The New York Times - Sept 8 2020

2020·19.02 MB·English

Late Edition
Today,partly sunny, more humidity,
high 83. Tonight,mostly cloudy, hu-
mid, low 69. Tomorrow, mostly
cloudy, limited sunshine, high 82.
Weather map appears on Page A17.
VOL.CLXIX.... No. 58,810 ©2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER8, 2020 $3.00
TRUMP WAR CHEST
OF OVER $1 BILLION
IS DWINDLING FAST
How an ‘Unstoppable Juggernaut’ Lost a
Huge Cash Advantage Over Biden
By SHANE GOLDMACHER and MAGGIE HABERMAN
Money was supposed to have initiatives, including hiring prac-
been one of the great advantages tices, travel and the advertising
of incumbency for President budget.
Trump, much as it was for Presi- Under Mr. Parscale, more than
dent Barack Obama in 2012 and $350 million — almost half of the
George W. Bush in 2004. After get- $800 million spent — went to fund-
ting outspent in 2016, Mr. Trump raising operations, as no expense
filed for re-election on the day of was spared in finding new donors
his inauguration — earlier than online. The campaign assembled
any other modern president — a big and well-paid staff and
betting that the head start would housed the team at a cavernous,
deliver him a decisive financial well-appointed office in the Vir-
advantage this year. ginia suburbs; outsize legal bills
It seemed to have worked. His were treated as campaign costs;
rival, Joseph R. Biden Jr., was rel- and more than $100 million was
atively broke when he emerged as spent on a television advertising
the presumptive Democratic blitz before the party convention,
nominee this spring, and Mr. the point when most of the elector-
Trump and the Republican Na- ate historically begins to pay close
PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIRSTEN LUCE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES tional Committee had a nearly attention to the race.
A Holiday Weekend on the Road $200 million cash advantage. Among the splashiest and per-
Five months later, Mr. Trump’s haps most questionable pur-
Shelly Greenlee, top left; Betsy Canteen with her dogs; and Quinton Hunter at a rest area along the New Jersey Turnpike. Page A11. financial supremacy has evapo- chases was a pair of Super Bowl
rated. Of the $1.1 billon his cam- ads the campaign reserved for $11
paign and the party raised from million, according to Advertising
the beginning of 2019 through Analytics — more than it has
German Fringe Lockdown and Despair Sow Death in Rural India July, more than $800 million has spent on TV in some top battle-
already been spent. Now some ground states — a vanity splurge
people inside the campaign are that allowed Mr. Trump to match
Finds in Trump again. The measures, economists forecasting what was once un- the billionaire Michael R. Bloom-
By KARAN DEEP SINGH Crushing Losses Push say, are forcing millions of house- thinkable: a cash crunch with less berg’s buy for the big game.
A Cult ‘Savior’ holds into poverty and contribut- than 60 days until the election, ac- There was also a cascade of
SIRSIWALA, India — Randhir Suicide Rate Higher ing to a long-running tragedy: cording to Republican officials smaller choices that added up:
Singh was already deeply in debt farmer suicides. briefed on the matter. The campaign hired a coterie of
when the coronavirus pandemic Among Farmers Farm bankruptcies and debts Brad Parscale, the former cam- highly paid consultants (Mr.
Anger at Establishment struck. Looking out at his paltry like the one that tormented Mr. paign manager, liked to call Mr. Trump’s former bodyguard and
cotton field by the side of a railway Singh have been the source of mi- Trump’s re-election war machine White House aide has been paid
Unites Many Causes track, he walked in circles, hope- sery in the country for decades, an “unstoppable juggernaut.” But more than $500,000 by the R.N.C.
less. In early May, he killed him- ronavirus, Mr. Singh’s livelihood but experts say the suffering has interviews with more than a doz- since late 2017); spent $156,000
self by lying on the same track. came crashing down. His one-acre reached new levels in the pan- en current and former campaign for planes to pull aerial banners in
By KATRIN BENNHOLD “This is what we feared,” said farm had barely produced enough demic. aides and Trump allies, and a re- recent months; and paid nearly
Rashpal Singh, Mr. Singh’s 22- cotton to cover the cost of growing “This crisis is the making of this view of thousands of items in fed- $110,000 to Yondr, a company that
BERLIN — Just before hun- year-old son, choking back tears it, and the lockdown even robbed government,” said Vikas Rawal, a eral campaign filings, show that makes magnetic pouches used to
dreds of far-right activists re- in his family home in Sirsiwala, a him of his side job as a bus driver. professor of economics at the the president’s campaign and the store cellphones during fund-rais-
cently tried to storm the German small village in the northern Indi- India now leads the world in Jawaharlal Nehru University in R.N.C. developed some profligate ers so that donors could not se-
PrPaifen artv“e orsvTsl dhieriadeoudmedum unitecepptna d Tttti ,sherf r u eoiton hmncm eerBp o iae.mow rfsldm imtn bhi!anye”le il crt nsho ttlne ace jhgawueadro,rie mngargess- akiosfnitl Met lsehrtdoe aNn tmwetah royoser ff n laPaddtg’ushron aes,j rtaMw.r”bihoc. dt“eeTni si hmtP elrpo liocomckskeed ddoMo wowinnnnes- ncniwnaeuhgswme eBr sbedr ea aarnczi oaldiylfs hcoearanses s pMe htsoaho rgventle eods dbeas cayuco.l rlonIygrn,de os -dnPuh,arui gpvnlhoaijrcaesuksbsst--, Nwsdstaiehuanwo,dd y sshDi anoaeifsgdl ph saeitp,gho terpahnatleet r cihwtaahenhp e oi bdtp aeliiasllv.its eerMtve a2esrn.5ss dR iy atwnhew oaoIarrnukls--, hhSPimauianbnprcsidoetcsrs aee Blddeais slia ln o tJSsfhue teelrmyypi,e i itlsebhl inueoo nrfcr nsaebe mpedollpf ta -acttdhiieggordnhol lt uahMerganshrs-.. chehrxiaseSpd troe leaymnm srceeeaa scprr o knearsoodn.pt delMe dd rftr.a hiTvmaretuir lM,mi aarprn. Pawunaintdruhs ls cetuaahalkeel
to him. to prevent the spread of the co- downs have been imposed all over Continued on PageA6 ing measures that have reshaped Continued on PageA16
She was so convincing that sev-
eral groups of far-right activists
later showed up at the American Leery of Virus, Congress Flails
Embassy and demanded an audi-
ence with Mr. Trump. “We know
he’s in there!” they insisted. Drivers Empty As States’ Cuts
Mr. Trump was neither in the
embassy nor in Germany that day Used Car Lots Reach the Bone
— and yet there he was. His face
was emblazoned on banners, T-
shirts and even on Germany’s
pre-1918 imperial flag, popular By NEAL E. BOUDETTE By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
with neo-Nazis in the crowd of
50,000 who had come to protest Used cars are usually over- Alaska chopped resources for
Germany’s pandemic restrictions. looked in the fanfare accorded to public broadcasting. New York
His name was invoked by many cutting-edge electric cars and City gutted a nascent composting
with messianic zeal. gussied-up pickup trucks. Now program that could have kept tons
It was only the latest evidence they are suddenly the industry’s of food waste out of landfills. New
that Mr. Trump is emerging as a hottest commodity. Jersey postponed property-tax-
kind of cult figure in Germany’s Consumers are snapping up relief payments.
increasingly varied far-right used vehicles as second or third Prisoners in Florida will contin-
scene. cars so they can avoid trains, ue to swelter in their cells, be-
“Trump has become a savior buses or Ubers during the corona- cause plans to air-condition its
figure, a sort of great redeemer for virus pandemic. Others are buy- prisons are on hold. Many states
the German far right,” said Miro ing used rather than new to save have already cut planned raises
Dittrich, an expert on far-right ex- money in an uncertain economy, for teachers.
tremism at the Berlin-based KARAN DEEP SINGH/THE NEW YORK TIMES not knowing when they or their And that’s just the start.
Amadeu-Antonio-Foundation. Randhir Singh killed himself in May, leaving behind his widow, Paramjeet Kaur, and son Rashpal. spouse might lose a job. Demand Across the nation, states and
Germany — a nation generally for older cars has also been fed by cities have made an array of fiscal
supportive of a government that a roughly two-month halt in pro- maneuvers to stay solvent and are
has handled the pandemic better Black, and Bent on His Native American Rights duction of new cars this spring. planning more in case Congress
than most — may seem an un- Across the country, the prices of cannot agree on a fiscal relief
likely place for Mr. Trump to gain used cars have shot up. The in- package after the August recess.
such a status. Few Western na- crease defies the conventional House Democrats included
tions have had a more contentious promised tribal citizenship and an wisdom that cars are depreciating nearly $1 trillion in state and local
relationship with Mr. Trump than By JACK HEALY Treaty of 1866 Promised equal stake in the tribes’ lands and assets that lose a big chunk of aid in the relief bill they passed in
Gloer rmAanngye,l aw hMoseer kleeal,d ear, Cphaasntocre’ls- haOmK nMevUeLr GhaEdE t,o O pkrloav. —e t Ro oann yGornae- Tribal Citizenship fborrotkuenne sp. rBoumti swehsa, te fxocllluoswioends w aenrde tthheei rd veaalleures thhiep .m Inom Jeunlyt tahleoyn ele, athvee Mleaadye, r,b Muti tcthh eM ScCenonatnee llm oaf joKreitny-
daughter and scientist, is his op- that he was Black. But he has painful fights over whether tens of average value of used cars tucky, has said he does not want to
posite in terms of values and tem- spent more than 30 years haunt- thousands of their descendants jumped more than 16 percent, ac- hand out a “blank check” to pay
perament. Opinion polls show that ing tribal offices and genealogical should now be recognized as trib- cording to Edmunds.com. for what he considers fiscal mis-
Mr. Trump is deeply unpopular archives, fighting for recognition over racial injustice. al members. In June, the most recent month management, including the enor-
among a broad majority of Ger- that he is also a citizen of the His ancestors are known as Some of the descendants have for which data is available, fran- mous public-pension obligations
mans. Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Creek Freedmen. They were won lawsuits seeking inclusion in chised car dealers sold 1.2 million some states have accrued. There
But his message of disruption “We’re African-American,” Mr. among the thousands of African- the Cherokee Nation. Some used cars and trucks, according to has been little movement in that
— his unvarnished nationalism Graham, 55, said. “But we’re Na- Americans who were once en- gained nominal citizenship as Edmunds, up 22 percent from a stalemate lately.
and tolerance of white suprema- tive American also.” slaved by tribal members in the Seminoles, but said they could not year earlier. It was the highest Economists warn that further
cists coupled with his skepticism His family history is part of a lit- South and who migrated to Okla- access tribal services. Others, like monthly total since at least 2007. state spending reductions could
of the pandemic’s dangers — is tle-known saga of bondage, blood homa when the tribes were forced Mr. Graham, have nothing. The boom has turned the busi- prolong the downturn by shaking
spilling well beyond American and belonging within tribal na- off their homelands and marched But now, a landmark Supreme ness of selling cars upside down. the confidence of residents, whose
shores, extremism watchers say. tions, one that stretches from the west in the 1830s. Court decision for tribal Because used cars don’t come day-to-day lives depend heavily
In a fast-expanding universe of Trail of Tears to this summer of In treaties signed after the Civil sovereignty has breathed new life from factories in Detroit, dealers on state and local services.
Continued on PageA9 uprisings in America’s streets War, they won freedom and were Continued on PageA14 Continued on PageA5 Continued on PageA5
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7 BUSINESS B1-5
Sick for Months and in Despair Who’s Buying Those Retailers?
“Long-haulers” face additional chal- A licensing expert and a mall operator
lenges from Covid-19. “It makes you are reshaping the shopping landscape
depressed, anxious that it’s never going by acquiring bankrupt brands like
to go away,” one said. PAGE A4 Brooks Brothers and Forever 21.PAGE B1
INTERNATIONAL A8-10 NATIONAL A11-19 ARTS C1-6 SPORTSTUESDAY B6-9 SCIENCE TIMES D1-8
London’s Crumbling Bridges Colors of Political Division The Queen of Afrobeats U.S. Open of the Future Plenty of Reasons to Smile
Three major crossings on the Thames The aerial-image version of those red- The Nigerian superstar Tiwa Savage is With spectators and many longtime Once near extinction, Burmese roofed
are closed to cars, with one considered and-blue electoral maps displays a courting a new audience with “Celia,” stars missing, a younger generation of turtles now have a population of about
too dangerous to walk across. PAGE A8 spectrum of gray and green. PAGE A18 her American debut album. PAGE C1 more physically imposing tennis play- 1,000. “We came so close to losing
ers is taking center stage. PAGE B6 them,” one scientist said. PAGE D5
8 Sentences in Khashoggi Case Prison Extortion Nightmare Realistic, in a Super Way
A Saudi court issued final verdicts in While serving time, a man was beaten, Sports anime shows could ignore the EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23 U(D54G1D)y+%!/!$!?!z
the 2018 killing of the dissident writer stabbed and threatened with hot oil if laws of nature, but instead they show
Jamal Khashoggi. PAGE A10 his relatives didn’t pay up. PAGE A14 what’s just beyond possible. PAGE C2 Bret Stephens PAGE A23
A2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER8, 2020
A.G. SULZBERGER
NEWS EDITORIAL
Publisher
DEAN BAQUET Executive Editor KATHLEEN KINGSBURY Editorial Page Editor
JOSEPH KAHN Managing Editor
Founded in 1851
REBECCA BLUMENSTEIN Deputy Managing Editor BUSINESS
The joys. APuDbOliLshPeHr 1S8. 9O6C-H19S35 SMTAETVTEH DEUWE PNUERSDDYepDuetyp uMtya Mnaagninagg iEndg iEtodritor MROELRAENDDIT AH. KCOAPPIUTT LOEVCIhEiNef FCihniaenf cEiaxel cOuftfiivcee rOfficer
ARTHUR HAYS SULZBERGER ELISABETH BUMILLER Assistant Managing Editor DIANE BRAYTON General Counsel and Secretary;
Publisher 1935-1961 SAM DOLNICK Assistant Managing Editor Interim Executive V.P., Talent & Inclusion
The tribulations. ORVIL E. DRYFOOS MONICA DRAKE Assistant Managing Editor WILLIAM T. BARDEEN Chief Strategy Officer
Publisher 1961-1963 MATTHEW ERICSON Assistant Managing Editor R. ANTHONY BENTEN Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer
ALISON MITCHELL Assistant Managing Editor STEPHEN DUNBAR-JOHNSON President, International
The twists. ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER CAROLYN RYAN Assistant Managing Editor
Publisher 1963-1992 SAM SIFTON Assistant Managing Editor
ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR. MICHAEL SLACKMAN Assistant Managing Editor
Publisher 1992-2017
Inside The Times The Newspaper
And Beyond
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
CROSSWORD C3
OBITUARIES A20-21
OPINION A22-23
WEATHER A17
CLASSIFIED ADS B8
ModernLove
Read,watchandlistentothestories. VIDEO
nytimes.com/modernlove After winning a gold medalat the
2019 Pan Am Games, Gwen Berry
raised her fist on the podium to
protest racial injustice. She was
reprimanded by the United States
Olympic and Paralympic Commit-
tee and hasn’t received an athletic
grant since then. In a Times Op-
Ed video, she talks about her
experience. nytimes.com/opinion
NATIONAL AGRICULTURE IMAGERY PROGRAM, VIA DESCARTES LABS
Aerial imagery nationwide was used to examine links between geography and voting patterns.
