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'Little lies point to bigger lies': James Comey writes that the FBI's investigation into Kavanaugh won't be 'as hard as Republicans hope it will be'

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James Comey

  • Former FBI director James Comey wrote in an op-ed Sunday that the FBI's background check into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will not be "as hard as Republicans hope it will be."
  • FBI investigators "know that little lies point to bigger lies," Comey wrote. "They know that obvious lies by the nominee about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig deeper."
  • It's unclear how deep the FBI will be able to dig, however, because Republicans and the White House have imposed significant constraints on the scope of the background check.


The former FBI director, James Comey, weighed in Sunday on the recent firestorm surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the decision to order an FBI investigation into the sexual-misconduct allegations against him.

In an op-ed published by The New York Times, Comey wrote that “the FBI is up for this,” referring to the background check. "It’s not as hard as Republicans hope it will be."

Comey continued, "FBI agents are experts at interviewing people and quickly dispatching leads to their colleagues around the world to follow with additional interviews. Unless limited in some way by the Trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days, if necessary."

But multiple media reports this weekend have suggested that the FBI’s inquiry is far more constrained than previously known.

Initially, Republicans set just two parameters: that the investigation had to be complete in under a week, and that it had to be limited to "current credible" allegations against Kavanaugh.

But on Saturday, NBC News and The Times reported that the White House and Senate Republicans gave the FBI a list of just four witnesses to interview. Investigators are also reportedly barred from pulling records that could be critical to corroborating parts of the testimony given by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982, to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week.

Republicans and Kavanaugh’s defenders have argued that because the alleged assault happened 36 years ago, Ford may be remembering it wrong, and that it should carry less weight compared to Kavanaugh’s standing since then.

"But FBI agents know time has very little to do with memory," Comey wrote. "They know every married person remembers the weather on their wedding day, no matter how long ago. Significance drives memory."

Comey also alluded to the apparent discrepancy between statements Kavanaugh made to the committee about his drinking habits in high school and college, and what some of his former classmates remember based on their encounters with him.

In particular, Kavanaugh claims that he was not a heavy drinker when he was young and that he never drank to excess or had gaps in his memory. His former classmates, conversely, have said that they recall multiple instances when Kavanaugh was heavily intoxicated and likely blacked out.

Kavanaugh's high school yearbook also appears to contain multiple references to partying and heavy drinking. But the Supreme Court nominee said under oath that they were innocent references to inside jokes that had nothing to do with what the common meanings of those terms typically are.

FBI investigators "know that little lies point to bigger lies," Comey wrote. "They know that obvious lies by the nominee about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig deeper."

It's unclear how deep the FBI will be able to dig, however, given the additional limits that have been placed on the scope of the investigation.

"There isn't a finder of fact in the country that would hamstring investigators like this," said Jeffrey Cramer, a longtime former federal prosecutor in Chicago. "It would be comical if it wasn't so important."

SEE ALSO: The FBI's investigation into Kavanaugh is far more constrained than previously known, and experts say 'it would be comical if it wasn't so important'

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A powerful typhoon is ripping through Japan, injuring dozens and causing mass destruction in its wake

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japan typhoon trami

  • A massive typhoon is ripping through Japan, leaving at least two dead and injuring more than 100 others.
  • As of Monday afternoon, powerful Typhoon Trami has been categorized by Japan's Meteorological Agency as "strong."
  • The eye of the storm is now approaching northern Japan at 95km/h (59 mph), with maximum sustained winds of 126 km/h (78 mph). 
  • The typhoon marks the 24th to pound the area this year, and Japan is still reeling from a major earthquake and a super typhoon last month. 

A massive typhoon is ripping through Japan, leaving at least two dead and injuring more than one hundred others. 

As of Monday afternoon, local time, powerful Typhoon Trami has been categorized by Japan's Meteorological Agency as "strong." According to the agency the eye of the storm is now approaching northern Japan at 95km/h (59 mph) with maximum sustained winds of 126 km/h (78 mph) and gusts of 180 km/h (112 mph). 

Warnings were issued across several prefectures in central and northern Japan. On Sunday afternoon, more than 3.7 million people were ordered to evacuate, according to national broadcaster NHK.

On Monday morning, trains experienced major delays, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. The storm passed through Tokyo overnight, bringing record-strength winds that toppled trees and damaged buildings. 

According to NHK, more than 390,000 homes in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures remain without power. 

One man died following landslides in the western prefecture of Tottori, according to Kyodo News. Another was found dead in river in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, and at least 100 others have been injured.

The typhoon marks the 24th to pound the area this year, according to Kyodo. Last month, Typhoon Jebi, considered to be one of the strongest in decades, slammed Osaka, leaving 17 dead and hundreds injured, and causing at least $2.3 billion in damages that the country is still recovering from.

And in early September, a 6.7 magnitude hurricane killed over 40 people in the northern Hokkaido region, causing massive power outages and widespread destruction. 

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US, Canada reach an agreement on NAFTA rewrite, paving the way for an overhaul of the massive trade deal

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trudeau trump

  • The US and Canada came to an agreement Sunday to tweak key pieces of the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA.
  • The US-Canada deal follows a separate agreement between the US and Mexico reached in August.
  • The two deals will pave the way for a full overhaul of the 25-year-old NAFTA deal.
  • President Donald Trump long promised to renegotiate or rip up NAFTA.

Trade negotiators for the US and Canada on Sunday evening put the finishing touches on a deal to reshape the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, known as NAFTA, sealing the largest trade-deal rewrite of President Donald Trump's tenure.

The agreement came just hours before a deadline set by the Trump administration, will pave the way for a vote in Congress to approve the deal after more than a year of negotiations among the US, Canada, and Mexico over the trilateral agreement.

A senior Trump administration official said Sunday night that the new deal will be renamed the USMCA: the US-Canada-Mexico Agreement. Trump has publicly groaned about NAFTA's name.

"Today, Canada and the United States reached an agreement, alongside Mexico, on a new, modernized trade agreement for the 21st Century: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)," the US and Canada said in a joint statement.

The statement went on: "USMCA will give our workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses a high-standard trade agreement that will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region.  It will strengthen the middle class, and create good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people who call North America home."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it was a "good day for Canada" when leaving his office on Sunday.

Negotiators for the US and Canada were able to overcome major sticking points between the two countries, including Canada's protection of its dairy market and a system for settling trade disputes.

