Want to eliminate payday lending? Raise the minimum wage.

changes to industry rules, economic policies that broadly help to promote full employment and higher wages would go a long way toward reducing demand for payday loans in the first place. This includes policies such as raising the minimum wage and eliminating the tipped wage. Increasing the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, for example, would lift wages for as many as 35 million workers and increase incomes by roughly $2,300 a year for the average affected worker. Other policies that will help to boost wages for low- and moderate-income earners include strengthening rights to collective bargaining, regularizing undocumented workers, ending forced arbitration and securing workers’ access to sick leave and paid family leave, as well as eliminating race and gender inequities in employment and pay. One of the best ways to provide a boost for low-wage workers is to pursue full employment by keeping interest rates low until wage growth picks up, or even by enacting employment programs targeting the hardest-hit communities. Public and nonprofit employment programs, for example, support full employment by creating jobs that are accessible to those facing significant barriers to employment and improving the quality of life and physical infrastructure in local communities. Congress could also act by setting a non-predatory APR cap, similar to the 36 percent cap set for members of the military in the Military Lending Act of 2006. They could also pass legislation making the government a provider of emergency finance for the poor through the U.S. Post Office, as some have suggested. Yet the continued proliferation of payday lenders makes clear that there is demand for the services they provide. The chronically cash-strapped clientele that payday lenders thrive on disproportionately includes those making less than $40,000 per year — often people with less than a bachelor’s degree and African Americans. Imposing stricter regulations on the market or directly entering the market as a provider are both examples of how the government can intervene in the way in which these loans are supplied. Raising wages, on the other hand, would actually reduce demand for payday loans. There is no question that the predatory nature of most payday loans puts pressure on people who are already in economic difficulty. The advertised temporary nature of these loans contradicts the reality of what allows the payday lending business model to thrive. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Research Department,


5 issues the U.S. military must still address about allowing transgender service

Air Force Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland is among the transgender service members presently serving in the military. (Photo courtesy of Logan Ireland) Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter repealed the U.S. military’s ban on transgender service members Thursday, but the Pentagon still has a number of decisions to sort through in the coming months. In his remarks, Carter focused heavily on why he thought the repeal was the right thing to do, noting there are presently at least 2,500 transgender troops on active duty. But he also laid out a multi-layered implementation process that requires numerous decisions in coming months by service chiefs and senior civilian officials in the Pentagon alike. They include: 1. Forming rules for restrooms, showers and other day-to-day functions But other facilities, particularly in basic training environments, may get a look for additional changes. Communal showers still exist on numerous installations, with multiple shower heads in a single room, for example. It’s unclear how that issue will be handled, but Pentagon officials acknowledged Thursday that there may be some one-time costs associated with opening the military to transgender service. “We’re not sure yet how much, if any, alteration of facilities is going to be involved,” said one senior defense official. “It would be double-digit millions of dollars if there were a decision to take on kind of the maximum facilities alterations.” Defense officials will recoup at least some of that money by not discharging transgender service members who already have been trained. It’s also likely that commanders won’t seek the most expensive fixes required. 2. Finalizing details on joining the military while transgender Carter ended up splitting the difference, deciding that 18 months was the right number. But there are more issues to address on a case-by-case basis. In one example, the military must decide how to handle any individual it determines joined the military specifically to have a gender transition treatment covered by their benefits. All service members must meet all health standards to join the military for 180 days after enlisting, which includes being stable in your new gender, defense officials said. “The question will be, ‘Did they reasonably know when they came in, and if they did reasonably know, were they hiding a significant medical fact?'” one Pentagon official said. If they did “it could be a basis for terminating and erroneous or fraudulent enlistment.” Those cases would probably be few and far between,


It may be calm, but markets are still plenty worried after Brexit

until next year. The longer they wait, though, the longer they have to change their minds. Which is to say that Brexit might be the economic equivalent of drunkenly declaring that want a divorce, only to pretend you never said it after you'd thought about what it would mean in a less inebriated state. The other part of it is that Brexit might be a tempest in a British tea cup. Sure, it will hurt their economy in the long run by making their workers less productive—less trade means less specialization—but, as Paul Krugman argues, it's not clear it will hurt that much in the short run. All the uncertainty it's created might keep businesses from investing, but then again, maybe it won't. It's not, well, certain. There's only one problem with this optimism. That's the bond market. See, even as stock prices have been bouncing back from last week's lows, bond yields have been plummeting to all-time ones. Yields have fallen from 1.75 percent before the Brexit vote to 1.44 percent today on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds; from 1.37 percent to 0.86 percent on the 10-year U.K. bond; from 0.09 percent to negative 0.13 percent on the 10-year German bond; and from 1.4 percent to 1.23 percent on even the 10-year Italian bond. But maybe most amazing of all, as you can see here, is that every Swiss government bond now has a negative yield. Even the 50-year one. In other words, investors are paying for the privilege of lending to the Swiss government until 2066. Bloomberg This isn't the way it's supposed to work. But it's the way it is working now for two reasons. First, Brexit fears have caused a flight to the safety of Uncle Sam and every other government's bonds. And second, those same fears have hurt growth and inflation expectations enough that central banks are probably going to have hold interest rates lower for a lot longer than they thought they would just a week ago. Bonds, then, aren't quite as sanguine as stocks are about the economy. They foresee a world where growth is slower, and central banks have to do more just to keep it from slowing down even more. That's not exactly a happy thought when you consider that central banks are already doing about as much as they're willing to. Maybe you shouldn't look at your 401(k) after all.


Brexit proved again that identity can trump economics

weaker model of economic voting would expect the “Project Fear” messages from politicians and experts — which predicted economic calamity — to make people worried about potential economic losses and keep Britain in the E.U. However, neither theory reflects a consensus among political scientists. A wide body of work in political science has in fact shown that the impact of economic self-interest on political attitudes and action — in domains ranging from tax policy and affirmative action to health care and immigration — is quite limited. Why is this so? People may not be able to calculate the personal consequences of political policies or may be misled by confusing information and slogans. Even when they can actually figure out the costs and benefits, their calculations may be overwhelmed by the more powerful forces of deeply held identities and predispositions. Self-interest, defined as “what’s in it for me,” matters most when the stakes in a vote are large, visible and certain. In the case of Brexit, many seemed not to believe the “remain” camp’s claim that Brexit would result in a loss of more than 4,000 pounds a year in the average person’s income. Public opinion research shows that the arguments of experts and leaders can be persuasive, but only for people who trust these experts or leaders. An alternative analysis would start from group identities, arguing that the vote on Brexit can be framed in terms of how people think of “Us” and “Them.” Public opinion research provides clear guidance in this area. Above all, the “remain” campaign faced the difficult challenge of justifying a set of European institutions to a nation that had historically held itself apart from the continent. Polling perennially depicts a British public more attached to its country than to Europe. For example, the Eurobarometer poll asks people to say whether they identify only with their own nation; with their nation and then with Europe; or with Europe first and only then with their nation. As the figure below shows, in Europe as a whole, national identity swamps the emotional connection to Europe — by about 85 to 15 percent in 2010. In the U.K., the gap between a purely national attachment and self-definition as “just European” was more pronounced than in the rest of Europe. While Europe exists as a set of institutions, there are few people who feel themselves to be deeply European and


Foreign aid can help combat anti-Western sentiment in Bangladesh

of 1961, the United States has required all overseas aid projects to be marked as American in origin. The main aid-giving institution in the United States, the U.S. Agency for International Development, emphasizes how it has been referred to as “America’s good-news story.” USAID hopes to change the opinions of people in developing countries through this good-news story. The theory is that people in developing countries seeing the United States, through USAID, sponsoring schools, health clinics, road construction and other local development interventions will develop more positive attitudes about the United States. Because of this, foreign-funded development interventions in poor countries are often branded with aid agency logos or national flags. USAID brands its projects in Bangladesh with the official agency logo and the phrase “From the American People” written in the national language Bangla. Does information about foreign aid improve people’s opinions about the United States? Despite its commitment to branding its development projects With Bangladeshi economist Minhaj Mahmud, we set out to test whether people in Bangladesh exposed to information about U.S. foreign aid express more positive opinions about the United States. The research is published in the AidData Working Paper series. We surveyed over 2,000 Bangladeshi citizens across 53 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh. Each of our respondents watched a one-minute video about the Smiling Sun Health Clinics, a nationwide network of health clinics partially funded by the United States through USAID. For about half of our respondents, we did not give them the information that the United States provides funding for the clinics, whereas we directly told the other half about the history of U.S. funding. Amid a series of other questions, we asked respondents about their perceptions of U.S. influence on Bangladesh. Does the United States have a large or a small influence on Bangladesh? Is that influence good or bad? In general, we find that Bangladeshis overall have a quite positive perception of the United States. Among respondents who did not explicitly hear about U.S. funding, 84 percent say that the United States has a large and positive influence on Bangladesh. Nonetheless, learning about U.S. funding of development projects additionally increases the proportion of people who say that the U.S. influence on Bangladesh is positive. Both the number of people who say that the United States has only a small effect on Bangladesh and the number of people who say that the United


‘I still believe in man in spite of man’: remembering Elie Wiesel in his own inspiring words

