The bubble kept the NBA safe from the coronavirus. The real world will be much tougher.

solution that would more closely resemble a typical season. Rather than hoping for the pandemic to wane or delaying the start of the season to wait for a vaccine, the owners and players sought a plan that would return the league to its normal calendar for the 2021-22 season next fall, when the national health situation should be improved. “The owners wanted their arenas back, and the players wanted their lives back,” said an Eastern Conference executive, who, along with other executives quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the upcoming season. Indeed, finances and personal freedom were among the chief drivers of the NBA’s plans. In interviews, front-office executives from several teams said their owners wanted to be in position to safely welcome fans back into their buildings as quickly as possible to recoup revenue losses, which they said totaled 10 percent in 2019-20 and could reach 40 percent in 2020-21. Meanwhile, the players had little interest in extending the isolated bubble environment — which restricted access to their families and the outside world — across a full season, especially in light of mental health concerns. With both sides seeking to limit the financial damage to the league, they made several compromises. First, they would rush through an abbreviated offseason and play a truncated 72-game schedule. The regular season and playoffs would take seven months, and the schedule would be split into two parts to account for the possibility of postponed games. Second, they would open the season in December to capitalize on the traditional Christmas showcase and wrap by mid-July to restore the league’s typical summer offseason and to enable players to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. Finally, they would use home arenas rather than a neutral site. Teams would return to cross-country travel, although they would cover fewer total miles by playing consecutive games in the same market when possible. “The goal isn’t zero positive tests [during the season],” an Eastern Conference executive said. “That’s not realistic. The goals are creating safe environments and quickly identifying cases [to prevent uncontrolled spread].” To accomplish those goals, the NBA issued teams a 158-page health and safety protocol that features guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many of the same rules that governed life at Disney World. One key difference from the bubble is a decentralization of responsibility. In the


Banned almost everywhere else in Europe, U.S. tourists are finding their way to Croatia

The “Pearl of the Adriatic” had waited 28 years for a direct line to America, and when it arrived, it was historic. Last year, American Airlines began operating three weekly trips between Dubrovnik, Croatia’s seaside vacation hub, and Philadelphia, serving travelers from June until September — at which point it added a fourth trip. According to data from the Croatian National Tourist Board, Americans were the second-most numerous guests in Dubrovnik in 2019, with nearly 160,000 arrivals and more than 442,000 overnight stays. It was yet another record-setting year of overall visitors to the city. Plans for this year were even bigger. “Americans are one of the most desirable guests in Dubrovnik,” said Slavica Grkeš, the owner of Dubrovnik-based Dominium Travel, an agency that does frequent business with Americans. “When on vacation, they are always in a good mood: very interested in getting to know the people and culture they are visiting, and willing to pay for a good experience.” The pandemic, and harsh disappointment, materialized in 2020 instead. As American Airlines grounded its Philadelphia-to-Dubrovnik line indefinitely, tourism in the city cratered to a point not seen since the war of the early 1990s. And in a country like Croatia, which draws one-fifth of its gross domestic profit from tourism, such a drop-off is a hard blow. But Americans, even without a direct flight, have softened it. “This summer I guided around 20 tours — not a lot, really — but the majority of my guests were Americans,” said Tomislav Matana, a longtime Dubrovnik tour guide. “They all had a big will and desire to come to Croatia. And although it was [anything] but simple for them to come to Croatia and Dubrovnik, they all say that it was worth it.” Croatia, which closed itself off early in the spring to keep coronavirus infections low, hit zero reported cases within its borders in May and reopened to visitors from all countries in July, with testing requirements in place. The move made Croatia the only nation in the European Union to accept travelers from the United States. That continental distinction has not changed, even as Croatia’s cases have risen and as it implemented a partial national shutdown last week that included closing bars and restaurants and banning weddings through Christmas. A largely seasonal location, Dubrovnik expects fewer visitors this time of year anyhow. But the closures have made Americans’ warmer-weather spending


Nursing home staffers attended a 300-person superspreader wedding. Now six residents have died.

a wedding in a small Maine town with about 65 guests sparked an outbreak resulting in nearly 200 infections. Six residents of an assisted-living facility who did not attend the party died of covid-19 complications after being infected in the outbreak, the state’s CDC director later announced. The continued fallout from the Washington state wedding comes as cases continue to surge across the state, which saw reported covid hospitalizations increase by about 20 percent in the past week, according to data collected by The Post. During that same seven-day period, Washington’s new daily reported deaths rose by about 167 percent. The wedding, which according to local authorities took place at a private location near Ritzville on Nov. 7, attracted guests from multiple communities, making it difficult for the Grant County Health District to track all attendees. A little over a week later, local authorities announced the scale of the event and the outbreaks, asking attendees to get tested for the coronavirus and quarantine for two weeks. “Your choice to gather with those outside your household could lead to additional cases of COVID-19 and even death,” the Dec. 3 statement read. “Please protect those you love, by staying home.” Last week, the health district determined “long term care staff” from two nursing homes had also attended the wedding and later tested positive for the coronavirus; it’s not clear how many staffers were infected. Six residents have now died of covid-19 at the Lake Ridge Center and Columbia Crest Center, both in Moses Lake, according to the department’s news release. Neither facility immediately responded to a message from The Post as of early Monday. Two unidentified men — one in his 70s, another in his 80s — and two men in their 90s, died at Lake Ridge Center, the department said. At Columbia Crest Center, one man in his 70s and another in his 80s died. All men suffered from underlying conditions. The department will have to do more investigating to definitively link the deaths to the wedding, Adkinson said, noting officials for now “can not state that all these deaths are [directly] associated with the wedding because staff care for all residents.” A month after the Washington state wedding, the department is still urging state residents to stay home “as much as possible” to save the lives of the elderly as well as those with underlying and chronic conditions. “Our most


The Health 202: Xavier Becerra has been defending the ACA in court. Now he could manage it.

group of biotechnology industry trade organizations, including Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), in federal courts in Maryland and California, respectively,” Reuters’s Carl O’Donnell and Michael Erman report. The Trump administration’s “most favored nation” rule says that the U.S. government won’t pay drugmakers more for certain drugs than the lowest rate that they charge other comparatively wealthy countries in Europe or elsewhere. The rule, which is slated to go into effect on Jan. 1, would affect the price of 50 drugs. Both lawsuits claim that the Trump administration did not follow proper procedures in passing the rule. PhRMA’s lawsuit also claims that the rule change is illegal because it goes beyond the administration’s authority to test out new drug pricing models. The Association of Community Cancer Centers, a network of cancer treatment providers, joined PhRMA’s lawsuit over concerns that lower reimbursements for drugs could push some treatment centers out of business. “The measure is not expected to pass into law, and, because of political skittishness, it was voted on only after the November election and more than a year after it emerged from committee,” The Post’s Mike DeBonis reports. “But the House took a stand at a moment of increasing momentum, with voters last month opting to liberalize marijuana laws in five states — including three that President Trump won handily.” The bill would remove marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances and expunge federal convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses. It also would put in place a 5 percent federal tax on marijuana sales aimed at funding programs for people “adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.” The bill passed largely along party lines with opposition from all but five Republicans and is not expected to advance in the Republican-controlled Senate. Republicans denounced Democrats for spending time on what they portrayed as a frivolous political gesture amid negotiations over a coronavirus relief package. House Minority Leader “Still, advocates of marijuana legalization say the passage of the bill in the House is a watershed moment in the long struggle to roll back marijuana prohibition, and many see it as only a matter of time before it becomes an issue of bipartisan concern.” While support for eliminating marijuana restrictions is isolated to a small number of Republican lawmakers, about half of GOP voters support legalization. At least 15 states have legalized recreational cannabis to some degree, while 36 have approved medical marijuana programs.


Brexit negotiators ‘very gloomy’ over trade deal, with talks on ‘knife’s edge.’ Again.

the E.U. capital, later this week to try to close a deal. If they fail, Britain and Europe could soon see new customs duties, tariffs, border checks and quotas on goods — and an ignominious end to decades of free, frictionless trade. Britain crashing out without a deal could also undermine the open, invisible border between the Republic of Ireland, a member of the E.U., and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. President-elect Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have both warned Johnson not to do anything that could force a hard border to return to the island. But the specific sticking points of the talks appear far more narrow. The two sides are arguing over European access to fish in British waters, an emotional issue that taps into issues of sovereignty, even though the fisheries sector accounts for a tiny fraction of Britain’s gross domestic product. There have been proposals to slowly reduce the number of European fishing trawlers in British seas. Should the phaseout be three years (a British proposal) or 10 years (a French proposal)? Stay tuned. The Europeans, too, are pressing to maintain a “level playing field,” to stop Britain from undercutting worker protections and environmental safeguards, or granting state subsidies to British businesses, potentially giving U.K. companies unfair advantages over their European competitors. Meanwhile, the Johnson government on Monday pushed its controversial Internal Markets Bill through the House of Commons. The legislation is supposedly designed as a safety net to protect trade among England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. But its provisions break international law by reversing the original Brexit treaty signed last year. On Monday, the government offered an olive branch, saying it would ditch the controversial clauses in the bill if the two sides reach an agreement. Ireland’s foreign secretary, Simon Coveney, described the overall mood as “very gloomy.” The Irish minister told his state broadcaster, RTÉ, “I’d like to be giving more positive news, but, at the moment, these negotiations seem stalled, and the barriers to progress are still very much in place.” The British Foreign Office was a little less glum. Minister James Cleverly told the BBC the U.K. would keep negotiating “for as long as we have available time or until we get an agreement.” He said negotiations “often go to the last minute of the last day.” “We are a global player. We are one


