CIA chief Petraeus resigns, cites extramarital affair

NBC's Brian Williams and NBC's Andrea Mitchell report on the resignation of well-regarded former General David Petraeus from the CIA after he admitted an affair.

By Andrea Mitchell and Robert Windrem, NBC News

WASHINGTON -- CIA Director David Petraeus resigned Friday, citing an extramarital affair and "extremely poor judgment."

As first reported by NBC News, Petraeus disclosed the affair in a letter released to the CIA work force on Friday afternoon, writing: "Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours."

Petraeus told President Barack Obama of his affair and offered his resignation during a meeting Thursday, a senior official told NBC News.?

In a statement, Obama said he accepted Petraeus?s resignation on Friday.

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"By any measure, through his lifetime of service, David Petraeus has made our country safer and stronger," Obama said of the four-star general, who led American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Petraeus'?biographer,?Paula Broadwell, is under FBI investigation for improperly trying to access his email and possibly gaining access to classified information, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Friday. She is the author of Petraeus' biography, "All In." Broadwell?had extensive access to Petraeus in Afghanistan and has given numerous television interviews speaking about him.

Broadwell could not be reached by NBC News for comment.?

David Petraeus a battlefield 'hero' and savvy Washington insider

Petraeus himself is not under investigation.

A U.S. military official and long-time aide to?Petraeus told NBC News?the director?resigned "because he screwed up."

"In his mind, in his views, with his code of ethics and morals, he did a very dishonorable thing," the official said. "This had nothing to do with Benghazi, nothing to do with his relationship with the White House."

Petraeus was appointed CIA director in April 2011, replacing Leon Panetta, who moved to the Pentagon to become defense secretary.

Petraeus served as commander of the war in Afghanistan in 2010-2011. Before that, he served as commander of the U.S. Central Command and as the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq.?Because of those roles, he was seen as?bringing a ?customer?s eye? to the intelligence job.?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told NBC News that Petraeus?s personal mistake should not have led to his departure.

"I would have stood up for him," Feinstein said in response to his indiscretion. "I wanted him to continue. He was good, he loved the work, and he had a command of intelligence issues second to none."

Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images file

General David Petraeus, center, takes the oath of office as the next director of the CIA from Vice President Joe Biden, right, as Petraeus's wife, Holly, watches on Sept. 6, 2011 during a ceremony at the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Feinstein said she respects Obama?s decision to accept the Petraeus resignation, but wishes he hadn't.

She also said Petraeus will not need to testify at hearings she is chairing next week into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.

Rep. Peter King, R-NY, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said he regrets Petraeus's resignation. "General Petraeus is one of America's most outstanding and distinguished military leaders and a true American patriot," King said in a statement.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said it was Petraus's "genius" that was responsible "for the success of the surge in Iraq."

"General David Petraeus will stand in the ranks of America's greatest military heroes," McCain said in a statement.

Multiple sources tell NBC News that Mike Morrell, the deputy CIA director and a longtime CIA officer, would likely be offered the job as acting director, with the understanding that he may be elevated to the job permanently.

That's how George Tenet got the job, first as deputy director in July 1995, then acting director following the resignation of John Deutch in December 1996 and finally as director in July 1997, staying on in the Bush administration.

Morrell is a longtime CIA analyst and was an eyewitness to two of the most momentous events in recent U.S. history. He was traveling with President George W. Bush on Sept. 11, 2001, as the president's briefer, and was in the Situation Room on May 1, 2011, as deputy CIA Director, when Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden.

Morell began his agency career as an analyst tracking international energy issues and subsequently worked for 14 years as an analyst and manager on East Asia. In 1999, he was appointed director of the Office of Asian Pacific and Latin American Analysis. He also has served as a presidential briefer, as chief of the staff that produces the president's daily briefing, and as an executive assistant to CIA Director George J. Tenet.

From 2003 until 2006, he served overseas. Upon his return, he was briefly deputy director for intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center before being asked to become associate deputy director at the CIA.

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NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports on the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus after citing an extra-marital affair and apologizing for poor judgment.

Here is the full text of Petraeus' letter:

HEADQUARTERS Central Intelligence Agency

9 November 2012
Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as D/CIA. ?After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. ?Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. ?This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my resignation.

