“Rum” – How Cuba wants to repay hundreds of millions of dollars it borrowed from the Czech Republic decades ago. Because Czechs just wanna Havana fun.

THINGS MAKING PEOPLE GO 'HMMM'

THE STORY

Yesterday, the White House pointed its finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin for meddling in the US presidential election.

BACK UP.

You’ve been hearing ‘Russia’ and ‘US presidential election’ in the same sentence a lot lately. That’s because earlier this year, the US gov blamed Russia for trying to influence ‘Murica’s decision. Think: hacking the DNC, leaking material to WikiLeaks. But they didn’t say why this was happening. Then last week, the CIA told lawmakers Russia did this all to help get Donald Trump into the White House. And yesterday, the White House said ‘we agree.’ This is apparently based on intel that it had before the election, but didn’t want to share for fear of looking partisan.

SO WHAT’S THE LATEST?

Now, the Obama administration is saying that the problem goes all the way to the top. As in Putin himself allegedly gave the green light to hack into Dem officials’ emails. The White House hasn’t given any proof Putin was involved, but says it’s “obvious” that Trump knew about all of this. Team Trump is saying ‘erroneous on both counts.’ And Team Putin is saying this is “laughable.” Ha.

theSKIMM

Remember that time when a foreign gov interfered with the US election? And the US gov didn’t do anything about it? Yeah. The White House says it’ll keep looking into this, but there’s just over a month left until there’s a new president in town. Tick. Tock.

THE STORY

Yesterday, a group of state attorney generals gave some pharma companies a bitter pill and sued for price fixing.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Pharma companies have been getting a lot of side eye in recent years for hiking up the prices of brand-name drugs. Then yesterday, it came out that it’s also been happening with generic drugs. Six big pharma companies have allegedly been conspiring to make each other cash money. Not a good look, especially since the drugs they’re accused of price-fixing treat life-threatening conditions like diabetes. And because their moves are not-so-good for competition. Cue the state AGs suing. 

theSKIMM

This is another bad report card for the pharma industry. And even though pharma companies have done the walk of shame in the past, apparently that’s not enough to change their ways. Unclear if they’ll swallow the pill this time.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT...

Dylann Roof. Yesterday, a jury told the Charleston, SC church shooter ‘you’re guilty’ of federal hate crimes. Reminder: Roof opened fire on a group of black church-goers in Charleston last year, killing nine of them. He considers himself a white supremacist and later told authorities he “had to do it” to get revenge on black people committing crimes against white people. So this verdict wasn’t a huge surprise. Now the jury has to decide whether he’ll live the rest of his life in prison, or get the death penalty. They’ll start debating next month. But Roof’s days in court aren’t over. The state separately charged him with murder, and that trial’s set to start in January.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR BOSS EMAILS EVERYONE TO TAKE THE DAY OFF...

Is this for real? That’s what Facebook is saying about questionable stories on your newsfeed. Yesterday, the social network said it’s going to start letting people flag stories they don’t think are legit. This all comes after Zuckerberg and Co got a lot of heat after the election for letting users post fake stories that might’ve confused voters. Some of them went viral...like that time a lot of people believed the Pope was supporting President-elect Donald Trump. Spoiler: that never happened. Then Zuck himself came out and said ‘yes this is a problem, we’re dealing with it.’ Facebook also said it’ll start working with fact checkers, and stories that aren’t real will get a big fat ‘proceed with caution’ label. Like.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN SOMEONE KEEPS TAKING YOUR SPOT IN SPIN CLASS…

The power struggle is real. Earlier this week, the Republican-controlled legislature in North Carolina proposed limiting the powers of the Gov-elect Roy Cooper. Surprise: Cooper’s a Dem. NC lawmakers want to require the Senate to approve Cooper’s cabinet picks and cut the number of people he can hire. Double surprise: Cooper’s not having it. Yesterday, he said he’d sue NC lawmakers if they follow through. This all comes after a very heated governor race that saw Cooper, who’s the state attorney general, win by just 10,000 votes. Current Gov. Pat McCrory (R) refused to concede for weeks. Now Republicans say they’re just making sure the GOP stays in the political game under a Dem governor. Dems say the state GOP’s overstepping. And apparently Cooper’s not the only AG with lawsuits on the mind to keep the other party in line.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR CO-WORKER WHO WEARS A JERSEY TO CASUAL FRIDAY…

RIP Craig Sager. Yesterday, the longtime sports broadcaster died at age 65. He’d been battling cancer for the past few years. Sager worked for decades reporting on the sidelines of everything from NBA games to the Olympics. You know him as the one who owned an entire set of pastel blazers and graphic ties. He was also the one players and coaches loved talking to. Yesterday, the NBA Players Association called him “an inspiration to us all.”

THING TO KNOW

College Football Playoff: As in you’re about to hear a lot about the small balls on the football field. What’s about to go down? We Skimm’d it for you.

SKIMM READS

“Soulmates” by Jessica Grose

A married man runs away with his yoga instructor. Not the beginning of a reality show. It’s the beginning of a thriller when the husband and yogi show up dead. This read’s one part whodunnit, one part spiritual awakening, all parts page-turner. Buy here.

SKIMM WINE

Skimm’ologist says three’s definitely not a crowd. Especially when it comes to wine. Enter: theSkimm’s Winter Wine Threesome. There’s a Sauv Blanc, a Cab Merlot, and a fancy French red for when you’re feeling extra festive. Get in the spirit and buy here. 

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SKIMM BIRTHDAYS

* indicates Skimm’bassador.  Go shawty. 

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