U.S. retail sales rose in June, the fourth straight increase, Commerce Dept. says

RETAIL U.S. retail sales up in June, in repeat jump U.S. retail sales increased at a solid pace last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, rising 0.4 percent, the fourth straight increase. Sales at online retailers, grocery stores, home and garden stores, and at restaurants and bars all rose at a healthy pace. June’s figures underscore the importance of consumer spending to the U.S. economy. Business investment has weakened, factory output has faltered, and slower global growth is weighing on exports. But measures of consumer confidence remain historically high, and June’s figures suggest that consumer spending, which drives two-thirds of the economy, remains strong. A category that is mostly made up of online retail sales jumped 1.7 percent for the second month in a row, pushing the annual gain to 13.4 percent. Spending at restaurants and bars increased 0.9 percent, and spending at grocery stores rose 0.5 percent. — Associated Press WORLD ECONOMY Largarde resigns from IMF after bank offer International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde submitted her resignation from the global crisis lender on Tuesday, citing more clarity about her nomination this month to lead the European Central Bank. Lagarde said in a statement that her resignation was effective Sept. 12, firing the starting gun for the IMF’s search for her successor. “With greater clarity now on the process for my nomination as ECB President and the time it will take, I have made this decision in the best interest of the Fund,” Lagarde said in a statement. IMF succession is expected to be a major topic of discussion among G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Chantilly, France, amid concerns that slowing global growth and trade conflicts will pressure vulnerable economies. — Bloomberg News ECONOMY Industrial production unchanged in June U.S. industrial production was flat in June, as a slump in utilities was offset by gains in output by factories and mining. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that manufacturing production increased 0.4 percent last month, aided by a nearly 3 percent surge at auto plants. Still, factory output has been weak over the past 12 months, posting a modest gain of 0.4 percent. The manufacturing sector has faced challenges because of President Trump’s tariffs against China and that country’s retaliatory taxes. Production at the nation’s utilities fell 3.6 percent, as a milder-than-usual June led to less demand for air-conditioning. Production at mines, which


Local Digest: Man fatally stabbed in Columbia Heights

THE DISTRICT Man is fatally stabbed in domestic incident A 59-year-old man was fatally stabbed in a domestic-related incident in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Northwest Washington, officials said. D.C. police said the incident happened just before 5 a.m. Monday in the 1300 block of Euclid Street NW, a few blocks from Meridian Hill Park. The victim was identified as Ronald Jones of Northwest Washington, and police arrested and charged Alisa Randall, 31, of Northwest Washington with second-degree murder while armed. — Dana Hedgpeth 2 off-duty firefighters charged with assault Two off-duty D.C. firefighters and a third person were charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after an altercation in downtown Washington on Sunday. Officers responded to the 1200 block of Connecticut Avenue NW about 3:30 a.m. for a report of disorderly conduct, according to court charging documents. Three people there were asked to leave a restaurant before “returning to confront the officers,” the documents said. Courtney Barnes, an off-duty firefighter who fire officials said joined the department in 2007, pushed one officer in the chest before striking another with a closed fist, according to the documents. When officers tried to arrest him, he allegedly punched a third officer and pushed a fourth. Kimberly Gorham, another off-duty firefighter who fire officials said joined the department in 2016, punched one officer in the neck and scratched another, the documents said. A third person also was charged in the altercation. Barnes and Gorham were charged with assault on a police officer and resisting arrest in the incident, which was first reported by NBC4. D.C. fire officials said Barnes and Gorham were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case. Attorneys for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment. — Justin Wm. Moyer MARYLAND Man is fatally shot near District Heights A man was shot and killed Monday night in a community outside District Heights, authorities said. Prince George’s County police said the incident happened about 10:30 p.m. in the 8800 block of Ritchboro Road. Police identified the victim as Ernest Bowman II, 30, of Northwest Washington. Officials said initially that they do not believe this was a random act. — Dana Hedgpeth


Man fatally stabbed in domestic incident, D.C. police say

A man was fatally stabbed Monday in a house in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Northwest Washington, and a suspect was arrested in what police said was a domestically related homicide. They said Ronald Jones, 59, of Northwest was found with stab wounds at about 5 a.m. in the 1300 block of Euclid Street NW. Police said Alisa Randall, 31, of Northwest, was arrested and charged with second degree murder. Police did not specify the relationship between the slain man and the suspect. martin.weil@washpost.com


Man fatally stabbed in domestic-related incident in Northwest Washington

A 59-year-old man was fatally stabbed in a domestic-related incident in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Northwest Washington, officials said. D.C. Police said the incident happened just before 5 a.m. Monday in the 1300 block of Euclid Street NW, a few blocks from Meridian Hill Park. Police were called to check on the welfare of someone at a home. and they found a man inside with “multiple stab wounds.” The victim was later identified as Ronald Jones of Northwest, and police arrested and charged Alisa Randall, 31, of Northwest, with second-degree murder while armed. Authorities did not elaborate on a motive in the homicide. The D.C. region has had nearly 150 homicides so this year, according to tracking done by The Washington Post. Of those, 85 have been in the District. dana.hedgpeth@washpost.com


Behind Trump’s ‘go back’ demand: A long history of rejecting ‘different’ Americans

The Know-Nothings wanted German and Irish immigrants to get out because they were allegedly subversive and diseased people who were stealing American jobs. White preachers and politicians of the 1820s urged freed blacks to move to West Africa, supposedly for their own good. From that drive to encourage blacks to go back where they came from to waves of nativist attacks on Catholics, Jews, Asians and Hispanics in nearly every generation that followed, “go home” rhetoric is as American as immigration itself. President Trump’s raw assertion of nativist language, in attacks Sunday and Monday on four Democratic congresswomen — all of them U.S. citizens, three of them native-born — is consistent not only with his long history of attacks on people he perceives as the other, but also with the nation’s oscillating attitudes toward immigration. From Calvin Coolidge’s warnings in the 1920s that the country was becoming “a dumping ground” and that “America must remain American” to the “America: Love it or leave it” rhetoric that surrounded Richard Nixon’s presidency, the nation’s leaders have struggled for two centuries with ambivalence about its core identity as a magnet for immigrants. “They have to love our country,” Trump said Monday, doubling down on his initial statement on Twitter that the House members should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” “These are people that hate our country. . . . They’re free to leave if they want.” Trump’s comments have been criticized as racist, nationalist, nativist and ignorant, even as some of his supporters have defended his statements as blunt but necessary assertions that new Americans have an obligation to support their adopted country. There is hardly any ethnic or racial group in the country that hasn’t been told to go back where they came from. In collections of voices from the Japanese American internment camps of the World War II era, in diaries of the earliest Italian and Irish immigrants, in Jewish novels and memoirs from the turn of the 20th century, the slur is a mainstay. Sometimes, it is a reaction to political protests: “If you don’t like it here, go back where you came from.” Sometimes, it is a reaction to foreign conflicts, a backlash against people whose ancestral homes — Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan — has become a battleground for the U.S. military. Asian Americans targeted with such


House passes Saudi measures, prepares to send more to Trump’s desk

The House passed two measures Monday aimed at cracking down on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses, including a bill to impose sanctions on the people who ordered or carried out the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But depiste the strong bipartisan backing of the House, the measures face a difficult road ahead in the Senate, where Republican leaders are sparring with members of their own party and Democrats over how forcefully to punish Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi’s killing, the humanitarian disaster in war-torn Yemen, and a documented practice of jailing and torturing activists. The House unanimously passed a resolution condemning Saudi Arabia for detaining and allegedly abusing female human rights activists who have protested current and past restrictions on women driving and traveling without a male guardian. It overwhelmingly passed the Khashoggi bill, by a vote of 405 to 7, which would force the director of national intelligence to identify the perpetrators of his killing and deny or revoke any visas to those individuals. The Khashoggi bill, introduced by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), closely resembles part of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James E. Risch’s (R-Idaho) recently introduced proposal to deny visas to Saudi officials responsible for Khashoggi’s slaying. Both efforts are in keeping with the spirit of last year’s attempt by former senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) to invoke the Global Magnitsky Act and force President Trump to name and sanctions officials involved in Khashoggi’s killing. Trump never responded, despite being legally bound to deliver a report within 120 days. In the Senate, however, Democrats and a few Republicans want to go further than Risch’s bill and favor incorporating a moratorium on selling nondefensive weapons to Saudi Arabia — a move they say will send a stronger message of the United States’ frustration with the royal family’s actions, and also help mitigate the negative effect that the Saudi-led military coalition operating in Yemen’s civil war is having on the humanitarian disaster by allegedly targeting civilians in strikes. Saudi Arabia’s activities in Yemen have drawn the attention of a bipartisan majority of both the House and the Senate, which since Khashoggi’s killing have passed resolutions to withdraw U.S. support for the Saudi-led military effort. Trump vetoed the attempt, and lawmakers did not have the votes to override the veto. Later this week, the House will take


Our moon — partner, protector, benefactor

Earthlings left our first footprints on the lunar surface. But for our whole history, the moon has made its mark on us. Indeed, we might not exist without it. The story of the moon’s origin, called the “Giant Impact Hypothesis,” is supported by a host of scientific studies. Lunar rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts bear the same chemical fingerprints as material from Earth. Experiments showed that the moon is missing certain easily vaporized molecules, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, which would have been lost during its tumultuous formation process. Models of the collision suggest it is the best explanation for the moon we know today. In the millennia after the moon’s creation, its surface remained entirely molten. Had anyone been around on Earth to witness it, they would have seen a huge red orb in the sky, 10 times larger than the moon we know today. The moon was much closer then, computer simulations indicate, and the Earth spun so fast the sun rose and set every 6 hours. The moon trailed behind us in our orbit, tugging at our planet like a sluggish child. With each tug, it stole a little bit of Earth’s energy, called “angular momentum,” slowing our rotation and simultaneously drifting slightly farther away. More than a billion years ago, when microscopic green and purple algae flourished in vast sulfuric seas, a day on Earth lasted 18 hours and the moon was 24,000 miles closer. By the time of the dinosaurs, days were 20 minutes short of their current length. Humans, who have only ever known a 23-hour, 56-minute day, are lucky to live when we do. At its current distance, the moon takes up the same amount of space in the sky as the sun — a cosmic coincidence that allows us to experience the grandeur of a total solar eclipse. Of all the Earthlings in history, we are among the few who have witnessed the light show of the solar corona, the glitter of sunlight shining across the moon’s craters, the otherworldly peace of twilight in midday. But the moon keeps receding by about an inch and a half each year, and the time between sunrises stretches by 2 milliseconds every century. In about 650 million years, the moon will seem so small to us it will no longer be able to block the sun. The era of eclipses will be over.


