Subject: Daily Skimm: Cheers to 2018
From: "theSkimm" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2018 06:34:24 -0500 (EST)

<=m>Skimm'd while feeling extra festive

=tr>

DECEMB=R 28, 2018

Skimm'd while feeling extra festive

THINGS WE SKIMM'D IN 2018=/p>

2018 got us in our feelings. You f=ossed. You hopefully didn't eat a Tide Pod. Ariana =rande and Pete Davidson came and went. Megyn Kelly and Roseanne Barr just went. Serena Williams is still the coolest cat in the game. Plastic straws got the boot. LeBron Jame= moved out west and set up Shop. Beychella was the new Coachella. Kim and Kanye went to Washington. No comedian can follow Michelle Wolf. Kylie Jenner made history. Khloe had a ba=y with a side of drama. P=ince Harry and Meghan Markle said 'I do' and have a roy=l baby on the way. Nick J=nas and Priyanka Chopra also tied the knot. So did Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. Meek Mill got out of jail. Alex Jones got banned. Canada was feeling green, eh. Melania Trump really doesn't care, do=u? You can count Oprah ou= of the 2020 race. Ruth Bader=Ginsburg needs to be bubble wrapped. Childish Gambino headlined all the think pieces. Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize.=The yodeling kid went vir=l. Authorities found the Gold=n State Killer. Hawaii had a false alarm. Your friend who hates romaine lettuce might've been onto something. IHOb was an IHOrrible idea. Elon Musk and MoviePass were a mess. Instagram scared us. The FDA said 'hey Juul, don't make it bad.' QAnon raised lots of Qs. Some of us ha=e BDE. Banksy said 'you need to cut it.' And Space Force is going to infini=y and beyond. But why stop there…

P=esident Trump...as in the one putting America First. And saying 'bye' =o international obligations like the Iran nuclear deal and the UN Human Rights Council. He moved the US's embassy in Israel to=Jerusalem. He doubled dow= on the country's friendship with Saudi Arabia. He thinks some places are "sh*thole countries." He had a historic handshake with North Korean leader Kim=Jong Un. He ordered the US to pull troops out of Syria and Afghanistan. And made his first visit to a combat zone. There are ongoing questions about his ties to Russia. On the bi= front: his admin intro'd NAF=A 2.0. And issued tariffs=/a> on tariffs to try to =et the US better trade deals. The stock market's been a little nauseous from the ups and downs. Then=there was domestic news: the government is partially shut down...making it the third shutdown this y=ar. The admin intro'd a zero-=olerance policy toward people crossing the border illegally – =ausing major backlash when families started being separated. He beefed up border control to try to s=op migrant caravans from =rossing into the US. It's unclear what's next for DACA. Or birthright citizenship. Or the wall. He signed a . And the admin eased up on som= environmental regulationsJim Mattis, John Kelly, Jeff Sess=ons, Nikki Haley, Rex Tillerson, Hope Hicks, Scott Pruitt, Don McGahn, and HR Mc=aster are out. Mike Pompe=, John Bolton, Gina Haspel, and Matthew Whitaker are in. Things got Stormy for a while. Comey told it all. Jim got Acosta'd.

M=dterms...the one with the highest estimated turnout in more than 100 years. There were a bunch o= firsts – like the first Muslim women and first elected to Congress, the first openly gay man elected as governor, and others. More congresswomen we=e elected than ever beforeFlorida still doesn't u=derstand elections. Neither does North Carolina...or legislators in Michigan and =isconsin. Next up, a spli= Congress: Democrats took the House. Republicans have a few more Senat= seats. Here's what that mean= for some issues you care about.

#=eToo...as in you saw women wearing black saying 'Time's Up.' You saw men saying 'not guilty.' Harvey Weinstein is facing c=arges. So is Kevin Spacey= Bill Cosby's in prison. =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJEWFRtOTY/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B11b3d30e" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">Larry Nassar could be ther= forever. Jeffrey Epstein is somehow not. Les Moonves=/a> and Jeffrey Tambor ar= out of a job. Hoda Kotb =as a better one. Meanwhile, #MeToo was front and center in this year's SCOTUS hearings. Speaking of.=.

B=ett Kavanaugh...President Trump's second addition to the Supremes after Justice Kennedy put in h=s notice. Kavanaugh was accused by CA professor Dr Christine Blasey Ford of sexually assaulting her =ecades ago. Other women c=me forward with stories, too. Kavanaugh denies them all. There were hearings. And protests. And lots and lots of opinions. Some thought he deserved the =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJRYnE1aXI/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B3885b0c8" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">benefit of the doubt. Othe=s felt we should #BelieveWome=. A lot of people were reminded of Anita Hill. Kavanaugh got the job. And is scooching the bench=to the right in a position he'll have for life.

