1
U(D54G1D)y+z!$!=!#!/ ISTANBUL — When a lone gunman murdered dozens of New Year’s revelers early Sunday, he targeted a symbol of a cosmopoli- tan Istanbul that is increasingly under threat: a dazzling nightclub where people from around the world could party together, free from the mayhem and violence gripping the region. It was there, at the Reina night- club on the Bosporus — a hot spot for soap opera stars and profes- sional athletes, Turks and well- heeled tourists — that those hop- ing to move past a particularly troubled year died together. The assault was the second in two weeks in Turkey, and it further exposed the fault lines in a coun- try that is increasingly tearing apart amid terrorist attacks and political instability. With the gunman still on the loose Sunday night and a nation- wide manhunt underway, the killings brutally highlighted a di- lemma for Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdo- gan: Even though he has cracked down on opponents and put in place security measures to bring stability to his rattled country, the attacks keep mounting. “I don’t know what to say,” said Zeynep Ozman, whose brother, Ali, was wounded in the attack. “I don’t want to say anything poli- tical, but this can’t be accepted as the new norm. Terrorism is every- where now, and the government has no control. Something needs to be done. There is no life left in Istanbul.” Turkey has been reeling for sev- eral years now, as it has been in- creasingly drawn into the Syrian civil war. By opening its borders to foreign fighters trying to reach Syria, critics say, it inadvertently supported the rise of the Islamic State, which is now carrying out Massacre at Nightclub Exposes Deepening Fault Lines in Turkey By TIM ARANGO The coffin of Ayhan Arik, one of at least 39 victims of Sunday’s shooting at an Istanbul nightclub. SEDAT SUNA/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY Continued on Page A6 EXETER, England — The bee findings were not what Syngenta expected to hear. The pesticide giant had com- missioned James Cresswell, an expert in flowers and bees at the University of Exeter in England, to study why many of the world’s bee colonies were dying. Compa- nies like Syngenta have long blamed a tiny bug called a varroa mite, rather than their own pesti- cides, for the bee decline. Dr. Cresswell has also been skeptical of concerns raised about those pesticides, and even the ex- tent of bee deaths. But his initial research in 2012 undercut con- cerns about varroa mites as well. So the company, based in Switzer- land, began pressing him to con- sider new data and a different ap- proach. Looking back at his interactions with the company, Dr. Cresswell said in a recent interview that “Syngenta clearly has got an agenda.” In an email, he summed up that agenda: “It’s the varroa, stupid.” For Dr. Cresswell, 54, the foray into corporate-backed research threw him into personal crisis. Some of his colleagues ostracized him. He found his principles tested. Even his wife and children had their doubts. “They couldn’t believe I took the money,” he said of his family. “They imagined there was going to be an awful lot of pressure and thought I sold out.” The corporate use of academia has been documented in fields like soft drinks and pharmaceuticals. But it is rare for an academic to provide an insider’s view of the re- lationships being forged with cor- porations, and the expectations that accompany them. A review of Syngenta’s strategy shows that Dr. Cresswell’s experi- Scientists Loved and Loathed By an Agrochemical Colossus By DANNY HAKIM UNCERTAIN HARVEST Companies Shaping Science Continued on Page B4 Finally. The Second Avenue subway opened in New York City on Sun- day, with thousands of riders flooding into its polished stations to witness a piece of history nearly a century in the making. They descended beneath the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan to board Q trains bound for Coney Island in Brook- lyn. They cheered. Their eyes filled with tears. They snapped selfies in front of colorful mosaics lining the walls of the stations. It was the first day of 2017, and it felt like a new day for a city that for so long struggled to build this sorely needed subway line. In a rare display of unbridled opti- mism from hardened New York- ers, they arrived with huge grins and wide eyes, taking in the bells and whistles at three new sta- tions. “I was very choked up,” Betsy Morris, 70, said as she rode the first train to leave the 96th Street station, at noon. “How do you ex- plain something that you never thought would happen? It’s going to change the way everybody lives as far as commuting goes.” It was a major moment for New York’s sprawling transit system after decades of failed efforts to bring the line to one of the few cor- ners of Manhattan the subway did not reach. The opening of the first seg- ment of the line — an extension of the Q train to 96th Street — prom- ises to lighten the crush of pas- sengers on the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 trains along Lexington Avenue, the nation’s most overcrowded subway line, which had been the only line on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. When the stations opened shortly before noon, they were quickly filled with giddy rid- ers both young and old, and strollers, suitcases and dogs — all familiar sights across the system. But for all the excitement, the line, with just three new stops, is much more modest than the ambi- tious route running the length of Manhattan that was once envi- sioned. It serves a relatively afflu- Train Delay Ends in (Happy) Tears After decades of failed efforts to bring a line to one of the few corners of Manhattan the subway system didn’t reach, the Second Avenue subway opened to the public Sunday, with three stations. PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX WROBLEWSKI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES 2nd Ave. Subway Opens at Last, Stoking a City’s Spirit By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS The new line is intended to ease an overcrowded system. Continued on Page A13 WASHINGTON — The most powerful and ambitious Republi- can-led Congress in 20 years will convene Tuesday, with plans to leave its mark on virtually every facet of American life — refashion- ing the country’s social safety net, wiping out scores of labor and en- vironmental regulations and un- raveling some of the most signifi- cant policy prescriptions put for- ward by the Obama administra- tion. Even before President-elect Donald J. Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, giving their party full con- trol of the government, Republi- cans plan quick action on several of their top priorities — most nota- bly a measure to clear a path for the Affordable Care Act’s repeal. Perhaps the first thing that will happen in the new Congress is the push for deregulation. Also up early: filling a long-vacant Su- preme Court seat, which is sure to set off a pitched showdown, and starting confirmation hearings for Mr. Trump’s cabinet nominees. “It’s a big job to actually have responsibility and produce re- sults,” said Senator Mitch McCon- nell of Kentucky, the majority leader. “And we intend to do it.” But as Republicans plan to re- serve the first 100 days of Con- gress for their more partisan goals, Democrats are preparing roadblocks. The party’s brutal election-year wounds have been salted by evidence of Russian election interference, Mr. Trump’s hard-line cabinet picks and his taunting Twitter posts. (On Satur- day, he offered New Year’s wishes “to all,” including “those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do.”) Obstacles will also come from Republicans, who are divided on how to proceed with the health care law and a pledge to rewrite G.O.P. LEADERSHIP POISED TO TOPPLE OBAMA’S PILLARS CONGRESS IS SET TO OPEN Overreach and Pushback Could Slow Efforts to Undo Regulations By JENNIFER STEINHAUER Continued on Page A9 MAR-A-LAGO The site of an opu- lent New Year’s Eve party in Florida is the future winter White House and home of the calmer Donald J. Trump. PAGE A9 WASHINGTON — Presi- dent Obama’s advisers wres- tled with an intractable prob- lem in the spring and sum- mer of 2015: How could they stabilize Afghanistan while preserving Mr. Obama’s longtime goal of pulling out the last American troops be- fore he left office? As it happened, the presi- dent solved the problem for them. In early August of that year, when Mr. Obama con- vened a meeting of the Na- tional Security Council, he looked around the table and acknowledged a stark new reality. “The fever in this room has finally broken,” the president told the group, according to a person in the meeting. “We’re no longer in nation- building mode.” What Mr. Obama meant was that no one in the Situa- tion Room that day, himself included, thought that the United States — after 14 years of war, billions of dol- lars spent and more than 2,000 American lives lost — would ever transform Af- ghanistan into a semblance of a democracy able to defend itself. At the same time, he add- ed, “the counterterrorism challenges are real.” As bleak as Afghanistan’s prospects were, the United States could not afford to walk away and allow the country to become a seedbed for extremists again. A few weeks later, the pres- ident halted the withdrawal and announced that he would leave thousands of American troops in the country indefi- nitely. It was a crucial turning point in the evolution of Barack Obama. The antiwar candidate of 2008 who had pledged to turn around Af- ghanistan — the “good war” to George W. Bush’s “bad war” in Iraq — had conceded that the longest military op- eration in American history would not end on his watch. The optimistic president who once thought Afghanistan was winnable had, through bitter experience, become the commander in chief of a forever war. He remains defensive A strategy that went from a ‘good war’ to the shorthand ‘Afghan good enough’ reflects Obama’s coming to terms with what was possible in Afghanistan. Fractured World Tested the Hope Of a Young President President Obama on Veterans Day in 2009, visiting a section of Arlington National Cemetery where many Americans killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. LUKE SHARRETT/THE NEW YORK TIMES Continued on Page A5 By MARK LANDLER THE OBAMA ERA The ‘Good War’ The Communist base of China’s civil war still honors an American delega- tion’s 1944 visit. Yan’an Journal. PAGE A4 INTERNATIONAL A4-7 Wartime Outreach in China A ban in India on large currency bills has created a divide over government efforts to combat corruption. PAGE A4 India Feels Pain of Cash Ban Dylann S. Roof, awaiting sentencing for killing nine black worshipers, opposes a mental health defense. PAGE A8 NATIONAL A8-10 Killer Rejects His Best Defense The rate of homelessness in Washing- ton, D.C., is more than twice the na- tional average, and researchers blame record housing prices. PAGE A8 Homeless in a Hub of Power After reading a front-page Times article about missing faces at the World Trade Center memorial, immigration officials turned to their records. PAGE A11 NEW YORK A11-13 Putting Faces to the Names Small web publishers are opting to keep control over their content rather than have faster mobile pages. PAGE B1 BUSINESS DAY B1-6 Some Shun a Google System Panasonic is reviving its Technics SL-1200 turntable, aiming at audiophiles who won’t mind paying $2,800. PAGE B1 What Goes Around Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo combine chemistry, passion and vocal prowess in “Roméo et Juliette,” directed by Bartlett Sher, at the Met. A review by Anthony Tommasini. PAGE C1 ARTS C1-8 A Star-Crossed Supernova Lydia Peelle’s human and animal char- acters, the mules in particular, are at center stage and finely wrought in “The Midnight Cool,” her first novel, set as America prepares to enter World War I. A review by John Williams. PAGE C4 Schemes of Mules and Men Paul Krugman PAGE 15 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A14-15 After the team’s starting quarterback was hurt last week, Oakland and Connor Cook stumbled against Denver. PAGE D1 SPORTSMONDAY D1-6 The Compromised Raiders Late Edition VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,465 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2017 Today, cloudy, periodic rain and driz- zle, high 44. Tonight, cloudy, a bit of rain, low 42. Tomorrow, cloudy, peri- odic rain, a bit milder, high 51. Weather map appears on Page B6. $2.50

