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WASHINGTON — A sprawlingreport released Tuesday by a Re-publican-controlled Senate panelthat spent three years investigat-ing Russia’s interference in the2016 election laid out an extensiveweb of contacts between Trumpcampaign advisers and Kremlinofficials and other Russians, in-cluding at least one intelligenceofficer and others tied to the coun-try’s spy services.

The report by the Senate Intelli-gence Committee, totaling nearly1,000 pages, drew to a close one ofthe highest-profile congressionalinvestigations in recent memoryand could be the last word from anofficial government inquiry aboutthe expansive Russian campaignto sabotage the 2016 election.

It provided a bipartisan Senateimprimatur for an extraordinaryset of facts: The Russian govern-ment disrupted an American elec-tion to help Mr. Trump becomepresident, Russian intelligenceservices viewed members of theTrump campaign as easily manip-ulated, and some of Mr. Trump’sadvisers were eager for the helpfrom an American adversary.

The report portrayed a Trumpcampaign that was stocked withbusinessmen with no governmentexperience, advisers working atthe fringes of the foreign policy es-tablishment and other friends andassociates Mr. Trump had accu-mulated over the years. Cam-paign figures, the report said,“presented attractive targets forforeign influence, creating nota-ble counterintelligence vulnera-

bilities.”Like the special counsel, Robert

S. Mueller III, who released hisfindings in April 2019, the Senatereport did not conclude that theTrump campaign engaged in a co-ordinated conspiracy with theRussian government — a fact thatRepublicans seized on to arguethat there was “no collusion.”

But the report showed exten-sive evidence of contacts betweenTrump campaign advisers andpeople tied to the Kremlin — in-cluding a longstanding associateof the onetime Trump campaignchairman Paul Manafort, Kon-stantin V. Kilimnik, whom the re-port identified as a “Russian intel-ligence officer.”

The Senate report was the firsttime the government has identi-fied Mr. Kilimnik as an intelli-gence officer — Mr. Mueller’s re-port had labeled him as someone

SENATE PANEL TIESRUSSIAN OFFICIALS

TO TRUMP’S AIDESG.O.P.-Led Committee Echoes Mueller’s

Findings on Election Tampering

By MARK MAZZETTI

President Trump often calledthe inquiry a “witch hunt.”

DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A23

The big bouquets of roses. Thetowering signs spelling out the let-ters of each house in Greek. Andthe hundreds of rushees clutchingtheir acceptance envelopes asthey run through campus togeth-er.

Bid day at the University of Ala-bama, when sororities decidewhich pledges will join their sis-terhoods, is cause for celebration.

But this past weekend, womenat the school, which has one of thebiggest Greek systems in thecountry with 11,000 members,were warned not to party follow-ing their invitations to join any oftwo dozen sororities because ofthe potential spread of the coro-navirus.

That did not stop all of them.The bars and sidewalks along

the Strip were crowded on Sundayas sorority members and otherstudents reveled in their return-to-school rituals, sparking criti-cism from public officials, the furyof university officials and worriesfrom other Tuscaloosans.

The concerns over Greek lifecome amid reports of virus out-breaks at fraternities and soror-ities across the country. Universi-ties are struggling with how toprevent tightly packed sororityand fraternity houses from turn-ing into coronavirus clusters.

At the University of North Car-olina at Chapel Hill, officialsabruptly called off in-personclasses on Monday after identify-ing four clusters in student hous-ing facilities, including one at theSigma Nu fraternity.

On Campuses,Greek Life Seen

As a Virus RiskThis article is by Amy Harmon,

Frances Robles, Alan Blinder andThomas Fuller.

Continued on Page A9

WASHINGTON — PostmasterGeneral Louis DeJoy, facing in-tense backlash over cost-cuttingmoves that Democrats, state at-torneys general and civil rightsgroups warn could jeopardizemail-in voting, said on Tuesdaythat the Postal Service would sus-pend those operational changesuntil after the 2020 election.

The measures, which includedeliminating overtime for mail car-riers, reducing post office hoursand removing postal boxes, havebeen faulted for slowing mail de-livery and criticized as an attemptto disenfranchise voters seekingto vote safely during the coro-navirus pandemic.

