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 Plans $12 billion In Emergency Aid To Farmers Affected By His Trade War
On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that it will make up to $12 billion in emergency government assistance available to farmers. The money is intended to help farmers — especially those that grow soybeans — who have recently begun facing tariffs placed on agriculture by China, Mexico and other countries in retaliation to President Trump’s decision to place tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. According to The Washington Post, the move “is the latest sign that growing trade tensions between the United States and other countries are unlikely to end soon.”
White House officials said farmers should expect to see payments by September, which, hopefully for them, will end ongoing protests. The Washington Post reported that many of these protests involve farm groups and lawmakers who are actually Republicans, but those that are so fed up with the intense trade policy, the 2018 midterm elections could be affected. According to Trump, his tariffs are going according to plan — farmers just need to “be a little patient” because they’re going to “be the biggest beneficiary.”
A Suspicious Package Was Sent To Maxine Waters’ Office
After a package addressed to “Anne Thrax” appeared in U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters’ district office in Los Angeles on Tuesday, authorities evacuated the building. According to an incident report from the L.A. Fire Department, only one person came in contact with the package, and they had no medical complaints. A hazmat crew eventually determined that the package posed no threat.
LAPD dep chief says the “suspicious” package sent to South LA district office of @RepMaxineWaters was addressed to “Ann Thrax” @KNX1070
— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) July 24, 2018
Just last week, Waters discussed the potential of “armed protests” against her outside her office. An extremist group had allegedly called for the demonstrations — the latest in a series of harassment and threats Waters has faced since calling for the public confrontation of Trump administration officials in response to family separations at the border. “As the President has continued to lie and falsely claim that I encouraged people to assault his supporters, while also offering a veiled threat that I should ‘be careful,’ even more individuals are leaving (threatening) messages and sending hostile mail to my office,” Waters said last month. “There was one very serious death threat made against me on Monday from an individual in Texas which is why my planned speaking engagements in Texas and Alabama were cancelled this weekend,” the statement continued. “This is just one in several very serious threats the United States Capitol Police are investigating in which individuals threatened to shoot, lynch, or cause me serious bodily harm.”
CNN Released The Audio From Michael Cohen’s Secret Trump Tape
On Tuesday’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” CNN’s Chris Cuomo aired a secret recording obtained from Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis. In the tape — which was recorded before the 2016 election — Trump and Cohen, his former lawyer, can be heard discussing their plans to buy the rights to a Playboy model’s (Karen McDougal) story about an alleged affair she had with Trump years earlier. Trump’s aides have previously denied an affair between the two.
At one point, Cohen mentions needing to set up a company to finance their purchase of the rights to McDougal’s Trump story, which she sold to American Media Inc. — which owns the National Enquirer — for $150,000. He specifically mentions a “David,” which is likely a reference to AMI’s chairman and CEO, David Pecker. “We’ll have to pay,” Cohen says, and though the audio is muddled, Trump responds with, “pay with cash.”
According to Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, the president never made any such payment. “There’s no indication of any crime being committed on this tape,” Giuliani said on Fox News Tuesday night. Davis reportedly released the tape because Giuliani previously said that it was Cohen who used the word “cash.” Davis said the audio proves it was Trump who said it.
What to look for…
It’s National Wine and Cheese Day (not to be confused with National Wine Day, which was in May).