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Page 1: OBAMA S PILLARS POISED TO TOPPLE G.O.P. LEADERSHIP...2017/01/02  · day, with thousands of riders flooding into its polished stations to witness a piece of history nearly a century

C M Y K Nxxx,2017-01-02,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

U(D54G1D)y+z!$!=!#!/

ISTANBUL — When a lonegunman murdered dozens of NewYear’s revelers early Sunday, hetargeted a symbol of a cosmopoli-tan Istanbul that is increasinglyunder threat: a dazzling nightclubwhere people from around theworld could party together, freefrom the mayhem and violencegripping the region.

It was there, at the Reina night-club on the Bosporus — a hot spotfor soap opera stars and profes-sional athletes, Turks and well-heeled tourists — that those hop-ing to move past a particularlytroubled year died together.

The assault was the second intwo weeks in Turkey, and it furtherexposed the fault lines in a coun-try that is increasingly tearingapart amid terrorist attacks andpolitical instability.

With the gunman still on theloose Sunday night and a nation-wide manhunt underway, thekillings brutally highlighted a di-lemma for Turkey’s authoritarianpresident, Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan: Even though he has crackeddown on opponents and put inplace security measures to bring

stability to his rattled country, theattacks keep mounting.

“I don’t know what to say,” saidZeynep Ozman, whose brother,Ali, was wounded in the attack. “Idon’t want to say anything poli-tical, but this can’t be accepted as

the new norm. Terrorism is every-where now, and the governmenthas no control. Something needsto be done. There is no life left inIstanbul.”

Turkey has been reeling for sev-eral years now, as it has been in-

creasingly drawn into the Syriancivil war. By opening its borders toforeign fighters trying to reachSyria, critics say, it inadvertentlysupported the rise of the IslamicState, which is now carrying out

Massacre at Nightclub Exposes Deepening Fault Lines in TurkeyBy TIM ARANGO

The coffin of Ayhan Arik, one of at least 39 victims of Sunday’s shooting at an Istanbul nightclub.SEDAT SUNA/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

Continued on Page A6

EXETER, England — The beefindings were not what Syngentaexpected to hear.

The pesticide giant had com-missioned James Cresswell, an

expert in flowers and bees at theUniversity of Exeter in England,to study why many of the world’sbee colonies were dying. Compa-nies like Syngenta have longblamed a tiny bug called a varroamite, rather than their own pesti-cides, for the bee decline.

Dr. Cresswell has also beenskeptical of concerns raised aboutthose pesticides, and even the ex-tent of bee deaths. But his initialresearch in 2012 undercut con-cerns about varroa mites as well.So the company, based in Switzer-land, began pressing him to con-sider new data and a different ap-proach.

