blows to his reputation in the military," said Montana State University political scientist David Parker. "And that's his strongest asset." The New York Times first reported the evidence of plagiarism Wednesday afternoon The Times reported that nearly all of what Walsh recommends at the end of his paper, “The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy," comes from a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace document. Almost all of that material was republished verbatim, without the proper citations. In addition, other parts of his thesis, submitted for a master's degree, were pulled from a paper written by a Harvard scholar in 1998. Walsh is a former adjutant general of the Montana National Guard who has also served in Iraq. He earned his War College degree in 2007. His military background has been the subject of contentious debate in the campaign. Earlier this year, Republicans attacked Walsh in a TV ad over an Army Inspector General's report that said he improperly solicited other National Guard leaders to join an association in which he was running for a leadership position. Walsh's campaign responded with its own commercial, arguing that he was reprimanded for "defending Montana’s troops." Walsh was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Steve Bullock (D) in February as a replacement for Democrat Max Baucus, who departed to become ambassador to China. Walsh was already a Senate candidate at that time; Baucus previously announced his intention to retire. Before going to Congress, Walsh was Montana's lieutenant governor. Walsh told the Associated Press that he was suffering from PTSD when he wrote his thesis and still takes antidepressants. “I don’t want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say it may have been a


PM Update: Storms around through evening, eventually turning drier Thursday

7:15 p.m. update: The second line, which is broken and not as strong, stretches from western Montgomery County through central Fauquier County. This broken line should push towards the D.C.’s immediate western suburbs and the Beltway between 8 and 8:30 p.m. but may be hit or miss. It should reach areas east of the Beltway around 9 p.m. Localized downpours, lightning and gusty winds may accompany these storms. Follow our Twitter feed below for any warnings or related storm news. Radar lightning: We logged our ninth day of 90 degrees or higher for July today in D.C., which is still a bit below average for the month. Those high temperatures, mixed with high humidity and an approaching cold front, have touched off scattered showers and storms to our west, which are now moving into the region. The risk for raindrops continues into at least early tomorrow. Through Tonight: Detailed storm discussion: Otherwise, it’s another warm one, with lows mostly in the near 70 to low 70s zone. Winds become light from the north and northwest. Tomorrow (Thursday): See Dan Stillman’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter July 22, 2014 – Potomac River near Riverbend Park. (Kevin Ambrose) Neverending storm: The Mother Nature Network has a new explainer on Relámpago del Catatumbo, AKA Catatumbo Lightning. This lightning show occurs “almost every night” in northwest Venezuela, a region uniquely outfitted for frequent thunderstorms. A large lake just inland from the ocean is surrounded by mountains. Two main ingredients, moisture and uplift (from air flowing up into the mountains), are almost always present. As is the storminess. It does take breaks, but they are not frequently lengthy. Locals have even worried when the lightning disappears for longer than a few days.


Denizens Brewing Co. opens in Silver Spring with its Southside Rye IPA on tap

Denizens Brewing Co. opened its Silver Spring beer garden on July 16. In August, the BBQ Bus food tuck will open a restaurant inside. (Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) Silver Spring has a new brew in town, and a new brewery, too. Denizens Brewing Co. opened last week with one house beer on tap: the Southside Rye IPA. Named after the brewery’s South Silver Spring home, the beer pours an amber color with a thick head. Though hoppy and slightly bitter, with notes of grapefruit and pine, this is no hop bomb. At 7.2 percent, it’s fairly easy to drink for an IPA, even if it gets sticky by the end. Denizen’s Southside Rye IPA. (Rudi Greenberg/Express) This is just the beginning for Denizens, which features a spacious outdoor beer garden (and an outdoor bar). For now, the beer garden and the upstairs taproom are open; next month, the BBQ Bus food truck will open a restaurant downstairs. Until then, you’re free to bring your own food, or order takeout — last Saturday, a pizza delivery guy brought pies straight to the patio. Brew Notes Style: Alcohol by Volume: Availability: Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring. (Silver Spring)


The Tour de France, again, has no women cyclists

through Paris on the last day of the Tour, not in the full 23-day, 3,664-kilometer event — but there’s no reason why women shouldn’t be allowed to ride alongside men. Men and women can compete on equal footing in many sports. The marathon is one endurance sport where men and women compete right next to each other. But, it wasn’t easy for women to reach this point. For example, women have only officially competed in what may be the world’s most prestigious marathon — the Boston Marathon has been held annually since 1897 — since 1972. Until then, Boston Athletic Association officials had been reluctant to welcome women to the marathon for irrational reasons, such as that women’s bodies couldn’t handle such a grueling, long-distance run. But in 1967, Kathrine Switzer, a 19-year-old Syracuse undergraduate, filed the paperwork for the marathon and received race bib number 261. As Switzer recounts, because she registered as K.V. Switzer, she appears to have been inadvertently allowed to run, especially since during the marathon, race manager Jock Semple jumped into the pack of runners shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!” and attempted to pull Switzer off the course. (Roberta Gibb had jumped in and unofficially run the marathon the year before.) Switzer ran the entire marathon. With women now fully accepted as marathon runners, the fastest men and women marathoners are separated by just minutes over the 26-mile, 385-yard race. Moreover, having women run on the same course at the same time as the men doesn’t affect the race in any way. In fact, Boston officials accommodate the more than 20,000 official entrants by staggering the starting times.The elite women start running about half an hour before the men do, meaning that a woman actually crosses the finish line in Copley Square before a man does. The Tour de France could do the same type of thing by, for example, staggering teams at the start according to their overall position. Having a team of women in the mix wouldn’t change any of the current protocols. Moreover, the Tour also could take steps to make the race more welcoming to women and, at the same time, more exciting for spectators. Just as the Tour de France does with the white jersey that the fastest young rider wears, the yellow jersey that the leader wears, and the yellow helmets


What shot down the two Ukrainian fighter jets?

Одна из сбитых из ПЗРК СУ-25 силами ПВО ДНР с.Дмитровка 23.07.2014 - репортаж icorpus.ru U.S. intelligence officials have said Flight 17 was likely destroyed with one such advanced system, an SA-11. In the case of the Frogfoots, the pilots managed to eject from their aircraft, landing somewhere in separatist-controlled territory. Without their testimony, it is impossible to determine exactly what shot down the aircraft. The Ukrainian government declared that both jets were flying at 17,000 feet, which would have put them out of range of most MANPADs, including the SA-7, which the separatists are believed to possess. However, if the Ukrainian SU-25s were flying within the range of MANPADS, they could have been critically damaged by an attack involving multiple missiles fired simultaneously, known as volley fire. The design of the Soviet SU-25 is heavily based on the American A-10, both of which were designed to provide close air support at low altitudes. As a ground attack fighter, the Su-25 was built specifically to withstand attacks from weapons fired from the ground like the SA-7. The Soviets did this by incorporating two engines, an up-armored cockpit that could withstand heavy machine gun fire and reinforced elevator control rods. The SU-25’s twin engine design was implemented specifically with heat-seeking missiles like the SA-7 in mind. As heat-seeking missiles usually track toward the hottest part of the airplane, the engine exhaust, the two engines allowed for redundancy in case one engine was damaged in a strike. A review of footage from one the SU-25 crash sites this week reveals that one of the aircraft’s wings suffered some sort of fragmentation damage, yet it is unclear what caused it. The damage from heat-seeking shoulder-fired missile strikes is usually localized around the exhaust of the aircraft’s engine. Possible shrapnel damage to the wing of a Ukrainian SU-25 (YouTube screen grab) A complex surface-to-air missile like the SA-11, by contrast, would be more likely to cause damage to an aircraft’s wings as the missile detonates and fragments pepper the aircraft with shrapnel. That said, it’s impossible to know whether the damage was the result of small arms fire from previous engagements or trigger-happy separatists.


