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WASHINGTON — And thenChadwick Boseman died. On aFriday night, a way-too-youngHollywood star who had inspiredfans around the world suddenlywas gone without warning. Aftereverything else, it was just toomuch for many. “I HATE 2020” be-gan trending on Twitter. Not forthe first time and probably not forthe last.

It has been a year of tragedy, ofcatastrophe, of upheaval, a yearthat has inflicted one blow afteranother, a year that has filled themorgues, emptied the schools,shuttered the workplaces, swelledthe unemployment lines and po-larized the electorate. It is a yearin which one Black American afteranother fell victim to the policeand one city after another eruptedin flames.

If the worst pandemic in a cen-tury and the worst economic col-lapse in nearly a century and theworst social unrest in a half-cen-tury were not enough, naturethrew in a few more challenges inrecent days in the form of rampag-ing wildfires out west and a fero-cious hurricane down south. At

times, it has felt biblical, as if a tor-rent of plagues had been un-leashed all at once. At least the lo-custs, for the moment, have notmigrated here from East Africa.

But while 2020 feels cursed, it isstill only two-thirds over. Whatcould the next four months bringbefore the calendar turns? If noth-ing else, a bitter, angry, ugly, divi-sive presidential campaign fol-lowed by an Election Day thatmay not end on Election Day. Itcould stretch for days, weeks oreven months without an undisput-ed outcome. So on top of another1918 and another 1929 and another1968, try adding another 2000, an-other Florida recount, but thistime with, both candidates agree,nothing less than American de-mocracy on the line.

As the fall contest gets under-way after the nominating conven-tions, the national mood is sour.Only 13 percent of Americans are

It Can’t Get Worse . . . Right? Five Lives Upended by 2020

This article is by Peter Baker,John Branch, John Eligon, Reid J.Epstein, Dan Levin and Marc Stein.

Continued on Page A16

How Some AmericansAre Trying to Cope

in a Year of Pain

Much of the billions of pieces of plastic waste exported from the United States to be recycled ends up in rivers and oceans instead.KHADIJA M. FARAH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Confronting a climate crisisthat threatens the fossil fuel in-dustry, oil companies are racing tomake more plastic. But they facetwo problems: Many markets arealready awash with plastic, andfew countries are willing to bedumping grounds for the world’splastic waste.

The industry thinks it has founda solution to both problems in Afri-ca.

According to documents re-viewed by The New York Times,an industry group representingthe world’s largest chemical mak-ers and fossil fuel companies islobbying to influence UnitedStates trade negotiations withKenya, one of Africa’s biggesteconomies, to reverse its strictlimits on plastics — including atough plastic-bag ban. It is alsopressing for Kenya to continue im-porting foreign plastic garbage, apractice it has pledged to limit.

Plastics makers are lookingwell beyond Kenya’s borders. “Weanticipate that Kenya could serve

in the future as a hub for supply-ing U.S.-made chemicals and plas-tics to other markets in Africathrough this trade agreement,” EdBrzytwa, the director of interna-tional trade for the AmericanChemistry Council, wrote in anApril 28 letter to the Office of theUnited States Trade Representa-tive.

The United States and Kenya

are in the midst of trade negotia-tions and the Kenyan president,Uhuru Kenyatta, has made clearhe is eager to strike a deal. But thebehind-the-scenes lobbying bythe petroleum companies hasspread concern among envi-ronmental groups in Kenya andbeyond that have been working toreduce both plastic use and waste.

Kenya, like many countries, has

wrestled with the proliferation ofplastic. It passed a stringent lawagainst plastic bags in 2017, andlast year was one of many nationsaround the world that signed on toa global agreement to stop import-ing plastic waste — a pactstrongly opposed by the chemicalindustry.

The chemistry council’s plasticsproposals would “inevitably meanmore plastic and chemicals in theenvironment,” said GriffinsOchieng, executive director forthe Centre for Environmental Jus-tice and Development, a nonprofitgroup based in Nairobi that workson the problem of plastic waste inKenya. “It’s shocking.”