Democrats call on Facebook to abandon Libra cryptocurrency

Facebook’s efforts to garner support for the launch of a global cryptocurrency, Libra, hit another snag during a contentious House committee hearing Wednesday. What exactly is Libra, lawmakers wanted to know. Some compared it to a bank, a commodity or an exchange traded fund. It’s not a bank, or an exchange traded fund, but it is similar to a commodity, David Marcus, who heads Calibra, Facebook’s cryptocurrency subsidiary, told the House Financial Services Committee. “We would like for Libra to be a digital, global currency, and to be one unit of digital currency for the whole world,” Marcus said during more than four hours of testimony. That didn’t clear things up for some lawmakers. “Which is it, fish or fowl? It seems more like a platypus to me,” Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said. Facebook says the cryptocurrency would bridge a gap in the global financial system for people who lack access to traditional banking by allowing people to send and transfer money quickly — and with almost no fees. But just how it would be regulated in the United States and around the world is still unclear and could determine its ultimate success. On Wednesday, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire joined Libra’s international skeptics, saying it could not move forward without strict rules. “There is also a concern about money laundering, there’s a concern about the funding of terrorism,” Le Maire told CNBC. Facebook is facing increasing pressure on Capitol Hill, where a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers has questioned whether Libra would threaten government-backed currencies and jeopardize consumers’ data. Marcus defended the project before the Senate on Tuesday and faced equally skeptical House members on Wednesday. Some Republicans praised Facebook’s innovation but still expressed doubts. “Just because we may not fully understand a new technology proposal does not mean we should immediately call for its prohibition,” said Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (N.C.), the ranking Republican on the committee. “But let’s face it, let’s be honest, it’s Facebook, and I’m skeptical.” Facebook, which has been engulfed in controversy for more than two years, is facing widespread distrust in Washington. Some Democrats have called for breaking up the tech giant. Last week, the Federal Trade Commission approved a $5 billion settlement with the company over its privacy practices. At Wednesday’s hearing, Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) compared Facebook to two other companies that have faced scandals, Wells Fargo and Equifax. “It


Apollo 11’s achievement still dazzles

security was at stake in the race for rockets with ever-greater thrusts to deliver thermonuclear warheads with ever-greater accuracy. By 1969, however, the Soviet Union was out of the race to the moon, a capitulation that anticipated the Soviets’ expiring gasp, two decades later, when confronted by the technological challenge of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. By mid-1967, a majority of Americans no longer thought a moon landing was worth the expense. But it triggered a final flaring of postwar confidence and pride. “The Eagle has landed” came as defiant last words of affirmation, at the end of a decade that, Stone and Andres note, had begun with harbingers of a coming culture of dark irony and satire: Joseph Heller’s novel “Catch-22” (1961) and Stanley Kubrick’s film “Dr. Strangelove” (1964). Photos of Earth taken from the moon were said to herald a global sense of humanity’s common destiny. Osama bin Laden was 12 in 1969. Stone and Andres say Apollo 11 was hurled upward by engines burning “15 tons of liquid oxygen and kerosene per second, producing energy equal to the combined power of 85 Hoover Dams.” People spoke jauntily of “the conquest of space.” Well. The universe, 99.9 (and at least 58 other 9s) percent of which is already outside Earth’s atmosphere, is expanding (into we know not what) at 46 miles per second per megaparsec. (One megaparsec is approximately 3.26 million light-years.) Astronomers are studying light that has taken perhaps 12 billion years to reach their instruments. This cooling cinder called Earth, spinning in the darkness at the back of beyond, is a minor speck of residue from the Big Bang, which lasted less than a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second 13.8 billion years ago. The estimated number of stars — they come and go — is 100 followed by 22 zeros. The visible universe (which is hardly all of it) contains more than 150 billion galaxies, each with billions of stars. But if there were only three bees in America, the air would be more crowded with bees than space is with stars. The distances, and the violently unheavenly conditions in “the heavens,” tell us that our devices will roam our immediate cosmic neighborhood, but in spite of Apollo 11’s still-dazzling achievement, we are not really going anywhere. georgewill@washpost.com Read more from George F. Will’s archive or follow him on Facebook.


Seven years, 76 billion pain pills - tracking the opioid epidemic in the U.S.

Post Reports is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you’ve come to expect from the newsroom of The Post. For your ears. Martine Powers is your host, asking the questions you didn’t know you wanted answered. Listen online. Newly released data reveals where 76 billion pain pills went The nation’s largest drug companies have paid more than $1 billion in fines to the Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration over opioid-related issues. Those firms have settled for millions of dollars in state lawsuits, whose terms have, until now, kept out of the public’s grasp key information about the size and scope of the epidemic. After a lengthy legal battle, investigative reporters Scott Higham and Steven Rich gained access to a database that reveals what each company knew about the number of pills it was shipping and dispensing, and when they were aware of those volumes – year by year, town by town. They say the companies allowed the drugs to reach the streets of many communities, despite indications that those pills were being sold in apparent violation of federal law and diverted to the black market. More on this topic: How to win over Latino voters Democratic presidential hopefuls have proposed increasingly permissive steps on immigration policy: providing health-care plans for undocumented immigrants, decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings, and more. But if their positions are designed to energize the growing Hispanic electorate, some say the candidates are going about it the wrong way. Politics writer Sean Sullivan reports that some leaders in Latino communities fear that candidates may be moving too far left in their quest to woo Hispanic voters. More on this topic: It’s about time Imagine an economy that trades not in money – but in time. That’s what time banks are doing in communities across the United States. When participants spend an hour of their time with someone in need, they earn an hour of time to use at a later date. “What’s revolutionary about time banks is that they treat everyone’s time equally,” says Post reporter Justin Moyer. “It doesn’t matter if you spend an hour helping someone redraft their estate plan because you’re an attorney and that’s something you know how to do, or if you spend an hour helping someone plant cucumber seeds because you have a green thumb.” More on this topic:


The Technology 202: Washington lawmakers tell tech executives trust has ‘run out’

the last few years,” Marcus said in an interview with my colleagues Elizabeth Dwoskin and Damian Paletta. “We also understand that such a network cannot be controlled by one company and of course not Facebook now.” He told my colleagues that Facebook would not launch the currency until regulator concerns were addressed — no matter how long that takes. Some lawmakers aren’t satisfied with those promises and want to ensure guardrails are in place to ensure Facebook doesn’t move ahead with Project Libra, my colleague Tony Romm reports. The Washington Post obtained a draft bill being circulated by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to tweak financial regulations in such a way that it would effectively outlaw Project Libra. Meanwhile, Facebook isn't the only company that appears to be changing its strategy under intense political pressure. “I do think there’s some explaining that Google needs to make,” Warner said in an interview with Emily Chang on “Bloomberg Technology.” “I’ve met with the Google CEO. He said they are backing out of some of those partnerships, and they’re willing to work with the U.S. government.” Warner didn’t specify which projects. A spokeswoman for Warner told Bloomberg the senator and Pichai spoke about a “range of partnerships.” Google’s relationship with China has been in the political spotlight for the past year. The company has received broad criticism for reportedly working on a censored version of its search engine, known as Project Dragonfly. Bhatia told senators on the Hill yesterday the company had “terminated” the controversial project, but he didn’t rule out working on tools in China in the future. The company’s work in China faced renewed scrutiny this week after Trump threatened to “take a look” at Google for its China ties. The president’s tweet followed Peter Thiel’s accusations that Google may have committed treason while conducting operations in China, and that it’s time for the CIA and FBI to investigate. Thiel offered no specific evidence for these accusations. “As we have said before, we do not work with the Chinese military,” Riva Sciuto, a Google spokeswoman, said in a statement. You are reading The Technology 202 , our guide to the intersection of technology and politics. BITS: Representatives from Amazon and other big tech companies on Tuesday went in front of U.S. lawmakers to answer questions about the competitive nature of their businesses. But E.U. regulators have spent years cracking down on the


Hurricanes are dramatic. But they aren’t the only way to measure the impact of climate change.

