The connection between Brexit, education and the race for U.S. president

British economy would suffer if Britain left the E.U. and that the very people most likely to vote for exit were those likely to be hurt the most. But, evidently, the winning side did not care what the experts had to say and voted for exit anyway. What are we to make of this? I think a majority of Brits have lost confidence in both their political leadership and the experts, from both parties—the leaders of both the Labor Party and the Conservatives came down hard on the side of staying in the EU. For years, these ordinary, working class Brits have heard their leaders talk about the benefits of trade and of being in the E.U. (which amounts to the same thing, since being in the European Union was sold mainly on the benefits of free trade inside the Union). While they saw their country benefiting, the benefits did not flow down to them. They saw the City—Britain’s hugely powerful financial establishment—getting fabulously rich, they saw the price of real estate in London going so high they could no longer afford to live there, and they saw many in the south of England getting ever more wealthy, too. But not them, not the working stiffs from the midlands and the north who made things and fixed things and sold things in small retail shops. They saw Polish plumbers taking their jobs and British car companies getting sold off to global companies without a British nameplate and their jobs in that industry disappearing. Somebody was getting rich for sure, but it was not them. The experts had long argued that free trade with the world and access to the European market on insider terms would be good for Britain and the politicians had agreed. Were the experts wrong? No, they were right. In the aggregate, trade has worked for Britain. But who cares about the aggregate if you are among those in the aggregate who are getting hurt, who are working harder and harder every year and getting less and less as others are becoming fabulously wealthy. Years ago, the Labor Party could be counted on to represent the interests of the coal miners and the truck drivers and retail clerks and plumbers. After all, most of them, or at least their parents, had done all these things. But the Thatcher administration shut down the coal mines and the top


Here are the E.U.’s four options for negotiating Brexit

could come up with a new trans-channel approach for the U.K. — a ‘Canadian’ option. Henrik Enderlein has argued Canada and the E.U. recently agreed to what’s called the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which resembles TTIP and is currently awaiting a formal signature and ratification on both sides. The proponents of the trade pact argue that it abolishes most tariffs between the two. It also, however, preserves labor rights, and it does not grant free mobility of labor (under which any Canadian could live in any E.U. country). If they chose this model, the E.U. and the U.K. could negotiate their trade relationship chapter by chapter, with each side protecting whatever it considers essential. And note that all national parliaments need to ratify such an agreement. This means that individual country lobbies, such as farmers in France, may try to include specific protections that would benefit them. The upshot of this model, which could be called the TCIP (Trans-Channel Investment Partnership), is that the E.U. and the U.K. will compete and will selectively use trade barriers to block one another. For instance, for years London has dominated the E.U.’s financial services market. That is almost certainly about to end – because other financial centers like Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris and (if Scotland secedes) Edinburgh would thrive if they could shut London out of their market. The way to do this is to deny London banks a so-called passport. Currently, a bank that has the right to operate in one member state can operate is all of the others. British banks that no longer possess such a “bank passport,” because they are based outside a future E.U., will have to apply separately to the authorities of each member state. This will put them at a significant competitive disadvantage to banks based in Frankfurt or Paris. It will encourage U.S. banks to relocate some services from London to the continent. That last approach would be the easiest for both European and British governments to take. If it is, the E.U. will treat the British as serious economic competitors in the years to come. We have yet to see whether the switch from economic cooperation to more competition will spill over to other policy areas, such as in security and defense. Mark Hallerberg is professor of public management and political economy at the Hertie Shool of Governance. Find him on Twitter @mhallerberg.


Post-Brexit, the U.K. is in its worst political crisis since 1940

legal process to trigger a second independence referendum within the next two years, which she hopes will allow Scotland to stay in the European Union. Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian leader of the Liberal faction in the European Parliament, has already extended an invitation to Sturgeon over Twitter to discuss the idea in Brussels, which she eagerly accepted. She also suggested that the members of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh could simply veto a Brexit. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin have called for a border poll on a united Ireland. The possibility of a border poll is a central provision of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violent conflict. The U.K. government’s Northern Ireland Secretary has the power to call a poll on whether Northern Ireland should remain a part of the U.K. or should unite with the Republic of Ireland. Just like the SNP in Scotland, Sinn Féin argues that Brexit is a “political and economic game changer.” An open border and free mobility of labor between Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as E.U. membership for both parts of the island, were cornerstones of the 1998 peace agreement brokered by, among others, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. In short, the Brexit vote may also set off an unintended flare-up of the bitter old conflict in Northern Ireland between pro-Dublin Catholic Republicans and pro-London Protestant Unionists. One result of Brexit therefore may be to reduce the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the “Untied Kingdom of Little England and Wales.” Referendums expose democratic dysfunction Political scientists have always differed on the democratic merits of holding a referendum. There have been many arguments either on the merits or the costs of referendums for both democratic process and outcome reasons. The Brexit vote reveals that a referendum on a controversial policy decision can divide a country, laying bare deep social fissures, especially along age, class, ethnic and geographic lines. The Brexit vote has also revealed that the House of Commons and most of the British economic and financial establishment are profoundly out of touch with the rest of the country they govern and control. The more disturbing revelation is that the “leave” campaign was able to win based on a series of inaccurate statements about the E.U., outright lies about the actual cost


From Rio Olympics to Capitol Hill, here’s how the Zika virus looms, according to cartoons

WITH THE On the sporting front, the world’s top golfer has just filled out a notable foursome of elite links athletes who say they won’t risk South American exposure to Zika and thus won’t compete in this year’s Games. The golfers’ decisions — some of which are related to their desire to have or grow young families (since the virus is linked to birth defects) — were criticized by at least one past gold medalist who is headed to Rio. Elsewhere, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green was among Team USA’s roster of NBA talents who strongly affirmed that a mosquito-borne virus won’t keep him from the honor of competing for his country. Meanwhile, government funding for Zika research has fallen victim to partisan politics on the Hill, with each side of the aisle pointing at the other in blame as more than a billion dollars are held ransom and researchers speak on the special perils that this looming health crisis presents. Amid all this, the world’s political cartoonists have been rendering judgment of these Zika Games and political Zika games. Here is a sampling of their sharp satiric shots: TIM EAGAN By Tim Eagan (Universal Uclick 2016) . ADAM ZYGLIS By Adam Zyglis (Buffalo News /Courtesy of CagleCartoons.com 2016) STEVE SACK By Steve Sack (Minneapolis Star Tribune/Courtesy of CagleCartoons.com 2016) DREW LITTON By Drew Litton (Courtesy of Universal Uclick 2016) NATE BEELER By Nate Beeler (Columbus Dispatch/Courtesy of CagleCartoons.com 2016) PETAR PISMESTROVIC By Petar Pismestrovic (Kleine Zeitung/Austria 2016) BRIAN ADCOCK By Brian Adcock (The Independent/Great Britain 2016) MARIAN KEMENSKY By Marian Kamensky (Slovakia/Courtesy of CagleCartoons.com 2016) . Save Save


How NASA’s Juno mission could help tell us where we came from

are the stuff of life as we know it, the backbones basic lifeforms and the planets that can support them. "Jupiter is enriched with these heavy elements compared with the sun," Bolton said. "We don't know exactly how that happened, but we know it's really important." The birth of our sun used up most of the building blocks available in the gas and dust cloud that once filled our region of space. Jupiter took most of the leftovers, and we got the leftovers of the leftovers. Something happened between the time when the sun formed and the time when Jupiter formed that allowed it to be enriched with these valuable molecules. Figuring out what exactly Jupiter is made out of — scientists aren't even entirely sure that it has a rocky core at its center at all — and how it was built could help solve the mystery. Why with Nye (Ep. 3): 'Does Jupiter Have a Core?' Asks Bill Nye “It is becoming increasingly clear that the formation of Jupiter was the defining event of our solar system," Yale University astrophysicist Gregory Laughlin, who isn't part of the Juno mission team, told The Post. "The discovery of thousands of alien solar systems over the past two decades has shown us that Jupiter, with its large mass and its relatively distant circular orbit, is somewhat unusual. We may, in fact, owe the existence of Earth’s habitability to Jupiter’s sculpting influence on the Earth’s formation, and it is imperative to peel some of the mystery from our mute, strange, and gargantuan planetary neighbor.” Laughlin refers to the theory that Jupiter — in all its hulking glory — once bullied several planets out of the solar system, making room for the rocky worlds that sit close to the sun in modern times. That's just one of many Jovian mysteries that planetary scientists hope Juno can help solve. Juno is expected to enter Jupiter's orbit just before midnight Eastern time on July 4. Scientists should be able to confirm its success soon after. A look at the best photos of space. Read More: Uranus might be full of surprises More evidence that Jupiter kicked ancient planets out of the solar system Hubble catches a rare three-moon-parade in front of Jupiter For the first time ever, scientists spot an aurora outside our solar system More signs that life could thrive on Jupiter’s moon Europa


