U(D5E71D)x+,!=!/!#!{

C M Y K Nxxx,2018-12-23,A,001,Bs-4C,E3

SAHARANPUR, India — In-dia’s most influential guru joinedthousands of believers four yearsago as the temple’s first stone wasset in the ground.

It was a glorious day for itsbuilders, the Gupta brothers, thesons of a local shopkeeper whohad risen, almost magically, to be-come one of the richest families aworld away in South Africa.

The three brothers had flownback on their private jet to startwork on the temple, a 125-footmonument of pink sandstone andwhite marble that would towerover the tiny place where their fa-ther used to ride his bicycle topray every day.

But one morning last month, asthe sun struggled to breakthrough the smog in Saharanpur,their hometown in India’s north,the giant yellow crane raising thetemple stood still — in limbo, likethe brothers themselves.

The Guptas are now in self-im-posed exile in Dubai, evading ar-rest in South Africa, where theystand at the center of a scandalthat has already brought down thenation’s president and exposedstaggering amounts of corruptionin the once-legendary party ofNelson Mandela.

Even here in India, the family’slegacy — so large that it has beenelevated to myth — faces collapse.The new temple, dedicated toLord Shiva in their father’s honor,is now being investigated for thesame kind of self-dealing andfraud the family is accused of mas-tering in South Africa.

The rise and fall of the Guptabrothers is so improbable that inSaharanpur their story is told likea parable.

They began by selling shoes inSouth Africa and swiftly becamecentral figures in the nation’spost-apartheid history, outsiderswho broke into the very pinnacleof political power. Seeminglyovernight, they joined the ranks ofSouth Africa’s most influentialfamilies, playing a leading role inone of the biggest dramas afterthe end of apartheid: Who is get-ting rich, and how?

Mr. Mandela’s election as presi-

In Family’s RiseAnd Fall, a TaleRife With Graft

Ties to Brothers HauntSouth Africa’s A.N.C.

By NORIMITSU ONISHIand SELAM GEBREKIDAN

Continued on Page 10

Tyler Perry is a householdname in the United States, wherehis movies have made nearly a bil-lion dollars. But in Britain, he isknown mainly for playing the law-yer to Ben Affleck’s accused hus-band in “Gone Girl” — if he isknown at all.

Some of the movies Mr. Perryhas written and directed have re-ceived small international open-ings, most often in South Africaand the Arabian Peninsula. Onlyone or two ever got anything closeto a European theatrical push.

“I fought for it, I asked for it,”Mr. Perry said. But often he getsthe same response: “Stories withblack people don’t travel, don’ttranslate.”

For years, minority filmmakershave pushed Hollywood studiosand distributors to get over a re-luctance to promote their filmsworldwide. They are hoping that2018 was the tipping point they

have been waiting for.This year “Black Panther,”

“Crazy Rich Asians” and “BlacK-kKlansman” all raked in moneyoverseas, an unusual winningstreak that challenged beliefsabout the global appeal of actorsof color.

Charles D. King, the chief exec-utive of Macro, a financial backerof “Fences,” starring DenzelWashington, and the summer in-die hit “Sorry to Bother You,” saidhe had seen examples of an indus-try shift. He pointed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s and WarnerBros.’ full-bore promotion of theNovember boxing sequel “CreedII,” with its star, Michael B. Jor-dan, traveling with the film inter-nationally.

Of the longstanding belief thatfilms need white leads to travel,Mr. King said: “We’re seeingpockets of progression, where the

Will ‘Black Panther’ Pave WayFor Minority Stars Overseas?

By CARA BUCKLEY

Continued on Page 4

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Away ina manger on Bethlehem’s publicsquare, a woman approached astatue of the baby Jesus one dark,December night. Then she stole it.

The theft, from a Nativity sceneoutside City Hall, raised alarm inthis eastern Pennsylvania citythat shares a name with the realJesus Christ’s birthplace.

When the missing baby Jesuswas found, it had been damaged,and Bethlehem’s police chief hadto glue its leg back on. Then thecity took action, positioning a con-cealed security camera exclu-sively on baby Jesus and assign-ing police officers to monitor thefootage. In the two years since, thestatue has been left at peace,asleep on the hay as the camera,nicknamed the “Jesus cam” bysome residents, rolls.

“If anybody looks real close,they’ll see a crack in his leg,” saidLynn Cunningham, a leader of thelocal chamber of commerce.

Such manger larceny, in glaringviolation of the Eighth Command-

ment, is also part of a sad nationaltrend. This year, thieves haveraided Nativity scenes in Tennes-see, West Virginia, Minnesota andplenty of other places, and madeoff with Jesus figurines (andsometimes Mary and a donkey,too).

The episodes, which have rat-tled Christian communities, havebecome so common that the own-ers of holiday displays have bol-stered security. On church lawnsand in downtown parks, baby Je-sus is back in his manger, but oftenwith a security camera rolling and

a tether securing him to theground. Some places have gone sofar as to equip figurines with GPSdevices.

In West Bend, Wis., north of Mil-waukee, a baby Jesus figurinewas stolen twice last year. Afterthe first theft, the statue’s torsowas found nearby, but the rest of itwas missing. The faithful wereoutraged, and someone donated anew Jesus doll for the Nativity set,which had been displayed aroundtown for decades.

A few days later, early onChristmas Eve, an alert police offi-cer saw a woman “cradling some-thing” on West Bend’s MainStreet. It was the replacementbaby Jesus. “I yelled ‘Police,stop,’” the officer wrote in his offi-cial report of the incident. Onceconfronted, the woman droppedthe figurine and took off running.

The thefts took a toll in WestBend, a city of about 30,000 resi-dents, where churches are centralto public life and longtime resi-dents recall admiring the old Na-tivity set as children.

