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 Denies Knowledge of Payment to Stormy Daniels
In his first comment on the matter, President Trump denied any knowledge of a $130,000 payment his lawyer made on his behalf to silence Stormy Daniels, a porn star who claims to have slept with him, the New York Times reports. After denying knowing about the payment, he told reporters aboard Air Force One Thursday evening, "You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney, and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen."
As the Times notes, Trump's comment could actually weaken his legal battle against Daniels, who is claiming that Trump did not know about the payment to her as part of a nondisclosure agreement, therefore invalidating the agreement and legally allowing her to speak about their alleged sexual encounter.
Reporter: "Mr. President, did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?"
President Trump: "No."pic.twitter.com/wHTR7o5lqB
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 5, 2018
The Department of Education Failed to Notify 17 Colleges That May Have Breached Campus Safety Laws
According to a new report by BuzzFeed News, the Department of Education may have failed to notify 17 colleges and universities that they were in violation of the Clery Act, a campus safety law that requires schools to track and report crimes on campus, send emergency alerts and provides rights to those reporting sexual assault on campus. Documents obtained by BuzzFeed show that the Department of Education, which is responsible for enforcing the Clery Act, knew schools were unaware that they were in violation of it, yet did nothing to inform them of it.
Victims at schools such as the University of Utah and Old Dominion University are worried that, months after their complaints were filed, nothing has been done to address the issues with the way their schools have handled safety issues on campus.
17 Colleges Fell Short On Campus Safety, But The Education Department Didn’t Tell The Schools https://t.co/mHkj01RktG via @tylerkingkade
— Clery Act Info (@CleryActInfo) April 5, 2018
This Woman Found a Dead Lizard in Her Trader Joe's Kale & EW
A woman in Washington, D.C. was less than thrilled to come home from her Trader Joe's run this week only to find a dead lizard in the bag of kale she'd bought. Ew. We all love Trader Joe's but...even they don't get a free pass on this one. Thankfully, the grocery store is reportedly investigating her claim— which includes some pretty horrifying photo evidence.
Meme of the day:
Because it's officially almost the weekend, and these are my plans summed up in a single tweet:
