IN STIMULUS BILL JOBLESS BENEFITS
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THIS WEEKEND U(D54G1D)y+=!"!.!?!# IVOR PRICKETT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Pope Francis with President Barham Salih of Iraq in Baghdad on Friday. Francis is the first pope to travel to the country. Page A8. A Long-Awaited Visitor Erik Ortiz, a 41-year-old hip-hop music producer in Florida, grew up poor in the South Bronx, and spent much of his time as a young adult trying to establish himself fi- nancially. Now he considers him- self rich. And he believes shaking off the politics of his youth had something to do with it. “Everybody was a liberal Dem- ocrat — in my neighborhood, in the Bronx, in the local govern- ment,” said Mr. Ortiz, whose fam- ily is Black and from Puerto Rico. “The welfare state was bad for our people — the state became the fa- ther in the Black and brown household and that was a bad, bad mistake.” Mr. Ortiz became a Re- publican, drawn to messages of in- dividual responsibility and lower taxes. To him, generations of poor people have stayed loyal to a Dem- ocratic Party that has failed to transform their lives. “Why would I want to be stuck in that mentality?” he said. While Democrats won the vast majority of Hispanic voters in the 2020 presidential race, the results also showed Republicans making inroads with this demographic, the largest nonwhite voting group — and particularly among Latino men. According to exit polls, 36 percent of Latino men voted for Donald J. Trump in 2020, up from 32 percent in 2016. These voters also helped Republicans win sev- eral House seats in racially di- verse districts that Democrats thought were winnable, particu- larly in Texas and Florida. Both parties see winning more His- panic votes as critical in future elections. Yet a question still lingers from the most recent one, especially for Democrats who have long be- As Latino Men Tilt to Right, Democrats Ask Why By JENNIFER MEDINA Key Voters Are Swayed by Economic Issues on Work and Taxes Continued on Page A17 PARIS — In a recent meeting with a handful of foreign corre- spondents, President Emmanuel Macron of France philosophized for 100 minutes on the record, without notes. He dotted his con- versation with Americanisms — “game-changer,” “honest bro- kers” — that must have had de Gaulle turning in his grave. He dissected French “universalism.” He mused on colonial history. He identified hatred, turbocharged by social media, as “a threat to de- mocracy itself.” The performance was typical of Mr. Macron, and unusual for any head of state, the equivalent of tightrope walking without a net. Yet, the many words revealed lit- tle of the man himself. Four years into an often tumultuous term, facing an election next year, Mr. Macron remains an enigma to even his own country. Backed by the left in 2017, Mr. Macron now has more support on the right. Once a free-market re- former, he now extols the role of the state and protection “at any cost” in the age of Covid-19. Once the leader of a freewheeling move- ment that swept away old political hierarchies, he now sits comfort- ably at the pinnacle of power, his authority accentuated by terror- ism and pandemic. “With Macron we have gone to the limit of presidential domina- tion in the Fifth Republic,” said Alain Duhamel, a political com- mentator. The question now is to what end Mr. Macron, 43, will use that power as Europe faces a treacher- ous passage and the ability of the continent to bring Covid-19 under control remains in question. He is determined to steer his country and Europe on an independent course from China and the United States. “The day cooperation equals dependence, you have be- come a vassal and you disappear,” he said at the meeting with the correspondents. With the era of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, drawing to a close this year, Mr. Macron is in a position to shape the “sover- eign” Europe he has extolled, as well as a new French identity at a time of violent flux. He could even win a second term next year, Macron Bears Air of Mystery, Even to French By ROGER COHEN Continued on Page A11 PODUJEVA, Kosovo — Sa- randa Bogujevci gazed without flinching at a cluster of bullet holes left in the garden wall by a massacre two decades ago that wiped out most of her family and put 16 rounds into her own body. She said her mind had erased visual memories of the slaughter by the Scorpions, a Serb paramili- tary unit. But, she said, “I can still smell the earth mixed with the smell of blood.” Ms. Bogujevci’s against-the- odds survival — she was left for dead in a heap of bodies in her neighbor’s garden — and her sub- sequent determination to testify against the men who murdered her mother, grandmother, two brothers and four other relatives have made her a symbol of un- common fortitude in Kosovo, a land still scarred by the traumas of war in the 1990s. But Ms. Bogujevci, 35, is far more than a symbol. She is part of an unlikely wave of women being elected to Parliament in Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, but remains one of the poor- est countries in Europe. When fi- nal results of a Feb. 14 election were finally announced