The Washington Post
Election 2020

The pandemic has reshaped Trump’s prospects for reelection

Volunteer Mike Williams waits for voters at a Baltimore polling station on April 28. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Post)
Volunteer Mike Williams waits for voters at a Baltimore polling station on April 28. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Post)
President Trump speaks to media at the White House on June 16. (Jabin Botsford/The Post)
President Trump speaks to media at the White House on June 16. (Jabin Botsford/The Post)
Reporters keep a safe distance from one other as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks in Delaware on July 28. (AP)
Reporters keep a safe distance from one other as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks in Delaware on July 28. (AP)
No election in history has played out against the backdrop of a pandemic, a major recession and a racial reckoning. Even more than ever, it is largely about the incumbent.

Discontent with McCarthy rises as GOP considers post-Trump world

With early momentum, Harris to focus on connecting with voters in swing states

Fact Checker
Analysis

Trump promotes false claim that Harris might not be a natural-born U.S. citizen

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, Calif., on Oct. 20, 1964. The Constitution requires the president and vice president to be natural-born U.S. citizens and at least 35 years old.
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Analysis

Harris forces us to look beyond Black and White

CORONAVIRUS

Recession ends for the rich while enduring for everyone else

Jobs are fully back for the highest wage earners, but fewer than half the jobs lost this spring have returned for those making less than $20 an hour, according to a new labor data analysis.
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The Costa Deliziosa cruise ship is moored near Rome. (Massimo Percossi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The Costa Deliziosa cruise ship is moored near Rome. (Massimo Percossi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Cruise ships prepare to return to sea in Europe

Some ships that took refuge in the port of Civitavecchia, Italy, will soon be chauffeuring customers on Mediterranean vacation packages amid the pandemic.

Widespread community transmission in hot spots sends virus surging into nursing homes

RACE & RECKONING

Secret Service sought tactical aircraft to protect White House amid Floyd protests

The agency asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection in late May to provide surveillance aircraft and a Blackhawk helicopter carrying a “fast rope” commando team, newly obtained government correspondence shows.
Perspective

Structural racism helps schemers attract Blacks to fake ‘sou-sou’ scams

(Daron Taylor, Luis Velarde/The Washington Post)
Video

Hostage situations and rappelling out of helicopters: How police recruitment ads glamorize the role

Police recruitment videos offer a window into how law enforcement agencies attract new officers and see their role in the community.
Morning Mix
‘Do you regret at all, all the lying you’ve done?’: A reporter’s blunt question to Trump goes unanswered
A Florida GOP sheriff allegedly ordered the arrest of his mistress. Now he’s the one facing charges.
As he attacks mail-in votes, Trump and the first lady requested absentee ballots in Florida
Opinions
Trump’s racist attacks against Kamala Harris have already begun
Kamala Harris’s HBCU experience prepares her to take on Trump
Trump’s campaign to discredit the election is deeply dishonest and dangerous
Congress has taken a break from dealing with covid-19. The rest of us don’t have that luxury.
Trump is right. The Israel-UAE agreement is a huge achievement.
Stories You’ll Want to Hear

What’s up with the Postal Service?

How delays and a partisan battle over funding the U.S. Postal Service may affect the election. Latino voters in Arizona may hold the key for a Democratic win there. And, a climate solution for America’s hottest cities.
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More Top Stories

Pompeo calls it ‘just nuts’ to allow Iran to trade in arms as U.N. vote nears

The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote Friday on a proposal to extend an arms embargo that is set to expire in October.

