The Irish border is illogical — just like Brexit

process the European Union assisted by blurring the border to invisibility. I discovered just how invisible when I prepared to commemorate my passage into the republic — and realized I was already there. The only visible transition had been a slight difference in road signage. But Brexit looms, and behind it the specter of a harder, more visible border. And so British Prime Minister Theresa May has desperately tried to find some compromise among at least five parties, each of which can’t, or won’t, give up the one thing some other party must have. Catholic nationalists in Northern Ireland understandably resent living on their ancestral lands as an ethno-religious minority. They’re opposed to border checkpoints, even a friendlier version run by the Irish government. I found out just how intense the opposition is about five minutes after pulling into Keady, the Northern Irish town from which the McArdles hail. A pugnacious older gent told me he’d removed the last checkpoints on the Armagh border after Northern Ireland’s Good Friday peace agreement in 1998 — and didn’t doubt that the younger lads would tackle the next ones. A January car bombing in Derry indicates that some nationalists may already be getting a jump-start on the Troubles 2.0. But if Brexit happens, the E.U. won’t consent to a gaping hole in its borders. Unless Britain hews to E.U. rules, Ireland, which will remain in the E.U., must have something like a border somewhere — either with the United Kingdom or with the E.U. Which leaves the Irish government with a conundrum. Ireland walling itself off from the E.U. to maintain a connection with Northern Ireland would defeat the purpose of E.U. membership. But it’s neither practical nor politically acceptable for the Irish government to actively reharden the border with Northern Ireland. May could of course break the Brexit stalemate either by ceding the E.U. the control it wants or carving Northern Ireland off into its own regulatory zone. But Protestant Unionists are adamant that there can be no separate regime for Northern Ireland because, damn it, they’re British. The 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) members of Parliament are also the linchpin of May’s parliamentary majority. Unfortunately, that majority also depends on pro-Leave members who insist that British voters voted “Leave,” not “Downgrade to nonvoting membership in the E.U.” Pursuing Brexit in name only risks both the May government’s democratic legitimacy and an


As IPO soars, can Uber and Lyft survive long enough to replace their drivers with computers?

venture capitalists subsidizing people’s taxi rides around the world,” said Jason Schloetzer, a professor at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business who specializes in artificial intelligence use cases. “And that kind of business model can only survive so long.” Drivers represent more than cost concerns for Uber and Lyft. As driver demonstrations in California illustrated this week, they are fighting back against the dwindling cut of the fare they get — as little as 60 cents a mile in Southern California, only two cents more than the IRS reimbursement rate. And court rulings or legislation could force the companies to consider drivers as employees rather than contractors, driving up their costs by requiring them to offer benefits. “Lyft and Uber together will be able to pull this off for several quarters but they are going to have to show profitability and they’re not close," said University of Maryland strategy and entrepreneurship professor Brent Goldfarb, co-author of “Bubbles and Crashes: The Boom and Bust of Technological innovation. Stacy Brown-Philpot, the chief executive of TaskRabbit, another gig economy start-up, framed the IPOs as an opportunity. “It’s going to invite an expectation of transparency and an expectation of scrutiny, which I actually think will be helpful and healthy in shaping how these companies will grow into the future,” she said at a technology forum hosted by The Washington Post in San Francisco this week. “I hope what then happens is that transparency allows for us to see: ‘Here’s what it takes to really build a sustainable business and also help people afford an income, a meaningful income.’ ” Uber and Lyft declined to comment. A few tech companies have famously sailed to enormous wealth on the promise of paradigm-changing technology paying off after many years. Amazon two decades ago was a nascent online bookseller that had yet to realize its vision of becoming a cloud-computing juggernaut that powers the Internet’s one-stop retail shop, ascending to become one of the world’s most valuable public companies. The value of Google, once thought of as an Internet search company, is in fact in its artificial intelligence. But many more have stumbled. In Silicon Valley, the earliest adopters of technology -- the ones that intrigue investors -- are not always ones that survive. Early makers of wearables, including Fitbit and Jawbone, have been eclipsed by others including Apple and Xiaomi. WebVan, once the Internet’s largest and best-funded grocery


Bank of America plans to modernize more than half its branches

announcement accelerates plans put in place last year to redesign 1,500 centers. Bank of America also said it planned to install 2,700 ATMs and to upgrade its network of 16,000 of the machines to allow customers to pay credit card bills and withdraw cash with their phones. By 2021, Bank of America’s branch and ATM network will cover more than 90 percent of the U.S. population, said David Tyrie, head of consumer advanced solutions and digital banking — Reuters Former congressman's bank loses its license A regional Russian bank owned by a former Republican congressman had its license revoked Friday for violations that included breaking rules against money laundering. Commercial Bank of Ivanovo, in which Charles H. Taylor owns an 80 percent stake, regularly broke anti-money-laundering regulations, misrepresented the size of its provisions and used “schemes” to artificially inflate its capital, according to a central bank statement. Suspicious Russian cash has caught up several lenders in northern Europe, with Swedbank head Birgitte Bonnesen being the latest executive to lose her job over allegations that her bank was involved in a $230 billion Danske Bank laundering scandal. Russia’s central bank, under the leadership of Elvira Nabiullina, has purged more than 40 percent of the country’s lenders since 2013 in an attempt to clean up the financial sector and stem suspicious transactions. Taylor represented North Carolina’s 11th district from 1991 to 2007. In his freshman term, together with Newt Gingrich, he was part of the Gang of Seven that investigated a House banking scandal that fueled the perception of corruption in the lower chamber and helped usher in a Republican majority. He also created exchange programs and internships for Russian students during Russia’s transition from communism. Bank Ivanovo was Russia’s 294th largest bank, according to the regulator. Efforts to reach Taylor were unsuccessful. — Bloomberg News Also in Business The World Trade Organization The European Commission United Continental Holdings, which owns and operates United Airlines, will stop publishing charts showing the miles needed to obtain tickets through its frequent-flier program, allowing for a wider — and more expensive — range of prices. The move follows a similar decision by rival Delta Air Lines in 2014 to scrap fixed tables in favor of dynamically pricing award tickets. The change allows a carrier to maximize revenue during peak travel periods. Southwest Airlines has adopted a similar approach for award travel. — From news services


Saudi Arabia detains U.S. citizens in crackdown on writers and activists

ISTANBUL — Saudi Arabia detained two dual U.S.-Saudi citizens this week during a roundup of activists, intellectuals and writers, including supporters of Saudi feminists and advocates for Palestinian rights, human rights groups and people briefed on the arrests said Friday. The detentions, of at least 11 people, signaled a revival of a crackdown on dissent by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The campaign, marked by waves of arrests, had quieted somewhat in the months since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul. Many of the latest arrests occurred Thursday. Those detained included Salah al-Haidar, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen and son of prominent feminist Aziza al-Yousef. Yousef — who is on trial with other Saudi women’s rights advocates on charges related to their activism — was temporarily released from custody last week. Another detainee, Bader al-Ibrahim, a doctor and writer, also holds dual U.S. and Saudi citizenship, according to people briefed on the arrests, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation by Saudi authorities. A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Friday that two American citizens had been arrested and that the United States had “already engaged the Saudi government” on the matter, but she declined to comment further, citing privacy considerations. A Saudi government media office did not reply to an email requesting details about the detentions and the charges. Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s day-to-day ruler, has loosened some social restrictions in the strictly conservative country, including lifting a ban on women driving. At the same time, he has sought to silence dissenting voices in the kingdom, as well as beyond its borders. In October, Saudi agents killed Khashoggi, a critic of Mohammed, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in what the Saudi government has insisted was a botched operation to repatriate the journalist. The Trump administration vigorously defended the Saudi government against criticism after the killing of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who contributed columns to The Washington Post. But outrage among U.S. lawmakers over his slaying has resulted in bipartisan condemnation of the killing as well as other measures aimed at punishing Riyadh. On Thursday, the House voted to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen, after the Senate passed a similar measure last month. Some were puzzled by the timing of the arrests, coming barely a week after the Saudi government generated a degree of goodwill by temporarily releasing


MBS is making Trump look timid and weak

SAUDI CROWN Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sent an unmistakable signal to all who hoped he would be moved by the international backlash against his brutal treatment of human rights activists, journalists and other perceived opponents. With the trial of 11 women’s rights advocates still in progress, his security forces rounded up 12 of their supporters , most of whom were detained Thursday. That included two U.S. citizens, in what can only be interpreted as a deliberate provocation. The crown prince is telling the world — and in particular, the U.S. Congress — that objections to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to the torture of women seeking the right to drive, have fallen on deaf ears. Maybe that’s because the response has lacked both a practical punch and the support of President Trump. The new arrests targeted writers, journalists and academics who have supported reforms or had ties to the women on trial. One of the dual U.S.-Saudi nationals, Salah al-Haidar, is the son of Aziza al-Yousef, a renowned women’s rights activist who, along with at least a dozen others, was arrested last year. The other is a writer and physician, Bader al-Ibrahim. The detained also include a pregnant woman, writer Khadijah al-Harbi, and Anas al-Mazroui, a university lecturer whose apparent offense was to mention the names of some of the jailed women during a panel discussion at a book fair. Ms. Yousef and two other women were provisionally released last week, and there were reports that the other women might also be freed. Instead, the regime has chosen to double down on its repression. The new detainees, unlike those already on trial, are not famous activists or prominent on social media. They posed no political threat to the regime. The only conceivable purpose of their detention is to deter Saudi and international support for the female activists — who have sought such modest reforms as allowing women to travel without the permission of a male relative. In targeting U.S. citizens, Mohammed bin Salman may also have been responding to Congress. On Thursday, the House passed a resolution, already approved by the Senate, mandating an end to U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war. The aim of stripping support for Saudi and allied forces is correct: The intervention has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe, and U.N. investigators have documented likely war crimes by Saudi bombers using U.S.-supplied munitions. But


