Daily Skimm

“Anybody who says 'words hurt' has never been punched in the face”

— Chris Rock referencing the slap during his Netflix special. Between a Rock and a hard slap.

Top Story

Fish Are Friends

The Story

The UN has signed off on a historic agreement to protect ocean life.

How historic?

The idea's been in the (water)works for nearly 20 years. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea kicked in in 1994. It allowed countries to use the 'high seas' aka international waters for things like fishing, shipping, and researching. However, the law only protected less than 2% of oceans from things like overfishing and deep-sea mining. UN members have been floating the idea of a revamp to it since 2004. Especially given the disastrous effects of climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Now, there's a fresh framework to better protect our oceans.

What does the agreement look like?

About 60% of the world's ocean is international waters. This legally-binding treaty creates a new governing body to conserve ocean life and establishes ground rules for how to assess the environmental impacts of commercial activities like deep-sea mining. It'll also help turn 30% of the world's oceans into protected areas by 2030. The Biden admin and the World Wildlife Fund applauded the decision. Now, the UN countries need to officially adopt and ratify the treaty in order for it to go into effect, but that could take years. Note: 2030 is only seven years away, and orgs say “time is urgent.”

theSkimm

One study found that 10% of global marine species are facing extinction because of humans. Now that the UN's addressing it, some say it's too little too late.

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And Also...This

What’s got some explaining to do…

Exxon Mobil. Last week, a federal agency sued the oil and gas company for employment discrimination. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the company failed to take proper action after five nooses were found at its Baton Rouge refinery between April 2016 and December 2020. In January 2020, a Black employee reported the finding of a noose to his supervisor, but another one was discovered nearly a year later. Exxon Mobil allegedly investigated and banned two contractors. Then, the employee filed a complaint with the EEOC. Now, after an investigation, the EEOC is suing and saying that Exxon didn’t implement any changes to try and remedy the ongoing issue. Exxon says it disagrees with the EEOC and that they “thoroughly investigated” the claims.

A concerning trend: Nooses have been found at schools, construction sites, and public places in recent years. In 2021, Amazon temporarily paused its construction of a new warehouse in Connecticut after several nooses were reported there in May 2021.

Where tensions are rising…

Greece. Over the weekend, thousands of people protested in Athens demanding better safety standards for the country’s rail system. Demonstrations turned violent when some protesters threw Molotov cocktails, and police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Greece has seen protests across the country for days since a train collision killed 57 people in the northern part of the country. Thousands of people —including train workers who have walked out on the job — have taken to the streets calling for better train infrastructure. The government has blamed human error for the crash and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said officials are hard at work to investigate and “determine liabilities.”

Who's saying 'I can't believe it's not butter than other diets'...

Keto lovers. Yesterday, a new observational study reportedly found that a “keto-like” diet (aka low carb, high fat) may not be all it's cracked up to be. Researchers say the fad diet could double your risk of “major cardiovascular events” such as strokes and heart attacks. All this could be due to the high “bad” cholesterol levels brought on by a high-fat diet.

Who people are remembering…

Judy Heumann. Over the weekend, the disability rights advocate died at 75. Heumann was diagnosed with polio as a child and later became the first wheelchair-using teacher in NYC. She dedicated her life to the disability and civil rights movement and helped stage a sit-in in San Francisco which paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She served under the Obama and Clinton admins. Former President Barack Obama said he was “fortunate” to work with Heumann.

Skimm Life

If you’ve always got 10 tabs open, we get it. So much to browse, so little time. Which is why we’ve rounded up some of our recent product recs so you don’t miss a thing. Check out…

Skimm Picks

Here are today’s recs to help you live a smarter life…

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4. Our favorite socks for every situation. From fuzzy ones to compression socks to dressy options, we've rounded them all up.

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Skimm'rs

We like to celebrate the wins, big and small. Let us know how your friends, neighbors, coworkers (and yes, even you) are making career moves, checking off goals, or making an impact in the community.

Heard it here first…Cleo H (CA). Her brand new album, “gold,” chronicles the processing of a breakup from her longtime college boyfriend. Check out the lead music video here and then stream the full album.

(Some) Birthdays…theSkimm's Alex Palazzo (NY), theSkimm's Erika Trombley (NY), theSkimm's Medha Imam (NY), Brendan Dubois (IL), Janet Hershaft (NY), Monzer Ayesh (NC), Chelsea Shope (SC), Rachael Gavri (IL), Molly Ingeman (MN), Grace Vieth (MN), Cari Draft (MI), Elizabeth Fratantuono (TX), Holly Tyrrell (FL), Jessica Sacher (GA), Sylvia Vail (IL)

PS: Paging all members of theSkimm. Reach out here for a chance to be featured.