Here's a rundown of where the two sides came out on a few of the major issues:

  • Dairy: Canada will allow American farmers more access to its dairy market, raising quotas on the amount of US dairy that can come into the country and eliminating a pricing system that made it more difficult for US farmers to enter the market. Canada will continue to impose severe tariffs on any US dairy that exceeds the quota. The access level is reportedly identical to what Canada agreed to give up as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), out of which Trump pulled the US early in his tenure.
  • Dispute resolution: Chapter 19, an extrajudicial trade dispute system that allows NAFTA members to bring grievances against other members over allegedly unfair trade practices, will remain in place as it is under the current NAFTA. The preservation of Chapter 19 was a big goal of the Canadian negotiators. According to senior Trump administration officials, Chapter 11 — which allows investors to bring disputes against other NAFTA member governments — will be phased out with Canada, a key goal for the US.
  • Tariffs: Canada received some assurances that any future tariffs on imported cars and auto parts will not hit the country. There was no formal agreement on the US's existing steel and aluminum tariffs, according to a senior Trump administration official.

In addition, Canada joined on to updated agreement made between the US and Mexico on a six-year review period for NAFTA and updates on intellectual property treatment.

The dairy issue was a longtime target for Trump, who insisted that the high protective barriers for US dairy farmers trying to export to Canada were unfair.

Canada, meanwhile, wanted to maintain Chapter 19, a key element of NAFTA that allowed countries to bring a grievance against another NAFTA member regarding unfair trade practices or tariffs. The procedure was essentially a fast-track version of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlements but only applied to the three NAFTA members.

The agreement also comes after the US and Mexico came to a separate deal that strengthened rules around auto production in August. The Trump administration repeatedly threatened to move forward with the bilateral deal, excluding Canada.

(Read more: Here are all the details of the US-Mexico trade agreement»)

Deadline day — and where we go from here

The new NAFTA deal also came on the last day before a Trump-imposed deadline to reach an agreement. Trump is renegotiating NAFTA under what is known as Trade Promotion Authority. While TPA gives Trump the ability to send a deal to Congress for a simple majority vote, it also includes a statutory 60-day notification period.

The timeline of the notification period has provided urgency to spearhead a NAFTA deal through Congress and onto the desk of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto before President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador takes office in December. While López Obrador did have representatives present during the US-Mexico talks, US and Mexican officials worried about about possible political upheaval around the changeover.

The US-Canada deal appears to be a victory for both sides. On one hand, Trump is able to fulfill a rewrite of a deal he once called the "worst trade deal ever made." On the other, Trudeau preserves a deal that Trump repeatedly threatened to scrap altogether.

The deal must clear a series of procedural hurdles to get to Congress for a vote, which is unlikely to come before 2019.

In addition to opening the door for a NAFTA rewrite, the deal could also ease trade tensions between the US and Canada over Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Trump announced that the US would impose a 25% tariff on imports of Canadian steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum in June, which in turn prompted Canada to respond with retaliatory tariffs on a slew of US products in July.

SEE ALSO: China's latest move shows it's committed to fighting Trump in the trade war for the long haul

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The mother of a girl who died from an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette described hearing her child's last moments over the phone

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natasha ednan laperouse flight

  • The mother of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died from an allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich in 2016, has described listening to her final moments over the phone.
  • Natasha died during a flight from London to Nice, France, with her father. Her mother was waiting to catch a later plane to join them.
  • A coroner in the UK last week concluded last week that Pret A Manger had not properly warned Natasha of what she was about to eat.
  • Pret A Manger has since apologized for Natasha's death and said it "will learn from it."

The mother of a 15-year-old who died from an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette has described listening to her daughter die on the phone.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, whose daughter Natasha died of an anaphylactic shock in 2016, said that her husband, Nadim, called her with the news that her daughter was having a serious reaction to the sandwich.

The baguette's bread contained sesame — to which Natasha was severely allergic — but was not labelled to reflect this.

Ednan-Laperouse said her husband called her to say Natasha was reacting badly to something she had eaten. He called again a few hours later to say she was on the brink of death, and had only moments to say goodbye.

Natasha had bought and eaten a baguette with artichoke, olive, and tapenade shortly before boarding a flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Nice, France, for the summer holidays.

She suffered a cardiac arrest and an anaphylactic shock while on the plane. The father and daughter went straight to a hospital in Nice when they landed, where doctors tried to save her life.

Earlier in the day Nadim had called Tanya to say that their daughter was seriously ill, and that she had to fly to France immediately, Tanya told the BBC's "Today" radio program on Monday.

natasha ednan laperouse family

"Nad was calling regularly to say it was really bad, that she [Natasha] wasn't expected to make it," Tanya said, according to The Telegraph.

She managed to get a flight to France that day but the plane was delayed by six hours, she told the program. She was at the departure gates at London's Stansted Airport waiting to board a flight to Nice when her husband called, asking her to say goodbye to their daughter.

"Nad phoned to say: 'She's going to die, she's going to die, within a minute, maybe two. You've got to say goodbye to her now. This is your only chance,'" she told the BBC.

Her last words to her daughter were, according to the Mail on Sunday: "Tashi, I love you so much, darling. I'll be with you soon. I'll be with you."

pret a manger olive baguette

She added to the BBC: "The shock — I can't — it's actually the grief immediately. I spoke to her and then I actually collapsed. I was just alone. I was aware that there were lots of people around me, children were running around — I couldn't scream or howl or anything.

"I just literally fell into — I was engulfed by grief, and just lost ability to stand or get up again."

Upon arriving to the hospital in Nice, Tanya said: "I just held her and kept talking to her," until hospital officials took away Natasha's body.

Nice France

An inquest in the UK, where Ednan-Laperouse bought the baguette, concluded last Friday that Pret A Manger had not properly warned her of what she was about to eat.

The coroner, Dr Sean Cummings, called Pret A Manger's allergy labeling "inadequate."

Cummings added, according to ITV News: "There was no specific allergen information on the baguette packaging or on the (food display cabinet) and Natasha was reassured by that."

UK food-labeling regulations do not require restaurants that make and package food on-site, like Pret A Manger, to label allergen information on each individual product, according to the BBC.

pret a manger baguette

British coroner courts aim to determine the cause of a person's death, but do not attribute responsibility.

But Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse have blamed Pret A Manger for their daughter's death.

Tanya said, according to The Telegraph: "We now know she didn't die on our watch – she died on Pret's watch, and all thanks to the absence of two little words on the packaging of her sandwich.

"If the label had listed sesame seeds Natasha wouldn't have touched it and she'd still be alive."

The couple are now campaigning for UK food-labeling laws to change to protect other children with allergies. The coroner also said he would write to the government on his concerns about allergen labeling laws, ITV News reported last week.

Tanya said, according to the Telegraph: "We haven't touched her room. Her clothes are still on the floor. Her homework's on the table. We haven't unpacked her school bag or the bag she took that day.

“I still look for her on the street, in public places. Adidas trainers, long dark hair in a bun. I look for her. But she’s just lost. You don’t know how you carry on living."

Clive Schlee, the chief executive of Pret A Manger, said in a statement to Business Insider last week that the chain was "deeply sorry" and "will learn from this."

