White House aides rattled after positive coronavirus tests and mixed messages on how to respond

The White House continued to scramble to deal with the fallout, as some senior members of the pandemic task force self-quarantined while others planned to continue to go to work.

In pandemic’s early days, U.S. turned down an offer to make N95 masks in America

On Jan. 22, weeks before the crisis sent the government scrambling for masks, Texas manufacturer Prestige Ameritech offered to restart four mothballed production lines. Federal officials did not take the company up on it.

As deaths mount, Trump tries to convince Americans it’s safe to inch back to normal

The administration is effectively bowing to — and asking Americans to accept — a devastating proposition: that a steady, daily accumulation of lonely deaths is the grim cost of reopening the nation.
Alyce LaGasse, shown at her condo along the Willamette River, has a son in Utah and a daughter in Minneapolis. (Mason Trinca for The Post)
Alyce LaGasse, shown at her condo along the Willamette River, has a son in Utah and a daughter in Minneapolis. (Mason Trinca for The Post)
Erica Schulte King at her home in Minneapolis. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)
Erica Schulte King at her home in Minneapolis. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)
Erica Schulte King holds a photo of her and her brother with their mom before she moved to Portland. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)
Erica Schulte King holds a photo of her and her brother with their mom before she moved to Portland. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)
Alyce LaGasse meets with her ukulele group over Zoom. (Mason Trinca for The Post)
Alyce LaGasse meets with her ukulele group over Zoom. (Mason Trinca for The Post)
Erica Schulte King holds the invitation to her brother's wedding, which was put on hold. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)
Erica Schulte King holds the invitation to her brother's wedding, which was put on hold. (Jenn Ackerman for The Post)

The wait for a recovery, or a death, from 760 miles away

A mother in Portland, Ore., thought she was most at risk for covid-19. Instead, the virus struck her adult son in Utah — and all she could do was stand by for word.

Guide to the pandemic

There have been more than 3.9 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The virus has killed more than 270,000. Access to the following stories is free:
(Alice Li/The Washington Post)
For this drive-in movie theater, a chance to return to normalcy
Where's the beef? How the coronavirus pandemic is disrupting the meat supply chain
Play Video 3:06
Meet the 2020 progressive Democratic candidates running for Congress
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Setting the record straight on Trump's 'fine people' Charlottesville comments
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Volunteers fight a mental health crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak
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Stories You’ll Want to Hear

The sound of silence

What does the pandemic sound like? Mostly, silence.
Listen
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Barack Obama at a 2019 event in Munich, Germany. (AFP/Getty Images)
Barack Obama at a 2019 event in Munich, Germany. (AFP/Getty Images)

Obama says end to Michael Flynn case threatens rule of law, calls covid-19 response a ‘disaster’

Former president Barack Obama offered blistering criticisms of his successor that he has rarely aired in public.

Barr undercuts Mueller investigation as Trump cheers him on

The country’s top law enforcement official seems to be attempting to unwind and discredit the work done by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
Critic’s Notebook

Little Richard’s voice made rock-and-roll explode

Little Richard, who died Saturday, may not have invented rock-and-roll, but “Tutti-Frutti” felt like the music’s big bang.
Don’t Miss

Trump attacks decision to add in-person voting center in Calif. race

President Trump spent a portion of his Saturday focused on a special election in the suburbs of northern Los Angeles County.

Trump eyes federal retirement plan investments amid virus showdown with China

The White House moved to seize control of the board that administers the Thrift Savings Plan, with some aides eager to halt the flow into an index fund that includes Chinese companies.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a news conference Tuesday. (Reuters)
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a news conference Tuesday. (Reuters)

Democratic lawmakers criticize ‘mismanaged’ SBA loan program

In a letter published Saturday, three senators took issue with the Small Business Administration for slashing the size of its coronavirus disaster loans without telling Congress or small business owners about the change.
South African Breweries beer on tap at a bar in Cape Town, South Africa. (AP)
South African Breweries beer on tap at a bar in Cape Town, South Africa. (AP)

South Africa’s alcohol ban during lockdown reveals deadly drinking habits

With fewer people drinking, and fewer people driving, more South Africans may be outliving the pandemic than would otherwise.
Video

In Venice, hopes for another rebirth after the coronavirus outbreak

Dorothea Lange’s “White Angel Breadline,” from 1933. (The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California/Paul S. Taylor)
Dorothea Lange’s “White Angel Breadline,” from 1933. (The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California/Paul S. Taylor)
Retropolis
The Past, Rediscovered

White Angel Breadline: An iconic Depression photo feels hauntingly familiar today

Dorthea Lange captured the desperation of 1933 in a single image of a man waiting for something to eat.

Kristen Biel lost her job after a cancer diagnosis. The Supreme Court will decide if she’s barred from suing.

Justices are to consider again when teachers in religious schools are ministers and government is barred from interfering in employment decisions.
(Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
(Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
Perspective

The Capitals-Islanders Easter Epic showed all that’s right and wrong about playoff hockey

Only a Stanley Cup playoffs Game 7 could leave a weary winner apologizing for the result.

Epidemiologist blasts UFC president Dana White for mishandling coronavirus protocol

UFC announced Friday that Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza had tested positive for the virus and removed the middleweight from card in Jacksonville, Fla.

Covid-19 cases in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. top 60,000

Graduations and Mother’s Day events moved online as Washingtonians hunkered down in their homes, trying to prevent the spread of the virus that had claimed 76 more lives in the region as of Saturday morning.

Traffic is down, but 100 mph speeds are seen on Beltway

Stay-at-home orders sparked by the coronavirus have cut congestion on D.C.-area highways. But the lure of the newly open road has been hard for some motorists to resist, police say.
LeVar Burton’s reading series live-streams three times each week — once for kids, once for young readers and once for adults. (Emily Berl for The Post)
LeVar Burton’s reading series live-streams three times each week — once for kids, once for young readers and once for adults. (Emily Berl for The Post)

LeVar Burton still loves reading aloud. His storytelling might be what you need right now.

For all the time he had spent on sets and stages, in director’s chairs and recording booths, it was at his family’s home in the hills above Los Angeles, in the midst of a historic catastrophe, that his life’s work had been suddenly distilled to its fundamental essence.
Populated beaches have become a focal point in states like Florida. (Drea Cornejo/The Post)

10 questions about visiting the beach during the pandemic, answered

As beaches open up to the public again, what should visitors know before they go?
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