U(D54G1D)y+#!"!?!#!_ LOS ANGELES — It’s one of Hollywood’s most secretive and unusual jobs: Brian Cullinan, a partner at the accounting firm PwC, and a colleague are tasked with making sure the statuettes at the annual Academy Awards are correctly distributed. He stands in the wings of the Dolby Theater here in a tuxedo and pulls sealed envelopes out of a briefcase, giv- ing the correct one to presenters as they walk onto the stage. This is the one night a year when the button-down PwC really gets to shine. The firm’s chief ex- ecutive sits with stars in the audi- ence. Mr. Cullinan walks the red carpet, where reporters often say he resembles Matt Damon. He told one TV crew that he had no nerves. “We’ve done this a few times,” he said before Sunday night’s show, “and we prepare a lot.” He was so at ease, he even found time to tweet from back- stage about Emma Stone as the show neared its climax. Whoops. In an epic bungle before 33 mil- lion viewers — one that could get his company fired as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sci- ences’ accountant after 83 years and which robbed “Moonlight,” an all-black, gay-themed film, of its proper moment of celebration — Mr. Cullinan caused the show- business musical “La La Land” to be mistakenly named best picture at the 89th Academy Awards. PwC’s chief executive watched the scene from the third row. At the climactic moment back- stage, a crew member shouted “Oh my God” as the jubilant producers of “La La Land” thanked their families. “He got the wrong envelope!” “He” was Warren Beatty, who, along with Faye Dunaway, pre- sented the final award of the night. Mr. Beatty opened the envelope and, after some hesitation, handed it to Ms. Dunaway. She said that “La La Land,” about young California dreamers, was the winner. The crowd erupted in applause, and the “La La Land” team rushed the stage. Why did it take minutes to fix the error? “PwC sounded the alarm, but not right away,” Gary Natoli, the telecast’s stage man- ager, said in a text message. “It wasn’t until just before I jumped onstage that it was confirmed by From ‘The Envelope, Please’ To ‘Whoops!’ on Oscars Show By BROOKS BARNES and CARA BUCKLEY From left, Brian Cullinan, from PwC, conferred with Gary Natoli, the stage man- ager, and Warren Beatty. LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS Continued on Page A15 The accounting firm PwC nor- mally plays a behind-the-scenes role at the Oscars, but that all changed Sunday night. Page A15. Unwanted Spotlight LUCA BRUNO/ASSOCIATED PRESS Missoni’s collection for Milan Fashion Week tucked a political message into its parade of colors: to “show the world the fashion community is united and fearless.” A review. Fashion, Page B16. Making a Statement TRUMP FANS Modest rallies in several cities sent the message that supporters believe the president has been treated unfairly. PAGE A13 MORE FOR THE MILITARY The president’s plan to raise the Pentagon’s budget by $54 billion was criticized by spending hawks. PAGE A11 WASHINGTON — President Trump put both political parties on notice Monday that he intends to slash spending on many of the federal government’s most poli- tically sensitive programs — re- lating to education, the envi- ronment, science and poverty — to protect the economic security of retirees and to shift billions more to the armed forces. The proposal to increase mili- tary spending by $54 billion and cut nonmilitary programs by the same amount was unveiled by White House officials as they pre- pare the president’s plans for next year’s federal budget. Aides to the president said final decisions about Medicare and Social Securi- ty would not be made until later in the year, when he announces his full budget. But Sean Spicer, his spokesman, cited Mr. Trump’s campaign commitments about protecting those programs and vowed that “he’s going to keep his word to the American people.” In effect, Mr. Trump appears de- termined to take sides in a genera- tional struggle between older, sicker Americans who depend on the entitlement programs, and their younger, poorer counter- parts whose livelihoods are shaped by the domestic programs likely to see steep cuts. He also set up a battle for con- trol of Republican Party ideology with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who for years has staked his pol- Budget Outline Sets Up Clash Over Ideology Entitlement Programs Would Be Preserved By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and JENNIFER STEINHAUER President Trump spoke about his budget proposals during a meeting on Monday with the National Governors Association. STEPHEN CROWLEY/THE NEW YORK TIMES Continued on Page A11 COLORADO SPRINGS — Ex- ecutives at the United States Anti- Doping Agency here are agitating for a forceful response to Russia’s state-run doping program, lobby- ing international sports officials for more aggressive sanctions and for an overhaul of the global regu- latory system. Executives at the nearby United States Olympic Commit- tee’s headquarters have a differ- ent agenda. They are lobbying the same officials to award the 2024 Summer Games to Los Angeles, a likely financial boon for the com- mittee, and have pressured Con- gress not to amplify the antidop- ing concerns. The competing agendas have put some of the most powerful sports executives in the world in conflict as the Olympic Committee enters the final months of its effort to bring the Games back to the United States for the first time since 2002. “Fighting with an organization responsible for giving future Olympic Games — it’s a big mis- take,” said Vitaly Smirnov, an in- fluential Russian Olympic official. He singled out criticisms by Travis Tygart, America’s antidop- ing chief, who has argued for se- vere penalties against Russia. “This gentleman is doing a very counterproductive job with re- spect to the Los Angeles bid,” Mr. Smirnov said. The choice for the 2024 Games is down to Los Angeles and Paris, and United States Olympic offi- cials and other powerful interests involved with the bid have ex- pressed concern to members of Congress that the clean-sports crusade could alienate some of the global officials who will make the decision. Dueling Ideals: Host Olympics Or Curb Dopers By REBECCA R. RUIZ Continued on Page A16 MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — A wheelbarrow saved his life. Sprawled across it, Babagana felt every bump, moaning in pain from four bullet wounds. Covered in his