New IN JOBS RECOVERY HINTS AT RETREAT UPTICK IN CLAIMS · 2020. 7. 24. · By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and...

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U(DF463D)X+@!"!,!?!" Nearly four months after the pandemic’s peak, New York City is facing such serious delays in re- turning coronavirus test results that public health experts are warning that the problems could hinder efforts to reopen the local economy and schools. Despite repeated pledges from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and May- or Bill de Blasio that testing would be both widely accessible and ef- fective, thousands of New Yorkers have had to wait a week or more for results, and at some clinics the median wait time is nine days. One prominent local official has even proposed the drastic step of limiting testing. The delays in New York City are caused in part by the outbreak’s spike in states like California, Florida and Texas, which has strained laboratories across the country and touched off a re- newed national testing crisis. But officials have also been un- able to adequately expand the ca- pacity of state and city govern- ment laboratories in New York to test rapidly at a time when they are asking more New Yorkers to get tested to guard against a sec- ond wave. The delays limit the ability of public health officials to quickly identify — and isolate — people who are infected while also dimin- ishing the usefulness of New York City’s contact-tracing program. As New York Strains to Reopen, Labs Struggle to Return Results By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and JESSE McKINLEY Continued on Page A6 Source: The COVID Tracking Project Increase in Testing Does Not Explain Steep Rise in U.S. Virus Cases As coronavirus testing has expanded, it is not surprising that more cases have been found. But they have risen much more than would be expected solely from additional testing. Article and charts by state, Page A7. MATTHEW CONLEN/THE NEW YORK TIMES 20,000 CASES PER DAY 40,000 60,000 MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY Actual increase in cases 7-day case average Expected cases with expanded testing WASHINGTON — Ever since Representative Alexandria Oca- sio-Cortez came to Congress as the youngest woman elected to the House, she has upended tradi- tions, harnessing the power of so- cial media and challenging lead- ers, including President Trump, who are 50 years her senior. On Thursday, she had her most norm-shattering moment yet when she took to the House floor to read into the Congressional Record a sexist vulgarity that Representative Ted Yoho, a Flor- ida Republican, had used to refer to her. “In front of reporters, Repre- sentative Yoho called me, and I quote: ‘A fucking bitch,’” she said, punching each syllable in the vul- garity. “These are the words Rep- resentative Yoho levied against a congresswoman.” Then Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who excels at using her detractors to amplify her own political brand, invited a group of Democratic women in the House to come for- ward to express solidarity with her. One by one, they shared their own stories of harassment and mistreatment by men, including in Congress. More even than the profanity uttered on the House floor, where language is carefully regulated, what unfolded over the next hour was a remarkable mo- ment of cultural upheaval on Capi- Ocasio-Cortez Defies Sexism By Shaming It on House Floor By LUKE BROADWATER and CATIE EDMONDSON Continued on Page A20 New state unemployment claims increased last week for the first time in nearly four months, disturbing evidence that the struggling economy is backslid- ing at a time when coronavirus cases are on the rise. After a flood of claims as the pandemic shut businesses early in the spring, weekly unemploy- ment filings fell sharply before flattening in June. But on Thurs- day, the Labor Department re- ported more than 1.4 million new applications for state benefits last week, up from about 1.3 million in the preceding two weeks. Another 975,000 jobless work- ers filed for benefits through an emergency federal program, also an increase. Unlike the figure for state claims, that number is not seasonally adjusted. Claims are rising just as a $600- a-week federal supplement to job- less benefits is set to expire and Republican infighting has kept the party from putting forward a pro- posal for further aid, much less ne- gotiating with Democrats on a bill. The discouraging news from the Labor Department followed a Census Bureau survey showing that four million