The Senate report renews an old debate: When is torture not ‘torture’?

the paper first reported on "harsh CIA methods" used against leaders of al-Qaeda, it didn't use the word "torture" at all. In 2009, the paper's public editor noted a shift from describing tactics like waterboarding as "harsh" to calling them "brutal." Last year, the current public editor asked the paper's associate managing editor for standards to explain why it didn't use the term "torture." "The word torture, aside from its common sense meaning, has specific legal meaning and ramifications,” Philip Corbett said. “Part of the debate is on that very point.” The legal justification for the George W. Bush administration to conduct interrogations that included waterboarding stemmed in part from a memo provided by Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee to White House counsel Alberto Gonzales in August 2002. Among its 50 pages is this phrase, articulating the outer boundaries of what Bybee argued could be done to a subject without his being "tortured." In other words: This was the "specific legal meaning" as the administration understood it. By 2004, the Justice Department had expanded its definition outward, to include acts that were harmful to a standard lower than Bybee's. Media outlets aren't beholden to the administration's definition of what is or isn't torture, much less to whether or not certain acts open CIA agents to international criminal charges. But part of the debate, as Corbett pointed out, was on that point. The 2004 revision, it's worth noting, was timed to coincide with the nomination of Gonzales as attorney general. As the definition of "torture" as articulated by the Bush administration changed, reports about the interrogations also polarized politics at large. Defenders of the administration argued that what had been done wasn't torture. Critics argued that it was. And how media outlets referred to the practice became a political issue. Most media outlets have tried to figure out where to draw the line. NPR's ombudsman addressed it in 2009, outlining the six ways in which use of "torture" was considered by the agency. After the Harvard report was released, media reporter Brian Stelter reached out to Cameron Barr, then The Post's national security editor (He's now the national editor). "After the use of the term ‘torture’ became contentious," Barr said, "we decided that we wouldn’t use it in our voice to describe waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques authorized by the Bush administration. But we often cited others describing waterboarding as


CEO’s daughter loses job after ‘nut rage’ incident on Korean Air flight

Yonhap News Agency, the 40-year-old Cho was at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday. Sitting in first class aboard a Korean Air due to fly to Seoul, Cho was handed some macadamia nuts by a flight attendant, though she had not asked for any. Worse still, the nuts were handed to her in a bag, and not on a plate, as per Korean Air rules. A Korean Airlines vice president who was upset over a serving of nuts she was given on a flight reportedly had the plane on which she was traveling return to the gate to expel a crew member. Cho was dismayed by the flouting of company guidelines. After reprimanding the flight attendant who handed her the nuts, she demanded that the plane, now on the taxiway, return to the gate and that chief flight attendant exit the plane. Witnesses told the Korea Times that she shouted during the incident. The flight, with 250 people aboard, was delayed by 11 minutes as a result. After news of the incident began to spread, Korean Air responded by telling reporters that Cho had the support of the pilot in her decision. Ensuring Korean Air flights keep their high standards was part of her job, the airline explained, and the journey back to the gate had taken just a few minutes. However, it didn't take long for what was deemed her "nut rage" to spark a political backlash. "Why did she have to make all that fuss because of some stupid macadamia nuts?" the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, the main opposition party in South Korea, said in a statement. "She soiled the reputation of our flag carrier.” The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport soon pledged to investigate Cho's conduct to determine whether there was any violation of the law. "Even if she is the vice president of the airline, she was one of the passengers and should have been treated as one," one unnamed official told reporters on Monday. Cho's family position only added to the criticism. In a country where dynasties are common in the business world, her actions were interpreted as a sign of the arrogance and entitlement that can come with those "chaebol" dynasties. On Tuesday, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper published a damning editorial that said her actions betrayed the sense of privilege and arrogance among the tycoon families. Cho Yang-ho offered


Marathons and male egos: Just about the result you’d expect

A runner guts out the final hill of the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post) Any woman who has watched a man destroy some expensive plumbing after insisting he knows just what he's doing won't be terribly shocked at a recent comparison between male and female marathon runners. It turns out that men have inflated opinions of the speed at which they're going to complete a 26.2-mile run, and they pay for it dearly toward the end of that effort. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more realistic about the task, which works to their benefit. We know this because a Danish fellow named Jens Jakob Andersen looked at the results for more than 1.8 million marathons worldwide. When he examined the finishing times of the 1.42 million entrants identified by gender, Andersen realized that while both sexes slow down toward the end of marathons, men slow down a lot more. "Although men are faster marathon runners than women (due to genetics), they are not the smartest," Andersen wrote in his assessment of the numbers. "Women are 18.63 percent better at pacing." Andersen, who lives in Copenhagen, founded runrepeat.com, which compares various brands of running shoes and is dedicated to helping runners enjoy the sport more by becoming better at it. When I called him, he was pretty blunt about his theory of the male-female marathon divide. "I think it happens because we men tend to have an unrealistic idea of how good we are," he said. "It applies to everything. Look into a mirror for men, and it'll be, 'I'm super fit and and strong.' And for women it'll be, 'Oh, I'm too fat.' " So male marathoners, confident that they've trained well, launch themselves off the start line way too fast and crash harder in the final 6.2 miles, after they hit the dreaded "wall." Women aren't perfect — it is, after all, quite difficult to run a consistent pace for an entire marathon without help from a pacer, or unless you are a top marathoner — but they're less confident and more cautious than men, Andersen believes. "Women are less risk-taking than men," he said. When it comes to age and pacing, Andersen's numbers show that the oldest (70 or older) and youngest (0-19) runners are the least adept at pacing. As for improving: Andersen, echoing the advice of many running coaches, recommends


Two thirds of Americans want Congress to grant states a “safe haven” from federal marijuana enforcement

fertile ground for waivers: "We have sort of waivers with these Affordable Care Act programs in red states, where they’re coming up with their own modified version of it. Where the state designs a system that fits its own needs, but is still generally consistent with federal law and regulations," Hudak says. How this would work for marijuana is detailed in an exhaustive forthcoming study in the UCLA Law Review. In short, Congress could allow states to opt out of the Controlled Substances Act provisions relating to marijuana, provided they comply with regulatory guidelines issued by the Department of Justice. This is already the de-facto federal policy toward Washington, Colorado, and other states that have recently legalized marijuana. But it can't become a formal policy without an act of Congress. Third Way heartily endorses this approach, as it represents a (wait for it) third way between the current federal policy of outright prohibition, and the full legalization route favored by marijuana reform activists. Among other benefits, such an approach would allow banks to do business with marijuana businesses without fear of federal prosecution -- as things currently stand, many marijuana businesses operate on a cash-only basis. And paradoxically, formalizing the federal government's stance on state-level sales could actually strengthen the Department of Justice's hand when it comes to enforcement. "If you formalize this policy," Brookings' Hudak says, "it empowers the federal government to take a hands-on approach." It's easier for authorities to identify and penalize bad actors if they have crystal-clear guidelines regarding regulation. This approach would fly directly in the face of the major international treaties dealing with how countries enforce their drug laws. But the State Department is already playing it fast and loose with how it interprets those treaties, and Hudak thinks that Congressional Republicans would be all to happy to flout international law when it comes to a relatively popular domestic issue. On the other hand, current reports indicate that anti-pot hardliners in the House have succeeded in thwarting DC's plans to adopt a fully legal marijuana market following the Colorado model, by sneaking riders into a must-pass spending bill. Legalization proponents and DC residents are outraged, but more to the point this is a stupid move politically. The Third Way survey shows that two thirds of Americans want Congress to facilitate local marijuana measures, not obstruct them. Legislators defy this imperative at their own peril.


From the Hubble, a new image of a glittering cosmic wonderland with stars as old as the universe itself

All that glitters. (NASA/ESA/Gilles Chapdelaine) It kind of looks like a snow globe -- or maybe like the glittering ornament atop a massive Christmas tree. Or like your neighbor's house during December, if you're lucky enough to live next to an aggressive seasonal decorator. But this image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows Messier 92. Messier 92 is a globular cluster, or a spherical group of old stars bound tightly together by gravity. Their density can make globular clusters appear quite bright, and this is one of the brightest in our whole galaxy. You may even have seen this cosmic bauble before. It's over 25,000 light years away from Earth, but with 330,000 stars packed tightly into it, it's often visible with the naked eye. You can catch its occasional appearances in the constellation Hercules. Astronomers know from Messier 92's molecular composition that it isn't just bright -- it's also very old. About as old as the universe itself, in fact. Like this image? You could have been the one to create it. A version of this photo was submitted by Gilles Chapdelaine as part of the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image competition. The Hubble has beamed back so much data that not all of it has been translated into visible images, but the public is welcome to sift through archives to try to find stellar shots worth sharing. Find out more at the Hubble Web site.