The Daily 202: Xavier Becerra’s bet pays off as Biden picks him for HHS secretary

are either unaware or unbothered by the alarming health warnings. While many European countries opted for lockdowns in November to bring down soaring numbers, Germany opted for a “lockdown light," allowing hair salons and most businesses and retail to remain open. These restrictions will be loosened in much of the country over the holiday week. But, as cases in countries like France and Belgium start to drop, Germany‘s number of daily cases has barely budged, hovering at around 20,000 per day, Loveday Morris reports. Eight years after Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, who reported on corruption and cartels in her home state of Veracruz, was murdered in her home, a team of reporters from Mexico, Europe and The Washington Post picked up where she left off. The team continued her investigations into two Veracruz governors — Fidel Herrera and Javier Duarte — and examined her homicide inquiry. The team of reporters discovered that law enforcement authorities in Mexico, the United States and Spain had opened inquiries into allegations that Herrera colluded with leaders of the Zeta cartel while he was governor and took money from them for his campaign. The story of Martinez's death and work will be published in five parts by Forbidden Stories and its partners. (Dana Priest, Paloma de Dinechin, Nina Lakhani and Veronica Espinosa) A new agreement struck with Chinese officials grants a three-year extension to the stay of the adult giant pandas, Mei Xiang, a female, and Tian Tian, a male, who have been at the zoo for 20 years. But they and their 4-month-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, a male, are to go to China by the end of the extension on Dec. 8, 2023. “The agreement means the zoo and the adoring public will have the popular black and white animals for three more years. But it leaves the future of the National Zoo’s almost 50-year giant panda program unsettled,” Michael Ruane reports. A Republican state representative in Florida mocked those who worry about a surge in covid cases, but at least 1 in 33 people who live in his county have been infected And this may be the perfect Christmas tree ornament for this terrible year: “Saturday Night Live” tried to help millennials explain to their parents why they can’t come home for the holidays: For quite a crossover episode, Steve Kornacki brought his magic wall to look at the NFL’s playoff picture:


The Technology 202: Facebook could soon be hit with antitrust lawsuits. Here's what you need to know.

Greene reports. But the agency won't force a sale either, it said. Instead, the two parties will continue to work on ironing out a deal that would meet regulatory approval, the Treasury Department said. TikTok has been in talks to launch a new company with investments from American companies Oracle and Walmart. The deal appeared to have the president's blessing but negotiations stalled. A Treasury-led interagency committee determined earlier this year that the company's Chinese ownership posed a national security risk, and ByteDance would have to divest if the app wanted to continue U.S. operations. Trump threatened to ban the app by executive order, but the effort has been tied up in the courts. The U.S. government claims TikTok could be compelled to share U.S. user data with the Chinese government, a claim it denies. Chula Vista, Calif., the first city in the country to adopt a first responder program using drones, uses the technology to respond to as many as 15 emergency calls a day, Cade Metz at the New York Times reports. Three other cities have recently launched similar programs. The cost is dramatically lower than owning and operating helicopters for the same job. But like with other surveillance technologies, civil rights advocates worry that the technology could give police officers a way to target certain communities or violate the privacy of citizens not suspected of a crime. “Communities should ask hard questions about these programs. As the power and scope of this technology expands, so does the need for privacy protection,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Project on Speech, Privacy and Technology. “Drones can be used to investigate known crimes. But they are also sensors that can generate offenses.” Police departments argue that the technology has been a boon during the pandemic. “We’re just trying to limit our exposure to other people,” Rahul Sidhu, an officer in Redondo Beach, near Los Angeles. “Sometimes you can send a drone without sending an officer.” Becerra has led the effort by Democratic states to prevent the Trump administration from overturning Obamacare, Michael Balsamo and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar report at the Associated Press report. As Attorney General, Becerra spearheaded the enforcement of California's landmark privacy law and has investigated tech giants including Facebook, Google and Amazon. (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) The only thing more cringe-worthy than another election sketch.


Tighter coronavirus restrictions would save thousands of lives, but elected officials are wary of economic, political costs

Thousands of lives could be saved in coming months if Washington-area officials tightened restrictions on indoor gatherings and other activities that encourage the spread of the coronavirus, health experts say. But elected officials are wary of acting too aggressively for fear of the economic and political costs. The recent record surge in coronavirus cases led D.C., Maryland and Virginia to reverse course on reopening last month, including lowering the number of people allowed to assemble in homes, restaurants and businesses. Now public health experts say governments should pull back even further in light of the dramatic increase in cases that the region and country are experiencing — even before the impact is felt of the widespread flouting of health guidelines by many over the Thanksgiving holiday. “If we’re heading in the wrong direction [in cases], then we need to restrict [the reopening] further,” said Boris Lushniak, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health and an acting surgeon general during the Obama administration. “Maybe we should go to zero occupancy.” Lushniak noted a recent nationwide lockdown in Britain achieved a 30 percent drop in cases in its first three weeks. “If we do the right things, we will save thousands of lives until the vaccine is ready to go,” Lushniak said. Lynn R. Goldman, dean of George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, called for “extremely stringent controls around assisted-living facilities, prisons and other congregate settings.” Eric Toner, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said recent “horrible” infection numbers indicated Maryland should tighten further. “Those places that we know have been sources of infections — bars, eating indoors in restaurants, gyms — those are all things that I think should be high priorities for further ratcheting down,” Toner said. The stakes are measured in mass human mortality. On Friday, the District, Maryland and Virginia reported a record single-day total for new coronavirus cases, with 6,985 infections. At current rates, those cases will lead to more than 100 deaths. Without a significant, rapid reduction in the caseload, the region can expect thousands more deaths before vaccines become widely available next year. Some Democratic elected officials in Maryland are joining health experts in urging a return to restrictions instituted during the state’s shutdown. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) said the state has money to provide relief to those who would suffer most economically from


D.C. to give $1,200 stimulus payments to some jobless residents as region’s virus cases set record

restaurants and places of worship. Since then, coronavirus metrics in D.C. and the region have worsened. On Monday, the District reported four new virus-related deaths, bringing the city’s total to 701 fatalities, while adding 183 new daily infections. Its caseload has increased 40 percent since last week, with the seven-day average hitting a new high of 252. The city unveiled new data Monday about coronavirus outbreaks in the nation’s capital, shedding light on which types of gathering places have been most problematic. Officials define an outbreak as two or more coronavirus cases stemming from one location within a 14-day period. City data showed universities, schools, day cares and restaurants have been the leading sources of outbreaks between Aug. 1 and Nov. 26. In that time, the city identified 109 outbreaks, including 30 at universities, 19 at D.C. schools and 15 each at day cares and restaurants. Only two outbreaks were linked to places of worship during that time, and one was linked to nonessential retail. The data provides the most comprehensive look yet at coronavirus clusters and is collected through case investigations and interviews with infected residents. It does not specify locations and names of establishments where clusters occurred. In Virginia, the Department of Health on Monday cited “substantial levels of community transmission” in urging local health departments to prioritize contact tracing for certain groups — indicating how surging caseloads are straining the limited time and resources of workers. Health officials said contact tracers should prioritize those diagnosed with the coronavirus within the past six days, plus their household members. Other groups receiving priority will be people who live, work in or visit congregate living facilities; those tied to a known outbreak; and people at increased risk of severe illness. Tracers might not be able to contact others who test positive, health officials said. “As cases of covid-19 increase across the commonwealth, this change will allow us to deploy resources where they will have the most impact,” said Virginia State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver, referring to the disease the virus causes. Also on Monday, Bowser and hospital officials continued to plead with the federal government for more vaccine doses for front-line health workers, saying the city is likely to be shortchanged based on the proposed distribution formula. She has said about 80,000 health-care employees work in the District, with about 75 percent commuting from Maryland and Virginia. Under the


