D.C. community calendar, March 6-13, 2014

Sunday, MARCH 9 Counterterrorism talk, Michael Leiter, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and now Senior Counselor to Palantir Technologies, discusses our need to rethink counterterrorism in the post-Bin Laden and post-Snowden age. 10 a.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, 1525 H St. NW. Free. 202-347-8766 or www.stjohns-dc.org/. Capital Orcjestra Festival 2014, 4 North American youth orchestras perform works by Brahms, Bloch, Mendelssohn, Williams and others. Kennedy Center, Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW. Free. 800-395-2036. Community day of education on Israeli Arab issues, Portrait story days: women’s history month, Kennedy Center Chamber Players in concert, Operatic soprano recital, acclaimed Italian soprano Martina Bortolotti and Ukrainian pianist Alina Kiryayeva perform a selection of operatic works. 3 p.m., Smithsonian American Art Museum, McEvoy Auditorium, Eighth and F streets NW. Free tickets available at 2:30pm in the museum’s G St lobby. 202-633-1000. Afternoon asanas, Chevy Chase choral concert, Cathedral pipe organ recital, What makes it great?, Family Night: Blacks in Wax, Classical piano recital, “Cupcakes,” the Washington premiere of a comedy film directed by Israel’s Eytan Fox, about a group of friends who accidentally enter a Eurovision-style musical contest and their struggle to navigate the sharp elbows of the pop music business. A closing reception for the Washington Jewish Film Festival follows. 7:30 p.m., Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. $25. 888-718-4253. www.wjff.org. Smithsonian Chamber Players in concert, Monday, march 10 Tax help SE, Therapeutic yoga classes for cancer patients, Corrin Bennett and Alaina Sadick lead patients, survivors and their caregivers. 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. Mondays and 5:30-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St. NW. $25/month. 202-483-8600 or www.smithcenter.org. U.S. Botanic Garden lunchtime tour, volunteers lead a tour of plants and discuss what manila folders, Chanel No. 5, vanilla and fossil fuels have in common; a discussion of possible breakthroughs in medicinal plant research. Noon Monday and Wednesday, U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Free. 202-225-8333. Knitwits knitting group, Tax help NW, SW, Mental health and HIV confidential group, for people with HIV and mental-health challenges. Transportation tokens and refreshments provided. 3:30 p.m. Mondays. Sponsored by MetroHealth. 1012 14th St. NW. Free. 202-638-0750. Chess Club, instruction open to children and teens. 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Woodridge Library, 1801 Hamlin St. NE. Free. 202-541-6226. Knitting and crocheting, Yoga class, taught by a representative from Yoga Activist, geared toward beginners but all are welcome.


Army’s top sex-crimes prosecutor faces groping allegation

The Army is investigating its top sex-crimes prosecutor on allegations that he groped a female lawyer at a sexual-assault conference in 2011, Army officials disclosed Thursday. Lt. Col. Joseph Morse, who supervises 23 other special-victims prosecutors for the Army, was recently placed under criminal investigation after the female lawyer reported the alleged 2011 incident, officials said. News of the case was first reported Thursday by Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that covers military affairs. Morse has not been charged in the case, but the revelation is the latest blow to the Pentagon as it struggles to cope with what some leaders have acknowledged is a epidemic of sexual assaults in the ranks. News of the investigation surfaced just hours before the Senate was scheduled to vote on bills that would impose major changes in military law to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes. One of the bills would strip authority from commanders to oversee the prosecution of sexual assault and instead give that power to full-time military prosecutors. Proponents have argued that military prosecutors are better trained to decide which cases should go forward and would be more likely to pursue complaints. The Pentagon has strongly resisted the bill, saying that commanders need to retain their legal authorities to ensure good order and discipline in the ranks. The investigation of Morse could give ammunition to both sides. Victim advocacy groups and some lawmakers have said that the armed forces are too lax on sex crimes and that major legal reforms are necessary. But other lawmakers, and many commanders, say that giving more power to prosecutors won’t fix the problem. The Army declined to comment publicly on the Stars and Stripes report. But two Army officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Morse was under investigation after a female lawyer who once worked for him reported that he groped her in a hotel room during a sexual-assault conference in Alexandria, Va. Morse is chief of the Army’s trial counsel assistant program, which is based at Fort Belvoir, Va., and trains prosecutors throughout the Army. He also oversees nearly two-dozen special-victim prosecutors who focus on sex crimes, domestic violence and crimes against children. Morse did not immediately return a phone call to his Fort Belvoir office seeking comment. Last year, the chief of the Air Force’s sexual-assault prevention program was charged with assaulting a woman outside a bar in


National Zoo’s longest-serving keeper bids farewell

doing nothing except being nonthreatening. No mask, no gloves. Back then, this was acceptable zookeeper behavior — interaction not initiated or welcomed by the animal. William would brachiate around in the farthest corner from Kessler, swinging limb to limb, elaborately ignoring the 130-pound human in the room. Over the course of a week, William came closer and closer, until his feet would brush his keeper’s head as he swung by. Eventually he would put his head on Kessler’s sweatshirt and go to sleep. There’s a picture with William’s arms around Kessler’s head. One thing he will miss David Kessler kisses an Aldabra giant tortoise in this undated photo. (Courtesy of the National Zoo) Twelve years ago, Thirty-six years ago he called his psychiatrist to say he had everything ready to commit a tidy, no-fuss suicide, just a hose and towels in a car exhaust pipe. His doctor had him hospitalized for four days. Then, at 27, he taught himself to be happy. “You learn from evolution, from animals. If you have a strategy that doesn’t work, change your strategy.” His new strategy was to avoid introspection. Completely. “Working with animals made me start thinking about other things more. And when I was able to start thinking about other animals more, I was able to include humans in that group.” Understanding William the gibbon, for example, and building his trust, was a big “breakthrough with myself.” “The real change was Patricia,” he says. “But I probably couldn’t be with her if I hadn’t been working with animals.” According to dominant psychology and philosophy, introspection is the key to living right. But Kessler’s unexamined life is the only kind he wants to live. For obvious reasons, it’s difficult for him to explain how he stopped being introspective. Working with animals is one way, but there were others. When he worked alone off-exhibit, he narrated his novels in his head. He noticed that closing certain doors in the building was musical, producing two notes, a seventh interval: the first two notes of a song from “West Side Story”: “Somewhere.” Kessler takes out the trash for the last time. (Logan Mock-Bunting/For The Washington Post) Sometimes he needs It turns out Molly wants a belly rub on Kessler’s last day, after he has finally gotten rid of all the people and sneaks off to see her. Afterward, he keeps putting off leaving, until his shift


When it comes to sexual assault, the military keeps coming up with new ways to appall us

The examples are becoming too ridiculous to ignore, don’t you think? On Thursday, the military’s sexual assault morass was on display on both shores of the Potomac River. On the Virginia side, Pentagon officials admitted that the Army’s top man in charge of prosecuting sexual assault is being investigated for allegedly groping and trying to kiss a lawyer at — of all places — a conference on sexual assault. Crazy, right? Meanwhile, on the D.C. side of the river, the Senate decided that nah, the country doesn’t need a dramatic overhaul in the way the military handles sex assault cases. It’s all good, the majority agreed. Wonder what those senators make of Lt. Col. Joseph Morse, who also supervises a cadre of other special-victims prosecutors for the Army. These lawyers handle the really sensitive stuff, including domestic violence and child abuse. Morse is the guy who stood up in some of the Army’s darkest days recently, laying out the devastating case against a fellow soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar province. But not long before that trial, a female lawyer said Morse groped her and tried to kiss her in an Alexandria hotel room at the conference on sexual assault. Army officials verified the existence of the criminal investigation of Morse. This sounds depressingly similar to what happened last May, when Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was arrested outside a Crystal City bar’s Cinco de Mayo party for an alleged sexual assault. At the time, Krusinski was — yes — the guy in charge of the Air Force’s program to prevent sexual assaults. The charges against Krusinski were changed to assault, and a jury acquitted him. But not before the Pentagon tried to take his case away from Arlington County prosecutors. Which brings us back to the vote that unfolded in the Senate on Thursday. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was pushing to remove sex-crime investigations and punishment from the chain of command — a proposal strongly opposed by the Pentagon brass. They resisted despite the fact that, according to their own research, there were an estimated 26,000 victims of sexual assault in 2012, and about 86 percent of the victims didn’t report the attacks because they feared retaliation or punishment. Despite those numbers, guess who won the battle on the Senate floor? Only 54 senators voted for Gillibrand’s plan. She needed 60 for the bill to pass. And


Senate rejects further revamp of how Pentagon handles sex assault cases

enough. We know that the deck is stacked against victims of sexual assault in the military today — and today, sadly, we saw the same in the halls of Congress.” Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a group that backed the proposal, said its rejection was “a missed opportunity” for senators to further address concerns about sexual violence in the ranks. “They have turned their back on veterans and servicemembers who pushed for reform,” he said in a statement. A separate, more modest proposal by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) cleared a Senate procedural vote Thursday and is expected to be approved Monday night. The votes came only hours after the Army said it is investigating its top sex-crimes prosecutor on allegations that he groped a female lawyer at a sexual-assault conference in 2011. Lt. Col. Joseph Morse, who supervises 23 other special-victims prosecutors for the Army, has not been charged in the case but was recently placed under criminal investigation after the female lawyer reported the alleged 2011 incident, officials said. News of the case was first reported Thursday by Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that covers military affairs. The Army declined to comment publicly on the report. But two Army officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation has not been completed, confirmed that Morse was under investigation after a female lawyer who once worked for him reported that he groped her in a hotel room during a sexual-assault conference in Alexandria. Morse is chief of the Army’s trial counsel assistant program, which is based at Fort Belvoir, and trains prosecutors throughout the Army. He also oversees nearly two dozen special-victim prosecutors who focus on sex crimes, domestic violence and crimes against children. He did not return a phone call Thursday to his Fort Belvoir office seeking comment. The revelation is just the latest blow to the Pentagon as it struggles to cope with what some leaders have acknowledged is an epidemic of sexual assaults in the ranks. In response, Congress voted last year to dramatically overhaul the military’s legal system by ending the statute of limitations on cases of sexual assault or rape and stripping military commanders of the ability to overturn jury convictions in sexual assault and rape cases, among dozens of other reforms. Gillibrand chairs a Senate Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel and led the charge for bolder changes


