Today's Headlines: Days Before Firing, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Inquiry

[Sense of Crisis Deepens as Trump Defends F.B.I. Firing]( | View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. | [Unsubscribe]( [The New York Times]( [Most Popular]( | [Video]( | [Today's Headlines]( Thursday, May 11, 2017 IN THIS EMAIL [NYT] [World](#worldNews) | [U.S.](#nationalNews) | [Politics](#politicsNews) | [Business](#businessNews) | [Technology](#technologyNews) | [Sports](#sportsNews) | [Arts](#artsNews) | [N.Y./Region](#nyregionNews) | [Fashion & Style](#dailyFeatureNews) | [Today's Video](#videoNews) | [Obituaries](#obituaries) | [Editorials](#editorialsNews) | [Op-Ed](#opinionNews) | [On This Day](#onthisdayNews) | [CUSTOMIZE »]( Top News [Days Before Firing, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Inquiry]( By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and MATT APUZZO James B. Comey made his appeal during a meeting last week with the deputy attorney general, who wrote the memo used to justify his firing. [President Trump spoke to the media in the Oval Office during a meeting with Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state, on Wednesday.]( [Sense of Crisis Deepens as Trump Defends F.B.I. Firing]( By MICHAEL D. SHEAR, JENNIFER STEINHAUER and MATT FLEGENHEIMER A spokeswoman also said that the recommendation from the deputy attorney general to fire James B. Comey had not been made at the president's direction. [The White House on Tuesday. President Trump, according to people close to him, had been openly talking about firing James B. Comey for at least a week.]( ['Enough Was Enough': How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing]( By MAGGIE HABERMAN, GLENN THRUSH, MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and PETER BAKER President Trump returned from a weekend away determined to act after months of growing frustration with the F.B.I. director, according to people close to the president. For more top news, go to [NYTimes.com »]( [Get the Morning Briefing in Your Inbox]( What you need to know to start your day, delivered Monday through Friday. [Sign up »]( ADVERTISEMENT Editors' Picks [A visualization of the orbits of the seven planets circling the star Trappist-1.]( SCIENCE | Trilobites [The Harmony That Keeps Trappist-1's 7 Earth-size Worlds From Colliding]( By KENNETH CHANG Astronomers can now explain why the recently discovered Earth-size planets, tightly packed, don't simply fly apart. And now, you can give it a listen. [Rod Rosenstein]( OPINION | Editorial [An Open Letter to the Deputy Attorney General]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Rod Rosenstein has more authority than anyone else to restore Americans' confidence in their government. QUOTATION OF THE DAY "I think the Comey operation was breathing down the neck of the Trump campaign and their operatives, and this was an effort to slow down the investigation." [SENATOR DICK DURBIN]( Democrat of Illinois, on the firing of James B. Comey as F.B.I. director. [] World [Tank soldiers at a training area in Grafenwöhr, Germany. Starting in July, all applicants seeking to join the military will have to undergo a security check aimed at weeding out potential extremists.]( [Pro-Nazi Soldiers in German Army Raise Alarm]( By MELISSA EDDY Authorities are scrambling to address cases of racism and far-right extremism in the German military, which critics say have been overlooked for too long. [Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea last month. China now has the ability to deploy warplanes and mobile missile launchers on several islands in the region.]( [Trump's Mixed Signals on South China Sea Worry Asian Allies]( By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ As the president seeks closer ties with China, experts say relations with Southeast Asian countries may suffer if he doesn't contest Beijing's claims in the disputed sea. [City Hostel Berlin is known for its low prices. Not so well known is its pedigree as a property of North Korea, whose diplomats used to live there. Germany is closing it to comply with United Nations sanctions.]( [That Popular Hostel in Berlin? It's North Korean, and It's Closing]( By ALISON SMALE The City Hostel Berlin earns the North Korean government tens of thousands of euros a month, but Germany is shutting it to comply with United Nations sanctions. For more world news, go to [NYTimes.com/World »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] U.S. [President Trump with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, left, and the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, at the White House on Wednesday. The White House did not allow American news organizations to photograph the meeting. Images were released through the Russian Foreign Ministry.]( [With Awkward Timing, Trump Meets Top Russian Official]( By DAVID E. SANGER and NEIL MacFARQUHAR A day after dismissing the F.B.I. director amid an investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian officials, the president met with Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov. [In Win for Environmentalists, Senate Keeps an Obama-Era Climate Change Rule]( By CORAL DAVENPORT Senators voted 51 to 49 to block a measure that would have undone a regulation to control the release of methane from oil and gas wells on public land. [Camila Rivera during a math class at Dr. Hiram González School in Bayamón, P.R. The school will absorb about 190 students as part of a cost-saving consolidation.]