Mo’ne Davis is out of Little League World Series, and women’s sports are shoved from spotlight

sports are less worthy and valuable. Mary Jo Kane, director of the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, believes all of this analysis is “completely misguided” because it obscures the fact that scores of women regularly outperform men physically in all kinds of ways. A relentless focus on muscle ignores that great performance is as much about head and heart, and perpetuates artificial barriers to female improvement, such as red tees and three-set tennis matches. “Sex segregation in sports doesn’t protect women so much as it protects men,” Kane claims. The smarter approach is to look at all male and female performance on a continuum, Kane argues. A marathon is a perfect example. Men and women race together in the same sport, on the same day, at the same time. “But we artificially construct two separate races and make a gender comparison between the first-place man, and the first-place woman,” she said. “So even though this woman has actually outperformed the vast majority of men, the punch line, because we’re seeing it as a binary rather than a continuum, is, ‘No matter how good a woman is, she can’t beat the best man.’ ” For instance: In the 2013 Twin Cities Marathon, 4,924 men finished the race. The top women’s runner placed 45th overall among them. You can look at that in two ways. On the one hand, she trailed 44 men. On the other, she outran 4,879 others. Why do we focus so relentlessly on the former rather than the latter? “She just beat several thousand men,” Kane said. “If you add that, the punch line now becomes, ‘Some women can beat most men.’ Why is it we glorify the first comparison and completely erase the other one? And that’s the point.” For a few brief days, Mo’ne Davis caused some powerful men to think in a different way about sport, to see exciting new potential in a little girl. She was so viscerally striking that she shifted their perceptions of female capacities. Maybe that will lead them in turn to another visceral perception: of how much female aspiration gets suffocated daily by the inevitable narrowing of access, opportunity and attention, and the small, deadening, devaluing assumption that because her body isn’t as big as a man’s, her talent, by definition, can’t be as important. For more by Sally Jenkins, visit washingtonpost.com/jenkins.


In Syria, freelancers like James Foley cover a dangerous war zone with no front lines

militants, has created a new type of conflict reporting, because the front lines are everywhere — and nowhere. It’s more dangerous on the ground because of this. News organizations know this, and many are not sending reporters to these conflict areas. They are relying more on freelancers, not only because of the danger but also because so many foreign bureaus have been closed. From 2003 to 2010, the number of foreign correspondents employed by newspapers and wire services fell from 307 to 234, including contract writers such as freelancers, according to a 2011 study from the American Journalism Review . And between 1998 and 2010, 20 newspapers and media companies closed their foreign bureaus. Being careful today may mean being confined to a very small theater of operations — or avoiding the risk altogether. The cost of taking risks is real, as Jim’s death so painfully reminds us. As a professor who also runs the Washington Program of the Medill School of Journalism, I taught Jim five days a week for three months when he was a graduate student reporting on national security issues in the fall of 2007. Teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but some students leave a lasting impression. Jim, who was in his 30s and older than most of the others, with a teaching career behind him, was a serious student. He knew exactly what he wanted to do by the time he got to Washington: cover wars around the world, starting with Afghanistan and Iraq. He was quiet, but his passion for foreign reporting was clear, and he worked hard at Medill to prepare himself. In Medill’s Chicago newsroom, he demonstrated an ability to get tough stories. One told of a playground being built next to a factory with a history of environmental violations. In Washington he took on the national security beat, writing about military recruitment and retention problems, including a piece on the top recruiter for the Army National Guard, who happened to be in Fort Wayne, Ind. That contact helped him later embed with the Indiana National Guard in Iraq. He also enrolled in my class on conflicts, terrorism and national security. The conflicts class gave Jim some basics on how to operate in dangerous areas, and after graduating he took further hazardous-environment training, which teaches journalists how to assess and cope with risks around them. He and I talked about the


Why Arlington joined the battle against climate change

We have only one planet. While U.S. cities and counties have taken the initiative to respond to climate change, the federal government must lead. Arlington adopted a transformative Community Energy Plan in 2013 after four years of broad community discussion and rigorous research. The plan sets an ambitious goal of reducing Arlington’s greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2050. That will enhance our competitiveness and protect the environment. Yet we look to our state and federal government for support and leadership. Fortunately, President Obama understands that and is unwilling to defer to a dysfunctional Congress. In a bold move that will safeguard the health and safety of our children and future generations, the Obama administration has unveiled the Clean Power Plan, delivering on its promise to address the primary cause of climate change: carbon pollution from power plants. Power plants are responsible for nearly 40 percent of carbon pollution in the United States. We already limit arsenic, soot and other dangerous pollutants. Why not carbon? The Clean Power Plan will cut carbon pollution by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The Environmental Protection Agency projects its plan could prevent up to 6,600 premature deaths, up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children and up to 490,000 missed work and school days by 2030. It also could prevent 3,300 heart attacks and up to 2,800 hospital admissions. These are real numbers — and real people. States will be given the flexibility they need to reach their goals for reducing carbon pollution, empowering them to choose from various strategies from energy efficiency to investments in clean energy. The plan will ensure that we never have to choose between clean air and a strong economy. It will drive innovation in clean energy sources, grow our economy and create jobs. The EPA estimates that the plan will provide public health and climate benefits worth $55 billion to $93 billion per year by 2030, far outweighing the costs. I am tired of climate deniers. The immediate need to address carbon pollution is rooted in strong scientific evidence. Scientists are about as certain that climate change is a real and man-made threat as they are that cigarettes kill. The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change made it clear, once again, that more than 97 percent of all climate scientists worldwide agree that climate change is happening, is serious and needs to


Nigeria confirms two more Ebola cases

of 213 people in Nigeria are being closely watched for any signs of the disease. They are confined to their homes and subject to daily checkups from health teams. Their families have been briefed extensively on how to recognize symptoms and avoid transmission. Three Ebola survivors from Liberia were interviewed by the World Health Organization on July 17, 2014. They describe their symptoms, who they contracted the disease from and their paths to recovery. Sixty-seven people who were under surveillance have undergone the 21-day waiting period and been cleared as disease-free. The outbreak has mostly been confined to Lagos, a city of 21 million people. A nurse who treated Sawyer fled surveillance in Lagos to be with her husband in southeastern Enugu state; now six people with whom she had contact are under surveillance as well. The nurse is one of four people currently in isolation in Lagos. Nigeria’s outbreak stoked fears that Ebola could be spread by air travel. Major carriers, including British Airways and Emirates, canceled flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone, the countries with the most Ebola cases. “The joke in Nigeria is, ‘Ebola isn’t airborne, but it came into Nigeria by air,’ ” said Chukwu, emphasizing that Nigeria was not closing its borders or restricting travel. The World Health Organization advises against any ban on travel or trade, warning that restrictions will result in food and fuel shortages and undermine response efforts. Despite that, countries that serve as major travel hubs throughout the continent, including Senegal, Kenya and South Africa, have barred travelers from the countries hardest hit by the epidemic: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Nigeria is ramping up its monitoring of airline passengers to detect any with higher-than-normal temperatures and is requiring travelers to fill out questionnaires on the details of their trips. “We’ve not closed borders, but we are actively screening,” Chukwu said. “People are happy with this — they know government is doing something to protect them.” At a news conference in the Liberian capital of Monrovia on Friday, the United Nations and the WHO announced plans to increase sharply the response to the epidemic that has claimed 1,350 lives. Karin Landgren, special representative of the U.N. secretary-general and coordinator of U.N. operations in Liberia, discussed a 15-year-old boy who was shot by security forces during clashes around the quarantined Monrovia neighborhood of West Point. She said that the Liberian


SpaceX rocket blows up over Texas

SpaceX said on Friday that one of its test rockets blew itself up in Texas after an anomaly was detected. There were no reported injuries. A new test rocket manufactured by Elon Musk’s upstart space company, SpaceX, blew itself up a few hundred feet over the Texas prairie after a malfunction was detected, the company said in a statement Friday evening. At its facility in McGregor, Tex., the company was testing a three-engine version of the F9R test vehicle, the successor to its reusable Grasshopper rocket, which was designed to launch and then land on the same site. “During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission,” company spokesman John Taylor said in the statement. The rocket never veered off course, and there were no injuries or near injuries, the statement said. A representative from the Federal Aviation Administration was on site during the test flight. The company stressed that rooting out problems like the one exposed in the flight is the purpose of the test program and said Friday’s test “was particularly complex, pushing the limits of the vehicle further than any previous test. As is our practice, the company will be reviewing the flight record details to learn more about the performance of the vehicle prior to our next test.” The explosion comes as the company is fighting to gain a share of the market to launch national security satellites into orbit. This year, SpaceX sued the Air Force, arguing that it should be able to compete for the launches against United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin. SpaceX also is competing for a NASA contract to launch astronauts to the International Space Station. It is unclear whether the explosion would have any affect on the awarding of that contract. NASA officials declined to comment. The California-based firm was the first commercial enterprise to send cargo to the space station. A video posted on the Web site of Texas news station KWTX shows what appears to be the rocket taking off, and then erupting into a fireball and a cloud of smoke. In a tweet, Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded Tesla Motors and PayPal, acknowledged the difficulties inherent in space flight: “Rockets are tricky.”


