The Army can’t repeat the mistakes of the 1990s if it wants to end sexual assault

Last week, the independent review committee investigating the murder of Spec. Vanessa Guillén by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood issued its final report. The report detailed systematic leadership failures that produced a permissive environment for sexual harassment and assault at the sprawling Texas army post. It also detailed the shocking lapses on the part of the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division (CID) that led to it taking over two months to establish what had happened to Guillén. As a result, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired or suspended 14 commanders, including two major generals. But the Army’s recent history suggests the institution needs to do much more to tackle its culture of sexual violence. The problem isn’t a new one. In the 1990s, the Army also faced sexual assault scandals. Then too, Army leaders were shocked by independent reports that detailed systemic failings and pledged to do better. However, they failed to create a healthier environment for women in the Army. In fighting off demands for an end to gender-integrated basic training, Army leaders lost any momentum they initially had for trying to promote cultural change. In November 1996, the Army announced three male instructors at the basic training center in Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., had been charged with rape, abuse and harassment of female soldiers under their supervision. Eventually, 12 male drill instructors were charged with a variety of crimes, exposing a pattern of sexual exploitation and the abuse of authority. News of the Aberdeen scandal broke just five years after the Navy’s infamous Tailhook scandal, where more than 40 male Navy and Marine aviators were charged with sexual assault and other crimes. The Army, determined not to suffer similar damage to its reputation, moved quickly to commission several inquiries about sexual abuse within the service. It set up a hotline for soldiers to report sexual harassment, which was soon overwhelmed with over 4,000 calls in 10 days. Surveys of women in the Army revealed at least 55 percent of female soldiers had been sexually harassed, and political pressure for action grew. At the center of these demands for action was Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer. A Vietnam veteran with a background in recruit training, he was dismayed by the abuses at Aberdeen, which he saw as a grave violation of the trust placed in commanders. When it came to broader culture around sexual harassment in the military,


Sen. Charles Robb (D-Va.) declaring “we ought to question whether we may be pushing in a direction that is simply not productive.” Faced with this critique, Reimer conceded “there’s probably a need for a more detailed look in this particular area.” A group of female officers warned Reimer that this focus on gender-integrated training was an exercise in victim-blaming. They were concerned that “a move to ‘study’ the issue of mixed-gender training may not only be misplaced but might also be a setback” because it would focus attention on the wrong issue and reopen old debates that had been closed. This warning proved prescient. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) introduced legislation in the House that would require the Armed Forces to offer gender-segregated training for all recruits, while Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) tried to attach a similar amendment to the annual defense appropriations bill. Secretary of Defense William Cohen had created a commission in response to the Aberdeen scandal and in December 1997, it published its findings, which included a recommendation that the Army, Navy and Air Force resegregate aspects of their basic training. Ultimately, the military — including the Army — wisely rejected this report’s findings on gender-integrated training and refused to segregate men and women in basic training. Nonetheless, a controversy that had begun a year previously with an outcry about the treatment of women had ended up focusing on whether progress on gender integration should be reversed. The opportunity to tackle the root of sexism and violence against women was lost. As a result, the problem persisted. According to retired Major Gen. Robert Shadley, commander of the Ordnance School at Aberdeen during the scandal, in the 20-year period after the scandal, over 400,000 service members were the victims of sexual assault. The trajectory of the 1996-1997 debate about sexual assault within the Army demonstrates that the initial public outcry over the Fort Hood report will do little to reduce the number of women victimized in the Army if military leaders do not follow up aggressively with broad-based action. Declarations of contrition and of a determination to fix things on the part of military leaders are a start. But these promises will only work if military leaders keep the focus where it belongs: on a misogynistic Army culture and the lack of consequences for sexual misdeeds that have enabled men in the Army to victimize female colleagues for far


D.C. closes 5 schools as more students return to classrooms and asymptomatic testing begins

classrooms, the school system thinks the safeguards prevented the virus from spreading, though it is still too soon to know for sure. “Our response to the presence of individuals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 has proven DCPS’ health and safety protocols are working,” Ferebee said in a statement. “The at-school asymptomatic convenience testing pilot, which is just about a week underway, will inform public health data and help guide DCPS on the path to reopen more schools and welcome back additional students this winter.” Across the country, school districts are taking different approaches to testing. New York City, for example, frequently tests a random selection of students at schools to monitor how school infection rates compare to city infection rates. Friendship Public Charter School in the District, which is educating a few hundred students in person, is testing students every two weeks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that schools consider a testing strategy if their jurisdictions have enough tests, particularly at schools serving populations disproportionately affected by the virus. Studies exploring how children spread the disease have come to different conclusions, but Aaron Milstone, pediatric infectious-disease physician at Johns Hopkins University, said communities should assume that children spread the virus the same way adults do. Masks, social distancing and other safeguards are critical in any reopening plan, he said. The latest D.C. school virus data represents the first batch of student testing, and Milstone cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from tests taken at a single point of time — especially if it is the first time widespread testing is occurring. He said students, for example, who tested positive over the summer could still be testing positive even though they are no longer contagious. This data alone, he said, is not enough to determine whether schools are contributing to the spread of the virus in the District. “It’s hard to assess a single point of time,” Milstone said. Staff reporting to work in-person are expected to receive tests in the mail this week that they can administer to themselves in person as part of the pilot program. Local health officials released data this month showing schools and day cares as a major source of outbreaks in the city. But the data came with big caveats, including that an outbreak is defined as two cases, which are not necessarily connected, tied to a location over a 14-day span.


Vaccine news has led to a spike in travel bookings for 2021 and beyond

encompassing cruise lines, tour operators, travel agents and resorts — told The Washington Post that they are seeing bookings pick up for the second half of next year after a brutal stretch that brought the world to a standstill. “With the most challenging environment comes the biggest opportunity for a return,” said Brad Tolkin, co-chairman and CEO of World Travel Holdings, a travel company that sells cruise, villa and resort vacations. “And I think it’s going to be thunderous.” At his own company, bookings are “heavily skewed” toward the second half of next year and into 2022. “We are taking an unprecedented amount of business now for 2022 relative to how much we took last year for 2020, pre-pandemic,” Tolkin said. “It’s just amazing how far in advance people are booking.” At Sandals Resorts, bookings for summer are spiking, deputy chairman Adam Stewart said in a statement. The company is grappling with a coronavirus outbreak at its Grenada resort, but it is still pulling in big numbers for next year. “Summer 2021 is seeing a double-digit percentage gain in overall occupancy when compared with previous summer booking trends, including summer 2019,” Stewart said, adding that the increase stretches into 2022 and 2023. “There is no doubt that we’re seeing an upward bookings trend as a testament to the pent-up wanderlust we’ve all experienced this past year.” Virtuoso, a travel agency network, is seeing the most bookings for September and October of next year, with increases especially pronounced for international trips. “All along, we’ve been saying that Q3 2021 is when we expect to see travel making a meaningful comeback and these numbers support that premise,” spokeswoman Misty Belles said in a statement. Some of those bookings were clearly spurred by vaccine developments. The first doses in the United States were given earlier this week to health-care workers; so far in the United Kingdom, more than 130,000 people have been vaccinated. Black Tomato, a luxury travel company, recorded 300 percent more sales this week than the last, and 200 percent more honeymoons have been booked this week. Customers have been bringing up the vaccine in conversations with experts. Alex Sharpe, president and CEO of Signature Travel Network, said business has picked up since the distribution of the vaccine started last week, with people booking trips that start as early as June. “We’ve seen the phones ringing more,” he said. Customers are


Maryland football cancels Michigan State game after 15 players test positive for coronavirus

to reschedule some matchups that were canceled earlier in the season. Maryland was originally scheduled to play the Spartans on Nov. 21, but another coronavirus outbreak in the Terps’ program prompted the school to cancel the game. Only four games in the Big Ten are still scheduled to be played this weekend. Purdue’s game against No. 11 Indiana and Michigan’s game against No. 16 Iowa were canceled because of the virus. The Big Ten’s title game between East Division winner Ohio State and West Division champion Northwestern is still on for Saturday in Indianapolis. This weekend marks the end of the regular season around the country, with the College Football Playoff committee announcing its final rankings Sunday. Some teams have opted out of playing in bowl games because of the mental strain this season has placed on players. With a win over Michigan State, the Terps would have improved to 3-3 and positioned themselves to earn a spot in a bowl game for the first time since 2016. The NCAA waived the usual requirements for bowl eligibility, so there is still a chance that Maryland could be selected despite a sub-.500 record. But the Terps now only have two wins, and it’s unclear whether they would have enough available players or will have controlled the outbreak in time for a late-December bowl game. In the Terps’ overtime loss to Rutgers last weekend, they played without four key players — quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, linebackers Chance Campbell and Ruben Hyppolite II and defensive back Jakorian Bennett. All of those players have started at times this season and could not play against Rutgers for medical reasons. Locksley declined to comment when asked whether those players tested positive for the coronavirus. Maryland does not release the names of players who test positive. The Big Ten’s protocols require players who test positive for the virus to sit out for 21 days. Maryland canceled games against Ohio State and Michigan State last month because of an outbreak in the program. Twenty-three players and seven staff members, including Locksley, tested positive during a two-week span in November. Numerous players could not play when Maryland returned against Indiana. The following week, Michigan canceled its game against Maryland because of coronavirus cases in its program. At the University of Maryland, 154 of roughly 550 athletes have tested positive for the virus since teams began returning to campus this summer.


