For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce.
For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.
A2 | Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Fire Causes Partial Collapse of Building Under Construction in Minnesota
SCOTT TAKUSHI/PIONEER PRESS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
SNUFFED OUT: Firefighters were still dousing hot spots in the blaze early Tuesday morning after initially battling flames from outside the structure in downtown St. Paul.
SEC Probes
Kodak Deal
Disclosure
Continued from Page One
the public announcement. Some
media companies then pub-
lished that information before
deleting it following a request
from the company.
A Kodak spokeswoman on
Tuesday said the company
isn’t aware of the investiga-
tion and would cooperate with
any inquiries. An SEC spokes-
person declined to comment.
SEC rules require public
companies to have policies
and systems in place to ensure
accurate and timely disclosure
of material events. Kodak has
said the loan details aren’t fi-
nalized and that there is no
guarantee one will be made.
The government loan, un-
der the Defense Production
Act, was meant to expedite
domestic production of drugs
that can treat a variety of
Auto Giant
Appoints
New CEO
Continued from Page One
nearly to prepandemic levels,
and the company signaled last
week a third-quarter profit.
Mr. Farley emerged in Feb-
ruary as the leading contender
to take over, when the former
strategy chief and longtime
marketing executive was ele-
no
vated into the chief operating
officer role. His promotion co-
incided with the sudden retire-
ment of Ford’s president of au-
tomotive, Joe Hinrichs, who
essentially had been serving as
a co-No. 2 with Mr. Farley in
what many viewed as a compe-
tition for the top job.
Ford Executive Chairman
Bill Ford Jr. said the CEO
change has been planned for
some time. He lauded Mr.
Hackett for revamping Ford’s
vehicle lineup, in part by shed-
ding unprofitable sedans, and
taking on a major revamp of
Ford’s business outside the U.S.
through a continuing, multibil-
lion-dollar restructuring.
“It’s my belief that he still
doesn’t get enough credit for
taking on the tough issues,”
Mr. Ford said during a media
conference call Tuesday.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660)
(Central Edition ISSN 1092-0935) (Western Edition ISSN 0193-2241)
Editorial and publication headquarters: 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036
Published daily except Sundays and general legal holidays.
Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and other mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The Wall Street Journal,
200 Burnett Rd., Chicopee, MA 01020.
All Advertising published in The Wall Street Journal is subject to the applicable rate card,
copies of which are available from the Advertising Services Department, Dow Jones & Co. Inc.,
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036. The Journal reserves the right not to
accept an advertiser’s order. Only publication of an advertisement shall constitute final
acceptance of the advertiser’s order.
Letters to the Editor: Fax: 212-416-2891; email: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com
Need assistance with your subscription?
By web: customercenter.wsj.com; By email: wsjsupport@wsj.com
By phone: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625)
Reprints & licensing:
By email: customreprints@dowjones.com
By phone: 1-800-843-0008
WSJ back issues and framed pages: wsjshop.com
Our newspapers are 100% sourced from sustainably certified mills.
GOT A TIP FOR US? SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
U.S. NEWS
U.S. WATCH
CALIFORNIA
Insurance Premiums
To Rise 0.6% in 2021
Health-insurance premiums
for the 1.5 million Californians
who purchase coverage through
the state marketplace will go up
an average of 0.6% next year,
state officials said.
From 2015 through 2019,
monthly premiums in California’s
marketplace increased an aver-
age of 8.5 percentage points per
year. But since then, California’s
Democratic-controlled Legislature
and governor have passed laws
aimed at getting more healthier
people to buy coverage.
The result was an average
premium increase of 0.8% in
2020. Next year’s increase is
even lower, in part because of
more people buying insurance
during the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 230,000 people have
signed up for coverage since
March 20, a day after Gov. Gavin
Newsom issued a statewide
stay-at-home order.
Premiums average about
$587 a month for an individual.
But about 90% of the people
who buy coverage through Cov-
medical conditions. Kodak
hopes to produce ingredients
for a number of generic drugs,
for the news to be published by
the outlet in question.”
The SEC is also expected to
new options, and soared to as
high as $60 two days later, ac-
cording to FactSet.
The company has said the
July 27 option grant was in-
tended to protect Mr. Con-
ered California receive state and
federal subsidies of about $450
a month, lowering their premium
including the antimalarial
drug hydroxychloroquine that
President Trump has touted in
examine the stock options
granted to executives on July
27, the people said. The option
At recent prices, options on
1.75 million shares granted to
Kodak Executive Chairman Jim
tinenza against dilution, which
would lower the value of his
and other outstanding equity
to about $137 per month.
—Associated Press
the treatment of coronavirus. grants instantly became profit- Continenza the day before the holdings in the event that in- MICHIGAN
.
At a White House briefing able, at least on paper, after announcement are worth about vestors converted debt into
Tuesday, Mr. Trump distanced Kodak’s loan became public. $16 million. A little more than a stock. The company has said it Ex-Coach to Be Jailed
ly
himself from the Kodak deal, On Monday, Sen. Elizabeth quarter of those options vested, gave him the options that day For Lies During Probe
saying he wasn’t involved. “The Warren (D., Mass.) asked the or became fully exercisable, the because it was the first meet-
concept of the deal was good SEC to probe whether any il- day of the grant. The remainder ing of the board’s compensa- A former Michigan State Uni-
but I’ll let you know. We’ll do a
little study on that,” he said.
Television stations
Kodak’s hometown of Roches-
in
on licit trading occurred before vest only to the extent that $100
million in convertible notes is-
sued by Kodak last year are
turned into shares by investors.
tion committee after the com-
pany received shareholder
approval to use more shares
for executive compensation.
versity head gymnastics coach
was sentenced Tuesday to 90
days in jail for lying to police
during an investigation into for-
ter, N.Y., published stories on
Shares closed at On Monday, Kodak said inves- Mr. Continenza has said pub- mer Olympic and university doc-
us ,
July 27 after Kodak sent an ad- $2.62 on July 27 and tors had converted $95 million licly that the loan announce- tor Larry Nassar.
l
visory to media companies of the notes, but it would pay ment was in the works for about Kathie Klages, 65 years old,
went as high as $60
e
al a
about the initiative. In one arti- accumulated interest in cash. two months. He and Phillippe was found guilty in February of
cle, a Kodak spokesperson was two days later. Kodak has said that Mr. Katz, a board member who is a felony and a misdemeanor for
quoted saying the initiative Continenza’s potential gains also a partner or owner of sev- denying she knew of Mr. Nas-
ci on
“could change the course of haven’t been realized and that eral investment firms that are sar’s abuse prior to 2016 when
history for Rochester and the the executive chairman, significant Kodak shareholders, survivors started to come for-
American people.” the loan announcement. In a Kodak’s biggest individual made purchases of Kodak shares ward publicly. She also was sen-
Kodak’s advisory didn’t re- letter to SEC Chairman Jay shareholder, hasn’t ever sold during that time period, securi- tenced to 18 months of proba-
strict media outlets from im- Clayton, Ms. Warren wrote she shares of company stock and ties disclosures show. For both tion.
er s
mediately disseminating the was concerned about stock has no intention of doing so. As men, the purchases were similar Ms. Klages testified at trial,
news, an executive at a local purchases by Kodak directors of late March, Mr. Continenza in size or smaller than prior and in a statement Tuesday,
m er
ABC affiliate told the Journal. last month, “at a time when owned 5.8% of Kodak’s shares. purchases this spring and dur- that she didn’t remember being
A copy viewed by the Jour- Kodak and the Trump adminis- “Mr. Continenza has in- ing the second half of last year, told about the abuse.
nal included no embargo time. tration were negotiating the vested more capital in Kodak securities disclosures show. Two women testified in No-
The Kodak spokeswoman said deal in secret.” than he has earned during his —Geoffrey Rogow, Rachael vember 2018 that they told Ms.
the company’s internal commu- Kodak shares closed at $2.62 tenure,” the Kodak spokes- Levy and Alex Leary Klages in 1997 that Mr. Nassar
m rp
nications team “did not intend on July 27, the day it issued the woman said in a statement. contributed to this article. had sexually abused them and
spoke Tuesday in court ahead of
the sentencing.
He also described Mr. Farley slowing us way down?”
as a “car guy” who understands Ford’s operating profit has
One of the women, Larissa
Boyce, testified that Ms. Klages
co Fo
the technological shifts disrupt- fallen for three straight years, held up a piece of paper in front
ing the car business, from driv- including a 9% drop to $6.38
erless cars to the influx of digi-
tal services into the cockpit.
billion in 2019, a year in which
executives at one point
of the then-teenager and
warned that if she filed a report
there could be serious conse-
Ford’s stock was up 1.4% in
early afternoon trading, to
$6.78.
thought they would increase
earnings. Mr. Hackett said in
February that he was disap-
quences.
—Associated Press
“We believe Farley brings a pointed in the 2019 results, af- AIR FORCE
greater sense of urgency and ter having signaled that was
action,” Credit Suisse analyst the year Ford would reverse Unarmed Missile
Dan Levy said in an investor the earnings slide. Tested in Pacific
note Tuesday. The Dearborn, Mich., auto
In an interview, Mr. Farley maker’s results contrast with An unarmed Minuteman 3 in-
n-
said his priorities for increas- rival General Motors Co., which tercontinental ballistic missile
SANDY HOOPER/REUTERS
ing Ford’s profit in the critical has posted better profit mar- was launched from California
North America market include gins and shown greater earn- early Tuesday on a test flight to
the successful introduction of ings resilience during the pan- a target in the Pacific Ocean, the
several new models, including demic. In the second-quarter, Air Force Global Strike Com-
the first new Bronco sport-util- GM breezed past analysts’ ex- mand said.
ity vehicle in more than two pectations, reporting a $589 The missile blasted off at
decades. He also wants to re- Jim Farley said his priorities for increasing Ford’s profit in the critical million operating profit for the 12:21 a.m. from Vandenberg Air
duce the cost of Ford’s vehicles North America market include the introduction of several new models. April-to-June period, while Force Base. Its three re-entry ve-
to boost margins while stamp- Ford posted an operating loss hicles traveled 4,200 miles to
ing out nagging quality prob- looking to take more control Mr. Hackett said in an in- of $1.9 billion. the Kwajalein Atoll in the Mar-
lems that have driven up war- of the car’s cockpit. terview that he thought his Investors during Mr. Hack- shall Islands as part of a devel-
ranty costs. But beyond mapping the fu- outsider perspective—which ett’s tenure often punished opmental test, the command
“When we benchmark our ture, Mr. Hackett has grappled included an emphasis on strip- Ford in the wake of the disap- said from Barksdale Air Force
competitors, we think there’s a with more-pressing problems. ping out layers of bureaucracy pointing results. Shares had Base, Louisiana.
lot of opportunity for material Troubles have popped up in and thinking more critically been hovering around a de- Test launches are essential to
cost reduction,” he said. Ford’s U.S. business, its main about long-term changes to cade-low before the pandemic sustaining the aging Minuteman
Mr. Hackett, a former of- profit generator. The company the car business—rubbed sent them down further, 3 nuclear weapon system, said
fice-furniture CEO who had no stumbled last year on the first some people the wrong way. though they have rallied about Col. Omar Colbert, the 576th
auto-industry experience be- redesigned Explorer SUV in He said he believed he had 67% since the spring, to $6.69 Flight Test Squadron com-
fore arriving at Ford, was ap- nearly a decade, one of the changed Ford’s culture and at Monday’s close. They have mander.
pointed CEO in May 2017. At auto maker’s most important that the financial results will fallen 40% since Mr. Hackett The Air Force said test
the time, Mr. Ford praised him vehicle launches in years. Qual- follow. took over. launches aren’t a reaction to
as a change agent who could ity problems on certain models “The test is our people, not To combat losses overseas, world events. The launch calen-
guide a long-range strategy in also have led to higher war- Wall Street or even our cus- Ford is in the early stages of a dars are developed three to five
an industry buffeted by dis- ranty costs, which swelled to tomers,” he said. “Could they multiyear, $11 billion restruc- years in advance, and planning
ruption, from big bets on elec- around $5 billion, about 30% walk away from a bureaucracy turing that includes closing for individual launches takes six
tric and driverless cars to in- higher than past years, Mr. Far- that everyone recognized was plants and shedding workers in months to a year.
cursions by tech giants ley told analysts in February. navigable, but really was Europe and Latin America. —Associated Press
CORRECTIONS  AMPLIFICATIONS
President Trump said he China’s Supreme Court in Tuesday, a Banking & Finance Hillary Clinton won 45% of
was ready to approve a pur- June upheld the validity of
article about HSBC’s quarterly the votes of white women in
chase of the U.S. operations Shanghai Zhizhen Network earnings incorrectly said the the 2016 presidential election,
of the Chinese video-sharing Technology Co.’s Chinese pat- stock fell 4.7%. according to a Pew Research
app TikTok. In some editions ent for a voice assistant simi- Center study of validated vot-