C=imate change…as in the world is getting hotter and something n=eds to change. Now. You may have seen the UN report that said we have 12 years to massively cut gree=house gas emissions, or else. Or maybe you saw the report that predicted climate change could cost t=e US economy hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century. Or=maybe the one that said c=untries aren't on track with their goals to reduce their greenhouse gas em=ssions, and that their goals are too low to begin with. What could help: t=ings like carbon taxes and lowering coal use.

S=cial media fails...as in it's all fun and games until companies start =iving out your personal info and spreading fake news. You may have seen th= heads of big tech companies =estifying on Capitol Hill. Facebook's in trouble for Cambridge Analytica, going after critics, and how its platform was us=d to fuel the violence in Mya=mar. Also trending this year: Twitter's ongoing issues with fake news and alleged political bias. Google's employees took =he co to task for how it handles sexual misconduct cases, its work with the Pentagon, and the search engine project in China it hasn't ruled out yet (hi= censorship).

=strong>PS: GV (formerly Google Ventures) is a minority investor i= theSkimm.

R=ssia…the one with the meddling problems. And not just with ele=tions. This year it also fired on Ukrainian ships near Crimea – and Ukraine issued a 30-day martial law. Russia was ac=used of poisoning an ex-s=y and his daughter in the UK. And the country re-elected President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Putin =nd President Trump ran away from it all and met up in Finland – which had many people raisin= eyebrows. Mostly…

R=bert Mueller…as in the special counsel could wrap up his Trump-Russia investigation soo=. What we know: Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen is guilty of violating campaign finance laws. An= of lying about a potential plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Trump's=former campaign manager Paul =anafort pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud related to his time as a =obbyist for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine. Trump's former natio=al security adviser Michael F=ynn got his sentencing pushed back so he can keep cooperating with pro=ecutors. And Russia used social media to influence the 2016 election, specifically targeting black v=ters. What we don't know yet: if/how Trump is involved in all of this.

U=-China trade war...as in after tit-for-tat tariffs fo= months, President Trump =nd Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to pump the brakes with a tariff c=asefire until 2019. Trade talks almost hit a roadblock after the CFO of Hu=wei (a major Chinese telecom co with alleged ties to China's gov) was arrested. But the US and China=keep on keeping on, and are back on those trade talks.

B=exit...as in the UK has until March to figure out a p=an to divorce the EU. Pri=e Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote to remain the lucky person who gets to hash out=the details. Meanwhile, no one can agree on the fine print.

T=king a stand…as in teachers from West Virginia to Washington said 'clas= dismissed' to demand bigger paychecks and more school funding. Prison inmates across the US refused=to work and went on hunger strikes to call for better pay and conditions. =undreds of thousands of people around the US turned out for the second Women's March. The Parkland, =L students took action and ma=ched for their lives. People in France said 'oui aren't happy' about the gov's proposed fuel tax=hikes. And Israelis chal=enged the gov to protect women against violence.

T=nsions in America...as in videos of people yelling at Muslims and Spanish speakers went viral. The deadly police shootings=of Stephon Clark, Antwon Rose Jr, Thurman Blevins, Botham Jean, and Emantic "EJ" Bradford Jr made headlines. The FBI says hate crimes in the US are on the =ise. There was a spike in ant=-Semitic incidents. Starbucks changed its bathroom policy. The NFL changed its anthem policy. And Colin Kaepernick and Nik= decided to 'Just Do It' =and take a stance.

T=e far-right...as in nationalism is singing 'can we ge= much higher?' around the world. In Italy, the country voted in an anti-EU, anti-immigrant gov. And =pproved measures to roll back protections for migrants. German Chancellor =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJEZVdENG0/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B62823276" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">Angela Merkel – wh='s gotten pushback for her open border policies for migrants – is =assing on the party chairwoman baton and isn't running for re-election in =021. Sweden still can't g=t its gov together after a far-right group gained more seats than expected=in its election. Belgium's PM=/a> resigned after getting pushback for supporting the UN's pact on migrat=on. And Brazil elected ri=ht-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

T=e Catholic Church...as in a Pennsylvania grand jury d=opped a bombshell report,=saying hundreds of priests sexually abused more than 1,000 children going =ack decades. Cue other states=/a> and the DOJ saying 'w='re looking into this too.' Pope Francis and the Vatican still haven't come up with a game plan to e=d the systemic problem. But they're hosting a global summit in February, and could announce changes =hen. We'll be here, waiting. In the meantime, the pope wants sexual predat=rs to turn themselves in.=/p>

T=e opioid crisis...as in it's still very much a proble=. So much so that the surgeon=general recommends carrying Narcan. Kentucky and Fl=rida told pharmacies to lawyer up. The DOJ announced its largest crackdown on healthcare fraud e=er. And Congress put on its bipartisan hat and passed a sweeping package to fight the epidemic.

