Pearlman: I think Bobby Petrino is slime

Bobby Petrino was named head coach at Western Kentucky, months after being embroiled in scandal at University of Arkansas

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Bobby Petrino was named the new football coach at Western Kentucky this week


• Hiring came just months after he was fired from Arkansas amid scandal


• Jeff Pearlman says, sadly, this is no surprise in big-time college sports


• He says the vast majority of players are ultimately hurt by the behavior of coaches and administrators

Editor's note: Jeff Pearlman is the author of 'Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton.' He blogs at jeffpearlman.com. Follow him on Twitter.

(CNN) -- I have a dog named Norma.

She is a small beige cockapoo who barks at the mailman.

I would not trust Bobby Petrino to watch her.

Jeff Pearlman

I also would not trust Bobby Petrino to take my car in for a tire change. I would not trust Bobby Petrino to deposit my Aunt Ruth's Social Security check. I wouldn't trust him to clean my bowling ball, shop for a Christmas ham, change a twenty for two tens, tell me the time or recite the proper lyrics to Blind Melon's "No Rain."

This is not because I am a particularly untrusting person.

No, it's because I think Bobby Petrino is slime.

In case you missed the news, two days ago Western Kentucky University held a press conference to announce that Petrino, undeniably one of the nation's elite football minds, had agreed to a four-year, $850,000 per year deal to take over the Hilltoppers.

With nearly 400 giddy sports fanatics in attendance, Petrino, standing alongside Todd Stewart, the school's athletic director, spoke of honor and loyalty and love and redemption. The ensuing press release, issued by Western Kentucky's sports information department, was straight out of Disney: 101. It made Petrino sound like a cross between Vince Lombardi, Martin Luther King and Gandhi; God's gift to young men seeking to better themselves.

Petrino fired as Arkansas head football coach

What it failed to mention—and what the school desperately wants everyone to fail to mention—is that Petrino may well be the least ethically whole man in the, ahem, ethically whole-deprived world of Division I collegiate sports.

Why, it was only seven months ago that Petrino, at the time the University of Arkansas' head coach, was riding his motorcycle when he crashed along Highway 16 near Crosses, Arkansas.

When asked by school officials to explain what had happened, he failed to mention that, eh, also on the bike was Jessica Dorrell, a 26-year-old former Razorbacks volleyball player who worked as the student-athlete development coordinator for the football program. It turned out that Petrino, a married father of four, was not only having an affair with Dorrell (who was engaged at the time), but was a key voice on the board that hired her for the position when she wasn't even remotely qualified.

During an ensuing university investigation, it was determined that Petrino made a previously undisclosed $20,000 cash gift to Dorrell as a Christmas present.

Ho, ho, ho.

To his credit, Jeff Long, the school's athletic director, defied the wishes of every pigskin-blinded Razorback fan and fired Petrino. In a statement, he rightly wrote that, "all of these facts, individually and collectively, are clearly contrary to character and responsibilities of the person occupying the position of the Head Football Coach—an individual who should serve as a role model and a leader for our student-athlete."

Now, ethics and morals and character be damned, Bobby Petrino has returned, spewing off nonsense about second chances (Ever notice how garbage men and bus drivers rarely get the second chances we are all—according to fallen athletic figures—rightly afforded as Americans?) and learning from mistakes and making things right.

Western Kentucky, a school with mediocre athletics and apparently, sub-mediocre standards, has turned to a person who lied to his last employer about the nature of an accident involving the mistress he allegedly hired to a university position she was unqualified to hold. Please, if you must, take a second to read that again. And again. And again.

Bobby Petrino, holder of a Ph.D. in the Deceptive Arts (he also ditched the University of Louisville shortly after signing a long-term extension in 2007, and quit as coach of the Atlanta Falcons 13 game into his first season later that year. He informed his players via a note atop their lockers), will be the one charged with teaching the 17- and 18-year-old boys who decide to come to Bowling Green about not merely football, but life. He will be their guide. Their compass. Their role model.