SEE ALSO: Pret A Manger was warned 6 times about its bread before a 15-year-old girl died after eating a baguette

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Melania Trump is headed to Africa — take a look back at past first ladies' trips to the continent

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first ladies africa

First lady Melania Trump departs this week for her first big solo international trip through several African countries.

The first lady announced last week she planned to work closely with the United States Agency for International Development to focus on efforts similar to her childhood wellness initiative while visiting Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt.

Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told CNN that healthcare, education, conservation and tourism were top priorities on the trip's agenda, and "as with all that the first lady does, the well-being of children."

Trump previously said she is excited for her first time in Africa "to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about its rich culture and history."

African countries have been a popular destination for first ladies on goodwill tours that sometimes bring aid or attention to the continent.

Take a look at the last four first ladies' time in Africa:

SEE ALSO: 14 of Melania Trump's most expensive outfits

DON'T MISS: Trump reportedly warned Melania against launching an anti-cyberbullying campaign because of his own Twitter habits, but she insisted on doing it anyway

Before she was first lady, the late Barbara Bush accompanied Vice President George H.W. Bush on a 1985 relief trip to western Sudan, where she helped feed refugees.

Source: The New York Times



First lady Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea embarked on a two-week trip to sub-Saharan Africa in March 1997.

Source: Washington Post



They toured the most notable sights in several countries, including Senegal's House of Slaves, also known as the "door of no return."

Sources: Washington Post, Atlas Obscura



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

China 'publicly disappeared' its most famous actress 3 months ago with only cryptic clues left

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fan bingbing

  • One of China's most well-known actresses has been missing since July 1.
  • Fan Bingbing was last seen visiting a children's hospital in Beijing. She has also been inactive on social media.
  • Her disappearance came after a journalist with state-run TV accused her of tax evasion.
  • Earlier this year a state-run newspaper said Fan was "under control," but that report was quickly deleted.
  • China has banned its state media from reporting about her, so we are no closer to knowing what's happened.
  • Many companies she advertised for have since pulled her face from their campaigns.

Fan Bingbing, one of China's most prominent actresses, went missing exactly three months ago.

She was last seen in public on July 1, when she visited a children's hospital in Beijing, according to the South China Morning Post.

Her latest post on microblogging site Weibo was on June 2, although her account was seen liking multiple posts on July 23, the newspaper reported. She previously posted on social media at least once a day.

Fan's disappearance came shortly after she was accused of signing secret contracts for a movie to avoid paying taxes. She has appeared in dozens of movies, including the 2014 film "X-Men: Days of Future Past," and appeared in ad campaigns for well-known brands like Louis Vuitton and De Beers.

fan bingbing xmen

In May, Cui Yongyuan, a former TV host with the state-run China Central Television, suggested that the actress had signed two contracts: One for 10 million yuan ($1.5 million), which was used for her taxes, and another 50 million yuan ($7.3 million), which was kept secret.

These are referred to as "yin-yang contracts" likely named because one contract is public and the other is not. In Mandarin Chinese, yin means dark and yang means light.

Fan's representatives later released a statement accusing Cui of insinuation and defamation, and Cui later apologized, according to the Straits Times.

But that appeared not to be enough to save her from state scrutiny.

fan bingbing

In late July, the independent Chinese newspaper The Economic Observer reported that police in Jiangsu province were examining Fan's financial case and that several of Fan's staff members were also under police investigation.

But shortly after it was published, that report appeared to have been taken offline. Posts speculating on Fan's whereabouts were also removed from Weibo.

In early September, some two months after Fan's disappearance, China's state-run Securities Daily newspaper reported that the actress had been put "under control, and will accept the legal decision."

That story was also taken offline hours after it was published, but was noted by several news outlets including Taiwan News.

fan bingbing de beers

There have been virtually no news about Fan in China's state press because in June, authorities issued guidelines to state media telling them not to report on "yin-yang contracts" or tax issues facing people in the entertainment industry.

Rumors of her whereabouts, however, remain rife.

The Chinese arm of Radio France Internationale and the movie industry site Duowei News reported in late September that officials in Jiangsu province were still investigating her case.

Hong Kong's Apple Daily tabloid also reported that Fan had been questioned by authorities but was not allowed to leave her house.

fan bingbing cannes

Fan's associates have also appeared to be punished. Earlier this month, a Chinese director who worked with Fan on the movie for which was accused of signing secret contracts saw his cameos mysteriously deleted from another movie at the Toronto film festival in September.

At the time of her disappearance Fan was also reportedly suing a Chinese billionaire for defamation after he accused her of sleeping with China's vice president and of pocketing bribes from the arrangement.

Guo Wengui, the billionaire she was suing, regularly posts hourlong rants with unverified claims against Chinese officials. He claimed that Fan disappeared because "somebody wants to shut Fan up," not because of tax-evasion allegations.

Many companies she advertised for, including De Beers and Australian vitamin brand Swisse, have also suspended her image from their campaigns since her disappearance, the Associated Press reported.

Rod Wye, a former official at the British Embassy in China and an associate fellow at Chatham House, told The Sun last month: "For someone like her to be 'publicly disappeared' sends out a message that no matter how high you rise, the Party can cut you down again."

“You can't tell who will be singled out next," he said.

SEE ALSO: Fan Bingbing was reportedly suing a billionaire who accused her of sleeping with China's vice president when she vanished

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The prosecutor who questioned Christine Blasey Ford in Senate hearing says her case against Kavanaugh is weak

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  • The prosecutor who questioned professor Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over sexual assault allegations wrote in a memo that Ford's case against Kavanaugh was weak.
  • In the five-page memo obtained by The Washington Post, Mitchell detailed several inconsistencies from Ford's testimony, in which she claimed that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.
  • Based on these inconsistencies, Mitchell wrote, she would not bring criminal charges against Kavanaugh.

The prosecutor who questioned professor Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over sexual assault allegations wrote in a memo that Ford's case against Kavanaugh is weak.

The Washington Post obtained the five-page memo prosecutor Rachel Mitchell sent to Senate Republicans Sunday night that said key inconsistencies in Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee rendered the case too weak to pursue.

"A 'he said, she said' case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that," Mitchell wrote. "Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them."

Mitchell pointed out in the memo that Ford wasn't able to recall the date and never identified Kavanaugh by name in the evidence provided to the committee, which included notes from therapy sessions in 2012 and 2013.

In her testimony, Ford said she was "100%" certain that Kavanaugh was the person who committed the early 1980s assault when they were both teenagers. Kavanaugh emphatically denied these claims following Ford's testimony.

"For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the [Senate Judiciary] Committee," Mitchell wrote. "Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard."

Describing the allegations she first made known in a letter to members of the Judiciary Committee, Ford said Kavanaugh and a friend locked her in an upstairs bedroom at a party, pinned her to a bed, groped her, and held his hand over her mouth as she screamed. Mitchell wrote in the memo Ford's failure to recall other key details about the incident's date and location "raises significant questions" about her account.

