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.)
Counterprotesters Outnumber White Nationalists At Second "Unite The Right" Rally
This weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one woman dead and several others injured. The state's governor declared states of emergency throughout Virginia to prepare the National Guard, agencies, and law enforcement officials for any repeated events or another "Unite the Right" rally. The latter occurred on Sunday, but not in Charlottesville, and instead across the street from the White House. The event was organized by Jason Kessler, who helped plan last year's rally. Though his permit application stated that up to 400 people were expected to attend the "white civil rights rally,"CNN reported that a small number of white nationalists were "vastly outnumbered by throngs of counterprotesters."
Around 3 p.m., Kessler and a few other white nationalists were escorted by police officers from a D.C. subway station to Lafayette Square Park. The group was greeted with shouts of "Nazis go home!" and "Shame! Shame! Shame!" According to CNN, more than 40 anti-racism groups organized their own rallies at the same location to counter the second Unite the Right.
Anti-racist demonstrators also gathered in Charlottesville. Some marched to the site of Heather Heyer's death to pay their respects. Heyer was the person killed at last year's rally after a suspected neo-Nazi sympathizer drove a car through a crowd of anti-racism protesters. Her mother, Susan Bro, attended and addressed a crowd at the site. "We have a huge racial problem in our city and our country. We have got to fix this, or we'll be right back here in no time," Bro said.
She continued, "The world went crazy when Heather lost her life, and that's not fair, because so many mothers lose their children every day, and we have to fix that. I don't want other mothers to be in my spot. I don't want other mothers to go through this."
Representative Chris Collins Will Not Seek Re-Election After Insider Trading Charges
Chris Collins, a Republican congressman from New York's 27th district, announced on Saturday that he was suspending his re-election campaign after he was charged in an insider trading case last week. "After extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump's agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress," Collins said in a statement on Twitter. He added that he'll finish his term, which ends in November.
According to The Buffalo News, Collins; his son, Cameron Collins; and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancée, are facing felony charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to FBI agents. All three have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege that Collins instructed his son and others to sell off shares of stock in an Australian drug company — that Collins was on the board of — before poor drug trial results went public and caused stocks to plummet. Those involved reportedly avoided losses of $768,600.
— Rep. Chris Collins (@RepChrisCollins) August 11, 2018
In Collins' Twitter statement, he addressed the ongoing investigation. "I will also continue to fight the meritless charges brought against me and I look forward to having my good name cleared of any wrongdoing," he wrote.
Keith Ellison Denies Recent Claims Of Domestic Abuse
On Sunday, US Representative Keith Ellison, who's also deputy director of the Democratic National Committee and running for Minnesota attorney general, denied recently-surfaced allegations that he abused an ex-girlfriend. According to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Austin Aslim Monahan made a Facebook post on Saturday night that he watched a video in 2017 of Ellison "dragging" his mom, Karen Monahan, off a bed "as he screamed profanities at her." She confirmed the post in numerous tweets, one of which tagged Ellison. "Every statement he made was true.@keithellison, you know you did that to me. I have given every opportunity to get help and heal. Even now, u r willing to say my son is lying and have me continue to leak more text and info just so others will believe him," Monahan tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
Though Ellison confirmed he dated Monahan, he denied both the abuse allegations and the existence of the video. "Karen and I were in a relationship which ended in 2016, and I still care deeply for her well-being," he said in a statement to The Star-Tribunethrough his campaign. "This video does not exist because I never behaved in this way, and any characterization otherwise is false."
A reporter from The Star Tribune tried to interview Monahan at her apartment on Sunday, but she said she wasn't ready to talk to the media. Austin Monahan told the paper on Saturday night that he "was not in possession of the video," but he stands by what he said in his Facebook post. The Star Tribune did not find any incidents between Monahan and Ellison while searching through court records.
What to look for...
More backlash from Omarosa's new tell-all memoir about her time working with the Trump administration. Read about some of her claims — like the existence of a tape where Trump can be heard saying the N-word — here.