The plastics proposal reflectsan oil industry contemplating itsinevitable decline as the worldfights climate change. Profits areplunging amid the coronaviruspandemic, and the industry isfearful that climate change willforce the world to retreat fromburning fossil fuels. Producers arescrambling to find new uses for anoversupply of oil and gas. Windand solar power are becoming in-creasingly affordable, and gov-

Big Oil Pivots to Plastics and Eyes Africa as Its Dumping GroundThis article is by Hiroko Tabuchi,

Michael Corkery and Carlos Murei-thi.

Continued on Page A11

Kenya passed a stringent law against plastic bags in 2017.KHADIJA M. FARAH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

As major laboratories struggleto meet surging demand for coro-navirus tests, wealthier peopleand others in privileged profes-sions are avoiding long waits forresults — anywhere from fourdays to more than two weeks inNew York City — by skipping thelines.

Some are signing up forconcierge medical practices thatcharge several thousand dollars ayear for membership and providequick turnaround testing. Othershave turned to smaller laborato-ries or doctors’ offices that havetheir own equipment and can giveresults in a few hours or less.

“So far, we have tested 12 bil-lionaires,” said Dr. AndrewBrooks, chief executive of InfinityBiologiX, a New Jersey-basedcompany that developed a salivatest used by professional athletes,universities and financial institu-tions. “This concern is universal.”

Executives at smaller labs inthe New York region described asharp increase in calls from thoselooking for faster results — not

Continued on Page A8

Quick Testing,If You Can PayThe Steep Cost

By J. DAVID GOODMAN

On a cloudy day last month,thousands of soldiers massed on abeach in central Taiwan for theculmination of five days of exer-cises intended to demonstratehow the island’s military would re-

pel an invasion from China.Jets, helicopters and artillery

and missile batteries fired live am-munition at targets offshore,sending plumes of sea spray intothe air. Then, a few hours later, amilitary helicopter taking part inthe same exercise crashed at anairfield farther up the coast,killing two pilots and casting a

shadow over the show of force.China’s growing aggression

across Asia in recent months hascreated fears that it may makebrash moves in Taiwan, the SouthChina Sea or elsewhere. The rul-ing Communist Party’s recentcrackdown on dissent and activ-ism in Hong Kong, a former

As China Flexes, Taiwan Revamps Its Military

By STEVEN LEE MYERSand JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ

Taiwanese military exercises. The People’s Liberation Army of China held live-fire drills last week.ANN WANG/REUTERS

Continued on Page A10

Residents are returning home to South-western Louisiana, a region devastatedby Hurricane Laura last week. PAGE A13

NATIONAL A13-17

The Long Road to Recovery

The insurgent group denied firing rock-ets that landed around Afghan basesused by American forces. PAGE A12

U.S. Says Taliban Violated DealThe Justice Department secretly actedto halt an examination of the presi-dent’s ties to Russia. PAGE A15

Trump-Russia Inquiry Cut Off

A federal agency is resurrecting a sci-entific network that for a decade keptwatch around the world for new patho-gens dangerous to humans. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-8

Virus-Hunting Effort to Return

The port in Senegal’s capital is racing tomove over 3,000 tons of ammoniumnitrate after the Beirut blast. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A9-12

Dangerous Cargo in Dakar

Spotting $62 million in Paycheck Protec-tion Program fraud was easy, but whatlies below the surface will be harder forinvestigators to find. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-7

Exploiting P.P.P.’s Gray Areas

Cliff Robinson helped Connecticut be-come a basketball power and spent 18seasons as a pro. He was 53. PAGE A19

OBITUARIES A18-19

UConn and N.B.A. Stalwart

Japan is expected to rely on the policiesof the departing prime minister, ShinzoAbe, for its economic recovery. PAGE B1

Sticking With ‘Abenomics’

A pickup truck helped the New YorkPhilharmonic stage pop-up concerts, itsfirst public shows in months. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

They’re All Tuned Up

Ted Danson and D’Arcy Carden discusstheir time with the NBC show, which isup for a best comedy Emmy. PAGE C1

In a Very Funny ‘Good Place’Roger Cohen PAGE A21

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21

U.S. Open tennis, held without fans, willbe a test for sports in the New Yorkregion. An event preview. PAGES D3-7

SPORTSMONDAY D1-8

A Slam Under a Microscope

In a running event at a resort in Penn-sylvania, clothing was optional, but sunblock was recommended. PAGE D8

Five Kilometers in the Flesh

PORTLAND, Ore. — A fatalshooting in Portland, Ore., overthe weekend led President Trumpto unleash a torrent of tweets andattacks on Sunday, capping a vola-tile week of street violence that isbecoming a major theme in the fi-nal weeks of the 2020 campaign.

