REDSKINS 20, JAGUARS 17 FOUR-GAME SKID IS SNAPPED D1 Partly sunny 32/21 • Tomorrow: Sunny 38/26 • details, B6


Keeping returns under wraps


ABCDE Storm socks East Coast


MONDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2010 D.C. AREA IS LARGELY SPARED Transportation delays strandmany holiday travelers BY MARIA GLOD


Amazon patents process to let recipients head off less-desirable presents


BY MICHAEL S. ROSENWALD Undoubtedly, the Thread and


Bobbin Sewing Kit that AuntMil- dred sent from Amazon.com for Christmas will never see a stitch. The Stallion Stable Music Box might have looked pretty on the computer screen, but under the tree’s flickering lights, it is fright- ful. The polka-dot nightgown has never been a good idea, evenwith free shipping. These gifts sent via someware-


house many miles away are not only unwanted, but also a multi- million-dollar headache: They have to be repacked, labeled, dropped off and shipped back to Amazon’s Island of Misfit Toys. Then a new present has to be packed, labeled and shipped again.Efficient, the process isnot. Amazon is working on a solu-


tion that could revolutionize digi- tal gift buying. The online retailer has quietly patented a way for people to return gifts before they receive them, and the patent doc- uments even mention poor Aunt Mildred. Amazon’s innovation, not ready for this Christmas sea- son, includes an option to “Con- vert all gifts from Aunt Mildred,” the patent says. “For example, the user may specify such a rule be- cause the user believes that this potential sender has different tastes than the user.” In other words, the consumer could keep an online list of lousy gift-givers whose choices would be vetted before anything ships. Amazon’s proposal has raised


theireof theMissManners crowd, which thinks the scheme rather uncouth. After all, receiving an e-mail notification of a forthcom- ing gift — and thereby being able to check its price — is hardly the same as unwrapping the item at home. Anna Post, great-great-grand-


daughter of the late etiquette au- thor Emily Post and spokeswom- an for the Emily Post Institute, said she hopes the company real- izes it is risking major backlash andabandons the idea.Becauseof Amazon’s dominance online, she and others say they fear the idea


gifts continued onA12 E


with Venezuela’s Chavez BY JUAN FORERO


helps defuse tension


bogota, colombia—The fiery socialist Hugo Chavez of Ven- ezeula used to deride Juan Man- uel Santos as the No. 1 “little Yankee.’’ Now, as Colombia’s new president, Santos calls Chavez “my new best friend.’’ It has been an abrupt shift for


Colombia, Washington’s most stalwart ally in the hemisphere


AND CHRISTY GOODMAN A massive snowstorm that


CHUCK SNYDER/ASSOCIATED PRESS


Fred Darling walks down PennsylvaniaAvenue in Bethany Beach, Del. The Delaware andMaryland coasts sawheavy snowfall.


swept up the East Coast on Sunday largely slipped by the Washington region but caused major disruptions along the


Northeast corridor on one of the year’s busiest travel weekends. Flights were grounded at air-


ports from the Carolinas to Bos- ton, with more than 1,000 can- cellations at New York City-area airports alone. People heading home after the Christmas holi- day scurried to find alternatives,


Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington.


MD DC VA SU V1 V2 V3 V4 washingtonpost.com • 75¢


as many buses and trains were canceled and seats on others filled quickly. “It’s the old chestnuts roasting


on the open fire, good day to be home for the holidays. But it is a terrible time to be out and travel- ing,” said Lon Anderson of AAA- Mid Atlantic, which had predict- ed that about 2.2 million D.C. area residents would travel this week. Early Sunday morning, the


storm hit North Carolina snow continued onA5


Schools cope with shelterless students


Homework takes on


a different meaning for teens without a home


BY KEVIN SIEFF During the first days Landis


Brewer spent homeless, he main- tained a facade of suburban com- fort at South CountyHigh School, where the all-district running back with the easy smile was the image of teenage aplomb. But when he left campus, that


ANDREA BRUCE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division pray before a patrol in the PechValley, where six of their fellow troops were killed last month. Fighting to get out of the way


COMBATGENERATION ELUSIVEVICTORY


U.S. troops battle to hand off a valley strongly resistant to Afghan governance BY GREG JAFFE IN PECH VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN


arlier this year, Lt. Col. Jo- seph Ryan concluded that his 800-soldier battalion


was locked in an endless war for anirrelevant valley. “There is nothing strategically


important about this terrain,” said Ryan, 41, a blunt commanderwho


has spentmuchof thepastdecade in combat. “We fight here because the enemy is here. The enemy fightshere becausewe arehere.” Ryan’s challenge for the past


severalmonths has been to figure out away to leave the Pech Valley, home to about 100,000 Afghans, without handing the insurgents a victory. This fall he launched a series of offensives into themoun- tains to smash Taliban sanctuar- ies. His goal is to turn the valley


