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Review of Google’s smartphone for the budget-conscious BUSINESS > A12

Kraken’s Fitzhugh becomes NHL’s first Black team broadcaster SPORTS > B1

By Erica Werner and Rachael BadeThe Washington Post

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday signaled he was ready to forge ahead with-out Congress to try to address

lapsed economic relief measures for millions of Americans affected by the coronavirus outbreak, but he stopped short of declaring negotia-tions dead.

The path forward remained unclear, as he used a news confer-

ence late Friday to discuss steps he might take but he didn’t stipulate whether he would follow through.

“If Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage, I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need,” Trump said.

Democratic leaders on Friday said the White House refused to meet them even halfway in negoti-

ations, which dragged on for two weeks with little signs of progress. The discussions were meant to provide additional relief to address the coronavirus pandemic’s eco-nomic fallout.

At the news conference, Trump said he was preparing to sign exec-utive orders that would pay unem-ployment benefits through the end of the year, offer eviction protec-

tions that have lapsed and provide student loan relief. He was circum-spect on the details.

For example, he was asked if the government would continue pay-ing the $600 enhanced unemploy-ment benefit that expired last month, and he responded, “I won’t say that yet.”

He also said he wanted to sign an See > Aid talks, A16

No agreement on coronavirus reliefimpasse in Co ngress | Trump says he can issue executive orders, but details unclear.

By ERIC TUCKER and DEB RIECHMANNThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelli-gence officials believe that Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate presumed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden before the November election and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, the country’s counterintelligence chief said Friday in the most specific warning to date about the threat of foreign interference.

U.S. officials also believe that China does not want Trump to win a second term and has accel-erated its criticism of his adminis-tration, expanding its efforts to shape public policy in America and to pressure political figures seen as opposed to Beijing’s inter-ests.

The statement from William Evanina is believed to be the most pointed declaration by the U.S. intelligence community linking the Kremlin to efforts to

See > Russia, A16

U.S. intel: Russia goes after Biden; China wants Trump out

By Hal BerntonSeattle Times staff reporter

Earl Edwards was a Jamaican farmer who in the winter grew ginger, garlic and other crops on his tropical island nation home-land in the Caribbean. For the past decade, he would head north each year for seasonal work at the Gebbers Farms in Washington’s arid Okanogan County. This year, he did so amid a global coronavi-rus pandemic that sickened him and — on July 31 — took his life.

His death is now part of an ongoing state investigation into conditions at Gebbers Farms labor camps.

The 63-year-old spent his final days in an isolation camp, talking several times a day to his wife, Marcia Smith Edwards. He told her he was weak and sick and hoped to return to Jamaica.

“He said, ‘I want to come home. ... I am feeling like a fish out of water. ... Nobody cares for us here,’ ” Marcia recalls.

See > Okanogan, A6

Farmworker’s COVID death leaves grieving widow angry

By Anna PatrickProject Homeless engagement editor

In Washington state’s new food ware-house, there’s enough Jif peanut butter to make nearly 3 million sandwiches.

Barilla pasta boxes stretch to the ceiling, 100,000 in all. Large stacks of TreeTop applesauce, pancake mix and canned green beans sit on pallets, like soldiers waiting to be sent into duty.

Since the coronavirus crisis first rocked Washington in March, nonprofits and state agencies working in food assistance have

been forced to draw a completely new road map for getting food to people who need it.

The warehouse in Fife is part of that new model. After seeing food banks struggle to meet demand once the pandemic hit and the economy tanked, the Washington state Department of Agriculture (WSDA) began preparing to buy and stockpile tons of food to ward off a shortage in the months ahead.

The new stockpile is driven by two major factors: a nearly doubling in demand for food assistance across the state, and a na-tional food supply chain that is bogged down amid an overwhelming surge in demand.

See > Stockpile, A11

By Natachi OnwuamaegbuSpecial to The Seattle Times

NW Fitness, a fitness center on First Hill, has lost 200 members since gyms and fitness studios closed in March under Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Hoping to retain existing mem-bers when his gym reopened after King County entered Phase 2 of Inslee’s four-phase reopening plan, NW Fitness owner John Carrico bought spray bottles and tempera-ture guns and hired more staff to enforce social distancing and keep the facilities clean around the clock. Under Phase 2 rules, NW Fitness had to temporarily discontinue the group fitness classes it used to run,

but members still had 24/7 access to the club’s workout equipment.

Now, Carrico is trying to figure out what operational changes are necessary after Inslee announced updated guidance for gyms and indoor fitness centers on Monday that mandates 300 square feet of distance between patrons. Mean-ing, once you’re in a gym, you must move and operate within a 20-foot-by-15-foot box. For large fitness studios and gyms (defined as 12,000 square feet and up), the updated guidance caps occupancy at 25% of the facility’s capacity.

The new rules take effect Aug. 10, and come after extended dis-cussions between Washington’s gyms and Inslee’s office. Last

State gyms wrestle with stricter coronavirus rulesstart s monday | Some fitness facility owners chafe at 300-square-feet requirement

month, Inslee introduced a rule for counties in Phase 2 that limited gym capacity to five people. After pushback from the fitness commu-nity, implementation of that rule

was delayed as the two sides tried to work out clearer guidelines based on facility size. The result? The new 300-square-foot require-

See > Gyms, A11

G r e g G i l b e r t / T h e S e a t t l e T i m e s

John Carrico, right, owner of NW Fitness in Seattle, is seen with his wife, Jessica Carrico, holding their 4-month-old daughter, Vivienne, and staff members Rasun Hargrett, kneeling, and Nick Ingram. They’ve taped the floor to remind members of social distancing rules.

Stocking staples from peanut butter to pasta, state readies in case of a virus resurgence

S t e v e R i n g m a n / T h e S e a t t l e T i m e s

Derek Sandison, director of the state Department of Agriculture, tours a Fife warehouse where up to 2,000 pallets of nonperishable food can be stored for distribution to food banks. The state started to stock up in the spring, after agencies worried about running short of food.

PROJECT HOMELESS

S t e v e R i n g m a n / T h e S e a t t l e T i m e s

Applesauce is an essential part of the strategic reserve at the Fife food warehouse.