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VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,561 + © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2020 Blake Collie, whose family belonged to a Christian health group, spent several weeks in the hospital. MADELINE GRAY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES Eight-year-old Blake Collie was at the swimming pool when he got a frightening headache. His par- ents rushed him to the emergency room only to learn he had a brain aneurysm. Blake spent nearly two months in the hospital. His family did not have tradi- tional health insurance. “We could not afford it,” said his father, Mark Collie, a freelance photographer in Washington, N.C. Instead, they pay about $530 a month through a Christian health care sharing organization to pay members’ medical bills. But the group capped payments for mem- bers at $250,000, almost certainly far less than the final tally of Blake’s mounting medical bills. “Just trust God,” the nonprofit group, Samaritan Ministries, in Peoria, Ill., said in a statement about its coverage, and advises its members that “there is no cover- age, no guarantee of payment.” More than one million Ameri- cans, struggling to cope with the rising cost of health insurance, have joined such groups, at- tracted by prices that are far lower than the premiums for poli- cies that must meet strict require- ments, like guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, estab- lished by the Affordable Care Act. The groups say they permit peo- ple of a common religious or ethi- cal belief to share medical costs, When a Health Plan Tells You to ‘Just Trust God’ By REED ABELSON It Isn’t Insurance, and It Makes No Promises Continued on Page A18 A flood of money rushed into the presidential race in the last three months of 2019, producing an un- usually large number of Demo- cratic candidates with the re- sources to battle deep into the 2020 primary calendar, all vying for the right to face an incumbent president boasting his own enor- mous war chest. The five strongest Democratic fund-raisers are expected to re- port over $115 million raised in just the final quarter of the year, and they join two self-funding bil- lionaires who are pouring their fortunes into expansive advertis- ing campaigns. Senator Bernie Sanders of Ver- mont is pacing the Democratic field, announcing on Thursday that he had raised $34.5 million in the last three months — the larg- est sum of any Democrat in any quarter last year. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., collected $24.7 million, and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. raised $22.7 million, his best showing of the year. Senator Elizabeth Warren has not re- vealed her haul but told support- ers in late December that she had banked $17 million, while setting a $20 million goal. In a sign of how widespread the money windfall was, Andrew Yang, the former entrepreneur who was unknown nationally a Dollars Pour In. Now Democrats Will Slug It Out. By SHANE GOLDMACHER and THOMAS KAPLAN Continued on Page A14 TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn, the fallen head of the Nissan-Renault auto alliance, didn’t know much about making movies, but he seemed willing to learn. Sitting in his rented home in a wealthy Tokyo neighborhood one day in December, he walked John Lesher, a Hollywood producer be- hind the Oscar-winning 2014 Mi- chael Keaton film, “Birdman,” through the plot of his own story, describing what he sees as his un- just imprisonment by Japanese officials and his struggle to prove his innocence, said people famil- iar with the discussions. The theme was redemption. The villain was the Japanese jus- tice system. The talks were preliminary and did not get far, the people said. And in any case, Mr. Ghosn was preparing to deliver a shocking plot twist. Mr. Ghosn, who was facing a trial later in 2020, fled Japan for Lebanon this week, avoiding criminal charges of financial wrongdoing. All the elements of a Hollywood-style thriller are there: a private plane whisking a fugitive into the sky, multiple passports, rumors of shadowy forces at work and people in power denying they knew any- thing about it. Mr. Ghosn’s conversations with Mr. Lesher could offer a glimpse into his thinking in the days before Ghosn Pitched To Hollywood Before Escape By BEN DOOLEY Continued on Page A9 In September, President Trump, the first lady and two of his top health officials gathered in the Oval Office to announce they would take what Mr. Trump called “very, very strong” action against the fast-growing epidemic of teenage vaping: a ban on the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes. Groups representing thousands of vape shops around the country quickly mobilized. They created a “We Vape, We Vote” social media campaign aimed at Mr. Trump, hired a pollster who had worked for the president’s election and even ran a television ad in Palm Beach, Fla., where Mr. Trump spent the holidays at his Mar-a- Lago club, featuring voters who urged him not to follow through with the ban. On Thursday, the administra- tion announced a policy that re- flected a partial victory for the in- dustry groups, but also seemed aimed at appeasing parents (in- cluding the crucial voting bloc of suburban mothers) and public health officials worried about nic- otine addiction