David Ignatius: Pushing Putin to change course

their allies who are threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty. Since no individuals or companies are yet named, the sanctions gun is unloaded for now. The message to Putin was that the further he moves to annex Crimea, the more he risks economic damage to himself and friends, as well as to Russia. A collection of Tom Toles cartoons about international news. Obama’s bet on Putin’s rational willingness to compromise is a long shot, it must be said. Putin is an autocratic leader with a dangerous nostalgia for the Soviet empire. But Obama views him as a “transactional” leader who will make a deal at the right price. By imposing real costs, Obama is backing Putin toward a corner, but he is also backing himself in: He is publicly committed to forcing a Russian retreat. Obama, perhaps stung by conservative criticism that his foreign policy has been weak and vacillating, has in this crisis adopted a strategy of measured escalation. The aim, an administration official explained Thursday morning, is to “calibrate sanctions based on what the Russians do.” The strategy has three legs: First, the administration seeks to impose “costs” for the Russian intervention; this was essential after Putin’s humiliating rebuff of Obama’s warning last Friday against such action. The harshest sanctions have been levied by the financial markets, but Thursday’s announcement of Treasury and State Department measures adds some teeth. Just 24 hours earlier, the White House wasn’t sure if such additional measures would backfire. The strategy assumes that for Putin’s Russia, which was so obviously hungry for validation at the Sochi Olympics, the prospect of international diplomatic and financial ostracism is a real penalty. Second, the United States mobilized its NATO allies to prevent further Russian expansion in the region. I’m told by some at the Pentagon that several dozen measures have already been adopted, including new NATO exercises and U.S. visits. The message is that Putin’s actions are bringing precisely the outcome he least wanted, in which Russia’s neighbors are moving closer to the United States and NATO. Finally, Obama has kept the exit door open, even as he tries to push Putin through. This combination of sanctions and diplomacy helped yield the breakthrough interim nuclear agreement with Iran, and Obama is attempting a similar maneuver. U.S. officials who still think a deal with Putin is possible point to what a Post headline called his “strange, rambling press conference” on


Making Russia pay for its actions in Ukraine

during its recent banking crisis. The U.S. Treasury could lead the isolation of those Russian banks or institutions facilitating criminal activity and sanctions evasion, underwriting missile and chemical trade with Syria’s Assad regime and doing business with Belarus and North Korea. We could use Section 311 of the Patriot Act to name specific banks or classes of Russian business transactions as “primary money laundering concerns.” Companies selling missile-defense technology to countries such as Syria and Iran could be sanctioned, too. All of this could be matched with pressure globally to suspend or cancel Russian military and security contracts. Pivoting from the European list published this week, financial institutions could heighten scrutiny on Ukrainian and Russian corruption, especially “politically exposed persons” tied to the Yanukovych and Putin regimes. The global anti-kleptocracy system could actively be used to find leaders’ assets hidden outside of Russia. Such measures would get the attention of leaders and supporting oligarchs. Finally, the United States could expand the list of human rights violators under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act. These measures could lead to a broad indictment of Russian illicit financial activity and the integrity of Russia’s system. All of this would impact Russia’s ability to access the global banking and trade systems, imposing direct transactional, investment and reputational costs. Putin knows that his country is vulnerable, which explains some of his moves in recent years to reduce reliance on the dollar in international trade and finance. Taking off the financial gloves would make clear that Russia is risking its long-term economic strength and legitimacy. But these steps would not be without complications. At a time of weak economic growth, there would be costs on Europe, which relies on Russian energy, trade and investment. Distinguishing between legitimate and illicit financial activity would prove difficult. And if we use the same playbook against Russia that the United States has used against rogue actors in the past, there is no going back. The Russian financial system would be tainted. Once unleashed, these kinds of conduct-based financial tools are difficult to unwind if a diplomatic solution is reached. Ultimately, the United States would be moving to isolate a country that it has tried for the past decade to make a partner in the global effort to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. This could undermine cooperation on the financial isolation of Iran, North Korea and other rogue


Chinese officials debate why China can’t make a soap opera as good as South Korea’s

Kim Soo-Hyun and Jeon Ji-Hyun attend the SBS Drama 'My Love From The Stars' Press Conference at SBS Broadcasting Center on December 16, 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by The Chosunilbo JNS/Multi-Bits via Getty Images) (The Chosunilbo JNS/The Chosunilbo JNS/Multi-Bits via Getty Images) BEIJING — So when the country’s two highest governing bodies met in Beijing this week, what was the burning issue on the delegates’ lips? A South Korean soap opera that has taken the country by storm. To be fair, it’s hard to overstate just how popular this show is these days. After the show’s female lead mentioned “beer and fried chicken” in one episode, it became one of the most invoked phrases online. Restaurants cashed in and started selling beer-and-fried-chicken meals. One pregnant woman from Jiangsu, a province in eastern China, almost had a miscarriage, according to news reports, after she stayed up too many nights binge-watching and eating fried chicken and beer. The show’s name translated in English is “My Love from the Star.” It has garnered more than 2.5 billion views online and has shot up to the top of the country’s viewership. (A taste of the drama, with English subtitles, is available here.) Its premise may seem bizarre to Western soap watchers: It’s about an alien who accidentally arrives on Earth 400 years ago, meets an arrogant female pop star and falls in love. Well aware of the craze the drama has created in China, one committee of China’s political advisory body (called the CPPCC) spent a whole morning bemoaning why China can’t make a show as good and as big of a hit. At a meeting of delegates from the culture and entertainment industry, some blamed it partly on China’s censorship, euphemistically referred to as the “examination and approval system” at the meeting by Feng Xiaogang, a famous director and a CPPCC member. “My heart trembles,” he said, when waiting for a movie to go through this rigorous censoring procedure. “My wings and imagination are all broken,” said one comedian delegate. But she didn’t go into further detail, perhaps out of caution of offending those very censors. Many viewed the popularity of the Korean drama as a heavy blow to Chinese confidence in their culture. “It is more than just a Korean soap opera. It hurts our culture dignity,”one CPPCC member said. It’s not the first time popular foreign entertainment has led


Putin rebuffs Obama on Ukraine, says Russia ‘cannot ignore calls for help’

he considered the sanctions a “threat,” but that Kerry had assured him that lists of targets do not exist. “We have made suggestions to Foreign Minister Lavrov,” Kerry said, and “we agreed to stay in close touch in order to see whether there is a way forward to try to get to the negotiating table.” The crisis in Ukraine largely overshadowed a gathering in Rome initially called to discuss strengthening the government in Libya. Senior administration officials acknowledged that they have not determined who would be subject to the asset freezes outlined in Obama’s order. Instead, an official said the prospect of sanctions “should be leading people in Russia and people in Crimea to be asking whether or not they’re going to see their names in the designation.” The administration will impose costs for what the Russians “have already done in Crimea,” an official said, but the main purpose of the measure appeared to be to pressure Russia to open talks with the Ukrainian government and refrain from expanding its troop presence into Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. “It also gives us flexibility” to expand the measures in the event of further Russian actions, the senior official said. Administration officials previously said sanctions would not apply to Putin or other top Russian officials. “It is an unusual and extraordinary circumstance to sanction a head of state, and we would not begin our designations by doing so,” the official said. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to focus attention on public statements by Obama and Kerry. The authorized sanctions allow the Treasury Department to freeze all U.S. or U.S.-controlled assets of any person or entity who led or assisted efforts to undermine the security or territorial integrity of Ukraine, or asserted control over any part of Ukraine without the authorization of the government in Kiev. The sanctions are the toughest measure yet as the United States and its European allies took steps to show their disapproval of Russia’s military moves in Crimea. Europeans have been divided between those major countries with significant economic equities in Russia and Eastern European governments that fear a Soviet-style expansion by Russia. “The discussions were stormy,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after the E.U. meeting. “Maybe not everybody will be satisfied, but we achieved more than could have been expected just a few hours ago.” British Prime Minister David Cameron said that if talks


