Watch a year in the life of Earth’s CO2 in three minutes

A NASA computer model tracked the movement of the Earth's carbon dioxide for one year, from January through December 2006 A mesmerizing video of global carbon dioxide patterns has been released by NASA, charting how the greenhouse gas moves around the Earth in a year. The visualization demonstrates the differences between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with regard to carbon dioxide concentration and the “distinct swings in global carbon dioxide concentrations as the growth cycle of plants and trees changes with the seasons,” according to NASA’s report. “While the presence of carbon dioxide has dramatic global consequences, it’s fascinating to see how local emission sources and weather systems produce gradients of its concentration on a very regional scale,” said Bill Putman, lead scientist on the project from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Simulations like this, combined with data from observations, will help improve our understanding of both human emissions of carbon dioxide and natural fluxes across the globe.” The visualization is part of “Nature Run,” an internal project that uses data on atmospheric conditions and the emission of greenhouse gases and both natural and man-made particulates, in order to simulate the natural behavior of the Earth’s atmosphere. The video illustrates the 12-month period between January 2006 through December 2006. NASA scientists have used the beta version of this software for years, but this is the first time it is being released to the broader scientific community. “While researchers working on OSSEs have had to rely on regional models to provide such high-resolution Nature Run simulations in the past, this global simulation now provides a new source of experimentation in a comprehensive global context,” Putman said. “This will provide critical value for the design of Earth-orbiting satellite instruments.”


Conservation groups sue to stop ‘predator derby’ killing of gray wolf

A gray wolf at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn., in 2004. (Dawn Villella/AP) They call it the “predator derby.” The prey includes coyotes, skunks, weasels, jackrabbits, raccoons and the endangered gray wolf. An Idaho-based hunter’s rights group is staging the three-day competitive hunt on public land in January for up to 500 hunters as young as 10. The showdown will take place in Salmon, Idaho, a tiny town of 3,000 tucked in a Rocky Mountain valley. Last year’s predator derby was advertised by the host group, Idaho for Wildlife, as “an incredible opportunity to team up with your son or daughter during Christmas break and spend some quality time.” However, conservationists are calling it a “killfest.” Wildlife will be “terrorized by a swarm of armed humans elbowing and off-roading each other out of the way in a frenzied race to see who can kill the most animals in 72 hours,” warned Travis Bruner, the executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, wrote in the Huffington Post. If the gray wolf sounds familiar, it’s because the animal has long pitted conservationists against ranchers and hunters. The gray wolf had almost been hunted to extinction until the federal government intervened in 1995. The wolf reintroduction program worked. Maybe too well: The wolves quickly reached the target population, but environmental groups fought to keep the wolf on the endangered species list while ranchers complained the animals threatened their herds. Now, a population of more than 1,600 roams the Rockies. The bitter fight caused Congress to step in and, in an unprecedented move, pull the gray wolf from the endangered species list for some states in 2011. In September, a federal court put the wolf back on the endangered list for the state of Wyoming while it considered whether it should stay there. In Idaho, it’s open season for hunters with a permit. Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a five-year permit for the derby based on a preliminary determination it wouldn’t hurt the wolf population, but might boost the economy. Officials estimated if 100 hunters come from out of town and stay for four nights, the hunt could be a $94,000 boon to local businesses. The decision prompted two coalitions of conservation groups to sue. The groups, led by the Defenders of Wildlife and Wildearth Guardians, want the contest postponed until the BLM does an environmental impact


Jim Webb’s potential 2016 candidacy won’t keep Hillary up at night

in 2006, a strong Democratic wave election. Democrats won the House by an eight-percentage-point margin. Webb couldn't manage a one-point margin against the "macaca" guy. What's more, Webb actually underperformed with the constituencies that he was tut-tutting about in 2010, relative to the national totals. He won voters with incomes under $50,000 by eight points, according to exit polls; Democratic House candidates nationally won them by 12. Webb actually lost among voters who made less than $100,000 and won those making more, the inverse of the rest of his party. If Webb wants to argue that he knows how to lure working-class voters, he can't point to numbers to make that case. Webb was a great candidate for Democrats in Virginia in 2006. The state was just transitioning from more-Republican to more-Democratic than the nation as a whole in presidential elections, meaning that it wasn't a sure thing for either party to win. Webb could critique George W. Bush on the unpopular Iraq War from the space of being a veteran and a former Reagan military official. (Regardless, he did worse than national Democrats among voters who thought Iraq was an important issue.) That was helpful in 2006. In 2016, it's not clear that his national security credentials will seem similarly useful, especially if he's going up against a former secretary of state named Hillary Clinton. If nothing else, Webb's candidacy is evocative of another former presidential contender: Wesley Clark. Clark became a bit of a darling when a possible candidacy first emerged. A former Army general, he seemed well-poised to lead the party's efforts to position itself as able to fix the problems with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He checked off a lot of boxes on that checklist, too, but his campaign never really got off the ground. There are other reasons for skepticism -- that we assumed in September might prevent Webb from making this announcement at all. (The word "Confederacy" makes an appearance, which is not one of the things most Democrats look for in a candidate.) We have come to the point at which we say, "you never know," which is the last box on the "How to write about 2016" checklist (also available in bulk). And you don't ever know. But maybe if we could look at more than one election that Webb barely won, we'd be able to know a bit better.


Urban neighborhoods are getting more diverse. But what are they losing?

who were relocated to suburban areas lost access to child care, transportation or other informal services that close-knit friends or family had provided in their old neighborhoods. While this argument applies to many different kinds of communities, it can be particularly powerful for racial minorities. In part, that’s because most American cities are so segregated that it can be difficult to balance community and isolation. While a Jewish person, say, may be able to find a part of town where Jews make up enough of the residents to create a strong community, but not so many that the area feels isolated from other kinds of people, the same is not necessarily true for Latinos, or especially for blacks. So while studies suggest that the average African American might like to live in a neighborhood that’s about half black, they’re unlikely to find that kind of middle ground. There’s also the issue of safety. In a country where racism remains rampant, moving to an area where whites are a large majority may increase your odds of being a target of anything from petty humiliations at a convenience store to a catastrophic encounter with a frightened, and armed, neighbor. As one woman wrote to me after I published a piece on Chicago’s black middle class: Personally, despite the great amenities the [whiter] North Side has to offer, I am very apprehensive about living there because of higher rent and racial tensions. Others object to making integration a top priority on the grounds that doing so might send the message that there is something inherently wrong with black or Latino neighborhoods — and black or Latino people — beyond the battery of mortgage and retail redlining, disinvestment, disproportionate incarceration, and so on. In other words, racism. As Naomi Davis, who runs an economic development organization on Chicago’s South Side, told me: “I bristle at the notion that a prime way to improve life in African American neighborhoods is to import whites.” For her, and many others, the solution is making sure that black people have their fair share of economic and political power, no matter where they live. * * * The point here is not that the integration skeptics are necessarily right. There are any number of strong arguments on the other side. For example, many people of all races have fought for desegregation in schools on the grounds that the only


FDA approves abuse-deterrent form of controversial painkiller

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick tried to ban the controversial painkiller Zohydro in his state earlier this year. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) The Food and Drug Administration, which last year faced widespread criticism when it approved a powerful painkiller that critics said would be easy to misuse, on Thursday approved a new form of the drug that will be hard to crush, break or dissolve -- common tactics for people trying to ingest large amounts quickly by snorting or injecting the drug. Hysingla ER, like its controversial predecessor Zohydro ER, is composed of a dose of pure hydrocodone, the main ingredient in the painkiller Vicodin. The FDA noted Thursday that its deterrence features are "expected to reduce, but not totally prevent" abuse of the drug. "Currently available abuse-deterrent technologies are important and offer a step in the right direction, but the science in this area is still evolving," Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, wrote in a post on the agency's website. "Prescription opioids with abuse-deterrent properties will not completely fix the prescription opioid abuse problem, but they can be part of a comprehensive approach to combat the epidemic." Along with medications such as oxycodone and morphine, Hysingla is part of a group of drugs known as opioids, which are effective at relieving serious pain but also have played a central role in the nation's epidemic of deaths linked to painkiller addiction. Roughly 15,000 people die each year from overdoses involving prescription painkillers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP/Purdue Pharma) Hysingla, an extended-release drug produced by industry giant Purdue Pharma, is the first abuse-deterrent alternative to Zohydro ER, which is made by California drug maker Zogenix. The FDA approved Zohydro last fall against the recommendation of its own advisory committee, and in the face of opposition from lawmakers, addiction experts and law enforcement officials around the country. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick tried to ban Zohydro when it hit the market in March, declaring a public health emergency and saying the drug could deepen the state's prescription abuse epidemic. But a judge ruled that the state could not overrule the judgment of the FDA, and effectively revoked the ban. Hysingla ER's pure hydrocodone formulation, like Zohydro's, is intended to allow for the long-term treatment of chronic pain without posing the risk of liver damage that comes with additional ingredients such as acetaminophen. In


6 things to do in the D.C. area on the weekend of Nov. 21-23

The weekend’s best in nightlife, music and art. For even more, check out Nightlife Agenda. Put down your pumpkin beer. The DC Craft Beer Festival is pouring keg after keg of brisk winter beers. (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett) Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: Saturday: Sunday: Through Jan. 11:


Japanese company plots $26 billion undersea ‘Atlantis’

Illustration of the whole complex, from the sphere just beneath water's surface to the research station beneath the seabed. (Shimizu Corp.) It's the next frontier: Not long after scientists landed a probe on a comet millions of miles away in deep space, a Japanese construction company has announced that it wants to go in the other direction. Shimizu Corp. revealed blueprints for an astonishing undersea city: a vast research and residential station some 10 miles in length that begins just below the sea's surface and burrows beneath the ocean floor. Dubbed the 'Ocean Spiral,' the project is projected to cost $26 billion and take five years to complete, although the research for the technology required is still in its infancy. If ever completed, it would make real visions of a latter-day Atlantis in the deep. It has the support of a myriad research firms and Japanese government agencies. A research station at the bottom of the structure would would study ways to excavate energy from beneath the sea floor. A 15-kilometer length spiral would coil up from there to a giant sphere some 1,500 feet in diameter that would have hotels, apartments and commercial areas, and could accommodate as many as 5,000 people. Interior of the residential sphere. (Shimizu Corp.) "This is just a blueprint by our company, but we are aiming to develop the technology that would enable us to build an underwater living space," a Shimizu spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. The ocean water temperature differentials between the various parts of the structure would help generate power. The "blue garden" sphere at the top of the Ocean Spiral. (Shimizu Corp.) Japanese construction companies are known for their outlandish aspirations. Obayashi Corp., a Shimizu rival, has already announced it plans to engineer a near 60,000-mile-long "elevator" into space, scheduled to be ready by 2050. Shimizu has already unveiled plans for a floating metropolis (see below) and a solar ring around the moon. The Ocean Spiral blueprint comes at a time when an increasing number of governments, multinationals and international organizations are scratching their heads about how to cope with rising sea levels and the effects of climate change on those most vulnerable to it. Christian Dimmer, an assistant professor of urban studies at Tokyo University, thinks such planning should not just be the preserve of powerful private corporations. He tells the Guardian: We had this in Japan in


DOD’s innovation initiative: Who benefits?

