The genius inventor who says he’ll eliminate chronic pain with a simple device

brain, they reasoned, was a natural place to use electricity. “If pacemakers and electricity works for the heart, then it should work for the brain considering it’s much more electrical than the heart,” David Fischell said. But the trick was to get the electricity to the brain. So they mulled a concept in physics known as Faraday’s law of induction. The principle, which also gave rise to electromagnetic generators, holds that a pulse of magnetic energy will induce an electrical current. And that, they thought, might grant them a way into the brain. Diagnostic researchers had already used this technology — called transcranial magnetic stimulation — to poke and prod the brain with bursts of electricity. But no one, David Fischell said, had used it to treat the brain. So Upton, back at his office in Ontario at McMaster University, fired a pulse of magnetic energy into the skull of a patient who complained of migraine pain and an aura. The patient’s aura then shifted shape and size. This suggested something big: Electricity could affect the neurons behind the migraine. “The overall principle is very straight forward,” Upton said. “Migraines are like epilepsy in that there is an electrical spreading in the brain, and if you can interrupt that spreading, you could stop the migraine.” In 2000, the three inventors filed an application for a patent. It detailed a portable device that presses against the skull and shoots magnetic energy into the brain, expunging a migraine before it starts. One study published in Neurology called such technology a “major step forward” in chronic migraine treatment. Another study in Neurological Research found that 50 out of 51 migraine patients reported a 50 percent reduction in headache frequency after one week of treatment. The Journal of Neurological Sciences said it “ameliorates chronic migraine” in one part of the brain. Still, 13 years passed before the Food and Drug Administration approved Fischell’s device. In those 13 years, a lot of life happened. Fischell started a department of biomedical engineering at the University of Maryland. He criticized the FDA at a Congressional hearing for what he called its sluggish pace in approving patents for consumer use. And his wife of 54 years died of leukemia. It crushed Fischell. For a man who has hung a sign that says “nothing is impossible” in his office, he couldn’t accept his own helplessness. “I couldn’t save her,”


Climate change skeptics may be about to lose one of their favorite arguments

ice, may spur nonlinear growth of Antarctic ice sheet mass loss,” write Hansen and his colleagues. “Effects of freshwater injection and resulting ocean stratification are occurring sooner in the real world than in our model,” they add. Reached by phone, Hansen added that one reason he thinks the model he is using is is right — and other models are not — is that it captures Antarctic sea ice expansion. “All the other models have sea ice disappearing as the planet get warmer,” he says. He also thinks the Antarctic ice expansion trend will continue, along with ice sheet melt. “It will be clearer, give us a few more years,” he says. Granted, the new Hansen study is simultaneously advancing a gigantic new synthesis of existing research and also pushing the envelope — it will need to be scientifically digested for some time, and has already drawn some critical comments from experts. However, the Hansen paper also just received its first official peer review by one of several reviewers designated by the journal, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions – the University of Chicago geoscientist David Archer. And it is a strong review – Archer says that the paper is a “masterwork of scholarly synthesis, modeling virtuosity, and insight, with profound implications.” It’s also worth noting that other explanations for the expansion of Antarctic sea ice have been offered that do not turn on meltwater and ocean freshening. Overall, it’s not clear that scientists yet fully understand what’s going on in this extremely remote part of the climate system. Nonetheless, this serves to point out the danger of seizing on a mysterious anomaly in the climate system — like expanding Antarctic sea ice — and interpreting it to score political points. For what may seem like good news for the climate — and bad news for climate “alarmists,” as skeptics put it — could be the utter opposite. Images of consumption are the theme of the book, “Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot.” It addresses environmental deterioration through subjects including materialism, consumption, pollution, fossil fuels and carbon footprints. Also in Energy Environment: Scientists have discovered that living near trees is good for your health 40 percent of adults on Earth have never heard of climate change Alaska’s terrifying wildfire season and what it says about climate change For more, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and follow us on Twitter here.


In Ethiopia, Obama seeks progress on peace, security in East Africa

Ethiopia. “But I do so from a position of respect.” [READ: Obama's trip to Ethiopia alarms some human rights activists] Hailemariam, for his part, said, “Our commitment to democracy is real, not skin deep.” But he added later that people could not expect sweeping reforms given the fact that military rule ended just a couple of decades ago. “Something has to be understood: This is a fledgling democracy.” The two leaders also discussed their collaboration on counterterrorism, an area in which Ethiopia has been an active leader. The White House announced Monday it will “work with Congress to provide approximately $465 million” this year in new training, equipment and capacity-building aid to its African allies. The administration also said it would provide at least $40 million in assistance this fiscal year to combat violent extremism in East Africa. The money is intended to foster collaboration among security forces, law enforcement, government officials, community leaders and members of civil society, officials said. Obama praised Ethiopia’s work to curb extremist activity but noted that its government had labeled some opposition groups as posing a greater threat than U.S. intelligence would indicate. “Our intelligence indicates while they may oppose the government, they have not tipped into terrorism,” he said. The United States provides more than $600 million in assistance to Ethiopia annually. The vast bulk of that — $490 million — comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development, while the rest is largely security-related. Last fiscal year, nearly $200 million went to health programs, while $163 million went to humanitarian aid. Obama said Ethiopia “has proven itself a global leader” on development and over the past 15 years “has lifted millions of people out of poverty.” “To many people around the world, their image of Ethiopia remains stuck in the past, remembering drought and famine,” he said. The two leaders appeared to have a friendly rapport throughout the news conference. Hailemariam described his country as scoring a series of firsts: Along with being “the cradle of mankind,” he said, “Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.” That elicited a smile from Obama. Obama said he was impressed by the Ethiopian’s unusual pets. “I had a chance to see the famous lions that live on the grounds," he said. "I’m considering getting some for the White House.” But he conceded that before he did that, “I’ll have to make sure my dogs are safe.”


Chilling details of Colo. teen’s death cited as CDC offers new warning about risks of edible pot

of alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, or mental illness,” the CDC said. The warnings could further fuel the debate about legal marijuana use in the four states and the District that now allows anyone over 21 to legally purchase the drug, including in sweet products, such as cookies, brownies and candy. Colorado, along with Washington, were the first states to legalize marijuana use. [How marijuana legalizers are winning the battle for hearts and minds] Denver coroners listed “marijuana intoxication” from cannabis-infused cookies as a significant condition contributing to Thamba’s death, which was classified as an accident. The CDC gives us more detail: A police report indicated that at first he ate only a single piece of his cookie, as directed by the sales clerk. But “approximately 30–60 minutes later, not feeling any effects, he consumed the remainder of the cookie. During the next 2 hours, he reportedly exhibited erratic speech and hostile behaviors. Approximately 3.5 hours after initial ingestion, and 2.5 hours after consuming the remainder of the cookie, he jumped off a fourth floor balcony and died from trauma,” the police report said. Workers at the dispensary recommended eating only about one-sixth of the marijuana cookie, which was the recommended 10 mg serving of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot, the CDC said. They told Thamba’s friend, who bought the cookie, that it could take 30 minutes to feel any effects. But after 30 minutes, not feeling any different, he ate the whole cookie, ingesting 65 mg of THC. The police report did not indicate whether the sales clerk provided specific instructions for how long to wait between ingesting each serving, researchers said. “Because of the delayed effects of THC-infused edibles, multiple servings might be consumed in close succession before experiencing the ‘high’ from the initial serving, as reportedly occurred in this case,” the researchers said. Marijuana is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States after alcohol, with an estimated 19.8 million past-month users during 2013, the CDC says. Colorado enacted new rules for marijuana edibles on Feb. 1, 2015. The products must now have individual labels and contain no more than 10 mg of THC or have clear divisions that show the size of a 10 mg portion. According to the CDC, an estimated 45 percent of Colorado’s marijuana sales involve edible marijuana, including food products and drinks. [Colorado’s legal weed market: $700 million in


In its next move, Amazon could turn to physical grocery stores

(Atomic Taco / Flickr) A couple of decades ago, industry analysts predicted that Amazon would kill off the physical bookstore with its ability to deliver books practically anywhere with the click of a button. Since then, the online retailer has expanded into dozens of other businesses, distributing everything from toys to gardening equipment. There's one area, however, in which Amazon could still reach much farther, and that's its grocery line. Now the company may have discovered a solution — and the answer might mean a return to brick-and-mortar days. Amazon wants to set up drive-through grocery stores where consumers can pick up goods they've ordered online, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Where this could have the biggest impact is on perishables, which obviously require timely delivery. Although shoppers can already buy some perishables through Amazon Fresh and get them delivered the same day, the $300 annual membership isn't for everyone. And the logistics of delivering fresh groceries right to people's homes is still a big challenge. Amazon has reportedly explored retail locations before, but doing it just for groceries would be a different thing entirely. [Amazon is reportedly opening a physical store. Here's what that could reveal about the future of retail.] Providing drop points or mini-warehouses where shoppers can pick up their goods could be an effective solution. Even if they had to drive there once a week, they wouldn't need to spend time assembling their purchases as in normal grocery stores. And despite the probably high cost of offering physical locations around the country, Amazon has demonstrated its willingness on many occasions to take a hit if it means getting more (and more valued) subscribers. Someday, Amazon could figure out how to deliver small batches of groceries by drone. But that day isn't here yet. And until it arrives, it looks as if we could see an e-retail pioneer turn to brick-and-mortar stores as a fix to a problem, not an obstacle to be crushed underfoot. Amazon — whose CEO, Jeffrey Bezos, owns The Post — didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.


