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Judge ordered
to dismiss case
against Flynn
SPLIT RULING BY FEDERAL APPEALS COURT
Panel: Challenge to Justice Dept. decision unjustified

BY A NN E . M ARIMOW
Prosecutor adds
U.S. District Judge Emmet G.
Sullivan must immediately dis- to portrait of
miss the criminal case against
President Trump’s former nation- Barr as biased
al security adviser Michael Flynn
and cannot scrutinize the Justice toward Trump
Department’s decision to drop the
long-running prosecution, a fed- BY M ATT Z APOTOSKY
eral appeals court ruled Wednes- AND K AROUN D EMIRJIAN
day.
In a 2-to-1 decision, the court A federal prosecutor’s testimo-
said it is not within the judge’s ny Wednesday that he was pressed
power to prolong a prosecution or by supervisors to offer a more
examine the government’s mo- lenient sentencing recommenda-
PHILIP CHEUNG FOR THE WASHINGTON POST tives in the politically charged tion for a friend of President
A man kneels last week near the tree where the body of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old black man, was found hanging outside city hall case. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to Trump’s capped a remarkable
in Palmdale, Calif., early this month. Residents called for an outside investigation after officials quickly ruled the death a suicide. lying to federal agents about his four-month stretch in which At-
pre-inauguration contacts with torney General William P. Barr has
Russia’s ambassador before the seemed to repeatedly bend the

Ugliest of racist images Poll: Black Americans’ Justice Department moved in May
to dismiss the charges.
“This is not the unusual case
Justice Department to Trump’s
political interests — generating
significant controversy but no per-
once again stirring fear fury permeated by hope where a more searching inquiry is
justified,” wrote Judge Neomi Rao,
sonal consequence, legal analysts
said.
a recent nominee of the president, Since February, Barr has inter-
BY M IRANDA G REEN, ings are under investigation in BY C LEVE R . W OOTSON J R., The graphic video of a black in a decision that can be reviewed vened in two criminal cases to the
D EREK H AWKINS at least two Southern states. S COTT C LEMENT man slowly dying on a Minne- by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for benefit of those who once advised
AND S COTT W ILSON And nooses have been report- AND E MILY G USKIN apolis street had saddened the D.C. Circuit. Trump; ousted a U.S. attorney who
ed in places as varied as the and angered her, but the mul- In a victory for Flynn and the is investigating Trump’s personal
palmdale, calif. — Some of Sonoma Raceway in California Jackie Beckley believes the ticultural jolt of outrage that Trump administration, the panel lawyer; and dutifully implement-
the ugliest, most resonant and a construction site in Port- video of the final moments of energized protesters across majority said Sullivan over- ed Trump’s vision for a forceful
symbols of the nation’s history land, Ore. George Floyd’s life may finally the United States gave her stepped his role and committed a crackdown on demonstrators in
of racial violence have re- In this high-desert city, Rob- help white friends and col- hope. She wondered whether “clear legal error” by refusing to the District protesting police vio-
turned after more than half a ert Fuller, a 24-year-old black leagues understand what she people who did not share her immediately close the case and lence.
century to galvanize national man, was found hanging from has labored to tell them about experiences would finally be- instead appointing a former judge Democrats and legal observers
demonstrations in recent a Chinese flame tree outside her experience as a black gin to understand them. to argue against the Justice De- have decried the moves — calling
weeks driven by the Black city hall in early June. Local woman: the uneasy feeling “I think because white partment’s position. on Barr to resign or be investigat-
Lives Matter movement. authorities quickly ruled that that rose when her son was America was able to see it, it’s The judge’s “demonstrated in- ed by his agency’s internal watch-
On both coasts, black men he had taken his own life in the late checking in, her hesita- no longer them living in an tent to scrutinize the reasoning dog — and morale inside the Jus-
have been found hanging from most public of ways. But Palm- tion to take a job transfer oblivious world,” said Beckley, and motives of the Department of tice Department has plummeted,
tree branches, suspected sui- dale residents demanded an “down South,” even her anger a 58-year-old call center em- Justice constitute irreparable according to several employees
cides that have revived the im- independent examination of at disparate treatment by ployee from the Columbus, harms that cannot be remedied on who spoke on the condition of
ages of lynchings. Cross burn- SEE IMAGES ON A11 store clerks. SEE POLL ON A10 appeal,” Rao wrote in the 19-page anonymity to discuss the matter
SEE FLYNN ON A8 SEE BARR ON A8

A summer tradition looks di≠erent this year Virus deaths lag spike in infections,
but experts worry they’ll catch up
‘Zombie arms,’ false alarms and temporary closures are part of the new camp routine
BYL ENNY B ERNSTEIN, ably behind cases,” Anthony S.
R ACHEL W EINER Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-
BY A RIANA E UNJUNG C HA AND J OEL A CHENBACH disease specialist, told Congress
at a hearing Tuesday. In the weeks
ellicott city, md. — Donning With novel coronavirus infec- to come, he and others said, the
a white mask, YMCA counselor tions setting a single-day national death toll is likely to rise com-
Aryan Shal tried to channel calm record Wednesday, health experts mensurately.
as he told the kids to imagine are taking little solace from one of Which means Arizona, Texas
pushing a wave. Standing six feet the few bright spots in the current and Florida, states that reopened
apart, the group giggled as they resurgence: Deaths are not rising early and now are experiencing
imitated his movements. in lockstep with caseloads. runaway infection rates, are likely
The two dozen boys and girls But that may be just a matter of to be burying more dead in July.
were coronavirus pros. They time. “As long as there is a fair
knew to sit at opposite ends of “Deaths always lag consider- SEE DEATHS ON A6
tables, knew shared toys had to
be disinfected first, and knew
they shouldn’t suffer through a New coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S., by day
tummy ache but instead tell an As of 8 p.m.
adult right away. CASES DEATHS
“The kids are like, ‘Yeah, this 38,173
Total Total
feels a little weird, but we’re still 2,368,658 119,887 2,500
having fun.’ It’s an adjustment,
obviously,” Shal, 22, said. 30,000 2,000
As the school year comes to an
end amid an easing of stay-at- 688
1,500
home orders, millions of U.S. 20,000
parents face the nerve-racking 7-day 7-day
decision whether to send their 1,000
average
average
children to day care and summer 10,000
camp. And they must do so with- 500
out any clear data or large studies MICHAEL S. WILLIAMSON/THE WASHINGTON POST

to guide them about the risks. YMCA counselor Jussara Kramer gives a no-contact high-five to Noelle Logan in Ellicott City, Md. 0 0
SEE CAMP ON A20 The Y has had no known outbreaks among its 1,000 day-care locations in the past three months. Feb. 29 June 24 Feb. 29 June 24

In the News backs before a constitu-

THE NATION
With his use of the
term “kung flu,” Presi-
dent Trump sparked
backlash over racist lan-
guage — and a rallying
cry for supporters. A2
Young black and gay
candidates in New York,
Kentucky and Virginia
primaries were heading
for breakthroughs this
week, tapping into the
public clamor for racial
SAM WARD justice and equality. A3
Trump’s planned fire-
‘A show of force’ The Post reconstructed the works display at Mount
Rushmore has raised
movements of military helicopters that roared
concerns over environ-
over protesters in the District, creating wind mental risks and coro-
speeds equivalent to a tropical storm’s. B1 navirus spread. A4
Virginia is poised to
create the nation’s first
pandemic workplace
safety mandates, citing
inaction by OSHA, the
federal agency. A17
NASA will rename its
headquarters for Mary
W. Jackson, the agency’s
first black female engi-
neer and one of the
“Hidden Figures” who
overcame rampant dis-
crimination. A18
THE WORLD
Russian Victory Day
celebrations arrived as
President Vladimir Pu-
tin sought to overcome
pandemic-related set-
tional referendum. A12
Kosovo’s president,
Hashim Thaci, has been
indicted on war crimes
charges days before a
planned White House
summit with Serbia. A14
THE ECONOMY
The Segway PT, the
two-wheel transport
that never quite became
the future of getting
around, will soon be no
more after production
halts in July. A16
THE REGION
A D.C. statehood bill,
expected to receive a
House vote Friday,
would get a veto recom-
mendation if it reached
the president’s desk, the
White House said. B1 Inside
Nine people were ar-
rested Tuesday night in LOCAL LIVING
skirmishes with authori-
How to open a
ties near the White
House, police said. B1
hotel — for bees
This project rewards you
Families in Fairfax
and the pollinators. L6
County Public Schools
will choose between 100 ST YLE
percent virtual learning
The man behind
and part-time in-person
the birder video
schooling next year. B1 Long before sparking a
Leaders at James Mad-
conversation about race,
ison University are urg-
he pushed for inclusion
ing the school to rename
at Marvel Comics. C1
buildings that honor
Confederate leaders. B5
BUSINESS NEWS ....................... A16 CONTENT © 2020
ST YLE COMICS ....................................... C4 The Washington Post / Year 143, No. 203
Signature Theatre co-
LOTTERIES...................................B3
founder Eric Schaeffer OBITUARIES ................................ B6
resigned after sexual as-
OPINION PAGES.........................A21
SPORTS.......................................C8
sault accusations. C1 TELEVISION.................................C3
A2
H A P P EN I N G T O D A Y
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Trump’s family seeks to block book by his niece
BY M ICHAEL K RANISH
President Trump’s brother on
Tuesday petitioned a New York
court to block the publication of a
book by Mary L. Trump that de-
scribes the president, her uncle, as
the “world’s most dangerous
man.”
Presales of the book, slated for
publication on July 28, have
soared to the top of bestseller lists
on the basis of a description from
publisher Simon & Schuster that it
will reveal decades of family se-
crets, including a “nightmare of
traumas” that explain the psychol-
ogy of the man who is now presi-
dent.
President Trump told the Axios
news service earlier this week that
Mary Trump is “not allowed” to
write the book, because she signed
a nondisclosure agreement in
2001 that settled her suit against
him and his siblings over her in-
heritance from her grandfather
Fred Trump Sr., the president’s
father. President Trump said the
agreement was a “very powerful
one” that “covers everything.”
In the petition to stop publica-
tion, the president’s brother Rob-
ert Trump said that Mary Trump
had agreed as part of a settlement
related to the inheritance fight
that she “would not publish any
account” of her relationship with
Donald Trump or his siblings.
The terms of the agreement,
disclosed as part of the petition to
stop the book, required that Mary
CO RREC TI O NS
l A June 14 Outlook review of
former acting U.S. attorney
general Matthew G. Whitaker’s
“Above the Law: The Inside Story
of How the Justice Department
Tried to Subvert President
Trump” quoted a sentence in the
book that said James R. Clapper
Jr. was at the National Security
Agency. He was the director of
national intelligence.
l The Opening Lines feature in
the June 14 Washington Post
Magazine, about the coronavirus
pandemic’s effects on Slab City,
an off-the-grid community in
California, incorrectly said that
its East Jesus art installation was
closed. It is open to visitors, but
guided tours have been canceled.
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Publisher promises
new insight into ‘world’s
most dangerous man’
Trump not “directly or indirectly
publish” any account of her rela-
tionship with the Trump family
unless she had permission from
Donald Trump and his siblings.
The terms of that agreement had
not previously been made public.
The petition was filed in
Queens County Surrogate’s Court
in New York.
Mary Trump’s attorney, Theo-
dore Boutrous Jr., said in a state-
ment that the family’s effort to
restrain publication should be
tossed out. “President Trump and
his siblings seek to suppress a
book that will discuss matters of
utmost public importance,” he
said. “They are pursuing this un-
lawful prior restraint because they
do not want the public to know the
truth. The courts will not tolerate
this brazen violation of the First
Amendment.”
President Trump and his allies
have made or threatened numer-
ous efforts to block books by jour-
nalists and former staffers, and his
administration most recently
failed to stop publication of for-
mer national security adviser
John Bolton’s highly critical mem-
oir, “The Room Where It Hap-
pened,” published Tuesday by Si-
EZ RE
Young people listen to President Trump at Dream City Church in Phoenix on Tuesday. The president’s appearance showed how his casual
use of a demeaning phrase has swiftly morphed into a staple of his reelection message amid tumbling poll numbers.
Trump’s phrase becomes rallying cry
BY D AVID N AKAMURA
President Trump’s first use of
the phrase “kung flu” — during a
campaign rally in Tulsa last week-
end — drew broad political back-
lash as a racist slur against Asian
Americans.
Within three days, however, it
was also something else: a rallying
cry for his supporters.
Trump’s appearance before a
crowd of several thousand enthu-
siastic young people at the Dream
City Church in Phoenix on Tues-
day showed how his casual use of a
demeaning phrase — one that
even some White House aides re-
jected three months ago — has
swiftly morphed into a staple of
his reelection message amid tum-
bling poll numbers.
The president hadn’t even used
the words in Phoenix before audi-
ence members, presumably
primed from having heard his riff
on the “many names” of the coro-
navirus at the Tulsa rally, beat him
to the punchline and began shout-
ing out “kung flu” — prompting
Trump, with a grin, to repeat it.
“Kung flu — yeah,” Trump said,
eliciting cheers. “Kung flu.”
The episode laid bare how, de-
spite attempts from White House
aides to justify Trump’s rhetoric as
a way to pin the blame for the
coronavirus pandemic on China,
where it originated, the president
appears more interested in juicing
his conservative base.
“The fact that he got the crowd
so riled up was just chilling,” said
Chris Lu, a Chinese American who
served as cabinet secretary in the
Obama White House. “In that real-
ly primal desire to get a rise out of
the crowd and get that affirmation
he wants, he went to this place that
has such bad consequences for
Asian Americans broadly and for
Asian American kids in particular.
It’s a joke to him but not to us.”
Lu was among a number of
prominent Asian Americans, in-
cluding actor George Takei, for-
mer U.S. attorney Preet Bharara
mon & Schuster.
But an effort to stop publication
by a member of his family is un-
precedented and is bound to bring
even more attention to it. In the
case of the Bolton book, the con-
tents had already been leaked and
volumes printed by the time
Trump tried to stop it. In the case
of Mary Trump’s book, its contents
remain closely guarded by the
publisher and it is not clear wheth-
er the printing run has begun.
Julia Prosser, a spokeswoman
for Simon & Schuster, said in a
statement that “the courts take a
dim view of prior restraint, and
this attempt to block publication
will meet the same fate as those
that have gone before. In ‘Too
Much and Never Enough: How My
Family Created the World’s Most
Dangerous Man,’ Mary Trump has
written a compelling personal sto-
ry of worldwide significance, and
we look forward to helping her tell
her story.”
The New York Times first re-
ported that the Trump family is
seeking a restraining order
against the book.
Robert Trump could not be
reached for comment. His attor-
ney, Charles J. Harder, provided a
statement from Robert Trump
that said: “I am deeply disappoint-
ed in my niece Mary’s decision to
write a book concerning our fami-
ly. Her attempt to sensationalize
and mischaracterize our family re-
lationship after all of these years
for her own financial gain is both a
and tech entrepreneur Andrew
Yang, who denounced the presi-
dent’s language as racist on social
media.
The president’s weaponized
language around the pandemic
this week marked a clear escala-
tion of his previous use of “Chinese
virus” and “Wuhan virus” to de-
monize the Chinese. Those terms
also drew condemnation from
Democrats as offensive and xeno-
phobic, prompting Trump in late
March to publicly express support
for Asian Americans and state that
“the spreading of the virus is not
their fault in any way.”
His use of “kung flu” coincides
with polling that shows low public
support for his handling of both
the coronavirus, which is spiking
in many states, as well as his re-
sponse to the nationwide protests
for racial justice, in which he has
denounced protesters and called
for a militarized police response.
White House aides this week
struggled to explain the presi-
dent’s latest rhetorical shift. On
Wednesday, Kellyanne Conway, a
counselor to the president, de-
fended Trump by telling reporters
he was trying to make clear that
the “virus originated in China.”
Yet she grew defensive after
Weijia Jiang, a CBS News corre-
spondent who is Chinese Ameri-
can, asked her to explain the con-
nection between Trump’s lan-
guage and holding Beijing ac-
countable.
“How do you know people
aren’t anticipating that or not con-
necting that?” Conway responded.
The exchange represented an
about-face for Conway. In March,
Jiang reported that a White House
official, whom she did not name,
used the phrase “kung flu” during
a conversation with her. At that
time, Conway had called the lan-
guage “highly offensive” and
“hurtful,” noting her children are
Asian American because her hus-
band, attorney George Conway, a
prominent Trump critic, is of Fili-
pino descent.
travesty and injustice to the mem-
ory of my late brother Fred and our
beloved parents. I and the rest of
my entire family are so proud of
my wonderful brother, the Presi-
dent, and feel that Mary’s actions
are truly a disgrace.”
Mary Trump has long been at
odds with her family. Her father,
Fred Trump Jr., was an alcoholic
who died when she was 16. Friends
of her father told The Washington
Post last year that they had ques-
tions about whether the family
failed to help him and whether
they might have prevented his
death.
Mary Trump and her brother
Fred Trump III sued Donald and
Robert Trump and another sib-
ling, alleging that they did not
receive the inheritance that they
believed they were promised.
Donald Trump responded by cut-
ting off medical assistance to Fred
III’s son, who has cerebral palsy.
Trump told the New York Daily
News at the time that when he and
his siblings were sued by Mary and
Fred III, “we said, ‘Why should we
give [Fred III’s son William] medi-
cal coverage?’ ”
At the time, Mary Trump was
angry at the way the family treated
her and her brother.
“Given this family, it would be
utterly naive to say it has nothing
to do with money,” she told the
New York Daily News in 2000.
michael.kranish@washpost.com
Alice Crites contributed to this report.
THE WASHINGTON POST
“Kellyanne now out there prov-
ing once again that having an
Asian spouse isn’t a racism vac-
cine,” Jeff Yang, an author and
columnist who writes about race
and culture, said on Twitter.
In an interview, Yang said white
Americans have long used the An-
glicized term “kung fu” as a catch-
all to describe a range of Chinese
martial arts that they have inter-
nalized through popular culture
— but one that frequently has been
used to stereotype Asian Ameri-
cans as foreign or culturally exotic.
Trump’s use of “kung flu” has ef-
fectively created a “schoolyard
taunt” that is being mimicked by the
president’s supporters, he added.
“The framing around ‘kung flu’
is uniquely problematic because
it’s not simply attaching a geo-
graphical moniker to the term —
which was their original excuse —
to make clear where this came
from,” said Yang, who co-hosts a
podcast on Asian American issues
called “They Call Us Bruce,” named
for martial arts icon Bruce Lee.
Trump’s appearance in Phoenix
came at a conference for Turning
Point Action, the 501(c)(4) politi-
cal arm of founder Charlie Kirk’s
nonprofit organization of young
conservatives. Though the White
House listed the event on Trump’s
official schedule, it took on all the
trappings of a campaign rally —
from warm-up remarks from the
president’s son, Don Jr., to the use
of his campaign music.
The crowd was mostly young
and overwhelmingly white, and
most attendees did not wear face
masks as they filled most of the
church, violating federal safety
guidelines issued by the Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-
tion to protect against the spread
of the coronavirus. Arizona is one
of more than 30 states that are
experiencing a spike in infections,
and it is among seven reporting
new highs in hospitalizations for
the disease.
Among those in the audience
was Kimberly Yee, a Republican
D IGES T
CALIFORNIA
Voters to decide on
affirmative action
California voters will decide in
November whether governments
and public colleges and
universities can consider race in
their hiring, contracting and
admissions decisions.
The state has banned
affirmative action policies since
1996, when 55 percent of voters
approved a constitutional
amendment that banned
“preferential treatment” based on
race, sex, color, ethnicity or
national origin.
The ban has survived many
court challenges and legislative
attempts to change it. But this
year, supporters were buoyed by
the nationwide protests of racial
injustice stemming from the
killing of George Floyd in
Minneapolis.
The state Senate voted 30 to 10
on Wednesday to repeal that
amendment, a move that still
needs the approval of voters in
November. Sen. Scott Wilk of
Santa Clarita was the only
Republican to vote for the repeal.
The vote comes one day before
the deadline to put constitutional
amendments on the ballot for
November. The repeal will face
strong, organized opposition
from some in the state’s Asian
community, who have said they
fear it will be used against them at
some of the state’s elite public
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
who became the first Asian Ameri-
can to serve in the Arizona state
legislature and now serves as state
treasurer. She also is a co-chair of
Asian Americans for Trump, a
group that Trump’s reelection
campaign announced last month.
“As an Asian-American, I’m
much more concerned about the
media and Democrat’s refusal to
acknowledge China’s lack of trans-
parency and culpability in the
spread of this terrible disease than
I am with the president’s reference
to it,” Yee said in a statement.
In the 2016 election, Democrat
Hillary Clinton won 65 percent of
the Asian American vote to
Trump’s 27 percent, according to
exit polls, but Trump’s rhetoric
and policies could be further erod-
ing his standing with the small but
fast-growing voting bloc. In the
2018 midterms, 77 percent of
Asian Americans backed Demo-
cratic candidates in the House
elections, up from 49 percent in
the 2014 midterms.
This week, Trump signed an
executive order to extend restric-
tions on foreign workers and some
family members of U.S. citizens
during the coronavirus, a policy
that restricts a popular program
used by many Asian immigrants.
John C. Yang, president of Asian
Americans Advancing Justice,
said his organization has regis-
tered a spike in reports of violence
against Asian Americans since the
outbreak began, having tracked
2,300 incidents since late March.
He said Trump was seeking to
distract the public “from his own
abysmal record” in overseeing the
federal response to the virus.
Yang noted that the World
Health Organization, which for-
mally named the pandemic
“covid-19,” and the CDC “made
clear that referring to the ‘Chinese
virus’ was an effort to stigmatize
and was not helpful to the medical
community. To suggest ‘kung flu’
is somehow better in any way is
ludicrous.”
david.nakamura@washpost.com
universities where Asian
Americans make up a higher
percentage of the enrollment
than they do of the state’s
population.
California is one of eight states
that have banned affirmative
action policies. The others are
Washington, Florida, Michigan,
Nebraska, Arizona, New
Hampshire and Oklahoma.
— Associated Press
MISSISSIPPI
Man accused of threat
against lawmaker’s life
A federal indictment accuses a
Mississippi man of threatening to
kill the state’s only black U.S.
representative and his staffers.
The indictment against
Newton Wade Townsend, 52,
identifies the target of his alleged
threats by the initials B.T.
The only member of
Mississippi’s delegation with
those initials is Rep. Bennie
Thompson (D), chairman of the
House Homeland Security
Committee.
“On June 1, 2020, Townsend
placed a phone call to the office of
a Member of Congress and
threatened to kill the
Congressman and his African-
American staffers,” said a news
release Wednesday from U.S.
Attorney Mike Hurst in Jackson,
Miss., and U.S. Capitol Police
Chief Steven Sund.
— Associated Press
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A3

Politics & the Nation

Challengers from activists, supercharged by the
2018 victory of Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The 30-
year old congresswoman easily

left poised to win defeated a former CNBC anchor

Likely upsets by young
minority candidates
could lead to power shift
BY D AVID W EIGEL
AND P AUL K ANE
Young black and gay candidates
were heading for electoral break-
throughs this week, turning the
public clamor for racial justice
and equality into likely primary
upsets in New York, Kentucky and
Virginia.
Those results have revealed a
resurgent left, which has pivoted
from defeat in the Democratic
presidential primaries to a focus
on down-ballot races. In safe blue
seats, and in places where the par-
ty has tended to nominate moder-
ates, a coalition of white liberals
and nonwhite voters is transfer-
ring energy from the past month’s
protest movements into challeng-
es of the party’s establishment.
“Let’s allow this to be a moment
where every single person in this
district, and every single person in
this country, feels like they are a
part of our democracy,” said
Jamaal Bowman, 44, a former
middle school principal who de-
clared victory over 16-term Rep.
Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.). “You know
what Donald Trump is more afraid
of than anything else? A black man
with power.”
Bowman’s likely win came dur-
ing protests that upended Ameri-
can cities following the death of
George Floyd, an unarmed black
man who died in Minneapolis po-
lice custody a month ago. Poten-
tial wins for two openly gay candi-
dates came a week after the Su-
preme Court ruled that gay and
transgender workers are protect-
ed from workplace discrimination
under the landmark 1964 civil
rights law, a major victory for the
LGBT movement.
The apparent victories of many
of the candidates — the wait for
hundreds of thousands of absen-
tee ballots has delayed calls on the
outcome — stretch from New
York’s Westchester County to Vir-
ginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
In Virginia, Cameron Webb —
an African American physician,
former White House fellow and
health policy researcher — easily
won the Democratic nomination
in a House district that includes
the city of Charlottesville. In Ken-
tucky’s Senate primary, black state
legislator Charles Booker was run-
ning close with Amy McGrath, a
retired Marine Corps fighter pilot
and suburban mother backed by
the national party.
And in New York, nonwhite
candidates were poised to capture
nominations for House seats in
majority-white suburbs, gaining
ground in the sort of races where
party machines had long resisted
change.
Engel, 73, chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee,
called Bowman’s victory claim
premature in a district that en-
compasses the northern Bronx
and a southern swath of suburban
Westchester County. But Bowman
was already accepting congratula-
tions from the national liberal
groups that backed him.
Wins in many of the primaries
would be tantamount to capturing
the seat in the heavily Democratic
districts.
And while these Democrats re-
placing Democrats will not be
shifting the balance of power in
the House, they represent a gener-
ational change that could pose a
challenge to House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi (D-Calif.) and disrupt the
more tradition-supporting Con-
gressional Black Caucus and Con-
gressional Hispanic Caucus.
“People are beginning to look at
black candidates not through the
lens of electability, but through
whether they’re the right person
for the job,” said Stefanie Brown
James, the co-founder of Collec-
tive PAC, which spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars in ads across
the three states voting Tuesday.
Jamaal Bowman of New York, who declared victory in the 16th Congressional District race, was one of
several challenging the Democratic establishment.  For a video, go to wapo.st/june23primaries.
“I’ve known Mondaire Jones since
high school, and to see him ascend
from being an NAACP youth lead-
er to, potentially, a congressman,
is just crazy.”
Jones, 33, an attorney and for-
mer official in the Obama Justice
Department, held a primary lead
in a crowded field vying to replace
retiring Rep. Nita M. Lowey
(D-N.Y.), chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee.
Lowey will turn 83 on July 5.
If he wins, Jones would be the
first openly gay black member of
Congress, representing a district
that includes Rockland and north-
ern Westchester counties — home
to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“For most of this race, much of
Westchester County’s Democratic
establishment doubted that I
could win this election. And so I
hope that these people will recon-
sider the next time they make as-
sumptions about candidates like
myself and our viability even as we
outperform the competition by all
conceivable measures,” Jones said
in an interview Wednesday. “We
have to cultivate diverse talent
and support diverse talent and not
push them to the side or marginal-
ize them.”
Jones had the endorsement of
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and
other leading liberals as he backed
several of their priorities, includ-
ing the Green New Deal.
“I was never running for Con-
gress to make history, but the his-
toric nature of this campaign is
obviously not lost on me,” Jones
said. “And the power of represen-
tation in particular is something I
could have benefited from directly
growing up.”
In another New York district,
Afro-Latino state legislator
Ritchie Torres, 32, also led a
crowded primary field to fill the
seat of retiring 15-term Rep. José
E. Serrano (D).
Torres, who was 2 years old
when Serrano first won his con-
gressional seat, was the first open-
ly gay elected official in the Bronx
when he won a city council seat.
His father is from Puerto Rico, and
his mother is black.
In a Long Island district, where
Republican Rep. Peter T. King is
retiring, Jamaica-born Iraq and
Afghanistan war veteran Jackie
Gordon held a commanding pri-
mary lead, unlikely to be reversed
by absentee ballots.
Bowman, Jones, and Torres all
gained ground after the killing of
Floyd sparked protests and calls
for police restructuring across the
country. That energy also re-
STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES
shaped 14-term Rep. Carolyn B.
Maloney’s reelection bid, which
was too close to call Tuesday night.
After nearly 40,000 votes were
counted, Maloney had just 42 per-
cent of the vote against three chal-
lengers; Suraj Patel, who had lost
to her handily in 2018, trailed by a
few hundred votes, with thou-
sands of absentee ballots left to
count.
While Maloney, 74, holds the
gavel of the powerful House Com-
mittee on Oversight and Reform,
clout she did not have in 2018,
Patel honed a pitch of generation-
al change. The combination of the
coronavirus and the mass protests
gave him an opening to criticize
Maloney’s past skepticism of man-
datory vaccination and her vote
for the 1994 crime bill.
“It’s a change election, much
more so than two years ago,” the
36-year-old Patel said in an inter-
view. “The generational piece of
this race is so much more persua-
sive to a lot of people, because the
systems all around us are broken.
It’s not abstract anymore when
60 percent of coronavirus deaths
in New York are in public hous-
ing.”
The results in New York came
after years of recruiting and in-
vestment by the city’s left-wing
while endorsing Bowman and
Jones.
She did not support Torres, but
the shock of Ocasio-Cortez’s first
win had helped groups such as
Justice Democrats and the Work-
ing Families Party recruit more
candidates and earn more media
attention, crucial to winning races
where the novel coronavirus had
put a halt to traditional campaign-
ing.
“It’s like B.C. and A.D. — before
AOC and after AOC,” Torres said.
“In the post-AOC world, incum-
bency is no longer an entitlement,
no longer a guarantee of elected
office.”
Pelosi has threaded the needle
between the competing wings of
her caucus, from the 30 Demo-
crats sitting in districts Trump
won four years ago to more liberal
members of the Congressional
Progressive Caucus.
Now, these newcomers might
link arms with Ocasio-Cortez, who
upset Joseph Crowley, a lieuten-
ant in Pelosi’s leadership team at
the time, to try to more aggressive-
ly push the caucus to the left on
some issues.
As they voted on Tuesday, black
voters who supported Kentucky’s
Booker said they were confident
that he could run competitively
against Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Danyle Washington, 43, cast
ballots for “BB” — Booker and Joe
Biden, the presumptive Demo-
cratic presidential nominee — and
said the state legislator would be a
stronger candidate in November.
“He’s not changing minds of
people who are racist,” Washing-
ton said. “I think he’s changing
minds of people who are open.”
Athey Ajak, a 20-year-old col-
lege student, said he saw a strong
connection between Booker’s can-
didacy and the protests that had
transformed the country’s debate
over policing and racial justice.
“All of this protesting,” he said,
“means nothing if you don’t vote.”
david.weigel@washpost.com
paul.kane@washpost.com
Eugene Scott in Washington, Paul
Kane in New Jersey and Joe Wood in
Louisville contributed to this report.

Divided Senate confirms Trump’s STOREWIDE RUG SALE

200th judicial pick for federal bench
BY J OHN W AGNER
A divided Senate on Wednes-
day confirmed President Trump’s
200th judicial nominee, a mile-
stone that reflects the breakneck
speed at which he and fellow
Republicans have moved to cre-
ate a legacy that will endure
regardless of the outcome of this
year’s elections.
On a largely party-line vote of
52 to 48, the Republican-led
chamber approved the nomina-
tion of Cory Wilson of Mississip-
pi to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Fifth Circuit, elevating an-
other conservative judge to a
lifetime appointment on the fed-
eral bench.
With Wilson’s confirmation,
Republicans also reached a
benchmark vigorously pursued
by Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.): For the first
time in more than four decades,
there are no longer any vacancies
on the nation’s appellate courts,
the judicial level where most of
the major rulings are handed
down.
Wilson, 49, a state appeals
court judge and former state
legislator, became the 53rd cir-
cuit court judge nominated by
Trump and steered to confirma-
tion by McConnell, the driving
force behind the GOP push to
reshape the judiciary, who has
adopted the mantra of “no vacan-
cy left behind.”
By contrast, at the end of his
eight years, President Barack
Obama had 55 Senate-confirmed
circuit judges.
In remarks ahead of the vote
on Wilson’s nomination, McCon-
nell called him “an outstanding
nominee for this important va-
cancy” and heralded the mile-
stone of confirming 200 judges.
He said it was not a partisan
win but “a victory for the rule of
the law and the Constitution
itself.”
Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Io-
wa) said the “landmark achieve-
ment” was the result of “the
president keeping his word” and
the dedicated work of McConnell
and other leading Republicans in
the chamber.
“Their decisions will be driven
by what the law actually says,”
Grassley said of the phalanx of
confirmed nominees.
GOP reaches goal of zero
appellate vacancies and
cements lasting legacy
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine)
was the only Republican to vote
against Wilson’s nomination,
while all 47 members of the
Democratic caucus opposed it.
Wednesday’s vote under-
scored that McConnell and fel-
low Republicans have been un-
deterred in ensuring confirma-
tion of the president’s picks for
the circuit courts and other lev-
els of the federal judiciary de-
spite the crises of a pandemic,
recession and civil unrest over
racial injustice.
Filling court vacancies has
become even more crucial for
Republicans less than five
months ahead of an election with
the presidency and the Senate
majority at stake. Last month,
Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Lindsey O. Graham
(R-S.C.) urged federal judges who
are in their mid- to late 60s to
step aside so that Republicans,
increasingly nervous about hold-
ing the majority in November,
can fill their seats.
The effect of the GOP push
was made clear on Wednesday, as
a federal appeals court ruled that
a longtime district judge cannot
scrutinize the Justice Depart-
ment’s decision to drop its long-
running prosecution of Trump’s
former national security adviser
Michael T. Flynn and must dis-
miss the case.
The ruling was written by
Judge Neomi Rao, a recent nomi-
nee of the president.
Among the objections Demo-
crats expressed about Wilson’s
appointment was his frequent
criticism of Obama and other
prominent Democrats while he
was a state lawmaker and an
adviser to top Mississippi offi-
cials.
Wilson, for example, called the
Affordable Care Act “illegiti-
mate” and “perverse” and wrote
that he wished the Supreme
Court would strike down the
signature health-care law that
Obama signed in 2010.
During his confirmation hear-
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A4
Democrats significantly downscale convention
Milwaukee event will
forgo crowds, floor votes
and traditional pomp
BY M ICHAEL S CHERER
Democrats announced
Wednesday that Joe Biden will
forgo big crowds, chaotic floor
votes and much of the pomp of a
traditional political convention
when he accepts his party’s nomi-
nation over four nights of nation-
ally televised celebrations in Mil-
waukee in August.
The decision to shift gears and
shrink attendance, abandoning
the city’s basketball arena for a
nearby convention hall, is intend-
ed to reduce the spread of the
novel coronavirus and establish a
clear contrast with President
Trump, who wants a large and
raucous event with thousands of
cheering supporters to celebrate
his nomination.
“The thing that I believe more
than anything is that Donald
Trump needs the roar of a crowd
to feel he is in charge,” Democrat-
ic convention CEO Joe Solmo-
nese said. “And Joe Biden was
born to be in charge.”
Democrats are asking the
nearly 5,000 voting delegates to
participate in Biden’s nomina-
tion from home, removing the
core audience from the conven-
tion hall. The number of media
allowed to attend the event in
person, 20,000 in a typical year, is
also expected to fall dramatically.
Official reception parties for del-
egates, the press and volunteers
have been canceled, and all the
official business of the conven-
tion, including votes on the par-
ty’s platform and the nominees,
will be handled remotely.
But Democrats have not given
up on producing a traditional
televised spectacle on Aug. 17 to
20, with a goal of claiming wall-
to-wall cable news coverage, sig-
nificant social media attention
and at least an hour of broadcast
television programming each
night, organizers said. Without a
large crowd, that format will shift
to include pre-produced video
and live broadcasts from satellite
locations, such as cities and land-
Experts raise concerns over Mount Rushmore fireworks plan
Display headlined by
Trump would be first in
a decade at monument
BY J ULIET E ILPERIN,
D ARRYL F EARS
AND J OSH D AWSEY
President Trump is planning a
massive fireworks display at
Mount Rushmore on July 3, de-
spite a decade-long ban on pyro-
technics at the iconic spot be-
cause of concerns about public
health, environmental and safety
risks.
Trump has wanted to stage fire-
works at the national memorial in
South Dakota’s Black Hills since
2018, according to two individu-
als familiar with the matter who
spoke on the condition of ano-
nymity to discuss internal delib-
erations. But the idea was scuttled
or delayed by a number of his
advisers, these individuals said.
The National Park Service
stopped staging pyrotechnics at
Mount Rushmore in 2010 out of
concern that it could ignite wild-
fires under drought conditions.
The memorial is surrounded by
1,200 acres of forested lands, in-
cluding ponderosa pines, and lies
next to the Black Hills National
Forest’s Black Elk Wilderness.
Ian Fury, a spokesman for
South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem
(R), said in an email that the
National Park Service had con-
cluded the event will not harm the
environment and conducted a
controlled burn earlier this
month to reduce brush that could
fuel a wildfire.
“We are confident that the
Rushmore Fireworks celebration
can be conducted safely,” Fury
said, adding that organizers are
monitoring weather forecasts.
The Interior Department has po-
sitioned firefighting resources at
the site, according to a senior
department official.
Neither federal nor state offi-
cials have imposed social distanc-
ing requirements as part of the
gathering. The state tourism de-
partment, which is distributing
7,500 tickets for the event, has
estimated that it has had requests
for at least 125,000.
One senior Interior official,
who was not authorized to speak
on the record, said the depart-
ment is following state health
guidelines and is taking steps to
The planned Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee has
been moved from a basketball arena to a convention hall.
marks across the country.
“The city of Milwaukee has
been an incredible partner and
we are committed to highlighting
Wisconsin as a key battleground
state at our convention this Au-
gust,” Biden campaign manager
Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a
statement. “This will be a conven-
tion for all Americans who wish
to join our mission to win the
battle for the soul of this nation
and build a fairer, more united
country for us all.”
Organizers have yet to deter-
mine how many people will fill
the modified convention floor in
Milwaukee and the satellite loca-
tions, where other convention
speakers will appear. Those deci-
sions will be made closer to the
event date based on the recom-
mendations of public health ex-
perts, including two epidemiolo-
gists and infectious-disease spe-
cialists hired by the campaign.
“That’s really the next step for
us,” Solmonese said. “With a lim-
ited capacity, how do we ensure
that those that are able to come
represent the diversity of the
Democratic Party and are reflec-
tive of the things you will see
from the stage?”
Solmonese said there had also
been no decision on whether the
traditional balloon drop and con-
fetti explosion would mark
Biden’s nomination. The event
will be produced by Ricky Kirsh-
ner, the Emmy-winning execu-
tive producer of the Tony Awards
Fearing wildfires, the National Park Service in 2010 stopped
staging pyrotechnics at Mount Rushmore, shown above.
reflect recommendations from
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. This includes
signs throughout the park urging
visitors to wear a cloth face cover-
ing when it is impossible to keep
six feet away from others, and
providing face coverings for all of
its employees.
South Dakota’s total number of
coronavirus cases as of Wednes-
day, 6,419, far surpasses those of
North Dakota — which had 3,362
cases — although their popula-
tions are nearly identical. South
Dakota’s rate of 720 cases per
100,000 compares with a rate of
436 per 100,000 for its northern
neighbor, according to the CDC.
The county with the highest
overall concentration of positive
cases, Minnehana, with about
3,500, is on South Dakota’s east-
ern border, far from the memorial
near the western border.
The celebration at Mount
Rushmore is just one of several
large gatherings the president has
orchestrated this summer. In the
past week he has held events in
Oklahoma and Arizona, and he is
also planning to hold a scaled-
back “Salute to America” event
honoring the military on the
South Lawn on July 4.
On Tuesday, Anthony S. Fauci,
the nation’s top infectious-disease
expert and director of the Nation-
al Institute of Allergy and Infec-
tious Diseases, testified before a
House committee that Americans
should not participate in large-
scale gatherings if they can avoid
doing so, because such activities
could widen the spread of the
novel coronavirus.
“Plan A: Don’t go in a crowd.
Plan B: If you do, make sure you
wear a mask,” Fauci told lawmak-
ers.
White House spokesman Judd
EZ RE
DARREN HAUCK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
and the Super Bowl halftime
show.
“Leadership means being able
to adapt to any situation,” said
Democratic National Committee
Chair Tom Perez in a statement.
“That’s exactly what we’ve done
with our convention.”
Republicans, by contrast, are
aiming to create a typical conven-
tion experience, both for attend-
ees and for the president. The
party recently relocated the cele-
bratory events to Jacksonville,
Fla., after North Carolina Gov.
Roy Cooper (D) refused to give
assurances that a mass gathering
would be allowed at the end of
August in Charlotte.
Under current plans, about
300 Republican officials will
gather in Charlotte on the week-
end between the Democratic and
Republican events to cast the
formal votes necessary to con-
vene a convention and renomi-
nate Trump and Vice President
Pence, according to GOP officials.
That work, which will not include
an appearance by Trump, will be
finished on Aug. 24, setting the
stage for at least three nights of
events in the Vystar Veterans
Memorial Arena, a sports facility
that fits about 15,000.
Republicans have said they do
not expect masks to be required
by attendees and do not expect to
enforce social distancing inside
the arena.
Local GOP officials, who are in
the process of recruiting 10,000
STEPHEN GROVES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deere said in an email the White
House’s operations branch con-
sulted with the physician’s office
and military office in planning the
trip.
“The President looks forward
to taking part in the Indepen-
dence Day festivities, hosted by
Governor Noem, and celebrating
the greatest country the world has
ever known capped off with a
magnificent fireworks display
above the great faces of Presidents
George Washington, Thomas Jef-
ferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and
Abraham Lincoln,” Deere said.
“The President takes the health
and safety of everyone traveling in
support of himself and all White
House operations very seriously.”
Trump’s reelection campaign is
also leveraging the South Dakota
trip to fill its coffers, according to
fundraising invitations obtained
by The Washington Post. Interior
Secretary David Bernhardt and
White House senior adviser Kelly-
anne Conway will appear as “spe-
cial guests” at two high-dollar
fundraisers in the days before the
event in Rapid City, S.D., and
Gallatin Gateway, Mont., along
with Donald Trump Jr. and his
girlfriend, campaign senior advis-
er Kimberly Guilfoyle.
The retreat in Montana will run
from June 30 to July 2 and fea-
tures activities such as shooting
and fly-fishing, according to the
invite, while the “Rapid City
Roundup” will take place from
July 2 to July 3. Tickets to the
events cost $250 for a single-day
attendee in Rapid City and be-
tween $250 and $100,000 for ac-
cess to both events.
Cheryl Schreier, who served as
the superintendent at Mount
Rushmore National Park between
September 2010 and May 2019,
said in a phone interview that
Brian Masotti and Tracey Warren wave flags during a June 14 rally
in Jacksonville, Fla., celebrating President Trump’s birthday.
volunteers to staff the event, have
been mocking the caution of the
Biden campaign and the Demo-
cratic Party.
“They are having what they
call a virtual convention and I
call a webinar,” Duval County
GOP Chairman Dean Black said
Monday. “It will be Joe Biden in
his basement conducting a webi-
nar.”
But Democrats believe the con-
trast will play to their benefit.
“The juxtaposition between
these two conventions is pretty
fascinating at this point, and
reflective of the type of leader-
ship you have running on our
side and in the White House on
the other side,” Democratic con-
vention communications direc-
tor Katie Peters said.
Since Republicans announced
the move to Jacksonville, there
has been a spike in the number of
positive coronavirus test results
in the area, as social distancing
guidelines have been eased and
businesses have reopened.
Duval County has averaged 180
new cases a day over the seven
days ending Tuesday, compared
with 45 cases a day the previous
week. The number of coronavi-
rus-like illnesses reported at
emergency departments in the
county has also reached new
heights after weeks of flattening,
according to state health data.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Cur-
ry (R) pleaded Monday with his
residents to practice basic safe-
having so many people on a small
tract of land posed “public health
and safety risks, not only to the
visitors but to employees.”
“It’s a bad idea based on the
wildland fire risk, the impact to
the water quality of the memorial,
the fact that is going to occur
during a pandemic without social
distancing guidelines and the
emergency evacuation issues,”
Schreier said, adding that all oth-
er tourists will be barred from the
park on July 3. “And you’re closing
off the memorial to visitors who
might not normally have a chance
to visit Mount Rushmore.”
This spring the Park Service
issued an environmental assess-
ment concluding the event would
have “no significant impact” on
the monument or surrounding
public lands.
Trump said in January that
when it came to barring fireworks
at Mount Rushmore, “nobody
knew why, they just said environ-
mental reasons.” And he dis-
missed the idea that the event
would pose any risks to the mas-
sive statue depicting the images of
four U.S. presidents. “What can
burn? It’s stone,” he said.
But a former National Park Ser-
vice fire management officer who
oversaw seven national park sites
in the area, including Mount
Rushmore, said Trump is mistak-
en. Dry forest surrounds the ven-
ue, said Bill Gabbert.
“My job was to put out the
fires,” said Gabbert, who worked
in the area for three years, ending
in 2001. “Internally in our discus-
sions I recommended that people
not shoot fireworks over flamma-
ble vegetation.”
In 2000 and 2001, Gabbert said,
he recorded 17 fires ignited by
fireworks.
“Which is somewhat different
from the environmental assess-
ment by the Park Service,” he said.
“They said during the 11-year peri-
od only 20 fires were started.”
After the fireworks finale, Gab-
bert oversaw a platoon of fire-
fighters who went to assigned
areas and swept the steep, rocky
forest for fires. In 2000, one fire
grew so large that it burned over-
night and required a 20-person
crew and a helicopter to douse it,
Gabbert said.
“I think it’s insane to explode
fireworks over flammable materi-
al and ponderosa pine vegeta-
tion,” Gabbert said.
Fireworks shows had been held
at the memorial between 1998
and 2009, until U.S. Geological
THE WASHINGTON POST
WILL DICKEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
guards that Republican conven-
tion organizers have said they do
not expect to adopt for their own
event.
“Please wear a mask when you
are in populated places, dense
places, particularly indoors when
you can’t practice social distanc-
ing,” Curry said. “Stay out of
crowded places where you are
shoulder to shoulder with people
for extended periods of time.”
He said that the same guidance
could be in place in August for
the Republican event but that the
decision would be dependent on
the medical data. “We still have
quite a bit of time before we
arrive at the event,” Curry said.
“Whatever public health precau-
tions need to be taken then, given
the environment we are in, will
be taken.”
Mike Reed, a spokesman for
the Republican National Com-
mittee, said the Republican con-
vention will work closely with
local and national authorities,
and is ready to shift plans to meet
the health situation.
“There will be safety precau-
tions in place that will be adapted
based on the situation at the time
of the event,” Reed said. “These
include but are not limited to
temperature checks, available
PPE, aggressive sanitizing proto-
cols, available covid-19 testing,
and regular phone calls and coor-
dination with federal, state and
local health officials.”
michael.scherer@washpost.com
Survey scientists determined the
activities left high levels of a toxic
chemical called perchlorate in
drinking water used by the 3 mil-
lion people who visit the memori-
al annually.
Agency analyses, including a
December 2017 presentation ob-
tained by The Post, suggest that
resuming fireworks could pollute
local drinking water supplies,
pose possible safety risks and po-
tentially damage the monument
itself.
The 2017 presentation noted
that the memorial is accessed by a
single two-lane road, constrain-
ing entrance and access to the
grounds.
Schreier said she was particu-
larly concerned whether visitors
would be able to leave quickly
enough in an emergency, especial-
ly because so many people with-
out entrance passes might end up
parking on the side of the road to
watch the display. “These are
winding roadways, and if people
are not familiar with Black Hills
of South Dakota, it can be very
challenging,” she said.
While the 2017 Park Service
briefing said the agency “could
find no direct evidence or link
between ignition of fireworks and
cracking of the sculpture,”
Schreier said her staff identified
scorch marks on the memorial as
well as some plastic remains from
the fireworks’ casings.
“I actually saw a piece of plastic
from fireworks embedded in the
granite,” she said. “That is some-
thing that will forever be in-
grained in my mind.”
Former South Dakota governor
Dennis Daugaard (R) asked the
Park Service to resume fireworks
at the memorial in 2017, but the
idea stalled after agency officials
raised objections to the plan.
Noem then asked Trump about
the idea shortly after she took
office in 2019. The Interior De-
partment reached an agreement
with the governor in May 2019 to
resume annual pyrotechnics at
the memorial, though last year’s
event was put off because of a
rehabilitation project on the site.
“I am pleased to inform you
that THE BIG FIREWORKS, after
many years of not having any, are
coming back to beautiful Mount
Rushmore in South Dakota. Great
work @GovKristiNoem and
@SecBernhardt! #MAGA,” Trump
tweeted on May 7.
juliet.eilperin@washpost.com
darryl.fears@washpost.com
josh.dawsey@washpost.com
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Grand jury
indicts 3
in killing
of Arbery
BY G RIFF W ITTE AND
M ICHAEL B RICE- S ADDLER
A Georgia prosecutor on
Wednesday said three white men
charged in the death of Ahmaud
Arbery, a black man who was shot
dead while running in a residen-
tial neighborhood in February,
have been indicted by a grand jury
on murder charges.
The three men — Travis McMi-
chael, Gregory McMichael and
William R. “Roddie” Bryan — each
were indicted on nine counts:
malice murder, four counts of felo-
ny murder, two counts of aggra-
vated assault, false imprisonment
and criminal attempt to commit
false imprisonment.
If convicted on the murder
charges, the defendants would
face a minimum of life in prison
and could face a death sentence.
“This is another step forward in
seeking justice for Ahmaud,” said
Joyette M. Holmes, the district
attorney in Cobb County, who was
specially appointed to handle the
case. “We will continue to be inten-
tional in the pursuit of justice for
this family and the community at
large as the prosecution of this
case continues.”
Outside the Glynn County
Courthouse, Holmes said the
grand jury had taken only 10 min-
utes on Wednesday to formalize
the charges. “The family was ec-
static to hear that it had happened
this morning,” Holmes said.
The announcement suggested
that the case against the three men
is moving forward swiftly after
criminal justice advocates object-
ed to what they saw as a long
initial delay in seeking charges.
“This confirms what Ahmaud’s
father has been saying for months
— that this was a lynching,” Arbery
family attorney Ben Crump said in
a statement. “This is a significant
step on the road to justice and
while nothing will bring back Ah-
maud’s life, it is important that a
Grand jury recognized his life had
value and was wrongly and ruth-
lessly ended.”
Arbery was killed on Feb. 23
after the men followed him
through a neighborhood after he
jogged by. Arbery was fatally shot
after the men confronted him, but
no charges were filed in the imme-
diate aftermath. It was not until
video surfaced of the killing that
pressure grew on prosecutors, and
charges against Gregory and Trav-
is McMichael — father and son —
were announced in May. Bryan,
who filmed the killing, was
charged later.
The grand jury indictment
means that jurors found probable
cause to send the case to trial.
Bob Rubin, an attorney for Trav-
is McMichael, said in an email to
the Associated Press that his client
intended to plead not guilty and
that “we look forward to present-
ing all of the facts regarding this
tragic death in a court of law.”
Kevin Gough, Bryan’s attorney,
told reporters that the indictment
was “an important step in the pro-
cess to moving this case closer to
the speedy trial that Roddie has
demanded.” Gough said Bryan, 50,
was a witness to the killing, not an
accomplice. An attorney for Greg-
ory McMichael has said his client
is innocent and plans to fight the
charges in court.
Arbery, who was 25, was shot
dead by Travis McMichael, 34, as
he ran through a residential area
of coastal Brunswick, Ga. Before
charges were filed, Arbery’s moth-
er contended that the case had
been “mishandled from the very
beginning.”
The killing sent shock waves
through the community. But it
was not until cellphone video was
leaked online in May that the case
began receiving national atten-
tion. It contributed to the wide-
spread sense of racial injustice
that swept the country this spring,
culminating with protests follow-
ing the Memorial Day death of
George Floyd at the hands of po-
lice in Minneapolis.
Gregory McMichael — a former
police detective whose law en-
forcement certification and power
to arrest was stripped a year be-
fore — has told police that he and
his son pursued Arbery after Mc-
Michael recognized him from
“several recent break-ins in the
neighborhood,” according to a po-
lice report.
The father and son tracked Ar-
bery down in their pickup and
blocked his repeated attempts at
escape, video shows. Prosecutors
say Bryan assisted the chase in a
separate vehicle. With Arbery cor-
nered, Travis McMichael got out of
the truck and fatally shot Arbery
following a brief scuffle, according
to the video and authorities.
griff.witte@washpost.com
michael.brice-saddler@
washpost.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A5

