DALLAS, Ga. — A Georgia high school plans to start the week with all classes shifting online after nine students and staff tested positive for the coronavirus when the school year opened last week with most students attending in-person.

North Paulding High School made headlines soon after students returned to school Aug. 3 when photos posted on social media showed hallways crowded with students, and many of them not wearing masks. The school’s principal notified parents Saturday that six students and three staff members had tested positive for the virus, though it’s unknown if any were infected at school.

Ugh, what a preventable mess— The Paulding County high school that became infamous for hallways crowded with unmasked students… now reports 6 students and 3 staffers in the school now with #COVID19 after a week of classes.

WHY WHY WHY? so predictable.https://t.co/XHk7LFcv94

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) August 9, 2020

Now students will take online classes Monday and Tuesday, Paulding County Schools Superintendent Brian Ott said in a letter to parents Sunday. He said those two days will be used to clean and disinfect the school, and parents will learn Tuesday evening if in-person classes can resume later in the week.

“Hopefully we can all agree that the health and safety of our students and staff takes precedence over any other considerations at this time,” Ott said in his letter, which was obtained by Atlanta-area news outlets.

Paulding County schools spokesman Jay Dillon did not immediately return phone and text messages Sunday evening from The Associated Press.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s end run around Congress on coronavirus relief is raising questions about whether it would give Americans the economic lifeline he claims and appears certain to face legal challenges. Democrats called it a pre-election ploy that would burden cash-strapped states.

“When you look at those executive orders … the kindest thing I could say is he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or something’s wrong there,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “To characterize them as even accomplishing what they set out to do, as something that will take the place of an agreement, is just not so.”

After negotiations with lawmakers on the next package of pandemic economic assistance hit a wall, Trump used what he said were the inherent powers of the presidency to forge ahead on tax and spending policy that Congress says it is granted by the Constitution.

Trump asserted he had the authority to defer payroll taxes and extend an expired unemployment benefit, although at a lower amount than what the jobless had been getting during the crisis. His reelection chances imperiled by the pandemic, the Republican president contended his orders “will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it.”

But the orders appeared to carry less weight than Trump promoted and cut federal relief spending by shifting more onto the shoulders of struggling states. Critics said the actions crossed a legal line and fell well short of what is needed to help right the fragile economy.

“Paltry,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, given the scope of the economic and health crises.

Though certain to further strain relations with Congress, the moves were framed by the White House as the president breaking through the Washington gridlock in order to directly distribute aid. Advisers hope it will sustain an economic recovery that Trump likely needs to defeat Democrat Joe Biden in November.

With an eye on reversing his slide in the polls, Trump took full credit for the measures, which he signed at his New Jersey golf club on Saturday after congressional talks broke down this past week. Democrats initially sought a $3.4 trillion package but said they lowered their demand to $2 trillion. Republicans had proposed a $1 trillion plan.

Trump accused Democrats of trying to spend more than was needed and adding money for priorities unrelated to the pandemic. He said local aid amounted to “bailout money” for states and cities “badly run by Democrats for many years. … And we’re not willing to do that.”

The president wants to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans put out of work during the outbreak. But his order called for up to $400 payments each week, compared with the $600 that people had been receiving. Trump said states would cover 25% of this money even as many are dealing with major budget shortfalls.

As state officials questioned whether they could afford $100 per person per week, Trump offered a new angle to the plan. Speaking to reporters Sunday night as he returned to Washington, he said states could make application to have the federal government provide all or part of the $400 payments. He said decisions would be made on a state-by-state basis.

Trump said earlier that the federal contribution would be redirected from disaster relief money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency — dollars not likely to last more than two months. Shifting FEMA disaster funds also would occur as the peak of hurricane season looms and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns of an “extremely active” season already underway.

Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, struggled during a television interview Sunday morning to clearly explain the specifics of his boss’ order on unemployment aid. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the $100 share from states would come from from an earlier pool of federal money and that Trump may waive the requirement about how it can be used.

“Look, that would cost us about $500 million between now and the end of the year,” said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat. “I could take that money from testing. I don’t think that’s a great idea. I could take that money from, you know, mass disinfecting for our schools. I don’t think that’s a great idea. In fact, I think the president’s plan is not a great idea.”

Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized Trump for not doing anything to help schools trying to reopen and she said the orders were “unconstitutional slop.”

Trump also acted to defer payment of the payroll tax, a long-pushed goal that had little support from either party on Capitol Hill, and federal student loans. His order on housing is not a guarantee against eviction, as he claimed, but instead directs the departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development to identify money that could help those struggling to pay their monthly rent.

Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year, and he raised the possibility of making it permanent, though experts said he lacked that authority. The temporary deferral would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless. Employees would need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress.

The president was silent on Saturday on how he would fund Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7% tax on employee income covers. Democrats seized on the possible threat to Social Security as a signal that Trump wanted to cut the social safety net.

