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FLINT, Mich. — A queue of carsstretched for more than a half mileoutside a church in Flint on Thurs-day morning, filled with residentswaiting for free cases of bottledwater, as they have since taintedwater began streaming out oftheir taps six years ago.

Miles away in downtown Flint,something more novel was hap-

pening: A line of state officials,most prominently Rick Snyder,the former governor, werecharged with crimes connected tothe crisis.

After a criminal investigationthat stretched close to two years,prosecutors in Michigan onThursday announced 41 counts —34 felonies and seven misdemean-ors — against nine officials whoonce worked in the highest eche-lons of state government. Alongwith the former governor were his

trusted advisers, top medical offi-cials and two emergency manag-ers who had been tasked withguiding Flint out of financial dis-tress.

Prosecutors said the officialsfailed to protect the safety and

health of Flint residents, whowere sickened by increased levelsof lead and by Legionnaires' dis-ease after the city’s water supplywas switched to the Flint River inApril of 2014. At least nine peopledied of Legionnaires’ in the Flintregion from June of 2014 throughOctober of 2015; two of the offi-cials on Thursday were chargedwith nine counts of involuntarymanslaughter.

“The Flint water crisis is not

Charges for 9 Officials Give Flint Some Relief, but ‘Trust Is Gone’By KATHLEEN GRAYand JULIE BOSMAN

Pain and Anger Endure in the Water Crisis

Continued on Page A18

ULET IFANSASTI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The funeral in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday of a flight attendant who died when a Sriwijaya AirBoeing 737-500 plunged into the Java Sea last week, killing all 62 passengers and crew members.

Agony After an Air Disaster

WASHINGTON — A day afterthe House impeached PresidentTrump for inciting a violent insur-rection at the Capitol, Democratsand Republicans in the Senatewere developing plans on Thurs-day to try the departing presidentat the same time as they beginconsidering the agenda of the in-coming one.

Democrats, poised to take uni-fied power in Washington nextweek for the first time in a decade,worked with Republican leadersto try to find a proposal to allowthe Senate to split time betweenthe impeachment trial of Mr.Trump and consideration of Presi-dent-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’scabinet nominees and his $1.9 tril-lion economic recovery plan to ad-dress the coronavirus.

“It’s far from ideal, no question,”said Senator Richard Blumenthal,Democrat of Connecticut. But, hesaid, “a dual track is perfectly do-able if there is a will to make ithappen.”

He said a trial would bestraightforward.

“The evidence is Trump’s ownwords, recorded on video,” Mr.Blumenthal said. “It’s a questionof whether Republicans want tostep up and face history.”

Although Senator Mitch Mc-Connell, Republican of Kentuckyand the majority leader, has pri-vately told advisers that he ap-proves of the impeachment driveand believes it could help his partypurge itself of Mr. Trump, he re-fused to begin the proceedingsthis week while he is still incharge. That means the trial willnot effectively start until after Mr.Biden is sworn in on Wednesday,

Parties DebateHow to HandleTrial in Senate

By NICHOLAS FANDOSand CATIE EDMONDSON

Thousands of armed National Guard members were rushed to Washington to bolster security for next week’s inaugural celebration.T.J. KIRKPATRICK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A15

Ten months after the coronavi-rus crisis decimated the labormarket, the resurgent pandemickeeps sending shock wavesthrough the American economy.

Though more than half of the 22million jobs lost last spring havebeen regained, a new surge of in-fections has prompted shutdownsand layoffs that have hit theleisure and hospitality industriesespecially hard, dealing a setbackto the recovery.

The latest evidence came onThursday when the Labor De-partment reported that initialclaims for state unemploymentbenefits rose sharply last week,exceeding one million for the firsttime since July.

Just days earlier, the govern-ment announced that employershad shed 140,000 jobs in Decem-ber, the first net decline in employ-ment since last spring, withrestaurants, bars and hotels re-cording steep losses.