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A6
Dozens in Secret Service told to stay home after rally
Move comes after some
involved in planning
tested positive for virus
BY C AROL D . L EONNIG
AND J OSHUA P ARTLOW
Dozens of Secret Service offi-
cers and agents who were on site
for President Trump’s rally in Tul-
sa last week were ordered to self-
quarantine after two of their col-
leagues tested positive for the nov-
el coronavirus, part of the fallout
from Trump’s insistence on hold-
ing the mass gathering over the
objections of public health offi-
cials.
The Secret Service instructed
employees who worked the Tulsa
event to stay at home for 14 days
when they returned from the
weekend trip, according to two
people familiar with the agency’s
decision.
The order came in the wake of
the discovery — hours before the
president’s Saturday evening rally
— that at least six advance staffers
who helped organize the trip had
tested positive for the virus, in-
cluding two Secret Service em-
ployees. Another two advance
staffers tested positive after
Trump returned to Washington on
Sunday.
On Tuesday, the Secret Service
field office in Tulsa arranged for a
special testing session at a hospi-
tal to determine if local agents had
contracted the virus while assist-
ing with the rally, according to two
other people with knowledge of
the testing. As part of the arrange-
ment, doctors administered the
test to both agents and some local
officials in parked cars outside the
hospital.
Among those who got tested
was U.S. Attorney R. Trent Shores
of the Northern District of Okla-
homa, who had attended both pre-
planning meetings with advance
staff and the rally in case any legal
issues arose, according to spokes-
woman Lennea Montandon.
Shores tested negative, she said.
It is still unknown how the rally
may have affected Tulsa’s count of
coronavirus cases, which are ris-
ing swiftly. Tulsa County hit a re-
cord Wednesday, with 259 new
confirmed cases, part of “steep
upward trends” seen across Okla-
homa, said Bruce Dart, the direc-
tor of Tulsa’s Health Department,
at a news conference Wednesday.
The move by the Secret Service
to try to limit the spread of the
infection shows how Trump’s deci-
sion to go forward with the rally
increased the health risks and bur-
den on the people who protect the
president, former agents said.
A Secret Service spokeswoman
declined to comment on how
States confront numbers that have taken turn for worse in public health crisis
DEATHS FROM A1
amount of testing going on, if
there is an uptick in covid-19
infections, then we are likely to
see that in the confirmed case
data before we see it in the death
data,” said Nicholas G. Reich, as-
sociate professor of biostatistics
at the University of Massachu-
setts at Amherst, in an email.
He predicted “rises in covid-19
deaths over the next month in
many of the states that are seeing
upticks in cases, like Texas, Cali-
fornia, Florida and others, even
though the deaths have been ei-
ther steady or declining in recent
weeks.”
The virus has come surging
back in recent days, with 38,173
U.S. infections Wednesday, more
than any previous day in the
pandemic, including the cata-
strophic days of April. This time,
the increases are mainly in the
South and West, while New York
and New Jersey, which were near-
ly overwhelmed in the spring and
have been slow to reopen, are
seeing declining cases.
California, which shut down
early and has taken a slow ap-
proach toward reopening, never-
theless reported more than 7,000
new cases Wednesday, easily sur-
passing its record of 5,019 set
Tuesday. Oklahoma — where
President Trump on Saturday
held an indoor campaign rally —
and Florida also hit new single-
day highs Wednesday.
Those three states, along with
Nevada and North Carolina,
reached new peaks in their seven-
day rolling averages, considered a
more reliable indicator of the
virus’s impact. Arizona set a re-
cord with 2,270 hospitalizations.
Coronavirus hospitalizations
have tripled in Houston since
Memorial Day, Houston Method-
ist Hospital chief executive Marc
many of its employees have tested
positive or were quarantined, but
said the Tulsa event has not affect-
ed the agency’s ability to do its job.
“The U.S. Secret Service re-
mains prepared and staffed to ful-
fill all of the various duties as
required,” agency spokeswoman
Catherine Milhoan said in a state-
ment.
“To protect the privacy of our
employees’ health information
and for operational security, the
Secret Service is not releasing how
many of its employees have tested
positive for COVID-19, nor how
many of its employees were, or
currently are, quarantined,” she
added.
White House spokesman Judd
Deere did not directly answer
questions about whether the pres-
ident regretted the trip or if it
increased the exposure risks for
the agency, White House staff or
himself.
“The President takes the health
and safety of everyone traveling in
support of himself and all White
House operations very seriously,”
Deere said in a statement. “When
preparing for and carrying out any
travel, White House Operations
collaborates with the Physician to
the President and the White
House Military Office, to ensure
plans incorporate current CDC
guidance and best practices for
Boom said Wednesday. Texas re-
ported 5,551 new cases, the most
in a single day, along with 4,389
hospitalizations, up almost 300
from Tuesday’s record high.
The state’s seven-day rolling
average of new cases has in-
creased 70 percent since last
Tuesday, setting a record for the
14th consecutive day.
Overall, 2.36 million people
have been infected in the United
States and at least 119,000 have
died — by far the largest numbers
for any country in the world.
Governors of New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut said they
will advise travelers arriving from
states with wide community
spread of the virus to quarantine
for 14 days, the three announced
Wednesday at a joint news confer-
ence.
The new rules will apply to
people from states with an infec-
tion rate of 10 per 100,000 people
on a seven-day rolling average, or
a 10 percent or greater positive
test rate over a seven-day period,
according to New York Gov. An-
drew M. Cuomo (D). Nine states
currently are in that group: Ala-
bama, Arkansas, Arizona, Flori-
da, North Carolina, South Caroli-
na, Washington, Utah and Texas.
Despite the numbers, Vice
President Pence urged Republi-
can senators during a closed-door
lunch to focus on “encouraging
signs.” Lawmakers have begun to
express alarm about rising infec-
tion rates in states such as Flori-
da, Arizona and Texas, which are
likely to be critical in the outcome
of the presidential race and con-
trol of the Senate.
Senators said Pence pointed to
positive indicators, including the
lagging mortality rate. That is
partly because there is more test-
ing, and younger and healthier
people now account for larger
shares of those getting tested,
EZ RE
The Coronavirus pandemic
TOP: Campaign manager Brad Parscale watches as supporters
arrive for President Trump’s rally in Tulsa on Saturday. ABOVE:
Lara Trump speaks at the BOK Center. It’s still unknown how the
rally may have affected the city’s count of coronavirus cases.
limiting COVID-19 exposure to the
greatest extent possible.”
The Trump campaign hoped
the Tulsa trip would rally support-
ers in the heavily red state of Okla-
homa amid polls showing an in-
creasing number of voters con-
cerned about the president’s han-
dling of the pandemic, a stall in the
economy and racial unrest over
police violence against black
Americans.
Miami Beach visitors head for their hotels last week. Florida is one of the states that reopened early
and now is experiencing runaway coronavirus infection rates.
Pence contended.
Stocks, meanwhile, fell on
news of the increase in cases, as
the International Monetary Fund
said Wednesday that the global
economy will shrink by 4.9 per-
cent this year and a sluggish
recovery would follow.
Officials tracking the startling
comeback of covid-19, the disease
caused by the virus, are some-
what buoyed by lessons learned
and progress in the health-care
system since the virus stormed
ashore outside Seattle in late Feb-
ruary and later inundated New
York City.
Some said the greater availabil-
ity of tests is responsible for turn-
ing up more cases. The results of
PHOTOS BY JABIN BOTSFORD/THE WASHINGTON POST
Before Trump and his son Eric
Trump were scheduled to take to
the stage in the BOK Center in
Tulsa, the campaign learned that
six staffers helping organize the
event had tested positive for the
coronavirus, including an ad-
vance agent and a Secret Service
officer assigned to help screen at-
tendees.
The two Secret Service employ-
ees had both attended a Friday
those tests are revealing a larger
number of younger people with
the virus than there were in the
early days of the outbreak.
When the pandemic first
gripped the United States, it was
nearly impossible for anyone
without severe symptoms to se-
cure a test. Younger people, who
generally suffer milder cases and
are more likely to be asymptomat-
ic, may have been underrepre-
sented as a result, said Jennifer
Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health’s Center for
Health Security.
Now they are accounting for
some of the rise in the overall
caseload and a greater proportion
THE WASHINGTON POST
afternoon planning meeting,
where dozens of Secret Service
staff gathered to review the logis-
tics and their duties for the Satur-
day rally, according to people fa-
miliar with the situation.
Though the Secret Service em-
ployees who tested positive did
not attend the rally, other Secret
Service staff who were at the Fri-
day meeting with them continued
to perform their duties, including
agents who work closely with the
president, according to two people
briefed on the arrangements.
“The entire team should have
been switched out,” said one per-
son familiar with the Friday meet-
ing. “They were all exposed.”
The Secret Service declined to
comment.
At the time the positive cases
were announced on Saturday,
campaign spokesman Tim Mur-
taugh said, “No COVID-positive
staffers or anyone in immediate
contact will be at today’s rally or
near attendees and elected offi-
cials.”
Murtaugh declined this week to
discuss the safety repercussions of
the trip or steps the campaign took
to protect the president and staff,
referring questions to the Secret
Service.
A former Secret Service super-
visor said the president’s choice to
hold a closed-stadium rally in Tul-
SCOTT MCINTYRE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
of hospitalizations in places like
Arizona. There may be fewer
deaths among the younger group,
but those individuals are likely to
infect more older people, she said.
With states reopening, “you
have the young folks out and
about. They’re spreading it,” she
said. “It may take time to find its
way to older, vulnerable people,
who are more likely to die.”
Tom Frieden, former director
of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, said older people
now have a better understanding
of how vulnerable they are. The
medical system also has taken
steps to better protect people
older than 65, including those
living in nursing homes and other
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
sa — where many members of the
public were following the presi-
dent’s lead and not wearing masks
— displayed a lack of concern
about the safety of his own staff.
“Here the law-and-order presi-
dent is putting his law enforce-
ment team at risk — and it’s some-
thing they can’t see,” said the for-
mer supervisor, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity because of
the risk of criticizing the presi-
dent.
Quarantining so many Secret
Service agents in the wake of the
trip also puts a strain on the agen-
cy, requiring other agents and offi-
cers to fill their shoes while they
are off duty, several former agents
said.
Trump’s rally in Tulsa came as
Oklahoma had seen in a spike in
coronavirus cases.
Dart, the city’s top health offi-
cial, had said before Saturday’s
gathering that he was worried it
could become a “super spreader”
event and recommended it be
postponed.
On Wednesday, Dart said the
number of confirmed cases rose
92 percent in the week leading up
to the event. Hospitalizations rose
133 percent among people ages 18
to 35.
Dart did not say if any new
confirmed cases were directly
linked to Trump’s rally or the
street protests the event drew. But
the Tulsa Health Department is
recommending anyone who at-
tended Trump’s rally or the pro-
tests that day to get tested and
monitor themselves for symptoms
of the virus.
“It’s still too soon to know the
outcome from these events,” Dart
said.
Dart said that over the past
month, the spread of coronavirus
in Tulsa has exceeded the Health
Department’s modeling.
“We’re finding that the reality’s
actually worse than what the mod-
els were showing us could possibly
happen,” he said.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum (R)
said city officials are discussing
imposing new restrictions on
gatherings and rules about wear-
ing masks.
“What we’ve been doing to date,
the numbers are showing, just
isn’t working,” Bynum told report-
ers Wednesday.
But he downplayed the risk of
Trump’s rally, even though health
officials said it is too early to know
how many people may have con-
tracted the virus from exposure
there.
“It’s not from people going to
protests or to rallies, it’s from peo-
ple going to weddings and funer-
als and family gatherings and bars
and other things like that, that are
causing this uptick,” Bynum said.
carol.leonnig@washpost.com
joshua.partlow@washpost.com
care facilities. The virus is no
longer racing through those plac-
es and killing people by the
dozens, as it did early in the
pandemic.
CDC statistics show how thor-
oughly covid-19 attacks the elder-
ly. From Feb. 1 to June 13, covid-19
was involved in just 2,630 deaths
among people 44 or younger. But
the disease was fatal to 83,426
people 65 or older.
Medical care for the most criti-
cally ill patients also has im-
proved during the four months
that U.S. caregivers have been
battling the disease. Doctors have
become more adept at using tools
and techniques to help patients
breathe. They have turned to
drugs like remdesivir and dexam-
ethasone. Sick people have
learned to track the level of oxy-
gen in their blood with home use
of pulse oximeters.
Even if the death toll does not
rebound to previous levels, the
current surge will have serious
consequences, said Saskia Popes-
cu, an infectious-disease epide-
miologist who teaches at the Uni-
versity of Arizona. For some peo-
ple who do not become critically
ill, the virus can cause severe, and
sometimes long-lasting, prob-
lems, she said.
“Illness is a really significant
outcome too,” Popescu said.
“Deaths are obviously worst case;
we don’t want people to die. But I
don’t want people to get sick,
especially so sick they have to go
the hospital. That’s hard on them,
that’s hard on the health-care
system. Focusing only on deaths
does a disservice to patients and
the community.”
leonard.bernstein@washpost.com
rachel.weiner@washpost.com
joel.achenbach@washpost.com
Jacqueline Dupree and Erica Werner
contributed to this report.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
CDC report uses college students’ trip to analyze spread and containment
BY R ACHEL W EINER
On March 19, the day the
Trump administration urged
Americans to stop traveling inter-
nationally, a group of students
from the University of Texas at
Austin returned from a spring
break trip to a Mexican beach
resort.
Within two weeks, 60 of the
183 travelers to Cabo San Lucas,
along with four contacts, tested
positive for the novel coronavi-
rus, according to a report from
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
As students prepare to return
to many universities this fall, the
case study offers a window into
how easily the virus spreads
among college students — and
how it can be contained. Re-
searchers likened their close
quarters and constant interac-
tion to the environment of a
nursing home in the potential for
disease spread.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, seen Tuesday on Capitol Hill, said his agency has purchased
7 million flu vaccine doses directly from manufacturers to be distributed to states for adult vaccination, up from its usual 500,000.
Manufacturers to ramp up flu vaccine production
Officials hope to prevent
waves of illness from
converging this winter
BY L ENA H . S UN
Worried about a simultaneous
assault of the novel coronavirus
and seasonal influenza this win-
ter, public health officials and
vaccine manufacturers are mak-
ing millions of extra flu vaccine
doses to protect those most vul-
nerable to the pandemic and in-
fluenza, according to government
and company officials.
Even though flu season doesn’t
begin until the fall, major flu
vaccine manufacturers say they
plan to boost production by about
10 percent, to about 189 million
doses, up from 170 million doses
last year, to ensure enough doses
exist for an anticipated surge in
people seeking flu shots.
The Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention has taken the
rare step of buying 7 million doses
directly from manufacturers to be
distributed to states for adult
vaccination, CDC Director Robert
Redfield said in an interview.
“This is a big move,” he said.
That’s about 14 times the
500,000 doses the agency typical-
ly purchases for adults. The adult
doses are included in the indus-
try’s total planned production.
Getting a flu shot does not
protect against the coronavirus,
but disease experts said reducing
episodes of flu could prove pivotal
in freeing up space in hospitals
and medical offices to deal with
covid-19, the disease caused by
the coronavirus.
In contrast to rhetoric from
President Trump and other White
House officials downplaying the
pandemic threat this fall, the flu
preparations underscore the
alarm among public health offi-
cials, clinicians, advocacy groups
and industry executives about the
additional threat from the coro-
navirus. The unprecedented con-
vergence of two highly contagious
respiratory viruses could happen
“Contact tracing and testing of
close contacts, regardless of
symptoms, is important in limit-
ing spread, especially in young
and healthy populations living in
shared housing,” they wrote.
That effort limited the out-
break in this case, as did a local
shelter-in-place order issued by
Austin on March 25, six days after
the students returned, the re-
searchers concluded.
As schools reopen, “we need to
have resources in place to be able
to act and respond to these clus-
ters,” including for people in iso-
lation, said Darlene Bhavnani, an
infectious-disease epidemiologist
at UT-Austin’s Dell Medical
School and the lead epidemiolo-
gist on the school’s contact-trac-
ing efforts.
At the time, reports of positive
cases provoked outrage among
local leaders.
“It’s time to grow up,” Texas
House Speaker Dennis Bonnen
(R) said. “That is grossly irrespon-
in the winter, with each pathogen
causing life-threatening illness
and death.
Health officials are especially
concerned about people at higher
risk for both the coronavirus and
influenza, including residents
and employees at long-term care
facilities, African Americans, His-
panics, and people with underly-
ing medical conditions.
Typically, fewer than half of
Americans get a flu shot each
season. Vaccination rates for
blacks and Hispanics have tradi-
tionally been lower. Slightly more
than a third of black and Hispanic
adults get vaccinated, according
to CDC data. The CDC recom-
mends the vaccine for everyone
over age 6 months.
It’s unclear whether the possi-
ble double whammy of the coro-
navirus and influenza will push
more Americans to get a flu vac-
cine.
Almost nothing is known
about the interaction between the
coronavirus and influenza, ex-
perts say. It is possible for some-
one to be infected with the coro-
navirus and influenza at the same
time, but experts have very little
data. There is no coronavirus vac-
cine and only limited treatment
for covid-19.
But even a moderately effective
flu vaccine reduces the severity of
flu-related illness and keeps peo-
ple out of the hospital, officials
have said.
“We want to take flu off the
table, in every way possible, make
flu a non-factor,” said LJ Tan,
chief strategy officer of the Immu-
nization Action Coalition. At the
advocacy group’s annual flu sum-
mit in May, manufacturers who
supply vaccine disclosed their
plan to boost production by 10
percent for the upcoming flu sea-
son.
At a House hearing this week,
lawmakers asked top health offi-
cials what the government need-
ed to do to prepare for the corona-
virus in the fall. Among the items
Assistant Secretary for Health
Brett Giroir identified was
“enough flu vaccine to get every-
body vaccinated this winter.”
He added: “That’s one less vi-
The Coronavirus pandemic
sible.”
Parents of some students de-
fended their decisions to allow
the trip, saying they were told by
the travel company JusCollege
they could not get refunds if they
canceled because there was not
yet a travel advisory to avoid
Mexico.
“We take the safety of our
customers very seriously and
worked with public health au-
thorities to assist with contact
tracing where we could,” said a
spokeswoman for JusCollege. “It
was an unprecedented and rapid-
ly evolving situation, and our
communications to our custom-
ers were being updated in line
with the changing U.S. govern-
ment guidelines.”
The school began its investiga-
tion on March 28, after three of
the travelers tested positive. They
quickly identified the trip as a
source of the outbreak through
contact-tracing interviews. Al-
though the first patient did not
rus that could kill 20, 30, 50,000,
70,000 [people] and potentially
even be a co-infection with covid.”
The CDC’s purchase of addi-
tional doses for adults is “certain-
ly unprecedented in recent mem-
ory,” Nancy Messonnier, director
of CDC’s National Center for Im-
munization and Respiratory Dis-
eases, said in an interview.
CDC spent $100 million to buy
the adult doses, officials said.
An initial CDC request to spend
$700 million to buy 50 million
doses for adults was turned down
by administration officials, ac-
cording to federal health officials
who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss policy delib-
erations.
Some immunization advocates
are pushing the government to
tap pandemic-related emergency
funds to buy additional adult dos-
es.
A small fraction of that money
could be used to “ramp up dosage
levels to anticipate what we think
demand will be this fall,” said
former Senate majority leader
Tom Daschle, who heads the re-
cently formed Coalition to Stop
Flu. The group includes immuni-
zation advocates, state and local
health organizations, the Ameri-
can Heart Association, and vac-
cine manufacturers.
If the U.S. government secures
additional funding by mid-July,
flu manufacturers in the coalition
said they would be able to fulfill
additional orders for later in the
flu season, Daschle said.
Influenza viruses change year
to year, so vaccines must be up-
dated annually. But tight produc-
tion deadlines mean that manu-
facturers need to know within
weeks how many total doses they
need to produce.
Officials at Sanofi Pasteur and
Seqirus, which have committed to
producing 75 million and 55 mil-
lion doses, respectively, said they
have received an increase in pre-
orders from customers, including
retailers and health-care systems.
“This is a flu season like we’ve
never seen before,” said David
Ross, vice president of commer-
cial operations for North America
at Seqirus. The company has al-
EZ SU
experience symptoms until the
trip was over, some in the group
became ill while in Mexico.
“Symptoms were mild in most
cases,” Bhavnani said. “It was
allergy season here, so a lot of
people told us they weren’t really
sure” whether they were sick.
Working with public health
authorities, the school identified
298 travelers and close contacts
and interviewed all but nine.
Asymptomatic travelers and their
contacts were advised to self-
quarantine and watch for symp-
toms for 14 days. Symptomatic
travelers and their contacts were
offered tests and told to self-iso-
late until they got a negative test
result, or for seven days after
their symptoms began and three
days without a fever. Ultimately,
231 people were tested.
But after half of the first batch
of tests came back positive, the
school decided to test anyone
who had traveled to Cabo. Be-
yond April 2, two weeks after the
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
ready adjusted manufacturing
capacity to address the increase
in demand, he said.
“We’ll continue to explore op-
portunities to manufacture more
vaccine if demand requires it,”
Ross said.
Flu vaccine effectiveness varies
by season. Officials pick the flu
strains that the vaccine will target
months ahead of the flu season,
meaning the vaccine isn’t always
a good match for the strains that
wind up circulating. When the
vaccine is similar to circulating
flu viruses, vaccinations have
been shown to reduce the risk of
having to go to the doctor by 40
percent to 60 percent. The overall
effectiveness of last year’s vaccine
was 39 percent, according to CDC
data released Wednesday.
Health officials are also grap-
pling with another big challenge
this fall: making sure people can
get vaccinated safely, free from
exposure to the coronavirus. The
CDC has given $140 million to
immunization programs across
the United States to boost adult
flu vaccination. The agency is
working with state health depart-
ments, pharmacies and other
health-care providers to develop
curbside and drive-through flu
clinics and other alternatives for
people to get vaccinated.
The CDC has also developed a
new test that can simultaneously
detect the novel coronavirus and
the influenza virus, and is seeking
emergency use authorization
from the Food and Drug Adminis-
tration.
Getting the right public health
message out will also be critical.
Older adults, blacks and Hispan-
ics are among the groups who
need to be prioritized for flu vac-
cination, said Michael Greenberg,
head of medical operations for
Sanofi Pasteur in North America.
But if stay-at-home orders are
in place because of the pandemic,
these are the same people who are
told to avoid leaving their homes.
“It’s a very delicate communi-
cation,” Greenberg said. “You
need to instill confidence, and at
the same time, stress the need to
get vaccinated.”
lena.sun@washpost.com
travelers returned, testing con-
tinued only for symptomatic trav-
elers and contacts. The investiga-
tion ended April 5, when the last
symptomatic contacts got nega-
tive test results.
Bhavnani said the insular na-
ture of the group helped contain
the spread — “people would
name each other as contacts, over
and over again.” The travelers
were sharing hotel rooms during
the trip and dorms or houses
after their return to Austin.
About 90 percent took chartered
planes to Mexico together, ac-
cording to Bhavnani; the rest
took private jets or commercial
flights.
The median age in the group
was 22. Although 78 percent of
those who tested positive experi-
enced symptoms, none required
hospitalization, and none died.
The most common symptoms
were cough, sore throat, head-
ache and loss of sense of smell or
taste.
More than 13,000
federal workers face
possible furloughs
BY E RIC Y ODER
Three-fourths of the U.S. Citi-
zenship and Immigration Servic-
es workforce — more than 13,000
employees — could be told that
they face extended furloughs
starting Aug. 3 that would cut off
their salaries and severely curtail
the agency’s work, the union rep-
resenting the employees has said.
The agency has said it will need
to take that action unless it re-
ceives a cash infusion from Con-
gress because the fees from visa
and citizenship applications and
other services it provides are
down sharply in the wake of the
novel coronavirus pandemic.
Those fees largely fund the opera-
tions of USCIS, which is a compo-
nent of the Department of Home-
land Security.
Officials with the American
Federation of Government Em-
ployees said that USCIS manage-
ment told them Tuesday that
notices of potential furloughs will
be sent between Wednesday and
July 3, under government person-
nel rules requiring advance no-
tice when a furlough is projected
to last 30 days or more.
“We got the distinct impres-
sion that they didn’t want to do
the furloughs but if they didn’t
get money from Congress they’re
going to have to,” said Danielle
Spooner, president of AFGE
Council 119. Many of the poten-
tially affected employees are im-
migration services officers who
make determinations on applica-
tions for various types of immi-
gration benefits, she said.
While layoffs aren’t being
threatened, “there’s still a lot of
questions and uncertainty,” add-
ed Kenneth Palinkas, executive
vice president of the council.
Both he and Spooner are USCIS
employees but stressed that they
were speaking in their union
capacities and on their own time.
The notices would come close
on the heels of an executive order
from President Trump barring
many categories of foreign work-
ers and curbing immigration vi-
sas through the end of the year —
actions that in turn would further
erode the agency’s main source of
funding.
“Due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic, USCIS has seen a dramatic
decrease in revenue and is seek-
ing a one-time emergency re-
quest for funding to ensure we
can carry out our mission of
administering our nation’s lawful
immigration system, safeguard-
ing its integrity, and protecting
the American people,” a USCIS
representative said in an email.
“Without congressional interven-
tion, USCIS will need to adminis-
tratively furlough approximately
13,400 employees.”
Concern about potential fur-
loughs at the agency has been
building since mid-May when the
agency told Capitol Hill that in-
come from fees — which fund
about 97 percent of USCIS opera-
tions — had fallen by half during
March and April and were pro-
jected to be down by 60 percent
through the remainder of the
government’s fiscal year, which
ends Sept. 30.
The agency said it needed an
additional $1.2 billion to be
spread over the rest of this fiscal
year and the start of the new one,
while recommending a 10 per-
cent surcharge on application
fees to cover the cost. The agency
at the time anticipated that a
furlough might begin July 20 but
was able to extend the date to
A7
“Asymptomatic persons or
those with mild symptoms likely
play an important role in sustain-
ing SARS-CoV-2 transmission
during outbreaks, especially in
younger populations, such as the
one described here,” the research-
ers wrote.
Half of those who tested nega-
tive also experienced symptoms.
The researchers suggest that
those patients may have lied
about symptoms to get a test
early in the investigation or con-
tracted a flu variety going around
at the time. They also note that
coronavirus tests have a false
negative rate of up to 29 percent.
Most students were tested only
once, so some cases might have
been missed.
“That was actually a limitation
because we were not able to test
over time,” Bhavnani said. “It
could have been the case that
someone’s result would have been
positive later.”
rachel.weiner@washpost.com
Aug. 3 through cost-saving steps.
“With a loss of nearly three-
fourths of its workforce, work,
student and visitor visa petitions,
asylum and citizenship/natural-
ization applications, green cards,
and refugee applications will not
be processed,” AFGE National
President Everett B. Kelley told a
House hearing last week.
“We recognize the enormous
economic pain that the COVID-19
pandemic has caused throughout
our nation and the world. But the
United States should not and
need not discontinue its capacity
for administering legal immigra-
tion processes. But without this
supplemental appropriation, that
is exactly what will happen,” he
said.
The Office of Management and
Budget said in a letter to Con-
gress several days later that “US-
CIS will not have sufficient fund-
ing to maintain operations
through the end of the fiscal year,
nor will USCIS have balances to
fund its operations during the
first quarter of fiscal year 2021.”
The OMB letter, though, does
not include the details required
of a formal request for a budget
supplement, which “makes it
“Due to the COVID-
19 pandemic, USCIS
has seen a dramatic
decrease in revenue.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services representative
more difficult for Congress to
take action to address the short-
fall at USCIS,” House Appropria-
tions Committee Communica-
tions Director Evan Hollander
said in an email.
“However, House Democrats
are closely tracking USCIS’ finan-
cial difficulties, and are prepared
to discuss solutions with Senate
Republicans as part of negotia-
tions on the next phase of corona-
virus response legislation,” he
said.
The threatened furloughs at
USCIS would be the most exten-
sive in the federal workforce
since mid-2013, when numerous
agencies put some employees in
unpaid status for several days
scattered over the summer be-
cause of “sequestration” budget
limits.
In that type of furlough, what
the government calls an “admin-
istrative” furlough, employees
are not paid later. That is in
contrast to “shutdown” furloughs
caused by lapses in funding,
which have occurred several
times in recent years and in
which affected employees later
are paid as though they had
worked.
Although several other federal
agencies, or portions of them,
operate at least in part on fees
they charge, the USCIS is the first
to move toward furloughing em-
ployees to cover the costs of
reduced income resulting from
the pandemic.
At last week’s hearing similar
concerns were raised regarding
Customs and Border Protection
— also a component of the De-
partment of Homeland Security
— but that agency afterward said
that there is no imminent threat
of furloughs.
eric.yoder@washpost.com
A8
Analysts: Barr eroding Justice Department’s independence
BARR FROM A1
frankly. But lawmakers, who al-
ready held Barr in contempt last
year for defying congressional
subpoenas, seem to have little in
the way of practical recourse.
Republicans, who control the
Senate, would short-circuit any
bid to impeach and remove Barr,
who they have asserted is drawing
ire because he is trying to ferret
out the corruption of his Justice
Department predecessors in a
Democratic administration.
“I think Barr’s conduct has
made it clear that he is not acting
as the attorney general for the
people of the United States, but as
a private attorney to protect the
interests of the president,” said
former U.S. attorney Barbara Mc-
Quade. “What can be done about
William Barr? I really think the
only thing that can be done is
impeachment. And I think that
this Republican Senate has shown
it doesn’t really have any appetite
for that.”
The tension over allegations of
Barr’s malfeasance reached new
heights Wednesday as the House
Judiciary Committee took testi-
mony from two current prosecu-
tors, including one who had
worked on the team of special
counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
The hearing came just as an
appeals court panel dealt a blow to
Barr’s critics, siding with the Jus-
tice Department and ordering a
reluctant lower court judge to
drop the criminal case against for-
mer Trump national security ad-
viser Michael Flynn for lying to the
FBI, as Barr had sought.
Aaron Zelinsky, who formerly
worked for Mueller and is now an
assistant U.S. attorney in Mary-
land, said political leadership had
pressured him and other career
prosecutors to issue a lighter sen-
tencing recommendation for Rog-
er Stone, a longtime Trump friend
convicted of lying to Congress.
Zelinsky made clear that he
thought the reason for the pres-
sure was inappropriate.
“What I heard repeatedly was
that this leniency was happening
because of Stone’s relationship to
the president, that the acting U.S.
attorney for the District of Colum-
bia was receiving heavy pressure
from the highest levels of the De-
partment of Justice and that his
instructions to us were based on
political considerations,” Zelinsky
said.
Zelinsky’s testimony was but-
tressed by a different prosecutor,
who works on antitrust matters
and said that Barr had personally
intervened to spur investigations
of mergers in the marijuana in-
dustry, even when career officials
thought such work unnecessary.
The prosecutor, John Elias, said
the reason seemed to be Barr’s
personal distaste for the marijua-
na business. He also said the Jus-
tice Department’s antitrust divi-
sion was made to investigate deals
between the state of California
and four automakers to limit
emissions, a day after Trump
tweeted his displeasure about the
arrangement.
House Democrats said that the
prosecutors’ testimony showed
that Barr has politicized the Jus-
tice Department to help Trump
and his friends. In a strident open-
ing statement, Judiciary Commit-
tee Chairman Jerrold Nadler
(D-N.Y.) called Barr “the presi-
Panel halts judge’s e≠ort
to keep Flynn case alive
FLYNN FROM A1
opinion that was joined by Judge
Karen LeCraft Henderson, a nom-
inee of President George H.W.
Bush.
Soon after the opinion was pub-
lished, Trump tweeted: “Great!
Appeals Court Upholds Justice
Departments Request To Drop
Criminal Case Against General
Michael Flynn!” He later told re-
porters in the Oval Office: “I’m
very happy about General Flynn.
He was treated horribly.”
Flynn later called into Rush
Limbaugh’s radio show to praise
the decision, calling it a “great
boost of confidence for the Ameri-
can people and our justice sys-
tem.”
In his dissent, the third judge on
the panel, Robert L. Wilkins, said
the majority had “grievously”
overstepped its authority by tak-
ing the “unprecedented” step to
intervene midstream and force
Sullivan’s hand before he had an
opportunity to rule.
Sullivan “must be given a rea-
sonable opportunity to consider
and hold a hearing on the Govern-
ment’s request to ensure that it is
not clearly contrary to the public
interest,” wrote Wilkins, a nomi-
nee of President Barack Obama.
The ruling from the three-judge
panel means that at least for now
Former Justice Department lawyers and others have made multiple calls for the removal of Attorney General William P. Barr, seen June 16 at the White House.
dent’s fixer.”
“The cancer that we must root
out is his decision to place the
president’s interests above the in-
terests of the American people,”
Nadler said.
Legal analysts said the hearing
was remarkable: prosecutors such
as Zelinsky are virtually never per-
mitted or willing to speak to Con-
gress at all, let alone to describe
the deliberations surrounding a
particular criminal case. They ne-
gotiated their appearances inde-
pendently of the Justice Depart-
ment, but their lawyers conferred
with department officials about
limits on their testimony.
“Mr. Zelinsky’s courageous tes-
timony makes more painfully ex-
plicit and shocking the brazen-
ness with which the attorney gen-
eral and other Justice Department
officials now readily manipulate
cases to serve the president’s polit-
ical ends,” said David Laufman, a
former Justice Department coun-
terintelligence official now in pri-
vate practice. “And it also indi-
cates how impervious these offi-
cials think they are to any mean-
ingful accountability and
consequences for their wrongful
conduct.”
Republicans countered that
Barr was appropriately focused on
rooting out corruption in the FBI
investigation of possible coordi-
nation between the Trump cam-
paign and Russia that Mueller
would come to take over. Their
witness, former attorney general
Michael Mukasey, said Barr was
motivated by “the evenhanded ap-
plication of law so as to achieve
Sullivan cannot hold a hearing set
for July 16 to formally consider the
government’s request to dismiss
Flynn’s case. Sullivan could ask for
a rehearing, or the full court could
decide to revisit the decision from
the three-judge panel, whose
members are selected at random.
Attorney Beth Wilkinson, who
represents Sullivan, said Wednes-
day, “We have no comment at this
time.”
In May, Sullivan refused to sign
off on the Justice Department’s
plans and instead appointed John
Gleeson, a former federal judge
and mob prosecutor, to help him
decide how to proceed. Gleeson
argued that the government’s
move was “highly irregular con-
duct to benefit a political ally of
the President.”
Nothing about the case testing
the powers of the judiciary to
check the executive branch has
followed a typical path. Flynn’s
attorneys took the rare step of
asking the appeals court to step in
and order Sullivan to close the
case. Sullivan then hired Wilkin-
son, a high-profile trial lawyer, to
represent him. At oral argument
this month, Wilkinson told the
court it was premature to cut off
Sullivan’s review.
The ruling Wednesday was sur-
prising because at least two of the
judges at oral argument seemed to
EZ SU
justice.”
“I think we’re fortunate to have
a person of his temperament, tal-
ents and convictions in office dur-
ing this difficult time in history,”
Mukasey said.
Justice Department spokesper-
sons had previously taken aim at
both men’s testimony, noting that
Zelinsky’s information was sec-
ondhand and that the depart-
ment’s Office of Professional Re-
sponsibility already had looked
into the antitrust division’s han-
dling of marijuana company
mergers and found no wrongdo-
ing.
Barr previously served as attor-
ney general in the George H.W.
Bush administration, and though
he was confirmed on a mostly
party-line vote in February 2019,
many inside the Justice Depart-
ment were optimistic about his
taking over. Barr was seen as un-
likely — because of his age and
previous accomplishments — to
blindly obey Trump.
Barr’s defenders note that he
has at times disappointed or ques-
tioned the president. His Justice
Department declined, for exam-
ple, to bring charges against for-
mer FBI director James B. Comey
and former FBI deputy director
Andrew McCabe, despite referrals
from the Justice Department’s Of-
fice of Inspector General about
possible crimes. The president has
publicly suggested that both men,
whom he considers political ri-
vals, should be charged. Barr is a
strong proponent of executive
power, and observers say his vi-
sion often lines up neatly with
Judge Neomi Rao of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit,
a Trump nominee, wrote the majority opinion in the Flynn case.
agree and repeatedly expressed
concern that the judge would be a
“rubber stamp” for the govern-
ment.
Federal criminal rules require
prosecutors to obtain permission
from the presiding judge to drop
charges against a defendant, but
legal experts and former judges
disagree about the limits of that
judicial authority.
“Courts have said he’s not a
‘mere rubber stamp,’ ” Henderson
said at oral argument of Sullivan’s
independent role. “There’s no au-
thority I know of that says he can’t
hold a hearing.”
Wilkins cited cases in which the
Supreme Court upheld the power
of judges “to perform an indepen-
dent evaluation” of the govern-
Trump’s.
In Barr’s first months on the
job, Mueller’s team delivered to
the attorney general its final re-
port, and Barr stepped fully into
controversy. Instead of quickly re-
leasing the report’s executive sum-
maries, Barr condensed the find-
ings into a four-page letter he sent
to Congress. The letter declared
Mueller had not found evidence to
substantiate a conspiracy be-
tween the Trump campaign and
Russia to influence the 2016 elec-
tion, and had not reached a con-
clusion on whether Trump had
obstructed justice. Barr said he
had evaluated that question him-
self, and determined that Trump
had not.
The bare-bones description so
infuriated the special counsel
team that Mueller sent a letter to
Barr complaining that the attor-
ney general “did not fully capture
the context, nature, and sub-
stance” of the investigative report.
Barr ultimately pushed to make
public a largely unredacted copy
of Mueller’s entire report, though
on the day of its release, he gave a
news conference characterizing it
in a way that closely mirrored
Trump’s talking points.
In recent months, critics have
alleged that Barr has sought to
undo the special counsel’s work.
Zelinsky testified that career pros-
ecutors initially won their fight
over Stone’s sentencing recom-
mendation and filed essentially
the request they wanted. But early
the next morning, Trump tweeted
his displeasure, and Barr directed
that a new memo be filed, prompt-
BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST
ment’s action. In his dissent
Wednesday, Wilkins said the ma-
jority had eviscerated the court’s
role by preventing any review:
“Today the majority declares that
nevertheless — in spite of the Gov-
ernment’s abrupt reversal on the
facts and the law, and although the
Government declares itself enti-
tled not to be forthcoming with
the District Court — these circum-
stances merit no further examina-
tion to determine whether there
may be additional reasons for the
prosecutor’s actions, and if so, if
any such reasons are impermissi-
ble.”
Attorneys for Flynn had ac-
cused Sullivan of bias and asked
the appeals court to reassign the
case to a different judge, a request
THE WASHINGTON POST
ing Zelinsky and three other ca-
reer prosecutors to withdraw
from the case.
Barr has said that he did not
discuss the case with the presi-
dent and that his intervention was
not a result of the president’s
tweet. In the episode’s aftermath,
he gave a remarkable interview
saying Trump’s social media mis-
sives “make it impossible for me to
do my job.”
Barr asked U.S. Attorney John
Durham in Connecticut to review
the FBI’s Russia investigation and
U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen in St.
Louis to review the Flynn case —
unusual moves that critics say are
meant to fuel Republican attacks
on an inquiry that dogged Trump’s
presidency. Last month, at Jens-
en’s recommendation, Barr had
the Justice Department move to
abandon the prosecution of Flynn,
who pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying
to the FBI about his dealings with
the Russian ambassador to the
United States.
Ryan Fayhee, a former Justice
Department prosecutor now in
private practice at Hughes Hub-
bard & Reed, said that Barr had
“clearly participated in the sys-
tematic undoing of the Mueller
investigation,” noting that — in
part because of coronavirus-relat-
ed releases — none of those Muel-
ler charged are in prison.
“It’s thinly veiled and troubling
to say the least,” Fayhee said. “Bill
Barr is very bright, capable, and
ran a Department of Justice that
didn’t look anything like this the
last time around — and didn’t act
like this the last time around. The
the court denied Wednesday.
In a sign of the high-level inter-
est in the matter, which could
reach the Supreme Court, the Jus-
tice Department was represented
by Deputy Solicitor General Jef-
frey B. Wall. He referred to
Gleeson’s report as a “polemic”
and had urged the court not to get
pulled into a “political spectacle.”
Flynn was the highest-ranking
Trump adviser charged in special
counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s in-
vestigation of Russian interfer-
ence in the 2016 election. Before
its reversal, the government had
recommended a prison term of up
to six months for Flynn.
Before it moved to sentencing,
Attorney General William P. Barr
ordered a review of Flynn’s case.
The review found that the FBI
agents who questioned Flynn had
no valid investigative basis to do
so and that, therefore, any lies he
told were irrelevant to any crime.
The president and Flynn’s de-
fenders have long argued that the
retired three-star general was a
victim of FBI overreach. But the
government’s decision to undo a
guilty plea prompted criticism
that the department was bending
to political pressure.
The court ruling came the same
day of a House hearing in which a
former member of Mueller’s team
testified that Barr and top depu-
ties pressured prosecutors to give
Trump’s friend Roger Stone “a
break” by requesting a lighter pris-
on sentence.
Elizabeth Wydra, president of
the Constitutional Accountability
Center, which filed a brief backing
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
JABIN BOTSFORD/THE WASHINGTON POST
only different factor is the person
in the White House.”
Critics have noted that Barr,
too, has taken other steps that
have fallen in line with the presi-
dent’s interests.
At Trump’s request, he led the
law enforcement response to re-
cent protests in the District over
police violence and ordered the
pushing back of protesters from
outside Lafayette Square near the
White House on June 1. That led to
police using chemical irritants
and horses against largely peace-
ful demonstrators, just before
Trump walked across the square
for a photo op at St. John’s Episco-
pal Church. Barr has said the
events were not related.
Last week, Barr moved to oust
Geoffrey Berman as the U.S. attor-
ney in Manhattan. Berman’s office
has been investigating Rudolph
W. Giuliani, a personal lawyer to
Trump, though the Justice Depart-
ment has disputed that Berman’s
removal is tied to a particular case.
A spokesman for Barr said
Wednesday that Barr had agreed
to appear before the Judiciary
Committee on July 28; he has not
made such an appearance since
Democrats took over the House
majority in 2019. Though analysts
note that he is unlikely to face any
legal consequences for his various
recent moves, he still has to an-
swer to his peers, the public and
his own department.
“At some point,” said McQuade,
the former U.S. attorney, “you lose
the room.”
matt.zapotosky@washpost.com
karoun.demirjian@washpost.com
Sullivan, said allowing the court’s
ruling to stand would erase a vital
check on the executive branch.
Federal rules, she said in a state-
ment, give the judge “a say in
whether Attorney General Barr
should be allowed to simply drop
the matter, an act that would aid
one of President Trump’s stalwart
allies by essentially giving him a
‘get out of jail free’ card.”
In reviewing the government’s
actions, Sullivan had also asked
Gleeson to consider whether Fly-
nn may have committed perjury
while pleading guilty to a crime
that he and the Justice Depart-
ment now say is no longer a crime.
Gleeson advised Sullivan in his
initial report not to impose con-
tempt-of-court penalties on Flynn
but to continue to the sentencing
phase of the case.
The court majority took issue
with the appointment of Gleeson
in part because of his public advo-
cacy for an adversarial process
and his initial filing with Sullivan.
“These actions foretell not only
that the scrutiny will continue but
that it may intensify,” Rao wrote.
“Among other things, the govern-
ment may be required to justify its
charging decisions, not only in
this case, but also in the past or
pending cases cited in Gleeson’s
brief.” When new evidence surfac-
es, she continued, “the Executive
Branch must have the authority to
decide that further prosecution is
not in the interest of justice.”
ann.marimow@washpost.com
Spencer S. Hsu and Felicia Sonmez
contributed to this report.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A9

Hearing on Barr’s Justice Dept. splits along partisan lines

Republicans cast doubt
on witnesses’ allegations
against attorney general
BY K AROUN D EMIRJIAN,
M ATT Z APOTOSKY,
F ELICIA S ONMEZ
AND C OLBY I TKOWITZ
A hearing organized by House
Judiciary Committee Democrats
on Wednesday to illustrate how
they say Attorney General Wil-
liam P. Barr has politicized the
Justice Department gave way to
partisan squabbles, as two Justice
Department employees detailed
how Barr has ordered subordi-
nates to compromise the agency’s
work in deference to President
Trump.
The employees — Aaron
Zelinksy and John Elias — told
lawmakers that Barr and his top
deputies limited prosecutions and
ordered specious investigations to
please the president, but they did
not expand greatly on their previ-
ously publicized written testimo-
ny. Most Democrats opined that
Barr was a threat to independent
justice, while Republicans at-
tacked the witnesses’ credibility.
Barr “is the president’s fixer,”
Committee Chairman Jerrold Na-
dler (D-N.Y.) declared at the start
of the proceedings. “He has shown
us that there are one set of rules for
the president’s friends, and anoth-
er set of rules for the rest of us.”
“The Barr Justice Department
is about correcting injustice,” Rep.
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) retorted, al-
luding to the FBI investigation of
Trump’s 2016 campaign begun un-
der the Obama administration.
“They’re not political, they’re just
right.”
Republicans entered the hear-
ing buoyed by a Wednesday morn-
ing appeals court ruling uphold-
ing Barr’s decision to drop the
Justice Department’s case against
former national security adviser
Michael Flynn, an order from the
attorney general that Democrats
had pointed to as evidence of him
cutting deals for members of
Trump’s inner circle. Minutes into
Wednesday’s hearing, the Justice
Department announced that Barr
had accepted an invitation to ap-
pear before the committee on
July 28, rendering unnecessary a
subpoena Nadler had threatened
to issue for his testimony.
A spokesman for the committee
said the Justice Department con-
tacted the panel on Tuesday to
arrange the date and avoid a sub-
poena. But to panel Republicans,
Barr’s cooperation was ammuni-
tion to paint the Democrats’ case
— and their witnesses — as over-
reaching.
Zelinsky, a former member of
special counsel Robert S. Mueller
III’s investigative team, and who
prosecuted the government’s
criminal case against Trump’s
friend Roger Stone, testified that
top Justice Department officials
forced him and others working to
ask for a reduced sentence in
Stone’s case “based on political
considerations” and “because of
his relationship to the president.”
But Jordan seized on the fact
that Zelinsky had not spoken di-
rectly to Barr, Barr’s deputy Jeffrey
Rosen or Timothy Shea, then the
acting U.S. attorney for the District
of Columbia, about his concerns
concerning Stone’s sentencing, in-
stead relying on his supervisors’
assessment that the decision was
made on political grounds.
Zelinsky revealed the names of
those supervisors to Jordan: J.P.
Cooney, the head of the fraud and
public corruption section in the
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and Cooney’s
former deputy, Alessio Evangelis-
ta. But he could not say for certain
whether his supervisors had been
communicating directly with top
Justice Department officials, only
that it was “my understanding.”
“It sounds like you don’t know
much,” Jordan scoffed. “It sounds
like you heard stuff that you are
Justice Department employees John Elias, above, and Aaron Zelinsky told lawmakers on Wednesday
during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee that Attorney General William P. Barr and his
top deputies limited prosecutions and ordered specious investigations to please President Trump.
now bringing to this committee as
fact.”
Elias, an official in the Justice
Department’s antitrust division,
faced even more scathing treat-
ment at the hands of Rep. Douglas
A. Collins (R-Ga.), who served as
the panel’s ranking Republican
until launching a Senate bid earli-
er this year. Elias testified that
Barr ordered staff in his depart-
ment to investigate marijuana
company mergers, simply because
of his “personal dislike” of the na-
ture of their underlying business.
But Collins charged that his
view of Barr’s work was biased,
pointing out that Elias had tried to
get a job working for Nadler’s staff
early last year.
Elias reluctantly acknowledged
that he had “preliminary conver-
sations” about joining the Demo-
cratic Judiciary Committee staff,
admitting when Collins asked
whether he had wanted to work on
Trump’s impeachment that he was
interested not just in doing the
panel’s antitrust work, but in over-
sight work as well.
“You asked to come to this com-
mittee. . . . You wanted to come
work for this committee during
the impeachment of Donald
Trump,” said Collins. He then chal-
lenged Elias over whether mari-
juana was a Schedule I drug. Elias
said he did not know.
“You were a part of an antitrust
in marijuana and didn’t know how
it was scheduled?” Collins said.
“Mr. Elias, the credibility is going
down here.”
Despite widespread legaliza-
tion in states, federally marijuana
is still a Schedule I drug.
By comparison, Democrats
landed only one partial blow
SUSAN WALSH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
against the GOP’s witness, former
attorney general Michael B. Mu-
kasey, who served under President
George W. Bush and spoke in de-
fense of Barr’s actions. Under
forceful questioning by Rep. Val
Demings (D-Fla.), Mukasey con-
ceded that Trump “maybe” used
politics to sway sentencing deci-
sions and help his friends.
The hearing was frequently
punctuated by technical difficul-
ties and chaotic outbursts, includ-
ing two efforts by Rep. Mike John-
son (R-La.) to knock Zelinsky for
appearing by video link from his
attorney’s office, which is about a
half-mile away from the Capitol.
Zelinsky said that he had a new-
born baby at home and was con-
cerned about contracting the coro-
navirus, but that did not stop Re-
publicans from accusing Nadler of
breaking committee rules to facili-
tate his testimony.
Panel Republicans, led by Rep.
Louie Gohmert (Tex.), also pro-
tested when Nadler let Donald
Ayer, a former deputy attorney
general from the George H.W.
Bush administration who spoke
against Trump, deliver an opening
statement longer than five min-
utes. As Ayer’s allotted time ex-
pired, Gohmert began loudly and
steadily tapping on his desk,
prompting protests from Demo-
crats that turned into cross-dais
yelling, and ultimately a sugges-
tion from Rep. Hank Johnson
(D-Ga.) that Nadler ask the ser-
geant at arms to forcibly remove
Gohmert for the interruption.
“You want somebody removed
because they want the rules en-
forced?” Gohmert said. “That’s
amazing.”
The hearing was the first time
that the Judiciary Committee has
tackled Barr’s leadership of the
Justice Department since the Sen-
ate acquitted Trump of impeach-
ment charges in February. On both
sides of the aisle, it was clear that
the memory of that experience
and the context it provided was
still fresh in mind.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
asked Elias about how Barr or-
dered the antitrust division to in-
vestigate deals between the state
of California and four automakers
to limit emissions standards a day
after Trump tweeted disparaging-
ly about the arrangement. In con-
clusion, she stated that Barr’s ac-
tions were “worse than Watergate,
worse than Nixon.”
Jordan had an opposite impres-
sion after grilling Zelinsky about
learning from his superiors that
Stone’s sentencing request had
been reduced for political reasons.
“This is as bad as the old im-
peachment,” Jordan said. “It
seems just as bad, just as lame as
what we went through just a few
months back.”
karoun.demirjian@washpost.com
matt.zapotosky@washpost.com
felicia.sonmez@washpost.com
colby.itkowitz@washpost.com

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A10 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

protests against police violence

Poll: A third of black adults say they have feared being hurt by law enforcement
POLL FROM A1 WASHINGTON POST-IPSOS POLL

Ohio, area, who said many of her
white friends and colleagues saw
the clip. “In order for our society
to get better, they have to look and
see the things that are wrong in
their world — not just ours.”
Many black Americans have
similar frustrations and a similar
optimism, according to a Wash-
ington Post-Ipsos poll of black
Americans that was conducted as
large demonstrations still rocked
American cities.
While a majority of Americans
across all racial groups report
feeling sad, angry and troubled by
Floyd’s killing, black people per-
ceive the country’s police forces
as far more racially biased than
white people do, the poll finds.
More than half of black adults say
they or someone they know had
an unfair interaction with police
in the past few years. More than a
third say there was an occasion
when they feared being hurt by a
police officer — much higher than
the shares of white and Hispanic
Americans reporting the same
experiences.
But black people also largely
believe Floyd’s death could be a
catalyst for change, in part be-
cause people of all colors have
participated in protests in hun-
dreds of cities and towns and
demanded movement from polit-
ical leaders, actions several sur-
vey respondents cited in follow-
up interviews. The survey sug-
gests that the avalanche of revul-
sion to Floyd’s video-recorded
killing — including criticism of the
Minneapolis police officers’ ac-
tions across the political spectrum
and a newfound embrace of the
slogan “black lives matter” — has
sparked hope among black Ameri-
cans that the country will address
discrimination in ways it did not
after past incidents in which po-
lice killed black people.
Nearly 6 in 10 black Americans
believe Floyd’s killing will increase
white Americans’ concern about
racial discrimination by police.
And a narrow majority think po-
lice treatment of black Americans
is likely to improve in coming
years.
“It’s white people’s participa-
tion, that’s the difference. They’re
the ones who have to see it,” said
Dexter Banks, a 46-year-old proj-
ect manager from Memphis. “We
can complain all day long, but if
we’re not the majority, there’s not
much we can do. They have to have
an interest in our problems. As
long as they are interested in it,
then we have a shot.”
The Post-Ipsos poll shows that
most white and Hispanic adults
share the view of black Americans
that they are treated less fairly
than white Americans by police in
the United States overall. About
half of white Americans say police
are generally more likely to use
deadly force against black people
than white adults, while two-
thirds of Hispanics and more than
9 in 10 black Americans say the
same.
But opinions splinter along ra-
cial lines when respondents were
asked about the root causes of
those disparities.
Black Americans see a panoply
of reasons for mistreatment by
police: departments not holding
officers accountable for miscon-
duct, police who assume black
people are criminals or police who
are racist. Three-quarters say
white people falsely accusing
black people of a crime factors
Most white, black and Hispanic Americans say police in
U.S. overall treat blacks less fairly, but agreement varies
Percentage who say black people are treated less fairly by police than white
people in the U.S. overall/in your community
Black people are treated Both are treated
less fairly than white people equally
Police in the U.S. overall
U.S. adults 67% 28%
Blacks 95% 2%
Hispanics 74% 21%
Whites 60% 36%
Police in your community
U.S. adults 52% 44%
Blacks 89% 9%
Hispanics SALWAN GEORGES/THE WASHINGTON POST
62% 36%
People protest in Minneapolis on June 2 after the police killing of George Floyd. More than half of
Whites 41% 54% black adults say they or someone they know had an unfair interaction with police in the past few years,
according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month.
department. It’s a reflection of House. President Trump receives turned to more extreme measures,
Note: “White people are treated less fairly than black people” and “no opinion”
not shown.
society,” said Madelyn Dancy, a negative marks from black and like vandalism and seeking to pub-
28-year-old from Memphis who is white respondents alike for his licly shame people who say racist
Source: June 9-14, 2020, Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 1,153 non-Hispanic black Americans in school to become a pharmacist. response to Floyd’s killing, al- things on the Internet.
with an error margin of +/- 4 percentage points and 1,051 U.S. adults overall with an error
margin of +/- 3.5 points, including 742 white adults with an error margin of +/- 4 points and
Black people are “taught from a though black Americans are far “Society is finally at the point
115 Hispanic adults with an error margin of +/- 10 points. young age not necessarily to fear more critical. where we’re not going to tolerate
the police, but you do what you Nine in 10 black Americans it,” she said. “It’s not nice to ruin
After Floyd’s killing, most black Americans are optimistic have to do so they don’t have any disapprove of Trump’s response to people’s lives, but you have people
reason to harm you. Why do we Floyd’s killing, and about three- going on social media blaring
about rising concern among whites and improved police have to do that? Young white quarters disapprove of his re- these horrible things about a
treatment males don’t have to do the same sponse to the protests that fol- group of people. Now, you can’t do
Among black Americans conversations as young black lowed it. Among white Americans, that and not think you’re going to
males’ families.” about 6 in 10 disapprove of get fired. . . . Somebody is going to
Q: How much, if at all, do you think the attention to Floyd’s killing by police will The 55 percent majority of black Trump’s response to Floyd’s killing make it public.”
increase how much white Americans are concerned about police Americans who say they or a close and the protests alike. Johnson, the Washington-area
discrimination against black Americans? friend or family member felt un- White Americans’ views on ra- government contractor, said inter-
fairly treated by police in the past cial discrimination continue to di- actions with officers had already
Will make a difference few years compared with 20 per- vide sharply along partisan lines, affected his life — and the lives of
A great deal 19% A good amount 40% 59% cent of white adults. Younger with 9 in 10 Democrats saying his children.
black Americans are more likely to black people are treated less fairly Because of the way he had been
Won’t make a difference say they have personally been by police, compared with two- treated by officers during traffic
A little 32% 39% treated unfairly by police: 38 per- thirds of independents and just stops, he instructed his children
cent of black adults under age 50 under 4 in 10 Republicans. There from a young age about how to
Not at all 7% reported unfair treatment in the are also regional and gender divi- behave around police. If their car
past few years, compared with sions among white adults, with was ever approached by an officer,
Q: Overall, how likely do you think it is that police treatment of black 25 percent of those ages 50 to 64, rural residents and men — two of he told them, they should be as
Americans will improve in the coming years? and 17 percent of those 65 and Trump’s most loyal supporters — quiet and nondisruptive as possi-
older. less likely to say police treat black ble.
Likely
For Charles Johnson, a govern- people less fairly. On one trip through Ohio, John-
Very 8% Somewhat 46% 54% ment contractor from the D.C. The protests that followed son was stopped, and his daugh-
Unlikely area, seeing the clip of Floyd’s Floyd’s killing were almost univer- ter, then 5 years old, heeded his
killing was a reminder of the times sally supported by black Ameri- advice, sitting quietly in her car
Somewhat 26% Very 18% 45% he has been stopped by police. cans, at 91 percent, including seat, playing with her Nintendo
Note: “No opinion” is not shown. Even though the infractions were 73 percent who support them DS as he spoke with the police
minor, Johnson said, officers still “strongly.” officer.
Source: June 9-14, 2020, Washington Post-Ipsos poll of 1,153 non-Hispanic black Americans
pulled him from his car, patted Support for the demonstrations A short time after the officer
with an error margin of +/- 4 percentage points.
him down and sat him on the curb is strong across generational, edu- pulled away, he again found him-
THE WASHINGTON POST while they searched his vehicle. cational and income levels, but self unsettled, but not because of
Years later, the memory still most black Americans were criti- the lawman’s actions.
stings. “Now, I prepare myself for cal when it came to destructive His daughter “got her Nintendo
“It’s white people’s participation, that’s the difference. an unpleasant encounter whenev- acts: 57 percent say vandalism and DS out and showed me [a picture
er I see blue lights in my mirror,” looting undermined the goals of of ] the front face and the profile
. . . We can complain all day long, but if we’re not the he said. the protests a great deal or a good picture she had taken of the offi-
Conversely, Felicia Marquez, 57, amount. cer,” Johnson said. “She had obvi-
majority, there’s not much we can do. They have to a Port Richey, Fla., woman on “I think the burning and the ously gotten the lesson.”
disability, said she had been treat- looting, destroying the buildings The Post-Ipsos poll was con-
have an interest in our problems.” ed with kindness and patience by was a bad thing,” said Lamone ducted June 9-14 through Ipsos’s
Dexter Banks, a project manager from Memphis, on the prospects for an officers called to her home for a Jacobs, 49, a janitor from Minne- KnowledgePanel, a large online
improvement in police treatment of black Americans heated altercation — civility she apolis, who said he has had trou- survey panel recruited through
attributes to the fact that she is ble getting to and from work be- random sampling of U.S. house-
white. cause of the protests and worries holds. Results among the sample
heavily into bad behavior by po- oversight. Just over 3 in 10 say Marquez said the police were that people will vandalize his of 1,153 non-Hispanic black adults
lice, while most also say a lack of false accusations by white people summoned after she threatened to home. “It diverted it from the have a margin of sampling error of
community oversight or police are a major reason for unfair treat- kill a roommate who stole her car. message. . . . I know what the plus or minus four percentage
training are big contributors. ment. “If I had been black and threat- officers did was bad and all that, points; the error margin is 3.5
Among white Americans who Despite optimism about rising ened her life, they may have but [the protesters] didn’t need to points among the parallel sample
say black counterparts are treated white concern with police miscon- thrown me on the floor, but I’m do anything like that. Sprinkling of 1,051 U.S. adults overall and four
less fairly by police, about 8 in 10 duct, 81 percent of black adults say white. . . . I really think they fear all over things isn’t going to points among the sample of 742
say a major reason is lack of ac- most white Americans don’t un- wouldn’t have been that nice to me help.” white adults.
countability for misconduct, while derstand the level of discrimina- if I was black. The way I was Dancy, the Memphis pharmacy cleve.wootson@washpost.com
about two-thirds say police as- tion black Americans face in ev- acting? They would not have put student, said she had participated scott.clement@washpost.com
sume black Americans are crimi- eryday life, hardly changed from a up with me.” in several peaceful protests. Al- emily.guskin@washpost.com
nals. Smaller majorities blame Post-Ipsos poll in January. Both black and white Ameri- though she didn’t condone break-
racist police officers, poor police “It’s racial and cultural issues cans appear skeptical of remedies ing the law, she said she under- Dan Balz and Vanessa Williams
training and lack of community that are ingrained in the police that might come from the White stood the anger of people who contributed to this report.

Senate Democrats halt GOP policing bill, leaving overhaul e≠orts in limbo
BY S EUNG M IN K IM
Senate Democrats on Wednes-
day blocked a Republican-drafted
bill aimed at overhauling the na-
tion’s policing practices amid a
national outcry for a systematic
transformation of law enforce-
ment — spelling a potential death
knell to efforts at revisions at the
federal level in an election year.
In a 55-to-45 vote, the legisla-
tion written primarily by Sen. Tim
Scott (R-S.C.) failed to advance in
the Senate, where it needed 60
votes to proceed. Most Democrat-
ic senators said the bill fell far
short of what was needed to
meaningfully change policing tac-
tics and was beyond the point of
salvaging.
“The Republican majority pro-
posed the legislative equivalent of
a fig leaf — something that pro-
vides a little cover but no real
change,” Senate Minority Leader
Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said
in a floor speech Wednesday
morning. “The harsh fact of the
matter is, the bill is so deeply,
fundamentally and irrevocably
flawed, it cannot serve as a useful
starting point for meaningful re-
form.”
Democrats are pushing a more
expansive policing bill that the
Democratic-led House will vote
on Thursday, a measure that
would mandate several changes,
including a federal ban on choke-
holds, prohibitions on no-knock
warrants in federal drug cases and
establishment of a national data-
base to track police misconduct.
Its prospects are dim. Republi-
cans say it has no chance in the
Senate, and the Trump adminis-
tration issued a formal veto threat
Wednesday.
“The Senate Republicans want
very much to pass a bill on police
reform. . . . We have total coopera-
tion with many different commu-
nities, including the police com-
munity. They want it very much to
happen,” President Trump said at
a news conference later Wednes-
day at the White House. “The
Democrats don’t want to do it
because they want to weaken our
police, they want to take away
immunity, they want to do other
things.”
The failed Senate vote came
after an impassioned speech by
Scott, the lone black Republican
in the Senate, who said his bill was
an opportunity to say, “Not only
do we hear you, not only do we see
you, we are responding to your
pain.”
The gridlock on Capitol Hill
stands in contrast with the grow-
ing public support for police re-
form measures in the four weeks
since the death of George Floyd,
an unarmed black man killed in
police custody, galvanized the na-
tion and prompted demands for
racial justice. A national Associat-
ed Press-NORC survey conducted
this month found a sweeping de-
sire nationwide for police reform
efforts, with clear majorities
across racial and party lines sup-
porting changes such as requiring
officers to wear body cameras and
prosecuting those who use exces-
sive force.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), one
of three members of the Demo-
cratic caucus to join Republicans
in voting to advance the bill, be-
moaned the outcome.
“My concern was that voting
against it will end the discussion
of this subject in the Senate for the
foreseeable future, and leave us
with nothing to show for all the
energy and passion that has
brought this issue to the forefront
of public consciousness,” King
said in a statement.
Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.)
and Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who is
up for reelection in a strongly
Republican state, also voted with
the GOP to consider the bill.
Democrats argued that had Re-
publicans wanted to produce a
substantive, bipartisan police
proposal, they would have started
with a template that included
more input from them before let-
ting the bill advance on the floor.
In private, Democrats also spoke
of their deep distrust of Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) and questioned whether
he wanted a bipartisan bill to pass
the Senate.
Republicans repeatedly noted
that Democrats could try to
amend the bill on the Senate floor,
and GOP senators privately of-
fered amendment votes meant to
address several criticisms of the
bill that Schumer and Sens. Ka-
mala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory
Booker (D-N.J.) laid out in a letter
to McConnell on Tuesday. The
Democrats turned down that of-
fer, according to two GOP officials
who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss procedural
deliberations, and rejected a sub-
sequent offer of more amendment
votes.
Scott privately told Democrats
that if they did not get votes on
amendments they sought, that he
would help them filibuster his
own bill before it proceeded to a
final vote, according to one of the
officials. One Senate Democratic
aide, also speaking on the condi-
tion of anonymity, dismissed the
moves from Republicans, saying
no serious offer or efforts at bipar-
tisan talks had been made by GOP
senators.
“We’re literally arguing about
whether to stop arguing about
whether to start arguing about
something else,” McConnell said
on the Senate floor Wednesday
morning. “Nobody thought the
first offer from the Republican
side was going to be the final
product that traveled out of the
Senate.”
The Senate GOP plan incorpo-
rates a number of Democratic pro-
posals, such as legislation to make
lynching a federal hate crime and
a national policing commission to
undertake a comprehensive re-
view of the U.S. criminal justice
system.
It also withholds federal grants
to state and local law enforcement
agencies that do not proactively
bar the practice of chokeholds. It
also calls on states and localities
to report to the Justice Depart-
ment when no-knock warrants
are used, and it would punish
those that do not do so, by with-
holding federal funding.
On one major point of dissen-
sion between the parties, the Re-
publican bill leaves intact the
“qualified immunity” standard
that Democrats want to erode to
make it easier for law enforce-
ment officials to be sued for mis-
conduct.
In its veto threat, the Trump
administration called the Demo-
cratic legislation an “overbroad
bill” that “would deter good peo-
ple from pursuing careers in law
enforcement, weaken the ability
of law enforcement agencies to
reduce crime and keep our com-
munities safe, and fail to bring law
enforcement and the communi-
ties they serve closer together.”
Despite the vote, McConnell
left open the possibility of taking
procedural steps to tee it up again
in the future. Republicans later
noted that Democrats can exert
significant influence on the prog-
ress of the bill because it would
require 60 votes not just to start
work on the legislation, but also,
separately, to move it to a final
passage vote.
seung-min.kim@washpost.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Racist
images
stir ‘very
real fears’
IMAGES FROM A1
Fuller’s death, in a sign of just how
mistrusted many public institu-
tions have become in the handling
of matters of race.
The results of that death inves-
tigation could come any day, and
the Antelope Valley, part of the Los
Angeles metro area’s sprawl, is on
edge.
“We just don’t know what’s real-
ly going on,” said Waunette Cul-
lors, 54, a councilwoman in the
nearby town of Littlerock. “We
just can’t trust the sheriff, and
nothing has been transparent. We
don’t know if people are being
picked off or executed.”
The public demands for the
state attorney general to examine
Fuller’s June 10 death reflect the
increased scrutiny that local po-
lice departments have come un-
der since the Memorial Day killing
of George Floyd, an unarmed
black man, in the custody of Min-
neapolis police. The FBI is track-
ing the review of the Fuller case.
The video of Floyd’s death set
off demonstrations in cities big
and small, and revealed a dearth
of public trust in law enforcement.
That credibility deficit is now a
central feature of the politics in
places such as Palmdale, where
black and Latino residents make
up the majority.
Even if Fuller’s death is con-
firmed to have been a suicide, its
public manner has evoked the
lynchings that were the most bru-
tal hallmark of white resistance to
black civil rights decades ago.
In Victorville, a city about 50
miles east of here, Malcolm
Harsch hanged himself from a
tree near a homeless camp on May
31. A review that turned up video-
tape of Harsch’s death confirmed
that the 38-year-old had killed
himself, a finding announced by
his family to ensure public trust in
it.
But skepticism — fueled by pub-
lic fears about a resurgence of
white-supremacist activity — fed
beliefs that a disturbing trend was
emerging, as several other black
people were found publicly hang-
ing in recent weeks, including in-
cidents in New York and Texas —
all reported as suspected suicides
by authorities. Another came
Tuesday, when police in Long Is-
land, N.Y., said they had found an
African American man hanging
from a tree in a public park.
The agency said in a statement
that the death appeared to be a
suicide, based in part on “a letter
left for his family in his home
which describes his reasoning for
his actions.” An autopsy is pend-
ing.
The Antelope Valley has its own
history of racial violence and
white nationalist groups, a legacy
that fed the public’s demand for an
outside investigation.
Many here are transplants,
Army activates 400 unarmed Guard
members to protect D.C. monuments
BY A LEX H ORTON
The Army activated about 400
unarmed members of the Wash-
ington, D.C., National Guard to
“prevent any defacing or destruc-
tion” of monuments, defense offi-
cials said Wednesday, as protests
over police violence continue
alongside efforts to pull down stat-
ues in the capital.
Interior Secretary David Bern-
hardt requested the Guardsmen
to bolster the National Park Police,
said Air Force Senior Master Sgt.
Craig Clapper, a D.C. Guard
spokesman. The Guardsmen were
posted at an armory awaiting di-
rections for when and where they
will be used, Clapper said.
Some Guardsmen who were
mobilized weeks ago had transi-
tioned back to supporting efforts
to fight the coronavirus pandemic
but will now return to the civil
disturbance mission, he said.
The troops may carry face
shields for personal protection
but did not have tear gas or pepper
spray as of Wednesday afternoon,
Clapper said. U.S. Marshals were
similarly told Wednesday that
they should prepare to help pro-
tect national monuments across
the country, according to an email
directive viewed by The Washing-
ton Post.
Demonstrators in Washington
and other cities have targeted stat-
ues and monuments in recent
weeks following the death of
. THE WASHINGTON POST
protests against police violence
A memorial where Robert Fuller’s body was found this month in Palmdale, Calif. On both coasts,
black men have been found hanging from trees, suspected suicides that evoke images of lynchings.
drawn from the crowded, expen-
sive corridors of Los Angeles to
open land, more-affordable hous-
ing and safer neighborhoods. But
beneath the surface lurked a his-
tory of housing discrimination
and overt racism that many Afri-
can Americans here say has not
entirely disappeared.
“When I moved here, my family
told me, ‘Be careful because there
are skinheads there,’ ” said Cul-
lors, the councilwoman from Lit-
tlerock, who arrived in the 1990s.
She worried most about her son,
who was 6-foot-3 by the time he
reached high school.
“He’s been stopped three to four
times for nothing. That’s impact-
ful to his adulthood,” Cullors said.
“He told me at one point, ‘When I
see a police officer behind me, I
wonder, will I be killed?’ ”
In the 1940s, African Ameri-
cans were essentially barred from
living in Palmdale and the rest of
the Antelope Valley, denied home
financing by banks in a tactic
known as redlining. Instead, they
built homes themselves, trucking
in raw materials from Los Ange-
les, relying on neighbors for labor
and eventually creating a commu-
George Floyd at the hands of po-
lice last month, prompting a reck-
oning of the role that race has
played in U.S. history.
Many of the markers were dedi-
cated to Confederate leaders. But
on Monday, protesters decrying
President Andrew Jackson’s bru-
tal displacement of Native Ameri-
cans attached ropes to a bronze
statue of him in Lafayette Square
to try to tear it down. Law enforce-
ment stopped their efforts.
President Trump said Tuesday
that federal officials would seek
long sentences for anyone who
toppled statues or vandalized
monuments.
One emerging flash point is the
Emancipation Statue in Lincoln
Park, a federally controlled space
in Northeast Washington. The
statue depicts a freed slave kneel-
ing at the feet of President Abra-
ham Lincoln.
Protesters who have pledged to
tear it down have said it champi-
ons white supremacy and fails to
acknowledge the crucial role
slaves played in fighting for their
freedom.
A U.S. Park Police spokesman
declined to say where the agency
needed support, saying that the
demonstrators posed a threat and
that revealing potential areas
would endanger officers.
“We’re dealing with extremists,”
Sgt. Eduardo Delgado said.
At one point, more than 1,200
D.C. Guardsmen were mobilized
nity on the city’s outskirts called
Sun Village. For years, the com-
munity had no electricity or run-
ning water.
But in 1968, after federal legis-
lation outlawed redlining, black
residents began to move out of
Sun Village into Palmdale.
“Whether they were accepted
or not,” said James Brooks, 71, who
is president of the Sun Village
Park Association.
When Brooks first moved to
Palmdale in the late ’80s, he re-
called, a friend moved to Quartz
Hill, a largely white community to
the west. He soon woke up to a
cross burned into his lawn.
Palmdale’s population has in-
creased tenfold over the past sev-
eral decades to more than 155,000
in 2019. Whites made up the large
majority for much of the 20th
century. Today, they represent
about 20 percent of the popula-
tion, according to census statis-
tics. About 12.5 percent of resi-
dents are black and about 60 per-
cent are Latino.
Nigel Holly, a black community
activist, recalled a hot day in 2013
when he pulled off his shirt while
driving to reveal a more breath-
in response to civil unrest in the
capital. Several states contributed
forces for a high-water mark of
more than 5,000 the weekend of
June 6, defense officials said.
The National Guard has strug-
gled to reconcile its image — one of
responding to natural disasters
and deploying to war — with its
recent mobilizations in which
many stood shoulder to shoulder
with police. Gen. Joseph L.
Lengyel, the National Guard chief,
has called the civil unrest mobili-
zations an “uncomfortable” mis-
sion requiring Guardsmen to con-
front their own community.
Two helicopters from the D.C.
Guard flew low over protesters on
June 1 in what lawmakers and
human rights groups called a
“show of force” meant to frighten
and disperse them with roaring
engines and powerful rotor wash.
One of the helicopters, a UH-72
Lakota, hovered an estimated
45 feet over the heads of protest-
ers, according to a Post analysis
using 3-D modeling, videos and
photos.
The Lakota, a medical evacua-
tion helicopter, was adorned with
red crosses. Military law experts
and human rights groups criti-
cized its use, saying the red cross is
a symbol of global mercy and in-
consistent with what has been
widely described as maneuvers to
intimidate. The incident is under
investigation by the D.C. Guard.
alex.horton@washpost.com
EZ SU
PHILIP CHEUNG FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
able tank top. “I guess that caused
me to look a certain way,” he said,
because he was subsequently
pulled over, handcuffed and
placed in the back of a sheriff’s car.
It wasn’t until the officer came
across documents in Holly’s car
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Because of structural racism and discrimination in our housing markets,
residential segregation has gotten worse. Black Americans are more
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options, living wage jobs, quality credit, transit, and opportunities to build
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showing he was a member of a
prominent community group,
Palmdale’s Community Action
League, that the officer let him go.
“He got very apologetic and in-
sistent that it was just routine and
just standard and wasn’t personal.
But it felt like I was targeted,” said
Holly, 44.
For the most part, black resi-
dents in Palmdale believe that
Fuller did not kill himself.
Part of the public suspicion sur-
rounding Fuller’s death involves
the essential facts of the case.
Police said there was no chair or
stool found at the scene, and resi-
dents point to the relatively small
tree that Fuller was found hanging
from, suggesting it may not have
been big enough to hold his
weight. Two other shooting deaths
in the Antelope Valley in the past
few weeks by police have added to
increased distrust.
“I have been getting calls for the
last few years from beleaguered
residents who have moved from
south L.A. to the high-desert area
seeking a better quality of life, only
to discover they have essentially
moved to an area reminiscent of
Mississippi in the 1970s,” said Na-
jee Ali, a Los Angeles-based com-
munity activist who helped orga-
nize the original protest for Full-
er’s family in Palmdale.
“These white residents have re-
sisted every inch of integration
from day one for decades,” he said.
“We believe that the leadership in
Palmdale has similar views pri-
vately, that they could never ex-
press publicly.”
The Fuller and Harsch hang-
ings came just weeks after white
men in Georgia were arrested
nearly three months after the
shooting death Ahmaud Arbery, a
25-year-old black jogger whose
death fueled nationwide calls for
racial justice. Protesters accused
local prosecutors of dragging
their feet on arresting the men,
who included a former police offi-
cer.
Against that backdrop, activists
say, it is understandable that com-
munities of color are feeling “un-
der siege” and mistrustful of their
public institutions.
“We didn’t just come up with
this idea that maybe this was a
lynching,” said Lecia Brooks, out-
reach director for the Southern
Poverty Law Center, which moni-
tors hate groups and extremist
activity. “It comes up with the very
@NatFairHouse
A11
real history of public lynchings.
It’s real.”
Brooks said the SPLC’s research
had not shown any connection
between hate groups and the
men’s hangings. But a legacy of
white-supremacist activity in Los
Angeles and the surrounding area
compounded people’s suspicions
that foul play may have been a
factor, she said. Recent years have
also brought a surge in hate
crimes and the expansion of
white-
supremacist groups, according to
the SPLC.
“The existence of hate groups
anywhere, especially in a local
context, underscores people’s base
beliefs that they’re under attack,
that there’s an organized effort to
bring violence,” said Brooks, who
previously worked as an educator
in Los Angeles and ran a diversion
program for white youths at risk of
joining racist groups.
“Whether the investigations
lead to a hate group,” she said,
“there are very real fears in com-
munities of color there. And it’s up
to community leaders and com-
munity members to address that.”
White-supremacist gangs and
racist groups have menaced the
Antelope Valley for decades. Mo-
torcycle gangs known for their
violently racist views and over-
whelmingly white membership
have roamed in the region since
the late 1960s.
Today, there are 88 active hate
groups in California, according to
the SPLC, with many clustered
around the Los Angeles suburbs.
But Brooks said a tradition of
heavy-handed policing has also
contributed to the community’s
long-standing mistrust of the Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment, which handled the Fuller
case.
“The department has never had
a good reputation of being respon-
sive to the needs, fears and con-
cerns of the members of the black
community,” Brooks said. “People
need to accept that as fact. It’s an
opportunity for law enforcement
to engage differently with the
community and proactively act on
the fears that they hear from
them.”
derek.hawkins@washpost.com
scott.wilson@washpost.com
Green reported from Palmdale,
Hawkins from Washington and Wilson
from Santa Barbara, Calif.
ADVERTISEMENT
A12
Russia’s mid-pandemic display of patriotism
With delayed Victory Day parade, Putin looks to shed recent setbacks before a vote on measures that would cement his presidency
BY R OBYN D IXON
moscow — Russians celebrated
Victory Day on Wednesday, mark-
ing the 75th anniversary of the
Soviet Union’s defeat of the Nazis
in World War II, as President
Vladimir Putin sought to shed the
political setbacks of the coronavi-
rus pandemic and drum up na-
tional pride in preparation for a
nationwide vote on constitutional
changes that could let him stay in
power until 2036.
The holiday was actually May 9,
but the military parade had to be
postponed because of the novel
coronavirus.
For Russians, Victory Day is
perhaps the nation’s most emo-
tional holiday and evokes trium-
phant memories of wartime hero-
ism darkened by the cruel sacri-
fice of 27 million Soviet citizens
who died in what is known here as
the Great Patriotic War. Russian
state television has been running
a nonstop rolling banner on the
right-hand side of the screen list-
ing the names of every known
casualty.
After arriving at the parade,
Putin shook hands with elderly
veterans of the war, people in their
80s and 90s — one of the groups
most vulnerable to the coronavi-
rus. Neither Putin nor the veter-
ans he greeted wore masks.
The last surviving member of
three Soviet female air force regi-
ments, Galina Brok-Beltsova, 95,
was seated at Putin’s right.
Putin said Europe owed its free-
dom to the Soviet soldiers who
laid down their lives in the war.
“They defended their land,
freed the states of Europe from
invaders, saved the people of Ger-
many from Nazism and its ideolo-
gy. It is impossible to imagine
what would have happened to the
world if the Red Army had not
stood in the way of fascism,” he
said in a speech opening the pa-
rade.
After he spoke, troops wearing
uniforms dating back to the war
and units from several former
Soviet nations marched through
the square as martial music rang
out.
The parade was a showcase of
Russian military force, with tanks
and missiles rumbling through
Red Square, troops marching in
crisp formation and an air force
flyover of the nation’s most ad-
vanced military planes, including
MiG-31 interceptors carrying
hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
More than 13,000 troops, 234 ar-
mored vehicles and 75 aircraft
participated. Some Muscovites
clambered onto pitched metal
roofs to see the flyby as it ap-
proached Red Square and take
photos with smartphones.
In addition to Russia’s latest
military technology, the parade
also featured a squadron of World
War II-era T-34 tanks, once the
mainstay of the Soviet armored
columns that swept across Ger-
many.
In recent weeks, health officials
had insisted that the rate of coro-
navirus infection was low enough
to go ahead with the postponed
event — a patriotic set piece sym-
bolizing Putin’s leadership. It pre-
ceded a week-long national vote
beginning Thursday on constitu-
tional amendments, including
one that entitles Putin to run for
reelection two more times after
his term expires in 2024.
Critics and infectious-disease
expert Victoria Adonyeva have
warned that Russia’s rush to re-
turn to normalcy for the parade
and the constitutional vote —
even as official figures show that
cases are rising by more than
7,000 a day — is likely to lead to a
ISRAEL
U.N. chief calls for end
to annexation plans
U.N. Secretary General
António Guterres urged Israel on
Wednesday to abandon plans to
annex settlements in the
occupied West Bank, warning
this threatened prospects for
peace with the Palestinians.
“If implemented, annexation
would constitute a most serious
violation of international law,
grievously harm the prospect of
a two-state solution and
undercut the possibilities of a
renewal of negotiations,”
Guterres told the U.N. Security
Council.
“I call on the Israeli
government to abandon its
annexation plans,” he said.
ABOVE: Russian
armored vehicles roll
through Moscow’s Red
Square on Wednesday
during a Victory Day
parade commemorating
the 75th anniversary of
the Soviet Union’s
triumph over Nazi
Germany in World War
II.
BELOW: Military
veterans and guests
watch the parade,
which also included
troops marching in
crisp formation and an
air force flyover of the
nation’s most advanced
military planes.
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is
preparing to start discussions
July 1 on annexation of the West
Bank, territory that Israel
captured in a 1967 war and that
Palestinians seek for a state.
Palestinians vehemently
oppose the annexation plan, as
do most world powers.
Palestinian leaders have also
rejected a peace proposal
unveiled in January by President
Trump, in which Washington
would recognize Jewish
settlements as part of Israel.
Senior aides to Trump began
discussions Tuesday on whether
to give Netanyahu a green light
for his annexation plan.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said Wednesday that extending
Israeli sovereignty was a decision
“for Israelis to make.”
EZ RE
The World
new surge in infections in coming
weeks.
Ahead of Victory Day, Russia
reopened gyms, restaurants,
cafes, shops and hair salons, al-
though mass events such as con-
certs are still banned.
By Wednesday, Russia had re-
ported more than 600,000 coro-
navirus cases, the third-highest in
the world after the United States
and Brazil. According to official
statistics, questioned by critics,
Russia’s deaths have reached just
over 8,500.
With Russia’s economy in crisis
because of the pandemic, Putin’s
approval rating recently reached
its lowest level, 59 percent. Al-
though still high by Western stan-
dards, it comes in a nation where
the Kremlin maintains tight con-
PAVEL GOLOVKIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DI GEST
Guterres called on the Middle
East Quartet of mediators — the
United States, Russia, the
European Union and the United
Nations — “to take up our
mandated mediation role and
find a mutually agreeable
framework for the parties to re-
engage, without preconditions,
with us and other key states.”
— Associated Press
TURKEY
Journalists go on trial
in state secrets case
Seven journalists went on trial
Wednesday, accused of revealing
state secrets in their reports on
the funeral of an intelligence
officer killed in Libya. Three of
the defendants were released
from custody pending the
trol over the media and routinely
jails opposition figures and critics
and seizes their assets.
In a national address Tuesday,
Putin sought to turn public opin-
ion around, telling Russians that
authorities have done everything
possible to save human lives since
the pandemic reached the coun-
try. He extended a series of tempo-
rary benefits to families with chil-
dren and unemployed people hit
hard by the pandemic and an-
nounced more measures to sup-
port businesses.
Opposition politician Leonid
Volkov said in a recent YouTube
video that the thousands of new
coronavirus cases each day
proved that it was “ridiculous and
criminal” to lift the restrictions
and proceed with the nationwide
outcome of the trial, which was
adjourned until September.
The journalists from the
Odatv news website, the pro-
Kurdish newspaper Yeni Yasam
and the nationalist daily Yenicag
have been charged with violating
national intelligence laws and of
revealing secret information. If
convicted, they face between
eight and 19 years in prison.
The prosecutors accuse the
defendants, held since March,
of acting “in a systematic and
coordinated manner.” Critics say
that the intelligence officer was
identified in talks in parliament
and that his name and Libyan
involvement were known.
About 80 journalists are in jail
under Turkey’s broad anti-
terrorism laws, according to the
Turkish Journalists Syndicate.
— Associated Press
THE WASHINGTON POST
MIKHAIL VOSKRESENSKIY/HOST PHOTO AGENCY/REUTERS
vote.
“But as we see, the Chernobyl
tragedy has not taught the offi-
cials anything,” he said, referring
to the 1986 nuclear power plant
explosion in Ukraine that was cov-
ered up by Soviet authorities. He
predicted that thousands of peo-
ple would die because of the vote.
“Dozens of thousands of lives
will be on Putin, but there is no
hope that he will reconsider be-
cause he doesn’t see anything in
front of him except his eternal
ruling and the walls of his bunker.
That is why take care of yourselves
and of your older relatives. We
can’t rely on the state. It lied, lies
and will lie.”
Putin has participated in sever-
al events this week, visiting a vast
military cathedral Monday and
laying a wreath at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier near the Krem-
lin wall, where he met veterans
and shook their hands.
Extensive measures have been
taken to protect Putin from the
coronavirus, including installing
a special disinfectant tunnel at his
residence that sprays a fine mist
on visitors. Veterans meeting Pu-
tin were required to self-isolate
for two weeks beforehand.
In recent months, the Kremlin
has attacked officials from Eu-
rope, in particular Poland and
Ukraine, who attribute World War
II to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s
nonaggression pact with Nazi dic-
tator Adolf Hitler, dividing up
parts of Europe between them.
Putin argued in a recent article
in the National Interest, a foreign
policy magazine, that Western
powers including Britain, France
and Italy were to blame for ap-
peasing the Nazis by signing the
1938 Munich Agreement, which
ceded parts of Czechoslovakia to
Germany. This, he argued, made
war in Europe inevitable.
He said Western leaders and
Venezuela criticizes U.S. Navy
operation: Venezuelan Defense
Minister Vladimir Padrino called
a Tuesday incident in which a
U.S. Navy ship navigated near
the South American country’s
coast an “act of provocation.” The
U.S. Southern Command said
Tuesday that the missile
destroyer Nitze conducted a
“freedom of navigation”
operation off Venezuela’s coast.
The Southern Command said the
vessel sailed in an area outside
Venezuela’s territorial waters,
but within an area the
Venezuelan government “falsely
claims to have control over.”
Iraqi lawmakers pass bill to
finance deficit: Iraqi lawmakers
passed a crucial bill allowing
the country to finance a
widening fiscal deficit amid an
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Poland were eager to “sweep the
Munich Betrayal under the car-
pet” because “it is kind of embar-
rassing to recall that during those
dramatic days of 1938, the Soviet
Union was the only one to stand
up for Czechoslovakia.”
He added: “Britain, as well as
France, which was at the time the
main ally of the Czechs and Slo-
vaks, chose to withdraw their
guarantees and abandon this
Eastern European country to its
fate. In so doing, they sought to
direct the attention of the
Nazis eastward so that Germany
and the Soviet Union would inevi-
tably clash and bleed each other
white.”
Russia’s historical version of
events has been enshrined in its
constitution, in amendments al-
ready passed by Russia’s parlia-
ment. The nationwide vote being
held from Thursday until July 1 is
expected to confirm these amend-
ments, although technically it is
not legally necessary.
As Russian authorities have
burnished Stalin’s role in the
Great Patriotic War, the Soviet
dictator’s popularity has grown in
contemporary Russia, according
to an independent pollster, the
Levada Analytical Center. The
number of Russians expressing
“respect” for Stalin increased
from 28 percent in 2018 to 41 per-
cent in 2019, according to the
center.
Although millions of Russians
were expected to flock into the
streets Wednesday to commemo-
rate Victory Day, protesters
mounting single-person pickets
— the only form of protest that is
permitted without official permis-
sion — have been arrested in re-
cent days. Putin’s spokesman,
Dmitry Peskov, linked the arrests
to ongoing coronavirus restric-
tions.
robyn.dixon@washpost.com
unprecedented economic crisis
spurred by falling oil prices and
the coronavirus pandemic. Of
329 members of parliament, 168
voted in favor of a measure
enabling domestic and foreign
borrowing by the government, a
key legal step for Iraq to access
funds and pay state salaries.
France calls for E.U. talks on
Turkey: France’s foreign
minister urged its European
Union partners to hold urgent
talks on the bloc’s future ties
with Turkey, which has clashed
with Paris over its role in Libya.
Paris has criticized Turkey’s
military support for the U.N.-
backed government in Libya and
its role in Syria. Turkey’s drilling
operations in the Mediterranean
are also a point of contention.
— From news services
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A13

House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
in conversation with Robert Costa
on Thursday, June 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET

This week, House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is leading
the push to pass legislation to
address police brutality and
racial injustice after the killing of
George Floyd and will introduce
new legislation intended to lower
health care costs and expand
protections in the Affordable
Care Act.

