The Washington Post
EXCLUSIVE

Postal Service feared Trump’s rhetoric could cost it billions in Amazon business, documents reveal

The USPS memo reflects the political bind facing the agency this spring as it sought to balance President Trump’s political broadsides with its own urgent need to shore up its balance sheet.
Giancarlo Granda's accusations of a marital affair helped lead to Jerry Falwell's resignation from Liberty University. (Toni L. Sandys/The Post)
Giancarlo Granda's accusations of a marital affair helped lead to Jerry Falwell's resignation from Liberty University. (Toni L. Sandys/The Post)

The Falwells, the pool attendant and the double life that brought them all down

Giancarlo Granda says Becki and Jerry Falwell preyed on him sexually. The evangelical couple says their young business partner tried to extort money from them.

U.S. bans WeChat, TikTok as China becomes major focus of election

The White House will take action to curb WeChat’s use beginning Sunday, and will give TikTok until Nov. 12 until further bans kick in. The move is expected to sharply raise tensions with Beijing.
Election 2020

Virginia’s era as a swing state appears to be over

The Fix
Analysis

What the Trump and Biden town halls taught us about their upcoming debates

Tech Review

How to track your ballot like a UPS package

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CORONAVIRUS

These countries crushed covid-19 — but are now reporting higher infection rates than the U.S.

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A concession worker puts on a fresh pair of gloves to scoop popcorn at the Ocala Drive-In movie theater in Ocala, Fla. (Bloomberg)
A concession worker puts on a fresh pair of gloves to scoop popcorn at the Ocala Drive-In movie theater in Ocala, Fla. (Bloomberg)
Road to Recovery

Microwave popcorn has boomed. Movie theater popcorn has tanked. American farmers have taken note.

Morning Mix
(YouTube)
(YouTube)
Joe Rogan repeats debunked claim that ‘left-wing people’ are starting Oregon wildfires
An Idaho ‘no-masker’ pastor prayed against a mask mandate. He’s now in intensive care for covid-19.
A Massachusetts teenager tested positive for the coronavirus. His parents sent him to school anyway.
Opinions
The longer Trump stays in office, the crazier the GOP becomes
Our Democracy in Peril
Under a lawless Trump, our system of checks and balances is being destroyed
This is who should be Biden’s secretary of state
Drip, drip, drip: The bad news washes away Trump delusions
The Trump administration keeps using chaos as cover
Trump’s biggest argument is failing him. New polls explain why.
Stories You’ll Want to Hear

Former Pence aide on coronavirus task force explains why she will vote for Biden

Plus, a federal judge temporarily blocks Postal Service changes amid concerns about voters being disenfranchised, and testing limits make it hard to tell how much the coronavirus is spreading silently among kids.
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  • Tuesday, Dec 08 at 1PM EST
Weekly schedule, past shows

On first day of early voting, Virginians wait up to four hours to cast ballots

Voters in the Northern Virginia suburbs say they feel a sense of urgency — and don’t trust the U.S. mail.

2020’s storms have run through the alphabet for names. Enter storm Alpha.

Alpha is the first Greek-named storm in 15 years, with all conventional names used up. Meanwhile, a storm in the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to become a hurricane.
Campaign manager Bill Stepien stands by President Trump as he speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
Campaign manager Bill Stepien stands by President Trump as he speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump campaign manager didn’t vote for his boss in 2016 — or at all

Bill Stepien has not voted since 2015. He registered to vote in Washington, D.C., where he has lived since 2017, less than two months ago.
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Book Excerpt

An FBI sex crimes investigator helped trigger 2016’s ‘October Surprise’

Perspective

The dos and don’ts of camping alone

Live Chat

Carolyn Hax is taking questions and tackling your problems

  • By Carolyn Hax

Watchdog urges probe of Trump donations tied to head of USPS

In a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center said contributions made by relatives and employees of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy as recently as 2018 merit scrutiny.
Interactive

How to vote in your state

Audience members watch from their cars as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, seen on a monitor, speaks Thursday during a town hall. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Audience members watch from their cars as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, seen on a monitor, speaks Thursday during a town hall. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Fact Checker
Analysis

An occasional whopper from Joe Biden at the town hall

The former vice president had his moments of over-exuberance but mostly stuck to the facts.

China fears Trump, in tough election, may start new fight

Influential academics in Beijing fear President Trump will turbocharge his attacks on China to generate support and distract from domestic problems.

‘Cuties’ sparked outrage in the U.S. The reception in Senegal was vastly different.

The front of the Ghattas Bakery in Beirut after explosions rocked the city’s port. (Karine Pierre/Hans Lucas for The Post)
The front of the Ghattas Bakery in Beirut after explosions rocked the city’s port. (Karine Pierre/Hans Lucas for The Post)

A baker’s tale: A Beirut landmark struggles to survive unending crises

Last month’s enormous explosion essentially left the Ghattas Bakery and other small businesses with two options: abandon their life’s work or scramble to put together the money to rebuild — without any help from a cash-strapped government.