‘Cosmos’: A fond return to the vastness of space

Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts “Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey.” (Patrick Eccelsine//FOX) When astronomer Carl Sagan’s landmark PBS series “Cosmos” first aired in the fall of 1980, the Voyager 1 spacecraft was flying past Saturn and its moons, sending back astonishing images of worlds never seen up close. Some 33 years later, both Sagan and Voyager 1 (and its mate, Voyager 2) have left the realm of the reachable. He died in 1996, and, sooner rather than later, we’ll lose the faint communications from the resilient Voyagers as they travel into interstellar space. As just about everyone knows, each craft bears a human greatest-hits disc of our languages, music and understanding of numbers, among other assorted audio-visual samples of Earth’s inhabitants. The thought of anyone or anything ever finding and playing the disc inspires great wonder; just as much, the thought of our little gizmos floating off forever into eternity brings on a chilling sense of loneliness. To both soothe and stoke those feelings, “Cosmos” is back Sunday night (airing on Fox and then repeating on Monday nights on the National Geographic Channel). It’s a 13-episode remake/update lovingly shepherded by Sagan’s widow, Ann Druyan, who worked on the original series, and hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a worthy heir to Sagan’s legacy, even if he doesn’t quite possess Sagan’s natural ability to captivate viewers. Though only one episode was made available for review, this new “Cosmos” arrives just when we seem to need it most. Hardly a day goes by where the news feed doesn’t produce some freshly galling example of intellectual backsliding, with age-old fights resuming over science textbooks and religious intrusions on education and governing. To borrow that Max von Sydow line from Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters”: If Sagan returned to Earth on his interstellar Ship of the Imagination today, he might never stop throwing up. He’d see evidence of climate change. He’d read polls that find nearly half of Americans don’t buy evolution. He’d see creationist museums and theme parks. This 2014 “Cosmos” has its work cut out for it, to say the least, in a far different context than Sagan’s series did. “This adventure is made possible by generations of searchers strictly adhering to a simple set of rules,” Tyson tells viewers in a carefully but beautifully phrased invitation to have an open mind. “Test ideas by experiment and observation; build on those ideas that


As talk of Russia sanctions heats up, business draws a cautionary line

into Ukraine. The White House took an initial step Thursday, freezing assets and denying visas to some Russian officials, while the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a nonbinding resolution that condemns Russia’s intervention and calls for sanctions on senior Russian Federation officials, state-owned banks and other state agencies. The resolution also calls on the United States to promote increased natural gas exports to Ukraine. That approach — seen as a way to help free the country from reliance on Russian gas — has drawn increased attention this week, but environmentalists and U.S. firms that depend on the inexpensive fuel supply oppose the idea. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to consider its own Ukraine legislation next week, said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the panel’s chairman. Broad sanctions face not only pushback from U.S. business but also practical problems, given Russia’s deepening connections to world energy and financial markets. Sanctions that target the energy sector, for example, might damage Russia the most, but they could also drive up global prices and undermine an already weak global economic recovery. Targeting the financial sector, similarly, could damage U.S. and European banks with hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian loans and investments on the line — and even then prove ineffective unless major Asian financial centers also abide by sanctions. For companies that trade with or invest in Russia, recent events are a shock that comes only a year after top business leaders lobbied intensively for Congress to lift the last Cold War-era trade restrictions on the country — a step they wanted in order to take advantage of Russia’s new membership in the World Trade Organization. Former U.S. ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul, in a conference call Friday, mentioned companies vulnerable to sanctions. He said for Severstal, “a well-respected [Russian] steel company with lots of investments in the U.S. and Europe, this can’t be good news for you.” And he noted that Exxon Mobil “has just signed up for what would be the biggest venture in the history of capitalism” with Russia’s Rosneft and said the company has “got to be very nervous.” But, McFaul added, “having said all that, I also think that Putin will be ready to make those economic sacrifices if he wants to go forward with this annexation strategy.” U.S.-Russia Business Council representatives met with White House national security staff Wednesday, while the NFTC and individual companies have


Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Russian music is uneven

Our government may be pondering economic sanctions against Russia, but our musical institutions continue to feature the country’s music prominently. Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra offered works by Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich on Thursday evening, featuring Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. The violinist is a frequent BSO guest, and she and Alsop have a close working relationship. Salerno-Sonnenberg is an acquired taste. Her grimacing and jazz-musician performance schtick no longer bother me; lots of soloists make spectacles of themselves these days, and I’m getting good at tuning it out if the music-making is still of high quality. But Salerno-Sonnenberg’s performance art often overwhelms the composition, as it did in her Tchaikovsky Concerto a couple of seasons back. The Shostakovich A Minor Concerto here was much more palatable. The two fast movements were frightening, hell-for-leather battles with the orchestra, Salerno-Sonnenberg’s virtuosity emerging victorious. The two slow movements suffered from her need to “say something” on every note — building long, coherent phrases doesn’t interest her — but Alsop created a spooky spider web around her in the Nocturne, and the playing somehow fit the atmosphere. The concert opened, inexplicably, with the Rachmaninoff “Vocalise” in the composer’s gooey arrangement. With all the great Russian orchestra music out there, Alsop could only come up with this wilted, overplayed flower? The applause barely lasted long enough to get her offstage. The same composer’s “Symphonic Dances” was a different matter. Although the work goes downhill a little after a particularly brilliant opening movement, it is still an intoxicating romp for both players and listeners. Alsop and the BSO were at their best, digging into the muscular tunes and blazing fanfares with a spirit and energy that carried over into the Shostakovich encore, the final dance from his ballet “Bolt.” Battey is a freelance writer. Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. (Christian Steiner)


HP CEO Whitman talks competition, Chromebooks

Attendees arrive for the HP Discover 2013 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. At the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference this week, Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman discussed the company’s recent performance. This week Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman took the stage at Morgan Stanley’s Technology Conference for a question-and-answer session, during which she discussed the company’s performance in personal computer sales, printing and Chromebooks. Whitman noted that the company was regaining stability in its PC segment, a few years after it considered selling the division in 2011. “What I have learned about this business through our own tough experience in August of 2011 is instability is not our friend,” Whitman said. “What we saw when we might be getting out of the PC business in August of 2011, that shook the confidence of the [distribution] channel.” In the most recent quarter, HP reported 4 percent revenue growth in personal systems — which includes desktop PCs. This was the first quarter of growth in seven quarters, mostly driven by commercial notebooks sales. (It reported a total revenue of $28.2 billion in the first quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, down 1 percent from the previous year.) “I have to say we look like the paragon of stability in the industry right now, and so we aim to capitalize on that,” Whitman said. But she said she expected Lenovo to be a strong competitor over the long term, as well as IBM. Though pressure on the PC segment forced HP to consider selling, it also prompted the company to adapt to new technology, Whitman said. “We had to align our cost structure to revenue, we had to decide what the strategy of the company was, we had to embrace what I call the new style of IT, whether that’s the movement to the cloud, or big data or security, or our next generation compute.” She also said she anticipated printing — especially technology enabling users to print from their smartphones — could drive business for HP. “This is going to be a slow to low growth business, but a business where we are a market leader,” she said. In the most recent quarter, printing hardware for business units showed growth since the previous quarter — bringing in $5.8 billion, down about 2 percent since the previous year. Later, Whitman noted HP’s line of Chromebooks, laptops using Google’s


U.S., Afghan military try to get out the vote, prevent Taliban disruption of key election

President Hamid Karzai sought to explain why he has been such a harsh critic of the 12-year American war effort in Afghanistan. But as they would discover trekking across a constellation of Taliban-controlled villages over several days, many rural residents are deeply afraid of voting. The Taliban has joined the battle over the elections; while its fighters normally retire to Pakistan to rest during the snowy winter, this year some lower-level insurgents have continued to attack, aiming to deter potential voters. Late last month, the Taliban killed 21 Afghan soldiers at a remote base in eastern Kunar province, in a clear demonstration to the public that they are not ceding ground. And, while the Afghan military has become increasingly competent, there is still little sign of police forces, public schools or other government services in the Taliban-dominated areas. “There is no government presence here, so these people have to shake the hand of the Taliban,” said Gen. Mohammad Akram, the leader of the Afghan army’s Zabul-based brigade, who led the Afghan unit in the recent mission with the Americans. Still, he was hopeful. “If we can bring security, maybe some of them will vote.” ‘The Taliban will return’ Over the three-day mission, the Afghan military showed off their new technical skills. The soldiers conducted a mission using their own helicopters, a capability that surprised — and thrilled — even some Afghan soldiers. They searched squat, mud-brick homes in the village of Karemkhil and rounded up suspects more effectively than in previous months. They asked almost nothing of their American partners. The military forces intended to show citizens their superiority over the insurgency, and the helicopters were no doubt useful props. But many locals dismissed the soldiers as no more than a temporary presence, a reaction that frustrated some commanders. “The Taliban will return in the spring, and they will beat us if we vote,” said Abdul Rauf, a farmer in one village. “You can’t bring security here,” said Atiqullah, another villager, who like many Afghans goes by only one name. The Afghan soldiers knew that some of the villagers probably have placed roadside bombs or tacitly aided Taliban operations — either because of pressure from the insurgents or because they were paid. The troops corralled weather-beaten villagers into open areas between mud-brick homes and rattled off the reasons for voting. They listed the names of presidential candidates, many of them


In response to U.S. sanctions over Ukraine, Russia may freeze weapons inspections

the media suggesting that thugs from Kiev are about to invade the majority Russian-speaking Crimea. Troops in unmarked uniforms — who have told journalists they are Russians — have surrounded Ukrainian bases in Crimea. The Crimean parliament has voted to join Russia and called a referendum for next Sunday to confirm the decision. Many ethnic Russians in Crimea consider a return to Russia the righting of a historical wrong done when the region was given to Ukraine in 1954. Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, told reporters Saturday that Ukraine will never cede its claim to Crimea no matter what the outcome of the referendum. Lawmakers in the Russian parliament have said they consider the vote legitimate, and they will support Crimea’s return to Russia. “Crimea is and will be Ukrainian territory and we will not give up Crimea to anyone,” Deschytsia said. Last week, President Obama ordered financial and visa sanctions against officials connected to the events in Crimea, setting off defiant rhetoric in Russia, where some legislators have called for the seizure of property belonging to Western businesses. In a telephone call with U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Friday, Lavrov warned that any sanctions imposed on Russia would backfire, setting off sanctions in return. “Lavrov has warned against hasty and ill-considered steps capable of causing damage to the U.S.-Russian relations,” the Foreign Ministry said Friday, “especially sanctions that will inevitably hit the U.S. like a boomerang.” The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the West of trying to draw Ukraine into closer association with Europe, and said that in so doing it is disregarding the real wishes of the Ukrainian people. “We have witnessed a chain of events that shows that no means are too dirty for our partners,” one statement said last week. “The poorly cloaked attempts to turn a blind eye to the crimes committed in Kiev and in west Ukraine are accompanied by the close monitoring of the actions of the lawful Crimean authorities to independently choose a future for Crimea.” Kerry and Lavrov talked by phone again Saturday, saying they must keep the conversation going. “The minister and the secretary agreed to continue intensive contacts in order to facilitate the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,” the Foreign Ministry said. Russia has denied it is sending more troops into Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter drove behind a convoy of military trucks, some


