Morning Must Reads: September 18

Scotland Decides Its Fate

Scotland must decide Thursday whether to become independent from the U.K., with last-minute opinion polls putting the outcome of the referendum on a knife’s edge. Ballots will be cast at 2,608 voting stations until 10 p.m. local time

Heart Rhythm Is the New Password

A team of Toronto scientists has developed a wristband that can use your heart rhythm as an authenticator for accounts and gadgets

California’s Private Pot Police

Security contractors are flying around in helicopters and wearing body armor, clearing illegal marijuana gardens from private property

Exclusive: U2 and Apple Have Another Surprise for You

The four members of the Irish band tell TIME about another new album in the works—and its secret Apple project that might just save the music industry. The point isn’t just to help U2, but lesser-known artists and others who can’t make money from live performance

House Passes Bill to Train and Equip Syrian Rebels

The House passed legislation Wednesday to authorize the training and equipping of Syrian rebels, approving a key part of President Barack Obama’s strategy for fighting Islamist militants in the region; more than 70 members from each party voted against the bill

Arizona Cardinals Deactivate Player After Arrest on Assault Charges

Running back Jonathan Dwyer was deactivated after he was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of aggravated assault. The Cardinals’ immediate move marked a stark contrast to how other teams have operated in the wake of domestic-abuse charges

Moscow Welcomes More Autonomy for Ukraine Separatists

Russia has welcomed a new Ukrainian law granting autonomy to separatist-held eastern regions as “a step in the right direction,” but some politicians in Kiev criticized the move as unpatriotic, with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko threatening to challenge it in court

Texas Executes Woman for Murder of 9-Year-Old

A Texas woman convicted of starving and torturing her girlfriend’s 9-year-old son to death was executed on Wednesday. Lisa Coleman, the ninth person executed in Texas this year, was put to death after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal from her legal team

Sierra Leone Begins 3-Day National Lockdown Over Ebola

Citizens in of the three West African nations hit worst by the epidemic will reportedly be banned from leaving their homes as health workers try to identify cases and the streets are kept clear; some experts fear the measures will spread mistrust, doing more harm than good

Senate Passes Bill for Better Sunscreen

The bill’s passage requires the Food and Drug Administration to respond to current pending sunscreen ingredients within a shorter period of time — an important factor in ensuring that people have the most up-to-date ways to protect their skin from cancer-causing UVA rays

‘So Help Me God’ No Longer Required During Oath

The U.S. Air Force said Wednesday that enlisted members and officers are permitted to omit the phrase “so help me God” from their oaths if they so chose, after an airman who was prohibited from re-enlisting until he uttered the phrase threatened to sue last week

Occupy Wall Street Activists Suing Over Twitter Account

A group of Occupy activists are suing a former colleague in a Manhattan court for locking them out of the @OccupyWallStNYC Twitter account, which was opened by Adbusters magazine in summer 2011 and later ceded to an activist in the group

We will hold an #AskTIME subscriber Q&A this Friday, September 19, at 1 p.m., with TIME national security correspondent Mark Thompson. He has written on The Obstacles in Obama’s New ISIS Plan, What Are Those 1,600 (So Far) U.S. Military Advisers Doing in Iraq (So Far), and Top General Tweaks Obama’s Iraq War Plan. His other stories can be found here.

You can submit your questions beforehand on Twitter using the #AskTIME hashtag or in the comments of this post. We depend on smart, interesting questions from readers.

You will need to be a TIME subscriber to read the Q & A. ($30 a year or 8 cents a day for the magazine and all digital content.) Once you’re signed up, you can log in to the site with a username and password.

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