Overdoses on anti-anxiety meds such Valium and Xanax are on the rise

(Peter Cade/Getty Images) Prescription opioids have made headlines because of skyrocketing rates of overdose deaths, but a new report shows that fatalities from another group of medications — sedatives called benzodiazepines — are also increasing. The researchers found that the death rate from overdoses on benzodiazepines has increased more than fivefold in the United States since 1996. Also known as benzos, the class includes Valium and Xanax. The medicines are most commonly prescribed to treat people with anxiety but are sometimes used in combination with opioids to treat people with chronic pain. Overdoses involving benzodiazepines are “a public health problem that has gone under the radar,” Marcus Bachhuber, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said in a statement. The study also found that “overdoses from benzodiazepines have increased at a much faster rate than prescriptions for the drugs, indicating that people have been taking them in a riskier way over time,” Bachhuber said. [5 Surprising Facts About Pain] In the study, the researchers looked at data on the use of benzodiazepines in an 18-year period. They found that the number of prescriptions being purchased increased by 67 percent, from 8.1 million in 1996 to 13.5 million in 2013. The researchers also found that the death rate from overdosing on the drugs increased from 0.58 deaths per 100,000 adults in 1996 to 3.14 deaths per 100,000 in 2013. The researchers said they don’t know for sure what caused this increase, but it may have something to do with greater quantities of benzodiazepines being prescribed to patients. People may also be taking higher doses of the drugs, taking them for extended periods or getting them from sources other than doctors — all of which can increase the risk of an overdose, they said. Moreover, the risk of an overdose increases if people combine benzodiazepines with opioids, which are powerful painkillers, said Chinazo Cunningham, the study’s co-author and a professor of medicine at Einstein. Combining benzodiazepines with alcohol also increases the risk of an overdose, she said. Though the issue of increasing death rates from opioid overdoses has attracted a lot of media attention, people should also be aware that “another part of the equation is benzodiazepines,” Cunningham said. Deaths from benzodiazepine overdoses are preventable, the researchers said. While people take the medicines for anxiety, the condition can also be treated


Military’s care for people with PTSD and depression falls short

was commissioned by Defense, hasn’t yet delved into such questions as why patients stop their therapy and medication. Potential explanations could include insufficient access to mental-health professionals, said Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Many service members might also fear judgment from their peers for asking for help. “It’s very easy for senior leaders to say there is no stigma, but far different on the ground at the small-unit level, where everyone relies on their buddy . . . and vice versa,” he said in an email. Service members might also have been unhappy with the care they got, he added, and therefore chose not to return. The shortage of providers is one of the biggest barriers to continuous mental-health care, said Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, a former military psychiatrist. As the number of service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan has increased, she added, the need for doctors has grown. It may also be true that appointments are not available at convenient times, Hepner said. “We ask a lot of service members, and they have a lot of demands on their jobs.” Because they travel a lot, it can be difficult for them to keep up good, continuous access to care, Ritchie said. That difficulty can compound reluctance to keep up with mental-health care. Many, she added, worry about others’ perception if they are seen regularly visiting a psychiatrist. “If you need to go to the doctor all the time, people will think, ‘Oh, what’s wrong with that person?’ ” Ritchie said. “There’s a lot of talk about how we should treat this as a broken leg, and there shouldn’t be a stigma. But there is a stigma.” The Defense Department’s commissioning of the study is encouraging, Hepner said, because it suggests an interest in trying to improve mental-health care and access to it. DOD could build on efforts to publicly measure how good its providers are, she said. The department has begun doing that, but Hepner said the public needs more information about quality of care. The Rand findings may have understated the difficulty of obtaining mental-health care, Hepner added. The study focused on patients who had been diagnosed, but it probably missed some who either hadn’t seen a doctor at all or who had but hadn’t been diagnosed. Even when they go to the best doctors, service members must ask for help, which can


Britain should stay in the European Union

to be a weak and distracted international player at a time of multiple crises, in and outside of Europe. Mr. Cameron claims that his negotiation of new terms for Britain’s E.U. membership has made it possible for the country to enjoy the “best of both worlds” within and outside the union. But even the strongest supporters of a “yes” vote in the June 23 referendum say the deal offers only modest changes in the status quo. British governments will now be able to limit some welfare payments to workers who migrate to the country from elsewhere in the E.U. and will be able to challenge new financial rules that could negatively affect Britain’s economy. London will be exempted from a largely symbolic E.U. pledge to seek “ever-closer union.” Some of those who favor a “Brexit” say it would restore British sovereignty and democratic accountability for governmental decisions. That “no” camp includes a half-dozen members of Mr. Cameron’s cabinet and London Mayor Boris Johnson, one of the country’s most popular politicians. Their argument is more nostalgic than practical. To sustain its global financial center and export economy in this century, Britain will have to be bound by many regulations and norms set elsewhere, just like every other advanced country. If it leaves the E.U., it will merely lose influence in shaping some of those rules. In all likelihood, the referendum will turn on far cruder questions, such as whether resentment of immigrants, the asylum-seekers flooding into Europe and the political establishment will drive voters to cast a negative vote. As in the United States, populists who feed on the frustrations of the traditional working class are on the rise in Britain; for them, the E.U. is an ideal scapegoat. The best-case scenario is that Mr. Cameron will, with great effort, manage to preserve the status quo. He can plausibly paint a grim picture of the alternative: an economy that spins into recession, the possible secession from the United Kingdom of pro-E.U. Scotland, and a weakening of Britain’s ability to partner with Europe against such threats as terrorism and Russia. The country’s U.S. friends can only hope that at a time of anti-institutional feeling, voters will be swayed by that conventional common sense. Read more about this topic: Anne Applebaum: The U.K. leaving the European Union could mean the end of both of them The Post’s View: Can David Cameron prevent disaster?


How officials will try to figure out what killed 13 bald eagles on a Maryland farm

birds, they didn’t get far, and that means it was extremely toxic,” Clark said. Eagle experts recalled other cases involving large-scale deaths of eagles. In 2008, authorities tried to get rid of a hefty rat population on an island in Alaska by using poison. But gulls and eagles were attracted by the scent of the dying rodents, and 46 eagles ended up dead, according to Ellen Paul, executive director of the Ornithological Council. Another theory is there could be something like botulism or a naturally occurring blue-green algal toxin that got into area vegetation. Waterfowl eat that vegetation and then the eagles may have eaten the waterfowl and died. “Thirteen [eagles dead] in one spot is either something natural occurring, or there was some type of poison involved,” said Bill Bowerman, an eagle expert and head of the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. Experts say that vehicles are one of the biggest killers of bald eagles these days. As development has encroached on their habitat, eagles are eating less fish and are scavenging more. They often are hit by vehicles as they eat carcasses on roads or are sickened from eating out of dumps or landfills, experts said. In Maryland, there is a $10,000 reward being offered from several agencies and groups for any information in the recent Eastern Shore case. The 13 dead bald eagles that were found this weekend included at least three mature birds, with the signature white heads and brown bodies. Two of the birds were close to maturity, officials said, and the rest were considered immature, with no white feathers. Bald eagles are no longer on the endangered species list, but they are considered a protected species, according to the Natural Resources Police. Last year, 18 raptors died from gunshot, poisoning or getting entangled in fishing lines or landscape netting, according to the Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research. Raptors include eagles, hawks and owls. An official with the organization said that 13 other raptors who suffered similar incidents were rehabilitated and returned to the wild. Thirty years ago, eight bald eagles were found dead in Maryland. Officials said they think those birds may have been poisoned. And two years ago, two bald eagles were shot and killed in one week in Montgomery County. It is illegal to shoot eagles without a permit from the U.S. Department of the Interior.


How one composer attempts to break the concert mold

unwittingly demonstrated just how hard it is to break the mold. November’s concert was about ambient music; Monday’s concert, “Of Land and Sea,” was more about ambiance. The idea was that all the works on the program related to specific places in the world, from Peru — evoked in the short vignettes of Gabriela Lena Frank’s string quartet “Milagros” — to the ocean, which Kevin Puts addressed in his pretty but long-winded “Seven Seascapes.” The experience was mitigated through the use of dramatic lighting, videos, recorded sounds in between the works — the rush of water; the insects in a rain forest — and program notes projected onto screens behind the stage. These were meant to fill in the “dead time” when the stagehands were setting up for the next piece, but sometimes they seemed only to prolong it. Had Bates not led with such a dramatic opening salvo in November, the concert might have seemed more striking. As it was, varied though the music was, the evening felt long. Not that there was anything wrong with the performance. A perk of this series so far has been the chance to see National Symphony Orchestra musicians in a different light (literally, thanks to the lighting effects playing over the stage floor). Fresh off the plane from their European tour, the young members of the Last Stand Quartet, NSO musicians all, plunged with conviction into Frank’s elegant evocations. Aaron Goldman and Abel Pereira, the principal flute and horn, balanced long lines against Lisa Emenheiser’s piano in the Puts piece; and Loren Kitt, the principal clarinet, added his voice to the propulsive rhythms in Bates’s own “Red River,” which close the program. The concert’s highlights — the things that brought most energy to the stage — were two early percussion pieces by Christopher Rouse, played by a group that included three percussionists from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. The quartet “Ku-Ka-Ilimoku” evoked Hawaii; “Ogoun Badagris,” for five players, the spirit of voodoo, wild and exuberant and concluding with a bracing yell that sent a frisson through the room. Music, itself, can be exciting. The challenge is finding ways to bring that message across, and to capture, in the concert hall, the energy that pulsed through the foyer at the very loud after-party, with complimentary daiquiris, afterwards. The third concert in the KC Jukebox series, “New Voices, Old Muses,” is April 18.


