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WASHINGTON — SenateDemocrats on Monday securedthe votes necessary to filibusterthe Supreme Court nomination ofJudge Neil M. Gorsuch, presaginga bitter confrontation this weekthat threatens to further unravel achamber where bipartisanshipand decorum have eroded foryears.

The show of solidarity from theminority came as Republicans ad-vanced Judge Gorsuch’s nomina-tion in the Judiciary Committee,clearing the way for his considera-tion on the Senate floor.

Republicans vowed Monday toconfirm him by the end of theweek. The implication was notsubtle: If they must change long-standing rules to bypass the fili-buster, elevating PresidentTrump’s selection on a simple ma-jority vote, they will not hesitate.

“We have no alternative,” Sena-tor Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, thelongest-serving Republican in theSenate, said alongside his Judicia-ry Committee colleagues after aparty-line vote, 11 to 9.

It was the beginning of whatboth parties consider a seminalweek on Capitol Hill, likely to fun-damentally reshape the way theSenate conducts its business.

Though lawmakers have longdeployed the filibuster — a pro-cedural device that allows forcontinued debate to block or delaya vote — to suit their circum-

DEMOCRATS’ VOWTO BAR GORSUCHSETS UP A CLASH

SENATE DECORUM FADES

Seeing ‘No Alternative,’Republicans Plan to

Bypass Filibuster

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER

Continued on Page A13

WASHINGTON — Ever sincehe seized power in a military take-over nearly four years ago, Presi-dent Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypthas been barred from the WhiteHouse. But President Trumpmade clear on Monday that theperiod of ostracism was over as hehosted Mr. Sisi and pledged un-stinting support for the autocraticruler.

“We agree on so many things,”Mr. Trump said as he sat besideMr. Sisi in the Oval Office. “I justwant to let everybody know incase there was any doubt that weare very much behind Presidentel-Sisi. He’s done a fantastic job ina very difficult situation. We arevery much behind Egypt and thepeople of Egypt. The UnitedStates has, believe me, backing,and we have strong backing.”

In that one moment, Mr. Trumpunderscored a fundamental shiftin American foreign policy sincehe took office. While hispredecessors considered authori-tarians like Mr. Sisi to be distaste-ful and at times shied away fromthem, Mr. Trump signaled that hesees international relationsthrough a transactional lens. IfEgypt can be a partner in the bat-tle against international terror-ism, then in Mr. Trump’s calcula-tion, that is more important to theUnited States than concerns overits brutal suppression of domesticdissent.

Nothing could have made Mr.Sisi happier. He arrived fromCairo with a list of financial, secu-rity and political requests, but ef-fectively he got what he reallywanted in the six minutes that

In Shift by U.S.,Trump Praises Egypt Autocrat

Security Eclipses Rightsin White House Talks

By PETER BAKERand DECLAN WALSH

Continued on Page A15

TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Lostjobs, empty storefronts andshrinking populations. It’s an im-age of rural America ingrained inmany people’s minds, and onethat was often reinforced in theelection.

The reality is far more complexand can be seen — and smelled, inthe still-fresh paint — inside a ClifBar factory that opened here lastsummer in south-central Idaho.The largest yogurt plant in the

world is here, too, opened in 2013by Chobani, the Greek yogurt gi-ant, in a vast space of whirring ro-bots, steel tanks and 1,000 full-time employees.

New manufacturing jobs andpopulation growth have bolsteredsouthern Idaho, bucking the pat-tern, and the perception, of ruralstruggle. But the surge only un-derscores the deeply unevenworld of what economists callnon-metro America, where the re-cession never ended in someplaces and is barely rememberedin others.

Of nearly 2,000 rural counties inthe United States, about 60 per-cent added jobs last year, while 40percent contracted, according tofederal figures. In such a brutalcalculus, economists and local po-liticians said, little things add upfast: like being close enough to abig city, but not so close as to becrushed by the competition; hav-ing good access by air and high-way for passengers and freight;and then having enough trainedworkers if and when new compa-

What Decline? A Rural Hub Thrives in IdahoBy KIRK JOHNSON

A nine-county region in Idaho is experiencing a boom, with unemployment at only 3.2 percent.RUTH FREMSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A12

The sexual harassment scandalthat engulfed Fox News last yearand led to the ouster of its chair-man, Roger Ailes, continued tobatter the network on Monday, asa new lawsuit described unwant-ed sexual advances by Mr. Ailesand two major advertisers pulledtheir spots from the show of itstop-rated host, Bill O’Reilly.

Mercedes-Benz and Hyundaisaid they were withdrawing theirads from Mr. O’Reilly’s prime-time show, “The O’Reilly Factor,”

after The New York Times pub-lished an investigation this week-end that found five women whomade allegations of sexual har-assment or inappropriate behav-ior against him. Those five womenreceived settlements totalingabout $13 million, The Times re-ported.

Together, the developmentsportray a network buffeted by al-legations on multiple fronts, evenas it draws record ratings withprogramming supportive of Presi-dent Trump. Staff members re-main anxious, some said on Mon-day, over questions about itsworkplace culture and its priori-ties.

If more advertisers abandonMr. O’Reilly’s show, it will be ablow to Fox News, which providesbillions of dollars in revenue eachyear to its parent company, 21stCentury Fox. Mr. O’Reilly has longbeen the pugnacious face of aprime-time lineup that sets thetone for conservative commen-tary. His show attracts almost fourmillion viewers a night, and from2014 through 2016 it generatedmore than $446 million in adver-tising revenue, according to theresearch firm Kantar Media.