A suggestion for Alessandra Mussolini: Show some empathy for Ethiopia

Reading the April 2 Style article “Jim Carrey sketch draws fire from Mussolini’s granddaughter,” about the Twitter exchange between actor Jim Carrey and Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, was as bizarre as it was heartbreaking. While pointing out American injustices, Ms. Mussolini did not acknowledge her grandfather’s crimes against humanity. I want to remind her of Ethiopia. To fulfill his expansionist and fascistic ambitions, Benito Mussolini was determined to conquer Ethiopia by any means. Mussolini’s generals, including the brutal Rodolfo Graziani, intended to colonize the country with or without the Ethiopians. Their genocidal campaign is a dark chapter in Ethiopian history. Uncountable Ethiopian civilians were killed simply for being found in the only homeland they had and knew. As hurtful as Ms. Mussolini’s attitude and remarks are, I do not blame her for her grandfather’s atrocities. But, as an Ethiopian, I wish she showed a little bit of empathy. I hope she will soon find compelling reasons to begin conducting herself with civility and modesty. Tewodros Abebe


Pompeo blames the media for foundation’s decision to rescind award

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking out three months after a foundation decided to rescind an honorary award for working to free hostages, is accusing “pressure applied by the media” for the rebuff. In two interviews Friday, Pompeo criticized the decision by the James Foley Legacy Foundation, named after an American journalist who was beheaded in 2014 by Islamic State militants in Syria. Pompeo was notified mid-November that he would receive the foundation’s Hostage Advocate Award in recognition of the Trump administration’s priority in freeing Americans imprisoned abroad, an honor bestowed in a gala dinner Tuesday night at the National Press Club. But on Jan. 11, Pompeo was informed that the foundation had withdrawn the award and the dinner invitation. The award was instead given to Brett McGurk, who negotiated the release of four Americans from Iran in 2016, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian. “We ultimately decided we could not present the award as planned due to the dramatic change in circumstances when the Administration did not press for genuine accountability from the Saudi government for the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” the Foley Foundation said in a statement. Pompeo, however, repeatedly insisted the award was taken away from him and the State Department because of a potential boycott by some media sponsors at the dinner, where tables cost from $5,000 to $50,000 each. “This is not partisan,” Pompeo said in an interview on Fox and Friends about the work of getting Americans out of foreign prisons. “And yet, it sounds like some in the media who were underwriting this event, sponsors for the event, said, ‘If Pompeo is there, we won’t be.’ ” In another interview with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Network, Pompeo said he regretted that “there was pressure applied by the media for that award to be withdrawn.” The foundation said Pompeo is mistaken and that it respects his and the State Department’s efforts to free Americans unjustly imprisoned abroad. “Our decision had nothing to do with whether we received media pressure,” the foundation’s statement said. “In addition to advocating for the safe return of American hostages abroad, the protection of free speech and promotion of journalists’ safety is a key pillar of our foundation and this award would have been in conflict with that key principle.” Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, was killed Oct. 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.


Why does the Trump administration hate the International Criminal Court so much?

BERLIN — Foreign accusations of U.S. double standards on human rights have become almost the norm since President Trump took office, most recently amid his nonconfrontational approach to Saudi Arabia. But to foreign observers of U.S. dealings with international institutions and allies, those double standards have always existed, and with an administration that has cared little about international institutions and alliances, those lingering tensions are escalating. On Friday, the International Criminal Court emerged as the latest example, after it confirmed that the United States had revoked its prosecutor’s entry visa, amid her pending inquiry into possible war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan from November 2017. The United States is one of several nations that signed but never ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. In a separate incident that raises similar questions, the Dutch Foreign Ministry urged U.S. authorities on Friday to clarify reports that several lawyers defending European terrorism suspects have been denied U.S. visas. In a statement, Foreign Minister Stef Blok said: “It is of great importance that lawyers can do their jobs independently and defend suspects.” The ICC said that prosecutor Fatou Bensouda might still be able to travel to the United States to brief the U.N. Security Council and to meet other U.N. obligations, and U.S. officials have similarly indicated that this would be the case. In a statement to The Washington Post, the prosecutor’s office of the ICC wrote that Bensouda would continue to do her work “without fear or favor.” The office did not respond to questions about whether the revocation of the entry visa was in response to her Afghanistan war crimes inquiry. But on March 15, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened the ICC with exactly this step and said that the implementation had already begun. “You should know if you’re responsible for the proposed ICC investigation of U.S. personnel in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, you should not assume that you will still have or will get a visa, or that you will be permitted to enter the United States,” Pompeo said. He threatened “to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the ICC does not change its course.” A State Department spokesman confirmed Friday that Bensouda’s visa has been revoked but declined to provide further details, citing the confidentiality of visa records. “The United States will take the necessary steps to protect its sovereignty and to


Fake news is bad news for democracy.

world of fake news and social media trolling exacerbates the problems we identify. Ironically, greater connectivity and access to information makes for less transparency. Fake news leads to the dissemination of false narratives, which exposes voters to a “noisier” signal of government performance. If the stories vary widely, voters may not know what to believe or may believe false information. Some individuals may come to believe that others are in thrall to false information and regard their views as illegitimate. In some ways, this noise is similar to situations in which no credible information is available at all. In such an environment, elections function poorly as a means of removing underperforming politicians. When voters don’t believe the electoral process is working and lose trust in democracy, they may be more likely to encourage violent coups. Or they might even offer popular support as a democratically elected government turns authoritarian by undermining the systems that keep it accountable, such as the rule of law, an independent judiciary or a free press. Where is the “danger zone” of transparency? We identify a “danger zone” of transparency where the informational environment is strong enough for democracy to emerge but not enough to sustain democratic rule. We find that only developing countries have experienced the danger zone. In Bangladesh, for example, transparency rose in the late 1980s, and democracy emerged in the 1990s. But then transparency fluctuated, never reaching the levels enjoyed by most established democracies. The democratic regime eventually descended into chaos in 2007. In Nepal, democracy emerged with the “people’s revolt” (the “jana andolan”) movement in 1990, but transparency remained low, and democratic rule collapsed in 2002. The informational environment in the United States is, to be sure, much stronger than in these countries. Americans can turn to the Internet to download statistics on every facet of the economy with relatively high confidence that the information they read is reliable. So, based on our research and the work of others, the U.S. should not be in immediate danger of democratic breakdown. Nevertheless, our work corroborates concerns about fake news. The prospect of sharing false information — spread by individuals and foreign governments — threatens the quality of democracy in America. False and noisy information makes voters more likely to reelect poorly performing governments and lowers public confidence in democracy. James R. Hollyer B. Peter Rosendorff James Raymond Vreeland ( They are authors


In a dining rut? Try an adorable new cake shop or eat slices of pizza in a spacious beer garden.

Boqueria: “Boqueria is a party you don’t want to miss,” Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema says. The Penn Quarter location of the New York-based chain of Spanish restaurants differentiates itself from its siblings with a rotisserie, “which turns out to be the source of one of the restaurant’s most enticing dishes: roasted organic chicken,” Sietsema reports. He also praises the patatas bravas and scallop crudo, although the loud (70 decibel) atmosphere is a turnoff. 777 Ninth St. NW. [ Busboys and Poets: The seventh of Andy Shallal’s restaurant/bookstore/activist hubs is the first located east of the Anacostia River, bringing weekly open-mic nights, bimonthly play readings presented by the Capitol City Readers Theater, book discussion groups and family-friendly brunch to a neighborhood that has been crying out for more dining options. 2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Estuary: Brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are the team behind the restaurant in CityCenterDC’s new Conrad Hotel, which features an airy dining room decorated with giant blue willow ceramic art and floor-to-ceiling windows. The menu is infused with the flavors of the Chesapeake: Toasted almonds dusted with a house crab spice are served at the bar; small plates include Maryland-style crab rolls and local oysters; and a clever take on ramen uses “noodles” of cuttlefish and enoki mushrooms. 950 New York Ave. NW. Little Sesame: The original Little Sesame near Farragut Square often has long lines at lunch, and it hasn’t taken long for the branch near Capital One Arena to make a splash in its new neighborhood. The Post’s Tim Carman says this Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant has the best hummus in Washington. Judge for yourself with one of the creative bowls, starring roasted cauliflower or a seven-minute egg and served with warm pita, or sample the irresistible chicken shawarma sandwich. 736 Sixth St. NW. The Outsider: The small one-room restaurant next to Biergarten Haus on H Street NE looks like a bartender’s bar with Japanese flair: wide counters, minimal decor, menus folded into origami animals. (A bear? An elephant? Whatever, it was kinda charming.) The kitchen sends out exactly two dishes: kushiyaki, or skewered meats/veggies/tofu, and onigiri, or rice balls stuffed with salmon, pickled plums, salt beef or spicy pork and wrapped in nori. “There are no chopsticks or forks here,” says bartender and owner J.D. Quioco. “Just pick it up and eat it like a taco.” He pairs the satisfying


