GOP Senate troika looks to assert itself on Russia

removed his name from the list of sponsors to Wednesday’s bill over concerns that without McConnell’s endorsement, the matter would become too politicized to win support. Republican leaders are aware that many Republicans may be reluctant to openly cross Trump so early in his presidency, even if they believe sanctions must be kept in place. They initially balked at calls to investigate potential links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, though the House and Senate’s intelligence committees are now exploring such allegations. Leaders and several rank-and-file Republicans have also shied away from a new measure to step up Russia sanctions in response to Moscow’s alleged hacks of certain Democratic figures and coordination with WikiLeaks to release stolen information during the 2016 elections. But Trump’s Fox News comments have not helped him. Since then, Republicans from across the political spectrum have stepped up their efforts to insist the Trump administration stand by Russian dissidents being targeted by the administration, focusing particular attention on activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was allegedly poisoned two years ago and recently returned to the hospital with similar symptoms. Senators who raised Kara-Murza’s case include noted Trump critics such asMcCain, who is leading the charge among Republicans to expand mandatory sanctions against Russia. He used a floor speech Tuesday to tear into attempts to draw “moral equivalence between that butcher and thug and KGB colonel and the United States of America.” They also include Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has been more deferential to the Trump administration when it comes to foreign policy and suggested he would be for expanding sanctions against Russia only “if you can get sanctions to work.” “We recognize the complexity of our relationship and the numerous issues that the Administration needs to address with Russia. However, the murder of dissidents cannot be tolerated,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Tillerson penned this week with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “We ask that you make this issue a priority.” Yet whether that alarm translates into enough votes to allow Congress to assert itself on Russia remains to be seen. “Most people see Russia as deserving to be punished for interfering in our election, and to not punish Russia for interfering in our election would be the worst possible signal to send,” Graham told reporters Tuesday. “If they don’t pay a price, they’re not going to stop.”


Expectations run high for Somalia’s new president

Somalia's former president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, third from left, with newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo after votes were counted on Feb. 8. (Said Yusuf Warsame/European Pressphoto Agency) Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, a former prime minister and U.S. dual citizen, won Somalia's long-postponed presidential election Wednesday. Voting took place at the international airport under heavy security. Somali citizens were not able to directly participate in the vote due to threats from extremist group al-Shabab, but Farmajo's victory was widely seen as a reflection of popular support. Legislators appointed by the country's powerful clan leaders cast the actual ballots and ultimately unseated the favorite, incumbent president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Farmajo, 55, is known for his anti-corruption work during eight months he served as prime minister six years ago. When he was asked to step down in 2011, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital, Mogadishu, demanding that he stay on. “This victory represents the interest of the Somali people. This victory belongs to Somali people, and this is the beginning of the era of the unity, the democracy of Somalia and the beginning of the fight against corruption,” Farmajo said after taking the oath of office Farmajo will now face off against endemic official corruption and al-Shabab's continued control of large swaths of the countryside. Transparency International has consistently listed Somalia as the most corrupt country in the world. Farmajo's win was celebrated in Somalia's streets, but analysts expressed wariness that he could mold a functioning government out of what is often considered a “failed state.” The election itself did little to instill confidence. A joint statement by the United Nations, the United States, European Union and others warned of “egregious cases of abuse of the electoral process” in the weeks leading up to the vote. And a Mogadishu-based nonprofit organization, Marqaati, released a report this week alleging that some presidential candidates paid $50,000 to $100,000 to legislators to sway their allegiance. Meanwhile, the constant threat of violence meant people in Somalia will have to wait again to cast ballots themselves. Throughout the presidency of Farmajo's predecessor, Somalia was plagued by high-profile attacks, particularly those targeting lawmakers and officials in Mogadishu. In an interview with The Washington Post last year, Mohamud called al-Shabab militants “resurgent,” admitting that his own fledgling security forces had failed to step up against the al-Qaeda-backed group. Former Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)


Trump’s claim that friends ‘can’t borrow money’ because of Dodd-Frank

was developing policies that would specifically help the community banking sector. “Community banks have suffered needlessly,” the official said. “What was missed in the implementation of Dodd-Frank was it was tailoring the rules to the banks that caused the problem.” So it is through the community banking context that we will examine the president’s comments. The Facts The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law in 2010, was developed in response to banking abuses and regulatory shortcomings exposed by the Great Recession of 2007-2008. It has long been derided by Republican and industry critics as overly complex and burdensome for the financial community — although some experts say that many large institutions have spent a fortune building compliance operations to satisfy the law and so may be reluctant to go back to a less-regulated system. Community banks play an important role in the U.S. economy, but since the recession, their numbers have been shrinking. A 2015 study published by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, “The State and Fate of Community Banking” by Marshall Lux and Robert Greene, says that community banks in 2014 provided 77 percent of agricultural loans, 46 percent of commercial real estate loans and 51 percent of small-business loans in the United States. But their share of these markets has fallen as a wave of consolidation has swept the industry. “Since 1994, community banks’ share of the U.S. lending market has fallen by approximately half — from 41 percent to 22 percent — while the top five largest banks’ share has more than doubled — from 17 percent to 41 percent,” the report says. The number of community banks shrank from 10,329 in the second quarter of 1994 to 5,521 banks in the third quarter of 2016, according to FDIC data. Dodd-Frank did not especially target community banks, however. For instance, a much-disliked provision known as the Durbin amendment, which limits credit-card fees paid by merchants to banks, applies only to banks with more than $10 billion in assets. “Realistically much of Dodd-Frank doesn’t apply to community banks under $10 billion in assets,” said Stephen M. Klein, a former bank regulator now at the law firm of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn in Seattle. “It was more of the restrictive regulatory environment and attitude that prevailed post recession and the array of bank failures.” He said that the historically low interest rates after


Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan opens door to a ‘few thousand’ more troops deploying there

Army Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. tells members the Senate Armed Services Committee, Feb. 9, he needs several thousand more international troops in order to break a stalemate in the war with Taliban insurgents. The top U.S. general overseeing coalition military operations in Afghanistan said Thursday he has a “shortfall of a few thousand” coalition troops, opening the door to more U.S. military advisers deploying in an effort to bolster the effort to train and advise Afghan security forces. Army Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the additional advisers would be part of Operation Resolute Support, the coalition’s advising mission. Nicholson already has enough troops to run a separate counterterrorism operation in Afghanistan, he said, but more military advisers would bolster efforts to improve the country’s ministries and allow the coalition to train more troops below the “corps level,” which includes generals and other senior levels of the military. “These contributions could come from our allies, as well as the United States,” Nicholson said. “We have identified the requirement, and the desire to advise below the corps levels. So, these additional forces would enable us to thicken our advisory effort across the Afghan ministries and do more advising below the corps level.” A U.S. special operator climbs down from a compound wall during a joint patrol with Afghan national army soldiers in Shewan, a former Taliban stronghold, in Afghanistan’s Farah province. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP) Currently, there are about 8,400 U.S. service members deployed in Afghanistan, with about 6,800 assigned to Resolute Support and a few thousand carrying out counterterrorism operations. The total number of coalition troops deployed there is about 13,300. Nicholson, appearing before Congress for the first time since the Trump administration took over, said he believes the new president may be open to a more robust military effort that is “objectives-based.” Questioned by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R.-S.C.), the general said he can definitely carry out his mission with less than 50,000 coalition troops, but hesitated a bit when asked if he could do so with less than 30,000. “Sir, that’s a conversation I need to have with my chain of command — but yes,” Nicholson said. White House press secretary Sean Spicer, asked about Nicholson’s comments, said that the matter is currently a Defense Department issue. But he predicted Trump will “heed the advice” of U.S. generals and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.


Pentagon journal explores what could happen if a president called for Muslim internment camps

President Trump passes Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph F. Dunford, left, and national security adviser Michael Flynn as he arrives at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press) The scholarly journal of the Pentagon’s top general published an essay that examines what someone in his position should do if a president ordered the establishment of Muslim internment camps, one day before President Trump signed an executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. The article appears in the most recent issue of Joint Force Quarterly under the headline “The Viability of Moral Dissent by the Military.” It won an annual essay competition last spring overseen by National Defense University in Washington in the name of then-Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, and was published with the winners of two other competitions run in the name of Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Jan. 26 publication of the essay came at a particularly sensitive time for the Pentagon, which bans engaging in “partisan political activity.” Senior defense officials were caught by surprise by President Trump’s temporary travel ban a day later, which was signed in the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes along with another order to improve military readiness. The travel restrictions are being contested in federal court. Dunford, perhaps more so than any other senior officer, has stressed the need for service members to stay out of politics. But academic military journals have explored political issues in the past, such as when the Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute published a piece by professor emeritus Don M. Snider in 2014 that discussed how forcefully Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, then the Joint Chiefs chairman, could dissent from President Barack Obama’s plan to counter the Islamic State. The journal typically publishes the winners of the essay competitions in the fall, but the decision was made this time to withhold their publication until January, said Rick Osial, a spokesman for Dunford. One consideration was creating separation from the Nov. 8 presidential election, but the editorial board also wanted to highlight other articles, the spokesman said. The essay, authored by Air Force Maj. Lee Turcotte, states at the outset that it is “not a partisan statement, although it unequivocally judges the rising tide of nationalism, isolationism, xenophobia, and anti-Islamic rhetoric occurring throughout the West.” It was submitted for the contest amid frequent claims by Trump during the


