VA Crisis: Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki apologized today for what he called “a systemic, totally unacceptable lack of integrity within some of our veterans’ health facilities.” Shinseki meets with President Obama today, a day after the release of a report that details woeful treatment of veterans by a VA facility in Phoenix. “That breach of integrity is irresponsible, it is indefensible and it is unacceptable to me,” Shinseki said. As the scandal grows, Shinseki’s tenure at the VA becomes increasingly shaky. His meeting with the president could be a trip to the woodshed.

Shinseki has fired some administrators in Phoenix and suspended the performance bonuses that may have encouraged administrators to fake their numbers for serving veterans.

Hoop Dreams: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has reached an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team for $2 billion, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ballmer is reported to have made the deal with Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling, who’s going to have to get approval from her estranged husband Donald, the octogenarian playboy banned from the NBA for making racist comments. Ballmer has run up the score on the price of an NBA team. The previous record was $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks. Donald Sterling paid $12.5 million for the Clippers.

Head Cases: President Obama hosted a forum on athletic head injuries yesterday, admitting he’s had his own bell rung a few times. “We have to change a culture that says you suck it up,” Obama said. “Identifying a concussion and being able to self-diagnose that this is something that I need to take care of doesn’t make you weak — it means you’re strong.”

Ketchup is a Vegetable: The House Appropriations Committee yesterday passed a bill that says school kids don’t have to eat their fruits and vegetables after all. The bill would allow schools to duck White House guidelines adding more fruit and vegetables to school lunches while reducing salt and fat. House Republicans say the guidelines are too expensive for schools to comply and a lot of the healthier food goes in the garbage anyway.  

A Better Idea: Ford motors recalled 1.39 million cars and SUVs yesterday, most of them for a problem that could lead to the loss of power steering. But the recall also includes 82,576 sedans with floor mats that could interfere with the accelerator pedal.

On Ice: The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens last night to get to the Stanley Cup hockey finals for the first time in 20 years. They’ll face the winner of the series between Chicago and Los Angeles, now led 3-2 by the Kings.

Some Like It: The City of Irwindale, Ca. voted to end its public nuisance lawsuit against the makers of Sriracha hot sauce. Neighbors of the factory had complained about spicy odors. What prompted the détente is not clear, but the city and the factory have agreed to cool off.

Spell Check: The National Spelling Bee ended in a tie last night when the judges ran out of words. It’s the first tie in 52 years. Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post New York spelled “stichomythia,” which is a piece of dialogue between two actors. Ansun Sujoe, from Ft. Worth, spelled the word “feuilleton,” which is part of a European newspaper. Hathwar almost lost when he misspelled “corpsbruder,” but Sujoe followed with a mistake on “antegropelos.” We can sympathize.

Say Cheese: The 9/11 museum gift shop has removed from stock a cheese platter in the shape of the United States with little stars marking where the hijacked jets went down that day. Museum officials told the NY Post it wasn’t a cheese platter, it was a “commemorative platter.” Either way, it was too cheesy.

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