In a book proposal, Khashoggi outlined a U.S.-inspired vision for a new Saudi Arabia

solutions.” And he saw such solutions emerging from the “revolutionary ideas” embedded in the crown prince’s vision, particularly the focus on providing “quality life” to Saudis, a term and idea Khashoggi attributed directly to U.S. discourse. The two protagonists radically disagreed, however, on whether Saudi Arabia should have an unquestioned absolute monarch. The success of Vision 2030, Khashoggi argued, depended on “expanding the scope of democracy and independence of authorities” in the kingdom. He planned to explain to Saudis the U.S. system of power-sharing among the three branches of government, as well as the “democratic tools” used by Americans to hold their officials accountable. He was proposing to attend municipal meetings in small towns to describe their workings and how U.S. mayors are elected. Khashoggi had a particular fixation on the U.S. system of home mortgages. He wanted Saudis to know how so many Americans are able to afford their own homes, because “it’s the most important issue in Saudi Arabia today.” He was going to examine how land here is owned, taxed “and kept from becoming a monopoly,” a swipe at the Saud royal family’s status as the dominant land owner in the kingdom. Years before his falling out with the crown prince, Khashoggi had pressed the Saudi government through his commentaries in the Saudi media to solve the acute housing shortage by adopting the U.S. home mortgage system. The subsequent reforms had remarkable results. In 2012, the government issued its first mortgage law, and in February 2018 it announced another target for Vision 2030 — that 70 percent of Saudis would be the proud owners of homes by then. The unforgiving crown prince was so infuriated by Khashoggi’s questioning of some of his decisions — in commentaries appearing first in the Saudi media and then in The Post’s Global Opinions section — that he banned him from Saudi outlets, then drove him into self-exile in the United States and finally reportedly sent his trusted security goons to kill him. In the end, he was also killing a man who believed in a path for progress and reform inspired by American ideals. Read more: David Ignatius: How the mysteries of Khashoggi’s murder have rocked the U.S.-Saudi partnership Lee C. Bollinger: How the U.S. could prosecute Jamal Khashoggi’s killers David Ignatius: Why was MBS so afraid of Jamal Khashoggi? Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression


Fox News contributor mocked for wearing ‘totally ridiculous’ body armor at the border

as a frontier marked by unrelenting violence, while more often the opposite is true. The vest Jones wore on Wednesday had a Customs and Border Protection patch or badge affixed alongside empty pouches, and it is possible the vest was provided to help border agents identify Jones as a vetted reporter. It is not clear whether that was a safety regulation or what kind of safety a plate carrier with minimal ballistic protection but no helmet is meant to provide. Jones appeared in other segments in dress shirts. The plate carrier would take less than half a minute to put on. A Fox News spokeswoman referred a reporter to Jones’s tweet. Jones was dispatched to Laredo, Tex., a border town that has seen falling violence in the past decade and that, in 2016, had a lower rate of violent crime than the state average, the Laredo Morning Times reported, citing FBI data. In fact, crime rates in U.S. border counties are lower than the average for similarly sized inland counties, with one exception out of a total of 23, according to the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. Laredo’s Webb County, where Jones filed his report, is safer than 80 percent of comparable counties nationwide, the institute said, using FBI crime statistics. “There is no doubt, the U.S. side [of the border] is a very safe place,” Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the institute, told The Washington Post last year. There are a few general conclusions as to why this is the case. There is a substantial federal law enforcement presence in towns and along highways in the border counties. There are some exceptions. Ranchers in southern Arizona have encountered drug traffickers on their property, though traffickers are more likely to settle problems with violence in Mexico, where police and the rule of law are barriers they can more easily overcome. But on Wednesday’s show, the segment ended with some artfully created tension of what Jones called “breaking news,” as he was about to describe a routine occurrence. “We just got word from the agents that are with us, keeping us safe: There is an attempt to cross the border right now,” Jones said. Read more: California lawmakers sue Trump administration as border county cares for 11,000 asylum seekers Trump backs off threat to close southern border immediately Analysis: Trump’s false claims about Mexico’s immigration system


Is America divided between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’? Most people say no.

Several Democrats running for their party’s nomination have put economic inequality at the center of their campaigns, touting ambitious plans to address the growing gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the country. But survey data from Gallup released Tuesday suggests that most Americans don’t think the country is starkly divided along economic lines. A 58 percent majority of U.S. adults say that American society is not divided between “haves” and “have-nots,” while 41 percent say the country is divided that way. The share who say America is not divided has remained about the same since 2011. In 2008, when the financial crisis was brewing, the percentage of people who said the country was not divided fell to 49 percent. In 1988, the margin was much wider, with 71 percent saying the country was not divided between haves and have-nots. In the latest Gallup poll, a 57 percent majority of Democrats said the United States was divided into haves and have-nots; 57 percent of independents and 76 percent of Republicans said it was not. Seven in 10 African Americans said the country is divided economically, while about 6 in 10 whites and Hispanics alike say it is not. Those racial differences have persisted in the poll’s history. Even if most Americans don’t feel their country has a basic economic divide, economic data show a wide and growing gap between the richest Americans and others. A December report by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showed that wealth is concentrated among the richest Americans and that income growth has occurred much faster for households in the top 1 percent of the income spectrum than among low- and middle-income households. Other recent polling shows that at least half of Americans see the wealth gap as a significant problem, even if they are skeptical of a basic divide. One reason people may not perceive a basic class divide is that most Americans don’t feel they are economically disadvantaged. The Gallup poll released this week found a 56 percent majority of Americans called themselves “haves” when asked to pick between one of the two groups, while 36 percent said they were “have-nots.” This self-identification is closely related to personal income, with over 8 in 10 adults with household incomes of $100,000 or more saying they are haves, and over 6 in 10 of those with incomes of $40,000 or less


Suspect in New Zealand mosque attacks appears in court via video

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The alleged perpetrator of back-to-back mosque massacres in New Zealand appeared via video from prison Friday to face a full sweep of charges linked to the attacks that claimed 50 lives and wounded dozens of people. The suspect, Brenton Tarrant, 28, was charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder. Officials have indicated that further charges are possible from the twin attacks March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand’s third-largest city. Tarrant appeared via video link from Auckland’s Paremoremo Prison, New Zealand’s only maximum-security prison, where he is being held in isolation. He was not asked to enter a plea and will undergo a psychiatric assessment before he appears again on June 14. Tarrant at times looked apathetic during the hearing but was alert while the assessment of his mental health was discussed. More than 40 journalists packed a small chamber of the Christchurch High Court for the brief procedural hearing, while approximately 50 survivors of the massacre, some injured, and their families were given priority seating in the public gallery. Tarrant attorney Shane Tait, who requested the psychiatric assessment, said it could take up to three months because of issues accessing his client. The presiding judge, Justice Cameron Mander, ordered that no filming or recording take place in the court and that existing images be pixelated. The court hearing comes amid escalating probes in Europe looking at links between Tarrant and far-right groups. On Thursday, a second donation by Tarrant to the anti-immigrant Identitarian Movement was confirmed. Romain Espino, a spokesman for the French branch of the group, confirmed that it received a donation of about 1,000 euros, or about $1,200, from Tarrant in September 2017. Early last year, Tarrant donated $1,700 to the head of the Austrian Identitarian Movement, which promotes fears that European culture could be overrun by Muslim migrants. Friday’s court date was the second court appearance for Tarrant, an Australian citizen who was arrested on the day of the attacks. He was initially charged with one representative count of murder. During that first hearing, Tarrant made a hand gesture commonly used by white-supremacist groups. He was remanded without a plea. On Thursday, police announced a new set of charges against Tarrant that include the murder and attempted-murder counts. Police and intelligence services across several countries have launched one of the largest investigations in the country’s history, notably taking


There was actually a study to determine if red wolves are wolves. The answer could have doomed them.

up to the study’s release, the red wolf recovery program in and around the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge was in a steep decline. The number of wolves has fallen from a high of 50 to about 35. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s southeast division, which manages the recovery, announced a plan to reduce the population by more than half, saying the program could only accommodate about a dozen animals. The announcement was another indication of Fish and Wildlife’s growing hostility to its own mission to save federally protected wolves, conservationists said. In a major reversal three years back, Fish and Wildlife issued permits allowing landowners to kill any red wolf that strayed onto their property. Within weeks, a female red wolf seeking food for her pups was shot dead. A federal judge “Notably . . . the red wolf population saw a drastic decrease from 2013 to 2015,” with only 50 wolves remaining, Boyle wrote. The population’s plummet coincides with Fish and Wildlife “making internal revisions to its guidelines and management policies in response at least in part to mounting public pressure against red wolf recovery efforts.” The state approved night hunts to reduce coyotes, but a judge shut it down after conservationists argued that hunters were mistakenly shooting red wolves to death — in broad daylight. The irony is that there would probably be no coyotes in North Carolina if more red wolves were around. Red wolves once roamed the entire southeast and a portion of the southwest, assuring that coyotes, which they killed for encroaching on their territory, were pinned in the West. But a century of state-sanctioned hunting all but wiped out red and gray wolves, as well as cougars, allowing coyotes to move in. Coyotes are amazing canids in one respect, wildlife biologists say. When confronted with stress such as hunting, they respond by producing more coyotes. Before 1990, coyotes had not been established in North Carolina. Red wolves and coyotes enjoy the same meals: an occasional deer, raccoons, rabbits and other small game. Those just happen to be the animals that some people in North Carolina like to hunt, and the money that hunters pay farmers to track animals on their land helps farmers get by between harvests. Having lost most of their battles to relieve themselves of red wolves, the state and its allies turned to unsettled scientific theorizing that coyotes are


Weary of scandal and violence, Baltimore’s residents ask: ‘Why do we stay?’