Why Whole Foods is now struggling

Bags of groceries sit in a shopping cart at a Whole Foods store in Dublin, Ohio. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg News) Organic food has never been so popular among American consumers. Ironically, that’s bad news for the brand that made organic a household name — namely, the Austin-based Whole Foods. On Wednesday, Whole Foods reported what is arguably its worst performance in a decade, announcing its sixth consecutive quarter of falling same-store sales and cutting its outlook for the year. The company is closing nine stores, the most it has ever closed at one time. A mere 16 months ago, Whole Foods predicted it would grow its 470 U.S. locations to more than 1,200. The problem is one that chief executive John Mackey probably didn’t predict when he first opened Whole Foods as a neighborhood natural foods store 36 years ago: Organics, then a fringe interest, have become so thoroughly mainstream that organic chains now have to face conventional big-box competitors. Mass-market retailers were responsible for 53.3 percent of organic food sales in 2015, according to the Organic Trade Association; natural retailers clocked in just north of 37. And Whole Foods is hardly the only store feeling the squeeze: Sprouts and Fresh Market, the second- and third-largest publicly traded organic stores, have also seen falling stock prices. “Whole Foods created this space and had it all to themselves for years,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst at Edward Jones. “But in the past five years, a lot of people started piling in. And now there's a lot of competition.” In many ways, the story of Whole Foods's decline is also the story of how the organic movement took over the United States. Between 2005 and 2015, sales of organic food increased 209 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association. Last year, organic sales topped $43.3 billion. The driving force behind this growth, most analysts agree, is none other than millennials: Consumers aged 18 to 34 are the largest buyers of organics, and they’re the most likely to consider themselves “knowledgeable” about their food. As they came of age, mainstream grocery chains have been forced to adapt, too. Walmart ramped up its organics selection in 2006. Kroger introduced its Simple Truth brand in 2012 — the store’s chief executive, Mike Ellis, later said it was the store’s “most successful brand launch ever.” Earlier this week, Aldi announced plans for a $1.6 billion U.S. expansion,


Why Whole Foods is now struggling

Market, the second- and third-largest publicly traded organic stores, have also seen falling stock prices. “Whole Foods created this space and had it all to themselves for years,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst at Edward Jones. “But in the past five years, a lot of people started piling in. And now there's a lot of competition.” In many ways, the story of Whole Foods's decline is also the story of how the organic movement took over the United States. Between 2005 and 2015, sales of organic food increased 209 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association. Last year, organic sales topped $43.3 billion. The driving force behind this growth, most analysts agree, is none other than millennials: Consumers aged 18 to 34 are the largest buyers of organics, and they’re the most likely to consider themselves “knowledgeable” about their food. As they came of age, mainstream grocery chains have been forced to adapt, too. Walmart ramped up its organics selection in 2006. Kroger introduced its Simple Truth brand in 2012 — the store’s chief executive, Mike Ellis, later said it was the store’s “most successful brand launch ever.” Earlier this week, Aldi announced plans for a $1.6 billion U.S. expansion, with much of that growth aimed at offering “a wider range of organic and gluten-free products.” By volume, the largest organic retailer in the United States is believed to be Costco, which in 2015 sold $4 billion of organic produce and packaged foods. Like Walmart, Kroger and Aldi, Costco sells organic produce for considerably less than do natural food stores, farmers markets or Whole Foods. In fact, lowering prices has been one of Whole Food’s primary strategies for dealing with competitors. (Organic Trade Association) Apart from shuttering stores and stalling expansion plans, the company is continuing to focus on 365 by Whole Foods, a two-year-old division aimed at launching stores for “value-conscious” consumers. It’s also been dropping prices at its regular locations and mailing out national discount circulars, something it had not previously done. Speaking to investors Wednesday, Mackey indicated that he did not want to see “too big of a gap” between the prices at Whole Foods and those at stores like Costco and Kroger. Whole Foods is hoping millennials can revive the company’s lagging sales by opening a new store, 365 by Whole Foods, which has lower prices, a vegan restaurant and robots. But some organic advocates are


USDA removed animal welfare reports from its site. A showhorse lawsuit may be why.

McGartlands’ lawsuit and interviews with former agency officials and animal protection advocates suggest that changes had partially begun several months before. Former Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack But Vilsack did not sign off on the recommendation — not because he disagreed with it but because he believed it had major implications that he didn’t have time to consider fully, he said. “There was not enough time for us to properly vet the recommendation, and I was concerned about transparency,” he explained. Under the Trump administration, the USDA, which does not yet have a secretary, took less than three weeks to approve the removal of records that had been available for at least seven years. “I think it was probably easier to make this wholesale shutdown under the new administration,” said Delcianna Winders, a fellow at Harvard University’s Animal Law & Policy Program who is deeply familiar with the database. (Gerry Broome/AP) Yet animal advocacy groups say access had already begun to be reduced last fall. The USDA last posted enforcement records in August, according to Eric Kleiman, a researcher at the Animal Welfare Institute who shared information about the lawsuit with The Washington Post. Other records were retroactively redacted, he said. Some involved SNBL, a Washington state-based company that imports primates for research. In September, the USDA filed a complaint accusing the company of violations associated with the deaths — including by thirst and strangulation — of 38 monkeys imported from Asia. Kleiman obtained the unredacted complaint through a FOIA request, and it was published on the websites of the Seattle Times and the Animal Welfare Institute. But in November, Kleiman noted, the USDA filed a motion to seal its own complaint. It sought to redact information about SNBL’s nearly $10 million profit over two years, as well as the number of monkeys it imported and used annually — the kind of information not covered under FOIA exemptions. The USDA’s scrubbing of records from its website has not only angered animal protection groups and journalists, who have used the documents to report on violations at Harvard University’s primate research facility, Santa Cruz Biotechnology and other places. The agency’s decision has also been criticized by some of the regulated industries. Dan Ashe, the president and chief executive of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said in an interview that the removal “creates an impression that licensees by the Department of Agriculture have


Chip Kelly wants to remain in the NFL, but which NFL teams want him?

Chip Kelly was fired by the Eagles and 49ers in consecutive seasons. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo) It has been more than five weeks since the San Francisco 49ers dismissed Chip Kelly as their head coach, becoming the second NFL team in two years to say no thank you to the head coaching stylings of the man who once was going to change the way offense was played in the league. NFL head coaching jobs have come and gone since then. Offensive coordinator jobs have come and gone since then. No one has hired Kelly. He has expressed interest in remaining in the NFL rather than taking his fast-break offense back to the college ranks, where it once was so successful at Oregon. He reportedly is not interested in the offensive coordinator vacancy at Alabama, which would create an intriguing pairing with a coach, in Nick Saban, who couldn’t make things work as an NFL head coach but is among the all-time greats in college. If that is so, and Kelly truly is intent on remaining in the NFL, it leads to the question: Is the NFL still interested in him? Perhaps Kelly will resurface in the NFL at some point. He is friendly with Bill Belichick and there was speculation he might have been a candidate to replace Josh McDaniels as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator if McDaniels had moved on to a head coaching role. But, then again, the Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly interviewed Kelly before promoting Doug Marrone to be their full-time head coach, removing his interim tag, and they didn’t hire Kelly as their head coach or even as Marrone’s offensive coordinator. There was speculation about the Atlanta Falcons possibly hiring Kelly as their offensive coordinator upon Kyle Shanahan’s post-Super-Bowl departure to be Kelly’s successor with the 49ers. But the Falcons went with Steve Sarkisian. Kelly remains a polarizing figure within the league. In informal recent conversations with front office executives from several teams, there was a mix of opinions. Some continue to regard Kelly as a bright offensive mind with innovative ideas who brought about his own downfall in Philadelphia by being granted too much power over shaping the roster, then landed in an impossible and dysfunctional situation in San Francisco that resulted in a too-quick firing. Others now dismiss him as a two-time NFL failure who would be wise to return to college coaching. Which


The opioid epidemic could turn into a pandemic if we’re not careful

elsewhere in the world is comparable to that found in the United States — we’re still the Doctors in the United States began prescribing opioids — powerful narcotics that include pill-form painkillers such as methadone, oxycodone and hydrocodone — to treat pain at unprecedented rates in the 1990s. The medical community adopted the practice more commonly despite long-standing fears that the drugs would lead to addiction, mostly as a result of promises from pharmaceutical companies that their products were safe treatments for pain. Over the past few decades, drug companies We know all too well how that ended: Despite no change in the amount of pain reported in the United States, abuse of prescription painkillers and heroin has Respondents who took part in The Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey on long-term, opioid painkiller use share their experiences of living with pain. But as the prescription opioid market in the United States begins to shrink, pharmaceutical companies are reportedly looking elsewhere to sell their products, according to “Once pharmaceuticals start targeting other countries and make people feel like opioids are safe, we might see a spike [in opioid abuse],” said Silvia Martins, an epidemiologist at Columbia University and author of the World Psychology paper. “It worked here. Why wouldn’t it work elsewhere?” The opioid epidemic in the United States shows that it is possible to drastically change the cultural norms in medical communities that are reluctant to treat pain with powerful opioids. It’s also an easy way for doctors to make patients feel like they’re solving their problems — especially if they give them a bottle of pain medication that could last months on end. We often forget that for a lot of people, opioids are a solution — however heavy-handed — to chronic pain. For that reason, the lure of strong opioid medication is particularly troubling in places outside the United States where doctors might not have much training on addiction. “(Physicians in other countries) need to be very aware of where their information is coming from,” said Scott Novak, an epidemiologist at RTI International who studies drug abuse internationally. “For many doctors, the number one source of information on drugs is pharmacy representatives, but you really need to do your homework.” Hopefully, the tragedy of opioids in America will help stem the tide in other countries. The lesson should be loud and clear: Powerful painkillers should not be our


