Putin Never Forgave Him. A Turncoat Spy Went Free. · spy swap with Moscow. But Mr. Skripal was...

WASHINGTON — The econ-omy is doing quite well, thankyou very much, and the presi-dent would naturally like to takecredit. Both of them.

Barely a day passes withoutPresident Trump boasting aboutthe growing economy, claimingwith a mix of hyperbole and factthat it is “booming like neverbefore.” But former PresidentBarack Obama finds all theTrumpian chest-thumping morethan a little grating, given thatthe “booming” started on hiswatch.

The economic contest betweenthe 44th and 45th presidentswent public in recent days whenMr. Obama expressed his irrita-tion and Mr. Trump fired back. Atstake are more than ordinarypolitical bragging rights. Centralto Mr. Obama’s historical legacyis the economy’s recovery afterits plummet to the brink of a newGreat Depression. And central toMr. Trump’s current politicalstanding is its further expansion.

Never mind that the nation’s

economic fortunes depend onmore than the occupant of theOval Office and his policies,driven as well by interest rates,technological innovation and thehealth of the global economy —trends beyond the control of anypresident. Voters and historiansnonetheless assign credit andblame to presidents for the stateof the economy. When it comes toeconomics, presidents wouldrather be remembered as RonaldReagan or Bill Clinton than Her-bert Hoover.

With midterm elections com-ing, the economy is Mr. Trump’strump card, the most unalloyednote of success in an otherwiseherky-jerky presidency. Plaguedby scandal, investigations, dys-function in the West Wing andstalemate on Capitol Hill, Mr.Trump is making the surge ofnew jobs and business activityhis most powerful argument forkeeping Congress in Republicanhands. Even with his own popu-

Whose Surging Economy Is It?2 Presidents Joust Over Credit

By PETER BAKER

WHITE HOUSE MEMO

CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Novak Djokovic claimed the men’s singles title at the U.S. Openon Sunday, adding to his triumph at Wimbledon in July. Page D1.

Last Man Standing, Kind Of

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SACRAMENTO — Sold fromvending machines in Pennsylva-nia, feed depots in Nevada, phar-macies in Georgia and jewelrystores in Texas, ammunition is inmany states easier to buy thancold medicine. But in California,which already enforces some ofthe nation’s most restrictive gunlaws, there is a movement under-way against the unfettered sale ofbullets.

Gun control advocates herehave pushed to limit internetsales, ban large-capacity maga-zines, require sellers to have li-censes, raise taxes on bullets, andmandate serial numbers or othertraceable markings on ammuni-tion so that the police can moreeasily track them.

Such regulations, several ofwhich have been enacted and takeeffect this year and next, are in-spired by the view that the bestway to limit gun violence is to ap-proach it as a “bullet control”problem. As Senator Daniel Pat-rick Moynihan, a Democrat fromNew York, told the Senate 25years ago, when he introducedlegislation that would have im-posed a 10,000-percent tax on hol-low-tip ammunition, “guns don’tkill people; bullets do.”

Across the country, bullets re-main subject to far fewer federalrestrictions than the weapons thatfire them. Buying ammunitiontypically requires no form of iden-tification, is handed over with noquestions asked and, in most ofthe country, can be ordered onlineand delivered to doorsteps. In con-

Continued on Page A13

New StrategyTo Save Lives:Bullet Control

By IAN URBINA

DIRKOU, Niger — The C.I.A. ispoised to conduct secret dronestrikes against Qaeda and IslamicState insurgents from a newly ex-panded air base deep in the Saha-ra, making aggressive use of pow-ers that were scaled back duringthe Obama administration and re-stored by President Trump.

Late in his presidency, BarackObama sought to put the militaryin charge of drone attacks after abacklash arose over a series ofhighly visible strikes, some ofwhich killed civilians. The movewas intended, in part, to bringgreater transparency to attacksthat the United States often re-fused to acknowledge its role in.

