C M Y K Nxxx,2017-05-03,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

U(D54G1D)y+=!;!%!#!_

LONDON — Tony Gallagher,editor of The Sun, one of Britain’smost raucous and influentialtabloids, looks down on the gov-ernment, literally. From theheight of his 12th-floor newsroom,all glass and views, the Palace ofWestminster seems like a toy cas-tle, something to be played with orignored at will.

Mr. Gallagher also looks downon the editor of the more

measured Times of London,whose office is one floor below andwho makes a point of keeping hisblinds drawn. The hierarchy is notlost on either man.

In Britain after the so-calledBrexit vote, the power of thetabloids is evident. Their circula-tions may be falling and their rep-utations tarnished by a series ofphone-hacking scandals. But asthe country prepares to cut tieswith the European Union after anoisy and sometimes nasty cam-paign, top politicians court thetabloids and fear their wrath.Broadcasters follow where they

lead, if not in tone then in topic.Their readers, many of them

over 50, working class and outsideLondon, look strikingly like thevoters who were crucial to the out-come of last year’s referendum onmembership in the European Un-ion. It is these citizens of Brexit-land the tabloids purport to repre-sent from the heart of enemy terri-tory: Housed in palatial dwellings

in some of London’s most expen-sive neighborhoods, they seethemselves as Middle England’sembassies in London.

In the campaign leading up to asnap election on June 8, mosttabloids can be counted on to actas the zealous guardians of Brexitand as a cheering section for theConservative government ofPrime Minister Theresa May —

even though the city that housesthem voted the other way.

Mr. Gallagher made his markon three of Britain’s most stri-dently pro-Brexit newspapers. Hewas editor of The Daily Telegraph,a conservative broadsheet, anddeputy editor of the more mid-market Daily Mail, one of TheSun’s main rivals, before Rupert

Did Tabloids Cause ‘Brexit’? It’s Covered With Inky FingerprintsBy KATRIN BENNHOLD

Tony Gallagher, editor of The Sun, which advocated Britain’s exit from the European Union.JOSÉ SARMENTO MATOS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A6

LOSING LONDON

The Power of the Press

WASHINGTON — With twodays left before an 11-day recessand no vote scheduled, House Re-publican leaders worked on Tues-day to win votes one at a time fortheir latest bill to repeal the Af-fordable Care Act after an influen-tial Republican voice on healthcare came out against the meas-ure.

A failure to get the repeal bill toa vote this week would be the thirdtime that Speaker Paul D. Ryancould not rally his considerableHouse majority around a legisla-tive priority that Republicanshave promised for seven years.

Republican leaders were readyto move on from health care afterthe embarrassing collapse of theirmeasure in March, but PresidentTrump pressed Mr. Ryan hard todeliver on a major campaignpromise and personally pressuredHouse members to fall into line.

If the effort fails, it will greatlyweaken the president’s hand onCapitol Hill and cast a shadowacross the rest of his legislativeagenda, especially the deep taxcuts and rewrite of the tax codethat he has proposed — and thatare likely to be no easier to tacklethan health care.

Representative Fred Upton ofMichigan was only the latest Re-publican defector, but he carriesmore sway than most. The formerchairman of one of the House com-mittees that drafted the AmericanHealth Care Act, as the Republi-cans call their measure, Mr. Upton

G.O.P. SCRAMBLESAS CRUCIAL VOICE

SHUNS CARE BILL

CHASING REPEAL VOTES

Concessions to FreedomCaucus Are Called a

Deal-Breaker

By THOMAS KAPLANand ROBERT PEAR

Representative Fred Upton ofMichigan criticized the bill.

WIN McNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES

Continued on Page A16

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump reopened direct communi-cations with President Vladimir V.Putin of Russia on Tuesday andsought to reignite what he hopedwould be a special relationship byagreeing to work together to bro-ker a cease-fire in war-torn Syria.

In their first telephone conver-sation since the United Stateslaunched a cruise missile strike onSyria’s Moscow-backed militaryto retaliate for a chemical weap-ons attack on civilians, Mr. Trumpagreed to send a representative toRussian-brokered cease-fire talksthat start on Wednesday in As-tana, Kazakhstan. He and Mr.Putin also discussed meeting eachother in Germany in July.

But American and Russian offi-cials offered divergent accounts oftheir interest in establishing safezones in Syria to protect civilianssuffering from a relentless, six-year civil war. A White Housestatement said the two leadershad discussed such zones “toachieve lasting peace for humani-tarian and many other reasons.”The Kremlin statement made nomention of safe zones, and Mr.Putin’s spokesman said they hadnot been discussed in detail.