Senators vs. Russia

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, makes an opening statement during a confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson as secretary of state in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 11. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg) In contrast to the president, senators from both sides of the aisle have spoken up strongly for the need to take a tough stand against Russia, which is increasingly aggressive internationally and repressive at home. In a letter to President Trump The United States should unequivocally condemn – and take proactive steps to stem – the continued Russian aggression in Ukraine. Russia has invaded Ukraine and illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula, in violation of international law, and has directly abetted the so-called “separatist rebels” in eastern Ukraine. Since 2014, over 10,000 Ukrainians have died in this tragic conflict, and there are as many as 1.5 million internally displaced persons because of the violence. The most recent escalation of fighting along the “line of contact” in eastern Ukraine should serve as a reminder of Russia’s nefarious intentions. The Administration should maintain the current U.S. sanctions regime against Russia and Russian entities – and to impose new sanctions as necessary and merited by Russian behavior –unless Ukraine’s control over Crimea is restored, Russia fully respects the Minsk agreements, and ceases all efforts to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. Furthermore, we ask you to expedite the provision of defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine, and we were encouraged that Secretary of State Tillerson supported this position during his confirmation hearing. They warned against bargaining away Syria’s fate. (“The United States should not enter into any military or diplomatic agreement with Russia regarding Syria’s future until Moscow halts its military operations that have caused immense damage and human suffering and ceases support for the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad.”) They also condemned Russia’s cyberwarfare against the West. They concluded with this: “Most importantly, we urge you to relay to Moscow that the values of democracy, human rights, transparency, and accountability are central to U.S. foreign policy, that these values are non-negotiable, and that the United States will continue to advance these values globally, including with regard to Russia. President Putin must know that the United States remains a beacon of hope and democracy around the world, and will stand up for what is right.” The willingness to call out Putin’s repression at home and to defend American democracy has oddly become


What Elon Musk shows us about the struggles of CEOs in Trump’s America

have chosen to get involved with Trump in an advisory way: When you lie down with the dog, you’re going to come up with fleas.” In response to a story about Musk meeting with Trump, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar tweeted Saturday that sitting down with opponents is effective only “if it’s in good faith. Trump camp uses you for legitimacy.” On Twitter, users were pointed in their criticism: “It is becoming clearer that it is time for you to stop working with Trump. How many Tesla sales have you lost as of now?” Musk has maintained on social media that his role as an adviser should not suggest he supports all of Trump’s policies. Instead, he says, his presence offers an opportunity to challenge the White House on issues such as immigration and climate change and raise more moderate points of view that might otherwise be left out of the conversation. “People should push to have as many moderates advising the President as possible. Blind hate is never the right answer,” Musk tweeted Sunday after a Twitter user said his friends were “disavowing” Musk because of his Trump connection. Tesla declined to make Musk available for an interview. After the executive order was signed, executives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and other major tech firms expressed their dismay through internal memos and social-media posts. Then, last weekend, many big-name tech firms took the rare step of filing a joint legal brief calling the order “unlawful.” Tesla and SpaceX signed on to the brief a day after it was filed. A federal appeals court Thursday continued a freeze on the executive order, allowing refugees and immigrants who were previously banned to enter the United States. The angry response to the executive order prompted another Silicon Valley executive, Travis Kalanick of Uber, to resign from Trump’s advisory council. But Kalanick and Musk run very different companies. While Uber has built its business on positive public opinion and thumbing its nose at regulators, Tesla and SpaceX operate in heavily regulated industries and rely on the government for financial incentives. “Advisory councils simply provide advice and attending does not mean that I agree with actions by the Administration,” Musk wrote Feb. 2. “My goals are to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy and to help make humanity a multi-planet civilization, a consequence of which will be the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs


Trump administration puts off listing bumble bee as endangered

day before the new protections were set to take effect, the Fish and Wildlife Service said they would not take effect before March 21. The striped black and yellow pollinator with a long black tail used to be so abundant in the Midwest that it was considered a nuisance by some residents. It now only exists in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. A parasitic fungus carried by commercial bees, along with habitat destruction and pesticide exposure has contributed to such a severe decline that the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined it will go extinct within 40 years without federal intervention. “The change in the effective date from February 10 to March 21, 2017, is not expected to have an impact on the conservation of the species,” Gary Frazer, the agency’s assistant director of ecological services, said in a statement. “FWS is developing a recovery plan to guide efforts to bring this species back to a healthy and secure condition.” Previous administrations — dating back to Ronald Reagan — have enacted a 60-day freeze on pending regulations upon taking office, though they have allowed many of those measures to go through without delay. The memo stated that a pause in regulatory action was needed for “reviewing questions of fact, law, and policy they raise.” “The Department is working as expeditiously as possible on this and expects to issue further guidance on the effective date of the listing shortly,” Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, said in an email. An endangered species listing would force the Fish and Wildlife Service to outline steps to recover the bumble bee and designate protected habitat for it. Farm groups, as well as oil and gas firms, opposed the endangered designation on the grounds that it could interfere with their industries’ operations. Rich Hatfield, senior endangered species conservation biologist for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, said in an interview that he remained optimistic that the bee would win new federal safeguards. “This species is critically imperiled and needs protection,” he said. “I’m hopeful that the administration will recognize the importance that pollinators play for food security in this country.” Hatfield added that the Fish and Wildlife Service established a committee of experts in November to help stave off the bee’s extinction, and the working groups are scheduled to reconvene by phone next week. “Those meetings have not been canceled,” he said.


Maryland open houses Feb. 11-12

CHEVY CHASE 20815 3708 Williams Lane 7111 Woodmont Ave #909 5500 Friendship Blvd #1208n CLARKSBURG 20871 13817 Harrier Way 13813 Harrier Way 13814 Harrier Way 23158 Robin Song Dr 22631 Sweetspire Dr DERWOOD 20855 16300 Decker Pl #bancroft DICKERSON 20842 1189a Della Rd GAITHERSBURG 20877 426 Girard St #160 100 Deer Park Rd E 101 Woodland Rd 20878 3 Dearden Pl 248 Gold Kettle Dr 20879 19417 Olive Tree Way 1236 Knoll Mist Lane GERMANTOWN 20874 14852 Mockingbird Dr 12338 Quail Woods Dr 20876 21514 Manor View Cir HYATTSVILLE 20781 4414 Kennedy St 20782 3109 Sentinel Dr 3107 Sentinel Dr 3105 Sentinel Dr 3103 Sentinel Dr 3304 Tribune Ct #c 3306 Tribune Ct #d 3308 Tribune Ct #e 3310 Tribune Ct #f 20784 7203 Good Luck Rd KENSINGTON 20895 3409 Nimitz Rd 3904 Franklin St 2890 Findley Rd 2883 Findley Rd 2917 Findley Rd 2908 Findley Rd MONTGOMERY VILLAGE 20886 9852 Brookridge Ct OLNEY 20832 935 Gratitude Ct 17161 Moss Side Lane #2 815 Lower Barn Way POTOMAC 20854 7416 Brickyard Rd ROCKVILLE 20850 918 King Farm Dr 1408 Piccard Dr 936 King Farm Blvd 1448 Piccard Dr 1446 Piccard Dr 20851 2039 Ashleigh Woods Ct 20852 1208 Treasure Oak Ct 4705 Wyaconda Rd 6120 Rosemont Cir 6120 Rosemont Cir 4703 Wyaconda Rd SILVER SPRING 20901 9903 Tenbrook Dr 9039 Sligo Creek Pkwy #1801 9608 Merwood Lane 20902 3416 Highview Ct 20905 426 Cloverly Forest Dr 20906 1032 Guillemot Dr 13423 Redspire Dr 13503 Redspire Dr 1120 Sanctuary Ct 2437 East Gate Dr. PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY BELTSVILLE 20705 4818 Lexington Ave BOWIE 20715 12130 Long Ridge Lane 20716 15618 Everglade Lane #201 20720 13406 Old Chapel Rd 13020 6th St 20721 10795 Kitchener Ct 3601 Clairton Dr CAPITOL HEIGHTS 20743 910 Brooke Rd CLINTON 20735 6104 Edward Dr COLLEGE PARK 20740 8318 Potomac Ave FORT WASHINGTON 20744 12608 Lagrange Ct 2714 Rose Valley Dr LANHAM 20706 7202 Wood Meadow Way 7210 Wood Meadow Way 7523 Newberry Lane OXON HILL 20745 614 Fair Winds Way 616 Fair Winds Way 612 Fair Winds Way 615 Fair Winds Way 810 Fair Winds Way 520 Rampart Way #unit1 155 Potomac Passage #419 820 Fair Winds Way SUITLAND 20746 2217 Shadyside Ave TEMPLE HILLS 20748 2216 Dawn Lane UPPER MARLBORO 20772 9910 Croom Rd 4013 Ranch Rd 4604 Grazing Way 11012 Fillys Ford Xing 10922 Dappled Grey Way 10917 Dappled Grey Way 10921 Dappled Grey


The Trump administration can’t entirely roll back progress on climate change. Here’s why.