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel died July 2 at his home in New York. Elie Wiesel gave voice to the millions of Holocaust victims who were silenced and the millions who lived but still couldn’t speak. The renowned writer, professor, activist and Holocaust survivor will be remembered as a man who never forgot his past, and for that fought his whole life to stop human atrocities around the world. When he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, the citation read: “His message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity. His belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious is a hard-won belief.” As the world shook this week with more senseless terrorist attacks in Turkey and Bangladesh and bitter politics at home and abroad, Wiesel’s worldview is needed more than ever. Despite all that he had endured, he still felt gratitude for this life. He still believed in humanity. Here are some inspiring Wiesel quotes to turn to when the world feels unbearable: 1. No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them. 2. Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies. 3. Look, if I were alone in the world, I would have the right to choose despair, solitude and self-fulfillment. But I am not alone. 4. For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile. 5. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. 6. Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair. 7. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe. 8. Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another. 9. I still believe in man in spite of man. 10. Life is not a fist. Life is an open hand waiting for some other hand to enter it. 1 of 20 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Photos: The life of Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel View Photos Elie Wiesel, who chronicled his experience in concentration camps and used his


Meet the youngest hostages freed by Israeli commandos 40 years ago at Entebbe

Aviv after the hijacking at Entebbe during a ceremony in the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa, Israel, on June 27, 2016. (Jim Hollander/European Pressphoto Agency) “When the hijackers took over, it was very scary,” said Benny Davidson, whose father was a reserve colonel in the Israeli air force. “They told everyone to take out their IDs, and I remember we ripped up my father’s ID and put the pieces in a can of coke so they would not know who he was.” Davidson, who was 13 at the time, said that one of the most frightening moments was when Ugandan dictator Idi Amin arrived at the airport to talk to the hostages. “When I tell this story to Americans, I tell them to think of Shaquille O’Neal, only twice as big. He was obese, and when he spoke, he had perfect English but with a strong African accent, it was very frightening,” he said. “I remember Idi Amin very well,” said Anat Brodesky Charniak, who was 6 at the time. “The first thing I did when I got home was go to my room and draw a picture of Idi Amin, his wife and his child. I used many colors, I wanted to draw all the colorful medals he had on his uniform. I also drew flowers all around, maybe because that is what children do or maybe because I was optimistic after being rescued. I don’t know.” Brodesky Charniak said she also remembers the dramatic rescue. “I did not have time to put my shoes on,” she said. Ella Sissenwine, then 5, also remembered looking for her shoes after the Israeli commandos arrived. “But I could only find one,” Sissenwine said. “I remember getting home and all our neighbors and the media were waiting for us. There were so many flowers, they filled our apartment.” “When we landed in Israel, everyone was so happy and overjoyed but my mother was in shock. She did not know what was happening with my father,” said Tzipi Cohen, who was 8 years old. Cohen's father, Pasco, was badly injured during the raid and was flown to Kenya for medical treatment. Cohen said she remembered talking to then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and being shocked that a young girl was allowed to speak to him. She also recalled soldiers coming to tell her mother that her father had died. “I don’t remember that


D.C.-area forecast: Rain likely for the Fourth, heavy at times (UPDATED)

10 p.m. update: It will not rain non-stop so we can’t rule out a window for fireworks in the evening, but a rain-out situation is certainly possible. Models generally predict a good soaking, with widespread amounts of 1-2 inches Monday into Monday night. National Weather Service rainfall forecast through 2 a.m. Tuesday morning. (WeatherBell.com) Temperatures will also be unseasonably cool, with highs only in the mid-70s in most spots. Original post TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 6/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: View the current weather conditions at The Washington Post headquarters. FORECAST IN DETAIL Well, I wish I had better news, although the forecast isn’t all bad. A majority of today should be dry, and tomorrow you may be able to sneak in at least a portion of your outdoor activities, before the chance of more numerous showers and storms increases during the afternoon into evening. A total washout of tomorrow afternoon and evening is not guaranteed, and the forecast may still fluctuate a bit. So read the details below carefully, and check back for updates. We’ll start heating up toward midweek. Today (Sunday): Tonight: Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through midweek … Tomorrow (Independence Day): Tomorrow night: Pre-storm sunset at the United States Air Force Memorial on July 1. (Navin Sarma via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD The heaviest of the rain should be out by Tuesday. But with the front still hanging around, we’re left with mostly to partly cloudy skies, and a continuing chance of scattered showers and storms. Highs reach the 80s to near 90 with high humidity. Any showers and storms should diminish and eventually end Tuesday night, with overnight lows expected in the low-to-mid 70s. Confidence: Low-Medium We should finally break out into partly to mostly sunny skies by Wednesday, with weak high pressure likely confining any showers and storms to the mountains. Along with the sun, though, comes some summertime warmth and moderate-to-high humidity, as highs climb to the upper 80s to low 90s. Confidence: Medium Dan Stillman and Jason Samenow contributed to this forecast.


‘I hope the U.K. stays together’: 18 hopes and fears about Brexit

European flags are waved as thousands of protesters gather in London's Parliament Square on Saturday to take part in a March for Europe to protest against Britain's vote to leave the E.U. (Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images) The Brexit result continues to shake the world. We asked our social media followers on Facebook to share their hopes and fears as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. Here's what they said: On hope "I hope that what led to the U.K. leaving is fixed." — Jonathan Richie "[I hope] Britain and the E.U. finds a way for the Brexit to work for both parties." — Anibal McKinney "I hope that both the E.U. and Britain will cool down and start to run on brain power instead of emotions. Whatever the final outcome we will still need each other. I fear it will come to a situation that will create even bigger problems for Europe in the future." — Lars Kamerlin "I hope for Britain's freedom and strength. She will endure as she has for centuries without socialist E.U. dictates. I fear not for England." — Rosemarie Bacchetta-Scope "I hope after the decision we can economically grow, and continue to strive as a great nation." — Simon Duckers "I hope the U.K. stays together." — Brian Schwab "I hope that Scotland doesn't vote for independence, given another referendum." — Lindsey Anne "I hope they change their minds and take a more practiced approach instead of this sweeping radical revolutionary leap." — Tom Drouin "I hope the E.U. proceeds with a detailed and constructive reform of its institutions, making it more effective and beneficial for all." — Mario Zrnic "[I hope] Brexit never happens and the world sees sense." — Mark Hardy On fear "[I fear] that it will happen and the U.K. will fall apart. I fear our country will become an international case study for what not to do in politics and the ramifications will last for years." — Mark Hardy "[I fear] backlash against immigrants and ethnic minorities and a global economic slowdown." — Anibal McKinney "I fear in the last 5 days racial crime has risen 57% and it will continue to get worse. Along with economy problems and everything else." — Simon Duckers "I'm worried for the immigrants in England ... that they are going to be abused now that racists have been emboldened by the Brexit vote.


How to not die from fireworks, courtesy of the Clinton administration

face as he's walking away. Tip 3: Do not give salutes while holding cherry bombs. And now let's talk about the mannequins. This is clearly surplus from a Falls Church Montgomery Ward that went out of business. The mannequin stood in windows, wearing top fashion at some point in the past. Now look at her: bad wig, dumb shades, a ball cap from an unidentifiable team. Where'd they get the clothes, anyway? Did they ask for volunteers? "Do you have any jorts you aren't using?" Anyway, a Sabotage guy blows off her hand. It's fun to think that maybe this was actually a scene from a Mannequin-style uprising, where animated mannequins began a march on the White House until evil government agents blow off their hands. How are you going to hold that M-16 now, lady? Tip 4: Tables can explode, too. Not even going to explain this one. But if you wear a hat while seated at the dinner table, you deserve what you get. (Also, where did the curtains come from? What was the budget for this thing, and if it was over $18, I'm calling Grover Norquist.) Tips 5 and 6: And fruit. The world is a deadly, horrifying place. (don't make a gallagher joke don't make a gallagher joke don't make a gallagher joke don't make a gallagher joke) I actually don't know what the point of this is. Yeah, cherry bombs can blow things up. But you can shatter a watermelon by dropping it. It's not like this is a steel box you're putting your explosive into. It's fruit. The stand doesn't even get damaged. Anyway, I've watched this 40 times and I can't figure out where the watermelon pieces went. Tip 7: Any safe firework use requires a portable jail cell. Someone made this cage so that two Sabotage guys could set off Roman candles or something. And it's a good thing they did! After the second explosion, the rig falls over and is pointed right at the camera. That cage saved some poor C-SPAN intern's life. Thank you, cage. But they really didn't need the wheels. Four Sabotage guys could have carried that thing around. They all look pretty fit. Or ask the firemen to help. They aren't doing anything. And with that: Watch the whole thing. Warning: The GIFs are better. This post initially posted over the Independence Day weekend in 2014.