on Thurs- day in Pristina, the capital, they showed that women had won more seats in Parliament than ever before — nearly 40 percent of the total. That surge reflects growing dis- content with the endemic corrup- tion and bullying ways of a post- war order dominated by swagger- ing male veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the now dis- banded guerrilla force that battled Serbia and paved the way for Kos- ovo’s declaration of independ- ence. These elected women have con- vinced voters that they can stand up to Serbia, which has refused to recognize Kosovo as an independ- ent state, and also confront the corruption, criminality and poor governance that dashed the high hopes that attended the end of Kosovo, Still Scarred by War, Is Asking Its Women to Lead By ANDREW HIGGINS Continued on Page A10 A $50 billion project to save Louisiana’s coast, above, would mimic the Missis- sippi River’s spring floods. PAGE A18 NATIONAL A12-18 Levee-Piercing Plan Advances The actress Kelly Marie Tran has left the “Star Wars” bullies behind to star in “Raya and the Last Dragon.” PAGE C1 ARTS C1-6 A New Kind of Disney Princess Researchers found a link between restaurant dining and an increase in infections and said mask mandates help keep case numbers down. PAGE A4 TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7 C.D.C. Adds to Plea for Masks The inventory of homes for sale is startlingly low. The pandemic is part of the reason, but its end may not be a magic fix, as the rest of the story has been years in the making. PAGE B1 BUSINESS B1-6 Plenty of Buyers, Few Houses Workers with disabilities were hit espe- cially hard by lockdowns, and many have a tough search ahead. PAGE A12 A More Grueling Job Hunt Gov. Kay Ivey, a Southern Republican, has resisted pressure from within her party to lift a mask mandate. PAGE A6 Independent Voice in Alabama The nostalgic reunion series is surpris- ingly polite. But on a rewatch, the origi- nal season is still eye-opening. PAGE C1 Back to ‘The Real World’ Leigh Stein PAGE A23 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23 Officials said the economy would grow by over 6 percent and that electoral reform would aid Hong Kong. PAGE A9 INTERNATIONAL A8-11 Bold Predictions in China WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Friday agreed to scale back the $400-a-week unem- ployment payments in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, making a key concession to pla- cate a crucial moderate in their own party who had threatened to defect and derail the new adminis- tration’s first major legislative ini- tiative. With the package stalled in the evenly divided Senate, leading Democrats agreed to drop their bid to raise the existing $300-a- week benefit, bowing to the de- mands of Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and other moder- ates who had voiced concern that an overly generous benefit could keep people from returning to work and hamper a nascent re- covery. As part of the agreement, they proposed to make a large portion of last year’s unemploy- ment benefits tax-free. The tentative deal emerged af- ter Mr. Manchin’s objections had halted the stimulus measure in its tracks just as the chamber had be- gun a marathon series of votes on an array of proposals to change the bill. Democrats’ decision to modify the measure to accommo- date his objections was the latest reflection of the strength of a small group of moderates who are crucial swing votes, and the diffi- culty of governing in a 50-to-50 Senate, where Democrats cannot afford to lose a single vote. DEMOCRATS TRIM JOBLESS BENEFITS IN STIMULUS BILL PAVING WAY TO PASSAGE West Virginia’s Manchin Back on Board After Raising Objections By EMILY COCHRANE Senator Joe Manchin III ANNA MONEYMAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Continued on Page A13 On the weekend before Christ- mas in 1996, a shop owner was opening his check-cashing store in East Elmhurst, Queens, along- side an off-duty police officer who was working security, when the two were ambushed by a group of men, shot and killed. The case touched off a ferocious manhunt, and within days, three men were arrested. They were convicted in separate trials and sentenced to between 50 years and life in prison for murder. But more than two decades lat- er, the case has collapsed. On Friday, a state judge in Queens threw out the convictions of all three men and admonished prosecutors for withholding evi- dence that would have cast seri- ous doubt on their guilt. Prosecutors never turned over police reports showing that inves- tigators had linked the killings to other men, the members of a local robbery ring. And five witness ac- 24 Years Later, Freed Over Prosecutors’ Missteps By TROY CLOSSON From left, George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson leaving a prison in New York on Friday. AMR ALFIKY/THE NEW YORK TIMES New York Judge Tosses 3 Murder Convictions Continued on Page A15 Driven by unexpectedly large job gains at the nation’s restau- rants and bars, the labor market picked up strength in February, raising hopes that the economic recovery was taking hold more firmly. All told, employers added 379,000 jobs, the