National Zoo’s giant pandas will head to China in three years

The National Zoo said Monday that all three of its giant pandas will be going to China at the end of 2023, according to a new agreement struck with Chinese officials. The agreement grants a three-year extension to the stay of the adult giant pandas, Mei Xiang, a female, and Tian Tian, a male, who have been at the zoo for 20 years, the zoo said. But they and their 4-month-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, a male, are to go to China by the end of the extension on Dec. 7, 2023. The agreement means the zoo and the adoring public will have the popular black and white animals for three more years. But it leaves the future of the National Zoo’s almost 50-year giant panda program unsettled. Zoo Director Steve Monfort said he was confident, despite international tensions, that Chinese officials would consider sending more giant pandas to Washington in the future. He said he was thrilled to have Mei Xiang and Tian Tian for three more years. The current agreement that has allowed them to stay expires Monday. Giant pandas are native to China, and it owns all giant pandas in U.S. zoos. As with earlier extensions, the zoo will pay the Chinese government $500,000 per year of the new stay, the zoo said. “We have . . . three more years to really prepare ourselves also for saying goodbye,” Monfort said. “These animals are beloved not just by the people who work and care for them, but by millions of people.” “It’s great to have them for a little longer but it also is a reminder that that’s ephemeral, and they will return to China,” he said. “This gives us three years to celebrate that and to get ready for it.” “It’s going to be a heartbreak for us,” he said. Some keepers have been with the adult pandas their entire careers and will be “absolutely crushed when these animals go away. Lots of tears will flow.” But there will also be a sense of pride at how well the zoo has cared for them, he said. Monfort, who has been studying giant pandas for 33 years, said the zoo’s relationship with Chinese panda experts is solid. “I went over there in January . . . to Beijing, and we had an excellent meeting with our counterparts there,” Monfort said. “It was all good, and we’ve just


zoo will pay the Chinese government $500,000 per year of the new stay, the zoo said. “We have . . . three more years to really prepare ourselves also for saying goodbye,” Monfort said. “These animals are beloved not just by the people who work and care for them, but by millions of people.” “It’s great to have them for a little longer but it also is a reminder that that’s ephemeral, and they will return to China,” he said. “This gives us three years to celebrate that and to get ready for it.” “It’s going to be a heartbreak for us,” he said. Some keepers have been with the adult pandas their entire careers and will be “absolutely crushed when these animals go away. Lots of tears will flow.” But there will also be a sense of pride at how well the zoo has cared for them, he said. Monfort, who has been studying giant pandas for 33 years, said the zoo’s relationship with Chinese panda experts is solid. “I went over there in January . . . to Beijing, and we had an excellent meeting with our counterparts there,” Monfort said. “It was all good, and we’ve just been having positive interactions since then.” “We have a 48-year history with pandas, and we’d like to have another many decades of additional collaboration with Chinese colleagues,” he said. “There’s no question that, when the time is right, we will approach them and begin discussions about the future of the program after this pair,” he said. “It is our hope that we will have pandas for decades to come,” he said. The zoo’s relationship with its Chinese counterparts is “such a good and strong partnership that we hope that that could be made possible.” But tensions between the United States and China are ongoing, and President Trump has repeatedly blamed the Chinese for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. (The zoo is closed because of the virus.) Monfort said he is not worried. “There’s a lot of concern that people have about the relationship between our two countries, on the political side of things,” he said. “That’s all very fraught.” “But . . . the relationships that we have with our colleagues on the ground there . . . are very strong professional relationships . . . very productive, very collegial, friendly,” he said. “On that level, everything’s really great.”


Careful purchasing can protect the planet — and people

Thanks for the great Dec. 1 Health & Science article “Want to shop sustainably? Here’s what to consider.” In addition to protecting the environment, careful purchasing can protect people as well. Often, people are exploited in the production of what we consume — think child labor in chocolate and laborers making nonliving wages, either in Asia or the United States. Immigrants who process our food often do backbreaking work on sub-minimal wages in pesticide-filled fields. Some coffee growers often don’t even break even, being forced to accept what Big Ag has to offer. Labels such as “fair trade” and “cage free” can be misleading unless you’ve done the homework. Deliverers of our goods are also at risk and are often under stress, and there’s the energy used to pack and make the deliveries. When we buy at discount stores, think about why they are so cheap. Buy used if you can, and fix those appliances. Surely some entrepreneur will repair our lawn mower. Christine Matthews Read more letters to the editor.


American history is about outcomes. Will we pass the covid-19 test?

in how the battle ends than in how it got started. In that respect, the fight begins now. As many experts predicted, the approach of winter finds us drowning in a new wave of covid-19 cases. Precisely how large a wave is hard to say. Confirmed infections — now averaging more than 200,000 per day in the United States — are carefully tracked and widely reported. Yet evidence shows that most infections are never diagnosed because they produce few, if any, symptoms. Nor is the number of deaths a perfect measure of the pandemic. Of 2,000-plus victims reported on a recent day, some were people already close to death from other causes. Ending covid would not have saved those lives. But those two measures point to the same conclusion: The pandemic is as bad or worse than ever, further evidenced by widespread overcrowding in medical facilities — especially the little hospitals and clinics of rural America. History will elide many of the missteps of last winter provided that we make a better showing from now on. Take, for example, the fiasco of the face coverings. When the novel coronavirus emerged, hospital managers immediately worried they would run short of personal protective equipment, including face masks. To protect existing supplies, authorities assured the public that we’d be fine without masks. That was a mistake. Masks have proved to be the first line of defense, along with social distancing and clean hands. Even on the cusp of a vaccine, these simple measures are not only our best options against the pandemic; they continue to be the only ones available to engage the nation to meet this challenge. We’re at a critical point. A magnificent effort by medical researchers has sped us to the beginning of a months-long process of mass vaccinations. With enough patience and cooperation from the public, this offers a real hope of taming the pandemic. In the meantime, however, hospitals and morgues are as taxed by covid-19 as ever. Ashish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, used data analysis to explain recently in The Post that infections are so widespread that hospitals across the country are sending home patients who, in normal times, would be admitted. The same issue can be illustrated by anecdote rather than analysis. The Associated Press found Eric Lewallen, a radiological technician in rural LaCrosse, Kan., who moved into an


Amtrak launches new digital payment options

Amtrak customers can now pay their train fares with popular tap-and-go payment options such as Apple Pay, the railroad announced Tuesday. The company has upgraded its mobile app and Amtrak.com to allow customers to use Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal to complete transactions, Amtrak said, offering customers an alternative to traditional credit and debit card payments. “We know every minute counts for our customers and now purchasing tickets is as simple as the touch of a button,” Amtrak’s chief marketing and revenue officer, Roger Harris, said. “These updates to the Amtrak app and website will offer customers enhanced flexibility and convenience as they book and pay for train tickets.” The technology that enables tap-and-go mobile payments is increasingly ubiquitous in other areas of commerce. It is already being used in the booking systems of some airlines and transit services in the U.S. Tuesday’s announcement comes as the railroad is on a major mission to lure back passengers and rebound from its worst financial crisis. The company has seen stunning revenue losses because of decline in ticket sales during the covid-19 pandemic. Ridership plummeted by 97 percent at the onset of the pandemic and remains down 75 percent compared to a year ago. Amtrak says it wants to make booking easier for customers, and keep travel “contact-free” during the pandemic. Passengers are encouraged to make their Amtrak transactions online, from booking trips to checking the status of their train. Conductors can scan boarding e-Tickets shown from the Amtrak app. Amtrak passengers can now get notification on the Amtrak app about gate and track information at some stations. Before booking, they can see how many seat are taken on a given train, a feature that allows customers to book a train that is less crowded. Amtrak’s app is available on Apple and Android platforms. Users can save their preferred digital payment method as a default payment in their accounts for easier checkout. Other transportation companies and agencies around the country and the world have introduced mobile digital payment systems. In the Washington area, Metro in September launched a system where customers can reload their SmarTrip accounts with Apple Pay and a new Metro mobile app.


The Energy 202: House Democrat concerned Biden's future interior secretary is already being undercut

slightly warmer than 2016 is all the more remarkable. In the coming weeks, other temperature-tracking agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA, will report their temperature rankings, which could diverge slightly. “However, there is near unanimity among climate scientists about the specifics of the long-term warming trend, as well as its causes and increasingly devastating consequences,” Freedman writes. A lack of rainfall is contributing to a period of high fire risk in Northern and Southern California. “California’s worst wildfire season on record, which has torched 4.2 million acres and killed 31 people, just won’t quit,” Andrew Freedman and Diana Leonard report for The Post. December red flag warnings for fire risk are rare in Northern California, although they are more common to the south. But even in Southern California the extremely dry conditions and parched vegetation are not typical. ExxonMobil was set to embark on the construction of one of the world’s largest carbon-capture-storage facilities in the LaBarge field in Wyoming. The cost of construction for the project, which would capture and bury carbon produced at the site, was estimated at $260 million — money the oil giant hoped to recoup in part through tax credits for safe storage, Bloomberg News reports. In April, however, Exxon, reeling from cratering oil prices, put the project on hold indefinitely. Even so, the company is continuing to invest in traditional oil and gas projects. "In September, for example, Exxon announced plans to expand crude operations off the coast of Guyana at a cost of $9 billion — 35 times the cost of implementing CCS at LaBarge,” Bloomberg writes. Meanwhile, documents obtained by Bloomberg show that if LaBarge had gone ahead, “it would have been one of the largest carbon-capture projects operated solely by Exxon, making up almost 20% of the company’s new emission-reduction efforts out to 2025.” The National Zoo in Washington will keep giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, as well as their 4-month-old cub, Xiao Qi Ji, for another three years after signing an extension with Chinese officials. The pandas are set to return to China in 2023, our colleague Michael E. Ruane reports. “It’s great to have them for a little longer but it also is a reminder that that’s ephemeral, and they will return to China,” Zoo Director Steve Monfort told The Post. “This gives us three years to celebrate that and to get ready