PM Update: Steady rain moves out, scattered showers possible through evening

8:30 p.m. update: Nicely timed dry slot should limit rain now thru ~9:15-9:30, then more showers approach from west https://t.co/CDW5L7qqKj 7:30 p.m. update: Another heavier batch coming through DMV next 30-40min, then a break, but more showers possible after https://t.co/5Dd9i1yCsM 4:25 p.m. update: Original Post After a mostly dry morning, it’s been a rather wet afternoon. While some outdoor plans are already ruined, there’s still some hope for fireworks as the rain becomes more scattered late this afternoon and evening. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Tuesday): See Jason Samenow’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. View the current weather conditions at The Washington Post. Want our 5 a.m. forecast delivered to your email in-box? Subscribe here. Morning light over D.C. on this July 4th. (George Jiang via Flickr) Save Save Save


Success: NASA’s Juno probe enters orbit around Jupiter

like a dream comes true … and now the fun begins. The science.” Rick Nybakken, Juno’s project manager, jubilantly tore up the mission’s contingency plan in front of the crowd. “Tonight in tones, Juno sang to us,” he said as the hoots and hollers died down. “And it was a song of perfection.” For now, the Juno team has only those tones to work with. The signals give team members basic information, letting them know that important milestones have been met, but they don’t provide very detailed data. Project personnel believe that the spacecraft did everything it was supposed to do so far, but they have to wait a few days for more sophisticated data to be transmitted. We’ve visited Jupiter before with probes, but Juno is special. This spacecraft is designed to fly closer than any man-made object has ever gotten to Jupiter, probing beneath its roiling cloud cover to unlock new secrets. And Jupiter is a fascinating world. It could even help explain Earth’s origins (read more about that here). Juno doesn’t just have an interesting target — it’s a very interesting robot for its own sake. Jupiter has some of the most intense radiation in the solar system. In some areas, the electrons surrounding it move nearly at the speed of light. That would tear your average robot’s computer to shreds, but Juno is encased in a unique suit of armor to protect it. The robot’s scientific instruments were turned off several days ago to prepare for the orbital insertion, but they’ll be switched back on this week. The first real data is expected to arrive in late August. NASA’s Juno Mission released a video on July 5 which shows a timelapse of images taken from the Juno spacecraft between June 12 to June 29. Juno entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4 after an almost five-year journey. Correction: An earlier version of this post compared Juno to a football field, when in fact it is the size of a basketball court. We're bad at sports. Read More: How NASA’s Juno mission could help tell us where we came from "Juno is going into the scariest part of the scariest place" This tiny star has a massive storm raging on it – just like Jupiter’s More evidence that Jupiter kicked ancient planets out of the solar system NASA’s favorite way to celebrate July 4: Blockbuster space shows


NASA’s New Horizons probe to visit mysterious object in outer solar system

outer edge of the solar system, given the fact that it was once considered to be our most distant planet. But part of the reason for Pluto’s reassignment as a “dwarf” is the fact that it’s really, really not the last stop before interstellar space. In fact, it’s in the very inside of something called the Kuiper Belt – an asteroid belt full of space objects much more mysterious than Pluto. The object 2014 MU69 sits 1 billion miles deeper into this chilly region of space — 1 billion miles closer to the real edge of the solar system. The Kuiper Belt is thought to contain objects that formed billions of years ago during the early days of our solar system. Because these bodies are kept so far from the sun — and, as a result, quite cold — they contain some pristine relics of the oldest building blocks from which our solar system formed. If all goes as planned, New Horizons will reach the new target on January 1, 2019. That’s going to be quite the New Year’s celebration. New Horizons wasn’t the only mission to fare well in the latest budget announcement: Eight others also have been slated for extension. NASA extends missions when spacecraft outlive their primary purpose and scientists make a case for the value of continued exploration. One famously extendable mission has been the Mars rover Opportunity. Its primary mission was only three months long, yet it’s lasted for more than 12 years. Opportunity got another extension this time around. The other extensions went to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO); Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN); Curiosity; the Mars Odyssey orbiter; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO); and NASA’s support for the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission. And last but not least, an extension was granted to Dawn, which is currently orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres — its second target, having first visited a comet called Vesta to compare and contrast the two objects. “Less than a year ago, I would have thought it was ridiculous that the spacecraft would even be operating at this point,” lead Dawn engineer Marc D. Rayman told the New York Times. Some scientists floated the idea of Dawn visiting an asteroid called Adeona, but the mission extension will keep it orbiting around Ceres instead. Dawn would have had to leave for Adeona within a few weeks and NASA believes


This new Antarctica study is bad news for climate change doubters

ozone hole has changed the circulation of winds around the continent. In a new study in Nature Geoscience, though, researchers with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., along with colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle and Australia, suggest that the phenomenon is simply the result of natural variability of the climate system — driven, in this case, by changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean that reverberate globally. “When you get changes in [sea surface temperatures] in some areas of the tropics, you affect precipitation, that affects the amount of energy released in the atmosphere,” said Gerald Meehl, the study’s lead author and a climate scientist with NCAR. “That starts affecting, through this kind of chain reaction process, circulation at great distances away.” The new study confirms that the ice floating around Antarctica has been expanding — indeed, the expansion has accelerated since around the turn of the century. But that’s also around the time that a cycle dubbed the “Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation,” or IPO, shifted into a negative phase, which is characterized by ocean surface cooling in the tropical Pacific, and particularly its eastern part around the equator. This is the same phenomenon that, scientists such as Meehl believe, helped fuel a global warming “slowdown” or “hiatus” during the 2000s (see also here). Heat was in effect buried deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, rather than bursting forth and influencing the globe, during this period. But what’s new in the latest study is the suggestion that this negative IPO phase had consequences that stretched all the way to the Southern Ocean waters surrounding Antarctica — and that this, in turn, explains why most climate models didn’t predict the observed growth of Antarctic sea ice. Most of the state-of-the-art climate change model simulations run to help support the 2013 report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change did not capture the growth of Antarctic sea ice that has occurred of late. Rather, the average of these models suggested that this ice should decline. This shows that skeptics who have cited the growing ice are raising a serious concern — this anomaly really does cry out for an explanation. But the new study finds that in the small minority of climate change simulations that do happen to correctly capture these natural changes in the Pacific, and the global warming “slowdown” to boot,


Aftershocks of ‘Brexit’ ripple through Britain’s economy

about the future of Britain’s economy. A survey released Tuesday by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that the share of companies with a negative outlook for the next 12 months has nearly doubled since the referendum from 25 percent to 49 percent. Expectations for domestic sales, exports and investment all fell dramatically. “What all the players in the economy are searching for at the moment is certainty,” said Stephen Harmston, head of YouGov Reports. Five of Britain’s largest business groups issued an open letter Tuesday calling for clarity from political leadership, which has been embroiled in a Machiavellian play for power since the vote. The groups sought confirmation that long-term infrastructure investments would continue and reassurance that European Union nationals who are working in Britain would be able to stay in the country. “Addressing these key issues would be a shot in the arm for business confidence, and send the right signals across the world,” the letter stated. “This may be a time for calm reflection, but it is not a time for inaction.” Many analysts believe that the vote to exit the E.U. — popularly known as “Brexit” — is damaging Britain’s economy and could possibly tip it into recession. S&P and Fitch have downgraded the island nation’s credit ratings, while Moody’s assigned it a negative outlook. A slowdown, or worse, in Britain could also spill over into other countries. On Tuesday, S&P estimated growth across Europe would be reduced by 0.8 percent over 2017 and 2018. But it cautioned that there are still many unknowns: The country’s top political office is up for grabs, and leaders have barely begun to lay the groundwork for negotiating the terms of Britain’s departure. “Heightened uncertainty following the referendum means that any forecasts about Brexit's economic impact ought be taken with caution,” the report stated. Still, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, emphasized that Britain’s financial system remains fundamentally sound, and the impact of the referendum has not been as bad as the worst-case scenarios in the central bank's annual stress tests. Many analysts are expecting the BOE will also cut interest rates when it meets next month, or perhaps sooner, making borrowing even cheaper for consumers and businesses. “It’s extremely important that any monetary action, whatever it will be, is well-aimed,” Carney said. Read more: Britain's most promising young companies are now thinking


FBI Director Comey’s full remarks on Clinton email probe

known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation. In addition to this highly sensitive information, we also found information that was properly classified as Secret by the U.S. Intelligence Community at the time it was discussed on e-mail (that is, excluding the later “up-classified” e-mails). None of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff, like those found at Departments and Agencies of the U.S. Government — or even with a commercial service like Gmail. Separately, it is important to say something about the marking of classified information. Only a very small number of the e-mails containing classified information bore markings indicating the presence of classified information. But even if information is not marked “classified” in an e-mail, participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it. While not the focus of our investigation, we also developed evidence that the security culture of the State Department in general, and with respect to use of unclassified e-mail systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information found elsewhere in the government. With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail domain, in its various configurations since 2009, was successfully hacked. But, given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess that we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence. We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. We also assess that Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal e-mail domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. She also used her personal e-mail extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related e-mails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail account. So that’s what we found. Finally, with respect to our recommendation to the Department of Justice: In our system, the prosecutors make the decisions about whether charges are appropriate based on evidence the FBI


FBI Director Comey just dropped some shockingly scathing comments about Hillary Clinton’s email setup

seven e-mail chains concerned matters that were classified at the top secret special access program at the time they were sent and received. Those chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending e-mails about those matters and receiving e-mails about those same matters. There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton’s position or in the position of those with whom she was corresponding about the matters should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation. In addition to this highly sensitive information, we also found information that was properly classified as secret by the U.S. intelligence community at the time it was discussed on e-mail. That is excluding any later up-classified e-mails. None of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system. But their presence is especially concerning because all of the e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers, not even supported by full-time security staff like those found at agencies and departments of the United States government or even with a commercial e-mail service like Gmail. I think it’s also important to say something about the marking of classified information. Only a very small number of the e-mails here containing classified information bore markings that indicated the presence of classified information. But even if information is not marked classified in an e-mail, participants who know, or should know, that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it. And while not the focus of our investigation, we also developed evidence that the security culture of the State Department, in general and with respect to the use of unclassified systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information that is found elsewhere in the U.S. government. With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail domain in its various configuration since 2009 was hacked successfully. But given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence. We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. We also assess that Secretary Clinton’s use of a personal domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. She