This photograph might help tell investigators what really happened to MH17

malfunction, flight crew error, or some external event? Further, if the cause is external, the question is whether it was accidental or something more malicious. In the case of MH17 none of this has yet been established. However, the signs are pointing more and more to an external event. What this external event was can be determined by the damage present on the aircraft wreckage. The first question that needs to be answered is whether the original damage was sustained from within or outside of the aircraft. This type of work is something investigators are actually very good at, even if it is quite difficult for the untrained eye to tell. If the damage originated from outside, the blast patterns and holes will look very different than if the damage originated from inside the aircraft. If the damage originated from inside the aircraft then the investigators will need to determine if it was caused by a bomb (for example PanAm 103), or aircraft cause (for example TWA 800). Only if the damage originates from outside the aircraft can an anti-aircraft missile be considered. Until the investigators get access to the actual wreckage and attempt to reconstruct the aircraft, we cannot know for sure that the damage came from outside; however, the indications from numerous photographs of portions of MH17’s fuselage and wings indicate that the initial damage was, most probably, external. We know this because of the shape of the holes. In addition to an anti-aircraft missile there are several other possible causes that could produce this type of damage. One possible external cause would be a catastrophic failure of one of the two engines. While this type of event is quite rare, it does happen occasionally, for instance United Airlines 232 and Delta Air Lines 1288. Catastrophic engine failures have caused several crashes; however, this was often from a failure of the flight control system, not the catastrophic in-flight breakup seen on MH17. Forensic investigators arrive at the site of the MH17 crash. (Dave Hunt/EPA) To help determine if the damage originated from an engine failure or an explosive device, it is necessary to look at the location, size and shape of all of the fragmentation/shrapnel damage sustained by the aircraft. In the case of almost all of the engine failures the shrapnel damage is in line with and behind the location of the engine. For MH17, a significant


It’s never too early to start complaining about the Silver Line — in song!

HANDOUT IMAGE: Metro silver line Silver Line service doesn’t start ’till Saturday, but here’s head start on the harping that’s sure to follow. We collected every complaint we could find about WMATA’s new line and compiled them to the tune of “Silver Bells.” Washington Post Express reporter Sadie Dingfelder compiled all the complaints she heard about WMATA's new Silver Line into one tune. Silver Line (to the tune of “Silver Bells”) Five new stations Fare inflations Just one parking garage Did they really think we’d walk to Tysons? Blue line cutbacks Orange lines share tracks Tempers getting real frayed Never thought we’d miss I-66 Silver Line, Silver Line Connecting the ‘burbs to the city Orange crush, morning rush Will we get to work on time? Shiny new trains Public service campaigns Free t-shirts galore Is this what put us so over-budget? Wiehle-Reston Is done testing Those fancy new tracks And from Tysons to Largo we’ll hear Silver Line, Silver Line Trains cramming through Rosslyn tunnel We are told When we’re old It will run to IAD More about the Silver Line: Silver Line travel guide: five excursions on Metro’s new rails Silver Where?: What riders know about Metro’s newest line More songs by Sadie Dingfelder: Rusty vs. Bao Bao … in song!


Surprised scientists come up ‘nearly dry’ in search for water on ‘hot Jupiter’ planets

An artistic illustration of the gas giant planet HD 209458b in the constellation Pegasus (NASA/ESA/G. Bacon and N. Madhusudhan) Astronomers tried to find water on three planets circling sun-like stars. Instead, they found a cliche: the search for water, using NASA’s Hubble telescope, has “come up nearly dry.” That’s surprising, according to the researchers, who checked their results against currently-used models for predicting water amounts on other worlds. Those models indicated that the three planets should have a lot more water vapor in their atmospheres. “It basically opens a whole can of worms in planet formation,” lead researcher Nikku Madhusudhan said in a statement. However, there’s kind of an upside to the results, as Madhusudhan of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge explained: “Our water measurement in one of the planets, HD 209458b, is the highest-precision measurement of any chemical compound in a planet outside our solar system, and we can now say with much greater certainty than ever before that we’ve found water in an exoplanet.” That’s despite the “astonishing” lack of water they detected in the first place. “We have to revisit planet formation and migration models of giant planets. We expected all these planets to have lots of water in them,” Madhusudhan added, noting that the results will particularly impact our understanding of so-called “hot Jupiter” planets. Those gaseous worlds orbit close to their home stars and carry temperatures between 1,500 and 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, researchers were looking for water vapor in the atmosphere of these planets. Madhusudhan also urged researchers looking for water on other kinds of exoplanets (including potentially habitable ones) to lower their expectations, thanks to the results of his “hot Jupiter” study. “We should be prepared for much lower water abundances than predicted when looking at super-Earths (rocky planets that are several times the mass of Earth),” he said. The study is hardly the only total downer for alien enthusiasts this month: two Penn State scientists recently debunked the discovery of a “Goldilocks” planet orbiting a relatively nearby star. As it turns out, the “planet” was simply an illusion caused by the dwarf star itself. They also disproved the existence of a second, possibly habitable planet. Oh well. At least there are still a lot more potential exoplanets to examine.


This Republican wants to keep the FTC from regulating data security

analogy may help to illustrate the situation, the consequences for corporate data breaches are typically far more serious. "Being accused of mishandling medical files is fatal to a cancer detection lab," Daugherty said in testimony Thursday. "We had built a company based upon the most precious commodities available — trust and integrity — and the FTC had destroyed it based upon nothing more than an unverified accusation by a self-interested commercial suitor whom we had scorned." It's also worth mentioning that most homes aren't in the possession of thousands of people's medical data. While the facts of the case are still being probed, the years-long battle has raised questions about how much leeway the FTC enjoys when it comes to using Section 5. The agency has taken an active role on data security and is particularly interested in the Internet of Things, mobile data and other areas where data breaches could compromise sensitive personal information. Legal scholars say that while Section 5 is somewhat ambiguous on the question of data security — a fact that could land some companies in trouble without their realizing it — the breadth of the law was intentional. Moreover, what the FTC defines as reasonable behavior is generally set by private-sector standards. "The FTC does not pull rules out of thin air," said Woodrow Hartzog, an associate professor of law at Samford University in Alabama, in his testimony. "The FTC doesn't create the standard at all. Rather, it says, 'What is the industry doing? What are the industry standards for data security and best practices?'" Hartzog added that the FTC's complaint against LabMD closely resembled the agency's other enforcement actions, suggesting that the FTC's investigation of LabMD was consistent with its authority as applied to other areas. Of more than 4,300 publicized data breaches since 2005, the FTC has filed only 55 complaints relating to data security, said Hartzog. It doesn't look as though the FTC is going to be banned from pursuing data security cases, particularly considering that few other agencies in Washington seem up to the task. But that won't stop some in Congress from challenging the FTC's growing interest. "The Federal Trade Commission cannot tell you what's right," said Issa. "They will only come in an demand a consent decree if through fault or no fault of your own, you become a victim of hacking or there is a recognition of vulnerability."


