csmonitor--2020-08-24--Renewed street protests after two weekend police shootings

Police in the southeastern Wisconsin city of Kenosha shot and wounded a Black man , apparently in the back , after responding to a call about a domestic dispute , setting off a night of protests and unrest in which officers fired tear gas and demonstrators apparently hurled objects and set fire to parked cars .
Democratic Gov .
Tony Evers promptly condemned the shooting Sunday of Jacob Blake , who was hospitalized in serious condition after he was gunned down in front of his three children as he leaned over into his SUV .
Police in the former auto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Milwaukee and Chicago did not immediately disclose the race of the three officers at the scene or say whether Mr. Blake was armed , and they released no details on the domestic dispute .
The officers were placed on administrative leave , standard practice in a shooting by police , while the state Justice Department investigates .
The shooting happened at around 5 p.m. and was captured from across the street on cellphone video that was posted online .
In the footage , Mr. Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers follow him with their guns pointed and shout at him .
As Mr. Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV , an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire while Mr. Blake has his back turned .
Seven shots can be heard , though it isn ’ t clear how many struck Mr. Blake or how many of the officers fired .
During the shooting , a Black woman can be seen screaming in the street and jumping up and down .
“ While we do not have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the governor said in a statement , `` what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.
” Mr. Evers indicated he intends to take further action over the shooting .
“ I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy , equally important is our action , ” the governor said .
“ In the coming days , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.
” “ As always , the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident , ” Mr. Deates said in a statement .
“ We ask that you withhold from passing judgment until all the facts are known and released.
” In the unrest that followed Sunday night , social media posts showed neighbors gathering in the surrounding streets and shouting at police .
Some could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no peace !
” Others appeared to throw objects at officers and damage police vehicles .
In a scene that mirrored the widespread protests over the police shootings of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor , and other Black people , marchers headed to the Kenosha County Public Safety Building , which houses the police and sheriff ’ s departments .
Authorities mostly blocked off the building , which was closed on Monday because of damage , authorities said .
Laquisha Booker , who is Mr. Blake ’ s partner , told NBC ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she and Mr. Blake ’ s three children were in the back seat of the SUV when police shot him .
“ That man just literally grabbed him by his shirt and looked the other way and was just shooting him .
With the kids in the back screaming .
Screaming , ” Ms. Booker said .
Elsewhere in the United States , protesters marched through a Louisiana city holding signs and blocking traffic in response to the fatal police shooting of a Black man that has heightened tensions between community activists and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an event at Lafayette City Hall where protesters demanded justice after the killing of Trayford Pellerin Friday night .
Activists insisted that the demonstrators remain peaceful , a day after protests ended with fires set on a highway median and police clearing the crowd with smoke canisters .
“ No rioting , no burning buildings , no damage to vehicles , no assaulting of people , ” community activist Jamal Taylor said during the rally livestreamed on his Facebook page .
He said the dead man 's mother , Michelle Pellerin , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ memory respected with peaceful protests .
The video showed what appeared to be 100 to 200 people at the event .
Some then marched to a spot near the gas station where Mr. Pellerin was shot , and images appeared to show at least one person being detained .
It was unclear whether any arrests were made .
Mr. Pellerin 's aunt and grandmother said they arrived on the shooting scene by chance Friday night , as they drove home from a day out .
Police have said Mr. Pellerin was carrying a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enter one convenience store in Lafayette after causing a disturbance at another .
“ We understand it was a call for loitering , ” said civil rights attorney Ben Crump , who is representing the family with attorney Ron Haley of Baton Rouge .
Mr. Crump and Mr. Haley , who joined Trayford Pellerin 's aunt and mother on the conference call interview , said that less than three weeks earlier , Lafayette police simply arrested a white man who had a knife and had led a car chase .
Police said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told officers he was armed and might harm himself , but was talked into surrendering without incident , according to several news reports .
“ There are two justice systems in America .
One for Black Americans and one for white Americans , ” Mr. Crump said .
“ Until we address this we will continue to see more hashtags ” about Black people killed by police , he said .
Both the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center quickly called for an investigation .
Throughout the weekend , local activists criticized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shooting death and the protests that followed .
Mr. Taylor , who spoke at Sunday 's rally at city hall , blamed outside agitators for the violence that erupted Saturday .
He told the AP that he did not recognize people shown in videos setting fires .
Late Saturday , local activists attempted to attend a news conference held by officials but were “ escorted out ” because Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory said it was private , Lafayette NAACP President Marja Broussard said .
Mr. Taylor said an earlier decision to close parks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Black neighborhoods – and a statement by Mr. Guillory about Mr. Pellerin 's death indicate “ a person disconnected from the plight of the Black man , from the person of color who is fighting to be equal and have his life valued the same as a white person ’ s life is valued , ” he said .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP reporters Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis and Todd Richmond in Madison contributed .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Scott Bauer, Morry Gash, and Janet McConnaughey

Police in the southeastern Wisconsin city of Kenosha shot and wounded a Black man, apparently in the back, after responding to a call about a domestic dispute, setting off a night of protests and unrest in which officers fired tear gas and demonstrators apparently hurled objects and set fire to parked cars.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promptly condemned the shooting Sunday of Jacob Blake, who was hospitalized in serious condition after he was gunned down in front of his three children as he leaned over into his SUV.
Police in the former auto manufacturing center of 100,000 people midway between Milwaukee and Chicago did not immediately disclose the race of the three officers at the scene or say whether Mr. Blake was armed, and they released no details on the domestic dispute.
The officers were placed on administrative leave, standard practice in a shooting by police, while the state Justice Department investigates.
The shooting happened at around 5 p.m. and was captured from across the street on cellphone video that was posted online.
In the footage, Mr. Blake walks from the sidewalk around the front of his SUV to his driver-side door as officers follow him with their guns pointed and shout at him. As Mr. Blake opens the door and leans into the SUV, an officer grabs his shirt from behind and opens fire while Mr. Blake has his back turned.
Seven shots can be heard, though it isn’t clear how many struck Mr. Blake or how many of the officers fired. During the shooting, a Black woman can be seen screaming in the street and jumping up and down.
“While we do not have all of the details yet," the governor said in a statement, "what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country.”
Mr. Evers indicated he intends to take further action over the shooting.
“I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action,” the governor said. “In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”
Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha police union, called Mr. Evers' statement “wholly irresponsible.”
“As always, the video currently circulating does not capture all the intricacies of a highly dynamic incident,” Mr. Deates said in a statement. “We ask that you withhold from passing judgment until all the facts are known and released.”
In the unrest that followed Sunday night, social media posts showed neighbors gathering in the surrounding streets and shouting at police. Some could be heard chanting, “No justice, no peace!” Others appeared to throw objects at officers and damage police vehicles.
Officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
In a scene that mirrored the widespread protests over the police shootings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people, marchers headed to the Kenosha County Public Safety Building, which houses the police and sheriff’s departments. Authorities mostly blocked off the building, which was closed on Monday because of damage, authorities said.
Laquisha Booker, who is Mr. Blake’s partner, told NBC’s Milwaukee affiliate, WTMJ-TV, that she and Mr. Blake’s three children were in the back seat of the SUV when police shot him.
“That man just literally grabbed him by his shirt and looked the other way and was just shooting him. With the kids in the back screaming. Screaming,” Ms. Booker said.
Elsewhere in the United States, protesters marched through a Louisiana city holding signs and blocking traffic in response to the fatal police shooting of a Black man that has heightened tensions between community activists and local leaders.
The march Sunday followed an event at Lafayette City Hall where protesters demanded justice after the killing of Trayford Pellerin Friday night. Activists insisted that the demonstrators remain peaceful, a day after protests ended with fires set on a highway median and police clearing the crowd with smoke canisters.
“No rioting, no burning buildings, no damage to vehicles, no assaulting of people,” community activist Jamal Taylor said during the rally livestreamed on his Facebook page. He said the dead man's mother, Michelle Pellerin, told him she wants her son’s memory respected with peaceful protests.
The video showed what appeared to be 100 to 200 people at the event. Some then marched to a spot near the gas station where Mr. Pellerin was shot, and images appeared to show at least one person being detained. It was unclear whether any arrests were made.
Mr. Pellerin's aunt and grandmother said they arrived on the shooting scene by chance Friday night, as they drove home from a day out.
Police have said Mr. Pellerin was carrying a knife and was shot when he tried to enter one convenience store in Lafayette after causing a disturbance at another.
“We understand it was a call for loitering,” said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family with attorney Ron Haley of Baton Rouge.
Mr. Crump and Mr. Haley, who joined Trayford Pellerin's aunt and mother on the conference call interview, said that less than three weeks earlier, Lafayette police simply arrested a white man who had a knife and had led a car chase. Police said Donald Guidry, of Rayne, had told officers he was armed and might harm himself, but was talked into surrendering without incident, according to several news reports.
“There are two justice systems in America. One for Black Americans and one for white Americans,” Mr. Crump said. “Until we address this we will continue to see more hashtags” about Black people killed by police, he said.
Both the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center quickly called for an investigation.
Throughout the weekend, local activists criticized how authorities responded to Mr. Pellerin's shooting death and the protests that followed. Mr. Taylor, who spoke at Sunday's rally at city hall, blamed outside agitators for the violence that erupted Saturday. He told the AP that he did not recognize people shown in videos setting fires.
Late Saturday, local activists attempted to attend a news conference held by officials but were “escorted out” because Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory said it was private, Lafayette NAACP President Marja Broussard said.
Mr. Taylor said an earlier decision to close parks and recreation centers – most of them in Black neighborhoods – and a statement by Mr. Guillory about Mr. Pellerin's death indicate “a person disconnected from the plight of the Black man, from the person of color who is fighting to be equal and have his life valued the same as a white person’s life is valued,” he said.
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This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP reporters Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis and Todd Richmond in Madison contributed.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-08-24--One lab, 11 NFL teams, and 77 false positive virus tests