In Ethiopia, both Obama and ancient fossils get a motorcade

the “cradle of mankind,” is understandably proud of its fossils. In addition to Lucy, numerous other links to human evolution have been found here, and two others were on display Monday night for Obama: Selam, a 3.3 million-year-old hominid Australopithecus afarensis that ranks as the world’s oldest child, and Ardi, the nearly 4.5 million-year-old Ardipithecus ramidus. [The human family may have evolved half a million years earlier than we thought] “That’s amazing,” Obama remarked when he saw Lucy’s bones, which lay in an uncovered, padded wooden box. “So Lucy was on the chain to Homo sapiens.” Obama asked Zeresenay Alemseged, who was helping give him the tour and serves as senior curator of anthropology of the California Academy at Sciences , “how many jumps” there were between Lucy and Homo sapiens. Alemseged told him there were three jumps in between and urged him to touch a vertebra from Lucy’s torso. “It shows that every single person here, 7 billion people, including Donald Trump, came down through the chain,” said Alemseged, who discovered the bones of Selam and published a paper on it in 2006. Later, the scientists couldn’t recall a time the bones of Lucy had been displayed uncovered; the last time they were displayed outside the museum was two years ago during the 50th celebration of the African Union, when 63 leaders were in Addis Ababa. “Extraordinary people have extraordinary access,” Alemseged said. Berhane Asfaw, who discovered Ardi and was also at the palace, explained that Ethiopian authorities took extraordinary measures to transfer the fossils from their resting place at the museum to the palace. They were transported in a group of “multiple cars so people don’t know which one the fossils are in,” Berhane said, “as you are protecting your president.” So in that way, the president and the ancient fossils had plenty in common. “When you see our ancestor, 3.5 million years old, we are reminded that Ethiopians, Americans, all the people of the world are part of the same human family, the same chain,” Obama said less than half-an-hour later at the state dinner. “And as one of the professors who was describing the artifacts correctly pointed out, so much of the hardship and conflict and sadness and violence that occurs around the world is because we forget that fact. We look at superficial differences as opposed to seeing the fundamental connection that we all share.”


Why Boston is smart to bail on the Olympic Games

Boston and the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Monday that they were withdrawing the city's bid for the 2024 Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) The city of Boston is ending its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, conceding to residents who've vocally protested the idea for months. Poll numbers have shown that a majority of people in the region were opposed to hosting the Games, which have become increasingly costly, and opponents had threatened to put the question to what would have been an embarrassing ballot measure. On Monday morning, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he wouldn't sign a bid document that required the city to guarantee any cost overruns associated with the Games. Later in the day, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that it would scramble to find another American city to compete for the 2024 job. The news is a big victory for Bostonians who believed the Olympics would distract the city — and sap resources — from deep challenges with its transit, housing and education. And it's a resounding defeat for the logic that Boston — or any city — needs to take on a massive sporting event to solve such problems. City taxpayers, so often duped by the allure of sports, finally heard a promise they couldn't believe. In February, we wrote about their objections in a story that's reprinted below. BOSTON — The 100-year-old subway system here is creaking with age, in need of new cars, functional air conditioning and more reliable service. Battered by snowstorms, the entire "T" was paralyzed this week. The commuter rail station downtown needs an expansion, too. And housing — there this city is busting at the seams, in need of tens of thousands of new units to accommodate both new arrivals and priced-out working-class residents. Enter, amid all of these challenges, the prospect of an Olympic Games. Last month, Boston was chosen by the U.S. Olympic Committee over Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles to make the country's bid for the 2024 Summer Games. Now as the possibility that Boston might actual win them starts to sink in, the city is facing a massive debate about what those Games could mean for all of its problems. Opponents say the city can ill-afford the all-consuming distraction of playing Olympic host when Boston can quite literally not keep the subway trains running on time. The Games' backers, meanwhile, counter that the


At Ethiopian food factory, Obama makes the case for his African initiatives

During a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, President Obama toured the Faffa Food plant, which is supported by the U.S. government’s Feed the Future program. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Touring a food factory here Tuesday, President Obama made the case for why his signature policy initiatives were making a difference in Africa. Obama chose to highlight Feed the Future, an initiative that pairs federal funding with money from other nations and the private sector, works to boost the agricultural productivity of small farmers in developing nations. On Tuesday, the administration released a report saying the program played a part in several measurable advances. They include a more than 25 percent reduction in height stunting in two provinces in Kenya between 2009 and 2014, and a 16 percent cut in rural poverty across Uganda in recent years. As he prepared to wrap up a nearly week-long visit to Africa, Obama visited the factory floor of Faffa Food factory to examine how the initiative is working on the ground. Faffa Food produces supplemental foods such as fortified baby food, flours and barley mixes. A local farmer and one of the factory workers explained how they’ve been able to boost agricultural productivity and overall production with the U.S. program’s help. President Obama visits Faffa Food in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The farmer, who wore a colorful blue headscarf, displayed cobs she had produced before and after new processes were introduced, with visibly bigger and brighter cobs as an end result. Obama noted she had tripled her yield, garnering enough money to buy a cow that she could milk. “The goal is to drastically increase the productivity of a small farmers all throughout Africa because what we know is that a huge percentage of Africans are still getting their incomes from agriculture and most of them are very small plots, and not a lot of technology," Obama told reporters. "But with just a few smart interventions, a little bit of help, they can make huge improvements in their overall yield. A few minutes later, standing near several silos and sorting belts, the president told reporters: “There have been questions before about whether some signature initiatives can really make a difference, this is making a difference in very concrete ways."


Behold! A new record for the world’s highest melting point

Molten steel is poured into a crucible, at somewhere around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, but another compound has recently been found that would put steel's melting point to shame. (iStock) Hold on, hold on! We may have a new world record here. Researchers from Brown University may have found a substance with a melting point that beats out the previous record by a few hundred degrees. The candidate is a combination of three elements: hafnium, nitrogen and carbon, and it's expected to have a melting point of about 7,460 degrees Fahrenheit — about two-thirds the temperature of the sun. [The fantastic chemistry of Valyrian steel, the ‘Game of Thrones’ super material] At that level of heat, the substance would beat out the long-time melting-point champion, tantalum hafnium carbide, which was found to have a melting point at 7,128 degrees in 1930 (sorry bud, you had a good run). Now before we break out the champagne, there's still research left to be done. The discovery, published this week in the journal Physical Review B, has only been done on paper based on math. The researchers inferred the melting point while simulating the substance at the atomic level, using the law of quantum mechanics. What's left to do now is create the substance and then try to melt it in a lab — a very, very hot lab. The research team will be working with the University of California-Davis, which has the right equipment to try it out. Compounds made from hafnium and carbon have some of the highest known melting points. Using computer simulations, Brown University engineers predict that a material made with hafnium, nitrogen, and carbon will have a higher melting point than any known material. (Graphic courtesy of Brown University) The research is a pretty good illustration of how our computers are getting faster and better at doing really complex calculations — but there's another reason why scientists like to put out predictions like this before it's actually demonstrated in a lab. "You can always retroactively 'predict' something," said Axel van de Walle, author of the study and a professor at Brown University. "This is not really a wild guess." At this point, it's unclear what practical applications this compound could have with such a high melting point. There are lots other properties, like being able to resist oxidation, that needs to be researched. Still, scientists say their work could


Obama: If I were able to run again, I could win

While discussing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia the need for African leaders to respect term limits, President Obama envisioned his own life after office and said he thought he might win a third term if he were to run. But he emphasized that was not legal. President Obama on Tuesday warned that Africa’s "democratic progress is at risk" when leaders refuse to give up power, holding the American political system’s constitutional term limits as an example -- but adding that if he were able to run again, he could win. "I love my work. But under our constitution I cannot run again. I can't run again. I actually think I'm a pretty good president. I think if I ran I could win. But I can't," he said during a speech in Ethiopia. "So there's a lot that I'd like to do to keep America moving. But the law is the law. And no one person is above the law, not even the president." Then again, said Obama, there's a lot to be said for post-presidential life. "And I’ll be honest with you, I’m looking forward to life after being president. I won’t have such a big security detail all the time. It means I can take a walk, I can spend time with my family, I can find other ways to serve, I can visit Africa more often," he said. "The point is, I don’t understand why people want to stay so long. Especially when they’ve got a lot of money." Obama made his remarks at a meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, where in May the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front claimed that 100 percent of voters nationwide had supported the ruling party. "Ethiopians have much to be proud of," Obama said, while adding that "Ethiopia will not fully unleash the potential of its people if journalists are restricted or legitimate opposition groups can't participate in the campaign process." Obama said that other African countries also needed to do more to promote democracy. "When journalists are put behind bars for doing their jobs, or activists are threatened as governments crack down on civil society, then you may have democracy in name, but not in substance," he said to applause. The president also urged African leaders to institute economic reforms and curb corruption to clear the way for investment needed to create jobs for the continent's rapidly rising


