VOL. CLXVIII... No. 58,411 © 2019 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019
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LAM YIK FEI FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESDemonstrators and riot police clashed Monday as a general strike led to more protests. Page A4.
In Hong Kong, a Strike and a Counterstrike
WASHINGTON — Law en-
forcement officials have sounded
the alarm for months: Home-
grown terrorism, including by
white supremacists, is now as big
a threat as terrorism from abroad.
But the mass shooting in El Paso
last weekend, the largest domes-
tic terrorist attack against His-
panics in modern history, has
made it glaringly clear how poorly
prepared the country is to fight it.
The United States spent nearly20 years intensely focused on
threats from Islamic extremists.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
2001, rerouted the machinery of
government to fight against
threats of violence from the Mid-
dle East, Pakistan and Afghani-
stan. But those attacks have
waned in recent years, replaced
by violence from white suprema-
cists — an increasingly internet-
driven phenomenon of lone
wolves, not groups, that will prove
immensely difficult to combat.
On Monday, President TrumpFight Turns to Domestic Terror
Without a Clear Path to Follow
This article is by Sabrina Tav-
ernise, Katie Benner, Matt Apuzzo
and Nicole Perlroth.Continued on Page ANEW DELHI — India’s Hindu
nationalist government on Mon-
day unilaterally wiped out the au-
tonomy of the restive Kashmir re-
gion, sending in thousands of
army troops to quell any possible
unrest the move would bring in a
disputed territory fought over by
India and Pakistan.
The government authorities
severed internet connections, mo-
bile phone lines and even land
lines, casting Kashmir into an in-
formation black hole that made it
very difficult to discern what was
unfolding.
For years, India’s Hindu nation-
alists have wanted to curtail the
special freedoms enjoyed by
Kashmir, a mountainous, predom-
inantly Muslim territory that has
turned into a tinderbox between
India and Pakistan, both of which
wield nuclear arms.On Monday, Amit Shah, India’s
home minister, announced in a
quick speech, which belied years
of steady plotting, that the central
government was removing the
special, somewhat autonomous
status that served as the founda-
tion for Kashmir joining India
more than 70 years ago.
While international human
rights groups swiftly condemned
the action, Hindu nationalists cel-
ebrated, saying this could bringHindu-Led India Puts Clamp on Muslim Kashmir
This article is by Jeffrey Gettle-
man, Suhasini Raj, Kai Schultzand
Hari Kumar.
Continued on Page AWASHINGTON — President
Trump on Monday denounced
white supremacy in the wake of
twin mass shootings over the
weekend, and citing the threat of
“racist hate,” he summoned the
nation to address what he called a
link between the recent carnage
and violent video games, mental
illness and internet bigotry.
But he stopped well short of en-
dorsing the kind of broad gun con-
trol measures that activists, Dem-
ocrats and some Republicans
have sought for years, such as
tougher background checks for
gun buyers and the banning of
some weapons and accessories
such as high-capacity magazines.
And while he warned of “the
perils of the internet and social
media,” he offered no recognition
of his own use of those platforms
to promote his brand of divisive
politics. Instead, he focused on a
rising intolerance that he has
been slow to condemn in the past.
“In one voice our nation must
condemn racism, bigotry and
white supremacy,” Mr. Trump said
at the White House. “These sinis-
ter ideologies must be defeated.”
It seemed unlikely that Mr.
Trump’s 10-minute speech, com-
ing after one of the most violent
weekends in recent American his-
tory, would reposition him as a
unifier when many Americans
hold him responsible for inflaming
racial division. He took no respon-
sibility for the atmosphere of divi-
sion, nor did he recognize his own
reluctance to warn of the rise of
white nationalism until now.
Speaking at a lectern beneath a
portrait of George Washington in
the Diplomatic Reception Room,
Mr. Trump read from a
teleprompter as he denounced the
bilious anti-Hispanic manifesto of
the suspect in the El Paso shoot-
ing, which killed 22 people, as be-
ing “consumed by racist hate.” He
also called it part of an “evil conta-
gion” spreading online.
