VOL. CLXVIII . . . No. 58,243 © 2019 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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BALTIMORE — It was not anovert incident of racism thatprompted Edray Goins, anAfrican-American mathematicianin the prime of his career, to aban-don his tenured position on thefaculty of a major research univer-sity last year.

The hostilities he perceivedwere subtle, the signs of disre-spect unspoken.

There was the time he wasbrushed aside by the leaders of hisfield when he approached with amath question at a conference.There were the reports from stu-dents in his department at PurdueUniversity that a white professorhad warned them not to work withhim.

One of only perhaps a dozenblack mathematicians among

nearly 2,000 tenured facultymembers in the nation’s top 50math departments, Dr. Goins fre-quently asked himself whether hewas right to factor race into thechallenges he faced.

That question from a senior col-league on his area of expertise, di-rected to someone else? His de-partment’s disinclination to nomi-nate him to the committee thatcontrols hiring? The presump-tion, by a visiting scholar, that hewas another professor’s student?

What about the chorus ofchortling that erupted at a lunchwith white and Asian colleagueswhen, in response to his sugges-tion that they invite underrepre-sented minorities as seminarspeakers, one feigned confusion

A Black Scholar’s Lonely Trek At the Top of the Math World

By AMY HARMON

Continued on Page A13

One was an exemplary policeofficer, a veteran detective with aneasy smile, a gift for talking topeople and a deep knowledge ofthe characters in his precinct, onboth sides of the law. He had madehundreds of arrests.

The other longed to be a policeofficer when he was young, butevolved instead into the sort of

neighborhood nuisance the policeoften have to deal with. At bestquirky, and at worst emotionallydisturbed, he amassed a longrecord of petty crimes, includingimpersonating a police officer. Butrecently, the police said, he hadstarted robbing cellphone stores.

The paths of the two mencrossed at a T-Mobile shop inQueens last week. The veteran de-tective, Brian Simonsen, wasamong eight officers who re-sponded when someone spotted a

man forcing two employees intothe store’s back office with a pis-tol.

Moments later, ChristopherRansom, 27, emerged and pointedwhat turned out to be a fake gun atofficers, jerking it as if he were fir-ing, the police said.

For 11 chaotic seconds, the po-lice opened fire. Mr. Ransom andDetective Simonsen were both hitin the police fusillade. Only onewould survive the night.

“Make no mistake about it —friendly fire aside — it is becauseof the actions of the suspect thatDetective Simonsen is dead,” thepolice commissioner, James P.O’Neill, said later that night at Ja-maica Hospital Medical Center.The detective was 42 years old.

A Model Detective, a Police-Obsessed Thief and a Chaotic ClashBy ALI WATKINS

and ALI WINSTON

Officers fired 42 shots on Feb. 12 at a robbery suspect in a T-Mobile store in Queens, accidentally killing Detective Brian Simonsen.ULI SEIT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

One Would Perish AfterCrossfire at T-Mobile

Continued on Page A19

MIAMI — President Trump onMonday delivered his sharpestwarning yet to Venezuela’s mili-tary authorities in an increasinglytense showdown over that coun-try’s crisis, proclaiming theywould “lose everything” by re-maining loyal to PresidentNicolás Maduro and refusing toallow in emergency aid stockpiledon the border.

Mr. Trump gave the warning ina speech denouncing Venezuela’sbrand of socialism to an enthusi-astic crowd in Miami that includ-ed many Americans of Venezue-lan descent who have fled Vene-zuela or have relatives in thecountry, once Latin America’swealthiest but now facing thegreatest economic collapse ingenerations.

He spoke five days before adeadline that his administrationand the Venezuelan oppositionleader, Juan Guaidó, have de-clared for getting humanitarianaid into the country — a moveaimed at weakening Mr. Maduro,who is no longer recognized by theUnited States and roughly 50other nations as the country’spresident. Mr. Trump was the firstto recognize Mr. Guaidó lastmonth as Mr. Maduro’s replace-ment until new elections can beheld.

