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Skimm for January 26th

Skimm’d while catching up on “Shameless”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We all need the D” - The slogan for a Canadian public health campaign reminding people to get enough Vitamin D. Seems nobody bothered to Google “the D.” Canada’s since said ‘so schlong‘ to that idea.

THINGS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

THE STORY

Yesterday, a Texas grand jury investigating Planned Parenthood made a U-turn and indicted two anti-abortion activists instead.

REMIND ME.

Last year, an anti-abortion group released a series of undercover videos that it said showed Planned Parenthood selling fetal tissue for a profit. It’s not illegal to donate fetal tissue for medical research, but it IS illegal to profit from it in any way – which Planned Parenthood says it doesn’t. It also says the videos were edited. The accusations prompted lots of investigations into Planned Parenthood, many of which ended after finding no wrongdoing. It also led to calls to pull the plug on Planned Parenthood’s federal funding.

SO WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Yesterday, a grand jury decided to indict two people behind the videos - and cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing. Psst...a grand jury decides whether someone should be charged with a crime, not whether the person is guilty. One of the two was charged with a misdemeanor related to buying human organs. They both were charged with tampering with a governmental record.

theSKIMM

Planned Parenthood is one of the leading women’s healthcare providers in the country. It’s always been controversial, but these videos have put it under an especially harsh spotlight...in an election year. Now, it looks like the tables might be turning.

FLINT

THE STORY

Yesterday, Michigan’s attorney general tapped a special investigator to look into one city’s epic water issues.

REMIND ME.

In 2014, the city of Flint, MI left the Detroit water system to save cash money during tight times. Instead, it started taking water from a local river. This was all well and good until people noticed that their water looked and smelled bad. And children’s blood tests started showing higher levels of lead, which can cause serious health and developmental issues for children. Not good.

SO WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Gov. Rick Snyder and his administration have been catching a lot of heat for being too slow to react. This new special investigator is going to look into how the F all this happened, including whether any laws were broken along the way.

theSKIMM

Meanwhile, Flint residents are still stockpiling bottled water and living that water filtered life. And it could be a loooong time until things are back to normal..

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR BOSS CATCHES YOU FALLING ASLEEP IN A BIG MEETING…

Can I get a second chance? Yesterday, the Supreme Court said more than a thousand inmates across the country might get a second chance at freedom. Back in 2012, the Supremes decided that mandatory life sentences for juveniles were so not constitutional. At the time, the ruling only applied to future cases. Until yesterday, when the Court decided that a 69-year-old man who’s been in jail for murder since he was 17 should be able to prove that he’s changed his ways . This means that inmates who were sentenced to life as juveniles have the opportunity to at least ask for a second chance. Now, the Supremes are passing the talking stick to President Obama. Today, he’s expected to announce executive actions today that will ban federal prisons from putting juveniles and low-level offenders in solitary confinement. He says the punishment is overused in most cases.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT…

Florida State University. Yesterday, the school reached a settlement with a former student who accused former QB Jameis Winston of rape in 2012. Winston said the sex was consensual. He went on to win the Heisman Trophy, lead FSU to a national championship, and play in the NFL. The former student sued Winston personally and then sued Florida State for not properly investigating the situation. The case against Winston is pending, but yesterday the school agreed to pay her $950,000, basically saying they just don’t want to foot the legal bills anymore. The school also agreed to five years of sexual assault awareness programs.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR GRANDMOTHER FINDS OUT YOU’RE LIVING WITH YOUR BF…

Times, they are a-changin’. Earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee came out with new guidelines that say transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in the Olympics and international events without having sex reassignment surgery first. The committee says men transitioning to women need to prove their testosterone has dropped to a certain level before they can compete. In the past, athletes who were transitioning were required to have surgery and at least two years of hormone therapy before competing. The committee says it changed the policies to adapt to current attitudes on transgender issues. Caitlyn, start training.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN THE BARISTA SPELLS YOUR NAME WRONG...

Jon Hamm feels your pain.

THING TO KNOW

Joanne Kathleen Rowling: the real name of the woman who brought you Butterbeer, Quidditch, and Hogwarts. The thinking being that boys might not want to read a book by a lady Muggle. Not the case.

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