Cheat Sheet - The Mafia, Gays, and Michael Sam

Read This, Skip That .... May 15, 2014 FAMILY HISTORY 1. True Tough Guy: The Mafia, Gays, and Michael Sam's Boyfriend When Vito Cammisano kissed his boyfriend Michael Sam in front of the ESPN cameras, he must have known the world would find out his grandfather was notorious mob boss William "Willie the Rat" Cammisano. Cammisano's nickname was once explained before the U.S. Senate as being "because he killed people and stuck them in the sewers so the rats could eat them." And while Willie the Rat would likely have been apoplectic that his grandson was gay and dating an African-American, the history between the mob and the gay community is an old one. Besides, writes Michael Daly, he may have felt a grudging respect for his fearless grandson. Read it at The Daily Beast TAR PIT 2. Los Angeles Spill Leaves Knee-Deep Oil An oil pipe near suburban Glendale, California, ruptured around 12:15 a.m. Thursday and spilled 50,000 gallons of crude onto the streets. The spill is spread out over roughly half a mile, and oil is knee-deep in some places. No injuries have been reported so far. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the leak came from a 20-inch pipe and the oil line has been remotely shut off. Read it at Assoicated Press STOP THE PRESSES 3. What's Behind the New York Times Palace Coup? On Wednesday, the first female executive editor of The New York Times was suddenly fired. Lloyd Grove reports that even a building full of journalists doesn't know why their boss was fired. Was it sexism? Her management style? Or something else? Read it at The Daily Beast FINALLY 4. White House to Review Veterans Affairs White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors has been assigned by President Obama to oversee a review of the Department of Veterans Affairs as outrage grows following reports of veterans dying while waiting for care. While there have been calls for the resignation of the VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, President Obama has voiced his confidence in him. "While we get to the bottom of what happened in Phoenix, it's clear the VA needs to do more to ensure quality care for our veterans. I'm grateful that Rob, one of my most trusted advisers, has agreed to work with Secretary Shinseki to help the team at this important moment," Obama said Wednesday in a statement. Nabors will be re-assigned to Veterans Affairs on a temporary basis. Shinseki is scheduled to testify before the Senate on Thursday. Read it at Reuters CHAOS 5. Ukraine's Make-Believe Republics In eastern Ukraine, separatists say Sunday's sham referendum lets them form a sovereign country. Jamie Dettmer reports the problem is that they are ill prepared and blithely ignorant of the mechanics of practical politics—let alone state-making. And their naiveté stands in marked contrast to the gravity of the position they find themselves in: at the center of an effort to dismember a real country and in the middle of the biggest East-West standoff since the Cold War. Read it at The Daily Beast MORE TALKS Kerry to Abbas: Recognize Israel And don't engage with Hamas. DESTRUCTION Thousands Evacuate San Diego Wildfires Nine fires burning on Wednesday. TRAGEDY Turkey Death Toll Hits 282 Nationwide strike called by workers. LUCKY Casey Kasem Found in Washington Just hours after missing-persons report filed. ALL YOURS, STEPHEN Neil Patrick Harris Rejected 'Late Show' He didn't want to get bored. GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors. GET Culture Beast Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast. Is Gisele the New Gwyneth? by Erin Cunningham The 'Housewives' Land in London by Tim Teeman The Agony and the Ecstasy of Ai Weiwei by Justin Jones

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