C M Y K Yxxx,2018-03-04,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

VOL. CLXVII . . . No. 57,891 © 2018 The New York Times Company SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2018

They met on a rainy morning severalyears ago, at the base of the HelmsleyBuilding in Midtown Manhattan. As oth-ers hurried to work, Pamela J. Dearden,an executive with JPMorgan Chase, no-ticed a woman, unperturbed by the rain orher surroundings, standing on a 36-square-foot sidewalk grate she had cho-sen as her home.

Ms. Dearden, known to everyone as P.J.,offered her umbrella to the woman, whotook it and thanked her.

A friendship blossomed. P.J. would oftenstop to talk with the woman, who sat amidshopping bags, books, food containers anda metal utility cart. P.J. admired her hardi-ness, but also her smile, her soft featuresand her humor. If the woman was sleepingor talking loudly to herself, P.J. held back,but other times she engaged her in shortconversations, which could go into unex-pected places.

The woman’s name was NakeshaWilliams. She said she loved novels, andthey discussed the authors she was read-

ing, from Jane Austen to Jodi Picoult. Sheand P.J. chatted as time allowed, or untilNakesha veered into topics that hinted atparanoia: plots and lies against her. Yet,P.J. realized she knew little about Nake-sha, and she wondered about her past.

Nearly three decades earlier, anotherwoman took notice of Nakesha, then an 18-year-old college freshman, and consid-ered her seemingly boundless future.

Sandra Burton, director of the danceprogram at Williams College in Massa-chusetts, was struck immediately byNakesha’s vibrancy and talent as a dancer.She became Nakesha’s teacher and men-tor, and she began to closely track her de-velopment. Nakesha, she recalled, stoodout no matter the setting: the stage, theclassroom, even across a kitchen table.

But three years after graduation, Ms.Burton and other friends started gettingstrange phone calls and emails fromNakesha, with bizarre claims she was be-ing followed by strangers. She abandonedpeople who were close to her and spurnedtheir offers of help. In 2010, more than twodecades after they met, Ms. Burton re-

GEORGE ETHEREDGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Nakesha Williams at her regular spoton a grate at 46th Street and ParkAvenue. Top, a bench on Fifth Avenueat 46th Street where she also sat.

LUIS ALFREDO GARCIA

Nakesha’s DemonsMany tried to help, but a life of spectacular promise

succumbed to mental illness and homelessness.

By BENJAMIN WEISER

Continued on Page 19

Jeff Swarey bought his AR-15 ri-fle five years ago after shootingguns in video games. Jessie K.Fletcher, a former Marine sniper,was given one by his platoon afterhe stepped on a bomb in Afghanis-tan that blew off his legs. JessicaDorantes, a Texas police officer,will not go on patrol without hers.

Their shared communion is afirearm that has in recent decadesbecome a staple of American gunculture. Its iconic silhouette is im-mediately recognizable — and po-larizing.

The AR-15 won its place inAmerican culture through a con-fluence of circumstances, de-scribed in interviews by morethan 15 gun industry profession-als, hobbyists, lawyers and gunowners.

They pointed to 2004, when theAR-15 re-entered the gun market

after the end of the federal assaultweapons ban, at a time of height-ened interest in the military. Itwas popularized by the rise of avideo game culture in whichshooting became an accessibleform of mass entertainment, andit was marketed as accessible andeasy to personalize.

For those who love the rifle, it isseen as a testament to freedom —a rite of passage shared betweenparents and children, a token towelcome soldiers home, a tradi-tion shared with friends at therange.

But in its relatively short lifespan, the AR-15 has also becomeinextricably linked with tragedyand has been vilified as the weap-on of mass murder.

Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruzconfessed to gunning down 17 peo-ple last month at a high school inParkland, Fla., in which an AR-15was used, the latest mass shootingto prompt a new round of the in-tractable gun debate.

Once Banned, ‘America’s Rifle’Is Fiercely Loved and Loathed

This article is by Ali Watkins,John Ismay and Thomas Gibbons-Neff.

Continued on Page 17

PANAMA — The Trump Inter-national Hotel and Tower here isPresident Trump’s only hotelproperty in Latin America. At 70stories, it is the tallest building inPanama, offers sweeping views ofPanama Bay and features fiveoutdoor swimming pools. Therooms come with Trump-brandedbathrobes, stationery and mouth-wash.

But in recent days, guests havewitnessed a decidedly less glam-orous side of the operation:yelling and shoving matches in-volving security personnel andothers, the presence of the policein Kevlar helmets, and various in-terventions by Panamanian laborregulators, forensic specialistsand a justice of the peace.

The source of the drama? Thebusinessman who recently pur-chased a majority stake in the ho-tel wants the Trumps out. And theTrumps, who have a long-termcontract to manage the property,are refusing to go.

In a letter marked “Private &Confidential” to the hotel’s otherowners, the businessman, OrestesFintiklis, likened the Trumps toleeches who had attached to theproperty, “draining our last dropsof blood,” according to a copy re-viewed by The New York Times.

He has also filed legal actions ac-cusing the Trump family business,the Trump Organization, of mis-managing the hotel.

The Trump Organization, inturn, has accused Mr. Fintiklis ofusing “thug-like, mob-style tac-tics” in trying to force his way into

the hotel’s administrative offices,which prompted the physical andverbal altercations, and of engag-ing in a “fraudulent scheme” tostrip the property of its Trumpmanagement and branding. Mr.Fintiklis’s criticisms of the compa-ny’s management “are a completesham and a fraud,” the companysaid in a court filing.