As Bao Bao’s turns 1, panda fans flock to National Zoo to celebrate with her

zoo officials and the media. Three posters were stuck to bamboo poles above a cave in the panda yard. Each poster was painted with a different symbol: peaches signifying longevity, bamboo meaning good health and pomegranates representing fertility — fitting for an endangered species. Keepers placed a honey-coated stick of bamboo under each sign. The symbol Bao Bao chose would signify something about her future. She chose a long life, then moved on to eat the other two treats as well, bestowing herself with all three endowments. “I think she’s very logical,” said Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai, joking about the cub’s ceremonial selections. Cui has called Bao Bao Washington’s other Chinese ambassador, acknowledging a long-standing practice of “panda diplomacy” in which China would give or loan pandas to other countries as a gesture of goodwill. “This is our shared responsibility to cooperate and preserve their species,” he said. “I think this shows what we can do when we work together.” Nicole MacCorkle, one of Bao Bao’s keepers, watched with her 3-year-old human daughter, Chloe, who held two stuffed animals and her cutout-panda birthday hat. MacCorkle recalled the moment 365 days ago when she and the other keepers heard that Bao Bao’s mother, Mei Xiang, was set to give birth. The keepers gathered around the screen in the camera room that was live-streaming high-definition footage of the birth. “There was lots of nervous energy and then a lot of hugs and high-fives,” she said. At 9 a.m. Saturday, members of the Friends of the National Zoo rushed in for a private two-hour morning event. At 11 a.m., the event was opened to the public. Fans of all ages beamed as they squeezed in to see the birthday girl. The National Zoo giant panda cub — now a big sister — is growing up fast. The celebration for Bao Bao is the latest incarnation of a lasting adoration for the cuddly bears that was also felt for her big brother Tai Shan, who celebrated his first birthday in 2006 and has since moved to China. Some in the crowd said they were new panda fans, brought into the club by Bao Bao’s birth. Others have deep emotional ties to the entire species. Darrell Lee Martin, donning a furry panda cap, was giddily celebrating his own birthday, No. 43. His best friend drove the panda fanatic all the way from Asheville, N.C., for


Metro should mellow out on musicians at stations

FORBES MAGAZINE RECENTLY NAMED Washington as America’s “Coolest City” for 2014, which is, well, cool. But in many respects, the District remains a button-down kind of place — sometimes a little too button-down. We could offer plenty of examples. Exhibit A might be Metro’s policy on musicians who might like to strum, fiddle, trill or even sing on its property. It’s not just that the transit agency forbids them from playing inside Metro stations, or even within 15 feet of entrances — fare gates, stairs, escalators and so forth. Metro’s policy also forbids performers from accepting tips, even if they comply with the rules by playing their instruments beyond the 15-foot buffer zone outside stations. That is so not cool. A federal District Court judge in Washington, Beryl Howell, agreed. In a suit challenging Metro’s draconian rule, Judge Howell ruled that buskers — street musicians — who comply with the transit agency’s other regulations can now receive tips from passersby outside fare gates and escalators. The suit Thanks to the judge’s preliminary injunctions, Mr. Young can now keep on performing, and also collecting tips, as long as he observes the 15-foot buffer in Metro’s above-ground “free areas.” Metro now says it intends to go to trial on the case, which would be foolish. The agency has a legitimate interest in maintaining unobstructed access to the entrances to its stations. Although some transit systems elsewhere allow musicians more or less free access inside subway stations (Paris comes to mind), it’s reasonable for Metro to insist they play only above-ground. After all, as anyone knows who tries to hear announcements from a platform, the acoustics in Metro stations are bad enough without having to try to decipher the words through music. Mr. Young’s lawyers argued that playing music for tips is a protected activity under the First Amendment and that Metro was violating his rights by shooing him away from the “free areas” outside station entrances. Other American transit systems would seem to agree. We surveyed several major ones — Chicago, Boston, San Francisco — and none has a policy forbidding tips for buskers. While most ban musicians from playing inside stations, and some require musicians to obtain permits, none maintains a policy quite as strict as Metro’s 15-foot cordon sanitaire outside fare gates. As for New York’s subway system, by far the nation’s biggest, it seems to manage despite a stance


Government should not hold for-profit colleges to a higher standard

girding itself — “cautiously pessimistic,” said one industry spokesman — for final language on federal regulations that would establish stringent standards for programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation. The Education Department has issued no timetable for the release of the rules, which are said to still be in the works. The department’s earlier proposals — cutting off financial aid to career-oriented programs whose graduates have high student-loan debt relative to their incomes — would, industry officials say, effectively force thousands of programs to close while causing others to limit admissions to students who pose no risk. There should be no tolerance of programs that are unscrupulous in how they use taxpayer-funded student aid or prepare their students for careers. But the administration’s proposed approach essentially singles out the for-profit sector and applies arbitrary debt-to-earning metrics that many public and private nonprofit institutions would be hard-pressed to meet. While the standards would apply to all career-training programs, the for-profit sector would be most affected since its degree programs would have to be in compliance but degree programs offered by public and private nonprofit institutions would not. Why not come up with standards that make sense and apply them to all schools that accept federal student loan aid? If there are problems with how schools prepare their students or use public-supported dollars, devise a mechanism that zeroes in on the wrongdoers without jeopardizing programs that responsibly fulfill their obligations. The for-profit sector can play a useful role in helping meet Mr. Obama’s goal of more higher education for more Americans. Not only do they account for 20 percent of the associate degrees granted in the United States but they also serve poor and working-class students who have little chance of entry into traditional higher education. Consider, for example, that 31 percent of the nation’s African American college graduates, and 28 percent of Hispanic graduates, came from for-profit schools in 2012-13 (the latest year for which data are available). The for-profit sector has shrunk under the weight of attacks of recent years, and over-stressed community colleges cannot fill the gap. If the gainful employment rules are promulgated as has been proposed, opportunities for non-traditional students are sure to become even more limited. Read more about this topic: The Post’s View: Tightening rules on for-profit colleges Nick Anderson: Degrees of Inequality Catherine Rampell: College is not a losing investment


Report on fatal Ellicott City train accident details how a piece of rail snapped

Workers stand near one of the coal cars of the derailed train behind the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum: Ellicott City Station on Aug. 21, 2012. (Mark Gail/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST) They would be college graduates now, poised on the brink of life, had not a train gone off the tracks two years ago in a tragic fateful moment that caught them where they should not have been. After almost two years of investigation into a 2012 train derailment in Ellicott City, Md., the National Transportation Safety Board said a piece of rail near replacement age simply snapped under the weight of a half-mile-long train carrying 9,873 tons of coal toward the Baltimore docks. Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr They had tweeted messages and photos to friends from atop the rail bridge as the freight train rumbled toward them just before midnight. One photo showed the tiny shops and bars of Main Street, gone dark deep into Sunday night. Another showing their feet dangling off the bridge came with a one-word exclamation: “Levitating.” Last month, the parents of the girls spoke out for the first time, releasing a statement through their attorneys saying that the CSX railroad was to blame. The NTSB report is more meticulous than captivating. It describes details of the accident and gives a broader picture of a freight rail company struggling to stay ahead of deterioration on the oldest stretch of common carrier rail line in the United States. It describes how the three crew members had the train rolling at 23 mph, just below the acceptable limit, when the emergency brakes slammed it to a halt. They got out to discover that 11 cars had overturned, including eight that had dumped their loads as they toppled into a parking lot below. As they pieced together sections of shattered rail, investigators could not find five inches of it. “At the point of derailment, the rail fractured,” they said. The board said that “the probable cause of the Ellicott City derailment was a broken rail with evidence of rolling contract fatigue.” The NTSB report said the railroad was aware of the history of rail defects on that line and of the increased volume of coal tonnage the line was carrying. As a result, the report said, CSX ran ultrasonic tests on the rails 11 to 12 times a year, far more frequently than regulations require. The rail


World Digest: Aug. 23, 2014

possible prison time for anyone caught hiding an Ebola patient, a common practice that the World Health Organization believes has contributed to a major underestimation of the current outbreak. The measure, passed Friday, would impose prison terms of up to two years for violators, said legislator Ansumana Jaiah Kaikai. The next step is presidential approval. Kaikai said the measure is necessary to compel residents to cooperate with government officials, noting that some residents had resisted steps to combat Ebola and build isolation centers in their communities. A total of 2,615 infections and 1,427 deaths have been recorded in the Ebola outbreak now affecting West Africa, according to figures released Friday by the World Health Organization. Sierra Leone has been particularly hard-hit, with at least 910 cases and 392 deaths. But those numbers do not capture all Ebola cases because families hide patients, fearing high fatality rates and the stigma that comes with a positive diagnosis, the U.N. health agency said. — Associated Press LEBANON Rocket fire targets Israel; no one hurt At least two rockets were fired on Saturday from southern Lebanon toward Israel, Lebanon’s national news agency and security sources said, without saying who had launched them. The news agency NNA, citing its correspondent in Tire, said that the rockets were fired toward “occupied territories” and that the Lebanese army had encircled the suspected launch area. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Last month, militants in Lebanon fired into Israel on at least three occasions, and in the past a group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed rocket attacks. Israel’s military and police said at least one rocket fired from Lebanon landed in northern Israel close to the town of Acre on the Mediterranean coast. One rocket hit a building in the Western Galilee region close to the Lebanese border, Israeli news media said. No casualties were reported. — Reuters China rejects U.S. criticism over plane encounter: Niger minister arrested in baby-trafficking case: 8 executed in western China: 2 European satellites in the wrong orbits: European space officials said they were investigating whether the inaccurate deployment of two satellites will complicate their efforts to develop a satellite navigation system that would rival the United States’ GPS network. The European Space Agency and launch company Arianespace say the satellites ended up in off-target orbits after being launched Friday from French Guiana aboard a Soyuz rocket. — From news services


