Der Spiegel has several feature articles this week on the NSA's backdoor program TAO, which stands for "Tailored Access Operations."

This is the NSA's top operative unit -- something like a squad of plumbers that can be called in when normal access to a target is blocked.

According to internal NSA documents viewed by SPIEGEL, these on-call digital plumbers are involved in many sensitive operations conducted by American intelligence agencies. TAO's area of operations ranges from counterterrorism to cyber attacks to traditional espionage.

[More...]

In the last two days, there have been two terror attacks in Volograd, Russia, one at a train station and one on a trolley, raising concern for safety at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi. At least 27 people have been killed, and at least 45 were maimed or wounded.

The suicide bomber at the train station has been identified by the Siberia Times as a 26 year old female named Oksana Aslanova. She is known as a "black widow," having been married to two deceased Islamic terror leaders in North Caucasus. Both her husbands were killed by Russian forces, and she was on a watch list. [More...]

Time to recount the year's top crime stories: In no particular order, here's my list:

1. Colorado and legal recreational marijuana
2. Edward Snowden and NSA Phone Records
3. Guantanamo Hunger Strikes
4. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and the Boston Marathon Bombing
5. The George Zimmerman trial
6. DOJ and Kim Dotcom
7. DOJ and Aaron Swartz
8. Mexico's Release of Rafael Caro-Quintero
9. Adam Lanza (and efforts to enact new gun control laws)
10. Oscar Pistorius

Feel free to add your own own, but please keep them related to crime and civil liberties.

What's on your mind? Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The CT state police yesterday released 7,000 pages of reports and exhibits in its investigation of Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook shootings. His medical reports are not included (as opposed to a description of his treatment and recollections of some of his treatment providers made after the shootings). A lot of other material pertaining to the victims and interviews of witnesses is redacted. The reports don't reveal what caused him to go on the killing rampage, and unlike the media, the police don't speculate.

You can download the documents here.

Yin and Yang. Last week, federal Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington ruled the NSA's collection of mass telephone metadata was “almost Orwellian” and probably unconstitutional."

Today, Judge William H. Pauley III in New York rules the opposite way, finding the NSA program legal under Section 215 of the Patriot Act and the Fourth Amendment.

Today's opinion is here.

The ACLU says on to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to Associated Press reporter Rukmini Callimachi in Mali, it appears al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is very focused on accounting.

The convoy of cars bearing the black al Qaeda flag came at high speed, and the manager of the modest grocery store thought he was about to get robbed.

Mohamed Djitteye rushed to lock his till and cowered behind the counter. He was dumbfounded when instead, the al Qaeda commander gently opened the grocery’s glass door and asked for a pot of mustard. Then he asked for a receipt.

Confused and scared, Djitteye didn’t understand. So the jihadist repeated his request. Could he please have a receipt for the $1.60 purchase?

The AP found a treasure trove of documents, including receipts for things like a single light bulb and bar of soap. [More...]

President Obama signed the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014) in Hawaii today.

He also released this signing statement criticizing Congress for its restrictions on transferring Gitmo detainees to the U.S. and preventing federal trials.

Obama needs to step up the pressure on closing Gitmo. One of his first acts in office in 2009 was to issue an executive order promising the closure of Gitmo in a year. It will not be good for his legacy if Gitmo is still up and running when he leaves office 8 years later. Then again, he also released a similar statement last year, so who knows what his intentions are. [More...]

The City and County of Denver has a new website on marijuana. Not surprisingly, it concentrates on what is not legal. The six things it wants you to know:

• It is illegal to consume marijuana in public.
• It is illegal to take marijuana out of state.
• Only licensed establishments can sell retail marijuana products.
• It is illegal for retail establishments to give or sell marijuana to minors.
• You must be over 21 to possess or use "retail marijuana.
• It is illegal to "drive high".

Some other things Denver would like you to know [More...]:

Merry Christmas Eve to all. Who's cooking tonight? Please share the menus.

Christmas Music? Some Darlene Love.

Here's Bruce (here too.) And of course, Bon Jovi.

You can track Santa here (He's in Europe right now.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Happy Holidays to all.

Update: Deadline extended until Friday for Colorado, no excuses needed, and on the national exchange until Thursday for those who had trouble logging on today (Official notice here.).

Midnight is the deadline to sign up for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act for coverage beginning Jan. 1.

I spent a good part of the day checking out the plans and talking to a very helpful Colorado Health Exchange adviser. (Yes, I was on hold for 40 minutes, I was 86th in line, but it was worth it. He spent 40 minutes with me reviewing the best plans for the benefits I wanted.)

There are some great deals available on the Exchange and a ton of plan options. The website for Colorado is fast and easy to navigate. You can also access the details of each plan's coverage so you aren't buying a pig in a poke.[More....]

Christmas comes early to Colorado....The Denver Post reports the state made history yesterday when it became the first state to issue businesses licenses to sell marijuana for recreational use. So far, 136 licenses were issued. The licensed stores can begin selling pot to adults on January 1.

In addition to the retail licenses, the Post reports Colorado issued licenses for "178 marijuana-cultivation facilities" and "31 marijuana-infused products makers."

Here's a map of the stores that received licenses. Here's an article about one Colorado pot bakery whose business is already booming.

Meanwhile, tickets for pot consumption are up sharply from 2012. The new laws do not allow people to smoke pot in public.