a tour and were ready to record his bowling — that is, until he demurred. “No, I’m not doing it,” Young said, returning his ball to the rack and ceding to Pratt, the comptroller, who, in high heels, rolled her ball into the gutter. Young was less bashful answering questions about the state of Baltimore. “This city is in great hands,” he said. “People are knocking our doors down to invest in Baltimore.” A few hours later, his security detail would whisk him off to a southwest Baltimore basketball court, where two teenagers had been shot. Raymond Kelly, a community organizer in the audience at Shake and Bake, said the scandal involving Pugh is unsurprising in a city that he said operates on “backroom agreements.” From his perspective, Baltimore has been in crisis since the crack epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s, a period when the annual homicide count routinely exceeded 300 before declining in the 2000s. More recently, eight members of the police department’s elite Gun Trace Task Force were convicted of crimes including fraudulent overtime claims and pilfering hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, guns and drugs. A consent decree into which the city entered in 2017 required policing reforms, an effort stymied by instability at the highest levels of the police department. Since Pugh took office, four commissioners have led the force, one of whom resigned and was sentenced to 10 months in prison for failing to file federal taxes. Yet Kelly said he still finds inspiration, whether in helping to monitor the implementation of the police reforms or celebrating the reopening of Shake and Bake. “We don’t give up on the city,” he said. “That’s how we persevere.” But others worry that outsiders — young professionals looking for a place to settle, corporations shopping for new headquarters — will be deterred by the city’s seemingly endless churn of tumult. “How does the city move forward and gain momentum?” said Anirban Basu, chairman of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. “The answer is, it doesn’t. At some point, we’re going to have another economic downturn, and businesses with national operations are going to ask where they should cut first. “My guess is that Baltimore will be first.” 'Decades of neglect' On a crisp afternoon last week, Brenda Saunders, 90, stood in the doorway of her rowhouse, where she has lived her entire life, a half-block from the


Measles case confirmed in Maryland in a person who was in Pikesville

A case of measles has been confirmed in Maryland, and authorities informed some Maryland residents that they may have been exposed. The case appeared to be the first reported in the Washington region amid a national surge in the highly contagious and sometimes-deadly illness. Maryland’s Department of Health said anyone who might have been at an office building at 4000 Old Court Rd. in Pikesville between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday may have been exposed. People who may have been exposed elsewhere were being notified directly, the Health Department said. The measles virus spreads readily to unvaccinated people through coughing, sneezing and mouth secretions, officials said. The Health Department said people, particularly the unvaccinated, who were at the Old Court Road address should watch for any early measles symptoms, especially fever. One case was confirmed last year in Maryland, and it involved foreign travel, officials said. martin.weil@washpost.com


U.S. imposes sanctions on two companies, tanker involved in Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba

The Trump administration on Friday levied sanctions against two foreign-owned companies and one tanker involved in the regular shipment of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, the latest in escalating measures to bring pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The sanctions block all U.S.-based assets of the two companies — one based in Liberia and the other in Greece — and prohibit any dollar transactions by the firms, along with the Liberian-flagged tanker. An additional 34 ships owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, were also blocked. A senior administration official emphasized that the measures were only “the first step” to prevent Venezuela from shipping oil, its primary asset, overseas. “We are continuing to tighten the noose of the financial strangulation of Maduro and his cronies,” said the official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration. The sanctions are aimed as much at Cuba as Venezuela. For the past 20 years, the two countries have had an arrangement whereby Venezuela sends free and subsidized oil to financially strapped Cuba in exchange for the services of Cuban doctors, teachers, and military and security agents. The administration has charged that thousands of Cubans are embedded throughout the Venezuelan military and intelligence agencies, where they control and spy on Venezuelan officers. U.S. officials have expressed frustration at the failure of more than a trickle of Venezuelan security forces to defect from the Maduro government to support Juan Guaidó, the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, whom the United States and dozens of other countries in late January recognized as interim president. Although Venezuela once supplied Cuba with as much as 100,000 barrels of oil per day, that has dropped precipitously, to 50,000 barrels or less. The opposition, still powerless to enforce its will, voted last month to stop the Cuba deal completely, and Guaidó, the administration official said, had requested the sanctions. U.S. sanctions imposed earlier this year prevent PDVSA from collecting money for any oil shipped to the United States, which once imported more than a third of the company’s exports. Overall Venezuelan oil exports have fallen to around 500,000 barrels a day. Much of it goes to Russia and China, although India has been the largest importer in recent months. The immediate goal of the sanctions, the administration official said, is to put pressure on the Cuba-Venezuela partnership. “There is going to be a


Engaging talks about disease outbreaks, drug resistance, disabilities and global health challenges

How can people tackle the world’s thorniest health challenges? From journalism to activism to philanthropy, there are plenty of ways to change the course of human health. A new podcast, “Contagious Conversations,” shows how. The show is produced by the CDC Foundation, an independent nonprofit group that mobilizes the private sector to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect public health. The podcast’s first season is available now. Topics range from global disease threats to disability rights to health inequality — issues that are brought down to earth using personal stories and perspectives. In the first episode, host Claire Stinson interviews Maryn McKenna, a journalist who covers the dangers of outbreaks, drug-resistant diseases and other threats. McKenna tells how she switched her career from “unsuccessful dramaturge” to journalist who travels the world investigating everything from polio to the misuse of antibiotics in chickens. Lex Frieden, who helped draft the Americans With Disabilities Act, is the focus of the second episode. The disability rights advocate talks about his personal story and the birth of the ADA. He gives a sobering glimpse into what life was like for disabled people before the act became reality. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, rounds out the season. She talks about how the foundation is using collaboration to tackle diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, sprinkling in advice on how she has used optimism and creativity in her career as an oncologist, researcher and philanthropist. Each episode clocks in at about 30 minutes. That’s long enough to go in depth, but short enough to stay engaging. You can listen to the podcast using your app of choice. But if you tune in on its website, you can access bonus content and transcripts, too. Ready for even more conversation? Season 2 drops this spring.


Thousands of Brits have made a home in France. Brexit could complicate their lives.

HUELGOAT, France — Sarah Waddington had enough of Britain after the Brexit referendum. By September 2016, she had packed up her life in Cornwall, sold her house and moved to Brittany, a coastal region in northwestern France. “I love France,” said Waddington, 66, a retired civil servant. “They are more community oriented, more caring. They care more for their elderly than in England.” Over the years, more than 14,000 Brits have made a home for themselves in this corner of France, and their presence is everywhere. They’ve rehabbed old granite houses, opened small shops and become active in chess clubs and other community organizations. In this village, expatriate David Neal runs the Brittany Pub, where an order of fish and chips can momentarily transport you over the English Channel. But British citizens here and elsewhere on the continent have suddenly found themselves consumed by uncertainty. If Prime Minister Theresa May can’t convince European leaders to grant another Brexit extension this week, then Britain is scheduled to crash out of the European Union without a withdrawal deal on April 12. British nationals in Europe could soon be sent home. Each E.U. country has established its own plan for how to treat resident Brits in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In 11 of the 27 member countries, British citizens would automatically be allowed to stay as long as they like. But in 17 countries, they would only get a grace period before they would need to try to claim residency. In France, they would have up to a year to get their papers in order, or face losing their medical coverage and potentially deportation. Of the dozens of British expatriates in Brittany who spoke with The Washington Post, most said they wished to stay in France as long as they could. Many had been in touch with French authorities to obtain a permanent residency card. Christina Jones, 71, said it took six weeks for her and her husband to get their “cartes de séjour” and that they are thinking of applying for French citizenship. “We have a good life here,” she said. Though she noted that the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum was difficult for many expats. “Our family doctor, six months after the referendum, told me dozens of Brits were going to her with depression.” With just days before Britain could crash out, the stress of Brexit has intensified.


Investigations mount as Boeing pushes forward with additional software fixes

the transport of hazardous materials after two Asiana Airlines pilots died when their plane crashed after leaving Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The cargo flight was carrying lithium ion batteries and other flammable material. While Ethiopian officials are leading the investigation into the March 10 crash, the NTSB has offered technical and investigative support. Sumwalt also said that the NTSB has been given data from the Ethiopian jet’s data recorder, which it is analyzing. Because Boeing is a U.S.-based company, the NTSB is participating in the investigation as an accredited representative. Summing up other developments: * The preliminary report released Thursday raised new questions about the instructions Boeing gave to pilots on how to deal with issues related to the MCAS system, which was designed to prevent the plane from stalling. According to the report, the pilots of the Ethiopian Airlines plane followed the procedures for disabling the system that were issued by Boeing after the October crash of a Lion Air jet, but they were still unable to control the plane. * Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg issued a lengthy statement apologizing for the 346 lives lost in the two crashes. He noted that while most crashes are caused by a “chain of events,” he acknowledged that MCAS may have played a part in both downings. “It’s our responsibility to eliminate this risk,” Muilenburg said, adding that “we own it and we know how to do it.” * Boeing also acknowledged that it has found an additional software problem in the 737 Max flight control system that it is working to fix. The problem is unrelated to the MCAS system. Instead, it is linked to software affecting flaps and other flight-control hardware. Federal officials have ordered the company to fix it. * Attorneys for the family of an American woman on the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago on Thursday. Samya Stumo, 24, was a health-care analyst with a Washington-based global health organization and was on a work assignment in Africa when she was killed. The first U.S. claim tied to the crash was made last month on behalf of the family of Jackson Musoni, a U.N. employee who was killed in the crash. * The FAA has formed a Joint Authorities Technical Review panel to evaluate the 737 Max jet’s automated flight-control system. The panel, chaired by former NTSB chairman Christopher