To receive a live stream reminder, visit:

wapo.st/junepelosi
A14 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

Trump will send ‘some’ troops from Germany to Poland

President also gives
an electoral boost to
his Polish counterpart
BY K AREN D E Y OUNG
AND M ICHAEL B IRNBAUM
President Trump said Wednes-
day he will send “some” of the
9,500 U.S. troops he plans to pull
out of Germany to Poland, but
made no new commitment to in-
crease the numbers of those per-
manently based there.
In a Rose Garden news confer-
ence with visiting Polish President
Andrzej Duda, Trump offered his
first breakdown of what he in-
tends to do with the withdrawn
troops, totaling about one-third of
current deployments in Germany.
“Some will be going home, some
will be going to other places in
Europe. Poland will be one of
those,” he said without elaborat-
ing.
Duda, the first foreign leader to
visit Trump since the outbreak of
the coronavirus pandemic, also re-
ceived an electoral boost from
Trump. “He’s doing very well in
Poland. . . . People think the world
of him,” Trump said of Duda. “He
will do very well with or without
us. He’s going to have a great suc-
cess.”
Poles will vote on Sunday, and
Duda is in an unexpectedly tight
reelection race. His political party
has openly speculated that his vis-
it to Washington — where he has
long been a Trump favorite —
could put him over the top.
Among critics of the timing of
the invitation, former secretary of
state Madeleine Albright said in a
statement that it was “being used
as a partisan tool in both coun-
tries.” She joined human and civil
rights groups in charging that
Duda’s right-wing governing par-
ty “is attacking the rule of law,
independent media and minority
groups.”
As the election has neared,
Duda has tried to galvanize his
base with attacks against the LG-
BTQ rights movement, branding
Polish President Andrzej Duda participates in a joint news conference with President Trump in the Rose Garden on Wednesday. Duda is in
an unexpectedly tight reelection race, and his political party has openly speculated that his visit to Washington could put him over the top.
gay and transgender rights as an
“ideology” akin to communism.
In Warsaw, government back-
ers praised Duda for what Jacek
Karnowski, editor of the news-
weekly Sieci, called “a historical
moment.” Duda’s “mutually bene-
ficial relationship with Trump,” he
said, has elevated Poland “to a
higher international league.”
Opponents noted the lack of
new troop commitments and
what they saw as Duda’s kowtow-
ing to Trump. “Actually, why did
Mr. Duda go to Washington?”
asked Pawel Zalewski, of the main
opposition Civic Platform. “There
is not even a declaration about
increasing the U.S. contingent in
Poland,” he said, later adding that
the gestures between the two pres-
idents showed “the humiliating
subordination of Polish to Ameri-
can.”
On other issues, both leaders
suggested that medical and re-
search cooperation with the Unit-
ed States on the coronavirus
would mean that Poland would
have early access to any vaccine
discovered.
Trump spoke of “taking care of
the Polish people once we have a
vaccine,” which he predicted
would happen “very soon.” He has
said he expects it to be available
for Americans by the end of this
year and that he will enlist the
military to distribute it.
Duda, speaking through an in-
terpreter, said he was “working on
this obvious assumption that by
taking part in the research, and
also by being in a sense co-creators
. . . Poles will be able to count on
these vaccines and therapeutics
being available as soon as possi-
ble.”
Despite breathless coverage in
some Polish media outlets in the
days leading up to the meeting
that cited specific military pledg-
es, Duda left the meeting with no
fresh commitments on troops lev-
els.
When they met in 2018, Duda
asked for a complete U.S. division
JABIN BOTSFORD/THE WASHINGTON POST
to be stationed in Poland, suggest-
ing that it could be called “Fort
Trump” and offering to pay $2 bil-
lion for it. Subsequent meetings
last year whittled that down to a
1,000 troop increase in a 4,500
strong armored brigade that al-
ready rotates in and out of Poland
as part of NATO’s strengthening of
eastern European defenses
against Russia.
Last year’s deal also set out oth-
er enhancements for Poland, in-
cluding plans for placement of a
forward division headquarters in
Poland, a joint-use combat train-
ing center and an intelligence, sur-
veillance and reconnaissance
squadron.
Duda has long been a favorite of
Trump, who praised Poland again
on Wednesday for increasing its
defense spending — including the
purchase of expensive U.S. weap-
ons systems — beyond the 2 per-
cent of GDP goal set by NATO
nearly six years ago.
The planned withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Germany, which
Trump confirmed last week, is his
latest salvo in an ongoing war of
both rhetoric and substance
against that government. At the
news conference, he again criti-
cized Germany for low defense
spending, its refusal to cancel an
energy pipeline from Russia, and
what he has called unfair trade
practices by the European Union.
“We defend Europe, but Europe
also takes tremendous advantage
of the United States. . . . We’re try-
ing to work that out,” Trump said.
“I’m imagining they would rather
wait until after the [U.S.] election,
so they can deal with someone
else,” he said, “but after the elec-
tion, they will have to pay even
more.”
Poland has angered other
NATO members in its pursuit of
Trump, with some diplomats say-
ing that going directly to the
White House and promising mon-
ey in exchange for U.S. troops un-
dermines Europe’s collective secu-
rity. The fear is that it makes U.S.
defense commitments transac-
tional rather than based on princi-
ple or strategy, and channels
American military resources to
the highest bidder.
NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg spoke to Duda by
phone on Monday, a measure of
the alliance’s desire for Poland to
tread carefully, two diplomats fa-
miliar with the discussion said.
At the White House, Duda was
careful to say that while he would
happily receive any troops that the
White House decided to send his
way, he had asked Trump not to
“withdraw U.S. forces from Eu-
rope.”
karen.deyoung@washpost.com
michael.birnbaum@washpost.com
Birnbaum reported from Brussels.
Dariusz Kalan in Warsaw contributed
to this report.

North Korea dials down rhetoric against South

Kim suspends planned
military action; hard-line
policies stay on table
BY M IN J OO K IM
seoul — North Korea said
Wednesday that its leader, Kim
Jong Un, has suspended planned
military escalations against
South Korea, pulling back from
weeks of tension building on the
Korean Peninsula amid a stale-
mate in nuclear negotiations
with the United States.
North Korea has long used a
strategy of escalating and de-es-
calating tensions to help win
concessions from its neighbors
and powerful rivals. The timing
of North Korea’s apparent pause
carried added significance, com-
ing on the eve of the 70th anni-
versary of North Korea’s invasion
of South Korea in 1950 to begin
the Korean War.
Over the past few weeks, North
Korea has been dialing up its
campaign against the South,
threatening military moves —
such as returning to guard posts
in the border area — unless the
Seoul government stops anti-
Pyongyang activists from send-
ing propaganda leaflets across
the border.
Earlier this month, North Ko-
rea severed phone hotlines with
the South and blew up an inter-
Korean liaison office, destroying
the symbols of a fleeting rap-
prochement on the peninsula.
A dramatic U-turn in the hos-
tile policy was announced by the
North Korean leader at a video
conference of the country’s Cen-
tral Military Commission, which
was reported via North Korea’s
state media on Wednesday.
“At the preliminary meeting,
the [commission] took stock of
the prevailing situation and sus-
pended the military action plans
against the South,” the Korean
Central News Agency said. The
state media report did not give
details on the military measures
that had been under consider-
ation.
The report also said the com-
mittee discussed “documents
carrying the state measures for
further bolstering the war deter-
rent of the country.”
North Korea’s military vowed
last week to reoccupy border
zones that had been demilita-
rized under agreements with the
South. The Korean People’s Army
had said it would resume mili-
tary exercises and reestablish
guard posts in the border areas
where troops had previously
been withdrawn as part of a
tension-reducing agreement
with South Korea.
The announcement Wednes-
day also came with a warning
that the hard-line policies remain
on the table.
A statement by senior North
Korean official Kim Yong Chol
said the next moves are up to
South Korea, without giving spe-
cifics. In the past, Pyongyang has
increasingly pressured Seoul to
break away from Washington
and advocate North Korea’s in-
terests, including easing interna-
tional sanctions.
“This may sound threatening,
but it wouldn’t be fun when our
‘suspension’ becomes ‘reconsid-
eration,’ ” Kim Yong Chol said in a
statement carried on North Ko-
rea’s state media.
South Korea’s Defense Minis-
try responded by describing the
threatened military actions as a
violation of the peace accords
and warned North Korea that it
will “definitely pay the price” if it
breaks them.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry,
which oversees relations with
North Korea, said Wednesday it
is monitoring the situation and
wants to maintain the inter-Ko-
rean military accords.
North Korea has been ramping
up its provocations since a sum-
AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
mit between Kim and President
Trump last year ended without a Activists in Seoul shout for peace on the Korean Peninsula during a
deal because of disagreements news conference 70 years after the start of the Korean War.
over lifting sanctions that were
imposed because of North Ko- drive out of concerns over a South Korea’s Sejong Institute.
rea’s nuclear weapons develop- military backlash and to leave Cheong said North Korea,
ment. room for diplomatic negotia- through recent provocations, had
Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo tions. gained enough concessions from
Jong last week criticized South “If North Korea’s hard-line pol- South Korea, including the Seoul
Korean President Moon Jae-in as icy triggers more joint military government’s recent pledge to
“servile,” saying he was acting in exercises between South Korea restrict the anti-regime activists
the interests of his “master” and the U.S., and brings about from sending leaflets. “North Ko-
Washington. frequent deployment of U.S. stra- rea would have concluded that it
Security analysts said the tegic assets on the Korean Penin- has more to lose than gain by
North Korean leader, after weeks sula, this will take a toll on North taking a step further” in provoca-
of deliberate tension building, is Korea,” said Cheong Seong- tions, he said.
putting a brake on the hard-line chang, a North Korea expert at minjoo.kim@washpost.com

Kosovo’s president indicted on war crimes charges ahead of U.S. summit

BY M ICHAEL B IRNBAUM
brussels — Kosovo’s president,
Hashim Thaci, was indicted on a
range of war crimes charges,
including nearly 100 murders, a
special prosecutor in The Hague
announced Wednesday, just
three days before the leader was
due at the White House for a
special summit with Serbia.
The announcement of the 10-
count indictment threw the sum-
mit into disarray. Thaci, who had
already left Kosovo en route to
the United States, planned to
turn around and return home,
his office said. U.S. special envoy
Richard Grenell said on Twitter
that the talks would continue
anyway, with Kosovo’s prime
minister, Avdullah Hoti, leading
the delegation from Pristina.
The leaders were not expected
to meet with President Trump on
Saturday in any case, though
Trump had inaugurated the pro-
cess last year by dangling the
possibility of a White House
peace summit.
The Hague-based special pros-
ecutor’s office has been investi-
gating crimes against ethnic
Serbs connected to Kosovo’s
1998-1999 war of independence.
indictment involve hundreds of
known victims of Kosovo Alba-
nian, Serb, Roma, and other
ethnicities and include political
opponents.”
The indictment must still be
approved by a judge before any
legal process goes forward.
Thaci did not immediately
comment on the substance of the
charges, beyond the announce-
ment that he would return to
Kosovo. A spokesman did not
respond to a request for com-
ment.
The Trump administration
also did not comment on the
substance of the indictment be-
yond Grenell’s tweet.
Thaci was expected to visit the
White House along with Serbian
ARMEND NIMANI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
President Aleksandar Vucic on
Kosovar President Hashim Thaci’s office announced he would no Saturday. Serbia never recog-
longer attend this weekend’s White House meeting with Serbia. nized Kosovo’s 2008 declaration
of independence, and the sum-
Many of Kosovo’s leading poli- crimes. mit was intended to try to resolve
ticians took part in the war, The special prosecutor’s office their impasse. NATO peacekeep-
which claimed more than 10,000 said Wednesday that based on a ers are still deployed within
lives and ended after a 78-day “lengthy investigation,” it could Kosovo.
NATO bombing campaign in prove “beyond a reasonable If the talks do go forward,
support of the separatists. doubt” that Thaci and others had Thaci’s absence will be felt. Hoti,
Thaci was one of the top perpetrated “murder, enforced the prime minister, has been in
commanders of the Kosovo Lib- disappearance of persons, perse- office for only three weeks,
eration Army and has denied cution, and torture.” It added whereas Thaci has led Kosovo as
previous allegations of war that “the crimes alleged in the prime minister or president for
most of its independent exis-
tence.
Grenell, who recently stepped
down as the U.S. ambassador to
Germany and as acting director
of national intelligence, helped
broker the White House meeting
between the Serbian and Koso-
var officials.
Under Trump, the United
States has expressed openness to
resolving the dispute through
land swaps between Kosovo and
Serbia — though many European
leaders fear that could reignite
the conflict by reopening some of
the core issues that caused the
1998 war in the first place.
The European Union has long
taken the lead in trying to resolve
the situation, which it says is an
important first step for Serbia’s
and Kosovo’s potential entry into
the bloc. And European leaders
complained that Grenell had not
consulted with them when set-
ting up the White House meet-
ing.
Grenell has denied that the
United States and Europe were
in conflict. He said the U.S.
conversation would focus on eco-
nomic issues, while the E.U. con-
tinued to pursue political issues.
He said land swaps would not be
discussed at Saturday’s meeting.
The prosecutor’s office said
the indictment was filed April 24
for approval by a pretrial judge
that was supposed to be complet-
ed within six months. Ordinarily,
the allegations would have re-
mained secret for the time being,
but the office said it was publiciz-
ing them now because of repeat-
ed efforts by Thaci and others “to
obstruct and undermine the
work” of the special court.
Kadri Veseli, another former
Kosovo Liberation Army com-
mander and a former speaker of
Kosovo’s parliament, was also
named in the announcement of
the indictment. He has denied
past allegations of war crimes.
The court is ruled by Kosovar
law but is staffed and funded by
the E.U. Last year, Kosovar Prime
Minister Ramush Haradinaj re-
signed abruptly after being
called for questioning by the
same court.
Investigators have in the past
accused Kosovo Liberation Army
forces of harvesting the organs of
prisoners and of murdering
Serbs and ethnic Albanians sus-
pected of collaboration with the
Serbian state.
michael.birnbaum@washpost.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU A15

7.4-magnitude quake
kills at least 7 in Mexico
BY K EVIN S IEFF
mexico city — At least seven
people died and two dozen were
injured in the 7.4-magnitude
earthquake that shook Mexico
on Tuesday, officials said.
The quake, whose epicenter
was in the southern state of
Oaxaca, also caused minor struc-
tural damage, including at 21
hospitals, Mexican officials said.
But given its size, many in the
country expressed relief that the
damage wasn’t more severe.
A 2017 earthquake near Mexi-
co City killed more than 300
people, and fear of a similar
disaster runs deep here. A 1985
quake killed 10,000 people.
According to Mexico’s nation-
al seismological service, Tues-
day’s earthquake took place
about 14 miles off the Pacific
coast, south of the town of
Crucecita. Experts said that its
location off the coast helps ex-
plain the relatively limited dam-
age.
Aftershocks and smaller
quakes continued through Tues-
day afternoon and could be felt
by residents of Oaxaca.
Mexican President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador estimat-
ed that by Tuesday evening,
there had been 147 aftershocks.
By Wednesday, the country’s civ-
il protection force said there had
been more than 1,400 after-
shocks.
“Fortunately there was no ma-
jor damage,” he said in a video
posted on Twitter.
A warning alarm system in
Mexico City sounded before the
quake was felt, prompting many
to run into the streets seeking
safer ground. Some of the city’s
high-rises swayed, and residents
posted videos of gaps in pave-
ment opening and closing.
Mexico is combating one of
the world’s most severe corona-
virus outbreaks, and emergency
management officials had ex-
pressed concern about what it
would mean to respond to a
large earthquake in the middle
of a pandemic.
Civil protection coordinator
David Leon said that more than
20 hospitals were damaged in
the country, Deutsche Presse
reported. Mexican newspaper El
PEDRO PARDO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Universal reported that in some
cases, patients had to be tempo- A resident recovers his belongings from an apartment building in Mexico City after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in southern Mexico
rarily evacuated. caused buildings to sway in the capital. Officials were concerned about the nation’s response to a quake in the middle of the pandemic.
The state oil company, Petró-
leos Mexicanos, was forced to ery died when he fell during the and 2017 earthquakes, Mexico tant to quakes. But major Mexi- buildings that officials believe
briefly shut down its largest earthquake, the company said. revised its building codes so that can cities are still populated by could be vulnerable.
refinery. One worker at the refin- In response to both the 1985 newer structures are more resis- many informally constructed kevin.sieff@washpost.com

Justice Department outlines new evidence to support case against Assange

BY E LLEN N AKASHIMA
AND R ACHEL W EINER
The Department of Justice out-
lined new evidence Wednesday to
bolster its case against Julian As-
sange, in an updated indictment
that accuses the WikiLeaks found-
er of soliciting hackers to break
into the Icelandic government’s
computers to steal information
that could be leaked to embarrass
the government.
FBI agents and prosecutors in
Manhattan were close to making a
criminal hacking case against
WikiLeaks based on these allega-
tions in 2011 but were blocked by
senior officials, who wanted to
focus on an espionage case against
Assange in Virginia, according to
people familiar with the matter
who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak publicly
about an investigation.
The Obama administration ul-
timately decided not to pursue the
espionage case because of First
Amendment concerns; it was re-
vived under President Trump.
The superseding indictment
does not add to the 18 charges
accusing Assange of working with
former Army private Chelsea
Manning in 2010 to steal classified
documents from the U.S. govern-
ment. The statute of limitations
for the new allegations has ex-
pired. But the document adds evi-
dence to the government’s asser-
tions that Assange is not a publish-
er or journalist but a hacker.
The new indictment in federal
court in Alexandria alleges that
Assange asked a teenager to ille-
gally obtain recordings of phone
conversations between politicians
in a foreign country. The descrip-
tion matches that of Sigurdur
Thordarson, an Icelandic hacker
who was interviewed by prosecu-
tors last year. Assange and Thord-
arson made a “joint attempt” to
decrypt a file stolen from an Ice-
landic bank, according to the in-
dictment.
Assange was evidently angry at
Iceland because it blocked a deal
to put WikiLeaks servers in Fin-
land, one official said.
According to prosecutors, As-
sange obtained access to an Ice-
landic government website and
used it to confirm he was being
monitored by police.
A key development in the inves-
tigation into Assange came in
June 2011, when a cyber team at
the FBI’s New York field office
arrested a notorious hacker and
the same night, one of the agents,
Milan Patel, flipped him. Hector
Monsegur, who went by the online
handle Sabu, co-founded LulzSec,
an offshoot of the hacktivist col-
lective Anonymous.
The agents directed Sabu to ask
Thordarson to prove he was work-
ing for Assange. As the two chatted
online, Thordarson panned the
camera on his iPhone over to As-
sange and then back down to the
chat, according to former officials.
Over the next two weeks, Sabu
chatted directly with Assange,
who was unaware that FBI agents
were monitoring him. With the
agreement of the Icelandic gov-
ernment, U.S. authorities created
fake classified documents for
Sabu to feed Assange.
Prosecutors in the Southern
District of New York, working with
the FBI, drafted a complaint
charging Thordarson with con-
spiracy to hack government com-
puters. The idea was to use that
complaint to encourage Thordar-
son to cooperate and get direct
evidence that Assange was solicit-
ing hacks, but the government
never moved forward.
Another hacker, Jeremy Ham-
mond, who worked with LulzSec
to expose private information
from the firm Strategic Forecast-
ing, or Stratfor, around the same
time, refused to cooperate with the
government and was held in con-
tempt. But the new indictment in-
cludes chats in which Hammond
told Sabu he attacked Stratfor a
second time at Assange’s “indirect”
request and expressed frustration
that he didn’t get much material,
“especially when we are asked to
make it happen with [WikiLeaks].”
Assange says he can’t suggest the
hack “for the obvious legal rea-
sons” but then goes on to name
Stratfor as a good target.
Barry Pollack, an attorney for
Assange — who is fighting extradi-
tion from the United Kingdom —
stressed that no new charges were
added and said the “government’s
relentless pursuit of Julian As-
sange poses a grave threat to jour-
nalists everywhere.”
ellen.nakashima@washpost.com
rachel.weiner@washpost.com

CORONAVIRUS
Helping First Responders
A Conversation with Arianna Huffington,
Michelle A. Williams and Natalie Tran
Friday, June 26 at 12:00 p.m. ET

Arianna Huffington Michelle A. Williams Natalie Tran

Founder and CEO, Dean, Harvard School Executive Director,
Thrive Global of Public Health CAA Foundation

To receive a live stream reminder for this event, visit: washingtonpostlive.com

A16
 DOW 25,445.94
DOWN 710.16, 2.7%  NASDAQ 9,909.17
DOWN 222.20, 2.2%
IMF says economic crisis caused by coronavirus will be worse than feared
Fund officials blame
shutdowns, costs of new
safety and hygiene rules
BY D AVID J . L YNCH
The International Monetary
Fund on Wednesday painted a
bleak portrait of the global econo-
my, saying the coronavirus pan-
demic has caused more wide-
spread damage than expected and
will be followed by a sluggish re-
covery.
The global economy will shrink
this year by 4.9 percent, worse
than the 3 percent decline predict-
ed in April, the IMF said.
No major economy is escaping
the pandemic. The U.S. economy,
the world’s largest, is expected to
Segways riding
o≠ into the sunset
Company to stop making signature two-wheeler
BY R ACHEL L ERMAN
san francisco — The Segway
PT, that two-wheeled vehicle that
makes riders lean forward, will
soon be no more.
Segway-Ninebot said this week
that manufacturing of its most
recognizable product will halt
July 15. The company said it was a
decision based on economics. The
PT, or personal transporter, made
up only 1.5 percent of the compa-
ny’s revenue last year, Segway
President Judy Cai said in a state-
ment.
Retiring what most simply
know as the Segway will free up
room for the company to focus on
its newer products, she said,
which include a self-balancing
“Wall-E”-pod-like vehicle called
the S-Pod, a more traditional-
looking electric kick scooter and a
smaller self-balancing vehicle
controlled by the user’s knees.
“I think that Segway
didn’t get to a cheap-
enough product fast
enough to really win the
micro-mobility race.”
Gene Munster, Loup Ventures
“Given our decades-long histo-
ry, we recognize that this decision
may come as a disappointment to
our strong and loyal following
among private owners, who view
the Segway as one of the more
innovative creations of the early
21st century,” Cai said.
Indeed, the Segway has devel-
oped a fervent but niche follow-
ing in a few markets, notably for
city tours, mall and airport secu-
TECHNOLOGY
Google to update
privacy controls
Alphabet’s Google on
Wednesday said it will
automatically delete some
location history after 18 months
for new users and make it easier
for everyone to access its search,
Maps and YouTube apps without
being tracked.
The updates to Google’s
privacy controls arrive as the
world’s largest search engine
faces heightened scrutiny on its
data collection practices. New
privacy laws in California and
Europe have prompted Internet
companies to adjust practices
over the past two years. Several
lawsuits by consumers and U.S.
state attorneys general in the
past few months have accused
Google of deception in data
gathering.
Under Google’s updated
settings, YouTube’s viewing
history of new users will
disappear after 36 months and
location tracking and Web
browsing history will get
dropped after 18 months. Users
have the option of choosing
shorter or longer time frames.
Economy & Business
 S&P 500 3,050.33
DOWN 80.96, 2.6%
shrink this year by 8 percent.
Countries that use the single Euro-
pean currency are headed for a
decline of more than 10 percent
while Japanese output will fall by
5.8 percent, the IMF said.
The Chinese economy, suffering
the twin ravages of the pandemic
and the trade war with the United
States, is projected to eke out just a
1 percent gain — its worst perfor-
mance in several decades.
“Maybe we can say the world
has bottomed out, for now, and
we’re in a recovery phase,” said
Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief
economist. “But still, the strength
of the recovery is highly uncertain
because there is no solution yet to
the health crisis.” By the end of
next year, the pandemic will have
cost the global economy $12.5 tril-
lion in lost output, she added.
Current conditions are consid-
erably more dire than the “unprec-
rity and some law enforcement
departments. But even as compa-
nies and consumers have shifted
to a new era of micro-mobility
with shared rides, bikes and
scooters, the device failed to keep
up.
The Segway may have been
introduced too early for its time,
in a world where scooters were
still thought of as children’s toys.
It was introduced in 2001 on
“Good Morning America” and
went on sale the next year on
Amazon.
The scooter, a version of which
is still for sale for more than
$6,000 on Segway’s website,
failed to go mainstream. In 2015,
Wired declared the device dead,
writing that the scooter never
took off in part because it was
clumsy to use inside buildings
and there was no real way to use it
on city streets. Plus, the publica-
tion added, it made people feel
lazy.
That stereotype — that Segway
riders were lazy, that they should
just walk — was a big drawback
for the Segway, which had been
introduced with an enduring
“wow” factor, said Loup Ventures
partner Gene Munster.
Popular portrayals in the me-
dia, while cementing the scooter’s
place as a cultural icon, also
didn’t help its cool factor. The
Segway is probably best known in
movies and TV for being the
preferred mode of transportation
for goofy mall cop Paul Blart and
for underachieving brother Gob
in “Arrested Development.”
And Segway’s debut came
years before docked bike-sharing
options popped up in a wide-
spread way and even longer be-
fore Lime, Spin and Uber scooters
populated city streets.
“I think that Segway didn’t get
to a cheap-enough product fast
enough to really win the micro-
However, Google may still be
able to access and store location
details in other ways.
Users can more easily search
in what Google calls “incognito
mode,” by just holding down
their profile picture at the top of
the search, Maps or YouTube
apps. Previously, an additional
click in the apps’ menu was
required.
Google does not keep a log of
users’ activity when they are in
incognito mode.
— Reuters
AIRLINES
Pilots union wants
seat costs covered
American Airlines pilots are
calling on the U.S. government to
pay for enough jetliner seats to
enable social distancing during
the novel coronavirus pandemic,
saying the move would help
support carriers through the
worst collapse in industry
history.
The estimated cost of the
proposal would be about
$1.9 billion a month for the
10 largest U.S. carriers as they
operate an average 40 percent of
their normal flying capacity, the
EZ RE
 GOLD $1,775.10
DOWN $6.90, 0.4%
edented decline in global activity”
that the fund projected two
months ago. Since mid-April, eco-
nomic data suggest “even deeper
downturns than previously pro-
jected,” the fund said.
Fund officials blamed the dark-
er forecast on the effects of social
distancing; scarring to global pro-
duction capacity from the shut-
down of activity; and the produc-
tivity cost of new safety and hy-
giene rules. Some economies also
are still struggling to control the
coronavirus, the fund added with-
out naming specific governments.
The forecast assumes countries
will not reimpose comprehensive
shutdowns even if the pandemic
flares up again.
Government crisis-fighting ef-
forts — including $11 trillion in
spending and tax cuts — have kept
the economic collapse from wors-
ening, the fund said.
A police officer at Reagan National Airport in March. Law enforcement agencies, security companies and tour groups still use Segways.
mobility race,” Munster said. Still,
he pointed out, the Segway lasted
for nearly 20 years — much lon-
ger than many flashy tech prod-
ucts.
The Segway was also marred
by controversy, including safety
concerns when Segway company
owner Jimi Heselden died after
driving off a cliff while riding one
of the devices.
In the meantime, there has
been an e-scooter explosion of the
more traditional version, with
companies such as Lime and Bird
flooding the streets with motor-
ized shared scooters that provide
a more practical, cost-effective
method of getting around.
DI GEST
Allied Pilots Association said in a
statement Wednesday.
That would rise to $3.8 billion
when the airlines reach
80 percent of normal schedules
and decline as immunity to
the coronavirus rises, the union
said.
The plan would expand
federal aid for devastated U.S.
airlines, which already have
received $25 billion for payroll
costs and can borrow an
additional $25 billion from the
Treasury Department. As the
pandemic cut demand, carriers
slashed flights, parked or retired
planes, and encouraged workers
to take leave or early retirement.
Yet the risk looms of mass job
losses when restrictions tied to
the federal support expire after
September.
The largest U.S. airlines are
limiting the seats they sell on
each flight to allow middle seats
to remain open, although some
only do so when demand allows.
The limits are designed to help
prevent the spread of the virus.
But carriers including Delta Air
Lines have said that forgoing
the sale of as much as 40 percent
of seats per plane isn’t
sustainable.
— Bloomberg News
 CRUDE OIL $38.01
DOWN $2.36, 5.8%
“Today’s IMF report is a warn-
ing to the world about what will
happen if policymakers take their
foot off the gas,” said Josh Lipsky,
former IMF senior adviser who is
now with the Atlantic Council.
“The uncertain spread of the virus,
risk of rising trade tensions and
debt vulnerabilities in emerging
economies all lead to the same
conclusion — we have not done
enough.”
Along with backing continued
central bank support for low inter-
est rates, the IMF is calling for
wealthy nations to grant substan-
tial debt relief to the world’s poor-
est countries. Earlier this month,
the fund approved its 70th request
for emergency financial aid, a
$148 million loan for Guinea.
The funds are intended to help
Guinean officials pay for urgently
needed medical programs to deal
with a worsening local coronavi-
Now you can buy your own
electric scooter for less than
$1,000, said David Zipper, a visit-
ing fellow at the Harvard Kenne-
dy School’s Taubman Center for
State and Local Government. And
while scooters got a pretty contro-
versial start in some cities as they
ran up against local regulations,
the tides are starting to turn as
some people start to rely on them
and bike sharing rather than cars.
“I think some people may not
like dockless scooters, but you’re
not laughing at them,” he said.
Once scooters and electric
bikes and the sharing economy
took off, it was really only a
matter of time before the big,
CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Farmers plant rice in a paddy near Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Syahrul
Yasin Limpo, the minister of agriculture, was quoted late last year by
local news media saying that Indonesia would aim to export 100,000
to 500,000 tons of rice in 2020.
ALSO IN BUSINESS
Toyota is recalling about 752,000
gas-electric hybrid vehicles
worldwide because the engines
can lose power and stall. The
recall covers certain 2013 to 2015
Priuses and 2014 to 2017 Prius v
THE WASHINGTON POST
 10-YEAR TREASURY
UP $3.40 PER $1,000; 0.68% YIELD
rus outbreak.
The fund’s economic forecast is
more downbeat than some major
investment firms. Goldman
Sachs, for example, earlier this
month raised its U.S. forecast to a
4.2 percent decrease from a 5.2
percent decrease.
The fund also issued a warning
to investors, who have been
buoyed by a stock market recovery
from the lows of late March.
“The extent of the recent re-
bound in financial market senti-
ment appears disconnected from
shifts in underlying economic
prospects,” the fund said.
If investors subsequently de-
cide they have been overly opti-
mistic, financial conditions could
tighten and further hobble the
recovery, the fund warned.
That is not the only question
clouding the forecast. Uncertainty
over the pandemic’s course, in-
once-innovative Segway vehicles
took a back seat, Munster said.
“Once we had solved the micro-
mobility problem, it kind of wrote
the last chapter for Segway,” he
said.
The Chinese company Ninebot
bought Segway in 2015. Segway
said 21 people will be laid off next
month because of the discontinu-
ation of the Segway PT and two
other products.
Still, some businesses rely on
the Segway devices. Many of
those offer city tours to tourists
who are looking for a novel way to
get around without walking or
driving.
Kenneth Lippman’s tour com-
hybrids. The company said in a
statement that the hybrids are
designed to go into a fail-safe
mode if there are faults in the
hybrid system. But in rare
instances, they may not go into
fail-safe and the engines could
lose power and stall. Toyota said
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
CURRENCIES
$1=107.05 YEN, 0.89 EUROS
cluding prospects for a vaccine,
weigh on assessments of econom-
ic growth. A medical break-
through could render obsolete
forecasts of a decline.
“Downside risks, however, re-
main significant,” the fund said.
Low-income countries also are
likely to be hit especially hard,
with inequality set to worsen, the
fund said. Progress in recent years
on reducing the share of the
world’s population living in ex-
treme poverty — less than $1.90
per day — could reverse amid the
global economic hurricane.
Earlier this month, Kristalina
Georgieva, the fund’s managing
director, called the pandemic re-
cession “a crisis like no other” and
said that by the end of this year, an
unprecedented 170 countries
would see average individual in-
comes fall.
david.lynch@washpost.com
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
pany, Another Side Tours, was
founded in 2007 in the back of his
friend’s Mexican restaurant “with
four Segways and a dream,” he
said. It now offers a wide variety
of walking, driving and Segway
tours in Los Angeles and San
Diego, so he has other offerings to
lean on as Segways phase out. But
even that will take quite some
time, he said.
Lippman still has a few of the
Segways from his first tour in his
fleet, and he expects his newer
models will last several more
years.
“They’re built like tanks,” he
said.
rachel.lerman@washpost.com
that power steering and braking
would function, but at higher
speeds, the stalling could raise
the risk of a crash.
The Justice Department on
Wednesday sued Regeneron
Pharmaceuticals, accusing it of
using a charity that helps cover
Medicare patients’ drug costs as
a means to pay kickbacks for
using its expensive macular
degeneration drug Eylea. The
lawsuit said Tarrytown, N.Y.-
based Regeneron following the
launch of Eylea in 2011 began
funneling tens of millions of
dollars through a patient
assistance foundation to ensure
that virtually no one using
Medicare had to pay co-pays.
Exxon Mobil and Koch
Industries withheld for decades
information they had about the
impact of fossil fuels on climate
change, Minnesota Attorney
General Keith Ellison (D) said in
announcing a consumer
protection lawsuit against the
companies. The suit, which also
names the American Petroleum
Institute, alleges that the three
violated the state’s Consumer
Fraud Act.
— From news services
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
A Tyson Foods poultry processing plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. While there have been outbreaks reported at facilities in the state, the
Virginia Poultry Federation opposed the new rules, saying existing guidelines from the CDC and OSHA are adequate.
Va. nears new virus workplace safety mandates
Proposed rules, first
in nation, prompted by
lagging OSHA action
BY E LI R OSENBERG
Virginia took a big step on
Wednesday toward ushering in a
new set of coronavirus-era safety
rules that companies would be
forced to implement to protect
workers from infection — a first
in the country and potentially
way forward for other states in
the face of federal inaction.
The state’s 14-member health
and safety board voted 9 to 3 to
agree to create workplace safety
rules that they would continue to
work on and finalize in the com-
ing days. The emergency tempo-
rary standard was drafted by the
state’s Department of Labor and
Industry, under direction from
Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in late
May. Two members of the panel
abstained.
The governor’s office said the
rules were prompted in large part
by the lack of enforcement from
the federal agency tasked with
upholding workplace safety, the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
OSHA has issued only one
citation in response to more than
4,000 coronavirus-related com-
plaints, a jarring record that
workplace advocates and former
OSHA officials have criticized in
recent weeks as a neglect of the
agency’s duties.
“Millions of workers are terri-
fied of going into jobs every day
where they are not adequately
protected from the coronavirus,”
said David Michaels, a former
OSHA head who served during
the Obama administration.
“Thousands of workers have
complained to OSHA, and OSHA
has told them they’re on their
own. . . . State governments are
stepping into the void.”
The draft of Virginia’s stan-
dard that the board will either
approve or amend requires that
employers develop policies for
workers dealing with coronavi-
rus-like symptoms, while prohib-
iting those workers suspected of
having the coronavirus from
showing up to work. The new
rules would force companies to
notify workers of possible expo-
sure to infected co-workers with-
in 24 hours, while also mandat-
ing physical distancing as well as
sanitation, disinfection and
hand-washing procedures.
The regulations have drawn
A closed convenience store in Arlington is shown in May. Some businesses are worried that the new
rules could add a greater burden to their budgets during an already challenging time economically.
. THE WASHINGTON POST
praise from unions, labor advo-
cates and many workers. But
they’ve also drawn sharp opposi-
tion from many businesses and
industry groups, which say the
new regulations are unnecessary
in the face of existing guidelines
from the state and federal agen-
cies such as the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention and
OSHA.
Those guidelines are recom-
mendations, which carry fewer
legal ramifications than enforce-
able standards do. By contrast,
Virginia officials said the state’s
inspectors will police the new
regulations, under penalties of
up to $124,000 and the threat of
closure in severe cases.
Members of the board, which
includes corporate lawyers, in-
dustry representatives and labor
advocates, spent most of Wednes-
day mired in technical and proce-
dural rules.
They spent much of the morn-
ing debating whether the public
should be given more time to
comment on the regulation, be-
fore voting no, and then spent the
afternoon approving motions
that declared the coronavirus a
“grave danger” to employees and
employers and another an “emer-
gency situation,” for legal purpos-
es. They finally voted overwhelm-
ingly to adopt the emergency
temporary standard — although
the specifics will be debated at
another meeting.
Many businesses said they
were worried that the new rules
could add a greater burden to
their budgets during an already
challenging time economically.
“We urge you to not add more
restrictions, guidelines and regu-
lations to an already over-
whelmed business community
that is struggling to remain sol-
vent,” Richard Postle, the chair-
man of Blue Ridge Bread, which
employs 750 workers, wrote in a
public comment.
Nicole Riley, the Virginia di-
rector for the National Federa-
tion of Independent Business,
said the proposal was already
causing confusion. The group
targeted a rule forcing businesses
to classify workers according to
four risk levels. The group also
questioned when businesses
would have to start abiding by
the new rules, should they pass.
“We’re already months into
covid-19, and a lot of employers
have put in a lot of protocols to
safeguard employees and cus-
tomers,” she said. “We think this
is overkill. It sets up a lot of
bureaucratic red tape for busi-
ness owners to comply with,
when they’re already struggling
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
with how to keep up their busi-
ness and keep their employees
employed.”
Poultry workers took a partic-
ularly central role in the debate.
The proposed rules came
about in part as a result of
petitioning by the Legal Aid Jus-
tice Center, whose Project for
Farm and Immigrant Workers
works with poultry workers, ac-
cording to Megan Healy,
Northam’s chief workforce devel-
opment adviser.
Jason B. Yarashes, lead attor-
ney at the Project for Farm and
Immigrant Workers, said the new
regulations are particularly nec-
essary for workers in high-risk
industries like meat-processing
and seasonal agriculture, whose
workers often live in close quar-
ters.
More than 350 poultry work-
ers in the Shenandoah Valley
have tested positive for the coro-
navirus, according to the city of
Harrisonburg, which issued a
resolution in support of the mea-
sure.
“It’s been obviously a long-
standing issue here,” Yarashes
said. “We’re hearing from work-
ers that there was an insufficient
response — late safety protocols,
no social distancing. Defensive
stances from plants saying that
they’re doing things. And victim-
shaming, blaming folks in the
community.”
The Virginia Poultry Federa-
tion opposed the rules, saying
existing guidelines from the CDC
and OSHA are adequate, its law
firm Fisher Phillips wrote in a
comment.
Healy said the state has re-
ceived thousands of complaints
from workers in other industries
in the last few months. Some said
they had been discouraged from
getting tested for covid-19; others
said employers failed to close and
clean workplaces properly after
co-workers got sick, Healy said.
“We know people are scared to
go to work for multiple reasons,”
she said. “We were looking for
ways that we could do better.”
Yarashes said he was happy
about what he called a “key
protection” to prohibit retalia-
tion against workers who raise
safety concerns, don protective
gear, or speak to government
agencies or news media outlets
about safety issues.
Some worker advocates said
they believe the proposals could
go even further. Sarah Jacobson,
an organizer with Unite Here
Local 23, which works with air-
port concession workers, wrote
in a comment that she hoped to
see requirements for plastic face
EZ RE
STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
shields and for plexiglass be-
tween workstations.
Labor advocates say that the
state approach is laudable and
may soon be copied by others, but
that it still falls short of a compre-
hensive national enforcement
plan by OSHA. Some expressed
fear that a piecemeal approach
will allow other states to compete
against neighbors in a “race to
the bottom,” to offer businesses a
more attractive environment at
the expense of worker safety.
OSHA has defended itself
against criticism that it’s not
doing enough by saying its exist-
ing regulations and guidelines
are sufficient to handle work-
place dangers during the corona-
virus pandemic.
“The claim that OSHA is ne-
glecting its duty of keeping work-
ers safe is inaccurate,” OSHA said
in a statement from spokeswom-
an Denisha L. Braxton. “OSHA is
committed to protecting Ameri-
can workers during the pandem-
ic, and has been working around
the clock to that end.”
eli.rosenberg@washpost.com
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High arsenic levels found
in Whole Foods water
BY H ANNAH D ENHAM
Bottled water manufactured
by Whole Foods and sold in its
U.S. stores contains potentially
harmful levels of arsenic — at
least three times that of every
other brand tested and just shy of
the federal cap, according to Con-
sumer Reports.
Tests of Starkey Spring Water
label showed arsenic levels rang-
ing from 9.49 to 9.56 parts per
billion, the nonprofit consumer
advocacy group said. The federal
threshold is 10 parts per billion,
Consumer Reports said, and of
the 45 brands tested from Febru-
ary to May, Starkey was the only
one with arsenic levels that ex-
ceeded 3 parts per billion.
In an emailed statement,
Whole Foods said the company’s
“highest priority is to provide
customers with safe, high-quality
and refreshing spring water.”
“Beyond the required annual
testing by [a U.S. Food and Drug
Administration] certified lab, we
have an accredited third-party
lab test every production run of
water before it is sold,” the state-
ment said. “These products meet
all FDA requirements and are
fully compliant with FDA stan-
dards for heavy metals.”
Starkey Spring Water is also
carried by Amazon, though it was
listed as “currently unavailable”
on the e-commerce site on
Wednesday morning. (Whole
Foods is a unit of Amazon, whose
founder Jeff Bezos also owns The
Washington Post.) It’s still being
sold by Whole Foods,$1.99 for a
one-pint bottle. According to its
product label, Starkey Spring Wa-
ter originates from the Starkey
Hot Springs in Idaho and is “deep
down good. 11,000 years old.”
Whole Foods introduced Star-
key Spring Water in 2015. Over
the next two years, according to
Consumer Reports, the retailer
recalled more than 2,000 cases of
water after tests showed arsenic
levels that approached or exceed-
ed the federal limit of 10 parts per
billion. In 2019, Consumer Re-
ports tests showed that Starkey
Spring water contained levels ap-
proaching or exceeding the feder-
al limit of 10 parts per billion.
James Dickerson, Consumer
Reports’ chief scientific officer,
Register for
A17
said drinking one bottle probably
won’t harm you. But he cautioned
that the risk grows with regular
use.
“Regular consumption of even
small amounts of the heavy metal
over extended periods increases
the risk of cardiovascular disease,
certain cancers, and lower IQ
scores in children, and poses oth-
er health issues as well,” Dicker-
son said about the investigation.
“The FDA is committed
to limiting consumer
exposure to arsenic to
the greatest extent
feasible and we will
announce updates to
our guidances when
available.”
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Adminis-
tration, which enforces federal
bottled water regulations, issued
a statement after the report that
said arsenic is a “naturally occur-
ring element” that cannot be re-
moved entirely from the environ-
ment or food supply.
“Based on the CR test results
for arsenic, the three Starkey
Spring Water products are in
compliance with FDA’s allowable
level for arsenic under the quality
standard regulations for bottled
water,” the statement said. “The
FDA is committed to limiting
consumer exposure to arsenic to
the greatest extent feasible and
we will announce updates to our
guidances when available.”
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
arsenic occurs naturally in rocks
and soil, but it can also be a
byproduct of mining and coal
burning. The heavy metal can
enter the water supply by dissolv-
ing out of certain rock formations
when ground water levels drop,
or through industrial and agricul-
tural pollution.
hannah.denham@washpost.com
A18 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

NASA to name building for trailblazer Uptick in virus cases

Mary Jackson was first
female African American
engineer at the agency
BY C HRISTIAN D AVENPORT
NASA will name its headquar-
ters building for Mary W. Jack-
son, the first female African
American engineer at the space
agency, who as one of the “Hidden
Figures” overcame rampant ra-
cial discrimination and gender
bias to help propel the agency at
the dawn of the Space Age, NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine
announced Wednesday.
Jackson began her career in
the 1950s in a segregated comput-
ing unit at NASA’s Langley Re-
search Center in Hampton, Va.,
that recently drew national atten-
tion as the setting for the 2016
movie “Hidden Figures,” based on
a book by the same name.
Last year, the portion of
E Street SW in front of NASA’s
D.C. headquarters was renamed
“Hidden Figures Way” in recogni-
tion of the African American
women who worked at NASA in
its early days.
The news came the same day
some in the space industry began
to push NASA to change the name
of the Stennis Space Center in
southern Mississippi, named for
the late John C. Stennis, the
longtime senator from Mississip-
pi who opposed racial equality
and the integration of schools.
And it comes as communities
across the country are taking
down Confederate monuments in
the wake of the killing of George
Floyd while in Minneapolis police
custody.
The push coincides with a
move to change the name of the
Navy’s USS John C. Stennis air-
craft carrier.
In response to the request to
rename the space center, a NASA
spokesman said that agency
“leadership is sensitive to the
discussions of racism, discrimi-
nation and inequalities going on
around the world. We are aware
of conversations about renaming
facilities and are having ongoing
discussions with the NASA work-
force on this topic. NASA is dedi-
cated to advancing diversity and
we will continue to take steps to
do so.”
The agency said it was honored
to name its headquarters build-
ing after Jackson, who Briden-
stine said was “part of a group of
very important women who
helped NASA in getting American
astronauts into space. Mary nev-
er accepted the status quo, she
Mary W. Jackson began her career in the 1950s in a segregated computing unit at NASA’s Langley
Research Center in Hampton, Va., that became the setting for the 2016 movie “Hidden Figures.”
helped break barriers and open
opportunities for African Ameri-
cans and women in the field of
engineering and technology.”
Carolyn Lewis, Jackson’s
daughter, said her family was
honored by the recognition. “She
was a scientist, humanitarian,
wife, mother and trailblazer who
paved the way for thousands of
others to succeed, not only at
NASA but throughout this na-
tion,” Lewis said.
An accomplished mathemati-
cian and aerospace engineer,
Jackson joined NASA’s predeces-
sor, the National Advisory Com-
mittee for Aeronautics, as a re-
search mathematician and
worked under fellow “Hidden
Figure” Dorothy Vaughn at Lang-
ley. In the film, Jackson was
portrayed by actress Janelle
Monáe.
At NASA, Jackson went on to
work with wind tunnel experi-
ments, helping conduct tests in
an environment where the wind
howled at nearly twice the speed
of sound.
Her supervisor suggested she
further her education with a pro-
gram that would allow her to be
promoted from mathematician to
engineer. But the classes for the
required training program were
held at a segregated high school,
and she had to obtain special
permission to attend the pro-
gram.
Over a storied career that last-
ed until her retirement from
NASA
NASA in 1985, she wrote numer-
ous research reports, many fo-
cused on the behavior of the
boundary layer of air around
airplanes.
But in 1979, “seeing that the
glass ceiling was the rule, rather
than the exception for Langley’s
female professionals, she made a
final, dramatic career change,”
according to a NASA bio. She left
engineering and took a pay cut to
serve as an administrator in the
equal opportunity specialist field,
working to promote women and
minorities.
She died in 2005, and in 2019
was posthumously awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal.
christian.davenport
@washpost.com
rattles Wall Street
BY T HOMAS H EATH
AND H AMZA S HABAN
Coronavirus infections sweep-
ing across the southern United
States on Wednesday reawak-
ened investor alarm that the
stubborn outbreak might yet de-
rail an economic recovery and
slammed the brakes on stock
market momentum.
The Dow Jones industrial av-
erage fell 710.16 points, or 2.7
percent, settling at 25,445.94 on
the day after falling as low as 859.
The blue-chip index is still poised
to post one of its best quarters in
history, but it remains down
around 10 percent for 2020.
“Wishful thinking has given
way to practical reality when it
comes to covid-19,” said Daniel P.
Wiener, chairman of Adviser In-
vestments. “Warm weather and a
reduction in the rate of deaths
does not give people the right to
go out and party. They partied,
the market partied, and the
hangover begins.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500-
stock index fell 80.96 points, or
2.6 percent, to close at 3,050.33.
The broad index, like the Dow
and Nasdaq composite index, is
on track for one of its best
quarters in decades. The S&P is
down 5 percent in 2020.
The Nasdaq, whose technolo-
gy stocks have powered markets
out of their spring depths,
snapped an eight-day winning
streak on Wednesday, falling
from its all-time high. The Nas-
daq slid 222.20 points, or 2.2
percent, to close at 9,909.17.
The sell-off was wide and deep,
marking the steepest drop since
June 11. Crude oil fell 5.8 percent.
European indexes closed down
3 percent. Asia was mostly flat.
Even highflying mega-tech
stocks like Microsoft, Apple and
Alphabet finished negative.
Energy, industrials, real estate
and financials — tied to a reviv-
ing economy — led all 11 stock
market sectors into the red as
Florida, Texas and Arizona re-
ported spikes in virus infections.
Cruise lines fell more than 10
percent. Airline stocks dove after
officials in New York, Connecti-
cut and New Jersey announced
quarantines on incoming travel-
ers from virus hot spots.
“Markets have been looking
past the negative headlines on
the economy for many weeks,”
said Wayne Wicker, chief invest-
ment officer at Vantagepoint In-
vestment Advisers. “However,
the health crisis risk that appears
to be accelerating in many states
with the reopening process has
started to give investors pause.”
Shareholders may also have to
reevaluate their expectations for
next year’s corporate profits, he
said, which are projected to re-
cover sharply but may change if
shutdown measures are reinstat-
ed by government leaders.
“Just when it looks like the
markets are shaking themselves
free of coronavirus another bout
of worry returns to put them on
their back,” Russ Mould, invest-
ment director at AJ Bell, wrote in
a note to investors.
Wall Street also digested the
news of new travel restrictions in
the northeast. New York Gov.
Andrew M. Cuomo (D) an-
nounced Wednesday that New
York, along with New Jersey and
Connecticut, will require some
nonresidents entering any of the
three states to self-isolate for two
weeks after they arrive.
While such regional measures
may not hinder the economy as
much as a nationwide shutdown,
the mixed signals and stutter-
step nature of the recovery could
drag down the stock market,
Mould said.
As central bankers and grim
economic data point to a slow,
years-long recovery, investors
have nonetheless been buoyed in
recent weeks by government re-
lief measures and a commitment
from the Federal Reserve to keep
interest rates near zero for years.
There are some signs — in-
cluding retail sales, jobs data and
manufacturing indexes — that
suggest business activity across
the globe is slowing its decline or
even starting an upswing. New
York City is in the process of
reopening after being shut down
for months. Airline traffic is
slowly creeping back. Oil prices
have begun to recover as drivers
return to the road.
But optimism that businesses
will climb out of the recession
has also been checked by a resur-
gence in infections. More than 30
states and U.S. territories have
reported a higher rolling average
of infections compared with last
week, according to data tracked
by The Washington Post. In re-
cent days and weeks, some states
and businesses that had been
scheduled to reopen have since
reversed course and delayed
their plans, fearing that the coro-
navirus will spread further.
“It’s becoming increasingly
difficult to reconcile the green
shoots we are seeing in economic
activity with the rising infection
rates in many states,” said Kristi-
na Hooper, Invesco chief global
market strategist.
thomas.heath@washpost.com
hamza.shaban@washpost.com