PM Update: Rain exits and skies clear tonight; comfortable sunshine Friday

- Temperature Map - Temperatures: Latest D.C. area temperature map. See interactive map on our Weather Wall. It’s been a cloudy but rain-free day around the District, while some showers have dotted our southern suburbs. The clouds brought relief from Wednesday’s heat, and at some points during the day it almost felt downright cool (comparatively speaking). Humidity has been relatively low, around 50%, and the temperature hovered around 80 degrees. Tomorrow is more sunny, and that will raise the mercury a little, while the humidity drops. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Friday): Pollen: See David Streit’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter These adorable ducklings were caught trying to climb a fountain ledge on July 21. You can do it, little guy! (philliefan99 via Flickr) Do they have sunglasses in space? ISS Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted another breath-taking photo today, describing another peril of space life. We’re considering sending him some CWG-branded Ray-Bans on the next cargo delivery. The sun, surrounded by blackness, is too intense to take even a tiny glimpse at with your eyes. http://t.co/uBzAfvxvGN


With business hurting, Wal-Mart replaces its U.S. chief

Wal-Mart has a long history as a titan of American retail. But in recent months, the company has been hit hard by fierce competition from smaller stores, online giant Amazon, and an uneven economic recovery that has been particularly sluggish for its key customers. These challenges have been felt hardest by the global company’s most important market, its $279 billion U.S. division. For the past five quarters, U.S. same-store sales growth, which excludes stores opened or closed in the past year, had declined. U.S. stores have also reported a decline in foot traffic, another key indicator of a retailer’s health, for the past six straight quarters. The latest sign of Wal-Mart’s struggles came on Thursday, when the company announced that it was replacing its U.S. chief. Bill Simon, who held the position for four years, will hand over the reins to Greg Foran, a company newcomer who has quickly risen through the ranks of Wal-Mart’s Asia business. Industry analysts said they were not surprised by Simon’s departure after he was passed over last year for the retailer’s top job in favor of new company-wide chief executive Doug McMillon. They also cited the U.S. division’s recent financial woes as a likely factor in Simon’s departure. “If you look at the Wal-Mart business, it’s not in great shape, and they’ve been pretty aggressive about replacing management and trying to replace the strategy,” said Scott Mushkin, a managing director at Wolfe Research. “If Wal-Mart’s U.S. business was doing well, this wouldn’t have happened.” When he took over the U.S. division in mid-2010, Simon sought to right the retailer’s course amid the Wal-Mart’s worst-ever domestic slump. His renewed emphasis on consistently low prices and restoration of popular products helped the retailer show encouraging signs of growth in the second half of 2011 and into 2012. But Simon was unable to maintain those gains as the company’s U.S. division sunk into another slump in 2013. William ” Bill” Simon, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart U.S., speaks during a news conference at the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. The summit is designed to connect investors with U.S. states and regions to explore business investment opportunities. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Bill Simon Part of the challenge facing WalMart is the mounting threat from rivals both online and in traditional storefronts. Wal-Mart has seen its


Ancient history shows us just how bad and volatile climate change could get

happening in our own midst, with the eruption of Mount Gambier sending an ash plume up to 10 kilometers high – an event that would have partially obscured the Sun. Eruptions like this were the main cause of climate variability in the Holocene, causing cooler, drier episodes such as the “Mediaeval little ice age.” Things are different now Now, however, carbon dioxide has reached levels not seen for at least 3 million years, and fossil fuel emissions have become the dominant driver of the changes to our climate. In a world potentially several degrees warmer than the one that spawned our civilization, we had better ready ourselves for some surprises. This isn’t alarmism; it’s just sensible risk management. Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Titley, now head of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, pointed out that governments still spend money on defense, despite the declining number of people killed worldwide in war. He told Congress that “we rightly invest in our security and defense as one component of hedging against unknown or unlikely security risks.” Inaction on climate change violates that same fundamental risk-management principle. What’s nature ever done for us? Of course, nature will carry on regardless, albeit savaged. As the MIT physicist and humanities professor Alan Lightman has noted, “tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen without the slightest consideration for human inhabitants.” Yet if we turn our backs on nature, while at the same time climbing the population hill to 9 billion, we will create a horrid future for humanity’s survivors, with ongoing wild species extinctions and a world polluted by human-invented chemicals. Some have predicted that, within just two or three centuries, we could be alone except for pets, chickens, livestock, and an unknown suite of microbes and freeloaders such as mice and cockroaches. For a sneak preview of this “biosimplification,” look no further than the swathes of European countryside where there has been a crash in bird populations – no songs, no glimpses of plumage, just an eerie silence – as a result of the wholesale ripping up of hedgerows, draining of wetlands and ploughing over of meadows robbing farmland birds of their homes and sustenance in order to boost farming production. That would leave us living in a drab, crummy landscape where surviving native plants cower in small niches away from the weeds; zoos exhibit a lost fauna;


Why SpaceX still can’t launch military satellites: The ’90s.

require significant and financial resources, government officials argue that military launches require the utmost scrutiny because of the potential national security fall out of a failure. Military satellites has "significantly different and generally more stringent launch vehicle requirements than” civilian payloads, according to the Air Force paper on its examination of anomalies in SpaceX civilian launches. "The loss of even one national security payload both in terms of financial loss and operational impact would make our mission assurance costs look like very cheap insurance," Shelton told the subcommittee last week. However, there's also a sense of urgency to introduce additional avenues for launch into the military pipeline. The engine for ULA's Atlas 5 rocket, which is used in many military launches, is built in Russia -- and U.S.-Russian space relations have become increasingly strained as tensions mount in eastern Ukraine. In May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced the country would no longer supply engines for use by the U.S. military. A Pentagon spokesperson at the time told reporters that ULA had enough rockets for scheduled launches over the next two years, enough to cover the transition to the Delta rocket which uses a U.S. produced engine. But the situation still concerns some members of Congress, who raised alarms about the potential of a worst case scenario were diplomatic relations with Russia were to entirely deteriorate at last week's subcommittee. "We simply cannot rely on the vicissitudes of a foreign supplier in a foreign nation for our national security, therefore we must do what it takes to reduce our reliance on foreign engines," Sen. Ted Cruz (R, Tex.) declared during the hearing. Cruz encouraged the government to consider "expediting" introducing more competition into the military launch process. But the timeline for when SpaceX would be part of that process remains in flux -- much to the consternation of Musk. “I don’t understand what’s taking so long,” he said in June. “The Falcon 9 obviously works. It’s not as though the Air Force is changing the design of the rocket. They’re really just learning about it. That’s what the certification process is." But the failures of the late '90s likely weigh heavy on the minds of Pentagon officials charged with the certification process. While SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell earlier expressed hope that the certification process for the Falcon 9 would be completed by the end of the year, recent reports