As I depart Langley, I want you to know that it has been the greatest of privileges to have served with you, the officers of our Nation's Silent Service, a work force that is truly exceptional in every regard. ?Indeed, you did extraordinary work on a host of critical missions during my time as director, and I am deeply grateful to you for that.

Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life's greatest gift is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing. ?I will always treasure my opportunity to have done that with you and I will always regret the circumstances that brought that work with you to an end.
Thank you for your extraordinary service to our country, and best wishes for continued success in the important endeavors that lie ahead for our country and our Agency.

With admiration and appreciation,
David H. Petraeus

Andrea Mitchell is NBC News? chief foreign affairs correspondent. Robert Windrem is NBC News? senior investigative producer. NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/09/15054517-cia-director-david-petraeus-resigns-cites-extramarital-affair?lite

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Preschoolers' counting abilities relate to future math performance, researcher says

Preschoolers' counting abilities relate to future math performance, researcher says

Friday, November 9, 2012

Along with reciting the days of the week and the alphabet, adults often practice reciting numbers with young children. Now, new research from the University of Missouri suggests reciting numbers is not enough to prepare children for math success in elementary school. The research indicates that counting, which requires assigning numerical values to objects in chronological order, is more important for helping preschoolers acquire math skills.

"Reciting means saying the numbers from memory in chronological order, whereas counting involves understanding that each item in the set is counted once and that the last number stated is the amount for the entire set," said Louis Manfra, an assistant professor in MU's Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "When children are just reciting, they're basically repeating what seems like a memorized sentence. When they're counting, they're performing a more cognitive activity in which they're associating a one-to-one correspondence with the object and the number to represent a quantity."

Manfra analyzed data from more than 3,000 children from low-income households in order to determine if the children's reciting and counting abilities in preschool affected their first-grade math scores. He found that students who could recite and count to 20 in preschool had the highest math scores in first grade; however, less than 10 percent of the children in the study could count and recite to 20.

"Counting gives children stronger foundations when they start school," Manfra said. "The skills children have when they start kindergarten affect their trajectories through early elementary school; therefore, it's important that children start with as many skills as possible."

Previous research has shown that, in low-income families, parents often think children's educations are the responsibility of teachers, while teachers expect parents to teach some essential skills at home, Manfra said.

"These low-income children aren't learning math skills anywhere because parents think the children are learning them at school, and teachers think they're learning them at home," Manfra said. "This is a problem because it gives parents and teachers the idea that it's not their responsibility to educate the children, when it's everyone's responsibility. This is problematic because, when the children enter kindergarten and are at lower math levels, they don't have the foundational skills needed to set them on paths for future success."

Parents and teachers should integrate counting into all aspects of children's daily activities so they can master the skill, Manfra said.

"You can learn anything anywhere, and this is very true for counting," Manfra said. "When adults read books with children, they can count the ducks on the page. They might count the leaves that fall to the ground outside or the number of carrots at lunchtime."

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University of Missouri-Columbia: http://www.missouri.edu

Thanks to University of Missouri-Columbia for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125193/Preschoolers__counting_abilities_relate_to_future_math_performance__researcher_says

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Family of missing man fears the worst

Family of missing man fears the worst2

Family of missing man fears the worst

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (WKYT) - Beverly Foley has so many fond memories of November 9th. It was the day she was born?and the day 27 years ago she gave birth to her son?.Jonathan.

?I miss him terribly. I got this morning..each day gets worse..instead of better,? said the missing man?s mother Friday.

Since the national guardsman was serving his country in Iraq last year?.and involved in other activties before?this would have been the first birthday in several years that the two would have spent together.

?I?m hoping something today?with it being his birthday..will bring it to closure,? said Foley.

Foley was last seen Tuesday heading to Lee?s Food Mart in Barbourville. His truck was found covered in mud several miles away?near a factory close by Knox County Hospital.

His family says what was found inside that truck was very unusual.

?The seat was kind of scooted up. The driver?s seat. He?s a very tall person,? said Foley.

The Foleys say police told them they were planning to search the truck and gather evidence on Friday. Police were also said to be gathering surveillance video from the area where the truck was found. His family meanwhile is hoping for the best but fearing the worst.

