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.)
President Trump Preparing For Second Summit With Kim Jong Un
The Trump administration is preparing for a second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un after the president received a “very positive, very warm” from the North Korean leader who requested another face-to-face meeting, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.
Sanders said the letter was “further indication of the progress that we hope to continue to make,” but there is still doubts about the North Korea’s willingness to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Trump’s top national security aide John Bolton said Monday that the U.S. was “still waiting” for progress regarding dismantling of the nuclear weapons, ABC News reports.
“President Trump can’t make the North Koreans walk through the door he’s holding open. They’re the ones that have to take the steps to denuclearize, and that’s what we’re waiting for,” Bolton said Monday.
It’s unclear where and when a second meeting would take place. Bolton would only say a second meeting was a “possibility.”
“It is premature to hold another summit meeting without any evidence of North Korean commitment to abandon its nuclear arsenal,” Bruce Klinger, the CIA’s former Korea deputy division chief and current senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said, adding that the North Korean leader is seeking “additional concessions from the president” and “sees [Trump] as more eager to maintain the proclaimed success of the summit.”
Sanders rebuked that argument, telling reporters at a White House briefing, “The president has achieved tremendous success with his policies so far,” noting the return of U.S. hostages held by North Korea and the remains of American service members from the Korean War, as well as North Korea not testing a nuclear weapon or an intercontinental ballistic missile in months. However, these things aren’t exactly related to the nuclear threat to the U.S. and North Korea claimed it no longer needed the tests since it had “perfected” its nuclear missile capability.
Trump had praised North Korea for its parade to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Sunday, calling it “a big and very positive statement.”
“Thank you To Chairman Kim. We will both prove everyone wrong! There is nothing like good dialogue from two people that like each other!” Trump added.
Talks between the U.S. and North Korea have been at a standstill since the summit in Singapore in June. North Korea demands that the U.S. sign a joint declaration to end the Korean War, but the U.S. wants North Korea to take steps to denuclearize before it makes any concessions, ABC News reports.
Trump Administration Closing Palestinian Office in Washington D.C.
The Trump administration is closing the Palestinian delegation’s office in Washington D.C., saying it “has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel,” according to State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.
This is the latest move by the White House to pressure the Palestinians as it prepares to unveil its peace proposal for Israel and Palestine, ABC News reports.
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s office has served as a de facto embassy for the Palestinian people, and it is unclear when the decision will take effect, ABC News reports.
In a statement, Nauert accused the Palestinian leadership of not cooperating with and criticizing the Trump administration’s forthcoming peace plan.
“The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel,” National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Monday, adding that there is “no evidence that the PLO office in Washington contributed to diplomacy.” Bolton said the decision “will have ultimately a positive impact on the potential for discussion among the parties as it eliminates unrealistic expectations that at least some of the parties have.”
The Palestinians were quick to condemn the Trump administration’s decision, saying it was a “policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people.”
“We will not succumb to U.S. threats and bullying and… we will continue our legitimate struggle for freedom, justice, and independence, including by all political and legal means possible,” Dr. Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official, said.
Nauert said in her statement Monday that the administration is “not retreating from our efforts to achieve a lasting and comprehensive peace.”
Merriam-Webster Added Millennial-Themed Words to the Dictionary
Our language is always evolving, and dictionaries add new words to keep up with the times. Merriam-Webster just added a bunch of millennial-themed words to its online dictionary, including “guac” and, my personal favorite, “hangry.”
According to Time, Merriam-Webster unveiled about 840 new words that had been added to its database on September 4, including words like “marg,” “bougie,” “adorbs,” “hangry,” “guac” and “avo.” Tech terms, like like “Instagramming,” “biohacking” and “force quit,” were also included in the update.
Folks, it’s that time again.
?? We just added more than 800 new words to the dictionary! ?? https://t.co/NiCeFa8EZ9
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) September 4, 2018
Several non-slang words made the list as well, such as “Latinx,” “self-harm” and “tent city,” demonstrating the importance of these issues in modern society.
In the announcement of the new words, Merriam-Webster wrote that a dictionary should be a “glossary of life,” and that words are introduced to the dictionary after a large number of people have regularly used them and they become a part of everyday vernacular.
“The dictionary’s job is to report that usage as it enters the general vocabulary,” Merriam-Webster’s announcement read. “For each reader, some of the new words inevitably seem already familiar, but others will be encountered for the first time in an announcement like this—which probably means we’re doing it just about right.”
So next time you use any one of these words and someone gives you grief for it, just tell them that Merriam-Webster approves.
What to look out for…
So Urban Outfitters is selling a shower wine glass holder, and this is the ultimate edition to self-care and relaxation.