Cheat Sheet - Obama's Assassination Rationale

Today: CIA Ran Secret Base in Saudi Arabia , The Mighty—and Overlooked—Reign of the Plantagenets , Solomon Islands Slammed by Tsunami February 06, 2013 ORIGINS 1. Obama's Assassination Rationale Thanks to a leaked white paper, we now know the administration's legal rationale for killing Anwar al-Awlaki. Daniel Klaidman takes a behind-the-scenes look at the internal debate about releasing it. Read it at The Daily Beast war on terror 2. CIA Ran Secret Base in Saudi Arabia The CIA has been hitting al Qaeda militants in Yemen with clandestine drone stikes from a base in Saudi Arabia for over a year, according to an investigative New York Times report published Tuesday night. The base was first used to kill U.S.-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011. The program has been controversial, with some saying it has exacerbated anti-American sentiment. The architect of the drone strikes program, John Brennan, will face the Senate on Thursday for a confirmation hearing to become CIA director. Read it at The New York Times OVERLOOKED 3. The Forgotten Kings of England With the discovery of Richard III's bones, a new historical debate is raging over the reign of the Plantagenets. Historian Andrew Roberts says they were one of Britain's mightiest, bloodiest, and endlessly fascinating royal lines—and they deserve greater respect. Read it at The Daily Beast TRAGIC 4. Solomon Islands Slammed by Tsunami At least five people have been killed in the Solomon Islands on Wednesday from a tsunami triggered after a powerful 8.0 earthquake hit in the Pacific. The wave measured three feet and hit near the town of Lata on the remote Santa Cruz Island, although official accounts remained vague as there has been difficulty communicating with the worst-hit areas. About 5,000 people live in Lata, but luckily most in the area had cleared out after the tsunami warning. About three dozen aftershocks—with one reaching up to 6.6 magnitude—have been reported. Read it at The Wall Street Journal WATCH OUT, RUPERT 5. British TV Company to Buy Virgin Media Will this stop Rupert Murdoch's tweeting? Britain's Liberty Group struck a deal to buy cable-television provider Virgin Media for $16 billion in cash—a move that will pose a direct challenge to Rupert Murdoch in Europe's pay-TV market. The deal puts John Malone's Liberty in a dead heat with Comcast as the world's biggest cable company—and opens a new competition with Murdoch, whose satellite provider BSkyB is Britain's largest pay-TV company. Malone made his fortune in the U.S. by consolidating the cable industry into just a few providers, but he still has a way to go before taking over Britain: Virgin Media has just 4.9 million customers, compared with BSkyB's 10.7 million. Read it at Reuters DEVELOPING Tunisian Opposition Leader Killed Allegedly by radical Muslims. PENALTY RBS Fines Expected to Top $600M For Libor rate rigging. WOWZA Largest Prime Number Found 17,425,170 digits long. USE THE FORCE Disney Plans Stand-Alone 'Star Wars' Films Will not be part of the saga. BINGS REUNITE 'Friends' Reunion Planned for 'Go On' Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry will reunite. 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. Whose Kingdom For A Horse? Now that Richard III's remains have been found, The Daily Beast takes a look at the celebrated actors that have played the villainous monarch, from Ian McKellen to Al Pacino. The NRA's Mystified Enemies by Eliza Shapiro Dying for Attention by Michael Daly 'Community' Is Still Awesome by Jace Lacob

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