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Skimm for September 21st

Skimm’d while watching the Emmys.

QUOTE OF THE DAY “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation” – Dr. Ben Carson (R), who wants to be prez, during a conversation about whether a president’s faith matters. This comes after Donald Trump made headlines last week for failing to correct a supporter who said President Obama is Muslim. Skimm This

THINGS HAPPENING FAR AWAY

CUBA THE STORY Over the weekend, Pope Francis kicked off a historic trip by Havana good time in Cuba. BACK UP. Last year, the US and Cuba decided to have relations again after 50 years of freezing each other out. That’s because Cuban President Raul Castro and President Obama have a mutual pen pal: Pope Francis. The Pope has said that tensions between the US and Cuba have hurt ordinary Cubans most since it’s closed them off to economic opportunity. SO WHAT’S THE LATEST? Over the weekend, Francis was in Cuba with a message: do more. He wants the US-Cuba relationship to go from flirty texting to buying furniture together. The biggest obstacle? Lifting the US’s trade embargo on Cuba that’s taken a major toll on the island’s economy. theSKIMM Pope Francis is on tour and making a name for himself as a diplomatic matchmaker. He’s heading to the US later this week. Skimm This

GREECE THE STORY  Yesterday, Greece’s PM Alexis Tsipras and his party won an election. Again.  BACK UP.  In case you missed it, Greece has been going through an epic financial meltdown. In 2010, international creditors agreed to bail out Greece in exchange for austerity measures like tax hikes. Since then, Greeks have been living that austerity life. Problem is, Greeks hate austerity. That’s why Tsipras and his party were elected earlier this year on the promise of getting rid of the measures. But after a lot of back-and-forth with creditors, Tsipras gave in and accepted a new bailout over the summer. With a lot of austerity attached. Surprise: this made some lawmakers in his anti-austerity party less than thrilled. SO WHAT’S THE LATEST? Tsipras called this snap election last month to try to remove his haters from parliament. It worked. theSKIMM Greeks were feeling so meh about this election that a lot of them didn’t show up to the polls. But international creditors are feeling relieved since a new PM would have brought uncertainty, which is the last thing Greece - and global markets - need. Skimm This

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU NEED TO BRING A BLANKET TO WORK TO DEAL WITH THE AC... Winter is coming. Justin Timberlake is not. Welcome to the Emmys, where last night, “Game of Thrones” broke President Bartlet & Co’s record for most wins in one year. And in case your ex-boyfriend’s mother changed her HBO NOW password, just borrow Andy Samberg’s. Meanwhile, Don Draper finally snagged an Emmy for lead actor in a drama. He also won best entrance. And Viola Davis took home the win for lead actress in a drama. She is the first African American woman to do it, and said during her acceptance speech that, “the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that simply aren’t there.” Mic drop. Skimm This

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR CO-WORKER WHO ONLY WATCHES BRAVO... Previously on “The Real Housewives of DC”...On Friday, House Republicans voted to cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Senate Democrats will block the bill from becoming a law. But, it’s a battle that could lead to to a government shutdown later this month. Again . Reminder: over the summer, a pro-life group released a series of undercover videos. They appear to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing selling organs and tissue from aborted fetuses for a profit. While it’s not illegal to donate fetal tissue for medical research, it IS illegal to profit from them in any way. Planned Parenthood says it does not. Congress is investigating. All of this is going down right before the government decides on a budget . Some GOP lawmakers – including presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) – say they’re willing to shut down the government over the Planned Parenthood issue. And maybe flip some tables while they’re at it.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU’VE HAD A BAD DAY AND YOUR FRIEND COMES OVER WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE... Just like John Kerry. Yesterday, the Sec. of State announced that the US is going to accept 100,000 refugees in 2017 . That’s a big bump up from the current 70,000-a-year cap. The announcement came after Kerry spent the weekend in Germany talking out the EU’s migrant and refugee crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people have been traveling to the EU to get away from war (in places like Syria) and poverty (in places like Africa). Many of them are trying to end up in Germany, and the country’s been under a lot of pressure trying to handle the flood of people. So yesterday’s announcement is Kerry’s way of saying ‘we’ve got your back.’ Except the UN thinks that about nine million people have been displaced in this crisis…so the US’s pledge might not do too much to help. PS: here’s your Skimm of the EU’s migrant and refugee crisis.

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR EX WHO HAD ‘TRUST ISSUES’... Might want to avoid Volkswagen right now. Yesterday, Volkswagen’s CEO apologized for customers’ ‘broken trust,’ after it came out that the German car company may have cheated on US emissions tests. On Friday, US regulators raised their hands and said they think Volkswagen installed software that made it seem like its cars were more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Cue a federal investigation. Volkswagen has halted all US sales of the affected car models. And shares of VW had their worst plunge in almost six years because of the news. Das bad. Skimm This

THING TO KNOW SEP IRA: If you’re thinking of quitting your job and starting a company on a couch, you should probably be concerned about savings. So, you’ll want to get to know the SEP IRA. Stands for “Simplified Employee Pension Plan.” It’s like a 401k — except there’s no HR department to walk you through it.

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