7 winter tips to improve your spring garden

and shade the forest floor. They quickly send up their leaves, flower, get pollinated, produce seed and then disappear by summer, only to return the following year. Installing these natives that bloom in early spring extends your gardening season for an additional four to six weeks. Along with spring bulbs such as crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, scilla, tulips — fall in love with Virginia bluebells, trout lily and trilliums. 4. Plan in winter, build in spring. Planting plans should be developed in winter with orders to nurseries and growers scheduled for spring installation. Arguably spring planting is a bit more favorable as nature assists us with frequent precipitation. 5. Think adaptability. Choose plants that are adaptable, and if you can, plant native. Plant species with a wide hardiness range and avoid choosing species outside of their hardiness zone or just on the edge. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree-Fahrenheit zones. Understanding microclimates within your garden may tempt you to plant a fig tree on a sunny New York City terrace garden but there is great risk — with temperature extremes, one or two very cold winters may kill the plant. 6. Don’t leave garden soil naked. In the forests, leaves fall in autumn and break down under winter rains and snow, composting to humic acid which enriches the soil. During the fall, instead of bagging fallen leaves, leave them in place and turn them into leaf mulch. If you are concerned with leaves flying away, throw some heavier natural cedar mulch on top. Don’t cut back perennials, grasses and shrubs until spring. Avoid a sanitized garden. Bees nest in hollowed out stems. There are insects’ eggs attached to those fallen leaves and that provides food for birds. Birds will use much of the detritus for nest building as well. Using your own homemade compost also doubles as a form of recycling that not only reduces methane emissions from landfills but also improves your garden’s soil. For terrace dwellers, mulch planters heavily to provide a “winter coat” for your plans. Recently planted trees on a windy roof may need to be wrapped to reduce the impact of winter winds. As the weather grows colder, plants still need access


The Washington Post names Siobhán O’Grady its Cairo bureau chief

Announcement from Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl, Deputy Foreign Editor Eva Rodriguez and Middle East Editor Alan Sipress: We’re thrilled to announce that Siobhán O’Grady will become Cairo bureau chief early next year. Siobhán, who has extensive experience reporting from difficult places, brings energy, versatility, an original eye and a confident voice to the role. Her responsibilities in the heart of the Arab world will stretch from Yemen to Morocco, a region of 225 million people, and she is committed to covering not just politics and policy, but people — the “rebels and autocrats, jailed journalists and pioneering artists, human smugglers and arms dealers, desperate migrants and gender equality reformers, ambitious scientists and struggling farmers,” as she described them in a memo. Since joining The Post in 2018, Siobhán has demonstrated a knack for bringing characters to life, even against daunting obstacles. She has delivered memorable work from everywhere she has traveled: from Central Africa, reporting on a divide between English- and French-speakers that threatens to tear Cameroon apart; from Afghanistan, during three fill-in tours, reporting on the race to preserve a remarkable film archive from the country’s pre-Taliban past; and from Lebanon, where she told the story of last summer’s devastating explosion through the eyes of a baker who “owes his life to the humble manousheh,” the irresistible Levantine flatbread. As a newsroom-based staff writer in Foreign, Siobhán has excelled in a breaking-news mission that prioritizes quick-turn explainers and other stories that fill gaps in our overseas coverage. Since February, from Washington and Hong Kong, she has been a pillar of our round-the-clock coronavirus coverage. She is a graduate of Dickinson College and studied abroad in Morocco and Cameroon. Siobhán began her career at Foreign Policy, then spent 18 months freelancing across Africa from Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana and elsewhere for the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic and other news outlets. She speaks fluent French and elementary Arabic. In Cairo, Siobhán will join a Middle East team that includes Post correspondents in Baghdad, Beirut, Istanbul and Jerusalem.


The Health 202: Fresh supply concerns emerge as Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is on the cusp of approval

deemed essential. Black children are losing more ground than their peers because of school shutdowns, and Black workers have been devastated by pandemic-related job losses,” The Post’s Lola Fadulu reports. “Yet fewer than half of Black Americans say they would get a coronavirus vaccine, compared with 63 percent of Hispanic people and 61 percent of White people, according to a December report from the Pew Research Center,” she continues. Reed Tuckson, the founder of the D.C.-based Black Coalition Against Covid-19, said that the mistrust stems from a history of mistreatment in the medical system and that many Black Americans are scarred by the legacy of the Tuskegee Study, in which federal health officials lied to Black men and denied them treatment for syphilis as part of an experiment. “We are taking great pains to help folks understand that what existed in the 1930s is very different today, in 2020,” said Tuckson, a doctor and former D.C. health director. Some Democratic lawmakers have been caught violating the spirit, and sometimes the letter, of the public health guidance that they’ve promoted. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has come under fire for dining at the French Laundry restaurant, even as he was urging Californians not to meet with people outside their household. Austin Mayor Steve Adler, meanwhile, called his decision to travel to Mexico in November for his daughter’s wedding a “lapse in judgement.” Some politicians tripped up over Thanksgiving, including Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, who flew to Mississippi for the holiday and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who gathered with five households. Ashish K. Jha, a physician, health policy researcher and the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, writes in an op-ed for The Post that the decline in hospitalizations stems from the fact that they are admitting fewer patients as they run out of capacity. “Critically ill patients will always be admitted. But as hospitals start to fill up, less sick patients — younger covid patients, or those whose oxygen levels haven’t yet sunk critically low — get sent home. These patients would be safer in a hospital bed, but there isn’t one available for them anymore,” he wrote. There won’t be quite enough vaccines to cover all front-line medical professionals and long-term care residents, so hospitals are having to prioritize who should go first. The December vaccine deliveries are expected to cover 20 million people, slightly less


Going it alone: In two agricultural towns, small farmers and ranchers cope with the pandemic without a safety net

sell to restaurants and at farmers markets, or at a reduced price to wholesalers. Most of Salinas’s organic growers sell their products to a single distributor: Coke Farm, an organic grower/shipper in nearby San Juan Bautista. Celsa Ortega, Rigoberto Bucio and Javier Zamora each have taken a new route to independence. Immigrants from Mexico, all three began as workers on large farms, going through programs with the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA), a nonprofit that trains limited-resource and aspiring organic farmers and then equips them with land. Ortega farms only an acre, Bucio farms 12 and Zamora a little over 100 — small farmers battling the “get big or get out” ethos that has taken root in agriculture since the 1970s. Small farmers, new farmers and farmers of color, struggling in the shadow of Big Ag, have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and are often not eligible for federal relief — many didn’t qualify for Paycheck Protection Program loans or the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program payments, which excludes those who rely on direct-to-consumer sales. And while tens of billions of dollars have been funneled to large-scale ranches and meat processing companies and commodity row crop farmers in the South and Midwest, those who grow “specialty crops,” the fruits and vegetables humans eat, have frequently not qualified for support. Much in the way the Dust Bowl of the 1930s prompted one of the largest migrations in our history, the adversity has changed lives and spurred many small farmers and ranchers to think entrepreneurially about new markets. About 60 miles from the tech epicenter of Silicon Valley, the Salinas Valley, often called "the Salad Bowl of the World,” is home to about 90,000 farmworkers. With an average wage of $25,000, housing is expensive and farmworkers often crowd together in apartments. Celsa Ortega, 33, lives in a two-bedroom apartment with her four children, Kaivey, 14, Michael, 12, Lucero, 9, and Rafael, 6. She grew up in a small town in Oaxaca, finishing junior high school in Mexico and immigrating to the United States in 2006. “I started in the fields, picking strawberries, then harvesting cilantro. That’s what I felt most comfortable doing,” she said through a translator. She went through an agricultural training program and now farms her own acre, half of which is planted with romaine lettuce, which, like many farmers her size, she sells to organic wholesaler Coke Farm.


be on a contract to produce for Pilgrim’s Pride. We’ve chosen to go our own way and take our own risks.” — Rick Woodworth For Woodworth, the pandemic has presented challenges but also opportunities. His 65-seat restaurant, where he sells burgers and hoagies, with prime-rib specials on the weekend, had to shut down for a while. But sales direct to consumers have stayed strong. “Consumers have more awareness about the source of their product” since the pandemic, he says. The virus has wreaked havoc on the industry’s supply chain, with some plants shutting down amid coronavirus outbreaks and work slowing to a trickle in others as safety measures were put in place. Commodity beef prices fell as ranchers searched for capacity at slaughterhouses. But independent ranchers aren’t tied to the vicissitudes of the nation’s cattle auctions and Woodworth said his prices remained firm. “There’s a lot of talk about farm to table, but when the rubber meets the road it comes down to price,” he says. “I won’t change my price.” In the peak of harvest season this summer, Monterey County became an epicenter of the state’s coronavirus cases. A recent University of California at Berkeley study shows that 13 percent of Salinas Valley farmworkers tested positive for the virus between July and November, compared with about 3 percent of Californians overall. Latino workers make up 93 percent of the state’s agricultural laborers, some H-2A visa workers from Mexico, but many more of them permanent residents or undocumented migrant workers. Unlike outbreaks in American meat processing facilities, farmworkers’ mobility and immigration status often made it hard to document how many of their lives were affected or curtailed by the virus. Small farmers also have had trouble keeping enough workers to harvest what is frequently an ephemeral crop — a lag of even a few days can mean the difference between solvency and ruin. In California and elsewhere there were reports of fruits and vegetables rotting in the fields. Rigoberto Bucio, 32, grew up in Michoacán, Mexico, and came to the United States on his own at age 16. “I needed a job and people were refusing me work because of my age. I got a job with one of the ALBA farmers, growing strawberries, zucchini and tomatoes,” he said of the nonprofit farm education and business incubator program. “I had no prior knowledge about farming and vegetables, other than how