A glacier in Antarctica in 2007. Melting ice is likely to raise sea levels and affect ocean currents, rainfall patterns and weather systems. (Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images) Environmentalists are not happy with the Trump administration. There are rumors that Trump may withdraw from the landmark Paris agreement on climate change. And Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil, is probably unlikely to champion U.S. environmental priorities in his diplomatic agenda. Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency pick, Scott Pruitt, is not a fan of environmental regulation and is unlikely to support the Clean Power Plan, Obama’s signature climate policy. U.S. cities are leading the way on climate change policy Here’s the good news: States, cities and many companies in the United States realize that sensible climate policy is, well, sensible. Having rational policies in place provides important health benefits, such as reducing smog, and helps authorities prepare for climate-induced changes, such as floods and droughts. For companies, planning for the future is just good business. A number of cities around the world have been at the vanguard of climate action. The C40 Cities initiative is a network of more than 80 cities, including 13 in the United States, and represents 600 million people around the globe. Their governments are collaborating on climate efforts, and they have committed to mandatory measurement and reporting of emissions and other policy measures. C40’s nifty interactive dashboard provides data on participants’ emissions. Eight U.S. cities also joined the ambitious Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, where cities pledge to cut emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050. U.S. cities are also preparing for a changed climate. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New York created the Office of Recovery and Resiliency and a plan to minimize impacts of similar storms. Miami just announced a $100 million plan to combat persistent flooding and sea level rise. Cities’ vulnerability helps explain why urban residents are more likely to support policies to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant and require that utilities source a set percentage of energy from renewable sources. States are generating demand for clean energy States also have the autonomy to take action on climate change, with or without a federal mandate. California is continuing its long-standing role as a climate leader. The state’s landmark climate legislation, AB 32, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and then 80 percent below 1990


A full moon, lunar eclipse and comet all in one evening? It happens tonight.

A lunar eclipse, a full moon and a comet all happening in one night. Turn this evening into a cosmic experience — a full moon, lunar eclipse and the chance to see a pale green comet as it streaks by Earth. Oh, and beg for clear skies. This month’s so-called “Snow Moon” will pass through Earth’s outer shadow just after sunset, turning its face varying shades of grey. Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth is optimally placed between the sun and the moon. With an added dose of serendipity, we’re on our planet’s primo dark side with front-row seats. On the East Coast, the full moon climbs above the horizon around 5:30 p.m., just as it enters Earth’s penumbral (outer) shadow and — ever so slowly — the lunar disk will start to dim and turn gray. Late afternoon twilight gives way to the evening dark skies. For practical purposes, the Eastern time zone will likely perceive the gray shading around 6:14 p.m., according to Alan MacRobert and Kelly Beatty, senior editors at Sky & Telescope magazine. By the middle of the eclipse, at 7:44 p.m. Eastern time, the northern third of moon will be a noticeably darker gray, said astronomer Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. After mid-eclipse, the graying begins to yield to the moon’s normal brightness. The moon fully leaves the penumbral shadow at 9:55 p.m. During the lunar eclipse Friday, the moon nicks the outside of Earth’s dark umbral shadow, causing deep gray shading around 7:44 p.m. (Sky & Telescope) But wait — there’s more! Let the kids stay up late, because Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusáková (don’t ask us how to pronounce all those names) makes its closest approach to Earth Friday night. You’ll be able to see the greenish comet by telescope and binoculars in a dark location, but not with the naked eye. Depending on where you’re located, clouds may also prove to be a hindrance. A fairly large portion of the Northeast is forecast to be shrouded this evening, as well as the Great Lakes region and parts of the Southwest. Fortunately you can still watch, because the great folks at slooh.com will be webcasting the eclipse and the comet. And really, even if the skies were clear, that might be the best option if you want to see both events up-close. Cloud cover forecast for Friday evening. Slooh’s live feed For both live


Russian runner who admitted on video to doping is stripped of Olympic gold

Russian middle distance runner Mariya Savinova has been banned for four years for doping. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press) It’s official: Mariya Savinova, the Russian athlete who shot to worldwide fame after her picture accompanied nearly every article about her country’s alleged state-sanctioned doping scandal, has been stripped of her Olympic gold. The middle distance runner, who was implicated in the scandal after being caught on tape admitting to using a performance-enhancing drug, had held the 800-meter gold from the 2012 London Olympics. The final decision came down Friday via the Court of Arbitration of Sport, which imposed a four-year ban on the athlete and nullified Savinova’s race results from July 2010 to August 2013 for having doped during that time period. The CAS cited “clear evidence,” including her biological passport, to support the allegations. The court also likely took into account Savinova’s own admissions of taking the anabolic steroid oxandrolone that Russian doping whistleblower and Savinova’s former teammate Yulia Stepanova caught on video. The undercover footage originally aired in 2014 on German television. The secrets of Doping: How Russia makes its winners - H.Seppelt (ARD - 2014) - FRANCAIS/ENGLISH “Oxandrolone is very quickly out of my body again,” Savinova said while describing the sophisticated system her coach and others set up to cover up her doping. “It takes less than 20 days. We have tested that. My husband has very good contacts at the doping control laboratory.” As a result of Savinova’s forfeiture of her prize, South Africa’s Caster Semenya, who was originally awarded the silver, is in line for the gold should the IOC decide to reallocate the medals. That would make Semenya, who took home the Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro last summer, the two-time reigning champion in the event. The bronze-medal winner from London, fellow Russia Ekaterina Poistogova, is also under investigation for doping. Should Poistogova be banned, Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo could be in line for the silver and U.S. runner Alysia Montano the bronze. Savinova joins an ever-growing list of at least 19 Russian Olympians who have been stripped of their medals from either the 2008 or 2012 Games for retroactively having been caught doping. According to the Associated Press, another 10 Russians have also had to forfeit their relay medals for having competed on a team with someone dinged for doping. Just because the athletes have been ordered to forfeit their medals, however, doesn’t mean


The surprisingly heated political battle raging over the word ‘milk’

Containers of Silk soy milk are displayed on a shelf at United Market in San Rafael, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Chances are you’ve never stopped at your grocery store’s dairy case, baffled by the difference between “soy” and “2%” milk. But the dairy industry says consumers are confused — and it’s launched a war to clarify the facts for them. Industry-backed bills in the House and Senate have recently sought to ban the makers of plant-based products from using the terms “milk,” “cheese” or “yogurt.” In December, dairy lobbyists persuaded 32 legislators to demand that the Food and Drug Administration act on “imitation milk products.” Those efforts join preexisting initiatives, like a special logo that differentiates “real” dairy and several cutesy, industry-funded ads that champion milk over nondairy competitors. Now, as plant-based product sales continue to soar, Big Milk is ramping up its lobbying efforts against the companies that it says have misappropriated milk’s good name. And the fledgling plant-based food lobby — arguably the David to milk’s Goliath — has promised to do the same. The Good Food Institute just hired its first lobbyist. The Plant Based Foods Association, a trade group, has met with the FDA. “The dairy industry is behind this, and they’ve got it all wrong,” said GFI’s policy director, Nicole Negowetti. The showdown between dairy and nondairy milks has been a long time coming. Consumption of conventional milk has been cratering since the 1950s, a product of both modern concerns about fat and the explosion of consumer beverage options after the World War II. In more recent years, sales of, first, soy milk and later almond, cashew, rice, coconut and quinoa milks, have steadily eaten into dairy milk’s already shrinking market share. According to Nielsen, almond-milk sales grew 250 percent between 2011 and 2016, a period when the milk market shrank by $1 billion. The dairy industry is not exactly imperiled by this: Yogurt and cheese sales are both up, and much of America’s fluid milk gets turned into those products. But the industry still argues that the situation is fundamentally unfair — that it's being forced to compete with a product that does not play by the same rules in the market. Under long-standing FDA regulations, products labeled milk or cheese or yogurt must meet specific ingredient and composition rules. Those vary from the obvious — such as the oft-referenced milk is “the lacteal


Want an app to help see eclipses, comets and constellations? This is my favorite.

(Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide) Space. I love space. I didn’t study astronomy or anything related, but I’ve been an armchair astronomer since I was 11 and pored over a giant picture book detailing our solar system, galaxy and what might lie beyond. I never actually considered studying the stars, nor did I catch the “astronaut” bug as a child, but sometimes I think I may have missed a calling. Of course, 21st-century technology has only fed my obsession. I’ve perused a few space-related apps, and — although I haven’t tried them all — I found my favorite easily. The interface is marvelous in its simplicity and I can tell the developers are making good use of phones’ capabilities. This app could be pared down to its most-basic interaction and still be great, but the depth of information behind its wow-factor is remarkable. This app makes my not-so-inner nerd sing. It’s called SkyGuide, and it’s available for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch (the last of which I haven’t experimented with). Its $2.99 in the Apple App Store. Something comparable on the Android appears to be Star Walk 2, which is $0.99 on Google Play. Reviews for this app have been similarly favorable to the iOS’s SkyGuide. (Do you have a favorite astronomy app for Android? Tell us in the comments!) Far and away the best feature of the SkyGuide app is the main attraction — the ability to lift your phone up to the sky and see all of the constellations, planets, satellites, comets and other space objects in your phone’s “field of view.” I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been sitting outside with friends who look up and wonder what a certain bright dot is in the sky. If I don’t already know, out comes SkyGuide, in which we inevitably lose ourselves in for the next 15 minutes. The app gets even more exciting for big events — past and the future — including this year’s total solar eclipse which will be visible across North America. Curious what that will look like from where you’re standing? Turn the time forward to Aug. 21, 2017, between 2 and 4 p.m., Eastern time. (Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide) I’m in Washington, which will not see the moon cover all of the sun. But it will come close. I could always drive to North Carolina, I suppose. Now let’s look at Friday’s lunar


I haven’t experimented with). Its $2.99 in the Apple App Store. Something comparable on the Android appears to be Star Walk 2, which is $0.99 on Google Play. Reviews for this app have been similarly favorable to the iOS’s SkyGuide. (Do you have a favorite astronomy app for Android? Tell us in the comments!) Far and away the best feature of the SkyGuide app is the main attraction — the ability to lift your phone up to the sky and see all of the constellations, planets, satellites, comets and other space objects in your phone’s “field of view.” I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been sitting outside with friends who look up and wonder what a certain bright dot is in the sky. If I don’t already know, out comes SkyGuide, in which we inevitably lose ourselves in for the next 15 minutes. The app gets even more exciting for big events — past and the future — including this year’s total solar eclipse which will be visible across North America. Curious what that will look like from where you’re standing? Turn the time forward to Aug. 21, 2017, between 2 and 4 p.m., Eastern time. (Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide) I’m in Washington, which will not see the moon cover all of the sun. But it will come close. I could always drive to North Carolina, I suppose. Now let’s look at Friday’s lunar eclipse! I can do this right now by changing the sky time, so to speak, to the time of peak eclipse. When I do, the sky appears exactly as it will at 7:44 p.m. Eastern time, including the shadowed moon. The moon will not turn red tonight, since it’s not a total lunar eclipse. It will turn gray as Earth’s shadow grazes the moon. (Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide) It labels comets, constellations, meteor showers and individual stars. I spoke with the developers at Fifth Star Labs and they said regrettably, they did not get Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusáková into the app in time for tonight’s pass. Each event is added by hand and there are a lot of comets. Understandably, it’s hard to know which ones will pique people’s interest in advance. (Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide) At the very least, set up an alert for the International Space Station and impress your friends by pointing it out in the sky. You’ll earn some serious nerd-cred. (Fifth Star Labs/SkyGuide)


Did Trump and Abe just launch a new chapter in U.S.-Japan relations?

