• The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas features more than 4,400 exhibitors showcasing the very latest in gizmos, gadgets, and doodads.
• This year, more than 180,000 people are attending CES. 
• Some wacky technology has been on display thus far, including a Lamborghini-themed massage chair and cars with foldable legs. 

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the place where companies like LG, Samsung, and Sony show off their latest TVs, laptops, and other state-of-the-art high tech. 

But it's also the place where some of the weirdest and wildest gadgetry gets its time in the spotlight. 

Lamborghini-themed massage chairs, cars with foldable legs, and Roomba-like lawn mowers are just a few of the bizarre products seen thus far at the world's largest tech show. 

Read more:Here's all the major tech we're expecting at CES 2019, the biggest tech convention of the year

Things haven't quite escalated to the degree it hit last year, where a pole-dancing robot performed at a nearby gentleman's club. But you never know — CES doesn't end until Friday. 

Here are the 17 wackiest photos from CES 2019 thus far: 

LG unveils its futuristic Signature OLED TV that rolls-up with the press of a button.

The Bodyfriend LBF-750 is a Lamborghini-themed massage chair.

In John Deere's debut at CES, the company showcased its connected combine harvester that it describes as an "intelligent factory on wheels."

• President Donald Trump will take the national stage tonight to make his case for the construction of a wall at the US-Mexico border.
• But such an enormous construction project would have significant impacts on the environment around the nation's southern border.
• What's more, the Department of Homeland Security has already indicated that it will leverage a law that enables the government to expedite border infrastructure by waiving certain legal requirements, which would allow the project to sidestep dozens of environmental rules in California.
• Here's how a border wall would impact the environment — from fauna to the flow of rivers.

President Donald Trump will take the national stage tonight to make his case for the construction of a wall at the US-Mexico border. But experts say such an enormous construction project would have significant impacts on the environment around the nation's southern border.

His live address from the Oval Office comes 18 days into a partial government shutdown, which is the result of a disagreement over funding for Trump's desired border wall. The shutdown has impacted nearly 800,000 federal employees (and caused garbage to pile up in national parks), but Trump has indicated that he won't end the shutdown until he secures $5 billion in funding for the wall.

Trump most likely hopes that his national address and visit to the southwest will boost public support for a wall — despite the environmental impact.

What's more, the Department of Homeland Security has already indicated that it will leverage a law that enables the government to expedite border infrastructure by waiving certain legal requirements, which would allow the project to sidestep dozens of environmental rules in California.

Here's how a new border wall would wreak havoc on the environment.

SEE ALSO: Park rangers share fears of unemployment as national parks overflow with garbage during the government shutdown

Many species would face local extinction in the US if they couldn't travel back and forth between habitats and resources on either side of the border.

The US-Mexico border is nearly 2,000 miles long and peppered with marshes, deserts, and grasslands. The construction of a continuous wall could therefore harm species who are, of course, not on the administration’s immigration radar.

More than 1,500 species of flora and fauna, like the Peninsular bighorn sheep shown above, make their homes along this biologically diverse strip of North America. Sixty-two of these species are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). And many of those species would face extirpation — meaning local extinction in the US — if they were unable to access habitats and resources on either side of the border, according to a study from Stanford University.

The Stanford analysis showed that 346 species would lose access to half of their habitat because of a border wall.

Of those species, 17% would be stuck living in an area of roughly 7,700 square miles or less — elevating their risk of extirpation, according to IUCN guidelines. According to the study, which was published in the journal BioScience in July 2018, some of these at-risk species include the endangered jaguar and ocelot. 

The two Stanford biologists behind the study, Paul Ehrlich and Rodolfo Dirzo, explained that physical barriers — whether they are rivers, mountains, or a human-made wall — can deter or prevent animals from finding mates, fresh water, and necessary food.

Dirzo told the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment that "cut off like this, the bighorn and other animals and plants will become zombie species — populations that are demographically and genetically doomed."

Animal migration patterns — even those of birds — would be disrupted.

Dirzo and Erhlich noted the border wall could also impede flying species that enjoy riding currents close to the ground. Examples include the ­endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly or the ferruginous pygmy owl.

Echoing those concerns, the National Audubon Society, the National Resources Defense Council, and more than 170 conservation groups penned a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen in November.

The letter elaborated on the impact of a wall on "environmentally sensitive conservation areas" like the Lower Rio Grande Valley area, which has a plethora of butterfly and bird fauna. Bruce Stein, chief scientist at the National Wildlife Federation, wrote, "barriers like border walls can interfere with the ability of animals to meet their daily needs, make seasonal migrations or disperse to new areas."

Quartz, which first reported on the letter to Nielsen, noted that an unfamiliar obstacle could even deter birds, despite the fact that they could theoretically fly to heights above it. 

• Sasha Cuttler, a nurse working at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, alleges the medical institution has illegally retaliated against their whistleblowing.
• Cuttler has been an outspoken critic of the decision to rename the hospital after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and also raised issues internally about patient falls.
• The nurse alleges they were passed over for promotions as a result, and removed from leadership positions.
• Cuttler has filed a legal complaint to the US Department of Labor on Tuesday.