New Boundaries in Journalism
By WILL DUDDING nation for different approaches to mapping
About a year ago, during a cross-country that help people understand stories in a
road trip somewhere on the plains of east- new way,” said Alicia Parlapiano, a graph-
ern Colorado, Tim Wallace, a senior geog- ics editor and reporter for The Times who
PHOTOGRAPHY
raphy editor for The New York Times, was helped produce the project.
In the newest installmentof the
watching the scenery pass by when he Familiar red-state blue-state maps have
Travel desk’s series “The World
noticed a grain elevator and a few houses. always seemed limiting and impersonal to
Through a Lens,” Luke Sharrett
They were surrounded by fields of green Mr. Wallace’s geographically bent mind.
shares images along old Route 66
as far as he could see. For years, he has explored ways to give a
in New Mexico and Arizona,
The thought process that followed is an little more character to the land, “because
where the memory of the highway
example of how Mr. Wallace thinks about it’s not devoid of humanity.”
lives on 35 years after it was de-
landscapes: They tell stories. Passing It is not the first time he has reimagined
commissioned.
through that Colorado town, he was fasci- the American landmass to tell a story
nytimes.com/travel
nated that such a large area could be al- about our current politics. After the 2016
tered by a small group of people and the election, Mr. Wallace produced maps of two
way they used the land. separate Americas. On a map of the area
“If you look at a satellite image of that won by Mr. Trump, a bulk of the continent
town, it’s green for five square miles is pockmarked with bodies of water where
around it. You don’t see the grain elevator. metro areas would normally be. (“The
Give the gift they’ll But if it isn’t there, the green would go Pittsburgh Puddle.”) Mrs. Clinton’s Amer-
away,” said Mr. Wallace, referring to the ica was drawn as a loose archipelago. By
open every day. agriculture. “This thing that is so small is removing opposing political territories and
so important to this gigantic landscape that replacing them with lakes and seas, our
surrounds it.” political boundaries became shorelines, GUIDE
Mr. Wallace, who has a Ph.D. in geogra- beyond which uninhabitable waters lay. Friendships need careand atten-
GiftsubscriptionstoTheTimesstartat$25. phy, has never balked at big projects. At Two years ago, Mr. Wallace left The tion, but that’s easier said than
Visitnytimes.com/giftorcall1-800-NYTIMES. The Times, he has helped track wildfires in Times for Descartes Labs, a geospatial done. With The Times’s friendship
California, follow lava flow in Hawaii and analytics company based in Santa Fe, guide, learn why friendships
map every building in America. N.M., where he was a creative director for matter, how to sustain them and
For his latest undertaking, he worked media relations. There, he met and worked the simple steps you can take to
with Krishna Karra, a data visualization with Mr. Karra, who described their work become a better friend.
engineer, to process imagery of every as “pushing the boundaries of what you nytimes.com/guides
square meter in the contiguous United can do when you process large amounts of
States. They asked the question, “Do peo- geospatial data at scale.”
ple who vote similarly live in similar-look- The “gray to green” project started at
ing places?” The resulting article is more Descartes Labs and used aerial imagery
museum piece than map, a rich American from the National Agricultural Imagery
canvas made mostly of natural greens and Program. Every precinct in the country
urban grays, complemented by less domi- where votes were cast is represented in a
nant shades of watery blues and arid color palette and charted. Mr. Wallace
Makesenseofthe browns and yellows. missed the culture of the newsroom and
news,everyday,with A chart arranges landscape colors ac- returned to The Times this summer. The
DavidLeonhardt. cording to how people in those areas voted project was published by The Times online EVENT
in the 2016 presidential election. The pix- last week and is in today’s print edition. In a “DealBook Debrief”live
els, sorted from dark to light, express that With another presidential election loom- audio event, the DealBook team
voting precincts with more gray color — ing, the Graphics desk will continue to use and its guests will discuss the
urban developments — were more likely to maps that help readers understand the growing commitment by business
have voted for Hillary Clinton, while those leaders to respond to rising in-
nation’s political makeup. But Mr. Wallace
with greener open spaces, but also sand or equality and environmental risks
insisted “gray to green” is different.
The rock, were more likely to have supported “It’s a geographic piece that’s a step and to consider the interests of all
Donald Trump. Randomly selected stakeholders. Sept. 10 at 11 a.m.
beyond what you’re seeing on the map,” he
precincts with the same color often had a E.D.T.; R.S.V.P. at
Morning similar political makeup. said. “It gives you an ambient geographic timesevents.nytimes.com.
sense of what it’s like to be in these places.”
“Tim has all of these technical cartogra-
phy skills, but he also has this weird imagi- Find the project on Pages A18-19.
Contact the Newsroom
On This Day in History [email protected]
Share a News Tip
AMEMORABLE HEADLINE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
[email protected] or nytimes.com/tips
ANewsletter Contact Customer Care
100,000 CHEER AS LUSITANIA SAILS nytimes.com/contactus
or 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637)
September 8, 1907.The Lusitania, the world’s largest ocean liner at the time, set sail for
New York on its maiden voyage in front of a huge crowd of well-wishers in Liverpool,
England. “The send-off was a magnificent one,” The Times reported. “No vessel in the
British mercantile service ever inaugurated her career more splendidly.” On May 7, 1915,
the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat torpedo, killing 1,198 passengers, including
128 American citizens. The incident helped lead the United States into World War I.
Subscribers can browse the complete Times archives through 2002 at timesmachine.nytimes.com.
Signupforthenewsletter
nytimes.com/themorning
THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018-1405
The New York Times (ISSN 0362-4331) is published Times Book Review..................................1 Yr. $208.00 ners or third parties who offer products or ser- an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance.
daily. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and Large Print Weekly..................................1 Yr. 114.40 vices that are likely to interest its readers. If you ©2020, The New York Times Company. All rights
adDMtra aeDvaislaeds Sind lcuypiht boiaaosrnnntcd,gra I eilSpA sumt ,ti no5oadn2 iTal8 iRhy0nea8g.. t- N.e8.o.s0.ef.*.f4w.i.2c. .Y.e..so...r. .kP.. .To..si$mt1m0e4as10s, .PtY0e.r0Or.:. BSoe$xn65 d28M 00a.4o0d2s0-., itniogH*n N iogoouuhtt teissnrii dcdleeru atdhttiehnes egN, soUatrav.tSthae.ei, l oaarosb rtll:o e c 1fao-o8lr n0 ta0 tx-hr6.ee3 q1u-N2e5es8wt0, .Yfoorr k meadiil-- pnIsAuroeAbt, ifj5lfeely2 rca 8 tCdt0 htvu8oaes- 8ttrt ho0twiem4s e2iaen ,p drgop o rSpl ineeuc-robamvtbli iaslcsehihe lre ,a hadrPete .ielO np tc. @h TaBihrsnod eyix, n Nt aif8mvoe0wrae4mis l2Ya.a,co btoDrlimeoka n fvT.r, eiopmnmlpee oatshrs itees, AMre.esaGren.er dSdv uiCetlhdhz .biK eefor Epgiextr eL, cPeuvutiibvelneis ,Oh Pefrfriecseird ent
Monday-Saturday........................936.00 468.00 The Times occasionally makes its list of home deliv- advertising department. The Times reserves the right R. Anthony Benten, Treasurer
Sunday only..................................520.00 260.00 ery subscribers available to marketing part- not to accept an advertiser’s order. Only publication of Diane Brayton, General Counsel and Secretary
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER8, 2020 N A3
Of Interest
NOTEWORTHY FACTS FROM TODAY’S PAPER
Turtles and tortoises face one of the The singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage,
highest extinction risks of any animal a superstar in Nigeria, has sung
group, with more than half the backup for Mary J. Blige, Whitney
species listed as threatened. Houston and George Michael.
Grinning Turtles Survive, and Scientists Smile D5 A Queen Aims to Expand Her Domain C1
• •
From March through August, people More than 60 companies employing
watched 41.2 million hours of live more than 100 people have
chess on Twitch, four times as many suspended their 401(k) match during
hours as in the previous six months, the pandemic, according to the
according to the analytics website Center for Retirement Research.
ALFONSO DE ANDA
SullyGnome. Stuck at Home? It’s Time for a Family Talk B2
Checkmate! Masses Flock to Live Chess B1 A psychiatrist at the University of •
• Maryland estimates that between Taylor Swift’s album “Folklore” is in
Researchers who compiled the first its sixth week at No.1 on the
one-third and one-half of Covid-19
global database of glacial lakes found Billboard album chart, the longest
patients experienced some form of
they increased in volume by nearly streak at the top of the chart for any
mental health problem, such as
50 percent over the last few decades. album since Drake’s “Views” four
anxiety, fatigue or abnormal sleeping.
Melting Glaciers Make Flooding More Likely D2 The Mental Toll of an Illness years ago.
That Won’t Go Away A4 Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Is Still No. 1
After Six Weeks C5
The Conversation Spotlight
FOUR OF THE MOST READ, SHARED AND DISCUSSED POSTS ADDITIONAL REPORTAGE AND REPARTEE
FROM ACROSS NYTIMES.COM FROM OUR JOURNALISTS
Novak Djokovic Out of U.S. Open After Accidental Hit In a recent article, the investigative reporter Eric Lipton found
Of Line Judge that President Trump has drawn on campaign donations to
The world’s top men’s tennis player became the first No. 1 pay for legal expenses to a greater degree than previous presi-
seed disqualified from a Grand Slam singles tournament after dents did. On Twitter, Mr. Lipton elaborated on one facet of his
he inadvertently struck a line judge with a ball in frustration. reporting: how the president has used that money to attempt
Mr. Djokovic’s ouster from the country’s premier tournament to intimidate former aides. Below are edited excerpts.
meant the Open would have a first-time Grand Slam winner
in men’s singles. This was Monday’s most read article. Mr. Trump’s targets include Jessica Denson, who
Michael Cohen’s Book Says Trump Held ‘Low Opinions alleged abusive treatment and sexual harassment by a
Of All Black Folks’ campaign staff member. Mr. Trump filed an arbitration
claim — and initially got a $50,000 award against
In “Disloyal: A Memoir,” the former personal lawyer for the
Denson. (It was overturned by a New York State court.)
president describes Mr. Trump as a moblike figure who made
racist insults, was driven by hatred for President Barack
Obama and engaged in underhanded tactics against foes.
Orca That Carried Dead Calf for 17 Days Mr. Trump also used campaign donations to go after
Gives Birth Again Omarosa Manigault-Newman, a onetime big booster.
Researchers spotted the killer whale they call J35 alongside
her “robust and lively” new calf, a ray of hope for the endan-
gered population off the Pacific Northwest known as South-
This is a pattern. Aides signed these broad non-
ern Resident killer whales. In 2018, J35 carried a dead calf on
disclosure documents, and then when things went sour,
her nose for days, apparently in mourning.
he used his campaign war chest to a) attempt to silence
them and b) send a message to others to be careful.
Campaign donations were also spent to help keep
Mr. Trump’s income taxes secret; to defend the
president against lawsuits by demonstrators who say
they were beaten at his political rallies; to help Mr.
Trump, his friends and family during the impeachment
proceedings; and other investigations of Mr. Trump.
Lawyers and presidential historians I spoke with said
they saw no precedent in U.S. history for a sitting
KATIE JONES, VIA CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH
president using such a large chunk of campaign dollars
Covid-19 Live Updates on legal expenses, or to go after his own former aides.
Consumers are snapping up used vehicles as second or third
cars so they can avoid trains, buses or Ubers during the pan- Eric Lipton @EricLiptonNYT
demic. In July alone, the average value of used cars jumped
more than 16 percent, according to Edmunds.com. To read Mr. Lipton’s full report, go to nytimes.com/by/eric-lipton.
BECAUSETHEREWILLBENEWADVENTURES
HotAirBalloonNecklace-Designedin18kGold
Quote of the Day “History. Does it have good archives we can bring back,
THE TWO MEN BUYING YOUR because the world repeats itself all the time. The longer the Pleasecall866.598.2784orVisitUsat
FAVORITE RETAILERS B1 MONICARICHKOSANN.COM
history, the better.”
JAMIE SALTER,on what his company, Authentic Brands Group, looks for when buying the intellectual
property of struggling brands.
The Mini Crossword Here to Help
BY JOEL FAGLIANO ARECIPE FOR CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE BROWNIES
1 2 3 4 If you’re a member of the cake-like brownie club, move along. If fudgy is your jam, step
right up. These brownies are soft, dense and super-rich, but the best part is that they are
very simple to make. Melt butter in a saucepan (we often melt ours in the microwave
5
because who needs another pot to clean?), then stir in the chocolate until it’s melted.
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, pour it all into a buttered pan, slide
6 it into the oven and in about a half-hour: brownies worthy of their name. WILLIAM NORWICH
7 TIME: 50 MINUTES
YIELD: 24 BROWNIES
8 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus
more for greasing the pan
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate,
9/8/2020 EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ
chopped
ACROSS 2⅓ cups granulated sugar
1 Bird of prey 6 eggs
5 2020 Disney remake 1½ tablespoons vanilla extract
6 Male friend, in Spanish 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
7 Chunk taken out a golf fairway ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
8 Where “they were both naked, 1 cup chopped nuts or 1 cup chocolate CRAIG LEE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
the man and his wife, and were
not ashamed” chips (optional) 4.Place the batter in the greased pan, and
Cocoa powder (optional) bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is
12 DSLitOkicWek Nay, f aosx sour moxm, ebru tw neoatt hroecrks or 19-.bHye-1a3t -oinvecnh tboa k3i2n5g dpeangr.ees. Lightly grease a dmcouomlls atplnyle dct elaelnya. n iIn.f sDdeeorst neirodet dt oo, vodetuhrsbptai ctkhkee .c toComopo ewlsi tohu ctocoa
clocks 2.Place the butter in a medium saucepan and powder before cutting.
Helping you live better.
3 Vehicle on the Oregon Trail melt over low heat. Remove from the heat,
4 Aconrndoyance with a headphones amdedlt tehde. cSheot caosliadtee. and stir constantly until Fato rn ymtcooroek riencgip.ceosm, v.isit NYT Cooking No matter where you live.