Ford also named three eyewitnesses who she said were present at the party. However, as Mitchell wrote, all three could not recall the party and couldn't corroborate Ford's account. The woman Ford identified as her lifelong friend who was downstairs during the incident, Leland Keyser, told the committee she believes Ford.

Amid worries the testimony would set off a partisan firestorm, Committee Democrats praised Ford during her testimony for coming forward, and some Republican senators suggested they found her to be a credible witness.

Mitchell is a longtime prosecutor specializing in sex crimes hired by Senate Republicans to ensure fair and respectful proceedings in hearings for Kavanaugh's potential confirmation.

The memo comes just two days into a developing FBI investigation into sexual misconduct allegations by three women against Kavanaugh, all of which he has categorically denied.

Since Ford's testimony, lawmakers disagreed along party lines about how to proceed. Republicans pushed to move forward with Kavanaugh's confirmation but Democrats achieved the FBI background check they had championed in a shock move Frdiay by Republican swing vote Sen. Jeff Flake.

Though agents have reportedly interviewed one of the accusers, Ford has not been contacted since President Donald Trump ordered the supplemental background check.

Read the full memo here»

SEE ALSO: Here are all the sexual-misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh

DON"T MISS: Yale classmate says Kavanaugh's Senate testimony blatantly muddled the truth about his drinking

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Trump's new trade deal with Canada and Mexico is winning early praise

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Donald Trump Justin Trudeau

  • The US, Canada, and Mexico agreed on Sunday to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, rebranding the deal as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
  • The deal would make edits to NAFTA's auto, labor, and dispute-resolution rules and open up access to various protected industries like dairy and wine.
  • Business groups praised the trilateral nature of the deal, especially as US President Donald Trump had threatened to kick out Canada.
  • But they cautioned that final approval would be subject to a close examination of the agreement's details.

Early reviews of President Donald Trump's new trade pact with Mexico and Canada are positive but cautious.

The update of the North American Free Trade Agreement— agreed to late Sunday and rebranded as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA — came just hours before an artificial deadline set by the Trump administration.

The refreshed version of NAFTA will include increased labor protections for workers, increased standards for duty-free auto shipments, increased access to the Canadian dairy market for US farmers, and a slight tweak to the deal's dispute-resolution system.

Most business and lobbying groups signaled approval of the USMCA, especially given Trump's threat to cut out Canada from the agreement. While the tone was upbeat, several groups cautioned that full support would come only after they digested the deal's technical details.

Here are a few initial reactions from Washington and beyond:

  • Sen. Orrin Hatch, Republican chair of the Senate Finance Committee: "I am pleased that the Trump administration was able to strike a deal to modernize NAFTA with both Mexico and Canada," Hatch said. "NAFTA is a proven success for the United States, supporting more than 2 million American manufacturing jobs and boosting agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico by 350%. Maintaining a trilateral North American deal is an important prerequisite to preserving and extending those gains and the Trump administration has achieved that goal."
  • Rep. Kevin Brady, Republican chair of the House Ways and Means Committee: "This important and welcome announcement that the United States, Mexico, and Canada have reached a trilateral agreement to update and modernize NAFTA for the 21st century can be a big win for America's workers, farmers, and ranchers," Brady said.
  • House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: "Fixing NAFTA means increasing the paychecks of American workers, delivering real, enforceable labor standards, ensuring fairness for American agriculture, and recognizing the connection between economic growth and environmental protections," Pelosi said. "Democrats will closely scrutinize the text of the Trump Administration's NAFTA proposal, and look forward to further analyses and conversations with stakeholders."
  • Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn: "I'm encouraged that the United States, Mexico, and Canada have successfully come to a trilateral agreement to modernize NAFTA," Cornyn said. "Millions of American jobs are supported by NAFTA, and in Texas, it's the cornerstone of our economy. This agreement is a positive step toward to maintaining a strong, unified North American economy, and I look forward to reviewing the details."
  • House Majority Whip Steve Scalise: "I applaud President Trump for this impressive new agreement with Canada," Scalise said. "While many in Washington claimed it could not be done, President Trump worked tirelessly to bring Canada to the table and negotiate a new trade deal that is better for American workers and consumers."
  • National Association of Manufacturers: "Manufacturers are extremely encouraged that our call for a trilateral agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico has been answered," said Jay Timmons, the group's president and CEO. "Today, there's a massive amount of goods flowing across North America, meaning our countries' economies are inextricably linked. What's more, as the United States works to put an end to China's cheating and unfair trade practices, we are better off united with our North American allies."
  • Business Roundtable: "Business Roundtable is encouraged that the Administration has struck a deal with Canada and Mexico on updating NAFTA, maintaining its trilateral structure that is critical for North American supply chains," the group representing American CEOs said in a statement. "Business Roundtable has shared the Administration's goal of modernizing and strengthening the agreement in ways that expand economic opportunity, create US jobs, and increase the competitiveness of US companies."
  • Information Technology Industry Council: "Today's trilateral agreement is a significant step toward creating a foundation for North America's economic prosperity for years to come," said Dean Garfield, the council's CEO. "While we are still reviewing text, we're encouraged this plan will build upon the prior economic success of NAFTA and adapt it to the fundamentally digital economy in which we live through new rules on digital trade, intellectual property, and trade in goods"
  • AFL-CIO: "The text we have reviewed, even before the confirmation that Canada will remain part of NAFTA, affirms that too many details still need to be worked out before working people make a final judgment on a deal," said Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO's president. "Our history of witnessing unfair trade deals destroy the lives of working families demands the highest level of scrutiny before receiving our endorsement."
  • US Chamber of Commerce: "We welcome the announcement that negotiators have reached a deal to modernize NAFTA," said CEO Thomas Donohue. "We look forward to reviewing the details with our members to determine next steps, and we commend the negotiators for their commitment to finding a path forward that includes the US, Mexico, and Canada."
  • Americans For Farmers & Families: "Whether you breed cattle in Missouri like my family, raise hogs in North Carolina, grow corn in Iowa or simply shop at a local grocery store in New York, this announcement means that we will soon have the certainty we need to continue feeding our own and families around the world," said Casey Guernsey, a farmer and AFF representative.
  • National Retail Federation: "We are pleased a deal has been reached that preserves NAFTA’s trilateral framework, which is critical to protecting North American supply chains that support millions of American jobs," Matthew Shay, NRF's CEO, said. "The administration, as well as officials from Canada and Mexico, should be applauded for months of hard work aimed at modernizing NAFTA for the 21st century —  a goal retailers have shared from the start."

SEE ALSO: US, Canada reach an agreement on NAFTA rewrite, paving the way for an overhaul of the massive trade deal

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What it's like living in Monaco, the glamorous city-state on the French Riviera that's home to a glitzy annual yacht show and where an estimated 1 in 3 people is a millionaire

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monaco restaurant

 

A few things come to mind when most people think of Monaco: gambling, yachts, and the ultra-wealthy.

