C M Y K Nxxx,2021-03-08,A,001,Bs-4C,E2

Late Edition Today, sunshine, more seasonable, high 44. Tonight, partly cloudy, low 36. Tomorrow, sunshine, patchy clouds, noticeably milder, high 60. Weather map appears on Page D6.

VOL. CLXX ... No. 58,991 © 2021 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021 $3.00 STATE DEMOCRATS TURN UP PRESSURE ON CUOMO TO EXIT

Governor Defiant as Senate Leader Says He ‘Must Resign’ Over Allegations

By JESSE McKINLEY and J. DAVID GOODMAN ALBANY, N.Y. — In a poten- after Ms. Stewart-Cousins had in- tially crippling defection in Gov. formed Mr. Cuomo in a phone call Andrew M. Cuomo’s efforts to that she was about to call for him maintain control amid a sexual to step down, according to a per- harassment scandal, the powerful son with knowledge of the conver- Democratic leader of the New sation; the governor then quickly York State Senate declared on convened his own news confer- Sunday that the governor should ence to pre-empt her announce- resign “for the good of the state.” ment. The stinging rebuke from the He told reporters that his re- Senate leader, Andrea Stewart- marks were directed at “some leg- Cousins — along with a similar sentiment from the Assembly islators who suggest that I re- speaker, Carl E. Heastie, who sign.” questioned the “governor’s ability Undeterred, Ms. Stewart-Cous- to continue to lead this state” — ins fired back, releasing her state- suggested that Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, had lost his party’s support in the State Capi-

ASH ADAMS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES tol, and cast doubt on his ability to From left, Winston James, Vennessa Joseph and Isaac James on a charter flight home to Birch Creek, Alaska, after being vaccinated. withstand the political fallout. Once hailed as a pandemic hero and potential presidential con- tender, the governor has seen his political future spiral downward With $300 Monthly, Relief Bill Covid Infiltrates Deep Alaska; over eight perilous days in the wake of a New York Times report about Charlotte Bennett, a former Ushers Revolution in Child Aid Now So Must Crucial Vaccines aide to Mr. Cuomo. In a series of interviews with

The Times, Ms. Bennett, 25, said PETER FOLEY/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK By JASON DePARLE By MIKE BAKER and SERGE F. KOVALESKI that Mr. Cuomo, 63, had asked her invasive personal questions last Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has WASHINGTON — A year ago, ward mobility or a mother on the BIRCH CREEK, Alaska — As Birch Creek operates like numer- spring about her sex life, includ- resisted all calls to resign. Anique Houpe, a single mother in verge of homelessness. But in ei- the turboprop plane rumbled to a ous villages in Alaska, with no ing whether she had slept with suburban Atlanta, was working as ther guise, she is among the peo- halt at the edge of a frozen landing road access, no running water and older men, and whether she ment not long after Mr. Cuomo a letter carrier, running a side ple Democrats seek to help with a strip, Vennessa Joseph and her no neighbors for miles. But de- thought age made a difference in concluded his news conference. business catering picnics and set- mold-breaking plan, on the verge fellow villagers were racing to spite the natural isolation — more relationships. “We need to govern without tling into a rent-to-own home in of congressional passage, to pro- meet it, their snowmobiles kicking than 100 miles from Fairbanks Ms. Bennett is one of five wom- Stone Mountain, Ga., where she vide most parents a monthly up a flurry of powder behind and on the edge of the Arctic Cir- daily distraction,” said Ms. Stew- en who have come forward in re- art-Cousins, citing the allegations thought her boys would flourish in check of up to $300 per child. them. cle — the coronavirus had still cent days with allegations of sexu- class and excel on the football Obscured by other parts of Within minutes, six residents of managed to find its way in. In the of sexual harassment and a “toxic al harassment or inappropriate work environment,” and his han- field. President Biden’s $1.9 trillion Birch Creek, bundled in parkas fall, Ms. Joseph was laid up for behavior against Mr. Cuomo, with Then the pandemic closed the stimulus package, which won Sen- and gloves in the 25-below-zero af- days with illness. People in two of dling of the state’s nursing homes one predating his tenure as gover- during the pandemic. “Governor schools, the boys’ grades col- ate approval on Saturday, the ternoon, had piled into the fraying the nearest villages died. nor. Cuomo must resign.” lapsed with distance learning, and child benefit has the makings of a seats, and the engine was roaring In a state where the Indigenous Mr. Cuomo, however, was ada- Ms. Stewart-Cousins is the she quit work to stay home in policy revolution. Though framed again. As the plane lifted off to the population has been ravaged by mantly resisting calls for his res- most prominent New York State hopes of breaking their fall. Ex- in technocratic terms as an expan- north, headed toward Fort Yukon, global disease outbreaks for gen- ignation, arguing he was elected pecting unemployment aid that sion of an existing tax credit, it is Ms. Joseph looked out across the erations, the coronavirus pan- by the people, not “by politicians.” official to call for Mr. Cuomo’s res- never came, she lost her utilities, essentially a guaranteed income vast wetlands, where stunted demic has killed Alaska Natives at “I’m not going to resign be- ignation, and her statement car- ran short of food and was recover- for families with children, akin to spruce trees cast long shadows in quadruple the rate of white resi- cause of allegations,” the gover- ries significance: Her Senate ing from an immobilizing bout of children’s allowances that are the winter sun. dents. The virus has taken hold in nor said, calling the notion “anti- would be the jury for any im- Covid when a knock brought mar- common in other rich countries. Vaccination day had arrived. remote communities, setting up democratic,” and a violation of the peachment trial of the governor, if shals with eviction papers. The plan establishes the benefit With a population of about two an urgent race between infections due process clause of the Consti- such an action were passed by the Depending on when the snap- for a single year. But if it becomes dozen that relies on a subsistence and vaccinations during a season tution. “There is no way I resign.” Assembly. shot is dated, Ms. Houpe might ap- permanent, as Democrats intend, life, fishing pike in the summer in which weather can limit travel, The governor’s statements on It also carries symbolic weight: pear as a striving emblem of up- Continued on Page A6 and hunting moose in the fall, Continued on Page A8 Sunday afternoon came not long Continued on Page A14