5 Earned
3.In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs
and vanilla. Stir until well mixed. Add the
SOLUTION TO S P A S melted chocolate mixture and stir until
PREVIOUS PUZZLE combined. Add the flour and salt, and mix just
W O O S H
until combined. Fold in the nuts or chocolate
O F T H E
chips if desired. nytimes.com/realestate
R I T E
D A Y
A4 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER8, 2020
N Tracking an Outbreak
Coronavirus Update COVID-19 ‘LONG-HAULERS’
The Mental Toll of an Illness That Won’t Go Away
U.S. Braces for a Labor Day Spike
Colleges Crack Down on Scofflaws By EMMA GOLDBERG
Forty hours after treating her
first coronavirus patient, on
A Heartbreaking Milestone in India March 30, Angela Aston came
home to her family with a cough.
“Gosh, your throat is scratchy,”
her husband told her. Right away
By JAMES BARRON she knew she had probably been
Now comes the wait. infected with Covid-19. As a nurse
Officials — watchful public health officials, uneasy state and practitioner, Ms. Aston, 50, was
local leaders and nervous college administrators — will spend the confident she knew how to handle
next few days anxiously watching the direction of coronavirus case her symptoms, and disappeared
counts, up or down. A jump could indicate that the relaxing Labor to her bedroom to quarantine and
Day weekend was too relaxing — that people let their guard down rest.
as they made beelines for backyard barbecues, beaches and bars. By Day 50 of her illness, that
Will a weekend of celebrations mean weeks of problems for cities confidence had disappeared. In
late May, she was still experienc-
and states that had recently eased restrictions?
ing daily fevers and fatigue. She
An increase in new infections could be more complicated than
went to bed each evening worried
after Memorial Day and Independence Day. For one thing, there are
that her breathing would deterio-
more cases now. Before the Memorial Day weekend in May, the
rate overnight. Particularly frus-
United States recorded a seven-day average of 22,580 new cases, trating was the difficulty she felt
and the average of new deaths was 1,216. On Friday, the seven-day explaining to her colleagues,
average of new cases was 41,233. (The average of deaths was 851.) friends and family that after eight
How much of a rerun of the previous holidays will Labor Day weeks she was still sick.
turn out to be? Over the Memorial Day weekend, large crowds “I felt this stigma like, ‘I’ve got
inundated the Lake of the Ozarks, a resort area in Missouri. By this thing nobody wants to be
early June, health officials from Missouri and Kansas had urged around,’” Ms. Aston said. “It
people who had spent Memorial Day there to self-isolate. By Labor makes you depressed, anxious
Day weekend, the Lake of the Ozarks had had about 10 million that it’s never going to go away.
visitors so far this year. The annual average is 5.4 million. “It’s quite People would say to my husband,
crowded down here,” Mayor Gerry Murawski told KRCG, a Missouri ‘She’s not better yet?’ They start
television channel, over the weekend. to think you’re making it up.”
Over the summer, the nature of the pandemic changed as the Ms. Aston found psychological
coronavirus reached into cities that had been spared at the begin- comfort in an online support
ning — and then into rural America. New York, once the hottest of group, founded by the wellness or-
the hot spots, has had a positivity rate under 1 percent for the last ganization Body Politic, where
month. On Sunday, New York had 413 hospitalized coronavirus more than 7,000 people share their
experiences as Covid-19 “long-
patients, the fewest since the pandemic began. At its height in April,
haulers,” whose sicknesses have
more than 18,800 people were hospitalized in New York, and more
persisted for months.
than 5,200 were in intensive care, compared with 115 on Sunday.
Along with sharing their physi-
New York’s seven-day average death toll has been under 20 since
cal symptoms, many in the sup-
July 24; it has been in single digits since Aug. 20.
port group have opened up about
Texas, which became a hot spot in early summer, has been how their mental health has suf-
trending downward since mid-August. Georgia’s reported cases fered because of the disease. Doz-
were down 19 percent last week, compared with two weeks earlier. ens wrote that their months of ill-
Its seven-day average was around 2,000 cases last week. But cases ness had contributed to anxiety
in Midwestern states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and and depression, exacerbated by
Illinois are staying higher. Each of those states had a daily average the difficulties of accessing medi-
of at least 15 new cases per 100,000 people over the past week. cal services and disruptions to
But there are new risks now. Flu season is on the horizon. And their work, social and exercise
many colleges and universities have reported outbreaks. Some routines.
students are facing consequences for breaking the rules. Northeast- Early on in the pandemic, a per-
ern University in Massachusetts dismissed 11 students last week for vasive myth among patients and
violating precautions. New York University, Ohio State, West Virgin- some health authorities was the
ia University and Purdue have all suspended students over vio- idea that Covid-19 was a short-
lations of rules intended to limit the spread of the virus on campus. term illness. Only in recent
Some school systems are setting up al fresco classrooms in months has more attention been
schoolyards. That has prompted companies that once targeted given to long-haulers. In online
campers to sell items like outdoor desks. Students hoping a rainy support groups like Body Politic TARA PIXLEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
day will mean no school, just as a snowy day does, may face disap- and Survivor Corps, long-haulers “We can’t all be collectively hallucinating the same symptoms,” said Angela Vázquez of Los Angeles.
have produced informal surveys
pointment (and dampness): Some schools have told parents to buy
and reports to study their course
rain gear. There is even waterproof paper. of illness. grade English this autumn be- iting the time they spent on these Assaf said. Her friends were dubi-
Natalie Lambert, a health re- cause of fatigue, she cried. groups daily so they could take in ous of her lingering symptoms. “I
searcher at Indiana University By the fourth month of her ill- information without becoming stopped talking about it with a lot
School of Medicine, recently sur- ness, Ms. Smith had contemplated overwhelmed. of my friends because it felt like
veyed more than 1,500 long-haul taking her own life. “I said, ‘Who Immunologists speculate that they couldn’t understand.”
patients through the Survivor in the world would want to live like long-haulers’ symptoms might The pandemic has caused men-
Corps Facebook page and found a this?’” she said. “I wanted to jump persist because they harbor frag- tal stress for many in its disrup-
number of common psychological out of my own body.” ments of viral genes that are not tion to social, work and exercise
symptoms. She found that anxiety Ms. Smith, like Ms. Aston, said infectious but that trigger violent routines. But these interruptions
was the eighth most common her mental health improved when immune reactions. There is lim- are often worse for long-haulers.
long-haul symptom, cited by more she joined the online support ited knowledge of Covid-19’s lin- Some cut themselves off from
than 700 respondents. Difficulty groups Body Politic and Survivor gering impact, however, both be- community — partly because they
concentrating was also high on Corps, where she exchanges tips cause the illness is still new and are sick, but also because they are
the list, and more than 400 re- for managing mental and physical loath to explain physical and men-
ported feeling sadness. symptoms. Members of these tal problems that they themselves
Dr. Teodor Postolache, a psychi- groups supported Ms. Smith in Sick for months, do not understand. The activities
atrist at the University of Mary- overcoming her thoughts of sui- that they normally rely on to re-
land School of Medicine, esti- cide, she said. patients find comfort lieve stress, such as exercise, are
mates that between one-third and Other Covid-19 patients turned difficult or impossible to under-
one-half of Covid-19 patients expe- to peers on such groups for re- in online groups. take. In Dr. Lambert’s survey of
rienced some form of mental assurance that their symptoms long-haulers, “inability to exer-
INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES health problem, such as anxiety, were not imagined. “Every single cise or be active” was the fifth
Burying a loved one in Pune, India. That nation saw at least depression, fatigue or abnormal symptom I’ve experienced is ech- most commonly reported symp-
90,000 new daily infections on Monday, a record. sleeping. oed by dozens of other people,” because of broader gaps in under- tom, cited by 916 respondents.
Those without Covid-19 infec- said Angela Vázquez, 33, a standing the long-term effects of Being unable to work and feel-
tions are also seeing their mental Covid-19 patient in Los Angeles. viral infections. ing unproductive can also hinder
Cases Tick Up Across Globe health suffer amid the pandemic. “We can’t all be collectively hallu- Many long-haulers said their mental health, according the Na-
Spain, which is enduring a second wave of cases after a sum- A study published in June by the cinating the same symptoms.” mental health suffered when they tional Alliance on Mental Illness.
mertime lull, became the only country in western Europe with more Centers for Disease Control and Although social media groups faced skepticism about their Losing income and health insur-
than half a million cases. But it is ninth in the world. On Monday, Prevention found that symptoms provide validation, there is also symptoms from friends, family ance brings its own form of anxi-
of anxiety and depression nation- some risk. Groups that do not and even medical providers. Fe- ety.
India passed Brazil to become No.2 after reporting at least 90,000 wide increased significantly dur- moderate their content can con- male long-haulers pointed to nu- “My doctor said the most im-
new daily infections and breaking its own record from the day be- ing April through June compared tribute to the spread of misinfor- merous studies showing that portant thing is to completely de-
fore. India’s total climbed to more than 4.2 million cases after post- with the same period last year. mation when users share unveri- medical providers were more stress,” said Jenna Bitar, 28, a
ing the world’s largest daily increase for almost a month. Brazil’s The study found that adverse fied medical advice. (Survivor likely to underestimate women’s New Yorker who contracted the
total is more than 4.1 million cases. The United States remains No. 1, mental health symptoms were Corps requires people to link to pain levels and misdiagnose their coronavirus and was placed on
with more than 6.2 million cases. disproportionately reported in trustworthy sources, and Body conditions. Ms. Smith said that in leave by her employer in March.
India’s skyrocketing caseload has come as the government, young adults, Black and Hispanic Politic deploys volunteers to mod- her first week of illness, her male “But how do I avoid stress when I
hoping to counter a 23.9 percent second-quarter contraction in the adults, and essential workers. The erate posts.) Support group mem- doctor suggested she might have don’t even know if I’ll be able to af-
economy, eased lockdown measures. On Monday, the Delhi Metro, National Alliance on Mental Ill- bers also sometimes inadver- a sinus infection rather than ford my medical bills? I don’t have
the mass transit in the sprawling capital of New Delhi, began a ness, a nonprofit organization, has tently reinforce one another’s Covid-19. Ms. Vázquez was told a job.”
phased reopening after being shut for months. Security personnel seen a 65 percent increase in peo- fears through detailed discussion that her difficulty breathing could For long-haul Covid-19 patients,
stood by to enforce social distancing, but news outlets said there ple reaching out to its help line for of their own medical experiences, be a product of anxiety. Gina As- one helpful mental health re-
were few passengers to check. Trains were nearly empty. mental health resources since the according to Jo Daniels, a psychol- saf, a consultant in Washington source is validation from friends,
Britain — whose 20.4 percent second-quarter economic drop onset of the pandemic. ogist at the University of Bath and who helped write Body Politic’s family and colleagues, Dr. Lam-
was almost as steep as India’s — has also reported sharp increases “The public health response to an author of a recent study in the report, said that by Week 6 of her bert said. She also called for pri-
in new cases in the last few days: 2,988 on Sunday, the most since the Covid-19 pandemic needs to journal American Psychologist on Covid-19 course, her doctor asked mary care physicians to stay up-
late May, and almost as many on Monday. This time around, amid include addressing its mental Covid-19 and mental health. if her symptoms could be bad al- to-date on new research so that
criticism that the government had again lost control of the outbreak, health consequences,” said Mark Some long-haulers said that lergies. they could properly inform their
officials indicated a willingness to crack down, but in a targeted way. Czeisler, an author of the C.D.C. their doctors recommended lim- “That felt like gaslighting,” Ms. patients, and for clinical re-
study.
“We’ll take whatever action is necessary,” said Matt Hancock, the searchers to continue studying
Chimére Smith, 38, a middle
health secretary. “We can use, and we will use, local lockdowns if the disease’s mental health and
school teacher in Baltimore,
that’s what’s necessary.” marked her sixth month of cognitive effects.
So far, the way cases in British schools have been handled has Covid-19 symptoms in September. Dr. Daniels, the University of
varied. The government said that wholesale school closings would On March 22, Ms. Smith was on Bath psychologist, said that re-
“not generally be necessary,” but on Monday a school in Suffolk was the phone with her therapist when searchers should study strategies
told to shut down after five teachers tested positive. she began to feel a tickle in her for improving mental health, giv-
But the health authority directed three schools in northeastern throat, which turned into a burn en the many people who turn to
England to remain open even though virus cases had turned up in by the evening. Her symptoms be- negative coping mechanisms like
each one. And a secondary school in Leicestershire that Prime came a “wheel of misfortune,” substance abuse.
Minister Boris Johnson toured last month told some but not all of its vacillating daily between nausea, Several long-haulers said they
students to stay at home on Monday after a staff member tested diarrhea and headaches, she said. were learning to be gentle with
positive for the virus. Mr. Johnson said during his visit that the Since then, she has gone to the themselves, as they adjusted to a
biggest risk for young people was not the coronavirus but “continu- emergency room a dozen times. In new normal in their work and fam-
ing to be out of school.” Some sharp-eyed social media users won- mid-April she rewrote her will. A ily lives.
dered whether the selection of books on the shelves behind him was persistent mental fog has made it “I’ve had three OK days, but I’m
a barb. The titles included Roald Dahl’s children’s book “The Twits.” difficult to put together sentences, hesitant to share that, because it
and Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451.” she said, whereas before the pan- could go away,” Ms. Smith said.
demic she had functioned “like a “Long-haulers will tell you that.
walking thesaurus.” When she re- SERGIO FLORES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES We preface every conversation
alized that could not return to “I felt this stigma like, ‘I’ve got this thing nobody wants to be when we feel good with, ‘I’ll regret
Coronavirus Update wraps up the day’s developments with infor-
mation from across the virus report. teaching seventh- and eighth- around,’” said Angela Aston, a nurse practitioner in Texas. saying this tomorrow.’”
