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HOW THE GRAMMYS GOT POLITICAL The 59th annual Grammys had a political undertone, from host James Corden’s jokes and Katy Perry’s “Persist” armband to Busta Rhymes’ commentary. The highlight of the night was Beyoncé killing her epic performance, which showcased her growing pregnancy. Twitter lost its mind after she brought the house down. Adele even gave her half of her award for Album of the Year, saying the queen should have won for “Lemonade.” Check out the full list of winners, as well as a breakdown of the pretty insane fashion rocked last night. [HuffPost]
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP YET TO DEFEND MIKE FLYNN The National Security Adviser’s tenure is increasingly “tenuous” as the White House has yet to make a statement following reports of Flynn’s contact with Russia. And here’s where this leaves the National Security Council. [NYT]
RESIDENTS ORDERED TO EVACUATE AREA BELOW DAMAGED CALIFORNIA DAM At least 188,000 have been evacuated from Northern California as the Lake Oroville Dam, which is the tallest in the U.S., is in danger of “imminent collapse.” [Reuters]
NORTH KOREA SAYS IT SUCCESSFULLY TESTED MISSILE The country announced Monday that it had successfully launched a new type of medium-to-long-range ballistic missile. Here are the options Trump has for responding. [HuffPost]
NOR’EASTER TO PUMMEL NORTHEAST Thousands of flights are expected to be canceled at the storm barrels through New England. [Reuters]
REPORT: RUSSIA MAY ‘RETURN’ SNOWDEN AS A ‘GIFT’ Intelligence officials believe the handover would be to “curry favor” with Trump. Edward Snowden’s response? “Finally: irrefutable evidence that I never cooperated with Russian intel. No country trades away spies, as the rest would fear they’re next.” [HuffPost]
WHAT’S BREWING
MORE GRAMMYS FUN Who didn’t love that Blue Ivy rocked a Prince tribute with her gorgeous pink suit? Heck, here’s a bunch of gifs just of her since she stole the show. Adele restarted her performance honoring George Michael so she could get it right, while Bruno Mars killed his Prince tribute performance. Chance the Rapper won two Grammys ― as an independent artist. David Bowie took home five Grammys posthumously. Rihanna may not have had the best night when it came to collecting hardware, but she had her bejeweled flask. And just for throwback’s sake ― please take a look at the Grammys 20 years ago and feel very, very old. [HuffPost]
AND ACROSS THE POND... The Brits threw their version of the Oscars, the BAFTAs. “La La Land” of course led the way, but here’s who took home the rest of the awards (and killed it on the red carpet). The real highlight? Kate Middleton’s dynamite off-the-shoulder dress. [Reuters]
‘SNL’ HAD ITS HIGHEST RATINGS SATURDAY IN SIX YEARS It mighthave something to do with Melissa McCarthy’s reprisal of Sean Spicer, a skit about Beyoncé’s unborn twins, Leslie Jones trying out her Trump impression and Jake Tapper and Kellyanne Conway’s fatal attraction skit. [HuffPost]
IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN NIKE’S EQUALITY AD The striking commentary on equality on and off the court is worth the watch. [WaPo]
MERYL STREEP SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THAT ‘OVER-RATED’ TWEET “‘Evil prospers when good men do nothing’… ain’t that the truth,” Streep said. [HuffPost]
THESE PHOTOS OF RIO’S OLYMPIC VENUES, SIX MONTHS LATER Are worse than you thought. [The Guardian]
BEFORE YOU GO
~ Singer Al Jarreau died Sunday. The seven-time grammy-award winner was 76.
~ This animal shelter version of “The Bachelor” might be better than watching Nick struggle.
~ That time a newspaper accidentally ran a photo of Alec Baldwin as Trump instead of a picture of the president.
~ Breaking down who makes up Melania Trump’s social cabinet.
~ We are having some serious closet envy after Kim Kardashian West graced us all with a tour.
~ Disney parks ticket prices just got even more expensive.
~ Fake news comes after everyone ― even the pope.
~ Bad news for those of you that Google around the Wall Street Journal’s paywall.
~ J.K. Rowling destroyed Piers Morgan with this Harry Potter insult over the weekend.
~ Over $60 million worth of cocaine washed up on the beach in eastern England, proving someone’s harebrained scheme did not quite go as planned.
~ And because you’re already feeling Beyoncé withdrawal, listen to her and Jay Z’s new song with DJ Khaled.