fewer people were employed last week than the week before. It was the fourth straight decline, suggesting that nearly all the job gains since mid- May had been erased. “At this stage, you’re seeing all the wrong elements for recovery,” said Gregory Daco, the chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “A deteriorating health situation, UPTICK IN CLAIMS HINTS AT RETREAT IN JOBS RECOVERY 1.4 MILLION NEW FILINGS A Painful Backslide as a $600-a-Week Bonus Is Set to Run Out By PATRICIA COHEN 1 2 3 4 5 6 MILLION PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE WEEK ENDING JULY 18 Initial weekly unemployment claims Source: Labor Dept. THE NEW YORK TIMES MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY REGULAR CLAIMS (SEASONALLY ADJUSTED) Continued on Page A8 In early 2017, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement pre- pared to carry out the hard-line agenda on which President Trump had campaigned, agency leaders jumped at the chance to let two filmmakers give a behind- the-scenes look at the process. But as the documentary neared completion in recent months, the administration fought mightily to keep it from being released until after the 2020 election. After granting rare access to parts of the country’s powerful immigra- tion enforcement machinery that are usually invisible to the public, administration officials threat- ened legal action and sought to block parts of it from seeing the light of day. Some of the contentious scenes include ICE officers lying to immi- grants to gain access to their homes and mocking them after taking them into custody. One shows an officer illegally picking the lock to an apartment building during a raid. At town hall meetings captured on camera, agency spokesmen re- assured the public that the organi- zation’s focus was on arresting and deporting immigrants who had committed serious crimes. But the filmmakers observed nu- merous occasions in which offi- cers expressed satisfaction after being told by supervisors to arrest as many people as possible, even those without criminal records. “Start taking collaterals, man,” a supervisor in New York said over a speakerphone to an officer who was making street arrests as the filmmakers listened in. “I don’t care what you do, but bring at least two people,” he said. The filmmakers, Christina Clu- siau and Shaul Schwarz, who are a couple, turned drafts of their six- part project called “Immigration Nation” over to ICE leadership in keeping with a contract they had signed with the agency. What they encountered next resembled what The Film ICE Doesn’t Want Americans to See By CAITLIN DICKERSON A still from the six-part series “Immigration Nation,” scheduled to debut on Netflix next month. NETFLIX Documentary Makers Cite Demands to Cut Some Scenes Continued on Page A19 When Michael D. Cohen, Presi- dent Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer, met with probation officers this month to complete paper- work that would have let him serve the balance of his prison term at home, he found a catch. Mr. Cohen was already out on furlough because of the coro- navirus. But to remain at home, he was asked to sign a document that would have barred him from pub- lishing a book during the rest of his sentence. Mr. Cohen balked because he was, in fact, writing a book — a tell-all memoir about his former boss, the president. The officers sent him back to prison. On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the decision to return Mr. Cohen to custody amounted to retaliation by the government and ordered him to be released again into home confinement. Mr. Cohen is expected back in his Manhattan apartment on Friday. “I make the finding that the pur- pose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confine- ment to jail is retaliatory,” the judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein of Fed- eral District Court in Manhattan, said in court. “And it’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to Cohen Is Target Of Retaliation, A Judge Rules By BENJAMIN WEISER and ALAN FEUER Continued on Page A19 Visitors to a Hudson Valley museum must wear devices that vibrate when they wander too close to others. PAGE C7 Feeling a Real Buzz About Art New cases have quadrupled since a lockdown ended in late June, with many coming from younger people. PAGE A5 Spain’s Reopening Stumbles Digital experiences at zoos allow vis- itors to see cheetahs, penguins and their pals from a new perspective. PAGE C3 WEEKEND ARTS C1-14 Social Distancing With a Growl Mask orders have heightened the fault lines between