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In new documents, Michael Cohen says Trump “instructed” him to lie
Attorneys for Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen submitted documents to lawmakers that accuse the president and his lawyers of instructing Cohen to lie to Congress about when the negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow ended.
In a 12-page memo, Cohen’s attorneys claim that Trump “encouraged Cohen to lie and say all Moscow Tower project contacts ended as of January 31, 2016 using ‘code’ language.”
Why this matters: Cohen’s memo — and the more than 100 pages of documents attached to it — claim to lay bare a “conspiracy to collude” with the Russian government during the campaign, along with an array of other crimes by the president.
Cohen’s memo supports BuzzFeed News's earlier reporting that Cohen told investigators Trump had directed him to lie about the timing of real estate negotiations in Moscow.
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Boeing is taking responsibility in the 737 jet crashes that killed a combined 346 people
Boeing’s CEO admitted that a software failure was one of the causes in the pair of recent 737 deadly 738 Max jet crashes.
The admission comes following the release of a report on the March crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which killed all 157 people on board. In the report, Ethiopian investigators said the jet's pilots followed all safety procedures before the crash.
The report found false sensor readings activated the jet's automatic system against stalling. Minutes after takeoff, the jet nosedived — similarly to when Lion Air Flight 610, another 737 Max, crashed last October and killed all 189 people on board.
Boeing says a new software update would be ready to implement within weeks.
SNAPSHOTS
The FBI director broke with Trump and said white supremacy is a “persistent, pervasive threat” to the US. Christopher Wray’s comments to members of Congress were a departure from those of President Trump’s, who has repeatedly downplayed the threat.
Theresa May has asked the European Union to delay Britain’s departure date to June 30. The request means it is possible that Britain will participate in European Parliament elections, and will most definitely extend the drama of Brexit.
A middle school teacher who was fired after a student obtained her topless selfie is suing the school district for gender discrimination. The lawyer for math teacher Lauren Miranda says his client was told she was no longer a “role model” for students because her breasts were seen in the selfie.
The person who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen is not him, the FBI said. Someone showed up claiming to be Pitzen, who went missing in 2011. DNA results did not match the boy, and police said the person who claimed to be Pitzen, who would be 14, is actually 23 years old.
Tom Holland apparently wasn’t given a script to Avengers: Endgame because he keeps revealing spoilers. Holland is a notorious blabbermouth, which is kind of endearing. Now, Endgame director Joe Russo revealed that to prevent spoilers, “Holland gets his lines and that's it. He doesn’t even know who he’s acting opposite of.”
Tech execs face jail in Australia if they don’t remove “abhorrent” content quickly enough
In March, a gunman opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 50 people. He livestreamed it on Facebook, and from there the video spread to other platforms like YouTube and Twitter.
Now, in response to the horrific shootings, Australia has passed a law that could send tech executives to jail if violent videos aren’t taken down quickly enough.
The law requires social media sites, internet service providers and other content and hosting services to remove violent videos and livestreams “expeditiously”, and to tip off authorities when they know violent material can be accessed in Australia.
Spend your weekend with these thoughtful essays
Courtney Stodden Knows Exactly What Happened. At 16, Courtney Stodden married a 51-year-old man and became the punchline to tabloid jokes. 8 years later, she’s ready to rewrite the narrative. Scaachi Koul spent time with Stodden, and the result is a fascinating profile worth your time. Here’s a taste: “‘I don’t know who I am as an artist,’ she tells the producer, which seems totally at odds with what she’s told me all day: that she absolutely knows who she is, and she just needs the space to go and become that person.
How Killing Eve Became The Perfect Show For These Wild Times. Are you watching Killing Eve? People who enjoy the show have absolutely no chill about it. Kate Aurthur wrote an excellent piece about how it became perfect show for this cultural moment. From the piece: “It's the most fucked-up relationship on television! I think that's why people love it.”
I’m So Happy To See Fat Characters Who Don’t Hate Themselves. “Historically,” writes Kaye Toal, “fat people on TV and film have been relegated to punchlines, often cruel ones.” Not so with the recent dearth of positive representation of fat people in film and TV. As Toal writes, it’s new to even have the privilege to ask “is this good?” or “is this art?”