V=olence in America...as in the deadly shootings around=the country: the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, FL. The high school sho=ting in Santa Fe, TX. The=Capital Gazette newsroom =n Annapolis, MD. The synagogu= shooting in Pittsburgh, PA. The shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, CA. The political divide al=o took a scary and violent tu=n before the midterms. 3-= printed guns tried – and failed – to be a thing. And =he Trump admin banned those b=mp stocks you heard about in 2017.

M=ther nature...as in Hawaii's months-long volcano eruption. And the volcano erup=ion in Guatemala that kil=ed more than 100 people. California had its deadliest wildfire ever. Greece had its deadliest fire season in more than a decad=. Hurricanes Michael and =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJQZm5uRGw/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B07398ecc" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">Florence hit the East Coas=. Typhoon Mangkhut killed=dozens. And Indonesia's natur=l disasters killed thousands. This year's disasters were not only trag=c but very, very costly.<=p>

N=rth Korea…the country that made us all think we were on the br=nk of WWIII. Now, n=t so much. That's because President Trump and Kim Jong Un shook hands and =greed to denuclearize the=Korean Peninsula. Great, except all signs are pointing to the North still building up its nuclear =rogram. And it's not giving up its nukes unless the US gets rid of its "nuclear threat" first.

J=mal Khashoggi...the Saudi journalist and dissident wh= was murdered while visit=ng the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Everyone pointed the finger at Saudi C=own Prince Mohammed bin Salman as being behind the killing. Including the =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJQZ2hDRnE/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B04a01e68" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">CIA, which looked into it =nd still thinks it was ordered by the crown prince too. President Trump sa=d 'maybe he did, maybe he didn't' – and got heat for letting the c=untry get away with a slap on the wrist and putting business interests fir=t. US lawmakers have been trying to take matters into their own hands. Khashoggi and other journalis=s were named Time Person of t=e Year.

Y=men...the years-long civil war may come to an end soo=. Yemen's gov has been fighting against Houthi rebels. And it has led to t=e world's worst humanitarian =risis. The gov has had its eye on the rebel-held main port city of Hod=ida. But fighting there risks crucial aid and food, and human lives. Milli=ns of people are at risk of famine. But the two sides have been talking things out. So far, th=y've agreed on a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange. They're expected to co=tinue talks next month.

V=nezuela…as in the country has been facing a crisis for years. =nd it's still going on. President Nicolas Maduro won another term. Although some called it a sham. Maduro survived an alleged assassination attempt. Th= currency is basically worthl=ss. There's a shortage=of food, water, and other basics. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country. And if that=wasn't enough, inflation hit =,300,000% this year.

N=caragua…as in earlier this year, the gov said it was making so=e big cuts to social security benefits. People protested and President Dan=el Ortega scrapped the plan=/a>. But the gov cracked down hard on the opposition. Hundreds were killed, thousands were injured= thousands fled. People have been calling on the prez to step down. And th= UN accused the government of in dealing with protestors and told it to back=off. The gov apparently says ',' everyone else is saying 'not really.'

A=l the balls...as in France became the World Cup champ for the first time in 20 years. Chloe Kim rocked the 2018 Winter Olym=ics. The Golden State Warrior= are the best on the court. Everyone knows who Naomi Osaka is now. Justify won the Triple Crown. Patrick Reed won the Masters. The Philadelphia Eagles are the Super Bowl =hamps. Kareem Hunt is per=ona non grata. College basket=all recruiting is as sketchy as ever. Urban Meyer is calling it quits. The University of Maryland had a lot of explaining =o do. USA Gymnastics is s=ill under fire. The Washington Capitals brought their first Stanley Cup home. And Boston fans are still the most.

T=ings we watched…"=o All the Boys I've Loved Before." "Queer Eye." "Wi=d Wild Country." "Salt Fa= Acid Heat." "Set It Up." "Patriot Act with Hasan M=nhaj." "Chilling Adventur=s of Sabrina." "Big Mouth=/a>." "The Haunting of Hill H=use." "Sierra Burgess Is=a Loser." "Roma." "Sharp Objects." "Black Panther." "A Star Is Born." "Crazy Rich Asians." "A Quiet Place." "The Hate U Give." "The =andmaid's Tale." "BlacKkK=ansman." "Sorry to Bother=You." "Insecure." "<= href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/15544826.2738658/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2lt=XRoLmlzLzJTMGVkZ28/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8B81685c6a" target="_blank" st=le="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">The Favourite." "Creed II." "Homecoming." "Bohemian Rhapsody." "This Is Us." "Eighth G=ade." "Succession." =Won't You Be My Neighbor?= "The Good Place." "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Things we read..."The Immortalists." "Fruit of the Drunken Tre=." And a lot more.

