TV News LIES

The chairman’s black-tie dinner was Tom Barrack’s time to shine.

After more than two months planning Donald Trump’s inaugural celebration, Barrack, a decades-old confidant of the president-elect, threw one of the most extravagant fetes of the week. The entertainment included a performance by Steve Wynn’s ShowStoppers, a vaunted Las Vegas dance production programmed by the casino billionaire, a close friend of Barrack’s. The dinner menu featured a red-wine blend from Barrack’s family vineyard in California.

The guest list was chock full of foreign dignitaries, multibillionaires, Republican leaders, conservative luminaries and top executives from Barrack’s real estate investment firm, Colony Capital. For anyone who wasn’t already a friend of Barrack’s, the dinner gave them a chance to meet the fabled Trump whisperer and chairman of his inaugural committee.

More...

The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would impose sanctions on Syria, weaken a global campaign to boycott Israel and rebuke President Donald Trump’s push to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan.

The bill, which passed the Senate 77-23, divided Democrats, some of whom argued that a provision that allows states and local governments to withhold contracts from companies that participate in the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions movement against Israel stymies free speech.

On Tuesday, vote, 25 Democrats voted in favor of the bill; 22 voted against it.

More...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced "ridiculous partisan" investigations during his nationally televised State of the Union address, adding that there cannot be peace as long as there is "war and investigation."

"An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations," the president said.

Oscar Árias, the Costa Rican former president and Nobel peace prize laureate, has been enveloped in scandal after a sexual assault complaint was brought against him by a nuclear disarmament activist.

Árias denied the allegation, saying he has never acted against the will of any woman and has fought for gender equality during his career.

Árias was president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and again from 2006 to 2010. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars in Central America.

The videos, which were released by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by USA TODAY and other outlets, show onlookers screaming at police as security guard Jemel Roberson lays lifeless in the parking lot of Manny’s Blue Room Lounge in Robbins, Ill.

“Your man shot my man,” a distraught fellow security guard shouts at one Cook County sheriff’s deputy. “The police shot security, that’s what happened. The guy has (expletive) vest on, and we get shot. It’s … stupid.”

More...

The U.S. attorney's office in the Southern District of New York is investigating allegations that the committee misspent some of the tens of millions it raised from donations and that some donors gave money in exchange for access to influence Trump administration policy positions.

"We have just received a subpoena for documents," the committee representative told NBC News. "While we are still reviewing the subpoena, it is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry."

More...

The letter was sent Friday by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and others, days after Politico reported that the EPA is expected to decide against setting drinking water limits for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as part of an upcoming national strategy for dealing with the class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Another 3,750 troops will be sent to the southern border to help install wire barriers and to monitor crossings, officials said. The new deployment will bring the total number of active-duty troops there to around 6,000.

In a tweet on Sunday, President Trump said that "STRONG border security" is necessary in the face of "Caravans marching through Mexico and toward our Country."

The announcement of new troops on Sunday comes just days before Trump is expected to discuss border security measures during Tuesday's State of the Union Address.

More...