We could keep a huge amount of carbon out of the atmosphere just by changing people’s behavior

Environment, the military is already implementing behavioral techniques to help Marines and the Navy save vital fuel – whose conservation translates directly into increased tactical capacity and effectiveness. Meanwhile, one of the biggest changes in the structure of our energy system in a long time — the rollout of 50 million smart meters, with more on the way — has thus far failed to achieve its full energy-savings potential due to a failure to take human and behavioral factors into account, and to be user-friendly. Simply providing people with smart meter data in real time in a form that helps them understand how much power they’re using and how much it’s costing them could inspire many behavioral changes that could add up to big energy savings — and big emissions cuts. It’s in this context that Carrico and her colleagues call on EPA to make sure that they carefully design the efficiency-focused, electricity demand-reduction side of the Clean Power Plan. The EPA’s approach, they write, is a “rare move” and represents a major new precedent — or, it could. Behavioral programs are “often viewed as minor adjuncts to more traditional regulatory actions, not as a core part of the response to energy and climate challenges,” they note. The evidence above suggests there are many reasons that should change. One key problem, though, will be whether an agency like EPA has the right DNA to oversee the utility industry’s deployment of social science-heavy behavioral and efficiency programs. It’s not exactly part of the traditional environmental regulatory wheelhouse. “Achieving these objectives,” note Carrico and her colleagues, “will challenge the thinking of regulators who have more experience with mandating the best available technologies than with programs that target decision-making and voluntary behavior.” Measuring how much energy behavioral programs are actually saving – and how many emissions they’ll therefore be averting – is also a challenge. No one is saying that merely changing people’s behavior, or the objects they use in their homes, will let us stop worrying about coal plants and the emissions they pour into the atmosphere. Nor are they saying that energy efficiency and behavioral change should be the number one strategy for addressing climate change. Nonetheless, efficiency and behavior could be a much bigger climate wedge than it currently is. And increasing it benefits everybody, and above all the consumer — who ends up paying less on each electricity bill.


Partisan bias about climate change is more prevalent than you think

Why do Democrats and Republicans differ so much on the fundamental science of global warming? A key reason is the politicization of climate science. Politicization means emphasizing the inherent uncertainty of science in order to cast doubt on the existence of a scientific consensus. The result is that citizens become uncertain about whether to trust politicized scientific information — even though, in the case of climate change, there is a clear scientific consensus about the reality of human-induced global warming. Unfortunately, our new research shows how far this politicization extends: not simply to citizens, but to congressional staffers and even scientists themselves. Our study is one of the first to simultaneously assess the beliefs of the U.S. public and key elites in the policy-making process – that is, scientists who conduct research on new technologies that may offer solutions, and advisers to members of Congress who help enact legislation. We conducted simultaneous surveys of the U.S. public, scientists who are actively publishing research on energy technologies in the U.S., and congressional staffers in August 2010. (More information about these surveys is in our article.) We asked each of these groups about whether global warming is happening and, if so, whether it is the result of human activity. We found that ideology and party identification affected beliefs about global warming in each group. Both scientists and congressional staffers were more likely than the public say that human-caused global warming is happening. But ideology and party identification influenced beliefs across each of the three samples — although to a lesser extent among energy scientists compared to the public and staffers. More alarmingly, we asked a series of factual knowledge questions on each survey related to science comprehension, energy knowledge, and political knowledge. We find that as conservatives and Republicans become more knowledgeable about energy, politics, and science they become less likely to say that human-caused global warming is happening. Some recent work by Dan Kahan and others argues that this type of reasoning is individually rational, because it helps to uphold social identities, cultural commitments, and personal worldviews, but it is collectively detrimental to society because it undermines the ability of science to arbitrate debates where science can inform the public. Once a debate has become politicized, educating the public about the facts associated with global warming rarely leads individuals to change their incorrect beliefs. A true scientific consensus is rare. When


Why an American blogger was hacked to death in Bangladesh

Machete-wielding assailants hacked to death U.S. blogger Avijit Roy in the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, prompting protests by social activists. On Thursday night, Avijit Roy, a well-known Bangladeshi American writer and religious skeptic, was surrounded by unidentified assailants armed with cleavers and hacked to death on a street in Dhaka. His wife, Rafida Ahmed, sustained serious wounds and is fighting for her life. On social media, you can find awful images of the immediate aftermath of the incident, with Ahmed, drenched in blood, standing stunned by the fallen body of her husband. A previously unknown Islamist militant group named Ansar Bangla 7 claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the Associated Press, saying on Twitter that Roy was targeted "because of his crimes against Islam." Roy, who was based in the United States, had just arrived in Bangladesh a week prior to attend a book festival. An engineer by training, he had launched a popular, secularist blog and gained a reputation as a prominent advocate of humanism and tolerance. His Hindu background was less relevant than his scientific atheism. Friends claimed he had received numerous death threats from fundamentalists irked by his outspoken commentary on religion. "I have profound interest in freethinking, skepticism, philosophy, scientific thoughts and human rights of people," Roy wrote on his Facebook page, by way of biographical description. In a post on his Mukto-Mona blog, Roy, 42, questioned the credibility of the Koran, challenging the contention of some Islamic scholars that there's any "scientific" merit to the text. Bangladeshis pay their respects to American blogger, Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death by machete-wielding assailants. Following the hideous terror attacks on a school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and on the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo last month, Roy likened religion to a virus in a tweet. Such sentiments proved too dangerous in Bangladesh's complicated milieu. The country has one of the largest populations of Muslims in the world, and Islam is enshrined as a state religion. In 2013, another secular blogger, Ahmed Rajib Haider, was killed by extremists, sparking similar free speech protests as Roy's death prompted this week. Bangladeshi secular activists take part in a torch-lit protest against the killing of Bangladeshi American blogger Avijit Roy, founder of the Mukto-Mona (Free-mind) blog site, who was hacked to death in Dhaka on Feb. 26. (Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images) But Bangladesh also


Hunt on for Virginia’s long lost Camp Casey

Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and two daughters] Photograph showing soldier in uniform, wife in dress and hat, and two daughters wearing matching coats and hats. In May 1863, U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton issued General Order No. 143 creating the Bureau of U. S. Colored Troops. This image was found in Cecil County, Maryland, making it likely that this soldier belonged to one of the seven U.S.C.T. regiments raised in Maryland. (Library of Congress) An effort to find the exact location in Arlington of Camp Casey, where U.S. Colored Troops trained during the Civil War, has turned up several possibilities along today’s Columbia Pike. According to a lengthy article by Chelsea Gilmour in Consortiumnews.com, the camp vanished from the landscape shortly after the war ended and, although Arlington County has numerous markers for Union forts in the area, Camp Casey was never acknowledged. Gilmour argues that Camp Casey was the historically most significant Civil War site in Arlington. Unlike static forts that were never attacked, Gilmour said the fact that the camp was an active training ground for hundreds of former slaves willing to take up arms against “the historic crime of black enslavement” makes it imperative that the exact site be found and properly marked. Her research led her to the National Archives, the Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. She learned that camps rarely had more than a few building because the troops would have been living in tents. Therefore, tracing a camp versus a fort would be more difficult. She came upon an ad that had appeared in a Washington newspaper shortly after the war ended, offering for sale government buildings at Camp Casey situated, “about one and one-half miles from Long Bridge.” Today’s 14th Street bridge is in about the same location. Using that and other information, she ended up with two possibilities. The camp could have been where the south parking lot of the Pentagon is today or in the vicinity of the intersection of Glebe Road and Columbia Pike near Hunters Chapel hwhich was demolished by Union troops. It is also possible, Gilmour concluded, that both locations could be correct if Camp Casey had been stretched out several miles along Columbia Pike.


As NFL free agency, draft approach, a dire shortage of QBs becomes painfully clear

Falcons released Steven Jackson. The Jets declined a contract option for Chris Johnson. DeAngelo Williams told a Charlotte television station he’d been informed by the Panthers that they will release him. Reggie Bush was released by the Lions. They have 32,327 career rushing yards between them. Do any of them have productive seasons left? Only Jackson reached 700 rushing yards this past season, and he averaged less than four yards per carry for a second straight year. 8. Peyton Manning’s return The intrigue It’s looking quite likely Peyton Manning will again suit up for the Broncos next season. (Jack Dempsey/AP Photo) The two sides have yet to make it official, but that is expected to change soon. A person familiar with the deliberations confirmed reports that Manning’s representatives and the Broncos have been working on a restructured contract, which the two sides hope to complete this week. Manning is to make $19 million next season. That becomes fully guaranteed next month under the terms of his contract. He must pass a physical by Thursday. 9. Falcons, Browns, DeflateGate The league’s investigations of the Falcons, Browns and, of course, the Patriots also remain pending. In the case of the Falcons and Browns, it seems likely that the resolutions will come soon. Falcons owner Arthur Blank has acknowledged the evidence shows that his team improperly used artificial crowd noise at home games at the Georgia Dome. Browns General Manager Ray Farmer has admitted to in-game texting in violation of league rules. It’s not clear in either case whether the team is in jeopardy of losing a draft pick, or if the NFL merely will impose a fine. The investigation of the Patriots’ use of under-inflated footballs in the first half of the AFC title game is being handled by attorney Ted Wells. People familiar with the league’s inner workings have said that NFL officials have been told little by Wells about the status of the investigation. The league has provided no timetable for its conclusion. 10. Lynch’s conspiracy theory The Seahawks’ decision to throw the football rather than handing it to Lynch in the closing moments of the Super Bowl was a terrible play call. It changed NFL history, keeping Seattle from being a back-to-back champion and giving a fourth Super Bowl title in tandem to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick. But it wasn’t a conspiracy to keep Lynch


