U.N. Security Council to consider tougher sanctions that could cost N. Korea $1 billion

North Korea’s lucrative program of farming out laborers, called guest workers, to other nations, the diplomat said. Employer nations, which include China and Russia, would be barred from increasing the number of North Korean workers they use. The additional sanctions, which were hashed out by U.S. and Chinese diplomats over the past month, do not contain the toughest penalties under discussion, including broad new prohibitions on all exports of oil as well as potential additional banking and commercial penalties opposed by China and Russia. The diplomat acknowledged that the United States had sought some elements that were not part of the new proposal but would not provide details. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had identified oil as one area she hoped to target when discussions began. The new sanctions would prohibit new joint ventures between North Korean entities and foreign corporations and cap foreign investment in existing ventures. There are also new restrictions on North Korean imports of “dual use” products — commercial items that could have benign applications but can also be turned to military use. The goal is to restrict North Korea’s access to hard currency and products that it can use to further its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, both of which the Security Council has declared out of bounds. “We are looking for as many ways to squeeze them to get them to the table,” the diplomat said. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on an Asian tour focused partly on increasing pressure on North Korea and by extension its traditional ally and protector China. Tillerson said Tuesday that the United States does not consider North Korea an enemy and does not seek to topple the regime of leader Kim Jong Un. He invited talks aimed at persuading Kim that he has too much to lose by hanging on to his weapons. So far, Kim’s calculation has been the opposite — that his weapons and the means to deliver them buy him irreplaceable leverage over the United States, his principal adversary. China and Russia, which hold veto power on the Security Council, oppose the North Korean nuclear weapons program but have been unwilling to go along with some Western-backed proposals to punish the country. “We have been working very hard for some time, and we certainly hope that this is going to be a consensus resolution,” Reuters quoted Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi as saying Thursday.


These ex-warlords are promising Afghanistan’s ‘salvation’

“For the first time, powerful people feel that their wrongdoings will be accounted for through a proper apolitical, independent judiciary — and they feel threatened,” said Haroon Chakhansuri, a deputy chief of staff in Ghani’s office. The rift risks exacerbating ethnic polarization, especially with coalition leaders claiming that Ghani is brazenly limiting power, not just to Pashtuns, but also to a small group of confidants from his clan — and all under the nose of American advisers who espouse inclusive governance. On the other side, the lack of any major Pashtun leader in the coalition has made Pashtuns in the north uneasy about the coalition’s intentions. “This coalition is nothing but a coalition of killers,” said M.W. Matin, a doctor in Mazar-e Sharif who plans to run for office in next year’s parliamentary elections. “But the tragedy is that Ghani had to bring a killer like Dostum into his office just to win.” For some Uzbeks, Dostum’s violent past is a source of pride. They believe him when he claims to be descended from an ancient line of Uzbek emperors. His face looks out from dozens of giant billboards over Mazar-e Sharif’s drab grid of streets. “We say that Ghani has a ‘money bank’ but Dostum has a ‘people bank,’ ” said Sher Aqah Tataroghla, a 23-year-old student living in a hostel that is mostly Uzbek. “In the past we couldn’t even speak Uzbek in public, but now you’ll see it on signs around the city. One hundred percent of us are behind him.” Tajiks in Noor’s party and Hazaras in Mohaqiq’s do not seem to be uniting behind the coalition as uniformly as Uzbeks. Those leaders command more limited cachet in their communities, with followings that pale in intensity compared with Dostum’s. Stoking that sense of ethnic solidarity — mobilized through voting blocs as well as people in the streets — may well be the crux of the coalition’s ultimate strength. Without it, many Afghans may find it difficult to see its leaders as fighting for anything but themselves. “It’s not for salvation as they say, it is about their money and their pride — that’s how politicians are all over the world, right?” said Moqaddas Rahim, 28, who has been unemployed for four years after serving as an interpreter for U.S. forces. He knows how to use a computer and speaks six languages, including fluent English with a


U.N. imposes new sanctions on North Korea following missile tests

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions on North Korea on Aug. 5, including a ban on exports worth over $1 billion. The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose new sanctions on North Korea, banning exports that supply up to a third of the country’s annual $3 billion earnings. The U.S.-sponsored resolution was in response to North Korea’s launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month, activities prohibited under existing U.N. resolutions. The sanctions ban North Korea’s largest export, coal, along with exports of iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, and seafood. Together, those exports amount to more than $1 billion a year in income for Pyongyang. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council that the vote showed Pyongyang that the world was united in seeking to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. But “we should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem,” Haley said. “Not even close. The North Korean threat has not left us.” She said the United States had no plans to decrease its military exercises with South Korea, despite calls from China and Russia to do so. Both Beijing and Moscow, in casting their votes for the new sanctions, said they appreciated statements by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week that the United States does not seek North Korea’s collapse, replacement of its government or “accelerated reunification” of the Korean Peninsula, and has no intention of sending troops there. “Our hope is that the United States will translate these ‘four no’s’ into a firm policy,” Liu Jieyi, China’s U.N. ambassador, told the council. In addition to reducing U.S. military exercises in the region, he repeated China’s objection to deployment of sophisticated U.S. antimissile systems, known as THAAD, in South Korea. “THAAD will not bring a solution,” he said. “What it will do is to seriously undermine the strategic balance of the region.” China also called for the resumption of talks among North Korea, regional powers and the United States. In his Tuesday statement, Tillerson said Washington was interested in a “productive dialogue” but only on the basis of Pyongyang’s acceptance of nuclear disarmament. “We don’t think having a dialogue where the North Koreans come to the table assuming they’re going to maintain their nuclear weapons is productive,” he said. President Trump has expressed disappointment in the failure of China, which accounts for 90 percent


Baltimore students bound for Arctic, conducting their own climate change research

will involve driving metal rods into the ground to measure the depth of what is known as the active layer — the top few inches of soil that thaws each summer — and taking stock of herbs, shrubs, lichen and moss on the surface. Sometimes the layer is only about elbow-deep, but in other areas the students have to screw on extension rods to reach depths of about 3 meters. They will also collect soil samples so they can study the bacteria that live within it — the microbes play a key role in releasing carbon stored within the ground as it thaws, exacerbating global climate change. It’s empowering work, said Matthew Hudes, a 16-year-old who is also making his second trip to Churchill. “This is a lab that adults don’t know the answers to,” he said. “We can’t go to Julie and say, ‘We’re done; just tell us the answers now.’ ” The data could help the students find a correlation between the abundance or type of vegetation with the thickness of the active layer, Connors explained. That could answer questions such as, does more vegetation mean more thawing? Can the active layer’s thickness be predicted based on the vegetation on the surface? The students venture back to Canada each fall to participate in research to develop a polar bear marking and tracking technique that involves photographing the animals and using software to recognize them by their whisker patterns. Yet the real work takes place during the school year. Students meet weekly to analyze the data collected during the trips. They already produced one research paper that compared different techniques for gathering data on vegetation cover, and traveled to Vancouver to present it to adult scientists. Mahey Gheis has been involved in the project since her sophomore year, but said the research always intimidated her — she mostly worked on the project website, isamr.net, where the students share their work and will blog updates on the trip. But this summer was the 17-year-old’s last chance to join in the data collection because she graduates next spring, so she couldn’t pass it up. “It’s this unique opportunity, this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I just wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” she said. As she and her classmates met Friday for some final packing and practice identifying vegetation, she said she felt apprehension because she’s heading so far from home, but


French zoo helps giant panda mom care for country’s ﬁrst cub

Huan Huan cradles her newborn, known as Mini Yuan Zi, at the zoo. Zookeepers are supplementing Huan Huan’s feedings. (Zoo Parc De Beauval /European Pressphoto Agency) French first lady Brigitte Macron is the baby’s “godmother,” Delord said, and she and the Chinese ambassador to France called the zoo Saturday to congratulate it on the birth. “It’s a big diplomatic moment as well as a zoological event.” Panda cubs born in captivity are often named by China. For now, the zoo is calling him Mini Yuan Zi, after his dad. Brigitte Macron is expected to announce the name officially at a visit to the zoo in a month or two, Delord said. The zoo had two bits of good news by late Saturday: The baby urinated for the first time, and its mother successfully began breast-feeding, Delord told the Associated Press. Huan Huan, who turns 9 on August 10, and Yuan Zi, who is 8, are at Beauval on a 10-year loan from China, and any cubs they have officially belong to the Chinese government. The first few weeks of life are often difficult for panda cubs born in captivity. The French zoo has experts from China, where giant pandas live in the wild, helping to care for the days-old cub. (Zoo Parc De Beauval /European Pressphoto Agency) If the new cub survives, it will be shown to the French public in about two months. Then after about two or three years, it will be sent to a panda reserve in China. While the French zoo is upset by the death of the firstborn twin, Delord said it chose to film the birth and share the images with the public. “We made the choice of transparency, to encourage talking about endangered species, the fragility of their lives,” Delord said. Pandas have long been considered one of the world’s most endangered animals, although last year a leading group, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, lowered its classification to “vulnerable” thanks to decades of conservation efforts. The Chinese government rejected the group’s decision, saying the panda remains at risk. China for decades gave friendly nations its unofficial national mascot in what was known as “panda diplomacy.” The United States received its first giant pandas in 1972, when Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrived at the National Zoo. In the 1980s, China stopped giving pandas and instead loans them for large amounts of money.