“Given the importance of wom-en in every aspect of our business,we don’t feel this is a good envi-ronment in which to advertise ourproducts right now,” DonnaBoland, the manager of corporate

New Harassment Claims at Fox Are Followed by Canceled Ads

By EMILY STEEL and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

Continued on Page A18

MARK HUMPHREY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Guard Joel Berry II shooting against Gonzaga during the TarHeels’ 71-65 victory in the N.C.A.A. men’s title game. Page B7.

North Carolina on Top

MEGAPOLISONLINE.RU, VIA EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

An explosion killed 11 and injured more than 40 in St. Petersburg, spreading bloody mayhem in the lull before rush hour. Page A4.Blast on Russian Subway

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. —The delivery trucks began arriv-ing with their precious parcels be-fore daybreak, lining up outside amassive government edifice thatrises above Orange County’s sub-urban sprawl.

On Monday, the starting gunwent off on application season forskilled-worker visas, known asH-1B visas, which allow employ-ers, primarily technology compa-nies, to bring in foreign workersfor three years at a time. For thelast few years, the federal govern-ment has been so overwhelmedby applications that it has stopped

accepting them within a week ofopening day, hence the line oftrucks trying to deliver applica-tions before the doors close on theprogram for another year.

And this year, the rush has esca-lated to an all-out scramble be-cause the future of the H-1B pro-gram is unclear.

Hailed by proponents as vital toAmerican innovation, the pro-gram has also been criticized as ascheme to displace United Statesworkers with cheaper foreign la-bor. President Trump has vowedto overhaul it, and lawmakersfrom both parties have draftedbills to alter it.

At campaign rallies, Mr. Trumpintroduced laid-off Americans

who had been asked to train theirforeign successors at companiesthat included Disney. “We won’tlet this happen anymore,” he thun-dered in one stump speech aboutthe practice, which he has called“outrageous” and “demeaning.”

This past weekend, UnitedStates Citizenship and Immigra-tion Services announced a techni-cal change that could make itharder for entry-level program-mers to receive the visas, and onMonday, the Justice Departmentwarned that it would investigatecompanies that it believed hadoverlooked qualified Americanworkers.

“The Justice Department will

H-1B Visa Applications Pour In by the TruckloadBy MIRIAM JORDAN

Continued on Page A16

PROCESS The filibuster is back in the spotlight, thanks to the potentialshowdown over a Supreme Court nomination. An explanation. PAGE A12

The electric-vehicle upstart surpassedFord in market value for the first time,illustrating investors’ optimism. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-6

Investors Bullish on Tesla

Chatbots on Facebook Messenger arechanging how musicians like AdamLevine connect with with fans. PAGE B1

Chatting Up a Rock Star

Plans for a subway extension and a newtrain tunnel are in peril under PresidentTrump’s proposed budget cuts. PAGE A19

Transit Projects in Jeopardy

A study linking hormonal contracep-tives and depression draws lots ofattention but needs to be seen in con-text. The Upshot. PAGE A11

NATIONAL A10-18

Birth Control and Depression

The family’s company is in talks withinvestors after failing to reach a deal onits flagship property. PAGE A20

NEW YORK A19-23

Debt Plagues Kushners’ Tower

Studying surfers, scientists are tryingto find out whether the ocean spreadsgenes for antibiotic resistance. PAGE D5

Seas’ Clues to Drug Resistance

An illustrated natural history bookshows the diversity of the world’s owls,including the elf owl, below. PAGE D2

SCIENCE TIMES D1-6

Bringing Owls Into the LightNoah Syndergaard, shrugging off ablister, baffled Atlanta hitters as the Metsopened with a 6-0 win in front of thesecond-largest regular-season crowd inCiti Field history. On Baseball. PAGE B7

SPORTSTUESDAY B7-12

Fast Start for the Mets

For the first time since 1994, theOlympic tournament will not featurehockey’s biggest stars. Team ownerssaid that shutting down their seasonwould be too disruptive. PAGE B7

N.H.L. to Skip 2018 Olympics

David Leonhardt PAGE A26

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A26-27

Transplanted to Broadway as a musical,Ben Brantley writes, the show lacks itsown sensibility and neither offends norenthralls. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

A Mild-Mannered ‘Amélie’

WASHINGTON — AttorneyGeneral Jeff Sessions has ordereda sweeping review of federalagreements with dozens of law en-forcement agencies, an examina-tion that reflects PresidentTrump’s emphasis on law and or-der and could lead to a retreat onconsent decrees with troubled po-lice departments nationwide.

In a memorandum dated March31 and made public Monday, theattorney general directed his staffto look at whether law enforce-ment programs adhere to princi-ples put forth by the Trump ad-ministration, including one de-claring that “the individual mis-deeds of bad actors should notimpugn” the work police officersperform “in keeping Americancommunities safe.”

As part of its shift in emphasis,the Justice Department went tocourt on Monday to seek a 90-daydelay in a consent decree to over-haul Baltimore’s embattled PoliceDepartment. That request camejust days before a hearing, sched-uled for Thursday in the UnitedStates District Court in Baltimore,to solicit public comment on theagreement, which was reached inprinciple by the city and the Jus-tice Department in the waningdays of the Obama administra-

Justice Dept.To Re-examinePolice Accords

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERGand ERIC LICHTBLAU

Continued on Page A17

FUNDS CUT OFF The White House ends contributions to a U.N. agencythat provides family planning services in at least 155 countries. PAGE A6

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,557 + © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

Today, breezy, periodic rain, watchfor flooding, high 62. Tonight, be-coming clear, low 49. Tomorrow,plenty of sunshine, breezy at times,high 65. Weather map, Page A23.

$2.50