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Page 1: Elevates Hopes and Stocks Vaccine s Early Test Result · the end of this year or early 2021, Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna s chief med-ical officer, said in an interview. Vaccine s Early

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In April, when the coronavirus took hold in New York City, residents made twice as many mail-forwarding requests as a year earlier, including many in affluent neighborhoods. Arrows show the top destinations and indicate the proportion of requests to each place. Page A13.

SCOTT REINHARD/THE NEW YORK TIMESSource: U.S. Postal Service

Nashville

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

Minneapolis-St. Paul

Houston

Los Angeles

San Francisco-Oakland

Charlotte

Tampa Bay

Boston

Atlanta

Sarasota

Chicago

Washington

Philadelphia

Baltimore

Orlando

Dallas-Fort Worth

Denver

Phoenix

Seattle-Tacoma

Detroit

Portland

San Diego

Austin

Cleveland

Albany

Where New Yorkers Moved to Escape Coronavirus

WASHINGTON — Six monthsbefore a presidential election inwhich turnout could matter morethan persuasion, the RepublicanParty, the Trump campaign andconservative activists are mount-ing an aggressive national effortto shape who gets to vote in No-vember — and whose ballots are

counted.Its premise is that a Republican

victory in November is imperiledby widespread voter fraud, abaseless charge embraced byPresident Trump but repeatedlydebunked by research. Demo-crats and voting rights advocatessay the driving factor is politics,not fraud — especially since Mr.Trump’s narrow win in 2016 un-derscored the potentially crucial

value of depressing turnout byDemocrats, particularly minor-ities.

The Republican program,which has gained steam in recentweeks, envisions recruiting up to50,000 volunteers in 15 key statesto monitor polling places and chal-lenge ballots and voters deemedsuspicious. That is part of a $20million plan that also allots mil-

G.O.P. Plans Stronger Role in Who Gets to VoteBy MICHAEL WINES

Continued on Page A24

LAETITIA VANCON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

While land borders remain closed, German farmers are flying in thousands of workers. Page A16.Arriving by Airlift to Tend to the Fields

Matthew Henderson couldn’tbe entering the job market at aworse time. As a senior at LoyolaUniversity, he spent the spring se-mester interning as a trade policyanalyst at the British Consulate inChicago. But his chances of turn-ing that opportunity into a perma-nent job ran headlong into the co-ronavirus pandemic.

Now Mr. Henderson is at homewith his family in South Bend,Ind., unemployed and consideringjobs at Costco and Target to helppay off $24,000 in student loans.“I’m in this bubble of anxiety,” saidMr. Henderson, who just turned21. “I have to pay these, but I haveno money to pay them.”

Saddled with debt, and enteringa job market devastated by thepandemic, he and millions of his

contemporaries face an excep-tionally dicey future.

Young adults, especially thosewithout a college degree, are par-ticularly vulnerable in recessions.They are new to the job market —with scant on-the-job experienceand little or no seniority to protectthem from layoffs. A large body ofresearch — along with the experi-ence of those who came of age inthe last recession — shows thatyoung people trying to start theircareers during an economic crisisare at a lasting disadvantage.Their wages, opportunities andconfidence in the workplace maynever fully recover.

And in the worst downturn ingenerations — one with no bottomin sight — the pattern is beginning

Young and Already Behind,Maybe for Life, in Job Market

By EDUARDO PORTER and DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY

Continued on Page A10

As the United States plungesinto the worst economic downturnin decades, there is growing con-cern that the Federal Reserve andthe Treasury are being too timidand halting in their approach asthey scramble to rescue the econ-omy.

On Monday, a report from thecongressional commission over-seeing the Fed and Treasury’s ef-forts pointed out that most of the$500 billion that Congress allocat-ed in March to the Treasury tosupport businesses and local gov-ernments had yet to be used andraised questions about how therescue programs would work. TheTreasury Department has yet toextend any of the $46 billion it wasgiven to support airlines and na-tional security-related companiesand the Fed, whose newer andriskier lending programs aremeant to be backstopped with theremaining $454 billion, has justone such program underway.

While the bipartisan report wasmore questioning than critical, itcomes as lawmakers and econo-mists are beginning to suggestthat the two policymakers at thehelm of saving the economy,Treasury Secretary StevenMnuchin and the Fed chair, Je-rome H. Powell, may be proceed-ing too cautiously.