For CBD food craze, regulations and restrictions are all over the map

Sträva’s business, Aamot said. “It’s where the growth is happening; it’s where the interest and excitement comes from.” Sträva’s biggest customers aren’t hipsters, Aamot said — they’re older coffee drinkers who say that the CBD version eases their aches and pains. Yet CBD’s health benefits remain unclear. Studies have shown CBD to be effective as an epilepsy drug, and clinical trials in the United States are exploring whether the extract could help treat anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease tremors and chronic pain. But scientists generally say the research is too limited, and more needs to be done. And some products aren’t all they seem. A 2017 University of Pennsylvania study found that nearly 70 percent of CBD products sold online either contain more or less of the compound than their labels say. The FDA has sent companies numerous warning letters for making health claims without federal approval, such as that CBD can treat cancer. Companies that put CBD in food and drink also are operating in a legal gray area. Businesses may be willing to sell CBD despite the legal risk because the 2018 farm bill made it clear hemp isn’t marijuana, said Daniel Shortt, a Seattle-based attorney at Harris Bricken who specializes in cannabis law. “The stakes are not as high now,” he said, as there’s less risk of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration getting involved. California public health regulators published guidelines last summer that said the state won’t consider CBD to be an approved food additive or dietary supplement until federal or state officials say otherwise. State lawmakers are considering a bill that would explicitly allow CBD-infused food. In New York, state agriculture regulators allow businesses to sell CBD as a dietary supplement — which means products must meet certain manufacturing standards — but ban using it in food. In Texas, the Department of State Health Services last week removed hemp from its list of dangerous drugs. But people who sell CBD over the counter — or buy it — can still be prosecuted under a separate statute that says all cannabis products are illegal, said Shannon Edmonds, director of governmental relations for the Texas District & County Attorneys Association. Under a 2015 state law, low-THC, high-CBD cannabis — including hemp — can be sold only to epilepsy patients. But misinformation is widespread, Edmonds said. “Here at the state D.A.’s association, I get spam emails trying to


The Impossible Burger is a wake-up call to the meat industry

Missouri Farm Bureau members were likely startled by the recent “Commentary” in their email queues. The farm bureau’s Eric Bohl reported on his visit to a St. Louis-area Burger King, where the fast-food giant is testing a version of the Whopper made entirely from plants. “If I didn’t know what I was eating, I would have no idea it was not beef,” Bohl wrote. Given the farm bureau’s role in last year’s Missouri law banning use of the word “meat” to market plant-based products, Bohl’s praise was unexpected. An explanation soon followed. “Raising cattle is a way of life in rural Missouri,” the food critic allowed. “So why write an article taste-testing a plant-based ‘burger’? As a wake-up call to our industry.” But not every alarm heralds a bright new day. Cattlemen are waking to the very real possibility that they have nowhere to go but down. America may have reached Peak Meat. I say this as a rock-ribbed, 100-percent, Fred Flintstone carnivore. What the madeleine did for Marcel Proust, so the aroma of grilling meat unlocks a lifetime of memories for me. By contrast, I’ve detested the idea of veggie burgers ever since my family was cursed with a carton of frozen soy patties in those ghastly times known as the 1970s. Like Bohl, though, I was impressed by the burger my son and I shared the other day at a Red Robin restaurant in suburban Kansas City. We ordered identically tricked-out sandwiches, one with a plant-based patty from the same company that supplies Burger King — Impossible Foods — and the other with traditional ground beef. Tasting them side-by-side, we could discern an ever-so-slight difference. But they were equals in terms of yumminess and burgerismo. I waddled away thinking this is a tipping point. Today’s meat alternatives aren’t aimed at the relatively small market of dedicated vegans and vegetarians. They’re targeted to the likes of me: people who will only give weight to the environmental impacts of large-scale animal farming if given meaty-tasting, meaty-smelling, meaty-looking alternatives. If the plant patties hit their targets, in a nation that consumes 50 billion burgers a year, imagine the impact of cutting out just one in five. Or two. Try four. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture — especially cattle — generates nearly 10 percent of heat-trapping emissions in the United States. Even that number may greatly understate the toll of


Brexit has turned British politics into a zombie horror movie

Finally, nearly three years after the referendum, the Brexit virus has contaminated its own opposition. The people who have been fighting the project to get Britain out of the European Union are suddenly behaving exactly like their Brexiteering adversaries. This past week, debating proposals for how to finish the long process of Brexit, the “remainers” acted in the uncompromising winner-takes-all fashion of the “leavers.” British politics has changed from “the art of the possible” to a battle of true believers. The Brexiteers’ desired outcome has not been accepted by liberals and internationalists, of course. But they seem to be increasingly infected by the methodology of Brexit — by its manner. Some kind of zombie contagion seems to have broken out in Westminster, passing from person to person until the characters you’ve trusted all along turn around, with blood-red eyes, and start trying to bite your head off. Time itself seems to be slowing down so that weeks now feel like months. Brexit is like a black hole, sucking in energy, light and matter. There are no other news stories. There are no other considerations. There is nothing but Brexit, and it is driving everyone mad. The sign that the opposition is gripped by the same maniacal fervor as the Brexiteers came on a night of high political drama. These evenings used to arrive once every few years and pass into legend. They now happen about once a day. On Monday, members of Parliament (MPs) took control of the process of leaving the E.U. from the government. It was the latest battle in a bout of constitutional trench warfare between Parliament and the executive, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the English Civil War broke out in 1642. The House of Commons voted to temporarily cancel something called Standing Order 14 — a rule that gives Downing Street control over the legislative timetable — and then started sitting on its own terms to debate whatever it liked. It was like a drab British version of the Tennis Court Oath at the start of the French Revolution. Having seized the agenda, MPs used the time to hold a series of nonbinding indicative votes on what Brexit policy should be. There were four options to choose among: membership in the European customs union, which controls taxes on goods crossing borders; membership in the European single market, which harmonizes regulations across the


This is a pivotal week for Brexit. Here are four ways it could end.

to allow time for these discussions to run their course and come to a conclusion,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters on Monday after meeting the E.U. Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier. “A no-deal exit would be damaging for everyone.” Varadkar has said he doubts any single E.U. country would veto an extension, which requires consensus, given the strong preference of Ireland and others for extra time. But May knows nothing is certain. So she is flying Tuesday to Berlin and Paris to meet with Merkel and Macron, to try to smooth the discussions. European leaders agree to a short delay. This is what May asked for last week in a message to European leaders that at the same time declared she would hold elections to European Parliament. The short extension is intended to buy more time but also keep up pressure on the British parliament to pass a deal. If the exit date is too far in the future, some in Britain fear no plan will ever develop. May’s request has some sympathy in Brussels — one senior E.U. diplomat told me last week her plan was “sensible.” Many here fear an interminable prolongation to the discussions and would be happy to see Britain leave, if it could be done without too much chaos. And some also fear if Britain sticks around too long, it could hold unrelated E.U. policymaking hostage to Brexit. It is possible E.U. leaders ultimately settle on this plan — if they are more open to convening in late June to deal with yet another possible cliff edge than they are to offering a longer extension now. The E.U. pushes a long delay. Until the end of 2019? A year? Forever? Brussels policymakers love to create new words, and this one is a “flextension.” (Some bloody-minded people are calling it “flextension with a guillotine.”) This is the plan floated by European Council President Donald Tusk. It would set the Brexit date far off in the future. It would calm markets and relieve leaders of the need to fly in to Brussels every few weeks to deal with Brexit issues. And it could be terminated early at any point if the Brits come up with a viable plan to depart the E.U. (That’s the guillotine part.) Many European policymakers view this as the least bad of a range of unappealing options. Most policymakers do not want


How Nipsey Hussle inspired thousands of Eritrean Americans

I sat on the plane fighting back tears, looking down at my phone as the text messages I missed while in the air were finally delivered. Then I looked down at the Eritrean baseball jersey I was wearing, in complete disbelief. Nipsey Hussle had died. He was widely known as a byproduct of Crenshaw, a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, through his gang affiliation, his lyrical substance and his community efforts. But as L.A. and the wider hip-hop community mourns his tragic death — Hussle was killed in front of his store, the Marathon Clothing, on March 31 — the Eritrean community is grieving with the loss of our brother, too. That’s because the Grammy-nominated rapper was also a byproduct of Eritrea, a small East African country of about 5 million people. Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was connected to Eritrea through his father, Dawit Asghedom, who spent his first 20 years there and would tell his son stories about the country’s history. Annexed by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in 1962, Eritrea spent the next three decades fighting for its independence. Although Ethiopia received support from the United States, the Soviet Union and Israel, Eritrea prevailed in 1991. The insurmountable victory still serves as a badge of honor for Eritreans, instilling a mentality of self-sufficiency and resiliency that Hussle drew inspiration from. “From being outnumbered and being against superpowers, to coming out victorious and being self-sufficient after the fact and independent in a country that believes in self-sufficiency and building from scratch,” Hussle said in an interview last year with Eri-TV, a state-owned Eritrean television station. “It’s similar to what I stand for in music by taking the stairs and doing it the long way based on integrity, self-sufficiency and being aware of the way that taking handouts can cripple you. Suffering through the process for the bigger picture. I feel proud, a sense of pride and a little bit obligated to carry that same integrity in my space.” Hussle took his first trip to Eritrea in 2004, when he stayed for three months, then went back again last year after the release of his Grammy-nominated album “Victory Lap.” He described his first trip as life-altering, speaking candidly and openly about the Eritrean American experience with prominent radio personalities and giving Eritreans here a platform we’ve never had before. “A lot of who I am, I understood more once I went


The U.S. revoked the visa for the ICC prosecutor. That bodes poorly for international criminal justice.

