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Cohen pleads, Manafort’s sentenced; the “last ice area” is no more.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
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- President Trump had a very, very bad five minutes Tuesday afternoon: Within moments, his former campaign chair Paul Manafort was convicted on eight felony counts, while a plea deal was announced for his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen. [CNN / Kara Scannell, Shimon Prokupecz, Laura Jarrett, and Erica Orden]
- Cohen pleaded guilty to violating banking, tax, and campaign finance laws. In his guilty plea, he said Trump directed him to make a $130,000 payoff to porn actress Stormy Daniels in the days leading up to the 2016 election in order to keep her quiet about an affair she said she had with Trump. [Washington Post / Devlin Barrett, Carol D. Leonnig, and Renae Merle]
- Cohen was Trump’s longtime lawyer and “fixer,” with deep ties to Trumpworld. Before he reached the plea deal, though, he’d indicated that he’d no longer be loyal to the president. While the deal doesn’t explicitly call for Cohen to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, it doesn’t say he can’t, either. [NYT / William K. Rashbaum, Maggie Haberman, and Ben Protess]
- Moments after the plea deal was announced, the jury in Paul Manafort’s first trial found him guilty on eight counts — five counts of filing false tax returns, two counts of bank fraud, and one count of failing to file a report to a foreign bank account — after three full days of jury deliberations. They could not reach a verdict on the other 10 counts. [BuzzFeed / Zoe Tillman]
- Manafort could be tried again on those 10 counts if prosecutors choose; he also faces a second trial in September in Washington, DC, on charges of money laundering, witness tampering, lying under oath, and not registering as a foreign agent. [AP / Matthew Barakat]
- Five people in Trump’s orbit during the 2016 campaign — his onetime national security adviser, campaign manager, deputy campaign manager, personal attorney, and foreign policy adviser — have now either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of federal crimes. [Vox / Alex Ward]
The thickest ice in the Arctic has melted
- The Arctic’s oldest and strongest span of sea ice began melting and breaking up this summer for the first time in recorded history. The “scary” revelation is forcing scientists to rethink how the effects of climate change will progress in the Arctic. [Guardian / Jonathan Watts]
- Scientists had anticipated that the sea ice off Greenland’s north coast, called the “last ice area,” would be the final portion of Arctic ice to melt. This raises the question of which area in the region will withstand the effects of climate change the longest. [EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow]
- Jeremy Mathis, the author of the Arctic Report Card, said the Arctic was (in 2016, at least) melting twice as fast as the rest of the world. [NPR / Christopher Joyce]
- Many expect the area to freeze over once cooler climates return. But as the gaps between the broken-up ice widen, the solar heat will increase and cause the ice to melt even more. [NYMag / Eric Levitz]
- The melting will likely have a “catastrophic effect” on the animals in the region, specifically polar bears and seals. [Independent / Tom Batchelor]
Miscellaneous
Researchers looked into why women’s pockets are so much smaller than men’s. The worst effect? Women can’t hold smartphones in their front pockets. [The Verge / Megan Farokhmanesh]
- A Texas high school has apologized “for missing the mark” after it published a sexist video on the school’s dress code. The instructional video showed a group of girls who were admonished and lectured for wearing shorts while “Bad Girls” by M.I.A played in the background. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram / Diane Smith]
- MTV’s Video Music Awards went down last night with its expected share of drama, disappointment, and political statements. [Rolling Stone]
- Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran has spoken out for the first time since deleting her Instagram because she faced online harassment. [NYT / Kelly Marie Tran]
Verbatim
“I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere. ... None of us know the truth of the situation and I’m sure more will be revealed. Be gentle.” [Activist Rose McGowan, who has faced backlash for defending #MeToo leader Asia Argento, who was accused of sexual assault this week / Twitter]
Watch this: Pinball isn’t as random as it seems
Hint: Go for the flashing lights. [YouTube / Coleman Lowndes]
Read more
Bruce Ohr, the DOJ official Trump is attacking on Twitter, explained
The Pentagon won’t check if US bombs killed kids in Yemen. CNN did it for them.
The radical moral implications of luck in human life
The Asia Argento allegations reveal our damaging misconceptions about sexual assault survivors
