Cheat Sheet - Crackdown on Dark Money in Politics

Today: White House: Don't Sign Up at Once , China: We Watched B-52s , Thousands of Travelers Stranded November 27, 2013 BETTER THAN NOTHING 1. Crackdown on Dark Money in Politics Anonymous donors, disclosure reports filed late, activities shrouded in secrecy—and it's all legal. But six months after the IRS was accused of targeting Tea Party groups, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it will be clarifying which activities qualify a group for nonprofit status. "It would certainly be better than the current system, where nobody has any idea what political spending actually is," said Robert Maguire, the chief political nonprofits investigator for the Center for Responsive Politics. "But it's a start, not a conclusion." Read it at The Daily Beast OBAMACARE 2. White House: Don't Sign Up at Once Hooray, Healthcare.gov is fixed! Except, well, let's try to avoid everybody signing up all at once. The White House cautioned on Tuesday that while the site can now handle 50,000 users at the same time, it could get up to as many as 250,000 visitors on Saturday as the deadline to sign up for health insurance nears. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius insisted Tuesday that the Obama administration is "on track to have a significantly different user experience by the end of this month." But the White House also decided not to go through with a planned rollout of a health care marketing campaign, as to not overwhelm the fragile site. Read it at The New York Times EYES ON YOU 3. China: We Watched B-52s Classic case of "we were totally on top of the situation and watching you" by China? Beijing insisted Wednesday that it was in fact monitoring the U.S. bomber planes within their newly declared air-defense zone, despite having earlier threatened to take down any unidentified foreign aircraft in the region. Two American B-52s were spotted Tuesday over disputed islands that the Chinese government had insisted it would defend just last weekend. The very presence of the B-52s suggests that China may have overstated its commitment to defending the islands, but Chinese officials insisted Wednesday they were following the new rules—although they did not offer any specifics. Read it at Associated Press TURKEY DELAYS 4. Thousands of Travelers Stranded There might be a lot of people spending Thanksgiving alone. More than 200 flights were canceled and 5,000 more delayed on Tuesday—the day before the busiest travel day of the year—as a nasty winter storm headed toward the Northeast. Charlotte Douglas International, Chicago's O'Hare International, Denver International, and Cleveland Hopkins International had the most delays and cancellations, according to Flightstat.com. But things could get messier as the storm moves even closer to the Northeast, home to the nation's busiest airports. The nasty storm is already being blamed for 11 deaths as it made its way across the country this week. Read it at Los Angeles Times NO SURRENDER 5. Assad Refuses to Step Down Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will attend peace talks in Geneva in January but he will not be stepping down, Syrian state-run news insisted Wednesday. The U.S., Russia, and the United Nations this week announced a "Geneva 2" conference beginning Jan. 22 to create a transitional government in Syria to end the bloody civil war that has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives in nearly three years. But Assad insisted he would not succumb to Western pressure, and said "the age of colonialism, with the installation and toppling of governments, is over. They must wake from their dreams." Read it at Reuters HORRIFYING Three Girls Imprisoned by Parents Rescued Tuesday night. CLEAR YOUR HISTORY NSA Monitored Porn Sites To target radical Muslims. BE PREPARED Stuck? The Best Airport Food From New York to Charlotte. RELIC Oldest U.S. Book Sells for $14.1M Printed in 1640. STAY CLASSY 'Anchorman 2' to Come Out Early Will hit theaters on December 18. Upworthy The Dalai Lama Has Some Very Uplifting And Wise Words About Farting YourTango 'In It For The Kids': Terrible Reasons To Stay In A Bad Marriage The Wrap 'X-Men Days of Future Past' Conspiracy Theory Links Magneto to JFK Assassination 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. Tea Party vs. Atlanta Braves by Patricia Murphy GOP's New Abortion Backlash by Sally Kohn Must-See Turkey Day TV by Kevin Fallon

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