On Sunday night, in the wake of that criticism, Trump told reporters the money would not come from Social Security but from the Treasury if the government didn’t require workers to repay the taxes. Again, that would require congressional action.

“If the Democrats want to challenge us in court and hold up unemployment benefits to those hardworking Americans who are out of a job because of COVID, they’re going to have a lot of explaining to do,” Mnuchin said.

Both the White House and congressional Democrats indicated Sunday they wanted to resume negotiations, but no talks were scheduled.

The breakdown comes with the Nov. 3 election approaching and the White House nervously watching signs that the economic recovery is slowing down as the coronavirus surges.

“This is not presidential leadership,” Biden said. “These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good.”

Pelosi and Mnuchin were on “Fox News Sunday,” Schumer was on ABC’s “This Week” and Lamont was on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

DALLAS, Ga. (AP) — Marjorie Taylor Greene is running for Congress – and is unrepentant about her racist rhetoric and support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.

With the runoff for the Republican nomination in the conservative district approaching, some voters seem unaware of Greene’s controversial views, or shrug it off.

Greene received the most votes in the June 9 Republican primary for Georgia’s 14th Congressional District but failed to win outright. She now faces fellow Republican John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, in a runoff election Tuesday for the open seat.

The district, which stretches from the outskirts of metro Atlanta to the largely rural northwest corner of the state, is heavily conservative, and the winner of the runoff will likely earn a ticket to Washington.

Greene often communicates with supporters through stream-of-consciousness style videos posted to social media.

Shortly after the initial primary, Politico revealed a series of videos where Greene, who is white, expresses racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim views. In one of the videos she claims there’s an “Islamic invasion” into government offices. In another, she says Black and Hispanic men are being held back by “gangs and dealing drugs,” later adding, “it’s not white people.” She also has touted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, who is Jewish, collaborated with the Nazis.

Greene’s campaign did not respond to multiple interview requests from The Associated Press. But she previously addressed the criticism on Twitter. “The Fake News Media, the DC Swamp, and their radical leftist allies see me as a very serious threat. I will not let them whip me into submission,” she said without backing away from the remarks.

The unearthed videos led several high-profile Republicans to denounce her campaign. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana released a statement calling Greene’s comments “disgusting” and threw his support behind Cowan. Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia clawed back his endorsement of Greene, saying her statements are “appalling and deeply troubling.”

But many other Republican officials have remained on the sidelines.

Greene is also part of a growing list of candidates who have expressed support for QAnon, the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory popular among some supporters of President Donald Trump. Lauren Boebert, another candidate who has expressed support for QAnon, recently upset a five-term congressman in a Republican primary in Colorado.

Cowan has expressed staunch support for Trump, touting a pro-gun and pro-border wall message. He says he’ll use his experience as a doctor to improve the health care system and will push to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though he supports keeping protections for pre-existing conditions.

He has also strongly pushed back on Greene’s rhetoric.

“She loves saying inflammatory, incendiary things to get attention and to get likes and to make news, but then when she’s questioned about it, she just folds,” Cowan said in an interview. “You can’t challenge anything she’s said without being accused of being part of the ‘swamp’ or ‘fake news.'”

While Greene’s comments have caused a stir in Washington, some in her district seemed unaware or unfazed by them while casting ballots during early voting.

Kris Young, who voted for Greene at a polling site in Dallas, Georgia, on Thursday, said he hadn’t heard the criticism.

“I don’t even know if I’d buy into that,” Young said. “She’s just pro-American is what I see.”

Larry Silker, a 72-year-old retiree who cast a ballot at the same location, said he saw Greene as a “go-getter” and voted for her. Reports of Greene’s racist remarks didn’t dissuade him.

“Well yeah, you know, you see it,” he said. “But do you put faith in it?”

There were critics of Greene voting as well.

“Don’t like her. Don’t care for some of the things I’ve read about her and heard about her,” said Gene Melton, a 53-year-old truck driver.

Kerwin Swint, director of the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, said Greene initially appealed to many conservatives who want a firebrand in the seat, but that her chances of winning have been complicated as more information comes to light.

“She is not just a conservative, she is literally on the fringe of some very troubling beliefs,” Swint said.

“This is the kind of candidate that a lot of Republicans, and really I’m talking about Republican officials who are elected and appointed, sort of cringe when they hear what she says or they look at what she believes in,” he said.

Greene has also expressed strong views on the removal of Confederate monuments.

“Whether I see a statue that may be something I would fully disagree with, like Adolf Hitler, maybe a statue of Satan himself, I would not want to say, ‘take it down,’” Greene said at a city council meeting in Dalton, Georgia, in mid-June. “But again, it’s so that I could tell my children and teach others about who these people are, what they did, and what they may be about.”