THE MA RKETS
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Chevron 87.64 -4.2 -27.0 Pfizer Inc 32.19 -1.8 -17.7 0.30% 3.30% Energy Equipment & Svcs -8.5
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Gldman Schs 198.02 -3.3 -13.7 Verzn Comm 53.93 -1.8 -12.2 6Mo CD Natl New Car Loan Natl 6-month bill
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IBM 116.42 -2.5 -13.0 Walgreens 41.17 -3.8 -30.2 1Yr CD Natl Home Equity Loan Natl
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Intel Corp 59.09 -1.4 -1.2 Walmart 120.30 -0.6 1.2 0.51 5.43 Livent Corp 6.21 4.4 Nabors Industries 34.56 -22.6
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BRAZIL IBOVESPA INDEX 94377.40 -1.7 MarineMax Inc 21.43 2.3 Patterson-UTI Energy 3.69 -12.4
$1000 invested over 1 Year $1000 invested over 1 Month S&P/TSX COMPOSITE INDEX 15294.38 -1.7 Kroger Co/The 32.82 2.2 NorwegianCruiseLine 15.80 -12.4
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Exchange-Traded Europe -18.7% +18.7% BJ's Wholesale Club 36.88 1.7 Murphy Oil Corp 12.73 -11.8
$436 $1224 CHRobinsonWorldwide 78.54 1.6 PBF Energy Inc 10.69 -11.4
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THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
Bayer agrees to pay $10 billion in settlements over Roundup cancer claims
Company maintains that
the weedkiller, alleged to
make people ill, is safe
BY H ANNAH D ENHAM
German pharmaceutical and
life sciences giant Bayer has
agreed to pay more than $10 bil-
lion to settle tens of thousands of
current and potential U.S. claims
that its weedkiller Roundup
causes cancer.
The world’s largest seed and
agrochemical maker announced
the settlement in a news release
on Wednesday, saying it will allo-
cate as much as $9.6 billion to
resolve current Roundup litiga-
GNC enters bankruptcy,
to close multiple stores
The supplements firm
had debt payment due as
virus slashed revenue
BY A BHA B HATTARAI
Vitamin and nutrition chain
GNC Holdings has filed for Chap-
ter 11 bankruptcy, with plans to
permanently close as many as
1,200 of its 5,200 U.S. stores as it
searches for a buyer.
GNC — General Nutrition
Centers — has struggled for years
to shore up sales as it tried to pay
down more than $900 million of
debt.
Then came the coronavirus
pandemic, which forced it to
close about 40 percent of its
stores. The company reported a
$200 million loss during the first
quarter of this year, and last
month it warned that some of its
temporary store closures could
become permanent.
The Chapter 11 filing late Tues-
day came days after GNC paid
nearly $4 million in cash bonus-
es to top executives, including
$2.2 million to chief executive
PRESENTING SPONSOR
As our nation faces unprecedented challenges, Intel is committed to creating positive
global impact and technology that enriches the lives of every person on earth.
tion. The company said the pool
will cover roughly 125,000 claims
that allege the product leads to
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The
company said 75 percent of those
cases were resolved as part of
Wednesday’s agreement.
The company will also set aside
$1.25 billion for a separate class
agreement for potential future
claims, which will be subject to
approval in the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of
California by Judge Vince
Chhabria.
Bayer inherited a public rela-
tions and litigation crisis with its
$63 billion acquisition of Mon-
santo, a St. Louis-based agribusi-
ness giant, in 2018. At the time,
Monsanto maintained that gly-
phosate — the active weed-killing
Kenneth Martindale. The chief
financial officer received
$795,000, and three other C-level
executives were paid a combined
$918,000, according to company
documents filed Wednesday with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The bonuses were issued on
June 18, five days before the
bankruptcy filing. Executives
will have to return 25 percent of
their after-tax bonuses if the
company does not emerge from
Chapter 11 protection within a
year, documents show.
The chain, founded in 1935 in
Pittsburgh, is the sixth major
U.S. retailer to file for bankrupt-
cy protection during the pan-
demic, which has already led to
thousands of permanent store
closures and billions in lost sales
across the retail industry.
In its bankruptcy filing, GNC
said it had both assets and
liabilities of between $1 billion
and $10 billion. Annual revenue
fell 12 percent last year to $2.07
billion. GNC has 5,200 U.S.
stores, as well as 1,600 locations
inside Rite Aid pharmacies.
For years, GNC was the coun-
try’s go-to retailer for vitamins,
protein powders and nutritional
ingredient in Roundup — had a
history of safe use, a stance that
Bayer has since echoed.
But in 2015, the World Health
Organization’s International
Agency for Research on Cancer
labeled the herbicide as “proba-
bly carcinogenic to humans.”
Bayer emphasized that the set-
tlement was not to be taken as an
admission of liability or wrong-
doing. Rather, it allows the com-
pany to “bring a long period of
uncertainty to an end,” chief exec-
utive Werner Baumann said in a
statement.
“As a science-based company
committed to improving people’s
health, we have great sympathy
for anyone who suffers from dis-
ease, and we understand their
search for answers,” Baumann
A boarded up GNC store is seen in the District this month. GNC Holdings was heavily indebted and
already losing market share amid competition and changing tastes when the novel coronavirus struck.
supplements. But by 2015, ana-
lysts said, it was rapidly losing
market share to chains such as
Walmart, Target, CVS and Cost-
co.
The rise of e-commerce also
chipped away at GNC’s domi-
nance, as shoppers turned to
Amazon and other discount web-
sites for health and wellness
products. (Jeff Bezos, the found-
To receive a live stream reminder, visit: washingtonpostlive.com
BOB SWAN
Intel CEO
EZ RE
said. “At the same time, the exten-
sive body of science indicates that
Roundup does not cause cancer,
and therefore, is not responsible
for the illnesses alleged in this
litigation. We stand strongly be-
hind our glyphosate-based herbi-
cides, which are among the most
rigorously studied products of
their kind, and four decades of
science support their safety and
that they are not carcinogenic.”
Glyphosate is relatively inex-
pensive and the most commonly
used agricultural herbicide in the
United States, according to the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. In January, the EPA con-
cluded in its interim registration
review decision that it “did not
identify any risks of concern” for
cancer and non-cancer risks to
er and chief executive of Ama-
zon, owns The Washington Post.)
There were also missteps. The
retailer, which was “best known
for its muscle-building formula-
tions,” was slow to pivot to the
natural health, nutrition and
wellness products popular
among baby boomers, according
to David Silverman, a senior
director at Fitch Ratings. Further
Thursday, June 25 at 10:30 a.m. ET
DAVID HEATH
Bombas CEO
humans from glyphosate expo-
sure. Other glyphosate-based
chemical products include Dow
Rodeo aquatic herbicide and
Eraser weedkiller.
In the past two years, Califor-
nia jurors have awarded $2 bil-
lion to a couple, $80 million to a
man, and $289 million to a for-
mer groundskeeper (the three
settlements were later reduced)
who blamed their cancer diagno-
ses on Roundup, which led Bayer
shares to plummet. The company
said in its Wednesday statement
that these three cases won’t be
covered by the settlement and
will continue through the appeals
process. Claimants who choose to
participate in the settlement will
have to drop their cases or agree
not to file.
ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
adding to the pain: Many GNC
stores are in second- and third-
tier malls, where traffic has
dwindled for years.
By 2016, sales and profit had
begun to decline. The company
was also aggressively buying
back shares of its stock using
large amounts of borrowed mon-
ey, which left it deeply indebted
at the same time that profit fell
SUZANNE CLARKE
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
A19
For the future class agreement,
the company said, an indepen-
dent Class Science Panel com-
posed of expert scientists will
take several years to determine
whether Roundup has the poten-
tial to cause non-Hodgkin’s lym-
phoma and, if so, at what mini-
mum exposure levels. Those who
file claims as part of the class
action won’t be able to proceed
with their cases until the determi-
nation is made.
Access to Roundup products
won’t change, but Bayer said it
would continue to offer custom-
ers more herbicide options
through its 10-year investment in
developing new methods to man-
age weeds to support sustainable
agriculture.
hannah.denham@washpost.com
off a cliff.
That debt cast a shadow over
the company’s finances. A profit
of $219 million in 2015 swung to
a $286 million loss a year later.
More recently, GNC was facing a
$160 million in debt payment
due in August, and $450 million
due next March.
GNC was faulted as
slow to pivot to the
natural health and
wellness products
baby boomers sought.
“There are typically two rea-
sons for bankruptcy filings —
you either run out of cash or
you’re unable to meet upcoming
debt obligations, and this was
the latter,” said Silverman, who
downgraded the company’s cred-
it rating in March. “GNC had
liquidity. It was able to manage
the covid crisis fairly well, but it
was facing significant [debt] ma-
turities that it was unable to
meet.”
GNC stock tumbled nearly 25
percent on Wednesday to close at
61 cents per share, down from a
peak of $60 in 2013. Shares are
down nearly 80 percent this year.
abha.bhattarai@washpost.com
JASMINE CROWE
Goodr CEO
A20
Camp counselors work to keep sessions both fun and safe
CAMP FROM A1
The Y, to its surprise, has had
few positive cases and no known
outbreaks among its 1,000 loca-
tions and 40,000 children in care
over the past three months.
Still, some states report worri-
some numbers: 17 clusters in
Maryland have been linked to
child-care centers. But health of-
ficials in a half-dozen other states
said they have seen no clusters in
the centers. That forces parents
to make choices on their own.
Economists say their collective
decisions will help determine the
trajectory of the financial recov-
ery, with child care critical to
returning sidelined workers to
their jobs.
While some camps have gone
out of business or opted to re-
main closed for the season, the
YMCA, a community nonprofit, is
welcoming hundreds of thou-
sands of children in the next
three months. Its experiences
with child care in the first wave of
the pandemic serve as a model for
what families might expect.
Andrew Noymer, an associate
professor of population health
and disease prevention at the
University of California at Irvine,
said that expecting the unexpect-
ed, including abrupt shutdowns,
is going to be a big part of camp
this year.
“The preamble should be that
things can change at any time,
and parents should be flexible,”
he said.
When officials at the YMCA —
the country’s largest provider of
youth services, typically serving
8 million children a year — began
in March setting up emergency
day-care centers nationwide for
essential workers during the pan-
demic, they were prepared for
things to go wrong. Pages of new
protocols were put in place for
infection control, social distanc-
ing, contact tracing and transpar-
ency with parents.
But as the months passed, they
were baffled by what did not
happen.
There were inevitably individ-
ual cases of positive coronavirus
tests and numerous false alarms
leading to temporary shutdowns,
but no outbreaks in their facili-
ties.
Heidi Brasher, a senior direc-
tor at the Y’s headquarters in
Chicago who is coordinating
child-care operations across its
affiliates, said she’s unsure
whether that was because of the
organization’s aggressive safety
measures or a confirmation that
children don’t get or spread the
virus as readily as adults — or
some of both.
“The great thing is, we had
procedures in place to communi-
cate with parents and to trace
everyone’s movements,” Brasher
said.
Health officials in states sur-
veyed by The Washington Post
offered a more mixed picture.
Arkansas, Massachusetts, Mis-
souri, New Hampshire and Penn-
sylvania said they were not aware
of outbreaks in child-care centers
over the past three months. In
New Jersey, a covid-19 hot spot in
March and April, there was a
single report of a staff member
and child being infected in Burl-
ington County at the same facili-
ty.
In Arkansas, where child-care
centers never closed, state epide-
miologist Jennifer A. Dillaha said
there had been 16 cases of covid-
19, the disease caused by the
novel coronavirus, in children
and 29 in staff members. But
contact tracing showed the infec-
tions originated from household
contacts or elsewhere rather than
at day-care centers.
“We’ve been pleased we have
not seen many cases in this set-
ting,” she said.
In contrast, Maryland reported
17 outbreaks — defined as two or
more cases in a setting — in 12
child-care centers and five family
child-care settings as of Monday
among 4,776 facilities open. It
was unclear whether that was
because of greater testing capa-
bility, more aggressive transmis-
sion of the virus in the general
population, something specific to
the operations of those providers
or another cause.
Texas logged 242 positive cases
(167 staffers, 75 children) among
the 12,172 child-care facilities that
are open. But it was unclear how
many, if any, were clusters that
may have involved transmission
at the sites because officials could
not provide more details. As Dal-
las County on Thursday reported
an all-time high in cases overall,
officials noted that 17 children
and staff in nine child-care facili-
ties had been found positive dur-
ing the previous week.
Likewise, California officials
said the state had 202 cases
related to child-care facilities,
with 33,411 open, but declined to
YMCA counselor Aryan Shal leads children in a “Jedi knight” exercise class at the YMCA Dancel in Ellicott City, Md. Because of the pandemic, child-care workers have had to
devise activities that allow social distancing: No sharing art supplies, no family-style snacks and no games involving touching, such as freeze tag.
provide details “to protect priva-
cy.” Jason Montiel, from the
state’s public affairs office, said,
“Thankfully, child care has not
experienced any covid-19 deaths.”
The largest study on child care
and covid-19 is expected to be out
in July. Walter Gilliam, director of
child development and social pol-
icy at Yale University’s School of
Medicine, said he hopes the data,
based on information from
100,000 providers nationwide,
will help explain how children
spread the virus and what pre-
vention measures might be most
effective amid intensifying calls
to reopen child-care programs.
“We are asking people to go
back to work to a job where they
sometimes can’t socially dis-
tance. That’s asking a lot without
any real sense of risk,” Gilliam
said.
Australia, Denmark, Norway,
Singapore and several other
countries where schools and day-
care centers reopened as early as
April have reported no outbreaks
and no resulting surges in cases
in the larger population. In con-
trast, Israel abruptly shut its
schools two weeks after reopen-
ing when a cluster of 130 cases
emerged at a Jerusalem high
school.
The Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention has issued
guidelines, updated Friday, for
the operation of day cares and
camps, emphasizing that “the
more people a camper or staff
member interacts with, and the
longer that interaction, the high-
er the risk of COVID-19 spread.”
The science on children and
the coronavirus has evolved dra-
matically since the first days of
the pandemic, but many unan-
swered questions remain.
Most children appear to shrug
off the virus with only mild symp-
toms or none at all. A study in the
journal Nature Medicine pub-
lished this month estimated that
children may be only half as likely
as adults to become infected. But
since late April, a small but signif-
icant number of healthy children
have developed a potentially
deadly inflammatory complica-
tion linked to covid-19 that re-
sembles Kawasaki disease. Doc-
tors have had no way of determin-
ing who might be vulnerable —
changing for many parents the
calculation of returning to group
care.
The larger, population-wide
consequences of having so many
children so close together in one
place has been a source of much
scientific — and political — con-
troversy underlying the debate
about whether to reopen schools
in the fall.
Former CDC director Tom Frie-
den said that so far, the evidence
suggests that “for kids, this pan-
demic is kind of like a flu season,”
in which some experience severe
illness but most are fine. That
supports the reopening of some
camps, he said, especially if they
are held outdoors where there is a
decreased risk of transmission.
But before classrooms are re-
opened, Frieden said, meticulous
epidemiological studies must be
conducted.
“One of the most important
unknowns about the virus is, do
EZ RE
the coronavirus pandemic
Giada Harlove, 5, gets distracted during art class. Maryland has seen 17 clusters of coronavirus cases
linked to child-care centers; officials in a half-dozen other states said they haven’t seen the same.
kids spread the infection promi-
nently?” Frieden said. “There has
not been any definitive data or
even strong data about this.”
Closures and false alarms
It was sometime in early May
when Tom McHale’s children,
ages 4 and 7, began to rebel
against the idea of “stay at home.”
They had started to zone out
during Zoom classes, and his
older one was begging to see
friends.
With he and his wife working
full time in jobs outside the home
— he’s a construction manager,
she’s a hospital technician — the
Elkridge, Md., family was in a
bind. They made it work, some-
how, for two months but weren’t
sure how much longer they could
last.
The McHales were nervous
about sending the children to day
care, but after researching op-
tions and asking a lot of ques-
tions, they settled on the Y in
central Maryland, which is oper-
ating 13 child-care locations in
Baltimore and surrounding
counties.
They liked that they could
transition to summer camp, its
proximity to his wife’s workplace
and its history. In 1885, the YMCA
pioneered the country’s first-
known summer camp in Orange,
N.Y., as an escape from what some
called the “moral and physical
degradations” of urban life.
The day McHale’s children
were supposed to start at the
child-care center, May 13, was a
stomach-turner. They received a
notification not to come because
there was a possible coronavirus
case and the center had to close
for cleaning and quarantine.
Three days later, they were told
the suspected case turned out
negative, and the health depart-
ment gave the all-clear so every-
one could return.
“We were very uncomfortable,”
McHale, 45, recalled. Since then,
he said, both kids have adjusted
to the new routine and safety
protocols and made friends. Life
is better for him, too.
“For a while, I was doing my
job from home while my wife
worked, and it was stressful as
heck,” McHale said. “When we
were able to put them back in
child care — what a relief.”
The temporary shutdown,
YMCA officials say, has become
almost a routine part of child care
during the pandemic. In most
cases, it involves one person test-
ing positive or showing symp-
toms but never metastasizes into
an outbreak.
“One of the most
important unknowns
about the virus is, do
kids spread the infection
prominently? There has
not been any definitive
data or even strong
data about this.”
Tom Frieden,
former CDC director
In recent weeks in Wisconsin,
a child at the Marshfield Clinic
Health System YMCA Child Care
Center tested positive for the
coronavirus, and 40 staffers and
children were asked to quaran-
tine. The YMCA in Calhoun
County, Tex., recently sent kids
and counselors home to quaran-
tine after they had been in con-
tact with an infected child and
told parents of other children at
the camp to monitor for symp-
toms. And in Staunton, Va., the
YMCA delayed reopening a week
after a part-time staff member
tested positive, and it hired a
cleaning crew to disinfect the
building.
Dana Ashley, who oversees the
YMCA child-care programs in
central Maryland, said there have
THE WASHINGTON POST
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL S. WILLIAMSON/THE WASHINGTON POST
been 11 other temporary closures
in her region during three
months, but none involved trans-
mission at the sites. There were
two cases, at different locations,
of preschoolers testing positive.
Tests showed no other children or
employees were infected at those
facilities, she said, suggesting
transmission took place else-
where.
All the others were false
alarms — with administrators
reacting out of an abundance of
caution to children sniffling or
feeling unwell because of what
turned out to be hay fever or
other reasons unrelated to the
coronavirus.
“Did we overreact? I don’t
know, but it’s better to be overly
cautious and safe than the alter-
native,” Ashley said.
‘Zombie arms’ and no tag
At the YMCA Dancel in Ellicott
City, the coronavirus procedures
start at the front door.
Parents are not allowed inside,
and all kids — most of whom are 5
to 12 years old — must undergo a
temperature check and go
straight to the sink to wash their
hands while singing “Happy
Birthday” twice. All staff mem-
bers must wear masks. They’re
recommended for children, too,
but counselors discovered early
on that wasn’t realistic.
“They’ll come in with a mask,
but an hour later, it’s on their
wrist, in their hair,” Ashley said.
So the emphasis has been on
social distancing.
Maryland has stringent proce-
dures for child-care facilities dur-
ing the pandemic, requiring cen-
ters to report daily on each child’s
health. The state has mandated
all summer camps be outdoors.
Based on consultations with
child development experts in aca-
demia and at the American Camp
Association and ideas brain-
stormed on the fly, staffers try to
make being safe fun. Counselors
call out “Zombie arms!” when
reminding the youngest children
to not bunch up.
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Brasher, from the YMCA na-
tional body, said one priority is
making sure to address children’s
social-emotional needs during
uncertain times. “They haven’t
seen their friends or had a normal
playtime,” she said. “Add to that
their parents’ stress about their
job, concerns about their health
and other trauma.”
Everyone is assigned to the
same group of fewer than 10 or 15
— or whatever number is man-
dated by local authorities — for
the entire week, and groups never
merge. At the Y in central Mary-
land, for the summer, most
groups are about eight children.
In the past, hundreds of chil-
dren might convene, especially
during camp season, at a closing
rally for songs and chants.
There are a host of other “no’s.”
No family-style snacks. No field
trips, no outside guests to teach
dance or wow kids with science
experiments. No collaborative
building of towers with blocks or
Legos. No sharing art supplies.
And absolutely no games involv-
ing touching — not even freeze
tag or duck, duck, goose.
“That was a hard one,” Shal
said, recalling the day he broke
the news to his youngest charges.
“We had a lot of 4- and 5-year-olds
breaking down about that.”
On a recent Thursday, Lesley
Kroll was racing around making
final preparations to welcome as
many as 100 kids at a time
Monday, fewer than the typical
250. She and her team were
setting up tents, bringing in por-
table sinks and toilets, and re-
writing schedules with safety top
of mind.
She had had no trouble hiring
counselor trainees and staffers,
most of whom are age 15 to their
late 20s.
At 28, Kroll has spent nearly
every summer of her life at the
YMCA. Her parents met at a Y
camp, and she has been a camper,
camp counselor and now camp
director.
Opening camp during a pan-
demic, she said, is bittersweet.
Last year, hallways were packed
wall to wall with kids — no more,
because of social distancing.
Even the smells are different —
more bleach. But she hopes that
camps, “with all the changes in
the world, will be a nice reminder
of some normalcy.”
“For better or worse,” Kroll
said, when all this is over, “we will
have stronger kids.”
In another part of the building,
children wrapped up their mind-
ful meditation and stretches and
dispersed to long cafeteria tables
where each sat alone waiting to
make slime. Shal and another
masked counselor snapped on
gloves to deliver the supplies.
As the group began to stir the
gooey mix, there were squeals of
delight.
“Let me see,” cried one boy in a
green shirt who stood up, squint-
ing to get a better look at a
friend’s experiment about 20 feet
away and show off his. Another
whose hands had turned blue
from the dye exclaimed, “How
cool this is!” to which everyone
else, including the counselors,
nodded.
ariana.cha@washpost.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
MAX BOOT
The funny
exception to
Trump’s dislike
for ‘losers’
merica is suffering from “monumen-
A
tal” confusion about historical statues,
place names and symbols. Some on the
right, including President Trump, in-
sist that we continue to honor prominent Con-
federates. Some on the left — mercifully not in
the mainstream — are attacking statues of
American icons such as George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses S. Grant. Both
sides insist it’s all or nothing: The far right says
we shouldn’t rename anything because then we
will rename everything. The far left is just fine
with renaming everything. I reject the ex-
tremes of both sides and so, I suspect, do most
Americans.
Drawing some fine distinctions is needed
here. Study the specifics of each individual to
decide whether he or she is still worth honor-
ing. The rule of thumb should be that those who
contributed a great deal to the nation’s develop-
ment deserve to be recognized, however flawed
they were as human beings.
The Founding Fathers easily pass the test.
Jefferson, Washington and other Founders
were slaveholders, but they also produced a
Declaration of Independence asserting that
“all men are created equal.” The Constitution
did not make good on that idea for far too long,
but eventually it was amended and laws were
passed to extend the blessings of liberty to all
Americans.
Grant fought to defeat the Confederacy as a
Union general and then, as president, he fought
against the Ku Klux Klan. That far outweighs
the fact that he briefly owned one slave, whom
he freed before the Civil War. Frederick Doug-
lass said of Grant: “In him the Negro found a
protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe
a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.” Grant
deserves to be honored more — not less.
So, too, should we continue to honor Theo-
dore Roosevelt, even though, like most of his
white contemporaries, he would be judged a
racist today. He was not only a war hero, a great
conservationist, a trustbuster and a recipient
of the Nobel Peace Prize, but also the first
president to invite an African American — his
friend Booker T. Washington — to dine at the
White House.
KATHY WILLENS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The American Museum of Natural History’s
Theodore Roosevelt statue in New York.
I can see why the American Museum of
Natural History in New York is taking down a
statue of Roosevelt on horseback towering over
a Native American man and an African man. As
the president’s great-grandson said, “The com-
position of the Equestrian Statue does not
reflect Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy. It is time to
move the statue and move forward.” But I am
glad that the museum will continue to honor
Roosevelt in other ways.
Andrew Jackson is a harder case. He en-
hanced democracy for white Americans, but he
was also a slave owner and he inflicted great
suffering on Native Americans, including on
the Trail of Tears. We should stop honoring
Jackson, but his statues should come down
through the democratic process, not through
the kind of mob action attempted Monday
night near the White House.
Confederate leaders, by contrast, aren’t a
close call at all. They were traitors who fought
to preserve slavery. Whatever personal virtues
they might have had are inconsequential com-
pared with the evil that they did. Yes, Robert
E. Lee was a brave man and a skilled general,
but so was Erwin Rommel. Yet there are no
statues of the World War II German general
scattered around America — nor are U.S. Army
bases named after him. Just as we should stop
honoring Lee, so, too, should honors be denied
to markedly inferior Confederate commanders
such as Braxton Bragg and Henry Benning.
There is no excuse for naming Army bases
(there are 10) after these losers — to adopt one
of Trump’s favorite insults.
Yet this is where Trump and much of the
Republican Party have chosen to draw a line in
the sand. In Tulsa, Trump complained that “the
unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize
our history, desecrate our monuments, our
beautiful monuments.” “Our” history? “Our”
monuments? Trump was born in New York, not
New Orleans. New York fought for the Union.
That Trump has adopted the Confederacy’s
history as his own makes obvious his real
agenda. This isn’t about “preserving” or “re-
membering” history. This is about preserving
white supremacy. Monuments to the “Lost
Cause” were expressly erected to maintain
support for segregation. As a Confederate mon-
ument in Augusta, Ga., puts it: “No nation rose
so white and fair / none fell so pure of crime.”
Communities that maintain such monuments
are implicitly endorsing their white-power
message.
When we celebrate Confederates, we do so
because of their racism. By contrast, when we
celebrate other great Americans, from Jeffer-
son to Theodore Roosevelt, we do so despite
their racism. That’s a crucial distinction that
should not be lost in the heat of the moment.
Twitter: @MaxBoot
EZ RE A21
THURSDAY Opinion
SERGIO PEÇANHA
The nation’s data, in black and white
umbers can help put American
Many African Americans are born into a country in which hardship begins before birth.
Infant mortality rates
per 1,000 live births
Maternal mortality rates
per 100,000 live births
N racism in perspective. And here
is what the numbers say: The
United States is a vastly different
country, depending on the color of your
skin. For African Americans, hardship
White African White African begins before birth. The infant mortality
Americans Americans Americans Americans rate for black Americans, for example, is
more than twice that of white Americans.
4.7 11 14.7 37.1
Black women are more likely to re-
ceive late, or no, prenatal care, and they
also face nearly three times the risk of
Canada Mexico Canada Mexico pregnancy-related deaths.
But infant and maternal mortality
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 10 20 30 40 are only part of the health risks plaguing
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Statistics Canada; Mexico’s Health Secretariat the African American community. Black
Americans also suffer from higher rates
of hypertension, diabetes, asthma and
heart disease than white Americans.
In this parallel reality, common markers of wealth rate consistently worse for blacks ... Research suggests that social determi-
nants — conditions in the places where
Median household People under 18 Homeownership Median net worth we live, work, learn and play — are
income in poverty rate of a family important drivers of health inequities,
and that racism itself can harm health.
$80K 40% 80% $200K
In this parallel reality, family income
White $171K is much lower. The percentage of black
White children living below the poverty line is
60 30 60 150
Black three times that of whites.
White It’s not just income but employment
40 20 40 100
Black itself: Black Americans live in a country
Black where the economy is always in recov-
20 10 20 50
White
Black $17.1K ery. Even though white Americans ha-
ven’t seen an unemployment rate near
15 percent in decades, African Ameri-
’02 ’10 ’18 ’02 ’10 ’18 ’94 ’18 ’80 ’16
cans have seen it many times — about
Sources: U.S. Census, Federal Reserve Bank, 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances once a decade over the past 50 years.
One form of discrimination believed
to have had cascading consequences is a
practice known as “redlining.” From the
... and an unemployment rate near 15 percent happens about once a decade. 1930s to the late 1960s, areas with
sizable black populations were marked
Unemployment rate with red ink on maps used by banks to
determine who was eligible to get loans.
20% It was often impossible for residents of
Black
those areas to secure home mortgages.
15 If they got loans, the interest rates could
be prohibitive. The practice was banned
10 more than 50 years ago, but a 2018 study
White
found that 3 out of 4 neighborhoods
5 redlined 80 years ago continue to strug-
gle economically today.
Home ownership is directly linked to
’74 ’80 ’90 ’00 ’10 ’20 wealth and, for centuries, blacks were
essentially blocked from it. Underpaid
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via Federal Reserve Bank
or unable to buy a home, a large part of
the black community remains unable to
gain access to the main way that whites
have achieved wealth and middle-class
Many blacks grow up poorer, without access to good education. stability. As a result, the net worth of
They are also much more likely to be arrested. white households is now 10 times great-
er than that of black households.
In the United States, school quality
Math SAT People 25 and older Arrests of minors Incarceration rate is linked to neighborhood wealth. An
scores who went to college age 10 to 17 of adult population analysis by the nonprofit EdBuild
Mean scores Per 100,000 people Per 100,000 people found that schools in mainly white
neighborhoods received $2,200 more
600 40% 12,000 2,500 per student than nonwhite schools in
White Black the school year 2015-2016. This eco-
White 10,000 Black
2,000
30 nomic segregation correlates to educa-
500 8,000 tional outcomes.
All groups 1,500
20 6,000 In addition to growing up poorer
1,000 and without access to mortgages and
400 Black Black 4,000
10 equal educations, black children are
2,000 500 White
White also much more likely to be arrested.
300 Even though there has been improve-
’06 ’16 ’93 ’19 ’00 ’18 ’08 ’18 ment in the past few decades, the trend
persists: Incarceration rates of African
Note: Population 25 and older who completed four or more years of college. Sources: U.S. Census; U.S. Department of Justice
Americans in general remain 5.6 times
greater than of white Americans. Black
people are about 12 percent of the
The long list of discrepancies comes together in fatal encounters with the police. U.S. population but one-third of the
inmate population.
Rate of police killings The long list of discrepancies comes
U.S. population together on fatal encounters with the
Black White Hispanic Other Black White Hispanic Other police: Blacks are killed by the police at
31 per million 13 23 4 42M 197M 39M 49M more than twice the rate of whites.
The bottom line is clear. Here’s how
the numbers add up: Whites live in one
America and blacks live in another.
Source: The Washington Post’s database of police shootings since 2015 Twitter:@salvesergio
RUTH MARCUS
At Justice, there’s every reason to suspect foul motives
o adapt the famous Watergate ence and expertise in financial regula- able testimony before the House Judicia- charge of the Antitrust Division.
T query to this moment, what
don’t we know about the Justice
Department, and why don’t we
know it? The answers are, in turn: prob-
ably a lot. And: because Attorney Gener-
tion give him an ideal background . . .
and he will be a worthy successor to the
many historic figures who have held that
post,” Barr proclaimed in his Friday
night announcement. This is dangerous
ry Committee from two current Justice
Department lawyers. John Elias, former
chief of staff to the assistant attorney
general in charge of the Antitrust Divi-
sion, described how the division had
And let’s hear, most important, from
the attorney general himself. Barr had
been scheduled to appear before the
committee for the first time as attorney
general on March 31, an appearance that
al William P. Barr has been dodging his hackery, insulting to those who have launched an unwarranted investigation was canceled because of the pandemic.
responsibility to submit to congressio- served in that post and, more important, of the cannabis industry, at Barr’s be- Since then, the White House has decreed
nal oversight. to the department. hest, and an equally unwarranted probe, that no Cabinet officials are permitted to
It is becoming alarmingly difficult to For those who thought Barr would be in the wake of an angry presidential testify without approval from the White
keep track of all the reasons to worry competent, consider: He ousted Berman, tweet, of automobile manufacturers’ House chief of staff, asserting that “the
about what’s happening at Justice un- a registered Republican and Trump do- agreement with California to abide by administration must continue to main-
der Barr — and increasingly clear that nor, and wound up with Audrey Strauss, Obama-era emissions standards. tain its highest operational status to stop
what we know that is worrisome may be a registered Democrat who has contrib- And Aaron Zelinsky, a career prosecu- the spread and to reopen our economy.”
the tip of the iceberg. And it is becoming uted to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama tor who resigned from the Roger Stone Justice cited that guidance in assert-
absolutely imperative that Barr and and Joe Biden in the job. Well played. case after Barr oversaw the withdrawal ing Barr’s unavailability until, with the
other senior department officials testify The underlying question is why Barr of the government’s sentencing recom- threat of subpoenas in the air, spokes-
about their activities. felt compelled to remove Berman — and, mendation, testified that Stone “was woman Kerri Kupec tweeted that Barr
Last Friday saw the botched massacre here, there is every reason, given past treated differently because of politics” “has accepted an invitation to appear”
of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for performance, to suspect foul motives. and “received breaks that are in my before the committee — but not until
the Southern District of New York. The After all, the Southern District is an experience unheard of.” July 28, weeks later than the committee
episode was telling for those, myself office that has prosecuted and investi- It’s now past time for the lawmakers had requested.
included, who once had higher hopes for gated any number of Trump allies and to hear from Timothy Shea, the former Just before the congressional hearing
Barr’s second stewardship of the depart- the president’s own inaugural commit- interim U.S. attorney for the District of began, a federal appeals court ordered a
ment. tee. After all, according to John Bolton’s Columbia, who oversaw the about-face district court judge to dismiss the case
For those who thought Barr might be new book, this is a president who said in the Stone sentencing and the guilty against Flynn. Appeals court Judge Neo-
an institutionalist, protecting the de- “the Southern District prosecutors were plea of former national security adviser mi Rao’s majority opinion repeatedly
partment from the predations of a presi- not his people, but were Obama people, Michael Flynn. noted that the “presumption of regulari-
dent with little respect for it, consider: a problem that would be fixed when they Let’s hear from Berman and Jessie Liu, ty to which the government is entitled.”
He backed installing a prosecutor in the were replaced by his people.” the former U.S. attorney for the District But there was nothing regular about the
flagship office with no — zero — prosecu- It is not business as usual to fire a of Columbia, who, among other things, Flynn case, in which prosecutors moved
torial experience. U.S. attorney — or it at least hasn’t been, declined to bring charges against former to abandon the very guilty plea that they
Jay Clayton, the intended nominee, with the exception of President George FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. had secured. And there is little that can
might be a fine chairman of the Securi- W. Bush’s mass dismissals in 2006. (Liu left her post for a position at the be called regular about the current oper-
ties and Exchange Commission and an When it happens, Congress — and the Treasury Department, only to have that ations of the Justice Department. It has
excellent corporate lawyer. He has no public — needs to understand why. nomination summarily yanked by long ago ceded its entitlement to the
business overseeing the Southern Dis- Especially under the current circum- Trump.) Let’s hear from Makan Delra- benefit of the doubt.
trict. Clayton’s “management experi- stances. Wednesday brought remark- him, the assistant attorney general in ruthmarcus@washpost.com
A22
ABCDE
A misguided decision
It is a mistake to short-circuit the Flynn case.
HE DECISION of a three-judge U.S. Court of
T Appeals panel to throw out the Michael Flynn
case is a serious setback to those who hoped
for some accountability for Mr. Flynn’s admit-
ted lies to the FBI and the suspicious decision by
Attorney General William P. Barr to walk away from
prosecuting them. The appeals court decision inter-
rupts an important process that ought to be allowed
to finish.
Mr. Flynn agreed in 2017 to plead guilty to making
false statements to the FBI when he said he did not
remember his discussions with Russian Ambassador
Sergey Kislyak in 2016 concerning U.S. sanctions
against Russia. The FBI interview with him was part
of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the
U.S. election. As part of the plea deal, Mr. Flynn agreed
to cooperate with the investigation. On Dec. 1, 2017,
Mr. Flynn entered a guilty plea. Asked by the judge,
“Did you, in fact, do what the government has stated it
can prove at trial?” Mr. Flynn replied under oath,
“Yes.” Mr. Flynn later changed lawyers, stopped coop-
Voting need not
be disastrous
Kentucky’s successful primary
offers guidance for November.
OT EVERY election held during the coronavi-
N rus pandemic has been a disaster. See, for
example, Tuesday’s vote in Kentucky, which
saw a couple of problems but avoided the
massive failures seen in the District, Georgia and
Wisconsin, even as state political experts predicted
record turnout. The November presidential election
can be run credibly — if politicians recognize now the
need to prepare and resist the temptation to manipu-
late the circumstances for political advantage.
Planning and bipartisanship were key to Ken-
tucky’s primary day. Well ahead of Tuesday’s vote,
Kentucky’s Republican secretary of state, Michael
Adams, and Democratic governor, Andy Beshear,
agreed to allow all registered voters to cast absentee
ballots, a first for the state. Massive numbers of voters
signed up for mail-in ballots. In-person early voting
was ramped up to reduce Election Day crowds. And
in-person polling places were consolidated to limit the
number of polling workers who would need to interact
with voters and to ensure sanitary standards.
Polling place closures became controversial ahead
of the vote, as Louisville shut all but one voting
location, leaving a single polling place for
600,000 people and a large share of the state’s black
population. Indeed, this became a problem at the end
of the day, when a traffic jam at the entrance delayed
several dozen voters, and a judge had to order the
polling place to remain open for them to vote. But the
rest of the day ran smoothly: Voters could get free rides
to the Louisville voting center, where officials had
established an enormous operation. Lines were brief,
voting booths were sanitized between voters, and
there was ample space for social distancing.
Lines stretched longer in Lexington, and it will take
days to count absentee ballots, so problems with that
procedure might yet crop up, particularly in a state
unused to processing large numbers of mail-in ballots.
Moreover, what worked in June may not work in a
high-turnout presidential election. The District’s di-
sastrous primary earlier this month, with hours-long
waits, shows what happens when election officials fail
A potential turning point in Belarus
Many citizens are fed up with their strongman leader. Will their votes be counted?
LEXANDER LUKASHENKO, the president
A of Belarus, is a fabled fence-walker, balanc-
ing between East and West. He is a recidivist
election fixer, rigging presidential contests,
and a notorious strongman who tolerates little
dissent. All this has kept him in power for a quarter
of a century. But as he seeks a sixth term in a
presidential election set for Aug. 9, he confronts
signs of discontent.
A popular YouTuber, Sergei Tikhanovsky, sum-
moned thousands of people to sign ballot petitions
under an anti-corruption slogan of “Stop the
cockroach,” and supporters brought slippers, the
preferred way to squash household pests. He drove
around in a car with a giant slipper tied to the roof.
Then, a longtime Minsk banker, Viktor Babariko,
set out to challenge Mr. Lukashenko and collected
what he says are 400,000 signatures, far more than
the 100,000 required to get on the ballot.
Mr. Babariko, who led a bank closely tied to
L O CA L O PI NI O NS
The former Newseum’s First Amendment facade shouldn’t come down
It was one of the coolest things ever when the
founders of the Newseum had the First Amendment
etched in stone on the side of its building. Always, and
particularly in these times, we need a bold reminder
of these important rights spelled out and guaranteed
by the Constitution within sight of the U.S. Capitol
and on the presidential inauguration parade route.
Over the years, the First Amendment facade on the
Newseum has taken a role for me related to the
memorials in the District to remind those in power
and the people at large of these essential ingredients
of justice and freedom.
It’s an absolute heartbreaker that the Newseum
has closed. However, that shouldn’t mean this monu-
ment to the First Amendment has to be removed. It
would be like taking down a great memorial like the
Lincoln or Jefferson at this point.
My understanding is that per the terms of the sale
EZ RE
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
EDITORIALS
erating with the investigation and moved to with-
draw his guilty plea, contradicting his own sworn
prior admissions of guilt. This was followed by
Mr. Barr’s stunning turnabout, abandoning the pros-
ecution before Mr. Flynn could be sentenced.
Under all but extreme circumstances, it is up to
prosecutors to decide what to prosecute — an essen-
tial executive branch function. But in this case, there
is substantial reason to question the government’s
conduct, dropping a case in which a politically fa-
vored defendant had pled guilty. Mr. Flynn’s subse-
quent attempt to muddy the waters, and claim that
his original statement to the FBI wasn’t material to
the investigation, has been rejected by the court.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, presiding
over the case, set up a mechanism to examine the
prosecution’s withdrawal, including a request for a
critique of the government’s motion by John Gleeson,
a former federal judge, and a hearing set for July 16.
Mr. Gleeson found “clear evidence of a gross abuse of
prosecutorial power” and concluded that “the gov-
TOM TOLES
to anticipate substantial in-person turnout and ne-
glect to train election workers. Kentucky leaders will
have to examine whether voters were deterred be-
cause they did not want to hike out to Louisville’s
single polling location. They should also consider
expanding the use of alternatives such as drive-
through voting.
There also is a risk that leaders in Kentucky and
other states that conducted relatively smooth prima-
ries will roll back the measures that worked, in an
effort to suppress votes. Following a highly successful
primary vote that relied heavily on absentee balloting,
Russia’s national gas giant, Gazprom, has called for
democracy, separation of powers and presidential
term limits, and says he wants a country “where the
people are respected.”
Mr. Lukashenko has survived past challenges, by
portraying himself as the only choice for stability,
rigging the election and jailing foes. But this time he
faces unhappiness not only over economic stagna-
tion but also over his lackluster pandemic response,
which consisted of ridiculing concerns about the
virus and advising people to head to the sauna and
drink more vodka. Now, Belarus has 59,945 cases of
the virus in a population of 9.4 million, while
neighboring Poland has 32,821 in a population four
times larger.
Mr. Lukashenko has responded with the only
weapon he knows. Mr. Tikhanovsky was charged
June 11 with violating public order and assaulting
police at a rally to collect signatures. Mr. Lukashenko
probably hoped to bottle him up until after the vote,
It would be like taking down
a great memorial.
to Johns Hopkins University, the Freedom Forum,
which owns the Newseum, must remove the First
Amendment facade on the building. I don’t under-
stand why. Johns Hopkins, as an institution of
learning, should keep this important message on its
facade in this brilliant and key location. I hope the
community and D.C. government would want the
same.
Sam Kittner, Takoma Park
The writer was the principal contract
photographer for the Newseum from 2000 to 2012.
ernment has engaged in highly irregular conduct to
benefit a politcal ally of the president.”
Now, the three-judge appeals court panel has
knocked the legs out from Judge Sullivan’s process.
The panel argues that the judge has gone too far, that
the choice of whether to prosecute is solely up to
prosecutors except in extraordinary circumstances,
such as malfeasance, like bribery. This is clearly not
that. However, the decision to drop the Flynn case is
not simply business as usual. It reeks of political
manipulation at the highest levels of the United
States government. The full appeals court should
overrule the three-judge panel and allow Judge Sulli-
van to proceed with the hearing, rule on the prosecu-
tion’s request and go ahead with sentencing if he
thinks it warranted.
There would be ample opportunity then for full
judicial review of Judge Sullivan’s course of action.
But it is a mistake to short-circuit the proceedings
now. The only proper end to this case is to hear it to the
end.
Iowa Republicans moved to limit election officials’
ability to distribute absentee ballot applications in the
fall. Kentucky Republicans have already imposed an
unnecessary voter-ID law, which will take effect in
November, over Mr. Beshear’s veto. They should not
interfere with no-excuse absentee voting in the gener-
al election.
As President Trump rages about the supposed dan-
gers of absentee ballots, another state has shown that
ramping up mail-in balloting is essential to running a
sound election this year. At this point, only politicians
who fear a high turnout would stand in the way.
but now Mr. Tikhanovsky’s wife, Svetlana, has
collected enough signatures to run in his place. On
June 18, Mr. Babariko was detained, along with 15 top
bank executives, on suspicion of financial crimes.
The jailings are clearly political, intended to keep
both men from campaigning. The arrests triggered
street protests and the detention of more than
100 activists and more than a dozen journalists.
Mr. Lukashenko knows how to navigate between
the big powers. He has toyed with closer union with
Russia, where President Vladimir Putin does not
want Belarus to veer toward the West. He has flirted
with the Trump administration, meeting in Febru-
ary with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. But the
recent developments suggest that Mr. Lukashenko’s
grip at home is less sure. People are fed up with his
antics and exhausted by economic stagnation. The
question is whether they can be heard on Aug. 9, or
whether Mr. Lukashenko will resort to fraud and
force to hang on once more.
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THE WASHINGTON POST
Editorial and opinion pages:
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. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
LETTERS TO THE ED ITOR
letters@washpost.com
Time for a threat reassessment
Regarding the June 19 article “Genetic material
may hold key to covid-19’s unpredictable nature”:
The first line of the article perfectly describes the
wild variability of coronavirus: “a killer — or no big
deal.” The day I received my positive test back I was
stunned, as the mild cold-like symptoms contrasted
with the images of the deadly pandemic spread by
the media. Indeed, being only mildly affected by a
national tragedy is an odd predicament.
The facts are that the median age for virus deaths
in Italy was 81. The survival rate for 20- to
29-year-olds is above 99 percent. We must stop
treating mild survivors as “lucky” and view the
threat of the virus differently for different popula-
tions, as the article suggested. A pragmatic ap-
proach to reopening would take into consideration
the age variability data. This way, the cold that I had
would not be put on the same plane as the deadly
killer that cost many their lives.
Amelia Langer, Takoma Park
The irony in the Crozier affair
I read with great dismay the Navy’s decision not to
reinstate Capt. Brett Crozier [“Navy affirms firing of
captain in coronavirus case,” news, June 20]. As a
former company-grade Army officer, I recognize
leadership when I see it.
Notwithstanding detailed insight into the specif-
ics of the Navy’s decision, I am nonetheless struck by
the ultimate irony. Here we have a serving Navy
commander who spoke out about the potential
deleterious effects of the novel coronavirus on his
watch. Yet, he is not reinstated for supposedly
choosing the comfort of his sailors.
The optics around this sad affair are clear enough.
My comments may provoke discussion in the august
halls of the Naval War College, but what are the
midshipmen in Bancroft Hall at Annsapolis sup-
posed to think? Perhaps we have witnessed a “Scent
of a Woman” moment and the Navy leadership has
chosen to take the easy path rather than the hard
choice of celebrating Capt. Crozier’s leadership.
Matt Oleksiak, Oakton
A higher responsibility
Derek Chollet and John Gans’s June 18 Thursday
Opinion essay, “How to keep the military out of the
2020 election,” highlighted an important issue that
should be of concern to Americans. However, it is
incorrect to focus on Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley or, indeed, the chiefs of the
individual services. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs
is not in the chain of command. His role is as the chief
military adviser to the president. He does not com-
mand troops.
If (illegal) orders were to be issued by the president
in the wake of an election outcome that he did not like,
the chain of command would require orders to be
issued to the defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, who
would task the appropriate unified combatant com-
mand, in this case Northern Command under the
command of Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy.
Northern Command has the responsibility of deploy-
ing troops within the continental United States.
Fortunately, Mr. Esper has been widely reported to
have resisted President Trump’s improper desire to
invoke the Insurrection Act and considered resigning
in such circumstances. Northern Command’s policy
specifically states that the military may not be used for
domestic law enforcement.
Neither Mr. Esper’s reported position nor Northern
Command’s policy as stated on its website is absolute-
ly determinative. But public statements by respected
former commanders including four chairmen of the
Joint Chiefs, unified combatant commanders and
other senior officers have made clear that, despite a
disgruntled electorally defeated president’s willing-
ness to use the military for his advantage, senior
career officers hold to a higher responsibility.
Alan Neuschatz, Chevy Chase
We should all honor Juneteenth
In his June 19 Friday Opinion essay, “It’s past time to
make Juneteenth a national holiday,” Usher Raymond
IV wrote, “The least we deserve is to have this essential
moment included in the broader American story.” All
Americans should want to honor this important date
as a national holiday. It reminds us that even as the
whispered news of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclama-
tion reached their ears, African Americans remained
in bondage for 2½ more years. It reminds us that our
country’s foundational economy and stately buildings
were erected on the whip-scarred backs of black
Americans. It reminds us that the resilience and
hopes of black Americans are a blueprint for those
suffering subjugation, racial injustice and the com-
plicit silence of fellow humans. It reminds us that
from the ashes of tyranny, and oft with a paucity of
education, black Americans have made extraordinary
accomplishments and contributions to this land. It
reminds us that without black Americans there would
be no American identity. It reminds us of the abomina-
tion that is delayed equality.
Kathy Fedge, Reston
Beholden to no one
The Supreme Court’s rulings on Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals [“High court blocks Trump’s
bid to end DACA,” front page, June 19] and
employment nondiscrimination [“High court af-
firms LGBTQ worker protections,” front page, June
16] should be seen less as a rebuke of President
Trump and more as a warning to both conservatives
and liberals that there is no such thing as a liberal
court or a conservative court.
Those nine men and women on that bench are
the last line of defense for the Constitution, and
they have minds of their own. They will do
whatever it takes to protect and defend the
Constitution, regardless of who appointed and
approved them, and regardless of who is in power
in the White House and Congress.
Bernard Tate, Manassas Park
CORRECTION
Regarding the June 22 letters package “What’s in a
name? Sometimes, hate.”:
Virginia Route 7 was named for Harry Flood Byrd.
Because of an editing error, the letter from Peter D.
Zimmerman incorrectly said it was named for his
son, Harry Flood Byrd Jr.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
GEORGE F. WILL
The agony
of sports
withdrawal
edicalizing unpleasant char-
M acter traits or bad behaviors
by blaming them on “addic-
tions” worsens the modern
tendency to minimize individual re-
sponsibility. However, about your
sports addiction . . .
Imagine your brain on sports. It is
not a pretty picture. The most won-
drous thing in the universe is the
human brain, and for decades yours
has devoted much (most, to be honest)
of its bandwidth to games. Now you are
suffering something akin to delirium
tremens. The agonies you are going
through during this withdrawal are
evidence that spectatorship is addic-
tive. During baseball’s regular season
you overdose on 2,430 games, your
synapses firing away, sending pleasure
pulses through you. But now, with the
suddenness of a walk-off home run, all
sports, and the firing, have stopped.
And you find yourself mystified by
your surroundings, which you last
really noticed when you were about 7.
Now you resemble the man who in
mid-March posted this: “Day 3 without
sports. Found a lady sitting on my
couch yesterday. Apparently she’s my
wife. She seems nice.”
Day 4 without sports. Began reading
Proust.
Really? No.
Fortunately, the Major League
Baseball channel is methadone for
those forced to go cold turkey. In the
wee small hours of the morning you
might be able to watch, say, Game 7 of
the 1992 National League Champion-
ship Series. (Spoiler alert: Sid Bream
still slides in safe at home, the Braves
still beat the Pirates, 3-2.) It is 3 a.m.
and time for one of those argumenta-
tive panels ranking the “10 Best Middle
Relievers from Southern North
Dakota.”
What you are going
through is evidence that
spectatorship is addictive.
Sports exemplify what Walt Whit-
man called America’s “stir.” Civil War
historian Bruce Catton called baseball
America’s greatest conversation piece.
Now that the stirring by games has
stopped, so has a substantial portion of
the nation’s conversation. Think of the
many memorable aperçus that base-
ball always generates but that will not
be uttered because baseball is dor-
mant. There will not be gems like this
from former Braves manager Dave
Bristol: “Only trouble I ever had with
chewing tobacco was that the ortho-
dontist said my daughter was going to
have to give it up because of her
braces.” Or Ralph Kiner, Hall of Fame
slugger, Mets broadcaster and amateur
physicist, explaining how cold weather
can shorten by 25 feet the distance a fly
ball travels: “If the fence is 338 feet
[away] and you hit the ball 338 feet,
you’ll be 25 feet short.”
Admit it, you are not even ashamed
that your first — yes, first — thought
when covid-19 caused the shutdown of
everything was not “this is going to
leave tragedies in its wake.” Rather, you
thought: “Mike Trout will miss a
chance to make his career numbers
even gaudier.” Sports Illustrated’s Tom
Verducci notes that Trout’s loss will not
be as great as that suffered by Ted
Williams, a Marine aviator who “lost
his age-24, -25 and -26 seasons” to
World War II military service and “all
but 43 games of his age-33 and -34 sea-
sons” to the Korean War. “Williams,”
Verducci calculates, “lost about
154 homers, finishing with 521 instead
of 675.”
Bob Feller’s loss was larger. In 1936,
the soon-to-be high school senior from
Van Meter, Iowa, made his debut with
the Cleveland Indians at age 17. He was
the youngest in history to win
100 games and had 107 wins when, two
days after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in
the Navy. Unhappy with a safe
stateside posting, he became chief of
an anti-aircraft gun crew on the
battleship Alabama. It steamed
175,000 miles, participated in eight
Pacific island landings and was off
Saipan when U.S. forces shot down
400 enemy aircraft.
In the 1939, 1940 and 1941 seasons
Feller won 24, 27 and 25 games, respec-
tively, and he won 26 in 1946, his first
full season back. He ranks 37th among
pitchers in terms of wins (266). But for
the war, he might have passed Grover
Cleveland Alexander and Christy
Mathewson, who are tied for third
(373), behind only Cy Young (511) and
Walter Johnson (417). But, then, how
many symphonies were not composed
and vaccines not developed because, in
A.E. Housman’s words, “The saviors
come not home tonight: / Themselves
they could not save.”
Vin Scully, the mellifluous voice of
baseball during his 67 years broadcast-
ing Dodgers games, once said, “Andre
Dawson has a bruised knee and is
listed as day-to-day. Aren’t we all?” Yes,
we are, and it will be nice when we
again have baseball to banish that fact
to the attic of our brains.
georgewill@washpost.com
A surveillance camera attached to a light pole along Boylston Street in Boston.
Facial recognition led to my
arrest. But the police got it wrong.
BY R OBERT W ILLIAMS
never thought I’d have to explain to
I my daughters why Daddy got ar-
rested. How does one explain to
two little girls that a computer got
it wrong, but the police listened to it
anyway?
While I was leaving work in January,
my wife called and said a police officer
had called and said I needed to turn
myself in. I told her it was probably a
prank. But as I pulled up to my house, a
Detroit squad car was waiting in front.
When I pulled into the driveway, the
squad car swooped in from behind to
block my SUV — as if I would make a run
for it. One officer jumped out and asked
whether I was Robert Williams. I said I
was. He told me I was under arrest.
When I asked for a reason, he showed
me a piece of paper with my name on it.
The words “arrest warrant” and “felony
larceny” were all I could make out.
By then, my wife, Melissa, was outside
with our youngest in her arms, and my
older daughter was peeking around my
wife trying to see what was happening. I
told my older daughter to go back inside,
that the cops were making a mistake
and that Daddy would be back in a
minute.
But I wasn’t back in a minute. I was
handcuffed and taken to the Detroit
Detention Center.
As any other person would be, I was
angry that this was happening to me. As
any other black man would be, I had to
consider what could happen if I asked
too many questions or displayed my
anger openly — even though I knew I
had done nothing wrong.
When we arrived at the detention
center, I was patted down probably
seven times, asked to remove the strings
from my shoes and hoodie and finger-
printed. They also took my mugshot. No
ALYSSA ROSENBERG
Pulling the blackface episodes from ‘30 Rock’
is worse than meaningless
t a moment of broad cultural
A reckoning around race and rac-
ism, it’s not surprising that some
artists might find themselves em-
barrassed by some of their work and
wishing it would disappear. Such is the
case with Tina Fey and Robert Carlock,
who have asked NBC to pull four episodes
of their once-beloved show “30 Rock” that
feature clueless white characters wearing
blackface. NBC has granted their request,
moving to make the episodes unavailable
on multiple platforms.
That’s a shame. Attempting to retroac-
tively neaten up the cultural record may
be convenient for corporations looking to
avoid a bad news cycle, and for artists
looking to preserve their reputations. But
it does nothing to change the balance of
power in an overwhelmingly white indus-
try, or to reckon with Hollywood’s distant,
and recent, past.
When it premiered in 2006, “30 Rock”
felt radical compared with much of what
else was on TV. Its portrait of a grumpy
white liberal feminist reluctantly accept-
ing a black comedian foisted on her by a
conservative network executive who
dismissed her vision of a show aimed
primarily at women could be downright
lacerating. But a decade and a half has
passed. The sheer amount and variety of
television available have exploded. Major
shifts around race and gender are under-
way. And “30 Rock” is no longer in the
vanguard.
There are worse things for an old
television show than to represent a pivot
point in popular culture. Yet by pulling
the episodes, NBC is muddying the histor-
ical record instead. It is also cleaning up
the record of two influential creators who
are producing a “30 Rock” special to
EZ
one would tell me what crime they
thought I’d committed. A full 18 hours
went by. I spent the night on the floor of
a filthy, overcrowded cell next to an
overflowing trash can.
The next morning, two officers asked
whether I’d ever been to a Shinola watch
store in Detroit. I said once, many years
ago. They showed me a blurry surveil-
lance camera photo of a black man and
asked if it was me. I chuckled a bit. “No,
that is not me.” He showed me another
photo and said, “So I guess this isn’t you,
either?” I picked up the piece of paper,
put it next to my face and said, “I hope
you guys don’t think that all black men
look alike.”
The cops looked at each other. I heard
one say that “the computer must have
gotten it wrong.” I asked whether I was
free to go now, and they said no. I was
released from detention later that eve-
ning, after nearly 30 hours in holding.
I eventually got more information
from an attorney referred to me by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Mich-
igan. Someone had stolen watches, and
the store owner provided surveillance
footage to the Detroit Police Depart-
ment. They sent that footage to the
Michigan State Police, who then ran it
through their facial-recognition system.
That system incorrectly spit out a photo-
graph of me pulled from an old driver’s
license picture.
Federal studies have shown that
facial-recognition systems misidentify
Asian and black people up to 100 times
more often than white people. Why is
law enforcement even allowed to use
such technology when it obviously
doesn’t work? I get angry when I hear
companies, politicians and police talk
about how this technology isn’t danger-
ous or flawed. What’s worse is that,
before this happened to me, I actually
believed them. I thought, what’s so
promote its new streaming service Pea-
cock, as well as writing and producing a
comedy starring Ted Danson for the
broadcast network. (The pair also recent-
ly sold another show to Netflix.)
Unlike HBO Max’s recent decision to
temporarily pull “Gone With the Wind”
until the company could find a way to add
context to the movie, NBC is doing its best
to make the blackface episodes of
“30 Rock” disappear, not just by pulling
them from syndication and streaming
services but also by making them unavail-
able for individual purchase.
It’s true that now that NBC has yanked
the episodes, “no comedy-loving kid
needs to stumble on these tropes and be
stung by their ugliness,” as Fey put it in
her request. It’s also the case that any
comedy-loving kid coming to “30 Rock”
for the first time will now be able to binge
the show without realizing that Fey and
Carlock made four episodes of television
that included characters in blackface, and
did so in the 21st century.
But what’s better for that hypothetical
kid: that they never learn that these
comedy power players once thought
blackface was acceptable? Or that they see
this stark illustration of what was consid-
ered acceptable quite recently, and get a
clear sense of what the entertainment
industry tolerated, how it has changed
and what it took to bring those shifts in
attitudes about?
The closest comparable decision to
NBC’s call is Disney’s decision to disap-
pear “Song of the South,” its 1946 adapta-
tion of white journalist Joel Chandler
Harris’s collection of the Uncle Remus
folktales set in Reconstruction-era Geor-
gia. The movie is both a part of film
history and something of an embarrass-
RE
STEVEN SENNE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
terrible if they’re not invading our priva-
cy and all they’re doing is using this
technology to narrow in on a group of
suspects?
I wouldn’t be surprised if others like
me became suspects but didn’t know
that a flawed technology made them
guilty in the eyes of the law. I wouldn’t
have known that facial recognition was
used to arrest me had it not been for the
cops who let it slip while interrogating
me.
The ACLU is lodging a complaint
against the police department on my
behalf, but that likely won’t change
much. My daughters can’t unsee me
being handcuffed and put into a police
car. But they can see me use this experi-
ence to bring some good into the world.
That means helping make sure my
daughters don’t grow up in a world
where their driver’s license or Facebook
photos could be used to target, track or
harm them.
Even if this technology does become
accurate (at the expense of people like
me), I don’t want my daughters’ faces
to be part of some government data-
base. I don’t want cops showing up at
their door because they were recorded
at a protest the government didn’t like.
I don’t want this technology automat-
ing and worsening the racist policies
we’re protesting. I don’t want them to
have a police record for something they
didn’t do — like I now do.
I keep thinking about how lucky I
was to have spent only one night in jail
— as traumatizing as it was. Many
black people won’t be so lucky. My
family and I don’t want to live with that
fear. I don’t want anyone to live with
that fear.
The writer is a resident of Farmington Hills,
Mich., and client of the American Civil
Liberties Union.
ment. It won an Academy Award for Best
Song, and James Baskett, who played
Uncle Remus, was awarded an Honorary
Oscar, but it also presents a laughably
sentimental vision of the postwar South,
one rooted in a white author’s version of
black vernacular.
Is it understandable that Disney, argu-
ably the most powerful entertainment
company in the world and certainly the
one most committed to studied inoffen-
siveness, might prefer to forget this part
of the company’s history?
Sure, but as critic Mark Harris put in a
recent essay, “Things don’t stop existing
because you drape a shroud over them any
more than they stop existing because you
cover your eyes, and rewriting the past is
not how you write a better future. Speak-
ing only for myself, I’d rather know every-
thing, have everything, see everything.”
Keeping “Song of the South” available
as a historical document wouldn’t impli-
cate the racial attitudes of anyone cur-
rently working at Disney: Walt Disney,
who produced the movie, and Harve
Foster and Wilfred Jackson, who directed
it, are all dead. The blackface episodes of
“30 Rock,” by contrast, do say something
about Carlock and Fey, who produced the
show and wrote some of the episodes in
question and who still have considerable
power in the entertainment industry.
Yes, it may be baffling to some viewers
that a mere eight years ago it was accept-
able for a network television show to
deploy blackface, even if it did so with the
intention to satirize the white people who
painted their faces. But making those
episodes unavailable does more to sani-
tize Fey and Carlock’s records than it does
to promote racial equality in Hollywood.
Twitter: @AlyssaRosenberg
A23
E.J. DIONNE JR.
The Flynn
decision
doesn’t pass
the smell test
hudder for the rule of law in our
S nation. Be alarmed that a politi-
cized Justice Department will be
allowed to do whatever it wants in
service to a sitting president. Be amazed
that judges can spout errant nonsense to
reach a result that just happens to square
with the interests of a president who
shares their partisan leanings.
Yes, the decision by two Court of Ap-
peals judges to block efforts to scrutinize
the Justice Department’s decision to drop
its prosecution of Michael Flynn, Presi-
dent Trump’s former national security
adviser, is that disturbing. Here’s hoping
the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit insists on reviewing this
scandalous decision and overturns it.
Remember what’s involved here: Flynn
himself pleaded guilty to two charges of
lying to the FBI about his 2016 conversa-
tions with Sergey Kislyak, then-Russian
ambassador to the United States, about
sanctions then-President Barack Obama
imposed on Russia for its interference in
the 2016 campaign. Vice President Pence
later said that Flynn lied to him about the
nature of his contacts with Russia.
After only 24 days on the job, Flynn was
dismissed by President Trump, who ex-
plained in a December 2017 tweet: “I had
to fire General Flynn because he lied to
the Vice President and the FBI. He has
pled guilty to those lies.”
That was then. But in Attorney General
William P. Barr’s Justice Department, the
past can be miraculously rewritten.
Guilty pleas can be erased. Anything that
undermines former special counsel Rob-
ert Mueller’s investigation of Trump and
Russian interference is a-okay.
So Justice moved to shut down the case
by bizarrely claiming that Flynn’s admit-
ted lies were not to “material” to a legiti-
mate investigation.
District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan,
aghast over a move with little precedent,
smelled political interference. He asked
John Gleeson, a former federal judge, to
advise on whether the Justice Depart-
ment should be allowed to drop the case.
Gleeson’s report this month was scath-
ing. He accused the Justice Department
of exercising a “gross abuse of prosecuto-
rial power” to protect Flynn, charged Barr
with “irregular” handling of the case, and
described DOJ’s claims as “not credible”
and “preposterous.”
But Judge Neomi Rao, appointed by
Trump, joined by Judge Karen LeCraft
Henderson, appointed by President
George H.W. Bush, ruled to stop Sullivan
in his tracks. The theme of their decision:
Nothing to see here.
“This is plainly not the rare case where
further judicial inquiry is warranted,”
Rao wrote for herself and Henderson,
adding, “This is not the unusual case
where a more searching inquiry is
justified.”
Are you kidding?
Rao and Henderson sounded like de-
fense lawyers for Barr’s department. “The
district court’s appointment of the amic-
us and demonstrated intent to scrutinize
the reasoning and motives of the Depart-
ment of Justice constitute irreparable
harms that cannot be remedied on
appeal.”
Translation: God forbid that the truth
be made public.
“These actions,” they wrote of Sulli-
van’s moves, “foretell not only that the
scrutiny will continue but that it may
intensify.”
Translation: God forbid that the
DOJ has to answer more questions.
Court of Appeals Judge Robert
L. Wilkins, appointed by Obama, was
properly scathing in his dissent on both
the law and the facts. “It is a great irony
that, in finding the District Court to have
exceeded its jurisdiction, this Court so
grievously oversteps its own,” he wrote,
scorching his colleagues for failing to give
“the lower court a reasonable opportuni-
ty to issue its own ruling.”
“In 2017,” Wilkins wrote, “the then-
Acting Attorney General told the Vice
President that Flynn’s false statements
‘posed a potential compromise situation
for Flynn’ . . . and just a few months ago,
the prosecution said that Flynn’s false
statements to the FBI ‘went to the heart’
of a valid counterintelligence inquiry and
‘were absolutely material.’
“Now, in a complete reversal,” Wilkins
added, “the Government says none of this
is true.”
You think, Wilkins is asking us, that
there just might be something fishy here?
Alert readers will notice that I men-
tioned which president appointed each of
the three judges, a practice that makes
some good people uneasy. They want our
justice system to work in a nonpartisan
way, and so do I. But with Trump and the
Republican Senate speeding up their as-
sembly line to load the benches with
conservative judges — the Senate con-
firmed Trump’s 200th judicial appointee
on Wednesday — we need to face the
consequences of what they’re doing. And
in the Flynn case, it’s very hard not to see
the decision as partisan.
During a 2018 sentencing hearing, Sul-
livan told Flynn: “I’m not hiding my
disgust, my disdain, for this criminal
offense.” Those are precisely the feelings
we should have for a ruling that would
leave the Justice Department unchal-
lenged and unquestioned when it makes a
decision that reeks of political favoritism.
Twitter: @EJDionne
A24 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

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METRO
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . WASHINGTONPOST.COM/REGIONAL EZ SU B
High today at JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON MARYLAND OBITUARIES
approx. 3 p.m.
With more of us turning Amid the debate over Environmental scientist
8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m.
85° pedestrian, now’s a good removing police officers Kirk R. Smith warned of
Precip: 40% time to practice safe from schools, data shows a the health hazards of
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74 82 83 79 ° ° ° Wind: S
4-8 mph walking. B3 racial gap in arrest rates. B5 open-fire cooking. B6

Fairfax o≠ers Protesters,

families two
choices for
fall classes
Totally remote or part-time
in-person learning? There are
more questions than answers.
BY H ANNAH N ATANSON
Fairfax County Public Schools, one of
the country’s largest districts, is asking
families to choose between 100 percent
virtual learning or part-time in-person
schooling next year, one of the first
concrete plans for fall released by schools
nationwide.
The superintendent of the Northern
Virginia district, which serves 189,000
students, announced the setup to par-
ents in an email Wednesday morning,
writing that all families will be able to
choose between two enrollment options
for the 2020-2021 school year.
In the first, students will receive “vir-
tual, interactive instruction” four days
each week, and they will never set foot on
campus. In the second, students will
attend school for at least two “full days”
of instruction inside school buildings
and participate in independent study
and work on the remaining days.
“Our first preference, of course, re-
mains 100 percent in-person learning . . .
however, based on current health data,
that seems unlikely,” Superintendent
Scott Brabrand wrote in the email. “In
developing this plan, our first priority is
the health and well-being of our students
and staff.”
Those who do choose to enter schools
will have to follow “social and physical
distancing recommendations” in class-
rooms, on buses and in all shared spaces,
Brabrand wrote. That means students
and staffers will remain six feet apart,
reducing capacity inside school build-
ings — which is why, Brabrand wrote, the
option for in-person school is currently
limited to two days of instruction each
week.
Depending on how many families
choose full-time virtual education,
Brabrand wrote, the school may be able
to offer more than two days of face-to-
SEE FAIRFAX ON B5
police again
skirmish as
9 arrested
OFFICERS DEPLOY STING
BALLS, PEPPER SPRAY
Officials cite fires, projectiles
near White House on Tuesday
BY J ULIE Z AUZMER
AND P ETER H ERMANN
Nine people were arrested Tuesday
night in skirmishes with authorities
across from the White House — including
one man who also had been arrested the
day before, police said Wednesday.
Officials said demonstrators ignited
fireworks, set fires and threw projectiles
including rocks and molotov cocktails,
and officers responded with sting balls
and pepper spray.
The section of 16th Street NW that
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) renamed
Black Lives Matter Plaza almost three
weeks ago has been a site of celebration
for protesters, with crowds gathering dai-
ly to sing, dance, sermonize, share food
and supplies, take pictures and make art.
But after melees on Monday in Lafay-
ette Square, where protesters attempted
to topple a statue of President Andrew
Jackson and were stopped by police, the
city has cracked down and the atmo-
sphere has changed.
On Wednesday, the plaza was subdued.
Police patrolled the area while a small
number of protesters sat on a jersey barri-
er holding signs that said “Black lives
matter” and “Stop police brutality.”
Yards away, about a dozen D.C. police
officers stood in loose formation, dressed
in typical uniforms — not the riot gear
some had worn the previous night. Most
visitors to the plaza appeared to be on-
lookers, rather than protesters.
They took pictures of murals and the
chalked-over Black Lives Matter message
JASON ANDREW
painted on the street, which has been
Protesters in downtown Washington raise their hands as a Lakota helicopter hovers over them, its covered in messages like “Defund Bows-
blades producing wind speeds equivalent to a tropical storm and blasting trees and debris into a frenzy. er” and “People over property,” and
shopped at T-shirt stands across from the
SEE PROTESTS ON B4

‘He doesn’t
A low-flying White House
realize’: Black, ‘show of force’ makes its
view clear on
autistic and Following the two military helicopters that roared over protesters in D.C.
imprisoned D.C. statehood
emmed in by police on all BY A LEX H ORTON, ly before 10 p.m., a Black Hawk

On the day he received a

50-year prison sentence,
Matthew Rushin called
his mom and asked for a
H sides, Camellia Magness
feared that the military
helicopter descending
on downtown Washington might
unleash a final assault on protest-
A NDREW B A T RAN,
A ARON S TECKELBERG
AND J OHN M UYSKENS
swept low over protesters in Chi-
natown and held its position, pro-
ducing gusts that snapped thick
tree limbs and swirled the air with
volleys of dust and broken glass,
As congressional vote nears,
official statement says advisers
would urge a Trump veto
favor more fitting of a ers. after the killing of George Floyd. sending many running for cover
teenager away at college It was June 1, nearly three Magness and others had lingered in panic and confusion.
Theresa than a condemned man. hours after federal police in riot downtown past a 7 p.m. curfew. “I thought they were going to
Vargas “Can you please order gear charged largely peaceful Military helicopters had been land,” Magness, 24, said, fearing BY J ENNA P ORTNOY
Thanksgiving dinner for demonstrators as they gathered flying high overhead, seeming to soldiers would pour out and force
all of us? There are 12 of us in here,” near the White House to protest track their movements. But short- SEE HELICOPTERS ON B2 President Trump’s advisers would rec-
Lavern Rushin recalls him requesting on ommend that he veto the D.C. statehood
behalf of his cellblock. At the time, bill if it reached his desk, according to a
Thanksgiving was a few weeks away. White House policy statement issued
“After I got off the phone with him, I just Wednesday afternoon as House lawmak-
said, ‘Oh my God, he doesn’t realize what r ers debated the legislation.
opte
just happened.’ ” helic Although Trump recently told the
National ota
What had just happened was a judge
Portrait of Lak New York Post that Republicans would
decided that the young black autistic
Gallery Path CHINAT OWN be “very, very stupid” to allow the
man wasn’t only going to miss one deep-blue city to become a state and
holiday with his family. He was going to elect two senators, the statement marks
miss a decade of them. the first time his administration has
NO

Capital One
T NW
RT

The judge ordered Rushin to serve 10 taken an official position on the legisla-
7TH S Arena
H

years of a 50-year sentence. tion.