The search for America’s best food cities: Philadelphia

choice inside the roll). Iterations of the staple can be found on the menus of some of the cityâs upscale restaurants, including a.kitchen, the see-and-be-seen dining room on Rittenhouse Square where a recent $15 express lunch featured a roast pork sandwich with spicy mayonnaise on pillowy focaccia. Other traditions are more fluid. Good craft beer, for one, seems to flow everywhere in this town, which for seven years has hosted what organizers say is the largest Beer Week celebration in the country, with more than 50,000 participants. âPhilly is very self-aware of its image as a blue-collar town,â says Don Russell (known as Joe Sixpack by Philadelphia Daily News readers), who counts 50 or so breweries in the area. âNo drink evokes that better than beer.â For others, the sweetest four-letter word on the scene is BYOB (âbring your own bottleâ), a long-standing custom that encourages start-ups and allows customers to eat out more economically, because the places donât serve marked-up wines and donât typically charge a corkage fee to customers who bring their own. (Liquor licenses are expensive, say chefs, one of whom told me about an establishment thatâs shelling out $140,000 just to be able to serve booze.) Some of the cityâs most interesting fare can be found in these typically intimate settings, a list that includes the farm-fresh Helm, the seafood-themed Little Fish and the French-accented Will BYOB. Philadelphia native Joncarl Lachman, who, facing âa significant birthdayâ two years ago, returned to his home town after a decade of cooking in Chicago, thinks locals are drawn to BYOBs as much for their âromanceâ and neighborliness as for their value. For the chef-owner of Noord Eetcafe, a 38-seat Northern European retreat in trendy East Passyunk, âitâs like having people into your home, except they bring the wine and pay for the food.â Lachman has a second place in the works, a Parisian-North African hybrid destined for the Italian Market in September. Thanks to an investor with $92,000 to spare, Restaurant Neuf will have a full bar. âWe beat you, New York!â No discussion of the food scene in Philadelphia would be complete without a shout-out to Stephen Starr, who started in the comedy and music industries but went on to open 21 restaurants in the city (and 14 elsewhere), starting with the martini-fueled Continental in 1995, when Philadelphia was, the impresario recalls, âa frontier that was wide open.â


This week only, pair your Veloce pizza with beer

For the next four days, Ruth Gresser's Veloce pizzeria will have a happy hour to rival Pizzeria Paradiso's. (Photo by April Greer For The Washington Post) Ruth Gresser's fast-casual Veloce has always had two major differences from her long-established Pizzeria Paradiso chain: The pies arrive in around two minutes, and the downtown Veloce lacks Paradiso's stellar craft beer program. [Veloce: A pizza pioneer jumps into the fast-casual game. But can she stand out?] This week, though, Veloce will offer a daily "Beer and Pizza Happy Hour" with a pair of draft beers sold for half-price from 5 to 7 p.m. The first two beers to hit the taps are Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin and Firestone Walker Pivo Pils. A "curated" pizza will be offered for $7 during the happy hour. Beer director Josh Fernands says the temporary liquor license only allows Veloce to sell beer from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, but he calls the happy hour "a potential foreshadowing." If sales go well, Gresser might apply for a permanent liquor license for her L Street restaurant. A strong lineup of beers to be sold over the next few days includes 3 Stars Paradiso: Sun, which was brewed just for Gresser's restaurants; Allagash White; Boulevard 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat; Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold; Stone Ruination 2.0 IPA; and Founders All Day IPA. Veloce: 1828 L St. NW. 202-290-1910. www.eatveloce.com.


NTSB blames human error, compounded by poor safety culture, in Virgin Galactic crash

the space ship that allows two wings to stand upright and create drag on the vehicle. With the wings unlocked prematurely, the space shift broke apart in mid-air, officials said. But at Tuesday’s hearing, board members focused on the safety culture at Scaled Composites: how it trained its pilots and the systems that could have prevented the pilot from prematurely unlocking the system. National Transportation Safety Board officials said the pilots at the helm of a Virgin Galactic spaceship that crashed last year were unaware of the consequences of unlocking the craft's moveable tail section too early because of poor training. It determined that the company “failed to consider and protect against the possibility that a single human error could result in a catastrophic hazard.” And that failure “set the stage for the copilot’s premature unlocking of the feather system.” The pilots did not wear their full space gear while training in the simulator, the investigation found, and the simulator could not replicate the jolts of high-speed space travel and the increased gravity pressure it causes. Scaled Composites also did not ensure that “pilots adequately understood the risks of unlocking the feather early,” the investigation found. NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt said that Scaled “put all their eggs in the basket of the pilot doing it correctly.” But he said that humans will inevitably make mistakes, “and the mistake is often times a symptom of a flawed system.” The investigation also found that the pilots had more tasks to accomplish during the test flight, under tight deadlines, which “increased the opportunity for errors.” “Each step adds complexity and with increased complexity comes the increased possibility for error,” Sumwalt said. In a statement, Kevin Mickey, a spokesman for Scaled Composites, which is owned by Northrop Grumman, said that “safety has always been a critical component of Scaled’s culture and, as the NTSB noted today, our pilots were experienced and well-trained.” He said that the company has “already made changes in the wake of the accident to further enhance safety. We will continue to look for additional ways to do so.” Virgin Galactic said in a statement that the company has “already implemented changes as a result of the accident.” Officials said those included an “inhibitor” that would prevent the feather from being prematurely unlocked. NTSB officials also questioned whether the Federal Aviation Administration, under pressure to issue or deny flight permits


Why democracies don’t want the Olympics anymore

Paramilitary police guard Beijing’s National Stadium during the Olympic opening ceremonies in 2008 (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images) While some in Boston are mourning Monday’s announcement that the city’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics was over, a more common reaction there was one of relief. Even the allure of bringing the world’s greatest athletes to one of America’s most sports-obsessed towns wasn’t enough to overcome locals’ fears of three weeks of traffic jams, years of construction projects and, of course, a potentially enormous bill for taxpayers. Ultimately, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s refusal to guarantee that the city would cover any cost overruns incurred by the privately run Boston 2024 organizing committee was enough for the U.S. Olympic Committee to walk away from their commitment to the city, with the hopes of securing another suitable American host to compete for the games. Los Angeles is considered to be the new front-runner, but Washington, D.C., and San Francisco may also wish to revive their bids. Chicago’s unsuccessful attempt to host the 2016 Summer Games was also brought down by the requirement that the host city provide a financial backstop for the event, as then-Mayor Richard Daley’s last-minute agreement to cover overruns tanked public support for the bid. The Olympic movement suffered another blow last week, too, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that his country was scrapping plans for its Olympic Stadium, which was to be the centerpiece of the 2020 games in Tokyo. The Japanese public was never thrilled about the stadium’s design, but outrage boiled over when the project’s $2 billion cost was revealed. And while the Olympics remain wildly popular among Americans overall (13 of the 24 most watched sporting events in the United States in 2012 were Summer Olympics broadcasts from London), taxpayers in potential host cities have been much less enthusiastic. Residents of New York and Chicago were deeply divided about their bids for the 2012 and 2016 games, and most recently local support for Boston 2024 topped out at a mere 40 percent. You don’t have to be an Olympic-caliber politician to recognize that’s a losing issue. All over the world, the public — when given the opportunity to voice an opinion — has become increasingly disenchanted with hosting the Olympics. Earlier this year, five of the seven cities that initially indicated interested in hosting the 2022 winter games dropped out of the running.


37 million Americans don’t use the Web. Here’s why you should care.

(Nadine Hutton/Bloomberg) Of the next six adults you meet, chances are one of them has never sent an e-mail. He's never done a Google search, never been Rickrolled. He thinks "doge" refers to a historical Italian government official. (Wow; very anachronism.) He will probably never read this story. It might seem inconceivable that in 2015 there could still be Americans who don't use the Internet — but they exist. Far from being irrelevant to modern society, they're increasingly the target of millions, if not billions, of dollars of taxpayer and private funding for Internet access. And that makes them a really important slice of the population. [Here's Obama's plan to give teachers and libraries $1 billion a year in extra funding] Who are these people? Mostly they're poorer, older and undereducated, according to the Pew Research Center's latest figures. Fifteen percent of U.S. adults, or about 37 million people, by the Census Bureau's latest count, don't use the Web. But break it down by race and class, and suddenly the numbers look very bleak: A fifth of black Americans are disconnected. Same goes for the 25 percent of Americans who make less than $30,000 a year and a quarter of all adults who live in rural areas. And among those who've never finished high school, a third never use the Web. As the rest of us use the Internet to do homework, find jobs, make friends, get the news, earn a living, learn new skills, buy groceries, organize politically and do a seemingly endless range of other activities, encouraging the disconnected to hop online has become a national priority. New programs are being launched all the time in Washington to expand Internet access, sometimes by federal agencies that would appear to have nothing to do with the Internet. [Why the Agriculture Department is giving out tens of millions of dollars for Internet access] The Federal Communications Commission recently opened a proceeding that would subsidize Internet plans for poor people. It has expanded its broadband funding for schools and libraries by $1 billion a year. The Department of Housing and Urban development is working with Google, Sprint and other Internet providers to put discount broadband services in public housing projects. All these projects are aimed at accelerating a trend that's held consistently since the turn of the millennium. In 2000, nearly half of Americans didn't use the Web, according to Pew.


37 million American adults don’t use the Web. Here’s why you should care.