Bobby Petrino and social media prove a bad mix

Sadly, in the world of Division I sports, such is far from surprising. This has been a year unlike any other; one where the virtues of greed and the color of green don't merely cloak big-time college athletics, but control them. In case you haven't noticed, we are in the midst of a dizzying, nauseating game of Conference Jump, where colleges and universities—once determined to maintain geographic rivals in order to limit student travel—have lost their collective minds.

The University of Maryland, a charter member of the ACC, is headed for the Big Ten. The Big East—formerly a power conference featuring the likes of Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John's and Connecticut—has added Boise State, San Diego State, Memphis, Houston, Southern Methodist and Navy. Idaho moved from the WAC to the Big Sky, Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic went to Conference USA, the University of Denver—a member of the WAC for approximately 27 minutes—joined the Summit League. Which, to be honest, I didn't even know existed.

Rest assured, none of these moves (literally, nary a one) were conducted with the best interests of so-called student-athletes in mind. New conferences tend to offer increased payouts, increased merchandising opportunities, increased exposure and increased opportunities to build a new stadium—one with 80,000 seats, 100 luxury boxes, $20 million naming rights, $9 hot dogs and the perfect spot for ESPN to broadcast its Home Depot pregame show.

Why, within 24 hours of quarterback Johnny Manziel winning the Heisman Trophy, Texas A&M was hawking Heisman T-shirts for $24 on its website (Or, for a mere $54.98, one can purchase his No. 2 jersey).

Percentage of the dough that winds up in Manziel's pocket? Zero.

After another spectacular exit, Petrino eyes football return

That, really, is the rub of it all; of Petrino's crabgrass-like revival; of coaches bounding from one job for another (even as players can only do so after sitting out a year); of Rutgers moving west and San Diego State moving east and athletic department officials moving on up (to a penthouse apartment in the sky); of $54.98 jerseys.

It's the athletes ultimately getting screwed.

Sure, for the 0.5% of Division I football players who wind up in the NFL, the deal is a sweet one. The other 99.5%, however, are mere pawns, sold a dizzying narrative of glory and fame and lifelong achievement, but, more often than not, left uneducated, unfulfilled and physically battered.

They are told a coach will be with them for four years—then watch as said figure takes a $2 million gig elsewhere but, hey, only because it was right for him and his family.

They are told they will receive a great education, then find themselves stuck on a six-hour flight from California to Newark, New Jersey. They are told that these will be the greatest years of their life, that the college experience is a special one, that only the highest of standards exist.

Then they meet their new coach: Bobby Petrino.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeff Pearlman.

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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO Egyptians were voting Saturday on a proposed constitution that has polarized their nation, with President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters backing the charter, while liberals, many secular Muslims and Christians oppose it.

With the nation divided by a political crisis defined by mass protests and deadly violence, the vote has turned into a dispute over whether Egypt should move toward a religious state under Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and a radical Salafi bloc, or one that retains secular traditions and an Islamic character.

"The times of silence are over," said bank employee Essam el-Guindy as he waited to cast his ballot in Cairo's upscale Zamalek district. "I am not OK with the constitution. Morsi should not have let the country split like this."

El-Guindy was one of about 20 voters standing in a line leading men to a ballot box. A separate women's line had twice as many people. Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of voters had been queuing outside polling stations nearly two hours before the voting started at 8 a.m.

Egyptians girls show their inked fingers after casting their votes at a polling station in a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.

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AP Photo/Amr Nabil

"I read parts of the constitution and saw no reason to vote against it," said Rania Wafik as she held her newborn baby while waiting in line. "We need to move on and I just see no reason to vote against the constitution."

Morsi, whose narrow win in June made him Egypt's first freely elected president, cast his ballot at a school in the upscale Heliopolis district. He did not speak to reporters, but waved to dozens of supporters who were chanting his name outside the polling station.

