*By Carlo Versano*
President Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort is, as of Friday, the latest of the president's ex-associates to plead guilty to felony charges.
Manafort was convicted in federal court in August of eight financial fraud charges, though "this is the first time time Paul Manafort has ever admitted to committing a crime," Ben Dreyfuss, editorial director of Mother Jones, said.
Friday's plea deal was related to a separate set of charges for which the former political consultant was awaiting trial.
As part of the plea, Manafort will cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
That is "massive news," Dreyfuss said.
Trump praised Manafort as a "brave man" when he was found guilty of bank and tax fraud last month ー roughly the same hour when Trump's former consigliere Michael Cohen was offering to cooperate, much to the chagrin of the president.
Manafort's lawyer said Friday his client had offered "full cooperation," though as Dreyfuss noted, no details have been made public yetー and what specifically Manafort could offer prosecutors remains unknown.
"No one knows what he could say except for Trump himself," Dreyfuss said.
The U.S. military said a Russian warplane struck the propeller of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea, causing America forces to bring the unmanned aircraft down in international waters.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing the nation's first-ever drinking water standard around polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or "forever chemicals."
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will ramp up the number of background checks conducted before gun sales.
A pioneer for women’s and family rights in Congress, former Colorado Rep. Pat Schroeder, has died at the age of 82.
Illinois will become one of three states to require employers to offer paid time off for any reason.
Roku was among those businesses impacted by the fall of Silicon Valley Bank, having around 26 percent of its cash and cash equivalents deposited at the bank.
Depositors withdrew savings, and investors broadly sold off bank shares as the federal government raced to reassure Americans that the banking system is secure following two bank failures.
The Biden administration is approving the major Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope.
Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to testify Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments he arranged and made on the former president’s behalf.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as the nation's president Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life.