Indeed, one study estimated that nearly one in three people who reside in Monaco is a millionaire. And one in every 56 residents has assets totaling at least $30 million, according to the study by wealth tracking firm Wealth-X.

Monaco is arguably a playground for the wealthy, partially thanks to its reputation as a tax haven. It also draws millionaires and celebrities from all over the world to its prestigious Monaco Yacht Show each year. Its famed Monte Carlo district is known for being the gambling spot of choice for the world's high rollers.

Here's a peek inside life in Monaco. 

SEE ALSO: This $145 million superyacht just won a major award for its ultra-luxurious interior at the Monaco Yacht Show – here's a look inside

Monaco is known for its yachts, gambling, and lavish wealth.



About 38,300 people live in the compact city-state.

Source: IMSEE Monaco Statistics



Locals enjoy mild weather year-round in Monaco, which has an average temperature of 75 degrees in July and 50 degrees in January.

Source: Holiday Weather



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The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

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Breaking Bad

The most critically acclaimed TV shows in history have earned their praise by repeatedly producing innovative and memorable seasons.

Shows like "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," and "The Larry Sanders Show" consistently won over critics, and their best seasons have set a standard for what great television should look like.

To find out which series have been the most influential, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the all-time best TV seasons, which ranks shows by their composite critical reception. We used audience scores to break any ties.

Check out the 50 best TV-show seasons of all time, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: The 20 most-watched TV episodes ever, ranked

50. "The Handmaid's Tale" (Season 1)

Metacritic score: 92/100

User score: 7.8/10

Notable episodes: ""Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum," "Jezebels"



49. "Homeland" (Season 1)

Metacritic score: 92/100

User score: 8.3/10

Notable episodes: "The Weekend," "Crossfire,"Marine One"



48. "Rectify" (Season 2)

Metacritic score: 92/100

User score: 9.1/10

Notable episodes: "Mazel Tov," "The Great Destroyer,"Unhinged"



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

11 signs someone might be lying to you

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  • The signs that someone is lying aren't always easy to decipher.
  • And, unfortunately, there's no way to determine whether or not someone's being honest with 100% certainty.
  • But there are some obvious signs that someone might be lying. Keep reading for a list of signs you can watch out for.


How can you tell if someone is lying to you?

Well, it's complicated.

Research by Dr. Leanne ten Brinke, a forensic psychologist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and her collaborators, suggests that our instincts for judging liars are actually fairly strong — but our conscious minds sometimes fail us.

Luckily, there are signs we can look for when trying to detect a lie.

Dr. Lillian Glass, behavioral analyst, body language expert, and "The Body Language of Liars" author, said when trying to figure out if someone is lying, you first need to understand how the person normally acts. Certain habits, like pointing or over-sharing, might be perfectly within character for an individual.

Keep in mind that these signs are just possible indicators of dishonesty — not definite proof. Plus, some liars are so seasoned that they might get away with not exhibiting any of these signs.

With that in mind, here are some signs that someone might be lying to you:

SEE ALSO: 15 signs your coworker is a psychopath

DON'T MISS: 4 signs your job isn't enough for you anymore

SEE ALSO: There's a lesson for any manager or exec in how United handled its PR nightmare

1. People who are lying tend to change their head position quickly

If you see someone suddenly make a head movement when you ask them a direct question, they may be lying to you about something.

"The head will be retracted or jerked back, bowed down, or cocked or tilted to the side," said Glass.

This will often happen right before the person is expected to respond to a question.



2. Their breathing may also change

When someone is lying to you, they may begin to breathe heavily, Glass said. "It's a reflex action."

When their breathing changes, their shoulders will rise and their voice may get shallow, she added. “In essence, they are out of breath because their heart rate and blood flow change. Your body experiences these types of changes when you’re nervous and feeling tense — when you lie.”



3. They tend to stand very still

It's common knowledge that people fidget when they get nervous, but Glass said that you should also watch out for people who are not moving at all.

"This may be a sign of the primitive neurological 'fight,' rather than the 'flight,' response, as the body positions and readies itself for possible confrontation," said Glass. "When you speak and engage in normal conversation, it is natural to move your body around in subtle, relaxed, and, for the most part, unconscious movements. So if you observe a rigid, catatonic stance devoid of movement, it is often a huge warning sign that something is off."



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Kavanaugh's Yale classmates who dispute his statements on drinking and sexual misconduct want to talk to the FBI but are reportedly being ignored

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Brett Kavanaugh

  • Several people with information related to the allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, have said the FBI has not been willing to interview them.
  • These people include former college classmates of Kavanaugh's who dispute the judge's characterizations of his drinking and partying.
  • While the White House and Senate Republicans have determined the parameters of the FBI investigation, the president says he is not interfering in the law-enforcement agency's work on the matter.

The FBI over the weekend launched its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, but several people with information related to the accusations have said the law-enforcement agency has not been willing to speak with them.

This includes former classmates and friends of Kavanaugh's who have come forward to dispute what the judge has said about his drinking and partying habits in college.

The investigation came after Christine Blasey Ford testified to a Senate committee on Thursday that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a small house party in the summer of 1982, when they were in high school.

The FBI is looking into the allegations made by Ford and two other women: Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's who says he drunkenly exposed himself to her in college, and Julie Swetnick, who alleges that Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge were present during "'gang' or 'train' rapes" of teenage girls at high-school parties in the early 1980s.

An attorney for Elizabeth Rasor, a college girlfriend of Judge's who has alleged he once told her that he and other boys took turns having sex with a drunk woman during high school, told The New Yorker that she had "received no substantive response" from the FBI after making Rasor's desire to speak with the FBI clear to both the bureau and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"She feels a sense of civic duty to tell what she knows," the attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told the magazine. "But the only response we've gotten are emails saying that our emails have been 'received.'"

Rasor's story appears to align with Swetnick's allegation.

The president has said he has given the FBI "free rein" to investigate the allegations, despite reports that the White House is working in concert with Senate Republicans to determine the parameters of the weeklong investigation.

The FBI reportedly plans to interview four witnesses. In addition to Judge and Ramirez, it is likely to speak with two people Ford says were at the 1982 party: Leland Keyser, a friend of Ford's, and P.J. Smyth, a friend of Kavanaugh's. The bureau is not speaking with Swetnick directly about her allegations.

Debra Katz, the lead lawyer for Ford, told The New Yorker over the weekend that her client had not been contacted by the FBI.

"We've tried repeatedly to speak with the FBI but heard nothing back," Katz said.

'Brett has not told the truth'

If investigators uncover new information over the coming week that they deem appropriate to pursue, the president can order an expansion of the investigation, which is now a limited background check rather than a criminal probe.