Russia’s war on McDonald’s takes aim at the Filet-o-Fish

Customers eat at a McDonald's in Moscow on Feb. 15, 2010. (Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr./Bloomberg) Russia said earlier this week that it had no intention of answering Western sanctions by making it harder for Western companies to conduct business in Russia. But all bets are off, apparently, when you threaten the Russian waistline. Russian federal consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor filed a lawsuit against U.S.-based McDonald’s on Friday to ban the sale of products they consider substandard. In a statement published on their Web site, the agency said that they had found the calorie content of various McDonald’s menu items was far higher than advertised during a June study of restaurants in the Russia’s Novgorod region, northwest of Moscow. The agency also said they had collected evidence that various McDonald’s menu items contained E. coli and other dangerous bacteria. “We have identified violations which put the product quality and safety of the entire McDonald’s chain in doubt,” Anna Popova, who heads the agency, told Russian news service Interfax. The report on which the lawsuit is based singles out the Filet-o-Fish sandwich, Royale Burger, chicken burger and cheeseburger for having a calorie content “two to three times” what was specified in the reported nutritional values, and cites various milkshake and ice cream products for reporting only about half their actual protein, fat and carbohydrate content. The report states that dangerous bacteria were found in the Caesar Roll and Vegetable Salad. In total, the agency found the McDonald’s restaurants they reviewed had committed 11 violations of Russian administrative law, carrying a fine of 70,000 rubles, or about $2,000. But the federal agency decided to file the lawsuit “in the interest of consumers,” Popova told Interfax, “so as to ban production and sale of substandard products.” Court proceedings begin in August. Popova added that her agency might carry out random checks of McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow and elsewhere in the country to see if the same violations crop up elsewhere. In a statement posted on the company’s Russian Web site, McDonald’s said it had not been approached by Rospotrebnadzor, and that it had “not received notice of any claim” against the company. The McDonald’s statement also generally disputed the allegations, citing the “quality and safety of the products that we provide to our customers” as a top company priority, and stating that the nutritional values of food items were calculated “based on the methodology approved


PM Update: Fantastic Friday evening; Severe weather threat increases through weekend

- Temperature Map - Temperatures: Latest D.C. area temperature map. See interactive map on our Weather Wall. We question whether a July day in D.C. could get any better than this. Clear blue skies, low-to-mid 80s, and a dew point hovering around 40 degrees, leading to very low humidity. Crazy talk! Live outside tonight while the weather’s good, because storms creep back into the forecast Saturday and humidity increases. We hate to say it, but it looks like we’re going to end our rain-free weekend streak with a chance of severe weather on Sunday. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Saturday): Sunday: See A. Camden Walker’s forecast into early next week. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Pollen: The sun sets behind the National Monument flags on Thursday. (John Sonderman via Flickr)


SpaceX’s lawsuit against the Air Force is gaining steam

Elon Musk unveils SpaceX's new seven-seat Dragon V2 spacecraft, in Hawthorne, California. (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) A federal judge has ordered a review of a U.S. Air Force contract to put dozens of military satellites into orbit. The contract, which was awarded to longtime federal partner United Launch Alliance, is being contested by SpaceX over claims that the bidding process was non-competitive. In a filing this week, Judge Susan Braden of the Court of Federal Claims said that United Launch Alliance, or ULA, would need to hand over details of a contract with the U.S. Air Force that it secured last year. The terms of the agreement are expected to shed light — behind closed doors, anyway — on the cost to taxpayers of using United Launch Alliance's rockets. The decision marks an early victory for SpaceX, which in April sued the government and accused it of simply giving the $11 billion dollar contract away without providing ample opportunity for competition. The Defense Department expects to spend as much as $70 billion on the wider launch program by 2030 — but SpaceX has claimed it can put payloads into orbit for far cheaper than ULA. ULA is a joint partnership between aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin; the company has helped the Pentagon launch payloads into space for years. Because of contracting failures in the 1990s, the military is skittish about entrusting its satellites to other launch providers. In April, access to Russian-made rocket engines were temporarily suspended over concerns that the purchase of Russian rockets violated U.S. sanctions against the country — bringing the future of the U.S. space launch business into question — but a federal court lifted the injunction in May on the government's appeal. SpaceX's launch vehicles don't rely on Russian-made engines. It's argued that because of its domestic production base, it should be the natural choice for the U.S. Air Force moving forward. But the Air Force has delayed giving SpaceX the ability to compete for launch contracts, citing "anomalies" in recent flight tests. SpaceX didn't get everything it wanted with the court's decision this week. It had called for an outright cancellation of the 36-rocket contract. Still, the fact that the court is taking a closer look at the ULA contract is a good sign for Musk's company. Correction:


Killer of Marines tried and convicted in Afghanistan as a juvenile; Marine family outraged

has been maintained in order to keep them informed of related investigative and legal developments,” Gibson’s written response said. “At various times over the past 23 months, family members have been contacted by Marine Casualty Assistance Calls Officers (CACOs), Marine Corps staff judge advocates and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents. Our approach to supporting the families of our fallen Marines is based on our unwavering commitment to loyalty.” But MaryLiz Grosseto, the fallen Marine’s aunt, said in a phone interview Thursday night that the family is devastated both by the way the case was handled, and the fact that the shooter will get a relatively light sentence as a juvenile. “This is the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Grosseto said. “If one of our boys had killed an Afghan, they would have got 25 years to life in [the brig at] Fort Leavenworth.” Bowe, the family’s lawyer, said that Marine officials in Afghanistan responded to questions “only in response to continued pressure from the Buckley family and its lawyers” and “punted” their additional questions to enlisted casualty assistance officers who could not get the information to them in a timely fashion. The decision to try the shooter as a juvenile took months to finalize, Gibson said. Like many in Afghanistan, the shooter’s birth date is not known. Afghan medical personnel conducted two bone density age verification tests on him, and determined that he was between 17 and 18 at the time of the killings. Based on that, Afghan officials determined that he would be tried as a juvenile on June 30, Gibson said. The first of those tests occurred a couple of weeks after the shooting, on Aug. 29, 2012, Gibson said. The second occurred a few months ago on May 10, 2014. Both tests showed Ainuddin was about 17 at the time of the attack, the Marine Corps said, but the Buckley family maintains they were told the first test showed he was an adult. The attack came amid a rash of insider attacks, in which Afghan troops or insurgents wearing their uniforms ambush the coalition forces training them. As of June 24, 2014, there have been at least 87 in Afghanistan since 2008, killing 142 coalition troops and wounding an additional 165, according to a tally kept by the Long War Journal. Nearly half of those attacks occurred in 2012, prompting the military to adopt a variety


Will Eastern Ukraine turn into Northern Ireland?