The Central African Republic’s complex war, explained in the journey of a Muslim baby girl

Christian woman asked for the baby’s uncle. Some people went to find him. When Aalaji Yamsa arrived and identified himself, the woman handed him the infant and told him what happened. “Has my family been killed?” he recalled asking her. “What I know is that they were taken into the mosque,” she replied. “I don’t know what happened next.” Then the woman got back into the truck. It was getting late. They had to get to Cameroon. “I didn’t even get her name,” said Yamsa, 46, shaking his head with regret. He took Shamsia to his house, where he lived with his wife and 10 children. Within hours he had learned about the deaths of his relatives. But there was no time to mourn. Two days later, the last of the Seleka forces pulled out of Bossembele with thousands of fleeing Muslims. The Christian militias entered the town and hunted down remaining Muslims, killing scores, according to human rights activists. By then, Yamsa, his family and Shamsia were in two minivans heading to the capital, where they hoped to catch an evacuation flight to Chad. They cannot return home. Today, the anti-balaka militias dominate the town. Several anti-balaka fighters, manning a checkpoint, said they knew the Yamsa family and vowed to target them if they return. “We were never friends,” said Sylvain Danboye, one of the fighters. “If any Yamsa comes back, we will kill him.” As the minivans passed through Boyali, they drove over the spot where Shamsia’s family was butchered, Yamsa would learn later. Bouali: Bullets ‘flying through the church’ When the vans entered the town of Bouali, 62 miles outside the capital, a tire blew out on one of them, sending it careering off the road. Yamsa’s son Ibrahim was severely injured. Yamsa sent his nine other children onward. But he waited, with his wife and Shamsia, by the side of the road until a Red Cross vehicle arrived. Escorted by French soldiers, the Red Cross took Ibrahim, his mother and Shamsia to a hospital in Bangui. But there was no room in the vehicle for Yamsa. The safest place for a Muslim to spend the night in Bouali was St. Pierre’s Parish. Thousands of Muslims were already there, sleeping in the pews with all their possessions. Yamsa joined them. But the next morning, the anti-balaka had surrounded the church. Yamsa and the other Muslims were trapped.


A roundup of IT business news

Tech Labor IBM cuts U.S. jobs in major restructuring International Business Machines began dismissing U.S. workers last week, part of a $1 billion restructuring to help the company meet profit goals as it adapts to shifts in the technology industry. Workers in New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and North Carolina were fired Tuesday, according to Alliance@IBM, an employee group. The Armonk, N.Y.-based company had a head count of 431,212 at the end of 2013, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier — its first decline in a decade. IBM is aiming for $20 a share in adjusted earnings by 2015, up from $11.67 in 2010 — a target made more difficult by seven straight quarters of falling revenue. To get there, chief executive Ginni Rometty has fired and furloughed workers, sold assets, cut IBM’s tax rate and bought back shares. — Bloomberg News Cloud Computing Nuclear agency picks Dell to build network The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has selected Dell to build a private Internet cloud for the agency. The cloud will help the NRC reduce information technology costs and help the agency meet government goals to consolidate data centers. The NRC is responsible for regulating nuclear power and materials, as well as inspecting nuclear facilities and licensing. Recently, Dell has won a few other major federal contracts, including one for IT services with the Homeland Security Department, with a ceiling value of more than $20 billion, the technology firm has reported. It also secured a five-year, $37.1 million contract through prime contractor AAC to provide IT services to the General Services Administration. Much of this work will be done in Dell’s Nashville and Oklahoma City service centers. — Mohana Ravindranath


Ann Houle, supermarket cashier, 81

Ann Houle, who was a cashier for Giant Food for 20 years, died Feb. 6 at her home in Oxon Hill, Md. She was 81. She had complications from diabetes, her daughter Mary Olien said. Mrs. Houle began working for Giant in 1967 at a store in Oxon Hill. She worked at a branch of the store in Waldorf, Md., from 1977 until her retirement in 1987. Rena Ann Schwarzmann was born in Washington and was a 1950 graduate of Anacostia High School. She was a past member of the Lions Club and made stained-glass lamps as a hobby. Her husband of 24 years, Wilfred J. “Willie” Houle, died in 1976. Survivors include six children, Martha Stitt of North Beach, Md., Mary Olien of Winchester, Va., Shelly Mascaro of Cutler Bay, Fla., Teresa Mackey of Los Angeles, Jim Houle of Churchton, Md., and Sharon Draher of Waldorf; a brother; 13 grandchildren; and two great-grandsons. — Matt Schudel


At The Container Store, a new fund to help employees in need

Company: Location: Employees: The Container Store likes to think of itself as an “employees first” company. Taking good care of its staff, the theory goes, will ultimately translate into a better experience for customers. As part of its efforts to build an employee-centered culture, the Coppell, Tex.-based retailer in February launched its Employee First Fund, which is meant to help workers facing unexpected emergencies. For example, someone might apply to receive funds to help pay for medical bills associated with cancer or to get help after a flood or tornado destroys a home. The company contributed $100,000 to start the fund and may contribute more money in the future. It has also invited employees to add to the fund, either through payroll deductions or one-time contributions. “We’ve had a resounding response from employees,” said Audrey Robertson, the store’s vice president of cultural programs, community relations and social media. For example, Robertson said she’s already seen a company vice president contribute by routing an honorarium she received for giving a speech directly to the Employee First Fund. To receive the funds, employees fill out an online application explaining their circumstances. Someone will conduct an initial review of that paperwork before sending it on to a committee of Container Store employees. The committee is comprised of employees from across the company — the stores, distribution centers and corporate office. That group then reviews the application to determine whether it is worthy of a grant and, if so, how much money should be issued. Robertson said the Container Store turned to other businesses for ideas as they moved to get the fund off the ground. “We’re very close with Southwest Airlines, Brooks Brothers,” Robertson said. “They both have these in place. They were wonderful resources as we looked to get ours established.”


‘Jake’s Law’ addresses penalties for distracted driving

Susan Yum’s son Jake Owen was five years old when a driver who was talking on the phone hit their car without ever hitting the brakes. The collision killed Jake and now has lawmakers in Maryland pushing for new laws with harsher penalties for cell phone use while driving. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) Five-year-old Jake Owen played a video game in the back seat of the car as his family sat in Baltimore traffic. He excitedly announced, “Mom, I have 42 lives!” Then an SUV slammed into the sedan. Devin X. McKeiver, 23, was using a cellphone when he rear-ended the car. He didn’t hit the brakes. The impact killed Jake. Had McKeiver been drunk, he could have faced jail time. Instead, with his lawyer arguing at trial that McKeiver was doing something that everyone does, he was fined $1,000. Now Jake’s family and others are asking Maryland lawmakers to increase penalties for drivers who cause crashes while talking or texting on a handheld phone. The bill, known in Annapolis as “Jake’s Law,” also would require “distracted drivers” involved in serious crashes to give police basic information about their cellphones, so detectives can more quickly check what they were doing at the moment of impact. Privacy advocates say that sort of forced hand-over of phone information is unnecessary, and makes it easier for police to access and follow the digital trail that most Americans now have. But proponents say the phone-data portion of the bill is merely the 21st-century equivalent of requiring a blood test for drivers suspected of being intoxicated. The bill, known in Annapolis as “Jake’s Law,” also would require so-called distracted drivers to give police information about their cell phone, so detectives can check what they were doing at the moment of impact. (Family photo) “This is the new drunk driving,” said Jake’s mother, Susan Yum. “We really need to change how society thinks about this issue. Anything that takes your eyes off the road, even for two seconds, is too long. It can take a life.” There are now more cellphones and mobile devices than people in the United States, and experts say the proliferation of smartphones, in particular, is causing a spike in crashes and other safety problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that during daylight hours, about 660,000 drivers are holding a phone at any moment. The Maryland Highway Safety Office estimates


