Post Reports

How one sperm donor found out he has 19 children -- and learned the promises and perils of online genetic testing. And, how dogs can sniff out diseases, including the coronavirus. 
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When Bryce Cleary donated his sperm in 1989, he was told he would have five donor children at most and all would be located on the East Coast, his own role hidden behind anonymity. Kyle Swenson reports that with the advent of genealogical websites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe, Cleary realized he one day might be revealed to the children he helped bring into the world.
As the novel coronavirus continues to ravage the world, researchers are racing to find a faster way to detect it. Frances Stead Sellers reports that nine dogs at the University of Pennsylvania are being trained to sniff out the disease.
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On today’s Post Reports, record-breaking wildfires are already spreading up the West Coast – and the fire season has only just begun. How a Homeland Security whistleblower was told to stop reports on potential Russian interference in the 2020 election. And, the issues with the new “Mulan.” 
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The Bay Area skies changed basically overnight, says Washington Post reporter Heather Kelly. One day “it was orange. It looked like Mars. It was dark. It was depressing.” 
As wildfires in the western United States rage on, it’s difficult to imagine the size of the wildfires, says extreme weather editor Andrew Freedman. “It is the entire distance, essentially, from the U.S. border with Canada in Washington state, to the U.S. border with Mexico in Southern California. That entire expanse is affected to some extent.”
A DHS whistleblower was told to cease intelligence reports on the threat of Russian interference ahead of the 2020 election. National security reporter Shane Harris says the whistleblower was told to stop in part because “it made the president look bad.” 
High expectations for Disney’s remake of “Mulan” have been tempered and riddled by geopolitics. Foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor says it’s a battle that Disney did not plan on having. 
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The Justice Department seeks to intervene to the benefit of President Trump in a defamation case brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of raping her decades ago. Unemployed Americans say they won’t forget inaction by Congress. Plus, whether there’s a future for karaoke.
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Reporter Matt Zapotosky on the Justice Department’s case for defending the president in a year-old defamation suit.
People hurting financially in the U.S. say they won’t forget Congress’s lack of action during the pandemic, according to economics correspondent Heather Long.
Nightlife reporter Fritz Hahn says singing in public isn’t the safest thing to do during a pandemic. But karaoke super fans are eager for the fun to return.
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The postmaster general faces new allegations of campaign finance violations. Why the pandemic is making it so hard for people to sleep. And your questions about immunity, answered. 
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Investigative reporter Aaron Davis has discovered that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s prolific campaign fundraising was bolstered for more than a decade by a practice that left many employees feeling pressured to make political contributions to GOP candidates –– money DeJoy later reimbursed through bonuses, former employees say.
Health and science reporter Karin Brulliard has noticed that the pandemic is making it harder for her (and a lot of other people) to sleep. Experts say this “coronasomnia” could imperil public health.
General assignment reporter Meryl Kornfield recently asked immunologists all your immunity-related questions. Some of their responses are encouraging. 
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The beginnings of the Florida Man meme, and what it’s like to go viral on the worst day of your life.
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Is It okay to laugh at Florida Man? Writer Logan Hill investigates what happens after someone goes viral as the “world’s worst superhero”— and the moral implications of laughing along.
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The story of a Nicaraguan dissident who — in fear for his life and his family’s — sought asylum at the border. U.S. officials sent him back instead.
Moises Alberto Ortega Valdivia is a political dissident from Nicaragua who sought asylum in the U.S. He was denied that right. What happened next at the border was “shocking,” says Post correspondent Kevin Sieff. “To them and to basically anyone who follows immigration law.” 
After the Post published this article, Congress members wrote to President Trump, demanding Nicaraguan asylum seekers be allowed to apply. 
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On today’s Post Reports, how presidential candidates are shifting their focus to the Midwest. How the pandemic is making us pay more for less at the grocery store. And how grocery store workers morale is at an all-time low.
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is shifting his strategy in an attempt to win the Midwest. Matt Viser reports that the intentional contrast with President Trump makes the region the most crucial battleground in the 2020 campaign. 
What’s on your grocery store shelves? Turns out, it’s a lot less, for a lot more. Laura Reiley reports on how the pandemic is affecting the food supply chain. 
“They don’t even treat us like humans anymore”: Abha Bhatarrai explains how grocery store worker’s morale is at an all-time low. 
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On today’s Post Reports, how distance learning widens the digital divide and leaves disconnected students behind. The unique challenges of special education during the pandemic. And, the toxic side of positivity.
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Education reporter Moriah Balingit on how schoolchildren are being locked out of virtual classrooms because of poor Internet connections. As many of the nation’s classrooms are moving online, more than 17 million students do not have high-speed Internet at home. 
As schools reopen, education reporter Perry Stein says that “the stakes are high for everyone. They are high for every child who’s not in school. But they are particularly high for special education kids.” 
The world has been turned upside, and experts say it’s okay if you’re not okay with that. Wellness reporter Allyson Chiu reports on the toxic effects of forced positivity. 
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Tech reporter Rachel Lerman on why President Trump wants to ban TikTok, and what a ban could mean for users and employees in the United States. Emily Rauhala explains what the pandemic means for international students in America. Plus, Lauren Lumpkin on what it feels like to start college remotely. 
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‘45 days of ambiguity’: What a U.S. TikTok ban could mean for users and employees
Education, interrupted
Freshmen waited for their schools to share reopening plans. Then things got complicated.
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Lisa Rein reports on the Hatch Act and the uneven way the anti-corruption law has been enforced for the past three years. Matt Zapotosky breaks down what we know about Stephen K. Bannon’s arrest. And remembering actor Chadwick Boseman. 
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As Trump appointees flout the Hatch Act, civil servants who get caught get punished.
Steve Bannon has been charged with defrauding donors in a private effort to raise money for Trump’s border wall.
Chadwick Boseman praised student protesters in his 2018 commencement speech at Howard University. Watch the video.