Why a tiny Lego version of Galileo rode on NASA’s Juno probe all the way to Jupiter

any reason to be." But on that night in 1610, when he first directed his gaze toward Jupiter, Galileo was pretty much a nobody. He was employed as a mathematics professor at the University of Padua — a rather lowly position in an era when philosophy was considered the queen of the sciences. In the world view of Renaissance Europe, math was only useful as a tool for astrologers, who needed to predict the positions of the planets in order to divine the best days for weddings and wars. Scientists at the time believed that "philosophy described the world as it really is," according to Wootton. "Whereas math just told you what is possible." This spacecraft is designed to fly closer than any man-made object has ever gotten to Jupiter, probing beneath its roiling cloud cover to unlock new secrets. Regardless, math is a lot more useful than metaphysics when you're trying to build a telescope, which is exactly what Galileo was working on at the turn of the 17th century. By day, he taught the dubious science of astrology and Ptolemaic astronomy to his students; by night, he struggled to gain an ever-sharper view of the stars. The telescope he'd perfected at the start of 1610 was the best of its time, and it revealed things never before seen by a human eye: craters on the Moon, individual stars that made up the Milky Way. "But that which will excite the greatest astonishment by far, and which indeed especially moved me to call the attention of all astronomers and philosophers, is this," Galileo wrote in "Sidereus Nuncius." "Namely, that I have discovered four erratic stars, neither known nor observed by any one of the astronomers before my time, which have their revolutions round a certain bright star, one of those previously known, like Venus and Mercury round the Sun, and are sometimes in front of it, sometimes behind it, though they never depart from it beyond certain limits." Those were the first four moons of Jupiter (we now know the gas giant boasts more than five-dozen satellites). The findings reported in Galileo's slim little pamphlet were met first with incredulity, then with awe as more and more astronomers verified Galileo's claims. According to Heilbron, the English ambassador to Italy had a copy sent to his king, with an accompanying note calling it "the strangest and most wonderful thing that


Zoos will ‘look and act radically different in 20 years’

Asian elephants Wanda, left, and Winky in their compound at the Detroit Zoo in 2004. The elephants were later moved to refuges. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters) Zoos are always in the news, and it’s usually for cute reasons, like the Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s newborn baby wolves, lemurs and warthogs. But there’s been more attention lately to the ethics of keeping animals in captivity. The topic surged to the headlines in May, when the Cincinnati Zoo killed a gorilla to save the life of a toddler who’d fallen in its enclosure. It drove the National Aquarium’s recent decision to retire its eight dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. And it prompted Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta to announce late last month that the city would close its zoo and convert it into an ecological park. “Captivity is degrading,” Larreta said, adding that he believes the zoo “generates more sadness than happiness.” These developments, as well as changing public attitudes about animal welfare, have raised intriguing questions about the future of zoos — how long they’ll last, how they’ll look in years to come, and what species they’ll house. To help consider these questions, Animalia asked people who are authorities on zoos from different fields — including zoo design, management, history — to write short opinion pieces on the topic. We’ll publish one a day for the next five days. Our first submission comes from Ron L. Kagan, the longtime executive director and chief executive officer of the Detroit Zoo. Kagan has advocated for a “patient-centered” approach that focuses on animals’ quality of life, and under his leadership in 2004, the zoo closed its elephant exhibit because it said the animals needed more space and a warmer climate. Here’s what Kagan had to say: The rapidity at which society, at least in the U.S., is changing its views on the ethics of exotic animals in captivity may be outpacing the slower evolution of the zoological profession’s moral compass. Zoos will surely look and act radically different in 20 years, never mind 50. “Immersion” exhibits will legitimately become natural spaces that are enormously larger and more complex than they are today. They’ll be situated in climates that are appropriate for the species, and the exhibits will provide animals with dramatically more opportunities, control and choices for natural activities and social interactions. The animals’ needs and desires will be central, more than the visitors’ — just


Wizards Coach Scott Brooks names assistants

Scott Brooks enters his first season as coach of the Washington Wizards. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File0 The Washington Wizards announced Tuesday that first-year coach Scott Brooks has filled out his staff with assistants Tony Brown, Sidney Lowe, Chad Iske, Mike Terpstra and Maz Trakh. Also joining the staff are Eric Sebastian as director of coaching operations and Kamran Sufi as advance scout. David Adkins remains on staff from the previous administration as the team’s director of player personnel. “The staff we have put together here in Washington is an impressive group of basketball minds with extensive coaching experience and knowledge of the game,” Brooks said in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside this versatile group every day in our quest to bring the best out of our players.” Brown becomes the Wizards’ top assistant after spending the last two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, including taking over for Lionel Hollins as interim head coach on Jan. 11. Lowe, who starred at DeMatha High School, comes home following two years as an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves. From 2006 through ’11, Lowe served as head coach at North Carolina State, where he won the national championship in 1983 over Houston in one of the most memorable upsets in college basketball history.


Donald Trump’s golf course in Aberdeen finally earned him some positive press

Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland, last month. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, has been a magnet for negative media attention during the 2016 presidential campaign. Locals have complained that Trump International Golf Links, which opened in 2012, has failed to deliver the economic boost the presumptive Republican nominee had promised. His bitter feud with wind farmers has been rehashed. And it was Trump's recent visit to the course (and others he owns in the United Kingdom) that helped draw many unfavorable comparisons to the Brexit vote. But Trump International Golf Links finally brought its namesake some positive press on Tuesday. Golfweek again named it the best modern course in the region of Britain and Ireland. Another Trump course, in Doonbeg, Ireland, came in at No. 14 on the same list. And the Trump-owned Turnberry Resort earned the No. 9 spot among classic courses. The only bummer for Trump is that this good news arrived on a day when it would be overshadowed by the FBI's recommendation not to charge Hillary Clinton for her private email usage as secretary of state. In fact, Trump has been so busy griping about the conclusion of the investigation that he hasn't even had time to brag on Twitter about his latest accomplishment. Sad! The system is rigged. General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment. FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! #RiggedSystem


Why scientists are so excited about the Juno probe that is finally orbiting Jupiter

of light, tearing through any matter they encounter. Juno will sneak close enough to Jupiter's cloud cover to probe under the gas giant's roiling surface. Scientists expect to answer countless questions about the massive world; questions no one has even thought to ask yet. The answers they seek could help us understand the origin of the entire solar system, and by extension the origin of our own planet. Launched in 2011, the $1.1 billion Juno is designed to unravel Jupiter's greatest mysteries.We know very little about the gas giant. We don't know whether the planet, which is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium gas, has a rocky core at its center. We don't know how much water is in its atmosphere, which is a crucial clue in understanding its formation. We don't know the extent of its rocky rings, a fact that could have proved disastrous if Juno had slammed into unforeseen debris. We don't fully understand its magnetic field, which is 20,000 times more powerful than the one that protects Earth from the sun's rays. Most importantly, we don't know what changed between the formation of the sun and the formation of Jupiter from what was left over, and that has critical implications for the formation of our own planet. NASA's Juno spacecraft is in orbit around Jupiter after a tense operation July 4. "One of the primary goals of Juno is to learn the recipe of solar systems," Bolton said during a news conference in June. "Jupiter holds a very unique position in figuring out that recipe because it was the first to form." Jupiter looks remarkably like the sun. It's gaseous and incredibly radioactive, producing much more heat for itself than it gets from the sun. Scientists often say that the Jovian system is like a miniature solar system of its own — its largest moons may even be habitable. In fact, planets like Jupiter are almost indistinguishable from brown dwarves, stars often called "failed" for being too small to produce energy by way of fusion. The only real difference is that Jupiter, like other huge gas giant planets, formed in the wake of a true star. But despite its similarities to its host star, it contains traces of "heavy elements" — the ones that are only formed as stars age. These heavy elements are the stuff of life as we know it, the backbones of


Headless body leads to arrest of Border Patrol agent

place to live — and he obliged, sources close to the investigation say. Bloody cartel wars Early 2013 was a tumultuous time in the patch of northern Mexico that Joel Luna’s two brothers called home. Drug lords were locked in a fierce internal battle for control of the major smuggling corridors in Tamaulipas, which borders Texas from Brownsville to Laredo. A major wing of the Gulf Cartel — more a loose confederation than united front by then — was falling apart. Gunfights erupted in broad daylight. Grenades were tossed. Battles raged for hours on end. “The army and police largely have been bystanders. Residents cower in their homes or in stores, waiting for the next outburst,” a reporter from McClatchy newspapers wrote in a dispatch from Reynosa on March 28. Records used to seize the Luna family’s property in Hidalgo County suggest that Eduardo Luna was anything but a bystander to the violence. In a court affidavit he is referred to as a Gulf Cartel “comandante” — a commander — associated with an infamous U.S.-bred narco named Mario Alberto Peña. Born in Rio Grande City, Peña — known as “El Popo” — rose up from a Texas street gang to become a Gulf Cartel commander feared on both sides of the border. He was reportedly killed in Mexico on March 19, 2013. Since his death, “El Popo” has become a sort of gangster folk legend. Multiple rap videos online pay tribute to Peña, who fled to Mexico after being charged in late 2011 with the attempted murder of three people in Starr County. Two of the videos purport to tell the story of his death at the hands of a former ally who supposedly double-crossed him and shot him in the back. U.S. authorities later confirmed Peña’s death. More than two years later, El Popo’s sister would claim that Eduardo Luna was the double-crosser who shot and killed her brother. After Eduardo Luna’s mugshot flashed across TV screens in South Texas in connection to Palacio Paz’s slaying, Jessica Peña told U.S. detectives she had met him several years before in a Tamaulipas border town across from Rio Grande City. She knew him as Eduardo Perez Rodriguez, which authorities believe is another name for Eduardo Luna Rodriguez, the full name of Joel Luna’s baby brother, sources close to the investigation say. Jessica Peña told investigators that Eduardo Luna “shot her brother