A nurse who has been an outspoken critic of a San Francisco hospital's decision to rename itself in return for a $75 million donation from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has accused the medical institution of illegally retaliating against them over it and other matters.

Sasha Cuttler, 58, on Tuesday filed a legal complaint against the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, commonly referred to as just the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where they have worked since on and off since 1987.

Cuttler, who uses gender neutral pronouns, has repeatedly cited a 2014 study in which Facebook manipulated some users' emotions without their knowledge or consent as unethical and as raising concerns about the Facebook exec's links to the hospital. Cuttler has been openly critical, both internally and in public, organising protests against the 34-year-old billionaire executive and talking to the media (including Business Insider). 

The nurse alleges that the hospital has illegally retaliated against them, both because of their anti-Zuckerberg activism and because of work they conducted relating to patient falls at the hospital and their warnings that staffing changes could increase the number of falls.

Cuttler has now filed formal complaints with the California Labour Commissioner's Office (CLCO) and the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), alleging unlawful whistleblower retaliation. Cuttler alleges they were passed over for promotion, removed from the hospital Institutional Review Board and the Falls Task Force leadership, and "[marginalized] and [ostracized] within the workplace."

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital spokesperson Brent Andrew did not immediately provide a comment to Business Insider.

The retaliation has "caused [Cuttler] to suffer from anxiety and depression, insomnia, and other stress-related conditions," the complaint alleges, and it seeks damages from the hospital.

Zuckerberg's name is causing increasing headaches for the California hospital. San Francisco politician Aaron Peskin is pushing for it to be removed entirely in response to the social media company's recent string of scandals. 

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SEE ALSO: A gamer tried to go pro by pretending to be a woman, and the scandal exposed an ugly truth about esports

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NOW WATCH: I cut Google out of my life for 2 weeks, but the alternatives prove why Google is so much better

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

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• President Donald Trump delivered a prime-time address to the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday night.
• The address comes 18 days into a partial government shutdown, a result of a disagreement on funding Trump's desired wall along the border between the US and Mexico.
• In his address, Trump characterized the US-Mexico border as being in a state of "crisis," arguing that constructing a barrier was "a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice."

President Donald Trump addressed the nation during prime time on Tuesday night in his first Oval Office speech, characterizing the state of the US-Mexico border as a "crisis" that Congress can only solve by funding a "physical barrier."

"How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?" he said. "To those that refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask, imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken."

Trump has spent much of the past three weeks raging against Congressional Democrats for refusing to fund the wall he has long promised to build along the border. Both Trump and Democrats have refused to budge from their positions, resulting in a partial government shutdown now in its third week.

During his address Tuesday night, Trump linked migrants crossing the southern border to crime in the US, stoking fear about brutal murders and citing several instances where Americans died at the hands of immigrants living in the US illegally.

One case he mentioned was that of a California police officer who was fatally shot in December during a traffic stop. The suspected gunman was an immigrant living in the US illegally.

Studies, however, have shown that immigrants on the whole commit far fewer crimes than American-born citizens, regardless of whether they live in the US legally or illegally.

"To every member of Congress, pass a bill that ends this crisis," Trump said. "This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. This is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American citizens we serve."

Trump also cited figures from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, saying officers arrested 266,000 immigrants with criminal records within the last two years. Though the figure is accurate, many of the offenses immigrants are arrested for include non-violent crimes such as illegally entering the US, re-entering the US, possessing drugs, or traffic violations.

Some of the points Trump raised were sure to draw ire from his critics, including an assertion that the barrier would "pay for itself."

"The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year. Vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress," he said. "The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico."

As Trump's critics have pointed out, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement has not yet been ratified by Congress, or the legislative bodies of Canada and Mexico, and even the net economic benefit from the trade deal would not constitute directly payments for the wall.

Trump also used the ongoing opioid crisis as fuel for his claims, arguing that the drugs that enter the US from Mexico are killing hundreds of Americans regularly. Data from the Customs and Border Protection agency, however, shows that the vast majority of drugs entering the US do so through the ports of entry, rendering a wall useless in preventing the flow.

"Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl," he said. "Every week, 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90% of which floods across from our southern border. More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War."

Some had speculated Trump could use his address to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress for the wall funding, as he had indicated in a speech on Friday, but Trump made no mention of the plan on Tuesday night and instead urged Americans to call their representatives and urge them to support the barrier.

Read more: Trump goes off the rails in freewheeling news conference raging about the shutdown, the border wall, DACA, and Democrats

Trump's address comes amid scrutiny over false or misleading statements he and his administration have made linking migrants with terrorism at the southern border.

Despite Trump's statement on Friday that "we have terrorists coming through the southern border," the administration has since conceded that the vast majority of known and suspected terrorists enter the US through airports, and that the terror watchlist is not always accurate.

Trump announced the address — his first Oval Office address during prime time, according to CBS News— in a tweet on Monday. It was initially unclear if networks would carry the address, but CNN, ABC, NBC News, CBS, Fox News, and Fox Business all carried the address live.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded airtime for a Democratic response, which CBS, NBC, CNN, and Fox are all aired immediately after Trump's remarks.