Republican insurgents and the establishment. PAGE A8 TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9 In Texas, It’s G.O.P. vs. G.O.P. After the closure of its Houston consul- ate, China faces the tricky task of retali- ating without risking a full breach in U.S. relations. PAGE A10 INTERNATIONAL A10-12 A Tightrope Walk for Beijing If its vehicle lands on the red planet, Beijing would join the U.S. and Soviet Union in attaining that goal. PAGE A12 China Launches Mars Mission Hours before the season opened, Juan Soto, a star for the Nationals, tested positive for the coronavirus. PAGE B8 SPORTSFRIDAY B8-12 Virus Overshadows Baseball Gary Hart PAGE A23 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23 Bowing to threats posed by the coronavirus, President Trump re- versed course on Thursday and canceled the portion of the Repub- lican National Convention to be held in Jacksonville, Fla., just weeks after he moved the event from North Carolina because state officials wanted the party to take health precautions there. The surprise announcement threw one of the tent-pole mo- ments of Mr. Trump’s re-election effort into limbo, with the presi- dent describing in vague terms how the Republicans would hold his renomination in North Car- olina and do “other things with tele-rallies and online.” It was an ill-defined sketch of an August week that Mr. Trump once envi- sioned drawing huge crowds and energizing his struggling bid for a second term. While Mr. Trump has spent weeks urging Florida and other states to reopen their economies and return to life as normal, virus cases have surged in Jacksonville and across the region. The presi- dent had insisted on moving ahead with the event until Thurs- day, talking up the big party that Republicans would hold in Jack- sonville even with the dangers of large gatherings and some G.O.P. leaders saying they would not at- tend. “We won’t do a big, crowded convention, per se — it’s not the right time for that,” Mr. Trump said during a short news confer- ence in the White House briefing room, his third this week, as his aides try to persuade the presi- dent to focus on treating the virus seriously in his public comments. The convention efforts in both Jacksonville and Charlotte, N.C., which have preoccupied some G.O.P. officials and donors for months, now stand as an object lesson in chaotic planning for a party that prizes its ability to raise money and execute splashy dis- plays. The Jacksonville convention host committee had about $6 mil- lion in various accounts, and had spent some of that money already. It had $20 million in commitments that were still firm on Tuesday, ac- cording to two officials involved in the fund-raising. On Thursday, they were still assessing whether donors would be able to get their money back but assumed they would not be able to do so in full. Dan Eberhart, a Republican do- nor, said that many donors didn’t want to give because they be- lieved the event wouldn’t happen. Edward E. Burr, a real estate de- veloper and member of the Jack- Trump Cancels Party Conclave In Jacksonville Sudden Shift as Cases Balloon in Florida This article is by Maggie Ha- berman, Patricia Mazzei and Annie Karni. Continued on Page A16 TALKS STALL Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, on Thursday. Republicans are divided on a stimulus bill. Page A9. ANNA MONEYMAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES The president has been ridiculed for bragging about how well he did on a test meant to detect signs of dementia or other conditions. PAGE A18 NATIONAL A13-20 Trump’s Test Performance Ted Wheeler had joined a crowd of protesters in his city when federal officers deployed the gas. He said it only made the crowd angrier. PAGE A15 Tear-Gassing Portland’s Mayor How Andrew Gillum, the magnetic former Democratic nominee for Florida governor, went from breakout political figure to a stint in rehab. PAGE A13 The Fall of a Rising Star Some are getting a head start on evic- tions as the law protecting renters nears expiration. PAGE B1 Landlords Jump the Gun Troy Young resigned one day after The Times reported on his history of lewd, sexist remarks at work. PAGE B5 BUSINESS B1-7 Hearst Magazines Chief Quits VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,764 © 2020 The New York Times Company FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 Printed in Chicago $3.00 Sunshine with clouds. Afternoon temperatures in 80s. Mostly clear tonight. Lows in 60s to lower 70s. Partly sunny tomorrow. Hot. Highs in 90s. Weather map, Page A24. National Edition