Peter Theo Curtis released: Statement from the American journalist’s family

relieved that Theo is healthy and safe and that he is finally headed home after his ordeal, but we are also deeply saddened by the terrible, unjustified killing last week of his fellow journalist, Jim Foley, at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS,” Nancy said. “I have gotten to know the Foley family during these many long months of uncertainty and worry, and have seen Diane Foley’s bravery and her heroic efforts firsthand, efforts that helped rally the spirits of the families of all the journalists and others being held captive. We appeal to the captors of the remaining hostages to release them in the same humanitarian spirit that prompted Theo’s release. While the family is not privy to the exact terms that were negotiated, we were repeatedly told by representatives of the Qatari government that they were mediating for Theo’s release on a humanitarian basis without the payment of money,” Nancy said. She added: “My entire focus right now is on helping the other families of those still being held in Syria, and on taking care of my son.” The family believes that Theo, 45, was captured shortly after he crossed into Syria in October 2012 and has been held since then by the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra or by splinter groups allied with Jabhat al-Nusra. “Theo has a deep concern and regard for the people of Syria, which is why he returned during the war. He wanted to help others and to give meaning and to bear witness to their struggles,” Nancy added. “I am very fortunate that I do not have to tell his whole story. He eventually will be able to do so himself.” Theo was born Peter Theophilus Eaton Padnos in Atlanta, Ga., where his father, Michael Padnos, who is now a writer living in Paris, was working as a lawyer. Theo graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts and is fluent in French and Arabic. He also speaks German and Russian. He first became interested in writing about disaffected youth while working as a teacher in the Vermont prison system, resulting in his first book, “My Life [Had] Stood a Loaded Gun.” While working as a journalist in Yemen, Theo became interested in the stories of the many disaffected young men from the West coming to study Islam and


Editor’s note: Downtown Columbia is a ‘food desert’ no more

A new WholeFoods opened up on Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia, Md. last week. (Dan Beyers/The Washington Post) Before I purchased my first home, I walked around the neighborhood to check out the surroundings. I then went in search of the local grocery. I figured if there was one place I would rely on more than any other, it would be the one that provided my food. And I wanted to live near a decent supermarket. I was in luck. My little townhouse in Springfield happened to be a short hop from a brand new Giant, which in those days was rolling out big roomy stores with lots of ready-to-go meal options. Sold. I have since moved to Columbia, and for the 47 years of its existence, this city in the suburbs has lacked one obvious amenity in its downtown — a grocery. That always seemed odd for a community that prided itself on its exhaustive planning. There were supermarkets in the surrounding villages, but the town center, with its shopping mall, movie theaters, restaurants, lake and large music amphitheater, was a place designed mostly to visit by car, and not live on foot. Last week, Columbia took a step in correcting that omission. Whole Foods Market opened a store on Lake Kittamaqundi and you could sense — finally — a new future in the wind. The 50,000-square-foot store is distinguishable mostly for the fact that it occupies the former Frank Gehry-designed headquarters of the old Rouse Co., the development firm that laid out the original plan for Columbia. The interior was gutted and now makes liberal use of reclaimed wood and tiles fashioned from recycled glass, an updated take on Columbia’s fondness for ’70s earth tones. Whole Foods’s “firsts” for the new store are more iterations on others in the 36-year-old natural food chain: popsicles made from cold-press juices, in-house-created infused honeys, handmade gelato treats, a vegetarian cafe and self-serve bulk bins of frozen vegetables. There are, of course, plenty of locally sourced goods, as well. Columbia’s establishment class, the politicians and pioneers, turned out in force for an opening preview, and for a group that often disagrees on the course of change, they seemed mostly pleased with Whole Foods’s arrival. There’s much debate about how much of a downtown town center should be, which might explain the most frequently heard critique of our new “urban” store. Would there be


WholeFoods opened up on Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia, Md. last week. (Dan Beyers/The Washington Post) Before I purchased my first home, I walked around the neighborhood to check out the surroundings. I then went in search of the local grocery. I figured if there was one place I would rely on more than any other, it would be the one that provided my food. And I wanted to live near a decent supermarket. I was in luck. My little townhouse in Springfield happened to be a short hop from a brand new Giant, which in those days was rolling out big roomy stores with lots of ready-to-go meal options. Sold. I have since moved to Columbia, and for the 47 years of its existence, this city in the suburbs has lacked one obvious amenity in its downtown — a grocery. That always seemed odd for a community that prided itself on its exhaustive planning. There were supermarkets in the surrounding villages, but the town center, with its shopping mall, movie theaters, restaurants, lake and large music amphitheater, was a place designed mostly to visit by car, and not live on foot. Last week, Columbia took a step in correcting that omission. Whole Foods Market opened a store on Lake Kittamaqundi and you could sense — finally — a new future in the wind. The 50,000-square-foot store is distinguishable mostly for the fact that it occupies the former Frank Gehry-designed headquarters of the old Rouse Co., the development firm that laid out the original plan for Columbia. The interior was gutted and now makes liberal use of reclaimed wood and tiles fashioned from recycled glass, an updated take on Columbia’s fondness for ’70s earth tones. Whole Foods’s “firsts” for the new store are more iterations on others in the 36-year-old natural food chain: popsicles made from cold-press juices, in-house-created infused honeys, handmade gelato treats, a vegetarian cafe and self-serve bulk bins of frozen vegetables. There are, of course, plenty of locally sourced goods, as well. Columbia’s establishment class, the politicians and pioneers, turned out in force for an opening preview, and for a group that often disagrees on the course of change, they seemed mostly pleased with Whole Foods’s arrival. There’s much debate about how much of a downtown town center should be, which might explain the most frequently heard critique of our new “urban” store. Would there be enough parking?


CACI is better prepared for government surprises, says chief executive Kenneth Asbury

to be optimistic that people are going to realize that sequestration is not [a plausible] way forward. But I said that the first time around. (laughs) Do you feel better prepared this time? I think there will be no more surprises. We’ve been through sequestration, the government shutdown, the fact that we had to [make cuts] at the company. I get the fact that it’s a smaller market. You’ve seen some companies that adapt well, and some that are still [trying to adapt]. I would like to think we’re in the former category. So what are some areas of growth for CACI? Health care and cybersecurity. We find that there is tremendous interest from the federal government in both of those areas now. There are also some nice channels of growth in our traditional lines of business, like C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance). What about expanding into global or commercial markets, like others in the industry have done? We have a small component of both today, but it’s not a material part of our business. I could see a couple of areas, such as health care, cybersecurity and big data, that may have commercial applications, but we’re not chasing them. You’ve been open about wanting to make acquisitions. What kind of businesses are a good fit for CACI? Right now we’re looking for high-end health care IT businesses or anything than can extend our reach with Six3. [CACI acquired intelligence contractor Six3 in a deal worth $820 million last year]. We’re also looking on the solutions and products side particularly as it relates to cybersecurity and intelligence. You said global events, for example in Iraq, are starting to have a small effect on boosting business. Do you anticipate more activity? We’re getting into crystal ball territory here. It’s not just Iraq, it’s a number of global hot spots. From a Department of Defense perspective, we’re in sort of a containment policy right now. Personally, I hope it doesn’t [escalate], because it means we are broadly engaged in something difficult. Frankly, I don’t want to see people going to war. How is an election year going to affect CACI’s business? We’ve been in the business for 53 years, and it really almost doesn’t matter. The nation has a responsibility to serve citizens and help allies. The policies may change a bit here and there [depending on who’s


Not so cool anymore, teen-focused retailers like Abercrombie try to reinvent themselves

cheaper, trendier items. Some of the hippest retailers of the not-too-distant past are struggling to adapt to a new era in which technology makes it possible for their competitors to respond more nimbly to teens’ fickle tastes. The challenge of making an up-to-the-moment, easy-on-the-wallet garment with a supply network that stretches across the globe is testing the retail industry’s traditionally slower ways of churning out merchandise. Advantages are going to stores that use novel approaches to ensure that a design can be made in response to Internet buzz and then taken from a factory floor to a suburban mall in a matter of weeks. “These young consumers are shopping by seeing what’s on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter — they’re sharing on a constant basis, it’s always around them,” said Marcie Merriman, a consumer-engagement consultant at Ernst & Young. “So if what’s in the stores is not changing as fast as what’s happening around them, you’re going to lose them.” Abercrombie has shortened its development cycle for new merchandise and adopted “fabric platforming” — buying a large quantity of a single material so it can be used to create a variety of clothing pieces, maybe a crop top, or maybe a palazzo pant, depending on how trends bubble up. It is also expanding its production capabilities in the United States and South America as part of an effort to get clothes to market faster. “They are addressing [the problems],” said Liz Dunn, a consumer analyst with Macquarie Securities. “It just remains to be seen how quickly they can get their customer back.” Some retailers have figured out the formula. Fast-fashion outposts H&M and Forever 21 have emerged as popular shopping destinations in part because they can undercut their teen-focused competitors on price, analysts said. Just as important, though, is their ability to quickly add new styles to store shelves. Retailers that have struggled, analysts say, have also been slow to acknowledge a major change in fashion: Teens no longer want to be bedecked in the logo-emblazoned T-shirts and sweatshirts that rocketed these companies to success in the early 2000s. Today’s young shoppers are seeking a highly personalized look that makes them stand out from their peers, not blend in. The back-to-school shopping season will be an important test of whether retailers’ early efforts are making a difference. Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale and American Eagle have reported slumping sales and declining profits in


