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LOS ANGELES — It’s one ofHollywood’s most secretive andunusual jobs: Brian Cullinan, apartner at the accounting firmPwC, and a colleague are taskedwith making sure the statuettes atthe annual Academy Awards arecorrectly distributed. He stands inthe wings of the Dolby Theaterhere in a tuxedo and pulls sealedenvelopes out of a briefcase, giv-ing the correct one to presentersas they walk onto the stage.
This is the one night a yearwhen the button-down PwC reallygets to shine. The firm’s chief ex-ecutive sits with stars in the audi-ence. Mr. Cullinan walks the redcarpet, where reporters often sayhe resembles Matt Damon. Hetold one TV crew that he had nonerves. “We’ve done this a fewtimes,” he said before Sundaynight’s show, “and we prepare alot.” He was so at ease, he evenfound time to tweet from back-stage about Emma Stone as theshow neared its climax.
Whoops.In an epic bungle before 33 mil-
lion viewers — one that could gethis company fired as the Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sci-ences’ accountant after 83 yearsand which robbed “Moonlight,” anall-black, gay-themed film, of itsproper moment of celebration —Mr. Cullinan caused the show-business musical “La La Land” tobe mistakenly named best pictureat the 89th Academy Awards.PwC’s chief executive watchedthe scene from the third row.
At the climactic moment back-stage, a crew member shouted“Oh my God” as the jubilantproducers of “La La Land”
thanked their families. “He got thewrong envelope!”
“He” was Warren Beatty, who,along with Faye Dunaway, pre-sented the final award of the night.Mr. Beatty opened the envelopeand, after some hesitation,handed it to Ms. Dunaway. Shesaid that “La La Land,” aboutyoung California dreamers, wasthe winner. The crowd erupted inapplause, and the “La La Land”team rushed the stage.
Why did it take minutes to fixthe error? “PwC sounded thealarm, but not right away,” GaryNatoli, the telecast’s stage man-ager, said in a text message. “Itwasn’t until just before I jumpedonstage that it was confirmed by
From ‘The Envelope, Please’ To ‘Whoops!’ on Oscars Show
By BROOKS BARNES and CARA BUCKLEY
From left, Brian Cullinan,from PwC, conferred withGary Natoli, the stage man-ager, and Warren Beatty.
LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS
Continued on Page A15
The accounting firm PwC nor-mally plays a behind-the-scenesrole at the Oscars, but that allchanged Sunday night. Page A15.
Unwanted Spotlight
LUCA BRUNO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missoni’s collection for Milan Fashion Week tucked a political message into its parade of colors:to “show the world the fashion community is united and fearless.” A review. Fashion, Page B16.
Making a Statement
TRUMP FANS Modest rallies in several cities sent the message thatsupporters believe the president has been treated unfairly. PAGE A13
MORE FOR THE MILITARY The president’s plan to raise the Pentagon’sbudget by $54 billion was criticized by spending hawks. PAGE A11
WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump put both political partieson notice Monday that he intendsto slash spending on many of thefederal government’s most poli-tically sensitive programs — re-lating to education, the envi-ronment, science and poverty —to protect the economic security ofretirees and to shift billions moreto the armed forces.
The proposal to increase mili-tary spending by $54 billion andcut nonmilitary programs by thesame amount was unveiled byWhite House officials as they pre-pare the president’s plans for nextyear’s federal budget. Aides to thepresident said final decisionsabout Medicare and Social Securi-ty would not be made until later inthe year, when he announces hisfull budget. But Sean Spicer, hisspokesman, cited Mr. Trump’scampaign commitments aboutprotecting those programs andvowed that “he’s going to keep hisword to the American people.”
In effect, Mr. Trump appears de-termined to take sides in a genera-tional struggle between older,sicker Americans who depend onthe entitlement programs, andtheir younger, poorer counter-parts whose livelihoods areshaped by the domestic programslikely to see steep cuts.