Pentagon’s $55 billion mystery plane is secret, but debate on cost is appearing

allowed to see] With so little known about it, there is growing concern about the system’s cost. And given the Pentagon’s vast history of cost overruns on major weapons systems, experts worry that even though a contract has yet to be awarded, it is already facing the same troubling problems that have plagued other programs. The Air Force has estimated each new bomber will cost $550 million apiece, but that figure was set in 2010 without counting for inflation and is already five years outdated. It’s also significantly less than the cost of its predecessor, the B-2 bomber, and not that much more than some high-end commercial jets. Coming in at such a low price will be difficult, if not impossible, analysts said. [The Air Force bomber competition is as mysterious as ever] “I’m afraid they’re heading down a path here where they have set themselves up politically to not succeed,” said Todd Harrison, the director of defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “They’ve come out with these cost estimates that are surprisingly low, and they seem to be doubling down on the idea that they can build this bomber cheaper than the last one.” The contract comes amid tightening budgets that are forcing the Defense Department to change the way it does business. In an effort to keep costs down, it has worked to increase competition and incite new companies typically averse to the headaches of government bureaucracy, to bid on contracts. But while technology has disrupted industries from taxi service to the media and retail, the exceedingly complex combat aircraft industry has been immune from new players forcing change and efficiencies. There is no Uber for the Pentagon; Amazon.com has yet to record its first fighter jet sale. Even space has seen startling innovation, driven in large part by a new class of young and feisty start-ups led by billionaire entrepreneurs. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, for example, has upended the space market, winning lucrative contracts to ferry cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. It’s also fighting to compete to launch military satellites , which has been a virtual monopoly held by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of defense industry titans Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Given the steep barriers to entry, it is not surprising that no one has disrupted the combat aircraft market, Harrison said. Unlike the space launch industry,


One of the youngest, most distant galaxies ever observed is surprisingly mature (and dusty)

is so distant that you can barely see it in the massive Hubble image above. But it sits behind a massive cluster of galaxies called Abell 1689, which is so big that it acts as a gravitational lens and magnifies the light of A1689-zD1 by over nine times. Because A1689-zD1 is so distant, the traces of it that reach us today show the galaxy as it was just 700 million years after the birth of the universe; when the cosmos was a mere 5% of its current age. But the galaxy has a ratio of something called cosmic dust that astronomers would only expect to see in a much older galaxy. These particles, which are made up of elements like carbon, silicon, magnesium, iron, and oxygen, are absolutely essential to the formation of life. These elements are formed in the hearts of stars, then pushed out into clouds of dust and gas when the stars explode. These clouds seed new stars, and astronomers thought (based on previously observed ancient galaxies) that it would take generations of star birth and deaths to evolve the heavier elements that they see in A1689-zD1. "Although the exact origin of galactic dust remains obscure," lead researcher Darach Watson of the University of Copenhagen said in a statement, "our findings indicate that its production occurs very rapidly, within only 500 million years of the beginning of star formation in the Universe -- a very short cosmological time frame, given that most stars live for billions of years." Watson and his colleagues believe that previous galaxies of this cosmic age may have been too large to show typical evolution. The smaller A1689-zD1 is more of an average system, at least size-wise, so it may be more representative of the early universe as a whole. If that's the case, we may have hopes of seeing many more of these early galaxies using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which was used to study A1689-zD1. That's because active galaxies are easier to spot: When the ultraviolet light of young stars hits nearby cosmic dust, the result is the emission of far-infrared light. With more active stars and more dust, there's more far-infrared for ALMA to spot. Read More: The Hubble spotted this smiley face in space Astronomers find a shockingly ancient black hole the size of 12 billion suns A galaxy so huge, it acts like a magnifying glass


Yes, D.C. is getting an eclair shop, and we’re cool with that

No sooner had I rested my case on the re-ascendance of the all-purpose bakery did I hear about our newest single-item dessert boutique: G'eclair. What is it they say? Nothing is certain but death and journalist trend pieces being immediately contradicted? But I am not bitter. How could I be in the face of these beauties? [New Washington-area bakeries are making us feel like kids again] From left: Chocolate, yuzu raspberry, green tea white chocolate and miso caramel eclairs from G'eclair. (Lavanya Ramanathan/The Washington Post) A joint venture of lifelong baker Grace Owens-Stively and Donburi owner James Jang, G'eclair will open as a pop-up this weekend at Adams Morgan yogurt shop Spoon. Jang was inspired by seeing the popularity of eclairs while visiting his native Korea. The goal here, Owens-Stively said, is to "elevate" the classic eclair by playing with its three main elements -- the shell, topping and filling. The cooking Jang is used to at Donburi is a "very rustic kind of cooking style," with not a lot of room for experimenting. At G'eclair, "the ingredients that we can work with are much more diverse than what we are doing at the restaurant," he said. [Donburi: A deep bowl of precisely comforting food in Adams Morgan] Owens-Stively said they're incorporating Asian ingredients that people are most familiar with from savory preparations. So expect to see such eclairs as yuzu raspberry, green tea white chocolate and miso caramel, along with staples such as chocolate, vanilla and coffee. Other possibilities include hazelnut praline and cherry blossom. Our informal tasting indicates the pair is on the right track. The yuzu raspberry successfully balanced sweet and tart, and the miso imparted a nice saltiness to the caramel without any funky fermented flavor. We've seen other riffs on eclairs at area bakeries, including teaclairs, with tea-infused pastry cream, at Dog Tag Bakery. But Jang demurred when asked whether we might be on the brink of a eclair trend. "I'm afraid some people might think of us as a trendy dessert shop, but that's not what we're trying to do," Jang said. He and Owens-Stively intend to continue to push the boundaries of what an eclair can be. But what makes the perfect eclair? "We are trying to make our own definition of it," Jang said. "I don't have the definition for the perfect eclair yet." G'eclair pops-up at Spoon, 2473 18th St NW,


Baltimore Sun, Economist cartoonist KAL ‘humbled’ to win the 2015 Herblock Prize

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress/Herb Block Foundation) EVEN FOR Last month, the Economist magazine cartoonist received Europe’s Grand Prix Award for press “cartoon of the year.” Today, KAL (Kallaugher’s nom-de-toon), who also draws for the Baltimore Sun, was named the recipient of the 2015 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning. “I consider the Herblock Prize to be a special honor,” KAL told The Post’s Comic Riffs. “Its mission is to promote excellence in the craft of editorial cartooning, and to highlight the fight against injustice that was a hallmark of Herblock’s work. “I am honored and humbled to have been selected for this extraordinary award.” KAL’s work for both the Sun and the Economist impressed the jury. “His portfolio reflected his dual editorial-cartoonist roles, and impressed the judges with his ability to jump between macro-international policy issues to Baltimore mayor’s stonewalling about the accuracy of its speed cameras,” the Herb Block Foundation said in its release. “Like Herblock, KAL is a committed defender of civil liberties. His full-page cartoon on Edward Snowden is a minor masterpiece.” “Whether single-panel, circular or multi-panel,” the judges noted, “his cartoons are clear, thoughtful, forceful and in the best tradition of Herblock.” KAL’s honor marks the fourth straight year that the Herblock Prize-winning portfolio has consisted largely of multi-panel cartoons. The Herblock Prize judges called KAL’s Snowden cartoon “a minor masterpiece.” (Courtesy of the LOC/Herb Block Foundation) A Connecticut native, KAL has been an editorial artist for nearly four decades, and his cartoons are distributed by CartoonArts International and the New York Times Syndicate. He is also a four-time recipient of the Overseas Press Club’s Thomas Nast Award, has won the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Award, and is artist-in-residence at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. [KAL talks about his career retrospective book of Economist art] The Herblock Prize annually recognizes “distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous independent standard set by Herblock,” the legendary Washington Post cartoonist. The Herb Block Foundation created the prize in 2004, it says, “to encourage editorial cartooning as an essential tool for preserving the rights of the American people through freedom of speech and the right of expression.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution cartoonist Mike Luckovich was named the 2015 Herblock finalist, as the judges noted that “his sharp and witty cartoons on Ferguson, Missouri, as well as [on] torture, the Koch brothers and legal attacks on


After Craigslist crimes, police across U.S. are opening safe havens for transactions

times, if that person had any criminal thoughts, they’re not going to come to a police station,” Hess said. While Manchester police don’t offer locations for online transactions, Hess said he would develop a policy for such sales if a problem arose. Craigslist did not respond to The Washington Post’s e-mails and phone calls seeking comment on Craigslist-related crimes and the emerging trend of police station safe zones. Craigslist’s “personal safety” page says that among the billions of “human interactions facilitated” by the site, the incidence of violent crime is “extremely low.” However, in addition to telling users to carry a cellphone with them during transactions, Craigslist also warns buyers and sellers: “Do not meet in a secluded place,” “be especially careful when buying/selling high value items” and “consider having a friend accompany you.” [‘Get back in’: Teen charged with pressuring boyfriend to commit suicide] Peter Zollman, whose classified-ad consulting firm tracks crimes linked to Craigslist, told the AP that his firm located news reports for more than 20 killings related to the site in 2014. A 2011 report from a competitor titled “Crime and Craigslist: A Sad Tale of Murders and More” said the site was linked with 330 crimes the previous year, including “12 murders and 105 robberies or assaults in the United States,” according to Fast Company. At the time, a Craigslist spokesperson suggested that the numbers were negligible considering the massive number of transactions that occur without incident. “It’s probably worth considering we had over 573 million postings on Craigslist last year in North America,” the spokesperson told Fast Company. “What are the odds?” [The 14 most glorious posts on Craigslist in 2014] Mark Warr, a criminologist and sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, made a similar point, telling the AP that the frequency of crime does not warrant the level of fear associated with it. “My research shows that the public tends to exaggerate the frequency of relatively rare but serious crimes like homicide, because these crimes are selected out and disproportionately reported by the news media because of their newsworthiness,” Warr said. That hasn’t stopped more police departments from moving to stop crimes linked to Craigslist before they can occur. In January, police in Columbia, Mo., turned the department’s lobby into a 24-hour space to buy and sell goods advertised online, according to the Columbia Missourian. Aside from weapons, people can