“These barbaric slaughters are
an assault upon our communities,ASSAILING HATE, BUT NOT GUNS
Trump, in Speech, Says
Little About Putting
Curbs on Weapons
By MICHAEL CROWLEY
and MAGGIE HABERMANA vigil at Horizon High School in El Paso for Javier Amir Rodriguez, a 15-year-old student who was fatally shot at a local Walmart.ADRIANA ZEHBRAUSKAS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMESContinued on Page AThe politics of American gun
violence follow a predictable
pattern in most cases: outraged
calls for action from the left,
somber gestures of
sympathy from the
right, a subdued
presidential state-
ment delivered from
a prepared text — and then, in a
matter of days or even hours, a
national turning of the page to
other matters.
But after a white supremacist
gunman massacred 22 people inEl Paso, the political world hur-
tled on Monday toward a more
expansive, and potentially more
turbulent, confrontation over
racist extremism. Though the
gun lobby was again on the de-
fensive, it was not alone; so were
social media companies and
websites like 8chan that have
become hives for toxic fantasies
and violent ideas that have in-
creasingly leaked into real life,
with fatal consequences.
Perhaps most of all, President
Trump faced intense new criti-
cism and scrutiny for the plain
echoes of his own language in
the El Paso suspect’s anti-immi-grant manifesto.
Mr. Trump’s usual methods of
deflection sputtered on Monday:
His early-morning tweets attack-
ing the news media and calling
vaguely for new background
checks on gun purchasers did
little to ease the political pres-
sure. A midmorning statement
he recited from the White House
— condemning “white suprema-
cy” and warning of internet-
fueled extremism, but declining
to address his own past language
or call for stern new gun regula-
tions — did nothing to quiet the
chorus of censure from Mr.Backlash to Extremism Pressures President
Continued on Page ABy ALEXANDER BURNSNEWS
ANALYSISThe legitimacy of the appointment of
Pedro R. Pierluisi of Puerto Rico is
already being challenged. PAGE A
New Governor Faces Suit
At the start of 2018, there were no wild
dogs in Mozambique’s Gorongosa Na-
tional Park. Now there are 50. PAGE DRunning Wild, Customarily
A jailhouse lawyer propelled a case to
the Supreme Court questioning a law
that allows 10-to-2 jury verdicts.PAGE A
NATIONAL A9-
Crusading Behind Bars
For many Asian couples, the Greek
island of Santorini has become the
ultimate destination for pre-wedding
photographs. PAGE AINTERNATIONAL A4-Basking in the Golden Light
As lawyers for cities and counties push
a plan for a nationwide settlement of
opioid lawsuits, states push back, say-
ing they should lead the way. PAGE BBUSINESS B1-Fight Over Opioid Lawsuits
The snakelike duodenoscope is crucial
for diagnosing and treating some dis-
eases, but it has a big drawback.PAGE DSCIENCETIMES D1-A Hospital Hazard
The acquisition, by the parent company
of GateHouse Media, would create a
publishing giant in control of more than
260 newspapers. PAGE B$1.4 Billion Deal for Gannett
A compelling action hero of sorts has
been wallowing in carnage on a Central
Park stage, Ben Brantley says. PAGE CAn Electrifying ‘Coriolanus’
The police say jilted love was the motive
for the murder of an au pair and her
employer in Maplewood, N.J. PAGE ANEW YORK A17, 20A Brutal Crime of Passion
A Philadelphia Union player grabbed an
on-field microphone on Sunday and
urged action on gun violence. PAGE BSPORTSTUESDAY B7-Mic Grab Draws Attention
Michelle Goldberg PAGE A
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-IT’S THE LAWA federal act passed
before Google.com existed helps
to shield hate groups. PAGE BPARALLELSLike ISIS recruits,
white nationalists are attracted to
an apocalyptic ideology. PAGE AAisha Harris explains why she loved
the film comedy in her youth, and why
it still works for her today. PAGE CARTS C1-‘Superbad’ Is Still Superfun
WASHINGTON — The trade
war between the United States
and China entered a more danger-
ous phase on Monday, as Beijing
allowed its currency to weaken,
Chinese enterprises stopped mak-
ing new purchases of American
farm goods and President
Trump’s Treasury Department
formally labeled China a currency
manipulator.
