refugees from an arctic thaw

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the rest of the planet, and the ice cover isretreating at a pace that even the climatescientists who predicted the decline findstartling.

Much of 2016 was warmer than nor-mal, and the freeze-up came late. In No-vember, the extent of Arctic sea ice hit arecord low for the month, largely be-cause over a five-day period the ice coverlost more than 19,000 square miles, a de-cline that the National Snow and IceData Center in Colorado called “almostunprecedented” for that time of year.

In the southern Beaufort Sea, where

only reluctantly, chased off by the polarbear patrol with firecracker shells andspotlights.

On the surface, these bears might notseem like members of a species facingpossible extinction.

Scientists have counted up to 80 at atime in or near Kaktovik; many lookhealthy and plump, especially in theearly fall, when their presence overlapswith the Inupiat village’s whaling sea-son. But the bears that come are climaterefugees, on land because the sea icethey rely on for hunting seals is receding.

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as

KAKTOVIK, Alaska — Come fall, po-lar bears are everywhere around thisArctic village, dozing on sand spits,roughhousing in the shallows, padding

down thebeach withcubs in towand attract-ing hundreds

of tourists who travel long distances tosee them.

At night, the bears steal into town, ma-king it dangerous to walk outside with-out a firearm or bear spray. They leave

A polar bear near a pile of whale bones outside Kaktovik, Alaska. Sea ice where the bears hunt seals is receding, and whale remains have become a new food source.JOSH HANER/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Refugees From an Arctic ThawPolar Bears Fleeing Starvation Scrounge

For Leftovers in an Alaskan Whaling Village

By ERICA GOODE

CARBON’S CASUALTIES

A Predator Threatened

Continued on Page A14

After all the allegations oframpant voter fraud and claimsthat millions had voted illegally,the people who supervised thegeneral election last month instates around the nation havebeen adding up how many credi-ble reports of fraud they actuallyreceived. The overwhelming con-sensus: next to none.

In an election in which morethan 137.7 million Americans castballots, election and law enforce-ment officials in 26 states and theDistrict of Columbia — Demo-cratic-leaning, Republican-lean-ing and in-between — said that sofar they knew of no credible alle-gations of fraudulent voting. Offi-cials in another eight states saidthey knew of only one allegation.

A few states reported some-what larger numbers of fraudclaims that were under review.Tennessee counted 40 credible al-legations out of some 4.3 millionprimary and general electionvotes. In Georgia, where morethan 4.1 million ballots were cast,officials said they had opened 25inquiries into “suspicious votingor election-related activity.”

But inquiries to all 50 states (ev-ery one but Kansas responded),found no states that reported indi-cations of widespread fraud. Andwhile additional allegations couldsurface as states wind up post-election reviews, their conclu-sions are unlikely to change sig-nificantly.

The findings unambiguouslydebunk repeated statements byPresident-elect Donald J. Trumpthat millions of illegal votersbacked his Democratic opponent,Hillary Clinton. They also refutewarnings by Republican gover-nors in Maine and North Carolinathat election results could not betrusted.

And they underscore what re-searchers and scholars have saidfor years: Fraud by voters castingballots illegally is a minuscule

FRAUD AT POLLSWAS MINUSCULE,

DESPITE CLAIMS

CREDIBLE EVIDENCE RARE

Data Reported by StatesBlue and Red Affirm

Validity of Vote

By MICHAEL WINES

Continued on Page A11

ISTANBUL — After twomonths, the battle to retake theIraqi city of Mosul from the Is-lamic State has settled into agrinding war of attrition. The frontlines have barely budged inweeks. Casualties of Iraqi securityforces are so high that someAmerican commanders headingthe United States-led air cam-paign worry that they are unsus-tainable. Civilians are being killedor injured by Islamic State snipersand growing numbers of suicidebombers.

As the world watches the hor-rors unfolding in Aleppo, Syria,where government forces and al-lied militias bombed civilians andcarried out summary executionsas they retook the last rebel-heldareas, a different tragedy is tran-spiring in Mosul. Up to one millionpeople are trapped inside the city,running low on food and drinkingwater and facing the worseningcruelty of Islamic State fighters.

“ISIS members have becomelike mad dogs, and every memberhas the power of immediate exe-cution,” Abu Noor said by tele-phone from his home on the westside of Mosul, which governmentforces had not reached, referringto the terror group by one of its ac-ronyms. “We live in constant fearand worry.”

As the fight drags on, it is look-ing more and more likely that Mo-sul will become one of the first na-tional security issues facing Presi-dent-elect Donald J. Trump when

CARNAGE, HUNGER AND FEAR IN IRAQ

A War of Attrition to FreeMosul From ISIS

This article is by Tim Arango, EricSchmitt and Rukmini Callimachi.

