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Linda Greenhouse PAGE A21

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21

President Trump stepped be-fore the cameras at a White Housenews conference less than amonth after his inaugural and de-clared that he was already takingbold steps to keep “radical Islamicterrorists” out of the UnitedStates.

“Our citizens will be very happywhen they see the result,” Mr.Trump said, foreshadowing or-ders he would issue requiringtougher screening of visa appli-cants. “Extreme vetting will beput in place.”

But that “extreme vetting” didnot stop precisely the sort of per-son Mr. Trump’s policy was sup-posed to root out: Second Lt. Mo-hammed Alshamrani of SaudiArabia, a 21-year-old Qaeda loy-alist who was part of a prestigioustraining program at the naval airstation in Pensacola, Fla. Thispast December, Lieutenant Al-shamrani opened fire in a class-room building at the base, killingthree sailors and wounding eightother people before being fatallyshot by sheriff’s deputies.

The episode, one in an alarmingseries of insider attacks on U.S.military bases, forced Americanofficials to acknowledge seriousproblems in their vetting systemsand pledge reforms.

But a New York Times reviewreveals lapses far more extensivethan previously known in how in-ternational military students areselected, screened and monitoredonce in the United States. Even

Lax Vetting LetA Saudi TraineeShoot Up a Base

By MICHAEL LaFORGIAand ERIC SCHMITT

Continued on Page A14

TULSA, Okla. — The differ-ence between a rally for JosephR. Biden Jr. and one for Presi-dent Trump starts with the attire.

There is no official uniform foreither event, but while those whocome out for Mr. Biden, the pre-sumptive Democratic nominee,show little pattern in their dress,there’s a unity to Mr. Trump’sbiggest fans. A red hat is anobvious rally must. Without thecap, American flag colors will do,or a T-shirt that insults one of thepresident’s political archenemies— Hillary Clinton, BarackObama or a mainstream newsmedia outlet, for starters.

Packing recently for his firstTrump rally, Donald Fanning ofWichita, Kan., made sure to dressthe part. On Saturday night inTulsa, he wore an American-flagT-shirt along with American-flagsuspenders that were hitched toAmerican-flag swimming trunks.

And, in sync with many otherTrump supporters, Mr. Fanningdid not wear a mask, eventhough the rally was the presi-dent’s first event since the coro-navirus pandemic ground thecampaign trail to a halt.

Why? Because the virus was“a scare tactic more than any-thing,” Mr. Fanning said. “And Ijust don’t believe all those deathsare coronavirus.”

A Safe Space For Believers

Race and a Pandemicin the MAGA Bubble

POLITICAL MEMO

By ASTEAD W. HERNDON

Continued on Page A18

WASHINGTON — An unprece-dented expansion of federal aidhas prevented the rise in povertythat experts predicted this yearwhen the coronavirus sent unem-ployment to the highest levelsince the Great Depression, twonew studies suggest. The assist-ance could even cause officialmeasures of poverty to fall.

The studies carry importantcaveats. Many Americans havesuffered hunger or other hard-ships amid long delays in receiv-ing the assistance, and much ofthe aid is scheduled to expire nextmonth. Millions of people havebeen excluded from receiving anyhelp, especially undocumentedmigrants, who often have Ameri-can children.

Still, the evidence suggests thatthe programs Congress hastilyauthorized in March have donemuch to protect the needy, a find-ing likely to shape the debate overnext steps at a time when 13.3 per-cent of Americans remain unem-ployed.

Democrats, who want to contin-ue the expiring aid, can cite the ef-fect of the programs on poverty asa reason to continue them, whileRepublicans may use it to bolstertheir doubts about whether morespending is needed or affordable.

“Right now, the safety net is do-ing what it’s supposed to do formost families — helping them se-cure a minimally decent life,” saidZachary Parolin, a member of theColumbia University team fore-casting this year’s poverty rate.“Given the magnitude of the em-ployment loss, this is really re-markable.”

