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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