Cheat Sheet - Exclusive: L. Ron Hubbard’s War Years

Today: Denis McDonough: Mr. Popular , Court Drops Two Casey Anthony Convictions , Home Sales Dip, but Housing Still Back January 25, 2013 EXCLUSIVE 1. L. Ron Hubbard's War Years   Here's the story you know about L. Ron Hubbard. He was the messiah-scribe of Scientology, "the source" who revealed the religion, founded the church, and led it for more than three decades. Less known is this: the greatest affiliation of Hubbard's life—his first, last, and longest professional connection—wasn't Scientology. It was the Explorers Club of New York City. Read it at The Daily Beast WEST WING 2. Obama Picks New Chief of Staff President Obama named foreign-policy aide Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff Friday. Touting McDonough's work ethic— "I think sometimes Denis likes pulling all-nighters," the president joked—Obama called him the "consummate public servant." McDonough, a deputy national-security adviser, is a longtime trusted ally of Obama's. The Daily Beast's Daniel Klaidman on how McDonough's deft personal skills helped land him the job. Read it at The Daily Beast OVERTURNED 3. Court Drops Two Casey Anthony Convictions Keep your "she gets away with murder" quips to yourself. A Florida appellate court has tossed out two of the four convictions Casey Anthony faced for lying to detectives during the investigation into her 2-year-old daughter's disappearance. Anthony's attorneys called double jeopardy on two of the charges, arguing that she had been unfairly convicted more than once for the same crime, and the judges overturned the convictions. During her 2011 trial, Anthony was acquitted of murder and other major charges in the death of her daughter, Caylee, but was sentenced to serve time followed by a year of probation for other misdemeanors. Her whereabouts have been kept secret since she was released. Read it at Orlando Sentinel WE'RE OK 4. Home Sales Dip, but Housing Still Back The U.S. Department of Commerce presented some bad news and some good news about housing Friday. Single-family home sales took a 7.3 percent dip last month, according to the department, but median sale prices are on the rise, and the housing sector is still looking good in the grand scheme of economic recovery. In fact, the success of the housing market is expected to help make up for the pain of this year's tax hikes. Andrew Grantham, an economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, says the news isn't worth worrying about. "This should prove to be a temporary blip as the U.S. housing market continues its gradual recovery," he said. Read it at Reuters WOW 5. Court Rules Against Recess Appointments This could have some major repercussions. A federal appeals-court panel unanimously ruled that President Obama violated the Constitution by making his Labor appointments during a congressional recess—which could invalidate hundreds of the board's decisions. In the holiday recess last year, Obama named three people to the National Labor Relations Board after Republicans had held up the appointments for months. A three-judge panel ruled Friday that the president does not have the power to bypass the Senate. The decision could invalidate all the decisions made by the NLRB since then—and could raise questions about Obama's nomination of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The White House said Friday they strongly disagree with the decision, calling it novel and unprecedented. Read it at The Washington Post HEY THERE Lloyd Blankfein Goes Hipster Goldman CEO sports bear at Davos. TAHRIR SQUARE Violence Erupts in Egypt On two-year anniversary of uprising. Replaced ExxonMobil Is Most Valuable Co. Edges out Apple after value tanks. DUCKING OUT Georgia Senator Plans to Retire Ahead of likely Tea Party battle. Swiss Please Tina Turner Turning in Her Passport In exchange for a Swiss one. 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. Damon Kidnaps Kimmel Matt Damon has been bumped from Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show one too many times ("1,205" to be exact), and now he's taking matters into his own hands. 'If you bump a man long enough, there comes a night when he bumps you back,' said Damon. Beware: bad Will Hunting's on the loose. More Videos Sundance's 'It' Girls by Marlow Stern L.A.'s School Nightmare by Christine Pelisek Death of a Star Chef by Barbie Latza Nadeau

ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE Copyright 2013 The Newsweek/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.