The Washington Post

Pandemic has exposed nation’s vulnerabilities and dangerous divide

The marker of 100,000 deaths comes less than three months after the first American was reported to have died. The people most ravaged are those whose suffering often is unseen — the elderly, African Americans and working poor.
  • By Marc Fisher

A numbers-obsessed Trump is uncharacteristically silent on this bleak milestone

The president’s public schedule this week contains no special commemoration, no moment of silence, no collective sharing of grief.
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
(The Post)
Those we have lost

Faces of the dead: How they lived and what was lost

Those remembered here show the outbreak’s sweeping impact on our communities, culture and workplaces.
  • By Washington Post Staff
CORONAVIRUS

Embracing a new reality: Virus may never go away — even with a vaccine

(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The pandemic could last for years. Embracing that reality is crucial to the next phase of America’s pandemic response. Experts urge leaders and the public to start thinking long-term.

Guide to the pandemic

There have been more than 5.6 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide. The virus has killed more than 340,000. Access to the following stories is free:
LIVE UPDATES
Access to these updates is free
Sign up to get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter
Receive the most important developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.
Video
(Luis Velarde/The Washington Post)
Three reasons why rocket launches get scrubbed
5 ways to feel better about online school during coronavirus
Play Video 5:14
Cluck. Cluck. Meet the comedy cult leader taking over TikTok
Play Video 4:59
What the 1918 flu pandemic can teach states about reopening during coronavirus
Play Video 4:09
Trump steps up purge of federal watchdogs
Play Video 3:44
Opinions
We need to do much more than just fire four police officers for killing George Floyd
  • By Ben Crump
Trump shreds another Republican’s life’s work
Trump needs to be called out for his huckster brand of populism
Spotify wants to become the go-to for podcasts. We should worry.
  • By Hank Green
Shining sunlight on Trump’s idiocy is the best disinfectant
Twitter has provoked outrage. But Trump is the bigger problem.
Stories You’ll Want to Hear

It’s not normal for this many Americans to feel depressed

Play the latest episode of Post Reports, the premier daily podcast by The Washington Post.
Listen
| Add to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher
Most Read
Live Discussions
Q&A: Parachute founder Ariel Kaye on how to create a comfortable home.
  • Thursday, May 28 at 11AM EDT
Color of Money Live
  • Thursday, May 28 at 12PM EDT
Politics Live with The Fix
  • Thursday, May 28 at 12PM EDT
Weekly schedule, past shows
More Top Stories

Trump to sign executive order targeting social media firms

The order could open the door for federal officials to try to penalize Facebook, Google and Twitter for the way they moderate content on their sites, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Trump lashes out at social media companies after Twitter labels tweets with fact checks

Pompeo advocates for end to Hong Kong’s special status with U.S.

The secretary of state's declaration sets up potential U.S. actions that could damage the city’s status as a global financial center and trigger a further deterioration in relations between Washington and Beijing.
U.S. troops in Wardak province, Afghanistan, last year. (AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. troops in Wardak province, Afghanistan, last year. (AFP/Getty Images)

Pentagon plans for expected Trump order to pull thousands more troops from Afghanistan

U.S. officials expect the president to cut troop levels as he seeks to deliver on a promise to end America’s “forever wars.” The troop cuts would follow the withdrawal of several thousand service members since the Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban on Feb. 29.
Don’t Miss

With citizenship ceremonies postponed, hundreds of thousands could miss chance to vote in November

Trump’s mockery of wearing masks divides Republicans

‘This invokes a history of terror’: Central Park incident between white woman and black man is part of a fraught legacy

Surveillance overhaul effort collapses in the House

House Democratic leaders decided to pull a measure that would have reauthorized a series of national security powers the day after President Trump tweeted his disfavor.

House casts first-ever remote vote as GOP wages constitutional challenge

House Republicans filed a federal lawsuit against the temporary rules allowing lawmakers’ full participation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden calls for federal civil rights inquiry into death of George Floyd
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo arrives at the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday. (Salwan Georges/The Post)
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo arrives at the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday. (Salwan Georges/The Post)

Cuomo presses Trump to spend big on infrastructure to ‘supercharge’ coronavirus recovery

New York's governor said after a White House visit that the president “gets it,” but he slammed congressional Republicans for not wanting to inject additional money into states where finances have been pummeled by the virus.
Motorists wait to cross into the United States at the San Ysidro International Bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, over Memorial Day weekend. (Melina Mara/The Post)
Motorists wait to cross into the United States at the San Ysidro International Bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, over Memorial Day weekend. (Melina Mara/The Post)

Coronavirus on the border: California hospitals overwhelmed by U.S. citizens and residents coming from Mexico

As Mexico’s health-care system has strained, small community hospitals in Southern California, some of the poorest in the state, have been flooded with Americans who have fallen ill and crossed the border.

Trump administration to end Iran deal waivers in blow to pact

The move ends waivers that allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to do work at sensitive Iranian nuclear sites, after a battle between Iran hawks and a more aggressive group of hard-liners inside the U.S. government.

Putin’s centralized power structure struggles to contain crisis

The Russian president delegated much of the burden to regional officials who were frightened of drawing attention to local problems and risking Moscow’s wrath. One way to stay under the radar could be to understate deaths, analysts say.
Minneapolis police spray mace at protesters to try to break up a gathering near the Third Precinct headquarters on Wednesday. (Reuters)
Minneapolis police spray mace at protesters to try to break up a gathering near the Third Precinct headquarters on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Chaotic scene in Minneapolis after second night of protests over death of George Floyd

Thousands of people poured into the streets for demonstrations that turned chaotic as police fired rubber bullets from a rooftop, some people threw rocks and one business caught fire.