The NFL had 77 positive COVID-19 tests from 11 teams re-examined by a New Jersey lab after false positives , and all those tests came back negative .
The league asked the New Jersey lab BioReference to investigate the results , and those 77 tests are being re-tested once more to make sure they were false positives .
Among teams reporting false positives , the Minnesota Vikings said they had 12 , the New York Jets 10 , and the Chicago Bears nine .
The Jets canceled a walk-through Saturday night but had a full practice Sunday morning after the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Bears moved their practice scheduled for Sunday morning to the afternoon .
The Detroit Lions had a player with a false positive test from the same lab in New Jersey and he was held out of practice Sunday , a league source told The Associated Press .
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league and team were not disclosing test results .
The Pittsburgh Steelers said they had six false positives and those players will be back at practice Monday .
The Philadelphia Eagles held four players from working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ canceled practice , but after re-testing turned up negative tests they decided to have their workout .
There are five labs nationwide that service the 32 teams , with only the New Jersey facility having the false positives this weekend .
The number of positive COVID-19 tests from a specific facility that might actually be false demonstrates the precarious position the NFL is in less than three weeks from the regular-season opener .
“ Definitely probably better that this happened now than three weeks from now , ” said Buffalo Bills general manager @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those positive results .
“ But it seems like every few weeks , or even every week , something ’ s going on .
Who know what the next curveball will be ?
” Mr. Beane said tests in the Northeast had gone “ haywire , ” and called it “ a lab issue and not a true issue with our guys currently ” after several Bills were held out of practice .
Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 – even a false positive upon a retest – is required to have two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return .
The NFL uses BioReference for all of its COVID-19 testing , though tests are handled by labs throughout the nation to ensure teams get results quickly – hopefully within 24 hours .
Heading into this weekend , there had been four confirmed positive tests for players who were at training camps .
“ Clubs are taking immediate precautionary measures as outlined in the NFL-NFLPA ’ s health and safety protocols to include contact tracing , isolation of individuals , and temporarily adjusting the schedule , where appropriate , ” the NFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other laboratories used for NFL testing have not had similar results.
” Jets offensive lineman Leo Koloamatangi , who opted out of playing this season because of family health concerns , tweeted : “ Wishing nothing but safety and great health over my brothers and their families right now .
As it turns out , testing isn ’ t as reliable as we ’ d all hoped.
” The Bears were alerted Sunday morning about the test findings .
`` That ’ s where I was really excited for the way we went @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coaches , the players early , just letting them know , ‘ Hold on for now .
We ’ re gon na delay this thing .
Let us work through this a little bit , ’ '' Bears coach Matt Nagy said .
`` And then we were able to get those players and everybody involved in the positive test , we were able to get them in and obviously get re-tested and come back with the second test , and it came back all negative .
So now we had to go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we do ?
’ That ’ s when we went ahead and figured we were able to move forward with practice .
We delayed it . ''
Mr. Beane stressed the need for transparency throughout the Bills ' organization and said some players were on a conference call with the NFL 's chief medical officer , Dr. Allen Sills .
“ We had an open dialogue with our players , ” he explained .
`` We even had some of our leadership crew of players on with Dr. Sills this morning just hearing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aware of all these tests that have gone a little bit haywire here in the Northeast .
“ And I think that was good for them to hear , because naturally , if you ’ re going to be out there tackling and blocking and things like that , passing the ball around , people might be unnerved if we got some guys missing.
” The Browns said initial results from the lab indicated multiple “ presumptive positive cases ” that included coaches , players , and staff .
The team did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had resumed the scheduled practice about four hours after calling it off .
The team also did a thorough cleaning of the facility in Berea , Ohio .
“ We ’ ve concluded our re-testing of each initial presumptive positive result from yesterday among players , coaches , and staff , ” a team spokesperson said .
`` All have come back as negative , which is consistent with the irregularities across the league from multiple teams .
As a result , we are reopening our building and will resume football activities this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individuals with test results in question may not re-enter the building until they receive another negative test result tomorrow.
” This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writers Dennis Waszak Jr. , John Wawrow , Stephen Whyno , Larry Lage , Tom Canavan , Tom Withers , and Andrew Seligman contributed to this report .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

The NFL had 77 positive COVID-19 tests from 11 teams re-examined by a New Jersey lab after false positives, and all those tests came back negative.
The league asked the New Jersey lab BioReference to investigate the results, and those 77 tests are being re-tested once more to make sure they were false positives.
Among teams reporting false positives, the Minnesota Vikings said they had 12, the New York Jets 10, and the Chicago Bears nine.
The Jets canceled a walk-through Saturday night but had a full practice Sunday morning after the previously positive tests came back negative. The Bears moved their practice scheduled for Sunday morning to the afternoon.
The Detroit Lions had a player with a false positive test from the same lab in New Jersey and he was held out of practice Sunday, a league source told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league and team were not disclosing test results.
The Pittsburgh Steelers said they had six false positives and those players will be back at practice Monday. The Philadelphia Eagles held four players from working out Sunday. The Cleveland Browns initially canceled practice, but after re-testing turned up negative tests they decided to have their workout.
There are five labs nationwide that service the 32 teams, with only the New Jersey facility having the false positives this weekend.
The number of positive COVID-19 tests from a specific facility that might actually be false demonstrates the precarious position the NFL is in less than three weeks from the regular-season opener.
“Definitely probably better that this happened now than three weeks from now,” said Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, whose club had some of those positive results. “But it seems like every few weeks, or even every week, something’s going on. Who know what the next curveball will be?”
Mr. Beane said tests in the Northeast had gone “haywire,” and called it “a lab issue and not a true issue with our guys currently” after several Bills were held out of practice.
Anyone testing positive for COVID-19 – even a false positive upon a retest – is required to have two more negative tests before being cleared to return.
The NFL uses BioReference for all of its COVID-19 testing, though tests are handled by labs throughout the nation to ensure teams get results quickly – hopefully within 24 hours. Heading into this weekend, there had been four confirmed positive tests for players who were at training camps.
“Clubs are taking immediate precautionary measures as outlined in the NFL-NFLPA’s health and safety protocols to include contact tracing, isolation of individuals, and temporarily adjusting the schedule, where appropriate,” the NFL said in a statement. “The other laboratories used for NFL testing have not had similar results.”
Jets offensive lineman Leo Koloamatangi, who opted out of playing this season because of family health concerns, tweeted: “Wishing nothing but safety and great health over my brothers and their families right now. As it turns out, testing isn’t as reliable as we’d all hoped.”
The Bears were alerted Sunday morning about the test findings.
"That’s where I was really excited for the way we went about communicating with the coordinators, the coaches, the players early, just letting them know, ‘Hold on for now. We’re gonna delay this thing. Let us work through this a little bit,’" Bears coach Matt Nagy said.
"And then we were able to get those players and everybody involved in the positive test, we were able to get them in and obviously get re-tested and come back with the second test, and it came back all negative. So now we had to go to, ‘Now, what do we do?’ That’s when we went ahead and figured we were able to move forward with practice. We delayed it."
Mr. Beane stressed the need for transparency throughout the Bills' organization and said some players were on a conference call with the NFL's chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills.
“We had an open dialogue with our players,” he explained. "We even had some of our leadership crew of players on with Dr. Sills this morning just hearing directly with him, who’s aware of all these tests that have gone a little bit haywire here in the Northeast.
“And I think that was good for them to hear, because naturally, if you’re going to be out there tackling and blocking and things like that, passing the ball around, people might be unnerved if we got some guys missing.”
The Browns said initial results from the lab indicated multiple “presumptive positive cases” that included coaches, players, and staff. The team did not disclose the number of positive tests and had resumed the scheduled practice about four hours after calling it off.
The team also did a thorough cleaning of the facility in Berea, Ohio.
“We’ve concluded our re-testing of each initial presumptive positive result from yesterday among players, coaches, and staff,” a team spokesperson said.
"All have come back as negative, which is consistent with the irregularities across the league from multiple teams. As a result, we are reopening our building and will resume football activities this afternoon. As per protocol, the individuals with test results in question may not re-enter the building until they receive another negative test result tomorrow.”
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This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Dennis Waszak Jr., John Wawrow, Stephen Whyno, Larry Lage, Tom Canavan, Tom Withers, and Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-08-24--Last chance for a summer fling: The 10 best books of August 2020