He also set up a battle for con-trol of Republican Party ideologywith House Speaker Paul D. Ryan,who for years has staked his pol-
Budget OutlineSets Up ClashOver Ideology
Entitlement ProgramsWould Be Preserved
By MICHAEL D. SHEARand JENNIFER STEINHAUER
President Trump spoke about his budget proposals during a meeting on Monday with the National Governors Association.STEPHEN CROWLEY/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Continued on Page A11
COLORADO SPRINGS — Ex-ecutives at the United States Anti-Doping Agency here are agitatingfor a forceful response to Russia’sstate-run doping program, lobby-ing international sports officialsfor more aggressive sanctions andfor an overhaul of the global regu-latory system.
Executives at the nearbyUnited States Olympic Commit-tee’s headquarters have a differ-ent agenda. They are lobbying thesame officials to award the 2024Summer Games to Los Angeles, alikely financial boon for the com-mittee, and have pressured Con-gress not to amplify the antidop-ing concerns.
The competing agendas haveput some of the most powerfulsports executives in the world inconflict as the Olympic Committeeenters the final months of its effortto bring the Games back to theUnited States for the first timesince 2002.
“Fighting with an organizationresponsible for giving futureOlympic Games — it’s a big mis-take,” said Vitaly Smirnov, an in-fluential Russian Olympic official.
He singled out criticisms byTravis Tygart, America’s antidop-ing chief, who has argued for se-vere penalties against Russia.“This gentleman is doing a verycounterproductive job with re-spect to the Los Angeles bid,” Mr.Smirnov said.
The choice for the 2024 Gamesis down to Los Angeles and Paris,and United States Olympic offi-cials and other powerful interestsinvolved with the bid have ex-pressed concern to members ofCongress that the clean-sportscrusade could alienate some of theglobal officials who will make thedecision.
Dueling Ideals:Host OlympicsOr Curb Dopers
By REBECCA R. RUIZ
Continued on Page A16
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Awheelbarrow saved his life.
Sprawled across it, Babaganafelt every bump, moaning in painfrom four bullet wounds. Coveredin his blood, his pregnant wifehelped roll him across the Ni-gerian countryside to a hospital.
Somehow, Babagana survivedthe makeshift ambulance ride.More than 80 men from his villagehad been shot to death, he said, allof them forced to strip to the waistand lie face down. The gunmenthen burned their small farmingvillage before speeding away.
The attack fit the pattern of
rampages by Boko Haram, theterrorist group that has killedpoor people in this region foryears. But Babagana and multiplewitnesses to the attack in June, aswell as another one days before ina neighboring village, say the rad-icals were not to blame this time.
Instead, they say, themassacres were carried out by theNigerian military.
“They told us they were here tohelp us,” said a resident, Falmata,20, adding that soldiers in uniformshouted for villagers to point outthe Boko Haram members amongthem. When none were identified,the killings began, she and otherwitnesses said.
In recent months, the Nigerianmilitary has made great headwayin its war against Boko Haram, theradical Islamist militants terroriz-ing northeast Nigeria.
But the army’s aggressivesweeps to root out the remainingfighters have taken a toll on morethan just Boko Haram. Witnessesare accusing Nigerian soldiers ofkilling unarmed civilians, as well.
In Nigeria, Killing Civilians in Hunt for TerroristsBy DIONNE SEARCEY Villagers Share Details
of Mass Shootingsby Own Soldiers
Continued on Page A6
A video released by a Philippine mili-tant group shows the beheading of aGerman hostage, officials said. PAGE A6
Hostage Killed on Video
No more than 30 of the tiny porpoisesare left. Experts propose keeping somein captivity as a last resort. PAGE D1
The Vanishing Vaquitas
How Geert Wilders, above, and hisfar-right party fare on March 15 couldreveal Europe’s political winds. PAGE A4
INTERNATIONAL A4-8
Dutch Vote as Weather Vane
The Justice Department said it woulddrop a key objection to a strict voter-identification law in Texas, shrinking itsrole in the case. PAGE A12
NATIONAL A9-16
Setback for Voter ID Lawsuit
The Supreme Court heard argumentsabout a law that bars sex offendersfrom sites like Facebook. PAGE A9
The Right to Use Social Media
Berkeley College basketball players, whosay they’ve been given a second chance,will try for a third national title. PAGE B9
SPORTSTUESDAY B9-14
A Tiny School’s Big Dreams
While bariatric surgery for teenagersraises many issues, for some it might bethe best option. PAGE D1
SCIENCE TIMES D1-6
The Last Best Hope?
Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota keptusing Takata airbags they knew to bedangerous, lawyers asserted. PAGE B1
BUSINESS DAY B1-8
Airbag Scandal Widens
Mohsin Hamid’scompelling novel“Exit West” recountsthe harrowing storyof migrants whomake their way grad-ually from a war zoneto the United States.A review. PAGE C4
ARTS C1-8
Escaping to Strange Lands
David Leonhardt PAGE A23
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23
A manager at a city agency lost his jobhours after the mayor was questionedin a fund-raising inquiry. PAGE A17
NEW YORK A17-21
Figure in de Blasio Case Is Fired
Envisioning a new era for acrobats, aschool’s founder teaches stunts as anart form and a “life tool.” PAGE A17
Circus Curriculum? It’s Flexible
Mayor Bill de Blasio is expectedon Tuesday to unveil a plan toopen roughly 90 new homelessshelters throughout New York’sfive boroughs, a stark increase de-vised to address his most vexingcitywide problem.
The move, which was con-firmed by several people familiarwith the plan, would increase thenumber of shelters in New York
by nearly a third and is sure tomeet community opposition atnearly every turn.
With re-election looming, Mr. deBlasio has been frustrated in hisattempts to curb the continuingincrease in homelessness. Visibly,more people are sleeping and beg-ging on the street, and the uptickis easily documented by a dailyshelter census that now hovers atabout 60,000 people.
“I’m very dissatisfied when itcomes to a lot of strategies we put
into place to address homeless-ness that still haven’t gotten uswhere we want to go,” the mayorsaid in December. “My job is to getit right.”
Homelessness has been a vul-nerable point for Mr. de Blasio,who entered office three years agowith an ambitious agenda thatpromised to address the city’s in-come inequality. The rise in home-lessness is arguably the mayor’sbiggest failure in that goal to closethe gap between the haves and the
have-nots.Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Washington have experiencedsimilar increases, even as thenumber of homeless people na-tionwide has declined in recentyears.
The exact contours of Mr. deBlasio’s proposal were not clear;administration officials have de-clined to give any details until themayor announces it, presumably
Fight Looms as de Blasio Plans to Seek 90 New Homeless SheltersBy NIKITA STEWART
Continued on Page A18
WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump, meeting with the nation’sgovernors, conceded Monday thathe had not been aware of the com-plexities of health care policy-making: “I have to tell you, it’s anunbelievably complex subject.Nobody knew that health carecould be so complicated.”
The president also suggestedthat the struggle to replace the Af-fordable Care Act was creating alegislative logjam that could delayother parts of his political agenda.
Many policy makers had antici-pated the intricacies of changingthe health care law, and Mr.Trump’s demands in the openingdays of his administration to si-multaneously repeal and replacePresident Barack Obama’s signa-ture domestic achievement madethe political calculations far morecomplicated.
Governors of both parties add-ed still more confusion on Mondaywhen they called for any replace-ment to cover all the people al-ready benefiting from the land-mark law.
“Of course I am concerned,”said Gov. Brian Sandoval, the Re-publican governor of Nevada,
TRUMP CONCEDESHEALTH OVERHAULIS A THORNY TASK
‘UNBELIEVABLY COMPLEX’
Governors Set CoverageDemands as Agenda
Starts to Stall
By ROBERT PEARand KATE KELLY
Continued on Page A10
Late Edition
VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,522 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017
Today, variably cloudy, mild, strayafternoon showers, high 60. Tonight,cloudy, mild, periodic rain, low 54.Tomorrow, rather cloudy, showers,high 72. Weather map, Page A14.
$2.50