be done by finding ways to give off fewer warming emissions or to capture those emissions. In Louisville, the metro government has carried out an urban heat management study and implemented 145,000 square feet of “cool roofs” to reduce the impacts of increasing heat. Many states and communities, including the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, are now conducting extreme-weather vulnerability assessments and making plans to weatherproof their most at-risk transportation infrastructure. Eight parishes in the Teche-Vermilion watershed in the Acadiana region of Louisiana are collaborating to find flooding solutions across the entire system, and four counties in Southeast Florida formed a climate compact whose members have been working together since 2010. Charleston, S.C., has developed a Sea Level Rise Strategy with reinvestment in infrastructure and a response plan. Miami Beach is undertaking a multi-year program to raise roads and seawalls and develop better drainage for stormwater. And many communities, including Norfolk and Biloxi, Miss., are undertaking comprehensive planning efforts to reduce future flooding impacts. Activities such as these are part of an adaptive response to climate change that focuses on reducing the impacts through both incremental changes such as raising a house or building a seawall and transformational changes such as moving populations away from areas that flood regularly. While they might seem less immediately captivating than tracking storms, these adaptations have enormous consequences for where and how we live. Not all Americans will be hit by hurricanes, but all of us will deal with hotter summers and more volatile weather. By highlighting proactive steps being taken to reduce emissions or to adapt to changing weather, we can remind us all that we are not hopeless or helpless in the face of climate change, and that we all can and must work to protect our communities. We cannot stop storms such as Barry. But there are real success stories out there, and we must demand that they are emulated and implemented at every level. Read more Here are 11 climate change policies to fight for in 2019 Tom Toles: The climate change evidence piles up. So does the denial. Eugene Robinson: Yes, the Green New Deal is audacious. But we have no choice but to think big, Megan McArdle: Myopic Green New Dealers need to look beyond America for a climate cure The Post’s View: Want a Green New Deal? Here’s a better one.


Inmigrantes indocumentados vistos de forma desfavorable en México, de acuerdo a encuesta

seguido de 4 por ciento que dijo que es la pobreza, los problemas políticos y sociales. Una minoría de mexicanos ve la migración como un riesgo de seguridad, con un 39 por ciento que opina que los inmigrantes cometen más crímenes que los mexicanos, 21 por ciento piensa que cometen menos crímenes y 31 por ciento no ve ninguna diferencia. La manera en que los mexicanos ven a los migrantes parece haber empeorado significativamente durante el pasado año. Una encuesta realizada en 2018 por el Pew Research Center indicó que 57 por ciento decía que los migrantes fortalecían a México, mientras que el 37 por ciento dijo que lo debilitaba. La encuesta Post-Reforma hizo una pregunta similar y los resultados se invirtieron: el 64 por ciento de los mexicanos dijo que los migrantes eran un peso para el país mientras el 20 por ciento dijo que lo fortalecían. A pesar de las preocupaciones por la seguridad y la migración, los mexicanos se muestran optimistas sobre el porvenir de su país. Alrededor del 40 por ciento dice que México está en el camino correcto, el 26 por ciento afirma que está en el camino equivocado y el 32 por ciento está en el medio. Una mayoría del 53 por ciento expresó confianza en la Guardia Nacional, que fue creada por López Obrador y ha desempeñado un papel importante en la aplicación de políticas migratorias. Dos tercios de los mexicanos dicen que les gustaría que la Guardia Nacional estuviese en sus ciudades y el 45 por ciento dice que se sienten más seguros con su presencia. López Obrador recibe una puntuación alta en temas como educación, salud, el combate contra la pobreza y contra la corrupción. En otros temas, sus números son más bajos: 45 por ciento le da una evaluación negativa a su combate contra el narcotráfico y el crimen organizado (24 por ciento lo evalúa positivamente) y 41 por ciento valora su actuación negativamente en temas de seguridad (mientras 32 por ciento lo evalúa positivamente) La encuesta fue patrocinada en forma conjunta por The Washington Post y Reforma. Fue llevada a cabo del 9 al 14 de julio de 2019 y se entrevistó a 1.200 adultos cara a cara en 100 distritos electorales de todo el país. Los resultados finales tienen un margen de error de más o menos cinco puntos porcentuales. Emily Guskin contribuyó con este artículo. Kevin.Sieff@washpost.com scott.clement@washpost.com


Third person has died after respiratory illness outbreak at Greenspring Village, Fairfax officials say

A third person has died following an outbreak of respiratory illness at a Fairfax County assisted-living facility that began more than two weeks ago, county health officials said Wednesday. The outbreak at Greenspring Village in Springfield also spread to the unit’s staff, affecting 19 employees, Fairfax County Health Department officials said. At a news conference Wednesday at the agency’s headquarters, Benjamin Schwartz, director of epidemiology and population health at the Fairfax County Health Department, said tests, including those conducted on 17 samples by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have failed to identify a likely cause. Tests for Legionnaires’ disease have also come up negative. Officials tested for a range of common virus- or bacteria-borne respiratory illnesses. Schwartz also reassured the public yet again that the company that operates Greenspring has been keeping the agency apprised of changes and carrying out stepped-up sanitary and cleaning measures to halt the infection, including limiting visitors, social gatherings, group dining and new admissions. The outbreak has been confined so far to Greenspring’s assisted-living and skilled-nursing unit, which has 263 residents. People who have become ill have been quarantined in their rooms. But some families have not been satisfied with Greenspring’s handling of the outbreak. Terese Brewster, whose 89-year-old mother is a resident of Greenspring’s assisted-living unit, criticized the company for failing to notify families about the outbreak and keep them informed about developments. Brewster, who lives in Arlington, said the company issued a written notice on July 10 about the outbreak to her mother, who has dementia. But Brewster said the company didn’t inform her or an adult sister who lives nearby until accounts of the outbreak appeared in the media. Since then, in phone calls to on-site staff, Brewster has received reassurances but few details about what’s happening. “I’m just shocked. I just keep thinking if it was your parent, what would you expect?” Brewster said Wednesday. The complex is operated by Erickson Living, which serves about 24,000 people in a network of campuses for older people in 11 states. Courtney Benhoff, an Erickson Living spokeswoman, defended the company’s response. “Greenspring has been consistent and transparent in its communications to all residents, staff, family members and other stakeholders throughout," she said in an email, adding that the staff has kept the community informed through telephone calls, “in-house broadcast updates” and face-to-face conversations. She also said the Springfield location’s staff appears


of the outbreak. Terese Brewster, whose 89-year-old mother is a resident of Greenspring’s assisted-living unit, criticized the company for failing to notify families about the outbreak and keep them informed about developments. Brewster, who lives in Arlington, said the company issued a written notice on July 10 about the outbreak to her mother, who has dementia. But Brewster said the company didn’t inform her or an adult sister who lives nearby until accounts of the outbreak appeared in the media. Since then, in phone calls to on-site staff, Brewster has received reassurances but few details about what’s happening. “I’m just shocked. I just keep thinking if it was your parent, what would you expect?” Brewster said Wednesday. The complex is operated by Erickson Living, which serves about 24,000 people in a network of campuses for older people in 11 states. Courtney Benhoff, an Erickson Living spokeswoman, defended the company’s response. “Greenspring has been consistent and transparent in its communications to all residents, staff, family members and other stakeholders throughout," she said in an email, adding that the staff has kept the community informed through telephone calls, “in-house broadcast updates” and face-to-face conversations. She also said the Springfield location’s staff appears to be containing the infection, with no new cases reported in the past 24 hours and no new hospitalizations. Most of those residents who had been hospitalized have returned to Greenspring, and there have been no new illnesses among employees since Friday, Benhoff said. The notice that went out on July 10 from Donna L. Epps, an administrator at Greenspring, said several residents had been having symptoms of respiratory illness, including fever, coughing and body aches. Epps’s notice, which says the symptoms recede in about five to seven days with treatment but have caused pneumonia, also announced limits on visitors, enhanced sanitation measures and other steps. “You may have seen media reports referring to these illnesses as an ‘outbreak’, which we understand can be alarming,” Epps wrote in a follow-up on Friday that said 50 people had been sickened. “In this letter, I want to provide you with clarity, transparency and the reassurance that we are taking all of the proper precautions to safeguard the health of this community and the well-being of all who live and work here.” Late Tuesday, the Health Department gave an updated tally, saying 63 people in the assisted-living and skilled-nursing unit have become sick.


National Philharmonic bows out abruptly

of Montgomery County for each of the past eight years (from $270,000 per year to $107,000) combined with a near doubling of National Philharmonic’s operating and performing fees in the Montgomery County-owned facilities at Strathmore over the same period has hamstrung National Philharmonic’s ability to operate,” the statement said. A decrease in ticket revenue and donations in the 2018-2019 season was also to blame. The amount that would have been needed to save the 2019-2020 season, according to the statement, is $150,000. Though it’s not a small sum, it’s peanuts in the budget of a larger orchestra. The National Symphony Orchestra’s operating budget is around $36 million. By contrast, the National Philharmonic’s entire operating budget in 2010 was $2 million. The National Philharmonic began life in 1983 as the Montgomery County Chamber Orchestra, founded by Piotr Gajewski, a workmanlike conductor who remains the National Philharmonic’s artistic director. The orchestra changed its name in 2003 as it merged with the Masterworks Chorus and prepared to become a partner orchestra of Strathmore. Gajewski, a native of Poland, has been active in the Montgomery County community, making a point of such outreach activities as bringing in every second-grader in Montgomery County to see the orchestra every year. The National Philharmonic, composed like most smaller orchestras of top freelance players from around the D.C. area, has offered as many as 36 concerts a year, though it has been cutting programming recently in an effort to balance its budget. Reached by email on Tuesday, Ferfolia said the orchestra did not have a firm date for its closure, though it will presumably take place before the fall season, which was to have opened Sept. 21 and 22 with an all-Beethoven concert featuring the Eroica Trio. According to Ferfolia’s statement, the closure will leave 130 administrators and musicians out of work, though it should be noted that no musicians were employed by the orchestra full time. The group’s exit will have a marked effect on the arts and music education in Montgomery County. “The National Phil would be delighted if a donor would come forward or funding were to come through for its operations,” Ferfolia said. The departure will leave Strathmore without one of its two resident orchestras. The other one, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Strathmore’s principal tenant, has locked out its musicians for the summer. Negotiations between the symphony and the players’ union are ongoing. anne.midgette@washpost.com