Vegetarian or omnivore: The environmental implications of diet

most efficient niche producers were pretty comparable to the average conventional producers.” There’s less research on poultry, but what has been done indicates that chickens raised in confinement also use fewer resources. Confinement equals efficiency, but confinement also equals, well, confinement. Although no farmers I’ve ever spoken with believe their animals are unhappy, many welfare-minded meat consumers (including me) prefer to support a system in which animals have elbow room and outdoor access; where cages aren’t used, tails aren’t docked and antibiotics aren’t routinely administered. There are other arguments, on both sides — so many that it’s easy to pick the ones that make the case for whichever kind of agriculture you’re inclined to support. Grass-fed cows don’t compete for plants humans can eat, and animals grazing on non-irrigated pasture don’t compete for water that could be used to grow food (true!), but grass digestion creates more methane than grain digestion (also true!). Grazing cattle on grasslands can sequester carbon in the soil, but improperly managed grazing can make things worse rather than better. Pollution from manure reservoirs on conventional farms can threaten water and crops, but manure in reservoirs, from animals in confinement, can be converted to energy by methane digesters. Then there’s the price of meat, inevitably higher in less efficient systems. The meat-vs.-other-meat debate is irrelevant to the committed vegetarian, but there are issues other than greenhouse gases in the meat-vs.-plant debate, too. The case for meat includes the ability of an animal to contribute constructively on an integrated farm (chickens help with pest control), the potential for turning food waste (spent grain, whey, expired dairy) into high-quality protein, and the ability to use grasslands, inappropriate for row crops, to produce human food (with grazing cows or goats). The case for plants has to include their nutritional value. Carbon aside, broccoli beats pork, hands down. And it has to consider killing, which many plant eaters find unacceptable. While the moral implications are beyond the brief of a column devoted to matters of fact, we all have to acknowledge that agriculture is an animal-killing enterprise. Does the rat, poisoned because it’s a threat to the grain stores, count for less than the pig, raised and slaughtered with care? But let’s go back to where we began, with greenhouse gases. Even if climate impact is your top priority, it’s important to look at the food data in the context


Do lobsters and other invertebrates feel pain? New research has some answers.

flies? They have a similar-size nervous system. Fruit flies are known to have nociceptors, and it is likely that other insects do, too. Bees also respond differently to electric shocks given with and without anesthetic. And insects, generally, seem capable of learning to avoid noxious stimuli. But can they suffer? Hans Smid Like Elwood’s, Smid’s interest in pain began with a simple question. A few years ago, a visiting journalist was surprised at how casually Smid squashed a wasp that had escaped from its cage. Why hurt an animal you are so enthusiastic about, the journalist wanted to know. Yet Smid is confident that insect behavior is best understood in terms of a relatively simple series of reflexes and innate responses. Unlike crustaceans, insects seem to have no pain-related behaviors. If an insect’s leg is damaged, for example, it does not groom or try to protect the limb afterward. Even in extreme cases, insects show no evidence of pain. Imagine a praying mantis eating a locust, Smid says. With its abdomen opened up, the locust will still feed even while being eaten. No gain, no pain In terms of relative brain size, fruit flies and the parasitic wasps that Smid studies are the masterminds of the insect world. But neurons consume a lot of energy, and there is evolutionary pressure to keep brains as compact as possible. In short, there need to be good reasons to have enough brain for pain. Smid thinks that insects simply do not have the need. “I don’t see the evolutionary advantage for insects to sustain such a complex system as emotion, of which pain would be just one component,” he says. Elwood agrees this is a useful way to frame the question. “From an evolutionary perspective, the only reason for pain that makes sense to me is that it enables long-term protection,” he says. Pain may provide an animal with an additional, and memorable, means of focusing on a source of harm that helps it avoid it in future. If an animal’s life span is not long enough to benefit from that — as is the case with most insects — then pain has no use. Similarly, some animals may simply be unable to avoid noxious stimuli in the first place. “Is a barnacle going to benefit from a bad experience?” Elwood says. “I doubt it.” Ultimately, we are up against the problem of


How virus sleuths and public health officials track the cause of a mysterious illness

is no evidence of inflammation in the anterior horn of the spinal cord as shown on an MRI scan. Right, day six, doctors see a classic sign of inflammation. The two white spots, sometimes called “owl's eye,” aren't unique to polio, but they are a useful diagnostic clue when combined with clinical indications. (The New England Journal of Medicine) Another challenge is determining which cases to include in the count. Establishing a case definition — a concise statement of what the patients have in common — prevents unrelated cases from leading investigators astray. According to Stanford’s Van Haren, the working definition for the California cases is “paralysis with evidence of injury to the motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.” That definition explains why the disease is being described as “polio-like.” It’s not simply that the children have become paralyzed. Several medical conditions can lead to paralysis. The autoimmune disease Guillain-Barrè syndrome and the inflammatory disease transverse myelitis, for example, can paralyze children. Poliovirus, however, has a specific profile, ending in paralysis, that sets it apart from most other illnesses. Polio is a classic fecal-oral disease. The virus usually spreads from one person’s stool to another person’s mouth, often through contaminated water or unclean hands. Since 95 percent of people who are infected with the pathogen never experience symptoms, polio victims rarely have reason to suspect they have come into contact with the disease; this is one reason that the eventual paralysis seems sudden. In some patients, polio progresses to a brief bout of flulike symptoms, which has been observed in a few of the California patients. In a small minority of cases, the virus reaches the central nervous system. Poliovirus has proteins on its surface that match proteins on certain human nerve cells, as a key fits into a lock. Because the fit must be precise, poliovirus typically unlocks only the cells responsible for controlling muscles in the arms and legs — the motor neurons — in the front part of the spinal cord. Sensation usually remains intact in the paralyzed limbs, because polio can’t enter the sensory nerves. This clinical observation — paralysis of the limbs with little or no loss of sensation — probably rules out a large number of possible causes for the California cases, according to John Modlin, a physician working to eradicate polio at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Herpes


Mall pizza chain Sbarro’s files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, again

A Sbarro’s restaurant in Times Square.The restaurant chain on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than three years, after struggling with too much debt and lower customer traffic in malls. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Sbarro’s, the pizza chain for hungry travelers and mall shoppers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, its second time in less than three years. Sbarro’s and its affiliates have between $100 million and $500 million in debt, according to court filings. The company previously filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and was working its way out of debt. In February, the New York-based pizza chain said it was closing more than 150 stores nationwide in a bid to improve its finances. The company faces a problem plaguing many retailers: dwindling mall traffic. Many of its stores are located in shopping-center food courts. The number of people shopping at malls has dropped during the past decade as Americans increasingly shop online. Earlier this year, RadioShack, Staples, J.C. Penney and Macy’s announced that they were closing locations around the country. Sbarro’s, including franchises, has more than 1,000 locations in 45 countries. The chain opened its first location in Brooklyn in 1956. Related: These 10 retailers had the worst customer satisfaction ratings for 2013 RadioShack closing up to 1,100 stores in rebranding effort Staples to close 225 locations by 2015


Older binge drinkers face a higher death risk than those who spread their drinking out

which could all influence the results.[7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health] The findings were published online last week and will appear in the May online-only issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Shorter lives Binge drinking is defined as downing at least four drinks for women or five drinks for men in about two hours, a drinking pattern that can bring a person’s blood alcohol concentration to at least 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood. The research found that among older people with modest alcohol intakes, those who binge-drank were more than twice as likely to die over the next 20 years compared with men andwomen who consumed alcohol in a regular, moderate pattern. Put simply, binge drinkers didn’t live as long. By the end of the 20-year period, 61 percent of the binge drinkers and 37 percent of regular, moderate drinkers had died. “Binge drinking is bad at any age,” Holahan said. An episode of heavy drinking concentrates alcohol’s toxicity and is linked to mortality because it damages body organs and increases the risk of accidents, he explained. While binge drinking occurs more commonly in adolescents and young adults, its frequency is often overlooked among middle-aged and older adults, Holahan said. In other words, people who are middle-aged and older will find it harder to party like they did when they were younger, and a weekend bender of beer, wine or booze can take its toll. Risky drinking The findings show that it’s not just the number of drinks that matters; the pattern of drinking also has health consequences as a person gets older, the researchers said. Older bodies and minds are not as well equipped to handle heavy drinking episodes. “Binge drinking is increasingly being recognized as a significant public health concern,” Holahan said. And binge drinking is “a bigger problem than previously thought,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drinking too much in one sitting is linked with a host of health-related problems, including car crashes, falls, domestic violence and risky sexual behavior. But binge drinking may be particularly risky for older adults because they are more likely to have age-related illnesses; they also take more medications that could cause side effects when combined with alcohol, Holahan said. — Live Science How 8 Common Medications Interact with Alcohol 11 Interesting Facts About Hangovers Raise Your Glass: 10 Intoxicating Beer Facts


NASA wants to look for signs of life on Europa — but you can’t get there for $15 million

President George W. Bush, which would have returned astronauts to the moon. President Obama killed Constellation, and with it the Ares 1 rocket that had already burned through billions of dollars. The administration last year proposed the Asteroid Redirect Mission, which would involve capturing a small asteroid, hauling it to an orbit around the moon and visiting it with astronauts. In the new budget request, the administration wants to boost funding for the ARM, to $133 million. But this is another mission that may never actually materialize. Technically, the ARM is hardly a slam-dunk, because scientists have yet to find a good target rocket. (It has to have just the right size, shape and composition, and it has to be spinning just so, etc.) Republicans have opposed funding for the ARM. No one vocally opposes the Europa mission, and many people love the idea. But Europa’s ocean and its hypothetical life-forms must compete against other NASA priorities that have entrenched support among powerful senators and the corporate aerospace community. NASA, for example, is building a new jumbo rocket, the Space Launch System, and a new crew capsule, Orion. They cost about $3 billion a year. The international space station requires a similar pile of money. The administration is particularly focused these days on boosting the “commercial” side of space. Officials hope that by 2017 American astronauts can go into space once again on American rockets, rather than relying on the Russians — to whom the United States is paying $71 million per seat on Soyuz rockets to get to and from the space station. The political crisis in Ukraine makes this reliance on the Russians all the more awkward. Science is important at NASA, but it typically is a secondary priority after human exploration of space. And science has had its own cost overruns, specifically with the James Webb Space Telescope and the Curiosity rover on Mars. The Europa mission and a proposed space telescope known as WFIRST are the kind of expensive, Flagship-class projects that are in disfavor these days among the frowny-faced people at the Office of Management and Budget. NASA officials have indicated that they’d like to go to Europa for less than $1 billion. But science by definition operates on the edge of the known, and space science, out there on the farthest frontier, is never cheap. Sometimes it costs a Saganesque sum: Billions and billions.


