Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Skimm for November 17th

Skimm’d from the slots.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“What is this Snapshot thing and why do I only get ten seconds?” – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The Democratic presidential candidate discovered Snapchat yesterday.

LET'S GET TOGETHER

THE STORY

Yesterday, French President Hollande asked the US and Russia to come together against everyone’s common enemy: ISIS.

BACK UP.

Last week, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris killed at least 129 people and injured more than 350 people. Hollande says ISIS was responsible. Seven attackers died, and there’s an ongoing manhunt to find another suspect. The attacks showed the rest of the world that ISIS is a lot more sophisticated than everyone thought, and that the terror group definitely isn’t just in Iraq and Syria anymore.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW?

Yesterday, Hollande said, “France is at war.” He’s extending a state of emergency there by three months. Police are also conducting anti-terror raids across the country, searching for people who may be connected to the attacks. Hollande says he’s hoping to make a “single coalition” in the fight against ISIS that includes both the US and Russia. Which would be a BFD, since Russia wasn’t invited to join the US-led coalition in Syria in the first place.

WHY NOT?

Both the US and Russia have very different feelings about the Syrian civil war. Russia is friends with Syrian President Assad, and is trying to help him out in the fight against both ISIS and rebel groups. The US does not like Assad, and has been arming the moderate rebels who’ve been fighting both him and ISIS. Over the weekend, President Obama and Russian President Putin had a sit-down where they discussed maybe, possibly putting their regional interests aside and working together to get rid of ISIS in Syria.

ANYTHING ELSE?

The EU is taking a harder look at how it’s handling the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis, after it came out that one of the suspected attackers traveled to France posing as a Syrian refugee. Yesterday, this news led more than 20 US states to say they’re refusing to accept any Syrian refugees because of security concerns.

theSKIMM

One year ago, Russia didn’t have a seat at the international table when it came to the fight against ISIS. That’s because everyone was so mad at Putin over his meddling in eastern Ukraine. Now, after the Paris attacks — and last month’s Russian plane crash, which ISIS claimed responsibility for, and Russia just confirmed was a “terrorist act” – international relationships are a-changin’.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY AFTER A GOOD DATE...

Should we get a room? Yesterday, after taking Starwood Hotels out to a few nice dinners, Marriott International sealed the deal. It’s acquiring Starwood for more than $12 billion in cash and stock – creating the world’s largest hotel company. This means more than 5,500 hotels – including brands like the Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, and St. Regis – will all be under the same roof. TBD on what will happen to Starwood’s loyalty program ...and all those points your consultant friends have been racking up. For months, Starwood has been thinking about getting hitched to another hotel name, and was reportedly in talks with Hyatt as recently as last week. Yesterday, Marriott’s CEO said, “by being bigger, our hotels can be made to perform better.” So yes, size matters.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR ROOMMATE KEEPS LOCKING HERSELF OUT OF THE APARTMENT...

This again? Yesterday, Japan officially entered a recession (aka it’s economy has been shrinking for two quarters in a row). It’s the fourth time in five years that this has happened. Palm, meet face. Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe has been trying to turn things around with a massive stimulus program called “Abenomics.” Which includes things like pumping a lot of cash into the economy, and public projects that try to put people back to work. The problem? Thanks to Japan’s aging population, there aren’t enough younger people who want those jobs. Yesterday, the government said ‘not to worry:’ even though there are a lot of weak spots, the economy is definitely getting better. Glass maybe half full.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT...

Charlie Sheen. This morning, NBC says the actor’s going to make a “revealing personal announcement” on the “Today” show. Neither NBC nor Sheen are saying what that announcement will be. But yesterday, reports came out that he’s going to say that he’s HIV positive, and that he’s known about his diagnosis for a long time. But ladies…he’s available.

THING TO KNOW

“Face With Tears of Joy” emoji: Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year. Meaning, even the people who write the dictionary are slowly regressing into emoji-only communication. Sad face.

SKIMM LIFE

Thanksgiving’s coming up. And you should get a gift for the person who’s basting that turkey. We’re thinking this subscription wine club. The first bottles will even be delivered by Turkey Day. And you’ll get a bonus bottle of bubbly for being such a good guest. Cheers.

PS: this is an affiliate partner, which means if you buy it, theSkimm gets some cash money. Thanks.

THANKSKIMMING

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm’bassador. You had me at cake.

*Lori Kern Hsu (Boston, MA); *Addison Walker (Charlottesville, VA); *Courtney Dziadul (Macon, GA); *Angela Gallagher (Princeton, NJ); *Diana Biggs (London, England); *Chelsey Moore (Florence, AL); *Alyssa Robinson (Charlotte, NC); *Carly Hagemann (Richmond, VA); *Jessica Patterson (Cleveland, OH); *Ashley So (New York, NY); Meagan Griffin (New Orleans, LA); Vik Doshetty (Chicago, IL); Julia Lyons Zito (New York, NY); Paul Salazar (Albuquerque, NM); Alice Chen (Vancouver, Canada); Gail Kayman (Chicago, IL); Brian Grady (Columbus, OH); Donna Morris (Potomac, MD); Katrina Schweitzer (Helena, MT); Caroline Hufford (Atlanta, GA); Blaire Piha (Seattle, WA); Callah Nelson (Fargo, ND); Jordana Worman (Scarsdale, NY); Gayle Singer (Essex Fells, NJ); Julie Philips (Los Angeles, CA); Gina Lee (Philadelphia, PA); Marie Castronovo (New York, NY); Mary Frost (San Diego, CA); Niketa Patel (Chicago, IL); Patti Coleman (South Orange, NJ); Sara Helm Wallace (Parkesburg, PA); Stacey Spengler (West Linn, OR); Holt Holten (Jackson, WI); Nikki Gonzalez (San Francisco, CA); Katy Whittle (Chattanooga, TN); Jodine Castin (Gainesville, FL); Miriam Kirubel (Silver Spring, MD); Molly McDonnell (Chicago, IL); Sierra Hamlin (Gulf Breeze, FL)