The percussive appeal of the woodpecker

it will show up at the bird feeder. In any of these species, I find that familiarity does not breed contempt. I put this down to three factors: the extraordinary colors and patterns of their plumage; their agility on and around trees; and their capacity to turn their beaks, skulls and necks into rapid-fire chisels. In the natural world’s symphony orchestra, woodpeckers are the percussionists. It is Washington’s urban forest that provides this interface between us and the woodpecker. Apart from the abundance of species, we see woodpeckers frequently because much of the tree canopy has dead trees or branches, and it is in deadwood that woodpeckers excavate a hole to nest. European cities tend to be less sylvan and the trees more manicured. “We keep deadwood on the trees, and that’s what woodpeckers thrive on,” said Ken Rosenberg, conservation scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Upstate New York. “I have had six species of woodpeckers nesting in my yard over the years in suburban Ithaca.” Local bird counts in greater Washington show healthy populations of common species, said Stephanie Mason, senior naturalist at the Audubon Naturalist Society in Chevy Chase, Md. She attributes this to more people feeding woodpeckers in winter, including the suet bricks the birds love so much, and to the aging urban forest, with all its dead branches. The arrival of the emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of trees in suburban Maryland, providing woodpeckers with deadwood and also loads of grubs to feed on. One of the signals of an infected tree is the appearance of light patches on the bark, caused by woodpecker feeding. The cavities that woodpeckers create and later abandon provide living space for other creatures — birds such as titmice, nuthatches and wrens, but also for flying squirrels, Mason said. Woodpeckers will sometimes alight on your house and start their rat-a-tat heading. This worries people who think the bird is doing serious damage to the home or has found an abode riddled with insects. It is best to adopt a more relaxed attitude about animals around the home. I think a skink (a lizard) would be fine wandering into the kitchen, for example, but not a skunk. The yellow-bellied sapsucker knocks neat lines of holes in the trunks of trees, to the consternation of some gardeners, but the sap loss is minimal, and, besides, there’s nothing you can do


The coolest ways to celebrate the Apollo 11 anniversary around D.C. this week

SW. Free. Neil Armstrong spacesuit As part of the restoration of Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit, Smithsonian researchers made a 3-D scan that has since been turned into a series of life-size statues on display at Major League Baseball stadiums throughout the country — including Nationals Park. Located on the main concourse near the home plate gate, the statue has interactive portions that, when scanned with a smartphone camera, show videos about Apollo 11. On view during home games through the end of the season. 1500 South Capitol St. SE. Free with admission to the game. The Nationals’ next home game is July 22. Saturn V rocket and 'Go for the Moon' on the Washington Monument For five nights, the Washington Monument will be turned into the tallest projection screen in town. A life-size, 363-foot image of a Saturn V rocket will be projected onto the 555-foot monument July 16-18 between 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. The Saturn V, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built, carried most of the Apollo missions into space. On July 19 and 20, the projections will change to “Apollo 50: Go for the Moon,” a 17-minute program shown on the monument and a series of screens on the Mall. (A public viewing area with the best sightlines will be in front of the Smithsonian Castle, and the projections will begin at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 p.m.) July 16-18, 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.; July 19-20, 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. Free. Apollo 11 Film Festival The National Archives is celebrating the anniversary with discussions, documents and documentaries. A display in the building’s East Rotunda features official government records and plans for the Apollo 11 mission, while the William G. McGowan Theater hosts a series of events, including a screening of the recent “Apollo 11” documentary followed by a roundtable with director Todd Douglas Miller and NASA’s chief historian (July 18 at 7 p.m.); the original 1970 NASA documentary “Moonwalk One,” which goes into detail about the moon walk and mission control (July 19 at 3 p.m.) and the critically acclaimed 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man” (July 20 at 2 p.m.). All events are free, but reservations are recommended. July 17-20. Times vary. Free. Apollo 50 Festival “Go for the Moon” may be past some kids’ bedtimes, but this festival outside the Air and Space Museum is decidedly more family-friendly, with hands-on activities starring the cast


screens on the Mall. (A public viewing area with the best sightlines will be in front of the Smithsonian Castle, and the projections will begin at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 p.m.) July 16-18, 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.; July 19-20, 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. Free. Apollo 11 Film Festival The National Archives is celebrating the anniversary with discussions, documents and documentaries. A display in the building’s East Rotunda features official government records and plans for the Apollo 11 mission, while the William G. McGowan Theater hosts a series of events, including a screening of the recent “Apollo 11” documentary followed by a roundtable with director Todd Douglas Miller and NASA’s chief historian (July 18 at 7 p.m.); the original 1970 NASA documentary “Moonwalk One,” which goes into detail about the moon walk and mission control (July 19 at 3 p.m.) and the critically acclaimed 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man” (July 20 at 2 p.m.). All events are free, but reservations are recommended. July 17-20. Times vary. Free. Apollo 50 Festival “Go for the Moon” may be past some kids’ bedtimes, but this festival outside the Air and Space Museum is decidedly more family-friendly, with hands-on activities starring the cast of PBS’ animated “Ready Jet Go” and Lego-building projects, and booths covering an array of topics, such as Mars rovers and everyday technology that was originally developed for NASA. July 18-19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; July 20, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Free. Discover the Moon Day The best day of the year for selenophiles covers a wide spectrum of moon-related topics. Meet curators who will discuss Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit and meteorites from the moon; see the lunar surface in 3-D, recent images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter or a planetarium show about lunar expeditions; walk in Armstrong and Aldrin’s footsteps and learn about their experiments; or try piloting a mini-robot explorer. There’s also a story time for the youngest visitors. July 19, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free. Model-rocket contest Only hardcore space fans probably realize that NASA’s oldest space flight facility isn’t at Cape Canaveral or in Houston: It’s the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, which continues to operate the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Hubble Space Telescope, among other key duties. Its visitors center covers current missions but also includes an outdoor “Rocket Garden” with full-size rockets to see. The star, especially now, is “a


This L.A. mansion costs $2 million, but comes with a grisly Charles Manson connection

The online sales listing for 3311 Waverly Dr., touts the Spanish-style home as “one of a kind” with “breathtaking” and “majestic” views of downtown Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains. The asking price: $1.98 million. “You may never want to leave,” the listing continues. But if you Google the address, you may never want to move in. Nearly 50 years ago, during a series of brutal murders that shook Los Angeles for weeks, Charles Manson and several members of his demented, drug-crazed “family” sneaked into the home and savagely killed a middle-aged couple, leaving a carving fork sticking out from the husband’s stomach. The ad does not mention Manson or the fork. “It’s just such a calm, peaceful, serene environment that I don’t think anybody cares about what happened a long time ago,” Robert Giambalvo, the listing agent for the house, told the Los Angeles Times, referring to the slayings as “the event that happened 50 years ago.” For the sake of history and truth in advertising, the event at the home was the mostly forgotten second act of a killing rampage that began 11 miles away the previous night when, acting on Manson’s orders, four family members killed actress Sharon Tate and five others at a mansion on Cielo Drive. Those murders instantly sent Hollywood into a tizzy. But Manson wasn’t finished. The next night, Manson and several of his followers — Tex Watson, Susan Atkins and Leslie Van Houten — drove around in a Ford dreaming of more murders. Jeff Guinn, the author of “Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson,” recounted the eerie ride: Everyone knew where they were: on the street where Manson and the family had partied a few months back at the home of a man named Harold True. But everyone in the car knew True had moved. So why were they on his street? To kill his neighbors, which none of them had even met. (With Manson, nothing ever adds up.) Their names: Leno and Rosemary LaBianca. The LaBianca’s were self-made. Leno owned a local grocery store chain. Rosemary, who grew up in an orphanage, co-owned a boutique. He gambled on race horses and collected coins. She dabbled in the stock market and collected friends. “Rosemary and Leno seemed very close,” Guinn said, “the kind of people who had no enemies.” Like the rest of Southern California, the LaBiancas were spooked


Maryland man arrested for fatal shooting outside District lounge

D.C. police arrested a Maryland man Wednesday who was wanted in connection with a double shooting outside of a Northwest night spot. A 30-year-old Burtonsville man was killed in the violence. The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Brandon Randall, 31, of Churchtown on a charge of First Degree Murder while Armed, police officials said in a statement. The charges stem from the fatal shooting of David Elijah Brandon who died Feb. 24. Just before 1:30 a.m., police were called to the Safari DC Lounge, in the 4300 block of Georgia Avenue, for the report of a large fight, according to a police report. Arriving officers found evidence of a shooting in the area. A short time later, police were notified that two shooting victims arrived a hospital, the report said. Brandon was pronounced dead at 2:11 a.m., according to the police report. The second victim, who police did not identify, sustained a gunshot wound to the body, police said. Officials did not release details about what led to the arrest. In late February, police released surveillance video of four “persons of interest” and a vehicle investigators connected to the incident. The footage shows a scuffle between several individuals and later shows one man pointing what appears to be a handgun. Clarence.Williams@washpost.com


Public can pay respects to former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens

THE DISTRICT Public can pay respects to Stevens The Supreme Court says the body of former justice John Paul Stevens will lie in repose at the court Monday. Stevens died Tuesday at 99. He served nearly 35 years as a justice before retiring in 2010. Members of the public can pay their respects from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., following a private ceremony in the court’s Great Hall. Stevens will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service the next day. He will be the 13th justice buried at Arlington. — Associated Press Man charged in double shooting D.C. police arrested a Maryland man Wednesday who was wanted in connection with a double shooting outside of a Northwest Washington night spot. A 30-year-old Burtonsville man was killed. The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Brandon Randall, 31, of Churchtown on a charge of first-degree murder while armed, police officials said. The charges stem from the fatal shooting of David Elijah Brandon, who died Feb. 24. Just before 1:30 a.m. that day, police were called to the Safari DC Lounge, in the 4300 block of Georgia Avenue, for the report of a large fight, according to a police report. Police were later notified that two shooting victims had arrived at a hospital. — Clarence Williams Man fatally shot in Congress Heights A 28-year-old man from Maryland was fatally shot Wednesday in the Congress Heights neighborhood, according to D.C. police. The victim was identified as Mondell Valentine, of Takoma Park. Police said the shooting occurred shortly before 4:30 p.m. in the 3800 block of Second Street SE. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND Homeless man had been killed on bench A homeless man killed in College Park was fatally shot while sitting on a park bench, Prince George’s County police said. The additional details in the homicide of Ronnie Jacobs Jr. came Thursday as police asked the public for help in solving the slaying. “This case has . . . drummed up a lot of concern from our community,” county police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said. “They’re used to seeing Ronnie. . . . They want to know what happened and they want the person who killed Ronnie taken off the streets.” Jacobs was killed May 22, and his body was found around 6 a.m. near the 8700 block of Rhode Island Avenue, police said. — Lynh Bui


Victory gardens are no solution for climate change

was even strengthened during the war. The war also inaugurated the victory garden movement, as civilians eagerly sought ways to contribute to the war effort. A primary function of the program was to relieve farmers of the burden of feeding average Americans so that they could grow more crops for wartime use. Amazingly, at its peak in 1943, over two-thirds of U.S. households grew their own food, producing over 80 billion pounds of food, or 40 percent of the fresh produce eaten by U.S. residents that year. Though it had Agriculture Department support, the victory garden campaign reached its height through the efforts of the National Victory Garden Institute, a coalition of corporate magnates and titans of industry. Under their patriotic but self-interested leadership, the victory garden movement sought to influence consumer preference. Ads encouraged families that bought Green Giant canned peas in the 1930s, for example, to imitate the company’s vegetable growing operations and eat homegrown fare in wartime — before returning to Green Giant frozen peas after the war. Green Giant and other companies banked on the fact that after a few years of laboring in the sun after 48-hour workweeks, the extra work of washing and preserving while contending with scattered bad fortune and pestilence would deter many young gardeners from maintaining their efforts after the war’s end. This sense of backyard gardening as a temporary idea, one that mimicked favored brands, made returning to packaged goods not only logical but actively desirable: Why imitate the professionals when you could let them do the job? As a result, the golden age of prepared and packaged foods arose in the wake of the greatest local-food movement in U.S. history. As successful as victory gardens were, therefore, the movement was quickly and eagerly abandoned as national circumstances changed. The Green New Deal, despite marked differences from its namesake, again seeks to combine social and economic-environmental problem-solving. It envisions tackling income inequality and climate change at the same time. But it also makes a major mistake by failing to focus on agriculture — and ignoring the history of the transition from the New Deal to victory gardens to the golden age of packaged foods. Major organizations such as the Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union, giants of the private sector such as Monsanto and Bayer, and the market forces conditioned by current government policy have driven the immense carbon


The Technology 202: Europe is still in the lead when it comes to cracking down on big tech

platform and favor its own product. That is not the same as a local retailer,” Cicilline pushed back. Matthew Stoller, an Open Markets Institute fellow who has advocated for breaking up the tech giants, said: Amazon faced a lot of heat during Tuesday’s hearing, while a committee Republicandefended the positive benefit the company had in her community -- underscoring how U.S. lawmakers may be much more wary of cracking down than European regulators. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said he comes from a rural area where there is little access to big box retailers. “So when we’re talking about competition and all of this, I also think we’ve got to remember at no point in time, from my house in Dickinson, North Dakota, have I had more access to more diverse and cheap consumer products,” he said. “Things that often would require a plane ticket or a nine-hour car ride to buy can now be brought to our house. So I think, when we’re talking about consumers, we need to remember that side of it too.” Correction: A previous version of this article used an incorrect gender pronoun to refer to Armstrong. You are reading The Technology 202 , our guide to the intersection of technology and politics. BITS: Regulators and industry leaders worry that Telsa’s race to launch untested and unregulated self-driving technology could result in “crashes, lawsuits and confusion,” Tesla’s critics say its plans to forgo complex sensor technology standard in the industry and allow users to use autonomous driving in complex city landscapes could result in significant danger. “And because autonomous vehicles are largely self-regulated — guided by industry standards but with no clearly enforceable rules — no one can stop the automaker from moving ahead,” Faiz writes. Tesla has pointed to its track record of safety with its Autopilot program, but watchdogs at Consumer Reports and the National Safety Council say that the company’s semiautonomous driving system has also resulted in major accidents and reckless behavior from drivers. “If the regulators don’t do something about it, then the next place there’s going to be a challenge will be in the courts when somebody gets hurt,” one former transportation official told Faiz. “Those mistakes are going to make a skeptical public even more skeptical and are going to delay the implementation of a technology that could save up to 40,000 lives a year.” Tesla competitors Waymo and Uber


An ultramarathoner won a 135-mile race through Death Valley, then proposed. (She said yes.)

Moments after he finished the 135-mile run from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, setting a record in the Badwater 135 race, Japanese ultra runner Yoshihiko Ishikawa dropped to one knee. The reason wasn’t fatigue or relief over the accomplishment. He was asking his girlfriend to marry him. Ishikawa finished the race Tuesday in 21 hours 33 minutes 1 second, breaking Pete Kostelnick’s 21:56:32 mark, set in 2016. The Badwater race, one of the most prestigious and grueling ultras, started Monday at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, the lowest elevation in North America, and ended at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. The race covers three mountain ranges, with 14,600 feet of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100 of cumulative descent, according to its website. An ultra is anything longer than the traditional 26.2-mile marathon. After Ishikawa’s memorable finish and proposal (she said yes), there were plenty of tears. Last year, Ishikawa, a 31-year-old engineer, won the Spartathlon, tracing the 153-mile route that Pheidippides ran before the battle of Marathon, in 22:54:40. Patrycja Bereznowska of Poland was the women’s Badwater winner (and second to Ishikawa overall) with a time of 24:13:24 that was more than 90 minutes faster than the record set by Alyson Venti three years ago. Bereznowska also won the Spartathlon, in 2017. Read more from The Post: A 6-year-old Utah girl dies after being struck by a golf ball hit by her father A caddie decided to see how bad he could be at golf. Things got ugly. Justin Kutcher expected to replace Steve Buckhantz as Wizards’ play-by-play announcer Austin Voth gets the job done in series-opening win in Baltimore Tiger Woods is still recovering from the Masters, 93 days later


British Open is in Northern Ireland, and a region defined by ‘The Troubles’ can’t quite believe it

McIlroy used to “give a little bit of ribbing,” McDowell said, to Peter Dawson, the former chief of the Royal & Ancient, which oversees the Open. “Why can’t we go back to Portrush?” they would josh, aware of the stress it might cause. Soon this smallest of the four British nations (approximately 1.8 million people, or 3 percent of the United Kingdom’s population, live there) saw those three players win three of the six majors between the 2010 U.S. Open and the 2011 British Open. Soon Northern Ireland calmed still further, and Portrush drew astounding crowds to the 2012 Irish Open, 17 years after holding the first of its six Senior British Opens. Soon, McDowell said, “The jokes turned kind of serious.” On Oct. 20, 2015, this week in July 2019 became bestowed. Now? “I’ve never seen the town look so great,” said McDowell, who grew up here. The town does look almost movie-settish. It’s polished but not stuffy. It’s fish and chips shops, arcades, a handsome harbor teeming with revelers, the obligatory Ferris wheel, a whiff of Guinness in the air. It’s a peninsula with three beaches and plural surf shops. Banners state, “Northern Ireland: Made for Golf.” Locals might tell which golf stars turn up in, say, the Harbour Bar, next to the boats and the Portrush lifeboat station, whose mission has rescued people since 1842. It feels like a normal Open town, with the normal most welcome. In recent years, “I see a lot of Americans and French and Germans, and it’s fantastic,” said Patricia Quigley, who works in a fine gift shop on the main street, which she crosses to work another job in a popular restaurant. “We see a lot of Americans here now.” Born and raised in Portrush, a town of maybe 7,000, she said: “Now we’re in the newspapers and media for the right reasons. Today’s a different day. Tomorrow’s going to be another day. Don’t look back. Today’s a very good day.” Store windows and banners and video screens tout McDowell (the local lad), Clarke (the man raised 50 miles south in Dungannon but living here), McIlroy (the man who shot the course-record 61 here) and maybe even Ricky Elliott (the caddie who grew up here, lives in Florida and shepherds the great Brooks Koepka). The whole thing has the town “chuffed,” Quigley said. Apparently that goes for all of Northern Ireland


It just got a whole lot easier to find one of the area’s best and buzziest craft beers