What a real ‘Brexit Britain’ would look like

Last week, Britain voted to leave the European Union. Well, at least part of it did. If you look at the map above, it's hard to miss the geographical split among British voters in the E.U. referendum results. Scotland and Northern Ireland clearly voted to remain and are now grumbling that they might try to block the vote or leave the United Kingdom. More dramatic still, Londoners are demanding independence from Britain, noting that they, too, voted en masse to remain in the E.U. If such a scenario were to play out, as fantastically unlikely as it is, it is possible that one day a post-Brexit Britain would simply be a rump state of Wales and England, missing its enormous capital city. In the spirit of the now-infamous "Brexit" portmanteau, perhaps it could be called "Wangland" ("Engles" might be more palatable, though it sounds a bit too English). No one is predicting that such a state will exist anytime soon, but it's worth imagining what it would look like. Not only for what it could say about some unlikely future state, but also what it may say about the very real situation Britain finds itself in. A new geography Here's the geography of this new country. Obviously, the giant hole where London is seems a bit unusual, but, geographically, enclaves such as this aren't totally unheard of: San Marino is completely surrounded by Italy, for example, and Lesotho by South Africa. For the sake of fairness, we'd give this new nation the big non-London cities, including those that voted "remain," such as Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff. Birmingham, the largest city to vote to "leave" the European Union, could be the seat of this new country's government. Even so, in terms of size, the country would clearly be diminished. The United Kingdom is 94,525 square miles — about the same size as Romania or, to put it in U.S. terms, Michigan. If Scotland, Northern Ireland and London all left, it would be closer to 58,000 square miles — slighter bigger than Bangladesh and about the size of Iowa. A new population There would also be a shift in terms of population. According to the Office of National Statistics, the population of the U.K. is 65,110,000, which puts it just behind France and at about 22nd in rankings (no U.S. states come anywhere close to this number, unfortunately). Meanwhile, Scotland has 5,473,000


The Daily 202: Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet's new rival thinks Ted Cruz belongs on the Supreme Court

Turkish officials, three attackers with suicide vests detonated their explosives at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 200 others. Editor's note: This video contains graphic content. BREXIT FALLOUT CONTINUES: -- LABOR PARTY'S JEREMY CORBYN LOSES VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE, BUT VOWS TO REMAIN IN THE JOB. From the BBC: " --Secretary of State John Kerry referred to a number of ways Britan's vote to leave the E.U. could be "walked back," The Guardian reported. --European leaders from the remaining 27 E.U. countries met in Brussels Wednesday, Michael Birnbaum and Griff Witte report. Leaders seem to agree on taking a hardline stance against on Britain's exit, but they are less united on how to salvage the rest of the union From Michael and Griff: --Norwegian model? " - The hard-line stance could come as a shock to British voters: "Many 'leave' voters who opted to exit the E.U. argued that Britain would continue to enjoy an advantaged trading relationship with Europe without having to abide by the continent’s free-movement rules. But since the vote, the pro-Brexit camp has splintered, with some continuing to press for an answer to immigration while others seem to quietly acknowledge that meaningful change is probably out of reach." -- The U.K.’s Conservative Party began its search for a new prime minister to replace Cameron -- Many Britons are scrambling to apply for passports from other E.U. countries such as Ireland. -- Brexit unleased chaos among global currencies The turmoil in foreign exchange markets since Brexit exemplifies a new world order: -- More than a third of U.S. voters see the Brexit as damaging to the American economy - U.S. consumers were the least affected by the exit: 50 percent of voters said it will have “no impact” on their purchasing decisions, compared to 10 percent who said it will have a major impact, and 19 percent who said it will have a minor one. - Most Americans are following the Brexit news: 28 percent of voters said they’ve read, seen or heard “a lot” about the decision, while another 36 percent said they were familiar with “some” details over the split. - A majority of U.S. voters (57 percent) said they don’t expect the verdict to influence their vote in November’s presidential election. Among voters who said they will be influenced by the decision, nearly half said they were


FDA raises questions about ‘data gaps’ regarding safety, effectiveness of hand sanitizer

A charity group gives free hand sanitizer to people to protect against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Seoul in June 2015. (Ahn Young-joon/AP) The colorful gels have become the front lines in our fight against germs. Antiseptic hand sanitizers in greens, blues and reds are now ubiquitous in schools, workplaces and hospitals. They are must-haves in moms' pocketbooks. And they have been distributed in West Africa to fight Ebola and in South Korea against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Although these products were designed to be used when old-fashioned soap and water aren't available, many people use them multiple times a day even when a sink is nearby under the belief that they are killing more bacteria. The Food and Drug Administration says the problem is that we still don't have enough information to know whether these products present unknown safety and efficacy concerns, and on Wednesday, the agency asked manufacturers to provide scientific data for three active ingredients: alcohol (ethanol or ethyl alcohol), isopropyl alcohol and benzalkonium chloride. They are looking for information that the ingredients are safe, effective and reduce bacteria on skin. The FDA's request also applies to hand wipes. The FDA emphasized that it does not mean it believes the products are ineffective or unsafe, and it is not asking for any consumer hand sanitizer products to be removed from store shelves at this time. "It’s our responsibility to determine whether these products are safe and effective so that consumers can be confident when using them on themselves and their families multiple times a day. To do that, we must fill the gaps in scientific data on certain active ingredients,” Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. Isiah Britt, 7, is pictured with his father, Hensley Dougan, 32, and mother, Danielle Britt, 29, in their home in Gainesville, Va. in February. Isiah has raised money to supply hand sanitizer for schools in Flint, Mich. (Pete Marovich for The Washington Post) The FDA expressed particular interest in information about repeated exposure and use by children and pregnant women. It noted that "emerging science" suggests that detection of antiseptic ingredients in the blood or urine is higher than previously thought in full body exposure. The agency's request is part of a massive inquiry of 22 chemicals that fight bacteria and that has set the $30 billion industry against some scientist


Humans are driving the evolution of new species — and that could be just as bad as causing extinctions

pace at which they do so. One study found that plants in Australia changed dramatically just 150 years after their ancestors were introduced to the continent. It took decades, not millennia, for the London mosquito species to diverge. Some changes took much longer — humans probably spent thousands of years domesticating dogs — but compared to the vast time scales that are typically used to describe Earth history, that is fast. The number of species influenced by human forces is "comparable" to the number of observed extinctions attributable to humans, the authors write, but the emergence of new kinds of creatures hardly make up for all the damage we've done. Artificial species diversity is not a substitute for natural biodiversity — the complex interplay of different life forms that exists in a healthy ecosystem. Newly created species don't fill the same ecological niches as the ones humans have wiped out; often, those species went extinct because humans made life in their ecological niche untenable. Domesticated dogs can't replace wolves hunted to extinction; an underground mosquito isn't going to provide the same ecosystem services as vanishing bumblebees. They don't fill the same role, and they don't provide the genetic diversity that makes an ecosystem resilient. “Anthropogenic species represent a nanosecond of the evolutionary time that many ‘natural’ species have passed through,” Christopher Dick, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan, pointed out to Wired. “In conservation, there is no comparing a 10-million-year-old tree or turtle species with a decades-old strain of insect or plant.” What's more, the introduction or emergence of new species could have an unknown domino effect on other creatures in their ecosystems. It's already been demonstrated that invasive species can lead to extinction of others — introduction of predators, competitors and disease have ravaged vulnerable populations around the globe. New species may hybridize with existing ones, or evolve to displace them, or have any number of impacts on the ecosystem overall. "When we talk about conservation and conversation trends, "A world full of all these strange hybrid species we’ve created and high abundance of certain species we’ve created, like pigeons and rats — having a world full of these kinds of species is not necessarily a picture we’d like to paint," he continued. "People might find this man-made biodiversity just as daunting as man-made loss." Read more: How NASA's Juno mission could help tell us where we


Chef Edward Lee is opening a massive new Succotash in Penn Quarter next year

really affords us the ability to branch out on the culinary side, on the design side, and really do what we want Succotash to be able to do. So, we do think of it as a flagship location for us to create the type of full Succotash concept," says Knead co-founder Michael Reginbogin during a phone interview. [Sietsema: A taste of the new South comes to National Harbor with Succotash] If it sounds like Lee — a perpetual nominee in the James Beard Awards — and Knead are gunning for Michelin stars, you wouldn't be off-base in that assumption. The famous Michelin Guide will drop its first volume dedicated to D.C. dining on Oct. 13, too early for Succotash D.C. to earn a star. But the principals wouldn't mind seeing Succotash DC in the 2017 guide. "I'm sure it's something that's crossed all of our minds," says Knead co-founder Jason Berry. "We always want to take the brand further. National Harbor was a great place to test the concept and the menu, see what works, see what doesn't. And now we have a bigger canvas to paint on, and you have to take some chances and push the culinary envelope 100 percent." The plan, according to the partners, is to maintain the staples that "put Succotash on the map at National Harbor" — the crispy blue catfish, baby back ribs, pimento cheeseburger with bacon jam — but rejigger the menu with about 40 to 50 percent new items. It's too early to say what Lee may create for the D.C. location, but Berry says that National Harbor restaurant couldn't include a wood-fired grill. So expect some dishes with smoky flavor. Before anything happens, however, the Knead team has to complete designs. Reginbogin is working with //3877, a Georgetown firm that has designed Momofuku CCDC, Matchbox on 14th St. NW and other restaurants. The building's interior, with its soaring ceilings and statuesque columns, has been designated a historic site, which means Knead and company have to work with preservation officials to get approval for all designs. Knead plans to maintain the building's Greek revival architecture while adding "grand touches evocative of late Southern architecture." At present, Berry says, the space is nothing but a "cold, dark shell." Adds Reginbogin: "We have to open everything up and put in plumbing, electrical, sewage, bathrooms, kitchens, you name it. There's nothing in there right


