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Airbus is slowly restarting itsassembly line in China. GeneralMotors began limited productionon Saturday. Toyota followed onMonday morning.

Fitfully and painfully — andwith some worried prodding fromBeijing — China is trying to re-open for business.

The world’s second-largesteconomy practically shut downthree weeks ago as a viral out-break sickened tens of thousandsof people, unexpectedly length-ening a Chinese holiday. Thefreeze set off warnings that theglobal economy could be in jeop-ardy if the world’s pre-eminentmanufacturing powerhouse

stayed shut for long.Now, as some factories rumble

back into action, the monumentaltask of restarting China is becom-ing clear. China’s efforts to containthe virus are clashing with itspush to get the country back towork, requiring the country’sleaders to strike a balance be-tween keeping people safe andgetting vital industries back ontrack.

Chinese leaders called this pastweek for more emphasis on reviv-ing the economy. But many of thefactories that have reopened areoperating well below capacity, saycompanies and experts. Quaran-

China’s Factories, ImmobilizedBy Disease, Struggle to Reopen

By KEITH BRADSHER

Continued on Page A7

HILLSIDE, Ill. — Hardis White,78, could hardly wait to break outof suburbia.

He dressed in a flannel shirt,jeans and a Bears cap, strode outof the rectangular bungalow heshares with his wife and daughterand folded his tall frame behindthe wheel of his silver Nissan se-dan.

Forty minutes away from hissuburban neighborhood of Hill-side, he arrived in Chicago, on La-porte Avenue, to see what he hadcome to see: a handsome brickhouse with white trim, two storiestall, as solid as the first day he sawit in 1967.

For a moment, he gazed at thehouse. Marvin Gaye played softlyon the radio. The grass seemed alittle long, he murmured. He putthe car back in gear and startedback to the suburbs.

“I don’t know why I keep com-ing back,” he said. “I guess I justmiss the neighborhood.”

Some people, lured by nostalgiaand curiosity, drive past their oldhouses now and then. Mr. Whitedoes it nearly every day.

Today, he is one of the more than200,000 African-Americans whohave moved out of Chicago in thelast two decades, though in someways, he never left. For more thana year, he has taken this daily pil-

grimage back to the house on La-porte, to the city where his chil-dren grew up and where two of hisdaughters still live.

The steady exodus of African-Americans has caused alarm andgrief in Chicago, the nation’s thirdlargest city, where black people

have shaped the history, cultureand political life. The population of2.7 million is still nearly split inthirds among whites, blacks andLatinos, but the balance is shift-ing. Chicago saw its populationdecline in 2018, the fourth year in arow. Since 2015, almost 50,000

black residents have left.They have been driven out of

the city by segregation, gun vio-lence, discriminatory policing, ra-cial disparities in employment,the uneven quality of publicschools and frustration at life in

Black Families Helped Define Chicago. Why Are They Leaving?By JULIE BOSMAN

Hardis White is one of the over 200,000 African-Americans who have moved away from Chicago.TODD HEISLER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A10

The cruise ship had beenshunned at port after port for fearit might carry the coronavirus, butwhen the Westerdam arrived inCambodia on Thursday, the primeminister greeted its passengerswith flowers.

Amid assurances that the shipwas disease free, hundreds ofelated passengers disembarked.Some went sightseeing, visitingbeaches and restaurants and get-ting massages. Others traveled onto destinations around the world.

One, however, did not make itmuch farther than the thermalscanners at the Kuala Lumpur air-port in Malaysia. The passenger,an American, was stopped on Sat-urday, and later tested positive forthe coronavirus.

On Sunday, with passengers al-ready headed for destinations onat least three continents, healthofficials were scrambling to deter-mine how a big a problem theynow have — and how to stop itfrom getting bigger.

“We anticipated glitches, but Ihave to tell you I didn’t anticipateone of this magnitude,” said Dr.William Schaffner, an infectiousdisease specialist at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center.

With more than a thousand pas-sengers from the Westerdamheaded for home, Dr. Schaffnersaid, it may be harder than ever tokeep the coronavirus outbreakcontained to China.

“This could be a turning point,”he said.

