The Wall Street Journal - 18 08 2020

2020·15.03 MB·English

****** TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 41 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
DJIA27844.91 g86.11 0.3% NASDAQ11129.73 À1.0% STOXX600 369.26À0.3% 10-YR.TREAS. À 8/32, yield0.683% OIL $42.89À$0.88 GOLD $1,985.00À$48.00 EURO $1.1871 YEN106.00
Arctic
What’s
Refuge
News
Put Into
Business&Finance
Play for
TheTrumpadministra-
tionapprovedanoil- Drilling
leasingprogramforthe
ArcticNationalWildlife
Refuge,openingthe19-mil-
U.S.interiorsecretary
lion-acrewildernessareato
drillingforthefirsttime.A1 clearswayforauctions
(cid:2)Californiaofficialssaid ofoilleasesinremote
theyopenedaninquiryinto
whetherCalpers’sex-invest- (3) wildernessinAlaska
mfliectn-tofc-hinietefrbersotkleawstsatthercooung-h MMITTEE BYTIMOTHYPUKO
holdingsinfirmsinwhichthe CO
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NTI WASHINGTON—TheTrump
(cid:2)SomeJusticeDepartment VE administrationapprovedanoil
N
staffershaveexpressedin- CO leasingprogramfortheArctic
ternalconcernsoverplans NAL NationalWildlifeRefuge,open-
O
tobringanantitrustlawsuit ATI ing up the pristine 19-million-
againstGoogleandwhat N acre wilderness to drilling for
theyviewasanaggressive ATIC thefirsttimeandmakingitdif-
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timelinefavoredbyBarr.A2 OC ficult to unwind the decision
M
(cid:2)TheU.S.issuednewrules DE shouldDemocratsrecapturethe
TheDemocrats’virtualconventionopenedwithspeakersincluding,clockwisefromleft,formerfirstladyMichelleObama; WhiteHouseinNovember.
curbingHuawei’saccessto
Sen.BernieSanders,whoranforpresidentintheprimaries;andRepublicanJohnKasich,theformerOhiogovernor. Approving the program on
foreign-madechips,expand-
Mondayclearsthewaytoauc-
ingrestrictionsontheChi- Democrats Make Their Case
tionoilleases“rightaroundthe
nesetelecomcompany’slink
endoftheyear,”InteriorSecre-
tocrucialcomponents.A2
taryDavidBernhardtsaidinan
(cid:2)Chevronisintalksto interview. The decision caps
investinamajoroilfield As Virtual Convention Opens more than 30 years of efforts
inIraq,accordingtoIraqi by oil companies and Alaskan
officials,partofastringof leaderstodrillintherefuge.
prospectiveU.S.corporate Environmentalists have
dealsinthecountry.B1 raisedconcernsabouttheim-
pactdrillingcouldhaveonthe
(cid:2)“Fortnite”creatorEpic BYELIZACOLLINS youthinkthingscannotpossi- den if the election were held him.Hehassincemadeefforts polarbearsandcaribouherds
GamesaccusedAppleof
bly get worse, trust me they now,while41%backMr.Trump. toengagetheparty’sleftflank that live in the remote refuge
threateningtoblockitfrom
Democrats launched their can,andtheywill,ifwedon’t Mr. Biden has largely been on issues like climate, health in northeast Alaska. Congress
makingsoftwareforIOS
general-election pitch during makeachangeinthiselection,” offthecampaigntrailinrecent careandeducation. passed a mandate to lease oil
devicesandMaccomputers
the first night of their virtual Mrs. Obama said. “If we have monthsduetothecoronavirus Sen.BernieSandersofVer- rightsinpartoftherefugein
amidanescalatingdispute.B1
convention,presentingJoeBi- anyhopeofendingthischaos, pandemic,andhispartyishop- mont—a self-described demo- itstaxoverhaulin2017,when
(cid:2)TheS&P500gained0.3%, denassomeonewhocouldheal wehavegottovoteforJoeBi- ingtousetheconventiontoex- craticsocialistwhowasMr.Bi- both the House and Senate
closingjustshyofitsre- a nation battling a pandemic denlikeourlivesdependonit.” cite Democratic voters about den’slongest-lastingrivalinthe wereinRepublicancontrol.
cordfromFebruary,while andcivilunrestwhilecriticizing Thefour-day,mostlyvirtual hisWhiteHousebid. raceforthenomination—used Mr.Bernhardtsaidthatthe
theNasdaqrose1%.The PresidentTrump’shandlingof eventcomesastheformervice The Democratic convention hisspeechMondaytotoutthe drillingcanbeconductedinan
Dowretreated0.3%.B11 theupheaval. president—whoisexpectedto formallyendsaprimaryseason success of the progressive environmentallysoundmanner
Former first lady Michelle be formally nominated this that featured a large field of movement,whichhesaidwas andthatCongresshassetde-
(cid:2)McDonald’sex-CEOEast-
Obama,inMondaynight’skey- weektofaceMr.Trumpinthe candidates, including liberals “getting stronger every day,” tailsintolawthatwillhelpthe
erbrooksaidinacourtfiling
note speech, described Mr. November election—holds a andmoderateswhodebatedthe PleaseturntopageA5 planwithstandchallengesfrom
thatthefirmhadinformation
Trumpasthe“wrongpresident significantleadinmostpolls.A directionoftheparty.Mr.Biden environmentalists.
abouthisrelationshipswith
forourcountry,”addingthathe WallStreetJournal/NBCNews hasbeenthepresumptivenom- (cid:2)GeraldF.Seib:Democrats PleaseturntopageA2
otheremployeeswhenitne-
is“clearlyinoverhishead.” pollreleasedSundayfound50% ineeformonths,capturingthe pickathrowback.....................A4
gotiatedhisseverancedeal.B1
“Ifyoutakeonethingfrom ofregisteredvotersnationally nominationafterseveralother (cid:2)Bidensupportersmorelikely (cid:2)ChevronpursuesIraqoil
mywordstonight,itisthis:If saytheywouldvoteforMr.Bi- moderatecandidatesendorsed tovotebymail.........................A4 project.............................................B1
World-Wide
INSIDE
State Probes THE COVID STORM
(cid:2)Democratslaunchedtheir China’s CDC Stumbled
general-electionpitchduring
Conflict
thefirstnightoftheirvir-
tualconvention,presenting
When It Mattered Most
Bidenassomeonewhocould Complaints
healanationbattlingapan-
demicandcivilunrestwhile
At Calpers
criticizingTrump’shan-
dlingoftheupheaval.A1,A5
(cid:2)HouseDemocratsseta
Saturdayvoteonabillto BYHEATHERGILLERS Western-trainedpandemicfighterwasunderminedbylocalofficials
ANDDAWNLIM
temporarilyprohibitopera-
tionalchangesattheUSPS
Californiaofficialssaidthey BYJEREMYPAGEANDLINGLINGWEI Gao’sgrowingalarmthatithadbeengoing
andbolsteritsfunding
opened an investigation into PERSONALJOURNAL onsinceatleastDec.1,with25suspected
amidapoliticalbattleover
whethertheformerinvestment Helpingchildrencope BEIJING—Beforegoingtobed,George casessofar,thepeopleclosetohimsaid.
expandedmail-invoting.A4
chief for the nation’s largest Gao,theheadoftheChineseCenterforDis- Thiswasn’thowthingsweresupposedto
(cid:2)Some47%ofvoterswho withback-to-school
pensionfundviolatedstatecon- easeControlandPrevention,typicallycom- work.
backBidenforpresidentplan anxietyinthe
flict-of-interestlawsbyholding pleteshis10,000stepsforthedayandthen Dr.Gao’sagency,knownastheChinaCDC,
tovotebymail,compared
personal investments in pri- pandemic.A11 checksthenewsonline. wassetupin2002preciselytodetectand
with11%ofTrumpsupport-
vate-equityfirmsinwhichthe WhenhescannedhisfeedonDec.30,he stopepidemicsthatoftenemergefrom
ers,anewWallStreetJour-
fundisalsoaninvestor. wasstunned.Twoleakedlocal-government southernChina.Itwasamissionthatgrew
nal/NBCNewspollfinds.A4
Several board members at JASONGAY noticeswarnedaboutcasesofunexplained moreurgentafteradeadlyoutbreakthat
(cid:2)Agrowingnumberof the California Public Employ- Itwasgoodwhileit pneumoniaintheChinesemegacityofWu- yearofsevereacuterespiratorysyndrome,
schoolsnationwideareclosing ees’RetirementSystem,known han.Itwasthefirsthe’dheardoftheout- orSARS.
lasted.Butonceagain,
temporarilyorlongerterm as Calpers, are seeking more break,accordingtopeopleclosetohim. TheChinaCDCtrainedhundredsofits
it’stimetoquitplaying
justdaysafterreopening, informationaboutthecircum- The58-year-oldvirologistcalledthehead PleaseturntopageA8
asthepandemicthreatens stancessurroundingtheAug.5 golf.A14 ofWuhan’sdisease-controloffice,whocon-
toupendtheschoolyear.A3 resignation of former invest- firmedtheoutbreakandrevealedtoDr. (cid:2)Beijingusesvaccinepledgestogainfavor.....A9
ment chief Ben Meng, includ-
(cid:2)Topofficialsandsome
drugmakersinChinahave ingwhenChiefExecutiveMar- Remote Work Forces Companies to
cie Frost learned about
begunpromisingearlyaccess
toaCovid-19vaccinetocoun- possible investment conflicts Get Creative With New Perks
andwhatproceduresthefund
triesofstrategicinterest.A9
hasinplacetokeepinvestment
(cid:2)Belarus’sLukashenko, officialsfromrunningafoulof i i i
facinggrowingnationwide conflict-of-interestrules.
Out: Pizza, trivia nights.
protests,saidhewas Calpersthismonthreferred Ready for
readytosharepower,but aninternalreviewconcerning
In: Ukuleles, knitting, personal trainers.
onlyonhisownterms.A10 Mr. Meng’s personal invest-
mentstoCalifornia’sFairPo-
(cid:2)MillionsofCalifornians litical Practices Commission, BYJENNIFERLEVITZ torofexecutiveoperations,on anything.
couldlosepowerincoming
accordingtoapersonfamiliar a recent Thursday afternoon,
days,thestate’sgridoper-
withthematter.Thecommis- Nimbus Therapeutics used raising a glass of sauvignon
atorsaid,asitcontinuesto
sion said Monday it received to cater lunch for its entire blancandspeakingtoremote
strugglewithinadequate
twoformalcomplaintsregard- staffthreetimesaweekatits workersoverZoom. DellTechnologiesOnDemandis
electricitysupplies.A3
ing Mr. Meng’s investments Cambridge, Mass., headquar- Andsobeganthecompany’s
pay-as-you-goIT—givingyouthe
(cid:2)Illegalcrossingsatthe and his disclosure of them. ters—a hip place where the first virtual ukulele-building
southernborderarerising The commission investigates taxidermied office moose has class.DIYukulele choiceandflexibilityyouneedto
againafterhavingplummeted civil violations of laws con- its own Instagram ac- kits had been prepareforanything.
atthestartofthepandemic, cerning political campaign count.Employees senttoemploy-
drivenbyalargeincreasein spendingdisclosuresandpub- got plenty of ees’ homes and
singleadultsfromMexico.A3 licofficials’conflictsofinter- branded swag, OdetoHR a hired music Learnmoreat
estandcanlevyfinesofupto and enjoyed teacher took
CONTENTS Opinion..............A15-17 $5,000perviolation. perks such as over the Zoom DellTechnologies.com/OnDemand
ArtsinReview...A13 PersonalJournalA11-12
Mr.Meng’sabruptexitsent company-paidspa callforapeptalk.
BusinessNews..B3,6 Sports.......................A14
CapitalJournal......A4 Technology...............B4 shockwavesthroughthepen- treatments. “Say, ‘Today, I am an art-
Crossword..............A13 U.S.News.........A2-4,6 sionfund,whichhasgrappled Now,Nimbusisoneofmany ist,’” music instructor Mark
HeardonStreet.B12 Weather...................A13 withchronicturnoverandhas firmsinthebiotechclusterof Hecoxtoldthegroup.
Markets.....................B11 WorldNews.....A7-10
on hand about 70% of assets Massachusettsandbeyondtry- “Today,Iamanartist,”they
neededtomeetfuturepension ingtokeepthelavishfreebies replied.
> promises.Unlikehispredeces- flowingwhilemany,ifnotall, FivemonthsintoAmerica’s
sors,Mr.Menghadinvestment of their employees are still work-from-homelifestyle,on-
experience on Wall Street. In workingremotely.Andtheyare linetrivianightsandcocktails
his first full year, Calpers re- one-upping each other with withco-workersarenolonger
versedastreakofunderperfor- ever-zanierevents. enough. Companies are push-
s2020DowJones&Company,Inc.
AllRightsReserved mance relative to other large “Yay, let’s do this people!” ing the limits of creativity to
PleaseturntopageA6 urgedAmySchnall,thedirec- PleaseturntopageA10
wsj_20200818_a001_p2jw231000_6_a00100_17ffff5178f2020.crop.pdf 1 18-Aug-20 06:04:12
A2|Tuesday,August18,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
******
U.S. NEWS
Huawei’s
DOJ Lawyers Disagree on Google Suit
Access
BYBRENTKENDALL casebuiltaroundthoseissues, sueGoogle. runs its search business, with year investigating Google but To Chips
peoplefamiliarwiththematter “Thingsaremovingalongto advertising-related allegations decidedin2013nottobringa
WASHINGTON—Some Jus- said.DetailsabouttheJustice mysatisfactionintermsofthe addedlater. case.SomeFTCstaffersinthat
tice Department staffers have Department’s legal theories timing. I’m hoping to make a There are a range of views case raised several concerns Is Curbed
expressed internal concerns couldn’tbelearned. decisionbytheendofthesum- among staff about a Google aboutGoogle’sconduct,butthe
overplanstobringanantitrust Another team is examining mer,”Mr.Barrsaidinaninter- case, people familiar with the commission said the evidence
lawsuitagainstAlphabetInc.’s Google’s online advertising view last week, when asked deliberationssaid.SomeJustice on balance didn’t warrant a
Google—andwhattheyviewas business, where the company aboutGoogle. Department lawyers believe case. BYDANSTRUMPF
anaggressivetimelinefavored ownsindustry-leadingtoolsat “While we continue to en- Google’s conduct isn’t blame- While the U.S. hasn’t taken ANDKATYSTECHFEREK
by Attorney General William everylinkinthecomplexchain gage with ongoing investiga- less, but they don’t want to action, antitrust enforcers in
Barr,accordingtopeoplefamil- betweenonlinepublishersand tions, our focus is firmly on bring a once-in-a-generation the European Union have TheU.S.CommerceDepart-
iarwiththematter. advertisers. Some attorneys lawsuitwithflawsandlosein brought three cases against mentissuednewrulescurbing
The department has been working on that aspect of the court,thepeoplesaid. Google,withfinestotalingmore HuaweiTechnologiesCo.’sac-
movingtowardbringingalaw- probearen’treadytomovefor- Someinvolvedinthe Some staffers also are con- than$9billion. cesstoforeign-madechips,ex-
suit as soon as this summer, wardbecausetheyarestillun- cerned that top officials over- Stateattorneysgeneral,both panding the Trump adminis-
antitrustprobe
but some lawyers involved in tanglingthenewandcomplex seeingtheprobemightbefeel- Republicans and Democrats, tration’s restrictions on the
theyearlonginvestigationhave issues raised by that part of worrytheU.S.’scase ing pressure to get a lawsuit also are investigating Google. Chinese telecom company’s
expressedabeliefthatthede- Google’sbusinessandhowitaf- filed before the election, the Andthecompanyhasbeencrit- linktocrucialcomponents.
isn’treadyyet.
partmentdoesn’thaveacam- fects the many companies in peoplesaid. icizedbybothpartiesonCapi- Thenewrulesprohibitnon-
era-ready case right now and thedigitalecosystem,thepeo- Wall Street Journal pub- tolHill,includingduringaJuly U.S. companies from selling
needs more time to consider plesaid. lisherNewsCorpisalongtime 29 hearing in which Google any chips made using U.S.
whether the millions of pages AseniorJusticeDepartment Google critic and is among a Chief Executive Sundar Pichai technologytoHuaweiwithout
of documents in the govern- officialsaidharmtoinnovation providing free services that group of publishers that have andothertoptechCEOstesti- aspeciallicense.Therulecov-
ment’s possession yield the and nascent competition in help people every day, lower beencontactedbyantitrustin- fied. While lawmakers have ersevenwidelyavailable,off-
kindofevidenceneededtowin fast-movingtechnologymarkets costsforsmallbusinesses,and vestigators. been bipartisan in criticizing the-shelfchipsmadebyover-
incourt,thepeoplesaid. canhappenquickly.Thedepart- enable increased choice and TheJusticeDepartmentfor Google as having too much seasfirms,placingpotentially
Dozensofgovernmentanti- menthasadutytoactexpedi- competition,”aGooglespokes- monthshasbeenpreparingfor poweronline,Republicanshave severenewlimitsonHuawei’s
trustlawyersareonteamsin- tiously to determine whether womansaid. alikelylawsuit,TheWallStreet a longer list of grievances, abilitytosourceparts.
vestigatingwhetherthesearch antitrust violations have been Because the advertising Journalhasreported. someofwhichgobeyondcon- PresidentTrumponMonday
gianthasuseditsdominanceto committedand,ifso,toaddress piece of the investigation is Google has been under the cerns about competition and reiterated his concerns—long
stiflecompetition.Onegroupis them,theofficialsaid. movingmoreslowly,itispossi- antitrustmicroscopeforade- are focused instead on allega- voicedbythenationalsecurity
focused on Google’s search Asthedepartment’sleader, ble the department could file cade.TheFederalTradeCom- tions the company is biased communityanddeniedbyHua-
practices,andsomeofitsmem- Mr.Barr,aidedbyhistoplieu- anyantitrustcaseintwoparts, mission,whichsharesantitrust againstconservatives. wei—thatthecompany’stele-
bershavevoicedthebeliefthat tenants,willmakethefinalde- the first alleging Google is authoritywiththeJusticeDe- —SadieGurmancontributed comequipmentcouldbeused
there are vulnerabilities in a cisiononwhetherandwhento harmingcompetitionbyhowit partment, spent more than a tothisarticle. tospyonAmericans.