Malala Yousafzai: From a schoolgirl to a Nobel Peace Prize winner

From being shot by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012 to becoming the youngest Nobel laureate two years later, here is a look back on Malala Yousafzai's journey. Her school uniform says it all — stained with blood, it is a painful symbol of sacrifice. It is the uniform young Malala Yousafzai was wearing on an October day two years ago when the Pakistani Taliban shot her for advocating a girl’s right to an education. History’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner said this month that she donated her dark-blue-and-white uniform for the 2014 Peace Prize exhibition in Oslo because “it is an important part of my life.” “Now I want to show it to children, to people all around the world,” Yousafzai, 17, said in an interview conducted for the exhibition. “This is my right, it is the right of every child, to go to school. This should not be neglected.” On Wednesday, Yousafzai is to accept her Nobel at a ceremony in Oslo. Her very survival and her accomplishments since the shooting – including addresses at the United Nations and the World Bank, writing a book and establishing a foundation – would seem to guarantee that the cause won’t be neglected. But stopping the Islamist extremists bent on suppressing equal rights for girls and women is another matter. The Pakistani 17-year-old survived a Taliban gunshot to the head for her advocacy of female education. The Pakistani Taliban has continued blowing up schools for girls in Pakistan’s tribal areas, and, across the border, the Afghan Taliban has conducted poison attacks on schools to discourage attendance. (And we hardly need to mention Nigeria’s Boko Haram – a band of girl-kidnapping fanatics whose very name characterizes Western education as a sin in their version of Islam.) “Malala is the symbol of the infidels and obscenity,” a Pakistani Taliban spokesman said the day his movement asserted responsibility for sending a gunman to kill a schoolgirl. Actually, they could not have picked a better symbol to undermine their own cause. Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, summed it up in a tweet the day the Nobel was announced. “Who is Malala?” the gunman asked 2 years ago when he boarded the bus, seeking to kill the girl who wanted to learn. Now everyone knows. Indeed we do.


How energy reforms will make it easier to slow global warming

This month marks the opening of a year-long marathon of meetings focused on slowing global warming. The starting gun sounded with the summit that just began in Lima; late next year, the finish line appears when governments are expected to adopt new climate accords in Paris. The hard truth in all this is that governments have been doing a terrible job with global warming. The last successful climate marathon was run in 1997 when governments adopted the Kyoto Protocol; since then, emissions of the gases that cause warming have risen by one-third. Indeed, ever since the global warming topic hit the international agenda in the early 1990s, governments have proved more adept at attending meetings and filing reports than actually making a dent in the problem. Gridlock on global warming comes from many quarters, but most important is that the problem is deeply embedded in national energy policy. The vast majority of emissions are intrinsically linked to the ways we use energy—fossil fuels in particular. Big changes in energy policy are politically difficult to adopt because they can gore the interests of powerful lobbies and because the cost of energy has a direct impact on national economic competitiveness—something governments are rightly keen to preserve and advance. That’s why for all the hype about the road to Paris, the future of serious global warming policy depends less on this year’s marathon of meetings and a lot more on whether the world’s biggest emitters can reform their energy policies. Serious energy policy reform is a task that hinges on politics within rather than between nations. A new report from the World Economic Forum and the consultancy Accenture puts a focus on just how difficult serious energy policy reforms are to implement—while also offering some hope. The cleanest and richest countries, not surprisingly, are in Europe. These countries score high because they have invested massively in energy efficiency; and the top scorers are those, such as Norway and France, that depend massively on clean nuclear and hydro. The figure below offers a ranking of countries based on a new methodology developed in the report, Global Energy Architecture Performance Index, World Economic Forum The United States scores lower (its rank is #37) largely because its emissions are much higher—although that picture is now changing in part because massive new supplies of gas are out-competing coal in the electricity market, and the emissions from gas


The Torture Report and the possibility of International Criminal Court charges

The Senate’s report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s harsh treatment of detainees, amounting to torture, comes shortly after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced she is conducting a preliminary investigation of alleged detainee abuse by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. (Afghanistan joined the court in 2003 – I do not know what the U.S. was thinking when it allowed this – and torture is certainly a crime, or multiple crimes, within the Court’s treaty-based jurisdiction.) The Senate report, which I have read only in small parts, gives significant impetus and ammunition to the ICC’s investigation, as well as providing a basis for expanding its scope. This post will examine possible jurisdictional barriers to a full ICC investigation, especially in light of the new information in the report. Ultimately, the matter may not be admissible, but this depends on how high the Court chooses to set several still undefined jurisdictional hurdles. First, there is the simple question of temporal jurisdiction. The ICC can only hear cases prospectively from when the relevant nation joins the Court’s treaty as a state party. Afghanistan joined in 2003, so conduct from before that (the “Salt Pits,” for example, began in 2002) simply cannot be prosecuted. Some theorists like to talk about “continuous crimes,” and might argue that to the extent the interrogation program was continuous, and some victims may have been in custody since before 2003, jurisdiction could extend back to the establishment of the Court on July 1, 2002. The continuous crimes doctrine has always been theoretical and fuzzy, and as a means of retrospectively expanding jurisdiction, inconsistent with the ICC statute’s thoroughgoing prospectivity (see Arts. 11, 22, and 24), so I would say Afghanistan’s accession will be the temporal backstop. Then we get to the two Art. 17 barriers to admissibility: complementarity (the existence of good faith national investigations or prosecutions) and gravity (the crimes must be of a particularly serious nature, even given that most of the crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction are inherently grave). Complementarity was thought to be a barrier to ICC investigations into Western democracies with well-functioning legal systems. They have “nothing to fear” from the ICC, jurists have often assured, because presumably they deal reasonably with their own crimes. But here, President Obama has already announced immunity for those involved in the program, and foreswore any systematic investigation. His response to the new report is “never again”


With photos and video, Navy shows how its new laser gun works at sea

The Navy is unveiling a laser weapons capability that can be used aboard ships at sea. A new laser gun mounted on the USS Ponce has been operational for months in the Persian Gulf, and it has exceeded expectations as far as its range and durability, senior Navy officers said Wednesday. The Navy calls it the LaWS, short for laser weapon system. It was installed on the Ponce over the summer, and deployed this fall. Video released by the service on Wednesday shows it taking out an incoming speedboat in a test at a long, undisclosed range with directed energy. No laser beam can be seen, but the boat bursts into flames. “It’s almost like a Hubble telescope at sea,” said Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder, the Navy’s chief of naval research. “Literally, we’re able to get that kind of power and magnification.” The USS Ponce conducts tests of the Office of Naval Research-funded Laser Weapons System (LaWS) while in the Persian Gulf on Nov. 14. Directed energy weapons can counter asymmetric threats, including unmanned and light aircraft and small attack boats. (John F. Williams/U.S. Navy) The weapon has been in development for years. In a 2011 test, a laser was used to take out multiple small boats from a U.S. destroyer. In 2012, the LaWS downed several downed aircraft, Navy officials said. The 30-kilowatt gun hadn’t been taken on a full deployment until recently, however. It was installed during the summer and taken into the Persian Gulf this fall. It already has withstood a 35 mph sandstorm, and was still in alignment and working the next day, Klunder said. The system offers several possible advantages. For one, each shot costs the military about 59 cents — far less than most other forms of ammunition that could be used. Generators are aboard the ship to provide the power and cooling needed by the gun. Klunder acknowledged it took a while to get the rules of engagement needed to use the gun approved in the Pentagon. At this point, however, the captain of the Ponce could use it against a real threat if required, he said. The gun is adjustable, with shots of different strengths fired. The service already is planning larger laser guns of between 100 and 150 kilowatts, Klunder said. A lot of the ships in the Navy’s fleet are capable of having them aboard, he added. The USS


Congress wants to make marijuana harder to get in D.C., but easier to get everywhere else

came as a shock to many. They're planning to march from the Justice Department to Capitol Hill today in protest. 5pm @ Justice Department --> March to Capitol Hill #JoinUs http://t.co/atgwT3hFTc #Crunknibus #DC71 #DemocracyDenied #CannabisCoup The D.C. council isn't happy either: "To undermine the vote of the people--taxpayers--does not foster or promote the 'limited government' stance House Republicans claim they stand for; it's uninformed paternalistic meddling," said D.C. councilmember-at-large David Grosso. But there remains some confusion over whether the language could even effectively block Initiative 71 as written. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting congressional representative, said in a statement "the omnibus rider does not block D.C. from ‘carrying out’ enacted marijuana policies... therefore, it can be argued that the legalization of small amounts of marijuana can proceed." A stricter edict, passed by the House earlier this year but never taken up by the Senate, would have prevented that from happening. But this seems doubtful, given that there are two versions of the anti-pot rider in the cromnibus bill, one of which does contain the phrase "carry out." Regardless, Holmes Norton will be offering an amendment at the House Rules Committee meeting today to strike down the rider. 2. The Justice Department is now prevented from interfering with state-level medical marijuana laws. Demonstrators march to protest the federal government's crack down on medicinal marijuana dispensaries, during a rally in Sacramento, Calif. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) While marijuana advocates grapple with how to deal with the D.C. provisions, they're celebrating the inclusion of a measure that would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from interfering with state-level medical marijuana laws. The measure was originally introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Ca.) and passed by the House earlier this year, but not by the Senate. Advocates believe that this will effectively put an end to DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries, like recent ones in California, provided the dispensaries are in compliance with state laws. “Congress has finally listened to the vast majority of Americans who believe the federal government has no right to interfere in the personal decision to use medical marijuana made by a patient in consultation with his or her doctor," said Major Neill Franklin of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization working to overhaul drug laws. "Law enforcement never should have been a part of that decision and if this amendment passes, they no longer will.” 3. The


