Cheat Sheet - Obama’s New Syria Options

Today: Yosemite Fire Burns 134,000 Acres , Report: U.S. Helped Iraq With Chemical Attacks , Report: Snowden Got Stuck in Russia August 26, 2013 BOMBS & AID 1. Obama's New Syria Options With the latest alleged chemical-weapons attack, U.S. officials are talking about President Obama using military force, but with a diplomatic and humanitarian twist, writes The Daily Beast's Leslie H. Gelb. Plus, Michael Tomasky on whether bombing Syria is Obama's best bad option and Dr. Kent Sepkowitz on the effects of sarin gas. Read it at The Daily Beast 'THE BLACK' 2. Yosemite Fire Burns 134,000 Acres The massive Yosemite Fire burned through 134,000 acres in nine days as it pushed closer to Yosemite National Park on Monday. The blaze is the 15th largest in California history, and is still only 7 percent contained. Firefighters have had difficulty reaching some parts of the fire, especially as it burned through parts of previously untouched wilderness and through hot and dry conditions. "The fire came boiling out, just cooking," said Lee Bentley, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. "It was so hot it created its own weather. It was like dropping a boulder in a pond; fire spread out in every direction." Parts of the blaze burned through so much that firefighters called the devastation "the black," as entire ravines and ridges became dusty and gray. Read it at Los Angeles Times DECLASSIFIED DATA 3. Report: U.S. Helped Iraq With Chemical Attacks The United States reportedly provided critical intelligence to Iraq during the last days of its war with Iran, which allowed Saddam Hussein's military to use chemical weapons against its adversary. Recently declassified CIA documents claim that the Reagan administration knew that the Iraqis would use nerve gas but didn't stop them from doing so because it wanted Iraq to win the war. The U.S. had satellite imagery that showed Iran building up forces to exploit a hole in Iraq's defenses and reported the location of Iranian troops to the Hussein regime. The CIA documents also showed that agency officials debated the repercussions of Iraq using chemical weapons and ultimately felt that international reaction would be muted. Read it at Foreign Policy OOPS 4. Report: Snowden Got Stuck in Russia Escaping to sunny Cuba (especially from Hawaii) is one thing, but getting stuck in Moscow then seems kind of cruel, even for someone accused of violating the Espionage Act. Edward Snowden got stuck in Moscow after being denied entry to Cuba, a Russian newspaper reported on Monday. Snowden reportedly planned to fly to Cuba one day after arriving in Moscow on June 23, but Cuba apparently told officials to keep Snowden from boarding the plane. Citing several sources, Russia's Kommersant newspaper said Cuba changed its mind after pressure from the U.S., who has charged Snowden with espionage. Snowden has been granted one year's asylum in Russia. On Sunday, German newspaper Der Spiegel reported the National Security Agency bugged the United Nations, citing secret documents provided by Snowden. Read it at Reuters GAGA! 'N SYNC! MILEY! 5. Watch the VMAs' Wildest Moments Lady Gaga danced in a seashell bikini. Miley Cyrus twerked with teddy bears. Watch video of the craziest moments from MTV's big show. Plus, photos from the red carpet. Read it at The Daily Beast JUSTICE Hasan Sentencing Begins Monday Could face the death penalty for Fort Hood shooting. VERDICT SOON Bo Xilai Accuses Wife of Affair As his trial concludes. OH, CANADA Ted Cruz: I'm an American Only Will renounce his Canadian citizenship. BLUE DREAMS Last Elmore Leonard Novel Likely His son, Peter Leonard, hopes to complete. DON'T CROSS COLBERT Daft Punk Didn't Perform at the VMAs Despite canceling on Colbert due to planned "surprise" performance. 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. *NSYNC's Back The moment we were all waiting for has arrived. Four familiar faces appeared behind Justin Timberlake at Sunday's VMAs to perform hits like "Girlfriend" and "Bye Bye Bye" and millennials everywhere jumped for joy. More Videos Are Fergie and Prince Andrew Remarrying? by Tom Sykes Lean In to Pregnancy? No Thanks. by Jacoba Urist Jeff Daniels on the Most Explosive 'Newsroom' Episode Yet by Marlow Stern

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