Midday Roundup: Recreational pot on a high after election night wins

Puff away. Two more states and the District of Columbia voted to legalize recreational marijuana on Tuesday. Voters in Alaska and Oregon approved ballot measures that decriminalized the drug, with regulations set to take effect next year. Voters in Washington, D.C., also approved a legalization measure, but it must be approved by Congress before it can take effect. Marijuana also is legal for personal use in Colorado and Washington state. Drug law reform advocates hailed last night’s election results as a step toward national legalization. “The pace of reform is accelerating, other states are sure to follow, and even Congress is poised to wake from its slumber,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director for the Drug Policy Alliance. Twenty-three states now allow medical marijuana use, although Florida voters last night narrowly rejected an effort to get it approved there.

Power brokers. Forbes has released its annual list of the most powerful people in the world. In yet another blow to President Barack Obama, who is still smarting from his party’s drubbing in last night’s election, the magazine put Russian President Vladimir Putin at the top of the list. Obama came in second. “This is not a lineup of the most influential or an anointing of the new establishment,” wrote Caroline Howard. “It is an evaluation of hard power. We insist the people on our list wield the kind of power that shapes and bends the world, and moves people, markets, armies, and minds.” Putin got a bump this year after his invasion and annexation of Crimea, which made him a pariah on almost every other list you might come up with. Forbes likely will face criticism for another choice: ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was named as one of 12 “newcomers.”

Self-incrimination? Police in Washington are trying to figure out whether photos posted online show a murder victim’s body before anyone discovered the crime. If they are authentic, the photos could help point investigators to the killer. The graphic photos appeared about 30 minutes before a relative discovered the woman’s body in Port Orchard, west of Seattle. The local sheriff’s office has not been able to confirm whether the photos are real, but they are “taking the matter seriously,” a spokesman said.

NFL in court. Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice appeared before a New York judge this morning to plead his case against the indefinite suspension handed down by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell. Rice claims the NFL already punished him for punching his then-fianceé-now-wife in the face, an incident caught on surveillance camera. Goodell first suspended Rice for two games but then expanded it to an indefinite suspension after more video surfaced, showing details of the attack. NFL contracts forbid players from being punished twice for the same offense. Another NFL player suspended after a violent incident appeared in court yesterday, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault. Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child after he whipped his 4-year-old son with a switch. Goodell now must decide whether to reinstate Peterson, who then faces the potentially tough task of convincing a team he won’t be a public relations liability.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.