In Cairo's crowded Sayedah Zeinab district, home to a revered Muslim shrine, 23-year-old engineer Mohammed Gamal said he was voting "yes" although he felt the proposed constitution needed more, not less, Islamic content.

"Islam has to be a part of everything," said Gamal, who wore the mustache-less beard that is a hallmark of hard-line Salafi Muslims. "All laws have to be in line with Shariah," he said, referring to Islamic law.

Highlighting the tension in the run-up to the vote, nearly 120,000 army troops were deployed on Saturday to protect polling stations. A radical Islamist group also said it will send its own members to defend the stations alongside the army and police.

Clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents over the past three weeks have left at least 10 people dead and about 1,000 wounded. "No, to the constitution of blood," said the red banner headline of the independent daily Al Masry Al Youm.

Critics are questioning the charter's legitimacy after the majority of judges said they would not supervise the vote. Rights groups have also warned of opportunities for widespread fraud, and the opposition says a decision to hold the vote on two separate days to make up for the shortage of judges leaves the door open for initial results to sway voter opinion.

The shortage of judges was reflected in the chaos engulfing some polling stations, which by early afternoon had led the election commission to extend voting by two hours until 9 p.m.

In Cairo's Darb el-Ahmar, judge Mohammed Ibrahim appeared overwhelmed with the flow of voters, many of whom had to wait for close to two hours to cast their ballots. "I'm trying hard here, but responsibilities could have been better distributed," he said.

Egypt has 51 million eligible voters, of whom about 26 are supposed to cast their ballots Saturday and the rest next week. Saturday's vote is held in 10 provinces, including Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the country's second largest and scene of violent clashes on Friday between opponents and supporters of Morsi.

"I am definitely voting no," Habiba el-Sayed, a 49-year-old house wife who wears the Muslm veil, or hijab, said in Alexandria. "Morsi took wrong decisions and there is no stability. They (Islamists) are going around calling people infidels. How can there be stability?"

Another female voter in Alexandria, 22-year-old English teacher Yomna Hesham said she was voting `no' because the draft is "vague" and ignores women's rights.

"If we say 'yes,' we will cease to exist. Some people are saying to say 'yes' to Morsi. But he did nothing right. Why should we? They say vote 'yes' for stability. We have said `yes' before and there was no stability."

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School Shooting: Officials Seek Details on Gunman

The FBI is in at least three states interviewing relatives and friends of the elementary school gunman who killed 20 children, seven adults and himself, trying to put together a better picture of the shooter and uncover any possible explanation for the massacre, ABC News has learned.

The authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview relatives of Adam Lanza, 20, and his mother, who was one of Lanza's shooting victims.

The victims died Friday when Lanza invaded Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and sprayed staff and students with bullets, officials said. Lanza also was found dead in the school.

Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital.

Six adults also were slain, bringing the total to 26. Among them was the school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, multiple sources told ABC News. Another adult victim was teacher Vicki Soto, her cousin confirmed.

In addition to the casualties at the school, Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, was killed in her home, federal and state sources told ABC News.

According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi-automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi-automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

READ: Connecticut Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Lanza then drove to the elementary school and continued his rampage, authorities said.

Newtown Teacher Kept 1st Graders Calm During Massacre Watch Video

Newtown School Shooting: What to Tell Your Kids Watch Video

It appeared that Lanza died from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The rifle was found in his car.

"Evil visited this community today," Gov. Dan Malloy said at a news conference Friday evening.

CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.

In the early confusion surrounding the investigation, federal sources initially identified the suspect as Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24. Identification belonging to Ryan Lanza was found at the shooting scene, federal sources told ABC News.

Ryan Lanza soon took to Facebook to say he was alive and not responsible for the shooting. He later was questioned by police.

During the rampage, first-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a class bathroom and listened to "tons of shooting" until police came to help.

"It was horrific," Roig said. "I thought we were going to die."

She said that the terrified kids were saying, "I just want Christmas. ... I don't want to die. I just want to have Christmas."