Welcome to CapBiz A.M., your morning primer on business news with a focus on Washington. Innovation infusion: Setting out: What’s in a name? Feeling jolly: Going vertical: Testy exchange: Central probe: Border fight: A frustrated crowd: On Wall Street Stocks closed at new record highs on Thursday as strong domestic data trumped signs of a slowdown in Europe and China. (Get the latest updates here) What’s on tap today Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo testifies before the Senate (9:30 a.m.) Kansas City Fed manufacturing index (11:00 a.m.) Help: Follow: Extra: Thoughts?


Why the most meaningful birthdays end with 9, as in 29 and 39

The year before we age into a new decade — at 29, 39, 49 and so on — we’re more likely to back up and take a hard look at our lives. Year nine, that time leading up to a new chapter, can prompt us to take action, making us more likely to run a marathon, cheat on our partners or even take our own lives, according to research published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As one chapter closes and another one opens, research suggests, it’s human nature to start searching for something. “Years 30, 40, 50, they’re psychologically consequential,” Hal Hershfield, a psychologist at the University of California at Los Angeles and co-author of the study, told The Washington Post in an interview. “They seem big, they seem looming and they seem more important to us than the others. They make us step back and think about how things have been going up until then and how we want them to go moving forward.” The reason? We place arbitrary importance on numbers. “Round numbers are salient in society, so they become strong motivators of behavior,” Hershfield said. That’s why high-schoolers who score shy of a round number on the SAT are more likely to take it again, and professional baseball players hustle to finish the season with a batting average just above rather than below .300. The authors looked at six studies, analyzing the psychological and emotional changes that occur at this age, when people are “nine-enders,” approaching new decades in life. The researchers examined data from more than 42,000 adults in more than 100 countries who took the World Values Survey, which asks people to assess their lives. Hershfield said they found people who were “in the nines” were more likely to question whether their lives held meaning. “People are more likely to search for meaning at that time,” Hershfield said. “And we can essentially approach that search for meaning in adaptive ways or maladaptive ways.” For instance, the authors collected data from Athlinks, a site that records running times. Some 25 percent more nine-enders ran marathons for the first time than people of other ages. In addition, runners ages 29 and 39 who had run multiple marathons ran about 2 percent faster at that age than they did during other years. Alternatively, the researchers looked at destructive behaviors. They examined data on


Has the medical device tax shipped jobs overseas and stunted innovation?

that R&D spending on medical technology overall has decreased. The medtech industry and its domestic revenues are holding strong, and investment in R&D has remained constant since 2008, an Ernst & Young annual industry report found. R&D spending has been affected by increased regulations and other trends in the industry. But the total amount spent on medical technology R&D in the U.S. grew 7 percent in 2013. Venture capital investment in the industry has dwindled, but that reflects general trends among venture capital firms, the report said. The majority of commercial leaders have consistently invested in R&D. Venture capital investments in medical devices continue to fall, but start-ups still saw venture-capital backing; about 40 percent of all venture-capital medtech investment went to early-stage start-ups in 2013-2014, the report found. Lastly, the actual collection from this tax has been lower than estimated. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found the number of tax filings and the amount of revenue associated with this tax was lower than expected during the first two quarters after the tax took effect. So at least in the first two quarters, the tax did not create the anticipated impact on the industry, calling into question some of the estimates that have been touted. The Pinocchio Test The medical-device industry has faced tough headwinds in recent years, such as pricing pressures and declining reimbursements. A new tax on top of that doesn’t help. Yes, some companies are creating jobs overseas. Some firms are cutting their investments in research and development. But what’s lacking is the direct causation between those decisions and the medical device tax. One could certainly argue that the tax, or anticipation of its impact,played a role in some business decisions.But there is no direct proof that the tax is the sole cause of their actions, or that it has fragmented the ability of the U.S. medical device industry to come up with innovative technology. We wavered between Two and Three Pinocchios, but for the moment will lean toward Two. Our analysis is constrained by not having access to company books, but foes of the tax are going to need to come up with more conclusive evidence that the woes of the industry stem directly from the tax. Two Pinocchios (About our rating scale) Send us facts to check by filling out this form Follow The Fact Checker on Twitter and friend us on Facebook


If you’re pregnant and undocumented, Obama’s order doesn’t help you

Pew Research Center estimated that approximately 8 percent of children born in the United States that year -- 350,000 kids -- had at least one undocumented parent. That figure suggests that several hundred babies will be born to undocumented parents on Friday. "I think what it demonstrates is the inherent flaw in a limited and somewhat arbitrary program of administrative relief," said Kimberly Inez McGuire of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Welcome to Wonkbook. To subscribe by e-mail, click What's in Wonkbook: Number of the day: 380,000. The error shows that there are still glitches in the administration's systems for processing enrollments. Margot Sanger-Katz in The New York Times. Chart of the day: Most immigrants arriving in the United States are now Asian, rather than Latin American. Ben Casselman in Five Thirty Eight. 1. Top story: Obama issues immigration order Who's in and who's out: -- Parents who have been living here for at least five years are in if their children are U.S. citizens. -- So is a larger group of people brought here as children by their parents who are now here illegally. -- Other provisions are intended to benefit young engineers and scientists and people who are waiting on applications for permanent legal status. The Washington Post. Primary sources: -- The details of the order. -- What Obama said. -- The official legal memorandum justifying the decision and explaining why parents of dreamers are excluded. Legal experts agree the president is within his authority. If Obama's goal was to divide Republicans, it looks like it's working. KRUGMAN: Reform the system, but don't open the borders. GERSON: Confronting a messy, dysfunctional legislative process, Obama just gave up. KLEIN: Republicans need an immigration plan -- any plan. 2. Top opinions: Taxes, health care, Republicans and the strong dollar RAMPELL: Antitax mania has led to convoluted and harmful policy. RIVLIN: Advocates of market-based health care got what they wanted. YGLESIAS: G.O.P. obstructionism has resulted in more liberal policy. The dollar shouldn't be the world's reserve currency. 3. Ferguson decision could come Friday Riot police are making a few arrests at demonstrations ahead of the grand jury's decision. The grand jury includes nine blacks and three whites. Officer Darren Wilson will reportedly resign after the decision is announced. 4. Fed to review banking oversight The central bank is asking whether the pessimists on its staff are being listened to.


Oregon’s GMO labeling measure may be headed for a recount

December Tueller, from left, Caroline White and Brandon Schilling protested genetically modified foods on the steps of the Jackson County Court House in Medford, Ore., in January 2013. (Jamie Lusch/The Mail Tribune/AP, File) An Election Day measure asking Oregon voters whether genetically modified foods should be labeled as such may be headed to a recount. Initial results suggested the measure had failed, as had a similar measure in Colorado. The food ndustry funneled money into both states, making the Oregon battle the most expensive ballot fight in state history. But newly counted ballots narrowed the margin of defeat to 0.1 percent, within the state’s 0.2 percent automatic recount threshold, according to the Associated Press. As of Thursday, fewer than 1,500 votes separate both sides. A recount isn’t assured, however, as counties have until 5 p.m. Monday to submit final results, and thousands of ballots have yet to be reported. If a recount happens, the state expects it to begin in early December. The narrowing of the margin was thanks in part to challenges by proponents of labeling to identify “challenge ballots,” as the Oregonian’s Jeff Mapes explains: Those are ballots in which the signature of the voter doesn’t match the signature on file or in which the voter neglected to sign the ballot. There were just over 13,000 challenge ballots around the state, and Measure 92 supporters launched a major effort to get voters to go to their county elections office to sign their ballot or to send in a new voter registration card showing how their signature looks now. If Oregon were to pass the measure, it would become only the second state to have a GMO labeling law on the books with a set start date. Vermont’s legislature passed the first this spring. Connecticut and Maine passed similar laws, but both go into effect only if four other states — which, for Maine, must be contiguous — pass labeling requirements. GMO bills have been taken up in more than half the states, though success has been hard to come by. The food and grocery industry has been highly active in taking on labeling measures. The Vermont law was sued shortly after its passage — as everyone anticipated — by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Snack Food Association, International Dairy Foods Association and the National Association of Manufacturers. DuPont Pioneer, Monsanto, PepsiCo, Inc., Coca-Cola and Kraft were the top five


A new picture of Rosetta’s comet — and this one comes in 3-D

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. (ESA/Rosetta/Philae/ROLIS/DLR) This newly released image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, taken as the Philae lander first approached it, is breathtaking even in two dimensions. But if you've got red-blue 3-D glasses on hand, you can see it in stereoscope, too. (If for some reason you actually do have those glasses handy, this is your reminder that NASA has a bunch of 3-D videos of the International Space Station up for your viewing pleasure) The 3-D image of the comet was made by overlaying two images taken two minutes apart -- about an hour before Philae touched down on the surface of the comet. Philae actually sent these pictures back to the Rosetta orbiter before the probe even landed. Because the camera in ROLIS was developed 20 years ago, it doesn't have a memory card like we'd take for granted today. Instead, it has just 16 megabytes of storage. Today, you can get a 16 gigabyte flash drive -- one thousand times ROLIS's memory capacity -- for less than $10. But even though it's long outdated, the camera has given scientists their best-ever shots of a comet's surface. "These are the first images of a comet acquired this close and at this high resolution," ROLIS project leader Stefano Mottola from the German Aerospace Center said in a statement. The first spacecraft to touch down on a comet analyzed it and sent images back home.