Before that moment, Lavern Rushin Advocates of statehood are eagerly
and her husband, Demetrius, had awaiting the first House floor vote on the
watched Matthew — who was diagnosed issue since 1993 on Friday and expect the
with ADHD and Asperger’s as a child chamber’s Democratic majority to pass
and later experienced a traumatic brain such a bill for the first time in history.
injury — make his way through schools At 10:03 p.m. a D.C.
Washington
Army Democrats — led by Del. Eleanor
in Virginia Beach and into Old National
D.C. ArmyGuard Lakota
National Guard Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting
Dominion University. They had seen him helicopter
Lakota helicopter
descended and
descended representative — said the District’s
compose poetry, play the piano and, parked
and approximately
parked proximately 45 705,000 residents deserve voting rights
unlike many people his age, fill his and all the benefits of statehood because
45 feet
feet above
above E NW
E St. Street NW.
Facebook page with unabashed they pay more federal taxes than resi-
admissions of admiration and love. T NW dents of 22 states and D.C. residents have
He once wrote of his mom, “i aspire to 5TH S JU DICIARY fought in every American war.
care about the world like you do. i aspire S QUARE The bill has 226 House co-sponsors,
E
ST

to love as much as you do. i aspire to more than enough to pass, and 40
NW

have the mind-set that you do, to care for
those that … that aren’t prepared for
what’s to come.”
Then on a rainy night, he went to pick
up pastries at the Panera where he
SEE VARGAS ON B8
250 FEET
Sources: Open Data DC; ADS-B Exchange AARON STECKELBERG/THE WASHINGTON POST
co-sponsors in the Senate.
However, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objects to state-
hood and said he would not bring it up
for a floor vote, effectively killing the
SEE STATEHOOD ON B4
B2
The Lakota helicopter, pictured above, hovered over protesters as low as an estimated 45 feet, putting it below the height of the tallest nearby buildings. The low-flying tactics were a show
of force typically used to disperse civilians in a war zone that baffled experts and former pilots. “It certainly appeared they were using it as an intimidation tactic,” one observer said.
‘It was clear they were trying to intimidate us’
HELICOPTERS FROM B1
protesters into waves of police.
The Washington Post recon-
structed the movements of the
two D.C. Army National Guard
helicopters that parked nearly
still in the air over protesters in
Chinatown that night, using
flight-tracking data, images and
videos.
One of the helicopters dropped
as low as an estimated 45 feet,
according to a 3-D model created
by The Post.
That altitude meant that the
helicopter, a Lakota painted with
the red cross of a medical evacua-
tion aircraft, was below the height
of the tallest nearby buildings, the
analysis shows.
On the streets, the maneuvers
created wind speeds equivalent to
a tropical storm, according to cal-
culations by aerospace engineers
who reviewed The Post’s data.
The two helicopters hovered
over the protesters for a com-
bined 10 minutes, first one and
then the other, as protesters ran
for cover.
The maneuvers — which did
not appear to result in reported
injuries — were a surreal coda to a
day of demonstrations in Wash-
ington after the police killing of
Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
The moves stunned human rights
groups, military law experts and
former pilots, who described
them as a show of force more
commonly used to disperse civil-
ians in war zones.
D.C. Guard officials, who have
launched an investigation into
the incident, declined to discuss
the helicopters’ altitude, whether
senior officers ordered the low-
flying tactic, whether the pilots
received unclear guidance about
their mission or whether the pi-
lots were grounded amid a review.
“It was clear they were trying to
intimidate us,” Magness said.
The evening of June 1
Magness and her roommate ar-
rived downtown from Baltimore
about 7 p.m., after law enforce-
ment already had used chemical
agents, smoke and batons to clear
streets outside the White House
for President Trump to walk
through the Lafayette Square
area for a photo op.
Earlier, the president had be-
rated local and state leaders as
“weak” for not doing more to quell
unrest, and he pledged decisive
action. “We’re going to do some-
thing that people haven’t seen
before,” he said, “but you got to
have total domination, and then
you have to put them in jail.”
Magness and her roommate,
Dzhuliya Dashtamirova, 22, fell
into a crowd near the White
House, snaking northeast to
U Street NW before swinging
south toward Chinatown.
Along the way, there were Na-
tional Guard and law enforce-
ment personnel everywhere they
looked, the women said — includ-
ing the sky.
At least nine aircraft were over-
head, according to publicly avail-
able flight-tracking data. At least
three were D.C. Guard helicop-
ters.
The D.C. Guard’s helicopters
MA
generally soared hundreds of feet
over the city, The Post found, ex-
cept for the nearly 10 intense
minutes captured on numerous
videos when a pair swooped low,
battering demonstrators with the
downward rush of air from spin-
ning blades, known as rotor wash.
The Black Hawk and the Lako-
ta left Fort Belvoir in Virginia just
after 9:30 p.m. Fifteen minutes
later, the Lakota roared past the
Lincoln Memorial at about 460
feet and east over the Mall at
about 72 mph. Those calculations
used signals tracked from the he-
licopters’ transponders from the
crowdsourced flight-tracking
website ADS-B Exchange.
9:50 – 9:52 p.m.
The transponder for the Black
Hawk did not broadcast GPS data
PEN
like the Lakota did, but it was
spotted above Seventh Street NW
flying low and slow with its spot-
light shining down at protesters.
Meanwhile, the Lakota headed
north over Logan Circle as high as
approximately 940 feet before
Sources: Open Data DC; ADS-B Exchange
doubling back south past Lafay-
ette Square and then heading east
toward Chinatown. In its descent
near Chinatown, it slowed to
about 15 mph.
9:52 – 9:55 p.m.
The Lakota turned west past
the National Portrait Gallery at an
estimated height of 250 feet and
headed north on Ninth Street NW.
The Black Hawk turned around
The downward rush of air from the spinning blades, known as rotor wash, scattered debris and forced
demonstrators to take cover. D.C. officials were not forewarned that the Lakota and Black Hawk
helicopters would be coming in and using such tactics, according to an official familiar with the events.
EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST
and headed back north on Sev-
enth Street NW, according to
flight data and time-stamped vid-
eo analysis.
Videos taken from the ninth
floor of an 11-story condominium
Walter E. Washington building appear to show the Black
Convention Center Hawk at about 110 feet. The condo
SSA
.
occupants said they could see sol-
CHU
SET AVE diers onboard wearing night-vi-
TS ORK
A VE. NEWY sion goggles.
Military helicopters typically
5TH ST. NW
travel in pairs during flight opera-
tions in military maneuvers. In at
least two instances, videos show
the helicopters appeared to re-
7TH ST. NW
lieve each other as they passed
above Chinatown.
9:55 – 10 p.m.
H ST. NW Just before 10 p.m., the Black
C H I N A T O W N Hawk parked at Fifth and E
streets NW, hovering for four
minutes.
Capital One Magness and Dashtamirova
Arena
were convinced the Black Hawk
was going to land right on the
street.
“We were all distracted and
E ST. NW
vulnerable,” Magness said. The
rotor wash tore away face masks
NSY
The Black Hawk and the J U D I C I A R Y
and blew torrents of branches and
LVAN
IA AVE Lakota took turns hovering leaves through the street before it
. S Q U A R E
low over the intersection of ascended to the west.
5th and E streets NW.
10 – 10:03 p.m.
0.2 MILES Cheers erupted from the crowd
until they realized the Lakota had
JOHN MUYSKENS/THE WASHINGTON POST
taken its place from the east. It
climbed down from 90 feet to as
low as an estimated 45 feet, where
it flew for about six minutes. Its
“The use of these helicopters in that red crosses were illuminated by
streetlights.
manner violates everything I learned Glass from shattered car win-
dows and storefronts littered the
in my military training.” ground, whipping demonstrators
along with tree branches and
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)
trash, video and interviews show.
Dirt and grit collected in mouths.
Anyone without goggles had trou-
ble keeping their eyes open. The
roar of the blades was deafening.
To calculate the approximate
altitude of the Lakota, The Post
used geospatial data, building ele-
vations, street widths and mea-
surements of other street objects
to create a precise scaled model of
the intersection. It also used
metadata from a photograph of
the helicopter taken at 10:03 p.m.
in the same spot to further build
the 3-D environment.
Sam Ward stood on Fifth Street
NW and watched the Lakota blast
the nearby trees into a frenzy.
“It was pretty wild, and it cer-
tainly appeared they were using it
as an intimidation tactic,” Ward,
27, said.
The Lakota’s descent felt differ-
ent, Dashtamirova said. She and
Magness no longer believed the
helicopters would land but inter-
preted the actions as focused ef-
forts to scatter remaining protest-
ers.
10:03 – 10:10 p.m.
Video shows many in the crowd
extending clenched fists and mid-
dle fingers toward the Lakota and,
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
PHOTOS BY JASON ANDREW
like earlier moments in the day,
kneeling in the streets as a group
to demonstrate a nonviolent mes-
sage.
The two women fled the area
and walked to the home of
Dashtamirova’s boyfriend two
miles away.
“The military wasn’t there to
protect our rights,” Dashtamirova
said. “It was the opposite.”
The backlash
In the following days, the D.C.
National Guard launched an in-
vestigation into the use of its avia-
tion assets as lawmakers and Dis-
trict officials decried the maneu-
vers.
“It was a potentially very dan-
gerous scare tactic that was
meant to intimidate D.C. resi-
dents,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser
(D) said at a news conference two
days after the June 1 incident.
“And it was wholly inappropriate
in an urban setting.”
District officials were not fore-
warned that the helicopters
would be coming in and using
such tactics, according to an offi-
cial familiar with the events who
spoke on the condition of ano-
nymity because of the sensitivity
of the topic.
“I was appalled to see our mili-
tary using low-flying Black Hawk
and Lakota helicopters as a show
of force to intimidate peaceful
protesters exercising their first
amendment rights in our nation’s
capital,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth
(D-Ill.), a former Black Hawk pilot
who served in Iraq, said in a
statement.
“The use of these helicopters in
that manner violates everything I
learned in my military training
and many FAA restrictions de-
signed to keep Americans safe,”
she said.
Army Secretary Ryan McCar-
thy authorized the use of helicop-
ters, he said on a call with report-
ers on June 7. Maj. Gen. William J.
Walker, the commander of the
D.C. Guard, told reporters that
they were there to “observe and
report disposition, composition
of the protesters” and provide any
needed medical support.
But the use of a helicopter’s
rotor wash is a common military
tactic to incite fear, disperse
crowds and warn of other capabil-
ities, like rockets and guns, said
Kyleanne Hunter, a former Ma-
rine Corps pilot who flew Cobra
attack helicopters in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan.
The Black Hawk’s rotor wash
produced estimated gusts of
54 mph, while the Lakota had an
estimated 48 mph rotor wash,
according to Atanu Halder, an
aerospace engineering researcher
at Texas A&M University. The esti-
mates reflect a median value in a
range that would vary according
to the weight of fuel and person-
nel on board.
That force was strong enough
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
to snap a thick tree branch out-
side the National Portrait Gallery,
a Smithsonian official said. The
tree was later cut down and re-
moved by the District.
The helicopters’ maneuvers,
particularly with the red cross
displayed, drew rebuke from mili-
tary law experts, who said use of
the emblem is carefully regulated
because of its global symbolism
for mercy.
“This was a foolish move,” said
Geoffrey Corn, a former Army
lawyer and professor at the South
Texas College of Law in Houston.
“The symbolic significance of the
red cross is pervasive: It denotes a
‘noncombatant’ function of the
armed forces.”
Eric Hildebrandt, a former
Army helicopter pilot who served
in Iraq and Afghanistan and has
flown Black Hawks and Lakotas,
said the helicopters in Washing-
ton were far too low for what is
necessary to scout from above and
could have observed the crowd
without dipping below 200 feet.
“It was pretty irresponsible,”
Hildebrandt said, acknowledging
that he didn’t know what the
pilots were ordered to do.
Flying at such low altitudes
deprives pilots of many safe op-
tions in the case of engine failure
or malfunction.
Pilots train for such events,
including a scenario for the Lako-
ta losing one of its twin engines. A
pilot would point the nose down
to gain speed at the cost of alti-
tude to make the single engine
more efficient.
But at the estimated altitudes
of the Lakota, “they would have
maybe 2-3 seconds to determine
what’s wrong, react appropriate-
ly, and adjust the flight controls to
save the aircraft and crew.”
Two to three seconds, he said,
“might still be generous.”
It is unclear why medevac heli-
copters would be chosen to fly.
The helicopters were not on a
medical mission, Defense Secre-
tary Mark T. Esper acknowledged
in a June 3 briefing.
The use of medevac helicopters
for nonmedical missions is care-
fully scrutinized, said Hilde-
brandt, who flew medevac heli-
copters at the Army’s training
center in Fort Irwin in California.
They are permitted only to carry
medical supplies and medical
personnel, he said, even in train-
ing scenarios.
Seeing them hovering over pro-
testers, he said, left him “pretty
shocked and horrified.”
alex.horton@washpost.com
andrew.tran@washpost.com
aaron.steckelberg@washpost.com
john.muyskens@washpost.com
About this story
To calculate the approximate
altitude of the Lakota helicopter
above the intersection of Fifth and
E streets NW, The Post used
geospatial data from Open Data
DC, building elevations, street
widths and measurements of
other street objects to create a
precise scaled model of the
intersection. The Post applied
location and camera lens
metadata from a photograph of
the helicopter taken at 10:03 p.m.
in the same location to a
corresponding virtual camera in a
3-D space, and added a model of
a UH-72 Lakota helicopter to the
3-D environment to match the
photograph. Once the scene was
set, The Post was able to
determine the altitude of the
Lakota helicopter at
approximately 45 feet and
subsequently validated the
number by matching other
photographs taken from different
angles.
The Lakota broadcast its GPS
coordinates using Automatic
Dependent Surveillance–
Broadcast (ADS-B) technology. A
network of ADS-B receivers
captured the broadcasts, feeding
them to the flight-tracking website
ADS-B Exchange. The Black
Hawk’s transponder, on the other
hand, broadcast its unique code
without coordinates, according to
James Stanford, director of
operations at ADS-B Exchange.
The Post relied on videos and
photographs instead to trace the
path of the Black Hawk.
The Lakota’s height above ground
level was estimated using
barometric pressure-derived
altitude. As these altitude
readings are relative to standard
rather than local pressure, The
Post adjusted them by adding the
average difference between
pressure-derived and GPS-derived
altitudes for several helicopters
flying over Washington during the
same period. The Post also added
an offset for the geoid height so
that the altitude numbers could
be compared with a LiDAR-derived
bare-earth digital surface model
using the North American Vertical
Datum of 1988.
The Post has made the data and
scripts for analyzing the flight
paths available on GitHub.
. THE WASHINGTON POST
Like this mother-and-daughter duo, more of us are turning pedestrians to get outdoors and exercise after sheltering-in-place for months.
It’s time for pedestrians to practice safe walking
If walking is as
simple as putting
one foot in front
of the other, how
come so many
people seem to
John get it wrong?
Kelly's That’s the
Washington question a few of
my readers have
been asking.
A reader from Silver Spring is
one. Like a lot of people forced to
stay close to home these past few
months, she’s been taking to the
streets — quite literally. Many of
the roads near the reader’s house
don’t have sidewalks. That
means walking in the street.
“My vent is about people who
do not walk against traffic,” she
wrote. “I just don’t get that. I’m
in my 50s and that was drilled
into my head growing up.”
Here’s what the National
Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recommends on
its website: “If no sidewalk or
path is available, walk on the
shoulder, facing traffic.”
The idea is that if you’re
facing traffic, you’ll be better
able to see what’s coming your
way.
The coronavirus pandemic
provides an additional wrinkle:
If some pedestrians are walking
with traffic and others are
walking against it, it’s tough to
avoid contact when the twain
inevitably meet.
Wrote the reader: “I
oftentimes have to check for
traffic and move to the other
side of the street and then move
back when I come across people
walking with the traffic. This is
quite annoying, especially when
they do not have masks on.
Perhaps you could make a public
service announcement
reminding people to walk
against traffic!”
People: Walk facing traffic,
please.
NHTSA’s Safety
Countermeasures Division — a
great name if ever there was one
— also recommends pedestrians
MARYLAND
20-year-old fatally
shot in Prince George’s
A man was fatally shot
Tuesday afternoon, Prince
George’s County police said.
He was found in the roadway
about 1:50 p.m. in the 3100 block
of Duvall Ridge Road in the
Landover area, police said.
The victim died at a hospital.
Police said they did not believe
he was shot at random.
The victim was later identified
as Maurice Magruder Jr., 20, of
Landover.
— Martin Weil
Police: Two men dead
in murder-suicide
A Maryland man fatally shot
another man and then killed
himself in Prince George’s
County over the weekend, police
said Monday.
On Saturday about 12:50 a.m.,
officers responded to a reported
shooting in the 3800 block of
St. Barnabas Road in Suitland,
Prince George’s police said in a
stay alert and not be distracted
by electronic devices. Do I need
to point out that this applies to
drivers, too?
Stereo vision
A few weeks ago I wrote about
how I pondered — then rejected
— the idea of buying a vintage
stereo receiver. Part of me
wanted to experience the warm
glow and dancing VU needles of
my father’s old Kenwood. But
most of me wanted something
cheap and reliable.
Grant Callery of Bethesda
said my column brought back
memories of the year he spent in
Vietnam after being drafted
after his first year at Georgetown
Law. Then as now, members of
the military could shop tax-free
at an exchange — called a PX in
the Army, BX in the Air Force.
“There was one thing that
most of the folks serving in RVN
rallied around and that was the
mighty Pacific Exchange, known
reverently as PACEX,” Grant
wrote. “You see, they had a
catalogue and oh, what a
catalogue it was.”
Nearly an inch thick, the
publication brimmed with
everything from cameras to
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends
pedestrians face traffic to see vehicles approaching as they walk.
L O C A L DI GEST
statement.
They found Kevin Williams, 51,
of Suitland and Addon Rush Jr.,
30, of Oxon Hill. Both had been
fatally shot, police said. There
had been an argument, police
said in the statement, and Rush
shot Williams, then himself.
Both men were pronounced
dead at the scene.
No further information was
immediately available.
— Justin Wm. Moyer
Man charged with
murder after stabbing
A Maryland man was charged
with murder after a stabbing in
Prince George’s County over the
weekend, police said Monday.
About 1:20 a.m. Saturday,
officers responding to an
unrelated call found Brian
Logan, 27, of Landover dead in
the 7100 block of Columbia Park
Road, Prince George’s County
police said in a statement.
On Monday, police said they
arrested Dalerico Vernon, 25, of
Landover on charges including
first- and second-degree murder.
No further information about
EZ M2
china, along with page after page
of receivers, amps, preamps,
tape decks, turntables and other
desirable merchandise.
Wrote Grant: “It must have
been like getting the [Sears] or
Montgomery Ward catalogues at
the turn of the 20th century but
sooo much cooler.”
He added: “Those soldiers
who were lucky enough to get to
Saigon could visit, in person, the
Cholon PX, which had much of
what was in the catalogue but
you could actually touch it!
“I won’t rhapsodize any longer
but thanks for stirring those
memories.”
In 1972, Mike Moore of
Gainesville, Va., was stationed at
Bitburg Air Base in Germany.
“Bitburg AB had the best
stereo club in Europe and pilots
would fly in from bases all over
Europe to load up on
equipment,” Mike wrote.
“Besides the TEAC reel-to-reel I
had a Sansui 2000 receiver and
Pioneer floor speakers. I used
them until about 1995 when I
sold it all and upgraded.”
Back to Vietnam: Arlington’s
Mike Barnes was among GIs
who bought hi-fi gear at the
exchange. In 1970, Mike’s
NIKKI KAHN/THE WASHINGTON POST
the incident was immediately
available.
— Justin Wm. Moyer
VIRGINIA
Reston woman’s death
ruled a homicide
Police in Fairfax County are
investigating the death of a
Reston woman as a homicide
after her landlord found her
body in the basement apartment
she rented, police said.
Maryam Ali Mohammed al-
Jaberi, 29, was found with
trauma to her upper body about
6:30 p.m. Monday in the 11000
block of Great Owl Circle, police
said. A Virginia medical
examiner ruled her death a
homicide on Tuesday. Police said
that the investigation continues
and that no arrest has been made
in the case.
— Justin Jouvenal
Man arrested after
shooting at mall
A man was arrested
Wednesday in a shooting that
B3
THE DISTRICT
‘Ghost gun’
maker’s ads
are false,
suit alleges
BY T OM J ACKMAN
The attorney general of the
District on Wednesday filed suit
against one of the largest makers
of parts for “ghost guns,” which
when assembled have no serial
number and cannot be traced.
The suit claims that the guns
cannot be legally marketed or
sold to D.C. residents and that
more than 83 percent of the ghost
guns recovered in the city were
made by Polymer80, the Nevada-
based defendant in the suit.
Ghost guns are becoming an
increasing problem for D.C. po-
lice, as they can’t be tracked to an
original manufacturer or sales
point. The number of ghost guns
recovered in the city has risen
from 25 in 2018, to 116 last year, to
106 in the first five months of this
year, according to Attorney Gen-
eral Karl A. Racine (D). Racine
said in a news release that
Polymer80 handguns have been
ISTOCK linked to nine homicides in the
District since 2017.
David Borges, the CEO and
co-founder of Polymer80, did not
respond to a request for comment
on the suit.
Manufacturers such as
Polymer80 sell “gun assembly
communications unit was kits,” which often come with the
stationed in a separate lower 80 percent of the gun, and
compound within the U.S. air which the Bureau of Alcohol, To-
base at Pleiku, Vietnam. bacco, Firearms and Explosives
“It was a big place with its has ruled are not firearms when
own barracks, mess hall, gym, used as part of an AR-15 rifle. The
NCO club, and it was humming other 20 percent, including the
24/7,” Mike wrote. “After the trigger and firing mechanism,
Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ became can also be purchased online and,
available at the PX, you could go with some milling and assembly,
from one end of the compound can then be used to fashion a
to the other, day or night, and working handgun or rifle.
never be out of earshot of some A ghost gun resembling an
GI playing the album. It was AR-15 rifle was used to shoot at
everywhere, and it went on for two reserve police officers in
weeks and weeks. It was like Northeast Washington in Decem-
living in Abbey Road Land. It ber.
was awesome.” Racine launched the suit under
I love that image: Young the city’s Consumer Protection
soldiers borne along to the Procedures Act, saying
strains of “Come Together,” Polymer80 falsely claims on its
“Here Comes the Sun” and website that it can legally sell
“Golden Slumbers.” firearms in the District, that its
firearms don’t need a serial num-
History lesson ber and that possession of its rifle
For a guy who claimed to be all receivers or handgun frames is
about peace, Woodrow Wilson legal.
sure did a lot to shatter black “It is unlawful for a D.C. con-
Americans’ opportunity to have sumer to possess an unlicensed
it. After Wilson became firearm in the District,” the law-
president, he fired African suit states, “including Defen-
American supervisors who held dant’s lower receivers and pistol
government jobs and segregated frames.” The suit alleges that
many federal offices. Polymer80’s sale of such parts to
That bitter legacy is the D.C. residents constitutes “unfair
subject of the latest installment and deceptive trade practices
in the series of online prohibited by” the Consumer Pro-
conversations with historians tection Procedures Act.
presented by the Historical Mark Oliva, a spokesman for
Society of Washington, D.C. the National Shooting Sports
Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Eric S. Foundation, the gun manufactur-
Yellin, author of “Racism in the ers’ trade association, has said
Nation’s Service: Government that those who make illegal guns
Workers and the Color Line in should be prosecuted but that
Woodrow Wilson’s America,” and building one’s own firearms is “a
Samir Meghelli, curator of “A right protected under the Consti-
Right to the City” at the tution.”
Anacostia Community Museum, tom.jackman@washpost.com
will explore how the segregation
of the federal workforce has
influenced life in the District LOTTERIES
and around the nation.
For information, and to Results from June 24
register, visit dchistory.org.
john.kelly@washpost.com DISTRICT
Twitter: @johnkelly Day/DC-3: 7-4-8
DC-4: 9-3-5-1
 For previous columns, visit DC-5: 7-5-0-9-3
washingtonpost.com/john-kelly. Night/DC-3 (Tue.): 5-5-3
DC-3 (Wed.): 3-1-8
DC-4 (Tue.): 9-6-9-7
DC-4 (Wed.): 7-8-8-4
DC-5 (Tue.): 1-3-1-6-4
DC-5 (Wed.): 6-3-7-5-0
seriously wounded a person in a MARYLAND
shopping mall near Richmond, Mid-Day Pick 3: 8-2-7
police said. Mid-Day Pick 4: 5-5-7-5
William Ezell Taylor Jr., 23, of Night/Pick 3 (Tue.): 6-5-4
Petersburg was arrested without Pick 3 (Wed.): 1-2-4
incident hours after the shooting Pick 4 (Tue.): 5-6-2-3
in Chesterfield Towne Center and Pick 4 (Wed.): 3-4-1-8
charged with aggravated Match 5 (Tue.): 3-6-19-25-26 *33
malicious wounding and use of a Match 5 (Wed.): 5-16-19-33-39 *20
firearm in the commission of a 5 Card Cash: KC-2H-6S-JD-4C
felony, police in Chesterfield
County said in a news release. VIRGINIA
Police said they responded to a Day/Pick-3: 3-0-8
report of a shooting Tuesday Pick-4: 7-1-7-7
evening in the mall’s food court, Cash-5: 8-11-16-20-30
the result of a fight between two Night/Pick-3 (Tue.): 1-2-2
people. Police did not Pick-3 (Wed.): 7-1-0
immediately say whether the Pick-4 (Tue.): 5-4-7-8
victim, hospitalized with life- Pick-4 (Wed.): 2-9-5-0
threatening injuries, was Cash-5 (Tue.): 15-17-19-23-28
involved in the fight. Cash-5 (Wed.): 3-11-17-18-20
Taylor is being held without Bank a Million: 5-6-8-16-20-31 *34
bond at the Chesterfield County
Jail. Court records do not list an MULTI-STATE GAMES
attorney who could comment on Mega Millions: 6-20-37-40-48 **15
his behalf. He is scheduled to Megaplier: 3x
appear in court Thursday. Powerball: 15-22-27-33-46 †23
Police are asking anyone who Power Play: 3x
was in or near the food court Cash 4 Life: 25-41-57-59-60 ¶3
during the incident to contact *Bonus Ball **Mega Ball
authorities. ¶ Cash Ball †Powerball
The mall has more than
100 stores and restaurants. For late drawings and other results, check
— Associated Press washingtonpost.com/local/lottery
B4 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

THE DISTRICT

Council member wants $15 million cut to police, mandatory review of chief
BY F ENIT N IRAPPIL
AND P ETER H ERMANN
Facing calls by activists to de-
fund the police, a D.C. lawmaker
on Wednesday proposed strip-
ping the department of $15 mil-
lion and forcing Police Chief Peter
Newsham to undergo a council
review next year to keep his job.
The Committee on the Judicia-
ry and Public Safety is scheduled
to vote Thursday on the proposal
from its chairman, Council mem-
ber Charles Allen (D-Ward 6). A
council vote on the full budget is
scheduled in July.
In a report detailing the pro-
posed cuts, Allen’s committee cit-
ed the weeks-long demonstra-
tions against police brutality in
the aftermath of the killing of
George Floyd in Minneapolis po-
lice custody.
Tensions between Newsham
and the council have been rising
since the protests started, with
Newsham accusing lawmakers of
“abandoning” officers when they
passed sweeping emergency leg-
islation to toughen police hiring
and discipline.
On Wednesday, Allen proposed
cuts that include $6 million in
vacant positions, Mayor Muriel E.
Bowser’s proposed $2 million ex-
pansion of the police cadet pro-
gram and about $900,000 for
travel, ballistics shields and pub-
lic relations. He would also re-
verse cuts Bowser (D) proposed
to violence-reduction programs
that advocates see as an alterna-
tive to traditional policing.
Allen’s cuts to Bowser’s pro-
posed $533 million police budget
do not amount to the wholesale
overhaul of the department
sought by some activists. Ahead
of the report being made public,
Council member Mary M. Cheh
(D-Ward 3), who is on the public
safety committee, said the coun-
cil was unlikely to approve any-
thing close to “defund the police.”
She said the council would
most likely put in place a budget
that lets the police force shrink by
attrition, not layoffs.
“This is not going to be by any
stretch a radical document, and it
shouldn’t be,” Cheh said. “I don’t
think we should act rashly. The
fact that you get hundreds of
emails should not dictate what
you do. What should dictate what
you do should be your consider-
ation of what the data are, what
the likely effects would be.”
Allen wants to retroactively
impose a four-year term on the
office of chief of police, meaning
the mayor would have to decide
whether to reappoint Newsham
next year and lawmakers would
have the final say in whether he
can keep his job. The council
approved Newsham for the post
serving at the pleasure of the
mayor in a 12-to-1 vote in 2017.
As protests have roiled the city
in recent weeks, Bowser has re-
sisted calls to defund police, not-
ing that social service agencies in
her government have seen great-
er increases to their budgets un-
der her tenure than the police
department has.
In a statement responding to
the budget proposal, Deputy
Mayor for Public Safety and Jus-
tice Kevin Donahue said some
provisions “do not make D.C.
safer or stronger.”
“We will continue our dialogue
with the members of the commit-
tee and the community to ensure
they understand the full impact
of these actions,” Donahue said.
Newsham declined an inter-
view request but said through his
spokesman: “There is concern
that the Council is basing their
budget decisions on a small per-
centage of the community that
has been very vocal with anti-po-
lice rhetoric and that this could
negatively impact the safety of
our communities.”
The chief has warned that a
smaller and less-funded force
could hamper efforts to reduce
crime and endanger training that
he says ultimately reduces police
misconduct.
“No one can say the Metropoli-
tan Police Department is resis-
tant to reform,” he said in an
interview last week. “We have
been in reform mode for the past
18 years.”
In proposing that Newsham’s
term expire next May, Allen’s
committee noted Newsham’s re-
cent criticism and said the coun-
cil would “vet nominees with the
goals of ensuring healthy leader-
ship and encouraging respectful
collaboration and openness to
reform.”
The report said “tough on
crime” rhetoric “is counterpro-
ductive and is, in actuality, active-
ly doing harm to communities of
color.”
Newsham has frequently
blamed the rise in homicides on
repeat violent offenders who he
says too often sail through the
justice system without serious
repercussions.
Council member David Grosso
(I-At Large), who was the sole
vote against Newsham’s contract
in 2017, on Wednesday began
circulating a letter calling for the
chief ’s resignation.
Even before the proposed cuts
were made public, the D.C. police
union began pushing back on
them, saying the department has
had to cancel leave to deal with
protests in recent weeks and that
further cuts would be dangerous.
“Currently, every single one of
our police officers is working in
response to these disturbances,
and it is still not enough to keep
agitators from destroying proper-
ty and injuring people,” the union
said in a statement, adding that
officers have been diverted from
neighborhood duty.
“The irony must be lost on
people who seek to overtake the
city and create lawlessness in a
misguided effort to claim the
police are not necessary.”
In an interview Tuesday, Allen
said police leadership should not
take the calls for change person-
ally. “It’s not about anyone’s feel-
ings getting hurt or anyone feel-
ing offended; it’s frankly about a
moment that demands leader-
ship,” he said.
The cuts must be approved
Thursday by at least two of Allen’s
three colleagues on the public
safety panel — who tend to be
relatively moderate on criminal
justice issues. Committee chairs
usually don’t propose budget
changes unlikely to advance from
their panels.
Council Chairman Phil Men-
delson (D) can make his own
changes ahead of votes on the full
budget next month.
Cheh agreed with Newsham
that D.C. police have made many
improvements compared to 20
years ago, when officers killed
more people per capita than any
other force in the country and the
department entered into a feder-
al consent decree.
“We don’t have rogue activities
and misbehavior,” Cheh said. But
she said Newsham “overreacted”
when he accused the council of
abandoning the department.
“That was really unfortunate,”
Cheh said. “But I guess he was
trying to speak directly to the
officers and worried about their
morale.”
The chief said he had not
talked to Allen since a June 9
budget hearing and wished for a
more collaborative approach.
“I think what they did they did
without input,” Newsham said of
the police overhaul bill and the
budget proposal. “I think they
ignored some of the input we
gave them, and I’m certain they
didn’t take into consideration the
concerns of the public when they
did what they did.”
Allen said he didn’t disagree
that the police had been making
changes.
“You can both acknowledge
that MPD has made reforms and
improvements over the last 20
years and also acknowledge we
are not yet done with this jour-
ney,” he said.
fenit.nirappil@washpost.com
peter.hermann@washpost.com
Julie Zauzmer contributed to this
report.

Fencing installed near Lafayette Square, around church

PROTESTS FROM B1

shuttered restaurant Mirabelle.

Police, meanwhile, have erected
concrete barricades on either end
of 16th Street between H and I
Streets NW. A handful were pa-
trolling the area, while many more
officers were waiting in the wings
at McPherson Square and on adja-
cent corners.
On Tuesday, police had re-
moved tents after demonstrators
spent the night in an area they
called the Black House Autono-
mous Zone, modeled on the Capi-
tol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seat-
tle where police allowed demon-
strators to camp unimpeded until
violence broke out.
That night, the National Park
Service re-erected fences that had
been taken down along H Street
NW bordering Lafayette Square.
Around 10:30 p.m., other work-
ers put up fencing fortified with
concrete blocks on Black Lives
Matter Plaza outside St. John’s
Episcopal Church at the behest of
the D.C. government.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety
Kevin Donahue said the govern-
ment decided to erect the fence to
protect the church and other near-
by buildings, some of which were
damaged in the early days of the
unrest.
“The District of Columbia Gov-
ernment coordinated the fence on
the public space around St John’s
Episcopal Church to protect the
buildings from any further dam-
age,” Donahue said in a statement.
“We will continue to be in commu-
nication with the immediate
neighbors of the site to minimize
any inconvenience.”
Just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, a
group of young men carried a lad-
MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
der to the traffic light and covered
the Black Lives Matter Plaza sign D.C. police gather as they block off Black Lives Matter Plaza on Wednesday. After activity Monday and Tuesday nights near the White House, the plaza was subdued on
with black spray paint. They hung Wednesday, as police patrolled the area while a small number of protesters sat on a jersey barrier holding signs that said “Black lives matter” and “Stop police brutality.”
an American flag on the pole and
set it on fire as the crowd cheered. His attorney declined to com- The D.C. Council passed a law tants only when demonstrations cluding 289 people arrested the Several demonstrators have
Other protesters set off fireworks. ment on Wednesday. earlier this month to prohibit po- become violent or destructive. night of June 1 or the morning of told reporters they were assaulted
Police said one 37-year-old man Police said two people were ar- lice from using chemical irritants This week, they used them when June 2. or injured in police actions Mon-
who was arrested Monday after- rested Tuesday after trying to scale to break up constitutionally pro- demonstrators tried to topple the Many were charged with violat- day or Tuesday, but D.C. police said
noon and charged with discharg- a fence with a chair and a ladder. tected demonstrations, but Bows- Jackson statue. ing the curfew that Bowser im- they were not immediately aware
ing a fire extinguisher at a police Another man who was arrested, er — who expressed concern that In all, D.C. and U.S. Park Police posed in the early days of demon- of any such incidents on those
officer was released after a court police said, taunted a line of police the sweeping emergency legisla- have made at least a dozen arrests strations; some of those charges days. Park Police did not respond
hearing and then apparently re- officers on H Street NW and then tion was considered too quickly — since Monday. Park Police did not have since been dropped. to requests for comment.
turned to the demonstrations and threatened to hit them with a chair. has not yet signed the bill. respond to an inquiry about Nearly half of those arrested are julie.zauzmer@washpost.com
was arrested again Tuesday. Two officers were injured Tues- After police used irritants this whether they made any arrests from the District, and another 42 peter.hermann@washpost.com
On his second arrest, police day night and four were injured week, Council member Brianne K. Wednesday. percent are from Maryland and
charged the man with arson, pos- Monday night, one seriously Nadeau (D-Ward 1) pressed Bows- D.C. police have arrested 443 Virginia. Police said 23 arrestees Marissa J. Lang, Justin Wm. Moyer and
session of a molotov cocktail and enough to be taken to the hospital, er to sign the law. people on various charges since have reported injuries to law en- Rebecca Tan contributed to this
destruction of property. police said. Police officials say they use irri- demonstrations began May 30, in- forcement since the protests began. report.

Removal of Lafayette Square protesters now a flash point in statehood debate

STATEHOOD FROM B1
legislation this session. Even if
Democrats took control of the
Senate, they would need 60 votes
for the bill to overcome a likely
filibuster.
During the debate Wednesday
before the House Rules Commit-
tee, Norton, the chief statehood
advocate in Congress since she
took office in 1991, said the bill
was deeply personal for her.
“My great-grandfather Rich-
ard Holmes, who escaped as a
slave from a Virginia plantation,
made it as far as D.C., a walk to
freedom but not to equal citizen-
ship,” she said. “For three genera-
tions my family has been denied
the rights other Americans take
for granted.”
Republicans, on the other
hand, said that the creation of the
new state would require a consti-
tutional amendment and that the
state would have undue influence
over the federal government.
They also accused D.C. of being
unprepared to handle the re-
sponsibilities of a state.
“The District is not prepared to
shoulder the burden of state-
hood,” said Rep. Jody Hice
(R-Ga.). “This would apply eco-
nomically, fiscally as well as a
host of other ways.”
He pointed to the recent dem-
onstrations against police brutal-
ity in the District — and the
federal response — to justify his
position.
Hice said protesters initially
were “rioting and looting from
Georgetown to Foggy Bottom
down H street.” He credited At-
torney General William P. Barr
with “quelling the unrest” by
deploying federal riot teams June
1 to clear the area around Lafay-
ette Square.
“This is just one example of
federal intervention compared to
[the D.C. police], where they
could not quell the violence tak-
ing place in the District, proving
once again how fundamental the
federal government is in Wash-
ington, D.C., in maintaining or-
der and civility,” Hice said.
Democrats were aghast at the
comment and pointed out that
Barr’s actions against peaceful
protesters allowed Trump to
walk unimpeded to St. John’s
Episcopal Church, where he held
a Bible aloft and had his picture
taken.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
said: “That was a peaceful pro-
test. What the president did was
trample on the constitutional
rights of those protesters for a
photo op.”
In fact, statehood advocates
say the incident illustrated the
need for the District to control its
own affairs, which are subject to
the scrutiny of Congress, and for
the mayor to lead the D.C. Na-
tional Guard.
Because the District is not a
state, bills passed by the D.C.
Council and signed by the mayor
must pass congressional muster
before becoming law, a step that
has blocked the city from using
local tax dollars to subsidize
abortion for low-income women
and from spending money to
regulate the sale of marijuana.
The statehood bill, H.R. 51,
introduced by Norton, would
shrink the seat of the federal
government to a two-square-mile
enclave, including the White
House, Capitol Hill, the Supreme
Court and other federal build-
ings. The rest of the District
would become known as the
State of Washington, Douglass
Commonwealth.
Republicans will offer several
amendments to the bill, includ-
ing one that would require the
District to pay the costs of becom-
ing a state.
They note the federal govern-
ment pays more than $1 billion
annually to fund Medicaid and
much of the city’s criminal justice
system — including the courts,
prison services and supervision
of offenders released into the
community. It is unclear who
would pay those costs if the
statehood bill was enacted.
The Congressional Budget Of-
fice has said it would cost about
$3 million over 10 years to pay for
two additional senators’ salaries
and offices. Norton — or her
successor — would become a full
voting member of Congress, and
the cost of that office would not
change.
The last time the House held a
vote on statehood, in 1993, it
failed 277 to 153, with support
from 60 percent of Democrats
and one Republican.
jenna.portnoy@washpost.com
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
VIRGINIA
Some seek removal of JMU’s Confederate names
President proposes effort
after lobbying by
students, faculty
BY L AUREN L UMPKIN
Leaders at James Madison Uni-
versity are urging the school’s gov-
erning body to rename three cam-
pus buildings that honor Confed-
erate leaders, officials announced
this week, the latest attempt by a
university to reckon publicly with
the country’s legacy of slavery and
racism.
University President Jonathan
R. Alger has proposed stripping
the names of Matthew Fontaine
Maury, a Confederate naval com-
mander, and Gens. Stonewall
Jackson and Turner Ashby, after
pressure from students and facul-
ty who have lobbied for the name
changes.
The school’s board of visitors,
which oversees the university’s
operations, will have the final say
on whether to keep the names or
remove them. But Alger said he
has had conversations with every
board member and is confident
the body will support his recom-
mendation.
“We recognize that these build-
ing names are a painful reminder
of a history of oppression, and
that they send an unwelcoming
message to black students, faculty
and staff in particular,” Alger said
in a statement. “That is not who
we are or who we want to be.”
Officials will recommend that
the board of visitors remove the
names immediately and give the
buildings temporary names, said
Caitlyn Read, a spokeswoman for
the campus.
Ashby Hall is a residence hall,
Maury Hall is a classroom and
office space, and Jackson Hall is
slated to house the school’s justice
studies program when it reopens
in 2021, she said.
Leaders will then develop a
process through which the cam-
pus community can determine
new names, according to Alger’s
statement.
Ryan Ritter, 19, a student sena-
tor who helped write a bill of
opinion — which is meant to rep-
resent the opinion of the student
body — said he was “overjoyed” by
Alger’s decision to adopt students’
MARYLAND
State school arrest rate higher for black students
As activists press to
remove police officers,
districts plan changes
BY D ONNA S T. G EORGE
As school systems in Maryland
debate whether police officers
should be based inside public
schools, newly released state data
shows that arrest rates are higher
for black students and students
with disabilities than for their
peers.
State education officials this
week denounced the disparities
but did not offer new proposals to
address them. School systems
with significant gaps have created
action plans and will work with
the state to reduce them, State
Schools Superintendent Karen B.
Salmon said.
Still, “it’s horrendous,” Salmon
said as the Maryland State Board
of Education discussed the matter
Tuesday afternoon. She said she
had earlier raised the issue with
school superintendents across
the state.
“We can’t keep this up,” she
said. “It is a huge, huge concern.
And it’s not gotten any better,
except in a very small number of
systems.”
Board member Clarence C.
Crawford said it was important
that disparities not become nor-
malized.
“The thing that troubles me is
that none of this stuff is new, and
we keep coming back every year
with the same thing,” he said.
“And personally, I just find that
absolutely unacceptable. . . . This
has to be addressed and stopped.”
Advocates who have pushed to
remove police from public schools
cite racial disproportionality as a
major concern. When police are
stationed in schools, they say,
more student infractions tend to
be criminalized — and students of
color are too often arrested.
But Salmon and at least two
state board members expressed
support for school-based police.
“Our school resource officers
are often the first people that are
on the scene to help our students
that are in trauma,” said Salmon,
noting that the state had trained
Maury Hall, a classroom and office space at James Madison University, is named for a Confederate
naval commander. Three buildings at the school could see their names stripped.
demands. The resolution gained
support from more than
900 alumni, 25 student organiza-
tions and “nearly every academic
unit,” Ritter said.
“This is an issue that’s been
around for decades now,” said Rit-
ter, referencing a similar student-
led proposal to rename Ashby,
Jackson and Maury halls in 1992.
Current students, encouraged
by movements nationwide to
bring down Confederate monu-
ments, decided to raise the issue
again about two weeks ago.
The move to rename the build-
ings follows similar efforts made
at other institutions. At the Uni-
versity of Mississippi, officials re-
lented to students’ demands and
agreed to relocate a Confederate
monument. The University of Ala-
bama recently shared plans to
remove plaques honoring stu-
dents who served in the Confeder-
ate army.
Monuments built to celebrate
Confederate leaders are falling in
cities throughout the country.
Protesters in the District toppled
the city’s only outdoor Confeder-
ate statue Friday night, and North
Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) re-
cently ordered the removal of
Confederate statues at state capi-
tol grounds in Raleigh.
James Madison’s board of visi-
Officer Tiffany Wiggins checks a classroom at Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle School in
Baltimore. Many school systems are taking a close look at the use of police on their campuses.
1,000 school resource officers last
summer on a variety of topics.
Board member Gail H. Bates
said the state should do more to
promote school resource officers
to the public, calling them a vital
resource. “They provide help to
keeping people from getting into
other problems,” she said.
Questions about police pres-
ence on campus have flared in
Montgomery and Prince George’s
counties, the state’s two largest
school systems. Prince George’s
postponed discussion of the issue
until September. Montgomery’s
school board voted unanimously
to study it and decide in January
whether to modify or scrap its
resource officer program.
White students represent a
slightly larger share of the student
population than black students in
Maryland. But nearly 1,800
school-related arrests involved
black students, compared with
900 that involved white students.
In all, Maryland had 3,141
school-related arrests in 2018-
2019, the year examined in the
report. The data shows most ar-
rests took place on school
grounds or inside school build-
ings, but some were related to
tors is scheduled to meet in Sep-
tember, but officials want the
board to meet sooner and remove
the Confederate leaders’ names
before the school year starts, Read
said. A date for a special virtual
meeting has not yet been set.
Although university officials
are ready to remove the names of
Confederate leaders, there are no
plans to rename the school, Alger
said in a statement. James Madi-
son, the country’s fourth presi-
dent, owned enslaved Africans.
“Madison and his colleagues
knew that their new nation was
imperfect, and they developed a
system built on the assumption
that every ensuing generation
would need to continue the hard
work of building a more just soci-
ety that reflects the ideal embod-
ied in the preamble to the Consti-
tution,” Alger said. “That is the
high calling that challenges and
inspires us now.”
For now, Ritter said, he’s fo-
cused on pushing university lead-
ers to change the names of other
campus structures, including
buildings named after former
slave owners and segregationists.
The sophomore said he is unsure
if there is enough support among
the campus community to re-
name the school, but he would be
in favor of such a measure if it
2015 PHOTO BY MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
school activities or conduct on
school buses. More than 80 per-
cent of the arrests were made by
“school resource officers.”
For the year of the report,
Maryland’s student body of nearly
900,000 was 37 percent white,
34 percent black, 18 percent His-
panic, 7 percent Asian and 5 per-
cent multiracial. The makeup of
school-related arrests was very
different: 56 percent black,
28 percent white, 8 percent His-
panic, 6 percent multiracial and
less than 1 percent Asian.
The data reflects a trend that
goes back at least several years,
when Maryland began compiling
numbers, and is another sign of
racial disparities in police con-
tact, as the nation has been roiled
by protests focused on racism and
police violence after the killing of
George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The demonstrations have
sparked debate about practices in
schools, refocusing attention on
school-related arrests and school-
assigned police.
In Maryland, the report
showed, most arrests affected
teenagers, but younger children
were arrested, too: About 70 ar-
rests involved those in elementa-
EZ RE
JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY CREATIVE MEDIA
came up in the future.
“Changing the name of the uni-
versity, that’s a little bit more of a
difficult conversation,” said Rit-
ter, who is studying history and
international affairs. “We’re not
stopping here, but this was a tre-
mendous achievement.”
Virginia’s history is inextrica-
bly linked to slavery. In 1860,
enslaved Africans made up one-
third of the state’s population,
according to the Virginia Muse-
um of History & Culture. The
public universities in the state are
connected to that past, too, and
some have tried to make amends.
George Mason University in Fair-
fax is planning a memorial to
honor the more than 100 people
enslaved by the school’s name-
sake. Officials at James Madison
last year honored Paul Jennings,
an enslaved African American
who spent more than half his life
serving Madison and his wife, by
naming a new student residence
hall after him.
But changing the names will
not fix the underlying issues, Alg-
er said.
“We have a responsibility to
change and evolve, and while that
process can be messy and painful
at times, it is at the heart of what it
means to be a university,” he said.
lauren.lumpkin@washpost.com
ry school, and more than 1,000
arrests involved Maryland middle
schools. In some cases, students
were physically taken into custo-
dy, but more often “paper arrests”
were done, with referrals to the
juvenile justice system.
Arrest numbers had dropped in
school systems in Montgomery
and Prince George’s. Montgomery
had 163 arrests, down from 304 in
2015-2016, and Prince George’s
had 311, down from 588.
A spokeswoman said Prince
George’s schools would “continue
to take a critical look at practices
that needlessly steer students to-
ward the criminal justice system”
and emphasize student interven-
tions, mental health support and
restorative approaches.
A Montgomery schools spokes-
man said the system was “com-
mitted to ensuring safe schools
and preventing the criminaliza-
tion of students” by working with
police and providing cultural pro-
ficiency training to staff.
With a focus on learning, the
state board approved the forma-
tion of a task force on achieving
academic equity and excellence
for black male students.
donna.stgeorge@washpost.com
THE REGION
Coronavirus cases
beginning to plateau
BY R EBECCA T AN
The District, Maryland and Vir-
ginia reported 36 new coronavi-
rus-related deaths on Wednesday,
along with 884 new infections.
The seven-day averages for
both figures have been declining
since early June but started to
plateau this past week.
The District added four deaths
and 34 new cases. Maryland add-
ed 16 deaths — including six in
Baltimore City — and 330 new
infections, nearly half of which
were in Prince George’s and
Montgomery counties.
The number of patients hospi-
talized in Maryland with covid-19
continued to decline on Wednes-
day, dropping to 544. More than
3,100 people have died of covid-19
in the state.
Virginia reported 16 deaths
and 520 cases, contributing to a
slight uptick in the seven-day av-
erages of those figures. The num-
ber of patients hospitalized also
saw a slight uptick, going from
847 on Tuesday to 886 on Wednes-
day.
Virginia, Maryland and the
District have gradually eased
their broad shutdown and social
distancing restrictions in recent
Concerns remain about
Fairfax schools’ fall plan
FAIRFAX FROM B1
face teaching.
Regardless, one day each week
will be set aside to allow teachers
to plan and give extra support to
students who need it, according
to the email. The school system is
also exploring ways it can give
“increased in-person or synchro-
nous instruction” to special edu-
cation students and English lan-
guage learners, Brabrand wrote.
He promised to release more
information about Fairfax’s re-
opening plans in coming weeks,
as administrators continue to fi-
nesse the details. He also prom-
ised that teachers will be sur-
veyed for their preferences on
how best to return to school.
Staffers and families said the
superintendent’s plans raise
more questions than answers.
Parents said they feel unclear
about what forms of education,
exactly, are being offered — will
the virtual schooling be an in-
home replica of the school day, or
will it just be a half-hour of video
class each day? And some are
concerned that the proposed set-
up could force already stressed
and struggling parents to balance
child care with work responsibili-
ties for more than a year to come,
which could prove an impossible
task.
“There are people in this coun-
ty who do not have the resources
or the flexibility to do this for
another nine months,” said Robb
Watters, father to a Fairfax Coun-
ty third-grader.
Some educators, meanwhile,
said the return to in-person
schooling may be premature.
“We must not rush,” Kimberly
Adams, president of the 4,000-
strong Fairfax Education Associa-
tion, wrote in a statement. “FCPS
should not return to in-person
learning until a vaccine or ap-
proved treatment is widely avail-
able.”
Becca Ferrick, president of the
Association of Fairfax Profession-
al Educators, which represents
1,800 educators, said she is pre-
paring questions for administra-
tors ahead of a meeting later this
week. Among them are queries
about which teachers will be al-
lowed to work virtually, whether
teachers will be required to sub-
mit medical information to re-
quest a virtual teaching position,
and whether educators offering
virtual and face-to-face instruc-
tion will be asked to follow the
same curriculum at the same
pace.
In an interview, Ferrick praised
the plan for giving families and
employees more choice. But it’s
still nowhere near sufficient, she
said.
To be fair, “a solution . . . simply
doesn’t exist,” Ferrick said. “They
are trying to make definite plans
“They are trying to make definite plans in a
situation that is completely unpredictable and ever-
changing — like trying to chart a straight course
through a hurricane.”
Becca Ferrick,
president of the Association of Fairfax Professional Educators
B5
Known cases in region
There have been 134,979 reported
coronavirus cases in the District,
Maryland and Virginia, including
884 new ones, through 5 p.m.
Wednesday.
D.C. MD. VA.
10,128 65,337 59,514
+34 +330 +520
Coronavirus-related deaths
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday:
D.C. MD.* VA.
541 3,108 1,661
+4 +16 +16
* Includes probable covid-19 deaths
weeks, cautiously allowing more
businesses and houses of worship
to reopen even as authorities urge
residents to wear masks and take
other precautions.
Officials say they are bracing
for a potential rise in new infec-
tions but are hoping to avoid the
spikes that are happening in
states that have reopened more
quickly and with fewer social dis-
tancing requirements still in
place.
rebecca.tan@washpost.com
in a situation that is completely
unpredictable and ever-changing
— like trying to chart a straight
course through a hurricane.”
Fairfax is one of the first dis-
tricts in Virginia to release specif-
ic, detailed plans for the fall.
Nearby Loudoun County Public
Schools last week announced a
tentative plan that would permit
its 84,000 students to learn in
person two days a week, while
spending three days learning vir-
tually at home.
The Fairfax announcement
also comes after a troubled roll-
out of online learning last semes-
ter, in which the school system
suffered privacy breaches, online
harassment and multiple techni-
cal failures. The fiasco ultimately
led to the resignation of the
school system’s longtime infor-
mation technology chief.
In the waning weeks of the
semester, Fairfax appeared to
find a solution — which partly
involved switching some func-
tions of online learning to the
Google Classroom platform —
that worked well for many teach-
ers and students. But some frus-
trated parents had already cho-
sen to pull their students from the
system, and the previous difficul-
ties may complicate some fami-
lies’ enrollment decision for next
year.
Brabrand wrote that, if the
state of Virginia moves beyond
Phase 3 of Gov. Ralph Northam’s
(D) reopening process, the school
may be able to bring everyone
back into the buildings on a
“full-time, pre-COVID basis.” The
state is in Phase 2 but could move
into Phase 3 this month, which
would reopen child-care services
and allow for gatherings of up to
250 people.
“But until that time, we believe
the back to school model de-
scribed in this letter — while not a
perfect solution — best addresses
the concerns and desires we have
heard,” Brabrand wrote, “about
reopening schools in a safe and
responsible manner.”
Families in Fairfax must sub-
mit their preferences to the
school system by July 10,
Brabrand wrote, so administra-
tors can begin to properly plan
for the first day of class on
Aug. 25.
Watters, parent to the third-
grader, plans to wait another
week or so before making his
decision. He wants to see whether
the school system will offer more
specific information or proof that
it has solved its technical trou-
bles.
“But if we go into this year and
it resembles anything like what
happened last semester,” Watters
said, “I would seriously consider
moving my daughter to private
school.”
hannah.natanson@washpost.com
B6
KIRK R. SMITH, 73
Scientist warned of health hazards posed by cooking over open fires
BY M ATT S CHUDEL
Kirk R. Smith, an environmen-
tal scientist who traced air pollu-
tion to the hearth, finding that one
of the greatest international
health dangers comes from cook-
ing over open fires in developing
countries, died June 15 at his
home in Berkeley, Calif. He was 73.
The cause was a stroke, accord-
ing to a statement from the Uni-
versity of California at Berkeley’s
School of Public Health, where Dr.
Smith was a professor.
In the 1980s, when many peo-
ple assumed that the worst forms
of air pollution derived from auto-
mobiles and factory smokestacks,
Dr. Smith began looking at the
problem from the ground up.
From his travels throughout Asia
and Central America, he noticed
that air pollution starts at home —
specifically, in the kitchen.
He abandoned his earlier study
of the risk of accidents from nucle-
ar power plants to study a more
widespread environmental haz-
ard: smoke from solid fuels —
typically wood, charcoal, coal or
dung. It is a cooking method still
practiced in 40 percent of the
world’s households.
From Nepal, China and India to
Guatemala, Mexico and Paraguay,
Dr. Smith launched dozens of sci-
entific studies showing that
smoke from kitchen fires consti-
tutes the world’s greatest environ-
mental risk, second only to con-
taminated water. Practically on
his own, he made household air
pollution a new field of environ-
mental study.
“He is literally the most impor-
tant person in the world in what
we call household air pollution,”
John Balmes, a colleague at UC
CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN, 55
Internationally regarded Spanish author wrote ‘The Shadow of the Wind’
BY A RITZ P ARRA
AND A NDREW D ALTON
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, whose wild-
ly popular 2001 novel “The Shad-
ow of the Wind” led to three
sequels and made him one of the
world’s most beloved Spanish au-
thors, died June 19 in Los Angeles.
He was 55.
His Spanish publisher, Planeta,
announced the death in a state-
ment. Mr. Ruiz Zafón was known
to have colon cancer.
“The Shadow of the Wind,” a
literary thriller, was the first in his
“Cemetery of Forgotten Books”
series. The novel, set in Barcelona
and mingling reality, fantasy and
romance, recounts the quest of a
bookshop owner’s son to find the
works of a mysterious author and
learn who has been destroying
them.
STEVE DYKES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Portland Trail Blazers founder
Harry Glickman was general
manager during the team’s lone
NBA championship in 1977.
Obituaries of residents from the
District, Maryland and Northern
Virginia.
Elizabeth Kenealy,
church organist
Elizabeth Kenealy, 88, a church
organist in Alexandria, Va., who
from 1972 to 1982 taught private
piano lessons at her home in
Springfield, Va., died April 17 at
home. The cause was congestive
heart failure, said a son, Kevin
Kenealy.
Mrs. Kenealy was born Eliza-
beth Walker in Portland, Ore., and
moved to the Washington area in
1972. She was an organist at St.
Lawrence Catholic Church in Al-
exandria, among other churches.
She also had been a salad maker at
C.J. Nichols Restaurant in Spring-
Kirk R. Smith, seen during a 2017 field visit to Kallakurichi, India, conducted worldwide studies
focused on air pollution caused by cooking with solid fuels in developing countries.
Berkeley’s School of Public
Health, said in an interview. “He
saved more lives than anyone I
know. What he taught me is that
the developed world spends bil-
lions on cleaning the air from auto
emissions and power plants,
when more lives are lost in low-
and middle-income countries
from cooking with solid fuels.”
In his first studies, Dr. Smith
took industrial hygiene equip-
ment — used to measure pollut-
ants in workplaces — into houses
around the world. The results
were shocking.
“Every book, every volume you
see here, has a soul,” Mr. Ruiz
Zafón wrote. “The soul of the
person who wrote it and of those
who read it and lived and
dreamed with it. Every time a
book changes hands, every time
someone runs his eyes down its
pages, its spirit grows and
strengthens.”
The sprawling, detailed story-
telling and world-building led
some to compare Mr. Ruiz Zafón
to Dickens and Tolstoy. The book’s
worldwide popularity as a work of
Spanish literature brought him
comparisons to Cervantes.
When it was translated into
English in 2004, the book was
praised and promoted by Stephen
King, and Mr. Ruiz Zafón became
an international literary super-
star.
He would spend the next 16
HARRY GLICKMAN, 96
Trail Blazers founder brought the NBA to Portland
A SSOCIATED P RESS
Harry Glickman, the founder of
the Portland Trail Blazers and
general manager of the franchise’s
only NBA title-winning team in
1977, died June 10. He was 96.
The team announced Mr. Glick-
man’s death but did not give a
cause. In their tweet, the Trail
Blazers described him as “the fa-
ther of professional sports in Ore-
gon, a true Trail Blazer.”
Portland was granted an ex-
pansion franchise in the National
field, an executive assistant at the
Defense Logistics Agency and an
information desk volunteer at In-
ova Fairfax Hospital.
Thomas Murphy Jr.,
Episcopal priest
The Rev. Thomas Murphy Jr.,
71, an Episcopal priest who had
been a volunteer chaplain at
Washington National Cathedral
and assistant to the rector at
Christ Church in Georgetown,
died May 9 at a hospice center in
Washington. The cause was com-
plications from Parkinson’s dis-
ease, said a daughter, Elizabeth
Rieser-Murphy.
Rev. Murphy, a D.C. resident,
was born in Stamford, Conn., and
first moved to the Washington
area in 1976. He was an assistant
EZ RE
obituaries
“I’d go to an air-pollution con-
ference and show them my mea-
surements,” he told the New York-
er magazine in 2009, “and they’d
say, ‘Good Lord, these are orders of
magnitude higher than in our cit-
ies! And these are the most vulner-
able populations in the world.’ ”
In India, where millions of peo-
ple still cook their food using
dried manure as a fuel, household
smoke is the largest source of air
pollution.
“We’ve realized that pollution
may start in the kitchen, but it
doesn’t stay there,” Dr. Smith said
Carlos Ruiz Zafón, seen in 2016, was known for his detailed world-
building in his “Cemetery of Forgotten Books” series,
Basketball Association in 1970.
Mr. Glickman was part of the
original ownership team, along
with Herman Sarkowsky, Larry
Weinberg and Robert Schmertz,
that paid the league’s $3.7 million
expansion fee, according to the
team’s website. Mr. Glickman was
one of the shareholders who sold
the club to Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen in 1988.
Mr. Glickman held a number of
positions with the team, includ-
ing general manager, before he
retired in 1994. He then became
O F NO TE
at Christ Church from 2007 to
2014. Before that, he worked for
Bread for the World and for not-
for-profit organizations involved
in soup kitchens, shelters for the
homeless and social justice.
Brian Rubendall,
State Department employee
Brian Rubendall, 54, who re-
tired in 2014 as a special agent-in-
charge in the Office of the Inspec-
tor General at the State Depart-
ment, died April 20 at a hospital in
Fairfax County. The cause was
pancreatic cancer, said his wife,
Nancy Schechtman.
Mr. Rubendall, a resident of
Oakton, Va., was born in Freeport,
Ill. He worked in Chicago as a
criminal investigator for the De-
partment of Housing and Urban
AJAY PILLARISETTI
in 2019. “It goes outside, it goes
next door, it goes down the street
and it becomes part of the general
outdoor air pollution.”
In San Lorenzo, Guatemala,
where Dr. Smith traveled once a
month for several years while con-
ducting long-term studies, he in-
troduced stoves with chimneys
and then observed the different
results, compared with open-
hearth cooking.
“The houses were low-ceilinged
and bare, with earthen floors, cor-
rugated roofs, and a tree stump or
two for furniture,” New Yorker
MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST
president emeritus.
Under Mr. Glickman, the Trail
Blazers reached the NBA Finals
three times, winning their lone
title in 1977 with center Bill Wal-
ton. Portland also won the West-
ern Conference championship in
1990 and 1992.
“Harry Glickman laid the foun-
dation and established the bench-
mark for small-market success in
the NBA,” said Neil Olshey, the
president of basketball opera-
tions for the Blazers. “He was the
driving force that set the stage for
Development and then came to
the Washington area in 1992 and
started a 22-year career with the
Inspector General’s Office. In
2007, he filed a whistleblower’s
complaint against then-State De-
partment Inspector General How-
ard Krongard, who resigned later
that year after allegations of ham-
pering a federal probe into the
security contractor Blackwater.
Catherine Furlong,
statistician
Catherine Furlong, 94, who re-
tired from the President’s Council
of Economic Advisers as senior
statistician in 2005 after 54 years
with the agency, died April 6 at a
memory-care center in Alexan-
dria, Va. The cause was dementia,
said a daughter, Susan Phillips.
THE WASHINGTON POST
journalist Burkhard Bilger wrote
in 2009. “But in most of the houses
with stoves at least the air was
clear. In those with open fires it
hung so thick and noxious that the
walls were blackened, the joists
and beams shaggy with creosote.”
The World Health Organiza-
tion estimates that 4 million peo-
ple die each year from pneumonia
and other diseases caused by
household air pollution. Women
and young children, often carried
on their mother’s backs, are at
greatest risk from the toxic emis-
sions.
“Indoor fires are like being
around a thousand burning ciga-
rettes per hour,” Dr. Smith said.
In addition to providing more
efficient stoves to people in re-
mote areas, Dr. Smith helped set
up medical clinics and worked
with local governments to provide
clean fuel and other services. In
recent years, he gave up part of his
teaching salary to spend the fall
semester in India, where he
worked with government officials
to introduce liquid propane gas as
a substitute for dried dung as a
cooking fuel.
“This is a kind of a forgotten
population,” Dr. Smith said. “The
poor women in rural areas of de-
veloping countries are about as
low on the totem pole, globally, as
you can get. They don’t have any-
body speaking for them.”
Dr. Smith was born Kirk Robert
Nisbet on Jan. 19, 1947, in Berke-
ley. His parents divorced when he
was a child, and he took the last
name of his mother’s second hus-
band, an engineer. His mother
once worked as a researcher for
psychologist Timothy Leary be-
fore Leary began his experiments
with LSD.
years writing three sequels featur-
ing the same literature-obsessed
protagonist, Daniel Sempere:
“The Angel’s Game” (2008), “The
Prisoner of Heaven” (2011) and
“The Labyrinth of Spirits” (2016).
Mr. Ruiz Zafón’s works have
been translated into more than 50
languages, according to Planeta,
and have won numerous prizes.
Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born
Sept. 25, 1964, in Barcelona. His
father sold insurance.
Mr. Ruiz Zafón worked as a
publicist before becoming a full-
time writer. He first gained notice
in 1993 with a horror-mystery
novel for young adults, “The
Prince of Mist.” It would become a
trilogy along with “The Midnight
Palace” (1994) and “The Watcher
in the Shadows” (1995).
Mr. Ruiz Zafón was also an
accomplished amateur pianist
the 1977 NBA championship, a
seminal moment that elevated
Portland and allowed it to join the
elite of professional sports fran-
chises.”
Also while under Mr. Glick-
man, the Trail Blazers set an
American sports record with 814
consecutive home sellouts, a feat
later surpassed by the Boston Red
Sox.
“The Trail Blazers have long
been the beneficiary of Harry’s
vision, generosity and inspira-
tion,” said Jody Allen, chair of the
Mrs. Furlong was born Cath-
rine Heitzman in Gainesville, Fla.,
and had lived in the Washington
area since 1949.
Richard Mason,
CIA analyst, dance teacher
Richard Mason, 98, a CIA ana-
lyst from 1948 to 1972 who special-
ized in the Soviet Union and who
also worked as a ballroom danc-
ing teacher, died May 7 at his
home in San Diego. The cause was
cardiac arrest, said a son, David
Mason.
Mr. Mason was born in State
College, Pa. From 1962 to 2000, he
owned and operated a company
that produced and sold dance re-
cords. He was editor and publish-
er of the DanceWeek newsletter
from 1976 to 1998. In 2000, he
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Dr. Smith received a bachelor’s
degree in physics and astronomy
in 1968, a master’s degree in envi-
ronmental health sciences in 1972
and a doctorate in biomedical and
environmental health in 1977, all
from UC Berkeley.
He worked for almost two de-
cades as a researcher in Honolulu
at the East-West Center, a quasi-
governmental organization that
promotes improved understand-
ing between the United States and
Asia. During his extensive travels,
Dr. Smith decided to switch his
research interest from nuclear en-
ergy to household air pollution,
using a phrase he often recom-
mended to his students: “Follow
the risk.”
He lived in Nepal and India for
extended periods before joining
the faculty of UC Berkeley’s School
of Public Health in 1995. He was
elected to the National Academy
of Sciences in 1997 and in 2012
received the $100,000 Tyler Prize
for Environmental Achievement,
presented by the University of
Southern California. Dr. Smith
was among several hundred sci-
entists of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change who
shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
with former vice president Al
Gore.
Survivors include his wife of 42
years, Joan Diamond of Berkeley;
a daughter; and two grandchil-
dren.
Dr. Smith was considered a
charismatic figure by students
and colleagues around the globe.
“He didn’t do science for sci-
ence’s sake,” said Balmes, his
Berkeley colleague. “He did it to
make a difference. He really was
trying to save the world.”
matt.schudel@washpost.com
and composer — he called it his
“hobby” — who would sometimes
play at his public readings and
discussions.
He moved from Barcelona to
Los Angeles in the 1990s and
briefly worked as a screenwriter
but had far greater success with
his novels. He split his time be-
tween the two cities.
In a personal essay on his web-
site called “Why I Write,” Mr. Ruiz
Zafón said it was because he had
no other choice.
“I am in the business of story-
telling,” he wrote. “I always have
been, always will be. It is what I’ve
been doing since I was a kid. . . .
All in exchange for a penny, a
smile or a tear, and a little of your
time and attention.”
Information about survivors
was not available.
—Associated Press
Trail Blazers. “As the team’s
founder and first general manag-
er, his leadership was instrumen-
tal in igniting our city’s pride and
passion for sports.”
Mr. Glickman was born in Port-
land on May 13, 1924. He graduat-
ed from the University of Oregon
in 1948 with a degree in journal-
ism. After college, he served three
years in the Army and received a
Bronze Star Medal.
Mr. Glickman founded the
Portland Buckaroos hockey team
in 1960. In 12 seasons with him as
co-owner and president, the team
won three titles in the Western
Hockey League.
Survivors include his wife, the
former Joanne Matin; three chil-
dren; and three grandchildren.
moved to San Diego from
McLean, Va., and continued to
teach dancing into his 90s.
Jeanne Imburg,
docent
Jeanne Imburg, 93, a docent
from the 1970s to 1990s at the
Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Muse-
um and Sculpture Garden and the
Corcoran Gallery of Art in Wash-
ington, died April 30 at a care
center in Arlington, Mass. The
cause was complications from the
novel coronavirus, said a son, Dan
Ross.
Mrs. Imburg was born Jeanne
Goldman in Newburg, N.Y., and
had lived in the Washington area
for 49 years before moving to
Massachusetts in 2012.
— From staff reports
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST
ANNOUNCEMENT
PAID DEATH NOTICES
Independence
Day Holiday Hours
Friday
July 3, 2020
11 a.m. ~ 3 p.m.
Saturday,
July 4, 2020
11 a.m. ~ 3 p.m.
Photo Deadline:
12 noon
NO EXCEPTIONS
To place a notice, call:
202-334-4122
800-627-1150
deathnotices@washpost.com
Ext. 4-4122
DEATH NOTICE
BOYD
MARY VIRGINIA BOYD (nee Coyle)
Mary Boyd went to be with God and Pop-
Pop on June 20, 2020. While it was a sad
event for her long list of survivors it was
a relief for her, as she had spent the last
ten years describing herself as old and
grouchy. While she may have been old,
she was seldom grouchy and her zest for
life kept her going for 90 eventful years.
Mary was raised in the Georgetown area of
Washington, DC which is where she met her
late husband Kevin T. Boyd. They eventually
settled in Rockville, MD where she lived for
50 years. It was here where they raised the
aforementioned survivors: Children Patrick
(Susan) Boyd, Michael Boyd, Tracy (Rick)
Walton, Rita (Dirk) Kooiman; Grandchildren
Lauren (Daniel) Tarketon, Ryan (Aubree)
Walton, Leslie Boyd, Lindsay (Kurt) McBride,
Katie Kooiman; Great Grandchildren Jack,
Sydney, Tristen, Henley; and the Coyle and
Gallagher Cousins.
Mary worked at NIH for many years but
her favorite job was being "Nana" to her
Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.
She loved making friends everywhere she
went, from the beauty parlor to exercise
class to Daly Elementary in Germantown,
MD, where she volunteered. If you were
lucky enough to meet her, chances were
good she would slip you a roll of Mentos,
a pack of Milano cookies, or if you were
really special, a palmed $20 bill. She always
wanted friends and family to be comfort-
able and well fed, saying "take another,
they're little!"
Mary's absolute favorite pastime was gam-
bling. While she loved trips to local casinos
to play the slots, and celebrated her 85th
birthday in Las Vegas, she would turn any
game the family played into an opportunity
to wager bets. She would carry a stack of $1
bills to play card games and to give to family
members at Thanksgiving celebrations who
naively didn't bring enough cash. But it
was not about the payout for her, rather, it
was just the joy of playing. When she did
win, she would distribute her winnings to
everyone so they could play again.
If you would like to honor Mary, play a hand
of cards for a dollar each, or do a few
spins of the slot machine, preferably Triple
7's, and definitely on "Max Bet". In lieu of
flowers, the family asks friends to consider
making a donation to her favorite charity,
Little Sisters of the Poor, 4200 Harewood
Rd., Washington, DC, 20017.
There will be no service at this time.
DYE
DAVID C. DYE
David C. Dye, 67, of Glendale, Arizona, passed
away peacefully on June 19, 2020. David was
born in Washington, DC to Grover C Dye, Sr and
Ernestine Greene Dye, both of whom preceded
him in death. David is survived by his siblings:
Grover C Dye, Jr. (Carmen) of Oakland CA.,
Judith Dye Smith (William) of Warsaw, IN, and
Kenneth Dye (Sam) of Richmond, VA. He is also
survived by his step-mother, Mamie Yee Dye of
Alameda CA, and by cousins and friends too
numerous to name from the many stages of his
life.
He retired in 2019 from the Phoenix Job Corps,
where he had worked for over 35 years. There
he was engaged in supporting a diverse and
international student body in their growth
towards productive adults. He was particularly
enriched by the many cultural experiences
these relationships provided him. He was
open-hearted and generous to all he knew, and
he recognized and celebrated the worth of all
he encountered. He was a faithful brother who
regularly kept in touch with those he loved.
Funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
Arizona Humane Society Sunnyslope Campus.
www.azhumane.org.
FIELDS
FRANCES S. FIELDS
Frances S. Fields, 86, of Woodbridge, Virginia,
passed away on June 19, 2020 in Fredericks-
burg, Virginia. Fran enjoyed music, writing
poetry and golf. She loved showing her hole-in-
one score card and her picture with the great
Arnold Palmer.
Fran is preceded in death by her first husband
Allen W. Fields, Jr, daughter Pamela S. Penning-
ton, and seven siblings.
She is survived by her “rock”, George Sloven-
sky; her daughter Deborah Welborn and Ed
Cusack; son Bradley Fields and his wife Terry,
five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, her
sister Jean, brother-in-law Sam Hetrick, and
many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers Fran asked that donations be
made to the National Kidney Foundation.
Funeral services will be held Friday, June 26
2020 at the chapel at National Memorial Park,
Falls Church, Virginia at 11 a.m. Arrangements
are by the National Memorial Funeral Home.
DEATH NOTICE
GRECO
Dr. WILLIAM RICHARD GRECO (Age 93)
On Tuesday, June23, 2020 of Silver Spring, MD.
Beloved husband of the late Doris A. Greco and
cherished son of the late Frank and Josephine
Greco of Bayonne, N.J. and Columbus, Georgia.
Devoted brother of Felicia Turner of Columbus,
GA and Ronald Greco of Fort Collins, CO; Loving
father of Mary Lynn (Steven) Lakin, William
Richard Greco, Jr, Lauren A.(David) Godwin,
and Jan M. (David)Keister. Adored grandfather
of Brett (Katie), William “Billy” (Jenna) and
David (Kelley) Quader, Allie (Patrick)Demers
and Lindsay Sfekas, Sarah (Tom) Trodden and
John Keister. Cherished great-grandfather of
Jenna Nuth, Madison and Molly Quader, Kather-
ine, J.P., and William Demers, Riley and Joey
Trodden, and Jane Doris Quader.
Veteran of the US Navy, graduate of the Univer-
sity of Maryland School of Medicine, served in
private practice in Prince George’s County, Md
from 1958-1981. He was a member emeritus of
the Prince George’s Medical Society, Society of
the Medical Chichurgical Faculty of the State of
Maryland, Southern Maryland Medical Society,
Douglass OB/GYN Society and a life fellow
of the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists.
“Bill” was an avid golfer and fisherman and
spent many summers in Ocean City MD. A
lifelong Catholic and member of the Church of
the Resurrection, he served as a eucharistic
minister at Riderwood. With safety precautions
in place, a Mass of the Christian Burial will
be held at the Church of the Resurrection,
Burtonsville, MD with private interment at
Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to the Benevolence
Fund at Riderwood.
Please sign family guestbook at
www.hinesrinaldifuneralhome.com
GROSSO
CAMILLE MARIE GROSSO
Camille Marie Grosso passed away on June
18, 2020 in Arlington, VA. She was born on
September 28, 1938 to Frank and Mary Bal-
istreri in Geneva, NY.
She was married to her husband, Lt Col (Ret.)
Jerry Grosso, for 55-years before his passing.
She was a registered nurse with Baccalaure-
ate, Masters, and Ph.D in nursing. She provided
point of care nursing in her early years and
then taught nursing at Catholic University and
University of Maryland. She culminated her
career in private practice providing psychother-
apy with specializations in Family Therapy,
Clinical Hypno-Therapy, Biofeeback and Chron-
ic Pain Management. She and her husband
loved to travel and visited many countries
throughout their life. She also enjoyed playing
bridge, reading, the ballet, being with friends,
and trying new restaurants.
She was preceded in death by her spouse,
Jerry Grosso; her parents, and her brother,
Bernie Balistreri. She is survived by her sister-
in-law, Rose Balistreri, her son, Jerry Grosso,
her daughter Gina Grosso and her son-in-law
Brian O’Connor.
The visitation will be held at Murphy Funeral
Home Arlington on Friday, June 26, 2020 from
5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The funeral service will be
held at The Cathedral of St Thomas More on
Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 10 a.m. Interment
will take place at later date at Arlington Nation-
al Cemetery. For more information, please
visit https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obitu-
aries/arlington-va/camille-grosso-9227913.
www.murphyfuneralhomes.com
GUTHRIE
SALLY BARCLAY GUTHRIE
Sally Barclay Guthrie died at home near
Middleburg on June 23, 2020, after a short
illness. Her daughter Julia was with her.
Sally was born on May 31, 1929 in Indi-
anapolis. She was passionate about food
and was a wonderful cook, a skill she
worked hard to enhance, and that led to
a long career in the food business. She
owned and operated a French restaurant, a
gourmet food store, and a catering business
that she only recently stepped back from.
In all her ventures she enjoyed an admiring
audience. Sally was also passionate about
music, politics, nature, and most of all, her
many friendships.
She will be sorely missed by her two surviv-
ing daughters, Carolyn and Julia, and by a
multitude of friends. A service will be held
at later date. In lieu of flowers, please send
a donation to Medi Home Hospice, 12531
Clipper Dr., Woodbridge VA 22192; phone:
703-392-7100.
JUDD
MARY A JUDD
On June 11, 2020, Holy Redeemer
Sodalists are notified of the death
of our sister. Viewing with limited
numbers on Saturday, June 27,
2020 at St. Aloysius Church from 9
a.m. - 11 a.m. until Mass at 11 a.m.
with family and limited numbers.
Janet Rollins, Prefect
Rev. David A. Bava, Moderator
JUDD
MARY A. JUDD (Age 93)
Entered into eternal rest Thursday, June 11,
2020. She is survived by one brother, seven
sons, three daughters, 28 grandchildren, 44
great grandchildren, 16 great-great grandchil-
dren, a host of other family and close friends
from her community and church. Family will
receive friends Saturday, June 27, 2020 at St.
Aloysius Church, 19 I Street NW. Because of
Covid 19 Pandemic, viewing will be limited
from 9 to 11 a.m., Mass of the Christian Burial
at 11 a.m. limited to the family. In lieu of
flowers donations can be made in her name
to Holy Redeemer Capital Campaign for the
construction of the new Annex and Elevator
for Seniors. Interment Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Quantico National Cemetery. Arrangements by
Robinson Funeral Home.
KIM
SUZANNE H. KIM (Age 60)
Of Potomac, MD, died at her home on June 13,
2020 surrounded by her family and friends. She
was born in Pittsburgh, PA and attended high
schools in Warren, NJ and Winston Churchill
High School. She graduated from Vassar Col-
lege and the Columbia University School of
Dentistry. She operated a general dentistry
practice for over 20 years in Bethesda, MD. She
was active in her church, Fourth Presbyterian
Church, where she served as a deacon and
was a member of the Martha’s Circle Bible
study and fellowship group, and the Bethesda-
Chevy Chase Rotary Club, in which she was
on the board of directors. She was also active
with the BCC Chamber of Commerce and
the Maryland State Dental Association. She
went on volunteer dental missions to post-
Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Vietnam, Cuba
and Ecuador. She enjoyed traveling, playing
bridge, shopping and was a food connoisseur.
Suzanne loved spending time with her family
and friends especially with her nephew and
niece, Michael and Rebecca Kim. The loves of
her life were her two dogs, Max and Chloe.
She leaves behind a mother, Jean Kim, two
brothers Thomas and George, MD, and their
wives, Susy and Jenny. A memorial service will
be held at the Fourth Presbyterian Church at a
later date. The family would like to express its
gratitude to the staff of Montgomery Hospice
for their extraordinary care. In lieu of flowers,
a donation can be made to Montgomery Hos-
pice. Please sign the family online guestbook
at
www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com
DEATH NOTICE
LUCAS
JAMES ARTHUR LUCAS JR.
On Sunday, June 21, 2020.The devoted
husband of Gail S. Lucas; father of James
Andrew Lucas and Michele Anne Agnes;
brother of Mary Gibson and Peggy Milligan;
grandfather of Timothy James Agnes "TJ",
Brooke Elizabeth Agnes, James Alexander
Lucas "Alex", and Ashleigh Renea Lucas.
Friends are invited to celebrate Jim's life
at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory,
2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD
on Sunday, June 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be
made to the American Diabetes Assoc., PO
Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116 or online
at https://www.diabetes.org/donate. An
online guestbook is available at:
KalasFuneralHomes.com
MAHAFFIE
CHARLES D. MAHAFFIE, JR.
Charles D. Mahaffie Jr., age 89, died on
June 18, 2020. A memorial service will be
held at a later date. In lieu of flowers,
please consider donations to the Parkin-
son’s Foundation of the National Capital
Area. Arrangements under the care of
Joseph Gawler’s Sons. Friends are invited
to leave words of comfort for the family at
www.josephgawler.com
McDONALD
GLENDA BEATRIZ McDONALD
(nee Contreras) (Age 43)
Of Centreville, passed away on June 21, 2020
in Fairfax, Virginia.
Glenda was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala
to Carlos Enrique Contreras Sr. and Sara Contr-
eras (nee Pastor-Hernandez) on December 2,
1976. She was a graduate of Chantilly High
School. She married Colin G. McDonald on July
7, 2001 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in
Falls Church, Virginia.
She worked as a clerk for LISCR for 15 years
and had a true passion for animals.
Glenda is survived by Colin McDonald, her
daughter Isabel McDonald, brother Carlos Con-
treras Jr. and his wife Brenda and their children
Emma and Mason, sister Claudia Contreras and
her husband Grant James and their children
Sofia and Arturo, her mother Sara Contreras,
her father Carlos Contreras Sr., her father in
law Lawrence McDonald, her mother in law
Margaret McDonald, and many friends and
family.
Pallbearers will be Carlos Contreras Jr., Grant
James, Juan Rivera, Juan Carlos Rivera, Moises
Contreras, Luis Contreras, Jose Lopez and Eric
Lopez
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given
to the Takayasu’s Arteritis Foundation or the
ASPCA.
The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks
to Dr. Mercedes Quintos-Gomez at Annandale
Family Medicine and the staff at US Renal Care.
Graveside funeral services will be held on
Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 12 p.m. at National
Memorial Park with Rev. David Moshier offici-
ating.
OWRUTSKY
MORTON JOSEPH OWRUTSKY
Morton Joseph Owrutsky passed
away on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2020.
He is survived by his children Jeffrey
Carl Owrutsky (Susan Strahan),
Susan Gail Owrutsky (Russell) Ber-
man, Eric Bradford Owrutsky (Ruth
Dombroff), and Marcie Alayne
Owrutsky, his sister-in-law Louise Owrutsky
Hallam, his grandchildren Zoe Lauren Owrut-
sky, Rachel Jade Owrutsky, Aaron Leo Berman,
Sarah Rose Berman, David Owrutsky, Golde
Owrutsky (Ari) Broyn, Yehudis Owrutsky, Aryeh
Owrutsky, Joshua Ryan Lovell, and Casey Taylor
Lovell. He was predeceased by his loving wife
Harriet Owrutsky (nee Shein), by his brother
Norman M. Owrutsky, his sister-in-law Marlene
Furshman, his brother-in-law Marshall Fursh-
man, and his parents Yetta and David Owrut-
sky.
Services are private. Please omit flowers. Con-
tributions in his memory may be sent to
Jewish National Fund - Trees for Israel, 78
Randall Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY, 11570.
Arrangements by SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC.
sollevinson.com
PAPADOPOULOS
STEPHANIE JO DAVIS PAPADOPOULOS
Stephanie was born on May 16,
1935 and passed away on June 20,
2020. She was preceded in death
by her father, Spencer Davis; her
mother, Rachael; and her brother,
Frank Davis. Sh is survived by
her younger sister, Maxine Davis;
her stepsisters, Chili Hyde and Wendy Hyde;
her two children, Alex Papadopoulos and Leni
(Butch Barry) Papadopoulos Barry; and three
grandchildren, Rosie Barry, Nick Barry and Pete
Barry. Dear friends and her family are invited
to attend a visitation at Our Lady of Grace
Church, 15661 Norbeck Blvd, Silver Spring, MD
on Friday June 26, 2020 from 10 to 11 am,
where Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11
am. Interment Rockville Cemetery. The family
requests any donations in her memory be sent
to American Red Cross. Please see Collins
Funeral Home website for a full obituary.
www.collinsfuneralhome.com
TOLLIVER
PEARL MARDELLE HOLMES TOLLIVER
Pearl Mardelle Holmes Tolliver was called to
her eternal rest on Friday, June 12, 2020.
Pearl was a beloved educator and a dedicated
wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.
Preceded in death by her husband, Pearl leaves
to cherish her memory three daughters, one
son, two brothers, and a host of other family
and friends. A private burial will be held for
family. Interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery
on Saturday, June 27.
WILSON
CARRIE OLIVIA WILSON
A long-time resident of the Washington, DC
area, died on Wednesday, June 17, 2020. Born
on August 10,1934 in South Carolina to William
and Ada Clinkscale. She had nine children,
Marilyn, Bernard, Gerald, Anthony, Angela,
Tara, Mika, Lisa and Daryl. She raised her
two granddaughters, Candace and Kelly. Also
survived by sisters, Julia Allen and Margo
Clinkscale, 11 grandchildren and 22 great-
grandchildren they all brought great joy to her
life. She also leaves behind four Godchildren
who all touched her heart.
Services will be held on Friday, June 26, 2020,
Full Gospel Lighthouse Church, 5948 Addison
Rd., Capital Heights, MD, Bishop Patterson.
Viewing 11 a.m. Family service 12:30 p.m. ALL
MUST WEAR MASK- OR NO ENTRY. Interment
Harmony Memorial Park.
EZ RE
IN MEMORIAM
QUANDER
LETHIA QUANDER
Granny, Happy One Hundred and
Twenty Eighth Birthday Day!
June 21, 2020
You were Authentic, Beautiful, Caring, Diligent,
Efficient, Funny, Gorgeous Happy, Intelligent,
Joyous, Kind, Loving, Magnificent, Nice,
Outgoing, Precious, Quiet, Reliable, Smart,
Tough, Understanding, Victorious, Wonderful,
X-traordinary, Youthful and Zealous.
I will meet you in Heaven.
However, I am not ready YET..!
Love Forever
Maureen and Mozart Honey Bunny
SANDERS
THELMA W. SANDERS
June 25, 1941 ~ November 16, 2019
Happy Birthday!
My mind still talks to you. My heart still looks
for you, but my soul knows you are at peace.
Russell, Richard, Leonard and Family
DEATH NOTICE
GRYDER
JAMES ALLAN GRYDER "Jimmy"
James Gryder 38, of Fenwick
Island, DE passed away on Sat-
urday, June 20, 2020. Jimmy was
born in Manassas, and graduated
from Osbourn Park High School.
He was preceded in death by Grandparents
Tyree and Mary Elizabeth Gryder and Richard
H. Hilleary, Aunt Donna Flynn and cousin Hillary
Lomax. He is survived by his parents Joy and
Wayne Gryder; brothers Dave (Jenn), Tom (
Rachael); grandmother Joyce Hilleary; uncles
JR (BJ), Danny (Nancy), Richard (Rhonda), Aunt
Jane (Robert); nieces Taylor, Mackenzie, Alexis,
Abby, and Alli; nephews AJ and numerous
great aunts, uncles and first and second
cousins. The Gryder family will receive friends
at Miller Funeral Home, 3200 Golansky Blvd.,
Woodbridge VA 22192 at 1 p.m. on Friday
June 26, 2020. A memorial service will follow
immediately after at 2 p.m. in the Miller Funeral
Home chapel.
You may leave condolences for the family at
Millerfuneralhome.net. The Family is planning
a celebration of life service to be held at a
later date. In lieu of flowers the family asks
for contributions to be made to the Special
Olympics at give.specialolympics.org.
HALUSKA
MARYA SOPHIA HALUSKA
Born in Newburyport, MA, March 28, 1965 and
passed away in Arlington, VA, May 21, 2020. In
the care of Murphy Funeral Homes Arlington.
Services will be held at a later date. Please
visit www.murphyfuneralhomes.com for the
full obituary.
HANGEMANOLE
PATRA COLEVAS HANGEMANOLE
"Cleo" (Age 103)
On Sunday, June 21, 2020. Cleo was born
on March 26, 1917 to the late Speros
and Helen Argerakis Colevas and had a
long, blessed life always surrounded by so
many who loved her. She was a loving
mother, foremost, and a homemaker with
many talents but her baking topped the list.
She took that talent to her church where
she was the head baker of Greek pasties
for many years. As a lifelong member of
St. Sophia, she also served her church in
many other ways as a member of the
Philoptochos Society. Cleo was the beloved
wife for 57 years of the late Emanuel V.
“Bill” Hangemanole; mother of Basil Hange-
manole, Helen H. Farmer, Anastacia Herbert
and Eleni (Ronald) Franklin; sister of the late
Paras, Vasiliki, James, Alexander, Prokopes,
Vaseleos and George Colevas and Jane
Colevas Glakas; grandmother of Anasta-
sia Hangemanole, James Emanuel Farmer,
Melissa Patra Martin, Eleni Wojcikowski,
Christopher and Stephanie Herbert, Tiffany
Krieger, and Deidra Christley; and mother
in law of the late James F. Farmer. She
is also survived by 18 great-grandchildren
and many loving nieces and nephews who
will miss her dearly. Due to the Covid-19
restrictions her funeral at St. Sophia’s will
be by invitation only. The funeral will be
live streamed at: https://youtu.be/l-8oXTo-
FOO8. In lieu of flowers, contributions may
be made to St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox
Cathedral, 2815 36th Street, NW, Washing-
ton, DC 20007. Condolences may be made
online at:
KalasFuneralHomes.com
DEATH NOTICE
MEANEY
CHARLOTTE MEANEY "Charly"
Our dear Charlotte passed away on January 20,
2020.
Charly was born on October 22, 1927, in
Magdeburg, Germany. Since her father was
a musician, the family moved frequently. She
attended many schools in all parts of Germany.
This may account for the strength and inde-
pendence of character that she attained while
still a school girl. Her education in Germany
ended when her high school in Aachen was
destroyed in an air raid during World War II.
While working for the U.S. military in Aachen,
she met Sergeant Rod Meaney. In 1946, she
moved to America and married Rod the fol-
lowing year. They lived in several military
postings, including Japan and Panama. They
finally settled in Oceanport, NJ, where Rod
taught at the Signal Corps School. The couple
now had four children: Rod, Shirley, Julie and
Mike: all of whom they raised to be strong,
kind, and self-reliant, just as she was.
In addition to being a wife and mother, Charly
continued her life-long quest for learning. She
earned a Bachelor's of Science in Mathematics
from Monmouth University and later two Mas-
ter’s Degrees in Mathematics and Statistics
from Rutgers University. Sadly, her husband,
Rod passed away in 1978. With the children
mostly grown up, Charly went to work teaching
mathematics at Monmouth University and the
prep school for West Point.
In 1982, at a concert in Red Bank, NJ, she met
Sam Bleier, who was wise enough to recognize
in her the love of his life. They married in July,
and both continued teaching. During summers,
they traveled to Europe several times and to
Asia. In 1990, they moved to northern Virginia
to be nearer her mother and children. They
remained close to family as grandchildren and
later great-grandchildren arrived and grew.
Charly doted on them all.
Hers was a warm and generous heart. She
supported many humane causes and gave
freely to all members of her family. She made
friends easily all during her lifetime. Few could
resist her warm smile, her sincerity and gra-
ciousness. However, she avoided sentimental-
ity. When problems arose, she chose to solve
them with logic and common sense, believing
"whatever is worth doing should be done well".
Charlotte will be buried with her first husband
at Arlington National Cemetery.
Charly is sorely missed by Sam, her four
children and their spouses, eight grandchil-
dren, and 10 great-grandchildren. Hers was a
life well lived.
We all love you, Charly.
DEATH NOTICE
HOTTLE
PHILIP H. HOTTLE
Philip H. Hottle, 71, of Lake Ridge, Virginia
passed away peacefully at his home on
June 22, 2020 after a long illness. Phil
was born in Arlington, Virginia on May 14,
1949. He is survived by his loving wife
of almost 47 years, Sharon L. Hottle, and
six children; Thelma (Derek) Mordan, Laura
(Richard) Gysel, James (Stephani) Hottle, John
(Anne) Hottle, Sarah (Chris) Glazewski, and
Katherine (John Patrick) Kerr. He is also
survived by 14 grandchildren and numerous
other relatives. He was predeceased by one
son, Philip Reid Hottle; his parents, William
and Thelma Hottle; and one (sister, Melissa
Kay Hottle.
He is also survived by four brothers; Martin
(Josephine) Hottle, John Hottle, Kenneth
LaVALLEY
LORRAINE LaVALLEY
The LaValley Family of Fort Washington MD
is deeply saddened to announce the loss of
Lorraine LaValley, who died at her home June
19, 2020. She was a Mother, Grandmother,
Aunt, Cousin, and matriarch of the Sinnott
family of Saugertiers, NY, as well a Girl
Scout leader and constant taxi driver when
her children were young. Born in Troy, NY
January 10, 1922, she was proceeded in
death by her beloved husband Ernest A.
LaValley, Jr., Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.) in 1986, her
daughter Patricia Lee LaValley in 2018, and
her parents Harold J. Kruse and Alice Sinnott,
and brother Donald J. Kruse.
Lorraine graduated from Catholic High in
Troy, NY, volunteered as a nursing assistant
in Saugerties, NY, attended many family func-
tions at West Point military academy and
married Ernest A. LaValley Jr. of Waterveliet,
NY upon his commission into the US Army
Air Corps in 1944. As a military wife Lorraine,
her husband and growing family changed
residences periodically and traveled the
globe extensively. Lt. Col LaValley’s family
relocated from station to station within the
United States and overseas during the US
ballistic and strategic missile development
programs until his USAF retirement. While
her husband was deployed, on various
assignments, Lorraine would singlehandedly
pack the family and household contents
and often drive cross-country with young
children to tow to their next duty station.
Her last military relocation in 1965 from
Vandenburg AFB, in CA to Fort Washington,
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DEATH NOTICE
(Tamara) Hottle, and Matthew (Kacy) Hottle,
and one sister, Priscilla (Malcolm) Alls.
Phil was raised in Northern Virginia and
graduated from Washington-Lee High School
in 1967. He then went to work for the
Washington Post Circulation Department and
retired in 2010 after forty-two (42) years of
service.
Phil also served in the United States Army
Police Corps from 1969-1971 where he was
stationed in South Korea. He was a member
of Arlington Baptist Church and the Manas-
sas Bull Run Kiwanis Club for many years.
Visitation will be held at Murphy’s Funeral
Home on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 from 4 to
8 p.m., located at 4520 Wilson Boulevard,
Arlington, Virginia 22203. Services will be
held at Arlington Baptist Church on Wednes-
day, July 1, 2020 at 11 a.m., located at
714 South Monroe Street, Arlington, Virginia
22204. Interment will follow immediately
after the service at Columbia Gardens Ceme-
tery located at 3411 Arlington Boulevard,
Arlington, Virginia 22201.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that
donations be made in Philip Hottle’s name
to:
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
230 East Ohio Street, Suite 500
Chicago, Illinois 60611
or
The COPD Foundation
3300 Ponce de Leon Boulevard
Miami, Florida 33134
MD was when her husband was assigned
to the Pentagon supporting the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. Fort Washington, MD remained her
home until her death at age 98.
Lorraine's St. Ignatius Parish Community will
dearly miss her. She was a member of
the Ladies of Charity, a parish volunteer and
a generous benefactor to many local and
national catholic charities and organizations.
Lorraine was a member of the Andrews
Air Force Base Officer’s Wives Club, and at
one time worked tirelessly for Woodward
& Lothrop. Her many sporting interests
included being an avid Washington Redskins
fan since 1966, a fan of tennis champion
Roger Federer, a keen follower of US and
international ice-skating competitions, and a
WIBC mixed doubles bowling league mem-
ber.
Lorraine was a woman of intelligence, beau-
ty, grace, and compassion. Always soft
spoken but with a great sense of humor she
always had a kind word for everyone she
encountered. Her wide circle of friends will
feel the void of her passing but remember
the times they traveled extensively by bus,
rail and cruise ships to attend broad-way
musicals, luncheons in picturesque loca-
tions, shopping excursions, museums and
grand garden estates, as well as touring
international capitals and far-away lands.
Her national and international travels con-
sisted of voyages aboard the SS United
States and the Queen Mary 2 among other
ocean vessels.
Her loving memory will be continued in life
by her devoted children Carol Ann Genese
of Hamilton, NJ, Theresa Joyce Levy of Mel-
bourne, FL, Brian Joseph LaValley of Ft.
Washington, MD, and her faithful grandchil-
dren Danica Lyons,-Genese of Hamilton, NJ,
Louis James Levy III of Haymarket, VA, and
Kerry Genese of New Orleans, LA. Addition-
ally, Lorraine will be missed by her family of
nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends
across the country.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at
2 p.m. in the St. Ignatius School Auditorium,
2315 Brinkley Rd, Fort Washington, MD
20744 preceded by a viewing at 1:00pm
on Friday, June 26, 2020. Interment Arlington
National Cemetery at a later date.
Online guestbook available at
www.KalasFuneralHomes.com
B8 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

