Good morning.
Didn’t summer just end? Yet here we are, less than three weeks from Thanksgiving. I love any holiday where food is the main character, so I’m already in the spirit. (Not in a "the tree is already up" kind of way, but no judgment.) To get the menu rolling, I’m drawing inspiration from these 40 old-school recipes. Never one to shy away from cured meats and cheese (yes, cheese for dinner is a time-honored tradition in our house), I’ve decided to add a "Turkuterie" board to this year's spread — just look at that turkey face. I'm not the only one prepping early. New Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, including Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey and Joe Cool Snoopy, took their first test flights over the weekend. And if you're interested in curating your couch lineup, here are 10 movies we're queuing up between now and Nov 26 (Free Birds remains mandatory viewing). Planning your wallet’s trajectory even further out? We've got you covered with theSkimm's holiday budget guide. Now, let's get to the news...
FEATURED EXPERT:
Marina Carver
Marina Carver reads all the news so you don't have to. As Senior Editor of the Daily Skimm, she spends her days figuring out what millions of readers actually need to know before breakfast. Marina runs the production of theSkimm's flagship newsletter, working alongside a brilliant team of writers and editors. She sets the daily lineup, assigns stories, edits copy, jumps on breaking news, and obsesses over the data that reveals what readers are (and aren’t) interested in.
Her sweet spot is making complicated news — politics, policy, business, tech, world events, and yes, tariffs — clear, conversational, and maybe even a little fun.
Before joining theSkimm, Marina spent nearly 16 years at CNN, fueled by deadline adrenaline and an alarming number of lattes. As a Senior Planning Editor at CNN's New York Bureau, she coordinated coverage for everything from major breaking news to planned national events and election nights. She dispatched correspondents and crews, solved logistical puzzles in real time, and made editorial calls under intense deadline pressure.
Whether it was the Boston Marathon bombing, Occupy Wall Street, the Women’s March, major criminal trials, or upstate New York manhunts, if a reporter’s phone rang at 3 am, there was a good chance Marina was on the other end deciding where they needed to be and why. Partnering with reporters and producers to craft TV and digital stories that truly served and connected with viewers brought her the most joy during this time.
She's worn many hats — as a writer, producer, editor, and manager — and worked just about every shift a newsroom can throw at someone: overnights, early-morning shows, the assignment desk, the live booth from the New York Stock Exchange, and primetime. That means she’s developed the kind of news judgment that only comes from seeing thousands of stories unfold in real time.
She was also part of the team that launched Interview Club, CNN+’s (RIP) first live, interactive Q&A platform, where she booked everyone from newsmakers and policy experts to political heavyweights while helping shape the platform’s editorial strategy and audience engagement.
Along the way, she wrote for CNN.com, helped launch ABC 7 New York’s 10 am show, and produced segments for MTV News (ah, nostalgia).
Marina earned her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from New York University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two kids, and two dogs (who give her emotional support when the news gets ruff). When she’s not reading the news, she’s probably cheering from a soccer sideline or baseball diamond, hunting for the perfect donut, or convincing herself she definitely has time for one more chapter of her latest book.
You can find her work in the Daily Skimm every weekday — and her editor’s note most Mondays.
After the Midterms
A New Chief of Staff
Skimm’d by: Erika W. Smith and Maria Corpus
What's going on: Today, Stephen Miller is expected to clock in as White House chief of staff. President Donald Trump announced Miller’s promotion on Friday, from his previous role as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, and called him “a great fighter.” Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. With her departure, she becomes the latest in what The Washington Post describes as a “growing list of women who have left their high-ranking positions in the administration and been replaced by men.” While publicly Trump said that Wiles “has done an outstanding job,” a source told CNN that he blamed her, along with other cabinet members, for Republicans’ midterm losses.