Massive effort to save the Amazon is failing even in ‘protected’ areas

understand these effects, many previous studies have investigated the isolated impacts of one type of disturbance or another — the specific influence of logging, for instance, or the effects of wildfires on a particular area. The new paper, however, is among the first to examine the issue through a broad-scale lens. “By focusing on only one form of disturbance, such studies may have overlooked much greater conservation losses from the combined effects of forest disturbances,” wrote The researchers behind the new paper — who include more than two dozen experts from multiple institutions in Brazil, the United States and elsewhere — sampled bird, plant and dung beetle species in dozens of different sections of forest in the heavily deforested Brazilian state of The researchers divided the concept of disturbances into two categories. “Landscape disturbances” include the direct, downstream effects of deforestation — namely fragmentation and other changes to the landscape itself. Removing trees in one area inevitably ends up dividing the remaining forest into patches, which are broken up by cleared spaces. Research has suggested that this type of fragmentation can have serious consequences for forest-dwelling animals, who are suddenly forced to live much closer to cleared spaces — and, typically, human activities — than before, and who must also cross these spaces to get from one part of the forest to another. The second category includes “within-forest disturbances,” which includes things like selective logging (the deliberate removal of certain types of trees, rather than whole-scale deforestation), wildfires or hunting. The researchers developed a mathematical system for figuring out how severely an area has been affected by disturbances. They assumed that, in the absence of any other disturbances, the number of species in an area should correspond with the amount of forest cover present — with less forest cover (which is presumably caused by deforestation) equating to fewer species. For each area included in the study, they calculated how much biodiversity they might expect based just on forest cover, and then they compared this estimate to the actual species richness observed in each place. They assumed that any differences in the predicted and real-life values were caused by additional disturbances in that area. They called this their “conservation value deficit.” Their findings were alarming. “What we find is with this forest degradation — with fire or logging or both — we can quickly lose a high portion of biodiversity value,”


on forest cover, and then they compared this estimate to the actual species richness observed in each place. They assumed that any differences in the predicted and real-life values were caused by additional disturbances in that area. They called this their “conservation value deficit.” Their findings were alarming. “What we find is with this forest degradation — with fire or logging or both — we can quickly lose a high portion of biodiversity value,” Lees said. The researchers observed that even areas containing 80 percent of their primary forests, according to Brazilian code, lost between 39 and 54 percent of their conservation value in terms of biodiversity losses. In some cases, up to half of these losses were attributed to disturbance, rather than just forest losses. The researchers estimated that conservation losses as a result of disturbances across the whole state of Par Additional analysis of the types of species being affected revealed that organisms currently presenting the greatest concern to conservationists are the most vulnerable. These include species with small ranges or species only living in one place, who can’t be found anywhere else in the world, Lees noted. So the research presents a clear hurdle for continued conservation efforts in the Amazon. The question of how it should be addressed is more complex. While efforts to continue curbing deforestation should certainly continue, the researchers recommend that additional steps be taken to cut down on the effect of other disturbances as well. Illegal logging, for instance, is a widespread problem in many parts of the Amazon — and even in places where logging is permitted, more trees are sometimes removed than should be allowed. Finding better ways to make sure the correct amount of trees are being removed from any given site — and no more — can help crack down on the issue, said Governments could also consider putting better incentives in place to encourage local farmers to adopt more sustainable farming techniques and avoid risky land-use practices that might result in large fires, Gardner said. And he pointed out that many of these issues are connected anyway, so addressing one type of disturbance can help cut down on others. Logging, for example, can make forests more vulnerable to fire. “Brazil does have legislation that cuts across all of those issues,” Gardner added. “There is legislation in the Brazilian forest service about trying to improve management of forests.


Biden threatens funding cuts for researchers who don’t report clinical-trial data

us there.” Timothy Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, said he was pleased that Biden talked about cancer-drug costs, a topic of growing concern as companies develop expensive combination therapies. Overall, he said it would be impossible to know the real impact of the meeting for at least another year, "when you see what gets done." Before the meeting started, Biden's office announced dozens of new initiatives in the anti-effort cancer. Many involve novel collaborations between federal agencies; for example, the Department of Energy is teaming up with the Department of Veterans Affairs to use supercomputers to better understand the genesis of cancer. Other commitments include pledges from cancer charities to raise more money for research or from businesses and philanthropies to create lucrative prizes to award breakthroughs. One of the efforts involves IBM's supercomputer Watson, known for its "Jeopardy" prowess, which is forming a partnership with the VA in a bid to revolutionize cancer care for veterans. Under the IBM-VA partnership, Watson technology will be provided free for two years to the VA's precision-oncology program. The artificial intelligence system will analyze genomic information, pinpoint cancer-causing mutations and help identify potential treatments for as many as 10,000 patients. David Shulkin, VA's undersecretary for health, said the health system currently uses groups of experts to analyze patients' sequenced genetic data and to figure out treatment plans. Using Watson, he said, clinicians will be able to treat many more patients, much more quickly. Physicians will feed tumor information to the computer and, "within a matter of hours, we will be able to get an individual interpretation that allows doctors to make the very best treatment decisions." Other initiatives heralded as part of the summit Wednesday included a new program by the NIH, drug companies and philanthropies to invest in "pre-competitive" cancer research, in which the data would be shared, as well as a revamping of information about cancer clinical trials to make it easier for patients to find the right trials. In addition, changes will rejigger the way the Food and Drug Administration approves cancer-related products. Read more: You have a few more days to tell the government what to do about cancer Biden unveils open-access database for cancer research Federal panel approves first test of CRISPR gene-editing in humans IN DEPTH: Watson’s next feat? Taking on cancer. IBM’s computer brain is training alongside doctors to do what they can’t.


‘See you in 2020’: Olympian Lolo Jones to skip track and field trials

(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Citing complications from hip surgery last fall, Lolo Jones announced Wednesday that she won’t be competing at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which begin Friday. Jones, 33, is a two-time Olympian in the 100-meter hurdles, and she competed as a bobsledder at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. “In November, I was faced with a tough decision: to run with pain or to have surgery,” Jones said via Instagram. “I should have known that six months wasn’t enough time to recover from hip labral repair. “I may have not shown you over the course of my career how to win an Olympic gold medal, but I hope that my journey has shown you how to get back up when you get knocked down,” she continued. “How to try again when you feel like you’ve already tried so many times.” Jones was widely considered the favorite at the 2008 Games, but she hit the second-to-last hurdle and finished seventh in Beijing. In London’s 2012 Games, she came agonizingly close to the podium but finished fourth, a tenth of a second behind the bronze medal-winning time. Jones also received attention for her story of having come out of an impoverished background in Iowa, one in which she and her family had to live in a church basement at one point. However, some have contended that she has gained greater fame than her athletic career should have merited, at least in part because of her striking looks. “I don’t know what my future holds,” Jones said, leaving open the possibility of competing again in bobsled. She added the caption, “See you in 2020 homies,” and the hashtag “#illbeback” to her post, indicating that she continue her track career and go for a spot on the 202o Olympic team. “Know this: I’m a fighter, and I want to finish this race strong, whatever that race is,” Jones said. “So I’m not retiring. But right now I just need to let my body heal and rest and recover, and just cheer on my fellow teammates as they go on to the Olympic trials, and then on to Rio. Go Team USA.”


Pedals, a bear that walks upright, is back — and so is the fight about helping him

is active, appears healthy, a little larger than last year, and is thriving on its own, having adapted to its condition,” the agency said, while also warning people that feeding bears is not allowed. “Therefore, there is no need for intervention at this time. Division staff will continue to monitor the situation, but intercede only if necessary.” It’s not the first time people have clashed over how to help vulnerable wildlife. Bird cams, as we’ve written, cause emotions to run high. So do orphaned baby bison. A Facebook account run by people who want the bear to be helped says that they’ve contacted politicians, “major celebrities” and legal groups to drum up high-powered support for relocation, but for now they’re just monitoring the bear. That hasn’t stopped the handwringing among some of Pedals’s fans. Others have argued that the bear is a hero of sorts — a guy who has overcome the odds and made the best of his situation. When the first videos of the upright bear were posted online two summers ago, no one was sure whether they were real. NJ.com referred to an “alleged bear walking on its two legs like a human.” Wildlife officials soon confirmed Pedals’s authenticity, and they noted that he’s not the first to walk that way — just the first to do it in a developed area full of cellphone cameras. In fact, Pedals is only the latest bipedal animal to shoot to stardom. Last year, a video of an upright-walking black bear who’d been rescued from a cramped zoo in Laos went viral. There’s a gorilla at an animal park in the United Kingdom who walks about like a person, probably just because he feels like it. Eight years ago, a two-legged dog named Faith made the front page of The Washington Post. Those animals all had human helpers, of course. For now, Pedals will need to depend on his wits, imperfect physique and the silent cheers of thousands of followers he doesn’t even know exist. Read more: We love stories about dogs mourning their owners. But they might not be what they appear. This parrot was thought to be extinct in the wild — until a farmer spotted one An author says she hoped to advance the debate about pit bulls. Instead, she became a target. Two bear cubs are rescued one week after their mother attacked a marathon runner


