“The World Health Organization just admitted that I wasright,” President Trumptweeted this week.“Lockdowns are killingcountries all over theworld.” But the W.H.O.did not say that. Here’sthe truth. PAGE A14

DISTORTIONS

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During Judge Amy Coney Bar-rett’s Supreme Court confirma-tion hearings this week, Republi-can senators, one after another,marveled at a role that doesn’t ap-pear on her résumé: mother ofseven. They described her moth-ering as “tireless” and “remark-able,” clear evidence that she wasa “superstar.” Senator Josh Haw-ley asked her for parenting ad-vice.

Judge Barrett has embracedthe image. News cameras werethere to watch her load her largefamily into her car before her offi-cial nomination. “While I am ajudge, I’m better known backhome as a room parent, car-pooldriver and birthday party plan-

ner,” she said the day she wasnominated.

One of her sharpest question-ers, Senator Kamala Harris, theDemocratic vice-presidentialnominee, has, in other settings, re-peatedly emphasized her role asstepmother, which she took onwhen she married six years ago.She is called Momala, she has toldvoters, and she cooks the Sundaynight family dinners.

For American women in publicoffice, being a mother has become

Mothers in Public Office Still Walk a ‘Tightrope’By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

and ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA Jumble of ExpectationsThat Men Don’t Face

Judge Amy Coney Barrett is a mother of seven, which was discussed at her confirmation hearings.ERIN SCHAFF/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A20

Long before Joseph R. Biden Jr.was smashing online fund-raisingrecords, long before it was clearhe would become the Democraticnominee, his campaign was facinga serious cash crisis.

It was late summer 2019 and Mr.Biden’s online fund-raising hadslowed to such a trickle that histeam basically had to shut downits digital advertising program.His aides knew the choice wasself-defeating: No more onlineads meant no more finding newdonors. The campaign bottomedout in early September 2019 whenMr. Biden raised just $24,124.17online in a day.

Now? On one recent day, Mr. Bi-den was raising more than that ev-ery two minutes.

The unlikely transformation ofMr. Biden, a 77-year-old whoseseemingly limited appeal to smalldonors left him financially out-flanked in the primaries, into per-haps the greatest magnet for on-line money in American politicalhistory is a testament to the feroc-ity of Democratic opposition toPresident Trump.

In a little over a year, the formervice president’s online fund-rais-ing had increased 1,000-fold, to$24.1 million on Sept. 30.

Mr. Biden now has a once-un-imaginable cash edge over Mr.Trump, and since Sept. 1 he has re-served about $140 million more intelevision advertising than thepresident. Money alone does notdetermine presidential winners —Hillary Clinton vastly outspentMr. Trump in 2016 — but the cashhas provided Mr. Biden enviableflexibility to engineer the electoralmap to his advantage.

Biden’s ClimbTo Cash King

Of 2020 Race

By SHANE GOLDMACHERand RACHEL SHOREY

Continued on Page A14

Michael Reinoehl was on therun.

A few days after a shooting left afar-right Trump supporter deadon the streets of Portland, Ore.,Mr. Reinoehl, an antifa activistwho had been named in the newsmedia as a focus of the investiga-tion, feared that vigilantes wereafter him, not to mention the po-lice. Even some of his close friendsdid not know where he was.

But the authorities knew.On Sept. 3, about 120 miles

north of Portland, Mr. Reinoehlwas getting into his Volkswagenstation wagon when a pair of un-marked sport utility vehiclesroared through the quiet streets,screeching to a halt just in front ofhis bumper. Members of a U.S.Marshals task force jumped outand unleashed a hail of bulletsthat shattered windows, whizzedpast bystanders and left Mr. Rei-noehl dead in the street.

Attorney General William P.Barr trumpeted the operation as a“significant accomplishment”that removed a “violent agitator.”The officers had opened fire, hesaid, when Mr. Reinoehl “at-

Activist’s DeathIn Hail of ShotsUnder Scrutiny

This article is by Evan Hill, MikeBaker, Derek Knowles and StellaCooper.