On Saturday, a man affiliatedwith a right-wing group was shotand killed as a large caravan ofsupporters of Mr. Trump drovethrough downtown Portland,where nightly protests have un-folded for three consecutivemonths. No suspect has been pub-licly identified and the victim’sname has not been released.

The shooting came in the sameweek that a 17-year-old armedwith a military-style weapon wascharged with homicide in connec-tion with shootings during a pro-test in Kenosha, Wis., that left twopeople dead and one injured.

The pro-Trump rally in Portlanddrew hundreds of trucks filledwith supporters and adorned withTrump flags into the city. At times,Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed in the streets,with fistfights occurring andTrump supporters shooting paint-ball guns from the beds of pickuptrucks as protesters threw objectsat them.

Mr. Trump on Sunday morningposted or reposted a barrage oftweets about the clashes in Port-land, with many of them assailingthe city’s Democratic mayor, TedWheeler. The president retweeteda video showing his supportersshooting paintballs and using pep-per spray on crowds in Portlandbefore the fatal shooting. Mr.Trump wrote that “the big back-lash going on in Portland cannotbe unexpected,” a remarkable in-stance of a president seeming tosupport confrontation rather thancalming a volatile situation.

The shooting immediately re-

PORTLAND DEATH INFLAMES DEBATE ON URBAN STRIFE

TRUMP BACKERS’ RALLY

President Insults Mayor— Biden Calls His

Rival Reckless

This article is by Mike Baker,Thomas Kaplan and Shane Gold-macher.

Continued on Page A14

One spring day, not long afterPresident Trump signed the larg-est economic stimulus package inAmerican history in March, agroup of his top aides and cabinetofficers gathered in the Oval Of-fice.

The $2.2 trillion governmentrescue — which delivered cash toindividuals, small businesses andgiant companies — was a crucialvictory for Mr. Trump, who wasfacing withering attacks for hisfailures to respond to the fast-spreading coronavirus.

It also was a much-needed winfor the program’s chief architect,Treasury Secretary StevenMnuchin. He didn’t have a lot offans. The president ran hot andcold on him. Conservatives dis-trusted him as a Republican inName Only. Liberals demonizedhim as a plutocrat. Even membersof Mr. Mnuchin’s immediate fam-ily distanced themselves; his lib-eral father said he was appalledby his son’s politics.

When the pandemic hit, the taskof saving the economy was an op-portunity for Mr. Mnuchin totransform himself from an unre-markable Treasury secretary intoa national hero.

Mr. Mnuchin, a former bankerand film financier, sought advicefrom his former Goldman Sachscolleagues, a cable-TV host, a Hol-lywood superagent, a disgracedWall Street tycoon and NewtGingrich. Unburdened by his ownideology and with a detail-disori-ented boss, Mr. Mnuchin workedwith Democrats to devise andpass the landmark stimulus bill.

Afterward, Mr. Trump hailedMr. Mnuchin as a “great” Treas-ury secretary and “fantastic guy.”

The acclaim didn’t last. Republi-cans argued that Mr. Mnuchin hadbeen outfoxed by Speaker NancyPelosi, the embodiment of free-spending liberals and, in Mr.Trump’s words, “a sick woman”with “mental problems.”

The conservative critique be-gan to resonate with the presi-dent.

Thanks to the stimulus pack-age, the economy had stabilized,

Treasury ChiefFeels the StingFrom All Sides

Aid Deal Is a Legacy,for Better or Worse

By JAMES B. STEWARTand ALAN RAPPEPORT

Continued on Page A6

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,802 © 2020 The New York Times Company MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2020 Printed in Chicago $3.00

Turning out mostly cloudy. Warm.Highs in the lower 70s to the lower80s. Cloudy tonight. Humid south.Lows in the 40s to the upper 60s.Weather map appears on Page A22.

National Edition