Skinny or Not, GOP Health Care Effort Fails to Squeeze by the Senate

Skinny Bill fails to deliver for GOP Health Care effort: Last night the Senate's "skinny repeal" bill to do away with Obamacare was shot down by three moderate conservatives, including Senator John McCain. The skinny repeal would have axed individual mandates that require everyone to have some kind of insurance, and gotten rid of the employer mandate that requires companies with 50 employees or more to offer workers coverage. Federal funding for Planned Parenthood was up for elimination too. But the debate will surely continue and we here at VICE Impact want to hear YOUR THOUGHTS on how America should best move forward on health care.

Black history and black future: Today is the 100th anniversary of the activists who marched in the 1917 Silent Protest Parade, hence the front-page Google doodle. Approximately 10,000 black Americans flooded New York City's Fifth Avenue a century ago in a silent procession that called attention to the racial injustices of violence, segregation and white supremacy. The event was the first of its kind and though there was no sound, it had a deafening message. It's sentiments are just as relevant now as they were one hundred years ago.

Alternate Realities: The Pentagon has declined to respond to President Trump's tweets calling transgender people a burden to the military and effectively banning their option for military service. On Thursday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that tweets aren't policy and they would essentially buck the President's authority until further notice. According to Politico, in an internal memo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, wrote, "There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance." Currently, there are about 15,000 transgender people serving in the military. For now, their jobs are secure.

Cold War on Drugs: Contrary to the Trump administration's tough talk on drugs, particularly from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the number of Federal drug prosecutions is still at historic lows. Almost a thousand fewer drug offenders were federally prosecuted between February and June of 2017 compared to the same time period last year according to new data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Why local matters: The state of Minnesota is celebrating a huge win in transgender equality after passing a measure to protect trans students. The Minnesota Department of Education Advisory Council voted to approve the Safe and Supportive Schools for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students toolkit on July 20, which is a guide for staff on how to make their learning environments more inclusive. You can take action now in support of rights for transgender students across the United States.

Law abiding citizens, aka "bad hombres:" Joel Colindres fled Guatemala more than a decade ago to come to the United States. He married an American citizen, paid taxes, and is a skilled worker. Despite having no criminal record, Colindres must now tell his six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter that he is being deported. Since President Trump came into office, more immigrants than ever have been arrested and deported, and the majority of them are non-criminals.

Presidential miscommunications director: Newly appointed White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, aka The Mooch, gave an invaluable lesson on how not to talk to the press yesterday. Apparently Scaramucci gave New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza an unsolicited call and opened up about mass firings, patriotic duty, self-felatio, and so much more.