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WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump embraced a proposal onWednesday to slash legal immi-gration to the United States in halfwithin a decade by sharply cur-tailing the ability of American citi-zens and legal residents to bringfamily members into the country.

The plan would enact the mostfar-reaching changes to the sys-tem of legal immigration in dec-ades and represents the presi-dent’s latest effort to stem the flowof newcomers to the UnitedStates. Since taking office, he hasbarred many visitors from selectMuslim-majority countries, lim-ited the influx of refugees, in-creased immigration arrests andpressed to build a wall along thesouthern border.

In asking Congress to curb legalimmigration, Mr. Trump intensi-fied a debate about national iden-tity, economic growth, workerfairness and American values thatanimated his campaign last year.Critics said the proposal would un-dercut the fundamental vision ofthe United States as a haven forthe poor and huddled masses,while the president and his alliessaid the country had taken in toomany low-skilled immigrants fortoo long to the detriment of Ameri-can workers.

“This legislation will not onlyrestore our competitive edge inthe 21st century, but it will restorethe sacred bonds of trust betweenAmerica and its citizens,” Mr.Trump said at a White Houseevent alongside two Republicansenators sponsoring the bill. “Thislegislation demonstrates our com-passion for struggling Americanfamilies who deserve an immigra-tion system that puts their needsfirst and that puts America first.”

In throwing his weight behind abill, Mr. Trump added one morelong-odds priority to a legislativeagenda already packed with themin the wake of the defeat of legisla-tion to repeal and replace Presi-dent Barack Obama’s health careprogram. The president has al-ready vowed to overhaul the taxcode and rebuild the nation’sroads, airports and other infra-structure.

But by endorsing legal immi-gration cuts, a move he has longsupported, Mr. Trump returned toa theme that has defined his shortpolitical career and excites hisconservative base at a time whenhis poll numbers continue to sink.Just 33 percent of Americans ap-proved of his performance in thelatest Quinnipiac University sur-vey, the lowest rating of his presi-dency, and down from 40 percent amonth ago.

Democrats and some Republi-cans quickly criticized the move.“Instead of catching criminals,Trump wants to tear apart com-munities and punish immigrantfamilies that are making valuablecontributions to our economy,”said Tom Perez, the chairman ofthe Democratic National Commit-

PRESIDENT BACKSA PLAN TO CURTAIL

LEGAL MIGRATION

50% CUTS BY 10TH YEAR

Less Emphasis on FamilyBonds and More onSkills and Talents

By PETER BAKER

Continued on Page A13

Scientists for the first time havesuccessfully edited genes in hu-man embryos to repair a commonand serious disease-causing mu-tation, producing apparentlyhealthy embryos, according to astudy published on Wednesday.

The research marks a majormilestone and, while a long wayfrom clinical use, it raises theprospect that gene editing mayone day protect babies from a va-riety of hereditary conditions.

But the achievement is also anexample of human genetic engi-neering, once feared and unthink-able, and is sure to renew ethicalconcerns that some might try todesign babies with certain traits,like greater intelligence or athleti-cism.

Scientists have long feared theunforeseen medical conse-quences of making inheritedchanges to human DNA. The cul-tural implications may be just asdisturbing: Some experts havewarned that unregulated geneticengineering may lead to a newform of eugenics, in which peoplewith means pay to have childrenwith enhanced traits even asthose with disabilities are deval-ued.

The study, published in the jour-nal Nature, comes just months af-ter a national scientific committeerecommended new guidelines formodifying embryos, easing blan-ket proscriptions but urging thetechnique be used only for diremedical problems.

“We’ve always said in the pastgene editing shouldn’t be done,mostly because it couldn’t be donesafely,” said Richard Hynes, a can-cer researcher at the Massachu-setts Institute of Technology who

SCIENTISTS REPAIRA RISKY MUTATION IN HUMAN EMBRYO

MILESTONE IN RESEARCH

Hope for Hereditary Ills,but Certain to Renew

Ethical Concerns

By PAM BELLUCK

HANNAH MCKAY/REUTERS

Prince Philip, 96, at his final solo event Wednesday before retiring from his official duties as Queen Elizabeth II’s consort. Page A5.A Different Sort of Brexit

Embryos after gene editingand rounds of cell division.

