The man who drove his car into counterprotesters at a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes, The Washington Post reports.

James Fields was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison last year after killing Heather Heyer, a counterprotester at the Unite the Right rally in August 2017. He pleaded guilty to 29 out of 30 counts Wednesday in a federal court in Charlottesville. The deal was approved by Attorney General William Barr and spares Fields from a possible death sentence, the Post says.

Fields is a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi and hit dozens of counterprotesters at the 2017 rally. He was convicted of first degree murder and nine other charges last December. A jury quickly sentenced the 21-year-old to 419 years in prison and ordered him to pay $480,000 in fines. Heyer's mother has gone on to lead a campaign against racism in her honor. Kathryn Krawczyk

In a three page letter from Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd to the leaders of the House Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department acknowledged on Friday that a psychologist at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan had approved millionaire financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's removal from suicide watch before he killed himself in his cell at the detention center in August.

Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell in July, though it's unclear if that was why Epstein was put on suicide watch in the first place, as Boyd's letter did not give a precise reason for the decision. Regardless, after being evaluated by a doctoral-level psychologist, it was determined those measures were no longer necessary. No reason was given for Epstein's removal, either, but Reuters reports that suicide watch is typically imposed as a short-term restriction. An inmate can only be removed, however, after a face-to-face meeting with a U.S. Bureau of Prisons psychologist.

Attorney General William Barr has said there were "serious irregularities" at the MCC, which falls under his authority. He reassigned the facility's warden and placed two guards who were responsible for watching Epstein on leave. Tim O'Donnell

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro announced plans on Friday to send armed forces to fight forest fires in the Amazon, reversing course after days of dismissing concern about the ecological disaster.

"Whatever is within our power we will do," Bolsonaro told reporters. "The problem is resources." He added that the government will take a "zero tolerance" approach to environmental crimes. Researchers and environmental groups said the Amazon fires were started by humans.

This comes after Bolsonaro, who has made pledges to ease restrictions on protected areas and under whom deforestation has increased sharply across the country, said the fires were the result of warmer weather and criticized international concern as "sensationalist." But environmental groups blame Bolsonaro's policies, which have reportedly "emboldened" farmers and ranchers to clear land by setting fire to it.

However, Bolsonaro changed his stance as European leaders threatened a trade agreement, protesters took to the streets outside Brazilian embassies, and calls for a boycott of Brazilian products gained momentum. The New York Times notes that any punitive measures could "severely damage" Brazil's economy, which is already in trouble.

CNN reports that the Group of Seven leaders, who are convening in France on Saturday, are in accordance that stopping the fires is a priority. France's President Emmanuel Macron called it an "international crisis," and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said international action is necessary to protect the world's rainforests and that "we will use G-7 to call for a renewed focus on protecting nature and tackling climate change together." President Trump, whose past praise of and cordial relationship with the right-wing Bolsonaro has drawn criticism, offered U.S. assistance. Tim O'Donnell

The Supreme Court said Friday that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has finished three weeks of radiation treatment for a malignant tumor on her pancreas, which was discovered during a July blood test, The Washington Post reports. "The tumor was treated definitively and there is no evidence of disease elsewhere in the body," the court said, adding that "no further treatment is needed at this time." Ginsburg was treated at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

This is Ginsburg's latest cancer bout after being treated for lung cancer last December; she subsequently worked from home and returned to the court within two months. She was also treated for pancreatic cancer in 2009, as well as for colon cancer in 1999.

According to the statement released on Friday, Ginsburg maintained "an active schedule" amid her treatment, aside from canceling a summer trip to Santa Fe. NPR reports that she continued work and has not canceled any of the 11 events she has scheduled for September. In an interview with NPR published not long before this latest treatment began, Ginsburg opened up about her health, saying, "There was a senator, I think it was after my pancreatic cancer, who announced with great glee that I was going to be dead within six months. That senator, whose name I have forgotten, is now himself dead, and I am very much alive." Brendan Morrow

Good Morning America's Lara Spencer has apologized after coming under fire for seemingly mocking Prince George for his interest in ballet.

During a Thursday segment, Spencer reported on the prince's "demanding" curriculum, noting that it includes not only "the usual" courses but also things like "religious studies" and "ballet." When Spencer got to "ballet" at the end of her list of activities, George Stephanopoulos and others in the room immediately broke out into laughter. Spencer played into their amusement by joking in response to a photo of the prince, "He looks so happy about the ballet class!" She concluded the segment by saying, "Prince William says George absolutely loves ballet. I have news for you Prince William: We'll see how long that lasts."

Spencer is now apologizing, captioning an unrelated Instagram photo on Friday with, "My sincere apologies for an insensitive comment I made in pop news yesterday." She added, "From ballet to anything one wants to explore in life, I say GO FOR IT [because] I believe we should all be free to pursue our passions."

Spencer might have intended to emphasize George's surprisingly busy schedule with her comment, seeing as she noted while wrapping up the segment that he "might end up" just wanting to "go back to the Play-Doh." Clearly, that's not how it came across to viewers, though; the video received more than 1,000 thumbs down on YouTube and went viral. A since-deleted Twitter clip drew strong reactions on Friday, with New York magazine's Olivia Nuzzi writing, "This is so out of touch it's like from another dimension."

Luckily, Prince George can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he now has Good Morning America's permission to pursue his interests. Brendan Morrow

President Trump's wild morning tweets have left Fox News' Chris Wallace fairly baffled.

Wallace appeared on America's Newsroom shortly after the president not only questioned whether the Federal Reserve chair he appointed was an "enemy" of the United States but also claimed American companies "are hereby ordered" to find an "alternative to China." The latter tweet was read to Wallace for the first time live on-air by host Sandra Smith, who — in a vast understatement — informed Wallace that Trump "had moved on to more tweets." Wallace then tried, and mostly failed, to make sense of the "order" issued by Trump.

"The best I can tell, the American president can't order U.S. companies how they're going to do their sales ... we have a free market, capitalist system," Wallace said, suggesting that "most people in this country wouldn't want to see a president be able to" control sales in such a way either.

Wallace then pivoted back to Trump's earlier tweet that suggested Powell is an enemy of the country, reminding viewers that the alleged antagonist "was appointed by President Trump" himself.

"When you have the president of the United States sort of flailing around this way ... is that going to create more consumer confidence about the state of the economy or not?" Wallace rhetorically asked. Perhaps to push viewers toward the answer, Smith immediately noted that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had taken a plunge amid "the president's tweeting."

Wallace concluded the segment by dryly noting that Trump "clearly isn't responding well" to China announcing retaliatory tariffs and suggested we might be in for a "bumpy" G-7 summit this weekend if his tirade keeps up.

"Hold on to your hats," Wallace suggested. Brendan Morrow