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CORONAVIRUS

Trump’s directives spark confusion for state officials, businesses

His executive actions were aimed at offering new jobless benefits, protecting renters and postponing the payment of a federal tax. But an array of economists and lawmakers faulted them as unworkable or legally questionable.

Trump’s routine after failing to cut deals with Congress: Signing legally dubious executive actions

He has frequently relied on showmanship and pageantry to try to turn negotiating failures into victories.

U.S. virus infections surpass 5 million

The 5 million mark comes just 17 days after the U.S. total exceeded 4 million.
A teacher at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah, prepares to set up her classroom to accommodate new rules on social distancing. (Getty Images)
A teacher at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah, prepares to set up her classroom to accommodate new rules on social distancing. (Getty Images)

Chaos coast to coast as plans change and a school year like no other launches

Teachers are threatening strikes, and students are already coming home infected with the coronavirus, which has upended American education. The 2020-21 school year has dawned and it’s more chaotic than any before it.

In college towns and neighborhoods, permanent residents worried about virus brace for students’ return

Nine people test positive for coronavirus at Georgia school where photos of packed hallways went viral

RACE AND RECKONING

Protesters set fire to police union headquarters in Portland

The latest violence came days after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler lashed out at protesters who barricaded exits to a police precinct and started a fire that “was intended to cause serious injury or death."

Change to census deadline could result in undercount of Latino and Black communities

The count dictates the allocation of federal dollars and influences everything from infrastructure to education to public health-care spending.
Video
(Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)
Officials agree China, Russia want to hack U.S. elections; differ on gravity of the threat
200 years of vaccine skepticism | The Vaccines Project, Episode 1
Play Video 9:25
How six Americans are coping with unemployment and the pandemic
Play Video 6:19
Beirut man who filmed blast talks about the viral moment and pain that followed
Play Video 4:18
What Trump’s executive order means for TikTok
Play Video 2:56
Opinions
Joe Biden can’t ‘hurt God.’ He can end the catch-22 around religion.
How the explosive destruction of Halifax holds lessons — and hope — for Beirut
  • By John U. Bacon
Let’s call it what it is. We’re in a Pandemic Depression.
The NRA is a cesspool. That doesn’t mean it should be dissolved.
A chilling new chapter of alleged perfidy by the Saudi crown prince
Stories You’ll Want to Hear

When a VP pick changes history

In ’84, a former VP got the Democratic presidential nomination, faced a Republican incumbent and chose the first female running mate in U.S. history. Sound familiar? Go behind the history in this special episode, featuring an interview with Walter Mondale.
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More Top Stories

At least 21 people shot, one fatally, at a party in Southeast Washington

The party and the tragedy that ensued revived questions about large gatherings that flout the D.C. mayor’s order that prohibits gatherings larger than 50 people.
BREAKING NEWS

Hong Kong Media tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai arrested under national security law

Detained on charges of colluding with foreign powers, Lai is the most prominent person to be arrested under the new law.
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Collin Morikawa wins PGA Championship, year’s first major tournament

The 23-year-old’s first major victory came at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco after a tightly contested final round, which at one point had seven players tied at the top.
Don’t Miss

A president ignored: Trump’s outlandish claims increasingly met with a collective shrug

The sisters had always been inseparable. Then, in a matter of minutes, Breonna Taylor was gone.

Perspective

In the pandemic, we had to move to our new home. This is how we did it.

  • By Ronnie Cohen
  • 11 hours ago
The Trailer
Analysis

The six political states of Michigan: What to know about 2016’s defining swing state in 2020

In the first in our new series breaking down the key swing states of 2020, we look at Michigan’s distinct political “states” and their different demographics and voting histories.
  • Story by David Weigel | Map by Lauren Tierney
  • 3 hours ago
Election 2020

‘Are you ready?’ Biden says of V.P. search

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden gave no indications Sunday whether he has come to a decision on his running mate.

Montana’s ticket-splitters could decide a race that’s put the Senate within Democrats’ reach

Kanye West’s presidential bid bolstered by GOP operatives in at least five states

Trump moves to use human rights as a cudgel against China amid growing tensions

Sanctions on Chinese entities in Hong Kong and Xinjiang have provided the administration another set of tools to outflank Beijing amid fallout from the pandemic and the collapse of bilateral trade negotiations.

Belarusian election officials say exit polls favor Lukashenko

Protests erupted in Minsk and other cities as claims that longtime President Alexander Lukashenko won 82 percent of the vote drew skepticism. The campaign was marked by government abuses.
Satellite image of Beirut. (The Post)
Satellite image of Beirut. (The Post)

How the Beirut blast compared with similar explosions in Texas, China and France

Ammonium nitrate, used in both fertilizer and bombmaking, has previously ignited in deadly incidents. But the Beirut blast was so destructive because of the sheer amount of the chemical and the proximity of the explosion site to a densely populated area.

As U.S. expels migrants under emergency measures, they return, again and again

Emergency pandemic measures that rapidly expel most migrants who are arrested at the border have had the unintended consequence of a soaring rate of repeat crossings.

