“Never considered the question even a possibility…Now I’m thinking, oh” — Oprah, on the chances she – a very famous TV personality – could win a presidential election. In case she needs a backup career.

WHITE (HOUSE) RUSSIAN

THE STORY

Yesterday, more questions came up about the Trump administration’s relationship status with Russia.

WAIT...BACK UP.

Last year, the US intelligence community raised its hand and said Russia was interfering with the presidential election to help President Trump win. Ever since, US officials have been investigating what ties, if any, the Trump campaign had with Russian officials. During his confirmation hearings to be attorney general, then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) told the Senate that he didn’t have any communication with the Russians as a campaign rep.

SO WHAT NOW?

Yesterday, it came out that Sessions did have two convos with Russia’s ambassador to the US last year that he didn’t disclose. The conversations took place around the same time US intelligence agencies were looking into Russia’s interference in the presidential election. Plot, thickened.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

The Trump administration says Sessions did nothing wrong, because he held the meetings as a senator and not a member of Trump’s campaign team. Sessions says he “never met with any Russian officials” to talk about the campaign. Critics say Sessions needs to resign, or at least immediately bow out of any investigations into links between Team Trump and Russia.

theSKIMM

Sessions was hired about a month ago to run the Justice Department. The same department that’s leading an investigation into Trump advisers’ alleged ties with Russia. So yesterday’s revelation is raising some eyebrows, while others think it’s an unfair attack. Either way, it should make for some awkward run-ins on Capitol Hill.

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT TO SAY WHEN IT’S MARCH AND YOU ALREADY NEED TO TURN ON THE AC…

The stock market’s been feeling hot, hot, hot too. Today, Snap Inc aka Snapchat’s parent company is coming out on the NYSE in the biggest US tech IPO in years. Shares are going for $17 a pop. Meaning the company’s valued at about $24 billion. This is despite not making any money, not attracting too many new users recently, and not giving investors any voting rights (think: the ability to weigh in on how the company operates). Snap’s big moment comes a day after the Dow crossed the 21000 mark for the first time ever. Dow: an index of stocks of 30 major US companies (like Apple and Goldman Sachs) that gives a glimpse at how the US biz climate’s doing. And when it decides to party like this, it means investors are in feel-good mode. This time they have two reasons. One, the Fed might raise interest rates later this month, which is pretty much a financial thumbs up for the economy. And two, President Trump’s speech to Congress earlier this week, which left Wall Street feeling even more hopeful about what he’ll accomplish in office (think: tax cuts, deregulation). Snap your optimistic fingers.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR BOSSES GIVE YOU THE OPPOSITE FEEDBACK…

Too many cooks in the kitchen. Yesterday, it came out that Russia bombed a group of US-backed forces in Syria earlier this week. Likely by accident. Reminder: a brutal civil war’s been going on in Syria for six years. It pits Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (backed by Russia) and opposition rebel groups (some backed by the US) that want him out of office. All the fighting left a vacuum in the country that made room for ISIS to come along and wreak havoc. So last year, US-backed Syrian forces started an operation to kick the terrorist group to the curb. Russia’s trying to do the same. But now it looks like they’re hitting the wrong target. It’s unclear if the attack earlier this week killed or wounded any of the Syrian forces. And yesterday, a US general leading those Syrian forces said American forces were just a couple miles away. Russia’s saying ‘nyet responsible’ to the whole thing.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING…

The Catholic Church. Yesterday, a survivor of sexual abuse stepped down from a Vatican sexual assault panel. It was created to advise Pope Francis on how to crack down on the Catholic Church’s sexual assault problem. That’s because, for decades, Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing children. And bishops have been accused of covering it all up. After Pope Francis was elected, he decided to tackle the issue by putting this panel in charge of advising the church on how to protect children from abuse. The panel included Catholic clergy and two people who had been abused as children within the church. But things haven’t been going quite as planned. Last year, one of the survivors of sexual abuse — who was known for criticizing how the panel was doing its job — took “a leave of absence.” Then yesterday, the last remaining survivor said she’s leaving too because of the Vatican’s “reluctance” to change. Holy bad look for the church.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FRIEND HAS A MELTDOWN OVER A GRAY HAIR...

This will make you feel younger. Yesterday, scientists said they’ve discovered what could be the world’s oldest fossils, meaning life on Earth could’ve started sooner than everyone thought. That’s some real old news.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU HEAR JEN AND BRAD MIGHT BE TEXTING AGAIN...

That’s malarkey compared to this.

NO EXCUSES: IMMIGRATION

ICYMI, there’s a debate going on about immigration reform in America. Check our No Excuses: Immigration site for a brief history of the issue, the people and terms you need to know, and what happens next. This week’s all about the FAQs…

What are H-1B visas? Why are they capped?

These are for highly-skilled people to come work in the US temporarily (hint: STEM types). 85,000 H-1B visas are issued each year. Each visa needs to be sponsored by a company. They’re handed out by lottery, and the demand is always wayyy more than the number the US gives out. Supporters say ‘Murica doesn’t have enough STEM grads to meet the demand for programmers and engineers. Critics say H-1B visas need to stay capped because they take away jobs from American workers.

SKIMM LIFE

“Oh my god I love your tote, where’d you get it?” We hear this a lot. You could too. Email us to get more info on scoring swag.

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