( [Puerto Rico's Debt Crisis Claims Another Casualty: Its Schools]( By FRANCES ROBLES The secretary of education in Puerto Rico has pushed for closings and consolidations to save money. Teachers fear the cuts will cost them their jobs. For more U.S. news, go to [NYTimes.com/US »]( ADVERTISEMENT [] Politics [Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, arrived at the United States Capitol on Wednesday.]( [Comey's Firing May Imperil Republicans' Legislative Agenda]( By CARL HULSE The dismissal added another volatile element to the partisanship engulfing the capital and raised the prospect of another confirmation fight in the Senate. [The J. Edgar Hoover F.B.I. building in Washington on Tuesday. Morale inside the bureau has taken a hit with the firing of its director, agents say.]( [Inside the F.B.I., Stunned Agents Wonder About Future of Russia Inquiry]( By ADAM GOLDMAN and CHARLIE SAVAGE Agents said they were still under a cloud from the F.B.I.'s role in the election and that President Trump's firing of James B. Comey further hurt morale. [Education Secretary Betsy DeVos delivered the commencement address at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Wednesday.]( [Bethune-Cookman Graduates Greet Betsy DeVos With Turned Backs]( By ERICA L. GREEN The education secretary gave her first commencement address at a historically black university amid some jeers and turned faces. For more political news, go to [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [] Business [A Nucor employee monitoring a bucket of steel on its way to be dunked into a molten broth of protective shimmering zinc.]( [Steel Industry, Seeing a New Dawn, Is Cheering for Trump]( By PATRICIA COHEN Stocks are up, and employees at a South Carolina plant are confident in the prospect of infrastructure spending and a tough stand on trade. [Mangoes at a Whole Foods in Manhattan. Neuberger Berman, a money manager, and Jana Partners, a hedge fund, have pressed for changes at the grocer.]( [Whole Foods, Pressured by Restless Investors, Shakes Up Board]( By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON The upscale grocer named Gabrielle Sulzberger as its new chairwoman and replaced five directors amid a push for changes by the hedge fund Jana Partners and other restless shareholders. [James E. Staley, the chief executive of Barclays, was re-elected to the board of the British bank on Wednesday, receiving 97.2 percent of the votes cast.]( [Barclays C.E.O. Apologizes for Handling of Whistle-Blower Complaint]( By CHAD BRAY James E. Staley offered a public apology as shareholders vented their frustration over a misstep regarding a whistle-blower complaint that has led to a regulatory inquiry. For more business news, go to [NYTimes.com/Business »]( [] Technology [Traders working the floor at the New York Stock Exchange during Snap's initial public offering on March 2.]( [Snap's $2.2 Billion Loss Caps Bumpy First Months as a Public Company]( By KATIE BENNER The parent of the messaging app Snapchat reported earnings that missed Wall Street expectations in almost every regard. State of the Art [Tech's Frightful Five: They've Got Us]( By FARHAD MANJOO Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google dominate our day-to-day activities. Imagining being forced to give up some of them could lead to hard choices. [.][[Interactive] Interactive Feature: Which Tech Giant Would You Drop?]( [An image from the game Star Citizen, which drew support from a crowdfunding site and its online donations page.]( [Video Game Raised $148 Million From Fans. Now It's Raising Concerns.]( By LAURA PARKER Creators are flocking to crowdfunding for video games, but some of them have failed to live up to their backers' expectations. For more technology news, go to [NYTimes.com/Technology »]( [] Sports [Derek Jeter and the Yankees' 1996 title team were honored last year. His No. 2 will be retired Sunday.]( On Baseball [Jeter, Face of Yankees' Glory Days, Will Get a Lasting Tribute]( By TYLER KEPNER Derek Jeter, the team's longtime captain, will get a plaque in the Bronx and have his No. 2 retired on Sunday. [Manu Ginobili blocked Rockets guard James Harden's 3-point attempt in the final seconds of Game 5 on Tuesday night, ensuring the Spurs a victory.]( On Pro Basketball [Spurs' Manu Ginobili Channels His Younger Self and Is a Savior Again]( By SCOTT CACCIOLA Depleted by injuries, the Spurs leaned on the oldest player left in the N.B.A. playoffs, and he gave them a vintage performance. [Players for Brazil, foreground, and their opponents, from Chile, watched a penalty shootout to determine the winner of their World Cup match in 2014. Brazil won the shootout, 3-2.]( [UEFA Tinkers With Penalty Shootouts, Aiming at First-Kick Advantage]( By VICTOR MATHER In an experiment, Europe's under-17 tournaments will use a coin flip to determine who shoots first, with the coin-toss loser shooting first in Round 2. For more sports news, go to [NYTimes.com/Sports »]( [] Arts [A fishhook from the early half of the 19th century from the Newton Andover collection at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.]( [New Yale Partner Faulted for Handling of Tribal Artifacts]( By LESLIE MACMILLAN and TOM MASHBERG Native American tribes are waiting for the return of their sacred items from the collection of a Massachusetts seminary. [Miriam Linna, who ran Norton Records with her husband, Billy Miller, in her loft in Brooklyn.]