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER8, 2020 N A5
Tracking an Outbreak Economic Fallout
RELIEF EFFORTS
Cuts by States and Cities Reach the Bone as Congress Continues to Flail
people. Some, like Colorado, are
From Page A1 increasing the co-payments that
“People look to government as their Medicaid patients must pay
their backstop when things are for doctor visits, pharmaceuticals
completely falling apart,” said and medical transport.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at State officials say they have lit-
Moody’s Analytics. “If they feel tle choice but to keep cutting if
like there’s no support there, they more aid does not arrive. All but
lose faith and they run for the one state, Vermont, are legally
bunker and pull back on every- bound to balance their budgets ev-
thing.” ery year, and Vermont does so vol-
States and municipalities are untarily. They cannot borrow
also crucial employers and spend- their way out of a cash crunch the
ers that keep the economy mov- way Washington can, because
ing. “We run the risk of descend- they have laws limiting how much
ing into a dark vicious cycle,” Mr. bond debt they can carry. If they
Zandi said. veer too close to the limit, lenders
State and local governments will start demanding higher inter-
administer most of America’s pro- est rates and the rating agencies
grams for education, public safety, will downgrade them.
health care and unemployment in-
In May, the Federal Reserve of-
surance. They also provide a wide
fered to buy states’ bonds if terms
variety of smaller services, such
in the municipal bond market be-
as outdoor recreational facilities
come onerous. But most states
or highway rest stops, that im-
prove the quality of life. The costs think the Fed loans cost too much
of many of these programs have and have to be paid back too
skyrocketed because of the pan- quickly to be of much help. So far
demic, which has at the same time only one state, Illinois, and one
caused an economic slump that state authority, New York’s Metro-
has driven down tax revenue. politan Transportation Authority,
Collectively, state governments have taken the Fed up on its offer.
will have budget shortfalls of $312 New Jersey and Hawaii are ex-
billion through summer 2022, ac- ploring deals, according to the Na-
cording to a review by Moody’s tional Conference of State Legisla-
Analytics. When local govern- tures, which tracks the states’ fis-
ments are factored in, the shortfall cal plans as they develop.
rises to $500 billion. That estimate Public pensions have been a
assumes the pandemic does not central point of contention in dis-
worsen. cussions over additional federal
When the lockdowns started in aid.
March, state and local govern- The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performing in January. The organization will lose a $1.6 million subsidyG RfErGo KmAH Nth FOeR sTtHaEt NeE.W YORK TIMES In April, with economic activity
ments quickly cut 1.3 million jobs. at low ebb, Illinois lawmakers
But then they paused, waiting to sent a detailed wish list to their
see if revenue would continue to ple, has been sent about $2.9 bil- eral have torn up their annual timore Symphony Orchestra will Washington does not step in, and state’s congressional delegation
fall — and what Washington might lion that it cannot put toward budgets and are doling out money lose a $1.6 million state subsidy. it will be on the schools to figure that included $10 billion for the
do to replace it. other uses. to programs one or two months at Some states are trying to save out how to fund themselves in the coming year’s pension contribu-
Lawmakers soon passed the $2 Although states’ budget chal- a time. Some have earmarked cash on their pension contribu- meantime. Preschool programs tion. They also asked for $9.6 bil-
trillion CARES Act, which autho- lenges would be eased if Congress cuts but not yet carried them out. tions. Kentucky has delayed its are being cut in many states; so lion for Illinois’s cities, which
rized one-time stimulus payments relaxed those rules, that still Delaware has decided to issue payments to the state workers’ are free-tuition college programs.
needed the money to “fund retire-
and temporary supplemental un- would not be enough to fill the gap. less debt, and a bond issue that pension fund, already one of the State university systems are
ment systems for the police, fire-
employment payments, which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has was supposed to fund clean-water most poorly funded in the country. slated to lose billions of dollars in
fighters and other first respond-
buoyed consumer spending and warned that without further relief, projects has been shelved. In Cali- Colorado and Maryland are state funding, although some
ers providing emergency services
helped states’ sales-tax revenue. New York will cut $8.2 billion in fornia, people who go to court among the states planning to re- states say the cuts will be quickly
The law also allocated about $150 grants to local governments, a without lawyers — an estimated duce their contributions. Some, reversed if enough federal money during this Covid-19 outbreak.”
billion to states for expenses di- blow he said had “no precedent in 4.3 million a year — will continue like California and New Jersey, arrives. The request drew scorn in
rectly attributable to the pan- modern times.” The cuts would hit to deal with confusion because the had recently committed to raising And many states say they will Washington.
demic, in areas ranging from edu- “nearly every activity funded by state has scrapped plans for their contributions to cover past reduce their outlays for Medicaid. On a syndicated radio show, Mr.
cation and health care to the oper- state government,” including spe- “court navigators” to shepherd underpayments — but now can- The health care program for low- McConnell said Senate Republi-
ation of nearly empty airports. cial education, pediatric health them through. Nevada said it not afford to do so. income people has been growing cans would “certainly insist that
But the rules for what expenses care, substance-abuse programs, would forgo the penalties and in- Without further federal aid, rapidly in the pandemic as mil- anything we’d borrow to send
that money can cover have kept property-tax relief and mass tran- terest it normally charged tax some of the biggest cuts will be to lions have lost their jobs along down to the states is not spent on
much of it from being spent, ac- sit, he said. cheats, hoping to coax them and education and health care. Califor- with their employee health bene- solving problems that they creat-
cording to the Treasury Depart- No two states have tackled the their unpaid millions up from un- nia says it will send its school dis- fits. States are struggling to find a ed for themselves over the years
ment. New York State, for exam- budget crunch the same way. Sev- derground. In Maryland, the Bal- tricts $12.5 billion in I.O.U.s if way to pay for all these additional with their pension programs.”
CONSUMER TRENDS
Virus-Leery Drivers Empty Used Car Lots
crease the number of cars on the tomotive News. Those were three
From Page A1 road, of course. And sales of new million fewer than they made in
are having to work as hard to buy cars are not taking off. If anything, the same period in 2019.
cars as they typically do to sell part of the sudden mania for used Early in the pandemic, when
them, they say, including running cars stems from the yearslong many people avoided leaving
ads and cold calling people to ask rise in the price of new cars and home for all but the most pressing
if they would be interested in sell- trucks. On average, new vehicles needs, carmakers offered no-in-
ing their old car. That’s how strong now sell for about $38,000, more terest loans for as long as 84
demand for used cars has become than many consumers can afford months to lure buyers. With new-
in the pandemic. or are willing to pay. car inventories low, such gener-
“Used cars are supposed to de- In addition, many Americans ous incentives have mostly disap-
preciate, but I’d look up the book realize they don’t have to worry peared.
value of a car on the lot and see it that they’re buying a rattle trap But people with a car to sell still
was higher than at the beginning that’s constantly in the shop. Cars have some leverage. The strong
of the month,” said Adam Silver- and trucks of recent vintage are demand for used cars has lifted
leib, president of Silko Honda in better made than those from a trade-in values, a boon for some
Raynham, Mass. “I’ve never seen couple of decades ago, and cer- car buyers. Ms. Sutherland was
that before.” tainly compared with the vehicles shocked to get $2,000 for her Mi-
Mr. Silverleib recently sold a Ralph Nader inveighed against in tsubishi, which had 245,000 miles
2017 Honda Pilot with 22,000 his 1965 book, “Unsafe at Any on it.
miles to Suzanne Cray and her Speed.” In July, Edmunds found that the
husband. The family had gotten Take Susan Sutherland, a tech average trade-in value for used
by with just one car. But Ms. Cray, worker in Bradley Beach on the cars rose almost $2,000, to just Modern day master
a nurse who works at Tufts Medi- Jersey Shore, who prefers buying over $14,000.
cal Center in Boston, said the fam- new cars but recently purchased a AutoNation, a chain of 325 deal-
ily had decided it needed another 2016 Nissan Rogue because the erships across the South and stefan bleekrode
to ensure that no one had to ride cost of new vehicles put her off. “I West, has begun buying cars from
with Uber or on public transporta- paid $42,000 for the first house I anyone who brings a vehicle into
tion. bought,” she said. “I couldn’t one of its stores — whether that
“We used to take Uber to imagine paying almost that for a owner is shopping for a new one or
restaurants, especially if we were car.” not — and sellers are cut checks
going out with friends and didn’t Before the coronavirus, Ms. on the spot. It acquired more than
want to drink and drive,” said Ms. Sutherland regularly rode trains 3,500 used cars in July, up from
Cray, who has treated patients to New York City, Washington and about 2,000 that it typically buys
with the coronavirus. “We don’t do in a month, said Marc Cannon, an
that anymore. We take our car in- executive vice president at the
stead.” company.
Old standbys of the
The boom is of a piece with Just north of Chicago, in Anti-
other unexpected trends in a re- economy have thrived och, Ill., Mark Scarpelli has staff at
cession that has left millions of his family’s Chevrolet, Kia and
people unemployed and has dev- during the pandemic. Chrysler dealerships hunting for
astated airlines, restaurants, ho- used cars for sale. “We run ads on
tels and small businesses. Despite the web, on Facebook, on Insta-
that pain, the pandemic has been a gram,” he said.
boon to old standbys of the econ- beyond to see her son’s heavy- Business is so brisk that low-
omy, such as canned and pro- metal band, Tooth Grinder. But af- mileage used cars don’t stay on Venetian grandeur. Meticulous artistry. Astonishing detail.
cessed foods and suburban home ter a tough battle with the corona- dealer lots for long. Mr. Silverleib,
sales, that had fallen out of favor virus that included two stays in the Honda dealer in Massachu- ThisintricatepanoramicviewofVenicewascreatedbycelebrated
in recent years. the hospital, she decided to trade setts, said vehicles like the Pilot he DutchartistStefanBleekrode.Usingblackinkandwatercoloron
of Tthhee tahurteoe -ibneddursotroym’s reaqnucihv awleintht in her 2008 Mitsubishi sport utility shooludr sto. Ms. Cray might last mere paper,BleekrodemasterfullydepictstheFloatingCity’siconic
the charming backyard patio is a vehicle for a newer car she could “They’re gone before we get to sightsinunbelievabledetail,includingthePalazzoSanMarco
rely on for longer trips.
low-mileage car or S.U.V. — a lot She paid $13,500 for the Rogue, take pictures of them,” he said. andthegondolasoftheGrandCanal.Signed(upperright).Dated
cbhuet ajupsetr a tsh gaono dth aet tnaekwinegr tvheer fsaimon- which is loaded with heated seats “wTehbesyit en.”ever even appear on the 2018-19.Paper:12”hx28”w;Frame:255/8”hx405/8”w.#31-1478
and other frills. “I love it,” she said.
ily to a socially distanced picnic af- This banner year for the used
ter months of isolation. “I’m really happy.” car will — inevitably — end. Au-
The growing desire to own a car Other consumers have gravi- tomakers will catch up on produc-
has caught many people by sur- tated toward used cars because tion, dealer lots will swell with
prise and unnerved others who there still aren’t that many new new vehicles again, and enticing
are worried about what it might cars to choose from. Although au- sales incentives will return, said
say about the future of cities and tomakers have restarted their Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst
transportation. Mayor Bill de Bla- plants after halting production for at Edmunds. But demand for used
sio, who gets around in an S.U.V., about 60 days from late March to cars could stay brisk if the pan- 622RoyalStreet,NewOrleans,LA • 888-988-5248 • [email protected] • msrau.com
recently implored New Yorkers, mid-May, they haven’t made up demic worsens in the fall and the
many of whom don’t own vehicles, for the lost time. economy weakens further even if Since1912,M.S.Rauhasspecializedintheworld’sfinestart,antiquesandjewelry.
not to buy a car, saying they repre- In the first seven months of the the supply of new cars improves.
Backedbyourunprecedented125%Guarantee,westandbehindeachandeverypiece.
sent “the past.” year, automakers produced 6.6 “It won’t last forever,” Ms. Cald-
Those fears might be overdone. million cars and light trucks in well said. “But for now it’s a great
Buying a used car does not in- North America, according to Au- time to trade in a used car.”
A6 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER8, 2020
Tracking an Outbreak The Toll and the Science
Villagers in Sirsiwala circled around a traditional funeral pyre.
LIVES LOST
Lockdown Sows Death
Among India’s Farmers
1960s, the government introduced
From Page A1 the high-yielding varieties of rice
on farms have most likely killed and wheat that eventually made
themselves in the past few India self-sufficient in grains. But
months. over the years, groundwater
After India’s lockdown was ex- dropped to critical levels.
tSeinngdhed b efcoarm teh ceo ntvhiinrcde dt ihmee w, oMuldr. theFiar rcmroeprss,, dsutrgu gthgeliinr gb otroe wsaevlles PHOTOGRAPNHSi rBmY KaARlA NS DiEnEPg ShIN GlHo/TsHtE NhEiWs YOfRaKt hTIMeErS,
ntheev eerc opnuollm hyim ssheulft oduotw onf ,d heibst fwaimth- ecrveeans idnege ppeesr.t aAtntadc ktos, tfehnedy loofafd iend- sister and son to suicide as
ily said. “He kept saying, ‘It won’t their fields with chemicals. The their family sank into debt. He
open now,’” said Paramjeet Kaur, skyrocketing agricultural costs still owes $20,000. The situa-
his widow, wiping away tears. forced many farmers to take on tion is worse now, he said, es-
“Now, what will happen to us? more debt, and crop failures over pecially with many farmers un-
Who will feed us?” the years eventually destroyed able to sell their crops.
generations of rural families.
India has one of the highest sui-
Twenty years ago, Nirmal
cide rates in the world. In 2019, a
Singh’s father drank a bottle of greater freedom to sell their
total of 10,281 farmers and farm la-
pesticide when he lost most of the produce outside large agricultural
borers died by suicide across the
land he owned to a huge debt of markets taxed by state govern-
country, according to statistics
nearly two million rupees, about ments.
from the National Crime Records
$26,700. Then Mr. Singh’s sister In August, thousands of farm-
Bureau. Taking one’s own life is
took her own life because the fam- ers gathered to protest the new or-
still a crime in India, and experts
ily could not afford to bear the ex- ders, burning their copies in the
have said for years that the actual
penses for her wedding. street and arguing the orders
numbers are far higher because
In 2016, Mr. Singh’s son died by could expose them to a monopoly
most people fear the stigma of re-
putting himself in the path of a of corporate buyers rather than
porting.
train after their cotton fields were empowering them.
Few of the recent examples devoured by whiteflies. “He was On a recent afternoon in Nirmal
among farmers have been re- just 23,” said Mr. Singh, pointing to Singh’s village, dozens of women
ported in the Indian news, accord- a framed portrait of his son. and children led a procession to
ing to Mr. Rawal. “It’s hard to say Mr. Singh is trapped under a mark an ancient ritual: the fu-
exactly how many because there punishing debt of $20,000 that he neral of a doll made of dry twigs
was massive underreporting of accumulated over the years to and wrapped in fine silk. It is be-
deaths, and even the media could keep his farm running. But farm- lieved the funeral forces the gods
not reach the hinterland because ing, he said, is more unprofitable to unleash rain and ease suffering
of the lockdown,” he said. than ever. On a sweltering June af- on earth.
