The Daily Skimm

JULY 12, 2018

The Story

President Trump came to the NATO summit with a bone to pick.

Explain.

Trump's been feeling icy towards NATO for a while. He once called the military alliance of 29 countries "obsolete." But his main beef is with defense spending. And yes, it definitely came up at the summit.

Tell me about that.

Each member country is supposed to be working towards putting 2% of its GDP towards defense spending. They have until 2024 to get there. The cash would be used for things like intelligence, surveillance, and ballistic missile defense. Only five countries – including the US – have reached the goal so far. And Trump doesn't love the fact that the US is putting up so much cash. Yesterday, he proposed that countries should up their contribution to 4%. And said some NATO allies owe the US money.

What are people saying?

Supporters say the US has been taken advantage of for years, and that NATO allies should finally pay up. Critics say that the 2% goal is just a guideline. That it goes towards individual defense, not a joint NATO bank account. And that the US isn't owed a thing.

Anything else?

Yep. Trump also had some words for Germany. He called out the country for being a liiittle too reliant on Russia for natural gas. And said it's something NATO should look into. German Chancellor Angela Merkel wasn't amused.

theSkimm

Trump has been pushing NATO allies to increase their defense spending since last year. And he's gotten some countries to follow through. TBD if his new tactic works or if the summit ends today with some bad blood.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What to say when your roommate invites friends over as you're getting ready for bed…

Give me the heads up first. Yesterday, the Senate voted on a measure that would require it to sign off on any tariffs related to national security. As in…the ones that the White House has imposed on China and US allies recently. It's the Senate's kind of passive aggressive way of saying 'we don't agree with you on this, so now you need our permission.' The reason it's passive aggressive and not full-on aggressive: the measure is non-binding. Aka probably not happening.

What people are watching…

Nevada. An execution there was blocked by a judge just hours before it was supposed to happen. You've been hearing about this because the state was planning to use fentanyl (an opioid) and two other drugs. But earlier this week, a pharma co behind one of the drugs sued the state, saying it never wanted its drugs to be used in "botched" executions. And Pfizer – who's reportedly behind the fentanyl – asked the state to return it to the co last year. Now, a judge said 'that can't be good' and called off the execution.

What to say when your sister tries to eat your leftovers...

You can't do that. Yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled that you may not be able to sue TSA screeners at the airport. This comes after a woman was jailed for 18 hours (yes, 18 hours) after she was randomly selected for more security screening and reportedly wasn't happy about it. She sued the TSA for false imprisonment and false arrest. And lost. Now a judge says TSA agents aren't "investigative or law enforcement officers" and are therefore immune from abuse lawsuits. Umm...Ok.

What to say when you hear Roger Federer is out of the game…

So is England. Yesterday, underdog Croatia beat England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal. This is the first time the Yacht Week country will be in the final. Ever. They go head-to-head against France on Sunday. Everyone in Europe is already planning their sick day on Monday.

What to say when you hear the founder of Papa John's resigned…

Buh-bye. Twitter's saying the same to fake accounts (think: bots and spam). And it means some of your fave celebs might lose a few (million) followers.

What to say when you hear Comcast has a ton of money to spend...

So does Kylie.

What to say when your 8 year-old cousin gets an Insta...

What else is new with this Kulture?