Trump's address happened amid one of the longest government shutdowns in history, second only to a 21-day shutdown during the Clinton administration. The shutdown is a result of a disagreement on the funding of Trump's desired wall along the border of the US and Mexico.

During his 2016 campaign, Trump often repeated the line that Mexico would pay for the wall. However, he has repeatedly asked Congress for billions of dollars of US taxpayer money to build the barrier.

At the end of 2018, Trump said he would not sign any government funding bills if they did not include wall funding — after initially signaling that he would sign a stopgap measure, which was passed in the Senate, to fund part of the government until February 8.

The shutdown impacts roughly 20% of the federal government: nine federal agencies and 800,000 federal workers — 420,000 of whom must still work without pay.

SEE ALSO: Trump goes off the rails in freewheeling news conference raging about the shutdown, the border wall, DACA, and Democrats

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to President Donald Trump's first Oval Office address on Tuesday night.
• "The President has chosen fear," Pelosi said. "We want to start with the facts."
• While Trump's speech focused on border security, Pelosi and Schumer highlighted the ongoing partial government shutdown.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to President Donald Trump's first Oval Office address on Tuesday night.

"The President has chosen fear," Pelosi said at the beginning of her speech. "We want to start with the facts."

Both Trump and Democratic leaders were attempting to appeal to the American public on border security and the ongoing partial government shutdown, respectively. Both speeches aired on prime time network and cable TV.

While the president focused on border security and his proposal to beef up security — which includes a wall — Democratic leaders homed in on the partial government shutdown, which is now into its third week.

Pelosi highlighted that the House passed bills to reopen the government on the first day of the new Congress, and said that Trump has said he will not sign a funding bill if it does not have $5 billion for a border wall. The shutdown began on December 22, after leaders could not come to an agreement over funding for the wall.

After initially signaling that he would sign a stopgap measure passed unanimously by the Senate to keep the government open, Trump said he would only sign a bill that had $5 billion for border security — including a wall. The then-GOP held House passed a bill with that funding, however, it did not have the votes to pass the Senate. Prior to the shutdown, Democratic leaders offered $1.3 billion to Trump for border security — excluding a border wall.

"We all agree that we need to secure our borders, while honoring our values: we can build the infrastructure and roads at our ports of entry," Pelosi said on Tuesday night. "We can install new technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming into our nation; we can hire the personnel we need to facilitate trade and immigration at the border; and we can fund more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings."

Schumer doubled down on that point, saying that Trump and congressional Democrats "sharply disagree with the President about the most effective" border security.

"There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference," he continued. "Federal workers are about to miss a paycheck. Some families can’t get a mortgage to buy a new home. Farmers and small businesses won’t get loans they desperately need."

"The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a thirty-foot wall," Schumer continued.

In a statement from the Republican National Committee, chairwoman Ronna McDaniel chastised Democrats and urged them to work with Trump.

SEE ALSO: 'How much more American blood must we shed': Trump delivers his first prime-time address from the Oval Office amid a government shutdown over funding for his border wall

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• President Donald Trump in his first primetime address appealed to the public and drew parallels between his proposed steel barrier at the US-Mexico border, and the purported barriers from the homes of "wealthy politicians."
• "Some have suggested a barrier is immoral," Trump said on Tuesday night at the Oval Office. "Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes?"
• Trump appeared to reference a previous claim he made in a tweet, in which he claimed President Barack Obama's family had "a ten foot Wall" at their "mansion" in Washington D.C.
• Obama's neighbors disputed the claim.

President Donald Trump in his first primetime address appealed to the public and drew parallels between his proposed steel barrier at the US-Mexico border, and the purported barriers around the homes of "wealthy politicians."

"Some have suggested a barrier is immoral," Trump said on Tuesday night at the Oval Office. "Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes?"

"They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside but because they love the people on the inside," Trump added.

In a December tweet, Trump claimed the family of former President Barack Obama had "a ten foot Wall [sic]" at their "mansion" in Washington D.C.

"I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security," Trump tweeted. "The US needs the same thing, slightly larger version!"

Obama's neighbors disputed the claim, telling The Washington Post that there was no wall at the 8,200 square-foot building. The front steps to the home are reportedly open to the sidewalk, and the security fencing was said to have been included to accommodate the Secret Service, The Post's fact checkers explain.

"There's a fence that goes along the front of the house, but it's the same as the other neighbors have," one neighbor, who described Trump as having a "very active imagination," told The Post. "It's tastefully done."

In his highly-anticipated speech, Trump described the "crisis" at the border as a matter of "national security." But Trump stopped short of exercising his presidential authority to declare a national emergency, which would have conceivably allowed him divert government funds to military projects, including the border barrier.

While previous presidents from both parties have declared national emergencies during their tenure, a move to fund the controversial border barrier and circumvent Democratic opposition was widely panned by legal scholars.

The stalemate on passing a funding bill to open the government culminated into the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is now on its 18th day.

SEE ALSO: 'You're such a smart-a--': Kellyanne Conway unloads on CNN's Jim Acosta in fiery exchange after he asks if Trump 'will tell the truth'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

Tech-driven disruption in the insurance industry continues at pace, and we're now entering a new phase — the adaptation of underlying business models. 