Japan and 10 other nations, and Abe had invested significant political capital to move the agreement forward. Despite these hurdles, the Trump-Abe relationship seems to be on sound footing. More importantly, the boost for the U.S.-Japan alliance has been a positive development for the Trump administration. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed trade, refugees and their relationship during a joint news conference at the White House, Feb. 10. Here are the key moments from that event in less than four minutes. Why are U.S.-Japan relations looking rosier than other bilateral relationships? Three reasons might explain why U.S.-Japan relations have fared better than other bilateral relationships during Trump’s first month in office: 1) Japan wants to make some deals Just prior to his trip, Abe also discussed increasing Japan’s purchases of U.S. energy exports. Finding ways to support Trump’s domestic economic agenda is a smart approach to cultivating a positive relationship and persuading Trump to consider the merits of a trade agreement with Japan, whether bilateral or multilateral in form. 2) Trump seems to be faring better on Asia policy, in any event Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also reassured Congress that the United States would defend Japan’s claims over the Senkaku Islands in its dispute with China. Trump’s newfound support for the “one-China policy” in his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday appears for now to have eased tensions with China. Under this backdrop of relative calm and continuity on core U.S.-Japan security issues and U.S. security strategy in Asia, Washington and Tokyo might find greater room for cooperation on more contentious economic issues. Robert Kraft, the owner of the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots, joined President Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and their wives for dinner on Friday, Feb. 10 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. 3) Trump and Abe have quickly developed a personal rapport On Friday, Trump and Abe, accompanied by their wives, boarded Air Force One bound for Florida. Their budding bromance harks back to the Junichiro Koizumi-George W. Bush relationship in the mid-2000s, when the president invited the Japanese prime minister to his Texas ranch for beer and barbecue, and they later toured Graceland together. Koizumi was a huge Elvis Presley fan, it turned out. The U.S.-Japan alliance flourished during the Koizumi-Bush years, attested by Japan’s expansion of its military role in support for U.S. wars in


Forget the ring: Lab-grown diamonds are a scientist’s best friend

resilience. “Its intrinsic properties are remarkable.” Wearing it on your finger is just about the least interesting thing you can do with a diamond. The stones are one of nature's best heat conductors and electrical insulators; when used in the production of semiconductors, they keep the silicon from overheating. They're also used to make drill bits, solar panels and high-power lasers. Someday, tiny diamond nanoparticles might even help deliver medicine to cells struck by cancer. A photograph (left) and illustration (right) of a diamond anvil cell. Lab-grown gems extend the possibilities much further — allowing scientists to explore questions about the cosmos. Hemley, who is now a professor at George Washington University, is working with WDLG Diamonds to develop better stones for instruments called diamond anvil cells. By squeezing together two diamonds — the only material capable of withstanding such pressures — scientists can simulate the conditions found inside planets. They can compress the microbes that dwell in the Earth's crust to understand how they resist the crushing weight of the rock above them. They can model the behavior of gases that endure the high pressure of gas planets such as Saturn and Jupiter. And they can push materials to such extremes that they take on new properties. Just last month, Harvard physicists claimed that they'd used a diamond vise to turn hydrogen into a metal — a step toward developing a new type of superconductor. Diamonds' transparency is vital in these experiments. It allows researchers to send beams of light, from X-ray to infrared, through the anvil cell to probe the material inside. Reinhard Boehler, a scientist at Carnegie and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, uses neutron beams to probe elements such as carbon and hydrogen at very high pressures. The task requires diamonds that are perfect as well as large, which means they can only come from a lab. Traditional diamonds often contain flaws, and those of any significant size are far too expensive — especially because Boehler's lab breaks so many of its anvils. He chuckled, “Diamonds, for us, are not forever.” Correction: Read more: The 'March for Science' is gaining mainstream momentum This is how you photograph a million dead plants without losing your mind NASA facility with deep-space rocket takes direct hit from a tornado Newly discovered gecko has a quick-release mechanism for escaping predators Dear Science: Why do we love our pets?


Union Kitchen Grocery opens in Shaw on Monday

Union Kitchen Grocery's second location is located in Shaw. (Courtesy Union Kitchen) Union Kitchen Grocery wants to be your new corner store. In a city where CVS and 7-Eleven plop down locations separated by what you could barely call a stone's throw, that sounds like a tall order. But Union Kitchen Grocery is working on it. "We really see our radius as being two or three blocks," said Cullen Gilchrist, co-founder of Union Kitchen, the food business incubator in NoMa that counts the store in its portfolio of ventures. The goal is to be within easy reach of potential customers. "We want to come where they are." The second location of the shop opens Monday in Shaw at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. It's about twice the size of the original storefront near Union Station. The additional space means the store can expand its prepared food options beyond sandwiches, the selection of which includes an Italian sub, bulgogi banh mi and a new Philly roast pork. In the mornings, expect a yogurt bar and hot breakfast bar with oatmeal and eggs. For lunch and dinner, those spaces will transform into a salad bar and a counter serving rotating specials with Indian, American comfort food, Caribbean, Chinese and Italian fare. Think dishes along the lines of butter chicken, meatloaf, lasagna, ropa vieja and beef with broccoli. Also in the carryout portion of the operation: a self-serve nitro draft bar, featuring soda, cold brew coffee and Vietnamese iced coffee. The espresso bar menu will serve made-to-order drinks, which, like some of those at the nitro bar, will be made with the District's Compass Coffee. The other half of the store will be for shopping. One of the store's goals is to showcase Union Kitchen members and make it easy for shoppers to engage with the local scene, whether they're out-of-towners here for a convention or residents who may not be familiar with the goods being made nearby. There will be more than 200 products from more than 100 area businesses, including cocktail bitters from Embitterment, fruit-flavored ketchups from 'Chups, kombucha from Capital Kombucha and ice cream from Milk Cult and Ice Cream Jubilee. Gilchrist knows members can't supply everything people may want in a corner store run, so the total inventory of more than 1,000 items will also include such necessities as flour, paper goods and good old Coca-Cola. "We want


The imperiled saiga antelope is struck by a plague — again

A female saiga. (Buuveibaatar Bayabaatar) It was December when the first reports started coming in: All across the frozen Mongolian steppe, saiga were dying. The antelope species, with its tawny coat, ringed horns and incongruous oversize snout, has roamed the world's chilly northern grasslands since the Pleistocene. But the International Union for Conservation of Nature now deems it critically endangered. And in the past two months, the rare Mongolian subspecies Saiga tartica mongolica has been decimated by a deadly virus. “You can literally look out across a plain and see sick individuals and carcasses,” said Amanda Fine, a veterinarian with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Asia. The organization said this week that a quarter of the Mongolian saiga population has been lost to the small ruminant plague, or PPR. The virus evolved in Africa and normally affects livestock like goats and sheep. But it has spread in recent years, first to the Middle East, then to Asia. Fine and her colleagues think it probably was introduced to Mongolia via livestock imported from China, then passed to the saiga in the grazing areas the wild animals share with domestic herds. This is the first time PPR has been identified in saiga, and the impact is pitiful to see. The virus initially infects the animals' nasal cavities, producing crusty secretions around their noses and eyes. Then it migrates into their lungs, causing pneumonia. The animals struggle to breathe, stretching out their necks and gaping their mouths in an attempt to get more air. They stop eating and become dehydrated. When PPR infects domestic goats, it kills anywhere between 30 and 90 percent of the herd. Carcass counts of the Mongolian saiga suggest that 2,500 animals — a quarter of the population — have already died, Fine said. The rate of infection seems to have slowed, but it has not run its course, and the virus could flare up again when the animals congregate in the spring. The saiga have been in decline for decades, a result of habitat loss, hunting and poaching for their horns. By the start of the millennium, there were just 50,000 left — a 95 percent decline from their numbers in the 1970s. The creatures were added to the IUCN Red List of endangered creatures, and conservation work started in earnest. By 2015, the efforts were starting to pay off. The global population of saiga had grown to


One part of the Obama White House that will endure under Trump: Michelle’s vegetable garden