A tearful President Obama said Friday that there was "not a parent in America who doesn't feel the overwhelming grief that I do."

The president had to pause to compose himself after saying these were "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10."

As he continued with his statement, Obama wiped away tears from each eye. He has ordered flags flown as half staff.

It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 were killed before the shooter turned the gun on himself. The carnage in Connecticut exceeded the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.

Friday's shooting came three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.

The Connecticut shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles east of Danbury, Conn.

The massacre prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said.

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Satellite upgrade should let planes slash emissions

A CONSTELLATION of next-generation communications satellites has a surprise in store for the environment. When Iridium Communications begins launching replacement orbiters in 2015, it will do much more than upgrade its satphone services. Piggybacking on the satellites will be a set of transmitters that could revolutionise long-haul flight, save airlines billions of dollars worth of fuel and prevent millions of tonnes of carbon emissions.

For the first time, these devices, known as ADS-B transponders, will enable air traffic controllers to locate aircraft that are far out over oceans, remote deserts or the poles where there is no radar coverage. On top of the greater safety this offers airlines if a plane gets into trouble, say, it will also let controllers pack planes in closer together along optimal flight paths, which will cut carbon emissions.

The ADS-B radio transmitting system is designed to replace expensive, unreliable and low-range radar tracking. It bundles an aircraft's call sign, GPS position, speed and altitude into 112-bit digital packets, which are broadcast continually from the aircraft to the control stations.

But like today's radar, ADS-B radio packets have limited range. "If you're way out in the Pacific or over the North Pole no one's going to pick it up," says Dan Mercer of Iridium Communications. So the transponders piggybacking on the new satellites will pick up those signals and beam them back down to Earth. "For the first time, they'll have total vision of the aircraft at all times," Mercer says.

To avoid potential collisions, planes on long-haul routes out over the oceans currently have to fly quite a long way apart. And only some planes can fly in air lanes with kind tailwinds, while others have to push through less-favourable air currents. "If air traffic control can see where aircraft are precisely, they can fly them all closer together and on the most efficient routes. So they will save fuel and cut emissions," says Mercer.

A study commissioned by Iridium found that between the service's proposed start in 2017 and 2030, the technology should save airlines about $7 billion on fuel and cut carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 35 million tonnes. Another projection that looked at just North Atlantic flights says orbital ADS-B will save airlines $110 million in fuel and 300,000 tonnes in emissions in 2018 alone.

The system can "improve the efficiency of oceanic air traffic management by reducing aircraft separation distances and allowing greater route optimisation", says Pauline Lamb, operations director of National Air Traffic Services in Prestwick, UK. She adds that her organisation is working to fully understand the benefits it will provide.

Meanwhile, one of the world's largest air traffic management firms, Nav Canada of Ottawa, Ontario, has formed Aireon, a joint venture with Iridium. Aireon will operate and sell the transponder service to airlines and air traffic control providers. In combination with other measures - such as use of lighter carbon fibre planes and more efficient engines - Iridium's move should help aviation fight its environmental corner.

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Golf: Garcia shows his class at Johor Open

KUALA LUMPUR: World number 20 Sergio Garcia of Spain charged up the leaderboard to hold the second-round lead at nine-under through 12 holes at the weather-interrupted $2 million Iskandar Johor Open on Friday.

Almost three hours of play was lost to bad weather and play was suspended as darkness began falling, leaving 117 players to return at 7.30 am on Saturday to resume their round.

Opening round leader David Lipsky of the United States, who has yet to start his second round, shared the lead with Garcia after signing for a 63 in the morning.

Three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand is six-under through 13 holes. He is among the five players who are three shots behind Garcia and Lipsky at the event, which ends the Asian Tour season.

Singapore's Lam Chih Bing returned with a four-under-par 68 and was one of only three players who managed to complete their round.

Garcia, who starred in Europe's Ryder Cup win in September, could only play three holes on the opening day. But he returned with a vengeance by snaring 10 birdies against one bogey over 33 holes.