In less than four years, Aslin Beer Company has become one of the region’s most buzzed-about breweries, thanks to its ultra-juicy New England-style IPAs, fruit-infused sours and high-octane imperial stouts. It has six entries on Beer Advocate’s current “Top Rated New Beers” list, and whenever the brewery announces a new release on social media, fans from across the country are prominent in the comments, offering to trade for the latest cans. Yet many local beer drinkers have never tried Aslin. Only a few bars regularly offer its beers on tap. Cans are sold only at the brewery, and the ballyhooed IPAs and stouts sell out quickly. And if a curious beer lover has heard of Aslin and driven out to the Herndon brewery looking for a pint or a tasting flight, they’ve been disappointed: Aslin hasn’t had a public taproom since December 2016. A new era began Monday, however, with the opening of a massive new Alexandria brewery and taproom in a former FEMA warehouse. The 25,000-square-foot facility has a spacious taproom with a capacity of 350, a game room and plenty of space for Aslin to expand in the future. Here’s everything you need to know before making the trip. Why did they move to Alexandria? Aslin opened in a Herndon industrial park in the fall of 2015. By the following spring, its hazy IPAs, such as Orange Starfish and Master of Karate, had made it one of the most-sought-after breweries on the East Coast, especially because the brewers kept cycling new recipes into the mix. (A May 2016 Post story named Aslin “The Best Brewery You Probably Haven’t Heard Of.”) As its popularity grew, so did the lines of people trying to buy beer, which clogged the parking lot and annoyed nearby businesses. On Christmas Eve 2016, Aslin’s taproom was shut down by the fire marshal and the city of Herndon for surpassing its capacity, recalls co-founder Kai Leszkowicz. As a result, Aslin closed its taproom altogether and began actively seeking a larger location. Soon after Aslin announced it was looking to leave Herndon, Leszkowicz says, “Alexandria’s economic development team came to us and sat us down and said, ‘Have you ever considered Alexandria?’” After more explorations — including a planned taproom in downtown Herndon that still hasn’t opened — Aslin signed a lease on a space in Alexandria in September 2018. So what's the place like? The


A GOP lawmaker thinks rise in Lyme disease is due to a secret tick experiment. A scientist squashes that idea.

Ticks are swarming, carrying myriad diseases such as Lyme and Rocky Mountain spotted fever and making people ill. And, as one congressman believes, these ticks came from secret Pentagon experiments to turn ticks into biological weapons. Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) is so concerned about an alleged tick-bioweapon project that he led an effort to pass an amendment ordering the Defense Department to investigate it. Specifically, the amendment orders the department’s inspector general to determine whether government scientists experimented with bioweapons — specifically in ticks — and if those arachnids ended up making their way out of the labs and into the public between the 1950s and the 1970s. Citing a rise in Lyme disease cases, Smith asked if there “was any accidental release anywhere or at any time of any of the diseased ticks.” Of course, there are many natural reasons that Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are on the rise. For one, as development near areas with wildlife that carry ticks increases, the number of such disease cases also goes up. “Suburban development in these areas has increased the spread of these germs because people, ticks, deer, and tick hosts such as mice and chipmunks are in close contact,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, a warmer climate is more favorable for disease-carrying insects and arachnids. As climate change leads to longer summers and warmer nights, “conditions might become more hospitable for many carriers of vector-borne diseases,” the CDC wrote. Smith told The Washington Post he hopes the investigation will better inform what he called a “culture of denial” and that he wants more information about the disease to help those who are sick or may become sick. “I just wanted to do it with a profound sense of public interest,” Smith said of the amendment. Smith cited a book, “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons” by Kris Newby, to say government research weaponized ticks in Maryland and New York. The book includes interviews with Willy Burgdorfer, who is credited with discovering the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Smith calls Burgdorfer a biological weapon researcher. But Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at University of Minnesota, said “there’s just no credible evidence,” behind the stories about weaponizing ticks or Burgdorfer’s involvement with such a project. Osterholm, who knew and worked


close contact,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, a warmer climate is more favorable for disease-carrying insects and arachnids. As climate change leads to longer summers and warmer nights, “conditions might become more hospitable for many carriers of vector-borne diseases,” the CDC wrote. Smith told The Washington Post he hopes the investigation will better inform what he called a “culture of denial” and that he wants more information about the disease to help those who are sick or may become sick. “I just wanted to do it with a profound sense of public interest,” Smith said of the amendment. Smith cited a book, “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons” by Kris Newby, to say government research weaponized ticks in Maryland and New York. The book includes interviews with Willy Burgdorfer, who is credited with discovering the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Smith calls Burgdorfer a biological weapon researcher. But Michael T. Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at University of Minnesota, said “there’s just no credible evidence,” behind the stories about weaponizing ticks or Burgdorfer’s involvement with such a project. Osterholm, who knew and worked with Burgdorfer, said the conspiracy theories surrounding the scientist have no basis in fact. The disease wasn’t even truly discovered and named until 1977, when two women in Old Lyme, Conn., reported symptoms of arthritis. Thus, the name of the disease emerged. It was Burgdorfer who was able to identify the bacteria that caused it. “This is again another one of those unfortunate situations where the science fiction of these issues” overwhelms the truth, Osterholm told The Post. As deer population in the Northeast increased after the Great Depression, Osterholm said the instances of Lyme disease also went up. He said it’s likely Lyme disease had long existed in deer and that as they increased in population, they spread more Lyme. Osterholm said that ticks would be an ineffective biological weapon and that there are much more effective options. The idea that the government does experiments on animals and insects is not so far-fetched; the Pentagon has studied whether insects could carry viruses to make genetic modifications to crops, and the Navy even trained combat dolphins for finding bombs underwater. There’s just not evidence a bioweapon-tick project was one of them. About 300,000 people in the U.S. contract Lyme disease


Explore 5 iconic spacesuits in augmented reality

Christian: Robin: Christian: Robin: Christian: Christian: Christian: Robin: Coated with moon dust The Apollo suits worn by the astronauts on the lunar surface were “essentially a spacecraft that is human form and human fitted,” said Cathleen Lewis, a curator in the Space History Department of the National Air and Space Museum. The suits were designed to keep astronauts alive outside their spacecraft. Custom made for each astronaut, the suits were based on 47 measurements and tested repeatedly. What you see here is “probably the closest thing of a body print of Neil Armstrong,” Lewis said. Christian: Christian: Robin: Christian: Christian: Christian: Robin: Christian: 'The pumpkin suit' After the Challenger space shuttle orbiter exploded after launch in 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board, safety became paramount. This shows in the design of the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES), which astronauts started using inside the shuttle in the mid-1990s during liftoff and return to Earth. Robin: Christian: Christian: Christian: Christian: Robin: Robin: Sportswear for space The Boeing suit was designed to be as light as possible, about the same “weight and complexity as a flight suit,” said Shane Jacobs, spacesuit design manager with the David Clark Co., which made the suit for Boeing. With gloves, boots and head protection, the suit weighs 16 pounds, almost half the weight of the orange shuttle suit. Astronauts will wear it throughout launch and ascent into orbit, and on the way back to Earth. Christian: Robin: Christian: Robin: Christian: Christian: Robin: Robin: Christian: Robin: Designed to inspire The SpaceX suit is one piece, with the boots, helmet and gloves all connected — minimalist, efficient, inspiring. A version of this suit has been flown to space on a mannequin in 2018, when SpaceX famously launched a red Tesla Roadster into space aboard the first Falcon Heavy rocket, and again on a mannequin earlier this year in a test flight of the Dragon spacecraft. Astronauts will wear the suit throughout launch and ascent into orbit, and on the way back to Earth. Robin: Christian: Robin: Christian: Robin: Christian: Christian: Robin: Robin: About the story: To re-create the spacesuits in 3-D, The Post took 2,500 photos of the original suits and stitched them together through a process called photogrammetry. This involves using an algorithm to analyze the images and find common points to build a 3-D model. The helmets were modeled manually from reference images, not through photogrammetry.


Iran and North Korea aren’t our military’s biggest concerns. This is.

the hearing before its Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, and his strong performance seemed to assure his confirmation, with a floor vote anticipated on Thursday. Even still, this long-standing leadership vacuum is compounded by a Pentagon with an acting deputy defense secretary, acting secretary of the Army, acting secretary of the Air Force, acting inspector general, acting assistant defense secretary for international security affairs . . . the list goes on. CNN revealed earlier this month that 19 of the most senior Pentagon positions are either vacant or filled by a temporary acting official. Lower-tier leadership posts are similarly gapped. Friends serving in the Pentagon describe a disordered situation, where no one can speak with confidence regarding the military’s long-term priorities. This situation is untenable. It took a turn for the worse when Adm. William Moran, the Senate-confirmed chief of naval operations, resigned last week before ever taking office. Adm. John Richardson will remain the Navy’s top officer before reaching mandatory retirement in September. The race is now on to identify, vet and nominate a replacement before time runs out. Then, on July 10, Gen. John Hyten’s nomination as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — the second-most-senior uniformed officer in the United States — was placed at risk by allegations of misconduct. Although military officials deemed the allegations insufficient to bring charges, he could become a politically unpalatable choice for the job. Gen. Paul J. Selva, who holds the job, retires at the end of this month. Under any normal circumstances, even a week without a defense secretary could present a dangerous leadership vacuum in the Pentagon. That the position was vacant for more than six months — and that this lack of leadership has become systemic — is shocking. This chaotic security situation emboldens U.S. adversaries, alarms allies and erodes the Defense Department’s ability to retain the talented careerists needed for the military’s long-term health. It also delays the transformative change the military sorely needs. The 2018 National Defense Strategy acknowledged that the U.S. military is “emerging from a period of strategic atrophy, aware that our military advantage has been eroding.” The strategy cited as reasons an increasingly complex security environment, rapid technological change and the impact to readiness from 18 consecutive years of war, requiring that we prioritize “what is most important to field a lethal, resilient, and rapidly adapting Joint Force.” But


People are upset when an orchestra closes. If only they went to the concerts.