SpaceX postpones launch of crewed Dragon capsule due to weather

The beginning of NASA’s next chapter of space exploration will have to wait until at least the weekend after space officials postponed the launch because of problematic weather around Kennedy Space Center in Florida and a tropical storm brewing off the coast of the Carolinas.
Sam Johnson
1930-2020

Seven-year POW in Vietnam who became a Texas congressman dies at 89

A fighter pilot, Sam Johnson was shot down in 1966 over Vietnam and was tortured at the Hanoi Hilton.

Dow closes above 25,000 for first time since early March

Stocks rolled higher for the second day in a row as the economy continued its slow return to life amid hopes for more federal stimulus and scientific advances against the coronavirus.

Arizona sues Google over allegations it illegally tracked smartphone users’ locations

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s lawsuit alleges Google violated its users’ privacy by collecting information about their whereabouts even if they thought they had turned off such tracking.
A man peruses the vending machines at an airport in Miami. (Getty Images)
A man peruses the vending machines at an airport in Miami. (Getty Images)

FDA rolls back food rules for 5th time during pandemic

The changes are intended to ease manufacturers’ supply-chain snags, but advocacy groups say they are concerned that the changes will become permanent and that they will present problems for consumers concerned about tracking the provenance of their food.
Perspective

Minor leagues have major issues, and baseball’s future will feel impact

The sport’s present is uncertain at its highest level, but its feeder system is facing unprecedented change.

NFL owners set to consider fourth-and-15 proposal, modified replay system for preseason

Owners are scheduled to speak Thursday via video conference, their second such meeting since last week.
Workers tend to the field at the Mariners' stadium in Seattle. (AP)
Workers tend to the field at the Mariners' stadium in Seattle. (AP)
Analysis

Time is working against MLB union as it contemplates critical next step to save season

The pandemic permits only a fraught and narrow path to a truncated, fan-less baseball season this summer.

D.C. to join Northern Va. in reopening Friday

The Maryland suburbs plan to keep restrictions in place for at least several days longer.
Perspective

How can you encourage the maskless to wear a mask?

D.C.-area mother and daughter lost to covid-19 just days apart

Face masks are stacked at a new factory in Mexico City. (AP)
Face masks are stacked at a new factory in Mexico City. (AP)

For paramedics, a constant question: Put on more protective N95 masks or conserve them?

“There is always a lot of risk associated with our jobs, like a building fire,” said one Montgomery County paramedic and firefighter. “But this is different. A building fire can't come home with us and hurt our families.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
When will D.C. reopen, and how did officials decide?
Greenwich Estate design by Sarah Bartholomew (Melanie Acevedo)
Greenwich Estate design by Sarah Bartholomew (Melanie Acevedo)

The ‘grandmillennial’ style brings tradition and peaceful decor into the home

Chintz, wicker, needlepoint: In stressful times, some millennials adopt the style their grandmothers loved.

Cartoons are skewering Trump’s golfing against the backdrop of covid-19 deaths

Daughter’s sleep issues have resurfaced with the pandemic, and I’m losing my mellow mojo

  • By Amy Brill
  • 1 day ago
The Geffen Playhouse production of “The Present” includes a box mailed to your home that you are not to open until showtime. (Geffen Playhouse)
The Geffen Playhouse production of “The Present” includes a box mailed to your home that you are not to open until showtime. (Geffen Playhouse)
Review

‘The Present’ delivers a box to your home — and then it blows your mind

Helder Guimarães’s buoyant live Zoom magic show is a tonic for what ails us in isolation.

In Phase 2 of D.C. reopening, theaters and museums are a go

D.C.'s four-stage recovery blueprint will allow museums and indoor venues to open with significant restrictions in the second phase, which still has no starting date.
Book Review

‘The Motion of the Body Through Space’ is a fitness industry satire weighed down by its own heavy-handedness

(Tom McCorkle for The Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky)
(Tom McCorkle for The Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky)

‘Optional’ is the new recipe buzzword as we cook our way through this pandemic

It is a new world. "Optional" has at last taken a prominence in recipes I could only have dreamed of.
  • By Michael Ruhlman
  • 12 hours ago

Turn curried chicken into a round pie, a slab pie or a turnover

Running shrimp under the broiler is a lightning-fast path to dinner

The entrance to the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is closed in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 16. (AP)
The entrance to the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is closed in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 16. (AP)

Visitors to Florida’s theme parks will find a very different experience this summer

Florida's major theme parks have now announced plans to reopen after closing in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Disney will be the last to open its gates with a mid-July target.
Perspective

Too sick to fly: Should airlines offer refunds to infectious passengers?

Appalachian Trail reopens to day-trippers but urges thru-hikers to stay home

Visual Stories
(Ragnar Axelsson)In Sight
(Ragnar Axelsson)
‘The road that takes you away will lead you back home again as long as you carry on’: The beautiful desolation of the Iceland Ring Road
(Charlie Riedel/AP)Chatbot
(Charlie Riedel/AP)
A deadly ‘checkerboard’: Covid-19’s new surge across rural America
(Alyssa Fowers and William Wan/Post)Graphic
(Alyssa Fowers and William Wan/Post)
A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau finds amid coronavirus pandemic
(Sandra Mehl for The Post)Visual Story
(Sandra Mehl for The Post)
How one French town made going to the beach safe again
(Anthony Kwanfor The Post)Visual Story
(Anthony Kwanfor The Post)
Bars and barre return, but date night and workouts aren’t the same: A glimpse into the new normal
(David Goldman/AP)Photos
(David Goldman/AP)
This photographer found a unique way to help families remember the lost veterans in their lives
From Our Advertisers
This content is paid for by the advertiser and published by WP BrandStudio. The Washington Post newsroom was not involved in the creation of this content. Learn more about WP BrandStudio.