Cheat Sheet - Russian Spies Infiltrate Ukraine

March 21, 2014 SETTING UP SHOP 1. Russian Spies Infiltrate Ukraine The Kremlin claims it hasn't invaded anyone, but that's because Russia is secretly slipping special units of spies and saboteurs into Ukraine, Eli Lake reports. U.S. intelligence officials now say that Russia's Spetsnaz--the special operations units attached to the military and intelligence agencies--are expanding into eastern and southern Ukraine, while provocateurs are looking to instigate "skirmishes in those parts of the country. Read it at The Daily Beast DEADLIEST CATCH 2. The Secret Hunt for MH370 When it was announced that possible debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was found off the coast of Australia, the country's prime minister warned that "it's about the most inaccessible spot that you can imagine on the face of the Earth." Even more relevant to the success of the search, says Clive Irving, is that it is taking place in a part of the world where the U.S. and China are devoting their most secret resources to watching each other. Read it at The Daily Beast DEMOCRACY? 3. Turkey: We Will Eradicate Twitter Just hours after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan threatened to shut down Twitter, the government appears to have indeed restricted access to the social media site in most of the country. Earlier on Thursday, the prime minister told a rally in Bursa that "we will eradicate Twitter." He added "I don't care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic." It appears Erdoğan utilized a recently passed and controversial law that allows the government to shut down sites due to "privacy violations." Last month, he said Twitter bots, what he calls the "robot lobby," targeted the government, and he has also threatened to block Facebook and YouTube. Twitter is currently investigating the claims that it has been banned and told users alternative ways to tweet via SMS. Read it at Mashable SEARCH HISTORY 4. Harry Reid Calls B.S. on CIA This could turn up some awkward material. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday announced he has ordered the Senate sergeant-at-arms to begin a forensic analysis of the Senate Intelligence Committee's computer equipment in response to what he believes are "absurd" claims by the CIA that Senate staffers hacked into the agency. That's the reason, the CIA claims, it infiltrated Senate computers. Both the Senate and the CIA have sent accusations about the other to the Justice Department, which so far is reluctant to intervene due to separation of powers. CIA Director John Brennan, in a January 27 letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein, said CIA documents relating to its torture report "may have been improperly obtained and/or retained" by Senate staffers. Last week, Feinstein shook D.C. by accusing the CIA of spying on her committee. Read it at The New York Times FALSE ALARM 5. Mt. Gox Finds 200K Lost Bitcoins Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest exchange for the digital currency Bitcoin, says it has found 200,000 bitcoins in a "wallet" (digital file), which was no longer used by the company. That represents about a quarter of the Bitcoins that the company had announced were lost when it filed for court protection in February. We believed there were no bitcoins left in old wallets, but found 199,999.99 bitcoins on March 7," CEO Mark Karpelès said Thursday. The company still has not said how exactly the Bitcoins, worth roughly $470 million, went missing, but did say it was possibly a technical issue allowing users to make fraudulent withdrawals. Read it at The Wall St. Journal STEP FORWARD UN: Iran Doing Its Part on Nukes Keeping in line with deal negotiated in January. THAT STINGS S&P Cuts Russian Credit Outlook After U.S. sanctions. HOUSE OF HORRORS Pistorius To Sell Crime Scene Home To cover his legal fees. AMERICA'S MOST WANTED Anita Baker Wanted by Police Warrant for "Sweet Love" singer. BRACKET-BUSTERS Dayton, Harvard Upset Foes As does North Dakota State. CNBC Starbooze? Starbucks Expanding Its Menu POPSUGAR Is Naya Rivera Turning Into Kim Kardashian? GQ Will Brad Pitt Be in HBO's True Detective Season Two? 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. OMG, I Want This House! by The Daily Beast The Best Puppet-Caper-Musical Ever by Kevin Fallon Can De Blasio Be Less Blah? by Lloyd Grove

ABOUT US | CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBE Copyright 2014 The Daily Beast Company LLC 555 W. 18th Street , New York NY 10011 Privacy Policy

If you are on a mobile device or cannot view the images in this message, click here to view this email in your Web browser. To ensure delivery of these emails, please add thedailybeast@e2.thedailybeast.com to your address book. If you have changed your mind and no longer wish to receive these emails, or think you have received this message in error, you can safely unsubscribe here.