D.C. news in brief

and Sunday The 13th annual Washington D.C. Dragon Boat Festival will be from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Thompson Boat Center, 2900 Virginia Ave. NW. More than 1,500 paddlers on more than 50 teams from along the East Coast will compete in dragon boat races on the Potomac River. Dragon boats are powered entirely by human paddlers. The watercraft and the racing sport originated in the Pearl River Delta region of China’s Guangdong Province more than 2,000 years ago. The festival opens at 8:30 a.m. Saturday with a traditional lion dance and an eye-dotting ceremony, said to awaken the sleeping dragons — the spirits — of the racing boats. Other festival activities will include wire art and paper lantern demonstrations. Teams made up of breast cancer survivors will be recognized with a pink carnation ceremony. For information, go to dragonboatdc.com. The event is sponsored by the Chinese Women’s League. Capitol Hill Classic 10K race is scheduled for Sunday The Capitol Hill Classic, a 10K race, a 3K race, and a kids’ fun run to benefit the Capitol Hill cluster schools — Peabody Primary Campus, Watkins Elementary School and Stuart-Hobson Middle School — will be 8:30 to 11 a.m Sunday. The 10K course starts and finishes at Peabody Primary School, 425 C St. NE, passes the Supreme Court, the Capitol and the Library of Congress, and includes part of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. A shadow race will be that day at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. To register, go to www.capitolhillclassic.com. Runners can also register in person at the Peabody Primary School from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday or 7 to 8:15 a.m. Sunday, or at Pacers Running Store, 1425 P St. NW, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Rally to support cervical cancer survivors Tamika and Friends, a local HPV and cervical cancer support group, will hold a rally and 5K walk/run from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. The race will begin at RFK Stadium Lot 8. The group hopes to raise awareness of cervical cancer and its link to HPV, the human papillomavirus. The event will also raise money to help relieve the financial burdens of cervical cancer survivors. To register for the race or to donate, e-mail walk@tamikaandfriends.org. For information, go to www.crowdrise.com/tamikaandfriendsinc. Correction: — Compiled by Terence McArdle


Loudoun County news in brief

Volunteers, participants sought for Loudoun Lyme 5K Sterling-based business DryHome Roofing and Siding will host its fourth annual Loudoun Lyme 5K race Sunday at the Brambleton Town Center in Ashburn. The race aims to raise Lyme disease awareness, as well as money to fight the disease, the most prevalent tick-borne illness in the United States. Loudoun County has more cases of Lyme disease than any other county in Virginia, according to health officials. The event will include a 1K family walk and an information fair. DryHome owner Steve Gotschi started the race and fair after watching his wife and many friends battle the disease. The free fair will run from 8 to 11 a.m. The 5K, which opens for registration at 6 a.m. and begins at 8 a.m., costs $35 for adults and $20 for those 17 and younger. To register or to volunteer, go to www.loudounlyme.org. Loudoun Workforce Center hosts Ticket to Work program Loudoun County residents now have access to representatives from the Ticket to Work program from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays at the Loudoun Workforce Resource Center in Leesburg. The program serves those who receive Social Security disability cash benefits and are between ages 18 and 64. Representatives from the program will handle inquiries from people with disabilities who would like to work and are prepared to keep a job, program officials said. The Loudoun Workforce Resource Center is in the Shenandoah Building, 102 Heritage Way NE, Leesburg. For information, call Shelly Rodriguez at 703-777-0150 or the Ticket to Work office at 703-752-1606. Top U.S. agencies reaffirm Loudoun’s AAA bond rating The nation’s top bond rating agencies have again affirmed Loudoun County’s AAA rating on its general obligation bonds, noting the county’s strong financial management practices and policies, county officials said in a statement. Loudoun has had the Aaa rating from Moody’s since 2004, and the AAA from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings since 2005. “The reaffirmation of our triple-A rating is good news for Loudoun taxpayers, because it means the county will continue to get the best possible interest rates to finance our capital projects,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (R-At Large) said in the statement. For information on Loudoun finances, go to www.loudoun.gov/triple-a. — Compiled by Caitlin Gibson


How to care for your books

to use for reference or pleasure reading, it makes more sense to arrange them by author, title or subject — whatever system helps you find a book when you want to read it. Store books upright, or horizontally in short stacks, and don’t pack them too tightly. Consider inserting pieces of synthetic felt (not wool, which could draw insects) between the books to protect the covers. Some book experts recommend lining up books along the front of the shelf. It’s tidy and allows air to circulate behind. Other experts, Harris among them, push their books almost all the way to the back, so they don’t collect as much dust. Either way, fill shelves completely, or use smooth-sided bookends so volumes don’t lean. Avoid overstuffing shelves. How best to pull out a book? Don’t pull on the spine top, known as the headcap, or it might break. Grasp the middle of the spine, after pushing in neighboring books, if necessary. Or push out the book from behind. Or press a finger against the top edge of the book and gently tip the book toward you. Protecting books while you read: Oil from your hands can build up on pages of books that are used often and eventually darken and stain the paper. Book-care experts used to recommend wearing cotton gloves while perusing rare books, but that turned out to increase the risk of tearing fragile pages. The advice now: Keep pages clean by washing your hands first and by avoiding snacks as you read. If you need to interrupt your reading, use a paper bookmark — not metal or leather or anything that could leave residue, including Post-It Notes. If you’re reading a collectible book with a dust jacket that’s valuable, consider setting the jacket aside while you read. Or add an acid-free clear cover to protect it. Cleaning books: Usually, this just means dusting them. An old-fashioned feather duster works but stirs up dust. Microfiber dusting cloths hold the dust better. A vacuum — which Freed and Harris typically use — whisks away dust. Use a brush attachment, and limit the suction by opening the wand’s bleed slot, if there is one. Hold the brush slightly away from books. Dusting by hand or vacuum is equally effective when books are only a little dusty; if there is a lot of grime, a vacuum works better. But avoid vacuuming a book


UMD’s new supercomputer does the work of 1,000 laptops

University of Maryland President Wallace Loh on Wednesday Loh and UMD welcomed a new supercomputer to the university’s new data facility in Riverdale Park, Md. (Photo by Linda Davidson / The Washington Post) The University of Maryland has a new supercomputer that can process 300 trillion operations per second — the equivalent of about 10,000 laptops working together, the university announced Wednesday. The new high-performance processor, called “Deepthought2,” replaces Deepthought, which the university installed in 2006. Deepthought2 is about 10 times faster than Deepthought, and has about 2,000 times the storage of an average laptop, according to the College Park school. Powered by technology from Dell, the supercomputer will be housed in Maryland’s new Cyberinfrastructure Center, a 9,000 square-foot data center in the university's M Square Research Park in Riverdale Park, Md. “Deepthought2 will attract top researchers and students who need its data-intensive computing power,” university president Wallace Loh said in a statement. These might include multi-level simulations, big data analysis, and large-scale computations, which previously had to be run on national supercomputers, Ann Wylie, professor and interim vice president for information technology, said in a statement. In March, Bethesda-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin established a quantum computing research center at Maryland, grouping together several existing quantum projects at the school.


Acting on climate change does not equal reduced prosperity

Robert J. Samuelson’s May 12 op-ed column, “There’s still no fix for climate change,” was far too pessimistic. We have ways to cut the emissions that contribute to global warming, including through renewable energy, energy efficiency and reducing tropical deforestation. The problem is that we are not deploying them as fast or as widely as needed to avert high levels of warming. With wind and solar costs falling dramatically, the United States has put in place record amounts of these technologies in recent years. In 2012, more wind capacity was installed than any other energy technology, and more solar capacity came on line in the past two years than in the previous 30 combined. Putting a price on carbon, as Mr. Samuelson recommended, is critical to accelerating investment in low-carbon technologies. Doing so also would cut emissions and create a stream of revenue to help communities grappling with risks from sea-level rise, coastal flooding, wildfires and drought. California and nine Northeast states are leading the way on pricing carbon and reaping the economic benefits of the revenue. Mr. Samuelson presented a false choice between prosperity and climate action. Our failure to cut emissions is catching up with us through costly climate impacts, as the National Climate Assessment and other reports have documented. How much worse do things have to get before our leaders act decisively? Rachel Cleetus, Arlington, Mass. The writer is a senior climate economist for the Union of Concerned Scientists.