First lady Michelle Obama joins school children to harvest the summer crop from the White House kitchen garden, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, at the White House. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/P It was less than a year ago that Michelle Obama referred to it as “her baby.” She wasn’t talking about her youngest daughter, Sasha, or the Obama’s pet dog Bo, but something undoubtedly dear to her during her time at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the White House vegetable garden. Her comments were made during her eighth and final spring planting, but “hopefully,” she added, “this will not be the last” one ever. First lady Melania Trump confirmed that although the garden’s founder may have moved away, her beloved garden lives on. A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “As a mother and as the First Lady of this country, Mrs. Trump is committed to the preservation and continuation of the White House Gardens, specifically the First Lady’s Kitchen Garden and the Rose Garden,” Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, senior adviser to the first lady, said in a statement to CNN. The White House vegetable garden was supposedly the first of its kind since Eleanor Roosevelt’s in 1943, The Washington Post’s Dan Zak reported in April. The garden in the past has offered a varied menu that included “Churchill” brussels sprouts and “Kentucky colonel” spearmint, as well as garlic and fennel and shallots and endive. The garden was, at last count, 1,700 square feet in size, but for the past eight years it has occupied a much larger space symbolically, as Michelle Obama used her platform to fight childhood obesity and improve America’s eating habits. Throughout that fight, health advocates said, the garden was a physical reminder of Obama’s message. “The vegetables wind up in dinners for the first family,” Zak noted. “Almost 500 pounds of them have been shipped to homeless shelters. In 2010, they ripened into Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign, for which the first lady danced with Elmo and Jimmy Fallon in order to get kids off the couch and to the crisper. She has also nudged corporations to trim salt, sugar and fat from food products.” The garden — located on the corner of the South Lawn — more than doubled in area during the Obama presidency. The garden also includes an apiary and a pollinator garden for bees and other insects. A spokesman for Hillary


Disease ‘superspreaders’ accounted for nearly two-thirds of Ebola cases, study finds

tended to be children younger than 15 or adults between 40 and 55 years old, he said. They were based in the community rather than in health-care facilities, and they continued to spread the disease after Older adults were probably caring for the children. These caregivers were also more likely to be in charge of organizing large funerals, Dalziel said. Researchers said their findings about the importance of superspreaders were conservative because they focused only on people who had been buried safely. Ebola spreads primarily through contact with bodily fluids. During the epidemic, superspreaders were cited in numerous news stories about Ebola’s spread. Often, transmission occurred during caregiving at home and during funeral preparations, especially washing and touching the bodies of loved ones. Researchers said the study provided a new statistical framework that allowed scientists to measure how important superspreaders were in fueling the epidemic. In the future, public health officials should consider asking: “What are the scenarios where superspreading might occur?” Dalziel said. That question might help tailor better methods of controlling an outbreak, he said. Superspreaders have played a role in the spread of several other infectious diseases. During the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, superspreading was considered one of the most notable features of the outbreak. In one such event in Hong Kong, a 26-year-old man who was admitted to a hospital for treatment infected 156 people, including hospital staff, patients and visitors. A single superspreader in a busy hospital emergency department also spread MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome, to 82 people in just three days in May 2015 during an outbreak of the virus in South Korea. The “index patient” was a 68-year-old man who had been to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar before returning to South Korea. MERS first emerged in humans in 2012 and has been spreading in Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries since then. It is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as SARS. The disease, in which patients develop acute respiratory illness with fever, coughing and breathing problems, has spread to 27 countries and killed up to 40 percent of those infected. Read more: "Ebola was the largest mobilization in CDC history" Ebola's lessons, painfully learned at great cost in dollars and human lives Common weed could help fight deadly superbug More than 350 organizations write Trump to endorse current vaccines' safety


Janet L. Yellen will go to Congress today. This is what she’ll face.

Fed’s unconventional policy choices, especially when blanket GOP opposition to additional fiscal policy made the Fed’s job even harder. Still, Democrats today have upped their criticism of the Fed. Some question the optics of paying banks interest on the reserves they hold at the central bank. And Democrats bemoan a lack of diversity across the 12 regional reserve banks, calling for greater transparency and better board oversight of hiring. Deeper economic problems abound, including income inequality, a job market failing to attract key cohorts into the labor force and persistently low productivity — although these are not issues that the Federal Reserve is programmed to resolve. Separately, there is bipartisan concern about the Fed’s willingness to aid Wall Street, seemingly at the expense of lawmakers’ constituents on Main Street. Where does Trump stand on the Fed? Early in the campaign, he praised Yellen for keeping rates low. In the fall, he accused Yellen of playing politics with rates to help elect Hillary Clinton. Recent presidents have refrained from commenting on monetary policy. But presidents typically prefer accommodative monetary policy to help juice the economy come election time. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump called Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen "highly political" at a news conference on Nov. 3. Will Congress reform the Fed? Judging from history, today’s political economy weighs against major reform of the Fed. Below we use the 100-year history of changes to the Federal Reserve Act to simulate the likelihood of reform as a function of party control, the duration and severity of recession and conventional macroeconomic indicators. With Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, chances for reform should rise. Still, reform is unlikely in good economic times. Revisions to the Federal Reserve Act more often follow crisis, when lawmakers seek to deflect blame for a struggling economy. By traditional macroeconomic measures, today’s calls for reform coincide with growth and inflation that have picked up enough for the Fed to start a gradual sequence of interest rate increases. Despite unified Republican control, history suggests that the chances for reform are low. Notably, Republicans’ preferred changes run counter to past currents of reform. Centralizing greater amounts of authority in the board has in the past been the norm. In contrast, GOP proposals today appear far more punitive. Republicans advocate decentralizing reforms that limit the board’s discretion, devolve power to the Fed’s regional reserve banks and give


The spectacular aftermath of a supernova was just seen at its earliest stage ever

This image made by the Hubble Space Telescope shows the tattered remains of a supernova explosion known as Cassiopeia A. (NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage STScI/AURA-ESA/Hubble Collaboration via AP) Life in this universe begins and ends with supernovae. In a spectacular eruption powerful enough to outshine a galaxy, a star is killed — and new elements are forged. The shock wave from the star’s death throes can cause nearby clouds of gas to collapse, triggering the birth of new suns. The ashes of the exploded star spread out into the dark void of space, filling it with ingredients for future stars and planets. Supernovae are creative catastrophes. For years, scientists have been trying to capture the moment one happens. And they’re getting really close. In a new study in the journal Nature Physics, an international team of astronomers describes the first three to 10 hours after a supernova in the galaxy NGC 7610, a faint smudge in the constellation Pegasus. Their observations, which came from an array of telescopes scattered across the planet and encompass a wide range of the light spectrum, represent the most complete image of a supernova’s immediate aftermath. Scientists were able to take spectra — analyses that separate light out into its component wavelengths — earlier in the event than had ever been done. This is a “remarkable achievement,” Norbert Langer, an astronomer at the University of Bonn in Germany who was not involved in the study, wrote in an analysis for Nature Physics. “Young supernovae are hard to come by: without the knowledge of when and where they are going to explode, we tend to chance upon them when they are already several days old. By this time, the supernova ejecta have already swept through a large volume, destroying any information about its immediate environment.” This study, Langer continued, gives scientists a first good glimpse not just at the explosion, but at the events immediately preceding it — opening a new window on stellar evolution. The supernova was spotted because of the efforts of scientists working on the Intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), a project that uses the Palomar Observatory near San Diego to scan the sky in search of new spots of light. Each night, the telescope sweeps across a wide swath of the sky, automatically snapping images of what it sees. A computer system compares images of the same patches of space, looking for


A look inside the D.C.-area’s most expensive homes for sale

The newest listings range from $3.99 million to $10.6 million. With the help of Rockville-based multiple-listing service MRIS, a Bright MLS company, we compiled a list of some of the most expensive houses for sale in the Washington area. This month, the most expensive new listings include four houses in Georgetown’s East Village, three Kalorama mansions, two Potomac estates and a sleek Georgetown waterfront condo overlooking Key Bridge. The 9,000-square-foot nine-bedroom, 11-bath single-family house at 3053 P St. NW in Washington is listed for $8.95 million. (HomeVisit) • 3053 P St. NW, Washington $8.95 million Agents: Ellen Morell and Veronica Seva-Gonzalez, Compass This single-family house in Georgetown’s East Village sits on a corner lot and includes a one-car garage. Built in 1875, the house has four levels with almost 9,000 finished square feet, five fireplaces, nine bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. The house has ceiling heights of approximately 13 feet, a formal living room, formal dining room, parlor, kitchen, breakfast room, family room and library on the first floor, plus a finished lower level for staff with a separate entrance. The grounds include a swimming pool, landscaped gardens and terraces. The 15,000-square-foot seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom home at 10111 Iron Gate Rd. in Potomac is listed for $7.995 million. (HomeVisit) • 10111 Iron Gate Rd., Potomac $7.995 million Agent: Marc Fleisher, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty Built in 1991 and renovated and expanded in 2006, this Potomac estate has more than 15,000 finished square feet on three levels and sits on a two-acre lot. The grounds include a swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen, lawns, terraces and a five-car garage. Inside are seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a bowling alley, a movie theater with an adjacent bar, a solarium, a library, a kitchen with an adjacent breakfast room and a 100-foot-long gallery that connects multiple rooms and has skylights overhead and floor-to-ceiling windows. The 7,000-square-foot five-bedroom, nine-bath house at 1901 24th St. NW in Washington is listed for $7.9 million. (Jessica Overcash) • 1901 24th St. NW, Washington $7.9 million Agents: Brad House and Patrick Chauvin, Compass The Kalorama house has been renovated by Ferguson and Shamamian, a New York City architecture firm. The house, built in 1926, has nearly 7,000 finished square feet on four levels with five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two fireplaces and large rooms for entertaining with high ceilings, elaborate woodwork and custom-designed fixtures. The kitchen includes commercial-level appliances. There is a two-car


This star pulses when its planet is close. Happy Valentine’s Day!