“Wedon’twanttheirequip-
U.S.WATCH mentintheUnitedStatesbe-
causetheyspyonus,”hesaid
during an interview on Mon-
dayon“Fox&Friends.”“They
CHICAGO AgenceFrance-Presse’sSebas- know everything—they knew
tianSmithtweetedthatshortly everythingweweredoing.”
Abuses Cited in
beforelanding,AirForceOne WhileWashingtonhaslong
Jussie Smollett Case flew“rightoverasmallobject,re- worriedthatHuaweicoulduse
markablyclosetothepresident’s itsnetworkstoconductespio-
Aspecialprosecutortappedto plane.Resembledadronethough nage for the Chinese govern-
re-examinethecaseagainstac- I’mnoexpert.”Bloomberg’sJen- ment, U.S. security officials
torJussieSmollett,whohas niferJacobstweetedthatmulti- haven’t provided public evi-
beenaccusedoffalselyreporting plepeopleaboardtheplanesaw dencethatHuaweiisactively
ahatecrime,foundevidenceof “whatappearedtobeadrone spyingonbehalfofBeijing.
“substantialabusesofdiscretion justbelowtheplane.” Huawei has said it has
andoperationalfailures”butno Smalldronesusedbyenthu- never spied on behalf of any
violationsofthelawbytheCook siastsandothershavebecomea countryandwouldrefuseany
CountyState’sAttorney’sOffice biggerprobleminthenation’s request to spy for Beijing.
wheninitiallyhandlingthecase. skies,accordingtotheFederal Huawei “has never and will
Theofficeofspecialprosecu- AviationAdministration. neverdoanythingthatwould
torDan.K.Webb,inastatement —GordonLubold compromise or endanger the
ofitsfindings,saidit“didnotde- securityofnetworksanddata
velopevidencethatwouldsup- S TEXAS of its clients,” the company
portanycriminalchargesagainst MAGE Standoff Ends Day saidthisyear.
State’sAttorneyKimFoxxorany I The new restrictions build
Y
individualworkingattheCCSAO.” GETT After Officers Shot onaseriesofpreviousTrump
Mr.Webbappointmentfol- N/ administrationrulesdesigned
A
lFoowxex’dspouffbicliecdspisemcuislsaetidonanthiantitiMals. ULLIV peaAcehfuolslytaMgeonsditauyatmioonrnenindgedwhen toobtcauinrtcaoilmHpuoanwenetis’smaabdileitwyittho
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1S6m-coolluentttainsdaictrmeseunlttoagfaiminpstroMper.r USTIN ahommaennaenadrAhiussmtino,tTheexraesx,itwehdeare U.SI.nteMcahyn,otlhoegyC.ommerce De-
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influenceonMs.Foxxbypromi- ALCATRAZREOPENS:NationalParkServiceparkrangersridetoAlcatrazIslandonMondayinSan adayearlierthreepoliceofficers partment restricted Huawei
nentpeopleadvocatingonbehalf Franciscoasthepublicwasallowedonthesiteforfirsttimesincethepandemicshutitdown. hadbeenshotandwounded. fromacquiringchipsbuiltwith
oftheformerstaroftheFox CedarParkPolicehadbeenin U.S. technology and software
televisionshow“Empire.” disorderlyconductforfalselyre- PENTAGON confirmedthattheincident, negotiationswiththemanfor forthecompany’sownuse.The
OnMonday,Mr.Webb’soffice portingahatecrime.Atrialdate whichwasdescribedbyreporters morethan16hourssincetheof- rule targeted Huawei’s access
Possible Drone Seen
concludedthatMs.Foxx’soffice hasn’tbeenset.Mr.Smollett aboardtheplaneasMr.Trump ficerswerewoundedSundayaf- to Taiwan Semiconductor
abuseditsdiscretionindeciding hasdeniedanywrongdoing. Near Air Force One wasreturningfromhisgolfre- ternoon,interimpolicechief ManufacturingCo.,theworld’s
todismisstheindictmentand Mr.Smollettisaccusedof sortinBedminster,N.J.Sunday MikeHarmonsaid.Theman’s largestmanufacturerofchips.
alsobymakingfalseormislead- fabricatingahatecrimeafter TheAirForceisinvestigating evening,wasbeingexamined. motherhadcalledpoliceafterhe CommerceDepartmentoffi-
ingstatementstothepublic claimingthathewasattacked whetherasmalldroneflew “The89thAirliftWingis kickedinthedoorofthehome. cialssaidMonday’snewrules
Ms.Foxx’sofficesaidit“cate- bytwomenyellingracistand closetoAirForceOneonSun- awareofthereport,”saidthe Twoofthewoundedofficers wereintendedtocutoffHua-
goricallyrejects”thecharacteriza- antigayslursaswellasapro- daybeforePresidentTrump’s AirForceunitthatoverseesAir havebeentreatedandreleased wei’s efforts to find work-
tionaboutfalsestatementsand TrumpsloganinJanuary2019. planelandedsafelyatJointBase ForceOneoperationsatJoint fromahospitalandthethird aroundstoearlierrestrictions.
abusesofdiscretion. Theattackers,hesaid,hithim AndrewsnearWashington,D.C. BaseAndrews,Md.“The89th wasundergoingsurgery,Chief AHuaweispokesmandidn’t
AgrandjuryinFebruaryin- andputaropearoundhisneck. TheWhiteHousereferred AirliftWing’sC-32Aaircraft Harmonsaid. immediatelycommentonthe
dictedtheactoronsixcountsof —ErinAilworth queriestothePentagon,which landedsafelywithoutincident.” —AssociatedPress expandedrestrictions.
CORRECTIONS (cid:2)AMPLIFICATIONS
Refuge ugetodrilling.
TheTrumpadministrationisopeningthecoastalplain “Ourclimateisincrisis,oil
oftheArcticNationalWildlifeRefugefordrilling.Thearea pricesarecratering,andmajor
Opens to istheprimarycalvinggroundforPorcupinecaribouand banksarepullingoutofArctic The Nijo Castle in Kyoto WashingtonWirecolumn.
theInteriorDepartmentconsidersalmostallofitas financingrightandleft,”Adam was used by Japanese rulers
criticalhabitatforpolarbears. Kolton, the group’s executive called shoguns. In some edi- Aphotoofaroomdesigned
Drilling director, said in a statement tionsMonday,aPageOnearti- by Corine Maggio in the sec-
Utqiaġvik Arctic Monday. “This rush to drill cle about Kyoto incorrectly tionondiningareasinaMan-
Ocean wouldculminateinafiresale saidemperorslivedthere. sionarticleFridayaboutpopu-
Prudhoe ofournation’smosticonicwil- lar home-decor images was
ContinuedfromPageOne Bay coastalplain derness.” Puerto Rico’s Supreme takenbyChipperHatter;Deco-
“Congress gave us a very Congress gave the Interior Courtissuedarulingabouta rilla provided the photo. The
ALASKA
clear directive here, and we MacKenzie DepartmentuntilDecember2021 secondroundofvotinginthe credit identified Ms. Maggio
Bay
havetocarryoutthatdirective toselloilleases.Doingsothis territory’s primaries. A U.S. asCorineM.andomittedthe
consistent with the directive Areaof ArcticNational year, locking the government Watch article Monday about nameofthephotographer.
that they gave and consistent detail WildlifeRefuge into contracts with companies, voting in Puerto Rico incor-
withthe procedural statutes,” CANNNNADDAAAAAAAA wouldmakeithardertodelayor rectly said the U.S. Supreme Notice to readers
Alaska
Mr. Bernhardt said. “I have a undotheplanfordrillinginthe Courtissuedtheruling. Wall Street Journal staff
remarkable degree of confi- 100miles refuge even if Democrats who members are working re-
dencethatthiscanbedoneina 100km oppose the plan come into TheRepublicanStateLead- motely during the pandemic.
way that is responsible, sus- power,lawyershavesaid. ership Committee was incor- For the foreseeable future,
Source:USGS
tainable and environmentally Mr.Bernhardtsaidallenvi- rectly called the Republican pleasesendreadercomments
benign.” ronmental laws were scrupu- State Legislative Campaign onlybyemailorphone,using
Therefuge,oftenknownby and Wells Fargo & Co. are mentals: Why do you have to lously followed, but he also Committee in an item about the contacts below, not via
its acronym ANWR, is nearly among several banks to rule gothereforoil?…Theopticsat said the department moved fundraising in Saturday’s U.S.Mail.
thesizeofSouthCarolina,nes- outfundingforANWRdrilling this stage don’t bode well for quickly given President
tledbetweentheArcticOcean specifically, and more have thissortofendeavor.” Trump’s support for boosting ReaderscanalertTheWallStreetJournaltoanyerrorsinnewsarticlesby
tothenorthandCanada’sYu- broadlyruledoutfinancingfor Mr.Bernhardtreiteratedthe U.S.energyproduction. [email protected].
kontotheeast.Congressmade Arcticdevelopment. department’sassertionthatoil “Wetakeourdirectionfrom
itsprotectionslawin1980,and BPPLC,apioneerofAlaska drilling can be done in the the president. The president
itsexpansivetundra,mountains oil,decidedlastyeartosellallof coastal plain along the Arctic hasbeenveryrobustonopen- THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL
and coastal plain are still itsassetsinthestateevenwith Ocean,atthenortherntipofthe ingadditionalareasoffederal (USPS664-880)(EasternEditionISSN0099-9660)
nearly void of people and anANWRauctionpending—only refuge, without spoiling the lands, as appropriate, to re- (CentralEditionISSN1092-0935)(WesternEditionISSN0193-2241)
roads. toseethedealtemporarilyde- area. The Interior Department sourcedevelopment,”Mr.Bern- Editorialandpublicationheadquarters:
Investorsquestionitsvalue, layedthisspringwhilefallingoil said drilling pads, processing hardtsaid.“We’vetriedtohit 1211AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,N.Y.10036
however,asasourceofoil,es- prices caused major banks to plants and roads needed for his priorities as expeditiously PublisheddailyexceptSundaysandgenerallegalholidays.
pecially in an era of lower balk at financing the buyer, drillingwilltakeup0.01%ofthe as we can—with appropriate PeriodicalspostagepaidatNewYork,N.Y.,andothermailingoffices.
crudepricesandtepiddemand. HilcorpEnergyCo. refuge’s19millionacres. deliberation.” Postmaster:SendaddresschangestoTheWallStreetJournal,
200BurnettRd.,Chicopee,MA01020.
The industry is glutted with Financiers are concerned Pipelinesthathoveroverthe KaraMoriarty,leaderofthe
supply world-wide, pushing aboutclimatechangeandlow ground, however, are largely AlaskaOilandGasAssociation, AllAdvertisingpublishedinTheWallStreetJournalissubjecttotheapplicableratecard,
copiesofwhichareavailablefromtheAdvertisingServicesDepartment,DowJones&Co.
companies of all sizes toplan oilprices,andthatislikelyto notcountedtowardthatlimit. emphasizedthatdrillingislim-
Inc.,1211AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,N.Y.10036.TheJournalreservestherightnot
deepspendingcuts. keepoilcompaniesfromlining Environmentalistscontendthe ited to the coastal plain and toacceptanadvertiser’sorder.Onlypublicationofanadvertisementshallconstitutefinal
The reserves in ANWR are up to drill in the refuge, said area should remain in a wild said production is likely 10 acceptanceoftheadvertiser’sorder.
uncertainanddrillingthereis Quincy Krosby, chief market state and have held out hope years to 15 years away even LetterstotheEditor:Fax:[phone];email:[email protected]
unpopularwiththepublic,ac- strategistatPrudentialFinan- thatdrillingcouldbeavertedif withaleasesalethisyear. Needassistancewithyoursubscription?
cording to a recent survey by cialInc.,whichmanagesmore Democrats gain the White “ForAlaska,havingcontinued Byweb:customercenter.wsj.com;Byemail:[email protected]
YaleUniversity.Combinedwith than$1trillioninassets. House or attain a majority in oilandgasdevelopmentforthe Byphone:1-800-JOURNAL(1-800-568-7625)
the sheer expense of entering “Investors,withtheenergy theSenate. next30,40,50yearsisimpera- Reprints&licensing:
Byemail:[email protected]
Arcticwildernessforthefirst companies, they don’t want a Oil development threatens tivetothestate’seconomy,”she
Byphone:1-800-843-0008
time, it might all chase away backlash from university en- wildlifeandislikelytoworsen said.“And,yes,there’soilevery-
WSJbackissuesandframedpages:wsjshop.com
severalofthemajorcompanies dowments, sovereign-wealth climate change, according to where,but…wehavethestron-
Ournewspapersare100%sourcedfromsustainablycertifiedmills.
thatcouldaffordsuchacapital funds and so on,” Ms. Krosby theAlaskaWildernessLeague, gestenvironmentalregulations.
outlay. said.“But,moreimportantly,I oneofthegroupsthathasop- I’dputthemupagainstanyoth- GOTATIPFORUS?SUBMITITATWSJ.COM/TIPS
GoldmanSachsGroupInc. gobacktotheeconomicfunda- posed opening the Arctic ref- ersintheworld.”
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Tuesday,August18,2020|A3
****
U.S. NEWS
Millions in California Stand to Lose Power
Limitationsofgreen power producers nationwide.
“Manyofthenatural-gasunits
energyarelaidbare
thatsomeinCaliforniawould
aselectricityusage liketoseegoawayhavebeen
exactlywhat’sneededtokeep
surgesinheatwave
thesystemoperating.”
Grid operators across the
BYKATHERINEBLUNT countryaregrapplingwiththe
reliability question as wind
Millions of Californians and solar farms increasingly
could lose power in coming replace coal- and gas-fired
days,thestate’sgridoperator generation,whicharecapable
warned, as it continues to ofproducingsteadystreamsof
strugglewithinadequateelec- power or firing up quickly
tricity supplies as many peo- whenneeded.
ple have been forced indoors Manyhaveundertakencom-
to ride out a crippling heat plex studies to plan for a fu-
wave during the coronavirus ture where they must rely
pandemic. moreheavilyonalternativesto
Therollingblackoutsacross round-the-clockpowersources,
Californiaserveasacaution- such as large-scale batteries
ary tale as states across the capable of storing renewable
country increase renewable energy and dispatching it
energy and reduce their reli- whenproductiondeclines.
ance on fossil fuels that can S NewYorkrecentlystepped
R
generate round-the-clock UTE upitscarbon-reductionefforts
pmoawteerchbauntgec.ontribute to cli- AKE/RE wemitihssaiopnlsanbyto2e0l4im0.inItatseetgraind
California, a pioneer in BL interimgoalofobtaining70%
KE
greening its power grid with MI of its power from renewable
large-scale solar and wind Californiaisstrugglingtokeepthelightsonasmillionsblastair-conditioningunitsandshelterindoorsamidrecordtemperatures. energyby2030,upfromabout
farms, is struggling to keep 27%in2018.
the lights on as millions of Newsomcriticizedthestate’s started.“Gridoperatorswere shutoffs last year left large In recent days, California RichDewey,chiefexecutive
residents blast air-condition- gridoperatorandutilityregu- caughtflat-footed,”hesaid. population areas in the dark, hasstruggledtosupplypower oftheNewYorkIndependent
ing units and shelter indoors latorinaletterMonday,say- The rolling blackouts—the sometimesfordays. inpartbecauseitreliesheavily System Operator, said his or-
amidrecordtemperatures. ing thattheir “failure to pre- firsttosweepCaliforniasince The emergency outages, on imports from other West- ganization has been paying
The state’s grid operator dict these shortages is a statewide energy crisis in though brief to date, demon- ernstatesthatarealsoexperi- closeattentiontowhatishap-
calledtwiceforemergencyout- unacceptable particularly 2001—are different from the strate the challenges Califor- encinghigherdemandduring pening in California as it
agesovertheweekenddueto givenourstate’sworktocom- widespread power shutoffs nia faces in making sure its theheatwave.Itsrelianceon works to determine the
inadequate power supplies, in batclimatechange.” last fall, which PG&E and transition to cleaner power natural-gas plants that can amountofextragenerationca-
partbecausedemandpeakedas “Theseblackouts,whichoc- Southern California Edison doesn’tcomeattheexpenseof produce power at peak times pacity it needs to have on
solarproductionbeganitseve- curredwithoutpriorwarning each initiated when strong reliability. The state has al- has increased, but still fell standby. He said large-scale
ningdecline.Thestatehasbeen or enough time for prepara- winds increased the risk of most eliminated coal-fired shortofdemandseveraltimes. batterieshavethepotentialto
relyingfarmoreheavilyonnat- tion,areunacceptableandun- their power lines sparking generation and has been re- “California, in many ways, help during brief periods of
ural-gas-fired power plants, befitting of the nation’s larg- wildfires.Unlikerollingblack- ducingitsrelianceonnatural is the canary in the coal power scarcity, but that gas-
which, unlike wind and solar estandmostinnovativestate,” outs, which gradually move gasandnuclearpowerinfavor mine,” said Todd Snitchler, fired power plants will likely
farms,aren’tdependentonthe theDemocraticgovernorsaid, through targeted cities and ofrenewables,whichnowsup- chiefexecutiveoftheElectric still be necessary when wind
weathertoproducepower. adding that he was notified townsuntilemergencyorders ply more than a third of its Power Supply Association, a orsolargenerationdipsfora
California Gov. Gavin just “moments before” they are lifted, the pre-emptive typicalenergyneeds. trade group representing prolongedperiod.
UNC Will Schools Are Opening, Then Quickly Closing
Shift to
BYTAWNELLD.HOBBS althoughsomeincoronavirus
hot spots plan to start the
Remote A growing number of SS firstfewweeksonlineonly.
RE
schoolsnationwideareclosing P More than 170,000 people
D
Learning tjuesmtpdoaryarsilayfteorr rleoonpgeenrintgerams OCIATE isnulttheofU.tSh.ehavvireusd,ieadnadsmaorree-
the coronavirus pandemic ASS than5.4millionhavebeenin-
threatens to upend another AL/ fected,datacompiledbyJohns
BYMELISSAKORN schoolyear. URN HopkinsUniversityshow.
