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HUGER, S.C. — Safely sta-tioned in the control pulpit, ChrisSt. Amand is watching the pot boil.

Working the day shift at thesprawling Nucor Steel plant alongthe Cooper River here, Mr. St.Amand monitors a four-foot-widelasagna noodle of steel as it isdunked into a molten broth of pro-tective shimmering zinc.

He tracks every step of this gal-vanization process — from the cal-dron’s 865-degree temperature tothe line speed — on a bank offlashing screens. Except, that is,for the screen at the bottom right.“I watch our stock and the DowJones on that one,” he said.

Mr. St. Amand, whose pay pack-age includes profit-sharing, likeswhat he sees. Since Election Day,Nucor is up 13 percent.

Across the steel industry, stockprices — and spirits — have beenon the rise, lifted by PresidentTrump’s vow to protect Americanmanufacturers against cheaperimports and invest as much as $1trillion in infrastructure over thenext decade.

“If you could design a perfectadministration from the perspec-tive of the steel industry, thiswould be it,” said Thomas Gibson,president of the American Ironand Steel Institute, ticking off the

president’s promises to hackaway regulations and lower taxes,while fending off foreign competi-tors and embarking on a “BuyAmerica” building program.

Even before a single presiden-tial vote was cast, American steelmakers had been buoyed last yearby record automotive sales and a

series of penalties slapped on for-eign producers like China for ille-gally dumping subsidized steel inthe United States. “We expect oursheet and plate steel mills willbenefit from trade actions takenover the last year,” said John Fer-riola, Nucor’s chief executive.

Mr. Ferriola, one of the business

leaders who met with Mr. Trumpat the White House in February todiscuss American manufacturing,is looking for further improve-ments. “We believe our full year2017 could significantly exceed thelevel achieved for 2016,” he said,

Steel Industry Cheers a ‘Perfect Administration’ for a ComebackBy PATRICIA COHEN

A bucket preparing to dump scrap metal into a furnace at the Nucor Steel plant in Huger, S.C.STEPHEN B. MORTON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A19

AGUAS BUENAS, P.R. — Na-talia Hernández stood beforedawn with a bullhorn in her handin front of the mountainside ele-mentary school that four genera-tions of her family attended, rat-tling off its academic accomplish-ments.

More than half the pupils are onthe honor roll. There are tutors, asocial worker and even a speechtherapist, she said. But there hasbeen an exodus of families fromPuerto Rico in the face of its eco-nomic collapse, so little Luis San-taella School has a big problem:Only 146 children are enrolledcompared with about 250 in thepast.

And so, like 178 other schoolsacross the island, it is set to closeafter the last day of the schoolterm this week, in part to helpPuerto Rico battle debt and pen-sion obligations of $123 billion. Theschool, perched alongside a wind-ing two-lane road 1,400 feet abovesea level, will join the many casu-alties of a fiscal crisis that forcedPuerto Rico to declare a form ofbankruptcy last week and senthundreds of thousands of peoplepacking in the past decade.

The school will join the shut-tered businesses and abandonedhomes as yet another indicator ofthe emergency gripping PuertoRico and the desperate efforts tostop the hemorrhaging. For some,the closings represent not just an-other chip at Puerto Rico’s na-tional budget, but also an opportu-nity to transform a struggling ed-ucation system in which someschools are infested with termites,enrollment has dropped by nearlya third since 2010, and just 10 per-cent of eighth graders passed thestandardized math test.

Fiscal Disaster in Puerto RicoClaims New Casualty: Schools

By FRANCES ROBLES

Continued on Page A20

A first grader in Puerto Rico.ERIKA P. RODRIGUEZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — In a surpris-ing victory for President BarackObama’s environmental legacy,the Senate voted on Wednesday touphold an Obama-era climatechange regulation to control therelease of methane from oil andgas wells on public land.

Senators voted 51 to 49 to blockconsideration of a resolution to re-peal the 2016 Interior Departmentrule to curb emissions of methane,a powerful planet-warming green-house gas. Senators John McCainof Arizona, Lindsey Graham ofSouth Carolina and Susan Collinsof Maine, all Republicans whohave expressed concern about cli-mate change and backed legisla-tion to tackle the issue, broke withtheir party to join Democrats anddefeat the resolution.

The vote also was the first, andprobably the only, defeat of astream of resolutions over the lastfour months — pursued throughthe once-obscure CongressionalReview Act — to unwind regula-tions approved late in the Obamaadministration.

It also could worsen the Trumpadministration’s problems onCapitol Hill, where there are signsthe president’s grip on his party isloosening.