Bank of England prepares contingency plans for E.U. vote

Agency) LONDON — The June 23 vote has caused jitters for the British pound, which hit a seven-year low of $1.4058 Monday before rallying to just above $1.41. On Tuesday, it continued trading at such levels. Carney, while speaking to Parliament’s Treasury Committee, acknowledged that uncertainty about the referendum’s outcome was fueling instability for the pound, as the opposing sides in the debate traded allegations about the economic impact of leaving, a prospect known by the shorthand Brexit. Carney told the committee that central bank policymakers were “not making a judgment about the potential outcome of the referendum . . . or an assessment of the potential consequences of a leave vote.” He said he would outline the possible implications of leaving the E.U. at a committee hearing March 8. The heads of almost 200 firms warned in a letter to the Times of London that a British vote to leave the E.U. would “deter investment, threaten jobs and put the economy at risk.” Signatories included chief executives at more than a third of Britain’s top 100 firms, including Robert Dudley of BP, Royal Dutch Shell’s Ben van Beurden and Burberry chief executive Christopher Bailey. The letter was organized with the support of Prime Minister David Cameron’s office. Cameron said Tuesday that a vote for leaving would cause uncertainty for businesses. “If you leave, you spend two years discussing the arrangements for leaving,” throwing Britain’s trade agreements into limbo. London Mayor Boris Johnson, one of the most prominent backers of a “leave” vote, said many business leaders in the past had also warned of dire consequences if Britain did not join the euro currency. Daniel Vernazza, an economist at UniCredit Bank, said the Bank of England will be concerned with the impact of a British exit on the banking system and the economy more generally and “will want to be prepared for this.” But Carney is unlikely to explain the contingency planning at the committee hearing. “Don’t expect much detail, as it would be unwise to disclose contingency plans for fear that, in the event of Brexit, it becomes self-fulfilling,” he said. — Associated Press Read more: London Mayor Boris Johnson backs ‘Brexit,’ boosting anti-E.U. campaign The chances of Britain leaving the E.U. may have just gone up Will Britain vote to leave the E.U.? These six factors will make the difference. Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world


Mortgage lenders try to turn more renters into homeowners

minimum cash reserves and loan amounts as high as $417,000 — and, unlike other low-down-payment mortgages, there are no charges for traditional private mortgage insurance. Just by itself, such insurance can sometimes add hundreds of dollars a month to buyers’ costs and make ownership difficult to afford, so this is a big deal. For applicants with thin or no credit bureau files, the program allows for consideration of nontraditional forms of credit history, such as monthly rent payments, utility bills and the like. Also, there is no minimum required contribution toward the down payment and closing costs, so applicants can supplement their own cash with gifts — from parents, for example — or even use grants or secondary financing that is available through some local government agencies. Significantly, applications won’t go through the usual automated underwriting systems that generate instantaneous approval-disapproval decisions. Instead, they’ll be handled the old-fashioned, “manual” way, allowing for more individualized evaluation — and verification — of applicants’ situations. The program is a joint effort of Bank of America, giant mortgage investor Freddie Mac and the Self-Help Ventures Fund, an affiliate of Self-Help Credit Union, a community development lender. Starting Feb. 22, Bank of America began offering these mortgages through its network of 4,800 local financial centers around the country as well as through its online and call-center channels. The bank plans to sell the mortgages to Self-Help, which will provide early-intervention servicing to borrowers who experience payment difficulties. Freddie Mac will ultimately purchase the loans. Self-Help will provide a financial backstop to cover default losses in lieu of traditional private mortgage insurance coverage. Affordable Loan Solution mortgages are likely to compete with Federal Housing Administration loans, which offer minimum down payments of 3.5 percent. For many applicants, the new program could prove to be the superior choice. Take this hypothetical case provided by Bank of America: On a $150,000 mortgage with prevailing rates as of mid-February, FHA’s 30-year fixed rate loan with a 3.5 percent down payment and mortgage insurance would require monthly payments of $887.31, exclusive of taxes and hazard insurance. An Affordable Loan Solution mortgage in the same amount with 3 percent down would cost the borrower nearly $105 less per month — $782.47. However, there are important restrictions that come with the new loans. Borrowers can’t have incomes higher than the area median, they generally can’t have total debt-to-income ratios higher than 43


Montgomery Animal Watch

These cases were received by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5900. This number provides recorded information on topics such as the new animal services and adoption center’s hours and location in Derwood, adoption and licensing procedures, and lost-and-found and field services. Chihuahua mix bites boy: Suspected bird cruelty: Free workshop: Free spay-and-neuter services: The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County — with the support of Gaithersburg officials — is offering free spay-and-neuter services to qualified Gaithersburg residents. For low-income residents who qualify, the program includes the cost of spaying or neutering a cat or dog, as well as a rabies vaccination. Eligibility is based on residency and household income (under $53,500 for a family of four). Dogs must be at least 4 to 5 months old; cats must weigh at least three pounds. For information, email sngrant@awlmc.org or call 301-740-2511, option 3 or visit awlmc.org. Adoptable cats at no-kill shelter: Gaithersburg Adopt dogs and cats at MCHS no-kill rescue: Rockville Reduced fees for cat adoption: Germantown — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


Next on Hogan’s agenda: livestreaming Maryland’s legislative sessions

Assembly sessions. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) Gov. Larry Hogan went out of his way Wednesday to endorse a little-known legislative proposal that would require live video streaming and archived video recordings of floor sessions of the Maryland General Assembly. Hogan (R), who has been trading increasingly sharp barbs with Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks, said Maryland is one of only seven states that do not offer video streaming and recording of any floor proceedings. The other states are Delaware, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Vermont and Wyoming, according to a 2015 report from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Maryland’s citizens, the governor said in a statement, “deserve accountability and transparency from their elected leaders.” The public can watch General Assembly floor sessions only in person. Audio streaming and archives are available, but listeners generally cannot discern who is speaking, because lawmakers are prohibited from using each others’ names during discussion without permission from the presiding officers of their respective chambers. Common Cause Maryland, a nonpartisan advocacy group that promotes government openness and accountability, has also backed the bill, which is sponsored by House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) and Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery). Legislative analysts said it would cost $1.2 million to outfit the House and Senate chambers with equipment and $400,000 a year to operate the system. Hogan, however, suggested the cost would be lower. He pointed out that the Board of Public Works, of which he is a member, live-streams and archives its weekly meetings at an annual cost of between $3,000 and $3,500. House and Senate committees live-stream and archive their hearings, but those recordings sometimes exclude debates and voting sessions. The Senate did not allow live-streaming of any committee voting sessions until 2013, when the chairman of a panel decided to broadcast the debate of controversial gun-control legislation. The offices of House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) did not respond to requests for comment on the live-streaming legislation. The two legislative leaders and others in the Democratic caucus have sparred frequently with Hogan during this year’s General Assembly. Last week, black lawmakers accused Hogan of racial bias, and the governor compared members of the General Assembly to rowdy college students on spring break. “They come here for a few weeks, they start breaking up the furniture and throwing beer bottles off the balcony,” Hogan said.


New-home sales plunged in January; Walmart sued over Parmesan claims

brand, 7.8 percent; Whole Foods’ 365 brand, 0.3 percent; and Kraft Heinz’s Parmesan, 3.8 percent. A similar case against Kraft was filed last week in a federal court in San Francisco. — Bloomberg News Also in Business ● United Parcel Service is investing in same-day delivery company Deliv. Founded nearly four years ago, Deliv works with Macy’s, Kohl’s and other retailers to deliver online orders within the same day. Shoppers select same-day delivery when they are about to buy something from the retailer’s website, and Deliv’s workers get it delivered. Retailers pay Deliv for its service. Deliv said Tuesday it raised $28 million from a group of investors, including UPS, a first-time investor. UPS said the investment will help it observe the same-day delivery market. ● Uber Technologies is planning to expand its Pittsburgh operations by testing self-driving cars at a former mill site in the city, the ride-sharing company said. Uber plans to renovate an old locomotive roundhouse at the former LTV coke works site, which would be home to temporary test roadways for self-driving cars, company officials announced Tuesday. Officials plan to break ground in the next months on another research facility at the 178-acre site known as the Almono, the company said. Uber plans to start work at the mill site in four to six months and would employ more than 20 people, said Jeff Fullerton, an engineering operations manager for Uber. ● A West Virginia underground coal mine owned by Murray Energy is halting production for nearly two weeks and possibly longer. Robert Murray, chairman and chief executive of Murray Energy, said Wednesday that the Marion County mine would be idled until at least March 7 because of reduced demand for coal from electric utilities. The mine employs about 500 workers. ● The head of Royal Dutch Shell’s U.S. operations will leave by mutual agreement at the end of March after 34 years, the Anglo-Dutch company said Wednesday. Marvin Odum plans to pursue other opportunities, a company spokesman said. Bruce Culpepper, executive vice president of human resources for unconventional resources and regional coordination, will replace Odum as chairman of U.S. operations. ● The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday announced a new rulemaking committee to work on a regulatory framework allowing unmanned aircraft to fly over public areas, a key feature for package delivery services envisioned by Amazon.com and Alphabet’s Google. The panel will begin its work


