Cheat Sheet - Inside James Holmes’s Booby-Trapped Apartment

Today: U.S. Could Pull All Afghan Troops , Armstrong Will Talk to Oprah , Syrian Rebels Free 48 Iranians January 09, 2013 TWISTED 1. Inside Holmes's Booby Trap New details from the second part of the Aurora shooter's evil plan: homemade napalm, a frying pan of chemicals, and dozens of explosives inside his apartment. Christine Pelisek reports. Read it at The Daily Beast clean sweep 2. U.S. Could Pull All Afghan Troops Post-2014, Afghanistan could find itself without American troops. On Tuesday, the White House announced that despite recommendations to keep upwards of 15,000 troops in Afghanistan, President Obama could decide to remove everyone, like he did in Iraq two years ago. The "zero-option" is one "we would consider," said Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, but the decision will be based off of two factors: denying al Qaeda a safe haven and fully training and equipping Afghan troops. There are currently 66,000 troops in the country, which will be slowly reduced through 2014, when the NATO combat mission ends. Obama is scheduled to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week. Read it at Reuters DAYTIME REHAB 3. Armstrong Will Talk to Oprah Lance Armstrong better hope he doesn't get the James Frey treatment. The disgraced cyclist will appear on Oprah Winfrey's show in a "no-holds-barred" interview, the talk-show host announced Tuesday. Stripped of his Tour de France victories last year, Armstrong has denied any allegations of cheating, although reports surfaced earlier this week that he "has told associates and anti-doping officials that he is publicly admitting that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his cycling career." Meanwhile, new allegations surfaced Tuesday that Armstrong offered to donate "in excess of $150,000" to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which polices the use of performance-enhancing drugs, prior to his seventh—and final—Tour de France victory. Read it at The New York Times HOSTAGES 4. Syrian Rebels Free 48 Iranians Syrian rebels will free 48 Iranian hostages in exchange for 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian government, a Turkish charity reported Wednesday. Iranian state TV confirmed the release but did not comment on the swap. The Free Syrian Army, the country's main rebel group, claimed the hostages had been carrying out a mission for the government, an ally of Iran. Iranian authorities admitted some of the hostages had been retired members of the armed forces, but insisted they were visiting a shrine in Damascus. The Turkish state news agency said the deal was brokered by Turkey and Qatar, both of which have backed the rebels.  Read it at BBC News REVOLUTION 5. Gay in the NFL: An Ex-Player Speaks Out Who will be the gay Jackie Robinson of professional sports? Former NFL player Wade Davis talks to Touré about coming out—and how other gay players in the NFL live semi-open lives. Read it at The Daily Beast COMPROMISE Biden to Meet NRA As part of gun violence task force. CENSORSHIP China Cracks Down on Media Insists government control is "unshakable." Tragedy Winehouse Died Watching Her Videos And had two empty bottles of vodka next to her bed. CRAZY SPACE Glenn Beck to Relaunch The Blaze As a libertarian network. HONORS 'Lincoln' Leads BAFTA Nominees But no nod for Spielberg. 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. Katherine Webb Steals the Show by Marlow Stern New York's 'Bomb Mom' Goes to Court by Michael Daly The 'Downton' Family Feud by Caitlin Dickson , Kevin Fallon , Abby Haglage

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