Capella Washington hires former Palena chefs Frank Ruta and Aggie Chin

Frank Ruta had, no pun intended, reservations about working for a hotel. The former chef and owner behind Palena, the Cleveland Park institution that closed in April, worried that the layers of management typical to a hotel chain might blunt his impact on a dining room, but the Capella Washington D.C., assured Ruta that he would have complete control over menus and kitchen staff at the boutique hotel in Georgetown. Frank Ruta, right, and Aggie Chin will say goodbye to Mark Furstenberg, left, to start work at the Capella Washington D.C. hotel in Georgetown next month. (Photo by Kate Patterson for The Washington Post) So, yes, the rumors are true: Beginning Jan. 1, Ruta will walk away from his weekly Bread Feast dinners and start work at the Capella property, which struggled to attract a local clientele in its first year of operation. Ruta has already hired his former Palena partner, Aggie Chin, to serve as pastry chef, and together, they will execute breakfast, lunch, dinner, bar and room service menus for the luxury hotel, where a room or suite can run from $500 to $7,000 a night. Among other things, Ruta wants to make the hotel's Grill Room and Rye Bar more accessible to local diners by, perhaps, lowering price points, stripping them of their "special occasion" designation and broadening the menus beyond steaks and seafood. "It's a hotel dining room," Ruta says about the Grill Room, a white-tablecloth operation overlooking the C&O Canal. "But we're trying to make it not a hotel dining room." The chef hopes to transform the restaurant into a regular destination for diners, much like Palena was during its 13-year run in Cleveland Park. Ruta expects to weave more French and Italian influences into the menus. "I think we'll lean on them," the chef says. "We might do some other stuff. I don't think you can predict how things are going to evolve." He suggested that his famous truffled cheeseburger and roast chicken could make appearances, whether in the main dining room or the Rye Bar. He doesn't anticipate rolling out new menus until mid- to late-February. Before tackling the food, Ruta says he has other tasks to handle, such as hiring a staff, evaluating the kitchen and implementing new systems. There are also key positions to fill in the dining room such as maitre d' and sommelier. Ruta has been busy placing calls


Did the Senate just open the U.S. up to ICC prosecution?

U.S. soldiers patrol near Afghanistan’s Kandahar Airfield on June 3. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images) Dec. 9 saw the much anticipated release of the U.S. Senate’s “torture report,” outlining in harrowing and tragic detail the CIA’s program of “enhanced interrogation techniques” in its “global war on terror.” On Dec. 2, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court also released a report in which it made clear that it was inching closer to opening an official investigation into crimes in Afghanistan – including U.S. interrogation techniques. These developments could very well expose U.S. officials to formal investigation – and potentially prosecution – by the ICC. But is the court truly prepared to confront Washington head-on? The international justice and human rights world is abuzz with the possibility that accountability for U.S.-sponsored and perpetrated torture and so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” may finally be at hand. In the span of just a few days, the once naive aspiration that U.S. officials would come under the judicial microscope of the ICC has been resuscitated. However, any move to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes by U.S. citizens in Afghanistan needs to be set within the context of the ICC’s interest in maintaining positive relations with the United States while pushing for accountability for crimes committed by even the most powerful of states. Despite the United States being a non-member state, no relationship has dominated the court’s first decade as much as that with Washington. The popular narrative, one that the court and its advocates regularly reiterate, is one of consistent struggle and resilient progress. The storyline goes something like this: Despite the United States voting against the creation of the ICC in 1998, in one of his last acts while in office, President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute. However, not long after the court became a functioning entity, then-U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton was dispatched to “unsign” the statute, an unprecedented political move. What followed was a series of hostile measures by the United States, including the passage of the American Service-Members Protection Act (or “The Hague Invasion Act”) which prohibited the United States from providing funds to the court and bestowed upon the president the right to use “all necessary measures” to repatriate any U.S. citizen detained by the court. At the same time, the administration successfully employed coercive diplomacy against over a hundred


Former Bibiana chef Nicholas Stefanelli to open Masseria near Union Market

Two new restaurants from culinary veterans are headed to Northeast D.C. and Vienna in 2015. Nicholas Stefanelli Nicholas Stefanelli's Masseria is coming to Northeast. (Juana Arias/For The Washington Post) "Fifteen years in the making," Stefanelli said of the forthcoming 60-seat dining room, which will feature an exhibition kitchen and patio seating. Look for a spring 2015 launch, and for Stefanelli to appear as a guest chef or at pop-ups before then. Clarity coming to Vienna Former Inox owner Jonathan Krinn is opening a modern American restaurant in the former Wolftrap Cafe at 442 Maple Ave. E. in Vienna. He's planning to call it Clarity. "Fun, affordable, built for every occasion," Clarity is expected to start serving spice-crusted lamb shoulder and octopus kebabs "before February," said Krinn, who has partnered with former Central chef Jason Maddens.


Why Dick Cheney and the CIA don’t need to worry about international criminal charges

program. There are territorial and temporary courts — the tribunals dealing with Yugoslavia or Rwanda, for example — but only the ICC is poised to take action if an individual country won't. That's key: The ICC has "complementary" jurisdiction, meaning that it will step in only if a local or national court is unable or unwilling to do so. What's more, it only has jurisdiction for crimes in countries that are signatories to the 1998 Rome Statute that established the ICC. Afghanistan, where many of the CIA's actions occurred, is a signatory, as are Lithuania and Romania, which were sites of other CIA prisons. If any of those countries chose to charge CIA agents — or Bush administration officials, as Emmerson suggests — they could do so. Or they could refer cases to the ICC, which would determine if any defendants would face war crimes charges (if the actions were considered to be part of a military conflict) or charges of crimes against humanity. But that won't happen. "It is highly unlikely that any prosecution against American nationals that were involved in this kind of abusive conduct that is discussed in the report will face the light of judgment day before an international criminal court," Andreopoulos said. Why? Politics. Afghanistan is dependent on American financial support for its ongoing rebuilding effort — not to mention that America still has an active military presence aimed at keeping the country stable. (Andreopoulos: "There's no chance in hell that an Afghani government will refer American citizens to the ICC.") Lithuania and Romania could, assuming that the CIA's actions in those countries were provable, but given America's international clout, they won't either. In part, that's because the ICC doesn't try people in absentia (unless they've been removed from existing proceedings for being disruptive). If, say, former vice president Dick Cheney were referred by Lithuania to the ICC to face charges, one of the ICC signatory countries would actually have to take Cheney into custody and transport him to The Hague. And it is, as Andreopoulos put it, "far-fetched" to think that any country would put handcuffs on a former American vice president. Or even the CIA agents, who can certainly count on the government of the United States weighing in on their behalf. Andreopoulos suggested that Cheney might want to think a little bit more about any future travel plans, but doubted he'd need


PM Update: Snow showers possible tonight, mainly north of D.C.

Radar & lightning: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation and lightning strikes over past two hours. Refresh page to update. It turned out to be a pretty decent day, as long as you don’t mind gusty wind. Highs reached the mid-40s to near 50 across the area, and skies were quite clear compared to recently. You may have noticed clouds increasing again as we head toward sunset. That’s due to yesterday’s storm backing some moisture into the region through tonight. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Thursday): See Dan Stillman’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter A rainy day in Bethesda yesterday. (Kathy Swendiman via Flickr) Snow? Visible satellite at 3 p.m. today. (NASA) Radar at 3:30 p.m. The loop shows the stuff in PA dropping south. (NWS) High resolution HRRR model shows some snow over northern Maryland at 2 a.m. (Weatherbell.com) Hi resolution RAP model forecast for 1 a.m. shows some snow to the north of D.C. (Weatherbell.com)


No, Americans aren’t ‘fine with torture.’ They strongly reject it.

on torture dating back to 2001. Additionally, we have conducted three survey experiments to identify the boundaries and probe the nuances of public attitudes about torture. The archive includes items asking about support for torture, support for specific torture techniques, and even some surveys of American military personnel. Our analysis, which is summarized in our 2010 paper, is that the American political and media elite badly overestimated public support for torture, especially in the early years of the war on terror and after the publicized events at Abu Ghraib. In this piece, we argued that the political and media elite came to false consensus. This is a coping mechanism long known to psychologists whereby we project our views onto others. We developed unique survey items that clearly showed widespread projection effects regarding torture, especially among those who were most supportive of these techniques. Brittany Lyte However, nothing in our data supports Ingraham’s overheated claim that Americans are “fine with torture.“ Ingraham makes this claim by counting those who say that torture is “never justified” as opposed and all others as “supportive.” This is a mistake. The public is rarely comfortable with moral absolutes. Our work shows that it is wrong to lump those who say “rarely” into the supportive category. Furthermore, when Americans are asked about specific techniques that Senator John McCain says have “dubious efficacy” and “risk our national honor,” public support is far lower. A table from our 2010 paper, reproduced below, shows that 81 percent oppose electric shock, 58 percent to 81 percent oppose waterboarding, and 84 percent to 89 percent oppose sexual humiliation, etc. What it’s called matters – a fact not lost on the Bush Administration, which coined new phrases to call practices “not-torture.” It redefined the meaning of legal words and concepts, and described specific interrogation techniques as vaguely as possible. Our 2014 study documents that the euphemisms for torture have public support, but the acts of torture do not. Americans remain deeply ambivalent about the use of torture, as apparently are many in the intelligence community. They recognize the very real threat posed by terrorist organizations, but also know that torture is morally wrong. And it would help clarify public attitudes if many American politicians would quit claiming – incorrectly – that torture is effective. When Americans are informed about the realities of torture, just like Senator McCain, they find themselves repulsed. Anyone


Cirque de la Symphonie and the National Symphony Orchestra collaborate on ‘Happy Holidays!’

