The picks ( all 2 units unless otherwise indicated):

Oregon -20 over Stanford (3 units), Iowa State -5 over Kansas, Vanderbilt -3 over Tennessee, Mississippi +18½ over LSU, Oklahoma -11 over West Virginia, San Jose State +3 1/2 over BYU, Missouri -5 over Syracuse, Kansas State -13 over Baylor (4 units), UCLA +4 over USC (5 units), Army -3 over Temple, Mississippi State -6 over Arkansas, Oklahoma State -10 over Texas Tech, South Florida +7 over Miami (Florida), Clemson -17 over North Carolina State, Boise State -28 over Colorado State, Northwestern +7 over Michigan State, Maryland +31 over Florida State, Cincinnati -6 over Rutgers, Washington -21 over Colorado, Wisconsin -2 over Ohio State, Georgia Tech -14 over Duke, Tulsa -1 over Central Florida, Iowa +18 over Michigan, Notre Dame -24 over Wake Forest.

Open Thread.

It's official. Hostess will stop making Twinkies. We were warned. Predictably, grocery stores today are reporting a run on Twinkies. I bought a box when the first alert came out in January, and ate them all within two days. Not this time.

Adis Medunjanin was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the thwarted New York Subway attacks. Najibullah Zazi, who testified against him as part of a plea deal, will be sentenced in December.

Gen. David Petraeus testified before a closed session of Congress today. Reports vary on what he said about terrorism. The Washington Post makes no reference to him saying al Qaida was directly involved, only that at some point the CIA came to believe "associates of al-Qaeda" were involved. Reuters reports the same. CNN, on the other hand, goes with a different version by Rep. Peter King, burying that it is only King's version until the second paragraph. [More...]

The most excellent adventures of the Real Housewives of Tampa continue. Today's installment: Jill and Natalie's White House excursions. We even get a new unnamed player: the White House lawyer who invited them.

More interesting: Mayor of Tampa Bob Buckhorn has released his e-mails with Jill Kelley. The latest is Nov. 14, in which she refers to Paula Broadwell as a stalker and a criminal. What a name-dropper. In one, she calls Gen. Petraeus "Dave" . In another she knows that Gen. Allen will be calling her at 1:00 pm. that day. You can read them here.

My summary is below: [More...]

Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette today followed through with her promise to introduce federal legislation to respect the will of the voters on Amendment 64. She has introduced the "Respect States' and Citizens' Rights Act of 2012."

The bill would amend 21 USC 903 of the Controlled Substance Act by adding a provision:

In the case of any State law that pertains to marijuana, no provision of this title shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of the Congress to occupy the field in which that provision operates, including criminal penalties, to the exclusion of State law on the same subject matter, nor shall any provision of this title be construed as preempting any such State law.

Currently, section 903 reads:[More...]

A criminal probe of Fedex and UPS has been ongoing over shipments of drugs purchased illegally from online pharmacies. The investigation is in the Northern District of California (San Francisco.) UPS appears to be cooperating while Fedex is not. Both companies revealed the probe in their latest quarterly registration statements. UPS said:

We have received requests for information from the DOJ in the Northern District of California in connection with a criminal investigation relating to the transportation of packages for online pharmacies that may have shipped pharmaceuticals in violation of federal law," the company stated. UPS said it was cooperating with the investigation and is "exploring the possibility of resolving this matter."

Fedex says: ""Settlement is not an option when there is no illegal activity." [More...]

A day after Boulder DA Stan Garnett announced his office will drop pending marijuana cases involving adult possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey announced his office will do the same.

There are about 70 cases pending in Denver that would fall under the amendment, Denver district attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said Thursday. As those cases go through the court system, they will be reviewed for possible dismissal. This won't apply to cases where there is another charge or when the person is under age 21, she said. People who think their case may be dismissed still must appear at their court date, Kimbrough said.

The North Metro Drug Task Force remains opposed. Its latest argument: [More...]

Must-watch TV tonight: HBO premieres Crossfire Hurricane, the documentary about the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1982.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Bump and Update 11/15/12 : The DA has dropped criminal charges against John Bon Jovi's daughter, Stephanie Bongiovi, and another student because of New York's Good Samaritan law.

Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said he was dismissing the charges against both students. Under state law, someone having a drug overdose or seeking help for an overdose victim can't be prosecuted for having a small amount of heroin or any amount of marijuana.

Original Post 11/14/12:

Sending good thoughts to the Bon Jovi family and daughter Stephanie Bongiovi, 19, who was charged with heroin possession after being found unresponsive in her dorm room at Hamilton College in New York Wednesday. Another student was also charged.

Ms. Bongiovi is alive because someone called for help. If people fear arrest, they are less likely to call 911. That's why New York and several other states have enacted a Good Samaritan law. Arrest and charges send the wrong message in these circumstances. [More...]

Financially beleaguered Real Housewife of Tampa co-star Jill Kelley thought she'd try her hand at a business deal (using her closeness to Gen. David Petraeus and her honorary South Korea title.) She was rebuffed as an amateur, when she asked for an $80 million commission.

Adam Victor, president of TransGas Development in New York, recounts the adventure to the Tampa Bay Times. He met Kelley at an event at the Tampa Convention Hall at the Republican National Convention.

Victor said Kelley described herself as a close friend to Petraeus, which impressed him. In fact, he said, Kelley told him she might help him with a coal gasification project in South Korea. She said she could gain him access to the highest levels of the South Korean government, Victor said. Kelley told him she was an honorary consul for South Korea, and Victor said she told him she had obtained the position with the help of Petraeus.

Kelley followed up with Victor at a meeting in New York (his company flew her there first class.) Kelley told him that if the deal went through, she expected an $80 million commission. [More....]

I wonder if there will be a new episode today in the Real Housewives of Tampa. (h/t Mike Ditto.) Don't socialites lose standing when their friends find out they are broke? I wonder if the parties are over.

Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes had to have his court date continued. He's been hurting himself at the jail, slamming his head into concrete cell walls, and had to go to the hospital.

Mitt Romney figured out why he lost the election (snark):

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee told top donors in a conference call Obama followed the "old playbook" of offering big-government largess to win votes from specific interest groups, "especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people," The New York Times, one of two newspapers on the call, reported.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett today announced his office will dismiss all pending cases charging adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and/or related drug paraphernalia.

District Attorney Stan Garnett will dismiss all pending criminal cases of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, saying the overwhelming support for Amendment 64 in Boulder County makes it highly unlikely a jury would ever reach a guilty verdict in any of those cases.

"You've seen an end to mere possession cases in Boulder County under my office," Garnett said Wednesday, becoming the first Colorado district attorney to drop pot cases because Colorado voters approved Amendment 64 earlier this month.

Boulder police responded by announcing they will no longer issue citations for these offenses: [More...]

The FBI agent/friend of Jill Kelley who brought the anonymous e-mails she received to the FBI is Frederick W. Humphries. Humprhies works on terrorism cases. His friends describe him as obsessive, with "experience in counterterrorism, conservative political views and a reputation for aggressiveness."

Humphries and his wife were "social friends" with Jill Kelley. Humphries contacted Rep. Dave Reichert because he was convinced the FBI was stalling the case for political reasons. Reichert connected him with Eric Cantor, who passed his info on to FBI Director Mueller.

A friend of Humphries says the shirtless photo was sent years earlier and was "a joke." The Kelley and Humphries families often exchanged photos of each other.

First penalties: Paula Broadwell lost her security clearance today and Jill Kelley lost her special clearance to access the MacDill military base. [More...]