It is unclear how well the pas-sengers were screened beforethey were allowed off the ship. Butthe best approach to containing abroader spread of the virus fromthe Westerdam would be to trackdown all of the passengers andquarantine them for two weeks,experts said.

It won’t be easy.Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, co-direc-

tor of the MetaCenter for Pan-demic Preparedness and GlobalHealth Security at University ofWashington, said the episodewould test the limits of contacttracing, the method used to findpeople exposed to infection.

“It’s really daunting to control asituation like this, now that peoplehave gone all over the world,” Dr.Rabinowitz said.

More than 140 passengers fromthe ship flew to Malaysia, and allbut the American woman whotested positive and her husband

RUSH TO CONTAINVIRUS AS THRONGEXITS CRUISE SHIP

U.S. CITIZEN IS INFECTED

1,000 Travelers Dispersein Cambodia — Fear

of ‘Turning Point’

This article is by Richard C. Pad-dock, Sui-Lee Wee and Roni CarynRabin.

Continued on Page A8

EVACUATION U.S. citizens leaving the Diamond Princess on Monday in Japan, where it was quarantined for over a week. Page A8.FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK

WASHINGTON — The Trumpadministration’s push to preventChina from dominating the mar-ket for advanced technologies hasput it on a collision course with thesame American companies itwants to protect.

Firms that specialize in micro-chips, artificial intelligence, bio-technology and other industrieshave grown increasingly alarmedby the administration’s efforts torestrict the flow of technology toChina, saying it could drain exper-tise, research and revenue fromthe United States, ultimately erod-ing America’s advantage.

The concerns, which have beensimmering for months, have tak-en on new urgency as the Com-merce Department considersadopting a sweeping proposalthat would allow the United Statesto block transactions betweenAmerican firms and Chinesecounterparts. Those rules, on topof new restrictions on Chinese in-vestment in the United States andproposed measures that wouldprevent American companiesfrom exporting certain productsand sharing technology with for-eign nationals, have the tech in-dustry scrambling to respond.

The Trump administration’scrackdown has already promptedforeign firms to shun Americancomponents and technology overconcerns that access to parts theyneed could be abruptly cut off.American companies are watch-ing warily as the United Statesconsiders restricting export li-censes for companies that sellproducts or share intellectualproperty with China, includingGeneral Electric, which sells air-craft parts to China as part of ajoint venture with Safran, aFrench firm.

Administration officials plan tomeet Feb. 28 to discuss further re-strictions on China, includingwhether to block G.E.’s license tosell jet engines and whether to fur-ther curtail the ability of Huawei,the Chinese telecom giant, to haveaccess to American technology.

There is growing bipartisanconsensus in Washington that

Tech IndustryPushes BackOn U.S. Rules

Businesses Dread StingFrom Curbs on China

By ANA SWANSONand DAVID McCABE

Continued on Page A5

LAS VEGAS — Senator BernieSanders is a longtime supporter of“Medicare for all.” “I wrote thedamn bill,” he said on a debatestage last summer, and his sup-port for universal health care hashelped propel him to the front ofthe 2020 Democratic field.

But in Nevada, where the raceheads next, his signature policy isa liability with the largest laborunion in the state. And the unionhas enthusiastic allies in Mr.Sanders’s opponents.

On Friday morning, momentsafter Senator Amy Klobuchar fin-ished a tour of the health care fa-cility run by the culinary workers’union, she began to lace into Mr.Sanders and his focus on the pro-posal, which would effectivelyeliminate union members’ currenthealth care system.

It is unwise and unrealistic, sheargued, to eliminate the privatehealth insurance that millions ofAmericans now use — or to think

such a measure could pass.“Since we’re in Vegas I’d say if

your number is not on the wheel,maybe you don’t want to bet onthat number,” Ms. Klobuchar said.

A night earlier, former MayorPete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind.,raised the issue at a forum for La-tino voters. “Who are we to tellthem that they have to give upthose plans?” Mr. Buttigieg said ofthe culinary workers’ health carecoverage.

Then there’s Tom Steyer, the bil-lionaire self-funder, who is com-peting aggressively in Nevadaand has started airing a commer-cial that says “unions don’t like”Mr. Sanders’s plan and includes avow to protect “union negotiatedplans.”