That's leading to ongoing changes in the distribution segment of the industry, but more excitingly, we are starting to see movement in the fundamentals of insurance — policy creation, underwriting, and claims management. 

This report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, will briefly review major changes in the insurtech segment over the past year. It will then examine how startups and legacy players across the insurance value chain are using technology to develop new business models that cut costs or boost revenue, and, in some cases, both. Additionally, we will provide our take on the future of insurance as insurtech continues to proliferate. 

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Funding is flowing into startups and helping them scale, while legacy players have moved beyond initial experiments and are starting to implement new technology throughout their businesses. 
• Distribution, the area of the insurance value chain that was first to be disrupted, continues to evolve. 
• The fundamentals of insurance — policy creation, underwriting, and claims management — are starting to experience true disruption, while innovation in reinsurance has also continued at pace.
• Insurtechs are using new business models that are enabled by a variety of technologies. In particular, they're using automation, data analytics, connected devices, and machine learning to build holistic policies for consumers that can be switched on and off on-demand.
• Legacy insurers, as opposed to brokers, now have the most to lose — but those that move swiftly still have time to ensure they stay in the game.

 In full, the report:

• Reviews major changes in the insurtech segment over the past year.
• Examines how startups and legacy players across distribution, insurance, and reinsurance are using technology to develop new business models.
• Provides our view on what the future of the insurance industry looks like, which Business Insider Intelligence calls Insurtech 2.0.

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

	This report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports
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• Emergency personnel are responding to incidents involving suspected "hazardous materials" at numerous foreign consulates in Melbourne, Australia.
• International consulates in Melbourne, including the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Russia are believed to be affected.

Emergency personnel are responding to incidents involving suspected "hazardous materials" at numerous foreign consulates in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia on Tuesday.

International consulates in Melbourne and Canberra, including the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Russia are believed to be affected, according to Australian news agencies 10 Daily and 9 News. Authorities have issued at least 17 "hazardous material" warnings related to the incident.

Preliminary, unverified reports said the packages contained the words "asbestos" and "wear a mask," according to News.com.au.

"The circumstances surrounding the incidents are being investigated," the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

On Tuesday, local time, a package containing "suspicious" material found at the Consulate of Argentina contained no toxins, according to an Australian Fire and Rescue spokesperson.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

SEE ALSO: Trump compares his border barrier to the walls of 'wealthy' politicians’ homes

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NOW WATCH: Japanese lifestyle guru Marie Kondo explains how to organize your home once and never again

• Paul Manafort's lawyers accidentally unsealed a slew of new details about the lies Manafort has been accused of telling prosecutors working for the special counsel Robert Mueller after agreeing to cooperate in the Russia investigation.
• Manafort's lawyers revealed that Mueller has accused him of sharing confidential polling data from the Trump campaign with the former Russian military intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik.
• They also revealed that Mueller has accused Manafort of misleading prosecutors about his knowledge of a pro-Russia "peace plan" that was floated during the campaign and in the early days of the Trump administration.
• Manafort's lawyers did not issue a full-throated denial of Mueller's allegations at any point. Instead, they wrote that any misstatements on Manafort's part, "to the extent they occurred at all, were not intentional."

Lawyers representing Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, made a formatting error in a new court filing that accidentally revealed more details about Manafort's alleged lies to prosecutors after he struck a plea deal with the special counsel Robert Mueller.

The filing came in response to a December court filing from Mueller's office, in which prosecutors said Manafort told "discernible lies" about several topics.

They offered few details on the nature of the alleged lies, but they elaborated on the specific topics they claim Manafort misled prosecutors about. They included:

• His interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a former Russian intelligence operative who was charged, along with Manafort, with obstruction of justice last year.
• Kilimnik's role in the alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice by trying to influence the testimony of two witnesses last February.
• A $125,000 payment made to a firm in 2017 related to a debt that Manafort had incurred.
• His communications with Trump administration officials. According to prosecutors, Manafort told them that he only spoke with certain individuals before they joined the administration or after they left, but those statements were inconsistent with the truth.
  • In fact, prosecutors said, Manafort authorized someone on May 26 to speak with an administration official on his behalf.
  • The filing also pointed out that Manafort said in February that he had been in touch with a senior administration official until that month.
  • And a review of the former Trump campaign chief's electronic documents revealed additional contacts with administration officials, prosecutors said.
• Information that was "pertinent to another Department of Justice investigation." Prosecutors said Manafort first gave them information relevant to the investigation when he met with Mueller's team prior to pleading guilty. But they said he gave a "different and exculpatory version of events" after agreeing to cooperate.

Read more:Prosecutors say Paul Manafort breached his plea deal by telling 'discernible lies' after agreeing to cooperate

What Manafort's lawyers accidentally revealed

In Tuesday's filing, Manafort's lawyers accidentally revealed that prosecutors allege Manafort shared Trump campaign polling data with Kilimnik.

They wrote that Manafort did not intentionally mislead investigators about the issue. Instead, the wrote, such matters "simply were not at the forefront of Mr. Manafort's mind during the period at issue and it is not surprising at all that Mr. Manafort was unable to recall specific details prior to having his recollection refreshed."