An armored personnel carrier flying Ukraine’s flag and a Ukrainian tank drive towards the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, in the region of Lugansk, on July 25, 2014. (Genya Savilov/AFP-Getty) The following is a guest post from political scientist Serhiy Kudelia of Baylor University. ***** Since the downing of MH-17 the Ukrainian government has intensified its military campaign against the separatists in Ukraine’s east. In short order, the military was able to recapture a dozen towns and villages on the outskirts of the two largest rebel-held cities – Donetsk and Luhansk. This came at a cost of at least 100 civilians and Ukrainian soldiers killed over the last week. Given the complexity of urban warfare and Ukraine’s reliance on Grad rockets, taking these densely populated insurgent strongholds without collateral damage is next to impossible. This, in turn, could produce an upsurge of new revenge-seeking rebel recruits. However, even if the Ukrainian government succeeds in establishing control over the rest of the country militarily, the insurgency is likely to persist. There are at least five reasons why reliance on military force may not necessarily lead to a quick settlement of the conflict. 1) Local Support. The insurgency in Donbas started as a movement demanding broader political autonomy, but quickly transformed into an armed secessionist insurrection capturing at least a third of the region’s territory. Local public support for full separation of Donbas from Ukraine has hovered around 30% since the start of the conflict in April. The latest polling from the region indicates that in early July 37% of respondents in Donbas endorsed secession. As one study shows, it is quite difficult to turn the population against rebels; neither coercion nor the provision of benefits are typically successful. Reestablishing military control may lead to passive collaboration with separatist sympathizers. Locals could still provide support to the insurgency in numerous smaller towns and villages beyond the reach of an overstretched Ukrainian military. This will allow the insurgents to adopt a more flexible hit-and-run guerilla tactics using small groups capable of blending in with civilian population. 2) External Sanctuaries. Decentralized guerilla campaign in Donbas will rely not only on domestic areas of support, but also on external military and political support from across the Russian-Ukrainian border. Recent evidence indicates that Russia has offered its border territories to store military equipment for the insurgents and provide training to new recruits. If the Ukrainian government


Official: Stronger U.S.-European sanctions likely against Russia

Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Sunday that the United States and Europe are likely to develop stronger sanctions this week against Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis. Members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe examine pieces of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in the village of Rassipne, in eastern Ukraine, on Friday. (Dmitry Lovetsky/Associated Press) "We still think that the best thing the United States can do is send a message to Russia through very strong sanctions coordinated with the Europeans, and I’d expect in the coming days you will see the Europeans move out on stronger sanctions," Rhodes said on CNN's "State of the Union." Rhodes also said European leaders were open to sanctions against Russia's energy, arms and financial sectors during talks with President Obama in the past week. The discussions came after a commercial jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over territory controlled by Russian separatists. U.S. authorities have suggested that Russia is partly responsible for the incident because it provided weapons and training for the separatists. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he supports stronger sanctions against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin "has shown he has no conscience," Schumer said. "He takes advantage of this horrible downing of the airliner and then just redoubles his efforts and rearms the rebels. It's about time we took tougher action against Putin. He's a schoolyard bully."


House, Senate negotiators reach deal on veterans bill

will enjoy the support of House Republicans, many of whom have been concerned about dramatically increasing costs for government-run programs. According to a draft summary of the measure provided by House aides, Congress would give eligible military veterans a “Veterans Choice Card” and allow them to seek health care outside the VA medical system from Medicare-eligible providers, other federally qualified health centers or facilities operated by the Defense Department or federal Indian Health Service centers. Veterans eligible to seek care outside the system would need to be enrolled by Aug. 1, or enroll for VA care within five years of ending their military service in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the draft agreement. A veteran could leave the VA system if they’re unable to receive an appointment within 14 days — the current VA wait-time goal, or if they live more than 40 miles from a VA facility. In response to reports that workers improperly compiled written lists of patients waiting more than two weeks for appointments in order to avoid failing to meet VA guidelines on wait times, the new legislation would not allow scheduling and wait-time metrics to be used as factors in determining a worker’s performance. Instead, most performance reviews would focus on the quality of care received by veterans, according to the draft summary. The measure also would authorize $5 billion in emergency spending to pay for hiring new employees; require VA to enter into 27 leases for new major medical facilities; expand a scholarship program for the surviving spouses of service members who died during conflicts since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and allow VA to provide counseling care and other services to veterans who suffered sexual trauma while in the ranks. Additionally, VA would be required to conduct regular audits on the accuracy of care and staffing levels at each major medical facility. Word of a deal comes with just four legislative days left until Congress is scheduled to adjourn for a five-week recess Friday. With several significant, complex issues left unresolved, including President Obama's request for emergency funding to deal with the influx of immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, lawmakers have been saying for weeks that leaving for recess without resolving the veterans' health-care crisis would be embarrassing and would justifiably spark voter outrage. "I'm embarrassed," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a lead GOP negotiator on the veterans' bill, said last week when


Watch swarms of Mississippi River mayflies so thick they showed up on radar like a storm

through the warm season depending on the species, this particular emergence was that of the larger black/brown Bilineata species. The radar loop [above] shows the reflected radar energy (reflectivity) from 8:35 pm to just after midnight. The higher the values (greens to yellows) indicate greater concentrations of flies. Note how the swarm is carried northward over time.” Here’s the deal on them from the Fish and Wildlife Service: As nymphs, these aquatic insects proceed through one or two years of larval development as filter feeders, consuming decaying organic matter at the river bottom. In summer, large numbers of nymphs synchronously emerge from the water at dusk and take flight as sub-adults. Within 36 hours of emergence, the sub-adults metamorphose into adults that subsequently swarm in the air to mate before returning to the water surface to lay their eggs and die. Some of these emergence events are so large and widespread that swarms can be detected by Doppler weather radar. They’re supposed to be the bearer of good tidings ecologically. In some years, they’ve failed to breed because of pollution, so their re-emergence is supposed to be a sign of environmental health. Unfortunately, they’re attracted to lights, so they often head for lighted highways after they hatch. Millions of them get run over or squashed, leaving behind a green slime that’s so slippery it can cause accidents. Only one accident was reported last week. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Sunday’s accident happened about 10:25 p.m., when a northbound car driven by Theresa L. Hunt, 24, of Ellsworth, Wis., lost control on the slickened roadway as the blizzard-like flurry of insects cut visibility, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Hunt’s car hit another vehicle heading south driven by Scott Pauly, 52, of Rochester, and then a second vehicle, a van driven by Tanya Lapointe, 35, of Baldwin, Wis. Hunt was slightly injured, and Cynthia Pauly, 51, a passenger in one of the struck vehicles, was taken to Mayo Hospital in Red Wing for treatment of undetermined injuries. A second, smaller swarm recorded Thursday night starts as a green band before exploding like fireworks into blue dots. The radar loop below covers the time between about 8:45 pm and 11:10 pm. This loop covers about a two and a half-hour period. (NWS) #Mayflies have descended upon many towns in the Midwest & their swarms can be seen on radar! http://t.co/Cykoo2mAls http://t.co/O5DTrSsqH9


Florida voters back medical marijuana 9 to 1, poll finds

Marijuana plants on display for sale at the medical marijuana farmers market at the California Heritage Market in Los Angeles, California. (David McNew/Reuters) If the latest poll is right, it’s a safe bet that Florida will legalize medical marijuana this November. A new Quinnipiac University poll finds that 88 percent of voters support the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, while 10 percent do not. Those attitudes were unchanged from May, but support was six percentage points up from November. The lowest level of support was among senior citizens, who still back the measure roughly 6 to 1. The youngest segment of voters backed it 19 to 1. A ballot measure that would legalize the drug was narrowly approved in January, which means that voters will have the chance in just a few months to add their state to a growing number with legal medical pot, which seems likely given the poll. Among all demographic groups, support for medical marijuana was lowest among Republicans, 80 percent of whom support legalization with 19 percent opposing. When asked whether they would support a legal medical marijuana dispensary in their own town or city, 71 percent of voters said yes while 26 percent said no. Support for a dispensary in one’s own town was lowest among seniors, who still backed the idea 57 percent to 37 percent. A majority of voters even supported legalizing marijuana simply for recreational use. The only demographic groups where majorities opposed the idea were Republicans and seniors. Overall support for recreational legalization was up seven percentage points from November. There was a 23-point different in support between Democrats, who support recreational pot roughly 2 to 1, and Republicans. Support among men was 61 percent, a dozen points higher than that for women. When asked confidentially, 44 percent said they’ve tried the drug. Seniors had the far and away lowest rates of trying pot, at 23 percent.