Looking back at his interactions

with the company, Dr. Cresswellsaid in a recent interview that“Syngenta clearly has got anagenda.” In an email, he summedup that agenda: “It’s the varroa,stupid.”

For Dr. Cresswell, 54, the forayinto corporate-backed researchthrew him into personal crisis.Some of his colleagues ostracizedhim. He found his principlestested. Even his wife and childrenhad their doubts.

“They couldn’t believe I tookthe money,” he said of his family.“They imagined there was goingto be an awful lot of pressure andthought I sold out.”

The corporate use of academiahas been documented in fields likesoft drinks and pharmaceuticals.But it is rare for an academic toprovide an insider’s view of the re-lationships being forged with cor-porations, and the expectationsthat accompany them.

A review of Syngenta’s strategyshows that Dr. Cresswell’s experi-

Scientists Loved and LoathedBy an Agrochemical Colossus

By DANNY HAKIM

UNCERTAIN HARVEST

Companies Shaping Science

Continued on Page B4

Finally.The Second Avenue subway

opened in New York City on Sun-day, with thousands of ridersflooding into its polished stationsto witness a piece of historynearly a century in the making.

They descended beneath thestreets of the Upper East Side ofManhattan to board Q trainsbound for Coney Island in Brook-lyn. They cheered. Their eyesfilled with tears. They snappedselfies in front of colorful mosaicslining the walls of the stations.

It was the first day of 2017, and itfelt like a new day for a city thatfor so long struggled to build thissorely needed subway line. In arare display of unbridled opti-mism from hardened New York-ers, they arrived with huge grinsand wide eyes, taking in the bellsand whistles at three new sta-tions.

“I was very choked up,” BetsyMorris, 70, said as she rode thefirst train to leave the 96th Streetstation, at noon. “How do you ex-plain something that you neverthought would happen? It’s goingto change the way everybodylives as far as commuting goes.”

It was a major moment for NewYork’s sprawling transit systemafter decades of failed efforts tobring the line to one of the few cor-ners of Manhattan the subway didnot reach.

The opening of the first seg-ment of the line — an extension ofthe Q train to 96th Street — prom-ises to lighten the crush of pas-sengers on the Nos. 4, 5 and 6trains along Lexington Avenue,the nation’s most overcrowdedsubway line, which had been theonly line on the Upper East Side ofManhattan. When the stationsopened shortly before noon, theywere quickly filled with giddy rid-ers both young and old, and

strollers, suitcases and dogs — allfamiliar sights across the system.

But for all the excitement, theline, with just three new stops, ismuch more modest than the ambi-tious route running the length ofManhattan that was once envi-sioned. It serves a relatively afflu-

Train Delay Ends in (Happy) Tears

After decades of failed efforts to bring a line to one of the few corners of Manhattan the subwaysystem didn’t reach, the Second Avenue subway opened to the public Sunday, with three stations.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEX WROBLEWSKI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

2nd Ave. Subway Opens at Last, Stoking a City’s Spirit

By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS

The new line is intended toease an overcrowded system.

Continued on Page A13

WASHINGTON — The mostpowerful and ambitious Republi-can-led Congress in 20 years willconvene Tuesday, with plans toleave its mark on virtually everyfacet of American life — refashion-ing the country’s social safety net,wiping out scores of labor and en-vironmental regulations and un-raveling some of the most signifi-cant policy prescriptions put for-ward by the Obama administra-tion.

Even before President-electDonald J. Trump is sworn in onJan. 20, giving their party full con-trol of the government, Republi-cans plan quick action on severalof their top priorities — most nota-bly a measure to clear a path forthe Affordable Care Act’s repeal.Perhaps the first thing that willhappen in the new Congress is thepush for deregulation. Also upearly: filling a long-vacant Su-preme Court seat, which is sure toset off a pitched showdown, andstarting confirmation hearings forMr. Trump’s cabinet nominees.

“It’s a big job to actually haveresponsibility and produce re-sults,” said Senator Mitch McCon-nell of Kentucky, the majorityleader. “And we intend to do it.”

But as Republicans plan to re-serve the first 100 days of Con-gress for their more partisangoals, Democrats are preparingroadblocks. The party’s brutalelection-year wounds have beensalted by evidence of Russianelection interference, Mr. Trump’shard-line cabinet picks and histaunting Twitter posts. (On Satur-day, he offered New Year’s wishes“to all,” including “those who havefought me and lost so badly theyjust don’t know what to do.”)

