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VOL. CLXIII . . . No. 56,333
© 2013 The New York Times
$2.50
NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
New Rules Would Rein In
Nonprofits’ Political Role
I.R.S. Moves on Groups That Shield Donors
— G.O.P. Sees a Free-Speech Issue
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
RINA CASTELNUOVO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Tel Aviv woman, 28, who found a lump in her breast. Cancer-causing gene mutations are common among many Jews in Israel.
Push to Test for Cancer Gene U.S. Sends Two B-52 Bombers
Sets Up a Dilemma in Israel Into Air Zone Claimed by China
By RONI CARYN RABIN
KFAR SABA, Israel — Ever
since she tested positive for a defective gene that causes breast
cancer, Tamar Modiano has harbored a mother’s fear: that she
had passed it on to her two
daughters. Ms. Modiano had her
breasts removed at 47 to prevent
the disease and said that the day
she found out her older daughter
tested negative was one of the
happiest of her life.
Now she wants her younger
daughter, Hadas, 24, to be tested
so she can start a family early if
she is positive and then have a
double mastectomy too. Ms.
Modiano’s elder daughter, Suzi
Gattegno, 29, disagrees.
“You’re keeping her from living her life,” Ms. Gattegno told
her mother. “You want to marry
THE CANCER DIVIDE
Acting on Knowledge
her off early.”
“If she’s a carrier, she should
marry early,” her mother countered.
“She doesn’t even have a boyfriend,” the daughter said. “You
need to stop pressuring her.”
“I want to protect her!” Ms.
Modiano replied.
Such family debates are playing out across Israel these days.
The country has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the
world, according to a World
Health Organization report. And
some leading scientists here are
advocating what may be the first
national screening campaign to
test women for cancer-causing
Continued on Page A10
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — Defying
China, two long-range American
bombers flew through contested
airspace over the East China Sea,
days after the Chinese announced they were claiming the
right to police the sky above a
vast area that includes islands at
the center of a simmering dispute
with Japan.
Pentagon officials said Tuesday that the B-52s were on a routine training mission planned
long in advance of the Chinese
announcement on Saturday that
it was establishing an “air defense identification zone” over
the area. But the message was
clear.
A senior Pentagon official said
that the mission overnight Monday from Guam “was a demonstration of long-established inter-
national rights to freedom of
navigation and transit through
international airspace.” The official said the unilateral Chinese
declaration of expanded control
“was provocative,” and “only increases the risk of miscalculation
in the region.”
There was no immediate Chinese response to the flights conducted without prior notification
as demanded under the new declaration from Beijing, which asserted the right to identify, monitor and possibly take military action against any aircraft that enter the area. The unexpected announcement by China was
among its boldest moves yet in a
struggle for power in Asia with
the United States, and by extenContinued on Page A4
The Obama administration on
Tuesday moved to curb political
activity by tax-exempt nonprofit
organizations, with potentially
major ramifications for some of
the biggest and most secretive
spenders in American politics.
New rules proposed by the
Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service would
clarify both how the I.R.S. defines
political activity and how much
nonprofits are allowed to spend
on it. The proposal covers not just
television advertising, but breadand-butter political work like candidate forums and get-out-thevote drives.
Long demanded by government watchdogs and Democrats
who say the flow of money
through tax-exempt groups is
corrupting the political system,
the changes would be the first
wholesale shift in a generation in
the regulations governing political activity by nonprofits.
The move follows years of legal
and regulatory shifts, including
the Supreme Court’s Citizens
United ruling in 2010, that have
steadily loosened the rules governing political spending, particularly by those with the biggest
bank accounts: corporations, unions and wealthy individuals.
But the proposal also thrusts
the I.R.S. into what is sure to be a
polarizing regulatory battle, with
some Republicans immediately
criticizing the proposal on Tuesday as an attack on free speech
and a ploy to undermine congressional investigations into the
agency’s handling of applications
from Tea Party groups.
“Before rushing forward with
new rules, especially ones that
appear to make it harder to engage in public debate, I would
hope Treasury would let all the
facts come out first,” said Representative David Camp of Michigan, the chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee.
Political spending by tax-exempt groups — from Crossroads
Grassroots Policy Strategies, cofounded by the Republican strat-
NEWS ANALYSIS
Karzai’s Bet:
U.S. Bluffing
By ROD NORDLAND
and ALISSA J. RUBIN
KABUL, Afghanistan — When
President Hamid Karzai met with
an audience of supporters gathered by the Afghan state television network, RTA, six months
ago, he was asked what he would
consider a favorable conclusion
to the security negotiations he
was conducting with the United
States.
“It is favorable if they surrender to us,” he said.
Another question: But what if
instead they just left?
He smirked, then said: “The
U.S. has come and will not go,
brother. It does not go. Therefore,
ask for your demands and don’t
worry.”
That unguarded moment in
front of a friendly audience
speaks volumes about the impasse between Mr. Karzai and his
American allies.