A spokeswoman from the Min- ternoon, he walked gingerly “Look what you have done to
istry of Agriculture in New Delhi through his parched fields. “Have promised ‘better days,’ but he has the lockdown, the workers de- thousand rupees, about $100, to our daughter,” the women sing in
declined to answer questions you ever heard of a politician or an only brought the worst days so manded double and triple their help him stay afloat. Unable to se- unison, some grieving, beating
about farmer suicides. The office industrialist committing sui- far,” said Mr. Singh, adding that usual rates. cure the loan, he hanged himself their breasts and throwing their
of the chief minister of Punjab also cide?” he asked. “It’s always a prices of fertilizers have also in- In the early days of the lock- in June, said Gurpreet Singh, his hands up in the air. After the cere-
declined to comment, citing the farmer or a laborer.” creased under Mr. Modi. down, farmers were so con- 24-year-old son, who dropped out mony, it began to rain. The ritual
demands of the coronavirus crisis. In his village alone, a suicide When farmers in Punjab began stricted that they were only able of school so the family could save worked, said Mr. Singh. Some of
Over the past five years, farmer takes place almost every month, sowing rice in the pandemic, they to bring a small fraction of their on tuition fees. “We are now hav- their suffering had been relieved.
suicides in Punjab increased by he said. “We are left with no had no access to farm labor. They produce to the market. Unable to ing to beg for money from some-
“Now, we just hope Modi gets
more than 12 times, according to tears,” he said. “It has turned our scrambled to arrange and pay for sell their crops, they set their one or the other,” he said.
the message.”
government data. Three to four hearts to stone.” buses, tractors — whatever they farms on fire and dumped millions “He just wanted to save his
farm deaths are reported in the lo- Mr. Singh says he is spending could find — to bring in workers of dollars worth of fruits and vege- farm,” he added. If you are having thoughts of sui-
cal news almost every day. even more money to run his farm who typically traveled from the tables on the roads or plowed In early June, Mr. Modi’s gov- cide, call the U.S. National Suicide
The state’s lush green fields these days because Mr. Modi’s northern states of Bihar and Uttar them back into the fields. ernment used its executive pow- Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-
that stretch all the way into the ho- government raised fuel prices in Pradesh every summer. Leela Singh, a farmer in Akan- ers to push through sweeping 8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOf-
rizon mask decades of crippling the middle of the pandemic, citing Desperate and jobless for wali village, feared his farm would changes aimed at privatizing agri- Suicide.com/resourcesfor a list of
debt and abuse of land. In the the costs of the lockdown. “Modi nearly three months because of be seized and tried to borrow a few culture. It promised farmers additional resources.
STOPPING THE SPREAD
Research Suggests Face Shields Alone, and Valved Face Masks, Offer Less Protection
By TARA PARKER-POPE offer the wearer, it does suggest and mechanical engineering at workers wearing face shields,
Face shields and valved masks that people who use them may Florida Atlantic University and while workers wearing traditional
— two options many people find also be more vulnerable to expo- the study’s lead author. “Shields masks appeared to have been pro-
more comfortable than cloth face sure than if they wore a regular are not able to do that. If the drop- tected.
coverings — appear to be less ef- mask. Valved masks are a particu- lets are large they will be stopped Dr. Marr said work in her own
fective at blocking viral particles lar concern: some of the nonmedi- by the plastic shield. But if they lab also shows that face shields of-
than regular masks, a study cal vented masks the researchers are aerosol sized, 10 microns or fer almost no protection against
shows. used had faulty valves, suggest- smaller, they’ll just escape from aerosolized particles believed to
The Centers for Disease Control ing that some people may be walk- the sides or the bottom of the play an important role in the
and Prevention had already ing around with open valves — es- shield. Everything that is expelled spread of illness. “It provides
stated that clear plastic face sentially large holes — in their will very likely get distributed in maybe 5 percent protection, if
shields and masks equipped with masks. the room.” that,” she said. “It’s almost noth-
vents or valves are not recom- To conduct the research, scien- When a standard N95 mask ing for the particle sizes we’re con-
mended, because of concerns that tists from Florida Atlantic Univer- with a valve was tested, a large cerned about.”
they don’t adequately block viral sity used hollow plastic heads fit- cloud of particles also escaped While face shields do block
particles. But the new research, ted with various face coverings. through the valve, but the vent di- large splatters from a cough or
which uses lasers to illuminate the They pumped a vaporized mix- rected the plume downward. sneeze, smaller particles get
path of coughs, offers a striking ture of glycerin and distilled water Standard N95 masks with valves, caught in air flows and never hit
visual demonstration of how large through the heads to simulate a which are often used by construc- the plastic, slipping below it in-
plumes of particles can escape cough or sneeze, and used lasers tion workers and painters to pre- stead. “Air can’t pass through the
from behind a face shield or to illuminate the path of the vent inhalation of dust and other face shield — it has to bend and go
vented mask. plume. particles, meet standards set by around the shield,” Dr. Marr said.
rgeea“nlIel ytrha ilpn opkwu tbhelerifscue tl vo ifsosuer ael hiazenalpdtii onungns d atehrree- sbtoee aIsenrts c ctmhawepaores sks. eIssnp ha aovlrlwioadweteedo ssstto houmfad tteie e esspvt,a setr hnuteis c tilrnheeges- tHvahlaeleloav wletedhOd cr Aceiudnspmp asiirttnaieoitrsonitlrare al m tmioaSensadk. fisecE tavaylre ene n ansvnooidt-, “tnhToath tge a oiairen frgloo tswoo alssrp oalaurten.” dg tohineg s htoie fldol. lIotw’s
stand what’s happening,” said the gold-standard mask, an N95, a ronments because they allow the For some people, a face shield
Linsey Marr, a professor of civil puff of particles can be seen jet- wearer’s germs to escape. During may still be the best option. For in-
and environmental engineering at ting out around the bridge of the the pandemic, a number of knock- stance, a child with developmen-
Virginia Tech who studies air- nose, where the fit is poor. (Other off versions of valved masks have tal disabilities may be more in-
borne particles but who was not studies have shown that N95 appeared on the market, and clined to use a face shield than a
involved in the research. masks, which should filter 95 per- while the valves look authentic, mask. A clear plastic face shield
The news will be disappointing cent of small particles, lose about they don’t really work. might also be useful to a caregiver
to those looking for an alternative a third of their filtering potential if In a mask with a working valve, who needs to communicate with
to regular face masks. Teachers the fit is improper.) That said, the the pressure inside the masks someone who is hearing impaired.
and students, in particular, often researchers found that N95 forces a small disk to open and let Although the findings suggest
prefer face shields because they masks, cloth masks and papery air out, but when you inhale the that a cloth or surgical mask offers
are more comfortable to wear medical-style masks all block a disk fits tightly against the hole COURTESY OF PHYSICS OF FLUIDS more protection, experts say that
over long periods of time, can be significant amount of particles and doesn’t allow air in. “What we Researchers used lasers to illuminate the path a cough takes any face covering is better than
easily cleaned and allow for better and appear to offer adequate pro- found was that everything es- when a person is wearing a valved mask or face shield. nothing at all and that face shields
communication because they tection for the typical person in capes through that exhalation will keep some portion of large
don’t muffle the voice or hide fa- the community who is practicing valve,” said Manhar R. Dhanak, a coughs and sneezes from splatter-
cial expressions. Valved masks, social distancing. study co-author and chairman of caped. reduced aerosol inhalation by ing on the people around them.
with one-way vents designed to But when the hollow heads the university’s department of The research is unlikely to be only 23 percent. For most people, a cloth mask of
allow breath to escape while were fitted with clear plastic face ocean and mechanical engineer- the final word on face shields. A “Face shields can substantially at least two layers, which covers
blocking germs from entering, shields or valved masks, the re- ing. “And in some of the non-N95 2014 study has often been cited as reduce the short-term exposure of the face from the nose to under the
can feel more breathable and pre- sults were less encouraging. commercial masks, the valve just evidence that face shields offer health care workers to large infec- chin, is the best option. A face
vent the mask from getting moist While the face shields did a good appeared to be cosmetic. They extra protection to the person tious aerosol particles, but small- shield combined with a mask
as quickly. job blocking the initial splatter didn’t function because they were wearing them, but even that study er particles can remain airborne would offer additional protection
But the new research, pub- from the simulated cough, the la- of poor quality, so the disks basi- concluded that the benefit was longer and flow around the face and may be useful to those who
lished in the journal Physics of ser illumination showed that cally didn’t move out and in as limited. While the face shields pro- shield more easily to be inhaled,” are routinely in contact with other
Fluids, shows that face shields plumes of aerosolized particles we’d expect them to.” tected the wearer from large the researchers wrote, adding people indoors.
alone and vented masks allow swirled out from under the shield. While the study allowed the re- cough splatters, they were less ef- that for health workers, face “A good homemade mask works
large plumes of particles to es- “Masks act as filters and actu- searchers to compare the relative fective against smaller coughs shields should be worn in addition very well,” said Dr. Verma. “If it’s
cape, putting those around you at ally capture the droplets and any effectiveness of various masks and aerosols. And after the cough, to masks, not as a substitute. comfortable, it can be worn for
risk. And while the research did other particles we expel,” said Sid- and face shields, the methods as larger particles settled to the In Switzerland, health officials long periods of time. Definitely try
not specifically look at the level of dhartha Verma, assistant profes- used did not quantify the volume ground and aerosols dispersed warned that a coronavirus out- to avoid shields only or masks
protection the shields and masks sor in the department of ocean or size of the particles that es- around the room, the face shield break in a hotel appeared to infect with valves.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDAY,SEPTEMBER8, 2020 N A7
Tracking an Outbreak The New Reality
DAI KUROKAWA/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
Checking an apprentice geisha’s temperature as she arrived in A drive-through food fair in July in San Rafael, Calif., offered A lantern display in June in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a festi-
June for a traditional Japanese theatrical festival in Kyoto. favorites such as corn dogs, cotton candy and funnel cakes. val that celebrates the arrival of Buddhism on the island.
BEN BIRCHALL/PRESS ASSOCIATION, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hot air balloons nearing Bristol, England, for a Fiesta Flypast over the city in August as part of the socially distanced alternative to the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
LUKAS BARTH-TUTTAS/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK JOHN HART/WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Ferris wheel in Munich’s Königsplatz in July. Under the motto “Summer in the City,” rides Waiting in July for the daily opening of the Fair Food Drive-Thru at a racetrack on the grounds
and cultural offerings for residents and visitors were set up in numerous locations. of the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. With the state fair canceled, it offered an alternative.
FESTIVALS
How Fun Found a Way This Summer
By AIMEE ORTIZ traditional celebrations. Organizers
and ELIJAH WALKER around the world found sometimes in-
When the coronavirus pandemic genious ways to make sure the cele-
first exploded earlier this year, some brations could go on, safely.
hoped that it would end within weeks Sometimes the answer was to shift
or months, with enough hand washing to livestreaming an event, as people
and other measures, perhaps with the worked to recreate the magic in their
sunlight of spring and summer. living rooms. That was the solution for
That didn’t happen. Just as doctors the annual carving of the dairy prin-
and other experts had warned, rising cess in butter at the Minnesota State
temperatures and longer days failed Fair. An eight-week festival in Eng-
to stop the spread. After a spring of land featured purpose-built pods with
despair, a lost summer took shape. table service so that families could at-
The outbreak moved across the tend performances with their pod.
United States, reaching toward 6 mil- There were drive-throughs selling
lion cases and 180,000 confirmed American fair staples like corn dogs
deaths as August sputtered to a close, and funnel cakes, and pop-up events
according to a New York Times data- to keep crowds small, like the surprise
base. In the rest of the world, it wasn’t HEO RAN/REUTERS fireworks displays staged by Macy’s
much better, with outbreaks returning Children in a mud pool in their home in July during the in New York neighborhoods.
in some places. online Boryeong Mud Festival in Gwangju, South Korea. Here’s a visual tour of celebrations
Still, it is summer, in the Northern around the world, with stops in Ger-
Hemisphere at least, and that means a many, Britain, Wisconsin, California,
season of fairs and festivals, and other Sri Lanka, South Korea and Japan.
A8 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER8, 2020
N
As Navalny
Improves, Case
Pits Germany
Against Russia
By MELISSA EDDY
BERLIN — The Russian opposition
leader Aleksei A. Navalny is no longer in
a medically induced coma and is respon-
sive, doctors treating him at the Charité
hospital in Berlin said on Monday. But
they did not rule out lasting damage from
what they called his “severe poisoning”
with what the German government has
said was a military-grade nerve agent.
Mr. Navalny was flown to Germany on
Aug. 22 for treatment after a suspected
poisoning. Specialists from the German
Army later determined the poison came
from the Novichok family of substances
developed by the Soviet Union and used
at least once before on an opponent of the
Kremlin.
Ties between Berlin and Moscow, al-
ready strained over Russia’s 2014 inva-
sion of Crimea and suspected involve-
ment in the killing of a Chechen rebel
commander in a Berlin park last year,
have been further eroded by Mr. Na-
valny’s poisoning.
The German government has de-
manded an explanation from Russia, but
the Kremlin does not seem inclined to of-
fer one, saying it has not yet been shown
proof that he was poisoned.
Mr. Navalny has been taken out of the
medically induced coma and is being
weaned from a respirator, the hospital
said in a statement. “He is responsive to
verbal stimuli,” it said. “It remains too
early to gauge the potential long-term ef-
fects of his severe poisoning.”
Russia has a long history of using poi- PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW TESTA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
son in assassination attempts, including Tower Bridge in London was recently shut down for two days when its drawbridge became jammed, and other city crossings are closed pending urgent repairs.
Novichok agents.