Evidence markers near whereMichael Reinoehl was killed.

TED S. WARREN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A22

F.D.R.-LIKE Joseph R. Biden Jr.draws his bold pandemic planfrom the New Deal. PAGE A9

On the afternoon of Feb. 24,President Trump declared onTwitter that the coronavirus was“very much under control” in theUnited States, one of numerousrosy statements that he and hisadvisers made at the time aboutthe worsening epidemic. He evenadded an observation for invest-ors: “Stock market starting tolook very good to me!”

But hours earlier, senior mem-bers of the president’s economicteam, privately addressing boardmembers of the conservativeHoover Institution, were less con-fident. Tomas J. Philipson, a sen-ior economic adviser to the presi-dent, told the group he could notyet estimate the effects of the vi-rus on the American economy. Tosome in the group, the implicationwas that an outbreak could proveworse than Mr. Philipson andother Trump administration ad-visers were signaling in public atthe time.

The next day, board members— many of them Republican do-nors — got another taste of gov-ernment uncertainty from LarryKudlow, the director of the Na-tional Economic Council. Hoursafter he had boasted on CNBCthat the virus was contained in theUnited States and “it’s pretty closeto airtight,” Mr. Kudlow delivereda more ambiguous private mes-sage. He asserted that the viruswas “contained in the U.S., to date,but now we just don’t know,” ac-cording to a document describing

the sessions obtained by The NewYork Times.

The document, written by ahedge fund consultant who at-tended the three-day gathering ofHoover’s board, was stark. “Whatstruck me,” the consultant wrote,was that nearly every official heheard from raised the virus “as apoint of concern, totally unpro-voked.”

The consultant’s assessmentquickly spread through parts ofthe investment world. U.S. stockswere already spiraling because ofa warning from a federal publichealth official that the virus waslikely to spread, but traders spot-ted the immediate significance:The president’s aides appeared tobe giving wealthy party donors anearly warning of a potentially im-pactful contagion at a time whenMr. Trump was publicly insistingthat the threat was nonexistent.

Interviews with eight peoplewho either received copies of thememo or were briefed on aspectsof it as it spread among investorsin New York and elsewhere pro-vide a glimpse of how elite tradershad access to information fromthe administration that helpedthem gain financial advantageduring a chaotic three days whenglobal markets were teetering.

The memo was occasionallybreathless and inchoate. It ap-pears to have overstated the grav-ity of some administration offi-cials’ warnings to the group and

Trump Advisers’ WarningsOn Virus Fueled Sell-Off

Private Worries Spread to Investment Worldas White House Painted a Rosy Picture

By KATE KELLY and MARK MAZZETTI

Continued on Page A6LONDON — From France to

Russia, from Britain to the CzechRepublic, European leaders areconfronting a surge in coronavi-rus cases that is rapidly fillinghospital beds, driving up deathtolls and raising the grim prospectof further lockdowns in countriesalready traumatized by the pan-demic.

The continent, which once com-pared favorably to the UnitedStates in its handling of the pan-demic, is being engulfed by a sec-ond wave of infection. With an av-erage of more than 100,000 new in-fections per day over the pastweek, Europe now accounts forabout one-third of new cases re-ported worldwide.

In the most vivid sign of the de-teriorating situation, PresidentEmmanuel Macron of France onWednesday imposed a curfew of 9p.m. to 6 a.m. in the Paris regionand eight other metropolitan ar-eas, beginning on Saturday. “Thevirus is everywhere in France,” hetold the French public, as he de-clared a state of emergency.

The resurgence has promptedofficials to close bars and clubs inPrague and Liverpool, and tomake face masks mandatory inpublic indoor spaces in Amster-dam. In Russia, which reported itslargest daily increase in infectionson Wednesday, President Vladi-mir V. Putin sought refuge fromthe torrent of bad news by an-nouncing that his governmenthad approved a second vaccine.

Chancellor Angela Merkel ofGermany better captured the anx-ious mood when she said on Tues-day, “I am watching with greatconcern the renewed increase ininfection numbers in almost everypart of Europe.” Ms. Merkel add-ed, “We mustn’t throw away whatwe achieved via restrictions overthe past months.”