Mr. Mnuchin and Mr. Powellhave been given buckets of moneyto gird the economy as the coro-navirus lockdowns continue,tanking revenues and heighten-ing the risk of long-term economicdamage. When the pandemiceventually recedes, the trajectoryof the recovery will largely de-pend on whether the federal gov-ernment went to the necessarylengths to keep businesses andhouseholds afloat.

Mr. Mnuchin has resisted tak-ing on too much risk, mindful ofthe optics involved in bailing outlarge companies or those alreadyheavily indebted. He has said hedoes not expect to lose the moneythat Congress has handed him tosupport emergency lending,which could be driving the Fed tobe more cautious. While Mr.Mnuchin has said the Treasurycould take losses if the economyworsens, his base case scenario isthat it will return all $454 billion.

“I think it’s pretty clear if Con-gress wanted me to lose all of themoney, that money would havebeen designed as subsidies and

Wary TreasuryMay ConstrainEconomy’s Rise

By JEANNA SMIALEKand ALAN RAPPEPORT

Continued on Page A10

A meeting of the World HealthOrganization that was supposedto chart a path for the world tocombat the coronavirus pandemicinstead on Monday turned into ashowcase for the escalating ten-sions between China and theUnited States over the virus.

President Xi Jinping of Chinaannounced at the start of the for-um that Beijing would donate $2billion toward fighting the coro-navirus and dispatch doctors andmedical supplies to Africa andother countries in the developingworld.

The contribution, to be spentover two years, amounts to morethan twice what the United States

had been giving the global healthagency before President Trumpcut off American funding lastmonth, and it could catapult Chinato the forefront of international ef-forts to contain a disease that hasclaimed at least 315,000 lives.

But it was also seen — particu-larly by American officials — asan attempt by China to forestallcloser scrutiny of whether it hidinformation about the outbreak tothe world.

Mr. Xi made his announcementby videoconference to the WorldHealth Assembly, an annual deci-sion-making meeting of theW.H.O. that is being conductedvirtually this year because ofsafety considerations during thepandemic. Mr. Trump declined toaddress the two-day gathering,providing the Chinese presidentan opening to be one of the firstworld leaders to address the 194member states.

“In China, after making pains-taking efforts and sacrifice, we

Virus DisputeOvershadowsHealth Forum

This article is by Andrew Jacobs,Michael D. Shear and EdwardWong.

President Xi Jinping addressedthe World Health Assembly.

LI XUEREN/XINHUA, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A9

The first coronavirus vaccine tobe tested in people appears to besafe and able to stimulate an im-mune response against the infec-tion, the manufacturer, Moderna,announced on Monday, offering aglint of hope to a world desperatefor ways to stop the pandemic.

The preliminary findings, in thefirst eight people who each re-ceived two doses of the experi-mental vaccine, must now be re-peated in far larger tests in hun-dreds and then thousands of peo-ple, to find out if the vaccine canwork in the real world. Moderna’stechnology, involving genetic ma-terial from the virus called mRNA,is relatively new and has yet toproduce any approved vaccine.

The promising early news sentModerna’s stock soaring by morethan 25 percent on Monday after-noon and helped drive Wall Streetto its best day in six weeks. Stockswere also lifted by statementsfrom the Federal Reserve chair,Jerome H. Powell, that the centralbank would continue to supportthe economy and markets.

Trading on Monday had all ofthe characteristics of a rally fo-cused on prospects for a return tonormal: The S&P 500 rose morethan 3 percent; stock benchmarksin Europe were 4 percent to 6 per-cent higher; and oil prices alsojumped. Among the best perform-ers in the S&P 500 were travel-re-lated companies, like United Air-lines, Expedia Group and MarriottInternational.

With the weather warming andstate after state starting to liftlockdown restrictions, Americansare eager to regain their freedomto shop, go to the beach and enjoybars and restaurants. Still, morethan 1,000 people died most dayslast week in the United States.

Vaccines are now seen as thebest and perhaps only hope ofstopping or even slowing a dis-ease that has sickened nearly fivemillion people worldwide, killed315,000 and locked down entirecountries, paralyzing their econo-mies.

Dozens of companies and uni-

versities are rushing to create co-ronavirus vaccines, and humantrials have already started for sev-eral manufacturers, including Pfi-zer and its German partnerBioNTech, the Chinese companyCanSino and the University of Ox-ford, which is working with As-traZeneca.

