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.)
Sen. Marco Rubio Defends FBI, Saying There Is “No Evidence” It Spied
Sen. Marco Rubio defended the FBI on Sunday on ABC, saying there is “no evidence” that the FBI used an informant to gather information on the President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, but rather focused on “individuals with a history of links to Russia that were concerning.”
According to The Hill, Rubio said he felt it was appropriate to look into these individuals.
“As far as what I have seen to date, it appears that there was an investigation not of the campaign but of certain individuals who have a history that we should be suspicious of that predate the presidential campaign of 2015, 2016.” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“When individuals like that are in the orbit of a major political campaign in America, the FBI, who is in charge of counterintelligence investigations, should look at people like that,” Rubio added. “But they’re not investigating the campaign, they’re investigating those people.”
Trump had recently tweeted that the FBI had improperly spied on his campaign.
The Democrats are now alluding to the the concept that having an Informant placed in an opposing party’s campaign is different than having a Spy, as illegal as that may be. But what about an “Informant” who is paid a fortune and who “sets up” way earlier than the Russian Hoax?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2018
Can anyone even imagine having Spies placed in a competing campaign, by the people and party in absolute power, for the sole purpose of political advantage and gain? And to think that the party in question, even with the expenditure of far more money, LOST!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 25, 2018
“The Democrats are now alluding to the the concept that having an Informant placed in an opposing party’s campaign is different than having a Spy, as illegal as that may be,” Trump wrote on Friday. “But what about an ‘Informant’ who is paid a fortune and who ‘sets up’ way earlier than the Russian Hoax?”
However, Rubio did not give a direct answer when asked if Trump’s claims were incorrect.
“I have no evidence that those people were part of an investigation on the campaign. If that exists, I would want to know about it, we should all know about and that — that would be wrong and we should — we should do something about it,” Rubio said.
“But up to now, what I have seen is evidence that they were investigating individuals with a history of links to Russia that were concerning.”
Danica Patrick Crashes in Final Race of Her Career at Indy 500
Danica Patrick’s racing career resulted in a crashing end when her race slammed into the wall at the Indianapolis 500 race on Sunday, The Huffington Post reports.
The 36-year-old race car driver lost control of the car on the 68th lap, before the midpoint of the 200-lap race.
Danica Patrick’s NASCAR career ended in a crash at Daytona.
Her racing career ends in a crash in the Indianapolis 500. pic.twitter.com/FzxdFfbCoo
— Nick Bromberg (@NickBromberg) May 27, 2018
Patrick appeared uninjured when climbing out of the vehicle, but was examined at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway medical center before being released, HuffPost reports.
“First thing I said was that I’m not really sure what happened,” said Patrick. “It just seemed to come around and seemed pretty late off the corner.”
“They said they looked back at the data and it was kind of a little lift in the middle, a little bit of understeer and then back to it and it just swung,” Patrick added.
Patrick announced her retirement from racing in November, saying she would retire with a “Danica Double” — competing in both the Daytona and Indy 500 races. However, both unfortunately ended in crashes, HuffPost reports.
During her 14-year career between IndyCar and NASCAR, Patrick proved herself to be one of America’s best athletes.
She finished in fourth place during her rookie debut at the Indy 500 in 2004, and sixth place in 2006, HuffPost reports. But her third-place finish in 2009 still is the best-ever result by a female racer in the Indy 500.
Boston’s Memorial Day Flag Garden Inspires Other Gardens
A display of U.S. flags on Boston Common a decade ago, honoring those that gave their life in service to this country, has now become a national movement, ABC News reports.
The flag display, also known as flag gardens, will be seen all over the country this Memorial Day, all inspired by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund’s tribute, a group founded to support families of service members killed since 9/11, all those years ago.
“We are extraordinarily proud that what we intended to do for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been brought to a scale that we never fully anticipated,” said Tom Crohan, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors.
The first flag garden featured 20,000 American flags, honoring those gave their life in war since World War I. This year there will be more than 37,000 flags, honoring service members that have died since the Revolutionary War, ABC news reports.
Janet Broussard, a member of the Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana, said she was inspired when she saw pictures of the flags at the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund planted. The Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana have now planted more than 11,000 on Statehouse grounds in Baton Rouge, ABC News reports.
The flag garden has also inspired other gardens in Texas and Ohio. But all of them agree on one thing — the greatest satisfaction comes from visitor’s reactions to the flag garden.
“The thing that I love is when you see families solemnly and slowly walk by, probably thinking of a special loved one,” Carmen said.
Broussard remembers when a little girl who was around four-years-old visited the flag garden in Baton Rouge. The little girl’s father had died in Iraq.
“She asked ‘Which one is my Daddy’s?’ That just made it all worthwhile,” Broussard said.
So, on this Memorial Day, we honor those that have served and given their life in service to our country.
What to look out for…
On this Memorial Day, we honor all of those who have served our country. If you have or know of anyone who has served, here is a list of places that are offering special discounts and treats to service members.