Transcript: Night 2 of the second Democratic debate

Governor Inslee. I want to turn to foreign policy, if we can. Senator Booker, there are about 14,000 U.S. services members in Afghanistan right now. If elected, will they still be in Afghanistan by the end of your first year in office? BOOKER: Well, first of all, I want to say very clearly that I will not do foreign policy by tweet as Donald Trump seems to do all the time. A guy that literally tweets out that we're pulling our troops out before his generals even know about it is creating a dangerous situation for our troops in places like Afghanistan. And so I will bring our troops home and I will bring them home as quickly as possible, but I will not set during a campaign an artificial deadline. I will make sure we do it, we do it expeditiously, we do it safely, to not create a vacuum that's ultimately going to destabilize the Middle East and perhaps create the environment for terrorism and for extremism to threaten our nation. TAPPER: Congresswoman Gabbard, you're the only veteran on this stage. Please respond. GABBARD: This is real in a way that's very difficult to convey in words. I was deployed to Iraq in 2005 during the height of the war where I served in a field medical unit where every single day I saw the high cost of war. Just this past week, two more of our soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. My cousin is deployed to Afghanistan right now. Nearly 300 of our Hawaii National Guard soldiers are deployed to Afghanistan, 14,000 servicemembers are deployed there. This is not about arbitrary deadlines. This is about leadership, the leadership I will bring to do the right thing to bring our troops home, within the first year in office, because they shouldn't have been there this long. For too long, we've had leaders who have been arbitrating foreign policy from ivory towers in Washington without any idea about the cost and the consequence, the toll that it takes on our servicemembers, on their families. We have to do the right thing, end these wasteful regime change wars, and bring our troops home. (APPLAUSE) TAPPER: Thank you. Thank you, Congresswoman. Mr. Yang, Iran has now breached the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal, and that puts Iran closer to building a


The Energy 202: Democrats disagree on climate policy specifics. But they agree on how to frame it.

The crowded field of White House hopefuls frequently sparred during last night’s Democratic debate over the best way to handle rising global temperatures. But there was one thing they actually agreed on: Climate change is not an isolated challenge but rather impacts nearly every part of the national economy. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker summed it up by calling climate change “the lens with which we view every issue.” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called climate change “not a singular issue,” but a whole host of ones. “It is health. It is national security. It is our economy,” he said. And Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, describing her time growing up in Hawaii, said “protecting our environment was not a political issue, it’s a way of life.” Policy divisions on climate change appeared sharper than ever in Detroit as Democrats sought to attack each other's plans to address it. But it's notable that candidates are generally aligned in how they are framing of the looming threat of longer droughts, rising sea levels and more intense storms -- as kitchen-table issues that lead to infrastructure improvements and job creation. Former vice president Joe Biden linked his climate plan to offshore wind turbines and electric vehicles. “My plan calls for 500,000 charging stations around the country,” he said. And California Sen. Kamala Harris stressed the potential of an influx of renewable energy workers. “The guy thinks that wind turbines cause cancer, but what in fact they cause is jobs,” she said of President Trump. But when candidates did disagree, they most often did so with Biden, Inslee, who has made climate change the focus of his campaign, characterized Biden’s deadline for achieving net-zero carbon emissions — by 2050 at the latest — as insufficient. He invoked the U.N. panel of climate scientists who suggested significant cuts must be made by the end of the next decade. He also challenged Biden to promise, like Inslee has, to end the use of coal to generate electricity in 10 years. “These deadlines are set by science,” Inslee said. “Mr. Vice President, your argument is not with me, it’s with science.” Booker also took issue with Biden frequently falling back his commitment to the Paris climate accord, the voluntary agreement between more than 190 nations to cut emissions and stay below 2 degrees Celsius of warming. Biden helped negotiate that agreement during his time in the Obama administration, but


The Technology 202: Did Andrew Yang succeed in stoking a debate on AI and universal basic income?

political discussion. You are reading The Technology 202 , our guide to the intersection of technology and politics. BITS: Democrats didn't mention Facebook even once over two nights of Democratic debates. The silence comes despite the fact that the social media company recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission for a record $5 billion to close an investigation into years of alleged privacy violations, including revelations that the political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica obtained Facebook data without users' consent to target U.S. voters. This feeds into a larger trend of pressing tech topics going ignored during the early debates, but the absence of discussion didn’t go unnoticed. Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) criticized the lack of questions about data privacy and used the opportunity to promote his own privacy legislation: Khanna, who is also co-chair to Sanders’s campaign, didn’t mention any companies, but several have been in the news recently. Equifax, which also recently settled with FTC, and Capital One, which recently announced its own record data breach, also went undiscussed. NIBBLES: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wants to give voters control over how political candidates use their personal data. “Political candidates and campaigns shouldn’t be able to use private data to manipulate and mislead voters. This bill would help put an end to such actions,” Feinstein said in a statement introducing the bill, known as the Voter Privacy Act. “This targeted manipulation not only undermines our democracy, it’s a threat to basic individual freedom.” The Voter Privacy Act would guarantee Americans the right to be notified if a campaign receives any of their personal data, giving them a chance to review or delete the information. While Facebook and Google are named in the legislation, campaigns also rely on dozens of data brokers in designing political advertising. BYTES: Venture capitalists see Pete Buttigieg as a winning investment, Buttigieg’s big name donors include Rick Klau of Google Ventures, Satya Patel of Homebrew Management, Chris Sacca of Lowercase Capital, and Altman. A number of influential investors have also hosted fundraisers for the candidate and Harvard classmate-turned VC Swati Mylavarapu now serves as national investment chair for the campaign. Buttigieg fits the innovative mold that venture capitalists look for when investing in companies, several investors told The Guardian. “He’s got really concrete examples where he talks about using data in a city to make things work, really executional stuff that we see in


Saudi Arabia temporarily releases American citizen imprisoned for 21 months

ISTANBUL — Walid Fitaihi, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen who was jailed in Saudi Arabia for nearly two years without trial, has been temporarily released from custody but is still facing criminal charges in the kingdom, according to a Saudi official and two associates of Fitaihi’s family. Fitaihi, a U.S.-educated doctor and founder of a prominent Saudi hospital, was released Wednesday and spent the night at home with his family in the coastal city of Jiddah, according to one of the associates. Both family associates spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Fitaihi was detained in November 2017 as Saudi authorities arrested hundreds of business executives, government officials and royal family members and imprisoned them at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh. He later told a family member that he was tortured in custody. A Saudi official said in an emailed statement that Fitaihi had been “temporarily released from detention pending his trial.” The statement did not disclose the exact charges he was facing but said they were in accordance with Saudi Arabia’s “Law of Criminal Procedures and article 93 of the Law on Counter Terrorism and Its Financing.” “Any allegations that Mr. Fitaihi was subjected to torture during his detention are without foundation,” the statement added. A State Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Fitaihi’s status. Fitaihi’s lengthy detention had added to congressional anger at Saudi Arabia after the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post contributing columnist who was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in Istanbul last fall. Although Fitaihi’s family had initially avoided publicity, his son, Ahmad Fitaihi, eventually lobbied the Trump administration and members of Congress to intervene in the case and testified on Capitol Hill about his father’s treatment while in custody. President Trump has steadfastly defended Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and shielded Saudi Arabia from efforts by Congress to punish the kingdom for the killing of Khashoggi, as well as its military intervention in Yemen’s calamitous civil war. The crown prince has also faced criticism from Congress for Saudi Arabia’s arrest and alleged torture of prominent women’s rights advocates. Saudi officials have denied abusing detainees. kareem.fahim@washpost.com


World Digest: Aug. 1, 2019

MOZAMBIQUE Accord signed to end decades of hostilities Mozambique’s president signed a peace accord Thursday with the main opposition party, Renamo, to end decades of hostilities that persisted after a 15-year civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people. The ceremony, held in Gorongosa National Park, brought hope for a new era of peace and economic growth in one of the world’s poorest countries, where an estimated 70 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day. It came as more than 5,200 of the former rebel group’s fighters were disarming just weeks before a visit by Pope Francis and a national election. “We are living in a moment of hope. This is the moment of our reconciliation,” said President Filipe Nyusi. He said the park was chosen for the event because it is where the war began in the 1970s. Renamo leader Ossufo Momade also pledged that the warring sides had put aside their hostilities. “We are now brothers in peace,” he declared. The permanent cease-fire was the culmination of years of talks. Another accord is to be signed Tuesday in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, pledging peaceful elections in October. — Associated Press POLAND Income tax scrapped for young workers Poland on Thursday scrapped its personal income tax for young employees earning less than $22,000 a year, as part of a drive to reverse a brain drain that is dimming the prospects of a country otherwise experiencing strong economic growth. The new law by the right-wing government took effect Thursday, slashing the personal income tax from 18 percent to zero for workers younger than 26 who are below the income threshold. It is expected to boost the earnings of nearly 2 million Poles at home, and the government hopes it will also persuade young Poles to return home from abroad. Introduced before fall parliamentary elections, the tax move is part of a package of social benefits that has earned the government strong voter support but also raised budget worries. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said about 1.5 million Poles have emigrated since the nation of 38 million joined the European Union in 2004. — Associated Press 4 reported dead in Sudan protests: India's ruling party expels lawmaker accused of rape: Somalia's leader gives up U.S. citizenship: 8 killed in attack on Mexico's Caribbean coast: — From news services