A former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's who told The New Yorker he was "100% certain" he heard about an incident nearly identical to Ramirez's allegation described being essentially ignored when he asked to provide his account to the FBI in recent days. The classmate said he ultimately submitted a tip to the agency through an online portal after being told to call an 800-number tip line.

A few other former Yale classmates have come forward since Thursday's hearing to contradict Kavanaugh's characterization of his college drinking habits.

Charles Ludington, who played varsity basketball at Yale and regularly socialized with Kavanaugh, said in a statement that he repeatedly saw Kavanaugh "staggering from alcohol consumption" and even witnessed him once throw a beer in a classmate's face during a dispute. He described Kavanaugh as becoming "belligerent and aggressive" when he drank to excess.

"I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking, and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth," Ludington, now a college professor in North Carolina, said in the statement, adding that he would take his information to the FBI.

Lynne Brookes said last week that during his testimony Kavanaugh "grossly misrepresented and mischaracterized his drinking" in college. And in an interview with CNN, Liz Swisher called Kavanaugh a "sloppy drunk" and said many of his claims about his history of drinking were not credible.

Over the weekend, Democrats expressed concern about the limits of the investigation, suggesting the White House could be improperly interfering.

"We have been concerned from the outset about the so-called limits on scope, not to mention time for this investigation," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who is on the Judiciary Committee, told The New York Times. "It has to be full fair, real, not check-the-box. So any limits should be viewed with serious question."

SEE ALSO: 'This was kind of a surprise to all of us': Democrats score a win as Jeff Flake and other Republicans demand FBI investigation

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An airline that crash-landed a plane and said everyone got out OK admits to one death

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  • Air Niugini Flight 73 crash-landed into a Micronesian lagoon after the pilot missed the runway last Friday.
  • The airline said everyone safely evacuated the aircraft, but now says one man had died.
  • Over the weekend airline authorities said they were unable to account for that man, who was seen leaving the aircraft and on a dinghy going to shore.
  • How the man disappeared between boarding the dinghy and arriving to land is not clear.

A Papua New Guinean airline whose plane crash-landed into a Pacific island lagoon last week has reported one death from the disaster, three days after claiming that everyone survived.

Air Niugini Flight 73 crash-landed into a lagoon off the Micronesian island of Chuuk last Friday morning after the pilot missed the runway. The Boeing 737 aircraft had been flying from Pohnpei, another Micronesian island, earlier that day.

The airline said hours after the crash that all 35 passengers and 12 crew members "were able to safely evacuate the aircraft." At least six people were taken to hospital.

air niugini crash.JPG

But on Saturday, the airline said that it was unable to account for one male passenger. The unnamed man was seen evacuating the aircraft and in one of the dinghies helping transport passengers to shore, but was later not found for some reason, Air Niugini said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

"An inspection of the entire submerged cabin of the aircraft by the US Navy seals, further corroborated by other eye witness reports who saw the passenger board one of the dinghies on Friday, has confirmed that all passengers safely evacuated the aircraft at the time of the accident," Air Niugini chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou said in a Sunday statement posted on Facebook.

air niugini crash exit

And on Monday, the airline confirmed that divers found the body of the unaccounted man in the Chuuk lagoon's surrounding area.

In a statement sent to Business Insider, Air Niugini CEO Tahawar Durrani confirmed the death "with deep sadness" and said the company was "committing all required resources to ascertain the factors that led to this accident."

How the man disappeared between boarding the dinghy and arriving to land is not clear. Business Insider has contacted Air Niugini for further comment.

Most of the remaining passengers and all of the crew members arrived in Port Moresby, the Papua New Guinea capital, where the airline is arranging their accommodation and further travel. 

Two people have since been released from hospital, with the four remaining in stable condition and being transported to Guam for further treatment.

The exact cause of the crash remains unclear. Air Niugini said it received reports that the weather was poor with heavy rain and reduced visibility at the time of the incident.

air niugini crash land boats

Read Air Niugini's full statement:

"It is with deep sadness I confirm that the body of male passenger was discovered by divers today as they conducted a further search of P2-PXE [Pohnpei to Chuuk route] and the surrounding area in the Chuuk Lagoon.

"This is the unaccounted passenger from the aircraft. Our outreach team is in touch with the man's family and we are making arrangements to repatriate his body.

"The circumstances surrounding this accident are now a matter for relevant authorities as they begin their task of investigating the events that led to the incident and the actions which followed. We are committing all required resources to ascertain the factors that led to this accident.

"We express our deepest sympathy to his family. We are and will continue to provide to his family in this time of loss."

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NOW WATCH: This trike is made to look like a semitruck

The 50 worst TV shows in modern history, according to critics

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cavemen

Many of the worst television shows originate from some highly questionable concepts that make you wonder how they ever got approved.

ABC's "Cavemen" series in 2007, for instance, was based on characters from a short-lived Geico commercial. And Fox's 2014 reality show "I Wanna Marry Harry" saw 12 women compete for the chance to marry a Prince Harry look-alike who they thought was the real Prince of Wales.

Both shows were critical disasters, and each lasted only one season — as many of the worst reality shows, dramas, and sitcoms have.

To find out which programs critics have hated the most, we turned to the review aggregator Metacritic for its list of the worst TV shows, which goes back to 1995. The list ranks show seasons by their composite critical reception.

Check out the 50 worst TV shows from least to most objectionable, according to critics:

SEE ALSO: All 65 of Netflix's notable original shows, ranked from worst to best

50. "Twenty Good Years" (NBC, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: 5.9/10

What critics said: "It is a male version of 'The Golden Girls,' but with weaker writing." — The New York Times



49. "South Beach" (UPN, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: 8.6/10

What critics said: "A preposterous and pretentious drama series." — The Washington Post



48. "Hidden Hills" (NBC, Season 1)

Critic score: 29/100

User score: Unavailable

What critics said: "This series reflects the way wealthy, neurotic, overly busy and sex-obsessed TV executives and producers think America lives, in other words, the way they live. They're wrong." — The Detroit News



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The US, Canada, and Mexico's new trade pact looks a lot like NAFTA. Here are the key differences between them.

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  • The US and Canada on Sunday sealed the deal on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the first major update of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.
  • The new trade deal bears a lot of similarities to NAFTA, but there are major differences as well.
  • Some of the key differences: increased dairy-market access for the US, a new sunset clause, and tougher auto rules.

The US and Canada on Sunday sealed the deal on a new trade agreement that, along with an earlier US-Mexico agreement, opens to door to a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The new deal, dubbed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, is expected to be signed by the leaders of the three member countries — US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto — in November. The deal must also be approved by each country's legislature before it can come into force.

While Peter Navarro, the director of the White House National Trade Council, said the new deal means that "NAFTA is dead," the USMCA still retains large swaths of the original deal.

For instance, Canada scored wins with the preservation of NAFTA's state-to-state dispute-resolution system and cultural provisions that carve out a certain amount of the Canadian media market for domestically produced programming.