D.C. community calendar

noon, U.S. Botanic Garden, Conservatory Garden Court, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333 or usbg.gov. Free. “Cremator” Pipe organ recital “The Dybbuk. A Tale of Wandering Souls” Alexander Claffy, jazz bass player The Science of Taste “Aaron Reeder: IMAGE - Life in the comics” Annalisa Dias: “Servant of the Wind” “Into the Woods” “The Silver Age of Russian Poetry in Music” “Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience” Georgetown University Dance Company Saturday, Feb. 27 “SuperPig!” Discover Engineering Family Day Firsthand Experience: Textiles Monocots on the March Portrait story days: Langston Hughes “Alice Neel” Jane Franklin Dance: “Wash Over You” “Three Days of Rain” Sunday, Feb. 28 Workshop: Focus on Orchids U.S. Botanic Garden, Conservatory Classroom, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. $75, registration required. “Women in Sink” Macular degeneration Artist talk with John Grade Calder Quartet The Washington Chorus Led by Julian Wachner, the chorus presents “New Music for a New Age,” a program featuring music of composer Luna Pearl Woolf. The evening will include Woolf’s Hurricane Katrina-inspired “Apres moi, le deluge,” performed with her husband, cellist Matt Haimovitz. 5 p.m. National Presbyterian Church, 4101 Nebraska Ave. NW. 202-342-6221. thewashingtonchorus.com. $25-$35. “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” “On the Banks of the Tigris: The Hidden Story of Iraqi Music” Marsha Emerman’s 2015 documentary film about a Muslim Iraqi living in Australia, when she finds a hidden Jewish connection in his favorite childhood music, he travels to Europe, Israel and Iraq, meeting musicians of all faiths who share his love of the Iraqi sound, hearing their remarkable life stories and breathtaking music, Majid is inspired to unite them in a concert for peace and reconciliation, in English and Arabic with English subtitles. Part of the Washington Jewish Film Festival. Sunday at 8:45 p.m. Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. 202-777-3250, wjff.org, and Monday at 8:30 p.m., West End Cinema, 2301 M St. NW. 202-777-3250. wjff.org. $16.90. Monday, Feb. 29 Awareness through movement Income tax preparation help Spencer Branch concert “Portrait of a Serial Monogamist” Tuesday, March 1 Income tax preparation help Paris: The Musical Magnet of the 19th Century Washington Bach Consort concert “Raise the Roof” Wednesday, March 2 Lafayette Square Duo concert Gallery talk Irving Penn Gallery Talk Fresh talk Thursday, March 3 Close-up tour: Needlepoint “Sunday Bloody Sunday” “The Pawnbroker” Prime Ministers Who Shaped Israel — Compiled by Gerri Marmer TO SUBMIT AN EVENT Email:


Reward money increases for information about 13 dead bald eagles

Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., where 13 dead bald eagles from Maryland's Eastern Shore have been sent for analysis. (Courtesy of National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory) It was not immediately clear what had caused the birds to die, but there were “no obvious signs of trauma with these birds,” according to Candy Thomson, a Maryland Natural Resources police spokeswoman. One theory is poison. Officials think someone may have sprayed a new chemical on a field that adversely affected the birds. Or someone may have used poison to kill rodents; if the rodents died outdoors and the eagles consumed their carcasses, the birds could get sick, too. The discovery of the 13 dead bald eagles was the largest single incident in decades for the state, officials said. At least three of the birds were mature, with the signature white heads and brown bodies. Two of the birds were close to being mature birds, officials said, and the rest were considered immature birds with no white feathers. Maryland’s natural resources police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the incident. The carcasses have been sent to the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., for more analysis and a necropsy. A finding on the cause of death could take weeks. “These 13 bald eagles deserved better than to be killed,” said Catherine Kilduff, a lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity in a statement. “If they were poisoned or shot, the heartbreaking deaths of these 13 bald eagles is a crime,” she said. “Those responsible need to be caught and prosecuted.” Thirteen bald eagles were found dead on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and officials say the eagles may have been poisoned. Thirty years ago, officials said, eight bald eagles were found dead in Maryland. Officials said they believe those birds may have been poisoned. And two years ago, two bald eagles were shot and killed in a week in Montgomery County. Bald eagles are no longer on the endangered species list, but they are considered a protected species. They have been making a comeback, said wildlife experts. With the encroachment of development, they have gone from consuming as much fish as they want to being more scavengers and are often found eating roadkill from highways or at landfills, according to experts. It is illegal to shoot eagles without a permit from the U.S. Department of the Interior.


Obama plan to de-fund Savannah River plutonium conversion plant draws fire

which, like ours today, was judged to be too expensive to complete,” the group said. “As long as our government pursues a reasonable alternative to dispose of the surplus material, the agreement is not a barrier to doing so.” The group also raised concerns about what it called the increasing possibility that rivalry between China, Japan and South Korea — and fears of North Korea’s pursuit of more advanced nuclear weapons — could prompt those countries to build similar MOX plutonium plants, which could make it easier later to produce plutonium suitable for additional weapons. “There are increased political pressures to proceed with plutonium separation in Japan and China, and to gain U.S. consent for reprocessing in South Korea,” they wrote. “While the plans are to produce plutonium fuel for power reactors, the same plutonium could be used to produce thousands of warheads.” Japan is nearing completion of a costly plutonium recycling plant at Rokkasho, although it has pushed back the start date of the plant. And in South Korea, the letter notes, “shortly after North Korea’s latest nuclear-weapon test, both South Korea’s ruling party parliamentary floor leader and the party’s chief policy maker publicly urged that South Korea pursue nuclear reprocessing as a military hedge.” China is also seeking reprocessing technology from France. The signatories to the letter include former ambassador Thomas Pickering; Jessica Mathews, a former head of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former senior nonproliferation officials Robert Einhorn and Gary Samore; Ambassador Robert Gallucci, a former assistant secretary of State for political-military affairs; Joseph Nye, a former chairman of the National Intelligence Council; Ploughshares Fund President Joseph Cirincione; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners Peter Bradford and Victor Gilinsky; David Freeman, a former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors; Henry Sokolski, a former Pentagon official for nonproliferation; and Frank von Hippel, a former assistant director for national security at the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. Last year the group wrote to Moniz urging him and the Obama administration to end funding of the Savannah River site. “If we fail to terminate our MOX program, we will have far less credibility to engage them in efforts to restrain such activities in East Asia,” the group’s letter concluded. “In short, contrary to the claims of its defenders, the arms-control and nuclear security arguments weigh heavily for ending the MOX project, not for continuing it.”


Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster. Now he’s strong enough to destroy the party.

Who opposed any plausible means of dealing with the genuine problem of illegal immigration, forcing Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to cower, abandon his principles — and his own immigration legislation — lest he be driven from the presidential race before it had even begun? It was not Trump. It was not even party yahoos. It was Republican Party pundits and intellectuals, trying to harness populist passions and perhaps deal a blow to any legislation for which President Obama might possibly claim even partial credit. What did Trump do but pick up where they left off, tapping the well-primed gusher of popular anger, xenophobia and, yes, bigotry that the party had already unleashed? Republican presidential candidates fought over immigration reform, health care and peace in the Middle East during the CNN/Telemundo debate in Houston on Feb. 25. Then there was the Obama hatred, a racially tinged derangement syndrome that made any charge plausible and any opposition justified. Has the president done a poor job in many respects? Have his foreign policies, in particular, contributed to the fraying of the liberal world order that the United States created after World War II? Yes, and for these failures he has deserved criticism and principled opposition. But Republican and conservative criticism has taken an unusually dark and paranoid form. Instead of recommending plausible alternative strategies for the crisis in the Middle East, many Republicans have fallen back on mindless Islamophobia, with suspicious intimations about the president’s personal allegiances. Thus Obama is not only wrong but also anti-American, un-American, non-American, and his policies — though barely distinguishable from those of previous liberal Democrats such as Michael Dukakis or Mario Cuomo — are somehow representative of something subversive. How surprising was it that a man who began his recent political career by questioning Obama’s eligibility for office could leap to the front of the pack, willing and able to communicate with his followers by means of the dog-whistle disdain for “political correctness”? We are supposed to believe that Trump’s legion of “angry” people are angry about wage stagnation. No, they are angry about all the things Republicans have told them to be angry about these past 7½ years, and it has been Trump’s good fortune to be the guy to sweep them up and become their standard-bearer. He is the Napoleon who has harvested the fruit of the revolution. There has been much second-guessing lately. Why


Union: Staffing shortage means more assaults on jail officers in Baltimore

The Baltimore men’s detention center closed last year. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun) Union officials Thursday blamed Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration for failing to adequately staff state-run correctional facilities in Baltimore, arguing that a shortage of personnel has caused an increase in assaults on corrections officers in recent months at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center. Patrick Moran, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3, said there have been 15 assaults on officers at the facility in the past two months. Normally, he said, the center records one or two assaults every month. Moran blamed the staffing shortage and the increase in violence on the Republican governor’s decision last year to close the Baltimore men’s detention center, a Civil War-era facility that some advocates had labeled one of the worst in the country. “It was a top-down strategy, and unfortunately the officers are paying the consequences for it on a daily basis,” Moran said. An official with the Maryland Department of Corrections and Public Safety denied the charge. Gary McLhinney, the department’s director of professional standards, said the state-run Baltimore jail complex does have a staffing shortage but added that the department uses overtime to meet each shift’s staffing levels. “The staffing problem is something that we inherited,” McLhinney said. “It’s been a problem recruiting and retaining qualified correction officers. . . . Our charge is not just to hire anybody, but to hire qualified candidates. We don’t want to end up with the problems we’ve had in the past. We’d rather be a few bodies short than hire the wrong people.” According to a January memo obtained by The Washington Post, management at the Baltimore center asked the department to change the center’s staffing plan. “We have asked for two officers per unit, but can ask again,” the note states. The department about three months ago launched a recruiting campaign and is working with the union and military recruiters on the effort, McLhinney said. McLhinney said assaults on officers declined statewide by 25 percent from 2014 to 2015. He did not have more recent monthly totals of assaults statewide or the number of assaults against officers at individual facilities. And he said he does not know whether there has been an increase in assaults at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center, one of four facilities that absorbed inmates from the shuttered men’s


