Renowned architect I.M. Pei dies at age 102

I.M. Pei, the versatile, globe-trotting architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died at age 102.

Pei’s death was confirmed on Thursday by Marc Diamond, a spokesman for the architect’s New York firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. One of Pei’s sons, Li Chung Pei, told The New York Times his father had died overnight on Wednesday into Thursday.

Pei’s works added elegance to landscapes worldwide with their powerful geometric shapes and grand spaces,seen as embracing modernity tempered by a grounding in history.

The Chinese-born architect was the mastermind behind the bold Louvre pyramid in Paris, the landmark 72-story Bank of China tower in Hong Kong and the striking Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar’s capital, Doha.

Other creations included the trapezoidal addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, to the chiseled towers of the National Center of Atmospheric Research that blend in with the reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.

Pei painstakingly researched each project, studying its use and relating it to the environment. But he also was interested in architecture as art – and the effect he could create.

“At one level my goal is simply to give people pleasure in being in a space and walking around it,” he said. “But I also think architecture can reach a level where it influences people to want to do something more with their lives. That is the challenge that I find most interesting.”

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar [Hassan Ammar/AP Photo]

Born in China in 1917, Pei immigrated to the United States and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. He advanced from his early work of designing office buildings, low-income housing and mixed-used complexes to a worldwide collection of museums, municipal buildings and hotels.

He fell into a modernist style blending elegance and technology, creating crisp, precise buildings.

His big break was in 1964, when he was chosen over many prestigious architects, such as Louis Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, to design the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston.

At the time, Jacqueline Kennedy said all the candidates were excellent, “But Pei! He loves things to be beautiful.” The two became friends.

A slight, unpretentious man, Pei developed a reputation as a skilled diplomat, persuading clients to spend the money for his grand-scale projects and working with a cast of engineers and developers.

Some of his designs were met with much controversy, such as the 22-metre faceted glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre museum in Paris. French President Francois Mitterrand, who personally selected Pei to oversee the decaying, overcrowded museum’s renovation, endured a barrage of criticism when he unveiled the plan in 1984.

Many of the French vehemently opposed such a change to their symbol of their culture, once a medieval fortress and then a national palace. Some resented that Pei, a foreigner, was in charge.

But Mitterrand and his supporters prevailed and the pyramid was finished in 1989. It serves as the Louvre’s entrance, and a staircase leads visitors down to a vast, light-drenched lobby featuring ticket windows, shops, restaurants, an auditorium and escalators to other parts of the vast museum.

“All through the centuries, the Louvre has undergone violent change,” Pei said. “The time had to be right. I was confident because this was the right time.”

The Bank of China building in Hong Kong, designed by I.M. Pei [File: Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan honoured him with a National Medal of Arts. He also won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, 1983, dedicating the $100,000 prize money he was awarded to setting up a scholarship fund for Chinese students to study the craft in the United States, on the condition they return home to design and build.

He also won the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, 1979, while President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.

Pei officially retired in 1990 but continued to work on projects. Two of his sons, Li Chung Pei and Chien Chung Pei, former members of their father’s firm, formed Pei Partnership Architects in 1992. Their father’s firm, previously I.M. Pei and Partners, was renamed Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

Pei’s wife, Eileen, who he married in 1942, died in 2014. A son, T’ing Chung, died in 2003. Besides sons Chien Chung Pei and Li Chung Pei, he is survived by a daughter, Liane.

Pei smiles as he accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2016 Asia Game Changer Awards ceremony in New York [File: Mary Altaffer/AP Photo]

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Browns Rumors: L.J. Scott Retires 2 Days After Signing Rookie Contract

Michigan State running back L.J. Scott (3) watches from the sideline against Minnesota in the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Minneapolis. Michigan State defeated Minnesota 30-27. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press

On Monday, the Browns announced they had signed undrafted running back L.J. Scott out of Michigan State. On Thursday, Scott reportedly decided not to pursue an NFL career anymore.

“Source close to L.J. Scott tells me L.J. has decided to not play football and has left the Browns,” WFMJ TV sports director Dana Balash tweeted. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot followed that up by reporting that the Browns have waived Scott.

