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Skimm for January 5th

Skimm’d after the (crowded) gym. With this playlist.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Chicken enthusiast” — The job description for one of the contestants during “The Bachelor” premiere last night.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, EXECUTIVE ACTION

THE STORY

Today, President Obama’s expected to announce some executive actions around gun control. Hear that? It’s Congress prepping some wahburgers and french cries.

SO WHAT’S HE GONNA DO?

Make sure that people who make a living by selling guns are registered, and conducting background checks. Right now, many people who sell at gun shows and on the Interwebs don’t register as dealers, or do background checks on customers. Now, that’s expected to change for those who sell guns as their main gig. The catch? There won’t be a set number for defining how many guns sold would require someone to register as a dealer. Obama will also do things like tighten checks on people buying machine guns or sawed-off shotguns, and make it easier to track lost or stolen guns.

WHY THE EXECUTIVE ACTION?

Weeks after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, Obama pushed Congress to pass sweeping gun control legislation. That didn’t work out. Now, after recent shootings like the one in San Bernardino, CA, Obama’s decided to take matters into his own hands.

theSKIMM

This is Obama’s attempt to take whatever legal action he can to tighten gun laws, while bypassing Congress. Still, the new moves stop very short of what he, and many Dems, would like to see. Meanwhile, the GOP is hearing ‘executive action,’ and shouting ‘Second Amendment, anyone?’ while reaching for the Xanax. Happy election year.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR 2016 STARTED WITH A BAD HANGOVER...

China feels your pain. Yesterday, global markets had a no good, very bad day. And everyone’s pointing at China. Refresher: Last summer, a combo of China’s sluggish economy and the country’s decision to devalue its currency caused global markets to freak out. China said ‘oops,’ and put a few measures in place that it hoped would prevent a repeat episode. Fast forward a few months, and those measures aren’t really working. That, plus a meh manufacturing report caused investors to freak out yesterday and sell...a lot. And it doesn’t help that Saudi Arabia and Iran - two of the biggest oil producers in the world - are currently not talking to each other. Stir ingredients and you get US markets having their worst start to a year since 2008. Happy New Year.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU’RE LATE TO WORK AND SPILL YOUR COFFEE…

The hits just keep on coming. Volkswagen can relate. Yesterday, zee German automaker was sued by the US Justice Department . A few months ago, it came out that VW had been cheating on emissions tests to make its cars look more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Cue a new VW CEO. And lots of PR woes. And now, a lawsuit from the Justice Department. The lawsuit claims that VW violated US clean air laws during this whole mess The Justice Department is still investigating whether to bring criminal charges against VW. The company could face billions in fines. Das bad.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU HAVE A RECURRING NIGHTMARE THAT YOU’RE LATE FOR YOUR CHEM FINAL…

Definitely wouldn’t pass it today. Your good ol’ friend the periodic table put on a few and expanded its squad by adding four new elements. The table’s seventh row is now filled out and it’s time to print new chem textbooks. While the elements don’t have official names yet, international scientists are on it. Hooray for new friends.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR WORK RIVAL…

I’m so fancy, you already know, I’m in the fast lane, with no one driving… Yesterday, Lyft (Uber’s mustachioed rival) announced that General Motors invested $500 million in the company’s latest round of funding. GM’s hopping in Lyft’s ride because it wants to work together to make driverless cars a reality. This comes as companies like Apple, Google’s parent company Alphabet, and, yes, Uber are also trying to say ‘look ma, no hands’ and develop driverless cars. But GM and Lyft’s deal will be the first time a major car maker and a ride-sharing service have gotten together. This is Lyft trying to one-up Uber. Next stop: ‘Dude, where’s my driver?’

THING TO KNOW

Tom Coughlin: Pronounced Coff-lin. The NY Giants coach of 12 seasons, who stepped down yesterday. He led the G-Men to two Superbowl wins. But they haven’t made the playoffs in four years, which might be why he’s taking a Giant step back.

SKIMM 50

Thanks to these Skimm’bassadors for sharing like it’s hot

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