Measuring the success of a White House-backed green-energy bet

to stabilize the Kauai Island electrical grid in Hawaii, where the utility is deploying a new 12-megawatt photovoltaic array as a generating unit. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules also have opened the door for more sales to regional electricity grids, especially in the East. The utility market helps the clean-energy cause, but in this area, too, Manghani said, “there has been this race to the bottom in terms of costs” and many firms are suffering. He said, “Saft is one of the better-performing higher-efficiency-product vendors. The flip side is it tends to come with higher costs. It is not the cheapest battery manufacturer in the market today.” Other Saft products go to the military, which uses them in such things as for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, or for satellite telecommunications or the Airbus A350. Saft also makes modules used for increasingly popular rapid stop-start automobile batteries. The pace of change in all these lithium-ion battery markets is so fast that the company discloses them in the risk section of its annual report. “The Group cannot guarantee that this technology will be a success, and it cannot be ruled out that different technologies will meet the same needs. Thus, some companies have recently developed batteries using emerging technologies that are likely to be in competition with the lithium-ion technology.” But at least Saft has survived, and the company still expects production at its Jacksonville facility to ramp up as demand grows. The facility has about 280 permanent workers, and 40 percent of the jobs are held by military veterans. (Unemployment in Jacksonville has tumbled from a high of 11.2 percent in 2010 to 4.5 percent.) Other major recipients of money under the advanced battery program went bankrupt, including EnerDel, which received $118.5 million. Some reemerged in different forms. The company A123, whose $249.1 million grant was the second biggest, went bankrupt before being acquired by Wanxiang, a Chinese company with wide U.S. holdings. Japan’s NEC bought the part of A123’s technology applicable to stationary storage. Altogether, the Energy Department gave $2.4 billion to 48 projects under the advanced battery and electric drive portion of the stimulus package. The Energy Department says that three projects were not completed and at least five major recipients have closed their doors, but more than 20 other battery manufacturers, including Saft, are still in business. That includes a General Motors battery-assembly plant. The Energy Department


Tail Up Goat is a second act worthy of three Komi veterans

WASHINGTON, DC - The heaping plate of Lamb Ribs with Sumac, Onion and Beets at Tail Up Goat in Adams Morgan photographed in Washington, DC. (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post). (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) From left to right: Owners Bill Jensen, Jon Sybert and Jill Tyler in their new restaurant, Tail Up Goat, in Adams Morgan. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) If there’s one dish that captures the spirit of the new Tail Up Goat, it’s lamb ribs built for two. The strapping platter of roasted, grilled meat massaged with warm spices is presented with tangy yogurt, earthy beets and sliced onions zapped with sweet-tart sumac. “You can eat it with your hands,” says a server, placing some finger towels near the crunchy, fatty, altogether rousing feast. Expectations run high for the trio that brought the restaurant to life in Adams Morgan in February. Chef Jon Sybert, his wife, Jill Tyler, and their friend Bill Jensen are all alumni of Komi, the four-star contemporary Greek dining room in Dupont Circle. With all due respect to their former employer, the owners of Tail Up Goat see this spot as a more approachable, and certainly a more regular, occasion for diners than their white-tablecloth alma mater. The heaping plate of lamb ribs with sumac, onion and beets at Tail Up Goat. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Salt-crusted sardines with charred chocolate rye, butter and pickles at Tail Up Goat. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Cooking “food I like to eat,” Sybert says, “I’m most excited about breads and pastas.” So begin a night with carbs, maybe slices of fashionably charred chocolate-rye bread accompanied by a sardine swaddled in a salt crust. If the image sounds like a scene from “Bizarre Foods,” the reality is a DIY open-face fish sandwich likely to prompt imitations. A dive into the chef’s handful of pastas (some gluten-free) reaps octopus ragu on house-made cavatelli, a robust combination jacked up with lemon olive oil and lemon zest in the bread crumbs. Salt cod fritters are almost as unavoidable as post-Snowzilla potholes these days; the crisp golden orbs at Tail Up Goat set themselves apart with a soft base of smoked cauliflower puree. Only a dish of braised carrots with sticky garlic goes back to the kitchen uneaten. Desserts reflect the team’s summertime canning efforts. Almond cake is finished with apricot


Should dentists and midwives prescribe pot? Md. House votes yes.

Maryland legalized medical-cannabis in 2013. (Seth Perlman/AP) Maryland would allow midwives, nurses, dentists and foot doctors to certify patients for medical-marijuana under a bill the state House of Delegates passed Friday. Current state law restricts such authority to physicians, but the House voted 110 to 21 to extend it to other types of health-care providers. The legislation, sponsored by Del. Dan K. Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), will now move to the Senate for consideration. It would allow nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, dentists and podiatrists to certify patients for medical-marijuana purchases. Under the bill, those care providers would be required to have an active, unrestricted license to practice in their fields; be in good standing with their respective boards; and have a state controlled dangerous substances registration. Maryland legalized medical cannabis in 2013, but the state commission charged with overseeing the industry is still working to issue its first licenses for growers, processors and dispensaries after a series of changes to the program and a flood of applications that require careful vetting. Sale of the products is not expected to begin until 2017. Only 85 physicians have registered to certify patients for the drug, according to the commission. Morhaim, who is a physician, has proposed four bills this year that would eliminate criminal penalties for low-level possession of narcotics and increase the state’s focus on addiction treatment.


Ethiopia needs even more aid to stave off disaster

To address the shortage of drinkable water, the Ethiopian government rents out water distribution trucks to provide water to various remote regions in the Oromia region. (Aida Muluneh /For The Washington Post) The Feb. 23 front-page article “Trying to hold off disaster” about the Ethiopian drought did an excellent job depicting the impending danger of a humanitarian disaster if aid resources are depleted. While it’s true that humanitarian agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, are meeting the immediate needs for nutritional assistance, the consequences of a shortfall could be devastating for more than 18 million people. It’s in this context that the 12 percent decline (adjusting for inflation) in the international affairs budget since 2010 is deeply troubling and we risk not keeping up with growing crises overseas. While the administration’s recently proposed budget deserves credit for increases toward fighting the Zika virus and countering the Islamic State, the 19 percent cut to humanitarian programs is cause for concern. We ignore long-term crises, including malnutrition, disease and natural disasters, at our peril. The world already witnessed the effect of inaction in Ethiopia in the 1980s. Today, thanks to the generosity of the United States and our international partners, another disaster may have been staved off for the moment. But tomorrow, unless new resources are found to maintain our response, that will not be true. George Ingram, Washington The writer is chair emeritus of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.


If guns had been harder for my son to buy, Columbine might not have happened

how can we know who is and who is not mentally stable enough to be responsibly armed? I’m convinced that by recognizing the signs that a child is struggling early on, we can get our children the help they need — before another Columbine takes place. So I am firmly in the camp of those who say we must focus more attention and resources on those who suffer from mental-health issues. I applaud the fact that since Columbine, a growing number of schools are making strides in identifying when kids are in crisis. But much more needs to be done. Having said that, I still cannot help but believe that Dylan and Eric would not have been able to take the lives of so many if they had not had such easy access to guns. As I later learned, Dylan and Eric — both of whom were minors — secretly attended a gun show where they bought the shotguns they would use in the massacre and met a young man who sold them a TEC-9 semiautomatic pistol. Is our right to gun ownership under the Second Amendment so absolute that we cannot, at the very least, restrict access to certain kinds of weapons to protect the most vulnerable among us — especially teenagers, whose judgment at the best of times is compromised by hormones, impulsivity and immature decision-making? Is our right to bear arms so vital to what it means to be an American that there can be no limit on those rights whatsoever, whether raising the legal age at which one can purchase a gun, as we did with the drinking age or conducting more extensive background checks or restricting access to assault weapons designed for the battlefield? Again, the issues are challenging, and both gun rights advocates and gun-control advocates have valid points of view. I only know that every night as I go to bed, I can’t help but see the face of my son and the faces of the 13 people he and Eric killed and wonder what might have been. Read more about this topic: The Post’s View: Gun violence in America is out of control Jay Dickey and Mark Rosenberg: How to protect gun rights while reducing the toll of gun violence The Post’s View: 2015 was a grim year for American gun violence The Post’s View: A depressingly endless loop of mass shootings


Md. House passes marijuana bill, debates gun legislation

physicians have registered to certify patients for the drug. Morhaim, who is a physician, has proposed four bills this year that would eliminate criminal penalties for low-level possession of narcotics and increase the state’s focus on treating addiction. The medical-marijuana bill was among several that was considered by state lawmakers Friday. The House Judiciary Committee also held a hearing on two gun-control bills — one that would prohibit the state from issuing gun permits to people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list and one to require courts, within 48 hours of a conviction, to inform felons and domestic abusers that they must turn over their firearms and verify that they have complied within three days. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) have backed the proposals, improving the odds that their chambers will approve the bills. But the measures could lead to a standoff with Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who was endorsed by the National Rifle Association during his 2014 campaign. As a candidate, Hogan pledged that he would not try to roll back Maryland’s gun laws, which are among the most stringent in the nation, but gun-rights advocates said he promised to look for ways to expand access to firearms. Opponents and Republicans on the panel raised concerns that the watch-list bill violates due-process rights, saying that individuals could be placed on the roster without first having a chance to challenge the designation. “You cannot deny someone a constitutional right based on their inclusion on a secret list,” said Shannon Alford, the NRA’s legislative liaison for Maryland. “This list is not an appropriate standard to use.” Del. Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore), who sponsored the bill, said anyone on the watch list who is denied a gun permit would be informed of which federal agency they can contact to try to clear their names. But he acknowledged that some information about how individuals end up on the list may be classified and thus off-limits to the person seeking removal. Alford noted that prominent non-terrorist figures have appeared on the list, including former anti-apartheid activists and South African president Nelson Mandela, who was removed in 2008; musician Yusuf Islam, previously known as Cat Stevens; and U.S. Rep. Thomas M. McClintock (R-Calif.), who shares a name with a one-time Irish Republican Army leader. Jen Pauliukonis, legislative director of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence,