Tuesday, a Page One article lar to Apple Inc.’s Siri. In The Mutual Funds table in ers. A Review essay Saturday
about Microsoft Corp.’s nego- some editions Tuesday, a the July 25 Exchange section about women’s suffrage incor-
tiations for TikTok’s U.S. op- Technology article about the incorrectly republished the rectly said the figure was 55%.
erations incorrectly implied Shanghai company’s patent- July 23 closing data labeled as
that the talks involved all of infringement lawsuit against July 24. The Mutual Funds ta- Notice to readers
TikTok. Apple incorrectly said Shang- ble in the July 28 Business & Wall Street Journal staff
hai Zhizhen recently was Finance section incorrectly members are working remotely
South Carolina was mis- awarded a Chinese patent. contained July 24 closing data during the pandemic. For the
spelled as South Caroline in a labeled as July 27. Tables with foreseeable future, please send
World-Wide item in some edi- HSBC Holdings PLC’s stock the correct data for July 24 reader comments only by
tions Tuesday about Hurri- fell 2.9% Monday in London and July 27 are available at email or phone, using the con-
cane Isaias. trading. In some editions WSJ.com/Corrections. tacts below, not via U.S. Mail.
Readers can alert The Wall Street Journal to any errors in news articles by emailing wsjcontact@wsj.com or by calling 888-410-2667.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
U.S., China
Set Meeting
On Trade Deal
The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks on
Aug. 15 to assess Beijing’s com-
pliance with the bilateral trade
agreement signed early this
year, according to people
briefed on the matter.
By Lingling Wei
in New York and Bob
Davis in Washington
The trade pact has emerged
as one of the few remaining av-
enues for the two countries to
engage on matters of mutual
concern. Relations have deteri-
orated in recent months, with
the Trump administration
hammering Beijing over the
coronavirus outbreak, Hong
Kong and the treatment of Ui-
ghurs in western China.
U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer and Chinese
Vice Premier Liu He, President
Xi Jinping’s point man on eco-
nomic policies, will participate
in the talks, likely via videocon-
ference, the people said.
The focus will be on the so-
called phase-one deal, which in-
cludes China’s commitment to
boost its U.S. imports by $200
billion over two years. So far,
China has fallen well short of
the pace needed to reach the
target, even though it has in-
creased purchases of American
soybeans, pork, corn and other
farm products in recent months.
Mr. Liu—whose portfolio in-
cludes oversight over China’s
technology sector—is also ex-
pected to raise concerns about
the U.S. crackdown on Chinese
tech companies, the people said.
“He would want to discuss
how the U.S. can work toward
not surprising the Chinese with
daily policy actions,” one of
them said.
The U.S. Trade Representa-
tive’s office declined to com-
ment.
Speaking at Aspen Security
Forum on Tuesday, China’s U.S.
Ambassador Cui Tiankai said
the coronavirus has impeded
normal trade flows. He said the
“two economic teams have been
in contact with each other” and
that Beijing is doing its best to
implement the trade agreement.
no
TRACY BARBUTES FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A park ranger patrolled the Glacier Point area in California’s Yosemite National Park last month.
New Law Boosts National Parks Funding
BY TIMOTHY PUKO
At the busiest part of the
Grand Canyon, the South Rim,
site to millions of tourists ev-
ery year, water sometimes is a
little hard to come by.
Restaurants rely on paper
goods so they don’t have to
wash dishes. They don’t serve
glasses of water unless asked.
Hotels switch to low-water
cleaning methods for their
rooms.
The desert isn’t the prob-
lem—it is the pumps, and it
has been for years. At least as
far back as the 1990s the
park’s water pumps have failed
10 to 12 times a year, with each
outage costing $15,000 to re-
pair. The problem is still out-
standing, and the park hasn’t
had the money needed to fix it,
now estimated to be $52 mil-
lion, according to the National
Park Service.
After years in which billions
worth of undone maintenance
* * * *
Relations between the two
countries have deteriorated
since the trade pact was signed
in January, with Mr. Trump re-
peatedly blaming China for the
spread of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the Health and
Human Services Department
said Secretary Alex Azar will
visit Taiwan in coming days to
discuss the pandemic among
other issues, adding another ir-
ritant to ties with China. Bei-
jing objects to high-level U.S.
contacts with the democratic,
self-governed island, which
China regards as its territory.
The scheduled discussion
between the U.S. and China fol-
lows weeks of efforts by less-
senior Chinese officials to court
U.S. companies. The sessions
have involved Mr. Liu’s top
aide, Liao Min, and Deputy
Commerce Minister Wang
Shouwen. The pair have had
videoconference calls with
groups led by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, the U.S.-China
Business Council and the
American Chamber of Com-
merce in China, among others.
During those sessions, par-
ticipants said, U.S. companies
have brought up their concerns
about the slow pace of Chinese
purchases of an array of U.S.
goods and services, such as en-
ergy and medical equipment,
as well as regulatory issues.
As of June, China’s pur-
chases of all products covered
on
by the trade pact were
us ,
$33.3 billion, only at around
l
47% of their year-to-date tar-
e
al a
gets, according to Chad Bown,
a senior fellow and trade ex-
pert at the Peterson Institute
ci on
for International Economics.
The Chinese officials have
reiterated their commitment to
carrying out the phase-one deal
and have sometimes made a
er s
pitch for U.S. companies to
press the Trump administration
m er
to “stabilize the relationship.”
U.S. companies haven’t vol-
unteered to help out on politi-
cal issues, said participants,
who said they feel as if they
m rp
are caught in a vise. Beijing is
pushing for help while the
Trump administration warns
against taking such action.
co Fo
n-
like this backed up across the
National Parks system, Presi-
dent Trump signed a bill into
law on Tuesday that guaran-
tees investment larger than
anything the national parks
have received in decades, park
advocates say. It is the culmi-
nation of a decadeslong push
from conservationists that had
only limited success under
prior Democratic and Republi-
can administrations.
“This is truly God’s cre-
ation,” Mr. Trump said during
a signing ceremony at the
White House. “President Theo-
dore Roosevelt was right when
he called these exquisite re-
sources.”
The new law, called the
Great American Outdoors Act,
puts as much as $9.5 billion
toward a National Park System
backlog in deferred mainte-
nance, which has grown to $12
billion since the 1990s. Fund-
ing starts in the 2021 fiscal
year.
U.S. NEWS
Boats were piled atop one another in Southport, N.C., on Tuesday, after the effects of Isaias, which made landfall as a hurricane.
Storm Leaves Damage, Outages
After Churning Up Atlantic Coast
BY VALERIE BAUERLEIN
Tropical Storm Isaias
churned up the East Coast
Tuesday, leaving downed
trees, flooding and about 2.5
million homes and businesses
without power from North
Carolina to Massachusetts.
Isaias made landfall late
Monday as a Category 1 hurri-
cane near Ocean Isle Beach,
N.C. Maximum sustained
winds reached 85 miles an
hour but dropped to 65 to 70
miles an hour as the storm
traveled briskly north across
land.
The storm spawned numer-
ous tornadoes, the National
Hurricane Center said. One
twister in Windsor, N.C., flat-
tened a mobile-home park, de-
stroying homes and lives. Two
people died and a dozen were
hospitalized in the incident,
North Carolina Gov. Roy Coo-
per said.
In New York City, a 60-year-
old man was killed when a
branch fell and struck the car
where he was sitting, New
York Police Department offi-
cials said.
Expect remodeled buildings,
new water systems and other
improvements to the backbone
of the park system, Interior
Secretary David Bernhardt
said in an interview on Mon-
day with The Wall Street Jour-
nal. His department will have
90 days to report to Congress
on what projects take priority,
with a congressional mandate
to use most of the money be-
yond transportation.
Expanded parking, re-
vamped campgrounds and
more employee housing are
also likely. Interior Department
agencies can use that money
for expansion, not just restora-
tions, Mr. Bernhardt said.
“There are absolutely op-
portunities for improving and
enhancing outmoded facilities.
I don’t think there’s any ques-
tion about that in the law,” Mr.
Bernhardt said. “This is a very
significant cornerstone to the
development of the park ser-
vice over the next century.”
A man walked past a damaged house in Suffolk, Va., on Tuesday.
A couple of possible torna-
does were reported in south-
ern Maryland, and the storm
caused flooding in several
counties, including in the
Washington, D.C., metro area,
said National Weather Service
meteorologist Austin Mans-
field.
In northwest Philadelphia,
several cars were stuck in
flood waters near the Schuyl-
The bill long had support
from congressional Democrats.
This year, Mr. Trump joined
with a pair of Western-state
Senate Republicans to push for
the bill’s passage, creating a
pathway for it to become law
with bipartisan support.
Both Sen. Cory Gardner (R.,
Colo.)—who wrote the bill
with Sen. Joe Manchin (D.,
W.Va.)—and Sen. Steven
Daines (R., Mont.), who spon-
sored the legislation, are cam-
paigning on its success.
Messrs. Gardner and Daines
are facing competitive re-elec-
tion races this fall in states
where supporting outdoor rec-
reation and the related econ-
omy could prove popular. The
pair met with Mr. Trump on
the bill and drew 13 other Sen-
ate Republican co-sponsors.
The measure passed the cham-
ber 73 to 25, with unanimous
support from the Democrats
present and backing from
roughly half of Republicans.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | A3
ly
kill River, police said.
By Tuesday afternoon,
about 2.5 million customers
were without power along the
East Coast, according to pow-
eroutage.us, which tracks out-
age reports from utilities.
Isaias largely spared Florida
and South Carolina from dam-
age and wreaked less havoc in
North Carolina than previous
years’ storms, such as Hurri-
States Urge Halt to
Deliveries of Seeds
BY JESSE NEWMAN
AND JACOB BUNGE
State agriculture officials
are urging the U.S. Postal Ser-
vice to stop delivering the
mysterious seed packages that
have been arriving in mail-
boxes across the country, mail-
ings that federal officials be-
lieve are coming from China.
Agriculture officials from
several states have pressed the
federal government to halt de-
liveries of packages that may
contain the seeds, as states
continue to be inundated by re-
ports from people across the
U.S. who have received them.
Officials are concerned the
seeds could introduce weeds,
pests or diseases that could
harm U.S. agriculture.
The U.S. Department of Ag-
riculture said last week it had
identified 14 species of seeds,
from mustard and morning
glory to cabbage, rosemary
and roses. As of last Wednes-
day, there was no indication
the seeds carry pests or dis-
eases, according to the USDA.
Several states say they have
identified seeds of weed spe-
cies that could pose a threat
to crops and native plants.
“We are working closely with
[U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection] to intercept illegally
imported seed packages,” a
USDA spokesperson said in a
statement. “We’re also working
with other federal authorities,
the U.S. Postal Service, express
carriers, and online market-
places to stop future deliveries.”
Agricultural officials in Mis-
sissippi and Minnesota said they
had asked the USPS whether the
agency could identify and inter-
cept seed packages.
Since late July, hundreds of
people across at least 22
states and other countries
have received in the mail un-
solicited packages containing
seeds. Many have contacted
local agricultural officials, who
FROM TOP: GERRY BROOME/ASSOCIATED PRESS; JONATHON GRUENKE/THE DAILY PRESS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
cane Florence in 2018.
Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane
specialist at Colorado State
.
University, said on Twitter
that Isaias was significant be-
cause it came early in what is
already an active hurricane
season, which stretches from
June through November. Ber-
tha, Cristobal, Fay and Hanna
also made landfall in the con-
tinental U.S. this summer, he
said.
“This is the earliest on re-
cord that 5 Atlantic named
storms have made continental
U.S. landfall,” he tweeted.
“Prior record was 8/18/1916.”
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
said it expects to see as many
as 10 hurricanes—of which
three to six are expected to be
rated a major hurricane of
Category 3 or higher. The pre-
diction is based on warmer
ocean temperatures and
weaker trade winds in the
main hurricane development
region of the tropical Atlantic
and Caribbean Sea, forecasters
have said.
—Scott Calvert
contributed to this article.
are urging people not to open
or handle the seeds, and to
turn them in for analysis.
A state agriculture official
said the federal government is
investigating whether the seed
packages originated from a sin-
gle source, and whether the re-
turn address labels are accurate.
“We have not identified the
source of the seed packages,
but they appear to be coming
from China,” a USDA spokes-
person said.
China’s foreign ministry said
last week that mailing labels on
the seed packages were forged
and the country had asked the
Investigators are
studying whether
return address
labels are accurate.
U.S. to send the packages to
China for investigation. This
week it had no comment.
The USDA has said it has no
evidence the packages are any-
thing other than a “brushing
scam,” in which vendors selling
through online retailers like
Amazon.com Inc. pay “brush-
ers” to place orders for their
products, with packages with
low-value or no contents being
shipped to strangers. Brushers
then pose as the buyers and
post fake customer reviews to
boost the vendor’s sales.
Amazon reiterated Monday
its view that the seed pack-
ages appear to be delayed
packages due to Covid-19.
The company, however, is
still investigating any connec-
tion the platform may have to
the packages and whether
brushing is involved, a person
familiar with the matter said.
Amazon has been in contact
with the USDA to resolve the
matter.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A4 | Wednesday, August 5, 2020 P W L C 10 11 12 H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O I X X ***** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS

Negotiators Make Progress on Stimulus

White House and plause for merely keeping a
civil tone with the president’s
Democrats cite team,” he said on the Senate
concessions but say floor Tuesday.
With talks dragging out,
disagreements remain Senate Republicans expected
that no deal would be reached
BY SIOBHAN HUGHES this week and they were brac-
AND KRISTINA PETERSON ing to be in session next week
as well, canceling the first
WA S H I N G T O N — W h i t e part of their August break.
House negotiators said they “I think there’s an impasse,”
aim to reach a deal with Dem- said Sen. Richard Shelby (R.,
ocrats on a new coronavirus- Ala.), chairman of the Senate
relief package by week’s end, Appropriations Committee,
with both sides saying they coming out of a GOP lunch at
made progress in talks aiming which Mr. Mnuchin spoke.
to bridge differences in unem- “Nothing’s moving.”
ployment payments and other The federal government
aid proposals. paid $16.4 billion in enhanced
“We’re going to try to reach unemployment benefits for the
an overall agreement, if we can week ended July 25, the Labor
get one, by the end of this Department said. That means
week, so that the legislation roughly 27 million Americans
could be then passed next received a federal $600 pay-
MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

week,” Treasury Secretary Ste- ment in addition to state ben-

ven Mnuchin told reporters efits.
Tuesday after meeting with Economists say those pay-
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., ments, and other stimulus,
Calif.) and Senate Minority have allowed Americans to pay
Leader Chuck Schumer (D., their mortgage and utility bills
N.Y.). “Some issues we’ve been and avoid evictions and
able to agree on. Some signifi- missed payments on car loans
cant issues are still up.” and credit cards.
Democrats characterized The National Multifamily
their afternoon meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, center, walked to a Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Housing Council said nearly
White House officials as a the same share of renters
slow but productive grind, and whether progress had been haven’t coalesced around one have been divided over their ous to motivate people to re- made payments in June,
both sides said they expected made on the most intractable proposal. own roughly $1 trillion aid pro- turn to work; Democrats have 95.9%, as they did a year ear-
to be back at the bargaining of the issues, including aid for The comments from negoti- posal, said they were still sort- said keeping people home lier, when unemployment was
table on Wednesday. states and localities and how ators came a day after Presi- ing out what GOP measures the safely during the pandemic near a 50-year low.
“We’re still slogging through much money the federal gov- dent Trump said he was con- Senate might vote on this week. should be the priority and Lawmakers and the White

.
step by step by step,” Mr. ernment would provide to sidering issuing executive Mr. Schumer said Republi- have cited economists who say House also are at loggerheads
Schumer told reporters. “They supplement state jobless aid. orders without waiting for a cans’ proposals so far fell there is no evidence so far about whether to provide aid

made some concessions, which Democrats want to extend
we appreciated. We made some the weekly $600 federal un-
concessions, which they appre- employment benefit that
ciated. We’re still far away on a
lot of the important issues, but
we’re continuing to go at it.”
Neither side disclosed de-
ended Friday and did so in the
$3.5 trillion coronavirus-aid
bill that passed the House in
May. Republicans have been
on
tails of the offers that had floating different ideas for
us ,
ly
legislative agreement. short of the resources needed that the payments are a deter- to financially strapped states
White House officials are to counter the crisis. rent. and localities, how much
discussing potential orders to “The gap between our two Senate Majority Leader money to allocate for control-
suspend the payroll tax, im-
pose limitations on evictions
and restore some of the ex-
pired jobless benefits, people
parties in the negotiations is
about priorities and about
scale,” he said on the Senate
floor Tuesday.
Mitch McConnell said Demo-
crats were talking up progress
in their negotiations without
being willing to make compro-
ling the virus and whether to
increase food stamp benefits,
among others.
—Eric Morath
familiar with the matter said. Republicans have said the mises. and Andrew Restuccia

been made on either side, or benefits at a lower rate but Senate Republicans, who $600 benefits were too gener- “It’s like they expect ap- contributed to this article.
l
e
al a

Marshall Wins Kansas GOP Primary Parties Work to

ci on

BY LINDSAY WISE

Rep. Roger Marshall de- Weed Items Out

er s

feated former Kansas Secre-

tary of State Kris Kobach in
As They Talk Aid
m er

the GOP primary for an open

Senate seat, a result seen as
bolstering Republican hopes of
hanging on to their majority in BY KRISTINA PETERSON  Assorted spending on de-
the chamber this fall. fense systems and weapons
m rp

Mr. Marshall, a gynecolo- As negotiators work to iron In the GOP bill, Senate Re-
gist and congressman from out a compromise on unem- publicans included $29 billion
western Kansas, ran first in a ployment payments, school for the Defense Department, in-
field of 11 Republicans vying funding and other pressing cluding $686 million for F-35
for their party’s nomination to matters related to the pan- jet fighters, $283 million for
co Fo

replace retiring Sen. Pat Rob- demic, Republicans and Demo- Apache AH-64 attack helicop-
EMILY ELCONIN/BLOOMBERG NEWS

erts (R., Kan.). crats are also trying to weed ters, $1 billion for maritime
With about three-quarters out items they say have noth- surveillance aircraft, and $1.5
of precincts reporting Tuesday ing to do with the outbreak. billion for four expeditionary
night, Mr. Marshall had 39% of The latest stimulus package medical ships. In some in-
the vote to 26% for Mr. Ko- is expected to run north of stances, the bill replenishes de-
bach, and 19% for businessman $1 trillion, and large bills in fense funds that were redi-
Bob Hamilton. Congress inevitably attract rected in previous years by the
In November, Mr. Marshall spending proposals that have administration to help build the
will face Democrat Barbara little or nothing to do with the wall along the Mexican border.
Bollier, a state senator and re- An election official disinfected a voting booth Tuesday at a polling station in Dearborn Heights, Mich. core thrust of the legislation. Senate Armed Services Com-
tired anesthesiologist from This time—and with not much mittee Chairman James Inhofe
suburban Kansas City who Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) had poured into television and ra- power of “the squad,” the fire- else expected to get passed be- (R., Okla.) has said that while
n-

easily won her primary on tried to recruit Secretary of dio ads through the beginning brand progressives who swept fore the election—some law- the stimulus bill isn’t the ideal
Tuesday night. State Mike Pompeo to run, be- of this week, with most aimed into the House two years ago, makers and President Trump place for military spending, the
Mr. Kobach, an outspoken lieving that he could beat Mr. at swaying Republican primary faced its biggest test Tuesday, included pet projects in their military needs every opportu-
opponent of illegal immigra- Kobach and win in the general voters, according to political as Michigan Democrats voted parties’ plans in the hopes they nity possible for rebuilding.
no

tion, won GOP primaries for election. Mr. Pompeo declined. ad tracker Kantar/CMAG. whether to renominate Rep. survive in any eventual deal.
the U.S. House in 2004 and President Trump didn’t en- Mr. Kobach had said that he Rashida Tlaib for Congress. They have been met with a From Democrats’ House
governor in 2018 but went on dorse a candidate in the race. could beat Mrs. Bollier, espe- Michigan voters were also cool reception. Democrats have bill passed in May:
to lose to Democrats, sparking Democrats need to flip at cially with Mr. Trump on the set to elect a set of candidates criticized items pushed by the
alarm among some Kansas Re- least three seats in November ballot. He said the opposition to vie in November for the seat White House, while Senate Ma-  Repeal of the $10,000 cap
publicans and GOP strategists to take control of the Senate, to his candidacy came mostly being vacated by Rep. Justin jority Leader Mitch McConnell on the state and local tax de-
in Washington who saw Mr. or four if President Trump from members of the Wash- Amash, a libertarian who left (R., Ky.) said he was opposed to duction for 2020 and 2021
Kobach as a divisive and disor- wins re-election. The strategic ington GOP establishment the Republican Party last year all measures not closely con- In their 2017 tax overhaul,
ganized candidate who strug- significance of Kansas on the ,whom he derided as insuffi- after coming out in support of nected to pandemic relief— Republicans placed a $10,000
gled to fundraise. 2020 Senate map is evident ciently conservative. impeaching President Trump, whether they came from Demo- cap on the amount of state and
Senate Majority Leader from the $17 million that has Meanwhile, the staying among other races. crats or Republicans. local taxes that taxpayers can
Here’s a look at what could be deduct from federal taxable in-
on the chopping block—or might come. Governors of high-tax

White House Pulls Nomination for FCC Post stay in as a bargaining chip.

From the Senate GOP

states such as New York and
New Jersey want Congress to
eliminate the cap. Doing so
BY RYAN TRACY apply a fact-checking notice to bill released last week would help their constituents,
tweets by the president with make it easier for them to raise
WASHINGTON—The White unsubstantiated statements  $1.75 billion to build a state and local taxes, and reduce
House withdrew Mike about voter fraud. new FBI headquarters incentives for people to move to
O’Rielly’s nomination for a new The internet industry is ex- The Trump administration lower-taxed states. Repealing
term on the Federal Communi- pected to oppose any attempt abruptly canceled plans in 2017 that limit would also deliver di-
cations Commission because of to reframe Section 230 as an to build a suburban FBI campus. rect tax cuts to high-income
reservations he expressed intrusion on the free-speech Instead, it pushed to keep the households, according to the
about President Trump’s ini- rights of technology compa- agency’s downtown Washington Tax Policy Center. “We need to
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