This week, the National Philharmonic, an ambitious orchestra in Maryland, announced that it had run out of money and would close. As I have been covering the group since I came to Washington in 2008 — its founder and conductor, Piotr Gajewski, was one of the first arts leaders to reach out when I arrived — I naturally wrote about the news. That story has gotten lots of responses from readers — more, in fact, than anything else I’ve written this summer apart from news about the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and its ongoing lockout. People get very agitated about orchestra closures. It signals, to some, the decline of society and all they hold dear. The assumptions come in thick and fast: intrepid and valuable small orchestra crushed by apathy, ignorance and philistine funding bodies that fail to pony up the donations. You know what kind of news doesn’t interest people? News about orchestras doing well. Or, indeed, reviews of orchestras performing the music that embodies their mission. Thousands of people have already read about the National Philharmonic’s plight on our website. How many have read reviews of the National Philharmonic’s concerts in the past few years? A few hundred. Cumulatively. Indeed, if one-tenth of the energy people expend on reacting to news such as this was expended on actually going to concerts and donating, orchestras might not be having these problems. There is, in fact, a gap between what we, as individuals in our society, think we want and what we actually want. Take the outcry in the early 2000s when the New York radio station WNYC announced that it would no longer be a classical station but would switch to news and talk. The music world was promptly up in arms. The station, however, pointed out that every morning, when the news ended at 9:05 a.m. and the music began playing, there was an immediate drop in listeners. And some of the people who were most vocal in their protests, it turned out, weren’t regular listeners. In short, some of these institutions are things we think are nice to have. We just don’t happen to use them ourselves. And neither, it turns out, do enough others to keep them viable. I often talk about the way the classical-music world tends to conflate institutions with the art form. When an orchestra closes, it’s seen as an assault on Beethoven and


Opioid deaths are down for the first time in decades. But the crisis of addiction is as severe as ever.

that is set to run out next year. At the same time, doctors continue to provide proper treatment to those with substance abuse disorder. More than half of U.S. counties lack even one prescriber of buprenorphine, one of the most common medications used to treat addiction. That hasn’t kept Trump from using the recent drop in overdose deaths to proclaim that his drug policies have had a “tremendous effect,” as he did last month. How tragic would it be if this small tick down in the overdose death rate gives Republicans license to declare “Mission Accomplished” and move on? The solution we need is not to let the crisis play itself out over the course of decades. We should, as some activists have proposed, mount a campaign against overdose deaths with a scale comparable to our campaign against HIV/AIDS. That would include dramatically expanding access to Medicaid as well as our medical system’s capacity to deliver medication-assisted addiction treatment. We should also continue to flood the country with the anti-overdose drug naloxone, just as pharmaceutical companies flooded our country with prescription painkillers. And if, for a moment, you wonder whether those addicted to opioids deserve so much effort, remember that they are victims. They are victims of a predatory pharmaceutical drug supply system that hooked them on their products and profited off their misery. They are victims of a federal government that chose to prioritize those companies’ business interests over investigating suspicious sales of painkillers. And they are victims of a health-care system that shows little interest in helping them help themselves. And, most of all, they are victims of a society that too often sees them with contempt or sees them not at all. As with HIV, our commitment to ending the opioid epidemic must be more than just a public health campaign. Until we restore justice and dignity to the people we allowed to suffer, we’re simply setting ourselves up for the next crisis. Read more: Robert Gebelhoff: The opioid epidemic is no mistake. It is the result of complicity and greed. Robert Gebelhoff: The solutions to the opioid crisis are clear. Trump just resists them. Abdullah Shihipar and Brandon D.L. Marshall: What the opioid epidemic can learn from tobacco settlements Helaine Olen: How Trump and the GOP plan to ruin the U.S. health-care system Pat McLaine and David Wallinga: Maryland shows states how to save modern medicine


An 18-year-old was murdered on our lawn. Two years later, it is still unsolved.

Alexandra M. Lord is a longtime D.C. resident. We had just come back from a trip; jet-lagged, I had turned off the light to go to sleep when I heard a series of sharp pops. My husband, who was downstairs, immediately called out, “Stay away from the windows!” Within minutes, the police had arrived and we discovered that an 18-year-old man had been shot and killed at the edge of our lawn. Syringes and a plastic bag spilled out around him. Two years later, the murder remains unsolved. It is hard to walk past that part of the street and not think about what happened there. But it is even harder to walk by the open-air drug market just two blocks from our house. As with most of our neighbors, I routinely walk several blocks out of my way to avoid that corner. Just a month before the shooting that left a young man dead at the edge of our lawn, a young woman driving through the neighborhood was shot and killed in her car a block from the drug market. Her promising future, as a student recently accepted to college, was lost in an instant. Before that, there were multiple other shootings, including that of a young, pregnant woman who was en route to a convenience store when she was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. Her infant twins died. Recently, on Memorial Day, shooters parked their car in front of our neighbor’s house before donning masks and running to initiate a gun battle at the corner. We feel under siege and we see no change. In fact, the situation has worsened in the past few years. Obviously, there are many factors that cause this kind of violence. But as we meet with the police, our neighbors, our D.C. Council member and city representatives, I can’t help but think about the people who shape this environment but who never come to our neighborhood. Where are those who pushed to loosen D.C.’s gun regulations in bill after bill in Congress, seeking to have even more guns in the District? And where are the members of Congress who denied the will of D.C. voters by prohibiting the legal sale of marijuana? The city’s odd legislative limbo — in which people can possess marijuana in the District but cannot sell it — means that the illegal drug trade with all


Readers critique The Post: Two ways in which Fourth of July coverage was lacking

declines. Bees can fly miles from their hives to retrieve nectar and pollen. If they are killed by a lethal dose of pesticide in a farmer’s field or in someone’s garden, they will not return to the hive. Such a pesticide kill is indistinguishable from colony collapse disorder. Scientists have shown that even if bees survive pesticide exposure, they may die young, have a compromised immune system or lose the ability to navigate effectively. Pesticide exposure leads to exactly what beekeepers see as their hives fail: a dwindling population that can’t support the colony. For the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, systemics, the entire plant becomes poisonous, including its nectar and pollen. Neonicotinoids are a chemical class of systemics that have become the world’s most widely used insecticides. Pesticide industry supporters will tell you that “pesticide use has reduced dramatically” in the past 40 years. They fail to mention that one pound of imidacloprid, the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, is so incredibly potent that it is about 7,000 times more toxic for bees than a pound of an older pesticide. Neonicotinoids are so harmful to bees that they have been banned in the European Union , even in the face of intense pressure by agribusiness to keep them in use. But here in the United States, we beekeepers have to lose, on average, one-third to almost half of our hives each year while the Environmental Protection Agency does nothing to reduce what is undeniably a major contributor to, if not the outright cause of, the death of our pollinators: pesticides. Luke Goembel The writer is a member of the board of the Central Maryland Beekeepers Association. ● Define 'upheld' The July 8 front-page article “Court’s ruling on ACA could cost GOP” claimed that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act “twice,” presumably referring to National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius in 2012 and King v. Burwell in 2015. King v. Burwell The King plaintiffs challenged the Internal Revenue Service’s unexplained decision to spend funds that the ACA plainly does not authorize it to spend and to impose the ACA’s mandate penalty on millions of Americans whom the plain language of the statute exempts. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. affirmed that “the most natural reading” of the operative statutory language favors the plaintiffs. In other words, the plaintiffs sued to uphold the ACA as written.


Here’s what’s missing in music education: Cultural and social relevance

her answers, even though I know the demographic makeup of the Metro Nashville Schools pretty well. Overton’s students represent more than 100 countries and 50 languages in its approximately 2,000 students. Then, I asked the district’s visual and performing arts director, “What music classes does your staff offer in this high school?” Overton students come from all over the world. Many arrive with limited English. They don’t know traditional American music and haven’t considered playing in a marching band or an orchestra. While Nashville is known by many Americans as the capital of country music, most of the district’s kids aren’t listening to that genre at home or on their mobile devices. The district’s approach in this high school and its feeder middle schools is impressive and “culturally responsive.” Of the many musical options at Overton — which include band, orchestra and choir — entering students who don’t speak English have the option to take a world percussion class. It’s a place where they can create music, express themselves and take a break from immersion in a new culture and language that they otherwise experience all day long. That same day at a local middle school, I also observed a room full of students playing in a mariachi ensemble. It’s an alternative to other traditional music classes and ensembles. The students in Metro Nashville Public Schools want to come to school and participate in these and many other nontraditional music classes, including “modern band” (with guitars, drums, basses, microphones and songwriting). To be clear, I’m not just sharing an opinion about relevant music education here. My narrative makes a case for much more. While my traditional pre-service music education was outstanding, it didn’t completely prepare me to be successful with our most important constituent in the public education system: individual students, regardless of their background or path to a particular community or school. Successful, research-based formulas demonstrate that students who have access to quality music education in schools want to be there every day. Their academic as well as their social and emotional outcomes improve and their lives are more fulfilling. But to thread that needle, arts programs and their teachers — there are more than 100,000 music educators employed by U.S. schools — need to be ready to offer a combination of the basics with contemporary and culturally responsive approaches to music that draw in and engage all students.