Of the next six adults you meet, chances are one of them has never sent an e-mail. He's never done a Google search, never been Rickrolled. He thinks "doge" refers to a historical Italian government official. (Wow; very anachronism.) He will probably never read this story. It might seem inconceivable that in 2015 there could still be Americans who don't use the Internet — but they exist. Far from being irrelevant to modern society, they're increasingly the target of millions, if not billions, of dollars of taxpayer and private funding for Internet access. And that makes them a really important slice of the population. Who are these people? Mostly they're poorer, older and undereducated, according to the Pew Research Center's latest figures. Fifteen percent of U.S. adults, or about 37 million people, by the Census Bureau's latest count, don't use the Web. But break it down by race and class, and suddenly the numbers look very bleak: A fifth of black Americans are disconnected. Same goes for nearly 40 percent of Americans who make less than $50,000 a year and a quarter of all adults who live in rural areas. And among those who've never been to college, more than half have never used the Web. As the rest of us use the Internet to do homework, find jobs, make friends, get the news, earn a living, learn new skills, buy groceries, organize politically and do a seemingly endless range of other activities, encouraging the disconnected to hop online has become a national priority. New programs are being launched all the time in Washington to expand Internet access, sometimes by federal agencies that would appear to have nothing to do with the Internet. The Federal Communications Commission recently opened a proceeding that would subsidize Internet plans for poor people. It has expanded its broadband funding for schools and libraries by $1 billion a year. The Department of Housing and Urban development is working with Google, Sprint and other Internet providers to put discount broadband services in public housing projects. All these projects are aimed at accelerating a trend that's held consistently since the turn of the millennium. In 2000, nearly half of Americans didn't use the Web, according to Pew. Now that the figure stands at 15 percent, it's clear we've come a long way. But these remaining holdouts are likely to be the hardest to reach, because you can't


Pentagon chief already has legal ability to arm more Stateside troops, study finds

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter answers questions from Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing held July 7, 2015. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter has the ability to arm more members of the U.S. military while they are Stateside if he chooses, according to analysis by congressional researchers conducted in the wake of the deadly attack on military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn. A report published by the Congressional Research Service said it appears Carter could rely on his “general authority to prescribe regulations for the DOD to allow servicemembers to carry government-issued firearms for personal protection at his or her discretion.” The report was posted online by the Federation of American Scientists, a non-partisan Washington think tank. [Why arming recruiters after Chattanooga is so legally complicated] The research was completed after Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at both a recruiting station and a naval reserve center in Chattanooga on July 16. The attack on the reserve center killed Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40; Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 35; Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist; Lance Cpl. Squire D. “Skip” Wells, 21; and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26. Abdulazeez was killed by responding police officers. The Pentagon has grappled with what to do to better protect service members in small, relatively unsecure facilities since. Several members of Congress have called for legislation to better arm Stateside service members, and Carter called for a review in which each of the services is to make recommendations on how to improve security. A civilian from Huntsville, Ala., who did not wish to be identified, holds a gun while standing watch in front of the Armed Forces Career Center in his hometown. (Photo by Eric Schultz/AL.com via AP) A Pentagon official told The Washington Post on Wednesday that it is still too early to speculate on what the Defense Department may change. He spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has yet been made. The violence in Chattanooga and the Pentagon’s deliberate response prompted armed civilians to stand guard outside recruiting centers across the country. The Pentagon sought to squash that last week after an armed civilian in Ohio accidentally discharged a round from a rifle into pavement. “While we greatly appreciate the outpouring of support for our recruiters from the American public, we ask that individuals not stand guard at recruiting offices as it


For the first time ever, scientists spot an aurora outside our solar system

Brown dwarf stars host powerful aurora displays just like planets, astronomers have discovered. (Chuck Carter and Gregg Hallinan/Caltech) On Earth, auroras like the Northern Lights provide a dazzling light show. According to new research, the same phenomenon occurs outside our solar system -- but not necessarily around planets. Brown dwarf stars may host auroras of their own -- ones 10,000 more powerful than any seen before. The phenomenon was described in a paper published Wednesday in Nature. On Earth and other planets, auroras occur when charged particles from the sun interact with the planet's magnetic field and collide with gas atoms in the atmosphere, exciting them and creating a visible glow. Any planet with a magnetic field is bound to host such a light show. The European Space Agency recorded timelapse video of the Aurora Borealis as seen from the International Space Station. But to understand how a star can host a phenomenon associated with planets, you need to know that brown dwarfs are somewhere in between stellar and planetary status. They're bigger than gas giant planets like Jupiter, but smaller than other stars. Some are too small to maintain the fusion of hydrogen, which makes them pretty lousy by star standards. [Mars may have beautiful blue aurorae visible to the naked eye] "Brown dwarfs span the gap between stars and planets and these results are yet more evidence that we need to think of brown dwarfs as beefed-up planets, rather than 'failed stars,'" study author Stuart Littlefair of the University of Sheffield said in a statement. Littlefair and his colleagues used a combination of radio and optical data from multiple telescopes to observe the brown dwarf called LSR J1835+3259, which is just 18 light years away. First they spotted jumps in radio waves as the star rotated, then they spotted a corresponding bright spot pulsing on its surface. They were then able to track the coming and going of that brightness and measure it, which led them to the conclusion that it was an aurora -- a periodic glow caused by particles hitting the cloudy, hydrogen-rich atmosphere of the not-quite-star. [Gorgeous new photo shows Pluto with jazzed up color] It seems that the things we think of as tiny stars may have magnetic activity more like a planet's -- especially our solar system's large, distant planets, like Jupiter, the aurorae of which we don't yet understand all that well.


Will there ever be an organics label for worker rights?

It's easy to buy organic. Produce grown by people who are well treated, though, can be difficult. (Photo by flickr user T'ruah under a Creative Commons Distribution License) In September, you’ll have some new assurances about the tomatoes you buy from the 780 Giant Foods and Stop & Shop stores that pepper cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Ahold, the Dutch company that owns the grocery chains, has agreed to buy its Florida tomatoes only from farms certified for paying good wages and treating workers well. It’s among the biggest, but it's far from the first: Retailers from Whole Foods to Wal-Mart have joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Fair Food Program in the past seven years, often after the group held protests outside their stores. That’s pretty quick progress — for tomatoes. But you won’t find the Fair Food Program’s label on anything else in the produce section. It’s a far cry from the pervasiveness of the organic label, which is present as an alternative for nearly everything a shopper might want to buy, having been adopted by industrial agribusiness as a way to satisfy consumer desires. The label that will soon be affixed to certified tomatoes. (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is very slowly taking the tomato program to other states, and just starting to contemplate getting into pepper cultivation as a next move. “Because we take the enforcement so seriously, we take a deep and incremental approach towards expansion, so when we say the protections are in place, they really are,” says Greg Asbed, the Coalition’s co-founder. “You have to be careful, you really do.” Strict enforcement standards shouldn’t preclude mass adoption, though — the organic certification is difficult to achieve, too. The Fair Trade label for imported goods has also gained widespread recognition. But while U.S. farmworkers have started winning victories in recent years, and Whole Foods has incorporated farmworker welfare into its "responsibly grown" label, mass-market retailers still have few ways to signal which producers prioritize their employees’ well-being. So why are worker rights so far behind environmental growing practices as far as making it onto grocery store shelves? First of all, it’s important to note that organics have been propelled by widespread consumer perception that they’re better for health (despite evidence to the contrary). It’s hard to demonstrate that consumers care as much about the people who grow their food


Kroger, Wal-Mart pulling Mexican cilantro from shelves after feces found in growing fields

(iStock) Wal-Mart and Kroger, two of the nation's largest grocers, have pulled some fresh cilantro from their shelves after the discovery of unsanitary conditions at Mexican farms and packing locations led federal regulators to implement a partial import ban this week. Kroger has recalled cilantro from roughly 450 stores, mostly in South and Mid-Atlantic states, said company spokesman Keith Dailey. He added that while the majority of the chain's 2,625 stores don't receive cilantro from the Puebla region of Mexico, Kroger is "no longer sourcing product from this area of Mexico." Dailey said the company plans to restock the affected stores with cilantro from other growing areas. Wal-Mart has taken a similar approach. "While we have no indication that any product we sold is involved in this incident, in an abundance of caution, we decided to withdraw and prohibit sourcing any cilantro from this region," said spokesman Aaron Mullins. Both companies said they do not expect any ongoing shortages of cilantro in stores. [FDA bans some Mexican cilantro after feces found in growing fields] According to an alert issued Monday by the Food and Drug Administration, the potentially contaminated cilantro was shipped out of the Mexican state of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City. The agency said Mexican and U.S. health authorities have inspected nearly a dozen farms and packing houses in the region over the past several years, discovering "objectionable" conditions at eight of them, including five that linked to U.S. outbreaks. The litany of sanitary lapses included human feces and toilet paper in the growing fields and a lack of hand-washing and bathroom facilities. Officials also said investigations have associated cilantro from Puebla with repeated U.S. outbreaks of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness that can cause diarrhea, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms. In addition to an ongoing outbreak in parts of the United States, similar outbreaks 2013 and 2014 also have implicated cilantro from Puebla as a likely cause, according to the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA's partial ban affects shipments from the Puebla region from April through the end of August, the season which has corresponded with outbreaks in recent years. The agency said companies hoping to resume shipping cilantro to the United States will have to "adequately demonstrate" that their products are safe.