A simple but controversial law that can make babies healthier

"Reducing the rate of low birth weight by 3 percent or 5 percent is a nontrivial feat." Kaestner and his colleagues, George Wehby of the University of Iowa and Dhaval Dave of Bentley University in Massachusetts, used federal data from birth certificates to compare birth weights in states where the minimum wage increased to birth weights in states that did not. The vital records include data on every birth in the country, and the researchers analyzed all of them between 1989 and 2012. There are other factors besides the minimum wage that affect average birth weights in a state, but Wehby, Dave and Kaestner found that in states where the minimum increased, birth weights were not significantly different before the increase from birth weights in states without an increase or where there was an increase only several years later. The similarities among states in the periods before increases in the minimum suggest that any differences in birth weight afterward are a result of the minimum wage, not of other factors. The results show that an increase in the minimum wage benefited expecting mothers of all kinds, but women who were more likely to earn the minimum wage benefited more, and so did their children. In terms of the reduction in low birth weight, babies born to mothers of color benefited about three times as much from increases in the minimum wage as babies born to white mothers. Young women with just a high-school diploma were another group whose newborns were particularly helped by the minimum wage. Better educated women were less likely to earn the minimum wage anyway. The same also appeared to be true of older women without a good education, who presumably had had more time to gain experience on the job and were making more money. Women without even a diploma also benefited, but less so. Many of them might have had a hard time getting even a minimum-wage job. To the extent that employers hired fewer workers due to the increased cost of labor in states that increased the minimum wage, changes in the minimum might have reduced the incomes of some of these women as well. Wehby, Dave and Kaestner's results accord with previous research on the relationship between income and birth weight among women at the margins of the economy, including a study on the Earned Income Tax Credit published in 2010. Another study


New study shows chronic fatigue syndrome may have to do with gut microbes

a full three decades at the NIH (For a detailed history of how this sad state came to be, read Hillary Johnson’s deeply reported book "Osler’s Web.") No one has a good count of ME patients in the United States — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention misspent funds earmarked for this purpose — but there’s plausible evidence that several hundred thousand people are disabled by it. That’s comparable to the burden of multiple sclerosis — the illness ME most closely resembles. The NIH funds $110 million in MS research each year, and a sustained government investment has been crucial in the development of a dozen Food and Drug Administration-approved MS drugs. ME patients have no approved treatments. Diagnosis can be delayed for years, and misdiagnosis is common. (I was initially diagnosed with West Nile virus infection, a mistake due to a faulty blood test.) But ME is finally emerging from the basement. Brand-name institutions and big-time researchers now recognize the huge burden ME places on society: tens of billions in medical expenses, lost productivity and missing tax revenue each year. Columbia University’s Ian Lipkin is searching for infectious triggers, and has reported severe immune problems in patients. Columbia received $150 million in NIH grants in 2015; Lipkin’s operation gets a big chunk of that not for ME/CFS research but for finding viruses such as those that cause SARS and MERS. But when the famous virus hunter applied for a trifling $1 million for ME research, the NIH turned him down, twice. So spurned, Lipkin and colleague Mady Hornig recently resorted to eating habanero peppers to raise money as part of a social media ME Chili Challenge inspired by the hugely successful ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Vastag may be happy to know that the Cornell study was NIH funded. Read more: Boston subway study finds no plague or anthrax — but plenty of other lifeforms Your perfectionist parenting style may be detrimental to your child Is 10,000-steps goal more myth than science? Study seeks fitness truths through our phones and more Controversial study aims to ‘reanimate’ the brain dead IN DEPTH: Sean Parker, Silicon Valley’s bad boy genius, wants to kick the *!$% out of cancer Like our Health Wellness page on Facebook for more science news about the ins and outs of the human body and mind, essays and advice. You can sign up here for our newsletter.


Islamic State applauds the British: ‘Brexit threatens the unity of Crusader Europe’

A man waves both a Union Jack and a European Union flag on College Green outside the Houses of Parliament at an anti-Brexit protest in London on June 28. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images) LONDON — Earlier this year, the Islamic State released a chilling video in which it directly threatened attacks on Britain. But the group is also willing to praise its enemy countries: In its latest edition of the al-Naba magazine, the Islamic State welcomes Britain leaving the European Union because it supposedly "threatens the unity of Crusader Europe." Calling the referendum results as having been "surprising to most people," al-Naba described in detail how stock markets and economies had suffered following last week's vote. According to the Islamic State interpretation of events, Brexit could lead to the disintegration of the United Kingdom — and of Europe. "It has also impacts on the European level as it encouraged other national parties in European countries to aim for similar referendums which would threaten the unity of the entity as a whole," wrote the authors. "Although the scenes within the U.K. imply that things are already settled in favor of Britain's exit, the Crusade world is trying really hard to compensate its consequences," the Islamic State authors wrote, possibly referring to current E.U. efforts to uphold a strong relationship with the U.K. even after its departure from the Union. "It’s clear they want a weakened Europe and they see this as helping," wrote Shiraz Maher, the deputy director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR), on Twitter. But perhaps as interesting as what the Islamic State commentary argues is what it doesn't mention. The terror group recently claimed to have "covert units" inside the E.U., specifically in France. But it is the E.U.'s concept of open borders and the free movement of people that has enabled some fighters to leave Syria and Iraq and to return to their home countries. The Islamic State's operational abilities would also be affected should the Schengen zone — which consists of countries that have agreed to abolish border controls — fall apart. The issue had come up repeatedly in the campaign ahead of the British E.U. referendum: The threat of terrorism and the ability of fighters to move freely between countries that are part of the Schengen zone worried many voters inclined to vote for leaving the European Union, although Britain itself was


Brexit and your American dollars

The British public’s decision to leave the European Union will have repercussions the world over. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images) Guess lots of British folks now realize the power of their votes and the financial costs of Britain leaving the European Union. So now we all are dealing with the consequences. Let this be a lesson to us all. We need to be better informed and not just rely on rhetoric to form our opinions. And to that end, let’s look at some of the financial fallout of Brexit: How Brexit could push mortgage rates to historic lows How Brexit could affect your wallet The one investment that just made a killing, thanks to Brexit Brexit happens. Know your investment plan, and stick to it. Read this if you are prone to panic when it comes to your investment plan. “I know, I repeat myself, seemingly every other quarter, as we run through this muster drill,” wrote investment columnist Barry Ritholtz. “Something bad happens somewhere, and markets are unhinged. A substantial sell-off ensues, and all of the usual suspects panic. Once the noise subsides and the markets settle down, everyone wonders what the heck just happened.” And as Ritholtz continues: “The data shows that markets have on average swung 2 percent up or down once every 11 days since the year 2000. Those of you who may have been paying attention to this detail should not have been surprised by the great volatility markets saw last week — first to the upside as wishful thinking led traders to believe that Brexit was a non-starter, then down and down and down as the votes came in for leaving. By week’s end, it was a bloodbath: European bourses fell 4 to 6 percent; British banks dropped 20 percent or more; U.S. equities fell 3 to 4 percent. Pay careful attention to Ritholtz’s list of all the things investors need to remind themselves of when markets go crazy, such as “emotional reactions are bad for your portfolios.” Color of Money Question of the Week Live Chat Today Financial news you can use Read the tips that could help women save more for retirement. As Brooks writes: “While women and men are participating in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans at the same rate, women are saving less. Eighty-three percent of U.S. women are not saving enough to meet their needs in retirement, vs. 74 percent of men.” Color


Why the Brexit referendum might not be the last word on Britain’s E.U. membership

is a history of E.U.-related referendums being rerun (as in Denmark in the early 1990s) when the first vote went against an E.U. treaty. 5. Sometimes constitutional changes have sub-national as well as national vote requirements. This point represents perhaps the most serious challenge to the implementation of Brexit. Can Northern Ireland and Scotland be forced to leave the E.U. even though a majority of their citizens voted again Brexit? Exactly this kind of concern is hard-wired into the U.S. process for amending the Constitution: Constitutional amendments are valid only after they have been passed by three-quarters of the states (either in the state legislatures or state conventions). To give another example, Australia allows referendums to be used to amend its constitution, but requires what is known as a “double majority“: a majority of people in a majority of states and a majority of the total vote. On these grounds, Brexit would have failed, as “leave” achieved a majority of the vote in only two out of four regions: England and Wales but not Scotland and Northern Ireland (or Gibraltar, for that matter). Thus what Max Fisher calls “the Scottish Veto” is out there as a possibility. 6. Triggering Article 50 seems to be a terrible way to begin negotiations for any country. However, if the reversion point is significantly worse for one party than the other, then that party is disadvantaged in the negotiations: The party with a terrible situation at the reversion point is likely to desperately want a deal, and the other party is likely to know that. It seems to me that this situation might very well describe negotiations over Britain’s exit from the E.U. According to a February 2016 briefing from the European Parliament, If no agreement is concluded within two years, that state’s membership ends automatically, unless the European Council and the Member State concerned decide jointly to extend this period. In other words, Britain’s reversion point during negotiations will simply be to revert to no relationship with the E.U., which does not seem to be anyone’s goal in this process at all. This in turn suggests that once Article 50 is triggered, Britain may find its negotiating position substantially weaker than in previous rounds of negotiating its relationship with the E.U. from within the union. Which, of course, may have been the point of structuring Article 50 this way in the first place.