No, coronavirus vaccines aren’t made from aborted fetuses or created to control the population — and more lessons about fake news

an aspirational yardstick against which to measure all news and information. Just as important, it provides the next generation with an appreciation of the First Amendment and the role of a free press. Here’s material from the Dec. 7 Sift: Disinformation immunity As countries around the world await the mass distribution of two promising vaccines for the coronavirus, researchers and fact-checkers are warning that a surge of disinformation could threaten their acceptance and the efforts to immunize a larger percentage of the population. A Dec. 2 report from the misinformation research organization First Draft warned that those who create and circulate vaccine-related falsehoods often exploit “data deficits,” or the imbalance between the intense public demand for information about the injections and the limited supply of verified information about them that is also clear and accessible. For example, the complexity of the mRNA technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has made it easy for bad actors to insert the false claim that the shots alter human DNA. (They do not.) The report lists some of the false vaccine narratives that have recently gained traction on social media: While medical experts cannot be sure yet about the exact percentage of people who need to take the vaccine to successfully stop the spread of the coronavirus, Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious-disease expert in the United States, recently said that the “overwhelming majority” of Americans need to be vaccinated to achieve widespread immunity. About 60 percent of Americans say they would definitely (29 percent) or probably (31 percent) get a vaccine for the coronavirus, according to a Dec. 3 Pew Research Center survey. But 21 percent say they do not intend to get vaccinated and are “ ‘pretty certain’ more information will not change their mind,” the survey found. Note: Also note Related: “Social media must prepare for flood of covid-19 vaccine misinformation” Idea: Use the covid-19 disinformation narratives identified in the First Draft report to create a student project. For example, students could poll their peers and family members to see how many have been exposed to or believed the false narratives. Students could also work in teams to trace these narratives on various social media platforms or create their own social posts with accurate information about the vaccines to counter disinformation Viral rumor rundown NO: YES: YES: YES: YES: Note: NO: YES: NO: YES: NO: Note: ★ Featured rumor resource:


Test 1 headlines

this is text text this is new text asdkfjlaskdlkjasdf asdlkjasdsdfkl sdfklj sdf kj asdlkjsdflkj asd asdflkjsdf


Kristi Noem hails South Dakota as a coronavirus success story — using badly cherry-picked numbers

Back in June, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page published a now pretty infamous op-ed from Vice President Pence. The thrust: There was no “second wave” of the coronavirus, and the U.S. government had the problem well in hand. The claim was highly suspect at the time, and it has proved even more dubious since then as the pandemic situation has spiraled out of control. Olivia Troye, once a Pence aide, who says she participated in drafting it, has called the claim “ludicrous.” But when it comes to all-is-well op-eds in the Journal, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) is giving Pence a run for his money. Noem clearly harbors national political ambitions, keeping up a packed travel schedule even as her state deals with one of the worst — if not the worst — coronavirus outbreaks in the country. As cases in South Dakota began to rise in September, Noem posted a video making light of social distancing. But to hear Noem tell it in her new op-ed in the Journal, her state is some kind of a success story. It’s avoidance of strong mitigation measures, according to Noem, has benefited its economy, and its problem isn’t all that bad, relative to other states. Just as with Pence, though, she offers some highly suspect arguments to back up this claim — even when it comes to the few numbers she cherry-picked. “Many in the media have criticized this approach, labeling me ill-informed, reckless and even a ‘denier,’ ” Noem said. “Some have asserted that South Dakota is ‘as bad as it gets anywhere in the world’ when it comes to covid-19 — a demonstrably false statement.” It is most definitely not a demonstrably false statement. Data from the Federation of American Scientists in mid-November showed South Dakota’s per capita death rate was the third-highest of any hot spot worldwide in its data set. And Washington Post data show South Dakota has by far the highest per capita death rate in the country — 18.7 deaths per 100,000 people over the past seven days. Next highest is Kansas, at 10.2. Noem doesn’t bother with that data, though. Instead she homes in on a few other states with tougher mitigation measures that she suggests offer favorable comparisons to her state. “Despite harsh lockdowns in Illinois, coupled with a mask mandate since May 1, that state experienced a new single-day record


Biden picks Xavier Becerra as nominee for health and human services secretary

President-elect Joe Biden has chosen California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a critical position in the coalescing administration for which fighting the coronavirus pandemic looms as the most urgent mission once Biden takes office next month. In selecting Becerra, a 24-year member of Congress before taking the attorney general post, Biden picked someone with an unorthodox background for HHS secretary. The job running the sprawling department often has gone to governors, and public health officials have been urging the Biden transition team to select someone with expertise in medicine, given that the raging pandemic will remain front and center for many months. But Biden had also been under pressure to select more Latinos in his Cabinet. Becerra becomes the second designated nominee who is Latino, after Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s pick for homeland security secretary. The choice of Becerra, first reported by the New York Times, was confirmed Sunday night by three individuals familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the selection. Also, three individuals with knowledge of Biden’s choice said he has picked Rochelle Walensky, an infectious-disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, for the job of director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, she is well-respected for her work, including on the comparative effectiveness of treatment for HIV and AIDs. A spokesman for the Biden transition declined to comment Sunday night. The HHS position is the third role at the helm of the incoming administration’s pandemic response to be filled in the past few days, though none has been publicly announced by Biden. Last week, the president-elect offered an expanded version of the job of surgeon general to Vivek H. Murthy, a co-chair of the administration’s covid-19 advisory board, who would reprise a role he held during the Obama presidency and a few months into President Trump’s tenure. And Biden is looking to Jeff Zients, co-chair of the transition, as the White House’s coronavirus coordinator. Zients led the White House’s National Economic Council under President Barack Obama. Becerra’s selection is a break from a pattern in which the president-elect is selecting people as his right-hand advisers who have lengthy working relationships with him from earlier in his career, including his eight years as Obama’s vice president. But The idea of Becerra as HHS secretary “all


Gonzaga puts its top-ranked basketball program on hold after positive coronavirus tests

disappointed to not be able to play one of the most-anticipated games of the season, but we are following the advice of public health officials,” Few and Baylor Coach Scott Drew said in a joint statement. “When we decided to play during a pandemic, our priorities were protecting the health and safety of student-athletes and following public health guidelines, and we’re proud of how both programs have held true to those promises. There are much greater issues in this world than not being able to play a basketball game, so we’re going to continue praying for everyone who has been affected by this pandemic.” The player and staff member remained in Indianapolis under coronavirus protocols while the team returned home Saturday after a 13-day trip to Fort Myers, Fla., and Indianapolis. “It’s a cumulative thing, Baylor has experienced it themselves,” Roth said Saturday (via the Spokesman-Review), referring to Drew’s positive test days and the Bears’ on-the-fly rescheduling to start the season. “There’s no denying the numbers [nationally] have jumped significantly. As great as it would have been to play the [Baylor] game, the safety and in some ways societal view of this is important.” While competing in the Fort Myers Tip-Off last week, one Gonzaga player and one staff member who tested positive were isolated in their hotel rooms, and one player and two staff members identified through contact tracing were in quarantine, according to the Spokesman-Review. The team’s medical staffs, tournament officials and Florida health officials determined that the games could proceed and Gonzaga beat Kansas and Auburn. Gonzaga traveled to Indianapolis on Monday and beat West Virginia on Wednesday. Of the four team members still in Florida, two were expected to return to Washington on Monday and two on Tuesday, the newspaper reported. One player was cleared to drive from Florida to Indianapolis and to fly home with the team Saturday. The virus had already precipitated a big change in college basketball. The NCAA announced in mid-November that it will hold its annual tournament at one site, possibly in Indianapolis, rather than following its usual practice of staging early-round games at 13 locations around the country. Read more college sports coverage: Perspective: The college football teams of the year, befitting a most unusual year Mask-free President Trump confers medal to mask-free Lou Holtz, who’s recovering from covid-19 Sarah Fuller made history. Her parents understand why her moment matters.


FCC announces billions of dollars in awards to provide rural areas with broadband access

coverage of the populated world by 2021,” according to its website. The funding gives SpaceX an even bigger lead over its competitors in the race to build the Internet in space. Recently, OneWeb emerged from bankruptcy and appointed a new CEO. Jeff Bezos’s Amazon also intends to flood Earth’s orbit with its own satellites in a project it calls Kuiper that it has said would bring broadband to “unserved and underserved communities around the world.” (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) In a statement, Pai said the awards would bring “welcome news to millions of unconnected rural Americans who for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide. They now stand to gain access to high-speed, high-quality broadband service.” The winning bidders must provide financial statements, coverage maps and certify that their network is capable of delivering “to at least 95% of the required number of locations in each relevant state,” the FCC said. The announcement comes as Democrats and President-elect Biden are pushing to dramatically increase funding for Internet spending next year, helping to connect families and businesses that have been especially hurt during the coronavirus pandemic. Biden has endorsed a relief bill that passed the House, which included $4 billion for low-income Americans struggling to access the Internet for work or school. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), who led a broadband task force, has said he expected the issue to be one of the top priorities for the incoming administration and that Congress would act. “Broadband in this century must be treated as electricity was in the 20th century,” he said. The biggest winners of the FCC’s awards, which would be given out over 10 years, were LTD Broadband, Charter Communications and the Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium, each receiving a little over $1 billion. SpaceX finished near the top with a massive infusion of cash that could provide the financial underpinning its Starlink project needs. In the past, several companies tried and failed. Teledesic, a company funded in part by Bill Gates in the mid-1990s, collapsed after costs soared. Attempts by Iridium and Globalstar ended up in bankruptcy. SpaceX has the advantage that it can launch its own satellites. And by using reusable rockets, the cost has come down dramatically. Its most recent launch of 60 Starlink satellites last month, for example, was the seventh time that particular Falcon 9 rocket had been used, a