"It was good. It has been a long day but it has been quite positive," the event's highest ranked player said in comments released by the organisers.

"I just hope I can keep going in the right direction and see what happens. Hopefully we will get lucky and can get all four rounds in."

Lipsky, who returned to complete two holes, did not manage to start his round but will head into the weekend atop the leaderboard with Garcia

Thongchai hopes to shake off fatigue when he resumes his title charge on Saturday.

"I'm happy with the way I played but I felt tired because of the suspensions. It was quite difficult to play on the course because the fairways are a bit wet. The greens are okay," he said.

"I played very solid. I think I played about 30 holes. I woke up at 5.15am and it will be the same tomorrow."

- AFP/de

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Nuke watchdog close to deal with Iran

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at an October press conference that Iran will not back down on its nuclear program.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: IAEA and Iran close to an agreement, nuclear watchdog chief says


• Iran calls the talks "constructive" but does not address access to Parchin


• Prof. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani is among those being slapped with sanctions


• Abbasi Davani, the head of Iran atomic agency, survived a bomb that Iran blamed on Israel

(CNN) -- The head of a U.N. nuclear watchdog group said Friday a deal with Iran over its nuclear program is likely in January, an agreement that will also allow inspectors to gain access to a military complex where Tehran is believed to be testing nuclear materials.

The news followed reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency wrapped one-day talks in Iran over its nuclear program, widely suspected by the United States and other Western nations as a front for the country's development of nuclear weapons -- a charge Iran has repeatedly denied.

"We have agreed to meet again on 16 January next year, where we expect to finalize the structured approach and start implementing it then shortly after that," IAEA chief inspector Herman Nackaerts told reporters after returning to Vienna, Austria.

Read more: CNN Fact Check: Iran and the Bomb

The talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were aimed at jump-starting negotiations, while allowing agency inspectors to gain access to a military complex where Tehran is suspected of testing nuclear materials.

Access to the Parchin military complex, just outside Tehran, is a key element in the negotiations.

"We have not been given access to Parchin this time. But as you know access to Parchin is part of the structured approach, and we hope as I said that we will implement that shortly," Nackaerts said.

Read more: U.N. watchdog: Iran makes significant nuclear steps

Iran's liaison to IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, characterized the talks as constructive, according to state-run news agency IRNA. The report stopped short of saying whether the talks included discussion about investigators getting access to Parchin, which was requested at a meeting in November in Vienna, Austria.

The next round of talks were scheduled for January 16, Soltanieh told IRNA. The IAEA also confirmed the talks would continue on that day.

The United States, meanwhile, slapped new sanctions on Iran on Thursday, targeting a handful of companies and individuals it says are providing materials and technology to Tehran's nuclear program.

The sanctions, announced by the U.S. State and Treasury departments, are the latest to target Iran's economy as well as its ability to develop nuclear material.

Read more: U.N. nuclear agency expresses 'serious concern' about Iran nuke activity

The sanctions were essential "given Iran's continued intransigence on its nuclear program," said Victoria Nuland, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman.

Among the targets of the latest sanctions is Prof. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani, the head of the Iran Atomic Energy Organization.

Abbasi Davani and his wife survived a car bomb two years ago that Tehran has blamed on Israel. At least four scientists associated with Iran's nuclear program have been killed since 2010.

The companies being targeted with sanctions: FaraTech, the Neda Industrial Group, Aria Nikan Marine Industry, Towled Abzar Boreshi, Iran Pouya, Terjerat Gostar and Tarh O Palayesh.

Read more: Inspection at Iran nuclear facility finds higher-level traces of uranium, U.N. says

The sanctions freeze the companies' assets and prohibit business dealings in or with the United States. Companies and banks that defy the U.S. sanctions could be cut off from the U.S. financial system, the State and Treasury departments said.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes only. But the IAEA has said it cannot verify whether the intent of the program is for peaceful means.

