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Twitter has become anup-to-the-minute sourcefor news and currentevents, but also a groundzero for the spread ofviral, potentially harmfulfalse information. As theelection approaches,Twitter is “prebunking.”

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DISTORTIONS

WASHINGTON — Judge AmyConey Barrett, a conservative ap-peals court judge and protégée offormer Justice Antonin Scalia,was confirmed on Monday to theSupreme Court, capping a light-ning-fast Senate approval thathanded President Trump a vic-tory ahead of the election andpromised to tip the court to theright for years to come.

Inside a Capitol mostly emptiedby the resurgent coronavirus pan-demic and an election eight daysaway, Republicans overcameunanimous Democratic opposi-tion to make Judge Barrett the115th justice of the Supreme Courtand the fifth woman. The vote was52 to 48, with all but one Republi-can, Susan Collins of Maine, whois battling for re-election, support-ing her.

It was the first time in 151 yearsthat a justice was confirmed with-out a single vote from the minorityparty, a sign of how bitter Wash-ington’s war over judicial nomina-tions has become.

The vote concluded a brazendrive by Republicans to fill the va-cancy created by the death of Jus-tice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just sixweeks before the election. Theyshredded their own past pro-nouncements and bypassed rulesin the process, even as they stareddown the potential loss of theWhite House and the Senate.

Democrats insisted Republi-cans should have waited for vot-ers to have their say on Election

Day. They warned of a disastrousprecedent that would draw retali-ation should they win power, andin a last-ditch act of protest, theyunsuccessfully tried to force theSenate to adjourn before the con-firmation vote.

Republicans said it was theirright as the majority party and ex-ulted in their win. In replacingJustice Ginsburg, a liberal icon,the court is gaining a conservativewho could sway cases in everyarea of American life, includingabortion rights, gay rights, busi-ness regulation and the envi-ronment.

“The reason this outcome cameabout is because we had a series ofsuccessful elections,” said SenatorMitch McConnell, Republican ofKentucky and the majority leader,who was the architect of the strat-egy. “What this administrationand this Republican Senate hasdone is exercise the power thatwas given to us by the Americanpeople in a manner that is entirelywithin the rules of the Senate andthe Constitution of the UnitedStates.”

The new justice’s impact couldbe felt right away. There are majorelection disputes awaiting imme-diate action by the Supreme Courtfrom the battleground states ofNorth Carolina and Pennsylvania.Both concern the date by whichabsentee ballots may be accepted.

Soon after, Justice Barrett willconfront a docket studded with

BARRETT SWORN IN TO SUPREME COURTAFTER A 52-48 VOTE

A Scalia Protégée Tilts a Bench Remade by Trump Further to the Right

By NICHOLAS FANDOS

Amy Coney Barrett became the 115th Supreme Court justice in an unusual ceremony late Monday.DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A23

New York, whose diversifiedeconomy had fueled unparalleledjob growth in recent years, is nowfacing a bigger challenge in recov-ering from the pandemic than al-most any other major city in thecountry. More than one millionresidents are out of work, and theunemployment rate is nearly dou-ble the national average.

The city had tried to insulate it-self from major downturns byshifting from tying its fortunes tothe rise and fall of Wall Street. Athriving tech sector, a boomingreal estate industry and waves ofinternational tourists had helpedBroadway, hotels and restaurantsprosper.

But now, as the virus surgesagain in the region, tourists arestill staying away and any hopethat workers would refill the city’soffice towers and support its busi-nesses before the end of the yearis fading. As a result, New York’srecovery is very likely to be slowand protracted, economists said.

“This is an event that struckright at the heart of New York’scomparative advantages,” saidMark Zandi, chief economist forMoody’s Analytics, a Wall Streetresearch firm. “Being globally ori-ented, being stacked up in sky-scrapers and packed together instadiums: The very thing thatmade New York New York wasundermined by the pandemic,was upended by it.”