Sergei V. Skripal, a former Russian in- London’s Neglected Bridges Really Are Falling Down
telligence officer living in England, and
his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poi-
soned by a Novichok agent in March
2018, and the British authorities accused By MARK LANDLER It turns out that is precisely the prob- It doesn’t help that the member of Par- iron is more brittle than steel, those
operatives from Russia’s military intelli- LONDON — One by one, they stepped lem: Hammersmith Bridge is an apt liament from Mr. Johnson’s Conserva- changes raised the danger that the ped-
gence service of the attack. Both Skri- forward to tell their stories. Children metaphor for all the ways the country tives who represented the district that estals could shatter, plunging the bridge
pltsvlGaiuhuntiaeettaTmldelrwsteh lm mty ssteirhu sa a oMB uernnknv n rrsneRg.iiap vodtoNuciawe vscsardaheesnevn,r ip ngaabnadttolnubam n vi tobinyan eeultv’menfrhstoen, t ”epbtrs’m syhmotaa iediseagnesisenrraoddaem ttnc d iisotoisanonhatnnnr rgiahd.d de thiia s dtfMassiLoiod ner“oon dg annab. b addeftsnuoeahonndyle-l swdawtmhuroahaedAdcyoj utddel soltoesi eorsutbn s aibsselc’py cu,c ap hsabfphoeiouunpraaostecolrl ef.seia -b nPsddnHatee acmtdsanoyel mhes y toinar mtofavrtc ncsveoeeeo kerr hbrmsrslas eom.t mvwewdeinSeouth hhd tctohue o rsoBrrpi1epusn9kr .prwetiedshldeee g-e pedcieaneek ,bc rntlhyyaos- haBbdnHuaeaaraLctssnem it xictmcekheimhrtesea ia eat. otnyprent,sgadh dmen ey dmdreiat eaLalhormrfn oestnteai Bchrddo,rs yofait dn-oh spdg fetr oee rlolcloe iaaatcssdihdksctsaeeda odd oalo f wn fww dpbnea huec brtoeibroscnnli hidc oco gom hvnemaefeisicsr---, elsJdaomomonchusirhc rntOiaoin tihnthslmssnigt,os, eep nshsrayaa’sie, sss i af,wdt s rctohe o ase iasmanhml dln e-t cpBtsh pchoawaeloenei reugl ndnacrlngedese .hctne snH etd,et eorrli dets tiZls o cg east ttef ufciLtrito ecxi ineacrbG tnnse.e hoM sdyrpelsa dlc roelbo.as raDGfrm,b diSieodMiniamtlngdehrgret---,. iaiutunnrtinontte“NdoepleIyeg ohfl tyr rtwech i io.blt”teeoyn,e so lhlrTyeifeaefhd iv dvlsa iitne memth’ hwwteie etd ,e”ssb bo ,.crM rntioTihdedrueh.g g ltC edePheo oe,htc waor aoct naveou odnevmnf te shcLhpraiaoleryi dend ofi hmo,dan “eo oecmIntn.a pgs ethaeiadvatnsihes---
Mr. Navalny fell violently ill on Aug. 20 tury suspension bridge that connects the glected for decades. Fully repairing it for help. banned boats from sailing underneath it.
as he made his way back to Moscow after district of Barnes with much of London, would cost an estimated 141 million Michael White, a former political edi- That will disrupt the annual Boat Race
mStehiraio,be snhee setrb ii tenwaoeg, a bnsase h rw eheevieactaeldhdci vu oooiafpnn tpn geSoa dutst rntiieootdian oBatwnyme. ir dTpelienwon lt,oli otwi idncchaa iaoeyl nnrseese ll e ahioctnef-- wpAgrasao“stsNaot cnn6ols o,wJ ese,f evrnIdeok rmlniayne s sedtt,dh am1 ey0t,o ,o sfnd ritxwurha sa dfwtokarriaeyn tssgeua a dpfse , yw taimyeft erpeqekaxua,”tcsah esoreeatntediisdcr-. ptwtorhnoaheu niirtcn s,h dHpc souao rr(mwtr$aemn1tn8iseo7t lrn ytmsh amheiula ilttivbhoheron .ir&)di gt —yFe, , uw flunhhnoaidcrm hs L tdChoeonaputde nonncnedi’ilss-, tnpstohororaour nbttahh lte e HbmrTana hnm oeksf m iodaGfese uryt, hasmnmrede mTiietaehhdnta,sr m ywot:henh se Bo, t apbhlroirenvii ndeenssgte, oe door ntnmoh ueottthhrr naeee bsareoil eteu4tirewn.s2sde -,l misesn nietinl h eOuce epx s b fbutoerynren ddtcdc eua hrsan tttdhoo B mefC abta trhrmhniedeeb g sTrre,oi hd’wwsag shemewre esuros enoc ioptvrvhieeneavrgrt--
the country’s leading research hospitals. ingly polite, crowd protesting recently at Transport for London, which runs the cables.
Experts from the German Army were the bridge. “I can’t cope with that.” subway and bus system and some major In a letter to the prime minister last
asked to run tests that detected a sub- While Hammersmith Bridge’s struc- roads, has already had to negotiate a Coffers are bare, and work month, Mr. Cowan appealed to Mr. John-
stance from the Novichok group in Mr. tural problems are particularly dire, it is nearly $2.6 billion bailout from the gov- son’s sense of history.
NhhheoaaNawvvleea t thwlbon ce syrae ’esmnso specfy ao asnlMmltsde ir mfd.to o .ar N tdthhaeeveb apaGltoneeiys ri’omnsn Bainniemgr gl.pi onTrv oohevvereernder- fccBarirtruyi dmf crgobeemnl,i tn aegtrrh.,e eV T caowlunooxls yhem daLal oljt onBord r coicdanrgro b est rsariiadnnfgdgfei sLc toihwnna dhttoh ilinees eetdhrnoenun m’leso ecasknfutdte btoroww rmanidy.a eEskr exsa cuhrepiepp f tops frtol iuarllm sruhlmasorehrgtt heefaoldylu l d rin,gu L hrrioeonnvsgt-- osenx cyr cuammbplianigg nre plircosm isins’et. a bppelleyW, hochfer a u1st9m ataihbd -l“,ce tte eoanr wartuilablroylyew ie mnan getphtiinaoeep nemheroeiirdnr”idgn l ige“t t eowox fos aitummhlde--
ment to cancel the Russian-led Nord they receive urgent repairs. Tower trains. Thames, at the heart of our capital city.”
SBMatta reTtlerthhiakciemse S l,p e 2hoGa ain,ne sawtr t,nmh uhoiractea nhrrl ugisslape cnsodh ek paoaeinurpscltmey eal ialcnnlnooyer m ,sum apnielddAea etnsMerug. torehenlaes- BcmblrroeiIidsctde ghfgdeeael n,lof oittpcohrea e anlt vw.yegoorlu iydtnc asghyy smsc jhalbaomosoltm lo gmfei rdLol on—nitth dso o uantdff,t irewtatrwea das- twmboiol oHPlninora enimmye-l pmeeolc nueMts rimo sinnmhai sirigttqbhehuyr -e sh Beppa oesrpreo riadmsop jJiepsroceaihntaisnlglw es lidoaktn yoef,. o Barsn upo$htet1e nh3lpda0e scTopirpuedonpbessoe,s is vsbiitetteea cer taedvioupiernsare.eyi crT t sdjihoocaebnoyr r, pe etw oosils h ir toiliecfec ahsaic stlmhls yt ra tchahkoafeemfr isdcn m aetinunoa tr steeeherxslest-l dscatonerInsdunis gcc tttnroruus urtchtalthailie so, r pnh ltr eoooh n sbafgailsx ei d.mmm, astahd,d eeea b niitrdt i dvmigutuesln’ csehc rua ahnsbatu-lrseirdu oetanorl
day. Ms. Merkel led the push for the Eu- in a red cardigan and patent-leather cast-iron relic of Queen Victoria’s reign. for officials in less well-off Hammer- The bridge narrowly escaped destruc-
ropean Union to impose economic sanc- Mary Janes, and brandishing a placard He also wants to spread the wealth to smith. tion in 1996 when the Irish Republican
tainodn sh oans R musasiinat aaifnteerd t hseu Cppriomrte afo inr vtahseimon, wevititha abnleg pryo ipnitn:k “ Lleottnedrosn — B troid mgeask ea rthe efa inll-- Blarnidtasi na’ns de cNoonrotmh, incaoltl yr ecshcaulele anng eadff lMueindt- coSunticlli,l , thSet eLpahbaonu rC oPwaartny, lienasdisetre do f ththaet Aplromsiyv epsl aunntdeedr ntweaot hp othwaetr ffuaill epdla tsot icd eetxo--
despite some calls to ease them. ing down!” enclave of London, where professionals Hammersmith was fully committed to nate. Four years later, another I.R.A. fac-
Ms. Merkel had defended completion Philip Englefield, a professional magi- commute from gracious Regency villas fixing the bridge — if it can find a finan- tion successfully exploded a bomb under
of the final 90 miles of the $11 billion pipe- cian who lives in Barnes, pointed out that to jobs in the City and students practice cial lifeline. He credited the council with the bridge, forcing it to close for repairs
leBhwmpaifimovrnaieirsee“lerepre lm Itpn lnoitcyigo pn robdo initwsr. eanse ao Bryoauthcnj inesnouponto c indt a utnfti tho f sote sgth amM ,eaem” Ranhr csissut iacu MGn. as dwiriiinsesMri sdabt.irs t yaNsmeueJeG eerrheiabean knnsovfernteo swaftmedylr ohl’rSe s n’raNaeshpt ey nsteeaoca tyrwctanorhshma’ldnd.sant”en hs is,S En eia. baftn eurl“gre otsdverTe ewmeoa.anhrnptmnetoeiie vs orrto ’to2eeesrf, wGtcdaadshaouseaehe“kkummgne WeenIuoniptd,tcr aa hret a,alth,y yni tth ai eoI ecssentd bda ua bisc a nssllu rtyaw tp’hioEt,tsl e lowedwtneinrn i dmgdreaks l ie2daasrootd0oepsnnnh 1p itdtt ea8rihhlb.r i a”,gta. erccskiteleod.e?i nlmrsg“”ltosiF elMnenel oyng acr,rr t .ovea .4El gviiIl3rnaonetu opngpwfsudsl e aeaernospfstdeip hta e sihlennilesnder--’, oeswsf“fsauPpaulnoiit“iert rruduefTtonsar lh TmddhSeaceoi e tteiti n. nss hts mngPh yi mrnoa aea eTgmrto unaLi r omrtlitoa’oceeonsnvuen n aaSeebnrd ltiryceu dtotgshr dsiin,loain o dn‘a vcSplgo ne tescll Livab. rhhveeynorixeonilnim dopintyndhlgege gooarten hnftnsfut iiE i. ”epnnfibsicl’g xde u oaasicsrnng fa bfroegoouaamn frsrin ddoeitt caa ahh osfi,dee”t-f. aeTcybahthanvnereheiIsaeagsedn t rrtify-gn rtsaAi iaerw efnnoopo cetdgafnurtor uv ci s nlcacoerp 2da yet,re0 po rsrcadsi1 oo ln hi9e,iwtsn ssb,asei tstpeoutndshpabent. tewe l ic .lsao Tceta,ilfot fdhu tertcet etiisvhahnntn ielooey,dad rpd embifaise.rtnr fciBaniticetodec yeetsvrgto c uc eeb oaplarr oyfueeie sn ssddurhee ee ni2di ncrsctt0 hetito a1nihrnalst4idgesttt-. flasbmBt$ooro3rouinroe R5aai tgr tl ntchemedwesossa i ro stniita ldchwt lgnyolpieayo aeudnenan:ia lott cd Sst r$patye sth6lcncam.pe0iodlbs ai upc s imsttllootiasidsmzuirk l iafwlleunedairo n.goc ys nEwdue i tx,b vehl aad Mrreetl ik osnc dbri i o .mngtsar s Citiectdniow rlo gmapefowoo regsmuro a saoe lrn pdoprnei nte oefst dcituhavaxhoengaeiessdsnnhds.t-.
In the meantime, the locals are float-
In official statements, Russian officials
ing other solutions, like starting a ferry
have wished Mr. Navalny the best while
service or running shuttle buses.
lamenting that German doctors have not
shared more details about how they as- Some, like Toby Gordon-Smith, have
certained he had been poisoned. resorted to roundabout routes across
Mr. Navalny’s supporters say the tac- other bridges (there are more than a doz-
tic is intended to bog down any inquiry in en road or pedestrian crossings between
an endless — and fruitless — diplomatic Hammersmith Bridge and Tower
process, while possibly gleaning private Bridge). Mr. Gordon-Smith, 46, who uses
medical data about Mr. Navalny’s still- a wheelchair, said he chose to live in a riv-
uncertain condition. erfront apartment in Barnes because he
Over the weekend, a prominent doctor could wheel himself across the bridge to
known for pro-government political ac- his office in Hammersmith — 10 minutes
tivities, Dr. Leonid Roshal, suggested door to door.
that Russian and German national medi- “This is an important place for me to
cal boards work together to determine live, to be able to access my work, to be
the cause of Mr. Navalny’s illness. able to access the rest of London,” he
Mr. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said.
who flew with him to Berlin and has been For older people who attended the
consulting with German doctors about rally, the fragility of London’s bridges is
the treatment, their findings and what in- more than just grist for a nursery rhyme.
formation is released to the public, flatly
Christopher Morcom, 81, recalled that in
refused. And she chided Dr. Roshal for
1967, an American entrepreneur, Robert
assuming that he could obtain patient
McCulloch, bought the crumbling Lon-
data without first consulting her.
don Bridge, dismantled it and trans-
“First off, dear doctor, maybe you don’t
ported it stone by stone to Lake Havasu
read the news but the cause of my hus-
band’s coma is known — it is poisoning,” City, Ariz., where it now sits as a tourist
Ms. Navalnaya wrote on Instagram. attraction in the desert. (The London
“You are behaving not as a doctor, but as Bridge currently undergoing work is a
a voice of the government and don’t want replacement for that 19th-century ver-
to help a sick person, who you don’t care sion.)
about, but to ferret out information and It all gave Mr. Morcom the germ of an
curry favor.” idea.
“I don’t know whether this old bridge
Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting is reparable,” he said, gesturing to Ham-
from Moscow, and Mark Landler from mersmith Bridge. “Maybe we should sell
London. Delays in work on the closed Hammersmith Bridge drew a demonstration by frustrated residents in London on Friday. it to the president of the United States.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONALTUESDAY, SEPTEMBER8, 2020 N A9
German Fringe, Quitting Mainstream, Sees Trump as ‘Savior Figure’
major coronavirus marches in
From Page A1 Berlin, venting against face
disinformation, that message masks, Bill Gates and the Roth-
holds real risks for Western de- schild family — and appealing to
mocracies, they say, blurring the Mr. Trump to liberate Germany.
lines between real and fake news, “Trump is someone who has
allowing far-right groups to ex- been fighting the global ‘deep
tend their reach beyond tradi- state’ for years,” Mr. Hildmann
tional constituencies and seeding said in an interview this past
the potential for violent radical- week. “Trump has become a fig-
ization. ure of light in this movement, es-
Mr. Trump’s appeal to the politi- pecially for QAnon, precisely be-
cal fringe has now added a new cause he fights against these
and unpredictable element to Ger- global forces.”
man politics at a time when the do- “That’s why the hope for the
mestic intelligence agency has German national movement, or
identified far-right extremism the liberation movement, lies ba-
and far-right terrorism as the big- sically with Q and Trump, because
gest risks to German democracy. Trump is a figure of light because
The authorities have only re- he shows that you can fight these
cently woken up to a problem of global powers and that he is vic-
far-right infiltration in the police torious,” Mr. Hildmann said.
and military. Over the past 15 “The Germans hope that Trump
months, far-right terrorists killed will liberate Germany from the
a regional politician on his front Merkel corona regime,” he said, so
porch near the central city of Kas- that “the German Reich is reacti-
sel, attacked a synagogue in the vated.”
eastern city of Halle and shot dead Mr. Hildmann’s influence be-
nine people of immigrant descent came plain in June, when he mobi-
in the western city of Hanau. Mr. lized thousands of people to send
Trump featured in the manifesto messages to the U.S. and Russian
of the Hanau killer, who praised Embassies in Berlin to appeal for
his “America First” policy. help. In the space of a few days,
In Germany, as in the United 24,000 tweets had been received
States, Mr. Trump has become an by the embassies calling on Mr.
inspiration to these fringe groups. Trump and Mr. Putin to “liberate”
Among them are not only long-es- Germany from Ms. Merkel’s
tablished hard-right and neo-Nazi “criminal regime” and prevent
movements, but also now follow- CLEMENS BILAN/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK “forced vaccination” and “geno-
ers of QAnon, the internet conspir- Right-wing protesters broke through a police barrier late last month and tried to force their way into the Reichstag building in Berlin. cide.”
acy theory popular among some Germany’s domestic intelli-
of Mr. Trump’s supporters in the gence agency has warned of the
United States that hails him as a risk of far-right extremists using
hero and liberator. the pandemic for their own pur-
Germany’s QAnon community, poses. This past week the agen-
barely existent when the pan- cy’s chief, Thomas Haldenwang,
demic first hit in March, may now said that “aggressive and disrup-
be the biggest outside the United tive far-right elements” were the
States along with Britain, analysts driving force behind the protests
who track its most popular online over coronavirus restrictions.
channels say. But extremism experts and
Matthias Quent, an expert on lawmakers worry that the securi-
Germany’s far right and the direc- ty services are not paying close
tor of an institute that studies de- enough attention to the violent po-
mocracy and civil society, calls it tential in the mix of QAnon disin-
the “Trumpification of the Ger- formation campaigns and home-
man far right.” grown far-right ideology.
