The Washington Post - USA (2020-10-20)

BY YASMEEN ABUTALEB,

PHILIP RUCKER,

JOSH DAWSEY

AND ROBERT COSTA

As summer faded into autumn

and the novel coronavirus contin-

ued to ravage the nation unabat-

ed, Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist

whose commentary on Fox News

led President Trump to recruit

him to the White House, consoli-

dated his power over the govern-

ment’s pandemic response.

Atlas shot down attempts to

expand testing. He openly feuded

with other doctors on the corona-

virus task force and succeeded in

largely sidelining them. He ad-

vanced fringe theories, such as

that social distancing and mask-

wearing were meaningless and

would not have changed the

course of the virus in several hard-

hit areas. And he advocated allow-

ing infections to spread naturally

among most of the population

while protecting the most vulner-

able and those in nursing homes

until the United States reaches

herd immunity, which experts say

would cause excess deaths, ac-

cording to three current and for-

mer senior administration offi-

cials.

Atlas also cultivated Trump’s

affection with his public asser-

tions that the pandemic is nearly

over, despite death and infection

SEE TASK FORCE ON A

Distrust, lethargy

worsening within

virus task force

KEY TRUMP AIDE SIDELINES OTHER DOCTORS

Infighting troubles experts as they project new surge

BY MICHAEL SCHERER

AND JOSH DAWSEY

President Trump dismissed

precautions to prevent the spread

of the novel coronavirus and at-

tacked the nation’s top infectious-

disease expert as a “disaster” Mon-

day, arguing that people are get-

ting tired of all the focus on a

pandemic that has killed more

than 219,000 Americans and con-

tinues to infect thousands of peo-

ple in communities across the

country.

The president claimed that vot-

ers do not want to hear more from

the country’s scientific leaders

about the pandemic, responding

angrily to a critical interview Sun-

day night with CBS’s “60 Minutes”

by Anthony S. Fauci, the director

of the National Institute of Allergy

and Infectious Diseases.

“People are tired of hearing

Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump

said in a call with his campaign

staff Monday that was intended to

instill confidence in his reelection

bid two weeks before Election

Day. He baselessly suggested that

Fauci’s advice on how best to re-

spond to the outbreak was so bad

SEE TRUMP ON A

Trump: People tired of

‘Fauci and all these idiots’

BY LAURA REILEY

It is among Norman Rockwell’s most

recognized paintings, known alternately as

“Freedom from Want” or “The Thanksgiv-

ing Picture.” The aproned matriarch prof-

fering the burnished bird, extended family

leaning in toward chafing dish and wobbly

aspic.

This spring, turkey farmers around the

country had to roll the dice, take a guess:

What would pandemic Thanksgiving look

like? Would the holiday be canceled entirely,

or would it be the Norman Rockwell grand-

pa carving en masque?

The coronavirus pandemic will interrupt

50 years of steadily increasing turkey con-

sumption, threatening to change holiday

traditions forever. Social distancing and

travel challenges will mean more smaller

holiday gatherings this November — thus

smaller home-cooked turkeys on the table,

fewer holiday restaurant reservations and,

in an increasing number of households, no

turkey at all.

The shift in demand for this most season-

al of commercial animal proteins is causing

havoc for turkey farmers, processors and

SEE TURKEYS ON A

Turkey farmers fear disastrous drop in demand

Smaller Thanksgiving gatherings could leave producers with too many big birds this season

MADDIE MCGARVEY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Drew Bowman stands in the pasture at Bowman & Landes Turkeys in New Carlisle, Ohio, on

Sept. 18. The small-business owner is worried about unpredictable shifts in turkey demand.

BY LAURA MECKLER

AND VALERIE STRAUSS

Large school districts across
the country are reopening cam-
puses to students, a slow-moving
reversal driven by fear that stu-
dents are falling behind and early
evidence that schools have not
become coronavirus super-
spreaders as feared.
It’s a major shift from the start
of the year, when almost every big
school system began fully online.
Trepidation about the pan-
demic persists. In many cities,
coronavirus infection rates are
rising, which could prompt
school leaders to change their
plans. Some classrooms and even
entire schools have opened and
had to close again in response to
outbreaks. In some cities, opposi-
tion from teachers unions has
slowed efforts to open buildings.
But overall, the trend is now
toward more in-person school.
Of the 50 biggest school dis-
tricts, 24 have resumed in-person
classes for large groups of stu-
dents, and 11 others plan to in the
coming weeks, according to a
Washington Post survey. Four
SEE SCHOOLS ON A