the piece’s jolly pace. A mashup of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Bolero” will be accompanied by two strong men painted in gold, the intense music an apt soundtrack for the duo’s feats of strength and balance. This may sound far out to American audiences, but such mixed programs are quite popular elsewhere, Streltsov says. As a young acrobat in Russia, Streltsov often performed alongside ballet dancers, classical musicians and singers, but when he moved to America in 1996, he had trouble finding collaborators. In 1998, Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel saw Streltsov do his thing, and invited him to perform alongside the orchestra. In 2005, Streltsov co-founded Cirque de la Symphonie, which has been accompanying orchestras around the world ever since. “It was only a matter of time before it would become very popular,” he says. The main obstacle, these days, is logistics. The acoustic paneling and dangling chandeliers of symphony halls can get in the way of high-flying acts. Then there’s the violinists with million-dollar instruments, who get justifiably anxious about sharing a stage with jugglers. “They relax when they see how good we are,” Streltsov says. Collaboration doesn’t always come easily to the circus performers, either. An orchestra might play a song slower or faster than normal, or even change tempos mid-song. These variations can send unprepared acrobats crashing to the floor. For seasoned performers, who can respond flexibly as musicians interpret pieces in real time, the experience is electrifying, Streltsov says. “To be on the stage with a live orchestra is an indescribable feeling. It gives you an adrenaline boost,” he says. “To be honest with you, some people can’t handle it.” Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW; Thu., 7 p.m., Fri., 8 p.m., Sat., 2 8 p.m., $20-$98. For the easily unamused Does “Happy Holidays!” with Cirque de la Symphonie, featuring a full symphony orchestra, choir and circus performers, sound like a snooze? Then head to Bethesda or B’more for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s “Holly Jolly Pops,” which has all of the above PLUS a Rockette-style chorus line of Santas and an audience singalong. Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda; Thu., 8 p.m., $31-$94 & Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore; Fri.-Sun., 2 p.m. & 7 p.m., $35-$80. More holiday cheer from Express: See Georgetown GLOW, ZooLights and other holiday light shows glimmer In ‘A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular,’ Mrs. Claus


D.C. area forecast: Blustery winds with snow showers today; a worry-free weekend ahead

Radar & lightning: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation and lightning strikes over past two hours. Refresh page to update. 2:15 p.m. update: @capitalweather snowing in Inner Harbor http://t.co/K3pXYfEu7i It's snowing here in Annapolis! @capitalweather http://t.co/GRe9fXC7BB Dundalk, MD - still coming down good @capitalweather @footsmdwx @wbaltv11 @StormCoker http://t.co/3jGrd72edE 12:55 p.m. update: A heavy burst of snow from Silver Spring to Columbia...whitening grass some spots, roads wet. http://t.co/SQTlV9RkC8 @capitalweather Flurrmageddon in Laurel. http://t.co/pRlECnErBx 11:40 a.m. update: HRRR model simulated radar has snow over D.C. at 2 p.m. (WeatherBell.com) TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 4/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL Latest mid-Atlantic infrared satellite shows movement of clouds over past two hours. Refresh page to update. The only thing bordering on remarkable in this forecast is a stiff wind today into tomorrow as the big storm up in Maine seems to have nowhere to go. Other than that, we get a whole lot of dry with plenty of sun through Monday. Great for shoppers, party-goers and wildlife, but dull for weather forecasters. I’m hoping to at least get some glimpses of the moon and Jupiter rising in tandem tonight around 9:30 p.m.. For you daylight lovers, we have passed the earliest sunset of the year. Today (Thursday): Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Tomorrow (Friday): Tomorrow night: Sunset of Washington, D.C., December 10 (Jim Havard via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Saturday Sunday Monday


Watch: Mexican protester seizes Malala’s Nobel spotlight

During the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, a protester carrying a Mexican flag interrupted Malala Yousafzai receiving her medal. MEXICO CITY — It seemed at first like some geopolitical non-sequitur: While the Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai was onstage in Oslo on Wednesday collecting her Nobel Peace Prize, a clean-cut young man in a gray blazer with headphones around his neck jumped in front of her and unfurled a Mexican flag as if he were cheering at the wrong soccer game. But the man, 21-year-old Adán Cortés Salas, was making his own human rights protest with his red-stained flag — about the disappearance and likely deaths of 43 Mexican teachers’ college students in September. Cortés's spotlight-stealing security breach has been enthusiastically covered in the Mexican news media. Reports have said that he is an international relations student from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the prestigious public institution in the capital, who has requested asylum in Norway. Reporters have pored over his social network photos from earlier protests and his various travels. The flag-waving is the latest example of how the popular movement provoked by the students' disappearance has spread far beyond the rolling woodlands where the crime occurred. The rallying cry for the Mexican students has been taken up by celebrities and politicians around the world. At the premiere of his new movie, "Rosewater," Mexican actor Gael García Bernal used his red-carpet interview to call the crime “one of the most incredibly hurtful things that has happened to Mexico….in its history.” Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuarón and other prominent Mexican directors wrote a statement saying, “We believe that these crimes are systemic and indicate a much greater evil: the blurred lines between organized crime and the high-ranking officials in the Mexican government.” President Obama said in an interview with Telemundo this week that the United States has offered forensic help to the Mexican government in getting to the bottom of the case. Obama called the disappearances an “outrageous tragedy” that has “no place in civilized society.” T-shirts, flags, banners, graffiti and popular songs have sprung up on behalf of the missing students, who were taken by police in the town of Iguala, in Guerrero state, in late September. The government has confirmed through DNA tests that charred remains found in a trash dump outside the city were those of one of the students. There have been repeated marches demanding


PM update: Flurries end, clearing overnight; brisk on Friday; beautiful sunset

5:00 p.m. update: Post updated to include beautiful sunset pics like the one below…scroll down to bottom for more Capitol sunset tonight in #DC. #NoFilter http://t.co/hF4bQq4mg8 Original post, from 4:50 p.m. Radar & lightning: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation and lightning strikes over past two hours. Refresh page to update. Some “surprise” snow showers swept through the northern half of the region today, but temperatures were generally too high for accumulation (though a couple spots saw a coating on grassy areas). A few more flurries may zip through our northern suburbs early this evening before the snow machine shuts off and drier air takes hold. Friday sees a lot more sunshine, but we can’t shake the wind. Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Friday): See David Streit’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Sunrise at Dulles Airport, December 11, 2014 (Ateeb Amir, @dulles_airport on Twitter) Beautiful sunset! Pink and purple sunset at the Watergate, DC. @capitalweather http://t.co/dqQq7aIiN8 https://twitter.com/Bobby_Holupka/status/543162762038640640 @capitalweather sunset in Stephens City http://t.co/353eRtPneX @capitalweather this is how it looks from Courthouse http://t.co/RPYAtuwPEy Cold and colorful #DC sunset up on the Embassy roof tonight. #viewfrom501 @capitalweather http://t.co/QKk6uGtaNm @capitalweather pretty incredible tonight http://t.co/jyv8OeZuQV Mother Nature gives us the perfect snapshot of DC! @capitalweather @uscapitol http://t.co/OA0CAq3kDW Another beautiful sunset in the district tonight. #DC @capitalweather http://t.co/850FugAmeX Off the chart sunset! Potomac River just below Great Falls, looking toward VA. @capitalweather http://t.co/s3MSzdTox7


Protests shape policy by shaping protesters

Climate March is plausibly an example of this second kind of organizing. Officially, the the protest set out to influence world leaders visiting New York for the UN Climate Summit by making the strength of public support for climate action visible in the streets. But the most consequential part of the march was what happened before the protests: the outreach and organizing that diversified the movement and connected climate change to other issues that individuals already feel passionate about. As I document in my forthcoming book, climate activists have been trying to broaden and diversify their movement over the past several years by talking more about climate change as a “justice” issue than an “environmental” issue. In doing so, they’ve been able to mobilize a more diverse set of participants, including religious leaders, labor union members, students, indigenous peoples, and frontline communities most affected by climate change. This strategy of change emphasizes building power from the ground-up instead of just focusing on policy outcomes. As one organizer from Friends of the Earth explained it to me in 2013: “A lot of NGOs were working for a long time with a frame that was very technical and demotivating for a lot of people. And it was really based on a theory of change that “if we change our governments, we can change the system.” Climate justice is much bigger than that. Climate justice helps us build the movement.” The language of climate justice broadened the movement and helped it grow much larger, culminating in the turnout of over 300,000 people at the march in September. What does examining this case tell us about how protest might influence policy? One thing the People’s Climate March illustrates is that changes in public opinion can be constructed by organizers in order to expand and broaden participation. The way we talk about issues affects who participates and how much they participate. Because being in the streets with others is often a powerful experience, social movement participation can make individual preferences stronger, create new kinds of collective identities, and shape the course of people’s lives. It may be harder to track how these kinds of organizational and individual-level changes might ultimately shape policy. But understanding how bringing people to the streets can support broader movement-building objectives helps us to grasp why many organizers continue to believe in the power of protest and why we’re likely to


The non-Nobel peace prizes trying to reshape the world, one Fidel Castro at a time

prize's links to Confucianism and said that they had set up their prize to "promote world peace from an Eastern perspective." However, few people failed to notice that the prize had been hastily set up after Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Co-founder Liu had suggested China set up its own peace prize in a Nov. 17, 2010, editorial in state newspaper the Global Times. The article said such a prize could be a "weapon in battle of ideas." Within weeks, that weapon was a reality. China isn't the first country to set up a rival to the Nobel Peace Prize. Under Moammar Gaddafi, Libya had its own "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" from 1988 to 2010. It became known for its sometimes unorthodox choices of winners, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, the children of Palestine, and "the libraries of Timbuktu." More recently, a Dubai-based peace prize known as the "Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace" was set up, with the first prize due to be announced in 2015. The prize was established to "accurately and fairly highlight Islam’s teachings of peace, as a doctrine that promotes harmony, tolerance and moderation," though it does not necessarily have to be given out to Muslims. Things can get confusing. A number of awards bearing the name of Mahatma Gandhi have been set up over the years. The Indian government established its "Gandhi Peace Prize" in 1995 (it was most recently awarded to Indian environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt), but there is also the "Gandhi Peace Award," which has been given out by U.S. NGO Promoting Enduring Peace since 1960 (given to Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin earlier this year). To varying degrees, all these prizes have all been set up to not just reward an individual, but to promote a world view. Even with the famous Nobel Peace Prize, there's an element of soft power at work here. What differs most, however, is how successful the soft power actually is. The Confucius Peace Prize has had issues for some time. In 2010, prize winner Zhiqin told journalists he knew nothing about the award until they asked him about it. And after a 2011 announcement that the prize had been canceled, it was swiftly announced that Putin had won the Confucius Peace Prize – bizarrely, due to his decision to go to war in Chechnya in 1999.