Book describes drugs of all sorts, and how people can stay safe while using them

Just perusing the table of contents in “Buzzed” is a sharp reminder of the huge role drugs play in American culture. Twelve hefty chapters present the pharmacopeia in nonjudgmental alphabetical order — alcohol, caffeine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, herbal drugs, inhalants, marijuana, nicotine, opiates, sedatives, steroids, stimulants — each followed by a lively list of slang and street names (many familiar and probably getting out of date even as you read). The authors, all professors at Duke University, first published this compendium in 1998, and early editions had the Nancy Reagan-inspired pun “just say know” on the cover. That’s gone in this “fully updated” fourth edition, though an essay with that title, written by two of the authors’ interns, remains, saying the book aims to give kids straight information on drugs with no scare tactics or scolding. That it does, though the book is probably going to appeal mostly to concerned parents. Updated through the years with such listings as Rohypnol and Red Bull, a synthetic marijuana called Spice, designer stimulants called bath salts, e-cigarettes and ginkgo biloba, it comes in at nearly 400 fact-packed pages. “Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs From Alcohol to Ecstasy,” by Cynthia Kuhn, Scott Swartzwelder and Wilkie Wilson. (W. W. Norton & Company) Some factoids: There’s more caffeine in grocery-store coffee than in high-priced cafe blends; cocaine users outnumber meth users five to one; one effect of heroin withdrawal is diarrhea; the brain has a specific receptor for cannabis. PCP, meanwhile, can make you feel as if you’re drunk, on amphetamines and using hallucinogens all at the same time. Every chapter tells you what the drug or class of drugs does, how it enters and leaves the body, and its short-term and long-term effects, with additional history or discussion as warranted — including such information as how to “keep yourself safe.”


A climate for change: America should not wait while the world warms

the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850.” Further, the panel found, “It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.” Among many pieces of evidence is the breakneck rate of carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, coinciding with measured temperature rise. Other human “fingerprints” are becoming visible: Scientists, for example, are seeing a pattern of warming in the troposphere and cooling in the stratosphere that suggests greenhouse gases — not, say, variations in solar activity — are the cause. The most reasonable climate skeptics accept these findings but point to two areas of continuing uncertainty. First, scientists are unsure precisely how much the Earth will heat up in response to a given increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations — the climate’s sensitivity to carbon. The experts have offered a range of possibilities. Second, it is hard to predict exactly what a given increase in global temperature will do to human society. Neither is a good excuse for inaction. Recent papers argue for adjusting the sensitivity range up and down, but the overall picture is stable: Scientists have reason to warn against betting human welfare on the proposition that low-end estimates will pan out. Even if the experts are too pessimistic, recent research indicates, that would not eliminate the need to slash carbon dioxide emissions over the next several decades. Scientists can also reasonably anticipate myriad negative effects in certain emissions scenarios, including sea-level rise, higher storm surges in coastal areas, more flooding elsewhere, increasingly frequent and severe heat and wildfires, extreme precipitation events, widespread changes in habitats and agricultural resources, ocean acidification with dire consequences for coral and other species, drought and the spread of disease. Between $66 billion and $106 billion worth of U.S. property will likely be below sea level by mid-century. The federal government will probably have to spend billions more in disaster relief. Waiting to deal with carbon emissions until the effects are clearer or technology improves is not a wise strategy. The emissions humans put into the atmosphere now will affect the climate in the middle of the century and onward. Technological change, meanwhile, could make a future transition away from fossil fuels cheap — or it might not, leaving the world with a terrible choice between sharply reducing emissions at huge cost


Rose’s Luxury chef Aaron Silverman masters the art of serious play

salad of pork sausage, habaneros and litchis. The food often arrives on old, ornately patterned china, discarded by its previous owners but somehow revitalized in this playhouse of a restaurant. Peanuts, garlic chips, herbs, coconut, red onions, country ham and litchi are just some of the many ingredients that compose Rose's Luxury unique pork and litchi salad. Chef Aaron Silverman says it hits many flavorful notes, which is one of the reasons why it is so popular. (Music: "Carefree to Careful" by Podington Bear) It all adds up to a whimsical clash of cultures and cuisines, from high to low, and it has proven hard to resist. Since it opened in October, Rose’s Luxury has become the darling of D.C. diners — and even those outside the Beltway. Critics have praised the newcomer as they have few others; The Post’s food critic Tom Sietsema gave it three stars from the outset, calling it “the best news to come out of Capitol Hill in ages.” Bon Appetit magazine named Rose’s the top new restaurant in America, while Southern Living deemed it the second-best new restaurant in the South. When speaking publicly, Silverman loves to deflect attention from himself and his role with the food. In one sense, his tactic just reflects the way Silverman views himself within the context of his own restaurant: Even though he’s the public face, he’s but one cog in the complex machinery that makes Rose’s run. Take that Sungold sorbet: The kitchen managers have evolved it ever so slightly. More sugar has been added, but the culinary team collectively still doesn’t feel that the dish fits comfortably on the main menu. It’s now a palate cleanser served to guests at the private roof garden table. It’s also sold to diners with dairy or gluten allergies. So how do Silverman and team know when a dish is ready for prime time? “It’s pretty easy,” Silverman says. “When it’s delicious, that’s when it goes on.” Except when it’s not easy: One butter-roasted onion dish, even after months of R&D, never reached the proper state of deliciousness to make the cut. This is the smoke-and-mirrors deception that Rose’s pulls off so well: Its impish nonchalance conceals the serious work actually required of the place. The tomato sorbet in progress. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post) Silverman, left, discusses a dish with a colleague. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post) Silverman also deflects to


Drug czar approaches challenge from a different angle: As a recovering alcoholic

that many users are making from prescription drugs to heroin, which can be cheaper and more accessible. In recent years, the White House has placed great importance on tackling opiate addiction, holding two national summits on the subject. But even given the administration’s attention, the battle remains a huge challenge on the federal, state and local levels. Drug trends and issues tend to vary geographically, making a sustained national effort difficult. Insurance companies often do not cover inpatient treatment, and an obscure federal rule restricts the expansion of addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act. The White House also is grappling with the legal, financial and political implications of medical and legalized marijuana. Botticelli’s office has taken the administration’s toughest stance against legalization. “Part of this is: How do we look at solutions that work for the entirety of the drug issue?” he said. “And not just the entirety of the drug issue, but the entirety of the population?” Botticelli is trying to expand on some of the programs he used at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he was director of the state’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services. They include allowing police to carry naloxone — a drug commonly known as Narcan that can reverse a heroin overdose — and helping people who have completed treatment find housing and jobs. Botticelli spends much of his time on the road, meeting with state and local officials. He visits treatment programs, where he is, by all accounts, treated like a rock star by people with substance-abuse problems, a group he calls “my peeps.” Although Botticelli easily shares his struggle, those who worked with him said he doesn’t let it dictate policy. “He was very good at separating his story from the work, which I think allowed him a little more objectivity,” said Kevin Norton, chief executive of Lahey Health Behavioral Services in Massachusetts. The bar scene Botticelli drank in high school and college, and he once was fired from a bartending job after repeatedly telling the manager he couldn’t work, only to show up as a patron. In the 1980s, he moved to Boston, where he spent most of his time outside of work at the Club Cafe, a legendary gay bar. Along with a group of regulars, Botticelli would stay well into the next morning, knocking back drinks and ridiculing people who were heading into the gym below the


Veterans’ moms don’t deserve hiring preferences

The Aug. 22 Federal Diary described the confusion surrounding federal hiring preferences for veterans and, in some cases, their mothers [“Hiring preferences for vets should be simplified”]. The small backlash at the Defense Department and other agencies against current hiring preferences seems inevitable and appropriate. While we are justifiably proud of our superb armed forces, it is worth remembering that military members are not draftees. Every person in uniform is a volunteer. The country did not call them to service; they made job or career choices for their own reasons. They are well-compensated, highly trained professionals, most of whom, thankfully, never will see a moment of combat. All service is valuable, but not all service is sacrifice. Hardships faced by many military families, including displacement and separation, are not unknown among civilian government and industry counterparts. The benefits military members and families receive, however, are uniquely generous, including off-base housing allowances, tax and insurance breaks and transferable education allowances. Military service is a smart career decision for those who choose it. It does not leave military members lagging economically behind civilians. Federal hiring preferences for some veterans might make sense. But their mothers? Really? David Robinson, Alexandria


A climate for change: The EPA’s limits on emissions are important but not enough

coal-fired plants will be built in the United States. Third, the EPA proposed in June a rule that would restrict the emissions of existing power plants, cutting their carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030. The central criticism is that these rules, particularly the third, will exact extreme costs on the economy without reversing the rise in global temperatures. But critics have been citing high-cost estimates based on faulty assumptions, and the EPA figures that its power plant rule, which gives utilities many years to comply, will peak at about $9 billion per year in 2011 dollars. That’s a relative pittance in an economy that’s nearly $17 trillion and growing. In return, the EPA projects health and climate benefits outstripping costs many times over. Even if the EPA’s reckoning is significantly off, the regulations will do more good than harm — without even considering their importance in motivating other countries to act. But will they do a maximum amount of good for the costs? Here, the EPA’s approach falls short. It applies to only parts of the economy when an economy-wide policy would extract carbon dioxide from wherever it’s cheapest. It commands particular states to meet centrally determined emissions targets and regulates how they can comply. The consulting firm Brattle Group notes in a recent analysis that the required effort could vary widely across the country: Vermont has no fossil-fuel power plants, so it won’t have an emissions goal; Texas will probably have to shut half its coal-fired power plants, replacing them with cleaner-burning natural gas units. The EPA’s rules do not get the Obama administration close to its goal of slashing economy-wide emissions by 80 percent by 2050. The EPA recognizes that command-and-control regulation is not ideal. It is offering as much flexibility as it can, including regional emissions-cutting pacts, which would allow the required effort to be averaged across states and reduce the total cost by 17 percent. Yet only Congress can launch a more ambitious but flexible program giving power to U.S. companies and consumers. The EPA is starting the country down a carbon-reduction path, an important signal to Americans and foreigners seeking confidence that the United States will cut its carbon use. But the regulations’ greatest contribution will come if they prod Congress to enact a plan that’s both more comprehensive and more efficient. In our next editorial, we will discuss how Congress could do better,