The flurry of attacks against Mr.Sanders in Nevada illustrates hisgrowing strength — and the ur-gency his Democratic rivals feelabout the need to stop him fromwinning the most votes in a thirdconsecutive contest next Satur-day. If no Democrat slows Mr.Sanders in the caucuses here, hewill gather what may be unstop-pable momentum heading intonext month’s Super Tuesdaystates.

But the offensive against theVermont senator also highlightedsome of his most glaring vulnera-bilities: The culinary union, whichrepresents many of the workers inLas Vegas’s casinos, is opposed tohis single-payer plan. And after itsleaders stated that opposition,they were met with the sort ofscathing and personal invectivethat critics of Mr. Sanders often re-ceive.

Culinary Workers Local 226,which is 60,000 members strongand over half Latino, is perhapsthe most powerful force in Demo-

It’s Union vs. Sanders Over Hard-Won BenefitsBy JENNIFER MEDINA

and JONATHAN MARTIN‘Medicare for All’ Plan

Lands With a Thud,and Rivals Pounce

Continued on Page A13

Japan’s fading towns saw colorful mas-cots as a way to lure tourists, but manyare now being quietly killed off. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-7

Too Much of a Cute Thing?The president took the track in hislimousine before the Daytona 500,which was postponed by rain. PAGE D4

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

A Cheer-Filled Lap for TrumpRobert Irwin, 91, a master of the Lightand Space movement, has created awondrous show, Lawrence Weschlerwrites. Above, “Arrowhead.” PAGE C1

ARTS C1-7

Drawing Inside the Lines

President Trump has questioned theexistence of NPR, and the broadcasteris not taking his threat lightly. PAGE B1

No NPR Tote Bag on His Arm

After three decades of chaos, the coun-try’s medics, road-builders and educa-tors are often not government workers,but young volunteers. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-8

Somalia’s Civilian Forces

The Israeli military said Hamas tried todupe its troops by posing as womenseeking romance. PAGE A5

‘Catfishing’ as Weapon of War

Jewish people, particularly OrthodoxJews, are on edge after an increase inhate crimes against them. PAGE A14

NEW YORK A14-15

‘Most Visible Jews’ Targeted

After days of torrential rain, a 33,000-acre reservoir was swamped, pushingthe Pearl River over its banks andforcing evacuations. Officials fear thatthe worst is still to come. PAGE A12

NATIONAL A9-13

Water Rising in Mississippi

In Los Angeles, a nearly 400-acre cam-pus with more than 1,600 housing unitsrepresents one of the country’s mostambitious plans to address the home-less crisis among veterans. PAGE A11

A Fresh Start for Veterans

David Leonhardt PAGE A19

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19

One frigid morning in January2019, a New York University stu-dent woke up in her apartmentnear the school’s Manhattan cam-pus to find a masked man stand-ing over her in bed. He told her notto scream, she told investigators,and then he held her down andraped her.

Two months later, the policematched fingerprints found on anunopened condom wrapper in herroom to those of a 22-year-old mannamed Tyler Lockett, who hap-pened to be in jail on charges ofhaving committed three burgla-ries in Brooklyn.

What should have been a luckybreak for law enforcement, how-ever, soon turned disastrous. In-stead of being charged with rape,Mr. Lockett was released from jailin July and the authorities said heattacked three more women overtwo weeks before he was caught.

Investigators in the New YorkPolice Department’s Special Vic-tims Division made a series of er-rors leading to Mr. Lockett’s re-lease, including failing to informprosecutors he was a rape suspectafter his fingerprints were found,according to several law enforce-ment officials, the student’smother and a police document.

Those errors underscored alongstanding problem identified

Trail of ErrorsFreed Suspect

In Rape Case

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL

Continued on Page A15

Many fans and players don’t thinkM.L.B.’s penalties went far enough.More ugliness is possible. PAGE D1

Astros Scandal Is Lingering

VOL. CLXIX . . . No. 58,606 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2020

Late EditionToday, clouds and some sunshine,high 48. Tonight, increasing clouds,low 35. Tomorrow, rain beginning inthe late morning, mild, high 50.Weather map appears on Page B8.

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