U.S. sanctions Iran’s foreign minister amid escalating tensions

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday in a dramatic step bound to further escalate tensions with Tehran. A senior administration official said Zarif had acted more as a “propaganda minister” than a diplomat. “Today, President Trump decided enough is enough,” the official said. The announcement came as Trump’s national security adviser said that nuclear-related sanctions on Iran would again be waived, despite the opposition of some of the administration’s most hard-line officials. “This is a short, 90-day extension,” John Bolton said in an interview with “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox Business Network. Bolton, an Iran hawk, said Tehran would be “under constant observation” to ensure that nothing that contributes to a nuclear weapons capability in Iran would be permitted. Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had advocated ending the waiver, which allows Russia, China and Europe to participate in Iran’s civil nuclear program, as permitted under the 2015 agreement from which the administration withdrew last year. Five current waivers were due to expire Thursday, and the Treasury Department expressed concern about collateral effects of ending them on other signatories of the deal. In a statement about the sanctions on Zarif, Pompeo said the foreign minister was “complicit” in Iran’s support of terrorists, torture and other malign activity around the world. Zarif mocked the designation in a tweet. “The US’ reason for designating me is that I am Iran’s ‘primary spokesperson around the world,’ ” he tweeted. “Is the truth really that painful? It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interests outside of Iran. Thank you for considering me such a huge threat to your agenda.” A Treasury Department statement said Zarif was sanctioned because he “acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was sanctioned in late June. At that time, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said measures would also be taken against Zarif, but they were delayed after State Department officials argued that they would close the door to diplomacy. Trump has frequently expressed a desire to talk with Iranian leaders, even as his administration deepens a “maximum pressure” campaign that has devastated the Iranian economy. The administration official said Trump remains ready to speak with Iranian leaders — just not Zarif. “If we do have an official contact with Iran,


In Alexandria, some businesses avoid the impact of Metro’s shutdown. Others are barely hanging on.

back of my jaw just wouldn’t allow me to chew anymore.” Laughter filled the bar as the pair reminisced. But Lee’s smile turned to worry when the conversation shifted to the shutdown of the Metro station, one of six on the Blue and Yellow lines south of Reagan National Airport closed for repairs until Sept. 8. The Metro shutdown has Lee himself feeling “Sanged.” “There’s a lot of things I have to take care of, and I don’t know where I’m going to get the money from,” he said. Business has slowed, not only at Mackie’s but for others in Old Town. A June 14 to 18 survey by the city and several business groups, including Visit Alexandria, found that a little more than one-third of Alexandria businesses closer to the King Street station were making less money than last summer. Mackie’s stopped serving lunch shortly after the shutdown, when it became apparent that fewer tourists were stopping by this summer before heading into the District. And Lee had to lay off the lunch staff. The shutdown isn’t permanent, and Lee said he thinks business will eventually come back — if it can survive until then. At Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub that night, the bar was full as happy hour got going. But Luiza, a bartender, said that before the shutdown, the mostly empty tables used to be full, too. Kenny Mitchell, Murphy’s general manager, theorizes that people might not have much energy left to go out after sitting on crawling Metro shuttles home. In brighter spirits at Vola’s Dockside Grill was co-owner Scott Shaw as he sat by large windows overlooking Alexandria’s waterfront, about a 25-minute walk from the closed station. In that area, according to the survey, 83 percent of waterfront businesses were doing at least as well since the shutdown, and 59 percent were doing better — no doubt helped by the ongoing park renovation. “Over the last year or two, there’s been an injection of new fresh things to do that’s drawing a younger crowd,” he said. Sales at the restaurant were up more than 10 percent over last summer, said Shaw, whose Alexandria Restaurant Partners owns the restaurant and five others in the city. He said he’s seeing both sides of the shutdown’s effect. The restaurant group also owns Joe Theismann’s Restaurant, which is close to King Street station. Business there has dropped off by


Virginia reports higher-than-usual number of respiratory illnesses

Virginia health officials have found that the number of reported outbreaks of respiratory illnesses this summer, such as one that contributed to the deaths of three people and sickened dozens more at an assisted-living facility in Northern Virginia, has increased by roughly half. Jonathan Falk, epidemiology program manager at the Virginia Department of Health, said the number of such outbreaks this year rose to 19, compared with the dozen or so that normally occur in the period outside flu season. Several infections occurred in assisted-living or other long-term care settings for older people, such as an outbreak at Greenspring Village in Springfield. Three people died, 23 were hospitalized and dozens more fell ill during an outbreak of respiratory illnesses that struck Garden Ridge, the community’s assisted-living and skilled nursing unit, between June 30 and July 15. The infection also spread to Greenspring’s staff, affecting 19 employees at the complex, Fairfax County health officials said. It’s not clear why the outbreak occurred at Greenspring or why there has been an increase in reported cases around Virginia, health officials said. Neither the District nor Maryland has detected anything similar, according to state health department officials in those jurisdictions. The increase in respiratory infections in Virginia prompted M. Norman Oliver, the commonwealth’s health commissioner, to issue an advisory last month to clinicians, alerting them to the increase, particularly in settings for long-term care. The July 19 advisory urged medical personnel and residential managers to take precautions, especially because of an imminent heat wave at the time. “We were well above a dozen outbreaks reported in our system,” Falk said. “And that’s not even getting into the back-to-school season.” In the period since mid May, when flu season winds down, and October, when the number of cases picks up again, Virginia’s statewide reporting system has counted 19 outbreaks, including 13 at long-term care facilities. That compares with 13 similar outbreaks outside of flu season in 2018 and 15 in the previous year, Falk said. He said he did not have immediate figures on how many people were hospitalized as a result. Virginia health officials noted that laboratory tests identified a variety of causes of the outbreaks, including pathogens for Legionnaire’s disease, flu, the common cold and pertussis, or whooping cough. In some cases, no common agent has been identified. In an update on July 29, the Fairfax County Health Department said testing conducted by


MLS team cancels fireworks display because of, uh, plague-infested fleas in prairie dog colonies

Just an FYI if you planned on attending the fireworks show that was scheduled to follow Saturday night’s MLS match between the Colorado Rapids and Montreal Impact in Commerce City, Colo. Oh. According to the Rapids “However, it has been recommended that the post-game fireworks display be canceled due to the confirmed presence of plague-infested fleas affecting prairie dog colonies in the surrounding areas,” the team wrote in a story posted on its website. Also, parking lots at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park will be restricted to the asphalt portions. Again, because of the plague. The stadium is bordered to the north by the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to “330 species of animals, including bison, black-footed ferrets, deer, coyotes, bald eagles and burrowing owls,” its website says. And, apparently, plague-infested prairie dogs. The refuge has been closed to the public since Wednesday after two confirmed cases of sylvatic plague — a rare disease caused by a bacterium that can be transmitted to humans via mammals and their fleas — were discovered in black-tailed prairie dogs on the refuge and in other nearby areas of Adams County. Refuge officials are applying pesticides to burrows in the impacted prairie dog colonies to eliminate the fleas, and the refuge will reopen when U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff members decide it is safe to do so. This type of plague is reportedly fairly common in such areas and can be devastating to prairie dog populations, which are a key cog in the ecosystem. “Plague is widespread throughout the western U.S. and frequently occurs in wild rodents,” according to the U.S. Geographical Survey. “All four species of prairie dogs in the U.S. are particularly susceptible to plague, suffering high mortality rates during outbreaks (> 90 percent) and resulting in local extirpation and population reductions. As a keystone species of grassland ecosystems, prairie dog losses significantly impact numerous other species that depend on them for food or shelter, including endangered black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls, mountain plovers, and several canine and avian predators. Controlling plague is a vital concern for ongoing management and conservation efforts for prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets.” Plague is transmitted to humans via flea bites, handling of an infected animal or through the air in close quarters when a plague-infected person coughs (the CDC says the latter hasn’t happened in the United States since 1924). The two most infamous


In a flash, Boris Johnson’s working majority in Britain’s Parliament is now just one seat

LONDON — It was just a one-off race out in a small district in Wales, where sheep outnumber voters, an off-year by-election to replace a Conservative Party lawmaker who was sacked by petition for cheating on his expense account. Normally, it would be back-page news. But the Conservative Party candidate lost Thursday night — and a member of the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrat party won — and suddenly Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s working majority in Parliament has been reduced to a single seat. The government Johnson inherited from his ousted predecessor, Theresa May, was already dependent on the support of 10 lawmakers from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to get its wafer-thin majority. Now, the Conservatives are just one defection, resignation, scandal or death away from potentially losing that majority altogether. And Johnson will need every vote his whips can wrangle to pass his “do or die” Brexit through a fractured House of Commons. Remember May’s Brexit deal? It was defeated three times in Parliament. Some Conservatives thought her deal was too weak. Others don’t especially want to leave the European Union. In a flash, the math has gotten worse for Johnson. At the same time, he has made some lawmakers nervous with his insistence that Britain be prepared to leave the E.U. without a deal to manage the withdrawal, if the Europeans haven’t helped secure a new and better deal by the end of October. Economists have warned that a no-deal Brexit could disrupt trade and cause pain on both sides of the English Channel. On Friday, a wavering Conservative lawmaker, Philip Lee, said he was considering joining the Liberal Democrats. “I’m really not comfortable about my party pushing for no-deal Brexit without proper consent of the public,” Lee told the On the House podcast. In February, three Conservative members of Parliament quit the party over Brexit to form a new independent group in the House of Commons. There have also been five by-election contests since the 2017 general elections — two lawmakers faced recall petitions, two resigned from office and one died. If Johnson’s pledge to get Britain out by October is threatened, many assume he might call a snap election to seek a greater majority in Parliament — but this result makes it unclear how he and his party would fare. In the Brecon district by-election in Wales on Thursday, Conservative Chris Davies tried to hold on to