China completes world’s largest radio dish to let scientists hunt for black holes and E.T.

scientist spearheading the project, Nan Rendong, told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Known as the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, or FAST, the telescope claims the title of world’s largest from the Arecibo Observatory, a 300-meter device in Puerto Rico. FAST is so large that, were the dish filled to the brim with merlot, it would hold five bottles of wine per person on the planet, a scientist boasted to the Guardian in February. Construction on the Chinese telescope began in 2011, though the delicate arrangement of 4,450 reflector panels meant slow progress — just 20 installations per day. Workers placed the last of the triangle-shaped panels on Sunday. Radio telescopes may look quite a bit different than backyard telescopes pointed at the moon, but their operating principle is more or less the same. Instead of magnifying visible light, FAST channels and amplifies radiation in the form of radio waves. FAST is, essentially, a giant radio dish. There is a direct relationship between size and sensitivity: The more space a dish covers, the weaker the signals it can detect. Signals are funneled into receivers and then boosted several orders of magnitude for analysis. Because the incoming signals are so weak, cellphone chatter can overwhelm the cosmic waves. (Hence the relocation of residents living near the dish in Guizhou province.) “The bigger the telescope, the more radio waves it collects and the fainter objects it will be able to see,” University of Manchester astrophysicist Tim O’Brien told the New Scientist. With such a fine-tuned ear, FAST will listen for the radio emissions from gravitational waves, black holes and the blinking neutron stars known as pulsars. Even distant molecules, like amino acids, may be found with radio telescopes; the devices are able to identify specific molecules as though they had “fingerprints,” according to Caltech astronomers, based on the way they tumble through space. The telescope should be fully operational for scientists by September, and it will be capable of sensing radio waves from pulsars up to 1,000 light-years away. And FAST will look for aliens. Earthlings, of course, have been leaking radio transmissions from our planet for about a hundred years, which means our detectable bubble is about 200 light-years across. Should there be extraterrestrial radio waves being transmitted within 1,000 light years, the South China Morning Post argued that the telescope might very well be the device that finds them.


Beet hummus, yogurt sauce and turmeric in everything: 8 trends from the Fancy Food Show

The Summer Fancy Food Show attracted 47,000 specialty food professionals. (PRNewsFoto/Specialty Food Association) The Fancy Food Show — probably the most enticingly named trade convention in America — is a biannual opportunity for makers of specialty foods to get their product in the hands of the retailers they hope will carry it in stores. Producers and importers of anything from caviar to gummi bears to energy bars set up booths in New York’s Javits Center and hawk their wares, trying to get passersby, who might work for QVC or Wegmans (it’s not open to the public), to try their all-natural lime-flavored seaweed snacks (which are always “The world’s best!”). You know how when you go to Costco on a weekend, there are free samples in every department? It’s 363,000 square feet of that. But fancy. So maybe you get lost in this labyrinth of food and try to eat your way out as though you’re Hansel or Gretel, dropping crumbs of gluten-free caramel biscuits. Because items are not grouped by category, visitors might spend their day eating bites of lemon-marionberry ice cream alongside bison jerky, or rinsing some pumpkin pie pot de creme down with a sip of balsamic vinegar. It is the weirdest buffet you’ll ever line up for. Still, when you see that many fancy foods, certain trends begin to emerge. Coconut is still in everything. Matcha continues to spread its green fairy dust into all of our edibles. But here are some other up-and-coming flavors and foods: Turmeric This spice is best known for its starring role in curry, but turmeric is finding its way into more and more foods this year, That’s partly because of its health benefits: Studies suggest that the golden-yellow spice can ward off cancers, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune problems and other ailments. “I think it’s a pretty mild flavor that can mix with a lot of things,” said Mike Murray, brand manager for Living Intentions, a brand that makes a turmeric popcorn. Murray called it “one of nature’s greatest superfoods.” Turmeric also popped up in tea (Rishi’s Turmeric Ginger Chai, Republic of Tea‘s biodynamic turmeric cinnamon tea), peanuts (Thai-turmeric chili nuts by Feridies), and chocolate (a ginger-turmeric dark milk bar by Vosges). Beet hummus What, you’re still eating beige-colored hummus on your beige pita chips? Welcome to the future, where hummus is the vibrant fuschia of a thousand Instagrammers’ dreams. Brands with beet


Main Street Morning: Blackberry discontinues its last keyboard-based phone

freelancers, according to a survey. Management - How this small business owner cut costs by $30,000 a year. - The “free” Angie’s List could mean big changes for many businesses. - The Better Business Bureau warns business owners to watch out for scams and gives an “F” to Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics business. - Hostess, four years after bankruptcy, will go public again. - Why co-working may be becoming the new normal. Entrepreneurs - Rotting food starts to smell like money for this compost business. - How some veterans are taking advantage of a business waiver. Restaurants - Some restaurants are testing car-charging stations. - Why many restaurants like no-tipping policies. - A restaurant owner is clashing with a local artist about what should happen with the art inside the restaurant. Sales Marketing - These are the most popular marijuana products. Finance - American Express challenges Square and On Deck with a new online loan marketplace. - A Russian company launches an online lending platform in the U.S. Start-ups - Mark Cuban adds to another funding round for a Boston’s start-up. - These are the 10 best U.S. cities to start a business in for 2016. Technology - A new smartphone from Caterpillar will help contractors see through walls. - BlackBerry kills its classic phone. - Apple will push for organ donor registration in iOS 10. Online - Microsoft introduces a new free video conferencing tool for small business based on Skype. Social Media - More and more parents are using Snapchat. - A study concludes that every third person will use a social network this year – and the number is growing. - These infographics demonstrate the power of hashtags on Twitter. On This Day in 1785 - Congress adopts a currency called the “Dollar.” Around the Country - Some say a new initiative in Oregon would hurt the economy and small businesses in the state. - A Texas group is helping new business owners become millionaires. - An algae stink is mucking up businesses in a Florida town. - Why no budget means big problems for Illinois small businesses. - More than 500,000 hoverboards are being recalled after reports that they burst into flames. - A 90-year-old bakery in Schenectady New York is planning to close its doors. Around the World - A New Zealand town is recruiting new residents with land and home deals. - Theresa May wins


Emily Giffin writes about complex relationships. Her new novel explores the toughest one of all.

know that we would be friends if we weren’t related. That’s the thing about family. It’s a sort of a forced relationship, and in most cases a very special one, but it can be complicated. The people who know us the most are the ones that we’re capable of loving the most fiercely and fighting with the most fiercely. That theme struck a chord with me because I have a sister, and growing up, we didn’t hang out a lot. But now we’re really close and talk every day. Why do you think some sisters take the leap to being friends as adults and some don’t? I think that, as we get older, we realize how important our history is, and our sense of family, and you really can’t necessarily have that perspective as a teenager or in your early 20s. I think that grows over time and you become wiser about what’s important. In most cases, we learn to jettison unhealthy relationships or learn to fix them. You often will hear from someone who has either no communication with their sibling, or they’re extremely close. Another theme in the book is how tragedy and grief affect people so differently. Why did you want to explore that topic? I think it was an interesting way to really get into the depth of these two girls and their relationship and how we react to things so differently. Grief is one area where we really see such a wide disparity in how we handle tragedy. Some people want to talk about it, and some people want to just brush it under the rug — and all those different responses, I think, are just so important to understanding who we are as people. In your books, you often get readers to sympathize with characters who are hard to root for. Both Meredith and Josie have very unlikable moments. How do you walk that line when you’re writing? One of the things I’ve done in all of my eight books is basically put a good person in a untenable or unsympathetic situation and try to get the reader to root for her in spite of what she’s doing. I think that’s life. Even though we have a sense in our heads and our hearts about what’s right and what’s wrong … when you get into life, it’s about the gray areas. I just love