Report: Gov. Hogan to shut down Baltimore men’s jail

The Baltimore City Detention Center is the site where scores of crimes were committed my a prison gang and correctional officers. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan plans to announce Thursday that he will close the scandal-plagued Baltimore City Male Detention Center, according to a WBAL report. The fortress-like facility, which houses 750 inmates, is the only local jail in the nation to be run by a state. The inmates are expected to be reassigned to nearby detention centers, according to WBAL. The Republican governor’s public schedule for Thursday calls for Hogan to make a 3 p.m. announcement at the detention center, but his staff declined Wednesday to comment on what he would say. The Baltimore jail has a history of gang activity and corruption. [The Maryland jail scandal] In 2013, federal prosecutors charged dozens of people, including corrections officers, of participating in a scheme that allowed the Black Guerrilla Family gang to operate a drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation from the center. Inmates, guards and law-enforcement officers described an environment in which criminals ran the show. [Baltimore jail case depicts corrupt culture driven by drugs, money and sex] One trial that ended with five convictions this year revealed that Tavon White, the alleged ringleader of the Black Guerrilla Family inside the jail, fathered four children with corrections officers while directing drug deals and extortion from the facility. Hogan’s scheduled announcement comes as the Maryland Board of Public Works is considering his proposal to eliminate 63 human-resources positions from the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The governor has estimated that the plan will save the state $3 million. [Md. board defers decisions on controversial homeless shelter, cutting 63 corrections jobs] The board delayed its discussion of the plan at its last meeting two weeks ago, offering little explanation for bumping the item.


How the Pentagon is preparing for climate change in each part of the world

refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources such as food and water,” the report said. “These impacts are already occurring, and the scope, scale, and intensity of these impacts are projected to increase over time.” [Climate change threatens national security, Pentagon says] In one specific example, U.S. European Command is preparing for more tourism and commerce in the Northern Sea Route, which runs through the Arctic along Russia’s northern coast, the report said. The document specifically mentions a planned trip next year by the cruise ship Crystal Serenity through the notorious Northwest Passage, which runs from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans and has previously trapped ships in ice. Northern Command, which includes Canada and the United States, has similar concerns about increased traffic in the area, and the risks that will ensue. “Future Arctic offshore drilling will also create a resource demand and the need for emergency response, risk reduction measures, and environmental protections,” the report said. In the Middle East, U.S. Central Command has factored water scarcity into its campaign plans for the future. It also considers climate change when planning for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and training alongside local militaries based in the region, the report said. In Africa, standing plans for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will be expanded to encourage countries on the continent to prepare better for climate change. “U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) assesses humanitarian crisis as the most likely climate-related risk within its [area of responsibility], foremost due to the impact that devastating events like drought and disease could have on vulnerable populations and on state stability in places already struggling with fragility and conflict,” the report said. In the Pacific, the U.S. military is developing a visual display tool that will overlay historical data on disasters with information on climates, populations, geography and resource scarcity to help with planning. It also is concerned about the resilience of Hawaii and its installations there, and is looking for ways to improve it, the report said. Commanders in U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which includes Central and South America and the Caribbean, said the military does not conduct separate climate-change planning, but conducts gap analysis with friendly countries in the region to help them prepare for the future. It also has requested funding from the Pentagon’s Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster Assistance, and Civic Aid budget to preposition equipment under SOUTHCOM’s control when a severe storm threats Haiti.


The heavens unveil a full ‘blue moon’ on Friday to say goodbye to July

of July is just around the corner. According to modern folklore, it is a "blue moon." In 2006, Donald W. Olson, Richard Fienberg and Roger Sinnott wrote an article for Sky & Telescope magazine called “What Is A Blue Moon?” to explain it. In Sky & Telescope magazine itself, conversant astronomers and editors held a virtual dialogue within its pages for years discussing almanac interpretations. All of that printed chatter morphed into the idea of a second full moon in a calendar month getting the nickname “blue.” “With two decades of popular usage behind it, the second-full-Moon-in-a-month (mis)interpretation is like a genie that can’t be forced back into its bottle,” conceded Olson, Fienberg and Sinnott. Actual blue moons Occasionally, we can spot a real blue moon – or even a blue sun, explain scientists. Our visible blue sky is based on Lord Rayleigh’s law of scattering — without our atmosphere full of tiny particles and gases, the sky would be completely black. Instead, light is scattered by these particles to filter out all other colors except blue. “On rare occasions, atmospheric aerosols can cause the disks of the sun and moon to appear blue,” explain scientists from the Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nev. “In 1853, the volcano Krakatoa erupted, spewing dust into the atmosphere. For nearly a month afterward, the moon appeared blue over tropical regions of Earth.” Thanks to the fine dust and light scattering, blue moons and suns also occur in dust-prone areas of Northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, they said. A blue sunset on Mars, captured by Curiosity. (NASA) Mars enjoys this phenomenon, too. NASA’s rover Curiosity captured a blue sunset on our neighboring red planet, as the first Martian sunset observed in real color by the rover. The image taken April 15, 2015 comes from the so-called left-eye camera of the rover’s Mast Camera, which sees color like humans. Thanks to the Mars’ atmospheric dust, the blue light penetrates the dust quite well – presenting a blue-effect that is pronounced at sunset. In 2018 we’ll get special lunar circumstances — a blue moon in both January 2018 and March 2018, and no full moon at all in February that year. Sorry, February. And for giggles, nature throws us a colorful curve, since the January 2018 blue moon may be an orange-red due to the total lunar eclipse that evening. (For Washington, that eclipse


Main Street Morning: Dedicated airspace for delivery drones?

can make $50,000 a year as a video game coach. Retail - A J.C. Penney employee is sent home for wearing shorts she bought – at J.C. Penney. - A popular clothing retailer ditches its ”ridiculously” skinny mannequins after a Facebook complaint. Restaurants - How KFC has totally reinvented the chicken bucket. - A pizzeria owner donates $10,000 to help a man in need of a hypertension implant. Travel - U.S. business travelers make more money than the average American. Sales Marketing - The top three reasons new products fail. - Eight ways to encourage early adopters to use your new product or service. Finance - Why Millennials should no longer dream of becoming millionaires. - A legal marketplace raises $71.5 million. - Crowdfunding is becoming a growing trend for small businesses. - A company that enables software to communicate better is now a unicorn worth more than $1 billion. - Which accounting software is the most flexible for a small digital business that is poised to grow fast, and why? - Nine signs of financial infidelity. Start-ups - Why the best place for tech start-ups is still Silicon Valley. Technology - Internet of Things technologies for the retail market is projected to be worth more than $36 billion by 2020. - Eight in 10 small business owners use a mobile device at least once a day, according to a new study. - A provider of quality meats to steakhouses demonstrates how a good ERP system can reduce complexities and increase profits. Online - Microsoft launches their free Windows 10 upgrade. - Some are wondering if Yelp is on its death bed. - This company is the anti-Amazon that’s actually making money. - Amazon lobbies for special delivery drone airspace that would be 200 to 400 feet above ground. Social Media - Facebook has added one of LinkedIn’s most ridiculous features. - Twitter’s Facebook fixation could be sending the company into crisis. Ideas - There are less than ten days left to enter to win a commercial during the biggest football game of the year. - Web.com is hosting a small business summit and offering a free online marketing seminar. - This shop floor is made of 25,000 pieces of defective pottery. Around the Country - Some California landscapers are making a mint off the drought. - Brazen thieves hit eleven North Carolina businesses in eleven days. - Some businesses


Report: Part number on debris could offer link to Malaysia Airlines mystery

black hole;” Rupert Murdoch tweeted that perhaps it had been stolen and hidden somewhere. “The human mind doesn’t enjoy uncertainty, especially involving something horrific like this,” Harvard professor Cass Sunstein, who has researched rumors and conspiracy theories, told the Wall Street Journal at the time. “If there’s signals of uncertainty even from people who are supposed to know then the conspiracy theory will seem more attractive.” Policemen and gendarmes stand next to a piece of debris from an unidentified aircraft found in the coastal area of Saint-Andre de la Reunion, in the east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on July 29, 2015. (Yannick Piton/AFP/Getty Images) In January, the Malaysian government officially declared the disappearance an accident, paving the way for the airline to pay settlements to families. But the ruling angered some relatives of those lost, who interpreted the announcement as a sign that officials had given up on searching for the truth. “Because you have no evidence at all. How can you come to such a conclusion?” Wang Chunjiang, who lost his brother Wang Chunyong, told the Associated Press. Three months later, in April, officials from Australia, Malaysia and China announced that they would double the area being searched for wreckage to include 120,000 square kilometers of ocean. But winter weather and the sheer depth of the ocean in that area — the sea floor is nearly three miles below the surface, beyond the reach of humans even in the most advanced deep-sea submersibles — have made the difficult hunt even harder. [Graphic: The depth of the problem] It’s long been known that if the plane had come to rest at the bottom of the Indian Ocean somewhere, currents would eventually carry the debris east toward Africa. But it’s less likely that investigators will be able to trace any washed up debris back to their source. “It’s going to be hard to say with any certainty where the source of this was,” aviation safety expert John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, told the AP Wednesday. “It just confirms that the airplane is in the water and hasn’t been hijacked to some remote place and is waiting to be used for some other purpose.” Still, several families of those lost told The Washington Post Thursday that they believe the hijacking theories, and cling to hope that the long-missing passengers are


Battle for the 2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing vs. Almaty