tiative to regulate how social- nies. In a June 10 appearance location, and the White House cushion the blow of this virus,”
media platforms treat user- on C-Span, Mr. O’Rielly ex- is pushing for funds to con- Senate Minority Leader Chuck
generated content, said people pressed “deep reservations” struct a new building. Keeping Schumer (D., N.Y.) has said.
familiar with the matter. about whether the FCC has le- the FBI downtown would pre-  Banking access for mari-
Mr. O’Rielly, a 49-year-old gal authority to take action. vent the redevelopment of the juana businesses
Republican, was nominated for In a speech last week to the site, which is near the Trump The provision would protect
a five-year term in March and Media Institute, a nonprofit International Hotel. Both Demo- financial institutions that serve
had been awaiting Senate con- foundation, Mr. O’Rielly ex- crats and Republicans have marijuana businesses in states
firmation. An FCC commis- panded on that point. “We widely criticized the inclusion where the substance is legal.
sioner since 2013, he lost the Mike O'Rielly was awaiting Senate confirmation for a new term. should all reject demands, in of the funds in the bill. “You Federally insured depository in-
White House’s support after the name of the First Amend- have to be near the Justice De- stitutions are prohibited from
suggesting the FCC may lack Without the Senate’s ap- Section 230 of the 1996 Com- ment, for private actors to cu- partment,” Mr. Trump has said. offering financial services to
the legal authority to imple- proval, Mr. O’Rielly must leave munications Decency Act. That rate or publish speech in a  $377 million for renova- such businesses, forcing the
ment Mr. Trump’s initiative, the post before a new Congress provision has given online certain way,” he said. tions to the West Wing and a companies to deal primarily in
the people said. begins next year. If the position firms broad immunity from le- Andrew Jay Schwartzman, screening facility cash. Supporters say the pro-
The White House notified the isn’t filled by then, the FCC po- gal liability for their users’ ac- a senior counselor at the Ben- This is another proposal posal would make it easier for
Senate on Monday that it was tentially will be deadlocked tions, and wide latitude to po- ton Institute for Broadband from the White House. Press legitimate marijuana busi-
withdrawing Mr. O’Rielly’s nom- with two Republican and two lice content on their sites. and Society think tank, said secretary Kayleigh McEnany nesses to conduct transactions
ination. A White House spokes- Democratic members. The The petition followed an ex- the withdrawal of Mr. said Friday that much of that without cash. “I don’t agree
man declined to comment on White House didn’t announce a ecutive order Mr. Trump O’Rielly’s nomination could funding would “pertain to safety with you that cannabis is not
the reasons for the move, call- new nominee Monday. signed in May targeting per- potentially allow Democrats to protocols,” including filtration related to this. This is a therapy
ing it a personnel matter. A rep- The Commerce Department ceived censorship of conserva- fill the open slot on the FCC if systems, enhanced communica- that has proven successful,”
resentative for Mr. O’Rielly de- last week petitioned the FCC tives online. That order came they take the White House in tion ability and other “needs House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
clined to comment. to reinterpret key elements of after Twitter Inc. said it would November. highlighted by the pandemic.” (D., Calif.) said last week.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Survivors’
Plasma
Found to
Cut Covid
Mortality
BY AMY DOCKSER MARCUS
Hospitalized Covid-19 pa-
tients who received transfu-
sions of blood plasma rich with
antibodies from recovered pa-
tients reduced their mortality
rate by about 50%, according to
researchers running a large na-
tional study.
The researchers presented
their data analysis Saturday in
a webinar for physicians inter-
ested in learning about so-
called convalescent plasma,
with data slides that were re-
viewed by The Wall Street
Journal. The researchers said
they saw signs that the treat-
ment might be working in pa-
tients who received high levels
of antibodies in plasma early in
the course of their illness.
They based their conclusions
on an analysis of about 3,000
patients.
Patients who at three days
or less after diagnosis received
plasma containing high levels
of antibodies against the coro-
navirus had a mortality rate of
6.6% at seven days after the
transfusion. That compared
with a mortality rate of 13.3%
for patients who got plasma
with low levels of antibodies at
four days or more after diag-
nosis. That indicates reduced
mortality of about 50%, the re-
searchers said.
At 30 days after transfusion,
the mortality rate was reduced
by about 36%, investigators re-
ported.
The sharing of the data
comes as the Food and Drug
Administration is nearing a de-
cision to authorize emergency
The unpublished
research shows a
benefit from plasma
rich in antibodies.
use of convalescent plasma for
treating people infected with
the coronavirus. The FDA can’t
comment on whether it would
take such action, a spokes-
woman said.
The data were submitted to
the FDA, which is sponsoring
an expanded-access program
led by the Mayo Clinic in Roch-
ester, Minn. The Mayo Clinic
organized the webinar.
The data haven’t been pub-
lished in a journal or subject to
peer review. At the webinar
presentation, investigators said
the conclusions are their own
and don’t represent an official
government endorsement of
efficacy of convalescent
no
plasma.
The FDA can’t comment on
the conclusions of the investi-
gators, a spokeswoman said,
adding that, as with other med-
ical products, the FDA is as-
sessing “all of the available evi-
dence that could potentially
support the use of convalescent
plasma for the management of
Covid-19.”
There is a long history of us-
ing convalescent plasma to
treat people during large viral
outbreaks, including the 1918 in-
fluenza pandemic and the 2014
Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Many doctors and hospitals
are treating hospitalized
Covid-19 patients with conva-
lescent plasma under compas-
sionate-use protocols or as part
of studies.
The Mayo-led expanded-ac-
cess program was set up to al-
low broad and quick access to
convalescent plasma, and to en-
sure the safety of using anti-
bodies from someone who re-
covered from the coronavirus
to improve the immune re-
sponse of a newly infected indi-
vidual.
Investigators said they ini-
tially thought a few thousand
people might receive convales-
cent plasma through the ex-
panded-access program. More
than 53,000 Covid-19 patients
have received it to date.
Randomized controlled clini-
cal trials of convalescent
plasma therapy are under way,
including several studies exam-
ining its potential effectiveness
in outpatient clinics. At pres-
ent, only hospitalized patients
have access to convalescent
plasma.
* * * *
Some States Improve as Cases Ease
BY ALLISON PRANG
AND TALAL ANSARI
Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S. re-
ported fewer than 50,000 new
coronavirus cases for the sec-
ond day in a row.
The daily tally of new cases
in the U.S. was more than
45,000, slightly lower than the
previous day’s total, marking
the smallest daily gain since
July 6, according to data com-
piled by Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity. The total U.S. death
toll was more than 155,000.
Eighteen states saw the
seven-day average of new con-
firmed cases rising faster than
the 14-day average as of Mon-
day, according to a Wall Street
Journal analysis of Johns Hop-
kins data. That was the situa-
tion in 48 states a month ear-
lier, so the data reflect
declines in confirmed new
cases in many parts of the U.S.
Comparing the one- and
two-week averages of new
cases helps smooth out anom-
alies in the data, such as lags
in reporting.
In 11 states, including Ver-
mont, Texas, South Carolina,
New York, Arizona and Louisi-
ana, the seven-day average of
new cases stayed lower than
the two-week average for a
week or more.
Colleges Assess Plans to Shut Down Again
BY MELISSA KORN
AND DOUGLAS BELKIN
on
us ,
Colleges spent the first part
l
of the summer deliberating how
e
al a
to reopen campuses and class-
rooms. Now, they are spending
the remainder thinking through
ci on
what kind of dangers it would
take to close them.
By setting hard triggers for
a potential shutdown, schools
that are planning to bring stu-
er s
dents back to campus hope to
avoid the chaos that accompa-
m er
nied their March closures. Cre-
ating those plans means con-
sidering possibilities like
student or staff deaths, in-
creasing infection rates and
m rp
full ICU facilities.
There is no clear federal
guideline for how to press
pause, leaving colleges, along
with states, cities and K-12
co Fo
schools, on their own to figure
out protocols.
Colleges and universities
have assembled large teams to
think through quarantine plans
and contact tracing in case of
an outbreak, as well as when
to shut down dining halls and
classrooms and how to weigh
the risks of sending students
home.
Many schools have ear-
marked dorms or even nearby
n-
hotels as potential space to iso-
late symptomatic students;
they’ll provide food and medical
care and attempt to warn others
who may have been exposed.
But the number of rooms set
aside varies widely. In the event
of a crisis outbreak, students
could be asked to leave some
campuses on short notice.
The University of Texas at
Austin laid out a comprehen-
sive list of variables to be
weighed to change course, in-
cluding a student death, high
rates of employee absenteeism,
limited isolation facilities and
a two-week upward swing in
the percentage of tests coming
back positive.
“From the very beginning of
the process, one of the things
we knew was that the situation
was going to change over
Fed Report Examines Toll
On Black-Owned Businesses
BY AMARA OMEOKWE
Businesses owned by Black
people were hit especially hard
by the coronavirus pandemic
because of a combination of
geography, limited reach of a
key federal aid program and
weaker ties to banks, a new re-
port from the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York finds.
This report offers “some
pretty compelling evidence
about the coincidence of the
health crisis and business crisis
in places that have high con-
centrations of Black businesses
and Black residents,” said Claire
Kramer Mills, assistant vice
U.S. NEWS
A free computer for distance learning was handed to a family with a middle-schooler in Dallas Tuesday.
Four virus hot spots—Ari-
zona, California, Texas and
Florida—started showing signs
of improvement after being
pummeled by the virus in July.
Confirmed cases had skyrock-
eted in Florida, Texas and Cal-
ifornia last month, pushing all
three past hard-hit New York
as the states with the highest
number of infections.
Recent days have shown
some easing—Florida and Cali-
fornia on Monday both re-
ported their lowest new case
counts in about a month, with
4,752 cases and 4,676 cases,
respectively. But in Florida,
The University of Texas at Austin has laid out a comprehensive list of variables to be weighed before it reverses course on opening.
time,” said Arthur Markman, a
psychology professor at UT
Austin who is part of the plan-
ning group that helped steer
the school toward a reopening.
“We made an assessment of
where we would like to be
when we open as well as at
various stages including when
we might have to get out.”
Syracuse University has
identified five levels of out-
breaks and plotted out how it
would react to each one, from
10 or fewer cases that can be
contained, up to an outbreak
of more than 100 cases where
transmission is occurring at a
significant rate and “there is
no realistic strategy to contain
or control the situation,” ac-
cording to the school’s plan.
Some schools are choosing
not to publicize the bleak cal-
culus for when continuing on
campus would no longer be
president at the New York Fed.
Ms. Mills and co-author Jes-
sica Battisto studied why the
number of active business own-
ers fell more sharply for Black
firms than for other groups be-
tween February and April.
Their analysis found a mod-
est positive link between the
share of Black-owned busi-
nesses and the number of
Covid-19 cases per 1,000 resi-
dents through the end of June.
It found that counties with
higher shares of white-owned
businesses had a lower inci-
dence of Covid-19 cases.
The findings are “an indica-
tion that areas with higher con-
the number of tests given has
been falling, and the state was
forced to shut some testing
sites for several days because
of the tropical storm.
Arizona has seen new daily
cases recede, but the seven-
day average of the number of
tests given has dropped to
12,298, from 14,080 over the
past month, according to data
from the Covid Tracking Proj-
ect.
Other metrics in those
hard-hit states showed signs
of improvement. The seven-
day average of positive tests
in Texas, Arizona and Califor-
possible, including benchmarks
for how many illnesses may be
too many or when the local
hospital’s intensive care unit is
too full, because it is too much
of an admission that such aw-
ful developments could come
to fruition.
“Most schools have a plan in
place, but they will not release
it,” said Luis Toledo, a data and
policy analyst at the College
Crisis Initiative at Davidson
College, which is tracking how
U.S. schools are dealing with
the pandemic. “If you release it
and acknowledge there is a
possibility of students dying, it
begs the question: Why are you
bringing students back in the
first place?”
Some schools are still focus-
ing on the logistics of reopen-
ing, including housing fewer
students in each dorm, install-
ing Plexiglas in the financial-
centrations of Black businesses
are more likely to be facing
larger direct (longer forced clo-
sures, Covid-19 symptoms) and
indirect (social distancing,
fewer customers) effects of the
pandemic,” the report said.
The researchers also exam-
ined the reach of the Paycheck
Protection Program, the aid
initiative that offered forgiv-
able loans to small businesses.
Some areas where Black
businesses are highly concen-
trated saw relatively lower
volumes of loans through the
program, the study found. In
the 30 U.S. counties that con-
tain 40% of receipts from
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | A5
cording to data from Johns
Hopkins, only 17 states have
met that criteria.
In Texas and California,
hospitalizations are falling
from July peaks, according to
the Covid Tracking Project.
Both still had more people in
hospitals than a month earlier:
In Texas 8,819 people were
hospitalized, up from 7,652 a
month ago, and in California
there were 7,629 patients in
hospitals, up from 7,024 a
LM OTERO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
month ago. The number of pa-
tients in intensive care in Cali-
fornia has risen from a month
ago, but declined since mid-
July.
California Gov. Gavin
Newsom said the recent de-
cline in new infections and
hospitalizations is a sign the
state was starting to see the
nia has declined from a month spread of the virus slow.
ago, despite spiking in each “It’s encouraging. At the
state in July. In Florida, that same time, we can quickly find
metric was up slightly from a ourselves back to where we
month ago, but lower than in were just a few weeks ago,”
recent days. Mr. Newsom said.
Broadly speaking, the posi- While the number of new
tivity rate is still high in most cases and hospitalizations ap-
of those states: The seven-day peared to be receding in some
average was above 18% in Ari- states, the number of deaths
zona and Florida, and more remains elevated. The number
than 13% in Texas, according of reported deaths has roughly
to the data. doubled in Florida and Ari-
The World Health Organiza- zona from a month earlier, and
tion advised governments that increased by 50% in California.
before reopening, positivity In Texas, the death toll more
rates should remain at 5% or than doubled, to 7,016 from
.
lower for at least 14 days. Ac- 2,600 on July 3.
ly
JAY JANNER/TNS/ZUMA PRESS
aid and registrar’s offices and Colby College in Maine,
fielding questions from faculty. which is bringing students back
Many institutions are hoping with a comprehensive testing
to avoid shutdowns by starting protocol and mix of in-person
classes early and sending stu- and online classes, has set out
dents home at Thanksgiving. plans for four color-coded lev-
For the University of Ken- els of operation, with partial
tucky, it is less about numbers shutdowns of classrooms, din-
than about trend lines, spokes- ing halls and exercise facilities
man Jay Blanton said. possible, if needed.
That school will keep an eye But it’s not as simple as
on infection rates on campus saying they will move the
and around the Lexington re- safety level from yellow to the
gion and is checking nightly more critical orange level with
capacity at the university hos- five cases of Covid-19 on cam-
pital. It may also need to shut pus, or to red with 10 cases,
down campus if personal pro- President David A. Greene ex-
tective gear becomes difficult plained.
to obtain, or its app that will For example, if there were
allow students and staff to re- 10 cases but they were all
port their daily health status among students in the orches-
fails. tra, easily tracked and isolated,
“It’s the combination of fac- he said, that might not cause
tors rather than one specific as much alarm as fewer cases
trigger or threshold,” Mr. Blan- across multiple dorms and
ton said. without clear connections.
PAUL SANCYA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stephanie Byrd, co-owner of Detroit restaurant The Block, in May
when her business was closed because of the coronavirus.
Black-owned businesses, about N.Y., and Wayne County, Mich.,
15% to 20% of firms received which includes Detroit.
PPP loans, a rate in line with The report suggests that ar-
the national average. However, eas with high numbers of
the researchers noted “signifi- Black-owned companies may
cant variation” across the 30 have received fewer PPP loans
counties, with lower volumes because of weaker ties to fi-
in places such as the Bronx, nancial institutions.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A6 | Wednesday, August 5, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS

