Today's Headlines: Trump, Citing 'a Witch Hunt,' Denies Any Collusion With Russia

[Comey, Unsettled by Trump, Is Said to Have Wanted Him Kept at a Distance]( | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. | [Unsubscribe]( [The New York Times]( [Most Popular]( | [Video]( | [Today's Headlines]( Friday, May 19, 2017 IN THIS EMAIL [NYT] [World](#worldNews) | [U.S.](#nationalNews) | [Politics](#politicsNews) | [Business](#businessNews) | [Technology](#technologyNews) | [Sports](#sportsNews) | [Arts](#artsNews) | [N.Y./Region](#nyregionNews) | [Movies](#dailyFeatureNews) | [Today's Video](#videoNews) | [Obituaries](#obituaries) | [Editorials](#editorialsNews) | [Op-Ed](#opinionNews) | [On This Day](#onthisdayNews) | [CUSTOMIZE »]( Top News [President Trump arriving for a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.]( [Trump, Citing 'a Witch Hunt,' Denies Any Collusion With Russia]( By MARK LANDLER The president's comments followed early-morning tweets that were sharply critical of former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. [James B. Comey, then the F.B.I. director, after being called on by President Trump at a White House ceremony in January. Mr. Comey told a friend that he had hoped Mr. Trump would not spot him at the event.]( [Comey, Unsettled by Trump, Is Said to Have Wanted Him Kept at a Distance]( By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT The former F.B.I. director described being dismayed by the president's attempts to build a personal relationship with him amid the Russia investigation. [Roger Ailes, Who Built Fox News Into an Empire, Dies at 77]( By CLYDE HABERMAN Mr. Ailes exerted wide influence on American politics with his conservative Fox News, only to be undone by sexual harassment allegations. For more top news, go to [NYTimes.com »]( [Get the Morning Briefing in Your Inbox]( What you need to know to start your day, delivered Monday through Friday. [Sign up »]( ADVERTISEMENT Editors' Picks [[Interactive Feature] Interactive Feature: Miles of Ice Collapsing Into the Sea]( Some scientists fear that West Antarctica's immense ice sheet may have entered the early stages of an unstoppable disintegration. [Roger Ailes in 1968.]( OPINION [What Roger Ailes Learned From Richard Nixon]( By DAVID GREENBERG The mastermind of Fox News played on the cultural resentment he learned working for the Nixon White House. QUOTATION OF THE DAY "They can treat you like hand-pulled noodles, squeeze you into any shape. If you're isolated and scared, it's hard to resist." [WANG QIAOLING]( who came under pressure from Chinese officials to remain silent during the imprisonment of her husband, a human rights lawyer. [] Today's Videos [A car crashed into pedestrians in Times Square on Thursday.]( [[Video] Video: One Dead as Car Hits Pedestrians in Times Square]( One person was killed and at least 22 were injured when a car struck pedestrians in New York's Times Square. The driver of the car has been taken into custody. [Will Strathmann for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.]( [[Video] Video: 'After Losing My Sight, I've Learned to Go Into the Unknown']( Paradox Sports runs adaptive climbing trips for people with disabilities. In this 360 video, rock climbers like Shawn Sturges, who is blind, learn new techniques at Joshua Tree National Park. [] World [President Trump with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House in March.]( [Saudi Arabia, Ignoring Trump's Slights, Will Give Him a Royal Welcome]( By BEN HUBBARD The kingdom seeks a reset in relations after the Obama years, hoping to emphasize common goals in business, counterterrorism and confronting Iran. [A demonstration against President Michel Temer of Brazil in São Paulo on Wednesday.]( [Brazil's President Rejects Calls to Quit Amid New Corruption Claims]( By SIMON ROMERO Reports that President Michel Temer authorized the payment of hush money to a jailed ally engulfed Latin America's largest country. [Syrian residents on Thursday walked the war-torn streets in the town of Zabadani, near Syria's western border with Lebanon.]( [U.S. Warplanes in Syria Hit Pro-Government Militia Convoy]( By ERIC SCHMITT and ANNE BARNARD Pentagon officials said vehicles driving toward a base where American and British forces train Syria militias ignored a warning strike. For more world news, go to [NYTimes.com/World »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] U.S. [States Trim Penalties and Prison Rolls, Even as Sessions Gets Tough]( By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. More than 30 states, including Texas, have moved to curb incarceration rates and find alternatives to prisons, saying they have saved money while crime has stayed low. [Joe Buglewicz for The New York Times. Technology by Samsung.]( [Their Public Housing at the End of Its Life, Residents Ask: What Now?]( By MONICA DAVEY This is the problem of decaying affordable housing in the small, fading and remote city of Cairo, Ill. And it's a problem without easy answers. [A truck heading for Windsor, Ontario, on the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Canada and Mexico have supported changes to Nafta.]( [Trump Sends Nafta Renegotiation Notice to Congress]( By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS The letter from Robert Lighthizer, the newly confirmed United States trade representative, was scant on details. For more U.S. news, go to [NYTimes.com/US »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Politics [Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, arriving to brief the Senate on Thursday.]