Cheat Sheet - New Year’s Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

Today: Russia Detains Dozens , Confessions of a Romney Baby Bully , U.S. Frees Three From Gitmo December 31, 2013 SET THE BAR LOW 1. New Year's Resolutions You Can Actually Keep Today you will resolve to be nicer. Healthier. Thinner. Younger. Resolve to cure cancer, establish a divided-yet-peaceful Jerusalem, and reverse global warming. Vow to defeat death itself in 2014 and then sit astride an enormous golden tiger as the people come and pay tribute to your seasonally timed self-improvement. Or, you know, shoot for some goals you can reach. The Daily Beast's Kelly Williams Brown offers some advice. Read it at The Daily Beast CRACKDOWN 2. Russia Detains Dozens Russian officials rounded up dozens of suspects Tuesday after two deadly bombings in Volgograd killed 34 just weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, although there have been threats by Islamist extremists to stop Russia from hosting the Olympic games. Volgograd, located about 400 miles away from Sochi, is a major transit hub for southern Russia, including Chechnya and the mostly Muslim provinces in the North Caucus. In Dagestan, a key city for Muslim extremists, a prosecutor's assistant was killed by a car bomb Tuesday and two people were killed in separate bomb blast Monday. Meanwhile, Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said they are "concerned" about the violence so close to the Games and "we got a preview of what could happen." Read it at NBC News APOLOGY 3. Confessions of a Romney Baby Bully The Daily Beast's Dean Obeidallah found himself at the center of the right's fury after making a joke on MSNBC about Mitt Romney's adopted African-American grandson. He offers an apology to the Romney family, but not to the wingnuts. Read it at The Daily Beast REPORT 4. 3,520 Killed By U.S. Drones U.S. drone strikes killed 3,520 people since 2002, including 457 civilians, according to a report released Tuesday by the Council of Foreign Relations. Eleven percent of those killed were civilians. The drone strikes were deadliest in Pakistan, where 3,091 people were killed since 2004, with a whopping 22 percent of deaths being civilians. The deadlines year in Pakistan was 2010, but 2012 was the bloodiest year in Yemen. Read it at Council on Foreign Relations 'SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE' 5. U.S. Frees Three From Gitmo The U.S. military released three Uighur detainees from Guantánamo Tuesday, offering hope for the prison's long-anticipated closure. The move, praised by the Pentagon as a "significant milestone," marks the final release of the 22 ethnic Uighur Chinese nationals who were brought to the prison in 2001. Scheduled to be released in 2008, the prisoners were held for years as the U.S. struggled to find a secure new home. The Slovakian government—who accepted the three—validated the release Tuesday. "The persons in this transport have never been suspected nor accused of terrorism." At least 155 detainees remain at Guantánamo. Read it at The New York Times NOT A NICE WELCOMING Knoxville Removes Racist Signs Declared that "diversity is a code word for white genocide." BIENVENDIOS Florida-Havana Flight Lands First commercial flight to Cuba in over 50 years. OUT AND PROUD ANCHOR Behind the Desk, Out of the Closet Robin Roberts's low-key coming out party. CHEAP Netflix to Test $6.99 Streaming Will have lower quality video. BREAK OUT THE STEAKS Jay Z, Beyoncé's Vegan Diet Over Spotted eating seafood. GQ 10 Foolproof Hangover Cures WonderWall 14 fads we hope disappear in 2014 BuzzFeed John Kerry Heads For Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks And No One But Him Is Excited 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. Drink to Your Health? by Kent Sepkowitz Shock, Awe, and Meh: Movies 2013 by Marlow Stern Can Robots Fall in Love? by Jimmy So

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