“People of America and peopleof the world can breathe a sigh ofrelief,” said Senator Chuck Schu-mer of New York, the Democraticleader.

In anticipation of Republicandefections, President Trump sentVice President Mike Pence to theSenate floor to break a tie vote.But with three members of hisown party breaking away, Mr.Pence could do nothing.

“We were surprised and thrilledto win on this,” said Tiernan Sit-tenfeld, senior vice president ofthe League of ConservationVoters, which, along with otherenvironmental groups, has beenlobbying Republicans for weeks tovote against the repeal of themethane rule. “This is clearly ahuge win for our health and ourclimate.”

While Ms. Collins and Mr. Gra-ham had publicly announced theiropposition to the measure, Mr.McCain’s vote was a surprise.

Obama PolicySurvives Vote,

For a Change

With Republicans’ Aid,Methane Limit Stays

By CORAL DAVENPORT

Continued on Page A18

WASHINGTON — By the end,neither of them thought much ofthe other.

After President Trump accusedhis predecessor in March of wire-tapping him, James B. Comey, theF.B.I. director, was flabbergasted.The president, Mr. Comey toldassociates, was “outside the realmof normal,” even “crazy.”

For his part, Mr. Trump fumedwhen Mr. Comey publicly dis-missed the sensational wiretap-ping claim. In the weeks that fol-lowed, he grew angrier and begantalking about firing Mr. Comey. Af-ter stewing last weekend whilewatching Sunday talk shows at hisNew Jersey golf resort, Mr. Trumpdecided it was time. There was“something wrong with” Mr.Comey, he told aides.

The collision between presidentand F.B.I. director that culminated

with Mr. Comey’s stunning dis-missal on Tuesday had been a longtime coming. To a president ob-sessed with loyalty, Mr. Comeywas a rogue operator who couldnot be trusted as the F.B.I. investi-gated Russian ties to Mr. Trump’scampaign. To a lawman obsessedwith independence, Mr. Trumpwas the ultimate loose cannon,making irresponsible claims onTwitter and jeopardizing the bu-reau’s credibility.

The White House, in a series ofshifting and contradictory ac-counts, first said Mr. Trump de-cided to fire Mr. Comey becausethe attorney general and his depu-ty recommended it. By Wednes-day, it had amended the timelineto say that the president had ac-tually been thinking about gettingrid of the F.B.I. director as far backas November, after he won theelection, and then became“strongly inclined” after Mr.Comey testified before Congresslast week.

For public consumption, SarahHuckabee Sanders, a WhiteHouse spokeswoman, said onWednesday that Mr. Trump actedbecause of the “atrocities” com-

How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in FiringThis article is by Maggie Ha-

berman, Glenn Thrush, Michael S.Schmidt and Peter Baker.

Continued on Page A14

Watching Sunday TalkShows, the President

Decided to Act

IN CONGRESS James Comey’s firing presents a distraction for G.O.P.lawmakers struggling to deliver on a conservative agenda. PAGE A12

VOTERS’ REACTIONS Some people who voted for the president werewary, but many supported the F.B.I. director’s ouster. PAGE A16

WASHINGTON — Days beforehe was fired as F.B.I. director,James B. Comey asked the JusticeDepartment for more prosecutorsand other personnel to acceleratethe bureau’s investigation intoRussia’s interference in the presi-dential election.

It was the first clear-cut evi-dence that Mr. Comey believedthe bureau needed more re-sources to handle a sprawling andhighly politicized counterintelli-gence investigation.

His appeal, described onWednesday by four congressionalofficials, was made to Rod J.Rosenstein, the deputy attorneygeneral, whose memo was used tojustify Mr. Comey’s abrupt dis-missal on Tuesday.

It is not yet known what becameof Mr. Comey’s request, or whatrole — if any — it played in his fir-ing. But the future of the F.B.I.’s in-vestigation is now more uncertainthan at any point since it began inlate July, and any fallout from thedismissal is unlikely to be con-tained at the bureau.

Two separate congressional in-quiries into Russian meddling arerelying on evidence and intelli-gence being amassed by the F.B.I.,and if the bureau’s investigationfalters, the congressional inquir-ies are likely to be hobbled. Per-haps for this reason, Mr. Comey’sfiring appears to have imbued theSenate Intelligence Committeewith a renewed sense of urgency.

The committee issued its firstsubpoena in the Russia investiga-tion on Wednesday, ordering Mi-chael T. Flynn, President Trump’sformer national security adviser,to hand over records of anyemails, phone calls, meetings andfinancial dealings with Russians.