Cameras, Bolts and an Elusive Goal: To Sleep in Heavenly PeaceBy MITCH SMITH

A statue of the baby Jesus was stolen from a crèche in St. Cloud,Minn. Such thefts have rattled Christian communities nationally.

TIM GRUBER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page 26

In a rare show of unity, tribal nationsworked together to shelter homelessNative Americans camped near down-town Minneapolis. PAGE 18

NATIONAL 18-27

Tribes Helping City BrethrenWho is the rightful inventor of theblockbuster swimsuit known as theKiini? Sometimes, there’s a fine linebetween inspiration and theft. PAGE 1

SUNDAY BUSINESS

The Itsy-Bitsy Litigious BikiniFive members of the N.B.A.’s class of2003, including LeBron James andDwyane Wade, are still playing. Theyshare an uncommon bond. PAGE 1

SPORTSSUNDAY

A Distinguished Draft Class The Year in PicturesSUNDAY REVIEW

WASHINGTON — As theWhite House and Democrats re-mained locked in a standoff overfunding for President Trump’sborder wall, Senator Mitch Mc-Connell, the Republican leader,sent his colleagues home for theChristmas holiday on Saturday,virtually ensuring that the gov-ernment will remain partiallyshuttered for at least several moredays.

Mr. McConnell’s adjournmentof the Senate until Thursday cameafter a frenzied day of negotia-tions in Washington and conflict-ing signals from the White House.Around the country, the partialshutdown, which began at 12:01a.m. Saturday and affects roughlyone-quarter of the federal govern-ment, deprived 800,000 workersof their pay and was visible atplaces like national parks, wheresites were unstaffed or, in somecases, closed.

Mr. Trump is demanding $5 bil-lion for the “big, beautiful wall” hepromised to build at the southernborder, and in a conference callwith reporters, administration of-ficials insisted that he would ac-cept nothing less. But even as theyspoke, Vice President Mike Pencewas on his way to the Capitol topresent an offer to the top SenateDemocrat, Chuck Schumer ofNew York.

Those talks, however, appearedto make little headway. Mr. Pencewas tight-lipped as he left Mr.Schumer’s office — “We’re stilltalking,” he said — while a spokes-man for Mr. Schumer, JustinGoodman, pronounced the twosides “very far apart.” Mr. McCon-nell then announced the Senate’sadjournment and left the Capitol

SHUTDOWN IS SETTO LAST FOR DAYSAS TRUMP DIGS IN

SENATORS HEAD HOME

Spending Talks RemainStuck on Funding for

a Border Wall

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERGand KATIE ROGERS

Continued on Page 21

WASHINGTON — When PresidentTrump grows frustrated with advisersduring meetings, which is not an uncom-mon occurrence, he sits back in his chair,crosses his arms and scowls. Often heerupts. “Freaking idiots!” he calls hisaides. Except he uses a more pungentword than “freaking.”

For two years, Mr. Trump has wagedwar against his own government, con-vinced that people around him are fools.Angry that they resist his wishes, uninter-ested in the details of their briefings, hebecomes especially agitated when theytell him he does not have the power to dowhat he wants, which makes him suspi-

cious that they are secretly undermininghim.

Now, the president who once declaredthat “I alone can fix” the system increas-ingly stands alone in a system that seemsas broken as ever. The swirl of recent days— a government shutdown, spiralingscandals, tumbling stock markets, abrupttroop withdrawals and the resignation ofhis alienated defense secretary — has leftthe impression of a presidency at risk ofspinning out of control.

At the midpoint of his term, Mr. Trumphas grown more sure of his own judgmentand more cut off from anyone else’s thanat any point since taking office. He spendsever more time in front of a television, of-ten retreating to his residence out of con-cern that he is being watched too closely.

As he sheds advisers at a head-spinningrate, he reaches out to old associates,complaining that few of the people aroundhim were there at the beginning.

Mr. Trump is said by advisers to be con-sumed by the multiplying investigationsthat have taken down his personal lawyer,campaign chairman, national security ad-viser and family foundation. He railsagainst enemies, who often were oncefriends, nursing a deep sense of betrayaland grievance as they turn on him.

“Can you believe this?” he has said ashe scanned the torrent of headlines. “I’mdoing great, but it’s a war every day.”

“Why is it like this?” he has askedaides, with no acknowledgment that hemight have played a role. The aides, many

Isolated Leader Sees ‘a War Every Day’President Clings to His Own Judgment as Turmoil Deepens, Allies Say

President Trump has grown increasingly suspicious of many of the people around him, convinced that they are fools.DOUG MILLS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘It’s entirely possible it gets worse, not better.’MICHAEL STEEL, longtime adviser to Republican politicians

Continued on Page 25

By PETER BAKERand MAGGIE HABERMAN

DISRUPTED The shutdown’s ef-fects were felt at national parks,airport checkpoints and the coun-try’s borders. PAGE 23

Zamanbol is a tech-savvy 14-year-old,but she practices an ancient craft toconnect with her elders and their cul-ture. Mongolia Dispatch. PAGE 6

INTERNATIONAL 6-16

She Hunts With an Eagle

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVIII . . No. 58,185 © 2018 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2018

Record collection

Elegance is an attitude

Kate Winslet

Longines BoutiquesAla Moana, HI · Aventura, FL · New York City, NY

Also available in selected fine jewelry retailers.

ww

w.lo

ngin

es.

com

Today, sunny, then increasinglycloudy, high 44. Tonight, rain andsnow, little to no accumulation, low35. Tomorrow, partly sunny, breezy,high 45. Weather map is on Page 22.

$6.00