Skimm'd while eating birthday cake

"It's bulky but honestly I'm pine" - The college student who underestimated Twitter, and is now wearing a Christmas-tree costume for the rest of the semester.

IS THIS THING ON?

The Story

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is making an announcement today.

Do we know what he'll say?

Not yet, but we have an idea. Multiple women have accused Franken of sexual misconduct from before and after he was voted into the Senate. Yesterday, two other women came forward with new allegations - one said he forced a kiss on her more than 10 years ago. Another claimed he groped her eight years ago. No response from Franken. But his office says he'll have something to say today.

What are people saying?

That his time is up. Yesterday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) - who's working to stop sexual harassment on the Hill and in the military - was the first to call Franken out. Dozens of others followed her lead - including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). These reactions come a day after Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) retired after sexual misconduct allegations. And the same day that a new lawsuit was filed against Harvey Weinstein.

Tell me about that.

Six women are suing Weinstein, his former film studios, and members of the The Weinstein Co board, saying they worked together to cover up Weinstein's sexual harassment and assault. They compared it to racketeering and said they're looking to represent "dozens, if not hundreds" of others. A rep for Weinstein said he's never "committed an act of sexual assault."

theSkimm

It's unclear if Franken will resign. But Time Magazine's Person of the Year has shown that there's power in numbers.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What to say when you finally make holiday plans...

Decision made. Today, Australia's Parliament said 'yes' to same-sex marriage. A few months ago, the country sent voters ballots on the issue. More than half of them voted in favor of same-sex marriage, passing it off to Parliament to decide. Last week, the Senate there voted to pass it. Now, the House of Representatives is saying 'us too.' Same-sex couples there can start getting married early next year.

What people are still watching...

Southern California. Wildfires there are still burning, and strong winds today might help them spread even more. They've now scorched nearly 90,000 acres. And forced thousands of people to evacuate and schools to close in parts of Los Angeles and Ventura. Thousands more are still under evacuation orders.

What to say to your friend who's been wanting to go to Havana...

Hold that thought. Doctors have reportedly found brain abnormalities in some diplomats that worked at the US embassy in Cuba. They're believed to be victims of invisible attacks. Yes, invisible attacks. Since last year, more than two dozen diplomats and their family members reported hearing high-pitched sounds and experiencing symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and hearing loss. At first, investigators thought it was a sonic weapon of some kind. So, the US pulled most of its diplomats out of Cuba and warned Americans not to travel there. It's still trying to figure out who's behind this. And Cuba's said 'it wasn't me.' Now, the sonic attack thing seems less likely. Because the part of the brain that reportedly was damaged typically isn't affected by sonic waves. The mystery continues.

What to say when it's black tie optional...

Suit up. That's what Yahoo and Mozilla are doing. A few years ago, the two companies shook on a deal that made Yahoo the default search engine for Mozilla's Firefox browser, and gave Mozilla a looot of money. Since then, Yahoo's been acquired by Verizon. Mozilla took that as a cue to drop Yahoo and switch the default search engine to Google. Because, obviously. Last week, Yahoo sued Mozilla, saying this was a breach of their agreement. Yesterday, Mozilla fired back with a countersuit, saying Yahoo's product isn't great and hasn't been paying what it owes. The collapse of the deal is just more bad news for Yahoo, which has been struggling for some time now. You can Google it.

What to say when you hear Putin is running for a fourth term...

In other things that aren't surprising, Michael Flynn is making headlines. This time, it's for what he allegedly texted during President Trump's inauguration speech. Reminder: last week the former national security advisor pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russians. Now, a Democratic Congressman says a source reached out to him earlier this year, saying one of Flynn's former biz associates said he got a text from Flynn. It allegedly said that the associate's plans to do business with Russia were "good to go." This associate also allegedly told the source that Flynn was working to make sure existing sanctions against Russia would be "ripped up." The Congressman says that special counsel Robert Mueller asked him not to come forward with the info until Mueller completed some investigative steps. Now, he says Mueller's checked some boxes. And that it's time for Congress to look into this.

THING TO KNOW

When you're in a car and you fall asleep as soon as it starts moving. Naptime, anytime.

SKIMM LIFE

For when you don't know what to buy your young cousins for the holidays...

I'm not a regular cousin, I'm a cool cousin. All of these will have them thinking you know what's up. Even if you don't. Tricky, tricky. Get 'em here.

For when your superpower would be teleportation...

Self-driving cars are the next best thing. GM CEO Mary Barra thinks you'll be driving one soon. Watch a video of her explaining how it works here.

For when you're in the trivia mood...

You need this live trivia game app. You can play twice a day with hundreds of thousands of people. Skimm HQ'ers are hooked - and you will be too.

SKIMM SHARE

Skimm HQ'ers are planning our holiday vacations. Share theSkimm with your friend who's taking a staycation this year.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm'bassador. Party time.

Jon Tisch NY, Linda Wainteup MA, Kara Herbst IL, *Lisa Miller TX, *Victoria Scarpa NC, *Cat Pennington NY, *Esther Gross IL, *Bridget Deutz MN, *Abby Moog KS, *Stefanie Murray NJ, *Carol Fitzgerald NY, *Maggie Malek TX, *Lauren Bradberry LA, *Sarah Azarchi NY, *Lara Siewert FL, *Erin Baker Michaelis TX, *Kristen Peterson VA, *Haley Ebert CA, *Tina Alessi CAN, *Victoria Lopez CA, *Katy Kreider PA, *Amy Madhiwala IL, *Danielle Hounshell, *Ashley Shaw CT, *Gina Jacobs CA, *Leigh Bailey GA, *Maddie Zeigler DC, *Dylan Williams CA, *Amanda Fortino TX, *Samantha Gottlieb WA, *Jordan Klimek MN, *Katy Collins WA, *Caitlin Pusateri IL, *Melissa Lentz MD, Kristen Messich VA, Margaret Hardy GA, Taylor Stockton TX, Leslie Meyer, Bob Baron SC, Roger Venturi WA, Ashley Cummings PA, Bennett Driscoll MA, Maria Ianiro OH, Haley Ebert, Linda Brown, Molly Barr CT, Emily Clark NY, Kristin Dallas TX, Caitlyn Miller GA, Carol Ellis AZ, Norman Hallett HI, Marilyn Brown NY, Teresa Luneau AR, Cat Pennington NY, Anita Sacchetti, Melanie Lazare CA, Norman Sparby CA, Ann Scully Malcolm TX, Michelle Domínguez, Jenn Morthole VA, Phoebe Mintz IL, Jane Taras IN, Alexandria Dennett CA, Kaleigh Scruggs GA, Julie McGloin MA, Debbie Newman IL, Christy Hicks MN, Jamie Glisson OK, Glenda Sandhouse FL, Mallory Jones AR, MaryKate Jones AR, Laura Liddell MA

Skimm'd something we missed?

skimmthis@theSkimm.com

Issues?

help@theSkimm.com

Copyright (c) 2017 theSkimm, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:

theSkimm Inc. 50 West 23rd Street, Suite 5B

New York, NY, 10010, United States

Update Profile | Unsubscribe