Celebrating 50 years since the moon landing

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, I was reminded of the first time I ever saw the moon up close. Not so close as Collins, of course, but closer than I had ever seen it. It was about two years ago, I was new to science reporting, and I had never looked through a telescope. So, I talked my way into a personal stargazing session University of Maryland Observatory. The half moon was high and bright in a darkening sky, and as Elizabeth Warner, the Observatory director, swiveled the telescope toward it, she advised me: “It’s not the moon you know.” She was right. Like Collins, I had spent most of my life seeing the moon as merely a distant disk. Now I saw it in three dimensions. I saw the dark volcanic plains and pale pock marks left by asteroid impacts. I saw the way the sunlight illuminated rugged mountain ranges and cast long shadows across deep craters. I saw geology, history, and stories still untold etched on that ancient surface. It was a new moon. Not just a light in my sky, but a world unto itself. There was an intimacy to that moment — to finally seeing something for what it truly is. And though I had never been more aware of the vast void between Earth and everything that lies beyond, I had never felt closer to being in space. This was the universe, and I was a part of it. This, I think, is one of the most compelling aspects of the Apollo mission. Yes, it was a human triumph. It was a technical feat, a scientific success, a geopolitical coup. But it was also a voyage of discovery. It deepened our understanding. It broadened our vision. It added to what we know about our corner of the universe, and in doing so, it helped us know ourselves. Today I want to share with you some of the incredible work the Post has published the past few months to celebrate half-century since the moon landing. There are stories about science, history and politics, interviews with astronauts and with the people who made their flights possible. And hopefully, somewhere in these pages, you too will make a discovery. Something that helps you understand our cosmos more clearly. Something that helps you feel as I do: awed by the universe, and glad to be a part of it.


‘Digital Democracy’ delivers a powerful read on politics and social media in Africa

Welcome to the A book that opens “It began with a rumour” will give me high expectations. That sentence opens this week’s installment in the African Politics Summer Reading Spectacular, Nanjala Nyabola’s “Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya.” And readers, the book exceeded my expectations. We originally selected Nyabola’s book for this summer’s series because we knew it would offer insights on how digital developments are shaping politics in contemporary Kenya. But “Digital Democracy” delivers more than that. Nyabola’s execution and writing are clear and sharp. This well-researched work marshals illustrative stories of social media in Kenya, making it an easy, quick read. Of course, Nyabola writes about the disruption that social media and the digital age more broadly have brought to Kenyan politics. But along the way, the book also teaches readers about Kenya’s political history, its technological landscape and evolution, its media freedoms, and such contemporary social issues as domestic violence. Nyabola rightfully expects, for example, that by learning about the violence that engulfed Kenya’s 2008-2009 elections, readers will better understand the digital decade that emerged afterward. Likewise, non-Kenyan readers need Nyabola’s explanation of Kenya’s advanced mobile money system to better understand the swift success of crowdfunding campaigns brought on behalf of Kenyans needing medical care. Nyabola’s book is a necessary addition to the growing but still small body of work on social media in Africa and what it means for politics. Social media in Kenya in particular deserves closer study, especially by political analysts, including political scientists. As Nyabola writes: Nyabola shows how social media offers citizens an avenue through which to engage their governments in new and effective ways. Especially when traditional media offers government-sanitized news, social media — including Twitter — make it possible for citizens to challenge government narratives and react to unfolding events in real time. “Digital Democracy” shows the democratic power of Twitter in harnessing resources and confronting government in real time. For example, Kenyans used Twitter to coordinate emergency services during the Westgate terrorist attack in Nairobi in 2013. In 2015, social media users challenged the government narrative about the delayed response to the attack on Garissa University, blaming government corruption as one culprit. Nyabola shares the story of a viral Instagram photo of the helicopter that should have been available to police responding to the Garissa attack that was instead flying a police


Your fancy scooter is cool, but it’s not a ‘hoverboard.’ Why don’t we have hoverboards yet?

little girl’s wheel-less scooter. Ditching the handle, he throws the base out like a skateboard, hops on with two feet and starts to zoom over streets, cars and unsuspecting pedestrians. “He’s on a hoverboard!” one of the bullies yells. The scene became the most talked-about part of the movie, especially after director Robert Zemeckis started telling people the board was real. He reportedly repeated in a serious tone that the only reason it wasn’t on the market was resistance from parent groups. People figured it out, of course, but imaginations were sparked. Many a dad in a garage started putting together plywood and high-powered leaf blowers and, with some success, created little floating vehicles. Those are hovercrafts however. Hovercrafts are propelled by floating on air. A hoverboard, as imagined by Zemeckis, is powered by the resistance of magnets. In theory, this is possible using a technology similar to magnetic levitation (“maglev”) high-speed trains. Two magnets with the same polarity reflect each other. If you can put one on the floating board and one in the ground, they should push each other away, making the board float. But reality is a lot more complicated than theory. To create a force strong enough to push up a board, you need a magnet made of “superconducting” elements. To work, those elements have to be cooled to an exact temperature by a substance such as liquid nitrogen or helium, which is tedious and expensive. One French artist used this knowledge to create a “Back to the Future” replica hoverboard in 2010. It floated, but it would fall down if touched or pushed. The artist faced the problem that’s still in the way of turning hoverboard dreams into reality: Once it floats, it needs to hold weight and move around. Meanwhile, let’s put it on wheels. Enter the two-wheeled electric scooter. While inventors were toiling away with magnets, savvy entrepreneurs were creating a new way to get around. We won’t throw blame on who started calling them “hoverboards” first, but the name seemed to officially go mainstream in August when rapper Khalifa was arrested for riding one through the Los Angeles airport. [Wiz Khalifa is pinned to the ground by airport customs officials] The artist took to Twitter after the arrest, saying the skirmish was all because he didn’t want to ditch the technology he thinks everyone will be using within the next six months.


11-year-old boy fatally shot in the District

An 11-year-old boy was fatally shot Thursday night after a fight near a shopping center and gas station in Southeast Washington, according to D.C. police. Police said they were looking for as many as five people and that the dispute included adults who appeared to be in their 30s and children as young as 10. They said the gunman was described as a man in his 20s or early 30s. The slain youth was identified as Karon Brown, of Southeast. A little after 9 p.m., a woman was talking to detectives at the crime scene at Naylor Road and Alabama Avenue. She cried out, “That’s not him, that’s not him. It’s not right.” She then walked away and fell into a grassy median. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) arrived at the scene and pleaded with residents to help police find the people involved “so we can take the killer off the streets.” Bowser said that “our community has to stand up and speak up so the person who committed this brazen homicide is brought to justice.” Police were working to determine what sparked the fight and the shooting, which occurred near a heavily traveled stretch that includes a restaurant, gas station and the shopping center. Assistant Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said it appears that during the fight the young victim got into a vehicle. He said a gunman then fired several rounds into that vehicle, striking the boy. “The vehicle was specifically shot at,” Contee said. “We are uncertain as to why.” He said detectives do not yet know whether the driver of the car is related to or knows the slain child. The driver sped to a fire station in Prince George’s County, Md., and the boy was taken from there to Children’s National Medical Center in the District, where Contee said the boy was pronounced dead. Contee described the gunman as black and in his 20s to early 30s. He had no shirt on at the time of the shooting, the assistant chief said, and has a medium complexion. No other details of the man were immediately available. “We’re asking for the public’s assistance,” Contee said, adding, “I want to add my condolences to the family.” Thursday’s shooting came two days after the anniversary of the July 16, 2018, shooting of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson in Clay Terrace. She was heading to an ice cream truck near


The vaccine challenge isn’t just about getting shots

EBOLA, MEASLES and polio can all be prevented with vaccines that provide high degrees of immunity. Yet outbreaks of all three rumble on in different places, causing illness and death. While the technology of vaccines can always be improved, serious setbacks in fighting these diseases have origins in something else: mistrust, misinformation, violence, poverty and failing health systems. None of these are strictly biomedical factors, but all of them are making the health situation worse. In Pakistan, courageous health-care workers have been trying to stamp out polio for years, in the face of violent opposition from militant Islamists, who see the vaccinations as a plot against Muslim children. However, there are also worrying recent signs of distrust among families who resent the repeated visits by vaccinators. Reuters reports that parents in Pakistan are getting ahold of the special markers used by health-care workers to signify a child has been vaccinated and applying the markers preemptively to their children, in some cases leading to significant numbers being unvaccinated. Up to 8 percent of the families in some areas had refused or avoided vaccination, the news agency reported, opening the door to continued transmission of polio. The fake finger-marking comes on top of panic among parents in Peshawar in April after false rumors spread that expired vaccination drops were being administered to children. In Congo, health workers have been desperately battling an outbreak of Ebola, armed with an experimental vaccine that has so far proved effective. But the virus continues to spread because violence by local militias and enduring mistrust in communities has prevented vaccinators from reaching people. The World Health Organization has now elevated the crisis to an international public-health emergency. Measles outbreaks are occurring around the world because too many people are shunning vaccination, often because of anti-vaccination messages spread on social media. A group of physicians, public-health experts and child-health advocates pointed out recently that in 2019, the United States and 34 countries in the World Health Organization European region no longer have sufficient numbers of people who have received two doses of the measles vaccine to provide the “herd immunity” necessary for community protection. The immunity usually requires about 95 percent coverage. New data published this week by the WHO and UNICEF shows that global vaccination rates have flatlined at about 86 percent for three doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis and one dose of the measles vaccine.