The 10 best books of August deliver rousing historic fiction , a quirky travelogue , a searing exposé , and the biography of a controversial government figure .
Irish-born writer Maggie O ’ Farrell vividly renders the home life of William Shakespeare in a historical novel named for the playwright ’ s son , whose death at age 11 may have prompted his father to write “ Hamlet.
” O ’ Farrell extrapolates a very thin historical record into an imaginative , sensitive story .
( Q & A with the author here . )
In 1910 , noted British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Olive MacLeod , that he would return home in one year .
When she suddenly stops receiving his letters , Olive ventures to Central Africa to learn what became of him .
The author draws from real-life journals and letters to tell the fictionalized story of a young woman who discovers her resourcefulness and strength .
3 .
When These Mountains Burn by David Joy A father struggles with his son ’ s drug addiction in a bleak , brutal thriller that nonetheless treats its characters and its Appalachian setting with respect and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other in a North Carolina county ravaged by the opioid epidemic , a place where “ these mountains used to have their own kind of order.
” In 1845 , Branwell Brontë – brother to Anne , Charlotte , and Emily – was abruptly dismissed from his position as a tutor at Thorp Green Hall , with rumors flying about an affair with his employer ’ s wife , Lydia Robinson .
This richly atmospheric novel tells the story from Lydia ’ s viewpoint .
( Full review here . )
5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elsa Hart Botanist Cecily Kay brings her powers of observation to bear on the mysterious murder of Sir Barnaby Mayne , London ’ s most esteemed collector .
Convinced that his servant has wrongly confessed , Cecily aims to discover the truth in this delightful whodunit set in the 18th century .
6 .
The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts In one of the season ’ s most unlikely triumphs , travel journalist Sophy Roberts recounts her expeditions to Siberia , where she pursues a succession of the often-legendary pianos that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ associated with cultural riches .
In the process , Roberts turns up insights into the land , its history , and its people .
( Full review here . )
In her stirring follow-up to “ The Warmth of Other Suns , ” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson persuasively argues that racism alone does not explain America ’ s social divisions .
Rather , the United States ought to be understood as having a race-based caste system , one whose hierarchies , though artificial , are remarkably enduring .
( Q & A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” pulls back the curtain on an extraordinary feat of journalism .
In the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima , John Hersey wrote an on-the-ground account of the horrific injuries of the victims , which the U.S. government had tried to hide .
The exposé was published in The New Yorker , which devoted the entire Aug. 29 , 1946 , issue to Hersey ’ s story .
His account served to strengthen opposition to nuclear warfare .
( Full review here . )
9 .
Children of Ash and Elm by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ archaeological findings gird a new history of the Vikings , which broadens the narrative beyond the violent warrior image .
Neil Price explores what is known about Viking society and culture , and its impact on the peoples and lands that were conquered .
The former secretary of state under Richard Nixon has inspired a mountain of biographical studies , some treating him as a hero , others as evil incarnate .
In this volume , history professor Thomas A. Schwartz effectively separates the man from the myths .

The 10 best books of August deliver rousing historic fiction, a quirky travelogue, a searing exposé, and the biography of a controversial government figure.
1. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Irish-born writer Maggie O’Farrell vividly renders the home life of William Shakespeare in a historical novel named for the playwright’s son, whose death at age 11 may have prompted his father to write “Hamlet.” O’Farrell extrapolates a very thin historical record into an imaginative, sensitive story. (Q&A with the author here.)
Why We Wrote This If finishing your beach read has left you high and dry, check out these end-of-summer offerings to keep the literary vacation going well into autumn.
2. Olive the Lionheart by Brad Ricca
In 1910, noted British explorer Boyd Alexander promised his fiancée, Olive MacLeod, that he would return home in one year. When she suddenly stops receiving his letters, Olive ventures to Central Africa to learn what became of him. The author draws from real-life journals and letters to tell the fictionalized story of a young woman who discovers her resourcefulness and strength.
3. When These Mountains Burn by David Joy
A father struggles with his son’s drug addiction in a bleak, brutal thriller that nonetheless treats its characters and its Appalachian setting with respect and deep empathy. Unlikely heroes rely on each other in a North Carolina county ravaged by the opioid epidemic, a place where “these mountains used to have their own kind of order.”
4. Brontë’s Mistress by Finola Austin
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster View caption Hide caption “Brontë's Mistress” by Finola Austin, Atria Books, 320 pp.
In 1845, Branwell Brontë – brother to Anne, Charlotte, and Emily – was abruptly dismissed from his position as a tutor at Thorp Green Hall, with rumors flying about an affair with his employer’s wife, Lydia Robinson. This richly atmospheric novel tells the story from Lydia’s viewpoint. (Full review here.)
5. The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
Botanist Cecily Kay brings her powers of observation to bear on the mysterious murder of Sir Barnaby Mayne, London’s most esteemed collector. Convinced that his servant has wrongly confessed, Cecily aims to discover the truth in this delightful whodunit set in the 18th century.
6. The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts
In one of the season’s most unlikely triumphs, travel journalist Sophy Roberts recounts her expeditions to Siberia, where she pursues a succession of the often-legendary pianos that have given music to a place seldom associated with cultural riches. In the process, Roberts turns up insights into the land, its history, and its people. (Full review here.)
7. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
In her stirring follow-up to “The Warmth of Other Suns,” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson persuasively argues that racism alone does not explain America’s social divisions. Rather, the United States ought to be understood as having a race-based caste system, one whose hierarchies, though artificial, are remarkably enduring. (Q&A with author here.)
8. Fallout by Lesley M.M. Blume
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster View caption Hide caption “Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World” by Lesley M.M. Blume, Simon & Schuster, 288 pp.
“Fallout” pulls back the curtain on an extraordinary feat of journalism. In the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, John Hersey wrote an on-the-ground account of the horrific injuries of the victims, which the U.S. government had tried to hide. The exposé was published in The New Yorker, which devoted the entire Aug. 29, 1946, issue to Hersey’s story. His account served to strengthen opposition to nuclear warfare. (Full review here.)
9. Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price
Copious documentation and the latest archaeological findings gird a new history of the Vikings, which broadens the narrative beyond the violent warrior image. Neil Price explores what is known about Viking society and culture, and its impact on the peoples and lands that were conquered.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
10. Henry Kissinger and American Power by Thomas A. Schwartz
The former secretary of state under Richard Nixon has inspired a mountain of biographical studies, some treating him as a hero, others as evil incarnate. In this volume, history professor Thomas A. Schwartz effectively separates the man from the myths.


csmonitor--2020-08-24--‘Brontë’s Mistress’ may speculate, but it does so delightfully

Finola Austin writes in her author 's note , “ Brontë ’ s Mistress is a work of fiction , ” and she adds , “ I don ’ t pretend that it records what happened between Lydia and Branwell , but given the facts at our disposal , it imagines what could have happened.
” The Lydia she mentions is Lydia Robinson , wife of Rev .
Edmund Robinson , who in 1843 hired a dashing young tutor for her children at Thorp Green Hall , a few miles northwest of York .
The young tutor , Branwell , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s previous governess : Branwell ’ s sister Anne .
Lydia is also the mistress of the novel ’ s title , the narrator who tells the story of her affectionate but passionless marriage , her adorable but demanding children , and the sudden longings she feels when presented with this new young man in her life .
“ After all , Edmund had refused to make love to me , ” she thinks at one point .
“ And I had not been ready to live only on memories.
” It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In July of 1845 , the historical Branwell really was abruptly dismissed from his post by Reverend Robinson , and energetic rumors immediately abounded .
Did Branwell ’ s drinking , already a problem , prompt the dismissal ?
Or his boastful nature ?
Did he , as some of the darkest speculation has tendered , attempt abuse of some kind with the Robinson ’ s young son ?
Or , as the bulk of the speculation ran , was he dismissed because he had an affair with Lydia ?
The last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Branwell himself , who boasted to correspondents that his employer 's wife was rather too fond of him , that he kept a lock of her hair , and so on .
And a variation of this picture was immortalized by Elizabeth Gaskell in her 1857 biography “ The Life of Charlotte Brontë , ” in which she risked a libel action when she all but accused Lydia Robinson by name of seducing Branwell and leading him into “ the deep disgrace of deadly crime.
” Debate over what happened at Thorp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scholarship and in fiction , in novels like Douglas A. Martin ’ s 2005 “ Branwell ” and in impassioned nonfiction like Daphne du Maurier ’ s 1960 “ The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë.
” Did Branwell initiate the relationship ?
Or , as Gaskell insinuated , was he seduced , at age 28 , by a 43-year-old woman ?
What was the nature of the incident that enraged Reverend Robinson so much that rumor had it he threatened to shoot Branwell if he ever returned to Thorp Green ?
For her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a more or less straightforward Hollywood story of spontaneous , mutual love .
Handsome young Branwell , his hair mussed and his shirt falling open , arrives in the cold and loveless world of Thorp Green , and in short order he and Mrs. Robinson are forging emotional connections .
“ It was ridiculous , ” narrates Lydia .
“ Me , with wet hair , in a gown too frivolous for a housekeeper to see me in ... and the unkempt tutor playing the eccentric poet .
I laughed , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I felt a new fragile bond forming between us.
” The bond causes trouble .
Inevitably , Anne discovers it ( “ But it isn ’ t as you think , ” Lydia protests to her ) , and the rest of Thorp Green isn ’ t far behind – including Reverend Robinson , a powerful man whose strange combination of stillness and rage makes him the novel ’ s most interesting character .
Austin can sometimes lapse - or allow Lydia to lapse - into the kind of breathless prose more endemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ music washed over us in wave after cleansing wave .
I knew – hoped – that Branwell heard in the music what I heard , that his soul was vibrating at the same frequency as mine , ” we ’ re told at one such point .
But the bulk of the novel ’ s momentum builds a convincingly multifaceted picture of Lydia , a smart , passionate woman who is caught between her own thwarted desires and the gears of society ’ s conventions .
Austin grounds her book in research , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letters she intersperses throughout the book that truly bring Lydia and many of her other characters to life .
And the mystery ?
Well , unless some new batch of records comes to light , it will no doubt continue to be a bone of contention for Brontë scholars – and a fruitful ground for novelists .
Austin has written a stirring defense of the maligned Mrs. Robinson , and who can say if it isn ’ t also the truth ?