( [Senate Inquiries Narrow as Rosenstein Suggests Plan to Fire Comey Predated Memo]( By EMMARIE HUETTEMAN, REBECCA R. RUIZ and MATTHEW ROSENBERG Three Democratic senators said Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, told them in a briefing that he was aware of Mr. Trump's intention to dismiss the F.B.I. director. [Owen Roberts, left, and Atlee Pomerene, special prosecutors appointed by President Calvin Coolidge in the Teapot Dome scandal, in 1924.]( On Washington [Cloud of Special Investigation Could Linger Over Trump's Presidency]( By CARL HULSE The president faces the prospect that an aggressive, high-powered inquiry could become a near permanent fixture of his time in office. [President Trump arrived on Marine One at the White House on Wednesday.]( [Advisers Urge Trump to Hire Outside Lawyer in Russia Inquiry]( By MAGGIE HABERMAN and GLENN THRUSH The recommendations came even before a special counsel was named to lead the investigation into any collusion between his campaign and Russian officials. For more political news, go to [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [] Business [Roger Ailes had an appreciation of the power of television, a sense of theatricality and a deep resentment of the ]( Mediator [Roger Ailes: The Man Who Mined a Divided America]( By JIM RUTENBERG The Fox News creator made a fortune creating a cultural safe space for Americans pining for the way things were. [Walmart employees stocking the shelves at a store in Miami in 2015. In addition to sharpening its online strategy, the company is trying to improve its physical stores.]( [Walmart Reports 63% Rise in Online Sales]( By RACHEL ABRAMS The company still trails in its effort to compete with Amazon, but the growth is a sign that it is making headway in its online presence. [Olivier Francois, head of the Fiat brand, unveiling the 2016 Fiat 500X in 2014 in Los Angeles. In a new study, researchers found evidence of a device used to cheat in emissions tests in the model.]( [Fiat Chrysler, in Settlement Talks With U.S., Is Under More Pressure]( By JACK EWING A new study adds to evidence that the company, one of the world's biggest carmakers, flouted the rules on diesel emissions, much like Volkswagen. For more business news, go to [NYTimes.com/Business »]( [] Technology [Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook's developer conference in San Jose, Calif., last month. European antitrust officials fined the company $122 million on Thursday for giving misleading statements during Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014.]( [E.U. Fines Facebook $122 Million Over Disclosures in WhatsApp Deal]( By MARK SCOTT The penalty is one of the largest fines against the social network and comes amid growing scrutiny of how the company gathers users' information. [Mercedes-Benz Energy and Vivint Solar have announced a partnership to bring energy storage units to the United States residential solar market.]( [Mercedes-Benz Brings a New Model (of Battery) to U.S. Homes]( By DIANE CARDWELL In a partnership with Vivint Solar, the automaker will market a storage device that can help power lights, appliances - and even electric cars. [In a recent ransomware attack, cybercriminals hijacked hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide, locking up data and threatening to destroy it if a ransom was not paid.]( Tech Fix [How to Protect Yourself From Ransomware Attacks]( By BRIAN X. CHEN Some tips from computer security experts. For more technology news, go to [NYTimes.com/Technology »]( [] Sports [Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United after the club paid a record transfer fee of nearly 90 million pounds.]( On Soccer [Paul Pogba Can't Save Manchester United Alone. Nobody Can.]( By RORY SMITH English soccer's obsession with the individual over the team is projected onto the world's most expensive player. [Conor McGregor Agrees to Fight. Will Floyd Mayweather?]( By VICTOR MATHER The prospective bout - a straight-up boxing match - has drawn great interest outside the world of combat sports. [Kelsey Plum, right, with the Washington Huskies in February. The San Antonio Stars selected the 5-foot-8 Plum as the No. 1 draft pick.]( [San Antonio Bets Its Small Stars Can Be Supernovas]( By HOWARD MEGDAL Despite its depth at guard, San Antonio took 5-foot-8 Kelsey Plum with the No. 1 draft pick, making for a size-disadvantaged, but promising, team. For more sports news, go to [NYTimes.com/Sports »]( [] Arts [A Basquiat Sells for 'Mind-Blowing' $110.5 Million at Auction]( By ROBIN POGREBIN and SCOTT REYBURN Basquiat's vibrant painting of a face in the shape of a skull set an auction record for a work by any American artist, beating Andy Warhol. [Robert Rauschenberg's ]( Art Review [Robert Rauschenberg: It Takes a Village to Raise a Genius]( By HOLLAND COTTER A vast retrospective at MoMA shows how much of his work was shaped and stoked by friends, teachers, lovers and bar buddies. [H.R. Haldeman, center, with his attorney Frank Strickler, left, in 1975, around the time of his conviction for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.]