But now the C.I.A. is broad-ening its drone operations, mov-ing aircraft to northeastern Nigerto hunt Islamist militants in south-ern Libya. The expansion adds tothe agency’s limited covert mis-sions in eastern Afghanistan forstrikes in Pakistan, and in south-ern Saudi Arabia for attacks inYemen.

Nigerien and American officialssaid the C.I.A. had been flyingdrones on surveillance missionsfor several months from a cornerof a small commercial airport inDirkou. Satellite imagery showsthat the airport has grown signifi-cantly since February to include anew taxiway, walls and security

DRONE MISSIONSCURBED BY OBAMAEXPAND IN AFRICA

C.I.A. SET FOR STRIKES

Targeting Insurgents inLibya From a Remote

Air Base in Niger

This article is by Joe Penney, EricSchmitt, Rukmini Callimachi andChristoph Koettl.

Continued on Page A11

MOSCOW — Sergei V. Skripalwas a little fish.

This is how British officials nowdescribe Mr. Skripal, a Russian in-telligence officer they recruited asa spy in the mid-1990s. When theRussians caught Mr. Skripal, theysaw him that way, too, grantinghim a reduced sentence. So did theAmericans: The intelligence chiefwho orchestrated his release tothe West in 2010 had never heardof him when he was included in aspy swap with Moscow.

But Mr. Skripal was significantin the eyes of one man — VladimirV. Putin, an intelligence officer ofthe same age and training.

The two men had dedicatedtheir lives to an intelligence warbetween the Soviet Union and theWest. When that war was sus-pended, both struggled to adapt.

One rose, and one fell. While Mr.Skripal was trying to reinventhimself, Mr. Putin and his allies,former intelligence officers, weregathering together the strands ofthe old Soviet system. Gainingpower, Mr. Putin began settlingscores, reserving special hatredfor those who had betrayed the in-telligence tribe when it was mostvulnerable.

Six months ago, Mr. Skripal wasfound beside his daughter, Yulia,slumped on a bench in an Englishcity, hallucinating and foaming atthe mouth. His poisoning led to aCold War-style confrontation be-tween Russia and the West, withboth sides expelling diplomatsand wrangling over who tried tokill him and why.

Last Wednesday, British offi-cials offered specifics, accusingRussia of sending two hit men tosmear Mr. Skripal’s front doorhandle with a nerve agent, an ac-cusation vigorously denied byMoscow. British intelligencechiefs claim they have identifiedthe men as members of the sameRussian military intelligence unit,the G.R.U., or Main IntelligenceDirectorate, where Mr. Skripalonce worked.

It is unclear if Mr. Putin played arole in the poisoning of Mr. Skri-pal, who survived and has goneinto hiding. But dozens of inter-views conducted in Britain, Rus-sia, Spain, Estonia, the UnitedStates and the Czech Republic, aswell as a review of Russian courtdocuments, show how their livesintersected at key moments.

A Turncoat Spy Went Free.Putin Never Forgave Him.

Family photos of the former Russian spy Sergei V. Skripal with his wife, Lyudmila,in 1972 and his daughter, Yulia, in the late 1980s. Mr. Skripal and Vladimir V.

Putin, top, were both intelligence officers for the former Soviet Union.

Both raised to fight against the West, they wentopposite ways as the Soviet Union collapsed.

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZand ELLEN BARRY

Continued on Page A6

POOL PHOTO BY MAXIM MARMUR

Leslie Moonves, the longtimechief executive of the CBS Corpo-ration, stepped down on Sundaynight from the company he led for15 years. His fall from Hollywood’shighest echelon was all but sealedafter the publication earlier in theday of new sexual harassment al-legations against him.

The CBS board announced hisdeparture, effective immediately.As part of the agreement, the net-work said it would donate $20 mil-lion to one or more organizationsthat support equality for womenin the workplace. The donationwill be deducted from a potentialseverance benefit to Mr. Moonves,although he could still walk awaywith more than $120 million, ac-cording to two people familiarwith the settlement agreement.