ULA ready to compete against Elon Musk’s space startup, CEO says

Tory Bruno, chief executive of United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, show off a model of the Blue Engine 4. (Brian Fung / The Washington Post) Faced with mounting pressure from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the United Launch Alliance’s new chief executive said Monday he has been re-configuring the company in order to compete, slashing the cost of national security launches and developing a new launch system. In an interview with Washington Post reporters, Tory Bruno said that since he was named CEO of ULA last summer his job has been “to literally transform the company,” and he also took a jab at his upstart competitor, saying it was risky to rely on Musk’s relatively new space company for national security launches. For years, ULA, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, had it made. It had the backing of two of the most powerful defense contractors in the world, and no one to challenge its dominance in the lucrative field of launching national security satellites into space. But in recent months, the Colorado-based company has faced two very big challenges. First, Musk’s startup space company sued the Air Force, saying that it should be able to compete with ULA for the launches. The company recently settled the suit, and the Air Force has pledged to certify it, perhaps within a few months, so that SpaceX can compete for upcoming contracts. ULA's second hurdle is its Russian-made RD-180 engine. Musk has criticized ULA for using the engine at a time of strained relations between the U.S. and Russia over the crisis in the Ukraine. And late last year, Congress imposed a ban on the RD-180, which the ULA uses in its Atlas V rocket, by 2019. To end dependence on the Russian engine, ULA recently announced a partnership with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company to build a new, American-made engine. (Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) ULA is also partnering with Aerojet Rocketdyne on a new engine, but that company is further behind on development, Bruno said. The Blue Origin engine, the BE-4, won’t be ready for test flights until 2019 at the earliest, Bruno said. And it could be 2022 or 2023 before it would be certified by the Pentagon for national security launches. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has concerns about that timeline, telling Congress last week that 2019 “was pretty


PM Update: Light wintry mix arrives midday Tuesday; refreeze tonight after some daytime melting

* Winter weather advisory 9 a.m. through 10 p.m. Tuesday * 9:20 p.m. update: As of now, amounts look light enough that main roads would probably be just wet rather than icy, but slick spots may develop on side streets, sidewalks, driveways, bridges, ramps and overpasses, especially in our colder suburbs. Unless precipitation turns out heavier than anticipated, we don’t expect widespread sheets of ice like last time, but be prepared for some slick spots during the commute home, especially in residential areas. Two-hour satellite loop. Refresh page to update. 5 p.m. (Original Post): Through Tonight: Tomorrow (Tuesday): See Jason Samenow’s forecast through the weekend. And if you haven’t already, join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Wintry mix: This afternoon’s NAM simulated radar for 1 p.m. on Tuesday. (Weatherbell.com) The high resolution NAM suggests a lengthier period of scattered showers of sleet and freezing rain plaguing the broader area from the midday into the evening. It seems more consistent with the most likely scenario for tomorrow. The loop below starts at 10:00 a.m. and runs through 10:00 p.m. Hi resolution NAM simulated radar from this afternoon’s run. (Weatherbell.com) The afternoon GFS, just in, supports the potential for a tricky period tomorrow as well. With temperatures expected to be near freezing coincident with whatever falls, definitely worth watching closely. Some of the region's ice and snow was beginning to melt on Monday morning, but much of D.C. was still covered in ice as residents made their way to work in the nation's capital.


The Switchboard: Hillary Clinton used personal e-mail for everything at the State Department

Hillary Rodham Clinton, former United States Secretary of State, speaks at the DreamForce conference on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, in San Francisco, California, U.S. (Noah Berger/Bloomberg News.) Published every weekday, the Switchboard is your morning helping of hand-picked stories from the Switch team. Hillary Clinton used personal e-mail account at State, possibly breaking rules Obama sharply criticizes China's plans for new technology rules Why drivers are winning the labor war between Uber and Lyft. Zuckerberg: Carriers will connect the world, not sci-fi Twitter investigates alleged ISIS threat to Jack Dorsey, employees Want more? Follow @TheSwitch and our reporters -- @kansasalps, @b_fung and @htsuka -- for the latest tech news throughout the day.


Obama confirms worst fears

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can galvanize opinion in America and in Congress against an awful nuclear deal with Iran, he would be a hero not only to the American and world Jewish community but to the Middle East and the West. Opinion writer Jennifer Rubin explains. For seven years critics of the president have claimed he is out to appease Iran, allowing it a nuclear-weapons capability and eventual entree into the nuclear weapons club. Liberals insisted this was Obama Derangement Syndrome. In fact Obama admitted in essence yesterday that his critics were right in an interview in which he declared, “If in fact Iran is . . . willing to agree to double-digit years of keeping their program where it is right now and in fact rolling back elements of it that currently exist . . . If we’ve got that and we’ve got a way of verifying that, there’s no other steps we can take that would give us such assurance that they don’t have a nuclear weapons.” First, that’s false since dismantling what they have is the better course, and second this is plain capitulation. Iran in 10 years has unrestricted ability to build all the bombs it wants. It is a complete repudiation of the administration’s stated policy against containment and, if it ever went into effect, would set off a nuclear arms race in the region. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) grasps the importance here, telling Right Turn, “That’s not a negotiation– it’s a capitulation. We’re facing a watershed moment: abandoning our long-held objective of eliminating Iran’s nuclear program would dramatically destabilize the Middle East and put our ally Israel in great danger.” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., shown here in 2013, gave a rousing speech at AIPAC. (Agence France Press/Mandel NGAN/Getty Images) To make matters worse Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, gave perhaps the worst speech by anyone in the history of AIPAC policy conferences. She falsely repeated the president’s claim that the joint plan of action has “already succeeded in halting Iran’s nuclear program.” It has not. Low-level enrichment continues, its ICBM research continues and its development of advance centrifuges goes forward. She proceeded to tell the attendees it was unrealistic to deny Iran nuclear-enrichment capability (well, since the threat of military action has all but disappeared), and they’d be foolish to let something “totally unachievable” get in the way of a “good”


The Afghan military is shrinking as the Pentagon withdraws its troops

In this Dec. 13, 2014, file photo, an Afghan soldier stands guard at the site of a suicide attack by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File) When the U.S. military sent tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan as part of a surge in forces in 2009 and 2010, a centerpiece of the effort was growing and improving the Afghan National Security Forces to stand on their own. But as the Pentagon has withdrawn its troops, the Afghan military and police both appear to be shrinking, with thousands killed each year and large numbers deserting the force. The top U.S. watchdog for Afghanistan highlighted the trend in a report to Congress released Tuesday. The number of troops in the Afghan army shrunk from 184,839 to 169,203 between fall 2013 and fall 2014, the smallest number since August 2011, according to John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). U.S. Forces-Afghanistan reported that the number of Afghan police was up 3,122 to 156,439 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, but SIGAR questioned whether some of those police had been counted twice and said the actual number may be closer to 151,272. That would amount to a decrease of 2,045 in one quarter. “Attrition continues to be a major challenge for the ANSF. Between September 2013 and September 2014, more than 40,000 personnel were dropped from ANA rolls,” SIGAR said in the report, using acronyms for the Afghan National Security Forces and Afghan National Army. “Moreover, the ANA continues to suffer serious combat losses. Between October 2013 and September 2014, more than 1,300 ANA personnel were killed in action (KIA) and 6,200 were wounded in action (WIA).” A U.S. soldier keeps watch at the scene following a suicide attack on a Turkish diplomatic vehicle in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul on Feb. 26. AFP PHOTO / Wakil KOHSARWAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images Many statistics about the Afghan National Security Forces were classified late last year by Gen. John F. Campbell, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. SIGAR cited him in its quarterly report released in January for withholding information about the Afghan military and police that had been previously released to the public. Sopko said in his new supplemental report that he and Campbell met last month, and the general said his command had decided to declassify “the bulk of the material that it had


If you read one thing about microfinance, read this

A summary of seven studies in one figure, via the non-profit research organizations Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) These days, every story about microfinance begins in 2006, when Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize for their revolutionary product: small loans for the poorest. “Lasting peace can not be achieved” wrote the Nobel organization “unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.” Unfortunately, in 2006 the evidence was not in. It made no more sense to give microfinance a peace prize than give one to a sitting president in his first… Oh wait. I think I see a pattern. Well, the evidence has arrived. If you want to read one thing on microfinance, I vote for this new policy brief: a summary of seven randomized control trials on four continents, from the research organizations Innovations for Poverty Action and the Poverty Action Lab. The punchlines: - Only about one in four or five households wanted a small loan. - Some of them used the money to grow their very small businesses. But this rarely led to higher profits. - None of the seven studies found a significant impact on household income. - And there’s no evidence it empowered women or led more children to go to school. - But the loans give a little freedom. People make the same money as before, but in different activities that they chose. In the end, you can sum it up like this: microfinance is a useful little product. People like impersonal finance. That’s one less relative to hit up for cash. I think of it like my family’s first microwave, in 1984: it didn’t make us better off in ways that are easy to measure, but life was a bit more convenient. How to go from convenience to real poverty alleviation? I think about this a lot. A good deal of my research looks what happens when you just give the poorest cash. The answer? They save and invest it, and are better off over time. Especially when it’s targeted at people who are interested in and able to start small businesses. This is a slight overstatement. The evidence is still coming in. But cash looks more promising than credit