Can marijuana rescue coal country?

down.” Reliable estimates of the size of the marijuana market in West Virginia are hard to come by. According to the group NORML, which advocates for marijuana legalization, pot has been West Virginia’s most valuable cash crop for the past 20 years. Voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada just approved recreational marijuana use. Here's what they can learn from Washington, Colorado and Oregon, states where marijuana use has already been legalized. Lately, however, marijuana has been overshadowed by opioids, which are devastating parts of coal country. In Mingo County, where Johnsie lives, a single pharmacy pumped out 9 million hydrocodone pills over just two years, according to a 2016 investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail. That was enough for every man, woman and child in the area to have 350 of them. Hydrocodone was part of a new generation of opioids that pharmaceutical companies introduced in the United States in the past two decades and heavily marketed to doctors as posing minimal risk for addiction. That, of course, wasn’t true, and as government officials cracked down on prescription opioids, they became prohibitively expensive, pushing addicts in West Virginia and elsewhere toward illegal substitutes, including heroin, which ran about a third the price. The Mountain State is now ground zero of one of the worst drug crises in our nation’s history. In 2015, 725 people died of overdoses in the state, the highest rate per capita in the country. Last year, that figure grew another 15 percent, reaching a staggering 844 deaths. That averages to one West Virginian dying from an overdose every 11 hours. Eighty-six percent of the state’s overdose deaths in 2016 involved an opioid. While there are no easy answers to the opioid crisis, a growing body of research suggests that legalizing marijuana could help. More than a dozen states with legal medical marijuana have recorded significant drops in overdose deaths from other drugs, including heroin, according to a 2014 study in JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association. A 2015 pilot study by Yasmin Hurd at the Behavioral Health System’s Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai found that cannabidiol, a compound in marijuana, minimized cravings for opioids, making it easier for participants to stop using them. And unlike methadone, an opioid that is used in drug treatment to minimize cravings for opioids, cannabidiol was not addictive. Hurd is pursuing further research but argues that legislators must address


A 97-year-old vet is murdered in his pajamas as Baltimore struggles to contain the killings

the homeowners gave way to renters, the drug dealers set up shop, and the trees disappeared. Darley Park became a place to avoid, and its red-brick rowhouses were increasingly abandoned. But Tate clung to 1723 Darley Ave. “He was comfortable here,” Swann said. Joseph Cuffie, 79, was Tate’s longtime neighbor and friend. He helped Tate take short walks and chatted with him on his porch. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Tate spent evenings on his porch, chatting with Joseph Cuffie, 79, another holdout two doors down. Cuffie, who described Tate as “a real gentleman,” helped him take short walks. In his younger days, Tate would dress in a suit to walk three miles to the downtown department stores, Cuffie recalled. Though Tate’s formal schooling was limited, he had an encyclopedic mind filled with information from newspapers, Life magazines, television news broadcasts and PBS documentaries. He distrusted politicians, and he “hated the drugs,” Cuffie said. The two men watched the addicts stumble by all the time. As police seek Tate’s killer, his family is planning to sell the house. It is worth just $15,000, little reward for 61 years of ownership. Tate’s daughters are going through the house cabinet by cabinet, drawer by drawer, pausing to savor memories even as they learn more about their father’s life. They’ve found an old Brownie camera. A Freemasons card. The M-1 rifle he carried in World War II. Kimberly Ware cleans a family photo at her grandfather’s home. It features his three daughters and son, who were all raised in the rowhouse where he was killed. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Last week, as they worked, a boy paused outside the rowhouse and peered in through the open door. Swann invited the child inside. “I knew him,” the 9-year-old whispered to the small gathering of relatives in the dark living room. “He was a nice man. He shouldn’t have died.” Swann gave him a hug. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she said, “that’s exactly how we feel.” Read more: In a city reeling from 200 killings, a Baltimore police fortress gets a makeover Baltimore cops pressured to police differently, but also begged to clear the corners Twelve seconds of gunfire: First graders are haunted by what they survived on a school playground In Baltimore, the joy and relief of making it through high school alive A Baltimore teen comes of age in a city coming apart


Christian Millau, French food critic at the fore of a culinary revolution, dies at 88

his walks around Paris. The column, featuring recommendations on everything from truffles and wine to astrologists and hairdressers, was a success and resulted in the duo’s first book with the publishing house Julliard. By 1972 they were releasing guidebooks under the name Gault-Millau, sometimes styled GaultMillau, with the aim of surpassing Michelin. Unlike Michelin, which Mr. Millau likened to a “telephone directory,” the Gault-Millau books focused on a restaurant’s food, rather than its appearance or service. They relished piquant, often irreverent descriptions. “The widely spread custom in Anglo-Saxon countries of pouring brandy on the dishes and then setting them afire is meant to make an establishment famous,” the critics wrote in their first guidebook to New York. “In our opinion, this practice is very reprehensible . . . spoils the taste and makes the dining room resemble a city bombarded with napalm. Only the salad has not yet been flambéed.” Mr. Millau and Gault bestowed three chef hats on the very finest restaurants, awarding black toques to restaurants that still practiced traditional French cooking and red toques to those that represented nouvelle cuisine. It was obvious which sort of restaurant the critics preferred. “Dieu!” they wrote in a review of l’Auberge du Père Bise, a restaurant in Talloires that had earned the Michelin Guide’s highest rating, three stars. “How can one refuse to experiment, to perfect, and to share with one’s clients the creative adventure?” Mr. Millau and Gault advised diners to avoid the restaurant until its chef “understood” the new movement. A list of surviving family members was not immediately available. While Mr. Millau and Gault became celebrities through their criticism, appearing on television and in photo spreads in Life magazine, their relationship fractured in the mid-1980s. “We did not agree on anything,” Mr. Millau later told Le Monde. “Neither on politics, nor on religion, nor on music. Nothing, except taste.” They sold their publishing empire to the magazine Le Point in 1983, and both critics continued publishing guidebooks on their own for many years while maintaining an indelible connection with nouvelle cuisine. “We have suggested the formula, and it has caught on like a superb mayonnaise, but that’s all,” Mr. Millau once said, downplaying his and Gault’s contributions. “The rest — that is to say, the most important thing — is the business of the chefs themselves. We are and we remain observers.” Read more Washington Post obituaries


D.C. police arrest suspects in two homicides from violent weekend

D.C. police on Tuesday arrested suspects in two of four homicides, including one of a teenager, that occurred over a violent weekend at the end of July, authorities announced. Police Chief Peter Newsham said Tyrell T. Moody, 23, of Northeast, was charged with second-degree murder while armed in the shooting death of a 17-year-old on July 30. The attack occurred shortly before 3 p.m. in the 4400 block of Quarles Street NE. The victim was identified as Jermaine Richards. He was found on a sidewalk beside an apartment building in the Kenilworth neighborhood. He was pronounced dead at the scene; police have not suggested a motive. Police also said they arrested a suspect in the July 29 fatal stabbing of Demond Marcel Rush, 39, of Southeast. Police said he was stabbed about 1:15 a.m. in the 3600 block of 22nd Street SE, near Southern Avenue, along the D.C.-Maryland border. Charged with second-degree murder while armed is Keith Archie, 36, of Northwest. Police have not made any arrests in a shooting early Sunday near Sherman Circle that claimed the lives of Juan Carlos Osorio-Herrera, 24, of Northwest, who died at the scene, and David Santiago Amaya-Medano, 23, of Northwest, who died at a hospital. Those shootings occurred about 2 a.m. in the 4800 block of Kansas Avenue NW. There have been 69 homicides in the District this year, down nearly 13 percent from the 79 at this time in 2016. Violent crime is down 26 percent from last year. Newsham said that the city has “had a very good summer” crime-wise but noted “a little bit of an uptick” on the July 29 weekend. He said his detectives work to “hold those who are accountable responsible for their actions.”


Plant-based diet? Sure, but first understand what that really means.

increased risk of heart disease. Those eating a nutritious plant-based diet while also being more physically active fare even better. In a 2016 study, the researchers found similar results for the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study also supports the value of a plant-rich diet even for omnivores. Individuals who ate the least plant foods were eating about five or six servings of animal foods per day, while those with the most plant foods were eating three servings of animal foods. This means that reducing — not eliminating — animal foods even slightly while increasing healthy plant foods has benefits for preventing heart disease and diabetes. This allows a lot of flexibility with eating. The traditional Mediterranean diet follows this pattern, as do other healthful dietary patterns from around the globe. Putting the research on your plate While association does not prove cause and effect, there are various physiological mechanisms that may explain the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Whole and minimally processed plant foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants, along with heart-healthy unsaturated fats and dietary fiber. Together, this can promote healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, while lowering inflammation and nourishing your gut microbiota. To reap these benefits, here’s what to eat more of: •Whole grains and foods made from whole grain flour •Fruits and vegetables •Nuts, beans and lentils •Vegetable oils (olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil) in dressings and for cooking •Tea and coffee •Healthy animal foods like fish, dairy (other than ice cream) and eggs At the same time, here’s what to eat less of: •Fruit juices and sugar-sweetened beverages •Refined grains and foods made from white flour •French fries, potato or corn chips, and baked or mashed potatoes •Sweets (candy, pastries, desserts) •Less-healthful animal foods (butter, lard, meat, ice cream) Bottom line In this era of “free-from” foods (lactose-free, gluten-free, GMO-free), this study is a reminder that for nutrition and health, what you do eat matters as much as, if not more than, what you don’t eat. Dennett is a registered dietitian-nutritionist and owner of Nutrition by Carrie. More from Lifestyle: 10 ways to save money on organic groceries Pro tennis players’ good habits are prolonging their careers. The average athlete can learn from them. They offered to pay people to go to the gym. Guess what happened? Trying to conceive? Think about what you’re eating.