According to the filing, Mueller’s office also says Manafort "conceded" that he may have discussed a Ukraine peace plan with Kilimnik on more than one occasion, and that Manafort "acknowledged" that he and Kilimnik met when both men traveled to Madrid.

In another redacted section, Manafort's lawyers wrote that during a proffer session with Mueller's team in September, Manafort told prosecutors that "he would have given the Ukrainian peace plan more thought, had the issue not been raised during the period he was engaged with work related to the presidential campaign."

At the time, his lawyers wrote, "issues and communications related to Ukrainian political events" weren't on Manafort's mind.

The US intelligence community has concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 US election with the specific purpose of sowing discord and tilting the race in Trump's favor. A key pillar in Mueller's Russia probe examines whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its goals, and if the Trump team offered anything to the Kremlin in exchange for its help during the election.

Read more:The Supreme Court handed Mueller a victory in his mysterious grand-jury subpoena fight

Along that thread, prosecutors are said to be examining a Russia-Ukraine "peace plan" that Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and longtime fixer who is now cooperating with Mueller, sought to push through in the early days of the Trump administration.

The plan Cohen, the Russian-born businessman Felix Sater, and the Ukrainian politician Andrey Artemenko pushed would have had the US lift sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow withdrawing its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. It would also allow Russia to maintain control over the territory of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.

Manafort surfaced as a figure of interest for prosecutors when details began spilling out during the 2016 campaign about his ties to pro-Russian interest in Ukraine. Investigators also began digging into whether Manafort worked as a conduit between the campaign and Russia to mitigate his mounting financial debts to wealthy Russians aligned with the Kremlin. Among those is the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who is close allies with Kilimnik.

Manafort is known to have offered Deripaska "private briefings" through Kilimnik about the campaign at the height of the election in an effort to resolve his debts to the aluminum magnate. In addition to communicating via email, Manafort and Kilimnik, who had worked together for years for pro-Russian Ukrainian interests, also met several times during the campaign.

Later in the filing, Manafort's lawyers addressed Mueller's contention that Manafort lied about a $125,000 payment made to a firm in 2017 related to a debt that he had incurred. "The Government has indicated that Mr. Manafort's statements about this payment are inconsistent with those of others, but the defense has not yet received any witness statements to support this contention," they wrote.

In response to prosecutors' claims that Manafort misled them about authorizing someone on May 26 to speak with an administration official on his behalf, Manafort's lawyers wrote that the claim relates to a text message from a third-party asking permission to use Manafort's name as an introduction in the event that the third-party met Trump.

"This does not constitute outreach by Mr. Manafort to the President," his lawyers said.

They added that "the second example" identified by Mueller "is hearsay purportedly offered by an undisclosed third party and the defense has not been provided with the statement (or any witness statements that form the basis of alleging intentional falsehoods)."

Manafort's team did not issue a full-throated denial of prosecutors' claims. Instead, they said "any alleged misstatements, to the extent they occurred at all, were not intentional."

SEE ALSO: The Supreme Court handed Mueller a victory in his mysterious grand-jury subpoena fight

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

This is a preview of The Reverse Logistics Report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

With e-commerce becoming a lucrative shopping channel, retailers and their logistics partners have been primarily focused on how to quickly move goods through the supply chain and into the hands of consumers — a process commonly referred to as forward logistics. However, the opportunities presented by the growing popularity of e-commerce also come with a challenging, multibillion-dollar downside: returns.

Return rates for e-commerce purchases are between 25% and 30%, compared with just 9% for in-store purchases. Turning reverse logistics — the process of returning goods from end users back to their origins to either recapture value or properly dispose of material — into a costly and high-stakes matter for retailers.

Not only are retailers experiencing more returns as a result of e-commerce growth, but consumer expectations also demand that retailers provide a seamless process. In fact, 92% of consumers agree that they are more likely to shop at a store again if it offers a hassle-free return policy (e.g. free return shipping labels). Some consumers even place large orders with the intention of returning certain items. 

And e-commerce sales are only going up from here, exacerbating the issue and making retailers' need for help more dire. However, for logistics firms that can offer cost-effective reverse logistics solutions, this has opened up a significant opportunity to capture a share of rapidly growing e-commerce logistics costs in the US, which hit $117 billion last year, according to Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates. 

InThe Reverse Logistics Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines what makes reverse logistics so much more challenging than forward logistics, explores the trends that have driven retailers to finally improve the way in which returns move through their supply chains, and highlights how logistics firms can act to win over retailers' return dollars.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• E-commerce is now a core shopping channel for retailers, and it's still growing. US e-commerce sales are set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $1 trillion in sales, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates.
• Booming e-commerce sales have driven product returns through the roof. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that US e-commerce returns will increase at a CAGR of 19% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $300 million dollars. 
• Consumers have high expectations about how returns are handled, and retailers are struggling to find cost-effective ways to meet their demands. Sixty-four percent of shoppers stated they would be hesitant to shop at a retailer ever again if they found issues with the returns process. And retailers don't have the expertise to effectively keep up with how demanding consumers are about returns — 44% of retailers said their margins were negatively impacted by handling and packaging returns, for example.
• Logistics firms are well positioned to solve — and profit from — returns. These companies can take advantage of their scale and expertise to solve pain points retailers commonly experience as goods move through the reverse supply chain. 
• Reverse logistics solutions themselves present a lucrative opportunity — but they're also appealing in the potential inroads they offer to supply chain management. The global third-party logistics market is estimated to be valued at $865 billion in 2018, according to Bekryl. 