Hurdle for Trial Depth of Pain In Floyd Killing: From Royal Life Find a Fair Jury I lost my Spills Into View

By TIM ARANGO sister By MARK LANDLER and SHAILA DEWAN A year after Meghan Markle MINNEAPOLIS — Late last married Prince Harry in a fairy- year, a 14-page questionnaire be- brother tale wedding, she said in an ex- gan to arrive in mailboxes across traordinary interview broadcast Minneapolis and its suburbs. It on Sunday night, her life as a asked if the recipient had watched member of the British royal fam- the video of George Floyd dying father ily had become so emotionally under a police officer’s knee. What desolate that she contemplated ERIN SCHAFF/THE NEW YORK TIMES about the protests against police suicide. Those who know Senator Josh Hawley hear a change in tone. brutality, it wanted to know — did At another point, members of you go? How do you feel about mother the family told Harry and Me- Black Lives Matter? ghan, a biracial former actress It asked respondents to list from the United States, that they Voices From Hawley’s History their education level, any martial did not want the couple’s unborn arts training, even their favorite daughter child, Archie, to be a prince or podcasts. And then there was the princess, and expressed concerns Wonder, Why So Angry Now? essay prompt, followed by a about how dark the color of the daunting expanse of blank paper: son baby’s skin would be. Tell us everything you have heard An emotional but self-pos- By ELAINA PLOTT and DANNY HAKIM about the death of Mr. Floyd. sessed Meghan said of her suicid- The questionnaire went out to al thoughts: “I was ashamed to Most Republicans who spoke at weeks since, they had “tried to grandparents the recent Conservative Political cancel me, censor me, expel me, potential jurors for the trial of have to admit it to Harry. I knew Derek Chauvin, the white former that if I didn’t say it, I would do it. I Action Conference in Orlando, shut me down.” To “stop me,” Mr. police officer accused of murder- just didn’t want to be alive any- Fla., avoided acknowledging the Hawley said, “from representing ing Mr. Floyd, who was Black. The friend more.” events of Jan. 6. But less than 30 you.” case has touched the lives of mil- Meghan, 39, made the disclo- seconds into his speech, Senator “And guess what?” he went on, lions and sparked the largest sures in an eagerly anticipated, Josh Hawley confronted them his tempo building, the audience movement for racial justice in and at times incendiary, interview head on. applauding: “I’m here today, I’m America since the 1960s, but the on CBS with Oprah Winfrey that That day, Mr. Hawley said, had not going anywhere, and I’m not trial will ultimately decide the aired in the United States in prime underscored the “great crisis mo- backing down.” guilt or innocence of one man. time. In describing a royal life that ment” in which Americans cur- The appeal from Missouri’s ju- Jury selection is set to begin on One-third of Americans have lost someone to the began as a fairy tale but quickly rently found themselves. That nior senator reflected what has Monday, in a courtroom built to coronavirus. They have coped with sudden pain turned cruel, her blunt answers day, he explained, the mob had become standard fare in a Repub- comply with pandemic protocols and immeasurable sorrow. We spoke to the people raised the combustible issues of come for him. lican Party still in thrall to Donald Continued on Page A15 the pandemic left behind. PAGES A4-17 Continued on Page A12 The “woke mob,” that is. In the Continued on Page A16

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9 BUSINESS B1-6 A Family Seeks Answers Millionaires Go Slow When a healthy 41-year-old died a year Mindful of the pandemic, thousands of ago, an autopsy blamed heart disease. freshly minted Silicon Valley million- But his family wants to know whether it aires are opting to be conservative with was really the coronavirus. PAGE A4 their money. PAGE B1

INTERNATIONAL A10-12 Open to Filibuster Tweaks ARTS C1-6 SPORTSMONDAY D1-7 OBITUARIES B7-8 Senator Joe Manchin III said he would Pope Soothes a War-Torn Flock not kill off a tool that supports biparti- Honoring Breonna Taylor When the Clock Stopped Beach Boy at Heart The first pope ever to visit Iraq, Francis sanship, but would reform it. PAGE A7 Amy Sherald wanted her portrait, above, Figures throughout sports recalled the Bruce Meyers said inventing the Dune voiced sorrow and hope for a shrunken of the woman killed by the police to be uncertainty and scrambling they faced Buggy “was just about having fun.” His Christian community. PAGE A11 seen in the city where she died. PAGE C1 last March 11 to 13 as the reality of the vehicle ignited the off-road craze of the NATIONAL A13-17 1960s. He was 94. PAGE B7 pandemic set in. PAGES D4-5 Cyberthreats on 2 Fronts Thumbs-Down Rankles Left She’s a Good Bad Witch As the Biden administration prepares to Senator Kyrsten Sinema angered some Kathryn Hahn discussed playing the EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19 counter Russian hacking, it also consid- fellow Democrats by voting against a powerful, malevolent Agatha Harkness ers confronting China. PAGE A11 minimum-wage increase. PAGE A13 in the “WandaVision” TV series. PAGE C1 Mara Gay PAGE A18 U(D54G1D)y+#!#!#!?!=