The Youngstown, Ohio native also participated in the Baltimore Ravens‘ rookie minicamp before landing a contract with the Browns.

Scott played four years at Michigan State and finished as the program’s ninth all-time rusher with 2,855 yards. As a senior in 2018, the 6’1″, 225-pound back only appeared in five games due to a nagging ankle injury.

In Scott’s place, the Browns signed running back D’Ernest Johnson, who last played in the Alliance of American Football for the Orlando Apollos before the league went on hiatus in April. The 5’10”, 208-pound left USF in 2017 as the school’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 4,186, including 1,796 rushing.

Johnson will join a Browns running back group that includes Kareem Hunt, Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson Jr. Hunt will miss the first half of the season while serving a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

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Celtics Trade Rumors: Boston Still Most Attractive Partner for Anthony Davis

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 10: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans looks on before the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on December 10, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Sources believe the Boston Celtics are the most attractive trade partner for the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, according to the Boston Herald‘s Steve Bulpett.

The current collective bargaining agreement prevented Boston from acquiring Davis prior to the February 2019 trade deadline as both he and Kyrie Irving were playing under designated player extensions.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

Get the best sports content from the web and social in the new B/R app. Get the app and get the game.

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Dems mobilize against GOP bid to derail anti-discrimination bill

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the chief sponsor of a bill to protect LGBTQ rights, said he anticipates Republican procedural votes that could complicate its passage. | Alex Edelman/Getty Images

congress

Republicans are sure to try to squeeze freshman Democrats on legislation protecting the LGBTQ community.

Some senior House Democrats are privately anxious that GOP floor antics on Friday could jeopardize the fate of a sweeping bill to shield LGBTQ people from discrimination.

Democratic leaders have been doing everything they can to beat back the Republican procedural efforts to kill the legislation, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.

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A research institute that focuses on religious issues was brought in to deliver a PowerPoint presentation to a closed-door whips meeting Thursday to ease potential anxieties about voter opposition to the legislation. The whip team, too, has been working all week to reinforce support from across the caucus.

All but one House Democrat, Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), has already cosponsored the bill — and he too has said he’ll vote for the measure — guaranteeing passage on the floor assuming Republicans don’t succeed in attaching a poison pill.

But party unity will be tested as GOP leaders try yet again to squeeze the caucus’ moderates with a politically painful vote that could hurt them back home or derail the legislation altogether.

“I told leadership we needed to worry,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a co-chair of House Democrats’ messaging arm. Dingell said she’s confident Democrats will prevail but wanted to take the temperature of the caucus this week to avoid a potential embarrassment on the floor.

The GOP procedural votes, known as motions to recommit, could force Democrats’ most vulnerable members to go on the record on contentious issues from federal funding of abortion to parental consent for gender reassignment.

“We anticipate, of course, there will be an MTR. But I think people understand that an MTR is essentially a vote against the Equality Act,” said Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the chief sponsor of the bill.

With dozens of freshmen in battleground seats willing to buck the party on these votes, the GOP’s tactics have been a perpetual frustration for leadership. But the stakes are higher Friday because Democratic leaders, as well as some outside advocacy groups, have vetoed the idea of allowing amendments to the bill. They are loath to risk modifications that could alienate some members of the caucus.

“If you have an open floor process on something as sensitive as this, one amendment could bring the whole thing down,” a senior aide to the moderate wing of the party said.

But that move also undercuts Democratic leaders’ recent strategy to keep members in line. In recent weeks, top Democrats have tried to anticipate what motion Republicans would offer and hold votes on similar amendments ahead of time to provide vulnerable lawmakers with political cover. With Democrats prohibiting any amendments on the floor, that safety valve doesn’t exist.

The bill, known as the Equality Act, would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, credit and the jury system, among other areas. The legislation is unlikely to get far in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it’s a top priority for the new Democratic majority in the House.

“Every Democrat will be voting for this bill on Friday. We are very excited about that,” Pelosi said during her weekly news conference Thursday. “This will be a banner vote for us on Friday, and we hope that it will be bipartisan as well.”