Reaping the fruits of an agri-community

market on the way home. “We get all the produce we can use. Sometimes we don’t recognize the vegetables, but recipes are always included, which is neat,” he said. “We don’t go to the grocery store except for milk and soda.” The reality in most agri-hoods is that there isn’t a full resident buy-in. “It’s the same here,” Snow said. He estimates that 450 families — about half of residents — used CSA last year or were regulars at the farm market. Snow and 12 staffers, along with Bella, his border collie and director of fox chasing, bring residents to volunteer on the farm, give tours to public and school groups, and organize children’s activities. One rainy Saturday, the activity at the market was to make seed balls. Half a dozen little hands squished a soil composite and rolled it into a ball. Then the girls and boys walked to a table lined with seed boxes. The task was to stick seeds into the ball, let it dry, take it home, plant it in the yard and wait for it to sprout. “We want them to make the connection between the land, farm, vegetables and flowers that grow,” said Deb Dramby, who manages the market and runs the volunteer and education programs. Lacey Creeden, 10, is a volunteer. “I come here any free time I have,” she said. “I might be at the register or setting things up, like the vegetables, or organizing the signs.” As Eric and Kinga Ulery’s kids — Aidan, 10, Viviana, 8, and Asher, 6 — rolled seed balls, they recalled their initial impressions of Willowsford. “Our first exposure was this market. We said we had to live here,” Eric said. “Allowing our kids to see where their food comes, that it’s not just from the grocery store, is wonderful,” Kinga added. The houses and interiors are designed by 10 builders, and exteriors must be unique to Willowsford. Arts and Crafts/Craftsman is the most popular style, but there are also European contemporaries, Colonials and folk farmhouses. (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post) Culinary director Bonnie Moore runs cooking classes in demonstration kitchens housed in Sycamore House and the Lodge at Willow Lake. She designs menus and creates recipes based on what’s ripe on the farm — for example, spring salad with strawberries and goat cheese, and zucchini carpaccio. “Our kids are super engaged,” Moore said. “It’s easy-peasy


You’re going where? Milwaukee

through the 50-page “bierbook,” which is updated seasonally and highlights unique craft beers from Belgium, Holland and the United States. Shop Local Faves If you’ve ever thought, “Where in the heck do I get an owl pellet to dissect?” Milwaukee has your answer. It’s American Science and Surplus, where you may also find dissection tools, including those waxy trays from middle school. This large, brightly lit suburban shop offers aisle after aisle of experiments, microscopes, telescopes, lab glasses, gyroscopes and just about anything a STEM-loving person could want or need. Plus, there is a solid selection of toys, tools, military items, motors and even the occasional hatching dinosaur-egg novelty. Because it’s a surplus store, you never quite know what you’re going to find, so you’ll probably have more fun if you go without a specific need in mind (and just hope to walk out with that owl pellet). Fedoras, porkpies, cadet caps, cloches, derby hats, church hats, intricate fascinators — the specimens are stunning at two neighboring hat shops: The Hen House for her and Brass Rooster Hat Company for him. Major brands are available, as are custom creations made with equipment that dates to the 19th century. You don’t hear the words hatter and millinery much these days, but these two shops will make you appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into a quality chapeau. At the Brass Rooster Hat Company, John McLaughlin makes lids by hand at the shop he owns with his wife, Kate. American Science and Surplus is home to an eclectic mix of science and military paraphernalia — and plain weirdness. Right next to the Brass Rooster, the Hen House offers an array of handmade hats for women. Guidebook Musts Mod Gen Follow the giant red neon sign that says “Milwaukee Public Market” and explore this gourmet/retail institution. There’s a seafood counter, restaurants, bakeries, purveyors of wine, cheese and sausage, kitchen accessories — and, one of my favorites, Brew City Brand Apparel, where T-shirts pay homage to insider Wisconsin tidbits. The “Call Me Old-Fashioned” shirt is a nod to the Badger State’s official cocktail, and the “Where’s the bubbler?” tee flexes a piece of when-in-Wisconsin vocabulary: bubbler means water fountain. (My mom is from Wisconsin, and now also happens to be the proud owner of a bubbler shirt.) The St. Paul Fish Company has a big footprint at the Milwaukee Public Market. In smaller market confines,


Montgomery County Animal Watch

montgomery county The following case was reported recently by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5900. This number provides recorded information on topics such as the new animal services and adoption center’s hours and location in Derwood, adoption and licensing procedures, and lost-and-found and field services. Dog cuts loose and bites: Reduced FEES FOR CATS Cats and kittens will be available for adoption at the next open house of Friends of Montgomery County Animals at the following location. Call 301-977-4833, or visit fmca.org or facebook.com/fmcainfo. PetSmart at Milestone Center, 20924 Frederick Rd., Germantown. Hours: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday. Cats at no-kill shelter Cats and kittens will be available for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County’s no-kill shelter at the following location. Call 301-740-2511 or visit awlmc.org. Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County no-kill shelter, 12 Park Ave., Gaithersburg. Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Humane Society adoptions The Montgomery County Humane Society’s private rescue shelter has dogs, puppies, cats and kittens available for adoption. Call 240-252-2555 or visit mchumane.org. MCHS Adoptions and Education Center, 601 S. Stonestreet Ave., Rockville. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except holidays. — Compiled by Ria Manglapus


She had been in the U.S. for only hours when an explosion changed everything

came together slowly — a 3-year-old boy, a 65-year-old grandfather and, from Apartment 201, the 34-year-old Ethiopian cabdriver, Mekonen. The final remains probably were Mekonen’s 40-year-old wife. But Springer could not find a biologically close relative in the Washington area. He learned about a potential brother in Ethiopia and, shortly afer 10 p.m.. Aug. 15, emailed him. Subject line: “please contact me.” Seven thousand miles away, Hussein Adem, a middle school math teacher, opened the email with dread. By then, the terrifying story had been picked up in Ethiopian news. He hadn’t been able to reach his sister. He wrote to Springer, telling him he was a brother. “Please guide me,” he wrote, his English broken but clear. “What expected to do myself.” Springer would have to send a DNA collection kit to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. “How far,” he wrote to Adem, “from the embassy are you?” “Abot 10 km,” Adem responded. Days later, an embassy staffer told him “I’m very sorry” before taking him to a room where the inside of his cheek was swabbed. At his home, friends kept asking whether his sister had been found, then whether she had been buried, and finally why her building had blown up for no explained reason. “How could, in America, something like this happen?” they wondered. Seada Ibrahim's sister, Meymuna Yesuf, and brother, Hussein Adem, in Maryland for a memorial service and burial in the fall. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Seada Ibrahim's grave at George Washington Cemetery in Adelphi, Md. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) In late September, Adem arrived in Maryland for a memorial service at a local mosque, to see his sister buried and to visit the gravesite before returning home. “God, give her to heaven,” he prayed in a chilly cemetery two miles from the blast site. Bitseat’s mother arrives The nurses had told Bitseat the jarring white blotches on her forehead, cheeks and nose were mostly damage to her pigment and would heal. During her three-week hospital stay, she was improving. Before she was discharged, her mother had made it to Maryland with help from hospital social workers on a passport and visa. With help from Montgomery County government, the two moved into a Days Inn in Silver Spring for two weeks, and then an apartment. As their story spread among Silver Spring churches, volunteers shuttled Bitseat to Children’s National for physical therapy. Amid


Overturned Blackwater conviction evokes darkest days of Iraq War

assault using machine guns and grenades, killing Kadhum as well. When the shooting ended, 17 Iraqis lay injured in addition to the 14 killed. The victims included children, college students and professionals. The killings triggered outrage and calls for accountability and justice. It was one of the darkest moments of the Iraq War, damaging the United States’ reputation and its relationship with the Iraqi government. When Washington refused to allow the contractors to be tried in Iraq, the incident became a symbol of unaccountable American power and forced a reassessment of the reliance on private security contractors in war zones. Initially, the guards gave sworn statements to State Department investigators that they had fired on the white car because it was coming at them at high speed and did not stop. But many witnesses told me the car was moving slowly, in a nonthreatening manner. Subsequently, U.S. military investigators would conclude that the Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. In 2014, a federal jury found four guards guilty of killing the unarmed civilians. But last week’s reversal of the first-degree murder conviction of Nicholas Slatten, the former guard, is a major setback for the victims and families. He had been sentenced to life in prison. The appeals courts also ordered resentencings for the three other former guards convicted of voluntary manslaughter and use of a machine gun in a violent crime. They received 30-year prison sentences. An official at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington told my colleague Spencer Hsu that the killings are “still raw after all these years” and were an “egregious atrocity that these people committed.” Ironically, it was a discrepancy over who fired the first shots at the white car that led to the throwing out of the murder conviction. Prosecutors argued that Slatten had fired the first shots, but another defendant said that he had fired first. The white car, I remember, sat at a bus stop on the edge of Nisoor Square for weeks after the killings. It was charred and shattered by the firepower. Haitham Ahmed, who lost his wife and eldest son, wanted the car to remain visible as a reminder of the carnage. He told me that he wanted it left there until justice was served. He, too, was a doctor. The family had had many opportunities to leave the country, but he said that he and his


The best cocktail bar in America is now in D.C.