Transcript of New IN JOBS RECOVERY HINTS AT RETREAT UPTICK IN CLAIMS · 2020. 7. 24. · By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and...

Page 1: New IN JOBS RECOVERY HINTS AT RETREAT UPTICK IN CLAIMS · 2020. 7. 24. · By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and JESSE McKINLEY Continued on Page A6 Source: The COVID Tracking Project Increase

C M Y K Yxxx,2020-07-24,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

U(DF463D)X+@!"!,!?!"

Nearly four months after thepandemic’s peak, New York City isfacing such serious delays in re-turning coronavirus test resultsthat public health experts arewarning that the problems couldhinder efforts to reopen the localeconomy and schools.

Despite repeated pledges fromGov. Andrew M. Cuomo and May-or Bill de Blasio that testing wouldbe both widely accessible and ef-fective, thousands of New Yorkershave had to wait a week or morefor results, and at some clinics themedian wait time is nine days.One prominent local official haseven proposed the drastic step oflimiting testing.

The delays in New York City arecaused in part by the outbreak’s

spike in states like California,Florida and Texas, which hasstrained laboratories across thecountry and touched off a re-newed national testing crisis.

But officials have also been un-able to adequately expand the ca-pacity of state and city govern-ment laboratories in New York totest rapidly at a time when theyare asking more New Yorkers toget tested to guard against a sec-ond wave.

The delays limit the ability ofpublic health officials to quicklyidentify — and isolate — peoplewho are infected while also dimin-ishing the usefulness of New YorkCity’s contact-tracing program.

As New York Strains to Reopen,Labs Struggle to Return Results

By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN and JESSE McKINLEY

Continued on Page A6Source: The COVID Tracking Project

Increase in Testing Does Not ExplainSteep Rise in U.S. Virus Cases

As coronavirus testing has expanded, it is not surprising that more cases have been found.But they have risen much more than would be expected solely from additional testing.

Article and charts by state, Page A7.

MATTHEW CONLEN/THE NEW YORK TIMES

20,000CASESPER DAY

40,000

60,000

MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY

Actual increasein cases

7-day case average

Expectedcases with expanded

testing

WASHINGTON — Ever sinceRepresentative Alexandria Oca-sio-Cortez came to Congress asthe youngest woman elected tothe House, she has upended tradi-tions, harnessing the power of so-cial media and challenging lead-ers, including President Trump,who are 50 years her senior.

On Thursday, she had her mostnorm-shattering moment yetwhen she took to the House floorto read into the CongressionalRecord a sexist vulgarity thatRepresentative Ted Yoho, a Flor-ida Republican, had used to referto her.

“In front of reporters, Repre-sentative Yoho called me, and Iquote: ‘A fucking bitch,’” she said,

punching each syllable in the vul-garity. “These are the words Rep-resentative Yoho levied against acongresswoman.”

Then Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, whoexcels at using her detractors toamplify her own political brand,invited a group of Democraticwomen in the House to come for-ward to express solidarity withher. One by one, they shared theirown stories of harassment andmistreatment by men, includingin Congress. More even than theprofanity uttered on the Housefloor, where language is carefullyregulated, what unfolded over thenext hour was a remarkable mo-ment of cultural upheaval on Capi-

Ocasio-Cortez Defies SexismBy Shaming It on House Floor

By LUKE BROADWATER and CATIE EDMONDSON

Continued on Page A20

New state unemploymentclaims increased last week for thefirst time in nearly four months,disturbing evidence that thestruggling economy is backslid-ing at a time when coronaviruscases are on the rise.

After a flood of claims as thepandemic shut businesses earlyin the spring, weekly unemploy-ment filings fell sharply beforeflattening in June. But on Thurs-day, the Labor Department re-ported more than 1.4 million newapplications for state benefits lastweek, up from about 1.3 million inthe preceding two weeks.

Another 975,000 jobless work-ers filed for benefits through anemergency federal program, alsoan increase. Unlike the figure forstate claims, that number is notseasonally adjusted.

Claims are rising just as a $600-a-week federal supplement to job-less benefits is set to expire andRepublican infighting has kept theparty from putting forward a pro-posal for further aid, much less ne-

gotiating with Democrats on a bill.The discouraging news from

the Labor Department followed aCensus Bureau survey showingthat four million fewer peoplewere employed last week than theweek before. It was the fourthstraight decline, suggesting thatnearly all the job gains since mid-May had been erased.