Mr. Zandi said he expected thatit would take New York about twoyears longer than the rest of the

New York CityFalling BehindIn Its RecoveryBy PATRICK McGEEHAN

Continued on Page A8

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. —Like nearly half of all the eligiblevoters in her county in 2016,Keyana Fedrick did not vote.

Four years later, politics haspermeated her corner of north-eastern Pennsylvania. Someonesawed a hole in a large Trump signnear one of her jobs. The electionoffice in her county is so over-whelmed with demand that it tookover the coroner’s office next door.Her parents, both Democratsborn in the 1950s, keep telling hershe should vote for Joseph R. Bi-den Jr. Anything is better thanPresident Trump, they say.

But Ms. Fedrick, who works twojobs, at a hotel and at a depart-ment store, does not trust either ofthe two main political parties, be-cause nothing in her 31 years oflife has led her to believe that shecould. She says they abandon vot-ers like “a bad mom or dad whopromises to come and see you,and I’m sitting outside with mybags packed and they never showup.”

That is why Ms. Fedrick doesnot regret her decision in 2016 toskip the voting booth. In fact, sheplans to repeat it this year —something that she and a friendhave started to hide from peoplethey know.

“We said we’re just going to lie,like, ‘Oh yeah, I voted,’” she said.“I don’t feel like getting crucifiedfor what I think.”

As the presidential campaignreaches its final week, early-vot-

They Passed UpVoting in 2016,And Will Again

By SABRINA TAVERNISEand ROBERT GEBELOFF

Continued on Page A15

HORN LAKE, Miss. — MikeEspy and Jaime Harrison, two ofthe five Black Senate candidatesin the South this year, may belongto different political generations,but they both came up in a Demo-cratic Party where African-Amer-ican politicians didn’t talk directlyabout race in campaigns againstwhite opponents.

But there was Mr. Harrison thismonth, speaking before more than250 cars at a drive-in rally in SouthCarolina’s Lowcountry, explicitlyurging a mix of white and Blacksupporters to right the wrongs ofthe state’s past.

“The very first state to secedefrom the union,” Mr. Harrison saidto a cacophony of blaring horns, isabout to make history “becausewe will be the very first state inthis great country of ours that hastwo African-American senatorsserving at the very same time —and you will make that happen.”

A day later, speaking to anequally diverse audience in north-ern Mississippi, Mr. Espy calledhis Republican opponent, SenatorCindy Hyde-Smith, “an anachro-nism.”

“She is someone who believes ingoing back to the old days,” hesaid, lashing his Republican rivalfor hailing the Civil War-era Southand refusing to take a stand in thedebate over Mississippi’s stateflag, which until this summer in-cluded the Confederate battle em-blem. “We need a Mississippithat’s more inclusive, that’s more

In Senate Runs,Black Hopefuls Delve Into Race

By JONATHAN MARTINand ALEXANDER BURNS

Continued on Page A20

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,859 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020

The coronavirus was gatheringlethal speed when PresidentTrump met his Brazilian counter-part, Jair Bolsonaro, on March 7for dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Bol-sonaro had canceled trips thatweek to Italy, Poland and Hunga-ry, and Brazil’s health ministerhad urged him to stay away fromFlorida, too.

But Mr. Bolsonaro insisted, ea-ger to burnish his image as the“Trump of the Tropics.” His grin-ning aides posed at the president’sresort in green “Make BrazilGreat Again” hats. Mr. Trump de-clared he was “not concerned at

all” before walking Mr. Bolsonaroaround the club shaking hands.

Twenty-two people in Mr. Bol-sonaro’s delegation tested pos-itive for the virus after returningto Brazil, yet he was not alarmed.Mr. Trump had shared a cure, Mr.Bolsonaro told advisers: a box ofthe anti-malaria drug hydroxy-chloroquine, the unproven treat-ment that Mr. Trump was thenpromoting as a remedy forCovid-19.

“He said the trip was wonderful,

that they had a great time, that lifewas normal at Mar-a-Lago, every-thing was cured, and that hydrox-ychloroquine was the medicinethat was supposed to be used,” re-called the health minister, LuizHenrique Mandetta, who wasfired by Mr. Bolsonaro the nextmonth for opposing reliance onthe drug.