SHOUKHRAT MITALIPOV

Continued on Page A14

Despite the disorder in Wash-ington — with a revolving door atthe White House and roadblockson Capitol Hill — Wall Street andcorporate America are booming.

The disconnect was evidentWednesday, as the Dow Jones in-dustrial average passed the22,000 mark, a new high. At the

same time, blue chips like Apple,Caterpillar and U.S. Steel have allreported strong earnings in re-cent weeks that surpassed ana-lysts’ forecasts.

“None of the soap opera inWashington matters,” said FrankSullivan, chief executive of RPMInternational, a Cleveland-basedmaker of specialty coatings andsealants like Rust-Oleum. “No-

body in business cares about whotalked to who in Russia.”

What does matter, Mr. Sullivansaid, is stronger global demand inheavy industries like mining andoil and gas, a weaker dollar thathelps exporters, and a lighter reg-ulatory touch by the new adminis-tration.

The initial stock market rallythat followed Mr. Trump’s victory

in November — the so-calledTrump bump — was fueled by op-timism among investors that long-sought action on tax reform andinfrastructure spending might fi-nally be at hand.

Few analysts are so sanguinenow, especially after Republicanscould not agree last month on howto repeal the Affordable Care Act,

Wall Street, Climbing Sharply, Skips Washington’s ‘Soap Opera’By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ

Continued on Page A14

WASHINGTON — The endcame quickly for one of the costli-est covert action programs in thehistory of the C.I.A.

During a White House briefingearly last month, the C.I.A. direc-tor, Mike Pompeo, recommendedto President Trump that he shutdown a four-year-old effort to armand train Syrian rebels. The presi-dent swiftly ended the program.

The rebel army was by then ashell, hollowed out by more than ayear of bombing by Russianplanes and confined to ever-shrinking patches of Syria thatgovernment troops had not recon-quered. Critics in Congress hadcomplained for years about thecosts — more than $1 billion over

the life of the program — and re-ports that some of the C.I.A.-sup-plied weapons had ended up in thehands of a rebel group tied to AlQaeda further sapped politicalsupport for the program.

While critics of Mr. Trump haveargued that he ended the programto curry favor with PresidentVladimir V. Putin of Russia, therewere in fact dim views of the effortin both the Trump and ObamaWhite Houses — a rare confluenceof opinion on national security pol-icy.

The shuttering of the C.I.A. pro-gram, one of the most expensiveefforts to arm and train rebelssince the agency’s program ar-ming the mujahedeen in Af-ghanistan during the 1980s, hasforced a reckoning over its suc-

Under Trump, Shell of a ForceIn Syria Swiftly Lost C.I.A. Aid

This article is by Mark Mazzetti,Adam Goldman and Michael S.Schmidt.

Continued on Page A9

ELAINE THOMPSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Applicants lined up outside a job fair at an Amazon fulfillment center in Kent, Wash., held as partof the company’s first Jobs Day, intended to help fill 50,000 positions nationwide. Page B1.

At Amazon, a Prime Day for Job Seekers

By most standards, Austin Jiaholds an enviable position. A ris-ing sophomore at Duke, Mr. Jia at-tends one of the top universities inthe country, setting him up for suc-cess.

But with his high G.P.A., nearlyperfect SAT score and activities —debate team, tennis captain andstate orchestra — Mr. Jia believeshe should have had a fair shot atHarvard, Princeton, Columbiaand the University of Pennsylva-nia. Those Ivy League colleges re-jected him after he applied in thefall of 2015.

It was particularly disturbing,Mr. Jia said, when classmateswith lower scores than his — butwho were not Asian-American,like him — were admitted to thoseIvy League institutions.