Trail advocates sue over Purple Line route, say endangered species needs protection

A trail advocacy group and two Montgomery County residents filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that building a light-rail Purple Line would harm two rare shrimp-like creatures, including one that is a federally protected endangered species. The legal complaint — filed by Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail and Chevy Chase residents John M. Fitzgerald and Christine Real de Azua against four federal agencies — is aimed at finding an alternative route to part of the 16-mile rail line’s proposed alignment. The western four-mile section between Bethesda and Silver Spring would run along what is now a popular wooded jogging and cycling trail adjacent to neighborhoods, including the Town of Chevy Chase. Sparing the trail, the plaintiffs said, would protect the Rock Creek watershed, including habitat for the Hay’s spring amphipod, which has been listed as endangered since 1982, and the Kenk’s amphipod, which is a candidate for federal listing. Federal officials have said that the Purple Line’s construction would have no impact on either animal, saying their habitat is too far away or would be unaffected by the watershed’s ground water. Discussion of a legal challenge has drawn some criticism in the environmental community. Many activists say transit projects’ overall environmental benefits — limiting growth in traffic and sprawl development — typically far outweigh any local impact of their construction. The Maryland Transit Administration put the $2.37 billion project out to bid in July. State officials have said they hope to begin construction in 2015 and open the line to service in 2020.


D.C. news in brief

projects that actively seek to spark dialogue between groups of residents that have historically been isolated from one another geographically or culturally. Eight $5,000 “Who’s a Washingtonian?” grants are available. The application deadline is Sept. 5. Notifications will be sent Oct. 16. The grant cycle will run from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31, 2015. To apply or for information on the grants, go to www.wdchumanities.org/deadline-august-8th-whos-washingtonian-grant, call 202-387-8391 or e-mail msmith@wdchumanities.org. 10 finalists will compete for NE underpass designs The NoMa Parks Foundation has announced the 10 finalists for the NoMa Underpass Design Competition, a contest to redesign four underpasses at Florida Avenue and K, L and M streets NE for increased lighting and better aesthetics. The project is a partnership among the NoMa Parks Foundation, the D.C. government, WMATA and Amtrak. The competition, which was announced in April, generated 248 submissions from 14 countries during its Request for Qualifications phase. Forty-nine semifinalists were selected and narrowed down to 10 competitors. The finalists — artists, architects, lighting designers and landscape architects from three countries and seven U.S. cities — will receive an honorarium to further develop their designs. The selected competitors are Cinimod Studio + LDVC + Tall (London); Citelum (the District); Future Cities Lab (San Francisco); Lancaster + Matthew Schreiber (Brooklyn); mikyoung kim design (Boston); Narduli Studio (Los Angeles); NIO Architects & Thurlow Small Architecture (Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Pawtucket, R.I.); Ray King (Philadelphia); Synthesis Design + Architecture & Moritz Waldemeyer (Los Angeles and London); and United Visual Artists (London). Final designs will be shown in October. After community feedback, a jury will choose a design by the end of the year, with installations planned for next year. For information, go to www.nomabid.org. Web site will chart progress on DDOT disabled access plan The D.C. Department of Transportation has a new Web site with information about the agency’s Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan. The plan, currently a work in progress, will offer a framework for making the District’s public rights of way, such as crosswalks, sidewalks, pedestrian paths and transit stops, more accessible to people with disabilities. The Web site, www.adaplanddotdc.com, will provide updates on public meetings and opportunities for the public to comment. Residents can sign up for e-mails and receive project updates and draft and final versions of the plan. DDOT has public meetings on the plan scheduled next month and in October. — Compiled by Terence McArdle


Alonso Abugattas, Arlington parks’ natural resources chief, blogs about flora, fauna

sports a large aquarium teeming with guppies, cases of native seed pods and a shelf crammed with jars of spiders suspended in rubbing alcohol. It is a way to bring a bit of the outdoors into his work space. “Instead of looking out onto the feeders and gardens, I get to see the parking lot and the snowplows,” Abugattas said. “I had to have something living in the place, [and] they’re not keen on snakes.” Eventually, he plans to write a book about Arlington’s natural habitat based on his posts. Its themes, he said, will include cultivating an awareness of what is all around us. “Here in the nation’s capital, we’ve got so much cool stuff because of where we are. It seems like we have a lot of city, but you’d be amazed what’s outside your back door.” And there is no shortage of material. Among the items of interest to area residents: The rabbit population boom is not permanent. “Bunnies will go down,” Abugattas said. “The foxes and hawk numbers are gonna catch up, and as they eat them down, well, that population’s gonna crash. For rabbits, it’s six- to nine-year cycles — there’s a boom and a bust.” Deer, on the other hand, are an ongoing concern. “Nothing controls those numbers,” Abugattas said. “Foxes can’t really eat deer, and a coyote might eat one or two fawns, but they don’t really. So as long as the deer is careful crossing the street, it’s probably going to make it.” The growing deer population has, in turn, altered the native plant population of the area. “The animals that depend on one plant will thrive, animals that depend on the other won’t thrive,” he said. “I’ve got to worry about all the animals, not just the charismatic ones — that’s my job as natural resources manager.” This symbiosis is what Abugattas is committed to sharing, in hopes that the public will come to understand the importance of conserving the plants, animals and habitat native to the region. “My view of the natural world is that it’s kind of like a puzzle,” he said. “I know that this plant depends on this pollinator, this insect has to feed on this plant — they all fit together. My whole job, my whole career, my whole life is going to be spent trying to put those pieces together.” Lanyi is a freelance writer.


Going Out Guide for the District of Columbia, Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2014.

Shakura S’Aida will be headlining the DC Blues Festival at Carter Barron Amphitheater. (Photo by Denise Grant/Photo by Denise Grant) THU 28 “The Winter’s Tale” Shakespeare Theatre Company concludes its run of the play, this season’s Free for All selection. Thursday at noon and 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. 202-547-1122. www.shakespearetheatre.org. Free tickets distributed through an online lottery and at the ticket line two hours before curtain, limit two per person. Line forms about 4 p.m. U.S. Air Force Band Air Force Strings Salla Simukka and Emmi Itaranta “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage” “Yentl” WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 21: Crowds inside the Pavilion of The States at the 13th Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on Saturday, September 21, 2012 in Washington, DC.People could "visit" their home state and learn about its literary heritage.(Photo by Mark Gail/For The Washington Post) (Mark Gail/For The Washington Post) FRI 29 Jazz in the Garden Jackopierce “Flow: Economies of the Look and Creativity in Contemporary Art From the Caribbean” SAT 30 National Book Festival The 14th annual event hosted by the Library of Congress features more than 100 authors, poets and illustrators at several pavilions 10 a.m.-6 p.m., plus evening programs starting at 6 p.m.: Poetry Slam, a Graphic Novels Super Session and a Great Books to Great Movies panel featuring Paul Auster, E.L. Doctorow, Alice McDermott and Lisa See. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW. 202-249-3400. www.dcconvention.com. Free. D.C. Blues Festival Chinese Menu Comedy “Amen: A Prayer for the World” “50 Egg Tempera Paintings” SUN 31 National Symphony Orchestra Spoonboy MON 01 FLOfest D.C. This music, wine and literary festival offers workshops, cooking demos, wine tastings and performances by Marcus Johnson, Rudy Gonzalez Latin Band, the Donvonte McCoy Latin Jazz Orchestra and Beverly McClellan. Bring a blanket or folding chair. Tickets include two food samples and at least four wine tastings. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Gateway D.C. at St. Elizabeths Pavilion, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. www.flofestdc.com. $45. The BIG Maze “Modern American Prints and Drawings From the Kainen Collection” TUE 02 “Imagining Deep Time” WED 03 “Belleville” Perfect Liars Club “Wilderness Forever: Celebrating 50 Years of Protecting America’s Wilderness” — Compiled by Carrie Donovan from staff reports


Montgomery County Animal Watch

This case was received recently by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5900. This number provides recorded information on topics, such as the new animal services and adoption center’s hours and location in Derwood, adoption and licensing procedures, and lost-and-found and field services. Dog bites girl Reduced fees for cat adoption: Cats and kittens will be available for adoption at the next open house of Friends of Montgomery County Animals at the following location. Call 301-977-4833 or visit www.fmca.org or facebook.com/fmcainfo. Germantown Adoptable cats at no-kill shelter: Gaithersburg Adopt or foster rescue dogs Rockville — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