After Thursday’s whip meeting, lawmakers strolled out with white folders emblazoned with the research center’s logo and data showing that most Americans, including religious voters, are supportive of LGBTQ rights, according to members present.

At the end of the presentation, one Democrat in the room specifically brought up the motions to recommit, pointing out that religious rights could be one of the GOP’s targets on Friday.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said the presentation from the Public Religion Research Institute was notable, with public opinion strongly supportive of expanding civil rights to LGBTQ people.

“That’s the kind of message that we talked about,” Meeks said. “And I know that we will be — and I’ll be — talking to some of my other colleagues about [it] as we try to whip, staying focused on what the goal is here, which is the right thing to do.”

Democrats have successfully fended off every GOP procedural vote since late February, when the caucus suffered an embarrassing defeat on an immigration amendment. Because roughly two dozen Democrats crossed the aisle, Republican language targeting undocumented immigrants was added to the party’s universal background checks bill.

It was a huge embarrassment to party leaders and led to some discussion of changing the rules or even eliminating the motion to recommit altogether. Democrats have declined to take such steps, but the prospect of divisions still looms large.

Pelosi has scolded defectors in her party, telling lawmakers behind closed doors that Congress is “not a day at the beach.”

But more than a dozen Democratic moderates have continued to buck their party on the floor on certain votes.

Two weeks ago, 14 Democrats voted with Republicans on an amendment that stated that U.S. climate policies should not result in a net loss of jobs to China. And in mid-April, 13 Democrats voted in favor of adding language to a net neutrality bill to disavow any kind of tax on the internet.

“The most important message we’re trying to deliver to our colleagues is: don’t get caught in this trap,” said Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), a member of the Democratic whip team.

“I think we’ve been doing a lot better with it, but every one is a new fight,” Kildee said.

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Snapchat’s ‘gender-swap’ filter exposes the internet’s casual transphobia

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is a face filter for everything, from putting puppy ears on your head to horrifically swapping your face with inanimate objects.

The latest filter trend on Snapchat is gender. Yep, just gender. This filter, in particular, captured people’s attention in a way that others haven’t, becoming so popular that people have re-downloaded Snapchat, an app seemingly being left in the social media dust, to use it.

The filter is fairly simple: It swaps your features for traditionally feminine or masculine ones. When it rolled out last week, the internet had a field day, with users fantasizing about what it would be like to swap genders. But it wasn’t all fun and games for the trans community, who had to witness both their cis friends and strangers suddenly turning the act of “switching genders” into the latest viral joke.

What’s worse is that this isn’t one of the community-made filters available to download or ignore as you please. It’s not just one amateur designer’s attempt at humor. Coming from Snapchat itself, this means whatever impact the filter has is directly reflective of the company and its biases. This also allows more people to access the filter without having to actively seek it out, which increases its exposure.

While you’re having fun posting about your imaginary chiseled jawline or flawless face of makeup, you might want to consider how this filter perpetuates some pretty whack stereotypes before you post your selfie. After all, casual transphobia looks good on no one.

Snapchat’s filter problematically defines gender and presentation

The filter’s “male” lens gives users a square jaw, scruff, and short hair. The female lens smooths out a user’s skin, lengthens their hair, and adds makeup.

Through these changes, the “gender-swap” filter reveals what the company, and society in general, consider desirable presentations for men and women. That’s because when conceiving of the idea of a filter that “swaps” your gender, there are assumptions the creative team must’ve made.

a.t. Furuya, youth programs manager at GLSEN’s, told Mashable that, while intended as a “fun” joke, Snapchat is “assuming gender is a binary between men and women and more specifically, physical characteristics of how men and women should present themselves.” GLSEN is an advocacy organization for LGBTQ youth.

the most interesting and miserable thing about any genderswap filter is what it implies about the way those companies conceptualise ‘men’ and ‘women’ as distinct groups + maybe more importantly the way they think ‘men’ and ‘women’ conceptualise themselves + each other

— jini (@astroblob) May 14, 2019

When Mashable reached out to Snapchat to learn about its thinking, the company said that new features go along with their core mission of empowering self-expression. Lenses can transform our appearance and the world around us, it wrote, adding that filters are a kind of “community storytelling.”

