“Narwhal” - An arctic water creature. Also the name of an elaborate off-menu drink you can get at Starbucks. Bye Buddy, hope you find your coffee.

TAKE TWO

THE STORY

The GOP is still trying to make its healthcare plan happen. It’s probably not going to happen.

BACK UP.

Earlier this year, the GOP intro’d a bill to replace Obamacare. It tossed the individual mandate requiring everyone to get coverage, shifted how the gov helps people pay for insurance, and capped Medicaid funding (the program that covers low-income people).

WHAT HAPPENED?

Dems said ‘hard pass.’ So did a lot of GOP lawmakers. Far-right members said the new plan was too much like Obamacare. Moderates worried about estimates that millions would be left without insurance. So House GOP leaders scrapped plans for a vote. Ever since, they’ve been giving the bill CPR by negotiating with the far-right members. Now, here’s version 2.0.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

The new plan lets states decide if insurance companies need to cover “essential benefits” (like maternity care, emergency services). These are required under Obamacare. It also lets insurance companies charge more to cover people with pre-existing conditions (like diabetes, cancer). This is illegal under Obamacare. Problem, since President Trump promised that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected. Signals, crossed.

SO…IS IT GOING TO PASS THIS TIME?

Very unclear. House GOP leaders want a vote ASAP. But they might not have enough in the ‘yes’ camp. This time, moderate Republicans are holding up the line. They’re pushing back to keep protections for pre-existing conditions. And around they go.

theSKIMM

Not only has the GOP wanted to undo Obamacare for years, but the rest of its to-do list depends on it. Republicans are hoping that by cutting costs with this new healthcare bill, they’ll have some spare change to pay for things like tax reform and infrastructure.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING...

The Justice Department. Yesterday, it came out that the Justice Department will not charge the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling. Last year, two white police officers shot and killed Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, while he was pinned to the ground outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, LA. The officers said he was armed. The incident was caught on video and went viral. The Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation. Now, it looks like it’s case closed. It’s pretty uncommon for police to face charges in these kinds of cases. Not so in Walter Scott’s case. Yesterday, the former South Carolina officer who fatally shot Scott said ‘guilty’ to violating Scott’s civil rights. Back in 2015, officer Michael Slager, who is white, shot and killed Scott, an unarmed black man, after a traffic stop. Slager says he feared for his life after he says Scott grabbed his Taser. But a witness video shows Slager shooting Scott in the back multiple times as Scott runs away. Slager was fired and the state charged him with murder. A few months ago, there was a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in that case. Now, his new guilty plea in a federal civil rights case means he could go to prison for life.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN A CO-WORKER’S GIVING YOU THE COLD SHOULDER…

Let’s talk it out. Yesterday, President Trump had a little chat with Russian President Putin. The goal: putting relations between the two countries on the mend. Reminder: Trump came into office promising to improve ties with Russia. But several things have thrown a wrench in that plan. First there’s the fact that the US intelligence community says Russia interfered in last year’s election, and has been investigating whether Trump’s team had anything to do with it. Then there was that time last month when the US blamed the Syrian gov - which is backed by Russia - for a chemical weapons attack on its own people. And launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase in response. Now it looks like things are on the mend. On the call yesterday, Trump agreed to send a US rep to Russia-led Syria cease-fire talks that start today. And talked about possibly meeting IRL this summer. Vodka shots all around.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU GET DRINKS WITH FRIENDS AND YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS CARDED...

Doesn’t seem fair. Yesterday, it came out that female engineers at Facebook are allegedly less likely than male engineers to have their work green-lighted. Specifically, code written by women gets rejected more often than code written by men. Facebook says this is not true, and followed up with its own analysis showing that code rejection is more often based on someone’s rank, not gender. To which female employees said ‘that just means there aren’t enough women moving up at the company.’ Either way, not a good look for an industry getting a lot heat for how it treats women. Also not a good look: Facebook reportedly tracks teenagers’ moods based on their posts. Facebook execs in Australia reportedly passed this sort of data along to an advertiser. Leading some people to say ‘hmm sounds like you’re helping marketers take advantage of teens.’ Facebook says that wasn’t the intent of the report and that it doesn’t “offer tools to target people based on their emotional state.”

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR COUSIN IN COLLEGE...

Here’s how NOT to do it on Friday.

WEIRD SH*T ABOUT RUSSIA

WTF is going on with Russia? Good question. This week, we’ve been giving you the background and highlighting the key players. We also Skimm’d it all for you here. Next, Michael Flynn…

• You know him as the one who was (briefly) Trump’s national security advisor

• In Dec 2016, Flynn hotline blinged Russia’s US Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. On the same day, President Obama slapped Russia with sanctions for meddling in the election

• Flynn allegedly told Kislyak ‘don’t worry about those sanctions’ and even suggested maybe getting rid of them. He later denied any talk of sanctions during this call

• Then in Feb 2017, when it came out Flynn DID talk sanctions during the call, he handed in his two week’s notice

This is just the tip of the Flynn iceberg. Get read up on the rest of it over here.

THING TO KNOW

“Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812″: This year’s “Hamilton.” The Broadway musical picked up 12 Tony nominations. That’s more than any other show. And Josh Groban, who you know from every holiday playlist ever, is nominated for best actor.

SKIMM GIFT

You just read the same email six times. Time for some R&R. A week-long vacay to Nicaragua should do the trick. Daily downward dog included. We’ll throw in a volcano tour too. Yes, a volcano tour. Enter here. 

SKIMM LIFE

Skimm HQ loves seeing hearts. Show us some Insta love over here.

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SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm’bassador. Ready to partaaaay.

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