TV News LIES

Top trade officials from the 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have agreed on a bare-bones plan to bring the pact into force without the United States, according to a joint statement provided to POLITICO by the Chilean government.

The move came one day after President Donald Trump sharply criticized large multilateral trade deals during his keynote speech at the annual APEC leaders summit here.

"Ministers are pleased to announce that they have agreed on the core elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)," the statement said.

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President Trump is being “played” by Russian President Vladimir Putin, two former intelligence chiefs said on Sunday, responding to Trump’s statement that Putin “means it” when he denies the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

In a joint appearance on CNN's State of the Union, James Clapper, the ex-director of national intelligence, and John Brennan, the former CIA director, both slammed Trump’s remarks as naïve and dangerous.

Arkansas has identified a New York pharmaceutical company as the maker of one of its lethal injection drugs, and the company says it doesn't want any of its products used in executions.

A package insert for the state's supply of midazolam released by the state Wednesday identifies Athenex as the maker of the drug, one of three used in Arkansas' lethal injection process. The insert was included as part of an affidavit filed by state Correction Department officials.

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Saudi Prince Mansour bin Muqrin and other officials were killed in a helicopter crash near Yemen on Sunday.

The helicopter was carrying eight people, including the prince and all of them died during the crash.

He was accompanied by the Undersecretary of the Asir Sulayman al-Juraish and the Secretary of Asir region.

The helicopter crashed while the group was touring an area near the coast in Asir province near the border of Yemen where Prince Mansour is governor.

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Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates blasted President Trump following his calls for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Hillary Clinton, saying “this must stop.”

“DOJ not a tool for POTUS to use to go after his enemies and protect his friends,” Yates said in a tweet Saturday. “Respect rule of law and DOJ professionals. This must stop.”

Trump has renewed calls for the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Clinton in recent days.

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Alimony payments mandated by divorce agreements could lose their beneficial tax treatment.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, unveiled on Thursday, includes a provision to kill the deduction that taxpayers get for making such payments to an ex-spouse. Although it's just one of the many tax breaks eliminated under the legislation, experts say it will end up most hurting the person receiving the money.

"Alimony payers won't be able to afford to give as much because they'll have to give it to Uncle Sam instead," said Nancy Hetrick, a certified divorce financial analyst and senior advisor at Better Money Decisions in Phoenix, Arizona. "There will be less money to go around to support the two households."

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An extensive report published by the federal government Friday asserts that humans are the primary driver of climate change, causing higher temperatures, sea level rise, agriculture problems and more.

The report, the first volume of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, is years in the making, and involved contributions from more than a dozen federal agencies.

It is meant to be an authoritative assessment of the current state of climate change science.

Following Monday’s revelation that his campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents about his contact with Kremlin-linked Russians, President Trump tried to distance himself from Papadopoulos, saying, “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar.”

That’s a hard claim to swallow, since Papadopoulos was in regular contact with top campaign officials and met with a number of foreign officials as a Trump surrogate. Trump once called him an “excellent guy.” The Washington Post reports that he even sat next to future attorney general Jeff Sessions at a dinner for campaign advisers weeks before the Republican National Convention.