Trump opens the door to chaos as landmark treaty expires

Hawks in Washington, not least White House national security adviser John Bolton, saw the treaty as an anachronism that constrained American strategic options but did not affect a rising power such as China. On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, “The U.S. gave Russia six months to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Russia refused, so the treaty ends today. The U.S. will not remain party to a treaty when others violate it. Russia bears sole responsibility.” In a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow blamed Washington. As reported for The Post by Matthew Bodner in Moscow, the ministry accused the United States of intentionally undermining the treaty to justify the development and deployment of weapons once banned by the agreement. The statement pointed to past U.S. actions to support the claim, namely the Bush administration’s to unilaterally withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) in 2002 -- notice of which was, as was the case with INF, delivered personally to the Kremlin by John Bolton. “The denunciation of the INF Treaty confirms that the US is set on destroying all international agreements that do not suit them for one reason or another,” the statement said. “This will lead to the dismantling of the existing arms control regime.” The ministry’s statement again denied Washington’s accusations that Russia stands in violation of the treaty, and called for the U.S. to pledge it will not deploy weapons once banned by INF. The ministry noted that Russia has already announced a moratorium on deploying such weapons, “if we have them,” if the U.S. does not deploy them first. However, a number of Russian officials in recent weeks, including Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov -- Russia’s point-man on arms control -- have stated that Russia will mirror any deployments. Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s foreign affairs committee, upped the ante on Friday when he said the deployment of U.S. short- and medium-range missiles to Eastern and Central Europe is a serious threat to Russian national security. “Their flight time from Poland or the Baltic states is so short (about four minutes),” Slutsky was quoted as saying by Interfax, “that in this case Moscow will have to adopt a doctrine of pre-emptive strike.” Slutsky said this creates a significantly higher risk for nuclear exchange to be sparked “by mistake,” and called upon both sides to


How Boris Johnson and President Trump risk destabilizing Northern Ireland

Amanda Sloat Since taking office on July 24, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined a significantly harder stance on Brexit than his predecessor, Theresa May. He has made clear that Britain is leaving the European Union on Oct. 31, with or without a deal. He is refusing to negotiate with E.U. leaders unless they reopen the withdrawal agreement and remove the Northern Ireland backstop, which are long-standing E.U. red lines. He also announced more than 2 billion pounds to fund no-deal contingency plans, including stockpiling medicine and hiring more border officers. As Johnson and his “war cabinet” of hard-line Brexiteers push forward with their demands, the risks to Northern Ireland are increasing. But instead of seeking to stabilize the peace process, President Trump has encouraged Britain to abandon divorce talks with the E.U. in favor of a trade deal with the United States — a position that could have potentially disastrous consequences. Northern Ireland remains the biggest hurdle to Brexit. Britain is part of the E.U.’s customs union and single market. It will leave both after Brexit, elevating the border with Ireland to a customs border with associated controls. This will create practical challenges and devastate many who endured decades of sectarian violence. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which addressed security and governance concerns of nationalist and unionist communities and took steps to mitigate identity politics, removed checkpoints along the border. The British government has argued that it can avoid border infrastructure by developing technical alternatives or negotiating a post-Brexit economic agreement with the E.U. Unless and until either occurs, European leaders insist on an insurance policy: Britain must remain in a customs union with the E.U., and Northern Ireland must comply with single-market regulations on goods. Johnson views the backstop as “anti-democratic,” as it does not allow unilateral British withdrawal, hampers the negotiation of trade deals and was not endorsed by Parliament. The E.U. has been clear that a no-deal Brexit would result in a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, though the British and Irish governments have pledged not to impose controls. Yet both countries have incentives to find a solution. In order for London to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal with the E.U., Brussels has insisted it must first accept measures that keep the border open and protect the E.U. single market. In order for Dublin to maintain trade with the rest of the E.U.,


Boris Johnson’s first full week as prime minister: Chickens, boos and a worrying loss

prompted some on social media to question whether he had forgotten his job already, while others pointed out the fit was not so great. The Guardian later reported the jacket was a gift from the Ministry of Defense. On Tuesday, Johnson continued to ruffle some more feathers in South Wales, where he visited a local farm and inspected eggs and chickens. Farmers have been vocal about their concerns over the future and what a no-deal Brexit driven by Britain’s new leader could mean for their precious farming industry. “I will always back Britain’s great farmers, and as we leave the E.U., we need to make sure that Brexit works for them,” Johnson said during a day spent clutching some puzzled-looking birds. Johnson faced more angry protests in Cardiff, Wales, as he arrived to meet First Minister Mark Drakeford. Crowds held placards that called him a “liar” and waved European flags. There were no chickens, but he could not entirely escape the birds. “Mr. Johnson, I despise you more than the seagulls on bin day,” read one handwritten sign. Northern Ireland was next on the itinerary. On Wednesday, Johnson met in Belfast with the five main parties. While remaining conflicted on myriad issues, the leaders were in agreement over one thing: Johnson’s threat to leave the E.U. without a deal would be dangerous. Despite Northern Ireland being slated to leave the E.U. along with the rest of the United Kingdom by Oct. 31, Sinn Fein’s president, Mary Lou McDonald, said that in the event of a hard Brexit, she would push for a vote for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom. It was not all rough news for Johnson during his inaugural week as prime minister. One poll showed his Conservative Party with a 10-point lead over the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn. The same survey had Johnson leading Corbyn on leadership ratings, 52 percent to 27 percent. Then came Thursday. The Conservative candidate in Wales lost his bid to retain his seat in Parliament. Making matters worse for Johnson, who is trying to deliver Brexit with a paper-thin working majority, the seat was picked up by the Liberal Democrats, which worked in a pact with other unabashedly pro-E.U. parties and are calling for a second Brexit referendum. As The Washington Post’s William Booth wrote today: In a flash, the new math has only gotten worse for Johnson.


A spectacular sunset dazzled D.C. Thursday evening. Here’s how it happened.

People in the DMV last night were treated to a magical sunset featuring a relatively rare phenomenon. We received dozens of gorgeous photos/videos from readers showing the patchwork sky. Many wondered what the unusual slices were that lit up the evening. A few ingredients combined to produce the epic array of colors and shadows. The most impressive sunsets tend to occur when sunlight has something to be cast upon. On Thursday evening, a clump of weak thunderstorms formed along a boundary south of the District. The fact that they were struggling actually helped the sunset. That’s because the boundary — which carried behind it cooler, slightly refreshing air — kept undercutting the thunderstorms, choking them off and leaving only their tops behind. That meant the sky was free with what are referred to as “orphan anvils,” which are high clouds once attached to thunderstorms that have been cast away. Farther west over the mountains, a few bubbly clouds managed to hang on until sunset. One, located near Winchester, Virginia, lined up perfectly to block the sun (which sets at a bearing of 293º) over the District. That explains the main wedge-like shadow cast across the sky. A second storm, positioned slightly differently and farther away, produced a thinner shadow to the left of the main wedge. Meteorologists call these alternating bands of darkness and light “crepuscular rays.” Because the clouds were so high, they stayed sunlit during and even after sunset, despite the ground going dark. That’s because of Earth’s curvature, and the fact that sun sets later at higher altitudes. To the east, the orphan anvils served as the perfect backdrop upon which delicate shades of peach and amber could be painted. The canvas of clouds lit up most brightly about five minutes before sunset. It’s a good thing to remember for life in general: The best sunsets can occur after the darkest of clouds and storms.


Readers critique The Post: It’s not about optics — unless it’s photos of Trump

us to sing along — together. Music is an ingredient for the universal glue recipe. Irene Q. Powell ● Why strike a sour note? I am not sure why Anne Midgette would, in her July 20 Critic’s Notebook, “An orchestra is closing. Did you support it?” [Style], encourage the public not to care when an orchestra such as the National Philharmonic closes. Why write about the orchestra only when posting a death notice? To tell our audience they should now look to fund shoestring opera companies or orchestras such as the Alexandria and Fairfax symphonies was frankly insulting. These orchestras pay so far under scale that it is not even a reasonable wage. The National Philharmonic was a main source of income for many local full-time professional musicians who will now have to figure out how to survive. The reason the orchestra failed was not a lack of interest but management not raising enough funds and lack of support from the Montgomery County Council. The concert hall is quite large — it seats 2,000 — so even at three-quarters full, that’s 1,500 people. That’s much more than the smaller halls where Alexandria and Fairfax play. This orchestra has been around for 36 years, and what’s truly sad is that it is allowed to die not because of audience apathy but because of the apathy of elected politicians. The same can be said for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra , also at Strathmore. The state has the money to save the orchestra, but the governor won’t release the funds, saving them for a rainy day. That orchestra has been around for more than 100 years. Please do not help destroy our musical institutions by putting the tombstone on them and urging audiences to move on. Leslie Silverfine The writer is president of the National Philharmonic Orchestra Committee. ● Don't try this at home The July 18 Local Living article “Affordable fixes that will transform your rental bathroom” had suggestions that many renters would be unable to apply. As a renter, homeowner, rental-unit owner and now, again, renter, I can attest to the fact that many such changes are simply impossible or highly inadvisable. Begin with a thorough reading of the lease and then progress to what repairs and changes may be needed in a rental unit and a good way to approach the owner for the maximum cooperation. Having been an owner,


