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U(D54G1D)y+?!=!,!#!/ Roger E. Ailes, who shaped the images that helped elect three Re- publican presidents and then be- came a dominant, often-intimidat- ing force in American conserva- tive politics at the helm of Fox News until he was forced out last year in a sexual harassment scan- dal, died on Thursday morning. He was 77. The cause was complications of a subdural hematoma that Mr. Ailes sustained when he fell and struck his head on May 10 at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., the lo- cal authorities said. “Fair and balanced” was Mr. Ai- les’s defining phrase for Fox News, along with another slogan: “We report. You decide.” Though routinely mocked by liberal crit- ics, who regarded the network as decidedly unfair and imbalanced, those words amounted to an arti- cle of faith for Mr. Ailes, who creat- ed Fox News with Rupert Mur- doch’s money and guided it for two decades. “If we look conservative,” he said, “it’s because the other guys are so far to the left.” In his mor- dant humor, CNN stood for Clin- ton News Network and CBS for Communist Broadcasting Sys- tem. What Fox News did, he said, was apply a necessary corrective. From its debut on Oct. 7, 1996, the network, under his tutelage, did its share of straightforward re- porting but also unmistakably fil- tered major news stories through a conservative lens. Evening pro- gramming, which embodied the Fox News brand, was dominated by right-wing commentators like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, who hurled opinions and vented resentments with a pugnacity that reflected their boss’s own combativeness. As the network’s chairman and chief executive, Mr. Ailes was widely feared, particularly by con- servative politicians who sought his favor. He cultivated a swagger- ing persona, accentuated by bursts of obscenity-laced anger. A Fighter Who Turned Rage Into a News Empire By CLYDE HABERMAN Mr. Ailes dominated conservative politics as Fox News’s leader. CATRINA GENOVESE/GETTY IMAGES DIVISIVE IN LIFE AND DEATH Roger Ailes upended the tradi- tions and structure of the main- stream media. Complete coverage in Business Day, Page B1. Continued on Page A21 ROGER E. AILES, 1940-2017 2017 THE ESTATE OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT/ADAGP, PARIS/ARS, VIA SOTHEBY'S Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 painting of a skull exceeded expectations at Sotheby’s. Page A27. A Basquiat Sells for $110.5 Million Suddenly, there was a car where no car should be: plowing through the sidewalk crowds that had swelled in Times Square on a spectacular sun-filled day. And it was moving fast. By the time it rammed into a bollard, an 18-year-old woman was dead, 22 other people were in- jured and the heart of Manhattan had been turned into a scene of panic and carnage. The car, a ma- roon Honda Accord, had traveled along the sidewalk for more than three blocks. “They were screaming, yelling, running,” said Sharief White, a vendor who was selling T-shirts and hats at Seventh Avenue and 44th Street and saw the Honda speed into the crowd. “It was run- ning over everybody that was in front of the car.” Unfolding in one of the city’s most crowded and high-profile ar- eas, the episode instantly raised the specter of terrorism. An at- tempted car-bomb attack in Times Square in 2010 remains a potent memory for many, and recent ter- rorist attacks overseas have shown the damage that vehicles can do when used as weapons. The driver of the Honda, Rich- ard Rojas, 26, a Navy veteran from the Bronx, had a history of arrests for drunken driving, said officials, moving quickly to assuage fears of terrorism. Times Square Chaos as Driver Kills a Woman and Injures 22 By ELI ROSENBERG and LIAM STACK Passers-by with one of those hurt when a man drove onto a Times Square sidewalk Thursday, hitting pedestrians on three blocks. JEWEL SAMAD/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES Continued on Page A24 BEIRUT, Lebanon — When President Trump heads to Saudi Arabia on Friday for his first trip overseas since taking office, it will be for much more than a run-of- the-mill state visit. The Saudis have international- ized the event, organizing a sprawling “Arab Islamic Ameri- can Summit” with leaders from dozens of Muslim countries, as well as talks with the king, the in- auguration of a counterterrorism center, forums for business execu- tives and young people, and a country music concert. Saudi Arabia, home to some of Islam’s holiest sites, will be pulling out all the stops for a man who has declared “Islam hates us” and said the United States was “losing a tremendous amount of money” defending the kingdom. But Saudi Arabia and its Per- sian Gulf allies were so angry over President Barack Obama’s Mid- dle East policies that they ap- peared prepared to dismiss Mr. Trump’s remarks as campaign rhetoric, and to see in him a possi- bility of resetting relations. Overlooking Slights by Trump, Saudis Plan a Lavish Welcome By BEN HUBBARD Continued on Page A19 WASHINGTON — President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investiga- tion, according to two people briefed on the call. Mr. Comey told the president that if he wanted to know details about the bureau’s investigations, he should not contact him directly but instead follow the proper procedures and have the White House counsel send any inquiries to the Justice Department, ac- cording to those people. After explaining to Mr. Trump how communications with the F.B.I. should work, Mr. Comey be- lieved he had effectively drawn the line after a series of encounters he had with the presi- dent and other White House offi- cials that he felt jeopardized the F.B.I.’s independence. At the time, Mr. Comey was overseeing the in- vestigation into links between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russia. Those interactions included a dinner in which associates of Mr. Comey say Mr. Trump asked