U(D54G1D)y+z!{!.!#!/ As Republican lawmakers pre- pare to leave Washington for a weeklong congressional recess, liberal groups and Democratic Party organizers are hoping to make their homecoming as noisy and uncomfortable as possible. But national organizers con- cede they are playing catch-up to a “dam-bursting level” of grass- roots activism that has bubbled up from street protests and the small groups that have swelled into crowds outside local congres- sional offices. Protests against the Republican agenda have become routine since President Trump took office, with momentum building through widely shared videos of lawmak- ers being confronted by con- stituents angry over efforts to re- peal the Affordable Care Act. Now, national groups see the recess as the chance to capitalize on that lo- cal activism, with a show of might aimed at declaring the arrival of a new, and sustainable, political force — barely three months after their humiliating defeat in No- vember. In email alerts, MoveOn.org is mobilizing members to attend town-hall-style meetings across the country, and it has set up a website, ResistanceRecess.com, to help people find them. The site includes a guide to “health care re- cess messaging.” (“The best and most impactful questions are ones where someone shares their story about what the Affordable Care Act has meant to them or their family,” it instructs.) Organizing for Action, the po- litical nonprofit group that grew out of former President Barack Obama’s election campaign, has created a “Recess Toolkit” with suggestions on how to effectively ask questions at the events. Last week, the group held an online seminar with members of Indivis- ible, the most prominent activist organization to emerge in re- sponse to Mr. Trump’s election, to coach supporters on how to chal- Wrath Awaits G.O.P. Leaders During Recess Liberal Groups Vow to Fight for Health Law By KATE ZERNIKE and ALEXANDER BURNS Continued on Page A10 The ceremony aboard an Italian Navy ship in the port of Valletta, Malta, had all the trappings of a European Union affair. But the “cadets” being awarded certifi- cates on a recent morning were an unusual group: 89 Libyans who the European Union hopes can help solve its migrant problem. Officers in the Libyan Coast Guard, they were trained by the Italians to intercept and rescue migrant boats near the Libyan coast before they reach interna- tional waters. Normally, Euro- pean forces intercept the boats and must take them to Italy. But if the migrants are picked up by the Libyans in their own wa- ters, they can be taken back to Lib- ya instead. For European leaders, training the Libyan Coast Guard is in many ways an attempt, against long odds, to shift the answer to Eu- rope’s migration crisis off its shores, and deal with it at the source. The plan is to give training, money and other resources to the Libyans to keep the migrants there, an idea somewhat similar to the European Union’s deal with Turkey, only this one is with a country run by competing militias and multiple weak governments. It is not the first time Italy has forged an agreement with Libya to stem the flow of migration. But the most effective attempt was be- fore Libya descended into chaos with the collapse of its govern- ment in 2011. Libya has since become the prime launching point for many of the 180,000 migrants who reached Italy last year, when more than 5,000 people died trying to make the Mediterranean crossing. Even previous agreements met criticism for the sometimes brutal tactics that North African coun- tries used to hold back migrants. Embryonic as it is, this latest plan is already being criticized as both potentially unworkable and inhu- mane. Some international experts are skeptical about the scope of the operation, and human rights groups fear the plan is the equiva- lent of throwing the migrants back into the frying pan of Libya, where many are fleeing dangers and dire conditions. The internationally backed Libyan government the European Union is dealing with has barely a toehold in the fragmented, vio- lence-plagued country, and may Can E.U. Shift Migrant Crisis to Its Roots? Libya’s Odds Are Long By GAIA PIANIGIANI and DECLAN WALSH Libyan Coast Guard officers in Malta last week after completing Italian training intended to relieve the flow of migrants to Europe. GIANNI CIPRIANO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES STORRS, Conn. — When Con- necticut won its 11th N.C.A.A. women’s basketball title last spring— its fourth in a row — President Barack Obama joked that he would keep a room with a cot waiting for Coach Geno Au- riemma on the Huskies’ regular visit to the White House. “He does seem to spend an aw- ful lot of time here,” Mr. Obama said. A trip to the White House, with the ceremonial awarding of a jer- sey to the president, has long been an affirmation for champion teams. But ire over the election of President Trump has spurred ac- tivism by athletes, coaches and of- ficials perhaps not seen since the civil rights movement and the war in Vietnam. Breanna Stewart, the former UConn star who helped lead her team to the last four national ti- tles, joined a protest at Los Ange- les International Airport against Mr. Trump’s temporary ban on visitors from seven predomi- nantly Muslim nations, a policy since rebuffed in federal court. Six members of the New England Pa- triots, who recently won their fifth Super Bowl, have said they will skip the team’s White House trip, which has not yet been scheduled. And now Mr. Auriemma is being asked a question he hadn’t faced since his teams began winning ti- tles in 1995, during the first term of the Clinton administration: Would any or all of the Huskies decline to meet the president should they win a 12th championship in April? “The fact that in all the 11 cham- pionships I’ve never been asked this question says something about where we are” as a country, Mr. Auriemma said. “Forget the answer. The fact that I’ve never been asked means there’s some- thing going on that isn’t normal.” UConn has won 100 consecutive games since 2014. And while the Huskies are not a lock to win a 12th title, they are favored again to cut down the nets in triumph at the Fi- nal Four in Dallas. Now coaches, New Test for Sports Champs: Would You Meet With Trump? By JERÉ LONGMAN The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team dur- ing a 2013 White House visit. CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES Continued on Page A16 Students at New York Univer- sity, where a year of undergradu- ate education can run to about $66,000 in room, board, tuition and fees, often complain about the cost of four years at the school in Greenwich Village. Now, N.Y.U. has