Graham Holdings Co. acquires Clyde’s Restaurant Group

Graham Holdings Co. has acquired Clyde’s Restaurant Group, the chain behind one of Washington’s oldest and best-known restaurants. Founded in 1963, Clyde’s operates Old Ebbitt Grill, the Victorian-inspired saloon and restaurant near the White House that took in more than $33 million last year. The restaurant is known for its seafood, especially oyster happy hour, and Zagat describes it as a place that represents old-school Washington. It has more than 500 seats and serves as many as 3,000 guests a day in its main dining rooms and for private events. Clyde’s also owns the Hamilton, which hosts the annual White House Correspondents’ Jam (on the eve of the organization’s dinner) and reported nearly $22 million in annual revenue. The Hamilton offers a wide range of American fare, starting with brunch to late night eats. The restaurant can seat 400, and its downstairs music venue seats 300 with standing room for 300 more. The two restaurants are among the 20 highest-grossing independent restaurants in the country. The group also operates 11 other D.C.-area restaurants and entertainment venues — eight Clyde’s locations, the Tombs bar, 1789 Restaurant and the Soundry in Columbia, Md. “We are excited to join such a well-respected company and equally excited about the future,” Thomas Meyer, Clyde’s Restaurant Group president, said in a news release announcing the deal. The co-owner and chief executive of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, John G. Laytham, died in January at 74. He joined the business as a dishwasher the year it was founded, working his way up to build a company with a yearly revenue of $135 million. Arlington-based Graham Holdings Co. didn’t disclose the terms of the deal and declined to comment beyond the news release. The Graham family had owned and operated The Washington Post for several decades before selling the news organization to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in 2013. Graham Holdings, which also owns media, manufacturing, health-care and cybersecurity companies, has a market value near $7.6 billion. On Wednesday, it reported more than $57 million in second-quarter earnings, a 22 percent increase from a year ago. Graham CEO Timothy O’Shaughnessy said in a news release that Clyde’s Restaurant Group has been a Washington institution. “The Clyde’s group of restaurants are well-run businesses that align with our investment strategy: working with great management teams to operate businesses with a long history of profitability,” O’Shaughnessy said. “We are thrilled about the


He was a homeless musician. Now he and his beloved bass are performing again.

said. “It’s been a long, hard year.” Every day, he fights to stay sober. Every day, he makes a plan to live in harmony with his housemates, to pay his bills, to look for work, to keep a practice schedule. In the past year, at least eight roommates have circulated in and out of the house, kicked out for fighting, for drugging, for bad behavior. It’s a struggle every day to stay clean, Rainsberger said. Halfway houses, remember, are rarely in the good neighborhoods. “I want to move. I want to be in a better place,” he said. “But there isn’t affordable housing in this city. There is no place here for all the people who work here.” The District is deeply flawed when it comes to housing for ordinary wage-earners. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) met this spring with workers to get input on her proposal to create a workforce housing fund so the teachers, plumbers, musicians and cooks who work in the city have a fighting chance of living in it. Rainsberger can’t keep regular gigs with an upright bass if he moves far away and doesn’t have a car. Plus, he needs a place where he can practice. When he moved into Oxford House, the roommates were older and were cool with two hours of thrum-thrum-thwacking of jazz bass practice. “The new guys are younger. And they have a jail mentality and don’t have respect for nothing,” he said. “Especially not jazz.” So he was a little nervous to put together a gig. His hands — which have to be both powerful and supple to play upright bass — are stronger. And two hours a day is good practice. Two retired musicians he used to work with in the old days got in touch. They began playing and rehearsing and formed a band — the MGB Power Trio. They scheduled their first live gig at Twins Jazz, where Rainsberger had been the house bassist years ago. He shined on Thursday night, leaning into Ruth Ann passionately for a little Oscar Pettiford piece his trio opened with, when it was still light outside and U Street was just waking for the night. By dusk, saxophonist Greg Meyer was going hard at Coltrane in the candlelit club and drummer Bruce Jacobs was playing on the walls. Rainsberger loosened up with each cheer from the audience, solo after thumping, thrumming


U.S. preparing to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan in initial deal with Taliban

of State Mike Pompeo. The task of explaining the negotiations in Afghanistan to the American public has fallen to Pompeo. On Monday, when asked whether he expected a reduction in U.S. forces before the 2020 election, he said, “That’s my directive.” The following day, he clarified his remarks, saying that “there is no deadline” for the mission there and accusing the news media of misinterpreting his words. The president wants to draw down forces “just as quickly as we can get there, consistent with his other mission set, which is to ensure that we have an adequate risk reduction plan for making sure that there is not terror that’s conducted from Afghanistan,” Pompeo told reporters aboard his plane en route to Thailand. Trump said this week that he did not know whether all troops will come home from the war before the U.S. election. “We hope in the coming days that we will be able to urge the Taliban to talk,” he said. Cutting the troop level to 9,000 would require commanders in the field to make some tough decisions on which bases to close and which missions to curtail, and on whether to scale back advising Afghan troops. One person with familiarity with Miller’s thinking said the general is sure to want to keep open Bagram air base, from which the United States launches counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern mountains. The military also is likely to maintain a significant presence in Kabul, where there are numerous bases, and some troops at Kandahar Airfield, the largest U.S. base in the south. Meanwhile, U.S. officials say that German troops are likely to keep a presence in northern Afghanistan and that Italian troops will remain in the west. But some Afghan officials fear that a preliminary deal outlining a U.S. withdrawal could weaken their negotiating position during intra-Afghan talks and eventually leave them alone to fight the battle-hardened Taliban. One of the concerns is that gains made since the fall of the Taliban could be erased if the group, which seeks to reestablish an Islamic emirate, becomes part of a power-sharing government. Women’s rights groups are especially concerned, given the Taliban’s restrictions on women and opposition to educating girls. But the State Department says it has secured agreement with the Afghan government on “next steps on the Afghan peace process.” In the absence of formal talks between the Afghan government and the


If we want troops to follow orders, we should trust their justice system

With less than 2 percent of Americans serving in the armed forces and only a tiny minority of them ever involved in military criminal cases, public confidence in our military justice system largely depends on what comes through in the media. And the president seems as perplexed as anyone about which cases are brought to trial and why. The resulting distortions may only make it harder to hold service members accountable for wartime misconduct. Gallagher’s case demonstrates how difficult it has become to ensure public accountability for alleged war crimes. His supporters, including the president, were vocal critics of the decision to bring the allegation of murder to trial by court-martial. These critics — and those who question other prosecutions — ignore the fact that cases such as Gallagher’s end up in a military courtroom precisely because of credible evidence indicating violations of the most basic rules of war — rules that American forces are expected to, and almost always do, respect. These would-be defenders of service members also fail to grasp a basic truth that senior military commanders recognize — the danger of ignoring such violations. Inevitably, the impulse to overlook alleged war crimes derives from the mistaken idea that volunteering for military service somehow immunizes service members from disciplinary consequences of their criminal misconduct. Such a fallacy belies the reality that adhering to these laws ensures disciplined forces, operational success and moral clarity. Army Lt. Clint Lorance’s court-martial, conviction and subsequent call for presidential pardon provides another example of the danger of distorted public narratives. After he was convicted of murder based on his orders to his soldiers to fire upon men on a motorcycle and on his attempts to conceal the crime, a campaign to secure his pardon painted him as the victim of a rush to judgment. But Lorance’s case went to trial only after his commanding general reviewed all the available information and concluded that his conduct fell outside the scope of the violence justified by a situation of combat. His case was then presented to a jury of military officers — jurors with an innate understanding of what it means to be in combat. That trial afforded him all the rights any criminal defendant would have in a civilian court, and his conviction required his military jury to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of his guilt. The military officers who judged Lorance were


Japan and South Korea are being pulled into a low level economic war

It may allow a government, like Japan’s, that has regulatory authority over those companies to apply pressure. Governments that have potential control over choke point components, inputs or processes, like the industrial chemicals in the Japan-South Korea case, can use this authority to squeeze other governments for political advantage. Weaponized interdependence is reshaping the world economy As our article explains, there are many other cases of weaponized interdependence. The United States has been particularly willing to exploit its control of global economic networks to pursue political advantage. The international financial system depends heavily on the U.S. dollar and the “dollar clearing system,” which directs international financial transactions through institutions under U.S. regulatory authority. The SWIFT system of financial messaging provides another choke point. The United States has used these choke points to effectively cut countries such as Iran out of the global financial system. Most recently, the United States has used its control of choke points in global supply chains to strategic advantage. Chinese companies such as ZTE and Huawei rely on semiconductors that are made in the United States or using U.S. intellectual property. This has allowed the United States to threaten to block access to these critical components, potentially posing an existential threat to these businesses and, perhaps, undermining large parts of China’s technology sector. Countries are starting to resist weaponized interdependence The threat of weaponization is changing the way in which the world economy works. Countries such as China are trying to rapidly develop their own chipmaking industry to secure themselves against outside pressure. Many in the U.S. security community want to see a “decoupling” of the United States and China economies to lower the risk of China exploiting U.S. weaknesses. It is almost certain that South Korea’s electronics industry too is investigating how to secure itself against future coercion. As this continues, it is likely to reshape the world economy. Global supply chains and financial relationships will change, as businesses cease their single-minded pursuit of efficiency and are forced to think about the political risks associated with global economic relationships that make them dependent on the decisions of foreign governments. [This article has been updated from the version published on August 1] Don’t miss anything! Sign up to get TMC’s smart analysis in your inbox, three days a week. Abraham Newman is a professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.