Still, at the talks in Astana, Mr.Putin’s envoys plan to proposethat Russia, Iran and Turkey actas buffer forces separating gov-ernment and rebel forces in someareas of Syria. The government ofPresident Bashar al-Assad isskeptical of the plan, seeing it asthe first step toward a partition ofthe country, according to di-plomats and analysts.

The call between Mr. Trumpand Mr. Putin was aimed at get-ting past the rupture of recent

TRUMP AND PUTINAGREE TO PURSUE SYRIA CEASE-FIRE

LEADERS RESUME TALKS

A ‘Constructive Call,’ butU.S. and RussianAccounts Differ

By PETER BAKERand NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Continued on Page A19

A month before Donald J.Trump was elected president, heand his aides watched his daugh-ter’s coolly composed surfacecrack open.

Inside Trump Tower, the candi-date was preparing for a debatewhen an aide rushed in with newsthat The Washington Post wasabout to publish an article sayingthat Mr. Trump had bragged aboutgrabbing women’s private parts.As Ivanka Trump joined the oth-ers waiting to see a video of theepisode, her father insisted thatthe description of his commentsdid not sound like him.

When the recording finallyshowed he was wrong, Mr.Trump’s reaction was grudging:He agreed to say he was sorry ifanyone was offended. Adviserswarned that would not be enough.

Ivanka Trump made an em-

phatic case for a full-throatedapology, according to several peo-ple who were present for the crisisdiscussion that unfolded in Mr.Trump’s 26th-floor office. Raisedamid a swirl of tabloid headlines,she had spent her adult life brand-ing herself as her father’s poised,family-focused daughter. Shemarketed her clothing line withslogans about female em-powerment and was finishing abook on the topic. As she spoke,Mr. Trump remained unyielding.His daughter’s eyes welled withtears, her face reddened, and shehurried out in frustration.

Seven months later, Ms. Trumpis her father’s all-around West

Wing confidante, an adviserwhose portfolio appears to havefew parameters, making heramong the highest-ranking wom-en in a senior staff stocked almostentirely with men.

The two trade thoughts frommorning until late at night, ac-cording to aides. Even though shehas no government or policy ex-perience, she plans to reviewsome executive orders beforethey are signed, according toWhite House officials; some earli-er orders had set off a firestorm.She calls cabinet officials on is-sues she is interested in, recentlyasking the United Nations ambas-sador, Nikki R. Haley, about get-ting humanitarian aid into Syria.She set up a weekly meeting withSteven Mnuchin, the Treasurysecretary.

In interviews last week, shesaid she intended to act as a mod-erating force in an administrationswept into office by nationalist

A First Daughter Assembling a Vast PortfolioThis article is by Jodi Kantor, Ra-

chel Abrams and Maggie Ha-berman.

Ivanka Trump said she intended to act as a moderating influence on her father’s administration.BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Among Mostly Men,a Trump Takes Aim

at Gender Issues

Continued on Page A12

Fran Cannon Slayton, a chil-dren’s book author with brain can-cer, has summoned a hopeful en-ergy since her diagnosis last year.But she is near despair about theresurfaced Republican plan to re-peal and replace the AffordableCare Act, which the White Houseand Republicans are pushing for avote as soon as this week.

“I don’t think people really un-derstand how serious this is,” saidMs. Slayton, 50, of Charlottesville,Va.

Her chief concern is the amend-ment to the Republican bill thatwould allow states to opt out ofseveral requirements, includingwhat some say is the crux of thecurrent health law: the ban on in-surance companies charginghigher premiums to people, likeMs. Slayton, with pre-existingmedical conditions.

The complex amendment to thebill has stunned Ms. Slayton andother Americans with cancer,heart disease, diabetes and otherillnesses who rely on the law’s pro-tections, not least because Presi-dent Trump and Republican lead-ers in Congress have consistentlypromised to make sure sick peo-ple will not face the same discrimi-nation they did in the past.

With most polls finding thatboth Republicans and Democratsfavor protecting coverage for peo-ple, the proposed changes to suchprotections have become the flashpoint that could derail yet anotherattempt by the Trump administra-tion and Republican lawmakers tovanquish President Barack Oba-ma’s signature domestic achieve-ment.

The change was negotiated aspart of an amendment to attractthe support of conservative Housemembers who opposed an earlierRepublican health bill because itretained too much federal insur-ance regulation. But in gainingtheir support, it has repelled anumber of moderates and sent Mr.Trump flailing as he insisted in aseries of interviews that the billwould still protect people withpre-existing conditions.