The Health 202: Or should we say Coronavirus 202? Here's our year-end review

with Alexandra Ellerbeck It’s been a year, readers. I expected to spend 2020 writing about topics like drug prices, insurance reforms, the opioid epidemic and health policy fights in the election. Instead, I spent most of the year trying to understand and explain one particularly pernicious virus — and the havoc it wreaked on the United States. I wrote a lot about the coronavirus. Far more than any other topic, in fact: We tried all year to bring you the newest and smartest reporting on the pandemic, even as scientists’ and researchers’ understanding of the novel coronavirus evolved. Our Washington Post colleagues contributed immensely, providing in-depth reporting on everything from testing to vaccines to state shutdowns and more. And while the pandemic raged, all the other issues we normally cover were still in the background. The nation elected a new president who will shift the government’s approach to health policy. The opioid crisis raged on — and may have worsened. The Supreme Court considered whether Obamacare is constitutional yet again. Our first Health 202 about the coronavirus was on Jan. 23, with this headline: “Coronavirus may not get as bad as SARS, but U.S. officials are on alert anyway.” I wrote this: Is this new More than 500 people — most of them in Wuhan, China — have been sickened by the illness, and at least 17 have died, Part of that is because we — and the experts we talk to — can’t see into the future. And while we try to include historical perspective, that's not always a predictor of how events will unfold. That was apparent in the case of vaccine development, which moved much faster than most had predicted based on timelines for past vaccines. A Twitter follower recently suggested that news outlets could increase trust in journalism by doing a year-end listicle of stories where they were wrong. That’s not a bad idea, considering Americans’ trust in media has declined over the past two decades. So we’re taking her advice. Here are a few Health 202s that didn’t age so well: “Liberals fearing yet another Supreme Court vacancy for President Trump to fill have some cause for relief: It doesn’t appear that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is going anywhere anytime soon,” Uh — not so much. Justice Ginsburg died in mid-September, setting up a worst-case judicial scenario for Democrats in the waning months of the


Mientras la seguridad en México se deteriora, el poder de las fuerzas militares crece

Read in English CIUDAD DE MÉXICO— Cuando el presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador asumió su cargo, sus asesores principales fueron brutalmente honestos. El sistema de seguridad de México estaba “en ruinas”, advirtieron. Los homicidios habían alcanzado niveles récord. Las fuerzas policiales locales estaban infiltradas por grupos criminales. Decenas de miles de personas habían sido desaparecidas a la fuerza. El país, concluyeron en un análisis enviado al Congreso, se había “convertido en panteón”. López Obrador, un ícono de la izquierda mexicana, fue crítico durante mucho tiempo de la guerra contra el narcotráfico apoyada por Estados Unidos. “Que regresen los soldados a los cuarteles”, había insistido. Sin embargo, cuando tuvo que enfrentarse a los niveles más altos de violencia en los últimos 60 años, respondió de la misma manera que sus predecesores: convocó a las fuerzas militares. Tras dos años de gobierno de López Obrador, las Fuerzas Armadas de México han asumido un papel más amplio en los asuntos del país que en cualquier otro momento desde el fin de los gobiernos liderados por militares en la década de 1940. El gobierno ha desplegado un número récord de tropas para hacer frente a la deteriorada situación de seguridad. Las Fuerzas Armadas patrullan ciudades, allanan laboratorios de drogas y protegen instalaciones estratégicas. Pero eso no es todo. Los militares están siendo cada vez más la fuerza a la que recurre el presidente para tareas previamente gestionadas por agencias civiles, desde administrar puertos hasta remodelar hospitales y construir aeropuertos. El Ejército se encuentra ahora en medio de una de las mayores crisis en las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y México en los últimos años. Indignado por el arresto en Estados Unidos del exsecretario de la Defensa Nacional de México por presuntamente ayudar a un poderoso cártel de drogas, el Congreso mexicano aprobó el martes un proyecto de ley que probablemente obstaculice la cooperación en materia de narcotráfico y otros asuntos penales. López Obrador propuso la legislación. El distanciamiento muestra cómo las autoridades estadounidenses subestimaron el papel cada vez más importante que desempeñan las fuerzas militares de México. Lo que pareció una acción en pro de la justicia para los fiscales estadounidenses fue percibido en México como una acción para debilitar a un aliado. El dramático arresto del general Salvador Cienfuegos en Los Ángeles alarmó a una amplia gama de políticos, a quienes les preocupó que los agentes antidrogas estadounidenses estuvieran penetrando profundamente las instituciones


The Technology 202: Here are the winners and losers in the tech industry in 2020

with Tonya Riley Programming note: The Technology 202 will be taking a break for the holidays. Tomorrow is our last day of publication, and we'll return to your inboxes on Monday, Jan. 4. We hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season and happy new year. 2020 was the year tech became undeniably essential. The coronavirus pandemic transformed our lives — and made us more reliant on tech than ever before. The pandemic disrupted the industry in unprecedented ways that could have lasting consequences on how people work, gather and entertain. Here are the tech industry's winners and losers: Amazon’s empire extended as foot traffic dwindled to malls and physical stores. The company seized on the opportunity to expand its logistics network to more directly compete with UPS and FedEx. And it embarked on a hiring spree unprecedented in modern history, adding more than 400,000 employees in ten months. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The boom in e-commerce also bolstered other retailers with strong online operations, including Walmart and Target. And even smaller players including Etsy, eBay and Shopify saw a pandemic-related boost in sales.. The Analysts were skeptical that a host of new streaming services would find their footing, especially in a market where Netflix and Hulu were already performing strongly. But if there was ever a year when the public clamored for more options as they channel surfed, it came when a global pandemic confined everyone to their couches. Already, Disney Plus has more than 86 milion subscribers, approaching half of Netflix's massive subscriber base in just over a year. The Zoom was the breakout app of the pandemic, as lives shifted online thanks to widespread stay-at-home orders and limits on in-person gatherings. An app many Americans had never even heard of before March was suddenly a lifeline. The company has continued to see its ranks of free users surge, especially as it removes its time limits for free calls on holidays. And the company reported in its recent earnings call it is seeing usage surge among businesses. The company had 433,700 customers with more than 10 employees as of Nov. 30, a 485 percent spike from the year before. FaceTime, Google Meet, Facebook Live, Slack and other services that bolstered our homebody lifestyles saw similar boosts. The trade-off: Even as Zoom helped us stay connected, we all lost the


benefits of in-person contact. Muted microphones, unstable Internet connections and grainy grids were reminders the tech industry still hasn’t developed a suitable substitute for gathering in person. Airbnb had a rough spring, as travel restrictions and government-imposed shutdowns blew up the travel industry. But the rental company found its footing and ultimately had the largest tech IPO of the year. Airbnb's darkest period came in April, when bookings dropped more than 72 percent from the previous year, Rachel Lerman reported. The company, however, rebounded more quickly than other travel operations, in part because its platform allows greater flexibility. Hosts adopted new deep cleaning standards and opened their homes to longer stays. The trade-off: Food-delivery companies surged in popularity. With restaurants shuttered, people turned to Doordash, UberEats and other food delivery apps in record numbers. Doordash even managed to gain a narrow profit in one quarter this year – a surprise in an industry that many were skeptical of because it was known to heavily burn cash. The 2020 exposed the growing chasm between white-collar tech workers and the shadow workforces that power some of the world’s largest companies. Many engineers and other corporate tech employees enjoyed some of the most flexible work-from-home arrangements, and benefits such as bonuses, during the pandemic. Meanwhile, Amazon reported nearly 20,000 of its employees, largely working in warehouses, contracted covid-19. Content moderators had to deal with a surge in harmful content related to the 2020 election and the coronavirus, and in many instances risked their health and reported to an office while other full-time social media employees worked from home. As demand for Uber and Lyft rides dried up, drivers saw began to understand how precarious their jobs and financial protections actually were. Meanwhile, Uber, Lyft and other tech companies scored a key victory as California voters passed Proposition 22 Mark Zuckerberg had another rough year. Hating Facebook was one of the few issues that united the political parties this year. Zuckerberg was hauled in front of Congress multiple times — testifying on issues ranging from antitrust concerns and the company's handling of content during the 2020 election. And his company was just hit with a pair antitrust lawsuits, which set the stage for the courts to force the tech giant to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp. Travel booking sites were suddenly unnecessary. TripAdvisor, Expedia and others weren’t prepared for the sudden drop-off in global


