Daily Skimm: Cigars on ice

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Skimm for December 30th

Skimm’d after a few rounds of Heads Up.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “We will waste them in the outhouse” – A Putin quote from a 400-page book filled with, you guessed it, Putin quotes. Titled “Words that Change the World,” the book was gifted to Russian officials, because stocking stuffer.  Skimm This

GOTCHA

THE STORY Yesterday, the US said a friend of the terrorist who planned the Paris attacks was killed by an airstrike in Syria. The US says he was “actively planning additional attacks against the West.” BACK UP. Last month, a series of terror attacks in Paris left 130 people dead. ISIS claimed responsibility, and Abdelhamid Abaaoud – the ringleader of the attacks – was killed in a police raid days later. Since then, two things have been going on: 1. Authorities have been tracking down any possible suspects linked to the attacks 2. the US-led coalition has been ramping up the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. WHAT’S THE LATEST? Yesterday, the US said targeted airstrikes have killed 10 ISIS leaders in the past month. One of those leaders was a French national and the VIP friend of Abdelhamid Abaaoud. theSKIMM Earlier this week, Iraqi forces reclaimed Ramadi – a key city in Iraq – from ISIS. So, it’s been a good week in the fight against ISIS. But hold the champagne. There’s still a long way to go before the US can put ISIS on ice. Skimm This

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU SPILL WINE AT AN AWKWARD DINNER WITH YOUR BF’S PARENTS... Could’ve done without that. Earlier this week, northern England was hit by a series of bad storms that caused massive flooding and damaged thousands of homes. Now, it’s getting hit again by “Storm Frank.” England’s floods minister (yes, that’s a real title) is warning that “a very bad situation” might be on the way. Helpful. Parts of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales are also on alert. The US Midwest can relate. It’s been dealing with heavy rains and tornadoes since last week that have caused travel delays around the US, and now Missouri is prepping for more major flooding. Missouri’s gov. has ordered evacuations along the Mississippi River and activated the National Guard. When it rains it pours.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR WEIRD UNCLE MAKES A CREEPY COMMENT ABOUT YOUR OUTFIT... Ughhh. Yesterday, “Glee” actor Mark Salling (hint: the one with the mohawk) was arrested on child porn charges. He was a regular on the show for four seasons, but hasn’t done much since. This isn’t his first issue with the law. His ex-girlfriend once sued him for sexual battery, which got settled out of court. Don’t think a Mr. Schue song is going to work in this situation. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU FEEL A COLD COMING ON... It could be worse. Even though the rest of the world has stopped compulsively reaching for Purell, West Africa has been dealing with Ebola all year. The number of cases has been winding down, and yesterday, Guinea was officially declared Ebola-free for the first time since March 2014. Cue the loud exhale. For the next few months, health workers will be watching closely for any new cases. Meanwhile, Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free earlier this year, and Liberia has a few more days before it can make it official. The Ebola outbreak killed more than 11,000 people around the world, mostly in these West African countries. So now, they’re finally almost out of the woods.

THING TO KNOW Chip Kelly: Used to be the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Until last night when he was fired. Possibly because he opted to let go of most of the team’s star players as part of his own ‘Chip Kelly formula’. He thought it could win the team a championship. Spoiler: that didn’t work out too well. Skimm This