Derek Brown and JP Fetherston at the Columbia Room in Blagden Alley. (asicophoto/Joy Asico/Courtesy of the Columbia Room) Washingtonians: If you want to experience the heights of the craft cocktail renaissance, look no further than your own back yard. Everybody else: You now have yet another reason to visit the District. At this year’s Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail — where bars, drinks and brand ambassadors are recognized by peers around the world — the Columbia Room won best American cocktail bar, an award that’s never before been won by a D.C. bar. This achievement won’t be a huge surprise to anyone tuned in to the city’s cocktail scene. Over the years, the bars run by Drink Company President Derek Brown, chief executive Angie Fetherston and partner JP Fetherston have helped put Washington on the national drinking map. The Columbia Room in particular has been a smart, elegant upstart nipping scrappily at the heels of much-lauded bars in such major cocktail cities as New York and San Francisco. Previous winners include San Francisco’s tiki darling Smuggler’s Cove, Denver speakeasy Williams & Graham and New York’s gussied-up Irish pub, the Dead Rabbit. Washington, Brown says, “has always been a big little market. We have so many media outlets here, so the city gets attention, but what do people recognize D.C. for? People think it’s a swamp. It gets recognition as the nation’s capital and as a political capital . . . but it’s always undervalued as a cultural capital.” The Punch Garden at the Columbia Room. (Scott Suchman/Courtesy of The Punch Garden) That has started to shift on the food front at least, with Bon Appétit naming Washington its restaurant city of the year in 2016, the same year the revered Michelin Guide added it to its roster of American cities worthy of review. Brown sees this latest recognition as a happy part of that trend. “We’re proud first and foremost of our employees . . . but we’re also grateful that our city and our bar and restaurant community has supported us this whole time,” he said. “This really belongs to D.C.” The original Columbia Room was, literally, a room. It seated 10 people at a time in an intimate boutique space hidden inside the more punk-rock Passenger bar. Both bars (run respectively by brothers Derek and Tom Brown) shuttered in early 2015, when the building was converted


D.C. man, 22, dies after being shot in the back in Southeast neighborhood

man was shot in the back and died Wednesday in the Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast Washington, police said. The shooting occurred about 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of W Street SE, in front of a church just off Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, according to police. Police said the victim, Kenneth Ronald Davis of Southeast Washington, apparently ran several blocks and collapsed in a small field at Green and Galen streets SE. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. — Peter Hermann THE REGION Ex-officer indicted on federal charges A former D.C. police officer has been indicted on federal charges related to sex trafficking involving minors and using social media to engage them in prostitution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced Wednesday. Chukwuemeka Ekwonna, 28, of Glenn Dale, Md., is facing a 10-count indictment in which he’s accused of creating an account on the Tagged social media platform and offering to pay a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl to engage in sex with him after exchanging dozens of messages with each, the U.S. attorney’s office said. In January 2017, he allegedly met with the second victim. While she was in the back seat of his car, he pointed a gun at her and demanded she return the money he had just paid her, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He allegedly also used his Tagged account to contact many other users to solicit them for sex. Ekwonna faces up to life in prison if convicted on the charges. Ekwonna was fired from the D.C. police in April, after he was initially charged. He had been with the department for 14 months. — Justin Jouvenal MARYLAND Former liquor board official is indicted A federal grand jury has indicted a former Maryland liquor board commissioner on two counts of bribery after being accused of taking cash in exchange for favorable votes, authorities announced Wednesday. Federal law enforcement officers arrested Anuj Sud, 39, of Hyattsville this year as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation into members of the Prince George’s County liquor board, liquor store owners and state legislators. Sud received at least $3,000 in bribes in exchange for taking official action as a member of the liquor board that would favor those who paid him in 2015 and 2016, officials charged in an affidavit. Sud resigned from the liquor board after his arrest. — Lynh Bui


With drug overdoses soaring, states limit the length of painkiller prescriptions

Oxycodone pain pills prescribed for a patient with chronic pain lie on display in March 2016 in Norwich, Conn. (John Moore/Getty Images) States are enacting strict limits on the number of powerful prescription painkillers doctors can prescribe, a move that many believe will help fight the opioid crisis but has raised alarms among some physicians. At least 17 states have enacted rules to curb the number of painkillers doctors can prescribe. Some, including Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio, have passed laws limiting the duration of initial opioid prescriptions to five or seven days. Others are passing dosage limits. In Kentucky, a law went into effect last month capping opioid prescriptions for acute pain to three days. “We know that most people who eventually become addicted to heroin have started with a prescription opiate,” said Kentucky state Rep. Kimberly Moser (R), who sponsored the bill and is also a nurse. Kentucky, like most other states, has exemptions for cancer and hospice patients, major surgeries and patients dealing with severe or chronic pain. “We felt it was important to just set that pause button and have prescribers just stop and think about the appropriateness of what they’re prescribing. Is it medically necessary?” she said. Last year, 1,404 people died of drug overdoses in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. About half of the deaths involved fentanyl, a powerful synthetic painkiller that is often used in hospitals but also has been manufactured illicitly overseas and has cut into the heroin supply. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year issued guidance for providers, recommending shorter durations for opioid prescriptions, stating that three days should be sufficient and a course of more than seven days “will rarely be needed.” According to a CDC study, patients who use such painkillers for longer periods of time are more likely to end up addicted to them. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced federal legislation in April to limit an initial opioid prescription to seven days. It would not apply to the treatment of chronic pain, cancer, hospice or palliative care. More than 52,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2015, according to the CDC. Drug overdoses sharply increased during the first nine months of 2016, according to the National Centers for Health Statistics. They were driven by increases in opioid deaths, especially from heroin and fentanyl.


Asian Youth Orchestra, Chang play favorites to sound of crickets

Sarah Chang (Colin Bell/EMI Classics) The Asian Youth Orchestra made a tour stop Wednesday night at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. The group of “pre-professional” musicians, ages 17 to 27, come together each year from countries throughout east Asia. A rather small audience heard three orchestral classics on an unusually cool August evening, officially marking the 20th anniversary of the United Kingdom ceding control of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. Conductor Richard Pontzious, co-founder of the ensemble with Yehudi Menuhin, opened this program with Richard Strauss’s “Don Juan,” a daunting test of an orchestra of any age. The musicians moved with well-drilled unity in the fanfare-like statements of the main theme, brilliant horns representing the dashing hero. Clarinet and oboe had diaphanous solos in the love episodes, although the unfortunate amplification affected balances, covering the harp and not flattering the tone of the concertmaster’s violin. Sarah Chang was introspective more than daring in the solo part of Sibelius’s “Violin Concerto,” her best playing heard in the resonant G string passages, although the microphones amplified minor imprecisions in her first-movement cadenza. Pontzious’s four-square approach put the orchestra at odds with Chang’s more fluid sense of rubato, especially unsettling the slow movement. The third movement could have lumbered more, as a slightly slower tempo may have benefited Chang’s double-stop passages. Pontzious’s old-school interpretation of Beethoven’s seventh symphony was enjoyable in the slower tempo choices and broad style. The musicians responded with a performance that felt dutiful and deliberate in the first movement, excepting a fine oboe solo in that surprise moment in the recapitulation. The slow movement did not plod, and the third movement was a pleasing combination of playful scherzo and leisurely trio. Not pushing the finale’s tempo to extremes gave crisp definition to the frenetic main theme. An encore of the final section of Rossini’s overture to “Guillaume Tell” was another testament to the discipline instilled in the musicians by Pontzious.


McCain releases strategy for Afghanistan, preempting and rebuking Trump

the service of his opponents. Here's a look at his track record with the military. On Thursday, McCain apparently lost his patience. “Nearly seven months into President Trump’s administration, we’ve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened,” he said in a statement released along with the plan. “We must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide.” Trump has also been frustrated with the protracted war in Afghanistan but has been sitting on proposals from the Pentagon to increase troop levels as he wrestles with his two priorities: to win the war in Afghanistan to get U.S. troops out as quickly as possible. On Thursday, he told reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., that “we’re getting very close” to articulating a strategy for Afghanistan. “I took over a mess, and we’re going to make it a lot less messy.” He also suggested he continues to support his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, despite pressure from conservative activists to fire him and reports that Trump might make him the next commander of operations in Afghanistan. “He’s my friend, and he’s a very talented man,” Trump said. “I like him, and I respect him.” What cleaning up Afghanistan means in terms of committed troop numbers in the short and long term, however, is not yet as clear as it is in McCain’s proposal. McCain’s plan outlines short- and long-term goals that envision a significant U.S. presence on the ground — an approach “to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a sanctuary for terrorists to plot and conduct attacks against America.” McCain does not outline specific troop numbers. But among his plans is a proposal to integrate U.S. military training and advisory teams at the battalion level of the Afghan armed forces known as “kandaks” — each of which has about 600 troops in it. That commitment would by necessity raise the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan significantly and put those troops — even in their advising and training roles — closer to combat. McCain’s plan also envisions more U.S. air power and combat support for the Afghan military, and expects that “in the long term” the United States will provide “sustained support” for those troops, even as Afghan forces become more self-sufficient. Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.


Trump’s attack on science isn’t going very well

a special science section of the National Climate Assessment, states that “evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans.” It goes on to say that “many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse (heat-trapping) gases, are primarily responsible for recent observed climate change.” The document was publicized before the Trump administration signed off on the release of the final draft. As the Times reported, scientists who worked on the draft feared that the Trump administration would not approve the document or might tamper with the report. Fears of censorship are not unfounded. Staff members at the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resource Conservation Service must “avoid” using the phrase “climate change” in agency documents, according to a series of emails leaked to the Guardian this week. The phrase “weather extremes” is now the prefered language. Other phrases on the blacklist: “climate change adaptation,” “reduce greenhouse gases” and “sequester carbon.” Such phrases are part of the language and lexicon of science, and instructing federal scientists to avoid using particular words is an affront to the pursuit of knowledge. This is censorship, and it is dangerous to both science and democracy. Academic integrity, it turns out, is really important to professionals in scientific agencies of the federal government. The scientific community deeply values transparency, freedom, unbiased facts and evidence-based decision-making. Only through scientific research can we advance knowledge, so scientists tend to resist attempts to silence them. Science embraces critical thinking, but there is no place for “alternative facts” in science. Scientists do not like to be censored. Scientists do not like to be told to avoid using the language of science. The United States previously served as a world leader in global environmental responsibility, but tragically that’s no longer the case. The administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and President Trump’s refusal to budge on the issue at the recent Group of 20 conference confirms that the United States is denying science and dangerously ignoring the threat of climate change. Meanwhile, the removal of data and information about climate change from federal agency websites deprives the public, including teachers and students, of valuable information regarding the state of knowledge about climate change. And the administration’s proposed budget cuts would eliminate critical funding for programs that will help protect the country from the worst effects of climate