National Zoo’s American bison are named: Zora and Wilma

The two bison in their enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington. (Yue Wu/The Washington Post) Bao Bao, the National Zoo’s famous panda cub, can now properly greet her new neighbors. Zora and Wilma, two female American bison that moved into the zoo in July as part of its 125th anniversary, were officially named Wednesday by students from Howard University and Gallaudet University. The purebred buffaloes’ arrival in Washington marks the first time in more than a decade that the zoo is once again home to American bison, the animal credited with getting the institution started in the 1880s. “It’s an iconic species both in the country and here at the zoo,” said zookeeper Marty Dearie. The two bison, a little more than a year old, are also iconic at Howard and Gallaudet, where the American bison serves as school mascot. A bison in the barn at the National Zoo. (Yue Wu/The Washington Post) Students at the schools were asked to vote on the names. Student body presidents for both universities announced the winning names at a news media event Wednesday. Zora was named after Howard alumna Zora Neale Hurston, a prominent writer and civil rights activist. Wilma was named after Gallaudet graduate Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the first deaf woman elected to serve in South Africa’s Parliament. “Wouldn’t it be great to get them on our campus?” asked Andrew Morrill, the student body president at Gallaudet. In the spirit of competition, Leighton Watson — Morrill’s counterpart at Howard — said the two bison should race. Should Watson’s lighthearted suggestion come true, Zora and Wilma racing would make for a show, given bison can outrun horses. Being athletic animals, they can also jump six feet straight up, said Damien Austin, supervisor of the American Prairie Reserve in Montana, where Zora and Wilma were born. On Wednesday, however, Zora and Wilma spent most of their time slowly walking across their grassy yard, grazing along the way. Zora weighs in at 550 pounds, while Wilma cuts a more svelte figure at 500 pounds. “They are basically built to be eating constantly,” Dearie said. Dearie added that Zora and Wilma have demonstrated calm temperaments with each other and their keepers. “They both are very eager to interact with their keepers, which is amazing to me,” Dearie said. “They follow us around like dogs.” While Austin acknowledged that it will be tough for Zora and Wilma


A climate for change: A solution conservatives could accept

A PROMINENT member of Congress has proposed a comprehensive national climate-change plan. It’s only 28 pages long, it’s market-based, and it would put money into the pockets of most Americans. This is not the first time that Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), a House Democratic leader, has made the point that the best climate-change policy is not complicated. He introduced a similar plan in 2009. The underlying logic is older still: Since the beginning of the climate debate, mainstream economists, left and right, have argued that the best way to cut greenhouse gases is to use simple market economics, putting a price on emissions that reflects the environmental damage they cause. As economists see it, the nation is giving a massive implicit subsidy to the users of fossil fuels, who fill the air with carbon dioxide, imposing real costs on society, without paying for the privilege. Make users pay for the carbon dioxide they emit and they will waste less energy, while investment will flow into low-carbon technologies. The nation would obtain emissions cuts at a minimum cost to the economy. This is Economics 101, but Republicans have largely ceded the free-market arena to Democrats such as Mr. Van Hollen. His proposal would put a limit on the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions, a cap that would decline each year. Beneath that cap, companies would have to buy permits for the emissions their fuels produce. The buying and selling of permits would set a market price for carbon dioxide. The government would rebate all of the revenue from selling permits back to anyone with a Social Security number, more than offsetting any rise in consumer prices for 80 percent of Americans. Most upper-income people, who use more energy, and government, which would get no rebate, would pay more under the plan. Behind the plan’s elegance are some inevitable complications. Mr. Van Hollen would slap a border charge on goods that come from countries that lack comparable anti-emissions policies. That will be hard to pull off efficiently. Officials will have to calculate the carbon footprint of various goods from various points of origin, and other countries will accuse the United States of protectionism. Yet any carbon pricing plan will have to include some trade adjustment. Otherwise U.S. industry will be disadvantaged. Mr. Van Hollen’s plan also faces political challenges. Lawmakers will be tempted to give away pollution permits to interests they favor, shattering


NASA scientist takes measure of the planet

Puerto Rico, San Juan. The current squadron of about 27 missions has better sensors and cameras and longer life spans, including Suomi NPP, which launched in 2011 as a joint project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The VIIRS sensor scans a swath of Earth at a time, about 1,900 miles across, using a telescope that measures the difference between the light coming down to the planet’s surface from the sun and the light reflected back to the telescope. It takes about a day to scan the entire planet. “Miguel plays a lead role [in the research] even though he’s quite young,” Crystal B. Schaaf, a professor of remote sensing at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Román’s dissertation adviser, said of her former student. “I’m incredibly proud of him. Now I’m working with him as a colleague.” Raised by a single mother “and huge extended family” following the death of his father, a U.S. Army Green Beret originally from the Dominican Republic, on a training mission, Román studied to become an electrical engineer to follow an uncle who worked for the Puerto Rican phone company. It was either that or “make pills for Pfizer or work for Bacardi rum,” he said. As a college sophomore at the University of Puerto Rico, he got a summer engineering internship at NASA through a program for promising college and graduate students. He was paired with an earth scientist. And he was hooked on space. That summer, he also met his future wife, Julia Román-Duval, a French astrophysicist who supports NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope at Johns Hopkins University. “She looks up, I look down,” Román joked. They live in Columbia, Md., with their three children, ages 4, 2 and 1. Román came to NASA in 2009 in a wave of 96 scientists hired with federal stimulus money. He had just finished his doctorate at Boston University in remote sensing. In his own research, he is turning to urban policies and cultural forces that drive energy use, particularly of electricity. He is taking the nighttime images the Suomi satellite can collect to look at humans who turn on the lights at night. “But we’re not spying on you,” he chuckled. The research is in its early stages. But so far data show that American electricity use spikes by about 20 percent during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. During Ramadan in Egypt’s Nile


D.C. community calendar, Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 2014

Thursday, AUG. 28 Walking club, National Cathedral behind the scenes, age 11 and older, see gargoyles and stained-glass windows and climb a lot of stairs for a panoramic view of the city. Bring a camera. 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekdays, Washington National Cathedral, Wisconsin and Massachusetts avenues NW. $25; ages 11-12, $21. 202-537-6200 or www.nationalcathedral.org . Stories for children, “The Hundred-Foot Journey ,” a film about a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch, displaced with his Indian family to a quaint village in the south of France and on the brink of opening an Indian restaurant that rivals an Michelin-rated restaurant, starring Helen Mirren, Charlotte Le Bon and Manish Dayal. 11:30 a.m. (except Thursday), 2:15, 5 and 8 p.m. through next Thursday, Avalon Theatre, 5612 Connecticut Ave. NW. $11.50; students, $9; seniors, $8.75; military and age 12 and younger, $8.50. 202-966-6000 or www.theavalon.org . U.S. Air Force Band concert, the String Ensemble performs. 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m., National Museum of American History, 14th and Constitution Ave. NW. Free. 202-633-1000. Heirloom garden tours, Beginners’ computer class, learn how to create an e-mail account, search the Internet and use online library services. 1-3 p.m. Thursdays, Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library, 1630 Seventh St. NW. Free. 202-727-1288. Memorials on the Mall, a National Park Service ranger leads a walking tour of a selection of memorials. 2-4 p.m. daily through Sunday, Lincoln Memorial, 23rd Street NW and West Potomac Park. Free. 202-426-6841. Teen Advisory Group meeting, bring your ideas for library programs, earn community service hours and help to make Teen Space a better space. 4 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW. Free. 202-727-0321. Teen Wii game night, Origami nights, for ages 7-12, learn how to create paper cranes, frogs, foxes, ties and other designs using the Japanese art form. Beginners welcome. 4:30 p.m. Thursdays and Tuesdays, Francis A. Gregory Library, 3660 Alabama Ave. SE. Free. 202-698-6373. Abolition before Abe, Big Maze late night, visit exhibits, navigate a really big maze and nosh at Hill Country’s Backyard Barbecue. 5-9 p.m., National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. $16; ages 3-17, $13; seniors, $13. 202-272-2448. www.nbm.org . Wii dance-off, for ages 13-19, a weekly competition using Wii. 5:30 p.m. Thursdays, William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library, 115 Atlantic St. SW. Free. 202-243-1184. Dance concert, Anacostia Library chess club, for ages 10-16. 6 p.m. Thursdays, Anacostia Library, 1800 Good


Ebola vaccine to be tested in humans at NIH Clinical Center in Maryland this fall

called chimp adenovirus type 3. The virus is used as a carrier to deliver pieces of genetic material from two Ebola species: Sudan and Zaire, the type currently responsible for the devastating toll in West Africa. The vaccine is designed to deliver one part of Ebola’s genetic material to human cells, eventually triggering an immune response in the patient. The vaccine, however, does not allow Ebola genes to replicate. “It’s important to know that the Ebola genetic material contained in the investigational vaccine cannot cause a vaccinated individual to become infected,” Fauci said. Officials said that if the trial proceeds as planned, the first wave of safety data could become available by year end. Should that prove promising, health workers on the front lines of the outbreak and others at risk of contracting the disease potentially could receive the drug sometime next year, though that timeline remains uncertain. NIH’s trial comes amid a flurry of efforts to ramp up testing and production of various other treatments and vaccines developed in recent years, primarily by small biotech firms and governments such as the United States and Canada. The urgency is understandable: The World Health Organization said Thursday that the worst Ebola outbreak in history is getting worse. The agency said the outbreak that has ravaged West Africa for most of this year ultimately could infect 20,000 people before it runs its course. So far, the virus has claimed 1,552 lives, and it shows little sign of slowing. More than 3,000 people officially have been infected in the current outbreak, but WHO officials believe that the real tally is likely much higher. Fauci and other officials said Thursday that while the accelerated efforts to develop vaccines and treatments for Ebola could make a difference, the quickest way to slow the spread of the disease is to quarantine victims, trace and monitor their contacts and follow established sanitation and treatment practices. “Now, and in the immediate future, the real solution, if there is one, is to implement the public health measures” that have been proven to stop previous outbreaks, Fauci said. “In West Africa, these must be the main focus.” More from The Washington Post: Photos: The men and women behind the mission to end the Ebola outbreak Bats, bushmeat: What’s the source of the Ebola outbreak? Impending food crisis in Ebola-stricken areas WHO: Outbreak ‘vastly’ underestimated WHO: Ebola virus could infect 20,000