The Columbia group’smidrange forecast has povertyrising only slightly this year to 12.7percent, from 12.5 percent beforethe coronavirus. Without the Co-ronavirus Aid, Relief and Eco-

nomic Security Act — the Marchlaw that provided one-time checksto most Americans and weekly bo-nuses to the unemployed — itwould have reached 16.3 percent,the researchers found. That wouldhave pushed nearly 12 millionmore people into poverty.

Under the government’s fullestmeasure, a typical family of four isconsidered poor with an incomebelow about $28,000.

The researchers estimate theCARES Act will increase safety

net spending this year by $460 bil-lion, more than what the govern-ment spent all last year to supportthe incomes of families that arenot elderly.

In a separate study, Bruce D.Meyer and Jeehoon Han of theUniversity of Chicago and JamesX. Sullivan of Notre Dame, analyz-ing Census Bureau survey data,found that incomes rose amongneedy Americans in April, despitecresting unemployment, as gov-ernment payments began.

They estimate that poverty inApril and May fell to 8.6 percentfor the previous 12 months, from

Buoyed by U.S. Virus Aid,Millions Avoided Poverty

Crisis Is Looming, New Research Suggests,if Congress Fails to Extend Relief

By JASON DePARLE

Melody Bedico waited twomonths for virus relief money.

RUTH FREMSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A7

NEW DELHI — Neelam Ku-mari Gautam woke up at 5 a.m.with shooting labor pains. Herhusband put her gently in theback of a rickshaw and motoredwith her to a hospital. Then an-other. Then another. Her pain wasso intense she could barelybreathe, but none would take her.

“Why are the doctors not takingme in?” she asked her husband,Bijendra Singh, over and overagain. “What’s the matter? I willdie.”

Mr. Singh began to panic. He

knew what he was up against. AsIndia’s coronavirus crisis has ac-celerated — India is now report-ing more infections a day than anyother nation except the UnitedStates or Brazil — the country’s al-ready strained and underfundedhealth care system has begun tobuckle.

A database of recent deaths

shows that scores of people havedied in the streets or in the back ofambulances, denied critical care.Ms. Gautam’s odyssey througheight different hospitals in 15hours in India’s biggest metropoli-tan area serves as a devastatingwindow into what is really hap-pening here.

Indian government rules ex-plicitly call for emergency serv-ices to be rendered, but still peoplein desperate need of treatmentkeep getting turned away, espe-cially in New Delhi, the capital. In-fections are rising quickly, Delhi’shospitals are overloaded and

In India, 8 Hospitals, 15 Hours and No MercyBy JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

and SUHASINI RAJ

A banquet hall in New Delhi housing virus cases. India’s health care centers have refused entry to both virus and non-virus patients.MANISH SWARUP/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Scores Are Abandonedin Streets as Virus

Cases Explode

Continued on Page A6

WASHINGTON — From the on-set of his tenure, William P. Barrhas been billed as the attorneygeneral that President Trump waslooking for. And Mr. Barr has tak-en some pride in this role, tellingFox News this past weekend thathe speaks with the president“very regularly.”

But for a man who projects un-swerving confidence in his politi-cal and legal skills, his efforts thismonth to play presidential inti-mate have backfired, embarrass-ing both him and his boss.

The month has brought a stringof unusually high-profile miscuesfor the attorney general. He hasbeen at odds with the WhiteHouse at critical moments, show-ing how even top administrationofficials known for their loyaltycan fall out of sync with a presi-dent laser-focused on his own po-litical popularity.

Mr. Barr came under fire for hisrole in ordering federal officers toclear Lafayette Square near theWhite House on June 1 just beforeMr. Trump’s widely criticizedphoto op in front of a nearbychurch.

He annoyed some White Houseofficials when he said the SecretService had earlier ordered Mr.Trump to shelter in the building’sbunker because of the threat of vi-olence from protesters. That con-tradicted Mr. Trump’s explanationthat he was merely inspecting thebunker, not seeking protection.

And Mr. Trump distanced him-self almost immediately from hisand Mr. Barr’s decision last weekto fire Geoffrey S. Berman as thetop federal prosecutor in Manhat-tan, even though he had discussedthe move with Mr. Barr and a pos-sible successor to Mr. Berman, ac-cording to two people briefed onthe deliberations.