Unfortunately, this “self-expression” forgets the wide spectrum of selves people can express. By creating a filter meant to represent an entire gender, you must choose to buy into certain narratives of what it means to look a certain gender. What features are the most beautiful? What are the “right” features? This assumes that everything else is deviant to the norm or unnatural.

The filter also reinforces the heinous gender binary, implying that “man” and “woman” are opposite genders you can switch between. Furuya said this is limiting for everyone, and contributes to the narrative that there is only one right way to exist. “Nonbinary people have existed for centuries and in different cultures, [and] reinforcing an idea that people are either hyper masculine or hyper feminine creates very narrow boxes for how people can outwardly present themselves.”

“Gotcha!” and digital drag deceit

On the whole, seeing cis people “swap” their gender for funsies gives off vibes of the old “man in a a dress” trope. Society says that it’s not right for men to do things like wear makeup or have long hair. The sheer existence of trans women under the patriarchy is wrong. One may argue that the reverse trope — that of women donning shorter haircuts and “men’s” clothing — is less negative for women, since it can be empowering for women to co-opt masculinity. That is, until it isn’t.

Filters like these can be potentially detrimental to trans youth because they delegitimize trans identities, Furuya said. They can create more hurdles for trans people to live authentically without humiliation, violence, and erasure. “For trans students who already do not have laws or policies protecting their identities, this contributes to that discrediting sentiment that our identities are as fake as a Snapchat filter.”

“This contributes to that discrediting sentiment that our identities are as fake as a Snapchat filter.”

With the filter, if you turn your head too fast, wave your hand at the camera, or switch it off, the illusion disappears. Everyone laughs because at the end of the day, it was all just a trick of the eye. The joke here is that gender-bending is fun when everyone can return to “normal” with the flick of a head or the swipe of a finger.

It also doesn’t help that men of Twitter and Instagram have been turning their experiences with facetuned femininity into experiments. Suddenly, men are creating fake Tinder profiles with their “female” selfies, catfishing unsuspecting horny Tinder bros, and screenshotting the responses in the name of … something? Many claim that after receiving tons of unwanted harassment, they now understand how hard it is to be a woman online. The lesson some seem to have learned is an important one, but for others, the catfishing feels like a flippant joke.

Within 3 minute got 1 as a women then I ever did in my last 3 years on tinder as a male. And put in profile that it was a deepfake for the troll .as I was typing got 3 more matches pic.twitter.com/XLPqcvMb4f

— Dozerbob (@DozerbobTV) May 10, 2019

The joke, if there is one, relies on the underlying “gotcha!” that comes with convincing unsuspecting cis men of your gender, only to pull the wool from their eyes and laugh at the homosexual panic. Even if it’s meant to be light-hearted, the group that’s targeted by the normalization of this kind of humor is already vulnerable — trans people.

Your instant transition is another person’s dysphoria

The virality of these “gender-swap” posts has meant that the internet has become even more of a casual transphobia landmine than usual. And the excuses fall flat: It’s just harmless fun! Let people enjoy things! It might even be empowering! But it’s hard to join in when the “fun” involves constantly reminding you of your dysphoria and the daily struggle of transitioning.

Viewing these posts from friends and family could contribute to dysphoria, because trans people are seeing those who are supposed to support and care for them participate in the humor of physical transition, Furuya said.

These new Snapchat filters got y’all out here having fun with gender roles, joking about sex with your homeboys, and sporting beards with lashes. All we ask is that you keep that same energy when you interact with actual transgender and non-binary ppl. Thanks, management

— Miss Clean Legs (@luckygoddessn7) May 11, 2019

On Twitter, many trans people are imploring cis people to think critically about the jokes’ consequences. Some feel that the cis community doesn’t understand the frustration of watching someone construct — in a single swipe — what transgender people may work at through years of pain and hardship.

Even just taking a moment to consider how mentally and physically exhausting it is to exist as a trans person can make all the difference in creating a more empathic and welcoming internet. Taking a step back can also help cis people consider the ways they interact with and support trans people offline.

Yes, the “what I would look like if I was a man/woman” thing has been bugging me a little.