“We’re in a deep economic hole,and we’re digging in the wrong di-rection,” said Daniel Zhao, senioreconomist with the career siteGlassdoor. “The report obviouslyshows that the rise in claims isworse than expected, and there isreason to think that things are go-ing to get worse before they aregoing to get better.”

That prospect is all the moretroubling because a major ele-ment of the relief package signedby President Trump last month —a $300 weekly federal supplementto other unemployment benefits— is set to run out in mid-March.

President-elect Joseph R. BidenJr. has said he will push a newstimulus package through Con-gress to provide a lifeline forworkers and employers until thepandemic can be brought undercontrol. His plan will include di-rect payments to most householdsalong with aid to small businessesand local and state governments.

The recent economic data hasbrought a new sense of urgency tosuch efforts, with millions strug-gling to make ends meet even asmore job losses could be in the off-ing.

The Labor Department said onThursday that 1.15 million work-ers filed initial claims for state un-employment benefits during thefirst full week of the new year. Afurther 284,000 claims were filedfor Pandemic Unemployment As-sistance, an emergency federal

1 Million New Claimsfor Unemployment

By SYDNEY EMBER

Continued on Page A9

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thurs-day proposed a $1.9 trillion rescuepackage to combat the economicdownturn and the Covid-19 crisis,outlining the type of sweeping aidthat Democrats have demandedfor months and signaling the shiftin the federal government’s pan-demic response as Mr. Biden pre-pares to take office.

The package includes morethan $400 billion to combat thepandemic directly, includingmoney to accelerate vaccine de-ployment and to safely reopenmost schools within 100 days. An-other $350 billion would help stateand local governments bridgebudget shortfalls, while the planwould also include $1,400 directpayments to individuals, moregenerous unemployment bene-fits, federally mandated paidleave for workers and large subsi-dies for child care costs.

“During this pandemic, millionsof Americans, through no fault oftheir own, have lost the dignityand respect that comes with a joband a paycheck,” Mr. Biden said ina speech to the nation. “There isreal pain overwhelming the realeconomy.”

He acknowledged the highprice tag but said the nation couldnot afford to do anything less.“The very health of our nation is atstake,” Mr. Biden said, adding thatit “does not come cheaply, but fail-ure to do so will cost us dearly.”

Mr. Biden took swift action toshape the agenda at a time of na-tional crisis and a day after Presi-dent Trump’s impeachment in theHouse. While it reflects the politi-cal shift in Washington as Demo-

BIDEN PLAN CALLSFOR $1.9 TRILLIONTO BUOY ECONOMY

Cost Signals Shift inCovid Response

By JIM TANKERSLEYand MICHAEL CROWLEY

AMR ALFIKY/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A7

Joseph R. Biden Jr. proposed$1,400 checks for individuals.

At the Whitney, the legacy of theKamoinge photography collective isfinally in the spotlight. PAGE C1

WEEKEND ARTS C1-14

Catching Up to Black ArtistsHospitals and nursing homes are pullingout the stops to persuade wary frontlineworkers to get vaccinated. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-7

Cash, Breakfasts and FiringsAfter a summer of protests, LetitiaJames, the New York attorney general,wants a federal monitor to overseefuture police responses. PAGE A19

NATIONAL A14-20

State Sues N.Y.P.D. on Tactics

Siegfried Fischbacher was half ofSiegfried & Roy, the show team thatdazzled Las Vegas. He was 81. PAGE A21

OBITUARIES A21, A24

Magician of Lions and TigersBird song competitions, resemblingmeditation more than competitivesports, fascinate Suriname. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-13

Battle of the Singing Stars

Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, who attestedthat President Trump was the “healthi-est president ever,” was 73. PAGE A24

Longtime Trump DoctorIf a resident raven at the Tower ofLondon died, will a centuries-old proph-ecy of doom come true? PAGE A13

Omen for Britain, EvermoreDavid Brooks PAGE A23EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

Regina King’s first film is about a meet-ing of Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, SamCooke and Jim Brown. PAGE C1

After the 1964 Title Fight

Rudolph W. Giuliani is among the fewallies still eager to jump into the foxholewith the president. PAGE A16

One of Trump’s Last Allies

In Cleveland County, Okla., thechairman of the local RepublicanParty openly wondered “why vio-lence is unacceptable,” just hoursbefore a mob stormed the U.S.Capitol last week. “What the crapdo you think the American revolu-tion was?” he posted on Facebook.“A game of friggin pattycake?”