To some extent, Europe’s set-back is hardly a surprise. Publichealth experts have long warnedthat the virus could roar backwhen the days grew colder, driv-ing people indoors, where the riskof transmission is far greater.

In several European countries,lockdowns were lifted abruptly,sowing complacency among peo-ple who felt they could return totheir normal lives. In the face of in-tense political pressures, Euro-pean leaders have been reluctantto impose new, economically dam-

Curfew in ParisIn Virus Surge Across Europe

By MARK LANDLER

Disinfecting a medical worker in the Covid-19 ward of a Spanish hospital. Europe has been reporting over 100,000 new cases a day.BERNAT ARMANGUE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A8

WASHINGTON — As JudgeAmy Coney Barrett has strainedto present herself this week assomeone who would join theSupreme Court without having

made up her mindon pivotal cases, shewas haunted by thelong and exceed-

ingly public record of the volubleman who nominated her.

Like others who have foundthemselves politically entangledwith President Trump, JudgeBarrett has struggled over twodays to separate herself from thetrove of tweets and other pro-nouncements by Mr. Trump onhis legal views and demands,many of which call into questionthe very notion of an independ-ent judiciary.

He has said incessantly that hewants the Affordable Care Actoverturned. After the death ofJustice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hesaid he needed a full complementof nine justices on the court toresolve any legal battle over thecoming election, which he haswarned without evidence willmost likely be fraudulent. In his2016 campaign, Mr. Trump de-clared that under his administra-tion, the reversal of the Roe v.Wade decision establishing afederal right to abortion would

“happen automatically, in myopinion, because I am puttingpro-life justices on the court.”

The president, who early onrecognized the power of Su-preme Court confirmation fightsto motivate voters on the right,has gone much further than hispredecessors in publicly definingwhat he expected out of a Su-preme Court justice. Judge Bar-rett, in turn, has been undermore pressure than past nomi-nees to demonstrate her inde-pendence, often leaving Demo-crats skeptical of her claims ofneutrality.

“Unfortunately, that is thecloud, the orange cloud, overyour nomination as it comesbefore us here in the SenateJudiciary Committee,” SenatorRichard J. Durbin, Democrat of

Trump’s Words Haunt a Tight-Lipped NomineeBy CARL HULSE

Continued on Page A19

NEWS ANALYSIS

Barrett Strains to ShowDistance From ManWho Selected Her

A limousine carrying the Thai queengot a close-up view of pro-democracyprotests in Bangkok. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-12

A Glimpse of DiscontentAmid worries over vacated office build-ings in Midtown, big tech companieshave continued with their plans toexpand in New York City. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-7

Big Tech Takes New York

Russia said a Trump aide’s claim ofagreement in principle on extending atreaty was “nonsense.” PAGE A11

No Nuclear Deal Imminent A woman being charged with falselycalling the police on a Black bird-watcher in Central Park actually calledtwice, prosecutors revealed. PAGE A23

White Accuser Doubled Down

Frank Bruni PAGE A26

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

Among the many tasks of the designerMarc Jacobs’s personal assistant?Shooting a documentary about theirlives during the pandemic. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-6

An Assistant With Access

Experts said the delays, a commonoccurrence, show that the drug makersare following safety protocols. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

Good Signs in 3 Trial Pauses

Most Latino voters favor Democrats,but Hispanic men are an enduring partof President Trump’s base. PAGE A13

NATIONAL A13-23, 28

Macho Appeal of the President

Nick Saban, the Alabama footballcoach, said he tested positive for thecoronavirus, deepening the pandemic’sturmoil in the SEC. PAGE A10

SPORTSTHURSDAY B8-10

Alabama Coach Tests Positive

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . No. 58,847 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020

Today, mostly sunny, breezy, high 74.Tonight, increasingly cloudy, mild,low 60. Tomorrow, cloudy, showersdeveloping, thunderstorms, high 65.Weather map appears on Page A28.

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