The X Games are this weekend in Aspen, and ESPN will replay the highlights at 8:30 pm (MT.) The schedule and results are here.

Sarah Palin is out at Fox News. Whose decision was it? So far, neither Fox nor Palin are saying. More here.

Casey Anthony's convictions for lying have been overturned by an appeals court.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Kim Dotcom and partners have launched the new Mega, a global Cloud file sharing system. Accounts are free up to 50 GB and encrypted. You can check it out here.

Today is launch date, and there are already 250,000 user registrations in just 2 hours.

It may be the most "lawyered-up" internet startup launch in history. And Mega lawyer Ira Rothken says in an interview with Ars Technica, anyone who comes after it has no case: [More...]

Lance Armstrong interview on Oprah is airing now. It took me 10 minutes to find the channel (220 on Denver's comcast.)

He says the last time he "crossed the line" was in 2005. He did no blood transfusions or doping in 2009 and 2010.

He denied that he expected or required his top riders to dope.

Photos of the red carpet here. Truly some big misses tonight.

The Nominations list here.

Maggie Smith wins best supporting actress for Downton Abbey Season 2. Game Change won best tv movies or miniseries. Juliane Moore wins best actree in TV miniseries or movie for Game Change.

Damian Lewis wins best actor for Homeland. He lists a slew of people he wants to share the award with, and thanks everyone under the sun, but never mentions Claire Danes. An oversight? Homeland also won best tv series.

Adele hypventilates as she wins best song. I think Bon Jovi should have won for Not Running Anymore. [More...]

Via the Washington Post: The District of Columbia has spared David Gregory. Here is the letter from the DC Attorney General to Gregory's attorney saying it was a close call, but he will not be prosecuted for displaying a 30-round ammunition magazine on Meet the Press. A key factor:

Gregory ‘s “intent of the temporary possession and short display of the magazine was to promote the First Amendment purpose of informing an ongoing public debate about firearms policy in the United States.”

The letter also states that the offense is a strict liability crime that does not require a specific intent -- ignorance or confusion about the law is no defense.

Al Jazeera announced today it will launch a new U.S.-based news channel and that it has bought Al Gore's Current TV. From its press release:

Al Jazeera Media Network also announced that it has acquired Current TV in the United States and that the new U.S.-based news channel will be available on Current’s distribution network when it is launched in 2013. There will be a transition from existing programming until the new Al Jazeera channel begins to air.

The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera’s expansion will double the network’s U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.

I like Al Jazeera's reporting and think it will be a welcome addition. It plans to scrap Current TV's current programming. Forbes reports the network paid in the neighborhood of $400 million for Current.

Is anyone watching CBS and the Kennedy Center Honors? Really great tribute to David Letterman. The event took place December 3. Also honored: Dustin Hoffman. And Led Zeppelin. Here's a recap.

The top news story of the day seems to be that DC police are investigating NBC's David Gregory for a show and tell of a high capacity ammunition clip magazine on Meet the Press. Apparently, NBC asked for permission to show the magazine and was denied. Under DC law, such magazines are illegal to possess.

On a related topic, this November, 2012 Congressional Research Service Report explains our current federal gun laws and recent legislative efforts to change them.

USA Today has released the results of a new poll conducted with Gallup on Americans' views on gun control.

This is how the Voice opened tonight. Very moving, and nicely done. Click on the full screen option.

Two hours to go until the live Rolling Stones concert at Newark's Prudential Center on Pay Per View. Appearing with them: Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and the Black Keys. This is the last scheduled concert on this 50th Anniversary tour in the U.S. Here's how to order. You can also order to watch online.

The Stones' Twitter feed is here. L'Wren Scott just posted this photo 1 minute ago, they are already there and all smiles. L'Wren posts photos throughout the show, of the backstage areas and more, so follow her.

Watching Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi performing Born to Run, it doesn't get any better than that. The Hurricane Sandy concert is 5 hours and judging from the first half hour, it's going to be an incredible show. The Rolling Stones and the Who will also perform, among others. Billy Crystal is hosting and he's funny again. Celebrities are manning the phone banks.

Two billion people world-wide can watch.

All money donated goes to the Robin Hood Relief fund. There's a lot of ways to donate. Here's one. Or you can call 1-855-465-HELP. You can also help by ordering the music from the concert on iTunes. [More...]

New York Magazine reports Roger Ailes has put out a memo: No bookings of Karl Rove or Dick Morris without permission.

Ailes’s deputy, Fox News programming chief Bill Shine, has sent out orders mandating that producers must get permission before booking Rove or Morris....A Fox spokesperson confirmed the new booking rules for Rove and Morris, and explained that Shine’s message was “the election’s over.”

Multiple sources told NY Mag that Rove's election night tantrum when Fox called the race for Obama made Ailes angry. That was one of the most bizarre episodes of punditing in recent memory -- and embarrassing for the network.