Cheat Sheet - Three Key Questions on Syria

Today: Americans Want Congress's Approval , Justice Department: Good News for Recreational Stoners , Irish Poet Seamus Heaney Dies August 30, 2013 WAR DRUMS 1. Three Key Questions on Syria President Obama said Friday he has no made no final decision on whether to launch a strike against Syria, but that the options on the table include a "limited narrow act"—and no boots on the ground. The Daily Beast's Geoffrey Robertson, a former U.N. appeals judge, offers three legal quagmires that the U.S. must address before it takes action. Read it at The Daily Beast Poll 2. Americans Want Congress's Approval President Obama is not known for making rash decisions, but the American public would still like him to seek a second opinion before taking action against Syria. According to a poll published Friday by NBC News, 80 percent of Americans surveyed think Obama should get congressional approval before making any major military moves. Just one day ago, 26 members of Congress received a briefing from White House national-security advisers that linked Bashar al-Assad's regime to a chemical attack on Syrian civilians. Aside from the support of France, Obama currently seems to stand alone in his mission to strike back against Assad for crossing his "red line." The British Parliament has voted against military intervention.  Read it at MSNBC High Times 3. Good News for Recreational Stoners In a carefully worded memo this week, the feds gave tacit approval to recreational weed. The Daily Beast's Winston Ross on the ripple effects of the decision, and the bad news for medical marijuana providers. Read it at The Daily Beast The Pen Rests 4. Irish Poet Seamus Heaney Dies Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney died at a hospital in Dublin after a short illness. He was 74. The eldest of nine children, Heaney was born on a farm in Northern Ireland and went on to become the most celebrated poet since W. B. Yeats, penning 13 poetry collections and two plays, as well as books on the writing process. He won the Nobel Prize in 1995 and later the prestigious Forward poetry prize, among other awards. Tributes quickly began pouring in through news and social-media sites, many quoting a line from "Digging," the much-loved first poem of his first collection, Death of a Naturalist: "Between my finger and my thumb, The squat pen rests; snug as a gun." Read it at The Daily Beast Rocky Road 5. Lamar Odom Arrested for DUI The sad tale of Lamar Odom's fall from grace continues, as the basketball player was arrested Friday for driving under the influence. Khloe Kardashian's husband, who is rumored to be struggling with a drug problem, was pulled over in the San Fernando Valley for driving too slow early Friday morning, and is currently being held on $15,000 bail. Odom reportedly passed three exits before finally responding to police requests to stop. Following reports that the former Laker was missing, his agent confirmed Tuesday that Odom was staying in an L.A. hotel trying to get sober.  Read it at TMZ HEADCASE Man Threatens to Decapitate Congresswoman Arrested after targeting Hawaiian politician. REVEALED Greenwald's Partner Carried Docs Before being detained at London airport. HAIRY LOVER Man Mistakes Girlfriend for Actual Fox Started cuddling with animal in bed. IDEOLOGICAL RIGIDITY Has Jim DeMint Gone Too Far? Republicans shut out Heritage Foundation chief. black sheep Liz Cheney Opposes Gay Marriage Unlike father Dick Cheney and her sister, Mary. ART NEWS An Indoor Gallery of Top Street Artists ROLLING STONE How Avicii Helped Aloe Blacc Wake Up and Break Out Vulture Everything We Know and Everything We're Wondering About the Second Season of "Orange is the New Black" 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. R.I.P. Seamus Heaney Called 'the most important Irish poet since Yeats,' Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney died in Dublin on Friday at the age of 74. Here, he reads his poem 'St. Kevin and the Blackbird.' More Videos The Dangers of Mommy Instagramming by Peggy Drexler One Direction, Super Sized by Kevin Fallon A Syrian-American's Worst Nightmare by Eliza Shapiro

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