Updates to stories previously covered at The Watch

appeals court overturned Brown’s conviction. A Houston lawyers’ group is now pushing for an investigation of the prosecutor in the case, who is now retired. There is talk of reforming the county’s grand jury system, an issue that also came up in the election for district attorney. - We’ve also been following the story of how local police are using “Stingray” devices to sweep up cellphone data — often without a warrant — and then failing to disclose that information to defense attorneys. The secrecy is likely due to nondisclosure agreements that local police sign with the federal government and/or the manufacturer of the product and is often justified for national security reasons, even though these local investigations are often for routine crimes with no such implications. This week, the Baltimore Sun reported that prosecutors opted to drop burglary and gun charges against a defendant rather than comply with a judge’s order to turn over information about how the Stingray was used. - I posted in July about a brewing scandal involving allegations that Maryland Transportation Authority Police faked the certification papers of a drug dog. Baltimore City Paper posted an update to the story yesterday, based on new court filings by both sides in the case. - Finally, on Monday I put up a long post about the latest federal court ruling in the ongoing saga of Steven Hayne, the controversial Mississippi medical examiner whose testimony, workload and credibility have been called into question. In that post, I talked about how the deadlines imposed by federal law on new evidence discovered during post-conviction can allow procedure to preempt justice. On that broader point, the newly launched criminal justice site the Marshall Project posted a great two-part series (also published here at The Washington Post) on those same legal issues with respect to death penalty cases. As to Hayne specifically, there’s also a corruption scandal unfolding in Mississippi that led to an indictment of Chris Epps, the state’s commissioner of corrections. But also indicted was Cecil McCrory, a longtime business associate of Hayne’s. In fact, Hayne has testified in depositions and previous court cases that the bulk of his fees for performing autopsies in the state went to one of the businesses he co-owned with McCrory. I’ve found Hayne’s finances to be fairly impenetrable in my years of reporting on him, but these indictments may start to open them up.


This biodegradable drone is grown from mushrooms and covered in wasp spit

all want to do 15 or 30 different things," she said. "So this year, I suggested an overall project. But they really just ran with it from there." One of her students found a company called Ecovative Design that was growing the team's dream material: Blocks of fungal foam. Mushrooms are made up of a structure called mycelium. It grows looking almost like a spider web when it's spread out, but it can grow to fit the confines it's placed in, eventually forming a tough chunk of foamy material. By putting mycelium into a mold filled with a tasty growing medium -- like dead leaves or straw -- you can create a custom-shaped mushroom block. Or in this case, a custom-shaped mushroom drone frame. A blast of heat kills the mycelium to freeze their growth. "You end up with this great material that just leftover fungal bits," Rothschild said. A sheet of bacterial cellulose, which can be dried into a sort of leather. (Stanford-Brown-Spelman iGEM) To make the frame more durable, the students created a bioplastic to coat it with. You can make a kind of veggie leather using bacteria that create cellulose -- the tough stuff that creates cell walls in plants. The bacterial cellulose is grown in a sheet and harvested, then wrapped around the mycelium frame. When it dries, it's tough and hard. But the team's biohacking didn't stop there: They also harnessed the power of the insect world to keep their drone from dissolving in mid-air. The drone is covered in proteins cloned from paper wasp saliva, which the insects use to waterproof their nests. The mycelium coated in cellulose. (Stanford-Brown-Spelman iGEM) For now, that's as far as the drone's biodegradability goes: It still uses a traditional rotor, battery, and controls. But other researchers around the world are already working on creating biodegradable versions of these components, Rothschild said. And her team is investigating the use of biological sensors, which would allow them to replace some of the sensors on the drone with bacteria. "Eventually I'd say that most, if not all, of the drone could be made from biological materials," she said. Rothschild is excited about the ways the drone could be used in research on Earth, but she has bigger plans for them, too: She's already submitted a proposal to NASA to push this tech forward for Mars missions. The lightweight, unobtrusive, home-grown nature


Luxur-E: High-end stores going high-tech

Welcome to CapBiz A.M., your morning primer on business news with a focus on Washington. The lux touch: Midterm movers: Market mover? Start-up significance: Game on: Signal fades: Aereo, an online startup that tried to offer a cheaper alternative to cable television, has filed for bankruptcy protection less than five months after an unfavorable ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP) Immigration implications I: Immigration implications II: Money matters: On Wall Street Stocks closed the week higher for the fifth straight time last week, with investors’ spirits lifted by stimulus actions abroad and strong economic data in the U.S. (Get the latest updates here) What’s on tap today Chicago Federal Reserve national activity index (8:30 a.m.) Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing survey (10:30 a.m.) Help: Follow: Extra: Thoughts?


Brain-stimulating device may aid recovery of stroke victims

Debbie Hall undergoes external brain stimulation at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center. Hall was partially paralyzed on her left side after a stroke. Doctors are conducting a study to see if a device known as NexStim can `prep` a stroke victim's brain immediately prior to physical therapy so that the therapy will be more effective. (The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center) Using non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, researchers at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center may have found a way to help prep a stroke victim's brain prior to physical therapy to aid a more complete recovery. When one side of the brain is damaged by a stroke, the corresponding healthy part goes into overdrive in order to compensate, said Dr. Marcie Bockbrader, principle investigator of the study. She believes the hyperactivity in the healthy side may actually slow recovery in the injured side. The technology, called NexStim, employs TMS to prepare a stroke patient's brain for physical therapy by sending low-frequency magnetic pulses painlessly through a victim's scalp to suppress activity in the healthy part of the motor cortex. This allows the injured side to make use of more energy during physical therapy, which immediately follows the transcranial magnetic stimulation. "This device targets the overactive side, quieting it down enough, so that through therapies the injured side can learn to express itself again," said Bockbrader, an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, in a new release. The restoration of the balance of activity between the healthy and injured parts of the cortex, she believes, will not only help heal the brain, but allow for a more complete recovery of movement in the stroke victim. An important part of the procedure is the targeting of the precise part of the motor cortex that is injured in order to stimulate the corresponding healthy part into "keeping quiet." These locations are determined using a technology similar to GPS, according to co-investigator Stephen Page, an associate professor of Health and Rehabilitation at Ohio State. This precision targeting also means the TMS can be accurately applied during repeat sessions. In order to test the hypothesis, NexStim will enroll approximately 200 recent stroke victims in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. To qualify, participants must have had a stroke between 3-12 months ago and have weakness in the arm and hand on only one side. The trial will last eight months and involve up


How Western ‘foreign fighters’ are being recruited online to join Kurds against Islamic State

(Facebook / The Lions of Rojava) At this point in Syria's conflict, a British accent in Syria or Iraq may not seem like a huge surprise: It's been estimated that about 500 British citizens are fighting with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Some, such as "Jihadi John," have become the subject of a grim media fascination. But this weekend, many British readers were surprised by a report in the Observer that two young men from Britain had traveled to Syria to fight against the Islamic State. James Hughes from Reading and Jamie Read from Lanarkshire are just two of a number of Westerners who have headed there to fight with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, also known as the YPG. The news of their journey follows the growing popularity of "The Lions of Rojava," a Facebook page was set up last month. The page calls for foreigners to come and join the fight against the Islamic State. Rojava means "the West" in Kurdish, indicating the fighters are based in Western Kurdistan or Syrian Kurdistan. There are signs the recruitment effort may be working. On the The Lions of Rojava Facebook page are a number of photographs that claim to show groups of Western fighters working with the YPG. Post Post It's a popular Facebook page, with more than 20,000 likes. Every photo posted receives dozens of messages of support and many fans post their own requests to join. "I'm ready any time, I'm a former Italian military police," one user from London writes. "Please i'm from Ghana-West Africa and I would love to join the fight against ISIL," another Facebook user writes, using an acronym that refers to the Islamic State. Hughes and Read are believed to have been recruited to fight by an American, Jordan Matson. Matson is a 28-year-old Army veteran from Wisconsin who has been with Kurdish fighters for months. "I got sick of giving online sympathy," Matson told USA Today in October. "Five minutes of lip service does nothing." He has received a fair amount of press and seems happy to be the public face of Westerners fighting with Kurdish forces. On Facebook he has thousands of followers and is happy to pose for the camera. Post Matson, who was reportedly wounded soon after he entered Syria, has taken it upon himself to help recruit foreigners to fight the Islamic State. "I've had ex-military