?I?m feeling lost without him. I?m afraid he won?t be coming home. I hope he will,? said Charles Foley, Jr., the missing man?s father.

Source: http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Family-of-missing-man-fears-the-worst-178035561.html

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New way of making glass

ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2012) ? A new way to make glass has been discovered by a collaboration of researchers at the Universities of D?sseldorf and Bristol using a method that controls how the atoms within a substance are arranged around each other.

The research is published November 9 in Physical Review Letters.

When cooling a liquid below its melting temperature it either crystallizes or transforms into a glass. Glass is a peculiar state of matter: it has the mechanical properties of a solid but an amorphous structure like a liquid.

As long ago as 1952, Sir Charles Frank at the University of Bristol argued that the structure of glasses should not be entirely disordered like a liquid but rather that it should be filled with structural motifs like the bicapped square antiprism [inset pictured].

Although such motifs have very recently been found in experiments and computer simulations on glassy materials, it has not been clear what role these play in how a liquid becomes a (glassy) solid.

The D?sseldorf and Bristol researchers created a new type of glass in a computer through encouraging atoms in a nickel-phosphorus alloy to form the pictured polyhedron. When these polyhedra formed, the liquid no longer flowed -- it had become a solid. In other words, they found that instead of cooling, a liquid can turn into a glass by changing its structure.

Dr Paddy Royall of the University of Bristol said: "The method we developed employed computer simulations of liquids, performed on the University of Bristol's BlueCrystal supercomputer, where the atoms were driven to form more polyhedra.

"Although many more polyhedra were formed, the atomic arrangements were still disordered rather than a periodic arrangement as seen in crystals. This means that the solid that was formed had to be a glass."

Dr Thomas Speck of Heinrich-Heine-Universit?t, D?sseldorf said: "These results mean that structure can control whether a material is liquid or solid and thus open the way to design new glasses: for example metallic glasses whose great lightness and strength promise exciting applications and chalcogenide glasses which are used in memory applications and phase switch memory, a possible future technology for data storage."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Bristol.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. thomas Speck, Alex Malins, and C. Patrick Royall. First-Order Phase Transition in a Model Glass Former: Coupling of Local Structure and Dynamics. Phys. Rev. Lett., 109, 195703 (2012) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.195703

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/5xTLWUGE4Dw/121109111515.htm

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Study documents eating of soil, raw starch in Madagascar

Public release date: 9-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Syl Kacapyr
vpk6@cornell.edu
607-255-7701
Cornell University

Pica -- craving and intentionally consuming nonfood substances, such as earth -- and amylophagy, eating raw starches -- are widespread among people around the world, including the U.S. Some 180 species of animals are also known to engage in pica, possibly to rid themselves of toxins.

A study appearing Oct. 17 in the online journal Public Library of Science One provides the first population-level data of pica in Madagascar. It is one of only a few studies to assess the consumption of earths, raw starches, chalk, ash and other nonfoods across men, women and children.

Study: http://bit.ly/RIhM4L

Pica has been documented throughout history; it was first referenced by Hippocrates in 400 B.C. Since then, there have been hundreds of ethnographic descriptions of pica and dozens of epidemiologic studies, mostly among pregnant women, with a few studies among children.

In contrast to prior studies, this one in northeastern Madagascar found a high prevalence of pica and amylophagy among men, with some 63 percent of adult males engaging in the behavior among the 760 participants from the Makira Protected Area. Also contrary to other findings, this survey, made in 2009, found no peak in pica and amylophagy among pregnant women, though only four pregnant women were sampled. Local taboos against talking about pregnancy prior to birth may have led to underreporting, according to the authors.

The findings for men and pregnant women in Madagascar "fly against much of what I know in terms of distribution" among members of a population, said Sera Young, a research scientist in Cornell University's Division of Nutritional Sciences and the paper's senior author. Young is also the author of the book, "Craving Earth: Understanding Pica -- the Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice and Chalk" (2011).

Across the entire sample in the prior year, 53.4 percent engaged in geophagy, eating specific types of earth, including a fine white clay subsoil, fine sand and red river sediment; 85.2 percent ate such raw starches as raw cassava, raw sweet potato, uncooked rice and another local wild root; and 19 percent ate other items considered locally to be nonfood, including rock salt, used coffee grounds, charcoal, rice chaff, blackboard chalk and ash.