Girl at center of fight to legalize cannabis oil dies at age 7

Born with a rare chromosomal disorder, 6-year-old Lydia Schaeffer suffers from life-threatening seizures that doctors haven’t been able to control despite countless medications. In marijuana, Lydia’s family members think they might have found a treatment that works. Now, they are trying to help legalize the drug. Lydia Schaeffer Lydia’s mother, Sally Schaeffer, had been lobbying the state legislature to legalize the drug, an experimental extract from cannabis plants known as Charlotte’s Web, for use on children with seizure disorders. The lawmakers moved to pass the law in record time and Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed the bill into law in April. But Lydia, who died in her sleep on Mother’s Day, never got a chance to try the treatment because the law’s implementation was still being worked out. The efforts by the Schaeffers are being replicated throughout the country — in Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Utah, New York and other states — by other parents who have shared their stories through Facebook, Twitter and the media. In her obituary, her parents said Lydia taught them “about patience, what it’s like to be inspired, and most of all we were blessed to witness miracles that otherwise we may have been too busy to notice.” In a column by Jim Stingl in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Lydia’s mother says she wishes she could have done more to help her daughter live. For some families with children who suffer from rare seizure disorders, a new form of medical marijuana is proving to be a life-changing treatment. But, Stingl comments, “I witnessed Sally Schaeffer in action, and I can tell you it’s not for lack of trying or the love of a mother for her child.” Related: ‘Mommy lobby:’ A powerful advocate for medical marijuana Marijuana research hampered by access Families move to Colorado to get medical marijuana for kids


Feud between SpaceX and ULA over space contract grows more intense

Billionaire Elon Musk speaks at an event in this 2012 file photo. The fight between Musk’s SpaceX and two of the nation’s largest defense contractors has become entangled in an international dispute that could jeopardize the U.S.’s ability to get its astronauts to the International Space Station. (Duane A. Laverty/AP) It started as a high-profile attempt to win a bigger share of the military space market. Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, sued the federal government claiming his start-up space company had been shut out of a lucrative military rocket contract. High-profile members of Congress, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), rallied to his cause. An injunction was issued, then lifted. But now the fight between Musk’s SpaceX and two of the nation’s largest defense contractors has become entangled in an international dispute that could have even wider implications and jeopardize the United States’ ability to get its astronauts to the international space station. This week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said he would prohibit the export of Russian-made engines used in many U.S. rocket launches. That could eventually cause a disruption in how the Pentagon sends military satellites into orbit. And it plays into the hands of Musk, who is arguing that the nation’s security interests in space shouldn’t be dependent on the Russians. Discoveries in our solar system and beyond. The contract for launching military satellites is currently held by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which uses the Russian-made engines in its Atlas rockets. SpaceX sued the federal government last month in protest of the Air Force’s decision to award that business to ULA without competition. The multibillion-dollar contract is for 36 rockets to launch defense payloads, including satellites. Musk, the co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors, claimed that SpaceX could deliver military satellites to space far more cheaply. Musk called for the Air Force to cancel the contract and give SpaceX time to complete the required certification process. Musk also argued that ULA’s use of the Russian-made RD-180 engines could violate U.S. sanctions. Within days of the suit being filed, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Susan G. Braden issued an injunction, prohibiting ULA from buying the Russian engines. She ultimately lifted the injunction after several government agencies said the Russian manufacturer was not subject to the sanctions. But then Rogozin told reporters that the government would not allow the delivery of


As the number of cases mounts, MERS is still a mystery virus

SAUDI ARABIA crossed a grim threshold Wednesday, announcing that the number of cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, caused by a novel coronavirus, has exceeded 500 in the kingdom, with 157 deaths among them. The global number of MERS cases is now more than 570, with two of them recently reported in the United States. At the same time, the World Health Organization declared that the disease has not yet reached the point of a “public health emergency of international concern.” The reason is that experts have not yet detected “evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission” of the kind that could lead to a pandemic. Clearly, there has been some transmission involving people in close contact with victims, such as relatives and health-care workers, but not rapidly and broadly. The WHO decision should not lead to a sense of complacency; the announcement was studded with warnings. Far too much is still unknown about this virus and how it works. For example, it appears that one reason for the escalating number of cases in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks was a breakdown in infection control. A visiting WHO team found lapses in such basics as hand washing, gloves and masks. Hospital conditions were “suboptimal.” How did the virus spread? Does it survive in the environment? That’s an important factor in infection control for any hospital — whether in Jiddah or Orlando — that hasn’t been answered. Yet another big information gap has been the lack of a case-control study, which would compare those infected with a similar group of people that is not. Such a study could go a long way toward helping explain how the virus behaves and the risks of transmission and infection. Comparing older genetic blueprints with recent ones has led experts to conclude there have not been modifications in the genome of the virus that would allow it to be transmitted from human to human more efficiently than before. That’s reassuring, but the key will be a steady stream of genetic sequencing information to keep watch on the unpredictable evolutionary process. The WHO emphasized that its concern has significantly increased in part because of “critical gaps in information.” That is putting it politely. A large share of the responsibility for this black hole must fall on Saudi Arabia, a closed society where the disease was not met with sufficient urgency for more than a year. While there are


U.S., allies preparing for ‘wider’ sanctions against Russia, Britain’s Hague says

occupied government buildings, the Associated Press reported. The steelworkers are from plants belonging to Metinvest, part of the business empire of Rinat Akhmetov, believed to be Ukraine’s richest man. On Wednesday, Akhmetov issued a statement calling on Donetsk to remain part of Ukraine. As the Kiev talks were underway, officials in Moscow appeared to soften their stance, at least publicly. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has “no intention” of sending troops into eastern Ukraine, despite Western fears that it will invade after the presidential and mayoral elections set for this month. Although Western nations have threatened additional sanctions against Russia, Hague said they were not willing to give an “exact definition” of what would provoke them or what form the measures would take. “If we set a red line, Russia knows that it can go up to that red line,” he said at a news conference. “Efforts to disrupt the election may take many different forms. That’s not something we can define in advance,” but it will be “what determines the attitude of the whole Western world” toward Russia. In separate comments, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said, “If Russia or its proxies disrupt the election, the United States and those countries represented here today in the European Union will impose sectoral economic sanctions as a result.” Asked whether the West would be watching for direct Russian interference or hold Moscow accountable for the actions of the pro-Russian separatists, Kerry said a judgment would be made based on “attitude and behavior.” “I’m not going to start laying out the whole series of definitions except to say to you that it is clear what proxies mean,” he said. A senior State Department official said earlier that “we have been pretty clear in being able to pinpoint and expose . . . when Moscow’s hand has been behind past disruptions.” The official added, “We’ve seen it in the past — we’ve seen personnel, we’ve seen money, we’ve seen weapons, we’ve seen coordination, we’ve seen actual actors. So all of those things are possible again in this context.” The official also made clear that threatened sanctions on what President Obama has said would be “sectors” of the Russian economy — including mining, defense, energy and banking — are not likely to be imposed across the board, as in Iran. Instead, the official said, they


To curb military suicides, does money go for sit-ups or psychologists?

rate is his “number one priority.” To deal with the problem, McRaven and other top Special Operations officials broke from the playbook used by their brethren in the regular Army and Marine Corps forces, who have poured money into hiring extra mental health counselors, psychiatrists and psychologists. Instead, the command asked Congress for $48 million in 2015 to hire physical therapists, dieticians, sports psychologists, and strength and conditioning specialists to work with troops. “This is a unique solution to building resiliency,” said one senior Special Operations official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so that he could frankly discuss deliberations with lawmakers. “You get guys who are healthy physically, and they have less problems.” For lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee, the budget request is further evidence that the Special Operations Command has not grasped the roots of the suicide problem. They redirected $23 million from the command’s request to pay for more mental health experts and criticized the commandos, accusing them of recalcitrance. “The committee is concerned that targeted suicide [prevention] programs within the command remain nascent and slow moving given the troubling suicide statistics across the forces,” according to the committee’s version of the 2015 defense bill. Special Operations’ approach to suicide prevention places “too much costly emphasis . . . on improving physical readiness with costly military construction and multi-year service contracts for physical therapists, strength and conditioning specialists and sports dieticians,” the lawmakers wrote. The command’s senior leaders have fought back, saying that desk-bound lawmakers do not understand the mind-set of hard-charging commandos or the unrelenting physical demands of their jobs. They point to internal studies that show that special operators who work with high-end physical therapists, sports dieticians and strength coaches experience less depression, post-traumatic stress, alcoholism and other maladies typically associated with suicide. They also say that the money they are requesting for their unconventional effort, which is known inside the command as the Human Performance Program, is a relative pittance, costing only $2,200 a year for each special operator. By contrast, the command spends about $500,000 to train each of its special operators over a three- to five-year period. Lawmakers, for now, are not buying the command’s argument. “We agree that having enough sleep, being well nourished and being in top physical condition makes it easier to overcome stress,” said one congressional staffer. “But that’s not the total solution for someone


Stein Mart takes over former Loehmann’s location in Falls Church

Stein Mart, which specializes in discounted designer clothing, opened its third local store Thursday as part of an ongoing expansion in the Washington area. The off-price chain took over the Loehmann’s location in Falls Church, which closed in February after the company went out of business. Stein Mart’s other Washington-area stores are in Chantilly and Leesburg. “We’ve had our eyes on the Northern Virginia-D.C. area for quite some time,” said Hunt Hawkins, chief operating officer and president of the company. “We think this is an area that has a lot of our customers.” The retailer’s target demographic, Hawkins said, is women aged between 45 and 60 with higher-than-average household incomes. Stein Mart’s designer selection includes purses by Kate Spade, ties by Versace and dresses by Rachel Roy. “Typically she has grown children but still likes to dress up,” Hawkins said. Stein Mart, which was founded in 1902, has more than 260 locations throughout the country. The Jacksonville, Fla., company plans to open 10 stores this year, and another 15 in 2015. “We are scouring the Washington area,” Hawkins said. “We have brokers looking all over.” Off-price retailers such as Filene’s Basement and Loehmann’s have closed stores in recent years, as outlet malls, T.J. Maxx and other retailers edge out operators that have long relied on scooping up excess designer inventory. Stein Mart, however, seems to be faring well. The company posted an 8.9 percent increase in same-store sales in April. Last year, the retailer reported $1.26 billion in revenue, a 2.5 percent increase from the year before. “A key part of our sales growth strategy is to increase our store base in targeted markets,” Jay Stein, chief executive of Stein Mart, said in a statement.


