"It's like, we have six beanbags, but we have no forks - you know what I mean?" - Pete Davidson on his house with Ariana Grande. Priorities.

LAND OF THE FREE PRESS

The Story

Yesterday, hundreds of newspapers across the country banded together to protect freedom of the press.

Interesting...

Very. This is an unprecedented and coordinated move by the media. Since President Trump took office, he's been calling the press "the enemy of the people." He's accused journalists of being biased. He's made "fake news" a term synonymous with the media. Earlier this month, he said the press has the potential to "cause war." Many of his attacks on the press have been in response to critical or unflattering reports about him or his presidency (i.e. the size of his inauguration crowd or updates on the Mueller investigation). The Boston Globe said 'enough' and asked newspapers to band together to send a message to the American people that the press is real. And necessary. Yesterday, they delivered.

What did they say?

That journalists' jobs are to report the facts. That there's no conspiracy against him. That the role of the fourth estate is to inform the public and provide a check on the government. That his rhetoric puts journalists' safety in danger. And that spreading distrust between the American people and the press is a dangerous game to play.

What was the reaction?

Trump continued his attack, calling the media "the opposition party" and said the Globe is "in collusion" with other papers. The Senate decided it was time to take a stand and unanimously passed a resolution saying the press isn't the enemy of the people. And that attacking the press is a danger to democracy.

Anything else?

This comes a day after Trump revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan. A move some think Trump made to silence one of his most vocal critics. Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven (who led the Osama bin Laden raid) made headlines yesterday for backing up Brennan and challenging Trump to revoke his security clearance, too.

theSkimm

Trump may be right when he says fake news is the enemy of the people. But facts are not fake news.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

What people are saying...

RIP Aretha Franklin. Yesterday, the "Queen of Soul" died of pancreatic cancer at 76 years old. Franklin was born to a musical family in Memphis and became famous in the '60s for her secular, gospel-style music that covered topics like love and feminism. Over the past few decades, she's had more than 100 singles on the Billboard charts. Some faves: "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." She's one of the most decorated Grammy winners of all time. And was the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She's performed at everything from MLK Jr's funeral to former President Obama's inauguration. Respect.

What to say when you hear NYU's giving out medical degrees for free...

Now, THAT's what's up, doc. Speaking of, the FDA just approved the first generic competitor to the EpiPen - giving people with life-threatening allergies hope that there'll soon be a cheaper drug on the market. In upsetting health updates, the CDC found a record high number of people died from drug overdoses last year - more than 72,000. A majority of those were from opioids. The Trump admin wants to do something about that. Yesterday, the president asked the Justice Dept to start suing pharma cos linked to the opioid crisis as part of the admin's efforts to combat the epidemic. And if you needed more proof that the US is deep in a drug crisis, more than 90 people overdosed this week in New Haven, CT. They had used K2 - a version of synthetic weed laced with fentanyl. Now, at least two of them are in life-threatening condition.

What to say when you learn about Omarosa's apparent salary offer...

Sweet paycheck. A study released yesterday shows that last year, the US's top CEOs made hella bank. How much bank? A casual 312 times as much as their average employee. Speaking of things making employees want to storm the corner office, Google's efforts to woo China. More than 1,000 Google employees are PO'd that the co is making a censored version of its search engine for China. And now they're Google Drive-ing their bosses crazy with a petition calling for transparency about all this.

PS: GV (formerly Google Ventures) is a minority investor in theSkimm.

What to say when your friend asks you why you haven't RSVP'd yet...

I wrote you every day for a year. Some Palestinians wouldn't know it. Earlier this week, Israel finally gave Jordan the go-ahead to deliver tons of old mail to the West Bank. Israel controls Palestinian borders, and has held up some incoming mail for years over things like security concerns. Some of it has been stashed in neighboring Jordan. Now, two years after signing a deal that was supposed to give Palestinians their mail directly, Israel's saying 'here's a big batch.' There are literally tons that Palestinian postal works need to sift through and deliver. And some of it is up to eight years old.

What to say to your friend who is unapologetically obsessed with avocados...

Don't go to New Zealand.

SKIMM READS

"Crazy Rich Asians" by Kevin Kwan

You haven't seen crazy until you've read this book. About a (yes) very crazy, very rich Asian family that doesn't react well when their only son brings his American girlfriend home for the summer. Think: "Pride and Prejudice" meets "Gossip Girl"...with a few extra billion. The movie came out this week so read it now.

SKIMM PICKS

For when you and your friend order the same thing...

Great minds think alike. At Skimm HQ, we think that women empowering women is the best kind of chain reaction. That's why we're excited about Reese Witherspoon's newest show: "Shine On with Reese." In it, she interviews impressive women from different fields on how they achieved their goals. What, like it's hard? Watch "Shine On with Reese," a new series on DIRECTV NOW.*

For when your go-to karaoke song is "Like A Prayer"...

Madonna has a present for you.

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