Last Friday the United States revoked the entry-visa for the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda of Gambia. In November 2017, Bensouda had asked ICC judges to authorize an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by, among others, U.S. troops. Many human rights groups welcomed the request, but the court has not yet authorized an investigation. The visa revocation comes as no surprise. Relations between the ICC and the United States had gotten better for a period, despite the fact that the United States is not a member state and does not recognize the court’s authority over Americans. But once Donald Trump took office, and especially after he appointed John Bolton as national security adviser last April, relations were almost certain to become more difficult. The ICC was established in 1998, although it took another four years to enter into force, as the world’s first permanent international criminal court. Its mandate is to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC has 122 member states, including Afghanistan. The court’s jurisdiction applies only if national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute such crimes. When these conditions are fulfilled, the ICC system applies to cases in which the accused is a national of an ICC member state; where the alleged crime occurred in an ICC member state; or when the U.N. Security Council refers a case to it. Scholars have argued that the ICC’s existence deters abuses, especially by governments that want international legitimacy. The United States has a long history of supporting international justice, including tribunals in Nuremberg, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia and Sierra Leone. Initially, it worked to help create the court. However, even as it was signing the agreement in 1998 the U.S. government became concerned about sovereignty and having its own actions challenged; eventually it backed away. In 2002, John Bolton, then an undersecretary for state under President George W. Bush, was the one who “un-signed” the ICC — a moment he called the happiest in his government service. At the time, Democrats and Republicans alike were opposed to subjecting the United States to the court’s jurisdiction. In 2002, members of both parties supported and passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, which blocked financial assistance to countries unless they signed agreements promising not to surrender Americans to the court. Many legal experts considered these agreements illegal and


allies from unjust prosecution by the illegitimate court.” He specifically mentioned Israel as an ally; the Palestinian Authority has proposed an ICC inquiry into Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip. For this, Bolton suggested that the United States might arrest ICC officials, “sanction their funds” and “prosecute them.” On March 15, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed up by accusing the ICC of “attacking America’s rule of law,” and announced that the United States would revoke or deny visas to International Criminal Court personnel seeking to investigate alleged war crimes and other abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Over the last several decades, international lawyers have built an international regime that is designed to protect human rights. Because the U.S denigration of the ICC comes on top of Trump’s declared support for torture, as well as his backing for strongmen like Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin, observers worry that the attitude of the United States will erode other nations’ support for multilateral cooperation and the global rule of law. Bolton’s initial speech has been widely condemned by U.S. allies, including the European Union. A group of 22 foreign ministers protested. Commentators on international law have called Bolton’s claims about ICC prosecutors’ scope and discretion “hyperbole and misrepresentation.” Some question whether prosecuting ICC personnel has any basis in U.S. law and even whether it is a violation of the ICC statute itself. Human Rights Watch labeled the U.S. action “an outrageous effort to bully the court and deter scrutiny of U.S. conduct.” Bensouda herself vowed to continue to pursue her duties for The Hague-based court “without fear or favor.” A network of civil society groups in 150 countries have vowed to stay firm in supporting the Afghanistan investigation. But Pompeo and Bolton are holding firm, as well. Pompeo threatened, “We are prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions, if the I.C.C. does not change its course.” Bolton is unlikely to back down. In November 2017, when talk of opening an investigation began, Bolton wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the United States should “strangle the ICC in its cradle” or at least tell the ICC prosecutor that “you are dead to us. Sincerely, the United States.” Judith Kelley is dean of the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, Terry Sanford Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, and author of “


14 things to do in the D.C. area this week

Monday, April 8 National Empanada Day at Cuba Libre Tuesday, April 9 Pinball for the People at Lyman’s Tavern [The 9 best arcade bars in the D.C. area] Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio at Blues Alley Wednesday, April 10 ‘Bird’ at the National Museum of American History: It’s Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian, and in addition to the usual series of concerts and family events, the American History Museum’s Warner Bros. Theater is screening a selection of jazz-themed films, including “Some Like it Hot” and “Mo’ Better Blues.” The series kicks off with “Bird,” the 1988 Charlie Parker biopic directed by Clint Eastwood. As Parker, Forest Whitaker “is hauntingly definitive, yet somehow shadowy and enigmatic, like a figure drawn in smoke,” Washington Post critic Hal Hinson wrote at the time. 5:45 p.m. $10.50-$12. Jeff Tweedy at Lincoln Theatre Thursday, April 11 Damaged City at various locations ‘Les Deux Noirs’ and ‘Native Son’ at Atlas Performing Arts Center [Review: ‘Native Son’ gets a 90-minute stage adaptation, with a Black Rat in Bigger’s ear] D.C. Easter Keg Hunt at select Neighborhood Restaurant Group locations: Easter egg rolls, Easter egg hunts, baskets full of chocolate — kids get to have all the fun at this time of year. But there’s one scavenger hunt that’s just for adults: The Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s D.C. Easter Keg Hunt, taking place at ChurchKey, the Sovereign, Bluejacket and the Partisan through Sunday. Each of these excellent beer bars will have a “secret” beer on its menu. Decipher a clue from the bartender to figure it out, order a glass, and you’ll get a stamp on a passport. Find the hidden beer at all four restaurants and you’ll win a special ChurchKey hoodie and be entered in a drawing for much bigger prizes, including private brewery tours and beer tastings. (There are other ways to collect stamps and increase your chances of winning, which are listed on the ChurchKey website.) Good luck, and if nothing else, you’ll be happy you tried. Through April 14. Beer prices vary. Friday, April 12 Space Oddity at the National Air and Space Museum ‘Umbrella’ along 14th Street NW ‘P.Y.G., or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle’ Model Home at Studio Gaga [The best DMV rap songs and albums of 2018] Hand Habits at Songbyrd Newseum Nights at the Newseum — Hau Chu, Rudi Greenberg, Fritz Hahn, Nelson Pressley, Chris Richards and Stephanie Williams


An 11-year-old boy was killed by a speeding car in Kabul. He was also a casualty of war.

light up. On Wednesday night, after I had been away in the United States for several weeks, I stopped by the market. Fareed was there alone, sitting on the curb. I wondered where Hamid had gone, but I put two candy bars in my pocket as I came out. My driver Asad was standing on the sidewalk with Fareed, looking stricken. “He said his big brother is dead,” Asad told me. I am accustomed to witnessing wartime deaths, but this was different — a startling loss that did not amount to news but deserved to be mourned. The next morning, we tracked down his family and found them living in a maze of mud alleys. There were 27 people in the cramped, mud-walled house, including Hamid’s parents and eight siblings. His father wept disconsolately. His mother buried her face in her shawl, repeating his name. Children of all ages crowded around us, staring. Hamid’s brother Sardar, 17, who sells phone cards at the same circle, explained what had happened. He said they had been walking home one night several weeks ago. Hamid was crossing a busy street when a taxi, going too fast, sideswiped him. His jacket caught in the car mirror. He was pulled down and dragged half a block under one car wheel. He died in a hospital without regaining consciousness. The family showed us photographs from his funeral, his swollen face wrapped in white cloth. They also brought out a portrait of him as a small child, bright-eyed and smiling. “Of all my sons, I was the most proud of him,” said his father, Mohammed, 48. “He was clever and he worked hard. He promised he would grow up and buy us some land so we could never be evicted.” We asked if we could visit his grave, and his parents came with us, clambering up paths between hundreds of indistinguishable earth mounds. His father paused to point out Nader Shah’s tomb across a ridge. When we reached Hamid’s spot, his mother sank to the ground, smoothing the earth. Later, we drove back to the circle with Fareed, who also witnessed the car accident and now leaves for home before dark. He waits for shoppers who give him milk or bread, and he is trying to copy Hamid’s sales pitch. As we left, Fareed hesitated, then came a few steps toward us. “Chocolate, madam?” he said. pamela.constable@washpost.com


Evan Birnholz’s April 7 Post Magazine crossword, “Home Brewing”

Exciting news: The New Yorker is now doubling their crossword output by adding a weekend puzzle to its rotation. Even more exciting is that it’s adding two excellent constructors to the roster: Aimee Lucido and Erik Agard. The weekend crossword will be available on Friday mornings and weekday crossword is available on Monday mornings. Congrats to Aimee and Erik! Today’s puzzle is built on the central answer at 68A: [Declaration about free booze, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme], which is DRINKS ARE ON THE HOUSE. Four alcoholic beverages hidden in longer phrases are literally sitting on top of houses which are hidden in longer phrases themselves: Several weeks ago I mentioned that the “Upscale” crossword of Feb. 24 sat around in my files for a long time because it was impossible to fill the puzzle cleanly the first time, so I let it simmer until I tried again many months later. The same thing happened here: This was a puzzle I first tried to create in June 2018 but ran into a ton of problems filling it. Stacking theme answers on top of each other always tends to drive me up a wall, but what made this even more frustrating to pull off was that I had far more limited options in my choice of houses and alcoholic drinks than I did phrases that contained a solfège note as in “Upscale.” There are surprisingly few types of houses that can be hidden in longer phrases as seen here. Houses like IGLOO and CASTLE and COTTAGE can’t really be hidden in anything, and I resisted using CABIN since it can only be contained in answers related to cabinets, and the words “cabin” and “cabinet” unfortunately share the same root. The worst part is that I couldn’t find a good four-letter house to hide while there are several four-letter drinks just waiting to be used like PORT, GROG, BEER, BOCK, and WINE, although using wine might have required a different title since it isn’t brewed like the other drinks. The only four-letter house type I could find after several searches was YURT, and that doesn’t hide in any common phrase I could find. If only the Dr. Seuss book title had instead been spelled “Yurtle the Turtle.” If there was a four-letter house type I had missed, please let me know so I can feel appropriately ashamed. A few other