Native American reservations now free to legalize marijuana

Cannabis plant. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi) For decades, Native American reservations have been havens for the gambling industry in states with anti-casino legislatures. Can we count Big Pot in too? The Justice Department said Thursday it will no longer prosecute federal laws regulating the growing or selling of marijuana on reservations, even when state law bans the drug. Timothy Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota and the chairman of the attorney general’s subcommittee on Native American issues, explained to the Los Angeles Times that federal prosecutors will not enforce federal pot laws as long as reservations meet the same guidelines as states that have opted for legalization. He also said the federal government will continue to support any marijuana bans passed by tribal councils, even when the state allows recreational use. In other words: The government will let tribal governments decide what to do about pot. The policy was not a result of any particular demand for legalization on reservations. On the contrary: Oregon U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall told the Associated Press the guidelines are a response to an inquiry from tribal governments wanting to know whether the Department of Justice would back tribal pot bans in states where recreational use is legal — currently Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Alaska. The United States has 326 federally-recognized reservations, most in states that ban recreational marijuana. But whether reservations will become free zones for the drug depends on the decisions of tribal governments, many of which have struggled against drug and alcohol addiction within their borders. The Hoopa Valley Tribe in California, for example, has enlisted the help of state police in ridding its ancestral lands of illegal pot grows for years. And the Yakama Nation of Washington, whose tribal lands cover 1.2 million acres, has actively fought statewide legalization, seeking to ban marijuana in all 10 counties of its ancestral lands — about a fifth of the state. As in California, tribal police have spent years chasing growers off of their reservation. Marshall said only three such tribes — one in California, one in Washington state and one in the Midwest — have said they’re interested in legalization. She would not disclose which ones. When asked about any plans to legalize, the Mohegan Tribal Council of Connecticut told the Hartford Courant it is “looking at numerous opportunities to diversify into new emerging markets.” Tribes must follow the same guidelines laid out for


D.C. area forecast: Feels and looks like December today, but turning milder ahead

TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 5/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL Latest mid-Atlantic infrared satellite shows movement of clouds over past two hours. Refresh page to update. Blustery and chilly conditions slowly give way to calmer and milder conditions by later in the weekend and into the start of the workweek. Other than a stray flake or stray raindrop over the coming days, we do expect it to remain dry until Monday night or Tuesday. Looking for the best weekend day to get outdoors for some activities? That would be Sunday! Saturday could be a close runner-up, but breezes may still persist. Today (Friday): Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Tomorrow (Saturday): Tomorrow night: Sunday: Potomac River at Jones Point Park in Alexandria, Virginia. (John Ernst via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Sunday night: Monday Some showers (25-35% chance) are possible, especially early in the day, on Tuesday. Liquid form (rain) showers are by far most likely–not snow–with temperatures expected to get into the upper 40s to low 50s. Even between showers, skies probably remain mostly cloudy. Confidence: Low


A complete guide to the craziness that just went down in Congress — and what’s next

of the plant is regulated for recreational or medical purposes. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau comes out without a scratch. So does Obamacare. If that was how the White House saw it, then Obama evidently agreed with the most confrontational Republicans, the ones who refused to support the bill, that Democrats got a comparatively good deal. Pelosi, however, saw things differently. Boehner needed to pass the bill, she argued, and he was depending on Democrats to do so. As a result, Democrats could have demanded that Republicans remove the portions of the bill that Democrats don't like. "This increases our leverage to get two offensive provisions of the bill removed: the bank bailout and big money for campaigns provision," Pelosi said. She didn't come right out and say it, but her statement implied that shutting down the government again would have been politically damaging to Republicans. In other words, Pelosi apparently agrees with Boehner that Democrats had a strong hand: Republicans need to change how voters see their party. Two parties. Two assessments of the political calculus. Four points of view. One ugly mess. 5. A hard road ahead Two years ago, Congress was staring down what may affectionately remember as "a fiscal cliff." What the legislature has created this year is more akin to a fiscal black diamond. Although no single massive deadline is approaching, lawmakers will have to negotiate several more budgetary twists and turns over the next several months. Most immediately, the bill that passed the House Thursday only funds the Department of Homeland Security until February. Republicans insisted on this limitation with the hope of forcing Obama to negotiate on immigration policy. The New York Times The government’s borrowing limit is reinstated on March 16, although the government might not actually hit the ceiling until August. On March 28, unless lawmakers act, physician reimbursements from Medicare drop off a cliff. On May 31, the highway trust fund runs out of money. In June, the Export-Import Bank, which helps finance overseas purchases of American exports, might shut in the face of conservative opposition to its mission. Then on Sept. 30, the entire Children’s Health Insurance Program faces its expiration. A few days later, across-the-board spending cuts loom once again. It's possible that lawmakers will use each of these deadlines as an opportunity to force their colleagues to agree to unpleasant special favors, as has occurred this week.


Bill Nye: Stop calling Sen. Inhofe a climate change ‘skeptic’

has said that he doesn’t believe catastrophic climate change is real and that “global warming” could be “beneficial to mankind.” He is sometimes seen taking to the Senate floor on cold days to inform his colleagues that “global warming” must be false. He also wrote a book called “The Greatest Hoax, How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future.” At issue, according to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, is how news organizations describe Inhofe’s position. A New York Times piece from November referred to Inhofe as a “prominent skeptic of climate change.” Days later, the group’s statement noted, NPR called Inhofe “one of the leading climate change deniers in Congress.” “These are not equivalent statements,” the group said. Although some scientists and educators have previously objected to the use of “skeptic” to refer to people who agree with Inhofe, the debate has taken on a new urgency: Inhofe is probably going to lead the Environment and Public Works Committee when the Republicans take over the Senate in January, giving him even more influence. The Washington Post doesn’t have a set policy on the usage of the words; past news coverage has used the terms “denier” and “skeptic” interchangeably. For instance, here is a headline referring to Inhofe as a “denier of human role in climate change.” This week, Wonkblog went with “skeptic,” but only between quotation marks. Of the two words, “denier” is older, lexicographer Kory Stamper told The Post. “Its earliest uses were religious: deniers of the Gospel, deniers of Jesus Christ, and so on,” Stamper, an associate editor at Merriam-Webster, wrote in an e-mail. Now, the word generally carries one very specific connotation, as part of the phrase “Holocaust denier.” Stamper notes that “denier” tends to “imply a resolute refusal to look at established facts or evidence; it’s got a much more dogmatic ring to it than ‘skeptic’ does.” By contrast, “skeptic has been in solid and varied use from the early 1600s onward,” Stamper said. But its earliest usage applied to a mindset that we might understand as similar to agnosticism these days: Early on, a skeptic was “someone who thought that true knowledge was impossible, or that all knowledge is uncertain.” Stamper points to the following line from John Donne’s Juvenalia (1631): “The Skeptike, which doubts all, was more contentious, than either.” Although skepticism has kept this association with religious non-believers, or atheists, its usage today


‘Eat More Kale’ Guy wins trademark battle with Chick fil-A. Vermont rejoices, naturally.

In this 2011 file photo, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, left, holds a “Team Kale” T-shirt during a news conference with Bo Muller-Moore in Montpelier, Vt.(Toby Talbot/AP file) When Bo Muller-Moore filed a trademark claim for the phrase “Eat More Kale” in 2011, Chick fil-A wasn’t happy: The company sent the Vermonter a cease-and-desist letter and threatened legal action against Muller-Moore’s screen printing business. But now, it looks as if fast food chain will have to live with it, as the U.S. Trademark and Patent office approved Muller-Moore’s application this week. “Eat More Kale” sounds a little bit like “eat mor chickin’,” the slogan of the Chick fil-A chain. (“Mor chickin'” is spelled like that because, um, a fictional cow wrote it.) Chick fil-A launched that particular campaign in 1995. So when Muller-Moore filed his trademark application three years ago, Chick fil-A did what it normally does when it thinks its #brand is in danger: It sent Muller-Moore a strongly worded letter telling him to stop using the slogan. According to the AP, the letter cited 30 other examples of “eat more [insert food here]” slogans that were stopped when the fast food chain intervened. Muller-Moore instead decided to proceed with his application, since he’d been making shirts with the slogan commercially since 2003, according to trademark office records. He enlisted some pro bono legal aid. And it looks like it paid off for him. “Chick-fil-A can keep serving chicken and I get to keep printing EAT MORE KALE t-shirts,” Muller-Moore said in an e-mailed statement. “While I never would have dreamed it would take the USPTO so long to decide on my trademark case, I’m thrilled that reason prevailed and Chick-fil-A has to eat some crow.” The folk artist also hoped that his victory would mean the fast food company’s “trademark bullying spree can come to an end.” Chick fil-A spokeswoman Carrie Kurlander’s response to the kale decision, according to the AP: “Cows love kale, too.” But this is more than just a story about a guy who appears to be the living, breathing embodiment of Vermont ideals getting to sell his “Eat More Kale” T-shirts. The evidence for that? The trademark victory was also hailed by Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D). “The message is out: Don’t mess with Vermont. And don’t mess with Bo,” Shumlin said in a statement. “This isn’t just a win for the little guy who