This concentrated hop powder is making brewers go crazy

(iStock) 3 Stars has used powdered hops in several releases this year, including Pounding Trees, a double IPA that was double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic powders, and Star Dust, a beer whose name was inspired by the use of lupulin powder. “If you want a bitter backbone, it might not be the right [ingredient],” McGarvey says. But the audience for these IPAs, he says, is “people who aren’t interested in the bitterness of hops. They’re interested in these fruity flavor qualities.” And while most of the beers to hit the market so far have been pale ales and IPAs, 3 Stars has begun experimenting with lupulin powder in other styles. Flip the Script, a collaboration brewed with Aslin for the Craft Brewers Conference in April, was a dry-hopped sour made with lactobacillus bacteria. “If you’re bringing in hoppiness, you can have a problem with the lacto souring,” McGarvey explains, because of a reaction between hops and the bacteria. “With powder, there’s less risk. I think it will lead to more experimentation.” While this is all great news for beer lovers looking for intense hop aromas and flavors, brewers are also interested in Cryo Hops for other reasons. When hops are added during brewing, they can leave behind organic material, which joins proteins, yeast and other byproducts in a mixture called trub, which gets dumped out. However, the trub has absorbed a bit of liquid — wort or beer — and that is going right down the drain. Using powder instead of pellets, says 3 Stars’ McGarvey, “is more efficient — it could be 5 to 10 percent more. You have that much more finished beer to sell.” Trillium’s Tetreault points to other cost benefits: “Shipping rates are half. Storage rates are half,” because of smaller amounts needed. “That’s a huge benefit from an operations perspective.” YCH is expecting to produce several million pounds of Cryo Hops this year, and Vanevenhoven says they have “already touched over 500 breweries, and we haven’t really marketed it yet.” Only one year into production, “We’ve already doubled the size of the [processing] facility,” Vanevenhoven says. “I hope that’s enough.” More from Food: Why it’s so hard to figure out when bottled and canned beer is fresh America now has more breweries than ever. And that might be a problem. Why you can’t get a pint in a beer bar anymore Beer Column archive


Solar eclipse maps are not exact, scientists say

who routinely consults with NASA, told the Kansas City Star. Students wear eclipse glasses at the Royal Observatory Greenwich during the 2015 solar eclipse in London, England. Only those who are in the path of totality can remove protective eyewear during the short period in which the moon completely blocks the sun. (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) It effectively means that people who assumed, based on the Google maps, that their location was just within the path of totality — thus expecting to witness a few seconds of total eclipse — will instead see a partial eclipse. That could turn out to be a total disappointment, according to eclipse experts, who say that observing even a 99.9 percent partial eclipse is not at all the same as viewing a total eclipse. Current maps show the eclipse’s southern edge cutting through downtown Kansas City, Missouri, slicing across buildings. And they do it with great precision, noting the time of total eclipse down to the tenth of a second. But Kentrianakis, who discusses the issue as part of a new documentary, “Totality: The American Eclipse,” said a more accurate line runs about a half-mile north. Current maps also show the path cutting a sharp line through parts of St. Louis, Missouri. “St. Louis also is wrong,” Kentrianakis said. Indeed, the map’s edges are off along the entire path from Oregon through South Carolina. Xavier Jubier, a French engineer whose calculations have been used to create the interactive Google maps of the eclipse, confirmed by email that the actual path of the totality is slightly narrower than the 70 miles shown on current maps. Ernest Wright, who created maps and other multimedia presentations on the eclipse for NASA, said he thought the map might be narrower by about 110 yards, slightly longer than a football field. He also said it’s possible that Kentrianakis is correct in his estimation that the path is narrower by a half-mile or more. “He could be,” Wright said. The reason the maps are slightly off has nothing to do with mistakes, all agree. Wright explained that eclipse maps are made based on what is known about the relative sizes and positions of the moon and the sun. “We have really good information about the orbit of the moon, the positions of the sun, the positions of the Earth. All of that is really well nailed down,” Wright said. “In order


to get more accuracy, we need to take into account the mountains and valleys on the moon, and the elevations on the Earth. And we’re starting to do that, as well.” The size of the moon, in fact, has been measured to within a meter, and its position in the heavens has been measured to within a centimeter. “But the last sort of uncertainty might surprise you,” Wright said. “It’s the size of the sun.” It’s a roiling ball of gas. “It doesn’t have a solid surface,” he said, making its size hard to pin down. Scientists have calculated the sun’s radius at roughly 696,000 kilometers (about 432,500 miles) from edge to center, but they do not know its size with precision. A bigger sun would make the moon’s shadow, and thus the path of totality, narrower. “You would think you could send a satellite up there, take a picture of the sun and put a ruler on the picture and decide how big the sun is,” Wright said. But it doesn’t work that way. Scientists have space-based and Earth-based telescopes constantly trained on the sun. Earth-based telescopes must contend with atmospheric interference. Space-based telescopes also have limitations. Jubier does not think the small difference will change much for the average eclipse viewer, “as usually people don’t go near the edges of the eclipse path.” But for thousands of people who live near the edge, Wright with NASA and Kentrianakis with the American Astronomical Society offer this advice: Do your best to move closer toward the middle of the path of totality. The closer one gets to the middle of the path, the longer the totality will last, up to a maximum of about 2 minutes and 40 seconds. At the edge, totality lasts less than 10 seconds. “There are cool things to see at the edge, too,” Wright said. Some astronomers argue that viewing a solar eclipse from the edge of the path of totality offers wonderful views, including a protracted view of the sun’s rosy-red chromosphere, a layer of atmosphere just above its surface. “But the big show,” Wright said, “is going to be the closer you are to the center. And you don’t have to drive 35 miles. You can go 10 miles and get up to a minute of totality. If you stay at the edge, you’re only going to get a couple of seconds.” Correction:


How seeing a dead body brought the Maryland opioid crisis home

image of a young male body with multiple stab wounds reminded me that our state’s drug-addiction crisis has deadly and wide-ranging effects. The forensic medical center is a high-tech facility open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and staffed with more than 80 full-time employees and 120 part-time staff, including investigators and pathologists who perform forensic investigations, the primary tool to determine cause and manner of death. This state-of-the-art facility is reminiscent of a university medical facility, conducive to scientific inquiry. OCME staff are specifically trained to recognize patterns of injury, collect evidence and investigate circumstances surrounding deaths. The OCME is the only place that investigates referred cases (about one-third of all deaths) brought from anywhere in Maryland. The OCME holds training programs for forensic investigators and law enforcement. The facility has a realistic house in which trainers stage crime scenes for students to hone their skills. At a death scene, after first-responders arrive, forensic investigators are called to record and report observations before the body is transferred to the OCME. Our visit to an exhibit room of dioramas that re-create death scenes illuminated the difficulty in determining cause of death. By Maryland law, the OCME determines the cause of death with a reasonable degree of certainty for deaths from injury, homicide, suicide or unusual or suspicious circumstances in which a person is not under a physician’s care. The OCME identifies mortality trends. A growing mortality trend in Maryland is opioid overdose. But overdose isn’t the only cause of death associated with addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug abuse leads to health and public safety risks including addiction-related crimes, drugged driving, infectious disease, low-birth-weight babies and infant deaths. Last year, Maryland had a 66 percent surge in drug- and alcohol-related intoxication deaths. Many of these deaths were related to synthetic and prescription opioid-related overdoses, and they happen across race, age and economic levels. Understandably, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declared a state of emergency. Alcohol- and drug-related addiction can be treated as a public-health or a criminal-justice issue. The latter tactic, the war on drugs, has been tried in a failed, 40-year campaign intended to end the import, manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs. It has done little to curtail drug addiction, but it has led to greater drug supply, mass incarceration and increased drug violence. Because of the war on drugs, many people


Big Tobacco’s new cigarette is sleek, smokeless — but is it any better for you?

Customers try a new tobacco device during a demonstration at an IQOS store in Tokyo. (Shiho Fukada for The Washington Post ) Customers try a new tobacco device that releases an aerosol rather than smoke at an IQOS store in Tokyo. (Shiho Fukada for The Washington Post) Philip Morris International says it has created a less toxic cigarette — an innovation it claims could save lives and eliminate smoking in America. The new technology, called IQOS, consists of a tube that gently heats up sticks of tobacco instead of burning them. By using heat instead of flame, the company says, IQOS eradicates 90 to 95 percent of toxic compounds in cigarette smoke. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide in the next two months whether to allow IQOS into the U.S. market. And that has triggered heated debate and worries among health experts about whether IQOS will help or hurt public health in this country. Among their most pressing concerns: whether the new device will lower tobacco-related deaths, or if it is just substituting one harmful product for another. Fueling such doubts is that many of America’s leading health organizations and experts remain deeply suspicious of Philip Morris. This is the company, they point out, that makes Marlboro — the world’s best-selling cigarette — and misled the public for years about the hazards of smoking. “They are masterful liars. That’s not an exaggeration — that’s a fact proven by decades of evidence,” said Matthew L. Myers, longtime president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “So the question we’re all asking ourselves is: What’s their ultimate game plan with this thing?” Only one independent study so far has examined the risks of IQOS and found higher levels of several toxic compounds produced by the device than Philip Morris has claimed. The company’s response to the study was so forceful that the independent researchers have now gone silent, refusing to talk publicly about their work. Even if Philip Morris’s health claims turn out to be true, health officials warn, IQOS could be a Trojan horse. Smoking in America has dropped to an all-time low. Some health advocates worry Philip Morris — which spent $3 billion to develop IQOS — wants to use its new machine to halt that progress. If IQOS attracts new smokers, it could hook a new generation on nicotine. “The skepticism is not surprising for us,” said


There are other factors contributing to Maryland’s ‘morass’

Marijuana plants are cloned at a growing operation in Washington last year. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) Regarding the Aug. 9 editorial “Maryland’s medical-marijuana morass”: The problems of Maryland’s medical cannabis situation began because medical cannabis legislation introduced between 2002 and 2012 was blocked. Had any of those bills, none of which limited the number of growers, been adopted, today’s problems would have been avoided. To get something done, compromise legislation was passed in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The original Medical Cannabis Commission had too many members who did not know about medical cannabis and/or did not want to see an operational program. These are the circumstances that are responsible for today’s “morass.” The editorial said that I never publicly disclosed my consulting with a medical cannabis company, but I completed all disclosure forms required by law, and these are public documents. Last, I have done no work for any medical cannabis company since October 2015, and I have no affiliations of any type with any medical cannabis company in Maryland or in the United States. My only interest has been that Maryland patients get needed cannabis-based medicines in a safe, responsible and effective manner. I hope The Post turns its focus to the deeper issues and history of why Maryland is stuck in a medical cannabis morass. Dan Morhaim, Pikesville, Md. The writer, a Democrat, represents part of Baltimore County in the Maryland House.