As spring arrives, tick season will soon be here — and soon may last longer

face winter head-on. For Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito, hibernation is key to survival. The insect enters a dormant phase (called diapause) that allows it to stay mostly inactive through the winter. The female Culex mosquito, a possible carrier of the West Nile virus, builds up fat stores during the summer and fall that serve as energy reserves and insulation for the winter months. This source of energy is useful for mosquitoes after they seek out and settle down in the human-made structures, sewers and animal burrows they use as shelter to help them escape subzero temperatures. Ticks, however, don’t enter diapause and are still able to bite and eat a blood meal under the right conditions. These bloodsucking parasites live close to their host organisms and can sometimes spend their entire life cycle on one animal. They use a technique called questing to find a host that will serve as their next blood meal. Ticks station themselves on vegetation such as tall grasses and assume a sit-and-wait position. This allows them to grab onto any warm-blooded creature passing by. Humans have employed our own behavioral strategies to protect ourselves from ticks during the warm seasons of the year. We do this by wearing long-sleeved clothing and using protective sprays when going on hikes through wooded and grassy areas. Battle against the bite One of the main challenges we still face in our battle against the bite is that ticks further adapt their behavior depending on where they are in North America. For instance, blacklegged deer ticks will avoid questing in warmer southern regions such as in South Carolina, where the risk of dehydration pushes them onto the ground, mostly below the leaf litter. In contrast, northern tick populations are less threatened by drying out because of humid conditions and are more likely to quest. Interestingly, blacklegged deer ticks also have the ability to quest in temperatures as low as minus-0.6 degrees Celsius (about 31 Fahrenheit). This means that deer ticks are not limited to seeking out hosts during the warm months alone, but can continue feeding well into the early and late winter. It is therefore important not to lower one’s guard when enjoying the outdoors in wintertime. Ticks are most active when temperatures rise above 7 degrees Celsius (almost 45 Fahrenheit). But don’t be fooled into thinking that ticks simply die when the harsh winter weather kicks


This spring, take a stroll through gardens, embassies and historic homes

This year’s tour will be held May 11 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and May 12 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Stops include the homes at 15 Gessford Ct. SE and 1227 Massachusetts Ave. SE; the gardens at 154 11th St. SE and 224 12th St. SE; and the Corner Store at 900 South Carolina Ave. SE. $35 in advance, $40 day of tour. chrs.org/house-and-garden-tour ●Carlyle House Garden Day Craft Sale On April 27 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. you can buy handmade crafts from local vendors at Carlyle House Historic Park, 121 N. Fairfax St., Alexandria, Va. You can also tour the Carlyle House Museum, which costs $5 for adults, $3 for children. novaparks.com/parks/carlyle-house-historic-park/events/friends-of-carlyle-house-annual-herb-and-craft-sale ●Falls Church Home and Garden Tour The April 28 tour from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. will highlight spots in the “Little City.” Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 day of tour. fcedf.org/home--garden-tour-2019.html ●Garden Club of Virginia Historic Garden Week This eight-day annual event runs from April 27 to May 4 and attracts thousands of people. There are tours of 250 gardens, homes and historic landmarks across several dozen Virginia cities and counties. Fees start at $15. vagardenweek.org ●National Arboretum Garden Fair and Plant Sale On-site curators will help you select rare and common plants at this annual sale on the National Arboretum grounds. Members only on April 27 from 9 a.m. to noon; public entry is noon to 4 p.m. and on April 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. fona.org/gardenfair ● Georgetown House Tour and Tea St. John’s Episcopal Church again hosts this annual tour of historic homes on April 27 at 11 a.m. Tickets are $40 to $50 and include a parish tea from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. georgetownhousetour .com ●Garden Tour and Tea Tasting at Fox Haven Farm and Learning Center, Jefferson, Md Go on a tour with garden manager and herbalist Lacey Walker. She will teach you about the plants that are ripe for making medicines on May 11 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets online cost $11.19. eventbrite.com/e/garden-tour-and-tea-tasting-at-fox-haven-may-11th-tickets-55240718476 ●Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens Thirteen acres of formal gardens designed as outdoor rooms by landscape architects in the 1950s are set among the 25-acre property of trees, shrubs and flowers next to Rock Creek Park in Northwest Washington. Tours of the 13 acres are offered now through June 30 at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30


Small towns are dying everywhere but here

former natural foods emporium and converted it into Higherground Brewing. Inside the low-slung building, the decor is spare: a checkerboard tile floor, stools and a few tables. On a recent night, a dozen customers watched a college basketball game on a television above the bar. The beers on offer — including “At Ease Golden Ale” and “Flash Flood Milk Stout” — were listed on a chalkboard along with the daily food specials. One of two breweries in town, Higherground posted $1 million in sales in its sixth year of operations and has been profitable for the past “two to three years,” Nelson said. About 40 percent of its output is sold elsewhere in the state. They had considered locations in Idaho and California, but the men said the advantages of coming home were clear. A local banker, who had known them for years, approved a $162,000 loan that got them started. Miller’s recently retired father pitched in on several projects, providing free labor that would not have been available if they had launched elsewhere. The young men also saved money by living with their parents. Located an hour south of Missoula, a city of roughly 75,000 with an international airport, a major state university and a Walmart, Hamilton “is in a great Goldilocks zone,” Miller said. “It’s really accessible.” Hamilton’s relative outperformance — and that of Western towns, in general — comes amid the urbanization of American economic growth. Globalization and technology deeply eroded small towns’ traditional manufacturing role while placing a premium on the skills of the educated digerati in the nation’s largest cities. The West has navigated these shifting economic tides better than other parts of the country. Since 2010, it has been by far the fastest-growing region in the country, according to the Census Bureau, expanding output two-thirds faster than the Midwest and more than twice as fast as the Northeast. Based on measures of new-business formation, migration and job churn, Western states are significantly more dynamic than those in the East, said John Lettieri, president and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank. “These are newer economies. They have fewer concrete cinder blocks to drag around behind them as they’re trying to grow,” he said. “There’s an unmistakable East-West divide.” In much of the country, small towns were poorly equipped to capitalize on the new economy of globalized supply chains and high-technology services


Sugary cereals are back. We tried 7 — from Peeps to Chicken & Waffles.

At least initially, it doesn’t seem to make sense that sugary junk-food cereals are back in style. In many other aspects of American eating, we’ve been moving away from artifice and vice. Fast-food companies tout freshness. Salad chains are hot. “Plant-based eating” is the buzz-phrase for the year. Trendy paleo and keto diets made eschewing sugar cool. Companies have worked to eliminate artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. And, for a while, cereal seemed aligned with that movement. Sugary cereals were blamed for childhood obesity, and the industry made moves to improve the nutrition content in their products. A report on sugar in children’s cereals by the Environmental Working Group noted that a 2012 study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, then a part of Yale University, found that the average sugar content in children’s cereals had decreased from 36 percent to 33 percent from 2009 to 2012. General Mills pledged to cut sugar in its cereals in 2009. Kellogg’s cut sugar in three cereals, including Rice Krispies, last year. But in 2017, two years after General Mills made a version of its fruity cereal Trix with no artificial colors, the company brought back the old, Technicolor neon version of the cereal. Customers had complained that the all-natural version, which was colored with vegetable and fruit juices and turmeric, looked dull. Meanwhile, cereal sales continued to tumble for a variety of reasons — people were choosing breakfast sandwiches or yogurts instead, and one much-derided report found that millennials hated cleaning bowls. More healthful adult cereals were performing poorly, too. So, to counter declining sales, cereal companies are reversing course: They’re doubling down on the junky, sugary rainbow colors and flavors that kids know and love. Turns out, all that fiber and nutrition and lack of sweetness just wasn’t very fun. That’s why sugary cereals are back in a big way. Cereals modeled after Pop-Tarts, Oreos, Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy and Nilla wafers have been revived or made their debuts in the past year. For the third time since 2015, Lucky Charms is in the midst of a promotional giveaway of marshmallow-only boxes of its cereal. And The Washington Post has written about a number of sweet cereals over the past year: Unicorn cereal (“we’ve unicorned pretty much any food that can be unicorned at this point”), Dippin’ Dots cereal (“tastes suspiciously like another General Mills cereal, Kix”) and


The weather for the Boston Marathon may be foul with rain and chilly temperatures

The storm looks to bring Beantown its worst between sunrise and noon. The first batch of marathon runners departs Hopkinton at 9:02 a.m., with the remaining participants setting off in waves through 11:15 a.m. A chilly rain is possible and, if downpours develop, a half to three-quarters of an inch of water could fall by early afternoon. As the race is six days away, however, the specifics of this forecast could change. The official forecast is calling for temperatures around 50 degrees, though it’s likely an easterly wind off the water — coupled with cold air draining down from the north — could knock Boston back into the low to mid-40s. Periods of mist and drizzle may persist into the late afternoon, with even an outside shot of brief snow in the higher elevations of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Berkshires. The atmosphere can be fickle this time of year in southern New England. On Monday, New York City warmed to 78, while Hartford — a mere 100 miles away — held steady at 43 degrees. Past Boston Marathons have seen all sorts of wild weather. In 2017, Logan Airport peaked at a balmy 75 degrees — just a day after a record-setting 86 degrees. But in 2015, temperatures struggled to hit 50, and 0.61 inches of rain fell. And if you’re looking for variety, try 2014 — the race began in the 30s, flirting with 70 in the afternoon. Eric Fisher is the chief meteorologist at WBZ-TV in Boston, and has run the marathon a number of times. He said the rain predicted to drench this year’s race could be dangerous to runners. “Heavy rain like last year can be tough,” he said in a message. “There were quite a few cases of hypothermia on the course.” If the rain clears out sooner though, that could be good news for runners. Most athletes would prefer a cooler day over the summerlike weather that’s baked the course in years past. “After a winter of cold training, the ideal day [for runners] is mostly cloudy and somewhere close to 50 degrees,” Fisher said. “That’s actually a pretty standard day for Boston in mid-April.” The average high this time of year is around 56 or 57 degrees. But that’s not always ideal for spectators, he conceded: “What runners dream of for the Boston Marathon isn’t necessarily what the crowds would like!”