As a runner, Allyson Felix didn’t want to speak out. As a mom, she felt she had to.

and started to realize she could offer the same support. “There was just something about the power of knowing that you’re not alone,” Felix said. “Hearing someone else’s story, being able to talk to someone when you’re going through these difficult times, and I think I understood more than ever when you share your story, what that does. I don’t think I understood that before. I always felt like, ‘What do I really have to add?’ Or, I’m not going to be able to change anything. Really coming to the point where I know there is power in what I went through.” When Camryn improved to the point she could go home, Felix drew motivation from a desire to share her story, and she knew returning to track would provide a larger platform. She took inspiration from other Olympians who became mothers: Alysia Montano, Nia Ali, Stephanie Bruce and more. After her op-ed, she heard stories from mothers outside of track who were afraid to tell their bosses they were pregnant. “I just felt like there’s no way I could just sit by and be silent,” Felix said. To be clear, Felix remains an athlete with plenty of ambition. She plans to compete next summer in her fifth Olympics. After limited training following recovery from physical trauma, her performance this past weekend, while modest by her standards, convinced her she can return to elite form. “The fire is still there,” she said. She may appreciate competing more than ever. In Des Moines, she experienced a first. She used to dread the immediate aftermath of races — the sensation of lactic acid flooding her muscles, giving interviews feeling “delirious” and wondering if her words made sense. On Saturday, she walked from the finish line to the stands. Her husband, Kenneth Ferguson, passed Camryn to her, and Felix hugged her daughter. “It was the most amazing thing,” Felix said. “To be able to see her face, it just kind of sent all that away for the moment. It was just the best feeling, regardless of the result.” Read more from The Post Caster Semenya blocked from defending 800 title at worlds after Swiss court reverses ruling Beto O’Rourke invites high school football players who knelt for anthem to Democratic debate Ultramarathoner killed by lightning strike during Italian race Louisiana judge says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can face questions in Saints ‘no-call’ lawsuit


Violence in Afghanistan takes high toll on civilians despite the promise of peace talks

injured 1,158 civilians. Incidents included a car bombing in Ghazni province July 7 that killed six people and injured 170 — many of them schoolchildren — while Afghan leaders were holding a first informal meeting with Taliban officials in Qatar. “The Taliban’s commitment to reduce violence has proven empty,” said U.S. Army Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military mission here. “The Taliban has increased the number of suicide, roadside and car bombings that have left hundreds of innocent Afghans, including scores of women and children, dead and injured.” On the other side, the high number of casualties caused by Afghan and Afghan-allied foreign forces drew strong expressions of concern from U.N. officials and human rights groups. Leggett rejected the U.N. findings, telling news agencies that U.S. collection of evidence was “more thorough” and accurate. But Richard Bennett, a human rights official at the U.N. Afghan mission, said that though different “parties to the conflict” may explain casualty trends differently “to justify their own military tactics,” only a determined effort on all sides to reduce “the intensity of the fighting” will reduce civilian suffering. The United Nations called for a goal of “zero” civilian casualties. Afghan military officials do not release figures on their military casualties, and the U.S. military also does not disclose them, but various Afghan civilian officials have issued broad estimates. President Ashraf Ghani said last year that 40,000 members of the Afghan forces had been killed since he took office in 2014, and his national security adviser said recently that about 50 troops were dying daily. A quarterly report issued this week by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction provided a detailed look at certain aspects of the recent conflict. It found that the deadliest region of the country is Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold in the south, and that between January and May, most violent incidents including Taliban attacks took place in just five of the country’s 34 provinces: Helmand, Badghis, Faryab, Herat and Farah. One member of the Farah provincial council, Dadullah Oane, recounted previous incidents in which buses were blown up, killing and injuring many passengers. He denounced the insurgents as trying to “spread terror and panic among the people.” Hussaini, after counseling numerous victims and their families this week, called on both sides to refrain from killing innocent people to gain a stronger position in peace talks. “Please,


McConnell’s new posture toward Moscow

This column has been updated. “Moscow Mitch” was red hot. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the Senate floor Monday, denounced critics (including me) who say his recent blocking of efforts to fortify defenses against another Russian attack on U.S. elections are aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin. “For decades, I have used my Senate seat to stand up to Russia,” the Kentucky Republican protested. Unfortunately for McConnell, two days later came a reminder that he has taken a rather different posture toward Russia of late. Indeed, it appears, he has been key to helping Russian oligarchs with ties to Putin skirt U.S. sanctions and invest in an aluminum mill in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky. Citing Senate lobbying disclosures, Politico reported Wednesday that two former McConnell staffers had signed on as lobbyists for the Braidy Industries mill, which is 40 percent owned by Russian aluminum giant Rusal. That company has long been controlled by Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch who, the United States alleges, has said “he does not separate himself from the Russian state.” Braidy also hired a PR firm founded by yet another former McConnell aide, the outlet reported Friday. It is well established in Washington that, as Politico’s Anna Palmer noted in 2014, “there’s little difference between the McConnell confidants who used to be on his payroll and those who still are.” The article specifically cited former McConnell chief of staff Hunter Bates, who is now one of the Braidy lobbyists. A McConnell spokesman said that the lobbyists, hired by Braidy on May 20, requested two meetings but that those were declined and no meetings have been held “to date.” McConnell himself had championed the oligarchs’ cause before. After the Trump administration last year exempted Deripaska-related enterprises from sanctions, a bipartisan rebellion attempted to reinstate the sanctions (House Republicans joined Democrats in a 362-to-53 vote), but McConnell led a successful effort in the Senate to thwart the rebellion, which he called a “political stunt.” (In exchange for sanctions relief, Deripaska agreed to reduce his ownership in Rusal’s parent company, but Deripaska could retain de facto control .) Three months later, the Russian aluminum giant announced its $200 million investment in Kentucky. McConnell declared in May that his vote to exempt Deripaska enterprises from sanctions was “completely unrelated.” Of course. It was also unrelated, no doubt, to the fact that Len Blavatnik, a Ukrainian American whose SUAL Partners owns 22.5


I thought the rashes were insect bites. I actually had shingles, and it was horrible.

I glanced down and saw a pink rash on my upper left chest. At first, I thought it was insect bites — I had been walking outdoors more often once spring arrived. A few days later, the rash looked like small red pimples filled with liquid and had started to itch. I sprayed the rash with calamine, which felt soothing at first. But a few hours later, I felt I was being stung over and over again and I knew something was wrong. I made an appointment with my doctor for that afternoon. While examining my rash, the nurse practitioner asked whether I had had chickenpox as a child — yes, I responded. She called the doctor in to take a look. “Shingles,” the doctor said. Hearing this, my heart sank because I knew this was a very painful nerve condition. She explained that the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox never completely leaves your body and can reactivate years or decades later and cause shingles. I was surprised to hear the nurse practitioner say that a new shingles vaccine was available. The Food and Drug Administration had approved Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant) in 2017 as a more effective vaccine than Zostavax, which had been approved in 2006. If I had known about the vaccine earlier, I might have been spared the overwhelming pain, fatigue and worry about how long the suffering would last. But since it was too late for prevention, we focused on treatment and managing the pain. The nurse practitioner prescribed an oral antiviral medication called valacyclovir (Valtrex) for seven days, which I took twice a day, and gabapentin (Neurontin) for pain relief, which I took three times a day initially. Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy that also works for nerve disorders by changing the way that nerves send messages to your brain. After a week on Valtrex, most of the liquid-filled blisters had scabbed over, which the nurse practitioner told me indicated that they were no longer infectious. Until that point, I avoided hugging people because the infection is spread through direct physical contact with blisters. Pritish Tosh, an infectious disease physician and researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, also suggests keeping the lesions covered in public, washing hands after changing the bandages or dressings, and not sharing towels. If you have children at home who have not had chickenpox or


Japan-South Korea dispute escalates as both sides downgrade trade ties

SEOUL — Japan’s cabinet decided to remove South Korea from a list of trusted trading partners Friday, turning up the heat in a bitter dispute between the two U.S. allies about compensation for wartime forced labor. The spat is already causing economic pain, from South Korea’s electronics industry to Japanese consumer goods, and threatens to harm security cooperation between the United States’ key strategic partners in the region. Growing nationalist outrage on both sides of the Korea Strait is trapping both governments in a cycle of tit-for-tat escalation from which there is no easy escape, experts say. South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Japan’s move a reckless, selfish and destructive act that reopened “old wounds,” and he vowed to respond. “If Japan intentionally strikes at our economy, Japan itself will also have to bear significant damage,” he said in a statement. Friday’s decision, which will take effect Aug. 28, could tie up Japanese exporters of goods with potential military uses to South Korea in additional layers of bureaucracy and official approval, delaying shipments and raising costs. It is also a symbolic blow at the status of a major trading partner. South Korea responded with an equivalent step. It has also threatened to cancel military intelligence-sharing with Japan, a move experts say would undermine U.S. security interests. On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped the two countries would find a solution, stressing cooperation on North Korea was “incredibly important.” In South Korea, though, a popular boycott of Japanese goods has affected everything from beer and cigarettes to clothes and cars, fueled by deep-seated rivalry and mistrust between the neighbors. Supermarkets are refusing to stock Japanese products. Shoppers are staying away from the popular Japanese Uniqlo clothing chain, garages are refusing to repair Japanese cars and tourists are canceling plans to go to Japan on vacation. High schools have even joined in the protests. “I wasn’t part of the independence movement but I can join the boycott movement,” a poster issued by a union of parcel-delivery workers reads, referring to the independence struggle against Japanese occupation. Indeed, much of the rhetoric roots the dispute squarely in Korean feelings of hurt and humiliation at Japan’s past colonial rule, and in what Koreans see as Tokyo’s lack of remorse. The union is telling its members not to deliver Uniqlo parcels, and says more than 90 percent of its 2,500 members have