Justice Department accuses Yale of illegal bias against White, Asian American applicants in admissions

Yale denied wrongdoing. The Justice Department said it concluded that the university gave too much weight to race in its consideration of applicants, in violation of federal civil rights law.
(Jabin Botsford/The Post)
(Jabin Botsford/The Post)
Critic’s Notebook

Kayleigh McEnany is the camera-perfect embodiment of Trump’s message: Everything is fine

At last, an image-obsessed president has found his maximum-gloss spokesperson, a fashion critic writes.
Don’t Miss

Inside Cameo, the app where Carole Baskin from ‘Tiger King’ will sing ‘In Da Club’ for $299

For dogs, the pandemic means more walks but new anxieties

Power Up
Analysis

Trump’s words on mail voting could complicate GOP efforts to curtail it

The president's admission that he's holding up Postal Service funding could also come to haunt Republicans if they seek to challenge results not in Trump's favor.

The poetic reunion that brought Ocasio-Cortez’s second-grade teacher to tears

(Lee Powell/The Post)
Video
The 2020 Map

Wausau, Wis., could be pivotal to whether the Badger State swings red or blue

A small city made famous by an insurance company with the same name, Wausau, Wis., has seen its economy change in recent years and its politics become more polarized.

Google ends direct cooperation with Hong Kong on data requests

The move comes in the wake of Beijing’s imposition of a broad national security law that targets vaguely defined crimes including subversion of state power, collusion with foreign powers, secession and terrorism.

Israel-UAE deal condemned by Palestinians, cheered by Egypt, Bahrain

Critics say normalizing relations between former foes is premature without a Palestinian state.
Women walk during torrential rains on Aug. 5 in Pyongyang. Weeks of unusually heavy monsoon rains have caused dangerous flooding. (AP)
Women walk during torrential rains on Aug. 5 in Pyongyang. Weeks of unusually heavy monsoon rains have caused dangerous flooding. (AP)

North Korea floods kill 22, approach nuclear reactor — but Kim doesn’t want help

Kim Jong Un says borders must remain closed because of the risks of coronavirus.

Trump administration scraps limits on methane leaks at oil and gas sites

The Obama-era regulations overturned by Trump restricted the potent greenhouse gas.

Researchers see parallels between NYC death rate now and during 1918 flu

The current pandemic has seen a more dramatic rise in “excess deaths” — the number of fatalities above what would be expected.
(The Post)

Hot weather bakes the West as wildfires erupt in California, forcing emergency planners to scramble

The Lake Fire in Southern California threatens hundreds of structures, forcing many residents to make a hasty evacuation.

Maker of Fortnite sues Apple after game’s removal from App Store

In a lawsuit filed in federal court as part of a dispute over the App Store payment system, Epic Games accused Apple of engaging in anticompetitive behavior. Google also removed the game from its Play Store.

Mortgage rates increase but remain below 3 percent

The 30-year fixed-rate average, which has remained below 3 percent for four of the past five weeks, is at 2.96 percent this week.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Reuters)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Reuters)

Pompeo presses his campaign against Chinese telecom companies during trip to Eastern Europe

During a stop in Slovenia, the secretary of state signed a joint statement with Foreign Minister Anze Logar to “exclude untrusted vendors” from high-speed wireless networks.
Analysis

The NBA’s playoff picture was clear entering the bubble. Now it’s complicated.

LeBron James’s Lakers, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks and Kawhi Leonard's Clippers entered the NBA bubble as strong favorites, but new vulnerabilities have complicated the championship chase.
Perspective

Can you win a legitimate sports title during a pandemic? We're about to find out.

If we have learned anything about trying to contest sports right now, it’s that if you’re upset about the way things stand at a single point in time, wait a couple of hours, because they’ll change.
Bob Ryland
1920–2020

First Black tennis player to go pro dies at 100

He also coached players including Leslie Allen and Bruce Foxworth, and celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman.
Bianca Andreescu of Canada reacts after defeating Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open in New York in 2019. (AP)
Bianca Andreescu of Canada reacts after defeating Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open in New York in 2019. (AP)

U.S. Open left without defending men’s, women’s champions after Bianca Andreescu opts out

The 20-year-old Canadian who defeated Serena Williams in September joined Rafael Nadal in skipping the event amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

NCAA pulls plug on all Division I fall championships except for top-tier football

The announcement was essentially a formality given the number of conferences that have already postponed fall sports and the board of governors’ requirement that at least 50 percent of schools participate in a season for a championship to be held.