5.1-magnitude earthquake strikes North Carolina, is felt hundreds of miles away

It is the strongest earthquake to strike the state in more than a century and was reportedly felt as far away as Atlanta, part of Tennessee, Washington and Ohio.
After many shared spaces had to close, property managers organized online happy hours, trivia contests and classes. (Getty Images/iStock)
After many shared spaces had to close, property managers organized online happy hours, trivia contests and classes. (Getty Images/iStock)

Pandemic accelerates trends that are likely to change the way apartments and condos are designed

As apartment and condo buildings struggle to to keep residents safe and connected, one Maryland developer says office space and outdoor areas are more important that ever.
  • By Michele Lerner
  • 3 days ago

Here’s what is actually in Trump’s four executive orders

The details on payroll taxes, enhanced unemployment benefits and eviction bans are not as generous as President Trump made them sound.

For many unemployed Americans, the only real certainty is uncertainty

The pandemic and resulting economic upheaval have thrown millions of lives into disarray. Compounding the misery is a question no one can answer: When will this all be over?
  • By Sharon Cohen | AP
  • 11 hours ago
The Henrys of Cedar Hill, Tex., are one of many young families who are trying to join forces — and quarantine bubbles. (Ralph Lauer for The Post)
The Henrys of Cedar Hill, Tex., are one of many young families who are trying to join forces — and quarantine bubbles. (Ralph Lauer for The Post)

In 2020, back-to-school shopping means frantically searching for other families to ‘bubble up’ with

As fall approaches, young parents see if strangers want to band together against the chaos.
The grounds crew at Nationals Park struggled to unfurl the tarp, leading to the suspension of Sunday’s game. (John McDonnell/The Post)
The grounds crew at Nationals Park struggled to unfurl the tarp, leading to the suspension of Sunday’s game. (John McDonnell/The Post)

Thanks to a stubborn tarp, a weird Nationals season gets even weirder

Sunday’s game against the Orioles was suspended after the field wasn’t covered properly during a rain delay.

Capitals fend off Bruins in round-robin finale, will face Islanders in first round of playoffs

After sixth straight loss, Wizards try to learn from their growing pains

CORONAVIRUS

D.C. shelter program may help limit virus’s spread

The city spends millions to place the homeless in hotels to avoid covid-19, but it is struggling to recruit members of another vulnerable population: those living in crowded conditions who could easily spread the virus to their families or roommates.
Perspective

Do you dare? Useful secrets for home-schooling just this one awful year.

One couple paid half the cost of private school for one-on-one instruction.
Known deaths and cases
Renovations take place at the park in Franklin Square. (Matt McClain/The Post)
Renovations take place at the park in Franklin Square. (Matt McClain/The Post)

For Franklin Square to be saved, much of it and 63 trees will be destroyed

Officials hope the addition of a pavilion, fountain, art exhibit space, children’s play area and public restrooms will transform Franklin Square into a welcoming space that will no longer be just a place to wait for a bus.

‘Dangerous, degrading and dehumanizing:’ Prosecutors say men lured vulnerable teens and women into sex work on D.C. streets

A second man has been arrested in connection with prostitution in Logan Circle and Shaw.
“Material (SG) I” by Yinka Shonibare is at 1701 14th Street NW in Washington. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Post)
“Material (SG) I” by Yinka Shonibare is at 1701 14th Street NW in Washington. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Post)

Six outdoor sculptures you might walk by without realizing they’re by famous artists

Should we replace all problematic statues with modern art? These public artworks almost make the case.
Review

Locked-room masterpieces from Japan are the perfect escape for summer

Review

‘She Dies Tomorrow’ is a queasily effective horror film for the pandemic era

(Tom McCorkle for The Post; food styling by Carolyn Robb for The Post)
(Tom McCorkle for The Post; food styling by Carolyn Robb for The Post)

Grilled Indian yogurt sandwiches offer a cooling crunch and creaminess in each bite

With vegetables bound in thick yogurt, these Indian sandwiches are satisfying and take just 20 minutes to make.
Review

Get reacquainted with D.C. through its famous mumbo sauce

This refreshing Portuguese rosé, at only $10, will have you reaching for another glass

(The Washington Post illustration/iStock)
(The Washington Post illustration/iStock)

Stuck stateside needn’t mean you can’t chat with foreign locals — and improve your language skills

Now can be an opportunity to supercharge your foreign language skills with online tutors. Or at least enjoyably kill time.
  • By Paul Abercrombie
  • 2 days ago

In the Sierra Nevada, an escape to the past

  • By Dan White
  • 2 days ago

Cruising is still canceled, but here’s what travelers can expect when it returns

  • By Brad Japhe
  • 2 days ago
Visual Stories
(Timothy Floyd)In Sight
(Timothy Floyd)
These haunting photos of an internment camp for Japanese Americans are a reminder of the terrible costs of war
(The Washington Post)Graphic
(The Washington Post)
Vote by mail: Which states allow absentee voting
(The Washington Post)Graphic
(The Washington Post)
A vaccine, or a spike in deaths: How America can build herd immunity to the coronavirus
Visual Story
Surviving on, and maybe losing, a contested land
(Sharon Pulwer for The Post)Story
(Sharon Pulwer for The Post)
Four Israeli women who have broken new political ground
(NASA/Reuters)Photos
(NASA/Reuters)
Here are 16 of the week’s best photos
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