Olympics. Among the main goals of the agenda is keeping costs down in the wake of Sochi 2014, whose price tag swelled to about $51 billion and scared away prospective future hosts. Beijing Almaty Who’s got real snow? Handing the 2014 Winter Olympics to Sochi, the subtropical Russian resort on the edge of the Black Sea, proved that a natural winter wasn’t quite necessary. But this is a bright spot for Almaty, the clear underdog, which is surrounded by the snow-topped Tian Shan mountains. That's in stark contrast with Beijing, where athletes would have to travel to venues in Yanqing, more than 40 miles away, or take a planned high-speed rail line to venues about 110 miles away in Zhangjiakou. Lack of snow, even in the mountains, has risen as a main concern; a solution could mean a heavy reliance on artificial snow. Weather appears as a common theme in both bids, too. While Beijing went with "Joyful Rendezvous upon Pure Ice and Snow," Almaty opted for simplicity with "Keeping it Real." [Want to host the Olympics? Most Western cities would rather not.] Which city has more experience? This sounds like a given. Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008, meaning its baseline in supporting masses of newcomers for weeks (transportation, security, overall experience) is well above Almaty’s. If Beijing is awarded the 2022 bid, it will mark the first time that one city has hosted the Summer and Winter Olympics. But don’t discount Almaty so quickly. Kazakhstan has never hosted an Olympics — it put in a bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics but didn’t make the list of finalists. Still, it has hosted smaller competitions in recent years that hold some weight. In 2017, Almaty will host the Winter Universiade, a global competition for student-athletes in cold-weather sports such as skiing, skating and snowboarding. One thing that's certain? It's Asia that's winning out. 2022 will mark the third consecutive Olympics held on the continent, after PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018 and Tokyo in 2020. What about human rights? Both China and Kazakhstan have been slammed by watchdogs in recent years. As China’s bid has pushed forward, ethnic groups have called for the IOC to reject it. Beijing cracked down on protests ahead of the 2008 Olympics. An open letter by representatives for the Han Chinese, southern Mongolians, Muslim-minority Uighurs and Tibetans told the organization that their people “have


Pentagon will allow more troops to be armed following Chattanooga attack

An FBI investigator probes the scene of a shooting outside a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tenn., on July 16. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter will allow more U.S. troops to be armed while stateside and called for other security measures to be put in place following the attack in Chattanooga, Tenn., that killed five service members. The decision was outlined in a two-page memo released at the Pentagon on Thursday. Carter in the memo said the ambush, in which an armed gunman opened fire at two military facilities, illustrates the threat posed to the service members in the United States by homegrown violent extremists. “This incident and the ongoing threat underscore the need for DoD to revise its force protection and security policies, programs, and procedures, particularly for off-installation DoD facilities,” Carter said in the memo, signed Wednesday. [Pentagon chief already has legal authority to arm more stateside troops, congressional study says] The secretary’s decision comes after a review in which each of the services was directed to submit recommendations on how it would bolster security following the shooting. Carter called for it amid an outcry — and proposed legislation from several congressional lawmakers — to better protect service members working in small, unguarded facilities like the recruiting station and naval reserve center attacked in Tennessee. Carter’s memo authorizes commanders and civilian directors to “arm qualified DoD personnel for security, law enforcement and counterintelligence duties.” But it adds that those who are not engaged in law enforcement, such as military police, also may be armed “based on the threat and the immediate need to protect DoD assets and lives.” A small group of armed citizens stand guard outside a Colorado Springs, Colo., Armed Forces Career Center Wednesday, July 22, 2015. Gun-toting citizens started showing up at military recruiting centers around the country, saying they plan to protect recruiters following last week’s killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn. (Michael Ciaglo/The Gazette via AP) Carter also called for the Defense Department to improve security at small facilities like recruiting stations through the use of “practical physical security upgrades and procedural improvements,” and to effectively use mass-warning notification systems that can rapidly spread messages through text messages and other means. The service’s plans must be reviewed, consolidated and presented to Carter by Aug. 21, the memo adds. The document released Thursday does not outline


Slick for-profit college marketing is starting to backfire

for-profit colleges aggressively recruit members of the military. On Wednesday, the Apollo Education Group revealed that its subsidiary the University of Phoenix is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising and marketing. The school is the largest recipient of federal student aid for veterans, taking in nearly $1.2 billion in GI Bill benefits since 2009. Apollo said in a public filing that regulators are asking for information about the school's military recruitment, enrollment and student retention, among other things. The company declined further comment on the investigation. Calls to the FTC for comment were not immediately returned. "I wish I could say I am surprised that the FTC is investigating the University of Phoenix for unfair and deceptive practices," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "But these allegations are all too familiar when it comes to the for-profit college industry." Durbin, along with Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), introduced legislation last month to close a loophole in the so-called 90/10 rule, which prohibits for-profit colleges from getting more than 90 percent of their operating revenue from federal student aid funding. Money from the G.I. Bill does not count toward that threshold despite being federal aid. About 40 percent of G.I. Bill tuition benefits have gone to for-profit schools in the past five years. Corinthian Colleges, the for-profit giant that filed for bankruptcy in May amid allegations of predatory lending and lying to the government about its programs, received $186 million in military tuition funding. The same 2012 Senate investigation found evidence of schools deploying teams at veterans hospitals and wounded warrior centers to enroll students. Investigators said recruiters misled or lied to service members about their military benefits covering the full cost of tuition. But the investigation failed to galvanize Congress to take action on a series of bills to close the loophole. And with no Republican support, it is unlikely that the latest legislative effort will get very far. Still, the for-profit industry is in turmoil. A group of 37 state attorneys general are investigating the recruiting and marketing practices of several for-profit colleges, according to Kentucky State Attorney General Jack Conway. Government lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny and depressed student enrollment have kneecapped some big names in the sector. Education Management Corp. is closing 15 Art Institute campuses, while Career Education Corp. said it would shut down all 14 of its Sanford-Brown schools. Meanwhile, ITT


Scientists have found yet another way that climate change is making itself worse

on a large regional or global basis,” Jackson said. “You have to treat most trees the same. You can’t tune a response for a given species, or even genus, in a global model.” Since different species may react to drought in different ways and experience slightly different effects, this means it would be hard to end up with a perfect global model. However, just knowing that legacy effects do, in fact, exist can help improve the models. For example, Jackson said, “One way to do it would be to just dial down growth a little bit after a drought in subsequent years.” The paper also highlights the need for further research in related areas. The study largely left out tropical forests, whose growth is more difficult to study because many tropical species don’t produce annual rings in their trunks — the way growth and age is often measured in trees. More research should be done to see if tropical trees react to drought in similar ways, Anderegg said. And even more important than drought’s effect on tree growth is its effect on tree mortality, Jackson added, which has “far bigger implications for the carbon cycle than these legacy effects of the drought.” Dead trees can release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, and there’s a possibility that more frequent and severe droughts could cause mass die-off events in forests, especially if they’re still in recovery from a previous drought, said Anderegg. [More than 12 million trees killed by California drought] Events that release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere can contribute to what’s known as a feedback loop: More trees dying and releasing carbon into the atmosphere could accelerate climate change, which could cause more changes on Earth, such as more severe droughts. More droughts could then cause more forest die-offs, perpetuating the vicious cycle. Similar climate loops exist in other aspects of the planet — for example, the polar ice caps, which reflect sunlight away from the Earth and help keep temperatures from getting too high. Human-caused climate change, however, is causing the ice to melt, which means more sun is absorbed by the Earth, causing temperatures to rise. This accelerated climate change, in turn, causes more ice to melt. Research in these areas is important for understanding the ways forests and climate change effects interact and could affect one another. It’s a learning opportunity, and also


Main storm event exiting D.C. area, but a few showers may pop-up through early evening

a short time: Dulles airport received 1.14" from this line in 33 minutes (1:06 to 1:39p)...that's a 2.07"/hr rate (via reader CaradhrasAiguo) 2:15 p.m. update: Forgot my umbrella. I think I'll take a long lunch. @capitalweather http://t.co/RK3LY5y93E Hey @capitalweather guess the weather is coming for B'more now. http://t.co/ePsWHNZB8E 2:00 p.m. update: Severe thunderstorm warning issued for Washington, D.C., close in suburbs, and central Prince George’s County through 2:45 p.m. @capitalweather flash flooding in Bethesda at Montgomery and Wisconsin Avenues. http://t.co/odwR57L7kB Storm is right overhead in Bethesda. Lights flickering. Lots of thunder. Low clouds. @capitalweather http://t.co/j8bluS5GxC 1:50 p.m. update: @capitalweather torrential in Tenleytown http://t.co/XbhUASRg2k Moving into Silver Spring @capitalweather http://t.co/v8DwjkloYl @capitalweather Heaviest rain I've experienced since June 10th last year. Which was also on 267. I always get stuck in it on 267. 1:35 p.m. update: The rain outside is straight up biblical. Deploy emergency arks to Rockville, please! @capitalweather 1:15 p.m. update: Potent line of storms inbound. Arriving in Chantilly, Great falls and N Potomac next few mins. http://t.co/2SRIrksOEt CWG severe weather expert Jeff Halverson notes CAPE (convective available potential energy), a measure of the fuel available for these storms, is over 3,000 – which is a high level. 1:10 p.m. update: Thunderstorm in Clarksburg just after 1,pm. @wusa9 @TenaciousTopper @ericagrow @capitalweather http://t.co/sSa3oF5Dld In anticipation of the gusty storms over the Tidal Potomac, the National Weather Service has issued a special marine warning through 2:30 p.m. given the potential for winds of 34 knots (roughly 39 mph) or greater. Small boats should seek safe harbor. Marine warning for Potomac River. You have 30-45 mins b4 gusty storms arrive - get off water: http://t.co/6gznrUZnKo http://t.co/9tpIkrtw2l 12:45 p.m. update: Original post from 12:10 p.m. As a cold front approaches the area this afternoon, showers and thunderstorms are likely to break out. A few may be heavy and a bit gusty, but widespread severe weather is not likely. Overview - Storm timing: 12-7 p.m. Rain arrives first in western areas (Loudoun and Frederick counties) and last in eastern areas (along the western shores of the Bay). Storms last 30-45 minutes in most spots they affect. Two rounds are possible: In the early-to-mid afternoon (most likely) and towards early evening - Coverage: Scattered to widespread - Most likely hazards: Lightning, heavy rain, gusty winds - Possible hazards: Isolated damaging winds, isolated flash flooding, small hail - Storm motion: West to east - Forecast confidence:


