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 QUOTE OF THE DAY  |
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"The nice thing is, Sean will be in charge of assessing audience size" – The host of "Dancing with the Stars" on one of the new contestants: Sean Spicer. This will be the largest audience to ever witness a DWTS season, period.
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The Story
Brazil is dealing with a record number of fires.
Whoa. What's going on?
The South American country has had more than 74,000 fires this year, an 84% increase from last year. That's the most since the country started keeping tabs in 2013. More than half of those fires have been in the Amazon, which is an especially big problem for the environment.
And that's because…
It's crucial in the fight against climate change. The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest (about half the size of the US), and home to about 10% of the world's plant and animal species. It's sometimes referred to as the planet's lungs since it produces about 20% of the world's oxygen. And without it, climate change could move faster.
What's going on with the fires?
Before we get into that, let's rewind back to January, when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office. He campaigned on exploring economic opportunities in the Amazon – something that got him support from farmers. And ever since taking office, he's rolled back protections for the environment – including giving less money to Brazil's environmental protection agency and making it harder for the agency to hand out fines. During the past few months, deforestation has skyrocketed in Brazil.
So that's to blame?
Well, a lot of these fires were reportedly started by loggers, who may have burned the land for things like agricultural use and let those fires get out of hand. And the fires have been going on for a couple weeks. Critics of Bolsonaro – including NGOs and environmentalists – blame him, saying his policies have made it easier for loggers to do this. But if you ask Bolsonaro, he'd say 'blame it on the NGOs.' Without providing evidence, he said he thinks they might have caused the fires to make his government look bad. Interesting to note: the head of the country's space agency was fired after his agency reported that deforestation increased 88% this June compared to a year earlier.
theSkimm
Bolsonaro has only been in office for about eight months and his changes to environmental protections are already starting to show. Environmentalists and countries worldwide are worried about the danger of prioritizing business and development over the environment. And these fires don't seem to be going away anytime soon. Here's how you can help.
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What the Trump admin is still tackling…
Immigration. Yesterday, the admin said it'll allow migrant families who illegally cross the US-Mexico border to be held indefinitely. It gets rid of the 20-day limit for detaining migrant children that was set over two decades ago under the federal court settlement known as the Flores agreement. This change is all part of President Trump's plan to tackle illegal immigration. See: last year's "zero tolerance" policy. More recently, the admin's gotten pushback for the conditions at some migrant detention facilities. This move to end the Flores agreement needs to be approved by a federal judge, and it's expected to face legal challenges.
Skimm This: Our latest podcast ep goes into the Flores agreement and how people have been reacting to the new rule.
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Who's taking on gun control…
March for Our Lives. Yesterday, the group founded by survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting proposed new gun control measures. This comes after the deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio earlier this month that killed a total of 31 people. Here's what the group is calling for: a national licensing and registry system, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, a mandatory gun buyback program, upping the minimum age to buy a gun to 21, and creating a new government position to oversee gun violence prevention. The group called on 2020 presidential candidates to endorse the plan, and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) became the first to do so and urged other candidates to do the same.
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Plot twists are fun in thrillers. Not so much IRL. Meet: the emergency fund. It's money saved just for life's twists and turns. Take the quiz to see how much you need to put away. Then get started.
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For when someone takes your lunch from the office fridge...
The ultimate betrayal. "Power" is back for season six and James "Ghost" St. Patrick is getting even while trying to stay on the right side of the law. Easier said than done (esp when your target is your former brother in arms). Catch up on the STARZ App and watch the premiere on Sunday.*
For when your grandma has the best cookie recipe…
Follow her lead. When it comes to investing, follow The Motley Fool's. They have expert stock picks so you can invest with confidence. Psst…they have five stock recommendations just for Skimm'rs. Sweet.*
For when you've picked up bad sleeping habits…
Put them to bed. Get better Zzz's with this brand. Their luxe mattresses and bedding will make your bed feel like a cloud. Psst...Skimm'rs get early access to their end-of-summer event and 15% off with code SKIMM15. Do it to it.*
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*PS This is a sponsored post.
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Skimm'r of the Week…Susie Vybiral. She's the CEO and founder of Room Redux – an org that anonymously transforms the rooms of children who have faced sexual and/or physical abuse – all in one day. It gets referrals from counselors, psychologists, CPS caseworkers, and law enforcement, and operates on donations alone. Learn more here.
(Some) Birthdays… theSkimm's Raven Evans (NY), theSkimm's Renee Picciolo (NY), John Cronin (NH), Kelsey Milkovich (NY), Tara Hinote (VA), Nancy Sanieoff (CA), Leah Barsanti (FL), Leslie Thomas (SC), Makailyn Boughton (RI), Kelsey Spinnato (TX), Terri Adams (IN), Holly Goodman (PA), Rachelle Bourget (CAN)
*Paging all members of theSkimm. Reach out here for a chance to be featured.
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theSkimm50 West 23rd Street, Suite 5B; New York, NY, 10010, United States Update Profile