Two days later, the Republicanchairman of Nye County in Neva-da posted a conspiracy-theory-filled letter on the local committeewebsite, accusing Vice PresidentMike Pence of treason and callingthe rioting a “staged event meantto blame Trump supporters.”

And this week in Virginia,Amanda Chase, a two-term Re-publican state senator running forgovernor, maintained that Presi-dent Trump might still be sworninto a second term on Jan. 20 andthat Republicans who blockedthat “alternative plan” would bepunished by the president’s sup-porters.

“They’ve got Mitch McConnellup there selling out the Republi-

can Party,” Ms. Chase, who spokeat the protest in Washington lastweek, said in an interview. “Theinsurrection is actually the deepstate with the politicians workingagainst the people to overthrowour government.”

As Mr. Trump prepares to exitthe White House and face a sec-ond impeachment trial in the Sen-ate, his ideas continue to exert agravitational pull in Republicancircles across the country. Thefalsehoods, white nationalism andbaseless conspiracy theories hepeddled for four years have be-come ingrained at the grass-rootslevel of the party, embraced by ac-tivists, local leaders and electedofficials even as a handful of Re-

Beyond Washington, a G.O.P. ‘Totally Realigned’By LISA LERER

and REID J. EPSTEINTrump Keeps Grip on

Party at State andLocal Level

Continued on Page A17

Laura Engle, 78, lives alone inan apartment in Midtown Man-hattan. She uses a walker and hasa chronic lung disease. She is ex-actly the kind of person who mostneeds a coronavirus vaccine.

And yet, she has found it impos-sible to make an appointment andhas become lost in the confusingsystem set up by the city and thestate.

Computer-literate, she navi-gated New York City’s vaccinefinder page on Monday, found theclosest provider and sent an emailwith her name and number to setup an appointment. When no onecalled, she reached out to the ur-gent care’s corporate office, whichtold her to wait.

She wanted to register at thenew Javits Convention Centermegasite, which she heard abouton the news, but could not figureout how.

“I’m willing to wait my turn,”she said, frustrated, “but I wouldlike to have some feeling that Ihave a turn.”

In the city, over a million olderNew Yorkers started the weekwith optimism that they would fi-nally gain access to the vaccine af-ter months of fearing they wouldfall victim to the coronavirus. Butthe reality of actually getting theshots has proved to be far moremaddening.

Buggy websites, multiple sign-up systems that act in parallel butdo not link together and a lack ofoutreach are causing exaspera-tion and exhaustion among olderNew Yorkers and others trying toset up vaccination appointments.It is also stymieing New York’searly efforts to get the vaccine tomany of the city’s most vulnera-ble, creating a situation that

Older People Who Want ShotsRun Into a Tangle of Red Tape

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Continued on Page A8

The Jacksonville Jaguars hired UrbanMeyer, who led Florida and Ohio Stateto national titles before retiring in 2018,as their new head coach. PAGE B11

SPORTSFRIDAY B9-11

College Legend Joins N.F.L.

Acquiring James Harden gives theteam three stars used to handling theball — a lot. On Pro Basketball. PAGE B9

A Lesson for the Nets: SharingThe two were on a team from theW.H.O. that is investigating the originsof the coronavirus in Wuhan. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

China Denies Scientists Entry

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,939 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021

Today, variably cloudy, mild, high 46.Tonight, cloudy, rainy, breezy, low45. Tomorrow, rain ending, variablycloudy, isolated showers, high 46.Weather map appears on Page B8.

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