The ecstasy and agony of adaptation during a pandemic

Spoiler Alerts will be on hiatus for the next two weeks, returning Dec. 31 with the announcement of this year’s Albie award winners. This requires a slightly-earlier-than-usual update to my pandemic diary, but an awful lot has happened in the past few weeks. To recap the dominant themes of the past 10 months: This month is all about the nature of human adaptation, for good and ill. I know a little something about how people react to catastrophes and crises. In disaster flicks, people are usually depicted as selfish, panicky nitwits. Human fallibility and weakness are at the core of the modern zombie canon. The truth is more complicated. It is certainly the case that some humans do react that way, particularly to immediate threats. But it is also true that our species can adapt quickly to any new normal, once that new normal comes into focus. Ordinarily, one would think that adaptability is a good quality to possess. The upside is readily observable in how Americans are adjusting to the news that one coronavirus vaccine has been approved, another one will soon be approved and more are in the pipeline. I have never seen people happier about videos of trucks rolling out for delivery. The celebratory, synchronized dancing by my local health-care workers has been above and beyond the call: Little wonder that, as predicted, more and more Americans are receptive to taking a novel coronavirus vaccine now that it is a reality. Adaptation has its downsides, however. It also means adjusting to trends that are horrific. A week ago I heard CDC Director Robert Redfield discuss the state of the pandemic at a virtual Council on Foreign Relations meeting. He said that, as feared, the Thanksgiving travel combined with colder weather forcing many people indoors have led to a surge in infections. That, in turn, is now leading to a surge in deaths. According to Redfield, for the next 60 to 90 days the United States will experience daily death tolls that exceed the casualties on Sept. 11, 2001. The vaccine approvals will have no effect on those numbers. Almost 3,000 people died from the Sept. 11 attacks. That translates into an additional 180,000 Americans dead by the middle of February and possibly 270,000 Americans dead by the end of winter. Tack that onto the 300,000 confirmed dead from covid-19 so far and that means that the odds


As Mexico’s security deteriorates, the power of the military grows

domestic operations has increased by around 20 percent, to nearly 66,000 on average during the first half of 2020, according to Samuel Storr, a consultant to the citizen security program at Ibero-American University. There’s been a 75 percent jump in navy personnel deployed domestically, to 27,000, he said. Some of the forces’ increase was in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, there are now about 100,000 national guard members stationed around the country, a force nearly triple the size of the disbanded national police. López Obrador has broadened the mandate of the armed forces considerably. They have been tasked with fighting rampant fuel theft and refurbishing hospitals to treat covid-19 patients. Former military leaders now run the federal migration offices in more than half of Mexico’s 32 states, according to the National Human Rights Commission. The armed forces are also in charge of many of the president’s signature infrastructure projects. “The Defense Ministry has more contracts than the biggest construction companies in the country,” said Eduardo Ramírez Leal, leader of an association of 12,000 construction businesses. Aides say López Obrador believes the military works faster and is less corrupt than private firms. While the government has slashed most departments’ budgets because of the recession, the Defense Ministry got a 20 percent boost for 2021. Much of it is for building the airport outside the capital, which it will also operate. Military leaders emphasize that they are simply obeying orders. “It’s evident that we are not seeking power, because we depend on the executive branch and we are subordinate to its authority,” said Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval, a general. But civic groups and security experts warn that López Obrador’s reliance on the troops could threaten Mexico’s civilian-military balance. An opaque, insular institution is assuming more control over government activities, potentially resulting in less scrutiny, they say. “It’s as though the civilian part of the Mexican state didn’t exist in some areas,” said Raúl Benítez, a security analyst who teaches at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Mexican military officers “certainly pride themselves on very loyal subordination to civilian authority,” said Craig Deare, a former Pentagon official who teaches at the National Defense University in Washington. But the military doesn’t answer to a civilian defense minister or strong congressional oversight committees. “It’s really only one guy” the armed forces respond to, said Deare — the president. López Obrador often refers to


Maryland crime report

Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, •Destruction to a vehicle •Destruction of property/vandalism •Theft from a vehicle •Thefts of vehicle parts and accessories •Tampering with a vehicle •Attempted vehicle theft •Credit or debit card theft •Identify theft •Lost property •Telephone misuse •Trespassing The following were among incidents reported by Anne Arundel County police. For information, call 410-222-8050. Annapolis Area Sunwood Ct., Brooklyn Park Area Hillview Dr., Glen Burnie Area Nolpark Ct., Linthicum Heights Area Nursery Rd., Severn Area Sandy Farm Rd., Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, Madison St., Annapolitan Lane, Bay Ridge Ave., Bay Ridge Rd., Dewey Dr., Hilltop Lane, West St., Captains Cir., Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, Clarksville Area White Pebble Beach Way, Columbia Area Dobbin Center Way, Monarch Mills Way, Snowden Square Dr., Berger Rd., Cobblefield Dr., Columbia Rd., Copperwood Way, Columbia 100 Pkwy., Rivendell Lane, Swift Stream Pl., Sandalfoot Way, Tamar Dr., Tamar Dr., Wild Bees Lane, Elkridge Area Gateway Overlook Dr., Landing and Montgomery roads, Washington Blvd., Dorsey Rd., Highland Area Highland Rd., Jessup Area Washington Blvd., Laurel Area Horsham and Chippenham drives, Washington Blvd.,


In Biden’s Delaware hometown, economic pain enters new phase as pandemic rages on

a mandatory 14-day quarantine, forcing her to stay home from her $31,000-a-year job as a medical office assistant. “I’m on my own,” she said. “I’m scared for the next couple of months.” Washington’s delay in approving additional aid has been especially hard on families: Forty-two percent of adults with children said they found it “somewhat” or “very” difficult to pay routine bills in the past seven days, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The pressures are proving too much for some. Case workers at Child Inc., a nonprofit social services provider, began seeing an increase in domestic violence complaints within weeks of the first business closures in March. In July, the organization sheltered 70 women and children in emergency facilities and local motels, up from 34 in the same month in 2019. “Domestic-violence victims are staying with us longer because they have no option. They literally have nowhere to go,” said Lori Sitler, the group’s executive director. At Faithful Friends Animal Society, the number of people using the drive-through pet food bank has risen by 50 percent, according to Jane Pierantozzi, the founder. The no-kill shelter has seen an increase in the number of owners who cannot afford to keep their pets, though people are not yet surrendering them en masse as they did in the 2009 financial crisis. “People need their animals more than ever. It’s bad for their mental health to give them up,” she said. Washington’s initial pandemic response helped keep alive numerous Wilmington restaurants, dentist offices, commercial real estate firms, manufacturers and printing companies — though not without leaving scars. The city’s Grand Opera House, nine blocks from the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Amtrak station, received $765,000 in government loans. When the federal money ran out, about half of the 34 staff members were laid off, and the rest accepted 20 percent pay cuts. The venue hasn’t held an indoor performance since March. Mark Fields, executive director of the nonprofit Grand, which operates three downtown venues, has staged outdoor events, including a drive-through holiday light show. But he needs to raise $5 million to compensate for lost revenue. “We still don’t know — and nobody does — when we’re going to reopen,” he said. “It’s really hard to plan for a future when you don’t know when that future is going to start.” The pandemic


Russia remains barred from Tokyo Olympics after court reduces doping ban to two years

The Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced Russia’s four-year ban from international sports competition by half, but the country still will miss the next two Olympics and the World Cup. The decision was announced Thursday morning by the Swiss-based court. A panel of three arbitrators held a four-day hearing last month behind closed doors to consider the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s appeal of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ban, which was handed down last December. The court ruling means that Russia won’t have any formal presence — no flag, no anthem — at the Tokyo Olympics next summer or the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. It also will be barred from most major international competitions through 2022, including the FIFA World Cup, the Youth Olympic Games, Paralympics and world championships. Many of its athletes will still be eligible to compete, though not under the Russian flag. “This Panel has imposed consequences to reflect the nature and seriousness of the noncompliance and to ensure that the integrity of sport against the scourge of doping is maintained,” the arbitrators wrote in their decision. “The consequences which the Panel has decided to impose are not as extensive as those sought by WADA. This should not, however, be read as any validation of the conduct of RUSADA or the Russian authorities.” While the panel reduced the punishment, it agreed with WADA in allowing Russian athletes who have not been implicated in the country’s state-sponsored doping scheme to compete in Tokyo and Beijing as unaffiliated athletes. They can wear Russian colors, but if their uniforms bear the name of their country, it also must say “neutral athlete.” At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, 168 Russians competed as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” In addition to the ban on international competition, the panel agreed with WADA’s recommendation that Russian officials be barred from sitting on any boards and committees related to international sports governance. Russia also will not be permitted to host any major sporting event or even apply for hosting duties, and the Russian flag would not be allowed to fly at any major event. The two-year punishment is expected to go into effect this month and will run through 2022. The court ruling also states that no Russian government representatives, including President Vladimir Putin, may attend any major international events for two years, including the Olympics. The panel also laid out terms for reinstatement, requiring Russia to pay


Top U.S. anti-doping official calls reduced Russia ban ‘a charade’

summer’s Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. The Russian flag can’t be flown by Olympic organizers and the country’s anthem can’t be played, but those athletes can wear Russian colors and can be recognized as a “neutral athlete from Russia.” The three-person panel of arbitrators that issued Thursday’s ruling also weakened the scope of the punishment. WADA’s initial penalty included any event subject to the World Anti-Doping Code. The court ruling, however, covers only the Olympics, Paralympics and any world championships. It does not apply to qualifying events. So, for example, the Russian national soccer team can compete under the Russian flag in any World Cup qualifiers next year, but if it advances to the 2022 World Cup, the same players will be allowed to compete in Qatar, but they will have a different name and would have to remove the flag from their uniforms. “That’s just a rebranding,” Tygart says, “How can you call it anything else?” Other U.S. Olympic officials expressed similar disappointment in Thursday’s ruling. Han Xiao, the chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Athletes Advisory Council, said the panel’s decision “waters down previously recommended sanctions against Russia.” “It is a devastating blow to U.S. athletes’ faith in the international anti-doping system and its ability to hold bad actors accountable,” he said. And in a statement, the USOPC said: “With all other organizations and advocates who value clean sport and clean athletes, we need to understand further what will transpire next in this dark chapter for international sport. What is clear at this point is that the blatant disregard shown for the rules and purpose of anti-doping regulations in this case has harmed clean athletes and gone further to erode confidence in the international anti-doping construct.” While WADA declared Thursday’s decision a victory, Tygart says it won’t serve as a deterrent. He said the sanction is similar to measures put in place before the 2018 PyeongChang Games, where the country was barred but 168 Russians still competed as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” The data manipulation that triggered WADA’s proposed four-year ban occurred less than a year later. “If anything, this incentivizes others who may want to take similar brazen steps to dupe the world and think they can get away with it, as the Russians have done here” Tygart said. While WADA’s initial sanction from last December put the burden on Russian