Why ‘nut rage’ is such a big deal in South Korea

The former Korean Airlines executive who held up a flight over the way her nuts were served apologized for the incident over which she was forced to resign. As Heather Cho publicly apologized on Friday, she stared at the ground and rarely raised her voice above a whisper. "I sincerely apologize for causing trouble to everyone," the former Korean Air vice president, dressed all in black, told a crowd of journalists. Her contrition was not just verbal: It had earlier been announced that Cho had not only quit her job with Korean Air but had also been removed from all other posts at affiliate companies. Cho, also known by her Korean name Cho Hyun-ah, had suffered a remarkably swift fall from grace over the past week. Just last Friday, after she was served macadamia nuts the wrong way (in a bag, without asking) on a Korean Air flight in New York City, she forced the taxiing plane to return to the gate so that the chief flight attendant could be kicked off. The flight was slightly delayed as a result. In any country, the story would have caused a stink. "Nut rage," as it was soon dubbed, seemed a truly remarkable tale of arrogance and entitlement, the story of one first-class passenger with powerful connections inconveniencing more than 200 others over a bag of nuts. But Cho's public humiliation, almost a week after the story broke, and the continuing debate over what exactly happened on the plane, suggests that in South Korea this is a bigger deal than at first glance. On part of the problem for Cho is that she wasn't just a Korean Air executive when she was on that plane. She is also the daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho, and thus an important figure in the family that runs South Korea's national carrier. In a country where family business dynasties are rife and controversial, that was a huge factor: On Tuesday after the story began to go viral, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper published a damning editorial pointing to the privilege and arrogance among the tycoon families. As Anna Fifield has written for The Washington Post, while North Korea's dynastic succession may get more attention, the way some South Korean conglomerates are run sometimes looks similar to Pyongyang. In sprawling, huge companies like Samsung, aging tycoons such as Lee Kun-hee are now prepping their younger generations


Bush administration officials bash Senate’s CIA report

for the intelligence community, and we’re going to pay the price for this.” During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," former vice president Dick Cheney invoked the memory of the Sept. 11 attacks when discussing the interrogation techniques, insisting that what U.S. intelligence agents did to extract information from terrorism suspects was not torture — instead, he maintained, the terror attacks itself were a form of torture for Americans. “I’d do it again in a minute,” Cheney said, backing the CIA's interrogation program and insisting that some techniques described in the newly released report, specifically “rectal feeding” of some detainees, were done for medical reasons. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) “Some of these practices fly in the face of everything that America stands for,” McCain said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “You can’t claim that tying someone to the floor and having them freeze to death is not torture.” The report disputed claims by CIA and Bush administration officials that advanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, regarded by many as torture, were directly linked to the capture and killing of terror leader Osama bin Laden. It also raised new questions about whether the CIA lied to Congress and the White House about the techniques, a suggestion that Bush-era officials roundly rejected. "In fact, he [Bush] says in his book, describes how he was briefed and intimately involved in this,” said Karl Rove, who served as his deputy chief of staff and closest adviser and who insisted that members of Congress who now maintain that they were not informed of the interrogation techniques earlier are not telling the truth. Like Cheney, Rove defended specific techniques that many critics consider torture — insisting that instances of rectal feeding cited in the report occurred when prisoners refused to eat and undertook hunger strikes. During his interview with "Fox News Sunday," Rove insisted that the report was flawed because the investigators did not talk to top intelligence officials. “They simply didn’t talk to the people. They talked to no one,” he said. “They came to a predetermined conclusion before they ever began.” Democrats who were on the congressional intelligence committees at the time have insisted that they were not given full briefings on the interrogation techniques being used. “We came to learn very gradually about it,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who was on the Senate Intelligence Committee during the Bush administration and insisted


How the Lima Accord may nudge countries to do better on climate change (but won’t solve the problem)

a major hallmark. Delaying decisions to some unspecified point in the future is a time-honored tactic for executives who face competing demands (see: pipeline, Keystone). The Lima Accord has just made that a bit harder. In the next six months, executives everywhere are expected to formulate a plan that details how a government is going to do more than it currently does on climate change. This is a major opportunity for those lobbying for change, although a counter-mobilization is sure to arise as well. By going through the domestic process, the agreement does not depend on often-weak international enforcement mechanisms but relies on domestic courts and legislatures to ensure that commitments are enforced. This may not help much in countries where legislatures and courts have little independent influence from executives. Yet, there are many large carbon emitters with domestic institutions that can effectively curtail incentives to cheat on the announced policy goals. Another potential mechanism is shaming. The agreement calls for the U.N. Framework Convection on Climate Change to publish all national action plans on its Web site and for scientists to calculate the contributions these plans make to curbing emissions. Not all governments will be troubled by negative assessments and publicity, but research suggests that shaming (or rankings) can work at least some of the time to encourage governments to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do. Similarly, some governments appear to value the prestige that comes with being a leader in efforts to fight climate change. Publicly available comparative assessments may give incentives to these countries to do even more to top the rankings. It would be too rich to suggest that Lima is a major breakthrough in the battle against climate change. There will surely be countries that fail to deliver on even the minimal obligation to define a national contribution that goes beyond existing efforts. There will also be major countries that do not meet their self-imposed goals. This agreement is really just a precursor for a more comprehensive agreement that could be reached in Paris next year. The parameters on many tough issues, including the financing of climate projects in developing countries, still need to be negotiated. This agreement can only nudge countries to do better; it cannot solve the problem. Yet, it is hard to see what alternatives there are to the approach taken in Lima given the structural limitations of global law and treaty-making.


Teach For America could miss recruitment mark by more than 25 percent

we’re working to recruit. As always, we’d welcome your advice and collaboration. At this point, we’re tracking toward an incoming corps that may be smaller than the current one, and because demand for corps members has grown in recent years, we could fall short of our partners’ overall needs by more than 25 percent. We understand that this has very real implications for you and your students, and though we’ve still got nearly half our recruitment season to go, we wanted to keep you in the loop. Today’s education climate is tough—fewer Americans rate education as a “top 2” national issue today, and teacher satisfaction has dipped precipitously in recent years—down from 62% in 2008 to 39% in 2012. Additionally, an increasingly polarized public conversation around education, coupled with shaky district budgets, is challenging the perception of teaching as a stable, fulfilling profession; in turn, we’re seeing decreased interest in entering the field nationwide. (You can read analysis of this trend here in Education Week.) We’ve felt some of this same polarization around TFA. At the same time, the broader economy is improving and young people have more job options than in recent years. Having experienced the national recession through much of their adolescence, college graduates today are placing a greater premium on what they see as financially sustainable professions. Teaching and public service have receded as primary options. Against this backdrop, we’re committed to holding our same rigorous bar for admissions in order to provide candidates who have the potential to have a tremendous positive impact with kids. Through our first four deadlines, we’ve received 26,000 applications. While this is fewer than we had last year at this time, we are on track to receive more than twice the number of applications we received each year between 2005-2007, the last time we were in a strong economy. Our recruiters are meeting with more people than ever, and those they meet with are applying at similar rates to prior years, but we’ve seen a drop in the number of individuals who submit applications without meeting with us directly. We think part of the solution lies in finding more great people to sit down and talk with. To that end, we’re reaching out to members of our network to get suggestions of individuals (including many former students!) they think are ready for this work for students. Additionally, we’re redoubling our efforts


Map: The world without the Internet

(McKinsey & Company) We live at the most interconnected moment in human history. From India's rural hinterlands to the coastal metropolises of Africa, from American suburbs to East Asia's bustling, hi-tech cities, access to the Internet dictates daily rhythms and opens doors for new opportunities. Yet, as a recent McKinsey report pointed out, the majority of the world's population -- about 60 percent -- is still offline. The report explores the main barriers to entry, which include poverty, digital illiteracy, and a dearth of infrastructure. Access to the Internet, says the Brookings Institute, is a key indicator of one's economic prospects: People without Internet access are more likely to be poor, live in rural areas, and uneducated. Fifty percent of these individuals live below the poverty line in their respective countries. Sixty-four percent of them live in rural areas. About 28 percent of the offline population is illiterate while nearly every person connected to the Internet can read and write. Three-quarters of the world's offline population live in just 20 countries. More than a billion Indians have no internet access, despite the international image of their nation being so aligned with web-enabled outsourcing and the world's booming tech industries. Almost 1 in 5 Americans is also offline. If current trends hold, the world may add nearly a billion people to its online population by 2017, says Brookings. But that will leave some 4.2 billion people still offline and very much in the dark of the 21st century.