government re- ported Friday, the strongest show- ing since October. The increase, as vaccination efforts ramped up and restrictions on businesses eased, followed a deep loss in December and a modest rise in January. But the February pace was still far short of the gains recorded from late spring to early fall as the pandemic’s sudden stranglehold loosened. There are roughly 9.5 million fewer jobs than a year ago, and a year’s worth of lost opportu- nities — as many as two million jobs that would most likely have been created if previous hiring trends had continued. Congress is considering a $1.9 trillion package of pandemic relief intended to carry struggling households and businesses through the coming months. “Without a rescue plan, these gains are going to slow,” President Biden said Friday before a meet- ing with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and other economic offi- cials. “We can’t afford one step forward and two steps backwards. We need to beat the virus, provide essential relief and build an inclu- sive recovery.” He noted that at the rate of February’s gains, “it would take two years to get us back on track.” Most of the increases came in the leisure and hospitality indus- tries, which have been particu- larly hard hit by shutdown orders and employ 3.5 million fewer peo- ple than a year ago. The February gains included 286,000 jobs in food services and drinking establish- ments, along with 69,000 at busi- nesses like hotels and gyms. Some restaurant owners say the combination of falling corona- virus cases and warming weather in recent weeks is attracting more customers. Last week Boathouse Group Restaurants, which operates eight restaurants in and around Rich- mond, Va., brought back 40 em- ployees who had been furloughed late last year when dining restric- tions again tightened in the state. Kevin Healy, the owner, expects Surprise Jump In Job Growth Stirs Optimism Biggest Gain Since Fall Is Led by Restaurants By PATRICIA COHEN Continued on Page A14 On Oahu’s North Shore, young surfers are embracing safety as they ride the world’s most dangerous waves. PAGE B8 SPORTSSATURDAY B8-10 Surf’s Up. Grab Your Helmet. Late Edition VOL. CLXX .... No. 58,989 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021 Today, periodic clouds and sunshine, brisk, cold, high 35. Tonight, clear to partly cloudy, cold, low 24. Tomor- row, mostly sunny, remaining cold, high 38. Weather map, Page B7. $3.00
Transcript of IN STIMULUS BILL JOBLESS BENEFITS
THIS WEEKEND
C M Y K Nxxx,2021-03-06,A,001,Bs-4C,E1
U(D54G1D)y+=!"!.!?!#
IVOR PRICKETT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Pope Francis with President Barham Salih of Iraq in Baghdad on Friday. Francis is the first pope to travel to the country. Page A8.A Long-Awaited Visitor
Erik Ortiz, a 41-year-old hip-hopmusic producer in Florida, grewup poor in the South Bronx, andspent much of his time as a youngadult trying to establish himself fi-nancially. Now he considers him-self rich. And he believes shakingoff the politics of his youth hadsomething to do with it.
“Everybody was a liberal Dem-ocrat — in my neighborhood, inthe Bronx, in the local govern-ment,” said Mr. Ortiz, whose fam-ily is Black and from Puerto Rico.“The welfare state was bad for ourpeople — the state became the fa-ther in the Black and brownhousehold and that was a bad, bad
mistake.” Mr. Ortiz became a Re-publican, drawn to messages of in-dividual responsibility and lowertaxes. To him, generations of poorpeople have stayed loyal to a Dem-ocratic Party that has failed totransform their lives.
“Why would I want to be stuckin that mentality?” he said.
While Democrats won the vastmajority of Hispanic voters in the2020 presidential race, the results
also showed Republicans makinginroads with this demographic,the largest nonwhite voting group— and particularly among Latinomen. According to exit polls, 36percent of Latino men voted forDonald J. Trump in 2020, up from32 percent in 2016. These votersalso helped Republicans win sev-eral House seats in racially di-verse districts that Democratsthought were winnable, particu-larly in Texas and Florida. Bothparties see winning more His-panic votes as critical in futureelections.
Yet a question still lingers fromthe most recent one, especially forDemocrats who have long be-
As Latino Men Tilt to Right, Democrats Ask WhyBy JENNIFER MEDINA Key Voters Are Swayed
by Economic Issueson Work and Taxes
Continued on Page A17
PARIS — In a recent meetingwith a handful of foreign corre-spondents, President EmmanuelMacron of France philosophizedfor 100 minutes on the record,without notes. He dotted his con-versation with Americanisms —“game-changer,” “honest bro-kers” — that must have had deGaulle turning in his grave. Hedissected French “universalism.”He mused on colonial history. Heidentified hatred, turbochargedby social media, as “a threat to de-mocracy itself.”
The performance was typical ofMr. Macron, and unusual for anyhead of state, the equivalent oftightrope walking without a net.Yet, the many words revealed lit-tle of the man himself. Four yearsinto an often tumultuous term,facing an election next year, Mr.Macron remains an enigma toeven his own country.
