Morning! While you were sleeping (or staying up to binge-watch Friends for the tenth time, or pulling an all-nighter in the library), a few things went down that you’ll probably want to know about. So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and get scrolling.
Rumor Has It
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading to South Africa!
The royal couple and newborn son Archie will be traveling to South Africa this fall, according to British High Commissioner to South Africa Nigel Casey, who confirmed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit Wednesday while delivering remarks at a reception in Pretoria, South Africa, for Queen Elizabeth’s birthday, USA TODAY reports.
Jacaranda News posted the news with a video of Casey at the press conference, predicting that the visit would be “great” for South Africa’s economy.
BREAKING NEWS: Casey has confirmed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will be coming to South Africa later this year. pic.twitter.com/No90q574Tl
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) June 26, 2019
“That’s great news for us,” Casey said. “I predict it’s also good news for the South African economy because I predict a hat and frock-buying frenzy … which could well restore economic growth all on its own.”
Casey’s comments are the first details revealed publicly about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s long-rumored plan to return to Africa on an official visit, ABC News reports.
While Buckingham Palace has not released any details on the royal visit, the Daily Mail reported that “it is understood” that the royals’ trip will range beyond South Africa and will focus on Commonwealth countries, including potential stops in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Royah Nikkhah, royal correspondent for The Sunday Times, told Good Morning America in April that the couple was planning to take Archie with them to Africa.
“As it stands the plan is that Harry and Meghan and their newborn baby, in probably about six months, will take a trip to Africa and tour several countries in Africa, and around October time probably visit two or three different Commonwealth nations, which are of course the nations in Africa that have a close relationship with the U.K.,” Nikkhah said in April.
“The countries that they will be going to haven’t been decided yet. That’s a discussion that is ongoing between the government and some of the host nations who want to have Harry and Meghan,” she added. “The tour will be on behalf of the government but very likely to be some countries that Harry and Meghan have a close connection with.”
Africa is very close to Harry and Meghan’s hearts.
After all, Harry whisked Meghan away to Botswana a few weeks after the royal couple’s first date in 2017. The Duke of Sussex has also said in previous interviews that Botswana will always hold a special place in his heart because he, Prince William and Prince Charles escaped to Africa to “get away from it all” after his mother Diana’s death in 1997.
News You Can Eat
Our two favorite loves in this world are coffee and chocolate, but when you combine the two, the result is pure perfection. Luckily for us, Dunkin’ has partnered with Hershey’s for a candy-coated, caffeinated collaboration that will make your a.m. coffee game just that much better.
For a limited time, candy-lovers and coffee enthusiasts can grab iced coffees made with Kit Kats, Heath bars, and Hershey’s Cookies ‘n Crème, Cosmopolitan reports.
.@KitKat_US Those who break together stay together. Want to make it official? pic.twitter.com/uQFSqUTKkl
— Dunkin’ (@dunkindonuts) June 25, 2019
The new Kit Kat Coolatta is a frozen beverage that features Vanilla Bean-flavored Coolatta mixed with crispy wafers of Kit Kat. If you’re more of a Heath bar fan, you’ll love Dunkin’s Heath-flavored coffee, which combines milk chocolate and English coffee tastes. The Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme flavored coffee mixes white chocolate with notes of cookie flavors. Also, both flavored coffees can be hot, iced, an espresso drink, frozen coffee, or frozen chocolate, so the options are endless.
But if you’re craving a delicious Dunkin donut, Dunkin’ is also offering a Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Donut — a square-shaped donut filled with vanilla buttercream and topped with Hershey’s cookie crumbles. We’re already drooling!
In addition to all of these new sweet treats, Dunkin is looking to make life just that much sweeter. According to Delish, every week through July at nationwide Dunkin’ locations, at least one customer will be surprised at the counter with a Sweet Escape trip to the Bahamas for two. Sign us up!
It’s definitely time for a Dunkin’ trip!
Then This Happened
A recent heart-wrenching photograph of a migrant father and daughter who drowned Monday in Rio Grande River near Brownsville, Texas while attempting to cross from Mexico into the U.S. has sparked new calls to deal with the immigration crisis.
According to the Associated Press, Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramirez had reportedly carried his daughter, Valeria, to the U.S. side of the river before returning for her mother, Tania Vanessa Avalos. The young girl reportedly jumped in after her father, and when he tried to rescue her, they were both swept away by the current.
The heartbreaking photo shows the daughter tucked under her father’s shirt for protection with her arm draped over his neck. The image underscores the dangers migrants and asylum-seekers face trying to reach the U.S. and the desperate measures they resort to when current policies work to deter them.
A searing photo of a man and his 23-month-old daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande underscores the perils of the migration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. https://t.co/y8GmQRth4L
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 25, 2019
Numerous media outlets and publications shared the photo captured by journalist Julia Le Duc.
According to ABC News, President Donald Trump reacted to the photo Wednesday while on his way to the G20 summit in Japan, blaming Democrats.
“I hate it. If they fix the laws, you wouldn’t have that,” Trump said, referring to asylum and “loopholes.”
“It can be a very rough river…very dangerous. They should change it so that people won’t come up, so they won’t get killed,” Trump continued. “Open borders mean people drowning in the rivers. That father, who probably was this wonderful guy with his daughter — things like that wouldn’t happen.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday morning next to a poster-sized version of the photo.
“President Trump, I want you to look at this photo. These are not drug dealers or vagrants or criminals. They are people simply fleeing a horrible situation in their home country for a better life,” Schumer said. “So, President Trump, if you want to know the real reason there’s chaos at the border, look in the mirror.”
“We all — Democrats, Republicans, Americans — have a responsibility to act here,” Schumer added.
The Senate was expected to vote on Wednesday on emergency border funding, including money at detention centers where reports say children have been mistreated, ABC News reports.
The photograph has drawn attention from around the world to the desperate conditions that migrants face in their home countries and during their journey to reach the U.S.
“The deaths of Oscar and Valeria represent a failure to address the violence and desperation pushing people to take journeys of danger for the prospect of a life in safety and dignity,” Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is compounded by the absence of safe pathways for people to seek protection, leaving people with no other choice than to risk their lives.”
Happy Thoughts
Happy Friday Eve!