In the face of a warning delivered in person on Monday by the
national security adviser, Susan
E. Rice, that the United States
would consider leaving no troops
at all in Afghanistan past 2014 if
Mr. Karzai did not promptly sign
a long-term security agreement,
he has made it clear that he considers it a bluff. Not only did he
Continued on Page A12
OWEN HUMPHREYS/PRESS ASSOCIATION, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Murmuration Taking Flight, and Shape
Starlings over Gretna, in southern Scotland, on Monday. The birds visit the area twice a year, in February and November.
egist Karl Rove, to the League of
Conservation Voters — skyrocketed to more than $300 million in
2012 from less than $5.2 million in
2006, according to the Center for
Responsive Politics.
Much of the money has been
funneled through chains of interlinked nonprofit groups, making it even harder to determine
the original source.
And unlike political parties and
“super PACs,” political nonprofits
are permitted to keep the names
of donors confidential, making
them the vehicle of choice for
deep-pocketed donors seeking to
influence campaigns in secret.
The new rules would not prohibit political activity by nonprofits.
But by seeking to establish
clearer limits for campaign-related spending by groups claiming
tax exemption, the I.R.S. proposal could have an enormous
impact on some of the biggest
groups, forcing them to either
limit their election spending or
register as openly political orContinued on Page A16
A Plea to Avoid
Crush of Users
At Health Site
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
and ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON
—
White
House officials, fearful that the
federal health care website may
again be overwhelmed this weekend, have urged their allies to
hold back enrollment efforts so
the insurance marketplace does
not collapse under a crush of new
users.
At the same time, administration officials said Tuesday that
they had decided not to inaugurate a big health care marketing
campaign planned for December
out of concern that it might drive
too many people to the still-fragile HealthCare.gov.
With a self-imposed deadline
for repairs to the website approaching on Saturday, the administration is trying to strike a
delicate balance. It is encouraging people to go or return to the
website but does not want to create too much demand. It boasts
that the website is vastly improved, but does not want to
raise expectations that it will
work for everyone.
“We are definitely on track to
have a significantly different user
experience by the end of this
month,” Kathleen Sebelius, the
secretary of health and human
services, said Tuesday. “That
was our commitment.”
Ms. Sebelius, who supervised
development of the troubled website, tried to rally state and local
elected officials in a conference
call organized by the White
House. “I would urge you and
your folks on the ground to not
hesitate to recommend that peoContinued on Page A17
Pulling a More Diverse Group of Achievers Into the Advanced Placement Pool
By MOTOKO RICH
ORLANDO, Fla. — Every year,
more than 600,000 academically
promising high school students
— most of them poor, Latino or
black — fail to enroll in Advanced
Placement courses, often viewed
as head starts for the collegebound.
Some of them do not know
about these courses, which offer
an accelerated curriculum and
can lead to college credit. Others
assume they will be too difficult.
But many are held back by entrenched perceptions among administrators and teachers, whose
referrals are often required for
enrollment, about who belongs in
what has long served as an elite
preserve within public schools.
“Many teachers don’t truly believe that these programs are for
all kids or that students of color
or low-income kids can succeed
in these classes,” said Christina
Theokas, director of research at
the Education Trust, a nonprofit
group. Ms. Theokas said that if
those underrepresented students
had taken A.P. courses at the
NATIONAL A13-17
ARTS C1-12
Haitians Die as Boat Capsizes
A Tighter Hold on Artworks
At least 30 Haitians who tried to sail to
the United States were found drowned
after their overloaded boat ran aground
PAGE A13
off the Bahamas.
Sicily has stopped loans of 23 artworks,
reflecting concern that the island’s
treasures are often out of the country
while its own museums suffer. PAGE C1
Reversal on Gynecologists
INTERNATIONAL A4-12
Rejected Deal Roils Ukraine
Demonstrators in favor of European integration protested after their leaders
backed away from a trade pact. PAGE A6
Pope Seeks an Active Church
Pope Francis declared his support of inclusive policies in a document. PAGE A7
same rate as their white and
more affluent peers in 2010, there
would have been about 614,500
more students in those classes.
In an effort to overcome those
obstacles, an increasing number
of school districts, including Boston, Cincinnati and Washington,
have recently begun initiatives to
expand Advanced Placement
course offerings and enroll more
After an outcry, a professional group
will allow gynecologists to treat men
PAGE A14
and screen them for cancer.
BUSINESS DAY B1-10
Fallout From Benghazi Report
Lara Logan, a CBS News correspondent, was put on leave after a flawed report about an attack in Libya. PAGE B7
black and Hispanic students, children from low-income families
and those who aspire to be the
first in their generation to go to
college. In the spring, lawmakers
in Washington State passed legislation encouraging all districts to
enroll in advanced courses any
student who meets a minimum
Continued on Page A3
DINING D1-8
NEW YORK A19-23
Around the Table
SPORTSWEDNESDAY B11-16
Salvaged From the Storm
Mark Bittman and five of his favorite
chefs share Thanksgiving memories
and cook holiday dishes, like potato
PAGE D1
latkes and pumpkin soup.
The Knicks’ Bluesman
Mementos recovered after Hurricane
Sandy have been posted online in hopes
PAGE A19
their owners might see.
A Book Fetches $14.1 Million
A copy of the Bay Psalm Book went for a
record price at auction.
PAGE A20
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25
Maureen Dowd
PAGE A25
James L. Dolan, owner of the struggling
Knicks, opened for the Eagles. PAGE B11
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