( American Beauties [A Patriotic and Paranoid Memoir Stared Nixon's America in the Eye]( By DWIGHT GARNER Charles L. Mee Jr.'s "A Visit to Haldeman and Other States of Mind," from 1977, is about a man's search for what went wrong with the American experiment. For more arts news, go to [NYTimes.com/Arts »]( Movies [Katherine Waterston in ]( [Review: 'Alien: Covenant' Stays on Brand With Its Terror]( By A. O. SCOTT The new entry in Ridley Scott's long-lived franchise is committed to the canny management of expectations, but that doesn't diminish its creepiness. [From left, Charo Santos-Concio and John Lloyd Cruz in ]( [Review: 'The Woman Who Left' Is an Epic, Intimate Tale of Injustice]( By A. O. SCOTT From the modern Philippines, Lav Diaz's haunting and pessimistic take on a Tolstoy story. [Bryan Cranston in Robin Swicord's ]( [Review: Bryan Cranston Is a Dad in Suburban Exile in 'Wakefield']( By A. O. SCOTT A man indulges a fantasy to escape his routine by camping out in a storage room above his garage and observing his own absence. [Thomas Sung, the founder of Abacus Federal Savings Bank, in the documentary ]( [Review: 'Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,' a Classic Underdog Tale]( By BEN KENIGSBERG The only United States bank indicted on a charge of mortgage fraud after the 2008 economic crisis? A small one in Chinatown, founded and run by an immigrant family. For more movie news and reviews, go to [NYTimes.com/Movies »]( [] New York [A car crashed into pedestrians in Times Square on Thursday.]( [One Dead and 22 Injured as Car Rams Into Pedestrians in Times Square]( By ELI ROSENBERG and LIAM STACK A 26-year-old Bronx man with a history of drunken driving arrests was taken into custody and charged with murder after trying to flee from the scene of the carnage. [Thomas P. DiNapoli, the New York State comptroller.]( [Stipends for State Senators Are Under Investigation]( By JESSE McKINLEY Thomas DiNapoli, the New York State comptroller, is working with law enforcement to investigate the questionable payments to committee vice chairmen. [A crowded subway car at Times Square station in 1970, two years after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was created.]( [Why Does New York State Control the Subway? That's the 20-Cent Question]( By MARC SANTORA A political clash of egos half a century ago, arising from an effort to keep fares from going up, helps explain current service woes and questions of accountability. For more New York news, go to [NYTimes.com/NewYork »]( []Obituaries [Chris Cornell during a Soundgarden reunion concert in Newark in 2011.]( [Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and Audioslave Frontman, Dies at 52]( By CARYN GANZ and JOHN LELAND The musician's death in Detroit was "sudden and unexpected," his representative said in a statement. The medical examiner's office said the cause of death was suicide. [Beatrice Trum Hunter's passion for health was inspired in high school by a book that described American consumers as unwitting guinea pigs for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.]( [Beatrice Trum Hunter, 'Natural Foods Cookbook' Author, Dies at 98]( By SAM ROBERTS Mrs. Hunter's book, her first of 38, was heralded as the nation's first healthful natural foods cookbook. [Elinor Bunin Munroe, with her husband, George B. Munroe, at the ribbon-cutting of the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in 2011.]( [Elinor Bunin Munroe, Whose Opening Titles Grabbed Film and TV Viewers, Dies]( By SAM ROBERTS Known for the film complex at Lincoln Center that bears her name, Ms. Munroe was an Emmy-winning graphic designer whose movie work included "The Producers." For more obituaries, go to [NYTimes.com/Obituaries »]( [] Editorial Editorial [Trumpcare Is Already Hurting Trump Country]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Just the threat that Republicans may destroy Obamacare has led insurers to pull out or raise rates in some states next year. [President Trump with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey at the White House on Tuesday.]( Editorial [Turkey's Mr. Erdogan Does Not Get His Way]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The authoritarian Turkish president wanted the United States to abandon the Syrian Kurds, and to extradite an exiled cleric. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] Op-Ed [James Madison had presidential ]( Op-Ed Contributor [Impeachment's Political Heart]( By GREG WEINER The framers cared more about a president's "maladministration" and potential future abuses than they did about his past crimes and misdemeanors. [President Trump at the White House on Thursday.]( Op-Ed Columnist [The Trump Administration Talent Vacuum]( By DAVID BROOKS Would you go to work for this president? Op-Ed | Timothy Egan [On Turning 100]( By TIMOTHY EGAN Given what a centenarian has seen, we know that Trump, too, will pass. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] ON THIS DAY On May 19, 1935, T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. [See this Front Page]( | [Buy this Front Page]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook] [Facebook]( | [Twitter] [@NYTimes]( | [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( | [Instagram] [Instagram]( [NYT]( Access The New York Times from anywhere with our suite of apps: [iPhone®]( | [iPad®]( | [Android]( | [All]( [.] Save 15% at [The NYTimes Store »]( [.] Have questions? [Help Section »]( [.] Visit our mobile website at [m.nyt.com »]( About This Email This is an automated email. Please do not reply directly to this email. 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