But there are also some notable changes in the USMCA from the 25-year-old NAFTA, including increased dairy-market access, new auto rules, and a sunset clause.

Here's a rundown of some of the key changes in the deal:

  • Review clause: The USMCA includes a 16-year expiration date and a provision that requires a review of the deal every six years, when it can be extended. It's less severe than the US's original demand for a sunset clause, which would have forced each side to recertify the deal every five years to keep it in effect.
  • Dispute settlement: NAFTA's dispute-settlement system, which allows member countries to bring grievances against other members over allegations of unfair trading practices, will remain the same, a key win for the Canadians. The investor-state dispute-settlement system, which allows investors to bring grievances against member-country governments, will be phased out for the US and Canada, while certain industries such as energy will be able to bring cases against Mexico.
  • Dairy access: The US will be able to export the equivalent of 3.6% of Canada's dairy market, up from the existing level of about 1%. This is slightly above the 3.25% market access Canada would have given the US as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump pulled the US out of last year. In addition, Canada will get rid of the "Class 7" pricing system that was seen as disadvantaging US farmers.
  • Access for other agricultural goods: Canada will give the US more access to its chicken, turkey, and egg markets, and British Columbia will allow the sale of US wines at its state-owned liquor stores. Mexico agreed to allow imports of certain US cheeses.
  • Auto rules: Members must produce 75% of a car for it to pass through the countries duty-free, up from 62.5%. Additionally, 40% of each car must be produced by workers making $16 an hour or more to avoid duties.
  • Tariff side deals: The US came to side agreements with Mexico and Canada that would largely protect the two countries from tariffs on imported autos and auto parts. Canada would be allowed to ship 2.6 million cars to the US without tariffs, well above the 1.8 million it sent last year, and send $32.4 billion worth of parts without getting hit by tariffs. Mexico's deal was similar, except the country can send $108 billion worth of parts.
  • Commitment to not mess with currency levels: While the US, Mexico, and Canada do not actively intervene to strengthen or weaken their currencies, the pact to "achieve and maintain a market-determined exchange rate regime" could be a model for future agreements with countries that are more active in currency markets.
  • Increased protections for intellectual property: The deal increases the copyright period in Canada to 70 years after the creator's death, up from 50 years, bringing the country in line with the US. Additionally, exclusivity for biologic drugs before generics can be produced will be increased to 10 years in Canada from eight years, a win for the pharma industry.
  • Increase in the de minimis levels: The de minimis level is the amount of a good a person can take across the border without being hit with duties. Canada will increase the de minimis level for US goods to 40 Canadian dollars from 20 Canadian dollars; for cross-border shipments like e-commerce, the level will be boosted to 150 Canadian dollars. Mexico will also bump its de minimis level to $50 and duty-free shipments to $117.

SEE ALSO: Trump's new trade deal with Canada and Mexico is winning early praise

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The 9 most expensive watches worn by the world's biggest golfing stars

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Tiger Woods holds Calamity Jane, the official trophy of the tournament, after winning the Tour Championship golf tournament Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018, in Atlanta.

Professional golfers have come to be synonymous with a number of style choices — some better than others.

Aside from loudly-coloured polo shirts and garishly-patterned sweater vests, golfers are known for their watches — most of which are very expensive.

Business Insider teamed up with experts at online watch marketplace Crown & Caliber to find out what the sport's biggest stars are wearing on their wrists.

Unsurprisingly, many of the watches run into five figures. Scroll down to see them ranked in ascending order of price.

SEE ALSO: The most expensive watches worn by 20 of the world's most elite athletes

Rory McIlroy, OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra — $4,200

Source: Crown & Caliber.



Tommy Fleetwood, Omega Seamaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer — $4,600

Source: Crown & Caliber.



Phil Mickelson, Rolex Cellini — $8,600

Source: Crown & Caliber



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Trump lashes out at 'babies' complaining about tariffs, which he says led to the massive new trade deal with Canada and Mexico

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  • President Donald Trump credited recent tariffs with the completion of the newly announced US-Canada-Mexico Agreement.
  • Trump also said people should stop whining about the tariffs.
  • "By the way, without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal," Trump said. "Just for those babies out there that talk about tariffs."

President Donald Trump on Monday slammed critics of his restrictive trade policy during a press conference discussing the new trade agreement reached by the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Trump said his recent steel and aluminum tariffs as well as threats of tariffs on imported cars were a key reason the three countries were able to come to an agreement on an update to NAFTA that Trump is calling the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

"By the way, without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal," Trump said. "Just for those babies out there that talk about tariffs. That includes Congress. 'Oh please don't charge tariffs.' Without tariffs, we wouldn't be standing here."

Trump launched the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement just days after taking office, and official talks kicked off in August 2017. Little progress was made during the first year of talks, but a furious push to wrap up the deal before the end of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto's term at the end of November helped to break the impasse.

The steel and aluminum tariffs will remain in place, Trump said, to bolster the American industries. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer did clarify that talks on the tariffs were ongoing.

Many economists have said Trump's tariffs will push up costs for American consumers and business and ultimately produce a drag on the US economy.

In addition to the USMCA, Trump also credited the threat of auto tariffs for the European Union's willingness to negotiate a new trade agreement.

"I announced we're going to put a 20% tariff, could be 25%, on their cars coming in, and they immediately called and said we would like to start negotiations," Trump said. "We're having a successful negotiation. We'll see what happens. Who knows?"

Trump also took aim at China, the president's main adversary on trade. The Trump administration recently escalated the US's trade war with China, imposing new tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

"And China wants to talk very badly," Trump said. "And I said, frankly, it's too early to talk. Can't talk now because they're not ready. Because they have been ripping us for so many years, it doesn't happen that quickly. If politically people force it too quickly, you're not going to make the right deal for our workers and for our country."

SEE ALSO: The US, Canada, and Mexico's new trade pact looks a lot like NAFTA. Here are the key differences between the 2.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

MoviePass emailed former subscribers to tell them they'll be enrolled in a new plan unless they opt out, and experts are calling it 'unfair and abusive' (HMNY)

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  • On Friday, MoviePass sent an email to subscribers — some of whom say they had already canceled their subscription or let it lapse — offering them a one-movie-a-day "test group" plan for $9.95 a month to get them to use the service again.
  • But the email says users will have their membership automatically restored and be charged $9.95 a month beginning October 5 unless they opt out.
  • Many people who say they canceled or never renewed their monthly MoviePass membership were upset, accusing the company of planning to re-enroll them without their consent.
  • Joan Martínez Evora, a lecturer in business law at the University of Miami Business School, described the MoviePass email to Business Insider as "unfair and abusive," and Andrew C. Wicks, the Ruffin Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, said it was "inappropriate and potentially bordering on bullying the customer."