“We seek a peaceful transitionof power, but all options are open,”Mr. Trump said. He urged allmembers of the Venezuelan mili-tary to permit the aid into thecountry, and advised them to ac-cept the opposition’s amnesty of-fer — or they will find “no safe har-bor, no easy exit, and no way out.”

“You will lose everything,” thepresident said.

Despite the tough language, itremained unclear how the Vene-zuelan opposition would break Mr.Maduro’s blockade of the borderwith a delivery of food and medi-cation on Saturday. Mr. Trump’sown national security adviser saidthe American military — whichhas airlifted tons of supplies to

PRESIDENT WARNSMADURO’S TROOPSOVER AID IMPASSE

VENEZUELA SHOWDOWN

Trump Implores Loyalists to Yield Before There’s

‘No Way Out’

This article is by Annie Karni,Nicholas Casey and Anatoly Kur-manaev.

Colombian security forces near a bridge connecting Colombia to Venezuela, which Venezuela’s military has blocked to keep aid out.MERIDITH KOHUT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A9

WASHINGTON — A coalitionof 16 states, including Californiaand New York, on Monday chal-lenged President Trump in courtover his plan to use emergencypowers to spend billions of dollarson his border wall.

The lawsuit is part of a constitu-tional confrontation that Mr.Trump set off on Friday when hedeclared that he would spend bil-lions of dollars more on borderbarriers than Congress hadgranted him. The clash raisesquestions over congressional con-trol of spending, the scope ofemergency powers granted to thepresident, and how far the courtsare willing to go to settle such adispute.

The suit, filed in Federal Dis-trict Court in San Francisco, ar-gues that the president does nothave the power to divert funds forconstructing a wall along theMexican border because it is Con-gress that controls spending.

Xavier Becerra, the attorneygeneral of California, said in an in-terview that the president himselfhad undercut his argument thatthere was an emergency on theborder.

“Probably the best evidence isthe president’s own words,” hesaid, referring to Mr. Trump’sspeech on Feb. 15 announcing hisplan: “I didn’t need to do this, butI’d rather do it much faster.”

The lawsuit, California et al. v.Trump et al., says that the plaintiffstates are going to court to protecttheir residents, natural resourcesand economic interests. “Con-trary to the will of Congress, thepresident has used the pretext of amanufactured ‘crisis’ of unlawfulimmigration to declare a nationalemergency and redirect federal

STATES SUE TRUMPOVER EMERGENCYTO FINANCE WALL

CONSTITUTIONAL BATTLE

Plaintiffs Claim PresidentActed ‘Contrary to the

Will of Congress’

By CHARLIE SAVAGEand ROBERT PEAR

Continued on Page A16

A secret meeting of formerPresident Barack Obama’s finan-cial backers convened in Wash-ington early this month: Orga-nized by David Jacobson and JohnPhillips, Mr. Obama’s former am-bassadors to Canada and Italy, thegroup interviewed an array of2020 presidential candidates anddebated whether to throw theirwealth behind one or two of them.

Mr. Obama had no role in theevent, but it unfolded in his poli-tical shadow: As presidentialhopefuls like Senators KamalaHarris, Cory Booker, AmyKlobuchar and Sherrod Brown au-ditioned before them, the donorswondered aloud whether Mr.Obama might signal a preferencein the race, according to three peo-ple briefed on the meeting, whospoke on condition of anonymity.

David Axelrod, Mr. Obama’s

former chief strategist, told thegroup they should expect no suchdirective. Mr. Axelrod confirmedin an interview that he briefed thegathering, recalling: “They askedme about Obama endorsing. Isaid, I don’t imagine he will.”

Mr. Axelrod said he had beensharing his own perspective, notspeaking as an official Obama em-issary. But his forecast matcheswhat Mr. Obama has told friendsand likely presidential candidatesin private: that he does not see itas his role to settle the 2020 nomi-nation, and prefers to let the pri-mary unfold as a contest of ideas.Michelle Obama, the former first

lady, also has no plans to endorsea candidate, a person familiarwith her thinking said.