The Weather
WASHINGTONPOST.COM/WEATHER . TWITTER: @CAPITALWEATHER . FACEBOOK.COM/CAPITALWEATHER

Partly sunny Today Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday OFFICIAL REC ORD
T-storm Mostly sunny Mostly sunny, Showers, Mostly sunny T-storm
Skies will be partly sunny on the hot t-storms possible Temperatures AVERAGE RECORD ACTUAL FORECAST

whole, although it could be that

north and west will be mostly sunny
and southeast will be mostly cloudy
but will transition to a clearer day. A
shower or two could pop up, but most spots will
stay dry. High temperatures will be in the mid-
80s. Humidity will tick up slightly on a light
south and southwest wind.
85° 68 ° 88° 71 ° 93° 76 ° 88° 74 ° 89° 74 ° 88° 72 °

FEELS*: 93° FEELS: 90° FEELS: 98° FEELS: 94° FEELS: 94° FEELS: 91°
CHNCE PRECIP: 40% P: 5% P: 5% P: 60% P: 25% P: 30%
WIND: S 4–8 mph W: W 7–14 mph W: SW 8–16 mph W: W 8–16 mph W: NW 6–12 mph W: NNW 6–12 mph
HUMIDITY: High H: Moderate H: Very High H: Very High H: High H: High
Sa Su M Tu W Th F Sa Su M Tu W Th F Sa

through 5 p.m.
Reagan Dulles BWI yesterday

REGIO N NATION Weather map features for noon today. High 86° 4:00 p.m. 84° 5:00 p.m. 85° 3:59 p.m.
Low 74° 6:03 a.m. 69° 5:18 a.m. 71° 5:23 a.m.
Philadelphia Normal 87°/69° 86°/63° 86°/64°
Harrisburg
86/67 Record high 100° 2010 97° 2010 100° 2010
85/62
Record low 46° 1902 46° 1979 50° 1972
Hagerstown
Baltimore Difference from 30–yr. avg. (Reagan): this month: +1.3° yr. to date: +2.6°
83/62
85/64 Dover
83/65 Precipitation PREVIOUS YEAR NORMAL LATEST
Davis Washington Cape May
73/55 Annapolis 78/67
85/68 83/66 OCEAN: 70°

Charlottesville Ocean City

85/63 79/67
OCEAN: 67°
Lexington
83/59
Richmond
84/65 Virginia Beach Reagan Dulles BWI
79/69
Norfolk OCEAN: 72° Past 24 hours 0.00" 0.00" 0.14"
81/69 Total this month 3.49" 4.94" 5.52"
Kitty Hawk Normal 3.02" 3.22" 2.80"
78/70 Total this year 20.59" 21.46" 21.94"
OCEAN: 73° Normal 19.07" 20.13" 19.93"

Pollen: High Air Quality: Good

Grass Moderate Dominant cause: Ozone
Trees Moderate
Moon Phases Solar system
Weeds Low UV: Extreme
Mold High 11 out of 11+ Rise Set
Sun 5:44 a.m. 8:37 p.m.
Moon 10:06 a.m. none
Blue Ridge: Today, partly sunny, shower, thunderstorm. June 28 July 5 July 12 July 20 Venus 4:05 a.m. 6:10 p.m.
T-storms Rain Showers Snow Flurries Ice Cold Front Warm Front Stationary Front First Full Last New
High 68–72. Wind west 4–8 mph. Tonight, mainly clear. Low Yesterday's National World
Quarter Quarter
Mars 12:59 a.m. 12:43 p.m.
54–58. Wind west 6–12 mph. Friday, mostly sunny. High High: Needles, CA 109° High: Ahvaz, Iran 121° Jupiter 9:50 p.m. 7:28 a.m.
<–10 –0s 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+ Low: Angel Fire, NM 31° Low: Summit Station, Greenland 10° Saturn 10:09 p.m. 7:58 a.m.
70–74. Wind west 7–14 mph. Saturday, partly sunny. High for the 48 contiguous states excludes Antarctica
73–77. Wind west 6–12 mph.
NATIONAL Today Tomorrow Des Moines 87/72/pc 87/68/t Oklahoma City 89/69/pc 90/70/pc WORLD Today Tomorrow Hong Kong 90/84/t 91/83/c Rio de Janeiro 82/68/pc 77/70/pc
Atlantic beaches: Today, partly sunny, p.m. thunderstorm. Detroit 80/59/pc 85/69/pc Omaha 91/73/pc 89/67/t Islamabad 92/76/pc 96/80/pc Riyadh 107/81/pc 110/81/pc
High 77–81. Wind south 6–12 mph. Tonight, partly cloudy. Albany, NY 84/62/pc 84/63/s El Paso 101/74/pc 103/74/c Orlando 97/75/pc 96/73/pc Addis Ababa 72/55/sh 72/54/sh Istanbul 80/69/pc 81/69/s Rome 82/62/s 84/62/s
Low 65–69. Wind southwest 4–8 mph. Friday, partly sunny. Albuquerque 97/68/s 95/66/pc Fairbanks, AK 67/45/c 69/49/pc Philadelphia 86/67/pc 88/68/s Amsterdam 84/67/s 86/63/s Jerusalem 79/63/s 83/64/s San Salvador 88/70/t 88/70/s
High 83–88. Wind west 6–12 mph. Saturday, mostly sunny. Anchorage 63/50/c 61/51/c Fargo, ND 87/65/t 84/61/c Phoenix 112/84/pc 108/83/s Athens 86/73/t 87/71/s Johannesburg 64/38/pc 63/39/pc Santiago 53/40/pc 58/39/c
High 86–93. Wind south 6–12 mph. Atlanta 80/69/pc 84/68/t Hartford, CT 86/63/s 86/60/pc Pittsburgh 79/60/pc 83/67/pc Auckland 61/55/r 62/56/r Kabul 95/66/pc 94/62/pc Sarajevo 79/55/pc 82/57/pc
Austin 91/72/t 88/74/pc Honolulu 87/72/pc 88/75/s Portland, ME 82/61/s 81/61/pc Baghdad 106/78/pc 112/79/pc Kingston, Jam. 88/80/pc 89/80/pc Seoul 79/68/r 81/69/pc
Waterways: Upper Potomac River: Today, partly sunny, shower, Baltimore 85/64/pc 89/65/s Houston 83/73/t 85/73/pc Portland, OR 85/60/pc 85/62/s Bangkok 94/79/t 92/79/pc Kolkata 94/82/c 93/82/t Shanghai 83/74/t 88/78/t
thunderstorm. Wind south 4–8 knots. Waves around a foot. • Billings, MT 77/56/c 88/65/s Indianapolis 82/64/pc 88/72/pc Providence, RI 85/66/pc 83/63/pc Beijing 80/66/t 86/69/pc Lagos 85/75/t 85/75/c Singapore 87/80/c 86/79/t
Lower Potomac and Chesapeake Bay: Today, partly sunny. Wind Birmingham 82/70/t 85/71/t Jackson, MS 81/70/t 85/71/pc Raleigh, NC 85/66/t 90/69/s Berlin 81/62/pc 81/61/t Lima 66/60/pc 66/60/pc Stockholm 86/57/s 84/59/s
south 6–12 knots. Waves around a foot on the Potomac and on the Bismarck, ND 86/61/t 86/59/pc Jacksonville, FL 95/72/pc 95/72/pc Reno, NV 94/64/s 97/67/s Bogota 68/50/c 67/47/c Lisbon 77/60/s 73/63/pc Sydney 66/47/s 63/52/pc
Boise 90/62/s 93/64/s Kansas City, MO 89/73/pc 90/71/pc Richmond 84/65/t 88/68/pc Brussels 84/64/s 87/64/s London 88/65/s 81/59/t Taipei City 98/81/pc 96/80/t
Chesapeake.• River Stages: The stage at Little Falls today will be
Boston 83/67/s 83/66/pc Las Vegas 108/82/pc 101/81/s Sacramento 100/61/s 98/59/s Buenos Aires 54/40/s 54/42/pc Madrid 93/67/s 89/61/pc Tehran 101/75/pc 97/72/pc
around 4.4 feet, falling to around 4.1 feet on Friday. Flood stage at Buffalo 75/61/pc 79/66/s Little Rock 88/70/pc 85/70/pc St. Louis 90/73/pc 94/75/pc Cairo 92/71/s 95/72/s Manila 95/81/t 93/81/c Tokyo 77/73/r 86/74/c
Little Falls is 10 feet. Burlington, VT 82/62/pc 83/64/pc Los Angeles 80/63/pc 80/63/pc St. Thomas, VI 90/81/pc 91/82/c Caracas 73/66/pc 73/65/t Mexico City 74/56/t 75/54/t Toronto 77/61/pc 84/67/s
Charleston, SC 84/72/pc 91/73/t Louisville 86/68/pc 90/73/pc Salt Lake City 88/63/pc 88/66/s Copenhagen 78/64/pc 77/63/s Montreal 78/60/pc 80/63/pc Vienna 75/61/pc 83/62/pc
Charleston, WV 83/60/pc 85/67/pc Memphis 88/71/s 85/72/t San Diego 72/64/pc 72/64/pc Dakar 86/79/pc 86/79/s Moscow 80/58/pc 79/63/s Warsaw 79/63/pc 81/65/t
Today’s tides (High tides in Bold)
Charlotte 84/65/pc 89/67/pc Miami 93/82/pc 92/81/pc San Francisco 73/57/pc 74/57/pc Dublin 72/59/t 71/52/c Mumbai 91/82/c 90/82/t
Key: s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, r-rain,
Washington 6:25 a.m. 11:36 a.m. 7:11 p.m. none Cheyenne, WY 86/55/t 73/54/t Milwaukee 81/64/pc 86/68/pc San Juan, PR 90/79/pc 90/80/t Edinburgh 78/55/pc 72/53/t Nairobi 74/54/pc 74/57/pc sh- showers, t-thunderstorms, sf-snow flurries,
Chicago 84/65/pc 90/71/pc Minneapolis 86/69/pc 82/63/t Seattle 80/58/pc 81/58/s Frankfurt 81/61/pc 86/65/s New Delhi 99/84/t 99/86/pc sn-snow, i-ice
Annapolis 2:25 a.m. 9:03 a.m. 3:51 p.m. 9:34 p.m.
Cincinnati 82/63/pc 88/71/pc Nashville 88/68/pc 89/72/t Spokane, WA 84/61/pc 88/64/pc Geneva 84/61/t 83/61/pc Oslo 79/56/pc 82/59/s Sources: AccuWeather.com; US Army Centralized
Ocean City 5:30 a.m. 11:25 a.m. 5:28 p.m. 11:48 p.m. Allergen Extract Lab (pollen data); airnow.gov (air
Cleveland 79/62/pc 85/72/pc New Orleans 86/78/t 89/78/pc Syracuse 80/60/pc 83/66/s Ham., Bermuda 82/76/pc 82/76/pc Ottawa 77/55/pc 81/59/c quality data); National Weather Service
Norfolk 12:57 a.m. 7:24 a.m. 1:29 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Dallas 90/72/pc 88/72/pc New York City 85/70/pc 88/71/s Tampa 95/79/s 96/79/t Helsinki 85/59/s 83/58/s Paris 92/68/s 80/64/t * AccuWeather's RealFeel Temperature®
combines over a dozen factors for an accurate
Point Lookout 4:55 a.m. 12:05 p.m. 5:40 p.m. 11:23 p.m. Denver 91/57/pc 80/56/t Norfolk 81/69/t 88/71/pc Wichita 94/72/s 94/72/pc Ho Chi Minh City 91/77/t 90/77/t Prague 72/56/pc 73/58/t measure of how the conditions really “feel.”

THERESA VARGAS

Tens of thousands say this young man with autism does not belong in prison
VARGAS FROM B1 was not what prosecutors had don’t believe his case reflects reaction? Is it a crime, a moral
described. They saw a young man that. More than 85,000 people failing, something worth
worked, and he didn’t make it who had not intended to hurt across the country have signed a removing from someone their
home. anyone, including himself, and Change.org petition titled “Free freedom, to make a mistake as a
That night, he was involved in had been persuaded to sign a Matthew Rushin.” Autism direct result of having a
a life-shattering crash, arrested plea agreement that was not in experts have joined his family in disability? Or is it that being
and held in jail until he was his best interest. calling on Northam to grant him Black and disabled makes a
sentenced on Nov. 6, 2019. They saw a life that was too an absolute pardon. And what mistake a criminal offense?”
On that day, the easily discarded by a system that Rushin didn’t get in court, he’s Rushin’s parents, who work for
commonwealth’s attorney for has failed other black autistic now getting in public: an in- the Defense Department, have
Virginia Beach announced in a men. depth examination of what insisted that he wasn’t suicidal.
news release that the 21-year-old A few weeks ago, I told you happened the night of the crash. They say he panicked after
had pleaded guilty in August about Neli Latson, who was “I’ve spent over 140 hours of clipping a car in the parking lot,
2019 to two charges of malicious sitting outside his neighborhood the last week [poring] over the drove off and was making a U-
wounding and one charge of hit- library when someone thought details of this case, reaching out turn to return to the scene when
and-run. the black autistic teenager to relevant people, conducting the crash occurred. His mother
“Had this case gone to trial, looked “suspicious” and called interviews, scouring Matthew’s says that he mentioned wanting
the commonwealth’s evidence the sheriff ’s office. Latson online fingerprints, and to die after a man involved in the
would have proven that on assaulted a deputy who grabbed requesting additional collision started yelling at him
January 4, 2019, Matthew Rushin him and then spent years in information,” Terra Vance, an and asking if he was trying to kill
struck another moving vehicle in prison, much of it in solitary autistic woman and psychology himself. She says he was
a parking lot . . . did not stop, and confinement, where he was consultant, writes for appeasing, not confessing.
instead fled the parking lot,” read shocked with a Taser and NeuroClastic, the website she The interrogation video shows
FAMILY PHOTO
a news release at the time. “Just strapped to a chair for more than founded. him telling the police that he
moments later, Rushin was nine hours. Matthew Rushin is serving 10 years of a 50-year prison sentence for On the site, she has written didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He
driving recklessly on First Latson eventually received a a road collision that left a man with life-altering injuries. extensively about the case, also insists that he tried to stop.
Colonial Road, passing traffic conditional pardon from then- posted video from Rushin’s “I was on my brakes,” he says.
and speeding. When he reached a Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe recognition that “Black Autistic my mannerisms and my interrogation by police and, on “I can promise you that.”
median break, he drove straight (D), but as I discovered when I Lives Matter” right now. responses, things could go bad in Tuesday night, published a letter Against his parents’ advice, he
into oncoming traffic and spoke to his family, he still is not “As a Black parent to a 7-year- a hurry just like they did for him. from a forensic engineer and signed the plea agreement, his
[struck] another vehicle head-on. free. He remains in a group home old Black autistic son, my sole job I do fear that what happened to traffic collision reconstructionist mom says, because he mistakenly
It was occupied by a husband and under a probation officer’s is preserve his present so that he Matthew will happen to me — or who examined the evidence and thought it would allow him to
and wife who were visiting supervision. can make it into the future,” worse.” found that it does “not support come home.
Virginia Beach from New York.” Since that column ran, the Jennifer White Johnson, a It is important to acknowledge the theory of suicidal behavior or While in prison, she says, he
At the scene, it continues, ARC, a national advocacy Baltimore resident and professor that a person was seriously hurt attempted homicide.” hasn’t received a mental-health
“Rushin climbed out of his organization for people with at Bowie State University, wrote in the head-on crash. A 72-year- “On the contrary, the evidence evaluation or medical attention
vehicle and stated that he was intellectual and developmental about the case. “If our nation old man was injured so severely, presented strongly suggests for the headaches, dizziness and
trying to kill himself. disabilities, has called on continues to show that our young according to media reports, that pedal misapplication as the transient blindness he has
Investigation revealed that he Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) Black autistic men don’t have he was left unable to talk and primary collision factor,” reads experienced since the crash.
was driving approximately 65 to give Latson a full pardon. In a value, what is that saying to our feed himself. the letter, which has been sent to “He does not belong in there,”
m.p.h. right before the crash and news release, the organization current generation of Black But punishment in our the governor’s office. “Pedal she says. “They ripped our son
did not apply his brakes.” describes it as a “long overdue autistic youth?” criminal justice system is misapplication is a common away from us. He’s loving. He’s
That news release, which does legal and moral justice for a “I see myself in Matthew,” supposed to be based on cause of crash collisions among compassionate.”
not mention Rushin is autistic, young Black man with wrote Emmanuel Abua, who also intention — and Rushin’s those age 16-20 and those with He’s a young man who wrote a
might have been the final word disabilities who has suffered is black and autistic. “Based on growing number of supporters poor executive function, as is poem on his Facebook page
in his case. irreparable harm.” common in autism and ADHD.” about a “curly headed boy.”
But then George Floyd was It’s an important development The letter says the evidence “i travelled the depths of my
killed in police custody, protests in Latson’s case. It also comes 10 indicates the collision “was an heart and soul and found
sparked conversations about years after he sat in front of that “Is it a crime, a moral failing, something worth accident.” nothing but gold and diamond,”
racial inequities in a justice library. “Matthew made a mistake,” it begins. “i found some
system that too often doesn’t live The people who are calling for removing from someone their freedom, to make a Vance writes. “Would we impurities but none were
up to its name, and people across justice in Matthew Rushin’s case criminally penalize a driver who unfixable or unmendable. i found
the country started looking are pushing for him to receive his mistake as a direct result of having a disability?” fainted? Who had a seizure but the core of myself and saw
closer at Rushin’s case. freedom now. didn’t know they had a seizure someone trying.”
Terra Vance, psychology consultant who is autistic, on Matthew Rushin
What they saw in its details They are calling for a disorder? Who had an allergic theresa.vargas@washpost.com

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Director
out over
Long before sparking a assault
conversation about race, he
pushed for inclusion while
working at Marvel Comics
claims
SCHAEFFER RESIGNS
AT SIGNATURE
Two actors accuse him
of groping them at events

BY P ETER M ARKS

Eric Schaeffer, founding artis-

JESSE DITTMAR FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
tic director of the Tony-winning
Signature Theatre, resigned late
Tuesday after an actor made pub-
lic his allegation that Schaeffer
sexually assaulted him during a
Washington awards show in May
2018.
The actor, Thomas Keegan,
took to Facebook and Twitter on
Sunday to accuse Schaeffer of
“grabbing or fondling my genitals
through my pants at least three
times over the course of a bewil-
dering five minute exchange, in-
cluding twice after I made it clear
that I wanted him to stop.” Anoth-
er actor, Joe Carlson, subsequent-
ly posting on Facebook, asserted
that Schaeffer grabbed him by the
genitals at a raucous annual
fundraiser at Signature in 2016, a
now-discontinued event spon-
sored by Theatre Washington
called the Summer Hummer.
A two-month investigation in
2018 by a lawyer hired by Signa-
ture, Linda Hitt Thatcher, con-
cluded the accusations were “not
credible,” according to the
theater. As to why he’s resigning
now, Maggie Boland, Signature’s
longtime managing director, said
Schaeffer “doesn’t want to do any
harm to this theater that he built
or to this community that he
loves.”

How Christian Cooper sees it

BY
Christian Cooper was just an American kid, born in
1963, who loved birds and superheroes. ¶ Now,
everyone wants to talk about the incident in Central
Park, the one that went viral because he dared ask a
woman to leash up her dog in an area full of signs that
said that was the rule — prompting her to call the
police and emphasize that “an African American man”
was recording her. He is ready to talk about it — when
he can catch up to the media requests. ¶ “My phone has
been ringing off the hook with people who want me to
talk and talk and talk and talk,” he told The Washington
Post. “And you know what? As long as the talking helps
move the ball forward in terms of finally addressing
Schaeffer’s departure, effective
June 30, concludes the leadership
career of the longest-serving ar-
tistic director of a major theater
in the Washington region. Schaef-
fer was a champion of musical
D AVID B ETANCOURT theater, whose work has been
seen on Broadway and interna-
racial bias and maybe making some progress, I’ll keep tionally. The 57-year-old Pennsyl-
vania native founded Signature
talking.” ¶ Cooper’s experience is a master class in why with actress Donna Migliaccio in
generation after generation of black Americans know 1989 in a middle school in Arling-
ton. Moving to a former auto
that one day, no matter their education, where they live, repair garage and later to a
what they’ve achieved, someone just may take offense to $16 million, two-theater complex
above the Shirlington Library,
the very idea of their existence and try to weaponize it Signature evolved into a national-
against them. But as his poise in the infamous video ly recognized outpost for musi-
cals. Its specialty became the
reveals, Cooper is well-suited to this teachable moment musicals of composer-lyricist Ste-
for America. As a gay black birder, and as someone who phen Sondheim.
In a statement, Schaeffer said:
has helped comic books become more inclusive, he “After 30 years, with the world
knows the cultural forces that try to reduce him to feeling upside down, I am retiring
as co-founder/artistic director of
something he’s not — and has the will and the SEE MARKS ON C2
confidence to defy them. SEE COOPER ON C2

Carolyn Hax: No kidding, children

can be a polarizing subject. C3
Book World: Bram Stoker’s inner
life imagined in “Shadowplay.” C6

Best friends’ talk fosters Another blow to papers’

a national discussion
A desire to learn leads to
popular site with tips on
fighting racial injustice
BY T RAVIS M . A NDREWS
Autumn Gupta knew her best
friend was in pain.
Footage of former Minneapolis
police officer Derek Chauvin
kneeling on the neck of George
Floyd for 8 minutes 46 seconds
was being played repeatedly on
news channels and social media.
Another black man as the vic-
tim of police brutality. Gupta’s
friend, Bryanna Wallace, must be
hurting.
Gupta and Wallace, 23 and 22,
respectively, had roomed together
at the University of Southern Cali-
fornia, bonding over “Grey’s Anat-
omy” and their Christian faith.
Gupta called Wallace — and lis-
tened.
“We spent 21/2 hours on the call,
with me sharing my experience of
how it feels when these incidents
of racial injustice recur and there
is no consequence or retribution,”
Wallace said.
As a person of color but not a
member of the black community,
Gupta wanted to learn more, but
she didn’t want to burden her
friend. So she decided it was time
for self-education. Where to be-
gin? A dam had broken on social
media, flooding it with sugges-
tions of books to read, shows and
movies to watch, podcasts to listen
to, petitions to sign.
This desire led Gupta, with Wal-
lace’s input, to create a Google
document about how to fight rac-
ism. The document unexpectedly
drew thousands of readers and
last week was turned into the web-
site JusticeinJune.org.
SEE GOOGLE DOC ON C2
political cartoon usage
BY M ICHAEL C AVNA
Bailey Dabney says he “adores”
political cartoons as a medium.
He has hired cartoonists to lam-
poon local issues in his role as a
publisher, and he even keeps
favorite works on his wall —
including an R.J. Matson original
from Dabney’s time at the Fau-
quier Times in Virginia.
Now, though, Dabney says he
will stop running such editorial
art, which he says has become too
divisive.
“In my mind, editorial car-
toons are expendable,” Dabney,
the regional publisher of the
Morning News in Florence, S.C.,
and its affiliated publications,
wrote in a column last week.
“None of them are produced by
our staff, and rarely do they
depict a local issue.”
“For the foreseeable future,” he
2019 WORK BY KEITH KNIGHT
wrote, the paper will fill that
Cartoonist Keith Knight says editors “should stand by” their picks. opinion page space “with other
content, better content.”
The stoppage was announced
after the outlet apologized for
running a syndicated Gary Mc-
Coy cartoon this month about
Black Lives Matter protests and
abortion that was decried as rac-
ist, sparking a “firestorm of emo-
tion” among its insulted and an-
gered audience, Dabney added. It
was the latest controversy in
recent weeks in which small pa-
pers apologized for publishing
cartoons some readers called rac-
ist.
But what is lost when political
cartoons are sacrificed complete-
ly to avoid conflict?
To be sure, these are challeng-
ing times for the publications.
Cartoonists and other journalists
contacted by The Washington
Post paint the picture: Smaller
papers generally have thinner
staffs and fewer resources, which
means they rely largely on rela-
SEE CARTOONS ON C3
C2
Cooper has
long been
advocate for
inclusion
COOPER FROM C1
He owes the birdwatching
habit to his late parents. His
father taught science. His moth-
er, English. When he was a child,
they nudged him to a wood shop
class. He had two options: build a
footstool or a bird feeder. He
chose the latter. During a cross-
country road trip starting from
his childhood home on Long
Island, a young Cooper started
reading a book on birds. After his
family arrived in California, he
pointed out a magpie, to the
surprise of his parents.
His interest in superheroes
also began as a child, with fre-
quent viewings of the Marvel
Comics cartoons of the ’60s, fea-
turing Captain America, Thor,
Iron Man and the Incredible
Hulk.
“It just touched me,” Cooper
said. “I guess I’ve always had a
mind-set that was geared to-
wards the mythic, and superhe-
roes are the last bastion of myth-
making in Western culture, if you
ask me. Here was something that
sort of brought, granted, a very
pop culture form of myth, but
still a form of myth to life on the
TV screen when I was but a wee
lad of all of 5 years old. It totally
grabbed me.”
During high school, he walked
into a 7-Eleven, back when you
could find comic books there for
sale on a spinner rack for less
than a dollar, and saw the African
mutant weather goddess Ororo
Munroe, a.k.a. Storm, on the
cover of an X-Men comic. “I’m
like, wait, there’s a black X-Man?
And she’s got white hair?” Cooper
said.
Cooper recognized that comics
were attempting to be inclusive
— but falling short. There were
few black comics writers or art-
ists then. The Black Panther was
around, but he was starring in
“Jungle Action,” and wasn’t being
written by Reggie Hudlin, Chris-
topher Priest or Ta-Nehisi Coates
just yet. Storm was progress that
came with a palm to the fore-
head.
“She’s a fantastic character.
But she’s aesthetically incorrect,”
Cooper said. “This goes back to
the whole thing of racial bias.
There’s a subtle implication that
a black woman can only be
beautiful if she’s got blue eyes
and straight white blond hair.
But yes, it was amazing to see
Storm on that comic.”
And so began a lifelong love of
the X-Men, through comics by
John Byrne and Chris Claremont
and viewings of every X-Men
movie ever made. (He admits
most of the X-films are not great
but stands by 2003’s “X2: X-Men
United” as a Marvel mutant mov-
ie masterpiece.)
When he arrived at Harvard in
1980, he became a frequent cus-
A call to a
friend that
was heard
by a nation
GOOGLE DOC FROM C1
“How do I not know a whole
part of this story and this history?
. . . I needed to do something. I
needed to do something every day
for the month of June” as a means
of habit-forming, Gupta recalled.
“Doing something consistently
over time is how you change a
behavior. It becomes a lifestyle
Live from 8th & I:
Marine Brass
Quartet
Christian Cooper is pictured in New York’s Tompkins Square Park. His interest in both birds and
superheroes began in his childhood.
tomer at the Million Year Picnic,
the comic shop in Cambridge,
Mass. Cooper wrote superhero
fiction about his dorm mates and
used it to decorate the hallways.
“I think everybody got a kick out
of it because they knew they were
written in as some alternate char-
acter and there was always some
adventure going on,” he said.
His college friend Tony Davis,
who now owns the Million Year
Picnic, recalled watching sci-fi
films together in the ’80s, waiting
in line at midnight for “Star
Wars: Return of the Jedi” in
Boston. He remembers Cooper’s
preferences for choosing seats:
the width of your vision should
always equal the width of the
screen.
On that recent May morning,
Davis saw the hashtag #Bird-
WatchingWhileBlack trending.
Who could it involve but Cooper,
the only black birder he knew?
While watching the Central
Park video, Davis instantly recog-
nized Cooper’s sense of calm,
never shouting, never angry, but
standing his ground for some-
thing he believed in.
“Chris is a very gentle soul,”
Davis said. “To see her attempt to
transform him into that stereo-
type of the scary black person. . . .
There are many Chris Coopers
and Christina Coopers through-
out the history of this nation who
have not survived such situa-
tions.”
After graduation, to the sur-
prise of no one, Cooper became
an assistant editor at Marvel,
despite co-workers telling him
repeatedly that he was overquali-
fied and could easily make more
money elsewhere. “Just the idea
of getting my foot in the door at
Marvel Comics,” Cooper said.
“What fan wouldn’t [want] that?”
Cooper scripted some X-Men
comics, including “Excalibur,”
and was involved in Marvel’s very
’90s swimsuit specials. He was an
editor on “Alpha Flight” when its
superhero, Northstar, revealed
he was gay, paving the way for the
character’s headline-grabbing
wedding in 2012.
And in his writing he created
over a one-off thing.”
Gupta began with two books
she had seen discussed that were
already on her reading list: Ibram
X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Antira-
cist” and Robin DiAngelo’s “White
Fragility.” As a self-described
Type A personality who loves
schedules and color-coding, she
began planning out her assign-
ments. After some time passed
and she felt it was appropriate, she
asked Wallace to weigh in.
“Once I started putting together
my 30 days of reading that book
each day and watching some of the
resources on Netflix or PBS, I
thought, ‘Huh, how can I make this
more accessible for my mom, or my
sister or my friends,’ ” Gupta said.
The result: “Justice in June,”
offering three learning plans for
anyone hoping to spend the
month taking a step to “becoming
Wednesday, June 25
at 7:30 p.m.
-(@ 06&B@ 8Q 8(@ O&5@"/ ;<8: HPP@H<:$ 7 .6RBH/ &R ;<8: # .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ -6@:IK EC RQQR 7 NQRBH/ &R .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ 2<&BH/K EC RQQR
7 -6@:BH/ &R .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ NQRIK EC RQQR 7 ,@BR@:BH/ &R .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ -6@:IK EC RQQR 7 -(6<:BH/ &R .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ ,@BIK EC RQQR
7 -(6<:BH/ &R 41P<@::I B@HB"&R@$ ,@BIK EC RQQR 7 2<&BH/ &R ,@@%@RBI B@HB"&R@$ -6@:IK EC RQQR 7 .H86<BH/ &R .8/"@I B@HB"&R@$ 2<&BH/K EC RQQR
2Q< &R>Q<!H8&QR HFQ68 HB5@<8&:&R*K DH""$ LH/!QRB 9Q/@< CGCJAA?J?E'? Q< M&DQ"@ 0&BB@R: CGCJAA?J?A+E
EZ RE
the first gay human character in
Star Trek history, Yoshi Mishima,
for the series “Star Trek: Starfleet
Academy,” and Marvel Comics’
first openly lesbian character, the
dark magic expert Victoria Mon-
tesi.
A couple of years after leaving
Marvel in 1996, he created the
online comic “Queer Nation.” In
the over-the-top political satire,
as he describes it, a comet comes
within striking distance of Earth
and emits rays that give gay
people superpowers.
Cooper later went “cold tur-
key” on reading comics, but re-
mains a Star Trek fan (loved
“Discovery,” not a fan of
“Picard”). And his newfound
fame has led to discussions about
bringing “Queer Nation” back.
“There’s more story to tell, and
I’m itching to tell it,” he said.
Now a senior editorial director
at Health Science Communica-
tions, he hasn’t lost his connec-
tion with nature, which is what
led him to Central Park on May
25. When he saw a dog walker not
obeying leash laws, he pressed
record — as many other birders
have been doing.
“I think it depends on the
birder and their level of comfort
with confrontation,” he said, add-
ing, “It has a dual purpose: to try
to get enforcement [from the
parks committee], and to push
back a little and put these people
on notice.”
When the dog walker threat-
ened Cooper, it didn’t matter that
he was an Ivy Leaguer. A birder. A
Marvel geek. He knew his acco-
lades wouldn’t swoop in like the
Avengers to protect him from
prejudice.
“I don’t try to speculate. I don’t
know what was going on in her
head,” Cooper said. “If I had to
guess, I’d say she was just looking
for any way to get an advantage
in the situation. It was a stressful
situation. We were at odds, and
she was looking for a way to get a
leg up. . . . And she just went to a
place that she should not have
gone.”
His sister Melody shared the
video on Twitter, which helped it
an active ally to the black commu-
nity.” Choose how much time you
have per day — 10, 25 or 45 min-
utes — and the learning plan tells
you what media to consume.
In addition to those two books
are parts of the New York Times’s
1619 project, Ava DuVernay’s Net-
flix documentary “13th,” a TEDx
talk by Peggy McIntosh titled
“How Studying Privilege Systems
Can Strengthen Compassion” and
a presentation by writer Craig El-
liott titled “Tips for Creating Effec-
tive White Caucus Groups.”
“I don’t want anyone to have an
excuse for why they can’t learn
even one thing about the black
community’s experience. So that’s
when I thought to compare this to
Netflix, because everybody has
been bingeing a series during
quarantine,” Gupta said. “If you
have time to watch hours and
MUSIC - CONCERTS
This brass quartet—consisting of two cornets, tenor horn,
and euphonium—will feature dazzling technique, beautiful
melodies, and lush tone colors common to the British brass
band style popular in Europe and the UK. The program
will include original works for brass quartet as well as
arrangements such as Karl L. King’s circus march,
“The Melody Shop,” and Herman Bellstedt’s Napoli.
-Q <@HD( H <@P<@:@R8H8&5@K DH""$ CGCJAA?J'GG) | *6&B@8QH<8:=3H:(PQ:8IDQ!
JESSE DITTMAR FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
spread. When she first saw it, “I
was so incensed,” she said. But
her shock was mixed with pride
in seeing the teachings of their
parents on display. Melody, who
writes for TV, film, theater and
comic books, said their father
believed in science fiction’s pow-
er to open a horizon he didn’t see
the real world giving his chil-
dren.
“Our parents taught us to
move through the world as if we
had a right to be there. I know
that a lot of people don’t learn
that until later, but we were
taught that very young,” she said.
What she couldn’t get out of
her mind after viewing the video
were the other possibilities that
could have transpired.
“My imagination took me to
see him face down on the ground,
with police around him, and —
this is ironic — in a chokehold,
but I didn’t know about George
Floyd yet. I just imagined them
having him face down in the dirt
and killing him that way.”
The racial bias that made the
dog walker highlight that he was
a black man, Cooper said, is “the
same racial bias that made this
white cop think it was okay to
keep his knee on George Floyd’s
neck for 8 minutes and 46 sec-
onds until he was dead,” he said.
“It happened on the same day
and it sprang from the same
wellspring.”
There are only certain parts of
the United States where Cooper
feels safe as a gay black man.
Central Park is one of those
places — despite its history of
racial mistreatment that he now
joins, including the Central Park
Five and the predominantly
black residents of 1850s Seneca
Village, who were forced to leave
so the park could be built. If his
presence there should irritate
someone in the future, his sug-
gestion is to evolve.
“I am going to keep birding,”
Cooper said. “If your dog is off the
leash, I’m going to have some-
thing to say about it. You’re just
going to have to deal with that.
That’s not going to change.”
david.betancourt@washpost.com
AUTUMN GUPTA AND BRYANNA WALLACE
Autumn Gupta, left, and
Bryanna Wallace are the best
friends behind the popular
website JusticeinJune.org.
hours of entertainment, you have
10 minutes to read or listen or
watch something related to the
black community’s experience.”
The syllabus also helps lift a
burden.
“It’s not the place or responsi-
Stream the concert live at:
www.youtube.com/usmarineband
Learn more about
“Live from 8th & I”
www.marineband.marines.mil
THE WASHINGTON POST
Signature leader quits
amid groping allegations
MARKS FROM C1
Signature Theatre. . . . I always
looked to innovate and create
pathways for more voices to be
heard, with programs like the
Women’s Voices Festival. I hope
that the next generation of lead-
ers can weather the many storms
our profession faces. To do so, it
needs to pull together, dedicate
itself to the work, and avoid the
toxic polarization that damages
not just the institutions, but the
work itself, the art.”
The artistic director’s resigna-
tion was submitted to the execu-
tive committee of Signature’s
board of directors late Tuesday,
and announced to the board and
full-time staff of 54 on Wednes-
day. A national search will be
conducted to replace Schaeffer at
the helm of the company, which
has an $11 million annual budget
and is a cultural anchor for
Northern Virginia.
In 2009, Schaeffer and the
company were awarded the Tony
for excellence in regional theater,
the first time a Washington-area
theater had been honored since
Arena Stage received the acco-
lade in 1976. The crisis at Signa-
ture represents another chapter
in the long-running national
scandal over allegations of sexual
misconduct in the worlds of arts,
politics and business.
Keegan, 34, filed a complaint
with Signature in May 2018, say-
ing that the assault had taken
place at the Anthem venue on the
Washington Wharf, during the
May 14 Helen Hayes Awards cere-
mony, the yearly show honoring
theatrical achievement through-
out the D.C. region. (Keegan’s
wife, actress Alyssa Wilmoth, was
one of the show’s emcees.) The
actor has a long list of Washing-
ton credits, including a pair of
roles at Signature in 2012 in
playwright Christopher Shinn’s
“Dying City,” and he recently ap-
peared on Broadway in Jeremy O.
Harris’s “Slave Play.”
Boland said that Carlson, who
has also appeared locally in a
number of shows, filed his com-
plaint with Signature on the same
day.
She added that Schaeffer was
placed on a two-month adminis-
trative leave during the ensuing
inquiry. According to a statement
posted on Signature’s website on
Monday, the investigation “in-
volved numerous interviews with
the complainant, Eric Schaeffer,
current and former Signature
staff . . . along with attendees at
the event where the incident al-
legedly took place.” While no ac-
tion was taken against the artistic
director, he was instructed to
undergo what one company in-
sider called “management train-
ing” and what Boland described
as a “coaching opportunity, so
Eric could learn” from the experi-
ence.
The issue lay dormant until
earlier this month, when Signa-
ture posted a note on its website
expressing solidarity with the
Black Lives Matter movement, in
bility or job of those in the black
community to educate people, but
also there’s a lot out there,” Wal-
lace said. “If you need a place to
start, here it is.”
Though the document was in-
tended for a small group of friends
and family, it quickly was viewed
by more than 203,000 users, as of
last week. Tweets about it were
seen 1.7 million times. A construc-
tion company in Atlanta asked to
use the guide for diversity train-
ing. Universities, consulting firms
and community foundations soon
did the same. A 65-year-old man
named Sean, who is immunocom-
promised and couldn’t attend pro-
tests, sent a note to thank them for
giving him a way to feel involved.
Other messages of gratitude
poured in along with offers from
academics and activists to help
hone the syllabus further. They set
. THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
WALTER MCBRIDE/GETTY IMAGES
Eric Schaeffer, co-founder of
Signature Theatre, resigned
this week after sexual assault
allegations resurfaced.
the midst of the protests over the
police killing of George Floyd in
Minneapolis. “They posted a note
about racial injustice and I saw
red,” Keegan said in a telephone
interview. He decided that he
could not stay silent any longer
about the incident he says he
experienced; his Facebook post
sparked a flurry of responses,
including some additional anon-
ymous assertions of impropri-
eties.
“I’m not trying to get up on any
pedestal,” Keegan said, “but if no
one is going to call them out for
this hypocrisy, I will.” Of the
report that found no credibility
for the accusation, he added: “I
don’t know how you come back
after I spent 21/2 hours with them,
and Joe spent 21/2 hours, and say,
‘Nothing there.’ ”
Keegan said he regrets that his
initial complaint included a de-
mand for $250,000 from Signa-
ture, in addition to Schaeffer’s
removal and a public apology —
all of which the company reject-
ed. He had been advised, he said,
that the theater would not take
his other demands seriously if
there wasn’t a monetary penalty
attached.
But he views Schaeffer’s relin-
quishing his job as only partial
recompense. “He needs to make a
public acknowledgment of guilt,”
Keegan said.
Although Schaeffer in recent
years has taken on directorial
assignments in South Korea and
directed a few Broadway shows,
including a revival of Sondheim
and James Goldman’s “Follies”
and a jukebox musical, “Million
Dollar Quartet,” he’s the only
leader Signature has ever known.
“It’s a seismic event in Signa-
ture history,” Boland said. She
and others involved in Signature
governance said that the compa-
ny is sound financially: Unlike
many other theaters, Signature
has not had to furlough any of its
full-time staff during the corona-
virus pandemic.
The hit to its reputation is
more difficult to assess. For the
time being, she and Associate
Artistic Director Matthew Gar-
diner will be overseeing opera-
tions, with a goal of a post-coro-
navirus reopening during the
winter.
“We will be changed for sure,”
Boland said, vowing that “Signa-
ture will be able to operate very
confidently.”
peter.marks@washpost.com
up a GoFundMe to create a web-
site, hoping to raise $1,000.
They’ve brought in more than
$14,000, along with offers from
web developers to help build the
site, with the extra money going to
initiatives that directly affect the
black community.
“That first week [after Floyd’s
death] was extremely challenging.
It was very heavy. I felt empty, just
staring out the window or watch-
ing Netflix because I didn’t want to
think about all the emotions that
were going on inside of me,” Wal-
lace said. “After this took off, I got
way more encouraged, actually
being able to see tangibly people
who weren’t just doing performa-
tive activism . . . but instead diving
in.”
She added, “It all started with a
conversation.”
travis.andrews@washpost.com
Facebook & Twitter:
Live
concerts @marineband
streamed
Instagram:
weekly!
@usmarineband
16-2898
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE C3