Russia’s democratic opposition faces increasing threats

officials told the media not to cover Kasyanov’s appearances. Kasyanov plans to return to the campaign trail after the Nemtsov anniversary march. So far, however, the Obama administration has not responded to the recent threats against the democratic opposition. Just as troubling is its grudging, circumscribed implementation of the Magnitsky Act, the primary vehicle for exerting leverage on Putin over respect for individual rights in Russia. The most recent additions to the Magnitsky sanctions list were five low-level Russian officials. No senior Russian officials or members of Putin’s inner circle have been publicly sanctioned under the act, which imposes a U.S. visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials involved in gross human rights abuses. Nor has Kadyrov, at least publicly, despite the State Department’s assessment that he rules Chechnya through tactics including extra-judicial killings, torture and rape; media reports state that he has been listed on a classified version of the act. At the same time, the Obama administration has told the BBC that Putin is “the picture of corruption.” For “many, many years,” Adam Szubin, acting undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, told BBC Panorama, “we’ve seen him enriching his friends, his close allies, and marginalizing those who he doesn’t view as friends using state assets.” Yet the administration has refrained from sanctioning Putin himself; instead it stubbornly pursues strategic cooperation on Syria, even as Russian airstrikes continue to kill civilians, drive up the flow of refugees and prop up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The United States is not alone in this approach. British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that he will keep calm and carry on with relations with Moscow despite the conclusion of an inquiry in January that Putin “probably” approved the murder of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in a London hotel. All of this adds up to an alarming situation for the Russian democracy movement. Barring stronger pushback from the West, there will be more threats and, we fear, worse for Kasyanov and his colleagues. It’s happened before. We must not let it happen again. Read more on this issue: The Post’s View: Putin’s most aggressive attack dog is unleashed The Post’s View: Russia sends a very clear message The Post’s View: Boris Nemtsov’s last act of courage Vladimir V. Kara-Murza: A small measure of justice for Boris Nemtsov The Post’s View: Boris Nemtsov’s murder is another dark sign for Russia


Did Flint’s contaminated water cause deadly Legionnaires’ outbreaks?

Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Frustrated and desperate, Genesee County health official Jim Henry did not mince words as he demanded information from the city of Flint on a 2014 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that had sickened 45 people in Michigan, killing five of them. In his March 2015 email, Henry noted his previous efforts, which included a Freedom of Information Act request, and warned that another outbreak could be coming as the warm summer months approached. “The increase of the illnesses closely corresponds with the time frame of the switch to Flint River water,” he wrote. “The majority of the cases reside or have an association with the city. . . . This is rather glaring information and it needs to be looked into now.” Yet a year later, despite a second outbreak and a total of 87 illnesses and nine deaths, no government agency has tested the water supply for the legionella bacteria that cause the infection, which flourished as the beleaguered city’s tap water was being poisoned by lead. Without a scientifically proven match between the bacteria in the water and strains cultured from victims, it is impossible to determine whether the tainted water supply caused the deadly infections, officials have told the public. That could complicate a special counsel’s efforts to assess criminal culpability for the fatalities and at least one lawsuit seeking damages — as well as efforts to protect the public from future outbreaks, experts said. The county health department, two state agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have offered a variety of reasons why Flint’s water has not been tested, at times pointing fingers at one another. A state health department spokeswoman noted that chlorine is being added to the water to kill bacteria, including legionella. But three experts in the control of Legionnaires’ disease expressed varying degrees of surprise and dismay that testing still has not been done. “It seems likely that the public water supply contributed to the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint,” said Ruth L. Berkelman, a professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. “The public water supply was at risk for multiplication of legionella, and the timing of the outbreak is unlikely to be coincidental.” Brian Shelton, owner of


Skywatch: March roars in full of planetary events

March roars in like a lion full of planetary events: Venus illuminates the heavens before dawn and a bright Jupiter hangs out all night. To start March, Venus rises before dawn around 5:40 a.m. in the east-southeastern sky low on the horizon. This ebullient planet hangs in the constellation Capricornus with a negative-3.9 magnitude (very bright). If you walk the dog early March 7, catch an elderly, waning crescent moon meeting Venus before sunrise. By mid-March, our bright neighboring planet rises around 6:30 a.m. — just ahead of the sun. That evening, the big and boisterous Jupiter takes command like a greaser teen hanging out at Mel’s burger drive-in. The huge planet reaches opposition March 8. Think of opposition as you would a full moon, but it’s a full Jupiter. It’s a very bright negative-2.5-magnitude object. The gassy planet rises in the east at 5:56 p.m. March 8, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, crosses the meridian 22 minutes after midnight and sets at 6:43 a.m. After the daylight saving time change, Jupiter rises at 6:24 p.m. in mid-March. The fat, gibbous moon greets Jupiter on March 21. Mars Spring ahead: When the total solar eclipse occurs March 8, the sun will be on the other side of world — focused on Indonesia and the South Pacific Ocean. To watch the eclipse from here, go online and see it live on Slooh.com; you can tune in starting at 6 p.m. Two weeks after the total solar eclipse, the western United States can witness a feeble penumbral lunar eclipse March 23. At the height of this weak eclipse, the moon darkens slightly. To an unsuspecting eye, it looks like a normal full moon. The deepest part of this eclipse occurs at 4:48 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. For details, visit eclipse expert Fred Espenak’s websites, including: EclipseWise.com, AstroPixels.com and MrEclipse.com — a site dedicated to eclipse photography. Down to Earth events: ●March 5 — ●March 7 — ●March 12 — ●March 12 — ●March 13 — ●March 20 — ●March 20 — ●March 31 — Friedlander can be reached at postskywatch@gmail.com .


Bald eagles are adapting to city living

Jersey needed, so we were thinking, where else are these great forests?” said Kathleen Clark, leader of the state’s eagle project, which released 60 young birds between 1983 and 1991. “But nest number 2 was on the edge of a farm field,” she said. “With nests 2, 3 and 4, we started seeing they were keying into where there was food and not exclusively large tracts of forests.” New Jersey’s efforts have resulted in the establishment of 161 nests today, many in densely populated suburbs close to New York City. Clark and other eagle researchers said it would be a mistake to assume that all bald eagles have become tolerant of people; in fact, many shy away from human activity, and the Fish & Wildlife Service recommends keeping away from nests to avoid disturbing them. Watts, meanwhile, said the growing number of eagles has meant that he and his team have been able to observe aspects of eagle behavior that weren’t evident in the past. “It used to be, when I started flying in the early ’90s, you rarely would see birds that were guarding” against intrusions by other eagles, he said. Now, there is real competition for prime nesting locations on the Chesapeake. He has been observing more and more fights within the population, and more of the birds are being admitted to rehab centers for injuries. An American bald eagle bags a fish in the prime fishing grounds below Conowingo Dam in Harford County, Md. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) Watts said the birds spend less time foraging, which causes an increase in the adult mortality rate, bringing population stability. Stable numbers, he said, are a sign that the bald eagle community has reached a healthy point. Watts and Clark said the growing Chesapeake Bay eagle population has helped increase numbers in nearby states as the birds move there to set up nests. McGowan said he realized that bald eagles had begun to adjust to humans when he came across a nest in Virginia’s Norfolk Botanical Garden a few years ago. “You could walk right up to it, and it’s in the middle of the . . . [garden] with sidewalks all around it,” McGowan said. “This is not a scared wild bird that we have to worry about disturbing a nest. Here it is, right in the middle of fairly heavy traffic.” The nest proved to be a


Sweden opens its first unmanned convenience store

Swedish businessman Robert Ilijason shows how customers use a cellphone app to scan purchases at the 24-hour convenience store he has opened in Viken. (Jan Olsen/Associated Press) A late-night scramble to buy baby food gave a Swedish man the idea to open the country’s first unmanned convenience store. Robert Ilijason, 39, had to drive 20 minutes to an open grocery store to buy food for his son. Now the town of Viken, Sweden, has its own 24-hour shop for bread, milk and other conveniences. Customers use their cellphones to unlock the door and scan their purchases. They must register for the service and are charged each month for their purchases. He hopes the savings of having no staff will help bring back small stores to the countryside. “My ambition is to spread this idea to other villages and small towns,” Ilijason said. “It is incredible that no one has thought of this before.” Ilijason receives deliveries at the shop and stocks the shelves. He lets the customers do the rest. He has installed six security cameras to discourage shoplifting but hasn’t had an incident since the shop opened in January. “I live nearby and can always run down here with a crowbar,” Ilijason said with a laugh. — Associated Press


Devices on public buses in Maryland are listening to private conversations

Tuesday after several lawmakers raised questions about how much it would cost to retrofit or replace existing recording equipment to meet the bill’s requirements. Some lawmakers raised the issue of security. Several asked for the delay to allow time to draft amendments. “I can make an argument to tape everybody, everywhere, everywhere they walk, everywhere they talk, and you can make the excuse for homeland security,” Zirkin said. “But that is not a valid reason to encroach this fundamentally on people’s privacy rights.” This is the fourth time in four years that the bill to limit the recordings has been introduced. Previous pieces of legislation have never made it out of committee, but Zirkin’s committee unanimously approved it this year. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) indicated last week that he doesn’t like the bill and would probably vote against it because he feels the limitations could compromise security, and he does not want to incur the cost of replacing existing equipment. The Judicial Proceedings Committee will hear testimony Tuesday afternoon on a bill that would change the way police officers in Maryland are trained and the process they go through when they are accused of misconduct. The legislation, which was heard in the House last week, was created after the spring’s riots in Baltimore and repeated calls from criminal justice advocates for police reform. Also on Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on a proposal to ban firearms at public colleges and universities in the state, including community colleges. Under existing law, schools can set their own gun policies, as long as they comply with Maryland statutes. Some schools prohibit firearms outright, while others allow them with permission from campus police. The gun legislation, sponsored by Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) and Del. Benjamin S. Barnes (D-Prince George’s), is partly a response to a wave of mass shootings across the nation in recent years. Schools that include Virginia Tech and Oregon’s Umpqua Community College have experienced such deadly shootings, and Washington College on the Eastern Shore was shut down for a week in the fall while authorities tried to track down a student who had allegedly displayed a gun on campus. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Miller joined other Democratic lawmakers in announcing support for the gun ban last month. Josh Hicks contributed to this report.