is eight times our own Jupiter's size — and orbit incredibly close to their suns. HAT-P-2b, as the planet is named, has a highly eccentric orbit that more resembles a squashed oval than a circle. This sometimes brings it very close to its sun, while other times it swings far, far away (kind of like your awful ex-boyfriend). Astronomers at the Spitzer Space Telescope in California spent more than 350 hours observing this celestial couple from afar. They found that the star's brightness oscillated according to the exact rhythm of its planet's orbit. According to their new study, published Tuesday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, each time the planet reaches its closest approach, it appears to “give the star a little kiss,” as NASA puts it. In other words, the gravitational forces of the two bodies interact about once every 5.6 days, and in response, the star begins to vibrate as though it's been struck by a bell. “They were very tiny signals,” MIT astronomer Julien de Wit, lead author of the study, said in a statement. “It was like picking up the buzzing of a mosquito passing by a jet engine, both miles away.” The researchers say that phenomenon can't be caused by problems with their instrument or boiling material in the star itself. The sun must be pulsing in response to its planet. Researchers can't yet explain the physical link between the two celestial bodies. It's the first time they've ever spotted a planet affecting its star in this way. HAT-P-2b, the planet, is just 1/100th the size of its sun — pretty small to have such a strong effect. The finding suggests that, when it comes to star-planet relationships, scientists have a lot more to learn. “This is really exciting because, if our interpretations are correct, it tells us that planets can have a significant impact on physical phenomena operating in their host-stars,” co-author Victoria Antoci, a researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark, said in the statement. “In other words, the star ‘knows’ about its planet and reacts to its presence.” Read more: This is how you photograph a million dead plants without losing your mind Forget the ring: Lab-grown diamonds are a scientist's best friend French presidential candidate to U.S. scientists afraid of Trump: 'Come to France' The 'March for Science' is gaining mainstream momentum The imperiled saiga antelope is struck by a plague — again


This beloved grocery chain is the latest company to face Trump-related boycotts

based solely on how well it sells. “Individual shoppers who feel strongly about an issue can demonstrate their convictions by refusing to buy a product,” Natale said. “When enough people do the same, and sales of a product drop precipitously, we stop selling that product in favor of one that’s in greater demand.” Reston resident Claire, who spoke on condition that she be identified by her middle name for fear of reprisal at work, says she plans to curtail her weekly shopping trip to the Wegmans in Sterling. As a native of Upstate New York, she and her family of four have long been loyal to Wegmans, she said. “I shop pretty exclusively at Wegmans but seeing Trump wines on the shelf, that’s really bothersome to me,” she said, adding that she’s also avoiding DSW and Lord & Taylor because they carry Ivanka Trump’s line. “I guess I’ll have to go to Shoppers now.” Nordstrom announced it was dropping Ivanka Trump's clothing line. The #GrabYourWallet campaign, a boycott against Trump's products, says it is a major victory. Trump bought the property, formerly Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard, for $6.2 million in a 2011 foreclosure auction. “I’m really interested in good real estate, not so much in wine,” Trump said at the time. “This place had a $28 million mortgage on it, and I bought it for $6.2 million. It’s a Trump deal!” Despite promises to distance himself from his businesses, documents show President Trump continues to benefit from his hotels, golf courses and other ventures. His son Eric now runs Trump Winery. The company’s wines are sold at a number of stores including Giant, Harris Teeter, Safeway, Kroger and Whole Foods, according to its website. Trump Winery did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nordstrom two weeks ago announced it was dropping Ivanka Trump’s line of shoes and clothing amid a 32 percent decline in sales. Sears, Kmart and Neiman Marcus soon followed suit. Now some shoppers are hoping Wegmans will be next to ditch the Trump brand. As one, John Brown III, put it on Facebook: “Wegmans is a nice grocery store; but there are alternatives.” Read more: An uneasy union: Couples are getting cold feet about weddings at Trump’s hotel French manicures, Bud Light and fly fishing: How Trump staffers are changing Washington Trump’s D.C. hotel is promising government and military discounts, but good luck getting them


Whole Foods is opening along H Street NE next month

(Julie Jacobson/AP) The Whole Foods store along the busy H Street NE corridor will open March 15, the Austin-based chain announced Tuesday. The 40,000-square-foot store in the 600 block of H Street NE replaces Murry’s, the neighborhood’s longtime — and cheaper — grocery store. Murry’s closed in 2014 to make way for a new mixed development with high-end apartments, anchored by Whole Foods. McLean-based Insight Property Group, which plopped down $10 million for the Murry’s store in 2011, is developing the property. This is the latest development opening in the booming corridor, which has seen a number of high-end developments open in recent years. The D.C. Streetcar opened along the corridor in 2016, which the city funded, in part, as an incentive for more retail and residences in the neighborhood. The grocery store will feature a venue with a “Chinese diner-style” menu from prominent chef Erik Bruner-Yang. Until recently, Bruner-Yang was the owner and executive chef at Toki Underground, D.C.’s acclaimed ramen restaurant in the H Street Corridor. He owns Maketto on the same strip. Ivy City brewery Atlas Brew Works will have a bread market in the store, and there will be other local offerings throughout, according to a news release from Whole Foods. Whole Foods said it will have the only outdoor patio on H Street NE looking onto the busy corridor. The store will have 150 employees. It will have a “traditional bread-baking ceremony” at 8:45 a.m. on March 15 to mark the opening. This will be the high-end grocery store’s fifth location in the District. Whole Foods has announced plans to open two additional stores in the District, one in Shaw in Northwest and another near Nationals Park in Southeast. This expansion comes amid news of Whole Foods’ falling sales and announcement that it would be closing nine stores throughout the country. A spokesperson for the grocery store would not confirm that the two upcoming stores in the District are still scheduled to open. The D.C. Department of Health shut down the Glover Park Whole Foods for health code violations. It reopened the following day.


The fall of Michael Flynn: A timeline

(Carlos Barria/Reuters) Here’s a timeline of what we know about national security adviser Michael Flynn, his contacts with Russia and his resignation. We will continue to update it as more information becomes available. (Updated May 9, 2017.) Dec. 29, 2016 Obama administration action The Obama administration announces measures against Russia in retaliation for what U.S. officials characterized as interference in the 2016 election, ordering the expulsion of Russian “intelligence operatives” and slapping new sanctions on state agencies and individuals suspected in the hacks of U.S. computer systems. Russian response Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announces 35 U.S. diplomats will be declared persona non grata. “We, of course, cannot leave unanswered the insults of the kind; reciprocity is the law of diplomacy and foreign relations,” Lavrov says. “Thus, the Russian Foreign Ministry and officials of other authorities have suggested the Russian president to announce 31 personnel of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and four diplomats from the Consulate General in St. Petersburg persona non grata.” Lavrov’s message is echoed in a series of tweets by the Russian Embassy in Washington, promising an announcement on Dec. 30: #Peskov: There is no doubt that Russia's adequate and mirror response will make Washington officials feel very uncomfortable as well #Zakharova: Tomorrow there will be official statements, countermeasures @MFA_Russia Announced on December 29 sanctions are aimed directly at undermining #Russia🇷🇺 #US🇺🇸 bilateral relations. They won't be left unanswered Incoming Trump administration response Flynn speaks by phone with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, and discusses the sanctions and suggests the possibility of sanctions relief once Trump is president. The call is monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies. Dec. 30 Russian government action In a surprise, Russian President Vladimir Putin announces in a statement that Russia will not take action against the sanctions. “As it proceeds from international practice, Russia has reasons to respond in kind,” Putin says. “Although we have the right to retaliate, we will not resort to irresponsible ‘kitchen’ diplomacy but will plan our further steps to restore Russian-US relations based on the policies of the Trump Administration.” Putin’s announcement is made in the afternoon of Dec. 30, or morning in the United States. Incoming Trump administration response President-elect Trump tweets approvingly and pins the tweet at the top of his Twitter page. The White House insists that Trump had no prior knowledge of Flynn’s conversations about sanctions with Kislyak. Great move


A first look at how German grocer Lidl plans to conquer the U.S. market

The Lidl prototype store in the Fredericksburg, Va. area of Spotsylvania County. (Lidl) On a busy road in the Fredericksburg, Va. area, a tall, black security fence guards a sprawling — and, for now, largely empty — brick-and-glass building. The under-wraps facility is a prototype store for Lidl, a German grocery chain that has been working for more than a year to plot its entry into the U.S. market. The company is using the space to test which details appeal to American shoppers: To hit on what kind of signage looks good dangling from the ceiling, to figure out how many aisles makes for the most efficient movement through the store. Lidl (pronounced lee-duhl) is a global grocery juggernaut, with 10,000 stores in 27 countries. It has made its name offering a limited assortment of goods, many of them private label, at ultralow prices. Now, it is ready to descend on America, potentially throwing a disruptive curveball in a retailing category that is already scrambling to adapt to new pressures, including the growth of online shopping and competition from nontraditional rivals such as drugstores. Lidl is set to open 20 stores this summer in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, an earlier debut than the 2018 time frame that it initially targeted. Within 12 months of opening its first U.S. stores, it is slated to have 100 locations up and down the East Coast. One thing that is instantly noticeable in the prototype store: It is significantly larger than what is typical for Lidl overseas. With about 21,000 square feet of shopping space, U.S. chief executive Brendan Proctor says, this store is 35 percent larger than some of the chain’s biggest stores in Europe. The company decided to go with a larger format because it thinks that it will need to offer a wider array of items to thrive in the U.S. market. Brendan Proctor, the U.S. chief executive of Lidl, is seen in the test kitchen at company headquarters in Arlington, Va. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) That’s just one of many tweaks that Lidl is making to its formula to address the expectations and habits of U.S. shoppers. It is offering chilled beer, for example, and free samples in its bakery department — things it doesn’t do elsewhere but that Proctor says are “normal” here. When it comes to the exterior of the store, focus groups were initially


