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.)
Michael Avenatti Says Trump May Have Had Deals With Other Women
Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels’ attorney, says that President Donald Trump may have made similar secrecy agreement deals with other women, NBC News reports.
Avenatti said he is nearly done confirming the accounts of two more women who said they had sexual relations with Trump and were later asked to sign secrecy agreements and paid off even more than the $130,000 given to Daniels.
“They are not fully vetted. But there's at least two that I think are on solid ground,” Avenatti said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”
“And I think that as the evidence rolls out over the coming months, disclosures are going to be made that my client was not alone as it relates to these payments,” Avenatti added.
The two women are not Avenatti’s clients and did not want to be identified. However, Avenatti said there is likely paperwork that will show Trump paid off the women through Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, NBC News reports.
There have been accusations that the $130,000 payment to Daniels in 2016 violated federal campaign finance laws as it was meant to prevent bad publicity in the weeks before the election, NBC News reports.
Cohen said he fronted the money for the payment, but Trump did not list this as part of his debts in the federally required financial disclosure filing last year. A reimbursement to Cohen was included in a 2017 filing released on Wednesday, which came days after Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Trump had reimbursed Cohen, NBC News reports.
Rudy Giuliani “Encouraged” By Recent Talks With Special Counsel Robert Mueller
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told ABC News he is “encouraged by recent communications with the special counsel” as the two parties continue to discuss a potential interview with the President Donald Trump.
After Giuliani told ABC News and The New York Times on Wednesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller “can’t indict” Trump, the lawyer said no one from the special counsel’s office has contacted him or Trump’s legal team to dispute his statement that the special counsel doesn’t have the authority to indict the president.
According to a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion in 2000, the indictment, or criminal prosecution, or a sitting president would unconstitutionally undermine the executive branch’s ability to perform its constitutionally designated duties.
Giuliani said there has only been one meeting with special counsel since he joined the president’s legal team, but anticipates another meeting once the two groups get closer to agreeing on some type of interview, ABC News reports.
The Trump lawyer did reiterate that Trump would like to sit down for an interview with special counsel, but a final decision has not been made.
Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts
An eruption from the Kilauea volcano’s summit shot ash and smoke 30,000 feet into the air on Thursday, CNN reports.
Rain kept the ashfall from spreading far, but officials still warned residents of Hawaii’s Big Island to use one of the 18,000 masks that were handed out and to stay indoors.
US Geological Survey (USGS) geologist Michelle Coombs said the event was “energetic, but short-lived.” Most of the debris ejected fell near the explosion site, but officials expect the volcanic activity to continue, CNN reports.
No new fissures, or vents in the ground, opened on Thursday.
USGS scientists haven’t figured out what is causing explosions like the one Thursday, but they expect them to continue.
“At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent,” the USGS said. “Ballistic projectiles may be produced should steam-driven explosions occur. Impacts will be limited to an area around Halemaumau.”
On Tuesday, the USGS issued a red alert, meaning a major eruption is imminent or underway and could affect air traffic, CNN reports.
This latest eruption is a part of the series of volcanic activity on Hawaii’s Big Island since May 3.
What to look out for...
T minus one day until the Royal Wedding! Make sure to watch out for Royal Wedding coverage, and most importantly, watch for a glimpse at Meghan Markle's gown!
