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The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for a debate pitting those willing to follow health officials’ guidance and cover their faces against those who feel it violates their freedom or buys into a threat they think is overblown. (Weissert and Lemire, 5/7)

The Transportation Security Administration ignored guidance from the Department of Homeland Security and internal pushback from two agency officials when it stockpiled more than 1.3 million N95 respirator masks instead of donating them to hospitals, internal records and interviews show. Internal concerns were raised in early April, when COVID-19 cases were growing by the thousands and hospitals in some parts of the country were overrun and desperate for supplies. (McSwane, 5/6)

Dennis Ruhnke had a mask to spare. He had found five of them while digging through some old farm equipment — five of the coveted, medical-grade N95 respirators that nobody could seem to get their hands on, not even the federal government. Before he retired from farming, he would wear them while cleaning out the grain bins. (Hawkins, 5/6)

Gov. Gavin Newsom released details on Wednesday of a secretive $1-billion deal to purchase protective masks from a Chinese electric-car maker that revealed the company must reimburse the state $247.5 million by the end of the week. The release of the contract came amid growing questions over the administration’s refusal to provide details about the deal. Just two days earlier, officials had refused to divulge more information after The Times filed a Public Records Act request. (Myers, Gutierrez and Elmahrek, 5/6)

On March 26, as the coronavirus pandemic was mounting and governors across America scrambled to secure medical supplies, the state of California wired almost a half-billion dollars to a company that had been in business for just three days. The recipient: Blue Flame Medical LLC, a Delaware-based company headed by two Republican operatives who jumped into the medical supply business on March 23. The pair — Mike Gula from Washington, D.C., and John Thomas of Southern California — had vowed, in their words, to help “fight COVID-19 with the industry’s broadest product selection from hundreds of suppliers.”Within hours of the enormous wire transfer, the deal was dead and California was clawing its money back — $456.9 million, nearly half of what the Legislature had allocated for the state’s pandemic response. (Rosenhall, 5/6)

Los Angeles leaders are exploring whether to require Angelenos to have masks or other facial coverings whenever they leave their homes, a proposal championed by Councilman Paul Koretz as a way to prevent new infections. “The last thing we need is another spike in cases to set us back as we’re trying to move forward,” Koretz said. (Reyes, 5/6)

As of Wednesday, people in Massachusetts must wear a face mask or covering in public if they cannot practice proper "social distancing" from others. In other words, if you cannot stay 6 feet away from strangers in public, you're now required to cover your mouth and nose with a mask, cloth or other covering. The rules, ordered by Gov. Charlie Baker, do not apply to children under the age of 2 or people who cannot cover their faces due to medical conditions. (Fleming, 5/6)