Scientists are honing a computer model to predict the size and timing of flu outbreaks

Worldwide, flu epidemics affect millions of people and cause an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization. (AP/Eduardo Verdugo) There's no shortage of experts monitoring influenza outbreaks around the globe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks flu activity in the United States year round and produces weekly flu activity reports between the peak months of October to May. Likewise, the World Health Organization constantly gathers epidemiological surveillance data, and releases updates on outbreaks taking place anywhere, anytime. Still, despite the monitoring and the annual push to administer flu vaccines, influenza still sickens millions of people around the world each year, leading to as many as 500,000 deaths annually. Young children and the elderly in particular are at risk. [This season's flu activity has reached epidemic threshold, the CDC says] But what if we were better at predicting -- and preparing for -- seasonal flu outbreaks? That's the impetus driving a team of researchers trying to show that it is possible to predict the timing and intensity of flu outbreaks in subtropical climates, such as Hong Kong, where flu seasons occur at irregular intervals throughout the year. The group, which included scientists from Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong, has created a computer model to run various simulations of an outbreak and predict its magnitude and peak, according to a study published Thursday in the journal PLOS Computational Biology. As a test case, the researchers gathering flu data from dozens of outpatient clinics and lab reports in Hong Kong between 1998 and 2013, then explored whether their system could accurately predict how outbreaks played out during those years. They said the program did remarkably well at predicting the peak of an outbreak several weeks in advance. That's not to say it was perfect. Researchers said the accuracy of the predictions varied, depending on the strength of an outbreak and how far in advance they tried to make a prediction. In addition, forecasts for specific strains of influenza proved more reliable than those for overall epidemics, and it was easier to predict the peak and magnitude of an outbreak than exactly when it would begin or how long it might last. Why does better prediction matter? [How Wikipedia reading habits can successfully predict the spread of disease] "These forecasts provide information at lead times that can be valuable for both the public and


Obama wants the U.S. to build the most powerful supercomputer ever

power. One key area for this is climate change and alternative energy sources, said Binkley. Such a system would also be valuable for dealing with massive scientific data sets, he said. But while America is the land of tech giants, such as Google and IBM, China is currently leading the supercomputing arms race. The Tianhe-2 supercomputer developed by China's National University of Defense technology is the most powerful system in the world with a peak performance of around 54.9 petaflops -- the level below exascale -- according to TOP500, a project than tracks the performance of supercomputers. "We've allowed much of our technology to go overseas and be exported -- so now we have to buy back technology we've developed," said Sterling. "If we're not careful, we will lose further ground." Yet the United States is still in the race. The Titan supercomputer at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National laboratory is currently world's second most powerful. And earlier this year, the agency struck a deal with Intel and supercomputing company Cray to deliver a system capable of 180 petaflops by 2018. But supercomputing comes with its own set of challenges, including how efficiently they operate. Some existing supercomputer systems essentially waste the vast majority of their processing power when attempting to complete tasks, said Sterling, and that wasted processing power has real world energy costs. "If you scale current technology up to exascale levels, it would be up to the range of a nuclear powerplant just to run one computer," Binkley said. Addressing that problem will be one of the focuses of the initiative, he said. And even if a machine with this sort of processing power is created, there remains the challenge of getting it to do what researchers want, said Sterling. "The overwhelming challenge is how do you program these machines," he said. But the growth in processing power needed for supercomputer may be reaching its limits. The rapid development of such technology has largely followed Moore's Law -- which holds that computing power approximately doubles every two years due to the shrinking size of technology. Now, Sterling said, we are rapidly approaching a point of nanoscale technology where fundamental things like atomic granularity and the speed of light will make Moore's Law obsolete. And the government, too, acknowledges that a major change is on the horizon. Among the other goals of the initiative is to


our technology to go overseas and be exported -- so now we have to buy back technology we've developed," said Sterling. "If we're not careful, we will lose further ground." Yet the United States is still in the race. The Titan supercomputer at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National laboratory is currently world's second most powerful. And earlier this year, the agency struck a deal with Intel and supercomputing company Cray to deliver a system capable of 180 petaflops by 2018. But supercomputing comes with its own set of challenges, including how efficiently they operate. Some existing supercomputer systems essentially waste the vast majority of their processing power when attempting to complete tasks, said Sterling, and that wasted processing power has real world energy costs. "If you scale current technology up to exascale levels, it would be up to the range of a nuclear powerplant just to run one computer," Binkley said. Addressing that problem will be one of the focuses of the initiative, he said. And even if a machine with this sort of processing power is created, there remains the challenge of getting it to do what researchers want, said Sterling. "The overwhelming challenge is how do you program these machines," he said. But the growth in processing power needed for supercomputer may be reaching its limits. The rapid development of such technology has largely followed Moore's Law -- which holds that computing power approximately doubles every two years due to the shrinking size of technology. Now, Sterling said, we are rapidly approaching a point of nanoscale technology where fundamental things like atomic granularity and the speed of light will make Moore's Law obsolete. And the government, too, acknowledges that a major change is on the horizon. Among the other goals of the initiative is to establish a "viable path forward" for the future of supercomputing in a "post-Moore's Law era" over the next 15 years. Even with the challenges posed by the end of Moore's Law, developing the exascale super computer is still largely achievable with the science we know now, Binkley said. But the next generation may require turning to other technologies, he said. That's one reason Sterling says he is excited to see the Obama administration focusing on the challenge. In a way, he said, this is more than a moonshot because "no one's even decided what the rocket is going to look like."


6 big questions raised by the debris suspected to be from MH370

Confirming that the debris came from a Boeing 777 would also almost certainly mean it came from the Malaysia Airlines plane, because no other Boeing 777s have crashed recently or gone missing in that region. The debris has been sent to a French military laboratory in Toulouse for analysis. A spokeswoman from the Paris prosecutor’s office said that the debris will likely leave Reunion on a flight Friday and arrive in Toulouse on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. [Debris in ocean may explain missing Malaysia Flight 370] 2. What will investigators try to learn from the debris? Once investigators at Toulouse take apart the debris, they will likely be able to confirm that it came from MH370 almost immediately. “There are serial numbers on so many of the the internal components of a plane — numbers that you can use to trace not just to the factory where it was made but to the lot number and when it was made,” said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators will also be scrutinizing the flaperon for signs of how it was torn away from the wing it was part of. “You examine the fractures and tears under a microscope and see if it’s torn off a certain way,” Goelz said. “From that you may be able to tell if the plane crashed nose first or flat” like a belly flop. And while time and currents will have washed any residue from the debris, a pattern of little pits or gashes in the metal could indicate an explosion, he said. 3. Why is there confusion over the part number written on the debris? One of the more tantalizing but confusing leads offered by the debris is a possible number written on it. The deputy prime minister of Australia, which is leading the underwater search effort, described the number visible as “BB670.” But a French-language newspaper from Reunion island, Le Journal, published a picture that it said it had obtained of the debris with the number 657BB stenciled along its body. The newspaper and other outlets matched the 657BB number to a component described in the Boeing 777 maintenance manual as the “flaperon leading edge panel.” @airlivenet S/N 657BB consistent with a 777 flaperon according to the maintenance manual p221 http://t.co/yYpARDS9PJ http://t.co/ijjdD4Dgti 4. What is a flaperon and how did it float as far as


A mid-century modern in Northwest Washington designed by Gropius protege

The Washington Post’s picks of local distinguished homes on the market. The mid-century modern house in the Kent neighborhood of Northwest Washington has all the hallmarks of a Bauhaus home — rectangular shape, smooth surfaces, minimalist design and walls of glass. “I don’t use the word classic a lot with mid-century modern but [the house] is a real classic example of that mid-century modern design,” said Michael Shapiro, a real estate agent who specializes in the architectural style and runs Modern Capital DC, a Web site for enthusiasts. [Washington’s mid-century modern neighborhoods] One of the home’s architects, Thomas Wright, studied at Harvard University under Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus school. Gropius is considered one of the pioneers of modern architecture. (Photo by HomeVisit) The house has all the hallmarks of a Bauhaus home — rectangular shape, smooth surfaces, minimalist design and walls of glass. Wright, who served on a minesweeper in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, returned to Harvard after the war and received his master’s degree in architecture in 1950. For the next three years, he was an associate with Leon Brown Architect. Leon Brown and Wright became partners in 1953, forming the firm, Brown & Wright. They designed this home in 1961. “What’s really interesting is, on University Terrace Chain Bridge Road, there are two houses that Gropius did for the Hechinger family and then, basically a block over, you have a house that was done probably about 10 years later that reflects that aesthetic,” Shapiro said. “To have something by a Gropius protege right around the corner from homes done by Gropius to me is kind of cool.” [President Obama vacationed here. You can, too — for $22.5M] The current owners renovated the home three years ago, removing walls to create a more open floor plan and updating the kitchen and bathrooms. (Photo by HomeVisit) The kitchen island and cabinets were custom-made in Europe. The kitchen island and cabinets were custom-made in Europe and have built-in Miele appliances, including an induction cooktop, induction teppanyaki and induction wok. Each of the three bedrooms has an en suite bathroom with Duravit fixtures. The back of the house is wrapped in large panes of glass, which create the illusion of the living space expanding into the back yard. A terraced hillside with its stone retaining walls provides a serene setting. The 2,450-square-foot home is listed at $1.899


