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QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"We're annoying" – Ariana Grande on her PDA with Pete Davidson. Self-awareness, so hot right now.
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White Helmets
The Story
Over the weekend, Israel helped evacuate hundreds of rescue workers out of Syria.
Tell me more.
They're called the White Helmets – a group of Syrians who have documented some of the atrocities of the years-long Syrian civil war. And volunteer to try and save people on the ground after airstrikes. Russia and Syria consider the group a terrorist organization, and have claimed it's linked to al-Qaeda. But it was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. And have gotten support and money from the US and Western allies…who've asked Israel to help get them out of the country.
Keep going.
Syria's Assad regime is closing in on some of the last rebel-held areas in the south – where White Helmets and their families have been stranded near the border with Israel. Israel has mostly stayed out of the conflict. But the US and friends asked it for an assist with getting some of these rescue workers out. Now, hundreds of these evacuees are in Jordan for the next few months before they're resettled to Canada, Britain, and Germany.
theSkimm
This was a major international effort to get rescue workers out of Syria. There are reportedly more than 3,000 White Helmets still there.
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LGBTQ Protests
The Story
Yesterday, tens of thousands of Israelis turned out to protest a surrogacy law.
Come again?
Israel is considered pretty LGBTQ-friendly. Last month, 250,000 people showed up at Israel's pride parade in Tel Aviv. But for decades, only heterosexual couples have had access to surrogacy there. PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he'd support a law that would let gay couples have kids via surrogacy. But last week, he made a surprise U-turn decision and instead, a new law passed letting single ladies access surrogacy…but not men.
Why the change?
It probably has something to do with the fact that part of his gov's coalition is not down with LGBTQ rights. Netanyahu reportedly says that if he'd supported the amendment for dads, the law change letting single ladies access surrogacy wouldn't have gotten passed in parliament. LGBTQ activists say 'why not both?'
Anything else?
This isn't the only new law people are taking issue with. Last week, the country passed a controversial law defining itself as the nation-state for Jews. Israeli Arabs said 'missing something?' The EU and others said 'agree.'
theSkimm
Israelis are pushing back against laws they say don't reflect its diverse character.
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What to say when you get a late rent notice...
Is this a threat? Yesterday, President Trump threatened Iran with consequences that "few throughout history have ever suffered." This comes after Iranian President Rouhani said the US shouldn't mess with Iran (hi, sanctions) – and that a war between the two could be the "mother of all wars." Now, Trump's taking to Twitter (you didn't see that coming) to respond. Trump also kept busy this weekend with these documents. Over the weekend, the DOJ dropped docs related to the wiretapping of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Before the 2016 election, the FBI got a warrant to wiretap Page, saying Russians tried to recruit him. Republicans and Democrats disagree on whether the warrant was properly obtained. And media orgs sued to get a look at the docs. Now, Page says he's got nothing to hide. And Trump says the docs show that the feds overstepped because they relied on the dossier. You know the one.
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What people are talking about…
This duck boat accident. Last week, 17 people died after a tourist boat capsized during a storm in Missouri. Nine of the people who died were part of one Indiana family. There were life jackets on the boat, but people weren't required to wear them. Investigations are underway to figure out exactly what happened.
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What to say when you finally get a raise…
Give me a Bellini. Francesco Molinari is saying 'same.' Yesterday, the golfer won the British Open – becoming the first Italian to win a golf major. Because he handled those little balls better than Tiger Woods.
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theSkimm50 West 23rd Street, Suite 5B; New York, NY, 10010, United States Update Profile