107 Nobel laureates sign letter blasting Greenpeace over GMOs

enables scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by manipulating genes in a way that does not occur naturally. These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE' environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Virtually all crops and livestock have been genetically engineered in the broadest sense; there are no wild cows, and the cornfields of the United States reflect many centuries of plant modification through traditional breeding. Genetically modified crops started to become common in the mid-1990s; today, most of the corn, soybeans and cotton in the country have been modified to be resistant to insects or tolerant of herbicide, according to government statistics. Opponents of GMOs have focused a great deal on the economic and social repercussions of the introduction of lab-modified crops. Greenpeace has warned of the corporate domination of the food supply, saying that small farmers will suffer. A Greenpeace spokesman Wednesday referred a reporter to a Greenpeace publication titled "Twenty Years of Failure: Why GM crops have failed to deliver on their promises." This debate between mainstream scientists and environmental activists isn't new, and there is little reason to suspect that the letter signed by the Nobel laureates will persuade GMO opponents to stand down. But Columbia University's Martin Chalfie, who shared the 2008 Nobel in chemistry for research on green fluorescent protein, said he thinks laureates can be influential on the GMO issue. "Is there something special about Nobel laureates? I’m not so sure we’re any more special than other scientists who have looked at the evidence involved, but we have considerably more visibility because of the prize. I think that this behooves us, that when we feel that science is not being listened to, that we speak out." Roberts said he has worked on previous campaigns that sought to leverage the influence of Nobel laureates. In 2012, for example, he organized a campaign to persuade Chinese authorities to release from house arrest the human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. Roberts said he decided to take on the GMO issue after hearing from scientific colleagues their research was being impeded by anti-GMO activism from Greenpeace and other organizations. He said he has no financial interest in GMO research. Update: Here is Greenpeace's response, datelined Manila, June 30, from Wilhelmina Pelegrina, Campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia: “Accusations that


Brexit’s loudest voices, just like Trump, have no answers

customers on the continent, impede its financial sector’s ability to do international business and choke off the flow of workers it needs to make its industries efficient and profitable? I guess they’ll find out what that is like. Are U.S. policymakers ready to hike the cost of food and clothing for already strapped working-class families, deny U.S. manufacturers the cheapest materials needed to make their products, and limit our access to foreign music, films and other entertainment? Trump’s vision is a pipe dream, and one with serious economic risks. For the poorest of the world’s poor, the stakes are the highest: The moral case for globalization rests on the proposition that the system has raised the living standards of billions of people, including some of the world’s poorest citizens. . . . Those in the bottom third of the world’s population except for the very poor, who earn as little as $1.25 a day, have become significantly better off, as demonstrated by Branko Milanovic, the former lead economist at the World Bank’s Development Group. This is more than altruism, to be sure. We know that previously impoverished nations are now consumers of our goods, international donors and reliable allies. But the stakes for all Americans are high as well. We have never benefited by making our markets smaller and prices higher. We have been down this road before with disastrous results. Just like Michael Gove, Nigel Farage and Johnson, Trump would be at a loss to implement his “plan” if he ever won. In reality he has no plan, at least not one remotely acceptable to Americans. His promises are as empty as theirs and the sense of betrayal his voters would feel would make today’s populist anger seem mild. The good news for the United States is this: “Thanks to Brexit, U.S. voters will be able to see firsthand what happens when a country ducks out of a major trade agreement and tries to renegotiate a new one under false pretenses with no plan for implementation—uncertainty, market turmoil, and economic degradation.” In other words, there is time to pull back from the brink. The big lie Trump is telling is that Americans cannot succeed on their merits, cannot compete on the world stage and cannot adapt to the needs of a 21st century. Only he can do that for us, you see, by making “deals.” Well, that is just


Brexit might undermine Europe’s democratic order

U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, left, with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill outside 10 Downing Street in London on Oct. 17, 1940. (AP) Since Britain voted to leave the European Union, there has been much discussion of Brexit’s economic and financial implications as well as its political consequences for Britain. What will happen to Labour and the Conservatives? Does this mean the end of the United Kingdom? Less thought, however, has been given to Brexit’s effect on the future of democracy in Europe. European integration was an integral part of the foundation upon which Europe was reconstructed after World War II. Brexit signals and will probably further the erosion of this foundation, which undergirded the most prosperous, peaceful and politically stable period Europe had ever known. It is easy to forget that democracy in Europe is a relatively recent development. Up through the middle of the 20th century, Europe was the most turbulent region on Earth, convulsed by wars, economic crises and sociopolitical conflicts. To prevent a recurrence of these patterns after 1945, European leaders thought that a transformation at the domestic, international and regional levels was necessary. Domestically, Europeans built a new type of political economy designed to ensure economic growth while also protecting societies from capitalism’s most destructive and destabilizing tendencies. They rejected the argument that government influence over economic life ought to be held in check and declined to simply leave markets to their own devices on the assumption that they could govern themselves. Instead, states took on a mandate to protect social stability and, with it, democracy. Internationally, the United States built a new security order, exemplified by NATO, designed to protect Europeans from external threats as well as themselves. The United States also helped build multiple economic and financial institutions to support Europe’s postwar reconstruction and future economic growth. Supporting democracy was a key motivation for the project of European integration, which led to the E.U. Integration was supposed to promote economic development and generate the growing connections among the continent’s citizens that would make a common future possible. Postwar economic reconstruction, for example, could not be accomplished by the uncoordinated efforts of individual governments. A larger, more open European economy was necessary for sustained growth. In addition, reconstruction had to be complemented by peace, which meant finding a way to reconcile Germany with Europe and vice versa, and instilling in Europeans a sense of community


15 things to do in the D.C. area on Fourth of July weekend

If you're staying in D.C. for the long July Fourth weekend, you're in luck. Before we even get to the fireworks on Monday night, you'll find plenty to fill your calendar, from outdoor movies, to indoor concerts and free museum exhibitions. Here are the holiday weekend's best bets in nightlife, festivals, music and much more around the Washington area. - July Hotlist: What to see, eat, drink and do this month - Grand illumination: Watch fireworks every night this weekend - Stay cool: Inside the new "Icebergs" exhibition You've seen the newest Racing President mascot run around Nationals Park. Now you can get a Herbert Hoover bobblehead for your desk. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press) Through Friday: Patti Labelle plays two nights at the Strathmore Friday: Friday: Friday-Monday: "1776 — Breaking News: Independence" opens at the Newseum Through Monday: Through Monday: Yoko Ono's "Wish Tree" - Hirshhorn Museum Friday through Monday: Friday through Monday: The Milestones of Flight Hall at the National Air & Space Museum has a fresh new look, and a few new items. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Friday through Monday: Saturday through Monday: Saturday: Here's an idea of what you might see on Monday, when the fireworks light up the sky over the Mall. This photo was taken from the roof of Waterview Condominium in Rosslyn. (2014 photo by Matt McClain/ The Washington Post) Monday: - The Fourth of July Celebration at the National Archives is your chance to see the document that started it all, the Declaration of Independence. A dramatic reading, from actors portraying Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams and others, starts at 10 a.m., and there will be other family-friendly activities. - The National Independence Day Parade (11:45 to 2 p.m.) marches down Constitution Avenue NW from Seventh to 17th streets, featuring bands from across the country, the fife-and-drum corps, members of the military and more. - "A Capital Fourth" concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol features the National Symphony Orchestra, Kenny Loggins, Smokey Robinson, Gavin DeGraw and others. The event, broadcast live on PBS, is hosted by Tom Bergeron. The concert runs from 8 to 9:30 p.m.


The Pentagon’s ban on transgender service just fell — but the details are complicated

Other organizations studying sexuality, such as the Palm Center, have found that there were about 15,500 transgender service members a few years ago and 12,800 now because of reductions in the overall size of the force. The decision brought a mixed reaction on Capitol Hill. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), a Marine Corps veteran who played a key role in a failed effort five years ago to slow the demise of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” discussed what to do with his staff and decided it was better to focus on other issues, according to his chief of staff, Joe Kasper. “He’s thought about it. We talked about it,” Kasper said ahead of time when the announcement was imminent. “But he’d likely be alone in the effort. On these issues — most members won’t touch them with a 10-foot pole. Hunter will, but he can’t get others on board.” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R.-Tex.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called Carter’s decision the latest example of the Pentagon and President Obama prioritizing politics over policy. “Our military readiness — and hence, our national security — is dependent on our troops being medically ready and deployable,” he said in a statement. “The Administration seems unwilling or unable to assure Congress and the American people that transgender individuals will meet these individual readiness requirements at a time when our Armed Forces are deployed around the world.” Thornberry and Sen. James Inhofe (R.-Okla.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said they would consider legislative options on the subject. The details of the transgender policy change appeared to strike a compromise between some issues at play. Notably, transgender people who want to join the military will be required to wait 18 months after a doctor certifies that they are stable in their new gender before they can enlist. Defense officials familiar with the discussions have said that the Army and Marine Corps pressed to wait two years, while the Navy and Air Force thought 12 months were sufficient. Carter, who appeared Thursday without military leaders in uniform alongside him, said the decision to make the change in policy was his. But he added that he tried to build consensus among military officials before forging ahead. Senior Airman Kiana Brothers waves the pride flag and cheers on participants of the Pride Month 5K at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois on June