Vaccines Have a Lot to Prove Novavax Reports

Promising early data
encourage investors,
Positive Results in
but it’s still unknown
if the shots will work
BY GREGORY ZUCKERMAN
First-Stage Study
AND JOSEPH WALKER BY PETER LOFTUS The company also plans to
manufacture doses for other
Investors are growing more Novavax Inc. said its exper- countries.
convinced Covid-19 vaccines imental coronavirus vaccine More than 160 experimental
will work. They aren’t as sure induced promising immune re- coronavirus vaccines are in
shares of vaccine companies sponses and was generally development globally, includ-
can keep soaring. well-tolerated in healthy ing more than 25 that have
The investors, along with adults in the first human started human testing, accord-
analysts and others scrutiniz- study of the shot. ing to the World Health Or-
ing the results from early tri- Two weeks after taking a ganization.
ANDREAS ARNOLD/DPA/ZUMA PRESS

als, say the most advanced vac- second dose, most vaccinated Vaccines in the most ad-
cine candidates didn’t cause subjects had high levels of so- vanced stages of testing in-
serious side effects and helped called neutralizing antibodies, clude shots developed by Mod-
produce antibodies that may which are immune-system erna Inc., Pfizer Inc. with
be sufficient to defend against agents believed to be most ef- partner BioNTech SE, and the
the virus. fective at fighting the virus, University of Oxford with
So far, vaccines based on the according to results in a paper partner AstraZeneca PLC. Ini-
newest technology—known as that Novavax submitted to the tial human study results for
messenger RNA—appear to be preprint server medRxiv, with these vaccines have been re-
performing best at eliciting an- The Germany headquarters of BioNTech, which is working with Pfizer on a Covid-19 vaccine candidate. hopes of publishing it in a leased in recent weeks, and
tibodies that can potentially peer-reviewed journal. have shown they have induced
neutralize the coronavirus and global pandemic, and the size Share-price performance Despite the building investor The antibody concentra- immune responses and were
prevent it from hijacking hu- of potential winnings from a enthusiasm, a number of tions were similar to those generally safe.
CanSino Biologics 375%
man cells, investors and ana- successful vaccine, are prompt- hedge-fund and mutual-fund in- seen in serum samples from Novavax’s vaccine contains
lysts say. At least one vaccine ing investors to make early Moderna vestors say they are wary of in- hospitalized Covid-19 patients, proteins resembling those
could receive regulatory autho- comparisons. BioNTech vesting with companies at such and exceeded levels seen in found on the surface of the
300
rization by the fall. Cambridge, Mass.-based AstraZeneca high valuations. non-hospitalized patients, ac- new coronavirus, which are
It is hard to judge experi- Moderna and Germany’s BioN- Pfizer Neither Moderna nor BioN- cording to the paper, which supposed to trigger an im-
mental vaccines based on pre- Tech SE, which is working with Tech has ever produced an ap- hasn’t yet been reviewed by mune response to the virus
225
liminary data. The early-stage Pfizer Inc., have the most ad- proved drug or vaccine. More independent experts. once injected.
studies that have produced re- vanced messenger RNA, or important, investors including “It’s highly immunogenic,” Novavax started the first
sults so far weren’t designed to mRNA, vaccines in develop- Dr. Wong say they are hesitant or able to produce immune re- human study of its vaccine in
150
show whether the vaccines ment. The pair are based on the to shift cash into shares that sponses, Gregory Glenn, May in Australia, enrolling
truly protect people from genetic sequence of the virus, have increased so much this Novavax’s president of re- about 130 people ages 18 years
Covid-19—only to test safety not a weakened coronavirus or year. “They’re pricing in a fair search and development, said to 59 years. Subjects received
75

.
and immune responses. proteins from the virus. Using amount of success,” says Dr. in an interview. two shots, three weeks apart.
It is even more difficult the genetic information, re- Wong, whose firm doesn’t own The vaccine also induced a

ly
comparing results across stud- searchers designed the shots to shares of leading vaccine mak- favorable type of response
0
ies, partly because of differ- deliver mRNA programmed to ers. from other components of the
ences in how immune re- direct a person’s cells to make In recent days, Neuberger immune system, known as T-
The company said
sponses are measured, says
Christian Koch, a portfolio
manager at investment firm BB
Biotech AG in Küsnacht, Swit-
proteins that, in turn, trigger
the immune system to produce
antibodies to the coronavirus.
The technology hasn’t
on
J F M A M J J A
–75

Note: ADR performance shown for AstraZeneca

zerland, a longtime shareholder yielded an approved vaccine
us ,
Berman, a longtime owner of
shares of vaccine makers, also
turned cautious about buying
shares of many of the vaccine
cells, which researchers think
may help avoid a rare compli-
cation when a vaccine worsens
the severity of disease.
results support more
testing, including a
final-stage study.
and BioNTech companies, including Moderna Novavax, of Gaithersburg,

of Moderna Inc., a vaccine before. Yet data from the early Source: FactSet and BioNTech, on the heels of Md., said the results support
l

front-runner. trials are giving some investors their recent surge. further testing, including a
e
al a

Nor is it guaranteed the vac- more confidence mRNA vac- ence side effects, including fe- “It was more based on share large, 30,000-person final- Of the different regimens
cines will succeed in the large, cines will roll out in the months ver, headaches and chills. prices, not clinical data,” says stage study slated to start in tested, the most optimal ap-
pivotal studies just starting to ahead. “They’re not safety signals Terri Towers, a managing di- the fall. That study will test peared to be a lower dose of
ci on

get under way. Most experi- “The early trial data from
mental vaccines fail in testing. mRNA companies has been the
Researchers aren’t even certain most pleasant surprise,” says
the vaccines are stimulating Rod Wong, managing partner
enough antibodies to prevent of New York health-care invest-
er s
that are very concerning;
they’re expected, but you don’t
want to give a child something
that will give them a fever or a
headache for two days,” says
rector at the investment firm,
referring to the firm’s stance.
Uncertainties remain. Scien-
tists say they still don’t know
how long the vaccines would
whether the immune re-
sponses triggered by the vac-
cine safely protect people
from Covid-19.
The company is one of sev-
the vaccine with an adjuvant,
which is a component designed
to enhance immune responses.
It “is very attractive from a
manufacturing standpoint. You

the virus. ment firm RTW Investments LP. Florian Krammer, a professor provide protection, if at all. eral that have received hefty can make a huge number of
“There is remarkable prog- “They’re exactly what you of microbiology at the Icahn Shots might only reduce the se- funding from the U.S. govern- doses,” Dr. Glenn said.
m er

ress and encouraging evidence would hope the animal data
of immunogenicity,” says Geof- would translate into.”
frey Porges, an SVB Leerink The mRNA shots didn’t
biotech analyst. “But now we’re cause side effects that were
in the big race. This is the Ken- considered life-threatening or
m rp
School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai in New York.
Shares of Moderna have
soared about 300% since the
start of the year, largely be-
verity of symptoms in certain
people, rather than fending off
infection.
“It’s good to be cautiously
optimistic, but I’d emphasize
ment to support manufactur-
ing and testing of coronavirus
vaccine doses. Novavax will re-
ceive up to $1.6 billion, and in
turn has pledged to deliver
Study subjects experienced
side effects including tender-
ness and pain at the injection
site, headaches and fatigue.
Novavax said most side effects

tucky Derby, and they have to requiring hospitalization in
enroll the patients and then Phase 1 testing of relatively
show clinical efficacy.” young, healthy volunteers. Yet
Still, the significance of the some study subjects did experi-
co Fo
cause of the company’s corona- the cautious part,” says Peter 100 million doses for use in were generally mild and didn’t
virus vaccine efforts. BioNTech Hotez, dean of the National the U.S., starting by the end of last long, but there were some
stock has risen 152% year to School of Tropical Medicine at the year assuming clinical tri- more severe cases of fatigue
date. Baylor College of Medicine. als are successful. and muscle pain.

Scientists Enlist Antibody Treatments in Fight Against Virus

BY FELIZ SOLOMON Immune Helpers
Monoclonal antibody therapies are synthetic antibody treatments U.S. Launches Covid
SINGAPORE—Scientist Con-
rad Chan spent months
that could provide a ‘bridge’ of immunity until vaccines are ready. Drug Research
hunched over trays of test Without any antibodies, The antibody acts as a blocker,
tubes containing coronavirus the coronavirus will bind preventing the virus from
antibodies, looking for needles to receptors on human cells. attaching. WASHINGTON—The Na-
in a haystack. By mid-June, he tional Institutes of Health
SARS-CoV-2 Antibody
n-

had found them: five of the an- said it is launching wide-

tibodies he believed would be ranging studies of potential
best-suited to neutralize the Covid-19 drugs known as
pathogen that causes Covid-19. monoclonal antibodies.
no

His is one of a few dozen Anthony S. Fauci, who

studies under way in the heads the NIH institute over-
global push to develop mono- seeing the work, said monoclo-
DSO NATIONAL LABORATORIES