“Trump has managed to attract In the United States, some
different milieus, and that’s what QAnon believers have been
we’re seeing here, too,” Mr. Quent charged with violent crimes, in-
said. “We have everything from OMER MESSINGER/GETTY IMAGES SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES cluding one accused of murdering
anti-vaxxers to neo-Nazis march- President Trump’s message of disruption appeals to an increasingly varied far-right movement in Germany. Coronavirus skeptics, a mafia boss in New York last year
ing against corona measures. The conspiracy theorists and religious conservatives converged on Berlin on Aug. 29. A woman in a QAnon shirt, right, was detained. and another arrested in April after
common denominator is that it’s reportedly threatening to kill Jo-
people who are quitting the main- seph R. Biden Jr., who has since
stream, who are raging against movement, said she had popped nym for Q’s hallmark motto, German. and occupied territory controlled become the Democratic presiden-
the establishment.” open a bottle of champagne when “Where we go one, we go all.” The fusion of the traditional far by globalists. tial candidate. The F.B.I. has
Mr. Trump, he added, “is the Mr. Trump won the 2016 election. Hard numbers are difficult to right with the QAnon crowd was This belief is held among a fac- warned that QAnon poses a poten-
guy fighting the liberal-democrat- The QAnon phenomenon has discern, with followers often sub- something new, Mr. Quent said. tion known as “Reichsbürger,” or tial domestic terrorism threat.
ic establishment.” added a new kind of fuel to that scribing to accounts on different “It’s a new and diffuse kind of pop- citizens of the Reich, who orches- In Germany, language reminis-
For some on the far-right fire. platforms, analysts say. News- ulist rebellion that feeds on con- trated the brief storming on Par- cent of QAnon was used in the
fringes, Mr. Trump’s message has QAnon followers argue that Mr. Guard, a U.S.-based disinforma- spiracy theories and is being sup- liament on Aug. 29. They do not manifesto of the gunman who
been especially welcome at a time Trump is fighting a “deep state” tion watchdog, found that across plied with ideology from different recognize Germany’s post-World killed nine people with immigrant
when Germany’s homegrown na- that not only controls finance and Europe, accounts on YouTube, corners of the far-right ecosys- War II Federal Republic and are roots in the western city of Hanau
tivist party, the Alternative for power, but also abuses and mur- Facebook and Telegram promot- tem,” he said. counting on Mr. Trump and Presi- in February.
Germany, or AfD, is struggling to ders children in underground ing the QAnon conspiracy One reason the QAnon conspir- dent Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to “We have already seen that this
exploit the pandemic and has seen prisons to extract a substance that counted 448,000 followers. acy has taken off in Germany, Mr. sign a “peace treaty” to liberate conspiracy has the potential to
its support dip to around 10 per- keeps its members young. Ger- In Germany alone, the number Dittrich said, is that it is a good fit Germans from their own govern- radicalize people,” Mr. Dittrich
cent, experts say. man followers contend that the of followers of QAnon-related ac- with local conspiracy theories and ment. said.
Nationalist populists in Ger- “deep state” is global, and that Ms. counts has risen to more than fantasies popular on the far right. Another reason for QAnon’s There are an estimated 19,000
many have long welcomed the Merkel is part of it. Mr. Trump, 200,000, Mr. Dittrich said. The One of them is the “great re- spread is that several German ce- Reichsbürger in Germany, about
presence of one of their own, as they say, will liberate Germany largest German-language QAnon placement,” which claims that Ms. lebrities have become multipliers 1,000 of them classified as far-
they see it, in the White House. Mr. from the Merkel “dictatorship.” channel on YouTube, Qlobal- Merkel and other governments of the conspiracy, among them a right extremists by the domestic
Trump’s language and ideology The far-right magazine Com- Change, has over 17 million views have been deliberately bringing in former news presenter and a rap- intelligence service. Many of
have helped legitimize theirs. pact, which has printed Mr. and has quadrupled its following immigrants to subvert Germany’s per and former judge on Ger- them are armed.
The AfD has repeatedly para- Trump’s speeches for its readers, on Telegram to over 124,000 since ethnic and cultural identity. An- many’s equivalent of “American “At a time when some people
phrased Mr. Trump by calling for a had a giant Q on its latest cover the coronavirus lockdown in other is a purported national cri- Idol.” are determined to destroy demo-
“Germany first” approach. But and held a “Q-week” on its video March, he said. sis called “Day X,” when Ger- One of the biggest figures cratic discourse with all means
the president is popular in more channel, interviewing far-right “There is a huge Q community many’s current order will suppos- spreading the QAnon conspiracy possible,” said Konstantin von
extremist circles, too. Caroline extremists like Björn Höcke. On in Germany,” Mr. Dittrich said, edly collapse and neo-Nazis take is Attila Hildmann, a vegan-celeb- Notz, a lawmaker and deputy
Sommerfeld, a prominent ideo- the streets of Berlin last weekend with new posts and memes that over. rity-chef-turned-far-right-influ- president of the intelligence
logue of a contingent known as the there were Q flags and T-shirts dominate the message boards in A third theory is the belief that encer with more than 80,000 fol- oversight committee, “we have to
“new right” with close links to the and several banners inscribed the United States immediately Germany is not a sovereign coun- lowers on the Telegram messag- take such a phenomenon very se-
extremist Generation Identity with “WWG1WGA,” a coded acro- translated and interpreted into try but an incorporated company ing app. He has appeared at all riously.”
Brinkmanship Permeates said, showed how little the debate
over Brexit had matured in Brit-
ain, more than four years after the
Brexit Trade Deal Sessions country voted to leave the bloc.
But they also capture the depth of
feeling among some officials in
Mr. Johnson’s government about
By MARK LANDLER week in London, will end in dead- the need for a hard-line Brexit, in
and STEPHEN CASTLE lock. which Britain would diverge as far
LONDON — Bellicose threats Mr. Johnson seemed to be pre- as possible from the European
to walk away from the bargaining paring the ground for some kind of Union.
table. Defiant assertions of British breakdown, insisting that a no- The question is whether Mr.
sovereignty and promises not to deal Brexit would be a “good out- Johnson can afford to risk a failed
become a “client state” of Europe. come” for Britain that would give negotiation. His popularity has al-
Ominous talk of a hard border ris- it control over its laws and fishing ready taken a beating over the
ing again across Ireland. waters, and free it up to make course of the pandemic because of
trade deals with other countries,
Seven months after Britain ex- a perception that his Conservative
including the United States.
ited the European Union, its nego- government botched its response.
“We will prosper mightily as a
tiations with the bloc over a per- In Keir Starmer, he faces more
result,” he declared.
manent trade agreement have competent leadership in the oppo-
fallen into an eerily familiar cycle Analysts dismissed much of sition Labour Party than he did
this as posturing, aimed at hard-
of recrimination, brinkmanship with the previous head, Jeremy
line Brexiteers in his own party
and warnings of a “no-deal Corbyn.
and designed to send a message
Brexit,” the same dire scenario A no-deal Brexit would acceler-
that Mr. Johnson will be tougher
that dominated British politics ate calls for independence in Scot-
with the bloc than his predecessor,
this time a year ago. land, where polls are already
Theresa May.
On Monday, Prime Minister showing a surge in support for
But the legislation affecting
Boris Johnson threatened to leaving the United Kingdom. Na-
Northern Ireland, first reported
break off the talks if there was no by The Financial Times, was an DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES tionalists in Northern Ireland
deal in place by Oct. 15, two and a unexpected development that Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain has threatened to end talks if no deal is made by Oct. 15. would likely seize on any signs
half months before the official could have far-reaching conse- that Britain was not living up to its
declNliaorteosinuactrmld atOdhlle i cenuntrenoatn dbgpo eerrfIrre erDm eeptolmeaai ncrwnee.e dnid 3t,pth 1,la .etd hrgArtraaisnsetw ld loaa i ffttth ri itoonishsnmgt er g t uhtpohcatvokoet-- qbadunuurpaUdet wn anttoclhadse leeo sa ra U,w g nntrichteoiohteetem mtdjhtup eeSeslnri ttEcmat a,wtu stBere isortdo.hipt f ae tsaiihnetnesr s iUeiIwgsrnni iistoehohndf-, tgsaeuonnormtt anihare,u tdtcsiheooiiannunst lg dtsi wuctjhaepiaotlplhtpyo a PrbrtrWaedecrisazk oisedefh deaBin.n rttger taTxodrintue, mhna—eps-, iwgyonnooegut ita?atrlo’tar”e ed i asemaad pa iydtl ne hSetmahawveem e n.C at LH egtonrohwetweeee rma,w agfeeonrn rec te ea Exmnwpu enerintoerhtt-- rpntBouoer lsuiettsrishesi nehst g h tw chasotaat natnw ttctie oant unoeslu ndthbht aasepvlinr dee mi evetxhesape nrio kntfr ertitoett f. e rbfderTuooehsmmliye- pflswyoorisronDt thmt sewh Bsiseospar ueriuitesldsde u sa t nuehabilleloftsliyi u,cm t mtabh atteeuihtol ecienethl hyv b oae eosfsad trI trhd rrMieeekicr lerdas . ti,anJ do doad lc.hnaeanasalt--ll
bloc after 47 years. customs arrangements that “The U.K. government might pean Reform, a research group in to support companies in emerging year after a similar round of
Yet for all the Groundhog Day- would preserve an open border on want to see how the U.S. election London. high-tech fields like biotechnology brinkmanship. The danger, with
like similarities, Britain is in a the island of Ireland. The pro- plays out,” said Anand Menon, a British officials played down and artificial intelligence. only two and a half months left be-
very different place than it was a posed legislation would give Brit- professor of European politics at suggestions that they plan to rip So far, London has made no fore the deadline, is that he could
year ago — cast off from Europe, ain a free hand in how it decides to Kings College London. “The out- up the agreement. Mr. Lowe said counterproposals. That drew a miscalculate or simply run out of
consumed by the battle against implement those arrangements if come of the election is going to he viewed it less as an effort to re- sharp rebuke from the chief Euro- time, particularly if his govern-
the coronavirus and facing an eco- it does not reach agreement with have a massive bearing on what nege than to increase Britain’s pean negotiator, Michel Barnier, ment becomes preoccupied deal-
nomic crisis that has already the bloc — an aggressive move this government is going to do.” leverage by asserting that it is in who last week told an Irish re- ing with a second wave of the co-
sapped the popularity of Mr. John- that drew expressions of concern Reneging on the so-called the driver’s seat. search institute that Britain had ronavirus.
son’s Conservative government. from Irish and European Union Northern Ireland protocol would He said any changes would be “not engaged constructively” and “Boris Johnson still wants a
That gives Mr. Johnson far less leaders. also make it more difficult for Brit- likely to apply to bureaucratic pro- accused it of a “lack of engage- deal, he still needs a deal,” said
leverage to push the European Other defenders of Ireland, in- ain to conclude a trade deal with cedures, like whether companies ment” on core questions. Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst at
Union on the disputed points of cluding the Democratic presiden- the European Union, several ex- must file a declaration for goods Mr. Johnson’s chief negotiator, the Eurasia Group, a political risk
state subsidies of British industry tial nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., perts said, because negotiators in they ship from Northern Ireland David Frost, fired back, vowing in consultancy. “The increasing tem-
and fishing rights, according to would likely view any undermin- Brussels would view their British to Britain. an interview with The Daily Mail perature was inevitable, and a rec-
experts. Brussels has shown no ing of the agreement as a threat to counterparts with even greater As the negotiations have on Sunday that Britain would ognition that this is the critical
sign of yielding, particularly on the Good Friday Accord, which suspicion and demand more re- ground on, both sides have dug in never become a “client state” of window to do the deal. But seeing
the subsidies, all but guaranteeing ended decades of sectarian vio- strictive language. their heels. The European Union the European Union. through all of this, it’s very hard to
that the latest round of talks, this lence in Northern Ireland. That, in “They would say: ‘You’re refus- is demanding that Britain agree to Such words, some analysts be confident there will be a deal.”
A10 N THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONALTUESDAY, SEPTEMBER8, 2020
Last Prominent Protest Leader in Belarus Is Abducted in Minsk Rights Groups
Chide Duterte
By ANDREW HIGGINS
MOSCOW — Maria Koles- For Pardoning
nikova, the last prominent protest
leader in Belarus still at large, A U.S. Marine
vanished on Monday and local
news media outlets reported that
she had been grabbed off the
By JASON GUTIERREZ
street by masked kidnappers in
the center of the East European MANILA — President Rodrigo
nation’s capital, bundled into a Duterte of the Philippines has par-
dark minivan and driven away at doned an American Marine con-
speed. victed of killing a transgender
The abduction of Ms. Koles- woman, just days after his office
nikova, the latest in a series of dis- blocked a court order to free the
appearances apparently engi- service member, the Philippine
neered by Belarus’s security foreign secretary said on Monday.
agencies, followed large protests The decision to release the Ma-
on Sunday in Minsk, the capital, rine, Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott
and towns across the country. It Pemberton, angered both Phil-
seemed to reflect a shift in strat- ippine nationalist groups that op-
egy from the initial frenzy of po- pose the country’s military agree-
lice violence against protesters to ments with the United States and
picking off opposition leaders one advocates for gay and transgen-
by one and sending them out of der rights who said Mr. Duterte
the country. had shown leniency toward a hate
Linas Linkevicius, the foreign crime.
minister of neighboring Lithua- Lance Corporal Pemberton,
nia, said Ms. Kolesnikova had then 20, was convicted of homi-
been the victim of a “kidnapping,” cide in 2015 for the killing of Jenni-
deploring in a Twitter post that fer Laude, 26. He was sentenced
“Stalinist N.K.V.D. methods are to six to 12 years in prison — a
being applied in 21st century Eu- term that was later reduced to 10
rope.” years — and has since been held
The N.K.V.D. was the precursor at Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine
of the K.G.B., a name still proudly military headquarters in metro-
embraced by the main security politan Manila.
agency in Belarus, a former Sovi- The foreign minister, Teodoro
et republic that has often been de- Locsin Jr., said on Twitter that to
scribed as “Europe’s last dictator- MISHA FRIEDMAN/GETTY IMAGES “do justice,” Mr. Duterte had
ship.” A witness reported that Maria Kolesnikova, center, was confronted by masked men and placed into a waiting van on Monday. granted an “absolute pardon,” ef-
At a news conference on Mon- fectively reducing the Marine’s
day in Warsaw, the capital of that the opposition leader had adopted a subtler tactic of tar- either Lithuania or Poland, both testing with the threat of mass ar- sentence to time served.
neighboring Poland, exiled mem- been walking near the National geted attacks on protest leaders. members of NATO, and then cast- rests. The Interior Ministry said Mr. Duterte defended his deci-
bers of a coordination council set Art Museum in Minsk when she Mr. Linkevicius accused Mr. Lu- ing them as traitors working with on Monday that nearly 700 pro- sion in a public address on Mon-
up last month in Minsk by oppo- was confronted by masked people kashenko, whom he described as Western powers to undermine testers had been arrested on Sun- day. “If there is a time when you
nents of President Aleksandr G. in civilian clothes and pushed into Belarus’s “outgoing leadership,” both Belarus and Russia. day. are called upon to be fair, be fair,”
Lukashenko said that Ms. a waiting van marked with the of trying to “eliminate” his most Mr. Lukashenko, who has ruled On Saturday, Ms. Kovalkova, an he said.
