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Skimm for November 9th

Skimm’d while catching up on “Empire”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Here’s my video of the impending doom! Enjoy!” – Josh Groban, posting a video of what many on the West Coast thought was a mass alien abduction over the weekend. It was just a very bright naval missile exercise.

THINGS GETTING THE CHALLENGE FLAG

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

THE STORY

Over the weekend, about 30 black football players at the University of Missouri RSVP’d ‘not attending’ to all upcoming games and practices. And the coach is good with it.

EXPLAIN.

In the last few months, there has been a wave of racist incidents on campus. Think: students being called racial slurs, somebody smearing a swastika in poop in a residence hall. Yes, really. A lot of students think the administration has badly fumbled its response, and have been calling for the school’s president to resign. About 30 members of the football team agree – and say they’re boycotting the sport until that happens. Meanwhile, the president says his administration has been “doing a tremendous amount of reflection.” Unclear how this might affect the team’s season, but yesterday the head coach said, “we are behind our players.”

theSKIMM

The University of Missouri isn’t the only school struggling with racial tensions. See: The University Of Louisville in Kentucky and Yale.

GREG HARDY

THE STORY

Over the weekend, files from an assault case involving Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy were released.

WAIT...BACK UP.

Last year, the NFL star was arrested and charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder. He was convicted, but the charges were later dismissed on appeal and erased from his record. Holder reportedly received a settlement of some kind. Hardy was basically sidelined by the NFL and only played one game last season. The Carolina Panthers, who Hardy had been playing for at the time of the incident, didn’t bring him back for this season. But Hardy was picked up by the Cowboys in a one-year, multi-million-dollar deal. The NFL suspended Hardy for 10 games, but the player’s association appealed and the punishment was reduced to four.

SO WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Over the weekend, official records from the case were published by Deadspin. They include photos that show bruises all over Holder’s body, and her brutal account of what happened that night.

theSKIMM

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is standing by Hardy. And football and domestic violence are back in the headlines. Not exactly what the League wanted.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU USE YOUR GYM MEMBERSHIP FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE SAUNA…

Step in the right direction. Yesterday, Myanmar had what’s being called its freest election in decades. Slow. Clap. Myanmar: the country in southeast asia that your parents call Burma. The country’s been under military rule for a long, long time. The last national election was in the 90s, when a democratic party led by Aung San Suu Kyi won by a landslide. But turns out the military wasn’t quite ready to let go of power. It said ‘never mind’ to the election results and put her under house arrest. Fast forward to yesterday, and it looks like her party could win. Again. But lots of people, inducing the US, are skeptical of just how fair the elections were. The final results could take days to come in.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU STILL CAN’T GET RESERVATIONS AT THAT NEW RESTAURANT…

Feeling a little rejected. Last Friday, President Obama said ‘not interested’ to TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline proposal. TransCanada – a Canadian energy company – wanted to expand a pipeline that carries crude oil from Canada to Texas. Supporters (mostly Republicans) say it would create lots of US jobs. Critics (mostly Democrats) say ‘how crude,’ it could cause dangerous oil spills. TransCanada’s been waiting for approval from Obama – for seven years – but recently asked him to pause the review process. Which most people thought was just a way to stall the decision until a new (read: hopefully Republican) prez is elected. Last week, the State Department rejected the pause request. And then Obama rejected the entire project. He said it would have undermined US action against climate change. TransCanada said it might re-apply, but first it’s going to buy a few tubs of ice cream and watch a romcom.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT SEASON OF “SERIAL”…

Adnan’s drama continues. Last Friday, a judge re-opened 35-year-old Adnan Syed’s case. He was granted a hearing that allows him to present new evidence. Syed was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend more than 15 years ago and is serving a life sentence. Which everyone knows about. The new evidence? Asia McClain’s potential alibi and cell phone tower records. So that debate you had going with your co-worker about whether or not Adnan is guilty just got reignited.

SKIMM'R OF THE WEEK

Skimm’bassador Lindsay Avner (Chicago, IL): When Lindsay was 23, she had a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of breast and ovarian cancer. At the time, she was the youngest woman in the US to do that. She then founded Bright Pink, an organization that educates millions of women on breast and ovarian health basics.

SKIMM LIFE

You can now wear your hometown pride — but have it look good. Think Google Maps meets nostalgia. Check it out.

SKIMM SHARE

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

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

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