There aren’t enough of them, but these apps can help you eat sustainably

HowGood is one of the apps that will rank foods for sustainability and health. When I abruptly Eating artichokes all winter seemed grim indeed. But there are a few exceptional options available to those of us in backwoods towns who wish to maintain a sustainable ethic. The best guide to sustainable eating is the one I’ve been using the longest: Seafood Watch , produced by the Monterey Bay Aquarium (free, iOS and Android). The app is user-friendly and lists fish in alphabetical order, allowing easy and quick reference in the fish aisle at the grocery store. Seafood Watch suggests that consumers entirely avoid some seafood, such as conch or dab, because their stocks are too depleted, while rating others on a scale from “best choice” to “avoid.” Two other apps, Food Scores and HowGood, both free and for iOS and Android, and both produced by environmental consultancies, allow users to scan barcodes to instantly receive information on sustainability and health. Food Scores, which surveys more than 80,000 foods, uses a scale of 1 to 10 to determine how healthy and sustainable a food item is, with the best foods scoring 1. My Skippy peanut butter scored an even 5, dinged for not being certified organic and containing genetically engineered sugars. Food Scores instead recommends Crazy Richard’s Pure PB, which scored 1.6 because it contains no artificial ingredients and is a nutritious low-cost source of protein. Based on its metrics, HowGood didn’t recommend Skippy at all. But unlike Food Scores, it didn’t readily offer alternatives. Instead, I had to search for “peanut butter” to find its preferred brands (Yumbutter and Sweet Ella). Food Scores is best for frozen meals. Lean Cuisines, long a staple of mine, mostly scored 5s and 6s, though the roasted turkey breast was a 10. Frozen dinners by Amy’s Kitchen, Tabatchnick and Artisan Bistro scored the best. HowGood does not rate quite as many frozen meals, though it does recommend Amy’s brand. While we wait for developers to deliver more apps along these lines, these three can certainly get you on your way to eating sustainably. More Apptitude For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.


These famous athletes are advocating for marijuana as a workout tool

pro wrestling has ever seen, he remains a fan favorite to this day. Another aspect in which the 6-foot, 235-pound Van Dam has stood out is his predilection for marijuana, which not only became a major part of his ring persona but also forms a very real part of his daily life. When reached by phone at his home in California, he explained to me that he doesn’t think of it as a performance enhancer so much as a “life enhancer.” “I’ve been known to apply smoking to everything throughout the day,” he said. In particular, marijuana has helped him in “thinking good thoughts, because . . . in front of millions of people that paid to see you at your best, who expect you to be in action-figure shape and condition on that particular night for that moment, you’ve got to deliver.” There is widespread agreement that marijuana can put users in a relaxed and positive frame of mind (although some can experience feelings of anxiety and paranoia), and for that reason, it can be considered a performance-enhancing drug, providing an athlete serenity and confidence he or she might not otherwise have had. However, some of the science on marijuana also points to physical impairments. Gary Wadler, a noted authority on drugs in sports and an official with the World Anti-Doping Agency, has acknowledged marijuana’s role in “decreasing anxiety” but has also written that use adversely affects motor skills, reaction times, eye-hand coordination, perceptual accuracy, maximal exercise capacity and concentration. A 2006 article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine stated that THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, “engenders a certain heaviness, marked relaxation, and excessive fatigue of the limbs.” The article also noted that, because the product is usually smoked, that practice can have “detrimental effects on the lungs, oral cavity and upper respiratory tract.” On the other hand, a 2012 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found, for all but the heaviest users, “no evidence that increasing exposure to marijuana adversely affects pulmonary function.” In fact, the study found some evidence of increased lung capacity, possibly because of users’ penchants for taking and sustaining deep inhalations. Of course, no one needs massive lung capacity more than Olympic swimmers, and arguably the greatest of all time, Michael Phelps, was infamously photographed taking a bong hit, for which he apologized repeatedly. But while Phelps


What’s new (and old) in Richmond, Virginia’s trendy capital

at $30 for shared rooms. Where to eat The Roosevelt 623 N. 25th St. 804-658-1935 rooseveltrva.com Reservations are recommended for this cozy Church Hill spot, wildly popular for dinner, cocktails and Sunday brunch. Start with a Yass Queen cocktail or browse the extensive list of wines from Virginia vineyards, then dig into a plate of roasted catfish with “dirty” farro and collard greens. Entrees start at $13. L’opossum 626 China St. 804-918-6028 lopossum.com Visit this quirky restaurant for a taste of Chef David Shannon’s “French soul food” — and to check out his collection of miniature replicas of Michelangelo’s David. Shannon was recently named a semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic by the James Beard Foundation. Open Tuesday-Saturday from 5 p.m.-midnight. Closed Sunday and Monday. Entrees start at $18. Saison Market 323 N. Adams St. 804-269-3982 saisonrva.com The sister establishment and next-door neighbor of Southern fusion restaurant Saison, the Market is open from morning to night and boasts a smaller but more affordable menu. Take time to browse the impressive craft beer collection and tchotchkes from a local vintage seller. Entrees start at $4. Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. What to do Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 200 North Blvd. 804-340-1400 vmfa.museum It’s easy to get lost in the sprawling halls of this free art museum, which encompasses more than 30,000 works of art. Rodin is the current featured artist, and in June visitors will see Kehinde Wiley’s “A New Republic,” a collection of portraits that explores themes such as race, gender and politics. Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Free. Byrd Theatre 2908 W. Cary St. 804-353-9911 byrdtheatre.com Built in 1928, this National Historic Landmark looks much like it did in the early days, complete with a grand mezzanine, gold leaf arches and a 21/2-ton crystal chandelier. Most nights see two showtimes, but the theater also plays host to local film festivals. Open daily, showtimes vary. Regular features $1.99. Hardywood Park Craft Brewery 2408 Ownby Ln. 804-420-2420 hardywood.com Richmond’s beer lovers gather at this popular weekend spot to sip brews around picnic tables, hear live music and play cornhole. Try the brewery’s refreshing Cream Ale, or opt for a seasonal selection such as spring’s Peach Tripel or summer’s Virginia Blackberry. Taproom is open Wednesday-Friday 4-9 p.m., Saturday 2-9 p.m. and Sunday noon-6 p.m. Information visitrichmondva.com — E.J.C.


James V. Kimsey, a co-founder of AOL, dies at 76

civic endeavors, from his failed bid to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Washington in the 1990s to the millions of dollars he lavished on the Kennedy Center. James Kimsey and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at a reception at the Kennedy Center in 2002. (Michael Lutzky/The Washington Post) He was part of a local Catholic business brotherhood that included sports mogul Raul Fernandez and the investor Joseph E. Robert Jr. They helped fund one another’s charities, notably making sizable donations to Robert’s politically incorrect “Fight Night,” which raises money for children’s education. Case, AOL’s former chairman, said his mentor stuck by him when investors called for Case’s head during the start-up’s early days. “He was very loyal and supportive of me early in my career,” Case said Tuesday. Mr. Kimsey, a West Point graduate, came back to his native Washington around 1970, began working as a stockbroker and gathered $2,000 to start a lucrative sideline in downtown bars, among them one called Bullfeathers. A fellow alumnus who became a venture capitalist introduced him to a small technology company in the 1980s called Control Video, which was trying to provide online computer games to Commodore II users. The company was struggling when Case, 25, a former manager of new-pizza marketing at Pizza Hut, met a partner of Mr. Kimsey’s at a consumer electronics show in Las Vegas in 1982. A year later, Mr. Kimsey and Case were working at Control Video, trying to stabilize the company. Mr. Kimsey was founding chairman and chief executive; Case was the executive vice president. “It was a little bit of having the right team,” Case said Tuesday. “Jim focused, because he was older and more credible, on raising money. He helped build the board and build the investor group. I focused on the marketing and strategic partners. “Jim really played a pivotal role in taking an idea that seemed far-fetched to most venture capitalists,” Case added. “Without Jim, AOL would never have happened.” After some restructuring and a new round of financing, Control Video was reborn in 1985 as Quantum Computer Services. At the time, Case’s job was to sell Quantum’s new online service, Q-Link. When Q-Link went live at 6 p.m. on Nov. 1, 1985, only 24 users logged on during the first 14 hours. From there, it grew fast. Quantum decided to pivot from Commodore II to another rising technology star, Apple Computer,


U.N. adopts sweeping new sanctions on North Korea

Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., where the Security Council adopted sweeping new sanctions on North Korea. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted harsh sanctions Wednesday against North Korea, imposing some of the strongest measures ever used to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The new sanctions come two months after North Korea tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb and a month after it conducted what was widely described as a banned missile test under the guise of launching a satellite into space. But U.S. officials began drafting the measures three years ago, soon after North Korea conducted a previous nuclear test, in order to move swiftly the next time it happened. Negotiations to win China’s support began two days after North Korea’s January nuclear test, its fourth in a decade. The resolution is far more sweeping than existing sanctions requiring a link to proliferation activities. That precondition has been removed, in effect erasing the presumption of innocence. It mandates cargo inspections for all goods going in and out of North Korea by land, sea or air, chokes off supplies of most aviation fuel for its armed forces, and bans the sale of all small arms and conventional weapons to Pyongyang. It also prohibits transactions that raise hard cash for North Korea through sales of its natural resources. The resolution doubles the blacklist of people and institutions already sanctioned and requires countries to expel North Korean diplomats involved in any sanctioned activities. One provision was designed to prevent Pyongyang from sending taekwondo instructors to train foreign police forces. Another bars North Koreans from specialized training at any school or research center in the world if the learning can advance Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. President Obama welcomed the sanctions as a firm and appropriate response to North Korea’s attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction. “Today, the international community, speaking with one voice, has sent Pyongyang a simple message: North Korea must abandon these dangerous programs and choose a better path for its people,” he said. As soon as the sanctions were released, the Treasury Department and the State Department updated their blacklists of people and entities tied to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name for North Korea, and its proliferation programs. The designation freezes their U.S. assets and bars Americans from doing business with them. The U.N.