“At this stage, you’re seeing allthe wrong elements for recovery,”said Gregory Daco, the chief U.S.economist at Oxford Economics.“A deteriorating health situation,

UPTICK IN CLAIMSHINTS AT RETREATIN JOBS RECOVERY

1.4 MILLION NEW FILINGS

A Painful Backslide as a$600-a-Week Bonus

Is Set to Run Out

By PATRICIA COHEN

1

2

3

4

5

6MILLION

PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

WEEK ENDING JULY 18

Initial weekly unemployment claims

Source: Labor Dept. THE NEW YORK TIMES

MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY

REGULAR CLAIMS(SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

Continued on Page A8

In early 2017, as Immigrationand Customs Enforcement pre-pared to carry out the hard-lineagenda on which PresidentTrump had campaigned, agencyleaders jumped at the chance tolet two filmmakers give a behind-the-scenes look at the process.

But as the documentary nearedcompletion in recent months, theadministration fought mightily tokeep it from being released untilafter the 2020 election. Aftergranting rare access to parts ofthe country’s powerful immigra-tion enforcement machinery thatare usually invisible to the public,administration officials threat-ened legal action and sought toblock parts of it from seeing the

light of day.Some of the contentious scenes

include ICE officers lying to immi-grants to gain access to theirhomes and mocking them aftertaking them into custody. Oneshows an officer illegally pickingthe lock to an apartment buildingduring a raid.

At town hall meetings capturedon camera, agency spokesmen re-assured the public that the organi-zation’s focus was on arrestingand deporting immigrants who

had committed serious crimes.But the filmmakers observed nu-merous occasions in which offi-cers expressed satisfaction afterbeing told by supervisors to arrestas many people as possible, eventhose without criminal records.

“Start taking collaterals, man,”a supervisor in New York saidover a speakerphone to an officerwho was making street arrests asthe filmmakers listened in. “Idon’t care what you do, but bringat least two people,” he said.

The filmmakers, Christina Clu-siau and Shaul Schwarz, who are acouple, turned drafts of their six-part project called “ImmigrationNation” over to ICE leadership inkeeping with a contract they hadsigned with the agency. What theyencountered next resembled what

The Film ICE Doesn’t Want Americans to SeeBy CAITLIN DICKERSON

A still from the six-part series “Immigration Nation,” scheduled to debut on Netflix next month.NETFLIX

Documentary Makers Cite Demands to Cut

Some Scenes

Continued on Page A19

When Michael D. Cohen, Presi-dent Trump’s one-time lawyer andfixer, met with probation officersthis month to complete paper-work that would have let himserve the balance of his prisonterm at home, he found a catch.

Mr. Cohen was already out onfurlough because of the coro-navirus. But to remain at home, hewas asked to sign a document thatwould have barred him from pub-lishing a book during the rest ofhis sentence. Mr. Cohen balkedbecause he was, in fact, writing abook — a tell-all memoir about hisformer boss, the president.

The officers sent him back toprison.

On Thursday, a federal judgeruled that the decision to returnMr. Cohen to custody amounted toretaliation by the government andordered him to be released againinto home confinement. Mr. Cohenis expected back in his Manhattanapartment on Friday.

“I make the finding that the pur-pose of transferring Mr. Cohenfrom furlough and home confine-ment to jail is retaliatory,” thejudge, Alvin K. Hellerstein of Fed-eral District Court in Manhattan,said in court. “And it’s retaliatorybecause of his desire to exercisehis First Amendment rights to

Cohen Is TargetOf Retaliation,A Judge Rules

By BENJAMIN WEISERand ALAN FEUER

Continued on Page A19

Visitors to a Hudson Valley museummust wear devices that vibrate whenthey wander too close to others. PAGE C7

Feeling a Real Buzz About ArtNew cases have quadrupled since alockdown ended in late June, with manycoming from younger people. PAGE A5

Spain’s Reopening Stumbles

Digital experiences at zoos allow vis-itors to see cheetahs, penguins and theirpals from a new perspective. PAGE C3

WEEKEND ARTS C1-14

Social Distancing With a GrowlMask orders have heightened the faultlines between Republican insurgentsand the establishment. PAGE A8