Hogan issues order requiring negative coronavirus test or self-quarantine after out-of-state travel

Thursday said they were grappling with a surge in new infections amid vaccination rollouts that will slow its spread. But officials cautioned that the need to practice virus-related precautions isn’t going anywhere in the short term. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) noted Thursday that Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction reported 14 new virus-related fatalities — the most in a single day since May. It pushed the county’s death toll since the start of the pandemic above 1,000. “Today’s #COVID19 case count is sobering,” he tweeted. “Until the vaccine is widely available, we must be vigilant and follow the guidance to slow the spread.” Northam carried a similar message about Virginia, hailing the beginning of vaccine delivery as a reason for optimism while reminding residents not to let down their guard. “This has been an exciting week,” Northam said in an interview with Fox 5, noting the state received 70,000 doses of the new Pfizer vaccine and is administering them to health-care workers at 18 hospitals. He said he hoped a new vaccine from Moderna would win federal approval by Friday. “We’re making progress, but . . . we are still seeing concerning numbers in Virginia,” the governor said. Citing more than 40 new deaths reported Thursday, the governor said that “the coronavirus is alive and well, and Virginians really have to be vigilant.” He urged residents to continue wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing hands as vaccines become more widely distributed. The greater Washington region on Thursday reported 6,298 new coronavirus infections, including 228 in the District, 2,217 in Maryland and 3,853 in Virginia. The region also reported 99 new fatalities connected to the virus. The seven-day average number of deaths across the three jurisdictions stood Thursday at 77, up sharply from recent weeks to a level not seen since May. The high caseloads continue to stress hospital systems, with several major hospitals in Maryland out of space in their intensive care units. Roughly 88 percent of the staffed ICU beds in the state were occupied as of Thursday with covid and non-covid patients. ICUs were completely full at 15 of Maryland’s 44 hospitals, including Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, University of Maryland Medical System’s Baltimore campus and Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham, according to state data. The National Park Service announced Thursday that the Washington Monument will close temporarily because of a reduction in workforce after possible


Biden’s promises to give Jamal Khashoggi justice will be tested soon

One month before the election, Joe Biden promised to ensure accountability for the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who two years ago was lured into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where he was killed and dismembered by Saudi government agents. This vicious crime was intended to silence a prominent critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but the result was to turn most of Washington into champions of Khashoggi’s calls for reform and a reset of the U.S.-Saudi relationship — including the incoming president. “Jamal Khashoggi and his loved ones deserve accountability,” then-candidate Biden said in an official statement in October. “Under a Biden-Harris administration, we will reassess our relationship with the Kingdom, end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, and make sure American does not check its values at the door in order to sell arms or buy oil.” The Trump administration spent two years doing everything possible to hide what the U.S. government knew about who was responsible for the murder. President Trump issued a statement in 2018 saying that Mohammed bin Salman (often known as “MBS”) might have been directly involved, but that he essentially didn’t care and didn’t want to disrupt arms or oil sales. In 2019, Congress passed a law requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to hand over an unclassified report naming the individuals U.S. intelligence agencies believed were involved, but ODNI gave them a classified report instead, hiding the information from the public. Just weeks after he is inaugurated, Biden’s campaign promises to end the coverup will be put to the test in several arenas. Thanks to the persistence of lawmakers and human rights lawyers, the drive to press the U.S. government to publicly disclose what it knows about Khashoggi’s murder never stopped. If he chooses, Biden can make good on his promises and bring crucial facts of the case to light. The administration’s first opportunity may be at the confirmation hearing for Avril Haines, who promised to “speak truth to power” when she accepted Biden’s nomination to be the director of national intelligence. Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told me he intends to ask Haines whether she will follow the law and provide an unclassified report on who was responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. “Donald Trump buried the truth to protect authoritarians and murderers in Saudi Arabia,” Wyden said. “The Biden team has a


Remote Pacific islands escaped the coronavirus this year. It devastated their economies anyway.

For some, the pandemic prompted a return to traditional economic practices. In Fiji and Samoa, the government distributed seeds so that people could grow their own food, to eat or trade via informal barter systems. The measures were a relative success. Regina Scheyvens, co-author of a study on the practice, said her research showed that these systems could serve as a “social and economic safety net.” But some measures have left analysts concerned. Under state-of-emergency laws in Samoa, the government banned not only alcohol on Sundays, but also swimming. In the Solomon Islands, lawmakers proposed banning Facebook to ensure “national unity.” Most Pacific islands cannot remain cut off indefinitely. The number of virus-free nations has dwindled as countries repatriated nationals and tried to resume trade. “There’s a certain inevitability about it all,” said Tukuitonga. Unlike other regions, Pacific islands are not expecting a quick economic rebound. Both Palau and Samoa may see their economies shrink more next year than they did in 2020, according to the Asian Development Bank. International ties will also be vital for vaccination programs. Because of its historical ties to Washington, Palau is expecting to receive doses from the U.S. rollout, although the remoteness of the island nation will make vaccines that require cold-chain storage unsuitable, Whipps said. The pandemic is only the latest reminder that the actions of countries far away can wash up on island shores. Climate change remains an existential threat for many Pacific island nations. Amid the pandemic, Fiji has needed to rehouse families because of erosion from climate change. The coronavirus has only made the problem more urgent. “The talk of global action may have slowed down, but impacts being felt in the Pacific haven’t gone away,” Newton Cain said. In the long term, Whipps said he hopes to strengthen ties with Palau’s most important allies, in Washington and Taipei. There’s already talk of opening a travel bubble with Taiwan next year. But Whipps argued that the pandemic shows that tourism alone is not the answer. Palau has reached out to the United States to ask if the islands could host a military facility. A new undersea fiber-optic cable might allow the country to become a financial hub for firms fleeing Hong Kong, Whipps said. A million tourists or new luxury hotels may sound appealing, he added, “but is that sustainable? Is that going to help us in the long run?”


‘Dance in DC’ short films capture the city’s spirit of entrepreneurship

a boutique with products that reflect the African diaspora. Alignments of style and mission, visual considerations and dancer preference were factors in the pairings, Evans says, noting that the businesses did not pay for the films. “Dance in DC” is part of “Mars Arts DC: Virtual,” an online version of Washington Performing Arts’s signature community engagement project. Not surprisingly, given the pandemic and the nontraditional artistic venues, extensive planning was required. “The business locations are not film sets, and they’re not stages. So we had to come in and really curate the shot,” says Evans, who did walk-throughs of the locations and prepped the artists on what they’d encounter. The shoots unfurled with coronavirus protocols in place, largely outside the businesses’ regular hours of operations. Despite the forethought, on-the-ground conditions presented challenges. Not only was the Ben’s Chili Bowl space on the cozy side, Pearson says, it also has carpet, which left him and Davis more tired than usual because of the drag on their shoes. But the duo adapted. “Because we’re professionals,” he says. They improvised their choreography on the spot, executing such classic Beat Ya Feet steps as the Three Step Kick, as well as Pearson’s namesake step, the Crazy Legz Reset, a burst of crisscrossing leg movements with twists and turns. As Ben’s Chili Bowl was getting ready to open, Campos-Lopez captured footage of food preparation, and when it came to recording the hoofin,’ he concentrated on “translating for the audience how fun and joyful it is to see these guys dance.” Having Ben’s Chili Bowl host Crazy Legz was a no-brainer, given the local-icon status of both the restaurant and Beat Ya Feet’s musical soul mate — go-go. Plus, says Ben’s Chili Bowl co-owner Kamal Ali, the U Street area “was always an entertainment corridor back in the Black Broadway days, so we’ve always had an affinity for the arts in our community.” Apt in a different way was the assignment of flamenco to Republic Restoratives. The bar/distillery’s chief financial officer, Sarah Mosbacher, says that her company has partnered with Washington Performing Arts before but that under coronavirus restrictions there is less convertible space. Republic Restoratives has closed its bar and pivoted to delivery, pickup and national sales, so the distillery floor is crammed with supplies. The only suitable dance site was the room where barrels of spirits sit to age. Fortunately, that milieu resonated with