O
Schools in several states, J David Freeman, superin-
TheUniversityofNorthCar- including Indiana, Louisiana, AILY tendent for about a year in
D
olinaatChapelHillwillshiftall Oklahoma, Tennessee and PI FlourBluffIndependentSchool
P
undergraduatecoursesforthe Georgia, closed to in-person SSI District in Texas, died Aug. 5
fall to remote instruction learningthismonthafterstu- SSI atage46afterbattlinghealth
MI
Wednesday,followingaseries dentsandstafferstestedposi- ST issues,includingCovid-19,said
of Covid-19 outbreaks on and tive for Covid-19, the illness HEA spokeswomanKimSneed.
around campus since starting caused by the new coronavi- RT About 1,921 students and
O
classeslastweek. rus, sending thousands into S/N staffers in the Cherokee
intUhNeCparestpowreteedk,1i3n5clnuedwincga1s3e0s qinuga.raSnetvienreaalnsdupreemrinotteenldeeanrnts- WELL CurobuanntyAStlcahnotaolhDaivsetrbiceteninqsuuabr--
S
amongstudents,withmultiple working to reopen schools MA antined after coming in con-
O
separateclusters.Itspositive- alsohavetestedpositive,and H tactwithdozensofotherson
T
test rate was 13.6% for the atleastonehasdied. StudentsattendedthefirstdayofclassesatTupeloHighSchoolinMississippionMonday. campuseswhotestedpositive
weekendedSunday,according Thecampusesareshutting for the coronavirus since
to a web dashboard, up from downtoin-personlearningin- tive cases of employees test- toreopenforin-personlearn- forerequiredtoquarantinefor schoolopenedAug.3.Thedis-
2.8%thepriorweek. definitely or for a couple of ing positive for Covid-19, 35 ing are closing schools after 14 days,” said Dr. Arlt. “We trict has closed three high
Therearecurrently177stu- daysfordeepcleaning. havingcontactwithsomeone returningstafferstestedposi- plan to mandate masks for schools to in-person learning
dents in isolation spaces, for “Stay at home if you’re withthevirusandtestspend- tive for the virus in the days staffandarestillconsidering with reopening possible Aug.
sick,” said Tim Hensley, ingfor85others. before buildings opened to thesameforstudents.” 31.Familiesinthedistrictcan
spokesmanatHamiltonCounty InJeffersonParish,La.,Dis- students. Since March, when more choosebetweenin-personand
UNCreported135 SchoolsinChattanooga,Tenn., covery Schools charter net- DarronArlt,superintendent than50millionstudentswere onlinelearning;77%havecho-
where four school buildings work is closing all four of its ofPlainviewPublicSchoolsin forced into remote learning sentolearninperson.
newcasesinthe
weretemporarilyclosedafter campuses to in-person learn- Nebraska, announced at an because of the coronavirus A Wall Street Journal/NBC
pastweek,including reopening last week. “We ing until Sept. 11 because of emergency board meeting pandemic,theU.S.haslargely News poll shows that 49% of
foundinacoupleofourcases, cases. The charter system of Aug. 12 that he had tested beentornoverwhenandhow parentssaytheyarecomfort-
130amongstudents.
peoplehadactuallyevengone about 2,400 students will positive for Covid-19. School toreopenschools.Theresults ablewiththeirchildrengoing
in to be tested but came to movetoonlyremotelearning wastostartthenextdaybut ofremotelearningweregen- backtoin-personschool,with
schoolanyway.” starting Tuesday. In Indiana, it has been pushed back to erallydismalinthespring,but anequalsharesayingtheyare
The Hamilton County dis- AvonCommunitySchoolCor- around Aug. 27 because he districtshavevowedtomake uncomfortable. The Journal/
thosewhotestedpositive,and trict is tracking statistics on poration moved students off came in contact with other the remote experience better NBCNewspoll,conductedAug.
349 in quarantine, for those employee cases and plans to campus at Avon High School employees. inthenewschoolyear. 9-12,hasamarginoferrorof
whocameincontactwithposi- do the same for students to remote learning after sev- “Six teachers and two ad- Manydistrictsareoffering plusorminus3.27percentage
tivecases,bothonandoffcam- startingthisweek.AsofAug. eralCovid-19cases. ministrators were deemed to families a choice between in- points for the full sample of
pus,theschoolsaid.According 17,thedistrictreported13ac- Somedistrictsthatplanned be‘closecontacts’andthere- person and remote learning, 900registeredvoters.
to the dashboard, just 5.5% of
roomssetasideforon-campus
quarantine are still available, Illegal Border Crossings Are on the Rise Again
thoughthereremainsmoreca-
pacityforisolation.
“As much as we believe we
have worked diligently to help Illegalcrossingsarebackon theBorderPatrolbetweenMay Apprehensionsalongthe constantly coming and going Mexico’s government also
createahealthyandsafecam- the rise at the southern U.S. and July of this year, com- U.S.-Mexicoborder acrosstheborder,”shesaid. cracked down on Central
puslivingandlearningenviron- border after having plum- pared with 30% of the nearly Sara Abdala, manager of a Americanmigrationlastyear,
ment, we believe the current metedatthestartofthecoro- 300,000 caught in the same 125,000 Unaccompanied migrant shelter in Altar, So- helpingleadtoasteepdecline
datapresentsanuntenablesitu- naviruspandemic,drivenbya periodlastyear. minors nora,anorthernMexicanstate inarrestsofCentralAmericans
ation,” Chancellor Kevin M. largeincreaseinsingleadults NationalDeputyBorderPa- 100,000 Familyunits thatbordersArizona,saidthe attheborder.
Guskiewicz and Executive Vice fromMexico. trolChiefRaulOrtizsaidmuch Singleadults expulsionpolicyimplemented Theaveragenumberofpeo-
ChancellorandProvostRobert oftheincreasestemsfromthe in March has led some mi- pleapprehendedattheborder
A.Blouinwroteinanotetothe ByAliciaA.Caldwellin factthathisagencyisquickly 75,000 grantstotrytocross“twoor eachmonthinthefederalfis-
campusMonday. LosAngelesandJuan sending back single adults to threetimesinasingleweek.” cal year that started in Octo-
UNCismovingonlinetode- MontesinMexicoCity Mexicowithoutdetainingthem 50,000 Mr.OrtizsaidBorderPatrol ber is 29,824, compared with
creasedensityoncampusand becauseofCovid-19fears. officials are looking for new 76,032inthesameperioddur-
countercontinuedcommunity Itisamarkedshiftfromthe Beforethepandemic,single ways to mitigate such repeat ingtheprioryear.
spread,anditsaidstudentscan pastfiveyears,duringwhicha adultscaughtcrossingthebor- 25,000 crossings, including flying The decline in arrests
cancel housing requests with surgeofasylum-seekingfami- der illegally could face crimi- somemigrantstocitiesinthe briefly accelerated after the
nopenalty.Nearly70%ofclass liesandchildrenfromCentral nalprosecutionandtimeinjail 0 interiorofMexico. coronavirus pandemic began,
seatsarealreadyonline. Americaaccountedformostof intheU.S.Now,onlymigrants ArrestsofMexicanmigrants when Guatemala, Honduras
2019 2020
TheschoolsaidMondaythat the people entering the U.S. withseriouscriminalhistories areontracktoeclipse200,000 and El Salvador closed their
itmadethedecisioninconsulta- without legal authorization orwhoarethoughttoposea Source:U.S.CustomsandBorderProtection inthefiscalyearthatendsin borderstocontainthespread
tionwithstateandlocalhealth andattimesoverwhelmedthe threat to national security or September for the first time ofthevirus.Humansmugglers
officials, among others. UNC’s immigrationsystem. public safety face detention moristhatchancesofcrossing duringtheTrumpadministra- have since refocused on the
reopeningwascontroversial,as Border Patrol agents made beforedeportation. undetected are higher, as you tion. Mexican migrants are Mexicanmarket,immigration
the county health department roughly38,000arrestsinJuly. Last month, about 34% of cantryandtryagainwithout alsoexpectedtomakeupthe activistsandstategovernment
urgedtheschoollatelastmonth It was the third consecutive people arrested were repeat muchconsequences.” majority of illegal border officialssay.
torestrictcampushousingorat month of steady increases offenders, the agency said. About80%percentofthose crossers for the first time Violent turf wars between
leaststartthetermvirtually. since arrests plunged to During the 2019 budget year, who are quickly returned to sincethe2015budgetyear. drugcartelsandaneconomic
UNCgotadryrunwhenfall roughly 16,000 in April, after 7%ofarrestsinvolvedreturn- theMexicanstateofTamauli- Illegal border crossings crisiscausedbythecoronavi-
sportsathletes,includingover theTrumpadministrationsaid ingmigrants. pas try to cross the border startedfallinglastsummeras rus have also played a role.
100 football players, returned March20thatnearlyeveryone “Theyaresendingbackpeo- again,saidGloriaGarza,adep- theTrumpadministrationpro- Mexico’s economy contracted
forvoluntaryworkoutsbegin- caught entering the country pleveryquickly,inhours,”said uty interior minister for that gram known as “Remain in 19%intheApril-Junequarter
ning June 12. Less than a without permission would be ArmandoQuintana,a28-year- state. Smugglers, she said, Mexico” went into full effect. compared with the previous
monthlater,allathleticsactivi- quickly turned back under a oldmechanicfromMichoacán charge between $3,000 and The program forces asylum year, resulting in the loss of
tieswereputonpauseafteran 1944healthlaw. statewhoarrivedlastweekin $5,000forthreetries. seekerstowaitinthatcountry some7.4millionjobsinthepe-
outbreak of 37 cases among Singleadultsmadeup89% Ciudad Juárez to try to cross “Wearecountingdoubleor rather than in the U.S. while riod, according to the coun-
players,staffandcoaches. of 90,621 people stopped by theborderintoTexas.“Theru- triplethesamepersonthatis their claims are processed. try’sstatisticsagency.
A4|Tuesday,August18,2020 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X ** THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
U.S. NEWS
Democrats Pick a Throwback
Biden’s Supporters
Shown More Likely
To Vote by Mail
BYALEXACORSE thathaveofferedit.
With coronavirus raising CAPITAL JOURNAL
Backers of Joe Biden are fearsamongmanyAmericans
more likely than President about in-person voting, sev- By Gerald F. Seib
Trump’s supporters to say eralstateshavechangedelec-
theywillvotebymailandare tionrulestomakeiteasierto
morelikelytotrusttheaccu- castaballotbymail.Therules Inatimeofnew-age,
racy of November’s ballot varybystate,andsomestates, smash-mouthpolitics,Joe
count,anewWallStreetJour- mostly those led by Republi- Bidenistheopposite.
nal/NBC News poll finds, un- cans,haven’teasedtheirrules. ThemanDemocratsplan
derscoring partisan differ- Mr. Trump has previously tonominateforthepresi- SS
ences over how the election saidhebelievesmail-invoting dencyTuesdaynightis,at RE
P
shouldbeconducted. benefits Democrats and that heart,anold-fashionedDem- MA
Some 47% of voters who statesthatsendaballottoev- ocrat,onewhohasspenta ZU
P/
back Mr. Biden, the former eryvotercreateopportunities longcareerpropelledbya N
vice president and presump- forfraud.Democratssaidthe simplebelief HS/C
tiveDemocraticnominee,plan president, trailing in polls to thatheunder- SAC
tovotebymailratherthanin Mr. Biden, is trying to cast standswork- L.
D
person,comparedwith11%of doubtontheultimateelection ing-class AR
W
Trumpsupporters. outcome. Americaand HO
Bycontrast,66%ofTrump While isolated cases of knowshowto JoeBideninJune1987,asasenator,announcedforthefirsttimethathewouldrunforpresident.
voters say they plan to cast fraudlinkedtomailedballots workwithRe-
ballots in person on Election haveoccurred,researchersha- publicanstohelpthatAmer- hisparty.WhenGovTrack,a Sen.SamNunn,whowas poll,58%ofthosewhosup-
Day,thepollfound,compared ven’t found it to be wide- ica.AtatimewhentheDem- nonpartisancongressional firstelectedtotheSenateon porthiscandidacysaidthey
with26%ofBidensupporters. spread. A recent study by ocraticPartyisexemplified researchorganization,drew thesamedayasMr.Bidenin wouldbevotingmore
Theresultssuggestthatthe Stanford researchers found bymillennialactivists,a upanideologicalchartofall 1972.“Joelikespeople.He againstMr.Trumpthanfor
twoparties,inlargemeasure, that all-mail elections didn’t rainbowcoalitionofdiver- membersoftheSenatein cantakepeoplewhodis- Mr.Biden.
will have different voting ex- noticeablybenefiteitherparty. sityandacadreofcoastal 2008,thelastyearMr.Biden agreewithhimandfind Overall,bya6-pointmar-
periences, though voters’ TheJournal/NBCNewspoll elites,JoeBidenismorea wasthere,itplacedhimal- goodthingsaboutthem.” gin,morevoterssaidthey
planscouldchange.Thediffer- found that Americans are throwbacktohisparty’s mostpreciselyinthemiddle RobertGates,whoserved hadanegativeviewofMr.Bi-
encecouldalsoaffectpercep- sharply divided by party in blue-collarroots. oftheDemocraticcaucus. asdefensesecretarywhile denpersonallyratherthana
tions of which candidate is confidence that votes will be Ifnotforthefacthe NineteenDemocraticsena- Mr.Bidenwasvicepresident positiveone.Thatisbelow
leading in the vote tally, be- countedaccurately. doesn’tdrinkalcohol,infact, torsweretohisright,two inBarackObama’sadminis- theshareofvoterswhohad
causemailedballotscantake Some55%ofDemocratsbut hemightevenbecalleda stoodpreciselywherehewas tration,clashedwithhim negativeviewsofHillaryClin-
longertocountthanin-person 36% of Republicans said they beer-and-shotkindof onthespectrum,and27 regularlyandlaterwrote tonassheacceptedtheDem-
votes, and some election ex- wereconfidenttheNovember guy.“He’saDemocrats’Dem- weretohisleft. thatMr.Biden“hasbeen ocraticnominationfouryears
perts warn the winner might results would be tallied accu- ocrat,”saysDenisMc- Asthepartyhasdrifted wrongonnearlyeverymajor ago,butalevelthatstillis
notbeclearonElectionNight. rately.Thegapwasevenwider Donough,whowasWhite left,hehastoo.Progressives foreignpolicyandnational worrisomeforDemocrats.
“Iftheabsenteeballotsare whenvoterswereaskedabout Housechiefofstaffinthe don’treallyconsiderhimone securityissueoverthepast
favoringadifferentcandidate votescastbymail.Some65% Obamaadministrationwhile oftheirown,butheisrun- fourdecades.”YetMr.Gates Hecontinuestostrug-
thantheonethatwasfavored ofDemocratsbutonly23%of Mr.Bidenwasvicepresi- ningonanotablyprogres- alsowroteinhismemoir: gletogenerateexcite-
inthein-personvoting,then, Republicanssaidmailedballots dent.“Hecomesfroma siveplatform.Heisperhaps “Joeisamanofintegrity,in- mentamongyoung
yes, we could see the victor wouldbeproperlycounted. hardworking,middle-class mostvulnerabletothe voters.Just30%ofvoters
change”inthecourseofvote- Amongallvoters,45%said familythatreliedonthepro- Trumpcampaigncharge aged18to34saytheyhave
counting, said Stanford Uni- they believed the November tectionsthatallowedmiddle- that,atage77,heisbeing BothBidenand positivefeelingsaboutMr.
versitylawprofessorNathan- resultswouldbetalliedaccu- classfamiliestosurvive.” pulledalongbyhisparty’s Biden;43%havenegative
Trumpareguided
ielPersily. rately, with 45% saying they Hecanbecornyandhe extremeleftwing. feelings.Hehaslongchampi-
About 20% of each candi- lacked confidence. In 2016, a talkstoomuch,whichgets Aboveall,though,JoeBi- morebygutinstinct onedenvironmentalcauses
date’s supporters say they Journal/NBC News survey himintotrouble.Hissen- denisapeople’spolitician. andnowembracesthekind
thanpoliticaltheory.
would vote before Election found59%saidtheyhadconfi- tencessometimespouroutin Votersandfellowpoliticians ofbigprogramtofightcli-
Day in person, which has dence that the results would akindofpuzzlingwordsalad. tendtobecomfortablewith matechangeimportantto
grownmorepopularinstates becountedaccurately. him,andhewiththem. manyyoungvoters,but
Asidefromthatverbal Therearedozensofstories sometimesmakesitsound
Doyouhaveconfidencethat tendency,andasimi- ofhimgrabbingthecell- capableofhidingwhathere- almostasmuchanFDR-style
TheWallStreetJournal/NBCNews
theresultsofthepresidential poll was based on nationwide tele- larityinage,Mr.Bi- phoneofsomeonehehas allythinks,andoneofthose jobsprogramasaclimate
electionwillbecounted phone interviews of 900 registered denappearstohavenothing justmetandusingittocall, rarepeopleyouknowyou crusade.
accurately? v2o0t2e0r,s.byIttwhaespcoolnlidnugctoerdgaAnuizgautsiton9s-1o2f, incommonwithDonald outoftheblue,thatperson’s couldturntoforhelpina Hefirstsoughtthepresi-
BillMcInturffofPublicOpinionStrat- Trump,thepresidenthe mother,orspouse,orsick personalcrisis.” dencythreedecadesago,
Yes 45% egies and Jeff Horwitt of Hart Re- hopestounseat.Mr.Biden relativetoofferpersonal Havingenduredseemingly andisinsomerespectsthe
searchAssociates.
