Subject: Daily Skimm: You can go your own way
From: "theSkimm" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2019 06:31:03 -0500 (EST)

<=m>Skimm'd while adding to our reading list

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FEBRUA=Y 19, 2019

R=AD IN BROWSER

Skimm'd while adding to our reading list

QUOTE O= THE DAY

"Lightsaber dueling" – Now an official sport in France. May le force be=with you.

THINGS MAKING BRITS SPILL=TEA

Drama in parliament

The Story

Yesterday, seven British lawmakers quit the country's Labour Party.

Labour with a 'u.' Very British.

There are a number of political parties in the UK. Bu= the major two in Parliament are: the Conservative Party (aka the Tories) =E2�� the right-of-center party that Prime Minister Theresa May is the =eader of. And the left-of-center Labour Party.

Got it. So why'd people quit?

Anti-Semitism...Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has been a long-time critic of Israel and ad=ocate for Palestinian rights. He's also been accused of anti-Semitism for =hings ranging from buddying up with leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah to supp=rting the artist behind an anti-Semitic mural. Last year – amid allegations of anti-Semitism=against him and the party – he acknowledged there was a problem, a=d said he's working to ad=ress it. Earlier this month, one Jewish MP was almost edged out. Yesterday, she was one of the seven=lawmakers who quit Labour, calling it "institutionally anti-Semitic." Ther='s also…

B=exit…The UK's exit from the EU is next month. Repeat: next mon=h. Parliament still hasn't signed off on a divorce deal yet. But either wa=, the UK's own government

Remind me what an MP stands for?

Member of Parliament.

Damn, was hoping for Mary Poppins. Anyway...now what?=/b>

The seven MPs are still in parliament but as a group =f independent lawmakers. They're hoping to get others to defect and join t=em. Labour's deputy leader

theSkimm

This isn=t the first time Labour MPs split with their party. But this split is =otable because it could have an impact when parliament votes on a Brexit d=al – the biggest shift in the UK's trade and foreign policy in dec=des. Brexit has caused significant rifts within the UK gov, and there's st=ll no clear sign of what will happen next. These MPs say they're fighting =o create a space for people who aren't satisfied with the UK's two main pa=ties. And some think it could be the start of an even bigger movement to c=me.

Tech smackdowns

The Story

UK lawmakers just called tech companies like Facebook="digital gangsters."

Feisty.

For a year and a half, a UK committee has been lookin= into the role of tech companies on issues like fake news and users' priva=y. Yesterday, it dropped a re=ort that Facebook wishes it could untag itself from.

What's it say?

That there's evidence Facebook knowingly violated UK =rivacy and competition laws. That the company might have known about the <= href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/16050513.2914163/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2lt=XRoLmlzLzJCSGFuVGI/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8Be1baabec" target="_blank" st=le="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">Cambridge Analytica scandal=before it said it did. That it lied to or misled UK lawmakers about the sc=le of Russian ads on its platform. That CEO Mark Zuckerberg keeps ghosting=UK's calls to testify. And that the UK's not having it. Facebook acknowled=ed that it still has "more to do" but flagged that it now has tens of thou=ands of people working to address things like abusive content on its platf=rm.

theSkimm

The committee is calling for more investigation into =otential foreign influence in (think: Brexit and Scottish referendums). And for =ore regulation of social media companies – which has become someth=ng of a trend that tends to put Wall Street on edge. But until the UK acts on this, France still hol=s the crown for Most Likely t= Hold Tech to Task.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What to say when you hear Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein might be heading out...<=h3>

This beef isn't going anywhere. Yesterday, 16 states filed a lawsuit against Pr=sident Trump's national emergency declaration. Remember the longest government shutdown in US histor=? It started because Trump wanted Congress to set aside $5.7 billion in fu=ding for a wall on the US-Mexico border. Instead, lawmakers gave him close to $1.4 billion for a fe= dozen miles of fencing. So the president declared a national emergency to=bypass Congress and get the money he wanted for the wall. Yesterday, peopl= across the country showed up to protest Trump's declaration. Now, these states – including =alifornia and New York – are telling Trump to slow his roll. TBD h=w that goes, but the president is prepared to take the issue all the way t= the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Trump has a warning for Venezuela's military. Yesterday, he called th=m out saying they "will lose everything" if they keep supporting Nicol�=A1s Maduro's presidency. And that they shouldn't stop humanitarian aid fro= coming into the country. He also added that the US wants a peaceful trans=er of power to opposition leader Juan Guaidó, but that "all options a=e open."