threatened to cancel military intelligence-sharing with Japan, a move experts say would undermine U.S. security interests. On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped the two countries would find a solution, stressing cooperation on North Korea was “incredibly important.” In South Korea, though, a popular boycott of Japanese goods has affected everything from beer and cigarettes to clothes and cars, fueled by deep-seated rivalry and mistrust between the neighbors. Supermarkets are refusing to stock Japanese products. Shoppers are staying away from the popular Japanese Uniqlo clothing chain, garages are refusing to repair Japanese cars and tourists are canceling plans to go to Japan on vacation. High schools have even joined in the protests. “I wasn’t part of the independence movement but I can join the boycott movement,” a poster issued by a union of parcel-delivery workers reads, referring to the independence struggle against Japanese occupation. Indeed, much of the rhetoric roots the dispute squarely in Korean feelings of hurt and humiliation at Japan’s past colonial rule, and in what Koreans see as Tokyo’s lack of remorse. The union is telling its members not to deliver Uniqlo parcels, and says more than 90 percent of its 2,500 members have agreed to participate in the boycott. Sales of Japanese beer fell 30 percent in the first half of July, according to supermarket chain E-mart, while sales of flights to Japan and tour packages are reported to have fallen by similar margins. The dispute began with consecutive South Korean Supreme Court rulings last year ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for victims of forced labor during Japan’s occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945. The judgments infuriated Japan’s government, which gave South Korea an economic aid package as final compensation and settlement of historical grievances when the countries restored diplomatic relations in 1965. Moon has also ripped up a 2015 bilateral agreement establishing a fund for South Korean “comfort women,” who were forced into brothels serving the Japanese military during World War II, even though that agreement was billed as the “final and irrevocable settlement” of the issue. Japan fears the wartime forced-labor issue will affect many Japanese firms operating in South Korea. Courts have ordered the seizure of Japanese assets as compensation, and similar rulings are expected in more than a dozen other cases potentially affecting scores of companies. That could dramatically undermine Japanese trade and investment in South Korea.


Despite roster losses and Coach K’s exit, USA Basketball eyes gold at FIBA World Cup

from Chicago in a telephone interview. “That should give us even more incentive to go out and get the job done. A lot of players have an opportunity to make their mark. This is an important time for Coach Pop. This is something he longed for. I’m very excited." Multiple factors influenced the projected roster this year, which is headlined by lesser-known all-stars such as Kemba Walker and Khris Middleton, plus rising stars including Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum. Kyle Lowry, one of just two returning players from the 2016 Rio Olympics team, is recovering from thumb surgery but remains in the mix. The biggest factor is timing. FIBA, the global basketball governing body, used to run the World Cup, previously known as the world championships, on a four-year cycle that cleanly alternated with the Olympics. When the Olympics were held in 2012, the World Cup took place in 2010 and 2014. In hopes of raising the tournament’s profile, FIBA expanded the field, altered the qualification process and changed the schedule for this year’s event, holding it one year after FIFA’s soccer World Cup and one year before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. That change was felt by USA Basketball more than most countries, with the NBA’s 82-game schedule longer and more intense than those in international leagues. “Playing in back-to-back years, with full NBA seasons before and after, in a real hurdle to overcome,” Colangelo said. “FIBA is not concerned about us. They’re concerned about what’s best for basketball internationally. FIBA got exactly what they wanted. They’re getting a lot of games, a lot of attendance. There’s more interest in a lot of countries. Personally, I didn’t like the change. I knew it would have a negative effect on us.” This summer’s sheer volume of free agent moves and trades also contributed to some of the defections. With the Warriors weakened by Kevin Durant’s departure and Klay Thompson’s ACL injury, the 2019-20 season projects to be more wide open than any in recent memory. Some stars, especially those eyeing a spot on the 2020 Olympic team, preferred time off to rest for the upcoming season or to work out with new teammates. Colangelo added that the NBA’s financial growth has also left a mark. When Colangelo joined USA Basketball in 2005, the NBA’s salary cap was $43.9 million. That has ballooned to $109.1 million, with an elite player such


Amid a new outbreak, revisiting Ebola’s ravages

Lenny Bernstein is a health and medicine reporter for The Washington Post. Chances are you haven’t noticed, but Africa is once again experiencing a serious Ebola outbreak. This one is in Congo, where about 1,700 people have died over the past year and 2,500 have been infected with the deadly virus, which inflicts days of agony, hemorrhaging, diarrhea and vomiting. This time, health authorities are grappling with more than the difficulty of quarantining and treating people in small villages far from modern medicine, or resistance from frightened people suspicious of outsiders in moon suits. This crisis also happens to be taking place in a conflict zone, where violence between rival groups sometimes makes it too dangerous for medical aid personnel to get in and save lives. But Ebola is not on the radar here in the West. Unlike in 2014, when fear of an Ebola epidemic in the United States reached something approaching hysteria, few are aware. We have been protected — so far — by geography. Until recently, the virus had not reached an area with a major airport, and there still is relatively little chance that someone with the highly contagious disease will board a plane and bring it into our midst. Ebola? So 2014. Which is one lesson from Richard Preston’s harrowing, horrifying new book, “Crisis in the Red Zone,” an almost day-by-day account of how Ebola smoldered largely unnoticed in small villages along the Guinea-Sierra Leone border before it exploded and overran a city hospital in Kenema, Sierra Leone, five years ago. The line between a confined local emergency and a widespread, even international crisis remains perilously thin, Preston shows. Despite the efforts of the best and brightest health experts, we are still hostage to the virus’s location, the vigilance of those keeping watch and the effectiveness of the response. “Ebola’s only mission [is] to never stop replicating, and to never stop moving from person to person,” Preston writes, “and thereby to make itself immortal in the human species.” The new book is a sequel to Preston’s 1994 bestseller, “The Hot Zone,” which focused on the 1976 Ebola outbreak and the discovery that the virus was accidentally transported to a government facility in Reston, Va., in a shipment of infected monkeys. In this work, Preston meticulously traces the 2014 outbreak from a tree in Guinea, where a toddler was probably infected when he came in contact


Everything you thought you knew about gravity is wrong

have counteracted the gravitational “force” of the entire Earth with a wave of your hand. Even more unnerving to physicists is that gravitation is the only force that doesn’t have a quantum solution — a theory that explains the force in terms of subatomic particles. The strong nuclear has quantum chromodynamics, electromagnetism has quantum electrodynamics, the weak nuclear has quantum flavordynamics. Gravitation has quantum bupkisdynamics. (The discovery of the graviton — a hypothetical particle that would mediate with nature on gravity’s behalf in the same way that the gluon does for the strong nuclear, the photon does for electromagnetism, and the W and Z bosons do for the weak nuclear — would help. But if it exists, it has escaped detection with a cunning unparalleled in quantum experiments.) So let’s strike “force” from our answer. In that case: “Gravity is the attraction that makes things fall straight down.” Well, yes — depending on what we mean by “attraction.” Two bodies of mass don’t actually exert some mysterious tugging on each other. Newton himself tried to avoid the word “attraction” for this very reason. All (!) he was trying to do was find the math to describe the motions both down here on Earth and up there among the planets (of which Earth, thanks to Copernicus and Kepler and Galileo, was one). Still, he was as powerless as a paper clip once the idea of attraction at a distance electrified the public. So: “Gravity is what makes things fall straight down.” Well, yes — depending on what we mean by “straight down.” The path seems straight only because you’re standing still relative to the Earth. As Galileo realized, if you drop a rock from the mast of a ship traveling on a river, its trajectory will appear to be an angle to an observer on the shore. Similarly, to someone outside the Earth who is observing a rock falling on our spinning planet, the path would appear to be on an angle. But the Earth is also orbiting the Sun, so that angle would actually be swooping, creating the appearance of a curve. And because the Sun is orbiting the center of the galaxy, that curve would be a very long curve. And the galaxy is moving toward other galaxies, and the universe is expanding, and the expansion is accelerating: How long and curlicued the rock’s trajectory appears depends wholly on


Discriminating against HIV-positive military members is unproductive for our military

inability to deploy worldwide. But those deployment restrictions are no longer justified. A service member who is being treated for HIV, takes the appropriate medication consistently and is stabilized in care is capable of deploying anywhere in the world — just like any HIV-negative service member. During my time as secretary of the Navy, we made improvements to the policies affecting the deployment of service members with HIV. Though people living with HIV were not allowed to enlist, the Navy — like the other branches of the military — retained newly diagnosed service members and ensured they received high-quality care. But beginning in 2012, as a result of being shown the latest science by infectious disease experts, the leadership of the Navy expanded service options for HIV-positive personnel, deploying them to large-platform ships and certain bases globally. I am proud to have been a part of this change. The entire military needs to join with the Navy to bring its HIV-related policies fully up to date. According to the Pentagon, the Armed Services are preventing HIV-positive service members from deploying to a combat zone because of the alleged transmission risk they pose to others on the battlefield, the possibility they may not have access to their medications for a period of time and their inability to donate to the “walking blood bank.” None of those reasons is grounded in science or military need nor justifies the current restrictions on deployment. Based on decades of medical breakthroughs and scientific research, we know that people living with HIV who are receiving proper treatment are not only as healthy as anyone else but also pose essentially no risk of transmission to others in any setting. As a result of excellent adherence to HIV medications in the military, nearly 100 percent of active-duty service members fall into this category. Getting medications to these members while deployed is not an issue. The military already does that for thousands of other service members every day. As I understand, a short HIV treatment interruption would not have any long-term negative effects on health — and any effects from longer interruptions could almost certainly be quickly reversed. If the military is unable to resupply a forward unit for an extended period of time, it faces much bigger problems regarding the health and safety of those unit members than any presented by a relatively slow-moving, chronic disease. And the