Thesamplewasdrawninthefol- grewupmiddleclass,and wellwishes. unbearablehardshipinhis ultimatecareerpoliticianat
No 45 lowingmanner:Individualswereran- sometimeslower,inScran- Andheseemsabsolutely ownlife—thelossofhisfirst atimewhenexperienceex-
domlyselectedfromnationallistsof
ton,Pa.,whilePresident convinced,ashehasbeen wifeandadaughterina ploringthebackchannelsof
registeredvotersandwerechosenby
Notsure, asystematicproceduretoprovidea Trumpgrewupinwealthin throughouthiscareer,thathe tragiccaraccident,thebur- Washingtonisseenbymany
refused 10 balance of respondents by sex. Re- NewYorkCity. canbringsquabblingpolitical denofservingasasingle votersasanegativerather
spondentsreachedontheircellphone
wererandomlyselectedfromnational Mr.Bidenwenttoastate factionstogether,eveninthis parentcommutinghours thanapositive.
listsofcellphonenumbers. university,Mr.Trumptoan periodofsearingpartisan- eachdaytobewithhis Mr.Biden’sbesthopein
Doyouhaveconfidencethat
Of the 900 interviews in the
IvyLeaguecollege.Mr.Biden ship.IntheObamaadminis- youngsons,thelossofadult thefall,though,maybethat
votescastbymailwillbe weighteddata,531respondentswere
countedaccurately? reachedonacellphoneandscreened becameanelectedpolitician tration,whennobodyelse sonBeautocancer—Mr.Bi- themoodhasturned,andhis
toensurethattheircellphonewasthe inhis20s,Mr.Trumpatage seemedabletocutabudget dendoesn’tjusthaveempa- longrésuméandthrowback
onlyphonetheyhad.Inaddition,13
Yes 44% respondentswerereachedonacell- 70. ortaxdealwithSenateRe- thy.Heexudesempathy.He styleagainarepositivesas
phonebutreportedalsohavingaland- Yettheyhavethisimpor- publicanleaderMitchMcCon- is,inthatrespect,thecoun- heopposesaprouddis-
line.Themarginoferrorforthe900 tantattributeincommon: nell,theassignmentwentto ter-Trump. rupterinMr.Trump.
No 51 rpeegricsetnetreadgevoptoeirnstsis.plusorminus3.27 Neitherisdrivenbyaclear, JoeBiden.Theresometimes Maybethat’senoughin “Bidengivesyoucalm,”
The survey includes a subset of discerniblephilosophy.Both wascarpingfromyounger 2020.Or,maybeitisn’t. saysRahmEmanuel,former
528registeredvoterswhowereasked
Notsure 5 their feelings about Vice President areguidedmorebygutin- aidesthathedidn’tdrivea Muchashehasalikable lawmakerandWhiteHouse
Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Har- stinctthanpoliticaltheory. sufficientlytoughbargain, persona,Mr.Bidensimply chiefofstaffwhohas
ris.Themarginoferrorforthissample Indeed,Mr.Bidenhas buthegotthedealsdone. isn’tgeneratingalotofex- workedwithMr.Bidenfor
Source:WSJ/NBCNewstelephonepollof900 is plus or minus 4.39 percentage
registeredvotersconductedAug.9-12;margin points. spentfourdecadesplanted “He’sareaching-out,mod- citement.InthenewestWall years.“Hegivesyouprofes-
oferror:+/-3.27percentagepoints intheideologicalcenterof erateDemocrat,”saysformer StreetJournal/NBCNews sionalism.”
House Sets Vote to Bolster Postal Service and Ban Changes
BYALEXACORSE theyaren’tgoingtobeoutof
ANDNATALIEANDREWS town in November. A smaller
numberofstates require that
WASHINGTON—HouseDem- votersmeetspecificcriteriato
ocratssetaSaturdayvoteona voteabsentee.
billthatwouldprohibitopera- Researchers haven’t found
tional changes to the Postal evidence of widespread fraud
Service until well after the linked to by-mail ballots, al-
electionandgive$25billionin though some isolated cases
additional funding to the havebeentiedtothepractice.
agency,whichhasbecomethe A different problem is that
focusofapoliticalbattleover somestatesandcountieshave
expanded mail-in voting that limitedstaffingandtechnology
Democratsfavoramidthepan- todealwithasurgeofmailed
demic and President Trump ballots,whichcreatedlogistical
hascontinuedtodisparage. problemsforsomevotersdur-
Democraticlawmakershave King recent primaries in New
also called the leaders of the STOCYorkandelsewhere.
Ube.Sfo.rPeosCtoanlgSreersvsicoentoMtoensdtiafyy UTTERbyTOhveerHsioguhsteCobmillm, iitnttereoCduhcaeird-
H
abouttheirconcernsovermail A/SmanRep.CarolynMaloney(D.,
P
delaysandcost-cuttingmoves S/EN.Y.),prohibitsthePostalSer-
being made by Louis DeJoy, OLDvice from implementing any
the new postmaster general YNchanges to operations or ser-
andamajorRepublicandonor, REvice levels it had in place on
amidpersistentbudgetshort- AELJan. 1 until the end of the
H
falls. Mr. DeJoy and Robert MICCovid-19emergencyorJan.1,
Duncan,chairmanofthePostal APostalServiceprocessinganddistributioncenterinWashington.Apoliticalbattleovermail-invotinghasputnewfocusontheagency. 2021,whichevercomeslater.
Service board of governors, Thebillforbidstheclosure
saidtheywouldattend. “sabotage the election by ma- rus aid package expected to owslastweek,aGOPaidesaid. to request a mailed ballot in orconsolidationofanypostof-
ThePostalServicehassaid nipulatingthePostalServiceto cost less than $1 trillion, GOP The lower price tag of the advanceoftheelection. fice or reduction of facility
it can’t promise to deliver all disenfranchise voters,” citing aides said late Monday. The bill is expected to draw more Duringacampaigneventin hours,endingovertimepayfor
ballotsintimetobecountedif operational changes at the proposalwillinclude$10billion supportamongSenateRepubli- Minnesota on Monday, Mr. workers,oranyothermeasure
theyaremailedclosetoElec- PostalServicethatpostal-union forthePostalService,$300in cans, who have been divided Trump railed against mail-in thatwouldpreventthePostal
tionDayandhasurgedelection representatives and some cus- weekly federal unemployment overwhethermorecoronavirus ballots, distinguishing them Service from meeting its ser-
officialsandvotersnottoleave tomerssayhavedelayedmail. benefitsthroughlateDecember, funding is needed. Democrats from absentee ballots, which vice standards, delay mail or
mail-inballotinguntilthelast The legislation appears un- additionalfundingforthePay- arelikelytoopposeitasinsuf- hehimselfusesinFlorida.The increasethevolumeofundeliv-
minute.Theagencyandsome likelytobetakenupbytheSen- checkProtectionProgram,lia- ficient. state of Florida calls its pro- eredmail.
election officials say some ate,whichisonrecessuntilSep- bilityprotections,$29billionin OnFoxNewsMondaymorn- cess vote-by-mail, not absen- Earlierthismonth,Mr.De-
statesallowvoterstorequest tember. “The Postal Service is healthfunding,includingtest- ing,Mr.TrumpcalledMr.De- tee. JoytoldaPostalServiceboard
absenteeballotssolatethatit going to be just fine,” Senate ingandvaccinecosts,andedu- Joy,aformerlogistics-company “Absentee ballots are good. ofgovernorsmeetingthatthe
is difficult to guarantee their MajorityLeaderMitchMcCon- cationfunding,aidessaid. executive who took over as Yousendfortheballot,you’re agency“hasamplecapacityto
deliveryintimetobecounted. nell(R.,Ky.)said.“We’regoing SenateRepublicans,eagerto postmaster general in June, a not going to be in your state, deliver all election mail se-
HouseSpeakerNancyPelosi tomakesurethattheabilityto haveabilltheycouldvoteon, “very good business guy.” Mr. andyougetitbackandyoudo curely and on time in accor-
(D., Calif.)toldDemocratsina functiongoingintotheelection developed the plan’s outlines Trumpsaysheopposesmailing something….It’saprocess,you dance with our delivery stan-
letterthatsheisbringinglaw- isnotadverselyaffected.” duringtheconferencecallsthey outballotstoallvoters,apro- havetoworkforitalittlebit,” dards.”
makers back to Washington SenateRepublicansarepre- held with Treasury Secretary cesshesayswouldinvitefraud hesaid. —GordonLubold
fromtheirAugustrecess,saying paringtounveilinthenext24 Steven Mnuchin and White anderrors,butisfinewithin- Moststateswillallowvoters andJohnMcCormick
Mr.Trumpisonacampaignto hours a pared-down coronavi- HousechiefofstaffMarkMead- dividual voters being allowed tocastamailedballotevenif contributedtothisarticle.
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Tuesday,August18,2020|A5
******
THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
With Biden Virtual, Trump Flies In
Low-Key
Gatherings
BYCATHERINELUCEY backed Mr. Trump by more “wentdownlikearockinwa- sitionwhereI’mgoingtorep- ingaboutit,right?”
Lack Usual ANDJOHNMCCORMICK than7percentagepointsinthe ter.” resent everyone, even those Democratshopetobuildon
2016 election, and Wisconsin AskedaboutMr.Trump’sat- peopledidn’tvoteforme.” advantagesinWisconsin’stwo
OSHKOSH, Wis.—With the Republicanssaystrongturnout tacks, Biden spokesman An- Mr. Trump’s criticisms of largestcities—Milwaukeeand
Revelry Democraticconventionunfold- insimilarnonurbanareaswill drewBatessaid:“Whilethese Mr. Biden came as the Demo- Madison—whileboostingsup-
ing virtually rather than in becriticaliftheincumbentis fly-in,fly-outairportsideshows cratic convention was set to portinsuburbanareasandcut-
Wisconsin, President Trump towinthestateagain.Wiscon- mightprotectTrumpfromsee- openvirtuallyMondayevening. tingintoMr.Trump’sbacking
BYJULIEBYKOWICZ campaigned in the battle- sin polling has shown Mr. Bi- ing the damage that he has Thegatheringwasexpectedto inruralones.
ground state Monday, casting denwithasmallbutconsistent donetocommunitiesthrough- attractasmanyas50,000visi- AMarquetteLawSchoolpoll
Fortoppoliticaldonorssuch rivalJoeBidenasatoolofthe leadinthestate. outthiscountry,theywillonly tors to Milwaukee before the of likely Wisconsin voters re-
asWadeRandlett,thequadren- “extremistleft”whoissofton EarlierMonday,Mr.Trump underscorewhywehavetowin in-person event was canceled leased last week showed Mr.
nialDemocraticNationalCon- law and order and would im- alsomadetwosimilarstopsin this battle for the soul of our because of the pandemic. Mr. Biden with a lead over Mr.
vention is the Super Bowl, pedeeconomicrecovery. neighboringMinnesota,astate Bidenwillremaininhishome Trump,49%to44%.Democrats
Academy Awards and a net- Kickingoffaweekofcoun- he narrowly lost in 2016 and 44% stateofDelawaretodeliverhis and Republicans were almost
workingeventrolledintoone. terprogrammingtotheDemo- thathiscampaignseesasatop acceptance speech Thursday equally likely to say they are
Theparties.Thecelebrityspot- craticNationalConvention,Mr. pickupopportunity. night. certain to vote in November
ting.Thehobnobbingwithpast TrumpheldanOshkoshairport Speakingatanairporthan- But Mr. Biden’s team still and were evenly matched in
presidentsandfuturesenators. hangar event in this mostly garinMankato,Mr.Trumpsaid planstoputafocusonWiscon- terms of enthusiasm about
Mr. Randlett, a San Fran- white, working-class commu- hewould“saveourcitiesand Thepresident’sjob-approval sinthisweek,andsomesurro- castingtheirballot.
cisco-area biofuels executive, nity in a region known for oursuburbsfromthefutureof ratinginWisconsin. gateswillbeinMilwaukeefor Mr. Trump’s job-approval
held off on canceling his manufacturing,paperproduc- crime and chaos, corruption media interviews. Democrats ratinginthestateamongregis-
AirbnbreservationinMilwau- tionandanaviationshowthat and economic collapse that picked the city partly in re- teredvoters—44%—hasedged
keeuntilthismonth,afterpre- wascanceledthissummerbe- puppet Joe Biden would un- sponsetocriticismthatHillary downinthepolloverthepast
sumptiveDemocraticpresiden- causeofthe coronaviruspan- leashinAmerica.”Healsosaid nation.” Clinton’s2016campaigndidn’t sixmonthsbutisstillabovehis
tial nominee Joe Biden demic. Mr. Biden would “replace Mr. Biden, who appeared put enough effort into the lowof41%,recordedin2017.
scrapped plans to accept the “NoonewillbesafeinaBi- American freedom with left- Mondayafternoononavirtual state. “He’s at the bottom end of
nominationinthatcity. den-runAmerica,”Mr.Trump wingfascism,”thoughfascism fundraiserwithHouseSpeaker SpeakinginMinneapolis,Mr. histradingrange,butfarfrom
The coronavirus pandemic declared before the cheering istraditionallyconsideredfar- NancyPelosi(D.,Calif.),saidhe Trump jabbed Democrats for acollapse,”saidCharlesFrank-
that has upended much of crowd,manyofwhomweren’t rightnationalism. wouldpushforgreaternational pre-taping some of their lin,thepoll’sdirector.
Americanlifemakesnoexcep- wearing masks. “Biden and Mr.TrumpwentafterDemo- unityifelected.“I’mgonnabe speeches,includingformerfirst Mr.Franklinalsopointedto
tionforliteralpoliticalparties. Harrisarepro-crimeandanti- craticvicepresidentialpickKa- acceptingthenomination,God lady Michelle Obama. “You thepresident’sapprovalrating
The Democratic convention cop.Weareanticrimeandwe malaHarris,sayingthatinthe willing, the end of the week,” wanttogotoasnooze?When of 40% on dealing with the
thatstartedMondayhasgone arepro-cop.” Democratic presidential pri- hesaid.“ButwhenIwin—ifwe youhearaspeechistapedit’s pandemic, down from 51% in
completelyvirtual,andtheRe- The surrounding county mary the California senator win—we’regoingtobeinapo- likethere’snothingveryexcit- March,asawarningsign.
publican gathering next week
inCharlotte,N.C.,willbeabout
thesizeofaPTAmeeting.Mr.
BidenplanstoaccepttheDem-
ocratic nomination in Dela-
ware, while President Trump
willacceptthenominationfor
re-election from the White
Housegrounds.
Gonearetheusualconven-
tion fetes, with their all-star,
live-speaker lineups, NBA
game-sizecrowdsandtonsof
balloonsandconfetti.Donors,
lobbyists and political power
brokerswillinsteadbesitting
athomewatchingwhatisleft
oftheconventionsonTVwhile
theyrefreshtheirsocial-media
S
feeds. W
“The most fun thing is the GNE
R
VIP suite, with the food and BE
M
booze and hanging out with O
O
senators while you watch the BL
stage and screen,” said Mr. GE/
A
Randlett,whohasattendedev- VEL
U
eryDemocraticconventionex- O
N
cept one since 1984. “There’s AH
noreplacementforthat.” ELIJ
Democrats won’t get the Sen.KamalaHarris,center,atanAlphaKappaAlphagalainColumbia,S.C.,in2019.
chance to bump into musical
performers Snoop Dogg or Sorority Sisters Embrace Harris’s Candidacy
LadyGaga,whoattendedtheir
convention four years ago in
Philadelphia, or see live the
next Barack Obama, whose BYVALERIEBAUERLEIN of the National Pan-Hellenic SeatattheTable”virtualtown Thereare“Kamala”T-shirts thetears,theemotion,is,how
2004 convention speech in Councilwhocountmorethana hallorganizedbyAKAonFace- andBiden-Harrisfacemasksfor shallIsay,mountainous,”Rep.
Boston made him an instant When Sen. Kamala Harris millionmembers,mostofwhom book.Shewasonapanelwith saleonlineinsororitycolorsof Leesaid.“Thevalleysthatwe’re
risingstar. was called “too ambitious” by stayactivethroughtherestof DemocraticRep.SheilaJackson pinkandgreen.WhenMr.Biden in, people see the ability to
The conventions also nor- criticsduringthevice-presiden- theirpostgraduationlives. Lee of Texas and a half-dozen announced Ms. Harris as his climbout.”
mallyserveasfundraisingcat- tial vetting process, Glenda Blackfraternitiesandsorori- othercongresswomenwhoare runningmate,severalmembers Lawyer and TV personality
Gloversentaterselywordedlet- ties are one network to help membersofAKA. saidtheirphonesblewupwith Star Jones said she has been
ter to the Biden team. Alpha generateexcitementandboost Ms.Harristoldthemembers textthreadsof“SkeeWee!,”the friends with Ms. Harris since
Goneareconvention KappaAlphaSororityInc.exists Blackvoterturnout,whichfellto of her “esteemed and beloved sorority’ssignaturehigh-pitched theywereundergraduatesoror-
to encourage Black women to 59.6% in 2016 from a record sorority”whowerewatchingthe call. ity sisters at neighboring col-
fetes,withtheirall-
achieve,wrotethepresidentof 66.6% in 2012 when President live stream that she felt their As nonprofits, Alpha Kappa leges.Ms.Jones,afundraiserfor
starlineupsand TennesseeStateUniversityand Obama ran for re-election, ac- presencewhenshewasinmeet- Alpha and other longstanding theObama-Bidenticketin2008
AKApresident. cording to the Pew Research ingswithpeopleofpower.She BlackGreekorganizationscan’t and 2012, recently hosted a
tonsofballoons.
“That’sourtrademark,that’s Center. Presidential candidate said she remains particularly donate directly to a political Zoomcallfor200Blackwomen
our hallmark,” Dr. Glover said. JoeBidenneedstoboostturn- close to the 37 women she campaign. Members say they asking them to contribute the
“That’swhyIgotsowoundup out among Black voters, who pledgedwithasanundergradu- plantowritechecksasindividu- maximum$5,600.
aboutit.” support him over President ate at Howard University, the alsandraisemoneywithintheir “Black women for so many
nipforpoliticalcandidatesand Ms. Harris is one of the Trumpby88%to8%,according historically Black college in networkstoboostthecampaign yearshavebeentheworkhorses
groups. Four years ago the 300,000membersofAKA,acen- toarecentWallStreetJournal/ Washington, D.C., where AKA of the first Black woman and of the Democratic Party,” she
New York State Democratic tury-old organization of Black NBCNewspoll. wasfoundedin1908. BlackGreekmemberonamajor- said.