SKIMM SHARE Pre-game your New Year by sharing theSkimm. It’s good karma.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS *indicates Skimm’bassador. *Chelsea O’Neal (College Station, TX); *Kelsey Greissing (Washington, DC); *Shelby Jantzer  (Overland Park, KS); *Erica Colombo (Alexandria, VA); *Brian Sorensen (Athens, GA); *DC Spell (Salem, MO); *Mindy Worley (Ponca City, OK); *Kate Kielceski (Montrose, PA); *Shelby Short (Overland Park, KS); *Leslie Cox (Greenville, SC); *Kyra Rhoades (Fowler, IN); *Xandy Evans (Everett, WA); *Carly Biddle (Mishawaka, IN); Michele Spinak (New York, NY); *Noga Hurwitz (Palo Alto, CA); Page Kahle (New York, NY); *Megan Porter (Dallas, TX); *Shubhika Prakash (Syracuse, NY); *Tara Dugan (Boston, MA); *Brooke Maedel (Signal Mountain, TN); *Diana Hand (Lake Forest, IL); *Kelsie Fields (Columbus, OH); *Julia Sims (Nashville, TN); *Kirstin McQuigg (Los Angeles, CA); Emilie Dodge (New York, NY); Ann Shumbo (Manhattan Beach, CA); Maureen Farrell Wright (New York, NY); Barry Phillips (Phoenix, AZ); Arden Michno (New York, NY); Doug White (Hudson, IL); Nadira Mangray (New York, NY); Erica Brim (Glenmoore, PA); Hilary Hugin (New York, NY); Hopper Littman (McMurray, PA); Karen Schaefer (Dacula, GA); Kevin McNamara (Arvada, CO); Mary Kay McCarthy (Omaha, NE); Noor Faraby (Arlington, VA); Raquel Szomstein  (Miami, FL); Stephanie Lemley (Morgantown, WV); Tracie Burgess (Tulsa, OK);  Will Blodgett (New York, NY); Amy Bigley Works (Washington, DC); Mary Kate Downing (Safety Harbor, FL); Marcus McGuire (Delray Beach, FL); Courtney Sloan (Lincoln, NE); Nancy Kattenfeld (High Point, NC); Steven Medwetz (Northfield, MN); Grace Srichomkuan (Charlotte, NC)

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Daily Skimm: Back again.

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Skimm for December 29th

Skimm’d in new PJs

QUOTE OF THE DAY “Yeast Infection” — The name of Kesha’s new band. Doctors suggest listening with some yogurt.  Skimm This

NO CHARGES

THE STORY  Yesterday, a grand jury said ‘nah’ to bringing charges against two police officers involved in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.  REMIND ME.  Last year, Rice, who is black, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Cleveland, OH. This happened after two officers responded to a 911 call about a man holding what appeared to be a gun. Turns out, Rice was actually a 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun. The officers mistook the pellet gun for the real thing, and one of them shot Rice.  SO WHY NO CHARGES?  The grand jury says it decided not to indict the officers partly because they had no way of knowing the gun was a fake. It was missing an orange tip that was supposed to indicate that it wasn’t an actual gun and the 911 dispatcher never gave the officers a heads up that the gun could be fake. Yesterday, Rice’s family condemned the decision, but asked people to express themselves “peacefully and democratically.” That might be because massive protests broke out after the decisions not to indict officers in the shooting deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and  Eric Garner in NYC. theSKIMM  Yesterday’s decision closes a chapter on a case that added to national uproar over racial discrimination and excessive use of force in local PDs.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU FINALLY CATCH YOUR ROOMMATE EATING YOUR LEFTOVERS... Gotcha. Last night, the so-called ‘affluenza teen’ Ethan Couch and his mom were arrested in Mexico . Two years ago, the Texas teenager killed four people in a drunk driving crash. His lawyers used “affluenza” as a defense, saying the 16-year-old was a rich kid who never had limits set for him. Everyone said ‘really??’ and he was sentenced to probation. Couch and his mom went missing earlier this month, and then last night, police found them near a Mexican resort. No word on why they were fleeing, but Couch could now face up to 10 years in prison for violating his probation. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR EX APOLOGIZES TWO YEARS AFTER YOU BREAK UP… Overdue, but thanks. Yesterday, Japan and South Korea played nice and reached a deal on their decades-long dispute about “comfort women .” Comfort women: tens of thousands of mostly Korean women who served as sex slaves for Japanese troops before and during WWII. South Korea has always asked Japan for an apology and compensation for the not-so-comforting practice, but the two countries have never been able to agree on anything. Until yesterday, when the Japanese government said it would give $8.3 million to a foundation that will offer things like medical care to surviving comfort women. But a lot of South Koreans are saying ‘too little too late,’ and that these women deserve more. The agreement is a big deal for the US, who’s hoping a closer friendship between South Korea and Japan means a stronger group of allies for the US in Asia. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR BOSS ASKS YOU TO LEAD THE MONTHLY TEAM BRAINSTORM… Go time. Yesterday, Iran decided it was go time to put tons of enriched uranium  on a ship and send it off to Russia. Enriched uranium is a key ingredient in the recipe to create a nuclear weapon. You might remember that time last summer when Iran and a group of world powers reached a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting harsh economic sanctions on the country. Part of the deal meant Iran had to get rid of this enriched uranium. So yesterday’s shipment means a global dream is becoming a reality. Which also means President Obama - who wanted to get the deal implemented before he leaves office - can check something off his New Year’s Resolution list. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY AT THE LAST FAMILY DINNER OF VACAY… Did you hear about Meadowlark Lemon? The former star of the Harlem Globetrotters - the touring basketball team known for it’s ball-handling tricks - died over the weekend at the age of 83. Lemon played more than 7,500 consecutive games with the Globetrotters and became one of the team’s most popular ballers. Skimm This