Finola Austin writes in her author's note, “Brontë’s Mistress is a work of fiction,” and she adds, “I don’t pretend that it records what happened between Lydia and Branwell, but given the facts at our disposal, it imagines what could have happened.”
The Lydia she mentions is Lydia Robinson, wife of Rev. Edmund Robinson, who in 1843 hired a dashing young tutor for her children at Thorp Green Hall, a few miles northwest of York. The young tutor, Branwell, came highly recommended by the children’s previous governess: Branwell’s sister Anne.
Lydia is also the mistress of the novel’s title, the narrator who tells the story of her affectionate but passionless marriage, her adorable but demanding children, and the sudden longings she feels when presented with this new young man in her life. “After all, Edmund had refused to make love to me,” she thinks at one point. “And I had not been ready to live only on memories.”
It’s a charged plot for a novel. In July of 1845, the historical Branwell really was abruptly dismissed from his post by Reverend Robinson, and energetic rumors immediately abounded. Did Branwell’s drinking, already a problem, prompt the dismissal? Or his boastful nature? Did he, as some of the darkest speculation has tendered, attempt abuse of some kind with the Robinson’s young son? Or, as the bulk of the speculation ran, was he dismissed because he had an affair with Lydia?
The last of those scenarios was enthusiastically put forward by Branwell himself, who boasted to correspondents that his employer's wife was rather too fond of him, that he kept a lock of her hair, and so on. And a variation of this picture was immortalized by Elizabeth Gaskell in her 1857 biography “The Life of Charlotte Brontë,” in which she risked a libel action when she all but accused Lydia Robinson by name of seducing Branwell and leading him into “the deep disgrace of deadly crime.”
Debate over what happened at Thorp Green has raged ever since, in scholarship and in fiction, in novels like Douglas A. Martin’s 2005 “Branwell” and in impassioned nonfiction like Daphne du Maurier’s 1960 “The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë.” Did Branwell initiate the relationship? Or, as Gaskell insinuated, was he seduced, at age 28, by a 43-year-old woman? What was the nature of the incident that enraged Reverend Robinson so much that rumor had it he threatened to shoot Branwell if he ever returned to Thorp Green?
For her fiction debut, Finola Austin has opted for a more or less straightforward Hollywood story of spontaneous, mutual love. Handsome young Branwell, his hair mussed and his shirt falling open, arrives in the cold and loveless world of Thorp Green, and in short order he and Mrs. Robinson are forging emotional connections. “It was ridiculous,” narrates Lydia. “Me, with wet hair, in a gown too frivolous for a housekeeper to see me in ... and the unkempt tutor playing the eccentric poet. I laughed, and, while Mr. Brontë looked puzzled, I felt a new fragile bond forming between us.”
The bond causes trouble. Inevitably, Anne discovers it (“But it isn’t as you think,” Lydia protests to her), and the rest of Thorp Green isn’t far behind – including Reverend Robinson, a powerful man whose strange combination of stillness and rage makes him the novel’s most interesting character.
Austin can sometimes lapse - or allow Lydia to lapse - into the kind of breathless prose more endemic to old-fashioned romance novels. “The music washed over us in wave after cleansing wave. I knew – hoped – that Branwell heard in the music what I heard, that his soul was vibrating at the same frequency as mine,” we’re told at one such point.
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But the bulk of the novel’s momentum builds a convincingly multifaceted picture of Lydia, a smart, passionate woman who is caught between her own thwarted desires and the gears of society’s conventions. Austin grounds her book in research, but it’s the entirely fictional letters she intersperses throughout the book that truly bring Lydia and many of her other characters to life.
And the mystery? Well, unless some new batch of records comes to light, it will no doubt continue to be a bone of contention for Brontë scholars – and a fruitful ground for novelists. Austin has written a stirring defense of the maligned Mrs. Robinson, and who can say if it isn’t also the truth?


csmonitor--2020-08-24--'Less drama, more mama': Kellyanne Conway to leave White House

Kellyanne Conway , one of President Donald Trump 's most influential and longest serving advisers , announced Sunday that she would be leaving the White House at the end of the month .
Ms. Conway , Mr. Trump 's campaign manager during the stretch run of the 2016 race , was the first woman to successfully steer a White House bid , then became a senior counselor to the president .
She informed Mr. Trump of her decision in the Oval Office .
Ms. Conway cited a need to spend time with her four children in a resignation letter she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George , had become an outspoken Trump critic and her family a subject of Washington 's rumor mill .
`` We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most : the kids , '' she wrote .
`` For now , and for my beloved children , it will be less drama , more mama . ''
In a separate statement on Twitter , George Conway , an attorney who renounced Mr. Trump after the 2016 campaign , said he was stepping back from Twitter and his role in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stated mission to `` defeat Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box , '' according to Reuters .
The politically adversarial marriage generated much speculation in the Beltway and online , and the decisions by the Conways come a day after their teenage daughter , Claudia , said on Twitter that she was seeking `` emancipation . ''
Claudia has previously been outspoken on social media against her parents ' views , according to Reuters .
Mark Meadows , Mr. Trump 's chief of staff , said Monday that Ms. Conway 's departure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House .
She is still slated to speak at the Republican National Convention this week .
`` This is all about making priority for family , '' Mr. Meadows told CBS This Morning .
`` That 's what this president is about and that 's what Kellyanne Conway is about . ''
Her departure comes at an inopportune time for Mr. Trump , who faces a deficit in the polls as the Republican National Convention begins on Monday .
Asked on CBS whether her departure signals a fear Mr. Trump might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` cynical . ''
`` Anybody who knows Kellyanne Conway knows that she has never shied away from a fight , '' Mr. Meadows said .
`` To suggest that is just not based on the facts . ''
On Sunday , Ms. Conway described her time in the Trump administration , and previously with the 2016 campaign , as `` heady '' and `` humbling . ''
according to Reuters .
Kellyanne Conway worked for years as a Republican pollster and operative and originally supported Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump campaign and became campaign manager as Stephen Bannon became campaign chairman ; Mr. Bannon was indicted two days ago for fraud .
Ms. Conway cited the need to help her children 's remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic as a reason for stepping away from her position .
She had remained a trusted voice within the West Wing and spearheaded several initiatives , including on combating opioid abuse .
She was also known for her robust defense of the president in media appearances , at times delivering dizzying rebuttals while once extolling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to support her case .
Ms. Conway was also an informal adviser to the president 's reelection effort but resisted moving over to the campaign .
Her exit was first reported by The Washington Post .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Material from Reuters was used in this report .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trump's most influential and longest serving advisers, announced Sunday that she would be leaving the White House at the end of the month.
Ms. Conway, Mr. Trump's campaign manager during the stretch run of the 2016 race, was the first woman to successfully steer a White House bid, then became a senior counselor to the president. She informed Mr. Trump of her decision in the Oval Office.
Ms. Conway cited a need to spend time with her four children in a resignation letter she posted Sunday night. Her husband, George, had become an outspoken Trump critic and her family a subject of Washington's rumor mill.
"We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids," she wrote. "For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama."
In a separate statement on Twitter, George Conway, an attorney who renounced Mr. Trump after the 2016 campaign, said he was stepping back from Twitter and his role in the Lincoln Project, a project with the stated mission to "defeat Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box," according to Reuters.
The politically adversarial marriage generated much speculation in the Beltway and online, and the decisions by the Conways come a day after their teenage daughter, Claudia, said on Twitter that she was seeking "emancipation." Claudia has previously been outspoken on social media against her parents' views, according to Reuters.
Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump's chief of staff, said Monday that Ms. Conway's departure leaves a "big hole" at the White House. She is still slated to speak at the Republican National Convention this week.
"This is all about making priority for family," Mr. Meadows told CBS This Morning. "That's what this president is about and that's what Kellyanne Conway is about."
Her departure comes at an inopportune time for Mr. Trump, who faces a deficit in the polls as the Republican National Convention begins on Monday. Asked on CBS whether her departure signals a fear Mr. Trump might lose, Mr. Meadows called the question "cynical."
"Anybody who knows Kellyanne Conway knows that she has never shied away from a fight," Mr. Meadows said. "To suggest that is just not based on the facts."
On Sunday, Ms. Conway described her time in the Trump administration, and previously with the 2016 campaign, as "heady" and "humbling." according to Reuters.
Kellyanne Conway worked for years as a Republican pollster and operative and originally supported Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican primary. She moved over to the Trump campaign and became campaign manager as Stephen Bannon became campaign chairman; Mr. Bannon was indicted two days ago for fraud.
Ms. Conway cited the need to help her children's remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic as a reason for stepping away from her position. She had remained a trusted voice within the West Wing and spearheaded several initiatives, including on combating opioid abuse.
She was also known for her robust defense of the president in media appearances, at times delivering dizzying rebuttals while once extolling the virtues of "alternative facts" to support her case. Ms. Conway was also an informal adviser to the president's reelection effort but resisted moving over to the campaign.
Her exit was first reported by The Washington Post.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Material from Reuters was used in this report.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-08-27--Trump embarks on the sales job of a lifetime