Party offered to “empire” do- womenwitharecordofsocial Ms. Harris recently wore a “Tohavethesororitythereas partyticket. Ms.Jonessaidshehasheard
nors who gave $100,000 cov- and political activism. It is pink blazer and a pearl pin in partofwhoyouarereallyisa “If I was to take a running frommembersofallofthema-
etedVIPcredentialstoconven- amongtheDivine9,thehistoric theshapeofanivyleaf,theso- sourceofnotonlycomfortbut pollhereinHouston,thecalls, jor Black Greek organizations
tionevents,ticketstoparties, Blackfraternitiesandsororities roritysymbol,ata“TakingOur ofsupport,”shesaid.“Always.” thetexts,thesheerexcitement, readytohostfundraisers.
photoopportunitieswithpoli-
ticiansandroomsatanupscale Democrats
Philadelphiahotel.TheCalifor- theproteststhatoccurredafter otherformerrivalsforthepres- Mr.Biden.
niastatepartydangledasimi- GeorgeFloyd,aBlackman,was What’sonTap identialnomination:Sens.Cory Mr. Biden appears to have
larslateofperksfor“grizzly” Launch killedinMinneapolispolicecus- ForTuesday BookerofNewJersey,Kirsten the support of much of the
donorswhogave$250,000. todyinMay.Twomembersof GillibrandofNewYorkandAmy DemocraticParty.Accordingto
This year, Democratic con- Mr.Floyd’sfamilyledamoment KlobucharofMinnesota,Wash- The Wall Street Journal/NBC
ventionplannersandpolitical Their Case ofsilenceforMr.Floydandoth- ington Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. NewspollreleasedSunday,Mr.
groupsaretryingtheirbestto erswhohadbeenkilled. Speechesareexpected SethMoultonofMassachusetts, Bideniswinningnineoutof10
preservethefeelofexclusivity. Mr. Biden was also shown tofocusonmeetingthe former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Democratsand9%ofRepubli-
Mr. Biden’s campaign, for ex- hostingaracial-justiceconver- nation’schallenges. Texas, and businessmen Tom cans. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump
ample,willprovideits“presi- sationalongsideactivistJamira Mainspeakersinclude: SteyerandAndrewYang. hasthesupportof86%ofRe-
dential”levelfundraisers—who ContinuedfromPageOne Burley, Chicago Mayor Lori (cid:2)FormerActingU.S. Monday’s lineup aimed to publicansand6%ofDemocrats.
contributeatleast$250,000or andurgehissupporterstopull Lightfoot,HoustonPoliceChief AttorneyGeneralSallyYates show support for Mr. Biden Mr.Bidenissettoformally
raise at least $500,000—a theleverforMr.Bidenandhis ArtAcevedo,NAACPPresident (cid:2)SenateMinorityLeader from a range of ideological accept the Democratic presi-
“premiumconventionwelcome runningmate,Sen.KamalaHar- Derrick Johnson and author ChuckSchumerofNewYork viewpoints.Ontheotherendof dentialnominationinaspeech
kit” and VIP access to Zoom risofCalifornia. GwenCarr,motherofEricGar- (cid:2)FormerSecretary thespectrumfromMr.Sanders, from his home state of Dela-
events,accordingtoamemo. “Let us be clear, if Donald ner,whodiedin2014afterbe- ofStateJohnKerry were a group of Republicans ware Thursday. Ms. Harris is
Inexchangeforasmalldo- Trump is re-elected, all the ingplacedinapolicechokehold (cid:2)Rep.Alexandria whoarecrossingpartylinesto alsoscheduledtoappearthere
nation,Mr.Biden’scampaignis progresswehavemadewillbe inNewYorkCity. Ocasio-CortezofNewYork endorsethepresumptivenomi- Wednesdaytoacceptthenomi-
promising“yourveryownper- injeopardy.Atitsmostbasic, Mayor Muriel Bowser of (cid:2)Rep.LisaBlunt nee—including former Ohio nationforvicepresident.
sonalizedTeamJoeConvention thiselectionisaboutpreserv- Washington,D.C.,stoodinfront RochesterofDelaware Gov. John Kasich, who sought Republicans plan to hold
Ticket,”eventhoughit’sabit ingourdemocracy,”Mr.Sand- of a street near the White (cid:2)FormerPresident the GOP presidential nomina- theirfour-dayconventionnext
of a ticket to nowhere, since erssaid. Houseshedubbed“BlackLives BillClinton tionin2016,formerNewJersey week.Mr.Trumpisexpectedto
therearenoin-personevents. Democratsoriginallyplanned MatterPlaza”andcriticizedMr. (cid:2)JillBiden Gov.ChristineWhitman,former befeaturedeachday,saidoffi-
For lobbyists, whose liveli- toholdtheirconventioninMil- Trump’sresponsetoprotestsin Theprogramwillalso Hewlett Packard Chief Execu- cialsinvolvedinplanning.Heis
hoods rely on knowing the waukee, which was chosen in thearea. includethe“RollCallAcross tiveMegWhitmanandformer scheduledtoacceptthenomi-
rightpeople,conventionsbring partduetocriticismthat2016 “He sent tear gas into the America,”whichwilltake U.S.Rep.SusanMolinariofNew nation on the final night in a
togethereverypowerplayerin nomineeHillaryClintondidn’t air—federal helicopters, too. I viewerstoall57states York—during a section titled, prime-timespeechnowslated
the party, including members putenougheffortintoWiscon- knewifhedidthistoD.C.,he andterritories. “WeThePeoplePuttingCoun- tobedeliveredfromtheWhite
ofCongress.Bothparties’con- sin.Butthecoronavirusforced woulddoittoyourcityoryour tryOverParty.” Housegrounds.
ventionstypicallyspawnavast thepartytomakealternatear- town,”shesaid. “I’m a lifelong Republican,
lineupofbooze-and-schmooze- rangements. Later, as the program year-old.Hisonlypre-existing butthatattachmentholdssec-
fueled receptions, hosted by Mr. Trump is mounting his shifted to the pandemic, New conditionwastrustingDonald ondplacetomyresponsibility
large corporations and media ownshowofforceinthestate, YorkGov.AndrewCuomocriti- Trump, and for that, he paid tomycountry.That’swhyI’ve Craftedingold&platinum
outlets,lobbyingfirmsandpol- withavisitMondayandstops cized the Trump administra- withhislife,”Ms.Urquizasaid. chosen to appear at this con-
Rush!
icygroups. by Vice President Mike Pence tion’sresponse. HoganGidley,nationalpress vention,”Mr.Kasichsaid.
Service
Some lobbying firms are andsonEricTrumpthisweek. “Wesawthefailureofagov- secretary for the Trump cam- “HewasaloserasaRepub- Available
tryingtheirhandattakingthe The Democratic program, ernmentthattriedtodenythe paign, said: “With history as lican and he’ll be a loser as a
partyonline.TheRabenGroup, which included a mix of live virus, then tried to ignore it ourguide,ifJoeBidenhadbeen Democrat,”Mr.Trumptoldre-
accordingtoanagendadistrib- and pretaped speeches and andthentriedtopoliticize,”Mr. president,thecoronaviruscrisis portersonAirForceOnelater
utedtoclientsandfellowlob- other videos, went mostly Cuomosaid. wouldbedramaticallyworse.” Monday, referring to Mr. Ka-
byists, has lined up virtual smoothly,withahandfulofmi- KristinUrquiza,avoterwho Ms.Harris,whoranforthe sich.
speakersandpanels,aswellas nortechnicaldifficulties. saidshelostherfathertocoro- Democraticnominationbefore Mr. Kasich’s speech kicked
“aone-of-a-kindvirtualartex- Democratsfocusedmuchof navirus, blamed the president leaving the race in December, offamontageofself-described ImmortalizeYourAnniversary
hibit”fromRohaun,anartistin thefirsthourofMondaynight’s forherfather’sdeath. participated in a prerecorded Republican voters who said inRomanNumerals!
Washington,D.C. program on racial justice and “My dad was a healthy 65- videoboostingMr.Bidenwith theywereplanningtovotefor JOHN-CHRISTIAN.COM 888.646.6466
A6|Tuesday,August18,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
**
U.S. NEWS
U.S. Coronavirus
Cases Gradually
Decline in August
BYALLISONPRANG sponsible for about 9% of
ANDDAVIDHALL deaths.ForLatinopeoplewho
diedinthatagerange,thevirus
Thenumberofnewcoronavi- haskillednearly25%,according
ruscasesdeclinedto42,000,its toaWallStreetJournalanaly-
lowestdailylevelsinceJune29, sisofdeath-certificatedatacol-
marking a drop from Friday’s lectedbyfederalauthorities.
totalofmorethan64,000,ac- CaliforniaonMondayadded
cording to data compiled by fivecountiestoitsmonitoring
(3) JohnsHopkinsUniversity. list,pushingthetotalto42of
NAL Case counts sometimes fall the state’s 58 counties. Gov.
R
OU overtheweekendbeforerising GavinNewsomsaiditislikely
J
STREET meriadgweeoefk.nBewutdthaeilysecvaesne-sdainytahve- SmaonveDdiefgroomCotuhnetyliswtiTllubeesdraey-.
ALL U.S.hasbeendecreasinggradu- The state reported 6,469 new
W allysincethebeginningofthe casesforSundayandsaidithad
HE month,reaching51,193onSun- a14-daypositivityrateof6.5%.
T
OR day, from 62,036 two weeks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
F
S earlier.Thenation’stotalnum- said the state reported 2,760
N
PO berofcasessurpassed5.4mil- new virus cases, its lowest
A
JESSIC lwioonr,lda-wboiduet faiguqruea.rMteroreofthtahne nJuunmeb.eFrlorsiidnac’esstehveenm-diadydlmeoovf-
SilosatPrimexFarmsinWasco,Calif.Over150workersatitspistachio-processingplanttestedpositiveforthecoronavirus.Claudia 170,000Americanshavedied. ing average of testing per
Arechiga,topright,andAdrianaRivas,above,bothusedtoworkthere.‘ThemajorityofusgettingsickareLatinos,’saidMs.Arechiga. Twenty states reported 1,000 people has declined for
seven-day averages of new
California Farm Workers
cases that were above their
14-daycaseaverages,accord- Deathsskewyounger
ing to a Wall Street Journal
formanyminorities,
analysis of Johns Hopkins
data. That number has been reflectingtheimpact
Infected at High Rates
largelysteadyforfourstraight
onthevulnerable.
days of reporting. When a
seven-day average is above a
two-weekaverage,itsuggests
casesareincreasing.
CentralValleyseen NewconfirmedCovid-19cases county’s overall populationof to work, said Jesse Rojas, a NorthCarolinareported564 twostraightweeks,according
inCaliforniacounties, morethan900,200people.For spokesman for the plant’s new lab-confirmed cases for todatafromJohnsHopkins.
ashotspotinstate,
July31-Aug.13 the state, 59% of people who owner, Primex Farms. The Monday, bringing its total HealthauthoritiesinMaine
withLatinopopulation have tested positive for the plant currently employs 410 numberoflab-confirmedcases wereinvestigatinganoutbreak
Dailyaverageper100,000people
coronavirusareLatino,agroup people,hesaid. to 145,516. North Carolina’s associatedwithaweddingaf-
gettingworstofit
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 thatmakesup39%ofCalifor- Records from the Occupa- seven-day average of new ter 24 people tested positive
nia’spopulation. tional Safety and Health Ad- cases for Aug. 16 was more forthevirus.
BYALEJANDROLAZO Casesaregrowing “Iknowthisisn’toverand ministrationshowitisinvesti- than1,229,belowitstwo-week Several states have strug-
rapidlyinthe thatallofusarestillexposed, gating the Primex plant as a average of almost 1,402, ac- gledwithoutbreaksrelatedto
largelyagricultural
WASCO,Calif.—Residentsof every day,” said Claudia resultofsevenCovid19-related cording to a Journal analysis partiesandlargegatheringsin
countiesofthe
the agriculture-rich Central Arechiga, who until recently healthcomplaints.Theyinclude of Johns Hopkins data, sug- recent weeks, even in states
CentralValley.
Valley are falling victim to workedatapistachio-process- inadequate social distancing, gestingcasesaredeclining. like Maine which have limits
Covid-19atthehighestratesin ingplantintheCentralValley useoffacemasks,cleaningand Deathsfromthecoronavirus ongatherings.
California, endangering a withaCovid-19outbreak.“The disinfection. areskewingyoungerformany The economic fallout from
largely immigrant workforce majorityofusgettingsickare Mr.RojassaidPrimexisco- minorities, a stark disparity theviruscontinuestosqueeze
during harvest season and Latinos.” operating with the investiga- that offers a clear picture of Americanhouseholds.Census
helpingdrivethestate’spersis- Many immigrant workers, tionbyOSHA.Throughoutthe thepandemic’soutsizeimpact datashowsthatthenumberof
tentlyhighinfectionrate. particularly those in the U.S. pandemic,thecompanyhasfol- on vulnerable populations. peopleintheU.S.unabletoaf-
AsAmerica’smostpopulous without legal authorization, lowed all guidelines set forth AmongpeopleintheU.S.who ford food is increasing amid
state struggles to contain the KernCounty aren’t reporting positive test bytheCentersforDiseaseCon- died between their mid-40s thepandemic.Demandatfood
spreadofthecoronavirus,Gov. averagedabout resultsorsymptomstoanem- trol and Prevention and has and mid-70s since the pan- banks has surged in recent
Gavin Newsom has identified 56newcasesper ployer out of fear it could re- taken measures to communi- demic began, the virus is re- months.
100,000peopledaily.
theCentralValleyasakeyarea sultinlostpay,saidArmando catewithworkers,hesaid.
ofconcern,sending$52million Sources:JohnsHopkinsUniversity(cases); Elenes, secretary-treasurer of AdrianaRivas,whoworked
inadditionalaid. CensusBureau(population,map) the United Farm Workers of the night shift as a pistachio New Novavax Vaccine
LindsayHuth/THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL
Local residents and health America. sorteratthePrimexplant,said
experts say social distancing BryanLittle,directorofem- she contracted the virus in
andotherrecommendedsteps capitarateofnewCovid-19in- ploymentpolicyfortheCalifor- June, infected her daughter, Moves to Phase Two
arechallengingforemployees fectionsinCaliforniabetween niaFarmBureauFederation,a andwasoutsickforamonth.
consideredessentialforpicking July31andAug.13,averaging trade group for agriculture A few days after returning to
and processing crops. Many 56.2 new cases per 100,000 companiesintheregion,saidit work,shewasletgobecauseof
work closely together in pro- people, according to a Wall wasillogicaltopunishworkers production cuts, according to BYJONATHAND.ROCKOFF ship between Pfizer Inc. and
cessing plants or return to StreetJournalanalysisofdata who complained about the company. Ms. Rivas said BioNTech SE recently began
crowdedhomesafteradayin fromJohnsHopkinsUniversity Covid-19. “If we were to do shebelievedherdismissalwas NovavaxInc.saiditsexper- thelarge,final-stagetrials.
thefields,conditionsthatmake andtheCensusBureau. that, we would very quickly relatedtoherparticipationina imental Covid-19 vaccine is Sohasavaccineunderde-
it easy for the coronavirus to Intotal,25,888peoplethere havenoworkforce,”Mr.Little protest over safety measures starting the second phase of velopmentbythestate-owned
spread. have been infected and 204 said. organizedbytheUnitedFarm testing to see if it can safely ChinaNationalPharmaceutical
“Someofthosepreventative have died, according to the OneofKernCounty’sworst- WorkersofAmerica.Mr.Rojas protectagainstthenewcoro- Group,orSinopharm,accord-
measuresaren’taseasilyintro- county health department. knownoutbreakshasunfolded saiditwasn’trelated. navirus. ing to the World Health Or-
duced in an agricultural set- Statewide,Californiarecorded on the outskirts of Wasco, a “Itwastheonlyplacewhere The vaccine candidate is ganization. Saudi Arabia said
ting,” said Matthew Constan- 601,075casesasofFridayand town of about 25,000, at the I didn’t worry, because I felt the latest to move a crucial this month it will begin a
tine,KernCounty’sdirectorof 10,996deaths. pistachio-processing plant safe there,” Ms. Rivas said of stepclosertowideuse,behind Phase3trialofanexperimen-
public-healthservices. Ofthosewhoseraceoreth- where Ms. Arechiga lost her theplant,beforetheoutbreak a handful of shots that have talCovid-19shotfromChina’s
Kern County, which lies in nicityisknowninKernCounty, job.Asoflastweek,151work- occurred. startedthefinalstageoftest- CanSinoBiologicsInc.
the Central Valley’s southern- 72%ofinfectedpeopleareLa- ers there had tested positive —LindsayHuth ingandonedevelopedinRus- Health officials in Russia
mostpart,hadthehighestper tino,comparedwith55%ofthe and95ofthemhavereturned contributedtothisarticle. siathatthegovernmentthere andtheWesthaveraisedcon-
clearedafterlimitedstudy. cerns about the vaccine that
Conflict Novavax said its vaccine the country’s government re-
Calpers’sformerCEOtoplead AnAug.2postontheblog nalreviewhewasworndown could begin the large final centlyapprovedforuse,before
guilty to involvement in a NakedCapitalismcalledatten- by the public spotlight. Mr. stageoftestingbySeptember. athirdroundoftestingstarts.