How to tie Moses, ‘Game of Thrones’ and Iran together in one speech

HBO series. CONTEXT: Netanyahu referred to a “deadly game of thrones” when discussing the rise of the Islamic State and saying how Iran is competing with the militant group. “A Farewell to Arms” (novel, poem) DESCRIPTION: Ernest Hemingway’s novel about an American soldier during World War I, though the title comes from a George Peele poem. CONTEXT: After saying that the Iran deal would lead other countries in the Middle East to seek nuclear weapons, Netanyahu said: “This deal won’t be a farewell to arms. It would be a farewell to arms control.” “Robert Frost,” a print by Clara Sipprell. (National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution) Robert Frost (poet) DESCRIPTION: Frost was a towering figure in American poetry who won the Pulitzer Prize four times. CONTEXT: Netanyahu said that Americans, Israelis and the world are at a crossroads and must decide between two paths. “You don’t have to read Robert Frost to know,” he said. “You have to live life to know that the difficult path is usually the one less traveled, but it will make all the difference for the future of my country.” This was in reference to Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” where Frost discusses taking the road “less traveled.” Elie Wiesel (author, professor, Nobel Prize winner) DESCRIPTION: Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor who has written dozens of books, including “Night,” and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1986. CONTEXT: Wiesel was in attendance on Tuesday, and Netanyahu addressed him and said, “I wish I could promise you, Elie, that the lessons of history have been learned.” He added: “I can only urge the leaders of the world not to repeat the mistakes of the past.” Moses (prophet, religious figure) DESCRIPTION (yes, really): Moses was the prophet and leader who guided the Jews out of Egypt and delivered the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells us. CONTEXT: There is a relief of Moses overlooking the congressional chamber, which Netanyahu pointed to as he wound down his remarks. “Moses led our people from slavery to the gates of the Promised Land,” he said. He then pivoted to Hebrew and quoted Moses in urging people to “be strong and resolute.” RELATED: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a joint meeting of Congress that removing economic sanctions on Iran would have terrible outcomes. Here are highlights from his speech. Netanyahu warns that nuclear deal ‘paves Iran’s path’ to a bomb


From one ship to another: Andy Lack leaving BBG to go back to NBC?

Andy Lack may be leaving the Broadcasting Board of Governors. (Bobby Bank/WireImage, 2012 file photo) Former NBC news president and former Bloomberg Media chairman Andy Lack, who was brought in to fix the perennially troubled U.S. international media operations, is leaving after just six weeks on the job. When last we checked three weeks ago, Lack was moving offices to get a better view and off on an overseas trip to check out the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ operations. The BBG oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio and TV Marti, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. But Lack is in negotiations with NBC News to return to a top job there, according to report Tuesday in Variety, the entertainment news publication, dashing the hopes of State Department and BBG officials who wanted the high-powered media executive to energize U.S. overseas media operations. The negotiations were spurred, Variety noted, by the crisis set off at NBC News by the Brian Williams debacle and suspension. So rather than right the ship at BBG — he had talked about growing the operation, not cutting it — Lack is apparently going off to right the other ship. The news is seen, we’re told, as a big setback for the BBG at an unfortunate time. “Public diplomacy through this journalistic mission is a critically important tool in America’s foreign policy toolbox,” said former BBG member Michael Meehan, “And not to fix the structural problems now and losing a top pro like Andy would be a big loss to the mission.’


D.C. area forecast: Spotty wintry mix this afternoon, then a mild, wet Wednesday; snow risk early Thursday

the National Weather Service, we might even drop the winter weather advisory for the immediate metro region for this event. If you have plans late this afternoon and evening, we encourage you to keep an eye on our forecast updates but expect most people should be able to get around without too many issues. Update at 10:05 a.m.: TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 2/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL March meteorological madness is in full swing with wild weather swings from day to day. A wintry mix this afternoon into the evening means the chance for some iciness. But then Wednesday, temperatures rebound with 50s possible and regular old rain. That brief flirtation with mild air is followed by an Arctic front that breathes cold air back into the region Wednesday night into Thursday. Rain in the area at the time may well turn to accumulating snow. Today (Tuesday): - Light snow and/or sleet develops between around 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Temperatures 30-34. - Snow and/or sleet change to light freezing rain or rain (I-95 and east) between 2 and 4 p.m. Temperatures 30-34. - Freezing rain or plain rain (depending on location) tapers off between 6 and 7 p.m. Temperatures: 31-35. - All accumulations are expected to be very light. This light frozen precipitation may cause slick sidewalks, driveways and side roads, especially west and north of the Beltway where temperatures are more likely to be below freezing. In most areas, treated main roads should be just wet. Light winds blow from the east and northeast at 5 to 10 mph. Confidence: Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Tomorrow (Wednesday): [Significant snow event possible Wednesday night, Thursday] Tomorrow night: Memorial Bridge, February 26, 2015 (John Sonderman via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Thursday Friday The weekend sees moderating temperatures, but we still manage to maintain mostly colder than normal weather. At least we stay dry. Saturday and Sunday both see partly sunny skies with Saturday in the middle and Sunday upper 40s. Lows Saturday night with just a few clouds range through the 20s to low 30s. Confidence: Medium SNOW POTENTIAL INDEX 6/10 (↑): Some of the region's ice and snow was beginning to melt on Monday morning, but much of D.C. was still covered in ice as residents made their way to work in the nation's capital.


Winter poses a curbside conundrum for D.C. area food trucks

Think about everything that annoys you about winter: snow, ice, wind, salt, frigid temperatures. Chances are, the region's food truck operators find them just as troublesome. The season has been a particularly rough one for the Randy Radish, the vegan truck founded by Sharon Lindblad and Nancy Jezior in 2013. "It's just like one thing after another," Jezior said about dealing with maintenance issues with their two trucks. "It's hard to get them to continue to work in the winter." Farragut Square, in warmer times, when food truck business is brisk. (Tracy A. Woodward/The Washington Post) In addition to repairing and replacing parts of the truck such as the water pump, Jezior said the Radish has been hampered by severe weather and a lack of reliable places to park the truck in Loudoun and Fairfax counties. To stay afloat until spring, first-time food business owners Jezior and Lindblad have turned to the public for help. They launched a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise $35,000. It's now about 25 percent funded. The money raised will help "pass the hurdle in April," when they intend to expand their geographic reach into Arlington and the District, and get the truck out on the road serving tofu reubens and shredded jackfruit barbecue at least four days a week. [Food truck association moves into new phase with food truck conference] In addition to its two founders, the Randy Radish is down to just a single employee."We're running bare bones," Jezior said. Other trucks don't even try to run in winter. Don't expect to see Brandon Byrd's Goodie's frozen custard truck regularly on the road until April. (Natarsha Wright for Capital Business) "It was actually just more costly than it was worth opening up over winter time," said Brandon Byrd, owner of Goodie's Frozen Custard and Treats. He realized most people would probably not want to stand outside in the cold waiting for a cold dessert and said he'd be concerned about the elements wreaking havoc on his meticulously restored vintage vans, dubbed Gigi and Rudy. To help pay the bills, Byrd operates a kiosk in National Harbor, which he opens on weekends when temperatures hit 40 or above. He said winter is a good time for him to focus on special events such as car shows. "The down period is never really a down period," though, said Byrd. He spends a lot of the


Sarah Palin’s odd description of Iraq and Afghanistan deployment trends

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin focused on veterans' issues during her address at CPAC on Thursday, saying it is the "duty of he who sends" troops to fight to make sure those wars are won. “The strain on military and their families, it is enormous. During World War II the average deployment in the combat theater, it was six months. Korean War, nine months. Vietnam, 13 months. For Iraq and Afghanistan, an initial enlistment was 45 months.” — Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R), This statement came from Palin’s speech on veterans, during which she focused on the experiences of the “war on terror” generation that served in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’d previously rated a section of this speech in which she used an inaccurate statistic for veteran suicides. But this passage also caught our attention. She compared the enlistment period of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to the deployment periods of previous conflicts. She went on to say that lengthy and repeat deployments are costly and contribute to veterans being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. But enlistment and deployments are two different things, and this comparison stood out as an odd one. What is the average deployment length for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans? And what does her statement say about the military experience of the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans? The Facts Comparing deployments from previous wars to the enlistment period of the recent conflicts is an apples-to-orange measure, because the circumstances of each war vary widely. For example, during World War II, men and women were enlisted for the duration of the war, plus six months. The average length of deployment is difficult to ascertain, especially considering the high death toll during that time. Rotation requirements evolved through the war, as units experienced combat fatigue after various lengths of deployment. There was a one-year tour duty requirement early in the war, but the policy was changed in May 1943 to give authority to field commanders to decide when to send troops home. During the Korean War, the Army began a point system through which soldiers earned points for each month served in combat. Once they reached a certain number of points, they would be eligible to rotate home. Eligibility for this point system varied depending on the troop and the type of service. There was a one-year deployment period for Vietnam, where soldiers served 365 days and returned home. Phillip