As the sun makes a star turn, America’s greatest observatory carries on

the sun. The Great American Eclipse of 2017, on Aug. 21, will entrance millions. Padilla, for his part, will trek to Oregon to be in the “path of totality,” where the sun is completely blocked by the moon. Scientists across the breadth of America will study the sun’s mysteriously hot corona as the moon’s shadow rolls across the continent. The sun is scientifically intriguing and obviously essential to life on Earth — which is why there are solar telescopes around the world and in space, why the United States is building a massive solar telescope on the island of Maui, and why NASA spends close to $700 million a year on heliophysics. And yet it’s easy for an old solar telescope to get lost in the shuffle. There are three vintage solar telescopes on Mount Wilson, which is dominated by the 150-foot tower. But they’re not cutting-edge devices and do minimal science. They’re like movie stars who have aged out of the best roles. Tom Meneghini, director of the Mount Wilson Institute, showed The Post the “100-inch telescope” – with a mirror that diameter – used by astronomer Edwin Hubble in the 1920s to discover the expansion of the universe. With eclipse mania sweeping the country, this is an appropriate time to ponder the history of solar astronomy. A lot of it happened right here. On Mount Wilson in 1908, astronomer George Ellery Hale obtained groundbreaking images of solar flares and vortices. This happened in an era when the basic nature of the sun — “the star in our backyard,” as astronomer Cindy Hunt puts it — was just coming into focus. Atomic theory, still being developed, led to the realization that the sun is not on fire. It’s a giant nuclear fusion reactor. Which is why we’re here. A fusion reactor is efficient. The sun can shine for billions of years, plenty of time for life to evolve and maybe, with the right twists and turns, produce a species that includes astronomers. ‘Best-kept secret’ The mountaintop is serene. The metropolis below is completely out of earshot. Birds flit among the oaks and pines. “The best-kept secret in Los Angeles is where Mount Wilson is,” says Tom Meneghini, 70, the director of the Mount Wilson Institute. To get there by car you have to take a narrow, winding road that’s not for the faint of heart. Meneghini says his wife


want these historic telescopes. “There’s nothing we won’t try,” Meneghini says. “I don’t want to see it fail.” Inside one small dome is a beautiful, vintage refracting telescope with an exquisite lens. Meneghini says reverently, “It’s a Brashear — those are as rare as chicken teeth.” The great white dome houses the Hooker telescope, which was named for a benefactor. This is hallowed ground for astronomy. “Oh, if the walls could talk,” Meneghini says he switches on the lights in the dome. We go up metal stairs, past a telephone that surely dates to the era of silent movies. Then we’re on the main floor with the telescope, which is the size of a school bus. The mirror has a diameter of 100 inches, and it weighs 9,000 pounds. The reflected image of the sun shines down through the tower of the 150-foot solar telescope on Mount Wilson. (Joel Achenbach/The Washington Post) We go around the telescope and then far below, to a realm of giant gears and, as Meneghini points out, “100-year-old solenoids and relays and wiring.” The visitor might initially think that someone had done an amazing job of restoring the place to its original, vintage feel. More likely, nothing here has ever changed. “It’s like an old stove — it dies in pieces,” Meneghini says. Be careful not to get grease on your clothes, he adds. He opens the dome, a noisy process. He tips the telescope forward so we can view the immaculately polished mirror. In 1919, a young astronomer named Edwin Hubble showed up to work here, and with the 100-inch he began studying the light from what were then called nebulae. Orthodoxy held that these nebulae were relatively close. Hubble and his collaborators discovered that they were tremendously far away — indeed, they were separate island universes. Galaxies. Then he discovered that they were receding from us — that the light was red-shifted, increasingly with distance. Behold the expanding universe. These discoveries ensured that the 100-inch Hooker telescope would be forever famous among astronomers. But the field of astronomy can be rather coldhearted about old telescopes, particularly when they’re perched above a burgeoning metropolis that’s polluting the night sky. ‘Einstein was here’ The sun is setting, and in the control room of the 150-foot solar tower, Padilla presses buttons to guide the telescope as it follows the sun toward the horizon. Everything about this


Birds are animals, too

A male superb bird ofparadise performs a courtship display to a female in Papua New Guinea, in a scene from “Planet Earth.” (Discovery Channel/BBC) The Aug. 3 Politics & the Nation article “Streetlights may hinder pollination and seed production, scientists find” said a new study “suggests that light pollution, which has already been shown to disrupt the activities of birds and animals, including humans, also interferes with pollination.” Birds are animals. Maybe the article was referring to the flower known as bird of paradise, or perhaps the writer meant “birds and mammals.” Peter D. Marshall, Martinsville, Va.


Americans have the chance to see something totally spectacular this month

moon — the so-called Baily’s beads. The last bead gleams so brightly around the moon’s silhouette, as the sun’s spiky corona becomes visible, that the eclipse looks like a diamond ring in the sky. At that point, your safety glasses become unusable, since they are too dark for totality. The corona is the same brightness as the full moon and is equally safe to look at with the naked eye. All around the moon, the glorious corona halo of the sun is visible, as are Jupiter and Venus and even a few stars elsewhere in the sky. The horizon glows red from the light outside the moon’s shadow. But to see these dramatic glories, you must travel into the zone of totality, which traverses parts of 14 states. You should try to get there even if you have to drive many hours. If the sky is clear, you are guaranteed to find it worthwhile. (If it’s cloudy, the sky will simply get abruptly darker.) If you’re not in the zone of totality, as will be the case for most of the country, the eclipse will be intellectually interesting but not dramatic. If you look (always through a solar filter), perhaps at five- or 10-minute intervals, you will be able to see that a bite has been taken out of the sun. Because this eclipse is so accessible, scientists have planned dozens of expeditions. My students, colleagues and I, with support from the National Science Foundation and the National Geographic Society, are bringing some two tons of equipment to Oregon to capture as much data in our computers and cameras as possible in our two minutes of totality. We hope to learn more about how the sun shines. We want to know how the corona is heated to millions of degrees and how eruptions from the sun that impact Earth — now known as space weather — are generated. The safety of satellites in orbit, power lines on Earth and even passengers in airplanes, especially those on polar routes, may depend on our knowledge of solar eruptions. In the past, total eclipses have led not only to the discovery of a new element — helium — but also to the realization that the corona surrounds the sun and not the moon; that Einstein’s general theory of relativity correctly predicts the displacement of stars near the sun; and that the outer part


Long-lived lemur dies at National Zoo

(photo by Alexandra Reddy, Smithsonian’s National Zoo./This red-fronted lemur died last week at the National Zoo. He was named Red Oak, was 24 years old and was described as an endearing, charismatic animal. ) A long-lived lemur, who was named Red Oak and was said to have a big personality for a small animal, died Wednesday at the National Zoo. The zoo said the red-fronted lemur went into cardiac arrest during a physical exam that was performed after he was found unresponsive during routine wellness checks. Attempts to resuscitate him failed, and it was decided to euthanize him, zoo officials said. At 24, he was old for his species, they said. Hunting and loss of habitat has made the red-fronted lemur a vulnerable animal, according to the zoo. It lives in the wild in deciduous woodland on the island of Madagascar. Fewer than 15 of them remain in zoos in North America, the Smithsonian said. In a statement, the zoo quoted an assistant curator of primates, who called him an animal who made his presence known to the other two species of lemurs exhibited with him and his mate. “There was never a question that Red Oak was in charge of the group,” said the curator, Becky Malinsky, who called his personality both “endearing and charismatic.”


