C M Y K Nxxx,2018-11-19,A,001,Bs-4C,E2 Late Edition Today, variably cloudy, a stray shower, high 51. Tonight, cloudy, a bit of rain late, low 37. Tomorrow, a bit of morning rain and snow, high 43. Weather map is on Page A20. VOL. CLXVIII ... No. 58,151 © 2018 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2018 $3.00 HOUSING AGENCY NEWS ANALYSIS BATTLED FINDINGS Just One Voice Shields Prince OF LEAD HAZARDS On Khashoggi DUELING TESTS OF PAINT Trump Digs In Against Poisoned Children Failed Mountain of Evidence to Sway New York’s By MARK LANDLER Troubled System WASHINGTON — As evi- dence piles up pointing to the Saudi crown prince’s responsibil- This article is by J. David Good- ity in the brutal killing of the man, Al Baker and James Glanz. dissident journalist Jamal Mikaila Bonaparte has spent Khashoggi, President Trump has her entire life under the roof of the only hardened his refusal to New York City Housing Authority, concede any possibility that the the oldest and largest public hous- prince had a hand in the crime. ing system in the country, where Mr. Trump, who had once as a toddler she nibbled on paint condemned the Saudi leaders for chips that flaked to the floor. In the perpetrating “the worst cover-up summer of 2016, when she was not in history,” praised Saudi Arabia quite 3 years old, a test by her doc- this weekend as a “truly spectac- tor showed she had lead in her ular ally,” even after the C.I.A. blood at levels rarely seen in mod- concluded that Crown Prince ern New York. Mohammed bin Salman, the A retest two days later revealed kingdom’s de facto leader, or- an even higher level, one more dered the murder. commonly found in factory or con- Mr. Trump said he would wait struction workers and, in some for a report on Mr. Khashoggi’s cases, enough to cause irrevers- KHOLOOD EID FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES death produced by his adminis- ible brain damage. Mikaila Bonaparte, 5, at home in the Tompkins Houses in Brooklyn. In 2016, a blood lead test showed levels rarely seen in New York. tration, due Tuesday, before Within two weeks, a city health deciding how to assign blame. inspector visited the two Brook- But he seemed to play down the lyn public housing apartments importance of the report even where Mikaila spent her time — before it was issued, suggesting her mother’s in the Tompkins Spoiler Alert: Nations Duck as U.S. and China Bicker on Trade that it would not establish defini- Houses; her grandmother’s in the tively who was ultimately re- Gowanus Houses — to look for the ery other Asia Pacific Economic sponsible and risking a clash source of the lead exposure, Act I Is Brutal. with his own intelligence agen- By DAMIEN CAVE Hostilities Overshadow Cooperation summit since 1989. records show. The inspector, Countries caught in the trade- cies. wielding a hand-held device that BraceYourself. SYDNEY, Australia — The Pacific Rim Meeting war crossfire between China and “Will anybody really know?” can detect lead through multiple United States and China turned a the United States are becoming in- Mr. Trump said in an interview layers of paint, found the danger- Pacific Rim trade summit this creasingly exasperated. aired on “Fox News Sunday.” “All ous heavy metal in both homes. weekend into a stage where the their cases to the global leaders “The entire world is worried,” right, will anybody really know?” The Health Department ordered By MICHAEL PAULSON world could do little more than assembled in Papua New Guinea said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill He also showed little interest the Housing Authority to fix the DENVER — The warning sign stand by and watch as two great — then they dug in and refused to of Papua New Guinea. in one of the vital pieces of evi- problems. was just outside the theater door. powers aggravated their battle compromise. That left the group of The disagreement over the final dence in the case: an audio re- cording of Mr. Khashoggi’s death The discovery spurred the “Please be advised,” it cau- over trade. 