Here is a clip of Richard Nixon discussing panda sex

A more recent arrival: Bao Bao explores an enclosure at the National Zoo last winter. (Matt McClain/ The Washington Post) When first lady Pat Nixon accompanied her husband to Beijing on his famous 1972 trip, she toured the zoo there and was much taken with the giant pandas that she saw. The species lives in the wild only in China and was rarely seen in captivity outside of that nation. In conversation with Zhou Enlai at a state dinner that evening, she enthused about the pandas. An engaging man, he immediately offered to make a gift of two pandas to the United States. (In exchange, the United States government sent over two musk oxen.) Only two months later, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrived, and as the first lady commented, the result was “Panda-monium.” The gentle and irresistible pandas brought home the concept of rapprochement to Americans, who couldn’t get enough of the pair. Before they arrived, President Nixon leaked the news to Crosby Noyes, the foreign editor of The Washington Star, that the pandas would go to the National Zoo, which Nixon considered to be a zoo that belonged to the whole nation. (We recount that conversation, and many others, in our new book. “The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972“) But before they could be shipped from China, there was just one problem: Before the arrival of the National Zoo's first giant pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, President Richard Nixon leaked the news to Crosby Noyes, foreign editor of The Washington Star. But before they could be shipped from China, there was just one problem. Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes: Nixon: Noyes:


The New York Times was surprisingly late to embrace marijuana legalization

The New York Times released the first of a six-part editorial in support of the legalization of marijuana on Monday. The article compares the ban of marijuana to the prohibition of alcohol in the 20s and 30s. The New York Times' sudden and dramatic embrace of the idea of legalizing marijuana came with both an unusually hip graphic treatment and a thorough explication of the rationale for the editorial board's decision. But, interestingly, the move comes after a majority of Americans had embraced the position -- atypical for a newspaper that has often been at the forefront of social change. Gallup regularly polls on social issues, including marijuana legalization. We took their graph of the trend over time and added a line approximating the Times' evolution on the issue. It comes well after the majority of Americans -- including a third of Republicans and over 60 percent of independents -- already felt that marijuana should be legalized. On other social issues, the Times has been much more ahead of the trend. Gay marriage In 1999, Hawaii's Supreme Court declined to take strong action in defense of same-sex marriage in the state, prompting the Times to lament the missed opportunity. Nonetheless, the paper's editors suggested, "someday same-sex couples and their families will achieve the legal recognition and acceptance they deserve." At that point, nearly two-thirds of Americans still opposed gay marriage. In 1996, no age group supported gay marriage; the most support came from those under the age of 30, but only 41 percent of them backed the idea. The death penalty The Times has been explicit about its opposition to the death penalty for decades. Thirty-two years ago, the editorial board used a Supreme Court decision as an opportunity to lament that death was still considered a viable option for punishment. Because of its commitment to decency and its stand that capital punishment is constitutional, the Supreme Court has condemned itself to years of policing of lower courts that are more concerned with moving to execution than respecting the idea that death is different. With time, perhaps the justices will see that the death penalty is so different that it is cruel, unusual and unconstitutional in all cases. At the time, the country was moving toward a renewed embrace of the practice, after popular opinion turned against executions in the late 1960s. Gallup's trend shows that opposition to the death


This is the worst Ebola outbreak in history. Here’s why you should be worried.

As the worst Ebola outbreak in history unfolds in West Africa, The Post's Joel Achenbach explains how the deadly virus wreaks havoc on the human body. The worst Ebola outbreak in history has put a number of countries in West Africa in lockdown, led to the deaths of nearly 700 people since February and brought new reports of doctors, including Americans, contracting the virus they are attempting to contain. The situation is undeniably scary. Here's what you need to know. What is Ebola? Ebola viral disease is a highly infectious illness with fatality rates up to 90 percent, according to the U.N. World Health Organization. Symptoms initially include a sudden fever as well as joint and muscle aches and then typically progress to vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding — you can see a full, grim description of symptoms compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here. The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids of someone who is infected. Reports of human infections usually first emerge in remote areas that are in proximity to tropical rain forests, where humans can come into contact with animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas and forest antelope. The consumption of bush meat is often a precursor to such outbreaks. The WHO says fruit bats are probably the natural host for the virus. #Ebola symptoms: Sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat http://t.co/pxSHAodnE5 Why is it called Ebola? It's named after a tributary river in northern Congo. In 1976, a village near the river was the site of one of two simultaneous outbreaks of the disease (the other was in Sudan). Of the five known strains of Ebola, the four that are transmittable to humans are found in Africa. A fifth, the Reston virus, ravaged monkey populations in the Philippines, but no humans in its environs have contracted the illness. Can Ebola be cured? There is no known vaccine or cure for the disease, but if caught early, it can be battled like other viruses such as influenza. The CDC says supportive therapy such as administering liquids and electrolytes and maintaining the patients' oxygen status and blood pressure can combat the virus. Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, the Paris-based medical NGO, said a strict quarantine while treating patients is essential to controlling outbreaks and was vital when the group's doctors helped contain an


At Market Basket, the saga continues

A shopper examines produce in a Market Basket grocery store in Chelsea, Mass., on July 22. Shelves in some Market Basket locations have gone empty as deliveries have been delayed by ongoing protests by employees. (AP) On June 24, employees of the Northeast grocery chain Market Basket first began organizing rallies and efforts to reinstate their fired president. More than a month later, there appears to be little sign the unusual saga is coming to an end. Many shelves remain empty, the ousted leader has made a bid for the company, and employees are prompting customers to spend their dollars elsewhere. Over the past few weeks, workers at the 71-store chain, which has locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, have held rallies with thousands of people. They've walked off the job, started protest Facebook pages and asked customers to boycott their own stores. They've halted deliveries that have resulted in barren shelves and drops in customer traffic. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posttv/national/family-dispute-cripples-market-basket-grocery-chain/2014/08/01/5962dace-c8d7-49d3-8c9b-94dd1c5898e9_video.html What they want: Nothing less than the reinstatement of their former president, Arthur T. Demoulas. The case — which involves senior managers protesting alongside rank-and-file workers, both seeking to get back the job for the guy in charge — has very few comparisons, say management scholars. "The response is very unusual," wrote Wharton professor Michael Useem in an e-mail. The only parallel he says comes to mind (and it's not a strict one, he notes) was the forced resignation and reinstatement of Teresa Sullivan as president of the University of Virginia in 2012. Why was Demoulas so popular? As we wrote last week, his business philosophy was to pay workers well, fund their retirement accounts, and keep prices low, an approach the board has said it does not intend to change, despite the skepticism of workers. He has also been praised for his integrity and his personal touch. In the days since, the unusual case has had even more twists and turns. The ousted president — widely known as "Arthur T." because his cousin and rival, Arthur S. Demoulas, now controls the board that ousted him in June — made a bid last Wednesday to buy the 50.5 percent of shares owned by his relatives. For decades, Market Basket has been embroiled in a family feud between two branches of the family. Then on Friday, employees staged another big protest. The same day, two statements, one from the board and another