Three reasons why the Japanese elections matter to the United States

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Dec. 15. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg) TOKYO — Japanese voters went to the polls on Sunday – well, about half of them did anyway. Turnout was a record low of 52 percent, a sign both that many people did not believe there was a need for a snap parliamentary election now, and that they do not have great affection for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his policies. Nevertheless, Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, together with their coalition partner the Komeito, kept their two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and have pledged to carry on doing what they’ve been doing. The election may not have generated huge excitement or change in Japan, but here are three reasons why the result matters for the United States: Say what you will about Abe (and as many Japanese say they disapprove of the Abe and his cabinet as say they approve), he is one of the most powerful prime ministers in recent Japanese history. If he wants to move forward with the agreement, Izumi Devalier, an economist at HSBC, wrote in a research note, “Prime Minster Abe will need to expend considerable political capital overcoming strongly-entrenched vested interests”. But maybe he will be willing to take on those vested interests now that he has a new mandate and the U.S. Senate is about to have a more trade-friendly leadership. Republicans, who have broadly supported the TPP deal, are considered more likely to give the Obama administration “fast track authority” – meaning that the deal, once agreed, could not be changed by Congress before it is approved. “If Congress moves towards [fast track authority], that will make it possible for Abe to show his final cards for compromising on TPP,” said Gerald Curtis, an esteemed Japan expert who teaches at Columbia University. “There’s no way Japan is going to show its hand if there’s no way that Congress is going to fast track it." 3. That Okinawa base problem? Just got worse. That was the good news for the U.S. Here’s the bad news: The LDP fared well everywhere except Okinawa, where it bombed, to use the political jargon. All four LDP candidates running in Okinawa, the sub-tropical island chain south of the mainland, were


Climate change is threatening the existence of the world’s most amazing bird

Act listing of the Rufa red knot (one of six subspecies of the red knot found around the globe -- all of which are struggling, Niles says). But on top of the crash at the Delaware Bay, there are also many other changes along the birds' vast flyway, and some of those involve climate change. The birds breed in the Arctic, the region of the world that, more than any other, is being dramatically altered by climate change. Global warming is driving more Arctic storms, suggests Niles, which can wipe out young chicks. In addition, climate changes in the Arctic are disrupting lemming populations, notes Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Wendy Walsh, which is leading to "changes to the predation pressure that the birds face when they’re on their breeding grounds." If the predators that used to dine on lemmings -- including snowy owls and a number of other birds -- can't get them, they may start to prey on red knots instead. Meanwhile, there's also the encroachment of sea level rise on the birds' habitat, notes Walsh. As a result, the Rufa red knot has now made history -- it is the very first bird listed under the Endangered Species Act with climate change cited as a "primary" reason for the listing. Other animals that have been listed for climate reasons include the polar bear, a number of species of ice seals, and 22 species of corals that are threatened by warmer waters and ocean acidification (also caused by global warming). This may be just the start for the listing of threatened and endangered avian species. Molly Matteson, a wildlife biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, observes that the group has "petitioned for other bird species that have climate change as one of their threat factors. It hasn’t happened yet." According to the National Audubon Society, nearly half of U.S. bird species may be threatened by climate change in this century. As for Moonbird? By now, says his biographer Phil Hoose, he should be back in Tierra del Fuego; we may hear a report of his arrival any day now. When it's winter here in the northern hemisphere, it's summer in the southern -- a fact that helps explain how the Rufa red knot's vast migration evolved. "This is a real marathoner," says Hoose. "This is one of the most spectacular migrations available in bird life." For now.


The future of U.S. innovation might rest on this obscure patent lawsuit

This is the program at the core of the Versata case. Essentially, it's a way for companies to make a claim at the patent office that a certain patent should be invalidated and no longer enforced. It's useful for when, say, a tech firm gets sued by a patent troll looking for a quick settlement for "infringement." The tech company can avoid the expensive step of going to court and instead simply ask the patent office to intervene. No patent, no lawsuit. The thing about the covered business method, or CBM, is that it only applies to "financial services" patents; other types aren't eligible for this treatment. If you're wondering what that means, you're not alone. The patent office has interpreted "financial services" much more broadly than anyone expected in just the two or three years CBM has been around. This is a big win for pleasantly surprised patent reform advocates but a frustrating situation for big players, such as the pharmaceutical industry. If the government defines "financial services" expansively as pretty much anything having to do with money, then almost any patent could become subject to an invalidation request. That's a little scary for patent holders. This is where the Versata case comes in: It involves the first CBM petition ever to be filed at the patent office, and the agency's broad interpretation of "financial services" set the tone for the entire CBM program. A decision that overrules the patent office would effectively narrow the definition of "financial services." That's what makes the case a big deal; as a result, only a smaller range of patents could be eligible for CBM treatment, and that would have ripple effects nationwide. That has patent reform advocates worried. For years they've been pushing for CBM to be formally expanded in scope to cover not just "financial services" but all kinds of other topics, the better to protect companies that aren't in the financial services industry. With the backing of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a key negotiator on patents, these advocates wanted to include an expansion of CBM in last year's ill-fated patent reform legislation. But there weren't enough votes to include the provision, according to a Democratic aide. Given that the patent office had already begun interpreting "financial services" rather broadly, tech folks felt okay not pressing Congress harder for CBM expansion. Now, however, with Versata v. SAP threatening to undo those


Sydney siege suspect Man Haron Monis’s history of hating the troops

extremism, and the man said to be behind it has a long history of threatening and insulting the grieving families of fallen Australian soldiers. Man Haron Monis was identified by multiple media outlets as the man behind the attack. Also known as Sheik Haron, he was convicted in September 2013 of sending “grossly offensive” letters to the families of fallen Australian soldiers, according to an Australian news report at that time. He is not considered a legitimate cleric by the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Australia, according to a report in the Globe and Mail. Monis pleaded guilty to 12 counts of using the Australian postal service to cause offense. But he provided no apology, saying his letters were “flowers of advice.” Had he delivered the letters in person, he said, he wouldn’t have broken any laws. He called the soldiers murderers and said they were going to hell. “Always, I stand behind my beliefs,” he told reporters at the time. A report in Monday’s Herald Sun newspaper of Melbourne said Monis arrived from Iran in 1996. Earlier this year, he was charged with sexual assault, and he was on bail after being charged as an accessory to murder in the death of his ex-wife, the newspaper said. She was stabbed 18 times and set on fire, the Globe and Mail reported. Monis said Monday that he was acting on behalf of the Islamic State militant group that has swept across Syria and Iraq in a wave of violence and prompted a military response from the United States and partner nations, according to several media reports. But it’s unclear whether that is the case. In addition to his letter writing, Monis has a history of making bizarre statements. In 2009, he even made an appeal to The Wiggles, a children’s music group, to make a video for orphans who have lost their parents in war. “The Wiggles love kids much more than some politicians,” Monis said at the time, according to the Daily Telegraph of Sydney. “I want to ask The Wiggles to make a special show for Iraqi, Afghani and Australian kids that have lost their parents in war.” Videos posted to YouTube show Man Haron Monis, the man who is a suspect in the cafe hostage standoff in Sydney, Australia, wearing chains and holding a sign that reads, "I have been Tortured In Prison For My Political Letters."


Silence on Bowe Bergdahl, months after Army investigation concludes

This photo provided by lawyer Eugene R. Fidell shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl preparing to be interviewed by Army investigators in August. The U.S. Army began questioning Bergdahl about his disappearance in Afghanistan that led to five years in captivity by the Taliban, his attorney and an Army spokeswoman said Aug. 6. (AP Photo/Eugene R. Fidell) Six months after the military began an investigation into the disappearance of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his capture by the Taliban, which held him for five years, the results remain under wraps as senior Army officials determine what to do next. Bergdahl was recovered in Afghanistan by U.S. troops in a controversial swap for five Taliban officials on May 31. He had disappeared from his small patrol base on June 30, 2009, under a cloud of suspicion and fear as it became clear he been captured by militants. The Army in June launched a new investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance and capture, amid a raft of accusations from his fellow soldiers that he walked away from his unit on the battlefield and questions about whether the Obama administration handled the prisoner swap legally. But six months later there is silence about the probe from all corners. Army Lt. Col. Alayne Conway, a spokeswoman at Army headquarters, and Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the Pentagon, both said Monday that they had no updates about the case. Bergdahl’s lawyer, Eugene R. Fidell, declined to comment. Fidell, a military justice expert who teaches at Yale University, was hired in July. The military has released few updates since this summer. In August, Army officials said the Bergdahl investigation was in its final stages, but warned that a draft report prepared by the investigating officer, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, would undergo a legal review before being presented to top Army officials. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in November that the work on the investigation was complete and it was under review. The accusations against Bergdahl are serious: Any service member who leaves their unit in a war zone without authorization commonly faces one of two criminal charges in the Army: desertion or going absent without leave (AWOL). Desertion is the more serious one, and usually arises in cases where an individual intends to remain away from the military or to “shirk important duty,” including a combat deployment such as Bergdahl’s. Desertion can lead


At N.J. military base, Obama thanks troops, ushers in era of leaner military

President Obama greets people as he arrives at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Wrightstown, N.J. Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. The president addressed 3,000 military and civilian personnel. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz) This post has been updated. JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – President Obama came to this base that houses three branches of the military to thank troops for their service and to usher in an era of a leaner military that no longer engages in “nation-building” with large numbers of ground forces. Flanked by gray C-130 Hercules transport plane in a hangar, Obama welcomed back members of the military who just returned home here and to other bases from Afghanistan, where the president said the war “will come to a responsible end” at the end of December. Obama said that 90 percent of troops from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are now home. The military is now pivoting to smaller, more focused operations, such as the bombing campaign against the Islamic State and targeted efforts to fight Ebola in West Africa. “The time of deploying large ground forces with big military footprints to engage in nation-building overseas, that's coming to an end. And going forward, our military will be leaner,” he said. Obama told service members to be proud of what they accomplished in Afghanistan: helping to “decimate core al-Qaeda leadership;” aiding the mission that killed Osama bin Laden; working to prevent terrorist attacks; facilitating this year’s Afghan presidential election. “This month, America's war in Afghanistan will come to a responsible end. Now, that doesn't mean everything's great in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is still a very dangerous place,” Obama said. Fifty-four troops from this base died in Afghanistan. Obama ordered a reduction in the number of U.S. troops – to 9,800 – by Jan. 1. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel confirmed earlier this month that the administration will leave an extra 1,000 troops on the ground in the country, bringing the total to up to 10,800. The U.S. will remain in armed conflict after that date under rules requested by the Pentagon and approved by Obama last month. “Our commitment to Afghanistan endures. We'll continue to have a limited military presence there because we've got to keep training and equipping Afghan forces, and we've got to conduct counter-terrorism missions because there are still remnants of al-Qaida there,” Obama said. Under the rules, military leaders in Afghanistan will be able to approve certain types