A number of Western nations have placed economic and arms-related sanctions on Iran since November 2010 when the IAEA said Tehran was pursuing technology that could be used to build nuclear weapons.

Since then, Iran has been hit by the United States and the European Union with an oil embargo as well as sanctions targeting its banks and number of its businesses.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reported from London and Chelsea J. Carter from Atlanta.

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As "fiscal cliff" looms, health reform questions linger

Washington lawmakers this month are squarely focused on deficit reduction as they attempt to scramble off the so-called "fiscal cliff." All the while, however, the government is proceeding with the costly and ambitious rollout of the Affordable Care Act.

Key components of President Obama's health care law won't go into effect for about another year, but federal and state lawmakers are obligated to start building up those health care systems now. Many Republicans, however, argue the Obama administration hasn't said with certainty what the programs will ultimately cost or how they'll be governed. Democrats largely chalk up the complaints to the latest chapter in Republican-led obstruction against the Affordable Care Act, pointing to Democratic-led states that are making progress implementing the law.

The "fiscal cliff," meanwhile -- the series of tax hikes and deep spending cuts set to kick in next year -- has cast a shadow over the entire health care debate. While lawmakers spar over the details of large new health care systems, Congress could be forced in the coming weeks to make spending cuts and policy changes to programs like Medicaid.

At a congressional hearing Thursday on the subject of the health care law, Louisiana's secretary of the Health and Hospitals Department Bruce Greenstein told Congress it felt as if they were operating in a "parallel universe."

"It feels somewhat awkward to be here testifying on the implementation of one of the largest expansions of entitlement programs in nearly 50 years," he said, "at the same time as ongoing discussions about federal spending reductions to avert the 'fiscal cliff' and raising the debt ceiling take place."

In spite of those concerns, states face one deadline today: Deciding whether or not they will establish and operate their own health care exchange system -- a state-based online marketplace where consumers should be able to compare health insurance plans and purchase one. If they don't want to build or operate their own exchanges, they can hand the responsibility to the federal government or enter into a state-federal partnership.

At the same time, state leaders are deciding whether to expand Medicaid, the joint federal-state program currently open to disabled and certain low-income people. The Affordable Care Act calls for states to open up Medicaid to anyone below 138 percent of the poverty line -- the Supreme Court, however, ruled over the summer that the Medicaid expansion shouldn't be mandatory. There's no deadline for states to say whether or not they will expand Medicaid.

Through these two components -- the exchanges and the Medicaid expansion -- roughly 36 million people are predicted to obtain health insurance by 2022.

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Critics Faulted Rice's Work on Benghazi, Africa

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice removed herself from possible consideration as secretary of state after becoming yet another player in the divide between the left and right.

Rice, who withdrew her name Thursday, has faced months of criticism over how she characterized the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. She also has come under fire for her approach to dealing with African strongmen.

Rice became a target for conservatives when she went on Sunday morning current affairs shows such as ABC News' "This Week" following the Benghazi attack and failed to characterize it as a pre-meditated act of terror. Instead, she said it was a spontaneous response to an anti-Islam film produced in the United States and cited in the region as an example of anti-Islamicism in the West.

After it became clear that Rice's assertions were untrue and elements of the Obama administration may have known that to be the case, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte said they would do whatever they could to block Rice's possible nomination to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

Susan Rice Withdraws From Consideration for Secretary of State Watch Video

GOP Senators 'Troubled' After Meeting With Ambassador Rice Watch Video

President Obama to Senator McCain: 'Go After Me' Watch Video

"This is about the role she played around four dead Americans when it seems to be that the story coming out of the administration -- and she's the point person -- is so disconnected to reality, I don't trust her," Graham said. "And the reason I don't trust her is because I think she knew better. And if she didn't know better, she shouldn't be the voice of America."

Members of the administration defended Rice. At his testimony before Congress, Gen. David Petraeus, the former CIA director, said Rice was speaking from unclassified talking points given to her by the CIA.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reiterated what Petraeus said outside his closed-door hearing before the Senate.