MoviePass appears to be taking desperate measures to try to beef up its subscription numbers.

On Friday, the movie-ticket subscription service sent an email to members whose subscription had lapsed informing them that they would be enrolled in a "select test group" of subscribers who could watch one movie a day, based on its limited "existing inventory," for $9.95 a month.

But MoviePass says in the email that those who do not opt out of the test-group plan will see their subscription restored and the credit card on file charged $9.95 monthly beginning October 5.

The email, with the not-so-urgent subject line "MoviePass Updates," was flagged to Business Insider on Friday by a person who said they canceled their subscription but still received the email. The person said they completed the opt-out prompt and hoped they had now fully cut ties with MoviePass.

The complete letter is below:

moviepass opt in letter

The news quickly spread on social media over the weekend, with many former MoviePass users saying they were baffled about why they would have to opt out of a service they didn't renew or outright canceled.

MoviePass' "terms of use" webpage says: "To cancel, you must notify MoviePass in writing via email at least one business day prior to the next billing date stating your intent to cancel and providing the full name and email address on the account. You may also cancel your membership by using the MoviePass app. Cancellations are not effective until confirmation is sent to you via email, and you are responsible for all charges until cancellation is confirmed."

Though stories have emerged recently detailing the difficulties of unsubscribing from MoviePass, experts who spoke to Business Insider described this as the most egregious yet.

"Signing up consumers without their permission is unfair and abusive," said Joan Martínez Evora, a lecturer in business law at the University of Miami Business School. "Placing technological barriers like hiding icons from the screen, or showing errors, or automatically re-enrolling without giving fair notices with reasonable choices are unacceptable and the resulting 'agreements' unenforceable."

Andrew C. Wicks, the Ruffin Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, described the email as "inappropriate and potentially bordering on bullying the customer."

"How many times do I have to say 'no' before you hear 'no'?" Wicks said.

MoviePass sent Business Insider the following statement about the Friday email:

"MoviePass sent an email offer on September 28, 2018 to a set of members who had not yet opted-in to the new offering of three movies per month. The offer was the opportunity to restore their original unlimited plan (up to one new movie title per day based on existing inventory) — the subscription plan they had originally signed up for. This was a one-time promotional offer that is valid through October 5 for some subscribers, many of whom have expressed an interest in the original plan and a request for its return. As part of the offer, if the member does not wish to return to the original plan, they can simply opt-out in the email prior to October 5 and they will not be auto-charged.

"There are a number of members who received the email from whom we have previously received conflicting indications over the last several months — having initially opted-out and then opting back in as we tweaked the offering. We had left their accounts suspended in an abundance of caution and are now offering them the opportunity to return to the plan that they originally liked."

MoviePass did not immediately respond to Business Insider's inquiry about why people who canceled the service were saying they still received the email.

SEE ALSO: The directors behind the death-defying documentary "Free Solo" explain why they made the risky decision to film Alex Honnold's 3,000 foot climb up El Capitan without a rope

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'It's not fair': Trump launches into extended defense of Kavanaugh but says he wants FBI to do a 'comprehensive' investigation amid confusion

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  • President Donald Trump defended his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, during a Monday press conference, calling the judge's Senate confirmation process "not fair."
  • Trump claimed that he is allowing the FBI to freely investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, but said Senate Republicans will determine how broad the probe will be. 
  • "We don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?" Trump said. 

President Donald Trump on Monday defended his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and insisted the White House is allowing Senate Republicans to dictate the terms of the FBI investigation into sexual misconduct claims against Kavanaugh.

During a White House press conference, Trump repeated his claims that Kavanaugh is a good man who's been treated "so viciously and so violently" by Democrats and suggested that the judge's sterling academic record makes the allegations against him "unfair."

"The trauma for a man that never had any accusation and never had a bad statement about him," Trump said. "I think he was number one in his class at Yale. He was number one in his law school at Yale. What he's gone through over the last three weeks is incredible ... it's not fair."

Trump said the FBI "should do what they have to do to get to the answer" regarding the allegations, despite the fact that the White House — in concert with Republican senators — has directed the law enforcement agency to limit the scope of the week-long probe.

Trump and his allies on the Senate Judiciary Committee have instructed the FBI to interview just four witnesses. And the agency is reportedly not planning to interview several individuals, including Yale classmates of Kavanaugh's, who want to speak with the FBI to dispute claims Kavanaugh has made about his college drinking and partying habits.

"I want them to do a very comprehensive investigation," he said. "Whatever that means, according to the senators and the Republicans and the Republican majority."

The president warned that if the probe is expanded, it could become a "witch hunt." 

"We don't want to use an expression often used by me. We don't want to go on a witch hunt, do we?" Trump said. "You have to stay within reason. They should interview, but also be guided. I'm being guided by what the senators are looking for. They have to make the choice."

SEE ALSO: Kavanaugh's Yale classmates who dispute his statements on drinking and sexual misconduct want to talk to the FBI but are reportedly being ignored

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Trump makes vague threat to unnamed Democratic senator while defending Kavanaugh: 'I've seen that person in very, very bad situations'

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  • President Donald Trump issued a vague threat to an unnamed Democratic senator during a Monday press conference, saying he had "seen that person in very bad situations."
  • Trump was questioning Senate Judiciary Committee members' interest in his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's drinking habits while investigating decades-old sexual-misconduct allegations.
  • When pressed to clarify his comment, Trump refused, joking he would "save it for a book like everybody else."

President Donald Trump issued a vague threat to an unnamed Democratic senator during a Monday press conference while addressing scrutiny of his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's drinking habits.

Trump was fielding questions from reporters about an FBI investigation into sexual-misconduct allegations when he said he supported Kavanaugh being interviewed. But he cast doubt on Senate Democrats' apparent interest in the judge's drinking habits in high school and college.

"They're going back to high school, they're saying he drank a lot one evening in high school," Trump said, referring to the Senate Judiciary Committee's questions into Kavanaugh's past drinking habits after two women described drunken incidents of sexual assault and misconduct from his time in high school and college that Kavanaugh denied.

Trump continued: "I happen to know some United States senators, one on the other side who is pretty aggressive — I've seen that person in very bad situations ... somewhat compromising."

Trump then added that though he thought it was "very unfair to bring up things like this," he left responsibility for the scope of the investigation to "whatever the senators want."

Trump's comments come after a weekend of mixed messages for the FBI's additional background check on Kavanaugh that Trump approved Friday afternoon. Experts and lawmakers have spoken out on the investigation's apparently limited scope and time allowance, though Trump said Sunday investigators had "free rein."

When later pressed to elaborate on the comment about catching senators in "compromising" situations, Trump told the reporter that he would "save it for a book like everybody else."

"I'm not giving it to you," he said.

SEE ALSO: Trump mocks reporter during press conference as she asks question on Kavanaugh: 'I know you're not thinking. You never do.'

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