Mexico extends border closure days after U.S. lifts ‘do not travel’ advisory

Mexico said its border with the United States will remain closed for another month to further prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Analysis

U.S. is sliding into autocracy under Trump, scholars say

Academics who study how democracies die offered dire warnings about a second term for President Trump.
Smoke from wildfires fills the sky on Sept. 12, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)
Smoke from wildfires fills the sky on Sept. 12, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)

Rarefied air: Taking a healthy breath is now a luxury in California

Western wildfire smoke has blanketed the state, but wealthier families can get away for a while, or at least hunker down in air-purified homes.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell has said a stable turnaround must be in place before the central bank unwinds its pandemic interventions. (Bill O'Leary/The Post)
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell has said a stable turnaround must be in place before the central bank unwinds its pandemic interventions. (Bill O'Leary/The Post)

Recession tests limits and shortfalls of Federal Reserve’s toolkit

The central bank has pushed into uncharted territory with a vast emergency response that has grown its balance sheet by roughly $3 trillion.
Analysis

Businesses with ‘windfall’ pandemic profits shower them on investors, study finds

The inequality crisis is fueled by an economic model that lets companies prioritize shareholder payouts over worker wages, Oxfam says.
Launcher

Streamers failing at ‘Fall Guys’ succeed on Twitch

  • By Aron Garst
  • Sep 17

Haskins starts well, but he has only just begun to prove himself

Washington Football Team Coach Ron Rivera got some important advice from Urban Meyer, quarterback Dwayne Haskins’s college coach: Challenge him.
Analysis

Russell Wilson is cooking for the Seahawks, but it might be short-lived

“Let Russ cook” became a rallying cry for Seattle fans who want the team to lean more heavily on its star quarterback.
Nikola Jokic drives against Anthony Davis on Feb. 12, in Denver. (AP)
Nikola Jokic drives against Anthony Davis on Feb. 12, in Denver. (AP)
Analysis

Lakers and Nuggets provide stark contrasts

The differing personalities and career arcs of perennial all-stars LeBron James and Nikola Jokic perfectly symbolize their franchises’ paths to the Western Conference finals.
Celtics’ emotions boil over after another blown lead in loss to Heat
The E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. (AP)
The E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse houses the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. (AP)

Judges in D.C. threatened, harassed after high-profile, political legal cases

The number of threats tracked by the U.S. Marshals Service has dramatically increased in recent years as attacks targeting judges and their rulings have proliferated on social media.

We declare summer’s end and autumn’s sudden arrival

As recently as this past weekend and Monday, it still felt like beach and pool weather. But temperatures have hovered in the low 70s ever since, and they’ll turn even cooler this weekend.
CORONAVIRUS

Jews usually gather for Rosh Hashanah. Now they’re mostly online — or masked and spread out.

Contact-tracing challenges hurt D.C.’s efforts to control virus’s spread, officials say

Known deaths and cases
National arts reporter Geoff Edgers interviewed former basketball player Jalen Rose on Instagram Live on Aug. 21. (The Post)

Q&A with Jalen Rose: ‘If you get a chance to step on the NBA court even once, that’s a successful life’

The former basketball star reflects on Chuck D, the NBA bubble and why student athletes should be paid.
Perspective

I saw the teen comedies of my generation, but they didn’t see me. Then came ‘Easy A.’

When the genre was focused on girl-chasing and lewd jokes, this high school romp redefined coming-of-age confidence.
Book Review

Van Gogh’s image is cemented in our cultural memory. His letters complicate the view.

  • By Reagan Upshaw
  • Sep 17
(Laura Chase de Formigny for The Post)
(Laura Chase de Formigny for The Post)
Review

The hard seltzer market continues to expand, but many of the newest products fall flat

Demand for the bubbly, low-calorie quaff is showing no signs of going flat, and 2020 has seen a flood of new brands hoping to get in on the party.
Perspective

Every fall, I celebrate the Moon Festival with mooncakes. This year, I’m ordering them online.

5 beer-friendly recipes to bring Oktoberfest home

Scuba divers explore the Dixie Arrow wreck. (Ann Sommers)
Scuba divers explore the Dixie Arrow wreck. (Ann Sommers)

Off the North Carolina shore, a deep dive into history

Scuba divers explore shipwrecks dating from the Civil War era to post-World War II off the Cape Hatteras coast.
  • By John Briley
  • Sep 18
Perspective

National parks are travel’s next frontier in the movement for racial equality

  • By Kerry-Ann Hamilton
  • Sep 17

How to stay warm and safe living the van life in winter

  • By Molly O'Brien
  • Sep 17
Visual Stories
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(Neil Kramer)
A mother, her son and his ex-wife survive coronavirus quarantine in Queens with humor, love and empathy
(Photo by Georgia Department of Public Safety)Graphic
(Photo by Georgia Department of Public Safety)
Deadly force behind the wheel
(The Washington Post)Graphic
(The Washington Post)
How turnout and swing voters could get Trump or Biden to 270
(Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)Visual Story
(Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)
Deadly, worst-in-a-century floods inundate Sudan
(Andreas Gebert/Reuters)Photos
(Andreas Gebert/Reuters)
Here are 16 of the week’s best photos
(Caitlin O'Hara for The Post)Story
(Caitlin O'Hara for The Post)
‘Mom, help help help help!’