Teens commit crime to ‘gain notoriety’ within a gang, Prince George’s police say

Correction: A man found dead along the Northwest Branch Trail in Langley Park on Saturday may have been fatally stabbed by three teenagers seeking to “gain notoriety” within a gang, authorities said Thursday. Police charged Nelson Rivera-Anaya, 15; Angel Contreras, 14; and a 13-year-old with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Akinleye Osafa Warner, 19, authorities said. Officials did not release the name of the 13-year-old, who by law cannot be charged as an adult. Two of the suspects are students at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi and the third is a former student there. Police said all three might have connections to the MS-13 gang. Warner’s father, Orin Warner, said his son was “a hard worker” who was studying criminal justice at Prince George’s County Community College. “He wanted to be somebody,” Orin Walker said. His son also planned to enlist in the military next year. “He wanted to make something of his life,” he said. Investigators think that Warner went to the park Saturday with three people he knew, including one who was there for a possible drug sale, police said. During the alleged transaction, Warner and the three people with him were assaulted. Police were called to a secluded section of the park, near 15th Avenue and Quebec Street, about 11:30 p.m. and found Warner suffering from multiple stab wounds, authorities said. Detectives do not think that Warner was associated with a gang or directly involved in the alleged drug sale, said Lt. William Alexander, a county police spokesman. But he added that police are “still investigating the nature of the relationships between all involved.” Police Capt. Jimmy Simms said that it is “very unusual” for juveniles to be charged in homicide cases but not unheard of. “It doesn’t happen very often,” said Simms, who is with the county’s homicide division. “While there’s satisfaction in bringing closure for a victim’s family, it is also very tragic for the families of the juveniles involved in the crime.” On Monday, shortly after learning that the suspects had a connection to Buck Lodge, police placed two officers at the school, according to Rex Barrett, the director of security services for the school system. The additional security will remain in place at the school, which is outfitted with cameras and electronic entry, until classes end next month. Nelson withdrew from Buck Lodge on April 4, according to school


Police arrest suspect in beating death on Capitol Hill

District police arrested a 42-year-old man Thursday in connection with the robbery and fatal beating of a man last week at a Capitol Hill convenience store, according to authorities. Zerrick Brown of Northwest Washington was charged with first-degree murder. He was arrested shortly after 1 p.m. by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. No motive was given. Police said Carlton Coltrane, 60, was attacked about 12:30 a.m. May 6 at a 7-Eleven in the 400 block of Eighth Street SE. It occurred at the north end of the Barracks Row strip of restaurants and bars, two blocks from the Eastern market Metro station. He died May 9 and his death was ruled a homicide. Police said the attack started inside the store and continued outside. Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail.


Foreign travelers stay plugged in

Imagine this scenario: You’ve discovered a pot of gold at the end of your driveway and can now afford your dream trip. You plan to visit Canada, Scandinavia, China, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and New Zealand. Question: Which will you need to pack more of — shoes or adapters? Answer: Shoes. You can’t scale the Great Wall in your tango heels, but you can use one plug in all those destinations. The world’s outlets have basically remained unchanged since homo sapiens first flipped the switch over a century ago. Socket meets plug; they hook up and create a spark. Travelers, meanwhile, have evolved. We no longer traipse around the globe weighted down by multiple adapters and converters. We have flown the nest of cords and plastic bits. The first accessory to go: the converter. Previously, travelers needed a converter to synchronize their single-voltage Made in America item (hair dryer, curling iron, etc.) with the foreign country’s high-wattage outlet. Without it, prepare for a potential meltdown. Today, most smart-gadgets and beauty products are dual-voltage and can handle a range of current strengths. “Almost all gadgets now run on 110-220 volts and can adapt to different kinds of voltage,” said Sascha Segan, PCMag.com’s lead mobile analyst, by e-mail from Seoul. “You can easily buy travel haircare devices that work on both voltages.” How do you know whether you need a converter? Check the manufacturer’s label. If the tag has a single voltage number (110 or 120 volts), you do; if you see a combined low/high number (120/240 volts or 100/240 volts) or digits of 200 or higher, you don’t. Unlike the converter, the adapter is essential, regardless of the device. The plastic nub bridges the design divide between the U.S. plug and the foreign socket. With it, you can use your three-pronged hair straightener in a two-holed outlet. Without it, you are stuck with curly hair in Paris or Bangkok. Adapters are sold in myriad forms. You can purchase singlets for a specific country (Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom) or a multi-destination model. The superhero of adapters is the four-in-one, a quartet of plugs that accommodates outlets in North America, continental Europe, the United Kingdom and the South Pacific/Australia. It covers about 150 countries, including some former colonial nations, such as Hong Kong, Zambia and Kenya, where the U.K. outlet still reigns. “India has a mix of European and South African plugs, and


Russian official’s threat to ban Twitter spurs quick backlash

about the state’s increasingly restrictive policies. Some mockingly warned Ksenzov not to use Twitter because it was giving U.S. intelligence agencies access to his personal data. But comments also came from the Kremlin, underscoring possible divisions over how best to enforce Russia’s new “blogger law,” or the possibility that Ksenzov was used to test the waters of a potentially unpopular policy move. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a self-described “active user of social networking sites,” wrote on his Facebook page that officials should “use their brain” before announcing the closure of a site. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told the pro-government Izvestia newspaper that “monitoring bodies” should avoid exploiting legal loopholes to persecute the media and social networking sites but that “social networking sites must show maximum responsibility on the subject of abiding by the laws.” Putin has moved increasingly to censor opposition voices in recent months, particularly online. Earlier this year, the state blocked several opposition and news Web sites. “Twitter and Facebook today are the main resources for alternative information,” said Oleg Kozyrev, a popular Russian blogger and media expert. “That’s why they just want to block them, so that people will not have alternative information.” One of the main narratives that the Kremlin seeks to control is that of the events playing out in eastern Ukraine, where Ukraine’s interim government has accused Russia of backing separatist militants in a bid to destabilize the nation. Each side has accused the other of propagating blatant lies over social media. Moscow’s moves to silence opposition at home also come at a time when tensions between Russia and the United States and Europe, amid the worsening crises in Ukraine and Syria, have reached the highest point since the Cold War. But at home, events in Ukraine have stoked a fresh tide of nationalism. Putin is enjoying his highest domestic approval rating in six years, according to state-run and independent polling groups. The pro-government All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion said Thursday that nearly 86 percent of Russians polled said they support Putin. The statistics are likely to have been inflated, but analysts say Putin’s popularity is running high, making this a potentially ideal moment to strengthen the state’s censorship of critics. “He has been able to polarize society,” Kozyrev said, “so the people who used to support him now support him more aggressively.” Natasha Abbakumova in Moscow contributed to this report.


Conservation aims to save endangered wolves

shot to death because many people thought of them as pests and competition for such food animals as elk and deer. Eventually, people realized that killing off wildlife harms our shared environment. In 1973, a law called the Endangered Species Act was enacted to protect animals and plants in danger of extinction. If not for this law, there would probably be no wild wolves (or other species such as grizzly bears and black-footed ferrets) left in the United States. Return of the wolves Thanks to conservation efforts and the resilience of the gray wolves themselves, populations have rebounded. In the United States, gray wolves can be found living in remote areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon, Michigan, Idaho, Montana and Washington state. In 2012, gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains were “delisted,” or removed from the list of endangered animals. But the southernmost subspecies of the gray wolf — the Mexican gray — remains very much endangered. “In the late 1960s there were only seven Mexican gray wolves left on the planet,” says wolf conservationist Maggie Howell. She’s the director of the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in South Salem, New York. (It’s a nice coincidence that her name is pronounced “howl.”) She says that today there are approximately 83 Mexican gray wolves in the wild in Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico. Conservation groups such as the WCC are working with the U.S. government to help further expand the population of Mexican gray wolves. One member of the species, a wolf labeled M1141, was born in captivity at the WCC on Earth Day 2008 and will be released in northern Mexico any day now. “This gorgeous New Yorker will be a wild Mexican gray wolf,” Howell says. “He’ll face challenges, but we’re hopeful that he and his mate will soon have a litter of wild-born pups.” As for Crystal and Coby, their life in captivity is more metropolitan than their wild cousins. Instead of hunting deer and moose, they nibble on kibble and a special wolf meatloaf served by caretakers. They also enjoy an occasional belly rub from their keepers. No matter what their lifestyle, Howell says, “all of these wolves are an important piece of Mother Nature’s puzzle.” — Kitson Jazynka Jazynka is the author of “National Geographic Kids Mission: Wolf Rescue,” the second in a series of books on how kids can help endangered species. Endangered species need


Intended showcase of clean-coal future hits snags

permitting hassles U.S. companies face), Fallows wrote that China had become a center for innovation. He deplored America’s failure to invest in new coal technology. Indeed, for years a proposed carbon capture and storage consortium called FutureGen, backed in part by federal funds, has failed to get off the ground. Fallows wrote: “China is where the world’s ‘doing’ now goes on, in this industry and many others. If you want to learn how the power plants of the future will work, you must go to Tianjin — or Shanghai, or Chengdu — to find out.” Duke Energy, one of the country’s largest utilities, did just that. It sent its chief technology officer, Dave Mohler, to China to join research projects with a Chinese power company, Huaneng, and the government’s Thermal Power Research Institute. Fallows called the institute’s director of technology, Xu Shisen, “a celebrity known for his advocacy of clean-coal projects.” Huaneng is the world’s second-largest power producer and the largest in China, three times bigger than any U.S. power producer. Four years later, Mohler has lost some of his enthusiasm. Xu had said he could assemble equipment and technology to capture carbon dioxide from a coal plant for $16 a ton, a figure Mohler marvelled at as “shockingly low.” So Mohler invited Xu to the United States to run the numbers on a Duke power plant in Gibson County, Ind. A detailed engineering study was done in late 2012. The result: Capturing CO2 would cost more than Xu’s estimate by a factor of more than four, Mohler says. “It turns out that $16 a ton is with Chinese materials, Chinese labor — and Chinese accounting,” Mohler says. Among other things, China’s state-owned enterprises have virtually free access to capital, which is one of the biggest costs for any carbon capture project. Southern’s plant uses a technology called “transport integrated gasification,” or TRIG, developed with KBR construction company and the Energy Department. It would turn low-quality coal into a gas before combustion. The advantage: The concentration of carbon dioxide is greater than it would be after combustion. Once the CO2 (along with ammonia and hydrogen sulfide) is removed in six towers, the remaining gas would fuel two generating units. Altogether, the above- ground steel pipe runs for 720,000 feet. But the cost of building such plants is steep. Now, companies wanting to learn how the power plants of the future


