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 Team Not Worried About Michael Cohen
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, said he’s not worried about what Michael Cohen might tell federal prosecutors, saying, “As long as he tells the truth, we’re … home free.”
Giuliani told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” Sunday that he has “zero” concerns about Cohen.
Stephanopoulos asked Giuliani about Cohen’s recent interview with ABC News in which he said that his wife, daughter and son will always have his first loyalty and that he puts his “family and country first.” Cohen said he would cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors.
“What was the president’s reaction to that interview with Michael Cohen?” Stephanopoulos asked Giuliani.
“Same as mine, which is fine. Michael Cohen should cooperate with the government. We have no reason to believe he did anything wrong. The president did nothing wrong with him,” Giuliani said.
“I have no concerns that Michael Cohen is going to do anything but tell the truth, and if he does, as I said, there’s no suggestion that anything happened,” Giuliani added.
According to ABC News, Cohen is currently being investigated for possible financial crimes associated with his business dealings and potential violations of election law for the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels.
Cohen has not been charged with any crimes.
Diplomatic Troubles With North Korea
Less than a month after the historic Trump-Kim summit and President Donald Trump talking about “opening a new chapter” between the two countries, it looks like the diplomatic efforts have taken a turn in the wrong direction.
On Saturday, North Korea accused the U.S. of a “gangster-like mindset” in the negotiations over denuclearization, a blatant contradiction from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s description of talks as “productive,” CNN reports.
Negotiations continue in Pyongyang Saturday as the second day of U.S.-North Korean bilateral talks resumes. pic.twitter.com/KlxEnGYDaZ
— Heather Nauert (@statedeptspox) July 7, 2018
This diplomatic disconnect definitely shows that the two countries are not on the same page, and that North Korea is setting the pace for these discussions.
Pompeo did say that another meeting would take place on July 12, saying it would involve “discussions between the folks responsible for the repatriation of remains” of U.S. service members from the Korean War, and that “some progress” had been made in discussing “what the modalities would look like for destruction” of North Korea’s missile facility, but little specifics were provided.
Pompeo told reporters on Saturday that “the complete denuclearization of North Korea” remains the objective of the talks, and “no one walked away from that. Chairman Kim is still committed.”
But when asked about the overall timeline for denuclearization, Pompeo said, “I’m not going to get into the details of our conversations.”
Despite North Korea’s comments about the talks, a spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday, “We still cherish our good faith in President Trump.”
Woman Who Accused Justin Trudeau of Groping Breaks Silence
A former newspaper reporter who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of groping her at a music festival 18 years ago broke her silence, saying that the rumors are true, and that she considers the matter closed.
In a statement obtained by CNN partner CBC News, Rose Knight, the reporter, said Trudeau, who was not in politics at the time, apologized the following day.
Last week, Trudeau said he did not recall “any negative interactions that day at all.” On Thursday, however, Trudeau said he did apologize for the incident.
“I do not feel that I acted inappropriately in any way. But I respect the fact that someone else might have experienced that differently and this is part of the reflections that we have to go through,” Trudeau said.
At the time, an unsigned editorial appeared in the Creston Valley Advance newspaper, stating that Trudeau had apologized for inappropriately “handling” the reporter, and although it did not provide details, the piece did say Trudeau “blatantly disrespected” the woman, CNN reports.
The allegation resurfaced last month after Canadian political commentator Warren Kinsella tweeted a picture of the article with the #MeToo hashtag.
Knight said she issued her statement reluctantly due to “mounting media pressure.”
“I did not pursue the incident at the time and will not be pursuing the incident further. I have had no subsequent contact with Mr. Trudeau, before or after he became Prime Minister,” Knight wrote.
Trudeau said Friday, “I think there is an awakening going on right now and I think it’s a good thing but it also requires all of us to be having difficult conversations, difficult reflections and model the kind of responsibilities and reflections that we have to have moving forward.”
What to look out for…
Millennial pink coffin pool floats are a thing, and I kind of want one for the next pool bash.