For obese people, an increased risk of ‘silent’ heart damage, study says

(REUTERS/Lucas Jackson) Researchers from Johns Hopkins have identified a new risk for obese people: silent heart damage. In a study published in the October edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure, the investigators found evidence that obesity is an "independent driver of heart muscle damage." Diabetes and high blood pressure are the best-known risk factors for the severely overweight, but in this new federally-funded study, which tracked thousands of middle-age and elderly adults in four states over more than 12 years, researchers discovered obese people who otherwise appear healthy may not be. One measure of obesity is Body Mass Index, or BMI, a number calculated from a person's height and weight that doctors say is a fairly reliable indicator of body fatness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers a normal weight status BMI somewhere between 18.5 and 24.9. Overweight is between 25.0 and 29.9 and obese is 30 and above. Using an ultrasensitive blood test to detect a protein called troponin T, an enzyme released by injured heart muscle cells, the Johns Hopkins researchers measured levels of troponin in more than 9,500 disease-free men and women, aged 53-75. Those whose BMI measured above 35 had more than twice the risk of developing heart failure than people of normal weight. "Obesity is a well-known 'accomplice' in the development of heart disease," said lead investigator Dr. Chiadi Ndumele in a press release last week," but our findings suggest it may be a solo player that drives heart failure independently of other risk factors." The severely obese, that is, people with a BMI above 35 were nine times more likely to develop heart failure than those of normal weight, and for every five-unit increase in BMI, the risk increased by 32 percent. Ndumele went on to say that finding a relationship between obesity and clinically-undetectable heart damage "is quite potent and truly concerning from a public health standpoint given the growing number of obese people in the United States and worldwide." Public health experts say heart failure, a condition where the heart muscle is unable to pump efficiently, has been on the rise in recent years and is expected to affect 1 in 5 adults by the year 2030. Coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes are all common risk factors for heart failure, according to the CDC. Currently, about 5.1 million people in the


Keep jogging, baby boomers, because you may walk like a 20-year-old again if you do

(Reuters/Shannon Stapleton) Running has long been touted as the express route to general physical fitness, but new research suggests that jogging will also help aging baby boomers to walk better. According to a new study by researchers at Humboldt State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, those who are 65 and older and who run at least 30 minutes three times a week, experienced significantly less physical decline in their walking efficiency than those of similar age who simply walked for exercise. "What we found is that older adults who regularly participate in high aerobic activities -- running in particular -- have what we call a lower metabolic cost of walking than older, sedentary adults," ustus Ortega, professor of Kinesiology at Humboldt State and one of the study's authors, said in a press release last week. "In fact, their metabolic cost of walking is similar to young adults in their 20s." The research was conducted with self-reported older joggers and self-reported walkers, said Ortega, who is also the director of Humboldt's biomechanics laboratory. The participants were asked to walk on a treadmill at three speeds, each increasingly faster, while the scientists measured their oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output. The older joggers, they found, were seven to 10 percent more efficient at walking than the older walkers. The study's researchers admit they aren't really sure why this is the case, but said other studies have revealed that runners in general have healthier mitochondria, the organelles that act as the power plants every cell of every muscle and tissue in the human body. The importance of the findings, they added, is that a decline in walking ability "is a key predictor of morbidity in older adults." (The study was published online last week in the journal PLOS ONE.) The next step, said Ortega, was for his team to investigate whether other highly aerobic exercises, such as swimming and bicycling, will also turn back the clock on walking for senior citizens. "The bottom line is that running keeps you younger," said co-author Rodger Kram, a professor of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, "at least in terms of efficiency."


Copycat Co. and Kitty’s Saloon meow open on H Street

stick flavor = alligator fingers. Kitty's is one of the cheapest places to grab a drink on H Street: Some cocktails, like the "Dag Nab It!" (whiskey blend, sweet tea, spices) were prices as low as $6. Miller High Life is only $3. Excepting the higher-end scotches and ryes, no drink is more than $10. For now, you're limited to the bar on the first floor, but eventually, Kitty's will expand into a second floor dining room. Kitty's Saloon, 1208 H St. NE. 202- 388-8300. www.kittyssaloon.com. Copycat Co. This chic new cocktail bar comes to H Street from Barmini bartender Devin Gong, so we went in with high expectations. They were readily met: Copycat's take on classic cocktails left us purring with contentment. So did the price -- $11 for all mixed drinks. The bar gets its name from the fact that all bartenders borrow from one another, ours explained, but at Copycat, "we cite our sources." The menu lists the names of each drink's inventor -- i.e. a "David Smash" (lemon, mint, sugar, Laphroaig whisky, aged rum) cites creator David Strauss. Dumplings and skewers at Copycat Co. (Maura Judkis/for The Post) On the front of the menu are drinks classic enough not to need a citation. You can choose among sours, fizzes and Collinses, as well as martinis, Manhattans, highballs, mules and bucks -- and the menu, designed in a beautiful Art Deco font, explains the provenance and components of each. Flip it over, and you'll see more modern concoctions, like fixes, smashes and grins -- most with a bartender of origin, but some that just say "We don't know." For cold nights, there are two types of hot toddy. Drinks at Copycat Co., clockwise from top left:A Brooklyn, a Poet's Dream, a Rye Grin, and a New York Sour. (Maura Judkis/for The Post) Downstairs, Copycat specializes in Chinese street food, with a small menu of potstickers, steamed bao and skewers. Because they're cheap -- between $1.25 per bao to $4 for a chicken skewer -- a group can order one of everything on the menu and spend less than $25 bucks total. We recommend doubling up on the Triple Delight potstickers (pork, shrimp and chives), which were so good, we ordered another round. You can get them at a counter downstairs, or use your chopsticks to pluck them off of cafeteria-style silver trays in the upstairs bar, outfitted


Cabela’s to open first D.C.-area hunting goods store

Cabela’s, which specializes in hunting, fishing and camping gear, plans to open its first area store in Gainesville. (Courtesy of Cabela’s) The hunt for real estate is over. Cabela’s, the national chain of hunting, fishing and camping gear stores, has announced plans to open a megastore in Gainesville complete with a gun library, indoor archery range and full-service boat shop. The 79,000-square-foot store will also have its own deli and fudge shop. (By means of comparison, the Wal-Mart on H Street NW in the District measures 74,000 square feet.) The store, scheduled to open in spring 2017, is one of three locations planned for Virginia. Outposts in Bristol and Short Pump are expected to open in fall 2015 and spring 2016, respectively. “The fact that Cabela’s is bringing three new stores to Virginia speaks volumes to the outdoor opportunities and lifestyle in the state, as well as Virginians’ passion for the Cabela’s brand,” Tommy Millner, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The Gainesville store also will be a great location for our customers in Maryland and West Virginia.” The upcoming location at Virginia Gateway, a 1.3-million-square-foot development at the intersection of Interstate 66 and Route 29, will be the company’s first in the Washington area. Fairfax-based Peterson Cos. is developing the property, which was formerly a concrete batching plant. “We wanted a national retailer with a very large draw,” said Taylor O. Chess, president of retail for Peterson Cos. “In addition to serving as a great community center, Cabela’s will draw customers from D.C., West Virginia and Maryland.” Other stores in the shopping center, which is more than 90 percent occupied, include Target, Lowe’s, Sports Authority and a 14-screen movie theater. “For our new location, we looked for areas that were very visible,” said Nathan J. Borowski, a spokesman for Cabela’s. “We know we have a lot customers across the state and we wanted to bring them a convenient place to shop.” Cabela’s, which was founded in 1961, is based in Sidney, Neb. The company currently has 64 stores in North America, with 14 new locations scheduled to open next year, Borowski. said. “We’re definitely in retail expansion mode,” he said, adding that the company is focusing expansion efforts in areas with large online and catalog sales. Last year, Cabela’s posted a profit of $224.39 million. Sales, meanwhile, rose 16 percent to $3.6 billion.


Forget Black Friday deals, here are 7 gifts worth waiting for

brew beer at home Here’s another appliance that’s suddenly vying for space on your countertop: The homebrewing machine. In the four years since New Zealand start-up WilliamWarn unveiled the world’s automated personal brewery, DIY enthusiasts can now choose between that and upcoming releases, such as the smartphone app-enabled Brewbot and the more portable PicoBrew. A Hungarian team believes they’ve nailed down a version that trumps them all. As reported last week, the Brewie is perhaps the closest thus far to a fully automated beer making appliance. Weighing in at 55 pounds, it’s the lightest and most compact, yet allows for five-gallon batches. It’s also also the most affordable, costing around $1,000. To start, you simply dump the malt, hops, and water into designated compartments, insert an RFID card that transmits the recipe and press “brew.” Once cooled, the brew is piped into a separate temperature-controlled tank for fermentation. In about a week, you have beer. A crowdfunding campaign will launch in the upcoming months, with production slated for sometime next year. 4. The cooler that does it all Let’s be honest: do we really need a cooler that also blends drinks, blasts music, recharges smartphones, has wheels, LED lights and features a slide out cutting board and bottle opener? It didn’t seem to make a lot of sense for people last fall. The do-it-all Coolest Cooler didn’t quite reach its $125,000 goal on Kickstarter, falling just short. The inventor, Ryan Grepper, decided the experience was encouraging enough to at least do a redesign and launch a second campaign, albeit with a more modest bar of $50,000. As of this writing, his high-tech icebox reigns as the site’s highest funded project, with a grand total of over $13 million. So what’s he doing with his millions in seed money? Well what else other than to “make the best damn Coolest Cooler we possibly can,” according to the latest update on the product page. The newest prototype features a better battery and storage compartments for phones and other personal devices. It’s expected to ship in Feb., 2015. The Glyph beams high-resolution movies directly into your eyeballs. Gamers can opt instead for Oculus Rift. (Avegant) 5. Oculus Rift and Glyph Oculus Rift has been one of the biggest tech breakthrough teases over the past two years. During that time, the creators have promised a virtual reality immersion like no other, for gamers and