The sad story of Africa’s most prestigious prize

Mo Ibrahim, chairman and founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, center, shares a joke with Kenyan businessman Naushad Merali, right, as Eritrea's ambassador to Kenya Beyene Russom, left, looks on, after a press conference where the winner of the 2014 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership was announced, in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) This week, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation named outgoing Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba as winner of the prestigious 2014 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. “During the decade of his Presidential mandate, he demonstrated sound and wise leadership," Salim Ahmed Salim, the chairman of the prize committee, said at a Nairobi, Kenya, press conference. "At the same time, he maintained his humility throughout his Presidency.” While the Ibrahim Prize may lack the name recognition of the Nobel Peace Prize, it's still a very, very big deal. In fact, the Africa-focused prize beats its Scandinavian rival in one very important way: Money. The recipient of the Ibrahim Prize is awarded more than $5 million in an initial payment that is spread over 10 years, with $200,000 every year after that for the rest of their life. It's said to be the largest prize of its kind in the world (in contrast, the Nobel Prize in 2014 was 8 million Swedish kronor – a little less than $1 million – and a gold medal). Yet, there's also something really quite disheartening about the Ibrahim Prize: The committee that awards the prize, which is supposed to be given out every year, often finds no suitable candidates. In fact, in the eight years since it was first announced, it has been given out just four times. Here's how it runs down. - 2007 -- Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique, is winner. "He was a powerful voice for Africa on the international stage and played an important role in pushing debt relief up the agenda," former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan said while announcing the prize. - 2008 -- Festus Mogae, former president of Botwana, is winner. “President Mogae’s outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana’s continued stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/AIDS pandemic which threatened the future of his country and people," Annan said at the time. - 2009 -- No prize awarded. - 2010 -- No prize awarded. - 2011 -- Pedro Pires, former president of Cape Verde, is winner. "The


A majority favors marijuana legalization for first time, according to nation’s most authoritative survey

over the past 40 years. In 1974, a year after the Shafer Commission recommended removing marijuana from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, public support for full legalization stood at 19 percent. Support rose through the 1970s, reaching nearly 30 percent in 1978, only to plummet during the Reagan years, "Just Say No" and the advent of the drug war. The year 1990 represented the nadir of legalization support, when it stood at 16 percent. But the numbers rose steadily through the 1990s as states began adopting medical marijuana laws, starting with California in 1996. As recently as 2006, support stood only at 32 percent -- just a little bit higher than the previous peak in 1978. In the fewer than 10 years since then, support has jumped 20 percentage points -- mirroring, in many ways, the dramatic shift in public opinion on gay marriage over the same period. Legalization supporters have been able to capitalize on that energy and secure full legalization in four states, with a partial legal status in DC similar to the Schafer Commission's original recommendation. Opponents have scrambled to catch up, but the sharp and sustained increase in public opinion means they're facing an uphill battle. That fact that they've been drastically outspent at every turn -- partially a reflection of greater public support for the pro-legalization camp -- hasn't helped things. Still, after repeated losses at the ballot box legalization opponents are now turning toward the courts. The attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed suit against Colorado. Former DEA administrators and a DC-based tough-on-crime group advocating for harsher prison sentences have also rallied to the cause. Additional state-level lawsuits may be coming soon. For a public increasingly weary of the toll of decades of costly and ineffective drug policies, these cases will be a tough sell. Younger Americans -- including Republican ones -- overwhelmingly favor marijuana legalization. And after a year of legal pot, Colorado doesn't appear to be experiencing buyer's remorse. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 58 percent of Colorado's voters said they supported the state's marijuana law -- slightly more than the 55 percent who approved it in 2012. The strong numbers in the latest General Social Survey indicate that the issue isn't losing salience with the public. At the national level, support for legal marijuana remains robust -- and doesn't show signs of wavering any time soon.


The Hillary Clinton e-mail story just keeps getting worse for her

step and created a "homebrew" e-mail system that would give her "impressive control over limiting access" is stunning -- at least to me -- given that she (or someone close to her) had to have a sense that this would not look good if it ever came out. Yes, her allies have maintained that she turned over more than 55,000 pages of e-mails from her time as secretary of state. But, the decisions over which e-mails to turn over were made by Clinton and/or her staff. That's not exactly the height of transparency for someone who is the de facto Democratic presidential nominee in 2016. The second phrase makes clear that Hillary, Bill or Chelsea Clinton didn't (a) dream up or (b) set up the e-mail system the former New York senator used as secretary of state. This wasn't some garden variety home e-mail system; it was "sophisticated" in ways that went well beyond what candidates like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin -- both of whom used private e-mail accounts to do official business -- put in place. That level of sophistication speaks to the fact that this was not thrown together at the last minute; instead it was a planned maneuver to give the Clintons more control over their electronic correspondence. Again, at one level that's entirely defensible. This is not your average family; it has a former president and a once-and-future presidential candidate in it. Some level of caution is warranted. Makes sense. At the same time, Clinton is virtually certain to run for president in 2016. She will run on her long and deep record in public life; an ability then for voters to have as complete a picture as possible of how she acted in key moments as secretary of state is critically important. Any attempt to purposely alter that picture by withholding e-mails -- or simply keeping them in a place that makes it harder for people to access them -- is politically problematic. Clinton continues to maintain radio silence on the e-mail issue. That's going to become increasingly difficult for her to do that with the reporting today on her "homebrew" e-mail system. Explaining why she did what she did would go a long way to taking some -- though hardly all -- of the energy out of this story. Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail address that she used while secretary of state reinforces everything


New Fed transcripts show central bank fighting crisis

consistent with the dual mandate.” Throughout the year, Yellen remained pessimistic about the economy and advocated aggressive Fed actions. “My fear is that we may not even get a modest U-shaped recovery, much less a V-shaped one,” she said at the March 18 meeting. “Another disturbing sign of how tough things are getting is that people appear to be breaking into their piggybanks to make ends meet.” She said the Fed’s Cash Product Office reported a huge influx of coins with December inventories of quarters and dollar coins up more than 50 percent from 2007, and even pennies up nearly 25 percent. “In past recessions, the Fed has been able to fuel a turn around rapidly by stepping on the accelerator through sharp rate cuts,” Yellen added. “But in the current crisis, it feels more like we are desperately trying to power a bicycle uphill rather than pressing an accelerator on a high-powered sports car.” She said that over the previous year the Fed had been “treading water” given the severe credit crisis. Some members of the Federal Reserve board worried about the purchase of mortgage backed securities and whether the Fed was making decisions about which sectors deserved help. But Yellen said such action was warranted. “I am very concerned that the underlying economics is now deteriorating largely because of the economy,” she said. “A lot of banks in this area are very loath to lend. The commercial-mortgage-backed securities market seems to be completely dead. I am really very concerned that, without the ability to refinance these loans, we are going to have properties dumped on the market and we will begin to see exactly the same thing happen with commercial real estate that we are seeing with housing. It could lead to a further wave of unnecessary bank failures.” The Jan. 16 Fed meeting took place just after the Treasury Department, the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) jointly announced that they would provide support to tottering Bank of America to contribute to financial market stability. The support included a package of guarantees, liquidity access and capital. The inauguration of President Obama was still four days away. The Fed governors had a brief discussion about whether certain banks were “too big to fail,” but then Fed chairman Ben S. Bernanke said “it is very important, but we can’t address it simultaneously with addressing the near-term threats


Target’s new strategy: We need more than just minivan moms

Shoppers make their way through the aisles at Target in Danvers, Mass. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole) Before the recession, big-box retailer Target was riding high. Its sprawling stores were popping up in seemingly every suburb in America, and its well-designed stores and cheap, chic styles made it appeal both to low-income consumers who might have shopped at Wal-Mart and to upscale shoppers who simply loved the thrill of a deal. It was the era when it became common for loyal customers to affectionately refer to it as “Tar-zhay,” a tongue-in-cheek French pronunciation that captured how they felt about the brand: It delivered a luxe shopping experience, even though the prices were low. In a presentation to investors this week, Target executives said its core customer at that time was the “Boomer Mom,” someone who “drives a minivan,” “lives in the suburbs” and “wants it all.” But then the economic downturn threw the company for a loop. Instead of sticking with the trendy clothes and housewares that rocketed it to success, Target emphasized rock-bottom prices and offerings in essential categories, such as groceries. The strategy didn’t work well. Chief executive Brian Cornell said this week that Target “lost its brand balance” during this time, focusing too much on deals and not enough on the chic styling that made Target stand out from its rivals. The problems for Target haven’t stopped there: Its first international business, a fleet of stores in Canada that opened two years ago, are to be shuttered because they are failing. And, of course, a massive data breach in 2013 cost it sales and customer trust. Target’s new chief executive, Brian Cornell, has big plans for revitalizing the troubled company. And one of them is looking beyond the minivan-driving suburban mom to build its base of shoppers — or guests, as they’re known in company lingo. “Our guest is going to be increasingly a Hispanic shopper,” Cornell said at the investor event. There were a few indications that Target is going to be highly focused on winning this demographic going forward. In his portion of the investor presentation, chief marketing officer Jeff Jones presented company research on how many Target shoppers identify the store as their “favorite,” a measure they see as a proxy for brand affinity. While just 38 percent of Target shoppers overall identify the store as their favorite, some 54 percent of Hispanic millennials said it


the investor event. There were a few indications that Target is going to be highly focused on winning this demographic going forward. In his portion of the investor presentation, chief marketing officer Jeff Jones presented company research on how many Target shoppers identify the store as their “favorite,” a measure they see as a proxy for brand affinity. While just 38 percent of Target shoppers overall identify the store as their favorite, some 54 percent of Hispanic millennials said it was their favorite. The baby department is one of four signature categories that Target is looking to emphasize to its customers, and Jones said Hispanic millennial moms served as “the creative muse” for its major new marketing campaign for these goods. And it will launch a Spanish-language ad campaign in March with a spot on the hit CW comedy “Jane the Virgin.” The company says it is a “first for any brand” to do a Spanish-language ad on an English-language network. Target is also hoping to widen its base of customers by looking beyond the suburbs. This year, Target only plans to open 15 stores, and just seven of them are the sprawling big-box outposts that the brand is best known for. The rest are CityTarget and TargetExpress stores, small-format outposts that are geared at an urban audience. So far, these stores have been highly successful, with higher average sales per store and higher gross margins than a traditional Target store. With that kind of performance, it is clear the company has been working to better understand and appeal to the urban shopper. Beyond nurturing a more diverse customer base the company said it is going to invest $1 billion in technology and supply chain innovation this year to help boost its digital capabilities. It also plans to cut “several thousand” jobs in the next three years at its headquarters to cut costs and make the business more nimble. Cornell is also pushing the company to make its style, baby, kids and wellness categories truly distinctive and to reposition its grocery department to feature the healthy, fresh options that its shoppers say they prefer. There are early signs that Cornell’s strategy is working. Target’s third quarter and holiday quarter sales were relatively strong, and foot traffic has increased increased in its stores. With its focus on a new kind of shopper, Target may finally find itself again hitting the bull’s-eye.