21 nations in disarray, unable to statement reflects a hardening of Housing Authority to action: It last month in the Saudi Consul- tioned, in capital letters. “This President Xi Jinping and Vice agree on even a routine joint state- the conflict between China and the challenged the results. ate in Istanbul, which the Turkish production contains: Strobe light- President Mike Pence both made ment like those that had closed ev- Continued on Page A5 Rather than remove or cover ing effects. Sudden loud noises. government shared with the the lead, the Housing Authority Theatrical fog/haze. Scenes of vi- C.I.A. Mr. Trump said there was dispatched its own inspector who olence. Adult language. Sexual sit- no reason for him to listen to the recording because “it’s a suffer- used a different test, documents uations. Adult humor and con- ing tape, it’s a terrible tape.” show. The agency insisted that tent.” however Mikaila was poisoned, The president’s remarks were The subject was a play called there was no lead in her apart- a vivid illustration of how deeply “Vietgone,” about a Vietnamese ments. Mr. Trump has invested in the couple who meet in a refugee Entrusted as the landlord to 33-year-old heir, who has become camp in Arkansas during the Viet- 400,000 people, the Housing Au- the fulcrum of the administra- nam War. The Denver Center The- thority has struggled for years to tion’s strategy in the Middle East ater Company was proud to fulfill its mission amid a strangled — from Iran to the Israeli-Pales- budget and almost endemic poli- present the boisterous comedy, tinian peace process — as well as tical neglect. Last week, a judge but it was taking few chances a prolific shopper for American suggested strongly that the fed- about surprising audiences: On- military weapons, even if most of eral government should take over line, patrons who hovered over an those contracts have not paid off the agency after an investigation alert on the theater’s website yet. found evidence of deep misman- could get pop-up details on the They also showed how stub- agement, including that the Hous- timing of the show’s explosions. bornly Mr. Trump has decided to ing Authority failed to perform Not so long ago, a theatergoer stick with his ally. He does not lead inspections and then falsely was handed a program, shown to a even want to listen to evidence claimed it had. Six top executives seat and left to enjoy the show. that could shake his confidence, lost their jobs amid the federal in- Then came notices about strobe even if it creates rifts with intelli- vestigation; a complaint was filed lights and smoking. But now, fol- gence officials. Internal tensions in June. lowing a trend bubbling up from were already on display this But the authority did not just ig- college campuses, theaters across weekend when, after the C.I.A. nore the required lead inspec- the country are offering increas- tied Prince Mohammed to the tions, The New York Times found. ingly comprehensive and specific killing, the State Department For at least two decades, almost trigger warnings. issued a statement saying that every time a child in its apart- The phenomenon has led to “reports indicating that the U.S. ments tested positive for high lead searching discussions at theaters government has made a final levels, Nycha launched a counter- large and small, pitting a tradi- ERIC THAYER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES conclusion are inaccurate.” offensive, city records show. From tional impulse — to preserve art’s For Mr. Trump, it is enough 2010 through July of this year, the ability to surprise, shock and stir A City of Survivors that Prince Mohammed denied Continued on Page A16 Continued on Page A13 Autumn Shepard is among the wildfire evacuees camping near a Walmart in Chico, Calif. Page A12. Continued on Page A8 Vitriol Over Vote-Stealing Charges Sets a Troubling Tone for 2020 Democrats Who Oppose Pelosi mishing in the state, Republicans By GLENN THRUSH and Democrats say, has been an Also Resist a Run Against Her and JEREMY W. PETERS ominous dry run for messaging and tactics about fraud and vote- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The stealing that threaten to further chaotic images out of Florida’s By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS undermine confidence in the elec- election recount last week — the toral system. WASHINGTON — What if But so far, no one has emerged brigade of Washington lawyers, Florida emerged from the 2018 House Democrats tried to stage a to take her on. As much as some the déjà vu meltdown of the tally- midterms with a fortified reputa- coup and nobody showed up? House Democrats, including sev- ing in Broward County, the vitri- tion as the nation’s most competi- That is the predicament facing eral among the wave of newcom- olic charges and countercharges tive battleground, a state whose Democrats as a quiet rebellion ers elected this month, say they — have prompted flashbacks political culture most closely re- simmers in their ranks to block want to shake up a calcified party among the electorate of the 2000 flects the slashing political style of Representative Nancy Pelosi of leadership, would-be challengers presidential election. its adopted son, President Trump California from being speaker. In- are keenly aware of the immense Yet to the combatants in both — with candidates focused on en- side the Capitol and at nearby wa- power Ms.