First-of-its-kind CDC study finds clues about why only some survive Ebola virus

Emory treated some of the most prominent American victims of the outbreak, including physician Kent Brantly and nurse Amber Vinson. It’s important to mention that the volunteers included in the research are distinct from the typical Ebola patient in West Africa in many ways, so it’s unclear to what extent the results hold true more broadly. These were all people who had grown up in developed countries, and most got the disease abroad and were repatriated by emergency air transport after they were infected. Many of them also received treatment with experimental serums, such as ZMapp. They also had access to early and supportive care by some of the best minds in the world, which most of the victims on the ground in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea did not. The other big difference is that everyone in the study lived through the infection. (A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the overall mortality rate for patients who were repatriated was 18.5 percent, which is much lower than the 50 percent for those treated on the other side of the world.) Researchers tracked 54 different markers of immune-system activity from when the patients were admitted to the hospital to when they were discharged. They then categorized the patients into two groups — those with moderate disease and those with severe disease that was based on the kind of support they needed. Those with severe disease required ventilation and dialysis. There were three important differences in those with severe disease. The first is a large inflammatory response, which appeared similar to people with autoimmune issues, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. That suggests that some of the therapies that work for these conditions may help with Ebola as well. They also found that those with severe disease had some dysfunction in their blood vessels and problems with blood clotting. Both of these are also issues for which we have known therapies. McElroy, who is also a physician at Emory, emphasized that the study is very preliminary and that the therapies mentioned will have to be tested in animal models before they are given to humans — but that it gives us a direction to head in. Elroy said that while there are a number of therapies and medications that have come out of the recent Ebola outbreak, treatment is likely to require multiple approaches, and "an


Happy Hour Roundup

* Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter repealed the Pentagon’s long-held ban on transgender people serving in the military Thursday, ending a year-long process that was bogged down by internal conflict and concerns among senior service officials about how the change could be made. Carter said at a news conference that the policy change will take place over the next 12 months, beginning with guidance issued to current transgender service members and their commanders, followed by training for the entire military. Beginning Thursday, however, service members can no longer be involuntarily separated from the services solely on the basis of being transgender, he said. “Our mission is to defend this country, and we don’t want barriers unrelated to a person’s qualification to serve preventing us from recruiting or retaining the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine who can best accomplish the mission,” Carter said. “We have to have access to 100 percent of America’s population for our all-volunteer forces to be able to recruit from among them the most highly qualified — and to retain them.” I’m sure it will be a huge problem, given how the predictions conservatives made about the end of the ban on gay servicemembers destroying the armed forces all turned out to be true. * Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman report that Mr. Christie is among those being vetted as Mr. Trump’s possible running mate, according to people briefed on the process, and Mr. Trump has said in interviews that Mr. Christie would have a prominent place in a Trump White House. Already, Mr. Christie has begun the task of designing a government on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Tapped to lead Mr. Trump’s transition efforts, Mr. Christie has taken a role that some of his allies liken to that of a White House chief of staff, soliciting views on what a potential Trump administration should look like. Mr. Christie has taken the transition process firmly in hand, according to people familiar with his activities, which have been kept from public view so far. He has enlisted his former top aide in Trenton, Richard H. Bagger, to help manage the transition team. Hey, how many governors can sport an enviable * Vaughn Hillyard and Kelly O’Donnell report that * * * Jonathan Capehart * Ana Swanson reports that * Nick Gass reports that * Alan Abramowitz argues that * Christopher Ingraham notes that * Paul Glastris reports that a


The Austrian presidential election shows no evidence of fraud. We used election forensics to check.

presidential election data. Throughout the country, there are community (Gemeinde) level report results. In Vienna, where the “community” level is very large, there’s a level below that one — the election district level — that also reports results. Finally, mail-in ballots are reported at a level above the Gemeinde, at a larger district level that’s akin to counties in the United States; this level typically includes several communities. Our election forensics found no fraud in the Austrian election We found no signs of anomalies, when checking most of the statistical indicators using Gemeinde (and, where appropriate, district) counts of eligible voters and cast votes, in either the first or second round of the election. There was one exception: One technique detected the presence of a small anomaly in round two. But the patterns that model detects are also consistent with strategic behavior, as Mebane shows in his research. Even if we assume that these anomalies do indicate fraud, our best estimate is that only 3,870 potentially fraudulent votes occurred, or .087 percent of the vote total. That’s not enough to change the outcome. But let us emphasize that these anomalies are consistent with what happens during periods of intense mobilization: supporters rallying in favor of Van der Bellen. Further, only Vienna showed that small number of anomalous turnout results. It stands to reason that Vienna, a heavily anti-Hofer city with many immigrants and a diverse population, saw intensive and unusual turnout activity. The other statistical tests show no evidence of unusual patterns in the election data. We find no forensic evidence to support the Freedom Party’s claims of fraud. What we found when we analyzed Turkey’s 2015 elections In a previous article for the Monkey Cage, several of us summarized analyses on Turkey’s 2015 parliamentary elections. We found evidence consistent with election fraud in parts of Turkey. That article also described the fraud-detection methods available as part of the Election Forensics Toolkit. Readers can refer to that article for more details on our methods. Walter R. Mebane, Jr. Allen Hicken Kirill Kalinin is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Michigan. Ken Kollman **** Note: This post has been updated to reflect the result of the judge’s decision in the case by changing the headline, blurb, and adding the last sentence of the 4th paragraph. Everything else was written before the results of the case were released.


Brexit will make things worse. Is that why people voted for it?

of self-harm is sheer madness. But since the vote, certain cultural and psychological factors have come into view. Apart from the role of age in influencing voting behavior — with older voters more likely to choose Leave and younger voters to choose Remain — a darker shadow has fallen over the result due to fresh polling evidence. Put bluntly, many Leave voters suffer from a desperate lack of hope. It may be that exact lack of hope and a desire to harm the system that brought it about that caused them to vote for the referendum. Strange as it may sound, every time pro-Europeans argued that leaving Europe would be economically disastrous, this could have increased the appeal of Brexit on an unconscious level for many people. And the same thing could be at play with voters backing Donald Trump in the U.S. election. Surveys by Michael Ashcroft Those supporting membership in the E.U. mostly agreed that “life in Britain is better than it was 30 years ago” and that life for children growing up in Britain today “will be better than it was for their parents.” Those rejecting Europe tended to state the opposite. The country was split down the middle by whether or not they still believed in progress. More anecdotally, journalists have discovered that some Leave voters did not even believe that exiting the E.U. would change anything, anyway. Some simply assumed that Britain would stay in regardless: Either the Remain side would win, or the referendum result would be ignored (still a possibility) or some conspiracy would prevent its exit. In fact, on the day of the vote, a hashtag #UsePens spread across Twitter, urging people not to vote in pencil in case their ballot paper was doctored. Studies of conspiracy theories in Britain show that a majority of people don’t believe that democracy has any influence on who holds power, and that the E.U. is trying to take over all British law-making powers. Other studies have found another distinctive characteristic among Leave voters. They share a belief in harsh and even humiliating punishment for criminals, including support for the death penalty (outlawed in Britain in 1969) and public whipping of sex offenders. Taking all of this together, a typical Leave voter has authoritarian beliefs, yet no faith in the political system to implement authoritarian policies or to improve society some other way. Under these circumstances,


The British people have spoken. But what exactly did they say?

On May 14, Conservative MP Boris Johnson spoke in favor of the Brexit referendum as he visited Bristol. Yesterday the former London mayor Boris Johnson took his name out of the race to replace Conservative Party leader and U.K. prime minister David Cameron. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) The day after Britain’s referendum on E.U. membership, David Cameron observed, “Over 33 million people from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar have all had their say… The British people have voted to leave the European Union and their will must be respected.” But what exactly did last week’s referendum reveal about what these voters want? For instance, how big of an economic hit is the typical “Leave” voter willing to tolerate in order to ditch the E.U.? Do they consider “Brexit” worth pursuing even if it causes Scotland to break off? And what should come next — new bilateral trade agreements or protectionism? Further cuts in government spending or reinvestment in the National Health Service? Deregulation or tighter controls on the economy? Here’s the problem: Most referendums do not allow for specifying alternatives, giving and weighing reasons, or ranking preferences. And they give no indication of what tradeoffs the electorate is willing to tolerate, or guidance on how to proceed with the vast number of decisions that must be made to implement the people’s will. Referendums commit leaders to a mandated outcome, regardless of the costs and consequences. And this makes it tougher for democratically elected legislatures to deliberate, compromise and forge consensus. This is what legislators are supposed to do We entrust our elected legislators and executives with political power on the basis of their political outlook or electoral platform. And they then have the flexibility to decide what costs are acceptable in the pursuit of popular policies. Although elections have been described as referendums on candidates or parties, particularly when incumbents run for reelection, there’s a key difference. Electoral hopefuls may promise certain substantive outcomes, but nevertheless retain significant room to maneuver once they are in power. In contrast, a referendum that establishes a clear and unequivocal mandate is often costly for elected politicians to override. (But it’s not impossible, as Greece’s Syriza government showed after their bail-out referendum in June 2015.) Democratic theorists from Edmund Burke to John Stuart Mill have argued that the discretion retained by elected officials in addressing their constituents’ demands is a key