Mr. Moonves, however, will notreceive any severance payment,until the completion of an inde-pendent investigation into the al-legations, the board said. He couldalso receive nothing, based on theinvestigation’s results.

Joseph Ianniello, the chief oper-ating officer of CBS and one of Mr.Moonves’s closest advisers, wasnamed the interim chief execu-tive.

The departure of Mr. Moonvesmarks a stunning reversal for anexecutive who is credited withturning CBS into television’smost-watched network. But hehas been under intense pressuresince July, when The New Yorkerpublished an article by the inves-tigative journalist Ronan Farrowin which six women accused Mr.Moonves of sexual harassment.On Sunday, the magazine pub-lished another article by Mr. Far-row in which six more women de-tailed claims against Mr.Moonves.

Mr. Moonves is the latest high-powered entertainment figure tobe ousted from his perch in the#MeToo era. The movie producerHarvey Weinstein has been ac-cused by scores of women of sexu-

Continued on Page A17

CBS CHIEF IS OUTAS MORE WOMENCITE MISCONDUCT

EXECUTIVE’S STEEP FALL

Severance Package FromNetwork Could Top

$120 Million

By EDMUND LEE

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — Insidethe Kingsport Chamber of Com-merce one morning last month, afew dozen voters sipped coffeeand listened for 45 minutes toRepresentative Marsha Black-burn tick off all the reasons thatthis traditionally Republicanstronghold in northeastern Ten-nessee should support her in oneof the most high-stakes Senateraces this year.

She praised President Trump.She warned of an invasion of libe-ral policies and a Democratictakeover of committees if Republi-cans lose the Senate. She stressedsecuring the border, fightingMS-13 and lowering taxes. Shehighlighted her work as a Republi-can House member to “get gov-ernment off your back.”

But one issue was entirely ab-sent — the one that had made Ms.Blackburn famous in Washington,and infamous in Democratic cir-cles: abortion.

Even as the Supreme Court con-firmation hearings for Judge

Foe of AbortionChanges FocusFor Senate Bid

By ELIZABETH DIAS

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Organizers hope their system will col-lect 150,000 pounds of plastic from theGreat Pacific Garbage Patch. PAGE A12

NATIONAL A12-17

A Giant Trap for Ocean Trash

A hedge fund is financing a lawsuit byshareholders who want the automakerto reimburse them for losses caused bythe diesel scandal. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-6

VW Goes to TrialGov. Andrew M. Cuomo said a bridgenamed for his father was not rushed,and he sought to distance himself froman attack aimed at his rival. PAGE A18

NEW YORK A18-21

Cuomo on the Defensive

A star-studded crowd, including HillaryClinton and Oprah Winfrey, gathered atCentral Park during Fashion Week tohonor the designer’s 50-year career.

FASHION C8

Celebrating Ralph LaurenIn rural areas of Guatemala that havesent a steady stream of migrants north,the U.S. looms large. PAGE A4

INTERNATIONAL A4-11

Sharing a Bit of America

A state that embraces expansive gov-ernment is fumbling a basic service, aslines extend down sidewalks. PAGE A12

Anger at California’s D.M.V.Elections put a center-right bloc and theruling center-left coalition neck andneck, and a far-right party rose. PAGE A8

Muddle in Swedish Vote

Flubs and missed opportunities doomedCoach Pat Shurmur’s team in a 20-15home loss to the Jaguars. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-10

Giants Fall in Coach’s DebutThe streaming service neutralizedComedy Central and HBO by relying on“taste clusters” and by signing big starsand creating new ones. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-7

Netflix’s Comedy Takeover

David Leonhardt PAGE A25

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25Serena Williams’s tirade during the titlematch made the right point at the wrongtime, Juliet Macur writes. PAGE D1

A Tarnished U.S. Open Final

Late EditionToday, cloudy, breezy, rain, high 72.Tonight, cloudy, warm, showers orthunderstorms, low 70. Tomorrow,showers or thunderstorms, high 81.Weather map appears on Page D8.

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