“The fishes loved receiving this anonymous postcard from a fan!” - A California aquarium on some fan mail it received - and apparently read aloud to its exotic fish. The fish flipped.

THINGS GETTING A REBOOT

THE STORY

For years, the GOP’s been saying it wants to ‘repeal and replace’ Obamacare. Yesterday, House Republicans finally put out the ‘replace’ part of that plan.

WHAT’S THE PLAN?

First, it changes how the US gov helps people pay for healthcare. Subsidies are out. Tax credits based on age are in. Second, this plan scraps Obamacare’s ‘individual mandate’, which requires you to get insurance or pay a fine. Third, the GOP’s plan caps funding for Medicaid starting in 2020. That’s the gov program that provides coverage to low income and disabled people. Meanwhile, it will still be illegal for insurance companies to reject people with pre-existing conditions (like asthma or diabetes).

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD?

The GOP’s plan also hits ‘pause’ on federal funding for the organization. Last night, President Trump said Planned Parenthood can keep its funding - if it stops providing abortions. The organization gets hundreds of millions from the government every year that goes to women’s healthcare. It is not allowed to put that money towards abortion services. Planned Parenthood said it won’t take Trump up on his offer.

theSKIMM

Many GOP lawmakers say this plan will cut costs and give people more freedom to choose the right plan. But critics on both sides of the aisle worry that a lot of people will lose their coverage. Translation: this won’t be an easy pill to swallow.

THE STORY

Yesterday, President Trump put out version 2.0 of his travel ban.

REMIND ME.

Right after taking office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily blocking all refugees and visitors from seven mostly-Muslim countries from entering the US. It also banned Syrian refugees indefinitely. There was lots of confusion over how this affected people with green cards and valid US visas. Team Trump said the order was necessary to keep the country safe from terrorist threats. Critics said it was unconstitutional for discriminating based on religion and sued. The court system put up the red light. And Trump went back to the drawing board to write a new travel ban that would stand up in court.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT THIS TIME?

First, the list of temporarily banned countries has gone from seven to six. Iraq’s not on it anymore. Second, the new ban doesn’t apply to people who already have valid US visas and green cards. Third, all refugees are temporarily banned from entering the US except the one’s who’ve already been OK’d to come. Syrian refugees are no longer banned indefinitely. All of this takes effect next week.

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Trump’s supporters say this move is needed to help keep the country safe. Critics say this actually won’t help prevent terror attacks, plus it’s still religious discrimination so they may sue. Stay tuned.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN THE VENDING MACHINE EATS YOUR DOLLAR BILL…

This isn’t working out. Yesterday, General Motors said ‘au revoir’ to its European car business. The company’s selling some of its brands to a French carmaker for $2.3 billion. Europe is the world’s third-largest car market. But GM hasn’t been making money there for about two decades. The deal means that GM gets to give its undivided attention to markets like China that really get its engines going. Meanwhile, yesterday GM said it’s cutting 1,100 jobs from one of its plants in Michigan. The company’s been restructuring operations at its manufacturing plants in recent months. That includes cutting thousands of jobs…but also adding hundreds of others at a new plant in Tennessee.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN SOMEONE WHO GHOSTED YOU TEXTS OUT OF THE BLUE…

Radio silence. Yesterday, North Korea said it was barring all Malaysians from leaving the country. Malaysia responded by saying ‘right back at ya’ and barring all North Koreans from leaving the country. The two countries are holding each other’s citizens hostage over the death of Kim Jong Nam - NK leader Kim Jong Un’s older, exiled half-brother. Last month, he was murdered at an airport in Malaysia, apparently with a banned chemical weapon. Kim Jong Nam was once considered next in line to the top position in NK. Lil Kim got the job instead. Ever since, he’s been working on consolidating his power. At all costs. Three years ago, he even executed his uncle for being a “traitor.” So many are thinking Kim Jong Nam’s murder is another family feud gone wrong. Malaysia’s looking for multiple North Korean suspects. North Korea’s saying that Malaysia’s investigation is flawed and biased. Cue both countries expelling each other’s ambassadors, and now these travel bans. Before the murder, Malaysia was one of North Korea’s few friends outside of China. Now they’re frenemies with no travel benefits.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR CO-WORKER SWEARS SHE INVITED YOU TO HER BDAY DRINKS...

Not true. Yesterday, Google found itself saying ‘sorry’ for helping spread fake news. Again. After the presidential election, sites like Google and Facebook found themselves in hot water for giving a platform to fake news articles that might’ve influenced voters. Now, it looks like Google’s search feature still has a Pinocchio problem. When asked questions like ‘when is Mother’s Day?’, Google autofills answers at the top of search page without making people click away. Except the algorithm doing the legwork doesn’t always pull from trusty sources. Exhibit A: over the weekend, people who Googled “is Obama planning a coup?” were told ‘yes’ based on reporting from a conspiracy theory website. Exhibit B: the same algorithm also autofilled an answer wrongly saying that at least four presidents were in the KKK. Google’s saying ‘our bad’ and that it’ll remove “inappropriate or misleading” answers like these going forward.

WHAT TO SAY AFTER YOU RESPOND TO YOUR CO-WORKER’S NOTES IN THE SHARED DOC...

Back to you. Yesterday, the Supreme Court said it’s not going to hear a transgender rights case after all. It also threw out a lower court’s decision, and said that court has to take a second look at the case. This all started a couple years ago when a transgender boy in Virginia sued his school, arguing that he should be able to use the boys bathroom. An appeals court eventually said ‘you’re right kid.’ This was based on guidelines from the Obama administration that said schools have to treat transgender kids based on their gender identity. Then last month, President Trump’s administration threw out those guidelines, saying in part that this is an issue states and school districts should get to decide instead. Now, the Supremes say they’re sitting this one out, and that it’s up to the lower court to rethink its decision based on Trump’s new rules. Unclear when that will happen. But expect to keep hearing about this.

SKIMM MONEY

Collateral: Similar to a deposit. Something put down when you take out a loan as a way of saying ‘I’m good for the money.’ If you’ve got a startup that needs cash money, but you don’t have anything for collateral for a loan, you might think about pitching your family and friends. Psst…that can get awkward fast. Here are some do’s and don’ts.

NO EXCUSES: IMMIGRATION

No Excuses. You should be informed about the issues driving the national conversation this year. That starts with immigration. All week we’ll be giving you info on the key players who have shaped the debate in recent years. Next up...

“Gang of Eight”: Nothing to do with the Godfather. Back in 2013, a bipartisan group of eight senators put together a plan for a major immigration shake-up in the US. It would’ve allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to apply for US citizenship, while bulking up the US-Mexico border. The Senate gave it the green light. The House did not. And that was that.

PS: Want more on the key players? Click here to watch our video with all the highlights.

PPS: Anyone who wants to be a US citizen has to pass a test first. We want you to put that American history knowledge to work. Take theSkimm’s citizenship test here or click on our fancy button below, and then pass it on to a friend. Already took it? There’s a new set of 10 questions every day, smarty pants.

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