The surprising number of community college students without access to federal student loans

lack federal loan access compared to 34 percent of white students. Roughly 86 percent of Native American students in Montana lack access to federal loans, compared to 2 percent of their white peers. Community college students in small towns and rural area are more than twice as likely as their counterparts in cities and suburbs to attend schools that block access to federal loans, according to the report. “A lot of community colleges think that their relatively low tuition means that students don’t have to borrow, so opting out of the loan program isn’t that big of a deal,” said Debbie Cochrane, research director at the institute and co-author of the report. “But the cost of college isn’t limited to tuition. It also includes textbooks, transportation and living costs. And very few community colleges students get those costs covered by grants.” One year at a community college, including tuition, fees and living expenses, costs an average of $7,160 for a full-time, in-state student in the 2015-2016 school year, and that’s after taking grants, scholarships and tax credits into account, according to the College Board. While that’s roughly half the amount the same student would pay at the average public four-year university, it is still a lot of money for those with modest means. A vast majority of full-time community college students need financial aid to cover costs, and just 2 percent have their needs fully met by grants, according to the report. Most community college students do not take out students loans — just 37 percent of people who complete an associate’s degree have borrowed for it — but policy analysts at the institute say students who need the help should have access to the most affordable options. Interest rates on federal loans are the lowest they’ve been in a decade. Federal Stafford loans for undergraduates carry a 3.76 percent interest rate, while the rates on loans offered by banks and other financial firms can climb as high as 10 percent. Private student loans also have inflexible repayment terms and weaker consumer protections than federal loans. Community colleges often are reluctant to participate in the federal loan program out of concern that students will borrow excessively and fail to repay the money, said James Hermes, associate vice president of government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges. Schools that amass high loan default rates face the threat of losing


The problem is bigger than payday loans

States, the most common need is to pay for emergency expenses. Forty-seven percent of Americans say they don’t have enough money saved to cover a small emergency. Unexpected medical bills, car repairs or a lower paycheck could mean a week without food. When family can’t help, to whom can people turn? Banks aren’t interested in small, temporary loans — they don’t make money that way. When the alternative is going without food or losing your car, payday loans are the least-bad solution. But for almost every other conceivable case, they are a terrible idea. They are prohibitively expensive and, perhaps more importantly, behaviorally dangerous. When easy credit is not available, people think twice before making unnecessary purchases. Payday loans allow people to make non-critical purchases at high interest rates, which means they are paying even more for things they don’t really need. Short-term, high-interest loans should be available only for truly urgent needs. In a perfect world, these loans would be prohibited when people are making clearly bad choices that have long-term negative consequences for them and their families. But how? Who’s to say what constitutes a family emergency or dire need? As Americans, we rely on our freedom to choose: It is up to the individual to make responsible choices. What the U.S. truly needs are policies that ensure that low-income people don’t need payday loans to begin with. We need to end the problem of hunger that leads many to look to these loans to put food on their tables when money runs low. We need to continue to reduce the burden that medical coverage places on poor families. Researchers have published countless articles on how to address these issues, but we don’t have a clear solution — if it was that easy to solve poverty, it would be over by now. That said, recent solutions do show promise: guaranteed minimum income programs and cash grant programs such as Prospera (formerly Oportunidades) from Mexico, which gives families direct cash payments in exchange for school attendance and health clinic visits. Currently, much of the United States’ low-income support bureaucratically restricts individual choice. We need a system that gives options back to individuals and gives them the individual power to make good long-term choices for themselves and their families. Research shows that the poor don’t actually waste their money on drugs or alcohol when they receive cash programs. Instead, when


NASA’s Juno probe has entered Jupiter’s violent magnetosphere

in our solar system teamed up to form one massive monolith of a world, mostly-gas Jupiter would still be 2½ times heavier. "If Jupiter's magnetosphere glowed in visible light, it would be twice the size of the full moon as seen from Earth," mission scientist William Kurth of the University of Iowa said in a statement. And the portion that we'd be able to see is puny compared to the tail that streams out behind Jupiter. According to data from Juno, the spacecraft passed through the bow shock — the sonic-boom-like disturbance created when Jupiter's magnetosphere plows into the solar winds around it — on June 24. By the next day, it was working its way into the fringes of the magnetosphere itself. Here's that data translated into an audio "boom": Data Recorded as Juno Crossed Jovian Bow Shock Now Juno is recording the calm before the storm. At the edge of the sun's influence, the spacecraft encountered some 16 particles per cubic inch of space it traveled through. Once it entered the magnetosphere, the particle density dropped by about one hundred times. But that will change as the orbiter approaches its tumultuous target. Data Recorded as Juno Entered Magnetosphere "It's like a spray of radiation bullets," Heidi Becker of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who serves as Juno's radiation monitoring investigation lead, said of Jupiter's radioactive particles during a news conference last month. The magnetic field of the planet could quite literally fry a space robot that got too close, and Juno is slated to get very close during its 32 planned orbits — close enough to probe under Jupiter's roiling cloud cover for the first time ever. But the probe has been given a veritable suit of armor to protect it. Its most valuable computer components are encased in 400 pounds of titanium. The power of Jupiter's magnetic field isn't just terrifying. It also creates gorgeous light shows in the form of aurorae. On Earth, aurorae like the Northern Lights form when particles from the sun interact with our magnetic field and become excited. The excited particles spewed by Jovian moon Io's volcanic activity help to make these displays much more dramatic on Jupiter than they are at home. Some of them cover areas larger than our entire planet. A Hubble Space Telescope composite image showing an aurora on the poles Jupiter.<br />(NASA, ESA and J. Nichols/University of Leicester)


These 6,000-year-old tombs may have been used as telescopes

Structures like these may have been used to view the stars. (F. Silva) Astronomers believe they may have found humanity's first stargazing tools. At the National Astronomy Meeting held this week in Nottingham, England, researchers presented evidence that simple apertures like tunnels and doorways might have been used to observe stars more effectively by our prehistoric ancestors. They suggest that 6,000-year-old tombs in Portugal could be an example of this, which would make the structures our oldest known astronomical observatories. It's difficult to decipher the intentions of men and women who lived six millennia ago. And since the research has yet to be peer reviewed or published in a journal, it must be taken with a grain of salt — other experts in the field may not have seen enough of the data to agree or disagree with the conclusions. But it's a fascinating hypothesis: According to the team's analysis, the narrow entrances of so-called passage graves can increase the visibility of specific stars to the human eye. The passage grave would have kept stargazers cloaked in darkness save for its narrow opening, which would make stars in that field more visible. At the Seven-Stone Antas in central Portugal, they say, this optical trick can be used to better observe Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus. (F. Silva) “This first rising of Aldebaran occurred at the end of April or beginning of May 6,000 years ago, so it would be a very good, very precise calendrical marker for them to know when it was time to move into the higher grounds,” Fabio Silva of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David told the Guardian. “The first seeing of this star would have indicated to the civilization that it was time to move to the mountains, as these civilizations spent the winters on low ground near the river and the summers on higher grounds in the mountain area,” Kieran Simcox, an undergraduate student at Nottingham Trent University, told Discover Magazine. The Portuguese passage grave could have made the star visible days earlier than it would be when observed outside — especially if the stargazer in question first spent a night inside the pitch-black tomb as part of a ritual. The researchers will continue to study this passage grave and others for more evidence. They may never be able to prove that ancient peoples used these structures to study


The chaos of post-Brexit politics in Britain, explained

of the crisis they have created." And, increasingly, it appears Britain's woes may not become everybody else's problems. U.S. markets bounced back healthily on Thursday, even as the British pound continues to take a beating. “We are clawing back from the losses after Brexit as investors realized that it was not the watershed event that they thought it was,” James Abate, chief investment officer at Centre Asset Management LLC, told MarketWatch. Moreover, a potential Brexit could be good news for countries as far-flung as China and Russia, where the dysfunction of the West is often welcome coin for the realm, and even Germany, which could attract the sort of top-notch, well-heeled professionals who have so far called London home. The political implications for Britain, though, aren't pretty. A new prime minister is expected to trigger the formal process by which Britain will extract itself from the E.U., which may take up to two years. Johnson had hoped in vain that Britain could reach a deal whereby they remain in the single market without having to adhere to the bulk of the rules set down in Brussels, including controls over the freedom of movement. This, European officials have indicated, was "a pipe dream." Britian's European interlocutors, instead, may strike a hard bargain, something neither Gove nor May can meekly accept. Henry Kissinger explains the conundrum rather lucidly in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal: "Britain will want to maintain extensive ties with Europe while lifting or easing the constraints of its many legislative and bureaucratic requirements. The EU leadership has almost the opposite incentive. It will not wish to reward Britain’s Leave majority by granting Britain better terms than it enjoyed as a full member. Hence a punitive element is likely to be inherent in the EU bargaining position." There are tense times ahead Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman put forward the idea that European negotiators and British politicians could reach a happy compromise that may eventually allow the country to back away from a full Brexit. So far, though, that sort of move does not seem on the cards. “Brexit means Brexit,” May told reporters. “The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high, and the public gave their verdict. There must be no attempts to remain inside the EU.” More on WorldViews Brexit and the revenge of the nation-state Everyone hates the elites. Even the elites.


Brexit isn’t all that special. Here’s why nations leave international organizations.

