The New York Times - USA (2020-07-22)

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LONDON — The American am-

bassador to Britain, Robert Wood

Johnson IV, told multiple col-

leagues in February 2018 that

President Trump had asked him

to see if the British government

could help steer the world-famous

and lucrative British Open golf

tournament to the Trump Turn-

berry resort in Scotland, accord-

ing to three people with knowl-

edge of the episode.

The ambassador’s deputy, Lew-

is A. Lukens, advised him not to do

it, warning that it would be an un-

ethical use of the presidency for

private gain, these people said.

But Mr. Johnson apparently felt

pressured to try. A few weeks lat-

er, he raised the idea of Turnberry

playing host to the Open with the

secretary of state for Scotland,

David Mundell.

In a brief interview last week,

Mr. Mundell said it was “inappro-

priate” for him to discuss his deal-

ings with Mr. Johnson and re-

ferred to a British government

statement that said Mr. Johnson

Trump Pressured Envoy: Get Me the British Open

This article is by Mark Landler,

Lara Jakesand Maggie Haberman.

Is Said to Have Pushed

His Own Golf Course

Robert Wood Johnson IV told colleagues he was asked to recommend the Trump Turnberry Resort.

MARY TURNER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A

When millions of Americans be-

gan losing their jobs in March, the

federal government stepped in

with a life preserver: $600 a week

in extra unemployment benefits

to allow workers to pay rent and

buy groceries, and to cushion the

economy.

With economic conditions again

deteriorating, that life preserver

will disappear within days if Con-

gress doesn’t act to extend it. That

could prompt a wave of evictions

and inflict more financial harm on

millions of Americans while fur-

ther damaging the economy.

Even the threat of a lapse in

benefits could prove harmful,

economists warn, by forcing

households to make precaution-

ary spending cuts.

The benefits program, Federal

Pandemic Unemployment Com-

pensation, expires at the end of

July. But because of a quirk in the

calendar, workers in most states

won’t qualify for the payments af-

ter this week. Most will be left

with regular unemployment bene-

fits, which total only a few hun-

dred dollars a week in many

states.

Millions in U.S.

May Soon Lose

A $600 Lifeline

By BEN CASSELMAN

Continued on Page A

LONDON — Russia has

mounted a prolonged, sophis-

ticated campaign to undermine

Britain’s democracy and corrupt

its politics, while successive

British governments have looked

the other way, according to a long-

delayed report released on Tues-

day by a British parliamentary

committee.

From meddling in elections and

spreading disinformation to fun-

neling dirty money and employ-

ing members of the House of

Lords, the Russians have tried to

co-opt politicians and corrode in-

stitutions, often with little resist-

ance from law enforcement or in-

telligence agencies that ignored

years of warning signs.

The report, in many ways hard-

er on British officials than the

Russians, did not answer the

question of whether Russia

swayed one of the most conse-

quential votes in modern British

history: the 2016 referendum on

leaving the European Union.

But it was unforgiving about

who is protecting British democ-

racy.

Britain Accused

Of Discounting

Russian Attacks

By MARK LANDLER

and STEPHEN CASTLE

Continued on Page A

PORTLAND, Ore. — With a ski

helmet and goggles on her head,

Allison Hyder recounted how she

had told relatives that she planned

to stand at the rear of protests in

downtown Portland. But in the

early hours of Tuesday, the grand-

mother of five found herself right

up front, locking arms with other

mothers dressed in yellow.

Standing with a pack of other

protesters, she chanted in front of

the boarded-up entrance to the

federal courthouse. She remained

resolute even as some in the

crowd began prying at the wood

affixed to the building, leaving Ms.

Hyder uneasy about where things

were headed.

“I am the face of ‘anarchy,’ ” Ms.

Hyder declared. “The people of

the U.S. need to know that moms,

grandmas and nurses are out here

in the middle of the night demand-

ing rights for everybody.”

The demonstrations that have

shuddered through Portland for

54 consecutive nights have drawn

out a complicated mix of griev-

ances, with a wide array of people

expressing them using a multi-

tude of tactics to make sure they

get heard.

In Oregon, a state with a deep

history of racism that included ra-

cial-exclusion laws that extended

into the 20th century, the Portland

protests have persisted since

George Floyd’s killing even as

Black Lives Matter demonstra-

tions have waned in many other

parts of the country.

But some leaders in the Black

community, grateful for a wide-

spread discussion on race, worry

that what should be a moment for

racial justice in Portland could be

squandered by violence. Business

owners supportive of change have

been left demoralized by the may-

hem the protests have brought.

The city’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, de-

spised by many of those in the

streets, has now been fighting to

have federal officers leave them

alone.

Amid the Gordian knot of frus-

trations and escalations, most ev-

eryone seems to agree about one

thing: The combative deployment

of camouflaged federal agents has

only made things worse.

President Trump, in pushing a

law-and-order message for his re-

election campaign, has embraced

a dark vision of Portland as a law-

less place filled with “anarchists”

who “hate our country.” His ad-

ministration’s crackdown has

Sent to Quell Unrest in Portland, Federal Agents Fan the Flames

By MIKE BAKER Resistance From a City,

and a Wall of Moms

In Portland, Ore., federal officers in camouflage have used aggressive tactics like firing tear gas canisters against protesters, which included a peaceful line of mothers.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MASON TRINCA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A

As President Trump deploys

federal agents to Portland, Ore.,

and threatens to dispatch more to

other cities, his re-election cam-

paign is spending millions of dol-

lars on several ominous television

ads that promote fear and dovetail

with his political message of “law

and order.”