Even former Vice President Jo-seph R. Biden Jr. does not expectto secure Mr. Obama’s backing ifhe runs, according to allies of Mr.Biden’s.

Yet if Mr. Obama has all but offi-cially taken a vow of neutrality, heremains the party’s most convinc-ing model for success at the na-tional level, and continues toshape the mind-set and strategyof Democratic presidential candi-dates.

He has counseled more than adozen declared or likely candi-dates on what he believes it willtake to beat President Trump,holding private talks with leadingcontenders like Ms. Harris, Mr.Booker and Senator ElizabethWarren; underdogs like PeteButtigieg, the mayor of South

At Obama’s Knee, Advice Without EndorsementBy ALEXANDER BURNS Democratic Candidates

Find Encouragement— and Neutrality

Continued on Page A14

The sins of Valeant Pharmaceu-ticals are well known. Instead ofspending to develop new drugs,Valeant bought out other drug-makers, then increased prices oflifesaving medicines by as muchas 5,785 percent. Patients had nochoice but to pay.

Valeant’s chief executive, J. Mi-chael Pearson, was hauled into a2016 Senate hearing and verballythrashed by lawmakers. “It’s us-ing patients as hostages. It’s im-moral,” said Claire McCaskill,then the Democratic senator fromMissouri. One executive went toprison for fraud. The company’sshare price collapsed.

It hadn’t always been that way.Before Valeant’s fall, its stock wasa Wall Street darling, attractinghigh-profile investors who tire-lessly promoted the company onfinancial news channels. But oneinvestor especially avoided thespotlight — a secretive hedge fundowned by McKinsey & Company,the world’s most prestigious con-sulting firm. McKinsey, in fact,had deep ties to the drugmaker:Four top Valeant officials, includ-ing Mr. Pearson, were McKinsey

A Double RolePuts McKinseyUnder Scrutiny

This article is by MichaelForsythe, Walt Bogdanich andBridget Hickey.

Continued on Page A12

Drug money permeates the Rio GrandeValley, fueling corruption and proppingup even legitimate businesses. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-16

Economic Driver on BorderNear Las Vegas, engineers are testing asystem that could hurtle passengerpods through vacuum tubes. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-6

600 M.P.H. Without WingsIn Western states, researchers areentering caves and abandoned mines,checking bat colonies for the deadlywhite-nose syndrome. PAGE D1

SCIENCE TIMES D1-6

Rescued, Over Objections

Anti-Semitic taunts hurled by protestersat a prominent intellectual promptedFrench soul-searching. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Yellow Vest Movement Darkens

The recent spike in New York is mostnoticeable in and near Crown Heights,Brooklyn, where it has included violent,unprovoked street assaults. PAGE A18

NEW YORK A17-19

Uptick in Anti-Semitic Attacks

The Bronx-born podcasters Desus Niceand the Kid Mero are trying to build awider viewership at Showtime withoutlooking like corporate sellouts. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Riffing on a Bigger Stage

The popularity of conspiracy theoristsilluminates the challenges YouTubefaces, Kevin Roose writes. PAGE B1

It’s Hard to Stop Viral LiesA state official said a political operativetook great pains to hide a “scheme” thatput a House race in limbo. PAGE A15

North Carolina Vote ‘Scheme’

The Vatican confirmed that it has guidesfor handling clerics who break celibacyvows and father children. PAGE A8

Secret Rules for Priest Parents

Paul Krugman PAGE A22

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

TRUMP SPEECH In Miami, thepresident cast Venezuela’s turmoilas a cautionary tale for those whoembrace socialism. PAGE A9

George Mendonsa, 95, made the mostcredible claim to being the man pic-tured in the famous photo of a couplekissing in Times Square. PAGE A21

OBITUARIES A20-21

Sailor in Lasting V-J Day Kiss

Late EditionToday, sunny to partly cloudy, a chill-ier day, high 36. Tonight, increasingclouds, low 26. Tomorrow, mostlycloudy, some afternoon snow, high32. Weather map is on Page B12.

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