READ IN: Chucked Edition

Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said he wasn't interested, again. (CNN) Current Deputy Secretary Robert Work's name is also on the short list. (Daily Beast) -- The White House's micromanagement, in one anecdote: "Earlier this year, the decision on how many U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan in 2015 was the subject of 14 meetings of NSC deputies, four gatherings involving Cabinet secretaries and other NSC 'principals,' and two NSC sessions with the president, according to a former senior administration official. The consequence of those meetings was to pare back the military’s request by just 700 troops -- from 10,500 to 9,800." (Washington Post) -- The DNC has narrowed their choices for a convention host city in 2016 to New York, Philadelphia or Columbus, Ohio. Phoenix and Birmingham, two other semi-finalists, were eliminated from contention on Monday. The DNC said its convention would take place during either the week of July 18, July 25 or August 22. (Washington Post) We've been hearing for months that Philadelphia has the inside track. The fact that Republicans are going to Cleveland makes Columbus unlikely; the Ohio business community isn't going to pay for two conventions. -- Front Pages: WaPo 6-column lead: "No indictment in Ferguson teenager's killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "NO CHARGES FOR WILSON; ARSON, RIOTING ERUPT IN FERGUSON." LA Times and NYT feature Ferguson in four-column leads. USA Today splashes the full-size banner. WSJ leads with Hagel's departure. National Roundup: -- Arizona: Rep. Ron Barber (D) on Monday asked a federal judge to force Pima and Cochise counties to count 133 disqualified ballots cast by voters who forgot to sign their ballots or went to the wrong polling place. Barber's campaign is likely to seek a restraining order blocking certification until those votes are counted. Barber trails Air Force vet Martha McSally (R) by 161 votes in official returns. (Arizona Daily Star) -- New Jersey: The private firm contracted to run New Jersey's lottery fell $24 million short of projections for the fiscal year ending June 30, even after Gov. Chris Christie (R) allowed Northstar New Jersey Lottery Group to cut their revenue target. Christie supported privatizing the lottery, which is New Jersey's fourth-largest revenue stream. Northstar signed a 15-year deal with New Jersey. A division of the company lost a contract earlier this year in Illinois after missing revenue targets for three straight years. (Bloomberg) -- Utah: The state Republican Party will file


Is dishonesty just part of the banking culture?

(Mary Cybulski/AP) Six years after the financial crisis, little has been done to squash the caricature of the dishonest banker. Given the London Whale debacle, the LIBOR fixing scandal, the massive currency-rigging scheme and other rogue traders, it's hard not to think something is still very rotten in the state of banking. Could it be that the culture of banking itself promotes such corrupt behavior? A newly published study in the top journal Nature suggests that might be the case. The study, by three researchers at the University of Zurich and the University of Chicago, had 128 banking employees take part in a lab experiment that tests honesty. It found that the bankers who were reminded of their profession before the test were far more likely to be dishonest than those who were not. The lab test was a simple one: It had participants toss a coin ten times in private and then self-report their results, with the potential to earn up to $200 if their outcomes were better than their peers'. (Participants were told in advance of a toss whether "heads" or "tails" would be the winning result.) Thus, the incentive to cheat was strong. “The idea behind the coin toss is that if everyone behaves honestly, we should observe that roughly 50 percent of contests are heads and 50 percent are tails,” said Alain Cohen, one of the study’s researchers. “But if we observe statistically more than that, we know some people might have cheated.” Each bank employee was asked a series of questions before the test began. One half, the control group, were asked questions that were irrelevant to their careers, such as how much television they watch. The other half were asked about their careers in finance, such as where they’re employed, what the advantages and disadvantages of a banking career are, and why they decided to be a banker. “By reminding them of their professional role, we put the emphasis on their occupational identity, and that makes the norms that come along with their role more prominent in their behavior.” Indeed. When the bankers in the control group reported their results, just three percent of the coin flips were misrepresented in an effort to get more cash. But among the group of bankers who were asked about their jobs, 16 percent of the coin flips were misrepresented. That group was also significantly more likely to


Bills that would legalize marijuana introduced in Georgia

(Robert F. Bukaty/AP) A Georgia state senator has introduced two pieces of legislation Monday that would legalize both medical and recreational marijuana in the state. SB 6 SB 7 “Few would disagree that physicians need every good tool in their medical toolbox to provide the best healthcare possible to their patients,” Sen. Curt Thompson (D), the bills’ sponsor, said in a statement. “During the 2015 legislative session, we will have the opportunity to provide our doctors with an additional tool by legalizing marijuana for medical use.” According to a poll conducted for WSB-TV in Atlanta of 750 registered voters by Landmark/RosettaStone, 54 percent of respondents support medical marijuana, and 30 percent are opposed. The remaining 16 percent are undecided. A bill that would have legalized cannabis oil for medical use sponsored by Rep. Allen Peake (R) failed to pass the legislature in March.


New bill would allow the VA to recommend medical marijuana for patients

use and a high potential for abuse. That means that VA, which runs the largest network of hospitals and health clinics in the country, cannot prescribe pot as a treatment, even for veterans who live in a state where medical marijuana is legal. VA says that its physicians and chronic-pain specialists “are prohibited from recommending and prescribing medical marijuana for PTSD or other pain-related issues.” Medical staff are also prohibited from completing paperwork required to enroll in state marijuana programs because they are “federal employees who must comply with federal law,” said Gina Jackson, a VA spokeswoman. Over 20 percent of the 2.8 million American veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD and depression, according to the Blumenauer statement. In addition, a recent study found that of the nearly one million veterans who receive opioids to treat painful conditions, more than half continue to consume chronically or beyond 90 days, their statement said. Another study found that the death rate from opiate overdoses among VA patients is nearly double the national average. “In states where patients can legally access medical marijuana for painful conditions, often as a less-addictive alternative, the hands of VA physicians should not be tied,” the statement said. Researchers in the United States and several other countries have found evidence that cannabis can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder and pain, although studies — such as those looking into the best strains and proper dosages — remain in the early stages. Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access, said they “are very proud to stand by Congressman Blumenauer and support the Veterans Equal Access Act.” “The Veterans Health Administration has made it very clear that, as federal employees, they lack the free speech necessary to write the recommendations for Veterans to comply with state programs,” said Krawitz. “This legislation is needed to correct that legal situation and repair this VA doctor patient relationship.” The status quo has numerous harmful effects, said Blumenauer. “It forces veterans into the black market to self-medicate,” he said. “It prevents doctors from giving their best and honest advice and recommendations. And it pushes both doctors and their patients toward drugs that are potentially more harmful and more addictive. It’s insane, and it has to stop.” Though pot is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, 23 states permit medical marijuana use, including Oregon and California.


‘The Traveler’s Eye’ at Sackler leads visitors on a journey through Asia’s past

Forget planes, trains and automobiles. Try rickshaws, camels and boats. For the Sackler’s latest exhibition, seven of the museum’s curators brought together more than 100 objects celebrating travel in Asia over the past 500 years. “The Traveler’s Eye: Scenes of Asia” covers travel in the Middle East, through India and China, all the way to Japan. The pieces depict travel for various purposes, including trade, research, pilgrimages and pleasure. For those unable to get to the world’s largest continent, “The Traveler’s Eye” is a great substitute, with the added bonus of taking us through time. Here are some highlights. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW; through May 31, free. ‘Stations along the Tokaido’ (Freer Gallery of Art) Connecting Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto, the Tokaido was the most important and heavily traveled road in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868). The route between the seat of the shogun and the imperial palace was strictly monitored, with official checkpoints and 53 village stations along the way, where travelers could spend the night. “The villages had gates they would close at night, and no one could enter or exit,” says Ann Yonemura, senior associate curator of Japanese art. Above is a section of a late-17th-century scroll showing the stations along the route. “The Tokaido is still a major highway,” Yonemura says, “and the bullet train line between Tokyo and Kyoto is called the Tokaido Line.” ‘Stones gathered at Yi River,’ by Charles Lang Freer (Gift of Charles Lang Freer) When he retired, railroad magnate Charles Lang Freer (the founder of the Sackler’s sister museum, the Freer Gallery of Art) traversed Asia, buying artworks along the way. In 1910, he visited the Buddhist temple complex of Longmen, a network of thousands of man-made caves in central China. While there, Freer collected 39 stones from the nearby Yi River. “The stones represent the concept of mementos — brought back from travels rather than depicting them,” says David Hogge, head of archives. “When he returned to the U.S., Freer had custom stands made for each stone and used them as weights for hand scrolls.” ‘Camel caravan, Smyrna, Turkey’ (Myron Bement Smith Collection) “The Traveler’s Eye” ends with a wall of postcards from the early 1900s. “This was the globetrotter era, the golden age of postcards,” says Nancy Micklewright, head of public and scholarly engagement. Some of the postcards were addressed and sent abroad,


Whole Foods is the most beautiful place in America

for a while. (I always leave the store after 20 minutes or so, before my lurking attracts too much notice.) Equal to the images and odors in Whole Foods, though, are the words. Indeed, there may be no other place on Earth today that equally reveals the transformative power of beautiful language. There is no such thing as a potato in that store. There are only “olive-oil crushed new potatoes.” There is no apple juice, only “Organic Honeycrisp Apple Juice made from apples grown on family-owned orchards in Washington State.” Of course, beauty comes at a price. In ordinary life, a Schweppes goes for perhaps $1.40. “Small-batch tonic hand-crafted in the South” goes for $20. Some people see this ecstatic product-labeling (in which Whole Foods is just one of many exemplars) cynically. Our sense of things’ value isn’t “real”; it is completely psychological and easily manipulated by marketers, such critics lament. In his 2007 magnum opus “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” the food writer Michael Pollan confesses with embarrassment “that I really enjoy shopping at Whole Foods.” The source of his embarrassment is the sense of being duped by his pleasure. “Every food item in the store seems to have a little story attached to it,” he observed. Among the places the cow that produced a sirloin steak “got to visit were ‘high-mountain meadows,’ ‘thick aspen groves,’ and ‘miles of sage-brush-filled flats.’ Now, a steak like that has got to taste better than one without a story. You can bet it will cost more, too.” Fortune suggested the language on Whole Foods labels “lets us feel good” about what we buy without actually having to embrace the kind of “ascetic lifestyle” that would actually make an impact on the environment and the world around us. I see it differently. Whole Foods labels are the last bastion of poetry in public life. We love Whole Foods because it ennobles everyday experience, finally affirming our secret sense that even ordinary life is full of wonder and drama; that looking at an apple can be an ecstatic experience. (And we love Whole Foods: Its stock price has climbed more than tenfold since the 2008 recession. In 1992 there were a mere ten Whole Foods stores and now there are more than 1,000, including a new one in Detroit and a forthcoming branch in Newark, of which New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said it was the


Stunning new shot of a colorful cosmic cluster shows stars entering their golden years

The MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile captured this richly colorful view of the bright star cluster NGC 3532. Some of the stars still shine with a hot bluish color, but many of the more massive ones have become red giants and glow with a rich orange hue. (ESO/G. Beccari) Star cluster NGC 3532 is far from camera shy. More commonly known as the Wishing Well Cluster or Football Cluster, this grouping of stars was actually the first target ever observed by the Hubble Space Telescope back in the 90s. The star cluster is 300 million years old, and lies about 1,300 light-years away. But it's big and bright: The formation takes up the twice the space of a full moon in our night sky, and is easily observable with the naked eye from many parts of the planet. This image shows clearly that NGC 3532 is no spring chicken of a star cluster. While the stars with more moderate masses are still shining a bright bluish white, the larger stars have already burnt off the last of their hydrogen -- turning them into orange-hued red giants. This new shot was taken in 2013 using the Wide Field Imager instrument at the La Silla Observatory, which is located in the Atacama Desert of Chile and operated by the European Southern Observatory. Discoveries in our solar system and beyond.