Tour de Forks

“Welcome to another meeting of Gluttons Anonymous. I really hope no one has eaten for a week,” jokes Anthony Pitch at the start of last weekend’s Adams Morgan restaurant tour for the Smithsonian Resident Associates Program. Over the course of just a few hours, guided walking tours such as Pitch’s make a number of stops at restaurants for what amounts to seven- or eight-course meals, along with visits to historic or culturally significant landmarks. Groups (which, thankfully, aren’t led by anybody holding an umbrella or walking backward) are often filled with curious locals who love to eat. Even people who’ve lived in the area for decades might find that they can learn or taste something new. Here are a few of the companies that are in the business of expanding not only your knowledge of Washington but also your waistline. (Skip ahead to read about some additional food tours we couldn’t fit into the paper.) A stop at the Old Stone House in Georgetown. DC Metro Food Tours “Although the tour touches on history, it’s not at a level where it would appeal only to aficionados,” says founder Jeff Swedarsky. “It’s put together for people who want to see the finer things in life.” Guides do all the legwork in advance so that the restaurants will have a table set and waiting when the group arrives to spend about 30 to 45 minutes dining. Participants get to know each other quickly; at the second stop on the Dupont Circle tour, the 10 diners bonded over the pain of splitting a check among a large group (which, incidentally, doesn’t happen on food tours, since it’s all paid for in advance). Tours: Chocolate Chocolate, a stop on the Dupont Delights tour. DC Metro Chocolate Tours The tours assume a fairly broad definition of chocolate, and it’s not always edible — the Georgetown tour, for instance, stops at cosmetics shop Lush for a brief demo about the store’s products that contain chocolate. But that type of unexpected destination is what makes the tours so unique, says Alcorn. “These are places that I think a lot of people wouldn’t normally go to,” she says. Chocoholics should still get their fix, though, since all of the neighborhood excursions include sweets shops where they can taste and/or buy the goods. Tours: Meatball sliders at Meatballs. Dishcrawl DC The company, which began about a year and a


Party On, Niches

Print’s not dead yet. Magazines with ultra-specific target audiences show signs of good health that mainstream outlets would kill for — lots of ads, glossy paper, high reader engagement. We dug through “Writer’s Market 2011,” a dictionary-thick listing of publications seeking freelancers, and selected 50 or so that accept “general interest” stories. These are the ones that answered our emails. We hope they’ll answer our emails when we need jobs, too. Modern Drunkard irregularly, $24 for six issues, Drunkard.com Chile Pepper bimonthly, $6, Chilepepper.com Living Aboard bimonthly, $5, Livingaboard.com Muzzle Blasts monthly, $4, Nmlra.org Rosicrucian Digest biannual, read for free at Rosicrucian.org Renaissance bimonthly, $6, Renaissancemagazine.com Chemical Heritage three times per year, free subscription with donation to the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Chemheritage.org Mushing: The Magazine of Dog-Powered Adventure bimonthly, $5, Mushing.com Infinite Energy bimonthly, $6, Infinite-energy.com Grit bimonthly, $5, Grit.com Blade monthly, $6, Blademag.com Highway News and Good News monthly, free, Transportforchrist.org Written by Holly J. Morris, Kristen Page-Kirby and Fiona Zublin


Produce Results

Joanna Hawthorne shows off the pulp she has left in her juicer. She’s using the pulp to make wraps for raw sandwiches. “I’m the unhealthiest person,” 48-year-old Andrea Thimm proclaimed during a visit to Hawthorne Homemade last week. But her presence at the new rustic market and juice bar near her house in Cleveland Park is an attempt to change that. Her order that day: “Glowing Skin,” a chuggable combo of carrot, kale, apple, parsley and ginger. Thimm’s only just picked up her juice habit, but she’s already seeing results. “It’s given me natural energy to get through the late afternoon,” she says. “I feel the effects immediately.” So if you see a higher percentage of Washingtonians walking around with extra vim and vigor, blame the veggies. The District had been thirsty for juice options for years, and now, suddenly, there’s a cornucopia. Hawthorne (3706 Macomb St. NW; 202-248-2374) started slinging juice last month. December marked the openings of both Puree Artisan Juice Bar (4903 Elm St., Bethesda; 301-654-7873), a sleek hangout that caters to the Equinox Fitness crowd, and Khepra’s Raw Food Juice Bar (402 H St. NE; 202-489-8476), a takeout spot tucked away at the back of an African-themed health products store. Work downtown? Drinks from Juice Revolution, a food truck that launched in November, will be available at D.C. locations of the fast casual restaurant chain Freshii. And Juice Joint (1025 Vermont Ave. NW; 202-347-6783), the café that’s been selling its namesake for 15 years, will reopen in March with double the space — and a glass-enclosed vertical wheatgrass grower. “D.C. has forever been behind in terms of juicing,” says Juice Joint owner Tom Holland. But every year, he’s seen interest grow, and since being closed in January for the renovations, he’s been bombarded with calls from customers looking for a fix. He’s hoping that the simultaneous arrival of all of these new places means grabbing a carrot concoction won’t be so hard anymore. All of the establishments praise the healing properties of their menus — the phrase “liquid vitamins” gets thrown around a lot — but each has a twist on the juice bar concept. Khepra Anu’s obsession is his homemade coconut water, which is the base of each of his juices. (His Raw Food Juice Bar goes through 700 coconuts a week.) Puree emphasizes its premium, organic ingredients. Those green shots aren’t just wheatgrass, but


Chi Whiz On the Run

To Danny Dreyer, 26.2 miles is nothing. The 62-year-old has raced (and placed) in 40 ultra-marathons, often taking on distances of 50 to 100 miles. He credits his success to the practice of ChiRunning, a system of movement he developed incorporating the principles of tai chi to improve efficiency. He’s been passing on his techniques that promise to make running injury-free since 1999. With his new book, “Chi Marathon” ($16, Touchstone), available next week, Dreyer tackles endurance race training. What are people doing wrong when they train for marathons? Your marathon program is 24 weeks. Why is it so long? Can you explain why slowing down can speed you up? Any other misconceptions? How different will results be for people on your program? Danny Dreyer’s two workshops this weekend in Chevy Chase are sold out, but Washingtonians have more upcoming opportunities to learn about ChiRunning techniques. Instructor Lloyd Henry is holding a half-day event March 18 at Fleet Feet (1841 Columbia Road NW). Get more information at Chirunning.com and Onpointfitness.com.


Beer-Bettered

The beer and pretzel pasta at Oval Room. Until recently, most chefs reached for a bottle of wine when they wanted to give recipes a booze lift. But with beer sommeliers (and more than 1,600 craft breweries nationwide) touting the versatility of a good cold one, wine’s grain-based cousin is just as welcome at the kitchen table. “Even if you evaporate all the alcohol off like in stew,” says Claudio Pirollo, the chef and part-owner of Et Voila, a Belgian bistro in the Palisades, “beer’s taste is more powerful than wine.” Drink in these suds-soaked eats and you too may believe that anything wine can do, beer can do better. Pretzel and Beer Pasta Oval Room, 800 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-463-8700. (Farragut West) Stout-Braised Pork Belly 901 Restaurant, 901 9th St. NW; 202-524-4433. (Gallery Place) Fat Tire beer adds a powerful punch to Lost Society's collard greens. Collard Greens Lost Society, 2001 14th St. NW; 202-618-8868. (U Street) Hoegaarden Beer Ice Cream Et Voila, 5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW; 202-237-2300. Take-Home Taste: Beer Mustard Butter from Chef Jeff Tunks, District Commons Ingredients Procedure Assembly


Face Time: Alain Ducasse

With more than 20 restaurants and about as many Michelin stars under his toque — and with a new cookbook, “Nature” ($45, Rizzoli), in stores — you might expect chef Alain Ducasse to be intimidating. Yet when we met over croissants at Adour in the St. Regis hotel (923 16th St. NW; 202-509-8000) to dish about the new lunch menu he created for the restaurant, he was wholesome and accessible, with a charming French accent. Which is exactly how we’d describe the new midday service. What’s the new menu like? How often will the options rotate? In what ways will lunch be different than dinner at Adour? Do you have a garden at home? You have restaurants in eight countries. What have you learned about global cuisine? Is there a particular restaurant you look forward to when you visit D.C.?


HBO Serves Up Heavy Truths

Junk food is cheap at a store featured in the HBO series “The Weight of the Nation.” If you plan to snack while watching HBO’s new documentary series “The Weight of the Nation,” better grab some fruit. And better yet, grab it from a farmers market. The first half of the four-part program debuted Monday night; the program concludes tonight with two more episodes dedicated to our ballooning waistlines. “Weight” hammers home the message that humans evolved to store calories, and in a society that has industrialized food production and engineered out activity, that’s making us sick. But it’s not all bad news. Several folks featured in the series are working to change habits, including Preston Maring, a physician with Kaiser Permanente (one of the partners in the HBO project), who recognized how badly some of his patients were eating. His solution: hospital farmers markets. Employees get fresh lunch options, patients can pick up produce after appointments and neighbors have a regular reminder to eat their veggies. After Maring got one off the ground in Oakland, Calif., in 2003, that seed of an idea grew into something much bigger. Now there are more than 40 KP-sponsored markets and farm stands (with a single vendor), including five locations in the Mid-Atlantic region. The newest one, a farm stand in Gaithersburg (655 Watkins Mill Rd.), opened Monday. One hurdle to shopping at farmers markets is the price, but as the program notes, the real cost of unhealthy foods is much higher. You’ll have to shell out for junk later in health care costs, and taxes keep the prices of processed foods artificially low due to government subsidies for corn and soy. Maring believes the bigger problem is the ubiquity of fattening foods. “When you get down to the reality check, what we choose to eat is because it’s right in front of us,” says Maring, who thinks that putting produce everywhere can change that. “We need to make the right thing the easy thing to do.” Watch Out See it free at Theweightofthenation.hbo.com or attend a screening at 6 p.m. today at Prince George’s County Community College (301 Largo Road, Largo, Md.) in the Rennie Forum.


The End of the Race?