Mr. Barr asked Mr. Berman toleave on Friday afternoon, and heannounced the prosecutor’s resig-nation on Friday night after Mr.Berman refused to go, essentiallyfiring him in public. Mr. Bermanthen publicly declared that he wasnot going anywhere. Facing a pub-lic relations debacle and legal con-straints that made it difficult forMr. Barr to get rid of Mr. Berman,the attorney general was forced toask the president to step in and of-ficially fire him.

But soon after Senator LindseyGraham, Republican of South Car-

Barr’s StandoffIs Latest LapseIn Growing List

By KATIE BENNERand SHARON LaFRANIERE

Continued on Page A17

The coronavirus pandemic has causedrodeos large and small to be canceled orto be moved to later in the year, deliver-ing major economic blows. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

Not Riding Into TownSome leaders want to diversify theranks of major art dealers. Above, thegallery owner Myrtis Bedolla. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Changing the Look of ArtExperts foresee so many filings that thecourts could struggle to salvage thebusinesses worth saving. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-10

Bankruptcy Avalanche Looms

Joseph R. Biden Jr. has, in the past,voted for legislation that has hurtL.G.B.T.Q. rights. But he was one of thefirst top-ranking Democrats to support same-sex marriage. PAGE A13

NATIONAL A13-19

Behind Biden’s EvolutionCharming neighborhood shops andslick chain outlets welcomed backcustomers last week for the first timesince the lockdown in March. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

London’s Bookstores Reopen

The government has halted funding forlung treatments, favoring Covid-19vaccine research instead. PAGE B1

A Shift in Treatment FocusWith the release of “7500” on AmazonPrime, we look at films shot entirely inone space (or outer space). PAGE C3

A Fixed Point of View

Activists’ renewed effort against theConfederate battle flag on the Missis-sippi flag has stirred a familiar debatebetween defending heritage and tack-ling the specter of slavery. PAGE A19

All Eyes on Mississippi’s Flag

The lockdown in Spain deals anotherblow to bullfighting, already a target ofanimal rights concerns. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-12

Empty Bullrings Under Siege

With his political grip shaky, AleksandrLukashenko is playing on anti-Russiansentiment at home and abroad. PAGE A11

Belarus’s Leader Scrambles

The bronze statue of TheodoreRoosevelt, on horseback andflanked by a Native Americanman and an African man, whichhas presided over the entrance tothe American Museum of NaturalHistory in New York since 1940, iscoming down.

The decision, proposed by themuseum and agreed to by NewYork City, which owns the buildingand property, came after years ofobjections from activists and at atime when the killing of GeorgeFloyd has initiated an urgent na-tionwide conversation about rac-ism.

For many, the equestrian statueat the museum’s Central ParkWest entrance has come to sym-bolize a painful legacy of colonialexpansion and racial discrimina-tion.

“Over the last few weeks, ourmuseum community has beenprofoundly moved by the ever-widening movement for racial jus-tice that has emerged after thekilling of George Floyd,” the mu-seum’s president, Ellen V. Futter,said in an interview. “We havewatched as the attention of theworld and the country has in-creasingly turned to statues aspowerful and hurtful symbols ofsystemic racism.”

Ms. Futter made clear that themuseum’s decision was based onthe statue itself — namely its “hi-erarchical composition”— and noton Roosevelt, whom the museumcontinues to honor as “a pioneer-ing conservationist.”

“Simply put,” she added, “thetime has come to move it.”

The museum took action amid aheated national debate over theappropriateness of statues ormonuments that first focused onConfederate symbols like RobertE. Lee and has now moved on to awider arc of figures, from Christo-pher Columbus to WinstonChurchill.

New York Museum to Remove Roosevelt StatueBy ROBIN POGREBIN

Many say the statue of Theodore Roosevelt valorizes colonial expansion and a racist hierarchy.CAITLIN OCHS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A19

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,732 © 2020 The New York Times Company MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 Printed in Chicago $3.00

Times of clouds and sun with a fewshowers and thunderstorms, somemay be strong. Highs in the upper70s and 80s. Heavy thunderstormstonight. Weather map, Page A22.

National Edition