Opinion: Trump, doing Putin’s bidding

Also: Why the ambitious schools overhaul in New Orleans is working. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, July 16, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist I recently visited New Orleans to take a look at the most ambitious effort at education reform anywhere in the country. The city’s schools certainly still have problems, but the progress in the nearly 13 years since Hurricane Katrina has nonetheless been remarkable. New Orleans offers a positive story during a dispiriting time in American life. I think the main lesson is that schools can thrive when teachers and principals are given more freedom — and also held more accountable for their results. I hope you’ll [read the column](. It’s the first of two I’ll be writing about New Orleans. If you want to dig into the details, I recommend the work of [Tulane’s Education Research Alliance for New Orleans](. The summit in Finland. President Trump started off the day of his summit with President Vladimir Putin by once again seeming to do Putin’s bidding. In two tweets, Trump [blamed the “foolishness and stupidity” of the United States]( for the tensions between it and Russia. It all continues to be hard to fathom: The president of the United States blamed his own country for its bad relationship with a country that recently attacked the United States. Speaking of that attack, the [indictment of 12 Russians]( Friday was encouraging news for anyone who has wondered whether Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, is still up for defending the rule of law in the face of attacks from his boss Trump. Rosenstein’s statement when announcing the charges was measured. But it was nonetheless “a reminder that adult supervision still exists in Washington,” [writes The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty](. What in the indictment is new? It now seems more likely that coordination occurred between Russia and the Trump team. That’s because “the indictment alleges that the criminal hacking conspiracy was ongoing at the time individuals in the Trump campaign were in contact with charged and uncharged Russian conspirators, raising the possibility of more straightforward aiding and abetting liability,” [a group of Lawfare writers explain](. “Trump should be directing all resources at his disposal to punish Russia for the attacks and prevent future ones,” [my colleague Charles Blow writes](. “But he is not.” The full Opinion report from The Times follows. Trump Meets Putin in Helsinki [Trump, Treasonous Traitor]( By CHARLES M. BLOW The president fails to protect the country from an ongoing attack. [Don’t Be Putin’s Puppet]( By TAIGE JENSEN, STEFANIA ROUSSELLE, LEAH VARJACQUES AND JAPHET WEEKS A Ukrainian activist in exile warns President Trump about the “modern Russian czar.” In Case You Missed It [Trump Must Not Capitulate to Putin]( By SUSAN E. RICE There is so much to lose and so little to gain for the United States in the Trump-Putin summit next week. In Case You Missed It [The Art of Containing Trump (and Putin)]( By STEPHEN SESTANOVICH Trump’s bumptious, backslapping summit style just might work with Putin — if he leaves the actual negotiating to his underlings. From Our Columnists [A Better Way to Run Schools]( By DAVID LEONHARDT AND WILLIAM WIDMER The New Orleans turnaround shows the power of giving more freedom to teachers and principals — and then holding them accountable for their performance. 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