The success of the ITU World Championship Triathlon in 2009 in the District (above) inspired the launch of the D.C. Triathlon the next year. In addition to swimming, biking and running, triathletes in Washington have been participating in a new activity recently: complaining. That’s because two major triathlons in the area have been canceled, wreaking havoc on the schedules of people like Nicole Weidensaul of Locust Grove, Va. “I plan my race season a year in advance,” says the 34-year-old. Her favorite distance is the half-Ironman, so when a new event — the Ironman 70.3 National Harbor — was announced so close by, she made it her goal for August. But apparently, not enough other people did. Chuck Brodsky, CEO of the company producing the race, says there weren’t enough entrants to keep the books balanced. So Weidensaul and about 1,400 other athletes got emails this month telling them the race was off. “It completely blindsided me,” says Weidensaul, who hasn’t been able to find a different race that works with her timing or her budget. And it freaked out fellow triathletes who were still digesting the news that the third annual D.C. Triathlon, which was scheduled for June 17, was also a goner. The problem wasn’t participation but permits, explains Brodsky, who was also behind that event. In previous years, the D.C. Tri had received an exemption from a National Park Service rule banning races on the Mall in June. When that didn’t happen this year, the tri was axed forever. The D.C. Triathlon Club and the YMCA National Capital’s YTri club were in the middle of training programs for the D.C. Tri, so they had to scramble to find a replacement race. They settled on a Maryland event in July. An even larger issue, however, is what these cancellations mean for the future of triathlons in the area. Brodsky’s Washington Sports & Event Management was responsible for every tri in the city. Now, it’s going in another direction. “We have no plans to produce triathlons going forward,” says Brodsky, who still hopes to launch other physical fitness events. It’s always been a challenge to put on triathlons in urban settings, particularly D.C., which requires dealing with local and federal authorities. But it’s gotten harder to put on a race anywhere, Brodsky says, as the number of triathlons has multiplied while the number of athletes has plateaued. Blogger Ray


Starting a New Drinking Game

Politicians have pledged to clean up Washington for years with little success. So instead, Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss have a plan to cleanse Washington. In 2007, the duo founded BluePrintCleanse to introduce newbies to the benefits of spending a few days on an all-juice diet. Because it’s tough to jump right into slurping kale from a cup, the N.Y-based company offers several menu plans of six fresh-pressed juices a day. Beginners can start with drinks with more appealing flavor profiles and work their way up to the super nutrient dense options. That approach, combined with the fact that BluePrint ships anywhere in the country, has won the devotion of fans, including a healthy contingent in D.C. So when BluePrint decided to sell grab-and-go juices at Whole Foods stores in several cities, Washington was one of the winners. Shoppers can now buy individual bottles ($10-$12 each) of five blends: Green (romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon, ginger), Red (apple, carrot, beet, lemon, ginger), Yellow (lemon, water, cayenne, agave), Gold (pineapple, apple, mint) and White (cashew, water, vanilla, cinnamon, agave). “When we first launched, we had a tremendous amount of education to do,” Huss says. BluePrint had to explain that cleansing isn’t the same as fasting, and that the pricing makes sense considering the cost of organic produce and how time-consuming it is to re-create a juice cleanse at home. With the retail availability of the juices, it’s likely some customers will buy in bulk to do cleanses. But this line is also for folks who just want to get some juice in their daily diets — which is how Sakoutis and Huss often use their products. “I definitely start every morning with juice. It’s sort of my coffee, but I drink coffee, too,” says Sakoutis, whose go-to is the Green, which boasts six pounds of produce per bottle. “A day without it and I feel it’s missing.” And kale in a bowl just isn’t the same thing.


Tackling global warming in 21 easy steps

In the past, whenever world leaders have huddled to discuss what to do about this steadily warming planet of ours, they’ve usually endorsed one big, sweeping solution. That was the logic behind the Kyoto Protocol — each nation would promise sharp cuts in their overall carbon emissions. That wasn't so difficult, now was it? (Vanderlei Almeida -- Getty Images) That hasn’t worked so far. Global emissions are still rising rapidly. That’s why, in a new paper for Nature Climate Change, four researchers take a different approach. Instead of starting with one large, overarching carbon limit dreamed up at U.N. conferences, they argue that countries and cities and companies should take 21 different energy measures that they're already doing and scale them up. Large corporations are already pledging to clean up their supply chains. Nations are already setting fuel-efficiency standards. And so on. If each of these small measures could just be strengthened, the authors argue, the world might be able to meet its climate goals after all. Let's start with the dilemma. Various world leaders have decided, after considering the scientific evidence, that it would be rash and risky to let the world warm more than 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial levels. (See here for a primer on why.) But if you add up all of the actual promises by national governments to cut emissions so far, even their most ambitious ones, we're still very far from the cuts necessary to stay under 2°C. Here's a chart showing the "emissions gap": Source: Blok et. al. "Bridging the emissions gap" So how could the world close the gap? How would we get from that light-blue triangle to the green one? One way is for world leaders to keep promising, at various U.N. conferences, that they'll pursue ever more ambitious goals. But that hasn't worked well to date. So in the Nature Climate Change paper, "Bridging the greenhouse-gas emissions gap," the authors identify 21 smaller policies that could add up to get the world under that green triangle by 2020. Here's the graph: Source: Blok et al. "Bridging the greenhouse-gas emissions gap" What are these policies? To some extent, they're things that people are already doing. Many of the 1,000 largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world have already pledged to reduce their emissions through money-saving efficiency measures. If an organization like the World Business Council could somehow lead just 30 percent of


Over the Moonshine

Over the Moonshine Spodeewine.com Counter, Serviced Fashion Buffs Board Shortage A Handle On Things


‘Move your money’ threatens big banks in 2012

Americans' trust in banks has fallen to a record low, with only 21 percent saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in them. That discontent could spur some to action. A new survey from Javelin Strategy and Research found that 11 percent of customers say they're likely or very likely to switch their primary bank over the next year. Big banks, moreover, are the most vulnerable: A quarter of all Citibank customers say they're likely to switch banks, and 21 percent of Bank of America customers say they're willing to do the same. New fees were a particularly notable complaint, Javelin says. (Javelin Strategy & Research) What's at stake for these banks? The customers that say they're likely to switch banks hold an average of nearly $30,000 in deposits — "30% higher than the balances for customers who indicate they are unlikely or very unlikely to switch," Javelin says, amounting to $675 billion overall. It's not enough to bring down any of the biggest banks, but it could put a dent in their retail division. That said, Javelin points out that the convenience of big banks — lots of branches, ATMs, online and mobile banking services — often ends up trumping customer dissatisfaction. Just 3 percent of customers transferred their money in the last quarter of 2011, when Occupy Wall Street and other activists made a big push to support "Bank Transfer Day." "To compete, regional rivals, community banks and credit unions must smartly prioritize investments in technology that redefines personal banking and personal security by sharing control with customers — with an urgent emphasis on mobile banking and mobile deposit," Javelin concludes. Younger customers, in particular, could be particularly persuaded to switch over: More than half of those who transferred their accounts since early 2011 have been under 35.


A Fresh Look Back

A 1997 Washington Post photo shows the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market in its inaugural week. There are now 11 FRESHFARM Markets in the region and many other community markets throughout the city. Fifteen years ago, few Washingtonians could easily pop out to their local farmers market to buy a pint of just-picked blackberries or a just-harvested ear of corn from Toigo Orchards. Only a handful of such markets existed around D.C. So, while most of us made do at the grocery store, fresh-picked produce from the Shippensburg, Pa., orchard ended up in the more cosmopolitan kitchens of New York City — the nearest city for the orchard to sell direct to consumers. In 1997, when Mark Toigo, whose family has owned Toigo Orchards since the 1970s, got an opportunity to join a new market in Dupont Circle (now Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market), he jumped at the chance. Toigo Orchards signed on with 14 other farmers from within a 200-mile radius to sell at the market. A Washington Post story about the first day reveals how sorely the city had been in need of a place to buy varied, fresh produce. “I try to get to Eastern Market, but it’s too far away,” one opening-day customer said. “Our only alternative is Safeway.” These days, Washingtonians are spoiled when it comes to farmers markets. Friday marks the 15th birthday of those first Dupont Circle stands, where the number of vendors has grown to 42. In its first year, the market drew 21,000 people; last year, it drew nearly 200,000. And with about 120 farmers and producers now selling at 11 FRESHFARM Markets in the metro region (the newest, held Thursday afternoons in the Ballston district of Arlington, opened last week), the organization even finds itself having to turn down applicants. “One of the things we’ve seen in the past 15 years is that the farmers market movement has become more complex,” says Ann Yonkers, FRESHFARM Markets’ co-founder and co-executive director. “People used to say there weren’t enough farmers. We don’t typically have trouble finding enough farmers anymore.” FRESHFARM does, however, want sellers who fit its strict “producer-only” policy: To be approved for a FRESHFARM stand, a vendor must grow foods within a 200-mile radius of D.C., within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. (FRESHFARM reps personally visit each site to confirm.) Vendors selling prepared foods must prove they use ingredients sourced from local farms.


Why the Higgs boson wasn’t discovered in America

It was a triumphant moment for science: On Wednesday in Geneva, a team of researchers at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, announced that they had found the elusive Higgs boson — or at least something that looks an awful lot like it. A representation of traces of a proton-proton collision in the search for the Higgs boson, released by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern). Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Physicists have been searching for evidence of the Higgs, which supposedly gives other particles their mass, for nearly half a century, ever since it was first predicted by theorists in 1964. (Here's a nice Higgs explainer.) But the actual boson itself couldn't be found until the construction of the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, which spans a 17-mile circumference beneath the border of Switzerland and France. Here's a lesser-known fact, however. The Higgs could have been discovered about a decade earlier — and in Texas rather than Switzerland. Back in the 1980s, American physicists were developing a particle accelerator three times as powerful as Europe's Large Hadron Collider. But Congress eventually cut off funds and the project collapsed. Steven Weinberg, a physicist and Nobel laureate involved in the planning, tells the story: In the early 1980s the US began plans for the Superconducting Super Collider, or SSC, which would accelerate protons to 20 TeV, three times the maximum energy that will be available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. After a decade of work, the design was completed, a site was selected in Texas, land bought, and construction begun on a tunnel and on magnets to steer the protons. Then in 1992 the House of Representatives canceled funding for the SSC. Funding was restored by a House–Senate conference committee, but the next year the same happened again, and this time the House would not go along with the recommendation of the conference committee. After the expenditure of almost two billion dollars and thousands of man-years, the SSC was dead. One thing that killed the SSC was an undeserved reputation for over-spending. There was even nonsense in the press about spending on potted plants for the corridors of the administration building. Projected costs did increase, but the main reason was that, year by year, Congress never supplied sufficient funds to keep to the planned rate of spending. This stretched out the time and hence


Pandas on a slide

It's Panda Awareness Week! Here's how they're celebrating in Chengdu, China. (h/t Mashable)