“ He is trying to point to the chaos and confusion that is 2020 America , and then divorce himself from any responsibility for the chaos and confusion – then argue that he ’ s the solution to the chaos and confusion , ” says Rachel Bitecofer , an election forecaster at the nonpartisan Niskanen Center in Washington .
It ’ s a much more difficult argument to make than in 2016 , because many of the problems the president is promising to solve have occurred on his own watch .
Mr. Trump ’ s skills as a salesman and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the next two-plus months – including Thursday night , when he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination .
But even though he ’ s now the incumbent , in his telling , he ’ s really still an outsider .
And even though the nation faces epic challenges – a pandemic that has killed 180,000 Americans , double-digit unemployment , racial unrest – he and his surrogates are pitching a positive message .
As Vice President Mike Pence put it Monday , “ We ’ re going to make America great again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his case for reelection , President Donald Trump has largely been campaigning on the same themes he ran on in 2016 : “ Make America Great Again ” and “ drain the swamp.
” “ Presidential power , ” wrote the scholar Richard Neustadt , “ is the power to persuade.
” President Donald Trump may be putting that time-honored observation to the acid test , running for reelection in a nation beset by epic challenges .
A chief executive with lesser powers of persuasion might be crushed by the turmoil taking place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has killed 180,000 Americans , double-digit unemployment , racial unrest , and increasingly routine weather extremes that many link to climate change .
But President Trump is no ordinary American leader .
As he demonstrated time and again in his business career , he has an uncanny ability to survive and even thrive amid adversity .
His skills as a salesman and showman are his superpower , and over the next two-plus months – including Thursday night , when he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination – he will deploy them to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most part been campaigning on the same themes he ran on in 2016 : “ Make America Great Again ” and “ drain the swamp ” – that is , uproot the entrenched elites .
Despite the fact that he ’ s now the incumbent , he ’ s really still an outsider , in his telling .
“ He ’ s demonizing the same people : immigrants , foreigners , the media , ” says Republican pollster Whit Ayres .
“ It ’ s essentially a replay of the message that put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – barely , but it worked .
There ’ s a natural tendency to go back to what worked before.
” Historians see efforts to emulate President Ronald Reagan , another disruptor who won the White House twice , on the argument that he needed two terms to effect his conservative “ revolution.
” Others see parallels with President Richard Nixon , who ran on “ law and order ” amid the tumult of 1968 , though he was not the incumbent president .
At this point , Mr. Trump has been in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
Despite the nation ’ s massive challenges , he and his surrogates are pitching a positive message : He made America great once , and he can do it again .
Or as Vice President Mike Pence put it Monday , “ We ’ re going to make America great again ... again !
” The president ’ s economic message centers on the low unemployment , robust growth , and reduced taxes and regulation that were the hallmarks of his record before the coronavirus hit .
Blame for the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says : China , where the virus originated , and with the Democratic mayors and governors who failed to halt its spread .
Mr. Trump also portrays Democrats in Congress , led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , as villains ( they offer the same assessment of him ) , amid a three-week hiatus in talks with the White House over more aid for struggling Americans .
Thursday afternoon , Speaker Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were reportedly set to resume negotiations on the next COVID-19 relief package .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more complicated message than in 2016 – since many of the problems the president is promising to solve have occurred on his own watch .
“ He is trying to point to the chaos and confusion that is 2020 America , and then divorce himself from any responsibility for the chaos and confusion – then argue that he ’ s the solution to the chaos and confusion , ” says Rachel Bitecofer , an election forecaster at the nonpartisan Niskanen Center in Washington .
Mr. Trump , in effect , is trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – seemingly bound by the chains of multiple crises , but clever enough to escape with his political life .
One bright spot for the president is that Democratic nominee Joe Biden got little to no “ bounce ” in the polls out of his convention last week , while Mr. Trump ’ s job approval has crept up in recent weeks to an average of 44 % .
While Mr. Biden argues that he represents a return to normality and decency , Team Trump counters with Mr. Biden ’ s long record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate and eight years as vice president .
Mr. Biden ’ s election , they say , would bring both a deeper “ swamp ” and a leftist economic program that would send the nation on the path to socialism .
Presidential historian Gil Troy of McGill University in Montreal questions whether Mr. Trump can pull off a Reaganesque comeback .
“ Ronald Reagan ’ s second-term election , most famous for its ‘ Morning in America ’ strategy , had a more positive record to run on , a more positive song @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Another presidential scholar , David Pietrusza , sees multiple historical analogies for the Trump team to draw upon .
“ Surprisingly , FDR looked very shaky in the summer of 1936 , ” Mr. Pietrusza writes in an email , referring to President Franklin Roosevelt ’ s first reelection campaign .
“ But [ Republican nominee Alf ] Landon and the GOP ran an awful campaign , and FDR made no great mistakes and coasted to a historic , crushing landslide.
” Harry Truman ’ s “ Give ‘ em Hell ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mr. Pietrusza says .
“ At various times , Truman was left for dead , but after a very strong convention and after his challenger picked a running mate from California who added nothing to the ticket , Harry became president in his own right.
” President Reagan had only a one-percentage-point lead in December 1983 , but he turned on the charm and touted “ Morning in America , ” while Democratic nominee Walter Mondale said he would raise taxes , Mr. Pietrusza notes .
In November 1984 , Mr. Reagan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unique , as are the times in which he is running for a second term .
Historical analogies go only so far .
Republican National Committeeman Henry Barbour of Mississippi points to small things that could be telling as November approaches .
Mr. Biden stayed in his home state of Delaware for the duration of the Democratic convention last week , which was supposed to be in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , but was held mostly virtually .
This week , more than 300 Republican party figures gathered in Charlotte , North Carolina , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ version of their in-person convention .
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence spoke from Charlotte on Monday in a show of defiance against the coronavirus that has shut down much of American public life .
The president had earlier moved the larger , in-person convention activities to Jacksonville , Florida , after North Carolina ’ s Democratic governor refused to allow the mega-gatherings that are the essence of national party conventions .
In July , Mr. Trump canceled the Jacksonville component of the GOP convention after an uptick of coronavirus cases in that city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republican National Committee wound up modeling what they want the country to do : behave responsibly and avoid large gatherings , but also not allow reasonable daily activity to grind to a halt .
“ I ’ m proud of what the RNC did , ” he says .
“ That carries over into a much broader contrast and approach : people going to work and doing what they can .
”