THING TO KNOW Steven Avery: The subject of a new Netflix documentary series that your friends are binging, called ‘Making a Murderer.’ He was wrongfully convicted for sexual assault and served 18 years in prison. Then he was convicted of murder in a different case and sent back to prison. Spoiler: there are questions over whether or not he actually did it. Skimm This

SKIMM GIFT Oh the weather outside is blah. How does a trip to Costa Rica sound? Five nights, dinner, massage, and shopping spree included. Yes please.

Finish 2015 strong. Share theSkimm.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS *indicates Skimm’bassador. Get it.  *Henry Frank Kelrick (Los Angeles, CA); *Amye Lee Rheault (Washington, DC); *Lauren Eggbeer (Hanover, NH); *Victoria Coons (Athens, GA); *Courtney Crossland (Boise, ID); *Jorie Moss (Princeton, NJ); *Amanda Damon (Newport, RI); *Beth Hamstra (Crown Point, IN); *Lauren Jackson (Blacksburg, VA); *Erin Shafter (New Orleans, LA); *Sydney Carey (Moorhead, MN); *Katrina Power (Houston, TX); *Lauren Allison (Arlington, VA); *Kristi Sundquist  (Seattle, WA); *Leah Stortz (Chicago, IL); *Jess Losier (Denver, CO); *Lauren Lane (New York, NY); *Becky Chaffee (Minneapolis, MN); Wes Graf (New York, NY); *Rachael Palmer (Salisbury, MD); *Shannon Moshofsky (Portland, OR); *Rachel Travers (Blakeslee, PA); *Caroline Liu (Phoenix, AZ); *Tobi Glazer (New York, NY); *Kyle Koffman (Los Angeles, CA); *Sarah Pitzer (West Chester, OH); *Abby Eurich (Englewood, CO); Allison Esposito (New York, NY); Linkon Altman (Chicago, IL);  Faith Gaskins (New York, NY); Michelle Trame (Rochester Hills, MI); Zach Frankel (New York, NY); Emily Simmons (New York, NY); Hannah McLaughlin; Erica Baumann (Saint Louis Park, MN); Katie Mandel (New York, NY); Bonnie Fearer (Santa Barbara, CA); Keishanna James (Richmond, VA); Adria Simon (New York, NY); Robin Donnenfeld (East Hills, NY); Anne McKee (Chapel Hill, NC); Becca Carlson (San Francisco, CA); Maggie Landon (New York, NY); Sarah Harano (San Clemente, CA); Shailaja Parekh (Charlottesville, VA);  Sydney Krelstein (Beverly Hills, CA); Tracy Houdmann (La Jolla, CA); Alyssa Schor; Jackie Bolno (New York, NY); Alice Kopunovitz (Kent, OH); Micha Thompson (New York, NY); Samantha Yi (Brooklyn, NY)

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Copyright © 2015 theSkimm, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: theSkimm Inc. 584 Broadway, Ste. 409 New York, NY, 10012, United States Update Profile Unsubscribe