Skimm'd after cleaning out our closets

"Selena Gomez flaunts post-breakup ukulele" - A real headline. Who needs Justin Bieber, anyway.

AUSTIN

The Story

The city of Austin, TX is on edge as police warn they're dealing with a "serial bomber."

What's going on?

This month, there have been four bombings in Texas's capital. Two people have been killed and four have been injured. The first three attacks were caused by packages left on people's doorsteps. But the most recent attack involved an explosive left on the side of the road, and triggered by a tripwire. Police say this shows "a higher level of skill." Yesterday, they put the neighborhood on lockdown. And have asked that anyone with security footage please speak up.

Do we know the motive?

Not yet. Police are looking into whether the serial bombings are domestic terrorism. Or possibly a hate crime - since the first few victims were black or Hispanic.

theSkimm

Police have no suspect, no motive, and reason to believe the bomber is changing up their tactics. Until this person is caught, Austin residents should be on high alert.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What to say when you need a minute...

Pause. Yesterday, Uber said it's pushing pause on testing self-driving cars after one of its vehicles hit and killed a woman in Arizona. Ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft have been trying to make self-driving cars the norm. They're supposed to better follow traffic laws, eliminate distracted drivers, and have technology to stop them from hitting pedestrians. But earlier this week, this Uber car hit a woman. There was a backup driver behind the wheel, but the car was on 'auto mode.' Uber's now taking its self-driving cars off the road across the US. Facebook also had a rough Monday. It came out that its chief information security officer is planning to say 'bye' to the company. The Book's been getting a lot of heat for spreading misinformation from Russian-linked accounts during and after the 2016 US election. And being pretty slow to acknowledge the problem. This exec pushed for making more info about Russia's campaigns public, but reportedly got pushback from other company leaders. He's expected to pack up his desk in August.

What to say when you hear Mississippi has a tough new abortion law...

President Trump's getting tough too. Yesterday, he announced a new plan to fix the opioid epidemic, but it's raising some eyebrows. Reminder: opioids are painkillers that come in legal (like OxyContin and Vicodin) and not-so-legal forms (like heroin). The epidemic has killed tens of thousands of people in the past couple of years. Last year, Trump declared it a public health emergency. Which didn't do much besides acknowledge that there's a problem. Now part of his new plan is to crack down on drug traffickers - as in give some of them the death penalty. Critics are saying 'hi, Rodrigo Duterte 2.0' and thatthis could get held up in court. Supporters say drug traffickers are responsible for killing thousands of people, and that the Justice Dept already OK's the death penalty for some major drug-related crimes. Other parts of Trump's plan include cutting down opioid prescriptions and expanding treatment for addicts.

What to say when you hear Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt's mashup...

The UK and EU are working on a little something too - how to pull off a smooth Brexit transition. Yesterday, they agreed on some of the details. Back in 2016, the UK voted to break free from the EU. The two have been in talks to hash out the terms ever since. And this is the biggest breakthrough so far. Here's what we know: Brexit is expected to start on March 29, 2019. There'll be a 21-month transition period, then the UK will be flying solo starting December 2020. They also settled on how the UK will handle trade deals and immigration in the meantime. What's not officially settled: Ireland. It's part of the EU, but Northern Ireland is part of the UK. The two areas have had some beef, and there've been a lot of questions about what'll happen with the border between them post-Brexit. The EU thinks that Northern Ireland should still get access to parts of the EU's single market. The UK has mixed feelings about that. The transition deal goes to the heads of the EU later this week.

What to say to your friend who just got their residency...

Hear about this? There's apparently a breakthrough in stem cell research that could help some people get their sight back. Two people with an eye disease reportedly got a stem cell patch on the damaged part of their eyes. And scientists reportedly say the patients regained enough sight to read and even recognize faces that used to be blurs. The treatment may be available for others in just a few years. In other cool stem cell news, scientists say they might've found a treatment for a type of multiple sclerosis (MS) - the disease that causes your immune system to destroy your nerve endings and can lead to disabilities. The treatment uses chemotherapy to wipe out a patient's immune system and then reboots it with stem cells from blood and bone marrow that aren't affected by MS. Researchers say it majorly reduced the chance that people with this type of MS relapsed.