The escalation shook world
markets as investors looked for
safe places to park their money.
Wall Street suffered its worst day
of the year, with the S&P 500 clos-
ing down nearly 3 percent. Selling
was especially heavy in the trade-
sensitive technology, consumer
discretionary and industrial sec-
tors. Yields on United States
Treasuries, which fall as prices
rise, dropped as investors sought
safety in government-backed
bonds. Benchmark indexes in
Asia and Europe also fell.
On Sunday, the People’s Bank of
China, that country’s central
bank, took steps to limit the im-
pact of Mr. Trump’s next round of
tariffs by letting its currency
weaken past the psychologically
important point of 7 renminbi to
the American dollar for the first
time in more than a decade.
A weaker currency can make
goods cheaper to sell abroad, al-
lowing businesses and consumers
to help offset the added tariffs Mr.
Trump plans to impose on Sept. 1.
It also harms American exporters
trying to compete with China.
Chinese officials said the move
came in response to market
forces, which have reacted to Mr.
Trump’s tariff threats by pushing
the value of the currency down. In
an unusually blunt statement, the
central bank put the blame for the
currency fall on Mr. Trump’s “uni-
lateralism and trade protection-
ism measures and the imposition
of increased tariffs on China.”
Chinese enterprises halted new
purchases of American agricul-
tural goods in response to Mr.
Trump’s decision to impose more
tariffs, according to China’s state-
run Xinhua News Agency, which
called the president’s move a “se-
rious violation” of an agreement
reached in June with President Xi
Jinping.
Late Monday, the Treasury took
the unusual step of labeling China
a currency manipulator — the
first time it has done so since 1994.
In a statement, the Treasury said
that Secretary Steven Mnuchin
“will engage with the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund to eliminate
the unfair competitive advantage
created by China’s latest actions.”
The action is mostly symbolic,
requiring the administration to
consult with the International
Monetary Fund to try to eliminate
the unfair advantage the currencyChina Deploys Currency
As Lever in Trade Feud,
Jolting Global Markets
Lets Renminbi Weaken in Escalation —
U.S. Calls Beijing a Manipulator
This article is by Ana Swanson,
Alexandra Stevensonand Jeanna
Smialek.
Shares plunged at the New
York Stock Exchange Monday.
JOHANNES EISELE/A.F.P. — GETTY IMAGESContinued on Page AEL PASO — Jordan Anchondo,
24, gave birth to her baby boy Paul
Gilbert two months ago. At an El
Paso Walmart, she gave her life to
save his.
Ms. Anchondo was holding the
newborn as she and her husband,
Andre Anchondo, 23, shopped late
on Saturday morning. A gunman
stormed in, opening fire on shop-
pers while wearing headphones to
dull the loud bursts of gunfire
from his AK-47-style rifle. Ms. An-
chondo shielded the baby as she
was being shot. Her husband tried
to shield both of them, relativessaid.
Ms. Anchondo and her husband
were killed. The baby was grazed
by a bullet.
Paul Gilbert — a mass-shooting
orphan — had two broken fingers
and was being treated by doctors.
His parents were among the 22
victims in one of the deadliest
mass shootings in Texas history
and one of the latest in a string of
attacks that has shaken the na-
tion. The victims were as bination-
al as El Paso, the sister city of Ciu-
dad Juárez in Mexico, part of the
daily stream of people who drive
and walk across the bridges in
border cities to shop.After Wait for Names in Texas,
Families Are Left Devastated
This article is by Rick Rojas,
Manny Fernandez, Simon Romero
and Jose A. Del Real.Continued on Page ALast month was the hottest ever re-
corded, researchers in Europe say,
slightly eclipsing July 2016. PAGE AYes, July Was a Scorcher
Late Edition
Today, afternoon thunderstorms,
low humidity, high 82. Tonight,thun-
derstorms, partly cloudy, low 72.
Tomorrow,thunderstorms, high 85.
Weather map appears on Page B8.$3.