“Bleak, flavorless, gluten-free wasteland” - A NJ Girl Scout, describing one kind of cookie she’s selling this year. Interesting business strategy.

HARDBALL

THE STORY

The Trump administration has some words for Iran and Australia.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH IRAN?

Over the weekend, Iran conducted a missile test. The White House and some from the international community say this goes against a UN resolution that asks the country not to develop missiles with nuclear capabilities. Iran says their missiles aren’t designed to be nuclear, so it didn’t do anything wrong. Yesterday, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said Iran’s actions put “American lives at risk” and that the US is “putting Iran on notice.” It’s unclear what this means. Trump’s supporters are happy to see his administration being tougher on Iran as promised. Critics worry this new approach will undo years of talks that brought relations from chilly to lukewarm.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH AUSTRALIA?

Last night, a report came out that Trump recently had a call with the Australian PM that was his “worst call by far” with a world leader that day. Reminder: Australia is one of the US’s closest allies. This all apparently has to do with an agreement between the US and Australia to accept about 1,200 refugees from Australian detention centers. That was before Trump took office, and before he announced his immigration ban on areas where most of these refugees are from. Last night, Trump tweeted that he’d “study this dumb deal!”

theSKIMM

The US-Iran relationship has had its ups and downs. But Australia has always been a BFF. Meaning, it’s looking like relations with both friends and frenemies are going to be much different under the Trump administration.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN THE TRAIN DOESN’T STOP AT YOUR STATION…

We changing things up here? Yesterday, the Senate GOP took a red pen to the voting rules for some cabinet picks that have been in limbo for weeks. Senate Dems have been pushing back on approving them, and yesterday, many Dems boycotted confirmation votes. The Senate GOP said ‘suit yourselves’ and changed the rules so they could push through the nominees on their own. Now, the candidates for treasury secretary, health and human services, and attorney general are one step closer to the White House. They could soon join former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, who’s been sworn in as sec. of state. But Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos could be in trouble. Yesterday, two GOP senators said they won’t vote to confirm her. If one more joins them, she’s officially out. Meanwhile yesterday, Trump told the Senate GOP to “go nuclear” and change the voting rules if Dems try to block his Supreme Court nominee. So yes, just a few workplace disputes going on at Capitol Hill right now.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING…

UC Berkeley. Yesterday, campus riots forced the school to cancel a planned speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos. He’s known for his far-right politics. And for being permanently banned from Twitter after leading harassment against actress Leslie Jones. Last night, protesters threw fireworks at police and broke windows, leading to a university lockdown. If you’re having deja vu, that’s because last month, protests also led to UC Davis to cancel a talk with Yiannopoulos.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN THE CREDITS START ROLLING AT THE MOVIE THEATER...

Time to go. That’s what Israel’s telling hundreds of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Israel’s been building settlements in that area for decades. But Palestinians who live there want the area to be a part of their future state. The UN says the settlements are illegal and make a peaceful two-state solution - where both Israel and Palestine would be states on a map - very difficult. Israeli PM Netanyahu is in favor of settlements, and is often caught in the middle of doing what his supporters want and following Israel’s court rulings. Case in point: back in 2014, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the largest settlement in the West Bank is illegal because it’s built on private Palestinian land. The court said it has to be destroyed. The Israeli gov tried to put that off for years. But yesterday, police officers finally turned up and started kicking people off the land. Meanwhile on the same day, Netanyahu announced a brand new settlement in the area for the first time in decades. Reportedly so the evicted settlers have a new home.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU BUMP INTO YOUR HIGH SCHOOL NEMESIS…

Bringing back some bad memories. Speaking of, Ukraine is still a problem. In recent days, fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian gov forces got really intense again. Reminder: back in 2014, Russia sent its troops into Crimea (pro-Russian peninsula that’s technically part of Ukraine) and said ‘mine now.’ Then, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine decided they wanted in on that deal and started fighting the Ukrainian gov. In 2015, after a lot of fighting and thousands of deaths, Russia and Ukraine shook on a peace deal. But the fighting never truly stopped. And now, it looks like things are getting really bad again. Unclear why it all escalated, but several people have been killed in recent days. It’s also literally freezing there right now, and the fighting’s led to power outages. Not a good combo.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO WANTS A DESTINY’S CHILD REUNION TOUR...

Now Beyonce will have enough beybeys to do her own.

THING TO KNOW

Punxsutawney Phil: The infamous groundhog-slash-weather man from Punxsutawney, PA. Today’s the day he gets his annual 15 seconds while he searches for his shadow.

PS: Downloading Skimm Ahead may or may not make spring come faster. But it’ll definitely make sure you never miss an event like this. Get it here.

SKIMM LIFE

Skimm A’s 2017 bucket list includes learning how to code. Now she’s saying hi to these online courses. They range from talking tech to getting creative on Photoshop. Psst…theSkimm got you a really good discount on a bunch of course packs.

P.S. This is an affiliate partner, which means if you buy it theSkimm may get some cash money. Thanks.

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