The identity politics of displacement in the Middle East

An aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Jordanian city of Mafraq. (Mandel Ngan/Reuters, 2013 file photo) This post is part of the “Rethinking Nation and Nationalism” symposium. Amnesty International recently released a scathing report that took Western countries to task for their failure to address the sharp uptick in human displacement in 2014. No part of the world has been more affected than the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where recent upheavals have spawned the region’s largest forced migration crisis since the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948. Between 2008 and 2013 alone, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Arab world roughly doubled, propelled by the 2011 uprisings and violence in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and the Palestinian territories. MENA is now the main region of origin of refugees worldwide, and contains nearly one-third of the global IDP population. This surge mirrors a broader, and troubling, global trend. Despite a steady decline in the incidence and lethality of armed conflict, the number of people forcibly displaced by violence has swelled to levels not seen since World War II. While there is a discernable shift in global attention toward forced displacement, this issue remains largely neglected by scholars. In the Middle East, this growing feature of contemporary politics is not only an urgent concern for humanitarian agencies: Examining displacement has important implications for enhancing our understanding of the region’s shifting identity politics. Since mass involuntary movements of populations have long been a catalyst for political and social transformation – and are linked to an array of security threats, from conflict spillover and terrorism to the spread of infectious disease – it is critical to consider how the most recent waves of displacement will shape the future landscape of the Middle East. Data Sources: Forcibly Displaced Populations Dataset, updated for the years 2008 to 2013 with data from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and UNHCR Population Statistics. (Adam G. Lichtenheld) Population displacement has a unique legacy in the Middle East, which claims the world’s largest protracted refugee situation (the Palestinians) and the greatest gaps in legal protection for forced migrants, as most countries are not parties to the UN Refugee Convention. Yet outside the voluminous literature on Palestinian refugees, displacement remains relatively understudied in the Arab world. Most research is refugee-centric and focuses on encamped


4 stories on how people and start-ups are mainstreaming health

1. Nestlé will market its Lean Cuisine frozen dinners around “healthy eating and healthy lifestyles,” rather than dieting. Meanwhile ConAgra Foods has framed its new Healthy Choice Simply Cafe Steamers as “100 percent natural chicken.” The move comes as more American consumers are shifting away from purchasing weight-management foods to eating fewer processed foods and smaller portions. 2. Scientists and chefs at San Francisco-based start-up Hampton Creek are developing a plant-based alternative to the egg. Egg substitutes are certainly not new, but founder Josh Tetrick says Just Scramble, scheduled to launch this year, is meant to reach consumers in the mainstream egg market. 3. The packaged food and beverage accelerator Accelfoods predicts these products will make us rethink the way we eat: – Pureed Indian chutneys in squeeze bottles. – Chips made from the vegetable jicama and flavored with sea salt. – Ice cream made from coconut milk and coconut water. – Refrigerated granola bars with fresh fruits and fresh nuts. Protein to go. 4. Chef José Andrés has plans to capitalize on the vegetable, but says he doesn’t like to call the cuisine vegetarian. Joining a movement of famous chefs pursuing similar endeavors around the world, Andrés will launch a fast-casual, vegetable-centric restaurant this year at George Washington University called Beefsteak.


6 things you didn’t read today (but should have)

Rick Canamore, from Normandy, Mo. demonstrates against the August shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old black man by a white police officer, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, outside the police station in Ferguson, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) 1. Full Department of Justice report on Ferguson. 2. Full Department of Justice report on Michael Brown shooting death. 3. Why data-driven campaigns should think like Facebook. Campaigns and Elections. 4. Fitness trackers won't get the job done until they start telling us what to do. Wired. 5. From the campaign trail with Scott Walker in October 2010. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 6. Television loves female presidents as long as they are Republican. The Atlantic. Animal news, via CBS Bao Bao panda cub to be separated from mother at National Zoo


The Saudi king gave a prize to an Islamic scholar who says 9/11 was an ‘inside job’

Saudi King Salman, left, presented Zakir Naik, president of the Islamic Research Foundation in India, with the 2015 King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam in Riyadh. (King Faisal Foundation via AFP) Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia's King Salman awarded a prestigious prize to Zakir Naik, a televangelist and religious scholar from India, heralding him as "one of the most renowned non-Arabic-speaking promulgators of Islam." Naik, a trained doctor, founded the Peace TV channel, which supposedly reaches an audience of 100 million English-speaking Muslims. His popular YouTube stream includes videos titled "Who is deceived by the Satan, Christians or Muslims?" and "Does eating non-vegetarian food have any effect on the mind?" Naik's creed is an expansive one. "Islam is the only religion that can bring peace to the whole of humanity," he said in a video biography aired at the ceremony. The preacher is not short of controversy. His orthodox, Wahhabist views — affiliated closely with the Saudi state — are polarizing in India, which is home to a diverse set of Muslim traditions and sects. His conservatism has led him to make statements endorsing the use of female sex slaves and allegedly expressing sympathy for terrorists. [Read: U.S. denounces award-winning cleric who called 9/11 ‘inside job’] Earlier this year, hundreds of Sufi Muslims picketed a New Delhi event where Naik was speaking, demanding his arrest and accusing him of propagating a divisive, dangerous brand of Islam. In a 2008 video, he claimed President George W. Bush was behind the Sept. 11 attacks. "Even a fool will know that this was an inside job," Naik said. Years before, he appeared to offer tacit backing to terrorist masterminds such as Osama bin Laden. "If [Bin Laden] is terrorizing America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, I am with him," he said in one video. "Every Muslim should be a terrorist." In a video in 2007, he talked about how "Jews are controlling America." In 2010, Britain's government barred his entry into the country on grounds of "unacceptable behavior." Naik's supporters argue that his comments are taken out of context, and point to the religious diversity of those in attendance at his mass public events. Speaking to the New York Times earlier this week, he condemned the violence of militants like those from the Islamic State, but not without a caveat. "I am absolutely against Muslims who kill, but what is the


Army secretary defends stripping Special Forces officer of awards

Maj. Mathew Golsteyn is shown here in white in Afghanistan, alongside an Afghan soldier. (Photo released by Rep. Duncan D. Hunter’s office) The secretary of the Army is defending his decision to strip awards for heroism from a former Green Beret officer, saying the soldier demonstrated a “lack of honorable conduct” after he earned the medals. Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn received the Silver Star in 2011 for valor in Afghanistan on Feb. 20, 2010, and was later approved for an upgrade to the even more prestigious Distinguished Service Cross. That award is considered second only to the Medal of Honor in recognizing heroism in combat. [RELATED: Army revokes valor awards for Green Beret officer, citing investigation] Golsteyn was later investigated for an undisclosed violation of the military’s rules of engagement in combat — a violation related to the killing of a known enemy bombmaker, according to officials familiar with the case. The investigation closed in 2014 without Golsteyn’s being charged with a crime, but Army Secretary John M. McHugh made the rare decision to strip him of both awards anyway. Capt. Mathew L. Golsteyn is congratulated by fellow soldiers after receiving the Silver Star for heroism in Afghanistan on Jan. 4, 2011. (The Fayetteville Observer/James Robinson) The move has been scrutinized by the media and criticized by Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), a Marine veteran who has advocated on Golsteyn’s behalf. But McHugh stood by his decision in a new letter to Hunter, saying that the senior officer who initially approved Golsteyn’s Silver Star, Gen. David M. Rodriguez, agreed with his decision. “Every step in the process of investigating Major Golsteyn’s actions, and reviewing and subsequently revoking his valor awards has been thorough, objective and justified,” McHugh wrote in the Feb. 26 letter, obtained by The Washington Post. “The Army’s investigation demonstrated that Major Golsteyn’s service during or at the time of the distinguished act, achievement or meritorious service was not honorable, which led to the revocation of the Distinguished Service Cross.” [RELATED: CIA job interview led to criminal investigation of Green Beret] A spokesman for Rodriguez referred questions to the Army, saying the issue was a personnel matter. He was the three-star deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan when he approved the initial valor award for Golsteyn. Rodriguez is now the four-star chief of U.S. Africa Command. Army Secretary John McHugh talks to reporters Monday at Joint Base


Why are you not watching ‘Jupiter Ascending’ right now?