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• President Donald Trump reportedly didn't want to give his televised address on border security on Tuesday, and thought it was pointless.
• He also doesn't want to visit the US-Mexico border on Thursday, but said during an off-the-record lunch with television anchors that he'd been talked into it by advisers, according to The New York Times.
• "It's not going to change a damn thing, but I'm still doing it," Trump reportedly said.
• Trump gave the address on the 18th day of a government shutdown, characterizing the situation at the border as a "crisis" that could required a "physical barrier."

President Donald Trump reportedly told television anchors in an off-the-record lunch on Tuesday that he didn't even want to give a televised address to the nation on border security later that day, dismissing it as pointless.

The New York Times, citing people briefed on the discussion, said he was reluctant to both give the address and agree to visit the US-Mexico border on Thursday, but was talked into both actions by his advisers.

"It's not going to change a damn thing, but I'm still doing it," Trump said, according to The Times. At one point, Trump even reportedly said the border trip was just a photo opportunity.

"These people behind you said it's worth it," he said, gesturing to aides including Bill Shine, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kellyanne Conway.

Read more: 'How much more American blood must we shed': Trump delivers his first prime-time address from the Oval Office amid a government shutdown over funding for his border wall

CNN host Chris Cuomo, however, offered up a different characterization of the lunch on Tuesday, saying Trump appeared confident in his arguments.

"I was at that lunch this morning with President Trump and the vice president. The content was off the record but I will tell you he's much more compelling making this case in person than he was on the teleprompter tonight," he said. "That's going to matter."

Trump gave the address on the 18th day of a partial government shutdown, sparked by a disagreement over $5.7 billion in funding for Trump's long-promised border wall. Congressional Democrats have refused to provide the funding, and Trump has thus far refused to back down from his demands.

At certain points during his remarks, Trump backed away from calling it a "wall." He falsely said Democrats had requested a steel barrier instead of a concrete wall, though Democrats have denied that.

"Law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7 billion for a physical barrier," Trump said. "This barrier is absolutely critical to border security."

Yet critics seized on Trump's remarks, noting that many of his statements — including false and misleading remarks about drugs at the border and criminal activity among immigrants — were merely recycled arguments he has made many times in the past.

Read more: 'The president has chosen fear': Democrats respond to Trump's Oval Office address

There had been speculation that Trump would use Tuesday's address to declare a national emergency that would allow him to bypass Congress to fund the wall, but Trump made no mention of the action, though he characterized the situation at the border as a "crisis."

"To every member of Congress, pass a bill that ends this crisis," Trump said. "This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. This is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American citizens we serve."

Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi refuted Trump's remarks, accusing him of stoking fear in order to fulfill his campaign promise, at the expense of hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers.

"There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference," Schumer said. "Federal workers are about to miss a paycheck. Some families can't get a mortgage to buy a new home. Farmers and small businesses won't get loans they desperately need."

SEE ALSO: 'How much more American blood must we shed': Trump delivers his first prime-time address from the Oval Office amid a government shutdown over funding for his border wall

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• John Kasich, former governor of Ohio and 2016 GOP presidential candidate, issued a statement in response to President Donald Trump's prime-time Oval Office address on Tuesday night.
• Kasich, a prominent and outspoken Republican critic of Trump, also scolded Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who issued their own televised response after Trump's speech.
• "The President and Democrats need to learn how to compromise and put the American people first," Kasich said in a a statement. "It starts with the President putting the country ahead of his politics and being more flexible with his goals."

John Kasich, former governor of Ohio and 2016 GOP presidential candidate, issued a statement in response to President Donald Trump's prime-time Oval Office address.

Kasich, a prominent Republican critic of Trump and possible 2020 challenger, also scolded Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who issued their own televised response.

"The President and Democrats need to learn how to compromise and put the American people first," Kasich said in a a statement. "It starts with the President putting the country ahead of his politics and being more flexible with his goals."

"People are going to start hurting from the government shutdown because of partisan politics," Kasich said.

The partial government shutdown — which both impacts 800,000 federal employees, and the functionality of important government agencies like Homeland Security and the Food and Drug Administration — is now in its 18th day. It began due to an impasse between the White House and Congress over $5 billion for Trump's proposed border barrier.

The new Democratic House majority, the Senate, and the White House have thus far failed to reach a compromise, and federal workers are likely to miss paychecks — roughly 420,000 of those who are deemed "essential" employees must still work even without pay.

Through his address, which discussed border security, Trump made his case to Americans for his border barrier. Democrats responded, asking Trump to reopen the government and to tackle border security through other means — including technology, increased personnel, and other infrastructure.

Kasich's take: "Border security is important, but both sides should be willing to negotiate on how we do it."

In November 2018, Kasich told ABC's "This Week" that he was "very seriously" considering a run for president in 2020.