Big Bang backlash: BICEP2 discovery of gravity waves questioned by cosmologists

said Uros Seljak, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California at Berkeley. “We can’t tell if BICEP2 has measured dust or has measured gravity waves.” John Kovac, a Harvard astrophysicist and the principal investigator for BICEP2 — part of a larger collaboration among institutions from coast to coast — stands firmly behind his team’s findings. But he acknowledges that there are lingering uncertainties that will remain until new data is presented, likely this fall, by the European Space Agency’s Planck Space Telescope. “We are very confident that we have measured B-modes” — polarization of light that can be caused by gravity waves — “with high statistical significance in the sky, and we have looked at them in multiple ways. And the data suggest they are unlikely to be dominated by galactic foregrounds. That is not to say that there is not uncertainty about that,” Kovac said. Now everyone is waiting for the Planck results. The Planck telescope is scrutinizing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, a remnant of the moment when the young cosmos became transparent to light. BICEP2 looked at the radiation in a small patch of sky, but Planck is doing an all-sky survey in multiple frequencies and should produce excellent estimates of foreground effects such as dust. The big announcement March 17 thrilled the cosmology community. People stopped what they were doing to examine the results. Cosmic inflation had been discussed for more than three decades, but this would be the first strong evidence for it. Using a computer program that took five years to develop, a group of scientists from around the world, have unveiled the most realistic virtual universe ever created. “What inflation does is pull apart the fabric of space-time much faster than the speed of light,” said Princeton professor of physics Suzanne Staggs, part of a team studying the cosmic background radiation with a telescope in Chile. “It’s an amazing thing that quantum processes a moment after creation may have been stretched out by inflationary expansion and literally etched across space itself — stretched across the sky,” said Brian Greene, a Columbia University theorist who is not involved in the experiments. “If we are seeing that, it is an monumental moment.” All the more reason, he said, to ask the hard questions about the discovery, and “hit it with a sledgehammer and see if it survives.” The BICEP2 dust-up


Seeking a responsible balance between the sage grouse and other interests

Regarding the May 12 Environment article “In U.S. West, tense debate over sage grouse”: Efforts to protect the greater sage grouse do not have to pit environmentalists against ranchers, gold miners, energy producers and Western state governments. There is another way, one that involves all interests coming to the table to create balanced, proactive, science-based plans that conserve and manage our natural resources. The Bureau of Land Management is drafting 15 management plans to conserve and restore the greater sage grouse and its habitat on public lands in 10 states. The bird is considered an “umbrella species,” meaning the health of its population directly correlates to the health of animals that rely on the same sagebrush habitat, including mule deer, pronghorn antelope and hundreds of other species. As Interior Secretary Sally Jewell noted, the decision must follow the best available science, which can only aid the process. The BLM should work with Western governors and approve final plans that create a responsible balance, allowing continued access for hunters, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts and energy interests while protecting the priority habitat for the greater sage grouse and other wildlife that live on these public lands. Ken Rait, Portland, Ore. The writer is director for U.S. public lands at the Pew Charitable Trusts.


‘Right to Try’ laws spur debate over dying patients’ access to experimental drugs

simple prescription or “recommendation” from a doctor to access an unapproved treatment. The drugs involved also must have successfully completed an initial safety trial and moved to the next phase of development. It’s unclear how many drugmakers might be willing to make use of the state laws at the risk of angering federal regulators. But at least one company plans to take advantage of the new legislation in Colorado. Neuralstem Sascha Haverfield Ultimately, Haverfield said it’s incumbent on all stakeholders — drugmakers, doctors, the FDA and patients — to figure out the most efficient way to get drugs to those who most need them. But he said it’s also important not to undermine the clinical trial process, which can lead to FDA approval. Granting unwarranted expanded access requests not only places “an individual’s health ahead of the public’s health,” he said, but it also could undermine the regulatory process and hinder a company’s ability to make new drugs available to a broader patient population. For Amy Auden, of Lone Tree, Colo., the decision to publicly push for the new law in her state was deeply personal. Her husband, Nick, died in November after a two-year battle with melanoma. For much of last year, the family tried unsuccessfully to persuade Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck to give it access to a promising developmental drug for his cancer. “Given that there was something on this earth to help Nick, we needed to do everything in our power to try to get it,” said Auden, now a widowed mother of three. “Of course, there was a chance Nick would not have been in the 52 percent of people who are responding to the drug; however, a 52 percent chance at life is better than a zero percent chance at life.” With the new law, Auden said more families might at least have the hope that hers did not. “Not a day goes by where it doesn’t haunt me,” Auden said. “Those with serious illnesses should not have to fight the illness as well as fight for the right to gain access to lifesaving treatments.” More from The Washington Post: Once in limbo, promising Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug back on track toward approval ‘Mommy lobby’ emerges as a powerful advocate for medical marijuana for children Girl at center of fight to legalize cannabis oil dies at age 7 Crowdsourcing medical decisions: The Josh Hardy case


Flooding could force D.C.-area parks to close

Floodwaters may force some D.C.-area parks to close this weekend, according to the National Park Service, which is warning visitors to check park Web sites for the latest information. Though Saturday’s skies have been mostly clear, the region’s rivers are continuing to rise in the aftermath of record-breaking rain Thursday night and Friday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for much of the Washington area until 6 a.m. Monday morning, with water levels expected to peak around high tide late Saturday evening. Among the areas already closed are the tip of Hains Point as well as some boat ramps along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the popular Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac River. Some trails at the Monocacy National Battlefield are also closed. Paths near the Shenandoah River in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park have been inundated with river water, according to a photograph that park officials posted on Twitter on Saturday morning. The park remains open but has discontinued shuttle buses because of the flooding. Employees at restaurants along the Georgetown waterfront said that flood walls have been raised and the river is running high but that there have been no problems there.


New brain cells could be blanking out old memories, research on rodents suggests

remember as well. Adults generally fail to recall anything that occurred before age 3, and any memories from earlier than age 7 tend to be fuzzy — although children are clearly capable of making memories. But somehow, these experiences are wiped away quickly. Frankland and his wife, neuroscientist and study author Sheena Josselyn, have observed the fragile, fleeting memory of children in their own 5-year-old daughter. When she was 2 or 3, they would quiz her about, say, past trips to the zoo or to her grandmother’s house. If they asked within a day or two, she was very much able to recall the experiences. “It’s clear she can make these memories and tell us details about the trips,” he said. “But within a couple of months, if we ask about the zoo, it’s, ‘We didn’t go to the zoo. I don’t remember that.’ ” A study of 140 children revealed a similar phenomenon. The subjects were asked to describe their three earliest memories, with their parents confirming the details. When interviewed again after two years, the children who were initially between 4 and 7 years old spoke about completely different events during the follow-up, even after being given hints. Meanwhile, older children (10-13 years old) were more likely to recall their stories. Many studies have found that reducing neurogenesis in mice will impair their ability to learn. Frankland and his colleagues flipped this idea in their experiment, wanting to see how changing levels of neurogenesis affected a memory already in storage. The idea of neurogenesis dislodging old memories could explain forgetting in adulthood as well, since neural stem cells in the hippocampus remain active throughout life. However, the rate of growth slows considerably, so other mechanisms are likely to be at work. Memory comes in many forms — automatic procedural memories, such as riding a bike, or the short-term storage of working memory — and forgetting could be the same. One theory in psychology, called interference, states that memories too similar in nature compete and create distortions in recollection. For instance, confusing new and old telephone numbers, or having a fuzzier memory of “Oceans Eleven” as a result of watching the two sequels. Although inconvenient at times, forgetting in general does seem to be beneficial. Frankland believes the memory-storage capacity of the hippocampus can reach a saturation point — and then it’s time to clean house. “We know much


Abdullah Abullah, front-runner in Afghan presidential race, seeks to quell ethnic fears