blood, his pregnant wife helped roll him across the Ni- gerian countryside to a hospital. Somehow, Babagana survived the makeshift ambulance ride. More than 80 men from his village had been shot to death, he said, all of them forced to strip to the waist and lie face down. The gunmen then burned their small farming village before speeding away. The attack fit the pattern of rampages by Boko Haram, the terrorist group that has killed poor people in this region for years. But Babagana and multiple witnesses to the attack in June, as well as another one days before in a neighboring village, say the rad- icals were not to blame this time. Instead, they say, the massacres were carried out by the Nigerian military. “They told us they were here to help us,” said a resident, Falmata, 20, adding that soldiers in uniform shouted for villagers to point out the Boko Haram members among them. When none were identified, the killings began, she and other witnesses said. In recent months, the Nigerian military has made great headway in its war against Boko Haram, the radical Islamist militants terroriz- ing northeast Nigeria. But the army’s aggressive sweeps to root out the remaining fighters have taken a toll on more than just Boko Haram. Witnesses are accusing Nigerian soldiers of killing unarmed civilians, as well. In Nigeria, Killing Civilians in Hunt for Terrorists By DIONNE SEARCEY Villagers Share Details of Mass Shootings by Own Soldiers Continued on Page A6 A video released by a Philippine mili- tant group shows the beheading of a German hostage, officials said. PAGE A6 Hostage Killed on Video No more than 30 of the tiny porpoises are left. Experts propose keeping some in captivity as a last resort. PAGE D1 The Vanishing Vaquitas How Geert Wilders, above, and his far-right party fare on March 15 could reveal Europe’s political winds. PAGE A4 INTERNATIONAL A4-8 Dutch Vote as Weather Vane The Justice Department said it would drop a key objection to a strict voter- identification law in Texas, shrinking its role in the case. PAGE A12 NATIONAL A9-16 Setback for Voter ID Lawsuit The Supreme Court heard arguments about a law that bars sex offenders from sites like Facebook. PAGE A9 The Right to Use Social Media Berkeley College basketball players, who say they’ve been given a second chance, will try for a third national title. PAGE B9 SPORTSTUESDAY B9-14 A Tiny School’s Big Dreams While bariatric surgery for teenagers raises many issues, for some it might be the best option. PAGE D1 SCIENCE TIMES D1-6 The Last Best Hope? Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota kept using Takata airbags they knew to be dangerous, lawyers asserted. PAGE B1 BUSINESS DAY B1-8 Airbag Scandal Widens Mohsin Hamid’s compelling novel “Exit West” recounts the harrowing story of migrants who make their way grad- ually from a war zone to the United States. A review. PAGE C4 ARTS C1-8 Escaping to Strange Lands David Leonhardt PAGE A23 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23 A manager at a city agency lost his job hours after the mayor was questioned in a fund-raising inquiry. PAGE A17 NEW YORK A17-21 Figure in de Blasio Case Is Fired Envisioning a new era for acrobats, a school’s founder teaches stunts as an art form and a “life tool.” PAGE A17 Circus Curriculum? It’s Flexible Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected on Tuesday to unveil a plan to open roughly 90 new homeless shelters throughout New York’s five boroughs, a stark increase de- vised to address his most vexing citywide problem. The move, which was con- firmed by several people familiar with the plan, would increase the number of shelters in New York by nearly a third and is sure to meet community opposition at nearly every turn. With re-election looming, Mr. de Blasio has been frustrated in his attempts to curb the continuing increase in homelessness. Visibly, more people are sleeping and beg- ging on the street, and the uptick is easily documented by a daily shelter census that now hovers at about 60,000 people. “I’m very dissatisfied when it comes to a lot of strategies we put into place to address homeless- ness that still haven’t gotten us where we want to go,” the mayor said in December. “My job is to get it right.” Homelessness has been a vul- nerable point for Mr. de Blasio, who entered office three years ago with an ambitious agenda that promised to address the city’s in- come inequality. The rise in home- lessness is arguably the mayor’s biggest failure in that goal to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington have experienced similar increases, even as the number of homeless people na- tionwide has declined in recent years. The exact contours of Mr. de Blasio’s proposal were not clear; administration officials have de- clined to give any details until the mayor announces it, presumably Fight Looms as de Blasio Plans to Seek 90 New Homeless Shelters By NIKITA STEWART Continued on Page A18 WASHINGTON — President Trump, meeting with the nation’s governors, conceded Monday that he had not been aware of the com- plexities of health care policy- making: “I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject. Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.” The president also suggested that the struggle to replace the Af- fordable Care Act was creating a legislative logjam that could delay other parts of his political agenda. Many policy makers had antici- pated the intricacies of changing the health care law, and Mr. Trump’s demands in the opening days of his administration to si- multaneously repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s signa- ture domestic achievement made the political calculations far more complicated. Governors of both parties add- ed still more confusion on Monday when they called for any replace- ment to cover all the people al- ready benefiting from the land- mark law. “Of course I am concerned,” said Gov. Brian Sandoval, the Re- publican governor of Nevada, TRUMP CONCEDES HEALTH OVERHAUL IS A THORNY TASK ‘UNBELIEVABLY COMPLEX’ Governors Set Coverage Demands as Agenda Starts to Stall By ROBERT PEAR and KATE KELLY Continued on Page A10 Late Edition VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,522 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017 Today, variably cloudy, mild, stray afternoon showers, high 60. Tonight, cloudy, mild, periodic rain, low 54. Tomorrow, rather cloudy, showers, high 72. Weather map, Page A14. $2.50