A flying car in Japan hovered above the ground for about a minute

It’s like “Back to the Future,” but real: A car took flight Monday in Japan. The prototype made by Tokyo-based NEC Corp. looks more like a large drone than typical car. The unmanned, battery-powered contraption hovered 10 feet off the ground for about a minute inside a cage at a company facility in Abiko, Japan, according to news reports. “We at NEC believe that a revolution of travel centered on flying cars will occur,” Norihiko Ishiguro, vice president of the global technology company, told the Associated Press. “When that time comes, we want to provide technology and services as a management base.” The technology still has a number of kinks to work out, such as battery life, safety and regulation. But the EVtol — or “electric vertical takeoff and landing” — technology is supposed to be cheaper, quieter and more accessible than helicopters, and could be used to bypass traffic in heavily congested cities, transport cargo or just offer recreational travel. “You may think of [the 1985 film]‘Back to the Future,’” Fumiaki Ebihara, a Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official who is overseeing the country’s development, told CBS News in 2018. “Up to now, it was just a dream, but with innovations in motors and batteries, it’s time for it to become real.” And Japan is taking turning that dream into reality seriously, after falling behind on technological advancements like ride-hailing services and electric cars, Bloomberg reported. The Drone Fund is a group of venture capitalists investing in the industry that covers autonomous aircraft, including flying cars. The Japanese government has already built a test course for flying cars in Fukushima, which was hit hard in 2011 by a tsunami, earthquake and nuclear accident, according to the Associated Press. It’s part of the country’s infrastructure plan to use the technology to deliver goods starting in 2023 and for everyday travel in the next decade, Ishiguro told the Associated Press. Monday’s test flight is a first for a major Japanese corporation, Bloomberg reported, and the latest advancement in the global race to create autonomous flying vehicles, which also includes Uber, Airbus, Volocopter and Boeing.


Toni Morrison’s measured words

STOCKHOLM, DEC. 7 — Novelist Toni Morrison, the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in literature, spoke today of the ability of language to oppress and empower as she delivered her Nobel lecture to a packed house in the ornate Grand Hall of the Swedish Academy. "Oppressive language does more than represent violence, it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge, it limits knowledge," Morrison said. "Whether it is the malign language of law-without-ethics, or language designed for the estrangement of minorities, hiding its racist plunder in its literary cheek — it must be rejected, altered and exposed." Morrison equated language with existence itself. "We die. That may be the meaning of our lives," she said. "But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives." The lecture, held in a soaring 18th-century room with gilt-covered walls and glittering chandeliers, is one of the highlights of a week of events for the 62-year-old novelist and Princeton University professor. On Friday she and this year's other Nobel winners will receive their prizes and then be honored at a formal banquet at Stockholm's city hall. Before then, she and the others will be shuttled around the city. With its islands and stone bridges and garlands of tiny white Christmas lights, Stockholm looks and feels like the perfect setting for a fairy tale. And Morrison, suddenly, is the princess. She was given a standing ovation before she began her lecture this evening and another when she finished, and in between she spoke metaphorically, and at times more directly, about the power she finds in the written and spoken word. "Fiction has never been entertainment for me," she said. "It is the work I have done for most of my adult life." The choice of Morrison for the Nobel generally won warm praise, but a few writers groused that it had less to do with merit than political correctness. Today, Morrison offered what could be read as a spirited defense of the view that words are weapons, often used by the strong against the weak. The lecture took the form of a meditation on a folk tale: An old, blind woman lives on the outskirts of town. Some children decide to play a trick on her. One of them says he has a bird in his hand and asks her to tell him if it is living


Just like the NBA, Team USA must adjust to this new era of player empowerment

for most of the past 13 years, the World Cup will be a test of American depth. But beyond that, there’s the larger question of what motivates the overall talent pool. You have to wonder whether the stars have it too good right now. With the introduction of the NBA’s supermax contract, they’re eligible to make ridiculous money, and even without a supermax deal, franchise players make more than $30 million per season. Unlike after the 2004 Olympics failure, the quality of American basketball isn’t on trial anymore. The NBA style of play is entertaining again, and after the flurry of moves this offseason, parity may exist again, too. There’s a thought that many stars declined Team USA invitations to focus on what could be an epic 2019-20 season. It also didn’t help that the World Cup was pushed back a year, meaning aspiring 2020 Olympians would have to commit consecutive summers to the team, and that’s a huge problem in this era of load management. The tournament also ends in mid-September, just two weeks before the start of NBA training camps. Colangelo and Coach K had done a good job of getting players to believe in the system and to understand that their commitment required more than interest in competing during an Olympic year. But if the U.S. squad goes to China and wins the World Cup, would it cut a bunch of players on this year’s team to accommodate bigger stars if they want in on the 2020 Tokyo Games? When the U.S. team had something to prove, participation wasn’t a problem. But where does the urgency come from now? It’s not a big deal when Davis, during a summer in which he was traded, decides to save himself for his new team. When Julius Randle and Tobias Harris have better things to do, you grow concerned about both priorities and the effects of so much NBA player movement. As New Orleans guard JJ Redick cited in turning down the opportunity, he has to get his family settled in a new city. No matter how Team USA fares in China, a solid system is being forced to adapt. If the NBA must adjust to the whims of its greatest, power-seeking players, so, too, must Team USA. It was inevitable. You can only hope the stars are motivated to find a greater purpose during such a privileged time. jerry.brewer@washpost.com


Fed says it will develop faster digital banking system. But Wall Street fears tech incursion.

The Federal Reserve announced Monday it will develop a service to eliminate the frustrating delay many Americans face between when they deposit a check and when it’s recognized in their account. Such delays costs billions of dollars in late fees and overdraft charges for millions of people living paycheck-to-paycheck, industry experts and regulators say. “Immediate access to funds could be especially important to households with fixed incomes or living paycheck to paycheck,” said Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard during a speech before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The new service, FedNow, is expected to launch by 2024 and would allow banks to nearly instantaneously move money into customers’ accounts, she said. The Fed board approved the decision by a 4-to-1 vote Friday, but it wasn’t announced until Monday. The announcement could pit the Fed against some of the country’s biggest banks, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, who have already developed rival technology and fear that Silicon Valley companies could use the Fed system to push their way further into the banking world. America’s payment system lags behind many parts of the world, and U.S. banks are concerned about being left behind, said Aaron Klein, the policy director for the Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution. “I think some of the large banks don’t want to be the taxi medallions and be uberized,” he said, a reference to the impact of ride hailing on taxi owners. “The rest of the world went to real-time payments a long time ago.” The Fed’s announcement comes at a time when big technology companies are finding other ways into the banking world. Wall Street has raised concerns about Facebook’s efforts to create an alternate global currency system, known as Libra. Meanwhile, Square, the mobile payment company, and Rakuten, known as the Amazon of Japan and operator of U.S. rewards program Ebates, have applied for a special banking license that would allow the companies to offer checking and savings accounts. In 2005, Walmart waged a two-year battle for a similar bank charter but withdrew its application after small banks objected. But more than a decade later, Silicon Valley may pose a bigger threat to the stranglehold banking industry holds on key parts of the financial world. Big tech companies could use the Federal Reserve’s new service to gain direct access to the payment system, bypassing banks that currently act


there is still often a delay of a couple of days before the money is deposited into an account, a frustrating feature of America’s antiquated payment system, industry experts say. The current electronic payment system was built in the 1960s with physical checks in mind, not splitting a dinner bill with friends on a mobile phone app, they say. Retailers bundled physical checks into batches before taking them to the bank to be processed. That same type of process is now used for electronic payments. The Fed decision to develop its own service was cheered by community banks, credit unions and big tech companies that were weary of depending on a system developed by big banks. “Community bankers, we did it!,” Rebeca Romero Rainey, chief executive of the Independent Community Bankers of America said in a blog post Monday, adding that the decision would “avoid a megabank monopoly.” "I’m glad to see the Fed is heeding our calls to act, and that the American people will soon have a payments system that works for them,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who co-sponsored legislation directing the Federal Reserve to develop a real-time payments system. The Federal Reserve is requesting comments on how its service, FedNow, should be designed. It is unclear how much it will cost to build. The Fed will probably meet resistance from the big banks as it develops its service. The Clearing House, which is owned by 24 of the country’s largest financial institutions, already spent millions of dollars building a system that brings the typical processing time from a few days to less than five seconds, said Steve Ledford, a senior vice president at the company. Launched in 2017, the real-time payments system is used in 16 of the 10,000 banks and credit unions across the country. If the Fed develops a rival technology that could slow adoption across the industry, Ledford said in an interview before the announcement Monday. “The numbers are ramping up,” he said, but “one of the complicating factors has been this Fed potential to move into the market.” The Fed’s Vice Chair of Supervision, Randal Quarles, the lone dissenting vote on the board, appeared to side with the big banks. “I do not see a strong justification for the Federal Reserve to move into this area and crowd out innovation when viable private-sector alternatives are available,” Quarles said in a statement.