Pashtuns remain uneasy because of Abdullah’s past. “We could still see a lot of problems between Pashtuns and non-Pashtuns, and it could be a big disaster,” said Waheed Mozhdah, a Kabul-based analyst and historian. Abdullah was born in Kabul, where he attended medical school and later became an eye doctor. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, he fled to Pakistan and joined the mujahideen. He became a close associate of Ahmed Shah Massoud, an ethnic Tajik who was a key commander in the Afghan resistance. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Abdullah was spokesman for the Defense Ministry under President Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik. During that time, Afghanistan slipped into civil war, with ethnic Tajiks fighting Pashtuns and Hazaras, another group. The battles wrecked parts of Kabul, creating a backlash among Pashtuns that translated into support for the newly formed Taliban. When the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996, Abdullah and others fled and formed the Northern Alliance. Its forces were accused of ransacking Pashtun homes and carrying out kidnappings in Kabul. Now, Arif said, Pashtuns worry that some of those leaders will gain positions of authority if Abdullah is elected. “He will not be able to control those same commanders, and the same trends of kidnapping, robbery, will increase,” Arif said. In an interview, Abdullah refused to talk about his history, but he said Arif’s comments were “extremely poisonous” and represented “distorted ideas of the past.” “The people of Afghanistan didn’t vote for a ‘Messenger of Death,’ ” Abdullah said. If he wins, however, even some of his supporters say he will face huge challenges in governing. After more than a decade of war, many Pashtuns say they are frustrated by raids by the Afghan and U.S. militaries they say unfairly target their communities. Abdullah has campaigned on rebuilding ties with the United States that he says have been damaged under Karzai. He vows to quickly sign a long-term security agreement that would permit a residual force of American troops to remain in Afghanistan after this year. Abdullah also is skeptical about reaching a negotiated settlement with the Taliban before the “rule of law” has been established in Afghanistan. “There should be negotiations from the position of strength,” he said. Such views worry some Pashtuns in remote southern and eastern Afghanistan, where support for the Taliban is greatest and security is poor. “The Taliban will


Digest

supercomputing U-Md. introduces ‘Deepthought2’ The University of Maryland showed off a new supercomputer last week that can process 300 trillion operations per second — the equivalent of about 1,000 laptops working together. The new high-performance machine, called Deepthought2, replaces Deepthought, which the university installed in 2006. Deepthought2 is about 10 times as fast as Deepthought, and has about 2,000 times the storage of an average laptop, according to the College Park school. Powered by technology from Dell, the supercomputer will be housed in Maryland’s new Cyberinfrastructure Center, a 9,000-square-foot data center in the university’s M Square Research Park in Riverdale Park, Md. The school aims to use the machine for tasks such as multi-level simulations, big data analysis, and large-scale computations, which previously had to be run on national supercomputers. — Mohana Ravindranath Internet Netflix’s share of Web traffic grows Netflix increased its share of fixed-line Web traffic in North America in the first half of 2014, accounting for 34 percent of data flowing to consumers during peak times, up from 32 percent in the latter half of 2013. That’s according to a new report from Sandvine, a Canadian networking services company. Sandvine also found that file-sharing — the main tool of content piracy — had fallen to 8.3 percent of all daily network traffic, compared with 31 percent in 2008, as legitimate options flourished. The report comes amid public feuding between Netflix and Internet service providers about who should pay for network improvements needed to maintain quality video streams. — Associated Press


Pedro & Vinny’s burrito cart plans expansion as food truck competition picks up

John Rider, owner of Pedro & Vinny’s burrito cart parked at 15th and K Streets NW. (Jeffrey MacMillan/Jeffrey MacMillan ) N And nearly every day, he has ordered the same thing: An onion tortilla with rice, black beans, pinto beans, guacamole, salsa and hot sauce. “It’s my favorite,” the 46-year-old said last week as he picked up his daily burrito. “I will never get tired of it.” Pedro & Vinny’s, the cart parked on the corner of 15th and K streets NW has for two decades relied on a steady stream of regulars to keep its operation in business. Now, following shifting District regulations, owner John Rider is preparing to expand, with plans to add at least three more burrito carts. Pedro & Vinny’s private brand mango habenero "Goose" sauce. (Jeffrey MacMillan/Jeffrey MacMillan) Rider’s business was bustling long before a new generation of food trucks took to the streets. He says the rise of vehicles doling out Korean tacos and Cuban sandwiches has helped create new opportunities for sidewalk vendors (which operate under a separate set of rules from food trucks). The popularity of food trucks has also given way to a new generation of mobile services: flower trucks, clothing trucks, even massage trucks that are waiting to be licensed by the District. “The fact that food trucks are so popular has made it easier to get into the truck business,” said Sai Souphom, 34, who started Saivita flower truck in December. “People understand the concept, and your customer reach is obviously wider” than in a brick-and-mortar store. In October, a new set of regulations began allowing businesses to apply for specific merchandise and service truck licenses. It also allowed authorized licensed vendors to operate up to five carts at a time (as opposed to one), and the rules established a monthly lottery system for trucks wanting to operate in the city’s most coveted spots — such as Farragut Square or Union Station. The new guidelines have created a series of new opportunities for vendors such as Rider, and have also helped bring some order to the often-contentious relationship between Washington’s food trucks and its established restaurants. “There were no rules in place,” said Kathy Etemad Hollinger, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. “We were very keen on making sure that the city did in fact establish a framework” for food trucks. A boom in food trucks Washington’s


Senators say work on 2020 Census is far behind schedule

So much congressional oversight involves Monday-morning quarterbacking. Members put on their perfect-vision rearview microscopes and drill agency executives and employees about something that went wrong. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are getting ahead of things. They are taking a proactive view of their oversight of the next census, which is still six years away. What they see worries them — a massive undertaking a year behind schedule. In a letter released Friday to Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson, Carper and Coburn, the chairman and top Republican, respectively, on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said they are “very concerned about the instability of the 2020 Census schedule including delays in research, field tests, and projects.” The Census Bureau did not respond to specific points in the letter from the senators, but Thompson said, “We greatly value their input and collaboration into our planning.” The two lawmakers list a series of issues they say could potentially threaten the population-counting effort if not resolved. The census temporarily swelled the government workforce by almost 1 million people for the 2010 operation. That number should be considerably lower in 2020 if technology plays the role that officials anticipate. “As you know, each decennial census is an enormous undertaking that requires thorough research and testing as well as investments in information technology and human capital,” the senators wrote. But the project is running well behind schedule, according to the senators. Delays resulted in “postponing the decision on the final design of the 2020 Census by a full year, until September 2015,” they wrote, drawing particular attention to the noncompletion of cost estimating that is needed to predict whether projects will be on budget. “If these problems persist . . . the execution of the census itself” could be affected, they warned. Carper and Coburn praised Census Bureau officials for starting their planning early this decade. But those plans were hurt by last year’s sequestration budget cuts and the 16-day partial government shutdown in October. Those disruptions continue to affect operations seven months later and “played a role in the decision to postpone or suspend some research and testing projects,” the senators said. “If not managed correctly, these problems can quickly balloon and become costly.” The 2020 Census promises to be the most technologically advanced ever. Residents will be able to participate online, which would reduce the number of employees


More flexiblility for Japan’s military?

LET’S SAY North Korea shoots a missile at a U.S. aircraft carrier, and Japan has the ability to knock the missile down before it strikes. Should it do so? The U.S. sailors aboard the carrier would certainly say yes. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe thinks so, too. But Mr. Abe says that, under current law and constitutional interpretation, Japan would be unable to act. He wants to change that. This strange state of affairs dates back to 1947 , when a defeated Japan, under U.S. occupation, adopted an unprecedented “peace” constitution. “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes,” the charter proclaimed. Within a few years, as the Cold War intensified and the United States sought to rebuild Japan as an ally against the Soviet threat, the constitution began to be reinterpreted. Japan now fields a “self-defense” force that is among the world’s most capable militaries. But Japanese courts and politicians have continued to hold that the force must confine itself literally to self-defense. Mr. Abe said last week The change, supported by the Obama administration, makes sense. But it needs to be accomplished with caution. Many Japanese — a majority, according to some polls — are dubious about the change; they are proud of the “peace constitution” and the special global role Japan has carved out as a kind of pacifist power. Japan’s neighbors, notably Korea and China, are nervous about the change, too. Given that both were victims of Japanese aggression in the last century, some trepidation is to be expected. Anxiety has been fueled by nationalist politicians and one-sided textbooks, especially in China, where a Communist autocracy nervous about its own legitimacy finds it useful to keep a potential enemy easily reachable on its propaganda shelf. But Mr. Abe has needlessly stoked those fears Read more from Opinions: The Post’s View: U.S. and Japan must seal the deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Tom Donilon: Obama is on the right course with his reorientation toward Asia Joseph Nye and Kevin Rudd: How to navigate the East China Sea dispute between Japan and China Ogata Sadako, Han Sung-Joo and Ezra F. Vogel: Japan and South Korea can work together to wash away the pains of the past


Steel company’s Russian ties complicate bid to change ‘Buy America’ provisions

any sanctions list, is chairman and owner of Novolipetsk Steel or NLMK, a top Russian steel producer. The company’s American subsidiary, NLMK USA, has facilities in Pennsylvania and Indiana and is one of the companies pushing for the revisions. “Why would you want to, through the legislative process — whether intended or unintended — do something for a Russian oligarch at a time like this?” asked Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a partnership between manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union. “It just doesn’t make sense.” NLMK and California Steel Industries have recently intensified their fight. The two companies paid Patton Boggs, the lobbying powerhouse, nearly $800,000 in 2013 and have spent $270,000 in the first quarter of 2014, about evenly split between them. In doing so, they have set their sights on several pieces of legislation moving through Congress. “Our ability to grow and compete depends on this,” said Robert Miller, president of NLMK USA. The key issue in the industry dispute isn’t the foreign ownership of NLMK or of CSI, which is jointly owned by Vale, a Brazilian mining company, and JFE Steel of Japan. Indeed, foreign investment has played a key role in rejuvenating the U.S. steel industry, and other Russian-owned companies, including Severstal, have plants in Michigan and Mississippi whose steel can be used in big-ticket government projects. The problem for NLMK and CSI is that they rely on roughly 20-ton imported slabs of steel that they reheat and convert into finished rolls of steel and other products. That means they don’t meet the standard, first used in a 1982 transportation bill, that has been interpreted by federal officials to require products that get government funding be made with steel that has been melted and poured in the United States. The companies’ latest effort— to insert favorable language in a water infrastructure bill that would fund ports and other projects — was unsuccessful. But the companies plan to keep pushing their case in the coming weeks as Congress considers two other big spending measures: One that had tougher Buy America standards added to it last year funds the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, and a massive surface transportation bill that provides billions of dollars to rebuild airports, bridges, railways and roads. House and Senate committees started working on the transportation bill this month. Attempts to influence the water infrastructure bill