A man waves a Union Jack and a European Union flag outside the Houses of Parliament at an anti-Brexit protest June 28 in London. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images) Over the past week, countless political scientists and historians have weighed in on many aspects of the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote, here in the Monkey Cage and elsewhere, saying Britain’s vote on June 23 to leave the European Union is indeed a historical and rather unprecedented case. Still, in many ways, Brexit isn’t all that special. My in-progress research on exits from international organizations looks at why countries choose to withdraw. This research can offer a new way to look at the Brexit decision. In fact, in some ways, Brexit isn’t so very different from other decisions to withdraw from international organizations, also known as IOs. The universe of IO withdrawals reveals four themes: 1. IO withdrawals are rare. Since World War II, there have been more than 225 cases of member-state withdrawals from international organizations that are formed around issues as varied as whaling, labor standards and nuclear non-proliferation. Here are some examples from the past five years. Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth Secretariat, accusing it of being a “neo-colonial institution,” in 2013. Canada withdrew from the World Tourism Organization, which had appointed Robert Mugabe as a leader, also in 2013. And in 2010, Panama withdrew from the Central American Parliament because it considered the group “ineffective.” Although such withdrawals have been relatively rare, they have become more frequent over time. This is partly because of the steady increase in the number of IOs themselves, as well as the ranks of member states joining these organizations. Withdrawals tend to be rare because they are costly to both the withdrawer and the remaining states, as anyone knows who has seen the stock market volatility this past week. Indeed, that’s what makes Brexit so shocking. 2. States often stop short of withdrawing when other actions are effective. Withdrawing from an international organization is just one way that a state can legally exit an international organization. Often international treaties have “flexibility devices” — including reservations, duration and amendment rules, escape clauses, dispute settlement mechanisms and so on. These are designed to address states’ concerns before they must engage the proverbial “nuclear option.” Britain’s myriad special arrangements with the E.U. (including not having to join the euro zone) should be counted in this set. Withdrawals are


Does the Brexit vote prove democracies should not use referenda?

example, I am skeptical of California referendum initiatives that require the government to spend X amount of money on some particularly policy objective, such as education. The problem is that voters will find it difficult to weigh the value of spending X dollars on education versus the nearly infinite variety of other things on which the money can be spent. Legislators are more likely to have the time and expertise needed to study the tradeoffs in at least some detail. II. The Brexit Case. How does the Brexit referendum stack up on these admittedly incomplete criteria? It seems like a middle ground case. On the plus side, it asked a single discrete question: should Britain stay in the European Union or leave? Another virtue is that the question directly affects the scope of the power of elected officials. If Britain leaves the EU, the British parliament would have more power, by virtue of no longer being overridden by EU laws. That might be a reason to suspect bias on the part of legislators. On the other hand, the issues at stake in the referendum were quite complicated. The ultimate impact of Brexit depends in large part on how Britain and the EU will handle the new situation. There are multiple dimensions to the problem, and many of them are hard to predict – even for experts. That’s one of the reasons why Brexit is a difficult issue, one on which both sides have some strong arguments. Furthermore, it is striking that members of the British Parliament overwhelmingly oppose Brexit despite the fact that it would increase their power. To put it mildly, politicians are rarely shy about pushing for policies that give them more authority. On the rare occasions when they are, it might make sense for the rest of us to pay attention to their concerns. Another notable aspect of the Brexit vote is that the very Parliament that overwhelmingly opposed leaving the EU also overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a referendum on the subject, by a whopping 544-53 margin. If it was a mistake to decide this issue by popular vote, it was a mistake for which the political elite deserves a large share of the blame. Ultimately, the question of whether Brexit should have been decided by a popular referendum is a tough one – much like the question of Brexit itself. It does not provide


Brits turn to ‘Game of Thrones’ to try to make sense of their politics

British Justice Secretary Michael Gove during a news conference to outline his bid for the Conservative Party leadership on July 1 in London. (Carl Court/Getty Images) The political mess enveloping British politics after last week's vote to leave the European Union is so bewildering that many are looking to fiction for reference. Did Boris Johnson mutter a Shakespearean "et tu, Brute?" to Michael Gove as his fellow Brexit backer effectively ended his hopes to be prime minister by announcing he was running himself? And is Gove, a former chief whip who used the Brexit crisis to scheme his way into leadership contention, now the Frank Underwood in the Brexit "House of Cards?" One of the most apt fictional comparisons is also its grimmest. British politics is an unpredictable place full of fragile alliances, heartless treachery and political beheadings right now. Yes, it's starting to all look a little like the brutal fantasy epic "Game of Thrones." Gove himself has previously revealed that he was a fan of the HBO television show based on the long-running series of novels by cult fantasy writer George R. R. Martin. Gove told right-wing journalist James Delingpole that Tyrion Lannister was his favorite character, calling him a "misshapen dwarf, reviled throughout his life, thought in the eyes of some to be a toxic figure" who was able to hold off the superior forces of Stannis Baratheon in a great battle for King's Landing. Gove in the Garden It was never a huge leap of the imagination to think that Gove saw something of himself in Lannister. Largely unpopular with much of the public and the political news media, he was a genuine believer in Britain's exit from the E.U., something that put him at odds with much of the country's political establishment. And unlike most of his peers at the top levels of British government, Gove wasn't raised in a posh family with connections. As the adopted son of a Scottish fishmonger who worked his way up the ladder, he really was an outsider. Writing this week, Dellingpole revealed that he saw the above video as Gove making a "veiled dig" at Prime Minister David Cameron, who had recently demoted Gove from education secretary to chief whip — a considerable drop not only in stature but also in pay. Gove had long been a key supporter and personal friend of Cameron, one of these posh


Your scientific guide to the ultimate July 4 party

up on beer chemistry to help inform your choice of brewsky. Then make sure that good beer doesn't get skunky: There’s nothing worse than reaching for a cold beer, taking that first sip and realizing your beer’s been skunked. Skunking is a chemical reaction that causes an awful, bitter taste. Why does it happen? Quick answer: It's all about light. The trick is to keep your beer out of direct sunlight. This is easy if you're drinking out of a can — or a beer bottle, since the glass is usually tinted dark for this exact reason — but if you want to get all fancy and serve your guests beer in glasses, save that nonsense for an indoor occasion. Or make sure your party stays in the shade. (giphy) 4. Don't forget the rest of the food Chips. Guacamole. Nachos, even. Use science to make the most delicious — and healthy — guacamole of all time. For a Fourth of July dessert, you can't go wrong with a summer berry pie. (giphy) And you should really put some booze in that crust. Trust us. It's science. Biophysicist Amy Rowat of the University of California at Los Angeles reveals how science can help aspiring bakers get the best light, flaky crust. ACS Reactions has mashed up some fantastic avocado facts, as well as some cooking tips from the pros. Note: An earlier version of this video contained an error, which has been corrected. 5. Don't forget space NASA has a long history of scheduling big space mission events for the Fourth of July, because apparently they don't want scientists or science writers to have nice things like cookouts or something, I dunno. Whatever the reason, the fact is that this July 4 will feature something way better than fireworks: NASA's Juno probe will enter Jupiter's orbit sometime around midnight. You might not know it, but Jupiter is kind of a crazy planet, and the mission could ultimately tell us a lot about the origin of our solar system. So as you're cleaning up from your Independence Day party, remember to check back here for updates on the probe's progress. Did we fail to answer any burning questions you have about cookouts? Submit them — along with any questions you think science could help you out with — to Dear Science, our weekly advice column. Enjoy the holiday weekend, y'all. (giphy)


Meet Michael Gove, the man who just turned British politics into an episode of ‘House of Cards’

up short in last week's referendum. Former London mayor Boris Johnson announced he will not run for British prime minister June 30, following the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union. Johnson, according to Gove, did not have the "team captaincy" that the U.K. required. You can watch a clip of him here: Boris Johnson could not provide "team captaincy" UK requires, Michael Gove tells @bbclaurak https://t.co/K6pbNn362q https://t.co/swqJ9GVJGj The comparisons to Frank Underwood — the fictional schemer-in-chief on "House of Cards" — came thick and fast. (The U.S. series is, of course, a remake of a 1990 British series of the same name.) OMG! Michael Gove is really Francis Underwood #Brexit Michael Gove, making the character of Francis Underwood look appealing since 2007 cc @HouseofCards #Borexit #Brexit #ToryLeadership #ConservativeLeadership #Gove #Vine #HouseOfCards #Brexit https://t.co/Jr2uzIOTnk Britain’s justice secretary is a controversial figure, admired by some, loathed by others. Gove — or "Gover," as Johnson calls him — is considered one of Westminster’s more cerebral figures. On his nomination papers to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party, he used Roman numerals. While some had questions about Johnson's commitment to the cause of Brexit, Gove is seen as a lifelong Brexiter and was one of the first people in Cameron’s senior leadership team to say he was backing the campaign to leave the E.U. Unlike some parts of the leave campaign that focused largely on immigration, Gove's driving argument for leaving was one of sovereignty. “Laws which govern citizens in this country are decided by politicians from other nations who we never elected and can’t throw out,” he wrote in the Spectator magazine. He said he "shuddered" when he saw a poster unveiled by Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, which showed a long line of refugees and migrants next to the words "Breaking Point." But he also apologized for comparing economic experts warning about the impact of the E.U. referendum to the Nazis denouncing Albert Einstein in the 1930s. Born in 1967, Gove was adopted and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland, by Labour-supporting parents. He studied English at Oxford, and went on to become a journalist before entering Parliament in 2005 as a Conservative lawmaker. In 2010, Cameron appointed Gove education secretary, a posting where he tried to radically reform the status quo. David Laws, a British politician who worked closely with Gove in the education department, told