10 things you need to know today: March 8, 2019

1. Manafort sentenced to nearly 4 years for fraud, tax evasion

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis on Thursday sentenced Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chair, to 47 months in prison for financial crimes, relating to his work for Ukrainian politicians, that were uncovered in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference. The sentence was far shorter than the 19 1/2 to 24 years prosecutors sought under federal sentencing guidelines for Manafort's August conviction. In addition to the prison time, Ellis ordered Manafort to pay a $50,000 fine and $24 million in restitution. Critics said the judge let Manafort off too easy, but Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the sentence was fair, noting, "He's not a terrorist." Manafort faces another sentencing hearing for a separate case on March 13.

Reuters The Associated Press

2. Cohen sues Trump Organization for unpaid legal expenses

President Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization on Thursday, accusing the company of failing to honor an agreement to pay his legal fees and costs related to investigations by Congress and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Cohen said the Trump family business owes him $1.9 million. The lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan court, alleges the Trump Organization stopped paying Cohen's expenses after he started cooperating with Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling. The Trump Organization had no immediate comment. Cohen soon starts a three-year prison sentence for crimes including lying to Congress. He once said he'd "take a bullet" for Trump, but called the president a "liar," a "racist," and a "cheat" in congressional testimony last week.

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3. House approves broadened resolution against anti-Semitism

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry. The legislation was drafted in response to a backlash against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she suggested backers of Israel exhibit dual loyalty. Critics said Omar, who is Muslim, was invoking an anti-Semitic trope, while her supporters said she was being unfairly singled out. Democrats broadened the measure into what one party member called a "kitchen sink resolution" to cover all forms of hate in an effort to unite all sides. "This is an opportunity once again to declare as strongly as possible opposition to anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim statements," and "white supremacist attitudes," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

USA Today The New York Times

4. Democrat Sherrod Brown says he isn't running for president

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced Thursday he will not run for president in 2020. A Wall Street critic widely seen as a Democrat who could appeal to blue-collar voters in a race against President Trump, Brown said he will instead focus on labor issues and work with 2020 candidates to win over a wider swath of voters. "I will keep calling out Donald Trump and his phony populism," he said in a written statement. "I will keep fighting for all workers across the country... And I will do everything I can to elect a Democratic president."

CNBC

5. Judge dismisses Stormy Daniels' hush-money lawsuit against Trump

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed adult film star Stormy Daniels' lawsuit against President Trump. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, filed the suit a year ago seeking to end a $130,000 hush-money agreement she signed ahead of the 2016 presidential election that kept her from publicly discussing a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006. Wanting to get the suit dismissed, Trump and his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, both agreed not to penalize Daniels for breaching the nondisclosure agreement. Because of that, U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles said the case should be sent back to California Superior Court. The decision effectively ended the suit but cleared Daniels to tell her story.

CNN The Week

6. Trump heads to Alabama to meet tornado victims

President Trump travels to Alabama Friday to meet with survivors of a powerful tornado that killed 23 people earlier this week. Seven of the people who died, in Lee County, were from the same family. "It's been a tragic situation," Trump said at the White House. "But a lot of good work is being done." The tornado, with winds estimated at up to 170 mph, tore through the rural countryside for nearly a mile on Sunday. "FEMA has been told directly by me to give the A Plus treatment to the Great State of Alabama and the wonderful people who have been so devastated by the Tornadoes," Trump tweeted Monday. After his visit with victims' relatives, Trump is heading to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a weekend fundraiser.

USA Today

7. Fired Florida officer guilty in killing of stranded black motorist

A South Florida jury found fired police officer Nouman Raja guilty of manslaughter and attempted murder Thursday for the fatal on-duty shooting of a stranded black motorist, Corey Jones. The 31-year-old musician was waiting for a tow truck after his minivan stalled. Raja, who was in plain clothes, pulled onto the Interstate-95 exit ramp in an unmarked van. He was heard in the tow-truck dispatcher's audio recording approaching aggressively, without identifying himself. Jones, thinking he was being robbed, grabbed a legally purchased handgun and ran, prosecutors said. Raja shot him six times. His attorneys said the shooting was justified because Raja feared for his life. The first Florida officer convicted for an on-duty shooting in 30 years, Raja faces up to life in prison.

The Associated Press

8. SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft wraps up big test mission

SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft detached from the International Space Station as it prepared to return to Earth on Friday at the end of its historic test flight. The capsule, which SpaceX developed under contract with NASA, carried a dummy into orbit and spent five days docked at the space station. It is scheduled to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean near Florida's coast at 8:45 a.m. The test flight was intended to show the Dragon is ready to start taking astronauts to the space station for NASA. "It won't be long before our astronaut colleagues are aboard Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner vehicles," NASA astronaut Anne McClain said from the station. "And we can't wait."

Space.com

9. Trudeau denies pressuring former attorney general

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday denied pressuring his former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, in a major criminal case, trying to address a scandal that has shaken his government in an election year. In February, Wilson-Raybould resigned and said she had faced "veiled threats" and "sustained" interference by a government official in the criminal prosecution of the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin, which is accused of international bribery and fraud, including paying millions to the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's government. Trudeau said he wished Wilson-Raybould had come to him with her concerns. "I was not aware of that erosion of trust, but as prime minister and leader of the federal ministry, I should have been," Trudeau said Thursday.

CNN

10. Disney opening Star Wars land ahead of schedule

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the new 14-acre Star Wars theme park area, will open at Disneyland in California on May 31, while the opening at Florida's Disney World will be August 29, Disney said on Thursday. This is earlier than previously anticipated, as Disney had said the opening date would be in the summer for California and in the fall for Florida. Disney Parks on Thursday said the attraction is "debuting early because of high guest interest." The California park will "open the land in phases," taking reservations for early June guests and opening one ride at a later date. Galaxy's Edge will allow fans to build lightsabers, pilot the Millennium Falcon, and eat and drink Star Wars-themed food and beverages.

Disney The Week