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Quote of the Day

"It is hard to feel like a powerful woman when men keep f*cking everything up"

— Issa Rae while accepting the Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Variety. Issa Rae 2028, please.

The Hollywood Sign is pictured in Los Angeles, California.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…

The Tax Bill That Could Save Tinseltown

What's going on: New Yorkers are used to seeing Toronto’s streets play theirs on TV (see: The Bold Type, Suits, and Adults). It’s very likely your favorite show or movie was filmed abroad as a way to reduce costs. That trend has only increased in recent years, which, as The New York Times puts it, has plunged “the industry into a state of despair.” The financial impacts have devastated workers. This week alone, actors Heather Matarazzo (from The Princess Diaries) and Jack Haven (from this summer’s indie hit Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma) both publicly asked for work so they can keep their SAG health insurance. Now, there could be a new episode. On Thursday, lawmakers introduced the Motion Picture, Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act, which would create a 20-30% federal tax incentive for certain film and TV projects made in the US. “We are going to lose the primacy of entertainment production if we don’t do this,” Sean Astin, the president of SAG-AFTRA (and Sam in The Lord of the Rings movies) said. Gandalf would be proud.

Will it pass on its first take?: Congress doesn’t have a great track record on passing, well, anything lately, but the bill has rare bipartisan support. Democrats frame it as a jobs initiative, and Republicans like that it pushes for movies to be made in America. President Donald Trump is advocating for it, too, posting last month, “Let’s get this done!” But of course, it’s not that simple. The NYT notes that it’s unlikely the bill will move forward before the midterms, and if Democrats take control of the House, Trump may have other priorities. There’s also potential disagreement over how it overlaps with existing tax incentives in certain states, and the burden it could add to the federal deficit. Supporters hope to fold it into a year-end spending measure, but even in best-case scenarios, it likely won’t take effect until 2027 or later. For now, movies will keep filming in the Czech Republic while pretending they’re in Colorado, as is the case for the current Resident Evil reboot. Talk about a Hollywood horror movie.

Related: We Can’t Stop Watching the Full Trailer for Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes Doc (The Hollywood Reporter)

The News in 6

🗞️ Dr. Heidi Overton, who stood by President Donald Trump as he called for fewer childhood vaccinations, wouldn’t say if she’d push back on his false claims about vaccines during her confirmation hearing for head of the Food and Drug Administration.

🗞️ Australia's prime minister said an OpenAI model bypassed security blocks and accessed non-public files on a government health statistics site.

🗞️ President Trump threw a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Elon Musk and other tech CEOs in attendance. During a meal that included yellow squash and sea bass, Trump gave Xi a present: a statue of a bald eagle, of course.

🗞️ Starbucks will close another 250 stores in North America this week, on top of the hundreds of closures it made last year. Pour out an iced vanilla latte.

🗞️ Researchers think Queen Nefertiti’s long-lost tomb could be just behind King Tut’s, with Egypt weighing plans to drill into the potential hidden chambers as soon as November. We’ve been missing what’s right in front of us.

🗞️ Yes, those Cheez-Its cost more than advertised: A Guardian investigation found 7-Eleven and Circle K stores charged customers more at checkout than prices posted on shelves for snacks, toiletries, and other items.

✴︎

In Our Rotation

Today’s budgeting hack? This impressive credit card offer. It includes a long no-interest period on purchases and balance transfers, 5% cash-back rewards, no annual fee, and a $200 bonus.*

Hatch's new sleep clock helps you create a soothing bedtime routine and tracks your sleep without wearing anything. A (literal) dream come true for stressed sleepers.

Keep scrolling... more recs below

Oh, the Bureaucracy

Do the (Education Department) Shuffle

What’s going on: One of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises was to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE). But despite an overhaul, employees tell NPR that what’s actually happening is the agency is coming up with solutions “for a problem they have not identified.” When Education Secretary Linda McMahon took the lead, she said the department would continue to manage one of the country’s biggest pools of federal grants, sending it to schools and states that need it. But now the process for sending and receiving these funds has changed thanks to interagency agreements (IAAs). The money is now filtered through other agencies’ systems, like the Department of Labor, causing delays. Adding to the inefficiencies and extra costs, some DOE staff have been ordered to physically move their offices to other departments as part of the IAAs.

Weren’t they trying to make this better?: The Trump administration’s goal was to break up the federal bureaucracy and return education authority to the states, but changes from the IAAs have overwhelmed departments. IAAs are not uncommon within presidential administrations, but using them like this is “unprecedented,” noted a congressional report. Earlier this month, the head of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) resigned, just months after she took over the post, and one day before her staff moved offices to HHS. Some members of Congress are concerned, too. A bipartisan bill introduced earlier this month would prevent four departments within the agency from merging with IAAs. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “The families I represent should never have to wonder whether a federal reorganization will cost their child a service, a protection, or an opportunity.”