“My gut reaction was that I wassuper disillusioned by how thewhole system was set up,” Mr. Jia,19, said.

Students like Mr. Jia are nowthe subject of a lawsuit accusingHarvard of discriminating againstAsian-Americans in admissionsby imposing a penalty for their

Asians BecomeFocus of BattleOn Admissions

By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLISand STEPHANIE SAUL

Continued on Page A11

WASHINGTON — Sometimeshe just wants to know how he’s do-ing, like a maître d’ checking in af-ter a meal. “How’s this playing?”President Trump asked FoxNews’s Sean Hannity over dinnerin the private residence of theWhite House the other night, a fewhours after visiting Wisconsin toannounce a deal to create thou-sands of new factory jobs.

Often he’s effusive. “I love you,Jim,” Mr. Trump told Jim DeMint,the former Heritage Foundationpresident, during a small gather-ing of conservative leaders in theOval Office in March.

And often he delivers. Tony

Perkins, president of the FamilyResearch Council, pressed Mr.Trump for months to make thestatement he issued last weeksaying transgender people wouldbe barred from the military. “I’vebeen to the White House I don’tknow how many more times in thefirst six months this year than Iwas during the entire Bush ad-ministration,” Mr. Perkins said.

Mr. Trump has strained rela-

tions with a lot of people thesedays — members of his own partyin Congress, the 55-plus percent ofAmericans who say they disap-prove of his performance, his at-torney general, his recentlyousted communications directorand chief of staff. But through allthe drama and dismay, one grouphas never really wavered: theleaders of the conservative move-ment.

This is no accident. Mr. Trumpand members of his administra-tion have spent their first sixmonths in office cultivating andstrengthening ties to the move-ment’s key groups and playerswith a level of attention and care

Bluster, Chaos and Warm Embrace of the RightBy JEREMY W. PETERS As Allies Stray, Trump

Keeps ConservativeGroups Close

Continued on Page A12

Indonesian islanders who have huntedwhales for centuries bristle at out-siders’ efforts at conservation. PAGE A6

Regulating a Whaling Life

The president signed legislation impos-ing sanctions on Russia and limiting hisauthority to lift them, but called someprovisions unconstitutional. PAGE A8

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Trump Approves Russia Bill

Hasidic Jewish families are establishingoutposts in unexpected places, unnerv-ing some residents there. PAGE A17

Jersey City’s Wary Welcome

Basketball courts in Brooklyn wereofficially dedicated to the rapper, whowas killed in 1997. PAGE A15

NEW YORK A15-17

Courts for the Notorious B.I.G.

With the Trump administration set toaccuse China of violations of intellectualproperty, Washington is likely to findglobal trade rules favor Beijing. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-8

Taking On China Over Tech

More than 3,500 workers will decide onunionization this week at a Nissan plantin Mississippi. PAGE B1

Racially Charged Union Vote

Paris Saint-Germain is poised to morethan double the soccer transfer recordto acquire Barcelona’s Neymar. PAGE B9

SPORTSTHURSDAY B9-13

One Move, $263 Million

With his new album, “Verisimilitude,”Tyshawn Sorey continues to defy stand-ard definitions of what a composer andmusician is supposed to be. PAGE C2

ARTS C1-8

Jazz and Improvisation at Play

R. James Woolsey PAGE A19

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19

Striking out on his own, MatthewWilliams, a former collaborator ofKanye West and Lady Gaga, uprootedhis family and moved to Italy. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-6

Renaissance ManAra Parseghian took over an Irishprogram that had been in decline foryears, and led it to national titles in 1966and 1973. He was 94. PAGE B14

OBITUARIES B14-16

A Notre Dame Football Savior

The White House is removing hard-liners from the National Security Coun-cil, upsetting conservatives. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-14

A Shake-Up of the N.S.C.

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,678 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2017

Today, clouds and sunshine, after-noon showers or thunderstorms, hu-mid, high 86. Tonight, patchy clouds,humid, low 72. Tomorrow, sunny,high 84. Weather map, Page A20.

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