"The key is that they were unclassified talking points at a very early stage. And I don't think she should be pilloried for this. She did what I would have done or anyone else would have done that was going on a weekend show," Feinstein said. "To say that she is unqualified to be secretary of state, I think, is a mistake. And the way it keeps going, it's almost as if the intent is to assassinate her character."

Minutes after she announced her withdrawal from the process, Graham tweeted, "I respect Ambassador Rice's decision."

McCain's office released a paper statement saying, "Senator McCain thanks Ambassador Rice for her service to the country and wishes her well. He will continue to seek all the facts surrounding the attack on our consulate in Benghazi that killed four brave Americans."

Over the last few weeks, criticism of Rice had grown beyond her response to Benghazi to include a closer scrutiny of her work in Africa, where she had influence over U.S. policy during the Clinton administration.

Critics of her Africa dealings were not partisan -- but included human rights workers, journalists and some Africans themselves.

Among the most serious critiques was the accusation that she actively protected Rwandan President Paul Kagame and senior members of his government from being sanctioned for funding and supporting the rebels that caused Eastern Congo's recent violence.

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World's loneliest bug turns up in Death Valley

An improbable microbe, first found living 3.3 kilometres below South Africa, has been glimpsed half a world away in California.

Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator was found in water-filled fractures in South Africa's deep gold mines, where it lives isolated from every other life form on Earth.

Uniquely, the bacterium has evolved to do without the sun's energy, relying only on hydrogen and sulphate, which can form naturally in its subterranean home.

Until recently, biologists thought that the species was confined to South Africa's depths – although related DNA has shown up in Europe and in igneous crust below the sea floor.

Now, a project to map Earth's deep biosphere – the Census of Deep Life – has found DNA 99 per cent identical to that of D. audaxviator tens of thousands of kilometres away, in boreholes 900 metres deep near Death Valley in eastern California.

Duane Moser at the Desert Research Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada, discussed the find at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco on 6 December. "We're reasonably sure we're looking at the same bug," he says.

Life can find a way

If so, D. audaxviator – literally, "bold traveller" – merits its name. If the bacterium came from South Africa, it probably started out at shallow depths and evolved to live in ever-greater isolation as it descended, says Moser. But then some bacteria may have made the return journey and reached the surface, perhaps through water springs. From there they may have surfed the winds before raining down on the US and begun to descend once more.

The scenario is certainly possible, says Tullis Onstott at Princeton University, who has worked extensively on the South African D. audaxviator populations.

Alternatively, the horizontal flow of water underground may allow deep microbes to colonise new regions without returning to the surface, says Jan Amend at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The move between South Africa and the New World must have happened before the Atlantic opened between them, though.

"We're taught in school that all life needs some input from the sun," says Moser. "What we're seeing in D. audaxviator is that even where the sun hasn't shone for hundreds of millions of years – like the interior of Earth or Mars – life can find a way."

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Land parcel in Sembawang receives top bid of S$211.9m

SINGAPORE: The tender for a land parcel located at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive closed on Thursday with a top bid of $211.92 million.

The site, measuring 21,718.4 square metres, received a total of eight bids.

In a statement, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the top bid came from boutique developer JBE Holdings, while the second highest bid of S$210.1 million was handed in by FCL Place Pte. Ltd. and Hytech Builders.

Meanwhile, two joint bidders submitted the third highest tender price of S$208.5 million. They were Master Contract Services Pte Ltd & Keong Hong Construction and Peak Square Pte. Ltd. & Low Keng Huat (Singapore) Limited.

The lowest bid of S$184 million came from Mezzo Development.

The site can be developed into an executive condominium housing with around 650 units. It has a maximum gross floor area of 60,811.52 square metres and gross plot ratio of 2.8. The lease term is 99 years.

HDB said the decision on the tender award will be announced at a later date after the bids have been evaluated.

- CNA/de

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