Most major patient advocacygroups have come out against it,and on his late-night talk show, thecomedian Jimmy Kimmel made a

Patients at RiskFear the WorstFrom Waivers

Pre-existing ConditionsMay Raise Premiums

By ABBY GOODNOUGHand REED ABELSON

Continued on Page A16

A Berlin-based U.S. artist who helpedsave Rosa Parks’s home says, “It’s myjob to keep the house alive.” PAGE A7

New Life for Rights Icon’s Home

As Khaled Meshal steps down as seniorleader of the group, he aims to recast itwith a friendlier face. PAGE A9

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Meshal and a Changing Hamas

The outcome of a legal fight in Ken-tucky, which once had 17 abortionproviders, could make it the only statewithout an abortion clinic. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-21

Abortion’s Fate Uncertain

A new map details the city’s 280 miles ofscaffolding — thousands of structuresthat irritate many pedestrians. PAGE A22

NEW YORK A22-24

From Cover to Cover to Cover

The company, losing ground to Google,moves to make products more attrac-tive to educators and students. PAGE B1

Microsoft Courts Schools

Infosys, one of India’s leading techoutsourcing companies, said it wouldhire up to 10,000 Americans. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-7

More U.S. Jobs for Outsourcer

The musical “Natasha, Pierre & theGreat Comet of 1812” has secured 12Tony Award nominations. A revival of“Hello, Dolly!” scored 10. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-7

‘Great Comet’ Shines Brightly

The exacting chef Thomas Keller iswrapping up his renovation of theFrench Laundry. What’s next? PAGE D1

Pondering His Next Move

At Loring Place, Dan Kluger revisits thevegetable-driven cooking he pioneeredat ABC Kitchen. A review. PAGE D5

FOOD D1-8

More Greens and Grains

Thomas L. Friedman PAGE A27

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

The team said it was “sickened” by theconduct of fans who yelled epithets atOrioles outfielder Adam Jones. PAGE B8

Red Sox Apologize for Abuse

A young soccer fan gets a lesson in bluelanguage at the home of TottenhamHotspur in London. PAGE B8

SPORTSWEDNESDAY B8-12

The Queen’s English It’s Not

WASHINGTON — Two whitepolice officers will not face federalcharges in the fatal shooting of ablack man last year in BatonRouge, La., which caused wide-spread unrest there. The decisionwas made while the Trump ad-ministration is under scrutinyabout how it will handle prose-cutions in racially charged policeshootings, a priority of the Obamaadministration.

The decision in the death of Al-ton B. Sterling was confirmedTuesday afternoon by two peoplefamiliar with it.

Local officials criticized the Jus-tice Department for not informingthem before the news becamepublic. And Attorney General JeffSessions, who inherited the BatonRouge case, is certain to face fur-ther attention over how he pro-ceeds in the fatal shooting Satur-day of a 15-year-old black studentby an officer near Dallas. The offi-cer was fired Tuesday. [Page A11.]

The Sterling decision, the Dal-las killing and an officer’s guiltyplea Tuesday in a fatal 2015 shoot-ing in South Carolina reignited adebate over race and criminal jus-

tice that has played out in variousways since Michael Brown waskilled nearly three years ago by apolice officer in Ferguson, Mo.

Mr. Sessions — who, in the firstmonths of his tenure, ordered abroad review of federal agree-ments with law enforcementagencies — will oversee the out-comes of other cases, includingthose of Eric Garner, who died af-ter being placed in a chokehold bya New York police officer, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

The bar for charging police offi-cers with federal civil rights vio-lations is extremely high, andprosecutions are rare. Even theObama administration, which cul-tivated an aggressive reputationon such cases, declined to pros-ecute officers in several high-pro-file killings, most notably the 2014shooting of Mr. Brown, and it sawchallenges in bringing charges inMr. Sterling’s death.

On Tuesday evening, aroundthe Triple S Food Mart parking lotwhere Mr. Sterling was killed,people congregated in the sameway they did last summer. Mr.

U.S. Won’t Charge Two OfficersIn a 2016 Killing of a Black Man

By REBECCA R. RUIZ

Continued on Page A11

After over a year in jail, Cesar Gonzales-Mugaburu was acquitted of endanger-ing boys on Long Island. PAGE A23

Foster Father Cleared of Abuse

Hillary Clinton sharply ques-tioned the president’s conduct,criticizing his Twitter posts andforeign policy moves. Page A18.

‘Part of the Resistance’

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,586 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

Today, breezy, cooler, clouds andsunshine, high 61. Tonight, clear,winds subsiding, low 46. Tomorrow,sunshine giving way to clouds, high61. Weather map is on Page C8.

$2.50