Playing for Keeps

Game, Set, Stake

What’s going on: An old-school tennis experiment is getting another serve — and Coco Gauff has bought in. The 22-year-old will play for and own part of the Florida Flamingos Racquet Club when World Team Tennis (WTT) returns from a five-year hiatus this December. Billie Jean King helped launch the mixed-gender league in the 1970s, and now new ownership has revived it. This reboot starts small: three teams will play over the course of six days during the regular tennis tour offseason. Matches in Florida, Brooklyn, and Toronto will squeeze four singles sets and a mixed-doubles tiebreaker into roughly 2.5 hours. The field packs plenty of star power, with Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Victoria Mboko, and Jessica Pegula among those on the court.

The bigger play: WTT players can collect appearance fees and prize money and earn equity in the league. Gauff gets an extra piece of the action with an ownership stake in the Flamingos themselves. It’s part of a growing sports model that gives athletes a slice of the businesses they help build — one the Unrivaled league has embraced in women’s basketball, where Gauff is already an investor. WTT also sees an opening in tennis’ quiet December stretch, with a format athletes rarely get on the regular tour. “It’s not often, as a tennis player, that we get to compete as part of a team,” Gauff said. She’ll play Florida’s two home dates not far from where she grew up. Home-court advantage, indeed.

TOGETHER WITH CVS PHOTO

Picture This

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Quick Hits

🎙️ Kylie Kelce is shooting her shot with royalty, inviting Kate Middleton onto her Not Gonna Lie podcast to talk field hockey and parenting after Prince William appeared on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights. Your move, Princess.

🐣 For the first time in 34 years, a baby was born on a remote Scottish Island with no hospital or doctors. Talk about a special delivery.

🍫 Boo. Halloween candy is going to cost you more again this year. Suddenly, one piece per kid feels reasonable.

📺 Netflix is developing a Sesame Street movie and renewed the show through season 62. Forget the popcorn bucket, we're going to need a cookie tin.

📸 Gossip Girl stars Leighton Meester and Kelly Rutherford reunited at Milan Fashion Week. Blair and Lily would never miss a good front row. XOXO.

✋ Actress Lili Reinhart has some advice for women who’ve second-guessed themselves in a doctor’s office: Your doctor may have the degree, but you still know your own body.

Skimm of the Week

And the winning skimm is…

“Overcompensating at its vinest”

It was a tight race, but Melissa P. from Bettendorf, IA, nabbed the win, with 41% of the vote. Congratulations — she’s kind of a big dill.

See you on Tuesday for our next Skimm This.

On Our Calendar

Friday, September 25

🎤 Taylor Swift releases expanded album

The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, with four new tracks (including the single “Patient Zero”), is out today. Here’s a look at some of the Easter eggs that Swifties decoded.

🦞 National Lobster Day

Celebrate with this Trader Joe’s dinner — it takes 20 minutes to put together and won’t make you cry when you see the bill.

Saturday, September 26

🍿 Saturday Night Live season premiere

Live from New York... it's Jalen Brunson. The NBA superstar hosts the kickoff to Season 52 and Katseye makes their SNL debut. Any bets on how many Josh Hart jokes will be in the monologue?

⚽ NWSL: KC Current vs. Denver Summit

Kansas City Current takes on Denver Summit at home — could it be a repeat of what happened when they previously met? Catch it at 12:30 pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.

Sunday, September 27

🏀 WNBA playoffs start

Who’s favored to win? Where do I watch? How does the game even work? We skimm’d it all for you here.

🎶 MTV Video Music Awards

It's the 43rd VMAs, which would make us feel old if Snoop Dogg weren't hosting, Madonna didn't lead the nominations, and Taylor Swift weren’t debuting her new music video. Aughts, is that you?

✴︎

In Our Rotation

For parents who are cloth-diaper-curious, this one's for you. Kudos are made with 100% cotton liners, but they’re disposable, so you get the convenience of throwing that poopy blowout directly into the trash.

These accessories will make the kids in your life even more adorable. If such a thing is possible.

Psst… love our recs? Follow @skimmshopping on Instagram for more products, gifts, and services that are actually worth the hype (and the price tag).

KNOW IT ALL

One hockey team just unveiled a truly unhinged new arena snack: a Brie grilled cheese on sourdough stuffed with which candy?

National Hockey League Playoff Concession Stand

A. Sour Patch Kids

B. Nerds Gummy Clusters

C. Pop Rocks

Love solitaire? Then you'll be obsessed with Pile-Up Poker. Climb the leaderboard.

Spotlight on

🥳 Some Birthdays

Olivia Diamond (Spain), Katelynn Pfeffer (AR), Kristina McLamb (NC), Jennie Leigh Hartley (GA), Emily Hoffman (FL), Allison Schmitz (MO), Allison Miller (TN), Denise Blasevick (NJ), Sharon Katz (PA), Madeline Jordan (IL), Ayesha Patel (AL), Kendra June Macgregor (Montreal), Katie Kmieck (WA), Melissa Valderrabano (Panama), and Beverly Knox-Benn (MD)

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of Nefertiti