Cheat Sheet - Exclusive: USAID Paid Top Karzai Aide

Today: Obamas, Bidens Won't Attend Sochi , BP: Lawyer Had 'Phantom' Victims , Al Qaeda-Linked Jihadists Are Hunting and Killing Moderate Syrian Rebels December 18, 2013 Exclusive 1. USAID Paid Top Karzai Aide The chief of staff to Afghanistan's president was paid more than $100,000 a year by two U.S. government contractors as he was managing President Hamid Karzai's office, The Daily Beast's Eli Lake and Josh Rogin report. The salary provided to Said Jawad was part of a U.S. initiative to directly pay high salaries to Western-educated Afghans who helped rebuild the government. While some current and former U.S. officials say these measures were necessary, other experts say it's no different from the kind of corruption the Bush and Obama administration have publicly criticized inside the Afghan government. Read it at The Daily Beast OLYMPIC SNUB 2. Obamas, Bidens Won't Attend Sochi Games As a sign of the United States' concerns over human rights in Russia—including the country's anti-LGBT laws—neither the Obamas nor the Bidens will attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will go in their place, leading the U.S.'s delegation at the Games along with Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow, two openly gay athletes. In fact, the delegation will not include any current Cabinet members. "The U.S. Delegation to the Olympic Games represents the diversity that is the United States," a White House spokesperson told BuzzFeed. U.S. officials aren't the only ones snubbing Sochi. German President Joachim Gauck and French President Francois Hollande have both announced they won't be at the Games. Read it at BuzzFeed AWKWARD 3. BP: Lawyer Had 'Phantom' Victims Better call Saul. On Tuesday, BP accused a Texas lawyer, Mikal C. Watts, of fraud for claiming to represent tens of thousands of clients after the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill—a horde the driller says is nonexistent. BP says it used the client count supplied by Watts when it set aside $2.3 billion for a special compensation program for the seafood industry, but is now asking courts to stop payment and return some of the money. Roughly 80 percent of the people asked to file claims within the program—some 40,000—are clients of Watts, says BP. Meanwhile Watts, who is a prominent lawyer and Democratic fundraiser, issued a statement through his attorney, which said this is just "another of a series of efforts to walk away from the settlement to which it agreed," and the he, "never committed identity theft and did not defraud BP or anyone else." Read it at The New York Times Syria 4. Jihadists Hunt Moderate Rebels Last weekend, al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in northern Syria executed a prominent moderate rebel commander—a slaying that has exacerbated divisions between Islamic militants and degraded morale inside the beleaguered Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA). The slaying of Ammar al-Wawi by jihadists is the latest in a series of targeted abductions and assassinations of leading moderate rebels, raising yet more questions about the identity of the anti-Assad forces, reports The Daily Beast's Jamie Dettmer. Read it at The Daily Beast STAY PUT 5. Deadly Temps Hit Northeast Matthew Harriman is the first known casualty of the freezing temperatures and relentless snow that have stormed the Northeast and Midwest over the past two days. The 49-year-old homeless man was found dead in the snow near a campsite in Claremont, in south-central New Hampshire. Harriman was believed to have been living in a tent and police believe his death was caused by the unapologetic winter weather, which got down to 10 degrees below zero in Claremont overnight Monday. As of 4 p.m. Eastern time, snow had halted nearly 400 flights in and out of New York and Boston, plus 79 in Chicago. Bad weather is expected to continue, with another storm brewing later in the week. A record of -11 degrees was recorded in Burlington, Vermont, while Rochester, New York, dropped down to -4 degrees. Stay warm. Read it at NBC News CLASSY India Ups Diplomatic Row with U.S. Upset about diplomat's arrest. CLEAN-UP Tech Exec to Finish Healthcare.gov Comes from Microsoft. Real Talk Iraq to Afghans: Take U.S. Deal Get over your differences. LUCKY DUCKS Two Winners for Lottery Jackpot For $636 million drawing. MONEY TROUBLES 'Walking Dead' Creator Suing AMC Says he and agency are owed millions. GQ 25 Most Stylish Men of 2013 BuzzFeed The New Power On The Ground in Syria MiniTime America's Most Highly Taxed Destinations 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. Behind North Korea's Facade With reports of a coming nuclear test, we peel back the happy mask Kim Jong-un shows to the world to reveal a humanitarian crisis in the Hermit Kingdom. More Videos The Best of the Best Books List by Book Beast Give Scarlet Johansson's Voice an Oscar by Kevin Fallon The Next President Won't Save Us by James Poulos

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