Cheat Sheet - P.J. O'Rourke on Pot, Putin, and Polygamy

Today: Syrian Militants Recruit Americans , Did Chris Christie Turn a Blind Eye? , FBI Sent to Scary Sochi January 10, 2014 BITE ME 1. Pot, Putin, and Polygamy: P.J. O'Rourke Recaps the Week The first full week of 2014 started on a high note, The Daily Beast's P.J. O'Rourke writes, with Colorado and Washington freeing the weed, Putin wielding a glue gun to get ready for Sochi, and Utah saying no to one groom but yes to many wives. Read it at The Daily Beast OH CRAP 2. Job Growth Worst in 3 Years Despite numerous signs that the U.S. economy was ready to break out, employers hired the fewest workers in nearly three years in December. Non-farm payrolls grew by only 74,000 last month, but the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, the lowest figure since October 2008. Some of the slowdown in hiring is attributed to the insanely cold weather. Read it at Reuters BLUNDER ROAD 3. Did Christie Turn a Blind Eye to Bridgegate? New Jersey's governor delivered a virtuoso performance at a press conference Thursday after his staffers were exposed closing part of the George Washington Bridge to settle a political vendetta. Chris Christie says he only learned the truth about "Bridgegate" this week, but he's not stupid, writes The Daily Beast's Michael Tomasky. There's a legal reason Christie was trying to run out the clock. Read it at The Daily Beast HIRING SPREE 4. Syrians Want U.S. Terrorists Wonder how this pitch goes: Islamic militants with ties to al Qaeda in Syria are working to recruit and train Americans and other Westerners who have gone to the region and would implement attacks when they return to their home countries. Over 70 Americans have either traveled to Syria or tried to since the war started. "We know Al Qaeda is using Syria to identify individuals they can recruit, provide them additional indoctrination so they're further radicalized, and leverage them into future soldiers, possibly in the U.S.," said a counterterrorism official. As a result, the FBI is running 24/7 surveillance on individuals who return from Syria. Read it at The New York Times SKEPTICAL 5. Obama to Make NSA Less Orwellian Victory for Edward Snowden? Next week, President Obama is expected to outline his proposals to reform the National Security Agency program that collects data on Americans say administration officials. While the decisions have not been finalized, he reportedly favors extending to non-U.S. citizens protections from the Privacy Act of 1974, creating an advocacy post for privacy issues who would argue before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and a restructuring of the phone data program so a third party or phone companies would house the data, not the NSA. Read it at The Wall Street Journal YOU'RE WELCOME FBI Sent to Scary Sochi For the Olympics. WIDE OPEN Google Lets Strangers Email You By force-feeding Google+. CLASS ACT Karzai Flouts U.S., Frees Inmates Despite Washington's pleas. HATHA-HATER Ocean Tries to Drown Anne Hathaway Sucks her into a riptide. WHEN IN PARIS French Prez Livid at Affair Charge Threatens legal action. POPSUGAR Celeb Tweets of the Week CNBC High-Tech Fitness Gadgets to Jump-Start Your New Year THE WRAP John Oliver Bashes Sarah Palin's New TV Show 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. 'Banshee' Is Better Than 'Homeland' by Marlow Stern Egypt's Spring of the Patriarch by Christopher Dickey Black Colleges Coaches Are Not Allowed to Fail by Evin Demirel

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