by an elephant. Have I convinced you to see this movie yet? Channing Tatum goes flying in through the atmosphere and breaks the entire economy. A classic Space Fight Sequence ensues once Jupiter refuses to sign away her space title. (SPACE TITLES!) Eddie Redmayne falls a great distance and dies. Mila Kunis falls a great distance and survives. Channing maims, then kills, a winged lizard in a horrible fashion. Jupiter goes home and goes back to cleaning toilets. Now, mysteriously, this is fulfilling for her, because she owns the whole planet and is dating an alien with whom it is highly unlikely that she is reproductively compatible. Also, her family has gotten her a telescope for no real reason, resolving that critical telescope-related plotline from earlier. After celebrating her new telescope with her family, Jupiter leaves to go on a date with Channing Tatum, who has gotten his wings back. (Apparently, in space, wolves have wings?) They fly around the city, and this is how the movie ends. My point is: This is in theaters, right now. This is not something I am making up. This is not some sort of fever dream that struck me and I have just now set down to paper. I did not eat bad anchovies and fall asleep on a law textbook and type out willy-nilly all the bad ideas that came to me. This is an actual multimillion-dollar blockbuster. It is exactly the level of bonkers that is so rare nowadays. It dares greatly. It fails greatly. Good? No. Heck no. But great. This is a space movie about tax code. This is a space movie with an enormous sequence at the DMV. It is no surprise that this came out in February, not summer, but the real question is: How did it manage to get here at all? And this is the kind of epic failure that they are going to stop making if we keep letting them fail. If you don’t see this, it will be your own dang fault that every single movie for the next 30 years is a good movie starring a Marvel superhero. I know, that doesn’t sound so bad. But it is. This is “The Room” in space. This is “Rocky Horror” without the winks to the audience. This is “Plan 10 From Outer Space.” This is “Jupiter Ascending.” You should be watching it right now.


We don’t know for sure that pesticides are killing the bees. But we know enough to worry.

Bees gather around a hive at Historic Johnson Farm in Hendersonville, N.C. A combination of pesticide use, loss of foraging habitat, climate change, parasites, viruses and predatory insects could be responsible for reducing numbers of managed honeybee colonies. (Mike Dirks/Times-News via Associated Press) Honeybees are important for more than just making honey. They also pollinate a lot of our crops — one-third of them, in fact. But a common narrative emerging these days is that the bees are dying. Beekeepers have reported losing substantial fractions of their colonies each winter over the past decade or so. In other cases, piles of dead honeybees have turned up. Environmental and other public-interest groups often cite pesticides as a leading culprit. In particular, they want regulators to ban a specific group of pesticides known as “neonicotinoids.” Activists argue that these pesticides not only kill honeybees, but may be behind the different, more mysterious set of symptoms known as colony collapse disorder (CCD). This week, 125 public-interest groups asked the Environmental Protection Agency to consider pulling these pesticides from the market. How responsible are pesticides for the plight of honeybees? We don’t have much clear-cut evidence. But that lack of evidence shouldn’t offer us comfort. Here’s why. Neonicotinoids’ bee impacts, in a nutshell Neonicotinoids are a relatively new form of pesticide designed to target aphids, termites and other pests. What makes them unique is that they’re systemic — the plant itself actually absorbs the pesticide into its leaves and tissues. That helps farmers because they don’t need to repeatedly spray their crops with the chemicals. But the pesticide also ends up in pollen and nectar, which honeybees consume. Laboratory studies have shown that the neonicotinoids can kill bees. And in recent years, some research has shown that some neonicotinoids have subtler, “sublethal” impacts on bees, harming their flying or food-foraging abilities. And still more research has found that neonicotinoids could induce at least some of the symptoms of CCD, although these findings have proved to be controversial. In CCD, adult worker bees abandon a colony, but the queen bee and immature bees remain; few dead bees, if any, are found outside the hive. Case closed? There are a few reasons why it’s more complicated than it seems. First, pesticides’ effects on individual bees don’t necessarily equate to the effects on a colony. Thousands of bees live together, collectively functioning as a super-organism. And this


Media portrayals of Africa promote paternalism

A family of refugees that fled their homes due to violence from Boko Haram rest inside a refugee camp in Minawao, Cameroon. (Edwin Kindzeka Moki/AP) The backlash against how media and aid organizations portray Africans has reached a fever pitch. A wave of criticism has pointed out how American journalists only cover Africa’s outbreaks of disease, disaster and violence, while overlooking the region’s many political and economic success stories. Academic commentaries (including recent Monkey Cage posts) on so-called “Ooga booga” journalism are legion, but perhaps the best summary lies in parody, courtesy of The Onion newspaper headline, “Tens of Thousands Dead in Ongoing Africa.” Foreign aid agencies — or, to one critic, the “White Savior Industrial Complex” — also focus on the negative as part of their fundraising efforts, playing up narratives that Africa’s helpless victims can only be saved by the West. Again, some of the most compelling criticism lies in comedy: Witness the faux campaign Radi-Aid, which apes Band Aid’s famous fundraising efforts with a hilarious music video in which South African singers croon their request that viewers share Africa’s warmth by donating radiators to frigid Norway. What are the consequences of these Western portrayals of Africans? Critics have made numerous speculations: misinformation, stereotyping, validation of white privilege, excessive fear of foreigners and immigrants and even mishandled foreign policy interventions. The list of purported consequences is so long that at times it becomes internally contradictory. Jeffrey Sachs, the aid regime’s leading intellectual proponent, attributes the alleged shortfall in aid funding to Westerners’ resentment — “an amazing reservoir of deep prejudices” — against Africans. By contrast, his intellectual archrival, William Easterly, blames what he sees to be excessive and wasteful aid spending on Westerners’ paternalistic attitudes toward Africans: Donors reduce aid effectiveness by controlling what recipients can do with it. Are any of these speculations accurate? In a new article published in the American Political Science Review (gated and ungated versions), I report on two different Internet-based survey experiments that I conducted in 2011 and 2012 on white U.S. respondents. I explored the nature of white Americans’ attitudes toward foreigners of African descent as well as the manner in which these attitudes shape their opinions about aid. I expected to find that white Americans are more paternalistic than they are stingy and resentful toward foreigners of African descent. After all, the recurring helpless-victim storyline dehumanizes foreign blacks by downplaying


Town Square | Waterfront estate in Annapolis listed for $5.495 million

finished square feet on three levels with an optional three-level bonus room. Luxury features such as a brick front and stoop, upgraded 42-inch kitchen cabinets, granite counters, ceramic tile flooring in the baths and hardwood flooring in the foyer are included in the base price. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouses are available in various floor plans. Two additional models are available at Leopold’s Preserve that are priced from the upper $300,000s. Leopold’s Preserve sits on 386 acres of open space and has more than five miles of walking trails. Shops, restaurants and entertainment options are available nearby at Madison Crescent and Virginia Gateway. For more information, go to www.WHIHomes.com or call 703-729-8302. The house at 2475 Kalorama Rd. NW in the District is on the FindEverythingHistoric.com site. (Courtesy of Washington Fine Properties and HomeVisit) New Web site helps users find historic homes to buy or rent Whether you’re looking for a historic home to live in, a property where you can operate a bed-and-breakfast or just want to vacation in a place with decades or centuries of history, the new Web site FindEverythingHistoric.com is the place to start your search. Meggen Taylor The Web site focuses on both residential and commercial real estate as well as vacation rentals and hotels — all historic and located throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Home buyers in the D.C. area can find listings of historic homes for sale such as Moor Green, a 10-acre estate with a Colonial manor built in 1815 at 9850 Flint Rock Rd. in Manassas; a Federal-style home built in 1925 at 2475 Kalorama Rd. NW in Washington; and the Griffin-Worthington House in Annapolis, built in 1776. For more information, go to www.findeverythinghistoric.com. Luxury apartments in Reston come with 24-hour Starbucks A hospitality bar that will provide round-the-clock Starbucks coffee and other beverages is one of the many amenities of Harrison at Reston Town Center, a new 360-unit luxury apartment in Reston. Developed by Renaissance Centro, the Harrison’s 28,000 square feet of amenity space includes an indoor four-lane lap pool, a 24-hour fitness studio, a yoga-and-Pilates room, a massage room, a spin studio and free fitness classes. It also has a residents’ lounge with two gas fireplaces, a deck, a media room, a gaming area, a dog park and pet spa and a “Culinary Center” with a demonstration kitchen and private dining room. The


New NASA research says Mars once had a large ocean

NASA researchers used powerful ground-based infrared telescopes to examine how water reservoirs on Mars might have evolved over time. According to new research published Thursday in Science, Mars once had enough water to cover the entire planet. But based on analysis of the planet's surface, it's more likely that the planet had most of its liquid water in one ocean that covered 20 percent of the ground. It would have been larger than our Arctic Ocean, with maximum depths of about a mile. That's nothing compared to the nearly seven miles of the deepest part of Earth's Mariana Trench, but it's still pretty respectable -- it's comparable to the depth of the Mediterranean Sea. The search for evidence of water on Mars has been going on for so much of my life that it's almost hard to get excited about the evidence. Yes, okay, another sign of water, big whoop. We've mostly moved on to obsessively searching for what that water might have meant: the tiny microbes, or remnants thereof, that would mean Mars did or does support life. The remains of pits and valleys carved by moving water make its one-time presence on the planet all but certain. But the question of how much liquid water Mars had -- and why liquid water disappeared on Mars while Earth stayed wet -- remains a mystery. (NASA) Using data from several large telescopes on Earth (Keck Observatory’s 10-meter Keck II telescope; NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility, also in Hawaii; and European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope located in Chile) to analyze the ratio of two kinds of water molecules on Mars, the authors of the new study believe they've come up with a solid estimation of Mars's ancient ocean. By measuring the different amounts of common H2O (which we know as water) and HDO (where one of the hydrogens is replaced by deuterium, a heavier version of the same element), as well as how much of either of them escapes out of the atmosphere over time, researchers can estimate the former water content of an alien body. It's like looking at a mixture of water and oil, explained the study's first author, Geronimo Villanueva, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The heavier form of hydrogen sits like water at the bottom of the atmosphere," he said. "The lighter water molecules rise to the top, like oil. So