Amid history of mistreatment, doctors struggle to sell Black Americans on coronavirus vaccine

hall in October, organized by the D.C.-based Black Coalition Against Covid-19 and other groups, sparked a flurry of sign-ups to be considered for a vaccine trial through the Covid-19 Prevention Network. But volunteers trying to promote the vaccine outside a nonprofit group’s offices in Southeast Washington last week found many people unconvinced. “There’s a group that is pretty much anti-vaccine of any kind,” said Barrett Hatches, chief executive of the Chicago Family Health Center, which serves a predominantly Black and Latino community and is promoting the vaccine while administering flu shots or coronavirus tests. “There is a group that is still in a little bit of covid denial, and then there is the group that is skeptical and has its wait-and-see perspective.” Reed Tuckson, founder of the D.C.-based coalition, said some African Americans are still deeply scarred by the Tuskegee Study, in which federal health officials conducted a secret experiment on Black men to study the progression of syphilis. The men were told they were being treated for “bad blood” but never actually given medicine as they suffered blindness and other severe health problems from the disease. Tuckson’s group is composed of physicians, faith leaders and other advocates, and it has tentacles in virtually every health group in Washington. Its town halls featured some of the nation’s top health officials answering questions about why the vaccine process was fast tracked, whether Black people were participating in clinical trials, and whether research like the Tuskegee Study could happen in modern times. The group is hosting a third town hall Tuesday, during which Fauci will speak. “We are taking great pains to help folks understand that what existed in the 1930s is very different today, in 2020,” said Tuckson, a doctor and health consultant who is a former D.C. health director and sits on the Howard University Board of Trustees. “That there are research scientists of color who are in positions of authority all across the research and medical enterprise.” The National Institutes of Health helped fund the town halls, and sent some of its top Black scientists to participate, including Gary Gibbons, head of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, who emphasized the importance of having “trusted messengers” provide “accurate, credible, authentic messages.” “It’s in these dialogues with which we’ve gotten a sense of what is the level of knowledge, awareness, as well as misinformation and concerns,” Gibbons said. “And


High school sports in D.C. will not begin before February

One week before winter sports practices were set to begin in D.C., the city announced it is suspending high school athletics until February. Under revised coronavirus-related restrictions unveiled Monday, all athletic activities for high-school-aged residents, both scholastic and recreational, are prohibited. D.C.’s long-held return-to-play date of Dec. 14 has been shifted to Feb. 1. The D.C. State Athletic Association still plans to hold three condensed seasons, but that schedule is now more compact. Under the new plan, winter sports practice will begin Feb. 1, and the season will run from Feb. 8 to March 27. For fall sports, football practice will begin March 1, and other activities will begin March 8. Fall competition will run from March 15 to May 1. Spring sports will begin practice April 26, and competition goes from May 3 to June 12. “While it is disappointing to delay the start of the athletic season, our focus remains on getting student-athletes on the field and court and back to competition,” DCSAA Executive Director Clark Ray said in a news release. “We know the positive impact that athletics have on our youths and look forward to getting back in action. Of course, we will continue to monitor the situation and maintain the flexibility to return to play as soon as we can.” The previous plan, set forth in midsummer, had always been described by DCSAA officials as a wait-and-see approach. Under that proposal, teams would have three weeks of practice and six weeks of competition. With the updated schedule, that has been changed to one week of practice and seven weeks of competition, with considerable overlap between the winter and fall seasons. “When we made the decision to push back the start of the season, we were aware of the possibility that the new schedule might not be met,” Ray said. “Our goal was that if the data and science supported returning to play in December, that’s what we would do. Unfortunately, at this time, the risks associated with playing simply are too high.” Monday’s announcement made a distinction between high-school-aged athletes and those younger. While high-school-aged athletes are sidelined until February, children who are middle school age and younger can continue to partake in organized drills and clinics as long as the athletes are in groups of no more than 12 and the activities do not involve contact with another person. “The decision to do this


The Technology 202: Facebook removes some pages appearing to coordinate to push health misinformation

online can erode public confidence in authoritative health information. In January 2019, one of the websites identified in the network, Healthy Food House, published an article with the misleading headline “Elderberry Syrup Is Better Than Any Flu Shots, And Safe!” In March, an article on the same site falsely claimed “outdoor air acts as a natural disinfectant, that can kill the flu and other harmful germs.” Another website researchers flagged, The Hearty Soul, ran an article that initially claimed “THC chemical in cannabis could help prevent and treat deadly COVID-19 complications.” Yet these dubious claims found a powerful megaphone via a series of health and lifestyle Facebook pages, which had a combined following of more than 65 million people. That allowed them to have greater reach online than top health resources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, GMF researchers found. The five websites — which have been found to publish false claims by the nonpartisan news-rating organization NewsGuard — received 71.1 million comments, likes and shares across Facebook in the first 11 months of 2020, according to the research by the German Marshall Fund's Digital New Deal project. In contrast, the CDC and WHO had about one-tenth as much engagement, collecting a total of 7.9 million interactions in the same time period as these sites, per GMF. Facebook and other tech companies have taken unprecedented steps to limit the spread of misinformation about the coronavirus. But the German Marshall Fund's findings underscore how much more needs to be done to ensure that people have access to accurate information about their health online. “More transparency is needed so that people can know who is benefiting from the information showing up in their Facebook and other tech companies could take more aggressive steps to ensure that pages or websites that repeatedly share false information are penalized, Kornbluh said, also advocating for creating a kind of “circuit breaker” that would prevent articles from going viral when they're shared by repeat offenders. For months, public health officials have warned of an “infodemic” that is exposing people to unreliable information about the spread of covid-19. As vaccines become available amid rising cases, it will become critical for public health officials and the Biden administration to find engaging ways online to counter misinformation about it. Kornbluh says that's essential, especially as many Americans continue to say they are


How will the covid-19 vaccines affect your travel?

The news about coronavirus vaccines has given travelers hope that the pandemic will end in the foreseeable future and they’ll be able to hit the road. But how will the vaccines affect your travel next year? In the short term, experts say, not much. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged Americans to avoid traveling for the holidays. Quarantines and other restrictions will probably last through the middle of next year as the vaccine is distributed. Leisure travel might resume later in 2021, and even then it is unlikely to return to normal. Still, travelers are optimistic. “The promising reports about two early covid-19 vaccines are music to travelers’ ears,” says Lisa Lee, a research professor in Virginia Tech’s Department of Population Health Sciences and a former CDC official. But she doesn’t expect authorities to have fully distributed the vaccine until mid-2021 at the absolute earliest. So what to do in the meantime? The pandemic has “weighed heavily” on travelers like Louis Brill, a retired pharmacist from Finksburg, Md. “So far this year, my wife and I have canceled a spring trip to the Netherlands and Belgium, a June trip to Yellowstone, a September trip to Sicily and a November trip to Tahiti for a cruise,” he says. “We are both somewhat skeptical about the first covid vaccines that come out, although from what I have read about the Pfizer and Moderna ones, I am starting to feel a bit better about them.” The Brills, both of whom are in their 60s, have put off their travel plans until late 2021, just to be safe. In September, they plan a redo of the trip to Italy, followed by a wine tour in France. They also rescheduled their Tahiti cruise for next December. This should give them time to be vaccinated. “Realistically, it doesn’t seem like either vaccine will be scaled up to reach the general population much before May or June,” says Brill, who is both a traveler and a former health professional. Public health experts say his timeline is about right. Karl Minges, who directs the University of New Haven’s master of public health program, warns travelers against booking a trip too soon. Although officials have suggested that some groups could receive a vaccine as early as December, he says, large-scale availability is unlikely before the second or third quarter of next year. “So you may want


The Pentagon needs more civilian control over the military now, not less

told me, “People tend to turn to their rolodex of known quantities for advice and support when they get into these senior jobs. … The problem is if you have been in the military for 40 years, guess who is in your rolodex? Mattis was a failure as SecDef … largely because he insulated [himself] amongst a staff of former Marines and Naval officers.” During my own time working at the Pentagon from 2009 to 2011, I saw firsthand how easy it was for civil-military misunderstandings to cause tensions and lead to bad policy decisions. And since Mattis resigned in December 2018, conditions at the Defense Department have reportedly deteriorated even more dramatically than during his tenure. Trump has left a whopping 40 percent of Senate-confirmed civilian positions unfilled, and the locus of policymaking has reportedly shifted to the uniformed Joint Staff, leaving the civilian staff decimated and demoralized. The Pentagon is a vast but delicate machine: It cannot run effectively without both military expertise and civilian expertise, and if either is weakened, the whole thing starts getting shakier. Today, as the changing security environment presents the military with a range of novel and boundary-crossing challenges, blurring the lines between traditional military and traditional civilian spheres, diversity of opinion and background within the department is more important than ever. Austin’s selection also seems an odd choice for Biden. Biden’s team reportedly delayed the announcement of his choice for defense secretary to send the message that Biden planned to elevate diplomacy and de-emphasize the military. Selecting a recently retired general seems to undermine that message, particularly when several other widely respected candidates were on Biden’s shortlist, including Michèle Flournoy, for whom I worked while I was at the Pentagon, and Jeh Johnson, who served as Defense Department general counsel and secretary of homeland security under President Barack Obama. Flournoy would have made history as the first female defense secretary, while Johnson would also have been the first Black defense secretary had he been selected — and, unlike Austin, neither of these other potentially pathbreaking nominees would have required a congressional waiver. In an indication that he recognizes the troubling issues raised by Austin’s selection, Biden just published an unusual essay in the Atlantic assuring readers: “I respect and believe in the importance of civilian control of our military and in the importance of a strong civil-military working relationship at DoD —


