Report: Trump wouldn’t be who he is without Russia.

Coming up on today’s show:

• A new report from The New Republic shows that Trump’s real estate holding have served as vehicles for Russian gangsters to launder money. Eric Bates, the editor of The New Republic, has the details. 

• Massachusetts is leading a lawsuit of 18 states, along with the District of Columbia, against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos because of the department’s decision to freeze regulations designed to help students defrauded by predatory colleges seek debt forgiveness. Maura Healey, Massachusetts attorney general, discusses the suit.

• On the outskirts of Mumbai, a group of women between the ages of 60 and 90 are attending a unique school specifically for grandmothers. These older women could not read or write, which led them to be excluded from public readings at religious festivals. Now, the village has come together to fund this program, and the school. Nikita Rudrappa, a journalist based in Mumbai, has the details. 

• During his time in office, President Trump has had a contentious relationship with France. On Thursday, he meets with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Olivier Knox, Chief Washington correspondent for Yahoo News, joins The Takeaway to explain what to expect from the president’s trip.
• The Women’s U.S. Open starts today at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. That has some activists upset over the United States Golf Association’s choice of venue, given the president’s documented sexism and misogyny towards women. As protesters make calls to boycott the U.S. Open, Anya Alvarez, a contributor to ESPNW and The Guardian, and a former LPGA professional golfer, argues that singling out golfers misses the point.

• On Wednesday, the Larsen C Ice Shelf broke off the Western side of Antarctica. The rift in the shelf had been growing faster than scientists anticipated, and now that it is in the sea, it could hasten the collapse of the entire ice shelf. Rob Kunzig, environmental science editor for National Geographic, has the details. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.