The methods, myths and mysteries of hashing

the end of the run, she said, you can always tell whether if a virgin is right for hashing. The smile on Just Jen’s face as the last of the beer poured out is a tell. “May the hash go in peace!” someone yelled. The cooler rolled to the truck. Tennis shoes were traded for flip flops. Just Miles the dog was thrown a few bottom-of-the-bag Cheetos. And away they went, past the federal buildings to their homes and kids and jobs. Until the next week. After the run, the group gathers in a circle so a committee can sing a song welcoming the virgins — a.k.a. first-time hashers. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post) HASHING 101 What is hashing? The Hash House Harriers is a running and drinking club that operates internationally, with more than 500 chapters in the United States alone. Each chapter usually meets on a weekly or monthly basis and spends an hour running along a pre-marked trail. A “hare” marks the trail with symbols in chalk and the rest of the runners follow, jogging through any environment and in any weather. At one point along the trail and again at the end, the runners stop and drink — usually beer. Hashers are known for their crude sense of humor, which can be observed in their nicknames, songs and initiation process. Their traditions are not for the easily offended: Everything from the choice of trail to physical attributes is on the table to become the subject of mockery. Who came up with this? According to group lore, hashing began in Malaysia in 1938, as entertainment for men in the British Colonial service. Its founder, A.S. Gispert, was an accountant. Do I have to be an experienced runner? The group sees itself as more of a social club than an athletic endeavor, meaning there are runners of all abilities. It is also perfectly acceptable to walk, but highly unacceptable to attempt to race anyone. (You’ll be called a “race-ist” if you do.) Do I have to drink? Drinking is the distinguishing characteristic of the running group. Many of the songs and initiation traditions involve alcohol. Still, hashers are adamant that drinking is not a requirement to join. How do I join? The Washington and Baltimore area is home to 17 chapters of Hash House Harriers. Their schedules, contact information and participation costs (generally $5 to $7 per hash)


Ebola virus has mutated during course of outbreak

then,” said Sabeti, referring to the time between 2004 and when the virus resurfaced earlier this year. “We’re trying to piece together an historical record.” Thursday’s study also details hundreds of genetic mutations that make the current Ebola outbreak different from any in the past. Some of those changes have the potential to affect the accuracy of diagnostic tests or the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments under development for the disease. “We’ve uncovered more than 300 genetic clues about what sets this outbreak apart from previous outbreaks,” Stephen Gire, one of the study’s co-authors and an infectious disease researcher at Harvard, said in an announcement about the findings. “Although we don’t know whether these differences are related to the severity of the current outbreak, by sharing these data with the research community, we hope to speed up our understanding of this epidemic and support global efforts to contain it.” Sabeti said researchers are expecting to receive additional Ebola samples soon from Nigeria. They plan to sequence those, as well, and release the data as soon as possible. “The fact that we can do this in real time while the outbreak is still going is breathtaking,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said of the group’s rapid genomic sequencing of the virus, which he said could have taken two years or longer in the past. “We didn’t have this technology years ago. What they did was really extraordinary.” Fauci said Thursday’s findings also underscore the necessity to get the outbreak under control before the Ebola virus continues to morph. “We’re left with a situation where if, in fact, this thing smolders on and on, we know mutations will accumulate,” he said. “And that has its own set of problems. We’ve really got to get this thing shut off.” Sabeti said she that since she and her colleagues published the sequencing data, they have heard from companies working on vaccines and treatments, as well as by researchers developing new diagnostic tests, who want to understand how the mutations could affect those efforts. Only through such collaboration, she said, can scientists tackle the current outbreak with the speed it deserves. “There’s nothing you should crowdsource more than an epidemic. It has this urgency where we need every person working on it,” Sabeti said. “It took a village to make this


D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray plans return trip to China hoping to drum up investment

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, seen greeting incoming students during the first day of school at Eastern High School on Monday, will begin a 10-day trip to China on Wednesday. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post) As Mayor Vincent C. Gray closes out his single term in office, he will seek a reprise of one of the high points of his tenure — a trade-oriented mission to China — his office said Thursday. In his only overseas trip as mayor, Gray (D) visited China in June 2012, where he opened a D.C. China Center in Shanghai and helped close an investment deal that pumped tens of millions of dollars into a long-stalled real estate project in Shaw. Gray’s 10-day return voyage will begin Wednesday, according to a statement from his office, and it will include the opening of a second D.C. China Center, in Beijing, and a celebration of the 30th anniversary of D.C.’s sister-city agreement with the Chinese capital. “Our three-decade-old relationship with Beijing has flourished over the years, and will only grow and deepen thanks to the efforts we will undertake on this trip,” he said in the statement. Accompanying Gray on the trip will be M. Jeffrey Miller, the acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development, and Patricia Ellwood, the mayor’s protocol director. Two economic development aides and an executive from the city tourism bureau will attend part of the trip, and a small delegation of private-sector representatives will also participate in the trip, said Chanda Washington, a Gray administration spokeswoman. Gray will be in China at the same time as Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D). Washington said the two have scheduled several “forums and receptions” together there. Gray’s former economic development chief, Victor L. Hoskins, is now serving in a similar role for Baker. Hoskins said Thursday it was “fortuitous” that both chief executives will be in China at the same time; joint events, he said, are scheduled for both Beijing and Shanghai. “The mayor will talk about all the valuable assets and opportunities in D.C.; we’ll talk about the assets and opportunities in Prince George’s County,” he said. “The great thing is, they’re different, and they’ll be attractive to different investors.” The District’s official relationship with Beijing dates to 1984, when then-Mayor Marion Barry and D.C. Council Chairman David A. Clarke led a 13-day goodwill tour that culminated in the signing


How to change the climate on global warming

The first installment of The Post’s laudable “A Climate for Change” series of editorials pointed out that the debate on climate change has “devolved” and cited a number of reasons why Congress has failed to take action to reduce carbon emissions [“The certainty of climate change,” Aug. 25]. The editorial failed to mention one other key reason: The Koch brothers, Exxon Mobil and other fossil-fuel interests have bankrolled a multimillion-dollar campaign to confuse the public about the reality and seriousness of man-made global warming. The news media have played a role in spreading this disinformation. Since the early 2000s, news organizations have provided a platform for fossil-fuel-industry-funded think tanks, advocacy groups and politicians to make spurious claims about climate science. Reporters have relied on these public officials and groups to provide the “other side.” There is no other side. Fortunately, The Post has been citing climate-change contrarians less frequently these days. But the paper is still publishing columns by Charles Krauthammer and George F. Will and op-eds from others that distort the science. If The Post is serious about clearing up confusion about global warming, it would follow the lead of the BBC and stop publishing scientifically indefensible statements. Elliott Negin, Washington The writer is director of news and commentary for the Union of Concerned Scientists. ● Advanced Energy Economy disagrees with the editorial’s assertion that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan represents “a cumbersome and expensive way to slash emissions.” The EPA’s proposal underestimates available technologies that have proved cost-effective in reducing greenhouse gases and fails to take into account the technological progress that will occur by 2030. The emissions targets will spur investment in modernizing our electric power system. A recent report by our association details 40 technologies that cut emissions, save money and make the U.S. power grid more reliable and resilient. These technologies include energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas, solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear power, smart grid and energy storage. With a range of options that are cost-saving, low in cost or falling in cost, there is every reason to believe the EPA’s estimate that electricity bills will fall 8 percent as a result of meeting its carbon standards. The Clean Power Plan also will drive investment in a power system that is sorely in need of it. The dividends of lower emissions will be economic — in jobs, growth and consumer value. Malcolm


VA is looking for a few good doctors and nurses

shortages of personnel at some locations,” McDonald told the American Legion convention Tuesday. “And so recruiting is job one right now. I intend to be out in front and hands-on in that effort.” In that speech, he recalled two medical school students who represent the promise and the problems with VA. “On one end of the spectrum is an Air Force lieutenant about to graduate medical school who tells her father, ‘I wouldn’t want to work for VA — have you heard all the bad stories about it?’ On the other end is Nancy, about to graduate medical school as a neurologist, who told me on the plane back from Memphis, ‘practicing medicine at VA is my dream job.’ The only difference between hiring a great doctor and being short-handed is misunderstanding what serving veterans is about.” Actually, both those students have a fair understanding of what VA is about. There are too many “bad stories” about VA health care, as documented in a report released Tuesday by the department's inspector general. In one ridiculous case, staff in Phoenix attempted to schedule an appointment with a patient three months after he died. Yet stories like that too frequently overshadow the dedicated work of VA employees. During a Senate hearing in May, all seven representatives of veterans service organizations said the problem with VA health care was one of access — not quality. That should not be forgotten. There are many fine VA staffers, but increasing their number won’t be without issues. McDonald will have to convince people like the Air Force lieutenant that VA is the place to be. He tried to do that by personally calling the officer, whom he heard about from her father. He doesn’t know if he changed her mind about VA, but he hopes to visit her medical school on a recruiting trip. Another problem is not related to the scandal, except to the extent that word describes the agency’s bureaucracy. “The current system of hiring is a nightmare,” said Samuel V. Spagnolo, president of the National Association of Veterans Affairs Physicians and Dentists, who welcomed McDonald’s initiative. The department’s hiring process can be so long and difficult, Spagnolo added, that job candidates sometimes find employment elsewhere while waiting for VA to act. McDonald has heard that complaint before. “We’ve got to get it fixed,” he said. It might be worth their wait if the