Army recruiters released their first rap video. It wasn’t exactly a mic drop.

as slickly produced as past recruitment ads, which had a more cinematic feel, says Michael Neiberg, the chair of war studies at the U.S. Army War College. But he sees continuity in the two-pronged appeal that the military has used since the draft was eliminated in 1973: an emphasis on service and the material benefits that come from enlistment. Delivering that message to the Army’s target audience is the hard part. In 2018, the Army missed its recruiting goals by 6,500 people. “Our biggest problem with recruitment is awareness,” explains Lisa Ferguson, media relations chief for U.S. Army Recruiting Command. “Fifty percent of youth 17 to 24 years old have little to no knowledge or understanding about military life.” What’s more, seven in 10 youth don’t qualify to join. Ferguson likens the Army to a family business, given that 79 percent of new recruits have a family member who has served or is currently serving. To broaden its reach, she says, the Army is now focusing on 22 more liberal-leaning cities that are “not traditionally places that we’re necessarily doing well in” — such as Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. In Chicago, the Army has a pilot project targeting ads in neighborhoods and using web analytics to see what resonates. In some areas, says Ferguson, teens might care more about getting a job after graduating high school, whereas in other neighborhoods, they might be drawn to the chance for leadership experience. The Army’s new recruitment initiatives also include promoting recruiters with video blogs, as well as launching a competitive fitness team and an esports team (more than 7,000 soldiers have applied to join the latter). “It’s nothing new that they’re trying a whole different range of ways to appeal to the audience,” says historian Beth Bailey, who has charted the Army’s recruitment campaigns. She points out that “Giving All I Got” isn’t even the Army’s first attempt to use rap. In the early 2000s, as Bailey details in her book “America’s Army: Making the All-Volunteer Force,” the Army, as part of its recruiting efforts, sent custom yellow Hummers blaring rap music to college campuses and Black Entertainment Television’s Spring Bling. “Our research tells us that hip-hop and urban culture is a powerful influence in the lives of young Americans,” the leader of the Army’s Strategic Outreach Directorate said at the time. “I want them to say, ‘Hey, the Army was


Giant panda at National Zoo may be pregnant

The National Zoo is closing its Panda House starting Wednesday, and possibly for the rest of the month, because giant panda Mei Xiang might be pregnant. Zoo experts said Mei Xiang, who is 21, started to show changes in her behavior this week that might be a sign she’s pregnant — or having a false pregnancy. Her levels of progesterone are rising, which is usually an indication of possible pregnancy, zoo spokeswoman Devin Murphy said. On Wednesday, the panda also showed another sign. Officials said she chose to stay inside rather than go into her yard to eat bamboo. “That’s unusual,” Murphy said. It’s tricky to get a giant panda pregnant. They are in estrus for only 24 to 72 hours each year. Because the window is so short, zookeepers have to be ready. Plus, pandas often have false pregnancies, triggering elation but then disappointment among panda watchers. Typically when a female giant panda is pregnant, she will spend more time sleeping and less time eating. Pregnant pandas also become more sensitive to noise, which is why officials decided to close the Panda House. “We want to make sure she has a nice, quiet environment for now,” Murphy said. She’s also licking her paws and cradling toys — two more signs she could be pregnant. And officials said she has “also started building a small nest of shredded bamboo in her den” and adds to it at night. In March, Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated using semen from Tian Tian. Officials said they won’t know for sure if she’s pregnant until about the end of August. The Panda House will stay closed until she returns to normal behavior or after there’s a panda cub, zoo officials said. Zookeepers have been doing regular ultrasounds for the past month but “haven’t seen anything yet,” Murphy said. Mei Xiang is on the older side for giving birth, but officials said there are giant pandas that have successfully given birth when they were older than her. Officials said zoo visitors can still see Bei Bei, who was born in 2015, and Tian Tian outside in their yards and watch Mei Xiang on the panda cam. Mei Xiang has two other surviving offspring besides Bei Bei: Tai Shan and Bao Bao.


National Digest: Navy drops abuse charges against four SEALs

CALIFORNIA The U.S. Navy has dropped charges against four SEALs involving alleged abuse of detainees in Afghanistan in 2012. Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, Navy Region Southwest commander, announced Tuesday in San Diego the dismissal of charges against Lt. Jason Webb, Chief Petty Officers David Swarts and Xavier Silva, and Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel D’Ambrosio. “Military prosecutors informed Admiral Bolivar that the evidence from the 2012 case has degraded to the point where they believe obtaining convictions is no longer likely,” a Navy statement said. The development comes amid turmoil in the Navy after a failed prosecution of another case involving SEALs. In July, a military jury acquitted Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher of murder and attempted murder in the death of a wounded prisoner in Iraq in 2017. He was convicted of posing for a photo with the corpse. — Associated Press MICHIGAN A former Michigan State University dean with oversight of now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar was ordered Wednesday to serve up to a year in jail after being convicted of neglect of duty and misconduct in office that stemmed from claims he sexually harassed students. William Strampel, 71, learned his fate in a hearing in Lansing, nearly two months after he was convicted of those charges. He was acquitted of a more serious criminal sexual conduct charge. He faced up to five years in prison on the felony misconduct conviction, resulting from accusations he used his public office to sexually harass, demean and proposition students who met with him about academic issues. Strampel also was convicted of willfully neglecting a duty to monitor Nassar after protocols were set up requiring a third person in the exam room for sensitive procedures and limiting skin-to-skin contact — misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison. — Associated Press


Learning to live with — even enjoy — insects in the garden

million insect species are scientifically recognized, but that is a fraction of the true number. Estimates range widely. A conservative figure is 5.5 million. Matthew Forister, an ecologist at the University of Nevada, is among those who believe we can’t wait for complete insect tallies to protect them. He is the co-author of a new scientific review that argues that declines in insect diversity and abundance have been well demonstrated; in North America, 28 percent of bumblebee species are considered threatened and 19 percent of butterfly species are at risk of extinction. Moreover, he told me, we know that climate change, habitat loss and pollution are harming animals and plants, and it is logical to assume that the mostly uncharted world of insects is imperiled too, especially when you consider that pesticide use on the planet has never been higher. The paper was written with Emma Pelton and Scott Hoffman Black, both of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. “This is similar to climate change and tobacco [its link to cancer] in that we have forces out there that want to make it more complicated than it is and say we don’t have the data we need to make a decision,” said Black, the society’s executive director. “We feel being paralyzed by indecision will only make it worse.” He said a few prescient voices in the 1980s were warning about climate change. “If we had taken action then we wouldn’t be in the situation we are now with climate crisis,” he said. The authors are pushing for broad measures to conserve and protect insect habitats, including changing agricultural policies that reward ecologically harmful farming methods. Pesticides used for the cosmetic appearance of landscapes, parks and other green spaces should be banned. Managers of public green spaces, including highway edges, should establish insect diversity as a goal. The beauty of insects, Forister said, is that it is in the power of virtually everyone to help them and the results are almost immediate. Plant a zinnia in a balcony container, and a butterfly will show up. Convert parts of your lawn into perennial beds, and pollinators will appear, your garden will be more interesting and beautiful, and your enthusiasm will spread to the neighborhood, Black said. “We aren’t saying we don’t need more science,” he said. “We are saying we have enough to make decisions and take action.” adrian.higgins@washpost.com @adrian_higgins on Twitter


The law says Trump must punish Turkey. Congress may force him to follow through.

Shaheen (D-N.H.) has suggested “tiered sanctions” detailing step-by-step consequences Turkey would face for making progressively closer moves toward Russia — reasoning that such an approach would leave Trump “some ability to continue to negotiate” with Turkey “and encourage them to stay in NATO.” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James E. Risch (R-Idaho), who is close to Trump but opposes waiving sanctions on Turkey, declined to detail his plans. Any effort in the Senate to put a check on Trump would have to be endorsed in the House, a near-certainty given that chamber is under the Democrats’ control. Congress’s consideration of revoking Trump’s power to waive sanctions, or dictating the terms of what sanctions may be imposed, reflects the worsening distrust in his foreign policy moves. Already, both the Senate and House versions of next year’s defense authorization bill block Turkey from procuring the F-35. Shaheen and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) also wrote an amendment explicitly stating that Trump should impose sanctions on Turkey for accepting Russia’s S-400 antimissile system. “We want to make clear . . . sanctions apply,” Lankford said. “If another country wants to go out and buy Russian systems, they’ll have the same response from the United States.” Yet most senators acknowledge there are limitations, arguing that while the United States must not be seen as showing leniency to Ankara, Turkey’s participation in NATO remains important. “I think the best thing to do for Turkey is hook up our economies, not let the S-400 define the relationship,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). He said Congress should not impose sanctions until Turkey activates the weapons system. “We’re trying to avoid sanctions if we can.” Graham’s recommendation mirrors the message that Republican senators received from the president last week. Instead of sanctions, Trump pushed the idea of a free-trade deal with Turkey. Under the law, the president must implement at least five of 12 sanctions categories at his disposal, measures that include denying export licenses, loans and other banking transactions, and visas to the United States. The president has the power to waive those sanctions if he determines it is in the country’s national security interest, but the majority of senators are opposed to him using that authority. “How do you get a president to follow the law when he doesn’t want to?” said the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.). But he stopped