clonal antibody therapies— nal antibodies have great poten-

drugs known as “mAbs” that tial because they are specifically
can both prevent and fight in- designed to block the virus
fection. They are made by Human cell Receptors Source: Siemens from infecting a human cell.
screening hundreds of thou- The National Institute of
sands of antibodies found in and tested it in the lab. Now, high that it won’t matter who Allergy and Infectious Diseases
the blood of recovered pa- Dr. Chan says, he’s ready to try finishes first. Researchers at is sponsoring the clinical trials,
tients, isolating the most po- it on people. each lab work with the differ- which are part of a govern-
tent and engineering them into Conrad Chan by mid-June had found antibodies he believed would be “It’s one of the exciting ent antibodies they have dis- ment-industry collaboration
supercharged disease fighters. best-suited to neutralize the pathogen that causes Covid-19. things in this field,” Prof. Lane covered and modified to at- known as ACTIV, for Accelerat-
Monoclonal antibodies have said, “when you’re looking and tack the virus in different ing Covid-19 Therapeutic Inter-
been used to fight illnesses for cells to help patients recover. days before adding a special the needle in the haystack sort ways, and doctors might be ventions and Vaccines.
decades. The first mAbs treat- They also prevent infection by ingredient that helps them see of glows at you.” able to choose from a patch- The beginning steps of
ment was licensed in the U.S. latching onto the virus and whether the antibodies work— Monoclonal antibody ther- work of therapies depending the work will focus on one
in 1986 to help kidney trans- blunting its outer surface so it a bioluminescent chemical, apy is similar to—and poten- on patients’ needs. monoclonal antibody from Eli
plant patients accept their can’t adhere to healthy cells. called luciferase and derived tially more potent than—conva- The immunity the drugs Lilly & Co., called LY-CoV555,
new organ. The method has “The virus is like a sticky from fireflies. If the antibodies lescent plasma transfusion, an provide won’t last very long— but are expected to broaden
since been modified to treat ball that loves to grab onto work, they protect the healthy experimental treatment that in- probably only about one month to studies of a series of
cancers including leukemia, as the cells inside the body,” said cells from infection and keep volves transferring blood per dose, scientists say. But in monoclonal antibodies and
well as autoimmune disorders David Lane, chief scientist at them alive. The living cells plasma from recovered patients the absence of a vaccine, the even other antiviral drugs.
like rheumatoid arthritis and A*STAR, the Singapore gov- possess an organic compound into people with Covid-19 to drugs could protect high-risk The first of two studies
Crohn’s disease. ernment’s leading scientific that reacts to luciferase, glow- help them fight the illness. individuals, like health-care will initially involve 220 pa-
Scientists are now seeking research agency, which also is A plasma sample might workers or people with immu- tients with moderate disease
to apply it to fight Covid-19. working on developing a ther- contain thousands of antibod- nodeficiency disorders. They who don’t require hospitaliza-
Such treatments, they say, apy. “If you imagine those ies, most of which do little; could also be used in combina- tion. Half will get the Lilly
could provide a “bridge” of re- spikes on the coronavirus
Scientists say such mAbs isolate specific mole- tion with contact tracing to drug, and half will get an in-
lief until a vaccine is ready. cells, we’re putting something treatments could be cules in a concentrated serum. stop or slow transmission. travenous saline placebo. The
Two drugmakers in the on them that blocks them so Because they are synthetic, DSO and two other labs in study could expand to other
U.S., Eli Lilly and Regeneron, they can’t infect anyone.”
a ‘bridge’ until a they can be engineered to be Singapore—A*STAR and Ty- investigational drugs.
each are advancing mAbs in Dr. Chan’s long quest began vaccine is ready. stronger and faster, and to at- chan—are at various stages in The beginning stage of the
human trials, while others, with small vials of blood tack the virus at various studies that could conclude trial will evaluate safety. If
mostly in Europe and Asia, are drawn from recovered pa- stages. “You hone the antibody within months, they said. safety is demonstrated, the
hot on their heels. Dr. Chan’s tients. He and his colleagues to do what you want it to do,” Their approvals are likely to study will convert into assess-
team at DSO National Labora- separated the white blood ing like tiny lightbulbs. said Dr. Brendon Hanson, an- be fast-tracked if the trials are ing the drug in a total of 2,000
tories in Singapore has cleared cells and mixed them with This faint shimmer is im- other scientist at DSO. successful, the scientists said, patients. The goal is to see if
a major hurdle, which is find- proteins that force them to perceptible to the naked eye. After they have been because similar drugs are al- people can avoid hospitalization
ing the right antibodies. produce the Y-shaped mole- Dr. Chan and his colleagues tweaked, they can be mass- ready in use treating certain or death by day 28 of the trial.
“Ask anyone at any lab, and cules known as antibodies. found five viable antibodies by produced and administered in types of cancer and rheuma- The second study will evaluate
they’ll tell you when some- Those antibodies were taken scanning the trays with a pho- a single intravenous dose. Fur- toid arthritis. the Lilly drug, and later other
thing like this happens, we all from the sample and isolated, tometer, similar to the tool ther modification could even- “In case nobody realized agents, in hospitalized patients.
jump for joy,” Dr. Chan said. each one mixed with a combi- used by photographers to tually enable doctors to inject this, in a pandemic there’s a Lilly is separately studying
Early studies show a range nation of the virus and healthy gauge exposure. The mixture them into a patient’s muscle real need to move fast,” Dr. its drug to see if it can prevent
of potential uses for the drugs cells, and set in plastic trays containing one of the antibod- tissue, a simpler delivery Hanson said. “We just want Covid-19 infections among
in both sick and healthy peo- to incubate. Then they waited. ies, AOD01, was brighter than method. things to get back to normal. long-term-care residents.
ple. They mimic the immune They let the virus and anti- the rest. Scientists expect global de- We’re all sick of wearing —Thomas M. Burton
system and attack infected bodies battle it out for several They isolated it, cloned it mand for the drugs to be so masks.”
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Blast Kills Dozens on Beirut Waterfront
A fire in the Lebanese
capital’s port triggers
an explosion that
injures thousands
BY NAZIH OSSEIRAN
AND JARED MALSIN
BEIRUT—Dozens of people
were killed and thousands
more injured after a massive
explosion caused by a ware-
house fire rocked Lebanon’s
capital city of Beirut.
The warehouse at Beirut’s
port held highly explosive ma-
terial, a Lebanese army official
said, adding that the blast was
likely caused by a fire and
wasn’t an attack. President
Trump, however, on Tuesday
evening called it a “terrible at-
tack” and said U.S. military
leaders believe the explosion
was caused by “a bomb of
some kind.”
The explosive material,
which Lebanese officials iden-
tified as ammonium nitrate,
had been kept at the ware-
house for six years, according
to Prime Minister Hassan
Diab. “All those responsible
for this catastrophe will pay
the price,” Mr. Diab said.
At least 50 people were
killed and 2,750 wounded due
to the explosion, Lebanon’s
health minister said.
The blast is a blow for Leba-
non, which is already reeling
China Aids
Saudi Plan
On Energy
Continued from Page One
consternation in Israel, where
officials have warily monitored
Saudi Arabia’s nuclear work.
The Saudi Energy Ministry
said it “categorically denies”
having built a uranium-ore facil-
ity in the area described by
some of the Western officials,
adding that mineral extrac-
tion—including uranium—is a
key part of the country’s eco-
nomic-diversification strategy.
The ministry said the king-
dom has contracted with the
Chinese on uranium explora-
tion in Saudi Arabia in certain
areas. A spokesman declined
to elaborate.
Saudi Arabia has no known
nuclear-weapons program, op-
erating reactors or capacity to
enrich uranium. But it says it
wants to acquire nuclear plants
Saudi authorities say will gen-
erate power and reduce its reli-
ance on oil, its principal export.
Information about the yel-
lowcake facility has been
tightly held within U.S. and al-
lied governments, the officials
said, and some details couldn’t
be learned—including whether
it has begun operations. The
site doesn’t violate interna-
no
tional agreements the Saudis
have signed, experts on nu-
clear nonproliferation said.
Yellowcake is a milled form
of uranium ore that occurs nat-
urally in Saudi Arabia and
neighboring countries such as
Jordan. It is produced by chem-
ically processing uranium ore
into a fine powder. It takes mul-
tiple steps and technology to
process and enrich uranium suf-
ficiently for it to power a civil
nuclear energy plant. At very
high enrichment levels, uranium
can fuel a nuclear weapon.
The yellowcake facility might
represent the kingdom’s “lon-
ger-term hedge against a nu-
AHMED YOSRI/REUTERS
A Western official said the facility is located in the general vicinity of al Ula, in northwest Saudi Arabia.
* *
The explosion occurred at a warehouse that stored explosive material, according to officials.
from multiple crises in recent
months, ranging from large
street protests over govern-
ment corruption to an econ-
omy on the brink of collapse
after years of mismanagement
and the coronavirus pandemic.
The explosion destroyed
one of Lebanon’s most impor-
tant international ports and
caused severe damage to Bei-
rut’s cosmopolitan city center,
with its restaurants, bars and
apartment buildings, and its
iconic corniche waterfront on
the Mediterranean.
The shock wave and vast
plume of smoke transformed
the city center, blanketing it
clear Iran,” said Ian Stewart of
the James Martin Center for
Nonproliferation Studies. It is
onwas signed with China Nuclear
“another step in the direction of
having an indigenous uranium-
enrichment program,” he said.
us ,
Olli Heinonen, the former
l
deputy director of the Interna-
e
al a
tional Atomic Energy Agency
who is at the Stimson Center
think tank, agreed the facil-
ci on
ity’s construction suggested
the Saudis were trying to keep
their options open. He said the
yellowcake facility alone
wouldn’t mark a significant
er s
advance unless the yellowcake
is converted into a compound
m er
known as uranium hexafluor-
The kingdom insists
m rp
that any nuclear
program it pursues
will be peaceful.
co Fo
ide and then enriched. But he
said of the Saudis, “Where is
the transparency? If you claim
your program is peaceful, why
not show what you have?”
The Chinese Embassy in
Washington didn’t respond to
a request to comment. Iran
has denied it is interested in
developing nuclear weapons.
Iranian officials didn’t respond
n-
to a request to comment.
A State Department spokes-
person declined to say whether
Washington has raised the is-
sue with Riyadh but said the
U.S. has warned all its partners
about the danger of engage-
ment with China’s civilian nu-
clear establishment.
One Western official said the
facility is located in a remote
desert location in the general
vicinity of al Ula, a small city in
northwest Saudi Arabia.
Two officials said it was
constructed with the help of
two Chinese entities. While
the identities of these entities
couldn’t be learned, the China
National Nuclear Corp. signed
a memorandum of understand-
ing with Saudi Arabia in 2017
to help explore its uranium de-
WORLD NEWS
in dust and debris as stunned
residents fled their homes and
rushed the wounded to hospi-
tals. Vehicles carried the in-
jured, their arms and legs
hanging limp from car win-
dows. Ambulances struggled
to part the traffic. Dust hung
in the air.
Bloody and injured people
tried to wave down ambu-
lances, which had to navigate
streets filled with debris and
wrecked cars.
The Lebanese health minis-
try requested that the
wounded be brought to hospi-
tals outside Beirut to relieve
pressure on facilities in the
posits. A second agreement
Engineering Group Corp. That
followed a 2012 pact an-
nounced between Riyadh and
Beijing to cooperate on peace-
ful uses of nuclear energy.
Saudi Arabia only has the
most limited safeguards agree-
ment with the International
Atomic Energy Agency. The
country was among the last to
sign the old version of a so-
called Small Quantities Proto-
col in the 2000s, which doesn’t
oblige it to disclose the yel-
lowcake site to the agency.
The IAEA and Saudi Arabia
have talked about replacing
that agreement, although Ri-
yadh hasn’t committed to the
most advanced type of IAEA
oversight accord. Known as
the Additional Protocol, it al-
lows widespread inspection of
nuclear and nonnuclear facili-
ties and has extensive report-
ing requirements.
As of early 2020, more than
150 countries—including the
U.S. and Iran, but not Israel—
have signed Additional Proto-
cols, according to the IAEA,
which promotes peaceful uses
of nuclear energy and enacts
safeguards against nuclear-
weapons proliferation.
The Saudi Energy Ministry’s
statement said the kingdom’s
“nuclear program fully com-
plies with all relevant interna-
tional legal frameworks and
instruments governing nuclear
energy and its peaceful use.”
The Trump administration
has discussed selling reactors
and nuclear technology to Saudi
Arabia, a close security ally. But
U.S. arms-control negotiator
Marshall Billingslea, restating
U.S. policy, said at a July 21 con-
gressional hearing that Saudi
Arabia must first agree to re-
quirements known as the “Gold
Standard” of nuclear oversight.
That means the kingdom
would need to forswear the
enrichment of uranium, which
is several steps beyond pro-
ducing yellowcake. It also
would need to refrain from re-
processing spent fuel, which
could enable a nation to de-
velop nuclear weapons, and
Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | A7
At the Hôtel-Dieu de France cades. Residents described it
hospital, a young girl with a as larger than the truck bomb
bandaged head and blood- that killed former Prime Min-
soaked princess shirt was sit- ister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and
ting on a table, crying out for rivaling the bombs dropped by
her father, who was sitting on Israeli warplanes during the
the floor nearby with a ban- 2006 war that devastated Leb-
daged head and his legs ele- anon. The damage included ar-
ANWAR AMRO/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
vated. Nearby, doctors worked eas in the city center that
to try to save a boy on a mat were rebuilt following the Leb-
on the floor of the hospital. anese civil war that raged
Riad Toghosian was in his throughout the 1980s.
restaurant several miles away In 1983, a massive truck
from the site of the blast. “The bombing killed 241 Americans
walls and the glass shattered at a Marine Corps compound
on us. It was like a giant in Beirut, the first time a vehi-
earthquake,” he said. cle bomb was used to such
In Gemmayzeh, a Beirut devastating effect in the coun-
neighborhood near the blast try. In 2015, a double suicide
known for its trendy bars and attack by Islamic State attack-
restaurants, a team of Red ers killed at least 43 Beirut
Cross workers treated the residents.
wounded in a parking lot. The The explosion comes amid
workers stopped a passing car increasing tension between Is-
capital, the state news agency and asked them to get one of rael and Hezbollah. The Israeli
reported. Lebanese President the injured to the hospital. military said last week that it
Michel Aoun directed the mili- “They won’t die. They need exchanged fire with Hezbollah
tary to help respond to the to get to the hospital,” the militants on its border with
blast, the agency also reported. worker yelled at the driver. Lebanon. Prime Minister Ben-
“Having witnessed the hor- “They will admit you. They jamin Netanyahu has warned
rific explosions at the Port this know you are coming,” he said. repeatedly that Hezbollah was
evening, our heartfelt sympa- The blast was so large that embroiling Lebanon in a con-
thies go out to the victims and residents reported noise and flict with Israel.
their families. We mourn each rattling windows some 140 An Israeli government offi-
loss from this terrible tragedy miles away in Cyprus, accord- cial said Israel had no involve-
alongside the Lebanese peo- ing to the European-Mediterra- ment in the explosion in Bei-
ple,” said the U.S. ambassador nean Seismological Centre, an rut. The Israeli military
in Beirut, Dorothy Shea, ac- independent scientific body declined to comment on the
cording to the embassy’s offi- that monitors earthquakes. incident.
cial Twitter account. It was one of the most pow- —Dion Nissenbaum
Hospitals quickly over- erful blasts in memory in Bei- and Isabel Coles in Beirut
.
flowed with those arriving rut, a city that has survived a and Dov Lieber in Tel Aviv
with injuries from the blast. series of wars in recent de- contributed to this article.
ly
would need to sign the IAEA The Saudis insist that any
Additional Protocol.
“The reason we do nuclear
nuclear program they pursue
will be peaceful.
technology development deals The King Abdullah City for
with countries is so that they
will commit to the Gold Stan-
Atomic and Renewable Energy,
which oversees such work,
dard and commit to a working states on its website “Saudi
relationship with the United Arabia has Uranium resources
States. The Saudis are trying that can be used to produce
JACQUELYN MARTIN/PRESS POOL
to have it both ways, and we nuclear fuel for future National
can’t allow them to get away power reactors and for [the]
with that,” Sen. Chris Murphy uranium international market.”
(D., Conn.) said. Riyadh has expressed a de-
“My guess is that one of the sire to master all aspects of
reasons to go to the Chinese is the nuclear-fuel cycle.
that it doesn’t come with the Plans to issue tenders to
same controls that coordina- construct its first two large nu-
tion with the United States clear-power reactors, however, Saudi Crown Prime Mohammed
does,” Mr. Murphy said. have repeatedly been delayed. bin Salman aims to counter Iran.
their finest hour
english skeleton clock
Mechanical brilliance. Exceptional precision. Horological artistry.
Both visually stunning and technically complex, this skeleton
clock is the work of the renowned Birmingham firm, Evans of
Handsworth. The timepiece features a fusée movement housed
within a triple-layer brass frame marvelously crafted as a faithful
rendition of London’s St. James Palace. Set upon a velvet-covered
plinth beneath its custom glass dome, this clock is a beauty and
a rarity. Circa 1885. 111/2”w x 8”d x 221/2 ”h. #31-1448
622 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA • 877-677-2801 • ws@rauantiques.com • msrau.com
Since 1912, M.S. Rau has specialized in the world’s finest art, antiques and jewelry.
Backed by our unprecedented 125% Guarantee, we stand behind each and every piece.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