D.C. police arrest man in fatal shooting in Northwest Washington

District police on Monday arrested Corey Saxton, 20, in connection with last week’s shooting of a man who was found dead in the back seat of a car that had crashed on a residential street in Northwest Washington’s Brightwood Park. Saxton of Northwest was charged with second-degree murder while armed. Police said he was arrested on a warrant about 6:15 a.m. He is charged with killing Roshaine Henry, 24, of no fixed address. D.C. police released no additional details of the case. Henry was shot in the chest shortly before 8 p.m. on March 5 in the 1200 block of Madison Street NW. Police said Henry was in the back seat of a car whose driver sped away after the shooting, hitting several parked vehicles and overturning the car in the 900 block of Madison Street. Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail


Russia’s military is the largest in the region, but it isn’t the same force as in Soviet times

leading Russian defense industry and arms trade think tank. “Most of these republics regard Russia as the main threat to their sovereignty and are, therefore, interested in weakening Russian influence on their territory and internationally by all possible means,” Pukhov wrote in August in an article on Russian defense strategy. “The West underestimates the importance of the Ukrainian issue for Russia and the role of Ukraine as a colossal destabilizing factor in Western-Russian relations in the immediate term,” Pukhov wrote. Another purpose for building Russian forces is to deter the United States and NATO countries from “meddling in conflicts in the former Soviet republics or Western attempts to forestall possible Russian actions with regard to these republics,” he wrote. Personnel is a major problem for the Russian military. Efforts to move from a conscription army to “contract-employed” soldiers (such as the U.S. volunteer force) have not been successful. Under Russia’s 10-year reform program of 2009, its military forces (army, navy and air force) should have been at 1 million last year. But a Swedish Defence Research Agency study released in December had the figure below 800,000. The CRS put it at 700,000. Still, it remains the region’s largest force. The Russian army is at about 285,000, including conscripts, but units are being manned at 40 to 60 percent, according to the Swedish study. Hundreds gathered in Moscow to show their support for the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine, calling for both peace and the annexation of Crimea. Contract soldiers, who must serve three years, have not been reenlisting at expected rates, and the dropouts run from 35 percent to 80 percent, the Swedish study said. Conscripts serve one year, and the constant movement makes the introduction and training on complex weapons difficult. Also, a sharp decline in the Russian birth rate and health disqualification of 52 percent of the potential service pool have forced the military to consider increasing the length of service or accepting a smaller force. Plans for spending more than $700 billion over 10 years on weapon modernization began in 2011 and included $89 billion for rebuilding “the largely obsolete defense industrial complex,” along with importing weapons and technologies, the CRS report said. In addition to purchasing two French helicopter carriers for $1.6 billion, the Russians turned to the German firm Rheinmetall Defence to build a $132 million modern army training center — Mulino — near Nizhny Novgorod


West pledges to impose sanctions on Moscow as Russia tightens hold on Crimea

Crimea votes on whether the autonomous region should join Russia. SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — European officials met in London to draw up penalties against Russia, likely to include asset freezes and travel bans, unless the country accepts a U.S. proposal to stop its expansion in Crimea and start discussions with Ukraine’s new government. Until now, Western efforts to curb Russia’s actions have focused on rhetoric and largely symbolic gestures, rather than measures that would cause meaningful pain in Moscow. The European restrictions could mark a substantial escalation in a conflict that has pitted Russia against the West in a way not seen since the Cold War. But the Obama administration has refused to set a deadline for U.S. sanctions or indicate a specific Russian action that would trigger them. And analysts say that even tough sanctions are unlikely to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to change course in Ukraine, given the depth of Russian interests there. “For the Kremlin, and the wider elites that support it, the fate of Ukraine is a vital interest. They’ve tied Ukraine’s future to their own,” said James Sherr, an associate fellow at the London-based think tank Chatham House. “Any sanctions the E.U. is likely to come up with will not be sufficient to change that calculation.” In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Treasury Department is working on an escalating set of measures that allow the United States to “calibrate sanctions and other actions depending on the steps that Russia takes.” Archival photos show major events in Ukraine’s history, from the beginning of the World War II to its independence from the Soviet Union. She added that Russia had replied to a list of U.S. requirements and suggestions to ease tension, but she said the response duplicated positions Moscow took last week during meetings between Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. While diplomatic efforts floundered, the situation in Ukraine continued to change swiftly. As the regional Crimean parliament approved a declaration of independence, the government in Kiev established a new national guard and acknowledged that the nation’s armed forces were hardly up to a fight with Russia. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said Ukraine would have to rebuild its military “effectively from scratch.” The pro-Western leader said it has only 6,000 combat-ready infantry, compared with 200,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern border. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers and the paramilitary


Three deer die after being attacked by two dogs in a school in early morning hours

Police in Anne Arundel County say deer jumped through the front glass doors of Southern Middle School early Monday. The deer were followed by two dogs, which attacked the deer. One deer died and two others were euthanized as a result of their injuries. Two dogs attacked three deer early Monday morning after they crashed through the glass door of an Anne Arundel County school, police said. Just before 4 a.m. Monday, officers responded to an alarm at Southern Middle School in the 5200 block of Solomons Island Road in Lothian. When the officers arrived they found chairs knocked over in the lobby and broken glass at a door next to the cafeteria. They also found a deer on the floor being attacked by a German shepherd. When officers passed another doorway, they found a second deer “sitting on the floor in distress.” Police said the animal was suffering from “apparent bite marks.” Another dog — possibly a black Lab mix — was later found in the school, police said. A third deer was found and trapped in a narrow hallway of the school. That deer had extensive injuries and died, police said. The other two deer were severely injured and later euthanized “due to the severity of their injuries from the dog attacks,” police said. Officials closed the building Monday so crews could clean up the school. “Three deer came through a door next to the cafeteria, followed by two dogs,” said Bob Mosier, a spokesman for the Anne Arundel County Public School system. “Suffice it to say that a chase ensued in the hallways.” Southern Middle School’s building is also the temporary home of Lothian Elementary School, which is being renovated. Both Lothian and Southern were closed Monday. “The extent of the cleanup that was necessary was such that we could not open either school,” Mosier said. “It was a pretty gory scene.” School officials said the damage ranged between $3,000 and $5,000. Police said the dogs were not wearing collars. They were captured by animal control officials, and police officers were able to locate their owners at a nearby home. The dogs were in the custody of animal control Tuesday. Get updates on your area delivered via e-mail


Official: Georgetown student Mark Adamsson died of natural causes in Dominican Republic

The death of a Georgetown student on spring break in the Dominican Republic was due to natural causes, according to a school official. Georgetown sent a campus-wide e-mail Sunday announcing the death of Mark Adamsson, a junior in the School of Foreign Service. Georgetown spokeswoman Rachel Pugh said Tuesday that Adamsson’s cause of death was “lung and heart failure due to medical reasons.” Todd Olson, vice president of student affairs at Georgetown, told the campus community that Adamsson had been on the trip with other students. A native of Sweden, Adamsson attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., where he played for the tennis team. At Georgetown, he was active in a student-run fund called the Zeeba Investment Group.


Shopping Cart: Irish ketchup

(Deb Lindsey/For the Washington Post) RED STUFF, FROM THE LAND O’ GREEN More from Food: Weeknight Vegetarian The Immigrant’s Table Smoke Signals Spirits Column These cozy recipes from our Recipe Finder will hit the spot on cold winter days. Beer Column


Everyone is unique, and so are diet needs

Paleo. Vegan. Raw. Gluten-free. It seems as though some people have footnotes after their names, identifying the way in which they eat. Many of these folks are fanatical in asserting that their approach to food is the only way. They might have wonderful success stories of illnesses tamed through good nutrition or anecdotes of how much more energy they have now that they have given up a certain category of food. All of this is well and good, and in many cases, wonderful. I have a few stories myself, and I am an ardent believer in good nutrition. But let’s remember that our kids are listening. They hear us talk about how we gave up whole grains and beans to go Paleo. Or how potatoes make us fat. They hear us talk about rigid food plans that convey a message that whole categories of foods can be bad for us, or how strict food control is the only path toward health. This part is neither well nor good. Everyone is different. Some people thrive on a raw diet, while others would fade away without cooked food. Some people prosper without meat and others require it for optimal health. There is an old proverb: “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” The technical name for this is bio-individuality, and it is an important factor to remember when deciding what to eat. We are each unique and have unique nutritional requirements. The foods that are best for you might not be best for your spouse, friend or child. Active teenagers metabolize foods differently from, say, pregnant women or women in menopause. According to nutritional medicine expert William Walsh in his Web article “Biochemical Individuality and Nutrition,” “Men eat differently than women, children eat differently than adults, and we all have very different preferences. Our personal tastes and inclinations, natural shapes and sizes, blood types, metabolic rates and genetic backgrounds influence what foods will and won’t nourish us.” So instead of talking about the stringency of going carb-free, talk about how you have listened to your body and are discovering what makes you feel good and not so good. Teach your children to listen to their bodies, too. Explain that they might thrive on different foods from the ones you love. Point out that a stomachache, difficulty going to the bathroom, fatigue after a meal and skin problems could all be related to