War without end: Neither Clinton nor Trump knows what to do about Afghanistan

(Win McNamee/Getty Images) Barack Obama came into office as not quite an anti-war candidate, but certainly a candidate advocating extricating ourselves from George W. Bush’s wars. He wanted to get out of Iraq as quickly as we reasonably could, which we did at the end of 2011. He also advocated focusing more on the war in Afghanistan, but always with an eye toward enabling a stable Afghan government to take complete control of the country so we could leave. As he approaches the end of his eight years in office, that’s one goal Obama will not be achieving. Today he I’m announcing an additional adjustment to our posture. Instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year, through the end of my administration. The narrow missions assigned to our forces will not change. They remain focused on supporting Afghan forces and going after terrorists. But maintaining our forces at this specific level, based on our assessment of the security conditions and the strength of Afghan forces, will allow us to continue to provide tailored support to help Afghan forces continue to improve. That 8,400 number is slightly less than what’s there now, but America’s longest war — even if you would rather not consider it a war anymore (“We are no longer engaged in a major ground war in Afghanistan,” Obama said) — looks like it will go on, if not forever, then certainly for as long as anyone can foresee. American troops have now been in Afghanistan for nearly 15 years. Over 2,300 of them gave their lives in this conflict. At the end of 2014, the Congressional Research Service No one doubts that President Obama himself is torn about this conflict. He’d love to be rid of it, but he doesn’t want to just pull our troops out altogether if it means the Taliban will quickly reestablish control. The idea was that by the time he left office we’d be all but gone: an embassy, a few military personnel to help and support the Afghans, and little else. But now we know that the task of figuring out what to do about Afghanistan will be left to the next president. And what would Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump do? There’s only a passing mention of Afghanistan in the “national security” Which


A cheap, simple experiment just found a very effective way to slow deforestation

would have disappeared absent the program,” said Seema Jayachandran, an economist at Northwestern University who led the research, which was conducted with colleagues from Stanford, the Carnegie Institution for Science and the Porticus Foundation. The study validates the idea that deforestation can be battled in a cost-effective way, a policy possibility that emerges in part because of vast global economic inequities. This has created a situation where encouraging forest preservation in relatively poorer, developing countries, where forests are often relied on for livelihoods, turns out to be more cost effective. “In terms of the global impact, we don’t care if a tree is kept intact in the U.S. versus in Uganda, but the income someone is getting for that tree in Uganda is less than they’re getting in the U.S.,” said Jayachandran. The study estimated that the cost of delaying the emission of a ton of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere under this program was just 57 cents — but the benefit of doing so, based on calculations using the EPA’s standard “social cost of carbon” measurement, was $ 1.11. The Payments for Ecosystems Services (PES) approach is commonly used in international conservation, in part because it involves a voluntary contract that landowners can either accept or reject based on their own economic interests, rather than compulsory programs like new regulations or laws. But Jayachandran said that randomized studies set up to examine its effectiveness, from start to finish, have been missing. “At least to my knowledge, [the study] was the first one that was a randomized evaluation, and set it up prospectively so that it could be evaluated,” she said. “The vast majority of PES programs initiated by NGOs, governments, etc., have not been implemented as part of an experimental design, making the evaluation of their success difficult,” agreed Chris Kennedy, a professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University, in a comment praising the research methodology. This particular research was based on a large PES program set up by a number of official bodies. Much of the funding came from the Global Environment Facility, distributed by the United Nations’ Environment Programme, and went to the Ugandan government’s environment agency, the National Environment Management Authority. The Ugandan government then turned to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust to put it in place, and that group collaborated with the researchers, allowing them to study the program. In


Could Tony Blair be put on trial for his role in the Iraq War?

a former civil servant. They cannot make legal judgments and have not sought to. As such, Chilcot told the news media at the release of the report that it "has not expressed a view on whether military action was legal." He added, however, that the legal justification for British military action in Iraq was found to be "far from satisfactory." Where are the calls for Blair to face trial coming from? Calls for the former prime minister to face trial for a war that many felt was illegal have dogged Blair for years. High-profile people, such as South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have suggested that he should be tried for war crimes. This year, a petition on Britain's parliamentary website to "arrest" Blair for his role in the war garnered more than 20,000 signatures before being closed. A notable new addition in the campaign against Blair is from his own Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn, the leftist politician who unexpectedly won the leadership of the party last year, was a vocal opponent of the war. In August, he suggested that Blair should face trial for the "illegal" war. After the release of the Chilcot inquiry on Wednesday, Corbyn apologized to the Iraqi people on behalf of the Labour Party and said those "laid bare" by the report should face the consequences, although he did not refer to Blair by name. While damning stuff, Corbyn also is struggling to control his party at the moment and could be ousted from the leadership soon. His chances of leading Britain in the near future are not so impressive. Former prime minister Tony Blair speaks at a July 6 news conference in London in response to the Chilcot inquiry. (Stefan Rousseau/European Pressphoto Agency) Could Blair face charges in the International Criminal Court? In theory, one place where world leaders — both current and former — who have committed war crimes could face trial would be the International Criminal Court, established by the Rome Statute in 2002 to investigate and prosecute when states are "unable" or "unwilling" to do so themselves. Unfortunately, the ICC has a mixed record of going after heads of state. It has tended to pursue only African leaders (in part because of independent war-crimes tribunals in other conflict zones) and struggled to get convictions. Mark Kersten, a researcher at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto who runs


A quick Brexit or a delayed departure? Here’s where it gets tricky for businesses.

project means additional investment — as well as new jobs. The decision to exercise a company’s “option” on such projects involves whether to begin it today, and incur an irreversible investment — or wait. The company must estimate the size of the future market and the firm’s costs of servicing that market. But because of the uncertainty created by the Brexit vote, companies can’t make that estimate. At one extreme, the future market for this new project could be very small, limited mostly to the U.K.’s own consumers. At the other extreme, the U.K. company might still have access to the other E.U. countries’ 450 million consumers as well. Obviously the second scenario is more attractive. But with Brexit, is it now realistic? With the future payoff from investing in a U.K. project now uncertain, companies will no doubt put many of these decisions on hold. Here are three key trade and regulatory elements the U.K. must negotiate, post-Brexit 1. Import taxes. 2. Labor mobility. 3. Take a look at Portugal, 30 years ago Given the uniqueness of Brexit, there are no prior empirical studies to help estimate the size of the real options effect of this uncertainty on U.K. trade or investment. However, a good starting point is new research examining an important example of an “opposite” scenario that arose 30 years ago. Economists Kyle Handley and Nuno Limão recently examined the impact of Portugal’s 1986 accession to the European Community (E.C.). In 1986, Portuguese firms were forced to react to quite the opposite policy shock: reduced uncertainty. In this case, policy uncertainty was reduced because the 1986 trade agreement meant the E.C. could not revoke import tax exemptions it had been granting to Portuguese companies on a provisional basis. The 1986 elimination of uncertainty led to sizable increases in Portuguese firm investment, entry into exporting and increased exports. These increases occurred even in places where applied tariff policy did not change upon entering the E.C. Translated into Brexit terms in 2016, the mere threat that tariffs, labor mobility or regulations may come into play means the U.K. economy is likely to suffer. Until these Brexit uncertainties are resolved, U.K. companies are likely to scale back investment and employment, reduce exports to the continent and even potentially exit from exporting to the E.U. altogether. They are likely to set up shop elsewhere to service the E.U. And there’s an


Marine’s defense for disseminating classified information will cite Hillary Clinton’s case

who wrote then-Commandant Gen. James F. Amos about the case in August 2013 and asked whether it was necessary to be so harsh on someone who had warned fellow Marines of a potential threat in combat. News of the case was first reported by the independent Marine Corps Times in October 2013. Within days, the Marine Corps moved to send Brezler to a panel known as a board of inquiry to decide whether he was fit to continue serving. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service reviewed electronics voluntarily turned over by Brezler and determined that he had more than 100 classified documents on his personal, unclassified hard drive and thumb drive. Supporters of Brezler have renewed the debate about his case since Comey’s announcement about Clinton. They argue that the case shows the discrepancy in how rank-and-file service members and their potential commander-in-chief are treated. If #Hillary doesn't get charged, then Major Jason Brezler should have his punishment reversed. #BrokenSystem https://t.co/Gqq8GUgjwU Sec. Clinton held to one standard. Jason Brezler held to another. https://t.co/NMF34uP6zv Note: My concern is the injustice visited upon Major Brezler. https://t.co/VtY8L5T89C The board of inquiry recommended removing Brezler from the service in December 2013 after prosecutors argued that he knowingly kept classified information in order to help him write a book about his experiences in Afghanistan. He appealed, but both the Marine Corps and the Navy Department, which were overseeing it, have upheld the decision. Bowe said Wednesday that Brezler has secured a stay on the decision to discharge him until the end of October, when a federal judge is expected to rule on his case. Marine Corps and Navy Department officials had no comment, citing the ongoing litigation. The Marines killed in the insider attack were Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley, 21; Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson, 29; and Cpl. Richard Rivera Jr., 20. The shooter, Ainuddin Khudairaham, was convicted in an Afghan court in 2014 as a juvenile and sentenced to 7½ years in confinement, infuriating Marine family members who wanted a more severe sentence. The Buckley family also has sued the Marine Corps, alleging service officials systematically misled them about the incident. That case also is still pending. Read more: FBI recommends no criminal charges in Clinton email probe FBI: No evidence Clinton’s email was hacked by foreign powers, but it could have been Hillary Clinton’s ‘careless’ email habits would be considered normal in some European countries


Northeast battles gypsy moths, an insect plague stripping trees bare and delaying airplanes

