Cheat Sheet - Sony Emails: U.S. Blessed Killing Kim Jong-Un on Film

Read This, Skip That .... December 17, 2014 DIPLOMACY 1. Sony Emails: U.S. Blessed Killing Kim Jong-Un on Film Sony Pictures emails unearthed by The Daily Beast say two State Department officials gave their blessing to assassinating a foreign leader on film. Sony's CEO screened a rough cut of The Interview—Kim Jong-Un's exploding head and all—before moving ahead with the movie. Now hackers are threatening to bomb any theater that shows it. Read it at The Daily Beast REALLY? 2. EU Court: Hamas Not Terrorist Group A top court in the European Union ruled that Hamas should be removed from a terrorist organization list on Wednesday. The judges said their decision was based "not on acts examined," but "factual imputations derived from the press and the Internet." In its charter, Hamas explicitly states it is committed to the destruction of Israel. The Islamic extremist group is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel among others, and it is known for actively encouraging violence. Read it at BBC Ruble Rubble 3. How Crimea Crashed the Russian Economy Russians are starting to feel the pain of the crashing ruble in their everyday life, and the Kremlin has no good solution. Vladimir Putin's people should get ready to be twice as poor as they were before the annexation of Crimea, reports Anna Nemstova.The land-grab may be more expensive than Putin thought. Read it at The Daily Beast FAMILY TIES 4. Be the Smarter Bush, Jeb: Don't Run! On Tuesday, Jeb Bush announced he is "exploring" a 2016 presidential run. If he has any sense, he'll back off before officially tossing his name into the ring, writes Michael Tomasky. The "smart Bush" hasn't run a campaign since 2002, and he's unlikely to enjoy any good will from the Dubya haters. Read it at The Daily Beast RETRIBUTION 5. Pakistan Lifts Death-Penalty Ban Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted a moratorium on the death penalty Wednesday in the wake of the Taliban attack on a school that left 132 students and nine teachers dead. "It was decided that this moratorium should be lifted. The prime minister approved," said spokesman Mohiuddin Wani. Pakistani Taliban gunmen opened fire in a military-run school in the northwest city of Peshawar on Tuesday as an act of revenge for recent U.S.-backed military operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area.  Read it at Reuters YOU GO, GIRL England Picks 1st Female Bishop Only took 500 years. THAT BAD Afghan Taliban Condemns Pakistan Attack Rare dispute between Taliban groups over school killings. HOW DID HE GET A GUN? PM Launches Sydney Siege Review Will focus on gunman's circumstances. MISFIRE Johns Hopkins Mistakenly Admits Students Sends acceptance emails to 294 rejected students. ON THE HUNT Sierra Leone to Search Homes for Ebola Rates of infection rising fastest there. THE HUFFINGTON POST Congress Just Tried To Legislate Against Torture, But Don't Get Too Excited Yet ROLLING STONE 'Broad City Live' Comes to Brooklyn MEN'S JOURNAL A Look at Both Sides of the GMO Debate 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. The Stars You'll Love in 2015 by Kevin Fallon I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed by Emily Shire On Tour With Indie Rock's Next Big Thing by James Joiner

ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE Copyright 2014 The Daily Beast Company LLC 555 W. 18th Street , New York NY 10011 Privacy Policy

If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your Web browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add thedailybeast@e2.thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you have changed your mind and no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can safely unsubscribe here.