Colombia’s new leader seen as good for U.S. Santos’s diplomacy


and the recipient of $9 billion in U.S. aid over the past three American administrations. But it has not been the only shift. In his fourmonths in power, Santos has taken a series of stands strikingly at oddswith those adopted by his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, who was closely tied to the United States. In two recent interviews with


TheWashington Post, Santos, 59, said he realizes his moves have raised eyebrows, asmuch here as inWashington, which has been a steady partner in Colombia’s fight against drug traffickers and a Marxist insurgency. Santos’s landslide victory in a June elec-


over to Afghan army and police units who would work out their own accommodation with blood- iedinsurgents. “The best thing we can do is to


pull back,” he said, “and let the Afghans figure thisplace out.” On the afternoon of Nov. 12,


Ryan’s plan reached a criticalmo- ment. A company of his soldiers was clearingavillageinthemoun- tains when it came under attack. One American and two Afghan


soldierswere killed. Ryan ordered his troops to pur-


sue the enemy deeper into the mountains, kicking off a gun bat- tle that spanned six days and re- sulted in the deaths ofmore than 60 Taliban fighters, U.S. military officials said. Six of Ryan’s soldiers and one


Army Ranger from another unit were killed. “Losing those soldiers


victory continued onA7 No playoffs, but Redskins are still kicking


tion, after all, was seen as a message of support for the poli- cies of Uribe. “They thought that Iwas going


to be a surrogate of President Uribe and simply follow his poli- cies. That was absurd from the beginning,’’ Santos said. “Uribe is Uribe and Santos is Santos, and Santos has a different approach.” But some current and former


American officials say they think the change in power in Colombia has left the United States better off, because many South Ameri- can leaders viewedUribe as over- ly militaristic and had come to


santos continued onA6


veneer disappeared. Brewer, 18, slept at a bus stop in Reston and kept his belongings in a garbage bag hidden behind a bush. After his grades started slipping and a teacher caught him dozing off in class, the ugly story tumbled out. Homelessness had come as a


swift, unforgiving series of blows. First, his parents, whose mar- riage had imploded, disappeared. A few days later, Brewer came home from school to an eviction notice posted on the front door. Suddenly,hewasoneof a grow-


ing number of teens without par- ents, guardians or reliable shelter in one of America’s richest com- munities. Fairfax, one of only two counties in the nation with medi- an household incomes above $100,000, counts nearly 2,000 homeless students in its school division — about 200 of whom are, like Brewer, “unaccompa- nied.” The latter figure is twice what the comparable figure was two years ago, a surge reflected nationally as the faltering econo- my has undermined many fami- lies. The rise has coincided with


newly aggressive initiatives by school districts, including Fair- fax, that increasingly are getting involved in ensuring their stu- dents are not only taught and fed but also housed. Fairfax started an experimen-


tal partnership last year with a local community organization, using a $170,000 federal grant to subsidize housing for students. They typically live in apartments found on Craigslist, spare rooms offered by cash-strapped families or otheraccommodations located by the students themselves. Brewer was one of the initiative’s first beneficiaries. “We’ve got to understand that


JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST


Place kicker Graham Gano is in the middle of the celebration after his 31-yard field goal gaveWashington an overtime win. Sports, D1


INSIDE STYLE1


A new look Blake Gopnik on what jumps out as the Corcoran hangs works differently. C1


SPORTS


Wizards fall Manu Ginobili leads the San Antonio Spurs past Washington, 94-80. D1


BUSINESS NEWS..............A10 CLASSIFIEDS......................E1 COMICS.............................C6


EDITORIALS/LETTERS.....A14 FED PAGE.........................A13 GOING OUT GUIDE.............C8


POLITICS&THENATION Flyovers and theTSA


Experts debate whether flights merely passing over the country should get more scrutiny. A3


THEREGION Tough choices for O’Malley Maryland’s governor says, “This budget is going to feel a lot more painful than the last few.” B1


T.C.Williams makes best of adversity Low test scores brought funding, and change. B1


LOTTERIES.........................B3 MOVIES..............................C5 OBITUARIES.......................B4


TELEVISION.......................C4 WEATHER..........................B6 WORLD NEWS....................A8


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The Post 200 Our annual guide to the region’s biggest companies, including law firms, nonprofit groups, universities and sports teams. A10


OPINIONS Mohamed ElBaradei: Egypt’s swelling tide of dissent. A15


Fred Hiatt: How did fighting obesity become a partisan culture war? A15





if these kids don’t have a stable place to live, there’s virtually no


homeless continued onA6


The Washington Post Year 134, No. 22


CONTENT © 2010


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