Pica has positive and negative consequences, making it an important public health concern, said Young.

On the positive side, clay-based pica may be protective, by coating the intestines or binding directly to toxins and pathogens, thereby preventing them from entering the blood, Young added. Clay also acts as an anti-diarrheal. Such protections may be especially beneficial to vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. Another potential benefit is that earth-based pica may act like a multivitamin, adding micronutrients like iron or calcium to the diet, which may help explain why men consume it. However, the bioavailability of these micronutrients has been shown to be very low.

On the negative side, earth, starch or other pica substances could bind to iron in the diet, leading to or worsening anemia. Also, some raw starches are high in calories but are not nutritious. And some substances may contain pathogens or harmful chemicals.

"It could be a really harmful behavior, which causes anemia, for example, or it could be a low-tech protective behavior," said Young.

###

Future research will analyze nutrients and chemical properties of pica and amylophagy substances, examine which toxins occur in local diets, and distinguish between nonfood items that are craved versus items that are locally considered food or are used as medicines, Young said.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 9-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Syl Kacapyr
vpk6@cornell.edu
607-255-7701
Cornell University

Pica -- craving and intentionally consuming nonfood substances, such as earth -- and amylophagy, eating raw starches -- are widespread among people around the world, including the U.S. Some 180 species of animals are also known to engage in pica, possibly to rid themselves of toxins.

A study appearing Oct. 17 in the online journal Public Library of Science One provides the first population-level data of pica in Madagascar. It is one of only a few studies to assess the consumption of earths, raw starches, chalk, ash and other nonfoods across men, women and children.

Study: http://bit.ly/RIhM4L

Pica has been documented throughout history; it was first referenced by Hippocrates in 400 B.C. Since then, there have been hundreds of ethnographic descriptions of pica and dozens of epidemiologic studies, mostly among pregnant women, with a few studies among children.

In contrast to prior studies, this one in northeastern Madagascar found a high prevalence of pica and amylophagy among men, with some 63 percent of adult males engaging in the behavior among the 760 participants from the Makira Protected Area. Also contrary to other findings, this survey, made in 2009, found no peak in pica and amylophagy among pregnant women, though only four pregnant women were sampled. Local taboos against talking about pregnancy prior to birth may have led to underreporting, according to the authors.

The findings for men and pregnant women in Madagascar "fly against much of what I know in terms of distribution" among members of a population, said Sera Young, a research scientist in Cornell University's Division of Nutritional Sciences and the paper's senior author. Young is also the author of the book, "Craving Earth: Understanding Pica -- the Urge to Eat Clay, Starch, Ice and Chalk" (2011).

Across the entire sample in the prior year, 53.4 percent engaged in geophagy, eating specific types of earth, including a fine white clay subsoil, fine sand and red river sediment; 85.2 percent ate such raw starches as raw cassava, raw sweet potato, uncooked rice and another local wild root; and 19 percent ate other items considered locally to be nonfood, including rock salt, used coffee grounds, charcoal, rice chaff, blackboard chalk and ash.

Pica has positive and negative consequences, making it an important public health concern, said Young.

On the positive side, clay-based pica may be protective, by coating the intestines or binding directly to toxins and pathogens, thereby preventing them from entering the blood, Young added. Clay also acts as an anti-diarrheal. Such protections may be especially beneficial to vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. Another potential benefit is that earth-based pica may act like a multivitamin, adding micronutrients like iron or calcium to the diet, which may help explain why men consume it. However, the bioavailability of these micronutrients has been shown to be very low.

On the negative side, earth, starch or other pica substances could bind to iron in the diet, leading to or worsening anemia. Also, some raw starches are high in calories but are not nutritious. And some substances may contain pathogens or harmful chemicals.

"It could be a really harmful behavior, which causes anemia, for example, or it could be a low-tech protective behavior," said Young.

###

Future research will analyze nutrients and chemical properties of pica and amylophagy substances, examine which toxins occur in local diets, and distinguish between nonfood items that are craved versus items that are locally considered food or are used as medicines, Young said.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/cu-sde110912.php

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