Old-world techniques — and elbow grease — on a Missouri organic farm

“You see how smart I am? I teach my friends to do my work for me!” — Klaus Karbaumer. (Ryan Jones) Sometimes the hardest-working hands are the ones plowing the earth year round to bring that generous harvest to your dinner table each holiday season. Mounds of apples, kale, onions, potatoes and rhubarb find their way to our grocery stores and farmers markets, and our fingers tingle with excitement — or fear — for what they will become in our care. And in the middle of seed time and harvest there is the inevitable question of “But is it organic?” that has steered so much of our weekly grocery shopping routines. Photographer Ryan Jones, a student at this year’s Missouri Photo Workshop, followed one farmer in Platte, Mo., whose farm — Karbaumer Farm — produces more than 50 varieties of chemical-free, organic vegetables for his community by operating a CSA (community supported agriculture) just a few miles outside the Kansas City Airport. “No one does the real work anymore,” says farmer Klaus Karbaumer of modern farming. Klaus moved to the Midwest in 1991 from Bavaria and has been a full-time farmer since 1999. In his past life, Karbaumer was a college professor of history and geography, but now, with his wife, Lee, runs the only tractor-less farm in Platte County, Mo., operated by draft horses. Karbaumer Farm produces more than 50 varieties of chemical-free, organic vegetables. The farm is based on Klaus’s steadfast dedication to upholding the tradition and humanity of old-world farming. The farm is void of electric, engine-driven machinery, and all the plowing and cultivating of the 2.5 acres is done by draft horses and traditional tools. In a world where high-volume commercial farming has become the norm, Karbaumer Farm tries to “live and grow in harmony with Nature and her seasons.” The reasons are far more functional and economical than the sentimental appeal of paying homage to old-world tradition: horses compact soil less than tractors, and healthy soil simply does not need chemicals to enhance growth. Plus, horses provide a natural cycle to the fertilization process, further reducing overhead. After receiving a re-order from a local grocery store, Klaus harvests fresh kale for the store that is delivered within an hour. (Ryan Jones) Klaus shows his friend Walt the freshly cultivated dirt and describes its texture, density and color. Walt is in the market for a tractor,


D.C. area forecast: Poorly timed storm dumps rain and snow on busy travel day

A Nor'easter that is expected to dump several inches of snow from Washington, D.C., to Boston is dampening holiday travel plans for many travelers this Thanksgiving. * Winter Weather Advisory immediately north and west of D.C. * 8:40 a.m. update: Precipitation type forecast for noon today from the HRRR model shows the snow line struggling south and east toward the Beltway. (WxBell) 7:50 a.m. update: 6:15 a.m. Update: Precipitation type forecast for 10 a.m. today from the HRRR model shows the first sign of a change-over to snow locally. (WxBell) Meanwhile, even after areas change over to snow, temperatures look to still be in the upper 30s inside the Beltway with mid-30s further north and west, as shown in the forecast for 1 p.m. below. That is why we expect the best chance for road accumulation, and a more disruptive impact late this morning and during the afternoon, to be focused on the colder spots north and west of the Beltway, and perhaps even north and west of Howard, Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince William counties. But to be safe, anyone from D.C./I-95 toward points north and west should assume roads could become slick, even if only briefly, at some point during the afternoon. Temperature forecast for 1 p.m. from the HRRR model (WxBell) From 5 a.m…. TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 3/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL A poorly timed pre-Thanksgiving storm complicates travel today around D.C. and up and down the East Coast, on a day when things aren’t easy even when the weather is nice. Locally, rain changes to snow between mid-morning and early afternoon with some accumulation possible, especially the further north and west you are. The messiness gets out of here by this evening, in time for a cool but calmer Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, ahead of a warming trend this weekend. Today (Wednesday): While temperatures in the mid-to-upper 30s should keep many roads in D.C. and to the south and east mainly wet rather than white, some slushy road accumulation cannot be ruled out during any heavier bursts of snow this afternoon, especially in NW D.C., as well as reduced visibilities and some accumulation on grass and elevated surfaces. Temperatures falling into the mid-30s could cause more disruptive impacts in our immediate northern and western suburbs (e.g., Montgomery, western Fairfax, and northern Prince William counties), where road accumulation is possible but not a certainty, not


New Italian menus at Nonna’s Kitchen, Alba Osteria and Aggio

Carswell says. "But it's also dinner and a show." Carswell says diners will be encouraged to ask questions about the dishes and their ingredients. That give-and-take will be made even easier, he says, because of the small staff that will become well acquainted with the menu thanks to its extended life. During each region's tenure, only small elements of the menu will change, Carswell says, "but the big picture will be the same the whole month." Diners will have a choice between two dishes for every course except dessert. The tasting menu, the only option at Nonna's, is $90. Over in Mount Vernon Square next month, expect to see the debut of La Tavola da Roberto Donna at Alba Osteria. The 10-seat chef's experience, priced at $65, will offer a family-style meal prepared by longtime Washington chef Roberto Donna. The first dinner takes place Dec. 18 with a Feast of the Seven Fishes theme. At La Tavola da Roberto Donna in Alba Osteria, diners will sit at a communal table and be served by the longtime chef. (Courtesy Alba Osteria) The dinners will probably occur at least twice a month, Donna says. Diners will sit together at a communal table, with Donna coming out to explain the dishes as they're served. At sister restaurant Al Dente, Donna will continue to cook for Roberto's 8, his eight-seat, 12-plus-course experience held three nights a week. The difference? Roberto's 8 is "a little bit more sophisticated," with smaller plates, while La Tavola will consist of more rustic, shared dishes. Menus will have some kind of theme, Donna says, typically centered around an Italian region or ingredient. "I want them to feel like they're leaving my house," Donna says of the experience he hopes diners will walk away with. Spaghetti and meatballs from Aggio's tasting menu inspired by Italy's Piedmont region. (Bonjwing Lee) And because these things always seem to come in threes, Bryan Voltaggio's Aggio recently launched its own regional tasting and family-style menus. Both are available at the Baltimore and Washington locations of the restaurant. Aggio's first regional tasting menu features Piedmont. Available through Dec. 30, the $95 meal runs six courses with such dishes as mushroom risotto, roasted pheasant and hazelnut feuilletine with devil's food cake and marscarpone gelato. The Sunday suppers include sharable dishes, including spaghetti and meatballs, for up to four people. A three-course menu will also be available.


Why it’s not okay to have a second refrigerator

at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast Monday, asserting that "the energy world is in a transition" partly due to natural gas. "One large refrigerator is cheaper to run than two smaller ones," adds the state of California's Consumer Energy Center. The Center also notes that a refrigerator that is full of food is better at retaining a cold temperature than a refrigerator that is relatively empty -- another fact that makes the occasionally stocked "beer fridge" problematic. Nonetheless, second refrigerators seem to be quite prevalent, and may even be growing more so. Based on U.S Energy Information Administration, 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. And the number of second refrigerators may have continued to grow since 2009. Another Department of Energy study put the prevalence of second refrigerators in homes even higher -- at 26 percent -- and suggested their penetration in households is growing at 1 percent per year. Second refrigerators seem to be most popular in the Midwest, where they were in nearly 30 percent of homes as of 2009 -- but from 1997 to 2009 they grew in popularity in all areas. The states where they're the most popular are Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Who keeps a second fridge? According to EPA, owners of older, less efficient refrigerators (second refrigerators or otherwise) are actually often younger, well to do couples. "The size of the home appears to be the biggest indicator of having multiple refrigerators, while the age of the home seems to have little influence," adds another study. "The length of time in the same residence is also a large influence, possibly indicating that people simply keep their old unit when a new one is installed." So what's the alternative? Refrigerator recycling, which is supported not only by the Energy Star program but also by many utilities across the country, some of which offer cash or a bill credit in exchange for turning in an old fridge. According to Energy Star, recycling an older or second refrigerator properly can lead to savings of $ 300 to $700 over a five year period, and avoid up to 20,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. So for the sake of the planet and your own energy bills, please reconsider whether you really need a second fridge (especially an older one). And for the sake of your gut, buy your beer one six-pack at a time.