Washington Monument shuttered after interior secretary tests positive for the coronavirus

with the coronavirus and entered quarantine. Interior’s leaders had planned a rooftop gathering Thursday, with propane heaters financed by donors, but canceled it after Bernhardt’s diagnosis. The shuttering of the Washington Monument, where visitors normally crowd into a small elevator to ascend to the top, has implications for D.C.'s tourist industry. The administration first closed it in mid-March, then reopened it in October. Under pandemic procedures, a limited number of people are allowed in the elevator at any one time, and they must be spaced six feet apart. “I hate to say it, but I told you so,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s representative in the House. "Think about the elevator in the monument and how closed-in it is. Who was thinking about the staff that was giving tours with the secretary?” At least four Park Service employees in the region have tested positive for the virus, one of them requiring hospitalization, said Norton, who wrote to acting Park Service Director Margaret Everson nine days ago asking that she close the monument and all other enclosed park sites in the capital region out of concern for employee health. She did not receive a response. A notice posted on the Park Service’s website reads, “Consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and in coordination with the NPS Office of Public Health, the Washington Monument is temporarily closed due to a reduction in its workforce resulting from a potential COVID-19 exposure.” “NPS is working to staff the Washington Monument at the appropriate levels to maintain the safety of its operations for visitors and employees,” it adds. Bernhardt has led one other private tour of the monument since it reopened, on Nov. 16. Some Park Service staffers and conservation groups have criticized the secretary’s push to keep parks open during the pandemic. When virus infections first surged in March, the agency closed sites with interior spaces such as the Washington Monument, Statue of Liberty National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Independence National Historic Park. But many of the most popular national parks, including Joshua Tree and Grand Canyon, remained open. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez joined a park superintendent in requesting NPS close the Grand Canyon in March. “The Navajo Nation is fighting an outbreak of Covid-19 on the Navajo Indian Reservation ... in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah,” Nez wrote administration officials. The park


Covid-19 is devastating communities of color. Can vaccines counter racial inequity?

covid-19 — not because of their skin color but because they are health-care workers. “Look at how hospitals are staffed,” said Williams, who sits on the state panel making recommendations about vaccine allocation. “The people in their uniforms, getting on the train or bus after their shift — there are a lot of people of color in that group.” Whether the people operating the buses go next is a more difficult question — and one even more freighted with issues of race and equity. “The deeper you get, the more complexity there is,” said Nancy J. Cox, a virologist and former CDC official. “A lot of essential workers don’t have the same voice, they don’t have the same political pull, and those kinds of things may be coming into play here.” Transportation is among the front-line occupations in which workers of color are most overrepresented, accounting for 56.7 percent of bus drivers and other transit workers, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a D.C. think tank. More broadly, about 4 in 10 front-line workers are Black, Hispanic, Asian American or Pacific Islander, the group estimated. Many, like Bruce Caines, also have underlying health conditions. The 61-year-old, who has diabetes, works at a Trader Joe’s on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. During his shift, from 3 to 11 p.m., he unloads deliveries, stocks shelves, rings up customers. The elderly are not the only ones at risk, said Caines, who suffered a mild case of covid-19 in February and does not want to get sick again. “In my store, we already lost one crew member, a young guy in his early 20s,” he said. Targeting front-line workers such as Caines, who is Black, “will be taking an equity approach,” said Richard Besser, who is chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy focused exclusively on health, and a former top CDC official. “It would be a tragedy if communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic are not viewed as a priority for receiving the vaccine.” The CDC advisory group estimates there are about 87 million essential workers, and states may choose to prioritize some over others. Many states, meanwhile, are building more-granular priorities into each phase, seeking to dodge the choice between front-line workers and elderly people. Tennessee’s draft plan makes adults with chronic conditions a priority before “critical infrastructure workers” and


U.S. bans technology exports to Chinese semiconductor and drone companies, calling them security threats

trade rules and is detrimental to the interests of both Chinese and American companies,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. The Trump administration began restricting exports to SMIC in September by notifying some U.S. companies that they would need a license to export to the chip maker. Inclusion on the Entity List is a broader sanction. SMIC, which was founded in 2000 in Shanghai, is among the top five semiconductor manufacturers in the world, according to a report from the United States International Trade Commission, or USITC. Industry experts say that SMIC’s technology lags behind that of chip manufacturers in Taiwan and the United States but that Beijing is pouring billions into the industry to help SMIC and other Chinese companies catch up. SMIC has enjoyed generous government financial support, including low-interest loans, tax breaks and investments to help the company build manufacturing facilities, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris said in a report last year. Commerce said that the export ban will apply to technology “uniquely required” to produce advanced semiconductors with silicon transistors sized at 10 nanometers or smaller. There are 1 billion nanometers in a meter. Chip-industry experts say SMIC and other Chinese companies are not yet able to make such advanced semiconductors and will for now need software and equipment from the United States and other Western countries to reach that capability. SMIC started as a private company, but state ownership has steadily grown over time to more than 45 percent of SMIC stock as of 2018, according to the OECD report. SMIC’s shares used to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, but the company removed its stock from the NYSE last year. The shares now trade on the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges. SMIC’s stock, held by some Western investors, fell 5 percent in Hong Kong trading Friday. The additions to the list also include some lesser-known Chinese companies, such as NucTech, which makes luggage- and cargo-screening equipment. The Trump administration said it had determined that “NucTech’s lower performing equipment impair[s] U.S. efforts to counter illicit international trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials.” NucTech couldn’t immediately be reached to comment. The administration also added several Russian entities, including OOO Sovtest Comp and Cosmos Complect, to the list, saying they appear to have used a front company to acquire “sensitive electronic components” for use in Russia without obtaining required licenses.


Maverick astrophysicist calls for unusually intense solar cycle, straying from consensus view

a similarly quiet cycle 25. They’re calling for that peak to occur in July 2025, give or take about eight months. But McIntosh, who is now NCAR’s deputy director and previously directed its High Altitude Observatory, estimates a sunspot number more than double what the joint panel is predicting. The scientists on the Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel produced their outlook by reviewing and vetting a number of predictions across the solar science and astrophysics community. Among them is Doug Biesecker, the panel’s co-chair and a scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Among the diverse panel, different ideas were discussed and debated. Disagreements often stemmed from the state of the science, Biesecker explained, and how poorly understood the underlying physics of the sun are. “We concluded it would be similar in strength to the cycle that’s just died,” said Gordon Petrie, a scientist at the National Solar Observatory. “This is a comparatively weak number. [Cycle 23] was about 50 percent stronger than [cycle 24], and going back to the 1950s, the cycles were much stronger [still.]” In stark contrast to the panel’s forecast are the prophecies of McIntosh, who anticipates that the upcoming solar cycle could be the most active in half a century. He has developed a prediction technique he says foreshadows a coming period of solar volatility. “If the relationship, [which] was developed off 24 cycles, holds, the number [of sunspots] coming out is double what the consensus prediction was from the various panel members was,” McIntosh said. His group pinned their forecast at “233 [sunspots] with error bars” during the peak of Solar Cycle 25. “And those error bars are not huge,” McIntosh added. “The data just smacks you in the face.” Predicting discolorations on the surface of a star 93 million miles away might seem like an abstract art, but it’s actually a vital exercise. That’s because the Earth is susceptible to “space weather,” or the effects of “storms” launched from the sun. The storms hurl high-energy particles toward the Earth, along with intense spurts of magnetic energy. That can have a pretty visible manifestation in the form of the aurora borealis and australis, but other impacts can be much more severe. “Big [solar] cycles cause things to fall out of low Earth orbit more quickly,” explained Biesecker. That can be problematic for satellites, which are integral for global economies and commerce. “[Energy from solar


Japan had ordered enough vaccines for the whole country. Now it has to overcome a history of vaccine mistrust.

here. At least 22 people later developed interstitial pneumonia and nine died — a problem that has barely been observed in the West. “It was later discovered that the dose of the drug used in Japan was a little too high for the Japanese people,” said Masayuki Miyasaka, an emeritus professor of immunology at Osaka University. Pfizer and AstraZeneca have both conducted small-scale clinical trials of their coronavirus vaccines in Japan, but a large-scale final-phase trial is impractical given the relatively low incidence of the coronavirus in the country. Still, the government is likely to fast-track the approval process to meet its midyear vaccination target. Takashi Nakano of Kawasaki Medical School, a member of a Health Ministry advisory board on vaccines, said the vaccination program could begin in March. “This is the dilemma, between the need for intervention as soon as possible, and the need for more time to convince people the vaccine is safe and effective,” Iwata said. Japan’s parliament amended the vaccination law this month to make the coronavirus vaccine free to residents. The government also promised to cover medical costs and disability allowances in case of serious side effects, and shoulder any damages on behalf of vaccine suppliers. The problem is that Japan’s government doesn’t enjoy high levels of public trust, especially over its coronavirus policy. “Openness and transparency are things the government lacks,” said Iwata. “They try to avoid discussion, and they are very good at avoiding criticism.” That means the government may struggle to reassure people when the inevitable setbacks occur. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee will strongly encourage athletes to get inoculated before competing in the Games. The Japanese government is likely to encourage spectators to do the same, especially if they are coming from abroad. Confidence may rise if vaccines work well in the West. Impatience to return to a normal life may also motivate people to get vaccinated, and some companies might encourage employees to do so. Still, experts say it will be tough to get enough people vaccinated to stamp out the pandemic by the time the Games take place. Nakano said the Olympics can still go ahead in that environment, based on frequent and rapid testing of athletes and spectators. But a normal Olympics? Miyasaka calls that “unrealistic.” “Maybe you will have a limited number of people in the stadium or gymnasium,” he said. “Otherwise the Games can’t be held.”


Students find creating covid-19 tracing app for school was easy. Navigating fault lines of the teenage pull to socializing was more treacherous.