C=mpanies making money moves…as in Spotify and Apple became the first public US company valued at one t=illion dollars. Amazon is=saying 'homes sweet homes' to New York and Virginia. Claire's, GE, Sears, and=David's Bridal are hoping=to put 2018 behind them. Meanwhile, Disney and Fox, Com=ast and Sky, CVS Health a=d Aetna, and AT&T and=Time Warner are learning each other's love languages.

<=>PS: 21st Century Fox is a minority investor in theSkimm.

P=ople we'll miss…G=orge HW and Barbara Bush<=a>. John McCain. Aretha Franklin. Mac Miller. Stephen Hawking. Kate Spade. Anthony B=urdain. Stan Lee. Linda Brown. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Burt Reynolds. Avicii. . Billy Graham<=a>. Penny Marshall. Richard Overton.

T=ai cave rescue…as in the story that captivated the world. A group of 12 boys plus their =occer coach got trapped in a cave earlier this year. Cue international pan=c and everyone watching their rescue. A diver died when he ran out of oxyg=n trying to get back from the cave. After more than two weeks, all the boy= and their coach were safely rescued.

D=ta…so hot right now. The EU had everyone googling 'what is GDPR?' And the US said goodby= to net neutrality. Meanw=ile, Marriott, Panera Bread, Facebook, Google, and other c=mpanies are going through training on 'how to keep customers' data saf=.'

T=e Yanny vs Laurel debate...it wasn't over, it still isn't over.

Than= u 2018, next.

PROGRAMMING NOTE

Skimm HQ is popping champagne and ringing in the New =ear. Be back in your inbox on Thursday. Happy 2019.

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theSkimm's Rachel Davis=NY, Henry Kelrick CA, Bob Pittman NY, NJ, Faith Gaskins DC, Maureen Farrell=Wright NY, Andrew Sherry FL, *Hannah Okeefe NY, *Alli=on Holzman NJ, *Bailey Jaeger, *Beth Novick PA, *Blak= Acquarulo CT, *Carly Voinski NJ, *Caroline Schaab IL, <=>*Chelsea Kubasiak MI, *Emma DAntoni VA, *Jessie Dib NY,=*Joél Payne IL, *Kayla Efaw TX, *Kira Russell PA= *Robin Kleban NY, *Kristyn Manoukian UK, *Lisa=Kwit IL, *Madison Barlow NC, *Marie VandeVrede NC, *M=ureen McNulty NY, *Megan Kelley OH, *Eva Neil MI, *Ca=sie Olson WI, *Robyn Ellis IL, *Sabina Sobhani CA, *S=ndi Lara TX, *Sara Shokravi CA, *Sarah Hansen NE, *Te=s Gardephe NY, *Olivia Walker NY, *Amanda Damon RI, *=mye Lee DC, *Ashleigh Roberds MI, *Beth Hamstra IN, *=ourtney Crossland ID, *Erin Shafter LA, *Emily Hartman O=, *Christin Hauck FL, *Isabel Lebovitz PA, *Jordan Waldsc=midt IL, *Katie Rosenberg WI, *Katrina Power TX, *Syd=ey Krelstein CA, *Kristi Sundquist WA, *Kyle Koffman CA,=b> *Lauren Allison VA, *Lauren Eggbeer NH, *Leah Stortz =L, *Lena McCrory FL, *Nicolette Logsdon OH, *Rachael Palm=r MD, *Sarah Pitzer OH, *Rachel Travers PA, *Tobi Gla=er NY, *Victoria Coons GA, *Madeline Hutchinson NY, *=manda Himmelwright PA, *Brooke Maedel TN, *Chelsea O'Neal*Cheryl Freitas CA, *Diana Hand IL, *Jessica Hall WA, *Julia Sims, *Kate Kielceski PA, *Kelly Decker C=, *Kirstin McQuigg CA, *Kyra Rhoades IN, *Megan Porter*Mindy Worley OK, *Raeann Murray TX, *Sarah Miranda =/b>CA, *Shelby Jantzer KS, *Tara Dugan MA, *Britt Bowe*Colleen Hinsberg SC, *Ellen Sawin FL, *Emma Heaslet=GA, *Karly Foster CA, *Gladys Jeffrey NY, *Taylor Hal= MI, *Jamie Stanislav MN, *Jessica Denha MI, *Katie P=rkowski OH, *Maddy Ruble CO, *Meg Ahrenberg NC, *Mehr=en Mazhar TX, *Sarah Tenus OH, *Shelley Hicks TX, *Su=an Claus OH, *Tatum Getty CA

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