(Aaron Flaum/NorwichBulletin.com via AP) In Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the gypsy moths are out in force. And the fuzzy crawlers have demonstrated their appetite for destruction. The voracious pests chewed their way through New England and beyond, divorcing nearly a hundred thousand acres of trees from their leaves in Massachusetts alone. It is possible, as the Boston branch of the National Weather Service recently pointed out on Twitter, to observe the caterpillar-induced defoliation from space. “Gypsy moths are having an enormous, explosive year,” said Brian Cassie, founder of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club, to the Sun Chronicle. Late May → late June, tree defoliation per caterpillars across SE New England is notable, esp W RI https://t.co/AfRYKxdPEL On the ground, the bugs are causing agricultural damage and are threatening to pose a significant ecological problem. Some environmentalists fear that if the caterpillars too severely harm oak trees, the wild turkeys, bears and other animals that rely on oak acorns will in turn be affected. Firefighters worry that trees, stripped of their greenery, will be more susceptible to combustion. One Boston Globe reporter took to coating his trees with Vaseline in a futile attempt to keep the animals from climbing into the canopy. Houses have turned black under the deluge of caterpillar poo. David Hanson, a Massachusetts farmer, told the Associated Press on Sunday that the little bits of chewed-up plant matter are raining down so thick homeowners need brooms to scrape it up. “Some people are telling me they’re raking their lawn because there’s so much leaf litter on them from the gypsy moth damage,” he said. This is may be the worst infestation of gypsy moths, according to the Associated Press, since the 1980s. To trace the source of the infestation requires going back not three decades but a century. Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, a French astronomer living near Boston who was a better artist than he was an entomologist, wanted to see if he could find an animal superior to the silkworm for textile production. His experiment with gypsy moths, imported from Europe, was doubly a failure: The moths did not produce better fibers, and on a blustery day in 1868 or 1869, a gust of wind blew some of Trouvelot’s bugs free from a windowsill. The insects took to the Medford, Mass., countryside with gusto. There, the caterpillars grew rapidly in number; there were no familiar carnivores to keep


The real reason the U.K. voted for Brexit? Jobs lost to Chinese competition.

Leave, and Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire, where 56 percent did. That’s a difference of 28 percentage points in support for Brexit. According to the data and our statistical analysis, of these 28 points, at least 18 are attributable to the difference in the intensity of the “import shock” between the two regions. Along the same lines, Merseyside, where 49 percent voted Leave, and Herefordshire-Worcestershire-Warwickshire, where 57 percent supported Leave, differ by eight percentage points. Of these, at least three points are explained by their difference in the intensity of the “import shock.” Chinese import shock and support for the Leave option in the Brexit referendum, by region. Data: Eurostat Comext and Electoral Commission UK. Figure: Piero Stanig and Italo Colantone. Significantly, we obtained essentially the same results when we used a different method to calculate the “import shock.” In this case, as a measure of China’s manufacturing power in a given industry, we used exports from China to another advanced economy: the U.S. By doing this we captured the effect of Chinese competition for British manufacturing not only within the U.K., but also on global markets. We’ve done a more general analysis for western Europe as well, calculating “import shock” for each region across 15 countries, and find that something similar to support for Brexit is happening. Wherever a region’s industries have been hit by increased Chinese competition, voters have drifted toward parties that appeal to national self-sufficiency, protection from international trade, and identity-based nationalism — like the National Front in France and the Northern League in Italy. Here’s how we calculated “immigration shock” Could immigration be another explanation? To check, we took data from the U.K.’s Office of National Statistics about both the number and the incoming flow of immigrants for each region in Great Britain. We computed the number of immigrants (defined as residents who were born outside of the U.K.) as a proportion of the total population, and the new arrivals in 2014, the most recent year available, based on registrations to National Insurance (for U.S. readers, that’s roughly equivalent to applications for a Social Security number). We then calculated the new arrivals as a share of the working-age population. We found no evidence of correlation between support for Brexit and the proportion of either immigrants or new immigrants in a region. If anything, it seemed that areas with more arrivals were more likely to vote Remain, and areas with


3 new happy hours to try this week

From the roof of the City Bar hotel bar in Southwest Washington, you can see National Harbor, National Airport and Old Town Alexandria. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) Shake up your happy hour routine with cocktails on a rooftop, mugs of German beer in the sun, or local brews paired with house-smoked brisket. All of these bars opened in the last month, so even your most jaded friends can't be bored with them yet. CityBar No one leaves the office and heads to L'Enfant Plaza after work, unless they're trying to catch the 5A Metrobus to Dulles. There are simply no happy hours or bars in the concrete canyons between I-395 and the Mall. To the relief of those who work in the area, though, the Hyatt Place's rooftop CityBar officially opened on June 23, with a daily happy hour and fantastic views. From the Penthouse level of the hotel, you can watch cars traveling across the Wilson Bridge, jets taking off from National Airport and traffic inching along 395. Look beyond the neighborhood's drab office buildings, and you can pick out the National Building Museum, the dome of the Museum of Natural History and the National Basilica. The happy hour cocktail menu includes the Old Cuban, which is basically a mojito with sparkling wine, and the Salty Dog, which was heavy on the gin and light on grapefruit juice, for $10 each. Right Proper and Flying Dog can be found for $6 on draft, while all glasses of wines are $2 off. Outside of happy hour, drinks are a mixed bag: The $11 Breath of Life is a refreshing mix of rum and cucumber water punched up with cilantro, but the $15 Oaked Martinez, a barrel-aged cocktail with gin, vermouth, Luxardo and bitters, is incredibly boring and could use more time in the wood. The Brig beer garden has seats for more than 200 people. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) The Brig After months of delays, the Brig finally opened on June 17. The German-inspired beer garden, located at the bottom of Barracks Row, is a simple but impressive space, with rows of picnic tables and tall, box-like high-top tables shaded by umbrellas and trees, plus a covered bar with plenty of stools. Total capacity is just under 300, meaning there's plenty of room, even on sunny weekend afternoons. There are 40 taps with around 20 beers,


3 new happy hours to try this week

ranging from the German Hofbrau, Erdinger and Eggenberg to locals Fair Winds, Port City and Right Proper. A liter of German lager is $15; pints or half-liters of other beers are around $8. The draft list is displayed on scrolling TV screens behind the bar, so make sure you've seen everything before you order. The food menu is short and sweet: a Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese ($5), salads ($7-$9) and a few sandwiches and wraps ($10). Food trucks will be a regular presence at the bar. One TV behind the bar was showing Euro 2016 games when I visited; the bar is now projecting matches onto the side of an empty building next door. Expect the Brig to be popular before and after Nationals games, but also on random Saturdays – it's friendly to both families and dogs, which should go over well in the neighborhood. Brisket sliders at Exiles Bar. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) Exiles Bar It's always hard to replace an institution. Exiles, which opened in early June, took the place of Stetson's, a neighborhood bar that had been a fixture on U Street since the early 1980s. You knew exactly what you were getting when you went to Stetson's: cheap beer, cool staff and a laid back attitude. Exiles, on the other hand, hasn't crafted its identity yet. The decor is a mix of blues, browns and exposed brick, though the empty walls suggest the space isn't finished. The upstairs features a long, rustic communal table made from a single piece of wood. The back patio has been revamped and covered with picnic tables, though it retains the mural of the 1914 Westover Rye Whiskey bottle, "distilled expressly for John Morris, 1610 U St. NW," which a Stetson's employee had found years ago. It's a quiet and somewhat secluded place for enjoying an alfresco drink, which can be hard to find on U Street. The new owners have also added a barbecue smoker, which forms the base of the new menu. Happy hour is the best time to check out the food, with two brisket sliders or pulled pork siders for $5. The brisket sliders were a little dry, but had decent smoke. A list of $4 drinks includes rail drinks, house wine, and Bud, Miller Lite and Shock Top. For craft beer lovers, it's worth diving into the rest of the menu, which


It’s hot, hot, hot! Area residents are warned to go indoors, drink more water.

Alpacas cool off from the heat at the National Zoo this week. (Courtesy of the National Zoo.) With a heat wave affecting the D.C. region for the third straight day, several area agencies are reminding residents to use caution when outside, to stay hydrated and to take extra care of small children, pets and the elderly. Officials in the District said Thursday they are likely to again activate a heat-emergency plan for the day, based on the high heat and humidity. Nicole Chapple, a spokeswoman for the District’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said in an email that the plan is activated when the “heat index,” a measurement of the air temperature and the humidity, or the actual temperature reaches 95 degrees. Fyodor Shabalin, of Rosslyn, Va., cools off on a hot summer day. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) In the District, residents are reminded to call 311 or check online for information regarding cooling centers and other heat-emergency-related information. To find out the District’s heat-emergency plan, click here. Montgomery County recommended that residents visit libraries, recreation and senior centers, along with swimming pools and regional service centers to take a break from the heat. In Prince George’s County, officials promoted their list of cooling centers. Extreme heat is in the forecast this week. View Prince George's County Cooling Center locations here: https://t.co/xdZOP0DSyB Authorities in the region gave plenty of tips for dealing with the heat and reminded people to never leave children or pets in a hot vehicle — even for a minute, as temperatures can quickly rise to unsafe levels. On average, 37 children die in hot cars each year. And neighbors are advised to check on elderly residents. Forecasters said they expect the high temperatures to remain Thursday and Friday and into the weekend before a cold front comes Sunday. As David Streit of The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang described the weather, “I do not like it this hot, I do not like it a lot.” He went on, “Stepping outside, oh I don’t wanna, feels like entering a sauna.” On social media, many people had advice, suggestions and a few jokes for how to deal with the summer heat wave. I'm gonna try my best. But apologies in advance for my sweatiquette today. D.C. is HOT, folks. https://t.co/2VYxAcLATa And even some of the animals — alpacas — found a way to stay cool in the


