Boeing will plead guilty to avoid a criminal trial over 737 Max crashes

By David Koenig and Alana Durkin Richer | The Associated Press

Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two crashes of 737 Max jetliners that killed 346 people, the Justice Department said late Sunday, after the government determined the company violated an agreement that had protected it from prosecution for more than three years.

Federal prosecutors gave Boeing the choice last week of entering a guilty plea and paying a fine as part of its sentence, or...