Backed by the left in 2017, Mr.Macron now has more support onthe right. Once a free-market re-former, he now extols the role ofthe state and protection “at anycost” in the age of Covid-19. Oncethe leader of a freewheeling move-ment that swept away old politicalhierarchies, he now sits comfort-ably at the pinnacle of power, hisauthority accentuated by terror-ism and pandemic.
“With Macron we have gone tothe limit of presidential domina-tion in the Fifth Republic,” saidAlain Duhamel, a political com-mentator.
The question now is to what endMr. Macron, 43, will use thatpower as Europe faces a treacher-ous passage and the ability of thecontinent to bring Covid-19 undercontrol remains in question. He isdetermined to steer his countryand Europe on an independentcourse from China and the UnitedStates. “The day cooperationequals dependence, you have be-come a vassal and you disappear,”he said at the meeting with thecorrespondents.
With the era of Angela Merkel,the German chancellor, drawingto a close this year, Mr. Macron isin a position to shape the “sover-eign” Europe he has extolled, aswell as a new French identity at atime of violent flux. He could evenwin a second term next year,
Macron BearsAir of Mystery,Even to French
By ROGER COHEN
Continued on Page A11
PODUJEVA, Kosovo — Sa-randa Bogujevci gazed withoutflinching at a cluster of bulletholes left in the garden wall by amassacre two decades ago thatwiped out most of her family andput 16 rounds into her own body.
She said her mind had erasedvisual memories of the slaughterby the Scorpions, a Serb paramili-tary unit. But, she said, “I can stillsmell the earth mixed with thesmell of blood.”
Ms. Bogujevci’s against-the-odds survival — she was left fordead in a heap of bodies in herneighbor’s garden — and her sub-sequent determination to testifyagainst the men who murderedher mother, grandmother, twobrothers and four other relativeshave made her a symbol of un-common fortitude in Kosovo, aland still scarred by the traumasof war in the 1990s.
But Ms. Bogujevci, 35, is farmore than a symbol. She is part ofan unlikely wave of women beingelected to Parliament in Kosovo,
which declared independence in2008, but remains one of the poor-est countries in Europe. When fi-nal results of a Feb. 14 electionwere finally announced on Thurs-day in Pristina, the capital, theyshowed that women had wonmore seats in Parliament thanever before — nearly 40 percent ofthe total.
That surge reflects growing dis-content with the endemic corrup-tion and bullying ways of a post-war order dominated by swagger-ing male veterans of the KosovoLiberation Army, the now dis-banded guerrilla force that battledSerbia and paved the way for Kos-ovo’s declaration of independ-ence.
These elected women have con-vinced voters that they can standup to Serbia, which has refused torecognize Kosovo as an independ-ent state, and also confront thecorruption, criminality and poorgovernance that dashed the highhopes that attended the end of
Kosovo, Still Scarred by War,Is Asking Its Women to Lead
By ANDREW HIGGINS
Continued on Page A10
A $50 billion project to save Louisiana’scoast, above, would mimic the Missis-sippi River’s spring floods. PAGE A18
NATIONAL A12-18
Levee-Piercing Plan AdvancesThe actress Kelly Marie Tran has leftthe “Star Wars” bullies behind to star in“Raya and the Last Dragon.” PAGE C1
ARTS C1-6
A New Kind of Disney Princess
Researchers found a link betweenrestaurant dining and an increase ininfections and said mask mandates helpkeep case numbers down. PAGE A4
TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-7
C.D.C. Adds to Plea for MasksThe inventory of homes for sale isstartlingly low. The pandemic is part ofthe reason, but its end may not be amagic fix, as the rest of the story hasbeen years in the making. PAGE B1
BUSINESS B1-6
Plenty of Buyers, Few Houses
Workers with disabilities were hit espe-cially hard by lockdowns, and manyhave a tough search ahead. PAGE A12
A More Grueling Job Hunt
Gov. Kay Ivey, a Southern Republican,has resisted pressure from within herparty to lift a mask mandate. PAGE A6
Independent Voice in Alabama
The nostalgic reunion series is surpris-ingly polite. But on a rewatch, the origi-nal season is still eye-opening. PAGE C1
Back to ‘The Real World’
Leigh Stein PAGE A23
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23Officials said the economy would growby over 6 percent and that electoralreform would aid Hong Kong. PAGE A9
INTERNATIONAL A8-11
Bold Predictions in China
WASHINGTON — SenateDemocrats on Friday agreed toscale back the $400-a-week unem-ployment payments in PresidentBiden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan,making a key concession to pla-cate a crucial moderate in theirown party who had threatened todefect and derail the new adminis-tration’s first major legislative ini-tiative.