The U.S. must continue to take tough steps against Russia’s aggression

TAKEN BY surprise by the Russian occupation of Crimea, President Obama has rebounded strongly. He has led Western nations in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move as a violation of international law. Mr. Obama signed an order clearing the way for U.S. financial sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses before the European Union met to consider its response — a step that strengthened the position of Europeans calling for tough E.U. steps. The president has been on the phone not just to Mr. Putin and customary counterparts including German Chancellor Angela Merkel but also to the leaders of China, Spain, Kazakhstan and the Baltic states. On Wednesday he will meet interim Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the White House, a step that is particularly significant because Mr. Yatsenyuk’s government has not been recognized by Moscow. In short, no one can fairly accuse Mr. Obama of “leading from behind” on Crimea. Thanks to the president’s efforts and Mr. Putin’s intransigence — he has refused multiple offers of mediation — the United States appears poised to join with Europe in imposing significant economic sanctions on Russia if it continues to move toward annexing the region or invades other parts of Ukraine. If they are sufficiently robust, those sanctions have the potential to do serious damage to Mr. Putin’s regime. Oligarchs close to the Russian ruler have billions stashed in banks and invested in real estate in the West. The Russian navy is awaiting delivery of French-built ships. Crimea, meanwhile, gets almost all of its water, energy and food from within Ukraine. If the border were closed, Russia, which lacks a land bridge to Crimea, would find it hard to prevent an economic collapse there. It is simply not true, as some defeatists suggest, that the West does not have the potential to force a Russian change of course. The real question is whether Western leaders are prepared to accept the damage to their own citizens and economies that would be the side effect. Russia would probably freeze Western investments on its territory; it might cut off gas exports to Ukraine, through which supplies to several E.U. countries flow. Seventy percent of Russian exports are oil and gas, most of which go to Europe. With elections approaching in both the European Union and the United States, it will be easy to shrink from measures that would command Mr. Putin’s attention. Clearly he


Robert Menendez: Russia’s aggressive behavior can’t go unchecked

international community, but we refuse to blink, and we will never accept this violation of international law. The unity of purpose displayed at the U.N. Security Council, by the European Union and the Group of Seven nations in support of Ukrainian autonomy and in opposition to Russian authoritarianism demonstrates the world’s outrage and will serve as a call to action. Our policies toward Russia require urgent reexamination. Congress has a particular role to play. Legislation I’m offering includes the following components: ●It provides for loan guarantees for Ukraine, consistent with the $1 billion announced by the Obama administration in recent days and mirroring just-passed House legislation. ●It directs the Obama administration to assist the Ukrainian government in identifying, securing and recovering assets linked to acts of corruption by former prime minister Viktor Yanukovych, members of his family or other former or current Ukrainian government officials. ●It authorizes $50 million for democracy, governance and civil society assistance and $100 million for enhanced security cooperation for Ukraine and other states in Central and Eastern Europe. ●It provides for additional sanctions, complementing the president’s executive order, against Ukrainians and Russians alike responsible for violence and serious human rights abuses against anti-government protesters and those responsible for undermining the peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine. ●It imposes sanctions on Russians complicit in or responsible for significant corruption in Ukraine. ●It includes needed reforms to the United States’ participation in the International Monetary Fund, which would allow Washington to leverage significant support from the IMF for Ukraine today and for similar crises in the future. Russian actions at home and abroad must be viewed in a broader context, not as isolated incidents but as connected events in a troubling pattern of behavior that cannot continue unchecked. Ukrainian sovereignty cannot be violated for looking westward and embracing ideals rooted in freedom. In Ukraine and the surrounding region, the United States has spent millions of dollars promoting democracy and good governance. These are ideals we must always promote and on which we will never compromise. Less than six months ago, in an op-ed about the unfolding disaster in Syria, Putin admonished his American audience: “We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.” The Ukrainian people and the international community expect Putin to heed his own advice. Read more about this issue: Molly K.


Ukraine accuses Russia of massing troops

in the conflict that toppled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych — who is now in Russia but has declared he will return and reassert control. Russia has accused Yarosh of violating a Russian law prohibiting extremism in the mass media by publishing an appeal to militants in the North Caucasus of Russia “to step up extremist and terrorist operations against Russia.” Yarosh has said the statement was placed on his Web site by hackers, suggesting Russia was behind the attack on his site. Ukrainian officials have said they have no intention of detaining or extraditing Yarosh. The Russian agency that supervises the media also issued a warning Wednesday to the Lenta.ru news site for publishing an interview with Andriy Tarasenko, the head of Right Sector’s Kiev office. The article had a link to statements by Yarosh, which the agency said was a violation of the law against extremism. Later in the day the Lenta editor resigned and was replaced by someone considered more acceptable to the Kremlin. As Crimea grew more militarized and isolated Tuesday, hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis looked increasingly faint. While NATO planes monitor Russian activity from Polish and Romanian airspace, European politicians said they were preparing to punish Russia with sanctions within days. British Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking in Tel Aviv, said the first steps could include a travel ban targeted against “prominent” members of the Russian parliament. European officials met in London on Tuesday to draw up penalties they could impose against Russia, likely to include asset freezes and visa restrictions, unless the country accepts a U.S. proposal to stop its expansion in Crimea and start discussions with Ukraine’s new government. Until now, Western efforts to curb Russia’s actions have focused on rhetoric and largely symbolic gestures, rather than measures that would cause meaningful pain in Moscow. The European restrictions could mark a substantial escalation in a conflict that has pitted Russia against the West in a way not seen since the Cold War. But the Obama administration has refused to set a deadline for U.S. sanctions or indicate a specific Russian action that would trigger them. And analysts say that even tough sanctions are unlikely to force Russian President Putin to change course in Ukraine, given the depth of Russian interests there. Meanwhile, Russian soldiers and the paramilitary “self-defense” units under the command of the Russian military continued their step-by-step


D.C. news in brief

D.C. taverns may obtain permit to distill liquor A new District law, the Distillery Pub Licensure Act of 2013, allows the licensing of restaurants, taverns, night clubs, hotels and multipurpose facilities to manufacture, distill and store their own craft liquors such as gin and vodka and to sell it to customers for on- or off-premise consumption. The off-premise spirits must be bottled and can be sold from 7 a.m. to midnight. Spirits may also be sold to wholesalers for resale to other ABC licensees in the District. The annual fee for a distillery pub permit is $7,500 and can be obtained at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration office, 2000 14th St. NW. Another new law allows manufacturers to sell and deliver alcoholic beverages from 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Previously, manufacturers could not sell beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. A third new law gives manufacturers four additional days to conduct product tastings, which previously could be held only Thursday through Saturday. Tastings are now permitted from 1 to 9 p.m., seven days a week. The three new liquor laws were approved by the D.C. Council and signed into law by Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D). For information, go to www.abra.dc.gov. Festival will screen work by young filmmakers The Pendragwn Youth Film Festival, a free event featuring official selections from an international competition for budding filmmakers ages 11 to 18, will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Films include documentaries, narrative films, music videos and 30-second public service films. The young filmmakers will take questions after each film. An awards ceremony will follow the screenings at 4:30 p.m. District-based filmmakers Sean and Andrea Fine will discuss their careers and screen an excerpt of their Academy Award-winning documentary short, “Inocente.” For information and to reserve seating, go to www.pendragwnyouthfilmfest.org or call 202-546-0065. Student is D.C. champion in poetry competition Kayla Forde, a senior at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, is the 2014 District Champion for Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation competition. On March 4, she won with her recitations of “For the Young Who Want To” by Marge Piercy, “On Monsieur’s Departure” by Queen Elizabeth I and “Valentine” by Lorna Dee Cervantes. Ayinde Grimes, a senior at St. Anselm’s Abbey School, placed second. Wysdom Holmes, a junior at Capital City Charter School, placed third. Forde


Budding beekeepers swarm to courses

frightening number, including bee dysentery, pernicious mites, freeloading mice and predatory skunks. This alone might have the class heading for the hills, but everyone seemed more curious than daunted by the litany of bee woes. (If you listed all the ailments that can afflict a rosebush, you’d never grow one.) The course takes an arc, Burnham said, meaning I caught the doom-and-gloom lecture. The students are buoyed, she said, by the thrill of beekeeping, its environmental benefits and, yes, even all the cool gear that goes with it. Samantha Kenny, a sophomore at American University, is a member of AU’s beekeeping society and helps to keep four hives on campus. The colonies died off in this harsh winter, and she will be stocking them with new bees in April. Lloyd Grove and Kat Ridolfi, who live on Capitol Hill, moved to the District three years ago from Berkeley, Calif., the fountainhead of today’s local food movement. Beekeeping “is in line with our lifestyle,” said Ridolfi, an environmental scientist. They have concluded, though, that their rowhouse is too shady for beehives — bees like their home in the sun — and will help Burnham with one of her many apiaries across the city. Jeanne McCarty, who lives in Washington’s Chevy Chase neighborhood, said her father kept bees in Mississippi, and she wants her 4-year-old son to grow up with the same connection to nature. “I’m fascinated. I just can’t wait to see how they work,” she said. Many of the city beekeepers will face special challenges. Apartment rooftops make great places for hives, but the keeper must win the acceptance of the managers or the condo board. Terrestrial hives are likely to be in proximity to neighbors who might have deep if misplaced anxieties about this stinging insect. That is why this cohort of new beekeepers has to be keenly prepared, Burnham said. The limiting factor for the class sizes, she said, was not the space but the number of experienced beekeepers available to guide the novices. Theory is great, but practice and guidance are at the heart of it. “I only have 12 mentors, 18 at most, and most beekeepers have learned beekeeping at somebody’s elbow.” And in the city, hives have to be shepherded in an environment where the major colonizing animal is the human being. Bees, Burnham said, “have to be managed with that dominant species in mind.”