The influx of agents in Portland

has led to scenes of confrontations

and chaos that Mr. Trump and his

White House aides have pointed

to as they try to burnish a false

narrative about Democratic

elected officials allowing danger-

ous protesters to create wide-

spread bedlam.

The Trump campaign is driving

home that message with a new ad

that tries to tie its dark portrayal

of Democratic-led cities to Mr.

Trump’s main rival, Joseph R. Bi-

den Jr. — with exaggerated im-

ages intended to persuade view-

ers that lawless anarchy would

prevail if Mr. Biden won the presi-

dency. The ad simulates a break-

in at the home of an older woman

and ends with her being attacked

while she waits on hold for a 911

call, as shadowy, dark intruders

flicker in the background.

So far, the campaign has spent

almost $20 million over the last 20

days on that ad and two other sim-

ilar ones, more than Mr. Biden has

spent on his total television budg-

et in the same time frame, and a

relatively large sum for this stage

of the race. Though the ads pre-

date the federal actions in Port-

land, they convey a common

theme of lawlessness under Dem-

ocratic leadership.

The focus of the Trump admin-

istration in recent days has been

ADS PLAY ON FEAR

AS TRUMP RAISES

TENSION IN CITIES

AN EFFORT TO TAR BIDEN

Clashes With Protesters

Used to Fuel Message

of ‘Law and Order’

This article is by Maggie Ha-

berman, Nick Corasanitiand Annie

Karni.

Continued on Page A

BRUSSELS — After nearly five
days of intense haggling, Euro-
pean Union leaders stepped up
Tuesday to confront one of the
gravest challenges in the bloc’s
history, agreeing to a landmark
spending package to rescue their
economies from the ravages of the
coronavirus pandemic.
The 750 billion euro ($857 bil-
lion) stimulus agreement, spear-
headed by Chancellor Angela
Merkel of Germany and President
Emmanuel Macron of France,

sent a strong signal of solidarity
even as it exposed deep new fault
lines in a bloc reshaped by Brit-
ain’s exit.
The deal was notable for its
firsts: European countries will
raise large sums by selling bonds
collectively, rather than individu-
ally; and much of that money will
be distributed to the hardest-hit
nations as grants with no repay-
ment needed — not as loans that
would swell their national debts.
Those extraordinary steps re-
flected a difficult consensus
among members: that the scale of
the crisis facing the world’s big-
gest bloc of nations required
groundbreaking measures to en-
sure its legitimacy, stability and
prosperity.
“Europe has shown it is able to
break new ground in a special sit-
uation. Exceptional situations re-
quire exceptional measures,” Ms.
Merkel said in a news conference

Stimulus Plan

Bares Cracks

In E.U. Unity

By MATINA STEVIS-GRIDNEFF

and STEVEN ERLANGER

European leaders on their

fourth day of talks in Brussels.

POOL PHOTO BY JOHN THYS

Continued on Page A

The coronavirus is turning everyday

pleasures into extravagances available

to those willing to pay for them. PAGE B

BUSINESS B1-

And Now, Pandemic Luxury

Through online bake sales, pastry chefs

have raised millions of dollars to fight

racism. Above, Cheryl Day at her bak-

ery in Savannah, Ga. PAGE D

FOOD D1-

Truth, Justice and Cookies

Noël Coward’s play gave comic voice in

1930 to daring new ideas of romance.

Now eight playwrights follow it up (and

push it forward) in a collection of 10-

minute responses. PAGE C

ARTS C1-

Reliving ‘Private Lives’

President Trump wants to omit undocu-

mented immigrants when counting for

the allocation of House seats. Critics

say it’s unconstitutional. PAGE A

NATIONAL A13-

Dubious Redistricting

U.S. officials accused two Chinese hack-
ers of trying to steal vaccine develop-
ment data on behalf of Beijing’s intelli-
gence service. PAGE A

INTERNATIONAL A10-

Plot for Vaccine Secrets

Two adjacent neighborhoods exhibit the
divergent ways in which the illness in
Texas has attacked daily life. PAGE A

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-

In Houston, View of Inequities

Antibody tests from 10 cities and states
indicate that people with no symptoms
may have spread the virus. PAGE A

Study Finds More Infection

A Planned Parenthood clinic in Manhat-

tan is removing the name of Margaret

Sanger, who backed eugenics. PAGE A

Disavowing a Feminist Icon

As activism builds, historically Black

universities have seen a surge of inter-

est from highly rated recruits. PAGE B

SPORTSWEDNESDAY B8-

Athletes Embracing History

The “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek had

been reluctant to write a memoir, but

finally did so in response to the out-

pouring of support he has received

during his battle with cancer. PAGE C

A Life in the Form of a Question

Elizabeth Warren PAGE A

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-

TRUMP PIVOTSAfter downplay-

ing the virus, the president now

says it’s getting worse. PAGE A

Late Edition

VOL. CLXIX.... No. 58,762 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020

Twitter said it had removed thousands

of accounts that spread messages about

a fringe conspiracy movement. PAGE B

QAnon Content Targeted

Today,clouds and sunshine, show-

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Tonight,thunderstorms, low 77. To -

morrow,strong thunderstorms, hu-

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