Mr. DeJoy, a major donor toPresident Trump who was tappedin May to run the Postal Service,said in a statement that “to avoideven the appearance of any im-pact on election mail” he was sus-pending changes “that have beenraised as areas of concern as thenation prepares to hold an elec-tion in the midst of a devastatingpandemic.”

Mr. DeJoy said retail hours atthe post office would not change,no mail processing facilities wouldbe closed, and overtime wouldcontinue to be approved “asneeded.”

It was unclear, however,whether the agency would re-verse measures already put inplace across the country that un-ion officials and workers say haveinflicted deep damage to the Post-al Service. That includes the re-moval of hundreds of mail-sorting

Post Office CutsAre SuspendedAfter an OutcryThis article is by Emily Cochrane,

Hailey Fuchs, Kenneth P. Vogel andJessica Silver-Greenberg.

Continued on Page A21

WILMINGTON, Del. — TheTuesday night speaking lineupfor the Democratic conventionwas always intended as a muscu-

lar contrast on for-eign policy anddiplomatic integrity,presented to view-ers under the eve-

ning’s unsubtle theme: “Leader-ship Matters.”

There were two former com-manders-in-chief, Bill Clinton andJimmy Carter, and a formerchairman of the Joint Chiefs

turned chief diplomat: ColinPowell. There was Sally Q. Yates,the former deputy attorney gen-eral who famously warned theWhite House in early 2017 thatMichael T. Flynn, PresidentTrump’s first national securityadviser, had lied about his Rus-sian contacts.

And John Kerry, the formersecretary of state who negotiatedthe Iran deal that Mr. Trumpdecimated, was called in to val-idate Joseph R. Biden Jr., theDemocratic nominee and Mr.Kerry’s former Senate peer, as asteady-handed statesman forprecarious times.

“When this president goesoverseas, it isn’t a good-will

mission — it’s a blooper reel,” Mr.Kerry said. “He breaks up withour allies and writes love lettersto dictators.”

Earlier in the day, Mr. Kerrysent a fund-raising email thatmade even clearer that Mr. Bidenwas the person who could “beginthe hard work of putting backtogether the pieces of what Don-ald Trump has smashed apart.”

But putting back the pieces isprobably not a feasible option,with global affairs straying agreat distance from the statusquo Mr. Biden might recall fromthe last time he stepped out ofthe Situation Room.

A Candidate Pitched as a Steady Captain in a Global Storm

This article is by Katie Glueck,Matt Flegenheimer and David E.Sanger.

Continued on Page A17

NEWSANALYSIS

Widespread economic devasta-tion, severe unemployment and agrim prognosis for recovery havenot stopped the stock market’s ex-uberance. And on Tuesday, thatundying optimism propelled themarket to a new high, pushing itpast a milestone reached only sixmonths ago, when the coro-navirus was just beginning itsharrowing journey across theUnited States.

“This market is nuts,” said

Howard Silverblatt, senior indexanalyst for S&P Dow Jones Indi-ces.

To those outside Wall Street, themarket’s rise may appear inexpli-cable given the human and eco-nomic toll of the virus, and a stale-mate in Washington that has para-lyzed efforts to provide more relief

that many businesses and work-ers desperately need. Still, invest-ors have cast the nearly relentlessdrumbeat of bad news aside to fo-cus on any signs that the worstmight be over. They have alsobeen emboldened by the FederalReserve’s steadfast support of themarkets and unwavering em-brace of low interest rates.

Investors are taking into ac-count the fact that the virus, whichhad seen a recent surge thatthreatened to set back much of the

‘This Market Is Nuts’: Stocks Defy a RecessionBy MATT PHILLIPS Investors Think Worst

Is Over, Fueling High

RECESSIONS

3,389.783,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

S&P 500 DAILY CLOSES TUESDAY’S CLOSE

Source: Refinitiv GUILBERT GATES/THE NEW YORK TIMES

’80 ’85 ’90 ’95 ’00 ’05 ’10 ’15 ’20

Black Mondaystock crash

Peak of dot-combubble

GreatRecession

Coronavirus spreads

Continued on Page A10

The city of Flint hadn’t yet recoveredfrom a crisis of lead-tainted water whenthe coronavirus struck. PAGE A20

