Good morning Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds—we’re all only human, after all.
But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.)
Trump Congratulates Putin on Reelection Win After Being Advised Against It
After Russian President Vladimir Putin was reelected earlier this month, President Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday to reporters in the Oval Office that he congratulated Putin on his win. According to The Washington Post, Trump received several warnings from national security advisers and briefing materials stating, “DO NOT CONGRATULATE.” Officials speaking to the Post said that Trump clearly did not read the advisers’ memos and that he also ignored the aides’ suggestions of how to condemn a nerve agent poisoning in the UK, which the United States has officially blamed on Russia.
CNN reports that Trump congratulating Putin, whose continuation of power was never really doubted, stirred a reaction from GOP Sen. John McCain. McCain said, “An American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country’s future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin’s regime.”
Trump also revealed to press that his congratulatory call to Putin also included the discussion of meeting with him in the “not too distant future.”
“DO NOT CONGRATULATE,” national security advisers wrote in Trump’s written briefing ahead of call with Vladimir Putin. Trump congratulated. The notes said to condemn the attack of an ex-Russian spy in London with a nerve agent. He did not. https://t.co/HjCkbdkbb4
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) March 20, 2018
Holocaust Denier Is GOP Nominee in Chicago House Race
Republican candidate Arthur Jones is now the official GOP nominee in a Chicago-area House race after facing no opponent in the Illinois primary on Tuesday. Jones has garnered controversy in the past for including a section called “Holocaust?” on his campaign website.
In February, when it became clear that Jones would likely win the Republican candidacy, the Anti-Defamation League wrote a piece on Jones being a “vocal white supremacist and Holocaust denier” and how he has previously run for office unsuccessfully. According to the piece, Jones said in an interview earlier this year that he wouldn’t call himself a Nazi, but the ADL reported that Jones has participated in the anti-Semitic Populist Party, the National Socialist White People’s Party and the American Nazi Party in the past.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider previously denounced Jones’ decision to run, saying in a statement, “The Illinois Republican Party and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones. We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office, including the 3rd Congressional District.”
Jones is campaigning to win representation in Illinois’ Third Congressional District, which the New York Times says is a primarily Democratic area covering part of Chicago and its suburbs. Jones will run against either Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski or Democratic newcomer Marie Newman. As of Tuesday night, the results of the Democratic race had yet to be finalized.
The Illinois Republican Party chairman denounced Arthur Jones as “a Nazi whose disgusting, bigoted views have no place in our nation’s discourse.” Jones won the Republican primary in the state’s Third Congressional District on Tuesday. https://t.co/vz9ntKGrmQ pic.twitter.com/EtrA25Oggq
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) March 21, 2018
You’ll Shed a Tear Over the Mr. Rogers Documentary Trailer
In honor of the late children’s TV host Fred Rogers’ 90th birthday, a trailer for the upcoming Mr. Rogers-centric documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor was released on Tuesday, and ICYMI, it’s a tearjerker. Separate from the recently announced Mr. Rogers biopic that will star Tom Hanks, the documentary focuses on the PBS children’s show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Rogers’ heartwarming effect on so many children.
The project, due out in theaters on June 8, will feature interviews with several people who worked on the long-running TV series, as well as old interviews with Rogers, who died in 2003.
If you’re in the mood to start off your day with a good cry, check out the trailer below.
See how a little kindness makes a world of difference. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers.
Watch the trailer and see it in select theaters June 8th. #MrRogersMovie pic.twitter.com/NiOw6rh5bM
— Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (@MrRogersMovie) March 20, 2018
What to look out for…
You may be stuck inside looking out at snow if you’re in the Northeast, but try to find a reason to practice kindness on National Common Courtesy Day. Spread the word and remind others that a single act of kindness without any promise of thanks is worth doing.