Virginia House Democrats roll out plans for budget, criminal justice overhaul

The General Assembly will return to Richmond on Tuesday just months after newly empowered Democrats pulled off a raft of legislative wins in the regular session.
CORONAVIRUS

Virginia to study presence of coronavirus antibodies in N.Va. children

In the District, masks are at the center of a suit filed under the city’s Whistleblower Protection Act.
Known deaths and cases
Workers put the finishing touches on the arches over the bridge. (Katherine Frey/The Post)
Workers put the finishing touches on the arches over the bridge. (Katherine Frey/The Post)

D.C. marks construction milestone on new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge

Crews completed the installation of six arches on the bridge over the Anacostia River. The $480 million project is on track to open next year.

D.C. police detain protesters in Adams Morgan area

The group of protesters had been marching for about two hours through Northwest Washington.

Maryland county votes to keep statue honoring Confederate soldiers

(Nikki Ernst for The Post)
(Nikki Ernst for The Post)
Perspective

How to give kids a sense of routine and stability in a school year that is anything but normal

Designate a space for school work, take time to get organized each week, and more ways to help kids feel like they have some control.
  • By Ana Homayoun
  • 1 day ago

How cartoonists are drawing Kamala Harris in the wake of her joining the Biden ticket

FAQ: How to care for your mask (and why you shouldn’t hang it from your rear-view mirror)

Actor Jonathan Majors is quickly becoming that guy you can’t stop seeing in . . . well, everything. (Mary Mathis for The Post)
Actor Jonathan Majors is quickly becoming that guy you can’t stop seeing in . . . well, everything. (Mary Mathis for The Post)

Jonathan Majors is your new American hero

After notable roles in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” “Da 5 Bloods” and “Lovecraft Country,” Jonathan Majors has come to codify the Black male experience in America on-screen.
Movie Review

‘Boys State’ film offers hope about our next generation of leaders

Book Review

Three new audiobooks make a long drive fly by

  • By Katherine A. Powers
  • 4 days ago
Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post)
Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post)

Black lentils add drama to this stunning summer salad

Matchsticks of kohlrabi or broccoli stems add pale, crisp contrast to tender, caviar-like black lentils and juicy grape tomatoes.

Spicy, crisp, buttery or tender, radishes offer something for every season

5 no-cook salads to keep you and your kitchen cool and happy

(Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg News)
(Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg News)

Southwest removes family from flight after 3-year-old with autism is unable to wear mask

The airline's policy, in line with CDC guidance, requires “all customers over the age of two to wear a face covering or mask.”
  • By Shannon McMahon
  • 1 day ago

Masks on, shoes off: People are still going barefoot on planes

He set out to show his son the D.C. area’s 68 Civil War forts. Protests made it more than a diversion.

  • By Graham H. Cornwell
  • 19 hours ago
Visual Stories
(Michael O. Snyder)In Sight
(Michael O. Snyder)
‘I guess they saw potential’: For 20 years, this program has helped Baltimore youths find center, one breath at a time
(The Washington Post)Graphic
(The Washington Post)
Harris is the pick, but women of color remain underrepresented in government
(Brittany Renee Mayes and Kate Rabinowitz/The Post)Graphic
(Brittany Renee Mayes and Kate Rabinowitz/The Post)
Since 2016, 11 states and D.C. have expanded voting rights for the currently and formerly incarcerated
Visual Story
Surviving on, and maybe losing, a contested land
(Maria Magdalena Arréllaga for The Post)Story
(Maria Magdalena Arréllaga for The Post)
These neighbors were hospitalized with coronavirus. Their vastly different journeys show the depths of Brazil’s rich-poor divide.
(Jonathan Newton/The Post)Photos
(Jonathan Newton/The Post)
Here are 16 of the week’s best photos
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