What happens next?: Analysts say that with Miller as chief of staff, the White House could double down on immigration curbs and deportations. During Trump’s first term, Miller helped construct the administration’s family separation policy and the “Muslim ban” rejecting immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. And in Trump’s second term, he supported an expansion of third-country deportations and reportedly instructed ICE officials to meet daily quotas of 3,000 arrests. But Trump admitted in an interview with 60 Minutes that the crackdown was “too tough." The Washington Post suggests that the appointment could also signal an even more AI-friendly stance (Miller’s wife Katie Miller is an AI consultant and investor) and add new barriers between lobbyists and the administration. While many Republicans praised Trump’s new appointment, Democrats and some GOP members publicly criticized the move, citing Miller’s unpopular approach to deportation. On Friday, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) said, “Frankly, I think Stephen Miller should be fired.”
Related: Trump Said He Was ‘Kidding’ About UFC CEO Dana White Becoming His New Press Secretary (The New York Times gift link)
Together with AVOCADO
The Comfiest, Coziest Sleep Gifts
When you love someone, let them sleep. If that’s not how the saying goes, we think it should be. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best gifts from Avocado that support supremely cozy sleep.
Left No Crumbs
Whether you’re a seasoned pro in the kitchen or you’re still learning the fine art of faking it ’til you make it, we’ve rounded up the best kitchen products to help you in your endeavors. These are the tools we can’t live without, the appliances that are practically part of the family, and the serveware that makes us smile. Here are a few of our favorites:
A durable, plastic-free cutting board
The vegetable chopper that several of our moms use
A mini waffle maker that churns out fluffy waffles every single time
KNOW IT ALL
Two decades later, Justin Timberlake revealed which one of his songs is not, in fact, about Britney Spears?
Still catching up from the weekend? Jumpstart your brain with Flipart. Feel the rush.
After the Midterms
A New Chief of Staff
Skimm’d by: Erika W. Smith and Maria Corpus
What's going on: Today, Stephen Miller is expected to clock in as White House chief of staff. President Donald Trump announced Miller’s promotion on Friday, from his previous role as White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, and called him “a great fighter.” Miller replaces Susie Wiles, who was the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff. With her departure, she becomes the latest in what The Washington Post describes as a “growing list of women who have left their high-ranking positions in the administration and been replaced by men.” While publicly Trump said that Wiles “has done an outstanding job,” a source told CNN that he blamed her, along with other cabinet members, for Republicans’ midterm losses.
What happens next?: Analysts say that with Miller as chief of staff, the White House could double down on immigration curbs and deportations. During Trump’s first term, Miller helped construct the administration’s family separation policy and the “Muslim ban” rejecting immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. And in Trump’s second term, he supported an expansion of third-country deportations and reportedly instructed ICE officials to meet daily quotas of 3,000 arrests. But Trump admitted in an interview with 60 Minutes that the crackdown was “too tough." The Washington Post suggests that the appointment could also signal an even more AI-friendly stance (Miller’s wife Katie Miller is an AI consultant and investor) and add new barriers between lobbyists and the administration. While many Republicans praised Trump’s new appointment, Democrats and some GOP members publicly criticized the move, citing Miller’s unpopular approach to deportation. On Friday, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) said, “Frankly, I think Stephen Miller should be fired.”
Related: Trump Said He Was ‘Kidding’ About UFC CEO Dana White Becoming His New Press Secretary (The New York Times gift link)
Together with AVOCADO
The Comfiest, Coziest Sleep Gifts
When you love someone, let them sleep. If that’s not how the saying goes, we think it should be. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best gifts from Avocado that support supremely cozy sleep.
Left No Crumbs
Whether you’re a seasoned pro in the kitchen or you’re still learning the fine art of faking it ’til you make it, we’ve rounded up the best kitchen products to help you in your endeavors. These are the tools we can’t live without, the appliances that are practically part of the family, and the serveware that makes us smile. Here are a few of our favorites:
A durable, plastic-free cutting board
The vegetable chopper that several of our moms use
A mini waffle maker that churns out fluffy waffles every single time
KNOW IT ALL
Two decades later, Justin Timberlake revealed which one of his songs is not, in fact, about Britney Spears?
Live Smarter
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