Sports digest

try for the Triple Crown because of New York rules barring a nasal adhesive strip the colt has used in recent races. If California Chrome were to win the Belmont Stakes on June 7, he would capture the first Triple Crown in 36 years. The possibility that the charismatic horse will pull off the sport’s signature achievement has the racing world abuzz. For years, racing lovers have said the sport needs a superstar in the mold of Secretariat or Seattle Slew to mitigate declines in attendance and mainstream interest. California Chrome’s connections have seemed as excited at the possibility as anyone. But that didn’t stop trainer Art Sherman from raising doubts when asked about the New York policy. “Hey, we might have a little controversy here,” the 77-year-old Sherman said as he bantered with reporters outside Stall 40 at Pimlico Race Course just after 7 a.m. Sunday. Lee Park “If a request to use nasal strips is made, the decision on whether to permit them or not will be fully evaluated and determined by the stewards.” It wasn’t clear how serious Sherman was, and he did say he could not speak for the horse’s co-owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin. — Baltimore Sun COLLEGE LACROSSE The top-seeded Duke men’s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the eighth consecutive season following a 19-11 victory over unseeded Johns Hopkins in Newark, Del. The Blue Devils (15-3) dominated athletically against the Blue Jays (11-5). They had a 37-19 advantage in groundballs and led from the outset after an opening 6-0 run. In the second semifinal, No. 5 Denver defeated unseeded Drexel, 15-6. — Christian Swezey RUNNING More than 7,500 runners took part in the Marine Corps Historic Half Weekend of events, including the Semper Fred 5K, Historic 10K and Marine Corps Historic Half, in Fredericksburg. The 6,020 finishers in the Historic Half were the second most in the event’s seven-year history. Tim Young Stephanie Fulmer — Jacqueline Kantor MISC. Novak Djokovic In the women’s final, Serena Williams kept the crowd from being a factor in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 10th-seeded home favorite Sara Errani to win her third Rome title. Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka will miss the French Open because of a left foot injury. . . . Jamie McMurray Justin Gatlin Maya Moore Diana Taurasi Mike Magee Bradley Wiggins Don Meyer — From news services


Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy launches second annual monarch campaign

The season’s first official monarch butterfly sighting occurred just days ago — a distinctive pair of orange-and-black wings spotted fluttering in western Loudoun County, arriving just in time for the launch of an annual campaign that aims to help the threatened insects survive. Last year, the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s inaugural monarch butterfly campaign planted monarch “way stations” at schools and communities across the county and oversaw the release of about 2,500 monarch butterflies into the wild. This year, the program has even bigger ambitions, including greater outreach efforts, planting larger swaths of milkweed — plants that serve as breeding and feeding grounds for the butterflies — and bringing the fragile species to the attention of transportation and tourism officials. To kick off its second annual campaign, the group announced that it is hosting monarch way station planting events at Morven Park in Leesburg on Saturday and at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship in Purcellville on Sunday, said Nicole Hamilton, president of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. The way stations — gardens filled with milkweed and other nectar plants favored by the butterflies — will be the biggest so far, at about 2,500 square feet each, Hamilton said. “This is a new undertaking, and it’s going to be a lot of organizing and showing people how to plant,” Hamilton said. “But there has been even more interest from people. . . . There’s definitely a demand for more knowledge and information about monarchs and how people can help, so that has been exciting.” Monarch butterflies are perhaps best known for their remarkable annual migration from Mexico to the United States. But in recent years, a variety of factors — including scarce breeding grounds, shifting climate patterns and the illegal logging of forests in Mexico, where the insects overwinter — have devastated their population. With the use of herbicides and genetically modified crops making it increasingly difficult for monarchs to find the vegetation they need, wildlife advocates in Loudoun are determined to create havens for the vulnerable butterflies, Hamilton said. The organization also plans to help preserve existing milkweed growth along Loudoun’s roads and highways. “This year, I’m really hoping we’ll be able to take on work with” the Virginia Department of Transportation, Hamilton said. “Last year, there was an edict to mow the medians and roadsides, and that happened in mid-July, when the monarchs were at their peak development time.”


Former Va. senator James Webb says he’s considering presidential bid

Then-Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) on July 12, 2012 in Washington, D.C. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) Former Virginia senator James Webb, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in 2006 on the strength of his record as a combat veteran who opposed the Iraq War, said in a radio interview Monday that he is thinking about running for president. Appearing on the “Diane Rehm Show” on WAMU to discuss a newly published memoir, Webb, a prolific author, Vietnam veteran and former secretary of the Navy, said he is concerned about the direction of U.S. foreign policy and is looking for a way to reengage in the national debate. “My wife and I are just thinking about what to do next. I care a lot about where the country is, and we’ll be sorting that out,” he told guest host Susan Page when she asked whether he was considering a 2016 run. Noting that he did not decide to challenge then-incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen (Va.) in 2006 until nine months before the November election, he added, “It takes me a while to decide things. I’m not going to say one way or the other.” He said he was concerned that on foreign policy, the nation is now “bouncing from issue to issue without a clear articulation of what the national security interest of the United States actually is.” At the same time, he said, he is worried by the growing gap between the rich and poor, which he said could be addressed through better leadership in Washington. Webb’s comments took the political establishment in Virginia and beyond by surprise. Since declining to run for reelection to the Senate in 2012 after serving only a single term in office, Webb has largely disappeared from the political scene. He spent little time in office or since leaving it nurturing the kind of political connections that would be needed to run for president, particularly to challenge the kind of fundraising and organizing juggernaut that would be available to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. And Webb never relished the superficiality of the campaign trail, which he might find even more pronounced at the presidential level than in the Senate. Still, Webb, 68, is considered an especially independent-minded maverick. He served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan before running for the Senate as a Democrat. A highly decorated former Marine, he exchanged sharp


Coordinating CDC’s emergency response to the deadly MERS virus

(courtesy of Dr. Lyn Finelli) When the alarm sounded earlier this month about the possibility of the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) emergency response system quickly swung into action. Led by Dr. David Swerdlow, the CDC sent a team to Indiana for an on-site investigation, confirmed the laboratory test results, worked with the hospital to make sure the sick patient was in isolation, helped identify and contact more than 500 people who might have been exposed to the patient on flights, a bus trip and elsewhere, and made sure more than 50 at-risk health care workers were quarantined. The CDC also issued numerous alerts to the public health community. A second case of MERS subsequently was confirmed in Orange County, Florida, and the CDC followed the same script. “We are as prepared as we can be,’’ said Swerdlow. “This is a very infectious and dangerous disease.” That preparation began some 18 months earlier after the first cases of MERS were reported in Saudi Arabia, and when other cases began to appear in the Middle East. This raised concerns about the global spread of an illness with a high fatality rate and no known treatment. MERS attacks the respiratory system, can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure and comes with symptoms which include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Who is David Swerdlow? POSITION: Incident Manager of Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) MERS Coronavirus Response, and CDC Associate Director for Science, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. RESIDENCE: Atlanta, Ga. AGE: 55 EDUCATION: University of California, San Diego, B.A.; Harvard Medical School, M.D AWARDS: U. S. Public Health Service outstanding citation in 2013 for the response to influenza A infections with pandemic potential; in 2012 for providing significant relief to citizens of Haiti following one of the largest cholera outbreaks in history; and in 2011 for exemplary performance to provide public health support for the U.S. Botulism Treatment Program. He received the 2011 and 2010 National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Awards of Excellence and the 2010 Charles C. Shepard Award for Excellence in Scientific Achievement. HOBBIES:Photography, bicycling and traveling Swerdlow said his team initially set up an emergency operations center in the fall of 2012, developed laboratory tests to identify MERS and provided guidance to the medical community on the symptoms and treatment


fatality rate and no known treatment. MERS attacks the respiratory system, can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure and comes with symptoms which include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Who is David Swerdlow? POSITION: Incident Manager of Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) MERS Coronavirus Response, and CDC Associate Director for Science, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. RESIDENCE: Atlanta, Ga. AGE: 55 EDUCATION: University of California, San Diego, B.A.; Harvard Medical School, M.D AWARDS: U. S. Public Health Service outstanding citation in 2013 for the response to influenza A infections with pandemic potential; in 2012 for providing significant relief to citizens of Haiti following one of the largest cholera outbreaks in history; and in 2011 for exemplary performance to provide public health support for the U.S. Botulism Treatment Program. He received the 2011 and 2010 National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Awards of Excellence and the 2010 Charles C. Shepard Award for Excellence in Scientific Achievement. HOBBIES:Photography, bicycling and traveling Swerdlow said his team initially set up an emergency operations center in the fall of 2012, developed laboratory tests to identify MERS and provided guidance to the medical community on the symptoms and treatment options. The CDC also developed and disseminated information on how to find and notify those who may have been exposed, the ways to protect those at risk and how to conduct good infection control. The playbook for this operation, Swerdlow said, came from the CDC’s experience in 2003 with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another viral respiratory illness that caused more than 8,273 illnesses and 775 deaths reported worldwide. “We recognized the lessons from the SARS outbreak were really important,” said Swerdlow. “We spent a lot of time preparing for possible cases of MERS when we didn’t have a case. We feel very satisfied that all the effort we put into this to prepare was very valuable and now has paid off.” The patient in Indiana, a healthcare worker employed in Saudi Arabia, has since recovered and was released from the hospital, but Swerdlow said the CDC remains vigilant. The second patient is also a healthcare worker from Saudi Arabia who arrived in the U.S. on May 1 and entered the hospital on May 8. A third case involved a resident in Illinois who had close contact with a patient in Indiana. The Illinois resident did not seek or require