Big school

districts start

to open their

doors, slowly

VMI probe Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam

ordered an investigation after Black cadets

and alumni described relentless racism. B

Immigration cases The Supreme Court said it

will hear challenges to border wall funding

and the “Remain in Mexico” policy. A

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Oh, those

aching joints

The best way to manage

pain is also the least

intuitive. P lus why y ou’re

likely to sprain the same

ankle again. E

STYLE

Still on the fence

Undecided voters are

coveted by Trump and

Biden and reviled by their

supporters. C

In the News

THE NATION

Justice Department

lawyers argued that they

can and should defend

President Trump in a

defamation suit brought

by a woman who alleges

he sexually assaulted her

decades ago. A

Thousands of voters

flocked to the polls on

Florida’s first day of

i n-person voting. A

New CDC guidance

advised passengers and

workers to wear masks

on all forms of public

transportation. A

THE WORLD

Digitally savvy anti-

government protesters

in Thailand are adopting

strategies learned from

their counterparts in

Hong Kong. A

President Trump said

Sudan will be removed

from a list of state

s ponsors of terrorism in

return for $335 million

in payment to victims’

families. A

U.S. and Syrian

o fficials reportedly held

secret talks on topics

i ncluding a missing

A merican journalist. A

After bringing the

c oronavirus under con-

trol with aggressive mea-

sures, China has pulled

ahead in the world’s

e conomic recovery. A

THE ECONOMY

A Google search experi-

ment revealed the web-

site has changed a lot

over the years — not nec-

essarily for the better,

columnist Geoffrey

Fowler writes. A

As lawmakers fought

over a relief bill, hun-

dreds of billions of dol-

lars for the Fed’s aid pro-

grams remained uncom-

mitted. A

Despite vows not to use

child labor, the world’s

chocolate firms depend

on more than 1 million

such workers in West Af-

rica, a study found. A

THE REGION

Little-noticed budget

language offered a legal

defense of the Virginia

governor’s efforts to re-

move a Richmond statue

of R obert E. Lee, lawyers

for the state argued. B

D.C. uses signature ver-

ification to safeguard

against fraud as mail-in

voting surges, but some

voters are worried that

theirs won’t match up. B

Two U.S. Park Police

officers surrendered at

the Fairfax County jail

on warrants charging

them with involuntary

manslaughter and reck-

less use of a firearm in

Bijan Ghaisar’s death. B

Montgomery County

Executive Marc Elrich

vetoed a bill that would

provide tax breaks for

developers seeking to

build high-rise buildings

above Metro stations. B

Inside

ERICA YOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

BUSINESS NEWS........................A

COMICS.......................................C

OPINION PAGES........................A

LOTTERIES...................................B

OBITUARIES.................................B

TELEVISION.................................C

WORLD NEWS............................A

CONTENT © 2020

The Washington Post / Year 143, No. 320

1

MATT YORK/ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOP: Supporters of the Democratic ticket listen as Joe Biden’s running mate, S en.

Kamala D. Harris, speaks at a “drive-in” rally in Orlando on Monday, the first day of

early voting in Florida. ABOVE: Backers of President Trump await his arrival at a rally

in Prescott, Ariz. — one of two he held i n the battleground state Monday.

ELECTION 2020

JOHN RAOUX/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ABCDE

Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. SU V1 V2 V3 V

Partly sunny 78/63 • Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, warm 79/62 B8 Democracy Dies in Darkness TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20 , 2020. $

BY ELLEN NAKASHIMA

AND DEVLIN BARRETT

The United States on Monday
unsealed criminal charges
against six Russian intelligence
officers in connection with some
of the world’s most damaging
cyberattacks, including disrup-
tion of Ukraine’s power grid and
the release of a mock ransomware
virus that infected computers
globally and caused billions of
dollars in damage.
That group, authorities alleged,
also hacked computers support-
ing the 2018 Winter Olympics in
South Korea, hacked and leaked
emails of individuals involved in
Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 cam-
paign for president of France, and
targeted the organizations inves-
tigating the poisoning of f ormer
Russian operative Sergei Skripal
two years ago in Britain.
The alleged hackers are mem-
bers of the same military intelli-
gence agency — the GRU — previ-
ously charged in connection with
efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S.
presidential campaign. A nd one
of those charged Monday, 29-
year-old Anatoliy Kovalev, was
also indicted as part of special
counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s
investigation of the alleged con-
spiracy to hack American election
SEE RUSSIA ON A

6 Russian

o∞cers

charged

i n hacks

Cyberattacks were some

of the world’s most

damaging, U.S. says

Senate races: Republicans face a

tricky balancing act on Trump. A

Big Sky red and blue: Montana’s

independent streak is tested. A

BY ROBERT BARNES

The Supreme Court on Mon-

day night allowed Pennsylvania

election officials to count mail-in

ballots received up to three days

after Election Day, refusing a

Republican request to stop a

pandemic-related procedure ap-

proved by the state’s highest

court.

The justices’ action involved

an arcane voting practice but

carried outsize importance be-

cause of Pennsylvania’s pivotal

role in the presidential election.

It prompted a fierce battle be-

tween the state’s Democrats and

Republicans.

It also showed a precariously

balanced Supreme Court, which

has only eight members after the

death last month of Justice Ruth

SEE BALLOTS ON A

Justices allow

extended

deadline for

Pa. ballots