Was a USDA scientist muzzled because of his bee research?

after the trip). A fourth scientist, Jian Duan, said in a phone interview that he forgot to fill out paperwork until after a trip but faced no penalty. After this, Lundgren says, he became the subject of his supervisors’ unrelenting focus: investigating his grants and his use of government vehicles, reviewing his slides for a presentation and even requiring him to retract his name from an article on the adverse consequences of increased U.S. corn production because it seemed to comment on policy. By this time, he says, he started thinking about his next steps. Lundgren, in fact, first tried working through the USDA’s standard procedures to get his career back on track. After his first suspension, he filed a scientific integrity complaint, according to USDA-ARS procedures, alleging that his research and attempts to communicate his findings to the media had been disrupted. The USDA rejected the complaint, and after an appeal, a five-member panel convened by the agency recently confirmed that decision. The internal report, deemed confidential by the USDA but released by Lundgren’s attorney, states that “the scientist’s written complaint did not provide credible and verifiable evidence that his research was impeded and that he was restrained from communicating with the media.” The report cites multiple instances in which Lundgren was allowed to publish research and give interviews or travel to present his findings. Jeff Ruch, the executive director at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility who has been representing Lundgren, says the report reveals a systemic problem inside the agency: “No witnesses named by Lundgren were interviewed,” Ruch says. “The panel was told not to even consider allegations of reprisal. And they also repeated USDA’s position that they can prohibit any scientist from talking to the media even about already published research, which completely undermines any claim of scientific freedom.” A USDA spokesperson said: “The documents that this organization has released affirm that the referenced allegation of scientific misconduct at USDA is untrue and misleading. Both the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Agency scientific integrity officer and an independent USDA scientific integrity review panel have reviewed the allegation and found it to be unsubstantiated. The scientific integrity review panel has spoken, and we stand by their decision. We will have no further comment on this matter.” Commercial beekeepers continue to report escalating losses of 42 percent or more. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) To this point, Lundgren stands There


Hacked U.S. companies have more options, departing cybersecurity official says

Luke Dembosky, until this week the top cybersecurity official in the Justice Department’s national security division, will soon join the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) The Obama administration’s power to impose economic sanctions in response to malicious cyberspace acts gives companies that have been hacked by foreign governments a new way to deter adversaries and prevent them from reaping the rewards of their intrusions, a former senior U.S. official said. The sanctions tool, which was authorized by an executive order last April 1, has not been used yet. But it is one of the cutting-edge initiatives that Luke Dembosky, until this week the top cybersecurity official in the Justice Department’s national security division, was involved in during his 14 years at the department. It is important that the sanctions tool “be used soon so that those who carry out significant cyberattacks on U.S. interests know that we mean business,” said Dembosky, who will soon join the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. At the Justice Department, Dembosky was involved in many of the most significant cybersecurity cases, including North Korea’s hack of Sony Pictures; the intrusions into the Office of Personnel Management, widely attributed to China; the breaches of Target, Home Depot and Anthem; and the takedowns of the GameOver Zeus botnet and the illicit Silk Road online bazaar. Dembosky has also taken part in other leading-edge efforts. In 2009, he won the conviction of Max Ray Vision, who was at the time the most notorious hacker in U.S. history. Iceman, as he called himself, had stolen and sold nearly 2 million credit card numbers and caused losses of $86 million. He got 13 years behind bars, what was then a record sentence in a cybercrime case. Dembosky, 47, also was part of a small team of administration officials who last fall negotiated a historic cybersecurity accord with Beijing that led to President Xi Jinping’s announcement in September that China would not engage in economic cyberespionage. Until that point, China had never acknowledged that cybertheft of intellectual property for a country’s commercial advantage violated international norms. “It was, in my mind, a breakthrough on behalf of businesses to protect their valuable intellectual property,” Dembosky said. But it remains to be seen whether China will uphold its pledge, he acknowledged. Dembosky, who will help lead Debevoise’s global cybersecurity practice, noted that most companies traditionally have been


Brazil releases Facebook executive detained amid probe of WhatsApp

in which these contract set-asides are allowed. The federal government also narrowly surpassed the small-business contracting goal set by the SBA for at least 23 percent of contracts eligible for small businesses (as well as large businesses) to go to small businesses. — Aaron Gregg Also in Business ● Verizon Communications and Hearst have created a joint venture to develop programming for millennials who watch video on their mobile devices. Verizon Hearst Media Partners will begin this spring with two channels — RatedRed.com, which will offer lifestyle content for young people who live in the “heartland,” and Seriously.TV, a comedic news network, the companies said in a statement. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The channels will be distributed on Verizon’s mobile video service, go90, and on other platforms, the statement said. ● Toyota is adding 331,000 cars worldwide to an existing recall of passenger air bags made by Japanese supplier Takata. The expanded recall includes the 2008 Corolla and Corolla Matrix sedans, and the 2008-2010 Lexus SC430 convertible. Almost 200,000 of the cars are in the United States. The air bags can inflate with too much force and hurl shrapnel toward those riding in the vehicles. Ten deaths have been blamed on the problem. ● Teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters reported a 3.2 percent rise in quarterly sales, largely helped by demand for its Aerie brand in the holiday shopping season. American Eagle’s results, which follow rival Abercrombie & Fitch’s rise in same-store sales, indicate that retailers of teen apparel may be winning back young shoppers who were flocking to fast-fashion companies such as H&M. American Eagle’s net income rose to $81.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the quarter. Net revenue rose to $1.11 billion. ● The economy was expanding in most of the country in January and February, helped by gains in consumer spending and home sales. But also rising were head winds from falling oil prices and a strong dollar, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. The Fed’s latest survey of business conditions in its 12 regions, known as the “beige book,” found moderate gains in most regions. Two areas — New York and Kansas City — described activity as flat. The survey found that while consumer inflation was holding steady, wage growth varied from flat to strong. Manufacturing was feeling the effects of the stronger dollar, which hurts U.S. exports, and weakening global activity in key


Does a grocery store have to be just a nondescript box?

Grocery stores such as Whole Foods play a prominent role in the lives of Americans, and they are becoming the sites of fruitful, robust design. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg) Adult residents of city and suburban neighborhoods probably visit their local grocery store or supermarket more frequently than any other retail or service destination. Among all such community facilities — retail shops, restaurants, schools, post offices and even religious structures — none figure more regularly and indispensably in American adults’ domestic routines than the grocery store. For some, grocery shopping is a chore; for others, it’s a ritual. Our most commonly shared retail experience, it is periodically an informal social experience when — in an aisle or checkout line — you cross paths with immediate neighbors or shoppers whom you may not know but who are residents of your community. You may be on a first-name basis with grocery-store checkout clerks, chatting and exchanging pleasantries as your grocery bar codes are scanned. But you are probably quite indifferent to your grocery store’s architecture. In American suburbs, the typical grocery store is a nondescript, cheaply built one-story masonry box surrounded by surface parking and occupying several acres of land. Or it’s part of a strip shopping center, along with a drugstore, bank branch, salon, dry cleaner, pizza parlor, Chinese restaurant or other locally operated convenience stores. But must a grocery store, which can encompass tens of thousands of square feet, inevitably be a nondescript and aesthetically unremarkable box? Must a grocery store be simply an aesthetically mundane warehouse in which groceries are stocked and sold? Few architects concern themselves with designing strip shopping centers or grocery stores, which are rarely considered opportunities for award-winning architectural invention. Likewise, architectural preservationists and historians devote little time and effort studying, saving or writing books about grocery stores. But in metropolitan Washington, there are exceptions. Silver Spring-based Torti Gallas and Partners, Rounds VanDuzer Architects in Falls Church and MV+A in the District have demonstrated that grocery stores are, in fact, fruitful design opportunities. For example, MV+A has designed or co-designed with other firms about 70 Whole Foods Markets throughout the Washington area and in cities across the country, including in Newport News and Charlottesville, in Virginia, Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Cleveland; Clearwater and Winter Park, in Florida; and University Heights, Ohio. Built or under construction in this region are stores in Towson, Columbia, Riverdale, Chevy Chase, Vienna, Arlington and Alexandria.