2020 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 2nd District. Navigating the fault lines of the teenage pull to party with friends was more treacherous. Every morning before school, Amrit and Beck’s app, called MarinTrace, asks students and teachers about their health, travel and if anyone in their life has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the covid-19 disease. If they answer yes to any question, the program instructs them to stay home, emails school administrators, and contact tracing and testing is supposed to begin. Administrators at Branson, Amrit’s school, began piloting the app in October, soon after the campus, nestled in wooded hills north of the Golden Gate Bridge, opened for the first time since the coronavirus closed it in March. About 50 of the high school’s 320 students and 15 faculty members volunteered for the test study. Participants’ class schedules were downloaded into the app, and they agreed to self-report all their contacts — from between-class conversations to shared meals, parties and sleepovers. Amrit and Beck worked on the assumptions that students would honestly disclose their interactions because they want their school to remain open and that they wouldn’t want to sacrifice the battery life of their phone or their privacy to an app that would track their every move. Like Google maps, surveillance apps that use GPS can drain cellphone batteries. Moreover, the prospect of corporations or government agencies monitoring a student’s every step raises privacy concerns. In New Albany, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, parents fired off angry emails after the schools superintendent was quoted in a Wired story expressing interest in a Volan Technology student surveillance app. The software would have monitored students to see if they were adhering to social-distancing guidelines and would have allowed administrators to quickly identify those exposed to covid-19. Patrick Gallaway, the school district’s communications director, was reluctant to speak about the app proposal, except to say: “Our community was not thrilled about the concept. We’re not doing it.” Volan Technology If a student or teacher tests positive for covid-19, the badge will provide “a digital footprint” of where they’ve been and who they might have infected, said Joseph Spiccia, superintendent of Wickliffe City School District. He prefers electronic badges to phone tracking apps because students can remove badges when they leave school. “That option kind of mitigates the argument that Big Brother is watching you,” he said. But the


The Washington Post asked readers to describe 2020 in one word or phrase. Here’s what they said.

I am hopeful for vaccines that will protect Americans from the coronavirus that has been allowed to run rampant during the Trump administration. … I hope that we can rebuild faith in our democracy.” “2020 has been a unique year that will stick out to future generations. It has been a demanding year with the election under covid-19 as well as having the Black Lives Matter protests. Covid-19 has made life more strenuous, as many have tremendously suffered both socially and economically. It has been wearisome to stay away from loved ones and follow covid-19 guidelines.” “I am optimistic for a covid-19 vaccine in the year 2021 so that we can put covid-19 behind us and move on with our normal lives.” “No clear policy on how to deal with the pandemic, the economy or the election. A totally dysfunctional government and a deeply divided nation being encouraged to act out their fears and feelings by the government.” “An end to the pandemic and a return to a government where respect for others and for the law and normative behavior are in evidence by everyone at all times.” “The hits just kept on coming. The good, the bad, the ugly. In our family, we shared a birth and a life-altering heart surgery and a decision to move that changed our family forever. There was much soul searching and out of it came monumental changes. The year was relentless, and we had to be the same. We could not allow ourselves to succumb. We had to find creative means of succor. Succor became survival.” “Resolution. To the virus, to our political system, to the era of abject hate. And a sense of optimism — I’m really looking forward to relaxing my shoulders again. I’m hoping the country gets resolute, too — and acts to solve some of most pressing problems.” “The pandemic washes over every feature of our lives, from when we get up in the morning to when we get in bed at night. There is no escape from it. And it just keeps coming and coming. It’s like an avalanche of news, death and destruction.” “A little peace and quiet but especially for front-line workers and for families that have lost a loved one.” “There have been terrible and beautiful moments in 2020 — but all of them seem larger and more disjointed than normal life progressions or conditions.


Rare ‘double planet’ conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter to land on winter solstice

Dec. 21 marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the start of astronomical winter. This year’s winter solstice will be a bit special, though, with the darkness punctuated by a rare planetary conjunction. Jupiter and Saturn will rendezvous in the night sky on Monday and may appear joined as one “double planet.” It’s been nearly eight centuries since the pair of planets appeared this close together in the night sky. In 1623, a similar conjunction of the planets occurred, but on the same side of the sky as the sun; that meant the conjunction wasn’t visible from Earth. That makes Monday night’s show extra special, since we’ll be the first Earthlings to witness it since before the time of Marco Polo. According to Earth Sky, astronomers aren’t sure if the planetary pairing will appear as one star or just super close together. Of the astronomers it consulted, most leaned toward the planets as appearing distinct. “Part of the fun is to wait and see,” said its lead sky writer Bruce McClure. The show will be fleeting — lasting only about two hours after sunset. Skywatchers will need to look to their west-southwest as it gets dark, where they’ll see the bright, coupled planets shining through the twilight. If they appear merged to the naked eye, a telescope or binoculars will aid in telling them apart. NASA writes that they’ll be bright enough to “be seen easily from large cities” and offers tips for photographing the spectacle. For best viewing, Sky and Telescope advises finding a location with an unobstructed view of the southwest sky. Saturn will appear just to the right of Jupiter. Jupiter will be considerably brighter and somewhat rusty in color, while Saturn, a good deal dimmer, will have a more yellow hue. The two planets have been inching closer to each other since September. Despite their proximity in the night sky, Jupiter and Saturn will be hundreds of millions of miles away from one another. Yet, with one virtually in front of the other, they will appear only a tenth of a degree apart. Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, is the largest in our solar system. It is the first of the outer planets, a gas giant about 320 times more massive than Earth. Its atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium. Giant swirling whirlpools of


as it gets dark, where they’ll see the bright, coupled planets shining through the twilight. If they appear merged to the naked eye, a telescope or binoculars will aid in telling them apart. NASA writes that they’ll be bright enough to “be seen easily from large cities” and offers tips for photographing the spectacle. For best viewing, Sky and Telescope advises finding a location with an unobstructed view of the southwest sky. Saturn will appear just to the right of Jupiter. Jupiter will be considerably brighter and somewhat rusty in color, while Saturn, a good deal dimmer, will have a more yellow hue. The two planets have been inching closer to each other since September. Despite their proximity in the night sky, Jupiter and Saturn will be hundreds of millions of miles away from one another. Yet, with one virtually in front of the other, they will appear only a tenth of a degree apart. Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun, is the largest in our solar system. It is the first of the outer planets, a gas giant about 320 times more massive than Earth. Its atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen and helium. Giant swirling whirlpools of gas form storms that can last for decades or even centuries. Saturn, on the other hand, is much smaller. It’s the next planet out from the sun after Jupiter and is a gas giant, too. One year on Saturn is equivalent to 29 years on Earth. Like Jupiter, its atmosphere is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is visually striking and popular with backyard astronomers due to its icy and slightly carbonic rings. According to NASA, so-called “great conjunctions” of Jupiter and Saturn occur every 20 years or so, but very rarely do the two planets skirt by one another this closely in the night sky. The one in 1623 featured a slightly closer pass than Monday night’s. If Monday night proves to be cloudy, however, some of us may have a chance to catch the planetary intermingling again during the next conjunction this close, which is slated for March 15, 2080. After their super close appearance Monday, the pair will begin to separate, remaining close together even around Christmas, but Saturn will appear farther below and to the right of Jupiter each night. Some have compared Monday night’s spectacle to the “star of Bethlehem” or “Christmas star”


Trump has pressed hostile regimes to release American prisoners. His favorite dictators, not so much.

Egypt who heads the Freedom Initiative, said in an email. “Once the likes of Sissi and MBS realized there would be no consequences for continued detention, they had no real incentive to release prisoners.” Although Pompeo and Vice President Pence tried to get Americans out of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Trump largely refrained. Instead he called Sissi “my favorite dictator” and bragged of Mohammed bin Salman, “I saved his ass” after MBS escaped any repercussions for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. permanent resident. For two years, family members of the Americans jailed by the Saudis have been asking for a meeting with Trump, which they know would get the crown prince’s attention. The White House has repeatedly declined. Both regimes have meanwhile been expanding their harassment of Americans to include family members, including of exiled critics. When Soltan filed suit this year in a U.S. court against former Egyptian prime minister Hazem el-Beblawi, accusing him of involvement in his torture, Egyptian security forces arrested five of Soltan’s cousins. They were later released under pressure from Congress, but Soltan’s father, a U.S. green-card holder, disappeared from the prison where he was serving a political sentence and has not been heard from in six months. Soltan and other analysts think MBS and Sissi are accumulating chits — in the form of American bodies — that they can use for barter with the incoming administration of Preisdent-elect Joe Biden, who has said that he will cancel Trump’s “blank checks” for Arab dictators. MBS wants to deflect Biden from reopening the case of Khashoggi, and he is also asking the State Department to declare him immune in a suit brought against him in U.S. federal court by Saad Aljabri, an exiled former intelligence official whom MBS allegedly sought to have murdered. Biden shouldn’t deal. Instead, he ought to take the lesson that emerges from Trump’s experience: The only way to prevent Americans from being taken hostage abroad is to adopt a strict policy of no tolerance, especially with supposed U.S. allies. Sissi and MBS should get the message that high-level relations with the new administration won’t begin until the Americans they hold are freed. Biden could make that clear by reversing Trump’s stance and inviting the families of those imprisoned to the White House. Read more from Jackson Diehl’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.