( [Norton Records, Still Rocking, Is Releasing a Lost Dion Album]( By BEN SISARIO Miriam Linna is continuing to nurture the independent record label she and her husband Billy Miller founded. This week, it's putting out its most high-profile album yet. [Hugh O'Conor in Enda Walsh's play ]( [Review: The Private Dystopias of 'Arlington' and 'Rooms']( By BEN BRANTLEY In the drama "Arlington" and the installation "Rooms," the Irish playwright Enda Walsh conjures a subversive throng of unreliable narrators. For more arts news, go to [NYTimes.com/Arts »]( [] New York [Lydia Guerrero-Barlow reading to 3-year-olds in an EarlyLearn class at Union Settlement, a provider of early education in East Harlem. Several of its teachers, and a center director, have left for higher-paying positions with the Education Department.]( [Is '3-K for All' Good for All? De Blasio's Preschool Plan Troubles Some]( By KATE TAYLOR The initiative has drawn criticism from early childhood providers, legislators and those who say the mayor has no realistic plan to achieve such a politically popular goal. [Seen from the Canadian side, a sign marked the border at Champlain, N.Y. Migrants have been taking cabs to the end of Roxham Road in Champlain to enter Canada.]( [Surge Pricing for Migrants Ends in a Penalty for a Taxi Owner]( By LIZ ROBBINS The operator charged immigrants headed for Canada as much as $300 for a $50 to $75 ride, and his passengers were not in a position to complain. The state did. [Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council speaker, and Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed plans to close the Rikers Island jail complex at a news conference in March.]( [New York Council Speaker Calls for Resignation of Jails Chief]( By J. DAVID GOODMAN Melissa Mark-Viverito cited a "lack of leadership and a lack of confidence" in Joseph Ponte within the Correction Department. For more New York news, go to [NYTimes.com/NewYork »]( [] Fashion & Style [Drew and Jonathan Scott, 39, star in, and in some cases produce, some of the most popular television shows in America.]( [The Property Brothers Are Fixing to Take Over the World]( By KATHERINE ROSMAN In seven years, the identical twins Drew and Jonathan Scott, 39, have gone from aspiring celebrities on a small Canadian cable network to HGTV headliners. [Bella Hadid appeared in a promotional video for the failed Fyre Festival, an association she may now regret.]( Unbuttoned [The Rise and (Maybe) Fall of Influencers]( By VANESSA FRIEDMAN From Kendall Jenner to the Fyre Festival, the risks of being a tastemaker have been exposed. [Michelle Kennedy, a London entrepreneur, created the app Peanut. ]( [An App for Mothers Who Missed Out on Tinder]( By SOPHIA KERCHER Peanut is intended to help parents connect. What could go wrong? For more fashion news, go to [NYTimes.com/Fashion »]( []Obituaries [Hugh Thomas in 2010.]( [Hugh Thomas, Prodigious Author of Spanish History, Dies at 85]( By ALAN COWELL Mr. Thomas is best known for magisterial works on Spain's past. He was also an ally of Margaret Thatcher's during her years at 10 Downing Street. [Jack Tilton at his gallery on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 2008.]( [Jack Tilton, Art Dealer With an Eye for the New, Dies at 66]( By WILLIAM GRIMES Mr. Tilton, who began his career at the Betty Parsons Gallery and saw art dealing as exploring, had a thirst for discovery. [Robert H. Phelps]( [Robert H. Phelps, Editor at Times and Boston Globe, Dies at 97]( By SAM ROBERTS Mr. Phelps missed a scoop on the Watergate scandal but oversaw the coverage in major series on school desegregation and abuses at a transit agency that won Pulitzer Prizes. For more obituaries, go to [NYTimes.com/Obituaries »]( [] Editorial [President Moon Jae-in of South Korea on Wednesday.]( Editorial [No Time for Friction With South Korea]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD South Korea's new leader and President Trump need to press ahead and find a common strategy on the North. [A Republican bill could make employees vulnerable not only to wage delays, but to wage theft.]( Editorial [An Invitation to Wage Theft]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Congressional Republicans and President Trump want to make it legal for employers to delay paying time-and-a-half for overtime. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] Op-Ed [Kellyanne Conway with a copy of President Trump's letter, in which he fired James B. Comey as the F.B.I. director.]( Op-Ed Columnist [The Easy Tells of Comey's Canning]( By BRET STEPHENS A president who seeks to hide a scandal may be willing to risk an uproar. [President Richard Nixon and F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover in Washington in 1969.]( Op-Ed Contributor [In Firing Comey, Did Trump Unleash the Next Deep Throat?]( By BEVERLY GAGE The president may hope to shut down the F.B.I.'s investigation into his campaign. That is likely to backfire. [L.G.B.T. pride flag at the Women's March on Washington the day after Donald Trump's inauguration.]( Op-Ed Contributor [The Census Won't Collect L.G.B.T. Data. That's a Problem.]( By PRAVEEN FERNANDES If we aren't counted, we can't be seen or understood. For more opinion, go to [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [] ON THIS DAY On May 11, 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct. 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