SEE ALSO: Trump compares his border barrier to the walls of 'wealthy' politicians’ homes

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• French tech company Withings unveiled Business Insider's pick as the best wearable of CES 2019: the Move ECG.  
• The Move ECG is a smartwatch that can track activity, but also measure electrocardiograms and detect atrial fibrillation like the latest Apple Watch.
• Unlike the Apple Watch, Withings' Move ECG will cost a fraction of the price — just $130 — when it launches in the second quarter of 2019. 

LAS VEGAS — French tech company Withings took the crown of the best wearable at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show with its new hybrid watch. 

Withings launched the Move ECG at CES 2019, a smartwatch with both activity tracking and the ability to measure electrocardiograms (ECGs), and send them directly to your doctor. Plus, the watch can detect atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeats.

The watch also has the ability to track pace, distance, and elevation, as well as automatic tracking for walking, running, swimming, and biking. Plus, the Move ECG is water resistant up to 50 meters, can track sleep, and can set silent alarms. It comes in two watch face colors — black and white — as well as a variety of band colors

Business Insider checked out the new Move ECG at CES. Here's what you need to know:

What it is: The Move ECG hybrid smartwatch is able to monitor your activity as well as measure electrocardiograms, or ECGs.. 

Who makes it: Withings, a French consumer electronics company known for its smart scale, smart blood pressure cuff, and line of smartwatches. 

Why it's the best: Move ECG is able to measure an electrocardiogram and send the reading to your doctor, as well as detect atrial fibrillation — two of the much-hyped features of the Apple Watch Series 4 and Watch OS5. But while the new Apple Watch starts at $399, the Move ECG costs only $130. Plus, thanks to its hybrid design, the battery on the Move ECG will last up to 12 months. The Apple Watch Series 4, with its touchscreen display, gets about 18 hours.

Where and when you can get it: Move ECG will be available sometime in the second quarter of 2019 and will be available to buy on Withings' website. 

How much it will cost: $129.95.

SEE ALSO: Google and Lenovo have teamed up to make an $80 smart alarm clock that will wake you up gently every morning

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2019 will be a year of opportunities and challenges in the world of digital media.

The digital duopoly of Google and Facebook will face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny, as Amazon muscles its way into the digital ad space.

Meanwhile, pay-TV companies will continue to struggle as cord-cutting accelerates and TV consumption shifts to digital, and millennials and Gen Z will drive explosive growth in eSports.

Find out about these transformational trends and more in Business Insider Intelligence’s Top 10 Trends in Digital Media slide deck.

As an added bonus, you will gain immediate access to our exclusive Business Insider Intelligence Daily newsletter.

To get your copy of this FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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• Business Insider has scoured the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to find the very best cutting-edge tech.
• The best smart home tech we saw at CES 2019 would make Netflix's Marie Kondo blush.
• FoldiMate's laundry-folding robot takes the chore out of folding fresh clothes.

Everyone hates folding laundry.

But you don't need to change the person you are, or hire someone, to save yourself from the endless cycle of folding clothes.

In 2019, FoldiMate is launching its laundry-folding robot, and we got a glimpse of it on the showroom floor at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

FoldiMate says its robot "will fold most types of shirts, blouses, or pants from age 6 to adult size XXL. It will also fold standard size towels and pillowcases."

What it is: A robot that can fold your clothes.

Who makes it: FoldiMate, based in Israel.

Why it's the best: No one likes folding laundry. FoldiMate's robotic solution may be a bit large, but you can't argue with the results.

Where and when you can get it: FoldiMate is aiming for a "late 2019" launch. You can add your name to the waitlist on its website.

How much it will cost: FoldiMate says the target price will be $980.

SEE ALSO: The best wearable we saw at CES 2019

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• The D-Link 5G NR Enhanced Gateway is the best WiFi router of CES 2019.
• It received internet data from your internet provider wirelessly via a 5G network. 
• It's also a mesh router for extending your WiFi network throughout your home efficiently, unlike a traditional WiFi extender.

Networking company D-Link showed off a new router that contains all the important buzzwords in a WiFi router today, as well as the not-too-distant future.

It's the D-Link 5G NR Enhanced Gateway, and it's designed to receive a super-fast wireless 5G signal from an internet service provider, and deliver internet to your WiFi-connected devices at home, giving you estimated gigabit internet speeds. It's also mesh WiFi compatible, which is a type of WiFi system that helps deliver strong and fast internet throughout your home with satellite routers dotted throughout your home, and it works a lot better than the traditional WiFi extender setup. 

It's still early days for 5G and home internet. Verizon currently has a 5G home internet service available in limited markets, but it's 300 megabit-per-second speed isn't especially impressive, at least not compared to the hype surrounding 5G over the last couple of years. The D-Link 5G NR Enhanced Gateway supports a faster form of 5G than Verizon current 5G network, thus it could potentially give you faster speeds.

The majority of us WiFi users and D-Link itself is waiting on internet service providers to more comprehensively build out their 5G networks. As of yet, 5G rollout progress appears slow. Still, D-Link's 5G NR Enhanced Gateway router offers a positive glimpse as to what we can expect when 5G becomes more mainstream. 

What it is: A WiFi router that can receive super-fast wireless 5G internet data for your home WiFi.