Maryland crime report

Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, •Destruction to a vehicle •Destruction of property/vandalism •Theft from a vehicle •Thefts of vehicle parts and accessories •Tampering with a vehicle •Attempted vehicle theft •Credit or debit card theft •Identify theft •Lost property •Telephone misuse •Trespassing The following were among incidents reported by Anne Arundel County police. For information, call 410-222-8050. Crofton Area Davidsonville Rd., Gambrills Area Conway Rd., Glen Burnie Area Ritchie Hwy., Aviation Blvd., Ellwell Ct., Severn Area Parham Ct. and Stillmeadows Dr., Severn Hills Way, Tracy's Landing Area West Bay Front and Solomons Island roads, Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, the police department has implemented a policy of telephone reporting for relatively minor and nonviolent crimes. Callers will be screened, and when appropriate for telephone reporting an officer will collect information. The non-emergency phone number is 410-268-4141. State Cir., Bay Ridge Rd., Croll Dr., Hilltop Lane, Lafayette Ave., Lafayette Ave., Maryland Ave, Shaw St., Tyler Ave., Copeland St., Due to concerns over the novel coronavirus and social distancing, citizens are encouraged to report certain incidents online at hcpd.org or by calling 410-313-2200. These were among incidents reported by Howard County police. Columbia Area Dobbin Rd., Columbia Rd, Harpers Farm Rd., Little Patuxent Pkwy., Oakland Mills Rd., Single Wheel Path, Spiral Cut, Swift Stream Pl., Tamar Dr., Gerwig Lane, Rumsey Rd., Tamar Dr., Yellowrose Ct., Elkridge Area Montgomery Rd., Barnett Lane, Washington Blvd., Washingto Ellicott City Area Baltimore National Pike, Cotoneaster Dr., N. Chatham Rd., Shady Path Pl., Walking Stick Rd., Jessup Area Washington Blvd., Washington Blvd., Laurel Area Washington Blvd., Savage Area Baltimore St., Woodstock Area Birmingham Way, Sussex Way, Turn Berry Way,


Amid the pandemic, over 500 people in India suddenly fall ill, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus

district official. “This is all we know for now.” Perplexed by the peculiar nature of the illness and the high number of patients, local health officials are racing to test water, milk, vegetables and fish samples to identify the possible source. Teams from the World Health Organization, molecular biologists, virologists and nutritionists are also part of the investigations. The toxins found in blood samples included lead and nickel, but it is not clear how they got there. Organochlorine, which is normally found in pesticides, was also found in some of the water samples that were tested. Industries are a major source of air and water pollutants in India, and accidents are not uncommon. In May, a toxic gas leak from a chemical plant killed 11 people and sickened hundreds in the port city of Visakhapatnam, in the same state. India was also home to the world’s worst industrial disaster when a gas leak in the central city of Bhopal killed thousands of people in 1984. When the first patients began to arrive at the Eluru government hospital on Saturday evening, many were in a panic, recalled A.V.R. Mohan, the medical superintendent. By the next morning, the numbers had only grown. Mohan immediately roped in nearby private hospitals to accommodate those streaming in. “Most patients recovered within a day,” he said. “They were given anti-epileptic and antiemetic treatment.” Several patients also had psychological trauma, he added. Things are now under control, said Shukla, the district official. “This is a point-source epidemic,” he said. “Whatever happened occurred for one particular day and some people got affected. The number of new patients has dropped.” On Wednesday, just 16 new patients were admitted to the hospital with the telltale symptoms, a drop from the previous days. To monitor those who have recovered and detect new patients, the district administration has set up about 80 medical camps in the area. A few patients reported repeat seizures after discharge, Mohan said. The illness struck Teku Venkateshwar Rao suddenly and without warning. A 38-year-old who ekes out a living by ironing clothes, he suffered an epileptic fit on Saturday morning. "He screamed loudly," said his wife, Teku Varalakshmi. "I was very scared at that time. Never in his life has he suffered epilepsy or seizures." Fear and confusion still plague the family of 56-year-old Jagadheeshwar Rao, who had fainted at the temple. Two days after being discharged,


Coronavirus vaccine from China’s Sinopharm is 86% effective, UAE officials say

criticism for rolling out the vaccines so widely before clinical trials were complete. Sinopharm said in late November it had applied for final approval with Chinese regulators. The UAE’s Health Ministry announced Wednesday that it had registered a Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for general use, following emergency-use approval in the country in September. A number of top UAE officials have gotten a shot. UAE health officials said they reviewed the company’s interim analysis of the vaccine’s Phase 3 trial results that gave it an 86 percent efficacy rate. “The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” the UAE Ministry of Health said, adding that the findings showed the vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of covid-19. The UAE approval sets the stage for the Sinopharm vaccine to be used widely in the developing world. Unlike the vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, which require super-cold storage, Sinopharm’s vaccines can be stored in regular refrigerators, making them a more attractive option for some developing nations. Morocco has ordered 10 million doses of Sinopharm vaccines. The company’s vaccines remain in Phase 3 testing in Egypt, Bahrain, Peru and Argentina. A second Chinese company, Sinovac, also has a coronavirus vaccine in late-stage trials in Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. Starting in September, the Sinopharm vaccine was used to inoculate UAE health workers deemed most at risk of infection. Phase 3 trials for the vaccine have been conducted in several countries, including the UAE, where 31,000 people across 125 nationalities took part. The state news agency described the registration of the vaccine as “a significant vote of confidence by the UAE’s health authorities in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine.” The UAE has experienced a surge in coronavirus cases in recent months. The country went from reporting just a few hundred new infections a day in August to more than 1,200 a day by November. There have been over 180,000 registered cases since the pandemic began but fewer than 600 reported deaths. Sinopharm officials have made bold claims about the vaccine’s performance in the past few months. The company’s chairman, Liu Jingzhen, said at a conference in November that out of 56,000 people who received a Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine before traveling overseas, none became infected. He said 81 of the 99 employees in Huawei’s Mexico office were vaccinated and did not contract the coronavirus, while 10 of the unvaccinated employees became infected.


Winners and losers from 2020 state battles

board, as we’ll get to below. Some of the most conservative states in the country now allow some form of legal marijuana use. South Dakota legalized marijuana, with a sizable chunk of Trump supporters voting in favor of it. Mississippi legalized medical marijuana with the same political dynamic. Arizona, Montana and New Jersey also legalized marijuana in some form. That means 15 states have legalized recreational marijuana, and 36 allow at least medical use. The changes helped give momentum to a House Democratic push to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. For the first time ever this month, the House voted in favor of that. (It has little to no chance of passing a Republican-controlled Senate, but if Democrats retake the Senate in two Georgia runoff races, that could change since President-elect Joe Biden supports decriminalization.) Florida became the first state in the South — and the first state that voted for Trump — to require a $15 minimum wage, after voters easily approved this ballot initiative this November. Eight states now require or will soon require workers get paid at least that. Having Florida among them raised hopes among minimum wage advocates that they can expand their fight into other purple or conservative-leaning states, too. After hoping to flip as many as a half-dozen state legislative chambers this year, Democrats ended up losing two. Democrats needed to get a foot in the door in states by 2021, when many state politicians get to redraw congressional maps. These are lines that will last for the next decade and help determine which party controls Congress. Instead, Republicans will go into yet another redistricting effort controlling a majority of chambers — 53 to Democrats’ 31. The battle for state legislatures was also historically static. You have to go back to the 1940s to find an election when so few chambers flipped parties, said Tim Storey, the executive director of the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. Voters were just not that motivated to make big changes in who represents them. In addition, Storey says lawmakers will have some practical limitations to legislating next year in a pandemic — virtual sessions, or plexiglass between lawmakers, or limited access to state capitols — that could make big, bold legislative changes hard to come by in 2021. In yet another example of how unwilling voters were this year for change with state leadership, every single


D.C.-area forecast: Seasonably cold today with a few flakes possible, then a warmer stretch into the weekend

A somewhat subjective rating of the day’s weather, on a scale of 0 to 10. 5/10: Our cold snap, as seasonably appropriate as it may be, is coming to an end. But not before one more rather chilly day today, minus the recent winds, but with the chance of a few flurries or a snow shower. Tomorrow begins a noticeably warmer stretch with highs headed for near and past 50 through the weekend. We’re dry until shower chances return Saturday night and Sunday. Get our daily forecasts Today (Wednesday): Tonight: Follow us on Tomorrow (Thursday): Tomorrow night: The warming trend continues Friday and Saturday. High pressure sitting offshore sends a southerly breeze our way. That means highs both days in the mid-50s to near 60, with the main difference being mostly sunny skies on Friday versus mostly cloudy skies on Saturday. Friday night and Saturday night lows fall to the 40s, with a nearby warm front bringing a chance of showers Saturday night. Confidence: Medium Shower chances continue on Sunday as a cold front moves through. Probably not a washout, but forecast confidence is low at this point. Sunday highs should reach the 50s to near 60. Confidence: Low Read more about Capital Weather Gang’s confidence rating


The world’s rich need to cut their carbon footprint by a factor of 30 to slow climate change, U.N. warns