“He is trying to point to the chaos and confusion that is 2020 America, and then divorce himself from any responsibility for the chaos and confusion – then argue that he’s the solution to the chaos and confusion,” says Rachel Bitecofer, an election forecaster at the nonpartisan Niskanen Center in Washington.
It’s a much more difficult argument to make than in 2016, because many of the problems the president is promising to solve have occurred on his own watch. Mr. Trump’s skills as a salesman and showman will be tested to the hilt over the next two-plus months – including Thursday night, when he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination.
As he campaigns for reelection, President Trump is relying on some of the same themes that worked in 2016. But for an incumbent presiding over historic challenges, it’s a complicated message.
But even though he’s now the incumbent, in his telling, he’s really still an outsider. And even though the nation faces epic challenges – a pandemic that has killed 180,000 Americans, double-digit unemployment, racial unrest – he and his surrogates are pitching a positive message. As Vice President Mike Pence put it Monday, “We’re going to make America great again ... again!”
As he makes his case for reelection, President Donald Trump has largely been campaigning on the same themes he ran on in 2016: “Make America Great Again” and “drain the swamp.”
“Presidential power,” wrote the scholar Richard Neustadt, “is the power to persuade.”
President Donald Trump may be putting that time-honored observation to the acid test, running for reelection in a nation beset by epic challenges. A chief executive with lesser powers of persuasion might be crushed by the turmoil taking place on his watch – a pandemic that has killed 180,000 Americans, double-digit unemployment, racial unrest, and increasingly routine weather extremes that many link to climate change.
But President Trump is no ordinary American leader. As he demonstrated time and again in his business career, he has an uncanny ability to survive and even thrive amid adversity. His skills as a salesman and showman are his superpower, and over the next two-plus months – including Thursday night, when he formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination – he will deploy them to the hilt.
Why We Wrote This As he campaigns for reelection, President Trump is relying on some of the same themes that worked in 2016. But for an incumbent presiding over historic challenges, it’s a complicated message.
Mr. Trump has for the most part been campaigning on the same themes he ran on in 2016: “Make America Great Again” and “drain the swamp” – that is, uproot the entrenched elites. Despite the fact that he’s now the incumbent, he’s really still an outsider, in his telling.
“He’s demonizing the same people: immigrants, foreigners, the media,” says Republican pollster Whit Ayres. “It’s essentially a replay of the message that put him in the White House in 2016 – barely, but it worked. There’s a natural tendency to go back to what worked before.”
Historians see efforts to emulate President Ronald Reagan, another disruptor who won the White House twice, on the argument that he needed two terms to effect his conservative “revolution.” Others see parallels with President Richard Nixon, who ran on “law and order” amid the tumult of 1968, though he was not the incumbent president.
At this point, Mr. Trump has been in office more than three and a half years. Despite the nation’s massive challenges, he and his surrogates are pitching a positive message: He made America great once, and he can do it again. Or as Vice President Mike Pence put it Monday, “We’re going to make America great again ... again!”
The president’s economic message centers on the low unemployment, robust growth, and reduced taxes and regulation that were the hallmarks of his record before the coronavirus hit. Blame for the pandemic lands squarely with others, Mr. Trump says: China, where the virus originated, and with the Democratic mayors and governors who failed to halt its spread.
Andrew Harnik/AP View caption Hide caption President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump appear at a surprise visit at Fort McHenry in Baltimore yesterday, after attending the third day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at the Baltimore monument in which he accepted his party's nomination and called for "law and order" amid racial unrest.
Mr. Trump also portrays Democrats in Congress, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as villains (they offer the same assessment of him), amid a three-week hiatus in talks with the White House over more aid for struggling Americans. Thursday afternoon, Speaker Pelosi and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were reportedly set to resume negotiations on the next COVID-19 relief package.
Still, it’s a much more complicated message than in 2016 – since many of the problems the president is promising to solve have occurred on his own watch.
“He is trying to point to the chaos and confusion that is 2020 America, and then divorce himself from any responsibility for the chaos and confusion – then argue that he’s the solution to the chaos and confusion,” says Rachel Bitecofer, an election forecaster at the nonpartisan Niskanen Center in Washington.
Mr. Trump, in effect, is trying to be the Harry Houdini of American politics – seemingly bound by the chains of multiple crises, but clever enough to escape with his political life. One bright spot for the president is that Democratic nominee Joe Biden got little to no “bounce” in the polls out of his convention last week, while Mr. Trump’s job approval has crept up in recent weeks to an average of 44%.
While Mr. Biden argues that he represents a return to normality and decency, Team Trump counters with Mr. Biden’s long record in Washington – 36 years in the Senate and eight years as vice president. Mr. Biden’s election, they say, would bring both a deeper “swamp” and a leftist economic program that would send the nation on the path to socialism.
Presidential historian Gil Troy of McGill University in Montreal questions whether Mr. Trump can pull off a Reaganesque comeback.
“Ronald Reagan’s second-term election, most famous for its ‘Morning in America’ strategy, had a more positive record to run on, a more positive song to sing,” says Professor Troy.
Another presidential scholar, David Pietrusza, sees multiple historical analogies for the Trump team to draw upon.
“Surprisingly, FDR looked very shaky in the summer of 1936,” Mr. Pietrusza writes in an email, referring to President Franklin Roosevelt’s first reelection campaign. “But [Republican nominee Alf] Landon and the GOP ran an awful campaign, and FDR made no great mistakes and coasted to a historic, crushing landslide.”
Harry Truman’s “Give ‘em Hell” campaign in 1948 was a similar case, Mr. Pietrusza says. “At various times, Truman was left for dead, but after a very strong convention and after his challenger picked a running mate from California who added nothing to the ticket, Harry became president in his own right.”
President Reagan had only a one-percentage-point lead in December 1983, but he turned on the charm and touted “Morning in America,” while Democratic nominee Walter Mondale said he would raise taxes, Mr. Pietrusza notes. In November 1984, Mr. Reagan won big.
But Mr. Trump is unique, as are the times in which he is running for a second term. Historical analogies go only so far.
Republican National Committeeman Henry Barbour of Mississippi points to small things that could be telling as November approaches. Mr. Biden stayed in his home state of Delaware for the duration of the Democratic convention last week, which was supposed to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was held mostly virtually. This week, more than 300 Republican party figures gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, including Mr. Barbour, for a reduced version of their in-person convention.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence spoke from Charlotte on Monday in a show of defiance against the coronavirus that has shut down much of American public life. The president had earlier moved the larger, in-person convention activities to Jacksonville, Florida, after North Carolina’s Democratic governor refused to allow the mega-gatherings that are the essence of national party conventions.
In July, Mr. Trump canceled the Jacksonville component of the GOP convention after an uptick of coronavirus cases in that city.
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Mr. Barbour says the president and the Republican National Committee wound up modeling what they want the country to do: behave responsibly and avoid large gatherings, but also not allow reasonable daily activity to grind to a halt.
“I’m proud of what the RNC did,” he says. “That carries over into a much broader contrast and approach: people going to work and doing what they can.”


csmonitor--2020-08-27--New choices in justice after shootings

New choices in justice after shootings

History is often shaped by singular events , the kind that touch human thought and then move both empires and concrete .
The fall of the Soviet empire , for example , was sparked in 1989 by a modest relaxing of travel restrictions in East Germany .
A mental wall was breached and , with it , the Berlin Wall .
This week in two different countries , New Zealand and the United States , similar events happened to amplify a yearning in Western societies to change the models of justice from a focus on punishment toward one that brings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time in its history , New Zealand handed down its most severe criminal sentence Thursday – life in prison without the possibility of parole – to Brenton Harrison Tarrant .
In March 2019 , the white supremacist attacked two mosques , killing 51 worshippers .
During his sentencing , 91 survivors and relatives of victims addressed him directly – by turns angry , sorrowful , pitying , and empathetic .
Many of their comments reflected a desire for something beyond the salve of seeing him locked away for life .
As Janna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the attacks , told the gunman , “ I have only one choice : to forgive you.
” At nearly the same moment in the U.S. , professional athletes put down their basketballs , baseballs , and tennis balls in protest over the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake .
Mr. Blake , a Black man , was shot seven times by a white officer in Kenosha , Wisconsin , under circumstances still under investigation .
Like Ms. Ezat , Julia Jackson , Mr. Blake ’ s mother , reached for something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not make one type of tree , or flower , or fish , or horse , or grass , or rock .
Please let ’ s begin to pray for healing our nation.
” Such thoughts often get overlooked in the media ’ s fixation on justice as solely punishment .
One alternative , known as restorative justice , is based on opening a dialogue between wrongdoers and those they have harmed , with the hope of moral elevation and perhaps reconciliation .
Through apology , forgiveness , and inward reform , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of wounded individuals and communities .
The use of restorative justice is now a common tool from juvenile courts to bankruptcy proceedings .
It has been vital for healing in entire countries after violent conflict , such as in Rwanda , Sierra Leone , and South Africa .
It is also providing a framework for ongoing attempts to reconcile former colonies and their colonizers .
Germany and Namibia , for example , are negotiating ways to redress gross violations of human rights during the colonial era .
It may be the recipe for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slavery .
As difficult as restorative justice may be , its reasons are clear .
“ We must break the spiral of reprisal and counter-reprisal , ” South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu observed in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission .
“ Confession , forgiveness and reconciliation in the lives of nations are not just airy-fairy religious and spiritual things , nebulous and unrealistic .
They are the stuff of practical politics.
” In the months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis , many Black Americans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , especially police departments .
That skepticism endures .
Yet a key idea is taking root .
Polly Sheppard , who survived the attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston , South Carolina , in 2015 , has expressed it this way : “ There is no healing with hatred .
You have to love each other.
” A door was opened this week in both the U.S. and New Zealand to rebalance the purpose of justice .
As the South African commission noted , “ Reconciliation is not an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as agents of justice , rest on an acknowledgment that love is more true to human nature than revenge – and more resilient .
It takes down walls .

History is often shaped by singular events, the kind that touch human thought and then move both empires and concrete. The fall of the Soviet empire, for example, was sparked in 1989 by a modest relaxing of travel restrictions in East Germany. A mental wall was breached and, with it, the Berlin Wall.
This week in two different countries, New Zealand and the United States, similar events happened to amplify a yearning in Western societies to change the models of justice from a focus on punishment toward one that brings individual and social healing.
For the first time in its history, New Zealand handed down its most severe criminal sentence Thursday – life in prison without the possibility of parole – to Brenton Harrison Tarrant. In March 2019, the white supremacist attacked two mosques, killing 51 worshippers. During his sentencing, 91 survivors and relatives of victims addressed him directly – by turns angry, sorrowful, pitying, and empathetic. Many of their comments reflected a desire for something beyond the salve of seeing him locked away for life. As Janna Ezat, whose son was slain in the attacks, told the gunman, “I have only one choice: to forgive you.”
At nearly the same moment in the U.S., professional athletes put down their basketballs, baseballs, and tennis balls in protest over the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake. Mr. Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by a white officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, under circumstances still under investigation. Like Ms. Ezat, Julia Jackson, Mr. Blake’s mother, reached for something higher than mere retribution: “God did not make one type of tree, or flower, or fish, or horse, or grass, or rock. Please let’s begin to pray for healing our nation.”
Such thoughts often get overlooked in the media’s fixation on justice as solely punishment. One alternative, known as restorative justice, is based on opening a dialogue between wrongdoers and those they have harmed, with the hope of moral elevation and perhaps reconciliation. Through apology, forgiveness, and inward reform, its purpose is to restore the wholeness of wounded individuals and communities. The use of restorative justice is now a common tool from juvenile courts to bankruptcy proceedings. It has been vital for healing in entire countries after violent conflict, such as in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and South Africa.
It is also providing a framework for ongoing attempts to reconcile former colonies and their colonizers. Germany and Namibia, for example, are negotiating ways to redress gross violations of human rights during the colonial era. It may be the recipe for ultimately resolving the debate over reparations for slavery.
As difficult as restorative justice may be, its reasons are clear. “We must break the spiral of reprisal and counter-reprisal,” South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu observed in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. “Confession, forgiveness and reconciliation in the lives of nations are not just airy-fairy religious and spiritual things, nebulous and unrealistic. They are the stuff of practical politics.”
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In the months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, many Black Americans have believed nothing would change in American society, especially police departments. That skepticism endures. Yet a key idea is taking root. Polly Sheppard, who survived the attack on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, has expressed it this way: “There is no healing with hatred. You have to love each other.”
A door was opened this week in both the U.S. and New Zealand to rebalance the purpose of justice. As the South African commission noted, “Reconciliation is not an event.” Yet acts of forgiveness, as agents of justice, rest on an acknowledgment that love is more true to human nature than revenge – and more resilient. It takes down walls.