This past week, Panama’s Pub-lic Ministry said it was lookinginto whether there had been any“punishable conduct” in the dis-pute — which means that an armof a foreign government finds it-self in the extraordinary positionof investigating a business ownedby the American president.

Just seven years ago, at the ho-tel’s grand opening, the presidentof Panama at the time joined Mr.Trump in extolling the property.Panama City was then awash withinternational investors and abooming economy, earning it thenickname “Dubai of Latin Amer-ica.”

Alan Garten, the Trump Organi-zation’s chief legal officer, said

Thugs, Leeches, Shouting and Shoving at Trump Hotel in PanamaThis article is by Kirk Semple, Ben

Protess and Steve Eder.

President Trump’s hotel is the tallest building in Panama City.RODRIGO ARANGUA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Continued on Page 4

President Trump’s announce-ment that he planned to imposesteep tariffs on imported steel andaluminum delighted some blue-collar industries he had champi-oned. “Enthusiastic and gratifiedare probably understatements,”said Michael A. Bless, the presi-dent of Century Aluminum.

Behemoth steel buyers likeBoeing and General Motors wer-en’t as pleased. Their shares fellon the news, and the most obviousaluminum dependents — thebrewing giants Anheuser-Buschand MillerCoors — warned aboutthe risk of job losses.

But it is people like H. O. WoltzIII who feel most vulnerable.

Mr. Woltz is the chairman andchief executive of Insteel Indus-tries, which operates 10 plantsfrom Arizona to Pennsylvaniaproducing steel wire products forconcrete reinforcing. He hasabout 1,000 workers, most withoutcollege degrees.

“The jobs that we have are goodjobs,” Mr. Woltz said. “Our guysmake a lot of money.”

Now his business calculus is be-ing upended. A levy on importsalso allows domestic steel and alu-minum producers to chargehigher prices, affecting manufac-turers across the United States.

As industrial America sorts outthe tariffs’ prospective impact,one thing is clear: The divide be-tween the metal producers andtheir customers slices directlythrough Mr. Trump’s blue-collarconstituency.

Mr. Trump argues that freetrade has hollowed out America’sindustrial base and saddled thecountry with huge trade deficits.He has promised to recover lostground with an “America first”trade policy.

But putting America first maynot put all American workersahead.

“There are more losers thanwinners,” said Monica de Bolle, aneconomist at the Peterson Insti-tute for International Economics.“If the point is to protect Ameri-can jobs, if the point is to protect

Continued on Page 18

Plan for TariffsCreates DivideIn Trump Base

Helping Mills, but NotManufacturers

By NATALIE KITROEFFand ANA SWANSON

Surplus weapons from a long-ago warare being sold to gangs, making crimeand immigration hot-button issuesahead of the fall election. PAGE 8

INTERNATIONAL 4-13

Rattled by Grenades in SwedenPresident Trump has withdrawn hissupport for the Hudson River rail tun-nel project. Even veterans of his ownparty are confused. PAGE 17

NATIONAL 16-23

Derailed by Politics, AgainRon Adams, a 70-year-old assistantcoach for the Golden State Warriors,gives his players lessons in both de-fense and social awareness. PAGE 1

SPORTSSUNDAY

The Sage of the N.B.A.In an essay, Barbra Streisand reflectson an unconventional decision, and thesurprises that came with it, after thedeath of a beloved pet. PAGE 2

SUNDAY STYLES

Why Streisand Cloned Her Dog Nicholas Kristof PAGE 1

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WASHINGTON — George Na-der, a Lebanese-American busi-nessman, has hovered on thefringes of international diplomacyfor three decades. He was a back-channel negotiator with Syriaduring the Clinton administration,reinvented himself as an adviserto the de facto ruler of the UnitedArab Emirates, and last year wasa frequent visitor to PresidentTrump’s White House.

Mr. Nader is now a focus of theinvestigation by Robert S. MuellerIII, the special counsel. In recentweeks, Mr. Mueller’s investiga-tors have questioned Mr. Naderand have pressed witnesses for in-formation about a possible Emi-rati attempt to buy political influ-ence by sending a stream ofmoney into Mr. Trump’s presiden-tial campaign, according to peoplewith knowledge of the discus-sions.

The investigators have alsoasked about Mr. Nader’s role inWhite House policymaking, thosepeople said, suggesting that thespecial counsel investigation hasbroadened beyond Russian elec-tion meddling to include Emiratiinfluence on the Trump adminis-tration. The focus on Mr. Nadercould also prompt an examinationof how money from multiple coun-tries has flowed through and influ-enced Washington during theTrump era.

How much this line of inquiry isconnected to Mr. Mueller’s origi-nal task of investigating contactsbetween Mr. Trump’s campaignand Russia is unclear. The exami-nation of the U.A.E. comes amid aflurry of recent activity by Mr.Mueller.

Last month, investigators nego-tiated a plea agreement with RickGates, Mr. Trump’s deputy cam-paign manager, and indicted 13Russians on charges related to ascheme to incite political discord

MUELLER WITNESSSIGNALS WIDENINGOF RUSSIA INQUIRY

FOCUS ON BUSINESSMAN

Examining Possible Tiesto the United Arab

Emirates

This article is by Mark Mazzetti,David D. Kirkpatrick and MaggieHaberman.

Continued on Page 23

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Plenty of sunshine. Highs in middle40s to lower 60s. Becoming cloudytonight. Periodic rain and thunderwest late. Lows in 30s to lower 40s.Details in SportsSunday, Page 10.

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