The world’s wealthy will need to reduce their carbon footprints by a factor of 30 to help put the planet on a path to curb the ever-worsening impacts of climate change, according to new findings published Wednesday by the United Nations Environment Program. Currently, the emissions attributable to the richest 1 percent of the global population account for more than double those of the poorest 50 percent. Shifting that balance, researchers found, will require swift and substantial lifestyle changes, including decreases in air travel, a rapid embrace of renewable energy and electric vehicles, and better public planning to encourage walking, bicycle riding and public transit. But individual choices are hardly the only key to mitigating the intensifying consequences of climate change. Wednesday’s annual “emissions gap” report, which assesses the difference between the world’s current path and measures needed to manage climate change, details how the world remains woefully off target in its quest to slow the Earth’s warming. The drop in greenhouse gas emissions during this year’s pandemic, while notable, will have almost no impact on slowing the warming that lies ahead unless humankind drastically alters its policies and behavior, the report finds. Instead, nations would need to “roughly triple” their current emissions-cutting pledges to limit the Earth’s warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average — a central aim of the Paris climate agreement. To reach the loftier goal of holding warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the report found, countries would need to increase their targets at least fivefold. That goal in particular would require rapid and profound changes in how societies travel, produce electricity and eat. “We’d better make these shifts, because while covid has been bad, there is hope at the end of the tunnel with a vaccine,” Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program, said in an interview. “But there is no vaccine for the planet.” Global carbon dioxide emissions are likely to fall by about 7 percent during 2020 — a significant change driven by the spread of the coronavirus and the shutdowns that accompanied it, which had a particularly strong impact on travel. But that temporary dip probably will have only a “negligible long-term impact” on climate change in the years ahead, the U.N. report found. If the drop in emissions caused by the pandemic proves an isolated event rather than the beginning


Elon Musk’s Starship launches successfully but lands hard, explodes in what SpaceX calls an ‘awesome test’

A prototype of the massive spacecraft Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building to take people to the moon and Mars exploded upon landing Wednesday after a seemingly successful launch and flight. Still, the company called it “an awesome test,” and Musk said the company “got all the data we needed.” The Starship rocket has been Musk’s passion for years, a vehicle that has gone through multiple design changes as SpaceX has worked to develop a craft that could eventually fly people to deep space. Before the test flight, SpaceX cautioned that there will probably be setbacks during the ongoing development of the vehicle. And before Wednesday’s flight, it said that “with a test such as this, success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn, which will inform the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship.” Starship, made of stainless steel, with aerodynamic flaps to help control its trajectory, was supposed to fly to an altitude of nearly eight miles, then fall back through the atmosphere in a belly-flop position before reorienting itself, reigniting its engine and touching down softly. It appeared to complete all of those milestones, except for the landing, which sent a fireball and a plume of smoke over the Gulf Coast. No one was on board and no one was injured. After the flight, Musk tweeted that it was a “successful ascent” and that the vehicle performed well. There was low pressure during the landing, “causing touchdown velocity to be high & RUD,” he wrote, using an acronym for “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” “Even reaching apogee would’ve been great, so controlling all way to putting the crater in the right spot was epic!!” he wrote adding: “Mars, here we come!” In various presentations over the years, Musk has championed the need for a massive, heavy-lift spacecraft that could refuel in space and be fully reusable. At times, Musk has given grandiose presentations of the rocket and his plans to one day build a city on Mars. During an interview with The Washington Post in 2016, when Musk was calling Starship the “Mars Colonial Transporter,” he said his goal was “having an architecture that would enable the creation of a self-sustaining city on Mars with the objective of being a multi-planet species and a true space-faring civilization and one day being out there among the stars.”


We are over-cleaning in response to covid-19

that smoke by scrubbing down countertops, doorknobs and all the other surfaces in the room? Not much. Shared air is the problem, not shared surfaces. Transmission of a disease through “fomites” — the name given to any inanimate surface that can be contaminated with a virus — is certainly possible. Many viruses, such as rhinovirus and norovirus, are transmitted through contaminated surfaces. But that’s just not really the case for covid-19. We don’t know exactly how much fomite transmission occurs for covid-19, but evidence suggests it’s not common. To see why, let’s walk through the steps. First, the virus must be transmitted to a surface, either by a sick person touching it or a respiratory droplet landing on it. Once on the surface, the virus starts to decay, and the only studies that show that the virus can survive on a surface for a long time used unrealistically large amounts of it — as in, someone spits a blob of saliva on the surface. The coronavirus’s genetic material has been found on all kinds of surfaces in hospitals and in the air, but, interestingly, it has only been successfully cultured from the air. No data studies that we are aware of have cultured the virus from surfaces. Even if you were the unfortunate person who immediately grabbed a door handle right after an infectious person sneezed on it, there would be a significant reduction in how much is transferred from the surface onto your hand. Then, time is your friend again, inactivating the virus, even while on your hand. But what if you touched that contaminated doorknob and then immediately touched your mouth? Not all of the virus on the hand would get transferred to the mouth, and that’s not even the end of the story. The virus that did make it into your mouth would need to find an appropriate receptor there or make it to your respiratory tract. When we look at this entire causal chain, it’s easy to see that if fomite transmission is happening, it’s minor and certainly not driving the pandemic. Meanwhile, we have plenty of examples of airborne transmission. Consider the choir practice that infected nearly 90 percent of socially distanced members. It’s hard to explain that from shared surfaces. Most important, we can prevent fomite transmission through regular hand-washing or use of hand sanitizer. Cleaning every surface after every touch is an impossible


Dissecting athletic greatness: Nature, nurture, lucky breaks and a ‘quiet eye’

he somehow ended up in a river with no socks and shoes, trying to play the ball from there. Van de Velde lost the tournament in a playoff. “When athletes are anxious, they reinvest attention on the technical execution of the skill, those aspects of the movement that have generally become automated — ‘paralysis by analysis,’ ” the authors write. (It is a phrase they repeat often.) And it relates to the “quiet eye” concept: “Athletes weighed down by anxiety also use their eyes less efficiently, in both dynamic and static tasks.” Although the lessons here are widely applicable, a caveat: This book does have a distinct British accent. When talking about the National Basketball Association in the chapter on neighborhood pickup games, the authors refer to them as “ad-hoc games.” They call a playoff game a “match.” There is football (never soccer) and American football. And spellings have not been changed for American readers, so we have the British versions of some words: practise and defence. And there is a whole lot of cricket. The authors couldn’t include everything, yet there is only a half-page mention of doping. It comes in a brief section on mental health. Athletes cheat for reasons beyond internal pressure; they often face financial incentives and government mandates. Then again, this game within the game could be — and has been — worthy of many separate books. Part Three concludes with training methods and the science of success. I was pleased to see the authors include the famous team-bonding dinners led by Gregg Popovich, the oenophile coach of the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs, and the intense practice techniques of Women’s National Basketball Association star Elena Delle Donne, who led the Washington Mystics to their first WNBA championship in 2019. In “The next frontier,” the final chapter about technology, the authors leave us, appropriately, with an eye to the future. Analytics make the scene, but the discussion of how teams are using virtual reality to assist injured players and simulate pressure situations left me thinking of the next generation of champions. Still, for all the technological advantages of the Nike Vaporfly shoe, which has transformed the running world, the authors include the benefits of a low-tech training solution for any athlete: naps. Finally, something attainable for us mere mortals. How Elite Athletes Are Made By Mark Williams and Tim Wigmore Nicholas Brealey. 353 pp. $24.95


The Paris agreement survived the Trump administration. What happens now?

hosts managed to assemble a unanimous declaration reaffirming the goals of the Paris agreement. Even after Trump announced, in June 2017, that he would indeed withdraw the United States from the agreement, cooperation did not break down. “I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump said in 2017. But the person actually elected to represent Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto, clapped back on Twitter with a promise to follow the Paris guidelines, heralding an extraordinary mobilization of support for the treaty from U.S. states, cities, businesses and other groups. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to rejoin the Paris agreement on the first day of the Biden-Harris administration — which would make every country in the world a signatory. As this week’s summit aims to show, climate cooperation has not moved backward under Trump. Instead, it has crept forward, although emissions continue to rise. Rethinking how to get collective action To explain this seeming paradox, and to understand how the Paris agreement will operate going forward, means taking a closer look at the concept of collective action. We typically see climate as a “tragedy of the commons,” in which no one has an incentive to act unless there is a guarantee others will act as well. That is why previous environmental treaties, such as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, focused on collectively negotiating specific, legally binding emissions cuts. But many aspects of climate politics depart from the traditional model of collective action. Countries, cities, states and provinces, and businesses often act unilaterally, driven by pro-climate citizens, consumers or investors — or motivated by “co-benefits” like reducing air pollution or improving energy security. Costs and benefits also change over time. As various leaders adopt new policies and deploy more technologies, they alter the cost-benefit calculus for others. Here’s an example of how these “increasing returns” play out. Early investments in renewable energy by leaders like California and Germany reduced prices so much that renewables now compete with fossil fuels in many applications, in both cost and performance. Under these conditions, a model of “catalytic cooperation” more plausibly describes how countries, cities, states or companies behave. In this set up, the chief barrier to cooperation is not the threat of free riding but the lack of incentive to act in the first place. International institutions can support cooperation in this context, but not through bargaining around collective agreements. Instead, “catalytic institutions”