Television
TV HIGHLIGHTS BROADCAST CHANNELS
6/25/20
7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30
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4.2 WRC (IND) The Munsters The Munsters Frasier Frasier Roseanne Roseanne Roseanne Roseanne The Nanny The Nanny
5.1 WTTG (Fox) Fox 5 ◆ TMZ ◆ Celebrity Watch Party ◆ Labor of Love Fox 5 News at 10 News The Final
7.1 WJLA (ABC) ◆ Wheel ◆ Jeopardy! ◆ Holey Moley ◆ Don’t ◆ To Tell the Truth News ◆ J. Kimmel

9.1 WUSA (CBS) Q&A ◆ ET ◆ Sheldon ◆ The Unicorn (9:01) ◆ Mom ◆ Broke ◆ S.W.A.T. 9 News ◆ Colbert

14.1 WFDC (UNI) La Rosa de Guadalupe Te doy la vida Amor eterno Como tú no hay dos Noticias Noticiero Uni
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22.1 WMPT (PBS) BBC News Greek Table Father Brown Last Tango in Halifax Death in Paradise Farm-Harvest Connection
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32.1 WHUT (PBS) DW News ARTICO Suze Orman’s Ultimate Retirement Guide Accidental Studio: HandMade Democracy
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A small paper has stopped running

political cartoons. Will others follow?
CARTOONS FROM C1
tively inexpensive syndicated car-
toons, which are sometimes se-
lected by a single editor. When
they choose an inflammatory car-
toon, they can especially feel the
heat because they are closely
tethered to tight communities.
Pandemic fallout has devastat-
ed the advertising revenue at
already struggling outlets, while
the Black Lives Matter protests
and sense of cultural reckoning
mean newspapers must respond
as much as ever with tuned-in
sensitivity to their readerships.
Into this environment come
pointed cartoons that, because of
their visual immediacy, can stir
up passions more readily than
long editorials.
This month, blowback to a
Tom Stiglich cartoon mocking
the “defund the police” move-
ment — in which a darker-
skinned assailant is robbing a
lighter-skinned woman — re-
sulted in executive resignations
at small papers in Roxboro, N.C.,
and Washington, Mo., that ran
the self-syndicated work. On
June 10, the Seneca (S.C.) Jour-
nal apologized for a self-syndi-
cated Al Goodwyn cartoon that
satirized the “black community”
as being in an unhealthy rela-
tionship with the Democratic
Party.
Last month, some readers
were inflamed by a self-syndicat-
ed Clay Jones cartoon that ran in
the Daily Times in Maryville,
Tenn., after the slaying of Georgia
jogger Ahmaud Arbery. The car-
toon depicted a jogging former
president Barack Obama being
trailed by President Trump and a
car flying the Confederate flag.
Jones told the Daily Times: “Basi-
cally, I’m saying that to some
people, Obama’s crime is that he’s
black.”
“Our intent was to provoke
outrage that an innocent black
jogger could be murdered in to-
day’s America,” the Daily Times
wrote, “and that our nation’s only
African American president
could be accused of a crime when
so far no evidence has been
presented.”
The Daily Times, unlike the
Morning News, has not ceased
publishing such political art. “We
discussed this issue [last] Thurs-
day with our dozen-member
readers advisory board. They all
wanted us to keep our syndicated
editorial cartoons but to show
sensitivity,” the paper’s editor,
J. Todd Foster, tells The Post.
Dabney, however, says it is a
fraught part of the job, particu-
larly in the current political cli-
mate. “My editor told me [last]
week the biggest chore in his life
the last two years has been pick-
ing the cartoon,” the publisher
says. “He said there are rarely any
he feels are worthy of publication
in a paper that loves all of its
readers.”
Dabney wrote in his column
that he finds “very few” cartoons
funny among his syndicated
choices and that they are “more
often divisive and heartless.”
“It seems like these days, every
comic either hates Trump or
hates someone else,” Dabney tells
The Post. “If editorial cartoonists
get in the habit of lifting people
up instead of tearing people
apart, then everyone will want
them.”
Mike Peterson, who writes
about comics for the Daily Car-
toonist blog, is seeing a rise in
Dabney’s sentiment.
“I think the idea that there
should be a cartoon on the edito-
rial page is well set,” says Peter-
son, who is the former editor of a
small biweekly, the Franklin
Journal in Farmington, Maine.
“But the idea that you should
never [tick] off anybody is gain-
ing ground.”
Political cartoons have a long
and storied history in journalism,
“I think the idea that
there should be a
cartoon on the editorial
page is well set. But the
idea that you should
never [tick] off anybody
is gaining ground.”
Mike Peterson, a writer about
comics for the Daily Cartoonist blog
but they still require steady edi-
tors willing and able to withstand
inevitable controversy — and to
understand how they misstepped
after publishing a bad cartoon.
Without potent cartoons, some
artists say, opinion pages become
something less robust.
Matt Wuerker, the Politico car-
toonist and past president of the
Association of American Editori-
al Cartoonists, says some editors
fear having “freewheeling opin-
ions” on their editorial pages.
“Opinion pages in a diverse
country shouldn’t be safe spaces,”
Wuerker says. “I miss the ’70s and
’80s when opinion pages were
exciting and full of raucous car-
toons and caricatures.”
Jen Sorensen, creator of a
weekly political strip, calls the
use of cartoons employing racist
tropes “editing failures,” urging
papers to learn from controversy
rather than “eliminate an entire
genre that’s still appreciated by
many.”
Keith Knight, author of “They
Shoot Black People, Don’t They?
20 Years of Police Brutality Car-
toons,” says rather than apolo-
gize, editors “should stand by”
their cartoon selections and, if
necessary, “go down with the
ship.”
Some cartoon selections also
“may point to the fact that the
newspaper could use some diver-
sity on the staff and in the car-
toons they choose from,” says
Knight, a North Carolina-based
creator whose Hulu series based
on his cartooning life, titled
“Woke,” is set for this fall. “Edi-
tors who do not look at the big
picture are just as expendable as
editorial cartoons.”
Small papers, cartoonists say,
must not shrink from pointed
opinions if they are to remain
essential within their communi-
ties. Controversy is a cost of
engagement.
Dabney, on the other hand,
says he recently bristled when he
read of a cartoonist taking pride
in work that is prime social media
fodder because of its divisiveness.
“As long as cartoonists have
that mission,” Dabney says, “folks
like me will be reluctant to divide
our communities with their
work.”
michael.cavna@washpost.com
You started it! Childishness about kids.
Adapted from an
online discussion.
Dear Carolyn: I
know a number of
people not
Carolyn interested in
Hax having children.
This is not a
problem and I
don’t want anyone to have kids
who doesn’t want them, nor do I
think everyone needs to adore
kids. But some are so mean
about kids — speaking about
them like they are just a drain on
all the civilized, child-free adults
— and I don’t understand why
this is considered acceptable.
Children are neurologically
different from adults. It’s not any
more okay to universally hate
kids than it is to broadly dislike
those with mental illness or
special needs. So why do people
seem to feel comfortable talking
about kids this way? Any witty
suggestions for shutting this
down?
— Think of the Children!
Think of the Children!: “They’ll
grow into the doctors, nurses,
pilots, drivers, autoworkers,
farmers, chefs, wait staff,
designers, builders, writers,
artists, bankers, insurers, first-
responders and attorneys, who
will care for you, transport you,
feed you, clothe and shelter you,
inform and entertain you, and
bail your butt out when we’re all
too old to do this ourselves. So
may I suggest a little respect for
them and the people who raise
them.”
Re: Kids: As long as there’s
equal respect for people who
DON’T have kids, which is where
the root of this problem probably
lies.
— Equal
Equal: If we’re all going to wait
around for respect to be a quid
pro quo, and refuse to give it
unless we see proof of delivery of
ours, in exact equal quantity,
exchanged on a bridge
somewhere with the two sides all
armed and ready to fire if
someone on the other side so
much as twitches — then we
deserve no better than the
polarized mess we’re in.
If instead we do the brave
thing and give any warranted
respect just for the sake of it,
without guarantee of anything in
return, because showing it is as
good for us as it is for everyone
else, then we’ll get somewhere.
Re: Kids: Okay, I’ll start it
because we all knew this was
going to happen: I’d also like the
child-raising people to quit
bugging us for not having
children. The ones who
continually harp on how selfish
the child-free are and how we’ll
regret it when we’re too old to
have them. Your turn.
— Child-Free
NICK GALIFIANAKIS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Child-Free: No. It’s no one else’s
turn and I am not hosting a carp-
fest.
These are two different issues.
The selfishness charge against
non-parents is ludicrous and
mean, as I’ve acknowledged
many times, but the impulse to
see a valid complaint about the
treatment of children as an
opening to complain about
parents? That’s not a happy
reflex, and not one to feel
gratified for indulging. Finger-
pointing is not the inevitability
you make it out to be.
Re: Childless: But the issues are
related! Did childless bigots
come up to her on the street and
start raging about children? Or is
it possible the letter-writer said,
“Before I became a parent I
didn’t know what love meant”?
— I Don’t Buy It
I Don’t Buy It: The appropriate
response to such
knuckleheadery as “Before I
became a parent I didn’t know
what love meant” is never, has
never been and will never be
even more knuckleheadery in
the form of dissing children.
Seriously.
Write to Carolyn Hax at
tellme@washpost.com. Get her
column delivered to your inbox each
morning at wapo.st/haxpost.
 Join the discussion live at noon
Fridays at live.washingtonpost.com

The Movie Directory has gone dark. We will raise the curtain again
as soon as events warrant.
C4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

CLASSIC DOONESBURY GARRY TRUDEAU PICKLES BRIAN CRANE

RED AND ROVER BRIAN BASSET AGNES TONY COCHRAN

BRIDGE

N-S VULNERABLE
NORTH
♠ 843
♥ J 10 5
♦ AQ75
! 764
WEST EAST
♠ Q2 ♠ 10 7 5
♥ 87 ♥ Q632
♦ J 10 9 2 ♦ K86 MIKAEL WULFF & ANDERS MORGENTHALER
FRANK AND ERNEST TOM THAVES WUMO
! AQ853 ! J 10 2
SOUTH (D)
♠ AKJ96
♥ AK94
♦ 43
! K9

The bidding:
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass
4♠ All Pass
Opening lead — ♦ J
CLASSIC PEANUTS CHARLES SCHULZ MIKE DU JOUR MIKE LESTER
“I ’ll never forget the
first time I saw a uni-
versal remote. I thought,
‘This changes everything.’”
— graffiti
At today’s four spades,
South finessed with dummy’s
queen on the first diamond,
and East won and led the
jack of clubs: king, ace. West
took the queen and led a
third club.
South ruffed and needed RHYMES WITH ORANGE HILARY PRICE MARK TRAIL JAMES ALLEN
the rest of the tricks. He went
to the ace of diamonds and
let the jack of hearts ride,
and the finesse won. South
continued with the 10 ... and
it won.
“One-half of all finesses
are supposed to win,” South
mumbled. “I was out of
luck in both minor suits,
so finesses in both majors
should win.” LIO MARK TATULLI MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM MIKE PETERS
So South next led a spade
to his jack, and West took
the queen. Down one.
South’s percentage play
in spades was to finesse,
but East’s defense changed
everything. If East had Q-x-x
in trumps — a finesse would
win — East would have
covered the 10 of hearts,
preventing the finesse.
South should take the A-K of HAGAR THE HORRIBLE CHRIS BROWNE BALDO HECTOR CANTU & CARLOS CASTELLANOS
trumps. The fall of the queen
sees him home.
DAILY QUESTION
You hold:
♠AKJ96♥AK94
♦43!K9
The dealer, at your right,
opens one club. You double,
and your partner bids one
diamond. What do you say?
ANSWER: You have a
fine hand, but your partner BLONDIE DEAN YOUNG & JOHN MARSHALL SALLY FORTH FRANCESCO MARCIULIANO & JIM KEEFE
may have zilch. He had
to respond to your double
despite no points and a
ragged diamond suit. Bid
one spade. When you double
before bidding a suit, you
promise at least 17 points. If
partner has anything, you will
hear from him again.
— Frank Stewart
©2020, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

SHERMAN’S LAGOON JIM TOOMEY

SUDOKU

CURTIS RAY BILLINGSLEY

BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY! TIM RICKARD

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE C5

MUTTS PATRICK McDONNELL ZITS JERRY SCOTT & JIM BORGMAN

HOROSCOPE

BIRTHDAY | JUNE 25
Empathic and
original, you have
a rare capacity for
realizing your dreams.
You must keep the faith
and plough on through this
year. Financially, you will do
well, as you invest wisely. If
single, your search for a mate
demands more objectivity as
feelings frequently overwhelm
you. If attached, you want
DILBERT SCOTT ADAMS JUDGE PARKER FRANCESCO MARCIULIANO & MIKE MANLEY to stay attached forever. You
are wonderfully nurturing
to your partner but need
to watch your occasional
outbursts of negativity. Pisces
is ultra-sensitive.
ARIES
(MARCH 21-APRIL 19).
It’s the perfect day to begin
a new health treatment or
regimen. Tensions mounting in
your personal or professional
life require that you pause and
take stock, or blowups could
occur. Wait until later before
making definite decisions.
FRAZZ JEF MALLETT CANDORVILLE DARRIN BELL TAURUS
(APRIL 20-MAY 20).
Lovers or children experience
some strife and will be
argumentative, although
personally you should not be
badly affected. The urge to get
away from it all, if only for a
few days, may be acute due to
recent daily responsibilities.
GEMINI
(MAY 21-JUNE 20).
Today favors the help of
an older family member.
Big actions are likely, as
restlessness demands action.
GARFIELD JIM DAVIS BARNEY AND CLYDE WEINGARTENS & CLARK Do not bite off more than
you can chew. Go easy with
dominating or bossy people.
CANCER
(JUNE 21-JULY 22).
Your residence may need
repair. A family member
is temperamental;
communication helps resolve
problems. You are trying to
balance security needs with
changing times at home. Today
brings relief.
LEO
(JULY 23-AUG. 22).
STEVE KELLEY & JEFF PARKER STAN LEE & ALEX SAVIUK You should be able to have
DUSTIN THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN more of a handle on your
money situation today.
Undoubtedly, you are by now
used to financial ups and
downs, but you will have
reason to cheer due to new
financial opportunities coming
your way.
VIRGO
(AUG. 23-SEPT. 22).
Social activities blossom
today. If this does not help fill
your social calendar, nothing
will. Take advantage of this
time to purchase clothes
or otherwise improve your
PRICKLY CITY SCOTT STANTIS LOOSE PARTS DAVE BLAZEK appearance. And be prepared:
Your charm and sex appeal
are at an all-time high.
LIBRA
(SEPT. 23-OCT. 22).
Thoughts and actions will be
turning inward. Today favors
behind-the-scenes activity.
View this period as preparation
for new actions to be taken. Try
not to hold tensions in, as they
will manifest in such physical
complaints as headaches.
SCORPIO
(OCT. 23-NOV. 21).
The bumpy ride some of you
NON SEQUITUR WILEY BABY BLUES RICK KIRKMAN & JERRY SCOTT may have experienced in
career aims and life direction
becomes a bit smoother as
uncertainty clears today -- one
way or another. Your yearning
for distant places is increased.
SAGITTARIUS
(NOV. 22-DEC. 21).
Although you may have felt
a bit under the gun recently
regarding career matters, it
looks as if serious discussions
could lead to solutions. Keep
talking rather than acting. Or
reacting.
CAPRICORN
BIG NATE LINCOLN PEIRCE ON THE FASTRACK BILL HOLBROOK
(DEC. 22-JAN. 19).
Now is the time to make a
favorable personal impression.
While some of you may bring
out your indulgent side with a
mate, for others, intrigue and
sudden romance comes from
afar.
AQUARIUS
(JAN. 20-FEB. 18).
Today favors the formation
of a sudden but very intense,
even obsessive, encounter.
Meeting someone new may
even bring a crisis to a head
with a previous relationship.
BEETLE BAILEY MORT, BRIAN & GREG WALKER PEARLS BEFORE SWINE STEPHAN PASTIS Beware possessive tendencies
in yourself or in others.
PISCES
(FEB. 19-MARCH 20).
Do not be upset if you
experience some craziness
around you today. The urge to
take significant action of some
kind, be it in a committed
relationship or pooling
financial resources, is very
strong.
— Madalyn Aslan
© 2020, KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

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More online: washingtonpost.com/comics. Feedback: 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20071; comics@washpost.com; 202-334-4775.
C6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

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On this day in 1988, the Baltimore Orioles’ Skies are partly sunny, highs reach Find more stories about
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TOD AY’S N EWS

Officer is fired after

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Walter Johnson (“The Big Train”)
could be the best pitcher of all time. He
won 417 games for the Washington
Senators from 1907 to 1927.
ROB CARR/GETTY IMAGES
Diana Taurasi, left, is the all-time-
JOHN LENT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
leading scorer for the Women’s
Great all-around player Willie Mays, shown at batting practice with the New National Basketball Association and is
York Giants in 1954, hit 660 career home runs and was a fabulous center fielder. no slouch at passing and rebounding.
Kentucky woman
dies in police raid
The police department in
Louisville, Kentucky, has fired an
officer involved in the deadly
shooting of Breonna Taylor, more
than three months after the 26-year-
old black woman was killed in her
home.
A termination letter sent to
Detective Brett Hankison released by
the city’s police department Tuesday
said Hankison violated procedures
by showing “extreme indifference to
the value of human life” when he
“wantonly and blindly” shot 10 times
into Taylor’s apartment in March.
Officers burst into the home
Taylor shared with boyfriend
Kenneth Walker late at night March
13 using a “no-knock” search warrant
during a drug investigation. Walker,
who said he didn’t know the people
entering their home were police,

A fun debate during sports lull: Who’s the greatest of all time?
Years ago, my brother
The Score Tom drove from Boston,
FRED BOWEN Massachusetts, to
Florida with his son T.J.,
who was 10 years old.
This was long before cellphones, Google
Maps and Spotify. They traveled 1,500
miles on Interstate 95 with just a car
radio.
So early in the trip, Tom turned to T.J.
and said, “Okay, all-time-greatest
baseball team by position.” They talked
baseball all the way to the Sunshine
State.
With the coronavirus crisis, I
sometimes feel like we are all stuck in a
small car for a long ride. No school, no
sports, no summer camps.
So let’s talk about the greatest players
of all time in several sports.
We can start with baseball. Who was
the greatest player of all time? Not the
greatest hitter, but the greatest all-
around player.
I say it was Willie Mays (1951 to 1973).
There are five things you can do in
baseball: hit, hit with power, run, field
and throw. Mays, who hit 660 career
home runs and was a fabulous center
fielder, did them all at the highest level.
Greatest pitcher of all time? Walter
Johnson won 417 games for the
Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927.
His record included 110 shutouts,
meaning he didn’t give up a run in nine
innings.
They said “The Big Train,” as he was
called, threw a fastball almost 100
percent of the time. That must have been
a terrific fastball.
A few weeks ago I wrote that I think
LeBron James is the best all-around
player in the history of the National
Basketball Association (NBA). Even
better than Michael Jordan.
I probably should have also
mentioned players such as Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar (all-time NBA leading
scorer), Wilt Chamberlain (all-time NBA
leading rebounder) and stars such as
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Kobe
Bryant.
Who is the greatest all-time player in
the Women’s National Basketball
Association (WNBA)? The league has
been playing games since 1997.
I haven’t watched the WNBA as
closely as the NBA, so I researched the
careers of several great WNBA athletes. I
added up all the good things the players
did — points, rebounds, assists, steals
and blocks — and divided that total by
the number of games they have played in
fired his gun once at the officers,
striking one in the leg. The officers
opened fire, hitting Taylor eight
times.
their careers. Two other officers remain on
Three players stood out. Diana Taurasi administrative reassignment as the
is the all-time-leading WNBA scorer and shooting investigation continues.
no slouch at passing and rebounding. — Associated Press
For 15 seasons, Tamika Catchings was a
terrific all-around forward for the
Indiana Fever. At 6 feet 5 inches, Lisa
Leslie was the most dominant center in
the history of the WNBA.
What about the all-time greats in
football, hockey, golf, tennis and other
sports?
That can wait for another column.
After all, we may be on this pandemic car
ride for a long time.
kidspost@washpost.com
STEVEN SENNE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bowen writes the sports opinion column for
KidsPost. He is the author of 24 sports books Civil rights activist Kevin Peterson
for kids ages 7 to 12, including books on protests the police shooting of
baseball, basketball, football and soccer. Breonna Taylor inside her home.

LA TIMES CROSSWORD By Joe Deeney

BOOK WORLD
ACROSS
1
5
9
Text
Nutmeg spice
Newton trio
‘Dracula’ and the stoked imagination
13 Bahrain bigwig
14 Norse god BY M ICHAEL D IRDA SHADOWPLAY knowingly pass each other,
By Joseph glimpse the same cheeky boy on a
15 Out of the wind Back in 2009, Michael Holroyd O’Connor bus, and eventually intersect at
16 Fur wrap brought out “A Strange Eventful Europa. 387 pp. Claridge’s restaurant.
17 Log flume, e.g. History,” a double biography of $26 In its plot “Shadowplay” chron-
19 Husky hello Henry Irving and Ellen Terry, the icles Stoker’s lifelong loneliness,
20 Whitman’s greatest actor and actress of late his suppressed desires (poignant-
“When Lilacs Victorian England. It was, to use a ly touched on in a letter to Walt
Last in the showbiz phrase, absolutely fabu- Whitman), his feisty wife Flor-
Dooryard lous, one of those books that make ence’s recognition that Irving is
Bloom’d,” e.g. you hug yourself with pleasure as them and asking them to talk ‘in her “rival.” At the same time,
22 Odds alternative you turn the pages, which, I might that accent,’ the impresarios argu- O’Connor intersperses details that
add, is no easy trick. A little later, ing out every clause of the con- might as well bear an asterisk and
23 Connection in 2016, David J. Skal produced tract, bargaining, hectoring, in the note: “See ‘Dracula.’ ” These
need at some “Something in the Blood,” a life of several cities weeping, not want- include a police constable’s sharp
coffee shops Bram Stoker, whom we remember ing to pay, pleading bankruptcy or white incisors, a photograph of
25 Classic 1953 for “Dracula” but who earned his a dying relative, scenery going Sarah Bernhardt sleeping in her
western living as general manager of Lon- missing, an actress absconding coffin, a stagehand named Jona-
26 Charge don’s Lyceum Theatre. Like others with a cowboy, the stagehands than Harker and a ghost named
27 Telluride before him, Skal speculated that wanting more money, five broken Mina, actors using garlic to fend
automaker Stoker partly modeled the Count limbs, three impregnations, one off sore throats, a visit to a mad-
28 Direction opp. after his boss, the imperious and surgical procedure (‘extraction of house where an inmate eats flies,
8-Down volatile owner of the Lyceum, bullet from actor’s thigh following and even Stoker’s childhood mem-
none other than Henry Irving. misunderstanding at barn dance, ory of being bled by leeches: “It
30 “Avatar” actress
As Joseph O’Connor acknowl- $80’), the theatre destroyed by a was a terrible feeling, of losing
Saldana edges, these two books provide tornado in Detroit.” one’s lifeblood.”
32 Parking much of the background for “Shad- O’Connor dazzles with such col- Many fans of “Dracula,” howev-
ticket holder, © 2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. owplay,” a gorgeously written his- oratura paragraphs, but he can do er, will doubtless be surprised to
6/25/20
perhaps torical novel about Stoker’s inner voices too. Here’s Ellen Terry in old learn that the Count once wrote to
36 Iraqi money 67 With 64-Across, 24 “My concern 33 “As if!” 50 Heist master- life, his never-quite-expressed love age: “Darling, I’ve played the late Stoker, complaining about the
38 Cricket club like a town lack- is ...” 34 Legal __ mind of film for Irving and Terry, and the gradu- show at the Liverpool Apollo on a way he was portrayed:
39 That’s a wrap! ing restrictions 25 Elton John’s title 35 Calif. NFLer 51 Bamboo eater al creation of “Dracula.” Through- Saturday night. Hell itself holds no “As the embodiment of evil blood-
40 Cut into ... and a hint out, O’Connor mixes stream-of- fears for me.” And here’s Irving, lust, I do understand that the chal-
27 __ diet: high-fat, 36 Cry from 52 Meted (out)
43 “The Last Jedi” to 17-, 23- and consciousness narrative with ficti- disdainfully responding to report- lenges of capturing me on the page
low-carb Homer 53 Internet issue tious correspondence, newspaper ers asking if they might speak with are not inconsiderable. But ought
heroine 32-Across regimen 37 Not family- 54 Foreign policy articles and interviews. One long “Miss Terry”: you to have stressed the negative?
44 Cholesterol 29 Former Chinese friendly advisory gp. section vividly evokes the fearful “That, my dear gentles, you “I will have you know, sir, that
letters DOWN Premier __ 41 Large load 55 Slightly, in scores nights when “Saucy Jack” the Rip- must ask her yourselves. You will being a vampire is not easy. The
45 Kid 1 Lab glassware Jiabao 42 __ salon 56 Difficult position per stalked Whitechapel. Oscar find her at the Lyceum . . . posing hours are unsociable. The clothes
46 Alias letters eponym 30 Old storage 47 “Web Therapy” 59 Fury Wilde even flounces briefly by in this afternoon for a portrait by Mr. are old-fashioned. Opportunities
48 Like proofed 2 “Gotta go!” devices actress Lisa 61 Prefix with all his florid glory. Whistler, nude but for some judi- to meet girls are limited.”
dough 3 Zilch 31 Quips 49 Sleeping giant center Yet having missed O’Connor’s ciously placed oak leaves. Miss The actual author of this comic
50 Late 19th- 4 Aegean country 2004 bestseller, “Star of the Sea,” I Terry, I mean, not Whistler, thank letter is Stoker’s friend Ellen Terry,
century 5 Worked in the wasn’t prepared to be awed by his Christ. Now if you’ll excuse Mr. who almost alone believes in his
smoking yard WEDNESDAY’S LA TIMES SOLUTION prose, which is so good you can Stoker and me, we have young genius. She is also kind, no-non-
establishment taste it. For instance, in the follow- minds to corrupt.” sense and irresistible, stealing ev-
6 “Opposites ing long, almost breathless pas- O’Connor’s virtuosity more qui- ery scene she’s in:
55 Ached (for) attract,” for one sage, Stoker summarizes the Lyce- etly reveals itself in his descrip- “You see, acting is not a matter
56 Nearly boil 7 Highway um company’s American tour: tions, as when the young Bram of pretending to be someone else
57 Wt. units alternative “Then, 72 cities in 25 weeks, 122 sees “Smacks heading down the but of finding the other person in
58 Start to 8 Direction opp. shows. The exhaustion, the trains. estuary, trailing petticoats of nets” oneself and then putting her on
turn mushy, 28-Across The Niagara Falls of paperwork. or observes “the last bedraggled view. It’s nothing mystifying . . . it’s
maybe 9 Insect stage The receipts and lost passports, tarts streeling home to their being. I learned it when I was a
60 Artifact 10 Dell gaming the cancelled hotels, the actors rooms.” As you might sense, Ire- little girl myself, my father ran a
62 Part of CPA: brand whose suffering diarrhea and toothache land’s own James Joyce lurks in the travelling pantomime. He never
Abbr. name was and fevers, needing doctors in the corners of such prose, like the mys- told me, ‘Pretend to be a fairy.’ He’d
63 Map line inspired by middle of the night, losing their terious man in the mackintosh of say, “Today you’re a fairy, Len. Fly.”
“The X-Files” wages at cards, falling in love with “Ulysses.” Joycean techniques pop Terry ends by saying, “I don’t
64 With 67-Across, attractive Midwesterners and not up repeatedly: an abundance of like seeing the acting, I like seeing
doctor’s order 11 Camel’s wanting to move on to the next sentence fragments, passages of the fairies fly.” In “Shadowplay,”
... and a hint to favorite time? city, getting rolled by finaglers, question and response, short play- there are no fairies, but Joseph
40-, 50- and 12 Has eyes on robbed by ladies of the street, be- lets, phantasmagoric interludes. A O’Connor’s magnificent novel
58-Across 16 Toothed tool ing arrested, arraigned, jailed, coda even emulates the earlier does even more than fly, it soars.
65 Olympus 18 Fixes up bailed, bitten by mosquitoes, novel’s Wandering Rocks section, mdirda@gamail.com
neighbor 21 Movie mogul stung by hornets or roasting slow- as O’Connor tracks the carefully
66 Sicilian volcano Marcus ly on the flames of American suc- timed movement of two elderly Michael Dirda reviews books each
cess, everyone wanting to touch people through London, who un- Thursday in Style.
 EFGHI
C7

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The Washington Post at 7:00 p.m. on the Charter Review Commission’s review of the
Rockville City Charter. The Mayor and Council is seeking input from
The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to establish a
Contract with one (1) qualified and experienced safety and security
End Unit Town House on Priv Golf
Cs.
Has Amish blt Storage Bldg on well
Williamsburg Group, LLC, Petitioner the public regarding the scope of review that should be performed by consulting firm to assist in the continuous improvement of the Virginia
the Charter Review Commission. Railway Express (VRE) System Safety and Security Program, as well treed 3/4 acre +/-. Club has 4 Star
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing as scheduled as the development of ancillary emergency response plans and other Rest, Pool, Tennis,etc.,Located
in The charter is a legal document similar to constitution. It establishes pertinent documents. NW corner of City (Services), State
above will be held by the Hearing Examiner of Howard the City’s corporate limits and outlines how the City is organized and Preserve directly across street
D.C., MD and VA area County, at the George Howard Building, 3430 Courthouse conducts business, such as holding elections, levying taxes, adopting The RFP is available on VRE’s website at (nature) which ends in cul-de-sac
Drive, Ellicott City, Maryland, on the petition of said Petition- ordinances, and providing services. https://www.vre.org/about/procurement/. (no thru traffic).Quiet,
er, filed under Section 131.0.N.1 of the Howard County Peaceful,Safe,Secure upscale
Excellent part-time income Zoning Regulations for a Conditional Use for age restricted The Charter Review Commission will be comprised of up to 11 city
residents.
If potential Offerors are accessing a copy of the RFP via VRE’s website,
be advised that it is your responsibility to monitor this site for any
neighborhood 2.5 - 3 hr drive to
DC
housing with a total of 69 proposed units, with a mix of single
opportunity! family housing and townhouses in the R-20 (Residential:
Viewing Mayor and Council Meetings
addenda. Failure to submit signed addenda may be grounds to
declare your proposal non-responsive. First $353,050.00. Call Joben in
Transportation required. Single) Zoning District, on that land belonging to Wanda Allis,
Monica Haltmeyer et al, situated in the Sixth Election District,
Dover DE. evs. 302-535-0873 Lv
mess.
To support social distancing, the Mayor and Council are conducting Proposals are due July 23, 2020 at 2:00 P.M. EST.
located at the north side of Scaggsville Road, approximately meetings virtually. The virtual meetings can be viewed on Rockville “We want
407 feet west of Lillian Lane, known as 10752 Scaggsville 208
To apply, go to Road, also known as (Tax Map 46, Grid 11, Parcel 5),
11, channel 11 on county cable, livestreamed
www.rockvillemd.gov/rockville11, and available a day after each
at Inquiries regarding this RFP should be directed to:
Appliances supper!
deliverthepost.com containing about 15.81 acres, as shown on file in this case meeting at www.rockvillemd.gov/videoondemand. Kristin Nutter
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SUMMER IS COMING Window ACs We want
in the Division of Public Service and Zoning Administration. How to Participate in the Public Hearing Telephone: (703) 838-5441
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ers $50. Alexandria. 703-370-6797
Email: knutter@vre.org
815 This hearing will be held as a WebEx event. In If you wish to submit comments in writing for the Public Hearing, Search: “Dinner in Minutes.”
1405 Cars Legal Notices 225
order to participate, please register at the following
link: https://cc.howardcountymd.gov/Zoning-Land-
please email the comments to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov by
no later than 2:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting. All comments will
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Use/Hearing-Examiner are unexpired at a certain require the use of force
CHEVROLET In the Circuit Court for Prince
George's County, Maryland Division of Public Service and
to the agenda for public viewing on the website.
date. policy to include certain
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Legal Notices
CIRCUIT COURT FOR
FREDERICK COUNTY,MARYLAND
100 West Patrick Street
Frederick, Maryland 21701
To: DUMBA KUFUNA
7516 TARPLEY DRIVE
DERWOOD MD 20855
Case Number: C-10-FM-20-000295
Other Reference Number(s):
IN RE ADOPTION/GUARDIANSHIP OF
TANIYA K.
Date: 6/18/2020
NOTICE OF FILING OF PETITION FOR
ADOPTION AND CHANGE OF NAME
Please be advised that a Petition
for Adoption and Change of Name
was filed on 02/10/2020 involving
Damon Tremayne Penn; Jamie
Haerylin Penn; for adoption of
Taniya Haejin Kufuna born April 7,
2003 in Montgomery County MD. A
Copy of the show -cause order may
be obtained from the Clerk’s Office.
If you do not file a written objection
within 30 days after publication you
In the Matter of: If you wish to participate virtually in the Public Hearing during the minimum standards; and Will Come to you!!!
Zoning Administration live Mayor and Council meeting, please send your name and phone Documents available at generally amend the County
David Sherman Owens 245
For the Change of Name to:
A sign language interpreter is available for the above hearing
number to mayorandcouncil@rockvillemd.gov no later than 9:00 am
on the day of the meeting. You will be connected with the City’s
www.montgomerycountym law regarding use of force by Electronics
Sherman Phillip Owens
Case ID: CAE19-29533 upon request. Call Citizen Services at 313-6400, or TDD at Information Technology Department to receive all the information
d.gov/council. During the
COVID-19 state of
members of the police and
policing. DISH Network. $59.99 for Home delivery
you need to join the meeting by audio to share your comments.
Notice
A petition has been filed to change
313 6401.
Please monitor your email on Monday for further instructions once emergency, public hearing 190 Channels! Blazing Fast Internet,
$19.99/mo. (where available.) makes good
testimony can be submitted Documents available at
the name of you submit your name and phone number. The instructions are also
available on the published agenda for the meeting. using the online form at www.montgomerycountym
Switch & Get a FREE $100 Visa
Gift Card. FREE Voice Remote. FREE
sense.
David Sherman Owens to Sherman
Phillip Owens
Notice of Availability https://www.montgomer d.gov/council. During the HD DVR. FREE Streaming on ALL
For detailed information please contact the City Clerk’s Office ycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ COVID-19 state of Devices. Call today! 1-855-407-6870
The latest day by which an objection DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
to the petition may be filed is at cityclerk@rockvillemd.gov or go to PHSignUp.html; or emailed emergency, public hearing
AND FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT FOR https://www.rockvillemd.gov/102/Charter-Review-Commission The 265 1-800-753-POST
07/13/2020.
Date Issued: 06/12/2020
THE UPGRADE AND MAINTENANCE OF PERIMETER SECURITY webpage includes links to the 2012 Charter Review Commission to testimony can be submitted Home & Garden
INFRASTRUCTURE AT ADELPHI LABORATORY CENTER (ALC) Report, Mayor and Council February 24, 2020 Meeting and City County.Council@Montgo using the online form at SF
Mahasin El Amin meryCountyMD.gov; or https://www.montgomer
Clerk of the Circuit Court #321 Charter. BATHROOM RENOVATIONS.
Interested parties are hereby notified that U.S. Army Garrison sent by mail to County ycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ EASY, ONE DAY updates! We spe-
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Adelphi Laboratory Center (ALC) has Written comments may also be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office, Council, 100 Maryland Ave., PHSignUp.html; or emailed cialize in safe-bathing. Grab bars, no
To: Daniel Isaias Lopez prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance with 111 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland, 20850, or forwarded by Rockville, MD 20850; or to slip flooring & seated showers. Call Take The Post for a run.
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, and regulations email to cityclerk@rockvillemd.gov . Comments received after 2:00 for a free in-home consultation: wpost.com/podcasts
implementing the procedural provisions of the NEPA, 40 Code of pm on the date of the public hearing will not be available to the Mayor
residents may sign up to County.Council@Montgo 855-583-0510 S0264 1cx.25
You are hereby notified that a Federal Regulations (CFR) 1500-1508, and Environmental Analysis of and Council at the public hearing and will be provided to the Mayor testify remotely by phone meryCountyMD.gov; or
Guardianship case has been filed Army Actions, 32 CFR 651. The EA evaluates potential environmental, and Council at a later date. (call 240-777-7803 for sent by mail to County
in the Circuit Court for Montgomery cultural, and socioeconomic effects associated with the proposed information). To express an Council, 100 Maryland Ave.,
County, Maryland, Case No.: 6-Z-
upgrading and maintenance of perimeter security infrastructure at MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF ROCKVILLE opinion call 240-777-7900. Rockville, MD 20850; or
20-0005. All persons who believe ALC located in Adelphi, Maryland. By: Sara Taylor-Ferrell, City Clerk/Director of Council Operations
themselves to be parents of a residents may sign up to
female child born on August 30, The Proposed Action will provide a long-term perimeter security
testify remotely by phone
815 MONTGOMERY
2018 in Baltimore City, Maryland
to Adrienne Janelle Jordan, also
infrastructure solution that includes upgrades and maintenance to Legal Notices (call 240-777-7803 for
information). To express an
known as Dominique Michelle Jor-
a total of approximately 3.6 linear miles of chain link perimeter
Clerk’s Office at 50 Maryland COUNTY COUNCIL
dan (DOB: July 29, 1987) and Daniel
fence, and expands roadways along the existing ALC fenceline. The
Proposed Action includes the construction of approximately 1.5 miles Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850 and MONTGOMERY PUBLIC HEARINGS
opinion call 240-777-7900.
Isaias Lopez (DOB: December 14, of new fence, upgrades and maintenance to 1.3 miles of existing phone number (240) 777-9530. If COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
1977) shall file a written response. you do not file a written objection
A copy of the show cause orders
fence, and selective clearing along .75 miles of fence. This work would
be implemented in a phased approach contingent on the availability by July 25, 2020, you will have PUBLIC HEARINGS July 7, 2020; 1:30 P.M.
Roommates
may be obtained from the juvenile of funding. agreed to the permanent loss of (1) Bill 24-20,
clerk’s office at 50 Maryland your parental rights to this child. July 7, 2020; 1:30 P.M. Administration - Police -
Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850 and Based on the analysis contained in EA, no significant adverse direct, (1) Special appropriation to Assistant Chiefs of Police, Trindad / Capitol Hill Small Room
phone number (240) 777-9530. If
you do not file a written objection
indirect, or cumulative effects on the quality of the human or natural To: Jahidee O’mar the County Government’s would create a non-merit w/ twin sized bed. $575 inc all utils.
Kitchen privileges. Use of common
environment are expected. APG ALC has determined the Proposed FY21 Operating Budget, Arts civilian assistant chief of
by, July 25, 2020, you will have Action will not result in an adverse effect to cultural resources, as
Briscoe and Humanities Council of area. 301-523-4772
agreed to the permanent loss of police position, rename the
determined through coordination with Maryland Historical Trust in Montgomery County Non- MARYLAND
your parental rights to this child. accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
existing non-merit assistant
You are hereby notified that a Departmental Account chief of police positions; and
Act of 1966, as amended. Therefore, at the conclusion of the public
comment period, it is anticipated that a Finding of No Significant
guardianship case has been filed
in the Circuit Court for Montgomery (NDA) - $3,250,000 for Arts make other stylistic Roommates
To: Destiny Renae Impact (FONSI) would be signed. An Environmental Impact Statement County, Maryland, Case No.: 6-Z- COVID-19 Relief Fund. changes.
Sidibe therefore, would not be necessary to implement the Proposed Action. 20-0008. All persons who believe Source of funds: Federal (2) Bill 25-20, Rental GERMANTOWN 1 BR in a house
themselves to be parents of a male Grant Fund. Assistance - including BR, kitchen, cable, wifi
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, printed copies of the draft child born on March 17, 2019, in (2) Special Appropriation to Amendments, would & W/D . $550 / mo Email
You are hereby notified that a
guardianship case has been filed
in the Circuit Court for Montgomery
EA and draft FONSI are not available to view at local libraries.
Instead, all materials are available on the Aberdeen Proving Ground
website:
Silver Spring (Montgomery County),
Maryland to Destiny Renae Sidibe
(DOB: February 10, 2003) and
the County Government’s
FY21 Operating Budget,
change the age of eligibility
for the Rental Assistance
nkansah1@Verizon.net or call
301-529-5472 umbrella
County, Maryland, Case No.: 6-Z- https://home.army.mil/apg/application/files/2015/9189/0262/ALC_Fe Jahidee O’mar Briscoe (DOB: April 4, Economic Development Program; clarify the HYATTSVILLE - Room for rent $675
Fund - $14,000,000 for plus sec dep plus share utils non
20-0008. All persons who believe
themselves to be parents of a male
child born on March 17, 2019, in
nceline_EA_ September2019_for_Public.pdf

We request your review and written comment of the draft EA and

will have agreed to the permanent
loss of your parental rights to this
child.
Please be further advised that any
change in your address must be
Silver Spring (Montgomery County),
Maryland to Destiny Renae Sidibe
(DOB: February 10, 2003) and
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 KLMNO

SPORTS
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020 . WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS . PAGE C8 RE

What we see in a flag or a noose or a black driver is telling. We can all do better.
The noose in
Bubba Wallace’s
garage stall
cannot be reduced
to a strange,
isolated
Jerry misunderstanding.
Brewer It is a metaphor
for America right
now, ghastly and irreconcilable
and tormenting.
Consider it the race version of
the old dress meme. What color
do you see? Or in this case, how
do you see the world through this
bizarre story? If you’re jaded or
angry about racism, it represents
the long, never-ending and
perilous fight for equality. If
you’re in denial about the dreary
state of the nation, you’re
claiming victory in the FBI’s
conclusion — no NASCAR hate
crime, just a case of a stray, old,
mistaken noose left over from last
year — and moonwalking back
into your bubble. And if you’re a
straight-up racist, the distressing
situation is now hilarious to you.
It was a misunderstanding, all
right. And don’t expect any
understanding to result from it.
Thank God the FBI found no
substantial evidence that Wallace
was being terrorized with a
symbol of hate. Still, even after
the investigation, there are more
questions than answers.
Authorities may have ruled out
what NASCAR initially deemed a
“heinous act,” but in no way does
that absolve those who still have
extreme animosity toward the
sport’s only top-level African
American driver for using his
influence to persuade the sport to
ban the Confederate flag.
Some have tried to compare
Bubba Wallace to actor Jussie
Smollett, who allegedly staged an
assault last year. Some celebrated
by nicknaming him “Bubba
Smollett,” an embarrassing false
equivalence. Whatever happened
here, it didn’t occur because
Wallace was seeking to be a
victim. There is no evidence of
deception on his part. His name
was pulled into this mess because
a Richard Petty Motorsports team
member found a noose in the
garage and reported it up the
chain of command. Everyone
JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
involved — seasoned
The FBI said it found no substantial evidence that NASCAR driver professionals who know garages
Bubba Wallace was the victim of a hate crime this past weekend. like they know their names —
found it troubling, so troubling
that NASCAR released a
statement Sunday night vowing
to “identify the person(s)
responsible and eliminate them
from the sport.”
NASCAR had little rational
incentive to be so forthcoming
unless it had a strong sense that
something bad had happened. It
also had little rational incentive
to do so without multiple highly
informed opinions that the
knotted rope was not merely a
garage pull.
“I’ve been racing all my life,”
Wallace said Tuesday night
during a CNN interview with Don
Lemon. “We’ve raced out of
hundreds of garages that never
had garage pulls like that.”
SEE BREWER ON C9

If our country
has no sports,
there’s no one
else to blame
This week, my
wife went into a
store in
Annapolis where
she, the owner
and a white-
Thomas haired, 6-foot-6
Boswell customer in a
Navy hat were
the only ones in the place,
which bore a sign reading,
“Masks required.”
A man entered with no mask.
My wife said, “The sign says,
‘masks.’ ”
“Why should I?” he said.
The big old man bellowed at
full Navy volume, “GET OUT
OF HERE!”
The barefaced guy got out.
Fast. Later, he came back —
with a mask.
This little story points in
many directions, but one of
them troubles me most:
America is no longer a team.
And it’s killing us. Many of us.
Our clubhouse is so full of
feuding, selfishness, team-last
egos and backstabbing that we
can’t even agree to wear a face
mask during a plague. Our fury
is so close to the surface that a
few words lead to screams. If
the world were a sports league,
we would be a franchise falling
apart fast.
Of course, the world really is
a competitive league — but an
economic one. In that race, in
controlling the novel
coronavirus pandemic, we are
far behind Asia, where, just to
illustrate, Japan and South
Korea are playing baseball, and
Europe, where elite
professional soccer is back in
England, Germany, Italy and
Spain.
The gap is incredibly
embarrassing. If you want to
know why, among many more
serious American problems, we
may have no more Major
League Baseball, NFL, NBA or
NHL this year, consider
Tuesday’s stats. The seven
largest countries in the
European Union, with a
combined population around
the same as our 330 million,
had about 6 percent as many
new coronavirus cases as the
KEVIN DIETSCH/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK United States: 2,074 to 33,730.
Infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci warned that MLB could face a second coronavirus wave if its season is pushed beyond October. Texas and California had more
than 5,000 new cases each.
In April, the E.U. was just as
big a health disaster as

A healthy dose of trust

The success of MLB’s safety plan hinges on players, staff and thousands of others following strict rules
BY J ESSE D OUGHERTY
Major League Baseball’s 2020
operations manual, the guiding
document for playing during the
novel coronavirus pandemic, cov-
ers a lot of ground in a lot of
detail.
Players can lean on padded
railings at the ballpark if there is
a towel between their body and
the surface. Large condiment bot-
tles must be “removed from eat-
ing areas and replaced with indi-
vidually packaged units.” The fi-
nal 10 pages, out of 101 total, are
filled with diagrams that show
how to best socially distance dur-
ing drills and group stretching.
One is dedicated to using two
cut-off men from the outfield
while staying six feet from the
nearest teammate.
But “Conduct Outside of Club
Facilities,” covered in one para-
graph of section 2.6, feels vague
and potentially problematic, ac-
cording to multiple public health
experts who reviewed the manu-
al. It urges players, coaches and
other team personnel to “exercise
care” while away from the ball-
park, then leaves each individual
club to form an off-field code “to
ensure they all act responsibly.”
“It’s basically an honor system,
and you’re trusting that a whole
lot of people understand how
serious this is and will be careful
and safe,” said Zach Binney, an
epidemiologist at Oxford College
of Emory University. “This is a
real gamble.”
Section 2.6 states that players,
coaches and team personnel
must “avoid situations in which
high risk of contracting the virus
is elevated.” That includes “large
groups or indoor activities in
which people are in close proxim-
ity to another.” And beyond the
players, coaches and team per-
sonnel, the suggestion extends to
their families, anyone living with
them and other friends or ac-
quaintances they may see on a
day-to-day basis. It means the
viability of a season — and the
safety of all participating —
SEE MLB ON C10
America. But the E.U. still
operates like a team — one that
believes in science and has the
discipline to fight together
against a pandemic. Now the
results are in.
The E.U. is considering
banning Americans from going
to Europe even after its
restrictions on travel lift July 1.
For the first time, a continent
may be saying: “We don’t want
your American tourist dollars.
You’re not worth the risk.”
The easy out is to blame
politics, especially President
Trump and the Republican
Party, but it’s a lot more, too. A
huge piece of America’s core
character — such as our
collective intelligence and
common sense, our
unselfishness and cooperation,
SEE BOSWELL ON C10
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020
Coincidence or not? Questions linger about garage noose.
BY L IZ C LARKE
The tumultuous sequence of
events that followed Sunday’s dis-
covery of a rope tied into a noose
and used as a garage door pull at
Talladega Superspeedway ap-
pears to have resulted primarily
from one assumption and one
massive coincidence.
The assumption was that the
noose was deliberately placed in
the garage stall assigned to the
team of NASCAR’s only African
American driver in its Cup series,
Bubba Wallace, and intended as a
threat of racial violence.
The coincidence, one that to
many strains credulity, is that
Wallace’s team ended up being
assigned the only stall among the
44 in Talladega’s infield garage
that had a noose that served as a
door pull.
On Tuesday, 48 hours after the
noose was discovered, the FBI
announced that no hate crime had
been committed because its inves-
tigation, which involved 15 agents,
concluded that the rope, which the
FBI referred to as “a noose” four
times in its statement, had been in
that particular garage stall since at
least October 2019, when the Cup
Series last raced at the 2.66-mile
Alabama track.
For that reason, the FBI con-
cluded it couldn’t have been a
hate crime because no one could
have known that Wallace’s No. 43
DI G ES T
RUNNING
Pandemic forces NYC
to cancel marathon
The New York City Marathon,
one of the biggest road races in
the world, was canceled
Wednesday because of the novel
coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to scrap the
50th edition of the race, which
runs through the city’s five
boroughs and draws more than
50,000 runners, 10,000
volunteers and around 1 million
fans, was “incredibly
disappointing,” the chief
executive of New York Road
Runners, the race’s owner and
organizer, said in a statement.
Cancellation “was clearly the
course we needed to follow from a
health and safety perspective,”
Michael Capiraso said.
“Marathon Day and the many
related events and activities
during race week are part of the
heart and soul of New York City
and the global running
community, and we look forward
to coming together next year.”
— Cindy Boren
OLYMPICS
The White House’s Office of
National Drug Control Policy is
urging Congress to consider
pulling back its funding to the
World Anti-Doping Agency if the
international body fails to take on
serious reform measures.
The ONDCP issued several
recommendations in a report to
Congress this month, offering a
stern critique to the structure and
governance of the embattled anti-
doping body and questioning the
use of federal dollars that
continue to bolster the
organization. The United States
contributes $2.7 million annually
to WADA, more than any other
nation, according to the report.
The International Olympic
Committee matches government
funding, so the United States’
contribution helps generate more
than $5.4 million annually, about
14.5 percent of WADA’s 2020
budget.
— Rick Maese
SOCCER
D.C. United will return from a
four-month layoff July 10 against
Toronto FC at the MLS Is Back
Tournament in greater Orlando.
United also will face the New
England Revolution on July 16
and the Montreal Impact on
July 21 in a group stage that will
count toward the regular season,
which was suspended in March
TELEVISION AND RADIO
GOLF
3 p.m. PGA Tour: Travelers Championship, first round » Golf Channel
6 p.m. Korn Ferry Tour: Utah Championship, first round » Golf Channel
SOCCER
12:55 p.m. English Premier League: Watford at Burnley » NBC Sports Network
1:20 p.m. Spanish La Liga: Valencia at Eibar » beIN Sports
3:10 p.m. English Premier League: Manchester City at Chelsea » NBC Sports Network
3:50 p.m. Spanish La Liga: Espanyol at Real Betis » beIN Sports
TENNIS
8 a.m. 2020 (Re)Open: Battle of the Brits, Day 3 » Tennis Channel
4 p.m. 2020 (Re)Open: Credit One Bank Invitational, Day 3 » Tennis Channel
BOXING
8 p.m. Top Rank: Jason Moloney vs. Leonardo Baez (bantamweights) » ESPN
KOREA BASEBALL ORGANIZATION
5:25 a.m. Doosan at SK » ESPN
RUGBY
5:30 a.m. Australian NRL: South Sydney at Penrith » Fox Sports 1
. THE WASHINGTON POST
Chevrolet would have been as-
signed that stall. It was a coinci-
dence, in other words, and
enough to consider the case
closed.
NASCAR officials, however, re-
main sufficiently troubled to con-
tinue their internal investigation
into why the rope-pull in one of
its garages was tied in a noose.
Was it simply to lower the garage
door via the only knot someone
knew how to tie? Or was it to send
a racist message that was easily
deniable, given the noose’s role as
a door pull?
The former is benign. The lat-
ter is cause for concern for
NASCAR and for any company
attempting to project the value of
inclusion, even it doesn’t rise to
the level of a hate crime.
As NASCAR’s investigation
goes on, the multiple unanswered
questions, as well as the intrica-
cies of the sport’s garage stall
assignment policy, have sowed
broad confusion, deepened skep-
ticism among many and hard-
ened the positions of conspira-
cists who either reject the FBI’s
findings or are convinced Wallace
staged the scene.
As many fans struggle to make
sense of the sequence of events,
several facts are not in dispute, at
least in the view of the FBI and
NASCAR:
l There was a noose in Tallade-
ga’s No. 4 stall, which Wallace’s
after two weeks because of the
coronavirus pandemic.
MLS previously announced the
six conference-specific groups,
and on Wednesday it released the
dates, times and TV coverage for
the 54-match competition, which
will run July 8-Aug. 11 at ESPN
Wide World of Sports Complex on
the Disney World campus.
United’s matches against
Toronto (ESPN) and New
England (Fox Sports 1) will kick
off at 8 p.m., and the Montreal
game (Spanish-language TUDN)
will start at 10:30 p.m.
— Steven Goff
Liverpool is on the verge of its
first English Premier League title
in 30 years after a 4-0 victory over
visiting Crystal Palace.
The Reds need just one more
point with seven games
remaining to secure their first
league title since 1990. It could
clinch the title Thursday if
Manchester City does not win at
Chelsea. . . .
French forward Anthony
Martial scored his first hat trick
for Manchester United in a 3-0
home win over Sheffield
United. . . .
Amid more refereeing
controversy and the record-
breaking debut of a 15-year-old,
host Real Madrid blanked
Mallorca, 2-0, to stay perfect after
the pandemic break and move
back atop the Spanish La Liga.
HOCKEY
Jarome Iginla headlines the
Hockey Hall of Fame’s six-person
Class of 2020 after being elected
in his first year of eligibility.
Iginla will be the fourth black
player inducted after Grant Fuhr,
women’s hockey pioneer Angela
James and Willie O’Ree.
Iginla is joined in the 2020
class by winger Marian Hossa,
defensemen Kevin Lowe and
Doug Wilson, Canadian women’s
goaltender Kim St. Pierre and
longtime general manager Ken
Holland.
MISC.
Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm
Brogdon tested positive for the
coronavirus weeks before the
NBA is set to resume play at
Disney World next month. . . .
Los Angeles Lakers guard
Avery Bradley decided to sit out
the NBA’s upcoming resumption
of the season in Florida. . . .
The U.S. Tennis Association
changed its plans and now will
include wheelchair competition
at the scaled-down U.S. Open.
— From news services
and staff reports
The FBI said it was a coincidence that Bubba Wallace was assigned
to a stall where a noose was found. NASCAR is still investigating.
team was assigned. The FBI re-
ferred to it as a noose four times;
NASCAR President Steve Phelps
referred to it as a noose several
times as well.
l It had been there for at least
eight months, confirmed by
grainy background footage of a
video interview shot in the walk-
way in front of the stall in October
2019, when the Wood Brothers
team occupied the spot.
l No other Talladega stall had a
rope-pull fashioned like a noose.
Koepka among those to withdraw from PGA event
BY MATT BONESTEEL
Four-time major champion
Brooks Koepka withdrew from the
Travelers Championship, this
week’s PGA Tour stop in Connecti-
cut, after Ricky Elliott, his caddie,
tested positive for the novel coro-
navirus.
According to Golfweek, Elliott
tested positive Wednesday morn-
ing at TPC River Highlands after
testing negative 48 hours earlier
when he arrived at the tourna-
ment.
“I’m going to pull out to protect
everybody else. I think it’s the right
thing to do,” Koepka told Golfweek.
“I don’t want to risk anyone’s life if
they have respiratory issues or un-
derlying conditions. The only way
this tour can continue is if guys do
this sort of thing and be proactive
about it.”
Koepka became the third player
confirmed to have withdrawn from
this week’s tournament, joining
Cameron Champ (who tested posi-
tive Tuesday) and Graeme McDow-
ell (whose caddie, Ken Comboy,
tested positive). Later Wednesday,
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Mo-
nahan announced that Chase
Koepka, Brooks Koepka’s brother,
and Webb Simpson also withdrew
“out of an abundance of caution.”
Simpson told TSN a member of his
family had tested positive. At last
week’s Heritage in South Carolina,
Nick Watney withdrew after one
round following his positive test.
JERRY BREWER
Incident at Talladega speaks to lack of understanding
BREWER FROM C8
A joint statement from U.S.
Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI
Special Agent Johnnie Sharp Jr.
used the term “noose” three
times. In its statement, NASCAR
called it a “garage pull rope
fashioned like a noose.” Later, in
an interview with reporters,
NASCAR President Steve Phelps
said the sport will continue its
own investigation, focusing on
why the rope so eerily resembled
a noose.
Now, allow me to be vulnerable
for a bit. I wrote a strong column
denouncing hate immediately
following NASCAR’s
announcement that it believed it
had a disturbing situation at
Talladega Superspeedway. I’m
thrilled the Wallace situation
doesn’t appear to be a hate crime.
I’m not sorry for quickly and
forcefully condemning what
NASCAR itself presented as
suspected racism.
I’ll tell you the thing I do
regret, however. After my first
Wallace column, a 62-year-old
woman wrote a thoughtful email
that included her
disappointment that I used the
general phrasing “white
Southerners” instead of the more
specific “some white
Southerners” in describing
people who shamefully have kept
the Confederate flag on display
this long. She is a proud white
Southerner who abhors that flag,
and she wanted all textures of the
South to be represented.
Specifically, she wanted to be
seen as an individual. As a
human. Her criticism was
EZ SU
JOHN BAZEMORE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wallace, 26, whose call for
NASCAR to ban displays of the
Confederate flag at its tracks this
month was instrumental in
Phelps announcing that long-dis-
cussed step June 10, issued a
statement Wednesday saying he
was “relieved” that investigators
concluded that what had been
feared wasn’t the case. And he
vowed that the controversy
would not detract from the show
of unity by drivers and crew
members at the start of Monday’s
Brooks Koepka, left, won’t play at the Travelers Championship this
week after caddie Ricky Elliott tested positive for the coronavirus.
As part of the PGA Tour’s corona-
virus plans, anyone who might
have come into close contact with a
player or caddie who tests positive
must submit to additional tests.
The PGA Tour said none of the 11
people who came into close contact
with Watney last week — including
caddie Tony Navarro, playing part-
ner Vaughn Taylor and Sergio Gar-
cia, who gave Watney a ride to the
tournament on his private plane —
tested positive.
The tour is offering golfers seats
on a chartered flight to each tour-
nament, and the golfers must test
negative before getting on the
plane. Golfers, caddies and tourna-
absolutely correct, and I wrote to
tell her so. I promised to do
better.
The point of that story is to
emphasize humanity. America
has a heartbreaking problem
with dehumanization.
We put too much power in
symbols and institutions, which
has a way of turning us all into
faceless nobodies distinguishable
only by superficial traits such as
skin color. Just to get beyond the
surface of racism, we first have to
cure this instinct to dehumanize,
this inclination to draw
conclusions from appearances.
I’m guilty of falling into the trap.
Everyone is. Few recognize it
until they are the victim.
So the strong reaction to the
turn in this noose story makes
sense. Some of it — the
celebratory responses and
taunting of Wallace and others
like me who shouted down
perceived racism — is almost as
disturbing to me as the noose
accusation. But it’s very human
and rooted in the frustration of
not receiving the benefit of the
doubt.
For certain, before the
investigation’s conclusions, a
faction including Alabamians,
white Confederate flag-toting
Southerners, employees at
Talladega and people throughout
NASCAR felt labeled and targeted
even though they weren’t actual
suspects. They felt like criminals.
They felt faceless, unseen. They
wondered why people were
treating them like savages
without getting to know them.
Sound familiar?
That surely felt unfair, like part
rain-postponed race or the prog-
ress stock-car racing has made to
be more welcoming.
Before each race, NASCAR as-
signs garage stalls based on the
current season point standings,
with the leader getting the most
desirable — typically the one clos-
est to the track entrance, for easy
access on and off during frenzied
practice sessions. The second-
place team gets the next stall, the
third-place team gets the next
stall and so on.
Wallace was 20th in the stand-
ings entering the race at Tallade-
ga, so normally he would have
been assigned the stall 19 spots
down from points leader Kevin
Harvick.
But under novel coronavirus
protocols, NASCAR groups multi-
car teams together to limit social
interaction in the garage.
So Sunday at Talladega, the
preferred stall went to Harvick as
the points leader, and his three
Stewart-Haas teammates (Clint
Bowyer, Aric Amirola and Cole
Custer) were assigned the next
stalls in order beside him before
Joey Logano, who is second in the
standings, and his Team Penske
teammates were slotted in.
The domino effect pushed Wal-
lace’s Richard Petty team further
back in the pecking order, all the
way to Stall No. 4.
When a member of Wallace’s
Richard Petty-owned No. 43 team
SAM GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
ment officials also are tested again
before each tournament starts.
On Tuesday, Jordan Spieth con-
firmed that the PGA Tour had in-
formed the golfers that it will be
adjusting its coronavirus plan in
the wake of Watney’s positive test,
with more testing and tests of any-
one who came within six feet of an
infected person.
Watney originally tested nega-
tive for the coronavirus early in the
week of the Heritage, according to
Golf Digest. But after his first
round last Thursday, a fitness
tracker notified Watney that his
respiratory rates were up, a possi-
ble sign of the coronavirus. That
of America was rushing to
judgment before knowing the
whole story. Surely that made
some people angry.
That feeling lasted for about
40 hours. Black people in
America have felt it for more than
400 years.
Delve into the particulars, and
the two sides are not the same,
not in mission or morality. Not
even close. But we all want to be
seen in full, as vibrant individuals
whose character, intentions and
complexity should be cherished
above all else.
At its core, Black Lives Matter
is a movement screaming for the
dehumanization to stop because,
for us, this feeling of disposability
comes with the fear of senseless
death. It is a relief that the FBI
doesn’t think someone tried to
threaten Wallace. But as his
mother claimed, Wallace has
experienced plenty of racism
during his racing career. Her
long-standing concern for her son
remains valid despite one of the
threats appearing to be a
misunderstanding.
For rushing to support Wallace
and attack the “heritage, not
hate” myth of Confederate flag
defenders, someone wrote to say,
“You are less than a man.” After
the FBI’s findings, another
declared, “You’re upset that this
country doesn’t actually have a
racism problem.”
And then there is this
revelation from earlier Tuesday:
Dustin Skinner, the 35-year-old
son of former NASCAR driver
Mike Skinner, posted some
violent words about Wallace on
Facebook.
C9
noticed the noose Sunday after-
noon amid the charged atmo-
sphere at a venue where Confed-
erate flags are flown more preva-
lently than at any other track on
the circuit, he reported it to the
team’s crew chief, who then re-
ported it to NASCAR.
Phelps, the NASCAR president,
went to Wallace’s infield motor
home to inform him. Wallace
hadn’t seen the noose because
NASCAR drivers aren’t allowed in
the garage under strict social
distancing guidelines.
Hours later, NASCAR issued a
statement reporting the finding
and condemning the act as “hei-
nous.”
Less than 48 hours later, the
FBI concluded its work.
“It’s been an emotional few
days,” Wallace said on his social
media post Wednesday. “First off,
I want to say how relieved I am
that the investigation revealed
that this wasn’t what we feared it
was. I want to thank my team,
NASCAR and the FBI for acting
swiftly and treating this as a real
threat. I think we’ll gladly take a
little embarrassment over what
the alternatives could have been.
“Make no mistake, though
some will try: This should not
detract from the show of unity we
had on Monday and the progress
we’ve made as a sport to be a more
welcoming environment for all.”
liz.clarke@washpost.com
prompted Watney to get another
test Friday, which came back posi-
tive.
The PGA Tour is giving more
than 1,000 of the same fitness
trackers to players, caddies, tour
officials and media members.
“It is very, very unlikely [Watney
catching the coronavirus] hap-
pened at the golf course,” Amesh
Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns
Hopkins University’s Center for
Health Security, told Golf Digest
this week. “We continue to find out
more about this virus every day, but
we know outdoor transmission is
much less likely than other activi-
ties.”
Brooks Koepka and Elliott
played a practice round with Mc-
Dowell on Tuesday, though Com-
boy did not travel to Connecticut.
Koepka said everyone in his camp
tested negative Monday, and Mc-
Dowell told Golf Digest he again
tested negative Wednesday.
“Ricky has my full support in
this. I feel bad for him,” Koepka
said. “We have got to do everything
we can to not spread it. We have to
protect the field. That’s the reason
we have these rules.”
On Wednesday, the governors of
New York, New Jersey and Con-
necticut jointly announced that
anyone traveling to their states
from states where coronavirus cas-
es have spiked must quarantine for
14 days, an order that goes into
effect at midnight Thursday.
matt.bonesteel@washpost.com
Wrote the son with great
venom and questionable
grammar: “my hat is off to who
put the noose at his car. frankly, I
wish they would of tied it too him
and drug him around the pits
because he has single-handedly
destroyed what I grew up
watching and cared about for
30 years now. I will not watch this
sport anymore and that’s sad.”
The son later apologized. His
father made a couple of attempts
at apologizing, too. But this was
not a misunderstanding. This was
the elevation of hatred to an
appalling level of wickedness.
Dustin Skinner would like you
to know his hateful words were
“not about race at all.” So what
was it about? The inability to see
the Confederate flag at a race?
That provokes a desire to tie a
man in a noose and drag him?
Of course, not every person
wanting to preserve that flag
belongs in the same category as
this hostile young man. That’s
important to make clear. But this
wild ordeal validates why
NASCAR finally abolished the
symbol.
It’s poisonous. As those flag-
obsessed protesters paraded
around outside Talladega on
Sunday, it created the atmosphere
for this epic misunderstanding.
And it reconnected us to The
Misunderstanding: Racism.
Think about the noose in the
garage again. What do you see?
What do you want to see?
Why do we live like this?
jerry.brewer@washpost.com
For more by Jerry Brewer, visit
washingtonpost.com/brewer.
C10 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST . THURSDAY, JUNE 25 , 2020