Continued on Page A9

WASHINGTON — Pressuremounted on Sunday for a broadercongressional investigation ofRussian cyberattacks aimed at in-fluencing the American election,even as a top aide to President-elect Donald J. Trump said therewas no conclusive evidence of for-eign interference.

The effort was being led by a bi-partisan group of senators, includ-ing John McCain, Republican ofArizona, and Chuck Schumer ofNew York, the Senate Democraticleader, who called on Sunday forthe creation of a Senate selectcommittee on cyberactivity totake the investigative lead on Cap-itol Hill.

“Recent reports of Russian in-terference in our election should

alarm every American,” the sena-tors wrote on Sunday in a letter toSenator Mitch McConnell, Repub-lican of Kentucky and the majorityleader, who has said a select com-mittee is not necessary. “Cyber-security is the ultimate cross-ju-risdictional challenge, and wemust take a comprehensive ap-proach to meet this challenge ef-fectively.”

The developments served todeepen the fissures between high-ranking lawmakers of both par-ties who see American intelli-gence reports implicating Russiaas the basis for additional inquir-ies and Mr. Trump, who continuesto reject the conclusions of thosereports.

Senators Push to Widen InquiryOn Russian Meddling in Election

By NICHOLAS FANDOS

New York Life, the nation’sthird-largest life insurance com-pany, opened in Manhattan’s fi-nancial district in the spring of1845. The firm possessed a primeaddress — 58 Wall Street — and aboard of trustees populated bysome of the city’s wealthiest mer-chants, bankers and railroad mag-nates.

Sales were sluggish that year.So the company looked south.

There, in Richmond, Va., an en-terprising New York Life agentsold more than 30 policies in a sin-gle day in February 1846. Soon, ad-vertisements began appearing innewspapers from Wilmington,N.C., to Louisville, Ky., as the NewYork-based company encouragedSoutherners to buy insurance to

protect their most pre-cious commodity: theirslaves.

Alive, slaves wereamong a white man’smost prized assets. Dead,they were considered vir-tually worthless. Life in-surance changed that cal-culus, allowing slave own-ers to recoup three-quar-ters of a slave’s value in the eventof an untimely death.

James De Peyster Ogden, NewYork Life’s first president, wouldlater describe the American sys-tem of human bondage as “evil.”But by 1847, insurance policies onslaves accounted for a third of thepolicies in a firm that would be-come one of the nation’s Fortune100 companies.

Georgetown, Harvard and

other universities have drawn na-tional attention to the legacy ofslavery this year as they have ac-knowledged benefiting from theslave trade and grappled with howto make amends. But slavery alsogenerated business for some of

Reckoning With a LegacyOf Insuring Slaves’ Lives

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

Continued on Page A12

GEORGE ETHEREDGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

A policy taken out on a slavenamed Sarah Moody.

Many misdeeds sound like good storymaterial, but not every follow-up resultsin a juicy column, as a list of outtakessuggests. Crime Scene. PAGE A17

NEW YORK A17-19

The Crimes Left Unchronicled

The removal of residents in Syriabogged down after rebels opposed tothe process set fire to buses that weremeant to carry evacuees. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

Obstacles in Syria Evacuations

Roger Federer, whose year ended inJuly with a knee injury, says he willreturn next month in Australia. He willbe ranked No. 16 in the world. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-6

Federer Plots His Comeback

Ratan Tata, a figure revered in India forhis integrity, finds himself in a nastypublic fight with his chosen successorfor the control of an empire. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-5

Battle for the Tata Group

Charles M. Blow PAGE A21

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A20-21

Auction transparency has become anissue after a scholar raised doubts abouta manuscript’s authenticity. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-8

Beethoven Score Questioned

Continued on Page A15

Donald J. Trump, a real estate develop-er visiting Houston for a birthday partyin 1989, had the ear of the disgracedformer president for two days. PAGE A10

NATIONAL A10-15

Trump’s Connection to Nixon

Zsa Zsa Gabor, who appeared fre-quently on television and in films andparlayed her glamorous image and atleast eight marriages into grist for herroles, was 99. PAGE B7

OBITUARIES B6-7

Pioneer of a New FameOdell Beckham Jr., below returning apunt, helped the Giants defeat theDetroit Lions, 17-6, with a one-handedtouchdown catch late in the fourthquarter at MetLife Stadium. PAGE D1

Another Beckham Highlight

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,451 © 2016 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2016

Today, partly sunny, a much colderday, high 31. Tonight, mostly clear,cold, low 23. Tomorrow, severalhours of sunshine will prevail, cold,high 36. Weather map, Page A16.

$2.50