Experts agree that it is essen-tial to develop multiple vaccines,because the urgent global need forbillions of doses will far outstripthe production capacity of any onemanufacturer. But there is wide-spread concern among scientiststhat haste could compromisesafety, resulting in a vaccine thatdoes not work or even harms pa-

tients.The potential strength of Mod-

erna’s mRNA approach to vaccinemaking is that it uses a geneticframework that can be quicklyadapted for each new viral threat.The company has said that it isproceeding on an acceleratedtimetable, with a second phase oftests involving 600 people to beginsoon, and a third phase to begin inJuly involving thousands ofhealthy people. The Food andDrug Administration gave Mod-erna the go-ahead this month forthe second phase.

If those trials go well, somedoses of a vaccine could becomeavailable for widespread use bythe end of this year or early 2021,Dr. Tal Zaks, Moderna’s chief med-ical officer, said in an interview.

Vaccine’s Early Test Result Elevates Hopes and Stocks

Trial Appears Safe, but on Only 8 People —Wall Street Has Best Day in 6 Weeks

By DENISE GRADY

Source: Refinitiv THE NEW YORK TIMES

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WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump said on Monday that hehad been taking hydroxychloro-quine, an antimalarial drug theFood and Drug Administrationwarned could cause serious heartproblems for coronavirus pa-tients. He said he was taking thedrug as a preventive measure andcontinued to test negative for thecoronavirus.

“All I can tell you is so far I seemto be OK,” Mr. Trump said, addingthat he had been taking the drugfor about a week and a half, withthe approval of the White Housephysician. “I get a lot of tremen-dously positive news on the hy-droxy,” Mr. Trump continued, ex-plaining that his decision to trythe drug was based on one of hisfavorite refrains: “What do youhave to lose?”

But Mr. Trump’s announcementsurprised many of his aides anddrew immediate criticism from arange of medical experts, whowarned not just of the dangers itposed for the president’s healthbut also of the example it set.

“My concern would be that thepublic not hear comments aboutthe use of hydroxychloroquineand believe that taking this drugto prevent Covid-19 infection is

President SaysHe Takes DrugDeemed a Risk

By ANNIE KARNIand KATIE THOMAS

Continued on Page A11

The attorney general said an investiga-tion into the Russia inquiry was notfocused on Barack Obama. PAGE A20

Dismissing ‘Obamagate’ Plot

The U.S. faces a bicycle shortage be-cause of anxiety over public transporta-tion and a thirst for exercise. PAGE A12

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-15

Bikes Are in Short Supply

If modern life in America were a movie,Dan Barry writes, it would be called “Closed Until Further Notice.” PAGE A8

Our Cinematic Discomfort

Kevin Mayer will lead the popularChinese-owned app for making andsharing short videos. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-6

TikTok Lures Disney Stalwart

Seth Blair opened his Scottsdale, Ariz.,backyard to other players withoutaccess to baseball facilities. PAGE B7

SPORTSTUESDAY B7-9

A Spring Training Home

Across the world, artists with spraycans and other tools of the trade aredepicting an era of masks and hand-washing. A recurrent theme: an appre-ciation of health care workers. PAGE C2

ARTS C1-7

Street Art for a Pandemic

Fred Willard played daffy characterswho were exaggerated extensions ofhimself, but he also excelled outside thecomic realm. Jennifer Vineyard looksback at some of his best roles. PAGE C1

Habitually Oblivious

Richard Flanagan PAGE A27

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

Vehicular traffic is way down during theshutdown, which is very good news forsalamanders and other amphibianslooking to migrate safely. PAGE D2

SCIENCE TIMES D1-8

Don’t Tread on Them

A Saudi cadet who killed three sailors ata Florida military base in Decemberhad been in regular contact with theterrorist group, officials said. PAGE A21

NATIONAL A19-25

Gunman Had Qaeda Links

Amiram Ben-Uliel, 25, faces a life sen-tence for an arson assault widely con-demned as terrorism. PAGE A16

INTERNATIONAL A16-18

Israeli Settler Guilty of Murder

Ken Osmond, 76, played the smarmyfriend on “Leave It to Beaver.” PAGE B11

OBITUARIES B10-12

The Face of Eddie Haskell

Late Edition

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,698 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2020

Today, periodic sunshine, breezy,high 67. Wind northeast at 15 to 25miles per hour. Tonight, clouds, low48. Tomorrow, breezy, clouds, high64. Weather map is on Page C8.

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