O’Rourke’s claim that the United States has spent ‘27 years’ in Iraq

months has complained about “endless wars” and the fact that soldiers have been “fighting in Afghanistan for 19 years.” The invasion of Afghanistan began Oct. 7, 2001, so Trump’s calculation is a little off. O’Rourke, in also decrying fighting wars forever as he campaigns for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is closer on the mark about the Afghan war, saying either “17 years and counting” or “18 years, almost.” (It’s 17½ years.) But O’Rourke’s math for the Iraq War left us flummoxed. He keeps mentioning 27 years in Iraq, which takes you back to 1992. Not only does that date not make much sense, but his comments especially make little sense in the context of talking about “service members who fight on our behalf.” There are three, or maybe four, points at which the United States can be labeled as fighting in Iraq in the past three decades. But there has not been a continuous war. The Gulf War (1990-1991) There are two parts of the Gulf War: Operation Desert Shield, the buildup of troops in Saudi Arabia in response to Iraq’s invasion and seizure of Kuwait, and Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase in which a coalition of nations ejected the Iraqis from Kuwait. One could mark the beginning of the conflict from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, or date from start of combat operations on Jan. 17, 1991. The invasion ended Feb. 28, 1991, after just 100 hours of ground combat. Congress adopted a resolution authorizing the invasion on Jan. 12, 1991. The United Nations also backed the invasion, passing a resolution that gave Iraq until Jan. 15 to withdraw from Kuwait and authorized nations to use “all necessary means” to force Iraq out of Kuwait. But oddly, O’Rourke’s use of 27 years appears to exclude the Gulf War. No-fly zones and cruise missile attacks (1991-2003) After the Gulf War, the United States and its partners imposed no-fly zones on the northern and southern parts of Iraq. At various times during this period, the United States launched cruise missiles against Iraqi facilities, primarily on the grounds of forcing Iraqi compliance for U.N. resolutions. The most prominent action in this period was Operation Desert Fox, a four-day bombing campaign in December 1998 ordered by President Bill Clinton. But no troops entered Iraq in this period. Invasion of Iraq (2003-2011) The United States and allies invaded


The Health 202: Drug maker accuses FDA of hampering its medication for opioid treatment

THE PROGNOSIS President Trump's administration acknowledges the promise of medication-assisted treatment for the huge population of Americans struggling with opioid addiction – a dire situation the president has declared a public health emergency. But his Food and Drug Administration is throwing a major roadblock in the way of getting more anti-opioid treatments on the market, one drug maker is charging. This morning, drug maker Braeburn will announce it has filed a petition asking the FDA to deny the medication Sublocade a special status giving its maker, Indivior, exclusive rights to sell the drug until 2024. Sublocade is a long-acting, injectable version of buprenorphine, one of three approved drugs that are highly effective in helping people beat back opioid addiction. The FDA is considering giving the 2017 version of Sublocade "orphan drug status" – a special protection typically given only for drugs that treat extremely rare diseases as a way of encouraging the development of less-profitable products -- even though the medication could be used by as many as 2 million Americans who abuse opioids. “You can’t say opioid use disorder is an orphan disease because you have over 2 million patients who have that disease,” Braeburn CEO Mike Derkacz told me yesterday. While “orphan drug” designations have been hugely helpful for patients whose illnesses might be otherwise ignored, drug makers have also manipulated the system to maximize profits. Let’s zoom out for a moment. There’s broad consensus that combining counseling services with medication-assisted treatment is the best way to help people who are addicted to prescription painkillers, heroin or the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has stressed it must be a central part of the administration’s response to the opioid crisis, and in February the FDA issued guidance praising the effectiveness of buprenorphine and giving advice on how pharmaceutical makers could get more such medications approved. Yet recent evidence suggests anti-opioid medications aren’t widely available. Which brings us back to the dispute between pharmaceutical companies Braeburn and Indivior. Indivior first received orphan drug status back in the 1990s for its medication Subutex, an oral version of buprenorphine. The company was able to receive the designation by arguing it couldn’t reasonably expect to recover its costs of developing the drug – an alternative pathway to getting orphan drug status that has been used only two other times. But not only did Indivior’s earnings from Subutex subsequently


D.C. streets to be closed this weekend for Japanese street festival

Just as the cherry blossoms begin to fade, the 59th annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival will return to the District this weekend. D.C. police announced the following street closures from about 7 p.m. Friday until midnight Sunday: — Pennsylvania Avenue NW from 3rd Street NW to 7th Street NW — Constitution Avenue NW from 3rd Street NW to 7th Street NW — 4th Street NW from Madison Drive NW to Pennsylvania Avenue NW — 6th Street NW from C Street NW to Constitution Avenue NW In addition, emergency no-parking signs will be posted on the following streets from about 6 p.m. Friday until midnight Sunday: — Pennsylvania Avenue NW from 3rd Street NW to 7th Street NW — Constitution Avenue NW from 3rd Street NW to 7th Street NW — 4th Street NW from Madison Drive NW to Pennsylvania Avenue NW — 6th Street NW from C Street NW, to Constitution Avenue NW


World Digest: April 9, 2019

HONG KONG 9 activists who led 2014 protests are convicted A court found nine leaders of Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy movement guilty Tuesday of charges including conspiracy and inciting a public nuisance. The charges could carry prison terms of up to seven years. The nine were granted bail while the sentencing hearings are underway. The convictions were the last of dozens resulting from protests almost five years ago calling for greater democracy in Hong Kong. The protests shut down parts of the city and lasted 79 days. Prosecutors said the nine had encouraged demonstrators to block major roads and cause obstructions.  The nine activists, however, argued that police and government actions prompted hundreds of thousands of people to protest, lengthening what was designed as a short and limited sit-in. The protests, known as the “Umbrella Movement” for the only tool demonstrators had to defend themselves against police pepper spray and tear gas, aimed to move Hong Kong away from Beijing’s grip. Protesters hoped to extend democratic rights and end plans for China to vet candidates for the city’s top political job. When Beijing held firm and police began to use tear gas, the sit-in turned into a swelling movement. — Shibani Mahtani SUDAN 14 reported killed as authorities target sit-in Security forces tried again to break up an anti-government sit-in outside military headquarters in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killing at least 14 people Tuesday, according to activists behind the demonstration. The deaths brought the total number of fatalities in the sit-in since the weekend to 22, including five soldiers, the activists said. The demonstration is the latest in nearly four months of protests that have plunged Sudan into its worst crisis in years. What initially erupted as rallies against a crumbling economy quickly escalated into calls for an end to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s 30-year rule. On Monday, for the first time, leaders of the protests called on the military’s leadership to abandon Bashir and join their call for change. And on Tuesday, they invited military leaders to meet with their representatives to “discuss arrangements for a transition” in Sudan. A spokesman for the military said it has nothing to do with political matters. Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and live fire to try to disperse the protesters, according to the Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the demonstrations. It was the second time that security forces had failed


Why listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization is a bad idea

in repression within Iran’s borders. Yet the organization is also a conventional military force that we have in fact worked with when it made sense to do so, as in the fight to eradicate the Islamic State. This is probably why our top military commanders and intelligence officials are advocating caution. The biggest problems the IRGC poses to the United States are its use of improvised explosive devices against Americans as well as its methods for funding its activities (which include money laundering and hostage-taking). If our government really wanted to punish bad behavior, that’s what it should target. Those activities qualify as terrorism. Designating the whole branch, however, is shortsighted — yet another blunt and crude move in a situation that calls for more elegant solutions. By all means, sanction and prosecute the offending officials and their families. We know who many of them are. The listing may also put the lives of American service members at even greater risk from Iranian threats, but that’s a reality they have been facing for over a decade. The greater concern to me is that it will entrench Iran’s military elite even further, giving them few options for changing their behavior. It encourages conflict. It should also present obvious problems to all those who claim that it’s only a matter of time before Iranian military and security forces start to abandon the regime. Hundreds of thousands of Iranian men — with practical knowledge of how the country and its defensive capabilities work — would suddenly become terrorism suspects. Military service in Iran is mandatory (with a few exceptions) for all Iranian males. Which branch a young conscript is assigned to in order to fulfill his nearly two-year obligation is not a matter of choice. The country’s best and brightest end up in the IRGC, whether they like it or not. What is gained by labeling hundreds of thousands of Iranian men as terrorists just because they’re fulfilling a requirement of citizenship? As time goes on, we will no doubt hear about proposed waivers for some of those people. But one wonders if the administration will actually be able to act on such a program. (Post reporting on the waiver program for the president’s travel ban suggests we should not be too optimistic.) I worry that this is another instance in which the U.S. government is guilty of criminalizing people simply for being