Senators question wisdom of U.S. government office that exists to sell free technical reports

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) contemplates the future of the National Technical Information Service. (The Office of Senator Claire McCaskill). With their sassily named Let Me Google That For You Act, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are pursuing the possible closure of an obscure, arguably objectionable branch of the Commerce Department called the National Technical Information Service, an office that Coburn pithily summarizes as an entity that "sells free government reports to other federal agencies and the public -- at a loss." Like many parts of government, NTIS is struggling to figure out how to exist in the digital, networked age. But unlike their colleague agencies, at some point the Internet has threatened to turn NTIS from a useful service into a boondoggle. The facts: though the NTIS is meant to be self-sustaining, from 2001 through 2011 there was only one year that it made more money selling its 2.5 millions reports and other products than it spent, despite the fact that it has expanded its offerings of technical, scientific, and research reports to include things like a DVD containing "1,700 convenient recipes" for feeding military-size audiences (selling for $79.) There might seem in all this to be hints of the Office of Technology Assessment, the late, often lamented lamented source of technical expertise that cost-cutting, symbolic and otherwise, killed during the days of the Gingrich revolution. But NTIS, located in Springfield, Virginia, does something different. Rather than focus on producing original research, it acts as a clearinghouse. Established after World War II, NTIS was initially meant as a mechanism for pushing out to the world the great deal of scientific research that had been produced during the war on behalf of the U.S. government -- as well as, fascinatingly, according to an NTIS in-house history, "the review and release of captured enemy research." Then scroll down a bit through the years and the Internet happens. During a Senate hearing last week, the Government Accountability Office presented (free) research showing that a full 76 percent of the NTIS's online offerings collected since 1990 are available elsewhere online and, most importantly, 95 percent of the time at absolutely no cost. Somewhere along the way, that shift seemed to not just make a government service obsolete but to make its premise, and what it's serving up to the American public, arguably fraudulent. Still, at the hearing, NTIS Director Bruce


Chinese regulators target Microsoft, over possible antitrust concerns

from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which investigates antitrust and other matters, visited several Microsoft offices Monday. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation. Microsoft confirmed that the Chinese government has been in contact with the company and said it will cooperate with regulators, but it declined to give any further details on the situation. "We aim to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect, and we will address any concerns the government may have," the company said in a statement. U.S. technology firms and the Chinese government have had a rocky relationship in the past year, in light of the information leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that detailed the technology industry's role in U.S. government surveillance overseas. The revelations have directly led to lower sales in China for many U.S. tech firms, such as Cisco and IBM. Microsoft, in particular, has faced several obstacles in China over the past year. In May, the Chinese government banned the use of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system on government computers due to alleged security concerns, highlighting a growing rift between the United States and China on cybersecurity and other technology issues. The relationship has become even more strained following the U.S. indictment of five members of the Chinese military on hacking charges. Chinese newspapers reported last week that regulators have leveled an antitrust charge against Qualcomm, one of the world's largest mobile chip makers, accusing it using a "monopoly" to charge excessive fees for its technology. The way that China has been applying its new law has drawn criticism from some U.S. officials. Last year, Federal Trade Commission commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen gave a speech in Beijing, encouraging antitrust regulators there to provide clear, advance notice to companies under investigation. Reuters reported that the U. S. Chamber of Commerce had sent a letter to Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, saying the Chinese government has applied its anti-monopoly laws to protect Chinese businesses, rather than Chinese consumers. "It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese government has seized on using the AML to promote Chinese producer welfare and to advance industrial policies that nurture domestic enterprises, rather than the internationally accepted norm of using competition law to protect consumer welfare and competition," the U.S. Chamber's letter said, according to the report.


PM Update: July weather at its finest; Delta Aquarid meteor shower tonight

- Temperature Map - Temperatures: Latest D.C. area temperature map. See interactive map on our Weather Wall. Even though the cold front passed through early, today featured plentiful pop up clouds, a few sprinkles north, and there’s an additional area of showers tracking this way from Pennsylvania. This is all thanks to cold air aloft mixed with surface warming. Clouds and any shower risk will continue waning as the sun sets, and a cool July night is ahead. If tomorrow wasn’t a Tuesday it may qualify as one of the best days ever when you see what’s anticipated. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Tuesday): See Jason Samenow’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter A spectacular July day in D.C. (Dan Lawrence via Flickr) Sky gazing:


A third of consumers with credit files had debts in collections last year

(Flickr user Orin Zebest) About 77 million Americans have a debt in collections, a new report finds. That amounts to 35 percent of consumers with credit files or data reported to a major credit bureau, according to the study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute and Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute. "It’s a stunning number," said Caroline Ratcliffe, senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of the report. "And it threads through nearly all communities." The report analyzed 2013 credit data from TransUnion to calculate how many Americans were falling behind on their bills. It looked at how many people had non-mortgage bills, such as credit card bills, child support payments and medical bills, that are so past due that the account has since been closed and placed in collections. Researchers relied on a random sample of 7 million people with data reported to the credit bureaus in 2013 to estimate what share of the 220 million Americans with credit files have debts in collection. About 22 million low-income adults who did not have credit files were not represented in the study. This is the first time the Urban Institute calculated the collection figure, but Americans may have been struggling with debt for a while: Researchers noted that the 35 percent is basically unchanged from when the Federal Reserve studied the issue in 2004 and found that 36.5 percent of people with credit reports had debt in collections. The debts sent to collections ranged from $25 on the low end and to more than $125,000 on the high end. Many consumers were burned for relatively small amounts -- about 10 percent of the debts were smaller than $125, Ratcliffe says. But the median debt, $1,350, is still pretty substantial, she adds. Nevada was hit the hardest, with 47 percent of consumers with a credit file showing a debt in collections -- a mark researchers said may stem from the housing crisis when people struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments may have fallen behind on other financial obligations. (Source: Urban Institute) In 12 states, including the District of Columbia, more than 40 percent of residents with a credit file have a bill in collections. That includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia. On the opposite end, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota each


Academia’s seamier side: Lying, cheating and fraud

Integrity, they’ve managed to corner the market on first sightings of academic wrongdoing, as well in the more garden-variety retraction notice, error rather than purposeful deceit. Both varieties represent a small fraction of the world’s academic research, to be sure, and other fields, including journalism, have their own sins. But in academic disciplines that take pride in their rigor, Oransky says the fraction of retractions is increasing. “It’s important to put it in context,” says Oransky. There are at least 500 retractions a year, he said, but between 2001 and 2010, “the number has grown 10 times” while the number of papers published every year grew only about 44 percent. “Number of retractions up tenfold. Number of papers up 44 percent.” A 2012 review of more than 2,000 articles in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that in biomedical and life-science research, the majority of retractions (67 percent) were actually attributable to misconduct and that “the percentage of scientific articles retracted because of fraud has increased 10-fold since 1975.” The annual reports at HHS’s Office of Research Integrity also show an increase in misconduct among researchers receiving federal funding: According to the latest, for 2012, ORI received 423 allegations of misconduct in 2012, an increase of 56 percent over 2011 and well above the 1992-2007 average of 198. ORI made finding of research misconduct in 40 percent of the 2012 cases, up from a historical average of 36 percent. The ORI reports of recent months alone are themselves eye-opening, many of them involving falsification of data by researchers at the most prestigious institutions, including in 2013 and 2014, the Harvard Medical School, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. The causes: To some extent, Oransky says, it’s that people are paying more attention and have the ability to look at papers online, and to use software that detects plagiarism, for example. But he (and many others) also attribute it to increased competition for attention among researchers at a time when funding has been decreasing, particularly government funding. There’s also a problem with peer review, the process by which other scholars are asked to read and vouch for a paper prior to publication. “I’ve done peer review,” said Oransky. “If you do it properly, it takes significant time. If you do the math on the time it takes, there aren’t enough scientists” around