shown a design that hewed fairly closely to what Lidl stores look like in Europe. Turns out, U.S. consumers thought it looked like a car dealership. That sent Lidl back to the drawing board. In other key ways, Lidl will stick to its usual game plan. Walking through the prototype store, past the refrigerated cases that will one day hold desserts, snack trays and cheeses, Proctor explains the strategy. “A lot of the supermarkets are so large, it’s a challenge for people to go shopping,” he said. “If I wanted to go in and get a bottle of ketchup — f Lidl will aim to offer a tightly edited assortment, including familiar brands but also plenty of private-label goods. The current model includes just six aisles, a store layout that executives hope is conducive to easy navigation and flow. Other goods, such as produce, are displayed in islandlike groupings. To make things efficient and to keep costs down, you might see items on shelves in the cardboard boxes they were shipped in. As it does elsewhere, Lidl will feature a large section dedicated to non-grocery items. Proctor said that shoppers can expect to see items as diverse as drills, yoga pants and garden lawn mowers in this part of the store, which is to feature a constantly rotating array of items that cycle in about every week. That could be an interesting way for Lidl to differentiate itself in the market, and it could introduce a T.J. Maxx-like “treasure hunt” vibe to the stores. As Lidl begins its march up and down the East Coast, it is not yet clear which rival chains will be most affected by the new competition. Lidl shares attributes with Aldi, another German discounter, which has more than 1,600 stores stateside. However, Mike Paglia, an analyst at Kantar Retail, said that the most affected retailers could end up being the likes of Giant and Safeway, which he said aren’t bringing anything particularly different to the marketplace. Lidl has some 1,400 workers in the United States already, and it is poised to add 4,000 more when it opens the stores. As it tries to build a customer base, Proctor has pinpointed exactly what the chain is going to have to prove. “When we work with our focus groups, there’s a challenge for a lot of our future customers,” Proctor said. “They’re saying, ‘Okay, but can you


Trump delayed federal protection for an endangered bee. Now a group is trying to sting him.

A rusty patched bumblebee, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed as endangered, gathers pollen in August 2015. (Photo courtesy of Rich Hatfield via Reuters) On the eve of a Senate hearing Wednesday to consider “modernization of the Endangered Species Act,” an environmental conservation group sued the Trump administration for halting implementation of federal protections for the first bumblebee in history placed on the endangered list. The Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it oversees for delaying protections for the rusty patch bumblebee from Feb. 10 until at least mid-March without allowing public comment or hearings. The bee’s status as an endangered species was finalized in early January under the Obama administration. “The Trump administration broke the law by blocking the rusty patched bumblebee from the endangered species list,” the NRDC said in a statement announcing its suit filed at a federal court in New York. “The science is clear — this species is headed toward extinction, and soon. There is no legitimate reason to delay federal protections for this bee. Freezing protections for the rusty patched bumblebee without public notice and comment flies in the face of the democratic process.” The striped black and yellow pollinator with a long black tail “once flourished in 28 states and two Canadian provinces,” the NRDC said. “But the bee’s population and range have declined by approximately 90 percent in the last 20 years.” Officials at the Interior Department declined to comment on the lawsuit, but a department spokeswoman, Heather Swift, said the agency “is working to review this regulation as expeditiously as possible and expects to issue further guidance on the effective date … shortly.” Last week the agency announced that it published a notice of the delay in the Federal Register, overstepping procedures that involve notices of public hearings, the hearings themselves and comment from the public that can take up to a year. Wildlife conservation groups described the delay and the upcoming Senate hearing led by Republicans as attacks on the 43-year-old Endangered Species Act. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee did not define what “modernization” meant, leaving one conservationist to offer her own definition. “Modernization of the Endangered Species Act is code for gut and weaken,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and chief executive of Defenders of Wildlife. “The Endangered Species Act works. It has


Why one food executive is pledging $25 million to fight his own industry

encountered by KIND. Several powerful trade associations have also marshaled their lobbyists to fight front-of-package food labeling, which would more clearly identify less healthful foods, and the updated Nutrition Facts panel, which will explicitly call out added sugars. The processed food lobby has also fought voluntary sodium reduction targets, which Jacobson says could save “tens of thousands of lives.” During a recent FDA comment period, dozens of public health departments and organizations urged the FDA to adopt the targets — while a number of well-funded trade groups, including the North American Meat Institute and the National Milk Producers Federation, opposed it. “The industries with the most political clout and the deepest pockets tend to sway the way things go,” said Andy Bellatti, the strategic director of Dietitians for Professional Integrity, a professional group. Large food companies and trade associations argue that, by and large, they don't do anything that other business interests don't: They make their case to consumers, nutritionists and policymakers, who can then make their own decisions about what is healthful. Industry has opposed specific regulations, such as the sodium reduction, on the basis that the changes are being phased in too quickly or being applied too broadly. They also frequently highlight studies that suggest the science on things like salt and added sugar are far less settled than their critics say it is. Nutrition research has, in fact, arguably become the best-known area of industry conflict — how much of it is financed by industry, and to what degree that might inform policy decisions. As government funding for this sort of research has contracted, major food companies the likes of Coca Cola and Nestle have stepped in. While there is nothing inherently wrong with industry-funded research, experts say, the funding sources are not always transparent. Industry money has also been used to elevate work that falls outside the mainstream scientific consensus. In just the past year, for instance, it has emerged that half a century of conventional wisdom on the relative risks of sugar and saturated fat are based, in some part, on research secretly financed by the sugar industry to shift blame away from it. That wisdom was codified for many years in the Dietary Guidelines, the nutritional rubric recommended to Americans. The 2015 guidelines were heavily criticized by public health experts for omitting several key recommendations from its scientific advisory panel, including condemnations of soda


Washington chefs and restaurants earn nods as James Beard Award semifinalists

Pineapple and Pearls is in the running for a James Beard Award as best new restaurant. (Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post) The James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday the semifinalists for its annual awards, and Washington restaurants have plenty to be proud of. The region has more than two dozen contenders for James Beard Awards, one of the most coveted honors in the restaurant industry. Aaron Silverman's much-lauded prix fixe Pineapple and Pearls is unsurprisingly in the running for best new restaurant, alongside a more casual colleague: Sweet Home Cafe at National Museum of African American History and Culture. They're joined in other categories by a bevy of familiar faces and places, including chefs Fabio Trabocchi and Eric Ziebold, plus such restaurants as Jaleo and Rasika. Semifinalists for the awards, which also cover restaurant design and media among the more than 50 categories, were sourced from 24,000 online submissions. The finalists for the restaurant and chef awards, as chosen by judges, committee members and previous winners, will be announced March 15. The winners will be revealed May 1. In 2016, the D.C. area had about two dozen semifinalists and five finalists. Only one walked away with a prize: Silverman, who took home the award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. Here's the rundown of who's in the running in the restaurant and chef categories: Best New Restaurant Pineapple and Pearls Sweet Home Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture Outstanding Baker Mark Furstenberg, Bread Furst Outstanding Bar Program Chesapeake & Maine (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) Columbia Room Outstanding Chef Fabio Trabocchi, Fiola Eric Ziebold, Kinship Outstanding Restaurant Jaleo Rasika Outstanding Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group (Bombay Club, Rasika, Oval Room and others) Outstanding Service Fiola Marcel's Woodberry Kitchen (Baltimore) Outstanding Wine Program Komi Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Diane Flynt, Foggy Ridge Cider Jim Law, Linden Vineyards Rising Star Chef of the Year Kevin Tien, Himitsu Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic Ian Boden, the Shack (Staunton, Va.) Amy Brandwein, Centrolina Tom Cunanan, Bad Saint Michael Friedman, All-Purpose Tarver King, the Restaurant at Patowmack Farm Seng Luangrath, Thip Khao Cedric Maupillier, Convivial Cindy Wolf, Charleston (Baltimore) Nobu Yamazaki, Sushi Taro You can find a full list of the semifinalists on the James Beard Foundation website. Read more: - Aaron Silverman wins Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic at the James Beard Awards - Aaron Silverman


Federal leaders need contingency plans to manage hiring freeze for the short and long term

with them directly – to outline the decision-making processes for hiring that can take place under the current order. Inaction on your part is simply not an option. But as my former colleague and civil service expert John Palguta suggested, “Don’t cry wolf unless there is one outside the door.” If you firmly believe that mission-critical work will be in jeopardy because of a vacancy, put your evidence together and make your case. To do this, you will need to demonstrate the negative consequences of keeping a position vacant, and how it is critical to public safety and national security. Sometimes the link may be tangential depending on the circumstances, but could pass muster. There is no guarantee that agency leaders will listen to your concerns or be able to help, but it is your responsibility to think things through and to advocate for the resources needed to achieve your mission and goals. Finally, buckle up and get ready for more to come this spring. The January memorandum clearly indicates that the administration is planning to reduce the size of the federal workforce through attrition, so it would be wise to develop plans to handle a decrease in staff or an increase in workload. As part of this process, take the pulse of your employees and solicit ideas about prioritizing work in the absence of any new hires needed now or in the long term. One-on-one check-ins are great for hearing employee challenges, helping them determine what work might be delayed and where others might help fill the gaps. If you are not already holding regular team meetings with your employees, do not wait any longer. As a leader, you need to keep abreast of your employee’s workload, stress and views, and solicit their advice to develop creative solutions. If you wait until after the next memorandum comes out, you will need to scramble. If you are prepared, however, you can implement your plan or amend it as needed based on the actual events. If you have other ideas or advice based on your experience, please share your thoughts in the comment section or email me at fedcoach@ourpublicservice.org. Tom Fox, a guest writer for Read also: Federal managers say Trump’s hiring freeze hurts government What does a hiring freeze mean for the federal workforce? Like On Leadership? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.