I *know* it’s all innocent fun, but I also know that there are people silently struggling with gender dysphoria being hurt by it.

— jill (@Grocklecatjill) May 12, 2019

When I put it on it horrified me at a deep level and I had to stop looking, and I figure that’s just a taste of what trans folks have to deal with living in a world full of mirrors. So, yeah.

— Black Hole-chan, won’t you come… (@emote_control) May 13, 2019

I find that gender swap filter a little unsettling considering trans people exist and go through constant bullshit because of who they are. But pls go off

— Vegan Embiid (@akaruishi) May 13, 2019

y’all love that new gender swap filter but are still being transphobic irl and that’s fax, straighten your shits out foo

— Rylee (@fruitgranolabar) May 11, 2019

It’s almost never just a joke either. Furuya described casual transphobic humor, in online spaces or in everyday culture, as a “snow ball effect” that could lead to harm for the trans community. Letting these jokes slide allows cis people to become more comfortable with the dehumanization of trans identities.

“It is easier to not care about the safety of trans people if we are not a big deal to you,” they explain. “When you keep picking away at our personhood, what is left to value? These are how transphobic laws and policies can get passed, this is how trans people get overlooked for jobs, this is the direct impact of trans youth being bullied and unable to finish school.”

Cis people playing with that gender swap filter. Imagine you woke up tomorrow and that pic actually was you, and everyone you met interacted with you as though you actually looked like that. How would that make you feel? Would that cause some discomfort?

Welcome to being trans.

— Faith Naff (@FaithNaff) May 12, 2019

Snapchat emphasized that it understands how deeply personal identities can be. But it’s hard to swallow that when there’s a community of people saying the filter makes a mockery of — and belittles — their identities. The way cis people have broadcasted their brief flirtations with bending gender demonstrates just how easy it is to misuse the filter.

Mistakes like this aren’t new for the company. Snapchat has gotten into hot water in the past over previous filter missteps, turning what should’ve been basic marketing campaigns into oh my god this is so racist territory.

It would be easy for fans of the filter to chalk up these criticisms as a few oversensitive opinions to a feature that can be turned on and off in seconds. The novelty will probably wear off by next week. The latest filter is probably already in the works.

But as long as there are photo-sharing apps on the market, facetuning isn’t going to go away. That doesn’t mean we should blindly put up with the mistakes designers make. Gender isn’t as simple as a filter you can swipe away.

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Huawei blacklisted by US starting Friday

The ban on United States companies selling parts to Huawei will take effect on Friday, the US commerce secretary has said.

Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg news agency on Thursday that the new regulations will bar Huawei from acquiring components and technology from US firms without government approval.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and 70 affiliates are being added to the US Commerce Department’s “entity list”. The move makes it difficult – if not impossible – for the firm to sell certain products, due to reliance on US suppliers.

Ross said in a statement on Wednesday that President Donald Trump sought to “prevent American technology from being used by foreign-owned entities in ways that potentially undermine US national security or foreign policy interests”.

The dramatic move comes as the Trump administration has aggressively lobbied other countries not to use Huawei equipment in next-generation 5G networks. And it comes just days after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods amid an escalating trade war.

US officials have long feared the Chinese government could use Huawei’s equipment to spy on Americans.

Blacklisting Huawei is likely to have ramifications beyond the company itself: Not only might it disrupt Huawei’s business, but it could also hurt its US suppliers.

A broad US crackdown, announced on Wednesday in an executive order, was the latest shot fired in an escalating trade war that is rattling financial markets and threatens to derail a slowing global economy.

‘Find a resolution’

The Trump administration’s decision to target and potentially cripple Huawei garnered a sharp rebuke on Thursday.

Officials in China said US aggressiveness could hurt trade talks, which appeared to have hit an impasse in the past week as Washington hiked tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated with higher duties on US products.

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng stressed that the US should avoid further damaging relations. “China will take all the necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese firms,” Gao told reporters.

Meanwhile, share prices for Huawei’s US suppliers fell due to fears the massive buyer of US chips, software and other equipment would be forced to stop purchases after the ban takes hold.