READ IN: Tuesday, July 29, 2014: VA bill to pass, Christie’s pension reform has tough road, Ark. DCCC makes big bucks off impeachment talk, and D.C.’s shutdown baby boom

Don't forget to sign up for Read In, and get all the political news you need in your inbox every morning! A1: -- A cease-fire is over as Israel began pounding the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, hitting a fuel tank at Gaza’s only electricity plant and the headquarters of Hamas’s television station. At least 40 people were killed overnight, Palestinian officials said. Five Israeli soldiers were killed when Hamas militants snuck through a tunnel into southern Israel and opened fire. In a televised address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the incursion into Gaza will be longer than initially expected. (Washington Post) -- European Union ambassadors are expected to decide today on new sanctions against Russia, which could include limits on Russia’s access to E.U. capital markets and an end to arms and technology shipments. The leaders of Britain, Germany, France and Italy told President Obama in a conference call on Monday they were willing to adopt the harsh new sanctions. (Associated Press) -- The U.S. says Russia violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987, by testing a ground-launched cruise missile. In a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Obama said the missile tests, which took place between 2008 and 2011, violated the treaty. Top Obama advisors decided over the last few months that the tests amounted to serious violations. (New York Times) -- House and Senate negotiators who came to agreement on a bill to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs believe their bill will easily pass before lawmakers bolt for August recess. The deal includes $17 billion in spending for medical care and leases for at least 27 new facilities, and a provision that would allow administrators to immediately fire low-performing employees. Before they leave, the House is expected to pass a Republican measure authorizing a lawsuit against President Obama; it’s likely to be the final official action of Eric Cantor’s tenure as House Majority Leader. (Washington Post) -- An Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst on record, is only a plane ride away from the U.S. The CDC on Monday issued an alert to health care providers to help them identify symptoms of the disease after an infected traveler was able to board a plane to Lagos, Nigeria. The family of an American doctor who has contracted the virus is monitoring themselves after returning to the U.S.; the doctor remains in Africa. (USA


Morning links: Technology stays a step ahead of government spying

- The next hurdle for legalization advocates: homeowners associations. - Federal officials are upset that technology is making it more difficult for them to spy on people. - New York’s Civilian Complaint Review Board finds that although chokeholds are prohibited at NYPD, discipline for violating the policy is rare. Meanwhile, there may have been another chokehold incident in Brooklyn, during a confrontation that began as a citation for illegal grilling. - A new study concludes that decriminalizing sex work would reduce the number of HIV infections. - Two boxes of Sudafed land a Florida woman in a legal nightmare. - Puppycide: An Illinois cop shoots, kills a German shepherd in front of a 6-year-old girl.


Questions raised about Afghanistan’s Mobile Strike Force Vehicle fleet

File: A Mobile Strike Force Vehicle navigates through a series of obstacles at a rough terrain driving course at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, on May 13, 2013, in Helmand province. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Ezekiel R. Kitandwe) When the Defense Department began shipping a a new fleet of massive armored vehicles to Afghanistan in 2011, U.S. officials billed them as the Afghan National Army’s solution for rapidly sending troops into dangerous situations to reinforce fellow soldiers. The Mobile Strike Force Vehicles are based on the aging M117 armored personnel carrier that has been used since Vietnam, but with beefed up armor to defend against rocket-propelled grenades and other threats. Most of the 634 strike force vehicles built for the Afghan army are now in its hands, according to a new audit report released Tuesday by the U.S.’s top watchdog on Afghan reconstruction. But the long-term outlook for the $661.3 million fleet of vehicles in the fight against the Taliban remains in question, the report says, citing deterioration in the vehicles due to a lack of spare parts and the patchwork nature of maintenance training. The report comes as the U.S. and other coalition countries continue to withdraw troops across the country, limiting their reach as their combat role in Afghanistan comes to an end. The U.S. withdrawal calls for about 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan by the end of this year, with an additional 4,000 troops from other coalition countries. That’s down from a peak of more than 130,000 coalition troops in 2011. The mobile strike vehicles were built by Textron Inc., of Providence, R.I. The report, by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) office, shows that Army officials reported that the company has performed well in providing the vehicles and the initial training to Afghan troops needed to use them. But Textron also is being paid as part of its contracts with the Defense Department to provide additional field training and maintenance, and it has not been able to do so because it is unable to reach the sites where the vehicles are kept, SIGAR found. “According to NATO-Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) officials, oversight personnel rarely conducted site inspections beyond Kabul, even though kandaks [Afghan battalions] are deployed to other provinces such as Zabul or Helmand,” SIGAR’s report said. “Although this provides for oversight of activities of in Kabul, it does not ensure that someone


Where the biggest beer, wine, and liquor drinkers live in the U.S.

early 1900s, when it was approaching 20 percent. (Source: United States Department of Agriculture) There's reason to believe that downward trend will only continue—at least for the foreseeable future. Per capita expenditure on alcohol is slated to shrink even further over the next five years, according to estimates by market research firm IBIS World. Much of that is the result of a shift away from certain spirits. While vodka might be America's favorite hard alcohol, demand for the eastern European grain alcohol is falling. "Vodka sales, which have been growing in the mid single digits for the past five or so years, are slowing down," Spiros Malandrakis, an industry analyst at Euromonitor, said in an interview. Last year, vodka sales grew up only 1 percent. But America's taste for alcohol isn't dissipating, so much as changing. "All the momentum is shifting to craft beer and whiskies," Malandrakis said. Wine culture, while changing to embrace an increasingly younger audience, is also expanding. "Wine sales fell during the recession, but they're on its way up again." Some of that shift is sustainable. Bourbon and Irish whiskey sales are not only growing in the double digits, but also becoming increasingly premium. That should continue. "If I had to pick a specific spirit going forward, I would probably say bourbon," Malandrakis said. But craft brews are probably hitting their peak around now, according to analysts. The craft beer boom, which has seen the number of breweries in the U.S. skyrocket from fewer than 700 in the late 1990s to more than 3,000 today, according to The Beer Institute, is likely growing too fast for its own good. (Source: The Beer Institute) "While we're not there yet, we're definitely approaching bubble territory," Malandrakis said. "There can't be a massive craft brewer. That's just an oxymoron. The moment a craft brewer makes beer on a mass scale, it's no longer a craft brewer." Still, the current trends in American alcohol consumption are little more than that—momentary fads. What beers, wines, and spirits we drink might last a generation, but rarely do they span more than that. What's more, like with many other things, even when certain alcohols become uncool, it's only a matter of time before they're all rage once again. "Alcohol consumption is cyclical by nature," Malandrakis said. "Believe it or not, we tend to drink what our grandparents drank, not what our parents drank."