A8 | Wednesday, August 5, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

WORLD NEWS

Trump’s TikTok Push Fans China’s Anger

President's call for cluding Google’s former coun-
try head, lambasted the U.S. as
U.S. to take a cut from unfairly stifling China’s first
any forced sale of app global internet hit—while de-
fending Beijing’s own restric-
sparks renewed outcry tions on American technology
giants.
BY EVA XIAO The U.S. has “never offered
any evidence for the accusa-
HONG KONG—President tions against it,” venture capi-
Trump’s suggestion that the talist Kai-fu Lee, who oversaw
U.S. government take a cut the China operations of Alpha-
from the forced sale of the bet Inc.’s Google from 2005 to
U.S. operations of the viral 2009, wrote in a private mes-
Chinese app TikTok sparked a sage about TikTok that was
new round of anger and reflec- leaked and circulated widely
tion in China, as TikTok’s online on Tuesday.
founder warned employees The fate of TikTok, which
about “rising anti-Chinese the U.S. says poses national
sentiment.” security risks to its 100 mil-
On Tuesday, a number of lion American users, appeared
prominent figures in China, in- to be thrown into question
over the weekend. On Friday,
Mr. Trump floated an outright
ban on the short-video app,
temporarily halting negotia-
tions between Microsoft Corp.
and TikTok’s parent Byte-
Dance Ltd. for the app’s U.S.
operations. That fueled
charges in China that the U.S.
was unfairly blocking a suc-
cessful Chinese product.
But Mr. Trump’s remark on
Monday that the U.S. govern-
ment should benefit finan-
cially from the deal stirred a
new wave of public anger in
China.
Hu Xijin, the editor in chief
of the Global Times, a Commu-
nist Party-backed tabloid, de-
rided Mr. Trump’s demand
that the U.S. Treasury receive
a “very substantial” portion of until New Delhi banned the country’s online censorship
the proceeds as “open rob- app following a deadly border apparatus, dubbed the “Great
bery.” clash with China in June. Firewall,” bars mainland Chi-
“The world is watching and In a reflection of the pres- nese users from accessing a
God is watching…how Presi- sure that the TikTok founder host of websites and overseas
dent Trump is turning the is also facing at home, Mr. platforms, including news
once great America into a Zhang also restricted access to sites and social media, without
rogue country,” Mr. Hu wrote. his personal page on China’s technical workarounds.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yiming, Twitter-like Weibo service af- Over the weekend, James
the 37-year-old founder of Tik- ter Chinese social-media users Liang, co-founder and chair-
Tok and Beijing-based Byte- slammed him for “kneeling” to man of Chinese online travel
Dance, told employees on the U.S. by considering selling giant Trip.com Group Ltd.,
Tuesday in an internal letter TikTok’s U.S. operations to Mi- suggested taking down the
reviewed by The Wall Street crosoft. Great Firewall and opening the
Journal to disregard any The TikTok saga has reig- country up to Western play-
“short-term praise or loss and nited discussions around Bei- ers—a move that he said
patiently do the right thing.” jing’s own restrictions on U.S. would “thoroughly smash” the
Mr. Zhang acknowledged tech companies, namely the legitimacy of the U.S.’s TikTok
the geopolitical winds that the blocking of Facebook Inc., policy. Mr. Liang’s post was
service is facing, including in Twitter Inc. and Alphabet quickly removed.
India, which was TikTok’s big- Inc.’s Google, whose services Trip.com didn’t respond to
gest market by app downloads are inaccessible in China. The a request to comment.

Ban Threat Opens Door to Rival Platforms NSA Issues

BY DEEPA SEETHARAMAN
AND EUIRIM CHOI
A TikTok ban in the U.S.
wouldn’t be the first time so-
Warning
Unfamiliar names such as
byte and Triller have charged
cial-media influencers have had
to forcibly abandon their large
followings and move to unfa-
On Phone
up the Apple App Store rank-
ings because they offer short
videos like those on TikTok, the
miliar platforms. India this
summer banned many Chinese
apps, including TikTok, amid a
Tracking
social-media breakout facing an dispute between the two coun- BY BYRON TAU
uncertain future in the U.S. tries. When Twitter Inc. effec- AND DUSTIN VOLZ
These nascent rivals are ac- tively shut down Vine, a social-
tively courting TikTok users, media app that allowed users WASHINGTON—The National
especially top influencers, in to share short video clips, in Security Agency issued new
some instances offering cash 2016, many of the platform’s guidance for military and intel-

.
payments to creators. They are biggest stars were forced to re- ligence-community personnel,
trying to capitalize on a ques- build their followings on You- warning about the risks of cell-

ly
tion that is dominating social- Tube and Instagram. phone location tracking through
WU HONG/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

media chatter: What happens Clash, co-founded by a for- apps, wireless networks and
if TikTok really goes away? mer Vine creator, launched Fri- Bluetooth technology.
Kyle Thomas, a 15-year-old
TikTok user with more than 16
million followers, said he
would be upset without Tik-
on day night, hours after Mr.
Trump expressed opposition to
a TikTok sale and said he pre-
ferred to ban the app altogether.
The detailed warning on
Tuesday from one of the U.S.’s
top intelligence agencies is an
acknowledgment that Silicon
Tok. “I spend all of my time on Clash CEO Brendon McNer- Valley’s practice of collecting
us ,

it. As much as it is my job, it’s ney said he was sitting on a and selling cellphone location
l

also my entertainment,” he Beijing-based ByteDance is facing pressure from the White House to sell the U.S. operations of TikTok. plane in a Vine sweatshirt when information for advertising and
e
al a

said. “If I can’t have it, I he got the news that Twitter marketing purposes poses a se-
wouldn’t be sure what to do.” istration officials have said Tok stars to hedge their bets. Google Play in recent months. was shutting down the looping rious national security risk to
The founders of the short- they want TikTok to be fully “It’s the perfect time to Even with the latest rankings, video app in 2016. So he feels many inside the government.
ci on

form video app Clash said they American-owned, although
launched the service last President Trump said Monday
week—months earlier than an- he would approve a purchase
ticipated—to attract increas- of TikTok’s U.S. operations if
ingly anxious social-media the government receives “a lot
er s
play into the vulnerability and
insecurities of creators,” said
Krishna Subramanian, chief ex-
ecutive of social-media data
company Captiv8 Inc. “If Tik-
TikTok has a much larger user the pain of TikTok creators who “Location data can be ex-
base, with 100 million users in are now grappling with uncer- tremely valuable and must be
the U.S. and hundreds of mil- tainty about the fate of the so- protected. It can reveal details
lions more world-wide. cial-media powerhouse. about the number of users in a
Triller, a music and video “I actually saw the demise location, user and supply move-

stars who made their home of money” in exchange. Tok disappears, what hap- app that looks similar to Tik- of Vine,” Mr. McNerney said. ments, daily routines (user and
and livelihood on TikTok. Among the potential suitors pens? Where do you go? If Tok, has seen several influenc- “I remember how that rocked organizational), and can expose
for TikTok is Microsoft Corp.
m er

Other companies are rolling they get incentivized by a plat- ers from TikTok open accounts all my creator friends.” otherwise unknown associa-
out copycat features. Face- On Sunday, Microsoft said it form, you can easily see them over the past several weeks, Clash has been paying cre- tions between users and loca-
book Inc.’s Instagram is on the would move quickly to pursue creating content on these including this weekend. ators to test its service, and has tions,” the NSA bulletin warned.
cusp of debuting its new Tik- discussions with ByteDance and other platforms and channels.” “It’s been 24 hours of no climbed U.S. iPhone app down- Among its recommenda-
Tok-like service, called Reels. aims to complete the negotia- Triller and byte (no relation sleep,” said Ryan Kavanaugh, a load rankings in the free photo tions, the NSA advises dis-
m rp

The moves by TikTok’s large tions by Sept. 15. It isn’t clear if
and small rivals come as the a deal will come to fruition.
company’s parent, ByteDance Agents and managers of
Ltd. of Beijing, responds to an popular online influencers
unprecedented amount of have long pushed clients to
co Fo
to ByteDance) on Sunday were
ranked the top two free iPhone
apps in the U.S., while TikTok
was number five, according to
Sensor Tower data. Daily app
Hollywood veteran whose film- and video app category, ranking abling location-sharing ser-
production company Proxima No. 14 as of Monday, according vices on mobile devices,
Media invested in Triller. to Sensor Tower data. granting apps as few permis-
A spokeswoman for byte, Instagram’s Reels has offered sions as possible, and turning
created by Vine co-founder some creators hundreds of off advertising permissions.

pressure from the White House build audiences on multiple rankings tend to fluctuate but Dom Hofmann, said the com- thousands of dollars to use the The NSA also recommends
because of national-security platforms, but the current un- Triller and byte have climbed pany saw a huge influx of cre- coming feature, The Wall Street limiting mobile web browsing,
concerns. Some Trump admin- certainty has pushed some Tik- in both the App Store and ators sign up for the app. Journal previously reported. adjusting browser options to
not allow the use of location
data, and switching off set-

Microsoft tings that help track a mis-

placed or stolen phone.
Apps often collect and

CEO Steps share anonymized location

data with third-party location
data brokers who in turn sell

Into Clash their commercial products to

government and corporate
n-

customers, The Wall Street

Journal has reported. The sale
Continued from Page One of the data, especially to the
ment and last year won a poten- government, is generally done
no

tially decadelong, $10 billion without consumer awareness.

cloud-computing contract with Other services can estimate
the Pentagon, which losing bid- a phone’s location based on its
der Amazon.com Inc. is contest- proximity to other Bluetooth
ing. And while China represents devices or Wi-Fi networks.
a small part of Microsoft’s busi- More invasive technologies
ness—President Brad Smith said used by law-enforcement and
in January that China repre- intelligence services—such as
sented 1.8% of total revenue, or “Stingray” cell-tower simulators
more than $2 billion a year—re- often used by police to collect
cent successes could help it location information, as well as
grow. The company doesn’t Wi-Fi “sniffers” that can extract
RAO AIMIN/XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS

break out China sales in its fi- information about a phone

nancial filings. based on network informa-
In China, talk of a TikTok tion—can collect a phone’s loca-
sale has gone down badly. The tion without user permission.
Global Times, a Communist The warning extended be-
Party tabloid, derided the situa- yond phones, noting that fit-
tion as “the hunting and loot- ness trackers, smartwatches,
ing of TikTok by the U.S. gov- internet-connected medical de-
ernment in conjunction with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, far left, met with leaders in Beijing in 2016. The company has had good relations with both China and the U.S. vices, other smart-home de-
U.S. high-tech companies.” One vices and modern cars all con-
risk for Microsoft is that the “Because Microsoft has been making Microsoft one of only down on pirated software, said collaboration that Microsoft tain location-tracking potential.
Chinese government retaliates focused on the enterprise, it’s two companies, along with Paul Triolo, head of the global views as its next blockbuster. That data is used by com-
over the company’s role in a been a lot easier for them to op- Google parent Alphabet Inc., to technology policy practice at Between the end of January mercial entities for targeted
TikTok deal, political analysts erate in China,” said Arun Sun- send two executives. Eurasia Group, a political risk and early March, Microsoft said advertising, marketing research
have suggested, such as by tar- dararajan, a professor at New Since Mr. Trump has taken consultancy. It also has part- it had seen a 500% increase in and investment decisions. But
geting the Chinese versions of York University’s Stern School office, Microsoft has criticized nered with China’s 21Vianet meetings, calls and conferences governments world-wide are
its Bing search engine or of Business. “The conflict of in- the administration’s immigra- Group to sell its booming cloud taking place via Teams in China. increasingly interested in col-
LinkedIn, the business-focused terest between Microsoft prod- tion policies and sought excep- services locally. Microsoft’s potential deal for lecting commercial information
social-media platform that Mi- ucts and what the Chinese gov- tions to restrictions. But the In 2017, Microsoft intro- TikTok’s U.S. business has harvested from cellphones to
crosoft bought in 2016. ernment is interested in company also defended its duced a version of its Windows drawn heat from some corners do surveillance and track crimi-
Microsoft has been able to controlling are minimal.” work with U.S. Immigration and 10 software specifically for Chi- in the U.S., too. nal suspects.
keep those services running in Microsoft for years has Customs Enforcement tasked nese government use. The cus- “Microsoft helped China The advisory is intended for
China even as other tech giants maintained good relations with with implementing those poli- tomized version included a dif- build its great firewall that is Defense Department person-
have scaled back, in part by political leaders in Washington cies, and with the Pentagon af- ferent type of encryption and used to surveil and monitor nel, but acknowledges the mit-
agreeing to abide by the gov- and Beijing. Mr. Nadella hosted ter rival Google walked away other changes. and censor and imprison some- igation steps might be useful
ernment’s censorship require- President Xi Jinping of China at from bidding on the big mili- “We have designed Windows times the Chinese people,” Pe- for a range of users.
ments. Facebook Inc.’s service its headquarters in Redmond, tary cloud-computing deal. to enable the use of local en- ter Navarro, a Trump economic Most of the risks described
is banned in China. Google Wash., in 2015. A year later, the Even with its successes, the cryption for large public sector adviser, said in a Fox News in- by the NSA address general,
pulled its search engine out of CEO visited Beijing and met po- China market has long posed customers,” the company said terview over the weekend. longstanding concerns about
the country over the censoring litical leaders there. challenges for Microsoft. Ram- this week, adding it worked “We’ve got to be really careful how cellphone location data
of search results. Later in 2016, Mr. Nadella pant piracy of its Windows op- with government customers about this.” can be passively tracked, stored
What has aided Microsoft’s and Mr. Smith, who plays a ma- erating system and Office pro- elsewhere to address “issues Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), a and shared by apps, advertisers
relative success in China has jor role assisting the CEO in ductivity apps made it difficult that matter them.” longtime China critic, in a and device manufacturers. But
been its concentration under dealing with Washington, both to expand the business. During the pandemic, the tweet, called TikTok’s purchase the document also alludes to
Mr. Nadella on selling to busi- joined other top executives for Microsoft more recently has company trumpeted growth in by a U.S. company that secured sophisticated, targeted cyberat-
ness customers rather than try- a tech summit called by Mr. made progress, convincing the China of Teams, its new prod- the data “a positive & accept- tacks that can render a phone a
ing to tap consumers. Trump, then president-elect, Chinese government to crack uct for videoconferencing and able outcome.” high-value espionage tool.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or www.djreprints.com.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

