“File cabinets full of booze” - A new Rhode Island state representative on the surprising things you might find in the State House. Because apparently these are Dark ‘N’ Stormy times.

THINGS GETTING A CLOSER LOOK

THE STORY

Yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) took the mic to try and rally the troops around the new Obamacare replacement plan. But a lot of people aren’t having it.

WAIT...BACK UP.

Earlier this week, the House GOP dropped a new healthcare bill that would replace Obamacare. This has been on the GOP’s to-do list for years. The replacement plan includes capping federal dollars for Medicaid (that’s the gov program that covers low income and disabled people) and replacing current subsidies with tax credits.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

Lawmakers have been giving the new plan mixed reviews. Some say it looks too much like Obamacare. Others say it could push healthcare costs up and leave millions of Americans uninsured. And yesterday, major medical groups said ‘agree.’ Ryan’s playing defense, saying this bill is exactly what the GOP promised. Meanwhile, everyone’s waiting for an official scorecard from the Congressional Budget Office, aka the ones who determine how much the new plan will cost and how many people will be covered. But yesterday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said ‘don’t listen to them.’ Before the CBO said anything at all. So there’s that.

theSKIMM

This could be the first time the Trump administration hits a major political roadblock in Congress. And they’re desperately trying to get around it. Easier said than done.

THE STORY

The US intelligence community’s taking a look at whether there’s a leaky faucet in the CIA.

WAIT…BACK UP.

Earlier this week, WikiLeaks posted what it says are thousands of CIA spying docs on the Interwebs. It’s not clear if these docs are legit or where they came from. But they passed the sniff test for some security experts. The docs describe the agency’s alleged hacking tool box, including the ability to turn smartphones and TVs into spying devices. It’s unclear who the CIA might be targeting with these techniques. But they’re most likely used against overseas targets. Deep breaths.

WHAT’S THE LATEST?

The feds are looking into how the docs got on WikiLeaks’ desk, and whether one of their employees spilled the confidential beans. Officials are particularly worried that WikiLeaks will release the computer code that could be used to replicate these hacking techniques. If the code gets out, it could end up in the wrong hands. No bueno.

theSKIMM

The WikiLeaks docu-drop raised a lot of eyebrows. But it’s not the first time the intelligence community has suffered a major breach (see: Edward Snowden). And they’re trying to nip this one in the bud before things potentially get worse.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR CO-WORKER COMES BACK WITH A REVISED PLAN...

Let’s see if it works out this time. Yesterday, a federal judge told Hawaii he’ll hear the state’s challenge to President Trump’s new travel ban. Reminder: version 1.0 of this ban got a lot of legal backlash and was put on hold. So earlier this week, Trump released version 2.0, which now temporarily bans visitors from six Muslim-majority countries instead of seven. Unlike the first version, it doesn’t apply to valid visa and green card holders or indefinitely ban Syrian refugees. The changes were meant to keep the ban out of court. Womp. Hawaii says the ban is unconstitutional for discriminating against a single religion. A hearing on whether to block the order (again) goes down next week. Meanwhile, yesterday it came out that Trump tapped former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to be US ambassador to Russia. Huntsman’s the one who ran for president in 2012 and told Trump to drop out of the race last year. Water under the political bridge. Now, Huntsman could be the man in the middle of a relationship that’s been just a liiiitle high-profile recently. See: questions over the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. 

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING...

Guatemala. Yesterday, at least 19 people were killed after a fire broke out at a children’s shelter near the country’s capital, Guatemala City. This shelter has a major overcrowding problem (as in hundreds more kids live there than are supposed to) and a history of alleged abuse. The day before the fire, kids living there started rioting and trying to escape. Some also set fire to mattresses. Unclear if that’s what caused the larger fire at the shelter, and officials are looking into the incident. In other world news making you say ‘ugh’…also yesterday, a group of gunmen dressed up as doctors opened fire inside a military hospital in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. At least 30 people were killed. It all started when a suicide bomb went off near the hospital. Then the gunmen had an hours-long stand-off with security forces, before the gunmen were also killed. ISIS claimed responsibility.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU HEAR BEN AND JEN MIGHT NOT BE CONSCIOUSLY UNCOUPLING AFTER ALL...

In other relationship news, the Dallas Cowboys are breaking up with QB Tony Romo. The team’s going to release him today in favor of backup QB-turned-star Dak Prescott. Romo’s been wearing boots with the spurs for over a decade. But in recent years he’s been injured. A lot. This past season, Prescott took over. It went really well. And now the Cowboys are telling Romo ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ Romo will now be a free agent and be able to flirt with a bunch of teams to find the one he’ll join next. Former NY Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s making moves too. But he’s not going far. He’s getting $12 million to go play for the NY Giants. Convenient.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO’S STARTING TO LOOK FOR HER ‘NEXT OPPORTUNITY’...

This one looks royally promising.

SKIMM SLEEP

Daylight Saving Time: Making the snooze button more necessary since 1916. It was first used in Europe during WWI to save energy and make better use of natural light. For years, some parts of the US used daylight saving time, while others did not. Helloooo chaos. Congress passed a law in the ’60s to get everyone on board. Good news: the days are getting longer now. Bad news: on Sunday, daylight saving time starts and you lose an hour of sleep. This mattress and these sheets will make you want to turn in early every night. And here’s a little discount on the mattress.

NO EXCUSES: IMMIGRATION

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