NATIONAL A20-24

Two Catastrophes in MichiganThree decades later, Keanu Reeves andAlex Winter team up again as the his-torically clueless Bill and Ted. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

No Way! Yes Way, Dudes

Times journalists were given rare ac-cess to a Covid I.C.U. at Houston Meth-odist Hospital, where most patientswere Latino. PAGE A6

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-10

A Fight to Save the VulnerableThe two ride-hailing companies, underpressure to classify their freelancedrivers as employees, are discussinganother option in California. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-6

Uber and Lyft Eye FranchisesFor one Los Angeles restaurant’s fans,moldy jam was disgusting. For Blackjammers, it meant more. PAGE D1

FOOD D1-8

The Power in Preserving

When hotels on the Upper West Side ofManhattan became shelters, the neigh-borhood’s values were tested. PAGE A5

Hotels as Homeless Shelters These complex Indian snacks captivatethe chef Maneet Chauhan. PAGE D1

A Craving for Chaat

We take a look at the practice of pullingepisodes deemed to have offensivecontent from circulation. PAGE C1

Must-Not-See TVA week after a powerful storm torethrough, thousands of displaced resi-dents are feeling abandoned. PAGE A24

Iowa’s Slow Disaster ResponseDismay prevails over the verdict of aU.N. inquiry into the killing of Leba-non’s former prime minister. PAGE A11

INTERNATIONAL A11-13

Muted End to a Trial

Inclusion and competitive fairness havecome into conflict as transgenderwomen engage in athletics. PAGE B7

SPORTSWEDNESDAY B7-9

Who Gets to Compete?

Administrators want North Carolina toplay football although they believe it’stoo risky to attend class. PAGE B8

Class Is Out, but Football’s In

Frank Bruni PAGE A26

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

Biden Nominated by Democrats Far and Wide

Clockwise from top left: Jill Biden said her husband fought for “the soul of America”; Stacey Abrams tempered expectations aboutthe nominee; Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offered a progressive nudge; and Bill Clinton denounced President Trump.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

Democrats formally nominatedJoseph R. Biden Jr. for the presi-dency on Tuesday night, anoint-ing him as their standard-beareragainst President Trump with anextraordinary virtual roll call votethat showcased the cultural diver-sity of their coalition and exposeda generational gulf that is increas-ingly defining the party.

Denied the chance to assemblein Milwaukee because of the coro-navirus pandemic, Democraticactivists and dignitaries cast theirvotes from locations across all 50states and from the American ter-ritories and the District of Colum-bia — from the Edmund PettusBridge in Selma, Ala., to the iconicwelcome sign in Las Vegas and farbeyond to the shores of Guam,“where America’s day begins.”They offered a grand mosaic ofpersonal identities and experi-ences, many speaking in rawterms about their personal aspira-tions and adversities.

Appearing with his wife in aDelaware school after his homestate put him over the top, Mr. Bi-den was feted by his grandchil-dren, who burst in with balloonsand streamers and wore T-shirtsbearing the words “No Malarkey”— one of his favorite phrases — inwhat amounted to a miniatureversion of the celebrations thattypically ensue after roll callvotes. “See you on Thursday,” hesaid, speaking briefly to thank thedelegates, and referring to the dayhe will formally accept the nomi-nation.

The second night of the Demo-cratic National Convention strad-dled themes of national security,presidential accountability andcontinuity between the past andfuture leaders of the party. Likethe opening night on Monday, ittook the form of a kind of politicalvariety show. Hosted by the ac-tress Tracee Ellis Ross, the pro-gram skipped between recordedtributes from political luminaries,personal testimonials from activ-ists and voters, and various formsof music and entertainment.

Two tributes by Republicanscarried particular symbolicweight for a Democratic candi-date seeking to appeal acrossparty lines: Colin Powell, the re-tired general and former secre-

Diverse Party With aGenerational Gulf

By ALEXANDER BURNSand JONATHAN MARTIN

Continued on Page A16

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,790 © 2020 The New York Times Company WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2020 Printed in Chicago $3.00

Sunshine. Areas of clouds to thenorth and west. Dry. Highs in the80s. Mainly clear tonight. Remain-ing dry. Lows in the upper 50s to thelower 60s. Weather map, Page B8.

National Edition