Astronomers saw the same star explode four times in four places because of a rare cosmic phenomenon

The image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the light from a supernova, which is divided into four light representations using a 'cosmic lens.' This is the first multiple lensed supernova anyone has ever observed, and the supernova is named after the Norwegian astronomer Sjur Refsdal, who theoretically predicted this phenomenon 50 years ago. (NASA/ESA/GLASS/ FrontierSN team) A warp in space time gave one supernova, or exploding star, more than one chance to shine. We've written about more common-place occurrences of this phenomenon (called gravitational lensing) before. When a galaxy or cluster of galaxies is massive enough, it can bend the light that passes through it. When these objects are lined up properly with Earth, a small object can end up getting magnified by the gravitational lens sitting "in front" of it. This has allowed astronomers to spot otherwise too distant or tiny space objects. But this case, reported Thursday in Science, is much more special: Because of the lensing effect of a massive galaxy located between this supernova and the telescope imaging it, the same explosion showed up four times around the galaxy. This formation is called an Einstein Cross. Einstein first predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing (a result of his theory of relativity) about a century ago. Astronomers have seen Einstein Crosses made by galaxies and black holes before, but this is the first time they've seen a supernova jump into the shot. In this case, the supernova -- which is 9 billion light years away -- would be too faint to be visible from Earth with just one galaxy magnifying it. As luck would have it, the explosions ended up being lensed twice: A massive cluster of galaxies bent the light of the supernova, probably producing three of the images, and one of those was caught again and bent by a final galaxy. In total, the light of the explosion is magnified by 20 times. "It really threw me for a loop when I spotted the four images surrounding the galaxy - it was a complete surprise," study author Patrick Kelly of the University of California said in a statement. Kelly was looking to find the small, distant supernovas that can be magnified by gravitational lenses, but this new Einstein Cross provides opportunities of its own. "Basically, we get to see the supernova four times and measure the time delays between its arrival in the different


‘Scandal’ recap Season 4, Episode 14: ‘The Lawn Chair’

explaining that he grew up in the neighborhood, while Olivia is there to do a job. He reminds her that she got “a Republican president elected … twice” and ends his one-two punch with: “Your black card’s not getting validated today.” Burn. Olivia starts to question her own role when the police officer’s name is leaked and the police chief tries to shut down the protesters. “The fact that they stand in groups and say things you don’t like does not make them a mob. It makes them Americans.” Liv learns more about Brandon. He loved electronics and was on his way to an apprentice school. Clarence tells her that he never let his son leave the house without telling him where he was going and he never went to sleep without knowing he was home safe. “Even though he wasn’t going to college, I put a University of Maryland sticker on my truck so if he ever got pulled over the cops wouldn’t think he was just a thug,” Clarence tells Olivia. Liv notices that the police department is putting up blockades between the protesters and the press and she calls out the police chief for trying to stop media coverage. When the police chief asks Olivia whose side she is on, she makes a decision, crossing the police tape and joining the protesters in their chant. Olivia appeals to David Rosen again, in hopes of getting a subpoena for the security footage to find out whether the police department narrative is the truth. “I can’t just go marching into every sensitive situation,” David tells her. Olivia tries to put things into perspective: “You talk about fairness and justice like it’s available to everyone. It’s not.” Liv convinces David to issue the subpoena. She plays the footage for Clarence. It shows the officer in a confrontation with Brandon, who reaches into his pocket for something and is shot by the officer. As Olivia and Clarence look on, Marcus finds a knife underneath Brandon’s dead body. Devastated, Clarence aims his shotgun at the crowd while insisting “he didn’t carry a knife.” Huck and Quinn examine the footage more closely and discover that the officer had someone in the back seat of his patrol car. It was another suspect, who had a knife that was not booked into evidence. The officer ends up being arrested for tampering with evidence, perjury and


China’s growing panda population is fragmenting, and that’s a problem

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2013 file photo, giant panda Ya Ya plays at a wildness recovery training base in Foping county in northwest China's Shaanxi province. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT It is a rare success story for environmental protection and wildlife conservation in China: The nation’s once-a-decade survey has found China’s wild panda population has risen by 268 animals, or 17 percent, to an estimated 1,864 in the mountainous forests of the west. The jump has come thanks to a concerted effort to curb the twin threats of logging and poaching. An incredible 27 reserves have been created to protect pandas in the past decade alone. Barney Long, director of species conservation at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, calls it a “huge success story that needs to be applauded.” But not everything is black and white, as one panda appeared to remind us this week. This video shows a wild panda crossing and re-crossing a road in the early hours Thursday in the town of Yingxiu in the southwestern province of Sichuan. For although panda numbers are on the rise, they are facing a new threat: economic development. (Watch: a panda crosses a road in a southwestern China town in the dead of night) China’s breakneck pace of infrastructure building is fragmenting habitats. Roads, railways, hydropower plants and high voltage transmission lines are cutting pandas off from each other, and dividing them into ever smaller, more isolated groups. Hundreds of mines and dozens of tourist attractions on the outskirts of their reserves put added pressure on those groups, as that wandering panda might have been effectively telling us. “Pandas are very sensitive animals,” said Jin Tong, a conservation scientist with The Nature Conservancy in Beijing. “They dislike noise. Mining and other human activities might force them to move and resettle. “ There are now 33 separate panda populations in China, 24 of those groups so small they are deemed “high risk for survival,” according to the State Forestry Administration. Eighteen groups have fewer than 10 animals, and face an "extremely high risk of extinction." “If you have a small population under 30, genetically over time those populations are probably doomed,” said Long. “At least some of the little sub-populations need to be connected.” Long says efforts are already under way to remove fences to allow some groups to make contact. A wildlife pass has also been constructed


Here’s why former NFL player Nate Jackson is right when he says the league should allow marijuana use

Business Executives Breakfast that kicked off a three-day conference titled “Sports, Meds and Money.” “I feel like I exited the game with my mind intact. And I credit that to marijuana in a lot of ways and not getting hooked on these pain pills that are recklessly distributed in the league when a guy gets an injury,” Jackson said. Here’s why Jackson may be on to something, beyond the reasons stated above. 1. Marijuana could help prevent CTE Though no extensive studies have been done, some scientists think “that compounds found in marijuana could play a vital role in protecting player’s brains,” renowned Harvard psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon wrote in an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last year. Grinspoon called on the deep-pocketed NFL owners to fund a study to see just how effective marijuana could be in treating concussed brains, if anything for the sake of the league’s self-preservation in the wake of the $765 million concussion settlement the league reached with thousands of former players. Last year, Goodell said the league would consider allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes if it’s found to be a legitimate medical solution, though for now marijuana use is still prohibited. 2. Marijuana is becoming increasingly legal Marijuana is legal for personal use in four states — Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Plus, it’s sort-of legal in the District of Columbia and it’s either legal for medical use or heavily decriminalized (or both) in 23 states. Legalization has led to a number of employment issues, namely: Should employers be allowed to ban the use of a legal product during non-work hours? 3. The NFL’s lax drug-testing policy is a sign that the league turns a blind eye to marijuana use As Jackson noted in his speech, NFL players are tested for street drugs only once a year. Last year, a report by HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the league’s players use marijuana. “They’re aware that probably over half of their players smoke weed. They’ve been doing it since they were teenagers. The fact that they’ve been doing it that whole time and still made it to the NFL and are able to satisfy the demands of very, very strict employers on a daily basis means that their marijuana use is in check,” Jackson said, per the AP. “Marijuana is not a problem in their lives.”


Clash of the billionaires: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are duking it out over space

SpaceX is trying to land a rocket booster on what it calls an autonomous spacesport droneship, essentially a floating barge at sea. (Source: SpaceX) A panel of administrative judges at an obscure federal agency ruled this week that a largely behind-the-scenes clash of billionaire entrepreneurs, which pits Elon Musk against Jeff Bezos, can continue. The dispute centers on a patent awarded to Bezos’ Blue Origin space company that gives it the right to launch and then land rockets on a floating barge in the ocean. But Musk’s SpaceX, which earlier this year became the first company to attempt such a landing, challenged the patent, saying that the idea on how to pull off a landing at sea had been discussed in space circles for years. Earlier this week, administrative patent judges at the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board agreed with SpaceX's arguments—or most of them—and is allowing the issue to go to a full administrative hearing before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Both companies declined to comment. Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, also owns The Washington Post. At stake is the right to pursue what many view as a potentially momentous breakthrough in space flight: the ability to launch a rocket into space, return it to Earth, and then launch it again as if it were a commercial air plane. The ability to reuse rockets could dramatically lower the cost of space flight. And whoever is able to do it first could capitalize in a huge way. A drawing submitted to the Patent Office by Blue Origin of how it planned to develop a re-usable rocket. While Musk, who founded Tesla Motors and Paypal, has pioneered many innovations in electrical cars and e-commerce, he is also keenly focused on rocket reusability. SpaceX has been working on the technology for years, and in January it attempted the unprecedented feat of landing the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a floating barge it calls an autonomous spaceport droneship. The rocket hit the platform and exploded. But even making it to the barge was considered something of a triumph, and the company is forging ahead with plans to try again. If Blue Origin is able to hold on to its patent, SpaceX’s ability to carry out its plans could be cut short. But with the patent board’s ruling that seems unlikely, said Andrew Rush, a patent attorney specializing