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HOTAN, China — The firstgrader was a good student and be-loved by her classmates, but shewas inconsolable, and it was nomystery to her teacher why.

“The most heartbreaking thingis that the girl is often slumpedover on the table alone and cry-ing,” he wrote on his blog. “When Iasked around, I learned that it wasbecause she missed her mother.”

The mother, he noted, had beensent to a detention camp for Mus-lim ethnic minorities. The girl’s fa-

ther had passed away, he added.But instead of letting other rela-tives raise her, the authorities puther in a state-run boarding school— one of hundreds of such facili-ties that have opened in China’sfar western Xinjiang region.

As many as a million ethnic Ui-ghurs, Kazakhs and others havebeen sent to internment campsand prisons in Xinjiang over thepast three years, an indiscrimi-nate clampdown aimed at weak-ening the population’s devotion toIslam. Even as these mass deten-tions have provoked global out-rage, though, the Chinese govern-

ment is pressing ahead with a par-allel effort targeting the region’schildren.

Nearly a half million childrenhave been separated from theirfamilies and placed in boardingschools so far, according to a plan-ning document published on a

government website, and the rul-ing Communist Party has set agoal of operating one to two suchschools in each of Xinjiang’s 800-plus townships by the end of nextyear.

The party has presented theschools as a way to fight poverty,arguing that they make it easierfor children to attend classes iftheir parents live or work in re-mote areas or are unable to carefor them. And it is true that manyrural families are eager to sendtheir children to these schools, es-pecially when they are older.

But the schools are also de-signed to assimilate and indoctri-nate children at an early age,away from the influence of theirfamilies, according to the plan-ning document, published in 2017.Students are often forced to enrollbecause the authorities have de-tained their parents and other rel-atives, ordered them to take jobsfar from home or judged them un-fit guardians.

As It Detains Parents, China Weans Children From IslamBy AMY QIN

Children heading to school in Hotan, in the Xinjiang region, where Beijing is seeking to assimilate and indoctrinate Muslim children.GIULIA MARCHI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page 8

New Boarding SchoolsRedirect Faith From

Religion to Party

GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. —Great American Pizza & Subs, ona highway about 100 miles south-east of Las Vegas, was busier andTrumpier than usual. On any giv-en day it serves “M.A.G.A. Subs”and “Liberty Bell Lasagna.” The“Second Amendment” pizzacomes “loaded” with pepperoniand sausage. The dining room iscovered in regalia praising Presi-

dent Trump.But this October morning was

Trumpstock, a small festival cele-brating the president. The speak-ers included the local Republicancongressman, Paul Gosar, andlesser-known conservative per-sonalities. There was a fringe2020 Senate candidate in Arizonawho ran a website that publishedsexually explicit photos of womenwithout their consent; a pro-Trump rapper whose lyrics in-clude a racist slur aimed at Barack

Obama; and a North Carolina ac-tivist who once said of Muslims, “Iwill kill every one of them beforethey get to me.”

All were welcome, except liber-als.

“They label us white national-ists, or white supremacists,” vol-unteered Guy Taiho Decker, whodrove from California to the event.A right-wing protester, he has pre-viously been arrested on chargesof making terrorist threats.

Where the Far Right Sees Doom Without TrumpBy ASTEAD W. HERNDON

Attendees at an Arizona Trump festival viewed the president as their champion in a cultural fight.BETHANY MOLLENKOF FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page 19

It began almost playfully, liketiny hiccups in her mind. Shewould forget she had alreadychanged the sheets and changethem again, or repeat a thought inthe same breath.

Then the illness amplified.She grew confused by everyday

tasks. Became convinced her par-ents were still alive and insistedupon a visit. At social gatherings,she was anxious and fearful. Sheforgot how to sew and cross-stitch. Forgot the faces of her chil-dren.

She did remember her name.Alma Shaver. But not her age.Eighty.

And sometimes, she did notknow her husband.

He was Richard Shaver, a manwhose wife of 60 years had beenfound by dementia, that thief thatrobs the minds of 50 million peo-ple worldwide. So common, yet sopersonally cruel — it comes withno road map for those tending tothe afflicted.

For a while, Mr. Shaver man-aged. He would sit next to his wifeand rub her hand, her knee, to tryto calm the unease. He left notesexplaining simple tasks. If shewas stuck repeating herself, heasked yes or no questions to break

Happily Married for 60 Years.Then Alzheimer’s. And a Gun.

By CORINA KNOLL

Continued on Page 20

Alma and Richard Shaver hadknown each other since child-hood, in Shadyside, Ohio.

MORTON, Miss. — Juan Grantstrode into the Koch Foodschicken processing plant for hisnew job on a Wednesday morning,joining many other African-Amer-icans in a procession of rubber

boots, hairnets and last cigarettesbefore the grind.

At 20, Mr. Grant was too youngto remember the days of a nearlyall-white work force in Mississip-pi’s poultry industry, or the civilrights boycotts and protests thatfollowed. He was too young tohave seen how white workerslargely moved on after that, leav-ing the business of killing, cuttingand packing to African-Ameri-cans.