George Will: Drop in childhood obesity may be due to better choices

that the result of the large federal survey was “a welcome surprise to researchers.” It was welcome because obesity begins early — people obese from age 3 to 5 are five times more likely than others to be overweight or obese as adults, when being so makes people more susceptible to cancer, heart disease and stroke. It was a surprise because no one knows why the rate dropped. A reasonable surmise, however, is that one cause is the cumulative effect of talk about sensible eating and exercising. Certainly one lesson of the past 50 years is that one of the most cost-effective things government does is disseminate public health information concerning behaviors as disparate as smoking and using seat belts. Mark Twain said humans are the only animals that blush There may be no such thing as an unmixed blessing, and there was a cost even to the conquest of polio. Americans, whose national DNA disposes them to anticipate progress to be a product of technology, interpreted the Salk vaccine as establishing what can be called the “polio paradigm.” It is the mistaken idea that large improvements in public health result primarily from new medicines. In 1900, the death rate from tuberculosis was nearly 200 per 100,000 Streptomycin may have produced only 3 percent of the reduction of TB, but our cultural bias is toward the improved-health -through -medical -intervention model. This produces high-tech, hospital-oriented, disease-and-therapy-centered policy. The premise that health is the product of medicine leads government to believe it can deliver health by judiciously distributing preventive or therapeutic medicines. A significant portion of America’s health-care bill — caused by violence, vehicular accidents, coronary artery disease, lung cancer, AIDS, Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity, among other problems — results from behavior widely known to be risky. So as we wallow waist deep in the muddy debate about health care, we should remember that the relationship between increased investment in medicine and improvements in health is complex and tenuous. As Kass has said, in an era of organ transplants and the cracking of the genetic code, it seems boring to suggest that the most important path to health is a vanilla virtue: prudence. Nevertheless, unlike oysters or ostriches or ocelots, featherless bipeds — Plato’s unenthralled description of human beings — are animals that go through their days making choices. And they often make bad ones. Such choices often


City Wildlife and other wild-animal rescue groups need volunteers as spring approaches

The facility is not licensed to handle creatures that pose a rabies risk. “No raccoons, no foxes, no bats. And no deer,” Goldberg said. “But we take everything else that’s gentle and sweet.” Second Chance is licensed for rabies-vector species. Some people in the Wildlife Rescue League’s network also might work with them, but Virginia has strict regulations on where such animals can be released. Under Virginia law, “all wildlife is technically the property of the state,” Axelrod said. “Animals should be returned to the areas in which they were found.” In addition, animals from other states cannot be legally released there. That’s not a big issue for the D.C. and Maryland groups, because they try to place creatures close to where they were found. “Box turtles are highly territorial. They must be released on their home territory,” Monsma said. At the other extreme, he noted, are migratory birds. “You can release them, and they’ll take off for Venezuela.” City Wildlife gets permission from property owners before releasing animals. In one case, Park Service employees warned against freeing opossums near Rock Creek Nature Center, because they would just become food for the coyotes that are well established there. Local wildlife rehabbers don’t see a lot of nonnative mammals, but exotic reptiles are more common. City Wildlife and Second Chance have taken in boa constrictors, and DeMay wrangled a pair of alligators when she worked for the Wildlife Center of Virginia, which serves the entire state. City Wildlife has hosted some animals that are locally threatened or endangered, such as the northern bobwhite, a small quail that hadn’t been seen in the Washington area since the 1970s. “We got two this year,” said Abby Hehmeyer, the ce Rock Creek Park is “a huge migratory pathway,” Goldberg said, and deer and coyotes have been in the news in recent years. But it was an arctic bird that really got the public’s attention. “It was really nice to get the snowy owl, because people started thinking about urban wildlife,” Goldberg said. “There are a lot of people who still don’t understand that they’re here with us. “But sit still for about 10 minutes and then take a look, and you’ll see them.” Related: How to help wild animals, and when to let them alone ‘Lights Out’ seeks to stem bird carnage caused by city skylines Snowy owl hit by bus in downtown D.C.


Montgomery Blair science finalist makes top 10 in Intel national competition

A Montgomery Blair High School student placed 10th in the nation Tuesday night in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition. Shaun Datta, 18, of Gaithersburg, won a $20,000 award for physics research investigating the interaction between baryons in nuclear matter. He and two other Blair seniors were among 40 national finalists considered for the top 10 honors . “I was very, very surprised,” Datta said Wednesday, praising the research of fellow finalists. “In my opinion, any group of 10 among this 40 could have been the top.” Montgomery Blair High School, in Silver Spring, had more Intel finalists this year than any other high school in the country. It also ranks first among high schools nationally for the number of finalists since 1999. Blair’s other finalists included Neil Davey, 18, of Gaithersburg, who researched “Early Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment through the Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells Using Drop-based Microfluidics,” and Jessica Shi, 17, of Rockville, who investigated “The Speeds of Families of Intersection Graphs.” Datta’s project was called: “Saturated Nuclear Matter in the Large Nc and Heavy Quark Limits of Quantum Chromodynamics.” On Wednesday, the teenager said he expected to use his award to help pay for college. He has not yet decided which university to attend, he said. The first-place award of $100,000 in the Intel competition went to Eric S. Chen, 17, of San Diego, for research on potential new drugs to treat the flu. The 40 finalists this year came from 33 schools in 14 states and were culled from 300 semifinalists. Virginia and the District did not have finalists this year. Maryland had a fourth, Benjamin Freed, a senior at Governor Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick.


NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS FTC launches Herbalife inquiry The Federal Trade Commission has launched a civil investigation into Herbalife, the Los Angeles-based nutritional-products maker said Wednesday. Herbalife, which did not disclose any details of the probe, has been battling a hedge fund manager’s allegations that it is running a thinly disguised pyramid scheme. “Herbalife welcomes the inquiry given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the marketplace, and will cooperate fully with the FTC,” the company said in a statement. “We are confident that Herbalife is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.” Herbalife’s shares sank, closing down more than 7 percent at $60.57, after the company disclosed that the federal agency had sent it a civil investigative demand. The company sells nutrition and health products through independent salespeople in more than 80 countries. Its products are not available in stores. In December 2012, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman accused Herbalife of operating a pyramid scheme. Ackman has kept up a relentless battle against Herbalife, releasing a steady stream of reports that purport to show Herbalife abuses. — Los Angeles Times RETAIL Target sees store and Web traffic plunge It should come as no surprise that Target’s sales were hit by the December data breach that affected millions. But the number of people visiting its stores and Web site fell to the lowest level in three years, according to a recent report. Only 33 percent of U.S. households shopped at Target in January, a decrease of 22 percent from the same time last year, according to a survey by Kantar Retail, a consulting group. The shoppers who stayed away the most included Gen-Xers — its core demographic — and lower-income, infrequent shoppers who make up a large part of its customer base. Since the recession, Target has focused on serving its most loyal customers, said Amy Koo, senior analyst at Kantar Retail and a co-author of the report. “But over the last year, they’ve realized that that’s not enough,” and Target has tried to convert its occasional visitors into loyal shoppers. The data breach threw a wrench into those plans. Target’s core shoppers, such as its Red card holders, were more likely to be affected by the breach. But they will ultimately stand by the company, according to Koo. Those who shop at Target less frequently, however, have been scared away. Visits by lower-income shoppers, defined as those who make less than


ACC tournament: Virginia’s Joe Harris prefers to ‘float under the radar’

native has been since he can remember and is why he has enjoyed this season more than last year, when he led Virginia in scoring and earned first-team all-ACC honors. The Post Sports Live crew discusses what an ACC Tournament title would do for Virginia’s NCAA seeding. With more weapons around, Harris passed up more shots and took on a more complementary role as the Cavaliers racked up win after win. Though his minutes and scoring dropped and he had to settle for third-team all-ACC status this year, the approach paved the way for Virginia’s first outright ACC regular season title since 1981. “I think everybody else sees the leading scorer and this guy with all the preseason accolades buy in, and they’re able to do the same thing and play with a similar mind-set,” Harris said. This, though, is part of the dilemma Harris will be forced to confront when top-seeded Virginia faces No. 9 seed Florida State on Friday in an ACC tournament quarterfinal at Greensboro Coliseum. The Cavaliers are only playing for seeding in the NCAA tournament at this point, but the program has had little success in the postseason of late. Nobody on Virginia’s roster has won a game in the NCAA or ACC tournaments. Coach Tony Bennett hasn’t won a game in the NCAA tournament and only one game in the ACC tournament since he arrived in Charlottesville in 2009. How far they go this time around could depend on Harris, who may have grown too comfortable allowing others to take hold of the spotlight this season. Sometimes a situation demands a star. “Joe has to be assertive. That’s important for us,” Bennett said this week. “The one thing that people don’t always see, even though we have more weapons, more balance, he still is the focal point of most all defenses. They really tag him. They shade towards him. They don’t want to let him get going.” Recently, opponents have been succeeding. Harris, who is averaging 11.4 points per game (down from 16.3 last season), has shot just 31 percent over the past six contests. He hasn’t connected on better than 50 percent of his field goals since a Jan. 18 win over Florida State. It’s the same sort of late-season shooting swoon Harris went through a year ago when the Cavaliers narrowly missed the NCAA tournament. But he has shown a penchant for