With the package stalled in theevenly divided Senate, leadingDemocrats agreed to drop theirbid to raise the existing $300-a-week benefit, bowing to the de-mands of Senator Joe Manchin IIIof West Virginia and other moder-ates who had voiced concern thatan overly generous benefit couldkeep people from returning towork and hamper a nascent re-
covery. As part of the agreement,they proposed to make a largeportion of last year’s unemploy-ment benefits tax-free.
The tentative deal emerged af-ter Mr. Manchin’s objections hadhalted the stimulus measure in itstracks just as the chamber had be-gun a marathon series of votes onan array of proposals to changethe bill. Democrats’ decision tomodify the measure to accommo-date his objections was the latestreflection of the strength of asmall group of moderates who arecrucial swing votes, and the diffi-culty of governing in a 50-to-50Senate, where Democrats cannotafford to lose a single vote.
DEMOCRATS TRIM JOBLESS BENEFITS IN STIMULUS BILL
PAVING WAY TO PASSAGE
West Virginia’s ManchinBack on Board After
Raising Objections
By EMILY COCHRANE
Senator Joe Manchin IIIANNA MONEYMAKER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Continued on Page A13
On the weekend before Christ-mas in 1996, a shop owner wasopening his check-cashing storein East Elmhurst, Queens, along-side an off-duty police officer whowas working security, when thetwo were ambushed by a group ofmen, shot and killed.
The case touched off a ferociousmanhunt, and within days, three
men were arrested. They wereconvicted in separate trials andsentenced to between 50 yearsand life in prison for murder.
But more than two decades lat-er, the case has collapsed.
On Friday, a state judge inQueens threw out the convictionsof all three men and admonishedprosecutors for withholding evi-dence that would have cast seri-ous doubt on their guilt.
Prosecutors never turned overpolice reports showing that inves-tigators had linked the killings toother men, the members of a localrobbery ring. And five witness ac-
24 Years Later, Freed Over Prosecutors’ MisstepsBy TROY CLOSSON
From left, George Bell, Rohan Bolt and Gary Johnson leaving a prison in New York on Friday.AMR ALFIKY/THE NEW YORK TIMES
New York Judge Tosses3 Murder Convictions
Continued on Page A15
Driven by unexpectedly largejob gains at the nation’s restau-rants and bars, the labor marketpicked up strength in February,raising hopes that the economicrecovery was taking hold morefirmly.
All told, employers added379,000 jobs, the government re-ported Friday, the strongest show-ing since October. The increase, asvaccination efforts ramped up andrestrictions on businesses eased,followed a deep loss in Decemberand a modest rise in January.
But the February pace was stillfar short of the gains recordedfrom late spring to early fall as thepandemic’s sudden strangleholdloosened. There are roughly 9.5million fewer jobs than a year ago,and a year’s worth of lost opportu-nities — as many as two millionjobs that would most likely havebeen created if previous hiringtrends had continued. Congress isconsidering a $1.9 trillion packageof pandemic relief intended tocarry struggling households andbusinesses through the comingmonths.
“Without a rescue plan, thesegains are going to slow,” PresidentBiden said Friday before a meet-ing with Treasury Secretary JanetL. Yellen and other economic offi-cials. “We can’t afford one stepforward and two steps backwards.We need to beat the virus, provideessential relief and build an inclu-sive recovery.”
He noted that at the rate ofFebruary’s gains, “it would taketwo years to get us back on track.”
Most of the increases came inthe leisure and hospitality indus-tries, which have been particu-larly hard hit by shutdown ordersand employ 3.5 million fewer peo-ple than a year ago. The Februarygains included 286,000 jobs in foodservices and drinking establish-ments, along with 69,000 at busi-nesses like hotels and gyms.
Some restaurant owners saythe combination of falling corona-virus cases and warming weatherin recent weeks is attracting morecustomers.
Last week Boathouse GroupRestaurants, which operates eightrestaurants in and around Rich-mond, Va., brought back 40 em-ployees who had been furloughedlate last year when dining restric-tions again tightened in the state.Kevin Healy, the owner, expects
Surprise JumpIn Job GrowthStirs Optimism
Biggest Gain Since FallIs Led by Restaurants
By PATRICIA COHEN
Continued on Page A14
On Oahu’s North Shore, young surfersare embracing safety as they ride theworld’s most dangerous waves. PAGE B8
SPORTSSATURDAY B8-10
Surf’s Up. Grab Your Helmet.
Late Edition
VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,989 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021
Today, periodic clouds and sunshine,brisk, cold, high 35. Tonight, clear topartly cloudy, cold, low 24. Tomor-row, mostly sunny, remaining cold,high 38. Weather map, Page B7.
$3.00