Logan Circle. Whole Foods has been a pioneering innovator, creating a new urban grocery store typology. Other competing, recently constructed supermarket chains have followed suit, aspiring to go beyond merely stocking and selling groceries. This new type of store appears mostly within relatively dense residential and commercial settings. Such food stores may become urban catalysts, contributing constructively to the visual, social and economic revitalization of evolving city neighborhoods. Whether free-standing or part of a mixed-use, city block infill development, these food stores can serve as memorably magnetic destinations and aesthetically robust additions to the streetscape, thanks to key design strategies. Street facades, with large windows or glazed curtain walls, ensure that spacious, animated store interiors are publicly visible, day or night. Conversely, facade transparency enables views of the street from inside the store. And daylight penetrates deeply into the building’s often lofty interior, revealing typically an interwoven overhead network of exposed structural members, ducts, pipes and pendant light fixtures. Newer store types increasingly offer interior social spaces — essentially cafes — where shoppers can meet, sit, talk or have breakfast or lunch by purchasing food and beverages available for on-site consumption. Beer and wine may even be available in some stores, local regulations permitting. Parking for urban food stores can be underground, at street level and beneath an elevated grocery store structure, or within an adjacent, above-grade parking garage. A structured parking space costs much more than a surface parking space. But by eliminating ecologically unsustainable surface parking lots, a food store occupies much less land, resulting in substantial land-cost savings that offset structured parking costs. Thus, the 21st-century food store, designed as a multi-functional destination and laudable work of architecture, attracts people who come there for more than grocery shopping. But creative design alone won’t solve the persistent problem of “food deserts” — communities lacking a conveniently accessible, full-service supermarket. Chain grocery retailers contend that, in many neighborhoods, there are not enough residents able to afford the quantity and quality of foods necessary to financially sustain an attractive food store with at least a modicum of profitability. This appears to be why Walmart backed out of its commitment to build stores in the District east of the Anacostia River. Nevertheless, local governments and food retailers must continue searching for a strategy to address this socioeconomic challenge. And creative architectural design must be part of that strategy. Roger K. Lewis


Vice Media goes gonzo on the news. Advertisers may be a different story.

recruitment of military veterans. The series initially appeared online with the logos of several companies visible onscreen. In one shot, for example, a bystander wears a T-shirt featuring the Nike logo; in another, a self-identified Klansman wears a cap with a Budweiser logo and drinks a Bud Lite. The appearance of the logos set off a brief flurry among the documentary’s producers, who scrambled to obscure them from viewers after the documentary had already been posted. The series was briefly taken down and the logos of the two companies — both of which have been Vice sponsors — were digitally blurred, as was the logo on a Coke can. The series then reappeared, with the images altered. News and documentary filmmakers traditionally do not remove corporate logos that appear incidentally in footage. Doing so changes the facts of a scene or image, said Tom Bettag, the former longtime executive producer of ABC’s “Nightline.” “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Vice would have done that,” said Bettag, now a visiting fellow at the University of Maryland. “When you start doing that, when do you stop?” Another kind of alteration occurred in 2014 when Vice produced a promotional video for “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” a video game in which privatemilitary contractors battle terrorists. The promotional video features a discussion about real-life mercenaries, offering verisimilitude for the video game’s fictional scenarios. Among those interviewed in the promotional video is New York Times reporter David Sanger, who has written extensively about national security issues, including military contractors. However, Sanger said he never agreed to participate in a commercial promo; he gave an interview to Vice last year for what he thought was a documentary about military contractors. “When that video appeared, I called them and said it was inappropriate to use my comments or image for any form of product advertising,” Sanger said. “They immediately apologized, and I asked them to delete my comments and image from use in the advertisement.’’ The promotion, however, continues to appear online with Sanger’s comments as part of it. The “Call of Duty” incident echoed another Vice documentary that became part of a Vice promotion. In 2012, Vice shot footage for a documentary about Cure Violence, a Chicago group that tries to mediate gang disputes. Some of the documentary’s footage became part of an online promotion Vice created for a violent game called


As NSO returns from tour, the program is more tired than the musicians

Music director Christoph Eschenbach led the NSO and violinist Ray Chen in Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” in Chen’s NSO debut. (Julian Hargreaves) The National Symphony Orchestra’s first concerts at home after a long European tour show the group to be firing on most cylinders, if still a little tired. At the Kennedy Center on Thursday night, music director Christoph Eschenbach presented three works from the standard repertoire, by Prokofiev and Bruch, and the NSO debut of violinist Ray Chen. This overemphasis on programming chestnuts is frustrating. The NSO has already performed the Prokofiev “Classical Symphony” this season (and I can’t recall it having performed his Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 or 4 since Mstislav Rostropovich’s tenure). There are so many fine, deserving, appealing works, particularly from the 20th century, that are passed over for yet another go at the canon. One hopes for a broader outlook from the incoming music director. As for the “Classical Symphony,” I was somewhat alarmed at Eschenbach’s saturnine reading of the first movement, the musicians having probably never played it that slowly before, but there were nice things in the other movements, particularly the lovely floating first violins in the Larghetto, and the energetic finale. Chen has a big-time international career: winner of major competitions, a Sony recording contract, the loan of a priceless Stradivari violin, and tours with major orchestras. Elegant in dress and deportment, and tech-savvy (with a big presence on multiple Internet platforms), Chen has charisma to spare, and is a very gifted fiddler. But something is missing for me. His tone has intensity without richness; he changes colors skillfully, but the phrases don’t sing from within. In the Bruch “Scottish Fantasy,” he was at some disadvantage because of the brass-heavy orchestration, needing to force his playing most of the time. He handled the difficult second movement duet with the flute very nicely, but elsewhere it was a matter of just trying to be heard. Eschenbach, to his credit, took the somewhat schlocky piece seriously, even symphonically, in the two slow movements, but he could have carved out more sonic space for his soloist. Prokofiev’s massive Symphony No. 5 is certainly a flawed work. The seams show everywhere — sections tacked on or ending abruptly — and zillions of notes go unheard because of clotted orchestration. This was the Soviet master’s Achilles’ heel, the clean textures from the “Classical Symphony” disappearing in his later


Injured bald eagle rescued in Montgomery County; officer names it ‘Trust’

Montgomery County animal services officer Jennifer Gill named an injured bald eagle "Trust" after rescuing it from the woods in the Potomac area. A Montgomery County animal services officer rescued an injured bald eagle, which was later named Trust, in the Potomac area. It started about 8:45 a.m. Thursday when, police said, they received calls about an injured eagle in the area of River Road and Riverwood Drive. It is believed the eagle had been struck by a car as it was eating a deer carcass. Officer Jennifer Gill went to the area and was told by a resident that the eagle was spotted walking into nearby woods. She found the eagle in the woods with “an injury that prevented it from flying.” Gill wrapped the eagle in towels, and Danny Thomas, an officer with the Maryland Natural Resources Police, helped her put the eagle in a carrier. The eagle was taken to the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, Md. Animal services officer Jennifer Gill holds an injured bald eagle she helped rescue from the woods in Potomac. (Courtesy of Montgomery County Police) An examination at the center found that the eagle had suffered a “soft tissue injury.” Authorities said the injury appeared to be relatively recent because the eagle was otherwise at a healthy weight. Gill named the eagle Trust. In a post on Facebook, the Owl Moon Raptor Center thanked the officers involved “for going the extra mile to rescue this gorgeous creature.” They also said Trust was “on her feet, resting comfortably, and a little brighter.” The raptor center said the eagle “has some internal bleeding and sustained an injury to the left shoulder.” She is on medication to help reduce inflammation and pain, according to the center. The center said it plans to take the eagle to Bennett Creek Animal Hospital for further examination and X-rays in the coming days. Once the eagle undergoes a thorough examination and rehabilitation, it will likely be released back into the wild. That process could take up to two months, officials said. Bald eagles have made a resurgence in recent years after having previously been on the endangered species list. They are considered a protected species, according to the natural resource police. Experts say that vehicles are one of the biggest killers of bald eagles. On Friday, Suzanne Shoemaker — the founder and director of the Owl Moon Raptor


U.S. investigating Ford F-150 brakes

the same braking system. NHTSA investigators will check into how often the problem occurs to decide whether a recall is necessary. — Associated Press FEDERAL RESERVE Caps proposed for lending among banks The Federal Reserve on Friday proposed to limit how much the largest U.S. banks lend to one another and other finance companies as regulators try to protect the system in the event of a future crisis. The plan caps lending as a share of each lender’s capital reserves such as common stock and retained cash. Banks whose health is deemed important for the global financial system would face the sharpest limits: No more than 15 percent of the value of its stock and other durable capital could be lent to another large institution. Banks with $250 billion or more in assets may lend no more than 25 percent of their top-tier capital to one other institution. Banks with assets between $50 billion and $250 billion can lend the equivalent of up to 25 percent of stock, cash and other capital to a single, peer financial company. The Dodd-Frank financial overhaul of 2010 conceived such limits on interbank lending, but the Fed has struggled to write the fine print of that rule. Friday’s proposal “sets a bright line on total credit exposures” between the largest, regulated financial companies, Fed Chair Janet L. Yellen said in prepared remarks. Wall Street banks and the public have three months to comment on the proposal. — Reuters Also in Business ● The U.S. trade deficit widened in January as exports slumped. The gap grew 2.2 percent, to $45.7 billion, the largest in five months, from a revised $44.7 billion in December that was bigger than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Exports dropped 2.1 percent, to $176.5 billion, in January, the lowest since June 2011. The decline was broad-based. Imports slumped 1.3 percent, to $222.1 billion, the weakest since April 2011, led by a $1.85 billion plunge in purchases of crude oil. ● Duke Energy is violating state pollution laws because its coal-ash pits are polluting waterways, North Carolina regulators said Friday. The state Division of Water Resources sent letters to Duke Energy accusing it of allowing wastewater to leak from coal-ash basins at 12 of the company’s 14 current or former coal-burning power plants. Duke Energy, which has 30 days to respond to regulators, said in a statement that work to