Who makes it: D-Link

Why it's the best: It's a glimpse into what WiFi routers should do when 5G networks roll out more consistently and quickly. 

Where and when you can get it: No details as of yet. 

How much it will cost: No prices available. 

SEE ALSO: 17 of the wackiest photos from the biggest tech convention of the year

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NOW WATCH: These smart palm trees in Dubai can charge your phone and provide free Wi-Fi

• Business Insider has scoured the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to find the very best cutting-edge tech.
• The best fitness tech we saw made everyone in our group stop in their tracks. 
• FlexiSpot's all-in-one desk bicycle lets you work out while doing actual work at your desk — hopefully making you a happier and healthier worker in the process.

LAS VEGAS — The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is in full swing.

While touring the expansive showroom floors, there was one particular fitness gadget that made everyone in our small group of journalists stop in their tracks: FlexiSpot's all-in-one desk bike. It isn't flashy, but it doesn't need to be. It's just a great idea.

The Deskcise Pro is a stationary bike, but it also works as a standing desk. You can sit, stand, or cycle, depending on what you feel like doing — but if you do feel like cycling, the Deskcise Pro features eight resistance levels so you can work out to your desired level.

The photo above doesn't show it, but you can slot a full-motion desktop into the front of the bike, which can hold your laptop, or anything else you need to get work done. Or, you can plant the bike in front of a workstation or cubicle; it's very flexible. 

What it is: The Deskcise Pro all-in-one desk bike.

Who makes it: FlexiSpot, based in Livermore, California.

Why it's the best: It's not flashy, but it works. It encourages fitness while working, which is a clever idea to tackle the all-too-common sedentary lifestyle.

Where and when you can get it: It's now available, from FlexiSpot's website.

How much it will cost: $399.

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• Lenovo's 7th-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon was the best laptop of CES 2019.
• It's incredibly light-weight — lighter than the new 2018 MacBook Air which is known for its lightness.
• It is the perfect combination of performance, design, and portability, making the new X1 Carbon as good as it gets when it comes to laptops. 

Conceptual design and technology in laptops was surprisingly scant at CES this year, which left no choice but to pick a refreshing, unapologetically practical and reasonable top laptop of CES 2019.  

It's the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th-generation, and I'm completely enamored by its absurdly lightweight and beautiful, traditional, and signature IBM/Lenovo design. Indeed, it's lighter than the new 2018 MacBook Air, which is already incredibly light.

Worthy of note, Lenovo's ThinkPad series of laptops also consistently have the best keyboards and trackpads on Windows devices. All this combined with great specs makes the Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 the most desirable laptop I saw at CES 2019. I nearly tried to buy it right there and then at the show. 

What it is: A laptop that's lighter than Apple's lightest and thinnest laptop — the new 2018 MacBook Air — with a classic, yet, modern aesthetic, and great specs.

Who makes it: Lenovo.

Why it's the best: It's easy to put great specs in any computer, but less easy to make it look good. To make a powerful laptop that looks great and weighs under 2.5 pounds is a feat that should get the attention it deserves.

Where and when you can get it: From Lenovo starting June 2019.

How much it will cost: Price is estimated at $1,710, which is a little higher than I'd like, but it's not the final pricing.

SEE ALSO: Samsung's latest laptops have a refreshed, modern look that makes them way more appealing

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• The LG Signature OLED TV R stole the show at last year's CES, and it was still the most impressive TV at CES 2019.
• The major TV trend at CES 2019 was 8K resolution, and it looks incredible, but they were essentially just TVs with upgraded resolutions at the end of the day. 
• LG is the dominant force in OLED panels, which allow for flexible designs like the Signature OLED TV R.

CES 2019 was packed with gorgeous and amazing TVs, but the model that stole the show was last year's incredible LG rollable OLED TV, which is now called the LG Signature OLED R.

Indeed, the LG Signature OLED R was still the most impressive TV at CES this year, despite 8K resolution being the trend. It's not that 8K TVs from companies like Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, TCL, Hisense et al are bad, but rather that the Signature OLED R is simply still more innovative in terms of design and technology than a resolution upgrade.

Much of the Signature OLED R's appeal comes from LG's dominance over OLED display technology, which not only looks the best, but is flexible and allows for unique and innovative TV designs and functions.  No other TV that uses traditional LCD display technology can roll itself into an enclosure when you're not using it, or can adjust its height to eliminate letterboxing — when a video, typically a movie, is shot in a non-standard aspect ratio, resulting in black bars above and below the actual picture.

What it is: A TV that can also roll itself into an enclosure when not in use, or can adjust its height for certain content. 

Who makes it: LG Electronics

Why it's the best: OLED delivers the ultimate in picture quality, and the Signature OLED R is the most unique in terms of design and function. No other TV does what it can do. It also comes with a built-in soundbar with one of the most highly rated audio standards, Dolby Atmos. 

Where and when you can get it: No details on where yet, but it'll be available in the second half of 2019, according to LG. 

How much it will cost: No price announcements as of yet, but expect something astronomical.

SEE ALSO: Samsung's new screen that clamps to your desk is incredibly simple — and it's the best thing to happen to computer monitors in years

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