a suggestion for them: Finish faster. On Friday, the university an- nounced a series of measures that make it easier to graduate in un- der four years, part of an initiative aimed at diminishing the universi- ty’s enormous affordability prob- lem. In some ways, the school is just catching up with its students. Ellen Schall, a senior presidential fellow and the head of the univer- sity’s affordability steering com- mittee, which is tackling college costs on a number of fronts, said that about 20 percent of N.Y.U. stu- dents already graduated ahead of schedule. “We were surprised,” Professor Schall said. “That’s part of what convinced us we needed to make this more transparent and more available to more students.” Students have long found ways to make it through school more quickly to save money. But there is increasing momentum to for- malize the process in the face of ballooning outrage over college costs and student debt — while N.Y.U. is expensive, many other private universities cost $60,000 or more a year. Gov. John Kasich, Republican of Ohio, pushed to make it easier for N.Y.U. Offers Path to Finish Degree Faster By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS Continued on Page A1 MUNICH — While President Trump has disrupted assump- tions about American foreign pol- icy, members of his cabinet have been scrambling to reassure allies that the United States remains a bedrock of support. The trouble is, after four weeks of tumult at the White House, the allies are not sure whom to be- lieve. Mr. Trump has questioned the European Union and NATO, spo- ken admiringly of Russia and up- ended Middle East diplomacy. His proxies have maintained that the United States is still a deterrent to Russia and China, a credible arbi- ter in the Middle East and a faith- ful ally to Europe. The skepticism over who is in charge in Washington was crystallized on Friday at an annu- al meeting of dignitaries in Mu- nich for a yearly security confer- ence. Germany’s defense min- ister, Ursula von der Leyen, caused ripples when she point- edly expressed appreciation for the American “secretary of de- fense’s strong commitment to NATO.” She was referring to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has spent his week in Europe trying to persuade allies that contrary to what President Trump has said in the United States, the country has not soured on the trans-Atlantic alliance. Several people at the confer- ence instantly took note on Twit- ter of Ms. Von der Leyen’s phras- ing, including Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Ad- vanced International Studies. He wrote, “German Defense Min tells #MSC2017 Europe appreciates President’s Aides Strive to Assure Worried Allies By HELENE COOPER Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Bonn, Germany. POOL PHOTO BY BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Confusion in Europe on Direction of Policy Continued on Page A13 Continued on Page A6 Europeans Embrace a Chaotic Partner to Stop Boats at Sea Protests and funerals were abundant in southern Pakistan after more than 80 people were killed when a shrine was bombed the day before. PAGE A3 INTERNATIONAL A3-8 Anger After Attack in Pakistan The British capital is choking from dirty air caused by diesel vehicles, as well as wood-burning fires in homes. PAGE A4 Record Pollution in London As a crackdown on illegal immigrants begins, Mexican citizens in the United States turn to their consulates for legal assistance. PAGE A11 NATIONAL A9-16 Anxiety at Mexican Consulates In “Werther,” Vittorio Grigolo shows he may be “the most galvanically convinc- ing singer in the world today,” writes Zachary Woolfe. A review. PAGE C1 ARTS C1-8 A Stylish and Gutsy Tenor THIS WEEKEND If completed, the $143 billion takeover would create an empire of hundreds of household names. PAGE B1 BUSINESS DAY B1-6 Kraft Heinz Bids on Unilever Charges against the heir to South Ko- rea’s largest company intensified calls for some major housecleaning. PAGE B1 Arrest Adds Stress to Samsung Nick Chavin, a former friend of Robert Durst, above, who is accused of murder, was questioned about why it took him so long to come forward. PAGE A17 NEW YORK A17-18 Ex-Friend of Durst Questioned Kyle Mazza, 19, created a network in Fair Lawn, N.J. His question Thursday gave the president a respite. PAGE A17 Cub Reporter Calms Trump In an era of hard throwing, Michael Kopech of the White Sox stands out, writes Tyler Kepner. He hopes to last as long as his idol, Nolan Ryan. PAGE D2 SPORTSSATURDAY D1-6, 8 A Modern-Day Nolan Ryan Tom Brokaw PAGE A21 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21 WASHINGTON — The White House budget office has drafted a hit list of programs that President Trump could eliminate to trim do- mestic spending, including long- standing conservative targets like the Corporation for Public Broad- casting, the Legal Services Corpo- ration, AmeriCorps and the Na- tional Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. Work on the first Trump admin- istration budget has been delayed as the budget office awaited Sen- ate confirmation of former Repre- sentative Mick Mulvaney, a spending hard-liner, as budget di- rector. Now that he is in place, his office is ready to move ahead with a list of nine programs to elimi- nate, an opening salvo in the Trump administration’s effort to reorder the government and in- crease spending on defense and infrastructure. Most of the programs cost un- der $500 million annually, a pit- tance for a government that is pro- jected to spend about $4 trillion this year. And a few are surpris- ing, even though most if not all have been perennial targets for conservatives. Mr. Trump has spoken volubly about the nation’s drug problems, yet the list includes the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, which dispenses grants to reduce drug use and drug trafficking. And despite Mr. Trump’s vocal promotion of Amer- ican exports, the list includes the Export-Import Bank, which has guaranteed loans to foreign customers of American compa- nies since the 1930s. While the total amount of annu- al savings of roughly $2.5 billion would be comparatively small, ad- ministration officials want to high- FAMILIAR TARGETS FACE ELIMINATION IN TRUMP BUDGET BUT MORE FOR MILITARY Public Broadcasting and Arts Groups Are on Draft List of Cuts By SHARON LaFRANIERE and ALAN RAPPEPORT Continued on Page A12 Late Edition VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,512 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2017 Today, sunshine and clouds, warmer afternoon, high 58. Tonight, cloudy, mild, low 45. Tomorrow, becoming mostly sunny, warm, high 60. Weather map appears on Page D8. $2.50