csmonitor--2020-08-27--‘I chose to keep going’: Resilience of New York workers tested by pandemic

Like many Bronx locals , Ms. Maruri is banking on resilience .
“ You either keep going or you cave in , ” she says .
“ I chose to keep going.
” By contrast , as the city ’ s overall jobless rate pushes 20 % , workers with the least have lost the most .
The economic disruption of city life has generally landed hardest on lower-paid , public-facing jobs such as in restaurants , retail , and hotels – held by workers who tend to live outside Manhattan in largely nonwhite neighborhoods .
New York ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tale of two cities .
Yes , midtown Manhattan is emptier than in the past , but workers in tech and finance are among those who have fared best in job security , nimbly adjusting to remote work .
Now , as the founder of Bronx Historical Tours , she is applying for assistance to keep herself and her small business afloat .
At one point this spring , her bank account was down to $ 1.77 .
Alexandra Maruri has seen New York bounce back before .
She and her mother arrived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ search of the American dream ” as the city was edging toward bankruptcy .
And in the recession in 2007 , Ms. Maruri lost her marketing job and had to rebuild again .
Hangouts resume on South Bronx stoops as the sun staves off the rain .
The grunt of buses fades behind a block of public housing , where a Saturday basketball game is in full swing and a cluster of cops looks on .
Nearby a man removes his hat at the sidewalk shrine of a saint .
Alexandra Maruri has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a local and a tour guide .
But today there are no tours .
One out of 4 Bronxites like her are unemployed ; she and thousands of others are survivors of COVID-19 .
In March , her bank account held only $ 1.77 , after she reimbursed 50 customers who had signed up for her walking tours before a ban on travel .
“ It was so sudden .
I didn ’ t really have a plan , ” she says .
New York ’ s saga is a tale of two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emptier than in the past , but as the Monitor reported last week , many of its mainstay businesses are adapting .
Workers in tech and finance are among those who have fared best in terms of job security , nimbly adjusting to remote work .
By contrast , as the city ’ s overall jobless rate pushes 20 % , workers with the least have lost the most .
It ’ s true on the health front , where the city ’ s more than 23,600 deaths have fallen heaviest on Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about half of the city ’ s population but are dying from COVID-19 at around twice the rate of white New Yorkers .
And the economic disruption of city life has generally landed hardest on lower-paid , public-facing jobs such as those in restaurants , retail , and hotels – held by workers who tend to live outside Manhattan in largely nonwhite neighborhoods .
“ There ’ s no question that New Yorkers who were often living paycheck to paycheck are the ones that have sustained the greatest job losses under the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director of the Center for an Urban Future .
For example , half of the city ’ s more than 3 million immigrants lost their main source of income , the think tank estimates .
Meanwhile , New Yorkers like Ms. Maruri are banking on resilience .
It helps to have the long view .
Ms. Maruri has seen New York bounce back before .
She and her mother arrived from Ecuador in the 1970s “ in search of the American dream ” as the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ engulfed the South Bronx ’ s housing , she says her family escaped their own building ’ s blaze .
Three decades later came the recession in 2007 , when Ms. Maruri lost her marketing job and had to rebuild again .
Now , as the Bronx Historical Tours founder applies for assistance to keep herself and her small business afloat , she revives her survival skills .
She finds peace in parks and eats one meal a day .
“ You either keep going or you cave in , ” she says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Locals who stuck out the outbreak have found varying degrees of struggle and stability in New York City , where , by one pre-pandemic estimate , a family of four needs $ 10,344 a month to sustain a modest living .
Previous recessions in the city tended to begin with layoffs in higher-income sectors like finance , followed by a ripple effect in lower-wage industries when consumer spending shrank , says economist James Parrott .
In the current crisis , job losses are flipped .
Although high-wage earners aren ’ t generally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office-lunch and business-travel habits that sustained lower-wage workers .
“ We ’ re testing the viability of the safety net right now , ” says Mr. Parrott , director of economy and fiscal policies at The New School ’ s Center for New York City Affairs .
“ We ’ re beginning an unfortunate experiment when you take away the $ 600 weekly [ federal ] supplement.
” New York state on Monday was approved for a federal weekly $ 300 supplemental check for those unemployed , but when the rollout begins is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losses and shrinking safety nets like the expired $ 600 federal unemployment benefit may further magnify the city ’ s inequality .
Ms. Maruri says she spent her $ 1,200 federal stimulus check on bills , saving only $ 10 to treat herself to dinner .
The additional federal unemployment benefit that expired at the end of July had also gone toward payments that were falling behind .
“ It ’ s a very difficult time without the extra $ 600 , ” says Ms. Maruri , who shares an apartment with her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what she receives in state unemployment insurance .
Faced with a potential $ 9 billion deficit within two years , Mayor Bill de Blasio is seeking permission from the state to borrow funds for operating costs .
Without more aid , a layoff of 22,000 municipal workers could come next month .
Ms. Maruri began Bronx Historical Tours in 2011 to help reverse decades of negative press and preconceptions about her home borough .
It ’ s been a tough task .
“ I ’ ve had people bring food with them because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restaurants here , ” she says .
After applying to numerous financing opportunities while sick with COVID-19 , Ms. Maruri won a $ 6,500 Small Business Administration loan and $ 2,500 Facebook cash grant this spring .
She hopes to revive tours no later than November .
“ We ’ re going to see jobs that involve a lot of social contact like restaurants , hotels , tourism ... be very depressed until we get a vaccine or effective treatment , ” says Heidi Shierholz , former chief economist of the Obama administration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy at the Economy Policy Institute .
While the city ’ s COVID-19 caseload has plummeted ( with 1,723 new hospitalizations on April 6 and only 32 on Aug. 6 ) , New Yorkers who are able to resume their jobs still weigh the risks .
On her subway and bus commute from Queens to Manhattan to make strangers ’ beds , Nudolma Lama Sherpa is afraid to sit down .
Ms. Lama Sherpa , a room attendant at a midtown hotel , says she stopped getting called to work in mid-March .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 600 federal payments were extra boosts for her household , which she shares with her mother and two young adult daughters .
Two and a half months passed .
“ We got a text from work that they want us to come back , ” she says .
“ But we ’ re scared to come back.
” Ms. Lama Sherpa says she returned to work for financial security .
She reasoned a new gig would be tough to find amid citywide layoffs .
“ Without work , nobody can survive , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worked nine days straight .
A dozen blocks downtown , Cindy Jaimangal labors at a hospital .
The majority of the city ’ s million “ essential ” workers are like her : women and people of color .
While her uninterrupted employment lent financial security during the crisis , new stresses were added at work and at home .
When the doorbell chimes , Ms. Jaimangal ’ s 4-year-old and 9-year-old retreat to their rooms .
“ It ’ s the coronavirus !
” they say , even though it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her until after she showers .
The patient care associate spends eight-hour days at a Manhattan emergency room that swelled with COVID-19 patients this spring .
A Christian music playlist helps pass the hourlong subway ride back to Queens .
Home and exhausted , all she wants is curry chicken and jasmine rice .
Unless she falls asleep in a chair .
Ms. Jaimangal lives with her two children , husband , and parents in the middle-class neighborhood of South Richmond Hills .
Since her husband , a software developer , has needed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she will soon resume her second job around dinnertime : homework police .
“ I have to prepare mentally , ” she says , for the prospect of managing more virtual schooling plus her career this fall .
Ms. Jaimangal became a citizen in 2005 , and still sends remittances to family back in Guyana .
Despite the outbreak ’ s grueling work-life balance , she says her household has been financially OK .
If anything , they ’ ve saved , especially with an effort to live frugally .
She cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to summer sweatshorts .
“ We can manage , ” she says .
Despite the demands of her job , Ms. Jaimangal never considered leaving .
“ I always wanted to help people , ” she says .
“ When the day is over , I want to do something good for somebody .
It ’ s not about pay for me.
” She ended up helping a friend and neighbor who lives two streets away .
When her daughter ’ s godfather , Dean Ragoonanan , spent 11 days at her hospital @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for family who were n't allowed to visit by tending to him at the start and end of each shift .
She used to see Mr. Ragoonanan on Sundays as a fellow church member at Bethel Assembly of God .
Now Ms. Jaimangal visited him in a hospital bed , praying by his side .
He remembers that she even brushed his teeth .
“ I will be forever grateful for Cindy , ” says Mr. Ragoonanan .
“ She never turned her back.
” Now , like so many others , Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trials and resilience in the face of an uncertain future .
He ’ s been back home since April .
Yet during his recovery he ’ s had to send his résumé around .
His quarter-century career in building maintenance ended this spring .
He says he misses work .
This month he called to tell Ms. Jaimangal that he ’ d been able to climb up to his roof .
He reattached shingles that had scattered in a storm .
Part 1 : What will happen to Big Apple ’ s core @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s note : As a public service , we have removed our paywall for all pandemic-related stories .