PetSmart’s goldmine: Americans are spending more than ever on fancy dog food

big mature industry with a really devoted customer base that, you know, is willing to do pretty much just about anything for their pets,” said George Puro, a pet-market analyst with market researcher Packaged Facts. “With food, people think: What would they want to do for themselves, and should they be doing the same thing for their pets?” PetSmart has struggled lately as sales of pet stuff has shifted to the bigger, savvier web storefronts of Target and Amazon.com. Seeing a potentially undertapped goldmine, hedge funds have pressured the company for months to sell, and on Sunday the retailer agreed to sell itself to a team led by investment firm BC Partners, which will pay $83 a share, about 7 percent higher than the company’s Friday closing price. Founded in the late ’80s, the pet chain now employs 54,000 workers across more than 1,300 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, most of which contain full-service veterinary centers. Its pet merchandise sales have boomed, led in part by product sponsorships with Martha Stewart and former Poison singer Bret Michaels, whose “Pets Rock” dogwear line includes a $49.99 spiked collar and a pink sequined coat. But the company’s true strength has been in convincing pet parents to “trade up” from cheap bulk food to pricier organic, grain-free or premium blends, served fresh, frozen or raw. “We see the continued humanization of pets, people treating their pets like family,” David K. Lenhardt, PetSmart’s president and chief executive, said in an earnings call last month. “We continue to feel very good about our ability to trade customers up.” Pet-food companies have thrived by engineering reasons for pet owners to keep spending more on kibble. Purina Pro Plan offers 84 different dog foods, separated by “lifestage,” from puppy to senior, and specific interests, including weight management and other perks. One “Focus” food is marketed as helping “nourish brain and vision development.” The company also sells nutritional supplement bars for dogs, called PRiME and ReFUEL, and recently rolled out a dog-training mobile app that tracks a dog’s “Greatness Points” and offers athletic and nutritional advice. (“Pro Tip: Real chicken is the #1 ingredient in the Pro Plan Sport product line.”) About 55 percent of American households own a pet of some kind, including 45 million dog households and 30 million cat households, according to Packaged Facts, and most say their spending on pet stuff


What mattered in 2014, according to your Google searches

of the top "what is" searches, which can often provide a glimpse into what was new on the scene in the past year. Whether you loved or hated the Ice Bucket Challenge, there's no doubt that the awareness effort for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) was successful, coming in just behind Ebola in a year that also saw a spike in searches for MERS, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus. World events also appeared to be on Americans's minds with both the Islamic State, or ISIS, and Hamas piquing unusual interest this year. The "Gamergate"controversy -- either about sexism in the video game industry or journalism ethics, depending on who you talk to -- also made the list. And Williams's death comes up again on this list, via searches for "what is asphyxia" -- his cause of death. In terms of tech, both Apple and Facebook make the list: Apple by way of research into its file-sharing "AirDrop" feature and Facebook through people searching for WhatsApp, the messaging program it acquired in February. Bitcoin, the digital currency, also turns up on the U.S. list. No, really. What *is* OTP? The trending "What is" searches in the U.S. and D.C>, courtesy of Google. (Screenshot by Hayley Tsukayama) As is fitting for D.C., the list of top searches in the area is particularly acronym heavy -- and indicative of a certain workaholic culture. "What is niacin?" could be related to the news that energy drinks such as "5-Hour Energy" can cause a prickly feeling called "niacin flush." Meanwhile, searches for the dietary supplement "creatine" could indicate that folks in this area were looking for a few shortcuts to gain more energy and better health. And questions about "what is FTE?" (full time equivalent) and "what is OTP?" (overtime pay) both seem employment-related, which is hardly surprising for a city so focused on the office. (Though OTP can also stand for "one true pairing," a term for the two fictional characters that fans of certain shows or series want to live happily ever after -- think Bella and Edward vs. Bella and Jacob. Really, your guess is as good as ours.) We here at The Switch are also stumped about the inclusion of two questions on the D.C. list: "what is transportation?" and "what is farsighted?" If you have any ideas about why that may be, feel free to tell us in the comments.


D.C. area forecast: Showers invade today and then retreat, as we warily watch weekend

Noon update: Original post from 5 a.m. TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 3/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL Radar & lightning: Latest regional radar shows movement of precipitation and lightning strikes over past two hours. Refresh page to update. We can’t seem to stay away from rain too long this month and yet another weather system aims to swing by today to deliver showers and cloudy skies. We should break free of this fast-moving feature by tomorrow with at least afternoon sunshine and milder temperatures. Dry weather and seasonable temperatures end our week as we look toward a complicated weekend setup. Models continue to vary on a potential weekend weather system – perhaps trending slightly weaker, but a more significant storm still cannot be ruled out. Today (Tuesday): Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Tomorrow (Wednesday): Tomorrow night: Pre-dawn in Rosslyn, December 14, 2014. (Kevin Wolf via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Thursday Saturday Sunday SNOW POTENTIAL INDEX 2/10 (→):


READ IN: Big Day For Governors Edition

company Perdue owns. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) -- Stock futures are lower before the bell after a down day on Wall Street on Monday. Asian markets dropped more than 1.5 percentage points on Tuesday, and European markets are trading lower too. Light crude is down more than 3 percent in early trading. (CNN) C1: -- NIH's annual National Institute on Drug Abuse survey, to be released today, finds more teenagers are trying e-cigarettes than actual cigarettes. The survey found 16 percent of 10th graders had tried an e-cigarette in the past month, and just 7 percent had smoked a cigarette. Abuse of synthetic marijuana and prescription painkillers is down, and so is binge drinking. (Associated Press) -- David Garth, one of the fathers of the modern political television advertisement, died Monday at home in Manhattan. He was 84. Garth was the first to superimpose text over candidate-to-camera ads, a technique he said was originally intended to cover a scratched tape. He worked with New York City Mayors John Lindsay, Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and John Heinz (R-Pa.). (New York Times) C4: -- A new Benenson Strategy Group/SKDKnickerbocker poll to be released today shows 42 percent of Americans have a favorable view of fictional President Frank Underwood, compared with just 28 percent who have a favorable opinion of Congress. (Twitter) That's some high quality trolling, BSG/SKD. Full poll will be available later today here. Attn Matt Drudge: -- Undocumented immigrants already collect up to $4 billion a year in payments through the Additional Child Tax Credit, according to a 2011 IRS Inspector General's report. If President Obama's executive actions on immigration are fully implemented, those same people will be eligible for a much larger pot of money: The Earned Income Tax Credit. The IRS can't give EITC funds to anyone without a Social Security number, but the executive actions will grant millions of undocumented immigrants an SSN. (Townhall) Attn HuffPo: -- Veterans groups are furious with outgoing Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who they say is single-handedly blocking a measure that would reduce suicides among veterans. Coburn said Congress should hold the Veterans Affairs Department accountable rather than passing the new $22 million bill, which would require independent reviews of DOD and VA suicide prevention programs. The Republican-led House passed the bill last week. (Associated Press)


Teen marijuana use falls as more states legalize

points since the study began in 1975," the study's authors conclude in a press release. The National Institutes of Drug Abuse agrees: “with marijuana use appearing to level off, and rates of many other drugs decreasing, it is possible that prevention efforts are having an effect,” said director Nora D. Volkow in a release. The marijuana findings are particularly noteworthy given that Colorado and Washington state implemented full-scale retail marijuana markets this year, and Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., voters opted to do the same. A central tenet of legalization opponents, from present-day prohibitionists like Andy Harris all the way back to Richard Nixon, has been that loosening restrictions on marijuana will "send the wrong" message to youngsters and lead to an explosion in teen use. Harris sums up the mindset best in a recent appearance at the Heritage Foundation: "Relaxing [marijuana] laws clearly leads to more teenage drug use. It should be intuitively obvious to everyone that if you legalize marijuana for adults, more children will use marijuana because the message that it's dangerous will be blunted." While it's a politically potent message -- nobody wants to see more kids doing drugs -- there's a substantial body of research showing that teen pot use hasn't risen in the states that have legalized medical marijuana. In 2014, a year when marijuana was all over the news and national attitudes toward the drug are relaxing, teen use actually trended downward. Or, look at it from the other side: In the early 1990s the federal drug war was in full swing. But teen marijuana use spiked sharply during that period. It didn't start falling until the late '90s, when the first states began implementing medical marijuana laws. This isn't to say that repealing harsh marijuana laws will necessarily cause teen use to trend downward. But it does at the very least illustrate that it's impossible to draw a straight line from "relaxing marijuana laws" to "increased teen use," as Harris and other prohibition enthusiasts do. And there are compelling arguments to be made that taking the marijuana trade off the black market, and letting government and law enforcement agencies, rather than criminals, control the marijuana market, will lead to better overall drug use outcomes among teens. Regardless of where you come down on the drug war, there's something in here for everyone to be cheerful about. The kids, broadly speaking, are alright.