CIA: No more vaccination campaigns in spy operations

of the deans, Lynn Goldman of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, said she was pleased the White House took their concerns seriously. “People involved as vaccination workers need to be able to do their work safely. They need to be protected by all people globally,” she said. Referring to the CIA pledge, she said: “I think this is a very important commitment. All we can do is hope they will honor that commitment.” - Response Letter to Deans Read it. “The clearer the delineation that exists between the intelligence and humanitarian operations, the better,” said Sam Worthington, chief executive of InterAction, a Washington-based coalition of relief and development organizations. In many ways, “the damage already exists,” he said. “We need unequivocal understanding that there will not be the use of vaccination or any humanitarian intervention [in the guise of intelligence], as it puts the lives of both humanitarians and those they serve at risk.” Afridi was not an employeeof a humanitarian organization, but humanitarian organizations were suspected of being involved in intelligence after revelations about Afridi and the bin Laden raid. “That is exactly the type of thing we deny, and we do not want to be associated with any of this going forward,” Worthington said. Local health officials in Pakistan have said the incident caused Pakistanis to start hating the polio teams. It has become extremely challenging, Worthington said, to eradicate the crippling disease, especially in areas controlled by insurgents, where neutrality and clear focus on the disease are key. The WHO said current polio outbreaks across at least 10 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are an “extraordinary event” that requires a coordinated international response. It identified Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon as having allowed the virus to spread beyond their borders and recommended that those governments require citizens to obtain a certificate proving they have been vaccinated for polio before traveling abroad. Asked why it took 16 months for the White House to respond to the deans, a senior administration official said the government rarely discusses intelligence matters. “But this was a unique case that required deliberate thought and review on our end before we made such a statement publicly,” the official said. More from The Washington Post: Post’s View: Wild polio prompts WHO emergency MERS is serious but is not yet a global health crisis CDC reports biggest measles


Public Health at George Washington University, said she was pleased the White House took their concerns seriously. “People involved as vaccination workers need to be able to do their work safely. They need to be protected by all people globally,” she said. Referring to the CIA pledge, she said: “I think this is a very important commitment. All we can do is hope they will honor that commitment.” - Response Letter to Deans Read it. “The clearer the delineation that exists between the intelligence and humanitarian operations, the better,” said Sam Worthington, chief executive of InterAction, a Washington-based coalition of relief and development organizations. In many ways, “the damage already exists,” he said. “We need unequivocal understanding that there will not be the use of vaccination or any humanitarian intervention [in the guise of intelligence], as it puts the lives of both humanitarians and those they serve at risk.” Afridi was not an employeeof a humanitarian organization, but humanitarian organizations were suspected of being involved in intelligence after revelations about Afridi and the bin Laden raid. “That is exactly the type of thing we deny, and we do not want to be associated with any of this going forward,” Worthington said. Local health officials in Pakistan have said the incident caused Pakistanis to start hating the polio teams. It has become extremely challenging, Worthington said, to eradicate the crippling disease, especially in areas controlled by insurgents, where neutrality and clear focus on the disease are key. The WHO said current polio outbreaks across at least 10 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East are an “extraordinary event” that requires a coordinated international response. It identified Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon as having allowed the virus to spread beyond their borders and recommended that those governments require citizens to obtain a certificate proving they have been vaccinated for polio before traveling abroad. Asked why it took 16 months for the White House to respond to the deans, a senior administration official said the government rarely discusses intelligence matters. “But this was a unique case that required deliberate thought and review on our end before we made such a statement publicly,” the official said. More from The Washington Post: Post’s View: Wild polio prompts WHO emergency MERS is serious but is not yet a global health crisis CDC reports biggest measles outbreak since 1996 New global initiative to prevent infectious disease threats


Chinese hackers targeted business partners as well as rivals, indictment alleges

Attorney General Eric Holder formally announced the U.S. plan to bring charges against members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for hacking into the computers of six organizations in western Pennsylvania. In early February, Alcoa announced a “strategic partnership” with the Chinese state-owned aluminum company, Chinalco, in which the two would team up to buy $14 billion worth of shares in mining giant Rio Tinto. The purchase was designed to block a takeover of Rio Tinto by BHP, another mining firm, a merger that would have created a daunting competitor for the Chinese and American companies. To buy the shares, Alcoa and Chinalco formed a joint venture called Shining Prospect, and analysts said the outlook for further cooperation looked bright. But about three weeks later, a Chinese military officer, Sun Kailiang, allegedly launched a spear-phishing campaign that targeted 10 senior Alcoa employees by using a fake e-mail account impersonating a member of Alcoa’s board of directors. Once opened, the e-mail installed malware on the employees’ computers. And around June, at least 2,907 Alcoa e-mail messages and attachments, including messages among senior executives discussing the partnership, were stolen. The intrigue surrounding the Alcoa and Chinalco strategic partnership was revealed as part of the Justice Department’s indictment of five members of the Chinese military on charges of hacking computers and stealing valuable trade secrets from firms involved in making aluminum, steel, solar panels and nuclear power plants. But to most American companies, such spying comes as no revelation. High-level executives at U.S. firms frequently complain that they are targeted whether they are bickering with their Chinese counterparts or, at least on the surface, acting in concert. The Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima breaks down the significance of the Justice Department’s decision to charge the Chinese military with cyber-espionage against American companies. “The Chinese want to know everything,” said Henry Sokolski, a nuclear expert and executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. “What they can’t buy, they steal,” he said, noting that other countries have done similar things. Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that “the U.S. has been vigorous and vehement about drawing a clear distinction between espionage, cyber-intrusions for purposes of national security and for commercial advantage.” “I think that’s a distinction that the Chinese don’t make . . . because to them the competitive health of their firms, especially the big state-owned enterprises, is part of


Local digest: A local digest of D.C. area news briefs

offering a reward of up to $25,000. Anyone with information can call 202-727-9099. — Dana Hedgpeth 2nd suspect arrested in fatal beating D.C. police said they arrested Monday a second suspect in the May 6 death of a 60-year-old man who was robbed and beaten in a strip of restaurants and taverns on Barracks Row in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Earl Patrick, 48, of Southwest Washington was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Carlton Coltrane of Southeast. A court hearing had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon. Police said Patrick was arrested about 7:15 a.m. by members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force. Zerrick Brown, 42, of Northwest is also charged with first-degree murder in the death of Coltrane, who police said was attacked about 12:50 a.m. at a 7-Eleven store in the 400 block of Eighth Street SE, about two blocks from the Eastern Market Metro station. Brown was arrested Thursday. He has been ordered held in jail until a preliminary hearing set for June 10. — Monica Norton virginia Centreville man dies of stab wounds A 20-year-old Centreville man has died of stab wounds suffered during an altercation Saturday night, Fairfax County police said. Domingo Eduardo Santiago Cuchil was found lying on a sidewalk in the 14400 block of Golden Oak Road in Centerville about 11 p.m. Saturday by police investigating a report of an assault with a weapon, authorities said. Cuchil was taken to a hospital, where he was apronounced dead Sunday, authorities said. Police said officers were told that another injured man was in a nearby home in the 14400 block of Cool Oak Lane. The 31-year-old Centreville man was treated and released from the hospital. Lucy Caldwell, a police spokeswoman, said investigators do not consider the assault gang-related. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477. — Justin Jouvenal Death of nurse under investigation A 58-year-old woman who worked as a nurse at MedStar Washington Hospital Center was fund dead at her home in Spotsylvania County, and authorities said they are investigating the matter as a homicide. Nancy Mercer was found late Sunday on the floor of her home on Eastridge Way, the county sheriff’s office said. The street is in the Fredericksburg area. Authorities were called about 11:40 p.m. Sunday and asked to check on her because she had not reported for work. — Martin Weil


U.S. applies sanctions against 10 more Russians in Magnitsky case

The Obama administration on Tuesday accused Russian doctors, prison officials and others of complicity in the death of a lawyer whose case has come to symbolize human rights abuses in Russia, reversing course after earlier declining to apply new sanctions for fear of angering the Kremlin. Ten Russians will have any U.S. assets seized and are banned from traveling to the United States for their role in the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, its aftermath, or the corruption he was investigating when imprisoned, the State Department said. Two others were cited for “gross human rights violations” unrelated to Magnitsky’s death in prison. Both were allegedly involved in the targeted killings of activists or journalists. Russia has seethed over a 2012 law requiring the Obama administration to identify and sanction people found to have a hand in Magnitsky’s death or what the United States has described as a posthumous show trial. Magnitsky, 37, was allegedly beaten and mistreated in prison after exposing what he said was large-scale official corruption in 2008. In response, the Russian government quickly passed its own human rights blacklist The Obama administration initially placed 18 Russians on the Magnitsky sanctions list, but angered the law’s congressional sponsors by declining to add to that list by a December 2013 deadline. “Releasing a name on the Magnitsky list is a serious undertaking with legal ramifications, and as such, takes time,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said when asked about the timing of the new announcement. The administration is seeking Russian diplomatic support on a host of international issues. Relations with Russia were sliding in December over the worsening political crisis in Ukraine, and officials have conceded quietly that further designations were put on hold to try to avoid further damage. Six months later, the standoff with Moscow is much worse, and the administration saw no benefit in withholding the Magnitsky designations, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations. Action under the Magnitsky law is separate from that taken against Russians and Ukrainians for their alleged roles in violence and corruption in Ukraine. The Treasury Department said those affected Tuesday include three prison doctors who allegedly withheld medical care from Magnitsky, the director of the prison where he died and the judge who oversaw his posthumous trial.