Trump is rolling back protections for migratory birds. That’s a problem.

In its last months in office, the Trump administration is attempting to weaken key environmental protections for migratory birds. That’s a problem. For more than a century, the federal government has worked to protect birds that provide a host of cultural, recreational and economic values. Birds are also considered indicator species, animals that warn us of serious environmental changes — like climate change — through fluctuations in their movements, habits and population levels. Protecting migratory birds is an unsung but critically important part of environmental protection. So what can the Biden administration do counter these Trump-era efforts? Learn from history. Since the late 19th century, the U.S. government has recognized the economic importance of birds to the nation’s farms. Before synthetic pesticides were developed in the early 20th century, birds were considered the most efficacious form of insect pest control, and the U.S. Biological Survey, an agency housed in the Department of Agriculture (and a precursor to today’s Fish and Wildlife Service), devoted time and resources to understanding the population sizes, migratory patterns and feeding habits of a wide range of avian species. This attention to birds came at a time when their fates were imperiled by excessive hunting for market and sport, feather-obsessed fashion trends, industrial production and pollution and even scientific collecting. By the turn of the 20th century, there was a significant threat of massive bird extinctions. The dwindling passenger pigeon was the most famous example, and birding societies like Audubon, sport hunting associations and ornithologists banded together to press the government for action to halt these threats. Birds were understood as a critical node in the agricultural economy, and in response, the Biological Survey helped to pass a spate of national and international legislation aimed at conserving migratory birds. Most significantly, the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), a federal law that codified a 1916 Treaty with Canada, gave the survey authority over bird conservation — primarily, at first, through regulating hunting. Then, as now, laws like the MBTA were controversial. The MBTA, in fact, was criticized for wresting control over game laws from the states, and this legal challenge went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Upholding the law, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in 1920: “Here a national interest of very nearly the first magnitude is involved. It can be protected only by national action in concert with that of another power.


of various types to birds in the hope of recapturing or otherwise reacquiring the tags at a later date, thus cataloguing information on bird movements and mortality. Since the 1920s, the federal government centralized this research through the Biological Survey, which served as a clearinghouse for banding data and publishing “Bird Banding Notes” to keep collaborators appraised of best practices and progress in bird banding. Like migratory sighting data, banding has generated enormous quantities of information on birds — since 1960, federal agencies have received more than 64 million banding records. The data are used to monitor migration, understand species and ecosystem characteristics and track population trends. They show disturbing downward trends in populations for a startling number of species. These trends have multiple, complex causes, but they indicate changes that affect all of us: rapidly shrinking habitats and the ecosystem services that go along with them, as well as the dramatic and not entirely predictable effects of climate change. Agricultural pest control is no longer the primary justification for conserving migratory birds. The U.S. environmental movement of the mid-20th century gave rise to legislation like the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which codified the idea that “species of fish, wildlife, and plants are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people.” But the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has outlived its initial justification to embrace this expanded notion of the value of wildlife, and has remained a linchpin in bird conservation, providing regulatory mechanisms to curb bird mortality and mandates for further data collection. But the work is at risk in the waning months of the present administration. The Fish and Wildlife Service has published its final Environmental Impact Statement addressing an attempt to reinterpret the Act to apply only to the intentional injury or killing of birds rather than any action that harms these animals — a change that the service’s own impact statement admits will probably increase the mortality rates of migratory birds, the very species they have been charged to protect for 100 years (and which at this moment find themselves in their most dire situation since the late 19th century.) Rank-and-file scientists and administrators in federal wildlife agencies, in concert with avocational birders and citizen scientists, have for decades been the source of what we know about migratory birds and the bulwark of their conservation. This information is essential not


D.C. teen arrested in October homicide

A teenager has been arrested in a fatal shooting that occurred in the District in October, police said Saturday. Arthur Daniels IV, 42, of Northwest Washington was fatally shot Oct. 1 in the 6200 block of Eighth Street NW, police said, They said Deon Walters, 17, of Northwest was arrested Friday and charged as an adult with first-degree murder.


How to reopen the economy safely? Immunity passports.

Aaron Schwid, an international human rights attorney, is the director of public health law at Vital Strategies. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is president and chief executive of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, and senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. With the authorization of a second effective vaccine against the coronavirus, we can imagine an end to the pandemic, like voyagers on a ship seeing the safety of shore. But it will take many months before we reach the end of this perilous journey, and the public is increasingly losing patience with broad restrictions on day-to-day life. So as more and more people are vaccinated, it’s time to carefully design a system of “immunity passports.” These passports would serve as a form of proof of immunity, allowing people who have immunity to engage in some activities others cannot. That could make it possible to ratchet down protective measures, such as stay-at-home orders and business closures, without increasing health risks. A venue could finally reopen to some performers, fans and staff. Visitors could return more freely to nursing homes and prisons. International travel could increase. Versions of these passports already exist. Travel between certain countries requires proof of yellow fever vaccination. Measles and other vaccines are mandatory for school admission. Hospitals and nursing homes require that staff get an annual flu shot. Immunity passports for covid-19 — although controversial for scientific, practical and ethical reasons — are already being developed. We need minimum standards to get this right. First, the scientific issues. Any program should be explicit about what a passport means. Neither vaccination nor infection is a guarantee of protection against getting or spreading covid-19. Although results from clinical trials of the three leading vaccines have been overwhelmingly positive, robust data are not yet available on vaccine efficacy in different age groups, races and ethnicities, pregnant women and for those with certain medical conditions. Nor is it known how long immunity will last or whether vaccinated people can spread the virus. Should the approximately 18 million Americans who have recovered from documented covid-19 infections get an immunity passport, too? Unfortunately, we don’t know enough about natural immunity to certify how long and to what extent someone is protected after recovery. More accurate immunity tests and studies to better understand immunity after infection are urgently


Testing AMP with Force Webview

Testing first update Testing first update Testing update for AMP Testing update for AMP


Trump administration weighing legal immunity for Saudi crown prince in alleged assassination plot

kingdom and has condemned Khashoggi’s killing. In a statement on the anniversary of the journalist’s death in October, Biden said Khashoggi and his loved ones “deserve accountability.” A Biden administration, he added, would end U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen, and “make sure America does not check its values at the door to sell arms or buy oil.” In a statement, Aljabri’s eldest son, Khalid, a family spokesman, said U.S. support for the Saudi claim would greenlight further assassination plots. “If granted, the U.S. would essentially be granting MBS immunity for conduct that succeeded in killing Jamal Khashoggi and failed to kill my dad,” said Khalid Aljabri, a cardiologist in Toronto. He added, “Lack of accountability is one thing, but allowing impunity through immunity is like issuing a license to kill.” At the time Aljabri filed his complaint, the State Department called him “a valued partner” to the U.S. government and said it would work with the White House to resolve the situation “in a manner that honors Dr. Aljabri’s service to our country,” according to a letter responding to U.S. senators who had written on his behalf. “Any persecution of Dr. Aljabri’s family members is unacceptable,” acting assistant secretary Ryan Kaldahl wrote. The deliberation comes after lawyers for Mohammed and co-defendants earlier this month asked a federal judge to dismiss Aljabri’s lawsuit, accusing him, his children and his associates of misspending or stealing a “staggering” $11 billion allocated by the Saudi government to a counterterrorism fund under his management between 2001 and 2015. “The flaws in this Complaint are so apparent and run so deep that it can only be regarded as an attempt to divert attention from Plaintiff’s massive theft. Plaintiff can say whatever he wants to the newspapers. But this case does not belong in federal court,” Mohammed’s lawyers said in an 87-page filing in federal court in Washington. Aljabri alleged in August that the Saudi crown prince orchestrated a conspiracy that sent covert agents into the United States to surveil and harass Aljabri and his family, and eventually ordered an elite “Tiger Squad” hit team to kill him in Canada 13 days after Khashoggi’s death in 2018, but the plan was disrupted by border agents. The lawsuit alleged the Aljabri scheme paralleled the one involving Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi columnist and Post contributor. Mohammed’s response did not speak to the merits of Aljabri’s


Despite health warnings, holiday travel has already set a record for busiest weekend of the pandemic

through security — more than the standard three-ounce limit that applies to other liquids — during the pandemic. “Until further notice, passengers may bring one container of hand sanitizer up to 12oz in carry-on bags,” the TSA said in a tweet. “Expect containers to be screened separately, which may add time to the checkpoint screening experience.” While the amount of people flying every day is still consistently less than half of the same numbers seen last year before the pandemic began, the influx marks a steady increase in the frequency of days in which travel volumes surpass 1 million daily passengers. Since March, there have been a total of eight days that saw more than 1 million screenings: One occurred in October, four in November, and three have been recorded so far this month. “Travel can increase your chance of spreading and getting COVID-19. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” the CDC said in updated guidance on Dec. 2. For those who do plan to travel, the agency recommends getting tested one to three days before the trip and three to five days afterward. It also says to "reduce non-essential activities for a full 7 days after travel, even if your test is negative.” Those unable to acquire a test, the guidance says, should “reduce non-essential activities for 10 days after travel.” Christmas travel numbers are likely to plummet in some other countries, like England, where officials have imposed lockdowns and banned holiday gatherings because of a fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus. Canada and some nations in Europe have moved to ban travel from England through Christmas. While the strain has not yet been reported in the United States, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) on Monday called for the country to follow suit and ban travel from the United Kingdom. “Right now, this variant in the U.K. is getting on a plane and flying to JFK,” Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters. “We have about six flights a day coming in [to JFK airport] from the U.K., and we have done absolutely nothing.” Read more: No, you still shouldn’t travel if you had covid-19 A man died after a medical emergency on a United flight. Now the CDC wants to reach fellow passengers. Hallmark Christmas movies are like Mad Libs, so we made one for you