Like many Bronx locals, Ms. Maruri is banking on resilience. “You either keep going or you cave in,” she says. “I chose to keep going.”
By contrast, as the city’s overall jobless rate pushes 20%, workers with the least have lost the most. The economic disruption of city life has generally landed hardest on lower-paid, public-facing jobs such as in restaurants, retail, and hotels – held by workers who tend to live outside Manhattan in largely nonwhite neighborhoods.
New York’s pandemic saga is in many ways a tale of two cities. Yes, midtown Manhattan is emptier than in the past, but workers in tech and finance are among those who have fared best in job security, nimbly adjusting to remote work.
Many Americans have seen images of a near-empty Times Square amid the pandemic. Yet the shutdown’s ripple effects are harshest in places outside New York City’s core – mostly communities of color. Part 2 of a series.
Now, as the founder of Bronx Historical Tours, she is applying for assistance to keep herself and her small business afloat. At one point this spring, her bank account was down to $1.77.
Alexandra Maruri has seen New York bounce back before. She and her mother arrived from Ecuador in the 1970s “in search of the American dream” as the city was edging toward bankruptcy. And in the recession in 2007, Ms. Maruri lost her marketing job and had to rebuild again.
Hangouts resume on South Bronx stoops as the sun staves off the rain. The grunt of buses fades behind a block of public housing, where a Saturday basketball game is in full swing and a cluster of cops looks on. Nearby a man removes his hat at the sidewalk shrine of a saint.
Alexandra Maruri has walked East 138th Street for decades as a local and a tour guide. But today there are no tours. One out of 4 Bronxites like her are unemployed; she and thousands of others are survivors of COVID-19. In March, her bank account held only $1.77, after she reimbursed 50 customers who had signed up for her walking tours before a ban on travel.
“It was so sudden. I didn’t really have a plan,” she says.
Why We Wrote This Many Americans have seen images of a near-empty Times Square amid the pandemic. Yet the shutdown’s ripple effects are harshest in places outside New York City’s core – mostly communities of color. Part 2 of a series.
New York’s saga is a tale of two cities. Yes, Midtown Manhattan is emptier than in the past, but as the Monitor reported last week, many of its mainstay businesses are adapting. Workers in tech and finance are among those who have fared best in terms of job security, nimbly adjusting to remote work.
By contrast, as the city’s overall jobless rate pushes 20%, workers with the least have lost the most. It’s true on the health front, where the city’s more than 23,600 deaths have fallen heaviest on Latino and Black residents, who account for about half of the city’s population but are dying from COVID-19 at around twice the rate of white New Yorkers. And the economic disruption of city life has generally landed hardest on lower-paid, public-facing jobs such as those in restaurants, retail, and hotels – held by workers who tend to live outside Manhattan in largely nonwhite neighborhoods.
“There’s no question that New Yorkers who were often living paycheck to paycheck are the ones that have sustained the greatest job losses under the pandemic,” says Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future. For example, half of the city’s more than 3 million immigrants lost their main source of income, the think tank estimates.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers like Ms. Maruri are banking on resilience. It helps to have the long view.
Ms. Maruri has seen New York bounce back before. She and her mother arrived from Ecuador in the 1970s “in search of the American dream” as the city teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. During the infamous decade of fires that engulfed the South Bronx’s housing, she says her family escaped their own building’s blaze. Three decades later came the recession in 2007, when Ms. Maruri lost her marketing job and had to rebuild again.
Now, as the Bronx Historical Tours founder applies for assistance to keep herself and her small business afloat, she revives her survival skills. She finds peace in parks and eats one meal a day.
“You either keep going or you cave in,” she says. “I chose to keep going.”
Testing the safety net
Locals who stuck out the outbreak have found varying degrees of struggle and stability in New York City, where, by one pre-pandemic estimate, a family of four needs $10,344 a month to sustain a modest living.
Previous recessions in the city tended to begin with layoffs in higher-income sectors like finance, followed by a ripple effect in lower-wage industries when consumer spending shrank, says economist James Parrott.
In the current crisis, job losses are flipped. Although high-wage earners aren’t generally unemployed, they have largely changed the office-lunch and business-travel habits that sustained lower-wage workers.
“We’re testing the viability of the safety net right now,” says Mr. Parrott, director of economy and fiscal policies at The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs. “We’re beginning an unfortunate experiment when you take away the $600 weekly [federal] supplement.”
New York state on Monday was approved for a federal weekly $300 supplemental check for those unemployed, but when the rollout begins is unclear.
Experts worry that enduring job losses and shrinking safety nets like the expired $600 federal unemployment benefit may further magnify the city’s inequality.
Ms. Maruri says she spent her $1,200 federal stimulus check on bills, saving only $10 to treat herself to dinner. The additional federal unemployment benefit that expired at the end of July had also gone toward payments that were falling behind.
“It’s a very difficult time without the extra $600,” says Ms. Maruri, who shares an apartment with her mother. That amount was three times what she receives in state unemployment insurance.
Faced with a potential $9 billion deficit within two years, Mayor Bill de Blasio is seeking permission from the state to borrow funds for operating costs. Without more aid, a layoff of 22,000 municipal workers could come next month.
“Scared to come back”
Ms. Maruri began Bronx Historical Tours in 2011 to help reverse decades of negative press and preconceptions about her home borough. It’s been a tough task.
“I’ve had people bring food with them because they thought we didn’t have restaurants here,” she says.
After applying to numerous financing opportunities while sick with COVID-19, Ms. Maruri won a $6,500 Small Business Administration loan and $2,500 Facebook cash grant this spring. She hopes to revive tours no later than November.
“We’re going to see jobs that involve a lot of social contact like restaurants, hotels, tourism ... be very depressed until we get a vaccine or effective treatment,” says Heidi Shierholz, former chief economist of the Obama administration’s Labor Department and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute.
While the city’s COVID-19 caseload has plummeted (with 1,723 new hospitalizations on April 6 and only 32 on Aug. 6), New Yorkers who are able to resume their jobs still weigh the risks. On her subway and bus commute from Queens to Manhattan to make strangers’ beds, Nudolma Lama Sherpa is afraid to sit down.
Ms. Lama Sherpa, a room attendant at a midtown hotel, says she stopped getting called to work in mid-March. The federal stimulus check and weekly $600 federal payments were extra boosts for her household, which she shares with her mother and two young adult daughters. Two and a half months passed.
“We got a text from work that they want us to come back,” she says. “But we’re scared to come back.”
Ms. Lama Sherpa says she returned to work for financial security. She reasoned a new gig would be tough to find amid citywide layoffs.
“Without work, nobody can survive,” says Ms. Lama Sherpa, who recently worked nine days straight.
A dozen blocks downtown, Cindy Jaimangal labors at a hospital. The majority of the city’s million “essential” workers are like her: women and people of color. While her uninterrupted employment lent financial security during the crisis, new stresses were added at work and at home.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Cindy Jaimangal stands outside her home with her children, Julie and Ethan, on Aug. 15, 2020, in the Queens borough of New York. Most mornings, Ms. Jaimangal has a long commute on the subway from Queens to Manhattan, where she works as a patient care associate at an emergency room.
Neighbors
When the doorbell chimes, Ms. Jaimangal’s 4-year-old and 9-year-old retreat to their rooms. “It’s the coronavirus!” they say, even though it’s only Mom. No one can hug her until after she showers.
The patient care associate spends eight-hour days at a Manhattan emergency room that swelled with COVID-19 patients this spring. A Christian music playlist helps pass the hourlong subway ride back to Queens. Home and exhausted, all she wants is curry chicken and jasmine rice. Unless she falls asleep in a chair.
Ms. Jaimangal lives with her two children, husband, and parents in the middle-class neighborhood of South Richmond Hills. Since her husband, a software developer, has needed peace and quiet during his remote workday, she will soon resume her second job around dinnertime: homework police.
“I have to prepare mentally,” she says, for the prospect of managing more virtual schooling plus her career this fall.
Ms. Jaimangal became a citizen in 2005, and still sends remittances to family back in Guyana. Despite the outbreak’s grueling work-life balance, she says her household has been financially OK. If anything, they’ve saved, especially with an effort to live frugally. She cut her son’s winter sweatpants down to summer sweatshorts.
“We can manage,” she says.
Despite the demands of her job, Ms. Jaimangal never considered leaving. “I always wanted to help people,” she says. “When the day is over, I want to do something good for somebody. It’s not about pay for me.”
She ended up helping a friend and neighbor who lives two streets away. When her daughter’s godfather, Dean Ragoonanan, spent 11 days at her hospital with COVID-19, Ms. Jaimangal filled in for family who weren't allowed to visit by tending to him at the start and end of each shift.
She used to see Mr. Ragoonanan on Sundays as a fellow church member at Bethel Assembly of God. Now Ms. Jaimangal visited him in a hospital bed, praying by his side. He remembers that she even brushed his teeth.
Ann Hermes/Staff View caption Hide caption Cindy Jaimangal stands in her backyard where her two children have a trampoline and small pool on Aug. 15, 2020, in Queens.
“I will be forever grateful for Cindy,” says Mr. Ragoonanan. “She never turned her back.”
Now, like so many others, Mr. Ragoonanan has a story that includes both trials and resilience in the face of an uncertain future.
He’s been back home since April. Yet during his recovery he’s had to send his résumé around. His quarter-century career in building maintenance ended this spring.
He says he misses work. This month he called to tell Ms. Jaimangal that he’d been able to climb up to his roof. He reattached shingles that had scattered in a storm.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Part 1: What will happen to Big Apple’s core? Clues from reopening.
Editor’s note: As a public service, we have removed our paywall for all pandemic-related stories.