“Operation Lucky Charm” - What police are calling the search for a short man who allegedly stole an 86-pound bucket of gold flakes from a truck earlier this year in NYC. He’s magically suspicious.

FLUSHED

THE STORY

Yesterday, North Carolina lawmakers got together to talk about where people can and can’t pee.

THE WHAT

The NC legislature decided not to repeal the state’s controversial ‘HB2′ aka the ‘bathroom bill.’ That’s the one that bans transgender people from using public bathrooms that don’t match the sex on their birth certificates. NC passed it earlier this year, and at one point it even included a measure that prevented employees from suing for discrimination. Cue a LOT of controversy

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

The ‘we care where you pee’ side (cough, GOP, cough) says this bill is about privacy, and making sure women feel safe in the stall. The ‘pee wherever you want’ side (cough, Dems, cough) says this bill is about discrimination, and could set a terrifying precedent across the country.  While the bill failed to get repealed yesterday, lots of people in NC are not entertained by it. Last month’s tight governor’s race was won by a Dem, partly because of backlash over the bathroom bill.  

theSKIMM

This isn’t just about bathrooms. It’s turned into a proxy war between Dems and the GOP, and represents just how divided our country really is. Thanks for the memories, 2016.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING…

Berlin. Yesterday, officials there started a manhunt to find a Tunisian man in connection with this week’s truck attack at a Christmas market. 12 people were killed and dozens more were injured. ISIS claimed responsibility. Now, officials are looking for this Tunisian man after they found his identity papers inside the truck. Turns out the suspect was known to have connections with radical Islamist groups and was already on authorities’ radar. He was arrested this year for holding fake documents, and then released. And now, he’s on Germany’s most wanted list. Not a good look for German authorities. This all comes at a time when a rise in terrorism worldwide has pushed people towards politicians or parties promising to be tough on immigration and national security. See: Donald Trump, Brexit. The mood in Germany may be shifting in that direction after Chancellor Angela Merkel let in around a million migrants and refugees. So this attack is something her opponents will probably be holding against her as Germany hits the polls next year. Das not good.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU BUMP INTO THE NEW HIRE AT THE OFFICE HOLIDAY PARTY...

Welcome to the team. President-elect Donald Trump’s saying the same. Yesterday, Trump tapped two more names for his White House squad. Peter Navarro - an economics professor at UC Irvine - will head up a new council that oversees manufacturing policy and trade negotiations. One of Trump’s major campaign promises was to bring jobs back into the US from places like China and he’s saying Navarro’s the man to make that happen. Also on the Trump train? Billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Apparently, Trump will lend Icahn his ear on how to loosen federal regulations, since Icahn has openly criticized them in the past. Meanwhile, two of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are doing some damage control. Last week, it came out that a nonprofit where they were directors was planning a fundraiser that would offer things like facetime with the president-elect and a hunting trip with his sons…in exchange for a big donation. Making people go ‘hellooo, conflict of interest.’ So now, Trump’s sons are trying to remove their names from the list of directors. Good idea.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN IT’S YOUR TURN IN A WHITE ELEPHANT GIFT EXCHANGE...

Who’s left standing? Twitter can relate. Earlier this week, two of its execs handed in their two weeks notice – the CTO and the VP of Product. And they’re just the latest execs to step down this year. All of this is the cherry on top of Twitter’s not-so-great few years, thanks to meh revenue and slow user growth. The social media company has been feeling blue(bird), and trying to reinvent itself in recent months. But it looks like these execs aren’t buying it. In other HR news, Bobbi Brown - founder and chief creative officer of that make-up brand called, yup, Bobbi Brown - is also saying ‘baiii.’ After founding the make up giant 25 years ago, Brown’s packing up her brushes and leaving. It’s unclear why she stepped down. Bye Bye Bobbi.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO HAS A FAKE BIRKIN BAG…

A ‘West Wing’ DVD box set would go nicely with that.

THING TO KNOW

Auld Lang Syne: Pronounced ‘awld lang sign.’ What your friends drunkenly sing at 11:58 PM on New Year’s Eve. It’s a Scottish song that translates to ‘times gone by.’ Aka a vintage way to hug your friends and say ‘thanks for all the good Instas we shared this year.’

SKIMM READS

We’ve made a list of all our favorite books this year and checked it twice. Oh, we also paired them with some wines. You’re welcome. Check it.

SKIMM WINE

Skimm’ologist says: New Year’s Eve’s coming up. Time to stock up on bubbly. Skimm HQ has been hard at work sampling the best bottles. This sparkling wine is our fav. Cheers.

SKIMM COFFEE

Skimm HQ has a lot of people to thank this year. That means a lot of holiday shopping…a lot of it last minute. The espresso in this latte says ‘ready to handle big crowds,’ but the chestnut and holiday spices say ‘jingle all the way.’ Drink up. 

PROGRAMMING NOTE

‘Tis the season for Mariah Carey and OOO replies. No Skimm tomorrow or Monday. Have a good holiday, and see you back here on Tuesday morning.

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SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm’bassador.  You go, Glen Coco.

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