How to limit your chances of fraud during the holidays

Many stores will open on Thanksgiving this year. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Whether you’re planning to line up for a new flat-screen TV at midnight or expecting to knock out your shopping on the iPad from the comfort of your couch, chances are you’ll be using your credit card a lot more in the coming weeks. And that means more chances for your card information to be stolen. Retailers and consumers are still recovering from a slew of data breaches in the past year, and security experts say more are likely. Even as merchants transition to new and more secure payment technology, consumers are vulnerable to fraud — and hackers will be coming out full force — until safer options are more widespread. These moves can help you minimize your chances of fraud and ease the hassle of dealing with it if it happens: Choose credit over debit. Use an EMV chip card. The catch is that not all merchants can use this technology yet. So if your card has a chip but you’re paying at a store that only uses magnetic stripe technology, you aren’t benefiting from the added protection, says Matt Schulz, an analyst for CreditCards.com. After October 2015, merchants that don’t have the EMV chip card readers may have to pay for any fraud that happens in their stores. Consider using Apple Pay. Monitor your transactions. Keep your holiday shopping to one credit card. Make sure your card issuer knows how to reach you. Find out what protections your credit card offers. Related: How and where you’ll spend your money on Black Friday, in charts Your vision of Black Friday anarchy is outdated 7 ways to save on holiday gift shopping


Holiday happenings: Our critics pick the best events of the season

St., Alexandria. 703-746-3301. www.visitalexandriava.com. Free. Water-skiing Santa Santa's annual water-skiing escapade on the Potomac, which also includes appearances by kneeboarding reindeer, a jet-skiing Grinch and Frosty on a dinghy, is moving to Alexandria this year. The best vantage points are in Founders Park and the area behind the Torpedo Factory. Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. at Founders Park, Oronoco and North Union streets, Alexandria. www.waterskiingsanta.com. Free. The Water Skiing Santa, shown in 2013. ( Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) Music Classical music comes into its own during the holiday season. Choruses fill churches and concert halls with carols, oratorios and singalongs; orchestras perform music with family appeal; and “Messiahs” ring out throughout the land (along with their classical klezmer and Kwanzaa counterparts). Here’s an assortment of December’s many noteworthy holiday concerts. -- Anne Midgette Paul Thurlby for The Washington Post Duke Ellington's Nutcracker The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra puts its own twist on the holidays with family performances of the "Nutcracker," as reimagined by Duke Ellington, with "Sugar Rum Cherry" in place of the "Sugar Plum Fairy," among other tweaks. Dance troupe Step Afrika! provides its own new choreography. Two midweek concerts offer a shorter version for children. Dec. 3 at 10 and 11:30 a.m. and Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore. 410-783-8000. Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda. 301-581-5100. www.bsomusic.org. $6.50-$36. National Gallery of Art concerts The National Gallery will offer an array of holiday music throughout December, with free afternoon concerts in the West Garden Court. Enjoy performances by the Empire Brass, Spanish Brass and two local groups — the Thomas Circle Singers, who will sing carols, and the Alexandria Kleztet in a program of klezmer music. Empire Brass, Dec. 6; Spanish Brass, Dec. 13; Thomas Circle Singers, Dec. 20; Alexandria Kleztet, Dec. 21. All performances at 3:30 pm. at the National Gallery of Art’s West Garden Court, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202-737-4215. www.nga.gov. Free. Off the Britten Path: A Holiday Concert This concert by the New Orchestra of Washington is holiday-themed in name only, paying homage to three British composers: Benjamin Britten (Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31), Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at First Congregational UCC, 945 G St. NW, and Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. at Church of the


9 things to do in the D.C. area the (very) long Thanksgiving weekend of Nov. 27-30

The weekend’s best in nightlife, music and art. For even more, check out Nightlife Agenda. The Dismemberment Plan returns to the 9:30 Club on Friday. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) Thursday: Thursday: Thursday-Dec. 24: Through Sunday: Friday-Dec. 23: Friday: Friday-Dec. 20: Saturday: Through Sunday:


Oregon is the Best State in America

Oregon welcome sign (oregondot/flickr) Americans are becoming beer snobs. For the first time, craft breweries produced more barrels of beer than Budweiser did, according to figures for 2013 published by Beer Marketer’s Insights and reported by the Wall Street Journal. So forget the mega-breweries in Missouri and Wisconsin and Colorado. Although tastes and preferences differ, no state has better access to small local craft beers than Oregon, where tipplers can knock back a Rogue Dead Guy Ale or a Widmer Hefeweizen. Oregon is home to more than 180 craft breweries, defined as companies that produce less than 6 million barrels of beer annually. That’s fewer breweries than its West Coast neighbors, California and Washington, but Oregon has more breweries per capita than any other state. Washington produces almost three-quarters of the hops grown in the United States, while Oregon and Idaho account for 24 percent, according to the Hop Growers of America. Good local hops lead to good local beers. The state’s craft breweries generate almost $1.3 billion in economic activity— $449 for every Oregonian age 21 and older — which is more per capita than every other state. And Oregonians are loyal to their state. Oregon Craft Beer, the industry’s association, reports that 53 percent of all draft beers poured within the state’s borders come from in-state breweries. By more subjective measures, Oregon still comes out on top. Thrillist, an online magazine dedicated to food, travel and drink, ranked Oregon beers the best in the country, beating out California and Colorado. Read the full story here.


House of the Week | Historic rowhouse in Southwest DC for $879K

The Washington Post’s picks of local distinguished homes on the market. Built in 1794, this four-story rowhouse in Southwest Washington is one of the oldest residential buildings in the city. Part of “Wheat Row,” it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. John Greenleaf, often credited as the District’s first real estate speculator, bought the land during a visit to Washington in 1793. Greenleaf, who was the U.S. consul in Amsterdam, was related to poet John Greenleaf Whittier and lexicographer Noah Webster. He also was friends with John Quincy Adams since childhood. But unlike his literary relatives, Greenleaf was more interested in investments than words. He and his partners — banker Robert Morris, who helped finance the American Revolution, and John Nicholson, the former comptroller-general for Pennsylvania — formed the Greenleaf Syndicate. At one point, they controlled more than one-third of the saleable land in Washington. Unfortunately, their over–eager land speculation resulted in staggering debts estimated between $3 million and $12 million at the time, and all three ended up in debtor’s prison. (Photo by HomeVisit) William Lovering, one of early Washington’s best known architect-builders, designed the four Wheat Row rowhouses to appear as a single structure. The building has a symmetrical, late-Georgian facade that is reminiscent of Harvard University’s Hollis Hall. The north wall is unusual because its brick is partially laid in English bond and is believed to be the only instance of such bonding in an older building in Washington. All four houses have a typical Federal townhouse floor plan, with side halls with stairs and two rooms on each floor. The name Wheat Row comes from an original owner, John Wheat, who lived in this house. Wheat, who was a gardener and Senate messenger, later left three of the homes to his wife, Mary. The neighborhood underwent massive urban renewal in the late 1950s and early ’60s and many historic buildings were replaced with modernist architecture that still predominates, including Charles Goodman’s 1962 barrel-roofed townhouses of aluminum and glass. (Photo by HomeVisit) Wheat Row was saved and incorporated into the Harbour Square Cooperative, a complex of townhouses and apartments built in 1964. As part of the cooperative, access to the indoor pool, fitness center and roof deck convey with ownership. The $2,874 fee includes exterior maintenance, property taxes, underlying mortgage ($19,843), utilities (water, electric, gas, heat, cable and Internet) and snow and trash removal.


Where cats are more popular than dogs in the U.S.—and all over the world

While humans have managed to domesticate dogs, and in doing so, alter their DNA, we haven't had quite the same effect on the cat genome. Make what you will of that. Dog lovers and cat lovers, respectively, certainly will—they have long argued over the relative merits of their respective pet preferences. This piece, originally published in July, paints a comprehensive picture of where dog and cat owners live around the world, in case you find yourself in, say, Latin America, and on the verge of saying something you might regret about the relative merits of raising a puppy. W Here in the U.S., slightly more households own dogs than own cats. But Euromonitor’s numbers show that in terms of raw population, cats outnumber dogs to the tune of 2 million (the number is closer to 4 million, by the American Veterinary Medical Association's estimate). Why? One simple explanation is that cats are more compact. You can fit more cats in a house than you can, say, golden retrievers. (You can also geolocate a lot of them, which is fun, but entirely besides the point.) At the state level in the U.S., cats outnumber dogs in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Dogs are the favorite in the South and Southwest. The most dog-friendly state is Arkansas, where dogs outnumber cats 1.35-to-1. At the other end of the spectrum stands Massachusetts with 1.87 cats for every dog. "A lot of that simply has to do with population density," Jared Koerten, a pet industry analyst at Euromonitor, said in an interview. "Many cities just aren't that dog-friendly." Still, overall, most states have a pretty balanced cat-dog ratio. Around the world the story is quite different. Euromonitor gave us estimates of the pet dog and cat populations in 54 countries, and some show a stark dog/cat divide. In India, for instance, pet dogs outnumber cats 10-to-1. Dogs enjoy a 2.5-to-1 advantage in China. On the other hand, cats outnumber dogs 3-to-1 in Switzerland, Austria and Turkey. Overall, cats are the favored pet in most of Western Europe, with the exception of Spain, Portugal and Ireland. South America is strictly dog country, as is much of Asia. "Some regions, like the Middle East and part of Africa, have an especially long-standing appreciation of cats," Koerten said. "In Latin America it's the complete opposite. Dogs are part of family life there." World pet populations also appear


Uber shut down in Nevada. Plus: The Charles Darwin Foundation may not survive

A guide to the leaders who failed Ferguson and the avoidable mistakes made. Uber suspended operations in Nevada on Wednesday after a judge granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction. Egypt is bracing for an uprising. A new study has concluded that teenagers’ brains “shut down” when hearing criticism from mom. Here’s what U.S. astronaut Barry Wilmore, currently aboard the I.S.S., ate for Thanksgiving: The makers of Subsys, a prescription-only, addictive painkiller, paid a lot of money to shady doctors. Way fewer Scottish teens are hitting the bottle. The Charles Darwin Foundation, which focuses on conserving the Galápagos Islands, could be bankrupt by the end of the year Thailand has blocked web access to a Human Rights Watch report critical of the country’s military junta. On Thanksgiving, it appeared that the Syrian Electronic Army had hacked a number of large sites, A store in Beijing has banned Chinese customers. Deep frying a turkey isn’t as simple as everyone thinks.