“From that time on, it was veryhard to get him to take the scienceseriously.”

The Mar-a-Lago dinner, whichwould become infamous forspreading infection, cemented apartnership between Mr. Trumpand Mr. Bolsonaro rooted in ashared disregard for the virus.

Trump, Bolsonaro and a Virus-Ravaged RegionBy DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

and JOSÉ MARÍA LEÓN CABRERA

Dr. Galo Martínez recalled crowds “crying out for help” as the virus spread in Guayaquil, Ecuador.DANIEL BEREHULAK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

How Defenses Erodedin Latin America

Continued on Page A6

Developers have struggled to finishprojects as the pandemic disrupts con-struction and supply chains. PAGE B1

Renewable Energy SlowsClimate change is shifting habitats andrequiring conservation scientists tothink outside park boundaries. PAGE D1

Saving Endangered Lemurs

The president’s manufacturing renais-sance push has not always brought thepledged jobs or investments. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-7

Trump’s Factory PromisesA recent campaign rally by PresidentTrump in Wisconsin was typical: In 90minutes, he made 131 false or inaccu-rate statements. PAGE A22

NATIONAL A14-24

A Font of MisinformationAn approach called contingency man-agement rewards drug users with cashand prizes for staying clean. PAGE D1

SCIENCE TIMES D1-8

Rehab With IncentivesNew York galleries are at 25 percentcapacity in the pandemic, and leadersworry it will persist far into 2021. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

A Crisis Point for Museums?

Netflix’s “Song Exploder” explores themaking of hits by R.E.M., Alicia Keys,Lin-Manuel Miranda and more. PAGE C1

Behind (and Beyond) the Music

John F. Kerry PAGE A27

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

The sport’s world governing body re-cently barred transgender women fromglobal women’s competitions. PAGE B10

SPORTSTUESDAY B8-10, 12

Rugby’s ‘Cement Ceiling’

Ohio Wesleyan University iseliminating 18 majors. The Uni-versity of Florida’s trustees thismonth took the first steps towardletting the school furlough facultymembers. The University of Cali-fornia, Berkeley, has paused ad-missions to its Ph.D. programs inanthropology, sociology and arthistory.

As it resurges across the coun-try, the coronavirus is forcing uni-versities large and small to makedeep and possibly lasting cuts toclose widening budget shortfalls.By one estimate, the pandemichas cost colleges at least $120 bil-lion, with even Harvard Univer-sity, despite its $41.9 billion en-dowment, reporting a $10 milliondeficit that has prompted belttightening.

Though many colleges imposedstopgap measures such as hiringfreezes and early retirements tosave money in the spring, the per-sistence of the economic down-turn is taking a devastating finan-cial toll, pushing many to lay off orfurlough employees, delay gradu-ate admissions and even cut orconsolidate core programs likeliberal arts departments.

The University of South Floridaannounced this month that its col-lege of education would become agraduate school only, phasing outundergraduate education degreesto help close a $6.8 million budgetgap. In Ohio, the University of Ak-ron, citing the coronavirus, suc-cessfully invoked a clause in itscollective-bargaining agreementin September to supersede tenurerules and lay off 97 unionized fac-ulty members.

“We haven’t seen a budget cri-sis like this in a generation,” saidRobert Kelchen, a Seton Hall Uni-

Cuts Hit BoneAs PandemicSaps Colleges

Even Tenured PositionsAre Not Off Limits

By SHAWN HUBLER

Continued on Page A10

NASA discovers that astronauts maynot need to delve into dangerous polarcraters on the moon to find it. PAGE A24

Unexpected Lunar Water

DÉJÀ VU The swearing-in ceremony for Justice Amy Coney Barrettmimicked a superspreader event, but with more masks. PAGE A23

Today, mostly cloudy, humid in themorning, high 58. Tonight, remain-ing cloudy, low 49. Tomorrow, cloudsand periodic sunshine, high 58.Weather map appears on Page B12.

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