What to say when you hear Miranda Hobbes is running for NY governor...

Claire's is running towards bankruptcy.

What to say to your friend who's always the last one to finish eating...

This woman has tips.

THING TO KNOW

The Wiggle

Not a dance. It's a way to brush in the AM and PM, one tooth at a time, that involves wiggling your brush around each tooth. No debris left behind. This electric toothbrush is your best dance partner for the wiggle. And it looks good too.

SKIMM LIFE

Florals for the first day of spring? Groundbreaking. Something that's actually groundbreaking: decluttering and sprucing up. This is how you can tackle it all...

Your kitchen...lettuce help you. Because we know you're not going to use that whole head of lettuce in your fridge. This sends you only the ingredients you need to make a gourmet-style dinner. Sans waste.*

Your dirty sh*t...keep it clean, keep it green. This cleaning product is Captain Planet approved and will have your home (er, shoebox apartment) looking sparkly.*

Your space...couch your expectations. As in, this app lets you actually visualize what that new couch - or any piece of furniture - will look like in your place before you buy it.*

Your walls...get framed. Not the kind that will send you to jail. This will give you custom framing for way less. Looking good.*

Your downtime...wake up and smell the relaxation. These diffusers will keep the room smelling like spring all year long.*

Want more ways to put a spring in your step? Here's our full guide to your spring refresh.

SKIMM SHARE

Skimm HQ is celebrating the first day of spring. Share theSkimm with your friend who's already wearing denim jackets.

SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm'bassador.Treat yo'self.

William Danilow NY, Dayne Wahl RI, Bowie Jaffe PA, Bill Glenn NY, *Emily Trofholz IL, *Brittney Lifsey NC, *Miriam Andrusier NY, *Jenn Grimmer IL, *Jessica Faye Arbogast GA, *Evie Cannell NY, *Sarah Scheuermann AL, *Angela VanMoorsel CT, *Ami Sawhney MO, *Roxanne Demarest OH, *Marie Ghosn PA, *Sarah McCliment VA, *Julia Huang IL, *Alee Bevilacqua PA, *Sheila Garcia FL, *Jeff Wagner IN, *Cara Creger GA, *Sarah Smith TN, *Kelsey Hendricks OR, *Sara Seyedroudbari PA, *Heather Stebenne MA, *Meghan Hrinkevich NJ, *Marcy Kaplan NY, *Nick McKeon CA, *Priscilla Rivas CA, *Kilby Macfadden NV, *Donna Daugherty IN, *Kendal Richer OH, Luna Zemmol NY, Allie Southard NY, Hannah Bruce IN, Maya Shimony DC, Christy Mclellan FL, Judi Lang OH, Barb Ulrich FL, Tarah Hirschey MA, Ali Cumings PA, Reda Hicks TX, Devon Rudberg NY, Jennifer Goldberg DC, Blair McBride TX, Darlene White CA, Kate Scott NY, Dana Diment GA, Garret Lepaw NY, Patricko Oroho NY, Torrey Barrett CA, Colleen Cecil CA, Theresa Peot CA, Marie Strycharz NY, Katie Maze TX, Chloe Levin PA, Kelsey Highline WI, Alison Ardito FL, Rachel Shapiro MA, Kaley Bell TN, James Southerton PA, Alexis Bennett MN, Mary Mallaney CA, Abbie Hillis TX, Katie Smith OK, Molly Donahue NY, Jenna Douglass DE, Joyce Ann Funk ID, Saundra Heard MD, Estefania Espinosa TX, Debbie Rivero FL, Natalia Lepore Hagan NY, Natalie Djerf NY, Ashlee Gadd CA, Stefanie Becker AZ, Emily Grossman CA

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