It was an aggressive new tackin what had been a slowly unfold-ing inquiry. A day earlier, the Sen-ate panel began pressing a little-known government bureau thattracks money laundering and ter-rorism financing for leads in the

F.B.I. FIRING ROILSCAPITAL AS TRUMPCALLS OUT CRITICS

In Last Days as Chief,Comey Sought Aidin Russia Inquiry

By MATTHEW ROSENBERGand MATT APUZZO

Continued on Page A13

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump’s abrupt dismissal of theF.B.I. director roiled Washingtonon Wednesday and deepened thesense of crisis swirling around theWhite House. Republican leaderscame to the president’s defense,and Mr. Trump lashed out atDemocrats and other critics, call-ing them hypocrites.

On Capitol Hill, at least a half-dozen Republicans broke withtheir leadership to express con-cern or dismay about the firing ofJames B. Comey, who was fouryears into a decade-long appoint-ment as the bureau’s director. Still,they stopped well short of joiningDemocrats’ call for a special pros-ecutor to lead the continuing in-vestigation of Russian contactswith Mr. Trump’s aides.

At the White House, Mr. Trumpshrugged off accusations of presi-dential interference in a counter-intelligence investigation. Hehosted a surreal and awkwardlytimed meeting in the Oval Officewith Sergey V. Lavrov, the Rus-sian foreign minister, and SergeyI. Kislyak, the Russian ambassa-dor to the United States. Mr.Kislyak’s private meetings withMr. Trump’s aides are a key part ofthe sprawling investigation.

White House officials deniedAmerican reporters permission towitness the Oval Office meeting ortake photographs, but Russianstate news outlets published im-ages taken by their official pho-tographer of a beaming Mr.Trump shaking hands with the en-voys. The pictures quickly spreadon Twitter.

Stunned by the sudden loss oftheir leader, agents at the F.B.I.struggled throughout the day toabsorb the meaning of Mr.Comey’s dismissal, which theWhite House announced Tuesdayevening. Veteran agents andother F.B.I. employees describeda dark mood throughout the bu-reau, where morale was already

Sense of DeepeningCrisis as President

Defends Ouster

This article is by Michael D.Shear, Jennifer Steinhauer andMatt Flegenheimer.

President Trump met with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, left, and Sergey I. Kislyak,the ambassador. American journalists were barred, but Russia released photographs.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Continued on Page A12

The mayor’s plan to expand prekinder-garten to 3-year-olds has some providersworrying about staffing. PAGE A21

NEW YORK A21-23

Anxiety Over ‘3-K for All’

New York State won penalties against ataxi operator who overcharged for tripsto the border with Canada. PAGE A21

Crackdown on Migrant Taxi

A woman who became a symbol of theimmigration debate after a 2010 trafficstop in Georgia is again at risk of beingsent back to Mexico. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-20

Deportation Saga, Part 2

Researchers have traced the cause of abaffling brain disorder to a surprisingsource: a bacteria in the gut. PAGE A20

Brain Defect May Start in Gut

Authorities are scrambling to addresscases of racism and far-right extremismin Germany’s armed forces. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Pro-Nazis in German Military

A seminary joining Yale Divinity Schoolis accused of failing to follow a law toensure the return of artifacts to NativeAmerican tribes. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Dispute Over Tribal Artifacts

Stitch Fix, a mail-order clothing servicethat offers customers little choice, hasdefied conventional wisdom. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-8

An Outside-the-Box Success

Derek Jeter, the former captain andface of the Yankees, will have his num-ber retired on Sunday. PAGE B9

SPORTSTHURSDAY B9-13

Jeter to Take His Place

Six months after one of its foundersdied, the scrappy Norton Records willrelease a lost album by Dion. PAGE C1

An Indie Label Lives On

The social media service lost $2.2 billionin the first quarter and missed almostall Wall Street expectations. PAGE B1

Bumpy Start for Snap

In the N.B.A. playoffs, the Spurs leanedon Manu Ginobili, 39, and he gave avintage performance. PAGE B9

A Veteran Steps Up

How the Property Brothers, Drew andJonathan Scott, are capitalizing on afascination with real estate. PAGE D1

THURSDAY STYLES D1-12

Twins Peak on HGTVBret Stephens PAGE A25

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,594 © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017

Today, sunshine followed by in-creasing clouds, cool, high 63. To-night, mostly cloudy, low 50. Tomor-row, rather cloudy, another cool day,high 59. Weather map, Page B12.

$2.50