.
ly
on
us ,
l
e
al a
ci on
er s
m er
m rp
co Fo
n-
no
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
no
n-
co Fo
m rp
m er
er s
ci on
al a
l
us ,
e
on
ly
.
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10
 For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints & Licensing at (800) 843-0008 or 睷眮摪牥灲楮瑳⹣潭
䙯爠灥牳潮慬Ⱐ湯渭捯浭敲捩慬⁵獥湬礮⁄漠湯琠敤楴Ⱐ慬瑥爠潲⁲数牯摵捥⸠䙯爠捯浭敲捩慬⁲数牯摵捴楯渠潲⁤楳瑲楢畴楯測⁣潮瑡捴⁄潷⁊潮敳⁒数物湴猠☠䱩捥湳楮朠慴
㠰〩‸㐳ⴰ〰㠠潲†
DJIA 26828.47 À 164.07 0.6%
What’s
News
Business & Finance
T he SEC is investigat-
ing the circumstances
around Kodak’s announce-
ment of a $765 million gov-
ernment loan to make drugs
at its U.S. factories. A1
 Ford plans to install op-
erating chief Farley as its
new CEO, putting the onus on
the executive to produce the
tangible results that eluded
predecessor Hackett. A1
 Microsoft’s bid to ac-
quire TikTok’s U.S. opera-
tions from Chinese parent
ByteDance has landed the
software giant in the middle
of U.S.-China tensions. A1, A8
 Disney reported a loss
of nearly $5 billion for its
latest quarter, as most of
its businesses reeled amid
global efforts to curb the
coronavirus’s spread. B1
 The Justice Department
is seeking as much as $18.1
billion from bankrupt opi-
oid maker Purdue Pharma,
new filings show. B1
 Mallinckrodt said it is con-
sidering filing for chapter 11
over a clash with U.S. regula-
tors and liabilities stemming
from the opioid crisis. B3
 U.S. stocks rose, with
the Dow industrials adding
0.6% while the S&P 500
and Nasdaq gained 0.4%
and 0.35%, respectively. B13
 Public pension funds
set a 22-year performance
record in the second quar-
ter, recovering some but
not all of their losses from
the first quarter. B1
 The engineer at the cen-
ter of a yearslong legal battle
between Google’s self-driving
unit and Uber was sentenced
to 18 months in prison. B4
World-Wide
 Saudi Arabia has built
with Chinese help a facility
for extracting uranium yel-
lowcake from uranium ore,
an advance in the king-
dom’s drive to master nu-
clear technology. A1
 The U.S. and China have
agreed to high-level talks
on Aug. 15 to assess Bei-
jing’s compliance with the
bilateral trade agreement
signed early this year. A3
 Beirut was rocked by a
massive explosion caused by
a warehouse fire on the
city’s waterfront. The blast
killed dozens of people and
injured thousands more. A7
 White House negotiators
said they aim to reach a deal
with Democrats on a new
coronavirus relief package
by the end of the week, with
both sides saying progress
was made in their talks. A4
 Some hard-hit states ap-
peared to be getting a respite
from rising case counts and
hospitalizations as the U.S.
reported fewer than 50,000
new coronavirus cases for
the second day in a row. A5
 Rep. Roger Marshall
defeated former Kansas
Secretary of State Kris
Kobach in the state’s Re-
publican primary for a
U.S. Senate seat. A4
 Isaias churned up the
East Coast, causing flood-
ing and leaving about 2.5
million homes and busi-
nesses without power. A3
 The NSA issued new
guidance for military and in-
telligence personnel, warn-
ing about the risks of cell-
phone location tracking. A8
CONTENTS
Arts in Review... A13
Business News.. B3,5
Crossword.............. A14
Heard on Street. B14
Markets.................... B13
Opinion.............. A15-17
s 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
* * * * * WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 ~ VOL. CCLXXVI NO. 30
NASDAQ 10941.17 À 0.4% STOXX 600 363.39 g 0.1%
Dozens Killed, Thousands Hurt After Fire Ignites Beirut Blast
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
DEADLY TOLL: At least 50 people were killed and 2,750 wounded after an explosion caused by a warehouse fire in Lebanon’s
capital. The warehouse held an explosive material which Lebanese officials identified as ammonium nitrate. A7
Ford Selects ‘Car Guy’ as CEO
us ,
l
e
To Revive Profit, Chart Future
al a
ci on
BY MIKE COLIAS
Ford Motor Co. plans to in-
er s
stall Chief Operating Officer
Jim Farley as its new CEO, put-
m er
ting the onus on the executive
to produce the tangible results
that eluded his predecessor
Jim Hackett during his three-
year run in the top job.
m rp
The company said Tuesday
that Mr. Farley, 58 years old,
China Helps Power Soggy Isaias Sweeps Along the East Coast
co Fo
Saudi Nuclear Push
WASHINGTON—Saudi Ara-
bia has constructed with Chi-
nese help a facility for extract-
ing uranium yellowcake from
uranium ore, an advance in the
n-
By Warren P. Strobel,
Michael R. Gordon
and Felicia Schwartz
no
oil-rich kingdom’s drive to
master nuclear technology,
Western officials with knowl-
edge of the site said.
The facility, which hasn’t
been publicly disclosed, is in a
sparsely populated area in Saudi
Arabia’s northwest and has
raised concern among U.S. and
Cheap Pools
Roil the
Neighborhood
i i i ple. But Microsoft Corp. Chief
Above-ground
models relieve
tedium, bend rules
BY PATRICK THOMAS
AND CHIP CUTTER
Tyler McSparin and his wife
were quietly enduring the pan-
demic in their Kansas City,
Mo., home when they heard
some hammering coming from
JOE BURBANK/SENTINEL/AP
their neighbor’s yard. “I
Personal Journal A11-12 thought they were doing some
Property Report... B6
landscaping,” he says. “The
Sports....................... A14
Technology............... B4 next thing we knew, there was
U.S. News............. A2-6 a giant above-ground pool.”
Weather................... A14
World News. A7-8,18
He shared a photo on Twit-
ter in early July, fearing a re-
peat of the final scene in the
> film “Bad Boys 2,” in which
the walls of a pool abruptly
give way, unleashing a tsu-
nami. “My estimate is that it
holds about 60,000 lbs of wa-
ter,” he wrote. “And it is di-
Please turn to page A10
www.djreprints.com.
10-YR. TREAS. À 15/32 , yield 0.514%
on
will succeed Mr. Hackett, 65,
who is retiring on Oct. 1. Mr.
Hackett will remain in an advi-
sory role through next spring,
the company said.
During his tenure, Mr.
Hackett brought to Ford a
management style more akin
to Silicon Valley than Detroit,
emphasizing faster decision-
making and a “design-think-
ing” ethos that some insiders
allied officials that the king-
dom’s nascent nuclear program
is moving ahead and that Ri-
yadh is keeping open the option
of developing nuclear weapons.
Even though Riyadh is still
far from that point, the facil-
ity’s exposure appears certain
to draw concern in Congress,
where a bipartisan group of
lawmakers has expressed alarm
about Saudi nuclear-energy
plans and about Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018
vow that “if Iran developed a
nuclear bomb, we will follow
suit as soon as possible.”
It is also likely to cause
Please turn to page A7
Microsoft CEO Wades Into U.S.-China Clash
BY AARON TILLEY
Merger deals are rarely sim-
Executive Satya Nadella now is
attempting to sign a takeover
that satisfies not only both
companies involved and their
shareholders, but two govern-
ments in bitter competition for
technological clout.
INSIDE
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Disney posts $5 billion
loss for quarter from
pandemic shutdown’s
impact. B1
WSJ.com HHHH $4.00
OIL $41.70 À $0.69 GOLD $2,001.20 À $35.20 EURO $1.1805 YEN 105.72
Kodak’s
Big Loan
Disclosure
Triggers
SEC Probe
Early word of U.S. deal
for drugmaking sent
stock soaring, boosted
value of bosses’ options
BY DAVE MICHAELS
AND THEO FRANCIS
The Securities and Ex-
change Commission is investi-
gating the circumstances
around Eastman Kodak Co.’s
announcement of a $765 mil-
lion government loan to make
drugs at its U.S. factories, ac-
cording to people familiar
with the matter.
News of the loan last week
caused Kodak’s shares to rise
as high as $60, before falling
to about $15 on Monday due
to a dilution in the shares. The
shares ended Tuesday at
.
$14.40. Amid the heightened
volatility, trading volume has
ly
surged. The price spike briefly
produced a potential windfall
for company executives who
owned stock-option grants,
some of which were granted
on July 27, the day before the
loan was officially announced.
The SEC’s investigation is
at an early stage and might
not produce allegations of
wrongdoing by the company
or any individuals, the people
familiar with the matter said.
Among the areas being probed
by regulators: how Kodak con-
say helped spawn some well- was already struggling to re- trolled disclosure of the loan,
received vehicles. vamp its money-losing over- word of which began to
But his efforts weren’t seas operations when the coro- emerge on July 27, causing
enough to lift the company’s navirus pandemic depressed Kodak’s stock price to rise 25%
bottom line or share price, sales and forced auto makers that day.
which sank 40% during his to shut down their factories. In The Wall Street Journal re-
time as CEO. recent months, Ford has scram- ported last week that Kodak had
Mr. Farley will be under bled to borrow money as it shared information about an
pressure to quickly build on burned through billions of dol- agreement between the com-
what he called a strong founda- lars in cash. The company’s pany and the Trump administra-
tion left by his predecessor. U.S. factories have recovered tion with media outlets before
He inherits a company that Please turn to page A2 Please turn to page A2
MATT SLOCUM/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A stranded motorist walked down a flooded street in Philadelphia on Tuesday as Tropical Storm
Isaias hit, leaving millions without power from North Carolina to Massachusetts. A3
If it pans out, the acquisition Already, Mr. Nadella has that part of the purchase price
of TikTok’s U.S. operations
from Chinese parent ByteDance
been in an unconventional pos-
ture for CEO, having talked
for the deal go to the U.S. Trea-
sury—a term some observers
Ltd. could be a boon to Micro- with President Trump on the called inappropriate.
soft’s business, giving it 100 phone about the deal on Sun- The stakes are high for Mi-
million mostly young users to day. Then, in a statement, the crosoft. The company has big
bolster its consumer-facing op- CEO took the unusual step of business with the U.S. govern-
erations. But the pursuit of Tik- thanking the president for his Please turn to page A8
Tok has put the software giant personal involvement in the ne-
at the center of the U.S.-China gotiations. On Monday, Mr.  TikTok users are drawn to
firestorm. Trump, a Republican, insisted rival platforms.......................... A8
The Covid Limbo: Patients Who
Stay Weeks in Intensive Care
Charges total $1.9 million for Salvatore Mazzara, hospitalized 44 days
BY MELANIE EVANS tested other therapies in an effort to keep him
alive. He was put on a ventilator and when its
Josephine Mazzara watched her husband prolonged use posed a danger, they delivered
disappear into a Manhattan emergency room, oxygen directly through a hole cut in Mr. Maz-
unable to follow and uncertain when she zara’s throat.
would see him again. He survived. But he didn’t leave the hospi-
Once inside, doctors quickly diagnosed Sal- tal for six weeks.
vatore Mazzara with Covid-19. Soon, the 48- Covid-19 has proven a surprising disease,
year-old’s lungs, kidneys and heart would give with some patients experiencing few or even
out. Doctors tried experimental drugs and Please turn to page A10