Zoos are too important to fail. But they can be much better than they are.

by paring its collection down to a limited number of species — including penguins, grizzly bears, snow leopards and harbor seals — and all from a few select climatic zones. American zoos are best known for their charismatic megafauna — polar bears, tigers, giant pandas. But an alternative strategy would be investment in smaller, less cuddly animals, which take up less space but are no less fascinating to behold. Exotic insects like the Madagascar hissing cockroach could teach visitors how dynamic ecologies work and still let young people to encounter animal life up close. An emphasis on endangered amphibians like the Panamanian golden frog would allow for a wide-ranging set of exhibits on the vulnerability of delicate ecosystems around the world. Zoos could also display a greater variety of threatened species together in shared exhibits to get audiences to redefine species conservation as the preservation and rehabilitation of natural habitats. Again, at the Central Park Zoo, a single exhibit houses a global menagerie united by a common climate. Its indoor tropical rainforest gives sanctuary to black-and-white ruffed lemurs, fairy bluebirds, golden lion tamarins, two-toed sloths, long-tailed hornbills, red-footed tortoises, piranhas, leaf-cutter ants, and a crested wood partridge in a fake tree. Finally, zoos might reconsider whether to keep the planet’s most intelligent nonhuman animals in captivity at all. Great apes, elephants, dolphins, and whales are undoubtedly among the most beloved of zoo creatures. But in recent years the Philadelphia Zoo, Detroit Zoo and others have closed their elephant exhibits out of concern that they could not create enclosures large enough for these wondrous beasts. Likewise, National Aquarium in Baltimore plans to send its dolphins to seaside sanctuaries. Indeed, these animals require resources and commitments that reach beyond what even wealthy zoos can afford. Retiring apes, marine mammals and elephants from zoo life would be compassionate — and commonsense. For all their faults, American zoos can be dramatically improved by rethinking the composition of their collections and what they communicate to 21st century visitors about the Earth’s fragile ecology and all its creatures, great and small. Read more: Zoos will ‘look and act radically different in 20 years’ ‘We are at a precipice of a major evolution in zoos’ ‘Captivity is degrading’: Why a major city is shutting down its zoo National Aquarium dolphins will leave Baltimore for seaside sanctuary What Harambe’s death means for a critically endangered species of gorilla


This could be a completely different strategy for tackling the world’s carbon emissions

level — can be an effective climate change mitigation strategy. There are several benefits to this kind of approach, according to “The suggestion that comes from these results is that instead of targeting all power plants in a country, one could get big reductions with relatively less cost by targeting the most inefficient plants,” he told The Washington Post by email. “The same line of analysis suggests that one could look carefully at the plants that are doing very well and learn lessons from them to apply to other plants and new plants. That is, one could learn why some plants do a really good job and some do a bad job.” Still, studying these types of inequalities doesn’t actually pinpoint which plants are the worst offenders — it just tells us that the disproportion exists. So there’s plenty of work to be done, even after conducting a study of this type, when it comes to figuring out which plants to target. “To target the worst plants, one might want to do what we do with CEO salaries — compare the biggest numbers, the worst plants, to the average ‘worker,’ or the best plants, to see how bad the worst are,” Dietz suggested. “Given the data they have, it should be easy to find the plants to look at. But at that level, it would be best to be in discussion with interested and affected people and business to develop a fair and effective plan.” Jorgenson also pointed out that it’s possible countries with low levels of disproportionality can still have overall high electricity-related carbon output if all the plants are producing large amounts of emissions — a point he says is important not to overlook. In general, focusing future studies on particular nations can help answer additional questions about any one country’s power plant emissions, how they differ across regions, why they differ from one another and how they contribute to overall national greenhouse gas emissions. “The more we scale this down, perhaps the more effective it could be in coming up with reasonable and effective mitigation strategies,” Jorgenson said. And, of course, improving the power sector in one nation has benefits that radiate all over the world. While cutting down on the most egregious polluters in any area comes with multiple local benefits — cleaner air, more efficient and cost-effective electricity production — the authors’ particular focus in


Bald eagle released into wild after being hit by car and rehabilitated

A female bald eagle named “Trust” recovered after being struck by a vehicle. (Courtesy of Owl Moon Raptor Center) A bald eagle that was hit by a car in Potomac, then rescued and nursed back to health, is doing well and has been released into the wild. The female eagle had been named “Trust.” She was found in early March in Montgomery County and rescued by a county police officer and an officer from the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Authorities said Trust was probably eating a deer carcass in the area of River Road and Riverwood Drive when she was struck by a car. She suffered a “fractured coracoid.” Trust was taken to the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, Md., and nursed back to health, officials said. Seemingly appropriate with the bird’s national stature, the rescuers said on the Fourth of July that she had been released and is “once more flying free over the Potomac River.” The injured eagle was taken care of at Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, Md. (Courtesy of Owl Moon Raptor Center) The news brought plenty of online comments. LaRue B. Nusbaum wrote on Facebook: “Trust is soaring again!” Anna Stewart wrote, “That’s awesome to hear!!” And MaryEllen Panfil said, “Wonderful post for Fourth of July.” Bald eagles have made a resurgence in recent years after having previously been on the endangered species list. They are considered a protected species, according to the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Experts say that vehicles are one of the biggest killers of bald eagles. Another problem for eagles has been development. As growth in the region has encroached on their habitat, eagles are eating less fish and scavenging more. They often are hit by vehicles as they eat carcasses on roads or are sickened from eating out of dumps or landfills, experts said.


Kushner’s cousins say family Holocaust stories should have been off-limits in Trump defense

Donald Trump’s son-in-law is facing scrutiny from family members over his recent defense of Trump against charges of anti-Semitism, which exploded after the Trump campaign circulated an image on Twitter that offended Jewish activists and others. Jared Kushner — who is married to Ivanka Trump and is a key player in Trump’s presidential operation — wrote that Trump had been held to an unfair standard in an op-ed article published Wednesday in the New York Observer, which Kushner owns. Kushner, who is Jewish, wrote that Trump is being held accountable for "utterances of even the most fringe of his supporters.” That piece came in response to mounting criticism over an image circulated last week that accused Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, of corruption. The image featured a red six-point star — which resembled the Star of David — mounted over a pile of $100 bills. The image had previously appeared on a white supremacist website. Writers who have spoken out against the image have faced threats and anti-Semitic personal attacks on social media. Several of Kushner’s cousins took offense at his use of their grandparents’ Holocaust survival stories in the article, according to comments first reported by Politico. “I have a different take-away from my Grandparents' experience in the war,” Marc Kushner, Jared’s cousin, wrote on Facebook Thursday morning. “It is our responsibility as the next generation to speak up against hate. Anti-semitism or otherwise.” Jacob Schulder, identified by Politico as another cousin of Jared's, wrote a blistering response on Facebook as well. The comments appear to have been deleted. “That my grandparents have been dragged into this is a shame. Thank you Jared for using something sacred and special to the descendants of Joe and Rae Kushner to validate the sloppy manner in which you've handled this campaign,” wrote Schulder, according to Politico. “… [F]or the sake of the family name, which may have no meaning to you but still has meaning to others, please don't invoke our grandparents in vain just so you can sleep better at night. It is self serving and disgusting.” The image ignited a political firestorm for Trump, creating a nearly week-long distraction for the campaign at a critical moment before the Republican National Convention later this month. The controversy — which Trump has stoked through persistent references at campaign rallies this week — has also drawn attention away from the culmination of an


The seasons on this triple-sun planet last a lifetime

scientists snapped a high-res photo but, rather, that they were able to collect data straight from the world itself instead of relying on the analysis of changes in starlight, as is the case for most exoplanet detections. It's the first exoplanet detected using SPHERE, short for Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research Instrument. SPHERE, which is part of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, is tuned to infrared light in order to seek out the heat signatures of young planets. It's designed to filter out the bright light of a host star (or three), allowing scientists to directly detect these infant worlds. At four times the mass of Jupiter and 580 degrees Celsius, HD 131399Ab sounds pretty extreme. But it's actually one of the smallest, coolest exoplanets ever imaged directly. It's also one of the youngest planets detected, period — it's just 16 million years old. For reference, scientists have found 100 million-year-old bees. Bees! This planet is, like, 84 million years younger than bees. This artist's impression shows a view of the triple star system HD 131399 from close to the giant planet orbiting in the system. (Luis Calçada/European Southern Observatory) "HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it's the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration," study author Dániel Apai of the University of Arizona said in a statement. Apai and his colleagues aren't positive about the planet's orbital trajectory, but they think it goes something like this: At the center of the system sits the biggest star, one 80 percent more massive than our own sun dubbed HD 131399A. The other two stars, B and C, orbit the larger one, sitting about 300 times the distance between Earth and our sun. B and C are separated from one another by a distance about equal to that between our sun and Saturn. They twirl as if connected around a common point, like a spinning dumbbell, orbiting HD 131399A in tandem. Here's what that looks like: This animation shows the orbit of an exoplanet in the triple-star system HD 131399. It's awesome. As a result of this complex configuration, the Jupiter-like world doesn't orbit all three stars; it orbits only HD 131399A. At times, it sits on one side of A, with B and C twirling around on the other. But it sometimes passes in between A and the dance of the