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 Unloads At NATO Summit
This year's two-day NATO Summit — an annual meeting of Heads of State and Heads of Government of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — is currently taking place in Brussels. President Trump began by accusing NATO ally Germany of being "a captive of Russia," because the country pays "billions and billions of dollars" to Russia for energy. He also called members of the alliance "delinquent" for how much they spend on defense, insisting that they increase funds "immediately.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders expanded on Trump's demands in a press briefing. "During the president's remarks today at the NATO summit he suggested that countries not only meet their commitment of 2 percent of their GDP on defense spending, but that they increase it to 4 percent," she said. "President Trump wants to see our allies share more of the burden and at a very minimum meet their already stated obligations."
At the summit, Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met privately. He told reporters the meeting was "great," and Merkel later added that they discussed trade and migration. Trump also met with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Paul Manafort's Jail Conditions Revealed
Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, has been detained at the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia since June 15 — but according to Manafort himself, he's being treated like a "VIP." According to Justice Department lawyers working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Manafort is trying to delay his trial, which is currently scheduled for July 25. To prevent him from doing so, they're citing recorded jail calls and prison logs that show Manafort is getting special attention.
"Among the unique privileges Manafort enjoys at the jail are a private, self-contained living unit, which is larger than other inmates' units, his own bathroom and shower facility, his own personal telephone, and his own workspace to prepare for trial," the prosecutors wrote.
New court filings show that Paul Manafort's "solitary confinement" is actually a large private room w/ shower, telephone, workspace and laptop, prosecutors say. He also doesn't have to wear a prison jumpsuit. Accd to filing, Manafort himself said he's treated like a "VIP."
— Nora Neus (@noraneus) July 11, 2018
Manafort was initially detained over witness-tampering charges while awaiting trial over charges from Mueller's Russia probe. In just three weeks in jail, he's made more than 100 phone calls to his attorneys.
A Record Number Of Americans Are Quitting Their Jobs
Americans are leaving their jobs to seek better opportunities at the highest rate in 17 years. According to new data from the Labor Department, nearly 3.56 million workers left their jobs in May — the most since 2000.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. "Rising 'quit rates' are considered positive because they often indicate employees are leaving their current positions for jobs with higher wages and better benefits,"The Hill reported.
The Labor Department data also revealed that unemployment rates remain low at 4 percent nationwide. In April, the number of job openings was a record 6.84 million.
What to look for...
There's a holiday for everything, and today's revolves around pie. Yep — July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day.