among teenagers. Federal officials said they would forbid the sale of most fla- vored e-cigarette cartridges, but would exempt menthol and tobac- co flavors, as well as flavored liq- uid nicotine sold in open tank sys- tems at vape shops. In a call with reporters, the offi- Balancing Act On Path to Ban Vaping Flavors This article is by Abby Good- nough, Maggie Haberman and Sheila Kaplan. Continued on Page A13 The Turkish Parliament strongly ap- proved sending troops to Libya as the president pursues an assertive foreign policy to stoke nationalism. PAGE A4 INTERNATIONAL A4-11 Erdogan Expands Footprint A university that’s still fighting a law- suit over its use of race in admissions faces an outcry after denying a Latina professor tenure. PAGE A12 NATIONAL A12-18 New Claims of Bias at Harvard Manufacturers are cutting costs so they can invest in new technology like elec- tric and autonomous vehicles. Workers are feeling the impact. PAGE B1 BUSINESS B1-5 Shift in German Auto Sector There’s more intriguing TV fare this winter than ever, Mike Hale says. He’s made a list of 50 new and returning shows for your consideration. PAGE C14 WEEKEND ARTS C1-24 Binge-Worthy Viewing David Brooks PAGE A23 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23 U(D54G1D)y+z!#!,!?!" WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The commander of Iran’s power- ful Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed early Friday in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that was authorized by President Trump, American offi- cials said. The commander, Maj. Gen. Qas- sim Suleimani, and several offi- cials from Iraqi militias backed by Tehran were killed when an Amer- ican MQ-9 Reaper drone fired missiles into a convoy that was leaving the airport. The killing of General Sulei- mani was a staggering blow for Iran’s military and national pride, and was a serious escalation of Mr. Trump’s growing confronta- tion with Tehran, one that began with the death of an American contractor in Iraq in late Decem- ber. Regional analysts said Iran’s leaders were likely to treat Gen- eral Suleimani’s killing as an act of war. United States officials were braced for potential Iranian retal- iatory attacks, possibly including cyberattacks and terrorism, on American interests and allies. American officials consider General Suleimani responsible for the deaths of hundreds of soldiers during the Iraq war, when he pro- vided Iraqi insurgents with ad- vanced bomb-making equipment and training. They also say he has masterminded destabilizing Ira- nian activities that continue throughout the Middle East and are aimed at the United States, Is- rael and Saudi Arabia. “General Suleimani was ac- tively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “General Suleimani and his Quds Force were responsi- ble for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.” It did not elaborate on the spe- cific intelligence that led them to carry out General Suleimani’s killing. The highly classified mis- sion was set in motion after the U.S. STRIKE IN IRAQ KILLS COMMANDER OF IRANIAN FORCES Trump Orders Pre-emptive Air Attack — Staggering Blow Dealt to Tehran This article is by Michael Crowley, Falih Hassan and Eric Schmitt. Continued on Page A10 MILITARY STRATEGIST Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani had a celeb- rity-like status with Iran’s hard- line conservatives. Page A10. EBRAHIM NOROOZI/ASSOCIATED PRESS INVERLOCH, Australia — They fled from looming firestorms that threatened to cut off their es- cape, only to join a slog alongside the masses of others who crowded the roads. Thousands more waited for rescue by sea. Across the scorched southeast, frightened Australians — taking a few cherished things, abandoning their homes and vacation rentals, and braving smoke that discol- ored the skies — struggled Thurs- day to evacuate as wildfires turned the countryside into char- coal wasteland. And from government officials came a disheartening warning: This weekend will be one of the worst periods yet in Australia’s catastrophic fire season. “It’s going to be a blast furnace,” Andrew Constance, the transport minister of New South Wales, told The Sydney Morning Herald. The blazes have strained the country’s firefighting resources, and the fire season, though still young, already ranks as among the worst in Australia’s recorded history. The state of New South Wales declared an emergency in its southeastern region on Thursday, calling on residents and vacation- ers to evacuate. Mr. Constance said the relocation was the largest in the region’s history. To the south, the state of Vic- toria declared a disaster on Thurs- day, allowing it to authorize the evacuation of areas along its east- ern coast. Ablaze, Southeast Australia Faces Even Worse: ‘A Blast Furnace’ This article is by Livia Albeck- Ripka, Jamie Tarabay and Richard Pérez-Peña. Lake Conjola in New South Wales on Thursday. The state declared an emergency in its southeastern region, telling people to evacuate. ROBERT OERLEMANS, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS Continued on Page A8 Late Edition F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N Today, overcast, rain and drizzle, mild, high 50. Tonight, a little rain, low 45. Tomorrow, remaining cloudy and mild, periodic rain, high 50. Weather map appears on Page A24. $3.00
