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Skimm for December 4th

Skimm’d while brushing up on OPEC before today’s meeting.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The minute that I get my hair insured, somebody just put me in a straitjacket” - Connie Britton reminding you why you love Connie Britton. #ClearEyes.

ENOUGH

THE STORY

The US is still mourning this week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA. Yesterday, lawmakers disagreed (again) about how to prevent tragedies like this one from happening.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Yesterday, Senate Dems put forward gun control proposals. The Republican-led Senate rejected those proposals, which would’ve expanded background checks and prevented people on the terror watch list from buying firearms. Dems say these steps would prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. The GOP says that mental health reform should instead be the focus in preventing more shootings like the one this week.

ANY UPDATES ON THE SHOOTERS?

The FBI’s now investigating whether or not the shooting was a terror act and whether or not the shooters were in touch with Islamist extremists. The shooters - a married couple — were both shot dead after a manhunt. They’d built more than a dozen pipe bombs and stockpiled more than 1,000 rounds of ammo in their home. The heavy weapons they used in the shooting were purchased legally, adding more fuel to the gun control debate.

theSKIMM

Everyone agrees that mass shootings need to stop. Not everyone agrees on how that should happen.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU’RE MAKING THE INVITE LIST FOR YOUR UGLY SWEATER PARTY…

Come one, come all. Yesterday, the Pentagon said all combat roles will be open to women. Slow. Clap. Women serving in the military is nothing new, but they’ve been excluded from specific jobs (think: artillery, Navy SEALs). Recently, the Pentagon’s been under a lot of pressure to take down the ‘no girls allowed’ sign. A few years ago, a 2016 deadline was set for military branches to allow women into all combat jobs. Almost all branches said ‘fine by us.’ Except the Marines, who cited a study that found all-male units performed better in combat. Yesterday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the debate, saying “there will be no exceptions.”

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU HAVE REPEAT YOUR CO-WORKER’S NAME FIVE TIMES…

Scott Weiland would use a megaphone. Yesterday, the rock singer - whose signature move was shouting lyrics through a megaphone held up to a mike - died at age 48. Weiland was the Grammy-winning lead singer of 90s rock band Stone Temple Pilots, who you know for songs like “Plush” and “Creep.” He was then the frontman of supergroup Velvet Revolver, a squad that included former Guns N’ Roses members. Weiland struggled with drug addiction for years. It’s not clear how he passed away yesterday, while he was on tour with his latest band, Scott Wiland and the Wildabouts.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT…

Chennai, India. The city is going through severe flooding from rainfall that started earlier this week. More than 250 people have been killed and thousands have been evacuated. Chennai is home to a growing number of IT firms, many of which had to temporarily close because of the flooding. This is the worst rain the country has seen in 100 years, and it’s not over yet. Heavy rain is supposed to keep falling for the next few days.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN THE BOUNCER LETS IN YOUR 15-YEAR-OLD SISTER…

Nothing gets past you, huh? Yesterday, Congress released a Secret Service report card with a big, red “F” on it. You might have already heard the agency’s kind of a hot mess (think: a fumbled response to shots fired at the White House, agents involved in a prostitution scandal ). Yesterday’s report shows the agency’s an even hotter mess than everyone thought. The highlights? That time last year when someone apparently posed as a Congressman at an awards dinner and ended up having a convo with President Obama. Great. Or that other time when a woman walked backstage without being properly screened at a gala dinner where Obama was a guest. And the comforting news doesn’t stop there. The agency’s also understaffed. Applications being accepted now...no background check required.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU’RE ABOUT TO LEAVE WORK AND YOUR BOSS SENDS YOU AN EMAIL…

Thought I was in the clear. So did Oscar Pistorius. Refresher: Pistorius is the South African double-amputee Olympian who shot and killed his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door in 2013. In a trial that was closely followed by pretty much everyone, Pistorius said he thought she was an intruder. The court found him guilty of “culpable homicide,” which is like manslaughter in the US. He spent one year in prison and was recently placed on house arrest. But yesterday, an appeals court said ‘never mind,’ and convicted him of murder. Now he could be calling prison home for at least 15 years.

SKIMM READS

“The Clasp” by Sloane Crosley

Reuniting with your college friends at a wedding. Normal. That reunion leading to a hunt through France for a necklace that disappeared during the Nazi occupation. Not so normal. But way more interesting.

SKIMM WINE

Light reads about international adventures go well with wine. Fact. Especially this pinot grigio.

12 DAYS OF SKIMM'NESS

On the fourth day of Skimm’ness…you realized you can’t get your sister earrings again this year.

��Hear that? It’s the sound of these sleek rose gold headphones calling her name��. Buy them here.
PS: this is an affiliate partner, which means if you buy it, theSkimm gets some cash money. Thanks.

SKIMM SHARE

SKIMM BITHDAYS

*indicates Skimm’bassador. Cake cake cake cake.

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