Complaint briberyscheme. tiontoMr.Meng’sdisclosures. MengcametoCalpersfroma The company’s so-called The Bill & Melinda Gates
Calpers asks investment Inthefollowingdays,Calpers jobasdeputychiefinvestment Phase2btrialwilltakeplacein Foundationisgiving$15million
staff to disclose personal in- referred its internal findings officerofChina’sStateAdmin- SouthAfrica,whichisamong tohelpsupportNovavax’sPhase
Is Probed vestments. Individuals take to the state, according to a istrationofForeignExchange, the countries hit hardest by 2 study, which the company
mandatory training on con- personfamiliarwiththemat- the agency in charge of the coronavirus, with more than saidcouldhelpsupportthevac-
flictsofinterest,andofficials ter.ACalpersspokesmansaid country’smorethan$3trillion 587,000casesandover11,800 cine’s green light for use in
have opted to recuse them- that action wasn’t prompted inforeignreserves.Beforethat deaths,accordingtodatafrom SouthAfrica.ThenonprofitCo-
selvesoninvestments,people bytheblogger. he worked at Calpers from JohnsHopkinsUniversity. alitionforEpidemicPrepared-
ContinuedfromPageOne familiar with the pension’s Severalboardmembersare 2008to2015andhadstintsat “BecauseSouthAfricaisex- nessInnovationsisfundingthe
pensionplans,earning4.7%for practicessaid. questioning the way Calpers MorganStanleyaswellasBar- periencing a winter surge of manufacturingofdosesusedin
the 12 months ended June 30 ACalpersspokespersonde- hashandledtheissue. clays Global Investors. Mr. Covid-19 disease, this impor- thetrial,thecompanysaid.
despitelossesinthefirstquar- clined to say whether Mr. State controller Betty Yee Meng is from China and be- tantPhase2bclinicaltrialhas Novavax’s vaccine consists
ter. Months before his depar- Meng’s initial disclosure of calledforareviewofCalpers’s cameaU.S.citizen. the potential to provide an of two shots given 21 days
ture, he had embarked on a Blackstoneshares,morethana conflict-of-interest policies, As U.S.-China ties soured, early indication of efficacy, apart.Theshotsdeliverapro-
pushtoaddressCalpers’sshort- month before the March 2019 “theCEO’soversightandimple- Mr. Meng’s past role with along with additional” data teinresemblingthespikejut-
fallandhitthepension’sambi- Blackstonecommitment,raised mentationofthesepolicies,and China’s State Administration about the candidate’s safety tingoutfromthenewcorona-
tiousinvestmenttargetbybor- any flags for Calpers, or anyadditionalsafeguardsnec- ofForeignExchangeprompted and the immune response it virustotriggertheproduction
rowingagainstthefund. whetherthefundtookstepsto essarytoensurethisdoesnot some Washington politicians generates,saidGregoryGlenn, of antibodies and immune
One focus of the review, protecthimfromrunningafoul happenagain.”Anotherboard to call attention to Calpers’s Novavax’s president of re- cells that fight off the virus.
launched in April, was Mr. ofconflict-of-interestrules. member,MargaretBrown,said, Chineseinvestments. searchanddevelopment. Theshotsalsocontainacom-
Meng’spersonalownershipof Mr.Mengsaidatthestartof “I’dliketoknowwhendidthis In February, Calpers repre- Thestudywillalsoevaluate ponent,calledanadjuvant,to
Blackstone Group Inc. shares histenurethatheintendedto sentatives met with Rep. Jim the vaccine in a set of HIV- boosttheimmuneresponse.
in 2019 during the period expandCalpers’sprivate-equity Banks’s staff in Washington. positiveadultswhosedisease The Gaithersburg, Md.,
Calpers pledged $750 million portfolio,alongstandingCalp- Severaldirectors The Indiana Republican had is well-controlled by medica- companysaiditplanstopro-
toaprivate-equityfundman- ers goal as the fund seeks to questionedCalpers’sholdingsof tion,thecompanysaid. vide the data collected from
havequestionedthe
aged by the firm, a person earnannualreturnsof7%inan Chinese companies and Mr. VaccinesfromModernaInc., the South Africa trial to the
said. Mr. Meng disclosed be- eraoflowinterestrates.Black- wayCalpershas Meng’stiestoChina.TheCalp- acollaborationbetweenAstra- U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tween$10,001and$100,000of stoneranksamongthelargest ers representatives told Mr. ZenecaPLCandOxfordUniver- trationaspartoftheevidence
handledtheissue.
shares on forms submitted private-equitymanagers. Banks’s staff that they were sityresearchers,andapartner- onitsvaccinecandidate.
shortly after he became in- Calpersdidn’tflaganyprob- concernedMr.Mengwouldstep
vestment chief in January lems with Mr. Meng holding down if the criticisms kept
2019andinAprilofthisyear. Blackstonesharesuntil2020,a coming,peoplesaid.Mr.Banks’s
A Calpers spokesman de- personfamiliarwiththematter cometotheCalpers’staff’sat- staffsaidthiswasn’tapersonal
clinedtocommentonanyrole said,andhesubsequentlysold tention, who noticed it, what attackbutanefforttohighlight
Mr.Mengplayedinthepension thestock.Institutionscanhelp wasdone,whatproceduresand anationalsecurityissue. S
fund’s Blackstone investment preventproblemsbymonitor- policieswehaveinplace.” Mr. Meng confided to ac- AGE
M
andonthecommission’sinves- inginvestments,pre-screening BoardChairmanHenryJones quaintancesthathewastrou- YI
tigation. There is no evidence decisionsandflaggingpotential said, “Our CEO advised me of bled by that mounting scru- GETT
that Mr. Meng attempted to conflicts for officials in real this issue when she became tiny,associatessaid.Afterthe P/
benefit personally from his time,expertssaid. awareofit.Ithadbeensched- conflict-of-interest questions S/AF
workatCalpers.Publicofficials “Ifyou’regoingtosay[offi- uledtobebroughttotheBoard became public, Mr. Meng de- OLD
canrunafoulofstatelawsim- cials] can continue to own uponcompletionoftheinvesti- cided to resign rather than YN
plybyparticipatingingovern- stock,proactivelybeinvolved,” gation.”Hepreviouslysaidthe dealwithanothercontroversy, O-RE
R
mapepnetadraencciseioonfsatchoantfclirceta.tethe swaiitdh RthoebelratwRfiizrzmi, Sateppatrotene&r imsseunetsso“vaelrreaMdry.Mhaevneg’bseiennveasdt-- pteerospalied.fa“mIt’isliiamrpwoirtthantthefomrmate- BALLE
A
Calpershasfacedpressure JohnsonLLPwhoteachesgov- dressedaccordingtoourinter- tofocusonmyhealthandon C
W
toavoidtheappearanceofim- ernmentethicsatHarvardLaw nalcomplianceprotocols.” myfamily,”Mr.Mengsaidina RE
D
proprietyeversinceabruising School.“Otherwiseyou’rejust People close to Mr. Meng statement, “and move on to AN
scandalinthe2000sthatled creatingatrapfortheunwary.” saidthatevenbeforetheinter- thenextchapterinmylife.” Novavaxresearcherslookatarespiratory-virussampleatalab.
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Tuesday,August18,2020|A7
WORLD NEWS
Coronavirus Cases Rise After Beirut Blast
Hospitals,crippledby
theexplosion,are
strugglingtotreata
surgeinpatients
BYISABELCOLES
BEIRUT—Lebanon’shealth-
care system was dealt a dou-
ble blow by this month’s ex-
plosioninBeirut,whichbadly
damaged six of the capital
city’s hospitals and flooded
therestwithcasualties.
Now, beleaguered doctors
and nurses are facing a new
challenge:Aworryingsurgein
coronavirus infections that
threatenstooverwhelmhospi-
tals’diminishedcapacity.
Lebanon’scaretakerhealth
ministeronMondaycalledfor
a two-week nationwide lock-
downtocurbthespreadofthe
virusasthecountryregistered NAL
R
a single-day record of 439 OU
J
cas“eTsh.e situation is unbear- REET
ST
atibolne,,”ahcecotorlddinaglotcoaltrhaedisotasttea-- WALL
runNationalNewsAgency. HE
T
The country initially OR
F
avoided a major outbreak by G
N
locking down early to shield RLI
A
its ailing health-care sys- T
M
tem.Butcasesbegantoriseas SA
thecash-strappedgovernment BuildingsstruckbytheBeirutportexplosionareseenfromaroomforCovid-19patientsatSaintGeorgeHospital,whichhasclosedtemporarilyaftersufferingheavydamage.
lifted restrictions, including
reopening Beirut’s airport in family and friends, crowding RafikHaririarefull.“Thesitu- onlypartiallyfunctioning.The
Junetodrawinmuch-needed surviving homes. They have ation is frightening,” said a WorldHealthOrganizationes- ForHospital,ItWas MedicaldirectorAlexander
hardcurrency. worked in close quarters to nurse who works in one of timatesthattheblastreduced Nehmesaiditwouldtakea
‘AKnockoutBlow’
TheexplosionatLebanon’s clear the streets and repair them,MohammedTahina. hospitalcapacityby500beds. yearandcostanestimated
mainportonAug.4likelyac- ravagedapartmentblocks. Theexplosionofacacheof Anticipating a surge of in- $30milliontogetthe330-bed
celerated the spread, accord- With trust in the govern- ammonium nitrate that had fections,countriessuchasPo- hospitalupandrunningagain.
ing to medical professionals. mentatalowebb,saidFirass beenstoredinawarehouseat land and Britain have been SaintGeorgeHospitalUni- AttheprivateLebanese
Inthe wake of the blast, Bei- Abiad, the manager of Rafik the port killed at least 178 askedtorepurposefieldhos- versityMedicalCenter,abouta HospitalGeitaoui—whichre-
rut’s shellshocked residents Hariri University Hospital, peopleandinjuredmorethan pitals they sent to help treat milefromtheBeirutsiteof centlyhadopenedaCovid-19
havecometogetherinmourn- whichhasthelargestCovid-19 6,000. That night about a injuries from the blast to theAug.4explosionatLeba- ward,withroomfor30pa-
ing,solidarityandrage—often ward in Lebanon, it could be dozen panicked coronavirus boostbedcapacity,saidWHO non’smainport,wasclosedaf- tients—thedecimatedportis
wearingmasksbutdispensing hard for authorities to per- patientsfledtheirwardinone emergencydirectorRickBren- teritwasbadlydamagedby clearlyvisiblethroughthe
withsocialdistancing. suadepeopletoadheretore- damaged hospital, mingling nan.“It’sgoingtobestretched anexplosion—despitethefact blastedwindowsofthe260-
Demonstrators have gath- strictionsonmovement,gath- withotherpatientsandpeople tothelimit,”Mr.Brennansaid. thatitwasengineeredtokeep bedinstitution.
eredbythethousandstopro- eringsandotherstepstorein woundedintheincident. A dollar shortage in the functioningduringwartime, Theexplosiondestroyed
test against a political class inthedisease. “Welostcontrol,”saidPau- country and depreciation of withundergroundoperating bedsandthenegativepressure
theyblameforthenegligence “Theplacetoretakecontrol line Tartarian, a 26-year-old the Lebanese pound has se- rooms,X-raymachinesanda andaerationsystemsneeded
they say that resulted in the of the virus is in society—at nursewhoreceivedaheadin- verelyhamperedtheabilityof pharmacybelowground. totreatpeoplewiththedis-
explosion—and that also has thelevelofindividualandcol- jury from a falling ceiling medical-supply importers to Theblastevisceratedthe ease.
allowed the country’s health lective behavior—and at the panel. “Nobody was taking bring in masks, gloves and hospital,killingthreenurses “Wecan’tdealwithCovid
system to deteriorate amid a momentI’mnotsurehowwe precautions.” other protective gear as well and11patients,includingone anymorenow,”saidhospital
seriouseconomicdownturn. are going to influence that,” Three hospitals in central asventilatorsandspareparts, whowasbeingtreatedforthe managerNajiAbi-Rached.“It’s
Manydisplacedresidentsin Mr.Abiadsaid. Beirut were knocked out of according to Human Rights novelcoronavirus. aknockoutblow.”
Beirut have moved in with Bothintensive-careunitsat service,withthreeothersnow Watch.
My Son is proof that
a victim of opioid
addiction can recover
Find Help. FIND hope.
Drugfree.org
©CenteronAddiction|PartnershipforDrug-FreeKids
A8|Tuesday,August18,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
**
WORLD NEWS
How CDC
the Journal, the provincial,
cityandJianghandistrictdis-
Of China ease-control offices launched
aninvestigation.
They found that a total of
Stumbled 25suspectedcaseshadfallen
sicksinceDec.1,andexamined
20 of them, all of whom had
contactwiththeHuananmar-
ket,thereportsaid.
ContinuedfromPageOne The west side of the mar-
staff in outbreak-response ket, where most of the sus-
techniqueswithU.S.help,sent pected cases had stalls, was
teamstofightEbolainAfrica especially unsanitary, with
andintroducedaChina-wide, “rubbish piled everywhere, a
real-timereportingsystemfor damp floor and poor ventila-
infectiousdiseases.InDr.Gao, tion,”thereportsaid,recom-
theyrecruitedanexpertwith mendingitbecleanedanddis-
credentials from Oxford and infected.
Harvarduniversities. Thereportwenttothecity
“Icanveryconfidentlysay and provincial governments,
therewon’tbeanother‘SARS SS butnottoBeijing.
incident,’” Dr. Gao said in a RE
P
speechlastyear.“Becauseour D
country’s infectious-disease ATE Internal notices
surveillance network is very SSOCI The Wuhan Municipal
well-established,whenavirus N/A Health Commission, the local
comes,wecanstopit.” BEI health department, which re-
thoWughhe,nDrt.hGeavoi’sruasgednicdycfoaimleed, HIEFEL panodrtsthteoNtHheC,crietyacgtoedvebrynmisesnut-
SC
attheoutset. K ing two internal notices. One
R
Instead of the China CDC MA asked hospitals to search for
spottingtheoutbreakinearly GeorgeGao,headoftheChineseCenterforDiseaseControlandPrevention,speakstojournalistsonJan.26. otherunexplainedpneumonia
Decemberandleadingacoor- caseslinkedtothemarket;the
dinated response, the virus within a health-care bureau- MissedOpportunity scans revealed severe lung otherorderedthemtotighten
wasrampantinWuhanbythe cracywhoseapproachtodis- damage. Some sent samples safetyprocedures.
timeDr.Gaolearnedofit.By easecontrolwasbasedonan China'sCDC,whichismuchsmallerthanitsU.S.counterpart, fortestingatlaboratoriesrun Thosewerethenoticesthat
Jan.23—whenauthoritiesor- antiquatedSovietmodel. couldhavepreventedmanycoronaviruscasesifcontrol byprivatecompanies. wereleakedandspottedonline
deredthecitylockeddown—it As one of many “technical measureshadbeenimplementedsooner,accordingtoastudyby AdoctoratWuhanCentral byDr.Gao.
was spreading across the agencies”undertheNHC,the scientistsfromChina,BritainandtheU.S. Hospital,AiFen,confirmedin A team of China CDC ex-
world. ChinaCDCwasauthorizedto Percentageofcasesin China'sCDCcomparedwith an interview that she had perts—ledbyLiQun,headof
Thepathogenwouldgoon conductresearch,giveadvice, Chinathatcouldhavebeen theU.S.version alertedmanagementaboutfour its Public Health Emergency
toinfectmorethan21million providetrainingandtakethe preventedatearlier casesonDec.28,andtheyhad Center—and other NHC per-
people by mid-August, kill leadinahealthemergency. interventions then informed the Jianghan sonnel rushed to Wuhan that
morethan760,000,causetril- Ithadnoadministrativeau- CHINA U.S. Districtdisease-controloffice. morning.
lions of dollars of economic thorityovermorethan3,000 AllChina Wuhan Sheaddedthatshealsosent Dr.Li’steamcameupwitha
damageandplungeChina-U.S. regional disease-control of- 0% 25 50 75 100 asampleforlaboratorytesting, textbook plan: Sample goods
relationsintoacrisisredolent fices, many set up in the $41million $6.6billion andtheresults,whicharrived and surroundings at the
oftheColdWar. 1950s. They took orders and One onDec.30,identifiedaSARS- Huananmarket,trackwildlife
Preciselywhatimpactear- funding from local govern- week 2020 likecoronavirus,shesaid. suppliers,testmarketworkers,
lierChineseactionmighthave ments,andoftenresentedin- BUDGET Alarmed, she shared those investigateclinicsnearbyand
hadishardtosay.Onestudy terferencefromBeijing.Itwas Two results with colleagues, who examinepatients.
byscientistsinChina,Britain far smaller, with about 2,000 weeks 2,120 11,915 passedthemtoothers,includ- Over the next few days,
andtheU.S.estimatedthatif full-timestaff,comparedwith (2016*) (2020) ing Li Wenliang, an ophthal- thoseplanswouldrepeatedly
control measures had begun almost12,000attheU.S.CDC. mologistwhosedeathfromthe comeintoconflictwiththose
Three
three weeks earlier, there “Fromthebeginning,itre- weeks EMPLOYEES coronavirus would later trig- ofotherlocalandnationalof-
would have been 95% fewer allywasn’tbeinggiventhefi- geranoutpouringofgriefand ficials.
casesinChina. nancialsupport,theopportu- angeronline. TheChinaCDChitanother
*Latestfigureavailable
Chinahasrejectedcriticism nities for growth and the WhenDr.Lisawtheresult, roadblockwhenittriedtoget
Sources:'EffectofnonpharmaceuticalinterventionsforcontainingtheCOVID-19outbreakin
of its response, and increas- explicit roles that it needed,” China',medRxiv(cases);theagencies(CDCs) healertedmorethan100med- local hospitals to start using
ingly portrays its success in saidJeffreyKoplan,anEmory ical-schoolclassmates,telling thereportingsystemfornew
taming the virus within its University professor, former bodiment of China’s growing tional Science Foundation, them in a group posting on cases. Some began doing so
borders as a vindication of U.S.CDCdirectorandlongtime wealth,scientificprowessand whichhadprovidedgrantsfor WeChat that afternoon there fromJan.3butstoppedwithin
President Xi Jinping’s auto- advisertotheChinaCDC. globaloutlook. jointresearch,closeditsoffice were“7SARScasesconfirmed a few days, Feng Zijian, the
craticleadershipstyle. One early success was AfterwinningaBritishgov- inBeijing.TheU.S.CDCstarted at Huanan Seafood Market.” deputyheadoftheChinaCDC,
“The Chinese government China’s first internet-based ernmentscholarshiptostudy scalingbackitsChinaprogram. Hesentanupdatelatersaying toldstatemediainMarch.
didn’tdelayorhideanything,” disease-reporting system, atOxfordin1991,hecontinued Even a fully empowered “coronavirus confirmed, and What happened, according
Ma Xiaowei, the head of the which was launched nation- hisresearchthereandatHar- China CDC would likely have type being determined” and to one Wuhan official, is that
National Health Commission wide in 2004 and upgraded vard,backedbytheWellcome missedtheveryfirstcasesof warnedthegroupnottoleak localhealthauthoritiesissueda
toldreportersinJune. withWHOhelpin2008. Trust,aBritishcharity. thecoronavirus,whichproba- theinformation. conflicting internal order on
NeithertheChinaCDC,nor Soon after the Chinese He returned to China in bly began spreading around Itleakedanywayandcircu- Jan.4requiringeverynewcase
the commission—a cabinet- agency was established, the 2004aspartofawaveofChi- WuhaninOctoberorNovem- latedwidelyonsocialmedia. beexaminedfirstbyateamof
level agency overseeing the U.S. CDC began posting offi- nese scientists Beijing lured ber,mostlikelyinpeoplewho Forlocalofficials,thetim- hospital experts, then by dis-
China CDC—responded to re- cialstotheAmericanembassy back by senior posts and fi- never showed symptoms, or ing could hardly have been trict, city and provincial dis-
quests for comment. Dr. Gao in Beijing to help train hun- nancialincentives. didbutneversawadoctor,re- worse. ease-controlofficials,beforeit
declinedtocomment. dredsofChinaCDCstaff. Dr. Gao “was the star per- searcherssay. couldbeloggedinthesystem.