Obstacles will also come fromRepublicans, who are divided onhow to proceed with the healthcare law and a pledge to rewrite

G.O.P. LEADERSHIPPOISED TO TOPPLE

OBAMA’S PILLARS

CONGRESS IS SET TO OPEN

Overreach and PushbackCould Slow Efforts to

Undo Regulations

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Continued on Page A9

MAR-A-LAGO The site of an opu-lent New Year’s Eve party inFlorida is the future winter WhiteHouse and home of the calmerDonald J. Trump. PAGE A9

WASHINGTON — Presi-dent Obama’s advisers wres-tled with an intractable prob-lem in the spring and sum-mer of 2015: How could theystabilize Afghanistan while

preserving Mr. Obama’slongtime goal of pulling outthe last American troops be-fore he left office?

As it happened, the presi-dent solved the problem forthem. In early August of thatyear, when Mr. Obama con-vened a meeting of the Na-tional Security Council, helooked around the table andacknowledged a stark newreality.

“The fever in this room hasfinally broken,” the presidenttold the group, according to aperson in the meeting.“We’re no longer in nation-building mode.”

What Mr. Obama meantwas that no one in the Situa-tion Room that day, himselfincluded, thought that theUnited States — after 14years of war, billions of dol-

lars spent and more than2,000 American lives lost —would ever transform Af-ghanistan into a semblanceof a democracy able to defenditself.

At the same time, he add-ed, “the counterterrorismchallenges are real.” As bleakas Afghanistan’s prospectswere, the United States couldnot afford to walk away andallow the country to becomea seedbed for extremistsagain.

A few weeks later, the pres-ident halted the withdrawaland announced that he wouldleave thousands of Americantroops in the country indefi-nitely.

It was a crucial turningpoint in the evolution ofBarack Obama. The antiwarcandidate of 2008 who hadpledged to turn around Af-ghanistan — the “good war”to George W. Bush’s “badwar” in Iraq — had concededthat the longest military op-eration in American historywould not end on his watch.The optimistic president whoonce thought Afghanistanwas winnable had, throughbitter experience, becomethe commander in chief of aforever war.

He remains defensive

A strategy that went from a ‘good war’ tothe shorthand ‘Afghan good enough’reflects Obama’s coming to terms with

what was possible in Afghanistan.

Fractured WorldTested the Hope

Of a Young President

President Obama on Veterans Day in 2009, visiting asection of Arlington National Cemetery where manyAmericans killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried.

LUKE SHARRETT/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A5

By MARK LANDLER

THE OBAMA ERAThe ‘Good War’

The Communist base of China’s civilwar still honors an American delega-tion’s 1944 visit. Yan’an Journal. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-7

Wartime Outreach in China

A ban in India on large currency billshas created a divide over governmentefforts to combat corruption. PAGE A4

India Feels Pain of Cash Ban

Dylann S. Roof, awaiting sentencing forkilling nine black worshipers, opposes amental health defense. PAGE A8

NATIONAL A8-10

Killer Rejects His Best Defense

The rate of homelessness in Washing-ton, D.C., is more than twice the na-tional average, and researchers blamerecord housing prices. PAGE A8

Homeless in a Hub of Power

After reading a front-page Times articleabout missing faces at the World TradeCenter memorial, immigration officialsturned to their records. PAGE A11

NEW YORK A11-13

Putting Faces to the Names

Small web publishers are opting to keepcontrol over their content rather thanhave faster mobile pages. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-6

Some Shun a Google System

Panasonic is reviving its TechnicsSL-1200 turntable, aiming at audiophileswho won’t mind paying $2,800. PAGE B1

What Goes Around

Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolocombine chemistry, passion and vocalprowess in “Roméo et Juliette,” directedby Bartlett Sher, at the Met. A reviewby Anthony Tommasini. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

A Star-Crossed Supernova

Lydia Peelle’s human and animal char-acters, the mules in particular, are atcenter stage and finely wrought in “TheMidnight Cool,” her first novel, set asAmerica prepares to enter World War I.A review by John Williams. PAGE C4

Schemes of Mules and Men

Paul Krugman PAGE 15

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A14-15

After the team’s starting quarterbackwas hurt last week, Oakland and ConnorCook stumbled against Denver. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

The Compromised Raiders

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,465 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 2017

Today, cloudy, periodic rain and driz-zle, high 44. Tonight, cloudy, a bit ofrain, low 42. Tomorrow, cloudy, peri-odic rain, a bit milder, high 51.Weather map appears on Page B6.

$2.50