NASA just found the closest super-Earth ever

we've ever spotted outside of our own solar system. [NASA estimates 1 billion ‘Earths’ in our galaxy alone] At just 21 light years away, HD 219134b has something that many more "Earth-like" worlds don't: The potential for exploration. In addition to being rocky, the newly found planet has the benefit of being a "transiting" world, which means that it crosses in front of its host star from our perspective. The planet itself can't be seen from Earth -- even using powerful telescopes -- but because we can see its star, we can measure it based on the changes in brightness caused by those transits. Knowing the size and mass of a planet tells us its density, and from there it's easy to infer whether it's rocky like Earth, gaseous like Jupiter, or icy like Pluto. This sky map shows the location of the star HD 219134 (circle), host to the nearest confirmed rocky planet found to date outside of our solar system. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/DSS ) "Transiting exoplanets are worth their weight in gold because they can be extensively characterized," Michael Werner, the project scientist for the Spitzer mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. "This exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come." [For the first time ever, scientists spot an aurora outside our solar system] According to current data, This artist's rendition shows one possible appearance for the planet HD 219134b. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) The planet was confirmed using observations from [New Horizons spots ice flows on Pluto’s surface] By training more telescopes on it, scientists may be able to spot tiny variations in the host star's dimming that reveal the planet's atmosphere, if it has one. "Thanks to NASA's Kepler mission, we know super-Earths are ubiquitous in our galaxy, but we still know very little about them," study co-author Michael Gillon of the University of Liege in Belgium said in a statement. "Now we have a local specimen to study in greater detail. It can be considered a kind of Rosetta Stone for the study of super-Earths." Read More: Stephen Hawking announces $100 million hunt for alien life The European Space Agency sent Kombucha into space for science and stuff Breathtaking image shows Pluto with an atmospheric halo NASA estimates 1 billion ‘Earths’ in our galaxy alone Why NASA’s top scientist is sure that we’ll find signs of alien life in the next decade


Main Street Morning: USDA to pay farmers $191 million for bird flu losses

selling the Confederate Flag …and now regrets it. - Many U.S. retailers are still not ready for fraud-proof cards. Restaurants - Groupon launches an online food ordering service. - Subway’s app is now accepting PayPal. Finance - How a founder’s profanity-filled email earned his company $7 million in funding. - A crowd equity platform raises $9 million. Start-ups - A new broker-backed online human resources platform hopes to battle far-bigger rivals like Zenefits in the small and mid-sized business market. - Five ways to prepare for a disaster in your start-up. - This company wants to make creating a 401(k) easier for businesses. Technology - This building was created just to test elevators. - The early reviews for Windows 10 are in. - Hackers find a way to hijack a smart rifle and change its target. - Google’s Android for Work expands to carriers for the first time. - The world’s biggest free form 3D printer is being used to build houses. - Lockheed Martin announces an alliance of industry, government and academia to brainstorm the future of health-care technology. Ideas - A Chinese car-maker is testing car-to-car communications. Online - Hackers have snatched $1 billion from small businesses through email schemes. Around the Country - Many franchisees are finding themselves significantly affected by New York’s new $15 minimum wage. - An energy company is moving ahead with plans to invest $55 million over 10 years to support energy efficiency, economic and community development, and education and retraining initiatives in Washington State. - After mandated cutbacks in water usage, a Glendale California bakery is finding a new sand-like material to be the source of a growing number of complaints from his customers. - A newspaper’s readers come to the aid of a business owner. - A New York pizzeria owner is proud of the lion he bagged in Zimbabwe. - Georgia lands $16 million in federal funding for small businesses. Around the World - China’s stocks slide again. - Germany is showing the rest of the world how to tackle global warming. - Here’s a warning on doing business in Cuba. - This fact about the rampant corruption of Putin’s Russia is just devastating. Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd PA consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter. News we should know about? Email us here.


The Xbox One and the Xbox 360 are starting to play nice together

A screenshot of "World of Tanks" on the Xbox One. (Courtesy of Wargaming) Microsoft announced in June that it would support more backwards compatibility for the Xbox 360, so that gamers who bought its newest console, the Xbox One, wouldn't have to abandon all the games they've been playing all these years. But what about the friends they're leaving behind? One key frustration for console gamers is that even when you and your friends are playing the same game, your equipment may not match up -- making it impossible to play together. That's particularly annoying in the few years after a major console launch, when groups of friends can get split between generations. This week, Wargaming, the studio behind the free-to-play hit "World of Tanks," a game that lets you skirmish with WWII-era tanks, became the first to allow players of its Xbox 360 game to play with those who've downloaded the game for the Xbox One title. Working with a company called Vivox, players can also talk to each other across platforms -- an essential feature when you're trying to coordinate a battle. That's a huge deal for gamers, and for Microsoft, because it makes multiplayer gaming that much easier. Players don't have to start over from scratch collecting achievements, restart their progress or create a new account. And for companies, it saves some of the community building they have to do when trying to lure players to their game on a new platform. The team started testing it out with an open beta two weekends ago, said TJ Wagner, a Chicago-based executive producer on "World of Tanks." After more than 25,000 matches and some additional bug-squashing, the team felt ready to launch officially alongside the release of the Xbox One version of the game. "We're excited and scared," Wagner said ahead of Tuesday's launch. "No one else has done this, and both us and Microsoft were learning things about crossplay" right up until the Friday ahead of the launch. "World of Tanks" also has a large and dedicated community of players on the PC, but Wagner said that -- at least for now -- they're keeping the console and PC communities separate. "It's an option in the future," he said. "But we'll focus on this release and see how that goes before look at what's up for our next opportunity."


Members of Congress raise questions about SpaceX investigation in wake of explosion

The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX on a cargo mission to the International Space Station lifts off from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 10. (Reuters/Mike Brown) He might be impatient, perhaps at times surly, the way super smart people are when they feel the world around them isn't keeping up. But no one has ever accused Elon Musk of being lax, or anything but an obsessive who attacks huge challenges -- i.e., colonizing Mars -- with an intense relentlessness. Until now. In a letter this week to heads of NASA and the Air Force, 14 members of Congress have questioned the "rigor" of the investigation Musk's space company has been leading into the explosion of one of its rockets last month. Led by Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.), the lawmakers wrote that they had "serious reservations" that SpaceX was leading the investigation "and are concerned whether the investigation and engineering rigor will be applied will be sufficient to prevent future mishaps." [Hearing Musk explain why his rocket blew up shows why he’s such an intense CEO] They also asked whether the explosion would mean that SpaceX would be lose its recently-won certification to fly national security missions, such as flying military and intelligence satellites into space. And they questioned whether the continuous upgrades SpaceX makes to its Falcon 9 rocket should mean that the rockets need to be re-licensed or certified. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blew up about two minutes into flight last month on its way to delivering cargo to the International Space Station. The loss of the rocket came months after an Orbital Sciences, now Orbital ATK, rocket, which was also to deliver cargo to the station, blew up seconds after liftoff. Both rockets were unmanned; no one was injured or killed, and no outside property was extensively damaged. And those are key distinctions when it comes to who conducts the investigation, according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Without a loss of life or injury or outside property damage, the incidents are labeled "mishaps," and the probes are led by the launch providers, with oversight from the FAA. [Another major rocket failure for a space industry out to prove itself] That's why SpaceX was charged with investigating its rocket failure, and Orbital theirs. Then the firms have to report their findings to the FAA, which evaluates them and can propose safety recommendations. If, however,


Obama administration actions this recess could shift winds on defense bill

Negotiators on the annual defense policy bill did not wrap up negotiations before the August recess giving the White House more time to weigh in on some key issues. Here Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) gets on an elevator earlier this year. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Congress’ failure to finish up its annual defense policy bill before going on summer vacation is giving the Obama administration more time to lobby lawmakers on two important issues: Shuttering the military prison at Guantanamo Bay and how to respond to the recent fatal shootings of military service members in Chattanooga. Both issues emerged in recent weeks as key sticking points as Senate and House negotiators sought to wrap up work on the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill. Now, the Obama administration has a chance to use the delay as an opening to put its imprint on the legislation. On Thursday, the Pentagon released a memo from Defense Secretary Ashton Carter instructing the secretaries of the military departments, combatant commands and the National Guard to develop “action plans” to better “arm qualified DoD personnel for security, law enforcement and counterintelligence duties,” as well other DoD employees “not regularly engaged in law enforcement” at smaller, off-base military facilities, in light of the deadly shootings at a recruiting station and a naval reserve center in Chattanooga earlier this month. Negotiators on the final bill had been considering a House proposal that would allow troops at military facilities to arm themselves before the July 16 shooting took place. But in light of that event, lawmakers decided to reexamine “whether that is adequate,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.). “There is widespread agreement that military folks ought to be able to defend themselves; now it’s getting the details right in the various situations, environment in which they find themselves.” Some lawmakers said the issue should wait until the Defense Department provides its input. “I think that’s the most appropriate thing to do – the security of installations, that’s one of the things that they have a long-term, not only knowledge of, but priority of how to protect their forces,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Carter’s memo indicated that proposed changes to the Pentagon’s policy should be submitted to him by August 21. But there is no date certain yet for when the Obama administration will