Carolyn Hax: Neighborhood green space pits gardeners against parents

that you (since you’re the one asking) need to be extra, extra careful to set an example of flexibility and calm. That chiefly means not digging in (uhhh!) on the current preference for foliage over families. If the plantings aren’t kid-hardy, then maybe it’s time for tougher plantings instead of tougher boundaries for the kids. Yes, I can hear the great sucking in of breath over kids’ crossing a busy street to play and/or not respecting flowerbeds. The only relevant opinions on safety, though, are of the people who live, drive, plant and reproduce there — and the relevant opinions on landscaping are everyone’s, not just the volunteers’. So, talk. Warn the gardeners, though, that they vie for the last word at their peril. With community property, you all have equal say, but with kids, the parents get the last word, so who’s rightest, safest, greenest, volunteeriest, or best validated by property values is trumped by the parents’ prerogative. If they want their kids to play on the island, there’s not much you can do about it but complain your way to a rift. Or, again, show some village leadership. Express your fears of an accident; enlist all parties to work toward mutual, inclusive goals; kumbaya your way toward a safe, durable place to play that’s also kempt and green. Assure any obstructionists that, as it happens, when neighborhoods are both lively and well-tended, their value tends to spike. To my fellow childless women, via Carolyn: I know most us have suffered the annoyances of someone asking (some would say nagging) when we would have children. I’m here to report that it can actually get worse. My gynecologist asks me at every annual appointment if I’m going to try to get pregnant this year. This time, she took it a step further by lecturing me in the middle of my exam. “You know, most women’s fertility really starts to drop by age 35.” I noted I’m not even 30. “Well, most women want multiple children” — all as she has her hands in incredibly intimate parts of my body. So, the next time Grandma Smith prods you on having a baby, just remember: It really could be worse. Anonymous It can also get better: Write to Carolyn Hax , Style, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, or tellme@washpost.com. Get her column delivered to your inbox each morning at http://bit.ly/haxpost.


Local digest: A roundup of D.C. area news briefs

maryland Six teens injured in Anne Arundel crash Six teenagers were injured early Tuesday in a car crash in the Edgewater area of Anne Arundel County, county police said. Police said the driver, an 18-year-old woman, lost control of the car about 12:30 a.m. on Central Avenue near Loch Haven Road. The vehicle skidded, spun 180 degrees, went into a ditch and overturned, coming to rest on its roof, police said. After the crash, the driver was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment of injuries that authorities described as serious but not life-threatening. Authorities said the five other teens in the car suffered injuries that did not appear life-threatening. A front-seat passenger, a 14-year-old boy from Edgewater, was trapped in the vehicle and had to be freed by the fire department, police said. — Martin Weil Possible drowning in Montgomery Montgomery County police are investigating the death of a person whose body was found Tuesday morning in a pond in Gaithersburg, officials said. Police were notified just before 10 a.m. of a possible drowning near the intersection of Montgomery Village and Russell avenues, said Angela Cruz, a police spokeswoman. More details are expected to be released as the investigation continues. — Dan Morse VIRGINIA Former Inova official is accused of theft A former head of security at Inova Alexandria Hospital is accused of abusing a company credit card to embezzle thousands of dollars. Gavin Latney, 51, was the hospital’s director of safety and security from 2010 to this year, according to an affidavit filed in Alexandria Circuit Court. On April 8, the affidavit says, the hospital’s chief financial officer, Todd Lockcuff, told Alexandria police that Latney had embezzled $50,000 by using a hospital Bank of America card for personal purchases. Latney was arraigned Friday on one count of felony embezzlement, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Latney’s attorney and Inova did not immediately respond to requests for comment. — Rachel Weiner


World Digest: May 20, 2014

FRANCE Lab shut after loss of SARS virus samples French medical authorities have ordered a prestigious laboratory to suspend its activities after it lost more than 2,000 test tubes containing the SARS respiratory virus. The Pasteur Institute reported the tubes missing last month from one of its labs but insisted that the tubes do not pose any infection risk. It asked the ANSM medical safety agency to carry out inspections at the lab. ANSM chief inspector Gaetan Rudant said Tuesday that his team did not find the tubes but did find “dysfunction” in the way the lab tracked its material. The ANSM ordered a suspension of the lab’s activities and a “tube-by-tube” inventory of all material at the Pasteur Institute. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, infected about 8,000 people in 2003, killing nearly 800. — Associated Press YEMEN 27 killed in clashes in restive northwest Clashes between Shiite northern rebels, ultraconservative Sunni tribesmen and government troops killed 27 in Yemen’s restive northwest, security officials and tribesmen said Tuesday. The officials said troops bombed al-Makhath, a village in northwestern Amran province, after clashes erupted between the Houthi rebels and the ultraconservative Sunni tribesmen. The officials and tribesmen said 15 Houthi rebels, seven Sunnis and five troops, including an officer, were killed. The security officials said the rebels seized a military base in the area. A six-year insurgency in the north led by the Houthi tribe officially ended in 2010. But the group has recently clashed with Sunni ultraconservatives. The Houthis accuse the Sunnis of trying to spread their school of thought in Houthi strongholds. — Associated Press Moscow court convicts 5 in journalist’s killing Briton convicted on terror charges related to Syria: Vaz wins Guinea-Bissau presidential runoff: Attacks kill 13 in Iraq: Video prompts look at killing of Palestinian teens: Italy rescues 500 migrants: — From news services


Number of older Americans lacking access to safe, affordable food is rising, study finds

The percentage of older Americans facing the threat of hunger is rising, according to a new report released Wednesday by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger. Of Americans age 60 and older, 15.3 percent, or 9.3 million, face the threat of hunger, defined as lacking access to safe, affordable food at all times. Food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes among older people. Since the onset of the recession in 2007 until 2012, the latest year figures were available, the percentage of seniors experiencing the threat of hunger increased 28 percent. The number of Americans 60 and older during that period rose from 51.6 million to 60.4 million, or 17 percent. The highest incidence of older Americans facing the threat of hunger was in the South and Southwest, among racial and ethnic minorities, and among those with lower incomes. People in their 60s were at greater risk than older respondents, according to the report, which used statistics from the 2012 Current Population Survey conducted by the Census Bureau. In their early 60s, many people “are kind of transitioning from work into retirement, and . . . may not have access to the health safety net,” said James Ziliak, director of the University of Kentucky’s Center for Poverty Research and a co-author of the report. “So some of the folks may face this trade-off between paying for prescription drugs versus feeding themselves.” The rate was more than twice as high among people with grandchildren living with them, which Ziliak said is likely due to grandparents who are heads of the household being placed under greater financial strain than those with no grandchildren at home. State to state, the highest percentage was in Arkansas, at 25.4 percent, and the lowest was in Minnesota, at 8.1 percent. Virginia had 11.95 percent, up from 8.4 percent the previous year, and the District had 15.2, up from 12.1 percent the previous year. Maryland stayed almost level during that period, rising from 13.5 to 13.9 percent.


National Zoo’s new elephants on 2,400-mile truck journey from Canada

it was closing its elephant exhibit because of its cold climate, its inability to expand and its desire to give its elephants the benefits of living in larger herds. In June, the Calgary Zoo, part of which sits on an island in the Bow River, was devastated by flooding. Two hippos almost escaped. The elephants stood in two feet of water, and the zoo suffered $50 million in damage. The decision to relocate its elephants had been made before the flood, officials have said. The newest arrivals are Kamala, 39, Swarna, 39, and Maharani, 23, Kamala’s daughter. “The girls” were coaxed into three traveling containers Tuesday afternoon, said Calgary Zoo spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder. Each container was then lifted with a construction crane onto one of the trucks for the journey. Two containers were carried on one truck. Police escorted the convoy out of town. The Canadians will join the National Zoo’s other females, Bozie, 38, Ambika, 66 — the second oldest Asian elephant in the country — and Shanthi, 39. The zoo also has a male, Kandula, 12. The Calgary Zoo said last year that it will retain ownership of its elephants “for a period of time to ensure that their long-term needs continue to be met.” But National Zoo Director Dennis Kelly said the transfer is likely to later become permanent. “Calgary has no intention of taking them back,” he said last year. David Rubenstein, the local philanthropist who has been a major National Zoo benefactor and recently helped pay for the Washington Monument earthquake repair, is providing $2 million for the transfer, officials said. That will pay for, among other things: transportation, keepers’ travel, veterinary assessment and upgrades to the facility to accommodate the new tenants. The arrival of the new elephants is the latest step in the National Zoo’s push to become a state-of-the-art center for elephant research and home to a large Asian elephant herd. Asian elephants are endangered. “It is completely in line with our strategic and scientific plan to grow a long-term, stable, matriarchal herd,” Kelly said last year. “We’ll see some aspects of this herd at the National Zoo 100 years from now.” In March 2013, the zoo opened a new elephant community center, which resembles a sunny, indoor elephant sandbox. It was the second phase of the zoo’s $56 million Elephant Trails exhibit. The first part, which included a 5,700-square-foot barn, two