Huawei said in a statement that losing access to US suppliers “will do significant economic harm to the American companies” and affect “tens of thousands of American jobs”.

Out of $70bn that Huawei spent on component procurement in 2018, some $11bn went to US firms including Qualcomm, Intel and Micron Technology Inc. And they could see that revenue disappear.

Huawei said it will “seek remedies immediately and find a resolution to this matter”.

The company reported first-quarter revenue of $27bn last month and said it had shipped 59 million smartphones in the first quarter. Revenue for the company, also the world’s second-biggest maker of smartphones, touched 721 billion yuan ($105bn).

‘Upsetting the United States’

The pain for Huawei’s supply chain would be redoubled if the trade war were to send shock waves through the larger Chinese technology industry.

“The bigger concern would be [that] US allies that used to buy Huawei’s components may not continue businesses with Huawei, because of fear of possibly upsetting the United States,” said Doh Hyun-woo, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities in Seoul.

Huawei has spearheaded China’s campaign to develop its own high-end technologies to reduce reliance on foreign imports, and such efforts have taken on urgency after US sanctions on ZTE.

In March 2016, the US Commerce Department added ZTE Corporation to the entity list over allegations it organised an elaborate scheme to hide its re-export of US items to sanctioned countries in violation of US law.

The restrictions prevented suppliers from providing ZTE with US equipment, potentially freezing the Huawei rival’s supply chain, but they were short-lived. The US suspended the restrictions in a series of temporary reprieves, allowing the company to maintain ties to US suppliers until it agreed to a plea deal a year later.

In August, Trump signed a bill that barred the US government itself from using equipment from Huawei and ZTE.

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Prosecutors: Person ‘connected to’ Congress tried to influence Michael Flynn’s cooperation with Mueller

An unnamed person “connected to … Congress” allegedly attempted to influence former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s willingness to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, according to a filing unsealed in federal court Thursday.

In a newly unredacted filing from prosecutors related to Flynn’s sentencing – originally submitted to a federal judge in December – Mueller’s team revealed that Flynn assisted Mueller’s investigation of efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to thwart Mueller’s probe.

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“The defendant informed the government of multiple instances, both before and after his guilty plea, where either he or his attorneys received communications from persons connected to the Administration or Congress that could’ve affected both his willingness to cooperate and the completeness of that cooperation,” according to the newly revealed portion of the filing. “The defendant even provided a voicemail recording of one such communication.”

Though Mueller’s report spelled out potential efforts by Trump allies to discourage Flynn from cooperating with Mueller, the report is silent on any of those efforts arising from Capitol Hill.

Mueller’s report refers to a voicemail left by an attorney to Trump, shortly after Flynn withdrew from a joint defense agreement with Trump. In the voicemail, the attorney suggests that Trump still has warm feelings for Flynn.

“On November 23, 2017, Flynn’s attorneys returned the call from the President’s personal Counsel to acknowledge receipt of the voicemail,” according to the report. “Flynn’s attorneys reiterated that they were no longer in a position to share information under any sort of privilege. According to Flynn ‘s attorneys, the President’s personal counsel was indignant and vocal in his disagreement.”

In the newly unsealed filing, prosecutors used Flynn’s cooperation on the obstruction probe to argue for reducing his potential sentence, which is still pending before Judge Emmett Sullivan.

The unsealed portion of the filing also details Flynn’s efforts to aid Mueller’s investigation of the Wikileaks email dumping operation. Mueller’s team indicated Flynn provided “statements made in 2016 by senior campaign officials” that included discussions of the possibility of reaching out to WikiLeaks.

Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in December 2017 about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the run-up to Trump’s inauguration. Citing his extensive cooperation, Mueller’s team recommended that Flynn face little to no jail time for his offense.

Flynn has largely enjoyed the continued support of Trump allies, who have turned on other witnesses that worked closely with Mueller.

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What just happened in King’s Landing?

Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission.

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Major U.S. retailers are now accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency

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Danica D’Souza

about 1 hour ago

Those taking the digital money include clothing store Nordstrom, grocer Whole Foods, and movie chain Regal Cinemas. The move is thanks to a new deal between payment network Flexa and digital asset platform Gemini.

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