After man stabbed in 2019 dies of injuries, suspect faces murder charge

A suspect has been charged with second-degree murder after a man who was stabbed last year in Northeast Washington died of his injuries, according to D.C. police. Police said Jamal Green-Lee, 23, of Northwest, was stabbed in the neck April 29, 2019, during a fight with a companion inside a residence in the 100 block of Michigan Avenue NE. Police said in court papers the attack had left Green-Lee paralyzed. Police said Green-Lee died Nov. 4, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide related to the stabbing. Police announced the finding last week. The suspect was identified as Matthew Walker, 22, of Northeast. He had been detained on a charge of assault with intent to kill, which has now been upgraded to second-degree murder, according to D.C. police. Walker also faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred Feb. 14, 2019, when a gunman wearing a jogging suit and a mask opened fire inside Trojan Labor, a temporary employment service in the 1700 block of Hamlin Street NE. Police said David A. Remen, 32, a day laborer from La Crosse, Wis., was killed, and the owner of the business was wounded. Authorities have not listed motives in either the fatal stabbing or the fatal shooting. Court records show Walker has underwent psychiatric evaluation at St. Elizabeths Hospital. Walker has been ordered detained and a hearing is scheduled on both murder cases in April in D.C. Superior Court. His attorney did not respond to an interview request.


Why revered developers John and Brenda Romero started a game studio in Ireland

to development studios like Dreamfeel, DIGIT Game Studios, 9th Impact, Black Shamrock and Spooky Doorway. However, issues including a lack of targeted funding for game development, the post-2008 Irish financial crisis and “brain drain” caused by developer emigration has impacted the growth of the development sector. And so the founding of Romero Games became big news. “For the games industry, this was like their heroes and heroines moving to the country,” said Dr. Aphra Kerr, a professor based in the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University and a games industry researcher. “No smart person would have done this, right?” said Brenda. John interjected, laughing: “We ended up being really smart.” Brain drain In the late 1980s, Irish cinema was in a tough spot. The closure of the Irish Film Board was “largely seen as the death knell of a cinema which had begun to make halting steps toward the regular production of features,” Irish academic and lecturer Dr. Harvey O’Brien wrote in a 2006 paper titled “The Identity of an Irish cinema.” However, the award winning biopic “My Left Foot” released in 1989, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and directed by Jim Sheridan, earned almost $15 million at the box office, an “ironic triumph for an Irish film industry which had seemed crushed and beaten” according to O’Brien. And the release of “Empire of Sin” may just be the “My Left Foot” moment for the Irish games sector. “A successful mainstream game developed from scratch in Ireland, that could be their biggest impact, that could be transformational for the country,” said Dr. Kerr in an interview in July. Before joining Romero Games, lead programmer Ronan Pearce, 47, weighed an offer to move abroad to keep his job with a mobile publishing company. But his heart wasn’t in mobile development. “I just wanted to work on more AAA or AA game types, and there was nothing [in Ireland], there was literally nothing” Pearce said. Pearce was working alongside Chris Gregan and John O’Kane at their indie company Snozbot; All three were scooped up by Romero Games. Pearce idolized the Romeros in college and jumped at the opportunity to develop a large, mainstream game in his own country. “Irish people who’ve been trying to start something up for years, you’re really not starting at the same level as someone like John or Brenda,” he said, pointing to the couple’s massive network of connections. “They


This year’s online shopping rush is great for e-commerce and bad for last-minute shoppers

sellers had sold $346 million worth of face coverings. Angel Cleveland, owner of Etsy shop SymbolicImports in Spartanburg, S.C., watched her sales of wedding and bachelorette gear nosedive in March when “the world went on pause.” She started making masks and quarantine-themed gear, and her sales have quadrupled. It wasn’t just masks. Consumers turned to food and grocery delivery services in record numbers, helping push food delivery service DoorDash to debut on the stock market in one of the largest initial public offerings of the year. Ronni Paer, a lawyer in Los Angeles County, was laid off in March and determined to stay home as much as possible because she’s immunocompromised. She gave grocery delivery from her local Ralphs a try, and she hasn’t looked back. “Now everything is online,” she said, including holiday shopping, food and toys for her three cats and two dogs, and tickets to virtual operas and shows. “We don’t go anywhere.” The sudden spike of online shopping earlier this year strained shipping networks’ capacity. By early April, both UPS and FedEx had removed their long-standing delivery guarantees for some packages and worked to deliver to more homes. FedEx executives said on an analyst call in September that they now think 100 million packages will be delivered each day in the country in 2023, three years earlier than their previous estimate. Pandemic difficulties went beyond delaying packages. They affected the entire supply chain. In Lancaster, Pa., Gretchen Christina Maser got to know the UPS driver who picks up the candles and home goods she sells to consumers and Whole Foods. He told her the entire year became as busy as the holiday season. Her new linen spray line was disrupted this spring after she couldn’t get a part for the bottles from her supplier. And in November, her longtime vendor for containers for her best-selling candles told her they were having trouble getting enough in stock. At the last minute, her husband, searching frantically online, found a supplier that still had the containers in stock in New York, though the price was higher than normal. “I had to do it — there was no choice,” she said. Online furniture store Burrow, a brand popular with millennials, built its business on the ability to ship an entire living room in a week. But slowdowns with its Italian leather supplier and shipping networks stretched out its expected delivery


U.S. stocks sink as U.K. coronavirus mutation sparks alarm

said Monday in comments emailed to The Post. European markets plummeted on the news. The benchmark Stoxx 600 index declined 2.7 percent in midday trading, while France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX both slumped nearly 3 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index declined 2.5 percent. Major U.S. indices declined 1 percent or more at the opening bell Monday before recovering some losses. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day barely positive at 30,215. The S&P 500 index had declined .4 percent to 3,694, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ticked .1 percent lower to 12,742. U.K. health officials have said the variant first identified there was spreading 70 percent faster than other strains. The variant has now been found in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy and South Africa. But U.S. public health experts and federal officials say that while this strain is fast-spreading, it might not be any more dangerous than others already detected. There is no evidence yet that the mutation could require changes to coronavirus vaccines, experts say, but investors still are thrown by the prospect of another major setback on the road to recovery. Despite the catastrophic impacts of the pandemic’s first wave, stock markets have hovered near or at record highs for weeks even as U.S. coronavirus deaths have soared past 317,000 and the economy shows signs of slowing. “We should keep in mind how far we’ve come,” Chris Larkin, managing director of trading at E-Trade, said in comments emailed to The Post. “If the year had ended Friday, [the S&P’s] annual return would have been 14.8% — placing it comfortably in the top half of yearly gains since 1960. Not bad, considering the SPX was down 32% on the year in March.” The prevailing unease was reflect in oil markets Monday, where the revival of European travel restrictions sparked fears of another broader lockdown. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark sank, 4.1 percent to trade at $50.10 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, fell 4.2 percent to trade at $47.04 per barrel. “Crude prices plummeted as a fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus emerging from the UK would cripple all travel across Europe and the US,” Ed Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said Monday in comments emailed to The Post. “The short-term crude demand outlook just got dealt a massive blow that will provide added uncertainty over the next couple of months. ”


What to expect from travel loyalty programs in 2021

Travel companies largely froze their loyalty programs early in the pandemic, assuring customers that they would not have to hop on planes or stay in hotels to keep their status or points. Now that vaccinations have begun in the United States and the United Kingdom — spurring hopes that travel could creep back toward normalcy next year — people will almost certainly have to start earning their miles and room nights again to count toward their status the following year. But the requirements will probably be lower than usual as loyalty programs continue to adapt to travel patterns in a pandemic. “Early on, their goal was to retain loyal customers,” Jonathan Kletzel, U.S. airline industry leader for consulting firm PwC, said in an email. “Eventually, this shifted to stimulating demand from their loyal base. Going forward, we anticipate companies will aim to capture pent-up demand and possibly take share from competitors.” Here are five questions about loyalty programs in the new year, answered: You should still have it. Loyalty programs have largely extended the status earned for this year to 2021 and, in some cases, into early the following year. “During the course of the pandemic, the airlines and most of the hotel companies and others basically put their programs on hold and said, 'Whatever you earned in terms of your status and credit spending, any other metric that mattered in terms of how they measured your value in 2020, would be extended into 2021,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group. “The travel industry recognized early in the pandemic that the virus was going to shut down the world.” Keep an eye on your individual programs, because some could start expiring in the new year. While most companies have kicked expirations down the road into the end of 2020, and in some cases into 2021, some have said those points will expire next year without any further activity. American Airlines, for example, recognizing “you may need more time than usual” to keep miles active, has paused expiration through June 30. Marriott Bonvoy is pausing expiration of points until Aug. 1. If miles are set to expire with no plan to travel, there’s always an option to extend their life with other activity, such as shopping through an airline portal or using a dining rewards program affiliated with the travel company. Probably (at least compared to