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

In Texas, It’s G.O.P. vs. G.O.P.After the closure of its Houston consul-ate, China faces the tricky task of retali-ating without risking a full breach inU.S. relations. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-12

A Tightrope Walk for Beijing

If its vehicle lands on the red planet,Beijing would join the U.S. and SovietUnion in attaining that goal. PAGE A12

China Launches Mars Mission

Hours before the season opened, JuanSoto, a star for the Nationals, testedpositive for the coronavirus. PAGE B8

SPORTSFRIDAY B8-12

Virus Overshadows BaseballGary Hart PAGE A23

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

Bowing to threats posed by thecoronavirus, President Trump re-versed course on Thursday andcanceled the portion of the Repub-lican National Convention to beheld in Jacksonville, Fla., justweeks after he moved the eventfrom North Carolina becausestate officials wanted the party totake health precautions there.

The surprise announcementthrew one of the tent-pole mo-ments of Mr. Trump’s re-electioneffort into limbo, with the presi-dent describing in vague termshow the Republicans would holdhis renomination in North Car-olina and do “other things withtele-rallies and online.” It was anill-defined sketch of an Augustweek that Mr. Trump once envi-sioned drawing huge crowds andenergizing his struggling bid for asecond term.

While Mr. Trump has spentweeks urging Florida and otherstates to reopen their economiesand return to life as normal, viruscases have surged in Jacksonvilleand across the region. The presi-dent had insisted on movingahead with the event until Thurs-day, talking up the big party thatRepublicans would hold in Jack-sonville even with the dangers oflarge gatherings and some G.O.P.leaders saying they would not at-tend.

“We won’t do a big, crowdedconvention, per se — it’s not theright time for that,” Mr. Trumpsaid during a short news confer-ence in the White House briefingroom, his third this week, as hisaides try to persuade the presi-dent to focus on treating the virusseriously in his public comments.

The convention efforts in bothJacksonville and Charlotte, N.C.,which have preoccupied someG.O.P. officials and donors formonths, now stand as an objectlesson in chaotic planning for aparty that prizes its ability to raisemoney and execute splashy dis-plays.

The Jacksonville conventionhost committee had about $6 mil-lion in various accounts, and hadspent some of that money already.It had $20 million in commitmentsthat were still firm on Tuesday, ac-cording to two officials involved inthe fund-raising. On Thursday,they were still assessing whetherdonors would be able to get theirmoney back but assumed theywould not be able to do so in full.

Dan Eberhart, a Republican do-nor, said that many donors didn’twant to give because they be-lieved the event wouldn’t happen.Edward E. Burr, a real estate de-veloper and member of the Jack-

Trump CancelsParty ConclaveIn Jacksonville

Sudden Shift as CasesBalloon in Florida

This article is by Maggie Ha-berman, Patricia Mazzei and AnnieKarni.

Continued on Page A16

TALKS STALL Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, on Thursday. Republicans are divided on a stimulus bill. Page A9.ANNA MONEYMAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The president has been ridiculed forbragging about how well he did on atest meant to detect signs of dementiaor other conditions. PAGE A18

NATIONAL A13-20

Trump’s Test Performance

Ted Wheeler had joined a crowd ofprotesters in his city when federalofficers deployed the gas. He said itonly made the crowd angrier. PAGE A15

Tear-Gassing Portland’s Mayor

How Andrew Gillum, the magneticformer Democratic nominee for Floridagovernor, went from breakout politicalfigure to a stint in rehab. PAGE A13

The Fall of a Rising Star

Some are getting a head start on evic-tions as the law protecting rentersnears expiration. PAGE B1

Landlords Jump the Gun

Troy Young resigned one day after TheTimes reported on his history of lewd,sexist remarks at work. PAGE B5

BUSINESS B1-7

Hearst Magazines Chief Quits

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,764 © 2020 The New York Times Company FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 Printed in Chicago $3.00

Sunshine with clouds. Afternoontemperatures in 80s. Mostly cleartonight. Lows in 60s to lower 70s.Partly sunny tomorrow. Hot. Highsin 90s. Weather map, Page A24.

National Edition