Skimm'd after some serious me time

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SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

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Skimm'd after some serious me time


  QUOTE OF THE DAY  

"Spray-on Spice" – An actual food product. Turns out, anything can taste like pumpkin if you put your finger to it.

MARIA, MARIA

The Story

Hurricane Maria knocked out power in Puerto Rico. All of it.

Wait, what?

Yesterday, Maria hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm – the strongest to hit the US territory in almost a century. The entire island – more than three million people – is without power. Thousands are in shelters. There's widespread flooding. The governor has issued a curfew. And winds were so high that emergency responders had to wait hours to start rescue efforts.

Where is it now?

It's been downgraded to a Category 2 and is heading toward the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos. But Puerto Rican officials warn that the danger isn't over – there's the potential for flash flooding and mudslides. And all of this couldn't come at a worse time.

Why's that?

Puerto Rico has been in a recession for more than a decade and owes tens of billions in bills to investors, which it can't pay. Earlier this year, it filed for bankruptcy. This means the public power company is low on cash, and its infrastructure isn't in the best shape. It could take weeks to get the lights back on.

theSkimm

Maria hit as Puerto Rico was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Irma. Now, it'll have to call on the US gov for help getting back on its feet.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What to say when the Federal Reserve is in a good mood...

The SEC is not. Last night, the US agency that keeps an eye on the markets said 'we've been hacked.' One of its electronic filing systems was breached last year. The system stores corporate disclosures – meaning non-public, inside information. The good news? It looks like no personal data was compromised. The bad news? It looks like the hackers profited off of trades they made using the stolen information. This also comes weeks after the credit rating firm Equifax announced that hackers stole data from about 143 million customers. Aka more than a third of the country.


What to say when your phone's about to die…

Keep it brief. Yesterday, it came out that Paul Manafort – President Trump's former campaign chairman – offered to give campaign briefings to a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin. Manafort's a key player in the federal investigation into whether Trump's team colluded with Russia to interfere in the election. Over the summer, the feds raided his home and seized a bunch of documents. Then reportedly threatened to indict him. So yes, he's in trouble. And now, there's this. Manafort reportedly made the offer via email – which is one of the many documents obtained as part of the investigation. His people say it never happened.


What to say to your friend who boxed in high school…

RIP Jake LaMotta. Earlier this week, the famous boxer died at age 95. You probably know him as the guy Robert De Niro won an Oscar for portraying in "Raging Bull." LaMotta got his start in the ring back in the '40s, and went on to hold the middleweight boxing champ title for several years. His name can also be found in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.


What to say before your SO goes on a trip...

Don't go. Yesterday, Spanish authorities arrested at least a dozen Catalan gov officials. Catalonia is in the northeastern region of Spain that includes Barcelona. It's planning to hold a vote next month on whether to say 'adéu' to the rest of Spain. It's already done this once before in 2014, but Spain said the vote was illegal – that's because the constitution says no one region can go rogue and make decisions that affect the rest of the country. Now Catalonia's trying again. And Spain's still not happy. So it's detaining Catalan gov officials and scooping up millions of their paper ballots for the upcoming vote. In response, yesterday thousands of protesters took to the streets against the crackdown. Catalonia is going forward with the vote anyway.


THING TO KNOW

Fiona the Hippo

A Cincinnati Zoo resident and social media star. The baby hippo became famous when the zoo started posting photos of her growth after being born prematurely. Depending on who you ask, she's either an icon for body positivity or...just really cute.

SKIMM LIFE

SKIMM FAVES

You feel like you've been working for the weekend for weeks. And now it's time to take a break. These are a few of our favorite things that'll help you shift into a 'me time' state of mind.


SKIMM TO GO

For when you need interior design inspo...

Skimm HQ's on the move. Literally. We'll be showing you our new office over here, plus follow us on Instagram to watch us lift boxes and decorate.

For when you need a laugh...

Whitney Cummings has a show in Austin, TX. We have tickets, airfare, Outdoor Voices to pack in your bag, etc. Enter here.

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SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

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