SC O R E BO A RD
Redskins’ distancing from Marshall continues
SO C C ER

NWSL
CHALLENGE CUP TOURNAMENT — IN UTAH
Team founder’s name
SATURDAY’S MATCHES
North Carolina vs. Portland, 12:30 (CBS)
is being removed
Chicago vs. Washington, 10
TUESDAY’S MATCHES
from material, displays
Houston vs. Utah, 12:30
OL Reign vs. Sky Blue, 10
WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES
Portland vs. Orlando, 12:30 BY S AM F ORTIER
Washington vs. North Carolina, 10 AND L ES C ARPENTER
SATURDAY, JULY 4
Utah vs. Sky Blue, 12:30
Houston vs. OL Reign, 10 Five days after the city removed
SUNDAY, JULY 5 George Preston Marshall’s statue
North Carolina vs. Chicago, 12:30 outside RFK Stadium, the Wash-
Portland vs. Washington, 10
ington Redskins said Wednesday
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Utah vs. OL Reign, 12:30 they would remove his name from
Sky Blue vs. Houston, 10 all official team material, includ-
SUNDAY, JULY 12 ing their Ring of Fame, history
Washington vs. Houston, 12:30
Chicago vs. Utah, 10 wall and website, marking the
MONDAY, JULY 13
team’s latest actions amid a na-
OL Reign vs. Portland, 12:30 tionwide reckoning with racial
Sky Blue vs. North Carolina, 10
inequality.
QUARTERFINALS Marshall, the franchise’s
FRIDAY, JULY 17
TBD vs. TBD, 12:30 founding owner, was the last NFL
TBD vs. TBD, 10
owner to integrate his team’s ros-
SATURDAY, JULY 18 ter, and the removal of his statue
TBD vs. TBD, 12:30
TBD vs. TBD, 10 followed years of lobbying by resi-
SEMIFINALS dents who opposed memorializ-
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 ing an owner who was against
TBD vs. TBD, 12:30
TBD vs. TBD, 10 desegregation.
CHAMPIONSHIP In the two weeks since Coach
SUNDAY, JULY 26 Ron Rivera first spoke out about
TBD vs. TBD, 12:30 (CBS)
the killing of George Floyd while
in custody of Minneapolis police
English Premier League last month, the Redskins have
MONDAY'S RESULT pushed for actionable change.
Man City 5, Burnley 0 They developed a town-hall pro-
TUESDAY'S RESULTS gram led by six black employees
Leicester 0, Brighton 0 and created an internal Black En-
Tottenham 2, West Ham 0
gagement Network for profes-
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS
sional development and cultural
Man United 3, Sheffield United 0 RICK MAESE/THE WASHINGTON POST
Newcastle 1, Aston Villa 1 understanding. They received a
Everton 1, Norwich 0 $250,000 donation from owner A statue of Washington Redskins founder George Preston Marshall, a known segregationist, was removed from RFK Stadium last week.
Wolverhampton 1, Bournemouth 0
Liverpool 4, Crystal Palace 0 Daniel Snyder.
THURSDAY'S MATCHES The franchise also retired Marshall pioneered parts of the NASCAR’s only African American sponded by writing, “I’m 100% for tions about old highlight videos
Burnley vs. Watford, 1 No. 49 to honor Bobby Mitchell, NFL — halftime show, fight song, driver, “faked” a noose that a America, if you’re not you can kiss or pictures. Last month, he posted
Southampton vs. Arsenal, 1
Chelsea vs. Man City, 3:15 the Redskins’ first black player forward pass — but refused to member of Wallace’s racing team my A$$,” as a retweet of a post a defense of his predecessor, Greg
SATURDAY'S MATCH who became a scout and integrate. Of Marshall’s legacy, had found in his Talladega garage that identified Del Rio as a sup- Manusky, who was long a target of
Aston Villa vs. Wolverhampton, 7:30 a.m. front-office executive and died in former Washington Post sports- this past weekend. porter of President Trump. Redskins fans. He also quotes Jon
SUNDAY'S MATCH April. They acknowledged Mitch- writer Shirley Povich wrote: “He “Really dude, WTF?” Del Rio Del Rio’s posts drew an angry Gordon, the author of many lead-
Watford vs. Southampton, 11:30 a.m. ell’s significant contributions on was widely considered one of pro wrote in the retweet of the post backlash from many on Twitter, ership books.
and off the field in 41 years with football’s greatest innovators, about Wallace. The original tweet including former NBA coach “I’m not on all the time,” Jack
the team and renamed FedEx and its leading bigot.” appears to have been deleted, and George Karl, but also praise from Del Rio said last month in a video
Spanish La Liga Field’s lower seating bowl from it is unclear whether Del Rio was some fans and conservative web- conference when asked about his
MONDAY'S RESULTS the George Preston Marshall Lev- Del Rio stirs up Twitter directing his comments at Wal- sites. A Redskins spokesman said tweeting. “I’ll come on. I’ll get off.
Villarreal 2, Sevilla 2 el to the Bobby Mitchell Level. Redskins defensive coordina- lace or the person who criticized the team would not comment on I’ll pop in sometimes and lay
Leganes 0, Granada 0
Marshall founded the team as tor Jack Del Rio created a stir Wallace. An FBI investigation Del Rio’s tweets. No Redskins something out there. I don’t really
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
the Boston Braves in 1932 but among Twitter users with his so- concluded that the noose was part players appeared to react to them have an approach. . . . But I just
Atlético 1, Levante 0
Valladolid 1, Getafe 1 rebranded it to the “Redskins” cial media activity Tuesday night, of a pull handle for the garage’s on social media. try and have fun with it, and when
Barcelona 1, Athletic Bilbao 0 shortly after to distinguish it from including a set of retweets — one door and had been in place since In the 21/2 years since he it gets uncomfortable or when it
WEDNESDAY'S RESULTS the baseball team in the city with of a post that attacked Rep. Alex- last fall, long before Wallace’s stopped coaching the Raiders, goes places I don’t want to go, I
Osasuna 1, Alavés 0 the same name. After lackluster andria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) us- team was assigned the garage. Del Rio has tweeted regularly. just get off.”
Celta Vigo 1, Sociedad 0
Madrid 2, Mallorca 0 support in Boston, he relocated ing a fabricated tweet and anoth- After several Twitter users Most of the messages he posts are sam.fortier@washpost.com
THURSDAY'S MATCHES the team to Washington in 1937. er that said Bubba Wallace, were critical of Del Rio, he re- about football, often wry observa- les.carpenter@washpost.com
Eibar vs. Valencia, 1:30
Betis vs. Espanyol, 4
FRIDAY'S MATCH
Sevilla vs. Valladolid, 4
SATURDAY'S MATCHES
Athletic Bilbao vs. Mallorca, 8 a.m.
THOMAS BOSWELL
MLB’s safety plan comes down to trust
Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona, 11 a.m.
Osasuna vs. Leganes, 1:30
Atlético vs. Alavés, 4
America can’t act like a team, MLB FROM C8 last week. The Toronto Blue Jays have strict rules to follow. During
SUNDAY'S MATCHES
Levante vs. Betis, 8 a.m.
Villarreal vs. Valencia, 11 a.m.
Granada vs. Eibar, 1:30
and it might cost us our sports hinges on complete buy-in from
shut down their facility in Dune-
din, Fla., amid concerns about
road trips, they cannot leave the
hotel for meals. They must arrive
Espanyol vs. Madrid, 4 at least a couple thousand people. the virus’s continued spread in at the ballpark in specific time
BOSWELL FROM C8 pushing his car, as everyone This, public health experts say, the state, which is home to the windows. They cannot chew to-
cheered. The reason? A noose is an incredibly risky model for a Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay bacco or spit — two treasured
German Bundesliga our tolerance for our was found in the garage stall 60-game season that was agreed Rays. Then MLB moved quickly habits — and on-site showers will
SATURDAY'S RESULTS differences — key qualities that assigned to Wallace’s team, less upon by MLB and the players’ to shut down all spring training be very limited.
Bayern 3, Freiburg 1 made us great, have than two weeks after Wallace, union Tuesday. The NBA, by con- sites. It’s the rest of the time —
Dortmund 2, RB Leipzig 0
Hoffenheim 4, Union Berlin 0 deteriorated. Is that what the top-flight Cup Series’ only trast, has plans to stage the rest of Outside baseball, the Orlando mornings, late nights, days off —
Fortuna Düsseldorf 1, Augsburg 1
Hertha Berlin 2, Leverkusen 0
decadence looks like in an African American driver and a its season in a bubblelike envi- Pride, a team in the National that puts the onus on players,
Mainz 3, Bremen 1 empire that has passed its peak strong supporter of Black Lives ronment at Disney World in Flor- Women’s Soccer League, with- coaches, staff and their families
Wolfsburg 4, Schalke 1
Cologne 1, Eintracht 1
but doesn’t know it yet? Matter, urged NASCAR to ban ida, in which players and staff drew from the league’s season- to exercise extreme caution.
Mönchengladbach 3, SC Paderborn 1 It’s ironic that, in the capital the Confederate flag from its cannot enter or reenter without opening tournament after some Zuckerman suggested potential
SATURDAY'S MATCHES of politics, Washington sports races, which it did. quarantining. The NHL plans to players and staff members tested penalties for “reckless behavior,”
Dortmund vs. Hoffenheim, 9:30 a.m. fans know what teamwork Federal investigators designate two “hub” cities, with positive for the virus. According such as docked pay, to further
Leverkusen vs. Mainz, 9:30 a.m.
Mönchengladbach vs. Hertha Berlin, 9:30 a.m. looks like. We have seen how concluded Tuesday the noose- 12 teams in each, and could fol- to reports, players went to bars incentivize safety and caution.
Wolfsburg vs. Bayern, 9:30 a.m. championship teams put their like thing had been there for low the NBA’s lead in implement- and then spread the virus. A Jennifer Nuzzo, an associate pro-
Eintracht vs. SC Paderborn, 9:30 a.m.
Bremen vs. Cologne, 9:30 a.m. common goals ahead of months with no link to Wallace ing strict quarantine rules. similar situation reportedly un- fessor of epidemiology at Johns
Freiburg vs. Schalke, 9:30 a.m.
Augsburg vs. RB Leipzig, 9:30 a.m. individual interests. Everyone or any hate crime. Baseball has a much looser folded for the LSU football team Hopkins, said it is prudent for
Union Berlin vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf, 9:30 a.m. is allowed their views. The So we have doubly good plan, which includes air travel this month. It led to a handful of MLB to trust players, coaches and
Capitals know Alex Ovechkin is news. No one evidently did between cities, and does not have positive tests and about a fourth staff unless it is proved that it
GOLF a supporter of Russian anything wrong. But NASCAR’s specific rules once players, coach- of the team self-quarantining. can’t. She said there is “public in
President Vladimir Putin. Not support of Wallace when it es and staff leave team facilities. But it is not just shortsighted public health,” meaning those
World Golf Ranking all of them like that, but it thought he had been targeted Among earlier models MLB ex- trips to bars that pose danger. playing and coaching should
Through Sunday never became an issue in their will be recalled and admired plored for its return was a bubble The experts explained that, even have agency in a model designed
1. .............................. Rory McIlroy NIR 9.05 Stanley Cup win in 2018. When for years. Every member of centered around Phoenix and an- if everyone in and surrounding for their well-being.
2. ...................................Jon Rahm ESP 8.11
3. ...........................Justin Thomas USA 7.42 the team comes first, you NASCAR marched behind other using hubs in Arizona, Tex- baseball was extremely careful, “If they can’t trust the players,
4. ...........................Brooks Koepka USA 7.39
5. .......................... Webb Simpson USA 7.11 search for ways not to fuss or Wallace. Not all of them as and Florida. Yet players ex- there are many complicating fac- there are probably larger issues
6. ......................... Dustin Johnson USA 6.15 unravel. You absolutely do not believe everything that he pressed reluctance to remain se- tors: Florida, Arizona and Texas there,” Nuzzo said. “So I think you
7. .............................. Patrick Reed USA 5.96
8. ............................... Adam Scott AUS 5.81 seek reasons to fight. believes. questered from their families for create disproportionate risks giv- start with a position of trust and
9. ..........................Patrick Cantlay USA 5.80 Right now, the United States Now we know what it looks months at a time, and the intense en case trends and relaxed state make sure they understand what
10. ...................Xander Schauffele USA 5.46
11. ...............Bryson DeChambeau USA 5.42 wakes up every day ready to like when Americans, who summer heat in those states also regulations. The structure of the the benefits are. If there are
12. .................. Tommy Fleetwood ENG 5.40
13. ..............................Justin Rose ENG 5.23 brawl — with itself. don’t agree on everything and made the plan impractical. shortened schedule means that it problems, you deal with it then. I
14. ............................ Tiger Woods
15. ........................Marc Leishman
USA
AUS
5.21
4.66
Good teams grasp the basic probably disagree on lots of Two people familiar with the is likely that most, if not all, of the think if you go into it with suspi-
16. ..........................Tyrrell Hatton ENG 4.64 level of putting the team first: things, stand together and vow dialogue surrounding the manu- 30 teams will visit one of those cion and mistrust, that will be
17. ...............................Tony Finau USA 4.57
18. ........................Gary Woodland USA 4.36
“We can’t win unless we all do that there are some things we al said there was never a discus- places this summer. Then there relayed and people will feel
19. ............................ Matt Kuchar USA 4.34 this.” You either buy in or you all agree on. NASCAR showed sion about placing more formal are the five teams — the Rays, they’re on opposite sides, not
20. .............................. Sungjae Im KOR 4.14
21. .................... Louis Oosthuizen SAF 4.13 go out. that when an issue is powerful restrictions on players’ move- Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas working toward the same goal.”
22. ............................Shane Lowry IRL 4.05 Right now, our country can’t and at the core of our ments away from the field. But Rangers and Arizona Diamond- By July 1, the soft start of
23. .................. Hideki Matsuyama JPN 4.02
24. ....................... Abraham Ancer MEX 4.00 even buy into using masks in beliefs, we can still act like a the expectation, according to backs — that plan to regularly training camps, the experiment
25. ............................... Paul Casey ENG 3.92
26. ............... Matthew Fitzpatrick ENG 3.84 situations in which scientists team. those people, was that recom- train and play either in or near will be in full swing. Players will
27. ................... Bernd Wiesberger AUT 3.67 say it will cut the rate of virus Each day, sometimes each mendations and guidelines hot spots. undergo tests and complete
28. ...........................Daniel Berger USA 3.62
29. ...................... Collin Morikawa USA 3.49 transmission by up to week, sports fans discuss when would be reinforced constantly MLB will test players, coaches symptom questionnaires before
30. ..................Francesco Molinari ITA 3.31 80 percent. or if our games will return. We within each organization and and essential staff every other being admitted to team facilities.
31. ...........................Rickie Fowler USA 3.26
32. ........................ Lee Westwood ENG 3.07 We’re so divided we can’t ask as if owners, players, players would police each other. day. But even that method is Workouts will unfold in phases to
33. ....................... Henrik Stenson SWE 3.02
34. .................................. Kevin Na USA 3.00 agree to take one step — just unions and deciding medical Some outside the sport are al- flimsy, Binney said, because of keep groups small and at a dis-
35. ........................... Sergio Garcia ESP 2.79 three more feet — between protocols are the main issues. ready skeptical. how long a player could spread tance. Then, if that goes well, the
each other when we are in They are not. The reason that “This is a very difficult plan,” the virus before he knew of a plan is to begin games late in the
TR ANSAC T I O N S groups. Social distancing — six sports are returning in the E.U. said Diana Zuckerman, president positive result. He laid out a month.
feet, not three — evidently is and not yet here has nothing to of the nonprofit think tank Na- situation in which a player tested When the operations manual
MLB just too big a sacrifice. do with any of that. tional Center for Health Research negative on a Tuesday, contracted trickled out Tuesday night, so did
Boston Red Sox: Signed C Jose Garcia, INF Cuba Bess, After the Nationals won the If you want to know why and a Washington Nationals sea- the coronavirus Wednesday and another report: Three Colorado
INF Jake MacKenzie, RHP Merfy Andrew, RHP Jacinto
Arredondo, RHP Maceo Campbell, RHP Jordan DiValerio, World Series last year, some there might be no MLB or NFL son ticket holder. “I mean it could showed no symptoms, then was Rockies players tested positive
RHP Graham Hoffman, RHP Robert Kwiatkowski, RHP
Cole Milam and RHP Brian Van Belle to minor league
players accepted an invitation season this year, and the NBA succeed, but it would be very tested again Thursday and for the coronavirus after a work-
contracts. to play golf with President and NHL might not resume, it difficult for this plan to succeed spread the virus for two days out at Coors Field in Denver. On
Detroit Tigers: Agreed to terms with LF Daniel Cabrera
on a minor league contract.
Trump. Other Nats have is for two main reasons. The for all the teams. before anyone knew he was infec- Wednesday, Sportsnet reported
Pittsburgh Pirates: Signed SS Nick Gonzales to a minor criticized Trump or his first is the pandemic. But the “And I guess the question is if it tious. that several Blue Jays players and
league contract.
Texas Rangers: Signed RHP Tekoah Roby and SS Thomas policies. When I went to spring second is America’s sickly sense doesn’t and you have some teams “I’d rest a lot easier if the staff members have tested posi-
Saggese to minor league contracts. training in February and of team. that have to stop playing because testing was every day, but even tive. Expectations are clashing
Colorado Rockies: Agreed to terms with OF Zac Veen,
LHP Sam Weatherly and SS Jack Blomgren on minor March, I wondered whether If we all want to see our of their numbers of infected play- then you still have those windows with reality, even before the re-
league contracts.
St. Louis Cardinals: Signed 3B Jordan Walker to a minor there would be cracks in the country recover — and sports ers and personnel, then what where the virus could spread turn begins.
league contract. team. I didn’t sense any. When returning is just a small part of happens to your baseball season? through a facility like wildfire,” “I will be stunned if every team
NBA winning is the issue, check that — follow health experts’ People are going to get sick. It Binney said. “A good analogy is makes it through spring training
Oklahoma City Thunder: Signed G Luguentz Dort to a your race, politics, religion, guidance on social distancing then becomes a matter of how that a below-average shortstop is without having to suspend opera-
multi-year contract.
sexuality and every other darn and crowd sizes. And for all our many.” going to miss some grounders. It tions and close down for a couple
NBA G LEAGUE
G League: Named Martin Schiller (Salt Lake City)
thing at the door. sake, perform an act so Behavior outside team facili- will be impossible for these tests weeks,” Binney said. “I think it’s
2019-2020 NBA G League Dennis Johnson coach of the Maybe there’s some hope. minimal yet as vital as life and ties has driven recent outbreaks and protocols to catch everything going to happen to at least one
year. Named Bart Taylor (Salt Lake City) 2019-2020 NBA
G League basketball executive of the year.
On Monday afternoon, every death: Wear a mask. across sports. The Philadelphia because of all the people involved team.”
NFL
member of the NASCAR thomas.boswell@washpost.com Phillies had 12 people test posi- and the amount of disease we still jesse.dougherty@washpost.com
Detroit Lions: Signed G Jonah Jackson. community marched down an tive for the coronavirus at their have in this country right now.”
San Francisco 49ers: Signed Jauan Jennings to a Alabama racetrack behind For more by Thomas Boswell, visit spring training complex in Clear- When at the facility or when Dave Sheinin and Chelsea Janes
four-year deal.
driver Bubba Wallace, some washingtonpost.com/boswell. water, Fla., which they shut down traveling with the team, players contributed to this report.
THE WASHINGTON POST THE DISTRICT EDITION THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020

Local Living

Home Still working from home?

Here’s what to know about window
or portable air conditioners. 4
Wellness If coronavirus stress
is bringing you down, drawing and
sketching may help restore calm. 8
The buzz about
bee hotels
A quarantine project that’s a win for you,
your garden and pollinators. PAGE 6
On Parenting My kids are fighting
more since they’ve been stuck
at home. How do I restore order? 11
Home sales L2
Crime report L6
Health code violations L4
 DC
2
Home
HOW TO
Restoring a century-old stair rail that has been broken for years
BY J EANNE H UBER
Q: One section of the stair railing
in my 1903 condominium has
been broken and poorly repaired
for many years. Some wood is
missing, and there is filler of
some sort and a metal band. I
asked a furniture restorer who
used to work at the Smithsonian
if he could repair this, but he said
it’s not in his skill set. He did
write: “It looks like the main
banister of the straight portions
are walnut and the curved U-
shaped end returns are oak.” I
have searched the Internet for a
carpenter who advertises work
on wood like this but have had no
success. How do I find someone
with expertise to repair this?
Washington
A: Many trim carpenters have
experience installing new railing
systems, but for a job like this,
you’re better off going with a
company that specializes in stair
and railing work and is sensitive
to your end goals. Rather than
doing a Web search for
carpenters, search using terms
such as “stairway railing repair.”
But that’s just the first step.
Make sure you discuss your goals
with any prospective person
you’re thinking of hiring. Clearly,
LO C AL L IV I N G
Editor:
Kendra Nichols
Deputy Editors:
Elizabeth Chang, Amy Joyce,
Mari-Jane Williams
Art Director:
Victoria Adams Fogg
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
Designer:
J.C. Reed
Photo Editor:
Jennifer Beeson Gregory
Staff Writers:
Helen Carefoot, Jura Koncius
Columnists:
Adrian Higgins, Meghan Leahy
Email: localliving@washpost.com
Telephone: 202-334-4409
Mail:
Local Living section,
The Washington Post, 1301 K St.
NW, Washington, D.C. 20071
ADVERTISING
Doug Coffelt, 202-334-4440
ON THE COVER
iStock image of a bee hotel.
you want an attractive, sturdy
rail. But how critical is it to
preserve as much of the original
wood as possible? Your answer to
that question will influence how
the repair gets made and what it
costs.
It’s sometimes possible to use
glue and trim screws, which have
heads no bigger than finish nails,
to repair a simple U-shape curve
or even a volute, the spiral scroll
that curls around to the end post
on some staircases. “Earlier, it
might have been fixable,”
Brandon Rogers, owner and lead
carpenter of Stairways by Rogers
in Fredericksburg (540-846-
6472; stairwaysbyrogers.com),
said after looking at the pictures
you sent.
But that missing chunk of
wood rules out a simple repair.
“If wood is missing, there is no
hope whatsoever of gluing and
screwing it back together,”
Rogers said. He’d need to replace
at least part of the assembly.
READER PHOTO
If it’s important to keep as
much of the existing wood as A reader wants to know how to repair a broken stair rail. “If wood is missing, there is no hope
possible, he would remove the whatsoever of gluing and screwing it back together,” said the owner of Stairways by Rogers.
metal band and screws, then
trim off the end of the piece that over the screws and stain The big caveat, he said, is that father retired. Stairways by
has the wood missing. For a everything so it matches as well the replacement wood might not Rogers has a minimum fee of
precise cut like that, he’d as possible. perfectly match the color of the $1,000. Stairway repairs
probably use an oscillating Or, rather than patching the existing wood. But because your sometimes run higher, maybe up
multi-tool, often referred to as a assembly together with as much Smithsonian friend already to $3,000, but you would get a
Fein, the brand that popularized of the existing wood as possible, identified two types of wood in firm estimate before he starts.
this type of tool. Then he’d he could replace all of the curved your railing assembly, that’s Rogers sometimes makes
fabricate a new but slightly pieces, ending where the lower probably not a huge issue. missing parts in his own shop,
longer piece to replace the small curved piece meets the floor or a Stained and finished to match using a router to form the curves.
section between the curved piece lower level. Or he could replace the color as well as possible, the Other times, he sends out that
and the piece he had just just the piece that has the replacement pieces will certainly work to a millwork company
trimmed. He’d make custom jigs missing wood. If it were his own look better than what you have with a computer-controlled
to align and hold the pieces, and house, he said, he would at least now. router.
then he would screw and glue do that, because it would result Staircase work isn’t cheap. It
everything together, using the in a sturdier repair. But with takes precision and experience.  Have a problem in your home?
existing screw holes in the piece either option, he’d leave other Rogers has been doing it for Send questions to
that rounds the bend plus new elements of the stair rail in place, 22 years. First he worked with his localliving@washpost.com. Put “How
screw holes where needed. The without removing any more father, who did it for 35 years, To” in the subject line, tell us where
final touch would be to putty parts than absolutely necessary. and then he took over when his you live and try to include a photo.
Explore cuisines
Search our database of tested recipes by ingredient or name.
washingtonpost.com/recipes
 the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
DC
3
 4
DC Home
Shopping for an air conditioner can be a breeze with this advice
BY L AURA D AILY
First it was toilet paper and
hand sanitizer, then hair dye and
webcams. Now, the latest pan-
demic “must-have” appears to be
an air conditioner. Many Ameri-
cans who thought that working
remotely would be temporary are
seeing their stay-at-home stints
extended. And a home without
central air that is packed with
people who would normally be in
a cool office or outside playing
and socializing can drive up tem-
peratures, too.
If you’ve found yourself sweat-
ing it out, there’s no need to
spend thousands of dollars. The
solution: a portable air condi-
tioner or window unit. Both oper-
ate in a similar fashion. Hot air is
removed from the room and
pushed outside, while cool, dry
air is blown into the room. Within
either type of unit, you’ll find
fans, a compressor, a condenser
and an evaporator that manipu-
late the state, pressure and tem-
perature of the refrigerant. Re-
frigerants contained within coils
absorb and discharge heat
from the air. (Ductless mini-split
systems, in which air-handler
units hang on walls, are a more
expensive option, with a com-
pressor and condenser outside.)
Both window and portable air
conditioners are widely available,
with models to fit most any bud-
get and room configuration. You
want to weigh the pros and cons
of each, so you don’t buy some-
thing in the heat of the moment.
If anything, you may find a bevy
of choices. That’s why I turned to
Rachel Rothman, chief technolo-
gist for the Good Housekeeping
Institute, and Mary H.J. Farrell,
home and appliances editor for
Consumer Reports, for advice.
Here are their suggestions.
The differences between
portable and window units
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
Portable
The basics: Portable units
come with a five- to seven-foot
exhaust hose and a window panel
installation kit for horizontal or
vertical sliding windows. They
must be vented to the outside
(typically through a window, but
you can also do it through a wall,
ceiling or door). Prices range
from $150 to $650, based on
quality and the size of the room
the unit can cool.
Pros: Relatively easy to set up,
because you are only installing
the window kit. Most work with
existing electrical outlets. Can be
stored in the winter.
Cons: “Portable” air condition-
er is an oxymoron. Even those on
wheels typically weigh 50 to
80 pounds or more. Once the
hose is connected to the kit to
As people have their work-from-home stints extended, some are looking to cool off their workspace
with an air conditioner. A window-mounted unit, bottom right, or a portable unit are both options.
vent it outdoors, you can’t simply
pick it up and move it from room
to room. Also, to avoid restricting
airflow, portables can’t abut
a wall. In a small room, it’s
like having an extra piece of
furniture.
Efficiency: Compared with
window units, portables are far
less efficient, because they need
about twice the amount of power
to produce the same amount of
cooling.
Best when: You can’t install a
window air conditioner because
of design limitations (windows
aren’t standard size) or building
restrictions.
Tips: For proper efficiency, you
need to make sure the exhaust
hose is as straight as possible,
because kinks can limit the effec-
tiveness, Rothman says.
Window-mounted
The basics: Temporarily or
permanently installed in a win-
dow opening with plastic, adjust-
able side panels. Prices range
from $150 to $450, averaging
about $250.
Pros: Window units are cheap-
er and more energy efficient.
They are also quieter, because the
noisy components are outside.
Cons: It’s difficult, if not im-
possible, to mount a window unit
in casement or sliding windows.
Units weigh 40 to 60 pounds.
Unless you are a true DIYer, you
may need to pay an installer to
ensure that the unit is correctly
and safely put in. Some home-
owners associations ban them
because of aesthetic concerns;
they just aren’t pretty.
Efficiency: When Consumer
Reports tests air conditioners in
the same room size, a window
unit can lower the temperature
by 10 degrees in 15 minutes or
less. A portable takes at least
20 minutes or more to lower the
temperature by five degrees. The
Good Housekeeping Institute
found similar results.
Best when: You have no re-
strictions on what you can install
in or attach to your home. Rooms
PHOTOS FROM ISTOCK
have double-hung windows.
Tips: Carefully measure the
height and width of the window
frame when open where you plan
to install the unit.
Shopping for a portable or
window air conditioner
Size up your space. Measure
the square footage (height and
width) of the space you wish to
cool. Be mindful of high or loft
ceilings. If you have an open floor
plan, such as a kitchen that flows
into a family room, you’ll need to
include the measurements
of both spaces in your final calcu-
lation. Then, look at the square
footage in the air-conditioning
unit specifications. Says
Rothman: “You’ll want to size up
in general if you have high ceil-
ings, if it’s near the kitchen where
it can get warmer or in a particu-
larly sunny environment. In addi-
tion, if the room will be filled with
multiple people regularly, you’ll
want to size up. If you’re in a
particularly well-shaded room,
you can reduce capacity.”
Mind your BTUs. BTUs can
help you determine whether an
air conditioner will effectively
cool a room of a certain size.
Units with too high a BTU waste
power; too weak, and you’ll con-
tinually run the machine on full
power but never feel cool enough.
In general, the larger the room,
the more BTUs you need.
Most models list their cooling
capacity on the box or website.
However, you may notice two
numbers that can be confusing.
The Energy Department intro-
duced new, more accurate stan-
dards in March that go into effect
in January 2025, but some manu-
facturers have already started to
use the new ratings.
If you see units displaying two
different BTU ratings, Farrell
says to use the Energy Depart-
ment number to compare units.
Also note that you should not
compare a portable air condition-
er to a window unit by BTUs,
because the testing standards dif-
fer. So, when in doubt, look at the
unit’s square footage coverage.
Review the features. Models
may come with extras, such
as a remote control, timers, an
energy-saver switch and sleep
mode. New “smart” units can
be controlled using an app. A
“follow-me” function can mea-
sure the temperature both on the
unit and the remote to get a more
accurate estimate of the room’s
temperature. A “check filter” in-
dicator visually reminds you to
clean or change the filter. Oscil-
lating vents help move the unit’s
airflow from side to side for more
efficient room cooling.
If you can’t decide
When possible, it’s better to
invest in a window unit over
a portable one, Rothman and
Farrell agree. The bottom line is
you pay more for a portable air
conditioner to cool the same
amount of space, and a portable,
even if comparable in specifica-
tions, will not perform as well as a
window unit. Few can ever
achieve optimum coolness.
Still, if the installation will be
too difficult or a window unit
simply won’t fit with your home,
a portable unit can provide some
comfort. Farrell is working from
home in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., with
no central air. “Because of the
way my place is configured, I can
have only one window unit,” she
says. “Right now, I wouldn’t buy a
portable unit, but ask me again in
July or August.”
localliving@washpost.com
Denver-based writer Laura Daily
specializes in consumer advocacy
and travel strategies. Find her at
dailywriter.net.

Home
LIVE Q&A
Veranda editor Steele Marcoux on maximizing outdoor space
Steele
Marcoux,
editor of
Veranda
magazine,
joined staff
writer Jura
Koncius last
Steele week for our
Marcoux Home Front
online chat.
Here is an edited excerpt.
Q: What are some inexpensive
updates I can make to my
outdoor spaces?
A: You can create a container
garden. You’d be amazed by
what you can grow in a small
container, and it’s such a
satisfying project. You can also
add a simple pair of chairs; I
can’t say enough about the
Adirondack chairs from
Polywood (polywood.com) that I
ordered online this spring. They
are made of recycled milk jugs,
so they stand up to anything. I
also love the range of styles and
bright colors from Lawn Chair
USA (lawnchairusa.com). A
tablecloth for an outdoor table
is a great way to add some color
and softness outside, and it can
make everyday dinners feel like
special occasions. Bonus: They
can double as picnic blankets.
Q: Pre-coronavirus, we were
active restaurant and bar
patrons, but we don’t see
ourselves going out the same
way in the near future, so we’re
turning our neglected deck and
yard into a fun summer
environment. We live in a
rowhouse, and our yard is only
about 245 square feet, not
including a garden we just put
in at one end. One side of the
fence is chain-link fencing, and
the other is wood. We’ve
purchased some lounge-style
furniture for the deck, and we
have an umbrella. We are
thinking of sun sail options for
the yard and maybe some
lighting or a firepit. Do you have
any suggestions?
A: Everyone loves to gather
around a fire, so I think a firepit
is a great idea. We have some
ideas and suggestions on
veranda.com, if you have a
moment to check out our site. I
also wonder about a water
source of some sort. Perhaps a
fountain that would create some
soothing noise?
Q: I have a small city balcony
that’s getting more use than
ever. What are some easy ways
to make the space feel finished
and cozy? We have a small
bistro table and an outdoor rug.
Steele Marcoux recommends adding something potted to your
outdoor area to make the space feel finished and cozy.
A: The one thing I would add is
something potted. Depending
on how much light and space
you have, you could try a small
potted tree. We have a potted
lemon tree on our deck. It has
produced only one lemon in
three years, but we love the
foliage. We bring it indoors
during the winter, and we love
having something green inside
during those months. You can
also try plants that are better for
shade and even opt for
something artificial if you
need to.
Q: My new house has a screened
porch from the 1950s that I’m
redoing. I’m replacing the old
jalousie windows with full-
length screens and putting in a
beadboard ceiling. My challenge
is the floor: The porch sits on an
elevated concrete slab that’s
about eight inches thick. It had
been painted with numerous
coats of concrete paint, which
were fading and peeling. I’ve
spent weeks using a grinder to
ANNIE SCHLECHTER/FRANCIS BAILEY
remove all the paint and get it
back to bare concrete. Now
what?
A: That concrete floor is
definitely a challenge. I have
seen some cool stain treatments
for concrete floors that almost
make them look like wooden or
even stone floors. But I wonder
if that will be too high
maintenance for you. You could
consider just polishing it and
then topping it with an outdoor
rug. That will give it that
softness and warmth you’ll want
out there.
Q: We have a large deck with
casual wood furniture
overlooking a bay. Do you have
ideas for small side tables that
will withstand salty air?
A: You may want to consider
something stone or treated with
some sort of glaze. There are
some really great options for
garden stools that can double as
small side tables as well.
Q: I have a natural slate patio
that is 25 years old and is
showing its age. The grout is
falling out, and the edges are
broken; it’s uneven and green
moss is growing. I tried
regrouting it a few years ago,
but the unevenness is
bothersome. I want to replace it
with stone. Do you have
suggestions for a type of stone
that will give me a cleaner look?
A: Any stone will work, but the
key is to have it cut like tiles,
which have a more geometric
(rather than irregular) look. I
like blue stone or slate for
darker applications, and
limestone, travertine or
sandstone for lighter ones.
Q: Outdoor upholstery doesn’t
hold up well to sap from trees
and bird droppings, but it looks
so comfortable. How can I
protect my outdoor furniture
cushions without using those
ugly plastic covers?
A: As wonderful as enjoying the
outdoors is, it’s still the
outdoors, which comes with
trees, pollen, bugs, birds and the
like. You could consider loose
cushions that you can bring
inside more often, but that can
be a pain, too. Plan to clean
them weekly. There are some
fabric protectors out there, but
with good outdoor fabric, you
should be good to go with a
lighter soap, such as
dishwashing soap and water.
Q: Part of my patio is in deep
shade where the sun never hits.
The concrete is green with
mildew. I power wash it in the
spring and I’ve used concrete
cleaners and Tilex, but I can’t
get it clean. Help!
A: I had a similar situation at
my old house. My husband
always wanted to cut back the
tree branches that were creating
the shade canopy, but that’s
what I loved about the patio.
Can you trim back what’s
creating the actual shade?
Q: We have a fairly sizable deck
and are planning to replace our
deck furniture. We have a table,
but it always feels a little small,
even for our family of three.
What’s the right table size?
A: I think that depends on the
shape of your patio. If your
patio would allow for a round
table (48 to 60 inches), then you
may find more flexibility with
that. You can seat three people
without it feeling too empty, but
you could seat up to six people,
too. If your patio is more
conducive to a rectangular
table, there are some modern
picnic-style tables that may
5
DC
allow for that same flexibility.
Q: Are picnic tables okay in the
age of social distancing?
A: For safety, I would suggest
only seating people who have
quarantined together at a picnic
table. If you would like to add
others, I say just bring extra
seating outside. You could also
put down some blankets for
couples or families who have
quarantined together. This is
uncharted territory for all of us.
Q: I have a 19-by-19-foot
concrete patio outside my living
room. It is in full sun on
summer afternoons. I can’t
afford a motorized retractable
shade. What do you think of the
cantilever umbrellas? Are they
easy to open and close?
A: I think a cantilever umbrella
sounds like a really smart and
stylish solution. Unfortunately, I
cannot speak personally to their
ability to open and close. I
would read reviews and explore
the return policy should you be
disappointed with the open and
close mechanisms.
Q: How can you give a part of
your yard up to your kids but
still have an adult quiet space?
A: It depends on how old your
kids are and how much space
you have. We have an elevated
deck off our living room and
kitchen. My husband and I tend
to hang there and let our boys
run around in the backyard
below. But for smaller and more
level yards, I would consider
either visual separation in the
form of low hedges or even
noise separation. Perhaps
there’s even a corner of the yard
that you can make an adult
hangout zone with a fire pit or a
small fountain.
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
Q: I’m considering a flagstone
patio in my backyard abutting
my house. How can I cover up
the siding in a way that makes
the patio feel like its own space?
I’m thinking of some sort of
wooden lattice structure.
A: A lattice structure on which
you could potentially train a
plant could be lovely. There are
wooden options, but wire
options may be lower
maintenance. A vine that
flowers with something fragrant
will make the space even more
inviting.
localliving@washpost.com
 Also at washingtonpost.com
Read the rest of this transcript and
submit questions to the next chat,
Thursday at 11 a.m., at
live.washingtonpost.com.
 6
DC Home
Bee houses are an e≠ective way to draw wild species to your domain
Gardening is
most rewarding
when you take the
time to look. That
gnat on the
chervil flower may
Adrian be a tiny wasp that
Higgins is obligingly
GARDENING pollinating the
bloom.
I find these
small, harmless wild bees and
wasps enormously entertaining
as they flit about and feed on
nectar and pollen. I can’t
distinguish all the species, but I
know they are valuable and of no
bother to me. Moreover, I draw
great satisfaction in feeling that I
have helped create an
environment where these winged
wonders can thrive.
Other gardeners go further,
and they put out nesting tubes
for bees — bee houses or bee
nesting boxes or bee hotels, call
them what you will — and they
are an effective way to draw
certain bee species to your
domain.
There are pitfalls and there is
disagreement, too, as to how they
should be managed, but on
balance bee houses offer a great
way to invite this hidden universe
into your landscape. At the very
least, putting a bee house in your
garden offers a constructive and
educational distraction from
pandemic blues, especially in
households with young children.
The bee house ranges from
something as simple as a few
hollow reeds bundled together to
elaborate framed structures that
you can buy. And yes — unlike
slotted butterfly houses
(remember those?) — they
actually work.
Everyone is familiar with
honeybees, an Old World bee
long established in North
America, but the bees that are
drawn to bee houses are
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
principally species of mason and
leafcutter bees.
There are approximately
3,600 species of wild bee in the
United States.
The most conspicuous type of
these, the beleaguered
bumblebee, doesn’t inhabit bee
houses but nests together in the
ground, old mouse nests and
even tussocks of grass.
For the most part, wild bees
“are small, they’re dark and
they’re in the background,” says
Jennifer Hopwood, a
conservation specialist with the
Xerces Society. “But they’re still
out there, and it’s important to
support them when we can.”
Most wild bees nest in such
terrestrial places, but about a
quarter of them inhabit tunnels
in decaying wood, fallen logs or
in hollowed-out stems, making
TOP: Wild bees find shelter in simple homemade bee nests. BELOW: A bundle for a range of species.
them potential tenants for the
bee house, says David
Mizejewski, a naturalist with the
National Wildlife Federation and
author of “Attracting Birds,
Butterflies and Other Backyard
Wildlife.”
These bees are solitary; they
don’t live in hives or nests,
though they will gather in
bundled tubes, one to a tunnel, to
shelter and raise their young.
Whether you make your own
bee house or buy a ready-made
one, Mizejewski and Holly
Walker, plant health specialist at
Smithsonian Gardens, offer these
tips for success: The tubes should
be removable for good bee house
sanitation; fungal diseases can
build up and sicken the bees.
And if you want to go above
and beyond, you can collect the
tubes in the fall, dismantle them
carefully to examine the
hibernating cocoons and discard
the pupae that have disease or
parasites. The keepers are then
stored in a cold, sheltered spot —
not indoors — over the winter so
they can emerge in the spring.
Other experts say you don’t have
ISTOCK
ISTOCK
to go to such bother to be a
successful native bee guardian;
replacing tubes every year or two
is sufficient.
Harvesting and cleaning
bamboo is laborious, says Sam
Droege, a biologist at the
Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center in Maryland, but reeds
and grasses are easier to collect.
As sturdy, hollow-stemmed
grasses, miscanthus, pampas
grass and the weedy reed named
phragmites are well-suited to the
task. Tie off the stems, cut them
to the desired length (a saw is
Tip of the Week
Outdoor containers must drain to
prevent soggy soil and root rot. Do
not set them on saucers. A pot is
fully watered when water drains
from the bottom, and watering is
easier if there is an inch between
the soil and the lip of the container.
— Adrian Higgins
good for this) and bundle them.
“You can make them into
sculpture,” Droege says. Sounds
like a great summer project to do
with the kids.
Hopwood says one common
tenant is a wasp that lines its
tunnel with blades of grass that
stick out of the end
conspicuously.
Other considerations: The
tubes should be at least six inches
long to allow for a sufficient
brood chamber, and they should
be secure so they don’t blow
around in the wind. Place them
below an overhang to keep them
dry but not too close to the
ground to minimize predation.
Position them to face the
morning sun, so the bees can
warm up early in the day and get
about their work.
What shouldn’t you do? Some
experts advise against
assembling bee houses that are
too large, because the
concentration of bees will invite
disease, parasites and predators.
Don’t use plastic straws, because
they won’t wick moisture away
from the nests, says Samuel
Ramsey, an entomologist who
lives in the District. He had as
many as 10 clusters of tubes in his
suburban Maryland home — he
recently moved — and attracted
mason bees, leafcutter bees and
yellow-faced bees. “There’s quite
a diversity of native bees,” he
says. “They tend to be
overlooked.”
Insect hotels incorporate bee
tubes but offer materials and
habitats for a wider range of
desirable invertebrates. This
breadth of function may make
managing the bee tubes more
difficult, and, in my experience,
these mega structures don’t age
well without repair and
maintenance.
Walker is not gung-ho on the
old practice of simply drilling
holes into blocks of wood because
of the difficulty of keeping them
free of bee diseases and pests.
But others are more relaxed
about this. Droege says grab a
portable drill and bits between
1/16 inch and 1/2 inch and go about
the garden making holes. Avoid
pressure-treated wood, live trees
and Uncle Harry’s rowboat.
“People tend to get very rigid
about what these bees require,
but it’s very straightforward,” he
 7
DC

says. “Drill holes, give them a lot
of options.”
For spring-nesting mason
bees, the best time to put up a bee
house is in late winter, but other
bee species will use the tubes
throughout the growing season,
so there is no bad time to install
one. It may take a while for the
bees to find it, but they will
arrive. “Absolutely,” Ramsey says.
“Every single year.”
An organization formed to
help pollinators, Pollinator
Partnership, gives a plan for a
homemade bee hotel on its
website, pollinator.org.
These insects pose little or no
threat to people. Even the ones
with effective stingers don’t have
the nest-defending aggression of
social species such as honeybees
or yellowjackets, experts say.
Ultimately, the bee houses may
be more for our benefit than the
bees’, because these creatures are
around anyway. Droege says an
acre of land can support an
estimated 25,000 individual bees
annually.
Bee houses are a small part of
what you can do. The best way to
harbor wild bees is to garden
with them in mind, which is to
say avoid using pesticides, plant
lots of herbaceous perennials and
grasses, and let fallen branches
lie to give these insects the sort of
Leave several inches of old stems or canes standing to allow wild bees to use them for spring nesting.
natural habitat they used long
before bee houses were
dreamed up.
Don’t be too tidy. In her garden
in Omaha, Hopwood cuts back
her perennials and grasses in
winter at six to eight inches
above the ground. This leaves old,
hollow stems standing that the
bees will use during the spring.
Ironweed, Joe Pye weed and the
aptly named bee balm are all
good perennials for this use, she
says. The new spring growth of
JENNIFER HOPWOOD/XERCES SOCIETY
the perennials will soon hide the
old stalks.
Some ecological gardeners will
leave top growth after it fades in
October, but Droege says this is of
little value to wild bees unless the
stems have been damaged or cut,
so they can gain access. “I tell
people, cut everything off at a
foot in the fall, and then you have
got a whole source of open stems
for bees to choose next year,”
he says.
Many bee species rely on
specific native plants for their
pollen needs, so the gardener
should consider planting those
for them. These would include
native willows and dogwoods
and plants within the daisy
family, such as asters, rudbeckias
and goldenrods.
By welcoming all wild bees, we
get a practical benefit: They are
good at pollinating garden
plants, so we get fruit and
vegetables and seeds and berries.
But placing a bee house by the
kitchen window and observing
these creatures, even when one
species preys on another, simply
adds to our understanding of
nature. “There’s just no downside
to opening up our world,”
Hopwood says.
adrian.higgins@washpost.com
@adrian_higgins on Twitter
 Also at washingtonpost.com
Read past columns by Higgins at
washingtonpost.com/home.
 Chat Thursday at noon. Higgins
will host a Live Q&A about bee houses
and all things gardening. Submit
questions at live.washingtonpost.com.

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the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020

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E0246 5x6
 DC
8
Wellness

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GAYLE KABAKER

Until last year, Gayle Kabaker mostly used her sketchbook when traveling, as shown above. But when her husband had heart surgery in
November, she started using it to document his treatment, below. This gave her something to focus on while remaining fully present.

Sketching my way through crisis

the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020

How drawing and painting can calm you down and help with coronavirus stress

BY GAYLE KABAKER letting go of caring what my

drawings or paintings looked
As a freelance illustrator, I like. I was simply trying to
always felt like I should keep a document what I saw in a loose,
regular sketchbook practice. I’d fun way. Still, I mostly used my
seen other artists’ sketchbooks, sketchbook when I traveled, as
and they were amazing. But I in the painting at the top.
just wasn’t inspired to do it. It Then, last November, my hus-
felt too much like “work.” band had quadruple bypass sur-
Eight years ago, however, I gery. I was scared. For the 12
had a major breakthrough. In- days he was in the hospital, I sat
stead of fretting that “I should in his room and drew what was
be drawing in my sketchbook,” I going on in my sketchbook or
started thinking that “I get to took photos to draw from later.
draw in my sketchbook!” The (And yes, I’d asked him if he
main key to this awakening was was okay with this. I think he

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GAYLE KABAKER
TOP: Portraits of anti-racism specialists Monique Melton, left, and Ibram X. Kendi. BELOW: Gayle
Kabaker’s sketches about the horrifying death of George Floyd and her fears related to the pandemic.
actually liked it.)
Drawings from “‘life” are al-
ways looser than when I draw or
paint from photos. Scenes of
Peter in the intensive care unit
were terrifying. Drawing helped
keep me calm and gave me
something else to focus on while
remaining fully present.
Drawing these pictures, from
photos I had taken earlier, al-
lowed me to process things
twice — in real time and then
later in my sketchbook.
A few months later, Peter
was doing great, but I had
another source of terror: the
novel coronavirus. I knew from
my hospital experience that hav-
ing a regular sketchbook prac-
tice would be helpful. So, after
the quarantine began, I started
weekly therapy sessions with
Margaret O’Connor, a therapist
and coach who, years ago, had
introduced me to the idea of
drawing and painting how I felt.
For a while, fear was a main
topic of the sketches that result-
ed from these sessions.
I began drawing some of my
worst fears, just letting them
rip. (The words “I can’t breathe,”
seen in the image to the left, take
on a whole other meaning now.)
Both of my adult kids live in
Brooklyn, a coronavirus hot
spot, and I was terrified for
them. Peter remains at high risk,
and that was also very scary.
Margaret helped me understand
how responding from fear just
creates more fear. Talking, draw-
ing and writing about my fears
made them less terrifying. Keep-
9
DC
ing a daily sketchbook practice
helps me stay calmer.
Then came George Floyd’s
horrifying death, and the world
seemed to explode. One night, I
couldn’t sleep. I kept hearing
George Floyd’s last words over
and over in my head. I drew
what I was feeling.
I began to educate myself and
examine my beliefs and
thoughts on being racist/anti-
racist. As I listened to author
and anti-racism educator
Monique Melton’s podcast,
“Shine Brighter Together,” I
painted her portrait. I painted
historian and anti-racist re-
searcher Ibram X. Kendi while
listening to Brené Brown’s pod-
cast discussion with him.
As you can see, my sketch-
book drawings are rough — and
I draw and paint for a living! You
do not need to be an “artist” to
keep a regular sketchbook prac-
tice. It’s a great grounding tool,
and it can bring clarity to your
thoughts and feelings.
Here are some practical tips
for getting started:
l Get a basic sketchbook
that you like. Do not get a water-
color or heavy-paper sketch-
book. High-quality sketchbooks
feel too precious. You don’t
want to worry about “ruining”
pages.
l Start with whatever pencils
or pens you have handy, and
eventually try new materials.
You might find it easier to sketch
with a pencil to start. I like using
a thin-line black or colored pen
and brush pens. Try not to erase.
l My sketchbook lives on my
desk, because that’s where I do
my daily practice. You might
want to carry yours with you.
Whether you sketch at a set time
or a random one, take a few
minutes to close your eyes and
ground yourself before starting
to draw or write in your sketch-
book. I like to put my hand on
my heart and sit quietly before
beginning my morning sketch-
book pages.
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
l Don’t sensor or edit yourself.
Unless you have a friend that
you really trust doing this prac-
tice with you, this sketchbook is
for your eyes only. (I have an
artist friend who acts as my
“accountability buddy.” We’ve
committed to texting each other
a drawing by 10 a.m. each day.)
Definitely don’t share it looking
for feedback. This is about let-
ting go of all judgment and just
drawing or writing what is truly
in your mind or heart at that
moment.
Kabaker is a writer, painter and
visual storyteller based in western
Massachusetts. You can find her at
gkabaker.com.
10
DC Wellness
FITNESS

Gyms use outdoor classes to lure cautious but stir-crazy members

BY Z ACHARY L EWIS
Some gyms at this stage of the
coronavirus pandemic are like
bar owners anticipating a brawl.
They’re ordering their instruc-
tors to take it outside.
In efforts to meet state regula-
tions, boost business and lure
back members wary of exercising
indoors with others, these facili-
ties are moving group fitness
classes into the fresh air, where,
experts say, transmission of the
virus is less likely than in en-
closed spaces. Still, they’re being
cautious and following many of
the same guidelines they would
indoors.
“We can’t put a bubble
around ourselves all the time,”
said Humberto Choi, a triath-
lete and pulmonologist at the
Cleveland Clinic. “We just need to
follow the precautions by the
book. . . . Taking those activities
outdoors whenever the weather
allows is one safe way to do that.”
Though it’s now permitted
again in several states, indoor
group exercise is still highly
risky, said Henry Raymond,
an associate professor in
the School of Public Health at
Rutgers University.
Distancing, smaller class sizes
and cleaning certainly help, Ray-
mond said. Nothing, however,
fundamentally alters the fact that
an infected person in an enclosed
setting could unwittingly spread
the coronavirus with little more
than a cough.
Outdoors, Raymond said, it’s
easier to maintain distances of six
feet or more, and members are
unlikely to breathe the same air,
as long as they’re not in shoulder-
to-shoulder cycling or running
groups, which he advises against.
Solo exercise is still preferable,
Raymond said, but if participants
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
JON C. HANCOCK FOR THE WEST VIRGINIA REGISTER-HERALD
Dewana Waters Grillot leads students in the first Yoga in the Mountains class at Balanced Life Studio
in Beckley, W.Va. “I think people feel safer this way,” she said. “. . . The distancing in that class is easy.”
over the country. In the D.C.
region, where gyms have re-
sumed operations later than in
some other parts of the country,
instructors are turning to parks,
tennis courts and sports fields.
“We had to add time slots the
day we opened,” said Alex Perrin,
co-owner of Cut Seven in Logan
Circle, which now holds up to
eight socially distant outdoor
classes a day, first at Bundy Field
and now at Marie Reed Field, and
plans to rent an open-air studio
later this summer. “We almost
doubled within a week.”
Before the pandemic, Newport
Fitness in Newport, Ky., was a
bustling gym with 375 members
said. Their preferred indoor
classes are full. Others attend
because that’s the only place they
feel comfortable. At least one
member, she said, held off return-
ing until outdoor classes ap-
peared, and some 20 have joined
the gym since the boot camps’
launch. “We’ve had people specif-
ically reach out, saying they were
looking for outdoor workouts,”
Wagner said.
At $5 a class, the outdoor
sessions aren’t yet a significant
source of revenue, Wagner said.
They are, however, pulling their
weight, prompting her to consid-
er giving trainers more hours.
“It’s definitely helped,” Wagner
said. “I feel fortunate. We’re in a
much better position than a lot of
places.”
The shift outdoors has been
even more beneficial to I Perform
Fitness, in Wickliffe, Ohio. Since
he began holding classes out-
doors, owner Jordan Taylor has
seen membership at his small
personal training and group exer-
cise studio nearly double.
Zoom classes and a smart-
phone app kept Taylor’s fledgling
business (he opened in January)
afloat during the shutdown. But
the return to live sessions wasn’t
as rewarding as he’d hoped. State
regulations limit his indoor class
sizes to 10.
By contrast, in his parking lot,
Taylor said he’s able to host
as many as 22 at a time for
high-intensity interval classes
and youth exercise programs. He
wears a mask and pre-loads indi-
vidual spaces with whatever
equipment participants will
need. He also cleans up. Business
has increased as a result. “It’s
kind of refreshing,” Taylor said.
“It’s been a real blessing, for sure.”
Unless the course of the pan-
demic changes dramatically this

in outdoor group classes avoid
clustering, and instructors wear
masks, mark off personal exercise
zones and wipe down equipment,
the risk of transmission drops to a
level he said he can tolerate. “If
it’s really important to your men-
tal and physical health, . . . maybe
this is the way to go,” he said.
When West Virginia reopened
gyms and fitness centers last
month, Dewana Waters Grillot,
co-owner of Balanced Life Studio
in Beckley, figured her 200-plus
clients would be beating down
her door, eager to return to in-
person yoga classes.
Not so. Even at the 40 percent
capacity mandated by West
Virginia, slots were going un-
filled. Participation in virtual
classes, meanwhile, remained
steady. A May survey by the
Associated Press-NORC Center
Cut Seven coach Clarence Stanfield, center, trains outdoors in the
District. The studio is holding classes at a local athletic field.
for Public Affairs Research found
that only half of those who regu-
larly exercised in a gym before the
pandemic would feel comfortable
doing so again.
“I saw it in the numbers,”
Waters Grillot said. “I couldn’t
believe people weren’t flocking
back into the studio.”
Turns out, they were just wait-
ing for a different kind of class. As
soon as Waters Grillot began con-
ducting classes on an outdoor
deck newly built for that purpose,
members returned in droves, she
said. The classes were so popular,
Balanced Life launched a boot
camp, combining calisthenics on
the deck with running on nearby
SUZANNE TYLANDER
wooded trails.
“I think people feel safer this
way,” Waters Grillot said. “I think
they don’t feel so cooped up. The
distancing in that class is easy.”
One of those who felt safer was
Lori Smith, of Beckley. She wasn’t
ready for indoor classes but felt
actively drawn to the deck and its
picturesque surroundings. “It’s
the place to be,” she said. “Even
with the gym open, you really
don’t want to go back in, anyway.”
Neither the American College
of Sports Medicine nor the
Association of Fitness Studios
has numbers on how many gyms
are turning to outdoor classes.
But examples are popping up all
interested in a wide array of
classes. Owner Emily Wagner
said it was not uncommon there
to see 60 people at a time during
peak hours.
The view is different today.
Gyms in Kentucky are only al-
lowed to operate at one-third
capacity. At Newport Fitness, that
translates to just 22 people in the
facility, Wagner said, less than
enough to meet demand.
Her solution? The gym’s
large parking lot. There, in June,
Wagner launched four outdoor
boot camps on weekdays, each
capable of hosting 20 people in
separate, marked-off spaces. The
workouts consist primarily of cal-
isthenics and use no equipment
other than bands. “We’re still
improvising a little,” Wagner said.
Some members attend because
they have little choice, Wagner
summer, however, gyms in the
Northeast and Midwest could
find themselves in mid-to-late fall
right where they were at the
outset of the crisis.
This time, at least, they won’t
be caught off-guard or have to
scramble to develop online pro-
grams from scratch, the owners
said. And when the weather turns
nice again, they’ll have new tools
in their arsenal, most of them
useful with or without the threat
of the coronavirus.
“We’ve found that happy medi-
um,” Taylor said. “As long as
people are safe and we’re meeting
the health concerns people have,
we’ll just continue on this path.”
localliving@washpost.com
Zachary Lewis is a freelance writer in
Cleveland specializing in fitness and
the arts.
Family 11
DC

ON PARENTING

How can we help our kids get along better while in quarantine?
BY M EGHAN L EAHY

Q: Here’s the situation.

Kids: 13-year-old (boy, solid
teenager sulky/rude) with
anxiety issues and 9-year-
old (girl, “bright ray of
sunshine,” helper, needs
lots of attention) equals
lots of conflict right now.
Parents are working (one at
home, one out of the
house). We have tried to
institute “kindness
reports” at dinner, but do
you have any suggestions
for helping them to get
along better? Or at least to
not be jerks to each other?
I also know that we need to
try to find ways to connect
with them individually, but
we’re at a loss there, too.
Thanks.
A: Thanks for writing in. I wish
I could say this unhappiness is a
rare occurrence in families right
now, but it isn’t. Quarantine
plus working from home plus
the uncertainty of the future
equals misery all around.
Siblings who may have already
had a rocky relationship are
THE WASHINGTON POST/PRISMA FILTER/ISTOCK
suffering mightily under the
weight of spending this endless
time together, so I am impressed
when parents tell me their kids I love that you have instilled a your son. Definitely include interesting consequences and get out into nature with other
aren’t fighting. “kindness report” at dinner, items on the list that you both rewards. Whatever it is you children. It will be a nice buffer
I know you want your because it means you have a enjoy, and look up what is decide with the kids, put it in from each other, and it will give
children to get along better, and system in place, even if it isn’t happening around your town writing. When you deliver the you a much-needed break. There

the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020

that is a worthy cause. No one
wants to hear their children’s
unkindness as you try to get on
your fifth Zoom call of the day,
but you need to shift priorities
from the first stated goal (the
kids “get along better”) to your
second one (“connect with them
individually”). Why? Whereas
the problematic behavior may
manifest in sibling conflict, the
solution lies in leadership from
you and your partner (rather
than kindness reports from the
kids). Families are hierarchical,
with the parent at the top of the
food chain, and because you
have a hormonal 13-year-old and
a needy 9-year-old, you need a
stronger stance in two ways.
First, schedule one-on-one time
with each child, and second,
draw some stronger boundaries
around the unkindness.
working. So change the
“kindness report” to the
creation of two lists. One list is
an idea of fun one-on-one time
with each child, and the second
is a list of offensive behaviors
and the rewards/consequences
of getting rid of or participating
in the behaviors. I would like
you to see both lists as works in
progress; they are not meant to
be perfect, nor are they expected
to be followed rigidly. The lists
are a jumping off point for
connection and clarity, so
please, allow this to be a flexible
process.
The one-on-one time should
be practical and slightly child-
centered. That means your first
choice of fun may not be
learning about the newest video
game, but it still counts as fun
one-on-one time with you and
during the pandemic. I want to
stress that you are better off
with frequent and short one-on-
one moments than convoluted,
expensive and drawn-out plans.
Easy one-on-ones are also more
reasonable in quarantine for
your parenting sanity. When you
sit down to make these lists, let
the children drive the
conversation and the ideas. It
may feel like pulling teeth, or it
may be easy. Just go with it.
As for a reward and
consequence system, please
invite the children to hash out
which behaviors are
unacceptable; they are more
likely to buy into a system if
they agree to the standards, and
you also may find out some
interesting information. They
may clarify the meanness you
are seeing, as well as create
consequence, they will fight it
tooth and nail, but you will have
a better chance of defending it if
they created it.
Whatever happens, never take
away your one-on-one time as a
punishment. It may feel
counterintuitive, like you are
rewarding your children for
being bad, but when we take
away our parental love and
connection as a form of
punishment, it creates a cycle of
pain and shame that does not
improve our children’s behavior.
Hence, one-on-one time is
nonnegotiable, no matter how
sulky or needy a child is.
Also, I know we are in
quarantine and you must keep
safety first, but is there any safe
way for your children to see
their friends? Call some of the
parents and figure out a way to
are also tremendous volunteer
opportunities at this time, and
volunteering may be a lovely
afternoon spent with either
child making lunches for
families who need them.
Whatever you do, keep
offering the children empathy
(separately and together). These
are difficult times, and simply
enduring with as much grace as
you can muster is a win.
Leahy is the author of “Parenting
Outside the Lines” (Penguin Random
House, August 2020).
 Also at washingtonpost.com
Read the transcript of a recent live
Q&A with Leahy at
washingtonpost.com/advice, where
you can also find past columns. Her
next chat is scheduled for July 8.
 Send questions about parenting
to meghan@mlparentcoach.com.
12
DC Family
PARENTING Q&A
Handling a return to day care, encouraging a teen to try and more
Parenting coach and colum-
nist Meghan Leahy answered
questions recently in an online
chat. Here is an edited excerpt.
Q: My 2-year-old old son has
been biting, pulling hair and
scratching all of us, including
his 4-year-old sister. The
majority of the time it is
completely unprovoked. She’ll
be playing quietly, and he’ll just
walk over and pull her hair.
We’ve tried one-minute
timeouts, yelling, pretending to
be very sad, asking him to be
nice and gentle, demonstrating
gentleness, etc., to no avail. Any
suggestions? He doesn’t have a
lot of words, but he
communicates very well with
gestures and the words he has.
A: Good news: This is typical.
Bad news: It is annoying.
Good news: You have
discovered what doesn’t work.
Bad news: You have to stop
doing what doesn’t work.
A 2-year-old isn’t going to
listen to logic or try to be “nice
and gentle” or think about what
he has done in a timeout. It just
isn’t developmentally
appropriate.
Here’s the deal:
l You have to keep him away
from his sister (some of the
time).
l You have to catch him before
he goes to attack with one swift:
“No. Let’s go blow some
bubbles.”
l And after he attacks, you
remove him from the situation
with another no.
l Pretty soon, if it hasn’t
already happened, the 4-year-old
will attack back. Please don’t
lecture the 4-year-old about it. I
am not promoting violence, but
the 2-year-old will quickly learn
the consequences of his hair-
the washington post . thursday, june 25 , 2020
pulling, and although you still
need to run interference, it is
okay if the 2-year-old cries. Don’t
lecture either child.
I wish I could tell you that
there is a book or strategy that
will work here, but this is a
stage, and it will pass. What will
make this stage worse is too
much talking and the hope that
the 2-year-old will “get better”
on his own. You have to watch
him more; that’s the deal.
Also, you can run him like a
puppy so he is exhausted. Hang
in there.
Q: Like many, I have been
working from home and caring
for my 4- and newly 2-year-old
since day care was closed in mid-
March. My 4-year-old is a highly
emotional child who struggled
with the schedule change but
has been doing better lately. Our
day care is planning to reopen
soon (following guidelines from
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention), but I am
anxious about sending my kids
back. Beyond the infection risks,
I am due with our third child in
four weeks and know that
avoiding multiple life changes is
generally good for kids. Quite
frankly, I’m exhausted at this
stage of pregnancy and would
love to get back to some sort of
normalcy before the baby comes,
but our day care is being flexible
about return dates, and
theoretically, we could continue
on at home until after the baby
arrives with some help from
family. I talk with my 4-year-old
a lot about returning to day care,
and although she is not overly
enthusiastic, she has been more
talkative about seeing her old
friends and teachers lately. I
know there is probably no
“right” answer here, but I would
love your thoughts on timing.
A: Listen to me carefully here:
Do what you need to do for your
physical and emotional health.
You have many factors to
consider here, so please speak
with every doctor in your life to
assess what is safest for you and
the soon-to-be baby.
The kids will be fine. I mean
that. There will be tears and
transition issues and all of that,
but they will be fine. You need
rest and some level of security
that you will not contract the
novel coronavirus while you are
pregnant. Get the information
and then decide.
Q: What tips do you have for
helping an older kid (almost 5)
with getting rid of diapers? He
just screams and cries and
absolutely panics when we ask
him to simply try to use the
potty. We’ve tried no diapers or
clothes, we’ve tried potty
watches, rewards and treats,
charts, grabbing him and
running to the bathroom to plop
him on the toilet seat, almost
anything you can think of, and
yet he just screams until he’s
hoarse and cries. He has gone
No. 1 and No. 2 on his own
before with no problem (one
random day here or there), but
we can’t get him to do it
consistently. Our pediatrician
says to not stress him out and
doesn’t really seem concerned
with his lack of progress. Any
advice?
A: You have received the advice,
and I am going to back up your
pediatrician here.
Leave it alone.
In my 16 years of working
with families, I have yet to see
pushing and coercion work well
with potty training. Because you
cannot control when and how a
child toilets, the mental
manipulation ends up working
against you. The child correlates
elimination to stress, anger,
rewards, punishments and, most
of all, your angry and pleading
face. This correlation leads to
the digestive system undergoing
stress, which leads to irregular
elimination, withholding and
accidents. The mind and the
body are one.
This is not your son willfully
ISTOCK
disobeying you.
So lay off (said with love).
Q: My 16-year-old is a fantastic
kid — great friend, gets good
grades, likable and outgoing —
but he seems to have difficulty
really applying himself or
making any sort of effort to
obtain something that would
require some hard work. For
example, he would love to be on
a sport, but he doesn’t want to
try out. He wants a leadership
position in a club at school, but
he doesn’t move on it because he
doesn’t want to actually do the
work required to apply. He
wants to get a high score on the
SAT/ACT, but he doesn’t want to
put in the effort required to
greatly improve his chances of
achieving that result. He wants
to shoot great photos, but he
doesn’t prioritize getting out of
the house to take those photos.
This is not new with the
pandemic. He often says that he
wants to improve his time
management to make time to do
these things, but when I offer to
help, I get rebuffed. I am a big
believer in not hovering and in
allowing my kids to manage
their time as best fits their
personalities. At the same time, I
see that he regrets not trying
out, not putting in the effort,
etc., but that regret does not
turn into action. Do you have
any suggestions for how I can
help him change this dynamic?
A: It is easier to have big dreams
and allow them to stay there
than it is to try and fail. Failure
feels scary and big and bad, so
the dream stays a dream. Are we
sure there isn’t another issue,
such as a learning disability or
an executive functioning thing
happening? These issues often
masquerade as “laziness” or
“giving up.”
Finally, depending on how
you understand your child, you
need to maybe throw him into
the deep end. For example,
maybe both of you sign up for
photography classes and take a
weekend, go away and begin
taking pictures. Let him watch
you fumble and try.
Or, go ahead and hire a tutor
and reward him for going.
Nothing wild, but definitely
provide a carrot for the effort of
showing up until his brain gets
over the panic of trying
something new.
We know that if you don’t
push a little, he doesn’t move
forward, so try something else.
Q: Our kids are 5 and 1.
Generally, our 5-year-old is a
fun, animated kid when he is by
himself or with peers. However,
whenever he is around our
1-year-old, he is out of control.
He grabs his brother or gives
him a “hug,” which usually
leaves the baby crying. He can’t
keep his fingers out of the baby’s
mouth and has successfully
bitten the baby. We’ve tried
encouraging gentle touches or
just asking him to give the baby
space, but a few seconds later, he
has stopped listening. This was
problematic pre-coronavirus,
but now that we’re all home
together, it’s constant. I think he
is partly acting out to get our
attention, even if it’s negative, so
we have tried giving him lots of
one-on-one time, which is lovely
until the baby’s nap ends. When
they are both in the same room
together, our older son can’t
focus on anything other than his
brother. This has only gotten
worse as the baby gets more
mobile and grabby himself. Is
there a way we can encourage a
more peaceful coexistence?
A: This is a typical interaction,
and it sounds like you just need
to run interference between the
two kids. I also suggest
modeling, through play, the
difference between rough and
gentle, and when he is gentle,
reward and praise that.
Do we think there are some
regulation issues afoot? Talk to
your pediatrician.
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