him to pledge his loyalty and a meet- ing in the Oval Office at which Mr. Trump told him he hoped Mr. Comey would shut down an inves- tigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Trump has denied making the request. The day after the Flynn conver- sation, Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, asked Mr. Comey to help push back on re- ports in the news media that Mr. Trump’s associates had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials during the campaign. Mr. Comey described all of his contacts with the president and the White House — including the phone call from Mr. Trump — in detailed memos he wrote at the Comey Wanted President Kept At a Distance Allies Say Encounters Troubled Ex-Director By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Continued on Page A14 WASHINGTON — President Trump declared angrily on Thurs- day that he was the victim of a witch hunt, and all but contra- dicted his deputy attorney general on the firing of the F.B.I. director, in an extensive denial of any collu- sion between his campaign and Russia. Mr. Trump used a chaotic White House news confer- ence with Co- lombia’s leader to directly con- front a week- long barrage of criticism and questions in a political storm that he said was di- viding the nation. He also conspic- uously distanced himself from aides like his former national se- curity adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in repeating his claim that Mos- cow and its agents had not se- cretly assisted his campaign. “I respect the move,” Mr. Trump said of the Justice Department’s decision on Wednesday to appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter. “But the entire thing has been a witch hunt.” “And there is no collusion be- tween, certainly, myself and my campaign — but I can always speak for myself — and the Rus- sians,” he said. “Zero.” Mr. Trump made his comments while standing alongside Co- lombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos. As he dug in his heels, Mr. Trump further muddied his expla- nation of why he dismissed the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey — and in doing so, offered a different DEFIANT TRUMP DEEMS INQUIRY ‘A WITCH HUNT’ ‘THERE IS NO COLLUSION’ Remarks on F.B.I. Firing Contradict Deputy Attorney General By MARK LANDLER Continued on Page A16 Trump Louisiana has the nation’s high- est incarceration rate. But this week, Gov. John Bel Edwards struck a deal to reduce sentences and the prison population, saving millions annually. If lawmakers approve the chan- ges, Louisiana will be following more than 30 states, including Georgia, Texas and South Car- olina, that have already limited sentences; expanded alternatives to incarceration, such as drug treatment; or otherwise reduced the reach and cost of the criminal justice system. Many of those states say they have saved money while crime rates have stayed low. In Washington, though, the na- tion’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has charted the opposite course. He announced last week that fed- eral prosecutors should aim to put more people in prison for longer periods, adopting the sort of mass-incarceration strategy that helped flood prisons during the war on drugs in the 1980s and 1990s. His move — which he said would promote consistency and respect for the law — alarmed critics who feared that the Trump administration was embracing failed, even racist, policies. Even more, Mr. Sessions’s ap- proach conflicted with one of the few major points of bipartisan na- tional agreement over the past decade: that criminal justice could be more effective by becom- ing less punitive to low-level offenders; treating root causes of crime, like drug addiction; and re- States Aim to Unpack Prisons, Crossing Sessions By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. Continued on Page A20 Walmart, which owns the e-commerce retailer Jet.com, says its online sales in the U.S. are up 63 percent. PAGE B1 BUSINESS DAY B1-9 Walmart’s Online Sales Surge Fiat Chrysler, facing evidence that it flouted emissions rules, says it is talk- ing to the Justice Department. PAGE B1 Carmaker in Settlement Talks President Michel Temer of Brazil re- jected calls to resign after a report said that he authorized the payment of hush money to a jailed ally. PAGE A10 INTERNATIONAL A4-10 Bribery Claim Rocks Brazil The Pentagon said American warplanes in Syria attacked a pro-government militia convoy after it ignored warnings and violated a restricted zone. PAGE A6 U.S. Strikes Syrian Convoy A small town in Sweden rejected a proposal that it subsidize one-hour sex breaks for local employees. PAGE A10 Scram, I’m on My Break A longtime advocate for subway riders is now focused on the disabled. PAGE A22 NEW YORK A22-27 Still Fighting for a Better Ride In Cairo, Ill., a plan to raze crumbling public housing leaves residents of the fading Mississippi River town asking, “Where to now?” PAGE A12 NATIONAL A12-21 Turned Out, and Searching A Robert Rauschenberg retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art reveals the social nature of his work. PAGE C15 WEEKEND C1-26 A Genius? It Takes a Village Chris Cornell, 52, of Soundgarden helped popularize Seattle’s sound. PAGE B14 OBITUARIES B14-15 A Pillar of Grunge Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United for a 90-million-pound transfer fee. Fans expecting a savior have been disappointed. PAGE B10 SPORTSFRIDAY B10-13 Soccer’s Money Player Paul Krugman PAGE A29 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A28-29 Jared Kushner tries to sway Saudi officials on an arms deal be- fore the president’s trip. Page A19. The Kushner Touch Late Edition VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,602 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017 Today, clouds and sunshine, after- noon showers, warm, humid, high 88. Tonight, cloudy, cool, low 56. To- morrow, sunny, cool, less humid, high 70. Weather map, Page B16. $2.50