Who people are talking about…

Hoda Mut=ana. The 24-year-old American traveled to Syria four years ago and is =ow reportedly asking to be allowed to return home. Once she left the US, s=e married a series of ISIS fighters and became active on social media �=80� encouraging people to commit terror attacks that would kill American=. Now, she apparently says she made a big mistake and claims she was brain=ashed online. She's currently in a refugee camp in northern Syria with her=18-month-old son. It's the same camp where a woman from the UK – who is also asking to go ba=k home – gave birth over the weekend. This is all happening while =a href="https://link.theskimm.com/click/16050513.2914163/aHR0cHM6Ly9za2l=bXRoLmlzLzJCSWRMZ24/5bae7b412ddf9c633bb801b8Bebe535ef" target="_blank" s=yle="color:#00b2a9;text-decoration:none;">some EU countries are deba=ing whether or not to give citizenship to children born to parents who lef= the EU to join ISIS. President Trump has some opinions: he's demanding that EU countries take back =heir citizens and prosecute them or else he'll be "forced to release them.= The US has in the past m=de it clear it's worried that extremism could grow in the camps if ISIS fi=hters stay there.

=img src="https://media-cdn.theskimm.com/dailyskimm/social-icons/Twitter_=2.png" width="35" height="35" style="margin-left:12px;margin-right:1=px;" border="0">

What people are watching…

Haitiwarning citizens not to travel there. =everal people have been killed as protesters clashed with police. Multiple=people – including fi=e Americans – have apparently been arrested. President Jovenel=Moise is refusing to step down. Protests are expected to continue this wee=.

What's getting more confusing by the day...

The Juss=e Smollett case. Chicago Police say their investigation into the alleg=d attack has "shifted." Smollett claimed two men approached him last month= and did things like yell "racial and homophobic slurs" and wrap a rope ar=und his neck. Authorities were investigating it as a potential hate crime.=Last week, they arrested two Nigerian brothers – one worked as an extra on Smollett's show "=mpire" and both knew him – but later released them without charges= Now police are saying there's new evidence and that they want to re-inter=iew Smollett. There are now reports that Smollett may have paid the brothe=s to stage the attack. Smollett denies having anything to do with it. And =is attorneys say he'll continue to cooperate with authorities.

What to say when you're treated unfairly…

Let's make some edits. Yesterday, New York City announced it will ban discrimin=tion based on hairstyles. This is meant to prevent businesses and others f=om penalizing black people for wearing their hair natural. And it's appare=tly the first city in the US to do so. The city says that the same laws th=t ban discrimination based on race also applies to hair. This comes after = New Jersey high school wrest=er was forced to choose between cutting his dreadlocks or forfeiting a=match last year.

What to say to your friend who thinks they're a photogra=her...

Never fo=get the sailor who knew how to celebrate.

In honor of Black History Month, we teamed up with Shondaland to share moments =n black history and culture.

This=week, Jason George from "Grey's Anatomy" and "Station 19" is sharing his s=ory. He talks about the impact of Barack Obama's election, the black polit=cal pioneers who came before him, and what his presidency means for future=generations.

Check it out.

SKIMM PICKS

For when the winter weather is confusing your skin=..

Lay a good foundation. Literally. Tarte Cosmetics j=st dropped a new Face Tape Foundation that gives your skin full coverage a=d hydrates for 12 hours. Plus, it's available in 50 shades. Oh, and Skimm'=s get free shipping for today only. Yes please.*

F=r when you have cubicle views and corner office goals...

Mind your own business. But really. This free onli=e class helps entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes when starting or gro=ing their own b. Register here.*

*PS This is a sponsored post, which means i= you purchase or sign up, theSkimm may get something in return. Thanks.

SKIMM'RS

Skimm'r of the Week…Kerry Brodie. She'= the executive director of Emma's Torch, an organization that gives culina=y training and job placement services to refugees and survivors of human t=afficking. Learn more and donate here.

C=illing champagne for…Allison D (MA), Melissa B (IA), an= Michelle B (IL). They're sisters and running a half marathon toget=er at Disney World on behalf of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. =aking family bonding to another level. Speaking of…Natalie S (N=) is taking her mom Sonia T (NY) on her first international tri=. It's in honor of Sonia's 60th birthday and her first vacay in over 16 ye=rs.

(=ome) Birthdays…theSkimm's Michael Gray (NY), theSkimm's Meliss= Wimberly (NY), Billy Stern (NY), Wylie Stern (NY), Ilana Mandelbaum (CA),=Diane Humphreys (GA), Megan Schroder (FL), Ashley Vogeli (AB), Shelby Kell=r (OH), Nicole Meyer (MEX), Rebecca DeFrang (WA), Dru Jensen-Jones (SGP), =vie Jennes (NLD), Garrett Tibbets (KS), Isaac Curry (MI), Wade Pemberton (=C)

*=elcome to a new section we're testing with members of theSkimm. Want to ta=e it to the next level? Reach out here for a chance to be featur=d.

SKIMM SHARE

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