Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina is expected to plead guilty in an agreement with federal prosecutors this week, according to a filing from her attorneys and prosecutors that states "the parties have resolved this matter."
Why it matters: Butina previously pleaded not guilty in July to accusations that she attempted to set up a "backchannel" between the Kremlin and the Republican Party while acting at the direction of a "high-level" Russian official. It's worth noting her charges are not part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, but still illuminate another component of Russia's massive influence operation in the U.S.
Update [6:30pm]: ABC News obtained a copy of the plea deal Monday evening, which reveals Butina will cooperate with investigators.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect new details reported by ABC News.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has delayed a crucial vote in the House of Commons — originally scheduled for tomorrow — on her controversial Brexit deal, acknowledging that she would have lost the vote by "a significant margin."
Why it matters: An embarrassing defeat may have dealt the final blow to May's premiership, with the opposition Labour Party saying earlier this month that it would push for a no-confidence vote against May if her Brexit deal failed. It's not clear what she can achieve by reopening talks with Brussels, as European Union leaders have repeatedly said the current negotiated deal is the only one on the table.
China wants to kill off — or possibly revive — its lurching horde of "zombie" companies by 2020, Caixin's Dong Jing and Leng Cheng write.
Zombie company is a term used to describe an unprofitable enterprise that would go out of business without ongoing bank loans or government support. In early 2016, the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said there were 2,041 such companies. The central government has given local governments three months to submit a list of zombies. They have to be restructured or disposed of by 2020.
President Trump is staying the course on North Korea despite the lack of any tangible progress toward denuclearization, canceling another round of military exercises with South Korea and moving ahead with plans for a second summit with Kim Jong-un in the new year.
Where things stand: Van Jackson, a former Pentagon strategist and author of the new book "On the Brink: Trump, Kim, and the Threat of Nuclear War," contends there is a “close to 0% chance” of denuclearization while Trump is president, and the situation remains “as dangerous or more dangerous” than it was last year.