Calorie counts won’t fight obesity, Skyline chili boss says. Just productivity.

Coneys,” the store’s Facebook page proclaimed Monday. “They come for the atmosphere,” Keilholz said. “They come because when you grow up around here, sooner or later your parents will drag you to Skyline and you learn at a young age to just love it.” The new FDA rules will cost the company time and resources, he said. And for what? Health-conscious customers can find Skyline’s calorie counts online. “We’re known for our chili — not for our salads. We’re successful in the niche that we fill. If you try to be everything to everybody, you sacrifice your product. Your quality.” Diners ripped from ignorant bliss can thank Obamacare. The rules are part of the Affordable Care Act’s push to curb obesity in America, where a third of calories are devoured outside the home. This country of brunchers and craft beer chuggers and orderers of Taco Bell’s Fourth Meal has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, according to the OECD. Labeled menus will help consumers make more informed food decisions, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg told reporters this week — and by extension boost public health. Obesity increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart attacks, the CDC warns. The FDA’s idea: Knowledge is health power. A survey published in the American Journal of Public Health showed Americans underestimate the caloric content of restaurant foods by an average of 600 calories, Wonkblog’s Jason Millman noted. That’s a meal’s worth of misjudgment. Starting next year, detailed nutritional information will appear at coffee shops, pizza joints, movies theaters — any food-seller with more than 20 locations. Skyline has more than 130 stores. The FDA first issued the proposals in 2011. Debate about what food should be subject to the rules — and backlash from pizza places, theater chains and consumer advocates — stalled progress. Some business owners worried labeling menus would be a time-consuming process that could ultimately drive up costs for customers. “It was much more complicated than we originally thought it would be,” Hamburg told the Post. Four years ago, as the FDA polished its sweeping requirements, Stanford researchers studied the impact of mandatory calorie posting on purchase decisions at Starbucks stores across New York City. Food purchases slightly dipped, they found, but business overall didn’t suffer. Drink orders remained consistent. The staple lattes still reigned. The mocha sauce kept flowing. Nothing substantial will change at Skyline,


The rules are part of the Affordable Care Act’s push to curb obesity in America, where a third of calories are devoured outside the home. This country of brunchers and craft beer chuggers and orderers of Taco Bell’s Fourth Meal has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, according to the OECD. Labeled menus will help consumers make more informed food decisions, FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg told reporters this week — and by extension boost public health. Obesity increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart attacks, the CDC warns. The FDA’s idea: Knowledge is health power. A survey published in the American Journal of Public Health showed Americans underestimate the caloric content of restaurant foods by an average of 600 calories, Wonkblog’s Jason Millman noted. That’s a meal’s worth of misjudgment. Starting next year, detailed nutritional information will appear at coffee shops, pizza joints, movies theaters — any food-seller with more than 20 locations. Skyline has more than 130 stores. The FDA first issued the proposals in 2011. Debate about what food should be subject to the rules — and backlash from pizza places, theater chains and consumer advocates — stalled progress. Some business owners worried labeling menus would be a time-consuming process that could ultimately drive up costs for customers. “It was much more complicated than we originally thought it would be,” Hamburg told the Post. Four years ago, as the FDA polished its sweeping requirements, Stanford researchers studied the impact of mandatory calorie posting on purchase decisions at Starbucks stores across New York City. Food purchases slightly dipped, they found, but business overall didn’t suffer. Drink orders remained consistent. The staple lattes still reigned. The mocha sauce kept flowing. Nothing substantial will change at Skyline, Keilholz predicts. He watched it grow from one Cincinnati store to dozens across the Midwest and Florida. The same formula has worked, he said, since 1945. His first job in high school was serving chili at the original store, where Keilholz met his future wife, Cynthia, the granddaughter of Skyline’s founder. Their grown son Chris will eventually take over the Dayton franchise. Keilholz sees no need for calorie labels. He knows exactly what goes into each greasy, cheesy dish.“I still eat the chili every day,” he says. “I’m hanging in there. The doctor says I’m okay.” Calories, he suspects, will be the least-read items on the little-read menus.


Our planet may be on the verge of its sixth mass extinction

were vastly higher; one group of experts puts them at 500,000, and Mass Extinction uses the number 400,000. Either way, that's a 90 percent or more decline. The lion numbers, stark as they are, are pretty solid, says Anthony Barnosky, a biologist at the University of California-Berkeley who is featured in the film, and who authored the book Dodging Extinction: Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth. "We know that from historic records of where lions used to be, and where they clearly are not any more. So it’s a combination of using the historical data about what we know distributions were over the past couple of centuries, combined with some very detailed studies, censuses of how many lions are out there in known populations over the past half century." The chief cause of lion declines? "Indiscriminate killing in defense of life and livestock, coupled with prey base depletion," says the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which has the African lion on its "red list" of threatened species. African lions aren't unique. A similar story, according to Barnosky, could be told about tigers, rhinos, and any number of other species. "We have killed about 50 percent of the world’s vertebrate wildlife in just the past 40 years," he says. "We've killed half the numbers of individuals. We've fished 90 percent of the fish out of the seas. So these are big things we’re doing to the world." Mass Extinction In each of these cases, the global extinction was caused not only by an immediate dramatic event, but by its subsequent effect on the planet's oceans and atmospheres. The asteroid impact led to so much smoke in the atmosphere that the sun's radiation was cut down dramatically, leading to great climatic changes. And the dramatic vulcanism that ended the Permian triggered global warming and ocean acidification by putting lots of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In other words, these past extinctions have been tied to dramatic changes in the global climate. That is not the principal cause of the current extinction -- yet. So far, we've been threatening species by taking their habitat away for farming and for our growing populations. But global warming may now act on top of that. "It's like adding a match to gasoline," says Barnosky. You can watch a preview of Mass Extinction below: Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink: Sneak Peek


USAJobs revamp to consider job seeker’s ’emotional’ experience, program manager says

(USAJobs.gov) Through its makeover of USAJobs.gov, a federal employment board, the Office of Personnel Management is trying to fix basic a problem that candidates have complained about for years: It’s simply too hard to apply for jobs. That’s the conclusion of the digital team running the facelift that OPM has dubbed “USAJobs 2.0,” which will start showing some new features in early 2015, according to program manager Michelle Earley, who spoke to The Washington Post about the project last week. “We’re coming at it from an emotional and behavior standpoint,” said Earley, who came to OPM two years ago from Northrop Grumman. “That’s what’s informing our roadmap: How to take some of the mystery out of federal hiring.” Among the problems that were underscored in four months of focus groups OPM conducted with job candidates in and outside government are a disconnect between job seekers and the vacancy announcements they’re finding on the site, Earley said. For example, the job is often described in government-speak. It doesn’t clearly state the qualifications applicants need to apply. Even the application deadlines are not clearly stated up front. “There’s not a common language between a hiring manager and a job seeker,” she said. “Things get lost in translation in the announcement. The most relevant pieces are lost.” The makeover comes as hiring managers are increasingly focused on recruiting fresh talent to government, particularly in hard-to-fill science, engineering and math positions and to backfill thousands of jobs vacated by retiring civil servants. “We want to put in the technology that will help match jobs with candidates a lot better,” Earley said. This focus, finally, on the user experience is sure to be welcome news to candidates trying to navigate the arduous road to federal employment. It remains to be seen whether the process will take less time, or applicants will hear from a real person in weeks, rather than the months it often takes to receive a form letter telling them they didn’t get the job. But Earley says she and her staff have high hopes that the changes will improve the process. For example, when candidates upload their resumes to the site, the system will be able to scan the job announcements and make a match. “So when you might be looking for a software development position but the government calls it an IT specialist, the computer will be able to tell that


Examining the U.S. military’s long, weird ‘Star Wars’ fascination

Associated Press reported in February, noting the project’s development. Jedis and stormtroopers on U.S. bases Installation residents and their children dress as their favorite characters during “Star Wars” Day at the Harriotte B. Smith Library aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, May 4. (Photo by Cpl. Charles Clark/ Marine Corps) That is clearly a Jedi in training. New York Air National Guard Staff Sgt. James Bavarro, an aircraft armament system specialist with the 106th Rescue Wing, is shown in his Star Wars Clone Trooper armor during a portrait session on July 26, 2014. (Photo by Senior Airman Christopher S. Muncy/ U.S. Air National Guard) In another example this year, the New York Air National Guard released a feature story about an airman who was involved in the 501st Legion, a Star Wars re-enactors group. Staff Sgt. James Bavaro got the urge to wear an Imperial Clone Trooper outfit just before deploying to Afghanistan for the first time, he said. “My roommate threw me a going away party before I deployed,” Bavaro said. “A couple of guys from the 501st showed up in costume. After that, I knew I wanted to be a member. So my buddy Eric gave me a suit so I could get in.” He is pictured at right. The Pentagon has its own Yoda Andrew W. Marshall, 93, is expected to retire as the head of the Office of Net Assessment, in January, according to a Defense News report. He founded the Pentagon’s internal think in 1973, and has stuck around for more than four decades since, earning him the nickname Yoda. The future of the think tank was considered in question last year, as defense officials assessed how to cut the Defense Department budget. It survived, but Marshall has still decided it is time to step down, Defense News reported. The original Star Wars program The Strategic Defense Initiative was designed to intercept enemy nuclear missiles, rather than having the United States rely solely on the threat of massive retaliation to deter a nuclear attack. Funding for it was reduced at the end of the Cold War, and it was eventually reorganized to focus on ballistic missile defense. The Star Wars nickname for Reagan’s plan was not all positive. Critics — including some in the Pentagon — called it that to make it clear they thought his vision was unaffordable and too futuristic to ever work.