The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest regional trade accord in history. The agreement has been negotiated for eight years in secret and will encompass 40 percent of the global economy. Corporations from agricultural giant Cargill to military contractor Boeing have praised the deal. Congress now has at least 90 days to review the TPP before voting on it. The deal came after an agreement on drug company monopolies which Public Citizen said “fell short of Big Pharma’s most extreme demands but will contribute to preventable suffering and death.” The United States had pressed for longer monopolies on new biotech drugs. We’ll have more on the TPP after headlines.