He did not know the time beforeHispanic workers began arrivingin the heart of chicken country bythe thousands, recruited by plantmanagers looking to fill low-pay-ing jobs in an expanding industry.

But Mr. Grant clearly remem-bered Aug. 7, the day the Trumpadministration performed sweep-ing immigration raids on sevenchicken plants in central Missis-sippi. He remembered the news

In Mississippi, ICE Raids JoltChicken Plants

By RICHARD FAUSSET

Continued on Page 21

IMPERFECT UNION

Arrests Mean Job Openings

Newly released documents illustrate asecret effort by Chase Manhattan to getthe deposed Iranian ruler admitted tothe United States in 1979. PAGE 10

INTERNATIONAL 5-11

Bank Helped Shah Find HavenA barista training program at the NewYork jail complex aims to give inmatesa chance for a better future. And a tasteof life post-prison. PAGE 1

SUNDAY BUSINESS

Now Served at Rikers: Lattes

U(D5E71D)x+\!?!/!#!;

Michiko Kakutani PAGE 4

SUNDAY REVIEW

WASHINGTON — In just threeyears, the Trump administrationhas diminished the role of sciencein federal policymaking whilehalting or disrupting researchprojects nationwide, marking atransformation of the federal gov-ernment whose effects, expertssay, could reverberate for years.

Political appointees have shutdown government studies, re-duced the influence of scientistsover regulatory decisions and insome cases pressured re-searchers not to speak publicly.The administration has particu-larly challenged scientific find-ings related to the environmentand public health opposed by in-dustries such as oil drilling andcoal mining. It has also impededresearch around human-causedclimate change, which PresidentTrump has dismissed despite aglobal scientific consensus.

But the erosion of sciencereaches well beyond the envi-ronment and climate: In SanFrancisco, a study of the effects ofchemicals on pregnant womenhas stalled after federal fundingabruptly ended. In Washington,D.C., a scientific committee thatprovided expertise in defendingagainst invasive insects has beendisbanded. In Kansas City, Mo.,the hasty relocation of two agri-cultural agencies that fund cropscience and study the economicsof farming has led to an exodus ofemployees and delayed hundredsof millions of dollars in research.

“The disregard for expertise inthe federal government is worsethan it’s ever been,” said MichaelGerrard, director of the SabinCenter for Climate Change Law atColumbia University, which hastracked more than 200 reports ofTrump administration efforts torestrict or misuse science since2017. “It’s pervasive.”

TRUMP ERODINGROLE OF SCIENCE

IN GOVERNMENT

FUNDING AND STAFF CUTS

Agency Researchers CitePervasive Disregard

for Expertise

By BRAD PLUMER and CORAL DAVENPORT

Continued on Page 16

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Anexplosives-laden truck blew up ata busy intersection in the Somalicapital on Saturday and killed atleast 79 people, the latest sign ofresurgent militant activity in acountry plagued by an enduringstrain of violent extremism.

A bus carrying university stu-dents to their campus was struckby the blast, which left the streetslittered with bodies and the man-gled frames of vehicles. The at-tack, which the government saidalso injured 149 people, was theworst in Somalia in more than twoyears.

There was no immediate claimof responsibility, but suspicion im-mediately fell on the Shabab, aterrorist group linked to Al Qaedawhich controls large parts of thecountry and raises considerablefunds through local taxation andextortion. Despite intensifiedAmerican airstrikes and a long-running African Union offensive,the group has carried out deadlyattacks not only in Somalia butalso in neighboring Kenya andUganda.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t ap-pear that much progress has beenmade against combating what hasbecome a very resilient anddeadly insurgency,” said MurithiMutiga, the Horn of Africa projectdirector at the International CrisisGroup, a research organization.

The attack — one of several thisyear in Mogadishu including agun battle two weeks ago thatkilled five people at a well-knownhotel — added to concerns aboutthe abilities of Somali forces as Af-rican Union troops begin to with-

Nearly 80 DieAs Blast StrikesSomali Capital

Truck Bomb Fuels Fearof Rising Insurgency

This article is by Hussein Mo-hamed, Abdi Latif Dahir and EricSchmitt.

Continued on Page 7

Clemson returned to the college footballtitle game with a 29-23 win over OhioState, and will face Louisiana State, a63-28 victor against Oklahoma. PAGE 7

SPORTSSUNDAY

Title Tilt: Clemson vs. L.S.U.

Late Edition

VOL. CLXIX . . No. 58,556 + © 2019 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2019

F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R A T I O N

An intruder with a knife stormed intothe home of a Hasidic rabbi in a NewYork suburb, stabbing and woundingfive people, officials said. PAGE 4

NATIONAL 4,14-23

Knife Attack at Rabbi’s Home

Today, morning sunshine, cloudy af-ternoon, rain by early evening, high46. Tonight, rain, 42. Tomorrow,cloudy, occasional rain, high 44.Weather map appears on Page 22.

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