Sense of urgency heightens over Ebola crisis

Governments move to stop the epidemic from spreading further as the death toll from the virus continues to grow. The Ebola outbreak sweeping through West Africa will get significantly worse before it subsides, infecting as many as 20,000 people, the World Health Organization said Thursday, even as U.S. researchers announced plans to begin human safety trials next week in a race to develop an effective vaccine. Adding more urgency to the crisis, new research detailed how the virus at the heart of the outbreak has mutated repeatedly in recent months, a fact that could hinder diagnosis and treatment of the devastating disease the longer the crisis stretches on. Five of the paper’s 50 co-authors died of Ebola before they could see their findings about the sequencing of the virus’s genome published. Despite the bad news continuing to flow out of West Africa — of overfilled and understaffed treatment centers, of airlines suspending service into affected areas, of controversial quarantines, of body counts climbing by the day — Thursday also brought a sense that the international response to the crisis, widely criticized as slow and inadequate, is shifting into higher gear. WHO issued a “roadmap” aimed at stopping the current Ebola outbreak within the next six to nine months. It includes dramatically scaling up efforts to contain the spread of the disease and treat those stricken by it, increased resources at hospitals and isolation centers, ensuring safe burials and more aggressive public awareness campaigns. The agency said it also will work to clear logistical “bottlenecks” that have made it difficult to get disinfectants, body bags, gloves and other medical supplies to the areas where they are desperately needed. The plan will cost an estimated $490 million over the next six months and require thousands of experts and local volunteers, the agency said. That doesn’t include support for other essential services or helping West African health systems recover from the epidemic. As the worst Ebola outbreak in history unfolds in West Africa, The Post's Joel Achenbach explains how the deadly virus wreaks havoc on the human body. The WHO also offered sobering new numbers of Ebola’s toll in West Africa. At least 1,552 people have now died and 3,069 have been infected in the four countries battling the virus — Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria — though the actual totals almost certainly are higher. Scientists from the National Institutes of Health,


West Africa, but he said researchers would work as quickly as possible to make that happen. The NIH and other groups, such as the British-based public health charity Wellcome Trust, are trying to line up similar human Ebola vaccine trials in the United Kingdom, Gambia and Mali beginning as early as next month. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in talks with Nigerian officials about conducting trials in that country. Fauci said that while it might be ideal to conduct trials in countries being hit hardest by the current outbreak, such as Liberia or Sierra Leone, “the infrastructure in those places would not allow the kind of careful Phase I studies that you would like to do.” The vaccine being tested at NIH next week is based on a chimpanzee cold virus called chimp adenovirus type 3. The virus is used as a carrier to deliver pieces of genetic material from two Ebola species: Sudan and Zaire, the type responsible for the current outbreak in West Africa. It is designed to deliver one part of Ebola’s genetic material to human cells, eventually triggering an immune response in the patient. The vaccine, however, does not allow Ebola genes to replicate and cannot cause infection, Fauci said. NIH’s trial comes amid a flurry of efforts to ramp up testing and production of various Ebola treatments and vaccines developed in recent years, primarily by small biotech firms and governments such as the United States and Canada. Origin of an outbreak As researchers work toward effective treatments for Ebola, the study published Thursday in Science offered new insights into the origins of the outbreak and how it ended up in West Africa. By genetically sequencing samples of the Ebola Zaire strain — one of five types known to infect humans — researchers said the virus appears to have diverged about a decade ago from a related strain in Central Africa, where previous outbreaks have occurred. Ebola’s arrival in Sierra Leone this spring appears to have begun with a single funeral, according to the findings. A young woman who had recently suffered a miscarriage arrived at Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone in late May with a high fever. During her treatment, doctors discovered she had been infected with Ebola, becoming the country’s first diagnosed case. The woman eventually recovered, but health workers who traced her contacts discovered that she and more


of the outbreak and how it ended up in West Africa. By genetically sequencing samples of the Ebola Zaire strain — one of five types known to infect humans — researchers said the virus appears to have diverged about a decade ago from a related strain in Central Africa, where previous outbreaks have occurred. Ebola’s arrival in Sierra Leone this spring appears to have begun with a single funeral, according to the findings. A young woman who had recently suffered a miscarriage arrived at Kenema Government Hospital in Sierra Leone in late May with a high fever. During her treatment, doctors discovered she had been infected with Ebola, becoming the country’s first diagnosed case. The woman eventually recovered, but health workers who traced her contacts discovered that she and more than a dozen other women recently had attended the burial of a traditional healer who had been treating Ebola patients near the Sierra Leone-Guinea border. All had been infected. “They realized she was not an isolated case,” said Pardis Sabeti, an associate professor at Harvard whose lab sequenced the Ebola virus genomes from 78 patients and quickly made public the data earlier this summer. Thursday’s study also details more than 300 genetic mutations that make the current Ebola outbreak different from any in the past. While viruses routinely mutate and some of those changes are most likely insignificant, others have the potential to affect the accuracy of diagnostic tests or the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments under development for the disease. Sabeti said researchers are expecting to receive additional Ebola samples soon from Nigeria. They plan to sequence those, as well, and release the data as soon as possible, in hopes of speeding up understanding of the disease and efforts to contain it. Sabeti said she and colleagues already have heard from companies developing treatments and diagnostic tests, who want to understand how the mutations could affect those efforts. Only through such collaboration, she said, can scientists tackle the outbreak with the speed it deserves. “There’s nothing you should crowdsource more than an epidemic,” she said. “It has this urgency where we need every person working on it.” Abby Phillip, Caelainn Hogan and Lenny Bernstein contributed to this report. Related: Ebola virus has repeatedly mutated Human trials for experimental vaccine to begin Virus could infect 20,000 before outbreak is over Why quarantining an entire Liberian slum is a bad idea


Book review: ‘On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City,’ by Alice Goffman

The dramatic rise of incarceration rates among African Americans since the 1970s has become more visible to the nation as a whole partly because of television shows like the widely popular HBO series “The Wire,” which ran from 2002 to 2008, the current Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” and books such as Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness,” published in 2010. Throughout most of the 20th century, incarceration rates in the United States remained consistently low, but after the 1970s and the beginning of the war on drugs, these rates climbed significantly. “Among Black young men,” sociologist Alice Goffman writes in “On the Run,” “one in nine are in prison, compared with less than 2 percent of white young men.” The result of six years of intensive fieldwork in a Philadelphia neighborhood that Goffman pseudonymously calls 6th Street, “On the Run” continues in the vein of other recent studies exploring mass imprisonment. The book examines the precarious existence of men who are in and out of prison, their constant efforts to evade recapture while back on the street, and the effects of their fugitive behavior on their families and communities. The central characters are Mike and Chuck, men in their 20s who became Goffman’s close friends and even roommates during her research. The son of a mother with a crack problem, Chuck and his two younger brothers were no strangers to the area’s jails and juvenile detention centers. Mike, whose upbringing was more stable, nevertheless turned to selling crack after losing his job in a pharmaceutical warehouse. Mike spent nearly 31 / 2 of the next five years behind bars, and when not incarcerated, he had to make 51 court appearances, living almost constantly under the shadow of warrants for his arrest. This was fairly typical for most of the young men in Chuck and Mike’s world, becoming a significant problem not only for them but also for the people in their lives. Readers following the recent events in Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed black teenager was shot to death by a white police officer, will find no shortage of similar examples in “On the Run.” “Fourteen times during my first eighteen months of near daily observation,” Goffman writes, “I watched the police punch, choke, kick, stomp on, or beat young men with their nightsticks.” In one case, Goffman witnessed four


New president Deborah Rutter is Kennedy Center’s breath of fresh air from Windy City

Chicago’s Orchestra Hall is white and gold and gleaming, and relatively small. The balconies arc near the stage, holding the 2,500 audience members close to the musicians in a reverberant clamshell of a space. The room is laid out on a human scale, each musician clearly visible from the seats, the conductor — Riccardo Muti, who has become one of Chicago’s most popular cultural icons — close enough to touch. On a night in late June, at the start of the orchestra’s final subscription program of the season, the approachability and accessibility of the space seemed perfectly to reflect Deborah Rutter, the woman who had been leading the orchestra for the past 11 years. Rutter, 58, exudes an unflashy, easygoing appeal: reddish hair cropped in an angled bob, a trim build, a strong and comfortable laugh. In the cluster of concertgoers before the show, and at intermission, and as she threaded her way down to Muti’s dressing room after the final chords of a dazzling Mahler First had drained out of the auditorium, she seemed one of the crowd. She exchanged hugs and conversation and farewells with people around her so even-handedly that it was impossible to tell who was a friend, who a business acquaintance of long standing, and who was a member of the subscription audience that had come to feel involved with the orchestra’s, and Rutter’s, fortunes. The evening was part of Rutter’s swan song in Chicago. On Monday, she will take over as president of the Kennedy Center. New season, new chapter Rutter’s career has played out entirely in the orchestral world. Three times — at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and in Chicago — she has brought organizations out of dire financial straits into rude good health. The Kennedy Center offers a different kind of challenge. Its finances have been generally in good shape under departing President Michael Kaiser. Rutter’s main goal is to see whether she can bring the kind of intimacy and excitement that dominates Chicago’s Orchestra Hall to the austere, impersonal, monumental spaces of the Kennedy Center. And it wouldn’t hurt if she could help the Kennedy Center’s primary resident orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, to a jolt of Chicago’s musical adrenaline. Deborah F. Rutter (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) Rutter takes nothing for granted. “I don’t want to overpromise and under-deliver,” she said, six weeks after that Chicago concert.