AfterMr.Xitookpowerin sona,” said Dr. Conway, who By early December, how- “Thedirectiveonhowtore-
Military games
2012,Beijinghadanadditional worked alongside him in Bei- ever,theChinaCDC’sreal-time portsuchcaseswasveryclear:
Missed signals
motive: boosting its interna- jing.“He’saverypolishedkind systemshouldhavebeenflag- Wuhan had just spent bil- Doctors and hospitals must
IninterviewswithChinese tionalinfluence.PresidentXi’s gingcasesadmittedtohospi- lions of dollars hosting the take great caution to report
doctors, officials and health signatureforeign-policyinitia- tals and clinics, those re- MilitaryWorldGames,involv- anddisclosethecasestoavoid
experts;andforeignscientists tive,theBeltandRoadglobal AChinaCDCdoctor searcherssay. ing athletes from 110 coun- causing any kind of panic in
andofficialswhohaveworked infrastructure program, in- Theyhadsimilarsymptoms, tries,inabidtoraiseitspro- thepublic,”theofficialsaid.
was‘luckytobeable
withChinaondiseasecontrol, cludedplansfora“HealthSilk includingfever,fatigue,cough- file. Local leaders were The China CDC team knew
TheWallStreetJournalfound: Road” whereby China would toaffordadinky ing and aching limbs, but campaigningforWuhantobe fromitstrainingitwasessen-
(cid:2)The China CDC missed helpdevelopingcountriescon- tested negative for influenza, elevatedtothesamestatusas tial to communicate quickly
apartment.’
earlysignalsbecausehospitals troldisease. regular pneumonia and other megacitiessuchasBeijingand andclearlywiththepublicso
didn’tenterdetailsinitsreal- Despite its higher profile knownillnesses,accordingto Shanghai, which would grant thatpeoplecouldtakeprecau-
timesystem,thetechnological abroad,theChinaCDCstrug- localdoctors. its party chief a seat on the tionsandtopreventmisinfor-
coreofitsdisease-surveillance gledtofindgoodnewrecruits Many visited or worked at Politburo, currently compris- mation.
efforts. after moving from Beijing’s ofguy.Imean,hewouldhave Wuhan’s Huanan market, a ingChina’stop25leaders. The NHC took a different
(cid:2)Theagencywasoutflanked citycentertoaremotesuburb, gone up quickly at the U.S. vast indoor warren of stalls “Thewholemind-setwasto view.
by local authorities intent on peoplewhoworkedtheresaid. CDC,too.” sellingmainlyseafoodbutalso reduce a big problem into a OnJan.3,itissuedaninter-
hiding bad news from China’s Salarieswerelow. AsrelationswiththeU.S.de- wildanimals,liveanddead,in- smallone,andasmalloneinto nal notice ordering laborato-
leader and elevating Wuhan’s “A physician midcareer, teriorated, however, his posi- cluding badgers, hedgehogs, nothing,”onecityofficialsaid. riesthathadtestedsamplesto
nationalpoliticalstatus. theywereluckytobeableto tiongrewmoreprecarious.In raccoondogs,bambooratsand “Nobody had anticipated the destroythemorhandthemto
(cid:2)Nationalofficialsdelayed affordadinkyapartmentanda Beijing, Chinese officials with civetcats. scaleoftheoutbreak.” the government and forbade
the response by forbidding teeny tiny car, or a motor close U.S. ties were regarded Some had no exposure to Local authorities moved anyone from publishing re-
publicationofanyresearchon scooter”workingfortheChina with increasing suspicion. themarket,however,anearly fast to shut down the online searchonthevirusdirectlyor
the virus without approval, CDC,saidGeorgeConway,the SomeU.S.officials,meanwhile, indication that the virus was chatter,deletingDr.Li’smes- via the media, according to a
andsharedcriticalinformation U.S.CDC’sresidentadviserin werewaryofDr.Gao’senthusi- spreadingbetweenhumans. sages.HeandDr.Aiwereboth copyseenbytheJournal.
withtheoutsideworldinearly Chinafrom2012to2015. asmfortheGlobalViromeProj- Because the early patients officiallyreprimandedbyhos- Dr.Gao,whowasinBeijing
January only after unauthor- WhenDr.Gaotookoverin ect, a program to catalog wenttoseveraldifferentfacili- pitalauthorities,accordingto trying to coordinate between
izedleaksforcedtheirhand. 2017,hesawanopportunityto emergingvirusthreats,fearing ties, and the details weren’t peopleclosetothem. local and national officials,
(cid:2)Financial and personnel boost the agency’s standing, Beijingplannedtouseittofur- logged in the system, no one Regionalofficialsweretry- was so exasperated that in a
problems hobbled the China according to people who therstrategicgoals. was in a position to connect ing to gauge the scale of the callwithhisU.S.counterpart,
CDC, which struggled to re- worked with him. He was, in In 2018, after the White thedotsbetweenthem. problem. hecameclosetotears,accord-
cruit and retain talented many ways, the ideal candi- House designated China a Doctorstreatingearlycases Accordingtoaninternalre- ing to people briefed on the
staff—a problem exacerbated date for such a task—an em- “strategiccompetitor,”theNa- were alarmed when chest portdatedDec.30andseenby conversation.
byawithdrawalofU.S.fund-
ing and training support be-
ginningin2018.
That China responded to
the novel coronavirus faster
thanitdidtoSARSisbeyond
doubt, as is its ultimate suc-
cessincontrollingthevirusat
home and the failure of the
U.S.andotherstodoso.
WhatconcernsChinesedoc-
torsandtheirforeignpeersis
thatBeijingmaybenobetter
preparedforthenextpotential
pandemic.
“The status of the CDC
should change,” Dr. Zhong
Nanshan, a senior Chinese
government medical adviser
who played a decisive role in
tackling both SARS and the
newcoronavirus,toldanews
conference in February. “If it
doesn’t after this, the same S
R
situationcouldariseagain.” UTE
When the China CDC was N/RE
launched,itsaimwastorepli- HA
U
cate the U.S. Centers for Dis- W
ease Control and Prevention, OF
then the gold standard, in PITAL
buildingstate-of-the-artlabo- OS
H
ratoriesanddataanalyticsand AL
traininganeliteworkforceto NTR
controlepidemics. CE
The China CDC was ham- HE
T
peredbyitslackofauthority Asocial-mediaimageshowsmedicalstaffattendingtopatientsintheCentralHospitalofWuhan,thesouthernChinacitywheretheviruswasfirstidentified.
THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL. Tuesday,August18,2020|A9
WORLD NEWS
Japan
Beijing Uses Vaccine to Gain Favor
Faces Slow
BYCHAODENG Beijinghasn’tdisclosedthe Economic
details of many of the agree-
TAIPEI—WithChinaclosing mentsitisreachingwithother
in on a coronavirus vaccine, countries. Still, official Chi- Recovery
Beijing’s top officials and nese statements suggest a
some of its drugmakers have willingness by China to blur
begunpromisingearlyaccess humanitarianandforeign-pol-
tocountriesofstrategicinter- icyobjectivesthatincludegar- BYMEGUMIFUJIKAWA
estasitseekstoshoreupits neringsupportfromcountries
global standing after a pan- on Chinese territorial claims TOKYO—Afterninemonths
demicthathasstrainedgeopo- intheSouthChinaSea. ofashrinkingeconomy,Japan
liticalties. In some countries, accept- hasdugitselfintoadeephole
China’sforeignministryhas ing a vaccine from a Chinese thatitmightnotemergefrom
promisedthePhilippinespri- drugmakercouldhelpdeepen foratleasttwoyears.
orityaccesstoaChinesevac- diplomatictieswithBeijingat The world’s third-largest
cine, while privately owned Washington’s expense. This economy after the U.S. and
ChinesefirmSinovacBiotech month,Malaysia’sforeignmin- China was smaller in real
Ltd. has agreed to work with S isterspokewithbothChinese termsinthesecondquarterof
R
Brazil and Indonesia to pro- UTE foreignministerWangYiand 2020 than it was in the final
duce hundreds of millions of RE Secretary of State Mike quarter of 2012, when Prime
dfoorseloscoafliutssev.accinecandidate PETER/ Pvaocmcipneeocoolnlabwoaryastioton.further MficienistaenrdShsitnazroteAdbehtisookproof--
S
Pakistan, one of China’s MA Neither Beijing nor Wash- growthAbenomicspolicies.
closestalliesinthedeveloping HO ington has promised to help Thecoronaviruslargelyisto
T
world,wouldreceivedosesto China’sCanSinoBiologics,whoseTianjinofficesareseenabove,hasavaccineinthetestingstage. Malaysiagainearlyaccesstoa blame, as in other countries,
distributetoroughlyone-fifth vaccine,butbothareseeking andJapan’sperformanceinthe
of its population of 220 mil- and other countries for not Brazil, Indonesia and the itsownneedshavebeenmet. tostrengthentieswithKuala April-June period—a fall in
lion,underadealthatallows having acted more quickly to UnitedArabEmirates,havere- Having largely eliminated Lumpur amid tensions in the grossdomesticproductof7.8%
ChinaNationalPharmaceutical contain Covid-19, which ex- questedaccess. thecoronaviruswithinitsbor- South China Sea, where the compared with the previous
Group, also known as Sino- plodedinthecentralChinese Russian private firm ders, China may have more U.S. is trying to build resis- quarter—actuallywasabitbet-
pharm,toconductclinicaltri- cityofWuhanlastyear. Petrovax, which is helping to flexibility to share a vaccine tance to Chinese claims on terthantheU.S.andGermany.
alsthere. Global health experts ex- test a vaccine from China’s with other countries. The disputedwaters. UnliketheU.S.,however,Japan
AndRussiamayproducea pect China, Russia and other CanSino,saiditwouldproduce country may also be sharing AChineseforeignministry entered2020withaneconomy
vaccine developed by China’s countries to attempt to turn thevaccineintheMoscowre- its vaccines because the lack spokesman said in July that thatalreadywasshrinking,ow-
military and China-based any successful vaccine into a giontosellinthecountryand ofCovid-19caseshavemadeit China would give priority to inglargelytoanincreaseinthe
CanSinoBiologicsInc.,ifthe toolofdiplomacyamidintense toformerSovietnations. difficult to conduct effective Philippines, another country nationalsalestaxthattookef-
Russian health ministry ap- globaldemand. clinicaltrialswithinChina. withclaimsintheSouthChina fectinOctober2019.
proves. Compared with the supply Chinaisoneoftheworld’s Sea, after President Rodrigo “If you look at the April-
Chinese state-owned and of masks, vaccines will be Offerstoprovide largestproducersofvaccines, Dutertemadeadirectpleato June results alone, Japan
private drugmakers are re- muchmorelimitedintheearly churningouthundredsofmil- Mr.Xitogivehiscountryac- seemsbetter.ButJapan’secon-
dosesfollowChina’s
sponsible for three of the six days of production, said lionsofdosesannually,andits cesstoitsvaccines. omyhadalreadycontractedin
global vaccine candidates in ThomasJ.Bollyky,directorof donationofmasks companieshavebeenracingto Given the high stakes, the theOctober-Decemberquarter,
thefinalstagesofhumantest- globalhealthattheCouncilon ramp up capacity alongside Chinese government is likely before the virus spread,” said
andmedicalsupplies.
ing,amongthemorethantwo Foreign Relations think tank. vaccinedevelopment. to be involved in key discus- Naomi Muguruma, an econo-
dozen candidates in clinical “It will be on another level,” The Chinese drugmakers sions by both state-owned mistatMitsubishiUFJMorgan
trials around the world, ac- hesaid.“Thatiswhyvaccine withvaccinefront-runnersall drugmakers and Chinese pri- StanleySecurities.“Judgingby
cording to the World Health nationalismstartstobite.” havetheirownmanufacturing vate pharmaceutical firms the pace of the fall from its
Organization.Theotherthree While Russia last week The Trump administration facilities;state-runChinaNa- withforeignentitiesonshar- peak, Japan is no better than
in late-stage tests are being claimedtohavedevelopedthe hasyettoindicatehowforth- tional Biotech Group Co. is ing. otherWesterncountries.”
developedbycompaniesbased world’sfirstCovid-19vaccine, comingitwillbewithitsown abletopumpout200million “Itcouldgetembarrassingif She said she thought it
intheU.S.,U.K.andGermany. the announcement has been vaccine supply. Secretary for dosesayear. a vaccine doesn’t work, or if wouldtakeuntillate2022or
Beijing’s offers to provide met with skepticism about Health and Human Services China’sleadership,however, therearesafetyproblemslater 2023untiltheeconomygrew
vaccine doses to countries whetheritseffort adheredto AlexAzarsaidlastweekthat will need to strike a delicate on,orifcompaniesareunable backtothesizeitwasinthe
come after it donated masks regulatory standards. The theU.S.,thehardest-hitcoun- balance between inoculating todeliverthesupplytheyprom- middleof2019.
andmedicalsuppliestocoun- WHOhassaiditwouldreview try in the world by the pan- itsown1.4billionpeopleand ised,” said John J. Donnelly, One positive factor: Asia’s
tries.Chineseauthoritieshad Russia’sclaim.Evenso,Russia demic,wouldshareavaccine potentiallyshippinghundreds principal at California-based economies, particularly
comeunderfirefromtheU.S. says 20 countries, including withothercountriesonlyafter ofmillionsofdosesabroad. VaccinologyConsultingLLC. China’s,arerecoveringfaster
thantheU.S.andEurope. Al-
China’s Travel Curbs Wall Off U.S. Executives ready in June, Japanese ex-
portstoChinahadreturnedto
the same level as a year ago,
and year-over-year growth is
likelytoresumelaterin2020.
BYTREFORMOSS China’svoraciousdemandfor
telecommunications equip-
SHANGHAI—Thousands of mentisonereason.
China-based U.S. and other Still,domesticprivatecon-
foreignbusinessexecutivesre- sumption accounts for about
main stranded outside the half of Japan’s economy, and
country because of coronavi- the outlook there is cloudier.
rus-relatedtravelrestrictions, Privateconsumptionfell8.2%
leadingsometogiveuphope intheApril-Junequarterfrom
ofreturningandposingopera- thepreviousquarter.
tional challenges for their “We will continue to take
companies. allpossiblepolicymeasuresto
The travel disruption mat- bring the economy—which
tersnotjustforbusinessbut likely bottomed out in April
alsoforgeopolitics,U.S.busi- and May—back to a growth
ness leaders say. With ten- pathledbydomesticdemand,”
sions between the U.S. and said Economy Minister Yasu-
China at their worst in de-K toshiNishimura.
OC
cades,theAmericanbusinessST Hedidn’tofferspecificsbe-
R
cboumffemrunibteyt—wtereanditiothneallytwoaHUTTE ystoinmduolubssepravciknaggtehsatpapsrseevdiobuys
S
sides—risks being hollowedA/ parliament left the govern-
P
outbythetravelfreeze. KI/E ment with a reserve fund of
“Losing big parts of theVS nearly$100billiontopropup
AmericanbusinesscommunityAVE theeconomy.Thegovernment
inChinawillerodethatgood-PL distributed nearly $1,000 in
X
will,”saidKerGibbs,presidentALE cashtoeveryresidentearlyin
of the American Chamber of Shanghai’sHongqiaoAirportwasdesertedinmid-June,afterthegovernmentcanceledflightsinabidtostopthespreadofCovid-19. thesummer.
Commerce in Shanghai. He SinceMr.Abeliftedastate
saidtheU.S.standstolosein- nese government to bring in strandedoutsidethecountry, ven’t managed to return to forsomecountrieswithlowin- of emergency in May, busi-
fluence and suffer economi- U.S.businesspeopleonachar- according to an estimate by China; 40% of these affected fectionratesinJune,andsaidit nesses mostly have resumed
callyifitscorporatefootprint ter flight from San Francisco theEuropeanUnionChamber companiessaidtheirabsence wouldallowChinesenationals operating,andeconomistsex-
inChinashrinkspermanently. toShanghaitentativelysched- ofCommerceinChina. wasdamagingsales. toenteronceChinareciprocates pectgrowthtoresumeinthe
By mid-August, more than uled for Sept. 12, though it WhiletheChineseeconomy China has yet to indicate byreopeningtoEuropeans. current quarter. But Mizuho
1,000 U.S. businesspeople saidtherewereadditionalpro- isrebounding—grossdomestic whenitmightloosenitstravel LongtimeShanghairesident Securities economist Toru
based in the financial hub of cedurestocompletebeforethe product grew 3.2% in the sec- restrictions,withtheincidence and New Jersey native Brian Suehiro said consumption
Shanghai,notcountingfamily flightcouldbeconfirmed.The ondquarterafterarareslump ofCovid-19casesstillfarhigher TamwasvacationinginEurope wouldweakenagaininthefi-
dependents,werestuckover- U.S. flight has taken many inthefirstquarter—manyfor- in the U.S. and many other with his girlfriend when the nalquarteroftheyear,inpart
seas, Mr. Gibbs said. Thou- weekstoorganize,withother eigncompaniessaystaffingdis- places than in China. The U.S. Chinese authorities raised the becauseofcompaniesscaling
sands more Americans living countrieshavingsecuredper- ruptionsarehamperingtheiref- prohibitsforeignnationalsfrom drawbridge.Mr.Tam,whoruns backwinterbonuses.
in other parts of China have missiontobringcharterflights fortstotrulyreturntonormal. entering if they have been in abrandingconsultingcompany, Aresurgenceincoronavirus
alsobeenmaroonedabroad. intoChinaseveralmonthsago. AJulysurveybytheEuro- China,Europeandotherspeci- hasbeenstuckinLisbonsince infections, with more than
OnMonday,AmchamChina Altogetheraround250,000 pean chamber’s Shanghai fied countries in the past 14 March. “We’re exploring op- 1,000 new cases being re-
said it had obtained prelimi- foreignprofessionalsnormally chapter found that 56% of days. The European Union tions,” he said, “but our fu- portedonmostdaysrecently,
narypermissionfromtheChi- based in China remain companieshavestaffwhoha- startedeasingentryrestrictions ture’sunlikelytobeinChina.” isalsoweighingonspending.