Kolesnikova, a member of the word “Communication.” outspoken foes “one by one.” Belarus since 1994, has repeatedly ally of Ms. Tikhanovskaya, be- Mr. Duterte’s spokesman,
council’s presidium, had disap- Harry Roque, said that Mr.
Ms. Kolesnikova first gained Ms. Kolesnikova’s disappear- presented weeks of unrest as a came the latest opponent of Mr.
peared without a trace off the Duterte had no intention of forgiv-
prominence as an election cam- ance removes the last member NATO plot and used this to rally Lukashenko to be forced to leave
street in Minsk in the morning. ing Lance Corporal Pemberton.
paign manager for Viktor Ba- still active inside Belarus of a trio support for his government from Belarus. Arrested two weeks ago
Olga Kovalkova, a member of “The president has erased
the council who was herself ar- bariko, a prominent Belarusian of female activists behind a President Vladimir V. Putin of in Minsk, she suddenly re- whatever punishment that Pem-
rested two weeks ago in Minsk banker who had planned to run groundswell of opposition to Mr. Russia, When the protests started appeared in Poland. She told the berton still faced,” Mr. Roque said.
and then forced to leave Belarus against Mr. Lukashenko in Au- Lukashenko. The other two, Svet- nearly a month ago, Mr. Putin of- news conference in Warsaw that
for Poland over the weekend, said gust. Before he could challenge lana Tikhanovskaya, Mr. Luka- fered only lukewarm backing but, K.G.B. officers in Minsk had of-
that Ms. Kolesnikova had been the president, however, he was ar- shenko’s main challenger in the complaining of Western med- fered a stark choice: either stay in
“kidnapped in central Minsk” by rested on what were widely seen disputed election, and Veronika dling, he announced in late Au- prison indefinitely or leave the Setting free a man
“unknown people.” as trumped up financial charges. Tsepkalo, the wife of a would-be gust that he had formed a reserve country.
“Her whereabouts are un- He is still in jail. candidate who fled before polling force of Russian security officers She said Belarusian security of- convicted of killing a
known,” Ms. Kovalkova added. After using often savage vio- day, both left Belarus to avoid ar- ready for action in Belarus if “the ficials put her head in a hood, bun- transgender woman.
Tut, a Belarusian news site lence against protesters but still rest soon after Mr. Lukashenko situation gets out of control.” dled her into a car that drove
sympathetic to the opposition, failing last month to tamp down claimed re-election. By stripping the opposition of across the country and then
quoted a witness to Ms. widespread anger over the Aug. 9 Instead of simply throwing his its leadership, Mr. Lukashenko dumped her at the border with Po-
Kolesnikova’s abduction as saying election, in which the president most prominent opponents in jail, apparently hopes to gradually land. The Belarusian Interior
“What was never erased in the
claimed an implausible landslide which would risk inflaming public stall the protests’ momentum, al- Ministry told a Russian news
mind of the president is the con-
Ivan Nechepurenko contributed victory, Mr. Lukashenko’s securi- anger, Mr. Lukashenko has lowing his security forces to agency that she had been released viction of Pemberton, who is a
reporting. ty apparatus seems to have started pressuring them to flee to frighten those who continue pro- for medical reasons. killer.”
The move could help mend rela-
tions with the United States after
years in which Mr. Duterte has
Birmingham Police Arrest been gravitating toward China,
despite Beijing’s increasingly hos-
tile actions in the South China Sea,
Suspect in Knife Crimes where the two countries have ter-
ritorial disputes.
In February, he threatened to
By DANIEL VICTOR Sunday, the assaults spanned the scrap the Visiting Forces Agree-
ment with the United States,
LONDON — The police in Birm- center of the city, which is about though he reversed his stand in
ingham, England, arrested a man 120 miles northwest of London, June.
osintna aMb bsoiennrgdie aesyi g oahfn tad pp cephoaaprrleegn,e tkdlyi lh lirinmagn wdoonitmeh, leWansidttneededs isnaet sa lbesuaasisdttl int9hg0a ntm igaihnnt ulaitfetetsa acrakeneadr. awlaiRsste gcnlraeotauorp lRy Be aayy epason Jl,ir ts.i,ac oiadfl ttahhceec pnoamartmidoonon--
attacks in the city early Sunday. wearing a hooded top had ap- dation to the United States, which
The suspect, a 27-year-old man proached the victims without has been helping to check China’s
whose name was not immediately warning, and eluded bystanders’ rising aggression in the region.
released, was charged with mur- attempts to capture him. “The absolute pardon comes
der and seven counts of attempted “It happened very quickly,” one months after Duterte reversed
murder. He was detained in the witness, Savvas Sfrantziz, a bar the early pronouncement of the
Selly Oak neighborhood in south- owner in the nightlife area, told termination of the V.F.A.,” Mr.
west Birmingham around 4 a.m. Sky News, describing one of the Reyes said, referring to the Vis-
local time, the police said. attacks. “He just went up to her iting Forces Agreement. “The
A 23-year-old man died in the and just stabbed her. I’ve never Philippine president has restored
attacks on Sunday, and two other seen anything like it.” the V.F.A. to please the Ameri-
victims, aged 19 and 32, were in Officers sifted through surveil- cans.”
critical condition at a hospital on lance camera footage and asked “The U.S. government had its
Monday, the police said. Five for photographs and videos from way again on this issue,” he added.
other victims, aged 23 to 33, sus- the public to help in the search.
Last week, the Olongapo City
tained less serious injuries. One tip led them to an address in
abTleh teo pdoislicceer ns aai dp atthteeryn wine trhee u ant-- Smealldye .Oak, where the arrest was An investigator in Birmingham, England, where a man faces murder chargesN EiInL HaA LsLt/aEPbA,b ViInA gSH sUTpTrEeRSeT.OCK Rabpeerpgteiooannl aafrlno dTm rd iLiarale ncCctoeeud Cr ttoh regp rBoarunartlee Padeu ma onf-
tacks, leading them to believe that In a statement released on Corrections to release him.
the victims had been chosen at Monday, the police said the arrest ter that the attacks were a “one-off Wales has been on the rise for sev- Wales in the year up to March The court reasoned that he had
random. Steve Graham, chief su- was “a crucial development,” but tragedy.” eral years and reached a record 2020. served almost six years, including
perintendent of the West Mid- underlined that the investigation “But the message must be it is annual high for the year ending Apart from the killing in Birm- the time between his arrest and
lands Police, said on Sunday that was continuing. “We still need to utterly uncharacteristic of Birm- March 2020, according to a gov- ingham, there have been other fa- conviction, and that he had ex-
there was no indication the at- speak to any witnesses who saw ingham,” he added. “The thing ernment report. The police re- tal knife attacks in Britain in re- ceeded the 10 years when a “good
tacks were related to terrorism or what happened who’ve not yet that is characteristic will be seen corded 46,265 offenses involving cent months. Three people were conduct time allowance” was add-
gang violence, nor that they were spoken to us, or anyone who may to be a defiant response where all knives or sharp instruments in killed in June in a stabbing at a ed. The Laude family has also re-
a hate crime. have video footage or photos of communities come together to that period, an increase of 6 per- park in Reading, England, that the ceived $100,000 in civil damages.
Starting in the early hours of the incidents or the attacker,” the condemn it and prove that we can cent over the previous 12 months. police described as terrorism. In The Marine met Ms. Laude in a
statement added. continue all to live together in har- According to the Office for Na- July, there were three deadly stab- nightclub in Olongapo City, about
Anna Schaverien contributed re- The mayor of Birmingham, mony.” tional Statistics, 256 people died in bings and two fatal shootings in 100 miles north of Manila, in Octo-
porting. Andy Street, said in a post on Twit- Knife crime in England and such attacks in England and London in the space of a week. ber 2014 while he was in the Phil-
ippines for joint military exer-
cises.
According to closed circuit tele-
Saudi Court Issues Prison Terms for 8 Defendants in Khashoggi Case vision footage presented at his
trial, they entered a hotel room to-
gether but the Marine left alone
By WILLIAM LAMB crecy. The kingdom did not reveal warded by God for its good deed. murder are not just these eight shortly after. Ms. Laude was
and NADA RASHWAN the suspects’ names, and foreign (Salah Khashoggi lives in Saudi people who are sentenced.” found dead in the room by a hotel
fdKhhhiiiainhssmAdasa sl,iSs fdohvoaeeneroufnsgrgfdte dig isvc iciacet,o iitnvdsum e rtihlohtnyw enoe ttrn ahehmi tMnleseied mrokna niih flntwdlieiasanhr tygsi on io i bJogsknalsf iie mulnttl hheegoaddeesfl dsgsltSohwariawpeoyMuoliui-dorrnlrp enmi.lg svej oa aeKttutodldhsh r eiae nassrg msiaswlcehel.oniihonssutogstcsr,e ge tfwd. il a,e w hHtdttiaa helutes nhem dpeppa erorkunooduinm tn teircgsiciwonhdgtmeeiiohnnrnmteggest, AtoHtsShiofamra enRuatJ e’bipdisacg iiameashosr ,ttfda Co arsolfa eth neeinsKism sxhgwih npiieezaadgenl,sser d tt hthahci snoitboe shggey a p,g rf nMoiciaafd’sesocnr s,d.lc acil.ubKoi)ésnswisehlciio neatlacyudgsti dh a thttiothnhheagigeesst- fdipKvsooeohtc“Ftrrrau,eIatu sn wsdtrh ifd oihotoooeonnorgue ’ bwsgspdSl il,ocho”a’asoc vousn kne hdnak trbeireii n ietldwllAhu li binearreoeo gandnThtb,d ser mii nu ,aoot “idmh rflw i deadttp heaefo tr ariSlseselydhaer dm m nros sMuiuauit nptil.r”ndre---. wsesthfrhlenaeuoenUtrerm lstykiPihPnnp e wlghegryB, idi tlwtaci hhp“rbhoe hipaaotv Liii y esncbt.l erGieraz sosn.efttBk e,dih fea.l eiTalnMneo . d dwcntrg oo.te rhitmDcolhaekmuumett.p,t us eu rhrarnredetpeigee tppwiy rofare aoienrnrsr--,,
possibility that the defendants during the rise of its powerful gi’s killers from accountability. arms sales to the kingdom and to Pemberton.” It was alluding to the
would be executed. crown prince, Mohammed bin “The Saudi authorities are play- the United Arab Emirates, and to president’s antidrug war, which
Saudi state television an- Salman, and wrote critically about ing out what they hope will be the cut off military support for Saudi has left thousands of people dead
nounced that five of the eight de- him as a columnist for The Wash- final act in their well-rehearsed Arabia’s war in Yemen. President since 2016.
fendants had been sentenced to 20 ington Post. parody of justice in front of an in- Trump, who has close ties to “This is a direct attack not just
years in prison each, and that two The sentences that were issued ternational community far too Prince Mohammed, vetoed both on Jennifer and her family but to
had been sentenced to 17 years in December reflected the Saudi ready to be deceived,” Agnes measures, pushing ahead with the every trans person and every vic-
each. One was issued a 10-year narrative that the killing had not MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH/A.F.P. — GETTY IMAGES Callamard, a United Nations ex- $8.1 billion arms sale. tim of corrupt and unequal justice
sentence. been ordered by the royal court, Jamal Khashoggi was killed in pert on extrajudicial executions Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, and the system,” the group said.
In December, a Saudi court sen- but rather was a last-minute deci- 2018. Critics say his death was who investigated Mr. Khashoggi’s Saudi kingdom’s attempts to Virginia Lacsa Suarez, a lawyer
tenced five of the men to death, a sion by agents on the ground. ordered by the Saudi crown. killing, said in a statement at the cover it up and change the narra- for Ms. Laude’s family, said the
punishment the kingdom usually However, that narrative contra- time. tive of how it was carried out, has pardon made a mockery of judicial
carries out by beheading, in con- dicts evidence gathered by the On Monday, Ms. Callamard damaged Prince Mohammed’s in- and legal systems in the Phil-
nection with the killing and dis- Turkish authorities and a United Khashoggi’s heirs to pardon the wrote on Twitter that the verdicts ternational reputation. Saudi offi- ippines.
memberment of Mr. Khashoggi Nations expert, who found that killers, sparing them the death “had no legal or moral legitimacy, cials have insisted the prince had “There is so much disrespect in
inside the Saudi Consulate in Is- the agents traveled to Istanbul in- penalty. In a statement on Twitter following a trial that was neither no prior knowledge of the plot the manner by which Jennifer was
tanbul in October 2018. Three de- tending to kill Mr. Khashoggi and on May 21, one of Mr. Khashoggi’s fair nor just nor transparent.” against Mr. Khashoggi, and said killed — reflective of the disre-
fendants received prison terms. were carrying the tools to do so. sons, Salah Khashoggi, cited a After the verdicts were issued, the killing was not premeditated. spect the U.S. has for the Phil-
The trial, held in the Saudi capi- The Saudi court classified the Quran verse praising forgiveness Ms. Cengiz wrote on Twitter that Mr. Khashoggi’s body has not ippines’ democracy and
tal, Riyadh, was shrouded in se- case in a way that allowed Mr. and said the family hoped to be re- the people “responsible of this been found. sovereignty,” she said.