WORLDWATCH
IRAQ Mr.Kadhimi,whoisbacked Seoulthatdrewthousands. SPAIN
bytheU.S.,assumedofficein Morethan300viruscases
Prime Minister Says Ex-King Juan Carlos
MaywhenBaghdad’srelations havebeenlinkedtotheRev.Jun
U.S. Aid Still Needed withWashingtonwereprecari- Kwang-hun’shugechurchin Is Living in the U.A.E.
ous. northernSeoul,whichhas
Iraq’sprimeministersaid TheJanuarykillingofIranian emergedasamajorclusterof FormermonarchJuanCarlosI
MondayaheadofatriptoWash- Maj.Gen.QassemSoleimaniand infectionsamidgrowingfearsof ofSpainhasbeenintheUnited
ingtonthathiscountrystillneeds atopIraqimilitialeader,Abu amassiveoutbreakinthe ArabEmiratessincehelefthis
U.S.assistancetocounterthe Mahdial-Muhandis,inanAmeri- greatercapitalregion. countryamidagrowingfinancial
threatposedbytheIslamicState candronestrikeinBaghdad Officialsareconcernedthat scandal,theSpanishroyal
groupandthathisadministration prompteddemandsbyShiite thevirus’sspreadcouldworsen householdsaidMonday,resolv-
iscommittedtointroducingsecu- lawmakersthatU.S.forcesleave afterthousandsofdemonstra- ingatwo-weekmystery.
rity-sectorreformsasroguemili- Iraq. tors,includingRev.Junand TheSpanishgovernmentand
tiagroupsstagenear-dailyat- —AssociatedPress membersofhisSarangJeil royalhouseofficialshavebeen
tacksagainsttheseatofhis Church,marchedindowntown tight-lippedaboutJuanCarlos’s
government. SOUTHKOREA SeoulonSaturdaydespitepleas locationsinceAug.3,whenhe
Mustafaal-Kadhimisaidthat Pastor Tests Positive fromofficialstostayhome. publishedalettertohisson,King RESS
Iraqcurrentlydoesn’tneeddirect SouthKoreareported197 FelipeVI,thatsaidhewasmov- P
A
militarysupportontheground, Amid Virus Outbreak newcasesofthevirusonMon- ingoutsideSpainbecauseofthe UM
Z
andthatthelevelsofhelpwill day,thefourthstraightdayof “publicrepercussionsofcertain SI/
A
dependonthechangingnature AconservativeSouthKorean triple-digitincreases.Mostofthe episodesofmypastprivatelife.” GL
N
ofthethreat. pastorwhohasbeenabittercritic newcasesinthepastfewdays At82yearsold,theformer SI
BI
Mr.Kadhimiisslatedtomeet ofthecountry’spresidenthas havecomefromthedensely kingisthetargetofofficialin- Y
K
withPresidentTrumpinWash- testedpositiveforthecoronavirus, populatedSeoulmetropolitan vestigationsinSpainandSwit- DIC
ingtonthisweektoconcludea healthauthoritiessaidMonday, area,hometoabouthalfthe zerlandintopossiblefinancial NEWMUSICVENUE:Bali,Indonesia,helditsfirstdrive-inconcert
strategicdialoguelaunchedin twodaysafterheparticipatedin country’s51millionpeople. wrongdoing. Mondaytokeepmusiciansworking.Spectatorscouldleavetheir
JunetoreconfigureU.S.-Iraqties. anantigovernmentprotestin —AssociatedPress —AssociatedPress vehiclesbuthadtoremaininsideaboundaryline.
A10|Tuesday,August18,2020 THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
******
WORLD NEWS
Belarus Leader
Makes Overture
On Power Share
Lukashenkorelentsa would call on longtime ally
Russiatoassistwithresolving
bitasprotestspersist,
the country’s crisis, in the
oppositionleadersays event of any outside aggres-
sionorexternalmilitarythreat
sheisreadytostepin
towardBelarus.Hehasaccused
the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
BYANNM.SIMMONS ganization of building up its
military forces, including de-
MOSCOW—Belarus Presi- ployingtanksandaircraft,on
dent Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’swesternborder. SS
facing growing nationwide On Monday, NATO Secre- PRE
protests,saidhewasreadyto tary-GeneralJensStoltenberg ATED
share power, but only on his said that while NATO allies OCI
ownterms,asthemainoppo- were closely watching devel- SS
A
sition leader said she was opments in Belarus, the alli- Y/
K
readytoleadtheEasternEu- ance “does not pose a threat VETS
ropeancountry. toBelarusandhasnomilitary O
L
Demonstrators took to the buildup in the region.” He RI
streetsforaninthconsecutive added: “We remain vigilant, DMIT
day on Monday, while some strictlydefensive,andreadyto ProtesterscalledforPresidentAlexanderLukashenko’sresignationatarallyonMondaynearthenationaltelevisioncompanyinMinsk.
state-enterpriseworkerswent deter any aggression against
on strike, venting their frus- NATO allies. We support a called for her supporters to violence since the election.
trationoverthecountry’sdis- sovereignandindependentBe- keep up the pressure on Mr. Someofthedemonstratorssaid PotashMinersCall forMr.Lukashenko.
putedAug.9presidentialvote. larus.” Lukashenko through peaceful theywerebeatenandtortured OnMonday,apersonfamil-
ForPresident’sExit
Mr. Lukashenko—who Moscowhas“reaffirmedits protests. bysecurityforces,accordingto iarwiththematter,aswellas
claimed 80% of the vote in readinesstoprovidethenec- Thousands of protesters testimoniespublishedonsocial localandRussianstate-owned
what opponents insist was a essaryassistance”toBelarus, crowded downtown Minsk on media and accounts from hu- media,saidsomeminersat
rigged election—blamed the the Kremlin said on Sunday. Sunday,callingforMr.Lukash- man-rightsactivists. Workersattheworld’slarg- Belaruskalihadjoinedthepro-
country’s unrest on foreign RussiaandBelarushavecoop- enkotoleaveastheywavedop- TheBelarusGeneralProse- estminerofpotasharejoining testsandstrikesthathave
provocateurs.Hetoldworkers eration agreements that in- position flags. Across town, a cutor’s office said Monday widespreadprotestsagainst eruptedafterthecountry’s
at a state factory in Minsk clude providing help under a much smaller rival rally gath- that all those detained had BelarusPresidentAlexander Aug.9presidentialelection,
thatauthoritieswereworking mutualmilitarypact. ered in his support. Crowds beenfreed,exceptfor122peo- Lukashenko,intensifyingpres- whoseresultsaredisputedaf-
onversionsofanewconstitu- Mr.Lukashenko’scomments continuedtogatheronMonday. plewhowerestillindetention sureontheembattledleader terMr.Lukashenkoclaimed
tionthatwouldallowaredis- followedthereleaseofavideo Reports from several state centersinvariouspartsofthe andthreateningtodisturbthe 80%ofthevote.
tributionofpowers. messagefromexiledopposition enterprises, carried by local country. marketforakeyfertilizer. “Thatmightbethekiller
The Belarusian leader has leaderSvetlanaTikhanovskaya, mediaoutlets,confirmedthat On Monday, European JSCBelaruskalicontrolsup blowforLukashenko,”saidTim
said he would be willing to inwhichshecalledforthecre- someworkershadjoinedcalls Union Council President to20%oftheglobalsupplyin Ash,emerging-marketstrate-
handoverpower,butonlyaf- ationofalegalmechanismto forastrikeandlefttheirjobs CharlesMichelsaidinatweet potash,meaninganyextended gistatBlueBayAssetManage-
ter a referendum and the organizeafreshandfairvote. tojointheprotesters.Videoon thathewouldconveneavideo strikeactionordisruptionat ment,referringtotheeco-
adoptionofanewconstitution “Iamreadytotakerespon- social media showed crowds call with EU leaders on thecompanycouldaffect nomicsignificanceof
andnotbecauseofstreetpro- sibility and act as a national gatherednearthestate-owned WednesdaytodiscusstheBe- pricesofacommoditywidely Belaruskali.
tests. leader during this period,” All-National Television chan- larus elections and the ensu- usedbyfarmerstohelpplants Itisn’tyetclearwhether
“You will never expect me said the 37-year-old political nel,chanting“Joinus!” ingcrackdown.“Thepeopleof grow. thecompany’spotashproduc-
to do something under pres- newcomer, who stepped for- Buttherewasnoindication Belarus have the right to de- Thestate-ownedmining tionhasbeenaffectedsofar.
sure,” Mr. Lukashenko said, wardasacandidateafterher of an all-out general strike cideontheirfutureandfreely companyisalsoapillarofBe- RepresentativesofBelaruskali
state news agency Belta re- husbandwasdetainedinMay. paralyzing businesses across electtheirleader,”Mr.Michel larus’seconomyandamajor couldn’tbereachedtocom-
ported. Ms. Tikhanovskaya fled to thecountry. said. “Violence against pro- sourceoftaxesandforeign ment.
Mr. Lukashenko has indi- neighboringLithuaniashortly Thousands of people have testers is unacceptable and currency,makingitimportant —AlistairMacDonald
cated that if necessary he after the election and has beendetainedandtwokilledin cannotbeallowed.”
Canada Official Quits
Attack Shows Jihadist Enduring Threat
Amid Charity Uproar
BYNICHOLASBARIYO
Al-Shabaab militants’ BYPAULVIEIRA outfromthepandemic.
deadly assault on a popular Further, Mr. Trudeau had
seasidehotelinSomalia’scap- OTTAWA—Canadian Fi- soughtinformalpolicyadvice
italhasraisedfreshquestions nance Minister Bill Morneau fromMarkCarney,theformer
aboutthethreatposedbythe saidMondayhewasstepping governorofboththeBankof
terrorist group, despite a down,thebiggestcasualtyto CanadaandBankofEngland.
heightenedU.S.-backedcoun- datefromascandaltyingthe Mr.Trudeau’sofficeissued
terterrorism campaign in the Liberalgovernmenttoachar- astatementlastweekdeclar-
HornofAfricanation. ity with close links to the ing the prime minister had
The militants, carrying familyofPrimeMinisterJus- full confidence in Mr.
AK-47 rifles and explosives,SS tinTrudeau. Morneautocarryouthisdu-
detonatedacarbomboutsideRE Mr. Morneau’s decision ties.
P
Mdthaoeygiraafdwteiasrhynuoi’onsntoL,ibdtehofeobrceeoasmchhpoooStuuinnndg-SSOCIATED ctlehoaemvmeessosltethsresectGheranontuepaleycoetfaiorSnaeafvtneednr ccalosMsterdi.nMladosortnubematuoa’nsftthfeurttuhhraeetwdhiasiss-
oftheupscaleEliteHotel,kill-H/A country without a finance familyacceptedtensofthou-
ing11civiliansandonepoliceME minister as the country is in sandsofdollarsofhospitality
A
officer,agovernmentspokes-RS theinitialstagesofarecovery andaccommodationfromWE
A
mansaidMonday. W following a sharp pandemic- Charity, which in June was
It took four hours beforeBDI induceddownturn. awarded a sole-sourced con-
A
Somalia Special Forces re-H A spokeswoman for Mr. tract to run a student-volun-
A
claimed the hotel—a favoriteAR Trudeaudeclinedtocomment teerprogramwithapricetag
F
hangoutforgovernmentoffi- IttookfourhoursforSomaliaSpecialForcestoreclaimthehotelandkillthefivegunmen. onapossiblesuccessor. of nearly 1 billion Canadian
cials and members of Soma- Mr. Morneau said he sub- dollars($756million).
lia’s diaspora—and killed the currentmemberofparliament. launched a similar attack on stop, even as the U.S. has mitted his resignation to Mr. One of Mr. Morneau‘s
fivegunmen. “Thisattackwasclearlyin- anarmybaseinsouthwestSo- steppedupitsmilitaryactivi- Trudeau during a meeting daughtersalsoworkedforWE
Troops also rescued some tendedtocausemaximumca- malia,killingfivesoldiers. ties in Somalia under Presi- Monday. Charity.
200guests,someofthemvia sualtyoninnocentcivilians— Al-Shabaab militants, who dent Trump and the African Forthepastweek,aseries In addition, the Toronto-
ropes strung from hotel win- men, women and children,” arealliedwithalQaeda,have Unionhasstationeda22,000- of published reports sug- based charity paid Mr.
dows.Amongthosesavedwas said Francisco Madeira, the been fighting Somalia’s weak strongforce—includingtroops gested clashes between Can- Trudeau’smotherandbrother
Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, the head of African Union troops federalgovernmentforovera fromEthiopia,Kenya,Uganda, ada’sfinanceministerandthe nearlyC$500,000infeesand
hotel’s owner, who is also a inSomalia. decade. Their insurgent-style Djibouti and Burundi—in the prime minister over policies eligibleexpensestoattendthe
former finance minister and Hours later, al-Shabaab assaults have proved hard to country. aimed at mitigating the fall- organization’sevents.
FROM PAGE ONE
Employers
Arrakis recently cranked it “reallyfunny,”thoughtheawk- cially,is,keepthefunandthe allow it, but most employees Georgette Verdin, Avrobio’s
up a notch, hiring a profes- wardvirtualnatureofthegig social going,” said Jennifer have chosen to remain at chiefhuman-resourcesofficer.
Push for sionalbartendertoleadavir- madeforsomedelayslagsbe- Daniel,chiefhuman-resources home,shesaid. Ahead of the tasting, she has
tualcocktail-makingclass.The tween his jokes and their officer at Schrödinger Inc., a Instead the company is sent 17 three-bottle cases of
company had ingredients laughs,saidMs.Kapeller. New York City-based biotech sending goodies to new re- wine to the executive leader-
New Perks shippedouttohomes.Partici- “Weweretryingtobegood, andsoftwarecompany. cruits and workers, including shipteamandboardmembers,
pants learned to make a “Gin andclapandlaughandsoon,” Schrödinger used to be boardgames,Netflixsubscrip- wholiveasfarawayasCopen-
Smash,”ausefulskillwhenthe shesaid. proud of its “unbelievably tions, Amazon Echo smart hagen.“Thetrickypartis,our
barswereclosed. Rome has hosted a virtual stocked kitchens,” said Ms. speakers,neckmassagersand board is largely oenophiles,”
Mr. Gilman said it’s impor- scavenger hunt, and hired a Daniel, and staff members miniaturemarshmallowroast- she said. “Two have vine-
ContinuedfromPageOne tant to keep employees en- chef who over video-confer- were“dedicatedconstantlyto ersformakings’mores. yards.”
come up with new ways to gagedinpartbecauseit’seas- encetaughtemployeestomake sourcingnewsnacks.” New Schrödinger hire Alli- Ms.Verdinalsotalkedabout
keeptheworkforceengaged. iernowforbiotechfirmstotry mixed-berrymojitosandgour- Schrödinger,whichhas450 son Johnson got an elegant another event, Pajama Day.
Thisisespeciallyimportant to poach one another’s work- metcrostiniappetizers. employees, has given people basketwithsomuchfruitshe “We’re all gonna dress up in
tobiotechfirms,knownforus- ers. Employees can conve- “A mantra that we’ve been theopportunitytoworkfrom madejam.“Iwasfloored,”said ourpajamasandspendtheday
ingperksandamenities—simi- niently do video interviews sharing with managers, espe- officeswhenlocalregulations Ms.Johnson. onscreen,”shesaid.
lartothoseofferedbySilicon with recruiters. “They don’t Thecompanyhasafullitin- At Nimbus, the Cambridge
Valleytechcompanies—tore- have to make up excuses for eraryofactivities,fromavir- company,theukulele-building
tainandrecruitemployeesina whythey’renotintheoffice,” tual“dogpark”formeetingco- class was part of a full social
hotprofession.Venture-capital hesaid. workers’ pets to virtual calendar.Overthenextweek,
money has poured into the Rome Therapeutics, also murder-mysterygames.Ithas Ms. Schnall hosted a virtual
field, and the pandemic has Cambridge-based,startedlock- hired fitness experts to teach luncheon for the board and
sparkedfurtherinvestorinter- down with a “quarantini” physicaleducationviaZoomto others, sending “a gourmet
estinhealthresearch. happyhour,whereemployees employees’ children, with five-course meal to each at-
“Virtual Pizza Friday,” was made a drink, sat at a com- classesforthreedifferentage tendee,”shesaid.
just the beginning at Arrakis puterscreenandchattedabout groups. There are many Shewaslookingintohiring
Therapeutics, a Waltham, life.“Thatgotoldquitefast,” classes, such as “butts and a former cast member of the
Mass.,companythatisdevel- said co-founder and CEO Ro- guts.” That one is for grown- hit TV show “The Office” to
opingdrugsthattargetcancer sanaKapeller. ups. hostoneofthecompany’sre-
and genetic diseases, with Next,thefirm,whichisde- Avrobio Inc., a Massachu- motesocialhours.Andshehad
morethanhalfthestaffwork- velopingdrugsforcancer and setts-based firm, would nor- settled on knitting for Nim-
ingremotely. autoimmunediseases,didvir- mallyhostadinnerbeforeits bus’s next virtual craft class.
“Youknow,astimehasgone tualtrivianights. upcomingboardmeeting. Employeeswillgetyarninthe
O
on,wehavesortofrunoutof “Thatalsogotold,”shesaid. OBI Now, the gathering will be mailandlearntomakechunky
R
things to talk about at that So Rome Therapeutics re- AV remote.Theentertainmentisa throwblankets.
meeting,”saidChiefExecutive centlyhiredastand-upcomic AnAvrobioInc.employeeparticipatesinaDapperDayvirtualget virtual wine tasting led by a “They are the rage right
OfficerMichaelGilman. toperformoverZoom.Hewas together.ThecompanyalsoheldaPajamaDayevent. “world-class sommelier,” said now,”shesaid.